The tone of this communication, which argued in its own defense, before it was questioned, clearly shows that a negative answer was apprehended. Applegate, who had been made chairman of the commission on account, as much of his friendship for and high standing with the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company as his acknowl edged abilities and patriotism, was sufficiently well ac quainted with the internal conditions of the company not to be greatly disappointed at receiving the reply of the chief factor.
To Jesse Applegate, A. L. Lovejoy, and George L. Curry, Esquires:
GENTLEMEN : I have the honor of your communication of this date, and have given an attentive perusal to the documents accompanying it. With a deep feeling of the importance of the object which has procured me the honor of your present visit, and the necessity of the measures contemplated for the punishment of the Cay use Indians, and for the future protection of the country, I can on the present occasion only repeat the assurance verbally given in our conversation of yesterday, that I have no authority to grant loans or make any advances whatsoever on account of the Hudson's Bay Company, my orders on that point being so positive that I can not deviate from them without assuming a degree of responsibility which no circumstances could justify to my own mind. It is, how ever, within the spirit and letter of my instructions from the Hudson's Bay Company, to exert their whole power and influence in maintaining the peace of the country, and in protecting the white population from Indian outrage. The force equipped and dispatched at their sole expense, to Walla Walla, under the command of Mr. Ogden, immediately on receiving the intelligence of the disastrous event at Waiilatpu, is an earnest of our attention to the calls of humanity. The object of that expedition is, with the blessing of God, to prevent further aggression, to rescue the women and children who survived the massacre from the hands of the Indians, and to restore them to their afflicted friends.
Trusting that these objects may be successfully accomplished, I have the honor, etc.,
JAMES DOUGLAS, Chief Factor Hudson's Bay Company.
For this attitude of the Hudson's Bay Company the commissioners were not unprepared, and had already resolved upon their course of action. Governor Abernethy,
