74 CHARLES. B. MOORES
It was at that critical time in the history of Canada when Louis J. Papineau, a statesman and orator of wonderful elo- quence, was stirring the French population to resist the ag- gressions of their British rulers. Under the spell of Papineau's eloquence, and moved by a keen sense of the wrongs of the French, Matthieu, boy that he was, soon found himself en- rolled as a member, and an officer, of the "Sons of Liberty," organized for resistance to the constituted authorities.
The incipient rebellion was short-lived. Matthieu's brief career in Canada ended in 1838 when, with the assistance of Dr. Fraser, an uncle of Dr. John McLoughlin, he was enabled to cross the border and enter the United States under a forged passport. Reaching Albany, N. Y., he found employment as a clerk. Later he went to Milwaukee, and thence to St. Louis, where he found service with the American Fur Company. His employment carried him as a trader among the Sioux and the Dakotas. Returning to St. Louis he outfitted as a free trapper and in 1840 went to the Arkansas at Bent's Fort, where he encountered Kit Carson and George Bent, the trapper captain.
The following Winter and Spring were spent trapping in the Black Hills. This life, however, did not appeal to him, and early in the Summer of 1842, at Fort Laramie, the opportunity offered to join Captain Hastings' Company of over 100 emi- grants bound for Oregon, among whom were Dr. Elijah White, A. L. Lovejoy, Medorem Crawford, Sidney W. Moss and others who were afterwards prominent in Oregon pioneer his- tory. Mr. Matthieu's familiarity with the language and the peculiarities of the Sioux made him an invaluable member of this company. After varied experiences, the farm of Dr. Whit- man at Waiilatpu was reached and 15 days were there pleas- antly spent in his companionship. The trip over the Cascades, after this visit, was the most trying and difficult of the entire journey. Oregon City was reached about the 25th day of September, 1842.
Learning there that there was a settlement of French Canadians about 15 miles up the Willamette Valley, near Champoeg, Mr. Matthieu continued his journey to this his-
