Willamette Cattle Company
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(historically named Wallamet, Willamet)
The Willamette Cattle Company was formed in 1837 by pioneers in the Willamette Valley of present day Oregon. The company was formed with the express purpose of purchasing cattle in California to bring to Oregon Country.
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[edit] Background
Prior to the activities of the Willamette Cattle Company, virtually all cattle in the region were owned by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC).[1] In order to perpetuate that lucrative monopoly the HBC only leased cattle, never selling the animals and all calves born would be owned by the HBC.[2] In order to circumvent that monopoly residents of the valley, including some former employees of the HBC, were drawn together by Lieutenant William A. Slacum.[1] Slacum had been sent west by President Andrew Jackson to inquire about the strategic and economic conditions in Oregon.[1] The lieutenant had arrived via the brig Loriot and became aware of the cattle situation amongst the pioneers.[1]
[edit] Agreement
A variety of settlers including missionaries such as Jason Lee on behalf of the Methodist Mission, former HBC employees, HBC employees, and American pioneers created a joint-stock company to travel via the Loriot to California and purchase as many heads of cattle as they could.[1][2] The articles of incorporation were signed on January 13, 1837[1] at Campment du Sable.[3] They would then drive the cattle overland north to the Willamette Valley and distribute the cattle proportional to the amount invested into the company by each investor.[1] The company would pay for all expenses of those journeying to Mexican held California and pay them $20 per month in wages.[1] American Ewing Young was selected as the leader of the company and in charge of going to California with Philip Leget Edwards as treasurer.[3]
[edit] Execution
On January 22, 1837 the Willamette Cattle Company employees set sail aboard the Loriot from Wappatoo Island on the Willamette River.[3] The group arrived first in San Francisco in March, but were told permission for the purchase of any cattle would need to be from the civil governor located in Santa Barbara.[3] Young then went overland and received permission to buy cattle, but only from the government. He then returned north and met the group in Monterrey on May 12, 1837. They then purchased 746 head of cattle at $3 per head that were to be picked up at two locations.[3] The group also purchased 40 horses at $12 each.[4] In June the enterprise had procured the cattle and started driving them north to Oregon Country.[3] On July 27 the group began traveling through the Sacramento Valley after a delay due to wet gunpowder that required a small group to return to San Francisco to buy more.[2] They passed through the valley during the hot summer season and then crossed over the Siskiyou Mountains of northern California and southern Oregon. On September 14 they crossed the Shasta River and soon after William Bailey and George Gay shot a “friendly” native boy in what was considered revenge for attacks on previous trips through the area.[3] This event angered Young and raised tensions in an area that still had sizable populations of Native Americans.
Finally, in October the group returned to the European settlements of the Willamette Valley.[3] They had arrived with approximately 630 head of cattle left from what was purchased in California.[2] Some of these animals were lost by natural causes, some were killed by natives, at least one was killed by the group for feed, and others simply wandered off.[3] The remaining animals were then divided amongst the investors with a value of $8.50 per head, with Young receiving the largest allotment of 135.[2] Those who participated in the cattle drive were paid at the rate of $1 per day in the form of cattle.[4]
[edit] Participants
[edit] Company
Those investing in the Willamette Cattle Company:
- Complete list: Ewing Young,[2] Jason Lee,[2] John McLoughlin,[2] William Slacum,[5] Calvin Tibbets,[6] James O'Neil,[6] John Turner,[6] Webley John Hauxhurst,[6] William J. Bailey,[6] George Gay,[6] Lawrence Carmichael,[6] Pierre De Puis,[6] Emert Ergnette[6]
[edit] Cattle drive
Those participating in the cattle drive from California:
- Incomplete list:[3] Young, Edwards, Carmichael, Bailey, Ergnette, Turner, Gay, B. Williams, Tibbets, and De Puis.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g Willamette Cattle Company Agreement, 1837. Echoes of Oregon. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ewing Young Route. Oregon's Historic Trails. End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Retrieved on 2006-12-21.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diary of Philip Leget Edwards. Historical California Longhorns. California Association of Texas Longhorn Breeders. Retrieved on 2007-01-24.
- ^ a b Clarke, Samuel Asahel (1905). Pioneer Days of Oregon History. Vol I.. Portland, Oregon: J.K. Gill, Co..
- ^ Collins, Dean (1943). Stars of Oregon. Binford & Mort. 44.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i (1-13-1837) "Wallamette Settlement Articles of Agreement". Provisional and Territorial Records: 406.
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Pioneer History of Oregon (1806–1890) |
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Topics |
Oregon Country · Oregon Treaty · Oregon missionaries · Executive Committee · Oregon Trail · Oregon boundary dispute · Pacific Fur Company · Provisional Government of Oregon · Hudson's Bay Company |
Events |
Treaty of 1818 · Russo-American Treaty · Champoeg Meetings · Whitman massacre · Donation Land Claim Act |
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People |
George Abernethy · Sam Barlow · Tabitha Brown · Abigail Scott Duniway · Philip Foster · Peter French · Joseph Gale · William Gilpin · David Hill · Jason Lee · Asa Lovejoy · John McLoughlin · Joseph Meek · Ezra Meeker · John Minto · Joel Palmer · Sager orphans · Henry H. Spalding · Marcus Whitman · Narcissa Whitman · Ewing Young |
Oregon History |
Native Peoples History · History to 1806 · Pioneer History · Modern History |