turbed in the possession of the land he would "burn the finest building in Oregon," which was thought to mean that he would set fire to the fort. Finding that the young men would not yield, and irritated beyond measure, McLoughlin then declared if Williamson, who seems to have been regarded as the principal in the case, persisted in building there, he should be obliged to use force in preventing him; but offered, if he would choose a location somewhere else, away from any of the company's posts, to assist him in establishing himself; saying, as a reason for desiring his removal, that it was necessary to good order and discipline that their servants should be isolated from the settlements. Williamson, however, disclaimed any responsibility for the conduct of the company's servants, or any desire to influence them; and asserted his ability to get on without the assistance offered him, as well as his right, as an American citizen, to settle upon any unoccupied land in Oregon. Upon this, Chief Factor Douglas, justice of the peace under the Canadian laws, threatened to place him in irons and send him to York factory for trial; whereupon Williamson retorted, "You will have to send me farther north than Hudson Bay to place me beyond the reach of the United States government"[1] — with which challenge the interview terminated.[2]
Immediately after, McLoughlin and Douglas addressed a circular to the citizens of Oregon, in which they recited the case of Williamson, and stated their position. The settlement was made at Vancouver under a license and a treaty which gave them the right to occupy as much land as they required for the operation of their business. They had opened roads, and made other improvements at great expense; no
- ↑ Minto's Early Days, MS., 28-9.
- ↑ White says he had a private interview with Williamson and Alderman, 'which resulted in a suspension of hostilities for the present.' Official report, in Ten Years in Or., 252. I think he did all he could to preserve the peace in these threatening times. In his anxiety he wrote to the secretary of war that too great a portion of the population came from the western states 'for one moment's safety in our present condition.' Concise View, MS., 53.
