States who were interested in the affairs of Oregon. It was not until the Lausanne had returned and Captain Spaulding had presented his report according to the representations made to him by the missionaries, that the 'Friends of Oregon' began to regard Lee's proposition as feasible. But where were they to find the man for their purpose? It was desirable that the prospective governor should be thoroughly familiar with Oregon affairs, and as such Lee himself would probably have been the first choice; but he was on the other side of the continent, and they wanted their candidate on the spot, in order that he might personally plead his cause with the government, and also that he might take direction of an emigrant scheme which they had in contemplation.
In January 1842 White, who had for a year past been living at his old home in Lansing, chanced to visit New York, and while there called on Fry and Farnham, owners of the Lausanne, to whom he was favorably known. Here was the very man the Friends of Oregon needed. In the consultation which followed, it was arranged that White should proceed at once to Washington. He shortly afterward set out, armed with introductory letters from persons of note to President Tyler, Webster, and Upsher. On reaching the capital, he was presented to Senator Linn of Missouri, J. C. Spencer, secretary of war, and other high officials who were interested in the Oregon Question, and disposed to remedy the evils complained of by the colonists by adopting Lee's suggestion to send out a person to act as governor and Indian agent, though they recognized the fact that the commissioning of such an official was, under the existing treaty with Great Britain, a matter of much delicacy.
The plan was only partially successful. After considerable discussion the government decided that as the United States made pretensions to the territory lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, they might venture to send a sub-Indian agent
