Early Days Of Old Oregon

About this book

Twenty-three stories of the history of early Oregon plus an appendix: A Brief Summary Of The History Of The Old Oregon Country From Original Sources. OLD OREGON was a mighty sweep of country, and a most romantic one. From the northern border of Mexican California to near Sitka in Russian America it stretched, nearly eight hundred miles. Eastward it stretched over a country of mighty mountain … until the limits of the Oregon country, at the crest of the main range of the Rockies…. The romance ever lingers…. I have given four years of devoted study to Oregon history, three of them among the special collections of the Northwest, and over a year in London. In England I had full access to the documents of the Public Record Office, including unpublished accounts of the various explorations, and also, what was a far rarer privilege, access to the journals, diaries, and letters of the Hudson's Bay Company. Simple as this book is, every statement is based on original authority. Comment on the British and American claims to the country is founded entirely upon sources. These sources include journals written by fur-traders In the mountains and on the march, private letters between themselves, official reports of chief factors to their Company in London, diplomatic correspondence of American and English diplomats, and published works, in original editions, of exploration and discovery. It has been my aim to make this volume a clear, straightforward account of the romantic discovery and settlement of Old Oregon… (Author's Preface and david wales)