Oregon Historical Quarterly/Volume 22/The Origin of the Name Oregon
THE QUARTERLY
of the
Oregon Historical Society
Copyright, 1921, by the Oregon Historical Society
The Quarterly disavows responsibility for the positions taken by contributors to its pages
THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON[1]
By T. C. Elliott.
Recent research establishes the fact that the name Oregon is a corruption or variation by Jonathan Carver of the name Ouragon or Ourigan, which was communicated to him by Major Robert Rogers, the English commandant of the frontier military and trading post at Mackinac,[2] Michigan, during the years (1766-67) of Captain Carver's journey to the upper valley of the Mississippi river and to lake Superior. The evidence in support of this assertion is contained in documents deposited in the Public Records Office at London, England, and now made the basis of this brief discussion. These documents serve to only increase the discredit already attached to the writings of Captain Carver, but the morals of that author do not suffer at all when compared with those of his fellow officer, Major Rogers. Neither of these men seem to have paid any heed to the biblical admonition "be sure your sin will find you out". There were many others with the same moral standards at that period in the world's history.
Connection of the name of Major Robert Rogers with Oregon history is new and entertaining, but a study of the career of that officer is not inspiring. He was born in November,
92 T. C. ELLIOTT
1731, in a pioneer cabin in northeastern Massachusetts, of sturdy and honest parentage, one of a numerous family which soon after removed to the Colony of New Hampshire; and near to where the capital city of Concord now stands the Rogers' homestead was literally hewn out of the forest. Twenty and more years of frontier experience in the region which was then a borderland between the French settlements to the north and the English settlements to the south developed for him a magnificent physique, courage absolutely without fear, and an almost superhuman knowledge of Indian customs and wood-craft, but at the same time, unfortunately, an illicit trade carried on in this borderland, by others and perhaps to some extent by him, seems to have aroused and educated some of the less noble instincts of his mind. He thus very naturally became an astute Indian fighter and the organizer and leader of the famous "Roger's Rangers" of the seven years French and Indian War in North America, during which his bravery in battle, his energy and endurance in the field and his skill in Indian warfare excited the wonder and admiration of his men and fellow officers and gained him a national reputation. Then followed thirty years of more or less continuous debauch- ery of both mind and body, when his audacity in dealings with superior officers and in seeking personal preferment and gain was astounding, and his duplicity, marital infidelity, and dis- loyalty to relatives, friends and country were disgusting. Dur- ing the War of the Revolution he first espoused the cause of the Colonies but was suspected of being a spy and escaped from confinement in Philadelphia about the time of the Dec- laration of Independence. Later he fell under suspicion while recruiting officer for the British in Canada and fled to Eng- land. The last fifteen years of his life were spent in obscurity and low living on an officer's half pay in London, where he died in May, 1795, and the place of his burial is today un- known. This brief summary is sufficient for the present purpose. 3
3 This estimate is based largely upon the research of Allan Kevins, editor of the Caxton Club Edition of Rogers' book entitled "Ponteach; Or The Savages of America."
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON 93
It is well to get clearly in mind the chronological sequence of Jonathan Carver's book and the documents referred to and reproduced herewith. Captain Carver's "Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America", which has had such a re- markable vogue in literature and contains our first known mention of the name OREGON, was published in London in the year 1778, from manuscript finally prepared just previous to publication but based upon "journals and charts" (to use Carver's own words) claimed to have been made during his journey to the West in 1766-67, and while at Mackinac, in the fall of 1767. A proposal or petition by Major Rogers to the King's Privy Council containing the name Ouragon bears date in August, 1765; and a similar proposal by Major Rogers containing the name Ourigan bears date in February, 1772. A petition by Captain Carver to the King's Privy Council, show- ing the original association of Carver with Major Rogers for the purpose of Western exploration, was acted upon in May, 1769; and a later petition by Captain Carver, which shows that the journals and charts aforesaid had been and then still were deposited with the Board of Trade, London, bears date in November, 1773. Not only did Major Rogers put into writing the name Ouragon during the year before he engaged Captain Carver to undertake a Western journey but none of the several petitions (as far as yet examined) by Captain Carver contain the name Oregon, although mentioning other localities he visited in the West.
Our special interest is in Major Rogers' knowledge of the geography of the interior parts of North America. His first visit to the Great I^akes was in the Fall of 1760. After the capture of Montreal in September of that year Gen. Jeffrey Amherst, then commanding the British forces in America, detailed him with about two hundred men to accept the sur- render of the various French military posts as far west as Mackinac in Michigan. This was a duty quite suited to him and it was performed with energy and dispatch, for he was back at headquarters in New York City on the 14th of Feb
94 T. C. ELLIOTT
ruary following. The French garrison at Mackinac had evacuated voluntarily and he returned from Detroit, traveling almost alone by the forest trails of Ohio to Pittsburg and from there across Pennsylvania to Philadelphia and New York.
While on his way out to Detroit an incident occurred which was of far reaching influence. The major and his men were proceeding along the southern shore of lake Erie and landed one day near the site of the present city of Cleveland. Some Indians appeared and demanded that he proceed no further until their chief arrived to talk to him. That chief turned out to be the famous Ponteac, who already had knowledge of the prowess of Major Rogers on the field of battle. They now met in council with due ceremonies, first that evening and again the next morning. Major Rogers was as calm and audacious before the council fire as he had been in the fighting line. Ponteac listened to the reasons for his presence and decided not to oppose the transfer of authority over the country from French to English. Later when at Detroit the tricolor of France was lowered and the cross of Saint George raised in its stead not only did the garrison of French soldiers out- number those under Major Rogers but the assembled Indians were numerous enough to overwhelm both ; and Ponteac was there to hold them in restraint.
Major Rogers again visited the West in the summer of 1763 with the detachment sent by General Amherst to put down the general uprising of that year. The fort at Mackinac was captured by the Indians that summer by a clever ruse; Francis Parkman has graphically described the events of the year in his volumes entitled "The Conspiracy of Ponteac" and makes prominent mention of Rogers. He was not in command of the expedition but acted rather as its guide, with twenty picked men under him. The route was familiar because the same he had traveled in 1760. By quiet and swift advances the boats reached the fort at Detroit in the early morning of July 28th before the Indians were aware of it and carried relief to Colonel Gladwyn and the garrison there. That success
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON 95
turned the heads of some of the British officers and an attack on the Indian camp was undertaken with great disaster. Major Rogers did gallant service in assisting to rescue a part of those who took part in the battle of Bloody Run. When the Indians began to retire from Detroit in the Fall Col. Gladwyn reduced the numbers of his garrison and, in November, Major Rogers journeyed to Niagara. 4 In January he returned to New York and retired from active service. During this year he had fallen under the special displeasure of Sir William Johnson, Supt. of Indian Affairs in America, because of rather open activity in the Indian trade while an army officer, a misde- meanor he had been suspected of in years previous. The major's private affairs were in bad condition ; he was deeply in debt and an appetite for drink and gaming added to other troubles. His nominal home was at Portsmouth, N. H., where he had married.
After a year of vicarious living, with creditors continually at his elbows. Major Rogers determined to retrieve his fortunes by political means and we find him in England in the spring of 1765. He was welcomed in London very cordially. Many of his former army associates were there to show him atten- tions. His military exploits were deservedly well known and during the popularity of the hour his moral lapses were over- looked. He boldly sought a position which it would have been impossible for him to have received through the regular chan- nels of appointment in America, and political influence was strong enough to command it. One method of his application was the proposal of August, 1765, which is reproduced here- with. The main request of that proposal was ignored but the king's minister sent his name to Gen. Gage with instructions that he be appointed governor commandant at the important frontier post of Mackinac.
It is this proposal which contains the name Ouragon. In it Major Rogers distinctly says that the name came to him from the Indians and it has already been indicated when that might have been possible. In 1760 his stay at Detroit and vicinity
4 Allan Nerins says Rogers' companions on this journey were two Mohawk Indians. See Ponttack, p. 91.
96 T. C. ELLIOTT
was brief but seemingly well used. He was on cordial relations with chief Ponteac, and, according to the record, 5 had many interviews with that famous warrior. They even discussed matters of empire together. At the same time opportunity was open to him to talk with traders and voyageurs who had been going into the country beyond the great lakes for many years; Frenchmen of course, or French-Canadians, for the English had not yet been in that field. In 1763 came similar opportunities, and that year he was suspected of being directly interested in certain transactions of trade at Niagara. That was the year of the Treaty of Paris by which France ceded to England all of Louisiana East of the Mississippi river, and this field for adventure no doubt was alluring to a man like Major Rogers. His active service thus far had been in New England, New York and Canada, and during 1761-2 in the south campaigning against the Cherokees.
During his stay in London, and doubtless to urge his appoint- ment, two books were published there with the. name of Major Robert Rogers on the title pages. One of these was the "Journals" of his military service from 1755 to 1763 ; the other was a treatise entitled "A Concise Account of North America" and descriptive of the colonies from Newfoundland to the Floridas and of the newly acquired districts in the interior. Just when and where Robert Rogers acquired an ability in writing is unknown, and in fact the preparation of these books has by some been attributed to one Potter, who acted in a secretarial capacity for him at times. These books were well timed as to publication, were creditable in style and contents, and were welcomed by the public and praised by the press. "A Concise Account" contains many interesting and accurate observations of those parts of North America he had personally traveled over but is in parts a compilation from books already printed. Neither of these books contains any mention of the name Ouragon or Ourigan. In fact in "A Concise Account," at page 152, the closing paragraph of a brief chapter on The Interior Country reads as follows: "The principal rivers of
'5 According to Nevins in Ponteach, p. 86.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON 97
North America are, St. Lawrence, communicating with the sea at the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; the Mississippi, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico, and the Christineaux, which dis- charges itself into Hudson's Bay. There are great numbers of smaller note, that join these in their courses from the heights of the country to the seas." In the introduction the author plainly states that his information about the more western country was derived from the Indians. He himself up to that time had not been further west than Detroit and in later years never went further than Mackinac. Another book entitled "Ponteach ; or the Savages of America," published anonymously in the winter of 1766 after Major Rogers had returned to America, was evidently inspired if not actually written by him. It is in the form of a drama and contains nothing of interest to this discussion.
The position of governor commandant at Mackinac did not free Major Rogers from his debts and bad habits but rather increased both. He paid little attention to the regulations laid down by his superiors, General Gage and Supt. Johnson, and administered the affairs of the Post arbitrarily and extrava- gantly. He sent agents into the West without authority and engaged personally in the Indian trade. He was suspected of planning an uprising of the Indians and of negotiations with the French at New Orleans and St. Louis. In December he was arrested by orders from Gen. Gage and the following May was taken to Montreal for trial, which in December resulted in acquittal from the technical charges but suspension from the office. Failure in America to obtain restitution took him to London again, in July, 1769. He was for a time again received there with favor and was able to secure payment of expense and salary drafts which had been dishonored in America. This money satisfied only some of his most greedy creditors and he served a term in the Fleet street debtors prison; and political influence soon deserted him. Although remaining in London until the growing troubles in the colonies lured him back to America he was able to secure no positive
98 T. C. ELLIOTT
recognition. Jonathan Carver had come to London before him and the one assisted the other in appeals for financial aid and opportunity to return to the field of western trade and adventure, but Carver was an amateur as compared with Rogers. The second proposals or petitions of both, which are herewith reproduced, are incidents of those years.
As governor commandant at Mackinac from August, 1766 to December, 1767, Major Rogers had abundant opportunity to inquire of Indians and voyageurs and' traders about the country toward the Rocky mountains and beyond, and perhaps this accounts for the more intelligent details of the route outlined to be traveled by the expedition he, in 1772, proposed to lead to the Pacific ocean, as given in his second proposal. In 1765 he had intended to portage directly from the Minne- sota river into the Ouragon and evidently believed the upper Missouri was the Ouragon flowing westward from a source in Minnesota. But by 1772 he had learned that the Missouri must be ascended to its source before reaching the Ouragon. Here is early geographical data that has not before come to our attention; an outline of the outward journey by Lewis and Clark in 1805 and of part of the instructions by the British ministry to Captain James Cook in 1776. The existence of a Northwest Passage was naturally a subject for discussion among army officers in America as well as by officials and ship owners in England, and Major Rogers' proposal in a way only reflects that common topic of conjecture and con- versation. But, to his credit be it said, his "proposal" discloses knowledge of the transcontinental route which antedates that contained in any book or document or shown on any map prior to that date or for many years afterward.
In his first proposal Major Rogers states that he had em- ployed Indians, at his own expense, to follow the various streams to their outlets in the Pacific and the Northern ocean. That assertion must be dismissed as being merely in keeping with the character and needs of the man who made it, and as neither the whole truth or nothing but the truth. It is much
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON 99
more reasonable to suppose that he gathered his data directly from French traders or habitants at Detroit or Niagara, or in- directly through the Mohawk Indians of New York, with whom he was intimate. It will be remembered that the Mo- hawks and allied tribes were friendly to the English in the French and Indian War; and that these tribes were members of the great Iroquoian family which sent so many trappers and canoemen into the fur trade in the west.
Major Rogers, in 1765, said that the Indians called the then mythical river flowing into the always mythical Straits of Anian the Ouragon ; and his later spelling (in 1772) is probably merely a careless reiteration of the same name. Granting that tale to be true does not mean that this was a name current among the Rocky mountain or the Plains tribes, or those of Minnesota. It might rather have been a name applied by the Mohawks, or some other of the Iroquoian tribes of New York or Canada. 6 With them it would not have been a name currently used, but one mentioned only in response to inquiry, or by some retired canoeman or trapper ; and might have been a French name. The French had been going into the Mississippi valley and to the region of lake Winnipeg and its tributary streams for many years prior to 1760: They were the fore- runners of exploration and trade in those regions, and the Iroquois who accompanied them necessarily heard and used words of the French tongue.
In the application of place names it was the custom of Indians to use a name descriptive of some physical feature of a stream, or of the locality through which it flowed, and the same custom prevailed among the French. When the French bestowed a name they did so either in honor of some saint in their religious calendar, or by some descriptive word. Every state in the Old Northwest and in Old Oregon contains many instances of such nomenclature. The name Ouragon is prac- tically the same as Ouragan, a word to be found in any French dictionary meaning windstorm, hurricane or tornado. The River of the West was, in 1765 et circa, supposed to rise in
6 Classed by ethnologists as renr intelligent Indian* and whose dialect would have permitted the pronunciation of this name.
100 T. C. ELLIOTT
western Minnesota and to flow westward through Dakota and Montana, where blizzards in winter and tornadoes in summer are still known to prevail. And we may carry the analogy still further. It is a meteorological fact that what is known in Oregon as the Chinook Wind does at times exert a remark- able influence even in Montana and Dakota. The River of the West was flowing into the region from which that re- markable wind came and hence called, by some Indians or Frenchmen, the Ouragon. 7 This seems to be the origin of the name OREGON. The map makers of those years did not get hold of the name. It was obscure.
As to Jonathan Carver's dependence upon Robert Rogers there are proofs in abundance but the discussion of that re- lationship will more properly be in connection with another document which discloses the plans of Major Rogers for his agents in the west. As to the name OREGON however atten- tion is called to the brief endorsement at the end of the second of the documents herewith reproduced; "Lent the two plans to Capt. Carver 15 Feb. 1775." It is thus revealed that Carver had these two proposals to draw from when completing his book and his map. 8
7 It would be much more picturesque to suggest that Ponteac told Rogers the name in November-December, 1760; and that is possible though not probable. Also see Or. Hist. Quar., Vol. 21, pp. 351 and 354.
8 On Carver's map the name is spelled Origan.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON 101
FIRST PROPOSAL
From Public Record Office, Colonials Off., Class 323, Vol. 18, p. 327.
A Proposal 1 by Robert Rogers Esq. formerly Major Com- mand! of His Majesty's Rangers in North America, founded on his Observations and Experience, during the Space of Eight Years in the least known parts of that great Continent. Humbly Submitted to the Wisdom of the Kings most Excellent Majesty and his Ministers. Major Rogers was originally brought into the Service from the Knowledge he was presumed to have of the Country, his Capacity for making Discoverys, his Strength of Constitution in undergoing Fatigues, his willingness to Execute any Orders he received from his Superiors, and his Talent for Conciliating the Friendships of the Indians ; in all which he Distinguished himself, through the Course of Eight Years with the Approba- tion of the several Officers, who had the Honour to Command His Majestys Troops in those parts, from whom he has not the least Doubt that he shall be able to obtain the fullest Testimonies of his Character and Capacity for the Executing of all that he has the Honour to propose, for the benefit and Advantage of the British Interests in that Wide-Spread Empire, which the Glorious Successes of the late War, added to His Majesty's Dominions, and the Title to which, has been Settled and Confirmed by the peace.
Major Rogers thinks it his Duty to Represent, that he has been very attentive to, and prosecuted, with the utmost as- siduity, every Inquiry in his power, in reference to the real Existance of a North-West passage ; 2 In Consequence of which, he has obtained a Moral certainty, that such a passage there really is. For this purpose he Employed at his own Expence certain Indians to Explore the distant Rivers & their Outletts, either into the pacific or the Northern Ocean; and in regard to the latter, he has received such Lights as he thinks cannot possibly deceive him. In a true Confidence of which he is
i The disposition of this petition is indicated by the third paragraph of the second petition, immediately following.
a In 1745 the British Parliament offered a prixe of twenty thousand pounds to any private navigator who would sail his veel through a North- West Passage into Hudson's Bay. The offer did not include a land discovery. In 1776 the act was amended to include any ship of the royal navy.
102 T. C. ELLIOTT
willing with 200 Men under proper Officers (a List of which Officers, he has ready to be presented when required) to Un- dertake a March for the Discovery of it, which tho' of great Length and Difficulty, will be not a little Facilitated and Shortened by the help of Indian Guides, & having Water Carriage a great part of the way, & by the carrying either of Bark Canoes from one River to another, or felling Trees on the Banks & making fresh Canoes where it shall be found Necessary.
The Rout Major Rogers proposes to take, is from the Great Lakes towards the Head of the Mississippi, and from thence to the River called by the Indians Ouragon, which flows into a Bay that projects North-Eastwardly into the (Country?) [multilated] from the Pacific Ocean, and there to Explore the said Bay and it's Outletts, and also the Western Margin of the Continent to such a Northern Latitude as shall be thought necessary.
Should this Design be patronized, Major Rogers thinks it would be Expedient and absolutely necessary, to Subserve this proposal, that he should be Appointed Governor Commandant of His Majesty's Garrison of Michlimakana and its Depend- ancies on the Great Lakes, & that he has a Deputy-Governor Commandant who is well acquainted with the Manners of the Indians, to remain constantly at the said Garrison, on whose Diligence, Steadiness and Integrity he can rely, and from whom at his Setting out, & while on his Journey, as well as at his Return, he may depend upon receiving what Assistance shall be requisite; And that the General Commanding in Chief 3 in North America, & Sir William Johnson 4 have Orders to give him their Assistance in their respective Departments as Occasion may require.
The proposal thus Encouraged, notwithstanding the Length & the Fatigues of such a Journey by Land, Major Rogers will undeitake to perfect the whole, in about Three Years, and Transmit to Great Britain an Authentic Account whether there is, or is not, such a passage, which in either Case he apprehends
3 At that time Gen. Thomas Gage, with headquarters in New York.
4 The Superintendent of Indian Affairs in America, residing near Albany at what became known as Johnson Hall.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON 103
would be of great Utility, in as much as it would for the future, put an End to Repeated, Hazardous and Expensive attempts for the Discovery by Sea. Oh the other hand, if there be, as (he repeats it) he is confident there is, such a passage in the Latitude of 50 Degrees North, where it communicates with the pacific, but much further where it joins the Atlantic or Northern Ocean, it may and indeed must prove of inexpressible Benefit to this Nation by Establishing a Communication with Japan, and perhaps with nearer and hitherto unknown Rich Counties in the East, where both British and American Com- modities might fetch large prices, and a New and Valuable Commerce be Opened and Secured to His Majesty's Subjects, which has been long wished for, and often attempted, but has never hitherto been Effected.
Major Rogers has Spent many years in the Service of his King and Country, in which he has been Exposed to the greatest Fatigue, and to a continual Series of Dangers, received several Wounds, been exposed to the worst Consequences of Expensive Law Suits, merely on Account of the Service, by which he has been reduced, and indeed Ruined in his private Fortune, without any other Reward than the Slender Sub- sistance arising from a Captains Half pay though he has a Commission, and is Intitled to the Rank of Major from April 1758.
He therefore humbly presumes, if his past Services are con- sidered, the Hardships he has endured, his present Situation : his Expensive Voyage from America hither in order to obtain Redress & the proposals he now makes for Entring into a fresh (course?) [nearly worn away] of Difficulties and Fatigues for the purpose of rendring fresh Services to the Crown & Kingdom, his proposal will be candidly Examined; And upon such Examination, he doubts not to produce such Authentic Vouchers as may Entitle him to His Majesty's pro- tection, and the Favour of the present Administration.
104
T. C. ELLIOTT
AN ESTIMATE OF THE EXPENSE THAT WILL ATTEND THE PRO- POSED MARCH IN QUEST OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE, VIZ.:
" S
Major Rogers, Captain Commandant of the Proposed Company with such Rank in the Army as His Majesty shall be pleased to give him from his being a Major of his Rangers since April 6th, 1758
4 Second Captains . . .
s
.. .at 10
d
. . per diem is
4 First Lieutenants . . .
. . .at 4'
8 Do
4 Second Do
...at 4'
8 Do
1 Ensign . . .
... at 3 '
8 Do
1 Adjutant
... at 3 '
8 Do
1 Quarter Master . . .
... at 3 '
.. Do
1 Surgeon
...at 4'
8Do
3 Surgeons Mates . . .
...at 3'
.. Do
1 Chaplain
...at 4'
.. Do
8 Serjeants
...at 2'
6 Do
200 orivate Men .
..at 2'
. Do
O
"18" 8 "18" 8 " 3" 8 3" 8 3" .. 4" 8 9".. 4".. 1 20 ' . . " .
Daily Expense .... 26 " 5 " 4
Annual Do 587 " 6 " 8
For 3 years Service 28,762 ".."..
To be added 800 Steel Traps for Catching] Beaver and other Game for the use of theS Detachment at 10/6 J
420"
For purchasing Cloathing, Wampum & other]
Boons to gain the Friendship of the Indians 1- 3,000 " thro' whose Country s we must pass J
Total Expense 32,182 "
Exclusive of Ammunition & provisions.
One year of the Company's Subsistance to] be Advanced to Equip themselves with proper [ Necessarys for their March, the Remainder off their Subsistance to be paid at their Return.]
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON 105
Cash likewise to be Advanced for purchas-) ing the 800 Steel Traps. J
Money also to be Advanced for purchas-l ing Wampum and other Necessarys as above}- Expressed.
The Men will take their own Arms with them, so that the [Government will be at no Expense for them, but an Ar- mourer to keep them in Repair.
[Endorsed] PLANT S GEN'L.
A proposal by Robert Rogers Esq., formerly Major Com- mandant of Mis Majesty's Rangers in North America, for the discovery of a North- West Passage.
Reed. August 12) Read Sept. 6 J1765 Copied from the original Read & Corrected S. May Osier.
106 T. C. ELLIOTT
SECOND PROPOSAL
From Public Record Office, Colonial Offices, Class 323, Vol. 27, p. 143.
To the King's most excellent Majesty in Council
The Petition of Major Robert Rogers, most humbly sheweth:
That in the Month of September 1765, Your Majesty's Peti- tioner preferred a Proposal to the Board of Trade and Planta- tion, for an Atempt by land to discover a navigable Passage by the North-West, From the Atlantic, into the great Pacific Ocean.
That the great national Advantages which might result to Comerce and Navigation, from that Discovery, proposed to be atempted across the great Continent of North-America, were submitted to Your Majesty, by Representation from their Lordships the then Comissioners of Trade &c.
That Your Majesty by Order in Council of the second of October 1765, was pleased to refer the said Proposal and Representation, to their Lordships of the Comittee of Your Privy Council, who, on the third of October 1765 were pleased to postpone the Consideration thereof.
That Your Majesty's Petitioner, has since been employed in an important Comand in the Midst of the interior Parts of the great Continent of North-America, in which through his Official Intercourse with the numerous savage Nations and through divers Persons who had served as provincial Officers during the last War, and were especially ordered out to ex- plore remoter Parts of the Country ; he collected a great Fund of additional Intelligence, tending to assure, evince, and al- most positively establish the Existence of a navigable Passage by the North-West, from the Atlantic, into the great Pacific Ocean, and that the Discovery is only practicable by Land.
That from the vast Distances to which the interior Country has been explored since the proposal of the Year 1765; from the Extension of Setlement, from comercial Intercourse, and Alliances with the remoter Tribes of Indians, and the Peace
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON 107
and Harmony generally prevailing among them Your Majesty's Petitioner is convinced that a smaller Number of Adventurers, than that at First proposed for this Enterprize, will provide against the Contingent of Mortality: and that therefore the Expence of his First Proposal, may be reduced to a very moderate Sum.
Wherefore ; and because the probable Permanency of Peace, renders it unlikely that the Petitioner should have any sudden Recall into that Walk of Service, in which his Former Efforts against Your Majesty's Enemies, were neither unsuccessful, nor are he hopes Forgotten : He most humbly, from an ardent Desire to be usefully employed, beseeches Your Majesty to order; that the Consideration of that great national Object be now resumed, and that Your Majesty's Petitioner may be directed forthwith to atempt by Land the Discovery of a navigable Passage by the North- West from the atlantic into the great Pacific Ocean, according to the following Route and Estimate.
Route for Major Robert Rogers, in the Proposed Atempt by Land, across the great Continent of North-America, to discover a navigable Passage by the North-West, from the atlantic, into the great Pacific Ocean.
It is meant to begin early in the Spring to engage the Ad- venturers who are to associate for the Undertaking: In the Fit Choice of these, the Proposer's Experience, as former Commandant of Rangers, will prove an unerring Direction: They are to assemble at the intended Rendezvous of Schenect- ady, in or about the Middle of the Month of May ; at which Place Batteaux, Ammunition, and every Species of Implement for the undertaking, will have been previously collected. In Order to it, the proper Officer of the Board of Ordnance, and the Deputy to the Quartermaster general in North-America should be directed to answer the Proposer's Demands in their respective Departments.
Here it is proposed to embark, on the Mohawk River, and to stem that Stream to Fort Stanwix : From that Place to follow the Wood Creek to the Lake of Oneida, and to pass that Lake :
108 T. C. ELLIOTT
To follow the Onondago River to Oswego upon Ontario Lake : and to coast the South Shore of that Lake to the Post of Niagara. To pass the Portage of the great Falls of that Name, and to enter the (river issuing?) [obliterated] from Lake Erie: To stem that River and to follow the Northern Shore of Lake Erie up to the River of Detroit : To cross the small Lake of Saint Clair, into the River Huron; to stem this River up to the Lake of that Name, and to coast the western Shore of that Lake to the Strait and Post of Michilimakinak : To cross the north End of Lake Michigan, to the Green Bay, where formerly was the Post of La Baye : To enter the Sakis River, to stem it to the carrying Place, and to cross that to the River Ouiscongens : To pursue the Course of this River to the Junction with the Mississippi, and to work-up against the Stream of that great River to the Fall of Saint Antoine, where it is proposed to arrive about the Middle of the Month of September, and to pass the First Winter.
Here the Men will be employed in Housing for the Winter, in trapping Beaver for present Consumption ; in gathering wild Rice; and in curing Buffalo and Venison, against the B'reak- ing-up in the ensuing Spring, and their Subsistence onward.
From the Falls of Saint Antoine it is proposed to depart in the Month of April of the second Year: to enter the River Saint Pierre, 1 and to stem that to the Source in about the forty fourth Degree of Latitude: To cross a twenty Mile Portage into a Branch of the Misouri, and to stem that north- westerly to the Source: To cross thence a Portage of about thirty Miles, into the great River Ourigan : to follow this great River, through a vast, and most populos Tract of Indian Country to the Straits of Anian, and the Gulf or Bay project- ing thence north-easterly into the Continent and there to pass the second Winter.
Here an Intercourse of Traffic will be opened with the Indians, to procure every necessary Article of Subsistence. A Stock of Cod-Fish, and other Victualling will be cured, & a Purchase of Boats or Craft, peculiar to these Parts will be completed.
i Now the Minnesota river. Its source is at about 45 45' and a portage directly west to the Missouri river would be about 150 miles..
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON 109
Early in the Spring the Adventurers will proceed to explore every Inlet, Nook, or Bay, from the Straits of Anian to Hud- son's Bay, between which it is expected to find the navigable Passage, or Communication in Question.
The Proposer is induced to verge along the western Coast of the Continent, and to trace the Straits of Anian, and the Bay or Gulf projecting thence toward Hudson's Bay, the better to avoid an Exposure to the intolerable Rigor of the Winds, which on the Coast of Hudson's Bay, blow almost incessantly from the Pole. But the Point being established and the great national Purpose of the Expedition accomplished ; it will be- come necessary to consult on the Expediency or Practicability of dividing the Party, and leaving the greater Number to winter at the Hudson's Bay Entrance of the Passage; to be ready the ensuing Season to navigate, or pilot through the Ship or Vessel, which may be dispatched to pass through into the great pacific Ocean since such a Measure if practicable (would doubtless prove most?) [obliterated] elegible and satisfactory: But if an untoward, or hostile Temper in the Savages there, or an Impossibility of subsisting during the Winter in these inhospitable Latitudes should render the Return of the whole Party, the only Alternative, it is urged, and may be insisted upon, that Accuracy in Observation, and perfect Exactitude in delineating the requisite Charts or Maps, will fully answer the End, and every Purpose, although it should prove in some Degree less satisfactory.
The Temperature of the Weather, and the almost constant Direction of the Winds on the western Coast of North-America, from the pacific Ocean, will render it most elegible to return north-westerly between the Islands of Japan, and the Pole, through that great Archipelago which bounds the Sea (hereto- fore supposed a Continent) between America and Kamtchatka the north-east Point of Asia; to return through Siberia, Russia, &ca: &ca: to Great Britain.
London llth February 1772
ROBERT ROGERS, Major
110
T. C. ELLIOTT
Estimate for the Atempt proposed by Land across the great Continent of North America, to discover a navigable Passage by the North- West, from the Atlantic into the great pacific Ocean, by Major Robert Rogers. For himself as Director and Conductor in the En- terprise 3 '
For an intelligent Associate 1 5'
For a second ditto 1 5'
For two Draftsmen 15s each 1 10 '
For one skillfull Surgeon 10 '
For fifty common Hunters 4s each 10 '
daily Charge, Sterling 17 " 10 "
The Time required will be three Years and a litle more, from the Outlet till the Return to Great Britain, and the Contingency requiring present Allowance, is for Presents of all Sorts to distribute to the many savage Nations; through which the Party is obliged to pass progressively
onward Sterling 4,000 "
London 11: February 1772.
ROBERT ROGERS. Major.
[Endorsed] Petition of Major Robt. Rogers Praying that the Consideration of his Scheme for an At- tempt by Land to Discover a Navigable Passage by the North West from the Atlantic to the Great Pacifick Ocean may be now resumed &c. &c. Re. llth Febry 1772
17th Do Refd. to a Committee 25th Do Read at the Committee and Refd. to the Board of Trade, lent the two Plans to Capt. Carver 15 Feb. 1775 Copied from the Original Read and Corrected. S. May Osier.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON 111
CARVER'S FIRST PETITION
From P. R. O. Colonial Office, Class 323, Vol. 28, p. 153. To the Kings most Excellent Majesty in Council
The Petition of Captain Jonathan Carver, late Commander of a Company of Provincial Troops of Massachusets Bay in New England Most humbly Sheweth,
That Your Majestys Petitioner having had such Command as aforesaid and having from his Service therein gained some knowledge of the Indian Languages and Customs, and of part of the Interior and unfrequented parts of America was in the Month of May 1766 applied to at Boston in America by Captain Robert Rogers late Commandant of Michillimackinac, who alledged he had Instructions 1 and was armed with all proper power and Authority from Your Majesty to employ able and fit persons to explore the interior and unknown Tracts of the Continent of America at the back of Your Majestys Colonies, and to Inspect the same and make Observations Sur- veys and Draughts thereof, And the said Captain Rogers to Induce Your petitioner to undertake so hazardous an Employ, assured your said Petitioner that he should be provided with fit persons to Assist him therein, who should have every neces- sary provided for them at the Expence of Government, and be properly rewarded for such Service in so dangerous and hazardous an Undertaking, and that Your Majestys said peti- tioner should have all Incidental Expences whatsoever de- frayed, And also eight Shillings a Day for such his Service; until his Return from such Expedition to his own Residence in New England, and Captain Rogers also promised and En- gaged that the Journals plans & other Discoveries to be made by your said petitioner should not be required of him 'till the Terms and Conditions aforesaid were fully satisfied and paid to your said petitioner.
That Captain Rogers at the Time he so applied to your
i Major Rogers had no such instructions. There is no mention here of any search for the North-West Passage.
112 T. C. ELLIOTT
petitioner being just returned from Great Britain, and bearing Your Majesty s Commission, your petitioner reposed an Entire Confidence in such his pretended power and Authority, and engaged himself with proper assistance to undertake the Ex- pedition, and the Time fixed for your petitioners departure being very short, and your said petitioner having every thing to provide would not permit your petitioner to apply to General Gage, but your petitioner had the honor to Represent the En- gagement, to his Excellency Governor Bernard 2 for his opinion and has a Letter from his Excellency on the Subject now in his Custody.
That your petitioner set forward with proper Assistance on such his Employment the first day of May 1766, on this most dangerous fatiguing and Expensive Service, and was absent for near two years and an half 3 during which time your peti- tioner Explored to the Westward of Michillimackinac on the Heads of the Great River Mississippi and west from thence almost to the South Sea 4 and on the West and North of the great Lakes on that Continent, and the Disbursements your petitioner was Directed to make to facilitate his Progress amongst such a variety of Savage Nations of Indians which were very heavy, will be the entire Ruin of your said petitioner without your Majestys most Gracious Interposition in his favour
That your petitioner hath made several Discoveries which he Imagines will be of great publick Use, which are Com- prized in his Journals and Charts taken on the Spot none of which have been hitherto published or Discovered to any person
That upon your petitioners Return from his Travels to Michillimackinac, he found, to his great Astonishment Captain Rogers confined, 5 charged with being a Traitor to his King and Country
That your petitioner finding himself by his misplaced Con- fidence deceived by Captain Rogers represented the Engage- ments he had made with him, and the Fatigues he had under-
2 At that time governor of the colony of Massachusetts BPV.
3 Captain Carver left Boston in May, 1766: arrived at Maekinac in August. 1766: left there for the West Sept. 6, 1766: returned the last of Aujrust. 1767; remained at Mackinac until May or June, 1768; reached Boston again in August, 1768.
4 The extreme western point reached by Cant. Carver was probably about fortv miles Northwest of Minneapolis on the Mississippi river. The Pacific ocean was then often re_ferred to as the South Sea.
5 This is a direct misrepresentation. Maior Rogers was not T>1?<-H -nrlpr arrest at Mackinac until December, 1767. and Captain Carver was free to consult with him during three months of that Fall.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OREGON 113
gone in Consequence, to the officers of the Garrison, and afterwards to General Gage, and Governor Bernard, and was Examined by them respectively, and had the honor of their promises to use their Endeavours to serve your petitioner, to whose Reports your petitioner humbly begs leave to refer, and also to his own Journals and Plans, ready to be produced to Your Majesty, which Your petitioner humbly hopes may be of great publick Utility.
Your petitioner therefore most humbly prays your Majesty to take this hard Case into Your Royal Consideration for such his Services, and the great Expences he has been put to in this very perilous undertaking. Your petitioner submitting not only to be examined as Your Majesty shall direct but to produce all his Journals plans and Charts of the several Discoveries he has made
And Your Majestys petitioner shall ever pray &ca.
JONATHAN CARVER* Copied and compared by Henry John Brown.
CARVER'S OTHER PETITION
From P. R. O. Colonial Office, Class 5, Vol. 115, p. 17. Most Gracious Sovereign
With the Deepest Humility, I most Humbly beg leave to prostrate myself at Your Majestys Feet, and pray that my unhappy case, set forth in my Memorial Humbly Delivered to Your Majesty the Eleaventh of August, May at this time, so far meet with Your Royal indulgence, as not to be thought to Trespass too far on Your Royal Goodness. Dread Sire, permit me, Most Humbly to assure Your Majesty, That, Tho I Ex- perience in many Respects, the utmost Distress that want can produce, Yet it can hardly equal, the Pain I feel in Giving so much inquietude to the Royal Repose; Yet Necessity, and
6 This petition was referred to a committee of the Council on Mar jrd, 1769. and by that committee on June aist to the Board of Trade for consideration and report, and reported back by them NOT. 20. 1760. Capt. Carver sailed from Massa- chusetts for England on Feb. aand, 1769. Major Rogers arrived in England in June or July, 1769.
114 T. C. ELLIOTT
I trust some Degree of merit in me, and the Royal Goodness so Frequently Distinguished in instances of the like Kind, Gives me Hope, That my services in the Army, Together with my more Recent Travels into the interiour Countrys of America, Newly Subjected to Your Majesty, and taking Plans and Journals of the same, may in some Measure plead in favour of this importunity, That a Proposed Publication of my Plans and Journals During their Novelty, did so far attract the attention of the Public, That Numerous Subscriptions were Opened for that Purpose, Rather Promising great advantages to the Author, But as I Humbly Conceived it my Duty first to make a Tender of my services to my Most Gracious Sovereign, Esteeming it my Greatest Happiness to be His Servant, And to be intitled to Your Royal Bounty, as by order of Your Majesty in Council Dated at St. James' 29th of November 1769, When my Plans and Journals (acquired by Hardships and Dangers of every Kind, and that only, with the utmost Resolution and Perseverence) were ordered to be Deposited in the office of the Right Honorable Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, That by advice of my Friends, in Particular Sr. John Pringle Bart, I have made Application to The Right Honorable The Earl of Dartmouth for leave to pursue my Discoveries, or that I might be appointed as Super- intendent among those Remote Nations of Indians which ap- peared to me, That the interest of the Public Stood in Need of ; That I most Humbly Beg leave to add that the utmost of my wishes do not Exceed the smallest allowance, or Some Temporary Relief until I can, Or may be, Honoured with some Employment in Your Majesty's Service, which I should Esteem, the greatest Happiness all which I most Humbly Submit, To My most Gracious and Most Mercifull Sovereign Lord The King, who I wish may Live for ever Which is, and Shall be Ever, the Constant Prayer of the Most Loyal and Faithfull Subject,
JONATHAN CARVER. Storys Gate Coffee House Gt. George Street Westminster
November 4th, 1773.
Addressed To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty Endorsed Petition of
Jonathan Carver to
The King.
Copied and compared by Henry John Brown.