asking for the return of the bodies of five men who had been killed. General Shepard replied that he had only three, that he had one rebel who was nearly dead, but if Shays insisted on more he would be accommodated to any extent if he would only attack the arsenal again.

Shays retreated five miles during the night and on the following day joined Parsons's force at Chicopee. He then retreated through South Hadley to Amherst. While at Hadley he received a last warning from General Lincoln, demanding his surrender under pain of punishment for treason. Shays replied, suggesting an armistice, asking an immediate and unconditional pardon and a hearing before the legislature of the various issues in what he termed the "present controversy." General Lincoln, not being empowered to grant any such terms, Shays sent a communication to the legislature, admitting his mistake in taking up arms and offering to suspend hostilities if a free pardon were granted to all. He then retreated thirty miles through the deep snow to Petersham, to await a reply from the legislature. There were men in the legislature ready to yield to all the demands of the rebels, but their opponents were strong enough to prevent such action.

At Petersham, in snow eighteen inches deep which the rain had covered with an icy crust, the state troops gained the top of a hill which the rebels were ascending. The order to fire was given to the state troops but every musket was discharged into the crust, for the regulars had a feeling of sympathy-perhaps a stronger sentiment for the rebels. Both parties then retreated, no one having been injured. A hundred and fifty of the rebels subsequently yielded themselves prisoners.

Shays crossed the Connecticut River into Vermont; he announced that he would erect his standard in Pultney and called for volunteers; only three responded, the rest of the party having sought employment on the farms in the vicinity. He gathered together some of his officers in Bennington, but the rebellion had ended. Shays then joined his sister at White Creek, in New York State.

Forgiveness-The authorities and people of Massachusetts did not take the rebellion seriously, at least not sufficiently so to become imbued with a spirit of vindictiveness. The avenging arm of the

law did reach out to smite some of the offenders, but the proceeding bore more resemblance to a Punch and Judy altercation than a serious prosecution. The insurgent leaders had fled to neighboring states and the governors of those states were called upon to deliver them to the State of Massachusetts. Fourteen were tried for high treason and sentenced to death; one of the last acts of Governor Bowdoin was to issue reprieves. The election of John Hancock to the office of chief executive was looked upon as presaging better government for all. It certainly was better for the convicted, for nine of those who had been sentenced to death were pardoned at the foot of the gallows, the only limitation to the pardon being deprivation of citizenship. Those convicted of minor offences, such as taking part in seditious disturbances, were either not even troubled to answer any criminal charges or were promptly pardoned after conviction. The scriptural formula of "Go your way and sin no more" was frequently abbreviated to its first three words, such was the consideration for the sensitive feelings of those to whom it was addressed. The only sentence carried into execution, the only punishment meted out, was in the case of a member of the legislature, convicted of treasonable practices, the offender being compelled to stand under the gallows for an hour with a rope about his neck and to pay a fine of fifty pounds.

The light shed by later investigations shows that neither the rebels nor the government were aware of the extent of the rebellion. A law had been passed depriving all persons who had taken part in the rebellion of the right of franchise, but it was found that in some towns there were not men enough of untainted character to fill the necessary offices; supplementary legislation was enacted to bridge over the difficulty. Pardons and restorations to citizenship followed each other in rapid succession, until finally an executive order, dated September 12, 1787, granted full pardon to all offenders.

There are numerous instances showing quick action on the part of the pardoning power. When the convention met in Boston in January, 1788, for the purpose of ratifying the new state constitution, several of the prominent leaders of the rebellion were among the delegates. John Wheeler was first lieutenant in the Hardwicke military when he joined Shays and became one of his most strenuous and active supporters. During the first days of April he was con

victed of treason and was sentenced to be hanged, but before the close of the month he had been pardoned and sent back to his company; in September, 1789, he received his commission as captain.

Daniel Shays was a native of Hopkinton, Middlesex County, where he was born in 1747. He lived for some time in Great Barrington and then removed to Pelham. He joined the Revolutionary Army in 1775 and served as an ensign at Bunker Hill; in 1776 he received the commission of lieutenant in Col. Varnum's regiment. He was then employed as a recruiting officer and as such raised a company. He took his men to West Point when it was ascertained that the terms of the enlistment he had drawn up provided that he should be the captain of the company. Remonstrance against this unsoldierly stipulation was deemed inadvisable, as the army needed the men. Shays did not receive his commission until 1779, although he received a captain's pay from January, 1777. In 1780, when he was with Col. Putnam's regiment in Newark, he resigned his commission "for reasons quite problematical." After the close of the Massachusetts rebellion he lived in Vermont for about a year; while resident there he applied for and received a pardon, after which he removed to Sparta, New York. In 1820 he received a Federal pension for his services during the Revolutionary War, the schedule of his personal effects attached to application indicating that he was then worth $40.62. He died in Scottsburgh, a small village in Livingston County, New York, September 29, 1825. The fact that only a small three-cornered piece of slate indicated his last resting place induced some persons in 1865 to apply to the Massachusetts Historical Society for a more pretentious memorial, but the society paid no attention to the request. A contemporary newspaper refers to him as "one Shays, a demented officer of the late war," and this is perhaps the most charitable view to take of his character. He lacked the essential qualities of leadership, although there can be no doubt as to his personal courage. Some readers may perceive a further light on his character from the fact that he sold for a few dollars a sword which had been presented to him by Lafayette.

Luke Day, born in West Springfield, July 25, 1743, was the son of well-to-do parents. He was a lieutenant in Captain Chapin's company of minute men who marched to Boston when the alarm sounded from Lexington. He was the orator of Shays's army but

his speeches lacked sincerity. He spoke of "spilling the last drop of blood that ran in his veins," but when Lincoln's men approached his quarters at the attack on the arsenal, he did nothing either to attempt or encourage resistance. After the suppression of the rebellion he fled to New York, but subsequently returned to Massachusetts, when he was arrested and lodged in jail in Boston. His case was sent to Hampshire County for trial but before it could be reached he was included in the general pardon issued by Governor Hancock. He died in poverty in West Springfield in 1801.

Sources-George R. Minot, "The History of Insurrections in Massachusetts in 1786" (1788); J. G. Holland, "History of Western Massachusetts" (1855); Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, 1858; Orville J. Victor, "History of American Conspiracies (1863); Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, 1865, 1869; Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 1877; William L. Smith, Connecticut Valley Historical Society's Collections, 1877; Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, 1884; Robert C. Winthrop and Arthur E. Bostwick, Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888; Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, 1891; Josephine Canning, "The American Historical Register" (1895); Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, 1902; Alfred M. Copeland, "A History of Hampden County, Massachusetts" (1902); Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, 1905, 1907, 1909; A. M. Davis, American Antiquarian Society Publications, 1911; D. M. Wilson, The Magazine of History, 1916.

The Western Terminus of the Oregon Trail

BY FRANCIS E. SMITH, TACOMA, WASHINGTON

HOMAS JEFFERSON became interested in the Oregon Country while serving the United States as minister to the Court of France, 1784-1789. President Washington selected Jefferson for the office of Secretary of State in his Cabinet. Jefferson affixed his signature to the sea-letter issued to Captain Robert Gray, by President Washington, September 16, 1790, addressed to all emperors, kings, sovereign princes, states and regents, and to their respective officers, civil and military, and to all others who were concerned. The sending of an American ship to the Oregon Coast served to increase what interest Jefferson might have in the Oregon Country. The selection of Jefferson as Secretary of State gave the United States an able Foreign Secretary. The King of England soon discovered he had a man of unusual abilities to deal with and selected Lord Grenville, early in the year 1791, as his Secretary for Foreign Affairs. Thomas Jefferson and Lord Grenville were quite evenly matched in diplomatic skill.

The British Parliament labored under the fallacy that the United States could be driven back upon themselves and prevented from having commercial intercourse with other nations. One of the duties required of Lord Grenville was to put the British policy of repression toward the United States into operation. No doubt the duty was distasteful to His Lordship, but being a loyal subject of the British Crown he undertook the task by requesting the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to send an expedition to the Northwest Coast of North America for the purpose of acquiring commercial advantages for Great Britain. The expedition sailed from England April 1, 1791, under the command of Captain George Vancouver. Vancouver carried secret instructions concerning these commercial advantages.

Jefferson accepted the challenge of the Vancouver expedition and laid plans for an overland expedition in the year 1792, the same year that Vancouver examined the continental shore line of the State of Washington. Jefferson had a vision of commercial ad