American mythology likes to tell the story of the brave explorers and scientists who trekked into the western wilderness and made many amazing discoveries. The fact that these explorers tended to following the roads/paths that Native Americans had used for thousands of years and that these explorers had Native guides tends to be somewhat glossed over. The wilderness into which they penetrated was, of course, not wild, but an ecology which had been managed by purposeful burning for many centuries. The plants, animals, and geological features “discovered” by the scientists were well-known to American Indians. But, not wanting to let reality interfere with a good story, the mythology continues.
The Oregon Historical Society in Portland, in an exhibit called “Oregon My Oregon” tells the state’s history from its aboriginal inhabitants through the present day. In a section called “Lure of the West,” the museum displays describe the early explorers, scientists, and traders. Photographs of the displays in this section follow.
Explorers:
The exploration of early Oregon by Euroamericans included both overland expeditions (such as that of Lewis and Clark) and coastal expeditions.
Scientists:
Many of the early Euroamerican exploring parties gathered data on flora and fauna and often assigned Latin names to many plants and animals.
Shown above is a display about Scottish botanist and naturalist David Douglas.
Traders:
Traders, in the form of Hudson’s Bay Company, the North West Company, and John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, soon followed the explorers and sought to exploit the rich animal resources of the area. The fur trade was driven by fashions in both Europe and China. These fashions included European hats and the fur-edge flowing Chinese robes.
One of the iconic trade items was the Hudson’s Bay Company blanket shown above. The points, indicated by the stripes on the end of the blanket, indicated (and still indicate) its value.
There was a great deal of intermarriage between the out-of-area traders (some of whom were Indians from other areas). According to the museum’s display:
“Cree, Chippewa, Iroquois, Assiniboine, Hawaiian, Polynesian, Scottish, and English fur trappers also settled in the Oregon Country.”
Beaver pelts, such as those shown above, were an important part of the fur trade. Sometimes the traders traded with Native Americans to get the pelts; at other times they simply employed trappers to obtain them.