as to induce him to promise them an increase of wages, while my son complained of them so much that he said, as his time was out, unless he had abler assistants, he would leave the service. The short and the long of the affair is thisthese fellows wanted to impose on my son, to which he would not submit. They, finding they could not make him bend, conspired and murdered him. "My son John was intelligent, active-had the faults of youth, was inconsiderate and thoughtless-at least had been so, but this was wearing away. At the same time he had the good qualities and virtues of youth-though I say it. He was frank, open, firm—but kind and generous.” The father here breaks off from his painful subject, to refer to a pleasanter topic. I infer that all that the Russians did in consequence of the affair was to prohibit the selling or giving spirits to Indians. One can hardly read the father's letter without feeling that his conclusions were probably just and accurate; yet, at this day when flogging has gone so very much out of fashion, some will no doubt be disposed to think that poor John the younger's mode of enforcing necessary discipline contributed largely to bring about his tragic end. All will, however, join in the hope that murder and other crime will not hereafter go unpunished on the Stickeen or the regions round about, now being fast flooded with all sorts of characters from all quarters of the earth. A letter from another officer of the H. B. Co. Mr. Jno. Todd, dated 1 Sept., '42, touches upon this same tragedy: "I was lately appointed in consequence of Manson's removal to Stickeen on the coast, where I regret to say a most tragical event occurred in April last, the particulars of which will no doubt eventually reach you thru' the public press. In the affidavits taken on the occasion it is stated that on the night of the 21st of that month Mr. John McLoughlin (eldest son of the Big Doctor), was shot at by the whole of his men, including a young clerk, and a ball taking effect in his body he fell mortally wounded and died shortly after. The knight, Sir George, arriving there in the steamer immediately after, thought proper to carry the ring leader of the affair along with him to Russia for the purpose of sending him thence a prisoner to England without even a single witness or document relative to the occurrence. He wrote also to the Doctor requesting him to say as little about the matter as possible, which so incensed the latter that he instantly dispatched a vessel to Stickeen for the express purpose of carrying the whole establishment prisoners to England in order to be brought to trial. He has also written a thundering epistle to their honours at home, concerning Sir George, ripping up old grievances and exposing the knight's conduct throughout, particularly his actions since the coalition. Yet behold how inconsistent men are. This very doctor only the year before gives £50 as a contribution for plate to the same Sir George Simpson whom he is now endeavoring to prove the greatest scoundrel in the H. Bay Co.'s territories, from facts, too, with which he was previously well acquainted." Another officer also mentions the same subject, namely, Archibald McDonald, writing from Colville March 15, 1843: "Edward, we are all unfortunate parents. Instance, the awful shock of mind our old friend the Dr. lately experienced from the irregular and inveterate habits of his unhappy son John, after spending $2000 on his education in foreign lands, too." "Manson is again on the Coast. Last Summer the Worshipful Bench furnished him with a commission to inquire, or rather re-inquire, into the unfortunate affair of young McLoughlin at Stikine, which it was supposed Sir George on his trip for Siberia left incomplete. Work writes me our learned deputy has made a sweeping business of it-upon very slight evidence made every white man at the establishment, 13 in number, prisoners. I fear we have got ourselves into a bobble and that it will turn out we are more au fait in our humble occupation of Indian traders than as the dispensary of Her Majesty's criminal law." The following letters were found among the correspondence of Hon. James W. Nesmith, United States Senator from Oregon from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1867, secured by the Oregon Historical Society several years ago. The first, from General Ingalls, gives the viewpoint of an able office of the United States army in 1864 regarding the necessity for constructing a good wagon road up the Columbia river—an enterprise which is now well under way, the expense of construction being defrayed by the counties through which it passes: Headquarters Dist. of Oregon. My Dear General: Fort Vancouver, W. T., June 11, 1861. Before this reaches you, events of the greatest magnitude will doubtless have taken place in the Eastern states, but I trust that our national Capitol will be in repose, and that the Congress of the United States may be undisturbed in their deliberations for the welfare of the Union. I need scarcely say, that I am for the preservation of this glorious Union; it must be preserved intact; not a single star shall fall from that brilliant galaxy-I have prayed that this difficulty might be settled peacefully, but if all the efforts of true patriots North and South fail to accomplish that desirable end, it must be crushed. Let those men, both North and South, who have been instrumental in bringing about this terrible state of affairs, be driven from their country, as unworthy citizens of the Republic. I have no sectional prejudices; I love the whole country, North, South, East and West, and will fight to preserve this Union. I have no sympathy with any man, no matter from what section he may come, who is not for the Union, now and forever, one and indivisible. I have served nearly thirty-nine years in the army, and whether battling with the savage foes in the far West, or deadly hummocks of Florida, or contending with the hosts of Mexico on many a well-fought and always victorious field, I have always turned with affection to my native land, and offered up a heartfelt prayer for the Union-God grant that this struggle may soon cease, and that peace may be restored, *Donated by Mrs. Harriet L. McArthur, daughter of Senator Nesmith. and our glorious banner, with its thirty-four stars, proudly wave on every housetop from Maine to Texas, and from the Atlantic to our own loved Pacific shore. The entire people in this country are for the Union. There may be some diversity of opinion as to the best mode of settling the difficulty, but all agree that it must be preserved. If we, of the army, remain in this country, it is not probable that we shall be called upon for very active service. But seeing so many of their brother officers who happen to be in the East, promoted to high rank, it begins to arouse the spirit of the young military aspirants for distinction. I was made a Colonel on the bloody field of Molino Sept. 8, 1847, but it was only a Brevet until March, 1855. But I have not rested very tranquil, under certain Brevets of my juniors, over me, and I shall not do so. Had I hailed from south of Mason and Dixon's line, I might have obtained a Brevet in 1858; but unfortunately, I was born in the frozen regions of the North. I cannot, however, now consent to be brought into active service without advancement; not that I could for a moment abandon my flag or country in this, her hour of peril, but I would prefer fighting in the ranks, to occupying a position without looking forward to preferment. With great regard, very truly your friend, Gen. Nesmith, U. S. Senate, Washington, D. C. G. WRIGHT. General George Wright was born in Vermont in 1803 and graduated from West Point in 1822. During the next nine years he served on the then Western frontier, largely among the Indians. In 1831 he was sent to Louisiana, remaining until 1836, when he took part in the Florida Indian war. He served with distinction in the Mexican war, and in 1852 came to the Pacific coast as a major in the Fifth infantry. He won great praise for his vigorous and effective campaign against the Indians of eastern Washington in 1858, and in 1860 succeeded General William S. Harney in the command of the Military District of Oregon. In September, 1861, he was promoted to a brigadier general, and soon afterwards was ordered to relieve General Edwin V. Sumner at San Francisco. In 1865 he was transferred to Oregon, and on his way thither, with his wife, to assume command, was lost at sea by the wreck of the ill-fated steamer Brother Jonathan, off the southern Oregon coast on July 31, 1865. Headquarters Army of the Potomac, Camp near Brandy Station, Hon. J. W. Nesmith, March 23, 1864. Sir: U. S. Senator, Washington. Having served as quartermaster on the Columbia river at (Fort) Vancouver for many years, and having had to supply the troops at the Cascades, Forts Dalles and Walla Walla, and to fit out and supply many military expeditions against the Indians east of the Cascades, I have always felt deeply impressed with the necessity of having a good wagon road from Vancouver to The Dalles, probably passing the Cascade Mountains on the Oregon side of the Columbia. There are many cogent reasons for such a road aside from those of economy. In 1849 and 1850 the troops east of the Cascades were supplied by means of bateaus manned by Indians. It was necessary to send provisions, forage, hospital and ordnance supplies up the river 50 miles, then to make a difficult, laborious and expensive portage of four or five miles at the Cascades, and then to reship and forward by boats to The Dalles. These supplies had to be sent before the cold and rough weather of winter. Frequently in winter season, navigation is interrupted below the Cascades, when there can be no communication with the now populous and important country east without great risk. I have known all communications with The Dalles to be cut off for weeks by extreme cold weather. If a good wagon road were constructed, it would be used the year through to great advantage. I do not know what the rates of freight and passengers now are from Portland and Vancouver to The Dalles, but in 1858 and 1859 freight was $25 per ton and passage of horse or man, $10. When the Columbia river is closed by ice, of course there is no communication at all, as no practicable wagon road has ever |