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Un des symboles suivants apparattra sur la darnlAre imege de cheque microfiche, selon ie cas: le symbole -»- signifie "A 8UIVRE ". is symbols ▼ signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., mey be fHmed et different reduction rattoa. Those too lerge to be entirely included in one expoeure ere filmed beginning in the upper left hend comer, left to right end top to bottom, es meny fremes es required. The following diegrems illustrete the method: Les certes, planches, tebleeux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAs A des taux de rAductlon diff Arents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atra raproduit en un seul cllchA, II est filmA A partir de i'angle supArieur geuche, de gauche A droite, et de heut en bes, en prenant ie nombre d'imeges nAcesseire. Les diagrammes suivants lllustrent le mAthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 S 6 h'jr ^ IK i.V \ \ , y'7 / •: ,w // Y' ^' <-. HISTORY OP OREGON AND CALIFOENIA. V Ottaviori" THE » « HISTORY Of OREGON AND CAUrOENIA, AND THE OTHER TERRITORIES ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA; ACCOMPANIED BT A GEOGRAPHICAL VIEW AND MAP OF THOSE COUNTRIES, AND A NUMBER OF DOCUMENTS AS PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HISTORY. BY ROBERT GREENHOW " THE POSBIBLE DESTINY OP THE UNITED STATES OP i «t.„.^ A HUNDRED MILUONS OP FREEMEN ST^t^Im^ . AMERICA, AS A NATION OP PACIFIC. UVINQ UNDER TlTTAwTop^fprr """ ^HE ATLANTIC TO THE OP SHAKSPEAHE AND Sl^^NTAN^rT^orp;.™" "'^ ^^''^-^ COLERIDQE'S. TABLE TALK. BOSTON: CHARLES C. LITTLE AND JAMES BROWN. itavi Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, By Robert Greemhow, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Columbia. BOSTON : PRINTED BY FREEMAN AND BOLLBS, WASHINGTON BTBEBT. I TO MY VENERABLE AND EVER KIND FRIEND, MAJOR-GENERAL MORGAN LEWIS, LATE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK J THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED, AS A MARK OF RESPECT AND GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE. ROBERT GREENHOW. PREFACE. The following pages are devoted, principally, to the de- scription and histor) of the portion of North America hor- dcring on the Pacific Ocean, between the 40th and the o4th parallels of latitude, vhich is traversed and in a great meas- ure drained, by the River Columbia, and to which the name of OREGON is now usually applied. It has, however, been found necessary, for the objects of the work, to bestow almost equal attention on the regions embraced under the general appellation of Cat-iforma, extending southward from the Columbia countries, to the arm of the Pacific, called the Cahfornian Gulf; and also to take into considera- tion the coasts and islands north and north-west of those countries, as far as the Artie Sea. The vast division of America, comprehending these ter- ritories, remains, with the exception of a few isolated spots on the coasts and on the margins of the larger streams, uncultivated and inhabited only by tribes of wandering sav- ages. Its shores and some of the rivers have been examined with care, and their course may be found delineated with considerable minuteness on maps. Of the interior regions, some have never been explored, and are indeed apparently impenetrable by man ; others, which ofler fewer obstacles to the traveller, are only known through the vague and im- perfect accounts of traders or missionaries ; and in those which have been the most frequented by civilized persons, much remains to be effected by the aid of scientific obser- vations in order to obtain satisfactory ideas of their geog- raphy and physical characteristics. i VIII PREFAf E. These territories, unoccupied, partially unexplored, and remote from all civilized countries, nevertheless present much that is interesting in their political history, as well as in their natural conformation and productions ; and events are now in proji»rcss which seem calculated, ere long, to direct towards them the views of the governments and peo- ple of many powerful nations. Every part of this division of America is in fact claimed by some civilized state as its exclusive property, in virtue either of discoveries or settlements made hy its citizens or eulijects, or of transfer or inheritance from some other state claiming on similar grounds, or of contiguity to its own ac- knowledged territories. On these points, the principles of national law are hy no means clearly defined ; nor is it easy to apply such as arc most generally admitted, to particular cases ; nor are governments ordinarily found ready to re- linquish claims merely because they arc proved to be un- foimdcd : and disputes have in consc(iuence arisen between diflbrent states asserting the right of possession to the same portion of Western America, which have more than onco threatened to disturb the peace of the world. Attempts have been made to settle the questions at issue by negotia- tion ; and certain lines of boundary have been agreed on by treaties between one and another of the claimant powers : but the arrangements thus made, can scarcely in any instance be considered definitive, as they have not received, and will probably never receive, the assent of the other parties interested. In the mean time these territories are daily becoming more important from the advancement of the popula- tion of adjoining countries towards them ; and from the constant increase of the trade and navigation of several of the claimant powers in the Pacific, which would ren- der the undisputed possession of establishments on the coasts of that Ocean most desirable for each. The diffi- culty of effecting an amicable partition of the territories I I * PREFACE. IX f thus becomes daily greater, and more urgent therefore is the necessity of endeavoring to attain that object without delay. It was principally with the object of showing the nature, origin and extent, of these various claims, that the author of the following pages composed his « il/emoiV, Historical and Political, on the North- West Coasts of North America and the adjacent Territories,'''^ * which was published by order of the Senate of the United States in 1840. He there endeavored to present a complete, clear and impartial view ula- the eral en- the iffi- ries ■i * The circumstances under which the Memoir, here mentioned, was composed and publiched, will be made apparent by the following letters, and extract from the Journal of the Senate of the United States. To the Hon. John Forsyth, Secretary of Stale, Washington, January 25, 1840. Sir ; I am informed that your department is in possession of much information relating to the territory of Oregon, its geography, resources, and the title of the United States to the same. If consistent with your duty, I would be pleased to be put in possession of such papers and documents as you may think proper to send me, requesting that you will mark such as you would rather not have printed or made public. Your obedient servant, L. F. LINN, Chairman ofllM Select CammlltM on the Terrllorjr of Ore(on. Answer. — To the Hon. Lewis F. Linn, Senator of the United States. Department of State, Washington, Jan. 25th, 1840. Sir : I have had the honor to receive your letter of this day's date, asking for information relative to the territory of Oregon, its geography and resources, and the title of the United States to the same. Mr. Greenhow, the translator and librarian of this department, has been for some time past, by my direction, em- ployed in collecting and arranging historical information on the subject of the north-western coasts of America ; I send you the icsult of his labors, and submit it to the discretion of the committee to be printed or not, as they may think most advisable. Not having had the leisure to compare the statements in the Memoir with the various works and documents upon which they are founded, I can vouch only for the zeal, industry, and good faith of Mr. Greenhow, by whom they were prepared. I am, sir, your most obedient servant, JOHN FORSYTH, Secretaty of State. From the Journal of the Senate of the United States. *' Monday, February 10, 1840. On motion, by Mr. Linn, Ordered, That a History of the North-A^ est Coast of North America and the ad- jacent Territories, communicated to the Select Committee on the Oregon Territory, be printed, with the accompanying map ; and that two thousand five hundred copies, in addition to the usual number, be printed for the use of the Senate." B PREFACE. of all the discoveries and settlements, made or attempted, in those countries by civilized nations, and of all the dis- putes, negotiations, and conventions, between different governments with respect to them, from the period when they were first visited by Europeans ; founding his state- ments, as much as possible, upon original authorities. That Memoir is the only work hitherto published, approach- ing in its character to a history of the western portion of North America. The History of California* printed at Madrid, in 1758, is devoted almost exclusively to descriptions of the Cahfornian Peninsula, and to accounts of the mission- ary labors of the Jesuits, in that desolate region. Tlie Introduction to the Journal of Marchand^s Voijage,f which appeared in 1799, and the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes,X published in 1802, are confined to the discoveries of European navigators on the North Pacific coasts of America, before 1793 ; upon which so many details have been made known, since the appearance of those works, that they are now entirely obsolete, and scarcely one of their paragraphs can be cited as correct. The Journals of Cook, La Perouse, Vancouver, Macken- sie, Krusenstern, Lewis and Clarke, Kotzebue, Beechey and Belcher, all contain important information as to the geography of the countries under consideration ; but as regards the events, which lie within the province of the historian, we have only the accounts of the Astoria enter- prise by Franchere, Cox, and Irving, all interesting, yet all limited to the occurrences of three or four years. In the most popular histories of other countries, and especially of Great Britain, the circumstances relating to North- West America, are in every material point, misrepresented, either from neglect oh the part of the authors, or from motives less excusable ; and these histories being univer- sally read and received as true in England and in the ' See page 105. f See page 223. X See page 241. J PREFACE. XI as the nter- yet In cially West nted, from Hiver- the 241. United States, it is not astonishing, that erroneous ideas should be generally entertained by the people of both nations, upon points, which have been and will continue to be, the subjects of discussion between their governments. The Memoir, above mentioned, contains the outlines of the History now presented ; for which the same authorities, with many others since collected, consisting of private and official reports, letters and accounts, journals of expeditions by sea and land, and histories and state papers of various civilized nations, have been carefully examined and com- pared. Many errors of fact as well as of reasoning in the former work, have by this means been corrected ; and new circumstances have been brought to light, and new arguments have been founded upon them, of an important nature, and calculated perhaps materially to modify the views of those to whom the settlement of questions relative to North- West America may be hereafter entrusted. The principal object of the author has been to present the facts relative to the discovery and settlement of those countries, fairly ; and to investigate, and judge the claims which have been deduced from them, agreeably to the immutable principles of right, and the general understanding of civilized nations: and although he fully appreciates, and endeavors in all cases to place in their proper light, the merits of his own countrymen, and the pretensions of his own government, he is not conscious that his desire to do so, has in any case led him to die commission of injustice towards other individuals, or nations, either by misstate- ments, or by suppressions of the truth. In order to unite the various parts into a regular narrative, and to preserve the remembrances of events which may be interesting, if not important at future periods, he ha:^ introduced circum- stances not immediately tending to the attainment of the principal objects proposed; but he has omitted nothing voluntarily, which if made known might have led to con- clusions different from those here presented. The dates il XII PREFACE. V' and the authorities will be found generally inserted, and always in cases where the circumstances related are new or material, or in which the accounts here given differ from those usually received ; and he has appended a number of documents, extracts, and original notices as Proofs and Illustrations of the history. Among the latter, are some valuable papers never before published, others not com- monly known, and others again which the reader will probably desire frequently to consult, including all the treaties and conventions between civilized nations, with respect to the countries forming the subjects of the history. In the geographical view he has cDllected, compared, and endeavored to arrange in order, what appeared to be the most exact and striking details, presented by the numerous travellers who have visited the countries in question. The map has been composed, as far as possible, from the original authorities : being intended for the illustration of the history, it necessarily embraces a very large portion of the surface of the globe, and is consequently on a small scale ; it will however be found sufficient for that purpose, and perhaps on the whole, more nearly correct than any other yet offered to the public. Washington, February, 1844. E) TABLE OF CONTENTS. GEOGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH AMERICA. GENERAL VIEW. Great Natural Divisions, or Sections of North America — Coasts on the Pacific and Arctic Seas — Mountain Chains of the Pacific Section — Rocky Mountains — Geology — Climate — Rivers — Aboriginal Inhabit- ants — Settlements and Claims of civilized Nations. . . 1-8 CALIFORNIA. Extent, and Divisions into Peninsula or Old, and Continental or New Cal- ifornia — Gulf of California and Country on its eastern side — Peninsula of California — Continental California — Spanish, or Mexican Settlements — San Diego — Santa Barbara — Monterey — San Francisco — River Colorado — Utah Lake. 9-20 OREGON. Assumed Boundaries — Region of the Columbia River — The Columbia and its Branches — Pacific Coasts — Strait of Fuca — Natural Divisions of Oregon — Westernmost Chain, or Far- West Mountains — Blue Mountains — Rocky Mountains — Country north of the Columbia — North- West Archipelago — Hudson's Bay Company's Establishments — Settlements of Citizens of the United States — Territories east of the Rocky Moun- tains 20-37 RUSSIAN AMERICA. Extent and Limits — The Russian American Company — District of Sitka — District of Kodiak — Mount St. Elias — Michaelof District — Aliaska — District of Unalashka — Aleutian Islands — District of Atcha — Ber- ing's Strait — Kamtchatka. 38-42 XIV CONTENTS. HISTORY OF OREGON AND CALIFORNIA, ETC. CHAPTER I. To 1543. Preliminary Observations — Efforts of the Spaniards to discover Western Passages to India — Successive Discoveries of the West Indies, the North American Continent, the Eastern Passage to India, Brazil, and the Pacific Ocean — Search for a navigable Passage connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans — Supposed Discovery of such a Passage, called the Strait o/" Anion — Discovery of Magellan's Strait and the Western Passage to India — Conquest of Mexico by Cortes, who endeavors to discover new countries farther north-west — Voyages of Maldonado, Ilurtado de Men- doza, Grijalva, and Becerra — Discovery of California — Expedition of Cortes to California — Pretended Discoveries of Friar Marcos de Niza — Voyages of Ulloa, Alarcon, and Cabrillo — Expeditions of Coronado and Soto — The Spaniards desist from their Efforts to explore the North- West Coasts of America. ...... 45-66 CHAPTER II 1543 TO 1606. The Spaniards conquer the Philippine Islands, and establish a direct Trade across the Pacific, between Asia and America — Measures of the Spanish Government to prevent other European Nations from settling or trading in America — These Measures resisted by the English, the French, and the Dutch — Free Traders and Freebooters infest the West Indies — First Voyages of the English in the Pacific — Voyages of Drake and Caven- dish — Endeavors of the English to discover a North- West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific — False Reports of the Discovery of such Pas- sages — Supposed Voyages ofUrdaiieta, Maldonado, and Font^ — Voy- age of Juan de Fuca — Expeditions of Sebastian Vizcaino — Supposed Discovery of a great River in North-West America. . . 66-95 CHAPTER III. 1608 TO 1768. The North- West Coasts of North America remain nearly neglected during the whole of this Period — Efforts of the English and the Dutch to find new Passages into the Pacific — Discovery of Hudson's Bay and Baflin's Bay — Discovery of the Passage around Cape Horn — Establishment of the Hudson's Bay Trading Company — Endeavors of the Spaniards to settle California unsuccessful — The Jesuits undertake the Reduction of California — Establishments of the Jesuits in the Peninsula, and their Expulsion from the Spanish Dominions. .... 06-107 Or Coi Uni e CONTENTS. XV srtt nil ific he ait to ew en- of ind th- 45-65 CHAPTER IV. 1769 TO 1779. First Establishments on the West Coast of California founded by the Span* iards — Dispute between Spain and Great Britain respecting the Falkland Islands — Exploring Voyages of the Spaniards under Perez, Heceta and Bodega, and Arteaga and Bodega — Discovery of Nootka Sound, Norfolk Sound, and the Mouth of the Columbia River — Importance of these Dis- coveries. . ^•v* • • • • • • 108-126 CHAPTER V. 1711 TO 1779. Discoveries of the Russians from Kamtchatka — Voyages of Bering and Tchirikof to the Arctic Sea and to the American Continent — Establish- ments of the Russian Fur Traders in the Aleutian Islands — Voyages of Synd, Krenitzin, and Levashef — First Voyage from Kamtchatka to China, made by Polish Exiles under Benyowsky — General Inaccuracy of the Ideas of the Russians respecting the Geography of the northernmost Coasts of the Pacific, before 1779. ... . . 127-139 M ide ish in le rst !n- )m is- y- ed 66-95 s of ;o jf ir 6-107 CHAPTER VI. 1763 TO 1780. Great Britain obtains Possession of Canada — Journey of Carver to the Up- per Mississippi — First Mention of the Oregon River — Inaccuracy of Car- ver's Statements — Journeys of Ilearne through the Regions west of Hudson's Bay — Voyage of Captain Cook to the North Pacific — His im- portant Discoveries in that Quarter, and death, — Return of his Ships to Europe ; Occurrences at Canton during their stay in that Port. 140-159 CHAPTER VII. 1780 TO 1789. Commercial Results of Cook's Discoveries — Settlements of the Russians in America — Scheme of Ledyard for the Trade of the North Pacific — Voy- age of La Perouse — Direct Trade between the American Coasts and Can- ton commenced — Voyages of the English Fur Traders — Re-discovery of the Strait of Fuca — Voyafie of Meares, who endeavors to find a great River described by the Spaniards — First Voyages from the United States to the South Pacific, and to Canton — Voyage of the Columbia and Wash- ington, under Kendrick and Gray, from Boston to the North Pacific. 160-181 CHAPTER VIII. 1788 AND 1789. Uneasiness of the Spanish Government at the proceedings of the Fur Trad- ers in the North Pacific — Voyages of Observation by Martinez and Haro \ XVI CONTENTS. to the Russian American Settlements — Remonstrances of the Court of Madrid to that of St. Petersburg, against the alleged Encroachments of the latter Power — Martinez and Haro sent by the Viceroy of Mexico to take possession of Nootka Sound — Seizure of British and other Vessels at Nootka by Martinez — Captain Gray, in the Washington, explores the East Coast of Queen Charlotte's Island, and enters the Strait of Fuca — Return of the Columbia to the United States. . . . 182-201 CHAPTER IX. ■ 1790. Controversy between Great Britain and Spain respecting the North-West Coasts of America and the Navigation of the Pacific — The Owners of the Vessels seized at Nootka apply for Redress to the British Government, which demands Satisfaction for the alleged Outrages — Spain resists the Demand, and calls on France for Aid, agreeably to the Family compact — Proceedings in the National Assembly of France on the Subject — Spain engages to indemnify the British for the Property seized — Further De- mands of Great Britain — Designs of Pitt against Spanish America — Secret Meditation of France, through which the Dispute is settled — Con- vention of October, 1790, called the Nootka Treaty — Proceedings in Parlia- ment, and Reflections on this Convention. . . . 202-215 Ce! t t I t( CHAPTER X. 1790 TO 1792. Vancouver sent by the British Government to explore the Coasts of America, and receive Possession of Lands and Buildings agreeably to the Conven- tion with Spain — Passage of the Washington, under Kendrick, through the Strait of Fuca, in 1789 — Nootka reoccupied by the Spaniards — Voyages of Fidalgo, Quimper, Elisa, Billings, Marchand, and Mataspina — Voyages of the American Fur Traders Gray, Ingraham, and Kendrick — Discovery of the Washington Islands by Ingraham. . . 216-230 CHAPTER XI. 1792 TO 1796. Vancouver and Broughton arrive on the American Coasts in 1792, and meet with Gray, who informs them of his Discovery of the Columbia River — The Strait of Fuca surveyed by Vancouver, Galiano, and Valdes — Nego- tiations between Vancouver and Quadra at Nootka — Vancouver's injustice to the Americans — Broughton 's Examination of the lower Part of the Columbia River — Vancouver's Proceedings at the Sandwich Islands — He completes the Survey of the North-West Coasts of America, and re- turns to England — The Spaniards abandon Nootka — Conclusions with Regard to the Dispute between Great Britain and Spain, and the Conven- tion of 1790. ....... 231-260 Firs th F< tic thi ac tw tal As Resti to Gr( Bri Mo Lai Lot twe of 1 CONTENTS. XVII of of to 3lS he 82-201 est the ;nt, the t — )ain De- i — >on- rlia- 202-215 CHAPTER XII. 1788 TO 1810. Establishment of the North- West Fur Trading Company of Montreal, in 1783 — Expeditions of Mackenzie to the Artie Sea and to the Pacific Coast — The Trade between the North Pacific Coasts of America and Canton conducted almost exclusively by Vessels of the United States from 1798 to 1814 — Establishment of the Russian American Company — Its Settle- ments and Factories on the American Coasts — Expedition of Krusenstern through the North Pacific — Proposition of the Russian Government to that of the United States, with Regard to the Trade of the North Pacific • . 260-275 CHAPTER XIII. 1803 TO 1806. Cession of Louisiana by France to the United States — Inquiries as to the true Extent of Louisiana — Erroneous Supposition that its Limits towards the North had been fixed by Commissaries agreeably to the Treaty of Utrecht — President Jefllerson sends Lewis and Clarke to examine the Missouri and Columbia — Account of their Expedition from the Mississippi to the Pacific. ....... 276-289 CHAPTER XIV ica, en- tugh I — lina [rick 216-230 leet Ir — }go- ktice llhe re- irith Jren- 1231-260 1806 TO 1815. First Establishments of the North- West Company in the Countries north of the Columbia — Pacific Fur Company formed at New York — Plan of its Founder — First Expedition from New York in the Tonquin — Founda- tion of Astoria near the Mouth of the Columbia River — Destruction of the Tonquin by the Savages — March of the Party under Hunt and Crooks across the Continent — Arrival of the Beaver in the Columbia — War be- tween the United States and Great Britain fatal to the Enterprise — Es- tablishments of the Pacific Company sold to the North- West Company — Astoria taken by the British — Dissolution of the Pacific Company. 290-305 CHAPTER XV. 1814 TO 1820. Restitution of Astoria to the United States by Great Britain, agreeably to the Treaty of Ghent — Alleged Reservation of Rights on the Part of Great Britain — First Negotiation between the Governments of Great Britain and the United States, respecting the Territories west of the Rocky Mountains, and Convention for the joint Occupancy of those Territories — Florida Treaty between Spain and the United States, by which the Latter acquires the Title of Spain to the North-West Coasts — Colonel Long's exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains — Disputes be- tween the British North-West and Hudson's Bay Companies — Union of those Bodies — Act of Parliament extending the Jurisdiction of the XVIII CONTENTS. Canada Courts to the Pacific Countries — Russian Establishments on the North Pacific — Expeditions in Search of Northern Passages between the Atlantic and the Pacific — Death of Tamahamaha, and Introduc- tion of Christianity into the Sandwicli Islands. . . . 306-330 CHAPTER XVI. 1820 TO 1828. Bill reported by a Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, for the Occupation of the Columbia River — Ukase of the Emperor of Russia, with regard to the North Pacific Coasts — Negotiations between the Governments of Great Britain, Russia, and the United States — Con- ventions between the United States and Russia, and between Great Britain and Russia — Further Negotiations between the United States and Great Britain relative to the Norlh-VVest Coasts — Indefinite Extension of the Arrangement for the joint Occupancy of the Territories west of the Rocky Mountains, by the British and the Americans. . . . 331-355 CHAPTER XVII, 1823 TO 1843. Few Citizens of the United States in the Countries west of the Rocky Moun- tains between 1813 and 1823 — Trading Expeditions of Ashley, Sublette, Smith, Pilcher, Pattie, Bonneville, and Wyeth — Missionaries from the United States form Establishments on the Columbia — First Printing Press set up in Oregon — Opposition of the Hudson's Bay ('ompany to the Americans; how exerted — Controversy between the United States and Russia — Dispute between the Hudson's Bay and the Russian American Companies ; how terminated — California ; Capture of Monterey by Com- modore Jones — The Sandwich Islands ; Proceedings of the Missionaries ; Expulsion of the Catholic Priests, and their Reinstatement by a French Force — The Sandwich Islands temporarily occupied by the British. 356-374 CHAPTER XVIII. 1842 TO 1844. Excitement in the United States respecting Oregon — Treaty of Washington determining Boundaries between the Territories of Great Britain and those of the United States, east of the Lake of the Woods — Mr. Linn's Bill in the Senate of the United States, for the immediate occupation of Ore- gon — Reflections on the Convention of 1827 — Present State of the Hud- son's Bay Company's Territories — Conclusion. . . . 375-403 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 405-471 GENERAL INDEX 473 I on the )etween itrodiic- 306-330 United Imperor letween - Con- Britain d Great I of tho Rocky 331-355 Moun- ubiette, •om the ? Press to the tes and nerican 1^ Com- naries ; French I. 356-374 GEOGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH AMERICA. iington d those I's Bill )f Ore- eHud- 375-403 405-471 473 GEOGKAVIIY or TliE WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH AMERICA. GENERAL VIEW. NoKTii America borders upon three great divisions of the ocean : the Atlunticon the east — the Arctic on the north — cuO the Pacific on the south and west — eacli of which receives, either directly or through its gulfs and bays, the superfluous waters from a corre- sponding great section of the continent. These three great sections of North America are une<|ual in ex- tent, and difl'erent in the character of their surface. At least one half of the continent is drained by streams entering the Atlantic ; and of that half, the waters from the larger, as well as the more fertile portion, arc carried by the Mississippi into the Mexican Gulf. Of the other two sections, that which borders on the Arctic Sea is probably the more extensive. The Atlantic and the Arctic sections present each a large proportion of surface nearly plane, and comparatively little elevated above the sea ; and the line of sepa- ration between them is so indistinctly marked as to be, in many places, imperceptible. The Pacific section, on the contrary, is trav- ersed in every part by steep and lofty ridges of highland ; and it is completely divided from the other portions by a chain of moun- tains, extending, in continuation of the Andes of South America, from the Isthmus of Panama, north-westward, to the utmost ex- tremities of the continent in that direction. Of the Atlantic coasts of America it is unnecessary to speak. The Pacific coast extends from Panama westward and north- ward, without any remarkable irregularity in its outline, to the tropic of Cancer, almost immediately under which is the entrance of the great Gulf of California, separating the Peninsula of Cali- fornia from the main continent, on the east. From the southern extremity of this peninsula, the coast runs generally north-westward to JNIount St. Elias, a lofty volcanic peak, "rising from the shore of the ocean under the 60th parallel ; beyond which, the con- tinent stretches far westward, between the Pacific on the south, and the Arctic Sea on the north, to its termination at Cape Prince of Wales, on Bering's Strait, the passage separating America from Asia. The part of this coast south of the 49th degree of latitude pre- 1 cmooRAPiiY — (ii:M:ii vL vikw. lents few indentations, and the islnnds in its vicinity are neither numerous nor Inrgr. North of the 'lOlh st chain, y Moun- ilow into r's River boundary !r. re several ng which lie of the valley of Farther portion of icd ridges y be con- e inequal- ca, — the xamined, >nd them, he Pacific es of vol- constant ky INlonn- salifcrous near the nr present America, irth of the also ditler the con- iices from ess within the OOth part west tid is less .llantic or expressed. Thus the north-westernmost regions of America appear to be almost as cold, and to receive as nuicii water from the heavens, as those surrounding Bafiin's Bay, or those in their own vicinity in Asia ; but in the countries on the Pacific side, corresponding, in latitude and other respects, with Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, the ground is rarely covered with snow for more than three or four weeks in the year, and it often remains unfrozen throughout the winter. In the territories on the western coasts, opposite to Virginia and Carolina, the winter is merely a wet season, no rain falling at any other time : and in the Peninsula of California, which is included between the same ))aralltls of latitude as Georgia and Florida, the temperature is as high as in any tropical region, and many years in succession pass without a shower or even a cloud. It is likewise observed that the interior portions of the Pacific section are in general more dry, and that the dilfereiice in tem- perature between tlie day and tlie night is much greater, than in the countries nearer the sea. The central portions of the continent, immediately east of the Rocky Mountains, exhibit the same jjeculiaritics of clinmte with those adjoining west of that cliain, though in a less degree. The vast plains within s(;vcral hundred miles east of the di\iding chain of mountains, between the 3Sth and the 50th j)arallels of latitude, present a surface of rocks and sand ; and except in the vicinity of the streams which cross them from the mountains, they produce nothing but stilf grass and shrubs. Descending towards the jNIississippi, the climate becomes less dry, and gradually as- smnes all the characters of that of the Atlantic regions. North of the GOth parallel there is more rain at all seasons of the year ; but the intensity of the cold and the length of the winter render the coimtry almost every where uniidiabitable by those who depend on agriculture for their su|)port. In consequence of this greater dryness of the climate on the western side of iVmeriea, and the proximity of the dividing chain of mountains to the coast, the rivers on that side are generally neither so long, nor so abundant in water, nor navigable to such distances from their mouths, as those which full into the Atlantic. The Columbia and the Colorado are the only streams flowing from America into the Pacific, which can be compared in any of those respects with several in the other sections of the continent ; being both of them inferior to the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, the Ama- zons, the Plate, and the Orinoco. The rivers of Western America present, in fact, few or no facilities for conmiercial transportation. They nearly all run, in their whole course, through deep ravines among stony mountains ; and they are frequently interrupted by ledges or accumulations of rock, producing falls and rapids, to i' '*' '"1 ''t '' 6 GEOGUAPUY GENEKAL VIEW. Wf. overcome which all the resources of art would probably be una- vailing. East of the Rocky Mountains are many great streams flowing from that chain into the Missouri ; but none of them seem calculated to serve as cliannels of communication between the eastern and the western sides of the continent. Under circumstances of climate, soil, and conformation of sur- face, so different, it may be readily supposed that considerable differences must exist between the natural productions of the countries on the western side of North America, and those of the eastern section of the continent. Accordingly it is found that few species of plants, and indeed of animals, are common to the Atlantic and the Pacific territories ; and that many genera which abound on the one side of the dividing chain of mountains, are rare, if not wanting, on the other side. Some vegetables acquire a greater development in the vicinity of the north-west coasts of the continent, than in any other part of the world ; but on the other hand, large portions of the Pacific section are absolutely bar- ren, and incapable of being rendered productive by art. In re- compense, however, the rivers abound in fish, especially in salmon, which ascend to great distances in the interior, and form the prin- cipal food of the aboriginal inhabitants. With respect to the aboriginal inhabitants of North America — the Arctic coasts are occupied by a peculiar race, called the Eskhnaux, who are also found on the northernmost shores of the Pacific, in- termingled with the Tchikski, the aborigines of Northern Asia. The remainder of the continent seems to have been inhabited, prior to the entrance of the Europeans, by one and the same race of men ; the natives of the various portions differing from each other slightly, considering the differences of climate, soil, and modes of life. That some admixture with the races of Southern Asia may have taken place, is, however, not improbable, considering the fact that two vessels from Japan have been driven on the west coasts of North America since 1813. The establishments of civilized nations in these countries are as yet all on a small scale. The Russians occupy the coasts and islands north of the latitude of 54 degrees 40 mirmtes : their settlements are all under the control of the Itussinn Amcricon Compovy, a corporation enjoying the special protection of the im- perial government, and are devoted exclusively to the collection of the furs and skins of the land and sea animals abounding in that quarter, great numbers of which are annually transported to Asia and Europe. The British and the Citizens of the United States are spread throughout the regions south and east of those occupied by the Russians, as far as California ; and have been hith- erto likewise chiefly engaged in the fur trade, though some agricul- 4 m G£OGRAPUY GENIUIAL VIKVV. are as ts and : their icrican he im- lection ing in irted to United those in hith- gricul- tural settlements have been formed, by the people of both nations, on the waters of the Columbia River : within the last two or three years, however, particularly in 1843, large bodies of emigrants from the United States have gone to those countries, respecting whom no precise accounts have been yet obtained. The British are all under the direction of the Hudson's Boy Company, which possesses, in virtue of a grant from the British government, the exclusive privilege of trading in all the Indian countries of Amer- ica belonging to or claimed by that power, and they are restrained and protected by British laws, under an act of parliament, extend- ing the jurisdiction of the courts of Canada over all those coun- tries, so far as regards subjects of Great Britain. The citizens of the Dnited States, on the contrary, are deprived of all protection, and are independent of all control ; as they are not subject to British laws, and their own government exercises no authority whatever over any part of America west of the Rocky Mountains. On the coasts of California, south of the 38th degree of latitude, are many colonies, garrisons, and missionary stations, founded by the Spati- iards during the last century, and now maintained by the Mexi' cans, who succeeded to the rights of Spain in that part of America in 1821 : this country, though thinly inhabited by a wretched, indolent population, is the only part of the Pacific section of North America, which can be considered as regularly settled ; which possesses an organized, civil and social system, and where indi- viduals hold a property in the soil secured to them by law. Each of these four nations claims the exclusive possession of a portion of the territory on the Pacific side of America north of the Californian Gulf; and each of them is a party to some treaty with another, for the temporary use, or definitive sovereignty of such portion. Thus it has been agreed by treaty, in 1819, between the United States and Spain, renewed in 1828 between the United States and Mexico — that a line drawn from the Rocky Moun- tains to the Pacific, in the course of the 42d parallel of latitude, should separate the dominions of the former power on the north from those of Mexico on the south. It was in like manner agreed in 1824, by convention between the United States and Russia — that the former nation should make no establishments on the coasts north of the parallel of .54 degrees 40 minutes, and that the latter should make none south of the same line ; but this convention was neutralized, and in fact abrogated, by a treaty concluded be- tween Russia and Great Britain in the following year, by which all the coasts and islands north of the latitude of 54 degrees 40 minutes, and the whole territory west of a line drawn along the summits of the highlands bordering the western shores of the continent, from that parallel northward to Mount St. Elias, V\ I m 8 GEOGRAPHY GENRUAL VIEW. 1 i '! \t i' m: i under the 60th degree, and thence due north to the Arctic Sea, were declared to be the exclusive properly of Russia, while all north and east of that line were to belont,' to Great Britain. Thus we find on the western side of North America only two lines of distinct boundary or partition, as yet settled between the governments of civilized nations — the one between two powers, the United States and Mexico — and the other between two ditter- ent powers. Great Britain and Russia — each line traversing the whole breadth of the Pacific section of the continent. Of the vast territory comprised between these two lines, no spot has yet been assigned by mutual agreement to any civilized nation. The United States claim the country northward from the 452d parallel, and Great Britain claims that extending south and east from the other line, each to a distance undefined, but so far as to secure for itself the whole, or nearly the whole, of tiie region traversed by the Columbia River ; and, neither nation being willing to recede from its pretensions, all the countries claimed by either, west of the Rocky Mountains, remain, by convention between the two governments concluded in 1821, free and open to the citizens or subjects of both. It would be improper here to omit to notice the group of the San(livic/i Islands, or llaivniian Archipclas are to ine inar- |)olitical America. Mts, who ion, and States, jiry inon- s, within Iways be maritime [lich they peaceful powers, itern sec- 1 in de- lof Cali- CALIFORNIA. TnK name Cah'fonna was first assi^^ned, by the Spaniards, in 1530, to the southern portion of the great peninsula which ex- tends on the western side of North America, from the 3'2d de- gree of latitude to and within the limits of the torrid zone ; and it was afterwards made to comprehend the whole division of the continent north-west of Mexico, just as that of Florida was ap- plied to the opposite portion on the Atlantic side. At the present day, California is usually considered as including' the peninsula, and the territory extending from it, on the Pacific, northward as far as the limits of Oregon, or the country drained by the Columbia River; Cape Mendocino, in the latitude of 40 degrees 19 min- utes, being assumed as the point of separation of the two coasts. The Mexican government, however, regards the 4-2d parallel of latitude as the northern limit of California, agreeably to the treaty concluded between that republic and the United States of Amer- ica in 18:28. California is naturally divided into two portions : the Peninsula, or Old, or Lower California, in the south, and Continental, or Neiv, or i'ppcr California, in the north ; the line of separation between which runs along the 3-2d parallel of latitude, from the head or northern extremity of the Californian Gulf to the Pacific. The Gulf of Calikokniv, called by the Spaniards the Sen of Cortes, but more commonly the Vermilion Sea, is a great arm of the Pacific, joining that ocean under the 2.'3d parallel of lati- tude, and thence extending north-westward between the conti- nent on the east and the Californian Peninsula on the west, to its head or termination, under the .32d parallel, where it re- ceives the waters of the llivers Colorado and Gila. Its length is about seven hundred miles : its breadth, at its junction with the Pacilic, is one hundred miles ; farther north it is somewhat wider, and still farther, its shores gradually approach each other, until they become the banks of the Colorado. 9 I lit! ■!. ■> 1 'I I; 10 GEOGUAPHY OF CAMFORNIA. /i!i I) i! W r iff 'I': ;;i «i ' 'P The western, or peninsular coasts of the gulf are high and steep, offering very few places of security for vessels ; and not a single river enters the sea on that side. Its <'astern, or contin(;ntal shores, are generally low, and the sea in their vicinity is shallow, which renders the navigation along them dangerous. Tiie |)rcvailing winds are from the south ; a current, however, constantly sets out from the gulf, which is perceived by vessels passing at a consid- erable distance from its mouth. 'r/ic ttrrUonj on the eastern side of the C((]i for nirni Gulf wclmlcs two large political divisions of the IMcxican Kepnblic, of which the northern is called Sonora, and the southern Sinnloa, each extend- ing from the coasts of the gulf, to the ^ on the t msf, numoly ; Stin Diriro, Snnta liarhara, Monterey, and Sun Frntuisco. San l)iii(o, the southernmost settlement of any importan* ■ on the Pacific coast of California, and the first established I the Hpaniards in that country, is situated on the north side, and near the entrance of an extensive bay, which communicates with tlio ocean by a narrow passage opening to the south, in the lati- tude of 3'2 degrees 41 minutes. The bay runs into the land about ten miles, and is separated from the Pacific by a ridge of sand ; vessels of any size may enter it, and find safe anchorage and protection from all winds within a mile of the northern shore. TIk! town of San Diego, the trade of which is probably greater than that of any other i)lace in California, is a small village, situ- ated about a mile north of the bay. The i)resi or marsh having no connection with the ocean or any lower recipient ; and as the water Irom this final recipient is taken away only by evaporation, which does not abstract a single saline |)article, it is a neces- saryjcdiisecpiencc, that the salt must be constantly accnnndatini; there. Thus the Dead (Sea, which has no ontiet, is saturated with salts, \vhile the Lake of Tibe- rias, iVom which it receives its waters tliroin;h the Jordan, is fiesh. In like man- ner the snil'aces of countries, from which the water is not carrii'd otf either by streams or inliltratioii. are always imprc'.'nated with salt ; of this the high plains of Mexico, and the valleys immediately west of the Rocky jAIonntains, oiler ex- amples; the soil di" the jiarts, not reirnlarly drained, beiiiu; so salt as to render veiretalion impossible, even wlieri' all the other rerpusites are fmiiished in abnn- (huice. The reviMse is not always true ; nevertheless, the saltnessof a lars^c body of water, or of a liin^e extent of trronnd, alfords stront; reasons for suspecting that there is no re"uhir dra in from it into a lower rec! pieiit ;Ui ft'*'i vf II 30 GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON. by the Spaniards, Lalce Timpanogoa, but now generally known as the Utah Lake, is said to be more than a hundred miles in length and of great breadth ; it is chiefly supplied by the Bear River, which enters it on the north-east, alter a long and circuitous course through the mountains. Farther south, near the 39th de- gree of latitude, is Ashley's Lake, on the shores of which the American traders from Missouri formerly had an establishment. OREGON i'4 t f . [ ii The political boundaries of Oregon have never yet been deter- mined by common consent of the parties claiming to possess it. In the United States they arc considered as embracing the whole of America west of the Rocky Mountains, from the 4r2d par- allel of latitude to that of 54 degrees 40 minutes. Some geo- graphers have, however, regarded as Oregon oidy the region actually traversed and drained by the Columbia River, for wliich Oregon is supposed,* erroneously, to have been the aboriginal name ; and the British government has always insisted on a still farther contraction of its limits. Leaving the political ijuestion to be settled hereafter, the region of the Columbia River will be now examined. The natural boundaries of this region seem to be as follows : On the east, the R^cky Mountains from the 42d parallel of latitude to the 53d ; on the south, the Snowy Mountains, which are said to extend nearly in the course of the -i^d parallel from the Rocky Mountains westward to the great chain bor- dering the Pacific, and thence to the ocean west ; on the west, the Pacific Ocean from Cape Mendocino, or its vicinity to Cape Flattery, at the entrance of the Strait of Fuca, near the 49th parallel ; and on the north, the Strait of Fuca, from the ocean to its easternmost extremity, from which a ridge extends north- eastward to the Rocky Mountains, separating the waters of the Columbia from those of Fraser's River. It is impossible, how- ever, to define those boundaries exactly, as the topography of the interior, and particularly the course of the great mountain chains, is but imperfectly known. The territory included within the limits above indicated, and " See page 142 of the history. 1 GEOGRAPHY OF OUKGON. 21 nown as n length r River, ircuilous 39th de- hich the ment. en detcr- ess it. In he whole 4:2d par- onie tico- le rcij;ion for which aboriginal on a still he region follows : larallel of ns, which I parallel Imin bor- thc west, y to Cape the 49th he ocean ids north- rs of the ible, how- ly of the in chains, ated, and 1 i i I drained almost exclusively by the Columbia, is not less than four hundred thousand square miles in extent ; which is more than double the surface of France, and nearly one half of that of all the States of the American Federal Union. Its southernmost points lie in the same latitude with Boston and with Florence ; while its northernmost correspond with the northern extremity of New- foundland and with Hamburg. As the Columbia forms the most important geographical feature of the country, a particular description of that river will be pre- sented first. The great trunk of the Columbia, which enters the Pacific in the latitude of 46 degrees 15 minutes, is formed at the distance of more than three hundred miles from the ocean, by the union of two streams ; one from the south-east, called the Sahoptin, or SnaJce, or Lewis Jlivcr, and the other, usually considered as the main river, from the north-east. These two great confluents col- lect together all the waters flowinsr from the western sides of the Rocky Mountains, between the 4'2(1 and the 54th degrees of latitude. The northernmost sources of the great river are situated in the Rocky Mountains, near the 5;3d degree of latitude. One of its head-waters, the Canoe River, rises in a cleft of the dividing chain, called by the British traders the Punch Bowl, within a few feet of the westernmost source of the Athabasca, one of the head- waters of the Mackenzie, which empties into the Arctic Sea. This cleft is the principal pass of conununication for the British traders between the territories on either side of the ridge; it is described, by all who have visited it, as presenting scenes of the most terrific grandeur, being overhung by the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains, one of which. Mount Brown, is not less than sixteen thousand feet, and the other, Mount lloolcer, exceeds fifteen thou- sand feet, in heiiiht above the ocean level. At a place called liont Encampment, near the 52d degree of latitude. Canoe River joins two other streams, the one from the north, the other, the largest of the three, from the south ; and the river thus formed, considered as the Mttin Volumhia, takes its course nearly due south, through defiles between lofty mountains, being generally a third of a mile in width, but in some places spreading out into broad lakes. In the latitude of 48 1-2 de- grees, it receives the Flat Boio, or Mc(iillirrai/'s River, a large stream, rising also in the dividing range ; and a little farther south it unites with the Flat-head, or Clarke River, scarcely if at all in- ferior, in the quantity of water supplied, to any of the other branches of the Columbia. The sources of the Clarke River are in the Rocky Momitains. near the 44th degree of latitude, not far from those of the Missouri and of the Lewis ; thence it runs north- : ! ^'\ ■1 ',(1 -1 (' i" III It; ;^; I ' ■i J' r \1 I i I m 23 GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON. ward along the base of the great chain, and then westward, forrn- inj;, under the 48th parallel, an extensive lake, some distance 'n* below which it falls into the Columbia over a ledge of rocks. After uniting with Clarke River, the Columbia turns to the west, and passes through a ridge of mountains, where it forms a cataract called the Kcttk Falls ; running thence in the same direction between the 48th and the 49th parallels it receives the i!>polian from the south, and the Okinagnn from the north ; after which it resumes its southern course, and thus continues to its junction with the great southern branch, near the 46th degree of latitude. Tliese streams are generally navigable by boats, the passage being however, interrupted in many places by falls and rapids. Of the great southern branch of the Columbia, the farthermost sources are situated in the valleys or holes, as they are called, of the Rocky Mountains, near the 4'2d degree of latitude ; within short distances from the sources of the Yellow Stone, the Platte and the Colorado of California. Tho principal head-waters are Hciinjs River, the most eastern, and the I'ortneiil', which flows from the vicinity of the Utah Salt Lake ; below their junction t!u; Lewis flows west, and then north-west, receiving on its way the Mnladc, or Sickhj River, the Roisc, or Reed's River, the Salmon River, and the Kooskooslcee from the cast, and ihe Malheur and Powder Rivers from the west, to its union with the northern branch of the Columbia, near the 46th degree of latitude, about a thousand miles from its sources. These streams are all bordered, in most places, by steep mountains, generally of volcanic origin ; and some of them rush violently, for long distances, through deep and narrow chasms. Like the northern branches of the Columbia, they also abound in cataracts, which must forever prevent their be- ing used as channels for transportation by boats ; though the country in the vicinity of the Lewis even now afl'ords passage for wagons from the Rocky Moimtains to the point of junction of the two great branches of the Columbia. The width of the Columbia, at a short distance below the point of junction of its northern and southern branches, is about tlnee- quarters of a mile. Thence it flows westward, gradually becoming narrower, to its falls in the chain of mountains which runs nearest the coast; receiving the JValla-Jl nlla, the Cmatnlla, John Dai/s River, and a large stream called the Fall's River, (the Toicahnahioks of Lewis and Clarke) all from the south. This part of the Columbia is navigable by boats ; but the passage is always attended with much danger, from the tortuous course of the river, and the num- ber of the rapids and whirlpools. The falls are formed by ledges of rocks, over which the river is thrown with violence, between perpendicular walls of basalt. Four miles lower are the dalles. "> I I 1 GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON. 93 pt!at rapids formed by the passaj^e of the water between vast masses of rock ; and thirty miles below these are the cascades, a series of falls extending about half a mile, near the lowermost of which the tides of the Pacific are observable. All these cataracts have, it is said, been passed by boats descending when the river was at its floods; the navigation, however, according to all ac- counts, must be most perilous, and from the nature of the ground adjoining, it seems that no attempt to obviate, by art, the difHculties thus presented, would be successful. The cascades are about one hundred and twenty-five miles from the mouth of the Columbia ; near them, the Clakamis River joins the great stream from the south ; and a little farther down, the Willamctt or MuUonomah comes in from the same direction by two mouths, between which is Wappatoo Island, thus named from a root much used as food by the Indians of the country. A few miles lower, the CowcUtz River enters from the north, below which the Cohmibia begins to widen ; and, at the distance of ten miles from the sea, it spreads out to the breadth of several miles, forming, on its northern side, a cove called Grni/s Ray, in honor of the com- mander of the first ship which entered the river. Finally all the wa- ters, collected from these various sources, rush into the Pacific be- tween two points, seven miles apart; namely, Cape Adams, on the south, and on the north Caj)c Disappointment, in latitude of 46 de- grees 19 minutes, and longitude of 1'2'^ degrees west from Green- wich, or 47 degrees west from Washington. The mouth of the Columbia is the only harbor for ships on the whole coast between the Bay of San Francisco and the Strait of Fuca ; a distance equal to that from the mouth of Chesapeaixe Bay to the mouth of the St. Lawrence, or from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Straits of Dover; and during the greater part of the year it is difiicult and dangerous, and often impossible, for any vessel either to enter or quit the river, on account of the intricacy and variability of the channel and the violence of the breakers, pro- duced by the collision of the river floods with the ocean billows. Many vessels have already been injured in attempting the passage, even under circumstances apparently the most favorable ; and many have been lost, when nothing seemed to indicate the ap- proach of danger, until they were violently thrown upon the bot- tom. The coast south of the Columbia is most perilous to navigators at all times ; as the shores are every where steep and rocky, and bordered by reefs, on which the waves of the Pacific are driven with fury by the prevailing north-west winds. Vessels not draw- ing more than eight feet, may, however, find a harbor in the mouth of the Umqua, a small stream falling into the Pacific in the latitude 11 ;>■■ m m i t, ,1 t I; 34 GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON. J.. of 42 degrees 51 minutes, immediately north of n remarkable promontory called Ccipc Orford, probably the Cape iiluncu of the old Spanish navigators. Small vessels may also find anchorage in a cove or recess of the coast named by the S|)aniards Port Trini- dad, under the parallel of 41 degrees 3 minutes, about forty miles north of Cape Mendocino, and in some other spots ; but no place on tins coast can be said to oHer protection to vessels against winds or waves. At the distance of forty-five miles north of the mouth of the Columbia, under the parallel of 47 degrees, a small bay opens to the Pacific, which was discovered in May, 1792, by Robert Gray, of Boston, the captain of the ship Columbia, and named by him Bulfincli's Harbor, in honor of one of the owners of his vessel ; it has also been called (iraifs Harbor, and on English maps may be found generally represented as Jl'hidbcifs Bay, after one of Van^ couver's officers, who surveyed it in December, 179*2. The en- trance is about three miles in width ; thence the bay extends east, south and north, about six miles in each direction, receiving at its eastern extremity a small stream called the Chckclis. The harbor is however shallow, and its entrance is obstructed by bars of sand, factually preventing the passage of all vessels drawing more than eight or ten feet. Besides Bulfinch's Harbor, there is no port or place of security for vessels between the mouth of the Columbia and the Strait of Fuca ; and the only spot worthy of mention, on this part of the coast, is Destruction Inland, near the continent, in the latitude of 47 1-2 degrees, so called by the captain of an Aus- trian trading ship in 1787, in consequence of the murder of a number of Ills men by the natives of the adjacent country. The Strait of Fuca is an arm of the sea. separating a great island from the continent on the south and west. To this strait, considerable interest was at one time attached, from the supposi- tion that it might be a channel connecting the Atlantic with the Pa- cific : it extends from the ocean eastward about one hundred miles, varying in breadth from ten to thirty miles, betv^een the 48th and the 49th parallels of latitude ; thence it turns to the north-west, in which direction it runs three hundred miles farther, first expanding into a long, wide bay, and then contracting into narrow and intri- cate passages among islands, to its reunion with the Pacific, under the 51st parallel. From its south-eastern extremity, a great bay, called Admiralty Inlet, stretches southward into the continent more than one hundred miles, dividing into many branches, of which the principal are Hood^s Canal, on the west, and Fufrct^s Sound the southernmost, extending nearly to the 47th parallel. This in- let possesses many excellent harbors, and as the country adjacent is healthy and productive, there is every reason to believe that * / /' GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON. 25 in great Id intri- undcr |!at bay, It more which Sound 'his in- Ijacent le that this part of America will, in time, become valuable, agriculturally, as well as commercially. There are many other harbors on the Strait of Fuca, of which the principal are Port Discovery, near the entrance of Admiralty Inlet, said by Vancouver to be one of the best in the Pacific, and Poverty Cove, called Port Nunez Gaona by the Spaniards, situated a few miles west of Cape Flat- tery. That cape, so called by Cook, and afterwards named by Vancouver Cape Classct, is a conspicuous promontory in the lati- tude of 48 degrees 27 minutes, near which is a large rock, called Tatoochc's Island, united to the promontory by a rocky ledge, par- tially covered by water. The shore between the cape and Admi- ralty Inlet is composed of sandy cliffs overhanging a beach of sand and stones ; from it the land gradually rises to a chain of moun- tains stretching southwardly along the Pacific to the vicinity of the Columbia, the highest point of which received, in 17S8, the name of Mount Olympus, The great chain of mountains, already so often mentioned as extending along the whole western coast of the continent, runs through Oregon, generally at the distance of eighty or one hun- dred miles (torn the shore, as far north as the 49th degree of latitude, where the eastern extremity of the Strait of Fuca washes its base. Thence one of its ridges runs north-east to the Rocky Mountains, dividing the waters of the Columbia from those of Fraser's River; another ridge overhangs the sea-coast north-west- ward ; and the islands of the JSorth-wf.st Archipelago, which border the continent from the 49th to the 58th parallels, may be regarded as another range stretching through the sea. The part of this chain included in Oregon, has received several appellations, of which, no one is as yet universally adopted. It is called — the Californian Mountains — the Clamtt Mountains, from a tribe of Indians inhabiting a part of the country on its western side — the Cascade Alountains, from the cas^ .des or cataracts formed by the Columbia, in passing throdg!. it — and finally, a patriotic citiztMi of the United States, has proposed to call it the President's Range, and has assigned to some of the highest peaks, the names of chief magistrates of the Federal Republic* One of these peaks, in the latitude of 44 degrees, received from Lewis and Clarke, who, first of all white men, beheld it in 1805, the name o( Mount Jefferson ; for which, the British traders have thought proper to substitute that of Mount Vancouver. The other principal points in this ridge, are— Mount Baker, near the 49th parallel, and Mount Rainier under the 47th ; 3[ount Saint Helens, * The autlior of these pages will venture to suggest one more name — The Far-lVest Movntai.is. i i i> '.il #■ - -■■J I i % , f I I^i 26 GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON. the highest, rising not less than fifteen thousand feet above the ocean level, due east of the mouth of the Columbia, for which the name of Mount IVash'msrton has been proposed ; Mount Mac- laughlin and Mount Maclcod, so called by the traders of the Hudson's Bay Company, in honor of two of their factors ; Mount Hood, near the 45th parallel ; Mount iShasti/ near the 43d, and Mount Jackson, a stupendous pinnacle, in tlie latitude of 41 degrees 40 minutes, which has been also called Mount Pitt by the British traders. Some of these peaks arc visible from the ocean, particularly Mount Saint Helens, which serves as a mark for vessels entering the Columbia : they present, when seen from the summit of the Blue Mountains on the west, one of the grandest prospects in nature. The country between the Pacific coast and this westernmost chain of mountains, consists of ranges of lower mountains, separated by narrow valleys, generally running parallel with the great chain, and with the coast. The climate of this region resembles that of California : the summer is warm and dry, and rain seldom falls between April and November, though during the remainder of the year it is violent and almost constant; snow is rarely seen in the valleys, in which the ground sometimes continues soft and unfrozen throughout the winter. The soil in some of these valleys is said to be excellent, for wheat, rye, oats, pease, potatoes and apples, fifteen bushels of wheat being sometimes yielded by a single acre ; Indian corn, which requires both heat and moisture, does not succeed there or in any other part of Oregon. It is, however, evident, that with the peculiarities of climate, above-mentioned, the country can never be very productive, without artificial irrigation, which is practicable only in a few places. Hogs live and multiply in the woods, where an abundance of acorns is to be found ; the cattle also increase, and it is not generally necessary for them to be housed or fed in the winter. The hills are covered with timber, which grows to an immense size. A fir, near Astoria, measured forty- six feet in circumference at ten feet from the earth ; the length of its trunk, before giving off a branch, was one huridred and fifty- three feet, and its whole height not less than three hundred feet ; another tree, of the same species, on the banks of the Umqua River, is fifty-seven feet in girth of trunk, and two hundred and sixteen feet in length, below its branches. " Prime sound pines," says Cox, " from two hundred to two hundred and eighty feet in height, and from twenty to forty feet in circumference, are by no means un- common." The land, on which these large trees grow, is good ; but the labor of clearing it would be so great as to prevent any one from undertaking the task, until all the other spots, capable of cultivation, should have been occupied. plIltK I.C CI wiiicj tlio 4: four tin- V nry at niinil) ficial GKOGRAPHY OF OREGON. 27 f)ve the ■ vvhicli t Mac of the Mount Ul, and I of 41 Pitt by cm the a murk en from j;randest ternmost Rparatcd [It chain, s that of lorn falls er of the !n in the unfrozen is saiil to 3s, fifteen [ ; Indian eed there that with an never acticahle woods, Utlo also housed er, which ed forty- le length and fifty- red feet ; ua River, sixteen says Cox, ght, and icans un- is good ; vent any apable of The superficial extent of this westernmost region of Oregon, does not exceed forty thousand square miles ; of which, a small {)roportion, not more than an eighth or a tenth, is fit for cultivation. The l)est lands are believed to lie around Admiralty Inlet, on the Chekelis River, which empties into Rulfinch's Harbor, on the Cowelitz, on the Willamet, and on the Umqua. Settlements have been formed by individual Americans and by the Hudson's Day Company, in each ot those parts, as also at one or two places on the banks of the Main Columbia, of which those in the valley of the Willamet appear to give the greatest promise of success ; but they are all on a scale so small, they have existed so short a time, and the accounts as yet received of them are so inexact and so much at variance with each other, that it is impossible to arrive at any definite opinion with regard to them.'"' 'J'he region within about two hundred miles east of the western- most or maritime chain of mountains, embraces several tracts of country, comparatively level, and some valleys wider than those west of the same chain ; the soil is, however, less productive, and the cliniiite less favorable for agriculture, than in the places similarly situated nearer the Pacific. The most extensive valleys in this region, are those traversed by the streams, flowing into the Columbia from the south, between the maritime range, and the Blue Mountains, which form the western wall of the great valley of J.ewis River ; the plains, as they are called, though they are rather tracts of undulating country, are on both sides of the north- ern branch, between the 46th and tlie 49th parallels of latitude. The surface of the plaii.is consists generally of a yellow sandy clay, covered with grass, small shrubs and prickly pears ; in the valleys farther south, the soil is somewhat better, containing less of sand and more of vegetable mould, and they give support to a few trees, chiefly sumach, cotton-wood, and other such soft and useless woods. The climate of this whole region is more dry than that of the country nearer the Pacific, the days are warm, and the nights * That dilTiTcncps of opinion slionUl pxist as to the quality of lands, is not siir- prisint;; but it is not easy to acc-ouiit for tin- extravagantly erroneous assertions wliii'li liavc Iicen made as to tlie e.rtcnt of land in tiiis ]i;irt of Oiegon, possessing a si)il superior In inn/ in the United States. Tims, it lias been pravely stated, that tlie valley of the Willamet contains not less than si.vtij thousand square miles, of tl(e finest land; while this whole valley is, in reality, merely an inconsiderable jiortion of the westernmost re;,'ion of Orei;oii, the siiperlieial extent of which, may be easily shown not to exceed forty thousand scjiiare miles. 'J'he Strait of Fuca, whicji bounds this reijion on the north, is in latitude of JsJ deijrces ; and assuming the 'l-'d parallel, as its southern limit, its extreme length isOi dejj;rees, or less than four himdred and lifty miles I'uijlish ; its breadth — that is, the distance between the Paciiic shore and ihe great chain of mountains which forms the eastern bound- ary of this region — does not avera;^e eit;hty miles ; and by mtdtiplying these two nimd)ors, thirty-six thousand square Knt;iish miles appears as the utmost super- ficial extent of the westernmost region of Oregon. r i \ ii m I i i 28 GEOGRAFHV OV OIIUGON. cool ; but the want of moisture in the air prevents the contrnsf of temperature from beiii^' injurious to health, and this country is re- presented, by all who have had the op|)ortunity of Judfiin^' by ex- perience, as being of extraordinary salubrity. The wet season, as in the country nearer to the Pacific, extends fron) October to April; but the rains are neither frequent nor abundant, and they rarely occur at any other period of the year. In the southern valleys there is little snow ; farther north it is more connnon, but it seldom lies long, except on the heiiihts. Under such circumstances it will be seen that little encnurnge- ment is oflered for the cultivation of this part of Oregon. On the other hand, the plains and valleys appear to be admirably adapted for the support of cattle, as grass, either green or dry, may be found at all times, within a short distance, on the bottom lands or on the hill sides. The want of wood must also prove a great obstacle to settlement, as this indispensable article can only be procured froni a great distance up the north branch of the Columbia, or from the PaciPc region, with which the passages of communication through the mountains are few and difllcult. The country farther east, between the Blue INfounlains and the Rocky IMouniains, appears to bo, except in a very few small de- tached spots, absolutely uninhabitable by tliose who depend on agriculture for subsistence. It is in fact a collection of l)are rocky mountain chains, separated by deep gorges, ihrougli which (low the streams produced by the melting of the snows on the smnmits ; for in the lower grounds rain seldom falls, at any time. North of the 40th parallel, the climate is less dry, and the bases of the moiintains are covered with wood ; but the temperature in most places is too cold for the production of any of the useful grains or garden vege- tables : the parts which appear to be the most favorable for aixri- culture are those adjacent to the Clarke River, and particularly around the Flat-head Lake, where the hills are well clothed with wood, and the soil about their basis is of good quality. On the borders of the Lewis, and of some of the streams falling iiiio it, are valleys and prairies, producing grass for cattle ; but all the attempts to cultivate the esculent vegetables have failed, chiefly, as it is be- lieved, from the great difl'erence in the temperature between the day and the succeeding night, especially in the summer, which is commonly not less than 30, and often exceeds 50 degrees of Fah- renheit's thermometer.* The territory north of the 49th parallel of latitude, and north- * The thermomptrr was seen by Wyetli, at Fort Hall, on tlie Lewis, near tl e 43d parallel of latitude, at the fVee/,ingrees if ; in neaily west of that drained by the Columbia river, has been called New Ciikilonia, by tin; IJrilish fur-traders, who first established posts in it beyond the r)(ith parallel, in 180(5. It is a sterile land of snow- clad mountains, tortuous rivers, and lakes frozen over more than two thirds of the year ; presenting scarcely a single spot in which any of the vegetables used as food by civilized people can be pro- duced. The waters, like those of the country further south, how- ever abound in (isli, which, with berries, form the principal support of the native population. The lurgest lakes are Bnbine, conimu- nicuting with the oceun by Simpsoti's liivcr, and Stuart^s, C^iics- niTs and Fi'ascr\s Lnkes, the outlet of all which is Frnser''s Jiher, a long but shallow stream emptying into the Strait of Fuca, at its eastern extremity. 'J'he const of this country is very irregular in outline, being penetrated by many bays and inlets, running up from the sea, among the mountains, which border that side of the continent ; between it and the open Pacific lie the islands of the North- West Airhipehigo, which will now be described. The Nohth-VVkst Auchii'klago is the generul nnmc for the remnrkable collection of islands, situated in and nearly filling a recess of tue American coast, about seven hundred miles in length and eighty or one hundred in breadth, which stretches from the 48th degree of latitude north-west to the 7)S\\\ ; that is to say — between the same |)arallels as Great liritain. These islands are in num- ber many thousands, presenting together a surface of not less than fifty thousand square miles : they are, however, witli the exception of nine or ten, very small, and the greater part of them arc mere rocks. 'J'he largest islands are all traversed by mountain ridges, in the direction of their greatest length, from south-east to north-west ; and the whole Archi|)ela coasts isporta- service le most illy Ca- in the exceed loyed in [udson's near the miles in I twenty simply a the resi- hc Com- f various and be- ams and t hospital Ics lower herds of re water- or curing le post is 3 Indians 1 (princi- and half- le plan of die ages ; the great )rity over , situated outh, and Astoria, of New la River, ilcs south not more ttlc river the great n, see page arm of the Strait of Fuca, called Admiralty Inlet ; near this place the Company has a large agricultural establishment, which is said to he in a prosperous condition. Fort Langley is at the entrance of Eraser's River, into the eastern extremity of the Strait of Fuca, in latitude of 49 degrees 25 minutes. Besides these, the Hud- son's Bay Company has several forts on the channels separating the islands of the north-west Archipelago from the continent ; the northernmost of which is near the mouth of the Stikine, a large river emptying into Prince Frederick's Sound, in the latitude of 56 degrees 50 minutes. On the Columbia, above its falls, the Company has Fort Walla- Walla or Nez-Pcrce, near the confluence of the great northern and southern branches ; Fort Okinagan, at the entrance of the Okina- gan River into the north or main branch ; Fort Colvillc, near the Kettle Falls ; and some others, of less consequence. On the Lewis, or great southern branch, are Fort Boise, at the mouth of tlie Boise, or Reed's River, and Fort Hall, at the entrance of the Portnenf. North of the Columbia country, are Fort Alexandria, on Frasers River, and others on the lakes which abound in that part of the continent. All these are, however, on a very small scale, and seldom contain more than two or three clerks or traders and a few Indians or half-breed hunters. Of the American settlements in Oregon, no exact accounts have been obtained of later date than the beginning of 1843, at which time they were few and small, being indeed little more than mis- sionary stations. The principal are those in the valley of the VVillamet, then containing about a hundred Americans ; another station is on the south side of the Columbia, near the Cascades ; and others are at the Walla- Walla, and near Fort Colville. The whole number of citizens of the United States, thus established, dirtuB to m 1535.] COUTES LANDS IN CALIFORNIA. 55 killed by the natives ; the survivors succeec! . in carrying the vessel over to the little harbor of Chiametla, in Xalisco, where she also was seized by Nuno de Guzman. These attempts of Cortes to make discoveries in the north-west, had, in the mean time, excited Nuno de Guzman to efforts with the same object ; and he had sent several parties of men in that direc- tion, one of which appears to have traced the western shore of the continent as far as the mouth of the river now called the Colorado, and to have first brought accounts of rich and populous countries and splendid cities in the interior. Guzman had alf-o received large accessions to his forces from Mexico, and was making many settlements, one of which soon prospered, and became, in time, the city of Guadalaxara, the second in size in New Spain. When Cortes l)ecame assured of the seizure of his vessels by Guztnan, he addressed a complaint on the subject to the Audiencia ; whose decision being, however, not so determinate in his favor as he wished, he assembled a large body of troops, and marched with them to Chiametla, where he also ordered three vessels to be sent from Tchuantepec. On the approach of these forces, Guzman advanced to meet them, but no action ensued ; and Cortes, having been joined at Chiametla by his vessels, embarked in them, with a portion of his men, and set sail for the new country, found by Ximenes in the west, which was said to abound in the finest pearls. On the 3d of May, 1535, the day of the Invention of the Holy Cross, according to the Roman Catholic calendar, the squadron anchored in the bay, on the shore of which the murderers of Becerra had met their fate in the preceding year ; and, in honor of the day, the name of Santa Cruz was bestowed on the place, of which possession was solemnly taken for the Spanish sovereign. The country thus claimed by Cortes for Spain, was the south-east part of the great peninsula, which projects from the American con- tinent on the Pacific side, in nearly the same direction, and between nearly the same parallels of latitude, as that of Florida on the Atlantic side. It soon after received the name of California, respecting the origin and meaning of which, many speculations — none of them satisfactory or even ingenious — have been offered. The bay called Santa Cruz by Cortes was probably the same now known as Port La Paz, about a hundred miles from the Pacific, near the 24th degree of latitude ; though some accounts place it in the immediate vicinity of the southernmost point of the peninsula. ' 56 CORTES SUrUKSEUUD BY MENDUZA. [1537. u "•Hi . On the shore of this bay, surrounded by bare mountnins of rock, arid and forbidding? in appearance, though not more so than the sandy waste about Vera Cruz, Cortts landed with a liundr»'d and thirty men and forty horses, and then sent back two of his vessels to Chiametla, to brini; over the remainder of the forces ; hoping to find, in the interior of the new country, another Mexico, in the concjuest of which he might employ his powerful energies. The vessels soon reappeared, with a portion of the troops, and were again despatched to the Mexican coast, from which only one of them returned, the other having been wrecked on her way. Cortes thereupon embarked, with seventy men, for Xalisco, from which he came back, after encountering the greatest dangers, just in time to prevent the total destruction by famine of those left at Santa Cruz. In these operations, more than a year was consumed, without obtaining any promise of advantage. The new country, so far as it had been explored, was utterly barren, and, except that a few pearls were found on the coast, destitute of all attraction for the Spaniards. The officers of the expedition were discontented : of the men, a number had died from want and disease ; the others were mutinous, and cursed "Cortes, his island, his bay, and his dis- covery."* Meanwhile his wife, becoming alarmed by the reports of the ill success of the expedition, which had reached Mexico, sent a vessel to Santa Cruz, with letters entreating his immediate return ; and he, at the same time, learned that he had been superseded in the government of New Spain Ity Don Antonio de Mendoza, a noble- man of iiigh rank and character, who had already made his entrance into the capital as viceroy. The removal of Cortes from the government of the country which had, by his means, been added to the dominions of Spain, wa-i a heavy blow ; particularly as he was, at that moment, much embar- rassed from want of funds, his private property having been seriously injured by the expenses of his recent expeditions, from which no advantage had been obtained. He was, in consequence, obliged to return to Mexico, where he arrived in the beginning of 1537, and, soon after, to recall from Santa Cruz his lieutenant, Francisco de Ulloa, with the forces which had been left there ; and, not being able, at the time, to employ his vessels, he sent two of them, under Grijalva, to Peru, laden with arms, ammunition, and provisions, in " Bernal Dias, chap. 109. vJtil. ■i'.\ 1627.] RAMBLES OF CABBZA-VACA. 57 the jle- his aid of his friend Francisco Pizarro, who was then in great difficulties, from an extensive insurrection of the natives.* Corti'S, nevertheless, still claimed the right, in virtue of his capitulation with the sovereign, und as admiral of the South Sea, to make expositions on that ocean for his own benefit ; and he resolved to prosecute the discovery of California, by which he still expected to retrieve his fortunes, so soon as he could obtain the requisite funds. The advancement of this claim, however, brought him into collision with the new viceroy, who was an enlightened and determined man, and who had likewise become interested in the exploration of the regions north-west of Mexico, by the accounts of some persons recently arrived from that quarter ; and a violent con- troversy ensued between the two chiefs, which lasted until the conqueror quitted Mexico. The persons from whom the viceroy Mendoza received this information respecting the territories north-west of Mexico, were Alvaro Nunez de Cabeza-Vaca, two other Spaniards, and a negro or Moor. They had landed, in 1527, near Tampa Bay, in the peninsula of Florida, among the adventurers who invaded that country under Panfilo Narvaez, in search of mines and plunder; and, after the destruction of their comrades by shipwreck, starvation, and the arrows of the Indians, they had wandered for nine years through forosis and deserts, until they reached Culiacan, whence they were sent on to Mexico. Of their route, it is impossible to form any exact idea from thf? narrative published by Cabeza-Vaca : he had seen no signs of wealth or civilization in the regions which he had traversed; but he had, in many places, received from the natives accounts of rich and populous countries, inhabited by civilized people, situated farther north-west ; and the viceroy, after hearing these accounts, thought proper to endeavor to ascertain the 4 V] I i 1fl I r^ n Is, in * A long account of the adventures of Cortes, in his Californian expedition, may be found in Herrera, Decade viii. book viii. chap. ix. and x. The descriptions of the localities given by Herrera, and other historians, are, however, so vague, that it in impossible to trace the movements of the Spaniards with exactness ; and the events related are unimportant, being merely details of disasters, such as might have occurred to ordinary men, engaged in ordinary enterprises. Those who take interest in every thing connected with Cort6s, — and the number of such will doubtless be greatly increased, after the publication of Mr. Prescott's History of the Conquest of Mexico, — may obtain explanations, as to the events of this expedition, from the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes, and from the first volume of Burney's History of Voyages in the Pacific ; but they should avoid the account given by Fleurieu, in his Introduction to the Journal of Marchand's Voyage, which only renders confusion worse confused. 8 :,>ii I hi tl m h'^r ]■• -1 58 ULLOA UIHCUVERS THK WKST COAST 01* CALIKOUNIA. [1539. truth of them. For this purpose he collected u hnnd of fifty horse- men, who were to he coinmniuled hy Dorantes, one of the conipnii- ions of Cnbeza-V^ica ; hut, that plan hein^ overthrown by some circumstance, he was inchiced, hy the representations of his friend, the celebrated Bartoloniu de las Casas, to deputf; two friars to niako the exploration, with the view of preservini^ the inhabitants of the countries visited, from the violence to which military men would not fail to resort, if there should be occasion, for the gratification of their cupidity. The friars, Mare'os de Niza, provincial of the Franciscan order in Mexico, and llonorato, accompanied by the negro or Moor, FiStavanico, who had crossed the continent with Cabeza-Vaca, accordingly sot out from Culiacan, on the 7th of March, 1539, in search of the rich countries reported to lie in the north-west. Soon after the departure of the friars, the last expedition made by order of Cortes was begun.* It was commanded by Francisco de Ulloa, who sailed from Acapuico on the 8th of July, 1 539, with three vessels, well manned and equipped, and took his course for California. One of the vessels was driven ashore in a storm near Culiacan : with the others Ulhia proceeded to the Bay of Santa Cruz, and thence in a few days departed to survey the coasts towards the north-east. In this occupation the ships were engaged until the 18th of October, when Ulloa returned to Santa Cruz, having in the mean time completely examined both shores of the great gulf which separates California from the main land on the east, and ascertained the fact of the junction of the two territories, near the 3*2d degree of latitude, though he failed to discover the Colorado River, which enters the gulf at its northern extremity. This gulf was named, by Ulloa, the Sen of Cortes ; but it is gener- ally distinguished, on Spanish maps, as the Vermilion Sea, [Mar Vermejo,) and, in those of other nations, as the Gulf of California. On the 29th of October, Ulloa again sailed from Santa Cruz, in order to examine the coasts farther west, and having rounded the point now called Cape San Lucas, which forms the southern extremity of California, he pursued his voyage along the coast towards the north. In this direction the Spaniards proceeded slowly, often landing and fighting with the natives, and generally opposed by violent storms from the north-west, until the end of January, 1540, when they had reached an island near the coast, under the 28th parallel of latitude, which they named the Isle of • See Narrative of Francisco Preciado, one of the officers of the Santa Agueda, in Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 283, and in Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 503. •'I ^'\ 1540.] JOURNUY or FRIAR MARCOS DP. NIZA. rilled Cedars. There they rcnmineil the greater part of the time, until the beginning of April, being prevented from advancing farther north by head winds; and then, as several of the crews of both vessels were disabled by sickness, and their provisions were insuf- ficient to enal)Ie them to contintic the voyage together much longer, Ulloa resolved to s vi. p. 204. VOYAGE OF ALARCON. If. J t^v I, ^ [1540. adorned with jewels ; yet he was assured, by the people, that this was the smallest of the cities, and far inferior, in extent and mag- nificence, to one called Totonteac, situated more towards the north- west. The inhabitants of Cibola had, at first, been hostile to the Spaniards, and had killed the negro; but they had, in the end, manifested a disposition to embrace Christianity, and to submit to the authority of the king of Spain, in whose name Friar Marcos had taken possession of the whole country, by secretly erecting crosses in many places. These, and other things of a similar kind, gravely related by a respectable priest, who professed to have witnessed what he described, were universally admitted to be true ; and the viceroy Mendoza, having communicated them to his sovereign, began to prepare for the reduction of the new countries, and the conversion of their inhabitants to Christianity. Cortes, however, insisted on continuing his discoveries in the same direction, apparently giving little credit to the statements of Friar Marcos ; while his old companion in arms, the redoubtable Pedro de Alvarado, claimed to undertake the con- quest in virtue of a capitulation recently concluded between himself and the emperor. Hernando de Soto, likewise, who had just obtained a commission for the discovery of Florida, declared the seven cities to be within his jurisdiction ; and Nuno de Guzman protested that his own right was the best, and witli some reason, in consequence of his labors in the subjugation and settlement of New Galicia, of which he maintained that the rich countries formed part. After these disputes had lusted some months, a compromise was made between the viceroy and Alvarado, agreeably to which the latter was to command the expedition destined for the reduction of the rich territories in the north-west ; and, about the same time, Cortes returned in disgust to Spain, where he passed the remaining seven years of his life in vain etforts to recover his authority in Mexico, or to obtain indemnification for his losses. The viceroy Mendoza had, however, immediately on receiving the news of the discoveries from Friar Marcos, sent two bodies of armed forces, the one by land, the other by sea, to reconnoitre the rich countries, and prepare the way for their conquest. The marine armament consisted of two ships, commanded by Fernando de Alarcon, who sailed from thi port of Santiago on the 9th of May, 1540, and, proceeding along the coast towards the north-west, reached the extremity of the Gulf of California in August following. There he discovered a great river, which he 1540.] EXPEDITION OF VAZQUEZ DE COftONADO. 61 named Rio de Nuesiru Senora de Buena Guia,* (or River of our Lady of Safe Conduct,) probably the same now called the Colorado. This stream Alarcon ascended, to the distance of more than eighty leagues, with a party of his men, in boats, making inquiries on the way about the seven cities; in reply to which, he received from the Indians a number of confused stories — of kingdoms rich in precious metals and jewels — of rivers filled with crocodiles and other monsters — of droves of buflfaloes — of enchanters — and other won- derful or remarkable objects. Of Totonteac he could learn nothing ; though, at the end of his voyage up the river, he obtained what he considered some definite information respecting Cibola, and was assured that he might reach that place by a march of ten days into the interior. He, however, suspected treachery on the part of those who gave the assurance ; and, not conceiving it prudent to attempt to advance farther, he returned to his ships. In a second voyage up the river, he obtained no additional information ; and, believing it needless to continue the search, he went back to Mexico, where he arrived before the end of the year.f The land forces, despatched at the same time towards the north- west, were composed of cavalry and infantry, and were accompanied by priests, for the conversion of the natives to Christianity. They were commanded by Francisco Vaz(juez de Coronado, a man of resolute and serious character, and by no means disposed to exag- gerate, who had been appointed governor of New Galicia, in place of Nuno de Guzman. His letter to the viceroy,J containing accounts of the first period of the expedition, though wanting in precision, is yet sJifficiently exart to aftbrd a general idea of the direction in which he marched, and even of the position of some of the principal places which he visited. * In honor of the viceroy, who bore on his arms an imago of J\'ucstra Senora de Buena Guia. t Letter of Alarcon to the viceoy Mondo/a, in Ramuaio, vol. iii. p. 303, and in Haklnyt, vol. iii. p. 50u. See, also, Herrcra, Decade vi. p. 'M6. The Californian Gulf had thus been completely explored, as appears not only from the accounts of the voyages of UUoa and Alarcon, but also from a chart of the coasts of California, and the west coast of Mexico, drawn, in ir)41, by Domingo del Castillo, Alarcon's pilot, of which an engraved /rtc-.v//H«7c may be found in the edition of the Letters of Cortes, published at Mexico, in 177(1, by Archbishop Lorenzana. The shores of the gulf, and of the west side of California, to the 30th degree of lati- tude, are there delineated with a surprising approach to accuracy. The pilot doubt- less derived his information chiefly from the journals of Ulloa, which were sent back in the Santa Agueda, and were seized, by order of the viceroy, immediately on the arrival of that vessel in Mexico. t Ramuflio, vol. iii. p. 300. Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 447. •f'i :: A ■Sn ^' Ml m 62 CIBOLA. [1540. hi Agreeably to this letter, the Spaniards left Culiacan on the 22(1 of April, 1540, and took their way towards the north, following, as well as they could, the course described by the friar : but, ere they had proceeded far, they had abundant evidences of the incorrect- ness of the accounts of that personage ; for the route which he had represented as easy and practicable, proved to be almost inipa'*sable. They, however, made their way over mountains and deserts, and through rivers, and, at length, in July, they reached the country of the seven cities, for which Cibola a]>|)eared to be the general name ; but, to their disappointment, it proved to be only a half-cultivated region, thinly inhabited by people not absolutely savage, though destitute of the wealth and rctinement attributed to them by B'riar Marcos. The seven great cities were seven small towns, some of them, indeed, containing large houses of stone, rudely built, and un- ornamented. Of fruits there were none, except such as grew wild ; and the immense quantities of precious metals and stones were merely "a (cw tunjuoises. and some gold and silver, supposed to be good. In tine," says Vazciuez de Coronado, in his letter to the viceroy, "' of the seven cities, and the kingdoms and provinces of which the reverend father provincial made a report to your excel- lency, he spoke the truth in nothing ; for we have found all to be quite the contrary, except only as to the houses of stone." The Spaniards, nevertheless, took possession of the country, in due form, for their sovereign ; and, being pleased with its soil and climate, they entreated their connnander to allow them to remain and settle there. To this inglorious proposition V a7.(jue7, refused to consent ; and, having despatclied his letter to Mendoza. from one of the cities of Cibola, named by him Granada, he took his departure, with his forces, for the north-west, in search of other new countries. From the descriptions of the position, climate, productions, and animals, of Cibola, given by Vazquez de Coronado, there is some reason for believing it to be the region near the great dividii „ chain of mountains, east of the northernmost part of the Gulf of California, about the head-waters of the Rivers Yaqui and Gila, which fall into that arm of the Pacific. This |)art of America, now called Sonora, (a corruption of iSenora,) though long siuce settled by the Spaniards, is little known to the inhabitants >^'{ other countries. It is described, by those who have recently visited it, as a most delightful, productive, and salubrious region, containing innumerable mines of silver and gold, among which are some of the richest in the world. There are, moreover, in that territory, many collections 1540—1543.] QUIVIRA. 63 lUfc* o If of iila, Inovv jlby Iries. most lahle It ill lions of ruins of laii^o stone buildinijrs, which were found in their present state by the first Spanish settlers, and are called casus grandes ih las Aztcques, (great houses of the Aztecks.) from the supposi- tion or tradition that they were built by that people before tiieir invasion of Mexico.* Vazquez de Coronado, indeed, remarks that the inhabitants of Cibola, though not wanting in intelligence, did not appear to be capable of erecting the houses which he saw there. Of the movements of the Spaniards, after they quitted Cibola, in August, 1540, the accounts are so vague and contradictory, that it is im|)ossible to trace their route. It seems, however, that the greater part of the forces soon returned to Mexico ; while the others, under their commander, wandered, for nearly two years longer, through the interior of the continent, in search of a country called Qitlviro, said, by the Indians, to be situated far in the north, and to be governed by " a king named Tatarrax, with a long beard, hoary- liradod, and rich, who worshipped a cross of gold, and the image of the Ciueen of Heaven.'' f This country they found near the 40th degree of latitude : but the people had no other wealth than skins ; and their king, though hoary-headed, possessed no jewels, •• save one of copper, hanging about his neck." (luivira is described as a level territory, covered with herds of l)ut^aloes, which form the whole su[)i)ort of the inhabitants; and. if its latitude has been correctly reported, it is most probably the region about the head-waters of the Arkansas and Platte lliv(M"s ; though (lomara places it near the sea, and says that the Spaniards saw ships on the coast, laden with Kast India goods. Vaz(]nez had. probably, before leaving Quivira, learned the true value of Indian accounts of rich countries ; and, not deeming it advisable to pur;uie the search for them any longer, he returned to Mexico in 151.'}. During the absence of Vaz(]uez de Coronado, the great arma- ment, destined for the (>xi)loration and concjuest of the north-western territories, imder Pedro de Alvarado, was pi-(>pnred ; but, just as the expedition was about to be commenced, a rebellion broke out among the Indians of Xalisco, and all the forces at the viceroy's disposal were reqinnul to (piell it. In the campaign which ensued, in the summer of 1541 , Alvarado was killed by a kick from a horse ; and Mendoza's expectations of advantage from the north-west regions were, in the mean time, so much lowercfi, that he resolved to reduce the scale of his expeditions for discovery in that quarter. i^ ■il I 4 II i • Hardy's Travels in Mexico, from lH2c> to 1H28. t Gomara, chap. 213. f i :li Ivl 64 VOYAGE OF CABRILLO. [1542, 1543. The disturbances being, at length, ended, in the spring of 1542, two vessels were placed under the command of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese of high reputation as a navigator, wlio was directed to examine the western side of California, as far northward as pos- sible, seeking particularly for rich corntries, and for passages leading towards the Atlantic ; while Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, a relation of the viceroy, was sent, with the rcmamder of the disposable vessels and forces, across the Pacific, to endeavor to form establishments in India. The two vessels under Cabrillo sailed together from Navidad, a small port in Xalisco, in June. 1542; and, having in a few days doubled Cape San Lucas, tlio survey of the west coast of California was begun from that point. It would be needless to endeavor to trace the progress of Cabrillo along this coast, or to enumerate the many capes and bays mentioned in the account of his voyage, nearly all of which places, so far as they can be identified, are now distinguished by names entirely ditTerent from those bestowed on them by him. By the middle of August, he had advanced beyond the limits of the supposed discoveries of Ulloa ; and, in November, after having examined the coast as far north as the 88th degree of latitude, he was driven back, and forced to take refuge in a harbor Island of Sail the main land, under the 34th parallel. There Cabrillo, who had been for some time sick, sank under the fatigues of the voyage, on rhe .3d of January, 1'^^'^. leaving the command to the pilot, Bartolome Ferrelo. The new commander, being no less zealous and determined than his predecessor, resolved, if possible, to accomplish the main objects of the expedition before returning to Mexico. He accordingly, soon after, sailed from Port Possession towards the north, and, on the 26th of February, reached a promontory situated under the 41st parallel, to which he gave the name of Cabo dc Fortunes, (Cape of Perils, or Stormy Cape,) from the dangers encountered in its vicinity. On the 1st of March, the ships were in the latitude of 44 degrees, as determined by a solar observation ; but, on the fol- lowing day, they were again driven to the south ; and, the men being, at this time, almost worn out, by long exposure to cold and fatigue, without sufficient food or clothing, Ferrelo determined to go back to Mexico. The ships, therefore, quitted the Isle of Cedars, discovered by Ulloa, in the beginning of April, and, on the 14th of that month, they arrived at Navidad. named by him Port Possession, situated in the Bernardo, one of the Santa Barbara group, near m 1543.] EXPEDITION OF SOTO. 65 From *he accounts of this expedition which have been preserved, it is not ea y to determine precisely how far north the American coast was discovered. The most northern point of land mentioned in those accounts is the Cape of Perils, which, though there placed under the 41st parallel, was probably the same soon after called Cape Mendocino, in the latitude of 40 degrees 20 minutes. Other ''uthors, however, whose opinions are entitled to respect, pronounce the 43d parallel to be the northern limit of the discoveries made by the Spaniards in 1543.* Whilst these expeditions to the north-western parts of America were in progress, Hernando de Soto, and his band of Spanish adventurers, were performing their celebrated march, in quest of mines and plunder, through the regions extending north of the Gulf of Mexico, which wero then known by the general name of Florida. Without attempting here to trace the line of their wanderings, suffice it to say, that they traversed, in various directions, the vast territories now composing the Southern and South- Western States of the American Federal Union, and descended the Mississippi in boats, from the vicinity of the mouth of the Arkansas to the Mex- ican Gulf, on which they continued their voyage, along the coast, to Panuco. From the accounts of the few who survived the toils and perils of that memorable enterprise, taken together with those colioctcd by Cabeza-Vaca and Vazquez de Coronado, concerning the territories which they had respectively visited, it was considered certain that neither ivealthy nations, nor navigable passages of com- munication between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, tcere to be found north of Mexico, unless beyond the 40th parallel of latitude. The Spaniards, having arrived at these conclusions, for some time desisted from attempting to explore the north western section of the continent ; and circumstances, meanwhile, occurred, which impressed their government with the belief that the discovery of any passage facilitating the entrance of European vessels into the Pacific, would be deleterious to the power and interests of Spain in the New World. 1< V-\ m Ki ■I n men and to go ;dars, thof • Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes, p, 35. See, also, Burney's History of Voyages in the Pacific, vol. i. p. 220. 9 66 CHAPTER II. 1543 TO 160G. l|^ • ■HP The Spaniards conquer the Philippine Islands, and establish a direct Trade across the Pacific, between Asia and America — Measures of the Spanish Government to pn • ent other European Nations from settlinij or trading in America — These Measures resisted by the Englisii, the French, and tlie Dutdi — Free Traders and Freebooters infest the West Indies — First Voyages of the English in the Pacific — Voyages of Drake and Cavendish — Endeavors of the English to discover a North- West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific — False Reports of the Discovery of such Passages — Supposed Voyages of Urdaiieta, Maldonado, and Fonte — Voyage of Juan do Fuca — Expeditions of Sebiistian Vizcaino — Supposed Dis- covery of a great Iliver in North- West America. Whilst the Spaniards were thus extending their dominion in the New World, the Portuguese were daily acquiring advantages in India, with which they carried on a profitable trade, by means of their ships sailing around the Cape of Good Hope. The Spaniards, viewing this increase of the power of their rivals with jealousy and hatred, made many endeavors, likewise, to form establishments in Asia ; but all their expeditions for that purpose before the middle of the sixteenth century, terminated disastrously. The armaments sent from Spain to India under Loyasa, in 1 525, and from Mexico, under Saavedra, in the ensuing year, were entirely ineffective. In 154-2, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos crossed the Pacific with a large squadron from Mexico, and took possession of the Philippine Islands for his sovereign ; but his forces were soon after dispersed, and none of his vessels returned eith( f- to Europe or to America. In 1564, the Spaniards made another attempt to gain a footing in the East Indies, which was successful. The Philippine Islands were in th^t yea' « ibjugated by Miguel de Legazpi, who had been despatched from Mexico with a small squadron for the purpose ; and a discov< ry was also made in the course of this expedition, without which the conquest would have been of no value. Before that period, no European had ever crossed the Pacific from Asia to America; all who had endeavored to make such a voyage having confined themselves to the part of the ocean between the tropics 1564.] IMPROVEMENTS IN THE NAVIGATION OP THE PACIFIC. 67 where the winds blow constantly from eastern points. Three of Le^iazpi's vessels, however, under the direction of Andres de Urdaneta, a friar, who had in early life accompanied Magellan in his expedition, and had subsequently acquired great reputation as a navigator, by taking a northward course from the Philippine Islands, entered a region of variable winds, near the 40th parallel of latitude, and were thus enabled to reach the coast of California, along which the prevailing north-westers carried them speedily to Mexico. The Spaniards thus gained, what they had so long coveted, a position in the East Indies ; and the practicability of communicating, by way of the Pacific, between Asia and America, was placed beyond a doubt. At the same time, also, Juan Fernandes discov- ered the mode of navigating between places on the west coast of South America, by standing out obliquely to a distance from the continent ; and other improvements of a similar kind having been moreover introduced, the Spanish commerce on the Pacific soon became important. Large ships, called galleons, sailed annually from Acapulco to Manilla, in the Philippine Islands, and to Macao, in China, laden with precious metals and European merchandise, in return for which they brought back silks, spices, and porcelain, for consumption in America, or for transportation over the Atlantic to Europe ; while an extensive trade in articles equally valuable was carried on between Panama and the various ports of Peru and Chili. These voyages on the Pacific were usually long, but com- paratively safe, at least so far as regards exemption from injury by winds and waves, though the crews of the vessels often suffered dreadfully from scurvy occasioned by filth and want of good water and provisions ; * and, as that ocean remained for some years undis- turbed by the presence of enemies of Spain, little care or cost was bestowed upon the defence, either of the vessels or of the towns on the coasts. The galleons, proceeding from Mexico to India, were wafted, by the invariable easterly or trade winds, directly across the ocean, in about three months ; in the return voyage, they often occupied more than double that lime, and they always made the west coast of California, the principal points on which thus became tolerably well known before the end of the sixteentli century. Accounts of ■f M m * For accounts of the miseries of a voyage from Manilla to Acapulco, in 1697, see Gemelli Carrcri's narrative, in the fourth volume of Churchill's collection of voyages, which, if not true, is very like truth. i-i 63 VOYAGE OF OALI. [1584. i ; I some of these voyages have been preserved, but they are of little value at present, from their want of precision. One of them is a letter from Francisco Gali, addressed to the viceroy of Mexico, describing his passage from Macao to Acapulco, in 1584, in the course of which he sailed along the west coast of America, from the latitude of thirty-seven and a half degrees southward to Mexico.* It has, however, been maintained, on the evidence of papers found in the archives of the Indies,! that Gali arrived on that coast in the latitude of fifty-seven and a half degrees, and is therefore to be considered as the discoverer of the whole shore between that par- allel and the forty-third: but this assertion is supported by no evidence sufficient to overthrow the express statement of the navigator in his letter, the genuineness of which is not denied ; and Gali, moreover, there declares that the land first seen by him was " very high and fair, and tvholly without snotv,^' which could not have been the case with regard to the north-west coast of America, under the parallel of fifty-seven and a half degrees, in the middle of October. In 1595, Sebastian Cermenon, in the ship San Augustin, on his way from Manilla to Acapulco, examined the same coasts, by order of the viceroy of Mexico, in search of some harbor in which the galleons might take refuge, and make repairs, or obtain water ; but nothing has been preserved respecting his voyage, except that his ship was lost near the Bay of San Francisco, south of Cape Mendocino. The Spanish government was, in the mean time, engaged in devising, and applying to its dominions in the New World, those measures of restriction and exclusion, which were pursued so rigidly, and with so little variation, during the whole period of its supremacy in the American continent. The great object of this system was simply to secure to the nnjiiarch and people of Spain the entire enjoyment of all the advantages which were supposed to be derivable from those dominions, consistently with the perpetual maintenance of absolute authority over them ; and, for this object, it * In Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 526 tlip lotter from Gali to the vicoroy is given at length, as "translated out of the original Spanish into Dutch, by John Huyghen Van Linschoten, and out of Dutch into English." In Linschoten, as in Hakluyt, thirty- seven and a half degrees is given as the northernmost part of the coast seen by Gali. t See tlie note in the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes, at page 46, in which two letters from the viceroy of Mexico to the king of Spain, relative to the voyage of Gali, are mentioned ; but the account there given differs in nothing, except as to the latitude, from that in the letter published by Linschoten and Hak- luyt. Humboldt adopts the opinion of the author of the Introduction, without, however, adding any information or reasoning on the subject. 1570.] SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF AMERICA. 69 was deemed expedient not only to exclude the subjects of other Euro- pean states from the territories claimed by Spain, — that is, from the whole of the New World except Brazil, — but also to prevent the rapid development of the resources of the Spanish provinces them- selves.* In these views the Spaniards have not been singular ; but no other power, in modern times, has employed measures so extreme in fulfilling them. Thus no Spaniard could emigrate to America, no new settlement could be formed there, and no new country or sea could be explored, without the express permission of the sov- ereign ; and, when expeditions for discovery were made, the results were often concealed, or tardily and imperfecMy promulgated. No article could be cultivated or manufactured for commerce in Amer- ica, which could be imported from Spain ; and no intercourse could be carried on between the difterent great divisions of those posses- sions, or between either of them and the mother country, except in vessels belonging to or sjiecially licensed by the government, or otherwise under its immediate supervision. With the rest of the world, the Spanish Americans could have no correspondence ; and all foreigners were prohibited, under pain of death, from touching the territories claimed by Spain, and even from navigating the seas in their vicinity. '• Whoever," says Hakluyt, at the end of the sixteenth century, " is conversant with the Portugal and Spanish writers, shall find that they account all other nations for pirates, i'l »ngth, Van ^hirty- Gali. page blative (thing, Hak- tthout, * The Spanish dominions in America, togetlier with tlie Canary and the Philippine Islands, formed one empire, called the Indies, of which the king of Spain was, ex officio, the sovereign. Tiie territories were divided into great sections, or kingdoms, each entirely indcpiMident of the others, except in cortain prescribed contingencies; the general direction of the whole being committed to the Supreme Council of the Indies, a special ministry, residing in the palace of the king, in whose name all its orders were issued. The larger kingdoms of the Indies were under the immediate government of riceroys, representing the authority and person of the sovereign ; the others were governed by captains-general, or by presidents, whose powers were more limited. All these high oHicers were, however, kept in check by the courts called .iudiencias, resembling the Supreme Council in their organization and attributes, one or two of which were established in each kingdom. The commerce of those countries was under the superintendence of a board, called the House of Contracts of the Indies, sitting'at Seville, to and from which port all expeditions, from and to America, were, for a long time, obliged to pass. The laws and regulations of the Supreme Council were, from time to time, revised ; and those which were to remain in force were published in a collection entitled the Rccopilacion de Leijes de Indias, (Compilation of Laws of the indies,) containing the rules for the conduct of all the otHcers of the government. The provisions of this celebrated code are, in general, remarkable for their justice and humanity ; the enforcement of them, being, however, left to those who had no direct interest in the prosperity and advancement of the country, was most shamefully neglected. ■ 'il m m Eu w i ^11: I W »• n 70 FREE TRADERS AND FRERHOOTERS. [1570. rovers, and thieves, which visit any hcathtMi coast that they have sailed by or looked on." Against these exclusive regulations the English and the French at first murmured and protested, and then began to act. The English government, having thrown oil' its allegiance to the head of the Roman Catholic church, denied the validity of the Spanish claims founded on the papal concessions, and itii^uired from Spain the recognition of the rights of Englishmen to a a igate any part of the ocean, to settle in any country not occupied by another Chris- tian nation, and to trade with the Spanish American provinces. These demands having been resisted, Queen Elizabeth * openly, as well as covertly, encouraged her subjects, even in time of peace, to violate regulations which she pronounced unjustifiable and inhuman ; and the Gulf of Mexico and the West Indian seas were, in conse- quence, haunted by bands of daring English, who, under the equivocal denominations of free traders and freebooters, set at defiance the prohibitions of the Spaniards, as to commerce and territorial occupation, and plundered their ships, and the towns on their coasts. About the same time, the French Protestants began their attempts to plant colonies in Florida and Carolina, which were not defeated without considerable expenditure of Spanish blood and treasure ; and the revolt in the Netherlands, which ended in the liberation of the Dutch provinces, soon after produced a formidable addition to the forces of these irregular enemies of Spain. The efforts of the English, and of their government, to establish com- merce with the Spanish dominions in America, Imve, in fact, been the principal causes or motives of nearly all the wars between those nations since the middle of the sixteenth century. In these efforts the English hive constantly persevered ; and the Spanish govern- ment has resolutely opposed them, during peace, during war, and * Queen Elizabeth's reply to the Spanish ambassador, who complained of the plunder of one of his povereign's vessels by the English, in the West Indies, during pi'ace between tho two nations, is characteristic of her disposition, as well as reason- able. She said " that the Spaniards had drawn these inconveniences upon themselves, by their severe and unjust dealings in their American commerce; for she did not understand why either her subjects, or those of any other European prince, should be debarred from traffic in the Indies ; that, as she did not acknowledge the Spaniards to have any title, by donation of the bishop of Rome, so she knew no right they had to any places other than those they were in actual possession of; for that their having touched only here and there upon a coast, and given niimes to a few rivers c capes, were such insignificant things as could in no ways entitle them to a pro- priety farther than in the parts where they actually settled, and continued to inhabit." — Camden's Annals of Queen Elizabeth's Reign, for 1580. 1570.] ALARMS AND PH0IIIBITI0N9 OF THE SPANIARDS. 71 bf the oven during alliance between the two powers, until the last moment of the existence of the Spanish authority in the American continent. Could Spain have so long retained the possession of her colonies in America, if she had adopted any other system with regard to them? The Pacific was, for some years, preserved from the ravages of these daring adventurers, by the dread of the difficulties and dangers attending the passage of vessels into that ocean, from the Atlantic, through the Strait of Magellan ; and the Spanish govern- ment began to regard us bulwarks of defence those natural obstacles to maritime intercourse between Europe and the western sidr of America, to remove or counteract which so many efforts had been previously made. Thenceforward, the expeditions of the Spaniards, in search of new channels connecting the two oceans, were undertaken only with the object of securing the passage, if it should be f' i, against the vessels of other nations ; and the heaviest peiiultics were denounced against all persons who should attempt, or even propose, to form artificial comnmnications by canals across the continent.* These circum- stances, on the other hand, served to stimulate the enemies of Spain in their endeavors to discover easier routes to the Pacific ; to efTect which, the Dutch and the English navigators perseveringly labored, during the latter years of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth centuries. In the mean time, the reports of the extent and value of the Spanish commerce on the Pacific, and of the wealth accumulated in the towns on the American coasts of that ocean, overcame all the fears of the English, who at length spread their sails on its waters, and carried terror and desolation along its coasts. * Alcedo, in his Geographical and Historical Dictionary of the West Indies, under the head Isthmus, says, " In tl.? time of Philip II., it was proposed to cut a canal through the Isthmus of Panama, for the passage of ships from one ocean to the uthor ; and two Flomisii engineers were sent to examine the place, with that object. They, however, found the obstacles insuperable ; and the Council of the Indies at the same time represented to the king the injuries which such a canal would occasion to the monarchy ; in consequence of which, his majesty decreed that no one should in future attempt, or even propose, such an undertaking, under pain of death." The same author, speaking of the River Jitrato, in New Granada, emptying into the Atlantic, — between which and the San Juan, falling into the Pacific, it was also proposed to make a canal, — says, " The Atrato is navigable for many leagues ; but all persons are forbidden, under pain of death, from navigating it, in order to prevent the injuries which New Grenada would sustain, from the facility thus afforded for entering it$ territory." 11 '''■'If IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) >'/ A* ^ 1.0 1.1 ■u lU |22 m ..„ ■2.0 1^ m li^ I%otographic Sciences Corporation \ as WIST MAIN STRICT WnSTIR.N.Y. MSSO (71«) t7a-4S03 ;\ ] 72 VOYAGE OF DRAKE. [1577. mr I":':;' ■■■ :l^i-:; \f!: '! I'!;': ^ '!.' iS.ii' 11 k 1 m t The first irruption of the EngHsh into the Pacific was made in 1575, by a party of freebooters under John Oxenham, who crossed the isthmus a little west of Panama, and, having then built a vessel on the southern side, took many valuable prizes before any attempt could be made, by the Spaniards, to arrest their progress. They, however, in a few months, fell successively into the hands of their enemies, and were nearly all executed with ignominy at Panama. Their fall was, three years afterwards, signally avenged by another body of their countrymen, under the command of the greatest naval captain of the age. It is scarcely necessary to say that this captain could be no other than Francis Drake, of whose celebrated voyage around the world — the first ever performed by one crew in one vessel — an account will be here given, as he, in the course of it, visited the north-west side of America, and is supposed, though erroneously, as will be proved, to have made important discoveries in that quarter. Drake sailed from Plymouth on the 13th of December, 1577, with five small vessels, which had been procured and armed by himself and other private individuals in England, ostensibly for a voyage to Egypt, but really for a predatory cruise against the dominions and subjects of Spain. The governments of England and Spain were then, indeed, at peace with each other : but mutual hatred, arising from causes already explained, prevailed between the two nations ; and the principles of general law or morals were not, at that period, so refined as to prevent Queen Elizabeth from favor- ing Drake's enterprise, with the real objects of which she was well acquainted. For some months after leaving England, Drake roved about the Atlantic, without making any prize of value : he then refitted his vessels at Port San Julian, on the eastern coast of Patagonia ; and he succeeded in conducting three of them safely through the dread- ed Strait of Magellan, into the Pacific, which he entered in Sep- tember, 1578. Scarcely, however, was this accomplished, ere the little squadron was dispersed by a storm ; and the chief of the expedition was left with only a schooner of a hundred tons' burden, and about sixty men, to prosecute his enterprise against the power and wealth of the Spaniards on the western side of America. Notwithstanding these disheartening occurrences, Drake did not hesitate to proceed to the parts of the coast occupied by the Span- iards, whom he found unprepared to resist him, either on land or on He accordingly plundered their towns and ships with little out the ted his l; and dread- n Sep- ere the of the urden, power • lid not Span- or on Lh little 1579.] VOTAGE OF DRAKE. 78 difficulty ; and so deep and lasting was the impression produced by his achievements, that, for more than a century afterwards, his name was never mentioned in those countries without exciting feelings of horror and detestation. At length, in the spring of 1579, Drake, having completed his visitation of the Spanish American coasts, by the plunder of the town of Guatulco, on the south side of Mexico, and filled his vessel with precious spoils, became anxious to return to England ; but, having reason to expect that the Spaniards would intercept him, if he should attempt to repass Magellan's Strait, he resolved to seek a northern route to the Atlantic. Accordingly, on quitting Guatulco, he steered west and north-west, and, having sailed in those directions about 1400 leagues, he had, in the beginning of June, advanced beyond the 42d degree of north latitude, where his men, being thus " speedily come out of the extreme heat, found the air so cold, that, being pinched with the same, they complained of the extremity thereof." He had, in fact, reached the part of the Pacific, near the American coasts, where the winds blow con- stantly and violently, during the summer, from the north and north- west, accompanied, generally, by thick fogs, which obscure the heavens for many days, and even weeks, in succession ; and, find- ing these difficulties increase, as he went farther, " he thought it best, for that time, to seek the land." He accordingly soon made the American coast, and endeavored to approach it, so as to anchor ; but, finding no proper harbor there, he sailed along the shore south- ward, until the 17th of the month, when " it pleased God to send him into a fair and good bay, within 38 degrees towards the line." * In this bay the English remained five weeks, employed in re- fitting their vessel, and obtaining such supplies for their voyage as the country oflered. The natives, " having their houses close by the water's side," at first exhibited signs of hostility : but they were soon conciliated by the kind and forbearing conduct of the strangers ; and their respect for Drake increased, so that, when they saw him about to depart, they earnestly prayed him to con- tinue among them as their king. The naval hero, though not disposed to undertake, in person, tho duties of sovereignty over a * These quotations are from the Famous Voyage of Sir Francis Drake, by Francis Pretty, one of the crew of Drake's vessel, written at the request of Hakluyt, and published by him in 1589. It is a plain and succinct account of what the writer taw, or believed to have occurred, during the voyage, and bears all the marks of troth and authenticity. 10 ■i m m. -A i ! ,1 1 m 74 NEW ALBION. ■M I Fr ( f*4' J'l- yl 1 lli:'^ [1579. tribe of naked or skin-clad savages, nevertheless " thought not meet to reject the crown, because he knew not what honor or profit it might bring to his own country ; whereupon, in the name, and to the use, of her majesty Queen Elizabeth, he took the crown, sceptre, and dignity, of the country into his own hands, wishing that the riches and treasure thereof might be so conveniently transported, for the enriching her kingdom at home." The coro- nation accordingly took place, with most ludicrous solemnities, which are gravely described with minuteness, in the accounts of the voyage ; and Drake, having assumed the dignity and title of Hioh, bestowed on his dominions the name of ^'ew Albion. The vessel having been refitted, Drake erected on the shore a pillar, bearing an inscription, commemorating the fact of this cession of sovereignty ; and, on the 22d of July, he took leave of his new-made subjects, to their great regret. Having, however, by this time, abandoned all idea of seeking a northern passage to the Atlantic, he sailed directly across the Pacific, to the vicinity of the Philippine Islands; and thence, pursuing the usual course of the Portuguese, through the Indian Seas, and around the Cape of Good Hope, he arrived at Portsmouth, with his booty undiminished, on the 26th of September, 1580. With regard to the harbor on the North Pacific side of America, in which Drake repaired his vessel, nothing can be learned from the accounts of his expedition which have been j)ublished, except that it was situated about the 38th degree of latitude, and that a cluster of small islets lay in the ocean, at a short distance from its mouth ; and this description will apply equally to the great Bai/ of San Francisco, and to the small Bay of Bodega, a few leagues farther north. As to tlie extent of the portion of the north-west coast of America seen by Drake, considerable diflfercnce of opinion exists. In the earliest, and, apparently, the most authentic, account of the expedition,* the vessel is represented as being in the 4JM degree of latitude, on the 5th of June, about which day it was determined to seek the land ; but when, and under what parallel of latitude, the American coast was first seen, is not stated. In another account, compiled long after the period of the voyage, it is said that the vessel was in latitude of 42 degrees on the 3d of June, and that, on the 5th of the same month, she anchored near the shore, in a " bad bay," in latitude of 48 degrees, from which being soon driven * The Famous Voyage, by Pretty. MP : 'mi 1579.] PART OF THE NORTH-WEST COAST SEEN BV DRAKE. 75 by the violence of the winds, she ran along the coast southward, to the harbor near the 38th degree, where she was refitted.'* Thus the two accounts are at variance, with regard to the vessel's position on the 5th of June, on or about which day, it is most probable, from both, that the land was first seen. Hakluyt, who seems to have taken great interest in the geography of the North Pacific coasts of America, and to have endeavored to obtain the most correct information as to the occurrences of Drake's voyage, gives the 43d degree of latitude, in several parts of his works, as tJje limit of his countrymen's discoveries in that quarter ; and Purchas, in his Pilgrims, first published in 1617, declares expressly that " Sir Francis Drake sailed, on the otjjer side of America, to 43 degrees, and, with cold, was forced to retire." On the contrary, the famous navigator John Davis, in his World's Hydrographicul Discovery, published in 1595, asserted that, "after Sir Francis Drake was entered into the South Sea, he coasted all the western shores of America, until he came into the septentrional latitude of 48 degrees ; " and Sir William Mon- son, another great naval authority of the following century, says, in his Naval Tracts, 'From the 16th of April to the 15th of June, Drake sailed, without seeing land, and arrived in 48 degrees, thinking to find a i>assage into our seas, which land he named New Albion.'''' The opinion of Davis cannot, however, be received as of much value ; for it is by no one rise pretended, that Drake saw any part of the west coast of America, between Guatulco, near the 16th degree, and the harbor in which he refitted his ship, near the 38th : and, unfortunately for Sir William Monson's consistency, he maintains, in other parts of his Tracts, that '• Cape Mendocino (near the 40th parallel) is the farthest land discovered," and " the farthermost known land." Burney, who has examined the question at length, in his History of Voyages in the South Sea, pronounces that " the part of the coast discovered by Drake is to be reckoned as beginning immediately to the north of Cape Mendocino, and extending to 48 degrees of north latitude ; " considering as explicit on the subject the statement in the latter of the two accounts of the * Tho World Encompassotl by Sir Francis Drake, collpc-ted out of the Notrs of Mr. Frannis Fletcher, Preacher, in this F.mploynient, and compared with divers others' Notes that went in the same Voyage. It was first published in Xii'i'^, and may be found entire in Osborne's Collection of Voyages, vol. ii. p. 434. It is long and diffuse, and is filled with speculations, most probably by the compiler, on various subjects ; yet it contains scarcely a single fact not related in the Famous Voyage, from which many sentences and paragraphs are taken, verbatim, while others convey the s.ame meaning in different words. :-i!iE| 76 PART OF THE NORTH-WEST COAST SEEN BY DRAKE. [1579. i- '' .( .^^^ ;i-v m voyage* above cited, that the EngHsh "searched the coast dili- gently, even into the 48th degree ; yet they found not the land to trend so much as one point, in any place, toward the east." Bur- ney, however, omits to notice the remainder of the sentence, — " but rather running on continually north-west, as if it went directly to meet with Asia," — which entirely destroys the value of the evidence in the first part, as, in fact, the coast nowhere, between the 40th and the 48th degrees of latitude, runs north-west, its course being nearly due north. On examining the two accounts of Drake's voyage, many cir- cumstances will be found, in contradiction of the belief that the English, in 1579, disco\ered the American coast as far north as the 48th degree of latitude. In the first place, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for any vessel to sail, in two days, through six degrees of latitude, northward, with the wind, as we are assured by both accounts, blowing constantly and violently from the north and north-west ; and much confidence cannot be placed on assertions as to latitude, based on observations made in a vessel, on a stormy sea, with imperfect instruments, and when the atmosphere was generally charged with thick fogs. It is also to be observed, that the account on which is founded the belief that Drake did reach the 48th degree, contains statements, with respect to the intensity of the cold in the North Pacific, so entirely at variance with the results of universal experience, that they cannot be regarded as otherwise than false. That men, suddenly transferred from the tropics to a region north of the 40tli degree of latitude, should find the change of temperature disagreeable, is consonant with reason ; but the asser- tion that ropes were stilTcned by ice, and that meat, as soon as it was removed from the fire, became frozen,* in any part of the ocean between the 40th and the 48th parallels of north latitude, in the month of June, must be condemned as an intentional untruth. In conclusion, although there is no positive evidence that Drake did not, in 1579, discover the north-west coast of America, to the 48th degree of latitude, yet, on the other hand, the assertion that he did so, is not supported by sufficient evidence ; and, where origi- nally made, it is accompanied by statements certainly erroneous, and calculated to destroy the value of the whole testimony. It may be admitted that the coast between the 43d and the 38th degrees was seen by the English in 1579; but it is certain that this same coast had been already seen, in 1543, by the Spaniards, under Ferrelo. • The World Encompassed. 1578.] CAVENDISH S EXPEDITION. 77 ie, in iruth. >rake the that )rigi- \, and ly be was I coast The success of Drake's enterprise encouraged other English adventurers to attempt similar expeditions through the Straits of Magellan ; and it stimulated the navigators of his nation in their efforts to discover northern passages into the Pacific Ocean. Of their predatory excursions, none were attended with success, except that of the famous Thomas Cavendish, or Candish, who rendered his name almost as terrible to the Spaniards as that of Drake, by his ravages on the west coasts of America, during his voyage of circumnavigation of the globe, in 1587. In this voyage. Cavendish lay, for some time, near Cape San Lucas, the southern extremity of California, and there captured the Manilla galleon Santa Anna, on her way, with a rich cargo of East India goods, to Acapulco, which he set on fire, after plundering her, and landing her crew on the coast. The unfortunate Spaniards, thus abandoned in a desert country, must soon have perished, had they not succeeded in repairing their vessel, which was driven ashore near them, after the extinction of the flames by a storm, and sailing in her to a port on the opposite coast of Mexico. Among these persons were Juan de Fuca and Sebastian Vizcaino, of each of whom much will be said in this chapter. About this time, the search for northern passages of communi- cation between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans was begun bv the English ; * and it was prosecuted at intervals, by the navigators of that nation and of Holland, during nearly sixty years, after which it was abandoned, or rather suspended. In the course of the voyages undertaken for this object, eastward as well as west- ward from the Atlantic, many ini))ortant geographical discoveries and improvements in the art and science of navigation were effected ; and the persons thus engaged acquired an honorable and lasting reputation, by their skill, perseverance against difficulties, and contempt of dangers. The Spanish government was, at the same period, according to the direct testimony derived from its official acts, and the accounts of its historians, kept in a state of constant alarm, by these efforts of its most determined foes to penetrate into an ocean of which it claimed the exclusive posses- sion ; and the uneasiness thus occasioned was, from time to time, increased, by rumors of the accomplishment of the dreaded discovery. These rumors were, for the most part, in confirmation of the * The first voyage made from England, with the express object of seeking a north west passage to the Pacific, was that of Martin Frobisher, in 1576. 'I ;i;!l r I I 1(1. I- ^1 I') '1 . m I- >m 78 REPORTED DISCOVEKV OF URDANETA. [1560. existence of the passage calltMl the Strnit of Anian, joining the Atlantic, under the (JOth parallel of north latitude, throu{,'h which Cortereal was said to have sailed, in 1 500, into a ij;reat western sea ; and those who pretended to have made northern voyages from either ocean to the other, generally asserted that they had jiassed through the Strait of Anian. The accoimts of all such voyages yet made public are now known to be as false, with regard to the princl|)al circumstances related, as those of the discovery of the philosopher's stone and the elixir vita^, current at the same pved to have accomplished northern voyages from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or via; versa, was the celebrated Friar Andres de L'rdaneta, the discIished in ir>7(», and republished by llakluyt, in liis " Voyages, Navifjations, Tratno.s, and Discoveries, of the English Nation." See tlie reprint of Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. '.i2. t Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes, p. 36. IS, l,'i| hi- 158S.] PRKTKNDKO VOYAGE OF MALDONAOO. 79 iphrcy than ti Mar lassatjo, expe- m and proba- I induce hjoctod, justify in tlie unined and the lllshed by English with reference to tliis matter, are many original papers l)y Urdaneta, in which he mentions a report, tliat some Frenchmen had sailed from the Atlantic, beyond th(^ 70th deforce of north latitude, through a passage opening into the Pacific, near the 50th degree, and thence to China; and he reconunends that measures should be taken, without delay, to ascertain the truth of the report, and, if the passage should be found, to establish fortifications at its mouth, in order to prevent other nations from using it to the injury of Spain. In 1 574, an old pilot, named Juan Ladrillero, living at Colima, in Mexico, pretended that he had, in his youth, sailed through a passage, from the Atlantic, near Newfoundland, into the Pacific ; and other assertions, to the same eft'ect, were made by various other individuals, either from a desire to attract notice, or with the view of obtaining emolument or employment. The most celebrated fiction of this class is the one of which Loren/.o Ferrer de Maldonado is the hero. This person, a Portu- guese by birth, who had written some extravagant works on geography and navigsition, and pretended to have discovered a magnetic needle without variation, presented to the Council of the Indies, in 1609, a memoir or narrative of a voyage from Lisbon to the Pacific, through seas and channels north of America, which he declared that he himself had accomplished in 1588, accompanied by a petition that he should be rewarded for his services, and be intrusted with the ronmiand of forces, to occupy the passage, and defend its entrance against other nations. This proposition was in; tantly rejected by the Council : but some of the papers relating to it were retained ; and two manuscripts are now preserved, the one in the library of the duke of Infantado, at Madrid, the other in the Ambrosian library, at Milan, each purporting to be the origi- nal memoir presented by Maldonado. These papers are each entitled '• A Relation of the Discovery of the Strait of Anian, made by me, Captain Lorenzo Ferrer de Maldonado, in the Year 1588 ; in which is described the Course of the Navigation, the Situation of the Place, and the Manner of fortifying it ; " and their contents are nearly the same, except that the Milan paper is, in some places, more concise than the other, from which it seems to have been, in a manner, abridged. Upon the whole, there is reason to believe the Madrid document to be a true copy of the memoir presented by Maldonado ; though it has been pronounced, by one who has examined the subject with much care, to be a !,;i,] .';v:iii • I :i' ■a ^ I'd I ' f' : ''1 ' , : I '*'■ 1 I '. ■ 60 PllETENDEU VOYAGE OF MALUONADO. [1588. V '41 ■'ipl- fabrication of a later date* Whether the fabrication, as it un- doubtedly is, proceeded froin Muldoiuido, or from some other person, is of no im|)ortunce at the present day. A few extracts will serve to show its general character, and to bring to view the opinions entertained in Euro|)e, during the seventeenUi century, with regard to the northern parts of America. After stating the advantages which Hpuin might derive from a northern passage between the two oceans, and the injury which she might sustain, were it left open to other nations, Muldonado proceeds thus to describe the voyage : — "Departing from Spain, — suppose from Lisbon, — the course is north-west, for the distance of 450 leagues, when the ship will have reached the latitude of 60 degrees, where the Island of Friesland f will be seen, cominordy called File, or Fuk : it is an island somewhat smaller than Ireland. Thence the course is west- ward, on the parallel of (iO dcgre(;s, for 180 leagues, which will bring the navigator to the la:ul of Labrador, where the strait of that name, or Davis's Strait, begins, the entrance of which is very wide, being somewhat more than 30 leagues : the land on the coast of Labrador, which is to the west, is very low ; but the opposite side of the mouth of the strait consists of very high mountains. Here two openings appear, between which are these high mountains. One of the passages runs east-north-east, and the other north- west ; the one running east-north-east, which is on the right hand, and looks towards the north, must be left, as it leads to Greenland, and thence to the Sea of Friesland. Taking the other passage, and steering north-west 80 leagues, the ship will arrive in the latitude * See a review, supposed to be written by Harrow, of the manuscript found at Milan by Carlo Amoretli, in th*- London Quarterly Review for October, 181G. A translation of the most material parts of that paper may be found in Burney's History of Voyages in the Pacific, vol. '>, p. 167. A translation of the whole of the Madrid document, with copies of the maps and plans annexed to it, is given by Barrow, at the conclusion of his Chronological History of Voyages in the Arctic Regions. See, also, the Introduction to the Journal of Galiiino and Valdes. p. 49. The reviewer above mentioned " suspects this pretended voyage of Maldonado to be the clumsy and audacious forgery of some ignorant German, from tiie circumstance of 15 leagues to the degree being used in some of the computations;" but the courses are not laid down with so much exactness in the account, as to warrant the assertion tliat 1.") leagu(>s are employed, instead of 17.J, which would have been the true subdivision of the degree of latitude in Spanish leagues. t An island of this name was long supposed to exist near the position here assigned to it, on the faith of an apocryphal account of some voyages which were said to have been made in the North Atlantic about the year 1400, by the brothers Antonio and Nicolo Zeno, of Venice. F'ricsland has been, by some, considered as identical with the Feroe Islands. 588. 1588.] PRETENDED VOYAGE OF MALOOViDO. 81 t un- olher tracts V the itury, rom a ;h she jceeds course lip will nd of t is an s West- ell will of that y wide, oast of ite side . Here luntains. north- t hand, onland, : '^'i 1595.] CONFIRMATION OF FUCA S ACCOUNT. 89 degrees of latitude, he entered a broad inlet of sea, in which he sailed for twenty days, and found the land trending north-west, and north-east, and north, and east, and south-east, and that, '.. 0(;^>/i.irit.' ■V-U»"l'W W'VV 1 1 m If if ■4 too JESUITS IN CALIFORNIA. [1702. brethren and friends occasionally made remittances to them, in money or goods ; and the king was persuaded to assign, for their use, a small annual allowance : but the Mexican treasury, which was charged with the payment of this allowance, was seldom able to meet their drafts when presented ; and the assistance derived from all these sources was much diminished in value before it reached those for whom it was destined. Embarrassments of this nature occurred in 170'2, at the commencement of the undertaking, in consequence of the great costs of the expeditions from Mexico for ^he occupation of Texas, and the establishment of garrisons at Ponsacola and other places in Florida, as checks upon the French. By perseverance and kindness, however, rather than by any other means, the Jesuits overcame all the difficulties to which they were exposed ; and within sixty years after their entrance into Cal- ifornia, they had formed sixteen principal establishments, called missions, extending in a chain along the eastern side of the penin- sula from Cape San Lucas to the head of the gulf. Each of these missions comprised a church, a fort garrisoned by a few soldiers, and some stores and dwelling-houses, all under the entire control of the resident Jesuit ; and it formed the centre of a district containing several ranchcrias, or villages of converted Indians. The principal mission or capital was Lorcto ; south of it was La Paz, the port of communication with Mexico, probably the same place called Sonin Cniz by Cortes, where he endeavored to plant a colony in 1535 ; and near Cape San Lucas was San Jose, at which an attempt was made to provide means for the repair and refreshment of vessels employed in the Philippine trade. No establishments were formed on the west coast, which does not seem to have been visited by the Jesuits, except on one occasion, in 1716, The villages were each under the superintendence of Indians selected for the purpose, of whom one possessed the powers of a governor, another took care of the church or chapel, and a third summoned the inhabitants to prayers and reported the delinquents. The children were taught to speak, read, write, and sing, in Spanish, and were initiated into the doctrines and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic religion. The converts were directed in their labors by the lathers ; each being generally allowed to retain the fruits of his industry, though he was at the same time made to understand that he could not claim them as his property. Immigration from other countries, except of Jesuits, was as far as possible prevented ; the efforts of the mission- aries being, in California as in Paraguay, devoted exclusively to the ( .1 ony in ttempt vessels brmed by the each ise, of care nts to aught [ into The being h he claim pt of ssion- o the 1760.] JESUITS IN CALIFORNIA. 101 improvement of the natives, and their union into a species of com- monwealth, under the guidance of their preceptors. The Jesuits also in California, as in Paraguay and elsewhere, exerted themselves assiduously in acquiring a knowledge of the geography, natural history, and languages of the country. They surveyed the whole coast of the Californian Gulf, determining with exactness the relative positions of the principal points on it ; and in 1709, Father Kuhn ascertained beyond doubt the fact of the con- nection of the peninsula with the continent, which had been denied for a century. Indeed, as regards the eastern and middle parts of the peninsula, nearly all the information which we possess at the present day has been derived through the labors of these mission- aries. On all those subjects, the results of their researches were communicated to the world through the Lettres edijiantes et curi- euses, published, from time to time, at Paris, by learned members of their order, and afterwards more fully in their History of California,* which appeared at Madrid in 1757, and has been translated into all the languages of Western Europe. In the mean time, — that is to say, ever since the beginning of the seventeenth century, — the power of Spain had, from a variety of causes, been constantly declining. Her resources, and those of her colonies, had, within that period, been materially reduced ; in mari- time force she had fallen far below England and France, and a large portion of America, including valuable and extensive terri- tories, which had been long occupied by her subjects, had passed into the hands of her rivals or enemies. Her government, indeed, resisted, as long as possible, these intrusions and encroachments, as they were considered, of other nations upon territories of which Spain claimed exclusive possession in virtue of the papal grant of 1493, as well as of prior discovery ; and never, until forced by absolute necessity, did the court of Madrid recognize the claim of any other power, except Portugal, to occupy countries in the New World, or to navigate the Western Atlantic, or any part of the Pacific, The earliest recognition of such a right by Spain was * JVoticia de California y de sit Canquista cspiritual y temporal. — This work, though usually attributed to Vcnegas, is doubtless chiefly due to the labors of Father Andres Marcos Burriel. The portions relating to the proceedings of the Jesuits in California are highly interesting, and bear every internal mark of truth and authenticity. The observations on the policy of the Spanish government towards its American posses- sions are replete with wisdom, and indicate more liberality, as well as boldness, on the part of the authors, than could have been reasonably expected, considering the circumstances under which they were written and published. 1 f ! ...,i ^'-l.::i 4\} 102 DECLINE OF THE SPANISH POWER. .■■■■V l\'^^ !:;' 'i I' m' [1763. made in the American treaty, as it was called, concluded with Great Britain in 1670, by which it was agreed that the British king should have and enjoy forever, with plenary right of sovereignty and property, all lands, regions, islands, and colonics, possessed by him or his subjects in the West Indies, or in any part of America ; with the understanding, however, that the subjects of neither power should trade with, or sail to, any place in those countries belonging to the other, unless forced thither by stress of weather or pursuit by enemies or pirates. These stipulations were renewed and con- firmed by the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, in which the queen of England, moreover, engaged to give assistance to the Spaniards for the restoration of the ancient limits of their dominions in the West Indies, as they were in the time of King Charles II. of Spain ; and it was by common consent established, as a chief and funda- mental rule, that the exercise of navigation and commerce in the Spanish West Indies should remain as it was in the time of that king, who died in 1700. The terms of these, and all other treaties on the same subject, between Great Britain and Spain, were, however, so vague, that they served rather to increase than to prevent disputes. The meaning of the expression Spanish West Indies never could be fixed to the satisfaction of both the parties ; and it was impossible for them, in any case of alleged trespass by either upon the rights of the other, to agree as to what were the limits of their respective dominions, or what was the state of their navigation and commerce at the time of the death of King Charles II., or at any other time. The British colonies were, nevertjieless, constantly advancing and absorbing those of other European powers, and all the attempts of the Spaniards to check their prosperity were ineffectual. The French, by their occupation of Louisiana and the western half of St. Domingo, also gave great uneasiness to the Spaniards for some time ; but the political interests of the two nations had become so closely involved, by the family ties between their sove- reigns, that Spain, as the weaker, in this and in the other cases, was obliged to submit to the influence and encroachments of her powerful ally. At length, in 1763, peace was restored among these three great powers. Spain recovered from France New Orleans and the part of Louisiana west of the Mississippi ; while the remainder of Louisiana, together with Florida, Canada, and all the other French possessions on the North American continent, became the property ]l 1762.] FAMILY COMPACT. 103 of Great Britain. The interests of France in the New World were so small, after these arrangements, that they could scarcely of them- selves afford grounds for dispute between her and Spain ; and the two crowns were, moreover, supposed to be firmly united by a treaty celebrated in history as the Family Compact, concluded in 176*2, through the agency, chiefly, of the duke de Choiseul, prime minister of France, by which the sovereigns of those kingdoms guarantied to each other all their dominions in every part of the world, and engaged to consider as their common enemy any nation which should become the enemy of either. The claims of Spain to the sovereignty of the western side of America were never made the subject of controversy with any other state until 1790 ; but her pretensions to the exclusive navi- gation of the Pacific, though upheld by her government even after that period, had long before ceased to be regarded with respect by the rest of the world. The free-traders, freebooters, and bucaniers, — that is to say, the smugglers and pirates, — of Great Britain, France, and Holland, led the way into that ocean, which they continued to infest during the whole of the seventeenth and a part of the eighteenth centuries : they were followed by the armed squadrons of those nations, with one or other of which Spain was almost always at war ; and during the intervals of peace came the exploring ships of the same powers, whose voyages, though at first ostensibly scientific, were, with good reason, considered at Madrid as ominous of evil to the dominion of Spain in America.* These exploring voyages became more frequent, and their objects were avowedly political as well as scientific, after the peace of 1763 ; about which time, moreover, they were rendered more safe, expeditious, and effective in every respect, by the introduction of the reflecting quadrant and the chronometer into use on board the public ships of all the maritime nations of Europe, except Spain and Portugal. Between that year and 1779 the Pacific and the southern oceans were annually swept by well-appointed ships of Great Britain or France, under able navigators, whose journals were published immediately on the conclusion of their voyages, in the M I '\^\ m * Lord Lansdowne, in a speech in the British House of Lords, December 13, 1790, on the subject of the convention then recently concluded with Spain, said — " Sir Benjamin Keene, [ambassador from Great Britain at Madrid from 1754 to 1757,] one of the ablest foreign ministers this country ever had, used to say, that, if the Span- iards vexed us in the first instance, we had means enough to vex them in return, without infringing treaties ; and the first step he would recommend would be to ■end out ships of discovery to the South Sea." V;! ^; i;-LU m ■• 104 ALARMS OF THE COURT OP MADRID [1765. i, I Ml 1, t ■■',1 m!^ Hi;' j M'ri most authentic manner possible, illustrated by maps, plans, tables, views of scenery, and portraits of natives, all conspiring to afford the most exact ideas of the objects and places described in the narratives. New lands and new objects and channels of com- mercial and political enterprise were thus opened to all ; and new principles of national right, adverse to the subsistence of the exclusive system so long maintained by the Spanish government, were established and recognized among all other states. The voyages of the British exploring ships were, until 1778, con- fined to the southern parts of the ocean ; but the Spanish govern- ment had been constantly in dread of their appearance in the North Pacific, particularly as a navigable communication between that ocean and the Atlantic, in the north, was again generally believed to exist. The acquisition of Canada by Great Britain rendered the discovery of such a passage much more important to that power, as there was less danger that any other nation should derive advantages from it, to the injury of British interests ; while Spain, becoming possessed of Louisiana, which was supposed to extend indefinitely northward, had thus additional reasons for viewing with dissatisfaction any attempts of her rival to advance westward across the continent. Serious grounds of apprehension were also afforded by the pro- ceedings of the Russians on the northernmost coasts of the Pacific. All that was generally known of them was obtained from the maps and accounts of the French geographers, which, though vague and contradictory, yet served to establish the certainty that this am- bitious and enterprising nation had formed colonies and naval stations in the north-easternmost part of Asia, and had found and taken possession of extensive territories beyond the sea bathing those shores ; and these circumstances were sufficient to alarm the Spanish government for the safety of its provinces on the western side of America. In order to avert the evils thus supposed to be impending, and at the same time to revive the claims of Spain to the exclusive navigation of the Pacific, and to the possession of the vacant terri- tories of America adjoining her settled provinces, as well as to render those provinces more advantageous to and dependent on the mother country, a system was devised at Madrid, about the year 1765, embracing a series of measures which were to be applied as circumstances might dictate or permit. This system, which is supposed to have been elaborated chiefly by Carrasco, the fiscal of •1 f ■; I 1766.] SCHEMES OF THE COURT OF SPAIN. 105 lis am- naval nd and alhing rm the estern kg, and ^elusive Jit terri- ll as to lent on [)ut tlie ipplied thich is Iscal of the Council of Castile, and Galvez, a high officer of the Council of the Indies, embraced reforms in every part of the administration, particularly in the finances of the American dominions, the shameful abuses in which had been laid open by Ulloa, in his celebrated report* presented to the government in 1747. It was likewise intended that the vacant coasts and islands, adjacent to the settled provinces in the New World, should be examined and occupied by colonies and garrisons sufficient for their protection against the attempts of foreign nations to seize them, or at least to secure to Spain the semblance of a right of sovereignty over them, on the ground of prior discovery and settlement. The deliberations with regard to this system seem to have been conducted with the utmost secrecy by the Spanish government ; and no idea was enter- tained of its objects in 1766, when Galvez, the officer above named, arrived in Mexico as visitad6r,\ with full powers to carry the new measures into effect in that part of the dominions. This Galvez was a man of the most violent and tyrannical dis- position. His arbitrary proceedings in financial matters occasioned an insurrection in the province of Puebla, which nothing but the firmness and good sense of the marquis de Croix, then viceroy of Mexico, prevented from becoming general. He then engaged in an expensive war against the Indians in Sonora and Sinaloa, the coun- tries bordering on the eastern side of the Californian Gulf, from which very little cither of honor or of profit accrued to Spain ; and a portion of his impetuosity having thus escaped, he turned his attention towards California, where he was charged with an im- portant duty. The sovereigns of continental Europe and their ministers had long been impatient and jealous of the influence enjoyed, or sup- * yoticias srcrctas de Jimrrica — Secret inioriiiation rcspoctinsf tlic internal adminis- tration of Peru, Quito, Chile, and New Granada, collected by Don Antonio de Ulloa and Don Jorge Juan, who had been sent for that purpos.> by the Spanish govern- ment in 174l) ; the only work from which it is possible to obtain a true picture of the state of those countries, and of the abuses and corruptions practised in them by the Spanish ollicials. It was first publish(s, to be devised and presv'nted, and some new tax to be imposed. The people of the country look for the arrival of a risittuhir with the same impatience with which they afterwards desire his departure." — Humboldt's Essay on Mexico, book ii. chapter vii. 14 ''^■^it . '■■'¥r ;'^ii,; 100 THE EXPULSION OF THE JESUITS. [1767. 1 "1. V posed to be enjoyed, by the Jesuits ; and the governments of Spain and Portugal, though always opposed to each other, were equally mistrustful as to the objects and proceedings of that order in the New World. Suspicions were entertained at Lisbon and at Madrid that those proceedings were not dictated solely by religious or phiU anthropic motives ; but that the Jesuits aspired to the separation and exclusive control of the greater part, if not of the whole, of Southern America : and these suspicions were increased by the successful stand which they made in Paraguay, at the head of the natives, against the division of that province, and the transfer of a portion of its territory to Portugal, agreeably to the treaty concluded between the latter kingdom and Spain, in 1750. This act drew down upon the order the hatred of the subtle and fearless marquis de Pombal, who then ruled Portugal with a rod of steel ; from that moment he devoted himself to its destruction, and, his plans having been disposed with care and secrecy, all its members were expelled from the Portuguese dominions, without difficulty, in 1759. In France, the Jesuits were soon after entirely overthrown by the agency of the duke de Choiseul, the minister, and madame de Pom- padour, the mistress of Louis XV. ; and on the 2d of April, 1767, a decree was unexpectedly issued by King Charles III. of Spain, at the instigation of the celebrated count de Aranda, for their im- mediate banishment from the Spanish territories. This decree was executed without delay in every part of the empire. In Mexico, the Jesuits, to the number of several hundreds, were, in July following, arrested and sent off to Europe ; and a strong military force was at the same time despatched to California, under the command of Don Gaspar de Portola, who found no difficulty in tearing a few old priests from the arms of their wailing converts. Thus ended the rule of the Jesuits in Cahfornia. That their efforts were attended with good cannot be denied ; for those who were the immediate objects of their care, were certainly rendered happier, more comfortable, and more free from vice, than they would otherwise have been. Unfortunately, however, the aborigines of California are among the most indolent and brutish of the human race ; with minds as sterile and unimpro\ tible as the soil of their peninsula. By constant watchfulness, by the judicious administra- tion of rewards as well as punishments, by the removal of all evil examples, and, above all, by studiously practising themselves what they recommended to others, the benevolent, wise, and persevering Jesuits did indeed introduce a certain degree of civilization, or tu sii in go im mi an( au£ Esl 8id( neg in > the li 17C7.] EXPULSION or THE JESUITS. 107 apparent civilization, among these people ; but there is no reason to believe that, by any means as yet employed for the purpose, a single Californian Indian has been rendered a useful, or even an innocuous, member of society. There was, however, no intention on the part of the Spanish government to abandon California. On the contrary, the peninsula immediately became a province of Mexico, and was provided with military and civil officers dependent on the viceroy of that kingdom; and the missions were confided to the Dominicans, under whose austere rule the majority of the converts relapsed into barbarism. Establishments were also formed by the Spaniards on the western side of California ; and the coasts farther north, which had been neglected for more than a hundred and sixty years, were explored in voyages made for the purpose from Mexico, as will be shown in the succeeding chapter. '^ ■ ]i '^ 'A m w •.'I ' . a- ' :■ :lii:i 108 CHAPTER IV. 1769 TO 1779. 1 .^!i iU !: i il ';il. ... «.' ^ ■';!;■ First Establishmonts on tho West Const of California fnundod by the Spaniards — Dispute between Spain and Great Britain respecting tlio Falkland Islands — Exploring Voyages of the Spaniards nnder I'orez, lleceta and Bodega, and Arti-agtt and IJodega — Discovery of Nootkn Sound, Norfolk Sound, and the Mouth of the Columbia River — Importance of these Discoveries. Immediately after the expulsion of the Jesuits from Mexico, the viceroy of Mexico, De Croix, und the visitador, Galvez, directed their attention to the establishment of colonies and garrisons on the western side of California, agreeably to the system adopted for the restauration of the Spanish dominions in the New World. At that time, little was known, with certainty, of any part of the west coast of America north of the 43d parallel, to which latitude it had been explored by Sebastian Vi/caino, in ICO.'J. The voyage of Juan de Fuca was generally considered as apocryphal, and nothing of an exact nature could be learned from the accounts of the Russian expeditions in that quarter. Upon examining the charts and journals of Vizcaino, descriptions were found of several places surveyed by him, which he strongly recommended as suitable for settlements or naval stations ; and, agreeably to his views, it was determined in Mexico that the first establishments should be formed on the harbors which had received from that navigator the names of Port San Diego and Port Monterey. Accordingly, after much difficulty, a small number of settlers, with some soldiers and Fran- ciscan friars, were assembled at La Paz, on the western shore of the Califoriiian Gulf, which had been selected as the place of rendez- vous ; and thence, in the spring of 1769,* they began their march * This account of the establishment of the first Spanish colonies on the west coast of California is derived from — the narrative of Miguel Costanso, the engineer of the expedition, which was published at Mexico in 1771, and immediately suppressed by the government; a copy, however, escaped to England, from which a translation was published at London, in 17!)0, by A. Dalrymple — and from the biography of Friar Junipero Serra, the principal of the Franciscans who accompanied the expedition, written by Friar Francisco Palou, and published at Mexico in 1787. :'rli niardfl — glands — , ArU'aga th of the ico, the lircctcd I on the for the t of the latitude voyage il, and >unt8 of ing the several suitable , it was formed names ir much Fran- |e of the rcndez- march krest coast per of the Ircsscd by lation was of Friar ipedition, 1769.] SPANISH COLONIES IN NEW CALIFORNIA. 109 through the peninsula towards San Diego, the nearest of the places selected for the first establishments, in two parties, commanded respectively by Gaspar de Portola, the governor of the newly-formed province, and Fernando de Rivera, a captain in the army. Each party carried a drove of cattle ; the materials and supplies for the colonics being sent in three vessels directly to San Diego. The first party of emigrants under Rivera, after a long and painful march, reached San Diego on the 14th of May, 1769, and found there two of the vessels, which, after disastrous voyages and the loss of many of their crews by scurvy, had arrived a few days previous. The other body, under Portola, marched by a still more difHcult route, and did not join their companions on the Pacific shore until nearly two months later. A spot having been chosen fi»r the settlement near the entrance of the Buy of San Diego, a portion of the men were employed in erecting the necessary buildings ; with the remainder Portola set oft' for Monterey, where he was anxious also to establish a colony immediately, leaving directions that the third vessel, which was expected from Mexico, ihould be ordered to proceed with her cargo to that place. This expedition, however, was not successful ; for the Spaniards, march- ing along the eastern side of the range of mountains which border the coast northward of San Diego, passed by Monterey, and found themselves, at the end of October, on the shore of a great bay, which they supposed to be the same called Port Son Francisco in the accounts of the old navigators. When they discovered the place of which they were in search, the cold weather had begun ; and, the vessel not appearing, with the supplies, as expected, they were obliged to retrace their steps to San Diego. Of this third vessel nothing was ever heard after her departure from the Gulf of California. In the mean time, the people left at San Diego had experienced great difiiculties from the hostility of the natives, by whom they were several times attacked ; and, after the return of the governor's party, they were all in danger of perishing from want of food : so tliat they unanimously agreed to abandon the country and return to Mexico, unless they should be relieved, before St. Joseph's d;iy, the 10th of March, 1770, by the return of one of the vessels, which had been sent for supplies. On that day, one of the vessels did arrive, and, the supplies being found suliicicnt, Portola again set otf for Monterey, where a settlement was effected. During the same year, other parties of emigrants came from Mexico, and new i I ilHi! n# OISPUTi: ABOUT THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. [1770. J ; If 'i!l ' I ^ m eitnblishments were formed on the coast between San Diego and Monterey ; and, as the means of subsistence soon became abundant by the multiplication of their cattle, independently of the fruits of their labor in agriculture, the Spanish colonies in Upper California were, before 1775, in a condition to resist the dangers to which they were likely to be exposed. Another measure, undertaken by the Spanish government about this time, in prosecution of its plans for securing the unsettled coasts and islands of America from occupation by foreign powers, brought Spain into collision, and nearly into war, with Great Britain. Soon after the peace of 1763, colonies were formed by the French and the British on the barren, storm-vexed group of the Folk- land Islands, in the South Atlantic Ocean, near the entrance of Magellan's Strait. The French colonists were soon withdrawn by their government, at the instance of the Spanish king, though not until after an angry discussion : the British ministers, on the other hand, treated with contempt the remonstrances addressed to them from Madrid, on the subject of their settlement. At length, in June, 1770, the British colonists were expelled from Port Kgmont, the place which they occupied, by a squadron and troops sent for the purpose from Buenos Ayres by Don Francisco Bucareli, the gov- ernor of that province. This event created great excitement in England, and both nations prepared for war ; but the dispute was compromised through the mediation of Fronce. A declaration was presented on the part of Spain, to the effect — tliat the Catholic king disavowed the act of the governor of Buenos Ayres, and promised to restore the settlers to Port Egmont ; but that these concessions were not to be considered as prejudicing his prior right of sovereign- ty over the islands : and the British minister gave in return an accept- ance of the disavowal and promise of restoration, without noticing the Spanish reservation of right.* Agreeably to this promise, the British colonists were replaced at Port Egmont in 1771 ; but they were withdrawn by order of their government in 1774, on the plea of the expensiveness and inutility of the establishment, but, as is * The documents relative to this dispute may be found at length m the London Annual Register, and in the Gentleman's Magazine, for 1770. See, also, — the Parliamentary History, vol. xvi. — the Anecdotes of the Life of Lord Chathcn, chap, xxxix. — Thoughts on the Falkland Islands, by Dr. Samuel Johnson, &c. The author of this History may also be permitted to refer to — a Memoir, Historical and Political, on the Falkland Islands — written by himself, and published in the New York Merchant's Magazine for February, 1842, containing full accounts of all the circumstances connected with this famous dispute. 1771.] SETTLEMENT Or THE DISPUTE. Ill generally believed, in conHuqucnce of u secret engagement to that eflect, concluded between the parties * at the time of the settlement > London 80, — the Jhathcn, son, &c. [iBtorical the New f all the * That tho Uritiiih Kovcrniiicnt did locrotly t-ni^Kge— to abandon the Falkland lilandi entirely, foon after the reHtitutioii of i'ort Eginoul iihould have been formally effected— wai asiterted at the time openly in parliament, and without reply from the niiniiteri, ai well M by many individuals in Ureat lintniii whoHe opiuion<< are entitled to credit. It waa admitted by Dr. JohiiHon, in an edttiun of hiM Thoui;hta, Jkc, publinhed lub- lequent to the evaciiatiiin ; and it has been h) u-d as true by every historian, British and f(irei||;n, who has descrilu'd the affair. It tvus, indeed, regarded as an established fact, and was untpiestioned until the Hth of January, IHIM, when Lord Paluierston, the British secretary for forei|;n affairs, in answer to a protest on the part of the gov- ernment of Buenos Ayres afjainst the recent occupation of th> Fa'kland Islands by Ureal Britain, formally denied it, and produced a number of -^'racts from corre- spondence bclwrrn Hrilish minintira and their own aticnts, which he considered as affording '* concluHive evidence that no such secret understanding could have existed," as it is not mentioned in thoHc extractH. The papers cited by Lord Pulmerston, and tile arguments whicli he draws from tliem, are, however, insutficient to change the general preexisting belief on the subject ; for in none of them should we expect to find any allusion to tiie engagement in question. There is no apparent reason for which the ministers should have informed any of the persons addressed in these letters of their promise to evacuate the islands ; while, on the other hand, it was clearly important for them to suppress all proof uf their having made such an engage- ment, which the whole British people would have considered dishonoring, it is no novelty in diplomacy, that an ambassador should be kept in ignorance of matters settled rr discussed between his own ministers of state and those of the government to which he is accredited ; and the very negotiation by whicli this dispute was ter- minated, was earrii'd on through the agency of the secretary of the French embassy at London, while the ambassador himself knew nothing about it. Equally inelHcient to produce conviction is the assertion of Lord Pahnerston in the same letter, " that the reservation (with regard to the sovereignty of the Falkland islands) contained in lh(> Spanish derltiratiou cannot be admitted to possess any sub- stantial weight, inasuuieli as no notice whatever is taken of it in the British counter dedariition." In the tirst place, no counter tieclarution was made on the occasion : the British nunister presented, in return for the Spanish ambassador's declarulion, a paper containing not u word of contradiction, and which isi, as it was styled when submitted to parliament, an acrrptaiicc. These two documents — the only ones which are as yet knuusn to have passed on the conclusion of the dispute — cannot be sepa- rated in reasoning on their contents, but must be taken together, as forming one con rentiiin, ailmittcd hij both parlim. It will not be pretended that the Spanish ambas- sador delivered his declaration, without full knowledge of the answer which was to be made to it ; and the silence of the British minister on the subject of the reser- vation amounts, at least, to an acknowledgment that the fact of the restitution of Port Eginont was not regarded as a surrender by Spain of her claim of sovereignty over the Falkland group, which was to remain such as it had been before the dispute. That this view must have been taken by the British government is likewise strongly corroborated by the circumstance that the Spaniards continued to occupy Soledad (another place in the Falkland Islands, where the French had made their settlement) for more than forty years after this arrangement, without ony complaint or objection on the part of Great Britain, though they had been formally ordered to quit it before the dispute occurred. It will be shown, in the fifteenth chapter of this History, that the British govern- ment, in 1B27, took a different view of reservations of right, when they were in favor of Great Britain. V ; til • & fit' ■ \ ■i? 113 SPANISH COLONIES IN NEW CALIFORNIA. [1774. of the dispute. Bucareli, the governor of Buenos Ayres, whose acts had been disavowed by his sovereign, was raised to the high and lucrative post of viceroy of Mexico. The issue of this dispute between Great Britain and Spain, served to impress upon the government of the latter power still more strongly, the conviction of the necessity of occupying the vacant coasts and islands of America adjoining its settled provinces. Efforts for this purpose were accordingly made, not only on the coasts of California, but also on those of Texas, of the Mosquito country, and of Patagonia, and were continued, at great expense, though with little effect, until 1779, when they were abandoned, in consequence of the wars excited by the revolution which ended in the independence of the United States. The efforts of the Spanish government were, however, specially directed towards the west coasts of North America ; and, in order to give them efficiency, a particular branch of the administration of Mexico was created, under the title of the Marine Department of tSan Bias, which was charged with the superintendence and ad- vancement of the establishments in that quarter. The port of San Bias, in Mexico, at the entrance of the Californian Gulf, was made the centre of the operations for these purposes : arsenals, ship- yards, and warehouses, were erected there ; all expeditions for the coasts farther north were made from it, and all orders relative to them passed through the chief of the department, who resided at that port. In this manner, before 1779, eight establishments were formed, by the Spaniards, on the Pacific coast of America, between the Californian peninsula and Cape Mendocino; the southernmost of which was San Diego, near the 32d degree of latitude, and the northernmost, San Francisco, on the great bay of the same name, near the ;38t!i. These establishments were, in their character, almost exclusively military and missionary ; being intended solely for the occupation of the country, which it was proposed to effect, as far as possible, by the conversion of the aborigines to the Catholic religion, and to the forms and customs of civilized life. The military arrangements were all on the most miserable scale. The forts, some of them dignified with the name of castles, were of mud ; the artillery were a few old pieces, of various sizes, generally ineffective, and the garrisons were all slender : the men were badly armed, badly clothed, and seldom or never exercised, though they were well fed, as the country was covered with cattle, 1774.] SPANISH COLONIES IN NEW CALIFORNIA. 118 )rmed, in the lost of bd the name, ^racter, solely effect, I to the life, scale. , were sizes, |e men frcised, cattle, the descendants of the herds brought thither by the Spaniards in 1770 ; and the ground yielded, with little cultivation, as much Indian corn, beans, and red pepper, as could be consumed. The missions were, for the most part, in the vicinity of the military stations, and, like those of the Jesuits, they each contained a church, generally well built, with some ruder edifices, for the accommoda- tion of the priests and their converts, and for store and work- houses. The public farms were worked by the natives, under the direction of the missionaries or soldiers, and merely produced the food required in the establishments, and, in some places, a little wine. Towns were afterwards formed, some of which were endowed with the privileges of u corporation ; but none of them attained a large size. The missionaries were, as already stated, of the Franciscan order, the members of which are incapacitated, by their vows, from holding any property as individuals. They were, for the most part, plain, uneducated men — taken from the lower classes of society, and knowing no books but their breviaries, and the biographies of their saints — who devoted themselves conscientiously and heroically to the task of reclaiming and guiding the barbarous natives of that remote region — without any expectation of acquiring wealth or honors — unsupported by the ambition and pride of order which animated the Jesuits — and uncheered by those social pleasures and consolations which our Protestant apostles derive from their fam- ilies, wherever they may be placed. To their virtuous conduct and self-denial all the enlightened travellers* who have visited their missions bear unqualified testimony. These missionaries soon succeeded in reducing a large number of the natives of California to a certain degree of conformity with the customs of social life. The neophytes were obtained, gener- ally when young, from their parents, by persuasion, or by purchase, or, in some cases, by force, and were never suffered to return to their savage friends, if it could be prevented. They were all, at first, treated as children ; the nature and hours of their labors, their studies, their meals, and their recreations, being prescribed by their superintendents ; and they were punished when negligent or re- fractory, though not with severity. After remaining ten years in this state of pupilage, they might obtain their liberty, and have ground allotted to them ; but comparatively few availed themselves " La Ferouse, Vancouver, Kotzebue, Beechey, dtc. 15 I i|-l! 1.1 i. ! i ■ i 1 ''' - in ■iV ■■,v' h., ■'Ua- 114 VOYAGE OF JUAN PEREZ. [1774. of the permission, and those who did so, for the most part, sunk into sloth and misery, or returned to the wilds, and resumed the savage life. In the latter cases, the Spaniards employed every means in their power to retake the fugitives, who were, indeed, often sent back by the barbarians, as unworthy of enjoying the privileges of freemen. The Franciscans did not, like the Jesuits, exert themselves in procuring information respecting the countries in which they resided ; and nothing has been learnt from them of the geogra- phy or natural history of the part of California which they occupied. In 1775, Friars Font and Garzes travelled, by land, from Mexico, through Sonora, and the country of the Colorado River, to the mission of San Gabriel, in California, making observations on their way, with the view to the increase of intercourse between Mexico and the establishments in the latter region. They were, however, coldly received by their brethren, who informed them that they had no desire to have such communications opened ; and their journal was never made public. In the same year. Friars Dominguez and Escalante, of the same order, attempted to penetrate westward from Santa Fe, in New Mexico, to the Pacific ; but, after proceed- ing about half the distance, they turned back. The journals of both these expeditions are still preserved, in manuscript, in Mexico, where they have been consulted by Humboldt and other travellers ; but they are, from all accounts, of no value. Between 1774 and 1779, three exploring voyages were made, by order of the Spanish government, in which the west coasts of America were examined, as far north as the 60th degree of latitude. The first of these voyages was conducted by Ensign Juan Perez, who had been long employed in the Manilla trade, and afterwards in the vessels sailing between San Bias and the new establishments on the Californian coast. He was accompanied by Estevan Marti- nez, as pilot, and Friars Pena and Crespi, as chaplains, from whose journals, as well as from those of the commander, the following account of the voyage is derived.* Perez sailed from San Bias in the corvette Santiago, on the 25th * The authorities for the account of this expedition are — the Narrative composed by Perez for the viceroy — the Journal of Friar Tomasde la Peiia — and the Observations of the pilot Martinez — manuscript copies of which have been procured from Madrid. The Journal of Friar Crespi was examined by Humboldt, who has given some par- ticulars derived from it in his Essay on Mexico. Of this voyage no account was ever given to the world until 1802, when a short notice of it appeared in the Introduction to the Journal of the Sutil and Mexicana. 1774.] VOYAGE OF JUAN PEREZ. 115 made, isis of Ltitude. Perez, jrwards hments Marti- whose [lowing 25th Iposed by ervations Madrid, jme par- Iwas ever loduction of January, 1774, with orders, from the viceroy of Mexico, to proceed, as soon as possible, northward, to the 60th degree of latitude, and then to survey the coasts of America from that paral- lel, southward, to Monterey, taking possession, for the king, of every place at which he might land. From San Bias he went first to San Diego, and thence to Monterey, from which latter place he took his departure, on the 16th of June, for the north. The weather, as usual in that part of the Pacific, proved stormy, the winds blowing almost constantly from the north-west ; so that it was not until the 18th of July that the Santiago reached the 54th par- allel of latitude, under which land was first seen in the east. The coast thus observed was high and rocky, extending southward as far as the eye could penetrate, and terminating, in the north, in a point, to which Perez gave the name of Cape Santa Margarita. In the interior was seen a lofty, snow-covered range of mountains, which he called the Sierra de San Cristoval. On approaching the shore, the Spaniards could find no place where it would be safe to anchor ; and, on rounding the cape, the coast beyond it was found to stretch directly westward. By this time, the crew were beginning to show symptoms of scurvy, the weather was tempestuous, and the vessel was small, and badly provided in every respect ; under which cir- cumstances, it was determined that no attempt should be made to go farther north. The Spaniards accordingly steered southward, along the coast, for about a hundred miles, and were then driven otT by a storm : before leaving it, however, they met some of the natives, in t^eir canoes, with whom they traded, receiving sea-otter and other •'aluable skins in return for old clothes, knives, shells, and other trifles. The land thus discovered was the west side of the large island afterwards named (^ueen Charlotte's Island by the British ; Cape Santa Margarita being the north-easternmost point, now called, on English maps, Cape North, at the entrance of Dixon^s Channel. Many particulars resj)ecting the people of these coasts are recorded in the journals of the Spaniards, which agree precisely with the accounts of subsequent navigators. On the 9th of August, Perez again made the land, and discov- ered, under the parallel of 49 degrees 30 minutes, a deep bay, at the entrance of which he anchored, between two high points, one bearing six leagues north-west, the other two leagues south-east. Ere long, his vessel was surrounded by canoes, filled with natives of the country, who readily engaged in trade with his crew : they are w ! ? i 1 -'1 • -i % I ] 1 1 : ■ ' .i'i 1 * i' S^ i ■I4f a, liii''--; J ■ 1 . 1 ,.v- I ' ■' ;fi?'ii 116 VOYAGE OF JUAN PEREZ. [1774. represented, in the journal of Friar Pena, as having Hghter complex- ions than other aborigines of America; like those farther north, they were clad in skins, their hats being, however, made of rushes, curiously plaited and painted, of a conical shape, with a knob on the top. To the surprise of the Spaniards, they had many knives, arrow-points, and other articles, of iron and copper, though it did not appear that they had held any intercourse with civilized people. To this bay Perez gave the name of- Port San Lorenzo, in honor of the saint on whose day it was first seen ; it is undoubtedly the same which, four years afterwards, received, from Captain Cook, the appellation of King Georgc\'^ or NootJca Sound. The point north-west of its entrance, called, by the Spaniards, Cape Santa Clara, is the JVoodi/ Point of the English ; and the other point — the Cape San Estcvan of Perez — corresponds precisely, in situa- tion and all other particulars, as described, with the Point Breakers of the English navigator. From Pert San Lorenzo, the Spaniards sailed along the coast southward ; and, in the latitude of 47 degrees 47 minutes, they beheld, at a distance in the interior, on the east, a lofty mountain, covered with snow, which they named Sierra ih Santa Rosalia — probably the Mount Olympus of the English maps. Martinez, the pilot of the Santiago, many years after, thought proper to remem- ber that he had also observed, between the 48th and the 41)ih parallels, a wide opening in the land, and that he had given his own name to the point on the south side of its entrance. Of this observation no note appears in the journals of the voyage ; yet, upon the strength of the tardy recollection of the pilot, his country- men have claimed for him the merit of rediscovering the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and have allixed the name of Cape Martinez, in their charts, to the point of the continent where that passage joins the Pacific. Continuing his voyage to the south, Perez, on the iilst of August, passed in sight of Cape Mendocino, the true latitude of which he first determined ; and, on the i27th, he arrived at Mon- terey, whence he, after some time, went on to San Bias. In this voyage, the first made by the Spaniards along the north- west coasts of America after 1603, very little was learned, except that there was land, on the eastern side of the Pacific, as far north as the latitude of 54 degrees. The government of Spain, perhaps, acted wisely in concealing the accounts of the expedition, which reflected little honor on the courage or the science of its navigators ; but it has thereby deprived itself of the means of establishing il' 1775.] VOYAGE OF HECETA AND BODEGA. 117 beyond question the claim of Perez to the discovery of the important harbor called Nootka Sound, which is now, by general consent, assigned to Captain Cook. Immediately after the return of Perez to Mexico, the viceroy Bucareli (the same officer who, as governor of Buenos Ayres, had expelled the British from the Falkland Islands in 1770) ordered that another expedition should be made for the purpose of examining those coasts as far as the 65th degree of latitude, to which they were believed to extend continuously north-westward. With this object the Santiago was placed under the command of Captain Bruno Heceta, under whom Perez was to go as ensign ; and she was to be accompanied by a small schooner, called the Sonora, of which Juan de Ayala was to have the command, and Antonio Maurelle to be j)ilot. These two vessels, having been equipped, and provided with the History of California by Venegas, and a chart of the whole north-west coast of America, constructed according to the fancy of the French geographer Bellin, in 1766,* sailed together from San Bias, on the 15th of March, 1775, in company with the sciiooner San Carlos, bound for Monterey, f Ere they had lost sight of tlie land, however, the captain of the San Carlos became delirious, in consequence of which Ayala was ordered to take his place, the command of the Sonora being transferred to Lieutenant Juan Fran- cisco de la Bodega y Quadra. These circumstances are mentioned, bcciiuse, in nearly all the abstracts of the accounts of this voyage hitherto published, Ayala appears as the chief of the expedition ; whereas, in fact, he oidy accompanied the exploring vessels to a short distance from San Bias. '-'1: ■ 'I i m .. I north- except ir north |)erlmps, which (igators ; )lishing * Carte ri'diiito de TOccan st'|)teiitrional, conipris entre I'Asie ct rAmerique, suivant Ics Decouvt-rtes faiU's par Ics Russos. Par N. Bellin. Paris, 17()G. t or this expedition no less than five separate accounts are found among the manuscripts obtained from iMadrid, viz. : the official narrative of the whole, drawn up for the viceroy of Me.xico — the Journal of Bodega — part of the Journal of Heceta, showmg his course atler his parting with Bodega — a concise narrative by Bodega — and, lastly, the Journal of Maurelle, the pilot of the Sonora. A copy of Maurelle's Journal was obtained in Madrid, soon after the conclusion of the voyage, from which an Etiglish translation was published at London, in 1781, by the Hon. Daines Barriugton, among his MiscellanUs. This translation, though very inaccurate and incomplete, attracted much attention at the time of its appearance, and from it, and the short account given in the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes, all the information respecting the voyage has been hitherto obtained. Bar- rington's Miscellanies is, however, a rare book ; and the notices of this expi-ditiim contained in the various memoirs, reports, correspondence, &c., relative to the north- west coast, are, for the most part, taken directly, or at second hand, from the abstracts of the Journal, given by Fleurieu in his instructions to La Perousc, and his Intro- duction to the Journal of Marchand, which are both filled with errors. •!;'5i \ ■ m ■ U r i 1 w\ m. ; ;!' i ;. ' hi,* '1 . ' \ »■*!' n i 118 VOYAGE OF HECETA AND BODEGA. [1775. The exploring vessels, after parting with the Suii Carlos, doubled Cape Mendocino, and, on the 10th of June, anchored in a small roadstead beyond that promontory, in the latitude of 41 degrees 10 minutes. The officers, priests, and a portion of the men, imme- diately landed, and took possession of the country, in the name of their sovereign, with religious solemnities, bestowing upon the harbor the name of Port Trinidad; and they then engaged in repairing their vessels and obtaining a supply of water, which afforded them employment for nine days. During this period, the Spaniards held frequent communications with the people of the country, who dwelt principally on the banks of a small stream, named by the navigators Rio de las Tortolas, — Pigeon River, — from the multitude of those birds in its vicinity. The Indians conducted themselves uniformly in the most peace- able fnanner, and appeared to be, on the whole, an inoffensive and industrious race. They were clothed, for the most part, in skins, and armed with bows and arrows, in the use of which they were very expert ; their arrows were, in general, tipped with copper or iron, of which metals they had k. ives and other implements — whence procured the Spaniards could not learn. No signs of religious feelings, or ceremonies of any kind, could be discovered among them, unless their howling over the bodies of the dead may iL,e considered in that light. Having completed their arrangements, Heceta and Bodega sailed from Port Trinidad on the 19th of June, leaving a cross erected near the shore, with an inscription, setting forth the fact of their having visited the place and taken possession of it for their sove- reign : this monument the Indians promised to respect ; and they kept their word, for Vancouver found it there untouched in 1793. The Spaniards considered the discovery of the place important : the harbor being, according to their journals, safe and spacious, and presenting facilities for communication between vessels and the shore ; and the surrounding country fruitful and agreeable. Van- couver, however, gives a much less favorable view of the harbor, which he pronounces to be in no respect a secure retreat for vessels, as it is entirely open to the south-west winds, which blow on that coast with the utmost violence at certain seasons of the year. The other accounts of the Spaniards, respecting the place and its inhabitants, are, in general, confirmed by those of the British navigator. The Spaniards, after leaving Port Trinidad, were obliged to keep kr 1775.] VOYAGE OF HECETA AND BODEGA. 119 to keep at a distance from the coast for three weeks, at the end of which time they again came in sight of it, in the latitude of 43 degrees 27 minutes. From that parallel they examined the shore towards the south, in search of the strait said to have been discovered by Juan de Fuca in 1592, the entrance of which was placed, in Bellin's chart, between the 47th and the 48th degrees of latitude ; and, having satisfied themselves that no such opening existed there, the two vessels cast anchor near the land, though at some distance from each other, in order to obtain water and to trade with the natives. Here a severe misfortune befell the schooner on the 14th of July. Seven of her men, who had been sent ashore in her only boat, though well armed, were attacked and murdered, immediately on landing, by the natives; and the schooner was herself in much danger of being taken by those savages, who surrounded her, during the whole day, in great numbers, in their canoes, and were with difficulty prevented from boarding her. In commemoration of this melancholy event, the place at which it occurred was called Punta de Martires — Martyr's Point; it is in the latitude of 47 degrees 20 minutes, and on English maps is called Grenville's Point. A small island, situated a few miles farther north, the only one de- serving that name between Cape Mendocino and the Strait of Fuca, was also named Ma de Dolores — Isle of Sorrows : twelve years afterwards, this same isle received, from the captain of the ship Imperial Eagle, of Ostend, the appellation of Destruction Island, in consequence of a similar massacre of some of his crew by the Indians, on the main land opposite. This disaster, together with the wretched condition of the schooner, and the appearance of scurvy in the crews of both ves- sels, occasioned a debate among the officers, as to the propriety of continuing the voyage. The commander, Heceta, was desirous to return to Monterey, in which, however, he was opposed by his own pilot, Juan Perez, and by Bodega, the captain, and Maurelle, the pilot, of the schooner; and, their opinions having been given, as usual in the Spanish service, in writing, the unwilling assent of the commander was obtained, and the voyage towards the north was resumed on the 20th of July. Ere they had proceeded far in that direction, the vessels were separated in a storm ; whereupon Heceta seized the opportunity to go back to Monterey, whilst Bodega per- severed in his determination to accomplish, as far as possible, the objects of the expedition. Heceta, after parting with the schooner, made the land near the '^ m -.1 . '1: 120 HECETA DISCOVERS A GREAT RIVER. [1775. in W^ m-i :il-...k. 50th degree of latitude, (on the south-west side of the great island of Vancouver and Quadra,) and, passing by the Port San Lorenzo, (Nootka Sound,) discovered in the previous year by Perez, he came on the coast of the continent near the 48th parallel, without observ- ing the intermediate entraij^e of the Strait of Fuca, for which he, however, sought between the 47lh and 48th parallels. Theace he ran along the shore towards the south, and, on the 15th of August, arrived opposite an opening, in the latitude of 46 degrees 17 min- utes, from which rushed a current so strong as to prevent his enter- ing it. This circumstance convinced him that it was the mouth of some great river, or, perhaps, of the Strait of Fuca, which might have been erroneously placed on his chart: he, in consequence, remained in its vicinity another day, in the hope of ascertaining the true character of the place ; but, being still unable to enter the opening, he continued his voyage towards the south.* On the opening in the coast thus discovered Heceta bestowed the name of Ensenadn de Asuncion f — Assumption Inlet ; calling the point on its north side Cape San Roque, and that on the south Cape Frondoso — Leafy Cape. In the charts published at Mexico, soon after the conclusion of the voyage, the entrance is, however, called Ensenada de Heceta — Heceta' s Inlet — and Rio de San Roque — River of St. Roc. It was, undoubtedly, the mouth of the greatest river on the western side of America ; the same which was, in 179*2, first entered by the ship Columbia, from Boston, under the command of Robert Gray, and has ever since been called the Columbia. The evidence of its first discovery by Heceta, on the 15th of August, 1775, is unquestionable. From Assumption Inlet, Heceta continued his course, along the shore of the continent, towards the south, and arrived at Monterey, with nearly two thirds of his men sick, on the 30th of August. In his journal, he particularly describes many places on this part of the coast which are now well known ; such as — the remarkable promon- tory, in the latitude of 45J degrees, with small, rocky islets in front, named by him Cape Falcon, the Cape Lookout of our maps — the flat-topped mountain, overhanging the ocean, a little farther south, noted, in his journal, as La Mesa, or The Table, which, in 1805, 1' * See extract from the Journal of Heceta, among the Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter E, in the latter part of this volume. t The 15th of August is the day of the Assumption, and the 16th is the day of St. Roque, or Roc, and St. Jacinto, or Hyacinth, according to the Roman Catholic calendar. 1775. island »rcnzo, 5 came jbscrv- icli he, iiice he \ugust, 17 min- 3 enter- outh of \\ might quence, irtaining inter the jcstowed ilUng the ith Cape ico, soon LT, called Roque — greatest in 179-2, command 'olumbin. August, |ilong the [onterey, bust. In tut of the promon- in front, (ips — the jr south, lin 1805, llustrations, day of St. Ln Catholic 1775.] VOYAGi: OF BODEGA AND MAURELLE. 121 li received, from Lewis and Clarke, the name of darkens Point of View — and the numerous rocky points and reefs bordering the shore, between those places and Cape Mendocino. Meanwhile, Bodega and Maurclle, in their little vessel, were striving, if possible, to reach the 65th degree of latitude, agreeably to the instructions of the viceroy. With this object, after their separation from Heceta, they advanced towards the north, without seeing land, until they had passed the 56th degree of latitude, when they unexpectedly beheld it, on the 16th of August, at a great dis- tance in the north, and much nearer on the east ; though, by Bellin's chart, and their own calculations, they should have been one hundred and thirty-Hve leagues from any part of America. Steering towards the east, they discovered a lofty mountain, rising from the ocean in the form of a beautiful cone, and covered with snow, occupying the whole of what seemed to be a peninsula, projecting from the main land of an extensive and elevated ter- ritory : this mountain innnediately received the name of San Jacinto, in honor of St. Hyacinth, on whose day it was discovered, the pro- jecting point of land which it occupied being called Cape Engaiio, or False Cape. In the angles between this supposed peninsula and the main land were two bays, or sounds, of which the northernmost was named Port Remedios, and the other Port Gtiadtlnpe, after the two celebrated shrines in the vicinity of the city of Meyi^o. There is no difiiculty in identifying any of these places, as described in the journals of the Spanish voyage. They are situated on the west side of the largest island of the group distinguished, on English maps, as King George IWs Archipelago : Mount San Jacinto was, three vears afterwards, named bv Cook Mount Edgecumb ; Port Remedios is the Bay of Islands of the same navigator, and Port Guadelupe is the Norfolk Sound of the English geographers. The two bays have since been found to com- municate with each other by a narrow passage, which completely separates the main land from the mountain. The Spaniards landed on the shore of Port Remedios, where they took possession of the country agreeably to the formalities prescribed, and obtained some water and salmon for the supply of their vessel. While thus en- gaged, they were surrounded by a crowd of natives of the country, who appeared to be more savage and determined than those of any other part of the coast, and also to entertain very distinct ideas of their own superior rights of property and domain. Thus the Spaniards were obliged to pay, not only for the fish, but also for 16 / > i«» ',1 1'( 1 •' !-" if 'Mi ■*S fl 11: i ' 11.1 I m i. Mi Hi ', ■! ■ 122 THE SPANIARDS ON THEIR RETURN. [1776. the water taken away by them ; and the cross, and other marks which they planted on the shore, were torn up immediately on their departure, and treated with every indignity by the savages. The voyage was resumed on the 20th of August, and was con- tinued along the coast, to the 58th degree of latitude, beyond which it was found impossible to proceed, as nearly all on board were, from fatigue and sickness, incapable of performing duty, whilst the winds were daily increasing in violence, and rendering greater exertions necessary. They accordingly, on the 2"2d, turned towards the south ; and, having passed Mount San Jacinto, they approached the coast, in order to seek for the Rio de Reyes, the great river through which Admiral Fonte was said to have penetrated far into the interior of the American continent, in 1640. " With this intent," writes Maurelle, in his journal, " we examined every bay and recess of the coast, and sailed around every head-land, lying to, during the night, in order that we might not miss this entrance ; after which exer- tions, we may safely pronounce that no such passage is to be found." This conclusion was certainly correct, but it was as certainly not established by the exertions of the Spaniards on this occasion : for, in the first place, they confined their search to the pait of the coast north of the 54th parallel, whereas, in the account of Fonte's voyage, the Rio de Reyes is made to enter the Pacific under the 53(1 ; and, had their observations been as minute as Maurelle represents them, several passages woidd have been found, leadin8 sfvcrnl •lit, they Presidio ntH were sort of ■ir dross, had any rocoived indcr his >d. It is abounds 1, by the date of I England 1779.] VOYAGE or ARTKAOA AND BODEGA. 185 hnvc the discovery of the west rousts of America completed with- out «l('lny, under the cure of the same ofHeers who hnr was, at the same time, constructed at Ciuayaquil, in Quito. In these preparations, nearly three; years were consumed, so that the vessels we're not ready for the expedition until the hepnnin^' of 1771); they then (|uitted San Bias, un(h;r the command of Captain Ignacio Arteaga, who sailed in the lar^'er ship, the Vr'nmsa, the other, called the Favorita, being connnanded by Bodega, with Mau- relle as second ollicer. Ileceta had been transferred to new duties. Of this voyage a short notice will sutRce, as all the places dis- covered in the course of it had b( en visited, and minutely examined, in the preceding year, 1778, by the Knglish, under Captain James Cook.* On the 7th of February, 1779, Arteaga and Bodega sailed from San Bias directly for I'ort Bucareli, which they entered after a voyage of four months ; and there they remained nearly two months, engaged in surveying the bay, in refitting their vessels, and in trading with the native's, of whom v<'ry minute and interesting accounts are given in the journals of this voyage. From Port Bucareli they sailed northward, on the 1st of July, and in a few days saw the land stretching before them from north-east to north- west : on approaching it, they behtild rising from the coast a great mountain, " higher than Orizaba," which was, no doubt, Mount St. Elins ; and they began their search, west of these places, for a pas- sage leading northwards into the Arctic Sea, as laid down in the charts of Bellin, which they carried with them. In the course of this search, they entered a great bay, containing many islands, on the western side of the largest of which, called by them Isia dc la Mtifilakna, thev found a good harbor, where thev cast anchor on the 'ibi\\, and took possession of the whole region for the king of S|)ain. From this harbor, named by the Spaniards Port Santiago, parties were sent out in boats to explore the coasts ; but the com- * Tlie pnptTs rolativf to this voyage, which have been obtained, in manuscript, from the hydrosjrraphipal department at Madrid, are — the otlicial account of the whole expedition — and the journals 'if Bodega and Maurelle — accompanied by several tables of the navigation, and vocabularies of Indian languages, and the chart of the coast about Prince William's Sound, which is utterly worthless. A translation of a part of Maurelle's journal may be found in the first volume of the narrative of the expedi- tion of La Perouse, accompanied by some severe, and not altogether just, reflections on the conduct of the Spanish navigators in general. II i ,1 '^' M .'ill 126 SPAIN AT WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. : I!. if r '^ ^:ii [1779. mander, Arteaga, becoming anxious to return to Mexico, soon found that the men were beginning to suffer from scurvy, that the pro- visions were faihng, and that there was no probabihty of their dis- covering any passage, through which they might penetrate farther north ; and he, in consequence, resolved that both vessels should immediately proceed to Monterey. They accordingly sailed from Port Santiago on the 7th of August ; on the 15th of October they entered Port San Francisco, and on the 21st of November they arrived at San Bias, " where," says Fleurieu, with more justice than usually characterizes his remarks on Spanish voyages, " they might have passed the whole time which they spent in their expedi- tion, without our knowledge in geography having sustairied any loss by their inaction." The voyage was, in fact, productive of no benefit whatsoever, and the Spanish government should have been mortified at its results ; instead of which, however, the officers engaged in it were all promoted, for their good conduct and exertions. Of the places visited by Arteaga and Bodega, after leaving Port Bucareli, the great bay, called by them Ensehada de Reglo, is now generally known by the name of Prince Jf imam's Sound, and their Lla de la Magdalena is the Montagitc^s Island of the English ma|)s. It is needless to mention any other of the many appellations given by the Spaniards to capes, bays, islands, and mountains, in that part of America, as they have fallen into disuse. In 1779, Spain became involved in war witli Great Britain, and her flag did not again appear on the coasts north of Cape Mendo- cino until 1788. Before relating the events which occurred in that interval, it will be proper to present an account of the discoveries effected in the North Pacific, since the commencement of the cen- tury, by the Russians occupying the north-eastern extremity of Asia. i [1779. I found »e pro- i\r dis- farther should d from Dctober (veinber ; justice , "they expedi- any loss e of no ive been officers uct and /ing Port 1, is now and their ish maps, ms given in that [tain, and Mendo- !d in that iscoveries the cen- imity of 127 CHAPTER V. 1711 TO 1779. Discoveries of the Russians from Kaintciiatka — Voyages of Bering and Tchirikof to the Arctic Sea and to the American Continent — Establishments of the Russian Fur Traders in the Aleutian Islands — Voyages of Synd, Krenitzin, and Levashef — First Voyage from Kamtchatka to China, made by Polish Exiles under Ben- yowsky — General Inaccuracy of the Ideas of the Russians respecting the Geogra- phy of the nortiiernmost Coasts of the Pacific, before 1779. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the coasts of Asia on the Pacific, north of the 40th parallel of latitude, were as little known as those of America on the opposite side of the ocean. In 164.3, Martin Geritzin de Vries and Hendrick Schaep, two Dutch navigators, commanding the ships Kastrikom and Breskens, explored the seas near Japan, as far north as the 48th degree of latitude, and probably entered tlie great gulf, called the Sea of Ochotsk, between the main land of Asia on the west, and Kamt- chatka and the Kurile chain of islands on the east. It is also related, that Thomas Peclie, an English bucanier, sailed along the same coasts in 1(373, while in search of the Strait of Anian, the entrance of which he was said to have found north of Japan, though he was unable to pass through it, on account of the violence of the winds from the north. From such imperfect accounts the m.ips of that part of the world were generally constructed, before 1750. In those maps, Jesso, the northernmost of the Japan Islands, appears as part of the Asiatic continen* and Kamtchatka and the Kurile Islands are represented as one extensive territory, under the name of the Compamfs Land, united to America on the east, and separated from Jesso on the west, by a narrow passage called the Strait of tries, or the Strait of Anian. In 1711, the whole of Northern Asia had been completely sub- jugated by the Russians, to whom the rich furs * abounding in those • See the article on Furs and the Fur Trade, among the Proofs and Illustrations at the concluding part of this volump, under the letter B. ?"l: f'f'l*^.'' 1 \^- f-3 Ul 1 V- 'ivr ■^' il i' ' -: ^ ^ ■' -1' ' ; - *!i IV' II; 128 PLANS OF PETER THE GKEAT. [1728. regions proved as attractive as the gold and silver of America were to the Spaniards. In the course of their expeditions, the Russians had traced the northern shores of Asia, to a considerable distance eastward from Europe, and they had formed establishments on those of the peninsula of Kamtchatka. But they had not yet, by their discoveries, afforded the means of determining whether Asia and America were united on the north into one continent, or were sepa- rated by a direct communication between the Pacific and the ocean north of Asia, called the Arctic or Icy Sea • nor, indeed, was it ascertained that the sea around Kamtchatlia was a part of the Pacific, though it was generally believed to be so, from the traditions preserved by the natives of that peninsula, of large ships having been wrecked on their coasts.* By these conquests the Russians had been enabled to secure, in addition to the other advantages, a commercial intercourse with China, which was carried on, agreeably to a treaty concluded in 1689, by caravans, passing between certain great marts in each empire. But the ambitious czar Peter, who then filled the Russian throne, was not content with such acquisitions ; he was anxious to know what territories lay beyond the sea bounding his dominions in the east, and whether he could not, by directing his forces in that way, invade the establishments of the French, the British, or the Spaniards, in America. With these views, he ordered that vessels should be built in Kamtchatka, and equipped for voyages of discovery, to be made according to instructions which he himself drew up ; while, at the same time, other vessels should proceed from Archangel, on the White Sea, eastward, to explore the ocean north of Europe and Asia, in search of a navigable communication, or north-east passage, through it from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Various circumstances prevented the execution of any of these projects during the lifetime of Peter. His widow and successor, Catharine, liowever, resolved to carry them into fulfilment ; and a small vessel was, at length, in 1728, completed and prepared at the mouth of the River of Kamtchatka, on the north-east side of that peninsula, for a voyage of discovery, to be made agree.ibly to the instructions of the great czar. The command of the expedition was intrusted to Vitus Bering, a Dane, who had been selected for * The particulars related in the present chapter are derived, principally, from the History of Kamtchatka, by Krascheninikof — the Account of the Russian Voyages from Asia to Ainorina, by MuUer — and the Account of the Discoveries of the Russians in the North Pacific, by Coxe, the last edition of which, published in 1803, is the most complete work on the subject. 728. 1728.] BERING S VOYAGE TO THE ARCTIC SEA. 129 were isians lance those their 1 and sepa- occan ivas it of the ditions having ;ure, in se with ided in in each Hussian fious to minions orces in itish, or red that ages of himself proceed ic ocean ication, icific. if these iccessor, and a Id at the of that to the Ipedition ;ted for , from the Voyages Russians h03, is the the purpose by Peter, on account of his approved courage and nautical skill ; his lieutenants were Alexei Tchirikof, a Russian, and Martin Spangberg, a German, each of whom afterwards acquired reputation as a navigator. Bering was instructed, first — to examine the coasts north and east from Kamtchatka, in order to determine whether or not they were connected with, or contiguous to, America; and next — to reach, if possible, some port belonging to Europeans on the same sea. With these objects he sailed from Kamtchatka River, on the 14th of July, 1728, and, taking a northward course along the Asiatic shore, he traced it to the latitude of 67 degrees 18 minutes: there he found the coast turning almost directly westward, and presenting nothing but rocks and snow, as far as it could be perceived, whilst no land was visible in the north or east. From these circumstances the navigator concluded that he had reached the north-eastern ex- tremity of Asia, that the waters in which he was sailing were those of the Icy or Arctic Sea, bounding that continent on the north, and, consequently, that he had ascertained the fact of the separation of Asia from America. Being satisfied, therefore, that he had attained the objects of his voyage u. that direction, and fearing that, if he should attempt to advance ■■■ he might be obHged to winter in those desolate regions, for ■ i - he was unprepared, he returned to Kamtchatka, where he arrived on the 2d of September. All his conclusions have been since verified ; he, however, little suspected that he had, as was the fact, twice passed within a few leagues of the American continent, through the only channel connecting the Pacific with the Arctic Sea. When the existence of this channel was satisfactorily determined, it received, by universal consent, the name of Seringas Strait, which it still bears. In the ensuing year, Bering attempted to reach the American continent, by sailing direci'y eastward from Kamtchatka ; but, ere he had proceeded far in that course, he was assailed by violent adverse storms, which forced his vessel around the southern extrem- ity of the peninsula, into the Gulf of Ochotsk. He then went to St. Petersburg, from which he did not return to engage in another voyage of discovery until twelve years afterwards. While Bering thus remained at the Russian capital, the existence of a direct communication between the sea which bathes the shores of Kamtchatka and the Pacific was proved, — first, in 1729, by the wreck of a Japanese vessel on the coast of tlie peninsula, — and, ten years afterwards, by the voyages of two Russian vessels, under 17 I I m M m m 130 DISCOVERIES OP SPANGBERO AND KRUPISCHEP. [1740. 'I .■ ■ r I lj,;,i:| i^ -Fit Martin Spangberg and William Walton, from Ochotsk, through the passages between the Kurile Islands, to Japan. Within the same period, also, the connection of the Pacific with the Atlantic, by the Arctic Sea, north of Europe and Asia, had been ascertained by means of expeditions, partly on land and partly on sea, along the northernmost shores of the continents ; though all the attempts made then, and since, to pass, in one vessel, around those coasts, from Europe to the Pacific, have proved abortive. Moreover, a Russian commander, named Krupischef, had sailed, in 1732, from Kamtchatka, northward, as far as the extreme point of Asia, which had been reached by Bering in his first voyage ; and he had thence been driven, by storms, eastward, upon the coast of an extensive mountainous territory, which was supposed to be, and doubtless was, a part of America. Thus the great geographical fact of the entire separation of Asia and America was supposed to be deter- mined ; and all doubts as to the practicability of navigating between the Russian dominions, in the former continent, and those of Spain, in the latter, were dissipated. These discoveries encouraged the empress Anne, who had suc- ceeded to the throne of Russia in 1730, to persevere in endeavoring to extend her authority farther eastward ; and she accordingly commissioned Bering, in 1740, to make another expedition from Kamtchatka, in search of America. For this purpose, two vessels were built in the Bay of Avatscha, on the south-east side of Kamt- chatka, which had been selected for the establishment of a marine depot ; and scientific men were engaged, in France and Germany, to accompany Bering, in order that precise information might be obtained on all j)oints connected with the seas and territories to be explored. Before the preparations were completed, the empress Anne died ; but her successor, Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, immediately declared her determination to prosecute the enterprise ; and, no delays being experienced, the vessels sailed together from the Bay of Avatscha, on the 4th of June, 1741. The larger vessel, called the St. Peter, was commanded by Bering ; the other, the St. Paul, by Tchirikof, who had accompanied the Dane in his previous voyages. On leaving the harbor, they took an eastern course, and continued together until the 21st of the month, when they were separated during a violent gale, after which they never met again. Of Bering's voyage, after his separation from Tchirikof, the only definite accounts are contained in the journal cf Steller, the surgeon P. i 740. li the same >y the id by ig the empts coasts, iver, a I, from which thence :tensive jubtless of the } deter- 3et\veen f Spain, lad suc- eavoring ^ordingly ion from o vessels f Kamt- marine ermany, might be les to be 1741.] BERING S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 131 M\ and naturalist of the ship, which was first pubhshed, in the original German, by Professor Pallas, in 1795. Before that year, all that was known on the subject was derived from a meagre and incorrect abstract of the same journal, in Muller's collections of Russian history. Steller is by no means precise on points of navigation and geography, in consequence of which very few spots described by him can now be identified, although the general course of the voyage may be ascertained. From Steller's journal, we learn that Bering, after parting with Tchirikof, sailed south-eastward, as far as the 46th degree of lati- tude ; and, not reaching Ameri ^, he then altered his course to the north-east, in which he continued until the 18th of July, when land was seen ahead, nearly under the 60th parallel of latitude. The point first descried by the Russians was a mountain of such extra- ordinary height, as to be visible at the distance of more than eighty miles : on advancing towards it, other peaks, and then ridges, apjicared, stretching along the coast, and into the interior, to the utmost limits of the view; and, on entering a narrow passage, between the main land and an island, where they anchored on the :■ t (■ l««v, . '.fl-l \ impression, Cook, when he -"xplored the north-west coast of Amer- ica, in 1778, applied the name of Mount St. Elias to a stupendous peak which he observed, rising from the shore, under the 60th parallel, believing it to be, as it most probably was, the same dis- covered by the Russians in 1741. Vancouver, who examined this coast minutely in 1794, was convinced that the place where the Russians first ancioved is on the eastern side of a bay at the foot of Mount St. Elia^, on the east, which is called Admiralty or Bering's Bay, on English maps, and Yakutat on those of the Russians. The current of discolored water, setting out from that part of the coast, was observed, in 1838 by Belcher. After their departure from the islahd, the Russians continued sailing westward, occasionally seeing the land in the north, until the 3d of August, when, in the latitude of 56 degrees, they beheld a chain of high mountains, (those of the great peninsula of Aliaska, and the contiguous island of Kodiak,) stretching before them from north to south. Upon discovering this impediment to their prog- ress, they turned to the south-west, in order to reach the 53d parallel, under which they were sure, from their observations in coming out, that they should find an open sea to Kamtchatka : but their course was so much retarded by violent opposing winds, that they had scarcely advanced sixty miles before the end of the month ; and, being then exhausted by fatigue and sickness, they anchored among a group of small islands, on one of which they remained ashore several days. There they first saw natives of America, who resembled the aborigines of Northern Asia in their features and habits, and were provided with knives, and other articles of iron and copper ; although they appeared never before to have held any intercourse with civilized people. There, also, occurred the first death among the Russians, in commemoration of which, the name of the deceased sailor, Schumasrin, was bestowed on the group. The islands now so called are about ten in number, situated near the latitude of 55^ degrees, on the eastern side, and not far from the extremity of Aliaska. On quitting the Schumagin Islands, the Russians continued their course south-westward, and passed by other islands, which were those of the Aleutian Archipelago, extending westward from Aliaska, nearly under the 53d parallel. They were then assailed by furious storms, and were, for nearly two months, driven over the seas at random, while famine, disease, and despair, were daily lessening their numbers. "The general distress and mortality," says Steller, 741. imer- idous 60th 3 dis- i this •e the e foot Ity or 3f the n that itinued ntil the ^held a Vliaska, ni from ir prog- he 53d tions in ka: but ids, that month ; inchored emained ica, who ires and of iron ive held rred the lich, the on the situated not far lied their tch were Aliaska, ly furious seas at llessening Is Steller, 1741.] DEATH OF BERING. 133 '* increased so fast, that not only the sick died, but those who pre- tended to be healthy, when relieved from their posts, fainted and fell down dead ; of which the scantiness of the water, the want of biscuits and brandy, cold, wet, nakedness, vermin, and terror, were not the least causes." At length, on the 5th of November, they again saw land, which proved to be an island, in the latitude of 55 degrees ; and on it they resolved, at all hazards, to pass the winter. With this view, they anchored in the most secure place which could be found, close to the shore, and, having landed their stores and other necessaries, they began the construction of huts out of sails and spars ; but they soon had an abundant supply of materials from the wreck of their vessel, which was dashed in pieces on the island by the waves. On the 8th of December Bering expired, worn down by sickness, fatigue, and disappointment, and thirty of the crew were consigned to their graves on the island before the ensuing summer. The sur- vivors recovered their health, and obtained a sufficiency of food, by hunting the sea and land animals, which were found in great num- bers on and about the shores. As soon as the mild season returned, they collected the pieces of the wreck, of which they made a small vessel ; and, having provisioned it as well as they could, they set sail from the western side of the island on the 14lh of August, 1742. Two days after, they made the coast of Kamtohatka; and, continuing along it towards the south, they, on the evening of the 27th, landed, forty-six in number, at the |)lace in the Bay of Avatscha from which they had taken their departure fifteen months before. The island, on which they had thus passed more than nine months, is situated about eighty miles from the eastern shore of Kamtchatka, between the latitudes, of 51i and 55i degrees, and has, ever since its dis- covery, been called lierimr's Isle ; it consists entirely of granite mountains. Such were the occurrences, and the unfortunate termination, of Bering's voyage. Tchirikof, likewise, pursuing an eastward course, discovered land in the latitude of 56 degrees. It was a mountainous territory, with steep, rocky shores, extending on the ocean from north to south ; and, the weather being unfavorable for approa(^hing it, ten men were sent in a boat to make examinations. As these did not return, after some time, nor make any signal from the sliore, six others were despatched in search of them, whose reappearance was also ex- pected in vain; and Tchirikof was obliged, at length, to quit the i > i-i 1 '' fei-wT 134 VOYAGE OF TCHIRIKOF. [1741. I ;' I 'R^ J '1 IT' ■ •■'''. m^ Mi^ v^m '! 1 ' J ^ 1 H it coast without learning what had befallen any of them. In the mean time, the scurvy had broken out among his crew ; and as t!ie stormy season was approaching, he resolved to hasten back to Kamt- chatka. His voyage thither was attended with great difficulties, and before the 8th of October, when he reached Avatscha, he had lost twenty-one men by sickness, including the distinguished French naturalist Delile de Croyere, in addition to the sixteen whose fate was undelerminef trans- three lost en- subjects, Dgraphical itsk, 600, Kiakta, 1768.] VOYAOK OK KHKNIT2.IN' AND LK.VASCUKF. 137 W engaged in the fur trade of the North Pac^ific, until 1764, when the empress Catharine II. ordered that proper measures should be taken to procure exact information with regard to the islands, and the American coasts, opposite her dominions in Asia. This am- bitious sovereign had then just ascended the throne, arid was, or chose to apjiear, determined to carry out the views of Peter the Great for the extension of the Russian empire eastward beyond the Pacific. Agreeably to the orders of Catharine, Lieutenant Synd sailed, in 1766, from Ochotsk, and advanced northward, along the coast of Knmtchatka, as far as the 66th degree of latitude ; and, in the fol- lowing year, he made another voyage in the same direction, in wliich he is supposed to have landed on the American continent. Very few particulars respecting his expeditions are, however, known, us the Russian government appears to have suppressed all accounts of them, for reasons which have been suggested, but which it is unnecessary here to repeat. In 1768, another expedition was commenced, for the purpose of surveying the islands. With this object. Captains Krenitzin and Levaschef quittetl the mouth of Kamtchatka River, in July, each ooiiimanding a snmll vessel ; and, after cursorily examining Bering's Isle, and others near the coast of the peninsula, they stretched across to the Fox Islands, the largest and easternmost of the Archi- pclasjn. among which they passed the winter. Before the ensuing summer, nearly half the crews of both vessels had perished from scurvy ; and, when the navigators returned to Kamtchatka, in October, 1769, they had done nothing more than to ascertain, ap- proximately, the geographical positions of a few points in the Aleu- tian chain. It appears, indeed, that Krenitzin had employed him- self exclusively in collecting furs, with which his vessel was laden on her arrival from her voyage. The only valuable informtL'ion ob- tained by the Russian government, through this costly expedition, related to the mode of conducting the fur trade between Kamt- chatka and the islands ; upon which subject the reports of Levaschef were curious and instructive, and served to direct the government in its first administrative dispositions, with regard to the newly- discovered territories. The expedition of Krenitzin and Levaschef was the last made by the Russians in the North Pacific, for purposes of discovery or investigation, before 178:j. In 1771, however, took |)lace the first voyage from the eastern coast of the empire, to a port frequented 18 1 lUii' .■i SI : i 1 • I, 1 1 1 * Ui »■ I; . !' I ,!• i! 'ni 1 ^ ..; ' 1 138 VOYA<*K (»K BKNVOWSKY. (1771. by the ships of Kiiropcan nntions ; nnd, strange to sny, this voyogo was conducted under \\\c Polish Jlai* ! In th most eastern of Asia. In the beau- tiful map of the Russian empire, published at St. Petersburg by Treschot and Schmidt, in 1776, no land, except some islands, ap- pears within twenty-five degn'es of longitude east of Kamtchatka. Other maps, however, which appeared at a much earlier period, offer a view more nearly correct of the extreme north-western coasts of America, although the geographer who constructed them must have been guided almost entirely by suppositions. The errors of latitude, in all these maps, were very great, amount- ing to ten degrees, in some instances ; and those of longitude were, as may be readily supposed, nuich more considerable. Indeed, hefore 1778, when Cook made his voyage through the North Pacific, the differences in longitude, between places in that part of the ocean, had never been estimated otherwise than by the dead recl:onin!j^, which, however carefullv observed, cannot afford accurate results ; nor had any relation, which coidd be considered as nearly correct, been established between the meridian of any point on the Atlantic and that of any point on the North Pacific. i- ■ 1 ' ! > ■ I. .'I, f M» J k i ' I Jlil 140 CHAPTER VI. 1763 TO 1780. Great Britain dLl.iins Possession of Caniida — Journey of Carver to the Upper Mis- sissippi — First Mention of tlic Oregon River — 1 naccuracy of Carver's Statements — Journeys of Hearne througii the Regions west of Hudson's Bay — Voyage of Captain Cook to the North Pacific — His important Discoveries in that Quarter, and Death — Return of his Ships to Europe ; Occurrences at Canton during their Stay in tliat Port. Whilst the Russians were thus prosecuting the fur trade on the north-westernmost coasts of America, the British were engaged in the same pursuit on the north-eastern side of the continent. It has been already mentioned that King Charles II. of England, in 1669, granted to an association of gentlemen and merchants of London the possession of all the territories surrounding Hudson's Bay, and the exclusive trade in those regions, with the object, ex- pressed in the charter, of encoursiging his subjects to prosecute tin; search for a north-west passage for ships from that sea to the Pacific Ocean. Under the protection of this charter, the Hudson's Bay Company erected forts and trading establishments on the shores of the bay, and carried on an extensive and profitable trade with the natives of that part of America, to the annoyance of the French, who, also, claimed the country as part of Canada, and more than once dislodged the British traders. It was, indeed, provided In the treaty of Utrecht, in 1714, that the Hudson's Bay territories should belong to the former nation, and that commissaries should be appointed, on both sides, to settle the line separating those terri- tories from Canada : but no such boundary was ever fixed, by commissaries or otherwise, as will be shown hereafter ; * and the limits of the Hudson's Bay territories remained undetermined in 1763, when Canada, with all the other dominions of France in North America, east of the Mississippi, were ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of Paris. t ' ^\. See chap, xiii., and Proofs and IHuatrations, letter F. It i*; mi' Fpper Mis- statements Voyage of at Quarter, uring their trade on engaged lent. England, -chants of Hudson's object, ex- ^ecute tlu! le Pacific son's Tiay sliores of w'itli the French, norc tlmn ovided l>y territories les shoulil lose terri- fixed, by and the mined in ranee in at Britain 1766.] CANADA CEDKD TO CHEAT ItUlTAIN. 141 How far the Hudson's Bay Company, also, endeavored to fulfil the intention expressed in the charter, of promoting the search for a north-west passage, it is unnecessary here to inquire ; suffice it to say, that, at the end of a century from the date of the con- cession, the question, as to the existence of such a channel, was nearly in the same state as at the commencement of that period. Hudson's Bay had been navigated by Middleton, in 1741, to the CGth degree of latitude, beyond which it was known to extend ; Baffin's Bay had not been visited since the beginning of the seven- teenth century, when it was examined imperfectly to the 74th parallel. Tlie territories west of both these seas were entirely unex- plored ; but accounts, which seemed to merit some credit, had been received from the Indians, of great rivers and other waters in that direction. The desired communication with the Pacific might, therefore, exist ; or the Pacific, or some navigable river falling into it, might l)e found within a short distance of places on the Atlantic side of the continent, accessible to vessels from Europe : and the determination of these questions became infinitely more important to Great Britain, after the acquisition of Canada. The region extending south-west, from Hudson's Bay to the great lakes, and the head waters of the Mississippi, had long been frequented by the traders from Canada and Louisiana, and had been partially surveyed by French officers and missionaries, by whom several journals, histories, and maps, relating to those countries, had been given to the world. This region was also visited, imme- diately after tjie transfer of Canada to Great Britain, by an Amer- ican, whose travels arc here mentioned, because he is supposed to have thrown much light upon the geography of North-west America by his own observations, and by information collected from the Indians of the Upper Mississippi. This traveller. Captain Jonathan Carver, of Connecticut, who had served with some credit in the war against the French, partic- ularly in the country about Lakes Champlain and George, set out from Boston in 1766, and proceeded, by way of Detroit and Michilimackinac, to the regions of the Upper Mississippi, now forming the territories of Wisconsin and Iowa, where he spent two years among the Indians. His object was, as he says in the introduction to his narrative, "after gaining a knowledge of the manners, customs, languages, soil, and natural productions, of the different nations that inhabit the back of the Mississippi, to ascer- tain the breadth of the vast continent which extends from the h" «. 1 1,1 1 ;i ' hp: , 1 1 ' ' 1 ' ' :k' ill ■ 'I. 'P ') V .J I i,|ji ■.1l] m 1 .i 144 MISUEPRESENTATIONS OF CAIIVER. [1766. ik., to which those vague descriptions and allusions apply, with the Columbia, or with any other river. The Columbia does not rise within a few leagues, or a few hundred leagues, of the waters of the Red River, the St. Lawrence, or the Upper Mississippi, which latter Carver carefully distinguishes from the Missouri; nor does either of those rivers, flowing to the Atlantic, rise near the great dividing ridge of the Shining Mountains ; which ridge, moreover, does not end about the 48th degree of latitude, but continues more than a thousand miles farther north-westward. If, under circum- stances so different, we consider the head-waters of the Columbia to be the same described by Carver as the htad-waters of the Oregon, we should, a fortiori, admit the mouth of the Columbia to be the same mouth of a river which Aguiiar is said to have discov- ered in 1603. Carver's descriptions of places, people, and things, in the Indian countries, are vague, and often contradictory ; and, where they can be understood, they are, for the most part, repetitions of the accounts of those or of other parts of America, given by the old French travellers and historians, whose works he, ne'?'-theless, takes great pains to disparage, whenever he mentions them.* In many of those works, the belief in the existence of a great river, flowing from the vicinity of the head-w.i*ers of the Mississippi, westward, to the Pacific, is distinctly affirmed, as founded on the reports of the Indians ; and on nearly all maps of North America, published during the early part of the last century, may be found one or more of such streams, under the names of River of the West, River of 1% " In proof that no injiisticf is lioro done to Carver's memory, read his magisterial and contemptuous remarks on the works of Hennepin, Lahontan, and Cliarlevoix, in the first chapter of his account of the origin, manners, &c., of the Indians; and tiien com|)are his chapters describing, as from personal observation, tlic ceremonies of marriage, burial, hunting, and others, of the natives of the Upper Mississippi coun- tries, with those of Laiiontan, showing the conduct of the Iroquois, of Canada, on Biiuilar occasions, by wiiieh it will be seen that Carver has sirnphj translated from Lii/ioutii.n the irhiile of the accounts, eren to the speeches of the chiefs. Carver's chapter on the origin o*" the Indians is merely an abridgment from Charlevoix's " Disserta- tion " on the same subject. His descriptions of the language, manners, and customs, of the inhabit^ints of the Upper Mississippi regions, are entirely at variance with those of the same tribes at the present day, as clearly shown by the observations of Pike, Jjong, and other [K-rsons of unquestionable chaiacter, who have since visited that part of America. Keating, in his interesting narrative of Long's expedition in 1823, expres.seshis belief liiat Carver "ascended the Mississippi to the Falls of St. Anthony, that he saw the St. Peter, and that he may liave entered it ; but, liad he resided five months in the country, and become acquainted with the language of the people, he would not have applied to them the name of .Xaudowessies, and omitted to call them the Dacota Indians, as they style themselves.'" West; story. The of Ameri made, in Hudson' (nation i * The ac( Abi.,. le .\Ft- I II' 1770.] MONCACHTABK S ACCOUNT OF A GREAT RIVER. 145 Aguilar, River Thegoyo, or some other, represented on the author- ity of accounts received from Indians, or of erroneous or fabulous narratives of voyages along the North Pacific coasts. When we consider the many and glaring plagiarisms, from the works above mentioned, committed by Carver, we certainly have a right to sus- pect, if not to conclude, that he derived from the same source every thing relating to his River of the West, which he pretends to have collected from the Indians of the Upper Mississippi. As to the name Oregon, or the authority for its use, the traveller is silent ; and nothing has been learned from any other source, though much labor has been expended in attempts to discover its meaning and derivation : it was, most probably, invented by Carver. The most distinct and apparently authentic of these Indian accounts of great rivers flowing from the central parts of North America to the Pacific, is that recorded by the French traveller Lepage Dupratz, as received from a native of the Yazoo country, named Moncachtabe. The amount of this statement is — that the Indian ascended the Missouri north-westward, to its source, beyond which he found another great river, nmning towards the setting sun ; this latter he descended to a considerable distance, though not to its termination, which he was prevented from reaching by wars among the tribes inhabiting the country on its banks ; though he learned, from a woman who had been made prisoner by the tribe with which he took part, that the riv r entered a great water, where ships had been seen, navigated by white men with beards. All this is related, with many accompanying circumstances, tending to confirm the probabihly of the narrative ; and there is, indeed, nothing about it which should induce us to reject it as false, except the part respecting the ships and white men, which may have been an embellishment added by Moncachtabt'.* The course of this supposed stream is laid down on several maps of North America, published about 1750, in which it is called the Great River of the West ; and one of these maps probably formed tlie basis of Carver's story. The first actual discovery of a river in the northernmost section of America, not emptying into the Atlantic or Hudson's Bay, was made, in 1771, by Mr. Samuel Hearne, one of the agents of the Hudson's Bay Company, who also obtained the earliest exact infor- mation respecting the regions west and north-west of that bay. * Thp account may be found at length in the Mimoires sur la Louisiane^ by the Ahii- le Ml -crier, published at Paris in 1753, vol. ii. p. '^46. H) (11 i li I i: A :;■ : ! V'; ill :i-ii ^ i I . '.'i- ■■■■ 'li^' M 146 HEARNE S TRAVELS. [1771, Hearne had been commissioned, by the directors of the company, to explore those regions, in order to determine, if possible, the question as to the existence of a northern passage between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific ; and also, more especially, to find a rich mine of copper, which was believed, from the accounts of the Indians, to lie on the banks of a river or strait, called, in their language, " the Far-off Metal River." From the general tenor of the instructions given to Hearne, it is evident that the directors were convinced of the non-existence of such a passage, and that they were merely anxious to have the fact demonstrated, in order to clear themselves from the imputation often cast upon them, of endeavoring Ao obstruct the progress of discovery in the regions under their control. Agreeably to these instructions, Hearne made, between 1769 and 1772, three journeys from Fort Prince of Wales, the company's chief establishment on the western shore of Hudson's Bay, near the 60th degree of latitude, through the regions west and north- west of that place, which he examined, in various directions, to the distance of about a thousand miles. In his last journey, he dis- covered the Great Slave Lake, and other similar collections of fresh water, from which issued streams flowing northward and westward ; and he traced one of these streams, which proved to be the Far-off Metal River, since called the Cqpper Mine River, to its termination in a sea, where the tides were observed, and the relics of whales were strowed in abundance on the shores. The mouth of this river was calculated rudely by Hearne to be situated near the 72d degree of latitude, and al)ovit 20 degrees of longitude, west of the most western known part of Hudson's Bay ; and he learned from the Indians that the continent extended much farther west, and that there were high mountains in that direction. The sea into which the Copper Mine River emptied was supposed by the traveller to be "a sort of inland sea, or extensive bay, somewhat like that of Hudson;" and he assured himself, by his own observations, that the territory traversed by him, between this sea and Hudson's Bay, was not crossed by any channel connecting the two waters : whence it followed, that no vessel could sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific north of America, without proceeding beyond the mouth of the Copper Mine River. Hearne also conceived that he had proved the entire impossibility of the existence of any direct communication between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific ; in which he, undoubtedly, assumed too much, as the northern termination of that bay had not then, nor has it to this day, been discovered. So( return ill wli of a h duct accej)t placed In t he is d Zealan to end '• strict of the unless he was to be v( inhabita f1 1776.] INSTRUCTIONS TO COOK. 147 Hearne's journals were not published until 1795, though they were submitted, immediately after his return from his last journey, to the lords commissioners of the British Admiralty, who did not fail to perceive the importance of the information contained in them. The commissioners agreed with Hearne in considering the probability of reaching the Pacific through Hudson's Bay to be destroyed ; but they were, on the other hand, induced to hope that the newly-discovered sea, north of America, might be found to communicate, by navigable passages, with Baffin's Bay on the east and the Pacific on the west : and it was, in consequence, resolved, that ships should be sent, simultaneously, to explore the western side of Baffin's Bay and the north-easternmost coasts of the Pacific, in search of the desired channels of connection with the Arctic Sea. By an act of parliament, passed in 1745, a reward of twenty tliousand pounds had been oflfered for the discovery of a north-west passage, through Hudsoti's Bay, by ships belonging to his majesty^s iubjccts; and, in order further to stimulate British navigators in their exertions, a new act, in 1776, held out the same reward to the owners of any ship belonging to his majesty's subjects, or to the connnander, officers, and crew, of any vessel belonging to his iiiiijesty, which should find out, and sail through, any passage by sea bL'twcen the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, in any direction, or parallel of the northern hemisphere, to the northward of the 52d degree of latitude. Soon after the adoption of these resolutions. Captain James Cook returned to England from his second voyage of circumnavigation, in which he had completely disproved all reports of the existence of a habitable continent about the south pole ; and, his oflTer to con- duct the proj)osed expedition to the North Pacific having been accepted by the government, two vessels were soon prepared and placed under his connnand for that purpose. In the instructions delivered to Cook, on the 6th of July, 1776, he is directed to proceed, by way of the Cape of Good Hope, New Zealand, and Otaheite, to the coast of JVetv Albion, which he was to endeavor to reach, in the latitude of 45 degrees. He was " strictly enjoined, on his way thither, not to touch upon any part of the Spanish dominions on the western continent of America, unless driven to it by some unavoidable accident ; in which case, he was to stay no longer than should be absolutely necessary, and to be very careful not to give any umbrage or offence to any of the inhabitants or subjects of his Catholic majesty. And if, in his 'I w ■d\' \>f'. 4',\ I V;'> 'i\' 'i:l lU J' ! 148 I.NSTKUCTIONS TO COOK. [1776. farther progress northward, he should find uny subjects of any European prince or state, upon any part of the coast which he might think proper to visit, he was not to disturb them,- or give them any just cause of offence, but, on the contrary, to treat them with civility and friendship." This latter sentence bore reference to the Russians ; the application of the name of New Albion to the north-west coast of North America showed that the British govern- ment had no intention to resign any rights to that region, which were supposed, or pretended, to have been acquired by Drake's visit, in 1579. On reaching New Albion, Cook was " to put into the first con- venient port to obtain wood, water, and refreshments, and thence to proceed northward along the coast to the latitude of 65 degrees," where he was to begin his seareii for '• such rivers or inlets as might appear to be of considerable extent, and jxjiiiling towards Hudson's or Baflin's Bays." Should he find a passage of that description, lie was to endeavor to sail throiigli it. with one or both of his ships. or with smaller vessels, of which the materials were to be carried out, prepared for being speedily |)nt together ; should he, however, be satisfied that there is no such passage to the above-mentioned bays, suflicient for the purposes of navigation, he was to n'pair to the Russian establishments in Kamtchatka, and to explore the seas north of them, " in fiirther search of a north-east or north-west passage, from the Pacific Ocean into the Atliintic or the North Sea." The instruction, not to begin the examination of the Amer- ican coast south of the 65th degree of latitude, was bas(>d on the proofs obtained by Ilearne, that the continent extended nnich beyond that parallel ; before reaching whieli, indeed, it was expected that the coast woidd be found turning north-eastward, in the direc- tion of the mouth of the Copper Mine River. The navigator was, likewise, " with the consent of the natives, to take possession, in the name of tht; king of Great Britain, of convenient situations in such countries as he might discover, that had not been already discovered or visited by any other European power ; and to distribute, among the inhabitants, sJich things as will remain as traces of his having been there : but, if he should find the countries so discovered to be nninhahited. he was to take pos- session of them for his sovereign, by setting up proper marks and inscriptions, as first discoverers and possessors." The preceding extracts, from the instructions given to Cook, will suffice to explain the objects and views of the British government, -til 1176. f any ch he r givo them nroiice to the overn- wliich brake's rst con- thence •grers," IS might [udsoti's priptioiK lis sliips. ! carried jovvevor, entioiiecl rrpair to the si-as irth-vvest North le Amer- on the d much expected he direc- natives. ritain, of >ver, that "iMiropean Igs as will Mdd find Itake pos- lurks and ^ook, will irernment, 1776.] COOK SAILS Foil TUB PACIFIC. 149 with regard to the part of America hordering upon the North Pacific Ocean ; which objects and views were, in every respect, confoim- ahl(( wilh justice, with the existing treaties between Great Britain and other powers, and with the ])rinciples of national law then generally admitted in civilized countries. The part of America in question was known to Europeans only through the imperfect accounts of the Russian voyages, from which nothing certaii* was learned, exeei)t that islands and other territories, supposed to be extensive, had been found in the sea east of Kamtchatka. Of the discoveries of the Spaniards, the most recent respecting which any exact and authentic details had been connnunicated, were those made by Vizcaino, in KiO.'J: he, how(;ver, had not advanced so far north as the 45th degree of latitude, w here Cook was to begin his observations; and between that parall(;l ami the .'jGth, the southern- most limit r>f the «,'Xploratioiis of the Russians, was a vast space of sea and land, concerning which all the accounts, pn^viously given to the world, were generally regarded as fabulous. Before Cook's departure, information had indeed reached England, of voyages, niade by Spaniards, along the north-west coasts of America, during the two preceding years,* and of colonies established by them in that (juarter, which may, perhaps, have rendered the British government more solicitous to have those coasts examined by its own officers: this information was, however, too vague to have allorded any light for the direction of Cook's movements; and it has been alreare made, I should certainly have complied with them. Our workmen, in my absence, thou■. 5'. i';i| ., •: ■W Mi \.\ ■ < ''':' ' ■.rj 1 y il • ' ' ' ■ ' i- ''■ 1 Uj i ■ }'■ 1 ;, . ■ ' '!' 1 !■ '' ■■ ' uBi' '''' . ■■ ' ■ ' • ! ; : ; i i J ' 154 COOK BEGINS HIS SURVEY OF THE COAST. [1778. under the 57th, which had received from Bodega, in 1775, the name of Mount San Jacinto. This peak was called Mount Edgecumb by Cook, who also gave the appellation oi Bay of Islands to the Port Remedios of the Spaniards, on its northern side. After leaving these places, the English observed a wide opening on the east, called by them Cross Sound, and beyond it a very high mountain, which obtained the name of Mount Fairweather ; and, as the latter was situated near the 59th parallel, they had then advanced farther north than the Spaniards, or any other navigators, had proceeded from the south along that coast, and were entering upon the scenes of the labors of the Russians. Accordingly, as they ex- pected, on the 4th of the month, they beheld, rising from the shore in the north, at the distance of forty leagues, a stupendous pile of rocks and snow, which they immediately recognized as the Mount St. Elias, described in the accounts of Bering's voyage ; and, as the coast from its base was found to " trend very much to the west, inclining hardly any thing to the north," Cook determined to com- mence his survey at that point, hoping soon to discover some strait, or arm of the ocean, through which he might pass around the north- western extremity of America, into the sea bathi ig the northern shores of the continent. Of the existence of such a passage he was assured by the Russian geographers, on whose maps the whole space between Mount St. Elias and Kamtchatka was represented as occupied by a collection of islands and channels. With this expc'jtation, the English advanced slowly along the coast, from the foot of Mount St. Elias, westward, to a considerable distance, and then south-westward, as far as the latitude of 54^ degrees ; minutely examinin7, in their way, every sinuosity on the shores of the ocean, and particularly those of the two great gulfs, named by them Prince William's Sound and Coo¥s River, which stretch northwardly into the land from the 60th parallel. They were, however, in each instance, disappointed ; for the coast was found to extend continuously on their right, bordered every where by lofty, snow-capped chains of mountains along the whole line thus surveyed : and, as Cook became convinced that these territories formed part of the American continent, which thus "extended farther to the west than, from the modern most reputable charts, he had reason to expect," he saw, with regret, that the probability of his finding a passage eastward into Baffin's or Hudson's Bays was materially diminished, if not entirely destroyed. He endeavored, in his course, to identify the place3 described in the narrative of f •I m [1778. e name imb by he Port opening jry high and, as dvanced 0X3, had ing upon they ex- ihe shore IS pile of he Mount ; and, as the west, i to com- )me strait, the north- ! northern )assage he the whole epresented along the >nsiderable ide of 54J 1778.] COOK REACHES UNALASHKA. 155 Bering's voyage; but this he found, almost always, impossible, though he assigned many of the names therein mentioned to spots which seemed to correspond, in some respects, with those so called by the Russians. Whilst this survey was in progress, particularly at Prince Jfil- liam^s Sound, the ships were frequently visited by the natives of the surrounding country, who appeared to be of a different race from those seen farther south. They were as thievish as the Nootkans, though appnrently less ferocious and revengeful ; and Cook gives several examples of their extraordinary apathy and indifference, which appears, from all subsequent accounts, to be their most remarkable characteristic. They, also, were well acquainted with the use of iron and copper, of which metals, particularly of copper, they possessed knives, or spear-heads, rudely made. Among them were likewise found many ornaments made of glass beads, which were evidently of European manufacture : yet the English could not learn that they had ever had direct intercourse with any civilized nation ; and Cook very justly concluded that the Russians " had never been among them, for, if that had been the case, we should hardly have found them clothed in such valuable skins as those of tiie sea otter." Proceeding south-westward from Cook's River, along the western side of the peninsula of Aliaska, the English, on the 19th of June, fell in with a group of small islands, near the 55th parallel, which appeared to correspond, in position, with the Schumagin Islands of Bering ; and, while sailing amongst them, they obtained, from some natives, a note written on paper, in an unknown language, which t!iey supposed to be Russian. Having reached tiie extremity of the land in that direction, they doubled the point, and, sailing again towards the east, they arrived, on the 27th, at a large island, which proved to be Unalashka, one ol the Aleutian Archipelago, frequently mentioned in the accounts of the Russians as a place of resort for their traders : natives of the island only were found there ; but, ap its position with reference to other points in America, and to Kamtchatka, was supposed to be represented with some approach to accuracy, on the chart published at St. Petersburg, the Eng- lish, after reaching it, were better able to determine their future course. Being still anxious to discover, if possible, during that season, how far America extended to the north-west. Cook departed from Unalashka on the 2d of July, and, sailing northward along the coast, *■ r -i •■I' 1' Hit COOK MEETS RUSSIAN TRADERS. [1778. he carefully examined all its bays and recesses, in search of a pas- sage towards the east, until he, at length, on the 9th of August, reached a point, in the latitude of 65 degrees 46 minutes, which his observations induced him to consider as the " north-western extremity of all America." This point he named Cape Prince of Wales, and thence proceeding westward, across a channel only fifty miles in breadth, he arrived at another point, supposed to be tiiat described, in the account of Boring's first voyage, as the Tchukoiskoi Aoss, which was ascertained to be the easternmost spot in Asia, and was accordingly named East Cape. The passage separating these capes, which the Russians had called Bering^s Strait, was suffered to retain that appellation, in honor of the navigator who first sailed through it. Beyond Bering's Strait, the American coast was traced by the English, north-eastward upon the Arctic Sea, to Icy Cape, in the latitude of 70 degrees 29 minutes, where the progress of the ex- plorers was arrested by the ice. In like manner, the Asiatic coast was surveyed north-westward, to Cape North, in the latitude of 63 degrees 56 minutes, the farthermost point to which it was then pos- sible to advance in that direction ; and, the warm season being by thi.^ time ended. Cook judged it prudent to retire to the south, deferring the continuation of his researches until the ensuing summer. He accordingly repassed Bering's Strait, and on the 3d of October his sliips were again anchored in the harbor of Sam- agoonda, on the north side of Unalashka. From this place, Corporal Lcdyard was despatched on an ex- ploring trip into the interior of the island, where he at length dis- covered some Russian traders, who accompanied him back to the ships. The chief of these traders, named Gerassim Ismyloff, was an old and experienced seaman, who had formed one of the party under Benyowsky, in their adventurous voyage from Kamtchatka to China, in 1770, and had since been engaged in the navigation and traffic between Asia and the Aleutian Islands. He readily ex- hibited to Cook the few charts in his possession, and communicated what he knew respecting the geography of that part of the world as well as was possible, considering that neither of the two under- stood a word of the language of the other. The information thus received from IsmylolT, however, only served to show the entire inaccuracy of the ideas of the Russians with regard to America, and to convince the English navigator of the importance of his own discoveries. 1779.] DEATH OF COOK. 157 Leaving Unalashka on the 27th of October, the English ships continued their voyage southward to the Sandwich Islands, of which the two largest, called Owyhee and Mowce, (^Hawaii and Mauai,) were first discovered in the latter part of November. They passed the winter on the western side of Owyhee, in a harbor called Kara- kooa Bay i and there, on the 16th of February, 1779, the gallant and generous Cook was murdered by the natives, in an aflfray. Captain Charles Clerke, who succeeded to the command of the expedition after this melancholy event, endeavored, in the summer of 1779, to effect a passage through the Arctic Sea to the Atlantic. With this view, he left the Sandwich Islands in March, and, on the 29th of April, reached the harbor of Petropawlowsk, in the Bay of Avatscha, the principal port of the Russians on the North Pacific, where the English were received with the utmost kindness by the oiricers of the government ; and their ships were objects of the greatest curiosity to the people, being the first from any foreign country which had ever visited that part of the world. After some days spent in Kamtchatka, Clerke sailed for Bering's Strait, beyond whicli, however, he was unable to advance, in any direction, so far as in the preceding year, in consequence of the great accumulation of the ice. His health at that time being, moreover, in a very pre- carious state, he returned to Petropawlowsk, near which he died, on tiio '2-2d of August. Lieutenant John Gore next assumed the direction of the enter- prise: but the ships were considered, by him and the other officers, unfit, from the bad condition of their bottoms and rigging, to en- counter the shocks of another season in that tempestuous quarter of the ocean ; and it was, thereupon, determined that they should direct their course immediately for England. They accordingly sailed from Petropawlowsk in October, and in the beginning of December they anchored at the mouth of the River Tygris, near Canton. With the stay of tiic English ships in China are connected ':ome circumstances, which gave additional importance to the discoveries clfpcted in their expedition. It has already been mentioned that, during the voyage along the r Tth-west coasts of America, the officers and seamen had obtained from the natives at Nootka, Prince William's Sound, and other places which they visited, a quantity of furs, in exchange for knives, old clothes, buttons, and other trifies. Ti'f'sp furs were collected, 1' •!8r,! ^■ 1 1 1 i r 158 THE ENGLISH SELL THEIR FURS AT CANTON. l! 1 I ' i [1779. for the most part, without any reference to their value as merchan- dise, and were used on board ship as clothes or bedding ; in conse- quence of which, many of them had become spoiled, and others were much injured, before the ships reached Petropawlowsk. At that place, a few skins were sold to the Russian traders, who were anxious to purchase the whole on similar terms ; but the English officers, having, in the mean time, acquired information as to the high prices paid for furs in China, prevailed upon the seamen to retain those which they still possessed, until their arrival at Canton, where they were assured that a much better market would be found. The hopes thus excited did not prove fallacious. The ships commanded by Gore were the only ones, with the exception of that under Benyowsky, in 1770, which had ever arrived at Canton directly from the coasts where furs were obtained ; and no sooner was the nature of the merchandise which they brought known in the city, than all became eager to purchase those precious objects of comfort and luxury, either for their own use or upon speculation. The Chinese, according to custom, began by offering prices much below the ordinary ; but the English, being on their guard, refused such terms, and, in the end, their whole stock of furs was sold for money and goods, to the amount of more than ten thousand dollars. The seamen, on witnessing these results, became, notwithstanding the previous length of their cruise, " possessed with a rage to return to the northern coasts, and, by another cargo of skins, to make their fortunes, which was, at one time, no* far short of mutiny : " they were, however, restrained by their officers, and, after the com- pletion of the business at Canton, the ships sailed around the Cape of Good Hope to England, where they arrived in the beginning of October, 1780. With regard to the novelty of the discoveries effected in this voyage, it will be seen, on comparing the course of the English ships with those taken by the Spaniards, in 1774 and 1775 — that Cook saw no part of the west coast of North America, south of Mount San Jacinto or Edgecumb, which had not been previously seen by Perez, Bodega, or Heceta ; and, after passing that point, he was, as he frequently admits, aided, and in a measure guided, by the accounts of the Russian voyages. The observations of the English were, however, infinitely more minute, and more important, in their results, than those of any or all the other navigators who had pre- :4i 779. ;han- onse- ithers At were nglish ,0 the len to anton, lid be 1780.] RESULTS OF COOK S DISCOVERIES. 159 coded them in the exploration of the North Pacific : for, by deter- mining accurately the positions of the principal points on the coasts of Asia and America, bounding that sea, they first afTorded the means of ascertaining the extent of those continents, and the degree of their proximity to each other, respecting which the most er- roneous ideas had been adopted ; and the comparative ease and security with which they executed this task, served to dispel the apprehensions, previously entertained, with regard to expeditions through that quarter of the ocean. a o ! ships of that [Janton sooner own in objects ulation. s much refused sold for I dollars. landing return make utiny : " le com- le Cape ming of in this English ; — that outh of eviously (oint, he , by the English in their lad pre- 4,'.'.' } I' I- I" 1 1^ 160 1781 w CHAPTER VII. 1780 TO 1789. Commercial Results of Cook's Discoveries — Settlements of the Russians in America — Scheme of Ledyard for the Trade of tlio Nortli Pacific — Voyage of La P6rouse — Direct Trade between the American Coasts and Canton commenced — Voyages of the English Fur Traders — Re-discovery of the Strait of Fuca — Voyage of Meares, who endeavors to find a great River described by the Spaniards — First Voyages from the Unitcii States to the South Pacific, and to Canton — Voyage of the Columbia and Wasliingtoii, under Kendrick and Gray, from Boston to the North Pacific. Whil-; 1' Cook was engaged in his last expedition, Great Britain became ii'. )lve(! in vvar3 with the United States of America, France, and Spaiii ; and, as there was no prospect of a speedy termination of the co..tesls at the time when the ships sent out under that commander returned to Europe, the British government considered it prudent to withhold from the world all information respecting their voyage. The regular journals of the ships, together with the private notes and memoranda of the ofiiccrs and men which could be collected, were, in consequence, placed under the charge of the Board of Admiralty, and thus remained concealed until peace had been restored. Notwithstm?jing this care, however, many of the occurrences of the expedition became known, the importance, or the novelty, of which was such as to raise to the highest degree the curiosity of the pui)lic, not only in England, but in all other civilized countries. The wars having been, at longih, concluded, the regular journals of the expedition were published at London, in the winter of 1784-5, under the care of the learned Bishop Doug)as, with a number of maps, charts, and other illustrative engra»ings ; and il is now scarcely necessary to say, that the anticipauons which had been formed as to the importai ;e of thf^ir contents, were fully realized. The information obtained during the voyage, respecting the abundance of animals of tine fur on the north-west coasts of ^merica, and the high prices paid for their skins in China, became gene not 1 coun byth been furs ( expor own I Bay a was s( thougl That t tageou prices clear tl trade I the fini part of the ope the diffi ho incrc to reap labors a The : coveries during tl lth of November foUowinif, Led- yard's irrecjulnr life was ended at Cairo, whither he had jrone under the auspices of tlie Alrican Association of London, on his way to seek for the sources of the Nile. — Se(! tiio Biography of Ledyard, by Jarcd Sparks. t Kinir Louis XVI. is said to have |>lanned the expedition of La Perouse himself, and to have drawn up the <;reater part of the instructions with his own hand, before he communicated his intentions to any other person. t No account of this extraordinary place has been given by any other navigator. u.i' I ».y seas or lands <'ast of that point, between it ind Mogellan's Straits ; with the provision, however, that the privi- leges conferred on the East India Company should not be considered r.s interfering with those previously granted to the other association. All British vessels, found trading or fishing contrary to the acts by which these privileges were conferred, became liable to confiscation, and the persons directing such expeditions to heavy penalties. Tlius the East India Company could carry on the direct trade between the north-west coasts of America and China, at the risk of II dispute with the Sotith Sea Comj)any, as to the extent of th< interference with the i)rivilegos of the latter ; while those privileges were rendered entirely useless to the South Sea Company, for the purposes of that trade, by the exclusion of its vessels from the Chinese ports, which ottered the j)rincipal, if not the only, profitable market for furs. Accordingly, some of the earliest commercial expeditions of the British to the north-west coasts were made under tlic Hag of the ICast India Company ; while other subjects of that nation eluded the regulations of both companies, by engaging in the fur trade, under the Mag of Portugal, or with licenses granted by the Portuguese authorities at Macao, near Canton. The earliest of these expeditions appears to have been that of .Tames Hanna, an Englishman, who sailed from Macao, in a small vessel under Portuguese colors, in April, ITf-io,* and arrived at Nootka Sound in August following. The natives of that country at first refused to have any dealings with him, and endeavored to seize his vessel, and murder his crew ; but they were foiled in the attempt, and, after some combats between the parties, a trade was estahlislied, the result of which was, that Ilanna brought back to * The rollowiniT nrnoimt of the movpincnts of the fur traders in the Xorih Pacific, between IT;-.') and IT-it, is derived prineipally from the Narrative of the Voyage of the Ship (Jueen Cliailotte, by lier captain, Jolin Dixon, or rather by her super- cargo, Heresford — the Narrative of the Voyaire of the Ship Kinj^ G-eoriife, by her raptain, Natlianiel Porilock — the Narrative of the Voyajjcs of Captain John Meares, to whicii is prefixed a Dissertation on the Probability of a Northern Passage between tlic Atlantic and th" Paeillc, and the memorial and doeuments in proof, presented by Captain Meares to the Hritisli parliament in May, 17!M). Many notable diftercnces will be shown to exist between the statements of Meares in his narratice and hia memorial. m M 'i P ■■'4' ' m,i : i;. lilt 1 1,1 tti'l. I 1 >r u ^ .^J^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V- 4^ L0_ EfKfi la mmm22 lio «2.0 I.I lb lU 1.25 II u 1^ Photographic Sciences Corporalion 4^ L1>^ \ <^ ^. 23 WBT MAIN STMIt WIISTIR.N.Y. I45M (7l6)S7a-4S03 6^ > 4^ ^ II i I < h! I * Hi- Mr ^ hm ■ mi) I'M J, 166 VOYAGES OF PETERS, LOWRIE, AND MCARES. [1786. China, before the end of the year, furs worth more than twenty thousand dollars, in return for the old clothes, iron, and trifles, which he had carried out in the spring. In 1786, Hanna made another voyage to the coasts ; but he had then to compete with traders from Bengal and England, in conse- quence of which his profits were much less than in the preceding voyage. In the same year, also, an attempt was made to establish a direct trade between Macao an.d Kamtchatka, to be carried on under the Portuguese flag. With this view. Captain Peters was sent in the brig Lark to Petropawlowsk, where he made arrange- ments with Schelikof, the head of the American Trading Company, to supply them regularly with European and Chinese goods, taking furs in return ; but the Lark was lost, with nearly all on board, on Copper Island, one of the westernmost of the Aleutian Archipelago, in her voyage back to China, and no attempt for the same purpose was afterwards made. Voyages were, about the same time, made to the North Pacific, in search of furs, by Captains Lowrie and Guise, in two small vessels from Bombay, and by Captains Meares and Tipping, in two others from Calcutta, all under the flag of the East India Company. Lowrie and Guise went to Nootka Sound, and thence northward, along the coasts, to Prince William's Sound, from which they pro- ceeded to Macao. Meares and Tipping sailed to the Aleutian Islands, and thence to Prince William's Sound, after leaving which nothing was ever heard of Tipping or his vessel : Meares spent the winter of 1786—7 in that sound, where more than half of his crew died from want or scurvy. In the above-mentioned voyages, nothing of importance was learned respecting the geography of North-west America. In order to convey a clear idea of the extent and value of the discoveries effected by the fur traders in the three years next ensuing, it should be premised that, in the beginning of that period, the coast of the American continent was supposed, according to the best accounts and charts, to run in a regular, and almost unbroken, line north- westward, from Cape Mendocino, near the 40th degree of latitude, to Mount St. Elias, near the 60th ; the innumerable islands which are now known to extend in chains between the continent and the open Pacific Ocean, from the 48th degree to the 58th, being regarded as the main land of North America. The western sides of the most western of these islands had been examined, though imperfectly, in their whole length, by the Spaniards, in 1774 and \ 'I [1786. I twenty d trifles, t he had n conse- ireceding establish arried on eters was 3 arrange- Company, ds, taking board, on chipelago, le purpose rth Pacific, two small ing, in two Company, northward, 1 they pro- e Aleutian tving which (S spent the lalf of his 1787.] MAQUINNA, KING OF NOOTKA. 167 1775: Cook had, in 1778, seen the portions about Nootka Sound and Mount San Jacinto, or Edgecumb, leaving unexplored the inter- mediate shores, which were represented — as expressed on the charts attached to his journal — according to the accounts of the Spanish navigators; and those coasts had also been seen by La Perouse, who seems to have been the first to suspect their separation from the continent, though he took no measures to ascertain the fact, by penetrating any of the numerous openings which he observed when passing them in )786. The coasts south of Nootka Sound, to Cape Mendocino, were not visited by the people of any civilized nation between the period of Cook's voyage and 1787 ; and the best charts of them were those of the Spaniards, founded on the observations of Heceta and Bodega. The parts respecting which tiie most accurate information had been obtained were those west- ward from Mount St. Elias, to the Aleutian Islands : that division of the coast was, indeed, so thoroughly examined by Cook, in 1778, that very little was left for subsequent navigators, except to verify his statements and conclusions. The principal places of resort for the fur traders on the American coasts were, Nootka or King George's Sound, — Norfolk Sound, the Port Guadelupe of the Spaniards, near their Mount San Jacinto, — Prince William's Sound, and Cook's River. The two last-mentioned places, having been, in 1788, occupied by the Russians, under Schclikof, were seldom visited afterwards by the vessels of other nations ; and, as the country about Nootka was well supplied with wood fit for ship-building, and had a more agreeable climate than could be found farther north, it was generally selected as the point of destination, rendezvous, and departure, by the traders. The people there, as already mentioned, exhibited, at first, great oppo- sition to the foreigners ; but they soon acquired a taste for knives, blankets, and other such articles of luxury or use, to gratify which they were ready not only to traffic, but even to engage in labor with some show of assiduity. Their king was named Maquinna: his relations, Wicanish and Tatoochseatticus, ruled over the tribes farther south-westward, inhabiting the shores of two large bays, called Clyoquot and Nittinat. Maquinna, whose name will fre- quently appear in the following pages, possessed in a high degree the cunning, ferocity, and vindictiveness, characteristic of his race ; for, though he occasionally exhibited evidences of better qualities, yet, like the other chiefs, he seldom lost an opportunity for the ,n m f ■ = m - ■■ 111,1 n: ■■■^ '■■ ■; :*. , r '^v V; .i,ivj,l :;:r' i • ^^ !' ^^i 168 TAMAHAMAHA, KING OF OWYHEE. [1787. [U-l>. i : ? h commission of an act of blood or perfidy, in gratification of his desires for revenge or profit. The importance of the Sandwich Islands to the commerce of the whole North Pacific was also soon made apparent ; and they became, in a few years, the favorite places of refreshment of all vessels navigating between Cape Horn and the north-west coasts of America, and between those coasts and China. Their soil is fertile, their climate delightful, and their productions are precisely those most useful to vessels engaged in long voyages. Their inhabitants, though naturally indolent, false, and treacherous, are not positively ferocious ; and they are endowed with much cunning and mechanical aptitude, which led them quickly to perceive the immediate benefits to be derived from an intercourse with strangers, and to submit to restraints, in order to secure such advantages. At the time of their discovery, the islands were governed by separate chiefs : in the course of the ensuing fifteen years, however, they all fell under the authority of one man, Mahe-Mahe, or Tamahamaha, who, by the possession of extraordinary acutencss and sagacity, combined with courage and steadiness of purpose, overcame all his rivals, and kept up something like a regular government until his death. The most formidable opponent of Tamahamaha was Tianna, a resolute and ferocious chief, who accompanied Meares to Canton in 1787, and there acquired many new ideas, which gave him, for some time, considerable advantages ; but he was, in the end, defeated and slain by his rival. The first discoveries, worthy of note, made on the north-west coasts of America, after Cook's voyage, were those of Captains Portlock and Dixon, who were sent from London, in 1785, in com- mand of the ships King George and Queen Charlotte, by a mercantile association, styled the King George's Sound Comjpany. The object of this association was to monopolize the direct trade between the North Pacific coasts and China, with which view its operations were to be conducted in the following manner : — Under the protection of licenses, granted by the South Sea Company, its vessels were to proceed, by way of Cape Horn, to the north-west coasts of America, laden with goods, whicli were there to be bar- tered for furs ; the furs were to be carried to Canton, and there sold by the agents of the East India Company, agreeably to a con- tract with that body; and the produce of their sale was to be vested in teas, and other Chinese commodities, which were to be ■:i» MA \ f }■ [1787. , of his 3 of the id they It of ail it coasts r soil is precisely , Their rous, are cunning jeive the strangers, ges. At ' separate r, they all lahamaha, sagacity, rcame all nent until maha was Meares to hich gave as, in the 1787.] VOYAGES OP POKTLOCK AND DIXON. 169 brought by the ships, around the Cape of Good Hope, to England. Portlock and Dixon were both intelligent men, well acquainted with the theory and practice of navigation, and their ships were well provided with instruments for ascertaining geographical positions ; the narratives published by them, after their return to England, though tedious to the general reader, from the minuteness of the details of trifling or personal matters, and not always strictly true, are, nevertheless, valuable, as showing the history of the fur trade in the North Pacific, and of the discovery of the American coasts of that ocean, between the time of Cook's expedition and the year 1788. Portlock and Dixon left England together in August, 1785, and, passing around Cape Horn, and through the group of the Sandwich Islands, they reached Cook's River in July, 1786. There they met some Russians, though no establishment had been then formed by that nation east of the Island of Kodiak ; and, after a short stay, they proceeded to Nootka Sound, where they expected to spend the winter. They were, however, unable to enter that bay, or any other place on the American coast, in consequence of the violence of the winds, and were obliged to return to the Sandwich Islands, where they remained, very uncomfortably, until the spring of 1787 : they then again went to the coasts about Cook's River and Prince William's Sound, in the latter of which places they found Captain Meares, with his vessel frozen up, more than half of his crew dead, and the remainder sufifering dreadfully irom scurvy, as already men- tioned. The manner in which Meares was treated by his country- men on this occasion, has been represented by him, in the narrative of his voyages, in a manner very different from that in which it appears on the pages of Portlock and Dixon ; the latter asserting that they rendered him every assistance in their power, while he, on the other hand, declares that their conduct towards him was selfish and inhuman in the extreme. At Prince William's Sound Dixon left Portlock, and proceeded along the coast, eastward, to the inlet on the south side of Mount San Jacinto, or Edgecumb, called Port Remedlos by Bodega, but to which he thought proper to give the name of Norfolk Sound. He "had, indeed, heard that the Spaniards anchored very near this place in 1775 ; " but this account, " he was afraid, was not absolutely to be depended on," although Maurelle's journal, containing accu- rate descriptions of that part of the coast, had been published in English, at London, in 1781. In Hke manner, Dixon claimed the 22 ■t m \ : J,? I vi'i; .11 > ! ; vt 1 no VOVAGES OF DUNCAN AND COLNETT. [1787. 1787. sn ■J i m MM !■; ■ \ ' M..,;!l ih: ii m .- i ^iMa li :: .,' discovery of the land farther soutli, between the 54th and the 52d degrees of latitude, on the ground that it had not been seen by Cook, though it is specially marked on the chart of that navigator, as found by the Spaniards in 1775 ; and, having become convinced, from the reports of the natives, that this land was separated from the American continent by water, he bestowed on it the name of Q^ueen Charlotte^s Island, and on the passage immediately north of it, that of Dixon^s Entrance. From this part of the coast Dixon proceeded to Nootka, and thence, by the Sandwich Islands, to Canton, where he rejoined Portlock, who had passed the whole of the trading season on the coast, between Prince William's Sound and Mount St. Elias. In China, Portlock and Dixon found the price of furs much reduced, from the great quantities of those articles which had entered the country during the season ; so great, indeed, was the fall in their value, that, according to La Perouse, they were higher at Petropawlowsk than at Canton during the whole of 1787. From this circumstance, and also from the alleged unfairness of the East India Company's agents towards them, in the sale of their cargoes, the profits of the voyage of the King George and the Queen Charlotte, from the teas and silks which they carried to England, were not sufficient to cover the expenses of their expedition. Before Portlock and Dixon quitted the north-west coasts of America, in 1787, they met two other vessels, the Princess Royal, commanded by Captain Duncan, and the Prince of Wales, under Captain Colnett, which had been also sent, by the King George's Sound Company, to prosecute the fur trade in the North Pjicific. Duncan, in the following year, ascertained the separation of Queen Charlotte's Island from the main land, which had been assumed by Dixon, and, before him, by La Perouse ; he also explored the sea between that island and the continent, in which he discovered a group of small islands, named by him the Princess RoyaVs Archi- pelago ; and thence he ran down the coast, by Nootka Sound and Cape Flattery, to the 47th degree of latitude, from which he took his departure for the Sandwich Islands and China. The discovery of these islands, and of numerous openings in the coast, which appeared to be the mouths of channels, from that part of the Pacific, extending far eastward into the land, led to the suspicion that the whole north-western division of America might be a vast collection of islands ; and the old story of Admiral Fonte's voyage began to gain credit. The islands and reputed islands in questi throu^ sixty I of exf Pacific the 53 to hav( TJie the san [1787. he 52d seen by ivigator, ivinced, ed from lame of north of !t Dixon lands, to vhole of s Sound irs much hich had , was the re higher 7. From F the East ir cargoes, he Queen I England, pdition. coasts of ess Royal, cs, under George's th Pacific, of Queen ssumed by d the sea scovered a aVs Archi- Sound and :h he took lings in the that part led to the a might be iral Fonte's islands in 1787.] REDISCOVERY OF THE STRAIT OF FUCA. 171 question were supposed to be the Archipelago of St. Lazarus, through which the admiral was said to have sailed two hundred and sixty leagues before reaching the continent ; and the commanders of exploring vessels, sent from Europe and America to the North Pacific, for some years after, were generally directed to seek, near the 53d parallel, for the mouth of the river which he was reported to have ascended, into a lake communicating with the Atlantic. The name of the old Greek pilot, Juan de Fuca, was also, about the same time, rescued from oblivion, by the discovery, or redis- covery, of a " broad arm of the sea," stretching eastwardly from the Pacific, almost exactly in the position of the southern entrance of the strait, through which he declared that he had sailed from the Pacific to the Atlantic in 1592. This discovery was eflfected in 1787 by Captain Berkeley, an Englishman commanding a ship called the Imperial Eagle, which had sailed from Ostend in the preceding year, under the flag of the Austrian East India Company. The passage thus found was situated immediately north of Cape Flattery, to the coast south of which point Cook had confined his search for it in 1778 ; and it opened to the ocean between the 48th and 49th parallels, instead of between the 47th and 43th, as stated in the account of the voyage of Fuca. Berkeley did not attempt to ex- plore the passage, but, sailing along the coast south of Cape Flattery, which had not been seen by the people of any civilized nation since Cook's voyage, he sent a boat ashore with some men, who were murdered by the savages, in the same manner, and almost at the same spot, where the Spaniards of Bodega's crew were massacred in 1775. In commemoration of this melancholy event, the name of Destruction Island was given to the small point of land near the continent, in the latitude of 47 degrees 35 minutes, which had, for the like reason, been called by the Spaniards Isla de Dolores. Berkeley, on his arrival at Canton, in November following, commu- nicated the account of his rediscovery of the Strait of Fuca to Meares, as expressly stated by the latter, in the Dissertation prefixed to the narrative of his voyages in the Pacific, published in 1790 ; though, in the narrative itself, Meares unequivocally claims as his own the whole merit of finding the passage. At the time when Berkeley made this communication, Meares was engaged in preparations for a trading expedition to the north- west coasts of America, of which a particular notice will be here presented ; as the circumstances connected with it led to the first I iffl;' ■ ih i^ -*v! r ■I'V' * w. 1 i ' 1 i : • ml :i ...■11 Hi J ;l t 172 SECOND VOYAGE OF MEARES. [1788 dispute, and the first treaty, between civilized nations, relative to that part of the world. For the expedition in question, two vessels were fitted out at the Portuguese port of Macao, near Canton, in China, from which, as already mentioned, several voyages had been previously made to the north-west coasts of America, in search of furs. They were both placed under the direction of John Mearcs, a lieutenant in the British navy, on half pay, who sailed in the ship Felice as super- cargo ; the other vessel, the brig Iphigenia, also carried a British subject, William Douglas, in the same capacity : both vessels were, however, commanded, ostensibly at least, by Portuguese captains ; they were both furnished with passports, and other papers, in the Portuguese language, granted by the Portuguese authorities of Macao, and showing them to be the property of Juan Cavallo, a Portuguese merchant of that place ; the instructions for the conduct of the voyage were written only in tlie Portug»iese language,* and contained nothing whatsoever calculated to afllbrd the slightest grounds for suspicion that other than Portuguese subjects were interested in the enterprise ; finally, the vessels sailed from Macao on the 1st of January, 1788, under the Portuguese flag, and there is no suflicient proof that any other was displayed by them during the expedition. Notwithstanding these evidences of ownership and national char- acter, which appear to be complete and unequivocal, Mr. Meares, in the Memorial -f addressed by him to the British government, in May, 1790, asserts that the Felice and Iphigenia, as well as their cargoes, were actually and bona fide British property, employed in the service of British subjects only ; that Cavallo had no concern nor interest in them, his name being merely used, with his consent, for the purpose of obtaining from the governor of Macao, who * Sec the Journal of Douglas, the captain or supercargo of the Iphigenia, attached to the Memorial of Meares, and the quotation from it in the ensuing chapter, ut page 192. t The London Annual Register for 1790 contains what purports to be the Substance of the Memorial of Lieutenant Meares, ^c, drawn up by Meares himself, or some oiw in his interests. In this Substance, the word Portuguese does not occur, nor is any thing mentioned relative to the apparent character of the vessels, which are, on the contrary, directly asserted to have been British in all respects, and navigated under the British flag. Mearcs's explanations, in his Memorial, relative to the arrangements with Cavallo, are all omitted, the following short paragraph being inserted in their place: — "Here Mr. Meares, by way of illustration, introduces a transaction no otherwise connected with his narrative, but as it proves the merchandise, &c., of which the British ships were plundered, to have been British property." ' ! ! Such are the materials from which histories are generally composed. ^yvi I:' i.u.'i 5 'I 1788.) INSTULCTIOiNS TO MGARES. 173 connived at the whole deception, permission to navigate under the Por- tuguese flag, and thereby to evade the excessive port charges demand- ed, by tiie Chinese authorities, from vessels of all other European nations ; and that Messrs. Meares and Douglas were really the commanders of the vessels in which they respectively sailed, instead of the Portuguese subjects, who figure as such in all the papers. Some of these assertions may have been true ; yet the documents annexed to the Memorial conclusively prove that all these deceptive appearances were kept up at Nootka Sound, where there were no Chinese authorities ; though, in the narrative of the voyage, pub- lished by Mr. Meares, with the Memorial and documents, no hint is given that either of the vessels were, or ever seemed to be, other than British. The instructions, of which an Enghsh copy or version — dated China, December 24th, 1787, and signed The Merchant Proprietors — is appended to the Memorial, contain general directions for the conduct of the voyage, but no allusion whatsoever to the acquisition of lands, the erection of buildings, or the formation of settlements or atablishments of any Icind, in America or elsewhere. The Felice was to go to Nootka Sound, from which she was to make trips northivard and southward, for the purposes of trade and explora- tion ; the Iphigenia was to sail first to Cook's River, and thence to trade along the coasts, southward, to Nootka, where she was ex- pected to arrive in September : all the furs collected were then to be placed in one of the vessels, and brought to Macao, the other vessel remaining, until the spring, either on the American coast or a! the Sandwich Islands. These instructions conclude with the following remarkable order to the commanders of the vessels : — 'Should you, in the course of your voyage, meet with any Russian, English, or Spanish vessels, you will treat them with civility and friendship, and allow them, if authorized, to examine your papers ; hut you must, at the same time, guard against surprise. Should they attempt to seize you, or even to carry you out of your way, you will prevent it by every means in your power, and repel force by force. You will, on your arrival in the first port, protest, before a proper officer, against such illegal procedure, and ascertain, as nearly as you can, the value of your vessel and cargo, sending your protest, with a full account of the transaction, to us at China. Should you, in such a conflict, have the superiority, you will take possession of the vessel that attacked you, and bring both, with the :i ■ : •-: ! • ■' I , :'f 4 •', ill i I 1 r ^■ly^i i m^ i : t 174 MRAHRS AliniVKS AT NOOTKA. [1788. officers and crew, to China, tliat they may be condemned as legal prizes, and the crews punished as pirates." The latter part of these instructions, independently of numerous other circumstances connected with the expedition, is sufficient, alone, to show that the owners of the Felice and Iphigenia meant to represent them as Portuguese vessels. As British vessels, they could not legally navigate the North Pacific Ocean, being unpro< vided with licenses or authority from the South Sea or the East India Company : if found so doi4ig, they would be subject to seizure, and their officers and crew to punishment; and it was, doubtless, in order to evade such penalties, to which they might have been subjected by coming in contact with the vessels of the King George's Sound Company, that their commanders were directed to take, and bring to a Portuguese port, for trial before Portuguese courts, any English vessels which should attempt to arrest them in thoir voyages. From Macao the Iphigenia went to Cook's River, at which place, and others farther south-cast, she passed the summer in trading. The Felice sailed direct to Nootka Sound, where her crew imme- diately began the construction of a small vessel, on the shore of Friendly Cove, near which was situated the village of Maquinnn, the king of the surrounding country. Meares, being desirous, whilst this work was in progress, to take a voyage along the coast to the south, made arrangements with Maquinna, who, as related in the narrative of the expedition, " most readily consented to grant us a spot of ground in his territory, whereon an house might be built, for the accommodation of the people we intended to leave behind, and also promised us his assistance and protection for the party who were destined to remain at Nootka during our absence. In returti for this kindness, and to insure the continuance of it, the chief was presented with a pair of pistols, which he had regarded with an eye of solicitation ever since our arrival. Upon this spot a house, suf- ficiently capacious to contain all the party intended to be left at the sound, was erected ; a strong breastwork was thrown up around it, enclosing a considerable area of ground, which, with one piece of cannon, placed in such a manner as to command the cove and village of Nootka, formed a fortification sufficient to secure the party from any intrusion." That this spot of ground was granted by Maquinna, and was to be occupied by Meares, only for temporary purposes, is clear from ■I 1788.] MKARK4 AT TUB STHAlT OF I'UCA. 173 the above statement ; and Mearos nowhere in .lis narrative pretends that he acquired permanent possession of it, or of any other land in America. On the contrary, he expressly says that, " as a bribe to secure Maquinna's attachment, he was promised that, when wo finally left the coast, he should enter into full possession of the house, and all the goods thereunto belonging." In the Memorial addressed to his government, however, Meares declares that, '* im- mediately on his arrival at Nootka Sound, he purchased from Mnquinna, the chief of the district surrounding that place, a spot of ground, whereon he built an house, for his occasional residence, ns well as for the more convenient pursuit of his trade among the rintives, and hoisted British colors thereon." Of this asserted purchase of land and erection of buildings at Nootka, no evidence or mention whatsoever is to be found among the documents sub- mitted with the Memorial to the British ministry, except in the deposition of William Graham, of Grub Street, a seaman of the Felice, taken in London after the date of the Memorial. Having completed these arrangements, Meares sailed from Nootka in the Felice, leaving a part of his crew employed in l)uilding the small vessel, and proceeded to the entrance of the passage supposed to be the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which, as he expressly states in the Dissertation prefixed to his narrative, had been discovered in the |)receding year by Berkeley. The following extract from his narrative will serve still further to show what value is to be placed on his testimony in matters in which his own reputation or interests are involved : — " June '29t\\. At noon the latitude was 48 degrees 39 minutes north, at which time we had a complete view of an inlet, whose entrance appeared very extensive, bearing east-south-east, distant about six leagues. We endeavored to keep up with the shore as much as possible, in order to have a perfect view of the land. This was an object of particular anxiety, as the part of the coast along which we were now sailing had not been seen by Captain Cook, and we knew no other navigator, said to have been this way, except Maurtlle ; and his chart, which we now had on board, convinced us that he had either never seen this part of the coast, or that he had purposely misrepresented it. By three o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived at the entrance of the great inlet, which appeared to be twelve or fourteen leagues broad. From the mast head, it was observed to stretch to the east by the north, and a clear and unbounded horizon was seen, in this direction, as far as the eye -t i :i» i ' 'i| i 1 I M !■. !■ ■■!; ;^' [■■ ■ , 176 MKAIIK , 8I:KKM rOil TIIR QIIRAT KIVEIl. [1788. 'I , f t. v\? 5' »• im l'"-,lli ...1 could rench. Tlio strongest curiosity impelled us to enter thJH strait, which we shall call by the name of its original discoverer, John de Fuca." To examine the passage, — of which he thus claims the discovery, after having distinctly assigned the merit of it to another, — Mcares sent his mate, DufFin, with a party of men, in a boat. In a few days the boat returned, with several of her crew disabled hy wounds received in a conllict with the natives on the northern shore. " She had sailed," writes Meorcs, " near thirty leagues up the strait ; and, at that distance from the sea, it was fifteen leogiics broad, with a clear horizon stretching to the east for fifteen leaf,'iits more." Yet, from Dufiin's journal, which is given entire in Mr. Meares's work, it seems that the boat did not advance ten miles within the strait ; and we now know that the width of the passage nowhere, within thirty leagues of its mouth, exceeds five leagues. From the entrance of this passage, which has ever since been distinguished by the name of Strait of Fuca, Meares sailed along the shore of the continent, towards the south. His object was to examine the opening in the coast, laid down on Spanish charts in his possession, near the 46th degree of latitude, under the name Jiio (h San Roquc, or River of Saint Roc, which had been first observed by Ileceta, on the 16th of August, 177.'5, as mentioned in the account of that voyage.* Proceeding in this course, he, on the 5th of July, remarked a headland, in the latitude of 46 degrees 47 miimtes, which he named Cajjc Shoalwater ; on the following day, he writes in his journal, — " At half past ten, being within three leagues of Cape Shoalwater, we had a perfect view of it ; and, with the glasses, we traced tiit- line of coast to the southward, which presented no ofMMiing that promised any thing like an harbor. An high, bluflf promontory bore ofl" us south-east, at the distance of only four leagues, for which we steered to double, with the hope that between it and Cape Shoalwater we should find some sort of harbor. We now discovered distant land beyond this promontory, and we pleased ourselves with the expectation of its being Cape St. Roc t)f the Spaniards, near which they are said to have found a good port. By half past eleven, we doubled this cape, at the distance of three miles, having a clear and perfect view of the shore in every part, on which we did not discern a living creature, or the least trace of habitable life. A prodigious easterly swell rolled on the shore, and • Page liiO. 1788.] the ecu n hard large b proinisi couragi of the pied til dircctio seven I ahead, across ti the oppi discover to the p By an ii degrees degrees of St. n Maurelle informati side of t and, beir shelter f( course w the latiti Lookout, Falcon, turned t( having, unfavoral The la somewha with satij that " no Spanish names of the Ame where the the Spani missionen 1788.] MEAREB DOES NOT FIND THE GREAT RIVER. 177 the Boundings gradually decreased from forty to sixteen fathoms, over n hard, sandy bottotii. After \vc had rounded the promontory, a large bay, as we had imagined, opened to our view, that bore a very promising appearance, and into which wo steered with every en- couraging ex|)ectation. The high land that formed the boundaries of the bay was at a great distance, and a flat, level country occu- pied the intervening space ; the bay itself took rather a westerly direction. As we steered in, the water shoaled to nine, eight, and seven fathoms, when breakers were seen from the deck, right ahead, and, from the mast head, they were observed to extend across the bay ; we therefore hauled out, and directed our course to the opposite shore, to sec if there was any channel, or if we could discover any port. The name of Cape Disappointment was given to the promontory, and the bay obtained the title of Deception Dnij. By an indit!erent meridian observation, it lies in the latitude of 46 de^'rees 10 minutes north, and in the computed longitude of 235 degrees .34 minutes east. " IVc can now with safety assert that there is no such river as that of St. Roc exists, as laid down in the Spanish charts. To those of Maurelle we made continual reference, but without deriving any information or assistance from them. We now reached the opposite side of the bay, where disappointment continued to accompany us ; and, being almost certain that there we should obtain no place of shelter for the ship, we bore up for a distant headland, keeping our course within two miles of the shore." This distant headhmd, in the latitude of 45 degrees 37 minutes, named by Meares Cape Lookout, and probably the same called by the Spaniards Cape Falcon, was the southernmost point seen by him; thence he re- turned to the Strait of Fuca, without again observing the land, having, as he conceived, " traced every part of the coast, which unfavorable weather had prevented Captain Cook from approaching." The language of Mr. Meares in the preceding extracts, though somewhat ungrnmmatical, is yet clear and explicit. He records with satisfaction his conviction, founded on his own observations, that " no such river as that of St. Roc exists, as laid down in the Spanish charts ; " in token of which conviction, he assigns the names of Deception Bay and Cape Disappointment to the places on the American coast, near the latitude of 46 degrees 10 minutes, where the mouth of the river should have been found, according to the Spanish charts. Yet, strange though it may appear, the com- missioners, appointed by the British government, in 1826, to treat 23 iii \ ■ I i I, k -. 1 178 MEARGS RETURNS TO CHINA. [1788. 4 ':! it mmm m with the plenipotentiary of the United States at London, on the subject of the claims of the respective parties to territories on the north-west side of America, insisted that Meares, on this occasion, discovered the great River Columbia, which actually enters the Pacific at Deception Bay, and cited, in proof of their assertion, the very parts of his narrative above extracted.* On his way back to Nootka, Meares visited the two large bays, called by the natives Clyoquot and Nittinat, and by himself Port Cox and Port Effingham, situated a little north-west of the entrance of Fuca's Strait, where, he declares in his Memorial to Parliament, " he obtained from Wicanish, the chief of the surrounding districts, in consequence of considerable presents, the promise of a free and exclusive trade with the natives of the district, as also permission to build any storehouses or other edifices which he might judge necessary ; and he also acquired the same privileges of exclu- sive trade from Tatooche, the chief of the country bordering upon the Strait of Fuca, and purchased from him a tract of land within the said strait, which one of his ofllicers took possession of, in the king's name, calling the same Tatooche, in honor of the chief." These purchases and cessions of territory are not, however, in any manner noticed, either in the documents annexed to the Memorial, or in the narrative of the voyage, which is most tediously minute as to the circumstances of Mr. Meares's interviews with those chiefs. At the end of July, Meares returned to Nootka Sound, where the Iphigenia soon after arrived from the northern coasts, laden with furs. The small vessel, which had been begun at Friendly Cove, was then launched, and received the name of the North- West America ; and Meares, considering the season as not too far ad- vanced for a voyage across the Pacific, transferred to the Felice all the furs which had been collected, and sailed in her, on the 28th of September, for China, leaving directions that the Iphigenia and the North-West America should proceed to the Sandwich Islands for the winter, and return in the following spring to Nootka, where he would rejoin them. Before the departure of Meares from Nootka, two other vessels entered the sound, whose voyages merit particular attention. Immediately after the recognition of the independence of the United States of America, the citizens of that republic resumed the * See British statement, among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the Utter part of this volume, letter H. was comi If: ! ' V .¥ 1787.] AMERICANS ENGAGE IN TRADE IN THE PACIFIC. 179 on the on the ceasion, ters the Hon, the er vessels m. 06 of the umcd the Ltter part of whale and seal fishery around Cape Horn, which they had carried on before the revolution, and also engaged in the direct trade with India and China. In the latter countries, however, they labored under great disadvantages, from the inferiority in value of the articles carried thither to those brought back by them, in conse- quence of which they were obliged to take out large quantities of specie, in order to obtain full homeward cai^oes. With the view of obviating this inequality, some merchants of Boston, in 1787, formed an association for the purpose of combining the fur trade of the Nokth Pacific with the China trade, as attempted by the King George's Sound Company of London ; and in such an enter- prise they certainly had reason to anticipate success, as, with industry and nautical skill unsurpassed by any other nation, the Americans were free from the restrictions imposed on British subjects by the charters of the South Sea and East India Com- panies.* In prosecution of this scheme, the ship Columbia, of two hundred and twenty tons, and the sloop Washington, of ninety tons, were fitted out at Boston in the summer of 1787, and laden with blan- kets, knives, iron bars, copper pans, and other articles proper for the trade with the Indians on the north-west coasts. The Columbia was commanded by John Kendrick, to whom was intrusted the * The first American citizens who engaged in the whaling and scaling business around Cape Horn, after the peace of 1783, were the Nantucket men, as will be here- after more particularly stated. The first American vessel which entered the port of Canton was the ship Empress of China, from New York, commanded by Daniel Parker, with Samuel Shaw as supercargo: she arrived in China in tlie latter part of the summer of 1784, and returned to New York in May of the following year. Mr. Shaw was appointed consul of the United States at Canton in January, 17!I6; and, on the Slst of Decem- ber of the sane year, he addressed to his government, from Canton, an interesting memoir on the state of commerce at that place, which still remains, with many other communications from him, unpublished, in the archives of the Department of State at Washington. In 1787, not less than five American vessels were employed in the trade with China ; among them were the Canton, under Captain Thomas Truxton, who aflerwards distinguished himself in the naval service of his country, and the old frigate Alliance, so celebrated during the war of the revolution, which had been sold by order of Congress, and fitted out as a trading vessel, under the command of John Reed. The Alliance entered Canton on the 21Uh of December, 1787 ; and her arrival at that season caused much astonishment, as it had been previously considered impos- sible for a vessel to sail from the Cape of Good Hope to China between October and April, on account of the violence of the winds, blowing constantly, during that period, from the north-east. Reed, however, had steered eastward from the Cape of Good Hope, to the southern extremity of Van Dieman's Land, around the east coasts of which island, and of New Holland, he sailed into the China Sea ; and the course thui pointed out by him has been since often token, especially by American vcs.els.. ^ I I 'li'' ■ 'I ■:| i ■;:S :■ ; 1 ; ■ '■ . -M 180 VOYAGES OF THE COLUSIBIA AND WASHINGTON. [1788. direction of the expedition ; and her mate was Joseph Ingraham, whose name will often appenr in the following pages. The master of the Washington was Robert Gray. They were provided with sea letters issued by the federal government, agreeably to a resolution of Congress, and vvith passports from the state of Massa- chusetts ; and they received letters from the Spanish minister plenipotentiary in the United States, recommending them to the attention of the authorities of his nation on the Pacific coasts. They, moreover, carried out, for distribution at such places as they might visit, a number of small copper coins, then recently issued by the state of Massachusetts,* and likewise medals of copper, struck expressly for the purpose, of one of which a representation is here given. The two vessels sailed together from Boston on the 30th of September, 1787 : thence they proceeded to the Cape Verd Islands, and thence to the Falkland Islands, in each of which places they procured refreshments ; and, in January, 1788, they doubled Cape Horn, immediately after which they were separated during a violent gale. The Washington, continuing her course through the Pacific, made the north-west coast in August, 1788, near the 46th degree of latitude, where she was in danger of destruction, having grounded while attempting to enter an opening, which was, most probably, the mouth of the great river afterwards named by Gray the Columbia. She was also attacked there by the savages, who killed one of her men, and wounded the mate ; but she escaped without further injury, and, on the 17th of September, reached Nootka * Alexander Mackenzie, in July, 1793, found, in the possession of a native of the country cast of the Slrait of Fuca, a " halfpenny of the state of Massachusetts Bay, coined in 1787," which was doubtless one of those taken out by Kendrick and Gray. ..'i 1 1788.] VOYAGES OF THE COLUMBIA AND WASHINGTON. 181 Sound, where the Felice and Iphigenia were lying, as already mentioned.* The Columbia did not enter the sound until some days afterwards. She had been seriously injured in the storm wliich separated her from her consort ; and Kendrick was obliged, in consequence, to put into the harbor of the Island of Juan Fer- nandez, where he was received with great kindness, and aided in refitting his vessel, by Don Bias Gonzales, the commandant of the Spanish garrison. The repairs having been completed, the Columbia continued her voyage, and arrived at Nootka, which had been selected as the place of rendezvous, without further accident, in October. Soon after the arrival of the Columbia at Nootka, the Iphigenia and North- West America took their departure for the Sandwich Islands, where they remained until the spring of 1789. The two American vessels spent the winter in the sound, where the Columbia also lay during the whole of the following summer, whilst the important events related in the next chapter were in progress. ii ■f * Moarps, in his narrative, gives the following account of the arrival of the Washington at Nootka Sound : — " .SV/jtemfter 17th, 17d8. — A sail was seen in the offing. The long-boat was imine- (liati'ly sent to her assistance, which, instead of the British vessel we expected, conveyed into the sound a sloop named the Washington, from Boston, in New Enirland, of ahont one hundred tons' burthen. Mr. Gray, the master, informed us that he had sailed, in company with his consort, the Columbia, a ship of three hundred tuns, in the month of August, 17H7, being equipped, under the patronage of Congress, tn t-xamine the coast of America, and to open a fur trade between New England and this part of the American continent, in order to provide funds for their China ships, to enable them to return home teas and China goods. The vessels were separated in a heavy gale of wind, in the latitude of '>!) south, and had not seen each other since the period of their separation ; but, as King George's Sound was the place of ren- dezvous appointed for them, the Columbia, if she was safe, was every day expected lo join her consort at Nootka. Mr. Gray infornjed nie that he had put into an harbor on tile coast of New Albion, wliere he got on shore, and was in danger of being lost on the bar; he was also attacked by the natives, had one man killed, and one of his oliieers wounded, and tiionght himself fortunate in having been able to make his escape. This harbor could only admit vessels of small size, and must lie somewhere near the cape to which we had given the name of Cape Lookout." That this harhor was tiie mouth of the ffreat river since caHcd the Colvmhia, is most probal)le from its situation, and because tliere is no evidence or reason to suppose that Gray visited that pnrt of the coast on any other occasion prior to his meeting with Vancouver, on the 2i)th of April, 17U2, as will be related in tlie eleventh chapter. II' ' ; ! .1:- .1 ' ^!'i, :i '*|j m !f'i 182 CHAPTER VIII. I . :! f-i 1*1' 1 ■ I' l-i Mi 1788 AND 1789. Uneasiness of the Spanish Government at the Proceedings of the Fur Traders in the North Pacific — Voyage of Observation by Martinez and Haro to the Russian American Settlements — Remonstrances of the Court of Madrid to that of St. Petersburg, against the alleged Encroachments of the latter Power — Martinez and Haro sent by the Viceroy of Mexico to take Possession of Nootka Sound — Seizure of British and other Vessels at Nootka by Martinez — Captain Gray, in the Washington, explores the East Coast of Queen Charlotte's Island, and en- ters the Strait of Fuca — Return of the Columbia to the United States. Having, in the preceding chapter, presented a sketch of the geo- graphical discoveries effected on the north-west coasts of America, in the interval between the time of Cook's last voyage and the year 1790, we now proceed to relate the important events of a political nature, which occurred on those coasts during the latter part of the same period. These events have been variously represented — or rather misrepresented — by the historians to whom reference is usu- ally made for information respecting them ; ''*' and ample proofs will be here offered, that the most essential circumstances have been ex- hibited in false forms, and under false colors, either designedly, or from indifference and want of research on the part of the authors. The movements of the fur traders in the North Pacific were, from the beginning, regarded with dissatisfaction and mistrust by the court of Madrid. It was at first proposed to counteract them by monopolizing that branch of commerce ; for which object an agent was despatched to California, in 1786, with orders to collect all the * Namely, the histories of England, by Bissett, Miller, Belsham, (in which latter the accounts are more fair and more nearly correct than in any other,) Hughes, Wade, and the Pictorial History of England — Schoell's Histoire des Traites de Paix — Brcn- ton's Naval History of Great Britain, last edition — Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes — History of Maritime and Inland Discovery, by T. D. Cooley — Gifford's Life of William Pitt, &c. In the most recent ot these works, namely, the Pictorial History of England, the account is farthest from the truth; the author has evidently not consulted any original evidence on the subject, except, possibly, the Memorial of Meares, or Uie abstract of that paper in Uie Annual Register. M: ' I' 1 nee.] APPREHENSIONS OF THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT. 183 adera in the Lhe Russian that of St. — Martinez ia Sound — lin Gray, in ind, and en- es. )f the geo- f America, id the year a political )art of the jnted — or ice is usu- proofs will e been ex- gnedly, or e authors, cific were, rust by the ;t them by t an agent lect all the I which latter ]ighe8, Wade, Paix — Bren- le Journal of |D. Cooley — . namely, the he author has I possibly, the egister. sea otter skins '"' obtainable there, and carry them for sale to Canton : but the enterprise proved unsuccessful, as the agent could only ob- tain a small number of furs, of inferior quality, the produce of the sale of which in China did not cover the expenses of their trans- portation. Considerable uneasiness was also created at Madrid, by the en- deavors of the British government to advance the whale and seal fishery in the seas surrounding the southern extremity of America. A number of experienced whalers, especially from Nantucket, had been induced, immediately after the peace of 1783, to engage in this business, under the British flag; and high premiums were offered by act of Parliament, in 1786, to encourage perseverance in the pursuit. As British vessels and subjects would thus necessa- rily frequent the unoccupied coasts of Patagonia and the adjacent islands, it was apprehended, by the Spanish government, that estab- lishments might be formed in those regions, for their protection ; the natural consequence of which would be, the introduction of foreign merchandise, and of opinions contrary to the interests of Spain, into the contiguous provinces. In order to provide against these evils, the Spaniards increased their garrison at Port Soledad, in the Falkland Islands, as well as their naval force in that quarter ; and an attempt was made, under the patronage of their government, to organize a company for the whale and seal fishery in the South- ern Ocean, which proved entirely abortive. It was from Russia, however, that the Spanish government an- ticipated the greatest danger to its dominions on the Pacific side of America. Of the commerce and establishments of that nation on the northernmost coasts of the Pacific, enough had been learned from the narrative of Cook's expedition, and other works then re- cently published, to show their advancement, and the enterprise of those by whom they were conducted, as well as the determination of the Russian government to maintain and encourage them ; and La Perouse, during the stay of his ships at Conception, in Chili, in 1786, promised, at the particular request of the captain-general, to communicate confidentially to the viceroy of Mexico the results of the observations on those subjects which he might make in Kamt- chatka and the islands and coasts of America adjacent. La Pe- rouse, however, did not return to America after his visit to Kamt- chatka, nor was any information on the points in question received from him by the Spanish authorities ; and the viceroy of Mexico, • La Perouse — Portlock. ,1 184 APPREHENSIONS OF THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT. [1787. *i •>' liaving waited in vain for tfie promised intelligence until the end of 1787, resolved to despatch vessels to the North Pacific, in order to r ortain the truth with regard to the trade and settlements of the Russians and other foreign nations on the coasts of that division of the ocean. " Before relating the particulars of the expedition made for that purpose, a circumstance may be mentioned, which serves to show the state of feeling of the Spanish government at the period in question, with regard to the proceedings of foreigners in the Pacific, and the extent of the measures which it was ready to adopt in order to exclude them from that ocean. It has been said, in the preced- ing chapter, that the ship Columbia having received some damage on her way from Boston to the north-west coast of America, in May, 1788, entered a harbor in the Island of Juan Fernandez, where as- sistance was afforded in refitting her by the Spanish commandant Don Bias Gonzales and his garrison. After her departure, the commandant communicated the circumstances, by a despatch, to his immediate superior, the captain-general of Chili, who thereupon recalled Gonzales from the island, and placed him in arrest, address- ing, at the same time, a report on the subject, with a request for instructions, to the viceroy of Peru. The viceroy, after consulting with his official legal adviser, replied to the captain-general at length on the subject, and expressed his surprise and displeasure at the mis- conduct of the commandant of Juan Fernandez, in allowing the strange ship to leave the harbor, instead of seizing her and her crew ; as he should have known that, by the royal ordinance of November, 169*2, every foreign vessel found in those seas, without a license from the court of Spain, was to be treated as an enemy, even though belonging to a friend or ally of the king, seeing that no other nation had, or ought to have, any territories, to reach which its vessels should pass around Cape Horn or through Magellan's Straits. In so serious a light did the viceroy regard the matter, that a ship was sent from Callao to track or intercept the Columbia ; the authori- ties on the coasts of Peru and Chili were specially enjoined to be vigilant, and, in case any foreign vessel siiould appear in the vicini- ty, to seize her ; and the whole affair was made known by a de- spatch to the viceroy of Mexico, in order that similar precautions might be adopted on his part. The unfortunate commandant Gon- zales was cashiered for his remissness ; and he subsequently ad- dressed a petition to the government of the United States for its intercession with his sovereign. Thus were half of the Spanish do- ''. I 1768.] VOYAGE OF MARTINEZ AND HARO. 185 minions in America thrown into alarm and agitation, by the appear- ance of a trading ship from the United States on the Pacific : yet Tcodor Lacroix, the viceroy of Peru, and Ambrose O'Higgins, cap- tain-general of Chili, were men of education and experience, distin- guished for their courage and sagacity ; but such was the jealous system which they were bound to support.* For the expedition of inquiry to the north-west coasts of America, the viceroy of Mexico employed two vessels, the corvette Princesa, commanded by Estevan Martinez, (who had been the pilot in the voyage of Juan Perez, in 1774,) and the schooner San Carlos, under Lieutenant Gonzalo Haro. They were instructed to proceed direct- ly k> Prince William's Sound, and to make every possible inquiry and examination respecting the establishments of the Russians there and in other parts of America adjacent ; having completed which, they were to explore the coasts southward to California, if time should be left for that purpose, seeking particularly for places convenient for the reception of Spanish colonics : and they were especially enjoined to treat the natives of the places which they might visit with kindness, and not to engage in any quarrel with the Russians. Of this voyage of Martinez and Haro, a short account will suffice. They quitted San Bias on the 8th of March, 1788, and, on the 25tli of May, they anchored in the entrance of Prince William's Sound, where they lay nearly a month, without making any attempt to examine the surrounding shores. At length, in the end of June, Haro, having sailed, in the San Carlos, along the coast of the ocean farther south-west, discovered a Russian establishment on the east side of the Island of Kodiak, under the command of a Greek, named Delaref, with whom he was able to communicate ; and from this person he received detailed accounts of all the Russian establish- ments in that quarter. On the 3d of July, Haro rejoined Martinez, who had, in the mean time, explored the coasts of Prince William's Sound ; and they proceeded together along the eastern side of the • The petition of Gonzales, with copies of his reports to the captain-general, and the sentence pronounced against him, remain in manuscript in the archives of the Department of State at Wasliington. Mr. Jefferson, secretary of state of the United States, recommended his case to the Spanish government, in a letter to Mr. Carmi- chael, then plenipotentiary at Madrid, dated April 11th, 17!)0, with what success is not known. The other particulars here related of this curious affair are derived from the Creneral Report, or Instructions, left by the viceroy of Peru to his successor, on his retirement from that office, which was published at London in 1823, in the BibliO' teca Americana. 34 .-'•f I 111 .(11 I 'I I li' 'il I .J; :!i y% 1 ' ' ) ■ : 1 ;! f t \M m f'!., ' ri 1; ■ m 186 70TAGE or MARTINEZ AND HARO. [1789. peninsula of Aliaska, to Unalashka, the largest of the Aleutian Islands, where they arrived on the 30th of August. There they re- mained until the 18th of September, receiving every attention from the Russians belonging to the factory, and then sailed for the south. In their voyage homeward, the vessels were separated : Haro reached San Bias on the 22d of October ; Martinez did not enter that port until the 5th of December, having put into Monterey for refresh- ments.* The geographical observations made in this expedition were of little value at the time ; and it would be needless to notice them here, as the coasts to which they relate have been since completely surveyed. Agreeably to the report presented by Martinez, on his return to the viceroy of Mexico, the Russian establishments in Amer- ica at that time were in number eight, all situated east of Prince William's Sound, on which, however, one was then in progress; and they contained, together, two hundred and fifty-two Russian subjects, nearly all of whom were natives of Kamtchatka or Sibe- ria. Martinez was, moreover, informed that two vessels had been sent in that summer from Kodiak, to found a settlement at Nootka Sound, and that two large ships were in preparation at Ochotsk, for further operations of the same nature. The vessels sent from Ko- diak were doubtless those which proceeded, under Ismyloff and Betscharef, along the coast eastward to the foot of Mount St. Elias ; the others were those intended for the expedition under Billings, which was not begun until 1790. These accounts of the establishments and projects of the Rus- sians were immediately communicated to the court of Madrid, which addressed to the empress of Russia a remonstrance against such encroachments of her subjects upon the territories of his Cath- olic majesty. In the memorial conveying this remonstrance, it is to be remarked that Prince William's Sound is assumed as separating the dominions of the two sovereigns ; it being doubtless intended, * The preceding account of this voyage is derived from the journal of Martinez, of which a copy, in manuscript, was obtained from the hydrographical office at Madrid. The first notice of this expedition, published in Europe, was taken from a letter written at San Bias, soon afler the arrival of Haro at that port, in which it was said that the Spaniards had found Russian establishments between the forty-ninth and the fiftieth degrees of latitude, instead of between the fifty-ninth and the sixtieth degrees, and on this error, such as is daily committed by persons ignorant of nautical matters, M. Poletica, the Russian envoy in the United States, endeavored, in 1823, to found a claim for his sovereign to the whole of the American coasts and islands on the Pacific north of the forty-ninth parcdlel. See hereafter, chap. xvi. 1789.] CLAIMS OF SPAIN EXAMINED. 187 by means of this gcogtiphical obscurity, to leave undefined the del- icate question as to the limits of Spanish America in the north- west. The empress of Russia answered — that orders had been given to her subjects not to make settlements in places belonging to other nations ; and, if those orders had been violated with regard to Spanish America, she desired the king of Spain to arrest the en- croachments, in a friendly manner. With this answer, more cour- teous than specific, the Spanish minister professed himself content ; observing, however, in his reply, that Spain " could not be respon- sible for what her officers might do, at places so distant, whilst they were acting under general orders to allow no settlements to be made by other nations on the Spanish American continent." * In the mean time, however, the viceroy of Mexico, Don Manuel de Florcs, had, in virtue of his general instructions, taken a decisive measure with regard to Nootka Sound. For that purpose, he de- spatched Martinez and Haro from San Bias, early in 1789, with their vessels manned and equipped effectively ; ordering them, in case any British or Russian vessel should appear at Nootka, to receive her with the attention and civility required by the peace and friendship existing between Spain and those nations, but, at the same time, to declare the paramount rights of his Catholic majesty to the place, and the adjacent coasts, firmly, though discreetly, and without using harsh or insulting language.f Before entering upon the narrative of the events which followed, it should be observed, with regard to the right of the Spanish gov- ernment thus to take possession of Nootka, that, before the 6th of May, 1789, when Martinez entered the sound with that object, no settlement, factory, or other establishment whatsoever, had been founded or attempted, nor had any jurisdiction been exercised by the authorities or subjects of a civilized nation, in any part df America bordering upon the Pacific, between Port San Francisco, near the 38th degree of north latitude, and Prince William's Sound, near the 60th. The Spaniards, the British, the Russians, and the French, had, indeed, landed at many places on those coasts, where they had displayed flags, performed ceremonies, and erected monu- ments, by way of taking possession — as it was termed — of the ad- i^v^m ^1 ,h " Memorial addressed by the court of Spain to that of London, dated June 1 3th, 1790, among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the letter D, No. 3. t Abstract of these instructions to Martinez, in the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes, p. 106. lijiili li 188 RIGHTS DEHIVUO FROM DISCOVERT. [1789. J , jaccnt territories for their respective sovereigns ; but such acts are^ and were then, generally considered as empty pageants, securing no real rights to those by whom, or in whose names, they were per- formed. Nor does it appear that any portion of the ubovc-nien- tioned territories hvn\ become the property of a foreigner, either by purchase, occupation, or any other title, which can be regarded qs valid. It has been already said that Mr. Meares, in his Memorial, addressed to the British Parliament, in 1790, laid claim to certain tracts of land about Nootka Sound, as having been cewer. The exclusive right of occupation must be here distinguished from the exclusive right of sovereigiiti/ ; as no nation could be justified, by virtue of the former right, and without occupation or the performance of acts indicating an intention to occupy, in depriving others of the trade of extensive vac'iiiit scu-coasts, unless upon the ground that the exercise of such trade would be injurious to its actual interests in those countries. Resuming the narrative of events in the North Pacific — It has been mentioned, in the preceding clmpter, that Mcares sailed in the Felice from Nootka Sound to China, in the end of September, 1789. On reaching Macao, in December following, he learned that, (hiring his absence, Juan Cavallo, the Portuguese merchant, whose name appearctl on the papers of the Felice and Iphigenia as their owner, had become a bankrupt. What steps were taken immediate- ly, in consequence of this event, is not related ; but an arrangement was soon after made between the anonymous merchant proprietors and Mr. Etches, the agent of the King George's Sound Company, who was then at Macao, with the ship Prince of Wales and sloop Princess Royal, for a union of the interests of the two parties. A<:rceably to this arrangement, the Felice was sold, and the Prince of Wales returned to England ; and a ship called the Argonaut was purchased, in which Colnett, a lieutenant in the British navy, previ- ously commanding the Princess Royal, was despatched, in April, ."It ^c ! '■ h i; !■ :N.|1 • iii'.i il. ■ ■'. Ui. I- •I M Ij; I J 190 NEW EXPEDITION rROM MACAO. [1789. 'ji 1 I ■ rh',. I'^yMf li 1789, to Nootka, as captain, and agent for the proprietors on the American coast, accompanied by the Princess Royal, under Captain William Hudson. The management of the aflhirs of the association at Macao ap. pears to have been committed entirely to Mcares, who drew up the instructions for Colnett. From these instructions, of which a copy is appended by Meares to his Memorial, it is evident that there was really an intention to found a permanent establishment on some part of the north-west coast of Anicrica, although no spot is dcsig. nated as its site, and no hint is given of any acquisition of territory having been already made at or near Nootka Sound. Indeed, the only reference to that place, in the whole paper, is contained in the words, ♦' We recommend you, if possible, to form a treaty with the various chiefs, particularly at Nootka." Yet Meares, in his Memo- rial, strangely enough says, '< Mr. Colnett was directed to fix his residence at Nootka Sound, and, with that view, to erect a substan- tial house on the spot which your memorialist had purchased in the preceding year, os will appear by a copy of his instructions hereunto annexed." The Argonaut and Princess Royal were, moreover, certainly navigated under the British flag ; there being no object in using any other, as they were both provided with licenses from the East India and the South Sea Companies, which aflforded them the requisite authorization.''*' Whilst these vessels were on their way to Nootka Sound, their first place of destination on the coast, the brig Iphigenia, and schooner North- West America, belonging to the same association, though under Portuguese colors, arrived in that bay from the Sandwich Islands, where they had passed the winter, agreeably to the instructions of Mr. Meares. They entered the sound on the 20th of April, in the most wretched condition imaginable. The Iphigenia was a mere wreck ; according to the journal of Douglas, her supercargo or captain, annexed to the Memorial of Meares, • The following account of the occurrpncos at Nootka in the summer of 1789 is taken from — the journal or narrative of the voyage of Meares, and the documents attached to it, consisting of his Memorial to Parliament, and papers in proof, among which is especially worthy of notice the journal of Douglas, the captain or supercargo of the Iphigenia — the journal of Colnett's voyage, in 17!)3, in which some of those circumstances are related in a note, at page 96 — the journal of Vancouver's voyage in 17!)2 — the letter addresijcd by the American Captains Gray and Ingraham to the Spanish commandant at Nootka, in 17!)3, which will be found at length among the Proofs and Illustrations, at the end of this volume, under the letter C — and the memorials and other papers relative to the dispute which ensued between Great Britain, in the Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter D. [1789. rf on the ir Captain llacao a(>- >w up the ch a copy there was on some t is design if territory ndced, the ncd in the y with the his Memo- to fix his a substan- ased in the na hereunto moreover, lo object in s from the 1 them the ound, their genia, and issociation, from the ^reeably to md on the able. The )f Douglas, of Meares, icr of 1789 is he documents proof, among or supercargo some of those luvcr's voyage raham to the th among the C — and the etween Great 1789.] SEIZURE or THE IPIIIOENIA. 191 " she had like to have foundered at sea, for want of pitch and tar to stop the leaks ; she had no bread on board, and nothing but salt pork for her crew to live on ; she was without cables," and, on attempting to moor her in the harbor, it was nt-cessary to *' borrow a full from the American sloop Washington," which, with the ship Columbia, was found lying there. The North- West Amorii;a was in no better condition ; and, as they had un articles for barter with the natives, they must have remained inactive for some time, had they not procured some assistance and supplies from the American vessels, by means of which the schooner was enabled to leave the sound on the 28th of the month, for a short trading trip along the coasts. The Washington, about the same time, also departed on a similar expedition ; and the Iphigenia, lying at Friendly Cove, and the Columbia, at Mawhinna, a few miles higher up, were the only vessels in Nootka Sound on the 6th of May, when the Spanish commander Martinez arrived there in the corvette Princesa, to take possession of the country for his sovereign. Martinez immediately communicated his intentions to the captains of the other vessels, whose papers he also examined ; and, appear- ini^ to be content, he landed materials and artillery, and began to erect a fort on a small island at the entrance of Friendly Cove. With this assumption of authority on his part, no dissatisfaction appears to have been expressed or entertained by either of the other parties ; on the contrary, the utmost good feeling for some time prevailed on all sides : the officers of the diflferent vessels visited and dined with each other, and Martinez readily supplied the Iphigenia with articles of which she was in need, in order to go to sea immediately, accepting, in return for them, bills drawn by her Portuguese captain, Viana, upon Juan Cavallo, the Portuguese merchant of Macao, as her owner. Things remained thus at Nootka for a week, at the end of which time the other Spanish vessel, the San Carlos, arrived, under Captain Haro. On the following day, the 15th of May, Martinez invited Viana and Douglas to come on board his ship; and, on their doing so, he immediately told them that they were prisoners, and their vessel was to be seized. " I inquired," says Douglas, in his journal, *^ the cause of his not taking the Washington sloop, as he had orders from the king of Spain to take every vessel he met out on this coast. He gave me no satisfactory answer, but told me my papers were bad ; that they mentioned I was to take all English, Russian, and Spanish vessels that were of inferior force to the MWi. lit . I V.S I ■!,■ 1 ■ j ! i : . H'<. I . 19:2 THE IPUIGENIA RELKASF.D BV MAHTINEZ. [iTsn. Iphigenia, and send or carry their crews to Macao, there to be tried for their lives as pirates. I told him they had not interpreted tho papers right ; that, though I did not understand the Portuguese, / had seen a copy of them in English, at Macao, which mentioned, if I was attacked by any one of those nations, to defend myself, and, if I had the superiority, to send the captains and crews to Macao, to answer for the insult they had offered." Martinez, however, was not, or did not choose to be, content with this explanation, which certainly did not place the Iphigenia and her owners in a position conformable with the usages of civilized nations ; and, in obedience to his orders, that brig was boarded by the Spaniards, her men, with her charts, papers, and instruments, were transferred to the ships of war, and preparations were begun for sending her, as a prize, to San Bias. Whilst these preparations were in progress, the Spanish com- mandant altered his intentions, and proposed to release the Iphigenia and her crew, on condition that her officers would sign a declaration to the effect that she had not been interrupted, but had been kindly treated and supplied by him during her stay at Nootka. Tliis proposition was at first refused : an arrangement was, however, afierwurds made between the parties, in consequence of which tlio declaration was signed by the officers of the Iphigenia, and she and Jier crew were liberated on the 26th of May. Messrs. Viana and Douglas at the same time engaged for themselves, as " captain aid supercargo respectively, and for Juan Cavallo, of Macao, as oicntr of the said vessel,^^ to pay her value, on demand, to the order of the viceroy of Mexico, in case he should pronounce her capture legal. This seizure of the Iphigenia by Martinez can scarcely be con- sidered unjust or unmerited, when it is recollected that, if, in attempting to enforce, with regard to her, the orders of his govern- ment, — which were perfectly conformable with the principles of national law as then recognized, and with treaties between Spain and the other powers, — he had been resisted and overcome, ho, with his officers and men, would have been carried to Macao as prisoners, to be tried in Portuguese courts for piracy. Moreover, he had been informed that Mcarcs was daily expected to arrive at Nootka, with other vessels belonging to the same concern ; and it was his duty to provide against the probability of being overpowered or insulted, by lessening the forces of those from whom he had every reason to apprehend an attack. He was, indeed, specially enjoined, by the viceroy of Mexico, to treat English and Russian 1789.] THE IPHIGENIA RETURNS TO CHINA. 193 vessels with respect ; but the contingency of his meeting with a Portuguese vessel at Nootka, furnished with such instructions as those carried by the Iphigenia, could not have been foreseen ; and the only grounds upon which he could have excused himself to his government for releasing her, even under the pledge given by her officers, must have been, that, at the time when those instruc- tions were written, it was not anticipated, by her proprietors, that Spain would take possession of any place on the north-west coast of America. That the detention of the Iphigenia by the Spaniards was not injurious to the interests of her owners, is clearly proved. The distressed condition in which she reached Nootka has been already shown from the accounts of her officers ; and she must have remained at that place, unemployed, during the greater and better part of the trading season, had she not been refitted and supplied as she was by the Spaniards. According to the narrative of Meares, she sailed from the sound on the 1st of June, to the coasts of Queen Charlotte's Island, where she collected a number of valuable furs in a few weeks : the trade was " so brisk," writes Meares, " that all the stock of iron was soon expended, and they were under the necessity of cutting up the chain plates and hatch-bars of the vessel," in order to find the means of purchasing the skins offered ; thence she departed for the Sandwich Islands, and, after a short stay there, continued her voyage to Macao, where she arrived in October, with about seven hundred sea otter skins, all collected since leaving Nootka Sound. Mr. Meares, in his Memorial, however, presents a very difl'erent picture of these circumstances : he there says, " During the time the Spaniards held possession of the Iphigenia, she was stripped of all the merchandise which had been prepared for trading, as also of her stores, provisions, nautical instruments, charts, &,c., and, in short, of every article, excejH twelve bars of iron, which they could conveniently carry away, even to the extent of the master's watch, and articles of clothing ; " he then goes on to state that, "on leaving Nootka Sound, the Iphigenia, though in a very unfit condition for such a voyage, proceeded from thence to the Sandwich Islands, and, after obtaining tiiere such supplies as they were enabled to purchase with the iron before mentioned, returned to China, and anchored there in the month of October, 1789" — thus omitting all notice of the trip to the northern coasts, and of the brisk trade with the natives, in which the whole stock of iron 25 IV ••It Ij! ,i> J , I ! . 194 SEizrnr. of the north-west America. [1789. M^ "^..■^■i ill . 1 ■ ' 1" ' wt^' m|'' Mm s^B '1 '^ ;,■ ■ . • . -j Km '^'- I9('|T ' is^^' 11 'f. , . ■ ■'I i> !T^ ■\ (including, of course, the twelve bars before mentioned) was ex- changed for furs. Before taking leave of the Iphigenia, it may be added, in evi- dence of her true character, that Douglas quitted her immediately on her arrival in China ; after which she continued to trade under the command of Viana, and under the flag of Portugal. On the 8th of June, after the departure of the Iphigenia, the schooner North- West America returned from her voyage along the southern coasts, in which she had collected about two hundred sea otter skins, and was immediately seized by Martinez, in consequence, as he at first said, of an agreement to that effect between himself and the captain of the Iphigenia. This agreement is expressly de- nied by Douglas, who declares that both promises and threats had been used in vain to induce him to sell the small vessel at a price far below her real value ; and, in proof, he cites a letter given by him to Martinez, addressed to the captain of the North- West Amer- ica, in which he merely tells the latter to act as he may think best for the interest of the owners. Mearcs, in his Memorial, however, admits that the letter did not contain what Martinez understood to be its purport when he received it, and that advantage had been taken by Douglas of the Spaniard's ignorance of the English language ; from which circumstances it is most probable that the agreement, whether voluntary on the part of the captain of the Iphigenia, or unjustly extorted from him, was actually made as asserted by Marti- nez. A few days afterwards, the sloop Princess Royal, one of the vessels sent from Macao by the associated companies, entered the sound under the command of William Hudson, bringing infor- mation of the failure of Cavallo, the Portuguese merchant, upon whom, as owner of fhe Iphigenia, the bills in payment for the sup- plies furnished to that vessel, were drawn. Upon learning this, Martinez announced his determination to hold the North-West America in satisfaction for the amount of those bills: she was thereupon immediately equipped for a trading voyage, and sent out under the command of one of the mates of the Columbia ; but her officers and men were at the same time liberated, and nearly all the skins collected by her were placed on board the Princess Royal, for the benefit of the owners in China. The Princess Royal remained at Nootka until the 2d of July, during which period she was undisturbed, and her officers and men were treated with perfect civility and respect by the Span- 1769.] SEIZURE OF THE ARGONAUT AT NOOTKA. 195 .VI j ♦■ri ii iards. As she was leaving the sound on that day, her consort, the ship Argonaut, came in from Macao, under Captain Colnett, who, as already mentioned, had been charged by the associated companies with the direction of their affairs on the American coasts, and the estaWishment of a factory and fort for their benefit. What followed with regard to this ship has been represented under various colors ; but the principal facts, as generally admitted, were these : — As soon as the Argonaut appeared at the entrance of the sound, she was boarded by Martinez, who presented to Colnett a letter from the captain of the Princess Royal, and pressed him earnestly to enter the sound, and supply the Spanish vessels with some arti- cles of which they were much in want. Several of the officers of the North- West America and the Columbia also came on board the Argonaut, and communicated what had occurred respecting the Iphigenia and the small vessel to Colnett, who, in consequence, hes- itated as to entering the sound ; but he was finally induced, by the assurances of Martinez, to do so, and before midnight his ship was anchored in Friendly Cove, between the Princesa and the San Carlos. On the following day, Colnett, having supplied the Spanish ships with some articles, was preparing, as he states, to leave the sound, when he received an invitation to go on board the commandant's ship and exhibit his papers. He accordingly went, in uniform, and with his sword by his side, into the cabin of the Princesa, where he displayed his papers, and informed Martinez of his intention to take possession of Nootka, and erect a fort there under the British flag. The commandant replied, that this could not be done, as the place was already occupied by the forces and in the name of his Catholic majesty; and an altercation ensued, the results of which were the arrest and confinement of Colnett, and the seizure of the Argonaut by the Spaniards. From the moment of his arrest, Colnett became insane or delirious, and continued in this state for several weeks, during which Duffin, the mate of his vessel, acted as the representa- tive of the proprietors : in the mean time, her cargo had been all j)lacod on board the Spanish ships of war ; and. on the 13th of July, she sailed, with her officers and nearly the whole of her crew as prisoners, under the command of a Spanish lieutenant, for San Bias. If the accounts of these transactions, presented by Meares in his Memorial, and by Colnett in the narrative which he afterwards published, be admitted as conveying a full and correct view of the ^i t' •i :v:t ! :i :i 196 SEIZURE OF THE ARGONAUT AT NOOTKA. , r I i if .isiyii' [1789. circumstances, the conduct of Martinez must be considered as nearly equivalent to piracy. From these accounts it would appear that the ship was treacherously seized, without any reasonable ground, or even pretext, and with the sole premeditated object of plundering her ; and that the most cruel acts of violence, insult, and restraint, were wantonly committed upon the officers and men during the whole period of their imprisonment. Colnett relates * — that, when he presented his papers to Martinez in the cabin of the Princesa, the commandant, without examining them, pronounced them to be forged, and immediately declared that the Argonaut should not go to sea — that, upon his " remonstrating [in what terms he does not say] against this breach of good faith, and forgetfulness of teord and honor pledged,'^ the Spaniard rose, in apparent anger, and introduced a party of armed men, by whom he was struck down, placed in the stocks, and then closely confined — that he was after- wards carried from ship to ship like a criminal, threatened with instant execution as a pirate, and subjected to so many injuries and indignities as to throw him into a violent fever and delirium, which were near proving fatal — and that his officers and men were impris- oned and kept in irons from the time of their seizure until their arrival at San Bias, where many of them died in consequence of ill treatment. Meares, in his Memorial, makes the same assertions, many of which are supported by the deposition of the officers and seamen of the North- West America, taken in China, and appended to the Memorial. On the other hand. Gray, the captain of the Washington, and Ingraham, the mate of the Columbia, both of whom were at Nootka during the occurrence of the afl'air, " were informed by those whose veracity they had no reason to doubt,"! that Colnett, in his interview with Martinez on board the Princesa, denied the right of the Spaniards to occupy Nootka, and endeav- ored to impose upon the Spanish commandant, by representint; himself as acting under direct orders from the British government ; and that he afterwards insulted the Spaniard by threatening him and drawing his sword. Colnett himself says that he attempted to draw his sword on the occasion, but that it was in defence against those who assailed him ; and it must be allowed to be very difficult to " remonstrate " with a man upon " his breach of faith, and forgetful- * Account of his Voyago in the Pacific in 1703, nolo at p. !t6; also Vancouver's Jourtial, vol. iii. p. 402. These two accounts differ in some points. t Letter of Gray and Ingraham, in the Proofs and Illustrations, letter C. ns9.] SKIZURE OF THE ARGONAUT. \m ness of his word and honor pledged," without insulting him. Duffin, the mate of the Argonaut, writing to Meares from Nootka, ten days after the seizure of the ship, gives nearly the same account of the interview, adding that the misunderstanding was probably occa- sioned by the interpreter's ignorance of the English language : he says that Martinez appeared to be very sorry for what had hap- pened, and had " behaved with great civility, by obliging his pris- oners with every liberty that could be expected ; " and he com- plains of no violence, either to the feelings or to the persons of any of the crews of the vessels seized, although he charges the Span- iards with plundering both openly and secretly. Moreover, Duffin declares, and Meares repeats, in his Memorial, that the disease with which Colnett was afflicted after his arrest was a fit of insanity, oc- casioned by fear and disappointment operating upon a mind natu- rally weak and hereditarily predisposed to such alienation. On the part of Spain, the only statements which have been pub- licly made are those contained in the notes and memorials ad- dressed by the court of Madrid to other governments in 1790; and in the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes — all of which, though officially presented, are nevertheless imperfect and evidently erroneous on several important points.* Upon reviewing the circumstances of the affair, there appears to be no reason to doubt that Colnett entered the sound, relying on the assurances of Martinez, that he should be undisturbed while •Hi i' Hi I: ii " These notes and memorials, which will be mentioned more particularly hereafter, may be found in the Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter D. All that is said in the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes respecting the dispute, or the circumstances which led to it, is contained in the paragraph of which the following is a translation : — " On the 2d of July, the English ship Argonaut, which had been sent by an Eng- lish company from Macao, entered the port. Her captain, James Colnett, came, with authority from the king of England, to lake possession of the port of Nootka, to for- tify it, and to establish there a factory for the collection of sea otter skins, and to prevent other nations from engaging in this trade, with which objects he was to build a large ship and a schooner. This manifest infraction of tiie riglils over that region led to a serious quarrel between the Spanish commandant and the English captain, which extended to Europe ; and, the two powers being alarmed, the world was for some time threatened with war and devastation, tiio results of discord. Captain Col- nett refused, repeatedly and obstinately, to exhibit to Martinez the instructions which he brought; and he expressed himself in language so indecorous and irritating, that our commandant, having exhausted all the measures of prudence which he had hith- erto employed, resolved to arrest tiie British captain in tlie cabin of his ship, and to declare all the persons on board the Argonaut prisoners of war, and to send them to San Bias, to be there placed at the disposition of the viceroy of Mexico." ^■^tNt-] ■ 1 HM, Ijj :[ 1 ill 1 ll 1 \m 1^ 3];, «)"•!■' I, : 198 SEIZURE or THE PRINCESS ROYAL. [1789. there, and be allowed to depart at his pleasure ; and it seems to be equally certain that the English captain did afterwards conduct hiinselt* with so much violence and extravagance towards the Span- ish commandant, as to render his own arrest perfectly justifiable. The seizure of the Argonaut, the imprisonment of her other officers and crew, and the spoliation of her cargo, cannot, however, be defended on those or on any grounds aflbrded by the evidence of any of the parties ; for Martinez had no rcasou to apprehend an attack from the Argonaut, and he had been specially instructed, by his immediate superior, the viceroy of Mexico, to suspend, with regard to British vessels on the north-west coasts, the execution of the general orders to Spanish commandants, for the seizure of foreign vessels entering the ports of the American dominions. Still less excusable was the conduct of Martinez towards the sloop Princess Royal, on her second arrival at Nootka. She appeared at ilie entrance of the sound on the 13th of July, having made a short trading cruise along the northern coasts ; and her captain, Hudson, on coming up to Friendly Cove in a boat, was arrested, after which his vessel was boarded and brought in as a prize by a party of Spaniards desjiatched for the purpose. On the following day, the majority of her crew were transferred to the Argonaut, which carried them as prisoners to San Bias ; her cargo was then taken out, and she was herself afterwards employed for nearly two years in the Spanish service, under Lieutenant Quimper. The schooner North- West America was also retained in the national service of Spain ; her officers and men, with some of those of the Argonaut and Princess Royal, were, however, placed on board the American ship Columbia, to be carried as passengers to China, one hundred of the sea otter skins found in the Princess Royal being allowed in payment of their wages and transportation. Martinez remained at Nootka until November, when he departed, with his three vessels, for San Bias, agreeably to orders received by liim from Mexico. The Columbia had remained in the sound ever since her first arrival there, in October, 1783; the Washington being, in the mean time, engaged in trading along the coasts north and south of that place, to which she, however, frequently returned, in order to deposit the furs collected. The officers of these vessels were thus witnesses of nearly all the occurrences at Nootka during the summer of 1789, in which, indeed, they frequently took part as mediators; 1789.] CONDUCT or THE AMEIIICANS AT NOOTKA. 199 and the only evidence, with regard to those events, except the journal of Douglas, which can bear the test of strict examination, is contained in a letter addressed, three years afterwards, lo the Spanish commandant of Nootka, by Gray, the captain of the Washington, and Ingraham, the mate of the Columbia.* Meares and Colnett endeavor to cast blame on the Americans for their conduct in these proceedings ; their complaints, however, on exam- ination, seem to rest entirely on the fact that the Washington and Columbia were undisturbed, while their own vessels were seized by the Spaniards. That Gray and Kendrick profited by the quarrels between the other two parties is probable, and no one can question their right to do so ; but no evidence has been adduced that they, on any occasion, took an unfair advantage of either: though it is also probable that their feelings were rather in favor of the Spaniards, by whom they were always treated with courtesy and kindness, than of the British, to whom, if we are to judge by the expressions of Meares and Colnett, they were, from the commencement, the objects of hatred and ridicule. In one of the above-mentioned trading excursions of the Wash- ington, made in June, 1789, Gray explored the whole east coast of Queen Charlotte's Island, which had never before been visited by the people of any civilized nation, though Duncan, in the Princess Royal, had, in the preceding year, sailed through the sea separating it from the main land and other islands. The American, being ignorant of this fact, as also of the name bestowed on the territory by Dixon, called it Washington's Island; and thus it was, for a long period, always distinguished by the fur traders of the United States. Meares endeavors, in his narrative, to secure to Douglas, the captain of the Iphigenia, the merit of having first established the insulation of the territory ; though Douglas, in his journal annexed to that narrative, expressly alludes to the previous visits of the Washington to many places on the east coast. The assertion of this claim for Douglas was one of the causes of the dispute between Meares and Dixon, in 1791, which will be hereafter men- tioned more particularly. In a subsequent excursion from Nootka, Gray entered the opening south-east of that place, between the 48th and 49th parallels of latitude, which had been found by Berkely in 1787, and was sup- posed to be the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Through * See Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter D. 'r'*l '!| i" ■it' t .n Controvrrsy Ivtworn Gront Britain and Si)inn rt'Hptctinjj tho North-Wrst Coasts nf Atiii-ripa iind tlip Naviiratioii nf tin' I'acitir — The Owners of the Vossfls seized ut Nootka apply for Uedrrss to the Hritisli rainst Sl)anish America — Secret Mediation of France, throuirii wliicli the Dispute is settled — (convention of October, 17!>0, called the A'ootUa Treaty — Procuedinc!) in Parliament, and lleilections on this Convention. The Columbia arrived at Macao from Nootka in December, 1789, bringing as passengers the officers and crew of the North- West America, who communicated the news of the capture of that vessel, and of the Argonaut and Princess Royal, by the Spaniards. The owners immediately determined to apply to the British govern- ment for redress ; and Meares was accordingly despatched to Lon- don, where he arrived in April. 1790, provided with depositions, and other documents, in substantiation of their claims. While he was on his way, however, the circumstances on which his upplica- tion was to be founded had already become the subject of a serious discussion between the courts of London and M.idrid. On the 10th of February, 1790, the Spanish ambassador at London presented to the British ministry a note, in which, after communicating the fact of the seizure of a British vessel (the Argonaut) at Nootka, he required, in the name of his government, that the parties who had planned the expedition should be punished, in order to deter other persons from making settlements on territo- ries long occupied and frequented by the Spaniards ; and he at the same time complained of the trade and fishery, by British subjects, in the seas adjoining the Spanish American continent on the west, as contrary to the rights of Spain, guarantied by Great Britain in the treaty of Utrecht, and respected by all European nations. To this the British ministers answered, on the 26th, that, although they had not received exact information as to the facts stated by the 1790.] DISCUSSIONS IN LONDON. 203 nmbassndor, yet the act of violence against British subjects described in his note necessarily suspended all discussion of the claims ad- viinced by him, until adequate atonement shoidd have been made for the outrage. In the mean time, thoy domandcd the immediate lostoration of the vessel seized, reserving further proceedings on the subject until more complete details of the circumstances could be obtained. This unexpected answer, with other circumstances, induced the Spanish cabinet to suspect that more was meant than had been openly declared by Great Britain ; that this power was, in fact, only seeking an occasion to break the peace with Spain for some ulte- rior object : and, under the influence of this suspicion, preparations for war were commenced in all the naval arsenals of the latter king- dom. The king of Spain being, however, anxious to prevent a rupture, if possible, his ambassador at London addressed another note to the British government in April, declaring that, although the Spanish crown had an indubitable right to the continent, islands, harbors, and coasts, of America on the Pacific, founiled upon trea- ties and immemorial possession, yet, as the viceroy of Mexico had released the vessel sei/.(!d at Nootka, his Catholic majesty regarded the atVair as concluded, without entering into any dispiitcs and dis- cussions on the undoubted rights of SfMiin ; and, desiring to give a proof of his friendship for Great Britain, he should rest satisfied, if lior subjects were commanded to respect those rights in future. This last communication was received al)ont the time when Mearcs arrived in London from China : and the information brought hy him was not calculated to render the British government inclined to accept the pacific overture of Spain. On the contrary, onlers wore issued for arming two large fleets, and the whole aflhir, which had been previously kept secret, was submitted to Parliament by a message from the king on the .jth of May. In this message, his majesty states that two vessels, belonging to his subjects, and navigated under the British flag, and two others, of which the description was not then sufficiently ascertained, had been captured at Nootka Sound, by an officer commanding two Spanish ships of war ; the cargoes of the two British vessels had been seized, and their crews had been sent as prisoners to a Span- ish nort; — that, as soon as ho had been informed of the capture of one of these vessels, he had ordered a demand to be made for her restitution, and for adequate satisfaction, previous to any other discussion ; from the answer to which demand, it appeared that the 5! I' 1 "I- ■ \l >\ \ n 'in if'!.' 'v'- ■ li' (I ; it 1 ill ff^ ^ HiMjf jij m^ 204 TIIR KINO OP ENGLAND S MESSAGE. [1790. vessel and her crew had been Hberatcd by the viceroy of Mexico, on the supposition, however, thnt ignorance of the rights of Spuin nlone induced individuals of other nations to frequent those coiiHts, for the purposes of tray a circular letter addressed, on the 4th of June, to all the other c< urts of Europe. This letter was couched in the most conciliatory lunj^uago : it contained a recapitu- lation of the circumstances of the dispute, according to the views of Spain ; denying all intention, on her part, to commit or defend any act of injustice against Great Britain, or o claim any rights which did not rest upon irrefragable titles ; insisting that the cap- ture of the British vessel had been repaired by the conduct of the viceroy of Mexico in immediately restoring her ; and declaring the readiness of his Catholic majesty to satisfy any demands which should prove to be well founded, after an investigati n of the ques- tion of right between the two crowns. This reply not being con- sidered sufficient l)y the British ambassador, a Memorial was deliv- ered to him, on the 13th of the same month, by count de Florida Blanca, the Spanish minister of state, not diHering essentially in its import from the circular letter ; which, however, served only to render the ambassador still more urgent for a specific answer to the (loniands of his government. At length, after repeated conferences, tlic Spanish minister, on the 18th, officially signified that his sove- reign, having approved the restitution of all the vessels and their car- goes sei/edat Nootka. was willing to indemnify the owners for their losses, and also to make satisfaction for the insult to the dignity of the British crown ; provided, that the extent of the insult and of the satisfaction should be settled, in form and substance, either by ono of the kings of Europe, to be selected by his Britannic majesty, or by a negotiation between the two governments, in which no facts were to be admitted as true, except such as were fully established ; and that no inference atrecting the rights of Spain should be drawn from the act of giving satisfaction. This offer of reparation was accepted by the court of London ; and, on the 24th of July, count de Florida Blanca presented to Mr. Fitzherbert, the British ambassador at Madrid, a Dcclarntiony in the name of his sovereign, to the etTect — that he would restore the vessels and indemnify the owners for their losses, so soon as the •I *\i ' '\ 21 'W Ll ! ||| 11! Ill 1 •t: 1 ■ ' i : ■ i m ill lii; i I 206 DECLARATION OF THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT. [1790. amount should have been ascertained, and would give satisfaction to his Britannic majesty for the injury of which lie had complained • and this Declaration, together with the performance of the engage- ments made in it, was admitted by the ambassador in his Counter Declaration,* as full and entire satisfaction for those injuries : it be- ing, however, at the same time admitted and expressed on both sides, that the Spanish '* Declaration was not to preclude or prcju- dice the ulterior discussion of any right which his Catholic majesty might claim to form an exclusive establishment at Nootka Sound." + The affair had thus far proceeded, nearly in the same course as that of the expulsion of the British from the Falkland Islands, twen- ty years previous ; and the government of Madrid probably expected that it would have been terminated in the same manner. But Mr. Pitt, then in the fulness of his power in England, had inherited lijs father's hatred for and contempt of the Spanish nation ; and he was determined either to bend their government to his views, or to strike a decisive blow at their empire. H^. had already, in an inconceivjibly short space of time, assembled a mighty armament, which he intended, in the event of a war, to direct against the Spanish possessions in America, for the purpose of wresting those countries from their actual rulers, either by conquest or by internal revolution ;f and, having assumed this position, he did not Jicsitatc to require from Spain the surrender of many of the exclusive rights with regard to navigation, commerce, and territorial sovereignty, upon which her dominion in the western continent was supposed, with reason, to depend. The negotiation on the subject of these demands was continued at Madrid for three montlis after the ac- ceptance of the Spanish Declaration ; during which period couriers were constantly flying between that city and London, and the whole * The Declaration and Counter Declaration may bo found among the documents connected with the discussion, in the Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter D. It may be hero mentioned that the amount of the imlemnification tor the seizures at Nootka was, after a long negotiation on the subject, finally settled by a ('onuuissinn of subjects of both nations, appointed for the purpose, who, in 17!tii, awarded to thn proprietors of the property the sum of two hundred and ten thousand dollars — a third of the amount demanded by Meares, but undoubtedly far more than was justly due. t Mr. Pitt's scheme for detaching from Spain her transatlantic dominions is br- lieved, with reason, to have been suggested to him by Francisco Miranda, a native of Caraccas, through whoso agency a number of exiles and fugitives from tliose countries, including many of the expelled Jesuits, were engaged in the plan, and cor- respondences were commenced with the princij>al persons inclined to a separation from Sjjain in all parts of her American territories. On this subject, many curious particulars may be found in the Edinburgh Review for Jaimary, IriOi). The subse- quent history and the melancholy fate of Miranda are well known. 1790.] SPAIN APPLIES FOR AID TO FRANCE. 20T civilized world was in suspense and anxiety as to the issue. The particulars of the negotiation have never been officially made public ; and we are therefore only able to form suppositions as to its nature and course from its result, and from other circumstances connected with the dispute. The manner in which that result was effected appears, however, to have been as follows : — As soon as the dispute between Great Britain and Spain, and the preparations of those powers for war, became known, King Louis XVI. of France ordered fourteen sail of the line to be equipped for active service ; cither in consequence of an application for aid from Spain, or in order to be ready to meet contingencies. He was, however, under the necessity of communicating this measure to the National Assembly, then in session, which seized the occasion to deprive the crown of one of its most essential attributes. On the •24th of May, a decree was passed by that body, establishing that the right to make war or peace belonged to the nation, and could only be exercised through the concurrence of the legislative and the executive branches of the government ; and that no treaty with an- otlier power could have effect until it had been ratified by the rep- resentatives of the nation : a committee was at the same time appointed to examine and report upon all the existing treaties of alliance between France and other nations. This decree was itself equivalent to an annulment of the Family Compact between the sovereigns of the house of Bourbon : nevertheless, when the king of Spain found himself pressed by Great Britain to relinquish his exclusive pretensions with regard to America, he formally applied to his cousin of France for aid, agreeably to that compact, in resist- ing those demands ; declaring, at the same time, that, unless the assistance should be given speedily and effectually, " Spain would be under the necessity of seeking other friends and allies among all the powers of Europe, without excepting any on whom she could rely in case of need." The letter of the king of Spain was submitted by Louis XVL to the National Assembly, by which it was referred to the committee appointed to examine the existing treaties between France and other nations ; and, in the name of that committee, the celebrated Mirabeau, on the 24th of August, presented a luminous report, in- cluding considerations of the character of the Family Compact and other engagements between France and Spain, and a view of the actual positions of Spain and Great Britain towards each other and towards France. The questions raised by this report m I: h } %m i| I, }\ t^«'' 208 DECREE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. [1790. were debated,* with great display of eloquence and political wis- dom, by Mirabeau, the Abbe Maury, Lameth, Barnave, and other distinguished members of the Assembly : and it was decreed that France, while taking proper measures to maintain peace, should observe the existing commercial and defensive engagements between l:er government and that of Spain : but that a new and national treaty should be immediately negotiated, wherein the relations of the two countries towards each other should be defined and fixed with precision and clearness, agreeably to the views of general peace, and the principles of justice, which were, in future, to prevail in France ; and that, taking into consideration the armaments then in progress throughout Europe, and the dangers to which the commerce and colonies of France might be exposed, the marine force of the kingdom should be increased, without delay, to forty- five sail of the line, and a proportionate number of frigates. Although this decree contained no direct promise of assistance to Spain, yet it showed that the French government penetrated the designs of the British, and considered them inimical to its own interests ; while, at the same time, the report, on which the decree was based, evinced an ardent desire, on the part of the French reformers, to preserve peace. Meanwhile, revolutionary, anti- monarchical principles were rapidly spreading, not only through France, but in all the surrounding countries, and even in England. The Dutch, who had engaged to assist the British with a fle it, in case of a war with Spain, found their forces necessary at home; and Sweden, having, much to the dissatisfaction of the court of London, made peace with Russia, the latter power was left at liberty to prosecute its schemes for the dismemberment of " Eng- land's old ally," Turkey. Moreover, the financial condition of Great Britain was not such as to encourage her government to begin a war, which would, in all probability, become general. Under these circumstances, Mr. Pitt's views were necessarily changed ; and peace, and even alliance, with Spain were considered preferable to a rupture with that power. He therefore commis- sioned a gentleman at Paris, upon whom he could rely, to sound Mirabeau, and other leaders of the National Assembly ; and, having reason to believe them sincerely anxious to prevent hostilities, he instructed his agent to propose a secret negotiation, to be carried on through the medium of the French government, for the restora- tion of a good understanding between Great Britain and Spain. 1 . i\ I' i it Paris Moniteur for August 25th, and succeeding numbers. 1790.] TEKMINATION OF THE DISPUTE. 209 In the letter of instructions from Mr. Pitt to his agent at Paris,* he declares it to be essential that " the French should not appear in the business as mediators, still less as arbitrators," and that no en- couragement should be given to them to propose any other terms than those on which Great Britain had already insisted ; that, <'\vliatever confidential communications may take place with the diplomatic committee of the National Assembly, for the sake of bringing them to promote the views of Great Britain, no ostensible intercourse could be admitted, except through accredited minis- ters;" and especially that "no assurances be given, directly or indirectly, which go further than that Great Britain means to perse- vere in the neutrality which she has hitherto observed with respect to the internal dissensions of France, and is desirous to cultivate peace and friendly relations with that country." The agent, thus instructed, presented himself to the diplomatic committee of the National Assembly, which at once resolved to do all in its power to strengthen the relations with England, and to prevent a war, if possible ; and, with this view, three of its most influential members, Freteau, Barnave, and Menou, were deputed to conduct the busi- ness on its part. These members conferred with the British agent, and also with M. dc Montmorin, the minister of foreign relations of France, who conununicated directly with the Spanish government ; and in this manner the controversy was brought to a close, by a convention signed, at the palace of the Escurial, on the 28th of October, by Mr. Fitzherbert, the British ambassador, and count de Florida Blanca on the part of Spain. This convention, commonly called the Xootka treaty, contains eight articles, of which the substance is as follows : — With respect to the circumstances which occasioned the dispute, it was stipulated, by the first and second articles, that the build- ings and tracts of land, on the north-west coasts of America, of which British subjects were dispossessed by a Spanish officer, ^^ about the month of April, 1789," shall be restored ; a just repara- tion shall be made for all acts of violence or hostility connnitted by the subjects of either party against those of the other, " subsequent to the month of April, 1789;" and, in case the subjects of either should have been, *' since the same period,^' forcibly dispossessed of their lands, vessels, or other property on the American coasts, or the il*'- •t^#tt n I il^ i . •.Hi- •fi'iili'jf! ■ Ji • The whole letter is given by Qishop Tomline, in his Life of Pitt, chap. xii. The name of the person to wliom it is addressed does not appear ; he is simply mentioned as "a gentleman resident at Paris, of considerable diplomatic experience." 27 ■■' I '! R ' mS (1 ' r rifl ^'3 ' '' ' li . i iH\ hi" 310 NOOTKA CONVKNTION. [1790. adjoining seas, they shall be rec'Stablished in the possession thereof or a just compensation shall be made to them for their losses, For the future, it was agreed, by the third article of the conven- tion, that the subjects of the two parties shall not be disturbed in navigating or fishing in the South Seas, or the Pacific Ocean, or in landing on the coasts thereof, in places not already occupied, for the purposes of settlement or of trade with the natives ; the whole subject, nevertheless, to the restrictions specified in the three following articles, to wit : — that Jiis Britannic majesty shall take the most effectual means to prevent his subjects from making their navigation or fishery in those seas a pretext for illicit trade with the Spanish settlements ; with which view it is agreed that British subjects shall not navigate or fish within ten leagues of any part of the coast already occupied by Spain ; that the subjects of both nations shall have free access and right of trading in the places restored to British subjects by this convention, and in any other parts of the north-west coasts of America, north of the places already occupied by Spain, where the subjects of either party shall have made settlements since the month of April, 1789, or may in future make any ; and that no settlement shall in future be made, by the subjects of either power, on the eastern or the western coasts of South America, or the adjacent islands, south of the parts of the same coasts or islands already occupied by Spain ; though the subjects of both remained at liberty to land on those coasts and islands, and to erect temporary buildings only, for the purposes of their fishery. Finally, it was agreed, by the seventh article, that, in cases of infraction of the convention, the officers of either party shall, with- out committing any act of violence themselves, make an exact report of the affair to their respective governments, which woidd terminate such differences in an amicable manner. The eii,'hth article relates merely to the time of ratification of the convention.* The convention, together with the declaration and counter declaration preceding it, were submitted to Parliament on the 3d of December, unaccompanied by any other papers relative to the negotiation ; and they became the subjects of animated debates, in which the most distinguished members of both houses took parts. The arrangements were extolled by the ministers and their friends in general terms, as vindicating the dignity of the nation, and /Hi * The convention will be found at length among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the letter K, No. 1. 1790.] NOOTKA CONVENTION BEFORE PARLIAMENT. 211 1' Illustrations, in providing reparation for the injuries sustained by its subjects, and as securing to those subjects, in future, the rights of navigation and fishery in the Pacific and Southern Oceans, and of settlement on (heir unoccupied coasts, and establishing the long-discussed ques- tions on those points, on such grounds as must prevent all further dispute. The opposition, on the other hand, contended that the reparation promised by Spain was incomplete and insufficient ; tliat the arrangements for the prevention of future difficulties were merely culpable concessions to that power, whereby the rights of British subjects were materially abridged, and the Spaniards would 1)0 encouraged to commit further acts of violence ; and, finally, that all the advantages which could be expected from the con- vention, even according to the views of the ministers, were far below the amount of the expense at which they had been obtained. It was noticed by Mr. Charles Fox, as a curious and inexplicable incongruity in the treaty, that " about the month of April, 1789," should have been inserted as the date of what was known to have taken place, agreeably to all the evidence produced, in May of the same year ; and that, Jilthough, by the first article, the lands and hiiildings declared to have l)cen taken from IJritish subjects by a Spanisli officer, '' about the month of April, 1789," were to be restored, yet, by the second article, the lands, buildings, and other property, of which the subjects of either party had been dispos- sessed ^^ subsequent to the month of April, 1789," were to be restored, or compensation was to be made to the owners for the losses which they might have sustained. Upon this point, it will be seen that, if the word " or," in the concluding part of the second artielc, were replaced by and. the incongruity would di.sappear ; hut then, also, the first article would become entirely superfluous. It would, however, be idle to suppose that any error could have been committed with regard to matters so essential, or that the want of accordance between the ditferent provisions of the con- vention, noticed by Mr. Fox, should have been the result of accident or carelessness. The ministers, when pressed for explanations on this head, answered, indirectly, that the Spanish government would make the restitutions as agreed in the first article. It may here be observed, that no notice whatsoever of a claim, on the part of British subjects, to lands or buildings on the north- west coast of America, ap|)ears either in the king's message to Parliament, commmiicating the fact of the seizures at Nootka, or 'ii ti ^^! 212 NOOTKA CONVENTION BEFORE PARLIAMENT. [1790. t }'■ .'Ml in the debates in Parliament on that message, or in the official correspondence between the two governments on the subject, so far as published ; and the only evidence of such acquisition of lands or erection of buildings to be found among the documents annexed to the Memorial presented by Meares to the ministry, is contained in the infonnation of William Graham, a seaman of the Felice, which was taken in London Jive days after the date of the Memorial, " The statement of actual and j)robable losses," for which the memo- rialists prayed to be indemnified, to the amount of six hundred ami fifty thousand dollars, is, moreover, confined entirely to losses con- sequent upon the seizure of the vessels and cargoes at Nontka. This silence, with regard to lands and buildings, in all the docu- ments brought from Cliina by jNIoares, certainly authorizes the suspicion that the idea of advancing a claim on those points nmv have occurred to thjit gentleman, or may have been suggested to him after his arrival in England, and even after his first commii- nications with the ministers. With respect to the rights of navigation and fishery in the Pacit'ic and Southern Oceans, and of settlement on their unoccupied coasi-., it was insisted by Fox, Grr /, the marquis of Lansdowne, and other eminent members of the opposition in Parliament, that nothiiii.r had been gained, but, on the contrary, much had been surrendorcd. by the convention. " Our right, before the convention," said Mr. Fox, — ^' ivhether admitted or denied hj Spain was of no consequence, — was to settle in any part of South or North- West America, not for- tified against us by previous occupancy ; and we were now restrict- ed to settle in certain places only, and under certain conditions. Our rights of fishing extended to the whole ocean ; and now it was limited, and not to be exercised within certain distances of the Spanish settlements. Our right of making settlements was not, as now, a right to build huts, but to plant colonies, if we thought proper. In renouncing all right to make settlements in South America, we had given to Spain what slie considered as inestima- ble, and had, in return, been contented witli dross." " In every place in which we might settle," said Grey, " access was left for tiic Spaniards. W'lere we might form a settlement on one hill, they might erect a fort on another ; and a merchant must run all the risks of a discovery, and all the expenses of an establislnnent, for a property which was liable to be tlie subject of continual dispute, and could never be placed upon a permanent footing." i • !. 1790.] REVIEW OF THE NOOTKA CONVENTION. 213 As to the utility of the convention in preventing disputes in future between the two nations, Mr. Fox was wholly incredulous ; and he predicted that difficulties would soon arise (as they did) from the impossibility of devising and enforcing any measures on tlie part of Great Britain, which could be considered " effectual" in checking illicit trade between British subjects and the Spanish set- tlements in America. " This treaty," says he, in conclusion, " re- minds me of a lawyer's will, drawn by himself, with a note in the margin of a particular clause — ' This will afford room for an excel- lent disquisition in the Court of Chancery.' With equal propriety, and full as much truth, might those who had extolled the late nego- tiation, for the occasion it had given to show the vigor and prompt- itude of the national resources, write in the margin of most of the articles of the convention — * This tvill afford an admirable oppor- umitij for a future display of the power and energy of Great Britain.' " To all these objections the ministers and their friends gave only short, general, and evasive answers. Their great majorities in both houses enabled them to dispense with arguments, and to evade the calls for information or papers relating to the transaction ; and, JKiviiip: triumphantly carried their vote of thanks to the sovereign, they were left at liberty to execute the new engagements, according to tiieir own construction, for which they had certainly provided themselves with ample space. As the convention of October, 1790, was the first diplomatic ar- ran f' ii issht 1! , 'j ' Ill 1 : ii ij jRH B'h ^i.. 1 i Ft K 1' 't ! ' j|i : ^ . J ■ a 16 HI CHAPTER X. 1790 TO 1792. Vancouver sent by the British (roverninont to explore the Coasts of America, and receive Possession of Lands and Buildings agreeably to the Convention witii Spain — Passage of the Washington, under Kendrick, through the Strait of Fuca, in 178!) — Nootka reoccupied by the Spaniards — Voyages of Fidalgo, Quiniper, Elisa, Billings, Marchand, and Malaspina — Voyages of the American Fur Tra- ders Gray, Ingraham, and Kendrick — Discovery of the Washington Islands by Ingrahani. In execution of the first and second articles of the conven- tion of October, 1790, between Spain and Great Britain, com- missioners were appointed on each side, who were to meet at Nootka Sound, and there to determine what lands and buildings were to be restored to the British claimants, or what amount of indemnification was to be made to them by Spain. The Britisli government at first selected Captain Trowbridge as its agent for this purpose ; but the business was afterwards committed to Captain George Vancouver, who was then about to sail on a voyage of ex- ploration to the Pacific. Vancouver was instructed to examine and survey the whole shores of the American continent on the Pacific, from the 35th to the 60th parallels of latitude ; to ascertain particularly the number, situation, and extent of the settlements of civilized nations within these limits ; and especially to acquire information as to the nature and direction of any water-passage, which might serve as a channel for commercial intercourse between that side of America and the territories on the Atlantic side occupied by British subjects. For this last-mentioned object, he was particularly to " examine the sup- posed Strait of Juan de Fuca, said to be situated between the 48th and the 49th degrees of north latitude, and to lead to an opening through which the sloop Washington is reported to have passed in 1789, and to have come out again to the northward of Nootka."* * Introduction to Vancouver's narrative of his voyage. 1791.] kendrick's passaor tiirouoh fuca's strait. 217 With these orders, Vancouver sailed from England in January, 1791, in the ship Discovery, accompanied by the brig Chatham, under the command of Lieutenant Robert Broughton. The instruc- tions for his conduct as commissioner were afterwards despatched to him in the store-ship Dxdahis. The account of the passage of the Washington through the Strait of Fuca, mentioned in the instructions to Vancouver, had appeared in the ^'Observations on the probable Existence of a JVorth-West Passage,^' prefixed by Meares to the narrative of his voyages, which had then been recently pubHshed at London. Meares there says, " The Washington entered the Straits of John de Fuca, the knowl- edge of which she had received from us ; and, penetrating up them, entered into an extensive sea, where she steered to the northward and eastward, and had communications with the various tribes who inhabit the shores of the numerous islands that are situated at the back of Nootka Sound, and speak, with some little variation, the language of the Nootkan people. The track of this vessel is marked on the map, and is of great mo.nent, as it is now completely ascer- tained that Nootka Sound and the parts adjacent are islands, and comprehended within the great northern archipelago. The sea also which is seen to the east is of great extent, and it is from this sta- tionary point, and the mtU westerly parts of Hudson's Bay, that we are to form an estimate of the distance between them. The most easterly direction of the Washington's course is to the longitude of 2;J7 degrees east of Greenwich. It is j)robable, however, that the master of that vessel did not make any astronomical observations, to give a just idea of that station ; but, as we have those made by Cap- tain Cook at Nootka Sound, we may be able to form a conjecture, somewhat approaching the truth, concerning the distance between Xootka nnd the easternmost station of the Washington in the north- ern archipelago ; and consequently this station may be presumed to be in the longitude, or thereabout, of 237 degrees east of Green- wich." In another place, Meares speaks of the proofs brought by the Washington, " which sailed through a sea extending upwards of eight degrees of latitude," in support of his opinion, that the north- western portion of America was a collection of islands : and in the chart annexed, " 'he sketch of the trade of the American sloop fVash- ivgton in the autimn of 1789," is represented by those words run- ning in a semi-oval line from the southern entrance of the Strait of Fuca, at Cape Fhttery, eastwajfd, to the longitude of 237 degrees, then north- westward, to the 55th parallel of latitude, then west- 20 .■t| II . 4 :U l|i r , U S18 KKNDKICK a PASSAGE TlinOCUII I'UCA S STHAIT. 11189. ward, throuf^h the passage north of Queen Charlotte's Island, to tlio Pacific. Tiic sea throuu;li wliieh the track extends is r('[)r<'Hcntoil as unlimited in the east, and conununicatin:,', in the west, with the Pacific by charmels between islands : no pretensittn to aecura(;y Is, however, made in this |)art of the chart, the object being merely to show that the Washington sail(?d from the southern entrance of tlio strait eastward to the longitude of 237 degrees, and northward to the latitude of 55 degrees. The name of the person under whose command the [)assugc was said to have been efiected is not given ; but, Gray being frequently mentioned by Meares, in his narrative and accomjjanyiug papers, as the captain of the Washington, it was naturally supiiosed that, if that sloop did pass through the strait, she must have done so under the command of Gray ; and when Vancouver, who met Cray near Nootka in 179*2, as will be hereafter related, was assured by him that he had entered the opcninff, hut had only advanced fij'tij miles within it, the entire erroncousness of the account given by Meares was regarded as established. However, about the time of Vancouver's departure from Kngland, an angry discussion was carried on through the medium of pum. phlets, between Meares, and Dixon the captain of the ship Queen Charlotte, (ojje of the vessels sent to the Pacific by the Kiiif.' George's Sound Company of London,) in consequence of the se- vere remarks made by Meares, in his work, on the character of Dixon, and on many parts of his journal, which had been pub- lished in 1789. Dixon, in his first pamphlet,* particularly attacked and i diculed the account given by his opponent of the passage ot the Washington, and sneeringly summoned him to " inform the public from what authority he had introduced the track of that ves- sel into his chart." To this Meares, in his Answer, f says, " Mr. Neville, a gentleman of the most respectable character, who came home in the Chesterfield, a ship in the service of the East India Company, made that communication to me which I have communi- cated to the public. Mr. Kcndrick, who commanded the Wash- ington, arrived at China, with a very valuable cargo of furs, previ- ous to the departure of the Chesterfield ; and Mr. Neville, who was * Remarks on the Voyages of Jolin Meares, in a Letter to that Gentleman, by George Dixon, late Commander of the Queen Charlotte in a Voyage around tlip World. London, 1790. t An Answer to Mr. George Dixon, &c., b^ John Meares; in which the Remarks rf Mr. Dixon are fully considered and refuted. London, 1791. hich the Remarks 1789.] kenduick's pamsahk tiiuoikjh tiik stkait ok ki;ca. 219 continually with him during that intorvnl, and received the particu- lars of the track from him, vviih ho ohiiu^in^' as to Htatu it to me." Thtiii it appears that the passa^'e of the Washington through the gtrnit, as reported by Meares, took place under Kendrick, after Gray had (juitted the eonunand of that sloop. This explanation was published in London subsequent to the departure of Vancouver for the Pdcitic ; and, the discussion between Meares and Dixon being on matters in which the public could have taken little or no interest, it was «loubtless forgotten, and their pamphlets were out of circu- lulion, long before the return of the navigator to England. W.ih regard to the truth or falsehood of the account, no infor- mation has been obtained, in addition to that aflbrded by Meares ; iiiul, although little depend'-nce can be placed on his statements, when unsupported by other evidence, yet they should not bo reinctcd in this case, because — first, he had no interest in ascribing anything meritorious to citi/.ens of the Uritcd States, whom he uniformly mentions with contempt or dislike in his work, and accus»!S of taking part with the Spaniards against his vessels ; — secondly, the subject was one with which he was perfectly con- versant, and on which he would not probably have been deceived, or have committed any error of judgment; and, — hstli/, the geog- raphy of that part of the American coasts corresponds exactly with the descriptions given by Kendrick of what he had seen, though the inferences drawn from them by Meares are incorrect. Thus the easternmost part of the Strait of Fuca is now known to be in the meridian of 52.'i7i degrees east from Greenwich, and under the parallel of 48^ degrees, from the intersection of which lines the coast of the continent runs north-westward, through ten degrees of latitude, penetrated by numerous inlets, and bordered by thousands of islands ; so that a navigiitor, sailing along this coast, without tracing to their terminations all these channels and inlets, might well have supposed himself in a sea extending far on either side, and filled with islands. Under these circumstances, Kendrick is to be considered as the first person, belonging to a civilized nation, who sailed through the Strait of Fuca, after its discovery by the Greek pilot, in 159*2. Vancouver did not reach the north-west coasts of America until March, 1792. In the mean time, the Spaniards had resumed their position at Nootka Sound, and formed another establishment in its vicinity ; and several voyages of discovery had been made by their navigators along those coasts. The Spanish government was, 1 i i\ n\ ■i:ii 'hi jMlu^ ||i ^ 1 1 1 if f 1 ■ill 1:!:' A It i 220 VOYAGE OF FIDALGO. [1790 indeed, then seriously directing its attention to the discovery and occupation of the territories north of its settlements in California agreeably to the plan devised in 1765, and with the same object of preventing those territories from falling into the possession of other nations ; and, for these purposes, the viceroy of Mexico was directed to employ every means at his disposal. Martinez was indeed, deprived of his command, immediately on his arrival in San Bias, in December, 1789: but his vessels, including the Princess Royal, which had been taken from the English in the preceding summer, were sent back to Nootka Sound, under Cap- tain Francisco Elisa, in the spring of 1790 ; and preparations were immediately begun for a permanent establishment on Friendly Cove. As soon as the first arrangements for this purpose were completed, Elisa despatched Lieutenant Salvador Fidalgo, in the schooner San Carlos, to examine the coasts occupied by the Russians, and inquire into the proceedings of that nation in America. Fidalgo accord- ingly sailed for Prince William's Sound, in which, and in Cook's River, he spent nearly three months, engaged in surveying and in visiting the Russian establishments ; his provisions being then exhausted, he took his departure for San Bias, where he arrived on the 14th of November. The geographical information obtained by him was scanty ; and the only news which he brought back, respecting the proceedings of the Russians, was, that they had formed an establishment on Prince William's Sound, and that a ship had passed that bay from Kamtchatka, on an exploring expe- dition towards the east.* The Russian ship, thus mentioned by Fidalgo, was one of those which had been begun at Ochotsk in 1785, by order of the empress Catharine, for a f " secret astronomical and geographical expedition, to navigate the Frozen Ocean, and describe its coasts, and to ascertain the situation of the islands in the sea between the conti- nents of Asia and America." For this expedition, a number of officers and men of science, from various parts of Europe, were engaged ; and the command was intrusted to Joseph Billings, an Englishman, who had accompanied Cook, in his last expedition, as assistant astronomer : but the preparations proceeded so slowly, in consequence of the want of every thing requisite for the purpose at * Manuscript journal of the voyngo of Fidalgo, among the docunicntB obtained from the hydrographical department of Madrid. t Narrative of the Russian expedition under Billings, by Martin Sauer. ts obtained from 1790.] VOYAGKS OF BILLINGS AND QUIMPER. 221 Ochotsk, that the vessels were not ready for sea until 1789, and then one of them was wrecked inunediately after leaving the port. With the other vessel Billings took his departure, on the 2d of May, 1790, and sailed eastward, stopping, in his way, at Unalashka, Kodiak, and Prince William's Sound, as far as Mount St. Elias ; but there his provisions began to fail, and he returned to Petro- pawlowsk, soon after reaching which he abandoned the command of the enterprise. In the following year, the same vessel, with another, which had been built in Kamtchatka, quitted the Bay of Avatscha, under Captains Hall and Sarytschetf, neither of whom advanced beyond Bering's Strait on the north, or Aliaska on the east, or collected any information of value within those limits. A melancholy picture of the sufferings experienced in these vessels has been presented in the narrative of Martin Sauer, a German, who, in an unlucky moment, agreed to act as secretary to the expe- dition : another account, contradicting that of Sauer in many particulars, has been published by Sarytscheff, who attributes the faihirc of the enterprise to the incapacity of Billings. In the summer of 1790, an attempt was also made, by the Spaniards, to explore the supposed Strait of Juan de Fuca. For that purpose, Elisa. the commandant of Nootka, detached Lieu- tenant Quimpcr, in the sloop Princess Royal, who traced the pas- saiiP in an eastwardly direction, examining both its shores, to the distance of about a hundred miles from its mouth, where it was ohscrved to branch off into a number of smaller passages, towards the south, the east, and the north, some of which were channels between islands, while others appeared to extend far into the interior. Quimper was unable, from want of time, to penetrate any of these passag<*s ; and he could do Jio more than note the positions of their entrances, and of several harbors, all of which are now well known, though they are generally distinguished by names different from those assigned to them by the Spaniards. Among these passages and harbors were the Cannl de Caamauo, aftoiwards named by Vancouver Admiraltij Inlet; the Boca de Flon, or Deception Passao^e ; the Canal de Ouemes, and Canal de Ilaro, which may still be found under those names in English charts, extending northward from the eastern end of the strait ; Port Qjiadra, the Port Discovery of Vancouver, said to be one of the best harbors on the Pacific side of America, with Port (Quimper, near it on the west ; and Port Anncz Gaona, called Poverty Cove by the American fur traders, situated a few miles east of Cape yw \^:'i^^; \ ■ t ■ - '■ .A ■i->,; , I .M ^. I ,. f 222 VOYAGE OF MALASPINA. [1791. m:'' Flattery, where the Spaniards attempted, in 1792, to form a settle- ment. Having performed this duty as well as was possible under the circumstances in which he was placed, Quimper returned to Nootka, where he arrived in the beginning of August.* On the 2d of June, 1791, Captain Alexandro Malaspina,f an accomplished Italian navigator in the service of Spain, who was then engaged in an expedition of survey and discovery in the Pacific, arrived on the coast, near Mount San Jacinto, or Edge- cumb, with his two ships, the Descuhicrta, commanded by himself, and the Atrevich, under Captain Bustamente. The principal object of their visit was to determine the question as to the existence of the Strait of Anian, described in the account of Maldonado's pretended voyage, the credibility of which had been, in the pre- ceding year, affirmed, by the French geographer Buachc, in a memoir read before the Academy of Sciences of Paris. With this view, they carefully examined the coast between Prince William's Sound and Mount Fairweather, running nearly in the direction of the 60th parallel, under which Maldonado had placed the entrance of his strait into the Pacific, searching the various bays and inlets which there open to the sea, particularly that called by the English Admiralty Bay, situated at the foot of Mount St. Elias. They found, however, — doubtless to their satisfaction, — no passa;,'e leading northward or eastward from the Pacific ; and they became convinced that the whole coast thus surveyed was bordered by an unbroken chain of lofty mountains. Want of time prevented them from continuing their e.vaminations farther south ; and they could only, in passing, determine the latitudes and longitudes of a few 'h: * Tho journal of tliis voyiir" is amonjr the manuscripts obtained from the hydro- graphical department of Madrid ; annexed to it is a memoir on the manners, customs, and language, of the Indians about Nootka Sound, translated from tiie Englisli of Joseph Ingraham, the mate of the American ship Columbia, who wrote it, at the request of Martinez, in 17H!(. t The journals of Malaspina's e.xi)e. i ! I i «; i^ I ■• :■- lip ■ i ^.^i-r 1 1, m 224 ATTACK ON THK ELEONOUA AT MOWKE. [1790. The second tradinj]^ adventure to the North Pacific made by citi- zens of the United States was that of Captain Metcalf, who sailed from New York in 1788, in the brig Eleonora, for Canton, and there purchased a small schooner, which he named the Fair Amer- ican, and placed under the command of his son, a youth of eighteen. With these vessels he arrived, in November, 1789, at Nootka Sound where the schooner was seized by the Spanish commandant Marti- nez ; but she was soon liberated, unfortunately, as it proved, for her captain and crew. On their way from the American coast, the vessels were separated. The Eleonora, on the .30th of January, 1 790. reached a small bay in Mowee, one of the Sandwich Islands, where she anchored ; and, on the same night, her boat, and a seaman who was sleeping in it, were taken away by the natives. On the foj- lowing day, the islanders began to assemble in the bay in canoes. and on the shores, in great numbers, armed, and showing evidenUv the intention to take the vessel ; and one of them was seized in tlie act of endeavoring to strip oft' a piece of her copper, under the idea. as he confessed, that she would in consequence sink. The natives becoming more daring, Metcalf fired on them with grape, and burnt their village ; and, having thus apparently quieted them, he went farther up the bay, in order to i ".)tain water. Three or four days afterwards, a native came on board, who oftered to bring back the boat and the sailor for a certain reward ; his ofti^r was accepted. and, on the following day, he reappeared with tin; rudder of the boat and some of the bones of the man, who had been sacrificed to the gods of the island, and coolly demanded the promised recom- pense. This demand was granted, with a view to conciliation ; but the opposite eftect was produced : for the islanders, supposing that they had intimidated the Americans, again surrounded the ship in their canoes in vast numbers. Metcalf thereupon, either from exas- peration, or from his seeing no other mode of safety, fired all his guns, charged with grape and nails, among them, and killed, as was said, more than one hundred and fifty ; after which he sailed for Owyhee, and anchored in Karakakooa Ray.* * Th<" account of thcsp transactions in taken principally from a Icttor written by a person on board of the Kleonora, which was published in the newspapers of the United States soon after the necurrences ; and from the manuscript jotirrial of Captain Ingraham, which confirms all the stiiteiiients of the letter writer. Vancouver (vol. li. p. lUfi) represents the affair as disadvantaoreftusly to the Americans .is possible, accord- ing to his constant practice. Jarvis, in his History of tin- Sandwich Islands, givps the account as handed down by the natives, holding Metcalf up to view as a monster of frueity, and the capture of the Fair American as "an awful retribution." *. ; ^ ' ' 1790.] CAPTURE OP THE FAIR AMERICAN AT OWYHEE. 225 While the Elconora was lying in this bay, the natives of Owyhee signally avenged the slaughter of tlujir brethren at Movvee. On the 5th of February, the schooner Fair American, which had been separated from the brig, anchored in the Bay of Toyahyah, (now called Kawaihac,) on the north-west side of Owyhee, about tliirty miles north of Karakakooa Bay, where trade was begun with the natives. As these people conducted themselves peaceably, they were allowed to come on board the vessel without restriction ; at length, a chief named Tamaahmoto, or Kamamoko, appeared, with a number of attendants, to present the captain with a feather cap, and while in the act of placing this ornament on young Metcalf's head, he seized him and thrcv him overboard, where he was im- mediately killed ; the other s^'amen, witji the e.\cei)tion of one, were in like manner despatched, and the schooner was then drawn on shore and ritled. There is no reason to believe that this was done ill consequence of the proceedings of the captain of the Eleonora at Mowee, or, indeed, that those proceedings were known at Owyhee when the schooner was taken ; on the contrary, Tamaahmoto, in 1*91. assured V'aneoiiver that he was induced to act as he did, by the ill-tr(>afmciit of Metcalf, who had whipped him severely when al Toyahyah. in 17SJ). A |)lan was, at the same time, formed by Tianna and Tamaha- malia. the principal chiefs of th(! island, to take the Eleonora. The boatswain of that brig, named John Young, happened, however, to be on sjiore. and tiuMc met with two English seamen, from whom hf received information of llu^ plan ; and they succeeded in ))re- vaiiing on Tamaliamalia to allow tliem to write a letter to Captain Metealf, urging his innuediate departure, on condition that they phonld enter tlu; service of the native chief. Metealf took their advice, and sailed away without learning the news of his son's fate. Youn'' also succeeded in saviiiijj the life of Isaac Davis, the mate of the Fair American, who had been severely wounded at the time of the capture of that schooner ; and these two men remained in the service of Tamahamaha until their deaths.* The ship Columbia returned to Boston from Canton, under the command of Gray, on the 10th of August, 1790, as already men- tioned : but the cargo of Chinese articles brought by her was insuf- ficient to cover the expenses of her voyage ; and her owners were ■1'! i i if • Davia died in 1808. Younsj was, for many yoars, jrovernor of Woahoo, and died ill I'riJG, nearly ninety years old : for an anecdote illustrative of his character, see Commodore Porter's Journal of his Cruise in the Pacific, vol. ii. p. 215. 29 T; ■ir', I mi-: imi: tt ■*(i 226 VOYAGE OF INGRAHAM IN THE HOPE. [1791. SO little satisfied with these results, that some of them sold out their shares to the others, who, determining to persevere in the enter- prise, refitted the Columbia for a new voyage of the same kind. Before her departure, however, the brig Hope, of seventy tons, which had also been equipped for the North Pacific trade, sailed from Boston, under the command of Joseph Ingraham, the former mate of the Columbia; and these vessels were followed by the Hancock , under Captain Crowel, and the Jefferson, under Captain Roberts, likewise from Boston, and the Margaret, under Captain Magee, from New York. A short notice of Ingraham's voyage will be first presented. The brig Hope quitted Boston on the 16th of September, 1790, and, taking the usual course by the Cape Verd Islands and Brazil, she arrived on the 13th of January, 1791, at the entrance of Berkeley Sound, or Port Soledad, in the Falkland Islands, where she found a Spanish establishment on the shore, and a Spanish vessel of war in the harbor.* Ingraham was anxious to visit the establishment, but the commandant was unwilling to allow him to do so, though he furnished him liberally with provisions. Quitting the Falkland Islands, Ingraham doubled Cape Horn, and, on the 19th of April, he discovered six islands previously unknown, in the centre of the Pacific Ocean, between the 8th and the 10th parallels of latitude,! to which he gave the names severally of Washington^ Adams, Franldin, Knox, Federal, and Lincoln ; and after some days * Manuscript journal of the Hopo's voyage, written by Ingraliam. t These islands are situated a little north of the group called the Marquesas de Mendoza, discovered by the Spanish navigator Mendana, in XTt^H*, and about six hundred miles north-east of Otalieite, directly in the course of vessels sailing from Cape Horn to the north-west coast of America, or to China, to which they offer con- venient places for obtaining water and other refreshments. They were not seen bv Cook, who visited the Marquesas in 1774 ; nor does any notice of them appear on any chart or account of earlier date than 17!H, when they were discovered by Ingra- ham, as above stated. They were afterwards seen successively, on the iilst of June, 17i.U, by Marchand, in the French ship Solide, who named them lies dr la llituh- tion; on the 3rttli of June, 17!)2, by Hergest, in the British brig Dcedalus, after whom Vancouver called them Hrrgcst's Islands, though he was well awanr of their previous discovery by Ingraham; and on the 6th of March, 17!K{, by Roberts, in the Jefferson, from Boston, who bestowed on them the name of Washington's Islands. The earliest notice of them was published in the form of an extract from Ingraham's Journal, in the Massarhiisetts Historical Collection, at Boston, in 1793: the volume of the same work, for 17!)5, contains Roberts's account of his visit, after which appeared, in suc- cession, the accounts of Hergest in Vancouver's Journal, and of Marchand; and they have since been visited and described by Krusenstern, Lisiansky, Langsdorf, Porter, Belcher, Wilkes, and other navigators. Porter, during his cruise in the Pacific. in the Essex, in 1813, remained some time at Nooahivah, the largest of the islands. The recent occupation of this group by the French is well known. 1791.] VOYAGE OF INGRAHAM IN THE HOPE. 227 spent in examining them, he took his course for Owyhee, where he arrived on the 20th of May. At Owyhee, the Hope was visited by Tamahamaha, whose power was then rapidly increasing, as well as by his rival Tianna ; and both these chiefs were earnest in their solicitations that Ingraham should go on shore and visit their towns. The American captain, however, feeling some distrust, did not think it prudent to leave his vessel ; and, after obtaining some provisions and water, he sailed to the adjacent Island of Mowee, where he received from two white men, who escaped to the Hope, the news of the capture of the schooner Fair American, and the murder of her crew at Owyhee, in February of the preceding year. He then had reason to congratulate himself at having resisted the invitations of Tamahamaha and Tianna, as he had no doubt that he and his vessel and crew would otherwise have been sacrificed to their hatred or cupidity. At Mowee, on the •26th, the brig was honored by the presence of Titeree, or Kahikili, the king, and Taio, a principal chief; and Ingraham obtained from them the liberation of an American seaman, who had been, for some time, detained as prisoner in the island. On the following (lay, at Woahoo, the natives surrounded the vessel in their canoes, to the number of many thousands, evidently with the intention of taking her ; and it became necessary to fire several muskets upon them before she could be freed from the danger. On the 1st of June, Ingraham left the Sandwich Islands, and on the 29th of the same month he dropped anchor in a harbor on the south-east side of Queen Charlotte's, or Washington's, Island, to which he gave the name of Magcc's Sound, in honor of one of the owners of his vessel. On the coasts of this island, and of the other islands, and the continent adjacent on the north and east, he spent the summer in trading, and collecting information as to the geog- raphy and natural history, and the languages, manners, and customs, of the inhabitants, on all whicii subjects his journal contains minute and interesting details ; and at the end of the season he took his departure for China, where he arrived on the 1st of De- cember, 1791. At Macao, Ingraham found the French ship Solide, under Captain Marchand, whose visit to the north-west coast of Amer- ica, in the preceding summer, has been already mentioned ; and he received much kindness, which he acknowledges by grateful expres- sions in his journal, from Roblet, the surgeon, and Chanal, the first I M' :■ "■■^•ii ! .. mm' I t r t'!' \km-^: ill! w i Hi ' 1 'j ,•■■■ > 'H , rrl- ■ ' is, !;! - i ,, 228 kknuuick's speculations in thk r,\ciFic. [1791. officer of that vessel. To these irentlemen he ulsio communicatocl the particulars of liis voyage ; and thus they learned, to their jj;reat regret, that they liad been anticipated, by ihe American captain, in a discovery which was expected by them to cast considerable eclat on their expedition. Maichand had, in the month of June previous, seen a group of islands in the centre of the Pacific Ocean, of which he believed himself to be the discoverer, as they were not described in any narrative or chart then ])ublished ; and, under this impres- sion, he named them lies r settlinir a eom- 111' .wealtli on tlu'ir own code of laws, on a spot of the i^lobe nowheie surpassed in (iiiii;iitful and lieallhy climate, and fertile soil, claimed liy no civilized nation, and purchased, under a sacrod treaty of peace and commerce, and for a valuable considera- tiini,of the friendly natives, may have the best opi>ortunity ot' tryinir tiie result of such an cnteriirise." Of the situation of this tract of deliiilitful country we learn nothinij from the circular, except that it lies in America. 'I'he deeds for the lands are de- clared to have been recrist<'red in the olllce of the American consul at Macao; and fiiese deeds, or some of them, have been lately publislierri- torics about Nootka Wound, which, thouirh inclndiuii; all the y Vancouver, (Jaliano, nnd Viildes — Necrotiations between Van- rnuver and Quadra at Nootita — Vanrouvcr's Injuriticc to th(> Atiierieans — llrouijhtou's Kxamination of the lower I'art of the Columbia lliver — Vancou- ver's I'roeeedinjjs at the Saiulwieli Inlnnds — lie completes the Survey of tho North-\Ve8t Coasts of America, and returns to Knifland — The Spaniards abandon Nootka — Conclusions with llegard to the Dispute between Great Britain and Spain, ond the Convention of 1700. The viceroy of Mexico, count dc Rcvillagigedo, on learning the results of the voyages of Fidalgo, Quimper, and Malaspina, along the north-west cotists of America, ordered three other vessels to be prepared, for continuing the exploration of those coasts. In one of them, the corvette Aransasu, Lieutenant Jacinto Caamano was directed to seek, particularly near the 53d degree of latitude, for the mouth of the Rio lished at London in 1797 — the journal of Galiano and Valdes — and the manuscript journal nf the voyage of the American brig Hope, written by her captain, J. Ingraham — with others, to which reference will be made. ,1^ I ■ ,■ t I ,, ■( i : i'. lil i I 1 - '' ' ■■ jf-'i if I'll 1 ttftj ff: . ;■ Iv. vPlf! ■ ' «r M* Iff^O' Di ;fH' m M .1 ii 23-2 VANIOUVF.U IlKACUKS TIIK Nf)KTir-\VR8T COAST. [HOiJ, be rrijiiisitc, to ubiiiHlon Nootkti, mid witlulriiw nil tlio S|)!itiis!i forces nnd settlors to some fonveniciit point of the enast fnrtliir south ; nnd, in nntieiimtion of siieli a eontinijency, a Vfwel wus sent from San Jllas, under the eonnnand of l''idalij;o, to seek for a prooor spot, and innli(! |)n'pamtions on it for a permanent ('stahlishnicnt. Vaneou>er and l?ro)ii;hton reaehcd the Amcrieari coast in April, 179-^. a little sonth of Capo Mendocino, whence they sailed slowly northward, to the Strait of I'nca, which tlu>y were instructed par- ticularly to explore. On tlieir way, they carefully examined t||(. shores, and determined tiu; i^ooirraphica! positions of all the most prominent points, eomparinir the r< suits of their observations witji those obtained by Cook and others wIh) had preceded them. Near the d.'hl de^'ref^ of latitude, they sought in vain for the river wliicli Martin de Aijjuilar was said to have seen, enterint; the Pacitic; tlien;- abouts, in \i')U'.i., nnd they appeared inclined to admit ns identiciil with the Cape Blanco of thai navi;Iit us up with a conspicuous point of land, conijjosed of a cluster of hummocks, moderately hitrh. ami projectini,' into the sea. On the south sinini>; nf»rtli of it, throuiih the low land. ?so! rovHidcnu'j; this npin'ni<;; worthij of more attention, I continued our purstiit to th(> north-west, beini: desirous to embrace the advantages of the now prcjvailiui^ breeze and pleasant weather, so favorable to an examination of the coasts." 1792.) VANCOIIVKR MRKTS ORAY NKAR THE STRAIT OF TUCA. 233 Vancouver accordingly sailed onwards, to the entrance of the Strait i>f Fiica, wliicfi he was eager to explore ; having, as he believed, ascertained that " the several large rivers and capacious inlets, that have been described as discharging their contents into (he Pacific, iHjtwcen the -lOth and the 48th degrees of north lati- tude, were reduced to brooks insufficient for our vessels to navigate, or to bays inaccessible as harbors for refitting." Again he says, 'Considering ourselves now on the point of commencing an exami- nation of an entirely new region, I cannot take leave of the coast already known, without obtruding a short remark on that part of the continent, comprehending a space of nearly two hundred and fifteen leagues, on which our inquiries had been lately employed, under the most fortunate and favorable circumstances of wind and weather. Ho minutely has this extensive coast been inspected, that the surf has been constantly seen to break on its shores from the mast- head ; and it was but in a few small intervals only where our distance precluded its being visible from the deck. Whenever the weather prevented our making free with the shore, or on our haul- iiin; oil* for the night, the return of fine weather and of daylight uiiil'ormly brought us, if not to the identical spot we had departed from, at least within a ft!W miles of it, and never beyond the northern limits of the coast which we had previously seen. An examination so directed, and circumstances happily concurring to |icrmit its being so executed, afforded the most complete opportunity ofddcrminins^ its various turnings and windings, as also the position of all its conspicuous points, ascertained by meridional altitudes for the latitude, and ()l)serviitions for the chronometer, which we had the ::oo(l fortune to make constantly once, and in general twice, every (liiy. the preceding one only excepted. It must be considered a very sin^'iilar circumstance, that, in so great an extent of sea-coast, we should not until now have seen the appearance of any opening in its shore which presented any certain prospect of affording a shelter, the whole coast forming one compact and nearly straight barrier against the »t;.f." On the same day, the 'iOth of April, 119'2, Vancouver writes m his journal, " At four o'clock, a sail was discovered to the westward, standing in shore. This was a very great novelty, not hating seen any vessel but our consort during the last eight months. 8he soon hoisted American colors, and fired a gun to leeward. At six we spoke her ; she proved to be the ship Colnmbia, commanded by Captain Robert Gray, belonging to Boston, whence she had been absent nineteen months. Having little doubt of his being the same 30 •'"I I! ■ 1 !R I J 1 jlr W 1 m.h 1 ;! ■ r"''"i ' J i f - • '< i 234 GRAY S ACCOUNT OF HIS DISCOVERIES. [1792. person who had formerly commanded the sloop Washington, I desired he would bring to, and sent Mr. Puget and Mr. Menzies on board, to acquire such information as might be serviceable in our future operations. On the return of the boat, we found our con- jectures had not been ill grounded ; that this was the same gentle- man who had commanded the sloop Washington, at the time, we are informed, she had made a very singular voyage behind Nootka. It was not a little remarkable, that, on our approach to the entrance of this inland sea, we should fall in with the identical person who. it was said, had sailed through it. His relation, however, differed very materially from that published in England. It is not possible to conceive any one to be more astonished than was Mr. Gray, on his being made acquainted that his authority had been quoted, and the track pointed out that he had been said to have made in the sloop Washington ; in contradiction to which, he assured the of- ficers that he had penetrated only fifty miles into the straits in question, in an e&st-south-east direction ; that he found the passage five leagues wide, and that he understood from the natives that the opening extended a considerable distance to the northward : that this was all the information he had acquired respecting this inland sea, and that he returned into the ocean by the same way he had entered at. The inlet he supposed to be the same that De Fnca had discovered, which opinion seemed to be universally received bv all the modern visitors. He likewise informed them of his havinir been off the mouth of a river, in the latitude of 46 degrees 10 minutes, where the outset or reflux was so strong as to prevent his entering for nine days. This was probably the opening passed by us on the forenoon of the 27th, and was apparently inaccessible, not from the current, but from the breakers that extended across it. He had also entered another inlet to the northward, in latitude of 54^ degrees, in which he had sailed to the latitude of 56 degrees, without discovering its termination. The south point of entrance into De Fuca's Straits he stated to be in 48 degrees 24 minutes; and he conceived our distance from it to be about eight leagues. The last winter he had spent in Port Cox, or, as the natives call it. Clyoquot, from whence he had sailed but a few days," &,c. The part of this account relating to the Strait of Fuca appears to have been received with much satisfaction by Vancouver, as it seemed to assure him that he had not been anticipated in the exploration of that passage ; to Gray's statement of his discovery of a river emptying into the Pacific, in the latitude of 46 degrees 10 1 y' 1792.] GUAY S ACCOUNT OF HIS DISCOVERIES. 235 minutes, he gave little, or rather no credit, being content with his own examination of that part of the coast. On the day after his meeting with the Columbia, he writes, " The river mentioned by Mr. Gray should, from the latitude he assigned to it, have existence in the bay south of Cape Disappointment. This we passed in the forenoon of the 27th ; and, as I then observed, if any inlet or river should be found, it must be a very intricate one, and inaccessible to vessels of our burden, owing to the reefs and broken ivater, which then appeared in its neighborhood. Mr. Gray stated that he had been several days attempting to enter it, which, at length, he was unable to effect, in consequence of a very strong outset. This is a phenomenon difficult to account for, as, in most cases where there are outsets of such strength on a sea-coast, there are corresponding tides setting in. Be that, however, as it may, / was thoroughly convinced, as ivere also most persons of observation on board, that ice could not possibly have passed any safe navigable opening, harbor, or place of security for shipping, on this coast, from Cape Mendocino to the promontory of Classct, [Cape Flattery, at the entrance of the Strait of Fuca ;] nor had we any reason to alter our opinions, notwithstanding that theoretical geographers have thought proper to assert in that space the existence of arms of the ocean commu- nicating with a mediterranean sea, and extensive rivers with safe and convenient ports." Having thus recorded his convictions, the British navigator proceeded to survey the Strait of Fuca ; whilst the American fur trader sailed towards the mouth of the river, into which he resolved, if possible, to etlect an entrance. After parting with the Eniilish ships, Gray sailed along the coast of the continent to the south, and, on the 7th of May, he " saw an entrance which luul a very good appearance of a harbor," in the latitude of 46 degrees 58 minutes. Passing through this entrance, lie found himself in a bay ■• well sheltered from the sea by long sand-bars and spits," whore he remained at anchor three days, engaged in trading with the natives ; and he then resumed his voyage, bestowing on the place thus discovered the name of Bul- fincKs Harbor, in honor of one of the owners of his ship. At daybreak on the 11 th, after leaving Bulfinch's Harbor, Gray observed " the entrance of his desired port, bearing east-south-east, distant six leagues ; " and running into it, with all sails set, between the breakers, (which Mearcs and Vancouver |)ronounce impassable,) he anchored, at one o'clock, "' in a large river of fresh xvaicr," ten '!■' ;1 ■rh\ I ' avi,'. p '■ I, ■ ■'il I r !i!::; Ui U 1! '■"■: Mi. Ml • I'll* !, !^: I .,., J 236 WHO DISCOVERED THE COLUMBIA 11792. mv^ n miles above its mouth. At this spot lie remained three days, en- gaged in trading and iiUing liis casks with water, and then sailed up the river about twelve or fifteen miles along its northern shore • where, finding that he could proceed no farther, from having " taken the wrong channel," he again came to anchor. During the week which followed, he made several attempts to quit the river, but was constantly baffled, until, at length, on the 20th, he crossed the bar at the mouth, by beating over it with a westerly wind, and regained the Pacific* On leaving the river. Gray gave to it the name of his ship — the Columbia — which it still bears ; though attempts are made to fix upon it that of Oregon, on the strength of the accounts which Carver pretended to have collected, in 1766, among the Indians of the Upper Mississippi, respecting a River Oregon, rising near Lake Superior, and emptying into (he Strait of Anian.j The extremity of the sand-bank, projecting into the sea on the south side of its en- trance, was called by Gray Point Adams ; and he assigned the name of Cape Hancock to the opposite promontory, on the north side, be- ing ignorant that Meares had already called it Cape Disappointment, in token of the unsuccessful result of his search for the river. The principal circumstances relating to the discovery of this river, the greatest which enters the Pacific from America, have now been fairly presented. It has been shown — that the opening through which its waters are discharged into the ocean was first seen in August, 1776, by the Spanisji navigator Heceta,J and was distinguished on Spanish charts, within the thirteen years next following, as the moutii of the River San Roque — that it was examined in July, 1738, by Mearcs,«§> who quitted it with the con- viction that no river existed there — and that this opinion of Meares was subscribed, without qualification, by Vancouver, after he had minutely examined that coast, " under the most favorable con- ditions of wind and weather,'''' and notwithstanding the assurances of Gray to the contrary. Had Gray, after parting with the Englisli ships, not returned to the river, and ascended it as he did, there is every reason to believe that it would have long remained unknown : for the assertions of Vancouver that no opening, harbor, or place of refuge for vessels, was to be found between Cape Mendocino and the * See tlip extract from the loir-book of the Columbia, containing the account of the entrance of Gray into the river, among the Proofa and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the letter E, No. a. t See p. 142. t See p. 120. § See p. 177. 1792.] WHO DISCOVEftKD THE COLUMBIA? 237 Strait of Fuca, and that this part of the coast formed one compact, solid, and nearly straight, harrier against the sea, would have served completely to overthrow the evidence of the American fur trader, and to prevent any further attempts to examine those shores, or even to approach them.* From the mouth of the Columbia Rivar, Gray sailed to the east coast of Queen Charlotte's Island, neai which his ship struck on a rock, and was so much injured that she was with difficulty kept afloat until she reached Nootka Sound, where the damage was repaired. The Hope also arrived at Nootka at this time, and Gray communicated the particulars of his recent discoveries to Ingraiiam, and to the Spanish commandant Quadra, to whom he also gave charts and descriptions of Bulfinch's Harbor, and of the mouth of the Columbia. On tliis occasion, moreover, the two American captains addressed to Quadra, at his request, a letter f containing a narrative of the transactions at Nootka in 1789, to which particular reference will be hereafter made. Having soon completed their business on the north-west coasts, Gray and Ingra- liam departed severally for Canton, in September, and thence they sailed to the United States. { • It was, novcrthelcss, insisted, on tho part of tlie British government, in a discus- sion with tlio United States, in 1H'J(), tliat the viirit of discorering the Columbia bdonijs to Mearcs ! "that, in I76ii, four years before Gray entered the mouth of the Cohinibia River, Mr. Meares, a lieutenant of the royal navy, who had been sent by tlie East India Company on a tradinir e,\pedition to the north-west coast of America, had already minutely explored the coast from tlit- 4'.lth to the r>4tli degree of north latitude ; had taken formal possession of tlio Straits of I)e Fuca in the name of his sovereign ; had purchased land, tratllcked and formed treaties with the natives ; and had actually entered the Hay of the Cidumbia, to the northern headland of which he gave the name of Cape I)isap(>ointment, a name whieii it bears to this day;" and that " if any claim to these countries, as between (ireat Rritain and the United States, is to be deduced from priority of the discovery, the above exposition of dates and facts suffices to establish that claim in favor of (Ireat Britain, on a basis too firm to be shaken. It must indeed be luimitted," contin\i< the British plenipo- tentiaries, "that Mr. Clray, finding himself in the bay t'ormed by the discharge of the waters of the Columbia into th(> Pacific, iras the first to asrirtnin that this buy formed the outlet of a irrrat river — « iliscorrrij irhirh had nn-upiil Liiulrnant Jtcavs, vhrn, ill 1788, four years before, he entered the same bay.' The truth in the last of these assertions atones fiir the errors in those which precede, and counteracts the impression which the whole was intended to produce. — See the statement presented by Messrs. Iluskisson and Addington to Mr. (iallatin, in 18'i(J, among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the letter G. t See Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the letter C. i Iiigrahain subsequently entered the navy of the United Slates as a lieutenant, and was one of the officers of the ill-fated brig Pickering, of which nothing was ever heard, after her departure from the Delaware in August, 18()(). (iray continued to command tradin j vessels from Boston until 160!>, about which time he died. 1' i ! * i 1 i: 1 ; :*:! I: il :■'., I. 'l-j .1 m; w: < : 238 SURVEY OF ADMIRALTY INLET. [1792. ii j ; In the mean time, the survey of the Strait of Fuca had been completed. Vancouver and Broughton took their departure on the 1st of May, as already mentioned, from Cape Flattery, the point at the south side of the entrance of the Strait, and thence sailed slowly along the coast eastward, about a hundred miles, to its extremity in that direction, where they entered a harbor called by them Port Discovery, the same which had, in 1790, received from Quimper the name of Port Quadra. A little beyond this harbor, they found another opening in the coast towards the south, corresponding with that called by Quimper Canal de Caamano, through which they entered an extensive arm of the sea, with several branches, stretch- ing in various southerly directions, to the distance of more than a hundred miles from the strait. This great arm, called Admiralty Inlet, with its principal branches, Hood^s Canal on the west. Pos- session Sound on the east, and Puget^s Sound, the southernmost, were carefully surveyed to their respective terminations ; and tlie navigators, having thus ascertained that no passage through the con- tinent was to be effected by those channels, returned to the strait. Of the beauty and apparent fertility of the country surrounding this arm of the sea, Vancouver speaks in glowing terms. The surface near the shores was generally undulating, presenting a succession of meadows, lavns, and hillocks, many of which were covered with noble forests of oak ; '" the soil jirincipally consisted of a rich. black, vegetable mould, lying on a sandy or clayey substratum ; the grass, of excellent quality, grew to the height of three feet, and the ferns, which, in the sandy soils, occupied the clear spots, were nearly twice as high." In the distance, on the east, the south, and the west, the view was bounded by lofty mountains, to the stupen- dous peaks of which Vancouver assigned the names of British admirals and diplomatists. After completing this part of their survey, the English landed on the shore of Possession Sound, and celebrated the birthday of their sovereign, the 4th of June, by taking possession, in his name, and " with the usual formalities, of all that part of New Albion, from the latitude of 39 degrees 20 minutes south, and longitude 236 degrees 26 minutes east, to the entrance of the inlet of the sea, said to be the supposed Strait of Juan de Fuca, as also of all the coasts, islands, &c., within the said strait, and both its shores; " to which region they gave the appellation of Neio Georgia. With regard to this ceremony, it may be observed, that, although naval .1- ns: and tlie 179-2.] VANCOUVER MEETS GALIANO AND VALDES. 239 officers are not expected to be minutely acquainted with diplomatic aflliirs, yet Captain Vancouver, vvlio was sent to the North Pacific as commissioner to execute the convention of October, 1790, should have recollected that, by the stipulations of that convention, every ynrt of the north-west coast of America teas rendered free and open for trade or settlement to Spaiush as ivell as British subjects; and that, consequently, no claim of sovereignty, on the part of cither of those nations, could be valid. It may socm pedantic, if not unjust, to make this remark with regard to what may have been nothing more than thb result of an exuberance of loyal feeling in the officers and crews of the vessels ; but this taking possession by Vancouver has been since gravely adduced, by the representatives of the British government, in support of its claims to the dominion of the terri- tories above mentioned.* On returning to the Strait of Fuca, the English examined several other passages opening into it, some of which were found to ter- minate in the land, at short distances from their mouths, and others to be channels between islands. Through one of these latter chan- nels, opening immediately opposite the entrance of Admiralty Inlet, they passed into a long and wide gulf, extending north-westward ; and, after proceeding a few miles within it, they, on the !23d of June, unexpectedly met the Spanish schooners Sutil and Mexicana,t com- manded by Lieutenants Galiano and Valdes, which had left Nootka on the 4th of the month, and had advanced thus far along the northern shore of the strait. The meeting was, doubtless, vexatious to the commanders of both the parties, each being naturally anxious to secure to himself all the merit which might be acquired by deter- mining the character of this famous arm of the sea : they, however, received and treated each other with the utmost civility, mutually exhibiting their charts and journals, and comparing their obser- vations ; and, having agreed to unite their labors, they remained to- gether three weeks. During this time, they surveyed the shores of the great gulf above mentioned, called by the Spaniards Canal del Rosario, and by the English the Gulf of Georgia, which extended * See statement of the British commissioners, among the Proofs and Illustrations, in tlie latter part of this volume, under the letter G. \ Vancouver describes these vessels as " each about forty-five tons burden, mount- ing two brass guns, and navigated by twenty-four men ; bearing one lieutenant, with- out a single inferior officer. Their apartments just allowed room for sleeping-places on each side, with a table in the intermediate space, at which four persons could with difHculty sit ; and they were, in all other respects, the most ill-calculated and unfit vessels that could possibly be imagined for such an expedition." »)•(- 5F i H^ ■■ 1 f ''''i i ■I I ■ :| 1 1 . ''i 'i! i '1 ■ ; i 1, - !i "1 ; ■ 1 \ fl;lfl ." ■/ •> i ^'1 jI;''' 'a ■ ' 'HI y tf ■Ai^ •■>'■■ y ): ■ LI 240 PASSAGE TUUOroll THE STRAIT OF FUCA. [179^. north- westward as far as the 50th degree of latitude ; and then, on the 13th of July, the English took leave of their Spanish friends, who, from want of force, were unable to keep up with them. On parting with t!ie Spaniards, the English entered a passage, named by them Johmtonc's Strait, leading from the north-west ex- tremity of the gulf: and after a long and didicult navigation through it, they, on the 10th of August, emerged into the Pacific at Queen Charlotte's Sound, about one hundred miles north of Nootka. Having been, from the commencement, persuaded that the land on the western side of the strait was an island, they had devoted their attention particularly to the eastetn shores, through which a jjassago might be found to Hudson's Bay or the Arctic Sea ; but their search proved vain, and, after tracing to their terminations in the interior a number of long and intricate inlets, they became convinced tliat the continent extended uninterruptedly northward, at least to tjio 51st parallel of latitude. Immediately on entering the Pacific, the Discovery struck on a rock, and scarcely had she been got off ere a similar misfortune befell the Chatham ; both vessels, however, escaped with little injury, and they soon after arrived at Nootka Sound. Galiano and Valdes also passed through the strait by the same route, and reached Nootka in safety on the 4th of September. After the arrival of the Sutil and Mexicana at Nootka, Vancouver and the Spanish commander. Quadra, compared together the notes and charts of the two voyages tlirough tlu; Strait of Fuca ; and it was agreed between them, that the great island which that arm of the sea separated from the American continent should bear the names of them both. It has. in consequence, ever since been dis- tinguisiied on maps by the long and inconvenient appellation of Island of (Quadra and Vancourcr, which it will scarcely be allowed to retain, when that part of the world shall be occupied by a civil- ized people. This survey of the Strait of Fuca was conducted in the most complete and effectual nuinner possible by Vancouver, whose ac- count of it, filling a large portion of his journ!il, together with his charts, afford unequivocal testimony of the skill and perseverance of the British navigators, (laliano and Valdes seem also to have done as much as could have been expected, considering the smallness of their force and the miserable scale of their equipments. Had they not met the British ships, they would, doubtless, have found their way through the strait ; but they could never have made even a tolerable survey of it, as they must have left a number of passages 1 : ■!! d then, on sh friends, len). a passage, th-\vest e.\- on through c at Queen jf Nootka. the land on ivoted their h a passage their search \c interior a ivinced that least to tlio Pacific, the 1 fjot off ere Is, however. 1 at Nootka strait by the f September. II, Vancouver i(>r the notes uca ; and it that arm of d bear the ice been dis- pellation of be allowed ;d by a civil- in the most T, whose ae- ther with his rscverance of to have done the smallness ments. Had have found vc made even er of passages 1792.] NEGOTIATIONS AT NOOTKA. 241 unexplored ; and the world would, probably, never have received any detailed report of their operations.* Before the arrival of these vessels at Nootka Sound, Captain Caamano returned from his search for the Rio de Reyes of Ad- miral Fonte, in which he had spent two months. During this period, he entered many of the openings in the coasts north and north-east of Queen Charlotte's Island, between the 53d and the 56th parallels of latitude; some of which were found to be the mouths of bays, or of inlets running far inland, and others to be channels separating islands. He appears to have displayed much skill and industry in his examinations, as Vancouver indirectly testifies in his narrative : but he effected no discoveries calculated to throw much light on the geography of that part of the coast ; and his labors were productive of advantage only in so far as they served to facilitate the movements of the English navigator, to whom his charts and journals were e.xhibitcd at Nootka. At Nootka, Vancouver found the store-shij) Daedalus, which brought the instructions from the British government for his con- duct as commissioner. She left England in the autumn of 1791, under the command of Lieutenant Hergest ; and, passing around Cape Horn, she, in the latter part of March, 1792, fell in with the * The voyage of the Siitil and Mexicana was the last made by the Spaniards in the North Pacific Ocean, for the purjioses of discovery ; and tlie only one, since that of Vizcaino, of which an authentic account has been jriven to tlie world, witii the sanction of tlie Spanish governnient. The Journal of Galiano and Valdes was pub- lished at Madrid in 180:^, by order of tlic king, wtth an Introduction, oflen cited in the preceding pages, including a historical sketch of the exploring voyages of the Spaniards on the coasts of America, north-west of Mexico This Introduction is the only valuable part of the work ; the nieagn' and ur.iuteresting details of the Journal having been superseded by the full and luminous descriptions of Vanco.ver: it was intended — as a defence of the rights of Spiiin to the north-west portion of America, which were supposed to be endangered since the cession of Louisiana to France — as a vindication of the claims of Spanish navigators to the merit of dis- covering those regions, which the Itriti^h were endeavoring to monopolize — and as a reply to the charges, insinuations, and sarcasms, against the intelligence, liberality, and good faith, of the Spanish government and nation, brought forward by Fleurieu. It was compiled chietly from the original journals lud other documents, in the archives of the Council of the Indies, relative to the exploration of the North Pacific coasts; and, in this manner, many curious if not important facts were communi- cated, which might otherwise have remained forever buried. It is, however, to be regretted that the author should have disfigured his work — as he has in every part in which the honor or interests of Spain are concerned — by gross and palpable misstate- ments of circumstances, respecting which he undoubtedly possessed the means of arriving at the truth. It may, perhaps, be considered a sufficient apology for him, that his book was published by the Spanish government, at Madrid, in 18l>8, as we know not what changes may have been made in it by insertions, suppressions, and alterations, after it left his hands. 31 -•'-T '■ "I .■M-,l •■: ii J' 1 ,1' it 1 ' ', ■ i:' 1 I ''l 11 I i ■ ■ i ; tri 'V i {■ 1 Ills ' f;!,'l i ■ 1 \ : . 1? t Hi ; ■'4 Mp'' *li 'i P , ' 'f.. ', . '- '' i. 242 LETTER OF OHAY AND INGRAIIAM. [1792. If^ m It!' 1 M^iv;- '4 1 1 1 < .vMiffr* 1- ' 1 1 1' 1' ■ ilviii )*' ij M ''ir? islands in the centre of the Pacific, north of the Marquesas, which had been discovered by Ingraham in April of the preceding year. Sailing thence, she reached Woahoo, one of the Sandwich Islands, where Lieutenant Hergest and Mr. Gooch, the astronomer, wore murdered by the natives, on the 11th of May; after which she came to Nootka Sound, under the command of Lieutenant Now. Vancouver gave the name of Hergest's Islands to the group visited by the Da;dalus, as above mentioned ; and so they are called in his chart, although, as he says in his journal, he had been informed that they had been previously discovered and landed on by some of the American traders. For his conduct as commissioner, Vancouver was referred by his instructions to the convention of October, 1790, and to a letter brought by the Daedalus from count de Florida Blanca, the Spanish minister of state, addressed to the commandant of the port of San Lorenzo of Nootka, ordering that officer, in conformity with the first article of the convention, to put his Britannic majesty's com- missioner in possession of the buildings and districts, or parcels of land, which were occupied by his subjects in April, 1789, as well in the port of Nootka as in the other, said to be called Port Cox, and to be situated about sixteen leagues farther southward. A copy of this order had been given to Quadra, on his departure from Mexico ; but it does not appear that either of the commissioners was furnished by his government with any evidence to assist him in ascertaining precisely what lands were to be restored, or for what buildings indemnification was to be made by the Spaniards. In order to supply this want of information. Quadra had, imme- diately on arriving at Nootka, made inquiries on the subject of Maquinna and other chiefs of the surrounding tribes ; all of whom, without hesitation, denied that any lands had been purchased, or any houses had been built there, by the English at any time. As the testimony of the savage chiefs could not, however, be of much value alone, he had next addressed his inquiries to Captains Gray and Ingraham, who arrived at Nootka in July, as already stated, and who had witnessed the proceedings at that place in 1789, when the former commanded the Washington, and the latter was f t mate of the Columbia ; and they, in answer, sent a letter, dated August 2d, containing a clear and particular statement of all the circumstances connected with the occupation of Nootka, and the seizure of the vessels by Martinez. With regard to the particular points in question, they declare unequivocally that, although they ..'"f I 1792.] PnOPOSITIONS OF (QUADRA. 243 had been in habits of constant intercourse with Maquinna and his people for nine months, they had never heard of any purchase of lands on that coast by British subjects ; and that the only building seen by them, when they reached the sound in September, 1789, was a rude hut, made by the Indians, which had been destroyed long before the arrival of the Spaniards.* These statements were, in all resj)ects, confirmed by Viana, the Portuguese, who had been the captain of the Iphigenia in 1788 and 1789, and who was then witli his vessel at Nootka ; and the Spanish commissioner tliereupon considered himself authorized to assume that no lands tvcrc to be restored, and no buildings to be replaced or paid for by Spain. A communication to this effect, with copies of the letters of Gray and Ingraham and Viana, was , accordingly, addressed by Quadra to Vancouver, on the arrival of the latter at Nootka. The Spanish commissioner, however, at the same time offered, with the view of removing all causes of disagreement between the two nations, to surrender to the British the small spot of ground on the shore of Friendly Cove, which had been temporarii}' occupied by Meares and his people in 1 788 ; to give up, Tor their use, the houses and cul- tivated lands of the Spaniards near that place ; and to retire with all his forces to Port Nunez Gaona, in the Strait of Fuca, (where an establishment had been begun by Fidalgo,) until the two govern- ments should determine further on the matter: with the under- standing, nevertheless, that this cession was not to be considered as aflbcting the rights of his Catholic majesty to the dominion of the territory, and that Nootka was to be regurded as the most northern settlement of the Spaniards, to whom the whole coast lying south of it, and the adjacent country, was to be acknowledged to belong exclusively. Vancouver, on the other hand, hau thought proper to construe the first article of the convention of 1790 as giving to his country- men possession of the whole territory surrounding Nootka and Clyo- qmt; and he therefore refused to receive what was otTered by Quadra, declaring, with regard to the concluding part of the Spaniard's proposition, that he was not authorized to enter into any discussion as to the rights or claims of the respective nations. In this conviction he was supported by the evidence of Robert Duffin, the former mate of the Argonaut, who happened to arrive at Nootka while the negotiation was in progress. This person testified that * S(>p letter of Gray and Ingraham to Quadra, among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the letter D. M' >*. ,'i im ,■ (I:: :■ V f f' n H'^ ' i ■A' ■ 'f m\ f^H'm ii. 41. 244 DUFFIN S KVIPENCE. [1792. he had accompanied Mr. Menros to Nootka in 1788, with his two vessels, which sailed under Portuguosc colors and under the nnme of a Portuguese merchant, for the purpose of avoiding certain heavy duties at Macao, hut were, notwithstanding, " entirely British property, and wholly navigated by the subjects of his Britanuic mnjesty '/' that he had himself been present when Mr. Menrcs purchased " from the two chiefs, Muquinna and Callicum, the whole of the land that forms Friendly Cove, Nootka Sound, in his Bri- tannic majesty's name," for some sheets of copper and triflinjr articles ; that the natives were perfectly satisfied, and, with the chiefs, did homage to Mr. Meares as sovereign ; that the British ihi: — noi the Portuguese — was displayed on shore on that occasion; that Mr. Mearts caused a house to be erected on a convenient spot. containing three bed-chambers, with a mess-room for the officers and proper apartments for the men, "surrounded by several out- houses and sheds for the artificers to work in, all of which he left in good repair, under the care of Maquinna and Callicum, until ho, or some of his associates, should return ; that he, Duffin, was not at Nootka when Martinez arrived there, but he understood no vestige of the house remained at that tiwe ; and, on his return thither in July, 1789, he found the Cove occupied by the subjects of his Catholic majesty, and on the spot on which the house had stood were the tents and houses of some of the people of the ship Columbia. U|)on the strength of this testimony, Vancouver pro- nounced the declarations of Messrs. Gray and Ingraham to be en- tirely false ; and he takes pains, in several parts of his work, to animadvert, in severe terms, on what he is pleased to call " the wilful misrepresentations of the Americans, to the prejudice of British subjects," On the points to which Duffin's statement relates, it is unneces- sary to add any thing to what has been already said. The evidcnn is presented to us by Vancouver, in the form of an abstract, of the correctness of which, as well as of the candor of that officer, we may be enabled to form an estimate, by comparing his abstract of the letter from Gray and Ingraham to Quadra, with the letter itself. It will be thus seen, that the British commander has, most unfairly, garbled the testimony of the American traders, by suppressing or altering every part of it which could tend to place his countrymen, or their cause, in an unfavorable light, or to excuse the conduct of the Spaniards towards them. His bitterness towards the citizens of the United States, on this occasion, may, perhaps, be attributed tn, the whole 1792.] NEGOTIATION SUSPENDbU. 245 to thu circumstance, that, on his arrival ut Nuotka, he learned the complete success >f Gray in fuuling u large river, and a secure Imrbor, on a coast which he hud himself explored in vain with the same objects. The correspondence between the two commissioners was con- tinued for some weeks, at the end of whi( li, finding it impossible to efl'ect any detinitivc arrangement, they agreed to submit the matter, with all the additional evidence oLtuined by both parties, to their respective governments, and to await further orders ; Nootka being, in the mean time, considered a Spanish port.'"' Vancouver, • The preceding ski-tch of the negotiation between Vancouver and Quadra is derived from tlie JournaU of Vancouver, tJaliano and Valdes, and Iiigraliani. The following nummary account of the business, extracted from Iiij^raiiam's Journal, was drawn up, at hit) request, by Mr. Uowel, the supercargo of the American brig Mar- gart't, who acted as translator for Quadra, and saw tlio whole of tie correspondence. "Tiie indefinite mode of expression adopted by Messrs. Fitzherbert and Florida Blanca did not atlix any boundarit>s to the cession expected by (.ireat Britain : what the buildings were, or what was the extent of the tract of land to be restored, the pli'iiipotentiaries did not think proper to determine. Don Juan Francisco, having no better guide, collected the best t^videii''!' he could procure, and that could enable him to determine what were the lands and buildings of which the British subjects were dispossessed, and which the tenor of the first article of the convention alone aiilliorized him to restore. The result of this investigation, in which he was much aided by your communication, supported by tin? unifi)rm declarations of Maquinna and his tribe, sulfu^iently evinced that tin? tract was a small corner of Friendly Cove, and, to use the words of Captain Vancouver, little more than a hundred yards in ex- tent any way; and the buildings, according to your information, dwindled to one lint. Senor Quadra, having ascertained the limits usually occupied by Mr. Meares, or hia servants, was ever n'ady to deliver it, in behalf of his Catholic majesty, to any envoy tirom the British court. Cui>tain Vancouver arrived at Nootka Sound in the latter end of .•\ugU9t; and tiei'ior Quadra wrote to him on the subject of their re- spective orders, and enclosed your letter, together with one from a Captain Viana, a I'lirtiiguese, who passed as captain of the Iphigenia, when she was detained by the Spaniards, Don Juan Francisco, in his letter, avowed his readiness to put Captain Vancouver in possession of the tract of land where Mr. Meares's house once stood, which alone could be that ceded to (Ireat Britain by the convention. Senor Quadra ntlered, likewise, to leave for his accommodation all the houses, gardens, &c., which h^d beer, made at the expense of his Catholic majesty, as ho intended leaving the port inmiediately. In the same letter, he tendered Captain Vancouver offers of every service and assistance which hospitality or benevolence could dictate. Cap- tain Vancouver, in reply, gratefully acknowledged the intended favors, but entirely dissented from the boundaries affixed by Senor Quadra to the tract of land, of which he was to receive the possession and property ; and, in pursuance of his directions, interpreted the first article as a cession of this port, viz., Js'ootka Sound, in tola, to- grtlier with Clyoquot, or Port Cox. He disclaimed all retrospective discussion of the rights, pretensions, «&c., of the two courts, and also of the actual possessions of British subjects in Nootka Sound, deeming it irrek vant to the business he was authorized to transact, and only to be settled by the respective monarchs. The letters which followed on both sides were merely a reiteration of the foregomg proposals and demands. Senor Quadra invited to a discussion of the boundaries, &c., and sup- » •<• \ v^f nf I, \" :,!'; is . I ; ■ i: I: !!■' ■ I ■ '1 '}■■ .1. 'I' fcli t I'r: 346 SURVEY or BULriNCII S IIARUOn. (17!)^'. tli of September; liut, it beinij of the same nature with the preceding ones, Captain V^aneouvt'r only rr- plied by a repetition of his former avowal, and informing the Spanish conunnndaiit that ho could receive, on tlie part of his master, the Aing of ilritain, no other terri- tories than those he had pointed out in his other letters, wiih which if Sefior Qiuidra did not comply, he must retain them for his Catholic majesty, until the respective courts should determine what further proceedings they might deem necessary." r 1 ■!' noi.i imoUUilTON SLUVKY3 TUB CULUMUIA IIIVKU. 217 Chathnm, on the 20th of October ; and ho there, to his surprise, found lying at anchor the brig Jenny, from Bristol, which hod siiilcd from Nootka Sound a few days previous. Scarcely had tlie Chat- lianj cllected an entrance ere she ran aground ; and the channel proved to bo so intricate, that Broughton determined to leave her about four miles from the mouth, and to proceed up the stream in his <;utter. A short account of his survey will bo sufficient, as it would bo unnecessary to present an abridgment of the long and minute description given in the journal of Vancouver. The portion of the Columbia near the sea was found by Brough- tou to be about seven miles in width ; its depth varied from two fiitlioms to eight, and it was crossed in every direction by shoals, which must always render the navigation difficult, even by small vessels. Higher up, the stream become narrower, and, at the (iistancc of twenty-five miles from its mouth, its breadth did not oxcccd a thousan degrees north latitude, it is the same opening that Mr. Gray stated to us, in the spring, he had been nine days off, the former year, but could not get in, in consequence of the outsetting current ; that, in the course of the late summer, he had, however, entered the river, or rather the sound, and had named it after the ship he then commanded. The ox- tent Mr. Gray became acquainted with on that occasion is no further than what I have called Gray's Bay, not more than fifteen miles from Cape Disappointment, though, according to Mr. Gray's sketch, it measures thirty-six niiles. By his calcu- lation, its entrance lies in latitude 46 degrees 10 minutes, longitude 237 degrees 18 minutes, differing materially, in these respects, from our observations.' " — Vancou- ver, vol. ii. p. 74. .I| 11 'ilMil i.i ill! * I ' ) 348 UNWORTHY CONDUCT OF VANCOUVEH. [1792. quitted the Columbia, in company with the Jenny, and arrived at Port San Francisco before the end of the month. The distinction '.vhich Vancouver and Broughton have thus en- deavored to estabhsh between the upper and the lower portions of the Columbia, is entirely destitute of foundation, and at variance with the principle's of our whole geographical nomenclature. Inlets and sounds are arms of the sea, running up into the land ; and their waters, being supplied from the sea, are necessarily salt : the waters of the Columbia are, on the contrary, generally fresh and potable within ten miles of the Pacific ; the volume and the overbearing force of the current being sufficient to prevent the farther ingress of the ocean. The question appears, at first, to be oi" no conse- quence : the following extract from Vancouver's journal will, how- ever, serve to show that the quibble was devised by the British navigators, with the unworthy object of depriving Gray of the merits of his discovery : " Previously to his [Broughton's] depart- ure, he formally took possession of the river, and the country in its vicinity, in his Britannic majesty's name, having every reason to believe that the subjects of no other civilized nation or state had ever entered this river before. In this opinion he was confirmed by ]\lr. Gray^s sketch, in which it does not appear that Mr. Gray either saw or ever loas within five leagues of its cntrance.^^ This unjust view has been adopted by the British government and writers, and also, doubtless from inadvertency, by some distinguished authors in the United States. It may be, indeed, considered fortunate for Gray, that, by communicating the particulars of his discoveries, as he did, to .«:'l :l',i :1 ^:(: 'tt i ; liMii am 'ii: ft'.-'''! ;]■ fflliT;' i^ • ' ili^ ll'^l ' n^P'Sffifi*' ', jim||:','i|;.', >ljSVr^ hj. ■ 1* w "^ -t ■»'''* '^ '19't"'' ■JMi'i lllll . -^ ■ '&■ ''.•' i^ ■j; m ii i -• '1 f 250 PRETENDED CESSION OF OWYHEE TO GREAT BRITAIN. [1794 continent, and the islands in its vicinity, from the northern entrance of the Strait of Fuca, near the 5 1 st degree of latitude, northward as far as the 54th parallel ; tracing to their terminations, as in the preceding year, all the passages which appeared to run eastward, as well as many others, which were found to be channels separating islands <'rom each other or from the main land. Several open- ings still remained unexplored beyond the 54th parallel ; but the weather became so stormy at the end of September, that the survey could no longer be continued with safety or advantage: Vancouver accordingly returned along the western side of Queen Charlotte's f»(land to Nootka, and thence took his departure for Port San Francisco, which he reached on the lOtli of October. From Port San Francisco the British navigators sailed along the shores of California — which Vancouver takes care always to call New Albion — as far south as San Diego, near the 33d degree of latitude, visiting every important point on their way, and observing the coasts with great exactness ; and thence, in the middle of De- cember, they went to Owyhee, where they found that the supremacy of Tamahamaha was admitted, though with some qualifications, by the people and the other chiefs. Here Vancouver succeeded in effecting a reconciliation between the king and Tahowmannoo, his sultana, (since better known as Kaahumanu.) from whom he had been for some time separated on account of her open and repeated infidelities ; and he soon after gave further proof of his talents as negotiator, in a transaction the particulars of which do not appear to have been understood in the same light by both the parties. The navigator states that a strong disposition had been manifested by several chiefs, at the time of his first visit, to place their island under subjection to the British king, but that it had been opposed by other chiefs, on the ground that they should not surrender themselves to a superior foreign power, unless they were assured that they would thus bo really protected against distant and neighboring enemies. At the time of his second visit, however, he found the disposition to submit much increased, and, as he says, " Under a conviction of the importance of these islands to Great Britain, in ♦he event of an extension of her commerce over the Pacific Ocean, and in return for the essential services we had derived from the excellent productions of the country, and wie ready assistance of its inhabitants, I lost no opportunity for encour- aging their friendly dispositions toward us, notwithstanding the 1794.] PRETENDED CESSION OF OWYHEE TO GREAT BRITAIN. 251 disappointments they had met from the traders, for whose conduct I could invent no apology; endeavoring to impress them with the idea that, on submitting to the authority and protection of a superior power, they might reasonably expect they would in future be less liable to such abuses." Acting under these views, he conciliated Tamahamaha by building for him a small vessel, on which the 0uns taken from the schooner Fair American were mounted ; and, having induced all the principal chiefs to mf;et him on the shore near liis ships, it was determined, at the assembly, that Owyhee should be ceded to his Britannic majesty ; it being, however, clearly understood, that no interference was to take place in the reUs;ion, government, and domestic economy, of the island — ''that Tamahamaha, the chiefs, and priests, ivere to continue, as usual, to officiate, with the same authority as before, in their respective stations, and that no alteration in those particulars was in any degree thought of or intended." So soon as this resolution was announced. Lieu- tenant Puget, the commander of the Chatham, landed, displayed the British colors, and took possession of the island in the name of his sovereign ; after which a salute was fired from the vessels, and a copper plate was depositfnl in a coiis[)icuous place at the royal resi- dence, bearing the following inscription : " On the 25th of February, 1794, Tamahamaha, king of Owyhee, in council with the principal chiefs of the island, assembled on board his Britannic majesty's sloop Discovery, in Karakakooa Bay, and, in presence of George Vancouver, commander of the said sloop. Lieutenant Peter Puget, commander of his said majesty's armed tender the Chatham, and the other officers of the Discovery, after due consideration, unani- mously ceded the said island of Owyhee to his Britainiic majesty, and acknowledged themselves to be subjects of Great Britain." That Vancouver assumed more than was warranted, in thus asserting the cession of Owyhee, and the subjection of its chiefs to Great Britain, is clear ; not only from the subsequent declarations of the ^hiefs, that they only intended to place themselves under the protection of that power, but also from the understanding estab- lished between them and the navigator, that there was to be no interference in their internal concerns. At farthest, the transaction, even if ratified by the British government, can only be viewed as an engagement, on the part of the islanders, not to cede their country to any other nation, and, on the part of Great Britain, to secure them against conquest or oppression by any other. Most probably each of the parties merely desired to obtain for itself as li' I'M I I'l 252 TAMAAHMOTO RECEIVED BY VANCOUVER. [1794. ^$} ' \:^t If 'i'^ "1' ■hi, fi-^: many advantages as could be derived from the transaction, without any intention to observe concomitant obligations. Tamahaniaha expected to receive assistance from Great Britain in conquering the remaining islands of the group ; and Vancouver wished to prevent other nations from resorting to Owyhee. It may be added, that Great Britain has, to this day, been little, if at all, benefited by the Sandwich Islands ; and that Tamahamaha, thougn he lived and flourished for twenty-five years after the transaction above men- tioned, never received a present, or even a message of any kind, from his brother King George, to whom he, however, occasionally sent a message by a whaling captain, reminding him that Vancou- ver's promise of a ship of war had not yet been fulfilled. No such promise is recorded in the journal of Vancouver ; though it there appears that the islanders had reason to believe that a vessel of war would be sent, for their protection, from Great Britain. Another circumstance connected with this pretended cession of Owyhee to the British deserves particular notice. The consumma- tion was delayed for some time, on account of the absence of Tamaahmoto, or Kamamoko, one of the most powerful chiefs, the same who, in February, 1790, captured the schooner Fair American, and murdered her crew, as already stated. Vancouver had, at first, refused to receive this man, or to have any intercourse with him ; but when it was found to be indispensable for the cession, that Tamaahmoto should give his vote in favor of it, the British commander began " seriously to reflect on all the circumstances that had attended his visits to the islands ; " and he, in the end, became " thoroughly convinced that implacable resentment or un- relenting anger, exhibited ni his own practice, would ill accord with the precepts which he had endeavored to inculcate for the regulation of theirs." He therefore " determined, by an act of oblivion in his own mind, to eflface all former injuries and oftences," which he probably found no difficulty in doing, as th(; injuries and offences were committed against citizens of the United States ; and he accordingly intimated that he would " no longer regard Tamaah- moto as undeserving forgiveness, and would allow of his paying the compliments as he had so repeatedly requested, provided he would engage, in tiie most solemn manner, that neither himself not his people (for he generally moved with a numerous train of attendants) would behave in any manner so as to disturb the subsisting harmony." On receiving this intimation, Tamaahmoto readily came forward ; he was admitted to the table of the British commander, and was 1791.] VANCOUVEH COMPLETES THE SURVEY OF THE COAST. 253 one of the seven chiefs who assented to the cession. It is not necessary to show what inference the natives of tlie Sandwich Islands might draw from a comparison between the favor tlius shown to the murderer of citizens of the United States, and the trial and execution of the persons who were charged with causing the deaths of the officers of the British vessel at Woahoo.* Soon after these transactions, the British navigators took their final leave of the Sandwich Islands, and, returning to the north-west coasts of America, examined overy port which they had not previ- ously visited, from the peninsula of Aliaska, eastward and southward, to Queen Charlotte's Island. They began at Cook's River, and, having ascertained that no great stream entered that bay, they changed its name to Cook^s Inlet, which is now most commonly applied to it. They then proceeded to Prince William's Sound, the shores of which were completely surveyed ; and thence along the bases of Mounts St. Elias and Fairwcather, to the great opening in the coast, near the 58th de:^reo of latitude, which had been called hy Cook Cross Sound. In Cook's Inlet and Prince William's Sound, they visited all the Russian establishments, of which Van- couver presents full and satisfactory accounts; and, having succeeded ill proving that the j)lace in which Bering anchored on his last c.vpcdition could be no other than that called Admiralty Bay, at the foot of Mount St. Elias, on the east, they gave to it the name of Bcriiii>^\s Bay, and as such it generally apj)ears on English charts : the Russians call it the liny of Ynkutnt. Through Cross Sound. Vancouver pas-'^'.fl into a labyrinth of channels, some among islands, others running far inland, and termi- nating in the midst of stupendous mountains ; and, having succeeded in threading nearly all these passages, particularly those taking a nortiiern or eastern direction, and thus joined his survey with that of tlie preceding year, he considered his task acconiplislitd. He had made known the existriioe of an almost infinite nnnil)er of islands, between the 54th an |.t>| ■! I I'^Pr 254 STIKINE RIVER. [1794. m- ■ ?■ was found issuing from the continent opposite these islands ; and Vancouver became well satisfied " that the precision with which his survey had been conducted would remove every doubt, and set aside every opinion of a north-west passage, or any water communi- cation navigable for shipping, between the North Pacific and the interior of the American continent, within the limit of his re- searches." Tlie belief thus expressed by the navigator has been completely confirmed. It must, nevertheless, be admitted that, con- sidering the intricacies in the coasts between the 48th and the 58th parallels, many passages, by which vessels could penetrate into the interior of the continent, might have long escaped the notice of the most careful observer ; and in evidence of this is the fact, that a river called t!«e Stikinc* three miles wide at its mouth, and a mile ulJo thirty miles higher up, has been, since Viiucouver's voyage, found ontering the arm of the sea named by him Prince Frederick's Souini, in the latitude of 56 degrees 50 minutes. Vancouver's iivilure to discover the mouth of the Columbia should have ren- dered him distrustful of the entire accuracy of his observations in such cases. After completing these discoveries, Vancouver took possession of t!io |>art of the continent extending north-westward of that around tho Strait of Fuca, which he had named JS'cw Georgia, as far as the 59lh degree of latitude, and of all the adjacent islands, •• in the name of his Britannic majesty, his heirs and successors," with the formalities usutil on such occasions, including a double aUow- ance of grog to tlie sailors. He also bestowed upon the various territories, straits, bays, &.c., names derived almost entirely from the lists of the members of the royal family, the ministry, the Par- liament, the army and the navy of Great Britain ; the importance * Viinrouvor inrntioiis Stikrrn as tlic naino of a rnuntry or nation on tlu" cnded in a Hriton, or excused in a Kns- siun or a S|>auiard, becami^ criminMl in his eyes when connnitled by a citizen of tiio hated n>|nil)lic. lie, nevertheless, ap|)ears to have given satisfaction to all with whom he came personally into communication. Ingraham speaks of him with tlie utmost res|)ect, and acknowledges his obligations fiir the und'orm kindness of the British naviirator. In the Sandwich Islands his memory is universally cherisluMl. He was long expected to n^turn and establish himself there, as a commissioner from his sovereign ; and he probably would have been admitted among the number of their gods, if the ship which lie is said to have |)romised to Tumahamalia had ever Deen sent. t Journal of a Voyage in the Pacific, by Captain Robert Broughton, p. 50. 1796.] END OF THR NOOTKA CONTROVERSY. 257 st extensive lition.* jetvvein the ^rritory, and I were to be (luestion to I, who had was thence and, on his orth Pacific, ihc coasts of le, to receive lution should ;(1 from Enji- ed, by letters delivered up the marines, 3 two courts," rr»j*, before whirli e record ot" nbsor- I homely and un- liiff illation, in the s\i('h works ;iro see\ite(l, and lln'ir iteil to \ aiicouvtr n coasts of Aniir- of whicl) all llii- r> that succecdiiij ices. VnneoiiviT professiiiiial skill, to citizens of ih^' t hitter aiiiniosity. ins, asdiscovcnTs the Anieri('!iiis(it' (T, and to blacken isrepresentatiDiis, presented tlu'iii- xeiised in n Hus- )v a citizen of tlio ction to all with of liini with tho II kindness o\' the ■rsally cherishcil. (imniissioner from ijT the number of liamaha had ever n, p .50. in March, 1795, after which the place had been entirely evacuated by both parties. This is the account given by Broughton in his journal, which, however, alibrds no information as to the mode of restitution thus settled. On the other hand, Belsham, an historian who, noiwithstanding the violence of his prejudices, cannot be sus- pected of want of attachment to the honor or interests of his country, and who possessed ample means of ascertaining the fact, writes, in 1805,* '• It is nevertheless certain, from the most authentic subse- quent information, that the Spanish flag jlying at NootJca was never struck, and that the territory has been virtually relinquished by Great Britain." It indeed seems very improbable that the British govornnient, which had just concluded a treaty of alliance with Spain, and had induced that power to declare war against France, when Broughton was sent to the Pacific, should at the same time have red the surrender of this territory, or that Spain should have assented to it while she possessed the right, by the contention, to indemnify the British claimants for all such losses of land or build- ings, as they could prove to have been sustained by them, since the month of April, 1789. It is more reasonable to suppose that the Spaniards merely abandoned the |)lace, the occupation of which was useless an ■^':::i . I. ' "';.,■ si- ifleenth chapter of i:\W m ?■ .9u ^a. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 ^1^ 1^ ■U Uii |Z2 •" — ""2.0 1.1 f."^! fliolDgraphic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STMIT WUSTIR.N.Y. USM (716)t7a-4303 ^ o »*_ if B Jii i > i^ i 260 CHAPTER XII. 1788 TO 1810. Establishment of the North- West Fur Trading Company of Montreal, in 1783 — Expeditions of Mackenzie to the Arctic Sea and to the Pacific Coast — The Trade between the North Pacific Coasts of America and Canton conducted almost ex- clusively by Vessels of the United States from 1796 to 1814 — Establishment of the Russian American Company — Its Settlements and Factories on the American Coasts — Expedition of Krusenstern through the North Pacific — Proposition of the Russian Government to that of the United States, with Regard to the Trade of the North Pacific. f tip i ^ i»-''\ !■• ( H'i?';'^' ] r; li Whilst the navigators of various nations were thus completing the survey of the shores of North- West America, important infor- mation respecting the interior regions of that section of the conti- nent was obtained by the agents of an association formed at Montreal, in 1734, for the prosecution of the fur trade in the Indian territories, which were supposed to be beyond the jurisdiction of the Hudson's Bay Company. Before Canada came into the possession of Great Britain, a large, if not the greater, portion of the furs sent from America by the subjects of that power was shipped from New York. After that period, Montreal became the principal seat of the trade ; and dis- putes immediately arose between the Hudson's Bay Company, which claimed the whole division of America drained by streams falling into that sea, and the Canadians, who pursued their trade in the southern and western parts of that territory. These disputes, with which the British government did not, from policy, choose to inter- fere, were injurious to the interests of both parties ; and, the Indian countries north of Lake Superior having been, about the same time, almost depopulated by the smallpox, the trade was confined, for some years, to the environs of Hudson's Bay, the lower lakes, and the St. Lawrence, where the animals were less numerous, and their furs inferior in quality. At length, about the year 1775, some enterprising merchants of Montreal penetrated into the countries, far north-west of Lake Superior, drained by the Saskatchawine and Athabasca Rivers, 1784.] NORTH-WEST COMPANY FORMED. 261 which had long before been frequented by the French ; and their success in trade was such as to induce others to make similar ex- peditions. The Canadians were, however, exposed, on their way, to great difficulties and annoyances from the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, with which they were unable separately to contend; and they, in consequence, in the year 1784, united their interests, and assumed for their association the title of the North' West Company of Montreal. Other associations were afterwards formed, under different names ; but they were soon either dissolved or united with the North- West Company. The organization of this new company was such, as to insure the utmost regularity and devotion to the interests of the concern, among all who were engaged in its service. The number of the shares was at first sixteen ; it was afterwards increased to twenty, and then to forty : a certain proportion of them was held by the agents, residing in Montreal, who furnished the capital ; the remain- der being distributed among the proprietors, or partners, who super- intended the business in the forts or posts in the interior, and the clerks, who traded directly with the Indians. The clerks were young men, for the most part natives of Scotland, who entered the service of the company for five or seven years ; and, at the end of that time, or even earlier, if they conducted themselves well, they were admitted as proprietors. The inferior servants of the com- pany were guides, interpreters, and voyageurs, the latter being employed as porters on land, and as boatmen on the water, all of whom were bound to the interests of the body by hopes of advance- ment in station or in pay, and of pensions in their old age. The agents imported from England the goods required for the trade, had them packed into bundles of about ninety pounds weight each, and despatched them to the different posts ; and they received the furs in packs of the same size, and conducted the shipment and sale of them. The furs, as also the articles for the trade and use of the persons employed, were transported through the continent principally in canoes, for which the Ottowa River, Lakes Huron and Superior, and the other innumerable lakes, and the streams connecting them farther north-west, offered great fa- cilities ; the portage between the navigable waters on the lines of the route being effected by the voyageurs, who carried the bundles, and sometimes, also, the canoes, across the intervening tracts of land. In this manner the goods and furs passed one, two, and even three, thousand miles between the agent at Montreal and the pro- f:::i <■ ii ; f ' t , 1 >. '::" '■ J-6 !:| I ■m L 1 m ii ■; ■ 1 i '« '■ 362 EXPEDITION TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. [1788. prietor at the trading-post ; and nearly four years elapsed between the period of ordering the goods in Canada, and that at which the furs could be sold in London. Before the formation of the North- West Company, the farther- most trading establishment of British subjects was one on the Athabasca or Elk River, about twelve hundred miles north-west of Lake Superior, which had been founded by Messrs. Frobisher and Pond, in 1778 ; and this continued to be the principal post in that part of the continent for ten years, when it was abandoned, and another, called Fort Chipewyan, was established on the south-west side of the Athabasca Lake, or Lake of the Hills, into which the Elk River discharges its waters. In the mean time, several large parties had been sent, for the purposes of trade and discovery, from Canada towards the west, one of which, consisting of about a hundred men, penetrated to the foot of the great dividing chain then called the Shining Mountains, or Mountains of Bright Stones, and now commonly known as the Rocky Mountains ; * but they were > f M; '™ N;,,";; ■ ||. :^, . 1 * Of this expedition an account appeared in a letter written at Pittsburg, in 1791, by an officer of General St. Clair's army, and published in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society for 1794. The writer, whose name is not given, received his information from a Mr. M , who had, as he said, commanded tlie party in question. The following extracts will show the principal circumstances connected with the expedition, and among them will be found nothing which siiould induce us to doubt the truth of the account : — " Mr. M. stated that he had, about five years ago, departed from Montreal, with a company of about one hundred men, fc ' the purpose of making a tour through the Indian countries, to collect furs, and to make remarks, &c. He pursued his route from Montreal, and entered the Indian country, and coasted about three hundred leagues along the banks of Lake Superior, whence he made his way to the Lake of the Woods, of which he took an accurate survey, and found it to be thirty-six leagues in length, and thence to Lake Ounipique, [Winnipeg,] of which he also gives a description. The tribes of Indians through which he passed were called the Mus- kego, Shipewyan, Cithnistinee, Great-belly, Beaver, Blood, Black-feet, Snalie, Ossnobian, Shiveyton, Mandon, Paunee, and several others, &c. In pursuing his route, he found no difiiculty in obtaining a guide to accompany Iiim from one nation to another, until he reached the foot of the Shining Mountains, or Mountains of Bright Stones, where, in attempting to pass, he was frustrated by the hostile appearance of the Indians who inhabit that part of the country ; the consequence of which was, that he was disappointed in his intention, and obliged to turn his back upon them. Having collected a number of Indians, he went forward again, with an intention to force his way over these mountains, if necessary and practicable, and to reach Cooii's River, on the north-west coast of America, supposed by him to be about three hundred leagues from the mountains ; but the inhabitants of the mountains again met him with their bows and arrows, and so superior were they in numbers to his little forces, that he was obliged to flee before them. Cold weather coming on, he built hutfl for himself and party in the Ossnobian [Assinaboin] country, and near to the source of a large river called the Ossnobian River, where they tanied during the cold season, and until some time in the warm months." » ,.(•' 1789.] MACKENZIE REACHES THE ARCTIC SEA. 263 unable to proceed farther, in consequence of the hostile dispositions of the natives. Between 1788 and 1794, two other expeditions were made from Fort Chipewyan by Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, the superintending proprietor at that place, of which a particular account should be here given, as the geographical information obtained in them was highly interesting, and led to important commercial and political results.* The Athabasca Lake is a basin about two hundred miles in length from east to west, and about thirteen in average breadth, sit- uated under the 59th parallel of latitude, midway between the Pacific Ocean and Hudson's Bay. It is supplied by several streams, of which the principal are the Athabasca or Elk River, flowing from the south, and the Unjigah or Peace River, from the Rocky Moun- tains, on the west ; and its waters are discharged through the Slave River, running about two hundred miles north, into the Great Slave Lake, discovered by Hearne in 1771. All these rivers join the Athabasca Lake at its south-west end, near which Fort Chipewyan was then situated. Mackenzie's first expedition was made in 1789, and its principal object was to ascertain the course of the waters from the Great Slave Lake to the sea, which Hearne had left undetermined. For this purpose, he left Fort Chipewyan, with his party, in bark canoes, on the 3d of June, 1789, and, passing down the Slave River into the Great Slave Lake, he discovered a large stream flowing out of the latter basin, at its north-west extremity, to which he gave the name of Mackenzie River ; and this stream he descended about nine hundred miles, in a north-west direction, along the base of a chain of mountains, to its termination in the sea. On his return, he examined the country east of his great river, which had been traversed by Hearne, and arrived at Fort Chipewyan on the 12th of September, after an absence of nearly throe months. The mouth of the Mackenzie was supposed by its discoverer to be situated near the 69th degree of latitude, and about 25 degrees of longitude, or five hundred miles, west of the mouth of Hearne's Coppermine River, which is not far from its t.ae position.! Still t I; ! ^1 u'M i '■-it .■■' ■''■ : i'' 1; * Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Lawrence, through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and the Pacific Oce&ns, in 1789 and 1793, with a pre- liminary Account of the Fur Trade of that Country ; by Sir Alexander Mackenzie. London, 1801. t Its principal mouth is in latitude GD**, longitude ISO" west from Greenwich. 1 .:i I ' ; ^ . \M i:i' « t ifi In :. B '■1, t % I I 264 MACKENZIE S JOURNEY TO THE PACIFIC. [1792. farther west must, of course, be situated any passage or sea con- necting the Pacific with the part of the ocean into which both those rivers were supposed to empty ; and the existence of any such passage east of Bering's Strait became, in consequence, much less probable. In his second expedition, Mackenzie quitted Fort Chipewyan on the 10th of October, 1792, and ascended the Unjigah or Peace River, from the Athabasca Lake, with much difficulty, to the foot of the Rocky Mountains, where he spent the winter in camp. In June of the following year, he resumed his voyage up the same stream, which he traced, in a south-west direction, through the mountains, to its springs, near the 54th degree of latitude, distant more than nine hundred miles from its mouth. Within half a mile of one of these springs, he embarked on another stream, called by the natives Tacoutchee-Tessee, down which he floated in canoes about two hundred and fifty miles ; then, leaving the river, he proceeded westward about two hundred miles over land, and, on the 23d of July, 1793, he reached the Pacific Ocean, at the mouth of an inlet. in the latitude of 52 degrees 20 minutes, which had, a few weeks previous, been surveyed by Vancouver, and been named the Cascade CanaL Having thus accomplished a passage across the American continent at its widest part, he retraced his steps to Fort Chipewyan, where he arrived on the 24th of August. By this expedition, Mackenzie ascertained beyond all doubt the fact of the extension of the American continent, on the Pacific Ocean, undivided by any water passage, as far north as the latitude of 52 degrees 20 minutes ; which fact was, about the same time, rendered nearly, though not absolutely, certain by the examinations of Vancouver. The River Tacoutchee-Tessee was supposed to be the upper part of the Columbia, until 1812, when it was traced to its mouth, in the Strait of Fuca, near the 49th degree of latitude; and since that time it has been called Fraser's River. The discoveries of Mackenzie, taken in conjunction with the re- sults of Vancouver's surveys, strengthened the conclusion, at which Cook had arrived, that the American continent extended uninter- ruptedly north-westward to Bering's Strait; and Mackenzie him- self conceived, though certainly without sufficient grounds, that he had clearly determined in the negative the long-agitated question as to the practicability of a voyage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, around the northern shores of America. For the advancement of British interests in the North Pacific, he recommended that the 1792.] JOURNKYS OV I'IDLER AND THUUEAU. 265 Hudson's Bay and the North-West Companies, which had been opposed to each other ever since the formation of the latter, should be united ; that the British government should favor the establish- ment of commercial communications across North America, for which the rivers and lakes in the portion claimed by him for that power afforded unrivalled facilities ; and that the East India Com- pany should throw open to their fellow-subjects the direct trade between the north-west coasts of America and China, which was then, he says, " left to the adventurers of the United States, acting without regularity or capital, or the desire of conciliating future confidence, and looking only to the interest of the moment." These recommendations were not thrown away, but were nearly all adopted by those to whom they were addressed ; and the result has been, the extension of British commerce and dominion throughout the whole northern section of America. Whilst Mackenzie was engaged in his journey to the Pacific coast, Mr. Fidler, a clerk in the service of the North-West Company, made an expedition from Fort Buckingham, a trading-post on the Saskatchawine River, south-westward, to the foot of the Rocky Mountains,* along which he seems to have travelled, through the regions drained by the head-waters of the Missouri. About the same time, several trading voyages were made up the Missouri by the French and Spaniards of St. Louis ; particularly by the mem- bers of a company formed at that place by a Scotchman named Todd, under the special protection of the Spanish government, the object of which was to monopolize the whole trade of the interior and western portions of the continent.f The trade of the citizens of the United States with the Indians in the central portion of the continent was much restricted, for many years after the establishment of the independence of the republic, in consequence of the possession of Louisiana by the Spaniards, and the retention by the British of several important posts south of the great lakes, within the territory acknowledged as • On Arrowstnith's "JMiip of all the new Discoveries in Korth America" published at London in 1795, several streams are represented, on the authority of Mr. Fidler, OS flowing from the Rocky Mountains on both sides j but none corresponding with them in course or position have been since found. t The journal of one of these voyages, made by M. Trudeau, in 1794, has been preserved in the archives of the Department of State at Washington ; it is, however, devoted chiefly to the numbers, manners, customs, religion, &c., of the natives on the banks of the Missouri, particularly of the Arickaras, inhabiting the country under the 46th parallel of latitude. 34 ■1 il A-\ I !i; S .-('■i ')!!.< ' !^ ■■■11 ■, ■ ■■'',' 266 AMERICAN COMMERCE IN THE PACIFIC. [179G — I8I4, ':' i ■ i s^:; I'r :rt^ .: \, belonging to the Union, by the treaty of 1783. At length, by the treaty of November 19, 1794, between Great Britain and the United States, it was agreed that these posts should be given up to the Americans, and that the people of both nations, and the Indians " dwelling on either side of the boundary line, should have liberty freely to pass and repass, by land or inland navigation, into the respective territories of the two parties, on the continent of America, (the country within the limits of the Hudson's Bay onlv excepted,) and to navigate all the lakes, rivers, and waters thereof, and freely to carry on trade with each other." The surrender of these posts, especially of Detroit and Michilimackinac, was vcrv inconvenient to the North-West Company, whilst the trade of the Americans with the central regions was thereby increased ; and large quantities of furs were annually transported to the Atlantic cities, principally to New York, from which place they were dis- tributed throughout the United States, or shipped for London or Canton. On the North Pacific, the direct trade between the American coasts and China remained, from 1796 to 1814, almost entirely, as Mackenzie said, in the hands of the citizens of the United States; the British merchants were restrained from engaging in it by the opposition of their East India Company ; the Russians were not admitted into Chinese ports ; and few ships of any other nation were seen in that part of the ocean. That these American "adventurers acted without regularity or capital, or the desire of conciliating future confidence, and looking only to the interest of tk moment," was also, to a certain extent, true ; though the facts can scarcely be considered discreditable to them, as Mackenzie insinu- ated, even supposing their operations to have been conducted in the manner represented by a British writer, whose hostility to th United States and their citizens was even more violent than that of Vancouver. "These adventurers," says the writer above mentioned,* "set out on the voyage with a few trinkets of very little value. In the Southern Pacific, they pick up some seal-skins, and perhaps a few butts of oil ; at the Gallipagos, they lay in turtle, of which they !•*! * Review of "A Voyage around the World, from 1806 to 1812, by Archibald Campbell," in the London Quarterly Review for October, 1816, written in a spirit of the most deadly hatred towards the United States, and filled with assertions most impudently false. MM. f^ ' .t . [179G— 1814. ]795 — 1814.] AMERICAN COMMERCE IN THE PACIFIC. 267 preserve the shells ; at Valparaiso, they raise a few dollars in ex- change for European articles ; at Nootka, and other parts of the north-west coasts, they traffic with the natives for furs, which, when winter commences, they carry to the Sandwich Islands, to dry and preserve from vermin ; here they leave their own people to take care of them, and, in the spring, embark, in lieu, the natives of the islands, to assist in navigating to the north-west coast, in search of more skins. The remainder of the cargo is then made up of sandal, which grows abundantly in the woods of Atooi and Owyhee, of tortoise shells, sharks' iins, and pearls of an inferior kind, [meaning, probably, mother-of-pearl shells,] all of which are acceptable in the China market ; and with these and their dollars they purchase cargoes of tea, silks, and nankins, and thus complete their voyage in the course of two or three years." This account appears to be, in most respects, correct, with regard to many of the American vessels engaged in the Pacific trade at the period to which it relates; and it serves only to prove the industry, energy, courage, and skill, of those who embarked in such difficult and perilous enterprises, and conducted them so successfully. It would, however, be easy to show, from custom-house returns and other authentic evidence, that the greater number of the vessels sent from the United States to the north-west coasts were fine ships or brigs, laden with valuable cargoes of West India productions, British manufactured articles, and French, Italian, and Spanish wines and spirits ; and that the owners were men of large capital and high reputation in the commercial world, some of whom were able to compete with the British companies, and even occasionally to control their movements. The American traders in the Pacific have also been accused, by British writers, of practising every species of fraud and violence in their dealings with the natives of the coasts of that sea : yet the acts cited in support of these general accusations arc only such as have been, and ever will be, committed by people of civilized nations, — and by none more frequently than the British, — when unrestrained by laws, in their intercourse with ignorant, brutal, and treacherous savages, always ready to rob or murder upon the slightest prospect of gain, or in revenge for the slightest affront. Seldom did an American ship complete a voyage through the Pacific without the loss of some of her men, by the treachery or the ferocity of the natives of the coasts which she visited ; and ill •1 Mi' ¥. t\ li' H 1 ,.i } , ii'i i\ i :,-Uif l■■ ifi Ii tg I I ! 368 AMERICAN COMMrKCE IN THR PACiriC. [1796 — IS]/]. !*i several instances have occurred of the st :uro of such vessels, and the massacre of their whole crews, in this manner.'**' All the islands in the Pacific, and every part of the north>wc8t coasts of America, were visited by the vessels of the United Staffs in the course of these voyages. Their principal places of resort were the Sandwich Islands, where they obtained fresh provisions, and occasionally seamen from among the natives ; and the month of the Columbia, Nootka Sound, and Queen Charlotte's Island, In which they traded with the Indians for furs. They occasionally touched at the ports of California, where they were, however, viewprj with great distrust by the Spanish authorities ; and they generally made the tour of the Russian settlements, which derived from the Americans, in this way, the greater part of their supplies of European manufactures, ammunition, sugar, wines, and spirits, in exchange for peltries. The furs were, as before, sold in Canton, at prices not high, though sufficient to encourage a moderate importation ; but they seldom formed the whole cargo of the vessels arriving there, the remainder being composed of sandal-wood, and pearl and tor- toise shells. The Sandwich Islands fell in succession under the authority of Tamahamaha, who displayed admirable sagacity in his mode of conducting the government, amid all the dangers and difficulties arising from internal opposition and the constant presence of stran- gers of various nations. Like the present pacha of Egypt, he was not only the political chief, but also the chief merchant of his territories : in his minor commercial operations he was generally \m K * In 1805, the ship Atahualpa, of Rhode Island, was attacked by tne savagps in Millbank Sound, and her captain, mate, and six seamen, were killed ; after which the other seamen succeeded in repelling the assailants and saving the vessel. In March, 1803, the ship Boston, of Boston, while lying at Nootka Sound, was attacked by Maquinna and his followers, who obtained possession of her, and put to death all on board, with the exception of two men, who, after remaining in slavery four years, effected their escape. In the same manner, the ship Tonquin was, in June, 1811, seized by the natives, at the entrance of the Strait of Fuca, and her whole crew murdered in a moment, as will be hereafter more particularly related ; and other instances of a similar nature might be cited. The account of the capture of the Boston, by John R. Jcwitt, the armorer of tiie ship, contains many curious details respecting the country around Nootka Sound, and its inhabitants, as observed by the author during his residence there, from lc03 to 1807. This little work has been frequently reprinted, and, though seldom found in libraries, is much read by boys and seamen in the United States. It prescnU tlie last notices which have been found on record of Maquinna, for whom Jewitt appears to have entertained a great admiration. >' 1799.] RUSSIAN AHUIIICAN COMPANY t:i>TAULlSllED. 269 successful ; but when he ventured to extend the scale of his specu- lations, by sending vessels Inden with sandal-wood to Canton, he was, as ho asserted, always cheated by those to whom ho committed the management of the business. In California, tho Franciscan missionaries were proceeding steadily in their course, and the number of their convorts was daily increasing. The government appears to have been liberal in the appropriation of funds for their use ; but, in Spanish America, a long time always elapsed between the issue of an order for supplies and their delivery, and a large proportion of the amount originally ordered was generally subtracted before it reached those for whose use it was designed. Soldiers, whose terms had expired, were also, in some cases, allowed to remain in the country ; and the com- mandants permitted a little contraband trade with the Americans, who introduced manufactured articles in return for hidas. In the mean time, the Russians of Northern Asia, though ex- cluded from the ports of China, continued their commerce with that empire, as also with Europe, as formerly, by means of caravans passing over land ; the communications being conducted principally by a company established at Irkutsk, the great mart of that part of the world. The fur trade of the northernmost coasts of the Pacific was monopolized by the association, formed in 1781, under the direction of Schelikof and GoUikof, which was protected by the empress Catharine, and endowed with many important privileges. After the death of Catharine, in 1794, her son and successor, Paul, at first determined to put an end to the association, on account of the alleged cruelty of its agents towards the natives of the American coasts : he was, however, induced to change his resolution ; and, a union having been effected, in 1798, between the two companies above mentioned, a decree was issued, on the 8th of July of the following year, conceding to them, under the title of the Russian American Company, th j entire use and control, for twenty years, of all the coasts of America on the Pacific, from the 55th degree of north latitude to Bering's Strait, together with the adjacent islands, including the Kurile and the Aleutian groups, all of which were claimed as having been discovered by Russians. The company was also authorized to explore, and bring under subjection to the imperial crown, any other territories in America not previously attached to the dominions of some civilized nation ; with the express provision that the natives of all these countries should be treated with kindness, and, if possible, be converted to the i V I -I .1 !l 1. ■'I i; 8 ■■ nil II m M I r!i ■ |t:! I IN '!• i \ ri: ' . "1* > lli'Bfflfc ' ^ 1 I i'l i 1- 1 .' i' 1 • 1 1 < ■i' ' 270 RUSSIAN ESTABLISHMENTS IN AMERICA. 11800. Greek Catholic ihitli. These privileges wore confirmed and in. creased by the emperor Al<;xander, whoso chief minister of Htnte Count RoinanzofT, was u zealous promoter of all that could tend to advance the |X)wor and interests of Russia in the Pacific ; and the company still enjoys the favor of the government, its charter having been renewed by successive decrees in 18'21 and 1839. Under these advantageous circumstances, combined with great skill and energy in the management of its atlairs, and aided by the constant increase of facilities for communication throughout the empire, the Russian American Company prospered ; and its cstab. lishments soon extended over the whole of the Aleutian Archipelago, and thence eastward along the coast and islands of the Amoricnn continent, to the distance of more than a thousand miles. In 180.3, the most eastern of these establishments was on Norfolk Sound, the Port Guadelupe of the Spaniards, near the 5(>th degree of latitude, at the southern entrance of the passage which separates Mount San Jacinto or Edgecumb from the largest island of King George III.'s Archipelago. This settlement, founded in 1799, was de- stroyed, in 1803, by the natives of the country, with the assistance, as it is said, of some seamen who had deserted from an American vessel; but another was formed there in 1805, which received the name of New Archangel of Sitca, and has ever since been the capital of Russian America. The other principal establishments of the company were in Unalashka and Kodiak, and on the shores of Cook's Inlet, Prince William's Sound, and Admiralty or Bering's Bay. In 1806, preparations were made for occupying the mouth of the Columbia River ; but the plan was abandoned, although that spot, and the whole region north of it, was then, and for some time after continued to be, represented, on the maps published by the company, as within the limits of its rightful possessions. The population of each of these establishments consisted princi- pally of natives of America, brought by the Russians from other and distant parts of the coast ; between whom and the people of the surrounding country there were no ties of kindred or language, and there could be little community of feelings or interests. The Aleutian Islands and Kodiak furnished the greater number of these forced emigrants, and also a large proportion of the crews of the vessels employed in the service of the company. The Russians were enlisted in Kamtchatka and Siberia, for a term of years; they entered as Promuschleniks, or adventurers, and were employed, according to the will of their superiors, as soldiers, sailors, hunters, 1806.] aOVGRNMKNT 01' RUSSIAN AMEHICA. 971 tishcrincn, or mechanics ; in the best of which sitimtions their lot wafl more wretched than timt of any other cIqhs of human ltein^s within the pale of civilization, or, indeed, of any other class of per- sons whatsoever, except the natives of the American coasts, whom they assisted in keeping under subjection. Under such circum- stances, it will be easily believed that *< none but vagabonds and adventurers ever entered the company's service as Promuschleniks ; " that " it was their invariable destiny to pass a life of wretcher ^ess in America ; " that « few had the good fortune ever to touch Rus- mn ground again, and very few to attain the object of their wishes hy returning to Europe." * The government of Russian America was arranged on a plan even more despotic than that of the other parts of the empire. The general 8U|)erintendence of the affairs of the company was in the hands of a Directory, residing at St. Petersburg, by which all the regulations and appointments were made, and all questions were decided, with the approval, however, of the imperial depart- ment of commerce. All the territories belonging to the company, and all persons and things in them, were placed under the control of a chief agent or governor, residing at Kodiak or Sitca, from whose orders there was no appeal, except to the Directory : in like manner, each district or group of settlements was ruled by an inferior agent, accountable directly to the governor-general ; and each factory or settlement was commanded by an overseer, chosen from among the Promuschleniks, who possessed the right to pun- ish, to a certain extent, those within the circle or his authority. The regulations for the government of these territories were, like those of the Spanish Council of the Indies, generally just and humane ; but the enforcement of them, as in Spanish America, was intrusted, for some time, to men with whom justice and humanity were subordinate to expediency. The first chief agent was Alex- ander Baranof, who had accompanied Schelikof in his expedition in 1783, and was the superintendent of the settlements at Kodiak and Cook's Inlet when Vancouver visited those places in 1794. He was a shrewd, bold, enterprising, and unfeeling man, of iron frame and nerves, and the coarsest habits and manners. By his inflexible severity and energy, he seems to have maintained absolute and in- dependent sway over all the Russian American coasts for more than twenty years ; showing little respect to the orders of the Directory, ■* \ I I ■ I I' •■i r i! • I * Krnsenstern'fl Account of his Voyage to the North Pacific. I'ii 1- rat'''.' H Mi-"'! ! tlui ;.*«!; 272 GOVERNMENT OF RUSSIAN AMERICA. [1806. and even to those of the emperor, when they wore at variance with his own views. He was, however, devoted to the interests of tlie company, and, its affairs being most profitably managed under his direction, he was allowed to follow his own course, and the com- plaints against him which reached the Directory were unheeded. These complaints were, it is true, not frequent ; for the Directory and the imperial throne at St. Petersburg were almost as completely inaccessible to the subjects and servants of the company residing in America, as they would have been in another planet. Among the in- ferior agents were men of higher and better character than their chief; but they were forced to bend under his authority, and their efforts to introduce improvements were vain, if they in any degree conflicted with his views as to the immediate interests of the company. Of the furs which formed the whole returns from these territories, some were transported in the company's vessels to Petropawlowsk and Ochotsk, whence were brought back the greater part of the supplies of provisions for the use of the establishments; the re- mainder of the furs being exchanged for arms, ammunition, spirits, wine, tobacco, sugar, and European manufactures, furnished by the trading ships of the United States, of which a large number were then constantly employed in the North Pacific. The presence of these American vessels was by no means agreeable to the Russians, who would willingly have excluded them from that part of the ocean, not only for the purpose of monopolizing the fur trade, but also in order to prevent the natives of the coasts from obtaining arms and ammunition from the Americans, as they frequently did, to the detriment of the authority and interests of the company. This, however, could not have been eflfected without maintaining a large naval force in the North Pacific ; nor could the settlements have been extended or supported without the supplies furnished by the Americans, unless a direct intercourse were estabUshed by sea with Europe, China, or Japan. With the view of inquiring what measures would be most effect- ual for the advancement of the interests of the Russian American Company in these and other respects, it was determined at St. Petersburg, in 1803, that an expedition, scientific and political, should be made through the North Pacific. Two ships, the M- deshda, commanded by Captain Krusenstern, and the Neva, by Captain Lisiansky, were accordingly despatched from Cronstadt, in August of that year, under the direction of Krusenstern, carry- ing out a large body of officers and men, distinguished in various 1806.] VOYAGE OF KRUSENSTERN. 273 branches of science, together with the chamberlain, Von Resanoff, who was commissioned as ambassador to Japan, and as plenipoten- tiary of the Russian American Directory. The two ships passed together around Cape Horn, touched at tlie Washington and the Sandwich Islands, and then separated ; the Neva going to the north-west coasts of America, and the Nadeshda to Petropawlowsk, where she arrived in the middle of July, 1804. From Kamtchatka, Krusenstern proceeded, with the ambassador, to Nangasaki, the capital of Japan, at which place their arrival only served to excite suspicions : they were not allowed to land, except for the purpose of taking exercise in a confined space ; the .letter and presents of the Russian emperor were rejected ; and the am- bassador was distinctly informed that no vessels belonging to his nation would, in future, be permitted to enter a Japanese port. After this rebuff, the Nadeshda returned to Kamtchatka, and Kru- senstern passed several months in examining the coasts of Tartary and the adjacent islands between that peninsula and Japan ; these labors being completed, he went to Canton, where she arrived in the end of November, 1805. Lisiansky, in the Neva, had, in the mean time, visited Sitca, Kodiak, and other Russian establishments, on the north-west coasts of America, at which his presence was advantageous to the interests of the company, by controlling the hostile dispositions of the natives ; and having performed all that could be done by him in that quar- ter, he proceeded to Canton, with a cargo of furs, and there rejoined Krusenstern, in December, 1805. The Chinese were found equally as determined as the Japanese to allow no commerce by sea with the Russians ; and many difficulties were experienced before the furs brought by the Neva could be landed for sale. This business being at length despatched, the two vessels took their departure, and, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, reached Cronstadt in August, 1806, having carried the Russian flag for the first time across the equator and around the world. In the mean time, also. Von Resanoflf, — a singularly ridiculous and incompetent person, — after the failure of his embassy to Japan, had gone, as plenipotentiary of the Russian American Company, to Sitca, where he passed the winter of 1805-1806, engaged in devis- ing plans for the conduct of the company's affairs, all of which were quietly set aside by the chief agent, Baranof. The propriety of expelling the Americans from the North Pacific was at the same time rendered questionable, by the fact that the garrison and set- 35 H M ♦ 1'' f il.i ^^ . M ■■:'l '-m\ : l4 !,u; '' :\S\'\: m *3 111 4| \ / ^ ■7 J >f' m wm t I 'U ' : rt- ' 'bill i 274 VOYAGE OF KRUSENSTERN. [1808. tiers at this place would have all perished from famine, had they not fortunately been supplied with provisions by the ship Juno, from Rhode Island. This ship was purchased for the use of the company, and Von Resanoff, embarking in her, sailed along the coast to Cal- ifornia, endeavoring, in his way, but without success, to enter the mouth of the Columbia, where he proposed to form a settlement ; and having spent some time in trifling at San Francisco, he returned to Kamtchatka, on his way from which to Europe he died. Though not one of the commercial or political objects proposed by this expedition was attained, it was, nevertheless, productive of great advantages, not only to l!ie Russians, but to the cause of hu- manity and of science in general ; particularly by the rectification of numerous errors in the charts of the Pacific Ocean, and by the exposure of the abuses in the administration of the Russian Amer- ican Company's dominions, which led to the immediate removal of many of them. No one could have been better qualified for the direction of such an expedition than Krusenstern, whose narrative is equally honorable to him as a commander, as a man of science, and as a philanthropist. Those who wish to learn at what cost of human life and suffering the furs of the North Pacific coasts are pro- cured, will find ample information on the subject in his pages ; while, at the same time, he presents instances of fortitude, perseverance, and good feeling, on the part of his countrymen, calculated to coun- teract, in a great measure, the unfavorable impressions, with regard to them, which his other details might have produced.* In 1808, soon after the return of Krusenstern's ships to Europe, diplomatic relations were established between Russia and the United States ; and in the following year, a representation was addressed by the court of St. Petersburg to the government of the Union, on the subject of the illicit trade of American citizens with the natives of the North Pacific coasts, by means of which those savages were supplied with arms and ammunition, to the prejudice of the authority and interests of the emperor and his people in that portion • Accounts of this expedition have been published by Krusenstern, by Lisianskj, and by Langsdorf, the surgeon of the Nadeshda, all of which have been translated into English and other European languages. Krusenstern was, soon afler his return to Russia, raised to the rank of admiral. He Btill lives at St. Petersburg, honored by his government, and esteemed by all who know him. His communications frequently appear in the reports of the proceedings of various scientific societies in Europe ; they are chiefly respecting the hydrography of the Pacific Ocean, to which subject his labors have been long and assiduously devoted, with results important and beneficial to the whole world. 1810.] PROPOSITIONS OF RUSSIA TO THE UNITED STATES. 275 of his dominions. A desire was at the same time expressed, that some act should be passed by Congress, of some convention be concluded between the two nations, which might have the effect of preventing the continuance of such irregularities. No disposition being shown by the American government to adopt any of those measures, Count Romanzoff, the minister of foreign affairs at St. Petersburg, proposed to Mr. John Quincy Adams, the plenipoten- tiary of the United States at that court, an arrangement, by which the vessels of the Union should supply the Russian settlements on the Pacific with provisions and manufactures, and should transport the furs of the company to Canton, under the restriction of their abstaining from all intercourse with the natives of the north-west coasts of America. Mr. Adams, in his answer, showed several reasons for which his government could not, with propriety, accede to this proposition ; and he moreover desired to know within what limits it was expected that the restriction should be observed. This question was, doubtless, embarrassing to the Russian minister, who, however, after some time, replied, that the Russian American Com- pany claimed the whole coast of America on the Pacific and the adjacent islands, from Bering's Strait, southward to and beyond the mouth of the Columbia River ; whereupon the correspondence was immediately terminated. There was, certainly, no disposition, on the part of the United States, to encourage their citizens in the trade which formed the subject of the complaints of the Russians, or to offend that power by refusing to cooperate in suppressing such a trade. But the American government properly considered that no means existed for enforcing the restrictions, with justice and regularity, even on the coasts which might be admitted to belong to Russia ; while, at the same time, the right of that nation to the possession of the coasts so far south as the Columbia, could not be recognized, for reasons which will be made apparent in the ensuing chapter. M''l' ■f! :, • i n I; vm 276 CHAPTER XIII. 1803 TO 1806. Cession of Louisiana by France to the United States — Inquiries as to the true Extent of Louisiana — Erroneous Supposition that its Limits towards the North had been fixed by Commissaries agreeably to the Treaty of Utrecht — President Jefferson sends Lewis and Clarke to examine the Missouri and Columbia — Account of their Expedition from the Mississippi to the Pacific. If- 4; • f-lu ^iiiili: The discovery, or rediscovery, of the Columbia River, by Gray, remained almost entirely unknown, until it was communicated to the world by the publication of the narrative of Vancouver's expedition, in 1798 ; at which time, and for several years afterwards, no one imagined that any thing connected with that river would ever be- come particularly interesting to the people or government of the United States of America. The territories of the United States were, at that time, all in- cluded between the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Mississippi River on the west. In the north were the British provinces ; in the south lay Florida, belonging to Spain ; and beyond the Mississippi, the Spaniards also claimed the vast region called Louisiana, stretch- ing from the Gulf of Mexico northward and north-westward to an undefined extent. Thus all communication between the States of the Federal Union and the Pacific was completely cut off, by the in- terposition of countries possessed by foreign and unfriendly nations. The position of the United States, and of their government and people, with regard to the north-western portion of the continent, was, however, entirely changed after the 30th of April, 1803, when Louisiana, which had been ceded by Spain to France in 1 800, came into their possession, by purchase from the latter power. From that moment, the route across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pa- cific lay open to the Americans ; and nothing could be anticipated capable of arresting their progress in the occupation of the whole territory included between those seas. Before relating the measures taken by the government of the United States in consequence of the acquisition of Louisiana, it will 1712.] GRANT OF LOUISIANA TO CROZAT. 277 be convenient to present some observations respecting the northern and western Hmits of that portion of America. The first discovery of the southern part of the Mississippi and the adjacent countries, by the Spaniards, in the sixteenth century, has been already mentioned. The northern branches of that river were explored in the latter years of the seventeenth century, by the French, from Canada ; * and before 1710, many French colonies and posts had been established on its banks, in virtue of which. King Louis XIV. claimed possession of all the territories to a great distance on either side of the stream. In 1712, the exclusive trade of the southern division of these territories, then called Louisiana, was granted by King Louis to Antoine Crozat, in a royal decree or charter, bearing date the 17th of September, which contains the earliest exposition of the limits of that region. The words of the decree are as follows : f "Nous avons par ces presentes, signees de notre main, etabli et etablissons ledit Sieur Crozat, pour faire seul, le commerce dans toutes les terres par Nous possedees, et bornees par le Nouveau Mex- ique, et par celles des Anglais de la Caroline, tous les etablissemens, ports, havres, rivieres, et principalement le port et havre de I'isle Dauphine, appellee autrefois de Massacre, le fleuve St. Louis, au- trefois appellee Mississippy, depuis le bord de la mer jusqu'aux Illinois, ensemble les rivieres St. Philippe, autrefois appellee des Missourys, et St. Hierosme, autrefois appellee Ouabache, avec tous les pays, contrees, lacs dans les terres, et les rivieres qui tombent directement ou indirectement dans cctte partie du fleuve St. Louis. Voulons ■1 u 1 1', »!•■■!''■ 10 ' ( i i 1 ■ i i 1 .1' ij;; i.:-} i: I'l I * Jeffreys — or whoever wrote the history of the French dominions in America, pub- lished under the name of Jeffreys, in 175i> — says, at p. 134 of that work, " The Mis- sissippi, the chief of all the rivers of Louisiana, which it divides almost into two equal parts, was discovered by Colonel Wood, who spent almost ten years, or from 1654 to 1664, in searching its course, as also by Captain Bolt, in 1670." t "We have, by these presents, signed with our hand, authorized, and do authorize, the said Sieur Crozat, to carry on exclusively the trade in all the territories by us pos- sessed, and bounded by New Mexico and by those of the English in Carolina, all the establishments, ports, harbors, rivers, and especially the port and harbor of Dauphin Island, formerly called Massacre Island, the River St. Louis, formerly called the Mis- sissippi, from the sea-shore to the Illinois, together with the Rivers St. Philip, formerly called the Missouries River, and the St. Jerome, formerly called the Wabash, [the Ohio,] with all the countries, territories, lakes in the land, and the rivers emptying directly or indirectly into that part of the River St. Louis. All the said territories, countries, rivers, streams, and islands, we will to be and remain comprised under the name of the government of Louisiana, which shall be dependent on the general gov- ernment of New France, and remain subordinate to it ; and we will, moreover, that all the territories which we possess on this side of the Illinois, be united, as far as need be, to the general government of New France, and form a part thereof; reserving to ourself, nevertheless, to increase, if we judge proper, the extent of the government of the said country of Louisiana." n ' It. in '\M\ tan ^1' m ; 'rn.j i. \i 1. ^l 278 LOUISIANA CEDED BY FRANCE TO SPAIN. [1762. que les dites terres, contrees, fleuves, rivieres et isles, soient et de- meurent compris sous le nom du gouverncment de la Louisiane, qui sera dependant du gouvernement general de la Nouvelle France, auquel il demeurera subordonne ; et voulons en outre, que toutcs les terres que nous possedons, depuis les Illinois, soient reunies, en tant que besoin est, au gouvernement general de la Nouvelle France, et en fassent partie ; Nous reservant neanmoins d'augmentcr, si nous le jugeons a propos, I'etendue du gouvernement du dit pays de la Louisiane." This description of the extent of Louisiana was sufficiently defi- nite for the immediate purposes of the concession : as the trade and settlement of the country would necessarily be, for a long time, con- fined to the vicinity of the great rivers, the precise determination of its boundaries on the east and the west might well be deferred for future arrangement with Great Britain and Spain. Crozat relin- quished his privilege in 1717 ; the Illinois country was then annexed to Louisiana, by a royal decree, and the whole region was granted to the Compagnie rf' Orient, better known as Laic's Mississippi Com- pany, which held it until 1732 : in that year it reverted to the French crown, and was governed as a French province until 1769. On the 3d of November, 1762, the preliminaries of peace were signed at Paris, between France and Spain on the one part, and England and Portugal on the other ; and on the same day, " the most Christian king authorized his minister, the duke de Choiscul, to deliver to the marquis di Grimaldi, the ambassador of the Cathohc king, in the most authentic form, an act, whereby his most Christian majesty cedes, in entire possession, purely and simply, without ex- ception, to his Catholic majesty, and his successors in perpetuity, all the country known under the name of Louisiana, as also New Or- leans and the island in which that city is situated." The cession accordingly took place in form, on the 23d of the same month, in precisely the same terms as to the extent of the territory ceded ; * and on the 10th of February following, a treaty was concluded at Paris, between Fra-ce and Spain on the one part, and Great Britain and Portugal on the other, by which Great Britain obtained posses- sion of Canada, Florida, and the portion of Louisiana " east of a line, drawn along the middle of the Mississippi, from its source to * The documents relating to this cession were kept secret until 1836, when copies of them were obtained from the archives of the Department of Foreign Affairs at Mad- rid, by the late J. M. White, of Florida; from which translations were made by the author of this History, and published by the Senate of the United States, in 1837. M}i s ,' •♦■I' kt IN. [1762. B8, soient et de- i Louisianc, qui [ouvelle France, utre, que toutes Ment reunies, en »fouvelle France, d'augmenter, si leiit du dit pays sufficiently defi- es the trade and I long time, con- ietermination of I be deferred for 1. Crozat relin- ks then annexed ^on was granted Mississippi Corn- reverted to the ^ince until 1769. i of peace were le one part, and same day, " the uke de Choiseul, »r of the Catholic is most Christian ply, without ex- in perpetuity, all as also New Or- The cession same month, in jrritory ceded ; * as concluded at nd Great Britain obtained posses- iana " east of a m its source to il 1836, when copies eign Affairs at Mad- s were made by the d States, in 1837. 1800.] LOUISIANA RETRO-CGDED TO FRANCE. 279 the River Ilierville, and thence along the middle of the Iberville, and the Lakes Maurcpas and Pontchartrain, to the sea." In this treaty, Great Britain formally renounced all claims to territories west of the Mississippi, whether based on royal charters granted to colo- nies planted on the Atlantic coasts, or on any other grounds : no mention is made of the previous cession of any part of Louisiana to Spain, which was not promulgated until 1764 ; nor did the Spaniards obtain actual possession of New Orleans, or the territory west of the Mississippi, until 1769. From that period until Louisiana came into the possession of the United States, its extent and limits were not defined, and could not have been affected by any treaty or public act, which has been as yet communicated to the world. Louisiana was retro-ceded by Spain to France, on the 1st of October, 1800, "with the same extent," says the treaty, " that it now has in the hands of Spain, and that it had when France possessed it, and such as it should be, after the treaties subsequently entered into between Spain and other states ; " and it was transferred by France to the United States on the 30th of April, 1803, "with all its rights and appurtenances, as fully, and in the same manner, as they have been acquired by the French republic, in virtue of the above-mentioned treaty with his Cath- olic majesty." * • See the treaty of 1803, in which the part of the treaty of 1800, above quoted, 13 recited. It is, however, worthy of remark, that, in the copy of the treaty of 1800, obtained by the late J. M. White from the Department of Foreign Affairs at Madrid, as above mentioned in the note at p. 278, the words quoted in the treaty of 1803 — "ef ipielle arait lorsque la France la possddait, et telle qu'elle doit itre, d'aprts les traites passis suhsiquemmtnt entre VEspagne" — do not appear; the third article of the former treaty being simply thus: "Srt Majestt Catholique promct et s'engnge de son cuti n rilrocedcr h la R^publique Fran<;aise sir. ntois aprts Vrjf.cvtion pleine et entiere its conditions et stipulations ci-dessus relatirei d son Altesse Royale le Due de Parme la colonie ou province de la Louisiane, avec la meme itendue qu'elle a aduellement entre les viains de VEspagne et d'autres Etats." There appears to be no reason to doubt the exactness of the copy obtained by Mr. White, as it was made in the office of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and bears the seal and certificate of the keeper of the archives of that department, by whom it was transmitted to the Spanish minister plen- ipotentiary at Washington, who delivered it, afler affixing his seal and certificate, to Mr. White. If its authenticity be admitted, a vast field is certamly opened for con- jectures, upon which, however, it would be improper here to enter. That any settlement of the western boundaries of Louisiana should have been made on the conclusion of the treaty of 1762, or of that of 1800, is not probable. In the first case, it would have been superfluous, as Louisiana would certainly have joined the other territories of Spain in that direction ; and, in 1800, it was clearly the inter- est of Buonaparte, as the stronger power, to have the extent of Louisiana undefined, in order that he might place its boundaries, in future, where they would be moit con« venient for his ends. ♦' ^•IW»I ,jj! .(■J'i i ': I i'! ii, I- M ' $^Hi ■■ J.i *!■ 280 LOUISIAN/k CEDED TO THE UNITED STATES. [1803. At the time A'hen the treaty for the cession of Louisiana to the United States was concluded, the Spaniards still remained in pos- Ression of the country ; the order from the court of Madrid for the delivery to France, was not executed until the 30th of November, 1804, twenty days after which the surrender to the American com- missioners took place in due form at New Orleans. The Spanish government had already protested against the transfer of Louisiana to the United States, as being contrary to engagements previously made by France, of which, however, no proof was adduced ; and some disposition was at first manifested on the part of the Spanish authorities at New Orleans, and in the provinces of Mexico adjacent, to dispute the entrance of the Americans. This opposition was, how- ever, abandoned, and a negotiation was commenced at Madrid, in 1804, between the governments of the United States and Spain, for the adjustment of the lines which were to separate their re- spective territories. In this negotiation, the United States claimed the whole of the territory ceded by France to Spain in 1762, with the exception of the portion east of the Mississippi, which had been surrendered to Great Britain in 1763 ; and this territory was considered by them as including the whole coast on the Mexican Gulf, from the Perdido River as the western limit of Florida, west and south to the River Bravo del Norte as the north-east boundary of Mexico, with all the intermediate rivers and all the countries drained by them, not pre- viously possessed by the United States. The Spanish government, on its side, contended — that France had never rightfully possessed any part of America west of the Mississippi, the whole of which had belonged to Spain ever since its discovery — that the French establishments in that territory were all intrusive, and had only been tolerated by Spain, for the sake of preserving peace ; and — that the Louisiana ceded to Spain by France in 1762, and retro- ceded to France in 1800, and transferred by the latter power to the United States in 1803, could not, in justice, be considered as com- prising more than New Orleans, with the tract in its vicinity east of the Mississippi, and the country immediately bordering on the west bank of that river. The parties were thus completely at variance on fundamental principles ; and, neither being disposed to yield, the negotiation, after having been carried on for some months, was broken off, and it was not renewed until 1817. Meanwhile, how- ever, the United States remained in possession of nearly all the 1804.J NORTHERN BUUNUARY OF LOUISIANA. 281 ■Ih territories drained by the Mississippi ; the Sabine River being, by tacit consent, regarded as the dividing line between Louisiana and the Mexican provinces. A negotiation was at the same time in progress, between the government of the United States and that of Great Britain, re- specting the northern boundary of Louisiana, for which the Amer- icans claimed a line running along the 49th parallel of latitude, upon the grounds that this parallel had been adopted and dejinitive- Jy settled, by commissaries appointed agreeably to the tenth article of the treaty concluded at Utrecht, in 1713, as the dividing line betiveen the French possessions of Western Canada and Louisiana on the south, and the British territories of Hudson's Bay on the north ; and that, this treaty having been specially confirmed in the treaty nf 1763, by which Canada and the part of Louisiana east of the Mississippi and Iberville were ceded to Great Britain, the remainder of Louisiana continued, as before, bounded on the north by the 49th parallel. This conclusion would be undeniable, if the premises on which it is founded were correct. The tenth article of the treaty of Utrecht docs certainly stipulate that commissaries should be ap- pointed by the governments of Great Britain and France respec- tively, to determine the line of separation between their possessions in the northern part of America above specified ; and there is reason to believe that persons were commissioned for that object : hut there is no evidence which can be admitted as establishing the fact that a line running along the 49th parallel of latitude, or any other line, was ever adopted, or even proposed, by those commissaries, or by their governments, as the limit of any part of the French possessions on the north, and of the British Hudson's Bay territories on the south. It is true that, on some maps of Northern America, published in the middle of the last century, a line drawn along the 49th parallel does appear as a part of the boundary between the French posses- sions and the Hudson's Bay territories, as settled according to the treaty of Utrecht : but, on other maps, which are deservedly held in higher estimation, a different line, following the course of the highlands encircling Hudson's Bay, is presented as the limit of the Hudson's Bay territory, agreeably to the same treaty ; and, in other maps again, enjoying equal, if not greater, consideration, as having been published under the immediate direction of the British gov- 36 i' I I > ! :i ' 1 M ^t. 'I ii. ! "i liN' i -i; ,1 ;;» i tilSf tit i )«: :'!■ ■I: K i li I ; ! h ,;■ r"1 1- ■^:M 1 I 282 TREATY BKTWKEN ENnLANO AND THE UNITED STATES. [1807. ernment, no line separating those British possessions from Louisiana or Canada is to be seen. In the other works, politicpl, historical, and geographical, which have been examined with reference to this question, nothing has been found calculated to sustain the belief that any line of separation was ever settled, or even proposed ; nor has any trace of such an agreement been discovered in the archives of the Department of Foreign Affairs of France, which have been recently searched with the view of ascertaining the fact.* The belief, nevertheless, that the 49th parallel of latitude was fixed, by commissaries of Great Britain and France, appointed agreeably to the provisions of the treaty of Utrecht, as the north- ern limit of Louisiana and Western Canada, has been hitherto universally entertained without suspicion in the United States, and has formed the basis of most important treaties. During the negotiations above mentioned, between the United States and Great Britain, no attempt was made, on the part of the latter power, to controvert the assertion of the Americans respeciint; this supposed boundary line ; and, in the treaty signed by the plenipotentiaries on the termination of the discussion, in April. 1807, it was agreed that <'a line drawn due north or south (us the case may require) from the most north-western point of the Lake of the Woods, until it shall intersect the 49th parallel of north latitude, and from the point of such intersection, due west, along and with the said parallel, shall be the dividing line between his majesty's territories and those of the United States, to the westward of the said lake, as far as their said respective territories extend in that quarter; and that the said line shall, to that extent, form tlie southern boundary of his majesty's said territories and the northern boundary of the said territories of the United States: Provided, That nothing in the present article shall be construed to extend to the north-west coast of America, or to the territories belonging to or claimed by either party on the continent of America to the westward of the Stony Mountains." f This article was approved by both governments; President Jefferson, nevertheless, wished that the proviso respecting the north-west coast should be omitted, as it "could have little othbr effect than as an offensive intimation to Spain that the claims of the United States extend to the Pacific * See Proofs and IlIuBtrations, in the concludinir part of this volume, under the letter F. t President Jefierson's Message to Congress of March 226, 1808. STATES. [1807. I803.J WESTERN BOUNDARY OF LOUISIANA. 383 ■■-♦' Ocean. However reasonable such claims may be, compared with those of others, it is impolitic, especially at the present moment, to strengthen Spanish jealouHics of the United States, which it is probably an object with Great Britain to excite, by the clause in question." The outrage committed, about that time, by the British, upon the American frigate Chesapeake, together with the change in the British ministry, prevented the ratification of this treaty ; and tlie question of boundaries was not again discussed between the two nations until 1814. How far Louisiana extended westward when it was ceded by Franco to Spain, history offers no means of determining. The charter granted to Crozat, in 1712, included only the territories drained by the Mississippi south of the Illinois country ; and, thou^'h the Illinois was annexed to Louisiana in 1717, nothing can be found showing what territories were comprehended under that |reneral appellation. In the old French maps, JVcm> France is represented as extending across the continent to the Pacific: in British maps, of the same period, a large portion of the territory thus assigned to New France, appears as New England or as Fir- ^nitt ; while the Spanish geographers claimed the same portion for their sovereign, under the names of New Mexico and California. Whilst Louisiana remained in the ()ossession of Spain, it was certainly never considered as embracing either New Mexico or California ; though whether it was so considered or not, is imma- terial to the question as to its western limits in 1803, which were, by the treaty, to l)e the same as in 1762. In the absence of all light on the subject from history, we are forced to regard the boundaries indicated by nature — namely, the highlands separating the waters of the Mississippi from those flowing into the Pacific or the Californian Gulf — as the true western boundaries of the Lou- isiana ceded to the United States by France in 1803. Of the countries in which the sources of the Missouri and the other great western branches of the Mississippi were situated, and of those farther west, to the immediate vicinity of the Pacific, nothing whatsoever was known when Louisiana came into the possession of the United States ; but even before the transfer was completed, the prompt and sagacious Jefferson, then president of the republic, was preparing to have that part of the continent examined by American agents. On the 18th of January, 1803, he addressed to the Congress of the Union a confidential message, recommending that means should be taken for the purpose without delay ; and» iif: M Mj .1 ■ I ii ■ ■!.;■! ; t. Si ■n 284 EXPEDITION Ol' mWli AND CLAHKL TU THE WEST. [IS'Oo. ■.u It cy, on the 19lh of July, paHsed through the Gates of the ttocky Mountains, where the MiHsouri, eiiic'r<,'iiig from that chain, ruiiH, for six miles, in a narrow channel, between i)erpcndicuhir para|)ett) of black rock, rising twelve hundred feet above itM surface. Beyond this place, the river is formed by the confluence of several streams, the largest of which, named by Lewis the Jefferson, was osceiidctl to its sources, near the 44th degree of latitude, where the iiavi|;ution of the Missouri ends, ut the diHtance of about three tliousand miles from its entrance into the Mississippi. Wliilst the canoes were ascending the Jenerson River, Captains Lewis and Clarke, with some n( their men, proceeded through the mountains, and soon found streamn flowing towards the west, one of which was traced in that direction, by Clarke, for seventy miles; tlicy also met several parties of Indians belonging to a nation called Shoahonee, from whose (iccou)its they were convinced that those streams were the head-waters of the Columbia. Having re- ceived this satisfactory information, the commanders rejoined their men at the head of the JeHcr»Hin ; and preparations were conunciiced for pursuing the journey by land. For this purpose, the canoes and a portion of tho goods were concealed in caches, or covered pits, and a number of horses, with some guides, being procured from the Shoshonees, the whole body of the Americans, on the 30th of August, entered on the passage through the Rocky Mountains. Up to this period, the diHiculties of the journey had been cotn- paratively light, and the privations few. But, during the three weeks which the Americans spent in passing the Rocky Mountains, they underwent, as Clarke says, "every sutlering which hunger, c(»M, and fatigue, could impose." The mountains were high, and the passes through them rugged, and, in many places, covered with snow ; and their food consisted of berries, dried fish, and the meat of dogs or horses, of all which the supplies were scanty and preca- rious. They crossed many streams, some of them large, which emptied into the Columbia ; but their guides gave them no encour- agement to embark on any, until they reached one called the Kooskooskee, in the latitude of 43 degrees 34 minutes, about four hundred miles, by their route, from the head of navigation of the Missouri. At this place, they constructed five canoes, and, leaving their horses in charge of a tribt: of Indians of the Chopunnish nation, they, on the 7th of October, begun the descent of the Kooskooskee. Three days afterwards, they entered the principal southern branch ■I -ill -' 1 1 j'l ■ ' 1 ■ 1 i I'i' r I I ' *;i ■I' I'i !■ I • It!' 1 i u , a •■!. t mf'''' 286 DESCENT OF THE COLUMBIA. [1805. of the Columbia, to which they gave the name of Lewis ; and, in seven days more, they reached the point of its confluence with the larger northern branch, called by them the Clarke. They were then fairly launched on the Great River of the West, and passing down it through many dangerous rapids, they, on the 31st, arrived at the Falls of the Columbia, where it rushes through the lofty chain of mountains nearest the Pacific. Some of their canoes descended these falls in safety ; the others and the goods were carried around by land, and replaced in the water at the foot of the cataract. At a short distance below, the tides of the Pacific were observed ; and, on the 15th of November, the whole party landed on Cape Disap- pointment, at the mouth of the Columbia, about six hundred miles from the place at which they had embarked on its waters, and more than four thousand, by their route, from the mouth of the Missouri. The winter, or rather the rainy season, having commenced when the party reached the mouth of the Columbia, it became necessary for them to remain there until the following spring. They accord- ingly prepared a habitation on the north side of the river, eleven miles in a straight line from Cape Disappointment, from which they were, however, soon driven by the floods ; they then found a suit- able spot on the south side, a little higher up, where they formed their dwelling, called by them Fort Clatsop, and remained until the middle of March, 1806. During this period, the cold was by no means severe, less so, indeed, than on the Atlantic shore of the continent ten degrees farther south ; but the rains were incessant and violent, and the river being at the same time generally too much agitated by the winds and the waves from the ocean for the Americans to venture on it in their canoes, they were often unable to obtain provisions, either by hunting or fishing. The Clatsop Indians who occupy the south side of the Columbia, at its mouth, and the ChinnooTcs, on the opposite shore, conducted themselves peaceably ; but their prices for every thing which they offered for sale were so high, that no trade could be carried on with them. The party were, in consequence of the rains, seldom able to quit their encampment ; and the only excursion of any length made by them during the winter, was as far as tlie promontory overhanging the Pacific, thirty miles south of the Columbia, which they called darkens Point of View, near the Cape Lookout of Meares. On the 23d of March, 1806, the Americans commenced the ascent of the Columbia in canoes, on their return to the United States. Proceeding slowly up the river, they carefully examined 1806.] RETURN OF LEWIS AND CLARKE. 287 its shores, and discovered a large stream, called by the natives the Cowelitz, flowing into it from the north, at the distance of sixty miles from the ocean. Thirty miles higher up, they found another and much larger stream, joining the Columbia on the south side, the Indian name of which was supposed to be Mulionomah ; it is now, however, universally known as the Willamet, and on its banks are situated the most flourishing settlements as yet formed by citi- zens of the United States west of the Rocky Mountains. In the middle of April, the exploring party reached the foot of the great rapids, below the Falls of the Columbia, where they aban- doned their canoes, and began their journey by land, on horses purchased from the Indians. In this way, they traversed the gap or defile in the mountains through which the river pours its floods, and then, pursuing their course over the elevated plains east of that ridge, they arrived, on the 8th of May, at the point on the Koos- kooskee River, where they had left their horses, and first embarked on the waters of the Columbia, in the preceding year. From this place, they continued on horseback due eastward, through the Rocky Mountains, to the Clarke River, which flows for some dis- tance in a northerly direction from its sources, before turning southward to join the other branches of the Columbia ; and there it was agreed that the chiefs of the expedition should separate, to meet again at the confluence of the Yellowstone with the Missouri. The separation took place on the 3d of July, near the point at which the Clarke River is crossed by the 47th parallel of latitude, due west of the Falls of the Missouri. Captain Lewis and his party proceeded some distance northward, down the Clarke, and then, quitting it, crossed the Rocky Mountains to the head-waters of Maria River, which empties into the Missouri just below the falls. There they met a band of Indians belonging to the numerous and daring race called the Black-foot, who infest the plains at the base of the mountains, and are ever at war with all other tribes ; these savages attempted to seize the rifles of the Americans, and Lewis was obliged to kill one of them before they desisted. The party then hastened to the Missouri, which they reached at the falls, and thence floated down to the mouth of the Yellowstone. Meanwhile, the others, under Clarke, rode southward up the valley of the Clarke River, to its sources ; and, after exploring several passes in the mountains between that point and the head- waters of the Yellowstone, they embarked in canoes on the latter •"I rv w ! , : , !,;■ ;>'Hr r.f 1/ f-'l! ■4:-. I r. ; I ■"Ik ■i- ^i' iilir 288 IMPORTANCE OF THE DISCOVERIES. [1806. m^i mw Mil & 'I ' ' l!<«l|4.,j-|.;. I i I Stream, and descended it to the Missouri, where they joined Lewis and his men on the 12th of August. From the point of confluence of the two rivers, the whole body moved down the Missouri ; and, on the 23d of September, 1806, they arrived in safety at St. Louis, having travelled, in the course of their expedition, more than nine thousand miles. The preceding sketch of the long and diflicult expedition of ^Lewis and Clarke will serve, to show the general course of their routes between the Mississippi and the Pacific. As to the priority and extent of their geographical discoveries, a few words will suffice. The Missouri had been ascended, by the French and Spanish traders, to the mouth of the Yellowstone, long before Lewis and Clarke embarked on it ; but ample proofs are aflforded, by the maps drawn prior to their expedition, that no information even approximating to correctness had been obtained respecting the river and the countries in its vicinity. With regard to the territory between the great Falls of the Missouri and those of the Columbia, and the branches of either river joining it above its falls, we have no accounts whatsoever earlier than those derived from the journals of the American exploring party. The Tacoutchee-Tessee, navi- gated by Mackenzie m 1793, and supposed by him to be a branch of the Columbia, was afterwards discovered to be a different stream, now called Froser^s River, emptying into the Strait of Fuca ; and no evidence has been adduced of the passage of any white person through the country between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, north of California, from the time of Mackenzie's journey to that of the expedition of Lewis and Clarke.* Politically, the expedition was an announcement to the world of the intention of the American government to occupy and settle the countries explored, to which certainly no other nation except Spain could advance so strong a claim on the grounds of discovery or of contiguity ; and the government and people of the United States thus virtually incurred the obligation to prosecute and carry into • The journal of the expedition of Lewis and Clarke was not published until 1814, when it appeared nearly in the same state in which it came from the hands of Lewis, shortly before the melancholy termination of his existence. It affords abundant proofs of the powers of observation possessed by those who were engaged in the enterprise; and the mass of facts, geographically, commercially, and politically important, which it contains, causes it still to be regarded as the principal source of information respect- ing the geography, the natural history, and the aboriginal inhabitants, of the portions of America traversed by the Missouri and the Columbia. 1806.] PIKE S EXPEDITION. 289 fulfilment the great ends for whicli the labors of Lewis and Clarke were the first preparatory measure's. During the absence of Lewis and Clarke, other persons were engaged, under the orders of the government of the United States, in exploring dififerent parts of the interior of Louisiana. Lieutenant Pike ascended the Mississippi to its head-waters, near the 48lh degree of latitude, where he obtained much useful information respecting the course of that stream, and the numbers, characters, and dispositions, of the Indians in its vicinity, as well as concerning the trade and establishments of the North- West Company in that quarter. Having completed this expedition. Pike, in 1806, under- took another, in the course of which he travelled south-westward from the mouth of the Missouri, to the upper waters of the Arkan- sas, the Red River, and the Rio Bravo del Norte : on the latter river, he and his party were made prisoners by the Spaniards of Santa Fe, who carried them southward as far as the city of Chi- huahua, and thence, through Texas, to the United States. The Red and Washita Rivers were at the same time explored, to a con- siderable distance from the Mississippi, by Messrs. Dunbar, Hunter, and Sibley, whose journals, as well as those of Pike, subsequently published, contain many interesting descriptions of those parts of America. Thus, within three or four years after Louisiana came into the possession of the United States, it ceased to be an unknown region, and the principal features of the territory drained by the Columbia were displayed. 37 i! f M ,■«'■■ I i i.: Ill; if- m H ^ t^ \--'% v: iv;.'i;;i. Vii .Mi 290 CHAPTER XIV. 1806 TO 1815. ■:l ! First Establisliments of tlie North-West Company in the Countries north of the Columbia — Pacific Fur Company formed at New York — Plan of its Founder — First Expedition from New York in tiio Toaquin — Foundation of Astoria near the Mouth of the Columbia River — Destruction of the Tonquin by the Savages — March of the Party under Hunt and Crooks across the Continent — Arrival of the Beaver in the Columbia — War between the United States and Great Britain fatal to the Enterprise — Establishments of the Pacific Company sold to the North- West Company — Astoria taken by the British — Dissolution of the Pacific Company. :4- 'K !.! The expeditions of Lewis and Clarke, and Pike, did not fail to attract the attention, and to excite the jealousy, of the British government and trading companies. Pike had restrained the incur- sions of the North- West Company's people into the territories of the Upper Mississippi, and had lessened their influence over the Indians inhabiting those regions. From the moment when Lewis and Clarke appeared on the Missouri, their movements were watched by the agents of the British Association ; and, so soon as it was ascertained that they were ordered to explore the Colum- bia, preparations were made to anticipate the Americans in the settlement of that portion of the continent, for which the expedition of those officers was evidently intended to open the way. A party of the North- West Company's men was accordingly despatched, in 1805, under the direction of Mr. Laroque, to establish posts and occupy territories on the Columbia ; but this party proceeded no farther than the Mandan villages on the Missouri. In the f., [lowing year, 1806, another party was despatched from Fort Chipewyan, under Mr. Simon Fraser, who crossed the Rocky Mountains near the passage of the Peace River, and formed a trading establishment on a small lake, now called Froser's Lake, situated in the 54th degree of latitude. This was the first settlement or post of any hnd made hy British subjects west of the Rocky Mountains. Other posts were subsequently formed in the same country, which, in 1808, received from the traders the name of Neio Caledonia ; but it does : V,. 1806.] FIRST BRITISH POSTS IN NEW CALEDONIA. 291 not appear, from any evidence as yet adduced, that any part of the waters of the Columbia, or of the country through which they flow, was seen by persons in the service of the North- West Company until 1811.* In the mean time, several establishments had been formed by citizens of the United States on the Columbia and its branches. Before the transfer of Louisiana to the United States, the trade of the Missouri and the adjacent countries inhabited by the Indians, had been granted by the Spanish government to Manuel Lisa, a merchant of St. Louis, who continued to conduct it almos' exclu- sively until 1806. After the return of Lewis and Clarke, other individuals engaged in the business, the competition between whom occasioned many and serious disputes ; until at length, in 1808, an association, called the Missouri Fur Company, was formed among * Many interesting details respecting the proceedings of the North- West Com- pany, and the geography of the parts of America in which its establishments ai'e situated, may be found in the journal of D. W. Harmon, a native of Vermont, who was a partner in that company, and the superintendent of all its utfairs beyond the Rocky Mountains for several years. This journal was published at Andover, in Massachusetts, in 181!), but is now nearly out of print: a review of it, containing many curious extracts, may be seen in the London Quarterly Review for Janu- ary, 1822. With regard to the dates of the earliest establishments of the North- West Company beyond the Rocky Mountains, the following extracts from Harmon's journal may be considered as decisive evidence : — '■'■ Sattirdaij, A'ovember 24tlt, 1804. — Some people have just arrived from Montagne la Basse, with a letter from Mr. Chaboillez, who informs me that two captains, Clarke and Lewis, with one hundred and eighty sf)ldiers, iiave arrived at the Mandan village, on tiio Missouri River, which place is situated about three days' distance from the residence of Mr. Chaboillez. They have invited Mr. Chaboillez to visit them. It is said that, on their arrival, they hoisted the American flag, and informed the natives that their object was not to trade, but merely to explore the country, and that, as soon as the navigation shall open, they design to continue their route across the Rocky Mountains, and thence descend to the Fiicific Ocean. ^' H'cdHcsdnij, .'ipril liUh, 1^0."). — Whili- at Montagne la Basse, Mr. Chaboillez in- duced me to consent to undertake a long and arduous tour of discovery. I am to leave that place about the beginning of June, accom]mnied by six or seven Canadians, and two or three Indians. The first place at which we shall stop will bo the Mandan village, on the Missouri Rivt^r ; thence we shall steer our course towards the Rocky Mountains, accompanied by a number of the Mandan Indians, who proceed in that direction, every spring, to meet and trade with another tribe of Indians, who reside on the other side of the Rocky Mountains. [This journey I never undertook : a Mr. La Roque attempted to make this tour, but went no farther than the Mandan village.] " At page 281, Harmon says, " The part of the country west of the Rocky Moun- tains, with which I am acquainted, has, ever since the North- West Company first made an establishment there, which was in 1806, gone by the name of JVew Cale- donia," &c. And in many places he speaks of Mr. Simon Fraser as having led the first company of traders beyond the Rocky Mountains,' in 1806. r •'I '3^ ! I hi ■'1 I -J i " I ■ i- j, M':-''lii: AS ;-,ii mil ^il fete m ■'5 1 1 iliiu': I 292 FIRST TRADINU POSTS ON TlIK COLUMBIA. [1810. the principal traders in that part of America, by which posts were estabhshcd on the Upper Mississippi, the Missouri, and even beyond the Rocky Mountains. The trading post founded by Mr. Henry, one of the agents of the Missouri Company, on a branch of the Lewis River, the great southern arm of tiie Columbia, appears to have been the earliest establishment of any kind made by people of a civilized nation in the territory drained by the latter stream ; the enmity of the savages in its vicinity, and the difficulty of obtaining provisions, however, obliged Mr. Henry to abandon it in 1810. In that year, an attempt was made by Captain Smith, the com- mander of the ship Albatross, from Boston, to found a post for trade with the Indians at a place called Oak Point, on the south bank of the Columbia, about forty miles from its mouth. For this purpose a house was built and a garden was laid out and planted there ; but the site was badly chosen in all respects, and the scheme was aban- doned before the close of the year. In the same year, 1810, an association was formed at New York, for the prosecution of the fur trade in the central and north-western parts of the continent, in connection with the China trade, of which a particular account will be presented, as the transactions attend ing the enterprise led to important political results. This association was called the Pacific Fur Company.* At its head was John Jacob Astor, a German merchant of New York, who had been for many years extensively engaged in the commerce of the Pacific and China, and also in the trade with the Indian coun- tries in the centre of the American continent, and, by his prudence and skill, had thus accumulated an immense fortune, ere he passed the meridian of life. He devised the scheme ; he advanced the capital requisite for carrying it into execution, and he directed all * The following account of tiio procoodings of the Pacific Fur Company is derived chiefly from — Adventures on the Columbia River, &c., by Ross Cox. I^ondon, 1831. — Relation d'un Voyage ii la Cote Nord-Ouest, de 1' Amerique Septentrionale, dans les Annoes ]810-1.1, par Gabriel Franchcre. Montreal, Itf'JO. [Franchere went out with the first parly in the Tonquin ; Co.v went out in the Beaver, and they bolii returned to Canada by way of the lakes.] — Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise beyond the Rocky MounttVins, by Washington Irving, Philadelphia, lH3fi; the latter author gives the most complete account of the circumstances, particularly of the adventures of the parties under Hunt, Crooks, and Stuart, derived from their state- ments and the papers in the possession of Mr. Astor, to which he had access. In addi- tion to these authorities, several letters and papers, addressed by Mr. Astor to the execu- tive of the United States, have been examined, and some communications have been personally received from that gentleman. One of his letters, containing a summary of the circumstances connected with his enterprise, will be found among tlie Proofs and Illustrations, at the end of thi.-s volume, under the letter G. 4 lA. [ibio. lich posts Mere id even beyond by Mr. Henry, icli of the Lewis irs to have been le of a civilized ; the enmity of ning provisions, 3rnith, the com- a post for trade I south bank of ir this purpose a ited there; but l^icme M as aban- d at New York, d north-western I trade, of which sactions attend ts. npany.* At its of New York, the commerce le Indian coun- by his prudence ere he passed advanced the he directed all Company is derived Jox. London, 18",51. itontrionalo, dans les 'ranchern went out ver, and they botii :es of an Enterprise lia, 1.S36; the latter particularly of the ed from their state- id access. In addi- Astor to the exeou- nications have been titaining a summary d among the Proofs 1810.] AST0R*S PLANS FOR MONOPOLIZING THE CHINA TRADE. 293 the operations. His first objects were to concentrate in the hands of the company the fur trade of every part of the unsettled territo- ries of America claimed by the United States, and also the supply of the Russian establishments on the North Pacific, which was to be conducted agreeably to arrangements made with the Russian Amer- ican Company, similar to those proposed by the government of St. Petersburg to the cabinet at Wasliington, as already mentioned ; and by the attainment of these first objects, he expected to be able to con- trol, if not exclusively to possess, the whole commerce between the ports of China and those of America, and of a large portion of Europe. For these purposes, posts were to be established on the Missouri, the Columbia, and the coasts of the Pacific contiguous l.o the latter river, at which places the furs were to be collected by trade with the Indians, or by hunters in the employ of the company. The posts were to be supplied with the merchandise required, either by way of the Missouri, or by ships despatched from the ports of the United States to the North Pacific ; and the furs collected were to be carried either down the Missouri to the Atlantic ports of the Union, or westward to the establishments of the company on the Pacific. The merchandise sent to the Pacific would be discharged, in the first instance, at a principal factory, to be founded at some point most convenient for distributing the articles among the interior posts, and for receiving the furs from those places ; and the vessels would then take in cargoes of furs, which they would transport to Canton. Vessels would also be sent, either directly from the United States, or from the principal factory on the Pacific, to the Russian American establislnnents, with provisions and other articles, for which furs were to be received in payment ; and from Canton these vessels would bring to Europe or America teas, silks, and other Chinese goods, procured in exchange for their furs. It is scarcely necessary to add, that ail these movements were to be conducted with order and regularity, and at stated periods, so as to prevent loss of time and labor, or injury to the various articles transported. The number of shares in the company was to be one hundred : of these half were retained by Mr. Astor, who was to advance the funds necessary for the first operations, and to manage the con- cerns at New York ; the remaining shares being divided among the other partners, who were to conduct the business in the western territories, on the Pacific, and at Canton. The association, if prosperous, was to continue twenty years, after which it might be prolonged ; but it might be abandoned by any of the partners, or (^ '' ^|! !'• 1 f ; VM i;, ■ 1 \ i 1 '- r '• 1 , tV.V i4 ,1 1 ■Ill ' Hi W- ' 1; iifi|iHt l h?'' 1 ir III pi ; 1 1 ''' ■ ' 294 PACIFIC FUR COMPANY S OPERATIONS. :3"!-> [1810. dissolved, within the first five years, Mr. Astor bearing all the losses incurred during that period. This was certainly an extensive and complicated scheme ; but it appeared, at the time when it was devised, to be perfectly practicable. The territories in which the new establishments were to be formed, had never been occupied : there could be no doubt that the Russians would gladly agree to the proposed arrangements for the trade with their factories ; the demand for furs at Canton was regular, and suf- ficiently great to insure the superiority, in that market, to those who could control the supply ; and the Americans would possess, in China and on the Pacific, a decided advantage over the British, whose flag was then rarely seen in the Pacific, in consequence of the monopoly enjoyed by the East India Company. Moreover, there was then no prospect of a material change in the political positions of the principal nations of the world. The only party from which the Pacific Company could apprehend any immediate and serious difliculties, was the North- West Company of Montreal. The resources of that body were in every respect inferior to Mr. Aster's ; but, in order to prevent rivalry, he communi- cated his intentions confidentially to its directors, and oftered them an interest to the extent of one third in his enterprise : they, how- ever, rejected his proposal, and took measures, as will be shown hereafter, to forestall him. Was Mr. Astor — a citizen of the United States — justifiable in thus offering to an association of British sub- jects, noted for its enmity to his adopted country, a share of the ad- vantages to be obtained under the flag of the United States, from ter- ritories exclusively belonging to the United States, or of which the exclusive possession by the United States was evidently essential to the welfare and advancement of the republic ? Having matured his scheme, Mr. Astor engaged as partners, clerks, and voyageurs, a number of Scotchmen and 'Canadians, who had been in the service of the North- West Company, and afterwards a number rather greater, of other persons, principally natives of the United States. The partners first admitted were Alexander Mackay, who had accompanied Mackenzie in his expedition to the Pacific in 1793, Duncan Macdougal, and Donald Mackenzie, all Scotchmen, formerly belonging to the North- West Company : these persons signed the constitution or articles of agreement of the Pacific Com- pany, with Mr. Astor, on the 23d of June, 1810; having, however, previously communicated the whole plan of the enterprise to Mr. Jackson, the minister plenipotentiary of Great Britain in the United [1810. bearing all the scheme ; but it Rctly practicable, re to be formed, that the Russians 3r the trade with regular, and suf> let, to those who ould possess, in over the British, consequence of Moreover, there political positions ged as partners, 'Janadians, who , and afterwards lily natives of the jxander Mackay, to the Pacific in , all Scotchmen, y : these persons the Pacific Corn- having, however, enterprise to Mr. ain in the United 1810.] PARTNERS IN THE PACIFIC COMPANY. 295 States, who quieted all their scruples as to engaging in it, uy assur- ing them that, " in case of a war between the two nations, they would be respected as British subjects and merchants." The partners sub- sequently admitted were David and Robert Stuart, and Ramsay Crooks, Scotchmen, who had also been in the service of the North- West Company, and Wilson Price Hunt, John Clarke, and Robert Maclellan, citi/.cns of the United States. The majority of the clerks were Americans ; among the others were Ross Cox, an Englishman, and Gabriel Franchere, a Canadian, each of whom has written an interesting history of the enterprise. The voi/ageurs were nearly all I'rom Canada. Mr. Hunt, a native of New Jersey, was chosen as cliief agent of the company, to superintend all its concerns on the western side of America for five years. Thus it will be seen that, although the chief direction of the con- cerns of the Pacific Fur Company, in New York and on the western side of the continent, were at first intrusted to American citizens, yet the majority not only of the inferior servants, but also of the partners, were British subjects, nearly all of wliom had been in the service of a rival British association. The preparations for commencing the enterprise having been completed, four of the partners, Messrs. Mackay, Macdougal, David Stuart, and Robert Stuart, with eleven clerks, thirteen Canadian mjageurs, and five mechanics, all British subjects, took their departure from New York for the mouth of the Columbia River, in September, 1810, in the ship Tonquin, commanded by Jonathan Thome. In Jarmary following, the second detachment, conducted l)y Mr. Hunt, the chief agent, and Messrs. Maclellan, Mackenzie, and Crooks, set out for the same point, by way of the Missouri River ; and in October, 1811, the ship Beaver, under Captain Sowles, car- ried out from New York, to the North Pacific, Mr. Clarke, with six clerks and a number of other persons. Mr. Astor had already, in 1809, despatched the ship Enterprise, under Captain Ebbets, an intelligent and experienced seaman and trader, to make observations iit various places on the north-west coasts of America, and particularly at the Russian settlements, and to prepare the way for the new establishments. He, also, in 1811, sent an agent to St. Petersburg, by whose means he concluded an arrangement with the Russian American Company, to the effect that his association should have the exclusive privileges, of supplying the Russian establishments on the North Pacific with merchandise, receiving furs in payment, and of transporting to Canton such if M''r if! ill I ■ |:iH ^llil! '. ■■I i'' . ''!!i.. i-i .1'. I i !■ Wp-^ m^ \M muWh I luj,' t|.. J, U,! I • 1m U: !'!| 996 THE ASTORIA ENTKRI'HISR BKOUN. (1811. Other furs as the Russians might chooHc to ship for that port, on their own account, provided that the Americans should visit no other parts of the coast north of a certain latitude. The Tonquin passed around Cape Horn, and in February, 1811 arrived at Owyhee, where Macdougal, who was to superintend the affairs of the company on the Pacific and its coasts until the arrival of Hunt, endeavored to conclude a treaty of amity and commerce with King Tamahamaha : but that aged chief, whom experience had rendered distrustful, refused to bind himself by any contract with the white men ; and he would only promise to furnish the vessels of the company with provisions on the same terms with other vessels — namely, on payment of the value in Spanish dollars. Having obtained the necessary supplies in this way, and taken on board a dozen of the islanders, who were permitted by their sovereign to engage in the service of the Pacific Company, Captain Thome sailed for the mouth of the Columbia, where he eft'ected an entrance on the 24th of March, with great danger and difficulty, after losing three of his men, who attempted to reach the shore in a boat. The passengers immediately disembarked on the shore of Baker's Bay, on the north side of the Columbia, just within Cape Disappoint- ment, where sheds were built for their temporary accommodation. A few days afterwards, the partners set ofl* in search of a place proper for the establishment of a factory ; and they soon selected for that ol)- ject a spot on the south bank of the river, distant about ten miles from the ocean, which had received from Broughton, in 1792, the name of Point George. To this place the Tonquin was removed ; and, her goods and materials being landed, preparations were commenced for the erection of a fort and other houses, and for building a small vessel, of which the frame had been brought out from New York. In the course of two months, these works were so far advanced, that the assistance of the ship's crew was no longer needed ; and Captain Tliorne accordingly sailed on the 5th of June for the northern coasts, carrying with him Mr. Mackay who was to conduct the trade, and to make arrangements with the Russians, Mr. Lewis one of the clerks, and an Indian who spoke English, to serve as interpreter. During the ensuing summer, much progress was made in the buildings for the factory, which, in honor of the head of the com- pany, was named Astoria. A large piece of ground was cleared and laid out as a garden, in which various vegetables were planted; the small vessel was finished and launched ; trade was carried on with the neighboring Indians, and also with others from the higher 1^11. J DAVID THOMPSO VISITS ASTORIA. 297 parts n' the river, who gave "ki •>. ,h, Bfld j^ame, in exchange for manufti' tured articles ; and ever) Uiwig, in fine, seemed to promise success lo the eii, rprise. While the A*«)rians wf thus engaged, they were unexpectedly visited, on the 1.. h of July by a party of the North-West Company's men, under the flirection of Mr. David Thompson, the surveyor or astronomer of that body. These men had been despatched fronj Canada in the preceding year, with the object of forestalling the Americans in the occupation of the mouth of tuc Columbia, which they hoped to effect before the end of that season : but they were so long delayed in seeking a passage through the Rocky Mountains, that they were obliged to winter in that ridge, near the northernmost sources of the Columbia, under the 52d parallel of latitude ; whence they hastened down the river in the spring of 1811, building huts, and erecting flags at various places, by way of taking possession of the country. They were received at the fort not as rivals, but as friends ; and were treated with the utmost respect and hospitality, during their stay, by their old companion, the superintendent, Macdougal, who, moreover, furnished them with provisions, and even with goods, for trading on their departure up the river. Mr. Thompson and his followers in this expedition were, from all the accounts as yet made public, the first white persons who navigated the northern branch of the Columbia, or traversed any part of the country drained by it. The British commissioners, in the negotiation with the American plenipotentiary at London, in 1826, nevertheless, attempted to place Mr. Thompson's expedition on an equality, not only as to extent of discovery, but also as to date, with that of Lewis and Clarke ; and to represent the establishments which he is said to have founded on his way down the Columbia as prior to those formed by the Pacific Company. In their statement of the claims of Great Britain to territories west of the Rocky Moun- tains, they say* — "The United States further pretend that their claim to the country in question is strengthened and confirmed by the discovery of the sources of the Columbia, and by the exploration of its course to the sea by Lewis and Clarke, in 1805-6. In reply to this allegation, Great Britain affirms, and can distinctly prove, that, if not before, at least in the same and subsequent years, her North- West Trading Company had, by means of their agent, Mr. Thompson, already established their posts among the Flat-head and * See the British statement, among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the letter H. :J8 -♦' I. .1 !(' It 1 , i : . f '1 tm4 298 MARCH or HUNT, MACLKLLAN, AND CHO0K8. 11813. (i- ! m^'r r. i: Kootanie tribes, on the hcad-walcrs or iimiii branch of the Columbia and were gradually cxtoiiding thoni down the i)rinci|ml Htrcaiii of that river ; thus giving to Great Britain in this particular, as in tho discovery of the mouth of tho river, a title of parity at least, if not of priority of discovery, an opposed to the United States, h was from these posts that, having heard of the American establishtiicnt forming in 1811 at the mouth of the riv^r, Mr. Thompson hastened thither, descending tho riv r to ascertain the nature of that estab- lishment." The expression " if not before, at least in the same and following years," used here, is rather indefinite. In order to show how it should be understood conformabl;' with truth, it will be proper to repeat — that Lewis and Clarke lescemled the Columbia and reached its mouth before the middle of November, 1H(),")-^ that the North-West Company made their first establishment beyond the Rocky Mountains, at some distance north of any part of the Co- lumbia, in 1806 — that American estoblishments were formed on the Columbia in 1809, 1810, and 181 1 — an ' 1 ■ ,li , i ■■1 ■ , , :l' 1 i • •V, i: [ V ■ i ,i ! ■ f ^ I ■ ^' 302 HUNT S NEGOTIATIONS WITH BARANOr. [1813. li fl m :•! 1 ■ ', 1 ; 1 i 1* i ' partners, Stuart and Clarke, at the Okinagan and Spokan posts. The latter gentleman, on receiving this news, hastened to the factory, and there strongly opposed the determination to abandon the enterprise ; and it was at length agreed among them, that the establishments should be maintained a few months longer, at the end of whicli time, the company should be dissolved, unless assist- ance were received from the United States. Three of the clerks including Ross Cox, however, immediately quitted the concern and, entering the service of the North- West Company, took their departure for the upper country with Laroque and Mactavish, in July. From the United States no assistance came. The ship Lark was despatched from New York, in March, 1813, with men and goods for the Columbia ; but she was wrecked in October following, near one of the Sandwich Islands, on which the captain, Northrup, and crew succeeded in effecting a landing. The American government also determined, in consequence of the representations of Mr. Astor, to send the frigate Adams to the North Pacific, for the protection of the infant establishment ; but, just as that ship was about to sail from New York, it became necessary to transfer her crew to Lake Ontario, and the blockade of the coasts of the United States by the British rendered all further efforts to convey succors to Astoria unavailing. In the mean time, Mr. Hunt, the chief agent, who had sailed from the Columbia in the Beaver, in August, 1812, as already men- tioned, visited the principal Russian establishments on the north- west coasts of America, and the adjacent islands, and collected a large quantity of furs, besides concluding arrangements highly advantageous to the Pacific Company, with Governor Baranof,* at Sitka. It was then agreed between Mr. Hunt and Captain Sovvies, that the Beaver should proceed, by way of the Sandwich Islands, to Canton, instead of returning to the Columbia, as had been previous- ly determined ; and this was done, though Hunt went no farther in her than to Woahoo, one of the Sandwich group, where he remained several months, waiting for some vessel to carry him to Astoria. At length, in June, 1813, the ship Albatross, of Boston, arrived at * An amusing account of the negotiations between Hunt and Baranof is given in Mr. Irving's Astoria. The chief agent of the Pacific Company appears to have been in as much danger from the " potations pottle deep" of raw rum and burning punch, which accompanied each of his interviews with the governor of Russian America, as from hunger, thirst, savages, or storms, during his whole expedition. 1813.] ASTORIA SOLD TO THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY. 303 4 Woahoo, from China, bringing information of the war between the United States and Great Britain, and also that the Beaver was blockaded by a British siiip at Canton ; or> learning whicii, Mr. Hunt chartered the Albatross, and proceeded in her to the Colum- bia, where he arrived on the 4th of August. Mr. Hunt was astounded on learning the resolution adopted by the other partners at Astoria during his absence, which he endeav- ored to induce them to change ; but, finding them determined, he reluctantly acceded to it himself, and, after a few days, he re- embarked in the Albatross, for the Sandwich Islands, in search of some vessel to convey the property of the Pacific Company to a place of safety. At the Sandwich Islands no vessel could be found ; and Hunt accordingly continued in the Albatross until she arrived at Nooahevah, (one of the Washington Islands, discovered by Ingraham, in 1791,) where he learned from Commodore David Porter, who was lying there in the American frigate Essex, that a large British squadron, under Commodore Hillyar, was on its way to the Columbia. This news caused Hunt to hasten back to the Sandwich Islands, which he reached in December, soon after the wreck of the Lark ; and, having there chartered a small brig, called the Pedler, he sailed in her to Astoria, where he arrived in February, 1814. The fate of the Pacific Company, and its establishments in North- West America, had, however, been decided some time before the Pedler reached Astoria. Soon after the departure of Hunt, Mr. Mactavish and his followers of the North- West Company again appeared at Astoria, where they expected to meet a ship called the Isaac Todd, which had sailed from London in March, laden with goods, and under convoy of a British squadron, charged " to take and destroy every thing Amer- ican on the north-west coast.^^ They were received as before, and allowed to pitch their camp unmolested near the factory ; and private conferences were held between Mactavish and Macdougal, the results of which were, after some days, communicated to the other partners, and then to the clerks of the Pacific Company. These results were set forth in an agreement, signed on the 16th of October, 1813, between Messrs. Mactavish and Alexander Stuart, on the one part, and Messrs. Macdougal, Mackenzie, and Clarke, on the other ; by which all the " establishments, furs, and stock in hand" of the Pacific Company, in tho country of the ti i ! li W M I ;i- b''' 304 ASTORIA TAKEN BY THE BRITISH. [1813. li^^'.i: :l ■' is %$. lif ill I'll Columbia, were sold to the North- West Company, for about fifty, eight thousand dollars. Whilst the business of valuing the furs and goods at Astoria, and of transferring them to their new owners, was in progress, the British sloop of war Raccoon appeared at the mouth of the river, under the command of Captain Black, who had been despatched from the South Pacific, by Commodore Hillyar, for the purpose of taking the American forts and establishments on the Columbia, and had hast- ened thither in expectation of securing some glory, and a rich share of prize-money, by the conquest. On approaching the factory, however, the captain soon saw that he should gain no laurels ; and, after it had been formally surrendered to him by Mr. Macdougal, he learnt, to his infinite dissatisfaction, that its contents had become the property of British subjects. He could, therefore, only haul down the flag of the United States, and hoist that of Great Britain in its stead, over the establishment,* the name of which was, with due solemnity, changed to Fort George ; and, having given vent to his indignation against the partners of both companies, whom he loudly accused of collusion to defraud himself and his officers and crew of the reward due for their exertions, he sailed back to the South Pacific. The brig Pedler arrived in the Columbia, as before said, on the 28th of February, 1814, and Mr. Hunt found Macdougal super- intending the factory, not, however, as chief agent of the Pacific Company, but as a partner of the North- West Company, into which he had been admitted. Hunt had, therefore, merely to close the concerns of the American association in that quarter, and to receive the bills on Montreal, given in payment for its effects; after which he reembarked in the Pedler, with two of the clerks, and proceeded, by way of Canton and the Cape of Good Hope, to New York. Of the other persons who had been attached to the Pacific Fur Company's establishments, some were murdered by the Indians on Lewis River, in the summer of 1813; some, including Mr. Franchere, the author of the narrative of the expeditions, re- turned over land to the United States, or to Canada ; and some remained on the Columbia, in the service of the North- West Com- pany. The long-expected ship Isaac Todd reached Fort George on the 17th of April, thirteen months after her departure from Eng- * See the account of the capture of Astoria, extracted from Cox, in the Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter 6, No. 3. 1814.] TERMINATION OF THE ASTORIA ENTERPRISE. 305 -*' I ii Cox, in the Proofii land, bringing a large stock of supplies ; by the aid of which the partners of the North- West Company were enabled to extend their operations, and to establish themselves more firmly in the country. Such was the termination of the Astoria enterprise; for no attempt has been since made by any of the persons who were en- gaged in it to form establishments on the western side of America. It was wisely planned : the resources for conducting it were ample ; and its failure was occasioned by circumstan-^es, the principal of which could not have been reasonably anticipated at the time of its commencement. That ships might be lost at sea, or that parties might be destroyed by savages, or perish from cold or hunger, — casualties such as these were expected, and provisions were made for the con- tingencies. But, in 1810, when the Beaver sailed from New York, no one believed that, before the end of two years, the United States would be at war with the greatest maritime power in the world. By that war the whole plan was traversed. Communications by sea between the United States ano the Pacific coasts became diffi- cult and uncertain, whilst those by land were of little advantage, and were always liable to interruption by the enemy ; and there was, in fact, no object in collecting furs on the Columbia, when those articles could not be transported to China. The Pacific Compan ^ nevertheless, might, and probably would, have withstood all the ^ difliculties, if the directing partners on the Columbia had been Americans, instead of being, as the greater part of them loere, men unconnected with the United States by birth, or citizenship, or previous residence, or family ties. Mr. Astor de- clares that he would have preferred the loss of the establishments and property by a fair capture, to the sale of them in a manner which he considered disgraceful ; yet, although the conduct of Macdougal and Mackenzie, in that sale, and subsequently, was such as to authorize suspicions with regard to their motives, they could not have been expected to engage in hostilities against their compatriots and former friends. Being thus restrained from defend- ing the honor of the Pacific Company by force, they may have con- sidered themselves bound to take care of its interests, by the only means in their power, as they did in the sale. American citizens would have resisted the North-West Company, and would doubt- less have maintained their supremacy, in the couptry of the Co- lumbia, for some time, possibly until peace had been made between Great Britain and the United States. '" 39 ? '(V..iijl 'i^! ! II, 'If I,, |, 1 ' •:«: i p. :| 'fir ■«.' ii 306 CHAPTER XV. 1814 TO 1820. Restitution of Astoria to the United States by Great Britain, agreeably to the Treaty of Ghent — Alleged Reservation of Rights on the Part of Great Britain — First Negotiation between the Governments of Great Britain and the United States respecting the Territories west of the Rocky Mountains, and Convention for the joint Occtipancy of those Territories — Florida Treaty between Spain and the United States, by which the Latter acquires the Title of Spain to the North- West Coasts — Colonel Long's exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains — Disputes between the British North- West and Hudson's Bay Companies — Union of those Bodies — Act of Parliament extending the Jurisdiction of the Canada Courts to the Pacific Countries — Russian Establishments on the North Pacific- Expeditions in Search of Northern Passages between the Atlantic and the Pacific — Death of Tamahamaha, and Introduction of Christianity into the Sandwich Islands. -r ( m^ The capture of Astoria by the British, and the transfer of the Pacific Company's establishments on the Columbia to the North- West Company, were not known to the plenipotentiaries of the United States at Ghent, on the 24th of December, 1814, when they signed the treaty of peace between their country and Great Britain. That treaty contains no allusion whatsoever to the north- west coasts of America, or to any portion of the continent west of the Lake of the Woods. The plenipotentiaries of the United States had been instructed by their government to consent to no claim on the part of Great Britain to territory in that quarter south of the 49th parallel of latitude, for reasons which have been already stated ; and, after some discussion, they proposed to the British an article similar in effect to the fifth article of the convention signed, but not definitively concluded, in 1807, according to which,* a line drawn along that parallel should separate the territories of the powers so far as they extended west of the Lake of the Woods, provided, however, that nothing in the article should be construed as applying to any country west of the Rocky Mountains. The British plenipotentiaries were willing to accept this article, if it were also accompanied by a provision that their subjects should have access to the Mississippi River, through the territories of the United " For the reasons and the contention here mentioned, see chap. xiii. 1815.] THE UNITED STATES CLAIM ASTORIA. 307 States, and the right of navigating it to the sea ; but the Americans refused positively to agree to such a stipulation, and the question of boundaries west of the Lake of the Woods was left unsettled by the treaty. It was nevertheless agreed, in the first article of the treaty of Ghent, that " all ttrritory, places, and possessions, whatsoever, taken by either party from the other during the war, or which may be taken after the signing of this treaty, excepting only the islands hereinafter mentioned, [in the Bay of Fundy,] shall be restored without delay ; " and, in virtue of this article, Mr. Monroe, the secretary of slate of the United States, on the 18th of July, 1815, announced to Mr. Baker, the charge d'affaires of Great Britain at Washington, that the president intended immediately to reoccupy the post at the mouth of the Columbia. This determination seems to have been taken partly at the instance of Mr. Astor, who was anxious, if pos- sible, to recommence operations on his former plan in North- West America ; but no measures were adopted for the purpose until September, 1817, when Captain J. Biddle, commanding the sloop of war Ontario, and Mr. J. B. Prevost, were jointly commissioned to proceed in that ship to the mouth of the Columbia, and there 'to assert the claim of the United States to the sovereignty of the adjacent country, in a friendly and peaceable manner, and without the employment of force." * A few days after the departure of Messrs. Biddle and Prevost for the Pacific, on this mission, Mr. Bagot, the British plenipotentiary at Washington, addressed to Mr. J. Q, Adams, the American secretary of state, some inquiries respecting the destination of the Ontario, and the objects of her voyage ; and, having been informed on those points, he remonstrated against the intended occupation of the post at the mouth of the Columbia, on the groimds " that the place had not been captured during tho late war, but that the Americans had retired from it, under an agreement with the North- West Company, which had purchased their effects, and had ever since retained peaceable possession of the coast ; " and that " the territory itself tvas early taken possession of in his majesty's name, and had been since considered as forming part of his majesty's dominions ; " under which circumstances, no claim for the restitution of the post could be founded on the first article of the treaty of Ghent. At what precise time this possession was taken, or on %. II 1 : ■':,1 iV:M\^i ',:if * See President Monroe's message to Congress of April I5th, 1822, and the accom- panying documents. 'i> ft! 'i|iJ-'. i f i I .1, "'h I ! li. != 308 O. BRITAIN DENIES THE CLAIM OF THE U. STATES. [1818. what grounds the territory was considered as part of the British dominions, the minister did not attempt to show. Mr. Bagot at the same time communicated the circumstances to his government, and they became the subjects of discussion between Lord Castlereagh, the British secretary for foreign affairs, and Mr. Rush, the American plenipotentiary at London. Lord Castlereagh proposed tliat the question respecting the claim to the post on the Columbia should be referred to commissioners, as many other dis- puted points had been, agreeably to the treaty of Ghent ; to which Mr. Rush objected, for the simple reasons — that the spot was in the possession of the Americans before the war; that it fell, by bel- ligerent capture, into the hands of the British during the war ; and that, " under a treaty which stipulated the mutual restitution of all places reduced by the arms of either party, the right of the United Slates to immediate and full repossession could not be impugned." The British secretary, upon this, admitted the right of the Ameri- cans to be reinstated, and to be the party in possession, while treating on the title ; though he regretted that the government of the United States should have employed means to obtain restitution which might lead to difficulties. Mr. Rush had no apprehensions of that kind ; and it was finally agreed that the post should be restored to the Americans, and that the question of the title to the territory should be discussed in the negotiation as to limits and other matters, which was soon to be commenced. ^ ord Bathurst, the British secretary for the colonies, accordingly sent to the agents of the North-West Company at the mouth of the Columbia a despatch, directing them to afibrd due facilities for the reoccupation of the post at that point by the Americans ; and an order to the same eficct was also sent from the Admiralty to the conunandcr of the British naval forces in the Pacific. The Ontario passed around Cape Horn into the Pacific, and arrived, in February, 1818, at Valparaiso, where it was agreed between the commissioners that Captain Biddle should proceed to the Columbia, and receive possession of Astoria for the United States, Mr. Prevost remaining in Chili for the purpose of transact- ing some business with the government of that country, which had also been intrusted to him. Captain Biddle accordingly sailed to the Columbia, and, on the 9th of August, he took temporary pos- session of the country on that river, in the name of the United States, after which he returned to the South Pacific. In the mean time, Commodore Bowles, the commander of the I'l 1818.] ASTORIA RESTORED TO THE UNITED STATES. 309 British naval forces in the South Sea, received at Rio de Janeiro the order iVoin the Admiralty for the surrender of the post on the Columbia to the Americans. This order he transmitted to Captain Sheriff, the senior officer of the ships in the Pacific, who, meeting Mr. Prevost at Valparaiso, informed him of the contents of the order, and oflered him a passage to the Columbia, for the purpose of completing the business, as it certainly could not have been done by Captain Biddle. This ofler was accepted by the American commissioner, who proceeded, in the British frigate Blossom, to the Columbia, and entered that river in the beginning of October ; and Mr. Keith, the superintending partner of the North- West Company at Fort George, or Astoria, having also received the order, from the colonial department at London, for the surrender of the place, the all'air was soon despatched.* On the 6th of the month. Captain Hickey and Mr. Keith, as joint commissioners on the part of Great Britain, presented to Mr. Prevost a paper declaring that, in obe- dience to the commands of the prince regent, as signified in Lord Bathurst's despatch of the 27th of January previous, and in con- tbrmily to the first article of the treaty of Ghent, they restored to the government of the United States, through its agent, Mr. Prevost, the settlement of Fort George, on the Columbia River ; and Mr. Prevost, in return, gave another paper, setting forth the fact of his acceptance of the settlement for his government, agreeably to the if j '1 i \ 1 ^ il. 1,, i i i ■ 1 I ' I ' I'rcsidiMit Monroe's message to Congress of April 17th, 1S22, accompanied by Mr. Prevost's letter, dated Monterey, November llth, 1816. The two papers above m-ntioned are of so much importance, that they are here given at length. Tiie act of delivery presented by the Britisli commissioners is as follows : — "III obedience to the commands of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, signi- fied in a despatch from the right honorable the Earl Bathurst, addressed to the part- ners or agents of the North- West Company, bearing date the 27th of January, 1818, and in obedience to a subsequ'-nt order, dated the 2(jth of July, from W. H. Sheriff, Esq., captain of his Majesty's ship Andromache, we, the undersigned, do, in conform- ity to the first article of the treaty of Ghent, restore to the Government of the United States, through its agent, J. B. Prevost, Esq., the settlement of Fort George, on the Columbia River. Given under our hands, in triplicate, at Fort George, (Columbia River,) this 6th day of October, 1818. " F. MicKEv, Captain of his Majesty's ship Blossom. "J. Keith, of the JVorth-fVest Company." The act of acceptance^ on the part of the American commissioner, is in these words : — " I do hereby acknowledge to have this day received, in behalf of the Government of the United States, the possession of tiie settlement designated above, in conformity to the first article of the treaty of Ghent. Given under my hand, in triplicate, at Fort George, (Columbia River,) this Gtli of October, 1818. "J. B. Prevost, Agent for the United States." ! r'-tl ''' ti't'll 4b I* I *t , ,. . .'^ '■ -k\. ... a .i,:k;i'; III [; 1 ill.- ' vt' ' ■ Uttj m^ Mi 1 im. 310 PRETENDED nESEHVATION OF THE BRITISH. [1818. above-mentioned treaty. The British flag was then formally low- ered, and that of the United States, having been hoisted in its stead over the fort, was saluted by the Blossom. The documents above cited — the only ones which passed between the commissioners on this occasion — are sufficient to show that no reservation or exception was made on the part of Great Britain, and that the restoration of Astoria to the United States was complete and unconditional. Nevertheless, in a nef^otiation between the governments of those nations, in 1826, relative to the territories of the Columbia, it was maintained by the plenipoten- tiaries of Great Britain,* that the restoration of Astoria could not have been legally required by the United States, in virtue of the treaty of Ghent, because the place was not a national possession, nor a military post, and was not taken during war ; but " in order that not even the shadow of a reflection might be cast upon the good faith of the British government, the latter determined to give the most liberal extension to the terms of the treaty of Ghent; and in 1818, the purchase which the British Company had made in 1813 was restored to the United States; particular care being, however, taken, on this occasion, to prevent any misapprehension as to the extent of the concession made by Great Britain." In support of this last assertion, two documents are produced, as having been addressed, in 1818, bt/ the British ministers to their oivn agents, nn(\ which, though never before published, or communicated in any way to the United States, were considered by the plenipotentiaries, in 1826, as putting the " case of the restoration of Fort Astoria in too clear a light to require further observation." One of these documents is presented as an extract from Lord Castlereagh's despatch to Mr. Bagot, dated February 4th, 1818, in which his lordship says, "You will observe, that whilst this government is not disposed to contest with the American government the point of possession, as it stood in the Columbia River, at the moment of the rupture, they are not prepared to admit the validity of the title of the government of the United States to this settlement. In signifying, therefore, to Mr. Adams the full acquiescence of your government in the reoccupa- tion of the limited position which the United States held in that river at the breaking out of the war, you will, at the same time, assert, in suitalle terms, the claim of Great Britain to that territory, upon which the American settlement must be considered an encroach- * Staleiient presented by the British plenipotentiaries to Mr. Gtllatin, among the Proofs and illustrations, letter H. See hereafter, chap. xvi. •'^, ♦' 1818.] PRETENDED RESERVATION OF BRITISH RIGHTS. 311 G-illatin, among the ment : " the plenipotentiaries ndd that " this instruction was ex- ecuted verbally by the person to whom it was addressed." The other document purports to be a copy of the despatch from Lord Bathurst to the partners of the North- West Company, mentioned in the Act of Delivery, presented by Messrs. Keith and Hickey, direct- ing them to restore the post on the Columbia, " in pursuance of the first article of the treaty of Ghent," in which the words " without, however, admitting the right of that government to the possession in question " appear in a parenthesis.'** Without inquiring, at present, whether or not Astoria was a mtional possession of the United States, agreeably to the rules and definitions laid down by writers on national law, there can be no difficulty in showing that it was such according to the principles and practice of Great Britain ; and for that purpose, it is necessary merely to refer to the circumstances attending the dispute between that power and Spain, in 1790, when the British government re- quired from Spain the surrender of a territory discovered by her navigators, and occupied by her forces, on the ground that it had, previous to such occupation, become the property of British sub- jects. Whether Astoria was a military post or not, could be of no consequence, as the treaty of Ghent provides for the restoration of "fl// territory, places, and possessions, whatsoever, taken by either party from the other, during the war," except those on the Atlantic side of America specially named ; and that the establishments on the Columbia were so taken by the British during war, has been sufficiently proved. The right of the United States to make settle- ments on the Columbia, existed previous to the foundation of As- toria, in virtue of the discoveries and explorations of their private citizens and public officers ; and that right could not be lessened, by any subsequent acts of their citizens, without the consent of their government. The agents of the Pacific Company, in c.^pec- * The following is a copy of this despatch, as given in tiie British statement, which will be found among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the letter H : — "Downing Street, January 27th, 1818. " Intelligence having been received, that the United States sloop of war Ontario has been sent by the American government to establish a settlement on the Columbia River, which was held by that State on the breaking out of the last war, I am to acquaint you that it is the Prince Regent's pleasure, (without, however, admitting the right of that government to the possession in question,) that, in pursuance of the first article of the treaty of Ghent, due facility should be given to the reoccupation of the said settlement by the officers of the United States ; and I am to desire that you would contribute, as much as lies in your power, to the execution of his Royal High- Dew's commands. I have, &c. &c., "Bathcrst." iH", r IK hi::-' I m i^M li 312 BRITISH VIEWS OV NATIONAL rAITif. (1818. tation of the arrival of an overpowering Rritish force, sold their " establishments, furs, and stock in hand,'' * to the North- West Com- pany ; but they did not, nor eoiiM tin-y, alienate tfiv risrht of domain of the United Staten, which continued as hefore that transuctioii until the British forces arrived, ami took poHsession of the coutiirv by right of conquest. The same circumstances might have oc- curred with regard to places near the head of the Mississippi, or in Maine ; oiid Great Britain would not have been bound more slrorii'. ly by the treaty of Ghent to restore such places than to restore the establishments on the Columbia. With regard to the two documents, which the British plenipo- tentiarics consider as putting *' the case of th. restoration of Astoria in too clear a light to require further observation," — that is to say, as establishing the fact of a reservation of right to that place on the part of Great Britain, — it will not be difficult to show that they are both insufficient, and, indeed, wholly inadmissible, as evidence in " the case." The United States have no more concern with the private despatches of the British ministers to their agents, than with the private opinions of those ministers ; and the attempt to represent such communications as reservations of rigl.t on the part of Great Britain to the very territory which she was then in the act of re- storing to the United States, expressedly in pursuance of a treaty, is alike at variance with the common sense and the common inorals of the day. No arguments are required to show that, if such reser- vations were allowable, all engagements between nations would he nugatory, and all faith at an end. With regard to the assertion of the British claim to Astoria, which is said to have been verbally made hy the British envoy at Washington to Mr. Adams — in the first placet " it is not stated how the communication was received, nor whether the American government consented to accept the restitution with the reservation, as expressed in the despatch to the envoy ; " and it is certainly by no means consonant with the usages of diplomatic intercourse at the present day, to treat verbally on questions so important as those of territorial sovereignty, or to consider f\s suf- ficient protests and exceptions made in that manner, and brought forward long after, without acknowledgment of any kind on the part of those to whom they are said to have been addressed. The only communication received by the American government, on the * See Proofs and Illustrations, letter G, No. 2. I Mr. Gallatin's counter statement, during the negotiation in 1826, communicated to the Congress of the United States, with President Adams's message of December 12th, 1827. • •'' 1818.J BHITIHII VIKWS or NATIONAL I'AITH. 313 occasion of tho restitution of Astoria, is explicit : " We, the nnder- s/xf/jtrf, do, in confonnity to the first article of the treaty of (ihent, rtitore to the government of the United States the settlement of Fort (Jeorgc, on the Columbia River ;^' and this direct and unqualified rccn^'nition of tiic right of tho United States cannot be aflected by subae()uent communications to or from any persons. It may also be remarked, that although the British government, in \6M, pronounced as suflicient a reservation contained in a secret (locputch from one of its own ministers to one of its own agents, and withheld from the other party interested in the matter, yet, in 1834, the sanjc government pronounced tho reservation contained in tho Declaration publicly presented by the S|)anish ambassador at Lon- don, in 1771, on the conclusion of the dispute respecting the Talk- land Islands, " not to possess any substantial weight j" ^ inasmuch as it had not been noticed in the Acceptance presented by the British government in return. The circumstances connected with the last- mentioned transaction have been already so fully exposed, that it is unnecessary to repeat them here. Immediately after the conclusion of the surrender of Astoria, Mr. Keith presented to Mr. Prevost a note containing inquiries — whether or not the government of tho United States would insist upon tiie abandonment of the post by the North- West Company,! belbrc the final decision of the question as to the right of sove- reignty over the country ; and whether, in the event of such a f • Letter from Viscount Palmerston to Scnor Moreno, envoy of Buenos Ayres at London, dati-d Junuary tith, IHIM. bee the note in p. Ill, containing a sketcti of thi' circunistniices of tlif dispute rifspecting the Falkland Islands. t The buildings, and, indeed, tho whole establishment at Astoria, had been consid- erably increased, since it came into the hands of the North- West Company. Accord iiig to the plan and description of the place sent by Mr. Prevost to Washington, the factory consisted, in 18 Id, of a stockade made of pine logs, twelve feet in length above tlie ground, enclosing a parallelogram of one hundred and fifly by two hundred and fifty feet, extending in its greatest length from north-west to south-east, and defended by bastions or towers at two opposite angles. Within this enclosure were all the buildings of the establishment, such as dwelling-houses, magazines, store- houses, mechanics' shops, &c. The artillery were two heavy eighteen-pounders, six six-pounders, four four-pound carronades, two six-pound cohorns, and seven swivels, all mounted. The number of persons attached to the place, besides a few women and children, was sixty-five, of whom twenty-three were whites, twenty-six Sandwich Islanders, (or Kana/tis, as they are generally called in the Pc.cific,) and the remainder persons of mixed blood, from Canada. In 1821, these buildings were all destroyed by tire ; and since that period, the principal establishment of the British traders west of the Rocky Mountains has been Fort Vancouver, on the north side of the Colunibia, about one hundred miles from the sea. Fort George now consists of only three or four log-houses, occupied by a Hudson's Bay trader. 40 M^: t 314 NEGOTIATION AT LONDON. 4»i ... . _ , ^ p ii /'«''' ^4- r; [1818. decision being in favor of the United States, their government would be disposed to indemnify the North- West Company for any improvements which they might, in the mean time, have made there. On these points, Mr. Prevost, having no instructions, could only reply, as he did, to the effect — that his government would, doubtless, if it should determine to keep up the settlement, satisfy any claims of the North- West Company which might be conformable with justice and the usages of civilized .nations. After a few days more spent on the Columbia, the Blossom quitted the river with Mr. Prevost, whom she carried to Peru, the post remaining in the hands of the British traders, who have ever since continued to occupy it. Whilst these measures for the restitution of Astoria were in progress, a negotiation was carried on, at London, between the plenipotentiaries of the American and British governments, for the definitive arrangement of many questions which were left unsettled by the treaty of Ghent, including those relating to the boundaries of the territories of the two nations west of the Lake of the Woods.* Messrs. Rush and Gallatin, the plenipotentiaries of the United States, proposed — that the dividing line between those territories should be drawn from the north-western extremity of that lake, north or south, as the case might require, to the 49th parallel of latitude, and thence along that parallel west to the Pacific Ocean. The British commissioners, Messrs. Goulburn and Robin- son, after a discussion in which they endeavored to secure to British subjects the right of access to the Mississippi, and of navigatinii that river, agreed to admit the line proposed as far west as the Rocky Mountains ; and an article to that effect was accordingly inserted in the projct of a convention. The claims of the respective nations to territories west of the Rocky Mountains were then considered. Messrs. Rush and Galla- tin " did not assert that the United States had a perfect right to that country, but insisted that their claim was at least good against Great Britain ; " and they cited, in support of that claim, the facts of the discovery of the Columbia River, of the first exploration from its sources to its mouth, and of the formation of the first establishments in the country through which it flows, by American citizens. Messrs. Goulburn and Robinson, on the other hand, affirmed " that former voyages, and principally that of Captain Cook, gave to Great Britain the rights derived from discovery ; and they alluded to * President Monroe's message to Congress, with the accompanying documents, sent December 29th, 1818. i,(i smpanying document*, 1818.] CONVENTION OF UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN. 315 purchases from the natives south of the Columbia, which they alleged to have been made prior to the American revolution. They did not make any formal proposition for a boundary, but intimated that the river itself was the most convenient which could be adopted ; and that they would not agree to any which did not give them the harbor at the mouth of that river, in common with the United States." It is needless here to repeat the proofs that Cook saw no part of the west coast of America south of Mount San Jacinto, near the 57th degree of latitude, which had not been already explored by the Spaniards ; with regard to the purchases from the natives south of the Columbia, alleged to have been made by British subjects prior to the revolution, history is entirely silent. The de- termination expressed on the part of the British government not to assent to ai.y arrangement which did not give to Great Britain the mouth of the Columbia, was at least unequivocal, and was sufficient to show that all arguments on the American side would be unavailing. It was, accordingly, at length agreed that all territories and their waters, claimed by either power, west of the Rocky Mountains, should be free and open to the vessels, citizens, and subjects, of both for the space of ten years ; provided, however, that no claim of either, or of any other nation, to any part of those territories, should be prejudiced by the arrangement. This convention having been completed, it was signed by the plenipotentiaries on the 20th of October, 1818, and was soon after ratified by the governments of both nations.* The compromise contained in its third article, with regard to the territories west of the Rocky Mountains, was, perhaps, the most wise, as well as the most equitable, measure which could have been adopted at that tune ; considering that neither party pretended to possess a perfect title to the sovereignty of any of those territories, and that there was no prospect of the speedy conclusion of any arrangement with regard to them, between either party and the other claimants, Spain and Russia. The agreement could not certainly, at the time, have been considered unfavorable to the United States ; for, although the North- West Company held the whole trade of the Columbia country, yet the important post at the mouth of that river was restored to the Americans without reservation, and there was every reason for supposing that it would be immediately re- * See the third article of the convention of October, 1818, among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this History, under the letter K, No. 2. 1:'; I M'j; i| i:,i!l^ m < ■ i 'I ;i 'M^ M '! .1 f'ti'J. 4 1^." -I ! ,y ? 316 FLORIDA TREATY BETWEEN U. STATES AND SPAIN. [1818. occupied by its founders : and it seemed, moreover, evident that the citizens of the United States would enjoy many and great advantages over all other people in the country in question, in con- sequence of their superior facilities of access to it, especially since the introduction of steam vessels on the Mississippi and its branches. In the same year, a negotiation was carried on at Washington, between the governments of the United States and Spain, in which the question of boundaries on the north-west side of America was likewise discussed. The Spanish minister, Don Luis de Onis, began by declaring that " the right and dominion of the crown of Spain to the north-west coast of America as high as the Californias, is certain and indisputable ; the Spaniards having explored it as far as the 47th degree, in the expedition under Juan de Fuca, in 1592, and in that under Admiral Fonte, to the 55th degree, in 1640. The dominion of Spain in these vast regions being thus established, and her rights of discovery, conquest, and possession, being never dis- puted, she could scarcely possess a property founded on more re- spectable principles, whether of the law of nations, of public law, or of any others which serve as a basis to such acquisitions as compose all the indf per 'ent kingdoms and states of the earth." Upon these positive asst I , he American plenipotentiary, Mr. J. Q. Adams, secretary of / , did not consider himself required to offer any comment ; and the origin, extent, and value, of the claims of Spain to the nortli-western portion of America remained unquestioned during the discussion. The negotiation was broken off in the early part of the year, soon after its commencement ; it was, however, renewed, and was terminated on the 22d of February, 1819, by a treaty commonly called the Florida treaty, in which the southern boundaries of the United States were definitively fixed. Spain ceded Florida to the American republic, which relinquished all claims to urritories west of the River Sabine, and south of the upper parts of the Red and the Arkansas Rivers ; and it was agreed that a line drawn on the meridian from the source of the Arkansas northward to the 4-^d parallel of latitude, and thence along that parallel westward to the Pacific, should form the northern boundary of the Sj>anis!i possessions, and the southern boundary of those of the United States, in that quarter, — " His Catholic majesty ceding to the United States all his rights, claims, and pretensions, to any territories nortii of the said line." The provisions of this treaty, particularly those relating to limits, appear to have been as nearly just as any which could have been ► SPAIN. [1818. 1818.] TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN. 317 framed ; and, as an almost necessary consequence, they were not received with general satisfaction by either nation. The Spanish government withheld its ratification of the treaty for nearly two years ; and within a year after that ratification had been made, the authority of Spain was extinguished in every portion of America which she had formerly possessed contiguous to the boundary thus established in 1819.* The territories immediately adjoining that boundary on the south, including Texas, New Mexico, and Califor- nia, then became attached to the Mexican republic, with which power the United States subsequently concluded a treaty confirm- ing the limits settled with Spain. With regard to the extent of the territory west of the Rocky Mountains, and the validity of the title to it thus acquired by the United States, it will be convenient here to introduce some observa- tions : as the British government has since maintained that the only riglits possessed by the United States in that part of America are those derived from Spain through the Florida treaty ; and that they are merely the rights secured to Spain, in common with Great Britain, in 1790, by the Nootka convention. ♦ ii. i. Ii «'■• '''1 i;'' I I * The third article of the Florida treaty, defining the boundary as settled, will be found among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the letter K, No. 3. The whole correspondence is contained in the documents accompa- nying President Monroe's message to Congress of February 22d, 1819. Great skill, as well as knowledge of the suhject, is displiiyed in the notes of each of the plenipoten- tiaries, particularly in those of Mr. Adams, who moreover exhibits, in every part, that earnestness arising from profound conviction of the justice of his cause, which has so much weight even in diplomacy. Many curious facts relative to the negotiation have subsequently been brought to light, especially in the Memoir published by the Spanish plenipotentiary, in his defence, after his return to Spain, in 1820. He there shows clearly, that he was by no means convinced that the territory in dispute beyond the Sabine did not properly form a part of Louisiana; and he declares expressly, that his principal object in the long corre- spondence wiiich he kept up on tiiat subject, was to gain time. In fact, during the summer of 1818, while the correspondence was partially suspended, (with the same object of gaining time, no lU ubt,) the Spanish government formally applied to that of Great Britain for aid, or at least for its mediation, in the aft'air; to which Lord Castle- reagh immediately and decidedly answered in tiie negative, at the same time advising the Spanish government to cede Florida to the United States, and to make any other arrangement which might be deemed proper, ivithoiit ikliiij. The Chevalier de Onis, in his Memoir, claims the praise of his nation for having exchanged, the small and com- paratively unimportant province of Florida for the rich and productive territory of Texas. " I will agree," he adds, " that the third article might, with greater clearness, have been expressed thus — ' /« cx.chunge the United States cede to his Catholic majesty the province of Texas,' &c. — but as I had been for three years maintaining, in the lengthened correspondence herein inserted, that this province belonged to the king, it would have been a contradiction to express, in the treaty, that the United States cede it to his majesty." '■11 1 ■ ' ■;■!!' tt am- ■4 W' 1' f J : I' ^ K 318 DURATTON OF THE NOOTKA OONVKNTION. [1819. That the Nootka convention expired on the declaration of war by Spain against Great Britain in 1796, and conld not have been after tlmt period in force, except in virtue of a distinct and formal renewal by the same parties — is consonant with the universal practice of civ- ilized nations, and especially of Great Britain, as manifested during the well-known negotiations between her government and that of the United States, in 1915, respecting the Newfoundland fishery. Mr. Adams, the American plenipotentiary, on that occasion, insisted that his countrymen should continue, not only to fish on the Banks of Newfoundland, but also to land on the British American coasts for the same purpoF , as they had done before the war of 1812, by the treaty of 1783, although that treaty had not been renewed by the treaty of Ghent, at the termination of the war — upon the ground that the treaty of 1783, by which Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the United States, was " of a peculiar nature, and bore, in that nature, a character of permanency, not subject, like many of the ordinary contracts between independent nations, to abrogation by a subsequent war between the same parties." To this the British minister. Lord Bathurst, answered, that, " if the United States derived from the treaty of 1783 privileges from which other independent nations, not admitted by treaty, were excluded, the duration of those privileges must depend on the duration of the instrument by wliicli they were granted ; and if the war abrogated the treaty, it deter- mined the privileges. It has been urged, indeed," continues his lordship, " on the part of the United States, that the treaty of 1783 was of a peculiar nature, and that, because it contained a recognition of American independence, it could not be abrogated by a subse- quent war between the parties. To a position of this novel nature Great Britain cannot accede. She Icnoivs of no exception to the rule, that all treaties are put an end to by a subsequent war between the same parties : she cannot, therefore, consent to give to her diplo- matic relations with one state a different degree of permanency from that on which her connection with all other states depends. Nor can she consider any one state at liberty to assign to a treaty, made with her, such a peculiarity of character, as shall make it, as to duration, an exception to all other treaties, in order to found on a peculiarity thus assumed an irrevocable title to all indulgences which have all the features of temporary concessions." The British minister, indeed, admitted that recognitions of right in a treaty might be considered as perpetual obligations : and, refer- ring to the terms of the treaty of 1783, he showed that the right of 1819.] THE NOOTKA CONVENTION EXPIRED IN 1796. 319 the Americans to fish on the banks of Newfoundland (that is to say, in the open sea) was there distinctly acknowledged, while the liberty to use the British coasts for the same purpose was conceded to them ; and that, although the right subsisted in virtue of the independence of the United States, the liberty expired on the declaration of war in 1812, and could not again be enjoyed, without the express con- sent of Great Britain. It may be added that the position thus assumed by the British government was maintained throughout the negotiation ; at the end of which, the liberty to take and cure fish on certain parts of the British American coasts, so long as they should remain unsettled, was secured to the citizens of the United States, in common with British siibjects, forever, by the first article of the convention of October 20th, 1818.* Applying to the Nootka convention the rule thus enforced by Great Britain in 1815, with all its exceptions in their widest sense, there can be no question that this compact was entirely abrogated by the war between that power and Spain, begun in October, 1796. On analyzing the convention, it will be seen that the first, second, and eighth articles relate exclusively to certain acts, which were to be forthwith performed by one or both of the parties, and which having been performed, as they all were, before 1796, those articles became dead letters. By the third, article, " it is agreed, in order to strengthen the bonds of friendship, and to preserve, in future, a perfect harmony and good understanding betiveen the two contracting parties," that their respective subjects shall not be disturbed or molested in navigating or fishing in the Pacific or Southern Oceans, or in land- ing on the coasts of those seas in places not already occupiejl, "for the purpose of carrying on their commerce with the natives of the country, or of making settlements there ; " under certain restrictions, nevertheless, to the specification of which the fourth, fifth, and sixth articles are entirely devoted: the remaining seventh article merely indicating the course to be pursued in cases of infraction of the others. The Nootka convention thus contains nothing which can be construed as a perpetual obligation, no assertion or recogni- tion of right, which can be deemed irrevocable ; but is, as a whole, and in each of its separate stipulations, a concession, or series of concessions. To navigate and fish in the open sea, and to trade and settle on coasts unoccupied by any civilized nation, are indeed rights claimed by all civilized nations: Spain, however, did not -♦' I'l U ' I * ' ur *\ I',! !<■ ■li' ! ■ ' i . j ; 1 I 1 ■ 1 ■ ll:;.l . Wl 1 : ■ M ' ..■ fM^ii ■* ),.; ' ■'.;i * Correspondence annexed to Prceident Monroe's message to Congress of Decem- ber 2Dth, 1818. lit'" h '■'. I 4. j! . I ■ 320 THE NOOTKA CONVENTION KXPIRED IN 1796. [1819. acknowledge these rights as existing in any other power with regard to the Pacific and Southern Oceans and their American coasts ; and, by the Nootka convention, she merely engaged to desist from the exercise of privileges claimed by her in those seas and coasts, so far as British subjects might be affected by them, on condition tliat Great Britain should desist from the exercise of privileges claimed by her, in the same quarters of the world. After the abrogation of the convention by war, each nation might again assert and exercise the privileges claimed by it before the conclusion of the compact ; and neither could be regjirdcd as bound by any of the restrictions defined in tliJit instrument, until they had been formally renewed by express consent of both the original parties. The war begun by Spain against Great Britain, in 1796, con- tinued, with the intermission of the two years of uncertainty suc- ceeding the peace of Amiens, until 1809, when those nations were again allied, in opposition to France. Since that period, they have remained constantly at peace with each other. The only engage- ment made between them for the renewal of treaties subsisting before 1796, is contained in the first of the three additional articles to the treaty of Madrid, signed on the '24th of August, 1314, wherein " It is as'recd that, pending the negotiation of a neiv treaty of com- merce, Great Britain shall be admitted to trade ivith Spain, upon the same conditions as those tvhich existed previously to 1796 ; all the treaties of commerce, which at that period subsisted between the two nations, being hereby ratified and confirmed^ Thus the Nootka convention could not have been in force at any time between Octo- ber, 1796, and August, 1814; nor since that period, unless it were renewed by the additional article above quoted. That the first part of this article related only to trade between the European dominions of Great Britain and Spain, is certain, because no trade had ever been allowed, by treaty or otherwise, between either kingdom, or its colonies, and the colonies of the other, except in the single case of the ^s?'t7/^o, concluded in 171.3, and abrogated in 1740, agreeably to which the British South Sea Company supplied the Spanish colonies with negro slaves during that period ; and because, more- over, by an article in the treaty of Madrid, to which the above- quoted article is additional, " /n the event of the commerce of the Spanish American colonies being oyened. to foreign nations, his Catholic majesty promises that Great Britain shall be admitted to trade with those possess^'ons, as the most favored nation." The second part of the additional article is evidently intended merely in confir- \ ; 1819.J THE NOOTKA CONVENTION EXPIRED IN 1796. 321 mation and completion of the first, which would otherwise have want- ed the requisite degree of precision ; and it certainly could not have embraced the convention of 1790, except so far as related to the commerce of each of the parties on the unoccupied coasts of Amer- ica, and the settlements made by each for that special purpose. Had the convention of 1790 been expressly renewed and con- firmed in 1814, it would still have been inoperative, except with regard to subjects and establishments of the contracting parties. The governments of Great Britain and Spain might have again agreed that their subjects should reciprocally enjoy liberty of access and trade, in all establishments which either might form on the north-west coasts of America ; but neither power could have claimed such rights in places on those coasts then occupied by a third nation. It has been already shown that, after the abandonment of Nootka Sound by the Spaniards, in March, 1795, no settlement was made, or attempted, by them in any of the countries on the western side of America north of the Bay of San Francisco ; and that, during the period between that year and 1814, many establishments were formed in those countries by Russians, British, and citizens of the United States. The Russians extended their posts from Aliaska eastward to Sitka, and even fixed themselves within a few miles of the Bay of San Francisco. The British founded their first establish- ment west of the Rocky Mountains, in 1806, on the upper waters of Eraser's River, near the 54th degree of latitude. The Columbia was surveyed by order of the government of the United States, with a view to its occupation, in 1805 ; and their citizens made estab- lishments on that river successively in 1808, 1810, and 1811, of which the principal were, in 1813, taken by the British, and in 1818, restored to the Americans, agreeably to the treaty of Ghent. Under such circumstances, the title of Spain to the countries north of the Bay of San Francisco, however strong it may have been in 1790 or 1796, in virtue of discoveries and settlements, must be allowed to have become considerably weaker in 1819, from disuse, and from submission to the acts of occupation by other powers. Thus, whilst it may be doubted th&t either of those powers could in justice claim the sovereignty of the country occupied by its sub- jects without the consent of Spain, the latter could not have claimed the exclusive possession of such country, or have entered into com- pacts with a third power, respecting trade, navigation, or settlement, in it, agreeably to any recognized principle of national law. Still less could Great Britain have claimed the right to exclude other 41 r "jvW S ■. ■■■♦ ■( Hm M i ! i' y ! i ■ I 1 ■M x y wm ■I hr;'i fi':< i.;^',. 4. m 4 i 332 LONG S EXPEDITION TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. [1819. IWl nations from the sovereignty of the regions traversed by the Co- lumbia, in which her subjects had made no discoveries, and wliicli had been first occupied by the United States, unless upon the ground of conquest during war ; and this ground became untena!)le after the treaty of Ghent, as distinctly acknowledged by the British government in the fact of the restoration of Astoria. Thus, whilst the title to the countries north of the 42d parallel of latitude, derived by the United States from Spain, through the Florida treaty, was undoubtedly imperfect, — though not from any possible effect of the Nootka convention, as insisted by the British government in 1826, — yet that title, in addition to those previously possessed by the Americans, in virtue of their discoveries and set- tlements in the Columbia countries, appears to constitute a right of occupation in their favor, stronger than could be alleged by any other nation, if not amounting to an absolute right of sovereignty. Immediately after the signature of the Florida treaty, an expedi- tion for the purpose of examining the country drained by the Missouri and its branches was organized by Mr. Calhoun, then secretary of war of the United States, on a scale of equipment more complete, in every respect, than any of those previously made to that part of America. The party, comprising a large number of officers, men of science, soldiers, and other persons, under the command of Major Stephen Long, quitted Pittsburg on the SOth of May, 1819, in a steam vessel which had been specially con- structed for the purpose, and pursued their route down the Ohio, and up the Mississippi and Missouri, examining many interestinj^ points in their way, as far as Council Bluffs, on the last-mentioned river, eight hundred and fifty miles above its confluence with the Mississippi. Near this place they spent the winter, and lost several of their men from scurvy ; and, in the spring of 1820, orders were received from Washington, in consequence of which, many of the objects proposed were abandoned, and the operations were re- stricted to tracing the Platte and Arkansas Rivers to their sources. They accordingly, in June, proceeded up the valley of the Platte, a very shallow stream, as its name imports, to the confluence of its north and south branches or forks, distant about three hundred and twenty miles from its mouth, and then continued along the south fork, to its sources in the Rocky Mountains, near the 40th degree of latitude. Here, on the 13th of July, Dr. James, the botanist of the expedition, ascended a mountain, named after him James's Peak, the height of which ."as estimated, though on data by no '\p rsons, under the 1820.] STERILITY or THE CENTRAL REGIONS OF AMERICA. 333 means sufficient, at not less than eight thousand five hundred feet above the ocean level ; and then, striking the head-waters of th*? Arkansas, which also flows from the same mountain, they de- scended the valley of that river to its junction with the Mississippi. Much information was obtained, through this expedition, respect- ing the geography, natural history, and aboriginal inhabitants, of the countries traversed, all of which was communicated to the world in an exact and perspicuous narrative, published by D**. James in 18^3. One most important fact, in a political point of view, was completely established by the observations of the party ; namely, that the whole division of North America, drained by the Missouri and the Arkansas, and their tributaries, between the meridian of the mouth of the Platte and the Rocky Mountains, is almost entirely unfit for cultivation, and therefore uninhabitable by a people depending upon agriculture for their subsistence. The portion of this territory within five hundred miles of the Rocky Mountains, on the east, extending from the 39th to the 49th paral- lels of latitude, was indeed found to be a desert of sand and stones ; and subsequent observations have shown the adjoining regions, to a great distance west of those mountains, to be still more arid and sterile. These circumstances, as they became known through the United States, rendered the people and their repre- sentatives in the federal legislature more and more indifferent with re<^ard to the territories on the north-western side of the continent. It became always difficult, and generally impossible, to engage the attention of Congress to any matters connected with those countries : emigrants from the populous states of the Union would not banish themselves to the distant shores of the Pacific, whilst they could obtain the best lands on the Mississippi and its branches at mod- erate prices ; and capitalists would not vest their funds in establish- ments for the administration and continued possession of which they could have no guarantee. From 1813 until 1823, few, if any, American citizens were employed in the countries west of the Rocky Mountains ; and ten years more elapsed before any settle- ment was formed, or even attempted, by them in that part of the world. Ciianges were, about the same time, made in the system of the British trade in the northern parts of America, which led to the most important political and commercial results. Frequent allusions have been already made to the enmity svibsist- ing between the Hudson's Bay and the North- West Compuaies. ■♦' '1 ■V , ■' ■ I ■ I f' , ; 1 '■ ; ■ ■^ ; . h ' M '■■ l\ H'[l'"'i- ' " ! t , 1 i ' ! ;l It': \ ' ' lull r- '. 324 DISPUTES OF BItlTISH f'UR COMPANIES. [1816. This feeling was displayed only in words, or in the commission of petty acts of injury or annoyance by each against the other, until 1814, when a regular war broke out between the parties, which was, for some time after, openly carried on. The scene of the hostilities was the territory traversed by the Red River of Hudson's Bay and its branches, in which Lord Selkirk, a Scotch nobleman, had, in 1811, obtained from the Hudson's Bay Company a grant of not less than a hundred thousand square miles, for the establish- ment of agricultural colonies. The validity of this grant was denied by the North- West Company, to which the proposed occu- pation of the territory in question would have been absolutely ruinous, as the routes from Canada to the north-western trading posts ran through it, and from it were obtained nearly all the pro- visions consumed at those posts. The British government, however, appeared to favor and protect Lord Selkirk's project, and a large number of Scotch Highlanders were, without opposition, established on Red River, the country about which received, in 1812, the name of Ossinobia. For two years after the formation of the set- tlement, peace was maintained; at length, in January, 1814, Miles Macdonnel, the governor of the new province, issued a proclama- tion, in which he set forth the limits of the region claimed by his patron, and prohibited all persons, under pain of seizure and prosecution, from carrying out of it " any provisions, either of flesh. dried meat, grain, or vegetables," during that year. The attempts to enforce this prohibition were resisted by the North- West traders, who appeared so resolute in their determination not to yield, that the colonists became alarmed, and quitted the country, some of them returning to Canada, and others emigrating to the United States. In the following year. Lord Selkirk again sent settlers of various nations to the Red River, between whom and the North- West people hostilities were immediately begun. Posts were taken and destroyed on both sides; and, on the 19th of June, 1816, a battle was fought, in which the Ossinobians were routed, and seventeen of their number, including their governor, Mr. Semple, were killed. The country was then again abandoned by the settlers.* These affairs were brought before the British Parliament in June, • Lord Selkirk's Sketch of the British Fur Trade in jYorth .America, publishpd in 1816, and the review of it iii the London Quarterly Review for October, 1816 — Jfarrative of the Occurrences in the Indian Countries of America, published by the North- West Company in 1817, containing all the documents on the subject. liament in June, 1821.] JUBISUICTION OF THE CANADA COIIITS EXTENDED. .325 1819; and a debate ensued, m the course of which the proceedings of the two rival associations were minutely investigated. The ministry then interposed its mediation, and a compromise was thus at length eftected, by which the North- West Company became united with, or rather merged in, the Hudson's Bay Company. At the same time, and in connection with this arrangement, an " ac^ for regulating the fur trade and establishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction in certain parts of North America " was passed in Parliament, containing every provision recjuired to give stability to the Hudson's Bay Company, and efficiency to its operations. By this act, passed on the 2d of July, 1821, the king was authorized to make grants or give licenses to any body corporate, company, or person, for the exclusive privilege of trading with tne jiuiians, in all such parts of North America as mny be specified in the grants, not being parts of the territories previously granted to the Hudson's Bay Company, or of any of his majesty's provinces in North America, or any territories belonging to the United States nf America : provided, however, that no such grant or license shall be given for a longer period than twenty-one years ; that no grant or license for exclusive trade, in the part of America west of the Rocky Mountains, which, by the convention of 1818 with the United States, remained free and open to the subjects or citizens of both nations, shall be used to the prejudice or exclusion of citizens of the United States engaged in such trade; and that no British sub- ject shall trade in those territories west of the Rocky Mountains without such license or grant. By the same act, also, the courts of jiKJicature of Upper Canada are empowered to take cognizanco of all causes, civil or criminal, arising in any of the abovf-mentioned territories, including those previously granted to the Hudson's Bay Company, and '^^ other parts of America, not within the limits of either of the provinces of Upper or Lower Canada, or of any civil government of the United States ; " and justices of the peace are to be commissioned in those territories, to execute and enforce the laws and the decisions of the courts, to take evidence, and commit offenders and send them for trial to Canada, and even, under cer- tain circumstances, to hold courts themselves, for the trial of crimi- nal offences and misdemeanors not punishable by death, and of civil causes, in which the amount at issue should not exceed two hundred pounds.* ♦' ('I M I ^11 I I' r, •'1 (• fir' * Sec the act and the grant hcrr> mentioned in the Proofs and Illustrations, at the end of this volume, under the letter I, No. 2. ii. Ml' . N-' M l'\ i :> '.■;• !, It;- J: r ■Mi I; I n i; i I 336 BEAKCH run A NOHTII-WKhT PASSAGE RESUMED. [18-21. Upon the pnRsago of this act, the union of the two companies was effected, anf ren- dered the introduction of these reforms less ditHcult ; and the superintendence of the colonies has ever since been committed to honorable and enlightened men, generally officers in the Russian navy, under wiiosc direction the abuses formerly prevailing to so frightful an extent, have been gradually removed or abated.* About the same time, an event occurred, of great importance in the history of a country which is, no doubt, destined materially to influence the political condition of the north-western coasts and regions of America. Tamahamaha, king of all the Sandwich Islands, died in May, 1819, at the age of sixty-three, and was succeeded in power by his son, or reputed son, Riho Riho, or Tamahamaha Il.f Of the merits and demerits of Tamahamaha, it would be out of place here to speak at length. He was a chief of note at the time of the discovery of the islands by Cook, when his character had been already formed, and the seeds of much that was evil had been sown, and had taken firm root in his mind. No sooner, however, was he brought into contact with civilized men, than he began to learn, and, what was more difficult, to unlearn. His first objects were of a nature purely selfish. He sought power to gratify his ambition and his thirst for pleasure, but he used it, when obtained, for nobler ends ; and of all the sovereigns of the earth, his contemporaries, no one certainly attempted or effected as much, in proportion to his means, for the advancement of his people, as this barbarian chief of a little ocean island. Upon the death of Tamahamaha, great changes were effected in the affairs of the Sandwich Islands. The old king had resolutely maintained the religion of his forefathers, though he suppressed many of its horrible ceremonies and observances. Riho Riho, how- ever, soon after his accession, abolished that religion, and embraced the faith of the white men who came to his islands in great ships from distant countries. His principal chiefs, Boki and Krymakoo, (or Kalaimaku,) had been previously, in August, 1819, baptized and received into the bosom of the Roman Catholic church by the * Statische und cthnograpliisclie Naclirichten, Uber die Russischen Besitzungen an der Nordwestkdstc von Ainerika — Statistical and etluiograpliical Notices concerning thn Russian Possessions on tho North-Wost Coasts of America — by Admiral von Wrangel, late governor-general of those countries, published at St. Petersburg, in 18:«). t These names are now generally written Liho Liho and Kamehamaha. 42 ii \ i ■■ i;: I'll ■A ■ . \ ^:^ ♦ f Ih ':!£• !;•! I M^ ■ I I , ■ !' tu h m0W .13: IM .i . 330 OCCURRENCISS AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. [1819. chaplain of the French corvette L'Uranie ; and, early in 1820, a vessel reached the islands from Boston, bringing a number of Prot- estant missionaries, who have ever since been established there, and have, until recently at least, exercised a powerful and generally beneficial influence over all the ^iflairs of the kingdom.* * For minute accounts of all these changes, and the different views of their efTects see Account of a Residence in the Sandwich Islands from 1822 to 1825, by C. S. Stewart, one of the missionaries — Polynesian Researches, by W. Ellis — The London Quarterly Review for March, 1827 — The narratives of voyages in the Pacific, by Beechey, Lord Byron^ and Belcher — The History of the Sandwich Islands, by Jarveg — The History of American Missions, &c. It 331 !•;! H.I I ■'i i CHAPTER XVI. 1820 TO 1828. Bill reported by a Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, for tiie Occupation of the Columbia River — Ukase of the Emperor of Russia, with Regard to the North Pacific Coasts — Negotiations between the Governments of Great Britain, Russia, and the United States — Conventions between the United States and Russia, and between Great Britain and Russia — Further Negotiations between the United States and Great Britain relative to the North- West Coasts — Indefinite Extension of the Arrangement for the joint Occupancy of the Territories west of the Rocky Mountains, by the British and the Americans. i; Before 1820, little, if any thing, relative to the countries west of the Rocky Mountains had been said in the Congress rf the United States ; and those countries had excited very little interest among the citizens of the federal republic in general. In December of that year, however, immediately after the ratifica- tion of the Florida treaty by Spain, a resolution was passed by the House of Representatives in Congress, on the motion of Mr. Floyd, of Virginia — "that an inquiry should be made, as to the situation of the settlements on the Pacific Ocean, and as to the expediency of occupying the Columbia River." The committee to which this resolution was referred, presented, in January following, a long report, containing a sketch of the history of colonization in Amer- ica, with an account of the fur trade in the northern and north- western sections of the continent, and a description of the country claimed by the United States ; from all which are drawn the con- clusions, — that the whole territory of America bordering upon the Pacific, from the 41st degree of latitude to the 53d, if not to the 60th, belongs of right to the United States, in virtue of the purchase of Louisiana from France, in 1803, of the acquisition of thie titles of Spain by the Florida treaty, and of the discoveries and settlements of American citizens ; — that the trade of this territory in furs and other articles, and the fisheries on its coasts, might be rendered highly productive ; and — that these advantages might be secured to citizens of the United States exclusively, by establishing " small trading guards" on the most north-eastern point of the Missouri, .,'■ i.i ;l • ' iV . • '. . Isr •J' ■■ :|.;!1 !»■'■ .' »^ 1'. • . ; .r V] I I illj. ' ll1-i'.H" 14' ' = h f 332 RUSSIAN UK ASK. [1822. and at the mouth of the Cohimbia, and by favoring emigration to the country west of the Rocky Mountains, not only from the United States, but also from Ciiina. To this report the com- mittee appended " a bill for the occupation of the Columbia, and the regulation of the trade with the Indians in the territories of the United States." Without making any remarks upon the char- acter of this report, it may be observed, that the terms of the bill are directly at variance with the provisions of the third article of the convention of October, 1818, between the United States and Great Britain ; as the Columbia could not possibly be free and open to the vessels, citizens, and subjects, of both nations, if it were occupied by cither. The bill was suffered to lie on the table of the House during the remainder of the session : in the ensuing year, it was again brought before Congress, and an estimate was obtained, from the navy commissioners, of the expense of transporting cannon, ariiinu- nition, and stores, by sea, to the mouth of the Columbia ; but 110 further notice was taken of the subject until the winter of 18-2;j. Measures had, in the mean time, been adopted by the Ilussi;iii government, with regard to the north-west coasts of America, which strongly excited the attention of both the other powers claiiiiiii;; dominion in that quarter. Soon after the renewal of the charter of the Russian Ameiicuii Com|)any, a iiJcase, or imperial decree, was issued at St. Petersbuii: by which the whole west coast of America, north of the 51st pii- allel, and the whole east coast of Asia, north of the latitude of 1') degrees 50 minutes, with all the adjacent and intervening islands, were declared to belong exclusively to Russia ; and foreigners wvw prohibited, under heavy penalties, from approaching vvitliin a hundred miles of any of those coasts, except in cases of exlrcine necessity.* This decree was officially communicated to the government of the United States in February, 18-2-2, by the Chevalier de Poletica, Russian minister at Washington, between whom and Mr. J. Q Adams, the American secrettary of slate, a correspondence iniiiit- diately took place on the subject. Mr. Adams, in his first note. simply made known the surprise of uk president at the assorlion of a claim, on the part of Russia, to so large a portion of the west * The ukasp, dated September 4tli, IS'21, and the correspondence between the Russian and American irovernments with regard to it, may be found at length airioii^' the documents accompanying President Monroe's message to Congress, of April 17th, 1822. nd foreigners wvw oaching witliiii a I cases of cxtromc 182:2.] DISCUSSION OF THE RUSSIAN CLAIMS. 333 coasts of America, and at the promulgation, by that power, of rules of restriction so deeply affecting the rights of the United States and their citizens ; and he desired to know whether the minister was authorized to give explanations of the grounds of the right claimed, upon principles generally recognized by the laws and usages of nations. To this M. Poletica replied by a long letter, containing a sketch — generally erroneous — of the discoveries of his countrymen on the north-west coasts of America, wiiich extended, according to his idea, southward as far as tlie 49th parallel of latitude. He de- fended the assumption of the 51st parallel as the southern limit of the possessions of his sovereign, upon the ground that this line was iiiiflway between the mouth of the Columbia, where the citizens of the United States had made an establishment, and the Russian settlement of Sitka ; and he finally maintained that his government would be justifiable in exercising the rights of sovereignty over the whole of the Pacific north of the said parallel, inasmuch as that sec- tion of the sea was bounded on botli sides by Russian territories, and was thus, in fact, a close sea. The secretary of state, in return, asserted that, " from the period of the existence of the United States as an independent nation, their v^^^els had freely navigated those seas ; and the right to navigate them was a part of that inde- pendence, as also the right of their citizens to trade, even in arms a:i(l munitions of war, with the aboriginal natives of the north- west coast of America, who were not under the territorial jurisdic- tion of other nations." He denied in toto the claim of the Russians to any part of America south of the 55th degree of latitude, on the ground that this parallel was declared, in the charter * of the Prussian American Company, to be the southern limit of the dis- * The first article of the charter or privilcfrp ffrantcd by the emperor Paul to the Russian American Company, on the 8th of July, 179!), is as follows : — "In virtue of the discovery, by Russian navigators, of a part of the coast of America in the north-east, beginning from the 55th degree of latitude, and of chains of islands extending from Kamtchatka, northward towards America, and sdulluvard towards Japan, Russia has ac(juired the right of possessing those lands; and ihe said company is authorized to enjoy all the advantages of industry, and all flic establishments, upon the said coast of America, in the north-east, from tiie 55th liogree of latitude to Bering's Strait, and beyond it, as also upon the Aleutian and Kurile Islands, and the others, situated in the eastern Arctic Ocean." By the second article, — "The company may make new disroveries, not only north, but also south, of the said 55th parall(>l of latitude, and may occupy and bring under the dominion of Rus- sia all territories tlius discovered, observing the rule, that such territories should not hive been previously occupied and placed under subjection by another nation." ♦ I'l '■■■• ! !•!] m I'. If I 'I '^ : i H: 4 liij I ! .^^■\\- ■'- i; ■ : ^ ll^Siijiii' J ±i I ! ^*.r. ■'il.. iiv i!! ir-iM ! i ■ 1, /rf ,■ ■ 334 EXTRAVA«iANT I'KETLNSIONS OF RUSSIA. [1822. coveries of the Russians in 1799 ; since which period they had made no discoveries or establishments south of the said line, on the coast now claimed by them. With regard to the suggestion that the Russian government might justly exercise sovereignty over the Pacific Ocean os a dose sen, because it claims territories both on the Asiatic and the American shores, Mr. Adams merely observed, that the distance between those shores, on the parallel of 51 degrees north, IS four thousand miles,; and he concluded by expressing the persuasion of the president that the citizens of the United States would remain unmolested in the pros^^cution of their lawful com- merce, and that no effect would be given to a prohibition manifestly incompatible with their rigjits. The Russian minister plenipotentiary, a few days after the receipt of Mr. Adams's last communication, sent another note, supporting the rights of his sovereign, in which he advanced *' the authentic fact, that, in 1789, the Spanish packet St. Charles, commanded by Captain Haro, found, in the latitude of forty-eight and forty-nine degrees, Russian establishments, to the number of eight, consisting, in the whole, of twenty families, and four hundred and sixty-two individuals, who were the descendants of the companions of Cap- tain Tchirikof, supposed until then to have perished." Respecting this '^ authentic fact, ^^ it has been shown, in the account*' already given of the Spanish voyage to which the Chevalier Poletica refers, that Martinez and Haro did find eight Russian establishments on the North Pacific coast of America in 1788, but that they were till situated in the latitudes o( ffty-cight and fifty-nine degrees, and that the persons inhabiting them had all been, a short tir e previous, transported thither, from Kamtchatka and the Aleutian Islands, by Schelikof, the founder of the Russian American Company. The minister doubtless derived his information from the introduction to the journal of Marchand's voyage ; but he neglected to read the note appended to that account, in which the error is explained. The prohibitory regulation of the Russian emperor, and the correspondence relating to it, were immediately submitted to the Congress of the United States ; and, in the ensuing year, a nego- tiation was commenced at St. Petersburg, the object of which was to settle amicably and definitively the limits of the territories oa the north-west side of America, claimed by the two nations re- spectively, and the terms upon which their navigation and trade in the North Pacific were in future to be conducted. A negotiation, • • See p. 186. 1823.] DECLARATION OF PRESIDENT MONROE. 335 for similar purposes, was, at the same time, in progress at St. Peters- burg, between the governments of Russia and Great Britain ; the latter power having formally protested against the claims and princi- ples advanced in the ukase of 1821, immediately on its appearance, and subsequently, during the session of the congress of European sovereigns at Verona.* Under these circumstances, a desire was felt, on the part of the government of the United States, that a joint convention should be concluded between the three nations having claims to territories on the north-west side of America; and the envoys of the republic at London and St. Petersburg were severally instructed to propose a stipulation to the effect that no settlement should, during the next ten years, be made, in those territories, by Russians south of the latitude of 55 degrees, by citizens of the United States north of the latitude of 51 degrees, or by British subjects south of the 51st or north of the 55th parallels. This proposition for a joint convention was not accepted by either of the governments to which it was addressed ; the principal ground of the refusal by each being the declaration made by Presi- dent Monroe in his message to Congress, at the commencement of the session of 1823, that — in the discussions and arrangements then going on with respect to the north-west coasts — " the occasion had been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition vhich they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for colonization by any European poioer." f Against this declaration, * Debate in Parliament on the inquiry made by Sir James Mackintosh on this subject, May 21, 1823. t The message of December 2d, 1823, containing this declaration, also announced the resolution of the United States to view "as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition" towards themselves any attempt, on the part of a European power, to oppress or control the destiny of any of the independent states of America. This noble resolution was taken upon the assurance that the United States would, if ne- cessary, be sustained in enforcing it by Great Britain, without whose cooperation it would have been ineffective, certainly as to the prevention of the attempts. The circumstances which induced the American government thus, at the same time, openly to offer a blow at the only nation on whose assistance it could depend, in case the anticipated attempts should be made by the despotic powers of Europe, have not been disclosed. That it is the true policy of the United States, by all lawful means, to resist the extension of European dominion in America, and to confine its limits, and abridge its duration, wherever it may actually exist, is a proposition which no arguments are required to demonstrate, either to American citizens or to European sovereigns ; but this proclamation, by the government of the United States, of its intention to pursue those ends, could have no other effect than to delay the attainment of them, as it his evidently done. .-■♦' ii; 1 1 . ■ i I ^ ■:!;in .I'V) £lt U lit 336 BECOMMENDATIONS OF GENERAK JESLH. [IS-^i]. I'' 1. 1 , I .'■I! , if ' which — however just and poHtic niii^ht have been the principn announced — was unquestionably imprudent, or at least preinatuic, the British and the Russian f^vovernments severally protested ; and as there were many other points on which it was not probable tluu the three powers could agree, it was determined that the nej^otiu- tions should be continued, as they had been commenced, separately at London and at St. Petersburg. Another publication, equally impolitic on the part of the Ameri- can government, soon after contributed to render more difficult tlio settlement of the question of boundaries on the Pacific between the United States and Great Britain. A select committee, appointed by the House of Representatives of the United States, in December, 1823, with instructions to inquirf into the expediency of occupying the mouth of the Columbin, requested General Thomas S. Jesup, the quartermaster-general of the army, to communicate his opinions respecting the propriety of the measure proposed, as well as its practicability and the best method of executing it; in answer to which that officer sent, on the IGih of February, 1824, a letter containing an exposition of his views of the true policy of the United States with regard to the north-west coasts and territories of America, and of the means by which the\ might be carried into effect. Leaving aside the question as to tho rights of the United States, he considered the possession and niilitiiiv command of the Columbia and of the Upper Missouri necessary lor the protection, not only of the fur trade, but also of the whole western frontier of the republic, which is every where in contact with numerous, powerful, and warlike tribes of savages : and, lor this purpose, he recommended the immediate despatch of two hundred men across the continent to the mouth of the Columbia, while two merchant vessels should transport thither the cannon, ammunition, materials, and stores, requisite for the first establish- ment ; after which, four or five intermediate posts should be formed at points between Council Bluflfs, on the Missouri, (the most western spot then occupied by American troops,) and the Pacific. By such means, says the letter, " present protection would be afforded to our traders, and, on the expiration of the privilege granted to British subjects to trade on the waters of the Columbia, we should be enabled to remove them from our territory, and to secure the whole trade to our own citizens." The report of the committee, with the letter from General Jesup annexed, was ordered to lie on the table of the House, and nothing I'l 1824.] NEGOTIATION AT J.OXDON. 337 more was done on the subject during that session ; the papers, however, were both published, and they immediately attracted the attention of the British ministry. In a conference hekl at London, in July following, between the American envoy, Mr. Rush, and the British conunissionerH, Messrs. Iluskisson and Stratford Canning, tlie latter gentlemen cotnmented upon the observations of General Jcsiip, particularly upon those respecting the removal of British tiiidcrs from the territories of the Columbia, which, they said, " were calculated to put Great Britain especially upon her guard, appear- ing, as they did, at a moment when a friendly negotiation was jicn«!lng between the two |)owers for the adjustment of their relative and conflicting claims to that entire district of country." It is moreover certain, from the accounts of Mr. Rusii, as well as from those given sul)se(iuently by Mr. Gallatin, that the publication of General Jesup's letter, and the declaration in President Monroe's message against the establishment of European colonies in America, rendered the British government much less disposed to any con- cession, with regard to the north-west territories, than it would otiiorwisc have been ; and there is reason to believe, froni many circumstances, that they tended materially to produce a union of views, api)roaching to a league, between that power and Russia, which has proved very disadvantageous to the interests of the United States on the North Pacific coasts. The negotiation respecting the north-west coasts of America, commenced at London in April, 1824, was not long continued ; the parties being so entirely at variance with regard to facts as well as principles, that the impossibility of eft'ecting any new arrange- ment soon became evident. Mr. Rush,* the American plenipoten- tiary, began by claiming for the United States the exclusive pos- session and sovereignty of the whole country west of the Rocky Mountains, from the 42d degree of latitude, at least as far north as the 51st, between which i)arallels all the waters of the Columbia were then supposed to be included. In support of this claim, he cited, as in 1818, the facts — of the first discovery of the Columbia by Gray — of the first exploration of that river from its sources to the sea by Lewis and Clarke — of the first settlement on its banks by the Pacific Fur Company, "a settlement which was reduced by the arms of the British during the late war, but was formally sur- ♦ 1 It" \'Vn % t-M * Letter from Mr. Rusli to the secretary of state, of August 12th, 1824, among the docunionts accompanying President Adams's message to Congress of January Slst, im. 43 flit' ' 111; ' . t': f ,11 'f\l 'f Iw 1' ^ ' 338 CLAIMS or the U. states and of great BRITAIN. [1824. rendered up lo the United States at the return of peace," and — of the transfer by Spain to the United States of all her titles to those territories, founded upon the well-known discoveries of her navi- gators ; and he insisted, agreeably to express instructions from his government, "that no part of the Aniorican continent was thence- forth to be open to colonization from Europe." In explanation and defence of this declaration, Mr. Rush " referred to the principles settled by the Nootka Sound convention of 1700, and remarked, that Spain had now lost all her exclusive colonial rights, recognized under that convention : first, by the fact of the independence of the South American states and of Mexico ; and next, by her express renunciation of all her rights, of whatever kind, above the lid degree of north latitude, to the United States. Those new states would themselves now possess the rights incident to their condition of political independence ; and the claims of the United States above the 42d parallel as high up as 60 degrees — claims as well in their own right as by succession to the title of Spain — vvotdd henceforth necessarily preclude other nations from forming colonial establishments upon any part of the American continents," Messrs. Huskisson and Carming, in reply, denied that the circumstance of a merchant vessel of the United States havitijr penetrated the north-west coast of America at the Columbia River, could give to the United States a claim along that coast, both north and south of the river, over territories which, they insisted, had been previously discovered by Great Britain herself, in e.\[)e- ditions fitted out under the authority and with the resources of the nation. They declared that British subjects had formed settle- ments upon the Columbia, or upon rivers flowing into it west of the Rocky Mountains, coc al with, if not prior to, the settlement made by American citizens at its mouth ; and that the surrender of that settlement after the late war was in fulfilment of the treaty of Ghent, and did not aflfect the question of right in any way. Tiiey treated as false or doubtful the accounts of many of the Spanish voyages in the Pacific ; alleging, as more authentic, the narrative of Drake's expedition, from which it appeared that he had, in 1.579, explored the west coast of America to the 48th parallel of latitude, five or six degrees farther north than the Spaniards them- selves pretended to have advanced before that period : and they refused to admit that any title could be derived from the mere fact of Spanish navigators having first seen the coast at particular spots, even when this was capable of being fully substantiated. Finally, DKITAIN. [1B24. tcacp," and — of cr titles to those rics of her iiavi- ructions from \m nciit wus thcdce- I explanation and to the principles ), and remarked, rif^hts, reco: I ! .340 PnOPOSlTIONS foil PARTITION. [\m. "^^■^■'^ii'4.' !; ,i!»1 ^j|*/il|,n I y'.?;i,!i:; r y^- ■ i: •■) ■ f ^?"l* Great Britniii wouKI cortainly not depart ; nnd, n8 nil prospect of compromise was thus destroyed, the negotiation ended. In this discussion between the United States and Great nritnin, uiMin the subject of thcMr respective claims to the soverei{;nty of the countries west of the lloeky Mountains, the grounds of tlioso claims were first made to assume a form somewhat definite ; and this may be considered as princi|)ally due to the labor and pene- tration of Mr. Rush, who seems to have been the first to inqiiirc carefully into the facts of the case. The introduction by him of tlu> Nootka convention, as an element in the controversy, was accordin;,' to express instructions frotn his povernment.* It appears to Imvo been wholly unnecessary, and was certainly impolitic. No allusjnii had been made to that arrangement in any of the previous discus- sions with regard to the north-west coasts, and it was doubth ss considered extinct ; but when it was thus brought forward by thu American government in connection with the declaration against European colonization, as a settlement of general principles with regard to those coasts, an argument was aHbrded in favor of ilu; subsistence of the convention, of which the British government did not fail to take advantage, as will be hereafter shown. * " Tlie principles settlod by ttic Nootka Sound ronvontion of 28th October, 1711(1, were — "' 1st. That the rii;iits of fishinij in tiic South Seiis; of tnidiiiif with the nativPNnf the north-west coast of America; and of inakinir settletnents on tlie coast itself, I'., r the purposes of that trade, north of tiie artiuil settlements of Spain, were common to all the European nation.s, and, of course, to the United States. "'yd. That, so far as the aetmil settlements of Spain had extended, she possessed the exclusive rights territorial, and of niivijifation iind fishery; extending to the dm- tance often miles from the const so iirtiiiifhj ornifiinl, " ' 3d. That, on the coasts of Smith ,'lmrriru, and the adjacent islands sonth of tlic parts already occupied by Spain, no siart of the I'acitic Ocean, or in the power of resort- ing to the coasts upon points which may not already have been occupied, for the purpose of trading with the natives; saving, always, the restrictions and conditions determined by the following articles, to wit: by the smntd article, the citizens of the Linitcil ?5tates shall not resort to any point on the north-west coasts of America, where then; is n Russian establishment, without tho IHMiiiission of the governor or commandant of the place, and vice rersn: by the third article, neither the United States nor their cilizons shall, in future, form any establishment on those coasts, or the adjacent islands, north of the latitude of 51 degrees 40 minutes, and the Russians shall make none south of that latitude. '' It is, iii'vertheless, understood,'' says the fourth article, '' that dming a torrii of ten years, counting from the signature of the present con- vention, the ships of both powers, or which belong to their citizens or subjects respectively, may reciprocally fre^, and ;ib, of this History, from which it will ho seen that the convention, in all its stipula- tions, was simply an international airreement hetween Spain and (rreat Britain, bind- iiilllhcni and their suhjecls only until its e.\|iiratioii, which took place, in consequence of till' war, in 17!ll!, and apply in^r in no respect, either as to advantajres or restrictions, til uiiy other nation whatsoever; and that, conse(pienlly, other nations luul the same ri^'ht to occujiy the vacant coasts of .\)ncrica, and to iiavii^ale and fish in tho adjacent seas, within ten leajfurs, (the distance defined by the convention,) and even within ti'ii miles, of the parts occupied by Spain, after, as before, the signature of that agree- ment; and Spain had as naich right, atler, as before, that event, to prohibit them from so doing, if the Nootka (convention were, as as.-:erted by the secretary of state, a defuiitive settlement of general principles of national law res|iecting navigation and fi.sliery in the seas, and trade and settlenu'iit on the coasts, here mentioned, it Would lie ditlicult to resist the ]iretensious of the IJrilish jdenipotentiaries with regard to the territories west of the Kocky Mountains, as set forth in tho statement (Proofs and Illustrations, letter II) presented by them to Mr. Gallatin in 1626. 1 ' ^ n h ',i. ' " Pi?!-* 'it. 1 ll 342 TREATY BETWEEN RUSSIA AND GREAT BRITAIN. [1825. of fishing and trading with the natives of t''e country : " it being, however, stipulated by the remaining Jifth article, that spirituous liquors, fire-arms, other arms, powder, and munitions of war, are always excepted from this same commerce permitted by the fourth article, and that, in case of contravention of this part of the agree- ment, the nation whose citizens or subjects may have committed the delinquency, shall alone have the right to punish them.* This convention does not appear to offer any grounds for dispute as to the construction of its stipulations, but is, on the contrary, clear and equally favorable to both nations. The rights of both parties to navigate every part of the Pacific, and to trade with the natives of any places oti the coasts of that sea, not already occupied, are first distinctly acknowledged ; after which it is agreed, in order to pre- vent future difficulties, that each should submit to certain limitations as to navigation, trade, and settlement, on the north-west coasts of America, either perpetually or during a fixed period. Neither party claimed, directly or by inference, the immediate sovereignty of any spot on the American coasts not occupied by its citizens or sub- jects, or acknowledged the right of the other to the possession of any spot not so occupied ; the definitive regulation of limits bcinj; deferred until the establishments and other interests of the tuo nations in that quarter of the world should have acquired such a development as to render more precise stipulations necessary. The Russian government, however, construed this convention as giving to itself the absolute sovereignty of all the ivest coasts of America north of the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes, while deny- ing any such right on the part of the United States to the coasts extending southward from that line. In February, 1825, a treaty was concluded between Russia and Great Britain, relative to North- West America, containing provisions similar to those of the con- vention between Russia and the United States, expressed in nearly the same words, but also containing many other provisions, some of which are directly at variance with the evident sense of the last- mentioned agreement. Thus it is established, by the treaty, that *' the line of demarkation between the possessions of the high contract- ing parties upon the coast of the continent, and the islands of America to the north-west," shall be drawn from the southernmost point of Prince of Wales's Island, in latitude of 54 degrees 40 i * This convention will be found at length among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the concluding part of this volume, under the letter K, No. 4. 1825.] TREATY BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA. 343 minutes eastward, to the great inlet in the continent, called Port- land Channel, and along the middle of that inlet, to the 56th degree of latitude, whence it shall follow the summit of the moun- tains bordering the coast, within ten leagues, north-westward, to Mount St. Elias, and thence north, in the course of the 141st meridian west from Greenwich, to the Frozen Ocean ; " which line," says the treaty, " shaU form the limit between the Russian and the British possessions in the continent of America to the north- west ; " it being also agreed that the British should forever have the right to navigate any streams flowing into the Pacific from the interior, across the line of demarkatioiu* That this treaty virtually annulled the convention, of the pre- ceding year, between Russia and the United States, is evident ; for the convention rested entirely upon the assumption that the United States possessed the same right to the part of the American coast south of the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes, which Russia pos- sessed to the part north of that parallel : and the treaty distinctly ac- knowledged the former or southern division of the coast to be the property of Great Britain. It does not, however, appear that any representation on the subject was addressed by the American gov- ernment to that of Russia ; and the vessels of the United States continued to frequent all the unoccupied parts of the north-west coast, and to trade with the natives uninterruptedly, until 1834, wiien, as will be hereafter shown, they were formally prohibited, by the Russian authorities, from visiting any place on that coast north of the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes, on the ground that their right to do so had expired, agreeably to the convention of 18-24. In December, 1824, President Monroe, in his last annual mes- sage to Congress, recommended the establishment of a military post at the mouth of the Columbia, or at some other point witiun the acknowledged limits of the United States, in order to afford pro- tection to their commerce and fisheries in the Pacific, to conciliate the Indians of the north-west, and to promote the intercourse be- ■* 'i' 'li 10! :*:. ■ 1 f •; '■ .' ! * See Proofs and Illustrations, at the end of this volume, under the letter K, No. 5. Some curious particulars relative to the nefrotiation wliicli led to this treaty may be found in the Political Life of the Hon. George Canninjr, by A. G. Stapleton, chap. xiv. Mr. Canning, it seems, was an.vious for the conclusion of a joint convention between Great Britain, the United States, and Russia, as regards the freedom of navigation of the Pacific, until the appearance of the declaration in the message of President Monroe above mentioned, after which he determined only to treat with each of the other parties separately. I"t'- ,mn I i:. i -!. ! iU .'^ 344 MOVEMENTS IN CONiJBESS. [18->4. tween those territories and the settled portions of the republic- to effect which ohjcrt, he advised lliat appropriations should be made for the despatcb of a frigate, with engineers, to explore the mouth of the Columbia and the cadjacent shores. The same measures were, in the following year, also reconunended by Presi- dent Adams, among the various jjlans for the advantage of the United States and of the world in general, to which he requested the attention of Congress, in his message, at the commencement of the session. In compliance with this recommendation, a com- mittee was api)ointed by the House of Representativ(!s, the chairniiia of which, Mr. Haylies, of Massachusetts, presented two icporls,* containing numerous details with respect to — the history of — that the citizens or subjects of neither party should thenceforward make any settlements in the territories of the other ; but that all settlements already formed by tiie people of either nation within the limits of the other, might be occupied and used by them for ten years, and no longer, during which all the remaining provisions of the existing convention should continue in force. The British refused to accede to this or any other plan of partition which should deprive them of the northern bank of the * President Adams's message to Congress of December 28th, 1827, and the ac- companying documents. - ; .it, a .'§', %'. • i 4; =1 1 - 1826.] NEGOTIATION SUSPENDED. 347 Columbia, and the right of navigating that river to and from the sea ; though they expressed their vviUingness to yield to the United States, in addition to what they first offered, a detached territory, extending, or the Pacific and the Strait of Fuca, from Bulfinch's Harbor to Hood's Canal, and to stipulate that no works should at any time be erected at the mouth or on the banks of the Columbia, calculated to impede the free navigation of that river, by either party. The Americans, however, being equally determined not to give up their title to any part of the country south of the 49th par- allel, all expectation of effecting a definitive disposition of the claims was abandoned. The plenipotentiaries then directed their attention to the sub- ject of a renewal of the arrangement for the use and occupancy of the territories in question by the people of both nations. With this view, the British proposed that the existing arrangement should be renewed according to the terms of the third article of the convention of October 20th, 1818, for fifteen years from the date of the expiration of that convention ; with the addi- tional provisions, however, that, during those fifteen years, neither power should assume or exercise any right of exclusive sovereignty or dominion over any part of the territory ; and that no settlement then made, or which might thereafter be made, by either nation in those countries, should ever be adduced in support of any claim to such sovereignty or dominion. This proposition was re- ceived by Mr. Gallatin for reference to his government, although he sav/ a* once that the additional provisions were inadmissible ; and the negotiation was, in consequence, suspended for some months. During this first period of the negotiation, the claims and pre- tensions of the two nations respecting the countries ii: question, were developed and discussed more fully than on any previous occasion, not only in the conferences between the plenipotentiaries, but also in written statements,*'' formally presented on each side. As nearly i< i 1 1 r' .: 1 i ii ' 1 i I'H 1 ^1). ! ■:i V th, 1827, and the ac- * The statement of the British commissioners is \,: sented entire in the Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter H, in ordi. • * no doubt may subsist as to the nature of the claims of Great Britain, and of vidence and arguments by which they are supported. As a state paper, it will, ^ ps, be found unworthy of the nation on whose part it was produced, and of at least one of the persons from whom it pro- ceeded ; many will regret to see appended to it the name of William Huskisson, and to learn that it received the approval of George Canning. The counter -statevierd of Mr. Gallatin, a most able document, is omitted only be- cause its insertion would have too much increased the bulk of the volume. 343 CLAIMS OF THE UNITED STATES. [1826. every point touched by either of the parties has been already ex- amined minutely in the foregoing pages, it only remains now to recapitulate them, and to add some remarks, which could not have been conveniently introduced at an earlier period. Mr. Gallatin claimed for the United States the possession of the territory west of the Rocky Mountains, between the 42d and the 49th parallels of latitude, on the grounds of — The acquisition by the United States of the titles of France through the Louisiana treaty, and the titles of Spain through the Florida treaty ; The discovery of the mouth of the Columbia, the first explora- tion of the countries through which that river flows, and the estab- lishment of the first posts and settlements in those countries by American citizens ; Tiie i4rtual recognition of the title of the United States, by the British government, in the restitution, agreeably to the first article of the treaty of Ghent, of the post nea*- the mouth of the Columbia, which had been taken during the war ; And. lastly, upon the ground of contis^uity, which should givo the United States a stronger right to those territories than could be advanced by any other power — a doctrine always maintained by Great Britain, from the poriod of her tarlicst attempts at roloni/n- tion in America, as clearly proved by licr chiirtcrs, in wliicli the whole breadth of the continent, hotwocn certain parallels of lati- tude, was granted to colonies established only at points on the borders of the Atlantic* Messrs. Huskisson and Addinjiton, on the other hand, declared that Great Britain claims no exclusive sovereignty over any portinii of the territory on the Pacific between the 4-2d and the 49th paral- lels of latitude ; her present claim, not in res[)ect to any part, but to the whole, being limited to a right of joint occupancy, in com- mon with other states, leaving the right of exclusive dominion in abeyance. They then proceeded to examine the grounds of the claims of the United States, none of which they admitted to be * "If," says Mr. (lallatin, "sonic tradiiiir factDiii's on llic sliort's of Hudson's Ihv have been considered by Great Britain as irivinir an exclusive rii;ht of oef upancv us far as tlie Rocky Mf)untains; if liie infant sefllenierits on the mure soiitliern Atlantii: shores justified a claim thence to the South Seas, and winch was actually enforced to the Mississippi, — that of the millions already within reach of those seas cannot con- sistently be rejected." This argument, it may be added, haa been since constantly increasing in force. ♦ i; : been already ex- remains now to vhich could not period. possession of the he 42d and the titles of France pain through the the first explora- s, and the estab- lose countries by ed States, by the ) the first article of the Columbia, ih should givo the es than could be vs maintained by npts at rolonizji- rs, in which the parallels of lati- at points on the r hand, declared over any portion id the 49th paral- to any part, but cupancy, in com- sivf dominion in ijrrounds of the uduiiltcd to be < of I ludson's H^.v lit dl' ocoupaiicy ;is uri' sotithern Atlaiitii; s actually enforced to liDse seas cannot con- )een since constantly 1826.] CLAIMS OF UUEAT BHITAIN. 349 valid, except that acquired from Spain, through the Florida treaty, in 1819 ; and the right thus acquired they pronounced to be nothing more than the right secured to Spain, in common with Great Brit- ain, by the JNootka convention, in 1790, to trade and settle in any part of those countries, and to navigate thei. waters. Dismissing the claims of Spain, on the grounds of discovery, prior to 1790, as futile and visionary, and inferior to those of Great Britain on the same grounds, they maintained that all arguments and pretensions of either of those powers, whether resting on discovery or on any other consideration, were definitively set at rest by the Nootka convention, after the signature of which, the title was no longer to be traced in vague discoveries, several of them admitted to be apocryphal, but in the text and stipulations of that convention itself ; and that, as the Nootka convention applied to all parts of the north-west coast of America not occupied, in 1790, by either of the parties, it of course included any portion of Louisiana which might then have extended, on the Pacific, north of the northern- most Spanish settlement, and which could not, therefore, be claimed by the United States, in virtue of the treaty for the cession of Lou- isiiina to that republic, in 1803. Having assumed this ground, it was scarcely necessary for the British plenipotentiaries to go further into the examination of the tiilfs of the United States; and they probably acted on this suppo- sition, as it is otherwise impossible to account for the gross mis- statements with rt^irard to the discoveries of the Americans, the extravagant and unfounded assumptions, and the illogical deduc- tions, in the document presented by them to Mr. Gallatin, on the part of their government. Thus, with regard to the discovery of the mouth of the Cohunbia; they insisted that •' Mr. Meares, a lieu- tenant in the royal navy, who had been sent by the East India Company on a trading expedition to the north-west coasts of America," really etlected that ;reat river, a discovery which had escaped Lieutenant Meares " when he entered the same bay ; but that, even supposing the priority of Gray's dis- covery lO be proved, it was of no cons(;(|nence in the case, as the i^-- i i'i Ml See p. 177. i :;Jl '\ ml iiii riir-' .^ J! ! *^,i.'- ' ■;/■ I 350 CLAIMS OV GKBAT BUITAIN. [18ii6. country in which it was made " fulls within the provisions of the convention of 1790." They refused to allow that the claims of the United States are strengthened by the exploration of the country thniugh which the Columbia flows, as performed in 1805-6 by Lewis and Clarke, " because, if not before, at least in the same and subsequent years," the agents of the North-West Company had established posts on the northern branch of the river, and were extending them down to its mouth, when they heard of the forma- tion of the American post at that place in 1811.* That the restora- tion of Astoria, in 1818, conveyed a virtual acknowledgment by Great Britain of the title of the United States to the country j.i which that post is situated, was also denied, on the ground that letters protesting against such title were, at the time of the restora- ticn, addressed, by members of the British ministry, to British agents in the United States and on the Columbia.f It is needless to add any thing to what has been already said on these points, in order to prove the entire groundlessness of the assertions contained in the British statement with regard to them. The charters granted by the sovereigns of Great Britain and France, conveying to individuals or companies large tracts of terri- tory in America, were represented, by the British plenipotentiaries, as being nothing " more, in fact, than a cession to the grantee or grantees of whatever rights the grantor might suppose himself to possess, to the exclusion of other subjects of the same nation,—- binding and restraining those only who were within the jurisdic- tion of the grantor, and of no force or validity against the subjects of other states, until recognized by treaty, and thereby becominj^ a part of international law." The erroneousness of these views is obvious, and was easily demonstrated by Mr. Gallatin, who showed, by reference to the history of British colonization and dominion in America, that the royal grantors of territories in that continent did consider their charters as binding on all, whether their own subjects or not, and with regard to countries first discovered and settled by people of other nations, whenever they were found to be within the limits thus indicated. These facts were cited, not in vindication of the justice of those grants, but merely to prove in what light they had been regarded by Great Britain : and, if the principle thus assumed by that power, and maintained from 1580 to 1782, as relating to Atlantic colonies, were correct, she could not See p. 297. t See p. 310. 1826.] DETEKMTNATIONS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 351 deny its application to th<; United States, now the owners of Lou- isiana.* The British plenipotentiaries worn, however, clear and explicit as to the intentions of their jjovcrnnieiit, which were declared, at the conclusion of their statenunit, in terms of moderation and forbear- ance truly edifying. Great Britain, they assert, claims, at present, nothing more than the rights of trade, navigation, and settlement, in the part of the world under consideration, agreeably to the pro- visions of the Nootka convention, the basis of the law of nations with regard to those territories and waters, under the protection of which many important British interests have grown up ; and she admits that the United States have the same rights, but none other, although they have been exercised only in one instance, and not at all since 1813. In the territory between the 42d and the 49th parallels of latitude, are many British posts and settlements, for the trade and supply of which, the free navigation of the Columbia, to and from the sea, is indispensable ; the United States possess not a single post or settlement of any kind in that whole region. Great Britain, nevertheless, for the sake of peace and good under- standing, agrees to submit to a definitive partition of that territory, giving to the United States the whole division south of the Co- lumbia, and a large tract containing an excellent harbor, north of that river ; and, the United States having declined to accede to this proposition, it only remains for Great Britain to maintain and up- * "This construction does not appear cither to have been tliat intended at the time by the grantors, or to liave iroverned ttie subsequent conduct of Great Britain. By excepting from the grants, as was gc^nerally the case, such lands as were already oc- cupied by the subjects of other civilized nations, it was rlearly implied that no other exception was contemplated, and that the grants were intended to include all unoccu- pied lands within their respective boundaries, to the exclusion of all oth'T persons or nations whatsoever. In point of fact, the whole country drained bj the several rivers emptying into the Atlantic Ocean, the mouths of which were within those charters, has, from Hudson's Bay to Florida, and, it is believed, without exception, been occu- pied and held by virtue of those charters. Not only has this principle been fully confirmed, but it has been notoriously euiorced much beyond the sources of the rivers on which the settlements were formed. The priority of the French settlements on the rivers flowing wcstwardly from the Alleghany Mountains into the Mississippi was altogether disregarded ; and the rights of the Atlantic colonies to extend beyond those mountains, as growing out of the contiguity of territory, and as asserted in the earliest charters, was effectually and s>icce.ssfully enforced." Tiie American minister might also have cited the charters granted to the Virginia Company by King James I., in KlOit and 1611, in virtue of which, the Dutch settle- ments on the Hudson River, in a country first discovered, explored, and occupied, under the flag of the United Provinces, were, in IGCM, — forty years afler the disso- lution of the company, — durin i iV 1 1!^ ; !ii !i N 352 BRITISH PROPOSITIONS REJECTED. [18iiT. M hold the qualified rights which she now possesses over the whole of the territory in question. ** To the interests which British indiKstry and enterprise have created Great Britain owes protection. TImt protection will be given, both as regards settlement and freedoni of trade and navigation, with every attention not to infringe the coordinate rights of the United States ; it being the earnest desire of the British government, so long as the joint occupancy con- tinues, to regulate its own obligations by the same rule which governs the obligations of any other occupying party." Thus, in 1826, the British government based its claims, with regard to the territories west of the Rocky Mountains, entirely on the Nootka convention of 1790, and the acts of occupation by its subjects under that agreement ; the abrogation of which, by the war between the parties, in 1796, — ten years before a single spot in those tdrito- ries had been occupied by a British subject, — has '^een already so fully demonstrated,* that any further observation luld be super- fluous. The proposition of the British plenipotentiaries, with regard to the renewal of the existing arrangement for ten years, was rejected by the president of the United States,f on the grounds — that, so far as it would tend to prevent the Americans from exercising exclusive sovereignty at the mouth of the Columbia River, it would be con- trary to their rights, as acknowledged by the treaty of Ghent, and by the restitution of the place agreeably to that treaty ; — that the proposed additional provisions do not define, but leave open to disputation, the acts which might be deemed an exercise of exclu- sive sovereignty ; — and that, from the nature of the institutions of the United States, their rights in the territory in question must be protected, and their citizens must be secured in their lawful pursuits, by some species of government, diflferent from that which it has been, or may be, the pleasure of Great Britain to establish there. Mr. Gallatin, on the 24th of May, 18i«;7, communicated to the British commissioners the fact of the rejection of their proposition, and the reasons for it, declaring, at the same time, formally, in obedience to special instructions, that his government did not hold itself bound hereafter in consequence of any proposal which it had made for a line of separation between the territories of the two nations beyond the Rocky Mountains ; but tvoidd consider itself at liberty to contend for the full extent of the claims of the United States. * See the examinations of this question, at pp 213, 257, and 318. t Letter of February 24th, 1827, from the Hon. Henry Clay to Mr. Gallatin. ♦ I 1 ivcr the whole of I British induHtry protection. Thut ent and freedom t to infringe the the earnest desire occupancy con- same rule which )arty." Thus, in ith regard to the ' on the Nootka n by its subjects J the war between ot in those tcirito- LS Keen already so .)uld be super- with regard to the 3, was rejected by Is — that, so far as ;ercising exclusive it would be con- ity of Ghent, and reaty; — that the lUt leave open to exercise of exclu- the institutions of question must be eir lawful pursuits, that which it has establish there, municated to the their proposition, time, formally, in ment did not hold )osal which it had tories of the two consider itself at the United States. and 318. ;iay to Mr. Gallatin. 1827. J NEOOTIVriON AT LONDON UKSL'.MKD. 353 The British pleni|>otcntiaries, having entered. on the protocol of the conferences a declaration with regard to the previous claims and propositions of their government, similar to tint nade on the part of the United Statis by Mr. Gallatin tKi.n in i nuted their readiness to agree to a Him[)l(! renewal of the turms of the existing arrangement, for ten years from the (hite of the expiration of the convention of IdlH; |)rovided, however, that, in so doing, they should append to the new convention, in some way, a declara- tion of what they considered to be its true intent, namely, — that both pnrlies were restricted, during its continuance in force, from exercising, or assuming to themselves the right to exercise, any exclu- sive sovereignty or jurisdiction over the territories mentioned in the agreement. The objections to this arrangement were nearly as strong as to that which had already been pi()j)osed and refused ; Mr. Gallatin, however, desired to know what species of acts the British would consider as an exercise of exclusive sovereignty or jurisdiction. In reply, ho was informed that Great Britain would not complain of the extension, over the regions west of the Rocky Mountains, of the jurisdiction of any territory, having for its eastern boumlary a line within the acknowledged boundaries of the United States; provided — thut no custom-house should be erected, nor any duties or charges on tonnage, merchandise, or commerce, be raised, by either party, in the country west of the Rocky Mountains — that the citizens or subjects of the two powers residing in or resorting to those countries, should be amen ille '.^uly to the juris- diction of their own nation respectively — and that no military post should be establislieil by either party in those countries ; or, at least, no stich j)ost as would connnand the navigation of the Columbia or any of its branches. To the first of these conditions, Mr. Gallatin saw no strong reason to object. With regard to the second, he considered it indispensable that the respective jurisdiction of the courts of justice should be determined by positive compact, as it would scarcely be possible otherwise to prevent collisions ; and upon the third condition, he believed it would be very difficult to arrive at a correct under- standing, as the British government would not admit the posts of the Hu'ison's Bay Company to be military establishments. On all these points, the two governments might afterwards negotiate ; but the American minister refused to assent to any declaration or explanation whatsoever respecting the terms under which the terri- tories in question were to remain open to the people of the two 45 i; 1 I ••' I. 'I *!>:ii .;■!'• IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 kiM2» 125 |5o "^^ MH 11.25 i 1.4 U4 PhDtographic Sdences Corporation K 4^ ^^ v :\ \ 23 WIST MAIN STHiT WnSTII.N.Y. MSM (7l6)t72-4S03 C^ 0-^k T^-^-, ^^^ )i: 1- 'il 354 llENEWAL OF THE CONVENTION OF 1818. [If^'-JT. countries ; and the British were equally resolved not to agree to a renewal of the engagement for a fixed period of time, without such a declaration. Finally, on the 6th of August, 1827, a convention was signed by the plenipotentiaries, to the effect, that the provisions of the third article of the convention of October 20th, 1818, — rendering all the territories claimed by Great Britain or by the United States, west of the Rocky Mountains, free and open to the citizens or subjects of both nations for ten years, — should be further extended for an indefinite period ; either party being, however, at liberty to annul and abrogate the agreement, on giving a year's notice of its intention to the other.* This convention was submitted to the Senate of the United States in the following winter, and, having been approved by that body, it was immediately ratified. In relating the circumstances connected with the adoption of the convention of October, 1818, the opinion was expressed, that it was perhaps the most wise, as well as most just, arrangement which could then have been made ; and this renewal of the arrangement for an indefinite period, leaving each of the parties at liberty to abrogate it, after a reasonable notice to the other, appears to merit the same commendation. No unworthy concession was made. no loss of dignity or right was sustained, on either side ; and to break the amicable and mutually profitable relations, then subsistinjr between the two coimtries, on a question of mere title to the pos- session of territories from which neither could derive any immediate benefit of consequence, would have been impolitic and unrighteous. The advantages of the convention were, in 1827, as in 1818, nearly equal to both nations ; but the difference was, on the whole, in favor of the United States. The British might, indeed, derive more profit from the fur trade as carried on by their organized Hudson's Bay Company, than the Americans could expect to obtain by the individual efforts of their citizens ; but the value of that trade is much less than is generally supposed : no settlements could be formed in the territory beyond the Rocky Mountains, by whicli it could acquire a population, while the arrangement subsisted ; and the facilities for occupying the territory at a future period, when its occupation by the United States should become expedient, would undoubtedly have increased in a far greater ratio on their part than on that of Great Britain. For the diffioilties which must arise f''" I. Proofs and Illustrations, letter I, No. 6. 1829.] PROCEEDINGS IN CONGRESS. 355 whenever the conveniion is abrogated, even agreeably to the man- ner therein stipulated, it became, of course, the duty of each government to provide in time. In the session of Congress following that in which the new con- vention with Great Britain had been approved, the subject of the occupation of the mouth of the Columbia River was again discussed ; and, after a long series of debates, in which the most eminent mem- bers of the House of Representatives took part, a bill was reported, whereby the president was authorized to cause the territory west of the Rocky Mountains to be explored, and forts and garrisons to be established in any proper places, between the parallels of 42 degrees and 54 degrees 40 minutes ; and also to extend the juris- diction of the United States over those countries, as regards citizens of the Union. The adoption of these measures was urged, on the ground that it was the duty of the government to make good, by occupation, the right of the United States, which was pronounced unquestionable, lest, by neglect, the country should fall irrevocably into the possession of another power, which had unjustly contested that right : and, as inducements to pursue this course, pictures most flattering were presented of the soil, climate, and productions, of the regions watered by the Columbia, and of the various advantages which would be secured to the citizens of the Union engaged in the trade of the Pacific Ocean, by the settlement of those coasts. The bill was opposed, as infringing the convention recently concluded with Great Britain ; in addition to which, it was contended, that, were all opposition on the part of that or other powers removed, and the right of the United States established and universally recognized, the occupation of the countries in question in the manner proposed, would be useless, from their extreme barrenness, from the dangers to navigation presented by their coasts, and from the difficulty of communicating with them either by sea or by land ; and such occupation might be injurious, as citizens of the United States would be thus induced to settle in those countries, and their government would find itself bound to protect and maintain them, at great expense, without a commensurate advancement of the pub- lic good. In the course of the debates, several amendments were proposed to the bill, but it was finally rejected on the 9th of January, 1829 ; and, for many years afterwards, very little atten- tion was bestowed, by any branch of the government of the United States, to matters connected with the territories west of the Rocky Mountains. iff' I !, ','■.1 t li! ri 1"! tr tli: !^ I;.i ; ■ i] fmi /llilii ^' 35G CHAPTER XVII. 18-23 TO 1844 Few Citizens of the United States in the Counlrion west of the Rocky Mountains between 1813 and 1823 — Trading Expeditions of Ashley, Bublette, Smith, Pilcher, Fattie, Bonneville, and Wy( f L '. IfV 362 PROCEEDINGS OF THE RUSSIANS. [1838. m S^'. the fact that the period of ten years, fixed by the fourtli article of the convention of 1824 between the two nations, during which the vessels of both parties might frequent the bays, creeks, harbors, niid other interior waters on the north-west coast, had expired: and the Russian government had chosen to consider that article as the only limitation of its right to exclude American vessels from all parts of the division of the coast on which the United States, by the convention, engaged to form no establishments; disregarding entirely the first article of the same agreement, by which all unoc- cupied places on the north-west coast were declared free and open to the citizens or subjects of both nations. The government of the United States immediately protested against this exclusion; and their plenipotentiaries at St. Petersburg have been instructed to demand its revocation.* To the reasons oflered in support of * See Piosident Van Burcn'a message to Congress of December 3d, 1838, nnd the accompanying documents. The letters of Messrs. Wilkins and Dallas, succciisively plenipotentiaries of the United States at St. Petersburg, relating the particulars ct" their negotiations wiih the Russian minister, will be found very interesting, from tlio luminous views of national rights presented in them. The instructions of Mr, For. syth, the American secretary of state, to Mr. Dallas, dated November 3d, 1837, are also especially worthy of attention. Aller repeating the cardinal rule as to the con- struction of instruments, — that they should be so construed, if possible, as that erinj part may stand, — he proceeds to show that the fourth article of the convention uf April, 1824, was to bo understood as giving "permission to enter interior bays, At,, at the mouth of which there might be establishments, or the shores of which iiiiirlit be in part, but not wholly, occupied by such establishments ; thus providing for a case which would otherwise admit of doubt, as it would be questionable whether the bays, &.C., described in it, belonged to the Jirst or the second article. In no sense," continues Mr. Forsyth, " can it be understood as implying an acknowledgment, nn the part of the United States, of the right of Russia to the possession of the coast above the latitude of 54 degrees 40 minutes north ; but it should be taken in con- nection with the other articles, which have, in fact, no reference whatever to the question of the right of possession of the unoccupied parts of the coast. In a spirit of compromise, and to prevent future collisions or difficulties, it was agreed that no new establishments should be formed by the respective parties north or south of a certain parallel of latitude, after the conclusion of tlie agreement; but the question of the right of possession beyond the existing establishments, as it subsisted previous to, or at the time of, the conclusion of the convention, was left untouched. The United States, in agreeing not to form new establishments north of the latitude of 54 degrees and 40 minutes, made no acknowledgment of the right of Russia to the possession of the territory above that line. If such admission had been made, Russia, by the same construction of the article referred to, must have acknowledged the right of the United States to the territory south of the line. But that Russia did not 80 understand the article, is conclusively proved by her having entered into a similar agreement in a subsequent treaty (1825) with Great Britain, and having, in fact, acknowledged in that instrument the right of possession of the same territory by Great Britain. The United States can only be considered as - eknowledging the right of Russia to acquire, by actual occupation, a just claim to unoccupied lands above the latitude of 54 degrees 40 minutes north ; and even this is a mere matter ics, it was agreed that 183d.] pj:ocbeding3 of the Russians. 363 this demand, the Iluasiaii iiiiiiistcr of foreign Tairs, Count Nessel- rode, did not attempt to otter any reply, contenting himself simply with declaring that his sovereign was not inclined to renew the fourth article, as it aflbrded the Americans the opportunity of fur- nishing the natives on the coasts with spirituous liquors and fire-arms ; though no case was adduced in support of that assertion. Thus the matter rests ; the American traders being excluded from visiting any of the coasts of the Pacific north of the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes, on the ground that those coasts are acknowledged by the United States to belong to Russia, whilst the latter power, by its treaty with Great Britain in 18'25, directly denies any rights, on the part of the United States, to the coasts south of that parallel. The Russian government also refused the same privilege to British vessels after 1835, and moreover opposed by force the exercise of another privilege claimed by the British under the treaty of 1825, namely, that of navigating the rivers flowing from the interior of the continent to the Pacific across the line of boundary therein established. In 1834, the Hudson's Bay Company fitted out an expedition for the purpose of establishing a trading post on the large river Stikine, which enters the channel nutned by Vancouver Prince Frederick's Sound, between the main land and one of the islands of the north-west archipelago claimed by Russia, in the latitude of 56 degrees 50 minutes. Baron Wrangel, the Russian governor- general, having, however, been informed of the project, erected a block-house and stationed a sloop of war at the mouth of the Stikine ; and, on the appearance of the vessel bringing the men and materials for the contemplated establishment, the British were warned not to attempt to pass into the river, and were forced to return to the south. All appeals to the treaty were ineffectual, and the Hudson's Bay Company was obliged to desist from the prose- cution of the plan, after having, as asserted on its part, spent more than twenty thousand pounds in fitting out the expedition. of inference, as the convention of 1824 contains nothing more than a negation of the right of the United States to occupy new points within that limit. Admitting that this inference was in contemplation of the parties to the convention, it cannot follow that the United States ever intended to abandon the just right, acknowledged by the first article to belong to them, under the law of nations ; that is, to frequent any part of the unoccupied coast of North America, for the purpose of fishing or trading with the natives. All that the convention admits is, an inference of the right of Russia to acquire possession by settlement north of 54 degrees and 40 minutes north ; and, until that possession is taken, tlie first article of the convention acknowledges the right of the United States to fish and trade, as prior to its negotiation." i rK I ■ ' hi 'r^H I'' ! ''f* ' ; ' ■*l,i 'W' 364 PR0CCEDIN09 OV TtlU RUSSIANS. [1839. /'■ The British government immediately demanded satisfaction from that of Russia for this infraction of the treaty ; and, after some time ■pent in negotiation between the two {)owcr8, as well as between the Hudson's Bay Company and the Russian American Company, it was agreed, in 1839, that the British trading association should enjoy, for ten years, from the 1st of June, 1840, the exclusive use of the continent ossigned to Russia by the treaty of 18>25, extending from the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes northward to Cape Spenser, near the 58th degree, in consideration of the annual payment of two thousand seal skins to the Russian Company.* The difficulty was thus ended, to the advantage of both parties ; the British having access to a long line of coast, without which the adjoining interior territories would have been useless ; while the Russians receive, as rent, a much greater amount in value than they could possibly have drawn from that coast by any other means. The charter of the Russian American Company was renewed for twenty years, in 1839; at which time tlie company possessed thirty-six establishments in its territories in America, and twelve vessels, some of them large, employed in the transportation of furs and merchandise. The revenue from these establishments is undoubtedly large, as the company is constantly extending its operations, and its stock maintains a high value. There is, more- over, every reason to believe that the regulations of this body are as humane, and arc enforced with as much strictness, as the peculiar circumstances under which its servants are placed will admit; and that, if the amount of labor required from those servants is not diminished, their comforts are much increased. Great care appears to be bestowed on the moral and religious ed- ucation of the natives, particularly of those of the Aleutian Islands and Kodiak, who are more intelligent than the people of the coasts farther north or east. Moreover, a race of half breeds, there called Creoles, children of native women by Russian fathers, is growing up, to whose instruction in the language, religion, and customs, of Russia, the company particularly directs its efforts.* In California, few events worthy of note occurred during the whole period of fifty years, from the first establishment of Spanish * Wrangel'a Statistical and Ethnographical Account of the Russian Possessions in America, above mentioned, at page 329. The accounts of Wrangel on these points are particular, and they are confirmed by those of other persons who have recently visited the Russian aettlementi. 1893.] CALirORNIA BUUJRCT TO MEXICO. 363 coloniea and garrisons on tho west coasts of that country, to the termination of tlio revolutionary struggle between Spain and Mex- ico. Before tho disturbances in Mexico began, the missions were, to a certain extent, fostered by the Spanish government ; and sup- plies of money and goods were sent to them, with regularity, from Acapulco and San Bias : but, after the revolution broke out, these remittances were reduced, and all the establishments, civil, military, and religious, fell into decay. The missionaries lost much of their influence over the Indians ; and the defences of the country became so ineflfective, that Monterey, in despite of its forts and castle, was, in 1819,*taken and sacked by a Buenos Ayrean privateer, under the command of a Frenchman. On the termination of the revolutionary struggle, and the estab- lishment of independence in Mexico, the soldiers and priests in California, for the most part, submitted, though with reluctance, to the authority of the new republic ; and the remainder of the pop- ulation followed their example, probably without inquiring into the circumstances. The country was then divided politically into two territories, of which the peninsula formed one, called Lower California ; the other, called Upper California, embracing the whole of the continental portion. By the constitution of 1824, each of these territories became entitled to send one member to the National Congress ; and, by subsequent decrees of the general government, all the adult Indians, who could be considered as civilized or capable of reasoning, (gentc de razon,) were freed from submission to their former pastors, had lands assigned to them, and were declared citizens of the republic. These seeming bootiis were, however, accompanied by the withdrawal of nearly all the allow- ances previously made for the support of the establishments, and by the imposition of taxes and duties on all imports, including those from Mexico. The authority of the missionaries thus dwindled away ; and those who had been long in the country, either returned to Mexico or Spain, or escaped to other lands. The cultivation of the mission farms was abandoned ; the Indians, freed from restraint, relapsed into barbarism, or sunk into the lowest state of indolence and vice ; and the missions were finally placed by the government in the hands of administrators, under whom they appear to be fast falling to ruin. Whilst the number of civilized Indians in California was by these measures diminished, the white population was at the same time somewhat increased. Immediately after, and indeed before, the i' \ I ■iL'. ,) II ' II'-' ( h .1! 36S CALIFORNIA SUBJECT TO MEXICO. [1828. »•■'%■■■?'• -A- i*" ■'■■■ ' 'nM' overthrow of the Spanish authority in that country, its ports became the resort of foreigners, especially of the whalers and traders of the United States, who offered coarse manufactured articles and groceries in exchange for provisions, and for the hides and tallow of the wild cattle abounding in the country. This trade was at first carried on in the same irregular manner as the fur trade with the Indians on the coasts farther north ; as it increased, however, it became more systematized, and mercantile houses were estab- lished in the principal ports. The majority of the merchants were foreigners, English, French, or Americans : in their train came shop and tavern-keepers, and artisans, from various countries^ and to these were added deserting seamen and stragglers from the Missouri and the Columbia. This state of things was by no means satisfactory to the Mexican government ; and orders were given to the commandant-general of Upper California to enforce the laws prohibiting foreigners from entering or residing in the Mexican territories without special per- mission from the authorities. Agreeably to these orders, a number of American citizens were, in 1828, seized at San Diego, and kept in confinement until 1830, when an insurrection broke out, headed by a General Solis, which they were instrumental in subduing; and, in consideration of their services, they were allowed to quit the country. The trading expeditions of Ashley and Smith, of which accounts have been already presented, at the same time gave great uneasiness to the Mexican government, and were made the subjects of formal complaints to that of the United States. These circumstances, with others of the same nature then occur- ring in Texas, served to delay the conclusion of treaties of limits, and of amity, commerce, and navigation, between the United States and Mexico ; which were, however, at length signed and ratified, so as to become effective in 1832. By the treaty of limits, the line of boundary from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, which was settled between the United States and Spain in 1819, was adopted as separating the territories of the United States on the north from those of Mexico on the south ; and the latter power accordingly claims as its own the whole territory west of the great dividing chain of mountains, as far north as the 42d parallel of latitude. The Mexican government likewise endeavored to prevent the evils anticipated from the presence of so many foreigners in Cali- fornia, by founding new colonies of its own citizens in that country. Criminals were to be transported thither ; but although many were [1828. f, its ports became rs and traders of tured articles and hides and tallow rhis trade was at the fur trade with icreased, however, Duses were estab- le merchants were ir train came shop countries", and to from the Missouri •ry to the Mexican landant-general of g foreigners from ithout special per- } orders, a number n Diego, and kept broke out, headed in subduing; and, lowed to quit the Smith, of which le time gave great made the subjects lature then occur- treaties of limits, the United States ijned and ratified, of limits, the line 'acific, which was 819, was adopted on the north from >ower accordingly he great dividing el of latitude, id to prevent the breigners in Cali- is in that country, hough many were 1837.] REVOLUTION IN CALIFORNIA. 367 thus sentenced, few, if any, ever reached the place of their desti- nation. A number of persons, of various trades and professions, were also sent out from Mexico in 1834, to be located on the lands of the missions in California ; but, ere they reached those places, the administration by which the scheme was devised, had been overthrown, and the new authorities, entertaining different views, ordered the settlers to be driven hack to their native land. These new authorities — that is to say, General Santa Anna and his pariisans — determined to remodel the constitution, under which Mexico had been governed, as a federal republic, since 1824. ^What other form was to have been introduced in its stead, is not known ; for, in the spring of 1836, at the moment when the change was about to be made, Santa Anna was defeated and taken prisoner by the Texans at San Jacinto. Those who succeeded to the helm being, however, no less averse to the federal system, it was abolished in the latter part of the same year, and a constitution was adopted, by which the powers of government were placed almost entirely in the hands of the general congress and executive, all state rights being destroyed. This central system was opposed in many parts of the republic, and nowhere more strenuously than in California, where the people rose in a body, expelled the Mexican officers, and declared that their country should remain independent until the federal constitution were restored. The general government, on receiving the news of these proceedings, issued strong proclamations against the insurgents, and ordered an expedition to be prepared for the purpose of reestablishing its authority in the revolted territory ; but General Urrea, to whom the execution of this order was committed, soon after declared in favor of the fed- eralisti5, and the Californians were allowed to govern themselves as they chose for some months, at the end of which, in July, 1837, their patriotic enthusiasm subsided, and they voluntarily swore alle- giance to the new constitution. Since that time, the quiet course of things in California has, so far as known, been disturbed by only one occurrence worthy of being mentioned ; namely, the capture and temporary occupation of Monterey by the naval forces of the United States, under Commo- dore T. A. C. Jones, of which the following brief account will suffice. This officer, while cruising on the South American coast of the Pa- cific, received information which led him to believe that Mexico had, agreeably to a menace shortly before uttered by her government^ declared war against the United States; and, being determined a\'[ i ■ )■' ■ i i;: M i \ ■' I "i t f i ■ uhJ ' If/ ^ il ? ti *■•■'■«;':■ 1,1*5 ?•:■■ 'S 368 CAPTUnE OF MONTEREY BY THE AMERICANS. [1842. to strike a blow at the supposed enemy, he sailed, with his frigate, the United States, and the sloop of war Cyane, to Monterey, where he arrived on the 19th of October, 1842. Having disposed his vessels in front of the little town, he sent an officer ashore, to demand the surrender " of the castle, posts, and military places, with all troops, arms, and munitions of war of every class," in default of which, the sacrifice of human life and the horrors of war would be the immediate consequence. The commandant of the place, astounded by such a demand, made in a time of profound peace, summoned his officers to a council, in which it was decided that no defence could be made : he therefore sub- mitted without delay, and the flag of the United States replaced that of Mexico over all the public edifices ; the fortifications were garri- soned by American soldiers, and the commodore issued a proclama- tion to the Californians, inviting them to submit to the government of the federal republic, which would protect and insure to them the undisturbed exercise of their religion, and all other privileges of freemen. Scarcely, however, was this proclamation sent forth, ere the commodore received advices which convinced him that he had been in error, and that the peace between his country and Mexico remained unbroken ; he had, therefore, only to restore the place to its former possessors, and to retire with all his forces to his ships, which was done ori the 21st of the month, twenty-four hours after the surrender. Thus ended an aflair, the effects of which have been unfortunately to increase the irritation already existing in Mexico against the United States, and to render less easy the adjustment of the differences between the two nations. The armed force in Cali- fornia has since been considerably augmented ; but it is evident that all the efforts of Mexico would be unavailing to retain those distant possessions, in the event of a war with a powerful maritime state. In the Sandwich Islands, a complete change has taken place since the death of Tamahamaha. His son and successor, Riho Riho, died, in 1824, in London, whither he had gone, with his queen, to visit his brother sovereign of Great Britain ; and he was himself succeeded by Kauikeaouli, another reputed son of the great Tamahamaha, who now fills the throne, under the name of Kame- hamaha HI. These changes were all advantageous to the mission- aries from the United States, many of whom were domiciliated in the islands ; particularly after the conversion of Krymakoo, or Billy Pitt, the old prime minister, and of Kaahumanu, the widow of the great Tamahamaha, who, after passing half a century in the con' 1837.] LANGUAGE OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 369 slant practice of the most beastly sensuality, embraced Christianity in her old age, and became an efficient protector of its professors. Kaahumanu acted as regent during the minority of the king, which did not expire until 1834 ; this young man, immediately on taking the reins of government into his own hands, determined to enjoy life like other princes ; " he avoided the society of the more influential chiefs, and associated with young and unprincipled men. Break- ing over the laws to which he had formerly given his assent, he bought ardent spirits, and drank with his companions, though seldom to intoxication. He enticed others into the same practices, and is said even to have inflicted punishment on those who would not comply. He revived the hualaha, or national dance, and it was understood that he intended to revive other practices, which had been common in the days of heathenism." * The example of the sovereign, was imitated by his subjects ; grog-shops were opened, distilleries were set up, and other immoralities reappeared. But the church had now been too strongly united to the state for these things to continue : the chiefs were nearly all, nominally at least, Christians ; and the king was, in the end, obliged to submit. He afterwards proved quite tractable, and though he sometimes complains, he has never again attempted to assert his freedom from religious restraint. The missionaries, persevering in the task which they had under- taken, employed every means to gain ascendency over the young, and to train them in the ways of religion and strict morality. With this object, they made themselves well acquainted with the language of the islands ; and, finding that all its sounds might be expressed by fourteen letters of the Roman alphabet,! they thus reduced its * History of tlio American Board of Conimissionnrs for Foreign Missions, p. 241. t Tlie letters are, a, e, i, o, ii, vowels, each havinij, in all cases, one and tiie same sound, namely, that given to it in the Italian langnage ; and b, h, k, I, m, n, p, t, and \v, consonants, having each the simple sound assigned to it in English. Tho same language was found, by the missionaries, in use in all parts of the group ; but it was pronounced dilferently in diirerent islands, and nearly all the names of peojjle and places, which had been made known by Cook, Vancouver, and other navigators, were written according to the sounds of an impure r\.i-i n ]• ,1 If" 1 'I mimi yi!^? 11 hi f It'I a; \ iif 370 OPPOSITION TO THE MISSIONARIES. [1838. words to writing, and translated into it the Bible and several other works, which were all successively printed, at Honolulu, in Woahoo, the seat of the government. They, at the same time, exerted them- selves to amend the customs of the people, and to reform the vices of their government ; gradually procuring the adoption of written laws, and, finally, in 1840, of a written constitution, all which measures evinced much wisdom and knowledge of the world, as well as justice and morality, on the part of the framers. In these endeavors to raise a barbarous people to civilization, and to place their country among Christian states, the American mission- aries were constantly opposed and thwarted by their own fellow- citizens and the subjects of other nations, who resorted to the islands for the purposes of trade, or of refreshment, after long and danger- ous voyages. The precepts of a religion enjoining self-denial in all things could not find favor among such persons, to whom its apos- tles became objects of hatred, as the destroyers of all their pleasures. Bickerings took place between the two parties : the missionaries were assaulted with sticks and stones, and knives, all which they fearlessly confronted, rather than yield a foot of the ground already occupied ; and the poor young king was alternately subjected to com- plaints from sea-captains and consuls on the one side, and to remon- strances from his spiritual advisers on the other. The missionaries nevertheless prevailed : severe laws were enacted against intoxication and other debauchery ; the drinking-shops and distilleries, though one belonged to the king, and another to his prime minister, weie successively closed ; and, finally, on the 28th of August, 1838, a law was passed, forbidding the introduction of spirituous liquors into the islands. occasioned, it may be asked, what would be said of an English History of Ger- many, in which Vienna should be written Wien, Cologne Coelln, Bolioniia Boelmen, Moravia Maehrcn, according to their true German orthography ? Yet this M'oiild be fully as reasonable, and not more embarrassing, than the changes of Owyhee into Hawaii, of Atooi into Kauai, of Karakakooa into Keilakakua, of Tamoreo into Kaumalii, and even of great Tamahamaha into Kamehameha, which are made in all the reports, histories, newspapers, &c., of the American missionaries ami their friends. The writer of these observations makes them in no captious or unkind spirit : lu' has himself, long since, mastered the difficulties of which he complains, though not without considerable labor, much more than the generality of persons will give to the subject : and he knows, from daily experience, that very few, even among the best informed and most intelligent men in the United States, have any idea, that Hawaii is identical with Owyhee, and that Tamahamaha and Kamehameha arc not two distinct personages. 1839.] CATHOLICS KXPELLED FROM SANDWICH ISLANDS. 371 But this course of things was not destined to run on smoothly. In 1831, two CathoHc priests, Messrs. Bachelot, a Frenchman, and Short, an Ii^ishman, who had resided some time in the islands, en- gaged in propagating their doctrines among the natives, were forci- bly expelled by the pious regent, Kaahumanu, on the ground, as it has been said, that theij worshipped the bones of dead men, which was strictly prohibited by law. A chapel and a school were, how- ever, soon after opened at Honolulu, by another Catholic priest, named Walsh ; and in 1838, Kaahumanu being dead, Messrs. Bachelot and Short ventured to return to the islands, from Califor- nia, where they had i)assed the greater part of their time, since their expulsion. They were, however, again ordered by the government to take their departure ; and, on their refusal, they were forcibly put on board of the vessel which brought them, and thus sent away. Against this act of violence protests were made by the consuls of the United States and Great Britain, on the part of the owners of the vessel, and by the commanders of a British and a French ship of war, which arrived at the lime in the islands ; but the king carried his determination into execution. That the Protestant missionaries were the instigators of this proceeding, has been asserted, though it is denied by their friends ; that they might, if they chosej'have pre- vented the act, there can, however, be as little doubt, as that they should have done so, if it were in their power.* For this act, which, besides being entirely at variance with the constant principle of protestantism, and with the spirit of toleration now so happily pervading the world, indicated extreme ignorance, and culpable disregard of consequences, on the part of those who directed it, a severe retribution was soon after exacted. On the 9th of July, 1839, the French frigate Artemise arrived at Hono- lulu, and her captain, Laplace, immediately demanded reparation for the insult offered to his country and its national religion ; with which object, he required — that the Roman Catholic wor- ship should be declared free throughout the islands, and its pro- fessors should enjoy all the privileges heretofore granted to Pro- testants ; — that the government should give a piece of ground for the erection of a Catholic church : — that all Catholics im- IM! !> I .(■ m i f ' : it * History of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, p. 221. — "The American missionaries, as was their duty, hiborod to guard their hearers against the delusions of Romanism, but gave no advice concerning the removal of the priests." 372 THE FRENCH OBTAIN REPARATION. [1842. If.:' Mr ' f prisoned on account of their religion should be liberated ; and finally — that, as a security for the performance of these engage- ments, twenty thousand dollars should be placed, and should remain, in his hands. With these demands the king immediately com- plied ; and had the French commander contented himself with what he had thus effected, his conduct would have been blameless in the eyes of all unprejudiced men : but he also required and ob- tained, that the brandy and wines of his country, the introduc- tion of which, as of all other spirituous liquors, was most properly prohibited by law, should be admitted into the islands on paying a duty of not more than five per cent, on their value ; an act, con- sidering the relative degrees of civilization of the two parties, far more reprehensible than that for which he had just before exacted atonement. Captain Laplace also thought proper to declare, that in case he should make an attack on Honolulu, the American mission- aries should not enjoy the protection promised by him, in a circiilar, to the people of civilized nations generally — a threat, which, it is needless to show, would, if carried into execution, have occasioned a most serious breach of good understanding between France and the United States. Difficulties about the same time arose between the government of the Sandwich Islands and the British consul ; in consequence of which, the king at length determined to despatch an agent to the United States, Great Britain, and France, in order to obtain, if pos- sible, the recognition of the indci)endence of his dominions by those nations, and to make some definite arrangement for the prevention of difliculties in future. With these objects, Timoteo Haalileo. a young native who had been educated in the schools of the mission- aries, and had filled several important offices, was selected as the agent ; and he was to be accompanied by Mr. W. Richards, one of the American missionaries, who had long resided in the islands, and had distinguished himself for his zeal in behalf of the people and their sovereign. They arrived in Washington in the winter of 184'2, and upon their fipplication. President Tyler addressed a mes- sage to Congress,* in which, after briefly recapitulating the advan- tages derived by the United States from the Sandwich Islands, as a place of trade and refreshment for vessels in the Pacific, and allud- ing to the desire manifested by their government to improve the • President Tyler's messngc of December 21st, 1842, and accompanying documents. I 4 I k' r. [1842. 3 liberated ; and of these engage- nd should remain, immediately com- himsclf with w hat )ccn blameless in required and ob- ry, the introduc- I'as most properly islands on paying alue ; an act, con- e two parties, far St before exacted to declare, that in /Vmerican mission- him, in a circular, hreat, which, it is 1, have occasioned tween France and 'n the government in consequence of an agent to the to obtain, if pos- om in ions by those or the prevention moteo Haalileo, a )ls of the niission- s selected as the , Richards, one of n the islands, and f the people and in the winter of addressed a nies- ating the advan- tvich Islands, as a acific, and allud- t to improve the npanying documents. 1843.] BRITISH OCCUPY SANDWICH ISLANDS TEMPORARILY. 373 moral and social condition of the people, he declared — that any attempt by another power to take possession of the islands, colonize them, and subvert the native government, could not but create dis- satisfaction on the part of the United States ; and that should such attempt be made, the American government would be justified in remonstrating decidedly against it. The only immediate result of this message, however, was the despatch of an American agent to the islands, of whose negotiations no accounts have been published. Messrs. Richards and Haalileo proceeded to England, and thence to France, in each of which countries their eflbrts are said to have been crowned with success. In the mean time, however, Lord George Paulet, a captain in the British navy, arrived at Woahoo, in February, 1843, in the ship Carysfort, and demanded from the king explanations with regard to the conduct of his government towards the consul and subjects of her Britannic majesty ; and, not receiving a satisfactory answer within the period prescribed, he threatened, in the event of longer delay, to make an attack on Honolulu. To this threat negotiations succeeded, and the king, finding himself unable to comjdy with the demands, or to resist them, declared that he surrendered all the islands under his dominion to the king of Great Britain, until the matter could be arranged between the government of that country and the agents whom he had already sent thither. Lord George Paulet accordingly hoisted tiie British flag, appointed commissioners to take charge of the administration, and isstied various regulations for the government of the islands until further orders could be re- ceived from Finglaiid. Tile news of these events created much excitement in the United States ; and a protest against the occupation of the Sandwich Isl- {jnds by Great Hritain, was addressed by the American government to the court of London. On the •2.")th of June, however, the British minister at Washington declared ofHcially, — that the acts of Lord George Paulet were entirely unauthorized by her majesty's govern- ment, which had determined to recognize the independence of the islands, under their present chief; it being, however, understood, that the government of the islands would be compelled to do full justice to all British subjects aggrieved by it : and, conformably with this declaration, on llie 31st of July, the king was reinstated in all his jionors and privileges, by rear admiral Thonms, the com- mander-in-chief of the British naval forces in the Pacific. 1 ii i - i 1; -I*^-' it Hh ?*,',;.;, 1 t- El! u 4i 374 BRITISH AND FRENCH MOVEMENTS IN THE PACIFIC. [1843. These acts of the British and the French, with regard to the Sandwich Islands, arose, doubtless, rather from poHtical jealousy of each other, on the parts of those nations, than from the simple desire to protect their respective subjects, in their trade or religion. The French are earnestly endeavoring to obtain a firm position in the Pacific, as demonstrated by their attempt to form a settlement in New Zealand, by their occupation of the islands north of the Marquesas group, discovered by Ingraham in 1791, and by other circumstances ; whilst the British have shown their determination to counteract these efibrts, especially in their resistance to the occu- pation of Otaheite by the French, during the summer of 1843. To either of these nations the Sandwich Islands would prove a most valu- able acquisition, as it would afford the means of controlling the trade and fishery of the North Pacific, and of exercising a powerful influence over the destinies of the North-west coasts of America and California. The United States, claiming the North-west coasts, and conducting nearly the whole of the fishery and trade of the North Pacific, are of course most deeply interested in all that niav aflect the independence of these islands ; and having neither the power nor the will, to establish their own authority over places so remote, it is the policy and duty of their government, to oppose, at almost any hazard, the attempts of other nations to acquire intiu- ence or dominion over them. So long as these three nations con- tinue at peace with each other, the Sandwich Islands may continue independent, and may be regarded, nominally at least, as a civilized state ; but should a war, or even serious difiiculties occur between any two of these powers, that independence will infallibly cease. To conclude, with regard to the Sandwich Islands — their popula- tion is rapidly diminishing under the too great warmth of the civil- ization suddenly planted among them, by which new vices have been introduced, and new wants, unaccompanied by any increase of en- ergy and industry, have been engendered. The day is, probably, not far distant, when the aborigines will be reduced to a few wander- ers ; and the islands will be, effectively, occupied by Anglo Saxons, the certain, though comparatively mild, exterminators of the uncivil- ized races with which they are brought into contact.* " The Sandwich Ishmds are ten in number, situated in the northern division of the Pacific Ocean, between the latitudes of 1i) and 2L' des^iees ; about '2W0 miles from the American coast and r),Of!f) miles fioin Cliina. The piincipnl islands arc — Owyhee or Hawaii the largest, Moweu or Maui, VVoahoo or Oaliu, and Atooi or PACIFIC. [1843. 375 ♦ r I til CIIAPTER XVIII 184-2 TO 1844. Excitement in the United States rospeeting Oieijon — Treaty of Washington ilcter- mining Boundaries between tlie Tinritorii-s oi' Great Britain and tliose of tiie United States, east of tlie Lajje of tlie Woods — ^Ir. Linn's Bill in tlie Senate of the United States, iiir the immediate oecnpation of Oregon — Refleetions on tlio Convention of 1827 — Present State of tlie Hudson's Bay Company's Territories — Conehision. DuniNG the latter years of the period to wliicli the preceding chapter relates, the people as well as the government of the United States were becoming seriously interested in the subject of the claims of the republic to countries west of the Rocky Mountains. Tlie population of the Union had, in fact, been so much increased, that large numbers of persons were to be found in every part, whose spirit of enterprise and adventure could not be restrained within the limits of the states and organized territories ; and, as the adjoining central division of the continent oflered no inducements to settlers, those who ditl not choose to fix their habitations in Texas, began to direct their views towards the valleys of the Columbia, wiiere they expected to obtain rich lands without cost, and security under the flag of the stars and stripes. This feeling began to manifest itself, about the year 1837, by the formation of societies for emigration to Oregon, in various parts of the Union, and especially in those which had themselves been most recently settled, and were most thinly peopled. From these asso- ciations, and from American citizens already established in Oregon, petitions were presented to Congress, as well as resolutions from the legislatures of States, urging the general government, either to Kauai ; the others, namely, Tahoorowa or Kahulatre, Morotai or Molokai, Moro- iiini or Molokini, Ranai or Liinai, Oneehow or Nihaui, and Tahoora or Kaula, are all small. The superficial extent of the whole group is about 6,500 square miles, of which Owyhee ineludes about 4,500. Owyhee is supposed to contain 80,000 inhabitants ; the population of the remainder being about 70,000. The capital is Honoruru or Honolulu, in Woahoo, which is said to have 10,000 inhabitants ; the only other town of any size is Lahaina in Mowee. .:»i- 1-" ;'■ • ■, !■' ' - ' if' :. . •l1''' f'*: 1ii h. ' 1 "";■'; ,' r' it .■l>.i; ■ ■ 'r I- : '' i 1 1 376 TREATY OF WASHlNfiTON. [184-^. WW ■ U' w 4 l^i^ f.r Si. settle the questions of ri^'lit as to the country west of the Rocky Mountains, by definitive nrrung(;inent witli the other cluinmnt |)ow< ers, or to take immediate niihlury |)09session of thut country, and to. extend over it the jurisdiction of the United States ; and hills, having for their object the accomplishment of one or the other of these ends, were annually introduced into each house of the fcilo- ral legislature. The executive branch of the government was like- wise assiduously engaged, in doing all that could be done by it, with the same object. Mr. Forsyth, the enlightened and energetic Secretary of State, exerted himself to procure every information, which might serve to establish the true grounds and extent of the rights of the United States, and the value of the countries claimed by them, in order that their government might, whenever it should act, be fully justified before the world ; and Messrs. Poinsett and Paulding, the secretaries of war and the navy, besides furnishing,' reports on various points connected with these subjects, which had been submitted to their respective departments, particularly instruct- ed Lieutenant Wilkes, the commander of the exploring vessels sent to the Pacific about this time, to survey the Columbia regions as completely as he could, and to inquire into the condition and pros- pects of their actual occupants.* The information thus obtained by the executive departments and the legislative committees, was from time to time communicated to Congress, and publislied by its order ; f no bill, with regard to Ore- * Of this expedition, partial accounts only linvc appeared ; a narrative of all the incidents and observations, will, however, soon be published, with maps, charts, tables, &c., which, there is reason to believe, will not yield in interest and import- ance to any similar work of the day. In addition to numerous explorations, dis- coveries and surveys in the southern division of the ocean, the Sandwich Islands, and the Columbia country, with the adjacent coasts, were carefully examined ; nnd many new facts, relating to the geography of those parts of the world, will, doubt- less, be communicated in the forthcoming narrative. t Report to the Senate, by Mr. Linn, with Maps, June G, 1S3S. Senate Document, No. 470 of the 2d Session of the ^rnh Congress. Reports of the Committee on Foreign Alfairs, of the House of Representatives, respecting the territory of Oregon, with a Map, presented Jan. 4tli and Feb. IGtli, 1S39, by Mr. Cushing ; accompanied by a bill to provide for the protection of the citizens of the United States, residing in that territory or trading on the Columbia River. Report of House of Representatives, No. 101, 3(i Session of QHtk Congress. Memoir, Historical and Political, on the North- West Coast of North America, and the adjacent Countries, with a Map and a Geographical View of those Countries. By Robert Greenhow, Translator and Librarian to the Department of State. Pre- sented Feb. 10th, 1840, by Mr. Linn. Senate Doc. No. 174, 1st Session of2(ith Con- gress. See Preface to this History. ♦ [184-^. est of the Rocky tier chiinmiit pow- at country, and to. Slates ; and l)ilis, )ne or the other of ouse of the fcde- /ernmcnt was likc- il be done by it, ned and energetic every information, and extent of the ! countries claimed whenever it should essrs. Poinsett and besides furnisiiin;; ubjects, which had articularly instruct- [)loring vessels sent /olumbia regions as condition and pros- c departments and communicated to |\'ith regard to Ore- a rmrrative of all the 1, with maps, charts, u interest and import- 0113 explorations, dis- le Sandwich Islands, ircfully exuinined ; and the world, will, doubt- 1842.] BILL IN THE SENATE Or THE UNITED STATES. 377 tl: S3S. Senate Document, 30 of Representatives, an. 4th and Feb. IGtli, the protection of the ading on the Columbia ion o/ 2r)th Congress. of North America, and w of those Countries, irtment of State. Pre- st Session of 2(ith Con- gon, however, passed cither house of that body before 1843 ; and no decisive measure on that subject was adopted by the American government. In 1842, Lord Ashburton arrived at Washington, as a special plenipotentiary of Great Britain, for the settlement of cer- tain points of ditrercnce between that power and the United States ; and it was at first su|)posed by the public in both countries, that the arrangement of the questions respecting the countries west of the Rocky Mountains, was one of the objects of his mission. A treaty was, however, concluded, in August of tliat year, between him and Mr. Webster, the Secretary of State of the United States, in which all the undetermined parts of the line separating the terri- tories of the two nations, from the Bay of Fundy to the Lake of the Woods, were clearly defined and settled ; but no allusion was made to any portion of America situated farther west. This treaty was soon after ratified by both governments ; but the exclusion of the Oregon question from it, seems to have increased the excitement on that subject, among the people of the United States, and to have created a similar excitement in Great Britain. In the message of President Tyler to Congress, at the commence- ment of the ensuing session, allusion was made to " the territory of the United States commonly called the Oregon territory, lying on the Pacific Ocean, north of the 42d degree of latitude, to a portion of which Great Britain lays claim. In advance of the acquire- ment of individual rights to these lands," continues the message, •' sound policy dictates, that every eflbrt should be resorted to, by the two governments, to settle their respective claims. It became evident, at an early hour of the late negotiations, that any attempt, for the time being, satisfactorily to determine those rights, would lead to a protracted discussion, which might embrace in its failure other more pressing matters ; and the executive did not regard it as proper to waive all the advantages of an honorable adjustment of other difficulties, of great magnitude and importance, because this, not so immediately pressing, stood in the way." Having thus indicated the circumstances which prevented the question from being discussed during the recent negotiation, the president inti- mated his intention " to urge on Great Britain the importance of its early settlement." This part of the president's message was referred to the com- mittees on foreign affairs in both houses of Congress, and a few days afterwards, Mr. Linn, one of the senators from Missouri, who 48 M'l If ^'V !■■ •■ i-N. : .: t-.'.ti 1 1 • 378 BILL IN TUB SKNATK Or TIIK UNITED STATES. [1843. had nlwnys displnyod llio strongest interest in nil timt related to the territories west of tlm Rocky Moiintuins, iind Imd iiHsiduousJy en- deavored to ellect tlirir incorporation into the republic, brought a bill into the Senate " to aiithori/o the adoption of measures for the occupation and settlement of the territory of Oregon, for extend- ing certain portions of the laws of the United States over the same, and for oth«!r |)urpos(>s." This bill proposed — that the presi- dent be authorized and i(M|uired to cause to be erected, at suitable places and distances, a line of stockade and blockhouse forts, not exceeding five in numiicr, front some points on the Missouri and Arkansas Ilivers, into the best pass for entering the valley of the Oregon, and also at or near the mouth of the Columbia River — that provision be made by law, to s(>curc and grant six hundred and forty acres of land to every white male inhabitant of the territory of Oregon, of the age of eighteen years and u{)wards, who shall cultivate and use the same for live consecutive years, or to his heirs at law, if such there be, in case of his decease ; and to every inhabitant or cultivator, being a married man, in addition, one hundred and sixty acres for his wife, and the same for each of his children under the age of eighteen years, or who may be born within the five years above mentioned ; provided, that no sale or other alienation of such lands, or execution or lien on them, shall be valid until the patents have been issued for them — that the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the Su|»reme Court and the District Courts of the territory of Iowa be extended over that part of the India|i countries lying west of the present limits of Iowa, south of the 41)th parallel of latitude, east of the Rocky Mountains, and north of the boundary line be- tween the United Slates and Texas, not included within the limits of any state ; and also over the Indian countries comprising the Rocky Mountains, and the country between them and the Pacific Ocean, south of the latitude of 51 degrees 40 minutes, and north of the 4'^d parallel ; and that justices of the peace be appointed for all these countries, as now apj)ointed by law for Iowa, who shall have power to arrest and conunit for trial, agreeably to the laws of Iowa, all offenders against the laws of the United States ; provided, — that any subject of Great Britain, who may have been so arrested for crimes or misdcmoanors committed in the countries west of the Rocky Mountains, while they remain free and open to tlie people of both nations, shall be delivered up to the nearest or most conve- nient British authorities, for the purpose of being tried according to ♦ 1843.] DBBATES IN TIIK SKNATE or TIIK LNITEO HTATE3. .'HO British luws; — iind timt an additioiiul jiul^o of llio Siiprcnu.' Court of lowu be u|)|)oiiil(n|, utid eiitpoworcd to liold i^oiirts in (Ik; coiin- tries to which tho bill lelatt's. A preanihle (o the hill, declaring' ihc rightH of the United States tf> all the tfrritoricH we • of the llocky Mountains, between the latitudes of 4*2 dry^nes una j I i J, ) JB 1 K' 4 1 ' 1 « t 1 ' 1 I ( » f '^5 of that right, he contended that the Americans had been deprived of the privileges of the joint occupancy, secured to them by the existing convention of 1827, in consequence of the encroachments of the Hudson's Bay Company, which, under the direct protection of the British government, liad taken actuul possession of the whole terri- tory beyond the Rocky Mountains. Great Britain, he insisted, was there employing the same policy and mechanism, of a great trading company, by means of which she had made her way to the domin- ion of India : she had already practically taken possession of all that she ever claimed south and north of the Columbia ; her agents have directly avowed that she would not give up the estab- lishments which she had encouraged her subjects to form there ; and as a farther proof of her intentions, the Hudson's Bay Company had, within a few years, founded farming settlements, on an extensive scale, from which large exports of provisions are made to the Russian posts, and the Sandwich Islands. The bill proposed, con- tinued Mr. Linn, does not pretend to dispossess Great Britain of what she now holds ; it does not define the territory of the United States. Can that power object to proceedings on the part of the United States, similar to her own ? She has extended her jurisdic- tion over Oregon, has built forts, and set up farming and other establishments. Why cannot the Americans do the same ? Mr. Sevier, considered that the justice of the claims of the United States being admitted, there should be no delay in taking possession of the country claimed, for which the only means were, to provide an adequate amount of population, within the shortest time. The inducements held out to settlers by the bill, were trifling, when compared with the difliculties to which they would be subjected; and not only should the lands be granted to them, and forts be built, and ganisoned for their protection, but, if necessary, a railroad should be made from the Missouri to the Columbia, as he contended might be done, for two millions of dollars, over which emigrants might be conveyed in two or three days. Mr. Benton, in defence of the bill, entered at length into the his- tory of discovery and settlement, on the west coasts of North Amer- ica, also presenting and reviewing the various conventions between civilized nations, with regard to it. He considered the right of the United States, to the territories south of the 49th parallel of latitude, as determined by the possession of Louisiana, the northern boundary of which he asserted to have been fixed at that parallel, by commis- > STATES. [1843. 1843.] DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 381 sioners, appointed agreeably to the treaty of Utrecht ; and he was prepared for war, if necessary, rather than surrender any part of the territory, thus rightfully belonging to his country, the agricultural, commercial and political advantages of which he described in detail, displaying the same minute and accurate knowledge with regard to its geography and resources, as he had shown respecting its history. Mr. Morehead supported the same views. Examining the con- vention of 1827, he conceived, that it provided only for temporary occupation ; but that the felling of forests, the construction of regu- lar habitations, the fencing in of fields, the regular improvement of the soil, the fitting up of mills and workshops, and, added to all these, the erection of forts to protect them, as had been done by the British, in Oregon, meant something more, and were intended to constitute a lasting, and, of course, exclusive occupation of the places thus appropriated. Now these are not merely the acts of the Hudson's Bay Company ; they arc done under the sanction of the British government, and they form the system adopted everywhere by that government, for territorial encroachment, especially against nations capable of resisting a direct attack. Mr. Woodbury took a view, somewhat different, of the bearing of the convention of 18-27, which he regarded as leaving to each party the right to settle, provided the trade were left free to both ; in support of this construction, he cited the declarations of the British ministers, during the negotiations on that subject, and the stipulation proposed by them, — that " neither party should assume, or exercise any right of sovereignty or dominion over any part of the country," and — that " no settlement then existing, or which might in future be made, should ever be adduced by either party, in sup- port, or furtherance of such claims of sovereignty, or dominion." On these grounds, he considered that the bill should pass, and that the United States should no longer hesitate to exercise rights, which Great Britain did not scruple to exercise herself. Mr. Phelps concurred with Mr. Woodbury, in liis construction of the convention of 1827, which he conceived, would not be violated by the section of the bill, providing for grants of land to settlers. The grants proposed, are but j)rospcctive. Citizens of the United States are invited to settle in Oregon, and, after having resided there five years, certain portions of land are to be secured to them. Within those five years, the questions of right to the territory will have been determined, and if those who have acted on the faith of f f ■ ' h ■ ■ ...J 1 1 • 1' ■ i i . ■ ! 'i m 0' I I'ImJ ■ I : ! 382 DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. [1843. I' i iiifi ^>* 4-'' I' i; the invitation, do not then receive the advantages ])romised, their government will, of course, be bound to indenniify them. Mr. Young was also convinced of the right of the United States to the territory claimed by them beyond the Rocky Mountains ; and would give his full support to the bill, which he conceived in no point at variance with the stii)ulations of the convention. The grant of lands was promised, and not to be directly made. It was the constant custom of this government, not to make the final grant, until all conflicting title had been extinguished, as evinced by the treaties with Indian tribes, for the acquisition of their titles to lands : Great Britain, knowing this, could not object, but would consider that the measure is provisional, and that as a negotiation was pending for the adjustment of boundaries west of the Rocky Moun- tains, no grant could be made until that n terms of suflcr- s should undoubt- the convention, ritain of the inten- 1843.] DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 383 tion of the United States to abrogate that convention, at the expi- ration of a year. Mr. Mac Duffie opposed the bill in toto. He insisted, that its adoption would be a violation of the convention with Great Britain ; as its tendency was, and could be no other than to take possession of the country, and to make ready by all means and appliances, to maintain that possession. It was an invitation to the citizens of the Union — not to carry on the fur-trade, nor to do that which the convention permits — but to settle permanently. For such a meas- ure, he denied that any emergency then called. The question had slept for many years, whilst the United States were at the height of their prosperity ; and it was most imprudent to bring it up now, when their condition was far otherwise, and to brandish the sword in the face of a powerful opponent, when there was every proba- bility that the matter might be arranged peaceably by negotiation. He said, that Great Britain had done nothing which indicated an intention to establish for herself an exclusive occupation. Her forts were nothing more than stockades, made by her traders, for their protection against Indians ; and the only mode in which her sub- jects have intorferod with American citizens has been by under- selling them in the commerce with the natives. lie then proceeded to inquire what advantages the United States could derive from the territories of which it was proposed, at these hazards and costs, to take possession. He rejircscntcd the whole region beyond the Rocky Mountains, and a vast tract between that chain and the Mississippi, as a desert, utterly without value for agricultural pur- poses, and which no American citizen should be condemned to in- habit, unless as a punishment ; and ho combated tiie idea, that steam could ever be employed to facilitate connnunications across the continent, between the Columbia countries and the States of the Union. The expenses which the passage of the bill must entail, would, he conceived, be incalculable, whilst no returns could be expected for them. The fur-trade, if advantageous, could benefit only a few capitalists, for whose advancement the agriculture, com- merce, and industry of the whole republic should not be taxed. In conclusion, he entreated the Senate to pause — to wait a year or two years, in order to see what might be done by peaceful means, and without a ruinous waste of resources. Mr. Calhoun presented a summary of the ground of the claims of the United States and of Great Britain to the territories in question, I ■* I'. •h iM \n i !•' I ■lif: ' !' ti-'-li i I- :- H i\h 384 DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. [1843. J r and of the arrangements attempted, as well as of those made ; and, reviewing the provisions of the bill, he conceived that it directly violated the subsisting convention on the subject between the two nations. The American government, it is true, does not, by this bill, confer grants of land upon its citizens, but it binds itself to do so ; and that engagement forms a complete reality as to assuming possession. Upon examining all the acts of Great Britain, with re- gard to those countries, he could find nothing in them of equal ex- tent and force ; the act of parliament of 18'2l merely extends the jurisdiction of British laws over British subjects, and authorizes no possession. He could not but anticipate a breach of the peace with Great Britain, if the part of the bill then before the Senate, relating to grants of land, were carried into eflect ; all its other provisions he regarded favorably, and he was resolved to contribute, so far as lay in his power, to the maintenance of all the rights of the United States which could be exercised conformably with the convention of 18*27. With regard to the value of the territory to the United States, he differed with his colleague (Mr. Mac Duffie). He be- lieved the possession of the countries of the Columbia to be impor- tant in many respects ; but he considered that the time was not come, when their occupation should be attempted, at the risk of a war with the most powerful nation of the earth. The advance of the citizens of the Union over the western regions, had been already rapid, beyond all the calculations of the most sanguine statesmen ; no extraordinary means were required from their government to accelerate it. He was desirous to give to the bill all the attention which its importance required ; and he hoped that it would be re- committed to the committee on Foreign Relations, whose report would doubtless throw additional light on the subject. Mr. Rives likewise presented a historical review of the circum- stances on which the titles of the United States and Great Britain were founded. Great Britain had taken measures to occupy the country in question, the United States had taken none, and their right might thus have been considered in time as waived, but for the convention which preserved it untouched. It was time that the United States should act on the subject ; and if the bill could be recommitted and reported again, without the clause for granting lands to settlers, he would give it his hearty support : but considering that provision as inconsistent with the terms of the existing conven- tion with Great Britain, he could not approve it in its present form. STATES. [1843. those made ; and, ;d that it directly between the two docs not, by this t binds itself to do lity as to assuming it Britain, with re- them of equal ex- nercly extends the and authorizes no 1 of the peace with lie Senate, relating its other provisions ontributc, so far as ights of the United ith the convention itory to the United c Duffie). He be- iimbia to be impor- the time was not id, at the risk of a , The advance of , had been already nguine statesmen ; leir government to all the attention lat it would be re- ions, whose report cct. iw of the circum- and Great Britain res to occupy the in none, and their A^aived, but for the vas time that the the bill could be lause for granting rt : but considering ,e existing conven- its present form. 1843.] DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 385 Mr. Choate opposed the provision in the bill for grants of land ; but in all other particulars he was entirely in favor of it. He con- tended that, agreeably to the convention of 1827, still subsisting, neither government, as a government, could do any thing to divest the citizens or subjects of the other of the enjoyment of the common freedom of the country ; and if the subjects or citizens of either made establishments there, they did so at their own risk, and neither government was called to interfere. If this bill were passed, its effect must be to hinder some part of the territory from being open, except as regards American citizens. He was willing that the United States should, as Great Britain had done, and as permitted by the convention, extend their jurisdiction over all the countries to which the bill applies, and erect forts where needed ; but not do more. If they had not done so earlier, it was to be attributed to their own supineness, not to the injustice of the other party. In conclusion, he recommended, either that notice be given to Great Britain of the intention of the United States to abrogate the con- vention at the end of a year ; or — better still — that a negotiation be immediately commenced, by means of which, the only material subject of difficulty with that power, may be terminated amicably. Mr. Berrien objected to the bill proposed, on many grounds, as to its principles and its details. The question was one of the ut- most gravity, — of a future empire, to be founded in the west, by the institutions and commerce of the United States, — a question, with which weighty considerations are complicated, including an important compact with a foreign power. That power has its own views on this question, at variance with those of the United States, but on which she doubtless believes as fully. This bill, however, supposes all the right to be on the side of the Union, which is thus legislating upon an ex parte decision. The territory, which forms the subject of the discussion, is a barren and savage region, as yet unoccupied by the people of either nation, except for hunting, fish- ing, and trading with the natives ; all which are conducted freely and equally by the people of both nations, under the faith, of a con- vention to that effect : and by the side of this compact a bill is placed, which assumes and engages to give the soil itself, and all that goes with it, not merely for the term of the duration of the convention, but "as long as the grass shall grow or the waters shall flow." The patents, thus granted, would bar all British subjects from particular spots ; and the act of granting them being a clear 49 f .]' ' 4 !" 1 ■ ■!, ' i , if ::i- i-V li ■' i iwlli-lrt' }■'<% m -',: r ' ■ii'f I ■ 1, ■iv i if ■ 386 DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. [184.3. and positive appropriation, by the American government, of that domain, would certainly be a violation of the compact. It has been alleged, that the patents are not immediate, but provisional ; that the government pledges itself to issue them to those entitled to receive them, at the end of five years : but there is no diftcrence between these two forms of the act of a government — of a per- petual body ; the parties are put into present possession, and pro- tection is promised to them there. The bill, moreover, violates tlio faith of the political contract at home, by interfering with tlic treaty-making power of the executive. The adjustment of the matter by negotiation with Great Britain, is only postponed, in order that it may be soon resumed, with the prospect of accommodation ; and it is most inexpedient, at such a moment, to interfere with the legitimate organ of the government, for such functions. Were the bill passed, it would warrant, in his opinion, the exercise, by the President, of the qualified I'eto, given to iiim by the constitution, for the protection of the peculiar prerogative of his ollice. Mr. Archer directed his attention chiefly to what he considered as the two great points j)rcsented for consideration by this hill; namely — the consistency of the provision for granting allodial titlos to lands in Oregon, with the stipulations of the Convention of 1 B.'JT — and the general policy of accelerating the scttl(>ment of that territory by the people of the United States. Upon the first point he showed, by reference to the proceedings and results of the several negotia- tions between the United Slates and Great Britain on the subject, that the title to the territory had been the only question discussed ; that no agreement on that question had ever been attained, and that tlio two governments, finding it impossible to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion, had, by the convention, dissoluble at the pleasure of either, left the country equally free to the people of both. The title was thus in suspense, and with it were suspended all the privilegoj: flowing therefrom, except those of temporary use ; most especially was suspended the right to grant a property in the soil : and if this were not the true meaning and intention of the agreement, it was vain and useless. No breach of the contract on the part of Great Britain had been proved ; the people of that nation had indeed gained advantages in trade over the citizens of the United States: yet it was not by constraint or intimidation, but by greater dextcrit , in business, which involved no contravention of stipulations, and could authorize no contravention on the other side. If the present :d states. [1843. government, of that mpact. It has been lit provisional; tluit to those entitled to here is no dift'erencc jrnment — of a pcr- possession, and pro- lorcover, violates the nterfering with the adjustment of the y postponed, in order of accommodation; o interfere with the mclions. Were the the exercise, by the by the constitution, his office. what he considered oration by this bill; granting allodial titles onvention of 1 8l]1 — ment of that territory irst point he shewed. the several ncgotia- n on the subject, that stion discussed ; that ttained, and that the ivc at a satisfactory at the pleasure of -of both. The title ed all the privilege;: ise ; most especially the soil : and if tills ic agreement, it was m the part of Great nation had indeed the United States : by greater dextcriv. of stipulations, and ,ide. If the present 1843.] DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 387 bill should become a law, the United States must be prepared to maintain and execute all its provisions ; and Great Britain, tiiough like the United States, directly interested in the continuance of peace, would, if she viewed the measures in question as an infringe- ment of the Convention, stand upon that point, when she might not stand upon the value of the territory. War might be the conse- quence, and it was i)roper to consider on which side the advantages would be in the contest, and what would be its results. In any case, whether or not war should ensue, the question of the posses- sion of Oregon could only be decided by negotiation ; and if, at the end of a war, the United States siiould obtain all that they here claim, it would be but a poor recompense for the evils and costs incurred. With regard to the policy of accelerating the settlement of the territory west of the Rocky Mountains, by American citizens, Mr. Archer coincided nearly in opinion with Mr. MacDutfie ; he con- sidered that territory as of little value to any nation ; the part near the coast alone contained land fit for agricultural purposes, and there were no harbors which woio or could be rendered tolerable. The United States had seven hundred millions of acres of land east of the Rocky Mountains still vacant, of which a large portion was more fertile and salubrious than any other lands, wherever they might be, even in Oregon ; these should be occupied before the population could with reason be urged to establish themselves in the latter country. In conclusion, he had no objection to the extension of the jurisdiction of the United States to the Pacific, in the manner pro- posed by the bill, or to the erection of forts on the Columbia, if they should be found necessary ; or to any other measure which might be taken pari passu with Great Britain, not inconsistent with reciprocal stipulations : but he should oppose the provision respecting grants of land, not only for the reasons already given, but also because it would tend to defeat the very object of the bill, namely, — the ultimate possession of the country west of the Rocky Mountains by the Uni- ted States. To the objections thus made to his bill, Mr. Linn replied at length, displaying considerable ingenuity of argument, particularly with the object of shewing that all which was thereby openly pro- posed had been already done in a covert manner by Great Britain. He dwelt on the great importance of the Oregon countries, — on the vast extent of lands on the Columbia and its tributary streams, which were said to exceed in productiveness any in the States of li 1^: \ .1,1 'i| ' 1 I-" i '■■\ i' 'I- ■'' I 1 -^i, ,J i 1 'i' K I r ' '! . 383 DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. [1843. the Union, — and on the number and excellence of the harbors on those coasts, the use of which was imperatively required by the American whaling vessels employed in the adjacent ocean, — on the facility with which travel and transportation might be eflected across the continent, by means of ordinary roads at present, and by railroads hereafter ; and he produced a number of letters, reports, and other documents from various sources, confirming all these statements. Finally, he appealed to the honor and generosity of the nation, for its protection to the American citizens already established in Oregon, who had gone thither in confidence that such aid would be extended to them, and were groaning under the oppressions of the Hudson's Bay Company. Previous to the final vote, Mr. Archer endeavored to have the clause, respecting the grants of lands, struck out ; but liis motion did not prevail, and on the 3d of February, 1843, the bill was passed l)y the Senate, twenty-four being for, and twenty-two against it. It was immediately sent to the House of Representa- tives, in which a report against its passage was made by Mr. Adunis. the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Afiairs ; the session, however, expired, without any debate on the subject in that house.* During the many years in the course of which the question of the occupation of Oregon by the United States was frequently (hs- cussed in Congress, nothing whatever was said on that subj- ct, in the British Parliament, before 1843. The debates on Mr. Linn's bill, in which the whole policy of the American government, its means and intentions, its strength and its weakness, were minutely set forth and communicated to the world, did not however fail to elicit some observations from the leaders of the two parties in the House of Commons. Whilst the treaty recently concluded at Washington, relative to boundaries east of the Lake of the Woods, was before that body, frequent allusions were made to the measures proposed in Congress " for immediately taking forcible possession " of Oregon, and to the spirit of the American people on that subject, as indicated by the speeches, and the passage of the bill for those measures, in the Senate.f Lord Palmerston, the leader of the op- * This was dostineil to be the last effort of Mr. Linn, for the advancement of the cause to wliich he had so lonir devoted his powerful energies. He expired on the 3d of October, 1S43, at iiis residence in St. Genevieve, Missouri, witliout warning, and probably without a struggle. t Debates in Parliament, March 21st, 1843. ♦' STATES. [1843. 1843.J REVIEW OF THE CONVENTION OP 1827. 389 \. I of the harbors on J required by the it ocean, — on the miuht be eflected •oads at present, number of letters, ces, confirming all nor and generosity ,n citizens already m confidence that groaning under the deavored to have ruck out ; but iiis lary, 184.3, the bill or, and twenty-two ise of Rcpresenta- adu by Mr. Adams. flairs ; the session, •ject in that house.* lich the question of ivas fre<|uently dis- on that subj' ct, in ites on Mr. Linn's ,n government, its ess, were minutely lOt however fail to two parties in the ntly concluded at ,ake of the Woods, Ide to the measures ircible possession " le on that subject, the bill for those leader of the op- lie advjinccnicnt of the ^3. Ho expired on llie )uri. without warning, position to the ministry, pronounced, that if this bill were to pass, and be acted on, it would be a declaration of war ; it would be the invasion and seizure of a territory, in dispute, by virtue of a decree, made by one of the parties in its own favor : be— moree^^ con- ceived, that the passage of such a bill by the Senate, a body comprising among its members a large portion of the men of the greatest weight and most distinguished ability in the United States, showed a most excited condition of the public mind in that country. In answer to this, Sir Robert Peel, the Premier, simply said, that a proposition had been addressed to the American government, for considering the best means of efi'ccting a conciliatory adjustment of the questions with regard to Oregon ; and if the bill had passed the legislature of the Union, it would not have received the sanc- tion of the executive, which had given to the British government the strongest assurances of anxiety, to settle those questions by negotiation. In order to determine whether the bill for the occupation of Oregon, passed by the Senate of the United States, in 1843, could, if it had become a law, have been carried into fulfilment without a breach of public faith, until after the abrogation of the existing convention with Great Britain, in the manner therein stipulated, it will be necessary first to analyze thiit convention, and to reduce the various permissions, re<|uirements and prohibitions involved in it, to their simplest expressions. The two nations on agreeing, as by that convention, to leave the territory west of the Rocky Moun- tains, with its waters, free and open to the citizens and subjt>cts of both, of course agreed, that neither should exercise any exclusive dominion, or do any thing calculated to hinder the people of the other from enjoying the promised advantages, in any part of that territory. Each nation of course reserved to itself the right to provide for the maintenance of peace and the administration of justice among its own citizens, and to appoint agents for that pur- pose to reside in the territory ; it was, indeed, the duty of each as a civilized power to do so without delay : and it was morally impera- tive upon these governments to enter into a supplementary compact for the exercise of concurrent jurisdiction, in cases aflfecting the per- sons or interests of subjects or citizens of both nations, unless provi- sion to that eflect should have already been made in some other way. Finally, as the country was inhabited by tribes of savages, the citi- zens and subjects of each of the civilized nations residing therein. I'r; i 'i.i !i! \ I, ! 1 - '■. 1 ' ;-■ I I il ^P, 1 \'Vil ir ! hi. i i:i- ^^■A'- u' %miyY\^i ',1, 300 REVIEW OF THE CONVENTION OF 1827. (1843. xnv^hi take precautions for their defence against attacks from those savages, by military organization among themselves, and by the erection of the fortifications necessary for that special purpose ; and it here again became the duty of the contracting parties to settle by compact the manner in vi^hich their governments might jointly or separately aid their people in such defence. As the advantages otlcred to the citizens or subjects of the two nations are not defined, the terms of the convention relating to them, are to be understood in their most extensive favorable sense ; including the privileges, not only of fishing, hunting and trading with the natives, but also — of clearing and cultivating the ground, and using or disposing of the |)ro(lncts of such labor in any peaceful way — of erecting build- ings for residence or other purposes, and making dams, dikes, ca- nals, bridges, and any other works which the private citizens or suljjects of the parties might erect or make in their own countries; iMidor no other restrictions or limitations than those contained in the clause of the convention providing for the freedom and open- ness of the territory, or those which might be imposed by the re- sj^octive governments. This appears to be the amount of the permissions, requiiemenis and prohibitions of the convention ; and had the two governments done all that is here demanded, no difficulties could have been rea- sonably apprehended, so long at least as the territory in question re- mains thinly peopled. These things, however, have not all been done. Not only has no supplementary compact been made, l.otwcen the two governments, but the United States have neglected to secure the protection of their laws to their citizens, who have thus, doubt- less in part, been prevented from drawing advantjiges from the convention, equal to those long since enjoyed by British subjects, under the security of the prompt and efficient measures of their gov- ernment. If this view of the existing convention between the United States and Great Britain, relative to the territory west of the Rocky INIountains be correct, and embrace all that it allows, demands and forbids, neither of the parties could be justified, during the subsistence of the agreement, in ordering the erection of forts at the mouth of the Columbia, where they certainly are not required for protection against any third power, and in promising to secure large tracts of land in that territory, by patent, to its citizens or subjects. Had the bill passed by the Senate in 1843, become a law, the convention ( I 1^ 1827. [1843. attacks from those selves, and l)y tlio ;)cciul purpose ; and lin;^ parties to settle iits inij^ht jointly or As the advantages ins are not detiMid. re to be understood L,' the priviU'^'cs, not tivcs, but also — of or disposing of the -of erecting build- ng dams, dikes, ca- ])rivatc citizens or heir own countries: those contained in freedom and open- imposed by the rt- ssions, rcquiiements |ic two governments •uld have been rea- itory in question rc- vc not aU been done. made, lotween the neglected to secure have thus, doubt- [Ivantiiges from the )y British subjects, lasures of their gov- n the United States ^est of the Rocky lows, demands and iring the subsistence ts at the mouth of lired for protection cure large tracts of or subjects. Had law, the convention 1843.] EMIGHANTS FUOM TMK UNITF.D STATES TO OnEGON. 391 would from that moment have been virttndly and violently rescind- rd ; and any attempt to enforce the measures would undoubtedly have been resisted by Great Britain. The abrogation of the con- vention, in the manner therein provided, or in some other way, by common consent of the parties, shoidd precede all attempts by either, to occupy any spot in the territory permanently ; and whenever the government of either nation considers the time to be near, in which such occupation by its own citizens or subjects will be indispensa- ble, it should endeavor to settle by negotiation with the other power, some mode of effecting that object, before giving notice of its inten- tion to abrogate the agreement ; for such a notice can only be regarded as the announcement of the determination of the party giving it, to take forcible possession of the territory, at the end of the period prescribed. Lord Palmornton was not mistaken in his estimate of the excite- ment existing in the United States on this subject ; and that excite- ment has been infinitely increased, by the recent debates in the Senate. On the faith of the promise held out by the passage of the bill for the immediate occupation of Oregon, nearly a thou- sand American citizens, men, women, and children, began their march in June, 1843, from Missouri to the Columbia ;* and there * Tlicse eniis .nuts toolc tlicir departure from Wcstport, in INIissouri, tlie place of ic'iidezvons, in tin- lieginniii;.^ of June, IS-lli, with about two liundred wagons, and a liiige number of liorses anil cattle ; and having soon after divid<'d into four bodies, they pursued their march along the valley of the river Platte, through the Southern Piiss in the Rocky Mountains, and over the great ridge, separating the waters of tlie Colorado from those of the Columbia, to Fort Hall, the Hudson's Buy Com- pany's post on the Lewis River, where they arrived in August. They lost six or seven of their number on their way to Fort Hall, from sickness, fatigue and acci- dents ; but, upon the whole, their progress was attended with fewer diilicultics, or dangers, than they had antici|)ated. The Sioux and Blaekfeet Indians did not venture to attack them ; but gazed at a distance, with wonder, on those pale-faces, leaving their sunny valleys on the Mississippi, for the rugged barren wastes of the Colundjia. Since their depaiture from Fort Hall nothing has been heard from the emigrants ; but there is no reason to believe that they will meet with any obstacles of consequence, in their way to the Willaniet Valley, which seems to be the place of their immediate destination. It is somewhat curious, that on the first of July, 1S43, whilst this large body of emigrants were quietly pursuing their way across the continent, an article ap- peared in the Edinburgh Review, — a work so generally correct on American affairs, anil so reasonable in its views a!id speculations, with regard to them — containing such observations as the following — " However the political questions between England and America, as to the ownership of Oregon may be decided, Oregon will never be colonized overland from the United States. * » » j'/^. world must assume a new face, before the .American wagons make plain the road to the Columbia as they "i i;i.i '*•!.; I , ' <■ '.' - i' U- ■m^ ']mWr'^'' ki^^Mi 1 ^■ 'i\:A, M^l 1 ■ ■ I H lit 392 EMinilANTS I'llOM THE UNITED STATES TO OREGON. [1810. is reason to believe that even n prenter number will soon follow, if the accounts t'roni tlioHU ulretuly pone should prove as favorable ns may bo expected. These inuniprations must necessarily change the aspect of the queKtions at issue between Great Hritain and the United States, and mati.'rially atlect the views of their governments; arrangements which might have been made when the number of American citizens and tlu; amount of American interests in Oregon were trilling, may have been thus rendered impracticable, and the obstacles to an amicable adjustment may have U-en considerahly increased. For the long and entire silence in the British legislature with regard to Oregon, the ministry appears to have made ample amends, by care and action ; and every thing seenis to have been done which could tend to secure for (ireat Britain the ultimate possession of the whole territory drained by the Columbia, without infringinfr, in the mean time, the agreement made with the United States. For this purpose the British ministers could have no counsellors better (|ualitied to advise, or whose interests were more completely identified with those of the government, than the Hudson's Hay Company ; and from the results, the utmost confidence may be supposed to exist between those two parties. The Hudson's Bay Conipany, re|)resenting in all respects the interests of (ireat Britain, in North- West America, has indeed he- come a powerful body. The field of its operations was more than doubled by its union with the North-West Company, and by the license to trade, in exclusion of all other British subjects, in the countries west of the Rocky Mountains, where the fur-bearing ani- mals were more abundant than in any other part of the world; while the extension of the jurisdiction of the Canada courts over the whole division of the continent, to which its charters apply, and the ap})ointment of its own agents as magistrates, in those re- gions, gave all that could have been desired for the enforcement of its regulations. The arrangement made with the Russian American have done to the Ohio. • * • Wlioever, tlicreforo, is to be the future owner of Oreijon, its people will come/ram Europe.'^ Tliis is not the lirst occasion, in vvhieli European predictions, implying doubts as to the energy of American citizens, and the success of tlieir undertakings, liave been contradicted by facts so soon as ut- tered. Wliatevcr may be tlie result of tiiis enterjirise, certain it is that the emi- grants from the Missouri, with tlieir wives, their children and their waa[ons, arrived in Oregon ; anV(' as liivomhlc m urcessarily clmii{;;(; ut Hritniii mid the tlifir govcrnnicnts ; icii the nuinliur of interests in Oregon prncticable, and the b<;cn considembly isli legislature with ladc ample amends, t have been done ultimate possession without infringini:, the United States. lavc no counsellors re more completely the Hudson's Bay confidence may be in all respects the rica, has indeed bo- ions was more than tinpuny, and by the ish subjects, in the he fur-bearing ani- lart of the world; anada courts over its charters apply, itrates, in those re- the enforcement of Russian American be the future owner of lirst occasion, in wliicli lAinericiin citizens, anil lljy facts so soon ns ut- Itain it is that the cmi- [<1 tlieir wojions, arrived Lin themselves there, if 1843.] NEW GRANT TO IIL'USUN S BAY COMPANY. 398 Company, through the Intervention of the two governments, se- cured to the HudHon's Bay Com^Hiny the most advantageous limits in the north-west ; and the ftosition assumed by Great Britoin, in the discussions with the United States, respecting Oregon, were calculated to increase the confidence of the body, in the strength of its tenure of that country, and to encourage greater efforts on iti part to assure that tenure. The license granted to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821, ex- pired in 1842, but another had been previously conceded, also for twenty-one years, containing some new and ir.'portant provisions.* Thus, the Company was bound, under hea v penalties, to enforce the due execution of all criminal processes, by the officers and other persons legally empowered, in all its territories ; and to make and submit to the government such rules and regulations for the management of the trade with the Indians, as should be eflcctual to prevent the sale and distribution of spirituous liquors among them, and to promote their moral and religious improvement. It is moreover declared in the grant, that nothing therein contained should authorize the Company to claim the right of trade in any part of America, to the prejudice or exclusion of the people of " any foreign states" who may be entitled to trade there, in virtue of con- ventions between such states and Great Britain ; and the govern- ment reserves to itself the right to establish within the territories included in the grant, any colony or province, to annex any part of those territories to any existing colony or province, and to apply to such portion any form of civil government which might be deemed proper. Whether this last provision was introduced with some special and immediate object, or with a view to future contingen- cies, no means have as yet been aflbrded for determining. It is, however, certain, that the British government insisted strongly on retaining the above-mentioned privileges ; and it is most probable that the Red River and the Columbia countries were in view at the time, as the remainder of the territory, included in the grant and not possessed by the Company in virtue of the charter of 1669, is of little value in any way. In addition to the assistance and protection thus received from the British government, the constitution of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany is such as to secure the utmost degree of knowledge and pru- * See extracts from these charters, showing all their provisions, in the Proofs and Illustrations under the letter I. 50 ')' 1 t nil ii' ^ ' i M w 394 GOVERNMENT OF HUDSON S BAY COMPANY. [1843. dence in its councils, and of readiness and exactness in the execu- tion of its orders. Its affairs are superintended by a Governor, a Deputy Governor, and a Committee of Directors, established at London, by whom all general orders and regulations are devised and issued, and all reports and accounts are examined and con- trolled. Tlie proceedings of this body are enveloped in profound secrecy, and the communications made to the government in writ- ing, which are likely to • be published, are expressed in terms of studied caution, and afford only the details absolutely required. The trade in America is especially directed by a Resident Governor, who occasionally visits and inspects all the principal posts ; under him, as officers, are chief factors, chief traders, and clerks, for the most part natives of North Britain, and an army of regular servants, employed as hunters, traders, voyageurs, &c., nearly all of them Canadians or half-breeds. The number of all these persons is small, when compared with the duties which they have to perform ; but the manner in which they are admitted into the service, and the training to which they are subjected, are such as to render their efficiency and their devotion to the general interests as great as possible. The strictest discipline, regularity and economy are en- forced in every part of the company's territories ; and the magis- trates appointed under the act of parliament for the preservation of tranquilUty, are seldom called to exercise their functions, except in the settlement of trifling disputes. In the treatment of the aborigines of the countries under its control, the Hudson's Bay Company appears to have admirably combined and reconciled policy with humanity. The prohibition to supply those people with ardent spirits, appears to be rigidly en- forced. Schools for the instruction of the native children are estab- lished at all the principal trading posts, each of which also contains a hospital for sick Indians, and offers employment for those who are disposed to work, whilst hunting cannot be carried on. Missiona- ries of various sects are encouraged to endeavor to convert them to Christianity, and to induce them to adopt the usages of civilized life, so far as may be consistent with the nature of the labors re- quired for their support ; and attempts are made, at great expense, to collect the Indians in villages, on tracts where the climate and soil are most fri '/orable for agriculture. Particular care is extended to the education of the half-breed children, the offspring of the marriage or concubinage of the traders with the Indian women, r I IPANY. [1843. 1843.] POLICY OP HUDSON S BAY COMPANY. 395 Iness in the execu- by a Governor, a ors, established at ilations are devised examined and con- Dloped in profound overnment in writ- pressed in terms of ibsolutely required. Resident Governor, icipal posts ; under , and clerks, for the of regular servants, nearly all of them ese persons is small, re to perform ; but the service, and the as to render their iterests as great as id economy are cu- es ; and the magis- • the preservation of functions, except in countries under its to have admirably The prohibition to rs to be rigidly en- 3 children are estab- which also contains lit for those who are ried on. Missiona- to convert them to usages of civilized te of the labors re- , at great expense. re the climate and liar care is extended he offspring of tlie the Indian women, e who are retained, and bred as far as possible among the white peo- ple, and are employed, whenever they are found capable, in the service of the company. As there are few or no white women in those territories, except in the Red River settlements, it may be easily seen that the half-breeds must in a short time form a large and important portion of the native population. The conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company in these respects is certainly worthy of commendation. It is however to be observed, that of the whole territory placed under the authority of that body, only a few small portions are capable of being rendered productive by agriculture. From the remainder of the country, nothing of value in commerce can be obtained except furs, and those articles can be procured in greater quantities and at less cost, by the labor of the Indians, than by any other means. There is, consequently, no object in expelling or destroying the native population, which can never be dangerous from its numbers ; while on the contrary, there is a direct and evident motive of interest for preserving and con- ciliating them, and the British certainly employ the best methods to attain those ends. By the system above described, the natural shy- ness and distrust of the savages have been in a great measure re- moved ; the ties which bound together the members of the various tribes have been loosened, and extensive combinations for any pur- pose have become impossible. The dependence of the Indians upon the company is at the same time rendered entire and absolute ; for having abandoned the use of all their former arms, hunting and fishing implements, and clothes, ihey can no longer subsist without the guns, ammunition, fish-hooks, blankets and other similar arti- cles, which they receive only from the British traders. The po/tion of the Hudson's Bay Company towards the North-American Indians, is thus wholly different from that held by the East India Company with respect to the Chinese ; the motives for prohibiting the intro- duction of spirits among the former people, being as strong on the one part as those for favoring the consumption of opium among the latter people, are on the other. The course observed by the Hudson's Bay Company towards American citizens, in the territory west of the Rocky Mountains, has been equally unexceptionable, and yet equally politic. All the missionaries and emigrants from the United States, and indeed all strangers from whatsoever country they might come, were received at the establishments of the company on the Columbia with the ',y. 'i-i , I" ■'l,:i'' f •I li i 4^ •.ll\\ , ' other parts of the continent situated so far north ; it is, however, deficient in wood, and notwithstanding all the advantages held out to the inhabitants by the Hudson's Bay Company, there is no proba- bility that it will ever rise to importance in any way, and least of all, as a check to incursions from the United States, which seems to be one of the principal objects proposed by its founders.* West of the Rocky Mountains the Hudson's Bay Company has not, so far as is known, either formed, or encouraged others to form, permanent settlements ; nor does it appear that any grant or sale of lands, either immediate or prospective, has been made in these territories, by any British authority. Some of tlie retired servants of the company have indeed been allowed to remain in the country with their families, as agriculturists ; but they are in all respects subject to the company, and liable, at any moment, to be expelled from their homes by its agents. As the fur trade in the countries of the Columbia decreased, the Hudson's Bay Company began to turn its attention to other objects. Farms were laid out on an extensive scale, and mills for grinding grain and sawing wood were erected near the lower part of the great * Mr. Pelly, the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, in a hotter addiessed, on the 10th of February, 1S37, to Lord Glencl^', tlic British secretary for the colo- nies, says, with respect to the Red River settlement, *' Tliis rising community, if well governed, may be found useful at some future period, in the event of diflicul- ties occurring between Great Britain and the United States of America, who have several military posts, say those of the Sault Saint Marie, Prairie du Chien, and the River Saint Peters, established on their Indian frontiers, along the line of boundary with British North America." On the other hand, Mr. Simpson, in his interesting account of the discoveries made in the northernmost parts of America, by himself, and his unfortunate companion Mr. Dease, in 1S3S and 1539, states that the settlers on the Red River, have "found out the only practicable outlet for their cattle and grain, in the fine level plains leading to the Mississippi and the St. Peters, whore there is the promise of a suflicient market among the Americans ; " particularly as, — "the bulky nature of the exports, [tallow, flax, hemp and wool] a long and dan- gerous navigation to Hudson's Bay, and above all, the roving and indolent habits of the half breed race, who form the mass of the population, and love the chase of the buffalo better than the drudgery of agriculture or regular industry, seem to pre- clude the possibility of this colony rising to importance." According to Mr. Simpson, the colony, in 1339, contained between five and six thousand persons, almost all Indians or half-breeds, whose general character has been already given. The Scotch, who compose nearly the remainder of the popu- lation, are industrious and economical, and avoid as carefully as possible all amal- gamation with the others ; in order to avoid which, they generally retire to the United States, so soon as they have accumulated a moderate amount of property Four fifths of the people are Roman Catholics, for whose spiritual instruction and assistance, a bishop and three priests reside among them ; the number of Protcstani clergymen was two. » • • [1843. h ; it is, however, antages held out to there is no proba- way, and least of tates, which seems I founders.* West Company has not, ed others to form, t any grant or sale oen made in these he retired servants main in the country ' are in all respects lent, to be expelled mbia decreased, the ion to other objects. I mills for grinding iver part of the great y, in a letter addressed, ;li secretary for the coin- hi3 rising community, if , in the event of dilficul- s of America, who hiivo rairie du Chien, and the ong the line of boundary pson, in his interesting of America, by himscir, , states that the settlers ntlet for their cattle and nd the St. Peters, whore icans ; " particularly as, d wool] a long and dan- g and indolent habits of nd love the chase of the industry, seem to pre- d between five and six c general character has remainder of the popu- dly as possible all anial- generally retire to the ate amount of property spiritual instruction and ;he number of Protcstan; 1843.J PROSPECTS OF SETTLERS IN OREGON. 399 river, near Bulfinch's Harbor, near Puget's Sound, and in other places ; besides which, large quantities of salmon are annually taken and cured. From the use and exportation of the articles thus pro- duced, some revenue is gained ; but it is evident, that capital in- vested in such a manner cannot yield considerable dividends ; and no other modes for its employment are offered at present in these territories or farther north. Oregon indeed contains lands in small detached portions, which may afford to the industrious cultivator the means of subsistence, and also, perhaps, in time, of procuring some foreign luxuries ; but it produces no precious metals, no opium, no cotton, no rice, no sugar, no coffee ; nor is it, like India, inhabited by a numerous population, who may easily be forced to labor for the benefit of a few. With regard to commerce, it offers no great advantages, present or immediately prospective. It contains no harbor in which articles of merchandise from other countries will, probably at any future period, be deposited for reexportation ; while the extreme irregularity of its surface, and the obstructions to the navigation of its rivers, the removal of which is hopeless, forbid all expectation, that the productions of China or any other land border- ing on the Pacific, will ever be transported across Oregon to the Atlantic regions of the continent.* * It will here be proper to introduce some observations on a subject which merits consideration from its connection with the interests and destinies of North-West America, namely — the (piestion as to the practicability of eriecting a passage for ships between the Atlantic and the Pacific, through the central parts of the Ameri- can continent, where those seas are separated by narrow tracts of land. Humboldt, in his justly-celebrated essay on Mexico, indicated nine places in America, in which the waters of the two oceans, or of streams entering into them respectively, are situated at short distances apart. Of these places it is necessary here to notice but three, to each of which, attention has been strongly directed, at ditferent times, and especially of late years, in the expectation that such a naviga- ble passage for ships might be cllected through it. They are, — the Isthmus of Panama — Nicaragua — and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. With regard to tlie last mentioned of these places, it has been determined, by accurate surveys, that the mountain chain, separating the two oceans, is nowhere less than a thousand feet in height above the level of the sea ; and that a canal connecting the River Guasecualco, ilowing into the Mexican Gulf, with the Pacific, must pass through an open cut of nearly that depth, or a tunnel, in either case more than thirty miles in length, as there is no water on the summit to supply locks, should it be found practicable to construct them. Thus much for the Isth- mus of Tehuantepec. In Nicaragua, it has been proposed to improve the navigation of the San Juan River, from its mouth on the Mosquito coast, to the great Lake of Nicaragua from which it fiows, or to cut a canal from the Atlantic to that lake, whence another canal should be made to the Pacific. Now, without enumerating the many other I ni '.' I ^1 'I! ,1'r m^ ' I - ;■■■■ ii II m I ■ ■«(■■• > \ \ ^ N't. t' ? 1 1 fi 1 400 SHIP CANAL. FROM ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC. [1843. Thus, on reviewing the agricultural, commercial, and other eco- nomical advantages and disadvantages of Oregon, there appears to be no reason, founded on such considerations, which should render either of the powers, claiming the possession of that country, anx- ious to occupy it immediately, or unwilling to cede its own pre- tensions to the other, for a very moderate compensation. But political considerations, among which are always to be reckoned, as the principal, those proceeding from national and individual ambi- tion, jealousy, and hatred, ever have proved, and doubtless will in this obstacles to this plan, any one of tliem sufficient to defeat it, were all things besides favorable, it may be simply stated — that one mile of tunnel and two of very deep cutting through volcanic rocics, in addition to many locks, will be required in the fifteen miles, which, by the shortest and least difficult route, must be passed be- tween the lake and the Pacific. Is such a work practicable ? The Isthmus of Panama remains to be considered. From recent and minute surveys, it has been proved that no obstacles to a *hi[)-canal arc presented by the surface of this isthmus, equal to those which have been surmounted in many in- stances of a similar nature in Europe and in the United States. On the other hand, the country contains only a few inhabitants of the most wretched description, from whose assistance in the work no advantage in any way could be derived ; so that all the laborers, with all th' -r clothes, provisions, and tools, must be transported thither from a distance. The heat is at all times intense, and the wet season con- tinues during eight months of the year; the rains in July, August, September, and October, being mcessant, and heavier, perhaps, than in any other part of the world. As to salubrity, there is a difference of opinion ; but it is scarcely possible that the extremes of heat and dampness, which are there combined, could be otherwise tlian ■ deleterious to persons from Europe, or from the northern states of the American Union, by whom the labor of cutting a canal mc.st be performed, — unless, indeed, it should be judged proper to employ negroes from the West Indies on the work. It seems, therefore, that a canal is practicable across the Isthmus of Panamd : there is, however, not the slightest probability that it will be made during this cen- tury, if ever ; the commercial utility of such a communication being scarcely suffi- cient to warrant the enormous expenses of its construction and maintenance. Ships from Europe or the United States, bound for the west coasts of America, or the North Pacific, or China, would probably pass through it, unless the tolls should be too heavy; but i n yoturn tH g th ay would pursue the route around the Cape of Good Hope, which would be shorter, and in all respects more advantageous for them, as well as for all vessels sailing, in either direction, between the Atlantic coasts and India or Australia. Should the canal ever be made by any company or nation whatsoever, it will, in time, notwithstanding any precautions by treaty or otherwise, become the property of the greatest naval power, which toill derive a vast increase of political strength from the possession. The Isthmu" of Tehuantepec offers many advantages for travellers, and even for the transportation of precious commodities, especially to the people of the United States. The mouth of the Guasecualco River, on its northern shore, is less than seven hundred miles from the mouth of the Mississippi, andoidy one hundred miles by the road from a port on the Pacific, near Tehuantepec, which might be made a good harbor ; so that even now a traveller might go in a fortnight from Washing- ton to the Pacific coast, and thence, by a steam-vessel, in ten days more, to the mouth of the Columbia, or to the Sandwich Islands. 1844.] GENERAL RKVIEW. 401 case prove paramount to the others. It is the unobjectionable, and indeed imperative policy of the United States, to secure the posses- sion of those territories, in order to provide places of resort and refreshment for their numerous vessels, engaged in the trade and fishery of the Pacific, particularly as there is a prospect that they may in time be excluded from the Sandwich Islands ; and also to prevent those territories from falling into the hands of any other power, which might direct against their western frontiers the hordes of Indians roving through the middle and westernmost divisions of the continents. Great Britain, on the other hand, can have no motive for opposing the occupation of Oregon by the United States, except that of checking their advancement, by excluding their ves- sels from the Pacific, and by maintaining an influence deleterious to their interests and safety, over the savages in their vicinity. That the latter nation should, within any period which it is now possible to foresee, furnish a population to the regions in question, there are certainly at present no grounds for supposing. Her prov- inces in America have no redundance of inhabitants ; and what inducements can be offered in good faith to her subjects in Europe, for undertaking a voyage of six months to the Columbia, or a voyage to Canada and a subsequent journey of five thousand miles through her wild and frozen Indian territories, so long as the West Indies, Southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and, lastly — the Uni- ted States — are open to them ? The difficulties experienced by American citizens in their passage to Oregon, along the valleys of the Platte and the Lewis, great though they may be at present, sink into insignificance, when compared with those which British sub- jects must encounter, in proceeding to that country, by either of the routes above indicated : and the contrast becomes still stronger, when we compare the character and habits of Americans, trained from their childhood to struggle and provide against the hardships and privations incident to the settlement of a new country, with those of Europeans, accustomed only to a routine of labor the most simple, and the least calculated to nourish energies or to stimulate invention. The history of the western section of America, has now been concluded. Accounts have been presented of all the expeditions, discoveries, settlements and other events worthy of record, in that 51 Vr- - |.' .I'l f • ••I-! :;l^ *. 1 « j1 I IV. ' 3 402 CONCLUSION. [1844. part of the world ; and of all the claims, and pretensions advanced by civilized nations, and all the discussions, negotiations and con- ventions between them with regard to it. Of these international questions, the only serious one remaining undetermined, is that between the United States and Great Britain, the subject of which is no less than the right of possessing the vast territories of the Columbia, commonly called the Oregon region. Concerning this question, it has been shown — that the United States asserted that right against Great Britain in 1815, as founded on the discoveries and settlements of their citizens, prior to any made by the other party; and that having, in 1819, obtained by the Florida treaty, all the titles of Spain to those countries, their government has ever since claimed the entire and exclusive sovereignty over them, though it has more than once offered, for the sake of peace, to surrender to Great Britain, all north of the forty-ninth parallel of latitude. It has also been shown, that Great Britain Hrst claimed the entire sovereignty of the Columbia territories, on the ground of their hav- ing been early taken possession of, and ever since considered as part of the British dominions, and then of settlements made in them by her subjects, coeval with, if not prior to, any made by American citizens ; after all which direct and positive assertions of absolute right, it was finally, in 1826, declared by that power in her ultimatum, — that she claimed no exclusive sovereignty over any portion of those territories, and that her pretensions with regard to them, were limited to a right of joint occupancy of the whole, in common with other states, agreeably to the Nootka convention of 1790, between her and Spain, leaving the right of sovereignty in abeyance. The grounds of all these conflicting claims, the nature and duration of the Nootka convention, and the extent and charac- ter of the provisions of the convention of 1827, between Great Britain and the United States, agreeably to which the part of Amer- ica in question, has remained to this day free and open to the citi- zens and subjects of both nations, have been examined and reviewed so fully in the preceding pages, that farther particulars with regard to them are unnecessary. The period during which the right of dominion over the Oregon regions, might remain in abeyance, is now drawing to a close. Under the existing convention. Great Britain has enjoyed almost all the advantages which she could have derived from those countries in any case ; the United States have, how'over, secured the continuance 1844.] ....'* CONCLUSION. 403 of their title unimpaired ; that they did not obtain farther benefits from the arrangement, has been in a great measure due to them- selves, or rather to the consideration that they could direct their efforts more profitably elsewhere. This state of things can, however, no longer continue. American citizens, relying on the justice of the claims of their republic to the countries of the Columbia, are remov- ing thither in great numbers ; and it becomes the duty of their govern- ment, which has always asserted and supported those claims, to provide for their protection and secure enjoyment of the fruits of their labor, by measures entirely incompatible with the stipulations of the subsisting convention. With this view. Great Britain has been again invited to a negotiation, for the settlement of the questions of terri- torial right, already so often and so vainly discussed ; the invitation has been accepted, and the Hon. Richard Pakenham has arrived at Washington, as Minister Plenipotentiary from that government, provided — as there is reason to believe — with instructions to treat for a definitive partition of the countries to which these questions relate. It is scarcely within the province of the historian to anticipate, or at least to carry his speculations farther than the immediate conse- quences of events which have already occurred. It appears, how- ever, to be certain, that under all or any succeeding circumstances, whether of peaceful partition of the countries in disp"te, or — the only other probable alternative — of war between the two claimant powers, those countries will receive their population from the United States. Nearly a thousand citizens of the federal republic — a number far greater than that of the first settlers in Virginia or in New England — have within a few months entered Oregon ; and an equal number will soon follow, with the determination to make it their home. Many of them will, doubtless, like all other emigrants to new countries, repent of having engaged in such an enterprise ; and some will probably return, to seek a more agreeable abiding- place in the regions of the east : but the great majority will remain beyond the Rocky Mountains, and they and their descendants will spread northward and southward from the Columbia so far as soil and climate may invite. I-' I ! '! I 1 .,; i i : END OF THE HISTOttY. , ' I* - ' '. Lit S. i cm ♦ ';;) ^ PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS, ' m i :■ H' t ' . "i If ' ■' Vi- 1 i.: r.< 1 ^1 mil ii ) ii;li mi 'i ■ \ PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. A. < i- Original Account of thr Voyage of the Greek Pilot Juan DE FUCA along the ^10RTH-WEST CoASTS OF AmERICA, IN 1592. A Note made by me., Michael Lock the elder, t inching the Strait of Sea commonly called Fretum Anian, in the South Sea, through the North- West Passage of Meta Incognita.* When I was at Venice, in April, 1596, haply arrived there an old man, about sixty years of age, called, commonly, Juan de Fuca, but named properly Apostolos Valcrianus, of nation f Greek, born in Cepha- lonia, of profession a mariner, and an ancient pilot of ships. This man, beiiiij come lately out of Spain, arrived first at Lrghnrn, and went thence to Flonnce, where he found one John Douglas, an Englishman, a famous mariner, ready coming for Venice, to be pilot of a Venetian ship for Eiiirland, in whose company they came both together to Venice. And John Douglas being acquainted with me before, he g.ive me knowledge of this Greek pilot, and brought him to my speech; and, in long talks and conference between us, in presence of John Douglas, this Greek pilot declared, in the Italian and Spanish languages, thus much in effect as followeth : — First, he said that he had been in the West Indies of Spain forty years, and had sailed to and from many places thereof, in the service of the Spaniards. Also, he said that he was in the Spanish ship which, in returning from the Islands Philippinas, towards Nova Spania, was robbed and taken at the Cape California by Captain Cnndish, Englishman, whereby he lost sixty thousand ducats of his own goods. Also, he said that he was pilot of three small ships which the viceroy of Mexico sent from Mexico, armed with one hundred men, under a cap- tain, Spaniards, to discover the Straits of Anian, along the coast of the South Sea, and to fortify in that strait, to resist the passage and proceed- ings of the English nation, which were feared to pass through those • Extracted from the Pilgrims of Samuel Purchas, vol. iii. p. 849. The orthogra- phy of the English is modernized. The letters inserted are, however, given in their original lingua Franca. See p. 87 of the History. ■'♦'♦, -( !' .1i! ;^> t U" 408 PROOFS AND ILLIJSTKATIONS. [A. straits into the South Sea ; and that, by reason of a mutiny which hap- pened among the soldiers for the misconduct of their captain, that voyage Wiis overthrown, and the sliip returned from California to Nova Spania, without any thing done in that voyage ; and that, after their return, the captain was at Mexico punished by justice. Also, he said that, shortly after the said voyage was so ill ended, the said viceroy of Mcnco sent him out again, in 1592, with a small caravel and a piimace, armed with mariners only, to follow the said voyage for the discovery of the Straits of Anion , and the passage thereof into the sea, which they call the North Sea, which is our north-west sea ; and that he followed his course, in that voyage, west and north-west in the South Sea, all along the coast of Nova Spania, and California, and the luriics, now called North America, (all which voyage he signified to me in a great map, and a sea card of mine own, which I laid before him,) until he came to the latitude of 47 degrees ; and that, there finding that the land trended north and north-east, with a broad inlet of sea, between 47 and 48 degrees of latitude, he entered thereinto, sailing therein more than twenty days, and found that land trending still sometime north-west, and north-east, and north, and also cast and south-eastward, and very much broader sea than was at the said entrance, and that he passed by divers islands in that sail- ing ; and that, at the entrance of this said strait, there is, on the north- west coast thereof, a great headland or island, with an exceeding high pinnacle, or spired rock, like a pillar, thereupon. Also, he said that he went on land in divers places, and that he saw some people on land clad in beasts' skins ; and that the land is very fruit- ful, and rich of gold, silver, pearls, and other things, like NotJa Spania. And also, he said that he being entered thus far into the said strait, and being come into the North Sea already, and finding the sea wide enough every where, and to be about thirty or forty leagues wide in the mouth of the straits where he entered, he thought he had now well dis- charged his office ; and that, not being armed to resist the force of the savage people that might happen, he therefore set sail, and returned home- wards again towards Nova Spania, where he arrived at Acapulco, anno 1592, hoping to be rewarded by the viceroy for this service done in the said voyage. Also, he said that, after coming to Mexico, he was greatly welcomed by the viceroy, and had promises of great reward ; but that, having sued there two years, and obtained nothing to his content, the viceroy told him that he should be rewarded in Spain, of the king himself, very greatly, and willed him, therefore, to go to Spain, which voyage he did perform. Also, he said .that, when he was come into Spain, he was welcomed there at the king's court ; but, after long suit there, also, he could not get any reward there to his content; and therefore, at length, he stole away out of Spain, and came into Italy, to go home again and live among his own kindred and countrymen, he being very old. Also, he said that he thought the cause of his ill reward had of the Spaniards, to be for that they did understand very well that the English nation had now given over all their voyages for discovery of the north- west passage ; wherefore they need not fear them any more to come that way into the South Sea, and therefore they needed not his service therein any more. Also, he said that, understanding the noble mind of the queen of [A. mutiny which hap- ;aptain, that voyage a to Nova Spania, it their return, the IS so ill ended, the vith a small caravel he said voyage for ^e thereof into the -west sea ; and that i-vvest in the South lia, and the Indm, ied to me in a great him,) until he came ^lat the land trended 1 47 and 48 degrees J than twenty days, , and north-east, and !h broader sea than > islands in that sail- re is, on the north- an exceeding high ;s, and that he saw lie land is very fruit- ;, like Noim Spania. into the said strait, nding the sea wide leagues wide in the > had now well dis- ist the force of the and returned home- at Acapulco, anno service done in the IS greatly welcomed It that, having sued the viceroy told him mself, very greatly, age he did perform, he was welcomed so, he could not get ngth, he stole away nd live among his reward had of the ;11 that the English overy of the north- more to come that his service therein d of the queen of 1 A.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 409 England, and of her wars against the Spaniards, and hoping that her majesty would do him justice for his goods lost by Captain Candish, he would be content to go into England, and serve her majesty in that voyage for the discovery perfectly of the north-west passage into the South Sea, if she would furnish him with only one ship of forty tons' burden, and a pinnace, and that he would perform it in thirty days' time, from one end to the other of the strait ; and he willed me so to write to England. And, upon conference had twice with the said Greek pilot, I did write thereof, accordingly, to England, unto the right honorable the old Lord Treasurer Cecil, and to Sir Walter Raleigh, and to Master Richard Hak- luyt, that famous cosinographer, certifying them hereof. And I prayed them to disburse one hundred pounds, to bring the said Greek pilot into England with myself, for that my own purse would not stretch so wide at that time. And I had answer that this action was well liked and greatly desired in England ; but the money was not ready, and therefore this action died at that time, though the said Greek pilot, perchance, liveth still in his own country, in Crphalonia, towards which place he went within a fortnight after this conference had at Venice. And, in the mean time, while I followed my own business in Venice, being in a lawsuit .against the Company of Merchants of Turkey, to re- cover my pension due for being their consul at Aleppo, which they held from me wrongfully, and when I was in readiness to return to England, I thought I should be able of my own purse to take with me the said Greek pilot ; and therefore I wrote unto him from Venice a letter, dated July, 1596, which is copied here under : — * " Al Mag"- Sig"' Capitan Juan de Fuca, Piloto de India, amigo mio char'""- en Zefalonia. " MuY HONRADO SeNNOR, " Siendo yo para buelvcrme en Inglatierra dentre de pocas mezes, y accuerdandome de lo trattado entre my y V. M. en Venesia sobre el viagio de las Indias, me ha parescido bien de scrivir esta carta a V. M. para que se tengais animo de andar con migo, puedais escribirme presto en que maniera quereis consertaros. Y puedais embiarmi vuestra carta con esta nao Ingles, que sta al Zante (sino hallais otra coiuntura meior) con el sobrescritto que diga en casa del Sennor Eleazar Hyc- man, mercader Ingles, al tragetto de San Tomas en Venisia. Y Dios guarde la persona de V. M. Fecha en Venesia al primer dia de Julio, 1596 annos. " Amigo de V. M., ■' Michael Lock, Ingles." • To the Magnificent Captain Juan de Fuca, Pilot of the Indies, my most dear friend in Cophalonia. Most Honored Sir, Being about to return lo England in a few months, and recollecting what passed between you and myself, at Venice, respecting the voyage lo the Indies, I nave thought proper to write you this letter, so that, if you have a mind to go with me, you can write n>e word directly how you wisii to arrange. You may send me your letter by this English vessel, which is at Zante, (if you should find no better op- portunity,) directed to the care of Mr. Eleazer llyckman, an Engmii merchant, St Thomas Street, Venice. God preserve you, sir. Your friend, Michael Lock, of England. Venice, ,Tuhj l.«/, lJi96. 55 .#■! :y\> 'I i i't' ■■ ' : ■ I ■^yi.i 410 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [A. ; f'l I !i W- It And I sent the said letter from Venice to Zante in the ship Cherubin; and, shortly after, I sent a copy thereof in the ship Minion, and also a third copy thereof by Manea Orlando, patron de nave Venetian. And unto my said letters he wrote me answer to Venice by one letter, which came not to my hands, and also by another letter, which came to my hands, which is copied here under : — * " Al 111"'"* Sig"'- INIichael Lock, Ingles, in casa del Sig°'- Lasaro, merca- der Ingles, al tragetto de San Tonias en Venesia. " MuY Illustre Sig""-, ■ " La carta de V. M. recevi a 20 dias del mese di Sottcmbre, por loqual veo loche V. M. nie manda. lotengho aniino de coinplir loclie tengo promettido a V, M. y no solo yo, mas tengo vinte hoinbres p;ira lievar con niigo, porche son liombres vagiientes; y assi estoi esperando por otra carta che aviso ji V. M. parache me embiais los dinieros die tengo escritto a V. M. Porche bien save V. M. como io vine pover, porqiie nie glievo Ciiptain Candis mas de sessenta mille ducados, como V. M. bien save ; embiandome lo dicho, ire a servir a V. M. con todos mis com- pagneros. I no spero otra cosa mas de la voluntad e carta de V. M. con tanto nostro Sig" Dios guarda la illustre persona de V. M. muchos annos. De Ceifalonia a 24 de Settembre del I59<). " Amigo y servitor de V. M., " Juan Flca." And the said letter came into my hands in Venice, the lOth day of November, 159G; but my lawsuit with the Company of Turkey was not ended, by reason of Sir John Spenser's suit, made in England, at the queen's court, to the contrary, seeking only to have his money discharuod which I had attached in Venice for my said pension, and thereby my ouii purse was not yet ready for the Greek pilot. And, nevertheless, hoping that my said suit would have shortly a irood end, I wrote another letter to this Greek pilot from Venice, dated the •^Oth of November, 1596, which came not to his hands, and also another letter, dated the 24th of January, 1590, which came to his hands. And thereof he wrote me answer, dated the 28th of May, 1597, which I received the 1st of August, 1597, by Thomas Norden, an English merchant, yet living in London, wherein he promised still to go with me unto England, to perform the said voyage for discovery of the north-west passage into the South Sea, if I would send hitn money for his charges, according to his ■h i • I I ,( i ) * To the Illustrious Miehnol Lock, Ensrlishman, at the honso of Mr. Lazaro, English lui-rchant, in St. Thomas Strui-t, Venice. Most Ilm'strious Sir, Your letter was received by mo on the 2flth of September, by which I am informed of what you communicate. 1 have a mind to comply with my promise to you, and have not only myself, but twenty men, brave men, too, whom I can carry with me ; so [ am waiting for an answer to another letter which I wrote you, about the money which I asked you to send me. For you know well, sir, how I be- came poor in consequence of Captain Candish's havinjr taken from me more than sixty thousand ducats, as you well know. If you will send me what 1 asked, I will go with you, as well as all my companions. I ask no more from your kindness, as shown by your letter. God preserve you, most illustrious sir, for many years. Your friend and servant, Juan Fuca. Ct,rHALotii A, September 2Athf 1596. [A. 1 the ship Cherubin ; Minion, and also a k^enetian. And unto ) letter, which came came to my hands, Sig"- Lasaro, merca- Venesia. I mese di Settcmbre, imo de coinplir loclie vinte hombros p;ira assi estoi esperando OS dinicros cbe tengo ine pover, porqiie me los, conio V. M. bien con todos mis corn- '. carta do V. M. con V. M. nuichos aniios. or de V. M., " Jt.v.v Flca." ice, the Ifith day of y of Turkey was not in En^bind, at the lis money dischar;j!;cd and thereby my own have shortly a jjooci enice, dated the "Jdth id also another letter, lands. And thereof ivhich I received the merchant, yet liviiiij ne unto England, to est passage into the ;es, according to his of Mr. Lazaro, English Soptomber, by which I miply with my promise men, too, whom I can ttcr wliifii I wrote you, now wfll, sir, liow 1 be- n from mo iiiorp tiian no what I askod, 1 will from your kindness, as , for many years. and servant, Juan Fuca. B.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 411 ^*i former writing, without which money he said he could not go, for that as he was undone utterly when he was in the ship Santa Anna, which came from China, and was robbed at California. And yet again, afterward, I wrote him another letter from Venice, whereunto he wrote me answer by a letter written in his Greek language, dated the '20th of October, 1598, the which 1 have still by me, wherein he promiseth still to go with me into England, and perform the said voyage of discovery of the north-west passage into the South Sea by the said straits, which he calleth the Strait of Nova Spania, which he saith is but thirty days' voyage in the straits, if I will send him the money formerly written for his charges ; the which money I could not yet send him, for that I had not yet recovered my pen- sion owing me by the Company of Turkey aforesaid; and so, of long time, I stayed any further proceeding with him in this matter. And yet, lastly, when I myself was at Zante, in the month of June, IGU'i, minding to pass from thence for England by sea, for that I had then recovered a little money from the Company of Turkey, by an order of the lords of the Privy Council of England, I wrote another letter to this Greek pilot, to Cephalonia, and required him to come to me to Zante, and go with me into England, but 1 had no answer thereof from him ; for that, as 1 heard afterward at Zante, he was then dea : i : ; 1 1 , '1 ■.( ;i U :aih a ii «, >'f W \ If' ', II ( «ii i r i i' 413 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [B. Furs differ in value, according to the fineness, the length, the thick- ness, and tile color, of their hair. The most precious is thnt of the ermine, a species of weasel ; it is thick, soft, fine, and of dazzling white- ness, except the tip of the tail, which is of a glossy black color, and is used to form spots on the skin. Of great value, also, are the skins of the marten, the sable, the fiery fox, the silver fox, and the black fox ; after which come those of the sea otter, the beaver, the seal, and — though far inferior to the others — of the muskrat, the raccoon, the fox, the weasel, di-c. Of these, the ermine is, as before said, the most precious; the muskrat is that of which the greatest quantity is collected ; while the aggregate value of the beaver skins annually consumed among civilized nations is greater than that of all the other furs together. The finer furs are principally used in Russia, Turkey, and China, — in the latter country especially, where they form important portions of the dress of every rich, noble, or ostentatious person. In Europe, and in the United States, furs are also much worn in the shape of caps, nrnffs, and trimmings. The greatest consumption of the inferior furs is in the man- ufacture of hats, which is of comparatively modern date, and, as well us the use of those articles, is confined almost entirely to Europe and America. The furs mostly used for this purpose are those of the beaver, the otter, the nutria, (an animal resembling the beaver, found in Patago- nia,) and the muskrat; but thr greater number of hats are composed chiefly of wool, with or without a slight covering of fur. Nearly all the furs now brought into commerce are procured from the countries north of the 4()th parallel of north latitude, through the agency of the British Hudson's Bay Comp-'iy, or of the Russian American Company, or by various private associations and individuals in the United States. Of those obtained in the Russian dominions, some are carried over land to China, others also over land to Europe, and the remainder by sea to Europe. Those found in the territories of the United States are nearly all carried to New York, from which portions are sent to London or to Canton. The furs collected in the parts of America |)ossesst'd or claimed by Great Britain, are mostly shipped for London, cither at Mont- real, or at York Factory on Hudson's Bay, or at Fort Vancouver, at the head of navigation of the Columbia River. The southern hemisphere supplies scarcely any furs, except those of the nutria, of which consid- erable quantities are brought from Buenos Ayres to New York or to Ltmdon. London is undoubtedly the nmst extensive mart for furs in the world, and New York is probably the second; of the others, the princi- pal are Leipsic, Nijr.ey-Novogorod on the VVolga, Kiakta on the boun- dary line between Russia and China, and Canton. Of the value of the furs thus annually brought into trade, it is impossible to form an exact estimate. According to a rough calculation, the amount received by the first collectors, for the skins in their undressed state, is about three mil- lions of dollars ; but they afterwards pass through many hands, so that the price is much enhanced before they reach the actual consumer. The fur trade has been, hitherto, very profitable to those engaged in it; but it is now, from a variety of causes, declining every where. The in- crease in the number of persons employed in the pursuit, and the spread of civilized population over the countries from which the furs are chiefly procured, are rapidly diminishing the number of the animals; so that, in many countries in which they formerly abounded, not one can be obtained I, ' " I'S! c] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 413 le length, the thick- ;ious is thnt of the J of dazzling white- black color, and is , are the skins of the the black fox; after il, and — though far the fox, the weasel, most precious; the collected; while the led among civilized )gether. rkey, and China, — >rtant portions of the I Europe, and in the of caps, mufls, and ir furs is in the mmi- Jate, and, as well as rely to Europe and those of the beaver, er, found in Patago- hats are composed fur. ; procured from the through the agency Russian American ,'iduals in the United IS, some are carried nd the remainder by le United States are are sent to London merica possessed or don, either at Mont- •t Vancouver, at the outliern hemisphere n, of wliich consid- U) New York or to mart for furs in the le others, the princi- iakta on the boiui- Jf the value of the to ft)rm an exact unt received by the is about three mil- ly hands, so that the onsumer. those engaged in it; ry where. The in- iuit, and the spread the furs are chiefly mimals ; so that, in one can be obtained at the present day. This diminution in the amount of the article oflTered has not, however, increased the price ; as other articles, composed of silk, wool, or cotton, are substituted for furs, with advantage, both as to com- fort and cheapness. For particulars with regard to the manner in which the fur trade of the northern parts of America is conducted, see the accounts of the Russian American Company's establishments and system, in the Geographical Sketch, and in chap. xii. of the History, and the view of the Hudson's Bay Company's proceedings, in chap, xviii. Respecting the furs them- selves, minute information may be derived from an article on the subject by Mr. Aiken, in the Transactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, published at London in 1830, as also from a similar article, by Professor Silliman, in the American Jour- nal of Science and Art for April, 1834, and from the article on furs in McCuUoch's Dictionary c Commerce. c. Correspondence between the Spanish Commandant and Com- missioner AT NooTKA Sound and the Masters of the American trading Vessels Columbia and Hope, respecting THE Occurrences at that Place in the Summer of 1789.* Translation of the Lttter from the Spanish Commandant to Captains Robert Gray and Joseph Ingraham. NooTKA, August 2d, 1792. In order to satisfy the court of England, as is just, for the injury, dam- ages, and usurpation, which it conceives itself to have sustained at this port, in the year 1789, I have to request of you, gentlemen, the favor to inform me, with that sincerity which distinguislies you, and which is conformable with truth and honor, for what reason Don Esteban Jose Martinez seized the vessels of Colnott, [called] the Ipliigenia and the North- West America? What establishment or building had Mr. Meares on the arrival of the Spaniards? What territories are tliose which he savs that he purchased from Maquinna, Yuquiniarri, or other chief of tliese tribes ? With what objects were the crew of the North-\\ est America transferred to the Columbia, and ninety-six skins placed on board that ship ? Finally, what was the whole amount of sKins carried by you to China, and to whom did they belong ? Your most obedient and assured servant, Juan Francisco de la Bodkoa y Q,uadra. * The letter of Gray and Ini^rnhnm is copied from Insrrnham's Joiirnal of his voyage in the Hope, preservell, in manuscript, in the library of the Department of State at Washinirton. The translation of Quadra's letter is made from the original in Spanish, which is attached by a wafer to the journal. A synopsis of the Tetter of Gray and Ingraham, which is, in every respect, incorrect, may be found in Vancou- ver's Journal, vol. i. p. 389. See p. 242 of this History. 1 ■ • j f ■i-t 1:1 ]n r" !fi^ ill', ■. i.i 1 ? ■ ^i m ■ ^(:, 414 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [c. m >i mu'>. wM' ;t.,5,.,ii.l„ l.ff''#:|]i ■■:■ M Anstpcr of Captains Gray and Ingraham to Don Juan Francisco de la liodiga If Quadra,* Sir, NooTKA SoiNn, August 3rf, 1703. Your esteemed favor was handed to us yesterday, requesting ft-om us inforiuation relative to the transactions between tlie English and Span- iards in this sound, in the year 1781), whicii we will do witii great pleasure, and impartially, as you re' dly Cove, he found riding at anchor there the Iphigenia only; the ship Columbia being at Mahwhiiuia, live miles up the sound. The sloop Washington and North-West America (schooner) were on a cruise. This information is necessary in order to regulate the sequel of the present. After the usual ceremonies of meeting were over, Don Martinez reciucsted the papers of each vessel, an Mr. Funter all the lich were shipped on is own account. In 10 Spanish fort. We t proved to be tlie transactions of this in a few words, that of which arc not ini- se you wish to know. nnen at Macao, had a St)imd ; from what of the Argonaut, we )re he had come for inal possession, &:.c. : ica in tlie letter is tlius to have arrived on the took possession of her. d by Mr. Hudson, from at Macao, to whom the lied tliia as a reason for ized before the arrival of ifioation for the bills of ty." tion of creating the im- or inconsistency in their letter. c] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 417 to which the commodore answered, he had taken possession already in the name of his Catholic majesty ; on which Captain Colnett asked if he would be prevented from building a house in the port. The commodore, mistaking his meaning, answered him, he was at liberty to erect a tent, get wood and water, &-c., after which he was at liberty to depart when he pleased ; but Captain Colnett said that was not what he wanted, but to build a block house, erect a fort, and settle a colony, for the crown of Great Britain. Don Estevan Jose Martinez answered, No; that, in doing that, he should violate the orders of his king, run a risk of losing his commission, and not only that, but it would be relinquishing the Span- iards' claim to the coast : besides, Don Martinez observed, the vessels did not belong to the king, nor was he intrusted with powers to transact such public business. On which Captain Colnett answered, he was a king's officer ; but Don Estevan replied, his being in the navy was of no conse- quence in the business. *In conversing on the subject, after the arrival of the vessel in port, it seems Captain Colnett insulted the commodore by threatening him, and drew his sword in the Princesa's cabin ; on which Don Martinez ordered the vessel to be seized. We did not see him draw his sword, but were informed of the circumstance by those whose veracity we had no reason to doubt. After seizing the Argonaut, the sloop Prin- cess Royal arrived a seconast of California, in the South Sea, has commanded the undersigned, his miijcsty's first secretary of state, to answer to the said minister of Eniilaiid, that he had the honor to make known personally, and in writing, to the said minister, upon the 18th of the same month, that his majesty at no time pretended to any rights in any ports, seas, or places, other than what belongs to his crown by the most solemn treaties, recognized by all niUions, and more particularly with Great Britain, by a right founded on particular treaties, the uniform consent of both nations, and by an imme- morial, regular, and established possession ; that his majesty is ready to enter upon every examination and discussion most likely to terminate the dispute in an amicable way, and is willing to enter into immediate con- ference with the new ambassador, and, if justice requires it, will certainly flisnpprove of the conduct, and punish liis subjects, if they have gone beyond their powers. This offer and satisfaction will, it is hoped, serve as an example to the court of London to do as much on its part. As the two courts of London and Madrid have not yet received proper and authenticated accounts and proofs of all that 'as really passed in these distant latitudes, a contradiction in the development of facts has by this means been occasioned. Even at this moment, the papers and min- utes made up by the viceroy of New Spain on this, matter are not arrived. Posterior letters, indeed, say that the English vessel, the Argonaut, had not been seized and confiscated till legally condemned, and that the small vessel, called the Princess Royal, which had afterwards arrived, was not seized or confiscated, but that, on the contrary, full restitution was made by the viceroy, and an obligation only taken from the captain to pay the price of the vessel, if she was declared a lawful prize ; and on the precise same terms he had liberated a Portuguese vessel belonging to Macao, and two American vessels. These parti"ulars will be more explicitly proved and elucidated on the arrival of the necessary papers. ' il: : ■t! m ^ I >' I i"ii'i? *5S h . 1 1 " : ,f ||. 420 PROOrS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [D. *-: ;' it! fl ! The first time that our amba^Hador mnde a public notification of this matter to tlic ministry ut Lomion, on the lOtti of February last, many of the circum.itunces that are now certain were then doubtful. The riirhtg and immemorial posHession of Spain to tliat coast and ports, as well an several other titles proper to lie taken into view in a pacific negotiation, were not (piito certain ; and, if the c«)urt of London had made an ami. ruble return to the complaints made by his majesty relative to those incr< chants whom Spain regards as usur[)ers and the violators of treaties, and hnd sliowed any desire to terminate the atfuir by an amicable accomiiKv datioii, a great deal of unnecessary expense nii^dit have been saved. The high and menacing tone and manner in which the answer of the British minister was couched, at a time when no certain inf«)rmation of the par- ticulars had arrived, made the Spanish cabinet entertain some suspicions that it was made not so much for the purpose of the dispute in (piestion, as a pretext to break entirely with our court ; for which reason it was thought necessary to take some precautions relative to the subject. Ou a late occasion, a complaint was made to the court of Russia, as to some similar points relative to the navigation of the South Sea. A candid answer being returned by that court, the affair was terminated withimt the least ul)ttul. The rights lid ports, as well as pncitic iicgotiution, I had made an niiii< 'lutive to those incr. iturs of treaties, and amicable accoinnio le been saved. The iiHwer of the British orination of the par- aiii some suspicions dispute in (piestion, which reason it was o the subject. court of Russia, as the South Sea. A rt'air was terminated asserted with truth, as produced the dis- Britain. jniies to peace have isions and riylits of s China. When the his sovereignty, navi- islands of the South jT of the Indies, Ims ntinent, islands, and ies have been niiide ssion, and iiniforndy by individuals, who s : and the king sets ich he cannot piu.c olonies planted upon V that such coast or bl lowed, one nation )n, in America, Asia, no fixed boundaries f right, upon a ma- esult of the (piestion epaired by the resti- ceroy : for, as to the ;c was lawful or not, ted; that is to say, treaties relative to [ig will readily enter :ct may be obviated, any means of recon- ;rmanent peace, not only between Spain and Great Britain, but also between nil nations ; for the accomplishment of which object, his majesty has made the grealeat clforts in all the courts of Ftlurope, which he certainly would not have done if he had any design to involve England and the other European powers in a calamitous and destructive war. El Cunde de Florida Blanca. (3.) Memorial of the Court of Spain, presented by Count de Florida Blanca, the Spanish Minister of State, to Mr. Fitzherbert, the British Ambas- sador at Madrid. Madrid, June VM, 1790. Bv every treaty upon record betwixt Spain and the other nations of Europe, for upwards of two centuries, an exclusive right of property, navigation, and commerce, to the Spanish West Indies, has been uniformly secured to Spain, England having always .stood forth in a particular i. mi- ner in support of such right. By article 8th of the treaty of Utrecht, (a treaty in which all he r.iiropean nations may be said to have taken a part,) Spain and England profess to establish it as a fundamental principle of agreement, that the nivigatiou and commerce of the West Indies, under the duminion o{' Sjiaiii, shall remain in the precise situation in which they stood in the reiiru of his Catholic majesty Charles II., and that that rule shall be invi- olahly adhered to, and be incapable of infringement. Al'ter this maxim, the two powers stipulated that Spain should never irrant liberty or permission to any nation to trade to, or introduce their merchandises into, the Spanish American dominions, nor to sell, cede, or (five up, to any other nation its lands, dominions, or territories, or any part there»)f. On the contrary, and in order that its territories should be preserved whole and entire, England otTers to aid and assist the Spaniards ::< 'oestaltlishing the limits of their American dominions, and placing them ill the exact situation they stood in at the time of his said Catholic majesty Charles II., if, by accident, it shall be discovered that they have utKiersione any alteration to the prejudice of Spain, in whatever manner or pretext such alteration may have been broiiglit about. The vast extent of the Spanish territories, navigation, and dominion, on the continent of America, isles and seas contiguous to the South Sea, are clearly laid down, and authenticated by a variety of documents, laws, and formal acts of possession, in the reign of King Charles II. li i- dso clearly ascertained, that, notwithstanding the repeated attempts niiiJe by adventurers and jiirates on the Spanish coasts of the South Sea and adja- cent islands, Spain has still preserved her possessions entire, and opposed with success those usurpations, by constantly sending her shiiJH Jind vessels to take possession of such settlements. By these meas'ir' .-, and reiterated acts of possession, Spain has preserved her dominion, which she has ex- tended to the borders of the Russian establishments, in that part of the world. The viceroys of Peru and New Spain having been informed that these seas had been, for some years past, more frequented than formerly, ':r'>s 1 ., I- ■ ' '•-'■ 1 * ;_ , . _■ b i 4-23 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [D. Ill t'l',; 1 t lii> '% '.'.(• that smuggling had increased, that several usurpations prejudicial to Spain and tho general tranquillity had been suffered to be made, they gave orders that the western coasts of Spanish America, and islands and seas adjacent, should be more frequently navigated and explored. They were also informed that several Russian vessels were upon the point of making commercial establishments upon that coast. At the time that Spain demonstrated to Russia the inconveniences attendant upon such encroachments, she entered upon the negotiation with Russia, upon the supposition that the Russian navigators of the Pjicific Ocean had no orders to make establishments within the limits of Spanish America, of which the Spaniards were .the first possessors, (limits situated within Prince William's Strait,) purposely to avoid all dissensions, and in order to maintain the harmony and amity which Spain wished to preserve. The court of Russia replied, it had already given orders that its sub- jects should make no settlements in pliices belonging to other powers, and that, if those orders had been violated, and any had been made in Spanish America, they desired the king would put a stop to them in a friendly manner. To this pacific language on the part of Russia, Spain observed that she could not be answerable for what her officers miirht do at that distance, whose general orders and instructions were, not to permit any settlements to be made by other nations on the continent of Spanish America. Though trespasses had been made by the English on some of the islands of those coasts, which had given rise to similar complaints havitiff been made to the court of London, Spain did not know that the English had endeavored to make any settlements on the northern part of the Southern Ocean, till the commanding officer of a Spanish ship, m tlie usual tour of the coasts of California, found two American vessels in St. Laurence, or Nootka Harbor, where he was going for provisions and stores. These vessels he permitted to proceed on their voyage, it appearing, from their papers, that they were driven there by distress, and only came in to refit. He also found there the Tphigenia, from Macao, under Portuguese colors, which had a passport from the governor; and, though he came manifestly with a view to trade there, yet the Spanish admiral, when lie saw his instructions, gave him leave to depart, upon his signing an en- gagement to pay the value of the vessel, should the government of Mexico declare it a lawful prize. With this vessel there came a second, which the admiral detained, and, a few days after, a third, named the Argonaut, from the above- mentioned place. The captain of this latter was an Englishman. He came not only to trade, but brousjht every thing with him proper to form a settlement there, and to fortify it. This, notwithstanding the remon- strances of the Spanish admiral, he persevered in, and was detained, to- gether with his vessel. After him came a fourth English vessel, named the Princess Royal, and evidently for the same purposes. She, likewise, was detained, and sent to Port St. Bias, where the pilot of the Argonaut made away with himself. The viceroy, on being informed of these particulars, gave orders that the captain and the vessels should be released, and that they should have leave to refit, without declaring them a lawful prize; and th'; he did, on jf»f y',i\* D.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 423 li; ! e, it appearinjj, from and only came in account of the ignorance of the proprietors, and the friendship which subsisted between the two courts of London and Mndrid. He also gave them leave to return to Macao with their cargo, after capitulating with them in the same manner as with the Portuguese cap- tain, and leaving the affair to be finally determined by the Count de Revillagigedo, his successor, who also gave them their liberty. As soon as the court of Madrid had received an account of the detention of the first English vessel at Nootka Sound, and before that of the second arrived, it ordered its ambassador at London to make a report thereof to the English minister, which he did on the 10th of February last, and to require that the parties who had planned these expeditions should be punished, in order to deter others from making settlements on territories occupied and frequented by the Spaniards for a number of years. In the ambassador's memorial, mention was only made of the Spanish admiral that comnianded the present armament, having visited Nootka Sound in 1774, though that harbor had been frequently visited, both before and since, with the usual forms of taking possession. These forms were repeated more particularly in the years 1755 and 1779, all along the coasts as far as Prince William's Sound; and it was these acts that gave occasion to the memorial madrj by the court of Russia, as has been already noticed. The Spanish ambassador at London did not represent in this memo- rial at that time, that the right of Spain to these coasts was conformable to ancient boundaries, which had been guarantied by England at the treaty of Utrecht, in the reign of Charles IL, deeming it to be unneces- sary ; as orders had been given, and vessels had actually been seized on those coasts, so far back as 1G92. The answer thiit the English ministry gave, on the 26th of February, was, that they had not as yet been informed of the facts stated by the ambassador, and that the act of violmcc, mentioned in his memorial, necessarily suspended any discussion of the claims therein, till an adequate atonement had been made for a proceeding so injurious to Great Britain. In addition to this haughty language of the British minister, he fur- ther added, that the ship must in the first place be restored ; and that, with respect to any future stipuhitions, it would be necessary to wait for a more full detail of all the circumstances of this affair. The harsh and laconic style in which this answer wjis given, made the court of Madrid suspect that the king of Great Britain's ministers were forming other plans; and they were the more induced to think so, as there were reports that they were going to fit out two fleets, one for the Mediterranean and the other for the Baltic. This, of course, obliged Spain to increase the small squadron she was getting ready to exercise her marine. The court of Spain then ordered her ambassador at London to pre- sent a memorial to the British ministry, settmg forth that, though the crown of Spain had an indubitable right to the continent, islands, harbors, and coasts, of that part of the world, founded on treaties and immemorial possession, yet, as the viceroy of Mexico had released the vessels that were detained, the king looked upon the affair as concluded, without entering into any disputes or discussions on the undouSted rights of Spain ; and, desiring to give a proof of his friendship for Great Britain, he should rest satisfied if she ordered that her subjects, in future, respected those rights. J if; ■ III ' f . m \ ¥'h'fi •JU 424 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [a As if Spain, in this answer, had laid chiim to the empire of that ocean, though she only spoke of what belonged to her by treaties, and as if it had been so grievous an oflfence to terminate this affair by restitution of the only vessel which was then known to have been taken, it excited such clamor and agitation in the Parliament of England, that the most vigorous preparations for war have been commenced ; and those powers disinclined to peace charge Spain with designs contrary to her known principles of honor and probity, as well as to the tranquillity of Europe, which the Spanish monarch and his ministers have always had in view. While England was employed in making the greatest armaments and preparations, that court made answer to the Spanish ambassador, (upon the 5th of May,) that the acts of violence committed against the Briti.ih flag " rendered it necessary for the sovereign to charge his minister at Madrid to renew the remonstrances, (being the answer of England already mentioned,) and to require that satisfaction which his majesty thought he had an indisputable right to demand." To this was added a declaration not to enter formally into the matter until a satisfactory answer was obtained ; " and at the same time the memorial of Spain should not include in it the question of right; " which formed a most essential part of the discussion. The British administration offer, in the same answer, to take the most effectual and pacific measures, that the English subjects shall not act " against the just and acknowledged rights of Spain, but that they cannot at present accede to the pretensions of absolute sovereignty, com- merce, and navigation, which appeared to be the principal object of the memorials of the ambassador ; and that the king of England considers it as a duty incumbent upon him to protect his subjects in the enjoyment of the right of continuing their fishery in the Pacific Ocean." If this pretension is found to trespass upon the ancient boundaries laid down in the reign of King Charles II., and guarantied by England in the treaty of Utrecht, as Spain believes, it appears that that court will have good reason for disputing and opposing this claim ; and it is to be hoped that the equity of the British administration will suspend and restrict it accordingly. In consequence of the foregoing answer, the charge (Fqfairfs from the court of London at Madrid insisted, in a memorial of the 16th of May, on restitution of the vessel detained at Nootka, and the property therein contained ; on an indemnification for the losses sustained, and on a repa- ration proportioned to the injury done to the English subjects trading under the British flag, and that they have an indisputable right to the enjoyment of a tree and uninterrupted navigation, commerce, and fishery; and to the possession of such establishments as they should form with the consent of the natives of the country, not previously occupied by any of the European nations. An explicit and prompt answer was desired upon this head, in such terms as might tend to calm the anxieties, and to maintain the friendship, subsisting between the two courts. The charge d'affaires having observed that a suspension of the Spanish armaments would contribute to tranquillity, upon the terms to be communicated by the British administration, an answer was made by the Spanish administration, that the king was sincerely inclined to disarm upon the principles of reciprocity, and proportioned to the circumstances kit i' ; . D.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 425 of the two courts; adding tliat the court of Spain was actuated by the most pacific intentions, and a desire to jTive every satisfaction and indem- nification, if justice was not on their side, provided England did as much if she was found to be in the wrong. This answer must convince all the courts of Europe that the conduct of the king and his administration is consonant to the invariable principles of justice, truth, and peace. Eiu CoNDE DE Florida Blanca. V' ! ; (4.) Letter from Count de Fernan Nunez, the Spanish Ambassador at Paris, to M. de Montmorin, the Secretary of the Foreign Department of France. Paris, June IQth, 1790. Sir, I have the honor to address you, with this, a faithful extract of all the transactions which have hitherto passed between my court and that of London, on the subject of the detention of two English vessels, which were seized in the Bay of St. Lawrence, or Nootka, situated in the 50th degree to the north of California, and which were afterwards taken to the port of St. Bias. You will observe by this relation, L That, by the treaties, demarkations, takings of possession, and the most decided acts of sovereignty exercised by the Spaniards in these stations, from the reign of Charles IL, and authorized by that monarch in 1692, the original vouchers for wiiich shall be brought forward in the course of the negotiation, all the coast to the north of the Western Amer- ica, on the side of the South Sea, as far as beyond what is called Prince William's Sound, which is in the 61st degree, is acknowledged to belong exclusively to Spain. 2. That the court of Russia, having been informed of this extent of our boundary, assured the king, my master, without the least delay, of the purity of its intentions in this respect, and added, " That it was extremely sorry that the repeated orders issued to prevent the subjects of Russia from violating, in the smallest degree, the territory belonging to another power, should have been disobeyed." 3. That the state of the possessions and exclusive commerce on the sea-coast of the Southern Ocean, as it existed in the time of Charles IL, had been acknowledged and defined anew by all the nations of Europe, and more particularly by England, in the eighth article of the treaty of Utrecht. 4. Thiit, notwithstanding the just title he has to a preservation of his ancient rights, the king, my master, has approved of the conduct of the viceroy of Mexico, who, in consequence of his general orders and instruc- tions for the preservation of peace with every power, took upon himself to release the vessels seized in the port of Nootka, upon a supposition that the conduct of their captains was a consequence of their total ignorance with respect to the legitimacy of the rights of Spain on those coasts. It is in consequence of the desire of his Catholic majesty to pre- serve peace to himself, and to establish the general tranquillity of Europe, 54 i'.i; )!' I ' '- i. ■ V wJ'M ■»j v: i 1 I, I 'J • f 1 1 ill ■i.t * I Hi 426 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [D. that he has taken the steps you will observe in the said extract, and that he has commenced an amicable and direct negotiation with England, which he will finish with Mr. Fitzherbert, the new ambassador sent from that court to the court of Madrid. We are in hopes that the con- sequences of this negotiation will be favorable; but, at the same time, we must employ all the necessary means to mcike it so. An immediate and exact accomplishment of the treaty signed at Paris, the loth of August, 1761, under the title of the Family Compact, becomes an indispensable preliminary to a successful negotiation. It is in conse- quence of the absolute necessity which Spain finds of having recourse to the succor of France, that the king, my master, orders me to demand expressly what France can do in the present circumstances to assist Spain, according to the mutual engagements stipulated by the treaties. His Catholic majesty desires that the armaments, as well as other proper measures to fulfil and realize these sacred engagements, be immediately put in execution. He charges me to add further, that the present state of this unforeseen business requires a very speedy determination, and that the measures which the court of France shall take for his assistance, shall be so active, so clear, and so positive, as to prevent even the smallest ground for suspicion. Otherwise his most Christian majesty niust not be surprised that Spain should seek other friends and different allies amonsj all the powers of Europe, without excepting any one, upon whose assist- ance she can rely in case of need. The ties of blood and personal friend- ship which unite our two sovereigns, and particularly the reciprocal interest which exists between two ntions united by nature, shall be respected in all new arrangements, aa far as circumstances will permit. This, sir, is the positive demand which I am obliged to make, and iu consequence of which I hope his most Christian majesty will immediately take such measr.'es as shall seem most suitable, in the present circum- stances, to satisfy my master, in an object so interesting and important to the preservation of his legal rights, and the honor of his nation. I have the honor to be, &c.. El Conde de Feknan Nunez. (5.) Letter from Mr. JFitzherbert to Count de Florida Blanca. Sir, Madrid, [probably,] June 16tA, 1790. In compliance with your excellency's desire, I have now the honor to communicate to you, in writing, what I observed to you in the conversation we had the day before yesterday. The substance of these observations are briefly these : — The court of London is animated with the most sincere desire of terminating the difference that at present subsists between it and the court of Madrid, relative to the port of Nootka, and the adjacent lati- tudes, by a friendly negotiation; but as it is evident, upon the clearest principles of justice and reason, that an equal negotiation cannot be opened till matters are put in their original state, and as certain acts have been committed in the latitudes in question by vessels belonging to the [D. aid extract, and that ution with England, sw ambassador sent hopes that the con- at the same time, we ■eaty signed at Paris, ly Compact, becomes itioii. It is in conse- >f having recourse to rders me to demand cumstances to assist lated by the treiities. I well as other proper lents, be immediately that the present stiite itermination, and that )r his assistance, shall 3nt even the smallest 1 majesty must not be different allies among le, upon whose assist- d and personal friend- ularly the reciprocal by nature, shall be imstanccs will permit. iged to m:ike, and in jesty will immediately the present circum- tinw and important to his nation. Fernan Nunez. D.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 427 lorida Blanca. jly,] June 16tA, 1790. ■sire, I have now the bserved to you in the lese : — ost sincere desire of between it and the and the adjacent lati- 3nt, upon the clearest legotiation cannot be id as certain acts have ssels belonging to the royal marine of Spain, against several British vessels, without any re- prisals having been made, of any sort, on the part of Britain, that power is perfectly in the right to insist, as a preliminary condition, upon a prompt and suitable reparation for these acts of violence ; and in consequence of this principle, the practice of nations has limited such right of reparation to three articles, viz., the restitution of the vessels — a full indemnification for the losses sustained by the parties injured — and, finally, satisfaction to the sovereign for the insult offered to his flag. So that it is evident that the actual demands of my court, far from containing any thing to preju- dice the rights or the dignity of his Catholic majesty, amount to no more, in fact, than what is constantly done by Great Britain herself, as well as every other maritime power, in similar circumstances. — Finally, as to the nature of the satisfaction which the court of London exacts on this occa- sion, and on which your excellency appears to desire some explanation, I am authorized, sir, to assure you, that if his Catholic majesty consents to make a declaration in his name, bearing in substance that he had deter- mined to offer to his Britannic majesty a just and suitable satisfaction for the insult offered to his flag, — such offer, joined to a promise of making restitution of the vessels captured, and to indemnify the pro- prietors, under the conditions specified in the official letter of Mr. Merry on the IGth of May, will be regarded by his Britannic majesty as consti- tuting in itself the satisfaction demanded; and his said majesty will accept of it as such by a counter-declaration on his part. I have to add, that as it appears uncertain if the vessels the North- West, an American vessel, and the Iphigenia, had truly a right to enjoy the protection of the British flag, the king will with pleastire consent that an examination of this ques- tion, as well as that relative to the just amount of the losses sustained by his subjects, may be left to the determination of commissioners to be named by the two courts. Having thus recapitulated to your excellency the heads of what I observed to you in conversation, I flatter myself you will weigh the whole in your mind, with that spirit of equity and moderation which character- izes you, that I may be in a condition of sending to my court, as soon as possible, a satisfactory answer as to the point contained in the official paper sent to Mr. Merry, on the 4th of the month, and which, for the reasons I have mentioned, cannot be regarded by his Britannic majesty as fulfilling his just expectations. I have the honor to be, &c., Allevne Fitzherbert. (6.) Letter from Count de Florida Blanca to Mr. Fitzherbert. Madrid, June 18tA, 1790. You will pardon me, sir, that I cannot give my assent to the principles laid down in your last letter ; as Spain maintains, on the most solid grounds, that the detention of the vessels was made in a port, upon a coast, or in a bay, of Spanish America, the commerce and navigation of which belonged exclusively to Spain, by treaties with all nations, even England herself. I), i m ■'\ \ !■ I ii I K t] M ,!• F ! i' ' h(? ' I I .. Hi 428 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [D. The principles laid down cannot be adapted to the case. The vessels detained attempted to make an establishment at a port where they found a nation actually settled, the Spanish commander at Nootka having, previous to their detention, made the most amicable represen- tations to the aggressors to desist from their purpose. Your excellency will also permit me to lay before you, that it is not at all certain that the vessels detained navigated under the British flag, although they were English vessels; there having been reason to believe that they navigated under the protection of Portuguese passports, fur- nished them by the governor of Macao as commercial vessels, and not belonging to the royal marine. Your excellency will add to these rea- sons, that, by the restitution of these vessels, their furniture and cargoes, or their value, in consequence of the resolution adopted by the viceroy of Mexico, which has been approved of by the king, for the sake of peace, every thing is placed in its original state, the object your excellency aims at — nothing remaining unsettled but the indemnification of losses, and satisfaction for the insult, which shall also be regulated when evidence shall be given what insult has been committed, which hitherto has not been sufliciently explained. However, that a quarrel may not arise about words, and that two nations friendly to each other may not be exposed to the calamities of war, I have to inform you, sir, by order of the king, that his majesty consents to make the declaration which your excellency proposes in your letter, and will offer to his Britannic majesty a just and suitable satisfac- tion for the insult offered to the honor of his flag, provided that to these are added either of the following explanations: 1. That, in offering such satisfaction, the insult and the satisfaction shall be fully settled, both in form and substance, by a judgment to be pronounced by one of the kings of Europe, whom the king, my master, leaves wholly to the choice of his Britannic majesty ; for it is suflicient to the Spanish monarch that a crowned head, from full information of the facts, shall decide as he thinks just. 2. That, in offering a just and suitable satisfaction, care shall be taken that, in the progress of the negotiation to be opened, no facts be admitted as true but such as can be fully established by Great Britain with regard to the insult offered to her flag. 3. That the said satisfaction shall be given on condition that no inference be drawn therefrom to affect the rights of Spain, nor of the right of exacting from Great Britain an equivalent satisfaction, if it shall be found, in the course of negotiation, that the king has a right to demand satisfaction, for the aggression and usurpation made on the Spanish territory, contrary to subsisting treaties. Your excellency will be pleased to make choice of either of these three explanations to the declaration your excellency proposes, or all the three together, and to point out any difficulty that occurs to you, that it may be obviated ; or any other mode that may tend to promote the peace which we desire to establish. I have the honor to be, &c., El Conde de Florida Blanca. [D. the case. The it at a port where mander at Nootka amicable represen- you, that it is not er the British flag, n reason to believe lese passports, fur- al vessels, and not 1 add to these rea- niture and cargoes, ed by the viceroy of the sake of peace, four excellency aims ation of losses, and ated when evidence ich hitherto has not ords, and that two to the calamities of ng, that his majesty ncy proposes in your and suitable satisfac- rovided that to these and the satisfaction by a judgment to be the king, my master, ; for it is sufficient to jU information of the iction, care shall be ; opened, no facts be hed by Great Britain »n condition that no of Spain, nor of the satisfaction, if it shall king has a right to 'pation made on the ;e of either of these cy proposes, or all the t occurs to you, that ' tend to promote the ; Florida Blanca. D] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 429 (7.) Sjtanish Declaration, and British Counter-Declaration, exchanged at Madrid on the ^ith of July, 1790. DECLARATION. His Britannic m.ijesty having complained of the capture of certain vessels belonging to his subjects in the port of Nootka, situated on the north-west coast of America, by an officer in the service of the king, — the undersigned counsellor and principal secretary of state to his majesty, being thereto duly authorized, declares, in the name and by the order of his said majesty, that he is willing to give satisfaction to his Britannic majesty for the injury of which he has complained, fully persuaded that his said Britannic majesty would act in the same manner towards the king, under similar circumstances : and his majesty further engages to make full restitution of all the British vessels which were captured at Nootka, and to indemnify the parties interested in those vessels, for the losses which they shall have sustained, as soon as the amount thereof shall have been ascertained. It being understood that this declaration is not to preclude or preju- dice the ulterior discussion of any right which his majesty may claim to form an exclusive establishment at the port of Nootka. In witness whereof, I have signed this declaration, and sealed it with the seal of my arms. At Madrid, the 24th of July, 1790. (l. s.) Signed, Le Comte de Florida Blanca. counter-declaration. His Catholic majesty having declared that he was willing to give satisfaction for the injury done to the king, by the capture of certain vessels belonging to his subjects, in the bay of Nootka, and the Count de Florida Blanca having signed, in the name and by the order of h*s Catho- lic majesty, a declaration to this effect, and by which his saia majesty likewise engages to make full restitution of the vessels so captured, and to indemnify the parties interested in those vessels for the losses they shall have sustained, — the undersigned ambassador extraordinary and plenipo- tentiary of his majesty to the Catholic king, being thereto duly and expressly authorized, accepts the said declaration in the name of the king, and declares that his majesty will consider this declaration, together with the performance of the engagements contained therein, as a full and entire satisfaction for the injury of which his majesty has complained. The undersigned declares, at the same time, that it is to be under- stood, that neither the said declaration signed by Count Florida Blanca, nor the acceptance thereof by the undersigned, in the name of the king, is to preclude or prejudice, in any respect, the right which his majesty may claim to any establishment which his subjects may have formed, or should be desirous of forming in future, at the said bay of Nootka. In witness whereof, I have signed this counter-declaration, and sealed it with the seal of my arms. At Madrid, the 24th of July, 1790. (l. 8.) Signed, Alleyne Fitzherbert. 1 1 i I • ■',•:. *|'' ik.1. 430 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. b. S' 'J i> (8.) Decree of the National Convention of France, on the Subject of the Application of the King of Spain for Aid in resisting the Demands of Great Britain. Paris, August iith, 1790. Tub National Assembly, deliberating on the formal proposition of the king, contained in the letter uf the minister, dated the 1st of August, Decree, that the king be supplicated to make known to his Catholic majesty, that the French nation, in taking all proper measures to maintain peace, will observe the defensive and commercial engagements which the French government have previously contracted with Spain. They further decree that his majesty shall be requested immediately to charge his ambassador in Spain to negotiate with the minister of his Catholic majesty to the effect of perpetuating and renewing, by a national treaty, the ties so useful to the two nations, and to fix with precision and clearness every stipulation which shall be strictly conformable to the views of general peace, and to the principles of justice, which will be forever the policy of the French. The National Assembly further taking into consideration the arma- ments of the different nations of Europe, their progressive increase, and the safety of the French colonies and commerce, decree, that the king shall be prayed to give orders that the French marine force in commission shall be increased to forty-five ships of the line, with a proportionate number of frigates and other vessels. E. Documents relative to the Discovery of the Columbia River by the Spaniards and the Americans. Extract from the Report of Captain Bruno Heceta, commanding the Spanish Corvette Santiago, in a Voyage along the North-West Coast of America, in 1775, containing the Particulars of his Discovery of the Mouth of the Great River, since called the Columbia* original. El dia diez y siete, [de agosto, 1775,] recorri la costa, hasta el grado cuarenta y seis; y vi que desde la latitud de cuarenta y siete grades y * From the original Report, proserved in the Hydrographieal Office at Madrid, copied under the supervision of Don Martin Fernandes de Navarate, the chief of that department, whose certificate in proof of its authenticity is appended to the copy. — See p. 120 of this History. t . II .1 I B.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 431 cuarenta minutes, hasta la de cuarenta y seis grados cuareuta minutos, corria al angulo de diez y echo, en el segundo cuadrante ; y desde esta graduacion, hasta la de cuarenta y seis, y cuatro, al angulo de doce del mismo cuadrante, y con la misma sonda, playa y Irondosidad, y algunos islotes, que la de los dias anteriores. La tarde de este dia, descuhri una grande bahia, que la nombre de la Asuncion ; cuya iigura representa el piano que va inserto en este diario ; su latitud y amplitud esta sujeta a las demarcaciones mas exactas que ofrece la thcorica y practica de esta carrera. Las latitudes de los cabos mas salientes de dicha bahia, particularmente la del Norte, esta calculada por la observacion de aquel dia. Habiendula llegado a Hamiuear a lus seis de la tarde, y cuasi situada la fragata entre los dos Cabos, sonde en veinte y cuatro brazas, y eran tan rapidos los remolinos de liis corrientes, que no obstante haber esforzado de vela, fue trabajoso el salir 6 seperarse del Cabo de mas al Norte, que as hacia la parte donde mas se inclinaba la corriente, que tambien tenia su direccion al este, y con el dependia del flujo de la marea. Estas corrientes y hervidero de aguas me ban hecho crcer sea desem- bocadurade algun gran rio 6 paso para algun otro mar. Si la latitud en que se situo la bahia no tubiera la constante prueba de la observacion de aquel dia creeria sin dificultad era este el paso descubierto el ano de 1592 por Juan de Fuca, que lo situan las cartas entre los grados de cuarenta y ocho grados y cuarenta y siete de latitud, donde no me queda duda, no se halla este estrecho, por haber estado fondeado el dia ciitorce de Julio, en el centro de estas latitudes, y registrado varias veces todas aqiiellas inmediaciones. No obstante la mucha diferencia de la situacion de esta bahia, y el paso que cita de Fuca, se mi hace poco dificultoso el dudar, si es uno mismo ; porque he observado, hay igual variedad 6 mayor, en las latitudes de otros cabos y puertos de esta costa, couio los citare a su tiempo ; y en todos, es mayor la latitud en que los fijan, que la que tiene sus verdaderas sitiiacioncs. El no haber entrado y fondeado en el puerto, que parece forma la que en el piano supongo isla, no obstante los vivos deseos que me asisten, fue porque, habiendo tornado parecer del segundo Capitan y practico Don Juan Perez, y piloto Don Christoval Revilla, insistieron en que no debia exccutar, porque, de dejar caer el ii.icla, no teniamos gente con que ziirparla, y atender a la faena, que de esto rosulta. Hecho cargo yo, de estas razones, y que para hacer ruinbo al fondeadero, me era preciso hechar la lancha al agua (unica embarcacion menor que tenia) esquifarla con catorce individuos de la tripulacion, lo menos, y que sin estos no podia empefiarme, notando al mismo tiempo, era tarde, resolvi virar para fuera ; y hallandome a la distancia de tres 6 cuatro leguas, hice capa. Experimente esta noche vivas corrientes al S. O. que me imposibilitaron intentar recalar en esta bahia, la manana del dia siguiente, por estar muy sotavento. Tambien estas me hicieron consentir, en que en el reflujo, salia de aquella bahia, mucha cantidad de aguas. Los dos Cabos que cito en el piano, de San Roque y del Frondoso corren al angulo de diez grados del tercer cuadrante ; ambos son esoar- pados de tierra colorada con poca elevacion. El dia dies y ocho, demarque el Cabo Frondoso que cito, con otro que ti I W 432 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. i fE. le piise per nombre de Falcon, situado en la latitud de ciiarcntn y oinco grados cuarentn y tres miniitos; y corri:i nl an^ulo de veiiite y do« grados del tercer cuadraiite ; y dcsdc estc cubu ^iguc la cosla, al angolo dc ciiicu grados, del segundo cuadrante. Esta es de tierra montuosa, no may elevada, ni tan poblada de arboledn, conio la que induce Ioh gradus desde la latitud de cuarenta y ocho, treiuta, hasta los cuarenta y seis. En la sonda, encontre notable diforcncia; pues a distancia de siete leguas, sonde en ochenta y cuatro brazas, y acercandome a la costa, no halle algunas veces sonda ; lo que me ha hecho creer, hay algunos placeres 6 bancos de arena, sobre estas costas, pue» tambicn el color de las aguas lo denota asi. En algunas partes, acaba la costa en play a, y en utros acantilada. Una montana plana, que la llame de 3Icsa, hara que qualquier navegante 86 hag.t capaz Je la situacion del Cabo Falcon, aunquc no haya tenido observacion; por que esta en la latitud de cuarenta y cinco veinte y ocho minutos, y se deja ver de lejos por ser mcdianamente alta. ,11.1 V TRANSLATION. On the 17th [of August, 1775] I sailed along the coast to the 46th degree, and observed that, from the latitude of 47 degrees 4 minutes to that of 46 degrees 40 minutes, it runs in the angle of 18 degrees of the second quadrant,* and from that latitude to 4(5 degrees 4 minutes, in the angle of 1'2 degrees of the same ({uadr mt ; the soundings, the shore, the wooded character of the country, and the little islands, being the same as on the preceding days. In the evening of this day, I discovered a large bay, to which I gave the name of Assumption liaif, and of which a plan will be found in this journal. Its latitude and longitude are determined according to the most exact means afforded by theory and practice. The latitudes of the two most prominent capes of this bay, especially of the northern one, are calculated from the observations of this day.t Having arrived opposite this bay at six in the evening, and plficed the ship nearly midway between the two capes, I sounded, and found bottom in twenty-four brazas ;\ the currents and eddies were so strong that, notwithstanding a prer-s of sail, it was difficult to get out clear of the north- ern cape, towards which the current ran, though its direction was east- ward, in consequence of the tide being at flood. These currents and eddies of the water caused me to believe that the place is the mouth of some great river, or of some passage to another sea. * The card of the Spanish compass was formerly divided into four quadrants, on which the points were counted by degrees. t In the table accompanyinff the report, trie position of the vessel is given on the 17th of Atigust, as in latitude of 4(J degrees 17 minutes, which is within one minute of the latitude of Cape Disappointment, (the Cnnc San Hot/ur of Heceta,) the northern point, at the entrance of the Columbia ; the longitude is made 15 decrees 38 minutes west of Cape San Lucas, the southern extremity of California, which is about a degree and a half too far west, yet remarkably near the truth, considering that the Spanish navigator was obliged to depend entirely on the dead reckoning for his longitudes. t The Spanish braza, or fathom, contains six Spanish feet, nearly equal to five feet nine inches English. 'i \ I I I into four quadrants, on E.] PHOOFS AND ILLUSTUATIONS. 433 Had I not been 'ertnin of the latitude of this bay, from my ohservationa of the same day, I iniirht easily luive believed it to be the p;ist*a|;re dis- covered by Juan de Fuca, in IM'2, which is placed on the clmrts between the 47th and the 48th degrees; wiiere 1 am certain that no such strait exists; because 1 anchored on the 14th of July midway between these two latitudes, and carefully examined every thing around. Notwithstanding the great difference betwiun the position of this bay and the passage mentioned by De Fuca, I have little difficulty in con- ceiving that they may be the same, having observed equal or greater differences in the latitudes of other capes and ports on this coast, as I shall show at its proper time ; and in all cases the latitudes thus assigned are higher than the real ones. I did not enter and anchor in this port, which in my plan I suppose to be formed by an island, notwithstanding my strong desire to do so; because, having consulted the second captain, Don Juan Perez, and the pilot, Don Christot^al Revilla, they insisted that I ought not to attempt it, as, if we let go the anchor, we should not have men enough to get it up, and to attend to the other operations which would be thereby rendered necessary. Considering this, and also that, in order to reach the anchor- age, I should be obliged to lower my long-boat, (the only boat that I had,) and to man it with at least fourt( '?n of the crew, as I could not manage with fewer, and also that it was then late in the dciy, I resolved to put out ; and at the distance of three or four leagues I lay to. In the course of that night, I experienced heavy currents to the south-west, which made it impossible for me to enter the bay on the following morning, as I was far to leeward. These currents, however, convinced me that a great quantity of water rushed from this bay on the ebb of the tide. The two capes which I name in my plan Cape San Roque * and Cape Frondoso,i lie in the angle of ten degrees of the third quadrant. They are both faced with red earth, and are of little elevation. On the ISth, I observed Cape. Frondoso, with another cape, to which I gave the name of Cape Falcon,^ situated in the latitude of 45 degrees 43 minutes, and they lay at the angle of 22 degrees of the third quadrant, and from the last-mentioned cape I traced the coast running in the angle of five degrees of the second quadrant. This land is mountainous, but not very high, nor so well wooded as that lying between the latitudes of 48 degrees 30 minutes, and 40 degrees. On sounding, I found great differences : at the distance of 7 leagues, I got bcttom !it 84 brazaa ; Rud nearer the coast, I sometimes found no bottom; from which I am inclined to believe that there are reefs or shoals on these coasts, which is also shown by the color of the water. In some places, the coast presents a beach, in others it is rocky. A flat-topped mountain, which I named The Table, '^w'lW enable any nav- igator to know the position of Cape Falcon without observing it ; as it is in the latitude of 45 degrees 28 minutes, and may be seen at a great dis- tance, being somewhat elevated. , nearly equal to five feet * Cape Disappointment. t Cape Adama. 55 t Cape Lookout. § Charke's Point of View. 11- ,< t ■, 1 I'l i'lU' 434 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. n. if (2.) Extract from the Second Volume of the Log-Book of the Ship Columbia, of Boston, commanded by Robert (jiruy, containing the Account of her Entrance into the Columbia River, in May, 179il,* May 7th, 1702, A. M. — Being within six miles of the land, saw an entrance in the aiinie, whicli iiad a very good appearance of a harbor; lowered away the jolly-boat,. and went in search of an anchoring-place, the ship standing to and fro, with a very strong weatlier current. At one, P. M., the boat returned, having found no place where the ship could anchor with safety; made sail on the ship; stood in for the shore. We soon saw, from our mast-head, u passage in between the sand-l)arH. At half past three, bore away, and ran in north-east by east, having from four to eight fathoms, sandy bottom ; and, as we drew in ncs-irer l)etween the bars, had from ten to thirteen fathtims, having a very strong tide of ebb to stem. Many canoes came alongside. At five, IV M., came to in live fathoms water, sandy bottom, in a safe harbor, well sheltered from the sea by long sand-bars and spits. Our latitude observed tliis day was 46 degrees ,W minutes north. May lOth. — Fresh breezes and pleasant weather; many natives along- side; at noon, all the canoes left us. At one, P. M., began to luimour, took up the best bower-anchor, and hove short on the small bower-anchor. At half past four, (being high water,) hove up the anchor, and came to sail and a beating down the harbor. 3Iay llth. — At half past .seven, we were out clear of the bars, and directed our course to the southward, along shore. At eight, P. M., the entrance of BulBnch's Harbor bore north, distance four miles; the .south- ern extremity of the land bore south-south-east half east, and the northern north-north-west ; sent up the main-top-gallant-yard and set all sail. At four, A. M., saw the entrance of our desired port bearing eiist-soutli-cast, distance six leagues; in steering sails, and hauled our wind in shore. At eight, A. M., being a little to windward of the entrance of the Harbor, bore away, and run in east-north-east between the breakers, having from five to seven fathoms of water. When we were over the bar, we found this to be a large river of fresh water, up which we steered. Many canoes came alongside. At one, P. M., came to with the small bower, in ten fathoms, black and white sand. The entrance between the bars bore west-south-west, distant ten miles; the north side of the river a half mile distant from the ship; the south side of the same two and a half miles' distance; a village on the north side of the river west by north, distant three quarters of a mile. Vast numbers of natives came alongside; people employed in pumping the salt water out of our water-casks, in order to fill with fresh, while the ship floated in. So ends. May 12re tlie uhip could l(»r the sliore. We tlie saiKl-barH. At >• ' i' i i 436 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [F. River, and the north side of the entrance Cape Hancock; the south, Adams's Point. May 20#/j. — Gentle breezes and pleasant weather. At one, P. M., (being full sea,) took up the anchor, and made sail, standing down river. At two, the wind left us, we being on the bar with a very strong tide, which set on the breakers; it was now not possible to get out without a breeze to shoot her across the tide; so we were obliged to bring up in three and a half fathoms, the tide running five knots. At three quarters past two, a fresh wind came in from seaward ; we immediately came to sail, and beat over the bar, having from five to seven fathoms water in the channel. At five, P. M., we were out, clear of all the bars, and in twenty fathoms water. A breeze came from the southward ; we bore away to the northward ; set all sail to the best advantage. At eight, Cape Han- cock bore south-east, distant three leagues ; the north extremity of the land in sight bore north by west. At nine, in steering and top-gallant sails. Midnight, light airs. May ^\st. — At six, A. M., the nearest land in sight bore east-south- east, distant eight leagues. At seven, set top-gallant-sails and light stay- sails. At eleven, set steering-sails fore and aft. Noon, pleasant, agree- able weather. The entrance of Bulfinch's Harbor bore south-east by east half east, distant five leagues. F. \ .,1 Showing that the Forty-ninth Parallel of Latitude was NOT selected as THE LiNE OF SEPARATION BETWEEN THE French and the British Territories in North America, BY Commissaries appointed agreeably to the Treaty of Uti.echt.* Mr. Monroe, minister plenipotentiary of the United States in London, iii bis letter of September oth, 1804, to Lord Harrowby, the British secre- tary for foreign affairs.t makes the following statement with regard to the adoption of the 49th parallel of latitude as the northern boundary of Lou- isiana : — " By the tenth article of the treaty of Utrecht, it is agreed that 'France shall restore to Great Britain the Bay and Straits of Hudson, together with all the lands, seas, sea-coasts, rivers, and places, situate in the said bay and straits, which belong thereto ; and it is also agreed, on both sides, to determine, within a year, by commissaries to be forthwith named by e.ich party, the limits which are to be fixed between the said Bjiy of lludson and the places appertaining to the French, which limits both the British and French subjects shall be wholly forbid to pass over, or thereby to go to each other, by sea or by land : the same commissioners shall a' -o have orders to describe and settle in like manner the boundaries between the * See p. 282 of the History. t Communicated to Congress, and published with President Jefferson's messaee of March 30th, 1808. t I F.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 437 t-i' JefTerson's mesaage of other British and French colonies in those parts.* Commissaries were accordingly appointed by each power, who executed the stipulations of the treaty, in establishing the boundaries proposed by it. They fixed the northern boundary of Canada and Louisiana by a line beginning on the Atlantic, at a ciipe or promontory in 58 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, thence south-westwardly to the Lake Mistissin, thence fartlier south-west to the latitude of 49 degrees north from the equator, and along that line indefinitely." Mr. Monroe does not give his authority for the assertion respecting the adoption of this line by the commissaries; he, however, most probably derived his information from the map of America attached to Postle- thwiiyt's Dictionary of Commerce, published in 1751, to which he alludes in other parts of his correspondence, and in which a line appears nearly as described by him, with a note on the map, saying, " The line that parts French Canada from British Canada was settled hy commissaries, after the peace of Utrecht, making a curve from Davis's Inlet, in the Atlantic Si a, down to the 49th degree, through Lake Abitibis, to the North-West Ocean." In the Dictionary to which this map is attached, the limits of tliese territories are expressly declared to be zindetermined. The map of North America, by Palairet and Delaroche, published at London in 1765, also gives the same line, without any note as to the manner in which it was adopted. In the map of the British Possessions in America, pub- lished by Bowen and Gibson in 1775, and in one or two other inferior maps, the 49th parallel is given as the southern limit of the Hudson's Bay Company's territories, from the vicinity of Lake Superior, westward to Red River, down which the boundary is continued to Lake Winnipeg. Tliese are the only authorities, as yet discovered, for the belief that the 49th parallel was adopted as a boundary by commissaries appointed ac- cording to the treaty of Utrecht. On the other hand, Mitchell's great map of America, published in 1755 at London, under the patronage of the colonial department, presents a line drawn around Hudson's Bay, at the distance of about one hundred and fifty miles from its shore, as " the bounds of Hudson's Bay by the treaty of Utrecht;" and the same line appears on the map of America accompanying Smollett's History of England, published in 1700, on that of Bennet, published in 1770, on that of Faden, in 1777, and on some other maps of that period. No line of separation whatsoever, between the Hudson's Bay territories and the French possessions in America, is to be found on the large and beautiful map of America by Henry Popple, published in 1738, also under the patronage of the colonial department, and bearing the stamp of the approbation of Dr. Hailey, which is particularl} minute in ail that relates to the territories in question ; or on any of the maps in the atlas of Max- well and Senex, published in 1721, or in any of those attached to the volume of Boyer's Politicai State for 1721 — to the History of Hudson's Bay, by Dobbs — to the American Traveller, by Cluny — to the History of the British Empire in America, by Wynne — to Alcedo's Dictionary of America, or on many other maps, of inferior merit, which might be named. These discrepancies should not excite surprise ; for maps, and books of geography, which are most frequently consulted in relation to bounda- ries, are, or rather have been, the very worst authorities on such suLjects ; !:'■ li::.. V it! tJfi hi I' ' u {l t'iiiU' m '1 mm 'ff rjfr'i' 1 r! k -if I' ' 't .Ir ^ ! 1 .1 438 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [P. as they are ordinarily made by persons wholly unacquainted with political affairs. Of this, numerous examples may be cited from works of authors the most highly esteemed as geographers, even at the present day.* No allusion whatsoever to the settlement of any boundary line between the Hudson's Bay territories and the Frrach dominions, by commissaries appointed agreeably to the treaty of Utrecht, is to be found in any of the followini^ works, which have been carefully examined with reference to this question : viz. — Actes, Memoires, fitc, concernant la Paix d'Utrecht, a voluminous work, published in 1710 — Actes, Negotiations, &c., depuis la Paix d'Utrecht, 1745 — the collections of treaties and state papers by Dumont, Boyer, Martens, Jenkinson, and Herstlet — Collection des Edits, Ordonnances, &lc., concernant le Canada — the histories of, and memoirs on, Louisiana, by Dumont, Le Page Duprntz, Vergennes, Marbois, and others — Memoires des Commissaires Francais et Anglais, sur les Pos- sessions, &c., des deux Couronnes en Amerique, 1754 — the works of Swift and of Bolingbroke — the Parliamentary History of England — and the Histories of England by Tindal, Smollet, Belsham, Mahon, or Wade. This is strong negative evidence. Anderson, in his elaborate History of Commerce, (vol. iii. p. 207,) thus pointedly denies that any such set- tlement of limits was effected agreeably to the provisions of the treaty of Utrecht: "Though the French king yielded to the queen of Greiit Britain, to be possessed by her, in full right, forever, the Bay and Straits of Hudson, and all parts thereof, and within the same then possessed by France, yet leaving the boundaries between Hudson's Bay and the north parts of Canada belonging to France to be determined by commissaries within a year, was, in effect, the same thing as giving up the point alto- gether; it being well known, to all Europe, that France never permits her commissaries to determine matters referred to such, unless it can be done with great advantage to her. Those boundaries, therefore, have never yet been settled, tiiough the British and French subjects are, by that article, expressly debarred from passing over the same, or thereby to go to each other, by sea or land. These commissaries were likewise to settle the boundaries between the other British and French colonies on * In a lariTf and hcautifiilly-onirravcd map of the United States, published at Phila- delphia, in If^'il, ^'froin tliv mo.it iimlmilitrd iiuthnritirs, by , (rrtijilirr and drausrhtsnian," tho nnrtluTn bi)undary of the United States west of the Mississippi is represented l)y a lino drawn westward from the sources of that river, nearly under tlie latitude of 47 deirrees and 40 niinut's; the country north of this line beinir stated to be "in ilisputr bctirrcn S/iaiiiand (irrat Rritfiin." Now, thn-e years before this map appeared, tin- boundary between the United States and the British possessions in tiiat part of America liad been fixed by treaty, according to which, the dividinsr line ful- towcd t!ie cours" of the 4!lth ])arallel ; and, two years before tht! date of the map, Spain had also, l)y treaty, ceded to the United States her rights to all territories in AiniTicn norlli of the 4'Jd parallel. These treaties had been published; and it is scarcely crediiile tli;it they siiould have been UTikno.vn to an American geographc! engaged in i)repariiiga niaj) of the United States. Mistakes of the same kind, equally great, are, Imwiver, committed in l''urope. In the Encyclopn»dia of Geogrnphv, published at Kdinburirh, in IHlM, by Hugh Murray, and other scientitic persons, we find it staled, (p. 1;<74,) that "the whole region west of tho Rocky Moiir\tains, ex- tending between the 4iJd and the 4IHh parallels of latitude, hiis, Inj (liarorrri/ ..td trrtili/, hint dssiiriird ti> tlir I'rii/eil Sliitrs;" and a statement to tho same etfect may be fo\ind in the Londnn Quarterly Review for January, 18y'2. Those mistakes evidently arose from ignorance: but the same defence cannot be pleaded in all cases; for maps have been drawn, and engraved, and colored, with a full knowledge of their falsehood, in order to forward the ends of governments or of individuals. [p. nted with political 1 works of authors resent day.* iidary line between i*, by commissaries »und in any of the with reference to t la Paix d'Utrecht, ations, fitc, depuis md state papers by )liection des Edits, es of, and memoirs ines, Marbois, and iglais, sur les Pos- >4 — the works of of England — and , Mahon, or Wade. 3 elaborate History that any such set- ns of the treaty of e queen of Grent he Bay and Straits then possessed by Bay and the north ed by commissaries up the point alto- ance never permits 1, unless it can be es, therefore, have jh subjects are, hy same, or thereby to s were likewise to 'rench colonies on f^s, published at Pliila- — , iTfoirnijihrr and it of the Mississippi is iver, nearly iiiuicr tlv s line beiiiy; stated to years befori' this map ish possessiidis in that, the dividinji line tol- the date of the map, ts to nil territories in l)nblish(>d ; and it is American jreographer he same kind, equally ptrdia of Geogr;;pliy, scientitic persons, wo llocky xMountains, fX- liiis, Inj (linrorrrij .id lie same etfect may be t'se mistakes evidently in all eases ; for maps dge of their falsehood, a] PROOFS \ND ILLUSTRATIONS. 439 that continent, which, likewise, was never done." The same denial is transferred by Macpherson to his Annals of Commerce. The only evidence of the appointment of commissaries for the settlement of limits according to the treaty of Utrecht which has been discovered, is contained in a passage in Charlevoix's Histoire de la Nouvelle France, of which the following is a translation : •' France took no part in this dispute, [between the British and the Indians of Nova Scotia, in 1722,1 in order to avoid giving the slightest pretext for interrupting the good understanding between the two nations, which had been restored with so much difficulty ; even the negotiations betiveen the two courts for the set- tlement of boundaries ceased, although commissaries had been appointed, on both sides, for that object since 1719." G. Papers relative to the American Establishment of Astoria, ON the Coli;mbia River.* Letter from J. J. Astor, of Nrw York, to the Ilonurahle John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State of the United Stntcs.i Siu, Nkw Youk, January 4th, 1823. I had the honor to receive your letter of the 24th ultimo. Indis- position has prevented my acknowledging the receipt thereof at an earlier period. You request information of arrangements made, at or about 1814, by the North-West Company and citizens of the United States, by which that company became possessed of a settlement made at the mouth of Columbia River by citizens of the United States. The settlement to which you allude, I presume, is "Astoria," as I know of no other having been made at or near the mouth of that river. Several circumstances are alleged, as having contributed to the arrangement by which the North- West Company became in possession of that settlement, but chiefly to the misi: ., of the confidence which had been placed in Mr. McDougal, who, at the time the arrangement was made, and at the time my agent, Mr. Wilson P. Hunt, was absent, acted as sub-agent. I beg leave briefly to state, that, contemplating to make an establish- ment, at the mouth of Columbia River, which should serve as a place of depot, and give further facilities for conducting a trade across this conti- nent to that river, and from thence, on the range of north-west coast, &c., to Canton, in China, and from thence to the United States, arrange- ments were accordingly made, in 1810, for a party of men to cross the * See '-hap. xiv. of the History. t Documents accompanying President Monroe's message to Congress of January 27th, 1823. !'■ l-i! 440 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [G. .U continent for the Columbia River. At the same time, I fitted out the ship Tonquin, carryintr twenty guus and sixty men, commanded by the late Captain Tiiorn, lieutenant in the United States navy. The ship sailed in Septcml)er, 1810, having on board the means for making an establishment at Columbia, where she arrived on the 2"2d of March, 1811. They landed, found the natives friendly, and built a fort, erected a house, store, &,c. Tiiis being accomplished, Captain Thorn left thirty men in possession of the place, to await the party who were to m.ike the voyage over land ; these, also, happily arrived, though not till several months after. On or about the Ist of June, Captain Thorn left Columbia River, with a view to make some trade on the coast, and f hen to return to the river; but, unfortunately, Thorn never returned. At about two hundred miles north of Columbia, he put in a bay to trade with the natives. Not at- tending to the precautions necessary, as he had been instructed to do, to guard against an attack, he suffered a whole tribe of Indians to come on board and about his ship. An attack was made; he was overpowered: fire was communicated to the magazine, the ship was blown up, and every soul on board or near her perished. In 1811, I fitted out another ship, the Beaver, carrying twenty guns, with a duplicate cargo to the ship Tonquin, and sixty or seventy men. The Captain [Sowles] was instructed to sail for the Columbia River, and in search of the men who were sent across the continent, as also of the Tonquin. The Beaver sailed from this in October, 1811, arrived at Co- lumbia in May following, found the establishment, and landed such men, goods, provisions, &c., as the establishment was in need of My instruc- tions to the captain were, that, after supplying the establishment, he siionld proceed to Chatka,* a Russian .settlement, for the purpose of trade, and then return to Columbia, take what furs we had, and proceed to Canton, and thence to New York. lie accordingly left Columbia, (and, nio.«t unfortunately, Mr. Hunt, of Trenton, New Jersey, my chief agent, iel't the river with him,) sailed, as directed, for the Russian settlement, and effected their object; but, instead of following instructions to return to Columbia, he sailed direct for Canton, leaving Mr. Hunt at one of the Sandwich Islands, to await tlie arrival of another ship, which I had prom- ised to send from this in 181*^. The ship Beaver arrived at Canton, and received there the news of the war. I had sent orders to the captain to return to Astoria; but he was feirfid of being ca))tured, and remained safely at Canton till the war was over, when lie cnme home. In conso- quence of the war, I found it inconvenient to send a ship in 1812, i)ut I did send one, the Lark, early in 1813, with directions to the captain to sail for Columbia River, and to stop at the Sandwich Islands for informa- tion. Being within a kw day.s' sail of those islands, the ship, in a sqtiall of wind, was upset, and finally drifted on the beach of one of tlio:*o islands, a wreck, — ship and cargo totally lost. Here was met Mr. Hunt, who, after all the information he received, and my great desire to protect the establishment at Columbia River, procured an American vessel, took some provisions, sailed, and arrived in Columbia River. lie there learned that Mr. McDougal had transferred all my property to the North-West Company, who were in possessicm of it by a sale, as he called it, for the sum of about fifty-eight thousand dollars, of which he retained fourteen * Sitka, or New Archangel, the chief establishment in Russian America. ff 0.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 441 Russian America. thousand dollars, for wages said to be due to some of the men. From the price obtained for the goods, &,c., and he having himself become interested in the purchase, and made a partner of the North-West Company, some idea may be formed as to this man's correctness of dealings. It will be seen, by the agreement (that of which I transmit a copy) and the invento- ry, that he sold to the North-West Company eighteen thousand one hundred and seventy and a quarter pounds of beaver at two dollars, which was at that time selling in Canton at five and six dollars ; nine hundred and seven otter skins at fifty cents, or half a dollar, which were selling at Canton at five to six dollars per skin. I estimated the whole property to be worth nearer two hundred thousand dollars than forty thousand dollars, about the sum I received in bills on Montreal. Previous to the transaction of McDougal, we had already established trading posts in the interior, and were in contact with the North-West Company. It is now to be seen what means have been used by them to counteract my plan. It is well known that, as soon as the North-West Company had information of my intention and plan for conducting my commercial operations, they despatched a party of men from the interior, with a view to arrive before my people at Columbia. These men were obliged to return without effecting their object. In the mean time, representation was made to their government as to the proba- ble effect of my operations on their interest, and requesting to interfere in their behalf. This being in time of peace, the government did not deem it advisable so to do. So soon, however, as war was declared, these representations were renewed, aid was asked from the government, and it was granted. The Phoebe frigate, and sloops of war Raccoon and Por- cupine, were sent fr(;in England, with orders to proceed to Columbia River, and destroy my property. They sailed from England early in Jan- uary, 1813. Arriving at Rio Janeiro, Admiral Dickson ordered the Phoebe frigate, with one of the sloops, to pursue Captain Porter in the frigate Essex, and the sloop of war Raccoon, to the Columbia. She ar- rived there, took possession in the name of the king, and changed the name of the place from Astoria to Fort George. Previous to this, the North-West Company had despatched another or second party of men to the Columbia. They arrived there in the ab.sence of Mr. Hunt ; McDou- gal gave them support and protection, and they commenced, after some time, to negotiate with this gentleman. The reasons assigned by him for his conduct will be seen by an e.xtract of a letter said to havr heen sent by a Mr. Shaw, of the North-West Company, and of whicii i send you a copy. The plan by me adopted was such as must materially have affected the interest of the North-West and Hudson's Bny Companies, and it was easy to be foreseen that they would employ every means to counteract my operations, and which, as my impression, I stated to the executive of your department as early jis Feb- ruary, 181:5, as will be seen by a copy of the sketch of a letter which I wrote to the secretary of state, and to which no reply was given. On re- peated application, some time after, aid was promised me; but I believe the situation of our country rendered it inconvenient to give it. You will observe that the name of the Pacific Fur Company is made use of at the commeuccMnent of the arrangements for this undertaking. I preferred to have it appear as the business of a ctmipany, rather than that of an individual ; and several of the gentlemen engaged — Mr. Hunt, Mr. Crooks, 56 I/! i! "I ! 442 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [0. Mr. McKay, McDougul, Stuart, tfec. — were, in efiect, to be interested as partners in the undertaking, so far as respected the profit which might arise: but the means were furnished by me, and 'he property was solely mine, and I sustained the loss, which, though considerable, I do not re- gret, because, had it not been for the unfortunate occurrence just stated, I should have been, as I believe, most richly rewarded ; as it will be seen that the difference of price in the beaver and otter skins silone, say what I received, and the value of them at Canton at that time, is about sixty thousand dollars. The copy of the agreement, inventory, and extract of Shaw's letter, you will please return to me. I am, sir, &c., John Jacob Astor. (2.) Agreement between the Agent$ uf the Pacific Fur Company and the North- West Company, for the Transfer of the Esiublishmmts of the Former, on ih' Cc'umbia River, to the Latter; concluded on the I6th of Octo- ber, 'i^ia. Tiiu association heretofore carrying on the fur trade to the Columbia River and its dependencies, under the firm and denomination of the Pacific Fur Company, being dissolved, on the 1st of July last, by Duncan McDougal, Donald McKenzie, David Stuart, and John Clarke, witli i-lio intention to abandon the trade in that quarter, it is hereby agree d, concluded, and settled upon, of their own free will and consent, by Duncan McDougal, acting for himself and in behalf of his associates, namely, Donald McKenzie, David Stuavt, and John Clarke, on the one part, and John George McTavish and John Stuart, acting for themselves and in behalf of the North-West Company, on the other part, that the following agreement and settlement take place between them, and be binding and obligatory in the manner, and subject to the terms and agree- ments, hereinafter specified and contained. Now, therefore, it is hereby mutually agreed and concluded, by and between the said parties to tlie.se presents, and they do hereby mutually covenant and agree, to and with each other, in manner following, that is to say: — Articli; 1. The party of the former part hereby covenants and agrees to deliver, or cause to be delivered, the whole of the establish- ments, furs, and present stock in hand, on the Columbia and Thomp- son's Rivers, as soon as the necessary inventories can be tnken, unto the said party of the latter part, or any other person or persons appointed by them to represent the North-West Company, to receive the same at the prices and rates concluded and agreed upon as hereinafter specified, in article fourth. Art. 2. In consideration of article first being duly and faithfully performed by the party of thr former part, they, the said John George McTavish and John Stuart, for themselves and on behalf of the North- West Company, do bind and oblige themselves and the said North-West Company, or their agents, to pay or cause to be paid, imto the said Duncan McDougal, acting for himself and in behalf of his associates, as before mentioned, his attorneys, assigns, or order, the amount of the sums arising from the sale, according to article first, and the rates hereinafter [o. G.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 443 to be interested as profit which might >roperty was solely rable, I do not re- rrence just stated, I as it will be seen ins nione, say what inie, is about sixty [)iy, and extract of 4 Jacob Astor. •rtH?/ and the North- lints of the Former, t the I6th of Octo- de to the Columbia inoniination of the t of July last, by , and John Clarke, , it is hereby agreed, II and consent, by f of his a^^sociates, Clarke, on the one ting for ibemselves )ther part, that the vecn them, and be he tonus and aiirce- [^rcfore, it is hereby aid parties to these agree, to and with by covenants and lo of the establish- mibia and Thomp- be tJiken, unto the rsoiis appointed by ve the same at the jinafter specified, in duly and faithfully said John George ehalf of the North- he said North-West )aid, unto the said of his associates, as amount of the sums le rates hereinafter specified in article fourth, at three several instalments ; the first one third on or before the 2.>th of October, 1814, the second one third on or before the 25th of November, and the remaining one third on or be- fore the 25th of December. And, further, it is hereby understood that, should the party of the former part find it convenient to leave the amount of the several drafts, after becoming payable, as already specified, in the hands of the party of the latter part, or their agents, they, the said party of the latter part, or their agents, will allow interest at six per cent, until paid on demand ; and, as there are several moneys, the produce of their wages, due unto the people employed in the service of the late Pacific Fur Company, carrying on trade on the Columbia and Thompson's Rivers, the said party of the latter part, namely, John George McTavish and John Stuart, acting for themselves and the North-West Company, as their agents, do hereby bind and oblige themselves to pay, or cause to be paid, unto the several individuals employed by the party of the former part, the amount of the balances due to them, according to the statement that shall be delivered by the said Duncan McDougal, acting for himself and his associates, as before mentioned, within one month after their arrival at Montreal, in the province of Lower Canada; the amount of which several sums, so paid, is to be considered as part of, and deducted from, the first instalment, to be paid unto the said Duncan McDougal, acting for him- self and his associates, as before mentioned, his attorneys, assigns, or order, on or before the 25th of October, 1814. Aur. !}. And, further, the said John George McTavish and John Stuart, acting fur themselves and the North-West Company, will be at liberty to make a selection, and take into their service such of the peo- ple in the employment of the party of the former part as they may think proper ; in consideration of which, the said party of the latter part bind and oblige themselves to pay, or cause to be paid, unto the said party of the former part, the several sums due to them by such as may enter into the service of the party of the latter part: and the said party of the latter part further bind and oblige themselves to provide and insure a safe pas- sage to tt\e said party of the former part, and the remaining part, that will not be taken into their service, to their respective homes. AiiT. 4. And, further, it is hereby agreed and concluded upon, by the said parties, that the following are the rates at which the establish- iiients, furs, and stock on hand, be valued at, as follows: dry goods, sta- tionery, gunpowder, and leaf tobacco, fifty per cent, on the prime cost ; sliip chandlery, sixty per cent.; shot, ball, lead, iron, and steel, one hundred per cent. ; deduction on made-up iron works at Columbia River, tiiirty-three and one third per cent. ; new boats, each, ten pounds Halifax currency; boats in use, each, five pounds Halifax currency; shallop, with riffffing complete, one hundred and twelve pounds ten shillinrrs; two black- smith's forges complete, twenty-five i)ounds; plug tobacco, one shilling and six pence per pound; plug tobacco manufactured at Columbia, one shil- ling and three pence per pound; beads assorted, five shillings per pound; arms, cannon, &,c., prime cost; provisions at fixed prices; articles in use, half inventory prices; horses, thirty shillings each; buildings, two hun- dred pounds; John Reid's adventure, and Freeman's, in the vicinity of Snake country and Spanish River, to deduct one hundred per cent.; beaver furs, ten shillings per pound ; beaver coating, eight shillings and four pence per pound; muskrats, seven pence half-penny each; land 444 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [G. otters, two shillings and six pence each ; sea otters, large, sixty shillings each. And for the faithful performance of all and singular the said covenants and agreements, to be by them respectively kept and performed, all and every of the parties to these presents bind themselves, separately and jointly, for their several associates, firmly by these presents. In witness whereof, the parties to these presents have hereunto set their hands and seals, this 16th day of October, 1813, at the entrance of Columbia River, north-west coast of America. Witnesses. John C. Hasley, Angus Bethune, Gabriel Franchere, James McMillan, Alfred Seaton, Joseph McGillivray William Wallace, Duncan McDougal, J. G. McTavish, J. Stuart. (3.) Account of the Capture of Astoria by the British Sloop of War Raccoon, Captain Black, in December, 1813. Extracted from *' Adventures on the Columbia River, by John Ross Cox." The Isaac Todd sailed from London in March, 1813, in company with the Phoebe frigate, and the Cherub and Raccoon sloops of war. They arrived safe at Rio Janeiro, and thence proceeded around Cape Horn to the Pacific, having previously made arrangements to meet at Juan Fern.mdez. The three men-of-war reached the latter island, after encountering dreadful gales about the cape : they waited there some time for the Isaac Todd; but, as she did not make her appearance, Commo- dore Hillyer did not deem it prudent to remain any longer inactive. He therefore, in company with the Cherub, proceeded in search of Commcv doie Porter, who, in the American frigate Essex, was clearing the South Sea of English whalers, and inflicting other injuries of a serious nature on our commerce ; he shortly after met the Essex at Valparaiso, and, after a severe contest, captured her. At the same time, he ordered Captain Black, in the Raccoon, to proceed direct to the Columbia, for the purpose of destroying the Ameri- can establishments at Astoria. The Raccoon arrived at the Columbia on the 1st of December, 1813. The surprise and disappointment of Captain Black and his officers were extrfine, on learning the arrangement that had taken place between the two companies, by which the establishment had become British property. They had calculated on obtaining a splendid prize by the capture of Astoria, the strength and importance of which had been much magnified ; and the contracting parties were therefore fortunate in having closed their bargain previous to the arrival of the Raccoon. On looking at the wooden fortifications. Captain Black ex- claimed, " Is this the fort about which I have heard so much ? D — n me but 1 'd batter it down in two hours with a four-pounder." Captain Black, however, took possession of Astoria in the name of his Britannic majesty. G.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 445 arge, sixty shillings and rebaptized it by the name of " Fort George." He also insisted on having an inventory taken of the valuable stock of furs, and all other property purchased from the American company, with a view to the adop- tion of ulterior proceedings in England for the recovery of tlie value from the Norta-West Company ; but be subsefjueatly relinquished this idea, and we heard no mure about his claims. The Indians at the mouth of the Columbia knew well that Great Britain and America were distinct nations, and that they were then at war, but were ignorant of the arrangement made between Messrs. McDou- gtd and McTavish, the former of whom still continued as nominal chief at the fort. On the arrival of the Raccoon, which they quickly discovered to be one of '*King George's fighting ships,"" they repaired, armed, to the fort, and requested an audience of Mr. McDougal. He was somewhat surprised at their numbers and warlike appearance, and demanded the object of such an unusual visit. Comcomly, the principal chief of the Chinooks, (whose daughter McDougal had married,) there- upon addressed him in a long speech, in the course of which he said that King George had sent a ship full of warriors, and loaded with nothing but big guns, to take the Americans and make them all slaves, and that, as tiiey (the Americans) were the first white men who settled in their country, and treated the Indians like good relations, they had resolved to defend them from King George's warriors, and were now ready to conceal themselves in the woods close to the wharf, from whence they would be able, with their guns and arrows, to shoot all the men that should attempt to land from the English boats, while the peoj)Ie in the fort could fire at them with their big guns and rifles. This proposition was uttered with an earnestness of manner that admitted no doubt of its sincerity. Two armed boats from the Raccoon were approaching; and, had the people in the fort felt disposed to accede to the wishes of the Indians, every man in them would have been destroyed by an invisible enemy. Mr. McDou- gal thanked them for their friendly offer, but Jidded, that, notwithstanding the nations were at war, the people in the boats would not injure him or any of his people, and therefore requested them to throw by their war shirts and arms, and receive the strangers as their friends. They at first seemed astonished at this answer; but, on assuring them, in the most positive manner, that he was under no apprehensions, they consented to give up their weapons for a few days. They afterwards declared they were sorry for having complied with Mr. McDongal's wishes ; for when they observed Captain Black, surrounded by his officers and marines, break the bottle of Port on the flag-staflF, and hoist the British ensign, after changing the name of the fort, they remarked that, however we might wish to conceal the fact, the Americans were undoubtedly made slaves; and they were not convinced of their mistake until the sloop of war had departed without taking any prisoners. ,-M [ >■■*;! 446 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [H. 11. British Statement annexed to the Protocol of the sixth Conference, held at London, December 16th, 1826, be- tween Messrs. Huskisson and Addington, the British Commissioners, and Mr. Gallatin, the Minister Pllnii-o- TENTIARY OF THE UnITED StATES.* iJiiili nm 'pit! Mi' *4 M ■ i- : .'\ i' , y ; r / ' > ■ ■■ 1 |l| i m The government of Great Britain, in proposing to renew, for a further term of years, the third article of the convention of 1818, respecting the territory on the north-west coast of America, west of the Rocky Moun- tains, regrets that it has been found impossible, in the present negotiation, to agree upon aline of boundary which should separate those parts of that territory, whicli might henceforward be occupied or settled by the subjects of Great Britain, from the parts which would remain open to occupancy and settlement by the United States. To establish such a boundary must be the ultimate object of both countries. With this object in contemplation, and from a persuasion that a part of the dilKculties which have hitherto prevented its attainment is to be attributed to a misconception, on the part of the United States, of the claims and views of Great Britain in regard to the territory in ques- tion, the British plenipotentiaries deem it advisable to bring under the notice of the American plenipotentiary a full and explicit exposition of those claims and views. As preliminary to this discussion, it is highly desirable to mark dis- tinctly the broad difference between the nature of the rights claimed by Great Britain and those asserted by the United States, in respect to the territory in question. Over a large portion of that territory, namely, from the 4'2d degree to the '10th degr'^c L.f nortli latitude, the United States claim full and ex- clusive sovereignty. Great Britain claims no cxclusioc sovrrn^ntif ovrr any portion of that territory. Her present claim, not in respect to any part, but to the whole, is limited to a right of joint occupancy, in common with other states, leaving the right of exclusive dominion in abeyance. In other words, the pretensions of the United States tend to the ejec- tion of all other nations, and, among the rest, of Great Britain, from all right of settlement in the district claimed by the United States. The pretensions of Great Britain, on the contrary, tend to the mere maintenance of her uwn rights, in resistaace to the exclusive character of the pretensions of the United States. Having thus stated the nature of the respective claims of the two parties, the British plenipotentiaries will now examine the grounds on which those claims are founded. * This statement, published with the documents accompanying President Adams's message to Congress of December TJth, li^27, is here inserted in full, chiefly because reference is frequently made to it in the preceding History, in which its numerous tiiisstdtements are exposed and refuted. See page 347 of the History, and other pages to which reference is made bj' note. H.] PROOFS AND .'.LUSTRATIONS. 447 The claims of the United States arc urged upon three grounds : 1st. As resulting from their own proprr right. 2dly. As resulting from a right derived to them from Spain ; that power having, by the treaty of Florida, concluded with the United States in 1819, ceded to the latter all their rights and claims on the western coast of America north of the 42d degree. 3diy. As resulting from a right derived to them from France, to whom the United States succeeded, by treaty, in possession of the province of Louisiana. The first right, or right proper, of the United States, is founded on the iilleged discovery of the Columbia River by Mr. Gray, of Boston, who, in 1792, entered that river, and e.xplored it to some distance from its mouth. To this are added the first exploration, by Lewis and Clarke, of a main branch of the same river, from its source downwards, and also the alleged priority of settlement, by citizens of the United States, of the country in the vicinity of the same river. The second right, or right derived from Spain, is founded on the alleged prior discovery of the region in dispute by Spanish navicr;it -i, of whom the chief were, 1st, Cabrillo, who, in 154:1, visited that c< as far as 44 degrees north latitude; 2d, De Fuca, who, as it is afiirnied, in 1598, entered the straits known by his name, in latitude 49 degrees; 3d, Guelli, who, in 158*2, is said to have pushed his researches as high as 57 degrees north latitude; 4th, Perez, and others, who, between the years 1774 and 1792, visited Nootka Sound and the adjacent coasts. The third right, derived from the cession of Louisiana to the United States, is founded on the assumption that that province, its boundaries never having been exactly defined lonffitudinol/i/, may fairly be as- serted to extend westward across the Ilocky Mountains, to the shore of the Pacific. Before the merits of these respective claims are considered, it is necessary to observe that one only out of the three can be valid. They are, in fact, claims obviously incompatible the one with the other. If, for example, the title of Spain by first discovery, or the title of France as the original possessor of Louisiana, be valid, then must one or the other of those kingdoms have been the lawful possessor of that territory, at the moment when the United States claim to have discovered it. If, on the other hand, the Americans were the first discoverers, there is necessarily an end of the Spanish claim; and if priority of discovery constitutes the title, that of France falls equally to the ground. Upon the question, how far prior discovery constitutes a legal claim to sovereignty, the law of nations is somewhat vague and undefined. It is, however, admitted by the most approved writers that mere accidental discovery, unattended by exploration — by formally taking possession in the name of the discoverer's sovereign — by occupation and settlement, more or less permanent — by purchase of the territory — or receiving the sovereignty from the natives — constitutes the lowest degree of title, and that it is only in proportion as first discovery is followed by any or all of these acts, that such title is strengthened and confirmed. The rights conferred by discovery, therefore, must be discussed on their own merits. But before the British plenipotentiaries proceed to compare the relative IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 I 1.25 1^128 |Z5 |jo ■^™ !■■ ■^ Ui 12.2 JS <% # PliotDgraphic Scmces Corporation 4s 4^ i\ <^ ^. 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WnSTIR.N.Y. MSM (71«)t72-4»Q3 6^ ,.v 448 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [H. claims of Great Britain and the United States, in this respect, it will be advisable to dispose of the two other grounds of right, put forward by the United States. The second ground of claim, advanced by the United States, is the cession made by Spain to the United States, by the treaty of Florida, in 1819. If the conflicting claims of Great Britain and Spain, in respect to all that part of the coast of North America, had not been finally adjusted by the convention of Nootka, in the year 1790, and if all the arguments and pretensions, whether resting on priority of discovery, or derived from any other consideration, had not been definitively set at rest by the signature of that convention, nothing would be more easy than to demonstrate that the claims of Great Britain to that country, as opposed to those of Spain, were so far from visionary, or arbitrarily assumed, that they established more than a parity of title to the possession of the country in question, either as against Spain, or any other nation. Whatever that title may have been, however, either on the part of Great Britain or on the part of Spain, prior to the convention of 1790, it was from thenceforward no longer to be traced in vague narratives of discoveries, several of them admitted to be apocryphal, but in the text and stipulations of that convention itself. By that convention it was agreed that all parts of the north-western coast of America, not already occupied at that time by either of the con- tracting parties, should thenceforward be equally open to the subjects of both, for all purposes of commerce and settlement; the sovereignty remaining in abeyance. In this stipulation, as it has been already stated, all tracts of country claimed by Spain and Great Britain, or accruing to either, in whatever manner, were included. The rights of Spain on that coast were, by the treaty of Florida, in 1819, conveyed by Spain to the United States. With those rights the United States necessarily succeeded to the limitations by which they were defined, and the obligations under which they were to be exercised. From those obligations and limitations, as contracted towards Great Britain, Great Britain cannot be expected gratuitously to release those countries, merely because the rights of the party originally bound have been transferred to a third power. The third ground of claim of the United States rests on the right supposed to be derived from the cession to them of Louisiana by France. In arguing this branch of the question, it will not be necessary to examine in detail the very dubious point of the assumed extent of that province, since, by the treaty between France and Spain of 1763, the whole of that territory, defined or undefined, real or ideal, was ceded by France to Spain, and, consequently, belonged to Spain, not only in 1790, when the convention of Nootka was signed between Great Britain and Spain, but also subsequently, in 1792, the period of Gray's discovery of the nouth of the Columbia. If, then, Louisiana embraced the country west of the Rocky Mountains, to the south of the 49th parallel of htitude, it must have embraced the Columbia itself, which that parallel intersects; and, consequently, Gray's discovery must have been made in a country avowedly already appropriated to Spain, and, if so appropriated, neces< . I I [H. Ills respect, it will be It, put forward by the United States, is the he treaty of Florida, lain, in respect to all en finally adjusted by all the arguments and , or derived from any rest by the signature n to demonstrate thut sed to those of Spain, that they established country in question, either on the part of ionvention of 1790, it 1 vague narratives of al, but in the text and of the north-western I by either of the con- open to the subjects nent; the sovereignty [ all tracts of country .0 either, in whatever treaty of Florida, in Vith those rights the tions by which they were to be exercised, acted towards Great usly to release those )riginally bound have IS rests on the right im of Louisiana by not be necessary to sumed extent of that Spain of 1763, the ideal, was ceded by lin, not only in 1790, ;n Great Britain and f Gray's discovery of mbraced the country th parallel of latitude, at parallel intersects; made in a country appropriated, neces- Hj PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 44d //: sarily included, with all other Spanish possessions and claims in that quarter, in the stipulations of the Nootka convention. Even if it could be shown, therefore, that the district west of the Rocky Mountains was within the boundaries of Louisiana, that circum- stance would in no way assist the claim of the United States. It may, nevertheless, be worth while to expose, in a*few words, the futility of the attempt to include that district within those boundaries. For this purpose, it is only necessary to refer to the original grant of Louisiana made to De Crozat by Louis XIV., shortly after its discovery by La Salle. That province is therein expressly described as "the country drained by the waters entering, directly or indirectly, into the Mississippi." Now, unless it can be shown that any of the tributaries of the Mississippi cross the Rocky Mountains from west to east, it is difficult to conceive how any part of Louisiana can be found to the west of that ridge. There remains to be considered the first ground of claim advanced by the United States to the territory in question, namely, that founded on their own proper right as first discoverers and occupiers of that territory. If the discovery of the country in question, or rather the mere en- trance into the mouth of the Columbia by a private American citizen, be, as the United States assert, (although Great Britain is far from admitting the correctness of the assertion,) a valid ground of national and exclusive claim to all the country situated between the 42d and 49th parallels Of latitude, then must any preceding discovery of the same country, by an individual of any other nation, invest such nation with a more valid, because a prior, claim to that country. Now, to set aside, for the present, Drake, Cook, and Vancouver, who all of them either took possession of, or touched at, various points of the coast in question. Great Britain can show that in 1788 — that is, four years before Gray entered the mouth of the Columbia River — Mr. Meares,* a lieutenant of the royal navy, who had been sent by the East India Company on a trading expedition to the north-west coast of America, had already minutely explored that coast, from the 49th degree to the 45th degree north latitude ; had taken formal possession of the Straits of De Fuca, in the name of his sovereign ; had purchased land, trafficked and formed treaties with the natives; and had actually entered the hdy of the Columbia, to the northern headland of which he gave the name of Cape Disappointment — a name which it bears to this day. Dixon, Scott, Duncan, Strange, and other private British traders, had also visited these shores and countries several years before Gray ; but the single example of Meares suffices to quash Gray's claim to prior discovery. To the other navigators above mentioned, therefore, it is unnecessary to refer more particularly. It may be worth while, however, to observe, with regard to Meares, that his account of his voyages was published in London in August, 1790; that is, two years before Gray is even pretended to have entered the Columbia. To that account are appended, first, extracts from his log-book ; secondly, maps of the coasts and harbors which he visited, in which every fei!h: Ml ;• ?v See p. 177. 57 450 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [H. K-:' Hi >^le in law, to have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy, and retain lands, rents, privileges, liberties, jurisdiction, franchises, and hereditaments, of what kind, nature, or quality soever they be, to them and their successors." By succeeding sections of the charter, provisions are made — for the election of a governor, a dipttty govtrnor, and a ronimittic of seven members, who are to have the direction of all voyages, sales, and other business of the company — for the election of new members — and for holding, at particular periods, a general court of the company. The first company and their successors are made lords proprietors of the territories above mentioned, holding the lands " in free and conimou socage, and not incapitc, or by knights' service;" and they are em- powered to make all laws and regulations for the government of their possessicms, which may " be reasonable, and not contrary or repugnant, but as near as may be agreeable, to the laws, statutes, and customs," of England. The whole trade, fishery, navigation, minerals, &-c., of the countries, is granted to the company exclusively ; all others of the king's subjects being forbidden to " visit, haunt, frequent, trade, trafiic, or adventure," therein, under heavy penalties; and the company is more- over empowered " to send ships, and to build fortifications, for the de- fence of its possessions, as well as to make war or peace with all nations or people, not Christian, inhabiting those territories, which are declared to be thenceforth " reckoned and reputed as one of his majesty's plan- tations or colonies, in America, called Rupert's Land." Thus it will be seen, that the Hudson's Bay Company possessed by its charter almost sovereign powers over the vast portion of America drained by streams entering Hudson's Bay. With regard to the other countries in British America, north and west of Canada, not included in the Hud- son's Bay Company's possessions, and which were termed, generally, the Indian countries, an act was passed on the llth of August, 1603, in the 43d year of the reign of King George HI., entitled, d 4 PROOFS Xy^ ILLUSTRATIONS. 467 agcmcnt in the snid I, niid to ^riint unto iitiicrce of oil tliuso I, in whatflocvcr lati* he HtraitH commonly countric8, and terri- , bays, lakes, rivers, Jtually possessed by er Christian prince te all endeavors that encourage the said lowledge, and mere ly these presents, for nfirm, unto our snid hers as shall be ad- I, shall be one body me of T/i€ (itnurnor into Hudson's liny, able, and capable in retain lands, rents, reditaments, of wli.it id their successors." are made — for the rommittrc of seven tes, sales, and other members — and for the company. The proprietors of the free and comnioa and they are em- government of their iitrary or repugnant, and customs," of inerals, &-c., of the others of the king's It, trade, traffic, or J company is more- ications, for the de- face with ail nations which are declared his majesty's plan- Iffrtrf." any possessed by its of America drained the other countries icluded in the Hud- srmed, generally, the iVugust, 1803, in the (2.) •• An Act for extending the Jurisdiction of the Courts of Justice in the Provinces of Lower and Upper Canada to the Trial and Punishment of Persons guilty of Crimes and Offences within certain Parts of North America^ adjoining to the said Provinces." By this act, oflfences committed within the Indian territories were to be tried in the same manner as if committed within the provinces of Lower and Upper Canada ; the governor of Lower Canada may em- power persons to act as justices of the peace for the Indian territories, for committing offenders until they are conveyed to Canada for trial, dtc. This act remained in force until July 2d, \&l\ when was passed, (3.) •' An Act for regulating the Fur Trade, and establishing a Criminal and Civil Jurisdiction, within certain Parts of North America* " Whereas the competition in the fur trade between the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay, and cer- tain associations of persons trading under the name of ' The North-West Company of Montreal,' has been found, for some years past, to be pro- ductive of great inconvenience and loss, not only to the said company and associations, but to the said trade in general, and also of great injury to the native Indians, and of other persons, subjects of his majesty : And whereas the animosities and feuds arising from such competition have also, fr)r some years past, kept the interior of America, to the northward and westward of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and of the territories of the United States of America, in a state of continued disturb- ance: And whereas many breaches of the peace, and violence, extending to the loss of lives, and considerable destruction of property have continu- ally occurred therein : And whereas, for remedy of such evils, it is expe- dient and necessary that some more effectual regulations should be estab- lished for the apprehending, securing, and bringing to justice, all persons committing such offences, and that his majesty should be empowered to regulate the said trade : And whereas doubts have been entertained, whether the provisions of an act passed in the forty-third year of the reign of his late majesty. King George the Third, intituled 'An Act for extend- ing the jurisdiction of the courts of justice in the provinces of Lower and Upper Canada to the trial and punishment of persons guilty of crimes and offences within certain parts of North America, adjoining to the said prov- inces,' extended to the territories granted by charter to the said governor and company ; and it is expedient that such doubts should be removed, and that the said act should be further extended : Be it therefore enacted, by the king's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, 'That, from and I ! K. 68 Seep. 325. 458 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [t i\h after the passing of this act, it Hhali I>r Inwfiil for his mnjcHty, his hcirn or successors, to make gruiitM or ^ivo \u» roytil li«'rns(>, under the hniui nml seal of one of his mnjcHty's |)riiici|iiil Hccrctarius tif Mtiitc, to uuy body cor- porate or company, or perHitn or p('rN<)U!<, of or for thu excUi.sivu privilc^^o of trading with the Indians in all tiuch pnrtN of North Atnrrira ns Hhall hn specified in any such grants or liceuHes respectively, not being part of the lands or territories heretofore granted to the said (Jovernor and Com- pany of Adventurers of Ktifjland trading to lluthon's Hay, and not bein^ part of any of his majesty's provinces in North Amrrira, or of any lands or territories belonging to the United States o( Amerira ; and all such grants and licenses shall be good, valid, and eflectual, for the purpose of securing to all such bodies corporate, or conipiuiics, or persons, tlie sole and exclusive privilege of trading with the liulians in all sucli parts nf North America^ (except as hereinafter excepted,) as shall be specified in such grants or licenses, any thing contained in any act or acts of Parlia- ment, or any law, to the contrary notwithstanding. " II. Provided always, and be it further enacted. That no such grant or license, made or given by his majesty, his heirs or successors, of any such exclusive privileges of trading with the Indinns in such parts of North America as aforesaid, shall be m;idc or given for any longer period than twenty-one years ; and no rent shiill be required or demanded for or in respect of any such grant or license, or any privileges given therelty under the prr>vision8 of this act, for the first period of twenty-one yeiirs ; and from and af\er the expiration of such first period of twenty-one years, it shall be lawful for his majesty, his heirs or successors, to reserve such rents in any future grants or licenses to be made to the same or any other parties, as shall be deemed just and reasonable, with security for the pay- ment thereof; and such rents shall be deemed part of the land revenues of his majesty, his heirs and successors, and be applied and accounted for as the other land revenues of his majesty, his heirs or successors, shall, at the time of payment of any such rent being made, be applied and ac- counted for. " III. And be it further enacted. That, from and after the passing of this act, the Ciovernor and Company of Adventiirers trnding to IJiirlson's Bay, and every body corporate, and company, and person, to whom every such grant or license shall be made or given, as aforesaid, shall respec- tively keep accurate registers of all persons in their employ in any parts of North America, and shall, once in each year, return to his majesty's sec- retaries of state accurate duplicates of such registers, and shall also enter into such security as shall be required by his majesty for the due execu- tion of all processes, criminal and civil, as well within the territories included in any such grant, as within those granted by charter to the Governor and Company of Adventurers trading to Ifiuhon's Bay, and for the producing or delivering into safe custody, for purpose of trial, of all persons in their employ or acting under their authority, who shall be charged with ".uy criminal offence, and also for the due and faithful observance of all such rules, regulations, and stipulations, as shall be con- tained in any such grant or license, either for diminishing or preventing the sale or distribution of spirituous liquors to the Indians, or for pro- moting their moral and religious improvement, or for any other object which his majesty may deem necessary for the remedy or prevention of the other evils which have hitherto been found to exist. I] i'RUOrS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 469 " IV. And whorona, by a convontion entered into between his majesty nnd the United Stiite.s of Aincrirn, it wiih stipulated and n^reed thut iitiy country on tin; iiorth-wi'st coast of Americn to the westward of the iStonif Mimntaiiii, sliould he Irui; and open to the citizciiH and suhjects of the two powers, tor the term of ten yearn from the date of the signature of that convention ; Be it therefore enacted, That nothing in this act con< tamed shall be deemed or construed to authorize any body corporate, company, or person, to whom his majcHty may have, under the provisions of this act, made a grant or |,;ivcn a license of exclusive trade with the Indians in such parts of North America as aforesaid, to claim or exercise any such exclusive trade within the limits specified in the snid article, to the prejudice or exclusion of any citizens of the said United States of Amerira, who may be enj{a{(ed in the said trade : Provided always, that no British subject shall trade with the Indians within such limits without such ((rant or license as is by this act re(|uired. " V. And be it declared and enacted. That the said act, passed in the forty-third year of the reign of his late majesty, intituled An Act for er- tenilinif the Jurisdiction of thr. courts of justice in the provinces of Lower »;ir/ Upper Canada, to the trial and punishment of persons guilty of crimes and ojf'rnccs within certain parts of North America adjoining to the said provinces, and all the clauses nnd provisoes therein contained, shall be deemed and construed, and it is and are hereby respectively declared, to extend to and over, and to be in full force in and through, all the territo- ries heretofore granted to the Company of Adventurers o( England trading to Hudson's Bait ; any thing in any act or acts of Parliament, or this act, or in any grant or charter to the company, to the contrary notwithstanding. ** VI. And be it further enacted. That, from and after the passing of this act, the courts of judicature now existing, or which may be hereafter established in the province of Upper Canada, shall have the same civil jurisdiction, power, and authority, as well in the cognizance of suits as in the issuing process, mesne and Anal, and in all other respects whatsoever, within the said Indian territories, and other parts of America not within the limits of either of the provinces of Lower or Upprr Canada, or of any civil government of the United States, as the said courts have or are invested with within the limits of the said provinces of Lower or Upper Canada respectively ; and that all and every contract, agreement, debt, li ibility, and demand whatsoever, made, entered into, incurred, or arising within the said Indian territories and other parts of America, and all and every wrong and injury to the person, or to propertif, real or personal, com- mitted or done within the same, shall be, and be deemed to be, of the same inlure, and be cognizable by the same courts, magistrates, or justices of the peace, and be tried in the same manner, and subject to the same conse- quences, in all respects, as if the same had been made, entered into, incurred, arisen, committed, or done, within tlie said province of Upper Canada ; any thing in any act or acts of Parliament, or grant, or charter, to the contrary notwithstanding: Provided always, that all such suits and actions relating to lands, or to any claims in respect of land, not being within the province of Upper Canada, shall be decided according to the laws of that part of the United Kingdom called England, and shall not l>e subject to or affected by any local acts, statutes, or laws, of the legislature of Upper Canada. " VII. And be it further enacted, That all process, writs, orders, judg- ments, decrees, and acts whatsoever, to be issued, made, delivered, given, and done, by or under the authority of the said courts, or either of them, 460 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [t I 4 shall have tne same force, authority, and eflfect, within the said Indian territory and other parts of Amrricn as aforesaid, as the same now have within the said province of Upper Canada. " VJIf. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the gov- ernor, or lieutenant-governor, or person administering the government for the time being, of Lower Canada, by commission under his hand and seal, to authorize all persons who shall be appointed justices of the peace under the provisions of this act, within the said Indian territories, or other parts oi America as aforesaid, or any other person who shall be specially named in any such commission, to act as a commissioner within the same, for the purpose of executing, enforcing, and carrying into effect, all such process, writs, orders, judgments, decrees, and acts, which shall be issued, made, delivered, given, or done, by the said courts of judicature, and which may require to be enforced and executed within the said Indian territo- ries, or such other parts o( North America as aforesaid; and in case any person or persons whatsoever, residing or being within the said Indian territories, or such other parts of America as aforesaid, shall ' refuse to obey or perform any such process, writ, order, judgment, decree, or act, of the said courts, or shall resist or oppose the execution thereof, it shall and may be lawful for the said justices of the peace or commissioners, and they, or any of them, are, and is, hereby required, on the same being proved before him, by the oath or atHdavit of one credible witness, to commit the said person or persons so offending as aforesaid to custody, in order to his or their being conveyed to Upper Canada ; and that it shall be lawful for any such justice of the peace or commissioner, or any person or persons acting under his authority, to convey, or cause to be conveyed, such person or persons so offending as aforesaid to Upper Can- ada, in pursuance of such process, writ, order, decree, judgment, or act ; and such person and persons shall be committed to jail by the said court, on his, her, or their being so brought into the said province of Upptr Canada, by which such process, writ, order, decree, judgment, or act, was issued, made, delivered, given, or done, until a final judgment or decree shall have been pronounced in such suit, and shall have been duly per- formed, and all costs paid, in cm^e such person or persons shall be a party or parties in such suit, or until the trial of such suit shall have been con- cluded, in case such person or persons shall be a witness or witnesses therein : Provided always, that, if any person or persons, so apprehended as aforesaid, shall enter into a bond recognizance to any such justice of the peace or commissioner, with two sufficient sureties, to the satisfaction of such justice of the peace or commissioner, or the said courts, conditioned to obey and perform such process, writ, order, judgment, decree, or act, as aforesaid, then and in such case it shall and may be lawful for the said justice of the peace or commissioner, or the said courts, to discharge such person or persons out of custody. '* IX. And be it further enacted, That, in case such person or persons shall not perform and fulfil the condition or conditions of such recogni- zance, then and in such case it shall and may be lawftd for any such justice or commissioner, and he is hereby required, to assign such recog- nizance to the plaintiff or plaintiffs, in any suit in which such process, writ, order, decree, judgment, or act, shall have been issued, made, deliv- ered, given, or done, who may maintain an action in the said courts in his own name against the said sureties, and recover against such sureties the full amount of such loss or damage as such plaintiff shall prove to have ll PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 461 been sustained by him, by reason of the original cause of action in respect of which such process, writ, order, decree, judgment, or act, of the said courts were issued, made, delivered, given, or done, as aforesaid, notwith- standing any thing contained in any charter granted to the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading to Hudson's Bay. " X. And be it further enacted. That it shall be lawful for his majesty, if he shall deem it convenient so to do, to issue a commission or com- missions to any person or persons to be and act as justices of the peace within such parts oi America as aforesaid, as well within any territories heretofore granted to the Company of Adventurers of England trading to Hudson's Bay, as within the Indian territories of such other parts of America as aforesaid ; and it shall be lawful for the court in the province of Upper Canada, in' any case in which it shall appear expedient to have any evidence taken by commission, or any facts or issue, or any cause or suit, ascertained, to issue a commission to any three or more of such jus- tices to take such evidence, and return the same, or try such issue, and for that purpose to hold courts, and to issue subpcenas or other processes to compel attendance of plaintiffs, defendants, jurors, witnesses, and all other persons requisite and essential to the execution of the several pur- poses for which such commission or commissions had issued, and with the like power and authority as are vested in the courts of the said province of Upper Canada; and any order, verdict, judgment, or decree, that shall be made, found, declared, or published, by or before any court or courts held under and by virtue of such commission or commissions, shall be considered to be of as full eifect, and enforced in like manner, as if the same had been made, found, declared, or published, within the juris- diction of the court of the said province ; and at the time of issuing such commission or commissions shall be declared the place or places where such commission is to be opened, and the courts and proceedings there- under held ; and it shall be at the same time provided how and by what means the expenses of such commission, and the execution thereof, shall be raised and provided for. "XI. And be it further enacted. That it shall be lawful for his majesty, notwithstanding any thing contained in this act, or in any charter granted to the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading to Hudson's Bay, from time to time, by any commission under the great seal, to authorize and empthver any such persons so appointed justices of the peace as aforesaid, to sit and hold courts of record for the trial of criminal offences and misdemeanors, and also of civil causes; and it shall be lawful for his majesty to order, direct, and authorize, the appointment of proper officers to act in aid of such courts and justices wi;.iin the juris- diction assigned to such courts .ind justices, in any such commission ; any thing in this act, or in any charter of the Governor and Company of Merchant Adventurers o( England trading to Hudson's Bay, to the con- trary notwithstanding. •' XII. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That such courts shall be constituted, as to the number of justices to preside therein, and as to such places within the said territories of the said company, or any Indian territories, or other parts of North America as aforesaid, and the times and manner of holding the same, as his majesty shall from time to time order and direct ; but shall not try any offender upon any charge or indictment for any felony made the subject of capital punishment, or 462 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [I^ . ''.5*,' '. < 11 m p- 1 ( Mm li. i > for any ofTence, or passing sentence affecting the life of any offender, or adjudge or cause any offender to suffer capital punishment or transporta- tion, or take cognizance of or try any civil action or suit, in which the cause of such suit or action shall exceed in value the amount or sum of two hundred pounds ; and in every case of any offence subjecting the per- son committing the same to capital punishment or transportation, the court or any judge of any such court, or any justice or justices of the peace, before whom any such offender shall be brought, shall commit such offender to safe custody, and cause such offender to be sent in such custody for trial in the court of the province of Upper Canada. " XIII. And be it further enacted, That all judgments given in any civil suit shall be subject to appeal to his majesty in council, in like manner as in other cases in his majesty's province of Upper Canada, and also in any case in which the right or title to any land shall be in question. " XIV. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act contained shall be taken or construed to affect any right, privilege, authority, or jurisdiction, which the Governor and Company of Adventurers trading to Hudson's Bay are by law entitled to claim and exercise under their charter ; but that all such rights, privileges, authorities, and jurisdictions, shall remain in as full force, virtue, and effect, as if this act had never been made; any thing in this act to the contrary notwithstanding." Shortly before the passage of this act, the Hudson's Bay Company was united with the North-West Company, or rather the latter was merged in the former ; and on the 21st of December, 1821, the king made a (4.) " Grant of the exclusive Trade with the Indians of North America to the Hudson's Bay Company" of which the following are the terms : — " And whereas the said Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay, and certain associations of persons trading under the name of the North-West Company of Montreal, have respectively extended the fur trade over many parts of North America, which had not been before explored : And whereas the competition in the said trade has been found, for some years past, to be productive of great inconvenience and loss, not only to the said company and associations, but to the said trade in general, and also of great injury to the native Indians, and of other persons our subjects : And whereas the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay. and William Mc- Gillivray, of Montreal, in the province of Lower Canada, Esquire, Simon McGillivray, of Suffolk Lane, in the city of London, merchant, and Edward Ellice, of Spring Gardens, in the county of Middlesex, Esquire, have represented to us, that they have entered into an agreement on the 26th day of March last, for putting an end to the said competition, and carry- II PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 46S North America to ing on the said trade for twenty-one years, commencing with the outfit of 1821, and ending with the returns of 1841, to be carried on in the name of the said Governor and Company exclusively : And whereas the said Governor and Company, and W. McGillivray, S. McGillivray, and E. EUice, have humbly besought us to make a grant, and give our royal license to them jointly, of and for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians in North America, under the restrictions and upon the terms and conditions specified in the said recited act : — " Now, know ye, that we, being desirous of encouraging the said trade, and remedying the evils which have arisen from the competition which has heretofore existed therein, do grant and give our royal license, under the hand and seal of one of our principal secretaries of state, to the said Governor and Company, and W. McGillivray, S. McGillivray, and E. El- lice, for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians, in all such parts of North America, to the northward and westward of ttie lands and territories belonging to the United Slates of America, as shall not form part of any of our provinces in North America, or of any lands or terri- tories belonging to the said United States of America, or to any European government, state, or power; and we do by these presents give, grant, and secure, to the said Governor and Company, and W . McGillivray, S. McGillivray, and E. Ellice, jointly, the sole and exclusive privilege, for the full period of twenty-one years from the date of this our grant, of trading with the Indians in all such parts of North America as aforesaid, (except as thereinafter excepted :) And we do hereby declare that no rent shall be required or demanded for or in respect of this our grant and license, or any privileges given thereby, for the said period of twenty-one years, but that the said Governor and Company, and W. McGillivray, S. McGillivray, and E. Ellice, shall, during the period of this our grant and license, keep accurate registers of all persons in their employ, in any parts of North America, and shall once in each year return to our secretary of state accurate duplicates of all such registers, and shall also enter into and give security to us, our heirs and successors, in the penal sum of five thousand pounds, for insuring, ns far as in them may lie, the due execu- tion of all the criminal processes, and of any civil process, in any suit, where the matter in dispute shall exceed two hundred pounds, by the officers and persons legally empowered to execute such processes, within iuik of the Arkansas, to its source in latitude 42 nortli ; and thence, by that parallel of latitude, to the South Sea; the whole being as laid down in Melish's map of the United States, published at IMiiladelphia, improved to the 1st of January, 18IS. But, if the source of the Arkansas River shall be found to fall north or south of latitude 42, then the line shall run from the said source due south or north, as the case may be, till it meets the said par- allel of latitude 42, and thence, along the said parallel, to the South Sea; all the islands in the Sabine, and the said Red and Arkansas Rivers, throughout the course thus described, to belong to the United States; but the use of the waters and the navigation of the Sabine to the sea, and of the said Rivers Roxo and Arkansas, throughout the extent of the said boundary, on their respective banks, shall be common to the respective inhabitants of both nations. The two high contracting parties agree to cede and renounce all their rights, claims, and pretensions, to the territories described by the said line ; that is to say, the United States hereby cede to his Catholic majesty, and renounce forever, all their rights, claims, and pretensions, to the terri- tories lying west and south of the above-described line; and, in like man- ner, his Catholic majesty cedes to the said United States all his rights, claims, and pretensions, to any territories east and north of the said line ; and for himself, his heirs, and successors, renounces all claim to the said territories forever. (4.) Convention between the United States and Russia, signed at St. Peters- burg, on the j^j of April, 1824. Article 1. It is agreed that, in any part of the great ocean, commonly called the Pacific Ocean, or South Sea, the respective citizens or subjects of the high contracting powers shall be neither disturbed nor restrained, either in navigation or in fishing, or in the power of resorting to the coasts, upon points which may not already have been occupied, for the purpose of trading with the natives ; saving always the restrictions and conditions determined by the following articles. K.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 469 Art. 2. With the view of preventing the rights of navigation and of fishing, exercised upon the great ocean by the citizens and subjects of the high contracting powers, from becoming the pretext for an illicit trade, it is agreed that the citizens of the United States shall not resort to any point where there is a Russian establishment, without the permission of the governor or commander ; and that, reciprocally, the subjects of Russia shall not resort, without permission, to any establishment of the United States upon the north-west coast. Art. 3. It is, moreover, agreed that hereafter there shall not be formed by the citizens of the United States, or under the authority of the said States, any establishment upon the north-west coast of America, nor in any of the islands adjacent, to the north of .54 degrees and 40 minutes of north latitude ; and that, in the same manner, there shall be none formed by Russian subjects, or under the authority of Russia, south of the same parallel. Art. 4. It is, nevertheless, understood that, during a term of ten years, counting from the signature of the present convention, the ships of both powers, or which belong to their citizens or subjects, respectively, may reciprocally frequent, without any hindcrance whatever, the interior seas, gulfs, harbors, ■'nd creeks, upon the coast mentioned in the pre- ceding article, for the purpose of fishing and trading with the natives of the country. Art. 5. AH spirituous liquors, fire-arms, other arms, powder, and munitions of war of every kind, are always excepted from this same com- merce permitted by the preceding article; and the two powers engage, reciprocally, neither to sell, nor suffer them to be sold, to the natives, by their respective citizens and subjects, nor by any person who may be under their authority. It is likewise stipulated, that this restriction shall never afford a pretext, nor be advanced, in any case, to authorize either search or detention of the vessels, seizure of the merchandise, or, in fine, any measures of constraint whatever, towards the merchants or the crews who may carry on this commerce; the high contracting powers recipro- cally reserving to themselves to determine upon the penalties to be incurred, and to ihflict the punishments in case of the contravention of this article by their respective citizens or subjects. (5.) ?ned at St. Peters- Convention between Great Britain and Russia, signed at St. Peters- burg, February ^|, 1825. Article 1. It is agreed that the respective subjects of the high con- tracting parties shall not be troubled or molested in any part of the ocean commonly called the Pacific Ocean, either in navigating the same, in fishing therein, or in landing at such parts of the coast as shall not have been already occupied, in order to trade with the natives, ui>der the restrictions and conditions specified in the following articles. Art. 2. In order to prevent the right of navigating and fishing, exer- cised upon the ocean by the subjects of the high contracting parties, from becoming the pretext for an illicit commerce, it is agreed that the subjects 470 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. [K. m of bin Britannic majesty shnll not land at any place where there may be a llusflian establishment, without the permission of the governor or com> mnndant; and, on the other hnnd, that Russian subjects shall not land, without permission, at any British establishment on the north-west coast. Art. :). The line of demarkation between the possessions of the high contracting parties, upon the cuust of the continent, and the islands of America to the north-west, shall be drawn in the manner following : Com- mencing from the southernmost point of the island called Prince ofWales's Island, which point lies in the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes north latitude, and between the 131st and the 133d degree of west longitude, (meridian of Greenwich,) the said line shall ascend to the north along the channel cnlled Portland Channel, as far as the point of the continent where it strikes the r>Gth degree of north latitude. From this last-men- tioned point, the line of demarkation shall follow the summit of the moun- tains situated parallel to the coast, as far as the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude, (of the same meridian.) And, finally, from the said point of intersection, the said meridian line of the 141st degree, in its prolongation as far as the Frozen Ocean, shall form the limit between the Russian and British possessions on the continent of America to the north-west. Art. 4. With reference to the line of demarkation laid down in the preceding article, it is understood — 1st. That the island called Prince of Wales's Island shall belong wholly to Russia. 2d. That whenever the summit of the mountains which extend in a direction parallel to the coast, from the 56th degree of north latitude to the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude, shall prove to be at the distance of more than ten marine leagues from the ocean, the limit between the British possessions and the line of coast which is to belong to Russia, as above mentioned, shall be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of ten marine leagues therefrom. Art. 5. It is, moreover, agreed that no establishment shall be formed by either of the two parties within the limits assigned by the two preced- ing articles to the possessions of the other ; consequently, British subjects shall not form any establishment either upon the coast, or upon the border of the continent comprised within the limits of the Russian possessions, as designated in the two preceding articles ; and, in like manner, no estab- lishment shall be formed by Russian subjects beyond the said limits. Art. 6. It is understood that the subjects of his Britannic majesty, from whatever quarter they may arrive, whether from the ocean or from the interior of the continent, shall forever enjoy the right of navigating freely, and without any hinderance whatever, all the rivers and streams which, in their course towards the Pacific Ocean, may cross the line of demarkation upon the line of coast described in article 3 of the present convention. Art. 7. It is also understood that, for the space of ten years from the signature of the present convention, the vessels of the two powers, or those belonging to their respective subjects, shall mutually be at liberty to frequent, without any hinderance whatever, all the inland seas, the gulfs, havens, and creeks, on the coast, mentioned in article 3, for the purposes of fishing and of trading with the natives. K.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 471 n laid down in the sland shall belong Art. 8. The port of Sitka, or Novo Archangelsk, shall be open to the commerce and vessels of British subjects for the space of ten years from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the present convention. In the event of an extension of this term of ten years being granted to any other power, the like extension shall be granted also to Great Britain. Art. 0. The above*mentioned liberty of commerce shall not apply to the trade in spirituous liquors, in fire-arms, or other arms, gunpowder, or other warlike stores ; the high contracting parties reciprocally engaging not to permit the above-mentioned articles to be sold or delivered, m any manner whatever, to the natives of the country. Art. 10. Every British or Russian vessel navigating the Pacific Ocean, which may be compelled by storms or by accident to take shelter in the ports of the respective parties, shall be at liberty to refit therein, to provide itself with all necessary stores, and to put to sea again, without paying any other than port and lighthouse dues, which shall be the same as those paid by national vessels. In case, however, the master of such vessel should be under the necessity of disposing of a part of his merchan- dise in order to defray his expenses, he shall conform himself to the regu- lations and tariffs of the place where he may have landed. Art. 11. In every case of complaint on account of an infraction of the articles of the present convention, the civil and military authorities of the high contracting parties, without previously acting, or taking any forcible measure, shall make an exact and circumstantial report of the matter to their respective courts, who engage to settle the same in a friendly manner, and according to the principles of justice. (6.) Convention betteeen the United Slates and Great Britain, signed at London, August 6th, 1827. Article 1. All the provisions of the third article of the convention concluded between the United States of America and his majesty the king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, on the 20th of October, 1818, shall be, and they are hereby, further indefinitely extended and continued in force, in the same manner as if all the provisions of the said article were herein specifically recited. Art. 2. It shall be competent, however, to either of the contracting parties, in case either should think fit, at any time after the 20th of Octo- ber, 1828, on giving due notice of twelve months to the other contracting party, to annul and abrogate this convention ; and it shall, in such case, be accordingly entirely annulled and abrogated, after the expiration of the said term of notice. Art. 3. Nothing contained in this convention, or in the third article of the convention of the 20th October, 1818, hereby continued in force, shall be construed to impair, or in any manner affect, the claims which either of the contracting parties may have to any part of the country west- ward of the Stony or Rocky Mountains. GENERAL INDEX. GENERAL INDEX. A. Adams, John Q., United States minister at St. Petersburg, correspondence with the Russian government re8,)ecting American traders on the nortli-west coast, 275. Secretary of state of tiie United States; negotiations with Spain on tlie southern and western hmits of the United States, 316. Correspond- ence with the Russian minister at Washington on the ukase of 1821, 332. Instructions to Mr. Rush, United States minister at London, on claims of the United SUtes, in 1H23, 340. President of the United States ; message recommending the adoption of measures respecting Oregon, 344. Aguilar, Martin de, voyage and supposed discovery of a great river on the north- west coast, 92. Al'arcon, Hernando, voyage up the Cali- fornian Gulf and the Colorado River, 60. Aleutian Islands described, 41. Discov- ered, 135. Aliaska described, 41. Discovered, 132. America. This name first given to Brazil in 1508. Never used by Spanish govern- ment and historians until recently, 48. Anian, Strait of, said to have been dis- covered by Cortereal, probably the same now called Hudson's Strait, 47. Voy- ages in search of it, 78. See Urdaiieta, Ladrillero, Maldonado, Fonte, Vizcaino. Archer, William S., his speech in ti»e Senate of the United States on the bill for the occupation of Oregon, 377, 384, 385. Arteaga, Ignacio, voyage, 125. Ashley, William II., conducts trading expeditions from St. Louis to the Rocky Mountain regions, 357. Astoria established, 2!)(). Described, 2!)9 —313. Ceded to North- West Compa- ny, 303. Taken bv Britisli, 304. Re- stored to the United States, 30!>. Burnt, 313. See Pacific Fur Company. Atlantis, Island, placed by Bacon on the north-west coast, 97. B. Baranof, Alexander, governor of Russian America, his character, 271. Founds Sitka, 270. His mode of conducting negotiations, 302. Seizes part of Cali- fornia, 327. Attempts to seize one of the Sandwich Islands, 328. Becerra, Diego, voyage from Mexico by order of Cortes, 54. Benton, Thomas H., his speech in the Sen.ale of the United States on the bill for the occupation of Oregon, 380. Benyowaky, August»:s, a Polish exile in Kamtchatka, performs the first voyage from that country to Canton, 138. Bering, Alexander, first voyage from Kamtchatka to the Arctic Sea, 129. Second voyage, 12i). Third and last voyage, 130. Reaches the American continent, 131. Shipwreck and death, 133. Bering's Strait discovered, 129. Described, Berkeley, Captain, rediscovers the Strait of Fuca ; murder of part of his crew off Destruction Island, 171. Berrien, John M., his speech in the Senate of the United States on the bill for the occupation of Oregon, 385. Billings, Joseph, engaged by the empress of Russia to explore the North Pacific, 162. His voyage produces no valuable results, 221 . Bodega y Quadra, Juan Francisco de, first voyage, under Heceta, from Mexico, along the north-west coast, 1 17. Impor- tance of his discoveries, 123. Second voyage, under Arteaga, 125. (See Mau- relle.) Commissioner to treat with Van- couver at Nootka, 231. (See Nootka Convention.) Letter to Captains Gray and Ingraiiam, 242, 443. Death, 2.55. Brobdignag, placed by Swift on the north- west coast, near Columbia River, 97. Broughton, William, sent by Vancouver to survey the lower part of tiie Co- lumbia River, 247. Unfairness to the Americans, 243. Sent to England, 249. 476 GENERAL INDEX. Commands an exploring expedition in the North Pacific, 25G. Finds Nootka Sound deserted, ^57. Bulfinch's Harbor discovered by Captain Gray, of Boston, 2;{5. Examined l)y Vancouver's lieutenant, Whidbey, 2ib. Described, 24. Caamano, Jacmto, voyage in the North- West Archipelago, 241. Cabeza-Vaca, Alvaro Nunez, journey from Florida to the Californian Gulf, 57. Cabot, John, and Sebastian, voyages, 47. Cabrillo, Juan- Rodriguez, exploring voy- age from Mexico, and death, (54. Callioun, .lohn C, his speech in the Sen- ate of the United States on the bill for the occupation of Oregon, 382. California, origin of the name unknown, 5.'). California, Peninsula of, described, 10. Discovered ; fruitless attempts of the Spaniards to settle, 1)0, Mr^. Jesuits engage to civilize the inhabitants, it!). Their partial success, 100. Their His- tory of California, 101. Expulsion of the Jesuits, lOG. California, Continental, or New, described, 12. Discovered, r>e!. Settled by tiie Spaniards, 10!). Claimed by Mexico, 'Ml. Attempted insurrection in, 3G7. Recent events in, llGrt. California, Gulf of, described, 9. Dis- covered, .")4. Examined by Ulloa, 58; and by Alarcon, 60. Carver, Jon,4()7. Be- an indefinite period, on, 'MX Of l>s24, d States and Russia, IG8. Virtually abro- 42. Ttakes a voyage of lorth Pacific ; his in- Discovers the Sand- ). Reaches Nootka ics through Bering's ed at the Sandwich l)ortance of his dis- new no particulars anish voyages, 14!>; that such voyages i'i. Vazquez, expedition inquer the rich coun- le farther north-west, discovers Labrador ; said to have been iding from the At- to the Pacific, 47. nnquers Mexico, and •e the coasts of that editions made by his ;ific, .'')3. Leads an ilifornia, .5.'). Super- nment of Mexico, to returns, .')6. Claims onquests in America; nd dies, GO. ige in the North Pa- (^with Meares, 218. laster of the Iphige- Meares to the North GENERAL INDEX. 477 Pacific, 172. Taken prisoner by the Spaniards at Nootka, 191. Released, 102. Drake, Francis, voyage around the world, 72. Arrives in the North Pacific, and lands on the American coast, 73. Re- ceives from the natives the crown of the country, which he calls New Albi- on, and returnw to England, 74. Re- view of accounts of his voyage in the North Pacific, 7.'). Part of the coast probably seen by him, 76. Dufiin, Robert, mate of Meares's vessel, enters the Strait of Fuca, 17G. Testi- mony respecting events at Nootka, 244. Falkland Islands, dispute between Great Britain and Spain respecting them, in. Lord Palmerston's letter to the minister of Buenos Ayres on the sub- ject of their occupation by Great Brit- ain, 111—313. Fidiilgo, Salvador, voyage of, 220. FK'uricu, Clairet de, liis introduction to the Journal of Marchands voyage, 223. Admits the discovery of tlie Washing- ton or North Marquesas Islands by Ingraham, 22rf. Floridii, tiie name applied originally by tin; Spaniards to the whole eastern side of America, north of the Mexican Gulf, 55. Expeditions through it un- der Narvaez, 57, and Soto, (i5. Ceded to the United States, 3J6. FonU', Admiriil, supposed voyage, in the North Pacific, by a person so named, 84. Forsyth, John, secretary of state of the United States, instructions respecting the meaning of the convention with Russia, 3G2. Endeavors to procure in- formation respecting the north-west coast, 37(i. Fox, ('iiarles J., his speech in Parliament on the Nootka convention, 211. Fuca, Juan de, voyage in the North Pacific, and supji 'sed discovery of a new passage leading to the Atlantic, 87, 4(17. Fuca, Strait of, described, 24. Discovered by J mm de Fuca, 87. Search for it by Heceta, HO. By Cook, l.")0. Found by Berkeley, 171. Rediscovery claimed by Meares. 175. Entered by Gray, lO!*, 234. Kendrick passes through it, 200, 217. Surveyed by Vancouver, and Ga- liano, and Valdes, 238. Furs and fur trade, general account, 411. See Russian American Company, Hud- son's Bay Company, and North- West Company. G. Gallatin, Albert, minister plenipotentiary of the United States at London ; ne- gotiations at London, 314, 344. Coun- ter statement respecting the claims of the United States, presented by him to British commissioners, 347. Gali, Francisco, his voyage, 68. Galiano and Valdes, their voyage through the Strait of Fuca, 240. Journal pub- lished by the Spanish government; Introduction to that Journal reviewed, 241. Gray, Robert, first voyage to the North Pacific, in command of the trading sloop Washington, from Boston, 180. Sees an o]>ening supposed to be the mouth of the Columbia River, 181. First exam- ines the east coast of Washington's or Queen Charlotte's Island, 100. Knlers tht> Strait of Fuca, 200. Returns to Boston in the ship Columbia, 200. Second voyage to tlie Nortii Pacific, in the Columbia, 226, 220. Meets Van- couver near tlie entrance of the Strait of Fuca, and makes known his discovery of the mouth of a great river, 233. Dis- covers Bulfincli's Harbor, 235. Enters the great river, which he names the Columbia, 236. Makes known his dis- covery to the Spanish commandant at Nootka, 237. Letter of Gray and In- graham to the Spanish commandant, respecting the occurrences at Nootka in 1780, 242, 413. Returns to the Unit- ed States, 237. H. Harmon, D. W., important evidence afforded by him respecting the first trading posts established by the British west of the Rocky Mountains, 201 . Hawaii. Six Owyhee. Hearne, Samuel, discoveries in the territo- ry west of Hudson's Bay, 145. Reaehes the Arctic Sen, at the mouth of Cop- permine River, 146. Heceta, Bruno, voyage along the north- west coast of America, in 1775, 117. Discovers a river, called by him Rio de Sun liuqne, now called the Columbia, 120. Henderson, John, speech in the Senate of the United States on tlie bill for the occupation of Oregon, 380. Howi'l, account of the negotiation at Nootka between Vancouver and Qua- dra, 245. Hudson, Henry, discovers Hudson's Bay, 07. Hudson's Bny Company established by charter, \)7. Efforts to discover a 478 GENERAL INDEX. ;,; S north-west passage, 141. Disputes with the North-West Company, aUO, 324. Union of these two companies, o2ii. Receives a grant of cxchisive trade in the Indian territories, '.^'M. General view of its system and establishments, 392. Papers relating to it, 4.')r>. Hudson's Strait, probably tlic same called by the Portuguese the Strait oJ\'i>uau,47. Hunt, Wilson P., chief agent of the Pa- cific Fur Company, 2i>5. His negotia- tions with Governor liaranof at 'Sitka, 302. Huntingdon, Jabez W., speech in the Senate of the United States on the bill for the occupation of Oregon, 382. I. Ingraham, Joseph, mate of the ship Co- lumbia, in her first voyage from Boston to the north-west coast, 180. Returns to the Pacific as master of the brig Hope, and discovers the Washing- ton or North Marquesas Islands, 22G. At the Sandwich Islands, 227. At Queen Cliarlottes Island, 227. At Ma- cao, where he meets Marchund, and communicates his discovery of the Washington Islands, the priority of which is admitted by Marchaud and Fleurieu, 22"*. At Nnotka, where he writes a letter, signed by himself and Gray, respecting tiie proceedings at that place in 178!», 242. Copy ot that letter, 414. Unfair synopsis of it by Vancouver, 244. His journal, 231. His death, 237. Jesuits undertake the reduction of Cali- fornia, !)!). Their system and establish- ments, 100. Their History of Califor- nia, 101. Expellfil from the Spanish dominions, lOti. Results of their labors in California, 107. Jesup, Thomas S., quartermaster-general of the United States ; report on the best means of occupying Oregon, 336. Effect of that report on the negotia- tions in Europe, 337. Jewitt, J. R., his captivity among the In- dians at Nootka, 26S. K. Kamtchatka described, 42. Conquered by the Cossacks, 128. Its position on the Pacific ascertained, 12i). Kendrick, John, commands the first trad- ing expedition from the United States to the North Pacific, 179. Arrives at Nootka, 181. Sails in the sloop Wash- ington through the Strait of Fuca, 2(10, 217. The first who engaged in the transportation of sandal-wood from the Sandwich Islands to Canton, 228. His purchases of lands from the Indians at Nootka ; accidentally killed, 229. Kodiak Island, 40. Settlement on it by the Russians, IGl. Krenitzin and Levaschef, voyage of, 137. Krusenstern, A. J. von, commands a Russian exploring expedition to tiie Pacific, 272. His great merit as a navi- gator ; his journal of the expedition ; etlicient in the reform of abuses in Russian America, 274 L. Ladrillero, Juan, an old Spanish pilot, who pretended to have made a northern voyage from tiie Atlantic to the Pacific, 79. Ledyard, John, corporal of marines in Cook's expedition, 149. Esca[)es from a liritish sliip,otf the coast of Connecti- cut, lt)2. Endeavors to obtain means to engage in the fur trade ; attempts to go by land from Paris to Kamt- chalka ; arrested at Irkutsk, and forced to return ; attempts to discover the source of the ^ille, and dies at Cairo, l()3. Lewis, Meriwether, and John Clarke, connnissioned by President JetVerson to explore tlie Missouri and Columbia countries, 284. Voyage up t!ie Mis- souri to its sources ; passage through tlie Rocky Mountains, 2H"). Descend the Columbia to the Pacific; winter iit the mouth of the Columbia, 281). Return to the United States, 287. Gen- eral results of tiieir expedition ; their Journal written by Lewis ; melancholy death of Lewis, 288. Lewis, or Snake, or Sahaptin River, principal southern branch of the Co- lumbia, discovered by Lewisand Clarke, 287. Described, ;i2. Linn, Lewis F., his bill and speeches in the Senate of the United States on the occupation of Oregon, !579, 387. Louisiana, settled by the French ; grant- ed by Louis XIV. to Cro/at, 227 ; and atlerwards .to Law, 228. Ceded by France to Spain ; retroceded by Spain to F'rance, and sold by France to the United States, 279. Its extent at dif- ferent times, 280. Comprehended no territory west of the Rocky Mountains, 283. Northern boundary not deter- mined by commissaries agreeably to the treaty of Utrecht, as generally sup- posed, 281, 43G. GENERAL INDEX. 479 '"^1 8 in the sloop Wash- he Strait of Fuca, ■st who engaged in of sandal-wood from inds to Canton, 2*^6. iida from the Indians iitallv killed, 22'.K yettlement on it by chef, voyage of, 137. von, commands a ; expedition to the rreat merit as a navi- 1 of the expedition ; }form of ahuscs in a74 I old Spanish pilot, lave made a northern tlantic to the Facihc, poral of marines in 14!>. E8ca|)es irom le coast of Connecti- ors to obtain means fur trade °, attempts om I'liris to Kamt- at Irkutsk, and ittempts to discover i Nile, and dii's at and John Clarke, resident JelVerson to )uri and Coluniliia oyage up the Mis- s ; passage through lins, '-if^^i. Descend the Pacific; winter the Columbia, 'JfHi. d States, '2>i7. Gen- r expedition ; their Lewis ; melancholy fi. r Sahaptin River, braneli of the Co- i)y Lewisand Clarke, J. )ill and speeches in 'iiited States on the )!!, :{7i», :5.S7. the French ; grant- to Crozat, '227 ; and a-J8. Cetled by retroceded by Spain d by France to the Its extent at dif- Comprehended no Rocky Mountains, undary not deter- ries agreeably to the as generally sup- IV M. MacOougal, Duncan, partner in the Pa- cific Company, 2\)4. Sells the estab- lishments to tne North- West Company, 303. See Astoria. MacDuifie, George, speech in the Senate of the United States on the bill for the occupation of Oregon, 380. MacKenzie,Alexander, explores the north- western parts of America; reaches the Arctic Sea, 'M'i. Reaches the Pacific, %4. MacKenzie River discovered by MacKenzie, 2(>3. Mac Roberts, Samuel, speech in the Senate of the United States on the bill for the occupation of Oregon, 382. Magellan, Fernando, sails from the Atlan- tic through Magellan's Strait into the Pacific, and across the latter ocean to India, 48. Malaspina, Alexandro, explores the coasts near Mount St. Elias, in search of a passage supposed to communicate with the Atlantic; arrested and imprisoned on his return to Spain ; his name not mentioned in the account of his voyage officially published at Madrid, 2*22. Maldonado, Lorenzo Ferrer de, account of his pretended voyage from the At- lantic to the Pacific, 79. Maquinna, chief of Nootka, 167. Grants land to Meares for his temporary use, 174. Denies that the British had bought lands or erected buildings at Nootka, 242. Takes the ship Boston, of Boston, and murders nearly all her crew, 268. Marchand, Etienne, commands the ship Solide, from Marseilles, in her voyage around the world, 223. Sees the islands which had been previously discovered by Ingraham, of which he sent an ac- count to France, claiming the discovery. Ingraham's claim admitted by Fleu- rieu, the editor of Marchand's Journal ; Journal of Marchand's voyage, edited by Fleurieu ; general character of the work, 223. See Fleurieu. Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan friar, pre- tends to have discovered a rich and populous country, called Cibola, north- west of Mexico, 5!). Marquesas Islands, discovered by Menda- na, 95. North Marquesas or Washing- ton Islands, discovered by Ingraham, 226. These islands occupied by the French, 374. Martinez, Estevan, pilot to Perez, in the Santiago ; pretends to have rediscovered the Strait of Fuca, 116. Commands in a voyage of observation to the coasts occupied by the Russians, 185. Or- dered by the viceroy of Mexico to oc- cupy Nootka Sound, 187. Arrives at Nootka, 191. Seizes the Iphigenia, but afterwards releases her, 192. Seizes the North- West America, 194. Seizes the Argonaut, and imprisons her cap- tain, 195. Seizes the Princess Royal, 198. Reflections on these acts, 197. Returns to Mexico, 198. Maurelle, Antonio, pilot, under Bodega, in his voyages along the north-west coasts, 117 — 125. His Journal of the first of these voyages, translated and printed at London, 117. Importance of this work, 123. His Journal of the other voyage, 125. Meares, John, his first voyage to the north-west coast, 166. His second voy- age, under the Portuguese flag, with the Felice and Iphigenia, 172. In- structed to take any vessels which may attempt to molest him, but not in- structed to form any establishment or purchase lands, 173. Reasons for his sailing under the Portuguese flag, 174. Arrives in the Felice at Nootka, where he obtains from Maquinna the use of a piece of ground, afterwards claimed by liim as purchased, 174. Receives from Berkeley an account of the rediscovery of the Strait of Fuca, by the latter, 171. Yet claims the merit of^ the rediscoverj' himself, 175. Seeks in vain for the great River San Roque, (the Columbia^ as laid down on Spanish charts, 176. Declares that no such river exists, 177. Yet the British government claims the discovery of the Columbia for him, 178, 440. His account of the arrival of the sloop Washington at Nootka, 181. Re- turns to China, 180. Sent to London, to complain of the seizure of the vessels at Nootka, by the Spaniards, 202. His memorial to the British government, 203. Its numerous falsehoods and in- consistencies, 172, 175, 178, 193, 211. Mendocino, Cape, 18. Discovered, 65. Mendoza, Antonio de, sent as viceroy to supersede Cortes in the government of Mexico, 56. Attempts to discover new countries in America, 57. Mendoza, Diego Hurtado, commands the ships sent by Cortes to explore the Pa- cific coasts of America, 53. Metcalf, voyage of, fires on the natives at Mowee, 224. Young Metcalf and his crew murdered by the natives of Owyhee, 225. Moncachtabe, an Indian, his account of a great river,flowing from the central parts of North America to the Pacific, 145. Monroe, James, secretary of state of the United States, declares to the British minister the intention of his govern- ment to secure the possession of the mouth of the Columbia, agreeably to the treaty of Ghent, 307. President of the United States; his message, de- 480 f'l i I :ih h 1 !^^ I '( n^ M GENERAL INDEX. daring the Amcrienn continents not subject to colonization by European nations, 335. Monterey discovered by Cabrillo, and so named by Vizcaino, !(2. Colony es- tablished there by the Spaniards, U)!>. Taken by a Buenos Ayrean privateer, 365. Taken by an American stjuad- ron, under Captain Jones, ;567. Morehead, James T., speecli in the Sen- ate of the United States on the bill for the occupation of Oregon, 379. N. Navarrete, Martin F. de, chief of tiie Hy- drograpliical Department at Madrid ; his labors with regard to the history of ear- ly voyages of discovery in America, 84. Noolka Sound discovered by the Span- iards under Perez, and called Port San Lorenzo, 113. Cook enters it with his ships, and calls it King George's Sound, 153. The principal rendezvous of the fur trader for some time, l(i7. Proceedings of Meares at Nootka, 174. The Spaniards determine to occupy it, 187. Proceedings of the Spaniards under Martinez, 101. Claims of the British to the possession of the country examined, 242, 256. The Spaniards abandon it, 257. Capture of the ship Boston by the natives, and murder of her crew, 268. Nootka treaty, or convention of 1790, between Great Britain and Spain, 450. Discussions which led to it, 21)2 — 2()i). (?:c Meares.) Review of its stipula- tions, 213, 258. Expired in 1706, 258, 318. Not to be regarded as a definitive settlement of principles, 340. Its con- tinual subsistence asserted by Great Britain, 340. North-West Fur Trading Company of Montreal founded ; its system, 261. First posts established by it west of the Rocky Mountains, 201. Purchases the establishments of the Pacific Company, 304. Disputes with the Hudson's Bay Company, 323. Union of the two com- panies, 325. o. Oregon, river, so called by Carver, Bup- uosed to flow from the central parts of North America to the Pacific, 142. (6«c Carver.) Name applied to the country drained by the Columbia, 359. De- scription of Oregon, 20. Ossinobia, name given by Lord Selkirk to the country purchased by him on the Red River, 324. Owyhee, or Hawaii, the largest of the Sandwich Islands, discovered by Cook, 157. Perez, Juan, voyage from Mexico along the north-west coast to the 54th degree of latitude, 114. Discovers Nootka Sound, called by him Port San Loren- zo, 116, 153. Perouse, Francois G. de la, voyage along apart of the north-west coast, 163. Phelps, Samuel S., his speech in the Senate of the United Stales on the bill for the occupation of Oregon, 370. Philippine Islands conquered by the Spaniards, 67. Poh'tica, Chevalier de, Russian minister in the United States; correspondence with the American government respect- ing the ukase of 1H21, 332. Promuschleniks, generuh name for the Russians employed in the service of the Russian American Trading Company, Q. Quadra and Vancouver's Island, 31, 240. Quadra. See Bodega. Queen Charlotte's or Washington's Is- land, discovered by Perez, 115. Not seen by Cook, 153, 170. Seen by La Perouse, 164 ; and by Dixon, who gave it its present name, 164. Its west coast first explored by Gray, who names it Washington's Island, 109. Described, 37. Queen Charlotte's Sound, name first given to the northern entrance of the Strait of Fuca, 240. R. Rives, William C, his speech in the Sen- ate of the United States on the bill for the occupation of Oregon, 384. Rocky Mountains described, 3. First called the Shining Mountains, or Moun- tains of Bright Stones, 143, 262. Rush, Richard, minister plenipotentiary of the United States at London ; discus- sion with Lord Castlereagh respecting the restoration of Astoria, 308. His first negotiation respecting the claims of the United States, 314. Concludes a convention on the subject in 1818, 315. His second negotif ''on on the subject, 336. Talent tjd industry dis- played by him, 340. Russia, government proposes an arrange- ment with the United States respecting the trade of American vessels in the North Pacific, 275. Forbids foreign i, tlie Inrgpst of the , discovered by Cook, ! from Moxico along ast to the r)4lh degree Discovt'rs Nootka him Fort San Loren- r. de la, voyage along i-west coast, 163. ., his speech in the ited States on tlie bill n of Oregon, [\7[). conquered by the de, Ilussinn minister ;ates ; correspondence n government respect- L-neral" name for the d in the service of tho n Trading Company, a. Ivor's Island, 31,240. Ta. or Washington's Is- by Perez, 115. Not '>3, 170. Seen by La d by Dixon, who gave e, 104. Its west coast Gray, who names it ind, 11)1). Described, lound, name first given ntrance of the Strait lis speech in the Sen- States on the bill for Oregon, 384. described, 3. First Mountains, or Moun- ones, 143, 262. nister plenipotentiary es at London ; discus- astlereagh respecting ,f Astoria, 308. His respecting the claims ites, 314. Concludes the subject in 1818, negotif'''.'>n on the lent f-'d industry dis- 40. t proposes an arrange- ited States respecting erican vessels in the 175. Forbids foreign GENERAL INDEX. 481 vessels from trading in the North Pa- cific, 332. (See -.Ukase.) Convention with the United States, 342. Treaty with Gieat Britain, 343. Convention with the United States virtually abro- gated by that treaty, :S43. Ret uses to renew the fourth article of the conven- tion with the United States, 362. Russian American Company established by charter, 260. Its territories, 38. Its system, 270. Abuses in the admin- istration of its possessions, 271. Many abuses removed, 274. Renewal of its charter ; great improvement in its sys- tem, 364. Leases a part of its terri- tories to the Hudson's Bay Company, 364. Russians conquer Northern Asia, 127. Their discoveries in the North Pacific, 131, et acq. San Diego, 15. Discovered by Vizcaino, 92. The first Spanish colony on the west coast of California planted there, 10!). San Francisco Bay, 17. The northern- most spot on the west coast of America occupied by the Spaniards previous to May, 178!), 248. San Lucas, Cape, the southern extremity of California, 10. San Roque, river so called by the Span- iards, the same now called the Colum- bia, discovered, 120. Sandwich Islands described, 374. Dis- covered 'uy Cook, 157. Frequented by the Fur Traders, 108. Capture of the schooner Fair American by the na- tives, 225. Pretended cession of Owy- hee to Great Britain by Taniahamaha, 251. Tamahamphu sovereign of the whole group, 268. Death of Tama- hamaha, 229. Christianity introduced into the islands, 3'30. Proceedings of the American missionaries; language of the islands, 369. Expulsion of the Catholic missionaries, and their rein- statement, 371. The British occupy the islands temporarily, 373. Diminution of the native population, 374. See. Cook, Tamahamaha, Metcalf, Vancou- ver, Ingraham. Santa Barbara Islands, 15. Discovered by Cabrillo, 64. Schelikof, Gregory, establishes Russian colonies on the coasts and islands of America, 161. Tho founder of the Russian American Company, 269. Sevier, Ambrose, speech in the Senate of the United States on the bill for the occupation of Oregon. 380. Sitka, or New Archangel, capital of Rus- sian America, 40. Founded bv Ba- ranof, 270. 61 Snake River. See Lewis River. South Pass in the Rocky Mountains, 36. Discovered by Ashley, 357. Sutil and Mexicana, voyage of, 239, 241. See Guliano and Valdes. T. Tamahamaha, a chief of note in Owyhee, 168. King of Owyhee, 249. Pretend- ed cession of the sovereignty of his island to the British, 251. Acquires the dominion over all the islands, 268. His acuteness in trade, 269, 296. His death and character, '32!). Tchirikof, Alexei, voyages of, 129, 130, 133. See Bering. Treaty of purtition between Spain and Portugal in 1494, 46. Of Saragossa, between the same powers, in 152i», 49. Tlie American treaty between Spain and England, in 1670, 102. Treaty of Utrecht, between Great Britain and France, in 1713, 140. No line of bound- ary between the possessions of those powers settled by that treaty, 140, 281, 4;J6. Family Compact, in 1762, be- tween France and Spain, 103. Dis- solved, 207. Treaty of Versadles, be- tween England, France, Spain, and Portugal, in 1763, 102, 278. Nootka treaty, of 1790, between Great Britain and Spain, 209, 258, 318, 466. Treaty of 1800, by which Spain ceded Louis- iana to France, 276, 279. Treaty of 1803, by which France ceded Louis- iana to the United States, 276, 279. Treaty of Ghent, in 1814, between the United States and Great Britain, 306. Florida treaty between the United States and Spain, in 1819, 316, 468. Treaty between Great Britain and Rus- sia, in 1825, 342, 469. Treaty between the United States and Great Britain, settling boundaries east of the Lake of the Woods, 377. See Conventions. Tyler, John, president of the United States; message respecting the Sand- wich Islands, 372. Message respecting Oregon, 377. u. Ukase of the Russian government, pro- liibiting vessels of oOier nations ffom frequenting the North Pacific coasts, 322. Correspondence respecting it, be- tween the secretary of state of the United States and the Russian plenipo- tentiary, at Washington, 333. Protest of the British government against it, '335. Ulloa, Francisco, voyage through the Gulf of California and along the west coast, 58. \ 483 oeneraij index. 1 ^'< Ulloa, Antonio, secret information afford- ed by him to the Spanish government, respecting the state of tlio Spanish provinces in South America, in 1740, 105. Unalashka Island, 40. Visited by Cook, 155, who there first meets with Rus- sians, 156. United States, first voyages of their citi- zens to the Pacific and to China, 179. First voyages to the* north-west coast of America, 180. Their citizens' alone can occupy Oregon, 403. Urdaiieta, Andres de, discovers the mode of crossing the Pacific from west to east, 67. Supposed to have discovered a northern passage between the Atlan- tic and Pacific, 78. Utah Salt Lake, 20. V. Vancouver, George, sails from England on an exploring voyage to the Pacific, and as commissioner on the part of Great Britain to receive the lands and buildings to be restored by Spain, agreeably to the Nootka convention, 217. Reaches the north-west coast of America, 232. Declares that no river or harbor of consequence is to be found between the 40th and the 4Sth degree of latitude, 233. Meets Gray, and receives from him an account of the discovery of a great river, 232, which he disbelieves, 233. Enters the Strait of Fuca ; explores Admiralty In- let, and takes possession of the whole surrounding territory, 238. Remarks on this act; meets Galiano and Val- des, and continues the survey of the strait, 239. Passes through tlie strait, and arrives at Nootka, 240. Claims the discovery of the Washington or North Marquesas Islands for Hergest, though he knew them to have been first seen by the Americans, 242. Ne- gotiations with the Spanish commis- sioner Quadra, 242. Claims the whole territory around Nootka for Great Brit- ain, 243. His unfair synopsis of the letter of Gray and Ingraham, 244, 417. Receives accounts and charts of Gray's discoveries from Quadra; sends Brongh- ton to examine Columbia River, 247. At the Sandwich Islands, executes per- sons falsely charged with the murder of his officers, 249. Examines a large portion of the north-west coasts, and returns to the Sandwich Islands, 250. Pretended cession of Owyhee to him for his sovereign, 251. Circumstances connected with that affair, 252. Re- turns to the north-west coast, of which he completes tlie survey, 254. Names given by him to places, 255. Returns to England ; his death ; great value of his journal; his hatred of Ameri- cans, and constant injustice towards them, 256. Vizcaino, Sebastian, exploring voyage along the north-west coast, 91. De- sires to found colonies on those coasts, 94. Death, 95. w. Washington's or Queen Charlotte's Is- land, east coast first explored by Gray, 199. Washington or North Marquesas Islands, discovered by Ingraham, 226. Discov- ery claimed by Marchand, who, how- ever, admits the priority of Ingraham's claim, 228. Discovery claimed by Van- couver for Hergest, 2i42. Occupied by the French, 374. Webster, Daniel, secretary of state of the United States, concludes a treaty with Lord Ashburton, settling the boundaries east of the Lake of the Woods, 377. Whidbey surveys Bulfinch's Harbor, 246. Wiccanish, king of Nittinat, 167. Wilkes, Charles, his voyage of explora- tion in the Pacific, 376. Willamet, river and valley, 26 First settlements of citizens of the United States there, 361. Woodbury, Levi, speech in the Senate of the United States on the bill for the occupation of Oregon, 379. Wyeth, Nathaniel, endeavors to establish trading posts on the Columbia, 359. Great value of his accounts of Oregon, 360. ; .r.i , . -.-f ' .1. m / • f BIBLIOTHEC:! ] Ottaviens^ -^ a M ^ ^ !^'i t^i iuadra; aends Brough- Dolumbia River, 5447. lalands, executes per- ged with the murder D. Examines a large >rth-we8t coauts, and iiidwich Islands, 1250. 1 of Owyhee to him 251. Circumstances ;hat affair, 252. Re- -west coast, of which survey, 254. Names places, 255. Returns death ; great value his hatred of Anieri- nt injustice towards I, exploring voyage vest coast, 91. De- Dnies on those coasts, ueen Charlotte's Is- rst explored by Gray, h Marquesas Islands, raham, 'iSSo. Discov- archand, who, how- iriority of Ingraham's very claimed by Van- t, 1^2. Occupied by sretary of state of the irludes a treaty with >ttling the boundaries r the Woods, 377. tlfinch's Harbor, 246. iittinat, 167. voyage of explora- 376. i valley, 26 First izens of the United X eech in the Senate :es on the bill for the :on, 379. udeavors to establish the Columbia, 359. accounts of Oregon, ' .1..