The white American population, as far as I have been able to judge of them, are orderly, and generally industrious; although they are, with the exception of the missionaries, men who have led, for the most part, dissolute lives.
{312} The absence of spirits, as long as it continues, will probably secure them from excesses. Very much to their credit, they have abandoned the use of spirituous liquors, by consent of the whole community.
I cannot but view this Territory as peculiarly liable to the vice of drunkenness. The ease with which the wants of man are obtained, the little labour required, and consequent opportunities for idleness, will render it so. The settlers of the Willamette valley have, with a praiseworthy spirit, engaged to prevent the establishment of distilleries, and there are, as yet, no places where spirits can be bought (to my knowledge) in the Territory.
It is highly creditable to the Hudson’s Bay Company, that on a vessel arriving on the coast with some spirits on board, in order to prevent its introduction, they have purchased the whole cargo, while, at the same time, their storehouses were filled with rum. They have, with praiseworthy zeal, interdicted its being an article of trade, being well satisfied that it is contrary to their interest, and demoralizing in its effects on all the tribes and people with whom they have to deal, rendering them difficult to manage, quarrelsome among themselves, {313} and preventing their success in hunting. Endeavours have likewise been made by the officers of the Company to induce the Russians, on their side, to adopt this example, and do away with it as an article of trade, but hitherto without success.[113] This no doubt has been one of the causes affecting the decrease of tribes, as it was formerly almost the only article of trade.
In the event of the territory being taken possession of, the necessity of circumscribing the use and sale of spirits cannot be too strongly insisted upon by legal enactment, both to preserve order and avoid expense.
As far as the Indians have come under my notice, they are an inoffensive race, except those in the northern parts. The depredations committed on the whites may be traced to injuries received, or arise from superstitious motives.
Missionaries.—Little has yet been effected by them in christianizing the natives. They are principally engaged in the cultivation of the mission farms, and in the care of their own stock, in order to obtain flocks and herds for themselves, most of them having selected lands. As far as my personal observations went, in the part of the {314} country where the missionaries reside, there are very few Indians to engage their attention; and they seemed more occupied with the settlement of the country and in agricultural pursuits than in missionary labours.
When there, I made particular inquiries whether laws were necessary for their protection, and I feel fully satisfied that they require none at present, besides the moral code it is their duty to inculcate.
The Catholic portion of the settlement, who form a large majority, are kept under good control by their priest, who is disposed to act in unison with the other missionaries in the proper punishment of all bad conduct.
I cannot close this report without doing justice to the officers of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s service for their kind and gentlemanly treatment to us while in the territory, and bearing testimony that, during all my intercourse, and in their dealings with others, they seemed to be guided by one rule of conduct highly creditable to them, not only as business men, but gentlemen.