LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
366
the land of Indians.
It
did not take long for the struggle to
become one of extermination on both
sides.
The Federal
offi-
cials, in attempting to protect the innocent Indians, aroused
some of the settlers, and further animosity was produced by the lack of harmony between the United States officer in command of the Federal troops, General John E. Wool, and the territorial officials of Oregon and Washington. the ire of
The
territorial
governments raised volunteer forces to fight
the Indians and issued script to pay them. The whole affair came before Congress in
the
form of
requests for appropriations to cover these expenses. The discussion brought out the lack of cooperation between the local
and Federal authorities, and Congress was inclined to allow some weight to the statements of General Wool that the whole thing was nothing less than a crusade on the part of the whites to rid the country of the Indians: wrote, in one dispatch, "say that
war
is
"Oregonians," he a God-send to the
37 country." Congress did, however, pass a measure authorizing a commission to investigate the whole affair. At the next
session
(1856-7) the Committee on Military Affairs of the to be discharged from further consideration of
House asked
which was framed to pay the award of the commisIn spite of the efforts of Lane the sum recommended by the commission was cut down materially. Two years later, after the report of a special commissioner who had been sent to Oregon, the claim was allowed, and Oregon claimants rethe
bill
sion.
ceived $424,000 while those in Washington got $229,000. 38 This amount was not considered by Oregonians as sufficient
and the desire
to secure
of the factors which
an additional appropriation was one
made them work
for statehood.
The
great distance between the Mississippi valley and the Pacific Coast and the dangers attending the journey to Oregon
continued to come up in Congress in one form or another. of mounted riflemen, which had been authorized
The regiment
37 Globe, XXXIII, 1135. Part of the troubles had been 38 H. Ex. Doc. No. 37, 34th Cong., 36! Ses. to ,a failure of the Senate to ratify the treaties negotiated by the Indian See Fillmore's message, 6 Dec., 1852, Richardson, Messages, Superintendent.
due
V, 178,
