Loriot (ship)

"Loriot" was an American sailing ship involved in exploration of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. This brig took a member of a United States presidential expedition to survey land and the inhabitants of the area in the 1830s. The ship then transported members of the Willamette Cattle Company from Oregon Country to California in an effort to increase livestock in the Willamette Valley settlements.

Early years

In the early 1830s the vessel traded between the Sandwich Islands and California under the ownership of Alpheus Basil Thompson.Ogden, Adele. [http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/81fall/fitch.htm Captain Henry Fitch, San Diego Merchant, 1825-1849.] The Journal of San Diego History, Fall 1981, Vol. 27, No. 4. Retrieved on February 20 2008.] The ship had arrived on the islands as early as 1833 under a Captain Nye from Boston. [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/calbk:@field(DOCID+@lit(calbk025div55)) "California as I Saw It:" First-Person Narratives of California's Early Years, 1849-1900.] Library of Congress. Retrieved on February 20 2008.]

Northwest Expedition

On November 24 1836, the "Loriot" set sail from the Sandwich Islands for the Columbia Rivercite web
last = Marshall
first = William I.
title = GOVERNMENTAL ACTION RELATING TO OREGON.
work = Acquisition of Oregon and the Long Suppressed Evidence about Marcus Whitman
publisher = George Washington University
url = http://homepage.mac.com/fotl/marshall/marshall_141-284.html
accessdate = 2007-02-03 ] with Lieutenant William A. Slacum of the U.S. Navy.cite web
title = Oregon History: Federal Interests
work = Oregon Blue Book
publisher = Oregon Secretary of State
url = http://bluebook.state.or.us/cultural/history/history07.htm
accessdate = 2007-02-03 ] Earlier in 1836 President Andrew Jackson sent Lieutenant Slacum to the west coast of North America to examine San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, and the Columbia estuary to assess these anchorages for their strategic value. Additionally, Slacum and his expedition were to examine the economy of the region. The ship, under the command of Captain Bancroft, arrived at the river on December 22 1836. In Oregon Country, Slacum offered to take some settlers to California on the "Loriot" to purchase cattle for the settlers to then drive north to Oregon.cite web
title = Willamette Cattle Company Agreement, 1837
work = Echoes of Oregon
publisher = Oregon Secretary of State
url = http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/echoes/link01.html
accessdate = 2007-01-23 ] On the 10th of February, 1837, the ship sailed out of the Columbia and towards California with Ewing Young and other members of the Willamette Cattle Company. Ship and passengers arrived at the Russian settlement of Bodega on February 20 1837, where the pioneers disembarked with Slacum then continuing on his mission.Corning, Howard M. (1989) "Dictionary of Oregon History". Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 152.]

During the journey in 1836 the "Loriot" was involved in an event that created a minor diplomatic incident with Russia involving Russian-America lands.cite web
title = Memorandum for the United States in opposition to Alaska’s motion for summary judgement on count I of the amended complaint.
work = State of Alaska v. United States
url = http://docs.law.gwu.edu/facweb/gmaggs/128orig/US%20Count.I%20Opp.compiled.pdf | format =
accessdate = 2007-02-03 ] In that year the vessel attempted to make land in the Alexander Archipelago at Tuckessan harbor, but was denied by Russian authorities.:"When the captain of the Loriot asked permission to enter the harbor of Tateskey, he was ordered to “leave the waters of His Imperial Majesty.”"

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