338 Stella M. Drumm failure of the Pacific Fur Company. Something of the lives of the leaders and a few of the men has been pub- lished, but there is much of interest left to be told. I have selected for comment four of these men, whose lives are of interest to most people. Two of them had unusually romantic and eventful lives. Another gave his name to two streams in the Oregon Country 6 and there, in the language of the old trappers "paid the debt of nature." Still another, though known simply as a guide and hunter, was evidently a man of substance and education. Russel Farnham An oil portrait of this Astorian is hanging in the museum of the Missouri Historical Society at St. Louis, and the label contains this legend : "Walked from Ore- gon to St. Petersburg, 1813-1814." Upon reading this statement one might well exclaim : "Remarkable, if true!" It has been questioned many times, of course, but any one referring to our local his- tories will find it verified. 7 They say that he walked from St. Louis to St. Petersburg. These accounts would be more nearly exact if they did not picture him as walk- ing across the frozen Straits. The truth about Farnham is stranger than fiction, and this fable detracts from, instead of adding to, his just fame. The occasion of this remarkable journey was the desire to avoid capture by the British and to convey im- portant dispatches, and possibly drafts, to Mr. Astor. 8 On November 12, 1813, the remaining partners at As- toria (Hunt being absent) sold out to the North West 6 John Day creek near the mouth of the Columbia, and the John Day river in Eastern Oregon. 7 Darby, John F. — Personal Recollections of Many Prominent People. St. Louis, 1880. . . Shepard, Elihu ft.— Early History of St. Louis and Missouri. St Louis, 1870. 8 Franchere, Gabriel— Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America. Redfield, 1854, pp. 369, 370.
