When Mrs. Victor returned to Portland she found that in her absence J. Quinn Thornton had challenged the veracity of The River of the West in an extremely long review in the Pacific Christian Advocate. He charged her among other things with having an inveterate prejudice against Methodist preachers in general and Methodist missionaries in particular.[1] Her reply in the Pacific Christian Advocate was prompt and uncompromising, and includes her earliest statement so far discovered in print about her historical methods.
... my course has been from the first, in gathering the material for my book, one of impartial hearing of all sides; ... I . . . sought information from far and wide, of all classes and denominations alike; . . . I felt that I had shaken together and sifted the beliefs of all Oregon in writing my book ... while I gave Mr. Meek's mountain stories as he furnished them to me, as the exponent of a class of men and style of living now passing away, and while I do not doubt the truth of them myself, leave them to the judgment of the public as the tales of a well known mountain man,—I claim something more than that for the historical sketches interwoven with the adventures. Having access to old files of papers—all the books previously written about the country and its history—private papers and public documents, it would be strange if, with a disposition to write the truth without fear and without favor, I had not arrived at some thing approximating to it.[2]
Mrs. Victor then left for her first trip to the Puget Sound country, going overland by stage—a long, light, open wagon with three wide seats—from Monticello to Olympia. Here she finally was able to examine Elwood Evans' superlative collection of material relating to the Pacific Coast—all the published works on the region and carefully preserved files of manuscripts and newspaper clippings. From Olympia she traveled down the Sound on the steamer Olympia which stopped at Seattle, Port Madison, and Port Ludlow. Then she enjoyed several delightful days in Victoria where the highlight of her visit was a meeting with Sir James Douglas to hear his reminiscences of early days in the Oregon Country.[3]
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