Show 5 he: river says On the 23 a party of 13 Canadians and Spaniards sic headed by one Provost and Francois an Iroquois Chief who deserted from our party two Years since joined us we were surprized of seeing them Shortly after the arrival of the above party another of 25 to 30 Americans headed by one Gardner Johnson Gardner and a Spanjard with 15 of our trappers who had been absent about two days also made their appearance they encamped within 100 yards of our Camp and hoisted the American Flag and proclaimed to all that they were in the United States was now night and nothing more transterritories it Gardner came to my tent and pired the ensuing morning after a few words of no import he questioned me as follows do you know in whose Country you are? to which I made answer that I did not as it was not determined between Great Britain and America to whom it belonged to which he made answer that it was that it had been ceded to the latter and as I had no license to trade or trapp sic to return from whence I came without delay Gardner then pointed out that the British company had held However virtual slavery charging them high prices for supplies and paying practically nothing for furs the free trappers in By offering eight times as Bay Company was paying vices of 23 of Ogden’s much for furs as the Hudson’s enlist the serIn fact Ogden Gardner was able to men at that time points out that Gardner supported an obvious attempt on the part of the free trappers to rob the British brigade of its possessions and start a fight that would end only in the complete extermination of the English party Ogden realizing what was being planned refrained from firing and departed up the Bear eventually over to the headwaters of the 5 Oregon Historical Quarterly June 1934 108 ff |