[1] On B.& O. Capitol Limited November 27, 1925 Lawrence J. Burpee, Esq. International Joint Commission Ottawa, Ontario Dear Mr. Burpee: Lawrence Abbott, Esq., and I discussed the matter of the 1926 Historical Expedition last week in New York. Now, after advising with General Scott and Mr. Justice Butler to-day, we suggest the following: The name to be “Columbia River Historical Expedi- tion”, and the itinerary to be about as per attached. You will note that we are to leave St. Paul in the morning instead of the evening and that the route fol- lows the old Red River Trail to Grand Forks. We will have made several exact reproductions of old Red River ox carts and place one in the depot Lawn at each of various stations, such as St. Cloud, Alexandria, Barnesville, Moorhead, Fargo, Hillsboro, and University. At the University of North Dakota and Grand Forks we will have about five hours, which will give time enough for a demonstration of industrial arts and a banquet. The run during the night can be made from Grand Forks to Fort Union just as it was made from Minot this year. The Fort Union Indian Congress will be much the same as this year. A short stop will be made at Glacier Park so as to arrive at Bonners Ferry at the proper time the next morning. The monument at Bonners Ferry is to be a plain sandstone block, about six feet wide and six feet high on a sandstone foundation which will raise it two feet above the ground. Following is a suggestion for the inscription: “TO COMMEMORATE THE OPENING OF THE FIRST ROUTE FOR TRAVEL AND TRADE ACROSS WHAT IS NOW THE STATEW OF IDAHO” (about six of eight names of important traders, David Thompson heading the list, to appear below this inscription) -2- I would appreciate having suggestions from you as to names which should appear on this monument and also your idea as to whether a date should follow each of the. Will also be glad for your criticism of the suggested inscription. There should be two good addresses at this place. We would like to see one of them delivered by a Canadian. Would you be willing to do this? I think it would be alto- gether appropriate to point out the importance of Canada in the early development of the northern United States and the fact that the first knowledge that the outside world had of the geography and resources of our northern strip was through the work of Canadians. The activity of French-Canadians especially should be featured as much as possible for reasons which I shall explain in a moment. The banquet at the Davenport Hotel that evening should be a delightful affair in every way. The Spokane people are charming hosts. They are quite anxious to have an Indian Congress annually at Spokane as a tourist attract- tion. I should not be surprised if they would have it when we are there. The run leaving Spokane will be leisurely so as not to pass by too much of the Columbia River below the Snake River before daylight. Wishram is a place now called Fallbridge and is a railway terminal that happens to be located exactly on the site of the Wishram Village of Wash- ington Irving’s “Astoria”. You will recall it was just above the Falls or Dalles, which were the haunt of bandit Indians who harassed all of the early travelers. The inten- tion is to erect there, on the depot lawn on the site of Wishram Village, a monument consisting of a large piece of black basalt and place upon it a bronze tablet bearing an inscription somewhat as follows: TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE DAUNTLESS PATHFINDERS AND PIONEERS WHO FOL- LOWED THE GREAT THROUGHFARE OF THE COLUMBIA AT THIS PLACE, AMONG WHOM WERE Meriwether Lewis William Clark David Thompson David Stuart Alexander Ross Donald MacKenzie Robert McLellan John Reed Wilson Price Hunt Ramsay Crooks Gabriel Franchere Ross Cox Robert Stuart Alexander Henry Peter Skene Ogden John McLoughlin George Simpson David Douglas Nathaniel Wyeth Jason and Daniel Lee -3- Cyrus Shepard Thomas Nuttall John K. Townsend Samuel Parker Marcus and Henry K. and Narcissa Whitman Eliza Spalding William H. Gray Francis N. Blanchet Modeste DeMers Robert Newell Joseph L. Meek Elijah White Jesse Applegate Peter H. Burnett James W. Nesmith John C. Fremont I hope you will be free in your criticism and suggestion of this proposed tablet, as well as of that at Bonners Ferry. Here I think there should be two good addresses. On account of the large number of Hudson Bay and North West Company traders who used the Columbia River route at this place, a Canadian should make one of the addresses. Do you know whether Judge Howay has specialized in the history of that part of the country, or has he confined himself more particularly to the coast explorations? Between Wishram and Vancouver the train passes by several important places historically; one of them is the site of an old blockhouse where General Phil Sheridan had a fight with the Indians; another one is the site of the first piece of railroad construction in the old Oregon Ter- ritory, the line being a portage road built in 1862 around Cascade Falls. Still another is the site of the first grist mill and saw mill in that part of the country, which was five miles up the Columbia River from Vancouver. The people of Portland and Vancouver will be glad to take our party around Vancouver showing us where Dr. John McLoughlin held forth and later to Oregon City to visit the old McLoughlin home, which is still there, or on a trip up the Columbia River Highway. The banquet at Portland will complete the day’s program. The train will travel to Seaside (Clatsop Beach) during the night. It is only a four hour trip. A day of relaxation on the Pacific beaches will be welcomed I am sure, the only “business” of that day being a visit to the salt makers’ camp, which is in the town of Seaside on a lot owned by the Oregon Historical Society. We will have some local representatives make a record of this visit by appro- priate addresses. The next day will be the last and most important – the dedication of a monument to Robert Gray, Lewis and Clark, and John Jacob Astor on Coxcomb Hill, which is a point some 700 feet hight on the outskirts of Astoria. This monument is made possible through the generosity of Vincent Astor, Esq., the great grandson of John Jacob Astor. I am sending you under separate cover a photograph of the sketch, which gives some idea of what it will look like. The section of the -4- shaft or column is round and about 16 feet in diameter at the base, the height being something over 100 feet. The outside will have a spiral border, starting about 10 feet above the base and winding around the column to the top, leaving about a ten foot, ribbon-like strip from bottom to top. It is planned to place heroic size decorations on this ribbon-like surface in Sgraffi to work, by plastering about an inch of white cement over the outside of the mon- ument , which will have been built of some strong color, prob- ably red, them chiseling off this coating in such a way as to transfer to the column enlarged drawings, the figures thus being brought out in color on a white background. In our case the drawings will represent the succession of historical events which have transpired in the locality of the mouth of the Col- umbia River. After the dedication, the party will will go by water to the mouth of Youngs Bay, thence up Youngs River to the site of old Fort Clatsop where a picnic luncheon will be served. Returning, we have planned two days in Glacier Park. A feature of this year’s party will be the inclus- ion of fifty or more school children, who will be sent under the auspices of the Franco-American Branch of the American Good Will Association, which is headed by Lawrence Abbott, Esq., and in which Miss Anne Morgan has great interest. The children will be of high school age and will be chosen by awards in an oratorical contest, which will be held in fifty cities. The thought occurred to me that since these children will have won contests in oratory on the subject of activities of the French in northwestern America, we might have them partake in the evening banquet programs. Does this strike you favorably or do you think we ought to give the local talent more of a chance? From all appearances, next year’s trip will be larger than last year’s was, and I think we ought to limit it to 200. But there is plenty of railway equipment and the hotels at Glacier Park, Spokane, Portland, and Seaside are ample so it may be that we can accommodate any number that care to come . -5- I expect to be in Montreal before very long and shall hope to see you while in that part of the country. Will you please write me as fully as you will about the trip outlined above and be very free with suggestions and criti- cisms? Yours very truly, (Signed) Ralph Budd [Transcribed by Lauren B. Gerfen, 2012-11-01]