Hall Jackson Kelley 209
his own system but Lancaster's ; in proposing the settlement of Oregon, he acknowledged his indebtedness to Jefferson ; in the movement for industrial educaticm, he was an advocate, not an originator; his plan for the form of government of Or^jon was based not on any ideas of his own, but on the laws estab- lishing the territory of Michigan; as a scientist he dabbled in many fields and made shrewd and more or less accurate ob- servations, but he originated nothing. His attempt to devise an improved system of land surveying was never carried far enough to entitled him to credit as an originator.
All agree that Kelley was a man with a distorted perspective, who was singularly out of touch with his fellows. To such men as Foster and Lovett, he was an easy victim; and to the sailors on the Dryade as well as the boys in Three Rivers he must have appeared as one who invited annoying attacks. Suf- fering arrest, entangled in frequent law suits, and losing prop- erty at every turn, he bltmdered his lonely way through life. He came into contact with many men of prcxninence, — Bul- f inch, Everett, Webster, Linn, Gushing, Lancaster, to mention only a few ; yet he seems to have had no real friends. Every- where he seems to have been regarded as a bore, even by those who sympathized with him. Wyeth's letters show that he lost respect for Kelley upon close contact, and his attitude at Fort Vancouver can be explained only by the fact that he was en- tirely out of patience with the man. Indeed, it is difficult to read Kdley's narrative of his long journey to Oregon without impatience. Why did he encumber himself with so much bag- g^age, — tracts, scarlet velvet sashes, combs, etc.? Why did he allow himself to be left alone in the wilds of Mexico on account of a lame mule and a load of worthless trinkets? His route from New Orleans to San Diego was marked with his be- longings, lost, abandoned, stolen, or given away ; and yet he arrived on the Columbia with enough baggage to worry about. Whenever he lost anything, whether it was the hind wheels of a wagon or a cane, the fact was duly set down and often with a statement of the amount in terms of money. These items he
