184 Fred Wilbur Powell
to correct the falsities in the various histories of Oregon hither- to in vogue ;" liberal space is given to the "troubles and tribu- lations" of the writer.
Kelley's final*® word was published in 1868 in Springfield, Massachusetts, under the title, A History Of The Settlement Of Oregon And Thfe Interior Of Upper California; and of persecutions and afflictions of forty years' continuance endured by the author. This is a pamphlet of 128 pages. In the preface Kelley thus set forth its purpose :
"This Book is an appeal to the justice and humanity of the Christian public for help to put an end to persecutions endured for more than forty years, as terrible as were ever known ; and to bring back to my bleeding bosom by beloved household, which more than fifteen years ago, were torn from it and carried away from me, by the merciless hands of bloody men ; and to bring back kindred and friends long ago turned from and against me.
"It has in view other objects : — to verify and illustrate the statements of the Petition now before Congress ; to correct the belied histories of the American and British domains beyond the Rocky Mountains — countries, which, until after the public announcement of my Oregon enterprise, were marked on maps, unknown; and to remove unreasonable prejudices, and the false perception which friends everywhere have of me, and the obstacles which enemies in all places have thrown in the path- way of my usefulness."
Over two years were spent in the preparation of this pam- phlet. The delay is easily accounted for when we consider that it was not written but dictated by a half-crazed man of nearly eighty, who was almost blind and suffering from malaria and the infirmities incident to age as well as hardship and priva- tion, and suffering too from his obsession that all his troubles and all the pranks of mischievous boys in the neighborhood were
1 8 In 1869 and 1870 Kelley prepared a series of eight letters addressed *'Be- loved Brethren." and designed as the appendix to his History of th€ Sfttlemtnt of Orsgon. These letters were not printed, however, because the printer declared that the manuscript was "incomprehensiole.*' Hence Kelley's statement: "The printing press everywhere in my state is turned against me.*' Letter to J. Q. Thomtoti, Oct 31. 1870.
