Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 13.djvu/109

OREGON PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT 101 laws affecting- Indian trade and the intercourse of white men and Indians." In 1840 another petition was sent to Congress, setting forth the condition of affairs, and calling the attention of Congress to their condition as an infant colony, without military force and civil institutions to protect their lives and property and chil- dren. It ends as follows : "We respectfully ask for the civil institutions of the Ameri- can Republic. We pray for the high privilege of American citizenship, the peaceful enjoyment of life, the right of acquir- ing, possessing and using property, and the unrestrained pur- suit of rational happiness." Another petition to Congress, dated March 25, 1843, was signed by a number of settlers in the Willamette Valley. The prayer of the petition is as follows : "And now your memorialists pray your honorable body, that immediate action of Congress be taken in regard to their country, and good and wholesome laws be enacted for our territory, as may, in your wisdom, be thought best for the good of the American citizens residing here." Of course, Congress could take no action in this matter, par- ticularly, for the reason that the convention for joint-occupancy was in force, and this convention, by its terms, could not be terminated without at least one year's notice from one country to the other. These petitions, however, show that as early as 1838, the idea of some form of government was in the minds of the American settlers in Oregon. Ewing Young, in February, 1841, had become the most prosperous American settler in Oregon. He was a man of great force of character, who had lived in Mexico and Cali- fornia and on the American frontier for a number of years be- fore coming to Oregon. He died on February 15, 1841, and was buried February 17, on which occasion many of the American settlers were present. It became known that he had left no will, and, so far as known, he had no heirs. On February 15, a meeting was organized by electing Rev. Jason Lee chairman, but no record can be found of this meet- ing. February 17, another meeting was called, and Rev. Gus-