The Pioneer Who Built a Territory on Grit
Before Seattle became a titan, early settlers like Col. M.T. Simmons faced the high-handed monopoly of the Hudson’s Bay Company to carve an American life in the Pacific Northwest.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The projected town of Linton was never known to be of more importance than it was during the winter of 1844-45. At the time we landed our last boat load of immigrants there, it was quite a lively place. Many of the families went into camp there until their respective heads could find a suitable location. Most of the so-called leaders pushed right on up the Willamette Valley. One day, Col. M.T. Simmons was advised by others to settle near the falls at Oregon City. 'No,' said he. 'First, I'm going to break down the resistance for myself, and the falls are already taken. Second, I don't think it a safe place. You just wait a few years until the upper valley is settled, and such rains as raised the Willamette a few weeks ago will wash out that crack at the falls clean.' Out of this effort with Simmons was George W. Bush, who had stopped at the Dalles to keep watch over stock. Bush, being a man of color, feared that if the new government proved unfriendly to him, he would need to place himself under the protection of the British Government north of the Columbia. They took plenty of time and went over on the Sound to examine the situation. Dr. John McLaughlin of the Hudson’s Bay Company earnestly endeavored to dissuade them, claiming the soil was too gravelly and the timber too thin. But they were bound to go, and in doing so, they helped break the monopoly of the Hudson’s Bay Company, effectively planting the seeds of American settlement in the Puget Sound region.
“We're bound to go and try it anyhow.”
The story of early pioneers settling the Puget Sound to escape the economic monopolization of the Hudson's Bay Company echoes today’s regional struggles against concentrated corporate power. Much like Simmons and Bush looking for a place where they could define their own future, modern residents continue to navigate the friction between established monopolies and the quest for local autonomy.
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