Kate Mulhall A romance of the Oregon Trail
in the eyes of the wearied pioneers. Unexpectedly, off to the east,
a large number of sheep were seen quietly grazing on the stunted
grass that covered the soil.
Starting to drive toward one of the lakes, Mulhall suddenly came upon
a herd of cattle that fled at the sight of his wagon and took refuge
in a near-by grove. Kate was sure she saw three deer fleeing with
the cattle--the latter now as wild as any creature that roamed the
plains. At about the same time, a band of Indian ponies was suddenly
encountered, as the outfit rounded a point of timber; the wild scene
was then re-enacted as the ponies, with heads and tails in the air,
snorted and ran.
The sight of the deer fired Kate's imagination; she thought of the
rifle in the wagon, but could not stop to try her hand on the game of
that region. She thought of Ben, who had saved her life--and Pelton
too. No flowers could grow in the deep forests; but here on the
prairies and margins of the lakes and {89} creeks many species, the
wild rose predominating, grew to perfection. The little sisters
eagerly picked some of the first flowers they had found for many
weeks, and brought them to Kate as they had formerly done to their
mother.
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Photograph from Washington Historical Society, Tacoma
Here, in Mr. Meeker's story, Kate Mulhall unyoked her oxen for the
last time: see page 89. The inscription on the monument will be
found on the reverse of this leaf.
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Fac-simile of inscription upon the monument shown on the reverse
of this leaf:
OCTOBER
1853 1913
COMMEMORATING
THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE
FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN
COMING DIRECT TO THE
PUGET SOUND VIA THE
NATCHESS PASS. THEY
MADE THEIR LAST CAMP
OCT. 8TH 1853 ON THE
BANK OF CLOVER CREEK
THREE FOURTHS OF
A MILE SOUTH OF THIS
MONUMENT
ERECTED BY
WASHINGTON STATE HIST-
ORICAL SOCIETY--PIERCE COUNTY
PIONEER SOCIETY MEMBERS--DE-
SCENDANTS AND FRIENDS OF
THE NATCHESS EMIGRANT TRAIN
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The Squire soon came to the camp[6] on the margin of a creek, where
he found more than half of the pioneers who had gone on ahead; and
here, about twelve miles from Puget Sound, Kate unyoked her oxen for
the last time. A fine carcass of beef had been sent there for them
by the Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company with the message,
"divide this among yourselves;" and a near-by farmer brought a
wagon-load of vegetables to give out "free for everybody." Just then
a team arrived from the fort with sugar, salt and other provisions,
of which they were greatly in need, and told the pioneers to help
themselves.
All day and well into the night stragglers came in, some with teams
and others with packs on their backs--all tired and hungry. Fearing
that their teams might be unable to climb the hill out of the valley,
a few had stopped at the last river crossing, and early next morning
an expedition was sent to assist them.
As evening fell, all were safely camped together, with the
consolation that not one life had been lost in the struggle over the
mountain range. All of the {90} 148 attended a prayer-meeting held
by the light of the camp-fires; the pent-up feelings of emotion were
usually accompanied by silent tears of joy, though some gave way to
boisterous manifestations of thankfulness for deliverance from the
hazards of the trail.
Kate's spirits had risen; but not so with her father, who had made
the perilous trip to secure a home and a farm. This charming region
was suitable only for grazing, and besides was in possession of a
foreign corporation. He was now in a strange land, without shelter
for his family of girls or ready money, and so far as he knew without
credit; with winter approaching, he could not stay in camp very long,
and as he said afterwards, "I was stumped to know what to do."
A large majority of those who crossed the mountains with him were in
the same state of perplexity. "I do not believe in that old saying,
'misery loves company.' To be sure, I did love that company of noble
men and women, but not because they faced the trials that confronted
me," was spoken many years later in a reminiscent mood. Mulhall
could not help being relieved at the happiness of the girls,
especially the twins or "little buds," as he fondly called them.
Sarah had recovered from the shock that so depressed her upon the
death of her mother, and would often refer to her with tears of
affection. Not being old enough to enter deeply into or think
seriously of the cares of life, the girls often joyfully roamed the
{91} byways of the trail in search of flowers or anything new.
"Mamma, what kind of a bird is this?" both asked at once. They had
now become accustomed to calling Kate "mamma," and she had not
discouraged them in doing so.
"That's a young robin," Kate answered, as she held the little bird in
the palm of her hand; "where did you get it?" "Mayn't we keep it as
a pet?" Sarah anxiously inquired.
"Yes," Kate answered, "but not as a prisoner;" and added, "it would
be better off with its mother, don't you think?"
"But its mother wasn't there; we found it on the grass and it
couldn't fly," both again spoke at once.
"Yes, but I am sure the mother was taking watchful care of her little
one," said Kate. The girls had set their hearts on having a pet, but
agreed that it was not right to take the young bird away, and
cheerfully returned it to the spot where they found it; after
watching awhile they saw the mother bird come and feed the little one.
The same evening the girls fairly raced to see who should first tell
the story of an apron full of nuts they had found, and now exhibited
them to "mam-ma." "Where did you find them, girls?" Kate asked. "In
a hollow tree, the cutest little place you ever saw," Bess answered.
"But that was the winter store of a squirrel; would it be right to
rob the treasure of the squirrel, which {92} might starve before
winter ended?" The girls hadn't thought of it in that light; next
morning without any further word from "mamma," they returned the nuts
to the "cute squirrel's nest," and then started off for new
adventures and discoveries. All of them were greatly benefited by
the vigorous outdoor life; the father was delighted to see the rosy
cheeks of the little girls and the returned sparkle in Kate's eyes.
"I have in my pocket a document that would be worth thousands of
dollars back in Missouri; but here, where there are no banks, it is
not worth the paper it is written on. What is the good of it if one
can't get the money the writing calls for? No more than a pile of
gold two thousand miles away from anything to eat," he said ruefully
to Kate.
He was not going to be idle; but the more Mulhall looked over the
near-by country, the less he liked it. Passing nearby the Hudson's
Bay Company's fort he decided to go in and thank the Chief Factor for
the beef sent to the pioneers; and to his surprise found a large
stock of well assorted merchandise on the shelves of the store and
numerous customers, principally Indians, buying or bartering furs for
goods.
Asked if he wanted to purchase anything, he answered that he had no
money, whereupon the clerk, Edward Huggins, surmising that he had
something to barter, suggested that he see the Chief Factor. The
Squire hadn't the least thought of buying anything when he went into
the fort; but he did want to see {93} the head official and thank him
for the beef. He met Dr. William F. Tolmie, a slightly corpulent man
with flowing locks and an almost florid complexion, who spoke with a
Scotch brogue and had the bearing of a kindly gentleman.
"Oh, that's nothing at all," he said in response to Mulhall's
expression of thanks; "you could have had much more than that if you
needed it." As the thought of the paper in his pocket and the
possibility of using it to establish a credit flashed through his
mind, he produced the precious document and handed it to the Factor.
A look of surprise followed the examination, for it represented a
large sum for that time and place. "Do you want the money on this?"
the head official quietly asked, to which Mulhall--fairly stunned and
for once off his guard--replied, "Not all of it now, but I do
urgently need some immediate supplies." "You can have either
supplies or cash as may best suit your convenience--all of it, or
part as you may wish, though we would be perfectly willing that you
take all of it."
After a dinner with the Factor while dressed in his well-worn
plainsman's garb, which the host appeared not to notice, the business
was consummated; and Mulhall received from the great Company a
certificate of deposit payable on demand. A cart was loaded with
supplies and dispatched to his camp, and a servant was directed to
take him to it. Mulhall arrived there first, and found Kate a little
dejected, as {94} the flour was all gone and only vegetables were in
sight for the coming meal.
She was surprised when the Squire leaned over her and imparted a kiss
of joy at having rescued his little family from want, while the girls
stood near-by in silent wonder. The pressing situation had been
carefully concealed from the children, who were now accustomed to
being limited in the variety of food; and when told that they could
not have bread for supper, thought nothing of it. They were always
associated with the memory of the cherished wife and mother now
peacefully sleeping in the sands of the Sweetwater Valley near the
summit of the Rocky Mountains; and "let them be happy" ran in the
minds of both their father and Kate.
Within two years after Mulhall had completed this to him important
arrangement, a very different scene was enacted a few miles distant.
The American Government at that time began dealing with the Indians
in the country west of the Cascade Mountains as tribes by making a
treaty[7] with them; and a sorry mess was made of it by adopting the
policy of driving the hardest possible bargains regardless of the
future welfare of the Indian or the white race. Before another year
elapsed a small war followed, with massacres of whites and Indians
alike, a situation in which Mulhall became deeply involved.
The great Hudson's Bay Company that so long ruled the Oregon Country
was an English corporation, {95} with headquarters in London; it was
incorporated May 2, 1670, for the purpose of trading with the Indians
of North America. Owing its origin and growth primarily to the fur
business, it did not undertake to develop the agricultural
possibilities of the country, a policy which had a far-reaching
effect upon the history of that region.
Had the Company encouraged settlement, as the Americans did when they
arrived from the eastern and central western States, the final
solution of the question as to which Government would come into final
ownership of the Pacific Northwest might, and probably would, have
been different. It is generally believed that the firm hold of the
American home builders influenced the minds of the English statesmen
to yield in the final negotiations; they could not very well displace
the large numbers of Americans who came to stay and build up the
country.
Wishing to avoid legal complications in the region where Mulhall and
his comrades had landed, the management of the Company had organized
a subsidiary under the name of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company;