Arrival of Rev. Mr. Beaver and wife.—His opinion of the company.—A double-wedding.—Mrs. Spalding and Mrs. Whitman at Vancouver.—Men explore the country and locate stations.—Their opinion of the country.—Indian labor.—A winter trip down Snake River.

Nothing of note occurred till about the middle of August, 1836. The bark Nereus arrived from England, bringing back Rev. Daniel Lee, recovered from his sickness while in the Sandwich Islands, and Rev. Mr. Beaver and lady, an English Episcopal clergyman, as chaplain to the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort Vancouver. Mr. Beaver was a man below the medium height, light brown hair, gray eyes, light complexion, a feminine voice, with large pretensions to oratory, a poor delivery, and no energy. His ideas of clerical dignity were such, that he felt himself defiled and polluted in descending to the “common herd of savages” he found on arriving at Vancouver. “The governor was uncivil, the clerks were boors, the women were savages. There was not an individual about the establishment he felt he could associate with.” This feeling was shared largely by Mrs. Beaver, who, from the little I saw of her at a double-wedding party at her own house, I concluded, felt she was condescending greatly in permitting her husband to perform the services.

She appeared totally indifferent to the whole performance, so far as giving it an approving smile, look, or word. The occasion was the marriage of the youngest daughter of Dr. McLaughlin to Mr. Ray; and of Miss Nelia Comilly to Mr. James Douglas, since governor of Vancouver Island and British Columbia.

While at Vancouver, I met Mr. Beaver once outside the fort, with his dog and gun. From what I could learn of him, he was fond of hunting and fishing;—much more so than of preaching to the “ignorant savages in the fort,” as he called the gentlemen and servants of the company. “They were not sufficiently enlightened to appreciate good sermons, and to conform to the English church service. However, as he was the chaplain in charge, by virtue of his appointment received from the executive committee and governor in London, he had rights superior to any half-savage, pretended gentlemen at this establishment, and he would let them know what they were, before they were done with him; he did not come to this wilderness to be ordered and dictated to by a set of half-savages, who did not know the difference between a prayer-book and an otter skin, and yet they presumed to teach him morals and religion.” This tirade, as near as I could learn, was elicited from his reverence soon after he arrived, on account of some supposed neglect or slight offered by Dr. McLaughlin, in not furnishing his quarters in the style he had expected. On reaching the post, in place of a splendid parsonage, well fitted up, and servants to do his bidding, he found what in early California times would be called an ordinary balloon house, made of rough boards, the floors (I think) not planed, and no carpets upon them, and none in the country to put upon them, except the common flag mats the Indians manufacture; and these the Rev. Mrs. Beaver considered “too filthy to step upon, or be about the house.” In addition to these very important matters (judging from the fuss they made about them), “the doctor and all the pretended gentlemen of the company were living in adultery. This was a horrible crime he could not, and would not, put up with; he could scarcely bring himself to perform the church service in so polluted an audience.” We had never been confirmed in the English church, and, consequently, did not feel at liberty to offer any advice after listening to this long tirade of abuse of the members of the Hudson’s Bay Company by his reverence. A short time after, Mr. Beaver met Dr. McLaughlin in front of the house, and commenced urging him to comply with the regulations of the English church. The doctor had been educated in the Roman Catholic faith; he did not acknowledge Mr. Beaver’s right to dictate a religious creed to him, hence he was not prepared to conform wholly to the English church service. Among other subjects, that of marriage was mentioned, Rev. Mr. Beaver insisting that the doctor should be married in accordance with the church service. The doctor claimed the right to be married by whom he pleased, and that Mr. Beaver was interfering and meddling with other than his parochial duties. This led his reverence to boil over and spill out a portion of the contemptuous feelings he had cherished from the moment he landed at the place. The doctor, not being in the habit from his youth of calmly listening to vulgar and abusive language, especially when addressed to his face, laid aside his reverence for the cloth, as also the respect due to his position and age, and gave Rev. Mr. Beaver a caning, some say kicking, causing his reverence to retreat, and abruptly suspend enforcing moral lessons in conformity to church usage. Rev. Mrs. Beaver very naturally sympathized with her husband, and they soon made arrangements and left the country, to report their case at head-quarters in London. Dr. McLaughlin chose to comply with civil usage, and as James Douglas had received a commission from her Majesty as civil magistrate under the English law, acting as justice of the peace, he united Dr. John McLaughlin in marriage to Mrs. Margaret McKay, whose first husband had been lost in the destruction of the bark Tonquin some years previous. This wedding occurred at Vancouver, about the end of January, 1837. The doctor was married privately, by Esquire Douglas, either a short time before, or a few days after, I have not yet learned which.

Rev. Mr. Beaver and lady arrived at Vancouver about four weeks before Mrs. Spalding and Mrs. Whitman. The gentlemen of the company, like the rough mountaineers who paid their respect to Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Spalding at the American rendezvous, attempted to be polite and kind to Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. They most emphatically failed. The parsonage was a terror to them. They had become objects of contempt, scorn, and derision in the estimation of their religious guide and moral patron. Their wives and children were looked upon as filthy savages, not fit to associate with decent people. This feeling was so strong in the chaplain and his wife that it leaked out in very injudicious and indiscreet expressions of disapproval of actions and conduct, that, in a refined and polished society, would be considered offensive; yet these traders and Indian merchants, not having been in refined society for many years, did not understand or comprehend their own awkwardness and want of more refinement. They had forgotten that, in the progress of society, six hundred years had passed since their great great grandmothers were like the women they saw about them every day. They forgot that Mrs. Beaver was an English clergyman’s wife, and claimed to belong to the best English society. They thought there was but little difference in womankind; in short, they were much better qualified to deal with Indians than with civilians. Under such circumstances, and with such feelings existing in Fort Vancouver, the reader will not be astonished at the reception of two ladies who could interest and command the esteem and respect of the savage, the mountain hunter, and the Hudson’s Bay Company fur trader. They came among them expecting nothing but rough treatment; any little mistakes were overlooked or treated as a jest. They know no distinction in classes; they were polite to the servant and the master; their society was agreeable and refining; not the least insult in word, or look, or act, was ever given them by any white man; their courage had been tested in the trip they had performed; their conversation and accomplishments surprised and delighted those permitted to enjoy their acquaintance, and, as Mr. Hines, in his history of the Oregon mission, says, “these were the first American women that ever crossed the Rocky Mountains, and their arrival formed an epoch in the history of Oregon.”

Our mission party, with Captain Pambrun, his two boats loaded, two-thirds of the goods for the mission, on their way up the Columbia River, arrived all safe at the Dalles. Gray took a decided stand in favor of the first location at that point, on account of its accessibility, and the general inclination of all the Indians in the country to gather at those salmon fisheries; Spalding and Pambrun opposed; Whitman was undecided; Pambrun would not wait to give time to explore, nor assist in getting horses for the Doctor and Gray to look at the country in view of a location. On we go; make the portages at La Chute; reach John Day’s River; Pambrun leaves boats in charge of Whitman and Gray, and goes to Wallawalla on horseback. In four days’ hard pulling, towing, and sailing, we reach Wallawalla all safe; find cattle and horses all improving, and every thing in order, that is, as good order as could be expected; boats discharged, goods all carefully stored. Next morning, early, a fine band of Cayuse horses came into the fort; four fine ones were selected and saddled, an extra pack animal with traveling case and kitchen furniture, tent for camping, and provisions all ready, a servant with two Indians, all mounted, off we go up the Wallawalla River about twenty-five miles. Most of the land we passed over we pronounced barren, and good for nothing except grazing cattle, sheep, and horses. In the bends of the river, saw a few acres of land that might be cultivated if arrangements could be made to irrigate. Passed the Tuchet, but did not consider its appearance justified much delay to examine it closely, though the whole bottom was covered with a heavy coat of tall rye grass; went on into the forks of the Wallawalla and Mill Creek (as it is now called), pitched our tent at the place where Whitman’s station was afterward built, got our suppers. Whitman and Gray took a look around the place, went into the bends in the river, looked at the cotton-wood trees, the little streams of water, and all about till dark; came back to camp; not much said. Mr. Pambrun explained the quality of the soil, and what would produce corn, what potatoes, and what would produce (as he thought) wheat, though he had not tried it thoroughly; or, rather, he had tried it on a small scale and failed. A few Cayuses came about camp at night. Next morning up early; breakfast over, some fine fresh Cayuse horses were brought up, ready to mount. We proceeded through the valley in several directions; rode all day and returned to camp at night, stopping occasionally to pull up a weed or a bush, to examine the quality of the soil.

At night, if an artist could have been present and taken a picture of the group and the expressions of countenance, it certainly would have been interesting: Spalding, Whitman, Pambrun, and Gray discussing the quality of the soil, the future prospects of a mission, and of the natives it was contemplated to gather around. No white settlement was then thought of. They unanimously concluded that there was but a limited amount of land susceptible of cultivation, estimated at the place for the station at about ten acres. Along all the streams and at the foot of the Blue Mountains, there might be found little patches of from half an acre to six acres of land suitable to cultivate for the use of the natives. This, to say the least, was not an overestimate of the qualities of the soil that has proved, by twenty-five years’ cultivation without manure, to be richer to-day than soils of a different character with all the manuring they have received. The great objection and most discouraging indication to the party was the unlimited amount of caustic alkali found all over those plains and all through the valley. This fact alone proves the soil inexhaustible. All it requires is sufficient water to wash from the surface the superabundant alkali that forms upon it. Any cereals adapted to alkaline soil may be cultivated to any extent in those valleys.

A stake was set to mark the place. Next day all returned to the fort, and soon the mission tents, horses, goods, and cattle were upon the ground and work commenced. The Indians, what few had not gone for buffalo, came to our camp and rendered all the assistance they were capable of in getting a house up and covered.

In a few days Spalding and Whitman started with the Nez PercÉs to look at their country, in view of a location among them, leaving Gray alone in charge of the building and goods, while they examined the country up the Clearwater River, and selected a location in a beautiful valley about two miles up the Lapwai Creek, and about twelve miles from Lewiston. Whitman returned to assist in erecting buildings at his station. Spalding started for Vancouver, to bring up the ladies. About the middle of November, Mrs. Whitman’s quarters were ready, and she came to occupy them. Spalding and Gray, with Mrs. Spalding, started for the Lapwai station; arrived about the 1st of December, 1836, and, with the assistance of the Indians, in about twenty days a house was up, and Mrs. Spalding occupied it.

It is due to those Indians to say that they labored freely and faithfully, and showed the best of feelings toward Mr. and Mrs. Spalding, paying good attention to instructions given them, and appeared quite anxious to learn all they could of their teachers. It is also due to truth to state that Mr. Spalding paid them liberally for their services when compared with the amount paid them by the Hudson’s Bay Company for the same service: say, for bringing a pine-log ten feet long and one foot in diameter from the Clearwater River to the station, it usually took about twelve Indians; for this service Mr. Spalding paid them about six inches of trail-rope tobacco each. This was about four times as much as the Hudson’s Bay Company paid. This fact soon created a little feeling of unfriendliness toward Mr. Spalding. Dr. Whitman managed to get along with less Indian labor, and was able, from his location, to procure stragglers or casual men to work for him for a time, to get supplies and clothing to help them on their way down to the Wallamet settlement.

Mr. Spalding and Dr. Whitman were located in their little cabins making arrangements to get in their gardens and spring crops, teaching the Indians by example, and on the Sabbath interpreting portions of the Bible to them, and giving them such religious instruction as they were capable of communicating with their imperfect knowledge of their language; Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Spalding teaching the children at their respective stations as much as was possible for them with their domestic duties to perform.

All things going on smoothly at the stations and all over the Indian country, it was thought advisable for Gray to visit Vancouver, procure the requisite spring supplies, and a suitable outfit for himself to explore the country, having in view further missionary locations, and return to the United States and procure assistance for the mission. Gray’s expedition, as contemplated then, would not be considered with present facilities a very light one. He started from Spalding’s station about the 22d of December, 1836. There had been about twenty inches of snow upon the ground, but it was concluded from the fine weather at the station that most of it had melted off. On reaching the forks of Clearwater (Lewiston), he learned from the Indians that the snow was too deep to go by land, sent his horses back to Spalding, got an Indian dug-out, started from Lewiston for Wallawalla with two Indians to pilot and paddle the canoe; reached the Paluce all safe; camped with the Indians; found them all friendly; that night came on bitter cold;—river full of floating ice; Indians concluded not safe to proceed further in canoe; procure horses and start down on the right bank of the river; travel all day; toward night, in passing over a high point, snow-storm came on, lost our trail; struck a caÑon, followed it down, found the river and camped in the snow, turned our horses into the tall grass and made the best of a snow-camp for the night. Next day start early; wallow through the snow and drifts and reach an Indian camp near the mouth of Snake River at night; leave horses; next morning get canoe, leave one Paluce Indian; Paluce chief and chief of band at Snake River in canoe; two Indians to paddle; pull down the river into the Columbia in the floating ice, and reach Wallawalla, December 26, 1836; Pambrun pays Indians what he thinks right: Paluce chief, for horses and services, one three-point Hudson’s Bay blanket, one check shirt, one knife, half a brace (three feet) trail-rope tobacco. Gray thought the price paid was very reasonable,—quite little enough for the labor, to say nothing of the risk and suffering from cold on the trip. The river all closed up; Indians did not reach their homes for eight days; no communication in any direction for ten days. About the tenth day Whitman sends orders down for goods to be shipped from Vancouver. About the 10th of January, 1837, Mr. Ermatinger arrived from Colville by boat, having made several portages over ice in reaching Wallawalla. Next day we start down the river; pass through and over several fields of ice; reach Vancouver about the 12th of January. Rev. J. Lee and Mr. Slacum had just left the fort as our party arrived. We have previously given an account of the subjects of special interest, and also of the weddings that occurred about this time at the fort.