United States. His allegiance was always that of a British subject. Jason Lee was of English descent. His parents were born in the United States but settled at Stanstead, Canada, and made it their home several years prior to his birth. He was born at Stanstead in 1803 and that was his home until 1834, when he came to Oregon. For a number of years he worked in the pineries in the north of Canada. In 1826 he was "converted" and joined the Wesleyan Church of Canada. In 1827 he entered the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Massachusetts. After attending that Academy for a time, he returned to his home at Stanstead, where he stayed for several years, first teaching school and afterwards becoming a preacher of the Wesleyan Church of Canada. For several years he had desired to be a missionary among the Indians and in 1832 or 1833 offered his services as a missionary to the Indians of Canada to the Wesleyan Missionary Society of London. In 1833, while waiting a reply to his application, he was offered the appointment by the New England Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of "Missionary to the Flathead Indians," and was admitted as a member of the latter Conference. In the spring of 1834 he started for Oregon, which, during the rest of his life, was jointly occupied by citizens of the United States and subjects of Great Britain under the Conventions between these countries. The political status of a resident of Oregon then remained as it was when he arrived in Oregon. It could not be changed there during joint-occupancy. He died at Lake Memphrema

gog in Canada, March 2, 1845. His body was buried at Stanstead. These facts I have obtained mostly from Dr. Hines' Missionary History of the Pacific Northwest, and I have verified them from other reliable sources.

Rev. Daniel Lee was also born in Canada. Up to the time of his return to the Eastern States in 1843, he had not become a citizen of the United States. As the rest of his life was spent as a Methodist minister in the United States, he probably became a citizen of the latter country. Rev. Daniel Lee, I believe, took no part in, nor did he encourage, or sympathize with any action against Dr. McLoughlin.

Joseph Holman (not a relative of mine) was born in England, August 20, 1815. In 1833 he went to Canada where he lived for several years. About 1836 or 1837 he went to Ohio and later went to Illinois. In 1839 he started for Oregon. He arrived at Fort Vancouver June 1, 1840, the same day the Lausanne arrived there. In 1840 or 1841 he became connected with the Methodist Mission. Shortly after his arrival he took up a land claim a mile square near the present city of Salem. A person could not become a citizen of the United States until he had resided therein for at least five years. So he could not become such a citizen in the East for he had not resided in the United States more than three years when he started for Oregon in 1839. It was in Oregon, after the United States Courts were established in 1849, that Joseph Holman first made application to become a citizen of the United States and became one. As Jason Lee

and Daniel Lee took up the land on which the Methodist Mission was situated and they were British subjects, their rights as land claimants were the same as those of Dr. McLoughlin. The Mission, as such, had no legal status to acquire land prior to the Act of 1848 organizing Oregon Territory. The land claim of Joseph Holman had the same status as that of Dr. McLoughlin - just as good, but no better.

Abernethy Island.

I have spoken of this settlement with Waller, in 1844, in order to treat separately of the taking of Abernethy Island from Dr. McLoughlin. The land controlling the water-power on the west side of the falls of the Willamette River was not taken nor claimed by any one until after the year 1841. It is on the west side where the water-power of the falls is now mostly used. It could have been had for the taking at the time Abernethy Island was "jumped." Dr. McLoughlin's land claim was on the east side of the river. As I have said, Felix Hathaway, in the employment of the Mission, in 1841 began to build a house on Abernethy Island, but after Dr. McLoughlin's remonstrance to Waller, the building operations on the island ceased at that time. Dr. McLoughlin erected a small house on the island. In 1841 the Oregon Milling Company was formed. Almost all of its members belonged to the Methodist Mission. Hathaway conveyed all his right and title to the island to the Oregon Milling Company, a part of the consideration to be paid by a Committee of the Oregon

Milling Company in behalf of that Company. Rev. A. F. Waller is the one first named, of the Committee, in the deed. This deed is recorded at page 52 of Book 2, Record of Deeds of Clackamas County. This record shows the date of the deed as November 23, 1852. This is evidently an error of the copyist, as to the year. It doubtless was 1842, for Hathaway, by the deed, conveyed all his "right and title to the island on which said Company are now constructing mills," etc. This is a very religious deed. Hathaway in this conveyance covenanted to warrant and defend the island against all persons "(the Lord excepted)."

Among the cargo of the Lausanne, which all belonged to the Methodist Mission, was machinery for flour-mills and for saw-mills. The Methodist Mission established both a saw-mill and a grist-mill, run by water-power, near Chemekete (now Salem). These were in operation in 1841. These mills were much nearer the Willamette settlements than Oregon City was. In the Fall of 1842 the Oregon Milling Company had erected a saw-mill on the island, intending to follow it with the erection of a flour-mill. It will be noted that there were then no courts in Oregon, for the Provisional Government was not organized until 1843. Dr. McLoughlin and the Hudson's Bay Company were not under the jurisdiction of the Provisional Government until 1845. In the fall of 1842 Dr. McLoughlin became satisfied that it was the intention of some of the Methodist missionaries to take his land and to deprive him of his water rights. To save his interests he forthwith built a

saw-mill on the river bank near the island, and gave notice that he would erect a flour-mill in a short time.

The Shortess Petition.

The enemies of Dr. McLoughlin then determined to send a petition to Congress. It is said that this petition was drawn by George Abernethy, who then, as steward of the Mission, kept its store at Oregon City, and had charge of all its secular affairs, but that Abernethy was unwilling to have it known that he was connected with the petition, so it was copied by a clerk, named Albert E. Wilson. Abernethy wished to appear friendly to Dr. McLoughlin; to act otherwise might hurt the Mission and Abernethy in his business.39 The first signature to this petition was that of Robert Shortess, who arrived in the Willamette Valley in April, 1840. He joined the Methodist Church about 1841. He was then intense in his dislike of the Hudson's Bay Company and its officers. From the fact that he was the first signer, this petition is known as the "Shortess petition." It was signed by sixty-five persons. Of these about one-third were immigrants of 1842, who had been in the country less than six months. This petition is addressed to Congress. It is dated March 25, 1843. It begins with a short statement that the petitioners have no laws to govern them. That "where the highest court of appeal is the rifle, safety in life and property cannot be depended on." Until these

39 Vol. 1, p. 207, History of Oregon, Bancroft's Works; Vol. 1, p. 243, Elwood Evans's History of the Pacific Northwest. See also Document H.