Charles Wilkes

“ Those of the middle section are succeeding well, and, although little progress has been made in the conversion of Indians to Christianity, yet they have done much good in reforming some of their vices and teaching them some of the useful arts, particularly that of agriculture, which has had the effect, in a measure, to attach them to the soil, construct better houses, exchanging their corn, and so forth, with those who hunt, for Buffalo meat. ”

“ They are in and around this section of country. The facilities for maintaining a post and at a moderate ex- pense are great; the river abounds with salmon during a greater part of the year and the herds thrive exceedingly well. Cattle are numerous, particularly horses, which are the best that the country affords. Grains of all kind flourish, and at about 25 miles distant the missionaries have an establishment from which I have but little doubt the troops could be supplied. The climate is remarkably fine and healthy. ”

“ Minta Hull, the Admiral's great granddaughter, for her enthusiasm and untiring efforts through the years to ready a publishable manuscript and to seek publication. Upon Mrs. Hull's death the work she had done on the Autobiography and materials she had assembled came into possession of her close friend, Mrs. Evelyn S. Taber-Holt of Columbia, South Carolina.
Mrs. Taber-Holt shared Mrs. Hull's ardent desire to see the Autobiography published. In 1969 she solicited the support of Allan Nevins, distinguished historian and member of the Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Committee on Naval History. ”

“ In summer it is cooled by the strong westerly breezes to re- place the vacuum produced by the heated prairie grounds. No dew falls in this section. The climate of the third or easterly section is extremely variable ; the temperature during the day, ranging from 50 to 60, renders it unfit for agriculture, and there are but few places in its northern part where the climate would not effect- ually put a stop to its ever becoming settled. In each day, from the best account, one has all the changes incident to spring, summer, autumn, and winter. ”

“ The soil in such places is rich and capable of producing most anything. The missionaries have succeeded in getting good crops. Stock succeeds here even better than in the lower country, and, not- withstanding the severe cold, their cattle are not housed, nor is provender laid in for them, the country being sufficiently supplied with fodder in the natural hay that is abundant every- where on the prairie, and is preferred by the cattle to the fresh grass of the bottoms. No attempts at agriculture have been made in this section ex- cept at Fort Hall. ”

“ To bring a work of this nature to completion requires the assistance, knowledge and cooperation of many individuals and institutions. Within the Naval History Division, and while assigned to the Historical Research Branch, Lieutenant Mary Walsh, USN, and Dr. Robert Scheina did excellent work on the Autobiography. As always, the deep knowledge and helpfulness of Miss Barbara Lynch, Navy Department Library, were invaluable. ”

“ Wolves are troublesome to the settlers, but they are not so numerous as formerly. From the advantages this country possesses it bids fair to have an extensive commerce on advantageous terms with most parts of the Pacific. It is well calculated to produce the following, which certainly in a few years after its settlement would become its staples, viz, furs, salted beef and pork, fish, grain, flour, wool, hides, tallow, lumber and perhaps coal. ”

“ The ease with which the wants of man are obtained, the little labor required, and consequent opportunities of idleness will render it so. The settlers of the Willamette Valley have with a praiseworthy spirit engaged to prevent the establishment of distilleries, and there are yet no places where spirits can be bought, to my knowledge, in the territory. ”

“ The various libraries and depositories we turned to with rewarding results included: the British Embassy in Washington, the Center for Polar Archives and other National Archives branches, Columbia Historical Society of the District of Columbia, Columbia University, Duke University, Frick Art Reference Library, Library of Congress, Maryland Historical Society, Naval Academy Museum and Alumni Association, Naval Oceanographic Office, Peabody Museum, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. State Department and Yale University. ”

“ The land is equally cut up by spurs from the Cascade Range, which here intersects the country in all directions, and pre- vents its adaptation to agriculture. Its value is principally in its timber, and it is believed that few, if any, countries can compare with it in this respect. There is no point on the coast where a settlement could be formed between Erasers River or 49 north and the northern boundary of 54 40' north that would be able to supply its own wants. ”

“ Confronted with strings of phrases, the editors added square bracketed verbs or other links to form sentences, albeit sometimes very long sentences. Square brackets have also been put to other conventional uses to insert missing words and to indicate illegibles or blank spaces in the text. Chapter breaks are non-existent in the manuscript and paragraphs virtually so. They have been supplied by the editors. Footnotes, used to clarify or identify, are kept to a minimum.
Wilkes occasionally had difficulty with the chronological sequence of events. ”

“ The mountain chains on the parallel of 48 are cut off by the Columbia, as before stated, leaving an extensive rolling country in the center of the territory, which is well adapted for grazing. The southern part of this section is destitute of timber or wood, unless the worm wood, Artimesia, may be so called. To the north of the paralled of 49 it is covered with forests. Wheat and other grains grow well in the bottoms where they can be irrigated. ”

“ Nevins' evaluation. He acquired the Wilkes materials held by Mrs. Taber-Holt with the understanding that as time, resources and staffing permitted, every effort would be made to publish the Autobiography.
Dr. David B. Tyler, author of an excellent book, The Wilkes Expedition, kindly consented to participate in the editorial preparation of the manuscript and he made major contributions. The other co-editors, William James Morgan, Joye Leonhart and Mary Loughlin were regular staff members in the Historical Research Branch of the Naval History Division. ”

“ Owing to the dense fogs the coast is extremely dangerous, and they render it at all times difficult to approach and navigate upon. The interior of this portion of the territory is traversed by these ranges of mountains, with the several rivers which take their rise in them, and is probably unequaled for its rugged- ness, and from all accounts incapable of anything like cultiva- tion. The Columbia in its trend to the westward under the parallel of 48 cuts off the central or Blue Mountain Range, which is not again met with until on the parallel of 45. ”

“ The Indians are rapidly decreasing in all parts of the country. The causes are supposed to be their rude treatment of diseases and the dissipated lives they lead.
The white American population, as far as I have been able to judge of them, are orderly, and some industrious, although they are, with the exception of the missionaries, men who have led for the most part dissolute lives. ”

“ It is bounded in all its course by a range of high mountains, well wooded, and in places expands into a line of lakes before it reaches Colville, where it is 2,200 feet above the level of the sea, having a fall of a little over 100 feet in 220 miles. To the south of this it trends to the west, receiving the Spokane River from the east, which is not navigable, and takes its rise in the Lake of Coeur d'Alene. ”

“ The only Indians of the country south of 49 who are dis- posed to make war upon the whites are the Klamets, residing REPORT ON OREGON TERRITORY 297 on the southern borders of the territory along Rogue and Klamet Rivers and in the passes of the Shasty Mountains. The show of a small force would, I am sure, have a good tendency in preventing their depredations on the whites who pass through the country, their hostility to whom, in a great measure, is to be ascribed to the conduct of the whites them- selves, who leave no opportunity unimproved of molesting them. ”

“ All the care of stock which occupies so much time with us requires no atten- tion here, and on their rapid increase he would alone support himself. The wheat of this valley yields 35 to 40 bushels for one sown, or 20 to 30 bushels to the acre, its quality is superior to that grown in the United States, and its weight near 4 pounds to the bushel heavier. ”

“ HARBORS. All the harbors formed by the rivers on the seacoast are ob- structed with extensive sand bars, which make them difficult to enter, and they are continually changing. The rivers bring down large quantities of sand, which on meeting with the ocean is deposited, causing a gradual increase of the impediment which already exists at their mouths. None of them can be deemed safe ports to enter. The entrance to the Columbia is impracticable two-thirds of the year, and the difficulty of leaving equally great. The north sands are rapidly increasing and extending farther to the south. ”

“ The Cowlitz farm is also in the western section; the pro- duction of wheat is good, about 20 bushels to the acre; the ground, however, has just been brought under cultivation. They have here 600 acres, which are situated on the Cowlitz River, about 30 miles from the Columbia. The company is about to erect a saw and grist mill. This farm is finely situ- ated, and the harvest of 1841 produced 7,000 bushels of wheat. Several Canadians are also established here, who told me that they succeeded well with but little work. ”

“ After passing into the middle section the climate undergoes a decided change ; in place of the cool and moist atmosphere, one that is dry and arid is entered, and the crops suffer from drought. The only wood or bush seen is the wormwood (Arti- mesia) , and this only in the neighborhood of the streams. All cultivation has to be more or less carried on by irrigation. 286 CHARLES WILKES The country bordering the Columbia above the hills to the north and south, is the poorest in the Territory, and has no doubt lead many to look upon the middle section as perfectly useless to man. ”

“ The richest and best soil is found on the. second, or middle, prairie, and is best adapted for agriculture, the high and low being excellent for pasture land. 282 CHARLES WILKES The line of woods runs on the east side and near the foot of the Cascade Range. The climate and soil are admirably adapted for all kinds of grain wheat, rye, oats, barley, peas, and so forth. Corn does not thrive in any part of this territory where it has been tried. Many fruits appear to succeed well, particularly the apple and pear. Vegetables thrive exceedingly well and yield most abund- antly. ”