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'Doctor" Robert Newell: Pioneer. 113 man who has just come in and is standing across the floor there will fight on our side anyhow." The man was Willard H. E-ees, who was really very English looking in his personal appearance. Newell again accepted the wager and Mr. Pent- land was asked to go over and find out, and in answer to the inquiry Mr. Rees at once replied, "I fight under the stars and stripes." We get another glimpse of Dr. Newell when a member of the Legislative Committee in 1843 from Robert Shortess: The discussion was on the question of who should be deemed voters. Most of the committee were in favor of universal suf- frage, and, as Dr. Newell had a native wife, naturally sup- posed he would be quite as liberal as those who had full white families ; but the doctor gave us one of his ' ' stumpers, " or as he calls it, "big fir-tree speeches," by saying-. "Well, now, Mr. Speaker, I think we have got quite high enough among the dark clouds ; I do not believe we ought to go any higher. It is well enough to admit the English, the French, the Span- ish, and the half-breeds, but the Indian and the negro is a little too dark for me. I think we had better stop at the half- breeds. I am in favor of limiting the right to vote to them, and going no farther into the dark clouds to admit the negro. ' ' (See p. 343 of History of Oregon by Gray.) It may be remarked here that W, H. Gray did not like Dr. Newell and always speaks with disparagement of him, but that no person intelligent upon the subject of Oregon history will place much reliance upon any statement or opinion of Mr. Gray as against that of Mr. Applegate or Mr. Nesmith or other pioneers of the less cantankerous type. We are now the better able to refer to the spring of the year 1843, and particularly to May 2d of that year, when the people met on French Prairie and American sentiment first asserted itself in public action under the ringing call of Col. Joseph L. Meek: "Who's for a divide?" etc. It will be re- membered that Dr. Elijah White had arrived the preceding autumn with over one hundred immigrants and as an official agent of the United States Government had announced that