THE OREGON QUESTION 1818-1828 197
the Missouri to the Columbia, both rivers "equally smooth, deep and certain." Thus are "two great oceans separated by a single portage of two hundred miles. 8 The practicability of a speedy, safe and easy communication with the Pacific is no longer a matter of doubt or con- jecture."
The report closes the examination of four more topics, the last three of which come to us with a decided his- toric flavor: (1) Timber and stock resources; (2) whal- ing; (3) the Russian settlement and expansion; (4) the value of the Indian trade. These with the two preced- ing the Columbia as an outlet to the Pacific commerce and the fur trade Floyd offers as the Six Reasons why the United States should assert their right to the Oregon River country. 9
"Your committee are well persuaded that by a little care and expense the citizens of this Republic might reap all the benefits of [the Russian] trade, not only profitable now but from every view of the subject there is a strong probability that it will increase for many years.
"Were an establishment made at the mouth of the Columbia River which should be allowed to take with them their women and children there can be no doubt of success, as so many years' experience of the English fur companies has amply shown this mode has the most pow- erful effect of separating the minds of the men from pursuits which often in frontier countries lead to strife, as it gives them a local interest and feeling and makes them even more vigilant and prudent in the discharge of all their duties. It is believed that population could easily be obtained from China by which the arts of peace would at once acquire strength and influence and make visible to the aborigines the manner in which their wants could be supplied . . ."
The closing paragraph is likewise worth quoting: "Under the strongest belief that by a new organization of the system of Indian trade comprehending a settle- ment on the Columbia River great benefits would result to the citizens of the Republic, whilst the aborigines
8 Ibid., p. 954.
9 Ibid., pp. 956-957.
