just laid out in the Willamette Valley the plan of a city to which he has given the name of Oregon, and with one accord the colonists, English, American and French, have offered him provisionally the government of all the Territory. He is aided in his duties by a chief factor, a Scotchman, Mr. James Douglas, a very intelligent young man, who is occupied more especially with the active and mercantile part of the business. Following some travels in California, Mr. Douglas, having, thoroughly understood all the advantages the Company would derive from an establishment in that province, founded a post there in 1841, at the same time that he had those located in the Sandwich Islands.
We arrived at Fort Van Couver on board one of the Company ships, coming from California and furnished with letters of recommendation and credit from Mr. William Rae, son-in-law of Doctor MacLoughlin, an agent of the Company at San Francisco. The Doctor received us cordially; but it must be said that Governor Sir George Simpson, who had been at the fort several days, was at first astonished at our appearance[1]
- ↑ "Among other unwelcome visitors here this year is a Frenchman named Eugene du Flot de Mofras, describing himself as an attache of the French Embassy at Mexico; he says he was directed by his government to make a tour through California, and to visit this river if possible; but we have only his word for the accuracy of his statements. This person, it appears, made application to Mr. Rae for passage on the Cowlitz to this place, which *I regret to say he very inconsiderately granted. His desire, I have reason to believe, was to have obtained passage through the interior to Canada; but I imagine the coolness of his reception here has prevented his making application for that passage, and as we cannot get rid of him in any other way, he returns to California in the Cowlitz as our fellow-passenger."—Letter of Sir George Simpson, November 25, 1841.
"The Cowlitz was reported to be off the bar; and soon afterwards her papers came up by boat from Fort George along with a passenger of the name of de Mofras, who represented himself, for he had no credentials, as an attache of the French embassy in Mexico. Though this gentleman professed to be collecting information for the purpose of making a book, yet, with the exception of accompanying us to the Willamette, he scarcely went ten miles from the comfortable quarters of Fort Vancouver, while in conversation he was more ready to dilate on his own equestrian feats than to hear what others might be able to tell him about the country or the people."—Simpson Journey, v. I, p. 245.
