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Marten Deinum and Iuliana Cosmina

Pro Spring MVC with WebFlux

Web Development in Spring Framework 5 and
Spring Boot 2
2nd ed.
Marten Deinum
MEPPEL, Drenthe, The Netherlands

Iuliana Cosmina
EDINBURGH, UK

Any source code or other supplementary material referenced by the

author in this book is available to readers on GitHub via the book’s
product page, located at www.​apress.​com/​9781484256657. For more
detailed information, please visit http://​www.​apress.​com/​source-code.

ISBN 978-1-4842-5665-7 e-ISBN 978-1-4842-5666-4

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-5666-4

© Marten Deinum and Iuliana Cosmina 2021

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the

Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned,
specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other
physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar
methodology now known or hereafter developed.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks,

service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the
absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the
relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general
use.

The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the
advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate
at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Distributed to the book trade worldwide by Apress Media, LLC, 1 New

York Plaza, New York, NY 10004, U.S.A. Phone 1-800-SPRINGER, fax
(201) 348-4505, e-mail [email protected], or visit
www.springeronline.com. Apress Media, LLC is a California LLC and the
sole member (owner) is Springer Science + Business Media Finance Inc
(SSBM Finance Inc). SSBM Finance Inc is a Delaware corporation.
To all of you that have bought other books that I worked on, this book is
dedicated to you.
Thank you for trusting me.
— Iuliana Cosmina
Acknowledgments
I would like to say thank you to Mark Powers. He has been with me
since the time I began collaborating with Apress, and I consider him my
project manager at Apress. When writing a book, he is the one that I
agree schedules and deadlines with and then say sorry to when I am
unable to deliver as agreed. He has been supportive and understanding
and one of the people I respect the most. Most of my books, including
this one, happened because he was there to make sure I didn’t postpone
the work too long because of writer’s block or my imposter syndrome.
Additionally, a special thanks to Manuel Jordan, the reviewer for all
my books but one—and I missed him a lot when working on that one. I
missed his patience, his attention to detail, and his suggestions on what
else should be in a book to be more valuable. I was happy when I was
told he would be joining the team for this book as a reviewer.
A very heartfelt thanks to Mihaela Filipiuc, who has been my most
supportive remote friend, even while she was going through a tough
time. She has provided the motivational words that I needed to keep my
spirits up and push through sleepless nights to make this book happen.
Another heartfelt thanks to my dear friend Mihai Fat for all the
inspiring technical chats.
An additional thanks to my team at Cloudsoft for being patient with
me when I was working while sleep deprived and for all the moral
support during these tough times. Having a full-time job and writing a
book during a pandemic that has kept me away from my friends and
family would have been way more difficult without them. Thank you for
being the best environment in which I can continue to learn and grow
as a software developer.
— Iuliana Cosmina
Table of Contents
Chapter 1:​Setting up a Local Development Environment
Install the Java SDK
Install Gradle
Install Apache Tomcat
Recommended IDE
The Bookstore Project
Building the Project
Running the Projects
Summary
Chapter 2:​Spring Framework Fundamentals
The Spring Framework
Dependency Injection
ApplicationConte​xts
Resource Loading
Component Scanning
Scopes
Profiles
Enabling Features
Aspect-Oriented Programming
Web Applications
Spring Boot
Summary
Chapter 3:​Web Application Architecture
The MVC Pattern
Application Layering
 Separation of Concerns
Spring MVC Application Layers
The Domain Layer
The User Interface Layer
The Web Layer
The Service Layer
The Data Access Layer
More Roads to Rome
Summary
Chapter 4:​Spring MVC Architecture
DispatcherServle​t Request Processing Workflow
The Workflow
The Request Processing Summary
DispatcherServle​t
Bootstrapping DispatcherServle​t
Configuring DispatcherServle​t
The Spring MVC Components
HandlerMapping
HandlerAdapter
MultipartResolve​r
LocaleResolver
ThemeResolver
HandlerException​Resolver
RequestToViewNam​eTranslator
ViewResolver
FlashMapManager
 Summary
Chapter 5:​Implementing Controllers
Introducing Controllers
Interface-based Controllers
Annotation-based Controllers
Configuring View Controllers
Request-Handling Methods
Supported Method Argument Types
Supported Method Argument Annotations
Supported Method Return Values
Writing Annotation-based Controllers
A Simple Login Controller
Book Search Page
Book Detail Page
Data Binding
Customizing Data Binding
Per Controller Customization
ModelAttributes
Type Conversion
Validating Model Attributes
Internationaliza​tion
Message Source
LocaleResolver
LocaleChangeInte​rceptor
Summary
Chapter 6:​Implementing Controllers:​Advanced
 Using Scoped Beans
Adding Something to the Cart
Implementing the Checkout
Cross-cutting Concerns
Interceptors
Exception Handling
SimpleMappingExc​eptionResolver
Extending Spring @MVC
Extending RequestMappingHandlerMapping
Extending the RequestMappingHa​ndlerAdapter
Using the RequestDataValue​Processor
Summary
Chapter 7:​REST and AJAX
REpresentational​State Transfer (REST)
Identifying Resources
Working with Resources
Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX)
Adding AJAX to Our Application
Combining AJAX and REST
Progressive Enhancement
Handling File Uploads
Configuration
Request Handling Method for File Upload
Exception Handling
Summary
Chapter 8:​Resolving and Implementing Views
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 View Resolvers and Views
View Resolvers
BeanNameViewReso​lver
UrlBasedViewReso​lver
InternalResource​ViewResolver
XsltViewResolver​
ContentNegotiati​ngViewResolver
Implementing Your Own ViewResolver
View Technologies
JavaServer Pages
Tiles
FreeMarker and Thymeleaf
PDF
Excel
XML and JSON
Summary
Chapter 9:​Introduction to Spring WebFlux
HTTP Request Handling
Building Reactive Applications
Introduction to Reactive Programming
Introduction to Spring WebFlux
Spring WebFlux Configuration:​Reactive Controllers
Spring WebFlux Configuration:​Functional Endpoints
Summary
Chapter 10:​Building Reactive Applications with Spring WebFlux
From Spring Web MVC to Spring WebFlux
 Migrating the Data Access Layer
Migrating the Service Layer
Migrating the Web Layer
Configuration of a Reactive Templating Engine
Using Server-Sent Events (SSEs)
Introducing WebClient and WebTestClient
Internationaliza​tion
Validation, Type Conversion, and Error Handling
Summary
Chapter 11:​Securing Spring WebFlux Applications
Backpressure
The WebSocket Protocol
Handling Backpressure
The RSocket Protocol
WebFlux Security
Summary
Chapter 12:​Spring Security
Security Basics
Minimal Spring Web Security
Using Spring Security
Configuring Authentication
Configuring Authorization
Configure Login and Logout
Securing Methods
Securing Spring Boot Web Applications
Summary
Chapter 13:​Spring Applications in the Cloud
Application Architecture
Introducing the Monolith
Introducing Microservices
Moving to the Cloud:​Yea or Nay?​
Introducing Spring Cloud
Redesigning for the Cloud
Registration and Discovery Server
Developing a Microservice
Microservice Using a Database
Microservice with a Web Console
Sharing Classes
Summary
Index
About the Authors
Marten Deinum
is a submitter on the open source Spring Framework project. He is also
a Java/software consultant working for Conspect. He has developed and
architected software, primarily in Java, for small and large companies.
He is an enthusiastic open source user and a longtime fan, user, and
advocate of the Spring Framework. His work experience includes being
a software engineer, development lead, coach, and a Java and Spring
trainer. When not working on software, he can be found near or in the
water scuba diving or teaching scuba diving.

Iuliana Cosmina
is currently a software engineer for
Cloudsoft in Edinburgh, Scotland. She
has been writing Java code since 2002.
She has contributed to various types of
applications, including experimental
search engines, ERPs, track and trace,
and banking. During her career, she has
been a teacher, a team leader, a software
architect, a DevOps professional, and a
software manager. She is a Spring
Certified Professional, as defined by
Pivotal, the makers of Spring
Framework, Boot, and other tools, and
considers Spring the best Java
framework to work with.
When she is not programming, she
spends her time reading, blogging,
learning to play piano, traveling, hiking,
or biking.
About the Technical Reviewer
Manuel Jordan Elera
is an autodidactic developer and
researcher who enjoys learning new
technologies for his own experiments
and creating new integrations. Manuel
won the Springy Award—Community
Champion and Spring Champion 2013. In
his free time, he reads the Bible and
composes music on his guitar. Manuel is
known as dr_pompeii. He has tech-
reviewed numerous books for Apress,
including Pro Spring Boot 2 (2019),
Rapid Java Persistence and Microservices
(2019), Java Language Features (2018),
Spring Boot 2 Recipes (2018), and Java
APIs, Extensions, and Libraries (2018).
You can read his 13 detailed tutorials about Spring technologies, or
contact him, through his blog at
www.manueljordanelera.blogspot.com , and follow him on his
Twitter account, @dr_pompeii.
© Marten Deinum and Iuliana Cosmina 2021
M. Deinum, I. Cosmina, Pro Spring MVC with WebFlux
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-5666-4_1

1. Setting up a Local Development

Environment
Marten Deinum1 and Iuliana Cosmina2
(1) MEPPEL, Drenthe, The Netherlands
(2) EDINBURGH, UK

Released in October 2002 as an open source framework and inversion of

control (IoC) container developed using Java, Spring was built for the Java
platform. It has transformed from a small collection of libraries into a huge
collection of full-blown projects designed to simplify development even
when the solution is complex.
This book journeys from a classic web application packaged as a jar and
deployed to an application server to an application composed of a set of
microservices that are easily deployed in a cloud environment, each of
them on its own VM or container.
It all starts with a set of tools that need to be installed before the
developer can write and run code.

If you know how to use SDKMAN,1 you can skip the next two
sections that explain how to install the Java SDK and Gradle. If you do
not know how to use SDKMAN or never knew it existed, give it a try; it is
a tool for managing parallel versions of multiple SDKs. If you have other
projects using different versions of Java and Gradle locally, this tool
helps you switch between them without a fuss.

Install the Java SDK

Since Spring is a Java framework to write and run Spring applications, you
need to install the Java SDK. This project was written and built with JDK
14. To install JDK 14, download the JDK matching your operating system
from www.oracle.com/java/ and install it. So, if you are building an
application and intend to use it for financial gain, you might want to look at
Oracle licensing or use an open source JDK.2

Figure 1-1 The Java logo3

We recommend that you set the JAVA_HOME environment variable

to point to the directory where Java 14 was installed (the directory in
which the JDK was unpacked) and add $JAVA_HOME/bin
(%JAVA_HOME%\bin for Windows users) to the general path of the
system. The reason behind this is to ensure any other development
application written in Java use this version of Java and prevent strange
incompatibility errors during development. If you want to run the build
from a terminal, you are certain that the expected version of Java is used.

Restart the terminal and verify that the version of Java the operating
system sees is the one that you installed by opening a terminal (the
Command prompt in Windows or any type of terminal installed on macOS
and Linux) and type the following.

> java -version # to check the runtime

And then the following.

> javac -version # to check the compiler

 You should see an output similar to the following.

> java -version

java version "14.0.2" 2020-07-14
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 14.0.2+12-46)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 14.0.2+12-
46, mixed mode, sharing)

> javac -version

javac 14.0.2

Install Gradle
Gradle is an open source build automation tool designed to be flexible
enough to build almost any type of software. It uses Groovy in its
configuration files, which makes it customizable. The project attached to
this book was successfully built with Gradle 6.x.

Figure 1-2 The Gradle logo4

The sources attached to this book can be compiled and executed using
the Gradle Wrapper, which is a batch script on Windows and a shell script
on other operating systems.
When you start a Gradle build via the wrapper, Gradle is automatically
downloaded inside your project to run the build; thus, you do not need to
explicitly install it on your system. The recommended editor for
development introduced next knows how to build code using Gradle
Wrapper. Instructions on how to use the Gradle Wrapper are available in
the public documentation at
www.gradle.org/docs/current/userguide/gradle_wrapper.
html.
A recommended practice is to keep the code and build tools separately.
If you decide to install Gradle on your system, you can download the
binaries from www.gradle.org, unpack it and copy the contents to the
hard drive. (Or, if you are curious, you can download the full package
containing binaries, sources, and documentation.) Create a GRADLE_HOME
environment variable and point it to the location where you unpacked
Gradle. Also, add $GRADLE_HOME/bin (%GRADLE_HOME%\bin for
Windows users) to the system’s general path so that you can build the
project in a terminal.
Gradle was chosen as a build tool for this book’s sources because of the
easy setup, small configuration files, flexibility in defining execution tasks,
and the Spring team currently uses it to build all Spring projects.
To verify that the operating system sees the Gradle version that you just
installed, open a terminal (the Command prompt in Windows, and any type
of terminal installed on macOS and Linux) and type

gradle -version

You should see something similar to the following.

gradle -version

------------------------------------------------------
------
Gradle 6.7
------------------------------------------------------
------

Build time: 2020-08-04 22:01:06 UTC

Revision: 00a2948da9ea69c523b6b094331593e6be6d92bc

Kotlin: 1.3.72
Groovy: 2.5.12
Ant: Apache Ant(TM) version 1.10.8 compiled
on May 10 2020
JVM: 14.0.2 (Oracle Corporation 14.0.2+12-46)
OS: Mac OS X 10.15.6 x86_64

Running this command also verifies that Gradle is using the intended
JDK version.

Install Apache Tomcat

Web applications are meant to be hosted by an application server unless
they are built using Spring Boot, in which case it is more practical to rely on
an embedded server. Apache Tomcat 5 is an open source implementation of
the Java Servlet, JavaServer Pages, Java Expression Language, and
WebSocket technologies.

Figure 1-3 The Apache Tomcat logo6

The Spring MVC projects of this book were tested in Apache Tomcat 9.x.
To install Apache Tomcat, go to the official site and get the version
matching your operating system. Unpack it in a familiar location. On Unix-
based systems, you might be able to install it using a package manager. If
you install it manually, remember to go to the bin directory and make all
files executable.

Recommended IDE
The IDE that we recommend you use with the code in this book is IntelliJ
IDEA. It is the most intelligent Java IDE.

Figure 1-4 The IntelliJ IDEA logo7

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 IntelliJ IDEA offers outstanding framework-specific coding assistance
and productivity-boosting features for Java EE and Spring also includes
very good support for Gradle. It is the perfect choice to help you focus on
learning Spring (and not how to use an IDE). It can be downloaded from
the JetBrains official site (www.jetbrains.com/idea/). It is also light
on your operating system and easy to use.
IntelliJ IDEA also integrates well with Apache Tomcat, which allows you
to deploy your projects to start and stop the server from the editor.
And now that the tools have been discussed, let’s talk about the project.

The Bookstore Project

The project containing the sources for this book is organized as a multi-
module Gradle Project. Each chapter has one or more corresponding
projects that you can easily recognize because they are prefixed with the
chapter number. Table 1-1 lists these projects and provides a short
description for each.
Table 1-1 Bookstore Project Modules

Chapter Project Name Description

– bookstore-mvc- Entity and utility classes used by Spring MVC projects
shared
– bookstore-shared Entity and utility classes used by Spring Boot projects
1 chapter1- A simple Spring Boot Web MVC project with typical web
bookstore structure (static resources in the webapp directory)
1 chapter1-mvc- A simple Spring MVC project.
bookstore
2 chapter2- A simple Spring Boot Web MVC project with typical Boot
bookstore structure (static resources in the resources/static
directory)
2 chapter2-sample A simple project with non-web samples for Chapter 2
5 chapter5- The Bookstore Spring Boot MVC project, using Thymeleaf
bookstore views
6 chapter6- The Bookstore Spring Boot MVC project, using Apache
bookstore Tiles views
7 chapter7- The Bookstore Spring Boot MVC project with support for
bookstore upload files
Chapter Project Name Description
8 chapter8- The Bookstore Spring Boot MVC project with support for
bookstore various view types
9 chapter9-1- The Bookstore Spring WebFlux project deployed on
bookstore-no- Apache Tomcat (uses reactive controllers)
boot
9 chapter9-2- The Bookstore Spring Boot WebFlux project (uses
bookstore reactive controllers)
9 chapter9-3- The Bookstore Spring Boot WebFlux project (uses
bookstore functional endpoints)
10 chapter10-1- The Bookstore Spring Boot WebFlux project supporting
bookstore case-insensitive URIs and internationalization via a web
filter (the most elegant solution)
10 chapter10-2- The Bookstore Spring Boot WebFlux project supporting
bookstore validation
10 chapter10-3- The Bookstore Spring Boot WebFlux project supporting
bookstore case-insensitive URIs and internationalization via
LocaleContextResolver

11 chapter11-1- The Bookstore Spring Boot MVC project with WebSocket

bookstore chat
11 chapter11-2- The Bookstore Spring Boot WebFlux project with Tech
bookstore News emitted by a reactive stream over WebSocket
11 chapter11-3- RSocket client project
client-bookstore
11 chapter11-3- RSocket server project
server-bookstore
11 chapter11-4- The Bookstore Spring Boot WebFlux project using
server-bookstore reactive security
12 chapter12- The Bookstore Spring Boot MVC project using Spring
bookstore Security
12 chapter12-mvc- The Bookstore Spring MVC project using Spring Security
bookstore
13 chapter13- Microservice providing the Reactive Account API
account-service
13 chapter13-book- Microservice providing the Reactive Book API
service
Chapter Project Name Description
13 chapter13- Microservice discovering and registering the other
discovery-service microservices
13 chapter13- Microservice providing a single reactive endpoint
newreleases- emitting random Book instances
service
13 chapter13- Microservice with a Thymeleaf web interface interacting
presentation- with the other interface
service
13 chapter13- Microservice providing a single reactive endpoint
technews-service emitting random String instances representing tech
news
Projects with names that contain -mvc- and chapter9-1-
bookstore-no-boot are compiled and packed as a *.war can be run in
Apache Tomcat. Except for chapter2-sample, all the other projects are
built using Spring Boot and can be run by executing their main class. The
chapter2-sample project has multiple main classes that you can run
to test a specific scenario.

Building the Project

Once you’ve installed the recommended tools, the next step is getting the
project sources from GitHub.

The GitHub project page is at

https://github.com/Apress/spring-mvc-and-webflux.

You can download the repo page sources, clone the project using IntelliJ
IDEA, or clone it using Git in the terminal. You can use HTTPS or Git
protocol—whatever feels familiar and easy.
You can build the project using IntelliJ IDEA, but if you are opening it for
the first time, it takes a while to figure out the project structure and index
the files. We recommend that you open a terminal and build the project by
executing the command in Listing 1-1. The output should be similar to that
one, and it must certainly contain BUILD SUCCESSFUL.

> gradle clean build

...
BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 3m 1s
150 actionable tasks: 148 executed, 2 up-to-date
Listing 1-1 Building the Project for This Book
Once the project builds in the terminal, you can verify that you have the
right project and the right tools. It is now time to open it in IntelliJ IDEA.
The first thing you notice is that IntelliJ IDEA is trying to decide the
Gradle and the JDK versions. And it doesn’t always work, especially if you
have multiple versions of each on your system. In the right corner, you
might see notifications like the one in Figure 1-5.

Figure 1-5 IntelliJ IDEA trying to infer Gradle and JDK version

To fix that, you must do the following.

1. First, if you want to use Gradle Wrapper, skip this step. Otherwise, go to
the Gradle view, click the little wrench button (the one labeled Build
Tool Settings), and a window appears to allow you to choose the Gradle
version. If you have Gradle installed on your system, and the
 GRADLE_HOME environment variable is set up, IntelliJ IDEA finds it.
Still, it does not use it if the project contains a Gradle Wrapper
configuration. To use Gradle on your system, choose Specified
location in the section of the window marked in Figure 1-6.

Figure 1-6 IntelliJ IDEA Gradle and Gradle JVM setup

And, while you’re at it, make sure the Gradle JVM is set to JDK 14 as
well.

2. In the IntelliJ IDEA main menu, select File > Project structure…​. The
Project Structure window allows you to configure the project SDK and
the project language level. Make sure it is JDK 14 for both, as depicted
in Figure 1-7.
Random documents with unrelated
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many hundred feet in height. It rises immediately from the borders
of the sea, and preserves nearly a right line course, during their
entire length. The lower portion of the eastern sides is clothed with
heavy pine and spruce, fir and cedar forests.
I have described in previous pages the great southern branch of
the Columbia, called Saptin by the natives who live on its banks, and
the valley of volcanic deserts, through which it runs, as well as the
Columbia {229} and its cavernous vale, from its junction with the
Saptin to Fort Vancouver, ninety miles from the sea. I shall therefore
in the following notice of the rivers of Oregon, speak only of those
parts of this and other streams, and their valleys about them, which
remain undescribed.
That portion of the Columbia, which lies above its junction with
the Saptin, latitude forty-six degrees eight minutes north, is
navigable for bateaux to the boat encampment at the base of the
Rocky Mountains, about the fifty-third degree of north latitude, a
distance, by the course of the stream, of about five hundred miles.
[37] The current is strong, and interrupted by five considerable and
several lesser rapids, at which there are short portages. The country
on both sides of the river, from its junction with the Saptin to the
mouth of the Spokan, is a dreary waste. The soil is a light yellowish
composition of sand and clay, generally destitute of vegetation. In a
few nooks, irrigated by mountain streams, are found small patches
of the short grass of the plains interspersed with another species
which grows in tufts or bunches four or five feet in height. A few
shrubs (as the small willow, the sumac, and furze), appear in distant
and solitary {230} groups. There are no trees; generally nothing
green; a mere brown drifting desert; as far as the Oakanagan River,
two hundred and eight miles, a plain, the monotonous desolation of
which is relieved only by the noble river running through it, and an
occasional cliff of volcanic rocks bursting through its arid surface.
The river Oakanagan is a large, fine stream, originating in a large
lake of the same name situate in the mountains, about one hundred
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stream is generally worthless. Near its union, however, with the
Columbia, there are a number of small plains tolerably well clothed
with the wild grasses; and near its lake are found hills covered with
small timber. On the point of land between this stream and the
Columbia, the Pacific Fur Company in 1811 established a trading
post. This in 1814 passed by purchase into the hands of the North-
West Fur Company of Canada, and in 1819 by the union of that body
with the Hudson Bay Company, passed into the possession of the
united company under the name of Hudson Bay Company. It is still
occupied by them under its old name of Fort Oakanagan.[38]
{231} From this post, latitude forty-eight degrees six minutes, and
longitude one hundred and seventeen degrees west, along the
Columbia to the Spokan, the country is as devoid of wood as that
below. The banks of the river are bold and rocky, the stream is
contracted with narrow limits, and the current strong and vexed with
dangerous eddies.
The Spokan river rises among the spurs of the Rocky Mountains
east south-east of the mouth of the Oakanagan, and, after a course
of about fifty miles, forms the Pointed Heart Lake, twenty-five miles
in length, and ten or twelve in width; and running thence in a north-
westerly direction about one hundred and twenty miles, empties
itself into the Columbia. About sixty miles from its mouth, the Pacific
Fur Company erected a trading-post, which they called the “Spokan
House.” Their successors are understood to have abandoned it.[39]
Above the Pointed Heart Lake, the banks of this river are usually
high and bold mountains, sparsely covered with pines and cedars of
a fine size. Around the lake are some grass lands, many edible roots,
and wild fruits. On all the remaining course of the stream, are found
at intervals {232} productive spots capable of yielding moderate
crops of the grains and vegetables. There is considerable pine and
cedar timber on the neighbouring hills; and near the Columbia are
large forests growing on sandy plains. In a word, the Spokan valley
can be extensively used as a grazing district; but its agricultural
capabilities are limited.
 Mr. Spaulding, an American missionary, made a journey across this
valley to Fort Colville,[40] in March 1837, in relation to which, he thus
writes to Mr. Levi Chamberlain of the Sandwich Islands: “The third
day from home we came to snow, and on the fourth, came to what I
call quicksands, plains mixed with pine trees and rocks. The body of
snow upon the plains was interspersed with bare spots under the
standing pines. For these, our poor animals would plunge whenever
they came near, after wallowing in the snow and mud until the last
nerve seemed almost exhausted, naturally expecting a resting-place
for their struggling limbs; but they were no less disappointed and
discouraged, doubtless, than I was astonished, to see the noble
animals go down by the side of a rock or pine tree, till their bodies
struck the surface.”
{233} The same gentleman, in speaking of this valley, and the
country generally, lying north of the Columbia, and claimed by the
United States and Great Britain, says, “It is probably not worth half
the money and time that will be spent in talking about it.”
The country, from the Spokan to Kettle Falls, is broken into hills
and mountains thinly covered with wood, and picturesque in
appearance, among which there is supposed to be no arable land. A
little below Kettle Falls,[41] in latitude 48°, 37′ is a trading post of
the Hudson’s Bay Company, called Fort Colville. Mr. Spaulding thus
describes it:—“Fort Colville is two hundred miles west of north from
this, (his station on the Clear Water), three days below Flatland
River, one day above Spokan, one hundred miles above Oakanagan,
and three hundred miles above Fort Wallawalla. It stands on a small
plain of two thousand or three thousand acres, said to be the only
arable land on the Columbia, above Vancouver. There are one or two
barns, a blacksmith shop, a good flour mill, several houses for
labourers, and good buildings for the gentlemen in charge.”
Mr. McDonald[42] raises this year (1837) {234} about three
thousand five hundred bushels of different grains, such as wheat,
peas, barley, oats, corn, buckwheat, &c., and as many potatoes; has
eighty head of cattle, and one hundred hogs. This post furnishes
supplies of provisions for a great many forts north, south and west.
The country on both sides of the stream, from Kettle Falls to within
four miles of the lower Lake, is covered with dense forests of pine,
spruce, and small birch. The northwestern shore is rather low, but
the southern high and rocky. In this distance are several tracts of
rich bottom land, covered with a kind of creeping red clover, and the
white species common to the States. The lower lake of the Columbia
is about thirty-five miles in length, and four or five in breadth. Its
shores are bold, and clad with a heavy growth of pine, spruce, &c.
[43] From these waters the voyager obtains the first view of the
snowy heights in the main chain of the Rocky Mountains.
The Flathead River enters into the Columbia a short distance
above Fort Colville. It is as long, and discharges nearly as much
water as that part of Columbia above their junction. It rises near the
{235} sources of the Missouri and Sascatchawine.[44] The ridges
which separate them are said to be easy to pass. It falls into the
Columbia over a confused heap of immense rocks, just above the
place where the latter stream forms the Kettle Falls, in its passage
through a spur of the Rocky Mountains. About one hundred miles
from its mouth, the Flathead River forms a lake thirty-six miles long
and seven or eight wide. It is called Lake Kullerspelm. A rich and
beautiful country spreads off from it in all directions, to the bases of
lofty mountains covered with perpetual snows. Forty or fifty miles
above this lake, is the “Flathead House,” a trading post of the
Hudson Bay Company.[45]
McGillivray’s, or Flat Bow River, rises in the Rocky Mountains, and
running a tortuous westerly course about three hundred miles,
among the snowy heights, and some extensive and somewhat
productive valleys, enters the Columbia four miles below the Lower
Lake. Its banks are generally mountainous, and in some places
covered with pine forests. On this stream also, the indefatigable
British fur traders have a post, “Fort Kootania,” situated {236} about
one hundred and thirty miles from its mouth.[46] Between the lower
and upper lakes of the Columbia, are “the Straits,” a narrow,
compressed passage of the river among jutting rocks. It is four or
five miles in length, and has a current, swift, whirling, and difficult to
stem. The upper lake is of less dimensions than the lower; but, if
possible, surrounded by more broken and romantic scenery, forests
overhung by lofty tiers of wintry mountains, from which rush a
thousand torrents, fed by the melting snows.[47]
Two miles above this lake, the Columbia runs through a narrow,
rocky channel. This place is called the Lower Dalles. The shores are
strewn with immense quantities of fallen timber, among which still
stand heavy and impenetrable forests. Thirty-five miles above is the
Upper Dalles; the waters are crowded into a compressed channel,
among hanging and slippery rocks, foaming and whirling fearfully.
[48] A few miles above this place, is the head of navigation, “The
Boat encampment,” where the traders leave their bateaux, in their
overland journeys to Canada.[49] The country from the upper lake to
this place, is a collection {237} of mountains, thickly covered with
pine, and spruce, and fir trees of very large size.
Here commences the “Rocky Mountain portage,” to the navigable
waters on the other side. Its track runs up a wide and cheerless
valley, on the north of which, tiers of mountains rise to a great
height, thickly studded with immense pines and cedars, while on the
south are seen towering cliffs, partially covered with mosses and
stinted pines, over which tumble, from the ices above, numerous
and noisy cascades. Two days’ travel up the desolate valley, brings
the traveller to “La Grande Cote,” the principal ridge. This you climb
in two hours. Around the base of this ridge, the trees, pines, &c., are
of enormous size; but in ascending,[50] they decrease in size, till on
the summit they become little else than shrubs.
On a table land of this height, are found two lakes a few hundred
yards apart; the waters of one of which flow down the valley just
described, to the Columbia, and thence to the North Pacific; while
those of the other, forming the Rocky Mountain River, run thence
into the Athabasca, and thence through Peace River, the Great Slave
Lake, {238} and McKenzie’s River, into the Northern Arctic Ocean.
The scenery around these lakes is highly interesting.[51] In the
north, rises Mount Browne, sixteen thousand feet, and in the south,
Mount Hooker, fifteen thousand seven hundred feet above the level
of the sea. In the west, descends a vast tract of secondary
mountains, bare and rocky, and noisy with tumbling avalanches. In
the vales are groves of the winter-loving pine. In the east roll away
undulations of barren heights beyond the range of sight. It seems to
be the very citadel of desolation; where the god of the north wind
elaborates his icy streams, and frosts, and blasts, in every season of
the year.
Frazer’s River rises between latitudes 55° and 56° north, and after
a course of about one hundred and fifty miles, nearly due south,
falls into the Straits de Fuca, under latitude 49° north. It is so much
obstructed by rapids and falls, as to be of little value for purposes of
navigation.[52] The face of the country about its mouth, and for fifty
miles above, is mountainous and covered with dense forests of white
pine, cedar, and other evergreen trees. The soil is an indifferent
vegetable deposit six or seven inches in depth, resting on a stratum
of sand or {239} coarse gravel. The whole remaining portion of the
valley is said to be cut with low mountains running north-westwardly
and south-eastwardly; among which are immense tracts of marshes
and lakes, formed by cold torrents from the heights that encircle
them. The soil not thus occupied, is too poor for successful
cultivation. Mr. Macgillivray, the person in charge at Fort Alexandria,
in 1827, says:[53] “All the vegetables we planted, notwithstanding
the utmost care and precaution, nearly failed; and the last crop of
potatoes did not yield one-fourth of the seed planted.” The timber of
this region consists of all the varieties of the fir, the spruce, pine,
poplar, willow, cedar, cyprus, birch and alder.
The climate is very peculiar. The spring opens about the middle of
April. From this time the weather is delightful till the end of May. In
June the south wind blows, and brings incessant rains. In July and
August the heat is almost insupportable. In September the whole
valley is enveloped in fogs so dense, that objects one hundred yards
distant cannot be seen till ten o’clock in the day. In October the
leaves change their colour and begin to fall. In November, the lakes,
and portions of the rivers are {240} frozen. The winter months bring
snow. It is seldom severely cold. The mercury in Fahrenheit’s scale
sinks a few days only, as low as ten or twelve degrees below zero.
That part of Oregon bounded on the north by Shmillamen River,
[54] and on the east by Oakanagan and Columbia Rivers, south by
the Columbia, and west by the President’s Range, is a broken plain,
partially covered with the short and bunch grasses; but so destitute
of water, that a small portion only of it, can ever be depastured. The
eastern and middle portions of it are destitute of timber—a mere
sunburnt waste. The northern part has a few wooded hills and
streams, and prairie valleys. Among the lower hills of the President’s
Range, too, there are considerable pine and fir forests; and rather
extensive prairies, watered by small mountain streams; but nearly all
of the whole surface of this part of Oregon, is a worthless desert.
The tract bounded north by the Columbia, east by the Blue
Mountains, south by the forty-second parallel of north latitude, and
west by the President’s Range, is a plain of vast rolls or swells, of a
light, yellowish, sandy clay, partially covered with the short and
bunch grasses, mixed with the prickly {241} pear and wild
wormwood. But water is so very scarce, that it can never be
generally fed; unless, indeed, as some travellers, in their praises of
this region, seem to suppose, the animals that usually live by eating
and drinking, should be able to dispense with the latter, in a climate
where nine months in the year, not a particle of rain or dew falls, to
moisten a soil as dry and loose as a heap of ashes. On the banks of
the Luhon, John Days, Umatalla, and Wallawalla Rivers[55]—which
have an average length of thirty miles—without doubt, extensive
tracts of grass may be found in the neighbourhood of water; but it is
also true that not more than a fifth part of the surface within twenty-
five miles of these streams, bears grass or any other vegetation.
 The portion also which borders the Columbia, produces some
grass. But of a strip six miles in width, and extending from the Dalles
to the mouth of the Saptin, not an hundredth part bears the grasses;
and the sides of the chasm of the river are so precipitous, that not a
fiftieth part of this can be fed by animals which drink at that stream.
In proceeding southward on the head waters of the small streams,
John Days and Umatalla, the face of the plain rises gradually {242}
into vast irregular swells, destitute of timber and water. On the Blue
Mountains are a few pine and spruce trees of an inferior growth. On
the right tower the white peaks and thickly wooded hills of the
President’s Range.
The space south-east of the Blue Mountains is a barren, thirsty
waste, of light, sandy, and clayey soil—strongly impregnated with
nitre. A few small streams run among the sand hills; but they are so
strongly impregnated with various kinds of salts, as to be unfit for
use. These brooks empty themselves into the lakes, the waters of
which are salter than the ocean. Near latitude 43° north, the Klamet
River rises and runs westerly, through the President’s Range.[56] On
these waters are a few productive valleys; westwardly from them to
the Saptin the country is dry and worthless.
The part of Oregon lying between the Straits de Fuca on the
north, the President’s Range on the east, the Columbia on the south,
and the ocean on the west, is thickly covered with pines, cedars, and
firs of extraordinary size; and beneath these, a growth of brush and
brambles which defies the most vigorous foot to penetrate. Along
the banks of the Columbia, indeed, strips {243} of prairie may be
met with, varying from a few rods to three miles in width, and often
several miles in length; and even amidst the forests are found a few
open spaces.
The banks of the Cowelitz, too, are denuded of timber for forty
miles; and around the Straits de Fuca and Puget’s Sound, are large
tracts of open country.[57] But the whole tract lying within the
boundaries just defined, is of little value except for its timber. The
forests are so heavy and so matted with brambles, as to require the
arm of a Hercules to clear a farm of one hundred acres in an
ordinary life-time; and the mass of timber is so great that an
attempt to subdue it by girdling would result in the production of
another forest before the ground could be disencumbered of what
was thus killed. The small prairies among the woods are covered
with wild grasses, and are useful as pastures.
The soil of these, like that of the timbered portions, is a vegetable
mould, eight or ten inches in thickness, resting on a stratum of hard
blue clay and gravel. The valley of the Cowelitz is poor—the soil,
thin, loose, and much washed, can be used as pasture grounds for
thirty miles up the stream. At about that distance some tracts {244}
of fine land occur. The prairies on the banks of the Columbia would
be valuable land for agricultural purposes, if they were not generally
overflown by the freshets in June—the month of all the year when
crops are most injured by such an occurrence. It is impossible to
dyke out the water; for the soil rests upon an immense bed of gravel
and quicksand, through which it will leach in spite of such
obstructions.
The tract of the territory lying between the Columbia on the north,
the President’s range on the east, the parallel of forty-two degrees of
north latitude on the south, and the ocean on the west, is the most
beautiful and valuable portion of the Oregon Territory. A good idea
of the form of its surface may be derived from a view of its
mountains and rivers as laid down on the map. On the south tower
the heights of the snowy mountains; on the west the naked peaks of
the coast range; on the north the green peaks of the river range;
and on the east the lofty shining cones of the President’s range—
around whose frozen bases cluster a vast collection of minor
mountains, clad with the mightiest pine and cedar forests on the
face of the earth! The principal rivers are the Klamet and the
Umpqua in the south-west, and the Willamette in the north.
{245} The Umpqua enters these in a latitude forty-three degrees,
thirty minutes north.[58] It is three-fourths of a mile in width at its
mouth; water two-and-a-half fathoms on its bar; the tide sets up
thirty miles from the sea; its banks are steep and covered with pines
and cedars, &c. Above tide water the stream is broken by rapids and
falls. It has a westwardly course of about one hundred miles. The
face of the country about it is somewhat broken; in some parts
covered with heavy pine and cedar timber, in others with grass only;
said to be a fine valley for cultivation and pasturage. The pines on
this river grow to an enormous size: two hundred and fifty feet in
height—and from fifteen to more than fifty feet in circumference;[59]
the cones or seed vessels are in the form of an egg, and oftentimes
more than a foot in length; the seeds are as large as the castor
bean. Farther south is another stream, which joins the ocean
twenty-three miles from the outlet of the Umpqua. At its mouth are
many bays; and the surrounding country is less broken than the
valley of the Umpqua.[60]
{246} Farther south still, is another stream called the Klamet. It
rises, as is said, in the plain east of Mount Madison, and running a
westerly course of one hundred and fifty miles, enters the ocean
forty or fifty miles south of the Umpqua. The pine and cedar
disappear upon this stream; and instead of them are found a
myrtaceous tree of small size, which, when shaken by the least
breeze, diffuses a delicious fragrance through the groves. The face
of the valley is gently undulating, and in every respect desirable for
cultivation and grazing.
The Willamette rises in the President’s range, near the sources of
the Klamet. Its general course is north northwest. Its length is
something more than two hundred miles. It falls into the Columbia
by two mouths; the one eighty-five, and the other seventy miles
from the sea. The arable portion of the valley of this river is about
one hundred and fifty miles long, by sixty in width. It is bounded on
the west by low wooded hills of the coast range; on the south by the
highlands around the upper waters of the Umpqua; on the east by
the President’s range; and on the north by the mountains that run
along the southern bank of the Columbia. Its general appearance as
seen from the heights, is that of a {247} rolling, open plain,
intersected in every direction by ridges of low mountains, and long
lines of evergreen timber; and dotted here and there with a grove of
white oaks. The soil is a rich vegetable mould, two or three feet
deep, resting on a stratum of coarse gravel or clay. The prairie
portions of it are capable of producing, with good cultivation, from
twenty to thirty bushels of wheat to the acre, and other small grains
in proportion. Corn cannot be raised without irrigation. The
vegetables common to such latitudes yield abundantly, and of the
best quality. The uplands have an inferior soil, and are covered with
such an enormous growth of pines, cedars and firs, that the expense
of clearing would be greatly beyond their value. Those tracts of the
second bottom lands, which are covered with timber might be worth
subduing, but for a species of fern growing on them, which is so
difficult to kill, as to render them nearly worthless for agricultural
purposes.
The climate of the country between the President’s range and the
sea, is very temperate. From the middle of April to the middle of
October, the westerly winds prevail, and the weather is warm and
dry. Scarcely a drop of rain falls. During the remainder of the year,
the southerly winds {248} blow continually, and bring rains;
sometimes in showers, and at others terrible storms, which continue
to pour down incessantly for many weeks.
There is scarcely any freezing weather in this section of Oregon.
Twice within the last forty years the Columbia has been frozen over;
but this was chiefly caused by the accumulation of ice from the
upper country. The grasses grow during the winter months, and
wither to hay in the summer time.
The mineral resources of Oregon have not been investigated.
Great quantities of bituminous coal have however been discovered
on Puget’s Sound,[61] and on the Willamette. Salt springs also
abound; and other fountains highly impregnated with sulphur, soda,
iron, &c., are numerous.
Many wild fruits are to be met with in the territory, that would be
very desirable for cultivation in the gardens of the States. Among
these are a very large and delicious strawberry, the service berry, a
kind of whortleberry, and a cranberry growing on bushes four or five
feet in height. The crab apple, choke cherry, and thornberry are
common. Of the wild animals, there are the white tailed, black
tailed, jumping and moose deer; the elk; red and black and grey
wolf; the black, brown, and grisly bear; {249} the mountain sheep;
black, white, red and mixed foxes; beaver, lynxes, martin, otters,
minks, muskrats, wolverines, marmot, ermines, wood-rats, and the
small curly-tailed short eared dog, common among the Chippeways.
Of the feathered tribe, there are the goose, the brant, several
kinds of cranes, the swan, many varieties of the duck, hawks of
several kinds, plovers, white eagles, ravens, crows, vultures, thrush,
gulls, woodpeckers, pheasants, pelicans, partridges, grouse,
snowbirds, &c.
In the rivers and lakes are a very superior quality of salmon, brook
and salmon trout, sardines, sturgeon, rock cod, the hair seal, &c.;
and in the bays and inlets along the coast, are the sea otter and an
inferior kind of oyster.
The trade of Oregon is limited entirely to the operations of the
British Hudson Bay Company. A concise account of this association is
therefore deemed apposite in this place.
A charter was granted by Charles II, in 1670, to certain British
subjects associated under the name of “The Hudson’s Bay
Company,” in virtue of which they were allowed the exclusive
privilege of establishing {250} trading factories on the Hudson’s Bay
and its tributary rivers. Soon after the grant, the Company took
possession of the territory, and enjoyed its trade without opposition
till 1787; when was organized a powerful rival under the title of the
“North American Fur Company of Canada.” This company was chiefly
composed of Canadian-born subjects—men whose native energy and
thorough acquaintance with the Indian character, peculiarly qualified
them for the dangers and hardships of a fur trader’s life in the frozen
regions of British America. Accordingly we soon find the North-
westers outreaching in enterprise and commercial importance their
less active neighbours of Hudson’s Bay; and the jealousies naturally
arising between parties so situated, led to the most barbarous
battles, and the sacking and burning each others posts. This state of
things in 1821, arrested the attention of Parliament, and an act was
passed consolidating the two companies into one, under the title of
“The Hudson’s Bay Company.”[62]
This association is now, under the operation of their charter, in
sole possession of all that tract of country bounded north by {251}
the northern Arctic Ocean; east by the Davis’ Straits and the Atlantic
Ocean; south and south-westwardly by the northern boundary of the
Canadas, and a line drawn through the centre of Lake Superior;
thence north-westwardly to the Lake of the Wood; thence west on
the 49th parallel of north latitude to the Rocky Mountains, and along
those mountains to the 54th parallel; thence westwardly on that line
to a point nine marine leagues from the Pacific Ocean; and on the
west by a line commencing at the last mentioned point, and running
northwardly parallel to the Pacific coast till it intersects the 141st
parallel of longitude west from Greenwich, England, and thence due
north to the Arctic Sea.
They have also leased for twenty years, commencing in March,
1840, all of Russian America, except the post of Sitka; the lease
renewable at the pleasure of the Hudson’s Bay Company.[63] They
are also in possession of Oregon under treaty stipulation between
Britain and the United States. Thus this powerful company occupy
and control more than one-ninth of the soil of the globe. Its
stockholders are British capitalists, resident in Great Britain. From
these are elected a board of managers, who {252} hold their
meetings and transact their business at “The Hudson’s Bay House” in
London. This board buy goods and ship them to their territory, sell
the furs for which they are exchanged, and do all other business
connected with the Company’s transactions, except the execution of
their own orders, the actual business of collecting furs in their
territory. This duty is entrusted to a class of men who are called
partners, but who in fact receive certain portions of the annual net
profits of the Company’s business, as a compensation for their
services.
These gentlemen are divided by their employers into different
grades. The first of these is the Governor-General of all the
Company’s posts in North America. He resides at York Factory, on
the west shore of Hudson’s Bay.[64] The second class are chief
factors; the third, chief traders; the fourth, traders. Below these is
another class, called clerks. These are usually younger members of
respectable Scottish families. They are not directly interested in the
Company’s profits, but receive an annual salary of £100, food,
suitable clothing, and a body servant, during an apprenticeship of
seven years. At the expiration {253} of this term they are eligible to
the traderships, factorships, &c. that may be vacated by death or
retirement from the service. While waiting for advancement they are
allowed from £80 to £120 per annum. The servants employed about
their posts and in their journeyings are half-breed Iroquois and
Canadian Frenchmen. These they enlist for five years, at wages
varying from £68 to £80 per annum.[65]
An annual Council composed of the Governor-General, chief
factors and chief traders, is held at York Factory. Before this body
are brought the reports of the trade of each district; propositions for
new enterprises, and modifications of old ones; and all these and
other matters deemed important, being acted upon, the proceedings
had thereon and the reports from the several districts are forwarded
to the Board of Directors in London, and subjected to its final order.
This shrewd Company never allow their territory to be
overtrapped. If the annual return from any well trapped district be
less in any year than formerly, they order a less number still to be
taken, until the beaver and other fur-bearing animals have time to
increase. The income of the company {254} is thus rendered
uniform, and their business perpetual.
The nature and annual value of the Hudson Bay Company’s
business in the territory which they occupy, may be learned from the
following table, extracted from Bliss’s work on the trade and industry
of British America, in 1831:[66]

Skins. No. each £. s. d. £. s. d.

Beaver 126,944 ” 1 5 0 158,680 0 0
Muskrat 375,731 ” 0 0 6 9,393 5 6
Lynx 58,010 ” 0 8 0 23,204 0 0
Wolf 5,947 ” 0 8 0 2,378 16 0
Bear 3,850 ” 1 0 0 3,850 0 0
Fox 8,765 ” 0 10 0 4,382 10 0
Mink 9,298 ” 0 2 3 929 16 0
Raccoon 325 ” 0 1 6 24 7 6
Tails 2,290 ” 0 1 0 114 10 0
Wolverine 1,744 ” 0 3 0 261 12 0
Deer 645 ” 0 3 0 96 15 0
Weasel 34 ” 0 0 6 00 16 0
£203,316 9 0

Some idea may be formed of the net profit of this business, from
the facts that the shares of the company’s stock, which originally
cost £100, are at 100 per cent premium, and that the dividends
range from ten per cent upward, and this too while they are creating
out of the net proceeds an immense reserve fund, to be {255}
expended in keeping other persons out of the trade.
In 1805 the Missouri Fur Company established a trading-post on
the headwaters of the Saptin.[67] In 1806 the North-West Fur
Company of Canada established one on Frazer’s Lake, near the
northern line of Oregon.[68] In March, 1811, the American Pacific Fur
Company built Fort Astoria, near the mouth of the Columbia.[69] In
July of the same year, a partner of the North-West Fur Company of
Canada descended the great northern branch of the Columbia to
Astoria. This was the first appearance of the British fur traders in the
valleys drained by this river.[70]
 On the 16th of October, 1813, (while war was raging between
England and the States) the Pacific Fur Company sold all its
establishments in Oregon to the North-West Fur Company of
Canada. On the 1st of December following, the British sloop of war
Raccoon, Captain Black commanding, entered the Columbia, took
formal possession of Astoria, and changed its name to Fort George.
[71] On the 1st of October, 1818, Fort George was surrendered by
the British Government to the Government of the States, according
to a stipulation in the Treaty of Ghent.[72]
{256} By the same treaty, British subjects were granted the same
rights of trade and settlement in Oregon as belonged to the citizens
of the Republic, for the term of ten years; under the condition, that
as both nations claimed Oregon the occupancy thus authorized
should in no form affect the question as to the title to the country.
This stipulation was by treaty of London, August 6, 1827, indefinitely
extended; under the condition that it should cease to be in force
twelve months from the date of a notice of either of the contracting
powers to the other, to annul and abrogate it; provided such notice
should not be given till after the 20th of October, 1828.[73] And this
is the manner in which the British Hudson’s Bay Company, after its
union with the North-West Fur Company of Canada, came into
Oregon.
They have now in the territory the following trading posts: Fort
Vancouver, on the north bank of the Columbia, ninety miles from the
Ocean, in latitude 45½°, longitude 122° 30′; Fort George, (formerly
Astoria), near the mouth of the same river;[74] Fort Nasqually, on
Puget’s Sound, latitude 47°; Fort Langly, at the outlet of Fraser’s
River, latitude 49° 25′; Fort McLaughlin, on the Millbank Sound,
latitude 52°;[75] Fort {257} Simpson, on Dundas Island, latitude
54½°.[76] Frazer’s Fort, Fort James, McLeod’s Fort, Fort Chilcotin,
and Fort Alexandria, on Frazer’s river and its branches between the
51st and 54½ parallels of latitude;[77] Thompson’s Fort, on
Thompson’s River, a tributary of Frazer’s River, putting into it in
latitude 50° and odd minutes; Kootania Fort, on Flatbow River;
Flathead Fort, on Flathead River; Forts Hall and Boisais, on the
Saptin; Forts Colville and Oakanagan, on the Columbia, above its
junction with the Saptin; Fort Nez Percés or Wallawalla, a few miles
below the junction;[78] Fort McKay, at the mouth of the Umpqua
river, latitude 43° 30′, and longitude 124° west.[79]
They also have two migratory trading and trapping establishments
of fifty or sixty men each. The one traps and trades in Upper
California; the other in the country lying west, south, and east of
Fort Hall. They also have a steam-vessel, heavily armed, which runs
along the coast, and among its bays and inlets, for the twofold
purpose of trading with the natives in places where they have no
post, and of outbidding and outselling any American vessel that
attempts to trade in those seas. They likewise have five sailing
vessels, measuring from one hundred to five hundred tons {258}
burthen, and armed with cannon, muskets, cutlasses, &c. These are
employed a part of the year in various kinds of trade about the coast
and the islands of the North Pacific, and the remainder of the time in
bringing goods from London, and bearing back the furs for which
they are exchanged.
One of these ships arrives at Fort Vancouver in the spring of each
year, laden with coarse woollens, cloths, baizes, and blankets;
hardware and cutlery; cotton cloths, calicoes, and cotton
handkerchiefs; tea, sugar, coffee and cocoa; rice, tobacco, soap,
beads, guns, powder, lead, rum, wine, brandy, gin, and playing
cards; boots, shoes, and ready-made clothing, &c.; also, every
description of sea stores, canvas, cordage, paints, oils, chains and
chain cables, anchors, &c. Having discharged these “supplies,” it
takes a cargo of lumber to the Sandwich Islands, or of flour and
goods to the Russians at Sitka or Kamskatka; returns in August;
receives the furs collected at Fort Vancouver, and sails again for
England.
The value of peltries annually collected in Oregon, by the Hudson
Bay Comp., is about £140,000 in the London or New York market.
The prime cost of the goods exchanged {259} for them is about
£20,000. To this must be added the per centage of the officers as
governors, factors, &c. the wages and food of about four hundred
men, the expense of shipping to bring supplies of goods and take
back the returns of furs, and two years’ interest on the investments.
The Company made arrangements in 1839 with the Russians at Sitka
and at other ports, about the sea of Kamskatka, to supply them with
flour and goods at fixed prices. As they are now opening large farms
on the Cowelitz, the Umpqua, and in other parts of the Territory, for
the production of wheat for that market; and as they can afford to
sell goods purchased in England under a contract of fifty years’
standing, 20 or 30 per cent cheaper than American merchants can,
there seems a certainty that the Hudson’s Bay Company will engross
the entire trade of the North Pacific, as it has that of Oregon.
Soon after the union of the North-West and Hudson’s Bay
Companies, the British Parliament passed an act extending the
jurisdiction of the Canadian courts over the territories occupied by
these fur traders, whether it were “owned” or “claimed by Great
Britain.” Under this act, certain {260} gentlemen of the fur company
were appointed justices of the peace, and empowered to entertain
prosecutions for minor offences, arrest and send to Canada criminals
of a higher order, and try, render judgment, and grant execution in
civil suits where the amount in issue should not exceed £200; and in
case of non-payment, to imprison the debtor at their own forts, or in
the jails of Canada.
It is thus shown that the trade, and the civil and criminal
jurisdiction in Oregon are held by British subjects; that American
citizens are deprived of their own commercial rights; that they are
liable to be arrested on their own territory by officers of British
courts, tried in the American domain by British judges, and
imprisoned or hung according to the laws of the British empire, for
acts done within the territorial limits of the Republic.
It has frequently been asked if Oregon will hereafter assume great
importance as a thoroughfare between the States and China? The
answer is as follows:
The Straits de Fuca, and arms of the sea to the eastward of it,
furnish the only good harbours on the Oregon coast. Those in
Puget’s Sound offer every requisite facility {261} for the most
extensive commerce. Ships beat out and into the straits with any
winds of the coast, and find in summer and winter fine anchorage at
short intervals on both shores; and among the islands of the Sound,
a safe harbour from the prevailing storms. From Puget’s Sound
eastward, there is a possible route for a railroad to the navigable
waters of the Missouri; flanked with an abundance of fuel and other
necessary materials. Its length would be about six hundred miles.
Whether it would answer the desired end, would depend very much
upon the navigation of the Missouri.[80]
As, however, the principal weight and bulk of cargoes in the
Chinese trade would belong to the homeward voyage, and as the
lumber used in constructing proper boats on the upper Missouri
would sell in Saint Louis for something like the cost of construction,
it may perhaps be presumed that the trade between China and the
States could be conducted through such an overland communication.
The first day of the winter months came with bright skies over the
beautiful valleys of Oregon. Mounts Washington and Jefferson reared
their vast pyramids of ice and {262} snow among the fresh green
forests of the lower hills, and overlooked the Willamette, the lower
Columbia, and the distant sea. The herds of California cattle were
lowing on the meadows, and the flocks of sheep from the downs of
England were scampering and bleating around their shepherds on
the plain; and the plane of the carpenter, the adze of the cooper, the
hammer of the tinman, and the anvil of the blacksmith within the
pickets, were all awake when I arose to breakfast for the last time at
Fort Vancouver.
The beauty of the day, and the busy hum of life around me,
accorded well with the feelings of joy with which I made
preparations to return to my family and home. And yet when I met
at the table Dr. McLaughlin, Mr. Douglas, and others with whom I
had passed many pleasant hours, and from whom I had received
many kindnesses, a sense of sorrow mingled strongly with the
delight which the occasion naturally inspired. I was to leave
Vancouver for the Sandwich Islands, and see them no more. I
confess that it has seldom been my lot to feel so deeply pained at
parting with those whom I had known so little time. But it became
me to hasten {263} my departure; for the ship had dropped down to
the mouth of the river, and awaited the arrival of Mr. Simpson, one
of the company’s clerks,[81] Mr. Johnson, an American from St.
Louis, and myself. While we are making the lower mouth of the
Willamette, the reader will perhaps be amused with the sketch of life
at Fort Vancouver.
Fort Vancouver is, as has been already intimated, the depot at
which are brought the furs collected west of the Rocky Mountains,
and from which they are shipped to England; the place also at which
all the goods for the trade are landed; and from which they are
distributed to the various posts of that territory by vessels, bateaux,
or pack animals, as the various routes permit. It was established by
Governor Simpson, in 1824, as the great centre of all commercial
operations in Oregon;[82] is situated in a beautiful plain on the north
bank of the Columbia, ninety miles from the sea, in latitude 45½°
north, and in longitude 122° west; and stands four hundred yards
from the water side. The noble river before it is sixteen hundred and
seventy yards wide, and from five to seven fathoms in depth; the
whole surrounding country is covered with {264} forests of pine,
cedar, and fir, &c., interspersed here and there with small open
spots; all overlooked by the vast snowy pyramids of the President’s
Range, thirty-five miles in the east.
The fort itself is an oblong square two hundred and fifty yards in
length, by one hundred and fifty in breadth, enclosed by pickets
twenty feet in height. The area within is divided into two courts,
around which are arranged thirty-five wooden buildings, used as
officers’ dwellings, lodging apartment for clerks, storehouses for
furs, goods, and grains; and as workshops for carpenters,
blacksmiths, coopers, tinners, wheelwrights, &c. One building near
the rear gate is occupied as a school-house; and a brick structure as
a powder-magazine. The wooden buildings are constructed in the
following manner. Posts are raised at convenient intervals, with
grooves in the facing sides; in these grooves planks are inserted
horizontally; and the walls are complete. Rafters raised upon plates
in the usual way, and covered with boards, form the roofs.
Six hundred yards below the fort, and on the bank of the river, is a
village of fifty-three wooden houses, generally constructed {265} like
those within the pickets. In these live the Company’s servants.
Among them is a hospital, in which those who become diseased are
humanely treated. At the back, and a little east of the fort, is a barn
containing a mammoth threshing machine; and near this are a
number of long sheds, used for storing grain in the sheaf. And
behold the Vancouver farm, stretching up and down the river (3,000
acres, fenced into beautiful fields) sprinkled with dairy houses, and
herdsmen and shepherds’ cottages! A busy place.
The farmer on horseback at break of day, summons one hundred
half-breeds and Iroquois Indians from their cabins to the fields.
Twenty or thirty ploughs tear open the generous soil; the sowers
follow with their seed, and pressing on them come a dozen harrows
to cover it; and thus thirty or forty acres are planted in a day, till the
immense farm is under crop. The season passes on, teeming with
daily industry, until the harvest waves on all these fields. Then sickle
and hoe glisten in tireless activity to gather in the rich reward of this
toil; the food of seven hundred at this post, and of thousands more
at the posts on the deserts in the east and {266} north. The saw
mill, too, is a scene of constant toil. Thirty or forty Sandwich
Islanders are felling the pines and dragging them to the mill; sets of
hands are plying two gangs of saws by night and day. Three
thousand feet of lumber per day; nine hundred thousand feet per
annum; are constantly being shipped to foreign ports.
The grist mill is not idle. It must furnish bread stuff for the posts,
and the Russian market in the north-west. And its deep music is
heard daily and nightly half the year.
We will now enter the fort. The blacksmith is repairing
ploughshares, harrow teeth, chains and mill irons; the tinman is
making cups for the Indians, and camp-kettles, &c.; the wheelwright
is making waggons, and the wood parts of ploughs and harrows; the
carpenter is repairing houses and building new ones; the cooper is
making barrels for pickling salmon and packing furs; the clerks are
posting books, and preparing the annual returns to the board in
London; the salesmen are receiving beaver and dealing out goods.
Listen to the voices of those children from the school house. They
are the half-breed offspring of the gentlemen and servants of {267}
the Company, educated at the Company’s expense, preparatory to
their being apprenticed to trades in Canada. They learn the English
language, writing, arithmetic and geography. The gardener, too, is
singing out his honest satisfaction, as he surveys from the northern
gate ten acres of apple trees laden with fruit, his bowers of
grapevines, his beds of vegetables and flowers. The bell rings for
dinner; we will now pay a visit to the “Hall” and its convivialities.
The dining-hall is a spacious room on the second floor, ceiled with
pine above and at the sides. In the southwest corner of it is a large
close stove, giving out sufficient caloric to make it comfortable.
At the end of a table twenty feet in length stands Governor
McLaughlin, directing guests and gentlemen from neighbouring posts
to their places; and chief-traders, traders, the physician, clerks, and
the farmer, slide respectfully to their places, at distances from the
Governor corresponding to the dignity of their rank in the service.
Thanks are given to God, and all are seated. Roast beef and pork,
boiled mutton, baked salmon, boiled ham; beets, carrots, turnips,
cabbage and potatoes, and wheaten bread, are tastefully distributed
{268} over the table among a dinner-set of elegant queen’s ware,
burnished with glittering glasses and decanters of various-coloured
Italian wines. Course after course goes round, and the Governor fills
to his guests and friends; and each gentleman in turn vies with him
in diffusing around the board a most generous allowance of viands,
wines, and warm fellow-feeling. The cloth and wines are removed
together, cigars are lighted, and a strolling smoke about the
premises, enlivened by a courteous discussion of some mooted point
of natural history or politics, closes the ceremonies of the dinner
hour at Fort Vancouver. These are some of the incidents of life at
Vancouver.
But we moor on the lower point of Wappatoo Island, to regale
ourselves with food and fire. This is the highest point of it, and is
said to be never overflown. A bold rocky shore, and the water is
deep enough to float the largest vessels, indicate it to be a site for
the commercial mart of the island. But the southern shore of the
river, half a mile below, is past a doubt the most important point for
a town site on the Columbia.[83] It lies at the lower mouth of the
Willamette, the natural outlet of the best agricultural district of
{269} Oregon. It is a hillside of gentle acclivity, covered with pine
forests. There is a gorge in the mountains through which a road
from it to the prairies on the south can easily be constructed. At this
place the Hudson’s Bay Company have erected a house, and occupy
it with one of their servants.
Having eaten our cold lunch, we left Wappatoo Island to the
dominion of its wild hogs, and took again to our boat. It was a
drizzly, cheerless day. The clouds ran fast from the south-west, and
obscured the sun. The wind fell in irregular gusts upon the water,
and made it difficult to keep our boat afloat. But we had a sturdy old
Sandwich Islander at one oar, and some four or five able-bodied
Indians at others, and despite winds and waves, slept that night a
dozen miles below the Cowelitz. Thus far below Vancouver, the
Columbia was generally more than one thousand yards wide, girded
on either side by mountains rising very generally, from the water
side, two or three thousand feet in height, and covered with dense
forests of pine and fir. These mountains are used by the Chinooks as
burial-places. During the epidemic fever of 1832, which almost
swept this {270} portion of the Columbia valley of its inhabitants,
vast numbers of the dead were placed among them. They were
usually wrapped in skins, placed in the canoes, and hung from the
boughs of trees six or eight feet from the ground. Thousands of
these were seen.[84]
They hung in groups near the water side. One of them had a
canoe inverted over the one containing the dead, and lashed tightly
to it. We were often driven close to the shore by the heavy wind,
and always noticed that these sepulchral canoes were perforated at
the bottom. I was informed that this is always done for the twofold
purpose of letting out the water which the rains may deposit in
them, and of preventing their ever being used again by the living.
The 3rd was a boisterous day. The southerly winds drove in a
heavy tide from the Pacific, and lashed the Columbia into foam; but
by keeping under the windward shore, we made steady progress till
sunset, when the increased expanse of the river indicated that we
were about fifteen miles from the sea. The wind died away, and we
pushed on rapidly; but the darkness was so great that we lost our
course, and grounded upon a sand-bar three miles to the {271}
north of Tongue Point.[85] After considerable trouble, we succeeded
in getting off, steered to the northern shore, and in half an hour
were again in deep water. But “the ship, the ship,” was on every
tongue. Was it above or below Tongue Point? If the latter, we could
not reach it that night, for the wind freshened again every instant,
and the waves grew angry and fearful, and dashed into the boat at
every sweep of the paddles.
We were beginning to calculate our prospects of another hour’s
breathing when the shadowy outline of the ship was brought
between us and the open horizon of the mouth of the river, a half
mile below us. The oars struck fast and powerfully now, and the frail
boat shot over the whitened waves for a few minutes, and lay
dancing and surging under the lee of the noble “Vancouver.” A rope
was hastily thrown us, and we stood upon her beautiful deck,
manifestly barely saved from a watery grave. For now the sounding
waves broke awfully all around us. Captain Duncan received us very
kindly, and introduced us immediately to the cordial hospitalities of
his cabin. The next morning we dropped down to Astoria, and
anchored one hundred {272} yards from the shore. The captain and
passengers landed about ten o’clock; and as I felt peculiar interest in
the spot, immortalized no less by the genius of Irving than the
enterprize of John Jacob Astor, I spent my time very industriously in
exploring it.
The site of this place is three quarters of a mile above the point of
land between the Columbia and Clatsop Bay. It is a hillside, formerly
covered with a very heavy forest. The space which has been cleared
may amount to four acres. It is rendered too wet for cultivation by
numberless springs bursting from the surface. The back ground is
still a forest rising over lofty hills; in the foreground is the Columbia,
and the broken pine hills of the opposite shore. The Pacific opens in
the west.
Astoria has passed away; nothing is left of its buildings but an old
batten cedar door; nothing remaining of its bastions and pickets, but
half a dozen of the latter, tottering among the underbrush. While
scrambling over the grounds, we came upon the trunk of an
immense tree, long since prostrated, which measured between six
and seven fathoms in circumference. No information {273} could be
obtained as to the length of time it had been decaying.
The Hudson’s Bay Company are in possession, and call the post
Fort George. They have erected three log buildings, and occupy
them with a clerk,[86] who acts as a telegraph keeper of events at
the mouth of the river. If a vessel arrives, or is seen laying off and
on, information of the fact is sent to Vancouver, with all the rapidity
which can be extracted from arms and paddles.
This individual also carries on a limited trade with the Chinook and
Clatsop Indians; such is his influence over them, that he bears
among the Company’s gentlemen the very distinguished title of
“King of the Chinooks.” He is a fine, lusty, companionable fellow, and
I am disposed to believe, wears the crown with quite as little injury
to his subjects as to himself.
 In the afternoon we bade adieu to Astoria, and dropped down
toward Cape Disappointment.—The channel of the river runs from
the fort in a north-western direction to the point of the Cape, and
thence close under it in a south-westerly course the distance of four
miles, where it crosses the bar. The wind was quite baffling while we
{274} were crossing to the northern side; and we consequently
began to anticipate a long residence in Baker’s Bay.[87] But as we
neared the Cape, a delightful breeze sprang up in the east, filled
every sail, and drove the stately ship through the heavy seas and
swells most merrily.
The lead is dipping, and the sailors are chanting each measure as
they take it; we approach the bar; the soundings decrease; every
shout grows more and more awful! the keel of the Vancouver is
within fifteen inches of the bar! Every breath is suspended, and
every eye fixed on the leads, as they are quickly thrown again! They
sink; and the chant for five fathoms enables us to breathe freely. We
have passed the bar; Captain Duncan grasps his passengers by the
hand warmly, and congratulates them at having escaped being lost
in those wild waters, where many a noble ship and brave heart have
sunk together and for ever.
Off the mouth of the Columbia—on the deep, long swells of the
Pacific seas. The rolling surges boom along the mountainous shores.
Up the vale one hundred miles the white pyramid of Mount
Washington towers above the clouds, and the green {275} forest of
Lower Oregon. That scene I shall never forget. It was too wild, too
unearthly to be described. It was seen at sunset; and a night of
horrid tempest shut in upon this, the author’s last view of Oregon.
The following abstract of Commander Wilkes’ Report on Oregon
came to hand while this work was in the press, and the author takes
great pleasure in appending it to his work. Mr. Wilkes’ statistics of
the Territory, it will be seen, agree in all essential particulars with
those given in previous pages. There is one point only of any
importance that needs to be named, in regard to which truth
requires a protest; and that is contained in the commander’s
concluding remarks. It will be seen on reference to them, that the
agricultural capabilities of Oregon are placed above those of any part
of the world beyond the tropics. This is a most surprising conclusion;
at war with his own account of the several sections which he visited,
and denied by every intelligent man living in the territory. What!
Oregon, in this respect, equal to California, or the Valley of the
Mississippi! This can never be, until Oregon be blessed with a vast
increase of productive soil, and California {276} and our own
unequalled Valley be greatly changed.

Extracts from the Report of Lieutenant Wilkes

to the Secretary of the Navy, of the
examination, by the Exploring Expedition, of
the Oregon Territory.[88]
The Territory embraced under the name of Oregon, extends from
latitude 42° north to that of 53° 40′ north, and west of the Rocky
Mountains. Its natural boundaries, were they attended to, would
confine it within the above geographical boundaries.
On the east it has the range of Rocky Mountains along its whole
extent; on the south those of the Klamet range, running on the
parallel of 42° and dividing it from California; on the west the Pacific
Ocean; and on the north the western trend of the Rocky Mountains,
and the chain of lakes near and along the parallels of 54° and 55°
north, dividing it from the British territory. It is remarkable that,
within these limits, all the rivers which flow through the Territory
take their rise.
The Territory is divided into three natural belts or sections, viz:
{277} 1st. That between the Pacific Ocean and Cascade
Mountains, (President’s range) or western section;
2nd. That between the Cascade mountains and blue mountain
range, or middle section;
 3rd. That between the Blue and Rocky Mountain chains, or
eastern section.
And this division will equally apply to the soil, climate, and
productions.
The mountain ranges run, for the most part, in parallel lines with
the coast, and, rising in many places above the snow line (here
found to be 6,500 feet), would naturally produce a difference of
temperature between them, and also affect their productions.
Our surveys and explorations were confined, for the most part, to
the two first, claiming more interest from being less known, and
more in accordance with my instructions.
Mountains.—The Cascade range, or that nearest the coast, runs
from the southern boundary, on a parallel with the sea coast, the
whole length of the territory, north and south, rising, in many places,
in high peaks, from twelve to fourteen thousand feet above the level
of the sea, in regular cones. Their {278} distance from the coast line
is from one hundred to a hundred and fifty miles, and they almost
interrupt the communication between the sections, except where the
two great rivers, the Columbia and Frazer’s, force a passage through
them.
There are a few mountain passes, but they are difficult, and only
to be attempted late in the spring and summer.
A small range (the Claset) lies to the northward of the Columbia,
between the coast and the waters of Puget’s Sound, and along the
strait of Juan de Fuca. This has several high peaks, which rise above
the snow line, but, from their proximity to the sea, they are not at all
times covered.[89]
Their general direction is north and south, but there are many
spurs or offsets that cause this portion to be very rugged.
The Blue mountains are irregular in their course, and occasionally
interrupted, but generally tend from north by east to north-east, and
from south to south-west.
 In some parts they may be traced as spurs or offsets of the Rocky
Mountains. Near the southern boundary they unite with the Klamet
range, which runs east and west from the rocky mountains.[90]
{279} The Rocky Mountains are too well known to need
description. The different passes will, however, claim attention
hereafter. North of 48° the ranges are nearly parallel and have the
rivers flowing between them.
Islands.—Attached to the territory are groups of islands, bordering
its northern coast. Among these are the large islands of Vancouver
and Washington or Queen Charlotte; the former being two hundred
and sixty miles in length, and fifty in width, containing about fifteen
thousand square miles, and the latter a hundred and fifty miles in
length and thirty in breadth, containing four thousand square miles.
[91]

Though somewhat broken in surface, their soil is said to be well

adapted to agriculture.
They have many good harbours, and have long been the resort of
those engaged in the fur trade; they enjoy a mild and salubrious
climate, and have an abundance of fine fish frequenting their
waters, which are taken in large quantities by the natives. Coal of
good quality is found, specimens of which I obtained. The Hudson’s
Bay Company have made a trial of it, but, owing to its having been
taken from near the surface, it {280} was not very highly spoken of.
Veins of minerals are also said to exist by those acquainted with
these islands.
They both appear to be more densely inhabited than other
portions of the territory. The natives are considered a treacherous
race, particularly those in the vicinity of Johnson’s Straits,[92] and
are to be closely watched when dealing with them.
At the south-east end of Vancouver’s, there is a small archipelago
of islands, through which the canal de Arro runs.[93] They are for the
most part uninhabited, well wooded, and composed of granite and
pudding stone, which appear to be the prevailing rock to the
northward of a line east from the strait of Juan de Fuca. They are
generally destitute of fresh water, have but few anchorages, and
strong currents render navigation among them difficult.
The islands nearer the main land, called on the maps Pitt’s Banks,
or the Prince Royal islands, are of the same character, and are only
occasionally resorted to by the Indians, for the purpose of fishing.
[94]

The coast of the mainland, north of the parallel of 49°, is broken

up by numerous inlets called canals, having perpendicular sides, and
very deep water in them, affording {281} no harbours, and but few
commercial inducements to frequent them.
The land is equally cut up by spurs from the Cascade range, which
here intersects the country in all directions, and prevents its
adaptation for agriculture.
Its value is principally in its timber, and it is believed that few if
any countries can compare with it in this respect.
There is no part on this coast where a settlement could be formed
between Frazer’s river, or 49° north, and the northern boundary of
54° 40′ north, that would be able to supply its own wants.
The Hudson’s Bay Company have posts within this section of the
country: Fort McLaughlin, in Millbank sound, in latitude 52° 10′
north, and Fort Simpson, in latitude 54° 30′ north, within Dundas
island, and at the entrance of Chatham sound; but they are only
posts for the fur trade of the coast, and are supplied twice a year
with provisions, &c.
It is believed that the Company have yet no establishment on any
of the islands; but I understood it was in contemplation to make one
on Vancouver’s island, in the vicinity of Nootka sound, or that of
Clayoquot.[95]
{282} Owing to the dense fogs, the coast is extremely dangerous;
and they render it at all times difficult to approach and navigate it.