Having, by the hardships and exposures of a lonely and long continued adventure of life, been deprived in a great degfree of the use of my eyes, my health broken down, and my constitu- tion shattered, I have, of course, since my return, found my exertions restricted and impaired, but by no means terminated. It is consoling to me, in the midst of poverty and suffering, to believe that my fellow-citizens and my country are at last beginning to appreciate the value of the objects and measures for which I have sacrificed my possessions, my health, and the best portion of my life. It is also a matter of congratu- lation to me that some of those whom my persuasion induced to emigrate to Oregon have there fotaid prosperous settle- ments, and are now asking Congress to accept them and pro- tect them as citizens ; and that I have, therefore, been instru- mental in planting the seed of American empire in a soil where it shall take root and spring up and flourish like the luxuriant productions there scattered by the bounty of nature.
I have the honor to be, dear sir, yours, with the highest con- sideration and respectHall J. Kelley.
Hon. Caleb Cushing. [61]
