The paper throws many sidelights upon incidents and conditions existing in those early days and has the greatest value because of the prominence of the writer.
In a recent letter to me from Mr. Himes, he says:—
"The Diary of Hon. Samuel R. Thurston, beginning November 29, 1849, and ending on August 28, 1850, relating to his official duties in Washington, D. C, as Delegate in Congress from Oregon Territory, together with a large number of letters received by him, principally from his constituents, were secured from the daughters of Mr. A. W. Stowell, whose wife was a daughter of Mr. Thurston. Mr. and Mrs. Stowell died several years since.
"My acquaintance with Mr. Stowell began fully thirty years ago, but ho reference was ever made to the Thurston material until about 1903; then, learning that he had it in his custody, I urged him to give it to the Oregon Historical Society, which he promised to do in the near future. But he failed to do so during his lifetime. Then I took the matter up with his brother and through his influence with his nieces the material was finally secured. I have the diary partly copied. It ought to go into the Quarterly before long."
The rivalries and disputes between the Americans and the representatives of the Hudson's Bay Company and between the missionaries belonging to the several church organizations began in the late thirties, and are familiar to all students of Oregon history.
A large American Exploring Expedition visited and surveyed Puget Sound and lower Columbia River waters in 1840–41, with Lieut. Charles Wilkes at its head. Either he or one of his trusted lieutenants visited all the American settlements on both sides of the Cascade mountains and an exhaustive report of the expedition was later printed by the United States Government. Wilkes was in frequent consultation with the missionaries and the leading men among the settlers, and later became the object of most acrimonious criticisms, charging him with disloyalty to American interests and unwarranted friendship toward the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company.
