odists advanced on the Company, other Americans turned jealous eyes on the Mission's widespread earthly claims. Rev. George Gary, who succeeded Jason Lee in charge of the Mission and who made the voyage from Hawaii to Oregon with Roberts, described the situation as he saw it in the spring of 1844:
The emigrants of 1843 brought with them a strong prejudice against the Mission as a powerful monopoly, especially in view of the number and location of sections of land to which it had already laid claim.[1] Also, they came with the purpose of riding over and breaking down the Mission. This jealousy and prejudice, on arriving here, was heightened by being cordially met, countenanced, and at last indirectly cooperated with on the part of leading and distinguished members of the Hudson Bay Company. 2nd. The Mission, or some of its prominent members, has had a controversy with Doct. McLaughlin in reference to a section of land at Williamette [sic] Falls. This controversy has arrayed community into parties, some for the Doct. and some for the Mission. In this state of affairs our claims in some places are being "jumped," as it is called. There can be but little doubt, if any, but that the public feeling will sustain the jumpers ...
Our title as a Mission to the claims of land, is, in my opinion, just good for nothing at all. Such is the state of public feeling in reference to the Mission having many sections of good land not occupying them themselves, and not suffering others to occupy them. A strong reaction is about meeting us, and the sooner we are freed from these land claims, the better, if I judge right ...[2]
- ↑ According to H. H. Bancroft's History of Oregon (San Francisco, 1886-88), I:416n, Daniel Waldo recalled that "Jason Lee played the devil up at the Dalles" when the 1843 immigrants reached that point. "He said the Mission had always ruled the country and if there were any persons in the immigration who did not like to be ruled by the Mission, they might find a country elsewhere to go to. It got all over the country, of course, very quickly. That made war with the missionaries at once. We came here pretty independent fellows, and did not ask many favors."
- ↑ "Diary of Rev. George Gary," edited by Charles H. Carey, Oregon Historical Quarterly, XXIV (March, 1923), 81, 97.
After selling the Mission farms, mills and other property to various missionaries, and generally getting it 'out of business,' Gary noted a "great and sudden change in the current of feeling in this community in reference to our mission, if I get the right idea. Under the former business managements, the prejudice of community was this mission was of a speculative and monopolizing character. Now as our business closes up and it is difficult to get mission drafts from us, we are ruining the country. . . . Almost everyone, or at least quite a proportion of those who have been in
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