LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 31
necessities of each other; among whom obligations of small debts will be mutual, and not onerous. Of the politics of the people of Oregon, it may be said they are thoroughly demo- cratic ; but, although I doubt not every American was a warm party man at home, a separation from the scene of contest has had the effect to cool down his feelings on the subject; and, as he no longer has the privilege of a vote in national elections, the subject engrosses but little attention. Some individuals were named to me who had, while discussing the propriety of forming a provisional government, been disposed to advocate an entire independence of the United States; but as matters have resulted, they have almost to a man changed their opin- ions, and are 'now displaying more than ordinary patriotism and devotion to the stars and stripes.
Of the British subjects, who form but a fraction of the whole population, I can say but little, as in my intercourse with them national affairs were but little spoken of. Nearly every one of them is or has been in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, and entertains a becoming reverence for his coun- try ; but I heard many of the most respectable express the opin- ion that the resources of Oregon would be much more rapidly made available under the auspices of the United States gov- ernment than under that of Great Britain.
The next most prominent British subject to Dr. McLaughlin is Mr. James Douglass, a Scotchman of fine talents and char- acter. He has been on this side the mountains since 1825 or '26, and has gone through the probationary grades in the company's service, and now has the control, associated with Mr. Peter Skeen Ogden, of the whole business in Oregon and on the Northwest coast. He has a large family of quarter- breeds: a daughter of fifteen, with whose education and man- ners he has taken much pains, would compare, for beauty and accomplishments, with those of her age in any country. Mr. Ogden is senior to Mr. Douglass in the company's service ; he has been, until recently, the active agent in exploring the coun- try and establishing trading posts ; and although he is not with-
