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I. »),/"■' V-,., . y-i- . -l---:^- j •i,»'*\ - .»'' i_^l».««' '■ /• /'.'.In.' ■•'"■"•-'•■•''l,,,^,..,...!. ,•?■ NORT H-WE ST-C OAS T fi/hiK/itu ii I Sun Orrni '^ ,f Harttttu 1' '-"'""" v«««- ff,Ul€uV"^ \ , , ,«„,Ai'««6»-'*'''>""""1'- f,'iii XOKTIi AMKItlCA and acl|a<;*'iil Tt'iTititrifs Coinpiletl ti'Oiu thr hf.vt nulluuitic* iimlfr thr tUrrrtivii <7/'Kab('rt UwvwXxvtwUtarcaiHiHinyhisilir'mniv on tlie .\ortIi west Coast fublishcd by order of the Senate of the rutted States dra\vitln- \)ikxu\ W.WxiVT. Noto. Thr namt* efftlnntan thr honlrr al'thr Mtifi .rheif tlirir rr*prrlntl,ahhirlr* . I- T i**» U "' .<• <'f >lo* ;-_Tr-^-: # iter r_--zFr '^■-'~=^' lift/ Loiijjitudf Wrjrt I 1t»iii (rrtfrnwioli fe ~-V- T= Tout'' ^,^*Mi'!i'' ' i*'^ «• / ■ .^ '^ f «/Vf Mf'«' otWUitri'ihtf V'^ alMfduU. depMttfdbv th^lOSA, I ^Tw/tifTW^ MEMOIR, HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL, > ON THE NORTHWEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA, AND THE ADJACENT TERRITORIES; UiCUSTRATEO BY A MAP AND A GEOGRAPHICAL VIEW OF THOSE COUNTRIES. TRANSLATOR AND LIBRARIAN TO THE DEPARTMENT OP STATE. ' '/k / ?/) BY ROBERT GREENHOW, ^1 li WILEY AND PUTNAM, BROADWAY, NEW-YORK, AND PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. 1840 K-^' 'ooiversitas^ BIBLIOTHECA ttavans'v* ^ J . 1 d^^ li4o PREFACE, i The following correspondence, between the Chairman of the Commit' tee of the Senate on the Oregon Territory and the SocnUary of State, to- gether with extracts from the Journal of the Senate, will soi vo to show the circumstances under which tliis Memoir has been written and pub- lished. Wasiiinoton, 7rt/tMflrry 25, 1840. Sir : I am informed that your department is in possession of much in- formation 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 he 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 ruther not have printed or made public. Your obedient servant, I.. F. TilNN, Chairman of the Select Committee on the Territory of Oregon. Hon. John Forsyth, Secretary of State. I Ansioer. Department op State, Washington, January 26, 1840. Sin : I have had the honor to receive your letter of this day's date, ask- ing 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, employed in collecting and arranging historical in- formation on the subiect of the northwestern coasts of America ; I send you the result of his labors, and submit it to the discretion of the com- mittee to be printed or not, as they may think most advisable. Not hav- ing had the leisure to compare the statements in the Memoir with the va- rious 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, V JOHN FORSYTH, Secretary of State. Hon. Lewis F. Linn, Senator of the United States. I 'i ^. IV FVom the Journal of the Senate of the United States. " Monday, February 10, 1840. — On motion by Mr. Linn, " Ordered^ That a history of the northwest coast of North America and the adjacent territories, conmiunicated 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." "Wednesday, February 12, 1840. — On motion by Mr. Linn, " Ordered, That the history of the northwest coast of North America, ordered to be printed on the 10th instant, be printed under the direction of Mr. Greenhow." The Memoir relates principally to the southern and middle portions of the northwest coast of this continent and the adjoining territories, which have for many years formed the subjects of discussions between the Governments of the United States, Great Britain, and Russia ; and it is designed to show the origin, nature, and extent of the several claims, in order to afford the means of correctly estimating the justice of each. In prosecuting these objects, it has been found necessary to trace the whole progress of discovery and settlement, not only in the territories above mentioned, but also in those farther north, in which the exclusive right of the Russians to form establishments has been recognised by the other Powers, and in the region called California, on the south, which constitutes a part of the Mexican republic. With this view, the original authorities have been carefully examined and compared, and the facts thus elicited are here related concisely or at length, as their general im- portance or their bearing upon the chief objects of the Memoir appeared to justify. Expeditions for the purposes of discovery, trade, or settlement, and disputes between the Governments or the people of distant civilized na- tions, have afforded, as yet, the only materials for the history of this section of America ; and those materials have remained scattered through the annals of other countries, the journals of voyages and travels, and official or private reports and letters, the correctness of which could not be ascertained without great labor and research. Accounts of all these expeditions and discussions are here presented, arranged in the form of a regular narrative, so as to embrace a complete history of the west- em portion of our continent — if it be allowable to speak of the history of a country which still remains almost entirely in a state of nature. This work is, however, not strictly a history; nor is it merely an ar- gument in support of the title of the United States to the possession of the territories in dispute. The writer has endeavored, agreeably to Ihe directions of Mr. Forsyth, to afford a clear and distinct view of the ^ !■ ites. 1 America and mittee on the , and that two iber, be printed jlNN, »Iorth America, ir the direction fiiddle portions ling territories, isions between i Russia; and several claims, ustice of each, ry to trace the I the territories h the exclusive cognised by the e south, which ew, the original I, and the facts lieir general im- demoir appeared pretensions of each of the claimant Powers, and of the circumstances on which they are based. Although he has, for the sake of complete- ness, introduced some facts and reasonings not directly relevant to those objects, he has, on the other hand, suppressed none which, if given, might have led to conclusions more nearly just. In illustration of the Memoir, a geographical accoimt of the western section of North America has been prefixed to it, together with a map of those countries, drawn from the best authorities which could be procured, The geographical account has been necessarily much compressed, the limits of the work not permitting details; while the map is, on the whole, much fuller than any other of that part of the world which has yet been published. With regard to the correctness of the descrip- tions, the coast will, it is believed, be found represented with sufficient accuracy, both in the account, and on the map; but the interior of the continent, from the Pacific to the Rocky Mountains, and, indeed, to the. vicinity of the Mississippi, has been as yet so imperfectly examined, that very little precise topographical information respecting it can be procured. Great care has been taken to present the dates of the several occur- rences, and the authorities on which they are recounted, so that the reader will have the means of satisfying himself as to the truth of each statement ; with regard to the reasonings and deductions, he must rely upon his own powers of discrimination. Washington, Mai/ 12, 1840. 4! ■ ir settlement, and ant civilized na- ! history of this cattered through and travels, and which could not | unts of all these | ged in the form | tory of the west- of the history of te of nature, it merely an ar- te the possession red, agreeably to stinct view of the «: I Introductic Great natu Political d Claims of < General vi Descriptioi Descripiioi General vi Particular First regie Second re§ Third regi The Colur MEMOIR Vcar. 1193. 1495. 1499. 1500. 1513. 1517. 1520, 1523. A T F D D E V C 1532. 1534. ^ 1535. 1536. B V C i 1539. 1 V J< 1540- '3. E V E 1547. 1564. E E E P 1578 '80. "V 1580. V 1587. TABLE OF CONTENTS. «EOGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN SECTION OP NORTH AMERICA. Introduction ----...- Great natural divisions of the western section of North America Political divisions ....... Claims of Great Britain, Russia, the United States, and Mexico • General view of the whole coast . - . . - Description of the northernmost territories of the western section Description of the southern portion, or California - . - General view of the mountam-ridges of the western section Particular description of Oregon, or the country drained by the Columbia First region of Oregon, or low country .... Second region, or middle counlrij ..... Thirdi region, OT upper country ..... The Columbia and its branches ..... Page. 1 1 2 a 8 4 9 • 11 • 12 • 14 - 16' - 17 - 18 MEMOIR, HISTORICAL AND PC "TICAL, ON THE NORTHWEST COAST OK NORTH AMERICA, AND THE ADJACENT TERRITORIES. Year. 1493. 1495. 1499. 1500. 1513. 1517. 1520. 1523. 1532. 1534. 1535. 1536. 1539. 1540'3. 1547. 1564. 1578 '80 1580. 1587. Page. 21 America discovered, and supposed to be connected with Asia - Treaty of Partition between 8pain and Portugal .... First voyage from Europe to India, by Gama, around Alrica Discovery of the Strait of Anian (prabably Hudson's Strait) by Cortereal Discovery of the Pacific Ocean by Balboa .... Discovery of Mexico by Grijalva ...... Voyage of Magellan from Europe to India, westward across the Pacific Conquest of Mexico completed by Cortes, who explores the adjacent coasts m search of rich countries and passages for ships between the Atlantic and the Pacific ..-...-... Voyages of Hurtado Mendoza, Grijalva, and Becerra in the north Pacific, by order of Cortes ......... Becerra discovers the southern extremity of California .... Voyage of Cortes in the Gulf of California ..... Cabeza Vaca completes his journey across the continent, from Florida to the Californian Gull ......... Voyage of Ulloa, who discovers the west coast of California to the 30th degree of latitude- ......... Journey of Friar Marcos de Niza, who pretends to have discovered a rich country, called Cibola, northwest of Mexico ..... ExpeditionsofAlarcon and Coronado in search of Cibola ... Voyage of Cabrillo and Perrelo, who discover the west coast to the 43d degree of latitude -..--..... Expedition of Villalobos from Mexico to India, and discovery of the Philippine Islands .......... Death of Cortes ......... Expedition of Legaspi from Mexico to India ; conquest of the Philippine Islands, and discovery of the mode of navigating the Pacific from west to ea,st, by IJr- danete .......... Establishment of the Spanish trade between America and India Prohibitory measures of the Spaniards against the trade or settlement of other nations in America .-..-... Voyage of Francis Drake, who visits the northwest coast - - 30, 201 Voyage of Gali from China to Mexico, in which he sails along the northwest coast ..........31 VoyageofCavendisharound the world ...... 37 21 22 39 22 22 22 S3 24 S4 25 26 S8 29 30 32 28 !r % ,!'i Till w Year. Page. 1587. Attempts of the English to discover passages for ships between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, causing great uneasiness to the Spanish Government 1588. Pretended northern voyage ot Maldonado from the Atlantic to the Pacific 15'J2. Voyageof.Tuan de Fuca along the northwest coast 131)4. Voyage of Cermenon, who is wrecked on the Bay of San Francisco Spanish Government orders colonies to be established in California 1590. Voyage of Vizcaino in the Gulf of California ..... l{)02. Survey of the west coast to the 43d degree of latitude by Vizcaino lt)03. Supposed discovery of a great river, near the 43d degree, by Aguilar, in one of Vizcaino's vessels ........ lOlO. Discovery of Hudson's Bay by Hudson .-..-. IGIO. Discovery of the navigation around Cape Horn, by Lemaire and Van Schouten 1640. Supposed northern voyage of Fonte from the Pacific to the Atlantic 1013. Voyage of De Vries in the Pacific, north of Japan . . . - ltJ6[). Charter given to the Hudson's Bay Company by King Charles II. of England - Unsuccessful ailempls of the Spaniards to plani colonies in Caliiornia - 1097. The Jesuits undertake the reduction of California for the King of Spain The Russians conquer Kamschatka ...... 1700. Father Kuhn, a Jesuit, ascertains that California is connected with the Amer- ican continent ...--.... 1711. Peter the Great, Czar of Russia, forms plans for exploring the seas eastof Kam- schatka, and for extending his dominion to America . . - - 1712. Louis XIV., King of France, grants Louisiana to Crozat ... Supposed extent of Louisiana at that time ..... 1714. Treaty of Utrecht between Great Britain and France, no boundary-line estab- lished in America asjreeably to its provisions .... 150, 216 1728. Voyage of Beering, by order'of the Empress Catherine of Russia, from Kam- schatka into the Arctic Sea ....... The sea east of Kamschatka ascertained to be a part of the Pacific 1741. Voyageof Beering and Tschirikof to America . . - - - Beering discovers the American continent near Mount Saint Elias Beering is wrecked on one of the Aleutian Islands, where he dies Tschirikof discovers America near the 5Gth degree of latitude, and returns to Kamschatka ......... 1742. The survivors of Beering's crew return to Kamschatka, and begin the fur trade between that country and the islands eastward of it .... I7r)2 France cedes Louisiana to Spain ....... 1763. France cedes Canada to England ...---- General peace; British and French voyages of discovery ... 1766. Voyage of Svnd 1766- '8. Journey of Carver through the country west of Lake Superior - 1768. Voyageof Kreniizin and Levashef from Kam.schatka .... Expulsion of the Jesuits from America ...... 1769. Establishment of the first colonies on the west coast of North America by the Spaniards • - - • - • . - 1769-'72. Journeys of Heame, west and northwest from Hudson's Bay, to the Arctic Sea 1770. Dispute between Great Britain and Spain about the Falkland Islands - 1771. First voyage from Kamschatka to China, by a party of Polish exiles, under Count Benyowsky ........ 1774. Voyage of the Spaniards, under Perez, along ihe northwest coast to the 53d de- gree of latitude ......... 1775. Voyage of the Spaniards, under Heceta, Bodega, and Maurellc, to the 58th de- gree of latitude ......... Heceta discovers the mouth of a river, named by him San Roque, now called the Columbia ......... 1776. Captain Cook sails from England for the Pacific, in search of a norlhem pas- sage from that sea to the Atlantic ...... 1778. Cook examines the northwest coast of America to the 70th degree 1779. Death of Cook and of his .successor Clerke . . - - - The English, under Gore, on their way to England, carry to Canton the first furs wnich entered that place by sea ...... Voyage of the Spaniards under Arteaga, Bodega, and Maurelle, to Prince Wil- liam's Sound ......... 1783. Association of merchants in Siberia for carrying on the fur trade Expedition under Shellikof, who establishes settlements on the Island of Kodiak 1784. Publication of the Journals of Cook's Voyage ..... Preparations begun in many countries for carrying on the fur trade between Northwest America and China --...--87 3i) 40,205 42, 207 . 44 • 44 - 44 44 46 47 47 41 58 75 48 48 58 59 150 150 150 59 60 60 61 63 63 61 75 149 51 66 76 66 50 52 75 54 66 69 70 78 79 83 83 84 88 88 66 Year. 1786. 1787. 1789. 1 1790. 4 I 1791. 1792, IX Page. Ltlantic and nnient - 3!> acific 40, 203 1-2, 207 - 44 .. 44 - 44 44 r, in one of ti Schouten England - 3aia the Amer- istofKam- 4G 47 47 41 58 75 48 48 58 5» - 150 - 150 ■ 150 •line eslab- 150, 216 "rem Kam- - 59 - eo - 60 - 61 - 63 returns to e fur trade rica by the Lrctic Sea !es, under he 53d de- le 58lh de- Low called them pas- n the first ince Wil- }f Kodiak ; between 63 61 75 149 51 66 76 66 50 52 75 54 66 69 70 72 78 79 83 83 84 88 88 86 ? Year. 1786. ■; 1787. I i .: 1788. 1789. 1790. 1791. 1792. Page. Voyage of the French, under La Pcrouse, from Mount Saint Elias to Monterey 88 Bofkely discovers the Slrai of Fuca ... - - - 91 Voyages of Porilock and Dixon ...... .92 Sept. 30. The ship Columbia, Capt. Kendriek, and sloop Washington, Captain Gray, sail togeiher from Boston for the north Pacific • - - - 89 Forma. ion of the Northwest Fur trading Company of Montreal . - 139 Captains Kendriek and Gray arrive at Nootka, where they spend the following winter .......... 90 Voyages of Meares and Douglas from Macao to the northwest coast - - 100 Meares attbmpts to find the River San Roque, and pronounces that none suih exists ..........93 Voyage of the Spaniards, under Martinez and Haro, to observe the progress of the Russians ou the north Pacific toasts - - - - - - 96 Attempt of Ledyard to pass, through Russia and America, from Paris to the United States ' . - - . . - - - - 94 Martinez and Haro sent by the Viceroy of Mexico to occupy Nootka - - 97 Complaints addressed by the Spanish Government to that of Russia against the encroachments of Russians in America - - • - - 97 The Spaniards occupy ^ootka, and seize vessels which are said to be the prop- erty of British subjects ....... 104, 212 Captain Groy first sails around Clueen Charlotte's Island, to which he gives the nnme of Washington Island ... - - . 92 The Spaniards quit Nootka; which they, however, reoecupy in the following spring, under the command of Elisa ...... 117 The owners of ihe vessels seized at Nootka complain to the British Government, which demands satisfaction from that of Spain - .... m The King of Spain asks aid from Louis XVI. of France to resist the demand, which is refused by the National As>.embly of France .... 113 Spain pi omises satisfaction to Great Britain ..... 114 Oct. 5i8. A convention is signed between those Powers, respecting the naviga- tion of thel'acific and the right of occiipving its vacant American coasts - 114 Remarks maile on that convention in the British Parliament - . - 115 The Spaniards from Nootka endeavor to explore the northwest coasts - - 118 Voyages of Fidalgo and Quimper ....... 118 Voyage of the Russians, under Billings, from Kam'^chaika ... 123 Observations on the nature and duration of the engagements entered into be- tween Great Britain and Spain by the convention of ( ictober 28 - - 171 Captain Vancouver sent from England with two ships to explore the northwest coasts of America, and as commissioner to receive the lands and buildings at Nootka, to be restored by the Spaniards according to the convention of 1790 118 Voyages of ihe Spaniards under Malaspina and Elisa - - - - 118 Voyage of Marchand in the French ship Solide ..... 119 Seven vessels arrive from the United States in the north Pacific, to be employed in the fur trade - - - - - - - - -119 Captain Ingraham, in the Hope, from Boston, discovers ihe Washington Islands 119 Captain Gray, in the Columbia, from Boston, discovers the mouth of the great river seen by Hecela in 177.5, but cannot enter it .... 120 Captain Kendriek, in the Washington, irom Boston, discovers a new passage from Nootka Sound to the sea, and purchases lands near Nootka from the savages .......... 121 He commences the trade in sandal-wood ...... 122 Unsuccessful voyage of the Russians from Kamschatka, under Hall and Sarets- chef 122 Voyages of the Spaniards under Caamano, and Galiano and Valdes - - 122 The Spaniards endeavor, unsuccessfully, to establish a new settlement on the Strait of Fuca ......... 123 Clueen Charlotte's, or Washington Island, explored and frequented by the American fur-iraders ....... 92, 123 Captain Cluadra arrives at Nootka as commissioner on the part of Spain to exe- cute the convention of 1 7!H) ....... 132 Vancouver arrives on the American coast, near Cape Mendocino - - 123 He examines the coast northward to the Strait of Fuca, and pronounces that there is no large river or inlet there ...... 125 Gray, in the Columbia, on his way to examine the river which he had found in the preceding year, meets Vancouver near the Strait of Fuca, and informs him ol the discovery, which Vancouver doubts ..... 125 Gray discovers Euljinch's Harbor, and enters the great river, (May 11,) which he names after his ship, the Columbia ...... 128 [} i ^1 ?'1I * Year. 1792. 1793. 1794. 1795. 1796. 1797. 1800. 1803. 1804. 1805. 1806. 1807. 1808. 1810. 1811. 1812. 1813. 1814. 147 154 156 156 147 148 156 157 157 158 158 158 148 160 161 163 Year. 1814. 1817. 1818. i Vancouver's false synopsis of thai If tier ...... Negotiations between Vancouver and Cluadra, as related by Howel The commissioners agree to wail for orders from their Giivernments Quadra communicates accounts and charts of Gray's dis<'()veries to Vancouver Survey of Bulfinch's Harbor by Vancouver's lieutenant, Whidbey Survey of the Columbia by Lieutenant Broughton, who attempts to appropriate to himself the merit of first entering the great river .... Vancouver winters at the Sandwich Islands; his proceedings there Expedition of Rodman and a party of Americans fiom the mouth of the Missouri across the continent, to the Pacific ...... Vancouver surveys the northwest Archipelago . . . . - He winters at the Sandwich Islands, the sovereignty of one of which is ceded to Great Britain by Tamahamaha - ...... Death of Cluadra .-....--- Alava appointed Spanish commissioner in place of Cluadra ... Expeditions of Mackenzie across the continent to the Pacific, which he reaches near the 53d degree of latitude ..... - . Vancouver completes his surveys of the northwest coast, and sails for England The Spaniards abandon Noolka -.....- Broughton arrives as British commissioner at Noolka, which he finds occupied only by the savages - - . - . . • . Spain declares war against Great Britain ...... Death of Vancouver, and publication of his Journals .... Observations on his Journals - - - . - - - Whole of the direct trade in furs from the northwest coast to China carried on by Americans, from 1796 to 1814 ...... Formation of the Russian-American Company, which receives a charter (1799) from the Empeiot Paul ...-.--• Foundation of Sitca, or New Archangel, by the Russians, under Baranof Louisiana ceded by Spain to France, which (1803) cedes it to the United States Observations on the extent of Louisiana ...... Voyage of Krusenstern and Lisiansky from St. Petersburgh to the north Pacific 146 ; Destruction of the vhip Boston, of Boston, by the savages at Nootka Sound - 142 Lewis and Clarke begin their expedition across the contineni ... 152 They reach the mourh of the Columbia .-.--. 152 I And return to the United States -....-- 153 J Frazer, and others in the employ of the Northwest Trading Company, cross the '; Rocky Mountains, and form the first British establishment in that part of :< America on Frazer's Lake ....... 155 J Krusenstern and Lisiansky complete their voyage of circumnavigation - Convention signed at London between the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and the United States, for the settlement of boundaries in America, but not con- cluded .......... Missouri Fur Company at Saint Louis ...... Henry establishes a trading post on the Lewis River . - - Russian Government complains to that of the United States of the misconduct of American fur-traders in supplying the natives on the northwest coasts with arms .......... Negotiations on that subject ineffectual .-...- Fortnation of the Pacific Fur Company at New York, by J. J. Astor Parties sent by sea from New York, and by land from Saint Louis, to establish factories on the Columbia ....... Foundation of j1s Pr< i Pre Pr< Ne: Nr ■f tl Co Re Rei r Co: Ob Fit c Del 1834-'38. Ne Hu d Pai Ca Ca I Est Re t: 1832. 1823. 18-24. 1825. 1826. 1827. I 1829, A. — Respect B.— Respect Pacifi C. — Acroiin Purcl D.— Corres[ Messi the 0{ E. — Showin araiir j treaty F. — Coniair north XI Page. • 129 Spanish ves- - 131 ■ 132 ■ 132 ana - detailing ihe 132, 212 134 134 134 Vancouver 135 - 135 appropriate 136 137 the Missouri cb is ceded to 140 137 138 138 138 ih he reaches - 140 for England 141 - 141 nds occupied > - - 141 - 143 139 139 na carried on harter (1790) 143 145 sranof - 145 United States 149 - 150 north Pacific 146 1 Sound - 142 - 152 - 152 - 153 any, cross the . that part of Llion - il Britain and but not con- misconduct of St coasts wiiii or- is, to establish pflrly, an 1 her ancisco 155 147 154 156 156 147 148 156 157 157 158 158 158 148 Company - 160 Year. 1814. 1817. 1818. 1819. 1820. 1821. i 18-22. 1823. 18-24. 1825. 1826. 1827. 1829. 1834-'38, Page. Agreeably to which, (1815,) the Americans demand the restitution of Astoria - 164 The Russians attempt unsuccessfully to taKe possession of one of the Sandwich Islands .......... 148 Messrs. Prevost and Biddle sent in the ship Ontario to take possession of Astoria, 164 Discussions on the subject between the British and American Governmenis . 164 Astoria restored formally by the British authorities to those of the United Slates 165 Negotiation between Great Britain and the Unhed Stales - - - 168 Negotiation ended by the convention of October, 1818 - • - 169,219 Negotiation between the United Slates and Spain, terminated by the Florida 'I^ealy, (February, 1819,) in which the 42d parallel of latitude is made the boundary between the territories of the two Powers west of the Rocky Moun. tains 170,219 Charterof the Russian-American Company renewed for twenty years - - 176 Florida Treaty ratified ........ 173 Mexico becomes independent of Spain -.-..- 173 Coalition of the Northwest and the Hudson's Bay Companies ... 175 Act of British Parliament for regulating the fur trade, and establishing a crimi- nal and civil jurisdiction in the Indian territories, which are granted to the Hudson's Bay Company ........ 175 Ukase of the Russian Emperor, claiming all the west coasts of America north of the 51st parallel ----.-.-. 176 Discussions between the Russian and the American Governments on this stabject 176 Propositions made on the part of the United States for a joint convention respect- ing Northwest America, between the United States, Great Britain, and Russia 177 Propositions for a joint convention declined by the other Powers - - 178 Proceedings in the Congress of the United Slates - - 173, 178, 179 Neg;otiation between the United States and Great Britain broken off - - 179 Negotiation between the United States and Russia terminated by a convention, fixing the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes as the limit between the parts of the coast on which either Power could form establishments . 180, 320 Convention of a similar nature between Great Britain and Russia - 181, 221 Revival of the fur trade between Saint Louis and the Columbia countries - 195 Renewal of negotiation at London between the British and American Govern- ments .......... 183 Convention prolonging for an indefinite period the third article of the convention of October, 1818 185,223 Observations on the pretensions advanced by the parties in this negotiation . 185 First trading expedition from Missouri to the Rocky Mountains in which wag- ons were employed -...-... 195 Debates in Congress with respect to Ihe occupation of Oregon - - - 188 Negotiations between the Governmenis of the United States and Russia, respect- ing the renewal of the 4ih article of the convention of 1825 - - - 189 Hudson's Bay Company's expedition to take possession of the River Stikine ren- dered Ciuiiless by the Russians -.--.-. 190 Particular account of the Hudson's Bay Company's system and establishments - 192 Captain Bonneville's trading expedition from Missouri to Ihe Columbia . 196 Captain Wyeth's attempts to form American trading establishments beyond the Rocky Mountains ........ 196 Esiablishmentof American colonies on the river Wallamet ... igg Reflections on Ihe fur trade in America, and on the future destinies of the coun tries beyond the Rocky Mountains ...... 199 ■J APPENDIX. ort George - 161 163 A.— Respecting the part of the northwest coast seen by Drake in 1579 ... B.— Respecting the pretended northern voyage vf Maldonado from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 1588 C— Account of the voyage of .Tuan de Fuca in the north Pacific in 1592, extracted from Purcha-'s Pilgrims .-...-.-. D.— Correspondence at Nootka in 1792, between the Spanish commissioner Cluadra, and Messrs. Gray and Ingraliam, the commanders of two American vessels, respecting the occurrences at that place in 1789 ...... E. — Showing that the 49th parallel of latitude was probably not adopted as the line of sep- aration between the British and French territories in America, agreeably to the treaty of Utrecht in 1714 ...-..-. F. — Containing extracts and copies of treaties between various nations respecting the northwest coast of America ........ 219 201 205 207 212 216 .Vi: WE ERRATA. Since the following pages were printed, the author has discovered two errors, which, though not bearing upon any important question, he regrets, and is anxious to correct ; particularly as the misstatements are injurious to the memory of Capiain Cook, one of the noblest men whom any age or country has produced. In order to correct these errors, 1. Substitute lor the two last sentences of the second paragraph, in page 46, the following: IThe Cnpe Blan'?o, inenlioned as the northern limit of Aa;uilar's progress along the coast, is probably the satne on which Vancouver, in I7,)i, bestowed the name of Cape Orford. 2. Expunge the last sentence but one of the third paragraph in page 7l», containing the words— "In this part of his voyage he recognised the Cape Blanco of Aguilar, near the •iSd parallel, but he thought proper to bestow on it the name of Cape Gregory." I. The ted State; American from the gether wi this territ is commc that such To the n will here traders o; southwar which str fornH iards to was emp lantic. form the separate chide the In ord bitrariiy, northwej crosses 1 ern and assumpti erations. ♦ In the &hore, and the river; not sufficie ondersiooci . tudes, and GEOGRAPHY i > OF THE 1 WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH AMERICA. INTRODUCTION. ■s, which, thouffh particularly as iblcst men whom f), the following: (ins; the coast, is )rrord. I, containing the eir, near the 43d I. The northwest coast is the expression usually employed in the Uni- ted States, at the present time, to distinguish the vast portion of the American continent, which extends north of the 40th parallel of latitude from the Pacific to the great dividing ridge of the Rocky Mountains, to- gether with the contiguous islands in that ocean. The southern part of this territory, which is drained almost entirely by the River Columbia, is commonly called Oregon, from the supposition (no doubt eiToneous) that such was the name applied to its principal stream by the aborigines. To the more northern parts of the continent many appellations, which will hereafter be mentioned, have been assigned by navigators and fur- traders of various nations. The territory bordering upon the Pacific southward, from the 40th parallel to the extremity of the peninsula which stretches in that direction as far as the Tropic of Cancer, is called California; a name of uncertain derivation, formerly applied by the Span- iards to the whole western section of North America, as that of Flmnda was employed by them to designate the regions bordering upon the At- lantic. The northwest coast and the west coast of California, together, form the west coa^t of North America; as it has been found impossible to separate the history of these two portions, so it will be necessary to in- clude them both in this geographical view.* In order to show that i\\e fortieth parallel of latitude is not assumed ar- bitrarily, and without adequate grounds, as the southern limit of the northwest coast, it would be sufficient to cite the fact, that this line crosses the American continent exactly midway between its most north- ern and its most southern points ; but there are physical reasons for the assumption, no less strong than those based on such geometrical consid- erations. Almost immediately under the said parallel the coast makes an I * In the following pages, the term coast will be used, sometimes as signifying only the sea- shore, and sometimes as embracing the whole territory, extending therefrom to the sources of the river; care has been, however, taken to prevent misapprehension, where the context does not surticiently indicate the true sense. In order to avoid repetitions, the northwest coast will be understood to be the northwest coast of North America ; all latitudes will be taken as north lali- . tudes, and all longitudes as west from Greenwich, unless otherwise expressed. iii^u angle at a point called Cape Mendocino^ from which one line runs due north for a great distance, while the other takes a southeast direction. Moreover, this cape is the western extremity of a ridge of lofty moun- tains, extending continuously from tlie Pacific to the Rocky Mountains, nearly in the course of the 40th parallel, and completely dividing the region of which the waters flow southward from that drained by streams entering the Pacific north of the cape. This transverse ridge, generally called the Snowy Mountains, appears, indeed, to be the boundary indi- cated by nature between California, on the south, and Oregon, or the country of the Columbia, on the north ; not only does it serve as a bar- rier of separation almost impassable, but the differences in climate and productions between the territories on either side of it are much greater than could have been supposed, considering merely their respective dis- tances from the equator. California is essentially a sovthern country, while Oregon exhibits the peculiarities of the noitk. The coasts of this section of America iiave been carefully surveyed by distinguished scientific navigators, and they may be found accurately delineated on charts; with regard to the interior, however, little exact geographical information has been yet obtained. From all that can be learned respecting the continent north of the 58th parallel, it is a waste of rocky snow-clad mountains, incapable of sustaining a population, and, indeed, almost impenetrable. Of California, or the country sout^ of the 40th parallel, no accounts are to be procured, except as to the portion im- mediately contiguous to the sea. It is only of the territory in. luded be- tween these two lines of latitude, which is drained principally by the great River Columbia, that we can speak with any confidence ; even of this territory, all descriptions must be conveyed in general and qualified terms, and much remains to be done in it by the astronomer belbre our maps can present any other than very imperfect representations of its surface. In the following geographical sketch, an attempt will be made to com- bine the results of information and inquiry, relative to the western sec- tion of North America, in such a manner as to produce distinct impres- sions of its most prominent and characteristic features, adding only those details which may be requisite or useful in order to illustrate the state- ments and views contained in the political and historical memoir. In so doing, it has been found convenient to adopt the territorial divisions indicated by nature, rather than those which have been agreed on be- tween the Governments of various distant nations. The boundaries set- tled by these conventions will, however, be first described, and general ideas of the political questions at issue, with regard to this part of the world, will thus be easily communicated. ingly, clai sians effec Bay of Sa and garris tained in ( By the was agree coasts of I 64 degree north of t By the in like ma coasts or sians shot over, agre summits tion with through ]V tic Sea, si sions on t Thus i\ running c grees 40 n Russia; a Pacific to and Mexi( tively assi the portioi irom the so far as t( Columbia pretension an unlimi America, < tion, trade i ernment c ' ing due n I III. Til I Britain, tl I stated, we I ( VIEW OP ' '• POLITICAL DIVISION OF THE WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH AMERICA. II. By the Florida treaty, concluded in 1819 between the United States and Spain, a line drawn along the 42d parallel of latitude, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, was fixed as the northern limit of the Spanish territory and the southern limit of that of the United States in western America. By a subsequent treaty between the latter Power and Mexico, the same line was admitted to separate the possessions of the two republics, Mexico taking the place of Spain. The Mexicans, accord- Thenc Wales, in most spot • The Ru fany, of whi the Hudson''. Mountains, line runs due east direction. >f lofty moun- iy Mountains, dividing the ed by streams dgc, generally oundary indi- •regon, or the ervc as a bar- 1 climate and much greater respective dis- /ier?i country, nUy surveyed nd accurately !r, little exact 1 that can be , it is a waste pulation, and, r sout'j of the le portion im- r in luded be- ;ipally by the ince; even of and qualified ner before our itations of its made to com- ) western sec- stinct impres- ng only those ate the state- memoir. In irial divisions igreed on be- lundaries set- , and general is part of the [ AMERICA. United States ide, from the n limit of the ited States in er Power and ssions of the leans, accord- ingly, claim the country as far north as the 42d parallel ; but i\w Rus- sians effectually bar the exercise of any Mexican authority beyond I ie Bay of San Francisco, near the 38th degree, by means of their colotuc^a ancl garrisons in that quarter, established in 1812, and ever since main- tained in defiance alike of Spain and of her republican successors. By the convention of 1824, between the United States and Russia, it was agreed that the Russians should make no settlements on the west coasts of North America, or the adjacent islands, south of the latitude of 64 degrees 40 minutes, and the United States should establish none north of that parallel. By the convention of 1825, between Russia and Great Britain, it was in like manner stipulated that the British should occupy no place on the coasts or islands north of 54 degrees and 40 minutes, and that the Rus- sians should make no settlement south of the same latitude ; it was, more- over, agreed that a line drawn from that parallel northward, along the summits of the mountains, within 20 miles of the sea, to its intersec- tion with the 141st meridian of longitude west from Greenwich, (passing through Mount Saint Elias,) and thence, along that meridian, to the Arc- tic Sea, should be the " limit between the Russian and British posses- sions on the continent of America to the northwest." Thus two lines of boundary appear on the rnap of Northwest America, running completely across it : one northward, from the latitude of 54 de- grees 40 minutes, to the Arctic sea, as settled between Great Britain and Russia; and the other following the course of the 42d parallel, from the Pacific to the Rocky Mountains, as agreed on between the United States and Mexico. Of the intermediate region, no part has been as yet defini- tively assigned by convention to any one nation ; the Americans claim the portion north from the 42d parallel, and the British claim that south firom the other line of boundary — each party to an extent undefined, but so far as to secure for itself the large and valuable country drained by the Columbia River. These nations have provisionally compromised their pretensions by an arrangement, made in 1818, and continued in 1827 for an unlimited period, to the effect, that any territory in that section of America, claimed by either, should be equally free and open for naviga- tion, trade, and settlement, to the citizens or subjects of both ; the Gov- ernment of each being at liberty to abrogate the arrangement, after giv- ing due notice of twelve months to that of the other.* i III. The political questions at issue between the Governments of Great j Britain, the United States, Russia, and Mexico having been summarily I stated, we will now present a — VIEW OP THE WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH AMERICA, ACCORDING TO ITS NATURAL DIVISIONS. The northern extremity of the west coast of America is Cape Prince of Wales, in latitude of 65 degrees 52 minutes, which is also the western- most spot in the whole continent ; it is situated on the eastern side of • The Russian settlements in America are under the control of the Russian-ATnerican Com- pany, of which a particular account will be found at page 143 of the memoir. For notices of the Hudson's Bay Company, to which belong all the British establishments west of the Rocky Motmtains, see pages 75 and 192 ; and, for copies of the treaties, see Appendix [F.] P ,Jl' !? k . .It ! 'I I Beprinsr^H Strait, n channnl fiftyono milfts in width, connncrting tlio Pa- cific witli tlict Arctic (or Av/, or North IVozcn) Ocean, on tl»e western sidt! of wliicfi striiit, opfH)sito ('npo I'rinro of NViiNis, is AVw/ Ca/)c,t\Hi eastern extremity of Asia. IJeyond IJeerini^'s fStrait the shorus of the two conlirKMits recede from eaeh other. 'I'he nort/i coast of Amciica has been traced fn)rn Cap<> I'rinec of Wales northeastward, to (Jape liar- row, in latitude of 71 degrees 23 minutes, which is prohably the north ernmost {M)int of America, and thence eastward for more than a thou- sand miles, tfiouj,'h not continuously to the Atlantic ; no vessc;! has, how- ever, yet proceeded beyond Heering s Strait as tiir as Cape Harrow. Tlio southernmost point of the west coast of North America is Cape San Lvcas, in latitiide of 22 decrees 52 minutes, the extremity of the great Peninsula of Valifomia, which stretches from the American con- tinent on the Pacific side, nearly in the same direction, and between nearly the same parallels of latitude as that of Florida on the Atlantic. The Californian |)cninsula joins the main land under the 33d parallel; south of which, it is separated from Mexico, on the east, by the long arm of the ocean called by the Spaniards the Vermillion Sea and the Sea of Cortes, but more generally known as the Gulf of California. The coast extending between these two capes is not less than four thousand miles in length, and is bordered by a continuous line of moiui- tains, which in most places overhang the sea, and are nowhere distant from it more than eighty miles. From Capo San Lucas the general di- rection of the shores is northwest as far as Cape Mendocino, near the 40th degree of latitude ; thence it runs almost due north to Cape Flat- tery, at the entrance of the Strait of Fuca, near the 4Sth degree, where it makes an angle by turning to the east. South of Cape Flattery the coast is comparatively reguliir and free from great sinuosities, and there are only a few islands, all of which are small, in its vicinity ; northward of that point, to Cape Spenser near the 58th degree, it is, on the contrary, indented by numerous bays and inlets penetrating the land, and it is completely masked by islands separated from each other and from the continent by narrow and intricate cliannels. These islands compose the Nort/ncest Archipelago; they lie together in a recess of the continental coast between Cape Flattery and Cape Spenser, in length about seven hundred miles, and in breadth about one hundred and twenty ; and they are, indeed, simply a continuation, through the sea, of the mountain- chain which forms the westernmost rampart of America. Beyond Cape Spenser the American coast makes a bend, running northwest to the foot of Mount Saint Elias, the loftiest peak on the continent, and the most striking landmark on its western shore ; thence westward nearly in the course of the 60th parallel, and then southwest to the extremity of the Peninsula, of Aliaska, in 54 degrees 40 minutes, around which it again turns to the north, and continues in that course to Cape Prince of Wales. Aliaska is, like California, formed by the projection of a lofty mountain-ridge into the Pacific ; from its extremity, and as if in contin- uadon of it, a chain of islands, called the Aleutian Archipelago, extends westward, across the sea, to the vicinity of the opposite Asiatic Penin- sula of Kamschatka. IV. Of the northwesternmost division of the American coast, extending from Cape Prince of Wales, southward, to the extremity of Aliaska, little need be said. The part of the Pacific north of the Aleutian Islands, which hai Kainschat navigator arms run Norton Sfi Prince of Gulf, on receives tl the outlet factory, or this whole The All of three gr the largest Andreanoi with man western gi are Attou, ter Beerin nearly all, little value .advantage for procuri ago, partic and bold ri people are fishing an pose a larj m America the largest and Stiint V. Kam tending frc 10 minute V ated. We: jthe Sea of I east by tm ' wards Japs i the Harbor \ latitude of 1 which are i VI. The ^bend betw I Here are t continent t hoped thai lantic. Tl River, but is known only separi navigators guished b] iccting tlio Pa- in the western Hnst (Mpc^ the shop's of the if' Amctiva has to Cape, liar- ibiy the north than u thou- RsscI has, how- Harrow, nerictt is Cape xtreniity of the American con- , and between II the Atlantic, e 33d parallel ; It, by the long ert and the Sea irnia. less than four i line of inoun- owhere distant the general di- nciiiOy near the to Cape Flat- degree, where pe Flattery the 1 ties, and there ty ; northward n the contrary, and, and it is and from the Is compose the he continental h about seven mty ; and they the mountain- Beyond Cape rthwest to the nent, and the ward nearly in e extremity of tund which it 3 Cape Prince tion of a lofly IS if m contin- elaffo, extends Asiatic Penin- >ast, extending ■ Aliaska, little utian Islands, which bothes those shores, is commonly distinguished as the Stn of Kainsrhntlcriy and souietimi's as liirrinir^s Sea, in honor of the Russian navigator of that name who first explored it. From this sea several arms run up into the main land of America, of which the largest aro Norton Stmndy on the south side of the |K;ninsula terminated by Cape Prince of Wales, and Rrislol liaij, culled by the Russians Knmisehezarnia Gul/y on the northwest side of Aliaska. The upper part of Hristol Hay receives the waters of u largo lake called /Mke SlieUilcuf ; a little west of the outlet of which, on the shore of the bay, stands tho small Russian factory, or fur-trading cM\ih\{s\\inQ\\i,o( Alcxandrowslc^ the only spot on this whole coast occupio i by civilized persons. Tho Aleutian Archi/jeluifo is considered by tho Russians as consisting o( three groups of islands. Nearest Aliaska are the hhx lilawls, of which the largest are Ihdmalc, Unatashkn, and Umiuxlc ; next to these are the Andreanowsky Islandt, among which are Atsehn^ TonaffOy and Kanaffnf with many smaller islands, sometimes called tho Rat Islands ; tho most western group is that first called the J eutiau or Aleoutski/ Islands, which are Attou, Mcdnoi, (or Copper Island,) and Revring^s Island. On the lat- ter Heering was wrecked and lost his life in 1741. These islands are nearly all, like Aliaska, rocky, mountainous, and volcanic ; they are of little value in an agricultural point of view, but the Russians derive great .advantage from the skins and furs of animals in and about their shores, for procuring wliich they have several establishments in the Archipel- ago, particularly on Unulashka. The original inhabitants are a hardy and bold race, whom the Russians had great didiculty in subduing ; these people are, however, at the present day, employed by their masters in fishing and hunting for furs in every part ot tho Pacific, and they com- pose a large proportion of the population of all the Russian settlements m America. There aro other islands in the Sea of Kamsrhatka, of which the largest are Nunioak, near tho American shore, under the 60th parallel, and Stiint Laiorence or Clerke^s Island, at the entrance of Beering's Strait. V. Kamschatka is a large peninsula formed of volcanic mountains, ex- tending from the Asiatic continent southward to the latitude of 62 degrees 10 minutes, under which its southernmost point. Cape Lopatka, is situ- ated. West of the peninsula, between it and the main land of Asia, is , the Sea of Ochotsk, which is separated from the Pacific on the south- -east by the Kurile Islands, extending southwest from Kamschatka to- 1 wards Japan. The principal place in Kamschatka is PetroPaulmcsk, or I the Harbor of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, on the Baj/ of Avatscha, in I latitude of 53 degrees 58 minutes ; it is a small town, the inhabitants of I which are all engaged directly or indirectly in the fur trade. i VI. The next natural division of the coast is that included in the great i bend between the southwest extremity of Aliaska and Cape Spenser. I Here are to be remarked two deep gulfs, extending northward into the continent to the 62d degree, through each of which it was for some time hoped that a passage would be discovered communicating with the At- lantic. The westernmost of these gulfs was originally called Cook's River, but is now generally named on English maps Coolers Inlet, and is known by the Russians as the Gulf of Kenay ; the other, which is only separated from the former by a peninsula, received from the British navigators the appellation of Prince William's Sound, and is distin- guished by the Russians as the Bay of Tschugatsch; it is unnecessary '» I ; 'i '' •' 6 1 1 here to say more of them than that they contain many islands, and that the Russians have several factories on the shores of each. Further east- ward are Comptroller'' s Bay and Admiralty y or Beering^s, or Midgrave, or Yakutat Bay, where it is generally believed that Beering first landed iu America in 1741. In the reports of Beering's voyage, it is stated that the mouth of a large and rapid river was found on this part of the coast; none such, however, has been discovered, though a considerable stream called by the Russians Reca Mednaia, (or Copper River,) empties into Comptroller's Bay at some distance from the ocean. On this coast are several islands, of which the most extensive is Kodi- ak, at the entrance of Cook's Inlet, separated from Aliaska on the west by the Strait of Shellikof; its surface is rugged and mountainous, and it is indented by many deep bays, on one of which, called the Guff of Chiniatskoyy on the east side of the island, is situated Saint Paul, one of the largest Russian settlements in America. South of Kodiak, near the southern extremity of Aliaska, are the Schumagin Islands, called after a seaman of Beering's ship, who died and was buried on one of them. Mount Saint Elias is on the northeast side of the bend, nearly undei the 60th parallel of latitude ; its height is estimated at seventeen thousand feet, and that of Mount Fairweaiher, a little farther south, at fourteen thousand. They are both volcanic, as are nearly all the mountains in this part of America. The region bounded on the west and south by the divisions of the American coast above described is believed to be a frozen waste, traversed in all directions by mountains, and utterly incapable of affording a sup- port to a population except in the immediate vicinity of the ocean. It IS used by the Russians only for the purposes of the fur trade, which is carried on at the cost of a dreadfiil sacrifice of comfort and of life ; and, as the animals yielding furs are daily diminishing in number, this part of the world must, no doubt, ere long be abandoned by all civilized ington persons. VII. The Northwest Archipelago is contained, as already stated, in a re- cess of the coast of the continent, between the 48th and the 58th parallels, (between which also extend the islands of Great Britain and Ireland on the western side of Europe.) This Archipelago was first minutely exam- ined by British navigators, who have bestowed on the islands names de- rived almost exclusively from the lists of the royal family, the ministry, the parliament, the peerage, the army, and the navy of Great Britain; none of which names are, however, or probably will be at any future pe- riod, used by the occupants of the islands. To present all these names would be a tedious and useless labor ; and little more will be attempted than to aJSbrd some idea of the principal groups. King George the Third's Islands are the most northwestern ; the two largest of these are, respectively, called by the Russians who occupy them Chicha^qff'^s and Baranoff^s Islands. Near the western side of the latter, and divided from it by a narrow strait, is a small island, in the middle of which rises a beautiful conical peak, named by the Spaniards in 1775, Mount San Jacinto, and by the English under Cook, three years silerwiuds, Mount Edgecumh. On the southeast side of this strait, called by the Spaniards Port Remedios, by the British Norfolk Sound, and by the Russians the Gtd/ of SUca, stands Sitca, or Neiv Archangel, the capiud of all the Russian possessions in America. It was estab- lished on contains are Aleut long nin The Ad} main Ian from the two grov which th Mount f Islands i Revillagi are Prin passages. All the 40 minut of Wales' in their ^ exclusive the Unit Betwee shape, wl lotte*s, or Spaniard! the other the last n Queen C territory, navigated oj called the early Am nal of Ci that sea, several p( published nute desG tion migl soil and < larly in tl in latitud side, calh surveyed Pitt's, small isla islands. Bay Con The la that calh length, fi' of 48^ an east by t slands, and that I. Further cast- or MiUgrave, or B[ first landed in it is stated that art of the coast ; siderable stream r,) empties into itensive is Kodi- ska on the west intainous, and it led the Guff of Saint Pauly one of Kodiak, near Islands^ called [ on one of them, id, nearly under enteen thousand uth, at fourteen Le mountains in divisions of the waste, traversed affording a sup- f the ocean. It trade, which is nd of life ; and, umber, this part by all civilized y stated, in a re- le 58th parallels, and Ireland on minutely exam- ands names de- ly, the ministry, ' Great Britain ; t any future pe- all these names ill be attempted I i 'estem ; the two ns who occupy stern side of the 11 island, in the ; y the Spaniards !ook, three years ; 3 of this strait, Norfolk Sound, Neia Archangel, It was estab- lished on its present site in 1804 -, and, by the most recent accounts, it contains about a thousand inhabitants, more than three-fourths of whom are Aleutians. The fort mounts sixteen short eighteen-pounders, and ten long nine-pounders, and is garrisoned by about three hundred persons. The Admiralty Islands are between the first described group and the main land, being separated from the former by the Chatham Canal, and from the latter by Stephen's Passa»-e. The part of the sea between these two groups and the continent on the north is called Ch-oss Sound, from which the Lynn Canal, an extensive bay, stretches northward behind Mount Fairweather. South of the King George's and the Admiralty Islands are the groups of the Duke of York, the Prince of Wales, and Revillagigedo, (the last called after a Viceroy of Mexico,) between which are Prince Frederick's Sound, the Duke of Clarence's Strait, and other passages. All the islands above mentioned are north of the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes, which is the latitude of the southernmost point of the Prince of Wales's Islands, and are therefore all, with the coasts of the continent in their vicinity, among the territories on which the Russians claim the exclusive right of making settlements, in virtue of their treaties with the United States and Great Britain, as before stated at page 3. Between the 52d and 54th parallels, extends a large island, of triangular shape, which will be found on the map, bearing the name of Queen Char- lotte's, or Washington's Island. Its western coast was discovered by the Spaniards in 1774; from which time to 1787 it was considered, like all the other islands of the Archipelago, as forming part of the continent. In the last mentioned year. Captain Dixon, commanding the merchant ship Queen Charlotte, of London, becoming convinced that it was an insulated territory, bestowed on it the name of his vessel ; but it was first circum- navigated in the summer of 1789, by Captain Gray, in the sloop Wash- ington, of Boston, who, without knowing any thing of Dixon's voyage, called the country Washington's Island. It was the favorite resort of the early American fur-traders in the north Pacific ; and the manuscript Jour- nal of Captain Ingraham, who commanded the brig Hope, of Boston, in that sea, from 1791 to 1793, contains minute descriptions and charts of several ports, particularly on its eastern side, which are not noticed in any published accounts or maps. The limits of this sketch do not admit of mi- nute descriptions, or many interesting facts relative to the island in ques- tion might be related on the authority of Ingraham. He describes the soil and climate as being well adapted for agricultural purposes, particu<- larly in the vicinity of Oummashawah Bay, a fine harbor on the east coast» in latitude of 53 degrees 3 minutes; and oi Hancock's River, on the north side, called by the Spaniards Port Estrada, which was after it had been surveyed and named by the captain ©f the brig Hancock, from Boston. Pitt's, Burke's, and the Princess Royal groups, are composed of many small islands, situated very near the continent, east of Queen Charlotte's islands. On one of these, called Dundas Island, the British Hudson's Bevy Company have a trading-post. The largest and southernmost island in the northwest Archipelago, is that called Quadra and Vancouver's Island, extending, in its greatest length, firom northwest to southeast about 200 miles, between the paralleli. of 48^ and 51 degrees, and separated firom the continent on the south and east by the arm of the sea called the Strait of Fuca. The spot on thir I' r^ :* a I, t 8 island most Avorthy of note is Nootka Sound, an extensive bay communi- cating with the Pacific in latitude of 49 degrees 34 minutes, and affording excellent harbors for vessels in many places, particularly in Friendly Cove, on the north side, about ten miles from the ocean. This place was for many years the chief rendezvous of the fur-traders on the northwest coast; and some of the most important events in the history of that part of the world occurred there, as may be seen in the Gth and 7th chapters of this aiemoir. The name of Nootka was first applied by Cook, who believed it to be that employed by the natives ; no word has, however, since been found in use among them more nearly resembling Nootka than Yuqiiotl, their name for Friendly Cove. A few miles southeast from Nootka is another bay called Clj/oqiiot; and further in the same direction, at the en- trance of the Strait of Fuca, is a tliird called Nittinat, in which are many islands. The Strait of Fuca extends between the island last described and the continent, from Cape Flattery, directly eastward, about one hundred and twenty miles, and thence northwest about two hundred and fifty miles, communicating with the ocean in the north through an entrance, called by the Americans Pintard^s, and by the British Queen Charlotte's Sound. The southern part of the strait is about forty miles in width ; the part running northeast is in some places nearly as wide, but generally much narrower, and is filled with islands. This passage was discovered, in 1592, by Juan de f'uca, a Greek pilot, who declared that he had sailed through it into the Atlantic ; his statement was, however, disproved in 1792 by Vancouver, Galiano, and Valdes, who surveyed it together, and determined that it was only a great sound. The island which it sepa- rates from the continent, in that year received its present long and in- convenient appellation, by agreement between Vancouver and the Span- ish commandant, Q,uadra. VIII. The parts of the continent contiguous to these islands have re- ceived from British navigators many names, such as New Norfolk, New Cornwall, New Hanover, and New Georgii; all of which have become obso- lete. The country north of the 58th parallel is almost unknown. Two large rivers, the Peace River and the Tur^nagain, flow from it eastward through the Rocky Mountains into the Mackenzie, which empties into the Arctic Sea ; another river, called the Stikine, has also been lately discovered entering the Pacific east of Duke of York's Island, in latitude of 56 de- grees 60 minutes, which is said to be three miles wide at its mouth and one mile wide thirty miles higher up. The country on the Pacific, between the 49th and 58th parallels, is usual- ly distinguished by the British fur-traders as New Caledonia; and, from all accounts, it resembles the northern part of Scotland in its ruggedness, its lakes, and its barrenness. Its principal lakes are Sttiart^s, Babine, and FYa- zer^s Lakes, all situated between the 54th and the 66th parallels. Babine Lake communicates with the Pacific by a large stream called Simpson*s River; Frazer's and Stuart's Lakes are head-waters of fVazer^s River, which flows from them nearly due south about four hundred miles, and enters the ocean in latitude of 49 degrees. The soil of New Caledonia is everywhere steril, very small portions only being fit for cultivation; Wid the climate, though much milder than that of the other countries of America between the same latitudes, is generally too severe for the pro- duction of the ^culent grains and vegetables. The British Hudson's Bay Com in this CO River, ab( mouth of nia, comn bia, by w The coi cino ; it v IX. Cf about ten grees 19 i From i sand four harbors, c Port B 19 minut( vessel in fornia in on the oc( dred inha of provisi J^ort S wide, um from the navigator; possessinj two rivers and anoth navigable beyond w to rise in Mountain British ai the centre rous adv{ Captain I Monter ing west\ Cape Anc there is je prevailing which so coast. Port S Spaniards 1769, is a the land, Thei? San Luc! same in ^ covered h Port Sat been mos ilii. bay communi- , and affording Friendly Cove, place was for )rth west coast ; hat part of the hapters of this who believed lex, since been . than Yuqiiotl, •om Nootka is ion, at the en- hich are many ;ribed and the i hundred and nd fifty miles, ntrance, called rlotte's Sound. idth ; the part eneraliy much discovered, in he had sailed , disproved in ; together, and vhich it sepa- t long and in- and the Span- lands have re- Norfolk, New 3 becorne obso- \rii. Two large tward through into the Arctic 3ly discovered tude of 66 de- its mouth and dlels, is usual- ; and, from all uggedness, its bine, and Fra- lUels. Babine led Simpson's Vazer^s River, red miles, and ew Caledonia r cultivation; 3r countries of e for the pro- ish Hudson's Bay Company have several establishments for carrying on the ftir trade in this country, of which the principal tire Fort Alexandj-ia, on Frazer's River, about three hundred miles from the sea, and Fort Langly, at the mouth of the same stream. Prom these, and other ports in New Caledo- nia, communications are maintained with Fort Vancouver, on the Colum- bia, by way of the rivers, and by steam and sail-vessels on the sea. The coast of Oregon extends from the Strait of Fuca to Cape Mendo- cino ; it will be hereafter particularly described. IX. Cape Mendocino presents two points running out into the ocean, about ten miles apart, of which the southernmost, in latitude of 40 de- grees 19 minutes, is the highest and the most prominent. From it the coast of California extends southeastward, about one thou- sand four hundred miles, to Cape San Lucas. On this coast are several harbors, of which the principal will be described. Port iSorfeo-a^ communicating with the Pacific in latitude of 38 degrees 19 minutes, is supposed to be the harbor in which Drake lay with his vessel in 1579. Here the Russians made their first settlement in Cali- fornia in 1812. Their chief establishment at present is Ross, immediately on the ocean, about thirty miles farther north ; it contains about four hun- dred inhabitants, and from it the northern factories receive their supplies of provisions. Port San Francisco joins the Pacific, by a passage about two miles wide, under the parallel of 37 degrees 55 minutes. At a short distance from the sea it expands into a large bay, offering, as admitted by all the navigators who have visited it, one of the finest harbors in the world, and possessing every requisite for a great naval establishment. It receives two rivers, the Jesus Maria and the Sacramento, at its northern extremity, and another called the San Joaquin from the south. The Sacramento is navigable for small vessels to the distance of eighty miles from its mouth, beyond which little is known about its course ; it is believed, however, to rise in the northeast angle of California, near the junction of the Snowy Mountains with the Rocky Mountains. This bay is much frequented by British and American whaling vessels, and it is, no doubt, destined to be the centre of an extensive commerce. Particular accounts of its nume- rous advantages may be found in the Journal of the Voyage made by Captain Beechey through the North Pacific in the years 1824-'25. Monterey Bay is contained in a semicircular recess of the coast, open- ing westw^^rd, about twenty miles in width, between its northern point, Cape Ano Niievo and Cape Pinos on the south. Just within Cape Pinos there is good anchorage for vessels, where they are protected from the prevailing northwest winds, and are only in danger from the violent gusts which sometimes blow from the southeast along the whole Californian coast. Port San Dieri-o, in latitude of 32 degrees 51 minutes, near which the Spaniards planted their first colony on the west coast of California in 1769, is a long arm of the sea, extending southeast from its mouth into the land, and defended against the billows by a sand-ridge. The Bay of San Jose, near the 23d degree, immediately east of Cape San Lucas, at the southernmost part of the peninsula, is probably the same in which the Spaniards first anchored when California was dis- covered by them in 1535, and which received from Cortt's the name of Port Santa Cruz. It is one of the places where the pearl-fishery has been most successful. i , i n t: ill [0\ ' e h I. 10 ft !) Near the Californian coast are many small settlements, which were originally established by missionaries of the Franciscan order from Mex- ico, and were intended chiefly for the purpose of civilizing and convert- ing the natives. During the subsistence of the Spanish authority, these missions were fostered by the Government, and were maintained by means of supplies sent from Mexico ; but, since the downfall of that Power, they have not only received little assistance from Mexico, but have, moreover, been taxed for the support of the republic, of which the Indian neophytes were declared to be citizens. These Indians are, how- ever, unfortunately, among the most indolent and unintellectual of the human family ; incapable of being affected by any other considerations than those addressed to their present and immediate hopes and fears. The missionaries treated them as children ; and those who have been re- moved from under the care and authority of these priests have uniformly sunk at once into misery and vice. The Mexican population is little, if at all, better than the aboriginal ; the soldiers and colonists sent there be- ing generally criminals banished to this — the Botany Bay of the republic. There is no rain on the coast of California from March to November ; during the other months the rains are generally incessant, though in some years very little falls. The dews in summer are, however, so heavy as to prevent the destruction of vegetation. Near the sea, the temperature IS at all times salubrious and agreeable, the heat of the sun in summer be- ing moderated by constant breezes ; but farther inland it is said to be most oppressive. Agriculture has been, as yet, little practised in this country ; the inhabitants subsisting almost entirely on the meat of the wild cattle which cover the plains. The soil and climate appear to be favorable to the growth of every vegetable substance necessary for the subsistence and enjoyment of man ; but no large portion of the territory will probably be found productive without artificial irrigation. Of the interior of California little is known. The northern part, or continental portion, called New California, is said to be traversed by mountain-ridges, between which are extensive plains ; some covered with grass, forming prairies, others sandy and destitute of vegetation, and others again being marshes. It appears to be certain that very little of the water which falls on this country from the clouds finds its way directly to the sea *, as the line of mountains which borders the coast is traversed only by a few inconsiderable streams, besides those emptying into the Bay of San Francisco. The peninsula, or Old California, is about seven hundred miles in length, and one hundred and thirty in breadth where it joins the conti- nent, under the 33d parallel ; farther south its breadth is less, not exceed- ing fifty miles in some places. The whole territory consists of moun- tains ; its climate is hot and dry, the soil is barren, and the inhabitants are few and miserable, deriving their support almost exclusively from the sea. The Gulf of California, or Sea of Cortes, or Vermillion Sea, which separates the peninsula from the main land of Mexico on the east, is about seven hundred miles in length, varying in breadth from sixty to one hundred and twenty. At its northern extremity it receives two large rivers — the Gila, flowing from the east ; and the Colorado, which rises in the north among the Rocky Mountains, about the 40th degree of latitude, near the sources of the Lewis, the Platte, the Arkansas, and the Rio del Norte. The northern part of the territory, on the eastern side of the gulf, is ca one depar nora, neai ^America, of the gu Mazatlan ico on the same nan place and X. We GENERAL It has is bounde that the the Pacifi leys or pi every resi tains, fon stretches a few pla( from thos this chaii eastern, ai ica suppli The g( west to s 48th, it is about five due south creasing, name of 1 the last-n times call The h America, l degree of I Mr.Thoi has meaj is estimai at fifteen stated th north, wl either of lofty peal which ej of the he the 56th it is onl) Near t to the £ 11 s, which were rder from Mex- g and convert- luthority, these maintained by twnfall of that n Mexico, but 5, of which the lians are, how- illectual of the considerations )pes and fears. ) have been re- lave uniformly ition is little, if s sent there be- of the republic, to November; int, though in '^ever, so heavy he temperature in summer be- said to be most 1 this country ; the wild cattle be favorable to le subsistence J will probably rthem part, or B traversed by le covered with ion, and others y little of the ts way directly ist is traversed tying into the idred miles in )ins the conti- ss, not exceed- lists of moun- nhabitants are /" from the sea. m Sea, which n the east, is from sixty to ives two large which rises m ree of latitude, id the Rio del n side of the gulf, is called Sonora, and the southern part Sinaloa ; they together form one department of the Mexican republic. The harbor of Gvaymas in So- nora, near the 28th degree of latitude, is said to be one of the best in America, and the town has a large and increasing trade ; at the entrance of the gulf, on its eastern side, is another rising commercial place, called Mazatlan ; and farther south is San Bias, among the principal ports of Mex- ico on the Pacific. The old Mexican towns of Culiacan, on the river of the same name a little north of Mazatlan, and Chiametla, between the latter place and San Bias, are now nearly deserted. X. We next proceed to take a — GENERAL VIEW OP THE PRINCIPAL MOUNTAIN-CHAINS OP NORTH AMERICA. It has been already said, that the whole western coast of North America is bounded by a continuous chain of mountains , and it may now be added, that the whole interior of the continent, to a considerable distance from the Pacific, is traversed by lofty ridges, separated from each other by val- leys or plains of small extent. Of these interior ridges, the principal in every respect is that known by the general name of the Rocky Moun- tains, forming the northern portion of the great chain of highlands which stretches from the Arctic Sea to the Strait of Magellan, dividing, except in a few places, the territories drained by streams flowing into the Atlantic, from those whose waters enter the Pacific. Throughout its whole course, this chain lies nearer to the western shores of the continent than to the eastern, and therefore much the greater quantity of the water which Amer- ica supplies to the ocean is discharged into the Atlantic. The general course of the Rocky Mountain ridge is from north-north- west to south-southeast. Between the 58th degree of latitude a*id the 48th, it is nearly parallel to the Pacific coast, from which its distance is about five hundred miles; from the 48th degree to the 40th, the coast runs due south, so that the distance between it and the ridge is constantly in- creasing, and on the 40th parallel exceeds seven hundred miles. The name of Rocky Mountains is not applied to any part of the chain south of the last-mentioned latitude ; the parts north of the 50th degree are some- times called the Chipewyan Mountains. The highest points in the Rocky Mountains, and probably in North America, if not in the whole western continent, are those about the 62cl degree of latitude, near the northernmost sources of the Columbia river. Mr. Thompson, the astronomer of the Hudson's Bay Trading Company, has measured scA^eral of these peaks, of which, one called Mount Brown is estimated by him at sixteen thousand feet, and another, Mount Hooker^ at fifteen thousand seven hundred feet above the ocean level. It has been stated that the same gentleman has recently found other points farther north, which he considers to be more than ten thousand feet higher than either of those above mentioned. About the 42d parallel are also many lofty peaks, particularly among the Wind-river Mountains, a spur or offset, which extends southeast from the main chain, and from which flow many of the head-waters of the Missouri and the Yellow Stone Rivers. North of the 56th degree the ridge diminishes in height, and near the Arctic Sea it is only a line of hills. Near the 42d degree of latitude, three other extensive ridges are united to the Rocky Mountains ; one on its eastern side, running towards the J. t & '■: W' I il % 'i r\ ■ i' t ii ■ i 13 i;ii) Mexican Gulf, and forming the eastern wall of a great valley or basin, through which flows the river Bravo del Norte ; another, stretching south- west to and through the peninsula of California, between which and the Rocky Mountains is a vast region, drained principally by the rivers Colo- rado and CrtVrt, emptying into the northern extremity of the Californian Gulf; the third ridge is that commonly called the Snoipy Mountains, run- ning westward to the Pacific, in which it terminates at Cape Mendocino, and completely separating Oregon, or the country of the Columbia, on the north, from California on its southern side. From the place of union of these chains also flow the head-waters of the Bravo, emptying into the Mexican Gulf — of the Colorado — of the Lewis, the principal southern branch of the Columbia which falls into the Pacific —and of the Missouri, the Yellow Stone, the Platte, and the Arkansas, all of which are dis- charged into the Mississippi. Near the place of union of these chains is a remarkable depression of the Rocky Mountains, called the Southern Pass, aflbrding a short and easy route for carriages between the head-waters of the south branch of the Platte, on the east, and those of the Colorado, on the west ; from which latter, is another pass through the mountains, northward, to the Lewis River. There are other depressions of the great chain farther north, between the Yellow Stone, on the one side, and the Salmon River and Flathead branches of the Columbia, on the other ; but they offer much greater difficulties to the traveller than the Southern Pass, which is, and will probably continue to be, the principal avenue of communica- tion between the United States and the territories of the Far West. In latitude of o3 is the great cleft, from which the Columbia flows, on one side, to the Pacific, and the Athabasca, on the other, to the Mackenzie emptying into the Arctic Ocean. Farther north, the Peace and the Turn- again Rivers, which rise near the Pacific, pass through the Rocky Moun- tains into the Mackenzie. Respecting the Snowy Mountains, very little exact information has been obtained. They appear to run in an unbroken line, from Cape Mendocino to the Rocky Mountains, between the 39th and the 42d parallels of lati- tude, and to be united with the other ridges extending northward and southward. Whether they are to be considered as a distinct chain, or as formed by the union of branches from the others, is a question interesting only to the geologist ; certain it is, that they present a complete barrier between California and the country of the Columbia. XL The remainder of this sketch will be devoted entirely to the con- sideration of— OREGON, OR THE COUNTRY OF THE COLUMBIA. Oregon, considered as camprekending the territory drained by the Co- lumbia river, together with the seacoasts of that territory, lies within the following natural boundaries : on the east, the Rocky Mountains, extend- ing about nine hundred miles, from the 54th parallel to the 41st; on the south, the Snowy Mountains, in their whole length about seven hundred miles, from the Rocky Mountains to Cape Mendocino, on the Pacific, near the 40th degree of latitude ; on the loest, the Pacific Ocean, from Cape Mendocino, about five hundred miles due north, to Cape Flattery, at the entrance of the Strait of Fuca, near the 48th degree of latitude; and on the north twenty m summit those of about the territory ( at about The CO twenty n joins the are comp from thei rise abru harbor southeas nient for and is d which sti ther east continen minating PvgeVs westwarc country f tiful, felt rous arm commerc ding -post the sou til On thi line neai but two ] finches or of Bostoi a secure and bars state," sj I boats ca I should t haps, be the Rive, discover it will b the Spai tude 41 cording rivers it are the 43d par; the Umi trading- On tl 13 alley or basin, retching south- which and the the rivers Colo- the Californian fomitains, run- pe Mendocino, lumbia, on the ice of union of •tying into the cipal southern f the Missouri, ivhich are dis- B depression of g a short and outh branch of le west ; from thward, to the chain farther Salmon River but they offer n Pass, which f communica- ir West, nbia flows, on ;he Mackenzie and the Turn- Rocky Moun- ation has been ipe Mendocino irallels of lati- orthward and ;t chain, or as on interesting tnplete barrier ly to the con- erf Ay the Go- es within the tains, extend- ! 41st ; on the sven hundred Pacific, near n, from Cape lattery, at the tude; and on the north, the Strait of Fuca, from Cape Flattery, about one hundred and twenty miles eastward, and thence by a line running northeast, along the summit of the highlands separating the waters of the Columbia from those of Frazer's River, to the Rocky Mountains, which it would reach about the 54th degree of latitude. Such are the natural boundaries of the territory drained by the Columbia, the surface of which may be estimated at about three hundred and fifty thousand square miles. The coast of Oregon on the Strait of hhca is about one hundred and twenty miles in length, eastward from Cape Flattery, where the strait joins the Pacific under the parallel of 48 degrees 23 minutes. The shores are composed of low sandy cliffs, overhanging beaches of sand or stones; from them the land ascends gradually to the foot of the mountains, which rise abruptly to a great height within a few miles of the sea. The only harbor immediately on the strait is Port Discovery, situated near the southeast angle, which Vancouver pronounces perfectly safe and conve- nient for ships of any size ; it runs southward from the strait into the land, and is defended from the violence of the waves by Protection Island, which stretches partly across its entrance on the north. A few miles far- ther east a long arm of the sea, called Admiralty Inlet, penetrates the continent, soutliward from the strait, more than one hundred miles, ter- minating near the 47th degree of latitude in a bay named by Vancouver PiigeVs Sound ; Hood's Canal is a branch of this inlet, extending south- westward, and many smaller branches are given off on each side. The country surrounding Admiralty Inlet is described by Vancouver as beau- tiful, fertile, and in every respect agreeable ; and the bay, with its nume- rous arms stretching into the interior, must offer great advantages for commercial intercourse hereafter. The Hudson's Bay Company has tra- ding-posts on these waters, of which the principal is Port Nasqually, at the southernmost part of Puget's Sound. On the Pacific, the coast of Oregon extends five hundred miles in a line nearly straight from north to south, presenting in its whole length but two places of refuge for vessels. The northernmost of these is Bul- finch's or Gray's Ray, discovered in May, 1792, by Captain Robert Gray, of Boston ; it is situated in latitude of 46 degrees 58 minutes, and offers a secure anchorage for small vessels, sheltered from the sea by sandy spiis and bars. " It appears to be of little importance as a port, in its natural state," says Vancouver, " as it affords but two or three situations wherp boats can approach sufficiently near the shore to effect a landing ;" ' c should the country become settled, this and other disadvantages may, per- haps, be corrected by artificial means. The other harbor is the mmith of the River Columbia, about thirty miles south of the former, which was also discovered by Captain Gray, and received from him the name of his ship; it will be described particularly hereafter. Port Trinidad, so called by the Spaniards who anchored there in 1775, is an open loadstead in lati- tude 41 degrees 3 minutes, entirely unprotected fiom the ocean, and, ac- cording to Vancouver, unworthy to be called a harbor. Several small rivers fall into the Pacific south of the Columbia, of which the principal are the Klamet and the Umqtia, both discharging their waters near the 43d parallel. Vessels drawing not more than eight feet water may enter the Umqua ; at the mouth of which the Hudson's Bay Company have a trading-factory. On this coast are several capes ; none of which, however, project far It ii :r ' ,'■ H\ .1' ll ill 14 into the ocean. The most remarkable is Cape Blanco^ discovered by the Spanish navigator Aguilar in 1803, and named by Vancouver in 1792 Cape Orford', it hes nearly under the 43d parallel, and is the extremity of a line of highlands which separates the valley of the Umqua, on the north, from the Klamet, on the south. The only island between Cape Flattery and Cape Mendocino, which has been thought worthy of a name, is one close to the continent, near the latitude of 47^ degrees, called by the Span- iards Isla de Dolores^ or Isle of Grief, in commemoration of the murder of some of their men on the contiguous main land; it afterwards re- ceived the appellation of Destruction Island, from a similar loss there sus- tained by a British vessel in 1787. XII. The territory drained by the Cohimbia presents a constant suc- cession of mountain-ridges and valleys, or plains of small extent. The principal ridges are two in number, besides the Rocky Mountains, run- ning nearly parallel to each other and to the coasts ; and the country is thus divided into three great regions, which differ materially in chmate, soil, and productive powers. The Jirst region, or low country, is that between the coast and the chain of mountains nearest to the sea ; the sec- ond reg-ion is between the mountains nearest the sea and the middle ridge, called the Blue Mountains ; and the third region, or high country, is be- tween the Blue Mountains and the Rocky Mountains. All these divis- ions are crossed by the Columbia, the main stream of which is formed in the middle region, by the union of several branches flowing from the Rocky Mountains, and receiving in their course supplies from innumera- ble smaller tributaries draining the intermediate countries. The chain of mountains ruiming nearest the Pacific, southward from the Strait of Fuca, has received many names, no one of which appears to have been generally adopted. It is called the California Mountains ; the Klamet Mountains, from the Indian nation which occupies a part of the territory on its western side ; and the Cascade Mountains, from the cas- cades or cataracts formed by the Columbia, in passing through the ridge. Mr. Kelly, a patriotic American citizen, has proposed to call it the Presi- dent Range, and has accordingly assigned to the seven highest peaks, respectively, the names of the Chief Magistrates of the United States, from Washington to Jackson, in succession.* These mountains are of con- siderable elevation, and many of their summits are visible from a great distance at sea, especially the most northern, called Mount Olympus, near Cape Flattery. Mr. Wyeth speaks thus rapturously of the view of them from the top of one of the Blue Mountains : " The traveller going west, sees the high points of the California Mountains, about one hundred and sixty miles distant, some of which rise about sixteen thousand feet above the level of the Pacific. All other views in America sink into lit- tleness in comparison with this. From one spot, I have seen seven of ♦ Kelly's Mount Washington is the same called by Vancouver Mount Hood, rising due east of the mouth of the Columbia, at the distance of about one hundred miles; Mount Adams u the Mount St. Helen's, of the same navigator, under the 45th parallel ; Mount Jefferson re- ceived that name from Lewis and Clarke, in 1805; it is the lofty peak in latitude of 4 U de- grees, which the British fur-traders have thought proper to call Mount Vancouver; Mntnt Madison is the Mount Maclaughlin of the British maps; Mount Monroe is in latitude of 43 de- grees 20 minutes ; Mount John Quinci/ Adams is in 42 degrees 10 minutes; Mount Jackson is a stupendous pinnacle, under the parallel of 41 degrees 40 minutes, called by the British Mount jPitt, the high \ whiteness loaves."* The dis one hunt crossed in chain, soi ocean. B lie immec flowing ir the Pacifi northern, been repo as the M has been trance int lightful ai The cli the other tiveness. while the gon; dur the rains i dry seaso: are less fr reduced t snow is ri may gene lumbia w quence ol Wyeth, " tatoes, an Indian c< yield of i best qua! the winte open fielc of the CO the extre sustain t' Of the lands ar( of timbe heavy to be remoi acquaint ever, pn the next are extri ♦ Letter on the Ore -» ^ illl:h ■il^ 15 covered by the ouver in 1792 16 extremity of I, on the north, Cape Flattery a name, is one d by the Span- of the murder afterwards re- loss there sus- constant suc- extent. The ountains, run- i the country Uly in chmate, untryy is that e sea ; the sec- ! middle ridge, ^ountrp, is be- ll these divis- h is formed in ring from the 3m innumera- uthward from ich appears to ountains; the i a part of the from the cas- igh the ridge. I it the Presi- lighest peaks, d States, from s are of con- from a great mt OlympuSf of the view ■aveller going one hundred housand feet sink into lit- een seven of I, rising due east Mount Adams u int Jefferson re- titudeuf4U de- ncouver; AJ»u>U itimde of 43 de- runt Jackson is a e British Mount the high points of this range, extending from north to south, their perfect whiteness and steep conical shape causing them to appear like huge sugar- loaves."* The distance from the coast to the foot of this chain is in some places one himdred miles, in others much less. The intervening country is crossed in various directions by low ridges connected with the principal chain, some of which run parallel to it, while others stretch towards the ocean. Between these ridges are valleys, of which the two most extensive lie immediately at the base of the great chain, and are drained by rivers flowing into the Columbia; the waters from the others falling directly into the Pacific. Of the two rivers which empty into the Columbia, the northern, called the Cowiliiz, has been imperfectly examined, and little has been reported concerning it. The southern, described by Lewis and Clarke as the MuUonomahf but now more generally known as the Wallamety has been traced more than two hundred miles due south, from its en- trance into the Columbia, through a valley which is said to be the most de- lightful and fertile part of Northwest America. The climate of this region is more favorable to agriculture than those of the other parts of Oregon, although it is certainly adverse to great produc- tiveness. The summer is warm and very dry. From April to October, while the westerly winds prevail, rain seldom falls in any part of Ore- gon ; during the other months, when the south wind blows constantly, the rains are almost incessant in the lower region, although sometimes the dry season there continues longer. Farther from the Pacific, the rains are less frequent and abundant ; and near the Rocky Mountains, they are reduced to a few showers in the spring. In the valleys of the low country snow is rarely seen, and the ground is not often frozen, so that ploughing may generally be carried on during the whole winter. In 1834 the Co- lumbia was frozen for thirteen days, but this was principally in conse- quence of the accumulation of ice from above. *' This country," says Mr. Wyeth, " is well calculated for wheat, barley, oav^, rye, pease, apples, po- tatoes, and all the roots cultivated in the northern States of the Union ; Indian corn does not succeed well, and is an unprofitable crop. The yield of wheat, with very poor cultivation, is about fifteen bushels of the best quality to the acre. Horses and neat cattle succeed tolerably well ; the winter being mild, they are enabled to subsist upon the produce of the open fields. Hogs live and multiply, but cannot be made fat on the range of the country. The agriculture of this region must always suffer from the extreme dryness of the summer. The products which ripen earliest sustain the least damage, but those which come late are often injured." Of the soil of this region, the same acute observer says : " The up- lands are tolerably good, but the cost of clearing the enormous growth of timber on them would be beyond their worth ; it is too thick and heavy to allow of crops being obtained by girdling the trees ; and it must be removed or burnt, the labor of which is beyond the conception of those acquainted only with the forests of the United States. There are, how- ever, prairies sufficiently numerous and extensive for the cultivation of the next century, which, being chiefly on the second bottoms of rivers, are extremely fertile, and above inundation." The forests in this part of ♦ Letter from Nath. Wyeih, in the report of the comtni)tee of the House of Representatives on the Oregon Territory, presented February 16, 1838. See page 19ij of thiii memoir. il if I' f m • 1:1 ' t Iv 1 ft 5' '.t I I'"' ll'i! i; iil^ 16 America are, from all accounts, magnificent. Ross Cox describes a fir growing near Fort George, or Astoria, on the Columbia, about eight miles irom the sea, which measured forty-six feet in circumference at ten feet from the ground, one hundred and fifty-three feet in length before giving oflf a branch, and not less than three hundred feet in its whole height. Another tree, of the same species, is said to be standing on the banks of the Umqua, the trunk of which is fifty-seven feet in circumference, and two hundred and sixteen feet in length, below its branches. Cox adds, that "prime sound pines, from two hundred to two hundred and eighty feet in height, and from twenty to forty feet in circumference, are by no means uncommon." XIII. The Bfui^ Mountains extend from north to south, though the whole territory of the Columbia, between the Rocky Mountains and the chain which borders the coast. Their course is not so regular or clearly de- fined as those of the other chains ; and they appear to be broken into sev- eral ridges, some of which run towards the Rocky Mountains on the east, while others join the westernmost chain. These mountains are steep and rocky, generally volcanic, and some of them covered with eternal snow ; they are crossed by both branches of the Columbia, which also receives several tributaries from the valleys on their western sides. The middle region of Oregon, between the njountains nearest the coast on the west and the liiue Mountains on the east, is more elevated, more dry, and less fertile, than the Imo coxmtry. It consists chiefly of plains, between ridges of mountains, the soil of which is generally a yellow sandy clay, covered with grass, small shrubs, and prickly pears. Timber is very scarce; the trees, which are small, and of soft useless woods, such as cotton-wood, sumach, and willow, being only found in the neighhorhood of the streams. The climate during the summer is universally repre- sented as most agreeable and salubrious; the days are warm, and the nights cool ; but the want of moisture in the air prevents the contrast of temperature from being injurious to the health. The rains begin later in the year, and end sooner, than in the lower country, and they are less constant and heavy. There is little snow in the southern valleys ; farther north it is more common. Few attempts at cultivation have been made in this region, and they have not been, upon the whole, successful. Wyeth conceives that " the agriculture of this territory must always be limited to the wants of a pas- toral people, and to the immediate vicinity of the streams and mountains; and irrigation must be resorted to, if a large population is to be supported in it. This country, which affords little prospect for the tiller of the soil, is perhaps one of the best for grazing in the world. It has been much underrated by travellers who have only passed by the Columbia, the land along which is a collection of sand and rocks, and almost with- out vegetation ; but a few miles from the Columbia, towards the hills and mountains, the prairies open wide, covered with a low grass of a most nu- tritious kind, which remains good throughout the year. In September there are slight rains, at which time the grass starts ; and in October and November there is a good coat of green grass, which remains so until the ensuing summer; and about June it is ripe in the lower plains, and, dry- ing without being wet, is like made hay; in this state it remains until the autumn rains again revive it. The herdsman in this extensive valley (of more than one hundred and fifty miles in width) could at all times keep his mer, on tli 4ry grass the countr traders in hundreds beef, is su raising th consequei meat, whi that sheep ciently wa •^healthiest small qua tion from XIV. T included I tains on t rocky moi wide plaii never be i of inhabit treine dryi the niffht. is little sn ally on th Wyeth sa 1832, mar degrees ai degrees b stances ai region eni strongly ii rish in it, In this branches parallel, a waters frc I There are % nicate wil * therefore I ♦ VVhene with itself li the earth, Iv iak(.n Irom coiisiantly a facts her"; i no case can vall.ys, Vo- imnresnite of the Rod salt ns t( r abundancv'. or of a lar^ drain from 17 describes n fir out eight miles noe at ten feet h before giving whole height, n the banlis of imference, and es. Cox adds, red and eighty !nce, are by no h, though the ntains and the jr or clearly de- roken into sev- ns on the east, s are steep and eternal snow ; 1 also receives jarest the coast elevated, more iefiy of plains, a yellow sandy rs, Tinnber is ivoods, such as neighborhood versally repre- varm, and the the contrast of i begin later in I they are less alleys ; farther pon, and they Ives that " the ^ants of a pas- id mountains; 1 be supported ler of the soil, IS been much ^lumbia, the almost with- I the hills and of a most nu- In September 1 October and IS so until the ins, and, dry- ains until the ensive valley 1 at all times keep his animals in good grass, by approaching the moiintains in sum- mer, on tlio declivities of which ulaiust any climate may he hud ; and the dry grass of the country is at all times excellent. It is in this section of the country that all the horses are reared for the supply of the Indians and traders in the interior. It is not uncouuuon that one Indian owns some Jiundreds of theni. I think this section, for producing hides, tuliow, and beef, is superior to any part of North America; for, with equal facilities for raising the animals, the weather in winter, when the grass is best, and consequently the best time to fatten the animals, is cold enough to salt meat, which is not the case in Upper California. There is no (piestion that sheep might be raised to any extent, in a climate so dry and sulU- ciently warm, where very little snow or rains falls. It is also, I think, the ihealthiest country I have ever been in, which, I suppose, arises from the small quantity of decaying vegetable matter, and there being no obstruc- tion from timber to the passing winds." XIV. The third and last natural division of Oregon is the high country^ included between the Blue Mountains on the west and the Rocky Moun- tains on the east. The southern part of this region is a desert, of steep rocky mountains, deep narrow valleys, called ho/eshy the fur-traders, and wide plains, covered with sand or gravel, generally volcanic, which can never be rendered capable of supporting more than a very small number of inhabitants. The distinguishing features of this territory are, its ex- treme dryness^ and tke great dijfereuce in temperature betvwen the day and the night. It seldom rr'ns, except during a few days in the spring; there is little snow in the valleys in winter, though a great deal falls occasion- ally on the mountain tops ; and no moisture is deposited in dews. Mr. Wyeth saw the thermometer, on the banks of Snake River, in August, 1832, mark eighteen degrees of Fahrenheit at sunrise, and ninety-two degrees at noon ot the same day ; and he says that a difference of forty degrees between sunrise and noon is not uncommon. Such circum- stances are alojiie sulficient to render any attempts at cultivation in this region entirely fruitless; and a great portion of the surface is moreover so strongly impregnated with salts of various kinds, that plants could not flou- rish in it, even were a sufficiency of heat and moisture regularly siipplied. In this region, nevertheless, are situated the sources of all the principal branches of the Columbia, the northernmost of which rises near the 54th parallel, and the southernmost near the 42d; they, of course, receive their waters from the mountains, as very little can be furnished by the valleys. There are also many lakes in this part of America, some of which commu- nicate with the Columbia ; the others have no outlets, and their waters are therefore necessarily salt.* The largest of these collections of salt water, ♦ vyhenever water runs on or through the earth, it finds salts, which it dissolves, and carries with itself to its recipient. If that renpient have no outlet either above or under the surface of the earth, by which it coinmuiucaies with some lower recipient, and thus its waters are not taken from it except by evapoiation, the salt cairied into it by streams must necessarily be coiisianily accumiilatina there, as evnporation does not abstract a single sa'ine particle. If the facts her>; staled be admitted as true, the deductions cannot be denied; and it is believed that no case can be cited in contradiction ot either. In like manner, the surfaces of gieat plains or yall ys, 'rom w'hich the water is not carried off either by streams or by infiltration, are always imnregmted with salt. Of this, the high plains of Mexico, and the valleys immediately west of the Rocky Mountain.s, offer examples; the soil o( the parts not regularly drained being so salt ns t( render vegetation impossible, C/en where all the other requisites are furnished ia abnn(lanc>\ The reverse is not always true ; nevertheless, the saltness of a lame body of water, or of a lane extent of ground, affords strong reasons for suspecting that there is no regular drain from a into a lower recipient. it r k* n h 18 is that called by the Indians La/ceYouta, and represented on the old Spanish maps as Lake Timpanosfos, situated in one of the valleys or hoi- lows produced by the interlocking of the Snowy Mountains with the other chains, near the Rocky Mountains. Very little is known as to the extent and position of this lake, except that it is very large, that it is surrounded bv high mountains, and that it receives on its northern side a considera- ble stream, called the Hear River. Captain Wyeth places its northern extremity in latitude of 42 degrees 3 minutes. In one of the maps at- tached to Mr. Irving's account of Captain Bonneville's Adventures in the Far West, that point is represented under the parallel of 42 decrees 60 min- utes ', while in the other map illustrating the same work, it is placed still farther north by half a degree. In the map annexed to this memoir. Lake Youta is made to extend from 40^ to 41^ degrees, on the authority of Arrowsmith; which position appears more conformable than any other with the best accounts. The northern part of the upper region about the Clarke River is less barren than that which has been just described ; the valleys are wider, the rains more frequent, and the soil is freed from salt by the numerous streams which traverse it. The country cast of the Rocky Mountains, for more than two hundred miles, is almost as dry and barren as that immediately on the western side ; offering no means of support for a population, except in the vicinity of the rivers, which flow through it from the great chain into the Missis- sippi. The interposition of this wide desert-tract between the productive regions of the Mississippi and those of the Columbia, must retard the set- tlement of the latter countries, and exercise a powerful influence over their political destinies. XV. The Columbia River now remains to be particularly noticed, and it will be traced from the sources of its principal confluents to the ocean. The northernmost stream of the Columbia is Canoe River, which rises near the 54th degree of latitude, and near the 62d is joined by two other streams, at a place called by the fur-traders Boat Encampment. Of the two streams which join Canoe River, one flows from the south along the base of the Rocky Mountains ; the other rises in a great gorge of that chain, under the parallel of 53 degrees, its head being a small lake, within a few feet of which is another, whence the waters run into the Athabasca, one of the branches of the Mackenzie. Of this gorge. Cox says : "The country around our encampment presented the wildest and most terrific appear- ance of desolation. The sun, shining on a range of stupendous glaciers, threw a chilling brightness over the chaotic mass of rocks, ice, and snow, by which we were environed. Close to our encampment, one gigantic mountain, of conical form, towered majestically into the clouds, far above the others; while at intervals, the interest of the scene was heightened by the rumbling noise of a descending avalanche." The ground about this spot is higher than any other in North America, and probably on the whole western continent. After a course of about two hundred miles due south from the point of union of the three streams above mentioned, the Columbia receives Mac- gillivray^s River, and a little lower down Clarke's, or the Flathead. River, both flowing from the Rocky Mountains. Clarke's river is nearly as largo as the Columbia, above the place of their junction ; its sources are situa> ted within a short distance of those of the Missouri, and, as the interven- ing ridge of comm tinnnt. long and by lofty The t before th the Kettl latitude o cipul estu which is potatoes, river flov east, abo large str another i Astoria, south to or Snak< traced fr< The Rocky ai near the Missouri tains to the 43d It then i on its wi koosee, oi and Pou each sid the partji at the n picted bi TheC the Wall the sout Pacific, walla is Compan Below tl before e impassa Five mi through by basal Cascadt I the foot 7: more th I five mil ^ At tl 1 north s 19 nted on the old e valloys or hoi- IS with the other as to the extent it is surrounded side a considera- oes Its northern of the maps nt- dventures m the decrees 60 min- , it is placed still is memoir, Lake the authority of than any other ke River is less rs are wider, the imerous streams m two hundred on the western t in the vicinity into the Missis- 1 the productive It retard the set- influence over rly noticed, and s to the ocean. wr, which rises id by two other iment. Of the south along the [e of that chain, e, within a few habasca, one of " The country terrific appear- ndous glaciers, ice, and snow, t, one gigantic Duds, far above heightened by und about this robably on the )m the point of . receives Mac- ^lathead River ^ nearly as largo irces are situa> s the interven- ing ridge is not very high, it will doubtless form one of the groat channels of communication botwcon the eastern and the western sides of the con- tinent. In its course it spreads out into a Inko, about tliirty-fivo miles long and five or six broad, which is situated in a rich villcy, surrounded by lofty snow-clad mountains. The Clarke rushes down into the Columbia, over a ledge of rocks, a little before the passage of the latter through the Blue Moiuitains, where it forms the Kettle fhlLs. Just below these fulls, on the south side of the river, in latitude of 48 degrees 37 minutes, is situated Ihrt Colville^ one of the prin- cipal establishments of the Hudson's Bay Company; the country around which is fertile and agreeable, producing wheat, barley, oats, Indian corn, potatoes, peas, and various garden vegetables, in abundance. Thence the river flows due west, receiving in its course the l^pokan from the jouth- east, about one hundred miles, to Us junction with the Okanagan^ a large stream from the north, where the Hiu'son's Bay Company have another fort, called Fort Okatinffan. This place was first occupied by the Astoria, or Pacifi'' Fur Company, in 1811; from it the Columbia runs south to the latitude oi 46 degrees 8 minutes, and there joins the Lewis, or Snake, the great south branch of which will now be in like manner traced from its sources. The head-waters of the Lewis River are in the angle formed by the Rocky and the Snowy Mountains, between the42d and the 44th degrees, near the sources of the Colorado, the Platte, the Yellow Stone, and the Missouri. Thence it flows westward along the foot of the Snowy Moun • tains to the Blue Mountains, through one ridge of which it passes near the 43d degree of latitude, making there the Safmrm, or Fishivg Falls. It then runs northwestward to its junction with the Columbia, receiving on its way the MaladCf the Wapticacos, or north branch, and the Koos- koosee^ or Salmon River, from the east, and the A/alhevr, the Burnt River, and Powder River from the west, besides numerous smaller streams on each side. The Salmon River is believed to be that on and near which the party sent from the United States, in 1811, to form an establishment at the mouth of the Columbia, experienced the dreadful sufierings de- picted by Mr. Irving in his Astoria. The Columbia, below the junction of its two great branches, receives the Walla-walla, the Urnatalla, John Day^s River, and the fhlls River firom the south, and then passes through the range of mountains nearest the Pacific, under the 46th parallel of latitude. At the mouth of the Walla- walla is Fort WaUa-walla, or Nezpercis, belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, near which is some land tolerably well adapted for cultivation. Below this river the Columbia descends considerably, forming many rapids before entering the mountains. The Fhlls are represented by Wyeth as impassable at low water, but passable at high water both up and down. Five miles beloM' them are the Dalles, or narrows, where the river rushes through a space not more than one hundred and fifty feet wide, walled in by basaltic columns on both sides ; and thirty- six miles lower, are the Cascades, which are falls impassable at all times. The tide comes up to the foot of the cascades, and the navigation is good for vessels drawing not more than fourteen feet to this point, which is one hundred and twenty- five miles from the ocean. At the distance of about one hundred miles from the Pacific, on the north side of the Columbia, and a quarter of a mile from it, stands Fort If i: 'A\ . ''>'■ > ' i :n »■ w Vancouver, the principal establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company west of the Rocky Mountains. It-consists of a number of wooden build- ings within a stockade, serving as dwelling-houses, stores, magazines, and workshops ; and near it are other small buildings inhabited by the laborers, together with a saw-mill and grist-mill. The whole number of residents at the place is about eight hundred, of whom a large proportion are Indians or half-breeds. Several hundred acres of land near the fort are under cultivation, producing wheat, barley, oats, pease, potatoes, «fcc., in abundance; and the stock of cattle is also considerable. The Multononmh, or Walla/net, enters the Columbia in the south, about twenty miles below Vancouver. It is navigable for small vessels to the distance of twenty miles from its mouth— or, rather, from its mouths, for it divides into two branches before entering the Columbia, and thus forms a long narrow island, on which Captain Wyeth endeav- ored unsuccessfully to establish an American trading-factory in 1835. At the head of the navigation is a fall, where the river crosses a ridge of hills ; before reaching which, it flows through prairies of the richest ground, varying in breadth from a few feet to several miles. In this de- lightful valley the Hudson's Bay Company have formed a settlement for its retiring servants ; and another has been made by American citizens, under the direction of Methodist missionaries, which is said to be in a prosperous condition. A large body of emigrants to this place sailed from New York in the latter part of 1839 ; and other persons are said to be now in that city preparing for their departure for the same poini,. Astoria, the first settlement made on the Columbia by the Americans in 1811, is on the south side of the river, eight miles from its mouth; it consists at present of only a single house, occupied by the Hudson's Bay Company, and called Fort George. The Columbia, twenty-five miles from the sea, varies in width from seven miles to one, and that part of the river has been, in consequence, sometimes considered as a bay or inlet ; this view is, however, contradict- ed by the fact, that the water continues to be fresh and potable to the immediate vicinity of the Pacific, except when the stream is very low, or the wind has long blown violently from the west. The river enters the Pa" cific between two points of land : one, on the north, called Cape Disap- pointtncnt, or Cape Hancock, in latitude of 46 degrees 18 minutes; the other, called Point Adams, being seven miles southeast from the former. From each of these points a sand-bar runs into the water ; above which the waves of the Pacific, on the one side, and the torrents of the Colum- bia, on the other, meet with terrific violence, producing a most formida- ble line of breakers. These circumstances render the entrance and de- parture of vessels hazardous at all times, and almost impossible when the winds are high. The depth of the water, between the bars, is thirty feet at the lowest ; no vessel drawing more than fourteen feet can, how- ever, proceed far up the river, on account of the irregularities of the channel. This river, like the others in Northwest America, abounds in fish, partic- ularly in salmon, which ascend all its branches up to the Blue Mountmns, and form the principal means of subsistence for the natives of the first and middle regions. Of those natives, the lunits of the present sketch do not admit a detailed description ; they are supposed to be in number about twenty thousand, all savages incapable of civilization. NORT Preliminary coasts of '. covery of fornia — E lions of C direct int Drake to i The tc the Atlar in the in which w earth was it really i of Europ , er than a • speedily i It was i ted Span I celebrate( I by Pope i ' to make i eastern r< gal; whi control { % those coi I portant t settled b under tt among c ueditsr iV, s Bay Company >f wooden build- )res, magazines, inhabited by the vhole number of large proportion nd near the fort e, potatoes, «fec., 1 in the south, for small vessels rather, from its ', the Columbia, Wyeth endeav- actory in 1835. rosses a ridge of ! of the richest es. In this de- a settlement for lerican citizens, said to be in a )lace sailed from are said to be I point. ' the Americans 'om its mouth; y the Hudson's in width from 1 consequence, iver, contradict- potable to the is very low, or r enters the Pa^ id Cape Disap- minutes; the lom the former. above which of the Colura- most formida- itrance and de- ipossible when 3 bars, is thirty feet can, how- ilarities of the in fish, partic- lue Mountains, of the first and ; sketch do not number about m MEMOIR, HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL, ( ON THE NORTHWEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA, AND A THE ADJACENT TERRITORIES. I CHAPTER I. Preliminary observations — Early attempts of the Spaniards to explore the westerr^ coasts of North America — Voyages made by authority of Heman Cortes — Dis- covery of California by Becerra, in 1535— Voyage of Cortes in the Gulf of Cali- fornia — Discovery ot the west coast of California by Ulloa, in 1539 — Expedi- tions of Ccronado and Alarcon — Voyage of Cabrillo, in 1542 — Establishment ef direct intercourse by the Pacific, between Mexico and India — Visit of Francis Drake to the northwest coast in 1579. The territories first seen by Europeans on the western side of the Atlantic were naturally supposed to be parts of Asia, or to lie in the immediate vicinity of that continent, the eastern limits of which were then unknown ; and, as the circumference of the earth was moreover, at that time, considered to be much less than it really is, hopes were entertained among the maritime nations of Europe that some route for their ships to India, safer and short- er than any around the southern extremity of Africa, would be speedily discovered. It was under the influence of such expectations that \\\e uni- ted Spanish Sovereigns concluded with the King of Portugal the celebrated Treaty of Partition, founded on the bull issued in 1494, by Pope Alexander VI. Agreeably to this treaty, the Spaniards were I to make no attempts to communicate with India by sea through ;! eastern routes, which became in a manner the property of Portu- l gal ; while, on the other hand, they were to possess exclusive I control and use of every western channel of intercourse with I those countries, which might be discovered. This and other im- portant questions of jurisdiction having been thus definitively settled between the two greatest maritime Powers of Europe, under the guaranty of the highest authority then recognised among civilized nations, each of the parties to the treaty contin-^ ued its researches within the limits assigned to it. 8 I)' i;i i 1493. 1495. i , ■ .^,1 S3 ''* 'fl 1499. 1513. ¥: i': ^ 151!). 1520. \t 151': i&j;j In these examinations, the Portuguese were the most success- ftil. They soon found their way by the Cape of Good Hope to India, where they firmly established their preeminence; while the Spaniards were vainly exploring the Atlantic coasts of the New World, in search of some opening through which they might penetrate with their ships into the ocean bathing the southern side of Asia. At length, in 1513, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the Governor of the Spanish colony of Darien,on the Atlantic, after a short march across the mountains overlooking that place, arrived on the shore of a sea, which was supposed to be no other than the long-sought Southern ocean ; and, as the proximity of this sea to the Atlantic was at the same time demonstrated, farther en- couragement was afforded for the hope that the two great waters would be found united in a position the most favorable for the prosecution of the desired objects. The researches of the Span- iards were, in consequence, directed particularly towards the isth- mus of Darien ; and were conducted with zeal, until the fact of the entire separation of the oceans in that quarter was deter- mined. In the mean time, however, Fernando Magalhaens, or Magel- lan, a Portuguese in the service of Spain, discovered the strait which has ever since borne his name, and, having passed through it with his ships, continued his voyage westward to India. Tho grand geographical question, as to the possibility of circumnaviga- ting the earth, was thus solved ; but not in a manner satisfactory- to the Spaniards. The strait of Magellan was intricate, and be- set by dangers of every kind ; and it was itself almost as distant from Europe as India by the eastern route. Moreover, the sea in- tervening between the new continent and Asia proved to be much wider than had been supposed ; and, in every part of it, which was traversed by vessels for many years after its discovery, the winds were found to blow constantly from eastern points. These circumstances, as they successively became known, con- tributed to depress the hopes of the Spaniards, with regard to the establishment of their dominion in India ; other events, however, occurred at the same time, which consoled them in part for the disappointment, and fixed their attention upon the New World. While Magellan's voyage was in progress, the rich and popu- lous empire of Mexico was discovered, and it was soon after con- quered by the Spaniards, under Hernan Cortes. Within the en- suing ten years Peru and Chili were likewise subjected to the authority of the Spanish monarch ; and the silver of America be- gan to be considered as ample compensation for the loss of the spices and diamonds of India. The brilliant results of these ex- traordinary enterprises attracted fi-om Europe crowds of adventu- rers, all eager to acquire wealth and distinction by similar means, who, uniting in bands under daring leaders, traversed the new continent in various directions, seeking rich nations to plunder. Fortunately for the cause of humanity, these expeditions were fruitless, so &ir at least as regards the object for which they were undertaken ; on the other hand, much information was speedily acquired by means of them, respecting the geography of coasts h and regi( haps, for Amonj to discoi tween th severing tablishm menced tries ; in of his ti period of plans, th connect! until it those ten land thro been accc his attent At that in the Ai situated within a liacan, a Gulf of C both in . of the co]^ Its easterr It shou scended t< century, s od, are vei Seldom, i descriptio place, fi:o \vritten b matters, \i the next ] mining tl were so ir made witl of atmosp j at sea, wl not absol causes of calculatio stances, s * that the s [ tioned, ar ! are at be: le most success - f Good Hope to minence; while ic coasts of the hich they might ig the southern : de Balboa, the Atlantic, after a at place, arrived e no other than roximity of this •ated, farther en- wo great waters avorable for the les of the Span- awards the isth- iintil the fact of irter was deter- laens, or Magel- vered the strait \ passed through [ to India, Tho •f circumnaviga- iner satisfactorj^ [itricate, and be- Imost as distant )ver, the sea in- proved to be every part of it, er its discovery, eastern points. ;ie known, cou- th regard to the vents, however, in part for the New World, rich and popu- soon after con- Within the en- ibjected to the of America be- the loss of the Its of these ex- ds of adventu- similar means, ^ersed the new )ns to plunder, peditions were lich they were 1 was speedily aphy of coasts 23 iand regions, which would not otherwise have been explored, per- haps, for centuries. Among those who were at this period engaged in endeavoring to discover new kingdoms in America, and new passages be- tween the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the most zealous and per- severing was Hernan Cortes. Scarcely 'had he effected the es- tablishment of the Spanish authority in Mexico, ere he com- menced preparations for exploring the adjacent seas and coun- tries ; in expeditions of which nature he employed a great portion of his time, as well as of his private fortune, during the whole period of his residence in that kingdom. In prosecution of his plans, the interior, as well as the coasts on both sides of the region connecting Mexico with South America, were minutely explored, until it had been ascertained that no wealthy nations occupied those territories, and that the two seas were entirely separated by land throughout the whole extent. This arduous task having been accomplished, the enterprising conqueror of Mexico directed his attention towards the northwest. At that period, the most northern settlements of the Spaniards in the American continent were : on the Atlantic side, Panuco, situated near the spot now occupied by the town of Tampico, within a few miles of the Mexican Gulf; and, on the Pacific, Cu- liacan, a small place near the eastern side of the entrance to the Gulf of California. Northward of these settlements, which were both in the vicinity of the tropic of Cancer, nothing was known of the contm nt, except with regard to some isolated portions of Its eastern It should ■.('■>■■. 8 observed, that the accounts which have de- scended to us 01 all voyages performed before the middle of the last century, and of all Spanish voyages to a much more recent peri- od, are very defective, especially as regards geographical positions. Seldom, indeed, is it possible to identify a spot by means of the descriptions contained in those accounts. This arises, in the first place, from the circumstance that such narratives were usually ^v^itten by priests, or other persons unacquainted with nautical matters, who paid little attention to latitudes and bearings. In the next place, the instruments employed in those days for deter- mining the altitudes and relative distances of heavenly bodies were so imperfect, bo ii: in plan and in execution, that observations , made with them on land, and under the most favorable conditions of atmosphere, led to results which were far from accurate; while at sea, when there was much motion in the vessel, or the air was not absolutely clear, those instruments were useless. To these causes of error are to be added the want of proper methods of , calculation, as well as of knowledge of various modifying circum- I stances, such as refraction, aberration, &c. Hence, it followed that the statements of latitude, given in the accounts above men- tioned, are of little value as indicating the positions of places, and are at best only approximative ; while those of longitude, being, * Letter of Cortes to Charles V., written from Mexico, in 1533. 1517 10 1332. iff i ! I! ' (f f Ulloa's voy- laining seven ti of his prop- erty and honors, in the vast and valuable dominions which he 1540 iiad rendered subject to the crown of Castile, f • Fernando de Alarcon, the commander of the naval forces sent iby Mendoza for the conquest of Cibola, sailed from the harbor of ^Santiago, on the west coast of Mexico, with two ships of war, and May 'X •advanced northward along that coast to the extremity of the Cal- Ifornian gulf, where he found the entrance of a large and rapid river. Having embarked, with a portion of his crew, in boats, Aug.ef> upon this river, to which he gave the name of Nuestra Senora de Buena Guia, (Our Lady of Safe Conduct,) he ascended one of its branches, (probably that now called the Colorado,) to the distance of eighty leagues from its mouth. Throughout this whole dis- tance he found the stream broad and rapid, and the country on either side rich and thickly peopled, though occupied only by savages. In reply to the inquiries made by him respecting Coro nado's party, and the rich territories of which they were in searf^li, he received a number of confused stories of kingdoms abounding in gold and precious stones, and inhabited by civilized nations; of rivers filled with crocodiles ; of droves of buffaloes ; of enchant- ers, and other wonderful or remarkable objects. At the extrem- ity of his course up the river, he received what he considered def- inite information respecting Cibola, and was even assured that he might reach that country by a march of ten days into the in- terior. He, however, suspected some treachery on the part of those Avho gave such assurances ; and fearing lest he should be cut off in case he proceeded farther onwards, he descended the river to his ships, and returned to Mexico before the end of the year. His report to the Viceroy displays great self-conceit, and violent animosity against Cortes and Ulloa. Mendoza was, how- ever, so little satisfied with his conduct, that hoAvas, immediately after his return, dismissed from the service. The land forces sent under Coronado exhibited much greater perseverance in their search for the rich kingdoms believed to be situated in the northwestern part of America. According to the letter of their general,t who appears to have been a person of so- ber and resolute character, this body of soldiers and priests, after leaving Culiacan, followed the route described by the two friars, April :. and found the forests and deserts mentioned in their narrative. Having toiled through these dreary regions, however, they had ample cause to distrust the other statements of the reverend dis- coverers. They indeed reached a country called Cibola, situa- Augusr ted nearly in the position assigned by the missionaries to their golden land ; but they there saw before them only a half-culti- vated territory, thinly inhabited by a people not absolutely bar- barous, but yet entirely destitute of that wealth and refinement which had been attributed to them in the reports made to the Viceroy. The magnificent cities were small Indian villages, the V ri H K,;,, n tries discovered lim and the other ♦ Letter of Alarcon to the Viceroy, in Ramusio, vol. iii, page 303; and inHakluyt, vol. iii, page 505. t Ramusio, vol. iii, page 300; Hakluyt, vol. iii, page 447. nil pi!' /I 30 11 M li !' 1510. largest not containing more than two hnndred houses; and the immense quantities of precious metals and stones dwindled down into " a few turquoises, and " some little gold and silver, supposed to be goodJ*^ in fine, as Coronado says in his despatch written from Cibola, " the reverend father provincial had told the truth in nothing which he said respecting kingdoms, provinces, and cities, in this region; for we have found all t/uite the contrary." The Spaniards, although they were thus disappointed in their hoi)osof plunder, yet did not like to return empty-handed to Mex- ico, and ptuitioned their leader to allow them to settle in Cibola, which was a pleasant and agreeable country. To this request, however, Coronado would not assent ; and he could only be pre- vailed on to continue the march northward for some time longer, in search of other rich countries, which were said by the people of Cibola to lie in that direction. Of the remainder of their jour- ney after quitting Cibola, we have a very imperfect account. It appears that they rambled for two years through the region be- tween the Pacific and the great dividing chain of mountams, de- riving their subsistence chiefly from the flesh of the buffiilocs, which were there found in large numbers. The northern limit 1541. of their wanderings was a country called by them Huiinra, near the ocean, and under the 40th degree of latitude, inhabited by a kind and intelligent people, from whom the Spaniards learned that the coasts were occasionally visited by ships ladcni with rich goods and adorned with gilded images.* With information of VAi. this nature the adventurers returned to Mexico in 1542, to the great disappointment of Mendoza, who doubtless expected inore real results from the labor and expense bestowed by him on the equipment and pay of the body. i:,H. Before the return of Coronado "s party from the north west,t the Viceroy had prepared another naval armament, which was to pro- ceed in that direction, from one of the ix)rts on the Pacific, under the command of Pedro do Alvarado, one of the most celebrated he- roes of the conquest. But, just as it was about to depart, a rebellion broke out among the Indians of the province of Jalisco ; and the forces which had been assembled for the expedition on the ocean were all required to re-establish the Spanish authority in tlie dis- turbed territories. In the course of the campaign which ensued, Al- varado was killed by a kick from his horse ; and the difficulties in Jalisco continuing, Mendoza could not carry into efl'ect his views with regard to the countries northwest of Mexico until the fol- lowing year. ijt-2. '^'^'^ disturbances in Mexico having beent at length quieted, two of the vessels which had been prepared wr the expedition to the North Pacific were placed under the command of Juan Ro- driguez de Cabrillo, a Portuguese navigator of considerable rep- Junc 27. utation at that day. These vessels sailed together from the port ofNavidadjii bor of Santa 'cas, in order Ijeen discove out attemptii this coast, oi visited by hi Ifice it to say ^as far north i poa, incessan this height they had bcfi in the small 34 th parallel had been su to the pilot, The new cessor, resol expedition 1 from Port P( back, at len| vation, in tl i vessels were S ishment ; ir i tempt to pro I ably to this I wards the si I April, 1543. \ It is not ( ; precisely w ; coast seen I , examining I which are s I that the 43( I ern limit of k same writei documents be identifie bly with tl named by commemor that situate wards recei While tl Viceroy M( band of a( through tl; known by * In this account there is nothing improbable. Japanese vessels h.ive been found upon the northwest eoasis of America twice ^ince 1814. tHerrera, decade 7, book 2, chapter 11. +llerrera, dti;adc 7, book 5, chapter 3. * Introducti tThere are those by Garc »1 ses ; and the I'^indled down (vir, supposed patch written (I tin: truth in cs, and cities. inted in their ndcd to Mex- llo in Cibola, this request, I only be pre- tinie longer, y the people of their jour- account. It he region be- lountanis, de- he buffaloes, inrthern limit Quimra, near iihabited by a liards learned den with rich iifonnation of I 1542, to the Expected more )y him on the >rthwest,t the :h was to pro- Pacilic, under celebrated he- irt, a rebellion isco ; and the on the ocean ity in the dis- h ensued, Al- difficulties in iect his views until the fol- igth quieted, expedition to of Juan Ro- siderablc rep- from tlie port have been found i\i 5, chapter 3. Jan. 3. of Navidad , in Jalisco ; and, after a short passage, reached tlio har- •M* bor of Santa Cruz, whence they proceeded around Cape San Jai- J"'y-- icas, in order to explore the west coast of Calilbrniu, whii-h had |been discovered two years before by Francisco de Ulloa. With- out attempting to trace minutely the progress of Cabrillo along this coast, or to enumerate the various bays, capes, arid islands visited by him, scarcely any of which can now be identified, suf- 'fice it to say that, by the middle of November, he had advanced Nov. ij as far north as the 40th degree of latitude ; having been, like Ul- i;loa, incessantly opposed by violent northwesterly winds. From this height the Spaniards were driven back to a harbor, which they had before entered and named Port Possession^ supposed to be in the small island of San Bernardo, near the main land under the 34th parallel. Here Cabrillo sunk under the fatigues to which he had been subjected, and died, leaving the command of the ships to the pilot, Bartolome Ferrer, or Ferrelo.i The new commander, being no less enterprising than his prede- cessor, resolved, if possible, to attain some of the objects of the expedition before returning to Mexico. He accordingly sailed from Port Possession ; and, after having been several times driven back, at length, on the 1st of March, he found himself, by obser- March i vation, in the 44th decree of latitude. Here the crews of both vessels were suffering from cold, fatigue, and want of projxjr nour- vishment; in consequence of which, it was resolved that the at- I tempt to proceed farther northward should be abandoned. Agree- lably to this resolution, the navigators directed their course to- I wards the south, and arrived in safety at Navidad on the 14th of I April, 1543. i It is not easy, from the accounts which we possess, to ascertain ; precisely what was the most northern point on the American ; coast seen by the Spaniards in this expedition. Navarrete,* after examining the journals and other papers relating to the voyage, I which are still preserved in the Archives of the Indies, pronounces I that the 43d parallel of latitude is to be considered as the north- I ern limit of the discoveries made by Cabrillo and Fcrrelo. The ,; same \vriter has also remarked, that the latitudes assigned in those documents to all the places visited by the ships, which can nov/ ■ be identified, are about a degree and a half too high. Conforma- bly with this observation, it would appear that a promontory, named by Ferrelo the Cape of Risks, ( Cabo de Fortumis,) in commemoration of the perils encountered in its vicinity, may be that situated in the latitude of 40 degrees 20 minutes, which after- wards received the name of Cape Mendocino. While the expeditions thus made under the authority of the Viceroy Mendoza were in progress, Hernando de Soto and his band of adventurers were performing their celebrated marchf through the region north of the Mexican Gulf, which was then known by the general name of Florida. Without attempting to * Introduction to the Journal of the Sutil and Mexicana, page 34. tThere are several accounts of this expedition ; among which, the best known are those by Garcilasso de la Vega, and by an anonymous Portuguese. 153S to 1513. \ |l ; } i if t h f H {I ;;i M 33 ir,i:j. 15I-;! IJGl. y delinontn iho course of thoir wandorings, siWRco it to sny that they tnivorsed, in various diroctioiis, the vast territories nowcoin^ posing the southern and southwestern States of the Anieriean Union, and then (iescended the Mississippi from a point near the mouth of th(! Oiiio to the (iulf, over whieh they made tlicir way in boats to Panuco. From the af^counts of the few who survived the fatigues and perils of this enterprise, added to those of Alvaro Nvifiez and Vasquez do Coronado respecting the countries which they had severally visited, it was considered ahsolutely certain that neither wealthy nations nor navigable passages between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans were to bo found north of Mexico, unless beyond the 40th degree of latitude. Having arrived nt this conclusion, the Spaniards desisted from their elForts to ex- plore the northwest division of America, and did not renew thorn until nearly fifty years afterwards. In the moan time, circum- stances had occurred which served to show that the discovery of any means of facilitating the entrance of ships from Kuropo mto the Pacific would be deleterious to the interests of Spain in the New World. Before the middle of the sixteenth century, the Portuguese had established their dominion over a large portion of the coasts and islands of the East Indies, between which and Europe they were carrying on an extensive and valuable trade by way of the Cape of Good Hope. The Spaniards, in the mean time, viewing with feelings of jealousy ana vexation this advancement of the power and wealth of their rivals, had endeavored likewise to obtain a footing in southern Asia, for which purpose naval armaments had been despatched thither from Spain, through the straits of Magel- lan, and also firom the ports of Mexico on the Pacific. These expeditions had, however, proved unsuccessful. The squadron sent from Mexico in 1542, under Admiral Villalobos, crossed the Pacific in safety, and reached the group of islands, since called the Philippines, of which possession was taken for the King of Spain. The forces of Villalobos were, however, soon dispersed, and none of his vessels returned to Mexico. In 1664 the Spaniards made another effort to establish them- selves in the East Indies, the issue of which was more fortunate. The Philippine islands were in that year entirely subjugated by Miguel de Legaspi, who had been sent for the purpose with a squadron from the port of Nuvidad, on the west coast of Mexico; moreover, a discovery was effected during this expedition, which proved highly important, and without which, indeed, the other results would have been of little value. Until that period, no one had ever crossed the Pacific from Asia to America; all who had at- tempted to make such a voyage having endeavored to sail di- rectly westward, through the part of the ocean lying between the tropics, where the winds blow constantly from eastern points. Three of Legaspi's ships, however, by taking a northeastern course from the Philippines, entered a region of variable winds, and were thus enabled to reach the vicinity of the Californian coast, about the 40th parallel of latitude, firom which the prevail- ing northwesters soon carried them to Mexico. ^ The Spi a iKisition sbility of c( Pacific, wt the naviga the same [ provinces sailed regi European they brou^ consumpti extensive tween Pan made (or t safe; and sion on th upon the The sh by the invi to their po northwest thus becai i accounts o : served ; bu I consequen I may be fo^ I ico, by Fri I passages fi » on which ters, as sh Pacific du lefl Macao { usual norl which he Where he cisely stat ^ pan, east £ upon the < a half, we wholly w southeast- to the poll of the Ian and twent Mendocin degrees ; ] Gedi read parallel oj 0. it to say tlint itorics now com. f tlio Ariicricnn a point nnnr the !ul(! their way in V who survived those of Alvaro countries which )sohUeIy certain fos between thp lorth of Mexico, ving arrived at ir efforts to ex- not renew them 1 time, circum- :he discovery of am Europe into of Spain in the Portuguese had ' the coasts and J rope they were ay of the Cafw ), viewing with lit of the power nsc to obtain a arniainonts had traits of Magel- 'aoific. These The squadron 308, crossed the Js, since called 3r the King of soon dispersed, jstablish them- more fortunate, ely subjugated purpose with a ►ast of Mexico ; x)dition, which leed, the other : period, no one all who had at- >red to sail di- ig between the eastern points, a northeastern rariable winds, he Californian ch the prevail- i 33 The Spaniard.s thus gained — what they had so long desired — ,n iM)8ition in the Kiust Indies; and all doubts as to the practica- bility of conununication with those c(»untries, by nicuuis of the Pacific, were completely dissipated. Various other oi)stac|cs to the navigation of tliat ocean being in like manner removed about the same period, the commercial intercourse between the Spanish provinces in America and in Asia rapidly increased. Large sliijis sailed regularly from Acapulco, laden with precious metals and European merchandise, for Manilla and Macao, from which places they brought back the silks and spices of the Indies, either for consum])tion in Mexico, or for transportation to Spain; while an extensive trade in articles no less valuable was carried on be- tween Panama and the ports of Chili and Peru. The voyages made for these purposes were in general long, but comparatively safe ; and as the Pacific was for some years free from all intru- sion on the part of other nations, little care or cost was bestowed upon the defence of the vessels, or of the towns on the coast. The ships proceeding from Acapulco to Manilla were carried, by the invariable easterly or trade winds, directly across the ocean, to their port; in returning, they frequently made the land o i the northwest coast of America, the most prominent 'points of -"lich thus became, in the course of time, tolerably well known. The accounts of two or three of these return voyages have been pre- served; but the information obtained from them is of little use in consequence of their want of exactness. In Hakluyt's Collection may be found a letter,* addressed in 1584 to the Viceroy of Mex- ico, by Francisco Gali, or Gualie, containing a description of his passages from Acapulco to Macao, and thence back to Acapulco; on which letter great stress is laid by Navarrete and other wri- ters, as showing the extent of Spanish discoveries in the North Pacific during the sixteenth century. Gali there relates that he lefl Macao on the 24th of July, 1684, and, proceeding by the usual northern route, reached the American coast, in sight of which he sailed for a long distance before arriving at Acapulco. Where he first saw the land of America, the letter does not pre- cisely state. After describing his course from the vicinity of Ja- pan, east and east-by-north, he says: "Being by the same course, upon the coast of New Spain, under seven-and-thirty degrees and a half, we passed a very high and fair land, with many trees, wholly without snow, dec. From thence, we ran soudieast, southeast-by-south, and southeast-by-east, as we found the wind, to the point called el Cabo de San Lucas, which is the i ri'ining of the land of California on the northwest side, lying oi 1584. }\' li '■ w 111' 'i I 1 1- : f i;ii 1581. 1593. 15G0 to 1578. 34 seen by him was the western side of the largest island of King George the Third's group. This assertion is supported by no ev idence; and is irreconcilable with the account given by the nav- igator in his letter, the genuineness of which is not denied.* Torquemada, in his History of the Indian Monarchy, (vol. i, page 717,) mentions the voyage of a ship called the San Augus- tin along the western side of California, in 1595, under the com- mand of Sebastian Rodriguez CermeRon, who had been directed to examine the coast in search of a place suitable for the estab- lishment of a colony and marine depot; nothing, however, is stated respecting the course of the ship, except that she was lost in the bay of San Francisco. We have accounts of two or three other visits made by Europeans to this part of America during the sixteenth century, which will be noticed hereafter. While the commerce of the Spaniards in the Pacific was thus increasing, their Government was adopting those measures of re- striction and exclusion, which were maintained with so little re- laxation during the whole remaining period of its supremacy in the American continent. The great object of its policy was to secure to the monarch and people of Spain the entire and perpet- ual enjoyment of all the advantages which could be derived from the territories claimed by them in virtue of the Papal cession of 1493; and, with that view, it was considered absolutely necessary, not only to prevent the establishment of foreigners in any part of those territories, but also to discourage the rapid advancement of the Spanish provinces themselves in population, wealth, or other resources. Agreeably to these ideas, the settlement, and even the exploring of new countries in America, were restrained ; colonies were rarely allowed to be planted near the coasts, unless they might serve for purposes of defence ; and when voyages or jour- neys of discovery were made, the results were generally concealed by the Government. The subjects of all foreign nations were prohibited, under pain of death, from touching the section of the New World supposed to belong to Spain, or from navigating the seas in its vicinity. Against these excluding regulations, the English, after they had thrown off their allegiance to the head of the Roman Catholic church, began first to murmur, and then to act. Their Govern- ment required from that of Spain an acknowledgment of their rights to occupy vacant portions of America, and to trade with such as were already settled ; and these demands having been re- fused, Queen Elizabeth did not hesitate to encourage her subjects, openly as well as secretly, to violate laws which she declared to » The only authorities with regard to Gali's voyage, cited by Navarreie, in addi- tion to the letter from the navigator contained inHakluyt, are two letters addressed by the Viceroy of Mexico to the King of Spain in 1585 ; the originals of which are preserved in the Archives of the Indies. These two letters are merely mentioned in a note. The account of the voyage given by Navarrete is, however, with the ex- ception of the difference as to the nighest degree of latitude reached by Gali, pre- cisely the same as that contained in Hakluyt. Humboldt, as usual, copies Navar- rete in all thmgs relating to the discovery of the northwest coast The question is of no importance at present. \ be unjusti J Indian sea ijringEngli I traders an( I gard to CO Idered the coasts. A attempts Netherlan( ^ inces, shoi I of these in i The Pa ^ invasions i sage throu regard as ' between had previo reports of the riches ■; however, I of the Enj I that ocean I naval capt ^ captain we during thi i ies on the his mover determine, i authentic ; lected fron ; public, are I Francis I five small I self and c voyage to minions t and Spain tual hatre( tween the als were r abeth froi which sh( For son Atlantic, ; refitted hi ♦ The firsi in 1575. Ir hnm, crosse they made '. their enemi t See Api 35 island of King )orted by no ev- ven by the nav- ot denied.* )narchy, (vol. i, he San Angus- under the com- d been directed e for the estab- ig, however, is lat she was lost of two or three rica during the acific was thus measures of re- ith so little re- ! supremacy in I policy was to tire and perpet- )e derived from apal cession of itely necessary, in any part of dvancement of '^ealth, or other t, and even the lined; colonies s, unless they jyages or jour- rally concealed nations were section of the navigating the , after they had )man Catholic rheir Govern - :ment of their to trade with iving been re- 3 her subjects, he declared to avarrete, in addi- letters addressed nals of which are rely mentioned in ver, wiih the ex- tied by Gali, pre- al, copies Narar- The question is 1360 to 1578 be unjustifiable and inhuman. The Gulf of Mexico and the West I Indian seas were, in consequence, soon haunted by bands of da- I ring English, who, under the equivocal denominations of free- I traders and freebooters, set at defiance all prohibitions with re- igard to commerce or territorial occupation, and frequently plun- dered the ships of the Spaniards, as well as the towns on their coasts. About the same time, the French Protestants began their attempts to form settlements in Florida; and the revolt in the Netherlands, which terminated in the freedom of the Dutch prov- inces, shortly afler produced a formidable increase in the number of these irregular foes to the supremacy of Spain. The Pacific was for some years preserved from such hostile invasions by the dread of the difficulties and dangers of the pas- sage through the straits of Magellan ; and the Spaniards began to regard as bulwarks of defence those obstacles to communication between Europe and the western side of America, which they had previously been so desirous to remove or counteract. The reports of the extent and value of the trade in the Pacific, and of the riches accumulated at various places in its vicinity, did not, i. however, fail in time to overcome all apprehensions on the part i of the English,* whose ships at length, in 1578, appeared upon 1579 that ocean, under the command of the most able and adventurous , naval captain of the age. It is scarcely necessary to say that this I captain was Francis Drake. As he is generally supposed to have, I during the voyage here mentioned, eflfected important discover- I ies on the northwest coasts of America, it will be proper to notice I his movements in that quarter of the world particularly ; and to I determine, if possible, how far such suppositions are based upon I authentic proofs. The most material facts on the subject, as col- I lected from the only original evidencef which has yet been made if public, are the following : I Francis Drake sailed from Plymouth in December, 1577, with 1577 I five small vessels, which had been procured and armed by him- ^"^"^ *•* ^ self and other private individuals in England, ostensibly for a voyage to Egypt, but really for a predatory cruise against the do- minions and subjects of Spain. The Governments of England and Spain were then, indeed, at peace with each other ; but mu- tual hatred, arising from causes already alluded to, prevailed be- tween the two nations, and the principles of general law or mor- als were not at that period so refined as to prevent Queen Eliz- abeth from favoring Drake's enterprise, with the real objects of which she was doubtless well acquainted. For some months afler leaving England, Drake roved about the 1578 Atlantic, without malcing any prize of value ; and then, having refitted his ships on the eastern coast of Patagonia, he succeeded ♦ The first attack made by the English on the Spaniards, in (he Pacific, took place in 1575. In that year, a party of freebooters, headed by their captain, John Oxen- hnm, crossed the isthmus of Panama, and built a vessel on the south side, in which they made several valuable prizes; they, however, at length fell into the hands of their enemies, and were all, with the exception of five boys, put to death at Panama. t See Appendix A to this memoir. ■'I k\1 m I i nil . i li I 1 f II . i;; •; -1' i,:! ; .1 1 '■' ill 36 1578. Sept. ^ ' t!' •i' in conducting three of them safely through the dreaded straits of ^* Magellan, into the Pacific. Scarcely, however, was this accom- plished, ere the little squadron was dispersed by a storm; and the chief of the expedition was left with only a schooner of a hun- dred tons burden, and about sixty men, to prosecute his enter- prise against the power and wealth of the Spaniards on the west- ern side of America. December. Notwithstanding these disheartening occurrences, Dralce did not hesitate to proceed to the parts of the coast occupied by the Spaniards, whom he found unprepared to resist him either on land or on sea. He accordingly plundered their towns and ships with little difficulty ; and so deep and lasting was the impression pro- duced by his achievements, that, for more than a century after- wards, his name was never pronounced in those countries with- out exciting feelings of horror and detestation. I57i). At length, in the spring of 1579, having completed his visita- April. tion of the American coast by the plunder of the town of Guatul- co, near Acapulco in Mexico, Drake considered it most prudent to direct his course towards England ; and, fearing that he might be intercepted by the Spaniards if he should attempt to repass the straits of Magellan, he determined to cross the Pacific to the East Indies, and thence to continue his voyage around the Cape of Good Hope, to his country. With this view, he left Guatulco on the 16th of April; but, instead of proceeding directly westward, which would have been his true line of navigation, he, for some reason not clearly shown in the accounts of his expedition, sailed towards the north, and on the 2d of June following had reached the 42d parallel of latitude. There his men began to sufier from cold ; and his farther progress appeared to be difficult, if not im- possible, on account of the violence and constancy of the north- west winds. Under these circumstances, (whether from accident or intentionally is not certain,) he fell in with the American coast, and anchored near it. The place, however, proving insecure, he quitted it without landing, and sailed along the shore to the south, until he found a safe and commodious harbor about the 38th degree of latitude, in which he remained with his vessel June 17 ^^^"^ ^^^ l^*h ^^ J**"® to the 23d of July. 10 This period was spent by the English in repairing their vessel, July 23. and making other arrangements for the long voyage in prospect. The natives of the surrounding country, who came in crowds to the shore of the harbor, at first exhibited signs of hostile inten- tions. They were, however, soon conciliated by the kind and forbearing conduct of the strangers ; and their respect for Drake increased to such an extent, that, when they saw him about to de- part, they earnestly entreated him to remain among them as their king. Thu naval hero, though not disposed to undertake in per- son the duties of sovereignty over a tribe of naked savages, nev- ertheless " thought meet not to reject the crown ; because he knew not what honor and profit it might bring to his own country. Wherefore, in the name and to the use of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, he took the sceptre, crown, and dignity of the country into his hands ; wishing that the riches and treasure thereof might . . so convem s at home." lemony; D I added to I erecting o tion comm The pre pleted, DrE regret, on cific, reach I days ; then s around th( I arrived in ^ September With xe{ in which t from the o situated bf J that a gro I distance fi I it was eiti miles farth descriptioi seen by D apparently the 43d d( m course in I questional] I whole sho I Burney, ir % 356,) has ;^ nounces tl I is to be rcc cino, ami i opinion ha ever, stron view of tl trymen w< these reas( ety allotte consigned here prese cler Drah of the i3d eredby G The sii adventure Magellan that natio municatic predatory success, e 37 eaded straits of as this accom- storm; and the oner of a hun- ute his enter- Is on the west- !es, Drake did ccupied by the I either on land and ships with nipression pro- . century after- ountries with- ited his visita- >wn of Guatul- tiost prudent to at he might be t to repass the ific to the East d the Cape of (ft Guatulco on utly westward, 1, he, for some sedition, sailed ig had reached to suffer fjx)m ult, if not im- Y of the north- from accident \ merican coast, dng insecure, e shore to the rbor about the rith his vessel g their vessel, je in prospect. 5 in crowds to hostile inten- the kind and pect for Drake in about to de- them as their lertake in per- savages, nev- ause he knew own country, [ajesty Queen M the country thereof might so conveniently be transported for the enriching of her kingdom E>79' at home." The investiture accordingly took place with due cer- emony, Drake bestowing upon the country thus legitunately added to the English dominions the name of New Albion^ and erecting on the shore of the bay a monument with an inscrip- tion commemorative of the transfer. The preparations for continuing the voyage having been com- pleted, Drake quitted his ne> ' mfJe fellow-subjects, to their great regret, on the 23d of July, and, steering directly across the Pa- July 23. cific, reached the vicinity of the Philippme Islands in sixty-eight Sept. 39. days ; thence he pursued his course through the Indian seas, and around the southern extremity of Africa into the Atlantic, and arrived in England, with his booty undiminished, on the 25th of 1580. September, 1580. ^^pt. -25. With regard to the harbor on the northwest coast of America, in which the English repaired their vessel, nothing can be learned from the original accounts of their expedition, except that it was situated between the 38th and the 39th parallels of latitude ; and that a group of small islands was found in the ocean, at a short distance from its mouth : whence we are led to conclude that it was either the Baif of San FrawAsco, or another bay a few miles farther north, now called Port BodK^a^ to each of which this description applies. As to the extent of the portion of that coast seen by Drake, the accounts are at variance. In the earliest and apparently the most authentic relations and notices of his voyage, the 43d degree of latitude is given as the northern limit of his course in the Pacific-, while in others, of later date, and more questionable authority, it is maintained that he examined the whole shore of the continent from the 48th parallel to the 38th. Burney, in his History of Discoveries in the Pacific, (vol. i, page 356,) has devoted several pages to the subject. He there pro- nounces that " tlie part of the American coast discovered by Drake is to be reckoited as beginning immediately north of Cape Mendo- cino, and extending to the 48//i degree of north latitude ;" and this opinion has been since almostuniversally adopted. There are, how- ever, strong reasons for rejecting the decision of Burney, whose re- view of the evidences in this, as in all cases in which his coun- trymen were concerned, is entirely ex parte. An exposition of these reasons would require more space than could be with propri- ety allotted to it in the body of this history ; it has therefore been consigned to the Appendix, [A,] and the conclusion only will be here presented, which is: that in all probability, the English tin- der Drake, in 1579, sate no part of the west coast of America north of the 43rf degree of latitude, to which parallel it had been discov- ered by Cabiillo and Ferrelo, in 1543. The success of Drake's enterprise encouraged other English IN*, adventurers to attempt similar expeditions through the Strait of Magellan ; and it likewise served to stimulate the navigators of that nation, in their efforts to discover northern passages of com- munication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Of their predatory excursions, none appear to have been attended with success, except that of the celebrated Thomas Cavendish, or Can- )t'-i I 'lif ill m 'ft 38 1587. dish, Avho, during his circumnavigation of the globe, rendered ' his name almost as terrible to the Spaniards as that of Drake, by | his ravages on the western coasts of America. In this voyage, Candish lay for some time near Cape San Lucas, the southern- Nor 15. most point of California, and there captured the Santa Annay a '^ Spanish ship, richly laden, on her way from Manilla to Acapulco, which he set on fire after plundering her and landing her crew on the coast. The miserable persons, thus abandoned in a des- ert country, must soon have perished, had not the hull of their vessel, after the extinction of the fire by the waves, been driven on shore in their vicinity ; this carcass they contrived to repair, so as to render it sea- worthy, and, embarking in it, they succeeded in reaching a Mexican port. Among them was Juan de Fktca, a Greek pilot, of whose subsequent discoveries on the northwest coast of America an account will be given in the next following chapter. Fabulous or the Spani: tween the 1602— Est! Spaniards During enteenth exploring covering cific, with the south was, as tl by these e facilitate siness thu of the sue jects of va The eai to have b( tereal, in 1 two ocear is, known tainly, abc foundland sible that into Huds considerec gin or has Anian,*th to be pers of the pas accomplisl Pacific, aj Anian. The nil navigable I ..li^ • The Stn brothers who lor October, I cause the nai end, opening the value of took place in covered until 39 CHAPTER ir. !(■ fl Fabulous or uncertain accounts of voyages in the norih Pacific — Apprehensions of the Spanish Government with regard to the discovery of northern passages be- tween the Atlantic and the Pacific — Voyages of Fuca in 159"?, and Vizcaino, in 1602-^Establishmenis of the Jesuits in California — First colonies planted by the Spaniards on the western side of California, between 1769 and 1774. During the latter years of the sixteenth and the first of the sev- enteenth centuries, the navigators of England were engaged in exploring the northwestern coasts of the Atlantic, in hopes of dis- covering some passage through which they might enter the Pa- cific, with less difficulty and loss of time than by sailing around the southern extremity of America. The Spanish Government was, as the historians of that period fiiUy testify, much alarmed by these eflforts of its most hated and most dangerous enemies to facilitate communications between the two seas ; and the unea- siness thus occasioned was from time to time increased by rumors of the successful issue of voyages made for that purpose by sub- jects of various European nations. The earliest of these rumors related to the discovery supposed to have been made by the celebrated Portuguese, Caspar de Cor- tereal, in 1500, of a passage called the Strait of Anian^ uniting the two oceans, north of that part of America which was, and still is, known by the general name of Labrador. Cortereal did cer- tainly, about the year last mentioned, explore the coasts o( New- foundland and those of the continent in its vicinity ; and it is pos- sible that he may aLo have penetrated through Hudson's Strait into Hudson's Bay, which he would then most naturally havff considered as a western ocean. Whatever may have been the ori- gin or basis of the rumor respecting the discovery of the Strait of Anian,* the Spaniards and other European nations long continued to be persuaded of its truth. Expeditions were made in search of the passage ; and nearly all of those who pretended to have accomplished northern voyages between the Atlantic and' the Pacific, asserted that they had sailed by way of the Strait of Anian. The number of persons who claimed the merit of discovering navigable passages through or around the northern parts of Amer- 157J to HiS2. I !ll:il I,' r.n IKii ♦ The Strait of Anian was said to have been so named by Cortereal, after two brothers who sailed with him. The author of an article in the London duartcrly lor October, 181ti, conceives that the passage was more probably thus denominated, be- cause the navigator " deemed it to be the eastern extremity of a strait, whose western end, opening into the Pacific, had already received that name." Ii\ order to show the value of this conception, it is only necessary to observe that Cortereal's voyage took place in 1500, and that the ocean on the western bide of America was not dis- covered until thirteen years afl«rwards. M ,; j|ii| ir.75 111 M 40 ica at the period here referred to, appears to have been consider- able. The chroniclers of the time have preseiTed the names of several ; and although their stories are now known to have been as lalse as tliose respecting the acquisition of the philosopher's stone, or the elixir of life, yet some of them should be noticed, on account of the influence which they exerted upon the progress of research in the northwestern part of the New World. The most celebrated fable of this class, is the one of which a Portuguese, named Lorenzo Ferrer de Mak/onado, is the hero. He is said to have sailed from the Atlantic, in 1588, through a strait communicating with that sea near the 62d degree of north latitude, into the Pacific, which he entered by a very narrow opening situated under the 60th parallel ; having, in the course of this navigation, been obliged to proceed as far north as the 75th degree. This supposed voyage is mentioned by several Spanish authors of the seventeenth century. It was however tbrgotten, and remained in oblivion, until 1790, when it was again brought before the world by an eminent French geographer, M. Buache,who endeavored to establish the truth of the most mate- rial parts of the statement, in a memoir read by him before the Academy of Sciences of Paris. In consequence of his observa- tions, the Spanish Government ordered the commanders of the vessels which were in that year sent to explore the northwest coasts of America, to search for the western extremity of the strait. Thev did so, but in vain ; and it is now certain that no such pas- sage exists. With regard to the origin of the story, Navarrete in- forms us that a person named Maldonado, an unprincipled ad- venturer, who had written some works on geography, presented to the Council of the Indies, in Spain, a narrative or memoir of a voyage which he pretended to have made at the time, and in the manner above related, accompanied by a petition that he might be rewarded for his discovery, and intrusted with the command offerees, in order to occupy and defend the passage against other nations. Navarrete adds, that this proposition was rejected by the Council, but that the papers respecting it were retained, and are still preserved arnong the Archives of the Indies. In 1812, Signor Carlo Amoretti, of Milan, found in the Ambrosian library a Spanish manuscript, purporting to be a copy of this same narra- tive or memoir, and published a translation of it in French, with notes and commentaries in support of the assertions of the writer. Whether the said manuscript be indeed a copy of that presented by Maldonado to the Spanish Government, or not, is a question as yet unsolved; and it is, moreover, a question which may as well remain without solution, as the subject no longer possesses any claim to attention. Equally useless is it at the present day to inquire whether or not this Maldonado* made a voyage in the • The queslion as to the truth of the story of Maldonado's voyage is discussed in the introduction to the account of the expedition of the Sutil and Mexicana, and in the London Cluarterly Review for October, 1816. The article in the Review is well written, but filled with inaccuracies in all that relates to the Pacific. The writer considers the accouat translated by Amoretti to be the fabrication of some German. north Paci has been i ported by No less miral Ped seas and r date than a periodic the Ciirioi to this sto north Pac American these islai of 53 deg; which he interior of islands, infer) dow he at leng She prov( setts ; and had arrive port. Bei connexior section of then saile Pacific. Theabt will be si long, and sistencies credit. I true, or pe in 1797, b rative of 1 ber of isla Lazaro, ii story may part of th absurd fal ernmeat i * Viz; wf published in a manusef ip Maldonado, taken fromy Che Pacific. t The wh of Voyngjes i The siDPy Ik t IntrJiluc II en consider- the names of to have been philosopher's be noticed, the progress Hd. ! of which a is the hero. 8, through a »ree of north very narrow tlie course north as the I by several vas however it was again ographer, M. e most mate- n before the his observa- mders of the le northwest '■of the strait, no such pas- Navarrete in- rincipled ad- tiy, presented r memoir of a e, and in the iiat he might ;he command against other 3 rejected by retained, and Bs. In 1812, sian Ubrary a s same narra- French, with of the writer, hat presented is a question i^hich may as ger possesses J present day iroyage in the ?e is discussed in VIexicana, and in le Review is well ific. The writer of some Qerman. 'm 41 north Pacific as far as Beering's Strait, the discovery of which has been ascribed to him, upon evidence the most slender, sup- ported by presumptions the most gratuitous.* No less destitute of truth is the story of the expedition of Ad- miral Pedro Fonte, from Peru to the Atlantic, through northern seas and rivers; which is, however, to be referred to a much later date than that of the voyage of Maldonado, as it first appeared in a periodical work entitled *' Monthly Miscellany^ or Memoirs of the Curious, ^^ published at London in June, itOS.f According to this story, the admiral sailed from Callao in April, 1640, to the north Pacific, where he discovered a group of islands near the American continent, named by him Mas de San Lazaro. Among these islands he proceeded 260 leagues, and then, in the latitude of 53 degrees, he entered a river called by him Rio de los Reyes, which he ascended in a northeasterly direction, penetrating the interiorof America, until he reached a great lake containing many islands. There he left his ships, and going (in boats, we are to infer) down another river which flowed firom the lake eastwardly , he at length came to a sea, where he li)und a large ship at anchor. She proved to be a trading-vessel from Boston, in Massachu- setts ; and her commander, Shapley, informed the admiral that he had arrived at his actual position by a northern coarse from that port. Being thus convinced of the existence of an uninterrupted connexion by water between the two oceans, across the northern section of America, the Spaniards returned to their ships, and then sailed back to Pem, through the Rio de los Reyes and the Pacific. The above sketch of the supposed expedition of Admiral Fonte will be sufficient for present purposes. The original account is long, and is filled with confused and trifling details, the incon- sistencies in which should have prevented it from receiving any credit. It was, however, for some time generally believed to be true, or partly true ; and its probability was maintained so lately as in 1797, by the scientific Fleurieu,in his Introduction to the Nar- rative of Marchand's Voyage. The fact of the existence o^ a num- ber of islands in the situation assigned to the Arehipelaj:0 of San Lazaro, indeed, affl)rds some reason for the assumption that the story may have been founded on disco veiles really made in that part of the Pacific. NavarreteJ treats the whole account as an absurd fabrication ; and takes the opportunity to defend the Gov- ernment of his country from the charge brought against it by ♦ Vi/.i upon a passaije in the Bibliotheca Hispana-Nova, of Nicolas Anlonio, published in iti7*2, to the effect thai the am hor had seen in the possession of a bishop, a manuscf ipt account of the discnverij of the Strait of Anian, by Lorenzo Ferrer de MaUlonado, in LOSS This i)assage, and an abstract of the relation of Maldonado, taken fromAmoretii's put>1ication, may be found in Burney's History of Voyages in the Pacific, vol. v, page 16(>-. the abstract is in the appendix [B] to this memoir. t The whole accoim' of this pretendeil voyage may be found in Bnrney's Histoiy of Voyages in the Pacific, vol. iii, pagi? lH5;and in Oohhs's Hisiory of Hudson's Bay. The story belongs to ihe class of fictions now commonly called hoaxes. t Introductioa to the Narrative of the Voyage of the Sutil and Me.xicana, page 7tf. 1575 t0 1010. I: ! I' 1 i\ m. m 1 ii )i 42 Pleurieu, of concealing the results of attempts made by its orders to explore unknown seas and regions. One other account of a supposed voyage from the Pacific to the Atlantic remains to be noticed ;, which should not, however, be classed with those above mentioned, although it is certainly er- roneous as regards the most material point, and was probably known to be so by the original narrator. All the information as yet obtained respecting this voyage may be found in a note* or declaration written by Michael l-iock, an English merchant or agent in the Levant trade, and published under his name, in 1629, in the celebrated geographical and historical collection called " the Pilgrims," by Samuel Purchas. 1593. From Mr. Lock's declaration, it appears that, in 1596, he met at Venice an aged Greek, calling himself Apostolos ValerianoSy who stated, that he had been employed for more than forty years, under the name of Juan de Piica, as seaman and pilot in the Spanish service ; that he had been one of the crew of the Ma- nilla ship Santa Anna, plundered by Cavendish near the coast of California, in 1587, on which occasion he had lost property of his own to the value of sixty thousand ducats ; and that he had subsequently, in 1592, acted as pilot in a voyage, made by order of the Viceroy of Mexico, in search of "the Straights of Anian, and the passage thereof into the North sea." In this voyage, as he said, " he followed his course west and northwest, along the coasts of Mexico and California, as far as the 47 th degree of latitude ;" be- tween which parallel and the 48th, he entered " a broad inlet of the sea, and, sailing tlierein more than twenty days, he found the land trending some time northwest and northeast, and north, and also east and southeast, and very much broader sea than was at the entrance ; and he passed by divers islands in that sailing. Being entered thus far into the said straight, and being come into the Noj'th sea [the Atlantic] already ^ and finding the sea Avide enough everywhere, it being about thirty or forty leagues broad at the mouth of the straights where he entered, he thought he had well discharged his office, and, not being armed to resist sav- ages, he set sail, and returned homeward again to Acapulco." The Greek added, that neither the Viceroy of Mexico nor the Spanish Government had rewarded him for this service, " and understanding of the noble mind of the Queen of England, and of her wars maintained so valiantly against the Spaniards, and hoping that her Majesty would do him justice for his goods lost by Captain Candish, he Avould be content to go to England and serve her Majesty in a voyage for the perfect discovery of the northwest passage into the South sea, and would pu* his life into her Majesty's hands, to perform the same, if she w juld furnish him with only one ship of forty tons burthen, and a pinnace ; and ♦ "A note made by me, Michael Lock the elder, touching the strait of sea com- monly called Fietum Anian, in the South sea, through the northwest passage of Meta Incognita."— Pitre/ws'.? Pilpims: London, 1()2.^, vol. iii, p. 840. The whole account will be found in the appenilix [C] to this racDwir. i that he woi other, in th; Mr. Lock quence, to and had hel persons in '. gives the ci proposed en no willingn probably., as pose of adv quired in ( and when ] I of Cephaloi These ar Fuca, and corded by I endorsemer period alluc lars; and i any other s was made. The accoui to have be* the publict (178.1,) wh northwest ( sequent dis served to t correctness I that his gee ^ the truth i '^^ Fuca says entered a l days, the and east an merous isla parallels, a apparently about one li and, contin miles farth* municates The disc are certainl of the Gree stance that on the othe to be fairly the subjecl pilot as fals performed ( 40 11'] 'oyage, as he 1 ■i that he would perform it, from one end of the straights to the other, in thirty days time." Mr. Lock goes on to say that he had endeavored, in conse- quence, to interest the Government of his country in the affair; and had held correspondence on the subject with various eminent persons in England, as also with Juan de Fuca, from whom he gives the copy of a letter stating his readiness to engage in the proposed enterprise. The English Government, however, showed no willingness to favor the project ; considering the whole story, probably^ as a fabrication on the part of the old Greek for the pur- pose of advancing his own interests. The hundred pounds re- quired in order to bring him to London could not be raised i and when Mr. Lock last heard of him, he was dying in the island of Cephalonia, in 1602. These are the most material circumstances relative to Juan de Fuca, and his supposed discoveries in the northern seas, as re- corded by Mr. Lock, and transmitted to us with the respectable endorsement of Purchas. Several English writers of the same period allude to the subject, but they afford no additional particu- lars ; and nothing whatsoever has hitherto been obtained from any other source, tending to prove directly that such a voyage was made, or that sucli a person as Juan de Fuca ever existed. The account appears to have obtained no credit in England; and to have been almost unknown out of that kingdom, until after the publication of the journals of the last expedition of Cook, (1785,) who conceived that he had, by his examinations on the northwest coast of America, ascertained its entire falsehood. Sub- sequent discoveries in that part of the world have, however, served to establish a strong probability in favor of the general correctness of the old Greek's assertions ; inasmuch as they show that his geographical descriptions are as nearly conformable with the truth as those of any other navigator of his day. Thus Fuca says that between the 47th and 48th degrees of latitude he entered a broad inlet of sea, through which he sailed for twenty days, the land trending northwest and northeast, and north, and east and southeast ; and that in his course he passed by nu- merous islands. Now the fact is, that, between the 48th and 49th parallels, a broad inlet of sea extends from the Pacific eastward, apparently penetrating the American continent, to the distance of about one hundred miles; after which, it turns northwest by-west, and, continuing in that direction about two hundred and fifty miles farther, crossed and divided by many islands, it again com- municates with the Pacific. The discrepancies here to be observed are few and slight, and are certainly all within the limits of supposable error on the part of the Greek, especially when his advanced age, and the circum- stance that he spoke only from recollection, are considered ; while, on the other hand, the coincidences are too great and too striking to be fairly attributable to chance. Of those who have examined the subject, some have rejected the whole account given by the pilot as false; others, on the contrary, maintain not only that he performed the voyage as stated, but that he was even convinced of 1598. I t mi i hi ? >'\' > !i 44 i I I"** m I J 151)5. ic:)t>. 1592. his h iving reached the Atlantic in the course of it. A mean be- tween the two opinions* seems to bo the most reasonable con- clusion. It should ho admitted that Fuca entered the strait now bearing his name, and that he may have passed entirely through it ; but that he, an experienced navigator, should have conceived that by sailing thirtu lenfvnes emt, and then eifffiiif leagues nortfiwest-lry-west, he had arrived in the Atlantic, is wholly incredible. This will suffice with regard to the voyage of Fuca, the tnitli or falsehood of which is, at the present day, a question of little or no moment. Some reports of the discovery of a northern passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific, and of the existence of rich nations in tliat direction, induced the Spanish Government, about the year ^595, to order that measures should be taken to ascertain the lacts on those subjects. The Count de Monterey, Viceroy of Mexico, accordingly fitted out three vessels, which were despatched (torn Aeapulco in the spring of 1596, under the command of Sebastian Vizcaino, a soldier well acquainted with marine affairs. Nothing important, however, was gained by this expedition. Vizcaino did not proceed beyond the limits of the Gulf of California; and, being disappointed in his attempts to fiirin establishments on the shores of that sea, he returned to Mexico before the end of the same year. Other and more peremptory orders for the immediate survey and settlement of the western coast of California were received by the Viceroy of Mexico, from Madrid, in 1599 ; and he, in con- sequence, began preparations for an expedition, on a greater and more complete scale of equipment than any of those previously made in that direction. Two large ships and a small vessel were provided for the purpose at Acapulco, and furnished with all the requisites for a long voyage of discovery ; and, in addition to their regular crews, a numbernf pilots, priests, draughtsmen, and other proper persons, were engaged, composing, together, saysTorque- n)aaa,t " the most enlightened corps ever raised in New Spain." The navigation was placed umler the direction of Toribio Gomez dti Ccrvau, us admiral ; but the command of the whole force was intrusted to Sebastian Vizcaino, who bore the title of Captain General of California. The vessels sailed from Acapulco on the 5th of May, 1602, and. having reached tht- western side of California before the middle Jiiiii- J* orf the Ibllowing month, the survey was immediately commenced from Cape San Lucas, the southern extremity of the peninsula. lC)f?-2 ^iav 5. Ill: (.1! • It is needless to quote the opinions ol' Forsler or Flcurieu, as ihey both wrote be- fore the publication of the Journals of Vancouver, by whori the p.i.ssnge now cnlleii the Strnit of Fuca was explored. Navarrele oimslilers the account of the piloi'> Voyage false, because he can find no mention o( it among the Archives of the Indies, oi in the old Spanish historians; and Humboldt, as usual, contents himself with adopting the conclusions of Navarrete. t Monarquia Indiana, vol. i, page (i94. Torquemada's account is abridged from the journal of Friar Antonio de la Ascension, the chaplain of the admiral's ship. It contains little respecting the movements of tlie other two ve.ssels. iThe prosecii ficulties; tli Spaniards h '. winds, whic \ coast. Vizf I he was oblij. ' the adjaceu amount of i notes, plans among the t By the be pulco, the 8 gree of latiti Port San I) I bor under tl no, every re suppiy and % On this pla Viceroy, to i urging the t 1 indicated. From Mc Avith the ai Martin de . the 7th the they were t separated. where scan tin, which in 1595 ;t i yond Cape dom by the high white (fe San Scl the latitude sons on bo not appear, to direct h done, and i only three The sm northward of 43 degi cape or poi coast begii rapid and i 1 A mean be- isonable con- •ed the strait issod entirely should hnve I then eifrhtij itic, is wholly uca, the truth ion of little or , sage between ich nations in bout the year rtain the facts oy of Mexico, spatched from 1 of Sebastian iirs. Nothing an. Vizcaino Llifornia; and, nncnts on the ie end of the ediate survey were received lid he, in con- 1 a greater and »se previously dl vessel were id with all the Idition to their nen, and other , says Torque - New Spain." Horibio Gomez iiole force was le of Captain :ay, 1602, and. re the middle y commenced the peninsula. liey both wrote be- .i.xsnge now called )nnt of the piloiV ives of the Indies, ents himself Willi t is abridged from le admiral's ship. 4M ilThe prosecution of the undertaking \va.s attended with great dif mgo. culties; the scurvy soon appeared in the squadron, and the Spaniards had their perseverance put to the test by the northwest winds, which almost constantly opposed their progress along the coast. Vizcaino, however, made the best use of the time which he was obliged to spend in harbors, by examining the shores and the adjacent inland territories ; and he thus collected a large amount of valuable information on thost subjects, in the torm of notes, plans, and sketches, which are said to lie still mouldering among the archives of the Spanish Government.* By the beginning of December, after their departure from Aca- De*:. pnlco, the ships had advanced no farther north than the 32d de- gree of latitude, near which a good harbor was found, and named Port San Dieffo. Proceeding onwards, they reached another har- bor under the 37th parallel, combining, in the opinion of Vizcai- no, every requisite for the maintenance of a colony, and for the suppiy and repairs of vessels on their way from India to Mexico. ' On this place he bestowed the name oi' Monterey, in honor of the i Viceroy, to whom he immediately sent letters by one of his ships, I urging the establishment of colonies and garrisons at several jwinls indicated. From Monterey, the rei. aining ship in which Vizcaino sailed IGO.'J with the admiral, and the small vessel commanded by ensign Martin de Aguilar, departed on the 3d of .January, 1603, and by the 7th they had reached the vicinity of Gape Mendocino, when they were driven back by a violent gale, during which they were separated. The ship took refuge in the Bay of San Francisco, .inn. 10. where search was made in vain for the wreck of the San Angus- tin, which had been lost there while tm her voyage from Manilla, in 1595 ;t she, however, soon got to sea again, and, passing be- Jan. 13. yoiid Cape Mendocino, was for several days tossed about at ran- dom by the storms. On the 20th of January she was opposite a jim. 20. high white promontory, which received the name of Cape Blauro (le San Sebastian, and was found by a solar observation to be in the latitude of 42 degrees. By this time there were but six per sons on board capable of doing duty ; and as the small vessel did not appear, Vizcaino, with the assent of the other officers, resolved to direct his course towards the sonth. This was accordingly done, and the ship entered Acapulco on the 21st of March, with only three effective men among her crew. The small vessel, after her separation from the ship, sailed Jan. 10. northward for some distance along the coast, as far as the latitude of 43 degrees, " where," says Torquemada, " the land forms a cape or point, which was called Cape Blanco, and from which the coast begins to run to the northwest; and near it was found a rapid and abundant river, with ash trees, willows, brambles, and * Introduction to the JoninRl of the Sulil and Mexicana, page fiS. A chart of the west const of Cali.orni;'., ns far north as Cape Mendocino, was compiled from these dociiinenis, of which a copy may be found in the atlas of the work above mentioned. t As before mentioned at page 34. ill ^;ti: Iff, '! IH :fl III 4 i i, I'' 46 IGOS. t * ., i'M I60G. ICOD. otluT Oustilian trcos, on its hnnks ; but it rould not bo entered on account of the strength of its current." From this point Aguilar turned to the sotith ; his vessel reached Acapuico, but he und nil' the other olRcers, and many of the men, died of scurvy on the ' voyage thitlier. Considerable doubts have been cast, and not without reason, upn the accuracy of the account of Aguilar's discoveries beyond (Jape Mendocino. It is certainly incorrect on one point, for wo know that the coast does not *' begin to turn towanls the north- west" at the 43d degree of latitude, or at any other point between C'upe Mendocino and the 47th degree. Moreover, it is scarcely credible that Aguihu" should, at so stormy a season, and with so inefficient a crew, have ventured so near to a lee sliore, entirely unknown to him, as to be able to distinguish, withmit affUtss* the species of the trees growing on it. Tlie great river which he is said to have found about the 43d degree of latitude has not yet been identified ; although several streams, none of them large, do certainly enter the Pacific near that parallel. The account of the discovery of this river has attracted much more attention than it merited, or than the unfortunate Aguilar (if he actiuilly saw such a stream) could have anticipated, in consequence of an idle opin- ion expressed, or rather recorded, by Torqucniada, that it might prove to be the long-sought Strait of Anian, or might lead to the wealthy city of Quivira, believed to exist in that part of the world. The Cape Blanco mentioned as the northern Innit of Aguilar's progress along the coast, is supposed by Cook to be a remarkable promontory, situated under the 43d parallel, to which the Knglish navigator, however, did not scruple to apply the name of Cape Gregorij. In like manner, Vancouver has bestowed the appella- tion of Cape Orford upon another great projection from the con- tinent, near the 42J degree, although he considered it to be identical with the Cape Blanco do San Sebastian of Vizcaino. Upon comparing tlie accounts of tliis expedition with those of | the voyage of Cabrillo, in l.')42-'3, it will be seen tliat the same, or nearly the same, portions of the west coast of America, were observed on both occasions; and that Vizcaino, consequently, did no more than survey minutely what had been already discovered by his predecessors. Vizcaino endeavored, after his return to Mexico, to prevail upon the Viceroy to establish colonies and garrisons at San Diego, Mon- terey, and other points on the coast which he had surveyed, for the purpose of facilitating the trade with India, as well as to pre- vent the occupation of that coast by other naticms. His eflforts being unavailing in Mexico, he went to Spain, where he finally obtained from King Philip III. royal orders for the execution of his projects. He, however, unfortunately died in Mexico in 1609, while engaged in preparing for the enterprise ; and no farther measures were taken, either by individu-'.l Spaniards or by tlieir ♦ The invention of the lei scope took place in IG09. 47 bo entered on point Aguilnr, but he und all scurvy on the ithout reason, vories beyond point, for wo nls the north- point between it is scarcely 1, and with so shore, entirely it a fflass,* tlie er which he is lo has not yet them large, do account of the tention thon it lally saw such fan idle onin- , that it might i;ht load to the •tof the world, it of Aguilar's 3 a remarkable ;h the English name of Cape 3d the appella- from the con- lered it to be f Vizcaino. I with those of that the same, America, were sequently, did idy discovered prevail upon n bif'go, Mon- surveyed, for ft'ell as to pre- . His efforts ere he finally the execution in Mexico in and no further Is or by their \^ vernment, to settle the west coast of California, or to extend the tits of discovery in that direction, until l(i() years afterwards. This part of America remained, in the mean time, almost for- tton, except by {)ersons engaged in the navigation from India Mexico, who wore obliged to make themselves acquainted with .e situation of the princinal headlands and islands* s«)uth of ape Mendocino. One of these navigators brought to Mexico, in 20, an account of a channel which he pretended to have dis- vored near the 43d parallel of latitude, coiniecting the (Jiulf of aliliirnia with the Pacific ; and, as this statement correspjonded ith that of the discovery of a great river at the same position by artin do Aguilar, it was readily received as true. Accordingly, all maps of this part of the world, published during the re- ainder of the seventeenth century, California is represented as I island, separated from the contment by a strait.f The error as corrected in 1700 by Father Kuhn, (or Kino, as the Spaniards write his name,) a Germim Jesuit, who explored the region about re northern extremity of the gulf. Shortly after the period of Vizcaino's expedition, the French, le Knglisli, and the Dutch, su'icessively established colonies on le Atlantic side of North America, as well as in the West Indies, rhcre the English and French already held some possessions ; nd geographical discoveries were also about the same time made y the navigators of those nations, which were, or appeared to be, Briously prejudicial to the interests of Spain in the New World, ^hus, Henry Hudson ascertained the existence of the great in- jrior sea north of Canada, from which it was confidently ex- ected that some passage to the Pacific would be speedily found; nd Lemaire and Van Schouten entered that ocean through the pen sea, south of the promontory, which, in honor of their native ity in Holland, they called Cape Horn. The navigation between e Adantic and the Pacific was so nmch facilitated by the latter • In a work printe.l ai Manilb in 1712, called "Navcpacion Espi'ciilaiiva y Prac- |ica," minute direeiions are ;,'ivcn tor sailinfj alonp tliis part of the Amcripan coast. + Iti ihe curious map of North Ameiiea, at payeHalof ttie.lii voIuuk; uf Purchas's Pilgrimage, published in lG-25, liie sea is repreNenieil between California and tlie con- Inent, as far north as the 4r)!h degree. On tliis map are laid down, bv name, Cane Jlanco, Cape San Sebastian, and mmy other points discovered by Vizcaino. In "le geographical and historical atlas of Mitchell and Senex, published at London [1 I7.il, California appears as an island, extendinf? from Cape San Lucas to the |5th (lejiiee of latitude; the northernmost part of the island is called Nova Albion, ^ortli of it are placed a number of small islands, near the continent, with the names ^f Clnis:ento, Colubra, Wanguino, Maquino, &c,, affixed to them. Whence were hese names derived t A veteran buccanier. Captain Coxton, who flourished in the latter part of the l7ih f entury, asserted that he had, in Kif^t), discovered a river emptying into the Pa- |ilie from the American continent, north of Cape Mendocino, up wliich he had sailed Into n great interior sea called liie Lfidc of Thoyaca, containing many islands, in- labiied by a nnmeron.s and warldte populaiion This lake may be fouiid on several bid maps of that part of North America, for instance, in the atlas of Mitchell and Benex, above mentioned. Northwest An)erica was indeed at that time the terra inco^nitissima. Bacon laiil the .scene of hi% Atlantis there; and Brobdii^iitis;, ac- jrding to the very exact account of its discoverer, Captain Lemuel Gulliver, was Mtuatcd immediately north of the Strait of Fnca, about the 50th parallel of latitude. The position of Utopia (or no ivkete) is not clearly expressed in the narrative of loster Ralph Hythloday; but it seems to have been near California. 1009 KWO IW Uk)0 M 1 r ; „ 1^.;, iH" iiiii ■■fjii \ 1600. If IGiC to 1684. 1G85. vm. Oci. 4i discovery, that voyages to the western side of America were no J longer considered as dangerous enterprises; and the Spanish coni.| merce on those coasts was almost ever afterwards harassed byl pirates, or quasi pirates, of various classes and denominations,! The Gulf of California was, during the seventeenth centUry, thi principal resort and rendezvous for these depredators, especiallyi| for those from Holland, who, under the name of Pichilings, kepi| the inhabitants of the southern coasts of Mexico in constant anx iety. For the purpose of protecting these coasts from such inflictions as well as of obtaining advantage from the pearl-fishery on thi eastern side of California, several attempts were made by the Gov ernment, as well as by individuals and companies in Mexico, ti | establish garrisons, colonies, and trading-posts in that peninsula,": Of the expeditions thus made, it is needless here to relate the par ticulars, as they are unconnected with the principal subject ol this memoir ; suffice it to say, that they all terminated unfortii nately, from want of funas, from the barrenness of the countn and the hostility of its inhabitants, and, above all, from the indo lence and viciousness of the persons sent out as colonists. The ; last of these expeditions made by command of the Spanish Gov ernment was under the direction of Don Isidro de Otondo, who, ' in 1683, conducted from Mexico a number of soldiers, settlers, ani *| priests, of the order of the Jesuits, and distributed them at various points on the western side of the Californian gulf; the colonies, however, all disappeared within a few months after they had beer planted, and it was then resolved by a council of the principal an thorities of Mexico that the reduction of California by such means was impracticable. The Jesuits who had accompanier' Otondo in his expeditioni while concurring with the council in its opinion, nevertheless ini sisted that the object might be attained by another course, vizi by the conversion to Christianity and civilization of the nativesF of that part of America, which task they offered themselves to^ undertalce. Their proposition met with little encouragement from \ the heads of the government in Mexico. Being, however, not disi heartened, the fathers perambulated the whole kingdom, preach-^ ing and exhorting the authorities and the people to aid them inl the prosecution of an enterprise so pious and so politic. By suchl mean^ and by the co-operation of their brethren in Spain, they raised a small fund, and finally, in 1697, procured royal warrants authorizing them to undertalie the reduction of California /or tk \ King, and to do every thing which might be necessary ibr thati purpose, at their onm expense. On receiving these v arrants. Fathers Salvatierra, the principal missionary, sailed with a few soldiers^ and laborers to the land which was to be the scene of their opei! ations, where he was soon joined by Fathers Kuhn, (or Kino, asf In acquirmg ♦ Accounts of these expeditions maybe found in the History of Cnlifornia, hyj Father Venegas; and in JS'avarrete's Inlroduciiou to the Journal of the Sutil an(l| Mexicana. 49 merica were tin le Spanish comi ds harassed by denominations, ith century, thf ators, especially Pichilings, kept n constant anj. such inflictions l-fishery on ths ade by the Got. IS in Mexico, fc that peninsula," to relate the par cipal subject o! linated unfortii of the country , from the indo colonists. Tilt le Spanish Gov le Otondo, who, ers,3ettlers,an(! them at various f; the colonies, ir they had beer the principal aii 1 by such means his expedition nevertheless in her course, viz n of the natives I themselves to uragement froin owever, not dis ngdom, preach- ! to aid them in »olitic. By such I in Spain, they 1 royal warrants !alifornia/or tk jcessary ibr that I jurrants, Father I a few soldiers le of their oper- lin, (or Kino, as e Spaniards call him,) Picolo, Ugarte, and others, all men of lucation and courage, zealously devoted to the business before em. On arriving in California, the Jesuits had to encounter tlie same stacles and difficulties which had rendered vain all previous ttempts to form establishments in that region. They were at- icked by the natives, to whose enmity several of the fathers fell ictims ; their own men were insubordinate, and were generally lore inclined to fish for pearls, than to engage in the regular la- ors required for the support o^f settlers in a new country ; and leir operations were for some time confined within the narrowest mits, by the want of funds. Their brethren and friends in Spain ccasionally obtained orders for small sums from the Government )r their use ; but the Mexican treasury, on which these orders rere drawn, was seldom able to meet them when presented,* and le value of the assistance thus aflForded was in all cases much iminished before it reached those for whom it was intended. By perseverance and kindness, however, the Jesuits triumphed ver all these difficulties. Within a short time after their entrance to California, they founded several stations or missions; and he- re the middle of the last century, their establishments extended, t short distances apart, along the whole eastern side of the pen- sula, from the mouth of the Colorado in the north, to Cape San lucas. Each of these stations contained a church, a small fort, d a storehouse ; and it formed the centre of a district, in which e Indians were induced, by the most gentle means, to labor gularly for their own support, to live at peace among themselves, ,nd to receive instruction in the doctrines of the Roman Catholic ligion. To these ends were the efforts of the fathers exclu- ively directed, immigration from other countries being always iscouraged by them. That their exertions in this way were cal- ulated to produce temporary good, cannot be denied, as the in- vidual objects of them must have been rendered more happy d comfortable than they would have otherwise been ; but it ap- ars to be equally certain, that neither the Jesuits nor any other issionaries have ever succeeded in fitting a Californian Indian become a useful member of society. These missionaries, likewise, exerted themselves assiduously jn acquiring a knowledge of the geography, natural history, Ian- ages, A-c, of the country which they had taken under their harge ; and so far as regards the middle and eastern parts of the ninsula, and the region farther north, watered by tho Colorado nd the Gila, nearly all the information which we now possess a.s been derived through the labors of the Jesuits. Respecting ;he western side of the peninsula they added little or nothing to he stock of knowledge, all their efforts to examine that portion aving been unsuccessful. One of the most material points as- \m' lfi!)T 111 17(W. ir ■ \\ « |k* !l' I i. r-u If! if M ry of Californin, t)yj lal of the Sutil anill ♦ It appears, from tlie History of California, by Vcnega.';, (part 3, section 4,) that 1702 llie .Vlexican treasury was exhausted by the expenses of expeditions for the konquest of Texas, and for establishing forts and garrisons at Pensacola, and other places on the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico. M!h ,4 .1 1W7 id 1768. 11 1767. 50 certained by them was the fact of the connexion of California with the American continent, which, after having been doubted j or denied for almost a century, was completely established by Father Kuhn, an indefatigable German, in 1700. The results of these researches were communicated to the world from time to time, through the medium of a periodical publica tion, entitled " Lettrcs Eftifiantes et Curieiises, ecrites des Mission Etranglies^'' (Edifying and Curious Letters written from the For eign Missions,) which was conducted at Paris by Jesuits, forseve ral years, from 1716. But the most complete account of Califor nia,* to 1750, is to be found in the Natural and Civil History of tha: country, generally attributed to Father Miguel Venegas, thougl now known to have been composed chiefly by another priest o: the order, named Andres Marcos Burriel. Respecting this work which appeared originally at Madrid in 1757, and has been sinct translated into all the principal European languages, it may b: here observed, that the portions dedicated to the labors of the Jes uits are highly interesting, and that they bear with them \h marks of truth ; but that the not'ces of events which occunw prior to the entrance of the missionaries into the country are often at variance with those given by the older writers, and sometimes evidently erroneous. The observationis of the author upon the policy of the Spanish Government towards its American domin ions are replete with wisdom, and indicate more liberality, as well as boldness on his part, than could have been reasonably expect ed, considering the circumstances under which he wrote and pub- lished. The Jesuits received, as before mentioned, little assistance from the Spanish Government in the prosecution of their plaus with regard to California. That Government, indeed, was not only ai all times disinclined to favor projects from which no immediate ^ increase of its revenues or political strength could be anticipated,! but was also particularly jealous and mistrustful as to the pro ceedings of the Jesuits in the New World. Suspicions were en tertained at Madrid that those proceedings were not dictated sole- ly by philanthropic and religious motives; but that the body as- pired to the separation and exclusive control of many portions, if not of the whole, of the Spanish empire in America. These sus- picions became stronger as the influence of the Jesuits increased; the power possessed, or believed to be possessed, by their order, however, preserved them for some time from any direct open at- tack on the part of the Government. At length, in 1767, a royal decree was issued by King Charles III. for their expulsion from his dominions; it was executed without difficulty ,t and the ♦ " Nolicia de la California y de su Conquista, sacada de la historia manuscrita dtl Padre Miguel Venegas, y de olras noticias." (" Acccmnt of Califoir a, and of its con- ; quest, drawn from tne manuscript history of Father Miguel Venegas, and from other 1 sources.") The English translation, publislied in 1759, is miserable. t A large military force was sent from Mexico, for the purpose of dislodging the Jesuits in California. Gaspar de Portola, the commander of this expedition, is sai J to have been much ashamed and mortified on finding that his efforts were directed only against a few old priests, and their half starred simple Indian converts. n of Californij r been doubted iodical publica tes des Missiom n from the For esuits,forseve )unt of Califor. History of tha; enegas, thougl; lother priest cc ting this work lias been sine* »ges, it may b; bors of the Jes with them thf vhich occurrc: (untry are ofter: and sometimes Lithor upon the lerican domin jerality, as well onably expect missionaries in California were obliged, at a moment's warning, to quit forever the establishments which they had so long and so established by ; sedulously been engaged in rearing. ^ In 1769, immediately after the expulsion of the Jesuits from ed to the world i California, the Spaniards established the first colony and garrison on the western coast of that territory. This measure was effected in prosecution of a scheme of reform and defence, which had been devised at Madrid, with the view of rendering the trans-At- lantic dominions of Spain more profitable to the mother country, and more dependent upon its authority ; as Avell as of securing them against apprehended encroachments of foreign nations. Since the days of Sebastian Vizcaino, who had so strenuously recommended the settlement of this part of America, the Spanish power had, from a variety of causes, been constantly declining. On the Atlantic side of the New World several valuable territo- ries, which had long been occupied by the subjects of his Cath- olic Majesty, as well as others to which his claims were less ob- vious, had passed into the hands of his bitterest foes; and al- though his authority was still undisputed on the western side of the continent, yet his pretensions to the exclusive dominion of the Pacific had become obsolete. The buccaneers had led the I way into that ocean. They were followed by the arnied squadrons of Great Britain and Holland, with one or other of which nations Spain was almost incessantly at war; and, during the short inter- vals of peace, came the exploring ships of those Powers and of \vrote and pub- ; France, whose voyages of discovery were always regarded by ; the Court of Madrid as ominous of evil to its American colonies, assistance from The results of these exploring expeditions were communicated to heir plaus with. ^ the world without delay, and in the most full and authentic man- was not only a; 'ner possible ; the journals of the respective navigators being pub- no imniediatti lished immediately afler their return, illustrated by charts, tables, be anticipatedj ^and drawings, affording accurate ideas of the objects and events as to the pro I ----- - cions were enf t dictated sole- j subsistence of the monopolies enforced by Spain, were gradually introduced and adopted by the other maritime Powers of Europe.* After the peace of 1763, the exploring voyages of the French and British were more frequent, and were conducted in a man- ner which gave to them distinctly the characters of political move- ments. The irritation and jealousy which they occasioned at Madrid were still farther increased upon the establishment of col- onies, by each of the abovementioned nations, among- the islands of the Falkland group, at the very threshold of the Pacific. The French Govermnent, indeed, soon withdrew it- subjects from at the body as my portions, if i. These sus- uits increased; by their order, direct open at- 1 1767, a royal xpulsion from ilty,t and the 17(J: 17G9. 1G03 to 1769. 1764 to 176G. i^; 'ilMi" 'If* \ik .$ pm ria manuscrita d«l ! 'a, and o( iti> con- as, and from other ble. of dislodging the expedition, is said [•rts were directed ID converts. • " Sir Benjamin Keene, one of the ablest foreign ministers this country ever had, I (he was ambassadur from Great Britain to the Court of Madrid from 1754 to 1757,) used to say, that if the Spaniards vexed us in the first instance, we had means enough to vex them without infringing upon treaties; and the first step he would re- commend would be, to send out ships of discovery to the South seas.' —Lord Lans- dowrt's speech in Parliament on the Convention with Spain; delivered Deceviber 13, 1 17!H1'. Parliamentary History, vol. xxvii, page 944, \ ! I i f (i! ■; i ■ i ■ \ 14 '• '," night be practicable to advance ; and at the same time to establish colonies upon them, sufficiently near each other for mutual support, in case of need, against savages or foreigners, The execution of these orders was committed chiefly to Don Jose de Galvez, a high ofllcer of the Council of the Indies, who had been sent to Mexico in 1765 to superintend the application of the new measures in the northern section of Spanish America, The west coast of America had at that time been discovered only as far north as the 43d degree of latitude — that is to say, as far north as Sebastian Vizcaino had sailed in 1603; and all the information concerning it, being derived from the accounts of the old navigators, amounted to little more than descriptions of har- bors and promontories south of that parallel. Upon examining the manuscripts of Vizcaino relating to his voyage, notices and charts were found of several places upon this coast, which he considered well adapted for settlements ; and, in consequence of his recommendations, it was determined by the Viceroy and Gal- vez that the first establishments should be made at the spots which had 3 and Mouten Great diffi termination willing to i tending the procure on i be required signated poi fore the clo of priests, s missionary Paz, from ninsula, for I Gaspar de F I nando de R The arm » nies were sc I the San Ar I the other ve; f and was urn I month. O I despatched I ties of emig Portola and veniont spc town was li Portola, I Monterey b portion of t Diego that ico, should expedition or near the the end of ' San Franc I white cliff! found a p under the and, the v( liged to ret the 24th of In the sj ♦ An accoai fornia was dr published at A by the Goveri Bngland, whe lation is accc and by severa m the library by Father Fra who was the c m n ; the British ranees respect- i of his Cath- designs on its a similar man- 3 to the south- 3, however, no vance towards nee could not le Spanish do- )f the Spanisli s, whose dis- s of the Pacifip intion of other IS linown witli Is on the east- ritories beyond territories thus , and whether were questions 5 and enterpri- lific, was suffi 3red more seri- ew armaments I. mpendinp', the which were to sem to indicate [)al objects was lories of Amer- indeavors were iers were given xplored as far nd at the same lear each other s or foreigners, hiefly to Don le Indies, who 3 application of inish America een discovered -that is to say, 03 ; and all the accounts of the iptions of bar x)n examining ^e, notices and jast, which he consequence of ■ ceroy and Gal- e at the spots which had received from this discoverer the names of San Diego nes. and Monterey. Great difficulties were to be overcome in order to carry this de- termination into effect. Few persons could be found in Mexico willing to subject themselves to the fatigues and privations at- tending the settlement of a new country ; and it was not easy to procure on the Pacific side of the kingdom such vessels as would be required for the transportation of men and materials to the de- signated points on the northwest coast. At length, however, be- fore the close of the year, a small number of persons, consisting of priests, soldiers, and ^olonists, were assembled at one of the missionary stations on the eastern coast of California, called Lm Paz, from which place they began their march through the pe- ninsula, for San Diego, in two parties, respectively conducted by Gaspar de Portola, the governor of the new province, and Fer- nando de Rivera, a captain in the army. The arms, ammunition, provisions, and materials for the colo- nca nies were sent around to San Diego in two vessels, one of which, the San Antonio, reached that place on the 11th of April, 1769; April ii. the other vessel, the San Carlos, was driven far out to the westward, and was unable to enter her destined port until the end of the same April -29. month. Of a third vessel, the San Jose, which had also been despatched for the west coast, nothing was ever heard. The par- ties of emigrants who had proceeded by land from La Paz, under Portola and Rivera, successively arrived during May ; and a con- May. veniont spot having been selected on the shore of the harbor, a town was laid out and buildings were commenced. Portola, being anxious in like manner to found a settlement at Monterey before the winter, set off for tliat place in June, with a June 14. portion of the emigrants and soldiers ; leaving directions at San Diego that a vessel, which was expected with supplies from Mex- ico, should be despatched to meet him at the other harbor. This expedition was not successful. The Spaniards, marching along or near the coast towards the north, overshot Monterey, and at the end of October found themselves on the shores of the Bay of Oct. 30. San Francisco, which they recognised by means of the high white cliffs at its entrance. Turning towards the south, they found a port corresponding with that described by Vizcaino under the name of Monterey ; but the cold weather had set in, Nor. 38. and, the vessel nut appearing with the supplies, they were ob- liged to retrace ^'leir steps to San Diego, where they arrived on the 24th of January, 1T70.* In the spring of 1770 the San Antonio returned to San Diego 1770. ii ♦ An acconnt of the eslablishinent of the first colonies on the west coast of Cali- fornia was drawn up by Don Miguel Costanso, the engineer of the expedition, and published at Mexico in the latter part of 1770; but it was immediately suppressed m the Government, Fortunately, however, a copy of the work was carried to Hngland, where a translation was made from it and published in 1790. This trans- lation is accompanied by other useful articles with regard to the northwest coast, and by several maps and plans of harbors in that part of America. The work is m the library of Congress. Much information on the same subject is also afforded by Father Francisco Palou, in his Life of Father Junipero Serra, a Franciscan friar, who was the chief of the missionaries to California lo 1768. . ] .1 ,^ i 54 1770. with supplies from Mexico, in consequence of which Governor Portola determined to make another effort to form an estabhsh- ment at Monterey. He accordingly marched for that place, where he was joined by the vessel with the supplies before the end cif May, and having succeeded ii. -completing the most nccessarj' arrangements for the shelter and support of the settlers during the winter, he himself proceeded to Mexico to superintend tlit despatch of emigrants to the colonies. It was in prosecution of this plan for securing the unsettled territories of America adjoining the Spanish dominions from occupation by foreigners, that Don Francisco Bucareli, the Gov- June 10. ernor of Buenos Ayres, in June, 1770, forcibly expelled the Brit- ish colonists from their establishment, called Port Egmont, in the Falkland Islands. I'his event occasioned serious difficulties be- tween the Governments of Great Britain and Spain, and prepara- tions for war were made upon both sides ; negotiations were, however, at the same time carried on, and the affair was at length arranged wittiout recourse to arms, in a manner not wholly un- satisfactory to Spain. The history of these transactions has never yet been fully coiunmnicated to the world. From what has been published officially, added to the information obtained from vari ous* other sources, the circumstances appear to have been as fol- lows : As soon as the news of the expulsion of the settlers reached Sept. 12. London, the British Secretary of State, Lord Weymouth, ad- dressed to the Court of Madrid demands for the immediate disa- vowal on its part of the acts of the Governor of Buenos Ayres, and for the restitution of the islands in the condition in which they were before those acts took place. To these demands the Span- ish Government at first gave evasive answers, endeavoring tOj change the question at issue into one respecting the right of sov- ereignty over the islands ; but the British ministry refused to treat upon this subject until the disavowal and restitution had been made as required-, and preparations for large armaments were' begun throughout Great Britain. The Spanish ambassador at London next declared himself empowered by his Sovereign to state that no particular orders had been given to the Governor ol Buenos Ayres with regard to the Falkland Islands, although that officer had acted agreeably to his general instructions and oath in expelling the British ; and that Port Egmont should be restored as demanded. This offer was, liovever, also rejected as unsatis- Dec. factory by Lord Weymouth ; and war appeared inevitable. In this conjuncture, the King of Spain applied to his cousin Louis XV. of France for aid, agreeably to the FamiJy Compact, in order tha' he night resist the demands of Great Britain. France was, iic.wever, at that time in a very disturbed state; in ♦ Parliamentary History, voIk. x'-i and x.xviii; Dodsley's Annual Register for 1771, page 248; Belsham's History of Great Britain, vol. v, pages 3()8 to 371— par- ticularly a note at Ihe list cited page. The account given by this writer is perhaps the clearest which has yet been presented. See also an article on the Character oi Lord Chatham, iu the Edinburgh Review, No. 136, for July, 1838, page 448. consequenc the dispute as a mediat ish Governi immediately and to malJ for the int change had ministry. first demar I Spain, had I was ready I the part of I don ; and a I the day of i I On that I ■ serano, pre; \ the King o \ desirous to j of violence i gaged to re i port and fo I tillery, stor » of Jime, 17 • avowal ant the question \ The Earl I which, afte I ting to the I stated that 'i laration, to{ I satisfaction I however, vu \ the riirht of I In execu placed at P dition in w withdrawn Falkland I other Euro them until ♦ The celeb Pack de Fam I cle, their Maj( Power as tbeii by the second tic manner, al of the world." requested sha' virtually anni been almost s hcvebeen in f 6$ ich Governor an establish- t place, where )re the end of ost necessary' ettlers during perintend the the unsettled minions froni ireji, the Gov- elled the Brit- Igrnont, in the Jifficulties be- , and prepara- tiations were. • was at length ot wholly un- ons has never vhat has been led from vari- i^e been as fol- ttlers reached eymouth, ad- imediate disa- los Ayres, and in which they nds the Span- ndeavoring toi e right of sov- efused to treat tion had been naments were mibassador at Sovereign to le Governor of although that us and oath in lid be restored ted as unsatis- vi table, to his cousin ni)y Compact, (ireat Britain, rbed state; in lual Register for 5 3(i8 to 371 — par- wriier is perliaps L the Character oi , page 448. consequence of which, Louis declined entering as a party inio 177»». the dispute, though he at the sauie time tendered his good offices as a mediator between the two Powers.* To this offer the Span- ish Govenmient acceded ; and the King of France was thereupon immediately requested to take the whole matter under his charge, and to make any arrangement which he might consider proper for the interests and honor of Spain. In the mean time, a change had occurred in the composition and views of the British ministry. Lord Weymouth, being unwilling tc recede from his first demands, and finding his colleagues averse to a war with Spain, had retired from office, and his successor, Lord Rochford, Dtc. is. was ready to compromise the affair. The offer of mediation on the part of France was, therefore, accepted by the Court of Lon- don ; and a definitive arrangement of the dispute was effected on 1771. the day of the meeting of Parliament. ^"^w 22. On that day the Spanish ambassador at liondon, Prince Mas- serano, presented to Lord Rochtbrd a Declaration, in the name of the King of Spain, to the effect that his Catholic Majesty, being desirous to maintain peace with Great Britain, disavowed the acts of violence committed by the Governor of Buenos Ayres, and en- gaged to restore to his Britannic Majesty and his subjects "the port and fort of Egmont in the Falkland Islands, with all the ar- tillery, stores, and effects, precisely as they were before the 10th of June, 1770 ;" but at the same time it was declared that this dis- avowal and engagement " cannot nor oufrht in anywise to affect the question of prior riii lit of sovereignty of the Falkland Islamist The Earl of Rochford, in return, presented an Acceptance, in which, after recapitulating the paragraph of the Ihclarution rela- ting to the disavowal and engagements to make restitution, he stated that "his Britannic Majesty would look upon the said dec- laration, together with the performance of said engagement, as a satisfaction for the injury done to the Crown of Great Britain ;" he, however, made no al/usion whatever to the reservation respecting the right of sovereignty to the teiritory irstored. In execution of this engagement, the British colonists were re- placed at Port Egmont, as soon as it had been restored to the con- dition in which it was before the seizure ; they were, however, withdrawn in 1774, by order of their own Government, jind flie 1774. Falkland Islands having thus been freed from the presence of all other Europeans, were occupied by the Spaniards, who retained them until South America became independent. This abandon- ♦ The celebrated treaty between the Monarchs of France and Spain, called the Pacle de Famille, was signed at Paris on the 15th of August, 17fil. By the first arti- cle, their Majesties declare that "the two Crowns will hi iceforlh consider every Power as their common enemy, which shall become the enemy of either of them;" by the second article, they "reciprocally guaranty, in the most absolute and authen- tic manner, all the estates, lands, islands, and places which they pos.'-ess in any part of the world." Other articles fix the amount of "the first succors which the Power requested shall be obliged to furnish to the Power requesting." This treaty was virtually annulled by the National Assembly of France, in August, 1790 ; havini;: been almost a dead letter during the whole period in which it was supposed to hcvebeen in force. .-if *i 11 1771. I! n^ ImJt 56 ment by Great Britain of a territory which had formed the subject of such serious difficulties between her Government and that of Spain, was justified by the British ministry on the ground that no advantages were derived or expected from the colony suffi- cient to compensate the costs of mamtaining it. The Spaniards, however, have always asserted, and their assertion is supported by the opinions of distinguished British historians and statesmen, that the evacuation of the islands took place in execution of an ex- press though secret engagement to that effect, entered into by Lord Rochford at the time of the airangement of the dispute.* The Spanish Government considered the result of this dispute as advantageous, upon the whole, to the security of its American possessions ; regarding the concessions made by itself as more than compensated by the indirect admission of its assumed rightf: of sovereignty over the unsettled territories adjoining those do- minions. Indeed, those concessions were little else than diplo- matic courtesies. The spot occupied by the British colonists was restored only to be soon after abandoned ; and Bucareli, not- withstanding the censure cast upon him in the disavowal of his conduct, was continued in command at Buenos Ayres until that evacuation took place, after which lie was raised to the lucrative and dignified station of Viceroy of Mexico. The same opinions with regard to the concessions of the Span- ish King prevailed very generally in Great Britain, as soon as they were made known. The arrangement was severely criti- cised, and the ministry were reprehendedf for concluding it, both in and out of Parliament ; and the consciousness that these opin- ions were just, rendered the British Government more severe and uncompromising in its exactions from Spain upon the occasion of the dispute respecting Nootka Sound in 1790. The similarity of the circumstances which led to these two disputes, and the identity of the principles maintained by each party at both peri- ^ ods, rendered it proper to introduce the foregoing accounts and observations respecting the difficulties between Spain and Great • Governor Pownal, in the debt'e in Parliament, March Sih, 1771, (see Parlia- mentary History, Vdl. xvi, page 1394,) on his motion for censuring the ministry on account of the arrangement with Spain, says: "Without some such idea as this, namely, that as soon as reparation t* nuitle to our honor for the violent and hostile manner in which we were driven off the island, and as soon as we are put in a sitva- tion to evacuate ii on our own motion, it is tacitly understood we are to cede it — with- out some .such idea as this, the whole of the negotiation is inexplicable and unintel- ligible." To this no reply was made on the part of the ministry. t In the debate in the House of Peers upon the address approving the arrange- ment with Spain, Lord Chatham used this language: "There never was a more odious or more infamous falsehood imposed upon a great nation. It degrades the King; it insults the Parliamont. His Majesty has been advised to affirm an abso- lute falsehood. My Lords, I fceg your attention ; and I hope to be understood when I repeat that it is an absolute falsehood. The King of Spain disowns the thief, while he leaves Lim unpunished and profits by his theft." In the protest against the arrangement entered into in the House of Lords by Lords Chatham, Lansdowne, and other eminent member.;, it is averred that in the declaration and acceptance " no claim on the part of his Majesty to the right of sovereignty to any part of the island ceded to him has been advanced ; and any assertion whatsoever of his Majes- ty% right of sovereignty has been studiously avoided from the beginning to the end," &c. See Junius's letter of January 30, 1771 ; and Johnson's Defence of the Ministry, which is generally suppo.sed to have been dictated by Lord North. Britain in 1 this memoii The issti ernmeut sti of occupyiii either effcc semblance ( with this v Mosquito, 1 great cxper war betvvee The settl nia were, a: tie more tht can friars ; tue of their soldiers. ''. on the Bay the Govern The Brit Falkland 1 cific minut despatched he returned portant disi upon the d respecting cific and Ii In 1774 ])y Spanish ofprecccliu and 1779 t were exam rommaiid. convenient made by t as the objc gard to thi easily inte ♦ For stalls of the present id the subject t and that of ground that colony suffi- le Spaniards, is supported id statesmen, Hon of an ex- ' into by Lord te* f this dispute its American tself as more Slimed rights ng those do- than diplc- tish colonists Bi'careli, not- avowal of his rres until that the lucrative 5 of the Span , as soon a^ severely criti- uding it, both at these opin- 3re severe and he occasion of rhe similarity mtes, and the f at both peri- accounts and ain and Great 1771, (see Parlia- ig the ministry on such idea as this, violent and hostile ire put in a sitna- e to cede it — wilh- :able and unintel- ring the arrange- leverwas a more . It degrades the to affirm an abso- understood when lisowns the thief, protest against the ham, Lansdowne, 1 and acceptance to any part of the ETcr of his Majes- beginning to the I's Defence of the ord North. •7 Britain in 1770; othcnvise they would have been out of place in this memoir. The issue of this dispute served to impress the Spanish C«ov- ernment still more strongly with the conviction of the nc(;essity of occupying the vacant coasts adjoming its American provinces, either effectively, or in such a manner as to afford at least the semblance of right to the exclusive possession of them. Efforts with this view were accordingly made on the shores of Texas, Mosquito, Patagonia, and California; and were continued at a great expense, though with little success, until 1779, when the war between Spain and Great Britain occasioned their suspension. The settlements of the Spaniards on the west coast of Califor- nia were, and continued to be until within a few years past, lit- tle more than missionary stations under the direction of Francis- can friars ; some of them were, however, styled Presidios, in vir- tue of their possessing mud forts garrisoned by a few miserable soldiers. The most northern of these establishments was that on the Bay of San Francisco, founded in 1776 ; the residence of the Governor was, and still is, at Monterey.* The British Govermncnt, on its part, although abandoning the Falkland Islands, still persevered in endeavoring to have the Pa- cific minutely explored. For this purpose, Captain Cook was despatched on his second voyage around the world, from Avhich he returned in 1775 ; having in the mean time made many im- portant discoveries, and completely disproved the rumors, based upon the declarations of the Spanish navigator Quiros in 1607, respecting the existence ol a habitable continent south of the Pa- cific and Indian Oceans. In 177-4 and 1775 the northwest coast of America was explored by Spanish navigators between the 43d degree of latitude, the limit of preceding discoveries from the south, and the 58th ; and in 1778 and 1779 the remaining portions, as far north as the Arctic Sea, were examined by the British, under Cook and his successors in command. Before relating these important occurrences, it will be convenient to present a vicAv of the discoveries which had been made by the Russians in the northernmost parts of the Pacifi*!, as the objects and movements of tlie other two nations, with re- gard to this section of the world, will thereby be rendered more easily intelligible. ♦ For statistical accounts of these establishments, as they existed at thebeginniuj ;>f the present century, see Humboldt's Essay on New Spain. 1771. 1771 1779; ITTJ 1774 (o 1770. f.l ■A ' i I.I I, ' m ■'■\ %i 58 «« I 1 CHAPTER III. Voyages of discovery and trade in the northernmost parts of the Pacific made by the Russians from Kainsrhatkn and Ocholsk, between 17-8 and 1779— Voyages (.<■ Beerin'' and Tschirikcf— Establishment of the fur tra;' ; b iwcen Asiatic Russia and the opposite coasts and islands of America — Voyaacs ni Synd, Kren- iizin, LevashefT, and Benyowsky. Before the beginning of the eighteenth century, the coasts of Asia bordering upon the Pacific, north of the 40th degree of lati- tude, were as little known as those of America beyond the same parallel. At that time, the only information respecting the former territories was derived iiom the rejwrts of Martin tJeritzen de Vries, a Dutch navigator, who had in 1G43 explored the seas north of Japan as far as the 48th degree, and had doubdess entered the gulf bounded by the Kurile Islands and Kamschatka on the east, which is now called the Sea of Ochotsk. In the best maps,** published as lately as 1720, Jesso, the most northern of the Jap- anese islands, is represented as part of the continent of Asia ; while the Kurile group are laid down as a continuous territory, under the name of t/te Coni}Ktny''s land, separated from Jesso by a passage called the /SV/-flrz7 of Vries. jC3)j Such was the state of geographical knowledge with regard to the northeasterti coasts of Asia in 169G, when the Cossacks, who had been sent by Peter the Great, Czar of Russia, to explore and conquer the northern parts of that continent, discovered Kam- schatka, and penetrated to the shores of the I'acific. Within the ensuing fifteen years, Kamschatka and the whole region interve- ning betwcuii it and Euroj)e were definitively attached to the Russian empire. From these conquests the Russians acquired, among other ad- vantages, au extension of their commercial intercourse with Chi- na, which thus 'n a short time became very important. The principal articles of export to that country were the skins and fursf of animals, which were obtained either in Siberia and Kam- schatka, or by way of England from Hudson's Hay, in return, the Russians brought from China its teas, silks, porcelain, and other precious commodities. This conmiercial intercourse was eftected by means of caravans passing over land to and from certain points * See historical and geograjihical atlas of Mitchell and Senex, published at London in 1620. t Furs have been at all periods lii.^hly prized in China as objects of comfort and luxury. In the northern provinces they arc nsed as defences ajjainst cold ; while throughout the empire they constitute an important part of the dress of every rich noble or ostentatious person. "With the least change of air," says Krusenstern, "the Chinese immediately alter their dress; and even at Canton, which is undar the tropic, they wear furs in the winter." in each on' and the diii of I'juropoai none but ol have been 1 The )X)Sf' ambitious ( over other | \ by the occa \ lay beyond I him to invti the British views, he ( and etpiipf : instruction I other vessel the Arctic ( ^ At the p( ; it was not I ? in tlie nortl ) the Pacific ' that the wt i nicuted dii ' most probt wrecked ii| ':^ graphical i I the expedi ; means of i ; America. j. Various '\ projects di Catherine, a small ve; mouth of peninsula, The comi a Dane, w count of li were Alex man, both Beering and took i traced as f found tlie nothing b no land w stances, tl eastern ex then saili: that he hr and fearin to winter 59 Pacific made l»y 1779— Voyajjes ■Iween Asiatic n( Synd, Kren- the coasts of egree of lati- )iid the same ig the former Geritzen de he seas north s entered the hatka on the e best maps,'' n of the Jap- ent of Asia ; ous teiTitory, »m Jesso by a :ith regard to 'ossacks, who explore and overed Kam- Within the jgion interve- achod to the ong other ad- rse with Chi- (ortant. The le skins and ria and Kam- in return, the lin, and other ! was effected certain jxjints e.T, published at ts of comfort and linst cold ; while sss of every rich ays Kruseiisieii), , which is undai 1 1. in each empire ; and when wo consider the immense distance, icM. and th(j difficulties of the journey between the commercial cities of Muropean Kussia and tliose of China, it becomes evident that none butobicctsof great value, in con)parison to their bulk, could have been thus transported with profit to those engaged. The })Ossession of these vast regions only served to inspire the nil. ambitious Czar with designs for the extension of his iiuthority over other portions of the earth. Finding his dominions limited by the ocean in the east, he was anxious to know what territories lay beyond that barrier, and whether it would not be possible for him to invade from that quarter the establishments of the French, the British, or the Spaniards in America. Influenced by such views, he ordered that vessels should be built in Kamschatka, and ecpiipped for voyages of discovery to be :r'''de agreeably to instructions which he liimselfdrew up; \ liile, in the mean time, other vessels should pro(;eed from Archangel eastward, to explore the Arctic or Icy Sea and the northern coasts of Asia. At the ])eriod when this plan was nrninged by Peter the Cireat, it was not known whether Asia and America were united by land in the north, or were septirated by means of a connexion between the Pacific and the Icy Sea-, nor had it indeed been iT^certained that the waters which bathed the shores of K.imsclr comnm- nicuted directly with the Pacific, although this wuo considered most ])robable from the traditions that large ships had been wrecked upon those sliores. The solution of these great geo- graphical (juestions was the first object proposed by the Czar in the expeditions ; tlie next being to discover the most practicable means of reaching the possessions of other European nations in America. Various circmnstances prevented the execution of any of these projects during the lifetime of Peter. His widow and successor, 17-25. Catherine, however, resolved to curry them into fulfilment ; and a small vessel was at length, in 1728, built and equipped at the 17JS. mouth of the river of Kamschatka, on the eastern side of that peninsula, for a voyage agreeably to the instructions of the Czar. The connnand of the expedition was intrusted to Vitus Beering, a Dane, who had been selected f )r the purpose by Peter on ac- count of his approved courage and nautical skill ; his lieutenants were Alexei Tschirikof, a Russian, and Martin Spauberg, a Ger- man, both of whom afterwards rose to eminence as navigators. Beoring sailed from Kamschatka on the 14th of July, 1728, .inly 11. and took a northward course along the Asiatic shore, which he traced as far as the latitude of 67 degrees 18 minutes. There he found the coast turning almost directly eastward, and presenting August 1.' nothing but rocks and snow as far as it could be perceived, while no land was visible in the north or the east. From these circum- stances, the navigator concluded that he had reached the north- eastern extremity of Asia, and tliat the waters in which lie was then sailing were those of the Icy Sea. Conceiving, therefore, that he had attained the objects of his voyage in this direction, and fearing that if he should proceed farther he might be obliged to winter in this desolate region, for which he was unprepared, , "i •t ■ I, 1- •ir H 1 'i-'i- :■( i M IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 1.0 I.I 1.25 IM 1^ U£ 1^ 12.2 SiJi " u 1.8 U 11.6 7 /5 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. UStO (716)872-4503 2c 60 1728. Sept. 2. 1729. June 5. 1729 to 1711. 1739. to 1739. 1 ! :; he returned to Kamschatka, where he arrived in safety on the 2d of September. In this voyage Beering had twice, without knowing it, passed within a few miles of the American continent, through the narrow strait upon which his name was, fifty years afterwards, generously bestowed by Cook. In the succeeding year Beering sailed again from Kamschat- ka, and, taking an eastward course, endeavored to find the Amer- ican continent. Ere he had advanced far in that direction, how- July 23. ever, he was assailed by violent adverse winds, which forced him around the southern extremity of the peninsula into the Sea of Ochotsk. After this ropulse, he went to St. Petersburg, and en- gaged in no other expedition of discovery for twelve years. While Beering was thus remaining inactive at the Russian capital, the existence of a direct communication between the Pa- cific and the sea which bathes the shores of Kamschatka was as- certained, first by the shipwreck of a Japanese vessel on the eastern side of that peninsula in 1729, and ten years afterwards by the voyages of two Russian vessels, under the command, respec- tively, of Martin Spanberg and William Walton, through the pas- sages between the Kurile Islands to Japan. Within the same pe- riod, also, the continuity of the Pacific with the Atlantic through the Icy Sea, which the discoveries of Beering had given reason to suspect, was rewdered nearly if not absolutely certain by means of expeditions, partly by land and partly by sea, along the northern coasts of Europe and Asia ; all the attempts, however, made at that time, and since, to pass with vessels around those coasts, from ports in Europe to the Pacific, proved abortive. Moreover, a Russian, named Krupisheff, had sailed, in 1732, from Kamschatka north- ward, as far as the extreme point of the Asiatic shore reached by Beering in his first voyage ; thence he had been driven by storms towards the east, upon the coast of an extensive and mountainous territory which was supposed to be, and undoubtedly was, a part of America. Thus the great geographical questions proposed by the Czar Peter were determined, and the practicability of a com- munication by sea between the Russian dominions in Asia and the Spanish possessions in America was satisfactorily proved. These discoveries encouraged the Empress Anne, who occupied the throne of Russia when they were completed, to persevere in endeavoring to extend her authority farther eastward ; and she accordingly commissioned Beering in 1740 to superintend anoth- er expedition fi-om Kamschatka in search of America. For this purpose two vessels were built in the Bay of Avatscha, on the southeast side of Kamschatka, which had been selected for the establishment of a marine depot ; they were larger and more fully equipped than any of those employed in preceding voyages of discovery in that quarter, and scientific men were engaged in France and Germany to accompany Beering, so that precise in- formation might be obtained on all points connected with the seas and territories to be explored. Before the preparations were all made, the Empress Anne died ; but her successor, Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, immediately declared in fuv^or of the enterprise, and, no delays being experienced, the vessels were 1732, 1740. both ready : sailed from Beering, an Dane in his took a direi until the 21 storm, after The onlj after his sei ofSteller, tl is by no m( geography ; identify ma the voyage traced. From th( Tschirikof, with any tl day, land v The part f traordinary it became \ they sailed sively othei with snow interior oft drawing n into the se; mouth, t These e ther with i the Russia] tinent. M mander th wards the i but Beerir anxious to quence of ern course row passag latter they eral huts, their occu] Kamschat the Russia the follow • Steller's . in 1795; befo was containe lions of Russ may be founc t No sucl> ifety on the ice, without a continent, 5, fifty years Kamschat- d the Arner- jction, how- forced him the Sea of Lirg, and en- years. he Russian reen the Pa- atka was as- ssel on the fterwards by land, respec- ngh the pas- the same po- ntic through I'en reason to by means of the northern made at that ts, from ports r, a Russian, ;hatka north - e reached by en by storms mountainous was, a part of )posed by the ^ of a com- in Asia and y proved, ivho occupied persevere in ird ; and she ntend anoth- ca. For this tscha, on the lected for the nd more fully ig voyages of B engaged in at precise in- Avith the seas lions were all :'jlizabeth, the 11 fav^or of the vessels were both ready for sea by June, 1741. On the 4th of that month they 1741. sailed from the Bay of A vatscha ; the larger being commanded by Beering, and the other by Tschirikof, who had accompanied the Dane in his other voyages. On leaving the harbor, the vessels took a directly eastern course, and thus continued in company until the 21st of June ; on that day they were separated during a storm, after which they never again met. The only regular accounts which we have of Beering's voyage, after his separation from Tschirikof, are contained in the Journal of Steller, the surgeon and naturalist of the ship.* This journal is by no means sufficiently precise upon points of navigation and geography; in consequence of which, it has been impossible to identify many of the spots described by him as discovered during the voyage, although the general course of the vessel may be traced. From these accounts we learn that Beering, after parting with Tschirikof, continued on his course eastward, without meeting with any thing worthy of note until the 15th of July ; on which July 15. day, land was seen in the north, near the 60th degree of latitude. The part first descried was the summit of a mountain, the ex- traordinary elevation of which may be surmised from the fact that it became visible at the distance of more than eighty miles. As they sailed towards this point, the Russians perceived succes- sively other lofty peaks, and then ridges of mountains, all covered with snow, and stretching along the coasts, as well as into the interior of the country, to the utmost limits of the view ; and, upon drawing nearer to the land, they found a large river emptying into the sea, the current of which was felt several miles from its mouth, t These evidences of the extensiveness of the territory, toge- ther with its geographical position, were sufficient to convince the Russians that they had at length reached the American con- tinent. Many of the officers immediately expressed to the com- mander their wishes that he would pursue the discovery to- wards the southeast, in which direction the coast appeared to turn ; but Beering was then laboring under severe illness, and was anxious to arrive in Kamschatka before the winter, in conse- juiy 19. quence of which he gave orders that they should take a west- ern course. On the 20th of the month they anchored in a nar- July 20. row passage between the continent and a small island, on which latter they landed in search of water. There they found sev- eral huts, which appeared to have been recently abandoned by tlieir occupants, and various implements similar to those used in Kamschatka; none of the natives, however, were to be seen, and the Russians, having obtained a supply of water, set sail again on July 21. the following day. ' >. ♦ Steller's Journal was first published in the original German by Professor Pallas in 1795; before which lime, all that was known of Beering's voyage to America was contained in a meagre audincorreclabstract of this Journal in Muller's Collec- tions of Russian History. A translation of the most material parts of ihe account may be found in Coxe's History of Russian Discoveries, page 20. + No sucli river has been since found in that part of America. 1 I t 'Hvl • iji' ; 1) 62 July 21. Aug. 3 Ji 1741. According to Steller, the name of St. Elias was bestowed by the Russians on the most prominent point of this island, in honor of the patron of the day on which they reached it. The old ac- counts of the expedition, however, state that Beering gave that name to the lofty mountain which had first attracted his attention. Steller is more probably correct, as the 20th of July is the day of Saint Elias, agreeably to the calendar of the Greek church. The stupendous peak rising on the northwest coast of America, near the 60th degree of latitude, and distinguished on our maps as Mount Saint Elias, received that appellation in 1778 from Cook, who considered it to be, as it doubtless was, the same observed by Beering in 1741. Vancouver, who examined this coast mi- nutely in 1794, was convinced that the place in which the Rus- sians first anchored is on the eastern side of the entrance to a bay, now generally known as Becring''s, and sometimes called Admi- ralty Bay. From the island on which they had first touched, the Russians proceeded towards the west ; frequently seeing land in the north, but seldom gping near enough to enable them to distinguish its character. On the 3d of August, in the latitude of 56 degrees, a chain of high mountains appeared ahead, stretching across the horizon ; and as they knew that Kamschatka was still far dis- tant, they concluded that the land before them was either a great island, or a peninsula extending southward from the American continent. They in consequence altered their course to a south- ern one in order thus to reach the latitude of 53 degrees, where they were sure of finding the sea open on the west as far as Avat- scha. The distance was short, but they were so much impeded in their progress by contrary winds and currents, as well as by their fears of running upon shoals and small islands, that by the Aug. 29. end of the month they had scarcely advanced fifty miles upon their way. By this time the crew began to suffer from sickness and fatigue, and, in order to give them rest and to procure fresh water, Beering again anchored near some islands, on which they remained ashore for several days. While they were lying at this place, the first death occurred among them ; in commemoration of which, the group of islands received the name of the deceased sailor, and have ever since been known as Scliumagiri's Isles.* Here, also, natives of America were first seen by the Russians ; they resembled the Tschutzki, or aboriginals of northeastern Asia, in their features and habits ; and it was remarked that they used implements of iron, which have since been found to be com- mon among all the inhabitants of Northwest America. After leaving Schumagin's Islands, the Russians discovered others,t extending in a chain westward, nearly in the course of the 53d parallel of latitude, which they passed without landing on them, being anxious to reach Kamschatka before the begin- Aug, 31. S<;pt. ♦ They are in number twelve, and are situated near the latitude of 55i degrees, on the eastern side, and not far irora the southern extrenoity of the great peninsula of Aliaska. t The Fox Islands, called Unalashka, Unimak, &c. ning of the appointed. by a furioui sea at randc sening theii again saw 1 island, and With this 1 and began soon, howe from the \s dashed to p On the 8 ness and fa signed to tl Nearly all t the whole ( were restor ported then which thej return of n of the piec( gust. On t from the w made the c they landet sailed in th passed moi situated be i from the ca ; Becring^s . \ Such w( I other vesse \ Avise pursu j of July, in I ered extenc with high the weathe cast ancho men in a b not returni boat with f rection. N learned res for several make theii Tschirikof sail for Ka great difllc his crew ; of Avatsch to the sixt( ;; bestowed by ind, in honor The old ac ng gave that his attention, is the day of iiurch. The America, near our maps as 8 from Cook, ime observed lis coast mi- lich the Rus- mce to a bay, called Admi- the Russians in the north, istinguish its 56 degrees, a ig across the still far dis- either a great the American se to a south - Bgrees, where IS far as Avat- mch impeded as well as by s, that by the y miles upon from sickness procure fresh n which they ! lying at this mmemoration " the deceased agiri's Isles.* :he Russians; northeastern ked that they nd to be corn- ea. IS discovered the course of hout landing re the begin - e of 55i degrees, e great peninsula .1 68 ning of the stormy season. In this expectation they were dis- 1741, appointed. About the middle of September they were assailed Sepi. by a furious tempest, and for several weeks were driven over the sea at random, while famine, disease, and despair were daily les- sening their numbers. At length, on the 5th of November they again saw land in the latitude of 55 degrees ; it proved to be an island, and on it they resolved, at all hazards, to pass the winter. With this view, they landed their stores and other necessaries, Nov. 7. and began to construct habitations out of sails and spars ; they soon, however, had an abundant supply of building materials from the wreck of their vessel, which was driven ashore and dashed to pieces by the waves. On the 8th of December Beering expired, worn down by sick- Dec. 8. ness and fatigue ; and thirty of his men were successively con- signed to their graves on the island before the ensuing summer. 1713. Nearly all these deaths were occasioned by scurvy, with which the whole crew were affected when they landed ; the survivors were restored to health by the free use of fresh water, and sup- ported themselves chiefly on the meat of sea and land animals, of which tliey killed great numbers during their stay. Upon the return of mild weather, they began to build a small vessel out April. of the pieces of the wreck, which they got ready for sea in Au- gust. On the 14th of that month they departed in their frail boat Aug. ii. from the western side of the island ; two days afterwards they Aug. i«. made the coast of Kamschatka ; and on the evening of the 21st Aug. 2i. they landed, forty-six in all, at the place from which they had sailed in the Bay of Avatscha. The island, where they had thus passed more than nine months, is a long and narrow slip of land, situated between the parallels of 55 and 56, about eighty miles from the cast coast of Kamschatka ; it has ever since been called Becring^s Isle. 1741. Such were the occurrences of Beering's last voyage. The other vessel employed in this expedition under Tschirikof, like- wise pursuing an eastward course, came upon land on the 15th Julr ir?. of July, in the latitude of 56 degrees. The territory thus discov- ered extended on the ocean from north to south ; it was covered with high mountains, and its coasts were steep and rocky. As the weather was unfavorable for approaching the land, Tschirikof cast anchor at the distance of some miles from it, and sent ten men in a boat to make examinations ; after some time, these men not returning nor making any signals from the shore, a second boat with six others of the crew was despatched in the same di- rection. Neither of these parties ever returned, nor was any thing learned respecting their fate ; although their commander remained for several days cruising near the coast, in hope that they would make their appearance. This hope having entirely vanished, Tschirikof quitted the coast which he had discovered, and set sail for Kamschatka. His voyage homeward was attended with great difficulties, from constant storms, and from the sickness of his crew; at length, on the 8th of October, he reached the Bay of Avatscha, having lost twenty one men by scurvy, in addition to the sixteen whose fate was not determined. July 2- Oct. 8. H 1:1 f^r, Hi. ' i' i' l\ ■ ( 64 nil. m\ 1741 to i7(;4. 174-2. 1741 10 17G1. The land discovered by Tschirikof in 1741 must have been, agreeably to his statement of its latitude and bearings, the west- ern side of one of the islands contiguous to the American con- tinent, which are now called on English maps the Pnnce of Wales^s Archipelago. The inhabitants of these islands are fierce and treacherous, and have always displayed the most uncom- promising animosity against foreigners ; it is therefore most prob- able that the men sent ashore by Tschirikof were murdered as soon as they landed. The discoveries effected by Beering and Tschirikof in this ex- pedition were not considered by the Russian Government of suffi- cient importance to justify the immediate despatch of other vessels towards the American coasts ; and accordingly no farther attempts were made by its orders to explore the north Pacific until 1766. In the mean time, however, accidental circumstances connected with Beering's voyage had turned the attention of private indi- viduals in Kamschatka to the islands seen by that navigator on his return, and the part of the ocean in which those islands are situated had been thoroughly searched. It has been mentioned that the crew of Beering's vessel had, during the period passed by them on an island near Kamschatka, subsisted chiefly on the flesh of the land and sea animals which they found there in great numbers. The skins of these animals, particularly of the foxes and sea-otters, were preserved by the men, and carried in their boat to Kamschatka, where they were sold for such high prices that many persons were induced imme- diately to go to the island and procure farther supplies. In the course of the voyages made for this purpose, other islands were discovered, offering the same advantages ; and the number of per- sons engaged in the search for furs was increased. The trade thus commenced was for some time carried on by individual adventurers, each of Avhom, acting only for his own benefit, was alternately a seaman, a hunter, and a merchant. At length, however, some capitalists in Siberia employed their funds in the pursuit ; and the expeditions to the islands were in conse- quence made on a more extensive scale, and were conducted with greater regularity and efficiency. Trading stations were estab- lished at particular points, where the furs were collected by ])er- sons left there for the purpose ; and vessels were sent at certain periods, from the ports of Asiatic Russia, to carry the articles re- quired for the use of the agents, or for barter with the natives of the islands, and to bring away the skins which had been pro- cured. The aborigines of the islands were a bold and savage race, whom it was found almost impossible to subdue or to conciliate -, they attacked and murdered the strangers whenever an opportu- nity was offered, and Ihc Russians appear to have treated them, in return, with great cruelty and oppression. In the smaller islands, the natives were soon extirpated or reduced to absolute slavery by the traders, who employed every means to force them to hunt and fish for the animals yielding the furs. The poor sav- ages were required by their taskmasters to procure a certain num ber of skin for their qi give up th( the mount habitants, ^ strangers. In additi sioned, a k and convey ration, shi] first establi indeed, litt and suffer] to the hun] prises, we < they displa The isla traders wei itude, exte Kamschatl posite Ame by the ger ent, howe\ the most w die group the Pot Isi and Unimj at a short d discovered farther in island in t to which t the only p was the cc As the t longitudes places in rect. Th( manner pc scha, or tl ceed fer w chain, wh and thus the place Asia; and erable atte she were i • The nar found in Co the narrativt vessels empl I 65 t have been, igs, the west- mericaii con- he Prince oj nds are fierce most uncom- re most prob- murdered as of in this ex- men t of sufR- ■ other vessels rther attempts ic until 1766. es connected private indi- navigator on 3e islands are 's vessel had, Kamschatka, nimals which these animals, erved by the ere they were pduced imme- plies. In the r islands were lumber of per- carried on by y for his own nerchant. At ed their funds vere in conse- )nducted with IS were estab- lected by ])er- ent at certain he articles re- the natives of lad been pro- savage race, to conciliate ; ;r an opportu- treated them, I the smaller id to absolute to force them riie poor sav- certain num i A ber of skins during each season ; for the delivery of which, and for their quiet behavior in the mean time, they were obliged to give up their children as hostages. In the larger islands, where the mountains afforded facilities for retreat or defence to the in- habitants, wars were constantly going on between them and the strangers. In addition to the miseries and loss of human life thus occa- sioned, a large proportion of the persons engaged in the collection and conveyance of the furs were annually destroyed by cold, star- vation, shipwreck, and especially by scurvy. The history of the first establishment of the Russians in this quarter of the world is, indeed, littlo else than a series of accounts of dreadful disasters and sufferings ; and whatever may be our opinions with regard to the humanity of the adventurers, or the morality of their enter- prises, we cannot but admire the courage and perseverance which they displayed in struggling against such appalling difficulties.* The islands thus discovered and conquered by the Russian fur- traders were those between the 53d and the 55th parallels of lat- itude, extending in a regular line or chain from the vicinity of Kamschatka, eastward across the sea, to the extremity of the op- posite American peninsula of Aliaska. They were at first known by the general name of Aleyntsky, or Aleutian Islands ; at pres- ent, however, they are considered as divided into three groups, the most western of which retains the name of ^/ew^ian, the mid- dle group being called the Andreanowsky, and the most eastern the Fox Islands. The latter division includes Unalashka, Umnak, and Unimak, the largest and most important islands of the chain ; at a short distance northeast from these are the Schumagin Islands, discovered by Beering, and named after one of his crew ; and still farther in the same direction is Kodiak or Kuktak, the largest island in this part of the Pacific. Kodiak was the extreme point to which the for- traders had penetrated in 1778; before that time the only portion of the American continent frequented by them was the coast of Aliaska, which they believed to be an island. As the traders had no instruments for determining latitudes or longitudes with precision, their ideas of the relative situations of places in the north Pacific were exceedingly vague and incor- rect. Their navigation was conducted in the most inartificial manner possible. A vessel sailing eastward from the Bay of Avat- scha, or the southern extremity of Kamschatka, could not pro- ceed fer without falling in with one of the islands of the Aleutian chain, which would serve as a mark for her course to another; and thus she might go on from point to point, until she reached the place of her destmation. In like manner she would return to Asia ; and, if her course and rate of sailing were observed with tol- erable attention, there could seldom be any uncertainty whether she were north or south of the line of the islands. A great number • The narratives of many of these expeditions of the Russian fur-traders may be found in Coxe's interesting " Account of Russian Discoveries." Krusenstern, in the narrative of his voyage to the north Pacific, stales that at least one-third of the vessels employed in this trade were lost every year. See poHia, chapter viii. 1711 tu 17til, * ""1 If f ! I i. 1' 4. i. I 4 I 96 H- Urn 'It III Ij 11 n ' ill 13 UU I at 1741 to 17(54. 17C1. 17fi6. of vessels were, however, lost every yoiir, in consequence of this want of knowledge respecting the coasts, and want of means to ascertain positions at sea. The Russian Government remained f continent, eluded betv counts had European n tury. The the two grei by the ocea extension a the conjecti quent obser In 1774, days of Viz( latitude. F by the Vice Juan Perez Martinez as far as the i shores sout Of this 6 I sented. T I formation r {principal oc tive of the was in that In addition communica as derived i the chaplaii at Mexico, subject, the drawn. From Sa tinued his ^ the coast, ii should con any relation, itablishod be- >f ono on the the informa- possessed in to procure it, iscoveries ef- ring tho five ic added, that ncrease their ■ I CHAPTER IV. Voyages or discovery in the north Pacific, made by the Spaniards and the British, between 1774 ond 1779 — Voyages of Perez, Heneia, Bodega, and Cooic— Journeyr* through the not ihern parts of America, made by Hearne and Carver. In the preceding pages, it has been shown that, before 1774, the Spaniards had examined the western coast of America as far north as the 43d degree of latitude ; and the Russians, sailing cast- ward across the Pacific, from their dominions in Asia, had dis- covered beyond the 66th degree many islands, as well as other territories, which were supposed to be parts of the first mentioned continent. Respecting the portion of the American coast in- cluded between these two parallels of latitude, no definite ac- counts had been obtained, although it was probably visited by European navigators during the latter years of tho sixteenth cen- tury. The discoveries of the Russians had served to prove that the two great continents were entirely separated from each other by the ocean, but they had afforded little information as to the extension and limits of America in the northwest ; and few of the conjectures based upon them have been confirmed by subse- quent observations. In 1774, the Spaniards attempted, for the first ti*ne since the 1774. days of Vizcaino, to explore this coast beyond the 43d degree of latitude. For that purpose, the corvette Santiago was despatched by the Viceroy of Mexico from San Bias, under the command of Juan Perez, an ensign in the Spanish navy, with Estevan Jose Martinez as pilot. They were ordered to proceed, if possible, as far as the 60th degree of latitude, and thence to examine the shores southward to Monterey. Of this expedition a very imperfect account only can be pre- sented. The Spanish Government carefully concealed all in- formation respecting it until 1802, when a short sketch of the principal occurrences appeared in the Introduction to the Narra- tive of the Voyage of the Schooners Sutil and Mexicana, which was in that year published at Madrid, by authority of the King. In addition to this official notice, a few particulars have been communicated by Baron Humboldt, in his Essay on New Spain, as derived from the original Journal of Fathers Crespi and PeBa, the chaplains of the Santiago, which he was permitted to inspect at Mexico. From these, the only sources of knowledge on the subject, the following account of the voyage of Perez has been drawn. From San Bias, Perez sailed first to Monterey, and thence don- Jan. 95. tinned his voyage towards the north, keeping at a distance firom the coast, in order to reach a high latitude before the cold weather should commence The land next seen by him was near the . 6 ili :M !:H. ; ( I' '• i 'it i U ',1 ; ;. i i. ' ' 1 fO 1T74. B4fh parnllol, nnd must Imve horn tho ni iliwostcrn pnrt of Qupon Jiily','0. (•|i;ii-|,)tU''s [sliiiid. AlUT a (Mirsorv cxiimination of this coiiNt, lie All! ry pnu'ccdt'd towjirds llic stuitli, occiisMMinlly srcini,' the land ; and .0. at length, in the latitude of W)^ (h'l^rees, he diseoven.'d and cii- tered a hay, to which he jjfave the name of /V/ San Loirftzo.* Here ho traded with the natives, who surrounded his vessel in great nuinhers, olVering the skins of animals in return li)r artiilcs of iron, with whieh metal th(. latid ; luid cnsd imd on- 'an Lnri'nzn.* his vt'sst'l in rii li>r arfii'li's iritcd. l''roiu us ho arrived not prohablc W(M'ii the tuii 1 7K>, assorted 48th and 4«hli iiiiuuidor soon I of which as- the anil of tin ) bostows the rii side of itj* II ho soon that I to tho iiortli- in Lorenzo be (and wo iiavi; havo boon tlie ; tho name ol Nontlcn Sound. b; all acconnts on of the jour- tablishing tin: y, which is nl- r. roy of Mexico, tion should bo iiing the whole fur, if possible, e Santiago was 3ta, Juan Perez ipaniod by the irden, of which Maurolle the d into English d at London in dition has been y to the occur- movements of IS, in the Intro- and Mexicanu. rces are tlie fol- e,) according to Uie i tl Tho two vessels having boon provisioned for a voyage of a 17:5. year, sailed togotlu r Croni San Ulas, in company with the schooner Mar. 10 San (Jarlos, which was bound for Monterey. I'.rc tho latter ves- sel hud proceeded far from the land, horcnptuin became delirious; in consequence of which, Jnun de Ayala was onlered to take his place, Lientenutit Juan Pruncisco do fa Ilodegu succca'ding toth«' command of tho Sonoru. This circmnstanco is here mentioned, because, in nearly all the accounts of the voyage, Ayulu is repre- sented us the pnncipul officer in command, wlx'reiis ho in iiict only accompanied tho exploring vessels to the vicinity of Mon- terey.* The exploring vessels, after parting with the San (,'arlos, made ('ape Mendocino on the 7th of June, and on the lOlli cast anchor juae'. ill a small cove just beyond that promontory, in the latitude of 41 degrees 3 minutes. At this plac(f, which was named Port Trln- ufdff, the Spaniards remained nine days, employiid in refitting tlioir vessels and taking in water. During this time, they held communications witli the natives of the country, who apiKJured to bo u mild and tractable race ; und on their departure, they erected across near tho shore, with an inscription sotting f»rtli the period of their visit, and the rights of their Sovoroi'Mi to the surround- ing territory, founded upon the discovery. This cross was seen standing by Vancouver, who landed there in llW.i; the English navigator tiid not, however, considtsr the place as meriting the name of a porL On leaving Port Trinidad, the Spaniards kept at a |, I 1 :'' i J, '■ i i, . 1) ; . ■■' ! } '■ y m k 72 1775. posed fo danger from the attacks of the barbarians, who appeared in great numbers in canoes, and were with difficulty prevented from boarding her. In commemoration of this event, the island was called Ma de Dolores^ (Isle of Grief.) Twelve years after- wards it received from the commander of the Austrian ship Impe- rial Eagle the name of Destruction Island, in consequence of the massacre of some of his men near the spot where the Spaniards had been cut off. July 15. After the occurrence of this disaster, as many of the crews of both vessels were moreover disabled by sickness, it was debated among the officers whether they should endeavor to proceed to the north, or return to Monterey. The commander, Heceta, was anxious to return ; Bodega and Maurelle, however, notwithstand- ing the miserable condition of their little schooner and crew, in- sisted that they should persevere in their efforts to reach a higher latitude ; and their opinion having been unwillingly adopted by their superior, the voyage was resumed on the 20th of July. On Aug. 4. the 4th of August the vessels were separated, and Heceta seized the opportunity of going to Monterey, while the schooner con- tinued her course towards the north. Aug. 14. Ten days after leaving the schooner, Heceta, while sailing along the coast of the continent towards the south, discovered a promontory, called by him Cape San Roque, and immediately south of it, under the parallel of 46 degrees 16 minutes, an open- ing in the land, which appeared to be a harbor or the mouth of some river.* This opening, represented in Spanish charts printed before 1788 by the names ofEntrada de Heceta, Entrada de Asun- cion, and Rio de San Roque,f was, without doubt, the mouth of the Columbia river, which was thus, for the first time, seen by the natives of a civilized country. Bodega and Maurelle, in their schooner, after parting with He- 18. ceta, proceeded towards the north as far as the latitude of 57 de- grees, before they again saw the land. Under that parallel they discovered a lofly mountain in the form of a beautiful cone, rising from the ocean, and occupying nearly the whole of what appeared to be a peninsula, projecting westward from the coast of^ an ex- tensive territory. In the angles between the supposed peninsula and the main land, were two bays, the northernmost of which was called Port Remedios, and that on the southern side Poit Guadalupe, in honor of the two most celebrated places of pilgri- mage in Mexico, situated near the capital. The mountain over hanging these bays received the name of San Jacinto, the saint on whose day it was discovered ; and the appellation of Cape En- earto (Deception) was bestowed on its western extremity. There IS no difficulty in identifying these spots, from the descriptions given by Maurelle, although fhey are distinguished on our Eng- lish maps by other names ; they are on the western side of the Aug * Journal of the Sutil and Mezicana, page 153; and IntroductioB to the same, page 94. t The 15th of August is the day of the Assumption ; and the 16th ia St. Roque's (or St. Roch's) day, according to the Roman Catholic Calendar. largest islai ward of the the land, ai cinto is no Engano as ( and Port G sians the G other by a i completely The Spa they took p ligious forn traded with of their owr continued t the vessel h were incapa rendered ad circumstanc persevere ir turned towa minutely in Having t they went, through wh Atlantic in searched e\ every headl not lose sii safely prou' conclusion tablished b occasion, th of the 55th royage, the Moreover, li resents thei towards tin which rnor by the Spar In the cf harbors, atK covered in the Viceroy on the sout Islands, ant America w bestowed I the schoon great islanc long after f tember she vho appeared Ity prevented nt, the island B years after- in ship Impe- juence of the he Spaniards the crews of ; was debated to proceed to , Heceta, was lotwithstand- and crew, in- each a higher ly adopted by of July. On Heceta seized ichooner con- while sailing , discovered a L immediately iites, an open- the mouth of charts printed \rada cfe Asun- the mouth of time, seen by ting with He- ude of 57 de- parallel they ul cone, rising what ai oast ot an ex )sed peninsula nost of which lern side Port aces of pilgri- lountain over into, the saint n of Cape En- emity. There e descriptions d on our Eng- iTii side of the clioB to the same, li is St. Roque's (or 73 largest island of King George the Third's group, a little north- 1775. ward of the place where the Russian navigator, Tschirikof, saw the land, and where his men were lost in 1741. Mount San Ja- cinto is now generally known as Mount Edffccumb, and Cape Engano as Cape Edgecumb ; Port Remedies is the Bay of Islands ; and Port Guadalupe is Norfolk Sound, called also by the Rus- sians the Gidf of Sitca. These two bays communicate with each other by a narrow passage behind the mountain, which is thus completely insulated. The Spaniards landed on the shore of Port Remedios, where Aug. ly. they took possession of the country for their Sovereign with re- ligious formalities, obtained some fresh water, and fought and traded with the natives, who appeared to have very distinct ideas of their own rights of property in the soil. The voyage was then continued tOAvards the north, as far as the 58th degree. When the vessel had reached that latitude, nearly the whole of her crew Auj:. 22. were incapable of duty, while the increasing violence of the winds rendered additional exertions absolutely necessary. Under such circumstances, the officers found that it w( mid be imprudent to persevere in their endeavors to advance, and they accordingly turned towards the south, resolving, however, to explore the coasts minutely in that direction. Having taken this course, they searched along the shores as they went, for the passage or strait called the Rio de los Reyes, through which Admiral f onte was said to have sailed into the Atlantic in 1640. " With this intent," writes Maurelle, " we searched every bay and recess of the coast, and sailed around every headland, lying to during the night, in order tliat we might not lose sight of this entrance ; after which exertions, we may safely pronounce that no such strait is to be found." This conclusion was certainly coiTCct, yet it was as certainly not es- tablished by the discoveries of the Spaniards in 1775. On that occasion, the search was confined to the part of the coast north of the 55th parallel ; whereas, according to the account of Fonte's voyage, the Rio de los Reyes entered the Pacific under the 53d. Moreover, had the observations been as minute as Maurelle rep- resents them, several passages would have been found leading towards the north and east, for the examination of any one of which more time would have been required than was devoted by the Spaniards to the whole search. In the course of this examination, a bay, affording excellent harbors, and well secured against the ocean by islands, was dis- covered in the latitude of 55^ degrees, which, in compliment o the Viceroy of Mexico, was called Port Ducareli. It is situated Aug. -24 on the southwestern side of the largest of the Prince of Wales's Islands, and is one of the few places on the northwest coast of America which still retain on our maps the names originally bestowed by tlieir Spanish disf;ovcrers. From Port Bucareli the schooner sailed slowly southward, along the shores of the great islands which border the American continent, and were long after supposed to form part of it ; and on the 10th of Sep- Sept 19. tember she readied the spot where her men had been murdered m I y ii'i I! I !»( •1 - ^Ml ' 1 ■ \ , : ■ ; ' ' ■; ' \ ■. . r '<': \ lii ki 74 \m Vi < ii 1 -' mn 1 ' ^ ii lii mi i i ,1' 1T75. two months before by the savages. Thence Iier voyage was con- Sept. 19. tinned, at some distance from the land, past the mouth of the Columbia; a little south of which she again approached the con- tinent, and her officers endeavored to find the entrance of the great river said to have been seen by Martin de Aguilar, the pilot of one of Vizcaino's vessels, in 1603. The examinations with this view were commenced near a promontory, "resembling in form a round table," which* received the appellation of Cape Mezari^ situated about thirty miles from the mouth of the Columbia; and were prosecuted to the vicinity of Cape Mendocino, without suc- cess. The Spaniards then bore away for the bay of San Fran- cisco; and, while looking for it, they entered a smaller bay, situ- ated farther north, to which Captain Bodega thought proper to give his own name. There they remained long enough to sur- vey the shores; after which, they took their departure, and ar- Oct. 7. rived at Monterey on the 7th of October. The expeditions of the Spaniards in the north Pacific, during the years 1774 and 1775, have been made the subjects of severe reflections and sarcasms by French and English writers ; espe- cially by Fleurieu, in his Introduction to tlie Account of Mar- chand's Voynge around the World, and his Notes to the Instruc- tions given to La Perouse. It must be acknoAvledged that little exftct information respecting the northwestern side of America was derived by means of these expeditions ; yet their results might liavc been important, by r^ffording useful hints for the or- ganization and conduct of future voyages. The great (luestions of the extension of the continent towards the north and west were left unsettled, and the delineation of the coasts, founded upon the journals and tables of tlie navigators, was imperfect and inaccurate ; on the other hand, the eastern boundaries of the Pa- cific were approximately ascertained, as fur north as the 58th degree of latitude; and several harbors were found, the posi- tions of which were determined with tolerable precision. Perez and Heceta, indeed, displayed a cautiousness of disposition ap- proaching to pusillanimity ; but Bodega and Maurelle certainly vindicated the character of their nation for courage and perseve- rance, by their struggles to advance under the most appalling dif- ficulties. 1T77. In order to complete the examination of tlie northwest coast of America, the Viceroy, Bucarcli, obtained from his Government the use of two small corvettes, which he was anxious to despatch in 1777; the funds required for their equipment were, however, so slowly collected that they were not ready for sea until two n7H. years afterwards. In the mean time, that coast had been visited by Captain James Cook, whose discoveries now claim our atten- tion. Before proceeding to consider them, it should be observed that the Spanisli Government carefully concealed from tlie world every circumstance relating to its establishments and researches ♦ This promontory is miniiicly dci^cribcrl by Captain Clarke, wlio ascended it i'.i January, 180G. Sec Lewis ami Chuke's Travels, chapter 22. on the sho; Mr. Barrin that any tl the fact thi that part o that a just Cook and that any d; coasts of ^ Mention of the Bril the Atlant rected tow in prosecu and Bq/fiii sixteenth ( was soon comnmnic or the otli ranee in tl son's Bay of London the unders ery. As a end, the B thousand find a past Withou tions* ma( ments, sui respecting seas west Bays. H traders, as however, been navi imperfect! tween one or the Pf found wit cessible tc Great Bri questions any dang( advantage In orde as well as the direct ♦ A inner their re.suli.s Third and J .vlio ascendod il iu 75 on the shores of the north Pacific ; and it was not until 1 781 , when 1773. Mr. Barrington published his translation of Maurelle's Journal, that any thing was known in Europe upon those subjects, except the fact that a voyage had been made about 1774 from Mexico to that part of the ocean. This should be borne in mind, in order that a just estimate may be formed of the value of the labors of Cook and his successors in command ; none of whom were aware that any discoveries had been made by the Spaniards on the west coasts of North America, since those of Vizcaino in 1603. Mention has been frequently made in this memoir of the efforts of the British to discover a northern passage for ships between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. These efforts were all di- rected towards the northwestern extremities of the Atlantic ; and, in prosecution of them, the two great seas called Hudson^s Bay and Bq/Hn^s Bay were first explored, about the beginning of the sixteenth century, by the navigators whose names they bear. It was soon afterwards eiscertained, satisfactorily, that the desired communication could only be realized through the medium of one or the other of these bays; and, in order to encourage perseve- rance in the search for it, the whole region surrounding Hud- son's Bay was granted by King Charles II., in 1()69, to a society iceo. of Loudon merchants, entitled the Hudsoii's Bay Company, with the understanding that they should endeavor to effect the discov- ery. As an additional means of promoting the attainment of this end, the British Parliament, in 1745, offered a reward of twenty 1745. thousand pounds to those of "/f's Ma/cftty^s svh/eris vlio might find a passage for skips from IJndson^s Bay to the Pacijic.^^ Without presenting a detailed account of the various expedi- tions* made in consequence of these engagements and induce- ments, suffice it to say that, in 1768, nothing had been learned iTca respecting the portion of the American continent and the adjacent seas west of the immediate vicinities of Hudson's and Baftin's Bays. Hudson's Bay had been explored completely by the fur- traders, as far north as tlie 67th degree of latitude, beyond which, however, it was known to extend ; and although Baffin's Bay had been navigated to the 77th parallel, yet its shores had been but imperfectly examined. A channel for the passage of ships, be- tween one of these bays and the Pacific, might therefore exist; or the Pacific, or some large river emptying into it, might be found within a short distance of places on the Atlantic side, ac- cessible to vessels from Europe. The acquisition of Crinada by Great Britain, in 1763, had rendered the determination of these questions more interesting to that Power, as there was no longer any danger that such discoveries could be employed to its dis- advantage. In order to arrive at some definite conclusion on those points, nnj). as well as for other purposes connected with commercial interests, the directors of the Hudson's Bay Company, in 1769, commis- ♦ A concise, th(m;^!i clour, and doubtless jnsi acconnt of iliese expeditions, ami of their rcsuii.s, iiiav lie loiiiid 111 the Iniiodiiciioii lo the Journals of Capiain Cook's Tliird and Lust Voyage, written by Doctor Douglas, Bishop ol Salihbuiy. : i ;ri!h 'vi: 1.1 i i' ij ■I 1 i . ! 1 L 1769 to 1772. 76 1769, sioned Mr. Samuel Hearne, one of their agents, to explore the re- gion westward and northward of Hudson's Bay, so as to ascer- tain, if possible, how far the land extended without interruption in those directions, and, consequently, how far a ship would ne- cessarily have to pass in a voyage between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Agreeably to his instructions, Hearne set out* from Fort Pnnce of Wales^ situated at the westernmost extremity of Nov. 6. Hudson's Bay, in the latter part of 1769 ; between which period and July, 1772, he made three journeys on foot and in canoes, through the designated territories, examining them in various lines of march, to the distance of nearly a thousand miles from the place of his departure. In these expeditions, he discovered the Great Slave Lake, and many other similar collections of fresh water, from the most western of which issued streams flowing to- wards tne north. One of the largest of these streams, called Copper- mine River, was traced by him for a considerable distance, down to its termination, near the 68th degree of latitude, in a sea, which was certainly a division of the ocean, for the tides were observed in it, and the relics of whales in abundance were strewed on its shore. The traveller, moreover, assured himself that the portion of the continent which he had thus examined was not traversed by any channel or uninterrupted line of water forming a commu- nication between the seas on its eastern and its western sides ; and that, consequently, no passage could be effected from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in that direction, without sailing north of the mouth of the Coppermine. The discoveries of Hearne were considered in Great Britain as highly important. The sea into which the Coppermine river emptied was supposed to be the Pacific ;t and, as that ocean thus appeared to extend much farther towards the northeast than had been previously imagined, the hope of finding a direct communi- cation between its waters and those of Baffin's Bay were propor- tionally increased. Before relating what was done by the British Government in consequence of the information afforded by Hearne, it will be proper to notice another journey in the interior of North America, performed a short time previous, by Captain Jonathan Carver, of Connecticut. This gentleman set out from Boston in June, 1706; and, proceeding by way of Michilimackinac, passed the two follow- October, jng years in exploring the region west of the Great Lakes, which 1768. is watered by the upper Mississippi. Beyond this region he did not advance ; and the only reason for mentioning his expedition here is, that, in the narrative of his adventures,;J; allusions are sev- • The (fLscoverics made bv IJearne were communicated to tlie directors of the Hudson's Bay Company, and by them to the British AJmiraliy; no account of them was, however, sfiven to the world until the publicntion, in 1784, of the Journals of Cook's Last Voyage, in the Introduciion to which ihey are noticed. Ilearne's Jour- nals and Maps were finally published in 1795, after his death. t Hearne esiimated the latitude of ihe mouih of the Coppermine to be 72 degrees. We now know, from the observations of Franklin, thai this river enters the Arctic Sea under the parallel of 67 degrees 51 minutes. t Published at London in \Ti>i It attracted much attention at that time, and soon went through several editions. The work has b«en lately reprinted at New York, June, 1766, 10 eral times cific from In the objects wc toms, lang tions that breadth oj from the j tween the to accomf ment to es Anion, wl course be greatly fuc nication b tensive pi liged to til River, am way of the of the Gri tan, the te the inforti stress upo take their centre of tl which ejHj Lawrence West, tha This waters of though lu cnncernin Mountain the Pavif ered as western ing of the tory is, in any vocal in search from the of the Irif vented tli not from which sii the Missi: his accou dians, (nt given by ai 77 rovemment in eral times made to a ^reat river flowing wcstwardly into the Pa- cific from the central part of the continent. In the Introduction to his Narrative, Carver states that his objects were, "after gaining a knowledge of the manners, cus- toms, languages, soil, and natural productions of the different na- tion's that inhabit the back of the Mississippi, to ascertain the breadth of the vast continent (North America) which "extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, in its b.oadest part, be- tween the 43d and 46th degrees northern latitude. Had I been able to accomplish this, I intended to have proposed to the Govern- ment to establish a post in some of those parts about the Strait of Anion .f which, having been discovered by Sir Francis Drake, of course belong to the English. This, I am convinced, would greatly facilitate the discovery of a northwest passage, or commu- nication between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific Ocean." This ex- tensive plan he was, however, unable to effect; having been ob- liged to turn back after having advanced as far as the St. Peter's River, and just as lie was preparing to pursue his journey "6y way of the Lakes Du Plmje, Dubois, and Ouinipiqne,* to the head of the Great River of the West, which falls into the Strait of An- ton, the terrnination of his intended prot'ress.^^ In summing up the information which he presents to the public, he lays great stress upon his "account of the heads of the four great rivers that take their rise within a few leagues of each other, nearly about the centre of the great continent, viz : " the River Bourbon, (Red River,) iHtich einpties itself into Hi{dson\s Bay ; the waters of the St. Lawrence ; the Mississippi ; and the River Oresron, or River of the West, that falls into the Pocific Ocean at the Strait of Anion.*' This account is certainly incorrect, so far as regards the head waters of any stream flowing into the Pacific ; and as Carver, ihougli he frequently mentions the Oregon, gives no information concerning it more particular than that it 7-ises among the Shining Mountains, west of the source of St. Peter's River, and falls into the Pocific at the Strait of Anion, he cannot in justice be consid- ered as having thrown any light upon the geography of the western division of North America. As to the derivation or mean- ing of the word Oregon, he says nothing ; and nothing satisfac- tory is, indeed, known about it. No such word is to be found in any vocabularies of Indian languages which have been examined in search of it; and there is little probability that it comes either from the 0/Y;^r/wo or the Ore/o/t of the Spaniards, or the O' Regan of the Irish. In fact, there is reason to suspect that Carver in- vented the name himself, and that he derived his idea of the river not from the Indians, but from the maps of the day, in most of which such a stream is laid down running from the vicinity of the Mississippi. It is certain that he copied the greater part of his accounts of tlie manners and customs of the Nadowessie In- dians, (now called the Siou.r,) as well as their terms, from those given by Lahontan, nearly a century previous, respecting the sav- 17C6 to 1768. m .1 'Xii ;: I ♦ Rainy Lake, Luke of the Woods, and Lake IVinnipeg. i/' ii 78 17GG to 17CS. 17T1. i7:(). July 1-2. ages of Canada ; as may bo seen by comparing the chapters on numiage, on burial, on hunting, and on many other subjects in the two works, although he merely mentions the French travel- ler once or twice incidentally, and then in a very disparaging manner.* Carver concludes his narrative by stating that a project had been formed in England, in 1774, by Richard VVhitworth and other persons, of whom lie himself was one, to cross the Ameri- can continent with a large party, by way of the Oregon and Mis- souri Rivers to the Pacific, and then to examine the coasts of that ocean towards the north, in search of some passage leading to the Atlantic ; but that the Revolution in America had caused the scheme to be abandoned. The British Government, however, soon afterwards endeavored to obtain a solution of the interesting question as to the existence of a northern passage between the two oceans; for which purpose it was arranged that ships should be sinmltancously despatched to the north Pacific and to Balfin's Bay. Captain Cook, who about this time returned from his second circunmavigation of the earth, volunteered to conduct the expedition to the north Pacific; his offer was joyfully accepted, and he accordingly sailed from Plymouth on the 12th of July, 177(i, in his old ship the Resolu- tion, accompanied by the Discovery, under the connnand of Cap- tain Charles Clerke. Captain Cook was instructed to proceed by way of the Cape of (Jood Hope and Otaheite, " to the coast o( Aciv A/hioti, endeavor- ing to fall in with it in the latitude of 45 degrees." He was there " to put into the first convenient port to recruit his wood and water and procure refreshments, and then to sail northward along the coast to the latitude of G5 degrees, or farther if not obstructed by lands or ice, taking care not to lose any time in exploring riv- ers or inlets, or upon any other account," until he had reached that parallel. At the 6.5th degree he was to begin his examination of the coast, in search of " a water passage pointing towards Hud- son's or Balfin's Bays ;" if he should find such a passage, he was to endeavor to make his way through it; should he, however, be- come convinced that no such comnmnication existed, he was to visit the Russian establishments in that quarter, and to explore the seas north of them as far and as completely as he could. The direction not to commence the search for a passage to tiie Atlan- tic south of the doth pandlel, was founded on the proofs alforded by Hearne that the American continent extended uninterrupted beyond that latitude, and that, consequently, the stories of the voyages of Fuca and Fonte from the Pacific to the Atlantic were entitled to no credit. The application of the name of New Albion to the western por- tion of North America showed that the British Government had ♦In the interesting Account of Major Loiif^'s Expedition tlironsrh the (.onntry f>f the upper Mississippi in 18'23, vol. i, chapter 7, will In* I'otind sdine (il)>L'rvatiiiii.s calculated to show that no dependence is to be placed on Carver's statemcnis respect- ing that pirt ol' America, particularly as regards the St. Peter's River, which it is probable that he never ascended. chapters on subjects in eiich travel- disparaging project had itworth and the Ameri- on and Mis- le coasts of sage leading had caused 1 endeavored le existence lich purpose 7 despatched I Cook, who 2;ation of the orth Pacific ; sailed from 1 the Resolu- land of Cap- fthe Cape of I//, cndeavor- le was there is wood and hward along jt obstructed xploring riv- reached that aniinution of jwards Hud- isago, he was however, be- )d, he was to id to explore could. The to the Atlan- oofs alforded minterrupted lories of the ^.tlantio were western por- erinnent had Li?;h the conntry line i)l)sLTvaiii)ii.s ilemenis respeet- iver, which il Ls 79 no intention to resign the rights supposed or pretended to have 177C. been acquired by Drake's visit to that region. In order to revive and fortify these claims, Cook was instructed, "with the consent of the natives, to take possession, in the name of the King of Grant 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 such things as will remain as traces of his having been there ; but if he should find those countries uninhabited, he was to take possession of them for his Sovereign, by setting up proper marks and inscriptions as first discoverers and possessors." He was "strictly enjoined not to touch upon any part of the Spanish dominions on the western continent of America, unless driven thither by some unavoidable accident; in which case, he was to stay no longer than should be absolutely necessary , and to be care- ful to give no umbrage or offence to any of the inhabitants or subjects of his Catholic Majesty." With reference to the Rus- sians he was directed, " if in his farther progress northward he should find any subjects of any European Prince or State upon any part of tlie coast, not to disturb them or give them any just cause of offence, but, on the contrary, to treat them with civility and friendship." The preceding extracts from the instructions given to Cook in 1776 will be sulficient to explain the objects of his voyage to the north Pacific, and the views of the British Government with re- gard to the part of America bordering upon that division of the ocean. It should bo observed, in addition, that those views were in every respect conformable with justice, with the existing trea- ties between Great Britain and other Powers, and with the princi- ples of national law, then generally admitted in civilized coun- tries. When Cook sailed fron» England on this his last voyage, he July 1-2 expected to reach the north Pacific early in the summer of 1777; lie was, however, detained by his researches in other parts of the ocean during the whole of that year, and did not arrive upon the northwest coast of America until the 7t!i of March, 1778, when he made the land about a hundred miles north of Cape Mendo- cino. For several days afterwards he was prevented by violent storms from advancing as he wished towards the north, and was driven along the coast to some distance in the contrary di- rection. The wind then becoming favorable, he took the desired course, and on tlie 2;id of the month his ships were opposite a projecting point of tlie continent, situated a little beyond the 4Sth parallel, to which he gave the name of Cope Flattery in token of his improved prospects. In this part of his voyage he recognised the Cape Blanco of Aguilar, near the 43d parallel, but he thought proper to bestow on it the name of Cape Grcgorij. The mouth of the Columbia was passed by him, without its being noticed, du- ring a stormy night. The coast innuediately south of Cape Flattery was carefully examined in search of the strait through which Jiinn de Fuca was said to have sailed from the Pacific to the Atlantic in 1592. In the account of that voyage, the entrance of the strait is placed 177H. Mar. 7. Mar. i:?. Mar. -Zi. I, m III ,1 ^ 80 1778. between the 47th and 49th degrees of latitude; and the land be- ing found by Cook to extend uninterruptedly across that space, he did not hesitate to pronounce that no such passage existed. This assertion has been subsequently confirmetl; had the Eng- lish navigator, however, traced the outline of the coast on the other side of Cape Flattery, he would there have discovered an arm of the ocean, apparently penetrating the continent towards the east, through winch he might have proceeded with his ships for many days ere he could have been assured that the story of the Greek pilot's voyage was not true in all its most essential partic- ulars. This arm of the sea was passed unnoticed by Cook, who con- tinued his voyage from Cape Flattery, northward across its en- trance, and along the shore of what he supposed to be the con- tinent, as far as the latitude of 49^ degrees. Under that parallel he found a spacious and secure bay offering every facility for the repair of his vessels and the refreshment of his men, in which he Mar. 29. cast anchor on the 29th of March, bestowing upon it, at the same time, the novae oi King Georgv^s Sound. This name he shortly after changed to that of Nootica Sounf/, under the impression (which appears to have been incorrect) that Nootica* was the term employed to distinguish the bay, by the natives of the surround- ing territory. April. The English remained at Nootka Sound four weeks, engaged in preparations for the difficulties which they expected to encoun- ter. During this period they communicated freely with the na- tives of the country, who, though universally represented as the most thievish, treacherous, and ferocious of the human race, were upon this occasion rendered useful, and even obliging, by the knid and conciliatory conduct of the strangers. A regular inter- change of commodities was also established between the parties, the seamen giving their old clothes, buttons, knives, and other trifles, in return for the skins of sea-otters and seals, which were found in abundance on those coasts. Cook has recorded in his Journal many curious particulars il- lustrative of the character and habits of these savages, and he has also noticed some circumstances which appeared to show that they had held intercourse with Europeans before his arrival among them. Thus he remarks that they manifested no surprise at the sight of his ships, and were not startled by the reports of his guns ; they had tools and weapons of iron, and ornaments of brass, which latter, at least, could not have been made by per- sons unacquainted with the arts ; and one of their chiefs had hanging around his neck two silver tablespoons of Spanish man- ufacture. Yet the navigator was convinced, from in([uiries, that no ships besides those under his command had been seen at Nootka, and that none of the inhabitants had ever communicated directly with the Spaniards or any other civilized people. Their indifference with regard to his ships ho attributed to their " natu- f ♦ The name of Uquot,oT Yucuatl, applied by ihe natives oflhis region to a part oj the sound called Friendly Cove, is the only woid in their language which re&cnibles Nootka. ral indoler that they c colonies in termediate Under 1 justified ii Sound, ani The Span place is n named by years prev In the ace what evid( that many firm the pi the questic be at the i Cook sa intention < of latitude ican coast next seen Edgccumi in 1775 th he beheld and snow, Fainccath the 60th p scribed in of Mount instead of sen ted in solved to should soi his ships continent With tl from Mou thence sd exploring Ham's So'i which th pectations land was line thus and accoL ocean. 'J Cook enti establishe of his be was mate While ited by til he land be- that space, ge existed, d the Eng- )ast on the covered an fnt towards [h his ships story of the iitial partic- c, who con- ross its en- 3e the con- that parallel ility for the n which he at the same 5 he shortly impression ras the term e surround- is, engaged to encoun- vith the na- intcd as the II race, were ;ing, by the igular inter- the parties, 5, and other which were irticulars il- jes, and ho ed to show 2 his arrival . no surprise le reports of rnaincnts of ladc by per- ' chiefs had xmish man- juiries, that con seen at nmunicatcd pie. Their their " natu- irion to a part ol hicli re&cmbles 81 ral indolence of temper and want of curiosity ;" and he concluded 177* that they obtained their iron and other metuls from the European colonies in \merica, through the agency, "perhaps, of severaJ in- termediate nations." Under these circumstances, Cook finally considered himself justified in claiming the merit of the first discovery of Nootka Sound, and it has since been almost universally conceded to him. The Spanish Government and writers, however, insist that this place is no other than the l*ort San Lorenzo^ entered an«l so named by Juan Perez, during his voyage along this coast, four years previous to the arrival of the English in the north Pacific. In the account of that voyage, at page 70, we have shown upon what evidence this assertion is fl)unded ; and it cannot be denied that many of the facts observed by Cook, at Nootka, tend to con- firm the probability of its correctness. To attempt to determine the question satisfactorily in favor of the Spanish navigator, would be at the present day an unprofitable employment. Cook sailed from Nootka Sound on the 2Gth of April, with the April 26 intention of proceeding as speedily as possible to the 65th degree of latitude, where he was to begin the examination of the Amer- ican coasts, in search of a passage to the Atlantic. The land next seen by him was the beautiful peak which he called Mount MayJ Eilgecumby but which had received from Bodega and Maurelle in 1775 the name of Mount Son Jacinto ; and two days afterwards Mny i. he beheld rising from the shore two stupendous piles of rocks and snow, on the southernmost of which the appellation of Mount Fainccathcr was bestowed, while the other, lying nearly under the 60th parallel, was recognised as the Mount Saint Elias de- scribed in the accounts of Beering's last voyage. From the foot of Mount Saint Elias the coast was observed to turn to the west, instead of continuing in a northward direction, as it was repre- sented in the latest charts of the Russians. Cook thereupon re- solved to commence his survey at that point, hoping that he should soon find some strait or arm of the ocean, through which his ships might pass around the northwestern extremity of the continent into the sea discovered by Hearne. With this view the English advanced slowly along the shore from Mount Saint Ehas to a considerable distance westward, and thence southward as far as the 55th degree of latitude; minutely June. exploring in their way the two great gulfs called Prince Wil- liain's Sound and Cook's Riticr, and every other opening through which they supposed it possible to effect a passage. Their ex- pectations, however, were in each instance disappointed ; and the land was found extending continuously on the right of the whole line thus surveyed by them, over a vast space, which in the charts and accounts of the Russians, was represented as occupied by the ocean. That this land was a part of the American continent Cook entertained no doubt, although the fact had not then been established ; and he therefore saw with regret that the probability of his being able to accomplish the grand object of his voyage was materially lessened, if not entirely destroyed. While this survey was going on, the ships were firequently vis- ited by the natives of the adjacent territories, none of whom ap- ',H ! . II )■ >'. <;'! ^« ''!/ Ml : I ■■! 1 i'i, till n llh'i 'H Jmif I'J. June 07. Jiilv Auk. y. An;;. 10. Oci. Oct. 20. Nov. 2G, 177!). Feb. IG. 82 ppnrod to have held any previous intercourse with civilized per- sons; and it was not nntil tlic-y had passed the southwostern extioMiity of the land, near the />i>th parallel of latitude, that traces of the Kussians were perceived. From this point they proceeded towards the west, and at length, on the 27tn of June, they reached an island which proved to he (inalanhL-a one of the largt'st of the Fox group, well known as a place of resort for the fur-traders from Asia. None but savages were found upon it at that time ; yet, as its position with reference to the other islands and to Kamschatka was supposed to be expressed Avith some ap- proach to accuracy on the charts published at St. Petersburg, Us discovery was considered iniiiortant for the regulation of future movements. From Unalashka Cook proceeded northward through the part of the Pacific usually distinguished as the Sen nf Knmsr/iutkfr, into the Arctic Ocean, examining the American coast in search of a passage around the continent towards the east. On the 9th of August, he reached a point situated near the G6th parallel of lati- tude., and called by him Cape Prince of Wales, which has been ascertained to be the western extremity of America; and thence, crossing a channel of oidy fifty-one miles in breadth, he arrived at the opposite extremity of Asia, since known as East Cape. Upon the channel which there separates the two great continents he generously bestowed the name of Jieeri}i>i\s Strait, in honor of the navigator who had first, though unknowingly, passed through it fifty years before. Beyond Beering's Strait the American coast was found extend- ing upon the Arrtic Sen towards the east, and was traced in that direction to Ici/ Cape, a point situated in the latitude of 70.^ de- grees, where the progress of the ships was arrested by the ice. In like manner the Asiatic shore was examined as far westward as it was possible to proceed ; and the warm season having by this time passed away, Cook judged it prudent to return to the south, deferring the prosecution of his researches until the ensu- ing summer. On the 2d of October the ships again arrived at Unalashka, where fortunately some Russian traders were found. The chief of these men, Gerassim IsmylofF, was an old and experienced seaman, who had accompanied Benyowsky in his adventurous voyage to China in 1771, and had been for many years engaged in the trade between Kamschatka and the islands. He readily exhibited to Cook all the charts in his possession, and commu- nicated what he knew respecting the geography of that part of the world. The information thus received from him, however, was only so far valuable to the English navigator, as it proved the inaccuracy of the ideas of the Russians with regard to the American continent. Leaving Unalashka after some days, the English ships contin- ued on their course towards the south, and on the 26th of No- vember reached Owyhee, one of the Sandwich Islands. There they remained during the winter, and there, on the 16th of Feb- ruary, 1779, the gallant and generous Cook was murdered by the natives. . .1 , . Captain peditioti d (leavored Ian tic thr Owyhee 1 in the Ba; yond whi vancing a year. His before the died near Captain the directi the officer counter tl ocean, it homewari owsk, wh by the Ri; chored at of CJanton With tl stances wl in the exj During the officer places wli change fr collected and were which th( the remai Paulowsk tlie Russi the same quired in vailed up hand, un a better ir In this ried by tl by sea, s brought thus recc therefore, highly pr Tygris,tl persons i The Chii • Called £ Russians w 83 ivilizod per- Mithwostcrri ititiido, that point they rtn of June, // one of the csort for the id upon it at )ther islands ith some aj)- tersburg, its on of future igJi the part nr/iat/cn, into search of a n the 0th of rallel of lati- h has been and thence, he arrived at Cape. Upon intinents he in honor of ssed through innd extend- raced in that le of TO' de- li by the ice. far westward n having by return to the itil the ensu- t Unalashka, . The chief experienced adventurous ears engaged He readily and commu- f that part of im, however, , as it proved regard to the ships contin- ! 26th of No- mds. There lethofFeb- rdered by the Captain Charles Clerko, upon whom the cnmninnd of the px- poilition devolved in rons('(|uen('e of this nu'luncholy event, en- deavored in the lollowing .sunnuer to effect a passngt* to the At- lantic through the Arctic Sea. With this view \w. stiilrd from Owyhee to Vitro- /'au/oirs/>;* the principal port of Kniiischntka, in the Hay of Avatscha, and thence through Heoring's Strait; !)(•- yond which, however, his ships were prevented by ico from ad- vancing as far in any direction as tliey had gone in the previous yciir. His health declining, he was obliged to reUtrn to the south before the end of the warm season, and on the 2'M of Augtist he died near Potro- Paulo wsk. Captain John Gore, a wative of New Kngland, next assumed the direction of the enterprise; and the ships being considered by the officers unfit, from the bad condition of their rigging, to en- counter the storms of another year's voyage in tliis part of the ocean, it was determined that they should direct their course homeward. Accordingly, in October they sailed from Petro-Paul- owsk, where they had been treated with the uUnost hospitality by the Russian authorities ; and in December following they an- chored at the mouth of the River Tygris in China, near the city of Canton. With the stay of the ships at Canton are connected circum- stances which gave additional imiiortance to the discoveries made in the expedition. During their voyage along the northwest coasts of America, the officers and seamen had obtained from the natives of various places which they visited a quantity of the finest furs, in ex- change for knives, buttons, and other trifles. These furs were collected without any reference to their vahie as merchandise, and were used on board as clothes or bedding ; in consequence of which the greater portion of them had been entirely spoiled, and the remainder Avere much injured before the ships reached Petro- Paulowsk. At that place a few of the skins were purchased by the Russian traders, who were anxious to obtain the whole on the same terms ; but the oliicers, having in the mean time ac- quired information respecting the value of furs in China, pre- vailed upon the seamen to retain those Avhich they had still on hand, until their arrival at Canton, where they were assured that a better market would be found. In this expectation they were not disappointed. The furs car- ried by them to China were the first which entered that empire by sea, all those previously used in the country having been brought by land though the northern frontiers. The supplies thus received had never been equal to the demands ; no sooner, therefore, was it reported in Canton that two cargoes of these highly prized objects of comfort and luxury had arrived in the Tygris, than the ships which contamed them were surrounded by persons all eager to buy for their own use or upon speculation. The Chinese, according to custom, began by proposing prices far M;ir. i:t. May I. Oct. Dec. IH. in ;■(■•■ *: t ♦ Called also P.tru-Paulski, ami the Harbor of Saint Peter ami Saint Paul. The Russians write it Petropawlowskaia, S4 .')"i ■ ;■ •'ilffi 1779. below tlioHO which wore then current ; but the EngUsh refusing to accede to sucli terms, they gruduuUy increuMod the amount uf their olTerN, and in the end the whole Htock of furs was purchased by tliem for money and goods, the value of which was not less than ton thousand dollars. The business fur which the English stopped ut Canton having been despatched, thev sailed from that place in January, 17bO, and, passing around the Cape of Good Ho|)e, arrived at the mouth of the Thames on the 4th of October following. The results of Cook's researches in the north Pacific were cer- tainly fur more important than those obtained by any or all of the navigators who hud previously explored that part of the sea. The positions of a number of points on the western side of America were for the first time ac(;uratc]y detcrmuied, and means were thus afforded for ascertaining approximately the extent of the continent in that direction. The existence of a northern channel of communication between the two oceans, passable by ships, seemed to be entirely disproved ; but, in recompense, a vast field for the exercise of industry was opened to the world, by the de- monstration of the advantages which were to bo derived from the collection of furs on the northern shores of the Pacific, and the sale of them in China. With regard to the novelty of Cook's discoveries on the north- west side of America, it appears, on comparing his course with those taken by the Spaniards four years^ previously, that until he had passed the 58th parallel of latitude he saw no land, (with the exception possibly, though not probably, of Nootka Sound,) which hud not been already seen by Perez, iJodoga, or Heceta ; it must be repeated, however, that he had no knowledge of the discov- eries effected by either of those navigators. After passing the 58th degree, he was, as he frequently acknowledges, aided, and in a measure guided, by the information gleaned from the accounts of the expeditions of Beering and other Russians who had explored that part of the Pacific before him. This is said without any de- sire to detract from the merits of the gallant English commander, whose skill and perseverance were as extraordinary us his hon- esty and magnanimity; but merely to show with what degree of justice his Government could advance claims to the exclusive possession of any part of Northwest America on the strength of his discoveries. While the British ships under Gierke and Gore were, after the death of Cook, on their second tour through the northernmost parts of the Pacific, the Spaniards were engaged in another at- tempt to extend their knowledge of the west coasts of America. For this purpose two vessels, called the Princesa and the Favor- Feb. II. ita, sailed from San Bias on the 11th of February, 1779, under the command, respectively, of Lieutenants Ignacio Arteaga and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra. The latter was the same officer who had in 1776 explored the Pacific to the 68th degree of latitude, as before related ; and he was again accompanied by Antonio Maurelle as ensign, from whoso journal nearly all the information respecting the expedition in question has been de- rived. Of this Sun Bla.s I \vlii<;h hui 5()th degrt cinily, the they next ;il(tMg the with the I large gulf mountains have been Here their \,A I'erou! reached th cued fartht Russians. ^Hist, and ( Bias, » win remained ) any loss b; benefit in northwest * The Rna voliiint' of tin Mniirelle him ihe conduct u !i(i means ^en (ipporiiinity o ■»ge were, in •" V' (■•-I- 1 }} ^ ; 85 of this voyago a very sliort accoiim* will be siiinticiii. From r7<). San Ulas the SpaniardN sailcil din-rtly li»r P<'rl Uucart'li, tin- bay p.. . n. wliioli bad liueii discovered l)y Bodega and iMaurcIle near thti Mty\. 50ih dogrt'o of latitude. Tbis bay, as well as tlie shores in its vi- cinity, they surveyed with care ; after quitting it, the iKtint whicli Jniy i. they next saw was Mount Saint Eli >s, whence they pruceedod Juiy!». :il<>rig the coast towards tfie west, frci^ueiitly landing and tradiiin: with the natives. Iti the beginning of August tliey entered a Aii« I large gulf containing many islands, and sunwiii led by high mountains, which, from the doK'^riptions ^i\en by Muurelle, nmst have been tlie some called by Co 'k Prince William's Sound. Here their researches terminated, for what reason we do not learn. La Perouso says that Arteaga supposed liiuiself to have then reached the coast of Komschutka, and that he was fearful to pro- ceed farther, lest ho should bo attacked and overpowered by the Russians. The sliips departed from the great gulf on the 7th of Au- Aug. 7. gust, and on tho 21st or November following they arrived at San Nor, 31. Ulas, " whore," says Fleurieu, with some justice, " they might have remained without our knowledge iu geography having sustained any loss by their inaction." Tiie voyage, in fact, produced little benefit in any way ; it was the last made by Spaniard.s to the northwest coast of America before 1788. ♦ The Hi'i aUM part of Mauicllu 's journal of this- voyajjc may lie foiirnl in tin.' first voliiiiR' of lliL' Niirratire of La Pfroiise's Voya;T,*. Ln p^roiiM' ohtnined it from Mnurelle himself at .Manilla in 17H7, auil has made some observations respecting ihe conduct of the Spaniard.s as therein related, which, though possibly ju:>t, are by !io means ^cncrons. Flciiricii, the editor of La Pf rouse's Jouninl, ilid tiut omit ilw iipporiunity of casting ridicule upon the Spaniards, whose efforts during this voy- age were, in truth, not calculaied to redeem their character for perseverance. i ■ < I ! t. .,( t ; » ' * Mr |. ■ ■. , it r] : ,■: ■! . ■ ..;., ■ ^ -. ' '* .■■;,.i,c •■ -IU. • ■ i > \U] I i it'' I k 1 tli i! j I M I ' 1 ■il 1 ■ 'i ■i i , Il ' I; y il 86 ITTti 1785. 1785. CHAPTEH V. Voyages and discoveiics in ilie north Pacific, betwoen 1779 and 1790— Commence- ment of the ilirect trade in furs from the northwest coasts of America to Can- ton — Voyage of La Pt'rouse— First voyages of citizens of the United Slates loihe rorihwest coasts — Discovery of the Strait of Fuca— Attempt made by John Led- yard to cross the northern part of the American continent. Whilst Cook was engaged in his last expedition, Great Brit- ain became involved in wars with the United States of America, France, and Spain ; and as there was no prospect of a speedy termination of the contests at the time when the ships sent out un- der tliat commander returned to Europe, the British Government considered it prudent to Avithhold from the world all information respecting their voyage. The regular journals of the ships, togeth- er with the private notes and memoranda of the officers and men whicli could be collected, were in consequence placed under the charge of the Board of Admiralty, and thus remained concealed until peace had been restored. Notwithstanding this care, how- ever, 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 public, not only in Eng- land, but in all other civilized countries. The wars having been at length concluded, the journals of the expedition were published at London in the winter of 1784- '5, under the care of a learned ecclesiastic, in three quarto volumes, accompanied by charts, tables, and all other illustrative appli- ances ; and it is scarcely necessary to add, that the anticipations Avhich had been formed with regard to the importance of their contents were fully realized. The statements contained in this work respecting the great abundance of animals yielding fine furs in the vicinity of the north Pacific, and the high prices paid for their skins in China, did not fail immediately to arrest the attention of enterprising men; and preparations were commenced in various parts of En- rope, in the East Indies, and in the United States of America, to profit by the information. At that period the trade in those arti- cles was conducted almost wholly by the Russians and the Brit- ish, between which nations, however, there was no competition in this particular. The Russians procured their furs chiefly in the northern parts of their own empire, and exported to China by land all which were not required for their own use. The British fur market was supplied entirely from Hudson's Bay and Canada ; and a great portion of the skins there collected were sent to Rus- sia, whence many of them found their way to China, though none had ever been sliipped directly for the latter country. That the furs of Canada and Hudson's Bay could be sold advanta- geously considei the incr profits n China a were to in any o this dim after the expenses mented ; the fullei labors as The fi from the by James Canton i following begiiminj whom th( a trade Wi to Cantor valuable 1 which sh( In the i c»tion of I land to th granted to lected wei in virtue o pany, carj associatioi the Queen George, bj er iji July years vess the Pacific pany; froi and Portu Company, All thes wholly or commercif great navi time from larly to ex which hac the Russia formation in those u found con 10— Commcnce- .merica to Can- ted Siales 10 the ie by John Led- i, Great Brit- i of America, of a speedy 1 sent out un- Goverument I information ?hips,togeth- ?ers and men cd under the ed concealed lis care, how- came known, as to raise to only in Eng- jurnals of the r of 1784-'5, arto volumes, trative appli- anticipations tance of their ing the great icinity of the [ins in China, f enterprising s parts of Eu- of America, to in those arti- and the Urit- lo competition chiefly in the China by land 'he British fur and Canada; e sent to Rus- 'hina, though ountry. That sold advanta- 87 geously at Canton, appeared to be certain, even allowing for a considerable diminution of prices at that place in consequence of the increase in the supply ; and it was supposed that still larger profits might be secured by means of a direct intercourse between China and the northern coasts of the Pacific, where the finest furs were to be obtained in greater quantities and more easily than in any other part of the world. There could be no doubt that this diminution of prices at Canton would take place immediately after the establishment of the trade, and it was probable that the expenses and difficulties of procuring the furs would also be aug- mented -, therefore it was material that those who wished to reap the fullest harvests upon this new field, should commence their labors as speedily as possible. The first expedition made to the northwest coasts of America from the south, for the purpose of collecting furs, was conducted by James Hanna, an Englishman, who sailed in a small brig from Canton in April, 1785, and arrived at Nootka Sound in August following. The natives of the surrounding country were in the beginning entirely opposed to all intercourse with the strangers, whom they endeavored to destroy ; after a few combats, hoAvever, a trade was established between the parties, and the brig returned to Canton before the close of the year, with a cargo of the most valuable furs in place of the old iron and coarse manufactures whicli she had carried out in the spring. In the same year an association of merchants, called the Kinc!' Geor^t'^a Sound Compam/, was formed in London for the prose- cation of this trade, by means of vessels sent directly from Eng- land to the northwest coasts, for which an exclusive license was granted to them by the South Sea Company, the furs there col- lected were to be carried for sale to Canton, and from that pla^e, in virtue of a special permission conceded by the East India Com- pany, cargoes of tea were to be brought back to London. This association immediately despritched to the north Pacific two ships, the Queen Charlotte, commanded by Captain Dixon, and the King George, by Captain Portlock, who arrived together in Cook's Riv- er in July, 1786. In the course of this and the two following years vessels were also sent to be employed in the fur trade of the Pacific — from Bombay and Calcutta by the East India Com- pany ; from Macao and Canton by various individuals, EngUsh and Portuguese; and from Ostend, by the Austrian East India Company, or rather under its flag. All these vessels appeared to have been owned and equipped wholly or principally by British subjects. The French made no commercial expeditions for the same purpose before 1790 ; their great navigator. La Perouse, however, on departing for the last time from his country, in August, 1785, was instructed '* particu- larly to explore those parts of the northwest coast of America which had not been examined by Captain Cook, and of which the Russian accounts gave no idea," with the view of obtaining in- formation relative to the fur trade, as well as of learning "whether in those unknown parts some river or internal sea may not be found communicating with Hudson's or Baffin's Bay." The 1785. ii' 178G to 1788. M iW '1 ii h:\ 178G. June 'J I to Sept. 'Jl Sept. Kepi. 1 .\ % 1780. 1787 178;} 1787. 88 multiplicity of the affairs in every department of knowledge, to Avhicli La Perouse was required to attend during this voyage, prevented him from devoting more than three months to the ob- jects above specified ; and of that time he passed one-third at an- chor in a bay named by him Pari des Francais^ near Mount Saint Elias, where he first made the land on the northwest coast of America. From the Port des Francais he sailed along the western shores of the continent and of the great islands in its vi- cinity, which were then supposed to be parts of the main land, as far Monterey; and thence, after a few days spent in maliing observations and inquiries, he departed for the East Indies. The remarks and opinions of the gallant and accomplished French navigator, upon many subjects relative to the northwest coast, display great sagacity, and have been since generally con- firmed; he, however, made no important discoveries, and the wliole value of the information acquired by him was lost to the world in consequence of the delay in publishing it. The jour- nals of his expedition did not appear in print until 1797, at which period the Pacific coasts of North America were almost as well known as those of its Atlantic side. The Spanish Govermuent endeavored also to secure for itself a }x)rtion of the advantages to be derived from the fur trade. Agreeably to its usual policy in such cases, an agent was sent from Mexico to the western side of California, where he was charged to collect all the furs procurable at the different settle- ments, and thence to carry them for sale to Canton. The adven- ture, however, proved unprofitable. A few skins only, and thqge of inferior quality, could be collected in California; and ere the agent arrived with them in Canton, which was in the spring of 1787, the price of furs had been so much lowered that scarcely enough could be obtained from the sale of his stock to cover the expenses of its transportation. The Canton market was, indeed, already glutted with furs, which were, according to La P6rouse, actually cheaper there in that year than in Kamschatka. The Russians were in the mean time extending their inter- course with the American coasts and their establishments upon them ; even before the publication of Cook's journals, they had begun to avail themselves of the information respecting his dis- coveries, which had been obtained while the English ships were at Unalashka and Petro-Paulowsk, and an association had been formed among the principal fur-merchants of Eastern Russia for the more effectual conduct of their aflairs. Li August, 1783, three vessels which had been equipped by this association foi a long voyage sailed for America from Ochotsk, under the direction of Gregory Shellikof, one of the chiefs of the company. Their expedition laoted four years, during which period the shores of the continent and islands between the southern extremity of Ali- aska and Prince William's Sound were explored, and several col- onies and factories were established, particularly on the large Island of Kuktuk, or Kodiak, situated near the entrance of Cook's Inlet. This Shellikof was a man of great intrepidity and perse- v^ance, well aaqj^^ainted with the business in which he was eu- whicli owledge, to lis voyage, s to the ob- third at an- iiear Mount hwest coast 1 along the ds in its vi- niain land, t in making ndies. cconiplished le northwest nerally con- es, and the IS lost to the The jour- 97, at which nost as well ure for itself le fur trade. 3nt was sent here he was ferent settle- The adven- ly, and thqge and ere the the spring of that scarcely I to cover the t was, indeed, » La P6rouse, itka. g their inter- innents upon lals, they had :ting his dis- sh ships were ion had been ^rn Russia for Vugust, 1783, lociation for a r the direction ipany. Their the shores of tremity of Ali- id several col- on the large ince of Cook's lity and perse- ch he was eu- 89 gaged, and never troubled by any scruples with regard to the hu- 17»7. manity of measures after their expediency had been demonstrated. He is said to have exhibited the most barbarous disposition in his treatment of the natives on the American coasts, of whom he often put to death whole tribes upon the slightest prospect of ad- vantage.* In 1788 two other vessels were sent out by this association, 17S8 under Gerassim Ismyloff, one of the traders whom Cook had found at Unalashka, and Demitri Betschareff. They proceeded as far eastward as Mount San Jacinto, or Mount Edgecumb, tra- ding with the natives and taking possession of the country in the name of the Empress of Russia. The Russian Government became also desirous to have a sci- entific expedition made through these seas, for which purpose the Empress engaged Captain Joseph Billings, one of Cook's lieutenants, and some other English and Germans, as officers, as- tronomers, and naturalists. These persons were sent in 1786 to Ochotsk, where two vessels were being built for their voyage. The preparations were, however, conducted so slowly, that Bil- lings did not got to sea until May, 1790, he and his party having been in the interval engaged in exploring the northern coasts of Siberia. An account of their expedition will be presented here- after. The citizens of the United States of America appeared in the north Pacific to claim a share of tlie advantages of the fur trade, within a short period after its commencement in that quarter of the ocean. All the accounts hitherto published of their early expe- ditions for this purpose are defective, and in general en'oneous ; very little information concerning tliem is, indeed, to be obtained at tlie present day, and that little must be in part collected from the journals of British and Spanish navigators, upon whose state- ments we cannot always rely. From the authorities here indica- ted, as well as from some others more worthy of credit,! have been compiled the slender notices of American voyages and dis- coveries in the Pacific, between 1780 and 1793, contained in this and the two next succeeding chapters. The first voyages frotJi the United States to the northwest i78f>, coasts of America were made hy the ship Cohirnbin, of 220 tons, and the sloop Waslnn olve Spain in wars which it was then material to avoid. Under such cir- cumstances, all that could be done for the time was co watch tho progress of the evil, in order that tlie most proper measures might be adopted for counteracting it, whenever opportunities should occur. 17">|. In consequence of instructions to this effect, the Viceroy of March 8. ]\iexico despatched from San Bias, in the spring of 1788, two armed vessels, the Princcsa and the San Carlos, under tlie com- mand of Estevan Jose Martmcz, who n-:is ordered to examine the northwest coasts of the continent, and to procure as accurate in- fonuation as possible with regtird to the views of the Russians and other foreigners in that quarter. These vessels sailed direct for Prince William's Sound, where they arrived in the latter part May -25. of May, and were received with civility by the superintendents of the Russian Trading Company's establishments. The summer was passed by Martinez in visiting the different factories and forts of that association on the contment, and islands between the sound and Unalashka; and the crews of his vessels beginning in Dec. 5. suffer from scurvy as the cold season approached, he returned, by way of Monterey, to San Bias, without having seen any other parts of the northwest coast. According to the report* addressed to the Viceroy of Mexico • Of this report, Humboldt says: "1 found in the archives of the Viceroyalty df Mexico a large volume in folio, bearing the title of licconocimiento ile los qualro Estabkcimicntos liufos al nortc dc It, California, kcchn en 1788. The hisiorical ac- count of the voyage of Martinez contained in this manuscript furnishes, howevfr, very few data relative to the Russian colonies in the new contment. As no person among his crew understood a word of the Russian language, thty could only com- municate with the people of that nation by signs." by Marti nc number, a and their ] to four huj liad not at about to bi Sound in 1 this accoui loff and D that year. Upon re sians with anticipate i tlie place f tinez to si and to occ Majesty's should pre vility and time to be over the t San Bias i May foUov The rep Russians a his Goven a memoria luonstratiii territories this memo Uracn the. ( m/misnioii Power to The Emp given to to other n: to Span is Uie encro which wu ter profess could not so distant allow any ish Ameri While Courts of * For I hi the Voyage work. t See the i the 13ihof J 97 njs of Ihe fiirtra- nd Ham in 1788- uiiili — Voyages ui ■ssi.'ls at ihnt place Spain ended by a 'acific and the pus- 1 Pacific wore yr the Spanish n the coasts of ded at Madrid, ich could with ?es upon such t. Petersburgh, !mpt to enforce ii.^olve Spain ihIct such cir- IS CO watch the leasuros might tunities should the Viceroy of g of 1788, two inder the coin- to examine the as accurate in- f the Russians Is sailed direct 1 the latter part crintendents of The summer tories and forts s between the s beginning to lie returned, by seen any other ;roy of Mexico the Vireroyally nf liento tie los quatro The hisiorical ac- urnishes, howevfr, ent. As no person ey could only corn- by Martinez, the Russian establishmouts in America were four in iiuinber, all of them situated west of Prince Williain's Sound ; aiiil their iK)pulation, including soldiers and hunters, aiuounied to four hundred. Reyond (that is, e: is t ward of the soinul) they had not advanced; but it was understood that a large ll»rce was about to be sent from Asia, fyr the purijose of occupying Nooika Sound in the name of the Flmpress of Russia. The hitter part nf this account doubtless bore reference to tlie expedition of Ismy- loff and BetscharefT, wiiich was coumienccd iu the summer of that year. U|)on receiving this information of the intentions of the Rus- sians with regard to Nootka, the Viceroy of Mexico determined to anticipate them, if possible, by immediately taking possession of tlie place for his own Sovereign. With this view he ordered Mar- tinez to sail thither, with Ins vessels well armed and manned, and to occupy and defend the sound as a part of his Catholic Majesty's dominions ; in case any British or Russian vessels should present themselves there, thty were to be treated with ci- vility and friendship, but their commanders were at the same time to be informed of the establishment of the Spanish authority over the territory.* With tliese instructions, Martinez quitted San Bias in February, 1789, and arrived at Nootka on the 6th of May following. Tlie report concerning the projected seizure of Nootka by the Russians Avas at the same time communicated by the Viceroy to his Government, and it was thereupon determined at Madrid that a momorialt should be addressed to the Empress of Russia, re- monstrating against the encroachments of her subjects upon the territories of his Catholic Majesty. It is to be remarked, that in this memorial Prince Williani's Siound is assmnid as the limit be- tween the dominions of the tiro Snvereii coast, presented by comniillees lo the Congress of the Unilei! States; and no ni- lempi seems to have lieen made to controvert or (|uestion ihem in ilie course of any ncguliatioiis between tlie United Slates and Great Biitain. t These sources of information are: I. .Journal of Voyajjes in the Pacific Ocean in 17S8 and nSO, by John Mcaros. Iti the Appendix to th-j Journal of Meares is the H. Memorial addressed to liie House of Commons of Great Biitain on the 13th di May, 17!I0, by John Meares, in behalf of the owiieis of certain vessels seized atNooika Sound in 17H!t by the Spanish commandant Mariinez, praying that measures miyhi be taken to obiam indcmniftcaiion for tht)se losses, as also Ibr the seizure of certain lands and iiouses on ihc northwest coast of America, claimed by the pclilioners as their property. An abstract of tliis memoiinl, rdnfnlhi composed so as exclude all circumstances which might weaken the claims of the petitioners, may he found in the Annual Register for 17!iO, pa2;e •JH7. The journal of the voyages of Meares re- lates, in |)art, to llie circumstances which form the subject of the numnrial; on com- paring the two, it will be found that they are frccjuently at variance. HI. Account of Voyages m ihe Pacific, made between 1790 nnd 17!>4 by Captain George Vancouver of the i-iritish navy, who iiad been sent by his Government to explore that ocean, and also to suptriiitend the delivery by the Spanish aiilhonties (if certain territories at and i.car Numka Sound, in virtue of the treaty of Octo- ber, 17!tO. IV. Account of a Voyage in the Pacific, made in 1793 and 1791 by Captain James Colneit. The only paiis of this work relating to the alliiiis in question are the In- troduction and a note at pase 90. V. The Introduction bv Navarrete to the iVarrniive of he Voyages of Ihe Span- ish Sch(jimer.s Sutil and Mexicana in 17'Jl-'2; which is here cited only to show that it has been consulted. In addition to die abovcmentioncd printed works, is the follcwing, as yet unptib- li.shed: VI. Letter written at Nootka Sound in August, 1792, by Joseph Ingraham, ma.s- ter of itie American merciiant brig Hope, and signed by himself and Robert Gray, m.isierof the Ship Culmnbia, respecting the events at Mooika in 1789, of which one or boliol' them were wiinesses; it was written in compliance with a request from Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Gluadra, the Sjianish commandant at Nootka, by whom a copy of it was delivered to Vancouver. In the first volume of the Nar- rative of Vancouver, pai,'e 3R9, mav be found a synop-is of this letter, in which the evidence of the Americans is c/irefullii garbled to suit the purposes of the British commander. A copy of ihe letter in full, extracted from the original Journal c^f In- graham, is given in tiio appendix [ fJ] to this mciitoir. details ma] lieved, ho\ iiidispensa rircumstar led to difl« by some ( order that .stances. In the fi is/t rnnuHf farlori/, or hrun/oiuifl rismby tin of Ainvrirn (tttd Print Russians, coasts, wh monumenl to the sun generally rights to t any portio erty of a fi di(l in m) oral pieces which wei ish subjer forces of h foniiiilly II rehitcd in entirely d( The rig the King his preten upon the c said, a shr ther New tablishinei iards were far north a small }X)rti has been i the Portuj that Spain tioiis from not, wouli to deny tl other natii from thoii is unnecei ri^/it inig cause of c i > most inatorinl vuriously r«'p. • to whom wo. my, indeed, bo omits hitherto vcrsy between vigatiou of the ed portions of ortnnt circuni- ditreront from irtial review of jrrors, a narra- isented, drawn Many of the s History of Greni of Spnin and Pur- 5 Dlll'usioll of {]>>:• c of lilt.' Siitil niiil I Disrovory, forni- ol Qicnt Brim 111; wrileu hove bttn ing the noiihwoi Jmies; nml nt. ni- I ilie course of any , by John Mcnros, tain on ilic 13ili ni Issei/i'd at NooiKa u niensnrcs niivhi ' seizure of certnin f ihe peiiiioneris as il so ns excluile all S may hn found in i^es i'f Meares re- ui morial ; on com- ce. (I n!)4 hy Captain lis Government to ipanisli auihorities le treaty of Octo- by Captain James r, that nniu! have heen introthiccid wliii-h are not iii(li.spensnl)l(.' fi>r tlie attjiinnient of tlie end propo.sed, wliile no rirfumstances luivo been omitted whieh might, if rehitcd, have led to different conrhisions. This narrative nuist be preceded by some observations and statements, whioli are necessary in order that proper judgments may be formed upon the oirrum- stances. In the first plane, it is certain that, hvj'nrt' the arrlrnl nf tin Spun- ish rnfumntiffer Mnrtiiifz at Snot hi ^ in May, 1789, un sitf/c/iii-nl, fiirton/, or co/mncrrinl n ■ ntUitnrij cstahfis/i/nr/it vlintsiwcrr, hmt hrett finiiHhd or evi'n nil mptrd; oiifl no Jurisrfirtinn limlhrQn exer- rismby tlie suhjccts or mUhorltus of any vivUizcd nation in any part of Anicrira borderinif upon the I*aci/ic, Intirein Port San Frani'ism nnil Prince Wi//ia/ii\s' Sovml. The Spaniards, tlie British, the Russians, and the French had landed at various places on these coasts, where they had displayed fli.<2;s and erected crosses and monuments in token of the claims of their respective sovereigns to the surrounding territories ; but such acts arc, and were then, generally regarded as idle ceremonies, securing no effectual rights to those who engaged in them. Nor does it appear that any portion of the soil within these limits had become the prop- erty of a fiircigner, notwithstanding that the Uritish Government did in 1790 demand, and Spain engaged by treaty to restore, sev- eral pieces of land and buildinjjs in the vicmity of Nootka Scmnd, which were claimed as belonging to John Mearcs and other Brit- ish subjects at the time of the occupation of that place by the forces of his Catholic Majesty. Although this demand was thus ftinnally urged and admitted, many circumstances, which will be reliited in the secjuel, combine to prove conclusively that it was entirely destitute of foundation. The right of sovereignty over this vast region was claimed by the King of Spain, and no other Power had formally contested his pretensions, notwithstanding the Russians were advancing upon the continent in the north, and the British ministry had, it is said, a short time jjreviously deliberated upon the question whe- ther New Albion or New Holland should be selected for the es- tablishment of their contemplated penal colony. That the Span- iards were the first discoverers of the west coasts of America as far north as the 58th degree of latitude, with the exception of the small |X)rtion near the 5Gth parallel seen by the Russians in 1741, has been already demonstrated ; the fact is as indisputable as that the Portuguese discovered the south coasts of Africa. To assume that Spain thereby acquired the right of excluding all other na- tions from these coasts, whether her subjects settled on them or not, would be absurd -, but it would, at the same time, be unjust to deny that her title to occupy them was better than that of any other nation, not only in virtue of priority of discovery, but also from their continuity with her own undoubted possessions. It is unnecessary to indicate the various modes in which this better ri^ht might have been exercised by Spain without giving just cause of complaint to other |?fjk\vers ; the object of these obsorva- LO'Vers) (' b:sjjot:;eca ITHO 11' i;' n i ■■ 'i i 1 , '; i j ' ' it , I'! i 1 iiLJ Mi t,i m i 1789. Jan. 1. 100 tioiis being merely to sliow that her occupation of Nootka in 17S9 Avas, jjir se, conformable with justice, and with the rccognisixl principles of national law. In order to present a satisfactory view of the events attending that occupation, the account must commence from the month of January, 1788, when two vessels, the Felice and the Iphigeii'ui^ sailed from Macao,* for the northwest coast of America, to be em- ployed in the fur trade, vuider the direction of John Meares, a lieu- tenant in the British navy , then on half- pay , who Avent in the Felice. The Iphigenia also carried a British subject, William Douglas, as supercargo ; both vessels, however, were conunanded by Portu- guese, they were both furnished with Portuguese passports and other papers, showing them to be the property of Juan Cavallo, u Portuguese merchant of Macao, and they quitted that place under the flag of Portugal. The instructionsf for the conduct of the voyage were written in the Portuguese language, and contained nothing whatsoever calculated to afford a suspicion that any other than Portuguese subjects were engaged in the enterprise. These instructions conclude with the following injunction to the com- manders of the vessels : " Should you meet with any Russian, English, or Spanish vesr'ls, you will treat them with civility, and allow them, if they are authorized, to examine your papers; should they, however, attempt to seize you, or to carry you out ol' your way, you will prevent it by every means in your power, and repel force by force. In case you should in such conflict have the superiority, you will take possession of the vessel that at- tacked you, as also of her cargo, and bring both, with the officers and crew, to China, that they may be condemned as legal prizes, and the crew punished as pirates." Notwithstanding all these evidences of ownership and national character, it is asserted by Mr. Meares, in the memorial addressed by him to the British Government in 1790, that the Felice and the Iphigenia were actually and bona Jide British property, em- ployed in the service of British subjects only ; that Cavallo had no concern or interest in them, his name being merely used for the purpose of obtaining permission from the Governor of Macao to navigate under the Portuguese flag, and thus to evade the ex- cessive port charges demanded by the Chinese from all other Eu- ropean nations ; and that Messrs. Meares and Douglas were real- ly the commanders of the vessels, instead of the two Portuguese who appeared as such in their papers. These assertions may have been, at least in part, true ; but the documents attached by Meares to his memorial amply prove that the deception was con- tinued at Nootka, where there were no Chinese authorities, al- though no hint is given, in his account of the voyages of the ves- • Macao is situated on the sonthern extremity of an island near the mouth of the River Tvgris in Chma, about sixty miles below Canton. It was granted to the Por- tuj,'ue>e by the Emperor of China in 1518, and has ever since remained in iheir pos- session, although the Chinese Government exercises considerable control over all their proceeding.^. t Appendix, Noi 1, to Meares's Account of his Voyage to the Pacitic. sels, that i British, tween the The tru were actui the perso] have been fered pecu sides the British ve able to CO Company, South Sei manders o cao for tri? them in tl George's * cific, with on the nc structions precise ar the acquis From I Meares in tered on tl a small ve ress of th rangemen Journal o grant us might be to leave b tion for th our absen tinuance ( he had re| Upon thi party inte breastwor area of gi a manner a fortifica That to be occ clear fron no/ of his sion of it expressly attachmei he shoulc thereunto he declari )otka in 1TS9 e rccognisiid 11 ts attending [he month of le fyhiffoiiu, ca, to be eni- leares, a Hcu- in the FeUce. I Douglas, as ed by Portu- passports and an Cavallo, u t place under )nduct of the nd contained hat any other prise. These to the coni- any Russian, with civility, your papers ; rry you out oi ur power, and conflict have cssel that at- th the officers s legal prizes, 3 and national rial addressed le Felice and property, em- it Cavallo had erely used for rnor of Macao evade the ex- i all other Eu- jlas were real- w Portuguese ssertions may s attached by )tion was con- mthorities, al- ges of the ves- ' the mouth of the ;ranled to the Por- ained in their pus- le control over all aciiic. lOi sels, that either of them was, or ever appeared to be, other than 1788. British. Greater discrepancies, positive as well as negative, be- tween the journal and the memorial, remain to be noticed. The truth with regard to the vessels probably was, that they were actually and botmfide Portuguese property, though some of the persons in whose service they were then employed might have been British subjects. The Portuguese flag at that time of- fered peculiar advantages for the prosecution of the fur trade, be- sides the freedom from the port charges of the Chinese ; for no British vessel could engage in the business without becoming li- able to confiscation, except those of the King George's Sound Company, which had obtained a privilege to that effect from the South Sea Corm)any of London. The instructions to the com- manders of the Felice and the Iphigenia, to seize and bring to Ma- cao for trial any English vessels which might attempt to interrupt them in their voyage, were doubtless levelled at those of the King George's Sound Company, which were then expected in the Pa- cific, with orders and materials for establishing forts and factories on the northwest coast of America. With regard to these in- structions it should be added, that, although they are remarkably precise and minute, no allusion whatsoever is made in them to the acquisition of land or the erection of buildings in America. From Macao the Iphigenia sailed for Cook's River, while Meares in the Felice proceeded to Nootka Sound, which he en- tered on the 13th of May. There he immediately began to build May 13. a small vessel for coasting, and, being desirous during the prog- ress of this work to take a trip to the southward, he made ar- rangements with King Maquinna, who, as related in Mr. Meares's Journal of the Voyage, page 114, "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 protec- tion for the party who were destined to remain at Nootka during our absence. In return for this kindness, and to insure the con- tinuance 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 sufficiently spacious 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 the strangers only for temporary purposes, is clear from the above statement, and Meares nowhere in the jour- nal, of his voyage pretends that he acquired permanent posses- sion of it, or of any other land in America ; on the contrary, he expressly states, page 130, "that, as a bribe to secure Maquinna's attachment, he was promised that when we finally left the coast he should enter into fiill possession of the house and all the goods thereunto belonging." In his memorial to Parliament, however, he declares that " immediately on his arrival at Nootka Sound, he 8 ■|! ,: 10<2 ph> i'/S8. purclmsed from Maquilla, the chief of the district contiguous to ^^y* and surrounding that place, a spot of ground Avhereon he built a house for iiis occasional residence, as well as for the more conve- nient pursuit of his trade with the natives, and hoisted British colors thereon." Among the documents attached to the memo- rial, no mention is made of this purchase, except in the informa- tion of William Graham, a seaman of the Felice, taken in London after the date of the memorial^ who declares that " he saw Mr. Meares deliver some articles of merchandise to Maquilla, the sovereign Prince of the aaid sound, which he then understood and believed were given as consideration for lands required by Mr. Meares for an establishment on shore."* The British Gov- ernment, as will be seen, went still farther, and claimed the whole territory surrounding Nootka as included within the terms of this asserted purchase. Such is the evidence upon which the British historians of that period insist that Meares purchased a large tract of land at Noot- ka, and established on it a factor// defended by a fort under the British Jlag. Having completed his arrangements, Meares sailed in the Fe- lice towards the south, leaving a part of his crew at Nootka, to which place he did not return until the latter part of July. Du- ring this period he endeavored to explore the Strait of Fuca, and to lind the mouth of the great River San Roque, near the 46th degree of latitude, in both of which attempts he was, as before related, unsuccessful. He declares in his memorial that he like- wise "obtained from Wiccanish, the chief of the district surround- ing Port Cox and Port Effingham, (places thus named by him- self, but otherwise known as Clyoquot and Nittinat,) situated in the latitudes of 48 and 49 degrees, in consequence of considera- ble 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 that he also acquired the same privileges of exclusive trade from Ta- tootche, the chief of the country bordering upon the Strait of F\i- ca, and purchased from him a tract of land within the said strait, which one of his officers took possession of in the King's name, calling the same Tatootche, in honor of the chief" Of these purchases and cessions of territory there is no other evidence than the declaration of Mr. Meares in his memorial ;\ for ♦ The only statement besides this declaration, tending to confirm the assertion i.l Meares in his memorial, is that (hereafter noticed) made to Vancouver in 171)- at Nootka, by Robert Dutlin, who had also been one of the crew of the Felice in 1788. He is represented by Vancouver (vol. i, page 405) as declaring that he wiinessid the purchase by Meares "of the whole of the land which forms Friendly Cove, Nooika Sound, in his Britannic Majesty's name, for eight sheets of copper and some trifles." + It is probable, from the numerous discrepancies between Meares's Journal of his Voyage and his memorial, that the former was written and printed before the latter was drawn up. We may also suspect, from the silence of all the documents brought to London with regard to the purchases of lands on the northwest coast, that the idea of setting up this claim suggested itself, or was suggested, to Meares after bis arrival iu Eaglandf. . .i.^..,.. . xhey are i mo rial, or as to this his own IS ted by th After X\ ton, Capt which hai was conif the Iphig As a mini the sumn in the Ip which he tember. bia, Capt! and Nortl ing the t\ Meares soon after Wales, be at that pi the Britis agent of I the Felic( the intere the Felic( ther with the assoc of Colnet have bee have acte failure wj pany. The m pears to the instrt a copy is there wa ment on no spot is quisition Sound; per, is CO to form a Yet Meai nett was that view memorial by a copy While Nootka, 1 II v.. A DllllgUOUS to on he built a more conve- isted British :o the memo- the informa- ?n in London ' he saw Mr. klaquilla, the ti understood I required by British Gov- led the whole terms of this orians of that land at Noot- 'ort under the ed in the Fe- at Nootlta, to f July. Du- , of Fuca, and near the 46th vas, as before 1 that he like- rict surround- mied by him- ,t,) situated in of considera- rade with the ly storehouses -, and that he ade from Ta- j Strait of F\i- the said strait, King's name, ire is no other neniorial ;'\ for •m the asserlion dl icouver in 171)- at the Felice in 1788. that he wilnesMd ns Fneiully Cove, 1' copper and some eares's Journal of printed before the all the documents e northwest coast, jgested, to Meares 103 1799. they are not noticed either in the documents attached to that me- morial, or in the Journal of his Voyage, which is tediously minute as to this trip, or any where else ; yet his claim, based solely upon his own statement, was supported by his Government and admit- teii by that of Spain. After the return of Meares to Nootka Sound, the sloop Washing- Spct. 17. ton. Captain Gray, arrived there from Boston ; the small vessel which had been commenced by the crew of the Felice in the spring was completed, and received the name oi Northwest America; and the Iphigenia came in from the northern coasts laden with furs. Sef i. 21. As a number of skins had also been obtained by the Felice during the summer, Meares determined to transfer to that vessel all those in the Iphigenia, and to sail with them immediately for Macao ; which he accordingly did, leaving the sound on the 28th of Sep- Sept. 28. tember. In the course of the following month the Ship Colum- Oct. bia. Captain Keudrick, arrived from Boston, and the Iphigenia and Northwest America departed for the Sandwich Islands, leav- ing the two American vessels to winter at Nootka. Meares reached Macao in the Felice early in December, and Dec. soon afterwards two vessels, the Princess Royal and the Prince of Wales, belonging to the King George's Sound Company, arrived at that place under the command of James Colnett, an officer of the British navy on half pay. In the latter vessels also came an agent of the said company, between whom and the proprietors of the Felice and Iphigenia an anangement was made for uniting the interests of both parties. In consequence of this arrangement, the Felice was sold or dismissed, and the Princess Royal, toge- l*.S;). ther with a ship called the Argonaut, bought for the purpose by tlie association, were despatched to Ntxttka, under the direction of Colnett, who sailed in the Argonaut. These vessels appear to April, have been navigated under the British flag ; Cavallo could not have acted as their owner, for he had become a bankrupt, and his failure was probably the cause of the formation of the new com- pany. The management of the affairs of the association at Macao ap- pears to have been committed entirely to Meares, 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 establish- ment on some part of the northwest coast of America, although no spot is designated as its site, and no hint is given of any ac- quisition of territory having been already made at or near Nootka Sound; indeed, the only reference to that place, in the whole pa- per, 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 memorial, strangely enough says: "Mr. Col- nett was directed to fix his residence at Nootka Sound, and, with that view, to erect a substantial house on the spot which your memorialist had purchased in the preceding year, as will appear by a copy of his instructiorts hereunto annexed. ^^ While the Argonaut and Princess Royal were on their way to Nootka, the Iphigenia and Northwest America returned to that ABiildO. 1 n iffi \ \%\ iV • fiH ' ii p't; ^' J 104 Hf ji h Ml 1789. place from the Sandwich Islands in a most distressed condition, April 90. The Iphigenifi was, indeed, a mere wreck. Her supercargo, or captain, Douglas, declares in his journal, attached to the memo- rial, that "she had like to have foundered at sea for Avant of pitch and tar to stop the leaks ; she had no hread on board, and noth- ing for her crew to live on but salt pork ; she was without cables," and, on attempting to secure her in the sound, " every rope gave way, so that we were obliged to borrow a fall from the American sloop Washington," which with the ship Columbia were found lying there. The Washington had already made a cruise to the southward, in the course of which she advanced some distance April -25. up the Strait of Fuca ; a few days after the arrival of the other vessels, she took her departure for the north, and was immediate- April 28. ly followed by the Northwest America, which had been hastily equipped and provided with articles for trade on a short voyage. The Columbia remained at Nootka the whole summer, and we are indebted to her mate, Joseph Ingraham, for the only account of the occurrences at the sound, during that period, proceeding from a disinterested witness. May 6. On the 6th of May Martinez arrived at Nootka in the corvette Princesa, and immediately informed the officers of ♦he Columbia and Iphigenia that he had come to take possession of the country for the King of Spain ; he then examined the papers of the two vessels, and, appearing to be content with them, he landed artil- lery and materials, and began to erect a fort on a small island at the entrance of Friendly Cove. With this assumption of authori- ty no dissatisfaction was expressed or entertained by either of the other parties present ; on the contrary, the utmost good feeling seemed to subsist on all sides for several days. The officers of the diffi3rent vessels visited and dined with each other ; and Mar- tinez readily supplied the Iphigenia, at the request of her com- mander, with articles of which she was in need, in order that she might go to sea immediately, accepting in return for them bills drawn upon Ca^-ullo of Macao as her owner. It is proper to remark here, that, on the arrival of the Spaniards at Nootka, no vestige remained of the house built, or said to have been built, by Meares, or of any other preparation for a settlement near the sound. This is expressly stated by Gray and Ingraham, who, moreover, declare their conviction that no house was ever erected by Meares at Nootka ; and it is corroborated by the entire silence, on that head, of Douglas, Colnett, and every other per- son whose testimony is cited in conjunction with the memorial to Parliament. May 13. Things remained thus at Nootka for a week, at the end of which time the other Spanish vessel, the San Carlos, arrived, under the May 14. command of Lieutenant H&ro. On the following day, Martinez invited Viana and Douglas, the chief officers of the Iphigenia, to come on board the Princesa, where he immediately told them that they were prisoners, and that their vessel was to be seized ; alleging in justification of his proceedings that their instructions contained a clause directing them to seize and carry to Macao any English, Russian, or Spanish vessels which they could overcome. Douglas i and that, ; they were knew thei to his resc the Spanij pers, were commence While t mandant i genia and declaratioi had been 1 Nootka. 1 ever, took the Colun signed by were liberj at the sam car^o respi said vessel. roy of Me: The vessel iards, she i seven hur the natives China. " of the Voy t/iey mere lattvlt-hars iiig the ski notice of tl plicitly dec wich Islan towards t on the oth detention she was en would othi for at least The sei; sidered as ♦ R.'ctriicts t "Uuniii of all the nuT provi.sion.s, iia bars ofiioii, v Siiiind, the \\ frmn lliencc Iti wire ennliktl ctiored there Miares. Ml condition, prcargo, or the memo- nt of pitch and noth- ut cables," rope gave American rare found uise to the le distance the other mmediate- ;en hastily irt voyage, er, and we dy account proceeding he corvette Columbia he country of the two inded artil- xll island at of authori- ither of the ood feeling e officers of r -, and Mar- af her com- der that she r them bills e Spaniards said to have a settlement i Ingraham, se was ever •y the entire y other per- le memorial nd of which i, under the ly, Martinez [phigenia, to y told them be seized; instructions o Macao any Id overcome. 105 Douglas insisted that the instmctions had been misinterpreted, 1789. and that, althougli he did not understand Portuguese,* in whicli ^"^ *'*• they were written, he had seen a copy of them at Macao, and know their sense to be otherwise. Martinez, however, adhered to his resolution ; the Iphigenia was in consequence boarded by the Spaniards ; her men, with her charts, journals, and other pa- pers, were transferred to the ships of war, and preparations were commenced for sending her to San Bias. While these preparations were in progress, the Spanish com- mandant altered his intentions, and proposed to release the Iphi- genia 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. This proposition was at first refused ; negotiations, how- ever, took place, through the medium of Captain Kendrick of the Columbia, the results of which were that the declaration was signed by the officers of the Iphigenia, and she and her crew were liberated on the 2Gth of May. Messrs. Viana and Douglas, May 2(1. at the same time, engaged for themselves, as ^^ captain and super- cargo respecticely, and for Juan Cavallo of Macao, as owner of the said vessel,''^ to pay her value, on demand, to the order of the Vice- roy of Mexico, in case he should pronounce her capture legal. The vessel having been completely equipped for sea by the Span- iards, she sailed on the 2d of June for the northern coasts, where ^i>ne 2. seven hundred sea-otter skins were collected, by trading with the natives, before her departure for the Sandwich Islands and China. "This trade was so brisk," says Meares in his Journal o{ the Voyage, that " all the stock (f iron was soon expended, and they were tinder the necessity of cutting up the chain-plates anJ hatch-bars of the vessel,'" in order to find the means of purchas- ing the skins offered. In the memorial, however, not only is all notice of this part of the Iphigenia's voyage omitted, but it is im- plicitly declaredt that she sailed directly from Nootka to the Sand- wich Islands. Meares insists that the conduct of the Spaniards towards the Iphigenia and her men was violent and rapacious ; on the other hand, Messrs. Gray and Ingraham declare that her detention was in every respect advantageous to the owners, as she was completely repaired and supplied for her voyage, and she would otherwise have been obliged to remain inactive at Nootka, for at least two months longer, during the best season for trading. The seizure of the Iphigenia by Martinez can scarcely be con- sidered as unjust or unmerited, when it is recollected that if, ni * Rxiracts from the JoiuiKil of Douglas, aniioxeil lo the ineinorial of Meares. t "Utirinsr the time ihe Spaniards Utlrl possessioii of ihelphi;,'enin, she was snipped of all the iiuTchaiulise which had been pieiiarod lor tiadiiij;, as also of her siores, provisions, iiaiilicul iiistrumenis, eharts, &c., and in short of everj' article, cxccpl tuxlrc i(!r5 «/i/o//., which ihoy couid conveiiifiitly carry away. ♦ ♦ ♦ On leaving Nootkn Sound, the lphi;j;enia, tlinii!. July 1. of his Gov- ciples of na- ;ies between id overcome, sd as prison- lad been in- Sootka, with ivas his duty ered, and of f those from Indeed, the imself to his been, that at ritten, it was f any part of phigenia, the immediately this seizure Sray and In- m agreement )f the Iphige- who declares ain to induce ^alue. A few lels sent from sound, under I and treated, aniards. She ), the Portu- enia, the bills it of the sup- z announced lich belonged nf those bills, or a trading- ■ the mates of berty, and re- \i the time of It Nootka un- I a cruise. As •gonaut, came lett, who had nipanies with ists, and with mefit. What riously rcpre- lus colors, for these : of the sound, 10 invited her 107 captain to come into the port, and supply the ships of war with some necessary articles ; presenting, at the same time, a letter from Hudson, in which the good treatment of the Princess Royal and her crew were acknowledged in flattering terms; Barnett, the mate of the Northwest America, Ingraham, the mate of the Co- lumbia, and some other persons, likewise came on board, and commimicatcd what had occurred with regard to the Iphigenia and the small vessel. Colnett, upon this, informed Martinez that he had come to take possession of Nootka, and to erect a fort diere under the British flag. The Spaniard replied, that the place Avas already occupied by the forces of his Catholic Majes- ty ; but that if the Argonaut should enter the sound, she should be treated with civility and attention, and be allowed to depart without hindrance. After some debate, the Englishman agreed to go into the harbor; and before midnight, his vessel 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, announced his intention to go to sea in the evening ; whereupon, Martinez requested him first to come on board the Princesa and exhibit his papers. The captain ac- cordingly went, in uniform and with his sword, to the cabin of the commandant, where an altercation took place between the parties ; the results of which were, the arrest of Colnett, and the seizure of the Argonaut by the Spaniards. From the moment of his arrest, Colnett was delirious or insane, and Robert DufRn, the mate of the Argonaut, became in consequence the representa- tive of the owners of that vessel. On the 13th of July the Princess Royal appeared at the mouth of the soiuid, and her captain, Hudson, having entered Friendly Cove in a boat, was there arrested with his men; after which, the vessel was boarded and brought in as a prize by the Spaniards. On the following day the Argonaut sailed for San Bias, carry- ing nearly all the British subjects taken at Nootka as prisoners, under the charge of a Spanish lieutenant and crew. Those who were captured in the Northwest America were, however, em- barked as passengers in the Columbia for Macao ; one hundred of the otter skins found in the Princess Royal being allowed by Martinez in payment of their wages and transportation. The Columbia left Nootka in August ; soon afterwards she met the Washington, which had just returned from her voy- age up the Strait of Fuca ; and it was agreed between the cap- tains, that Gray should take command of the ship, and proceed to China and the United States, with all the furs which had been collected, while Kendrick should remain on the coast in the Washington. Finally, in November, Martinez quitted Nootka Sound, and sailed with all his vessels for Mexico, leaving Ma- quinna again in quiet possession of liis dominions. If the statements of Meares, in his memorial, and of Colnett, in the account published by him respecting the capture of the Ar- gonaut and Princess Royal, and the treatment of their officers and men by the Spaniards, be admitted as conveying a full and cor- rect Aiew of the circumstances, the conduct of Martinez must be 1789. July 'i. July 3, J1474. ( ' ' ' i 111.' 'I '■II, t rill 4* /.u, n ■*■: i lOS 17fl9. considered as nearly equivalent to piracy. From these state- ments it would appear that the vessels were treacherously seized, without any reasonable grounds, or even pretexts, and with the sole premeditated object of plundering tficm; and that the most cruel acts of violence, insult, and restraint, were wantonly com- mitted upon the officers and men, during the whole period of July 4. their imprisonment. Colnett relates* that when he presented his papers to Martinez in the cabin of the Princesa, the command- ant, without examining them, pronounced them to be forged, and immediately declared that the Argonaut should not go to sea ; that, upon his " revionstrating (in what terms he does not say) against this breach of good faith and forgetfulness of word and honor pledged" the Spaniard rose in apparent anger, and intro- duced a party of armed men, by whom he Avas 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 deliri um, which were near proving fatal ; and that his officers and men were imprisoned and kept in irons, from the time of their seizure until their arrival at San Bias, where many of them died in con- sequence of ill treatment. Meares, in his memorial, confirms the assertions of Colnett ; and he adds, with regard to the capture of the Princess Royal, that her commander, Hudson, after his arrost at Friendly Cove, was forced (by means of threats of immediate execution) to send written orders to his mate, to deliver up the vessel without resistance to the Spaniards. Many of these statements are supported by the deposition of the officers and seamen of the Northwest America, taken in Chi- na, which is appended to the memorial ; some of them, however, are directly contradicted, while the greater part are invalidated, not only by the declarations of Gray and Ingraham, but even by the admissions of Duffin, the mate of the Argonaut, in his letters, also attached to the same petition. Thus the American cap- tains understood, " from those whose veracity they had no reason to doubt," that Colnett, at his interview with Martinez in the cab- in of the Princesa, denied the right of the Spaniards to occupy Nootka, and endeavored to impose upon the commandant by rep- resenting himself as empowered by his Government to erect a fort and settle a colony at that place under the British flag, and that he afterwards insulted the Spaniard by threatening him and draw- ing his sword. Colnett himself says that he attempted to draw his sword on the occasion, but that it was in order to defend him- self 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 forgetfulness of his word and honor pledged," with- July 14. out insulting him. Duffin, writing to Meares from Nootka, ten days after the seizure, gives nearly the same account of the inter- view, adding that the misunderstanding was most probably oc- ♦ See Colnetl's Account of a Voyage in the Pacilic in 1793 ; note at page 9G. casioned He says happened prisoners complaini of any oi the Spani over, DuJ the diseaf a fit of ii upon a m alienatior his accou and retrac No oth specting and mem to varioui tion to i\ all of wl doubt, en Upon r us, there command render hii however, ure of the ized and posts wei all foreigi tories unt was direi Spain ha could no enmient, shoiUd before thi fact of th authority ish or Ri ty; and, nett's shi had no ri cargoes, mandcr 1 region. Meares these occ the two Nootka the Span the facts, these stato- ously seized, ncl with the hat the most intonly colli- de period of ic presented e command- e forged, and t go to sea; oes not say) of word and T, and intro- tnick down, he was after- eatened with lany injuries IX and deliri ;ers and men their seizure died in con- confirms the be capture of fter his arrest of immediate eliver up the deposition of taken in Clii- em, however, 5 invalidated, , hut even by in his letters, merican cap- lad no reason BZ in the cab- 'ds to occupy ndant by rep- to erect a fort a:, and that he ni and draw- ipted to draw ) defend him- i)e allowed to 1 " his breach ?dffed" with- 1 Nootka, ten t of the inter- probably oc- e at page 9G. 109 casioned by the interpreter's ignorance of the English language. He says that Martinez appeared to be very sorry for what had happened, and had " behaved with great civility, by obliging his prisoners with every liberty that could be expected ;" and he complains of no violence, either to the feelings or to the persons of any of the crews of the vessels seized, although he charges the Spaniards with plundering both openly and secretly. More- over, Duffin declares, and Meares rei)eats in his memorial, that the disease with which Colnett was afflicted after his arrest was a fit of insanity occasioned by fear and disappointment operating upon a mind naturally weak and hereditarily predisposed to such alienation. This assertion is indignantly repelled by Colnett, in his account of the affair, to which he annexes a letter of apology and retraction from Meares. No other evidence has been presented on the part of Spain, re- specting these proceedings, than what is contained in the notes and memorials addressed by the Court of Madrid on the subject to various European Governments in 1790, and in the Introduc- tion to the Narrative of the Voyage of the Sutil and Mexicana; all of which statements, though made officially, are, without doubt, erroneous on many of the most material points. Upon reviewing all the circumstances as they are presented to us, there is little doubt that Colnett acted towards the Spanish commandant in a manner so extravagant and intemperate as to render his arrest perfectly justifiable ; the detention of his vessel, however, cannot be defended on the same grounds, and the seiz- ure of the Princess Royal appears to have been totally unauthor- ized and inexcusable. The commanders of Spanish American posts were, indeed, ordered by their general instructions to seize all foreign vessels entering or cruising in the vicinity of the terri- tories under their control ; and the enforcement of these orders was directly or tacitly admitted by all the nations with which Spain had made treaties relating to those dominions. But it could not have been reasonably intended by the Spanish Gov- ernment, or allowed by other Powers, that such regulations should be enforced at a new settlement, in a region so remote, before the people of any other country could be informed of the fact of the establishment. We know, moreover, from the highest authority, that Martinez was specially instructed to treat all Brit- ish or Russian vessels which might arrive at Nootka with civili- ty; and, although he might have with propriety disarmed Col- nett 's ships, if he apprehended any attack from them, he certainly had no right to take possession of them, and to appropriate their cargoes, as he did, to his own uses, merely because their com- mander had refused to recognise the supremacy of Spain in that region. Meares, Vancouver, and other British writers, in alluding to these occurrences, endeavor to cast blame on the commanders of the two American vessels, which were at the time in or near Nootka Sound, by representing them as aiding and supporting the Spaniards in their oppressive proceedings. Upon examining the facts, we find that the Americans never pretended to ques- 1789. > I ■■■'4 m [l! '!:'■ ^ 1 i ii!i' 110 I7fl9. tion the right of Spain to the country ; and the conduct of the British towards thoin was not such, if we may judge from the expressions of Mearcs, as to excite any friendly feeUngs on their part. All that can be alleged against (Japtams Kendrick and Gray seems to be that they profited, as they were entitled to do, by the quarrels between the other two parlies, naturally inclining towards that which seemed to be the more friendly disposed to- wards themselves. Upon the arrival of the Argonaut at San Bias, Colnett was lib- erated from confinement, and he proceeded to the city of Mexico, where he was received with kindness by the Viceroy, Count de Rcvillagigedo. The cases of the Argonaut and Princess Royal having been then examined, it was decided* — that the conduct of Martinez had been entirely conformable with the laws and ordi- nances of Spain, and with the terms of treaties existing betweon that kingdom and other nations, by which it is understood that aliens frequenting, trading, or endeavoring to establish them- selves "on the coasts of the South Sea in either America" shall be regarded and treated as enemies, without any presumable breach of faith on the part of Spain ; that consequently the said two vessels might be retained as lawful prizes ; but that, in con- sideration of tlie apparent ignorance of their owners and officers respecting the rights and laws of Spain, as well as for the sake of preserving peace and harmony with Great Britain, they should be released, on condition of their not entering any bay or port in Spanish America without pressing necessity. ITW In virtue of this decision, Colnett returned to San Bias, where he found that several of his men had died, during his absence, of the fever endemic on those coasts. With the remainder he sailed in the Argonaut to Nootka, for the purpose of reclaiming the Princess Royal ; but the sound had been, long before he ar- rived there, evacuated by Martinez and his forces, who from some cause, however, did not reach Mexico until after the departure of Colnett. From Nootka the Argonaut, having taken in a car- go of furs, sailed for the Sandwich Islands, where the Princess Royal was found lying ; Colnett there received possession of her, and arrived with both vessels at Macao in the latter part of 1790. The Columbia, under the command of Gray, reached Macao in December, 1789, bringing as passengers the officers and crew of the Northwest America, who first communicated the news of the seizure of the Argonaut and Princess Royal to thei: owners. The latter immediately resolved to apply to the British Govern- ment for redress ; and Meares accordingly departed for London, where he arrived in March, 1790, carrying wifh him various de- positions and other papers in substantiation of the claims. Meanwhile the Court of Spain, having been informed of what had occurred at Nootka in the summer of 1789, addressed a note P«b 10. to the British ministry, stating the circumst^.nces, and requiring that the parties who had planned the expeditions should be pun- * Vancou' ■ r's Account of his Voyages, vol. iii, page cOT; Memorial of the Court of Spain, Auuual Register for 1790. ished, in n lories occu years. Tl ceived ext Oovernme and prope necessaril) party migl America, i those outi was concli vessels se this answ two large this measi the naval Several Madrid in seized at had been the other, captains m fair might olic Majes strain his America, I founded u responden the Britis quence, b( be easily t tion by Mi obtiiined f probable, i at Nootka than six It The coi by both p were com addressed vessels be the Britis " and twc which the been capt Spanish s beet, seiz^ sonfrs to fact.on, ai tlia, one Me:iico, ' righvs of nduct of the Ige from the ings on their eiidrick and ntitled to do, illy Inclining disposed to- nett was lib- Ly of Mexico, )y, Count de incess Royal le conduct of Kvs and ordi- ting betweon lerstood that ablish theni- tnerica" shall presumable ntly the said that, in con- s and officers )r the sake of they should )ay or port in I Bias, where is absence, of •emainder he of reclaiming before he ar- ho from some the departure iken in a car- the Princess essiou of her, part of 1790. hed Macao in I and crew of B new s of the ihei: owners, itish Govern - i for London, n various de- laims. rmed of what ressed a note iiid requiring lould be pun- jrial of ihe Court 111 ished, in order to deter others from making sctti<>nionts on terri- 1700 torics occupied and frequented by the Snaniards tor a number of years. The British ministers answered, that they had not ro Feb. 20 ceived exact information as to the facts stated by the Spanish Government, but that t/ir arts of mnhncn towards British subjects and property, mentioned in the communication from the latter, necessarily suspended any discussion of claims which lither party might advance to the possession of the northwest coasts of America, until adequate atonement should liave been made for those outrages against the flag of Great Britain ; the answer was concluded by a demand for the immediate restoration of the vessels seized at Nootka. Simultaneously with the despatch of this answer, orders were issued at London for the armament of two largo fleets ; and the Spanish Government, taking alarm at this measure, caused similar preparations to be commenced in all the naval arsenals of the kingdom. Several weeks after the receipt of this answer, the Court of Apni. Madrid informed the British ministry that one of the vessels seized at Nootka (the Argonaut) had been released, and orders had been given by the Viceroy of Mexico for the restitution of the other, in consideration of the ignorance of their owners and captains with regard to the rights and laws of Spain ; that the af- fair might, therefore, be regarded as at an end, and that his Cath- olic Majesty would be satisfied if the King of England would re- strain his subjects fiom trespassing uj)on the Pacific coasts of America, to whicfi the Crown of Spain had indubitable right, founded upon treaties and immemorial possession. Ere the cor- respondence proceeded farther, the matter had been submitted by the British mi: istry to the nation ; and a fever had, in conse- quence, been excited throughout the kingdom, which was not to be easily allayed. Tliis measure was the result of the presenta- tion by Mearesof his Memorial, praying that reparation should be obtained for himself and his associates tor their losses, actual and probable, occasioned by the seizure and detention of tlieir vessels at Nootka ; the amount of which was estimated at no less a sum than six hundred amljiftij-tlnre thmisnnd dolfars. The correspondence above noticed was kept profoundly secret by both parties until the 5th of May, when the circumstances ;vcro conununicated by the King of England, through a message addressed to Parliament. In this message, it is stated that "two May 5 vessels belonging to his Majesty's subjects, and navigated under the British flag," (meaning the Argonaut and Princess Royal,) " and two others," (the Iphigenia and Northwest America,) " of which the description is not hitherto sufficiently ascertained, have been captured at Nootka Sound by an officer commanding two Spanish ships of war; that the cargoes of the British vessels have beei seized, and their officers and crews have been sent as pri- son( rs to a Spanish port." That, in reply to a demand for sarts- fact.on, addressed to the Court of Madrid, it had been declared tha, one of the British vessels was liberated by the Viceroy of Mexico, " on the supposition »hat nothing but ignorance of the righvs of Spain encouraged the individuals of other nations to !:ii li ; 'it ,i i!; ! 113 t;,|!i P" '\-- \^l 1790. como on tlios« coasts, for tho purpose of mnking establishments Muy &. or carrying on trade ;" but that " no satisfaction was given or of. fered, and a direct claim was asserted by the Court of Madrid to the excUisive right of sovereignty, navigation, and conmien^e, in the territories, coasts, and seas of that part of the world." In conse(|uence of all which, " his Majesty had directed his minis. ter at Madrid to make a fresh representation on the subject, niul to claim such full and ade(|uate satisfaction as the nature of tlio case evidently required. And under these circumstances, bis Majesty, having also received information that considerable arma- ments were carrying on in the ports of Spain, had judged it nv- cessary to give orders for such preparations as might put it in his power to act with vigor and effect in support of the honor of his Crown and the interests of his jMiopIc; and he recommendoil that Parliament would therefore enable him to take such meas- ures, and to make such augmentations of his forces, as might hu eventually requisite for that purpose." In this message, it will be remarked that no mention is made of the seizure of any lauf/ti or buildings belonging to British sub- jects at Nootka; and it will be found, on examining the docu- meiUs attached to the memorial of Meares, that no notice of such possessions is contained in any of them, except in "Me wformu- tion of Williaia Gmham,''^ one of the seamen of the Felice, taken at London, on the very day in which the message was read in Parliamejit, five days after the date of the memorial. It may also be observed, in anticipation, that the rejKms of the debates in Parliament, and the published correspyal) seized at sustained by m the acts of u — and for " a ive an indis- 3rrupled com isioM of such ent of the na- uisly occupied ut de Florida ; after having nddrossed a circular, protesting against them, to nil tlu other noo. Courts of continr'iital Europe. He likewise solirifd tlu; French monarch to comply with the terms of the Family ('ompact of 1701, by which the Sovereigns of France and .Spain were bound to support «!ach other, in cases similar to that actually (existing. These measures, however, producing no favorable results, Ikj was obliged to yield to the demand of Great Britain f()r indenmifica- tion to her subjects; which was promised* on the 24th of July, Jump 91 with the understanding that the concession M^ns not to affect, in any way, the question as to the right of his Catholic Majesty to tbrm an exclusive establislunent at Nootka. The negotiation had thus far proceeded in a course almost pre- cisely like that of the dispute between the same parties respecting the Falkland Islands, twenty years previous; and the Spanish minister probably expected that it would end there. But Mr. Pitt, who then directed the affairs of Great Hritain, had ulterior objects in view, which induced him to persist in his exactions relative to th'' 'ipo'-cupied coasts of America; atid as naval arma- ments on the most extensive scale were in progress of equipment in both countries, a rupture of the peace between them was daily anticipated. In the mean time, the National Assembly of France was de- Aug. liberating upon the solicitation for aid addressed by Charles IV. of Spain to his cousin, Louis XVI., which had been referred by the latter to that body, then all-powerful in his kingdom. The resolutions,! finally adopted in the Assembly, as proposed by the Aug. 20 celebrated Mirabeau, were very vague with regard to Spain, while they were very clear and positive as t ) the necessity of immedi- ately arming a vast naval force for the security of the French do- n\inions. That these resolutions must have materially afiected the nature of the negotiation between the Courts of London and Madrid there can be no doubt, although no means have been as yet afforded of learning in what manner and to what precise extent. It, however, appears probable that the warlike attitude assumed by the National Assembly, together with the rapid ad- vance of revolutionary anti-monarchical principles at the same period, rendered the disputing parties willing to compromise their differences, in order that they might, if there should be need, act in unison against their dangerous neighbor. Possibly, indeed, the exactions of the British minister were, from the commence- ment, intended for no other purpose than to secure such co-oper- ation. Certain it is, that the conditions subscribed by the two Powers, at the conclusion of their dispute, were far less onerous Oct, 28. or humiUating to Spain, than those upon which the Court of Lon- don had at first announced its determination to insist. ♦ See dtclaration, by Count, de Florida Blanca, and connOr-dcclarntion, by Mr. Fitzherbert, the British envoy at iVladnd, in the Annual Register lor 171MI, pa "e 300. It may be here mentioned, thai the amount payable by Spain as indemnification was finally settled in February, 171)3, by agreement between the commissioners of the two Governments, at two hundred and ten thousand dollars. See Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. iv, page 209. t See Annual Register for 1790, page 303. The resolutions in the original, and the interesting debates in the Assembly, may be found in the Monileur. m t ,i 114 ITM The conditions above mentioned are contained in a treaty, signed at the Palace of San Lorenzo, or the Escurial, in Spain, on the 28th of October, 1790, and ratified on the. 22d of the fol- lowing month; of which it will be proper here to insert all the ar- ticles without variation from the original text.* "Article 1. The buildings and tracts of land situated on the northwest coast of the continent of North America, or on the islands adjacent to that continent, of which the subjects of his Britannic Majesty were dispossessed about the month of April, 1789, by a Spanish officer, shall be restored to the said British subjects. "Art. 2. A just reparation shall be made, according to the na- ture of the case, for all acts of violence or hostility which may have been committed subsequent to the month of April, 1789, by the subjects of either of the contracting parties against the sub- jects of the other; and, in case any of the said respective subjects shall, since the same period, have been forcibly dispossessed ol their lands, buildings, vessels, merchandise, and other property, whatever, on the said continent, or on the seas and islands adja- cent, they shall be re-established in the possession thereof, or a just compensation shall be made to them for the losses which they have sustained. " Art. 3. In order to strengthen the bonds of friendship, and to preserve in future a perfect harmony and good understanding, between the two contracting parties, it is agreed that their re- spective subjects shall not be disturbed or molested, either in navigating, or carrying on their fisheries, in the Pacific Ocean or in the South Seas, or in landing on the coasts of those seas in places not already occupied, for the purpose of carrying on their commerce with the natives of the country, or of making settle ments there ; the whole subject, nevertheless, to the restrictions specified in the three following articles. " Art. 4. His Britannic Majesty engages to take the most ef- fectual measures to prevent the navigation and the fishery of his subjects in the Pacific Ocean or in the South Seas from being made a pretext for illicit trade with the Spanish settlements ; and, with this view, it is moreover expressly stipulated that British subjects shall not navigate, or carry on their fishery, in the said seas, within the space of ten sea-leagues fi^om any part of the coasts already occupied by Spain. "Art. 6. As well in the places which are to be restored to the British subjects, by virtue of the first article, as in all other parts of the northwestern coasts of North America, or ol the islands adjacent, situate to the north of the parts of the said coast already occupied by Spain, wherever the subjects of either of the two Powers shall have made settlements since the month ol April, 1789, or shall hereafter make any, the subjects of the other shall have free access, and shall carry on their trade without any disturbance or molestation. ♦ See Annual Register for 1790, pas;e 304; Parliamentary History for same year, page 91G ; Ilersileit^s Collection of British Treaties, vol. ii, page 257. "Art. I South An be formet those coas coasts, an by Spain tain the li for the pi and other « Art. ' of the pre permitting of force, si of its circ nate such "Art. J firmed in of its sigr This tn 3d of Dec Houses. fended in tion, as sec subjects, s tare, by oj and establi grounds as hand, cont respect coi tained ; na eminent w rially abri( whereas tl ted or cont fish in any ever the sul they were miles to a on a large permanent northern tie," said might forn another. all the exf ble to be tl be placed the sou the stated to h son with V remove all ing a setth 115 in a treaty, al, in Spain, >(1 of the fol- ert all the ar- ;uated on the a, or on the ibjects of his I nth of April, said British ng to the na- j which may ipril, 1789, by linst the sub- ctive subjects ispossessed of ther property, islands adja- L thereof, or a losses which •iendship, and mderstanding, that their re- sted, either in Lcific Ocean or those seas in rying on their naking settle 16 restrictions the most ef- fishery of his 2as from being tlements ; and, id that British ry, in the said ny part of the be restored to as in all other rica, or of the f the said coast of either of the the month ol CIS of the other le without any itory for same year, e 257. " Art. 6. With respect to the eastern and western coasts of iw South America, and to the islands adjacent, no settlement shall be formed hereafter, by the respective subjects, in such part of those coasts as are situated to the south of those parts of the same coasts, and of the islands adjacent, which are already occupied by Spain : provided that the said respective subjects shall re- tain the liberty of landing on the coasts and islands so situated, for the purposes of their fishery, and of erecting thereon huts and other temporary buildings, serving only for those purposes. " Art. 7. In all cases of complaint or infraction of the articles of the present convention, the officers of either party, without permitting themselves previously to commit any violence or act offeree, shall be bound to make an exact report of the atfair, and of its circumstances, to their respective Courts, who will termi- nate such difl'erences in an amicable manner. "Art. 8. The present convention shall be ratified and con- firmed in the space of six weeks, to be computed from the day of its signature, or sooner if it can be done." This treaty was submitted to Parliament b}'^ Mr. Pitt on the 3d of December, and became the subject of discussion in both Dec ; Houses. By the friends of the ministry it was extolled and de- fended in general terms, as vindicating the honor of the na- tion, as securing reparation for injuries committed against British subjects, and as affording important advantages to them in fu- ture, by opening the navigation of the Pacific and South Seas, and establishing the question of the southern fisheries on such grounds as must prevent all dispute. The opposition, on the other hand, contended that the advantages derivable from it were in no respect commensurate with the costs at which it had been ob- tained ; nay, it was insisted by Fox, Grey, liansdowne, and other eminent whigs, that the rights of British subjects had been mate- rially abridged by the new stipulations. They observed that, whereas the British formerly possessed the right, " whether admit ted or contested by Spain was of no consequence^'' to navigate and fish in any part of the Pacific or South Seas, and " to settle wher- ever the subjects of no other civilized nation had previously settled," they were by this treaty prohibited from going nearer than thirty miles to a Spanish territory, and from establishing themselves on a large portion of South America, as well as from forming any permanent or useful settlement on the northwest coast of the northern continent. " In every place in which we might set- tle," said Grey, " access was left for the Spaniards, Where we might form a settlement on one hill, they might erect a fort upon another. A merchant must run all the risks of a discovery, and all the expenses of establishment, for a property, which was lia- ble to be the subject of continual dispute, and which could never be placed upon a permanent footing " Mr. Fox denied " that the southern whale fishery was of the great importance it was stated to be," and declared that it was mere "dross" in compari- son with what had been renounced in order to obtain it. " To remove all possibility," said that gentleman, " of our ever form- ing a settlement to the south of her American colonies, was an :';ji ■''lii > il : r 1 ii \ ; ! 116 \% 1790. object for which Spain would have been willing to pay a liberal price." Of the truth of this assertion, there was sufficient proof m the efforts made by the Government of Spain to prevent other nations from planting colonies in the Falkland Islands; from which islands, it may be remarked, both parties to the conven- tion appear to have been excluded by the terms of the sixth ar- ticle. It was also noticed by Mr. Fox, as a curious and inexplicable incongruity in the treaty, that " about the month of Aprils 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 although, by the first article, the lands and buildings declared to have been taken from British subjects by a Spanish officer '* abovi the month of April, 1789," were to be restored, yet, by the second article, the lands, build- ings, and other property, of which the subjects of either party had been dispossessed " subsequent to the month of April, 1789," were t© be restored, or compensation was to be made to the own- ers for the losses which they might have sustained. Now, as the Spaniards did not arrive upon the northwest coast of America until May, 1789, it is clear that their Government might, at its own option, either restore the lands and buildings claimed by British subjects, or make compensation for the loss of them to their owners. Upon this point it will be seen, that if the word or in the con- cluding part of the second article were replaced by and, the in- congruity would disappear ; but then, also, the first article would become entirely superfluous. It would, however, be idle to sup- pose that any error could have been committed, with regard to matters so essential, or that the want of accordance between the different provisions of the convention, 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 ; to the other objections raised against the convention, they gave only general or evasive replies. By means of their majorities in both Houses of Parliament, which were so great as to render any expenditure of argument unne- cessary, they negatived every call for papers relative to the nego- tiation ; and, having triumphantly carried their address of thanks to the Sovereign, they were left at liberty to execute the new stipulations agreeably to their own constructions, for which am- ple space had been certainly provided.* * An analysis ofthe convention will be found in the ninth chopterofthis memoir, among the observations on the Florida Treaty. Execution of Surrender igators, Fi •service of Ingraham, Gray— Exi ago — Forn nian and A The coi ish Gover the lands : were to bi For this p sent to No ministry, I George Va who was 1 voyage of between i\ for the Oj- not deliv a month i patched by mandant c " to delivoi ings and i that Sover as also th( about sixt€ communic who was c does not a ers, by eitl lands or bi VancouA after havin mence the the 35th ai these resej with regai tion, whic tween the pay a liberal fficient proof »revent other lands; from the conven- the sixth ar- inexplicable Aprily 1789," IS known to iced, in May t article, the from British April, 1789," lands, build- f either party April, 1789," e to the own- Now, as the St of America ; might, at its s claimed by ss of them to or in the con- y and, the in- , article would )e idle to sup- vith regard to 3 between the r. Fox, should rhe ministers, red indirectly restitutions as raised against replies. By lament, which gument unne- re to the nego- Iress of thanks 3cute the new for which am- >ter of ihis memoir, 117 CHAPTER VII. Execution of the first article of the treaty of 1790, between Great Britain and Spain — Surreiiiler of Nootka to the British— Voyages and discoveries of the Spanisn nav- igators, Fidalgo, Malaspina, Caamano, Galiano, and Vaides; of Billings, in the ■service of Russia -, of Marchand ; of Vancouver ; and of the American fur-traders, Ingraham, Gray, and Kendrick — Discovery of the mouth of the Columbia, bv Gray — Examination of the Strait of Fuca, and of the great Northwest Archipel- ago — Formation of the Northwest Fur-trading Company — Expeditions of Rod- man and Mackenzie through ihe interior of the North American continent. The convention of 1790 having been thus concluded, the Brit- 1791. ish Government prepared immediately to assume possession of the lands and buildings on the northwest coast of America, which were to be surrendered by Spain agreeably to the first article. For this purpose, it was determined that two frigates should be sent to Nootka, under the command of Captain Trowbridge; the ministry, however, afterwards committed the business to Captain George Vancouver, who had been one of Cook's lieutenants, and who was then about to sail to the Pacific with two ships, on a voyage of discovery. There were, doubtless, some difficulties between tiic tjarties to the convention respecting this surrender, for the oy^^ ) the Spanish Minister of State to that effect was not dehv i • / Madrid until the 12th of May, 1791, more than May 1-2. a month aiter the departure of Vancouver, to whom it was des • patched by a store-sliip. The order was addressed to the Com- mandant of the port of San Lorenzo, of Nootka, directing him " to deliver to his Britannic Majesty's commissioner the build- ings and tracts of land which were occupied by the subjects of that Sovereign in April, 1789, as well those in the port of Nootka, as also those in the other, called Port Cox, said to be situated about sixteen leagues further southward."* The same order was communicated, with the convention, to the Viceroy of Mexico, who was charged with its execution on the part of Spain ; but it does not appear that any means were afforded to the commission- ers, by either of the Governments, for ascertaining precisely what lands or buildings were to be surrendered. Vancouver was instructed to proceed directly to Nootka, and, after having completed the business of the transfer there, to com- mence the examination of the American coasts included between the 35th and the 60th parallels of north latitude. The objects of these researches were especially to acquire accurate information with regard to the nature and extent of any water communica- tion, which might tend to facilitate commercial intercourse be- tween the northwest coasts and the territories on the opposite • Introduction to the Journal of Vancouver's Voyage. 9 \m fl't v'li •I ; li •Mi .11 ill ■ ! ! 118 1790. Mar. 4 i-J' I7c)i. side of the continent, inhabited or occupied by British subjects, and to ascertain with precision the number, extent, and situation of any settlements made by civilized nations within those Umits. He was directed particularly " to explore the supposed Straits of Fuca, said to be situated between the 48th and 49th degrees of latitude, through which the American sloop Washington was re- ported to have passed in 1789, and to have come out again north of Nootka;" after which, he was, if there should be time sufficient, to survey the Sandwich Islands and the southernmost coasts of America. With these instructions, Vancouver sailed from Eng- land on the 1st of April, 1791, and just a year afterwards he ar- rived on the northwest coast, in sight of Cape Mendocino. In the mean time, Nootka had been again occupied by Span- ish forces, which were sent for that purpose from Mexico, in the spring of 1790, under the command of Don Francisco Elisa; and Spanish navigertors were again exphjring the northwest coasts of America, in order to observe the proceedings of the Russians, and also to determine the question as to the practicability of a north- ern voyage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. That ques- tion was then exciting considerable attention in Europe, where every thing relating to it was carefully studied, and the old stories of the discovery of northern passages were dragged forth from ob- scurity, and subjected to critical analyses, by scientific individu- als and commissions. Three of these stories, of which Maldonado. Fuca, and Fonte were severally the heroes, were pronounced, after such trials, to be not wholly destitute of probability, and the commanders of all the expeditions to the north Pacific were instructed to endeavor to ascertain how far each statement might be confirmed or disproved. The Spaniards were, indeed, beginning seriously to direct their efforts to the security of their dominions northwest of Mexico ; and with this view, a special branch of the administration in that kingdom had been created, under the title of the Marine Depart- ment of San Bias, which was charged with superintending and fostering the establishments on the coasts of the north Pacific. The port of San Bias in Mexico, situated near the entrance of the Californian Gulf, was made the centre of the operations for these purposes; arsenals, ship-yards, and warehouses were construct- ed at that place ; all expeditions for the northern coasts were made from it; and all orders relative to the abovementioned objects passed through the chief of the department, who resided there. Of the voyage of Lieutenant Salvador Fidalgo to the northern- most coasts of the Pacific, in the summer of 1790, it is imneces- sary he e to present the details. The geographical information obtained by him was of little value, although he thought proper to affix Spanish names to a number of points between Mount St. Elias and Cook's Inlet, nearly all of which had been long before known and described. 1791. Those coasts were in the following year more minutely exam- June 23 ined by Captain Alexandro Malaspina, in the course of his voy- Au"' 13 ^^® around the world, with the Spanish corvettes Atrevida and °' ' Descuhierta under his command. He, however, made no dis- coveries of great* some pi; the Jour this expe ducted i does nol The un] under tli Godoy, \ 1794, an( at Corun ment, an name of While ka, Elisa Strait of in it, and among hi ly attemp terminati( NavaiTete at the ea; by him / Discovery The vi Captain I is here m the Journ Marchan( King Gee or Edgec with the ward to t casionallj departure other pla from this philosoph northwesi institutio] In the the Unite Among tl ton undei seph Ingi of Captaii contains • The olh ihe Pacific s geeitlie^fei 119 sh subjects, ind situation those limits, led Straits of h degrees of gton was re- ; again north ne sufficient, ost coasts of d from Eng- wards he ar- ocino. ied by Span- lexico, in the ;o Elisa; and vest coasts of lussians, and y of a north- . That ques- lurope, wherp ;he old stories forth from ob- tific individu- ;h Maldonado. I pronounced, ibability, and I Pacific were itement might to direct their St of Mexico ; tration in that farine Depart- intending and north Pacific, ntrance of the tions for these ere construct- ists were made tioned objects ?sided there. 1 the northern- , it is unneces- al information bought proper een Mount St. sen long before linutely exam- rse of his voy- 5 Atrevida and made no dis- coveries worthy of mention at present, and he effected nothing 1791 of greater importance than the determination of the positions of some places already known. Navarrete, in his Introduction to the Journal of the Sutil and Mexicana, gives a long account of this expedition, and bestows the utmost praise on those who con- ducted it ; yet, will it be believed that the name of Malaspina does not appear in that work? Such is, nevertheless, the fact. The unfortunate navigator, an Italian by birth, having ftiUen under the displeasure of the Spanish Government, or rather of Godoy, was arrested immediately after his return to Europe, in 1794, and was for seven years kept closely confined in a dungeon at Corunna. Navarrete, writing under the eye of that Govern- ment, and for its purposes, did not dare inscribe on his pages the name of the u' ^appy victim of its injustice. While Malaspina was thus engaged on the coasts north of Noot- ka, Elisa, the commandant of that port, endeavored to explore the Strait of Fuca; he, however, penetrated only a hw leagues with- in it, and was then forced to return by the appearance of scurvy among his crew. One of his lieutenants, Q,uimper, had previous- ly attempted, with little better success, to trace this passage to its termination ; from the slight account given of his voyage by NavaiTete, it appears that he examined the whole southern shore, at the eastern extremity of which he discovered a harbor called by him Port Qiiarlra, probably the same afterwards named Port Discover]/ by Vancouver. The visit made to the northwest coast of America, in 1791, by Captain Etienne Marchand, in the French merchant ship Solif/e, is here mentioned, only because the Introduction, by Fleurieu, to the Journal of his Voyage, has been already several times quoted. Marchand landed on one of the islands of the group now called King George the Third's Archipelago, near Mount San Jacinto or Edgecumb, and remained there a fortnight engaged in trading with the natives ; after which, he sailed along the coasts south- ward to the entrance of Clyoquot bay, a little east of Nootka, oc- Sept. 7. casionally landing and making observations, and thence took his departure for China. Respecting the places thus seen, or any other places, indeed, very little information is to be obtained from this journal, although hundreds of its pages are devoted to philosophical speculations on the origin and capabilities of the northwest Americans, their languages, and political and religious institutions, and on languages and institutions in general. In the course of this year, also, no less than seven vessels from the United States arrived in the north Pacific, in search of furs. Among them were the ship Colutnbia, which returned from Bos- ton under Captain Gray, and the brig Hope, commanded by Jo- seph Ingraham, the former mate of the Columbia.* The Journal of Captain Ingraham, to which reference has been so often made, contains minute accounts of occurrences and observations, which ♦ The others were, the Was/iington, Captain Kendrick, which had remaii.ed in the Pacific since 1788; the Eleonora, Captain Metcalf; the Margaret, Capt?.in Ma- gee; the Hancock, Captain Crowell; and the Jefferson, Captain Roberts. August and Sept. I 'ill 1 ','i J,: " )*': s •! I ■H 120 1791. are recorded in a clear and simple manner; and it is illustrated by many charts and drawings, all serving to prove that the world is indebted to the efforts of the American fur-traders for much information relative to the northwest coasts, which is usually sup- posed to have been procured originally by the British and Span- ish navigators. Of Captain Gray's second voyage to the Pacific, we know but little ; that little, however, comes from authentic sources, and is worthy of being carefully preserved. Ingraham sailed from Boston on the 16th of September, 1790; in January following he doubled Cape Horn, after stopping at So- ledad or Port Egmont, in the Falkland Islands, where he found a Spanish garrison ; and, in April, he discovered the group of six small islands, situated nearly in the centre of the Pacific, which are now called the Wiishington Islands by all geographers except May CO. the British. On the 20th of May the Hope reached Owyhee, and on the 29th of June she was anchored in a harbor on tlio southwest side of Queen Charlotte's Island, to which Ingraham gave the name of Magee*s Sound. Ab.out this island, and the coasts of the continent immediately east of it, he remained du- ring the whole summer ; and having collected a large cargo of furs, he carried them to Canton in the autumn. The Columbia quitted Boston on the 27th of September, 1790, May. and in May of the ensuing year she reached the northwest coast of America, a little northward of Cape Mendocino. Sailing along the coast towards Nootka, Captain Gray observed an opening, in the latitud<3 of 46 degrees 16 minutes, from which issued a current so strong as to prevent his entrance, although he remained nine days in its vicinity endeavoring to effect that object. Being at lengtii fully convinced that he had discovered the mouth of a great river, he continued his course towards the north, and on the 5th of June arrived in the harbor of Clyoquot, near Nootka. From this place the Columbia soon sailed for Queen Charlotte's Island, near which she fell in with the Hope, on the 23d of July. On the 15th of August she entered an inlet under the parallel of 54^ degrees, up which she proceeded more than eighty miles towards the northeast ; the passage was found to be wide and deep throughout this whole distance, and appeared to extend much farther in the same direction. Gray, however, was unable to pursue the examination of it, and returned witn the persuasion that he had discovered the Rio de los Reyes, through which Ad miral Fonte was said to have sailed on his way to the Atlantic, in 1640. The passage is that now called the Portland Canal. On Sept. leaving it, the Columbia returned to Clyoquot, at the entrance of which she met the French ship Solide, commanded by Captain Marchand, just as the latter was shaping her course for China. Here Gray and his crew passed the winter in a fortified habita- tion on the shore, to which he gave the name of Fort Defiance. Here, also, he built and launched a schooner, called the Enter- prise, the first vessel constructed on the northwest side of the continent by citizens of the United States. While remaining at this place, " Wiccannish, the chief of that district, had concerted a plan to capture his ship, by bribing a native of Owyhee, whom 3 illustrated \t the world :s for much isually sup- \ and Spaii- the Pacific, n authentic tnber, 1790; pping at So- ;re he found group of six icific, which )hers except ed Owyhee, irbor on the ;h Ingraham md, and the jniained du- irge cargo of ember, 1790, •thwest coast Sailing alonjr 1 opening, in ued a current mained nine :t. Being at ! mouth of a lorth, and on near Nootka. in Charlotte's ! 23d of July, he parallel of eighty miles be wide and ed to extend r, was unable lie persuasion jh which Ad I the Atlantic, id Canal. On le entrance of ;d by Captain se for China, rtified habita- ''ort Defiance, ed the Enter- st side of the remaining at had concerted «ryhee, whom 121 Gray had with him, to wet the priming of all the fire-arms on I7i)l. board, which were constantly kept loaded; upon which the chief would easily have overpowered the ship's crew by a number of daring Indians assembled for the purpose. This project was happily discovered ; and the Americans being on their guard, the fatal effects of the plan were prevented."* Captain John Kendrick, who commanded the Columbia in her first voyage to the Pacific, had remained in that ocean with the sloop Washington since 1789. In August of 1791, while lying Aii?iivi. in Nootka Sound, ho had reason to suspect that the Spaniards would seize his vessel, in case he should endeavor to proceed to sea; and under this impression, he determined to make his way, if possible, through a passage which he believed to exist, from the extremity of the harbor northwestward into ihe Pacific. His effort proved successful; and he bestowed upon the channel thus found the name of Massackusetts Sound. This passage, called by the natives Ahasstt, is not laid down upon Vancouver's majj.s ; an account of it, however, appears n\ the Journal of the Sutil and Mexicana, where it is called the Passage of Buenu Esperanza, and its discovery is attributed to the officers of Malaspina's ships, who surveyed it in the latter part of the same month, after Kend- rick had passed through it. About the same time, Kendrick purchased from Maquinna, VViccannish, and other chiefs, several large tracts of landf near Nootka Sound, for which he afterwards exhibited deeds signed, or rather marked^ by the savages, and witnessed by many of the ofliners and crew of the Washington. These deeds were authen- ticated by a notary at Macao ; and attempts were made at Lou- don, in 179o, to sell the lands supposed to have been thus legally acquired. So lately, indeed, as 1838, a memorial was presented to the Congress of tlie United States by the representatives of the owners and captain of the Washington, praying that their title to these territories might be confirmed or purcliased by the Govern- ♦ Vnncouvor's .Tournal, vol. i, patrc 215. tThu pnri:husc of these Inmls is nieiilionci! by Wadstrom, in his work on CoV..- nizatiun, piiblisheil nl Londiu) in 17i)5; and hy \incphetson, in his Annals ol' Com- merce. Tiie ciirt'ular issued by Messrs. B.incll &C(i., in 1795, (of which one of tlie orij^inals is now before the writer,) is n cnrivins document; it is in four languai;cs, and is couehed in terms the most unspeeifie which could have been chi^sen. The in/uihilaiUa of Eiirnpc are informed that, " in 1787, Captain J . Kendrick, while prcs- ecuting an advanian;eo'.is voyage wiiii tlie natives for furs, purchased of them, for llie owners, a trad of de'iiihtiul country comprehend mg four degrees or 'atitude, or 210 miles square;" and "that such asniay be inclined t( associate for settling a coii'i- monwealth, on their own code of laws, on a spot of t! e <;lobe nowhere surpa-ssed in deliijliiful and healthv climate and fertile .•^oil, claimed by no civilized nation, anil purehaseil under a sacred iicaty of pence and commerce, and for a valuable consid- eraion, of the friendly natives.' may have the best opportunity of try insr the result ol' such an cnter;;iisc." Where these four desjrecsof latitude, or 24(» miles squai-e, are situated, is no otherwise stated than that iliey are in America. The deeds for Ihe lands are declared in the circular to have been registered in the otTice of the Aineri- cin consul in China. These deeds, or s une of hem, which have been recently pub- lished, relate only to the territories about Nooika and Clyoquot; and althoM<2;h they embrace the whole of the dominions of Maquinna and Wiccannish, thev do not nniount to one twenty-fourth part of .i'lO miles square. Moreover, the whole isbnd in wliicli those territories arc situa;ed extends throuirh onlv two and a half degrees of latitude; so that c.her la:.ds must have been purchased by Kendrick. f' >'■*' •I : i 122 * 1791. ment; and the same claim is now being urged before Congress. That the transactions here described between Keudrick and the savage chiefs did really take place, there is no reason to doubt ; it is, however, scarcely probable that the validity of the purchases v/ill ever be recognised by the civilized nation which may here- after jxissess the country adjacent to Nootka Sound. After purchasing these lands, Kendrick sailed to the Sandwich Islands, and there engaged in a new branch of commerce, of which he was the originator. It was the collection and trans- portation to China of the odoriferous wood called sandal, which grows in all the islands of the centre of the Pacific, and is in great demand throughout the Celestial Empire. Vancouver con- sidered the scheme chimerical ; the result, however, has proved that it was founded on just calculations, as the trade thus opened has ever since been prosecuted, and at the present day affords employment to many vessels. Kendrick did not live long to profit by it ; he was killed at Owyhee, in 1793, by the natives. 1790. The Russians likewise endeavored, at this time, to carry into effect their long contemplated voyage of discovery through the north Pacific. After four years of preparations, one of the ships, built for the purpo.se at Petro-Paulowsk, sailed from that place in May, 1790, under ('aptain Joseph Billings, an Englishman, who had accompanied Cook in his last voyage, and had been engaged by the Empress to direct this expedition. Billings advanced no farther than the vicinity of Mount Saint Elias, which he reached in the latter part of July ; there his provisions began to fail, and he was in consequence obliged to return to Kamschatka. In the 1791. following year, two vessels were sent from Petro-Paulowsk, with the same objects, under Captains Hall and Saretschef; neither of which proceeded beyond Unalashka. A melancholy picture of the sufferings experienced in these vessels has been presented by Martin Saner, a German, wiio acted as secretary to the expedi- tion, in his narrative published ten years afterwards. Another account of these voyages has l)een given by Saretscheff, who im- putes the failure of the undertaking to the incapacity of Billings. 1792. In 1792, many discoveries were made on the nortliAvest coasts of America by the British, the Spaniards, and the citizens of the United States. May 13. In the spring of that year Captain Jacinto Caamano, com- manding the corvette Aranzazu^ and liieutenants Dionisio Alcala Galiano and Cayetano Valdes, with the small sloops fiiutil and Mexicaua, arrived at Nootka from Mexico, with orders to ex.ini- ine certain parts of the coast which had not been visited by Mal- aspina. Galiano and Valdes soon after departed together for the Strait of Fuca, of which their survey will be hereafter described; Avhile Caamano proceeded to examine the numerous openings in the land, which had been observed immediately north and north- east of Queen Charlotte's Island. In the discharge of this duty, Caamano displayed great skill and activity, as appears from the account of his voyage* given by Mav 23 to Sept. 7. ♦ Inlroducliun to the Journal of the Sutil and Me.xicana, page 123. Navarret prescntiti explored tween tl surveyed of these ( land ; oti from eacl added to was left ( Pacific, ( Sun Laz It shoi Caamano named b] fur- trade) tions upo the north miliarly \ Hancock'' charts an pronounc than any An atte iards to f Fuca, nei Port Nu)\ in conseq culty of were the establishr as each Port San came, by northern belong! lu In the near Cap( raanded Broughto nent, he tude, whf river in I down on Ro.'/iie an and 53 m called Ca tion with ♦ The Uir by Toiquetr •e Congress, rick and the 11 to doubt; le purchases h may here- le Sandwich jmmerce, of 1 and trans- nidali which ,c, and is in icouver con- , has proved thus opened [ day affords Hve long to the natives, to carry into through the of the ships, that place in ishman, who leen engaged advanced no h lie reached 1 to fail, and atka. In the ulowsk, with ?f ; neither of ly picture of presented by the cxpedi- is. Another leff, who im- Y of Hillings. Invest coasts tizens of the amano, com- lonisio Alcala ps Sutil and ers to exam- sited by Mal- jether for the er described ; 5 openings in ■h and north - 3d great skill ge* given by ipre 123. 123 Xavarrete, and as indirectly testified by Vancouver. Without 1792 presenting the details of his researches, suffice it to say that he explored many of the bays and intricate channels which he be- tween the 52d and the 56th parallels of latitude, and minutely surveyed the northern side of Queen Charlotte's Island. Some of these channels were traced by him to their terminations in the land ; others being ascertained to be straits, separating islands from each other and from the continent. I'rom his observations, added to those of the fur traders and of the natives, little doubt was left of the existence of many other islands in that part of the Pacific, occupying the position assigned to the Archipelago of Suit Lazaro, in the story of Admiral Fonte's voyage. It should be observed, however, with regard to the accounts of Caamano's expedition, that several of the places visited and named by him had been surveyed in the preceding year, by the fur-traders of the United States, who had also bestowed appella- tions upon them. Thus the ports of Estrada and Mazaredo, on the northern shore of Queen Charlotte's Island, were already fa- miliarly known to the Americans frequenting those coasts as HaiH'ock^s river and CrajVs Somid. Ingraham has inserted charts and descriptions of both harbors in his journal, where he pronounces Hancock's river to be better adapted for a settlement than any other place on the northwest side of America. An attempt was likewise, about this time, made by the Span- iards to form a settlement on the southern side of the Strait of Fuca, near its mouth, at a place to which they gave the name of Port Nunez Gaona ; but they were soon obliged to abandon it, • in consequence of the insecurity of the anchorage and the diffi- culty of obtaining provisions. This place and Nootka Sound were the only spots nortli of Port San Francisco on which any establishment was formed or attempted by the Spaniards; and, as each settlement was founded after the month of April, 1789, Port San Francisco, in the latitude of 37 degrees 49 minutes, be- came, by virtue of the fifth article of the convention of 1700, the northern limit of the section of the American coast exclusively belonging to Spain. In the middle of April Captain Vancouver arrived on the coast, Apni \h. near Cape Mendocino, with his two ships, the Discovery, com- manded by himself, and the Chatham., by Lieutenant William Broughton. Proceeding northward along the shore of the conti- nent, lie carefully observed tlie part near the 43d degree of lati- tude, where Martin de Aguilar was said to have found a large river in 1003, and that near the 46th, where an opening was laid down on the Spanish charts, bearing the names of Rio de San Rof/ue and Entrada de Heceta. Under the parallel of 42 degrees and 52 minutes liu passed a promontory, which he ungenerously called Cape Orford, although it corresponds precisely in situa- tion with the Cape Blanco of Aguilar ; the river* which that navi- ♦ The Uinqua and ihe Klainet, wliich en;er the ocean near the position assigned by Toiquemada to the mouth of Agtiiiar's river, are both inconsiderable streams. ill 1i ;i; 1 1! .1 i ! m I' m i . I 124 1792. gator wns supposed to have seen rould not bo found by tbe En- glish, and there is now little doubt that the account of its dis- covery, given by Torqueniada, is erroneous. Vancouver was equally convinced that no great stream entorcd the Pacific in the position assigned to the mouth of tbe San Roque ; in describing his search for it he says, (vol. i, page 209:) April 27. "On the 27th of April, noon brought us up with a very con- spicuous point of land, composed of a cluster of hummocks, moderately high and projecting into the sea. On the south side of tliis promontory was the apj)earance of an inlet or small river, the land not indicating it to be of any great extent ; nor did it seem accessible for vessels of our burthen, as the break- ers extended from the above point two or three miles into the ocean, until they joined those on the beach nearly four leagues farther south. On reference to Mr. Meares's description* of the coast south of this promontory, I was at first induced to believe it was Cape Slioalvmter ; but, on ascertaining its latitude, I pre- sumed it to be that which he calls Cape Disappointment, and the opening south of it Deception Ray. This cape was found to be in latitude 46 degrees 19 minutes, longitude 236 degrees G minutes. The sea had now changed from its natural to river- colored water, the probable consequence of some streams falling into the bay, or into the ocean north of it, through the low land. Not considering:; this opening n'orthy of more attention, I contin- ued our pursuit to the northwest, being desirous to embrace the advantages of the now prevailing breeze and pleasant weather, so favorable to an examination of the coasts." April 29. He accordingly sailed onwards, and, on the afternoon of the next day but one, he mot at the entrance of the Strait of Puca the American ship Columbia, which had just quitted her winter- ing place at Clyoquot; her captain. Gray, informed the English " of his havingt entered an inlet to the northward, in latitude of 64^ degrees, in which he had sailed to the latitude of 66 without discovering its termination;" and, a'oO, of "his having been otl the mouth of a river, in the latitude of 46 degrees 1() minutes, where the outset, or reflux, was so strong as to prevent his enter- ing for nine days. This was probably," continues Vancouver, " the opening passed by us on the forenoon of the 27th, and was apparently inaccessible, not from the current, but from the break April 30. ers that extend across it." On the following day, after parting with the Columbia, he writes in his journal : " We liave now ex- plored a part of the American continent, extending nearly two hundred and fifteen leagues, ww^er #//e most fortunate and favora- ble circumstances of wind and v-cather. So minutely has this ex- tensive 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. It must be considered as a very singular ♦ See Meares'.s Journal, page 107; and page 1)3 of this memoir, t Vancouver'.s Journal, vol. i, paf^e iJl?. circumsti not until shores, w the u'hoU harrier a, from the south of of the 27 be found sels of o\ then app been sev( unable t( is a phen there are ponding roughly board, th opening, from Caj ry, at the to alter oi have thoi of the oc tensive ri From placed n discoverj ment; b( stream ei curity fo and the as his w( credit or the repu Under th of Fuca was on solved, il While ♦ Extract / ih. May 7, I' same, whic and went ir b^tronj? weal Ilia ship ci: We .soon s past 3, ^jore sandy botio fathoms, ha At 5 p. M. c 125 1 by the En- nt of its di;^ ream eiitorcd I of the Sui) i,page 209:) a very con- hummocks, n the south nlet or small t. extent; nor IS the break- liles into the four leagues ption* of the led to believe ititude, I pre- intuient, and w was found 236 degrees G tural to rivor- treams falling the low land. Hon, I contin- ) embrace the nt weather, so ;rnoon of the Jtrait of Fuca ;d her winter- 1 the English in latitude of of 56 without ving been olT s 1() minutes, ent his enter- 3s Vancouver, 27th, and was om the break ■, after parting have now ex- ig nearly two te and fnvorn- y has this ex- onsUwtly seen was but in a ded its being very singular circumstance, that, in so great an extent of sea-coast, we should not until now hare seen the appenrnnrc i>f niuj opernni; in if-i shores, which presented any certain prospect of alFording shelter", t/ic whole coast forininfi' otic compart, .soMff, and iiearhj s/raii>ht harrier as^ninst the sea. The river mentioned by Mr. (»ray should, from the latitude he assigned to it, have existence iu 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 slKudd be found, it nmst be a very intricate one, and inaccessible to ves- sels of our burthen, owing' to the reefs and brohen water, 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 corres- ponding tides setting in. Be that, however, as it may, I was tho- roiighly convinced, as were also most persons of observation on hoard, that we 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 Classet, [Cape Flatte- ry, 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 communicating with a mediterranean sea, and ex- tensive rivers with safe and convenient ports." From the above extracts, it is evident that Captain Vancouver placed no reliance on the correctness of Gray's account of the discovery of a great river immediately south of Cape Disappoint- ment; being satisfied, from his own observations, that no such stream emptied into the ocean, and that no harbor or place of se- curity for shipping would be found between Cape Mendocino and the Strait of Fuca. The British commander was, moreover, as his work abundantly shows, always disinclined to regard with credit or favor any thing which might be calculated to advance the reputation or interests of the people of the United States. Under these impressions, he commenced his survey of the Strait of Fuca; while Gray, confident that he had not been mistaken, was on his way to the mouth of the great river, which he re- solved, if possible, to enter with his ship. While proceeding* southward along the coast, after parting iMny, * Extract from the lo" book of the ship Coliimbiu, Captain Robert Graij, taken from the original oy Charles Bulfivck, one oftlw owners of the Columbia. May 7, 179'3, a. m. — Beinf? within six miles of the land, saw an entrance in the same, which had a very good appearance of a harbor; lowered away the jolly-boat, and went in search of an anchoring rdace, the ship standing to and fro, with a very strong weather-current. At i r. m. the boat returned, having found no place where tha ship could anchor with safety; made sail on the ship; stood in for the shore. We soon saw, from our masthead, a passage in between the ".andbars. At half- past 3, \)0Te away, and run in northeast by-east, having from ^our to eight fathoms, sandy bottom ; and, as we drew in nearer between the bars, had from ten to thirteen fathoms, having a very strong tide of ebb to stem. Many canoes came alongside. At 5 p. M. came to in five fathoms water, sandy bottom, in a safe harbor, well shel- I I : 1: il Ih !' ill \'M 126 1709 with Vnnrouvcr, the raptain of tJic Cohimhin found and on May*, icrt'd, on tho 7th of May, a harbor near the 47th degree, wliicli he nronounees to be " safe, and well sheUered from the sea by long sand-bars and sjuts." Hide. At 1 p. m. came to with the small bower, in ten fathoms, black nnd white snnd. The entrance betwen the bars Imre we>i- southwest, distant ten miles- the north side of the river a hali mile distant fidiii the ship; the south side of the same two nnd a half miles distance; a village on tin! north side of the river west-by-north, distant ihree-tjuarters of a mile. Vast num- bers of natives came alongside ; people employed in pumping the salt water out rwar(l, unci soon louiid huiiscflf on a broad and rapid river, tfie water of which was so jHjrloctly frosli that the caslis of the Mliip wero filled within ten miles of the IVjfie. On the llth ho M>iv •> ;i.s«'h wind came from the northward; wore ship and stood into the river again. At -1 came to in si.x laihoms; good holding-ground about six or seven miles up; m;iMV cniiocs alongside Mill/ lit, — Flesh wind und dear weather. Karly a number of canoes came along- side ; seamen and trndcsnien employed in their various departments. Captain Gray gave iliis river Itie name of Columbia's liivcr, and the north side of the ciiirniice Oipe Uamnck ; the south, Adavi^'s Point. Miiij !2;).— CiCMile bree/e< and pleasant weather. At 1 r. M. (being full sea) took ii|) tlie niiclior and made sail,sinnding down river. At 2 the wind I- '"' us, we being nil tiie bar wiiii a vtixy strong lide which set on the breakers ; it w^s i,, (■■ not possi- ble lo act out wiihout a breeze; to shoot her across the tide , so we •,,■ iv obliged to bring up in three and a half laihoms, the tide running five knots. At three quarters pnsi -J a li"sli w iiid came in from seaward; we immediately came to sail and beat over tiif- bar, having from live to seven fathoms water in the channel. At 5 v. M. we were on', clear of all the bars, and in twenty fathoms w ...■!. A breeze came iViiMi the southward ; we bore away to the noithward ; set "'r .-ail to the best advnn- liiire. Ai 8 Ca]ie Hancock bore southeast, distant three k.igues; the north extrem- ity of the land in sight b(U'e north-by-west. At 9 in .-lieering and top-gallant sails. iVlidiiiijhi, light airs. Minj2\. — At () .*. M. the nearest land in s;ght bore east-southeast, distant eight leagues. At 7 set top gallant sails and light slay-sails. At 11 set steering-sails fore .niul aft. Noon, pleasant agreeable weather. The entrance of Bulfinch's Harbor bure southeast-hy east half east, distant five league.?. II II •hi ■'11 I'll! :'il I % 'i: i 128 1T93. upon the strength of some vague and erroneous rumors which Captain Carver collected, or pretended to have collected, in 17C6, among the Indians near Lake Superior, respecting a river Oregon, rising in the vicinity of the sources of the Mississippi and Red Rivers, and emptying into the Pacific near the Strait of Fuca. It must, however, be acknowledged that Oregon is, in all re- spects, a more convenient and distinctive name than the other; and it has, moreover, the merit of euphoniousness. Such were the principal circumstances attending the discovery of the great river of Northwest America, a discoveiy far more im- portant in its results than any other one relating to that part of the world, inasmuch as it has afforded the means of comnmnicn- tion between the ocean and every section of one of the most fer- tile and valuable regions west of the Rocky Mountains. It has already been shown that the opening in the coast, by which Gray entered the stream, was first seen in 1775 by the Spanish naviga- tor Heceta; that it was examined in 1788 by Meares, who quit- ted it with the conviction that no river passed through it into the ocean ; and that this last opinion was adopted without quali- fication by Vancouver, after he had minutely explored that part of the coast, " under the most favorable conditions of wind and weather." Had not Gray returned to the search, after meeting with the English ships, the existence of the great river would doubtless have remained unknown for a much longer time, as the assertions of Vancouver that no openins; harbor, or place of refuse for vessels, was to be found between Cape Mendocino and the Strait of Fuca, and that the const within those limits ^^ formed one compact, solid, and nearly straight barrier against the sea^' would have prevented any attempt from being made to examine the shores, or even to approach them. With regard to the originality of Gray's discovery, Mr. Irving says, in his Astoria : * " The existence of this river, however, was known long before the visits of Gray and Vancouver; but the in- formation concerning it was vague and indefinite, being gathered from the reports of the Indians. It was spoken of by travellers as the Oregon, and as the Great River of the West. A Spanish ship is said to have been wrecked at its mouth, several of the crew of which lived for some time among the natives." Upon these as sertions no remark will be made, except by expressing a hope that they may be omitted in future editions of Astoria, or that the author will state more particularly what traveller before 1792 has described a great river in Northwest America, which can be identified with the Columbia; and when the Spanish ship was wrecked at the mouth of that stream. The plenipotentiaries of the British Government, in a State- mcntf presented by them to the minister of the United States, during a negotiation relative to Northwest America in 1S2G, have endeavored to secure the merit of the discovery of the Columbia ♦ Vol. i. page 35. t See documents in relation to the bouiidary of the United States wi'st of the Rocky Mountain!*, accompanying the President's message of t'ccembur {2, I8i7. to— TWean being exti facts are statement « Great fore Gray a lieutena India Cor America, to the 45t of the Stri chased lai had actuj headland a name w " Dixor ders, had before Gn Gray's ck mentionec " It ma Meares, tl don in Ai tended to "To til book ; sec in which of the Co entered,) every par the descr world, ad actually c trance of ' 1788, by " With less to CO Meares 's " It wa ington, c Nootka. » If, th Britain a the disco establish to be sha " It mi in the ba bia into t the outle tenant M same bay rumors which 3Cted, ill 1766, I river Oregon, sippi and Red trait of Fuca. ^. is, in all re- lan the other; the discovery y far more im- to that part of )f commnnica- f the most fer- itains. It has )y which Gray panish iiaviga- ires, who quit- :irough it into without quali- lored that part is of wind and , after meeting at river would onger time, as •Ao/-, or place of Mendocino and limits ^^ formed ai/itit the sc«,'' ade to examine ery, Mr. Irving •, however, was rev ; hut the in- heing gathered by travellers as A. Spanish ship of the crew of Upon these as ressing a hope nria, or tliat the before 1T92 has which can be aiiish ship was ;nt, in a Slaf.c- United States, a in 182G, have f the Columbia Stales wi'st of the cceinbur 12, ISil, 129 to — Mcares! Their account of the circumstances is worthy of being extracted, as affording a specimen of the manner in which facts are related, and deductions are drawn from them. In that statement the plenipotentiaries say : "Great Britain can show that in 178S, that is, four years be- fore 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 northwest coast of America, had already minutely explored that coast, from the 49th to the 45th degree of north latitude ; had taken formal possession of the Straits of De Fuca, in the name of his Sovereign ; had pur- chased land, trafficked, and formed treaties with the natives ; and had actually entered the Bay 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 tra- ders, 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 Lon- don in August, 1790 ; that is, two years before Gray is even pre- tended to have entered the Columbia. " To that account are appended, first, extracts firom his log- book ; secondly, maps of the coasts and harbors which he visited, in which every part of the coast in question, including the Bay of the Columbia, (into which the log expressly states that Meares entered,) is minutely laid down, its delineation tallying in almost every particular with Vancouver's subsequent survey, and with the description found in all the best maps of that part of the world, adopted at this moment ; thirdly, the account in question actually contains an engraving, dated in August, 1790, of the en- trance of De Fuca's Straits, executed after a design taken in June, 1788, by Merges himself. " With these physical evidences of authenticity, it is as need- less to contend for, as it is impossible to controvert, the truth of Meares's statement. "It was only on the 17th of September, 1788, that the Wash- ington, commanded by Mr. Gray, first made her appearance at Nootka. " If, therefore, any claim to these countries, as between Great Britain 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 Great Britain on a basis too firm to be shaken. " It must, indeed, be admitted, that Mr. Gray, finding himself in the bay formed by the discharge of the waters of the Colum- bia into the Pacific, was the first to ascertain that this bay formed the outlet of a great river ; a discovery which had escaped Lieu- tenant Meares, when in 1788, four years before, he entered the same bay." 179-J I i; wi ■!■ I! 130 I'Qi:. In reply to which, it will be unnecessary to do more than refer to the words of Meares himself, as contained in his Journal, and as previously quoted in this memoir, page 93, where he declares that he sought for the River Saint Roc, laid down on the Span- ish maps as entering the Pacific about the latitude of 46 degrees 10 minutes ; that he entered a bay in that latitude, and became convinced from his examinations that no such river existed ; and that, in token of the unsuccessfuluess of his search, he had called the bay Deception Bay, and the headland on its northern side Cope Disappointment. That " Mr. Gray was the first to ascer- tain that this bay formed the outlet of a great river," is all that is claimed for him; for that ascertainment constituted the dis- covery of the Columbia, which had undoubtedly " escaped Lieu- tenant Meares, when in 1788, four years before, he entered the same bay." May. From the Columbia river. Gray sailed to the part of the sea between Queen Charlotte's Island and the continent, the coasts of which were then much frequented by the fur-traders, particu- larly by those from the United States. In the northern part of this sea, his ship suddenly struck upon a rock, while she was under full sail, and was near foundering in consequence ; she, however, succeeded in reaching Nootka Sound on the 21st of July, where the damage was soon repaired. At Nootka, Gray found in command of the Spanish establishment Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, who had arrived from Mexi- co in the capacity of commissioner, to surrender to Vancouver the lands and buildings designated in the first article of the con- vention of October, 1790. To this officer the American captain immediately communicated the results of his examinations, which were substantiated by charts of Bulfinch's harbor and of the Co- lumbia river; and he thus fortunately secured an unimpeachable witness in support of his claims to the discovery of those places. Meanwhile the surveys of the Strait of Fuca were in prog- ress. From Cape Flattery, the point at the southern side of its May 1. entrance, Vancouver took his departure on the 1st of May, and sailed along its southern shore eastward, to the distance of about a hundred miles, where he found a secure harbor, named by him Port Discover}/, and a little farther on a wide bay, with passages extending from it in various directions. He first entered a pas- sage opening towards the south, which he named Admiralty In- let, and explored it to its termination, about a himdred miles from the strait, in a bay called by him PugeVs Sound, in compliment to one of the lieutenants of the Discovery. After surveying this arm completely, the officers of both ships landed at a spot near its entrance, on the 4th of June, the birthday of their Sovereign, and in his name took possession, " 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., Avithin the said strait, and both its shores ;" to which region they gave the appellation of New Georgia. With regard to this ceremony it may be oi be minu Vancouv( vention ( stipulatio of Amerii Spanish i claim of i be valid ( After e lets on tl passed b] tensive a other ves! icana, coi as before vanced tl shores, vexatious civility, r observati( tinned in explored tioned, ci English t of this gi passed th stone\s ISl the 10th or Pintai ofNootkj On the where he the fact tl was men continent tory then was situa cers agre< and it ha the long Island, w of the wc the Britis The S same chr and on tl sailed foi their voy ♦ It ore than refer Journal, and re lie declares on the Span- of 46 degrees !, and became • existed ; and he had called northern side first to ascer- ir," is all that uted the dis- escnped Lien- e entered the irt of the sea nit, the coasts xders, particu- )rthern part of v^hile she was jquence ; she, n the 21st of Nootka, Gray nt Don Juan !d fi'orn Mexi- to Vancouver Je of the con- erican captain rations, whicli ind of the Co- in impeachable f those places, were in prog- ern side of its it of May, and tance of about named by him with passages mtered a pas- Admiralty In- red miles from n compliment surveying this at a spot near leir Sovereign, jal formalities, "39 degrees 20 tes east, to the posed Strait of ;c., within the they gave the s ceremony it 131 may be observed, that, although naval officers are not expected to 179'2. be minutely acquainted with diplomatic affairs, yet Captain Vancouver, who was sent to the north Pacific to enforce the con- vention of October, 1790, should have recollected that, by the stipulations of that convention, every part of the nortliwest coast of America was rendereJ fnr! and open for trade or settlement to Spanish as well as Britk^h subjects; and that, consequently, no - claim of sovereignty on the part of either of those nations could be valid over any section of the territory. After exploring to their terminations, in like manner, many in- lets on the eastern and southern sides of the bay, the British passed by an opening towards the northwest, into another ex- tensive arm of the sea, where they unexpectedly met with two June i:{. other vessels. These were the Spanish schooners Sutil and Mex- icana, commanded by Lieutenants Galiano and Valdes, who had, as before mentioned, left Nootka on the 4th of June, and had ad- vanced thus far on their survey of the strait, along its northern shores. The meeting between the two parties was doubtless vexatious to both ; they, however, treated each other with great civility, mutually exhibiting their charts, and comparing thoir observations ; and having agreed to unite their labors, they con- tinued in company nearly a month, during which they minutely explored the shores of the extensive arm of the sea above men- tioned, called by the Spaniards Canal del Rosario, and by the English the Gttl/of Georgia. From the northwestern extremity July i;;. of this gulf, the British, taking leave of their Spanish friends, passed through a long and intricate channel, called by them John- stone's Strait, westward into the Pacific, which they entered on the 10th of August, near the 5lst parallel, by Queen Charlotte's Ausnsi. or Pintard's Sound, about one hundred and twenty miles north of Nootka. On the 28th of the same month Vancouver arrived at Nootka, where he communicated to the Spanish commissioner, Q.uadra, the fact thus established by him, that the supposed Strait of Fuca was merely an arm of the Pacific, separating from the American continent a great island, on the western side of which the terri- tory then occupied by the Spaniards, and claimed by the British, was situated. The fact being admitted by Quadra, the two offi- cers agreed that the island should bear the names of them both ; and it has accordingly ever since been distinguished on maps by the long and inconvenient appellation of Quadra and Vancouver Island, which it will scarcely be allowed to retain when that part of the world becomes settled by a civilized people. In justice to the British navigator, it should be Vancouver's Island. The Sutil and Mexicana likewise entered the Pacific by the same channel through which Vancouver's ships had penetrateti, and on the 30th of August they arrived at Nootka, whence they sailed for Monterey on the 4th of September. The Journal* of their voyage, to which references have been so frequently made ♦ In one vol. octavo of 340 pages, with an alias of seventeen plates. :;;!;• !■' ' SI I I 1!i iri . I, M I. iji 1 \ 132 17J2. in the foregoing pages, was published at Madrid in 1802, by order of the Spanish Government, under the direction of Don Martin Fernandez de Navarrete, the chiefof the Hydrographical Depart- ment, who prefixed to it an Introduction containing an historical sketch of the discoveries of the Spaniards upon the west coast of North America. This Introduction, occupying nearly the half of the work, is the only part of it which has any value; the meagre and uninteresting details furnished by Galiano and Valdes being entirely superseded by the ample and luminous accounts of Van- couver. The statements of Navarrete, in his historical sketch, are derived from original sources; and he has conveyed to the world information on various points relating to the northwest coasts, which would otherwise have remained buried in the ar- chives of the Council of the Indies. The work should, however, be read with much caution, as it abounds in errors, the greater number of which are evidently not the results either of ignorance or of accident ; while false impressions are attempted to be made in almost every page, by the studied silence of the writer with regard to facts contrary to the views or objects of those by whose orders it was published. Aug. 30. Immediately after the arrival of Vancouver at Nootka, negotia- tions were commenced between him and Quadra respecting the transfer of the territories claimed by Great Britain. The whole object of the busine;-'^ was to ascertain iv/iat lands on the nortk- icest coast of America were m the possession of British subjects, and what buildings were standing on those lands in May, 1789, Sept. tvheti the Spaniards^first occupied Nootka. For the determination of these questions the commissioners were, or appeared to be, as before said, entirely unprovided with instructions fi:om their Gov- ernments ; and they were thus left to form their own conclusions, upon such evidence as they could collect. With this view Quadra had first applied to Maquinna and his principal men, who denied that any lands had been bought, or any houses had been built, by the English at Nootka, in 1789, or at any other time. As the testimony of the savages, however, could not be considered of much value, the Spaniard addressed his inquiries, as above mentioned, to Messrs. Gray and Ingraham, and to Viana, the Portuguese captain or mate of the Iphigenia, all of whom happened to be at Nootka in the summer of 1792. The American captains sent in reply a long and circumstantial account* of all the occurrences connected with the subject of the discussion, which they had themselves witnessed. In it they declare, that although they had remained at Nootka nine months, (including the period of the arrival of Martinez,) during which time they were in habits of constant intercourse with Maquinna and his people, they had never heard of any purchase of land on the coast by British subjects ; and that the only building seen by them, when they reached the sound, was a hut consisting of rough posts, covered with boards made by the Indians, which ♦ See Appendix— [D.] had been These sti and the S sion, thai placed, bij quence a the latter from Gra] time ofier between ( spot of gi occupied tivated la derstandii Catholic ] was to be iards, to \ longed ex Vancou the first a trymen />< Clyomiot; Quadra, ( Spaniard's any discu; In this c( Duffin, th at Nootka in a lettei stated — th chase by ' ing Frieui some tririi nic Majosi and shedi good rcpai derstood 1 Spaniards Upon 1 nounced tirely false to animad "the wilfi of British preceding the truth the exten ter of Graj synopsis It will thi of the Am whatever 133 liad been entirely destroyed before the entrance of the Spaniards. 1792. These statements were in ail points confirmed by those of Viana; Sepiemb. and the Spanish commissioner was thereupon led to the conchi- sion, that no lands wei'e to be restored, and no buildings to be ?•€• placed, by Spain. A communication to that eft'ect was in conse- quence addressed by him to Vancouver, soon after the arrival of the latter at Nootka, accompanied by copies of the letters received from Gray and Ingraham and Viana. He, however, at the same time offered, for the sake of removing all causes of disagreement between the two nations, to surrender to the English the small spot of ground on Friendly Cove, which had been temporarily occupied by Meares, to give up for their use the houses and cul- tivated lands, and to retire to the Strait of Fuca ; with the un- derstanding, that this cession was not to affect the rights of his Catholic Majesty to the dominion of the territory , and that Nootka was to be considered as the most northern settlement of the Span- iards, to whom the whole coast and country lying south of it be- longed exclusively. Vancouver, on the other hand, had thought proper to construe the first article of the convention of 1790 as giving to his coun- trymen possession of the whole territory surrounding Nootka and Clyorniot; and he therefore refused to receive what was offered 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 Duflin, the former mate of the Argonaut, who happened to arrive at Nootka while the negotiation was in progress. This person, in a letter of which Vancouver gives a synopsis in his journal, stated — that he had himself been present in May, 1788, at the pur- chase by Meares, from Maquinna, of the whole of the land form- ing Friendly Cove, Nootka Sound, for eight sheets of copper and some trifling things ; that the purchase was made in his Britan- nic Majesty's name, and under the British flag; and that houses and sheds were built on the spot by Meares, who left them in good repair on his departure for China; though he (Duflin) un- derstood that no vestige of these buildings remained when the Spaniards took possession of the sound. Upon the strength of this evidence. Captain Vancouver pro- nounced the assertions of Messrs. Gray and Ingraham to be en- tirely false; and he takes occasion, in several parts of his journal, to animadvert in severe language upon what he is pleased to term " the wilful misrepresentations of the Americans, to the prejudice of British subjects." Means have already been afforded in the preceding chapter for judging with regard to the probability of the truth of Duffin's assertions ; and some idea may be formed of the extent of Captain Vancouver's candor, by comparing the let- ter of Gray and Ingraham, as given in the Appendix, [D,] with the synopsis of it contained in the journal of the English navigator. It will thus be seen, that in Vancouver's synopsis the evidence of the Americans is garbled in the most unfair manner ; and that whatever could tend to place the British or their cause in an un- 10 I :: I ■!^ M '':i!i \\\ m ■1' ti 134 1793. favorable light, is made to disappear by artful suppressions and Scptemb. alterations. The bitterness of Vancouver towards Gray and In- graham may, perhaps, be accounted for, in part at least, by the circumstance, that on his arrival at Nootka he learned the suc- cess of Gray's search for a great river, on the very coast which he had himself, diligently, as he thought, but vainly, explored with the same object. The negotiations* between the commissioners were continued during the greater part of September; until at length, finding it impossible to effect any arrangement of the business intrusted to them, they agreed to submit the whole affair, with such addi- tional information as they had been able t© obtain, to their re- * The preceding sketch of the negotiation between Vancouver and Cluadra is de- rived Jroin the journals of Vancouver, Galiano and Valdes, and Ingraham. Ingra- iiarn obtained his information principally from Mr. Howel, the supercargo of the American brig Margaret, (j)reviously a clergyman of the Church of England,) who acted as translator for the Spanish commissioner, and saw the whole of the corres- pondence. He drew up lor Ingraham a written statement, which is given at length in the journal of the American captam, and of which the following is an extract : " The indefinite mode of expression adopted by Messrs. Fitzherbert and Florida Blanca did not athx any boundaries to the ce^tsion expected by Great Britain ; what the buildings were, or what waa the extent of the tract of land to be restored, the plenipotentiaries did not think proper to determine. Don Juan Francisco, having no better guide, collected the be*t evidence he could procure, and thnt 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 authorized him to restore. The result of this investigation, in which he was much aided by your communication, supported by the uniform declarations of Maqninna and his tribe, sufficiently evinced that the 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 anyway; and the buildings, according to your information, dwindled to one hut. Seilor Cluadra, having ascertained the limits usually occupied by Mr. Meares or his servants, was ever ready to deliver it in behalf of his Catholic Majesty to any envoy from the British Court. Captain Vancouver arrived at Nootka Sound in the latter end of August; and Sefior Q,uadra wrote to him on the subject ol their re- spective orders, and enclosed your letter, togeihet with one from a Captain Viana, a Portuguese, 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 Great Britain by the convention. Sefior Q.uadra offered, likewise, to leave for his accommodation all the houses, gardens, &c., which had been made at the expense of his Catholic Majesty, as he intended leaving the port immediately. In the same letter, he tendered Captain Vancouver nffein of every service and assistance which hospitality or benevolence could dictate. Cap- tain Vancouver, in reply, gratefully acknowledged the intended favors, but entirely dis.sented from the boundaries affixed by Scilor Cluadra 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: Nootka Sound, in Mo, to- gether with Clyoquot or Port Cox. He disclaimed all retrospective discussion of the rights, preti;nsions, &c., of the two courts, and also of the actual possessitons of Brit- ish subjects in Nootka Sound, deeming it irrelevant to the business he was author- ized to transact, and only to be settled by the respective Monarchs. The letters which followed on both sides were merely a reiteration of the foregoing proposals and demands. SeiiorCluadra invited to a discussion of the boundaries, &c., and sup- ported his evidence with well-grounded reasoning; yet Captain Vancouver steadily adhered to the demands he first made, and refused every kind of discus.sion. The definitive letter from Seiior Cluadra was transmitted on the 15th of September; but it being of the same nature with the preceding ones. Captain Vancouver only re- plied by a repetition of his former avowal, and informing the Spanish commandant that he could receive on the part of his master, the King of Britain, no other terri- tories than those he had pointed out in his other letters, with which, if SefJor Q,uadra did not comply, he must retain them for his Catholic Majesty until the respective Courts should determine what further proceedings tliey might deem necessary." spective i being, in couver at with accc he sailed his own ! ton; and Lieutenai parted for charge ol Hope din Vancou him char by Gray i from the J the entrar Lieutenar with the ( river the < The Disc( ing convit sible to la: winds anc where he separation united at the reports Whidbe than than appears th important, affords a s on its sho; it is the 01 the Strait such circi ployed to been alrea on British although ^ Gray the r Broughi the Chath prise, foun had sailed had the C the channi to leave hi ceed up th regard to given in t The po ?ssions and ray and In- east, by the ed the swc- st which he tplored with e continued h, finding it intrusted to such addi- to their re- d Q,uadra is de- ;raham. Ingra- ipercargo of the I" England,) who le of the corres- * given ai length is an exirncl: bert and Florida il Britain; what ) be restored, the rancisco, having hat could enable ! British subjects !onvention alone ich he was much )ns of Maqninna if Friendly Cove, dred yards in ex- dwindled to one d by Mr. Meares ic Majesty to any )tka Sound in the ibjcct ol their re- Captain Viana, a s detained by the ss to put Captain house once stood, Sefior Cluadra rdens, &c., which nded leaving the acouver offers of ild dictate. Cap- ,vors, but entirely of land, of which of his directions, Sound, in loto, to- ! discussion of the ossessibns of Brit- ss he was aulhor- chs. The letters regoing proposals Ties, &c., and sup- ancouver steadily discus.sion. The )f September; but ancouver only re- nish commandant tin, no other lerri- I, if Seiior ttuadra nil the respective ;m necessary." 135 spective Governments, and to await further instructions ; Nootka ito2. being, in the mean time, considered as a Spanish port. Van- couver accordingly despatched one of his lieutenants to England with accounts of the transactions ; and in the early part of October Oct. 12. he sailed towards the south, with three vessels — the Discovery ; his own ship, the Chatham, commanded by Lieutenant Brough- ton ; and the Doedalus, which had recently joined him under Lieutenant Whidbey. About the same time Captain Quadra de- parted for Monterey, leaving the settlement at Nootka under the charge of Pidalgo ; and the American ship Columbia and brig Hope directed their course homeward by way of Canton. Vancouver quitted Nootka on the 13th of October, taking with Oct. 13. him charts and descriptions of the harbor and river discovered by Gray in the preceding April, of which he had received copies from the Spanish commissioner, Quadra. On the 18th he reached the entrance of Bulfinch's Harbor, to explore which he detached Lieutenant Whidbey in the Doedalus, while he himself proceeded with the other vessels to the mouth of the Columbia. Into that river the Chatham, with great difficulty, penetrated on the 20th. The Discovery was unable to cross the bar, and Vancouver, be- ing convinced from his observations that the stream was inacces- sible to large ships, " except in very fine weather, with moderate winds and a smooth sea," he sailed to the bay of San Francisco, where he had ordered the other officers to join him in case of separation. In December following the whole squadron was re- united at Monterey, where Whidbey and Broughton presented the reports of their observations. Whidbey's account of Bulfinch's Harbor was less favorable than than of Gray. From the statements of both, however, it appears that the place possesses advantages which must render it important, whenever the surrounding region becomes settled. It affords a safe retreat for small vessels, and there are several spots on its shore where boats may land without difficulty ; moreover, it is the only harbor on the coast, between Cape Me? docino and the Strait of Fuca, except the mouth of the Columbia; and under such circumstances, labor and ingenuity will certainly be em- ployed to correct and improve what nature has offered. It has been already remarked, that the place is generally distinguished on British, and even on American maps, as Whidbey^s Harbor y sdthough Vancouver himself has not pretended to withhold from Gray the merit of discovering it. Broughton, as before mentioned, entered the Columbia with Oct. 20. the Chatham on the 20th of October ; and he there, to his sur- prise, found lying at anchor the brig Jenny, from Bristol, which had sailed from Nootka Sound a few days previous. Scarcely had the Chatham effected an entrance, ere she ran aground; ana the channel proved to be so intricate, that Broughton determined to leave his vessel about four miles from the mouth, and to pro- Oct. 24. ceed up the stream in his cutter. A few words will suffice with regard to his survey, of which a long and detailed account is given in the second volume of Vancouver's Journal. The portion of the Columbia near the sea was found by the / A 'I" i^l ■ '/it %\ w. m -Hi! m M ' 136 179-2. Oct. 31 explorers to bo about seven miles in width; its depth varied fiom two fathoms to eight; and it was crossed in every direction by- shoals, which must always render the navigation difficult, even Oct, 26. by small vessels. Higher up, the stream became narrower, and at the distance of twenty-five miles its breadth did not exceed a thousand yards. These circumstances were considered by Broughton and Vancouver as authorizing them to assume that the true entrance of the river was at the last-mentioned point, and that the waters between it and the ocean constituted an inlet or sound. From the extremity of this inlet, the party rowed eighty- four miles up the river, in a southwest course, to a bend, where Oct. 30, the current being so rapid as to prevent them from advancing without great labor, they abandoned the survey and returned to Nov. 5. their vessel. The angle of land around which the river flowed, and where their progress was arrested, received the appellation of Point Vancouver; the part of the inlet where the ship Colum- bia lay at anchor during her visit, was called Gray^s Bay; and that immediately within Cape Disappointment was named Ba- ker^s Bay, in compliment to the captain of the Jenny. On the 10th of November the Chatham quitted the Columbia, in com- Nov. 23. pany with the Jenny, and arrived at the Bay of San Francisco before the end of the month. The distinction which Vancouver and Broughton have thus endeavored to establish between the upper and the lower parts ol the Columbia is entirely destitute of foundation, and at variance with the principles upon which our whole geographical nomen- clature is formed. 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, fresh and potable within ten miles of the Pacific ; their volume, and the impetuosity of their current, being sufficient to prevent the farther ingress of the ocean billows. The question appears, at first, to be of no consequence ; the following extract from Vancouver's Journal will, however, serve to show that the quibble was devised by the British navigators, with the unwor- thy object of depriving Captain Gray of the merits of his discov- ery : " Previously to his [Broughton's] departure, he formally took possession of the river, and the country in its vicinity, in his Britannic Majesty's name, luiving every reason to believe that the subjects of ito other civilized nation or State had ever entered this river before. In this opinion he was confirmed by Mr. Gray's sketch, in which it does not appear tluxt Mr. Gray either saw, or ever was withinfive leagues of its entrance.''^ Comments on this passage are needless. From the Bay of San Francisco, Vancouver despatched Lieu- tenant Broughton to Europe, by way of Mexico, with further com- munications to his Government respecting the transfer of Nootka; and he then proceeded with his vessels to the Sandwich Islands, the importance of which, as places of resort for obtaining repairs and refreshments, began by that time to be properly estimated. He there succeeded in effecting a peace, and reciprocal recogni- tions of independence, between Tamahamaha, the celebrated 1793. chief of and he had beei the Deed ccrtaincc Having north WB! The i in explo lotto's Is in 1792. researchc The rest lands, sit 68th parr regarded The inle los Reyes the 66th voyage a pelago, tl proved, ii of the Pa The is nearly all the minis mont oft northwes the Thira and Pitt by Caam in compli rim the . Chatham, Passage ; /lams, Di however, employed called ar( west coas allelofS^ possible. Thus, on the Bay o gatsch; the Port territory • For the Vancouver'.' Sandwich I> his Journal, 137 varied fvom iirectiou by ificult, even irrower, and not exceed nsidered by assume thut id point, and d an inlet or »wed eighty- bend, where n advancing [ returned to river flowed, 3 appellation ship Colum- f''s Bay; and ( named Ba- ,ny. On the bia, in com- in Francisco m have thus loAver parts oi' id at variance hical nomen- I sea, running from the sea, 1 are, on tlie Pacific; their * sufficient to The question )wing extract show that the th the unwor- of his discov- , he formally ts vicinity, in to believe that d ever entered by Mr. Gray's ' either saw, or iments on this ipatched Lieu- ,h further com- sferofNootka; dwich Islands, taining repairs erly estimated, procal recogni- the celebrated chief of Owyhee, and Titerec, the sovereign of the other islands ; and he also caused the execution of several of the natives, wh had been delivered up to him as the murderers of two officers of the Dfpdalus in the preceding year, but who were afterwards as- certained to have been guiltless of the crime imputed to them.* Having performed these acts of justice, ho sailed towards tho northwest coast, and arrived at Nootka in May, 1793. The following summer was passed by the British navigators in exploring tho passages north and northeast of Queen Char- lotte's Islands, which had been partially examined by Caamano in 1792. It would be needless to present the particulars of these researches, which were conducted in the most masterly manner. The results were, the discovery and survey of a number of is- lands, situated at short distances apart, between the 54th and tho 68th parallels of latitude, in a space which had been previously regarded as occupied by a portion of the American continent. The inlet found by Gray, and supposed by him to be the Bio de los Reyes of Font*, was traced to its termination in the land near the 66th parallel; and whilst a part of the story of that admiral's voyage appeared to be confirmed by the discovery of the Archi- pelago, the remainder was believed to have been completely dis- proved, inasmuch as no great river was found entering that part of the Pacific. The islands, straits, bays, and capes thus discovered, wore nearly all named in honor of the members of the royal family, the ministry, the peerage, and the other branches of the Govern- ment of Great Britain. Thus we find on Vancouver's map of the northwest Archipelago, the islands or groups of Kinisr George the Third, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Admiralty, and Pitt; one small group, which had been partially surveyed by Caamano, received tho appellation of RiveUagif^^edo Islands, in compliment to the Viceroy of Mexico. Between these islands run the Didce of Clarence's Strait, Prince Frederivk\'i Sound, Chatham, Canal, Grenville Canal, Bvrke^s Canal, and Stejihen^s Passage ; the capes and bays being distributed among the Wind- Imms, Dmidases, and other high tory families of that day. It is, however, improbable that a ly one of these names will ever be employed by the inhabitants of the region in which the places so called are situated. The Russians, who now occupy the Avhole west coast of America and the adjacent islands north of the par- allel of 64 degrees 40 minutes, appear to have excluded, as far as possible, the appellations bestowed by the subjects of other States. Thus, on their charts of the north Pacific, Coolers Inlet is termed the Bay of Kenny; Prince William?s Sound is the Gxdf of Tschu- galsch; Admiralty Bay is the Bay of Yakutat; and Norfolk Sound, the Port Guadelupe of the Spaniards, is the Gxilf of Sitca. The territory called by Vancouver Ki7tg George the Third's Island, * For the particulars of the trial and execution of these unforiunate savages, see Vancouver's Journal, vol. ii, page iiOI. Capiain Broughion, when he visiied the Sandwich Islands in 17!).i, was assured of their entire innocence, as may be seen iu his Journal, page 42. . 1793, 1 t'lr! If! ■i , J;r( 'li'' M ^ 138 ITP.i: has b<;en since found to bo divided by channels into four islands, which are severally distinguished by the names of Chichiirnf^ linratinf^ Jacoln, and Kiooze. The Prime of Wales^s Islands are Tschinkofs Islands; Admiralty Island is Uoosnoof ; and . y:» tired on the approach of cold weather to the Sandwich Islands, where Vancouver contrived to obtain from King Taniahatnaha the cession of the sovereignty of Owyhee to his Britannic Majes- ty, with the understanding, however, that the native chief and his dlFicers, as well as the priests, "were to continue to officiate in their respective stations, and that no alteration in those partic- ulars was in any degree thought of or intended." In return for t/ie presvnt, tlie British navigators built a vessel of war for the King, by tl»o aid of which he soon after brought several other islands of the group under his dominion.* R!ar. XT. fn the spring of 1794 Vancouver sailed from the Sandwich Islands to the bay called Cook's River, which he minutely ex- jdored -, and having ascertained that no considerable stream emp- tied into it, as had been previously supposed, he changed its natiie to Coolers Inlet. Thence he proceeded to Prince William's Sound, Avhich he also examined carefully; and I'rom that place he continued his survey eastwardly, until he reached the Archi- pelago discovered by him in 1793. Through this Archipelago he again sailed lor tht purpose of completing his observations ; and on the 2d of August he arrived at Nootka, satisfied that " the precision with which his survey of the coast of Northwest Amer- ica had been cond acted, would remove every doubt, and set aside every opinion of a northwest passage, or any water communica- tion navigable for shipping between the north Pacific and the interior of the American continent, Avithin the limits of his re- searches." We now know that no such communication exists east of Beering's Strait; but wlien Ave take into consideration the intricate character of the shores between Mount Saint Elias and the southern part of the Strait of Fuca, it must be admitted that nuiny passai,^<'s by which vesst Is could thus penetrate the conti- nent might have long escaped the notice of the most careful nav- igators. In fact, a river called the Stikine, which is three miles wide at its mouth, and a mile wide at the distance of thirty miles from the sea, has been, within a few years, discovered emptying into the Pacific, in the latitude of .56 degrees 50 minutes. Fepr. 0; At Nootka the Spaniards were found still in possession, under the command of Colonel Alava, Avho had been, moreover, appoint- ed commissioner of his Government, in place of Captain Quadra, lately deceased. No orders had been received from Europe rela- tive to the sunender of the territory, and the British ships accord- ingly proceeded to Monterey, where the long expected instruc- tions arrived during their stay. The Court of Madrid had agreed to abandon Nootka; and on the part of Great Britain, another * This justly celebrated man died in 1819, having some years previous established his auihuiity over all the islands of the group. four islands, r Chicliairnf^ » Islands are f; and Ute- sh ships re- 'ich Islands, 'anmhamaha vnnic Mujes- ire chief and 5 to officiate those partic- [n return for ■ war for the several other le Sandwich minutely ex- stream emp- changed its ice William's m that place 3d the Archi- i Archipelago )bservations ; led that " the thwest Amer- and set aside comnmnica- cific and the hs of his re- ication exists sideration the lint Elias and admitted that [ite the conti- ;t careful nav- is three miles )f thirty miles red emptying nutes. ession, under over, appoint- ptain Uuadra, I Europe rela- ships accord- ected instruc- •id had agreed itain, another evious established 139 commissioner was despatched to the Pacific to receive possession of the phu ^, if Vancouver should have quitted that ocean. Under these circumstances Vancouver resolved to return to England, where he arrived in August, 1795. The Journals of Vancouver's voyage were published in 1798, before which period the navigator had sunk into the grave. 'I'ho work is invaluable, notwithstandinsr the illiberal spirit which pervades its pages. In none other can bo found so nmch clear and precise information with regard to the northwest coasts of America ; and it is only to be lamented that one endowed with such courage, capacity, and professional skill, as the author evi- dently possessed, should have been so far governed by unworthy prejudices as he evidently was. Towards the Spaniards ho ap- pears to have been inclined, generally, to act with justice, or at least with courteousness ; but against all citizens of the United States, and their country, he cherished the most bitter animosity, which was in many instances loo powerful to be controlled by his sense of honor. Whenever an opportunity presented itself, or could be contrived, for exhibiting the character or conduct of Americans in an unfavorable light, it was eagerly seized by Van- couver; and that which he would have pardoned or commended in an Englishman or u Spaniard, became criminal in his eyes when committed by a citizen of the hated Republic. The observations of Vancouver form the basis of our best maps of the west coast of America, from the 30th degree of latitude to the northern extremity of Cook's Inlet, as also of those of the Sandwich Islands, which he surveyed with care. Tlic maps contained in the atlas annexed to the Journal of the Voyage of the Sutil and Mexicana, are nearly all copied from those of the British navigator. Whilst these surveys of the Pacific coasts of North America were in progress, Alexander Mackenzie, a Scotchman in the ser- vice of the celebrated fur-trading association, called the North- u-vst Company^ was exploring the unknown regions of the conti- nent bordering upon that part of the ocean. The association by which he was employed had been formed in 1787, among the principal fur-merchants of Canada, for the purpose («f carrying on the trade between the posts of that country and such of the Brit- ish territories of the interior as were supposed to be not included in the grant to the Uiutsoii's Bay Company ; and within two years afterwards, its establishments had been advanced as far as Lake of the Hills, or Athabaska LnJce, near the 159th parallel of latitude, about eight hundred miles beyond Lake Superior. From Fort Chipewyan, the trading-station on this lake, Mac- kenzie departed on his first journey in June, 1789, and proceeded in a boat down the Slave River, which flows out of the lake, di- rectly northward, into the Great Slave Lake, discovered by Hearne in 1770. Thence he continued northwestward, down another and much larger stream, on which he bestowed his own name, to its termination in a sea near the 69th degree of latitude ; and having thus fulfilled the objects of his expedition, he returned to Fort Chipewyan. The mouth of the Mackenzie was situated 1791. 1795. 17S3. n vy V;' < 7 * ! •!■ ill: m ^^i'ii I 140 i\i' I! m ■',' -ill Oct. 10, 1793. 1789. much (iirthor wost than th.it of tho Coppfrmhir, whiVh Iffiarno had rc.icluMl; and tfic jtrnfjahihty of tlin f'xist(;ncc of a iinrlhcrn iiavitfJihlo corniiUMuration botwoMi tlm I'acifir, and tht* Atlantic, cast of IJeoring's Strait, was thus (ronsidcnihly hissoned ; whili", on tho other hantl, stronger grounds were alfordi-d for the hohcf that tho nortii(:rninost parts of America were hathod hy an open sea. In his second expedition, begun in October, \7\)2, M.ickenzit; ascended tho Unjiiinnation of tho latter, should be united; that tho British Covernment should favor the establishment of communications across t'le continent, fi>r which tho Tacontchee, supi)osed by him to be the Columbia, would afibrd great facilities; and that tho East India Company should throw open to their fellow-subjects tho trade between the north- west coasts and Canton, which was then, as he says, "left to the adventurers of the United States, acting without regularity or capital, or the desire of conciliating future confidence, and look- ing only to the interest of tho moment." Experience has proved the Justice of Mackenzie's observations; and nearly all his sug- gestions have been adopted, to tho manifest advantage of Great Britain. It is proper to notice here an account of an expedition across the American continent, made between 1791 and 1794, by a party of citizens of the United States, under the direction of Julius Rodman, whose journal has been recently discovered in Virginia, and is now in course of publication 'n a periodical magazinef at ♦ On the day of Mackenzie's arrival on the shore of the Pacific, Vancouver was examininjj another inlet .situated about one hunilred and fifiy miles farther north. t Burton's Magazine and American Monthly Review, edited by William E. Bur- ton and Edgar A. Poe. Mr. Hodman's journal is commenced in the number for January, 1840, and is conlinued in those fur the next following months. 141 lirli Ifj-nmo " 11 iiortlirrn \\o Atliuitir, I; \vlill<',nii c belief that m ojM'ii sea. Mack(.'iizi(! ties into the tllc lloeky (I ti[x>n iuio- ■icoiidecl to ,1 , hf j\ ached ric of the in- if 5'i degrees iiiio(l that 110 ent, ()peniii;T which fact y Vancouver lie tiiiK! sup- it lias, liow- iller stream, iwu as Fra- TV pulilislied i story of the f conducting Jhina advan- reconiinends s, which liad I of tho latter, uld favor the lit, fiir which nihia, would ipauy should L'n the uorth- s, » left to the regularity or ce, and look- '.c lias proved y all his sug- tage of Great edition across H, by a party ion of Julius id in Virginia, magazinef at ;, Vancouver was s farther north. William E. Bur- 1 the number fur inlUs. Philadelphlo. The portion which has yet appeared relates only to the voyage f»f the adventurer up the Missouri during the! sum- mer of 17'.U ; and no ich'a is cotnniiinicated of their route beyond that river, exo(([)f in the Introduction by the editor, when- it is stated that tlufv traversed the region "west of the Rocky Moun- tains, and north of the (iUth parallel, which is still marked u{K)n our maps as unexplored, and which, until this day, has been al- ways so considered." From what has been published, it is im- possible to form a diifinitive opinion as to tho degree of credit whicfi is due to the narrative, or as to the value of tho statements, if they are true; and all that can bo hero said in addition is, that nothing as yet appears, either in the journal or relating to it, cal- culated to excite suspicions with regard to its authenticity. To conolude with regard to tho delivery of Nootka. The commissioner appointed liy the British CJovcrnment to re- ceive possession of that jilace, provided Vancouver should liavo left tho Pacific, was Captain Robert Broughton, the former com- mander of tho Chatham. He sailed from Kngland in tho ship Providence in October, 171M, and in April, 17%, he reached Nootka, which he lound occuniod only by the natives. He there learned from a letter, presented to him by Maquinna, dated March, lis)'}, that " the Spaniards had delivered up the port of Nootka, «fcc., to Lieutenant Pierce, of tho marines, [Avho had been des- patched fronj England, by way of Mexico, in order to hasten tho termination of the business,] agreeably to the mode of restitution settled between the two Courts."* This is tho account given by Droughton-f On the other hand, Belsham, an historian whom no one can suspect of Avant of at- tachment to the honor and interests of his country, says: J "It is nevertheless certain, from tho most authentic subsequent infor- mation, t/iftt the Spanish Jin rr fly in fr at the fort and settlement of Nootka was vevrrstruel:,, and that the n'hofe territory has been virtu- ally relintiuished by Great Britain ; a measure, however politically cx{)edient, which involves in it a severe reflection upon the min- ister who could permit so invidious an encroachment upon the ♦ In the library of Congrress at Washington is an interesting Spanish manuscript, prescniPii by General Tornel, during liis residence in the United States as mmisier i'riiin M''xic(i, entitled Instruccion licscitada dilltvAjno tie NucvaEipahu queel J-l.r.mo. fknnr Viirrti Conde dc licriU(i>;if^cdo din a sn succfor cl Kxmo. Sator Aliinjucs de lirancifoiie cii cl am de 171) 1; that is to say — Secret Instructions, or rather notes on the Kiiii,'dom of New Spain, jjiven in 17!>4 by the Viceroy, Count de Revillagigedo, to his successor, the Marquis de Branciforte. This worl<, which abounds in curi- ous details relative to the administration of affairs in Mexico, has been carefully examined, with reference to the objects of the present memoir. Nothing, however, has been collected from it, except in confirmation of statements elsewhere made. The paragraphs from 7t»3 to7l3, inclusive, are devoted to the Marine Dcparlment of Srt/i lilaf, to which, as already tnenlioned, the care of the Spanish colonies in Cali- fornia was committed. The Count recommends to his successor the maintenance of tho^e colonies, as the best means of preseiving Mexico fiom foreign influences; advising him, at the same time, however, not to extend the establishments beyond the Strait of Fuca. With regard to Nootka, it is merely stated, in paragraph 713, that orders had been sent to the commandant to abandon the place, agreeably to a royal dUlamcu. t Broughton's Journal of his Voyage, page 50. X Belsliam'.s History of Great Britain, vol. viii, page 337. 1799. 1795. 179a hi li ■fell It ¥ 4ii ii < ^1 i^ « ] 142 :■ I i 1796. ancient and acknowledged rights of the Crown of Spain." The probability is, that the Spaniards merely abandoned the place. Since that period, no attempt has been made by any civilized nation to form an establishment at Nootka or in its vicinity, al- though the sound continued to be, and probably still is, occasion- ally visited by the fur-traders. The most recent accounts of it which have been published, are of no later date than 1807, when King Maquinna was enjoying the fulness of health and of power; and although his manners appeared to have then become more refined, he was still at heart a cruel and treacherous savage.* In this and the next preceding chapters, an endeavor has been made to present an impartial view of the circumstances connected with the occupation of Nootka by the Spaniards in 1789 ; and it is believed that the erroneousness of the statements of the British political and historical authorities respecting those circumstances has been conclusively demonstrated. It has been shown that— No part of " the northwest coasts yf the continent of North Amer- ica, or of the adjacent islands,'" was, or ever had been, occupied by British subjects prior to the formation of the Spanish post at Nootka, in 1789: That, consequently, no " buildings or tracts of land'* in that quarter were " to be restored to British subjects'* agreeably to the convention of October 28,1790: and, as a farther consequence. That the abandonment of Nootka by the Spaniards, in 1795, gave to Great Britain no other rights at that, or any other place in Northwest America, than those derived from the third and fifth articles of the abovementioned convention, by which her sub- jects were at liberty to navigate and fish in the north Pacific, to trade or settle in unoccupied parts of its American coasts north of the parts occupied by the Spaniards before \pril, 1789, (that is to say, north of the Bay of San Francisco ;) and to have free access to any Spanish settlement on the coasts thus designated. * Narrative of Ihe Destruction of the ship Boston, of Boston, and of the murder of all her men except two, by the savages at Nootka Sound, in March, 1803, with ac- counts of that country and of its inhabitants: by John R. Jewitl, one of the survivors of the crew, who remained three years in captivity among the Indians — a simple ami unpretending narrative, which will, no doubt, in after centuries, be read with inter- est by the enlightened people of Northwest America. Comprehem west coas ted Stales and establ States— C in the nor Columbia America- cans, who In Oct and, for people of occurring stow on 1 tiJ with tl During and Cant( the flag, c vented fr( own East mitted ini were seen Until 1 western f United S spirits, w coarse m: furs with settlemen a Russian boats ant cargo, ceeds of nankeens When a north Pa shells, an in the Sa prices at Thepe the most but extra enabled were not als of the IP&in." The (1 the place, my civiHzed I vicinity, al- is, occasion- ccounts of it 1 1807, when nd of power; )econie more savage.* vor has been es connected 1789 ; and it )f the British ircumstancea >hown that— North Amcr- len, occupied >anish post at land" in that reeably to the )nsequence, ards, in 1795, other place in tiird and fifth lich her sub- rth Pacific, to ;oasts north of 89, (that is to ive free access iiated. 1 of the murder of eh, 1803, with ac- le of the survivors ans — a simple nnil le read with inter- ji ' ' 143 CHAPTER VIII, Comprehending the period between 1796 and 1815 — Commerce between the north- west coasts of America and Canton conducted exclusively by vessels of the Uni- ted States — Formation of the Russian American Company ; account of its system and establishments— Complaints of the Russians against the traders of the iJnited States — Cession of Louisiana to the United Slates ; supposed extent of Louisiana in the north and northwest— Expedition of Lewis and Clarke to the mouth of the Columbia — First enterprises of British and American fur-traders in Northwest America — Astoria enterprise — Mouth of the Columbia occupied by the Ameri- cans, who are dislodged by the British. In October, 1796, Spain declared war against Great Britain ; and, for nearly twenty years afterwards, the Governments and people of both nations were too much engrossed by events daily occurring in their immediate vicinity to have any leisure to be- stoM'^ on matters so comparatively unimportant as those connect- J with the northwest coasts of America. During this whole period, the direct trade between those coasts and Canton was carried on exclusively by the vessels, and under the flag, of the United Stales. The British merchants Avere pre- vented from engaging in this commerce by the refusal of their own East India Company to allow it ; the Russians were not ad- mitted into the Chinese ports, and few ships of any other nation were seen in the north Pacific. Until 1811 the Americans had formed no establishment on the western sliore of the continent. Their vessels sailed from the United States, or from Europe, to the north Pacific, laden with spirits, wine, sugar, tobacco, fire-arms, gunpowder, iron, and coarse manufactures of various sorts, which were exchanged for furs with the natives on the coasts, or with the Russians at their settlements ; or sometimes the American captain would hire from a Russian agent a number of hunters and fishermen, with their boats and implements, for the season, and Avould thus obtain a cargo. The furs were thence carried to Canton, where the pro- ceeds of their sale were invested in teas, porcelain, silks, and nankeens, for the markets of the United States or of Europe. When a sufficient quantity of furs could not be collected in the north Pacific, their place was supplied by sandal-wood, pearl shells, and tortoise shells, Avhich were procured at little expense in the Sandwich and other islands, and always commanded high prices at Canton. The persons engaged in this trade were constantly exposed to the most dreadful hardships and dangers, against which nothing but extraordinary courage and skill on their parts could have enabled them to struggle successfully. These circumstances were not calculated to soften the feelings or to improve the mor- als of the traders j and as they were actually subject to no other 1796. f' ■n ■ y\ i 4X liJ M ' V 144 1796. laws or restrictions, during their voyages in the Pacific, than such as they themselves chose to adopt or observe, it could not have been expected that their conduct should at all times be con- formable with the principles of justice. They have been charged by British reviewers and Hritish naval officers — authorities always to be distrusted on matters pertaining to the United States or its citizens — with practising every species of fraud and violence to- wards the natives of the coasts and islands of that ocean. It does not, however, appear, upon examining the facts brought forward in support of these accusations, that the American fur-traders were guilty of other or greater improprieties than have ever been, and must ever be, committed by shrewd and intelligent civilized people, when unrestrained by laws, in their transactions with brutal, ignorant, and faithless savages. These latter, in their turn, availed themselves of every occasion to rob and murder the strangers who came to their shores. More than one American ship has been seized, and all on board massacred by the na- tives of the Pacific coasts ; and boldom, indeed, did" a vessel from the United States complete her voyage in that ocean, with- out losing some part of her crew by the treachery of those with whom they were dealing. Thus in March, 1803, the ship Bos- ton, of Boston, commanded by John Salter, Avas surprised at Noot- ka, by Maquinna and his followers, and all her men were put to death except two, who, after remaining in slavery three years, eflTected their escape.* In like manner, the Tonquin, Captain Thorn, of New York, fell into the hands of Wiccanish and his subjects at Nittinat, or Berkely Sound, in June, 1811 ; nearly the whole of her crew perished in a moment, under the cluos and knives of the assailants, and the remainder, with the exception of the Indian interpreter, were soon after destroyed, together with a large number of savages, by the explosion of the powder maga- zine, which was fired probably by one of the officers. f In the mean time the Russians, though excluded from the di- rect trade with Canton, were continually increasing and enlarging their establishments in America.^ The association formed in 1785, among the merchants of eastern Siberia, for carrying on the fur » Narrniivc of John R. Jcwitt, already mentioned at page 142. + A iiurime and graphic account of the destruciion of the Tonquin, collecietl from the evidence of ihe interpreter, who afierwards found his way to the Columbia River, is given by Ross Cux, in liis account of his residence on the Columbia River, and has been thence transferred by Mr. Irving to his Astoria. t The following sketch of the Hussian establishments in the north Pacific, during the first years of the present century, is derived chiefly from— I. Narraiive of a Voyage around the World, in the years 1803-1800, in the Rus- sian >*hips Nadeshda and Neva, under the command of Captain A. J. Von Kruscn- stern. Tiie original edition of this work is accompanied by a largo alias, contam- ing charts and other engravings. II. Narrative of a Voyage around the World in the Ship Neva, by her captain, Urey Lisiansky. HI. Narrative of a Voyage in the Pacific, by G. H. Von Langsdorf, the physician of the Russian ship Nadeshdi. IV Narraiive of a Voyage around the Woild, in 1815 and 1810, in the Russian ship Knrick, commanded by Lieutenant Otto Von Kotzebue. A.ni from — v. Various documents existing in the archives of the Department of State, at Washington. overseer. icific, than t could not nes be con- ;en cViarged ities always States or its violence to- an. It does ght forward fur- traders ! ever been, nt civilized ctions with n their turn, murder the le American by the na- lid' a vesbel ocean, with- f those with le ship Bos- ised at Noot- were put to three years, lin, Captain tiish and his I ; nearly the le chios and exception of Tether with a owder maga- s.t [ from the di- ind enlarging rmed in 1785, ig on the fur n, collected from to the Columbia Columbia River, It Pacific, during 1800, ill the Riis- . J. Von Kruscn- go alias, coutam- I, by her captain, )rf, the physician fl, in the Russian >i i'rom — nienl of State, at 1800. 1803. 145 trade of the north Pacific, was protected and encouraged by the 179G. Empress Catherine, who bestowed upon it many valuable privi- leges. Her son and successor, Paul, was, at the beginning of his reign, inclined to withdraw these advantages, and even to break up the association, on account of the cruel conduct of its agents towards the natives and the Russians who were employed in its service. Reasons of state, however, induced him to abandon this resolution ; and he at length, by a decree of the 8th of July, 1799, 1799. granted to the united merchants a charter, assuring to them, under •'"^v *^- the title of the Russian American Company, the exclusive use and control, for twenty years, of all the coasts of America on the Pacific, and the islands in that ocean, from Beering's Strait to the 55th degree of south latitude, together with the right of occupy- ing any other territories not previously possessed by some civil- ized nation. The residence of the directors of the company was at first fixed at Irkutsk, in Siberia, the great depository of the China trade ; it was afterwards transferred to St. Petersburgh, and their afiairs were placed under the supermtendence, or rather the directors were placed under the surveillance, of the Imperial De- partment of Commerce. The privileges thus accorded by Paul, were confirmed and ex- tended by Alexander; and, under these favorable auspices, the power and influence of the Russian American Company rapidly advanced. In 1S03, its establishments on the north Pacific coasts extended eastward, as far as Port Cuadelupe, or Norfolk Sound, called by the Russians the G-ulf of Sitca, whicli separates the small Island of Mount San Jacinto, or Edgecumb, or Krooze, from Baianuff^s Island, the largest of tlie group named by Vancouver King George the Third's Archipelago. The settlement on the Gulf of Sitca was destroyed by savages in 1804 ; another was, however, soon founded in the vicinity of the same six)t, which received the appellation of New Archangel, and has ever since been the capital of Russian America. In 180G preparations were made for occupying the mouth of the Columbia River, but the plan was abandoned ; although that part of the coast, and all north of it, was then, and for many years afterwards, represented on the maps of the Russian Ameri- can Company as included within the limits of its possessions. The Governrnentof Russian-America was arranged and conduct- isoo. ed in the most despotic manner possible, nearly resembhng that of a Turkish Pashalik ; each factory was superintended by a Russian overseer, who, with the aid of a small number of Russians, main- tained a])solute control over all the natives in his district, com- pelling them constantly to labor for the benefit of the company. The overseers were under the superintendence of agents, one of whom resided in each group of settlements ; and all were subject to the authority of a chief agent, or governor-general, appointed by the directors, whose powers, though nominally defined and limited by regulations drawn up at St. Petersburgh, were, in fact, absolute and unrestricted. The person who filled the office of {TO verncr- general at the beginning of this century, and for many years afterwards, was Alexander Baranoll", a bold, shrewd, enter- 1804. 1806. 'V , liV- m "•I ■■ I ' 146 :i: ! !:(!:^ 1800. prising, and unfeeling man, under whose iron rule the affairs of the company prospered, and its stock rose proportionally in value; his proceedings were, therefore, always approved by those to whom he was accountable, and complaints against his tyranny were al- ways disregarded. The Russians engaged in the service of the company, under the direction of the overseers, were distinguished by the general name of Promvschleniks, (meaning speciikitors,) and were em- ployed as hunters, fishermen, seamen, soldiers, or mechanics, as their superiors might command. In the best of these situations, their lot appears to have been more wretched than that of any other class of human beings, with the exception, perhaps, of the natives, whom they aided in keeping under subjection ; and it therefore is not surprising that none but vagabonds and adven- turers should ever have become promuschleniks. The gallant and humane Krusenstern, in the narrative of his expedition to the Pacific in 1804 and 1805, presents a number of dreadful pic- tures of the sufferings of these unfortunate persons from want of food, from the severity of the climate, and from too much labor. According to the most recent accounts, it appears that their situa- tion, while they are on land at least, has not been materially im- proved.* The greater part of the furs collected on the northwest coasts of America continued to be, during the period mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, transported to Petro-Paulowsk and Ochotsk, from which places were brought nearly all the articles required for the use of the settlements ; the remauider of the sup- plies being obtained from American vessels in the manner al- ready described. The Russian Government, however, soon be- came desirous to exclude the vessels of the United States from the north Pacific, not only from a wish to monopolize the ftir trade, but also in order to prevent the natives of the coasts from procuring an; and ammunition, with which they were fur- nished by the Americans, to the great detriment of the authority and interests of the Russian company. For this purpose, it would be necessary to maintain a naval force in the vicinity of the settlements, and to establish regular communications, by ships, between them and Europe ; and, with the view of inqui- ring how those measures might be best executed, as well as of opening, if possible, some intercourse with Japan and the ports of China, it was determined that a scientific and political expedi- tion should be made to the north Pacific. 1803. Two ships, the Nadeshda, commanded by Captain Krusen- stern, and the Neva, by Captain Lisiansky, were accordingly despatched from Cronstadt in August 1803, carrying out the chamberlain. Von Resanoff, as ambassador to Japan, and pleni- potentiary of the Russian -American Company, together with a large body of officers and rnen of science. These were the first vessels, under the Russian flag, which crossed the equinoctial • It will be recollected that these accounts are derived from liusnan authorities. 147 line ; they passed around Cape Horn, and, touching at the Wash- 1803, ington and the Sandwich Islands, they reached the coasts of the north Pacific in the summer of 1804. Without detaihng the sub- sequent occurrences of the expedition, which lasted until the summer of 1806, it will be sufficient to say, that none of the po- litical or commercial objects proposed were attained. The Jap- anese, as usual, refused peremptorily to allow any intercourse to be carried on between their dominions and those of Russia -, nor would the Chinese admit the commercial ships of the latter Power into Canton. The plans of Von Resanoflf (who appears to have been a ridiculous and incompetent person) for the man- agement of the afl'airs of the company proved wholly inapplica- ble ; and the propriety of immediately expelling the Americans from the north Pacific, even could it be done, was rendered very questionable by the fact that the garrison and inhabitants of Sitca would have all infallibly perished from famine, in the win- ter of 1805-'6, had they not been fortunately supplied with pro- 1606. visions by the ship Juno from Rhode Island.* Finally, what- ever may have been the conclusions formed upon the informa- tion acquired during the expedition, as to the practicability of maintaining a direct commercial intercourse, by sea, between the Russian ports in Europe and their settlements on the Pacific, certain it is that no attempt for that purpose was again made until 1814. The expedition above mentioned was, however, in all respects, highly honorable to those who conducted it. The accounts sepa- rately published by Krusenstern, Lisiansky, and Langsdorf, par- ticularly those of Krusenstern, are among the most instructive works which have appeared relating to the north Pacific and its coasts. They exhibit, indeed, frightful pictures of the misery en- dured by the persons in the service of the Russian -American Com- pany ; but they, at the same time, present instances of fortitude, perseverance, and good feeling, on the part of the Russians, cal- culated to counteract any unfavorable impressions which might otherwise have been formed with regard to the general charac- ter of that people. After the return of Krusenstern's ships, representations were 1808, addressed by tl-.e Russian Government to that of the United States, with res^ard to the improper conduct of American citizens in trading in arms and ammunition with the natives on the coasts of the north Pacific ; and endeavors were made to procure the passage by Congress of some act, or the conclusion of some con- vention between the two nations, by the effect of which such commerce might be prevented. These representations producing no results, Count Romanzoff", the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed to Mr. Adams, the American Envoy at St. Pe- 1810. tersburgh, an arrangement by which the vessels of the United States should be allowed to transport furs from the Russian set- tlements to China, on condition that they should abstain from all 'I I iifi ( 'j I '1 'ii S 1 t m nan authorities. ♦ Langsdorf, vol. ii, page 89. 148 1810. trade with the natives on the northwest coasts. Mr. Adams, in his answer to this proposition, desired to know — within what lati- tudes the restriction would be expected to be observed ? and the reply being, that the Russian-American Company claimed posses- sion of the wliole coasts extending from Beering's Strait to the south^^Ja^d of the Columbia River, the correspondence was not continued. An arrangement conformable with the views of the 1812. Russians was, in 1812, concluded between their American com- pany and a citizen of the United States, but circumstances pre- vented it from being carried into execution. Before 1812, Sitca was the most southern portion on the west- ern side of America occupied by the Russians. In that year thoy formed an establishment in California, which deserves particular notice. The chief agent, Baranoff, obtained from the Spanish Governor of Monterey permission to erect some houses, and to leuv'o a few men on the shore of the small Bay of Bodega, near Port San Francisco, in order to procure and salt the meat of the wild cattle, which overrun that country, for the supply of the set- tlement at New Archangel. In the course of two or three years after this permission was granted, the number of the persons thus employed had become so great, and their dwelling-place had as- sumed so much the appearance of a fortress, that the Governor thought proper to remonstrate on the subject; and his represent- ations being disregarded, he formally commanded the Russians to quit the territories of his Catholic Majesty. The command was treated with as little respect as the remonstrance; and when it was repeated, the Russian agent, Kuskoff, replied by denying the right of the Spaniards over the country, which he asserted to be vacant and open for occupation by the subjects of any civil- ized Power. The Governor was unable to enforce his orders ; 1815. and as no assistance could be afforded to him from Mexico, which was then ravaged by civil wars, the intruders were left in undis- turbed p«ssession of the ground, where they have ever since re- mained, in defiance alike of the Spaniards and of their republican successors.* The Russian-American Company, about the same period, made another effort to create a direct commercial intercourse by sea be- tween its settlements on the Pacific and the European ports of the Empire. With this object, the American ship Hannibal was purchased from Mr. Astor, of Nev York ; and her name having been changed to the Suivarrow, she was despatched from Saint Petersburgh, in 1814, under the command of Lieutenant Lazaref, laden with goods fi i New Archangel. She returned in 1816 with a cargo of furs, vEduod at a minion of dollars ; and the adventure having been pronounced successful, others of the same nature were undertik'm. In 1815 Baranoff endeavored to obtain possession of Atooi, one * The Russians have now several establishments in that part of California, of which the principal, called Ross, is situated immediately on the Pacific, in latitude of 38 degrees ana 33 minutes, about thirty miles north of Port Bodega, or Port Ro- manzulf, as the Russians hare named it. of the Si men, nea undvA tht the Piic'ii the islant than a ye they ento they were ernment i tempt has nation to The Gr begun to by the Co now be tr The di; attention i been effec the north ac(|uainte( connected tlie Ainerit United StJ sissippi, ai yojid the ? iiig from tl undefined tween the completelv fireign an French, October I, extent,' of Spiin. should be Spain ant Under territories and barrel abortive, their (i()V( nent, wert Louisiana " with all manner, a relating tl some obse northwest erty of tht The ea boundarie the patent iver since re- to 149 of the Sandwich Islands. For tliat purpose about a Inmdred I8is nien, nearly all Aleutians, were sent in two vessels from Sitca, wiCiVA tlie direction of Dr. Sliefter, a German, who liad arrived in tlie Pacific as surgeon to the sfiip Suwarrow. They landed on the island, which they ravaged, without subduing it, for more than a year, and were then obliged to depart for Owyhee, where they entered the service of sonje American whalers, by whom they were finally restored to their country. The Russian (jlov- ernment appeared to disapprove this act of Baranoff; and no at- tempt has been since made by subjects of that or any other foreign nation to invade those islands. The Government of the United States had before this period begun to assert claims to the possession of the territory drained by the Columbia river, the origin and extent of which claims will now be traced. The discovery of the Columbia by Gray attracted very little attention in the United States for more than ten years after it had been effected. None but persons concerned in the fur trade of tlie north Pacific, and the curious in geographical matters, were ac(|uainted with the fact; and no one imagined that any thing connected with that river would ever be considered important to the Americans in a |K)litical point of view. The territories of the United States were then bounded on the west by the river Mis- sissippi, and on the north by the dominions of Great Britain; be- yond the Mississippi lay the vast region called Louisiana, stretch- ing from the Gulf of Mexico northward and northwestward to an undefined extent; so that all communication, except by sea, be- tween the Federal Repul)lic and the Pacific side of America, was completely barriid by the inierveiuion of couniries belonging to f>reign and rival l^owers. Louisiana, originally settled by the French, had been ceded, in 1702, to Spain, which held it luitil October I, LSOU, and then retroceded it to France, "the same in extent," says the treaty of retrocession, "as it now is in the hands of Spain, as it was when France formerly possessed it, and as it should be, according to the treaties subseiiuently made between Spain and other nations." Under such circumstances, any claims of the United States to territories bordering upon the Pacific, would have been nominal and barren, and all attempts to realize them must have proved abortive. But the position of the Americans, and the views of i8oa their Government towards the northwestern section of the conti- April 3«. nent, were materially changed after the 30th of April, 1803, when Louisiana came into their possession by purchase I'rom France, <' with all its rights and appurtenances, as fully, and in the same manner, as it had been acquired from Spain" in 1800. Before relating the dispositions made in conse(|uence of this cession, some ob-iervations will be necessary respecting the northern and northwestern limits of the country which thus became the prop- erly of the United States. The earliest attempt, either real or ostensible, to define the boundaries of Louisiana, was made by Louis XIV, in 1712, in the patent by which he granted to Antoine Crozat the exclusive 11 *!| : Hi ,:' t 'i' ■■ I III i ■ M ' 150 Iflon. trade of that country. The patent declares it to be the will of the King, that <' all the territories by him possessed, bounded by New Mexico, and by the lands of the English in Carolina, and all the establishments, ports, harbors, rivers, especially the port and harbor of Dauphin Island, formerly called Massacre Island, the river Saint liouis, formerly called the Mississippi, from the seacoast to the Illinois country, together with the rivers Saint Philip, fonnerly called the Missouri, and the Saint Jerome, for- merly called the Wabash, [the Ohio,] with all the lands, coun- tries, lakes in the land, and the rivers falling directly or indirectly into that part of the river Sain . Louis, shall be and remain com- prised under the name of the Government of Louisiana, which shall he subordinate to the General Government of New Franco; and that all the lands by him ptissessed on this side of the Illi- nois, shall be reunited to, and form part of, the General Govern- ment of New France ; the King, nevertheless, reserving to himself the privilege of increasing the extent of Louisiana, as he may judge proper." Agreeably to this exposition of its limits, Louis- iana extended, in 1712, northward to about the 42d parallel ni latitude, and westward to New Mexico ; between which latter country and the Pacific, California intervened. What portion of the continent northward of that parallel, and west of the great lakes, the Illinois country thus attached to New France was sup- posed to comprehend, there are no means of ascertaining. The French maps of the early part of the last centiuy represent as in- cluded in Nnc France many rivers flowing towards the Pacific, none of which, however, exist as there described; while the Spaniards, on the other hand, regarded the whole unoccupied re- gion northwest of New Mexico as forming part of their own Cal- ifornia; and the British geographers recorded the claims of their nation to the same territory, by constantly applying to it the name of Nov Albion. In 1713 the celebrated peace of Utrecht was concluded. In the tenth article of the treaty between Great Britain and France, " it is agreed on both si les to determine within a year, by com- missaries to be f()rthwith named by each party, the limits which are to be fixed between the said Bay of Hudson," (then secureil. with its adjacent territories, to Great Britain,) " and the places appertaining to the French: which limits both the British and Frencli subjects shall be wholly forbid to pass over, or thereby to go to each other by sea or by land. The same commissaries shall also have orders to describe and settle, in like manner, the bouutlaries between the other British and French colonies in those parts." That commissaries were appointed agreeably to this provision, there is reason to believe; but there is no sufli- cient evidence that any boundaries were determined by them. Two distinct lines may, however, be found traced on different maps published in the last century, each purporting to be the limit between the Hudson's Bay territories on the north, and the French possessions on the south, fixed by commissaries according to the treaty of Utrecht. One of these lines follows the course, or supposed course, of the highlands which separate the waters 151 f.^''' flowing into Hudson's Bay from those emptying into the great lakes and the Saint Lawrence. The other is drawn irregularly from the Atlantic to a point in the 49th parallel of latitude, south of the southernmost part of Hudson's Bay, and thenc(! w(\stward ak ng that parallel to Red River; and in some maps still farther west. This latter line is generally considered in the United States, and has been assumed by their Government,* as the true boundary settled by the commissaries, agreeably to the treaty above mentioned; but this opinion is at variance with the most accredited authorities, as will be seen by reference to the Appen- dix, [E,] containing a review of all the works from which exact information could be expected. In 1717, Crozat relinquished his exclusive privileges with re- grird to Louisiana; after which, the Illinois country was added to that province by a royal arret, and the whole territory was granted to the Compnguie d^ Orient, generally known as Law's Mississippi Company. In 1763, France gave up to Great Britain all her possessions east of the Mississippi, except a small tract near New Orleans, having, a short time previous, ceded the re- mainder of Louisiana to Spain. f By these arrangeinents, the middle of the Mississippi, from its source, to the river Iberville, near New Orleans, became the dividing-line between tbe British possessions on the east and those of Spain on the western side, nothing being fixed with regard to territories north of the said source; and from that period to 1803, when Louisiana became the property of the United States, its extent towards the north or northwest could not have been aifected by any treaty hitherto made public, unless by the convention of October, 1790, between Spain and Great Britain, which applied to all American territories claimed by Spain upon the Pacific, north of the 38th degree ol' latitude. From the preceding review, it will be seen that history fur- 1503. I ' 'ii $A 'lit ; i ;l .I'l ':l!l ♦ The earliest official assertion to this effect, on the part of the Government of the United Slates, which has been found, is contained in tlie following -sentence ex- tracted from a letter addressed by Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney, at Madrid, on the 20th of April, 1805, to Don Pedro Cevallos, the Spanish Minister ofStaie: "In wn- formity with the tenth article of the first-mentioned treaty, [treaty of Utrecht,] the boundaiy between Canada and Louisiana, on ilie one side, and the Hudson's Bay and Northwestern Companies on the other, was established bv commissaries, by a line to commence at a cape or promontoiy on the ocean in 5S degrees 31 minutes north latitude; to run thence south westward ly to latitude 49 north from the equator, and along that line indefinitely westward." t The act by which France ceded Louisiana to Spain was signed at Fontaine- bleau by the F*rench minister, the Due de Choiseul, and the Spanish ambassador, the Marques de Grimaldi, on the 3d of November, 17G"2. It was ratified by the King of Spain on the I3th of the same month, and by the Kmg of France on the 'J3d. These documents were kept secret until 183G, when copies of them were obtained from the Departments of Foreign Affairs of France and Spain, by the late J. M. White, of Florida; and translations of them by the writer of this memoir were sub- mitted to the Senate of the United States, and published by its order, in 1837. The act of cession throws no light on the question as to the limits of Louisiana. The words of the original, describing the territory ceded, are: "Sa Majesto tres Chrelienne c6de en tente propricte, purement el simplement, et sans aucnne excej)- tion, a sa Majeste Catholique, et a ses successeurs, a perpetuite, tout le pays connii sous le nom de la Louisiane, ainsi que la Neuvelle Orleans, et Tile dans laquelle cetie viUe est situce." :a' i a1 if! I II 152 iwr., iiislips no moans of determining what wort the pnicisc hmits of lionisiana on the nortli or nortliwest, when that cojintry raitio into the possession of tlio United States. The customs of civil- ized nations in such cases, however, authori/e the assumption that those limits comprehended the whole region west of the Mis- sissippi drained hy that river and its tributary streams; while the name customs prohibit the supposition tliat any territory west ol the Rocky Mountains should be considered as part of Louisiana. Even before the cession of Louisiana to tho United States had been completed, the prompt and sagacious Jei'biaon, then Presi- dent of the Republic, was preparing to have that part of the con- tinent examined by American agents. On the 18th o^ January, 1803, he address(Hl to the Congress of the Lnited States a confi. dt'utial message, recommending that means should be taken fur that purpose without delay ; and his suggestions having been ap- proved, he commissionecl Captains Meriwether Lewis and Wil- liam Clarke to carry his plan into execution. Those officers were instructed to explore the river Missouri and its principal branches to their sources, and then to seek and trace to its teriiii nation in the Pacific, some stream, "whether the Columbia, the Oregon, the Colorado, or any other, which might ofl'er the most direct and practicable water communication across the continent, for the purposes of commerce."* A few days after the delivery of these instructions to Lewis, as commander of the expedition, the news of the cession of Louis- iana reached the United States, and he immediately set otf for the west. Some difficulties, however, prevented his party from crossing the Mississippi in that year; and it was not until the 1804. 14tli of May, 1804, that they entered the Missouri, and began its ascent in boats. Their progress was necessarily slow; yet, beli>re the end of October, they arrived in the country of the Mandan In- dians, where they remained until the following April, encamped at a pluoe situated sixteen hundred miles from the mouth of the 1^!/, Missouri. In the summer of 1805, they explored that river to its head-\\ aters, among the Rocky Mountains, and, having crossed the great dividinj-ridge, they found immediately beyond it a number of streams flowing westward. Upon one of these they embarked in canoes on the 7th of October, and were soon carried by its current into a river, which they called the Lewis, and which proved to be a principal branch of the Columbia. In a Tew days t!iey reached the confluence of the Lewis with the other great branch named by them the Clarke ; and on the 16th of Novem- ber they landed at Capo Disappointment, or Hancock's Point, on the northern side of the entrance of the Columbia into the Pacific, after a journey of more than four thousand miles from their place of departure. 1800. Tiie winter of 1805-'6, was passed by Lewis and Clarke, and ♦ These instructions may be found at length in the biographiral sketch of Captain Lewis, written by iVIi. Jeflerson, and prefixed tothejournalof the expediiion, primed »t Philadelphia in IH14. The message atiure menlioned is contained in the execu- tive proceedings of the Senate, vol. i, page 439. their follo^^ itiiiibia, ne sivagcs, wl ijors, condi t()od, stich i:nh of Mi Ifnited Sta its falls, siti the I'acific. Kocky Moi routes ; the falls of tlie a southern srended tin jiist below 1 oi Septembi 'Vhe uho\ expedition which won to the prior Britain, in minister, di servations : " In repli that their r confirmed h by the ex{)l( and Clarke, prove, that, years, her I ;igent Mr. ' Flat-head a of the Coin principal st this particu title of pari to the lJnit( of the Ame tlie river, 3 to ascertain As the w indefinite, stated some Pacific Oce most easteri the 15th of ter be show ment of the through ill tablished t Frazor's \.i has been ol t^iso limits of ouiitry rainn oms of civil- ! ussiunptioti »t of tlu) Mis- is; while ilio ritory west of :)( Louisiana. id States had ), then Presi- rt of the con- 1 o^ January, States a confi- I be taken for zing been ap- wis and Wil- hose officers its principal e to its teriiii- /olunibia, tlie [)fler the nidsi the continent, s to Lewis, as ion of Louis- DJy set off for lis party from not until tlic and began its w ; yet, beli>re le Mandan In- iril, encamped mouth of the hat river to its ing crossed the id it a number ihey embarked carried by its is, and which In a Tew days he other great )th of Novem- »ck's Point, on ito the Pacific, rom their place id Clarke, and 1 sketch of Capiain expedi>iou,priiueil Ekined in ihe ezecu- 153 their followers, in an encampment on the sonth side of the Co- i8ao. liuiibia, near its mouth, whicli they called rint f 'hitsitp. 'V\\Q ■(iivages, who were already accusturued to the prescMice of slran- ijers, conducted themselves peac(>al)|y; and th(T«j was no want of t()0(l, s!i»rh as conid bo procured from the river or sea. On tho l.'^tli of March, IHOfi, the Americans began their return to tho United States, in canoes, which tliey rowed up the Coluiidiia to its falls, situated about one Inuidred and twenty-five miles from tlie Pacific. Thence they continued their journey by latid to tlie^ Kocky Mountains, which they crossed in two bodies by separate July. routes; tlie one tinder Lewis striking directly eastward to tho falls of the Missouri, while the other, conducted by Clarke, mado a southern march to the sources of the Yellow Stone, and de- scended that river to the Missouri. The parties were again united Au;,'. i <. jnst below the point of jutiction of those streams, and on the 2od of September they arrived at Saint liouis. 'J'he above sketch will serve to show the general course of the expedition of liOwis and Clarke; a more extended account of which would be either insntlicient or superfluous. With regard to the priority of their discoveries, the plcnipoteni' • ies of (ireat Britain, in the stnteinetU presented by them I k; American ininister, during the negotiation in 182(5, make the ll)llo\ving ob- servations : " In reply to tho allegations, on the part of the United States, 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 the course of that river to the sea, by Lewis and Clarke, in ISOS-'O, (Jreat Britain alfirms, and can distinctly prove, that, if not before, at least in the same and subsequent j'^ears, her Northwest Trading Company had, by means of their :ia:ent Mr. Thompson, already established their posts among the Flat-head and Kootanie tribes, on the head-waters or main branch of the Columbia, and were gradually extending them down the principal stream of that river; thus giving to (ireat Hritain in this particular, as in the discovery of the mouth of the river, a title of parity at least, if not of priority of discovery, as opposed to the United States. It was from these ]K)sts that, having heard of the American establishment forming in l^SlI at the mouth of tlio river, Mr. Thompson hastened thither, descending the river to ascertain the nature of that establishment," As the words " iu the same atui suhseiiumt years''^ are rather indefinite, the dates of the occurrences above mentioned will be stated somewhat more exactly. Lewis and Clarke reached the Pacific Ocean, after exploring the Columbia River from one of its most eastern head-waters in the Rocky Mountains to its mouth, on the 15th of November, 1S05. In the spring of IHOti, as will hereaf- ter be shown, Mr. Simon Frazer, and other persons in the employ- ment of the Northwest Company, crossed the Rocky Mountains, through the great gap near the 56th degree of latitude, and es- tablished the first British trading-post west of that chain, on Frazor's Lake, about two degrees farther south ; but no evidence has been obtained that British subjects had ever visited any part 111 ': 1 rii' !i;i - 1 ■ "<> .o...\^>^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4 ^ ^"4^. 1.0 I.I If us n^ U> Si 12.2 E lit "■■ 2.0 L25 iu III 1.6 ! o> ^ 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WnSTIR.N.Y. 14510 (716) •72.4S03 i/. % \ \ c^ 154 I'^OC. of the country drained by the Columbia, above the falls of that river, before the summer of 1811. In that year, Mr. Thompson, astronomer of the Northwest Company, and his party, on their way down the stream, for the purpose of anticipating the Amer- icans at its mouth, did build some huts on the northern branch, and did there open trade with the F^lat-head and Kootanie In dians ; and from those posts Mr. Thompson did indeed hasten down to the ocean, where he, however, found the citizens of the United States in full possession. if "" Soon after the return of Lewis and Clarke, an effort was made by the Governments of the United States and Great Britain to fix the boundary between the possessions of the two Powers in America Avest of the Mississippi and the lakes. By the fifth ar- ticle of the convention, agreed on at London in April, 1807, be- tween Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney, on the one part, and the Lords Holland and Auckland, on the other, it was stipulated that " a line drawn due north or south (as the case may require) from the most northwestern 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 territo- ries and those of the United States, to the westward of the said lake, as for as their said respective territories extend in that quar- ter ; and that the said line shall, to that extent, form the south- ern boundary of his Majesty's said territories and the northern boundary of the said territories of the United States : Provifhd, That nothing in the present article shall be construed to extend to the northwest coast of America, or to the territories belonging to or claimed by either party on the continent of America to the westward of the Stoney Mountains." This article was approved by both Governments ; President Jefferson, nevertlieless, wished that the proviso respecting the northwest coast should be omitted, as it *" could have little other effect than as an offensive intima- tion to Spain that the claims of the United States extend to the Pacific Ocean. However reasonable such claims may be, com- pared with those of otliers, it is impolitic, especially at the present moment, to strengthen Spanish jealousies of the United States, which it is probably an object with Great Britain to excite, by the clause in question." The convention, however, was not con- cluded ; and no other negotiation, relative to boundaries west of the great lakes, took place between the British and American (jiovernments until 1814. A narrative of the expedition of Lewis and Clarke, compiled from the journals of those officers and of some of their men, was pubUshed at Philadelphia ia 1814; the most material circum- stonces and discoveries, however, became generally known im- mediately after the return of the exploring party, and the infor- mation led to commercial enterprises on a large scale in the Uni- ted States and in British America. Before noticing these eiiter- * Letter of JuV^30th, 1807, from Mr. Madison, then Secretary of State of the United States, to Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney. Id5 f, and the in fol- ic ale in the Uni- iiiff these enter- tary of Slate of the prises more particularly, it should be mentioned, that ever since the conclusion of the treaty of commerce and navigation of 1794, between tlie United States and Great IJritain, a considerable trade liad been carried on by Americans with the Indians inba1)iting the coinitries about tlie Upper Mississippi and Lake Superior. The returns from this trarfic were made exclusively in furs, which were transported to New York, and thence shipi)ed for London or Canton ; the business was conducted chielly under the direction and by means of the funds of John Jacob Astor, a German merchant of large capital residing in New York ; though many individuals in the western States and Territories of the re- public were engaged in it on their own account, especially after the acquisition of Louisiana, which opened a nmch Avider field for their exertions. Still, the greater portion of the furs sent from America were those collected by the British trading companies, which were continually extending their establishments west- ward, and even southward, within the supposed limits of the United States, to the annoyance of the citizens of that republic. To all these individuals and associations the discoveries of Lewis and Clarke presented new views of advantages, which each endeavored without delay to appropriate. The British fur-traders made their first establishment beyond the Rocky Mountains in 1800. An expedition* for this purpose had been contemplated by them in the preceding year, in conse- quence of information respecting the views of the American Gov- ernment, obtained while Lewis and Clarke were spending the winter of ISOl-'S at the Mandan town on the Mississippi ; but it * The statements in this parag;raph are derived principally from D. W. Hurmnn's Journal of his Voyaj^es ax\A Travels in the northern pans of America, nulilisiicd at Andnvcr, in Vermont, in 1800. Harmon was lirsi a clerk, and at'ierwarils a partner, in the Northwest Company, and for several years presided over all its establishments west of the Rocky Mountains. Some extracts from his journal may be here inserted. Sri/untuj/, Novcuhcr -24, 1804. — Some people have just arrived from Montagne la Biis-^e, with a letter from Mr. Chahoillez, who informs me that two captains, Clarke and Lewis, with one hundred and eighty soldiers, have arrived at the Man- dan village, on the Missouri River, which place is situated about three days' distance from the residence of Mr. Chaboillez. They have invited Mr. Chaboillcz to visit them. It is said that, on their arrival, llicy hoistefl the American flag, and informed the native.s that their object was not to trade, but merely to explore ilie country, and that, as soon as the navigation shall open, they design to continue their route across the Elocky Mountains, and thence descend to tlie Pacifi.' Ocean. Wa!ricsihni, April 10, 1805. — Wliile at MoniaKue la Rasse. Mr. Chabnillez induced me to consent to undertake along and arduous tour of discoveiy. I am to leave that place about the beginning of June, accompanied by six or seven Canadians and two or three Indians. The first place at whicli we shall stop will be the Mandan village, on the Missouri River; 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 ol Indians, who reside on the other side of tlie Rocky Mountains. [This journey I never undertook ; a Mr. La Roquc attempted to make this tour, but went no faither than the Mandan village.] At page 281 he s^ays: "Tlie part of the country west of the Rocky Mountains, with which I am acquainted, has ever since the Norlluvest Company first made au establishment there, which was in 1800, gone by the name of New Caledonia," ikc. In many parts of his work he speaks of Mr. Simon Frazcr as having led the (irst party of traders beyond the Rocky Mountains in 180(i. A review of the work may be iound in the London Quarterly Review for Janua- ly, 182-2. 180^ 1800. Ill i|' ':.'' 11 156 I i It H906. was not ofvrried into effert until the spring of 1S06, wlion Mr. Si- mon Frazer, a partner of the Northwest (Join])any, estahhshed a trading-post on haz('r''s Laho, near the 54th parallel, in tiie conntry snice called New Caletlnnia. The earliest attempts made hy citizens of the United States, for similar purposes, were those of an association ibrmed at St, Louis in 180S, called the Missouri Mir Conipamf ; at its head was an enterprising Sjianiard, named Manuel Lisa, through whose exertions, chietiy, several trading-jxtsts were, within the two ensuing years, established on the tipper Missouri, and one beyond the Rocky Mountains, on the head-waters of the Lewis, the southern branch of the Columbia. The post on the Lewis appears to have been the first ever formed by white men in the country drained by the Columbia; the enmity of the savages in its vicinity, and the difficulty of procuring a regular supply of food, however, obliged Mr. Henry, the superintendent, to aban- don it in 1810. isio. Another association, for the prosecution of the fur trade on the northwestern side of the continent, which was formed at New York in 1810, re(]uires particidar notice, as the transactions con- nected with it have assiuned a character decidedly political. This association was called the Pacific I'hr ChmpaiiijJ* Its originator was John Jacob Astor, the German merchant above mentioned, on whose commercial sagacity and efficiency it would be needless to dilate. He was, in fact, the company; one-half of its shares were held, nominally at least, by other persons, but every meas- ure was dictated by him, and carried into effect by means of his capital. His plan was to establish trading-posts on the Colum- bia and its branches, as well as on the Pacific coasts and the head-Avaters of the Missouri, which Avere to be supplied with the necessary articles, either by way of the latter river, or from a principal factory, to be founded at the mouth of the Columbia, whither all the furs collected at the other places were, at stated periods, to be brought. The principal factory was to receive goods by ships sent out annually from New York, Avhich, hav- ing discharged their cargoes at the mouth of the Columbia, Avere to be reladen Avith furs for Canton, Avhence they Avould carry back to New York teas, silks, and other Chinese produc- tions. It Avas also contemplated that the Russian settlements on ♦ The sketch of the history of the Pacific Company, which fullows, has been de- rived from — I. Leiter IVoin .T. J. A>tor to Mr. Adams, then Secretiiry of Siaie, dated January 23, 18-j:{, Willi ildftiineiits annexed, puhlished wiili President Monroe's me>saj;e ti> Constess, olihc "iTih olihi' same inontti. Oiher letters, tmpniili'-lieil, from Mr. As- tor, have also been examined, and many curious details liave been received lioin him verbally. II. Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise beyond the RiK'ky Mountains: by Wasbinfjion Irving; compiled chieily from the papers of Mr. Astor. The wuik is loo \>cll known ti requite farther observations re^peciinir it. III. Ad'.'fimiris on the Colimibia River : by Rrss Ccx. The nuihor had been em- ployed as a e eiU in the Pacilie Cumjiniiy, which he quilted for a similar sitiiaiien nnder the Northwest Coinpnny ; his book eoniains many details relative lo ibe fur trade and it:i e&tabli^hmenl in the region of the Columbia. 157 /Al llow.«, has been ile- thc Pacific should bo furnished by the company's vessels with 1810. such fiireign articles as they required, furs boint,' taken in ex- chanu;e -, and, in order to elfect this more completely, as well as to prevent the occurrence of dilHeulties, which might otherwise be anti'^ipiited, an agent was despatched to St. I\'tersburi,'h, who concluded an arrangement secnring to the Pacilic Company, under certain conditions, the exclusive privilege of trading with the llussian American possessions. For the execution of these plans, Mr. Astor engaged, as part- ners in the concern, a niunber of persons, nearly all Scotchmen, who had been long in the service of the Northwest Company, together with some Americans and Canadians, who were ac- quainted with tlie fur trade. I'hese partners were to conduct the business in the west, under the direction of a general agent, cho- sen by them for five years ; and they were to share among them- selves one half of the profits, the other half being retained by Mr. Astor, who advanced all the funds, and superintended the affairs at New York. The persons requireil for the inferior offices and employments having been also engaged, the first party (juitted New Vork for tlie Columbia in Seyjtember, 1810, in the ship Tonquin, commanded by Jonathan Thorne; in Jamiary follow- ing, the second detachment set out from St. Louis, on its way across the continent, under the direction of Wilson Price Hiuit, of New .Jersey, wlio had been appointed general agent by the board of partners. The ship Enterprise, Captain Ebhetts, had also been sent in lhU9 to the North Pacific, to make prepara- tory researches and inqtiiries among the Russian settlements, and on the coasts which were to be the scenes of the new com- pany's operations. '^I'he Tonquin arrived at the mouth of the (Columbia in March, Hii 1811; and, her goods and passengers having been there landed, ^l'i'^'>'-'' she sailed towards the north in search of furs. Before her de- parture, a spot was chosen on the south l)ank of the river, eight miles from the ocean, as the site of the principal factory, which, in compliment to the originator of the enterprise, was named Astniin. In the course of the ensuing siunmer, the most essen- tial huildings were erected, gardens were planted, trade was be- giui with the natives, a small vessel was built and launched, and every thing appeared to promise success to the establishment. In July a detachment of persons in the service of the North- July, west Company arrived at Astoria, under the direction of Mr. Thompson, the astronomer of that association, who had left Mon- treal in the previous year, with the object of anticipating tlie new company in occupying the mouth of the Columbia. On their way down, they huilt huts and hoisted Hags, and bestowed names on various spots, by way oitalciinr possession, as they considered it, of the territory fir their sovereign. They, however, arrived too late at the most important point ; and were obliged to retrace their course to the northward, having been received and treated with great attention at the factory by their old friends, Messrs. McDougall, Mackay, and Stuart, the partners of the Pacific Company, then directing its affairs in the west. From the in- i- 158 l:i f ' i lRl-2. May 9 ISII. formation which has been obtained, it appears to be certain that by this party were estabhshed the first Hritish trading-posts on the Columbia ; and that they were, indeed, the first white men who ever navigated the northern branch of that river. In the course of this summer, also, several trading-posts were established by the Pacific Fur Company in the interior of the country ; of which, the principal was one situated at the conflu- ence of a river, called the Okanagan, with the Columbia, about four hundred miles from the mouth of the latter. During the winter which followed, the people of Astoria were subjected to many discomforts, but nothing occurred calculated to lessen their hopes as to the ultimate success of the undertaking. Meanwhile, the other party of the Pacific Company's men, proceeding from St. Louis, under Mr. Hunt, ascended the Mis- souri, to the country of the Arickara Indians, near the Great Bend of the river, and thence pursued their journey by land to the Rocky Mountains. After passing this ridgc, near the 45th de- gree of latitude, they descended one of the branches of the Lewis, (probably that now called Salmon Hirer,) to the Columbia, and reached Astoria in the spring of 1812, having undergone innumerable difficulties from cold, fatigue, and want of food. Scarcely had they amved at the factory, when news was received of the destruction of the ship Tonquin and her whole crew, with the exception of the Indian interpreter, at one of the inlets near Nootka Sound ; the creAV were overpowered by the savages, who killed the greater part of them innnediately, and the vessel was then blown up by the clerk and others who had taken refuge in the hold. This disaster was calculated to depress the hopes of the persons engaged in the enterprise ; their courage, however, appears to have been undiminished, and they pursued their la- bors diligently, being confident that the company (that is to say, Mr. Astor) could beai' much heavier pecuniary losses without in- jury to its credit. In May, 1812, the Astorians were still farther encouraged, by the arrival of the ship Beaver from New York with supplies and reinforcements ; and it was determined (unfortunately for the cause, as will afterwards appear) that Mr. Hunt should sail in her to the northern coasts, and visit the Russian settlements, in order to see what commercial intercourse could be carried on with them. He accordingly took his departure in that vessel in Aug. August, leaving the atfairs of the factory under the direction of Mr. Duncan McDougall, one of the Scotch partners, who had been so long in the service of the Northwest Company. 1813. In January, 1813, the news of the declaration of war by the January. United States against Great Britain reached Astoria, where it was brought by persons sent for the purpose from New York ; and, in the course of June following, Mr. McTavisli, one of the partners of the Northwest Company, arrived at the factory from Canada, bringing rumors of the approach of a British naval force to take possession of the mouth of the Columbia. These announce- ments appear to have been received with satisfaction by Mr. McDougall and his brother Britons, three of whom (including certain that ig-pnsts on white men !;-posts were erior of the , the conflu- mbia, about During the subjected to lessen their )any's men, ed the Mis- Great Bend land to the the 45th de- iches of the le Columbia, > undergone ant of food, was received le crew, with le inlets near savages, who le vessel was cen refuge in the hopes of »ge, however, iueO their la- Lhat is to say, s Avithout in- icouraged, by supplies and lately for the hould sail in ettlements, in be carried on that vessel in e direction of ers, who had any. )f war by the , where it was York ; and, in f the partners from Canada, \ force to take se announce- iction by Mr. )m (including 159 Ross Cox, the author of Six Years on the Columbia) immedi- 181S, ately (piitted the service of the Pacific Company, and entered that of the rival association ; while the others almost unanimously agreed to abandon the enterprise, unless they should speedily re- ceive assistance and supplies from New York. From Now York, however, notliing came. The ship Lark had been despatched by Mr. Astor with articles and men for Astoria ; but she was wrecked near the coast of one of the Sandwich Islands, in the latter part of 1S13. The Government of the Uni- ted Stales had ulso determined, in consequence of Mr. Astor's representations, to send the frigate Adams to the north Pacific, for the protection of the infant settlement ; but, just as she was about to sail from New York, it became necessary to transfer her crew to Lake Ontario, and the blockade of the American ports by British fleets rendered all farther efforts to convey succors 'to As- toria unavailing. Soon after the partners of the Pacific Company had formed the resolution, as above mentioned, to abandon the concern unless they should receive assistance, Mr. Hunt, the chief agent, re- Aug. *2(). turned to Astoria in the ship Albatross. He had spent the sum- mer of 1S12 in visiting the Russian settlements at Sitca, Una- lashka, and Kodiak, and had collected a valuable cargo of furs, which wore carried to Canton in tlie Beaver. Hunt, however, accompanied that ship no farther than to the Sandwich Islands, where he was informed of the war between the United States and Great Britain ; and, being anxious to convey the news with- out delay to Astoria, he chartered the ship Albatross of Boston, which was then lying at Wahoo, and proceeded in her to the Columbia. He was at first astounded at the resolution adopted by the other partners, but he was at length induced to concur with them as to its propriety ; and, after remaining a few days, he again sailed to the south Pacific, in the Albatross, for the pur- Aug. -26. pose of finding some ship to convey the furs, tlien stored in the factory, to Canton. At Nooahevah, (one of the Washington Islands, discovered by Ingraham in 1791,) he learned that a Nov. British squadron, under Commodore Hillyer, was on its way to the Pacific, in order to occupy the month of the Columbia; upon receiving this news, he hastened to the Sandwich Islands, and, having there chartered the American brig Pedlar, he sailed in her for Astoria, wliere he arrived on the 28th of February, 1814. The fate of the Pacific Company, and of its establishments in Northwest America, had, however, been decided ere the arrival of the Pedlar in the Columbia. On the 7th of October a body of men in the service of the Oct. 7. Northwest Company came down the river to Astoria, under the directioii of Messrs. McTavish and Stuart. They arrived with- out either ammunition or provisions, while the people of the factory, who nearly equalled them in number, were well sup- plied in every respect, and tlieir fortifications and heavy guns would have enabled them to withstand any attacks which might have been anticipated under ordinary circumstances. The new comers, however, brought information, upon which the partners ii, t] uo fiff i^HM' VIki' 'mI^' 'j^^jn. mI' m i ( J»il3. at Astoria could depond, and which proved to bo perfectly correct, that a lars^e armed ship, the /soar 'Ihtftf, liad been fitted out at Jjondou, by the Northwest (Jonipauy, and was on her way to the (Joluiidiia, under convoy of a friirate, wi//i the nh'/fct of ttilcin;^ ami «hstroi/inr about forty thousand dollars, given in the shape of bills on Montreal.* The business appears to have been managed, on the side of the Pacific ('ompany, almost entirely by Mr. McDougall, whose conduct on many occasions, during the transaction, as well as afterwards, was such as to induce suspicions that he was actu- ated by improper motives of self-interest. It is, however, diffi- cult to determine what other course ought to have been pursued by him and the other partners, under existing circumstances. They might, indeed, have held out their stockaded fort against the enemy, or have eflfected a retreat with their property to some place in the interior; but this would have been to no purjiose, while they could expect neither to receive supplies of goods for trading from the United States, nor to send their furs fir sale to Canton. Mr. Astor declares that he would have preferred the loss of the place and property by a fair capture to a sale which he considered disgraceful; and those who know him well are con- vinced that he speaks as he feels. But mercantile meti are, in general, supposed to consider discretion among their agents as the better part of valor; and McDougall may have reasonably considered himself bound to act rather for the interests than for the glory of the Pacific Company. Dec. 1. While the business of the transfer of the furs and merchandise at Astoria was in progress, the British sloop of war Racoon en- tered the Columbia, under the command of Captain Black, who had hastened thither in hope of securing a rich share of plunder by the capture of the fort and magazines of the Pacific Com- pany. He found the flag of the United States waving over the ♦ This contract may be found at length in the American State Papers, edited by Louiic and Franuliii, (Mi.scellancuus,) vol. ii, page Kill. The fimrih article con- tains a complete list of all " the fslablishvients, furs, and slock on lumd" with their lespective valuation; the buildings ate valued at £-200. w •lly rormct, tto(t out ilt way to tlio ' of /ii/i-in:c r. Mt'ssrs. <, to which nasts of tlic proposed to ilior propor- oliUTibia, at il to engage persons at- ^vhich they States such propositions eenient was if the oilier 'le pstnhlish- sokl to the irs, given in the side of igall, wliose I, as well as e was aetii- wever, difli- een pursued runistances. fort against erty to sonic no purpose, of goods for rs fiir sale to rred the loss le which he fell are con- ! men are, in Mr agents as 3 reasonably ests than for merchandise r Racoon en- 1 Black, who re of plunder Pacific Com- bing over the Papers, edited by iiirili aiticle con- %nd" wiih their 161 factory, which was surrendered, itnmcdiately on his appearance, ISi^ by the chief agent McDougiiU ; but the furs and goods which were to reward himself and his crew lor tlieir exertions, had be- come the property of their own fellow-subjects, and were then floating up the river in the barges of the Northwest Company. The cujjtain of the Racoon could, therelore, only lower the flag Dec. \i of the United States, and hoist that of IJritain over the factory, the name of which he at the same time, and with due sokmniti/y changed to Fort George. These duties being completed, he took his departure for the south.* Three months afterwards, (that is, on the 28th of February, 1814 1814,) Mr. Huntf arrived at the Columbia in the brig Pedlar, Feb. an which he had, as already stated, chartered lor the purpose of con- veying the property of the Pacific Company to Canton. He found Mr. McDougall in charge of the factory, not, however, as an agent of that comp;iny, but as a partner of the Northwest Company, into which he had been already admitted ; and Hunt • It will be interesting, if not useful, here to insert the account of the capture of A.sioriii, a-> lelaled l>y lluss Cox, vvlio rcceivuil liis xnibimaiion al the place, shortly aliiTihu event. "(,'a()iaiii Biuek look possession of Astoria in (he name of his Britannic iVlajesty, and rebapuzed it by the name ol ' Fori Ijeorf^e.' He also msisietl on having un in- ventory taken of lUe valuable slock ol fuis, and ail odier proptrty purciia.sed from the Ainciican ct^mpany, Willi a view lotlie iidop ion ol iilieiior pioixeduiif.-s in t£,ug- land lor ihe recoveiy oi the value Irvtin the Noiihwesi dinj/any ; but he subsequeiu- ly reliii(|uisiied ihis idea, and we lieard no more auout Ins ciuims. Tne tndian»> at the uiuUlU of t..e iJoliiinbia Knew well that Ureal iiiiiam and Aineiica were dis- tinct nations, and thai they were then ai wai, but weie ignorant of me arrangement inaile between .Messrs. iVletJoujja II anti Mc I'avish, ihe loiiner of whom still con- tinued us nominal chief at the fort. On the arrival of the Uacoon, which they quicKly dl.^covered lo be one ot 'King Uiorge's hghiiiig shi^is,' iliey repaired armed to ilie fort, and rii:qiie.->ied an audience id' Mi. M Uoiigail. He wa.-- somewliai sur- pilsed at ilieir numbers and warlike appearance, and demanded tlie object ot such an unusual visit. i;ouiconiiy, ine pnn< ipal chut ol the t^hinooks, (whose daughter Mc-Uougall hail man led,) iheieiipou addressed hi.ii in a long .speecli ; in the course of wliicli lie said thai King Ueorge iiad sent a ship full of wurrii^is, and loaded Willi i.ot.iing bill big guns, to take the Americans and make tliem all slaves, and ihat, as ihey (ihd Americans) were ihe lirsi while men who settled in their country, and treated the llldian^ .ike good lelaiions, iliey had resolved to defend iheni fiitm King George's wifimrs, and were now ready lo conical themselves in the woods close to the wliarf, iiom whence they would be able wnh ilieir guns and arrows to shoot all the men that shouid attempt to land from ihe Englisn boats, while ihe people in the for. could lireai ihem with iheir big guns and nlies. 'I'his projiosi- tion was utuied with an eainesiness of mjiiiier thai adiniaed no doubi oi is sin- ceiiiy; iwo armed boats from the Hacoon were appioaehing, and, had the people IB Ihe fort fell disixised to accede lo the wishes ol the Indians, every man in thim Would nave been ties royed by an invisible enemy. iVJr. McUougall ihankeil them for their fnendly oiler ; but added, that noiwnhstanding the naiions were at war, the (leople in ilie hoais would not injure him or any ol his people, and, therefore, requested tin in lo ihrow by their war shiri> and arms, and receive the .siranners as then frionds. I'hey ai lirst seemed asioni>hed at ilns answer; hut, tm a.ssuring ihein in the ninsi posiiive manner that he was iiiuler no apinehcnsions, ihey consenlcd to give up their weap.ms for a few days. Tiiey afterwanls ikclareil tliey were sorry lor havii.g c mplied With Mr Mi Dougali's wishes ; for when tliey observed Cap- tain Black, suriounded by his olhceis and niaiines, bicak Ihe boii e of port on the flag siatf, and lioisi ihe Briiish ensign aliei ehanging ihe name of the Ibit, ihey re- marned thai, however we mighi wish to conceal the lad, ihe Americans were un- doubtedly m;ide ^laves; and ihey were not convinced ot their mistake until the sloop of war had departed without laiiing any pri.soneis." t Mr. Hunt is now the postmaster ai St, Louis, •(I ^'k 'hS fl: ri ili 14^1 i; 163 :ll a\ 18H. had, therefore, merely to close the concerns of the former associa- tion in that part of America, and to receive the bills given in pay- ment f!)r its effects. Having done this, ho re-cmharked in the Pedlar; and, taking witli him three of his former companions in trade, he sailed for the United States, by way of Canton. Of the other persons who had been connected with this enterprise, some engaged in the service of the Northwest Company, and some returned across the continent to the United States. Such was the termination of the Astoria enterprise, for no at- tempt has l)een since made by the Pacific Company, or by any of its members, to form a trading establishment on the north- west coast of America. The scheme was most wisely projected, and its failure can scarcely be attributed to any circumstances, the occurrence of which might have been anticipated when its execution was begun. That ships might be lost at sea, and that the adventurers might suffer from cold, or hunger, or the attacks of savages — casualties such as those were to be expected, and provision was made against them ; but in 1810, when the Ton- quin sailed from New York, no one anticipated that before the end of two years the United States would have been at war with the most powerful maritime nation in the world. The war trav- ersed every part of the plan. Communications between the ports of the United States and the Columbia by sea, were rendered difficult and unceitain ; while those by land were of little advan- tage, and were liable to interruption by the Northwest Company; besides which, the furs could no longer be transported with safety to Canton. Moreover, all the most active and skilful persons in the employment of the Pacific Company, except Mr. Hunt, were British subjects, whose feelings of attachment for their native land and its cause naturally rendered them discontented, when they were thus placed, in a manner, conspicuously among the ranks of its enemies. If Mr. Astor may be considered as having acted impmdently in any part of his arrangement, it was certain- ly in engaging so large a proportion of persons unconnected with the United States by birth, citizenship, or feelings, in the forma- tion of establishments which were so essentially American in character and objects. That those establishments should have fallen, must be a subject of regret to every American, as there can be little if any doubt that, had they been maintained until the termination of the war, the enterprise would have succeeded, and the whole region drained by the Columbia would now be in the quiet and undisputed possession of the people of the United States. .Mi Tirr associa- 163 CHAPTER IX. 1!! unaiii)n of ilin soltlcmenl at the inouth of ihe Columbia to the United Sinte.s, agrcenbly lo the tieniy of Ghent, and siil)si'(|iient nssertions of the BiitishGovern- meni with re^nrd to ilinl net — Convention of October, IHIH between Great Britain anil the United Slates, relative to the countrie.s west of the Koeky Mountains — Florida iieaiy between Spain and the United Stales, eoucluded in IHIK — lleinarks on the convention of 1791) — Procecilinj;s in the Con'^ress of ilic United Stales rel- ative to the northwest coasts, in the year iHiO and in subsecjiient years — Measures aitoiiled by Great Britain with re;{ard to those territories, in lM'21 — AetofFarlianieni est:iijlisliinf,' jiirisdietioii of Britisii eouris ihrouyhoiit the Indian countries of North Ainericn— Coalition of Ihe Hudson's Bay and the Northwest Companies— Decree of the Russian Kiimeror in lHv{l,and nei^olintions bctwein the Qovernincnts of Ihe Uiiiied Slates, Gieai Britain, and Uussia, lor the settlement of their several ciaiiiis— Cohveniiuiis of Ib'il between Uussiii and the United Stales, and of \H-2b between Russia and Great Britain— Renewal, in lHv2*, of the convention of IHlH between Great Britain and the Uniteil States — Nejijotiaiion lietween the American and the Ilu.Nsinn GovernmenLs relative lo the renewal of the fourth article of the convention of IHiJl. TiTE rapture of Astoria was not known to tlic plenipotentiaries of the United States at Ghent, when they signed the treaty of Decemher 24, 1814. That treaty contained no allusion to boun- daries west of the Lake of the Woods; the subject, however, had been discussed during the negotiation, and the American minis- ters were instructed l)y their (Joverimient to consent to no claim on the part of Great Britain to the jxist at the mouth of the Co- lumbia, or to any other territory south of the line forming the northern boimdary of the United Stat«?s, which was considered as running along tiic 4Uth parallel of latitude. The representa- tives of the Republic at Ghent accordingly proposed that the said parallel siionld form the dividing-line between the British terri- tories on the north and those of the United States on the south, to the westward of the Lake of the Woods, "as far as the said re- spective territories extend in that quarter: ProvhUd, 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 claim- ed by, either party on the continent of America, to the westward of the Stoney Mountains." The Britisli accepted the proposi- tion ; but they insisted on adding to it a stipulation, that their subjects should at all times have access through the territories of the United States to the Mississippi, and the right of navigating that river; which being rejected by the Americans, the subject of boundaries west of the Lake of the Woods was dropped. ♦ By the first article of the treaty of Ghent, it was nevertheless agreed, " that all tejritory, places, and possess'ions whatsoever, * See President Monroe's message to Congress of April 11, 1815, with the docu- ments annexed ; also, the statement, presenieil by the British ministers at London to Mr. Gallatin, on the iJGth of Decemner, 18"2('), amon^' the documents accompanying President Adams's message to the House of Representatives of March 15, 1828. IKIl. ill i\\ " . 164 lHir>. tnh'n hij ntltrr part if from (hr nflirr thinnn or nffrr tliv vv//-." px (•('[)t ••('itiiiii islniids in tin Alliinlic fliiiiii('(l by hotli, ^^ sluhihl l,r ri's/iifti/ irif/iniif t/i'hn/;" iilid Mr. .Moilioc, tlii'll {^ncrctiiry (if S|,i|(. of ilir I iiiii(Mi Stiitcs, !ii-('iir(liiii;ly uiiiioiiiictHi to tli<* Uiitisli rli:ii>>£ (riiHaiics at \Vasliiii;;lnii, in Jnly, IS|'>, tlic intention of the l'n:s- idcnt to cause the post at the mouth of the (.'oininhia to he re- ()e.cii|)i»'(l inunediately. No measure for that purpose was, ho\v- iHir ever, taken until the latter part of IS17, when Mr. J. IJ. Prevost and ('aptain J. Hiddh,', tlu; eonunander of the sloop of war Onta- rio, were jointly coitunissioiuHl to proceed to tlio mouth of the (/olimdiia, nnd tfuTe to nss(!rt tin; elaim «)f the IFiiited States to tlie .sovereignty of the country, in a fri(Midlv and peaceful man- ner, and witluuit thompany, which had purchased their effects, and had ever since retained j)e.iceablc possession of the coast." 1818 As soon as the news of the departure of tlie Ontario and of the objects of her voyage reached liondon, Lord llathurst, the IJiiiisli Secretary for the Colonial Department, despatclujd an order to the agents of the Northwest Company at the mouth of the Columbia, directing them to give due facility for the re-occupation of that Jan. 20. settlement by the officers of the United States, in pursuance; of the first article of the treaty of Ghent; and a similar onler was sent from the Admiralty to the commander of the British naval Feb. 1. fonies in the Pacific. About the same time, Ijord Castlereagh proposed to Mr. Rush, the American envoy at London, that the question respecting the possession of the [K)st on the Columbia should be referred to commissioners. To this Mr. Rush objected, on the simple grounds that the spot was in the possession of the United States before the war, and that it fell by belligerent cap- ture into the hands of Great Britain during the war; which fiicts being notorious, there could be no doubt that it should be re- stored agreeably to the treaty. Lord Castlereagh, upon this, ad- mitted the full right of the Arnerir^ans to be reinstated, and to be the party in possession while treating of the title; although he we. 165 1 1' I /if 1/7/r." ox I, " s/io'i/if ftr I'tiiry rmiK'nt ftr its I that iiuaitcr; ins that those ific on the Ith iil(lle,rariyint; the followinj; », addressed to [\w d*!stiiiatioii uving been in- nnnieati( n, re- ites to oc'Mipy that the wliolo arly taken pos- n<'(; c»insideieil '. cstahUshiiient tarily abandon- )inpany, whieh lined peaceable tario and of the irst, the IJriiish an order to the f theCohnnbia, npation of that II pursuance of inilar order was e Uritisli naval jrd Castlereagh Diidon, tliat the 1 the (Johnnbia Rush obj»!Cted, )ssession of the belligerent cap- ar; which tacts t should be re- I, upon this, ad- tatcd, and to be e; although he cjcprnssotl his rof^rot nt the manner adopted by tho United States 1818, to obtain tho restitution, which lie feared niiglit occasion some dif- F^'l^ruary ficidty. Mr. Rush ussurud him that the intentions of the Ameri- can Government were in every resjMjct aniicable, and that partic- ular care had been taken to avoid all cause of ill feeling. • The Ontario entered tho Pacific early 'n 1818; and it was agreed between tho two commissioners, that ('aptain Hiddlo should proceed in her to the Columbia, and take jxissession of tho territory, while lilr. Prevost should remain in Chili to attend to some other business. Conformably with this arrangement, Bid- dlo sailed to tho Columbia, which ho entered in August; and on the I9th of that month ho, without any opposition, displayed tho flag of tho United States, and asserted tneir claims to the river and the surrounding territory; after which ceremonies, ho re- turned to the 8outh Pacific. In the mean time Commodoro Bowles, commanding tho Brit- ish noval forces in tho river of La Plata, received an order from his (jJovernment to aid in tho surrender of the post on tho Co- lumbia to any American officer who might be commissioned to receive it. This order was transmitted, with directions to see it July, executed, to Captain Sheriff, tho senior officer of the British ships in the Pacific, who detached Captain F. Hickey in the frigate Blossom for that purpose; and tho latter gentleman, meeting Mr. Provost at Valparaiso, offered him a passage to the northwest coast, with the object of effecting the proposed transfer. The American commissioner accepted the offer, and embarked in the Blossom in August. On the 1st of October the ship entered the Columbia; and on the (ith, tho settlement of Fort George, or As- toria, was surrendered to Mr. Prevost, in due form, by Captain Hickey, and James Keith, the superintendent for the Northwest Company at this place. That no reservation of rights on the part of Great Britain Avas made on this occasion, the following copies of the acts of delivery and acceptance, the only documents which passed, will fully show. Tho act of delivery is as follows : " In obedience to the commands of his Royal Highness tho Prince Regent, signified in a despatch from the right honorable the Earl Bathurst, addressed to the partners or agents of the Northwest Company, bearing date the 27th of January, 1818, and in obedience to a subsequent order, dated the 26th of July, from W. H. Sheriff, Esq., captain of his Majesty's ship Andromache, we, the undersigned, do, in conformity 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 trip- licate, at Fort George, (Columbia River,) this 6th day of October, 1818. — F. Hickey, Captain of his MaJesty^s ship Blossom. J. Keith, of the Northwest Company." * The following account of the restoration of the settlement at the mouth of the Columbia to the iJnited States, is taken from Mr. Prevost's letter to the Secretary of State, written from Monterey, November 11, 1818, and published with President Monroe's message to Congress of April 17, lSi2, 12 H !.«occupiod by those to whom it belonged, and that the power and population of the Americans in the northwest side of the continent would thenceforth be constantly increasing. With regard to the assertion by the British commissioners of claims of Great Britain, founded on discoveries and purchases of her subjects on the northwest coasts, it is scarcely necessary to repeat, that neither Cook nor any other British navigator discov- ered any part of those coasts south of the 49th degree of latitude, the Spaniards having explored them all before they were seen by the people of any other civilized nation. Nor does history fur- nish accounts of any acquisition of territory from the natives in that quarter by British subjects, except in the case of Drake, whose acceptance of the " crown, sceptre, and dignity" of the country about Port San Francisco, in 1570, the conmiissioners could not have intended to urge seriously, in 1818, as the basis of a claim to the possession of the region drained by the Columbia. The Government of the United States was, in the same year, engaged in a negotiation with that of Spain, in which the ques- tion of territorial limits on the northwest side of America was also discussed. Upon this subject the Spanish minister, Don Luis Jan. 5. de Onis, began by declaring that "the right and dominion of the Crown of Spain to the northwest 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 Juau 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 disputed, she could scarcely possess a property founded on more respectable principles, whether of the law of nations, of public law, or of any others which serve as a basis to such ac(iuisilions as compose all the independent king- doms and states of the earth."* On these assertions, (each of which was calculated to excite a smile,) the American Secretary of State, Mr. J. Q. Adams, who conducted the negotiation on the part of his Govermnent, did not think proper to otter any remarks; and the origin, extent, and value of the claims of Spain to teiri- tories in Northwest America, remained unquestioned during the discussion. This negotiation was soon broken off; it was, however, re- newed in October, 1818, after the conclusion of the convention between the United States and Great Britain; and it was termi- 1H19. nated on the 22d of February, 1819, by the signature of a treaty Feb. 23. generally called the Florida Treaty, ■^ in which the southern and southwestern limits of the United States were definitively fixed. The Spaniards ceded Florida to the Americans, who, at the same time, relinquished all pretensions to the country west of the river Sabine ; and it was agreed that a line drawn from the source of • See message anil docuraenis sent by President Monroe to ConKress February G2, 1819. t See the third article of the Florida Treaty, in the Laws and the Diplomatic Code C'f the United States, and in the Appendix [F] to this memoir. 171 lat the power side of the missioners of purchases of r necessary to igator discov- ee of latitude, were seen by s history fur- the natives in xse of Drake, ignity" of the onimissioners as the basis of he Columbia, le same year, lich the ques- lerica was also ter, Don Luis )minion of the :a, as high as miards having on under Juau te, to the 55th e vast regions ery, conquest, ;arcely possess whether of the lich serve as a pendent king- tions, (each of •iean Secretary otiation on the r any remarks; Spain to tei ri- led during the , however, re- he convention i it was termi- ure of a treaty 3 southern and initively fixed. 10, at the same 'est of the river 1 the source of /ongresb, February le Diplomatic Code the river Arkansas, north or south, as the case might be, to the 42d parallel of latitude, an 1 thence along that parallel westward to the Pacific, should form the northern boundary of the Spanish possessions, and the southern boundary of those of the United States on the western side of the continent — " his Catholic Ma- jesty ceding to the United States all his rights, claims, and pre- tensions to any territories north of the said line." The American plenipotentiary proposed the 41st parallel as the boundary ; but the Spaniards refused to admit it, fearing, no doubt, that a por- tion of the Rio del Norte, or the Colorado, or of some other river flowing through their dominions, might thus be included within the limits of the United States, whose citizens would not fail in such case to claim the right of navigating the stream to the sea. The most natural and convenient boundary would have been a line drawn along the summits of the Snowy Mountains, which extend in a continuous chain from a point in the Rocky Moun- tains, near the 43d degree of latitude, westward to the Pacific, where they terminate at Cape Mendocino, near the 40th degree. Before proceeding farther, it will be proper to inquire into the nature and value of the claims thus ceded by Spain to the United States ; for which purpose it will be re(]uisite to look back to the convention of 1790 between the former Power and Great Britam. On analysing the convention of 1790, it Avill be found that — The first and second articles consist of engagements for the immediate performance of certain sjiecified acts, by one or both of the parties, as the case might require; which acts were duly performed. The t/nrd article is a declaration of rights, admitted to be equal- ly possessed by both parties, to navigate and fish in the Pacific and Southern Oceans, and to trade with the natives, or to make settlements on the coasts of those seas in places not previously occupied. The fourt/i, fifth, and si.rfh articles are devoted to the exjiosition of certain limitations and restrictions with regard to the exercise of those rights, which the parties mutually consent to observe, for the sake of peace and good understanding between themselves, without reference to any other nation. The two remaining articles contain engagements respecting the ratification of the agreement, and the mode of proceeding to be observed by each party in case of infraction by the officers of the other. Nothing is expressed with regard to the period during which the stipulations are to remain in force. Whether either of the parties could have withdrawn from them during peace, without a breach of good faith, it is needless here to inquire ; but there can be no doubt that the restrictions and limitations would cease on the breaking out of war between the two countries, and that they could not be considered as again in force until after a formal renewal of the engagement. Spain declared war against Great Britain in October, 1796; and, since that period, the only ar- rangement which has been made between those Powers for the renewal of former agreements is contained in the frst of the two 1819. 172 1819. additional articles to ihe treaty of Madrid, of July 5,1814. That article is as follows : " It is agreed, that during the negotiation of a new treaty of commerce, Great Britain shall be admitted to trade with Spain, upon the same conditions as those which ex- isted previously to 1796 ; all the treaties of commerce which at that period subsisted between the two nations being hereby rati- fied and confirmed." That this article related only to treaties of commerce^ and between Great Britain and Spain only^ without re- ference to the possessions of either party out of Europe, is clear; for, in the first place, no commerce had ever been allowed by treaty, between either party or its colonies and the colonies of the other; and, secondly, another article in the same treaty of Madrid provides, that " in the event of the commerce of the Spanish American colonies being opened to foreign nations, his Catholic Majesty promises that Great Britain shall be admitted to trade with those possessions as the most favored nations." Moreover, that the convention of 1790 should be considered as a commer- cial treaty between Spain and Great Britain, is impossible, seeing that one of its most clearly expressed objects was to prevent Brit- ish subjects from carrying on any conmierce with the Spanish American dominions. These considerations appear to be sufficient to show that the convention of 1790 expired in 1796, and that it had not been re- newed when Spain ceded to the United States all her rights to territories on the western side of America north of the 42d parallel. The restrictions and limitations which the parties to that con- vention imposed upon themselves in 1790, tlierefore, disappeared in 1796; and the rights of each were afterwards to be regulated only according to the general law of nations. Before the conven- tion was concluded, the rights of Spain to the territory drained by the Columbia were undoubtedly stronger, agreeably to the law of nations, than those of any other Power. While the con- vention subsisted, neither party could acquire absolute sover- eignty over any spot in that territory, even by occupation, and no attempt at occupation was made by Great Britain ; so that, on the expiration of the convention, the rights of Spain became again stronger tlian those of any other Power. Between 1796 and 1819, the people of the United States had explored the region of the Columbia, and had established themselves on that river, be- fore any attempt either to explore or to occupy the country had been made by British subjects. The American scttlomcuts taken by the British during war had been restored, agreeably to the treaty of peace ; and on the 22d of February, 1819, when all the titles of Spain were transferred to the United States, Great Britain possessed no other just claims with regard to the country drained by the Columbia, than those derived from the convention of Oc- tober previous ; while the rights of the Americans were thence- forth founded on the bases of priority of discovery and priority of occupation. The British Government has, however, positively refused to admit that the convention of 1790 has been abrogated, or that Spain could convey to the United States any other rights than 173 ' A I ;, 1814. That negotiation of a admitted to ose which ex- lerce which at ig hereby rati- fy to treaties of 'hj, without re- irope, is clear; 3n allowed by colonies of the eaty of Madrid >f the Spanish s, his Catholic nitted to trade 5." Moreover, as a commer- x)ssible, seeing prevent Brit- h the Spanish show that the ad not been ro- ll her rights to he 42d parallel. ;s to that con- re, disappeared to be regulated )re the conven- irritory drained ;reeably to the While the con- ibsolute sover- ccupation, and lin ; so that, on n became again i^een 179G and d the region of 1 that river, be- he country had ttlemcuts taken greeably to the 9, when all the s, Great Britain lountry drained ivention of Oc- is were thence- ■ and priority of vely refused to rogated, or that her rights than those which were secured to her by that convention. In the 1819. statement presented by the British plenipotentiaries to the Amer- ican minister, during the negotiations at London in 182tj, it is declared — that all arguments and pretensions on the part of Great Britain or of Spain, whether resting on priority of discovery, or upon any other ground, were definitively set at rest by the con- vention of 1790, which opened all parts of the northwest coast of America to them both, for all purposes of commerce and settle- ment, and all the waters to be freely navigated by the vessels and subjects of both — that the rights of Spain having been con- veyed to the United States by the Florida treaty, in 1819, the United States necessarily succeeded to the limitations by which those rights were defined, and to the obligations under which tliey were to be exercised — and that Great Britain could not be expected to release those countries from the obligations and lim- itations contracted towards herself, merely because the rights of the party originally bound had been transferred to a third Power. In order to sustain these propositions, it was assumed, and at- tempts were made, as already stated, to prove — that the United States possessed no other claims to the countries in question tlian those derived from Spain in 1819 — that the Americans were not the first to enter the Columbia River,* nor to explore the re- gion through which it flows,t nor to make settlements on its banks — and that the restitution of Astoria was accompanied by an express reservation of the rights of Great Britain to the sover- eignty of the surrounding country.^ The Florida treaty was not ratified until ncaily two years after its signatiu'e by the plenipotentiaries •, and before another year had elapsed, the authority of Spain had ceased in every part of America contiguous to the United States. In 1828, a treaty of limits was concluded between the United States and Mexico, by which the line of boundary agreed on with Spain, in 1819, was admitted as separating the territories of the two republics, Mex- ico taking the place of Spain. The provisions for running and marking the said line have, however, not as yet been complied with by the Mexican Government. In December, 1820, after the ratification of the Florida treaty, a resolution was passed by the House of Representatives in the Congress of the United States, 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 a long Report, drawn up by ja'n.Jo, Mr. Floyd, containing a sketch of the history of colonization in America, 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 in those directions; from all wliich are drawn the conclusions — that the whole territory of America bordering upon the Pacific from the 41st degree of latitude to the ♦ See page 128. t See page 153, t See page 16C. 1820. Dec. 19. 1821. I': . i •I' 'M 174 18^1. 53d, if not to the 60th, belonged of right to the United States, in virtue of the purchase of Louisiana from France in 1803, of the late acquisition of the Spanish titles, and of the discoveries and settlements of American citizens — that the trade of those coun- tries in furs and other articles, and the fisheries on their 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 northeastern point of the Missouri, and at the mouth of the Columbia, and favoring emigration to the country west of the Rocky Mountains, not only from the United States, but also from China. The com- mittee thereupon reported " a bill for the occupation of the Col- umbia, and the regulation of the trade with the Indians in the territories of the United States." Without making any remarks upon the contents of this Report, it may be observed with regard to the bill, that its terms are di- rectly at variance with the provisions of the third article of the convention of October, 1818, between the United States and Great Britain ; inasmuch as the Columbia could not possibly be free and open to the vessels, citizens, and s^tbjects of both those nations, if it were occupied by either. The bill was suffered to lie on the table of the House of Representatives during the remainder of the session. The subject was again brought before Congress in the ensuing year, and an estimate was obtained from the Navy Com- missioners of the expense of transporting cannon, ammunition, and stores to the Columbia ; but no further action was taken on the matter, either in that or the next session of the Legislature of the Union. In tlie mean time, important measures with respect to the northwest territories of America had been adopted and enforced by the British and the Russian Governments. The enmity subsisting between the Hudson's Bay and the Northwest Companies was for many years displayed only in words, or in the commission of trifling injuries by each party against the other. At length, however, in 1814, a regular war broke out, and was for some time oi>enly carried on between them. The scene of the hostilities was the territory on the Red River, contiguous to the frontiers of the United States, in which a colony of Scotch highlanders was established in 1812, by Lord Selkirk, in virtue of a grant of the country from the Hudson's Bay Company. The validity of that grant was denied by the Northwest Company, to which the colony had proved injurious, as the supplies of provisions for the use of the northwest posts had been before obtained almost wholly from the Red River lands. The consequences were disputes and various acts of vi- olence, until, finally, in 1814, the Scotchmen were driven away, and their houses were destroyed by their opponents. The col- ony was re-established in the following year; after which, the hostilities were renewed, posts were taken and burnt by each party, and on the 19th of June, 1816, a battle was fought, in which the Scotchmen were routed ; their governor, Mr. Semple, and seventeen of his followers, being killed. mg to 175 ted States, in 1803, of the scoveries and those coun- their coasts, se advantages :clusivcly, by northeastern 'ohimbia, and :y Mountains, a. The com- m of the Col- idians in the jf this Report, terms are di- artiole of the atcs and Great issibly be free those nations, d to lie on the [iiainder of the nngress in the le Navy Com- am munition, was taken on Legislature of respect to the 1 and enforced 1 Bay and the )layed only in by each party , a regular war id on between :>ry on the Red tates, in which 1812, by Lord the Hudson's denied by the oved injurious, lorthwest posts the Red River ious acts of vi- ■e driven away, nts. The col- ifter which, the burnt by each was fought, in or, Mr. Sernple, These affairs were brought before the British Parliament in 1821. June, 1819; and two yea^s afterwards, a compromise was effected between the rival companies, through the intervention of the Colonial Department, by which they were united into one body, under the name of the Hudson's Bay Company; an Act being at the same time, and in connexion with the arrangement, passed by Parliament, on the authority of which the trade of all the Indian territories in northern America owned or claimed by Great Britain was granted exclusively to that company for twenty-one years. By this act, *' for regulating the fur trade, and establishing a July 2. criminal and civil jurisdiction in certain parts of North America," the King was authorized to make grants, or give '* licenses to any body corporate, company, or person, for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians ni all parts of North America, not being parts of the territories heretofore granted to the Hudson's Bay Company, or of any of his Majesty's provinces, or of territories belonging to the United States ;" it being, however, provided — that no such grant or license was to be given for a longer period than twenty-one years — that no grant or license of exclusive trade in the part of America west of the Rocky Mountains, which was, by the convention of 1818 with the United States, to remain free and open to the citizens or subjects of both nations, should be used to the prejudice or exclusion of any citizens of the United States engaged in such trade — and that no British subject should trade in the said territories west of the Rocky Mountains, without such license or grant. Courts of judicature established in Upper Canada were empowered to take cognizance of all causes within the above described parts of America, as also within those belong- ing to the Hudson's Bay Company; and justices of the peace, or persons specially commissioned for tlie purpose, were to deter- mine causes, and to execute and enforce the orders and judg- ments of the aforesaid courts, in different parts of those regions; tliey being also authorized to commit to custody, and to convey to Upper Canada for trial, any person refusing to obey such or- ders and judgments. The justices of the peace might likewise be empowered to liold courts in the Indian countries, for trial of minor offences and of civil causes in which the amount in issue should not exceed two hundred pounds. Immediately after the passage of this act, the coalition of the Augu^i two companies took place; and the Hudson's Bay Company re- ceived grants for exclusive trade in all the territories north of Canada, and of the United States, not already belonging to it, as also in those west of the Rocky Mountains, under the conditions expressed in the act. Persons in the service of the company were likewise commissioned as justices of the peace, and the ju- risdiction of the courts of Upper Canada was rendered effective as far as the shores of the Pacific ; no exception in that respect being made by the terms of the act, with regard to any of the ter- ritories in which licenses for trade could be granted. The Russians were at the same period endeavoring to extend their dominion over the coasts of the north Pacific, by means more arbitrary, though less effective, as the result proved. J el ! ( I S 176 i;^ lfi21. On the 8th of July, 1819, thn charter of tho Russinn-Amcrican Cornpuny was renewed for twenty years, by the Kniperor Alex- ander ; and on tho 4th of September, 1821, an imperial ulcaao, or edict, was issued at Saint Petersburgl), by which the whole west coast of America north of the olst parallel, and the whole east coast of Asia north of the latitude of 45 degrees .'iO minutes, and all the adjacent and intervening islands, were declared to belong exclusively to Russia; (Iireigners being prohibited, under heavy penalties, from approaching within a hundred miles of any of those territories, except in <',ases of extreme necessity. 18:2. This vhase was communicated to the (jiovernment of the United ^^^' ''• States by the Chevalier de Polelica, Russian envoy nt Washing- ton, between whom and Mr. J. Q,. Adams, the American Secre- tary of State, a correspondence took place on the subject. Mr. Feb. 25. Adams began by expressing the astonishment of the President at these claims and assumptions of the Russian («iv(!rnment, and desired to know upon what circumstances they were founded. Feb. 28. To this the envoy replied by a long communication, containing a sketch (generally erroneous) of the discoveries of his countrymen on the northwest coast of America, which he insisted to have extended southward as far as the 40th degree of latitude; he defended the assumption of the 5.5th parallel as the southern limit of the possessions of liis Sovereign, \\\io\\ the ground that this line was midway between the mouth of the Columbia, where the Americans had formed a settlement, and New vVrchangel, the most southern Russian establishment; 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 i)ar- allel, inasmuch as that section of the sea was bounded on both sides by Russian territories, and was thus in fact a close sea. Mar. 30. The Secretfxry of State, in return, asserted that " from the period of the existence of the United States as an independent nation, their vessels had freely navigated those seas ; and the right to navigate them was a part of that independence, as also the right of their citizens to trade, even in arms and miuiitions of war, with the aboriginal natives of the northwest coast of America, who were not under the territorial jurisdiction of other nations." He denied in Mo the claim of the Russians to any part of Amer- ica south of the 55th degree of latitude, on the ground that this parallel was declared in the charter* of the Russian-American * The first artiiMe of the charter or privilege granted by the Ktnperor Paul to the Russian- American Company, ^n the 8ih of July, 179!>, is "as follows: " In virtue of the discovery by Russian navigators of a part of the roast of Amer- ica in the northeast, bejiinnin)? from the .')5lh degree of latitude, and of chains of islands extending from Kamschatka, nortliward towards Amerita, and souiliward towards Japan, Russia has acquireii ihe righi of possessing iliose l;iiuls; lunl the said company is authorized to enjov all ihe advantages of indiis ry, and all the estab'ish- ments upon the said coast of America in the northeast, from the .'i.'iih degree of lati- tude to Bccrmg'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 discoveries, not only north, hut also south of Ihe said .'iSth parallel of latitude; and may occuj)y and bring imder the dominion of Rus- sia all territories thus discovered; observing ihe rule, that such territories should not have been previously occupied and placed under subjection by another nation." 177 if tlio United Company to bo the southern hmit of tho discoveries of the Rus- iwj sians in 17'.>9, since which period they had nmde no discoveries Mnr. 30 or establishments south of tho said hue, on the cou»t now claimed by tliem. With regard to the suyyeslion that the Russian Gov- ernment might justly exercise sovereignty over the Pacific Ocean (M a close sea, because it claims territories both on the Asiatic and the American shores, Mr. Adams merely observed, that the dis- tance between those shores, on the parallel of /i I degrees north, is four thousand mi/es; and he concluded by expressing the persua- sion of the President that the citizens of the United States would remain unmolested in the prosecution of their lawful commerce, and that no effect would be given to a prohibition manifestly in- compatible with their rights. M. de Poletica, a few days after Apiil2 the receipt of Mr. Adams's second note, sent another communi- cation respecting tho rights of his Sovereign, in which he ad- vanced "the authentic fact, that in 17H9, tho Spanish packet Saint Charles, conmianded by Captain V "o, found, in the lati- tude oifortif-eifrlit andfortij-nine deij^'ees ussian establishments to the number of eight, consisting, in the whole, of twenty fami- lies and f()ur hundred and sixty-two individuals, who were the descendants of the com[)anions of Captain Tschirikof, supposed until then to have iwrished." It is scarcely necessary to occupy time in exposing the erroneousness of this " authentic faety Martinez and Haro did, indeed, find Russian establishments on the American coast of the north Pacific in 1788; but they were all situated in the latitudes o{ fifty-eight and fifty-nine degrees ; and the individuals inhabiting them had been, a short time pre- vious, transported thither from Kamschatka and the Aleutian Islands, by Sheliikof, the founder of the Russian- American Com- pany.* The prohibitory edict of the Russian Emperor, and the corres- pondence relating to it, were submitted to the Congress of the United States in April, 182;2; and in the course of the ensuing year a negotiation was begun at Saint Petersburgh, with the object of arranging amicably the rights and interests of the re- spective parties on the northwest side of America. Another ne- gotiation with regard to that part of the world was also, at the same time and place, in progress between the plenipotentiaries of Russia and Great Britain ; the latter Power having protested for- mal ly against the claims and principles set forth in the ukase, immediately on its appearance, and afterwards at Verona, whilst the Congress of Sovereigns was held there.f Under these cir- 1*23. cumstances, the Government of the United States became anx- ious that a joint convention should be concluded between the three nations having claims to the territories in question; and the envoys of the Republic at London and Saint Petersburgh were therefore instructed to propose an agreement, to the effect — that no 1^ I, * See page 9G. Fleuricu, in his Introduction to Marchand's Journal, mentions the rumor that Haro had found Ru.ssian settlements in 17S8, between the 48th and 4!)th degrees ; but he at the same time exposes the error. t Debate in Parliament oa the inquiry made by Sir J. Mackintosh, May 31, 1633. !l 178 \ i . 1S23. spttlomnnt should bo niado on tho north wost roast, or tho ndja- cont isliuids, (hiring the next ton years, hy llussiuns, south of thn latitude oiTy'i degn.'os; or hy citiztMis of tho United Htatcis north of the latitude of 51 degrees ; or by llritish subjects cither south of the r»lst, or north of the 5r>th parallels. The pro[K)sition (or a joint convention was not accepted by cither of the (Jovernnicnts to which it was addressed, partly in consequence of a clause in the annual message sent by President Monroe to Congress, in December, 1H23, statuig — that in the dis- cussions and arrangements relative to the northwest coast then going on, " the occasion had been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States ore involved, that the American continents, by the free and inde- Ecndcnt condition which they have assumed atid maintain, are encefJirth not to be considered as subjects for colonization by aiiy European Power." This principle (which it would, perhaps, have been more pnization by Great Britain, or by other European Powers, agreeably to the convention of 1790," which they contended had become a part of the universal law of nations. June 29, After much discussion on these points, Mr. Rush presented, on the part of his Government, a proposal — that any country west of the Rocky Mountains, which might be claimed by either nation, should, with the navigation of all its waters, be free and open to both nations for ten years ; provided that, during the said period, no settlements were to be made by British subjects south of the 51st degree of latitude, or by American citizens north of that parallel. To this proposal, which Mr. Rush afterwards varied by substituting the 49th degree lor the 51st, Messrs. Hus- July 13. kisson and Canning replied, definitively, by a counter-project, to the effect — that the boundary between the territories of Great Britain and those of the United States, west of the Rocky Moun- tains, should be a line drawn from those mountains westward, along the 49th parallel, to the nearest head-waters of the Colum- bia, and thence down the middle of the stream to its termination in the Pacific; the British possessing the country north and west of such line, and the Americans that on the other side : provided, that the citizens or subjects of both nations should be at liberty, during the next ten years, to pass by land or by water through all the territories, and to retain and use their establish- ments already formed in any part of them. Immediately after the presentation of this counter-project, the negotiation respect- ing the northwest territories of America was suspended, and it was not renewed until November, 1826.* In the mean time the negotiation in progress at St. Peters- burgh, between the Russian and the American Governments, was terminated by a convention, signed on the 17th of April, 1824, of which the following is the substance : The citizens or subjects of the two nations are not to be disturbed or restrained in navigating any part of the Pacific, or in resorting to its coasts for the purposes of fishing or of trading with the natives, in places not already occupied ; provided, that citizens of the United States are not to resort to any Russian establishment, nor Rus- sian subjects to any American establishment, on the northwest coasts of America, without permission from the governor or com- mander of such place. No establishment is in future to be formed upon the northwest coasts of America, or the adjacent is- lands, by citizens of the United States, north of the latitude of 54 ♦ Documenls accompanying the President's message of January 31, 1826. degrees of Russ nations seas, gi poses o neverth their cii any am vided, tl pretext or for tl against serving ties, aiK of this 1 Thus so far a enforcec turned i were, ai their in stated, 1 the inte been rei changed On th northwe eluded Its prov trade wi tical wit sia, in t and defi cation 1: the con made tt Wales's and to r to the 5 the moi of inters wich, (f continu( but, wh ten leag at the d to form British * Appei American sonment. t Herst [ and explored under the au- lally, they de- ting the terri- is set forth by in its general ith the actual cy, and settle- irts of America in, or by other ^1790," which law of nations. 11 sh presented, t any country imed by either ?rs, be free and lat, during the Jritish subjects 1 citizens north ush afterwards t, Messrs. Hus- :ounter-project, itories of Great ; Rocky Moun- tains westward, > of the Coluin- its termination ntry north and the other side: lions should be md or by water their establish- imediately after Dtiation respect- spended, and it 5s at St. Peters- 1 Governments, 5 17th of April, The citizens or )ed or restrained ting to its coasts the natives, in ns of the United timent, nor Rus- n the northwest [overnor or com- in future to be • the adjacent is- he latitude of 54 anuary 31, 1826. 181 degrees and 40 minutes, nor by Russians, or under the authority lei-l of Russia, south of that latitude. The citizens or subjects of both nations may, during the next ten years, frequent the interior seas, gulfs, harbors, and creeks upon the said coasts, for the pur- poses of fishing or of trading with the natives. The two Powers, nevertheless, engage, reciprocally, neither to sell, nor to sutler their citizens or subjects to sell, to the natives on the said coasts, any arms, powder, munitions of war, or spirituous liquors ; pro- vided, that this restriction is not to be regarded as affording a pretext for the search or detention of vessels engaged in trading, or for the seizure of the articles, or for any measure of restraint against the merchants or their crews ; the parties respectively re- serving to themselves the right of determining upon the penal- ties, and of inflicting the punishments, in cases of contravention of this prohibition by their citizens or subjects.* Thus was the ukase of September, 18"il, virtually annulled, so for as regarded American citizens, against whom it had been enforced in one instance only. The brig Pearl, of Boston, was turned away from Sitca in October, 1822; her owners, however, were, after the conclusion of the convention, indemnified for their injuries by the Russian Government. It may be here stated, that the stipulation respecting the trade and fishery in the interior waters on the northwest side of America has not been renewed ; the other engagements continue in force, un- changed. On the 28th of February, 1825, a convention, relative to the 16*2.^. northwest coast of America and the adjacent seas, was also con- ^'^^- -'^ eluded between the Governments of Russia and Great Britain. f Its provisions concerning the navigation of the Pacific, and the trade with the natives of the American coasts, were nearly iden- tical with those agreed on between the United States and Rus- sia, in the preceding year ; it is, however, much more particular and definite as regards territorial limits. " The line of demar- cation between the possessions of the parties upon the coasts of the continent and the islands of America, in the northwest," is made to commence from the southernmost point of Prince of Wales's Island, in the latitude of .54 degrees and 40 minutes, and to run eastward to the Portland Channel, which it ascends to the 56th degree of latitude; thence it follows the summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast, as far as the point of intersection of the 141st degree of longitude west from Green- wich, (passing through the west side of Mount Saint Elias,) and continues along that meridian, northward, to the Arctic Ocean ; but, wherever the said summit of the mountains is more than ten leagues from the sea, the boundary runs parallel to the coast at the distance of ten leagues from it. The Russians are never to form an establishment south or east of this line, nor are the British to form any on the other side of it; but the British aie ♦ Appendix [F] to ihis memoir. By ihe act of Congress of May 19, IH'26, any American citizen contravening this prohibition becomes liable to fine aiul impri- sonment. t Herstlett's British Treaties, vol. iii, page 362: and appendix [FJ to Ihis memoir, 13 I- fa t I, .5 K \ m 182 1825. to enjoy forever the right of navigating all streams, which may cross the said boundary in their course from the interior of the continent to the sea. The navigation of the inland seas, gulfs, harbors, and creeks on the coasts, for the purposes of fishing or of trading with the natives, is left free to both parties for ten years, under restrictions similar to those set forth in the con- vention between Russia and the United States ; and the port of Sitca, or New Archangel, is opened to British subjects during the same period. These provisions were not renewed at the expira- tion of the ten years; all the other stipulations still remain in force. In these two conventions the Governments of the United States and Great Britain, separately and independently, yet equally and clearly, though implicitly, recognise the exclusive privilege of Russia to occupy all the coasts and islands of the Pacific side of America, north of the latitude of 54 degrees and 40 minutes, and to exercise sovereignty over the places thus occupied, but withmit acknowledging her absolute and entire possession of all that part of America. With regard to the territories extending southward from the said parallel, in which the Russians are to make no estab- lishment, the right of occupation is claimed by both the other Powers; indirectly by the United States, but distinctly and to the exclusion of all other nations by Great Britain. In December, 1824, President Monroe, by his last annual mes- sage to Congress, advised the immediate establishment of a mili- tary post at the mouth of the Columbia, and also the despatch of a frigate for the survey of the coasts contiguous to that point, and for the protection of American interests in the north Pacific. The same measures were in the following year recommended by Pres- ident Adams, among the various plans for the advantage of the United States, and of the world in general, to which he directed the attention of the Federal Legislature, at the commencement of its session. In compliance with this recommendation, a com- I8:Y, mittee was appointed by the House of Representatives, the chair- man of which (Mr. Baylies) submitted two reports, containing numerous details respecting — the history (tf discovery and trade in Northwest America; the geography, soil, climate, and productions of the portion claimed by the United States ; the number and value of the furs procured in it; the expenses of surveying its coasts, and of forming military establishments for its occupation; and many other points connected with those matters : and he concluded by bringing in a bill for the immediate execution of the measures proposed by the President.* This bill was laid on the table of the House, and the subject was not again agitated in Congress until two years afterwards ; little or no interest re- specting the northwest territories of America was in fact then felt by citizens of the United States, either in or out of Congress. By this time, the pt^riod of ten years, during which the coun- tries claimed by Great Britain, or by the United States, west of the Rocky Mountains, were to remain free and open to the people of both nations, was drawing to a close; and it was desirable that * iSee reports uf ihe House of Representatives, 1st session of (lie 19th Congress. ments, yond th that wh howeve Americi disposa Unde Go verm these British Governi lumbia nations States I of latiti and the s, which may- interior of the id seas, gulfs, s of fishing or )arties for ten in the con- ind the port of cts during the at the expira- emain in force. United States et equally and fe privilege of Pacific side of ) minutes, and ied, but without ■ all that part of southward from (lake no estab- both the other ictly and to the ist annual mes- iment of a mili- the despatch of I that point, and .h Pacific. The tended by Pres- dvantage of the lich he directed mmencement of idation, a com- itives, the chair- lorts, containing rery and trade in and productions he number and of surveying its r its occupation ; natters: and he ate execution of bill was laid on >t again agitated )r no interest re- I in fact then felt of Congress, which the coun- i States, west of pen to the people ms desirable that : the 19th Congress. 183 some definitive arrangement respecting those countries should, itKu if possible, be made between the two Governments, before the expiration of that term. With this object, a negotiation was com- menced at London; or, rather, the negotiation which had been broken off in 1824, was renewed in November, 1826; Mr. Al- bert Gallatin representing the interests of the United States, and Messrs. Huskisson and Addington those of Great Britain. Before entering upon the details of this negotiation, it should be observed, that the difficulty of effecting a satisfactory anauge- ment for the partition of the disputed territories had been materi- ally increased since 1818, in consequence of the great inequality which had been produced in the relative positions of the two par- ties, as regards actual occupation by their respective citizens or subjects. In 1826 the British were enjoying, almost exclusively, the use and control of the whole country beyond the Rocky Mountains, north of the mouth of the Columbia. The union of the two rival companies in 1821 , and the establishment of civil and criminal jurisdiction throughout the division of America allotted to them, proved very advantageous to Great Britain, politically as well as commercially. The Hudson's Bay Company became at once a powerful body ; its resources were no longer wasted in disputes with a rival association ; its regulations were enforced ; its operations were conducted with security and efficiency ; and encouragement was afforded for the extension of its posts and communications, by the assurance that tiie honor of the Govern- ment was thereby more strongly engaged in its support. Many of these posts were fortified, and could be defended by their in- mates — men inured to dangers and hardships of all kinds — against any attacks which might be apprehended ; and thus, in the course of a few years, the whole region north and northwest of the Uni- ted States, from Hudson's Bay and Canada to the Pacific, partic- ularly the portion traversed by the Columbia and its branches, was occupied, in a military sense, by British forces, although there Avas not a single British soldier, strictly speaking, within its limits. The United States, on the other hand, possessed no establish- ments, and exercised no authority or jurisdiction whatsoever, be- yond the Rocky Mountains; and the number of their citizens in that whole territory did not probably exceed two hundred. This, however, is not to be attributed to want of enterprise in the Americans, but simply to the fact that they had already at their disposal much finer countries in their immediate vicinity. Under such circumstances were the negotiations between the Governments of Great Britain and the United States, relative to these territories, renewed at London in November, 1826. The Noveinfc British plenipotentiaries began by declaring the readiness of their Government to abide by its offer, made in 1824— to admit the Co- lumbia as the line of separation between the territories of the two nations, west of the Rocky Mountains, securing to the United States all that lies east of that river, and south of the 49th parallel of latitude. To this offer Mr. Gallatin gave a decided negative; and then repeated the proposition which had been submitted by i ;;1 I ' ' \ 184 I lif %i lfl-2C. himself and Mr. Rush in 1818, for the adoption of the 49th par- allel as the boundary from the mountains to the Pacific; Avitli the additions — that if the said line should cross any of the branches of the Columbia at points from which they are navigable by boats to the main stream, the navigation of such branches, and of tlie main stream, should be perpetually free and common to the peo- ple of both nations ; 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 the 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 cou- fioo. 1. tinue in flirce. This proposition was in like manner rejected by the British, who then expressed their willingness, in addition to their first ofler, to yield to the United States a detached territory nortli of the Columbia, in the angle formed by the Pacific const and the south side of the Strait of Fuca, embracing Port Discov- ery and Bidfinch's Harbor. Mr. Gallatin refused his assent to this, or any other arrangement giving to Great Britain the pos- session of territory south of the 49th parallel ; and the negotiators, having no expectation of eflfecting a partition of the country In dispute, directed their attention solely to the subject of tlie cou- tinuaui'o of the joint occupancy of the whole region. I'r. 1,;. For that object, the British proposed that the arrangement ac- tually subsisting should be renewed and prolonged for fifteen years, with the provisions that neither Power should assume or exercise any right of sovereignty or dominion over any part of the country during that period ; and that no settlement then ex- isting, or which might in future be formed, should ever be ad- duced by either party in support or furtherance of such claims of sovereignty or dominion. This proposition was taken by Mr. Gallatin for reference to his Government; and the discussions were in consequence suspended until May of the following year. i.^JT, The President of the United States refused to agree to any modification of the terms of the joint occupancy; and Mr. Galla- tin was at the same time instructed to declare, that the Amencnn Government did not hold itself bound hereafter , in consequence of any proposal which it had nuide^ for a line of separation between the territories of the two nations beyond the Rocky Mountains ; but would consider itself at liberty to contend for the full extent of the claims of the United States. The British commissioners made a similar declaration with regard to the proposals which had been advanced on the part of their Government; and intimated their readiness to agree to a simple renewal of the existing arrange- ment, provided an article were appended, explanatory of what they considered to be its true meaning and bearing. Mr. Gallatin was unable to assent to any addition, of that or any other nature; and Aiif.'. -20. at length, on the 20th of August, a convention* was signed, to the effect — that all the provisions of the third article of the convention ♦ Convention of 1827 between the United States and Great Britain, in the Ap- pendix [FJ to this memoir. * Docun M' the 49th par- lific -, with the the branches »able by bouts es, and of the on to the peo- f neither party e territories of by the people lit be occupied ring which, all n should Con- ner rejected by , in addition to ached territory e Pacific coast g Port Discov- l his assent to Britain the pos- the negotiators, the country in icct of the cou- )n. irrangenient ac- iged for fifteen ould assume or ver any part of ement then ex- uld ever be ad- f such cU\inis of s taken by Mr. the discussions following year, to agree to any and Mr. Galla- at tlie Amerivnn n conseqwuce of jaration between cky Mountains; the full extent oj missioners made which had been 1 intimated their ixisting arrange- to ry of what they Mr. Gallatin was >ther nature ; and i^as signed, to the )f the convention ,t Britain, in the Ap- 185 of October, 1818, should be further indefinitely continued in 1S07 force; either party being, however, at liberty, after the ^Oth of October, 1828, to annul and abrogate tlie engagement, on giving due notice of twelve months to tlie other. This agreement still remains in force, notwithstanding the many efforts which have been made in the Congress of the United States to procure its abrogation. In the course of this negotiation, the claims of the respective parties to the territories were fully set forth, and thoroughly ex- amined, not only in conferences between the ])lcnipotentiaries, but also in written statements* submitted on each side, "^{'o re- view all the assumptions and arguments thus advanced, in detail, would be superfluous, as they have been kept in mind through- out this memoir; it will be proper, however, to present a sum- mary of them,Avith remarks on points not already noticed, as the best means of showing the positions assumed by each Govern- ment at that time. Mr. Gallatin claimed for the United States the possession of the country west of the Rocky Mountains, between the •12d and the 49th parallels of latitude, upon the grounds of — The first discovery of the Columbia, by tiray; the first explor- ation of the territory through wliich that river flows, by Lewis and Clarke; and the establishment of the first posts and settle- ments in the said territory, by citizens of the United States : The virtual recognition by the British Government of the title of the United States, in the restitution of the post near the mouth of tlie Columbia, agreeably to the first article of the treaty of Ghent, without any reservation or excejjtion whatsoever: The acijuisition by the United States of all the titles of Spain, which titles were derived iVom the discovery and exploration of the coasts of the region in question, by Spanish subjects, before they had been seen by tlu; people of any other civilized nation: And, lastly, upon the ground o( rontii:uiti/, which should give to the United States a stronger right to those territories than could be advanced by any otiier Power. "If," said Mr. Gallatin, "a lew trading factories on the shores of Hudson's I3ay have been considered by Great Hritaiu as giving an exclusive right of oci'u- pantty as far as the Rocky Mountains — if the infant settlements on the more southern Atlantic shores justified a claim thence to the South Seas, and Miiich was actually enforced to the 31issis- sippi — that of the millions of American citizens already within reach of those seas, cannot consistently be rejected. It will not be denied, that the extent of contiguous country to whicii an acttial settlement gives a prior right, must depend, in a consider- able degree, on the magnitude and population of that settlement, and on the facility M'ith which the vacant adjacent land may, within a short time, be occupied, settled, and cultivated by such population, compared with the probability of its being occupied and settled from any other quarter. This doctrine was admitted to its fullest extent by Great Britain, as appeared by all her char- * Document of the House of Reprebenlatives, 20lh Congress, 1st session, No. 199. *: 186 n 1827. ters, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, given to colonies established then only on the borders of the Atlantic. How much more natural and stronger the claim, -when made by a nation whose population extended to the central parts of the continent, and whose dominions were by all acknowledged to extend to the Rocky Mountains." The British plenipotentiaries, on the other hand, endeavored to prove, as already staled — That the Columbia was not discovered by Gray, who had only entered tlie bay at its mouth, discovered four years previous by Lieutenant Meares, of the British navy :* That the exploration of the interior of the country of the Col- umbia by Lewis and Clarke, could not be cited by the United States as strengthening and confirming their claim to that terri- tory, because, " if not before, at least in the same and subsrrfvent years, the British Northwest Company had, by means of their agent, Mr. Thompson, already established their posts on tlie head waters or main branch of the Columbia :"t That the restitution of Astoria in 1818 was accompanied by express reservations of the right of Great Britain to the territory on which that settlement was declared to be an encroachment :| That the titles to the territories in question, derived by tlie United States from Spain, through the Florida Treaty, amounted to nothing more than the rights secured to Spain equally with Great Britain, by the convention|| of 1790, namely, to settle on any part of those countries, to navigiUo and fish in their waters, and to trade with their natives. Whether Louisiana extended to the Pacific, or not, was of no consequence, inasmuch as it was a Spanish possession in 1790; and if a portion of it bordered upon the Pacific, such portion was, of course, included in the stipula- tions of the convention signed in that year: That the charters granted by British Sovereigns to colonies on the Atlantic coasts, were nothing more than cessions to the gran- tees, of whatever rights the grantor might consider himself to possess, and could not be regarded as binding on the subjects of any other nation, or as part of the law of nations, until they had been confirmed by treaties ; had the Government of the United States thought fit, in 1790, to grant ])y charter to Mr. Gray the whole territory bordering upon the Columbia, such charter would have been valid against all other citizens of the United States; but it would not have been recognised either by Great Britain or by Spain, as those Powers were in that year preparing to contest by arms the possession of the very territory which would have formed the subject of the grant. [With regard to these latter assertions, whatever may have been the ideas of British Sover- eigns as to the extent of their riglits in North America, certain • The entire groundlessness of these assertioi>s maybe seen by reference topaijes 93 ami 1J8. t At pn?e ir>3, explanations are ^fiven with regard to the just value of the w...'s here quoted from the statement of the British plenipotentiaries. t See page 165. I For a review of the convention of 1790, and inquiries a.s to its bearing upon this question, see page 171. en to colonies ;. How much by a nation the continent, ) extend to the id, endeavored who had only rs previous by try of the Col- by the United m to that teni- and subscifvcnt means of their r posts on tlie ccompanied by to the territory incroachnienf.J derived by the eaty, amounted in equally with ely, to settle on in their waters, ana extended to mch as it was a t bordered upon d in the stipula- is to colonies on ions to the grau- sider himself to II the subjects of 5, until they had nt of the United to Mr. Gray the :h charter wotdd 3 United States -, Great Britain or paring to contest lich would have i to these latter )f British Sover- America, certain by reference to pages St valne of the Wc. 's its bearing upon this 187 it is, that the charters granted Ay them, to colonies on the Atlantic coast were considered by the British Government as valid, and were enforced arrainst the subjects of other nations, on various occasions, between 1606 and 1763. In proof of this, may be cited the charters granted to the Virginia Company by King James I, in 1609 and 1611; m virtue of which, the Dutch settlements on the Hudson, in a country first discovered, explored, and set- tled under the flag of the United Provinces, were, in 1664, during a period of profound peace between the two nations, seized by British forces, as being included within the territories granted to the Virginia Company. In like manner, the settlements made by British subjects, under a British charter, on the Ohio, in a country first discovered, explored, and occupied by the French, were sustained by the British Government ; and the disputes on account of those settlements are well known to have been among the principal causes of the war of 17.55 between those Powers. These facts are here cited, not in vindication of the justice of such charters, but merely in order to show in what light they have been hitherto really regarded by the British Government. In this, as in all the other points of the controversy, it will be seen that the arguments of the commissioners were founded upon the views of natural riglit, or of the principles of international law, which their Go vertunent chose to adopt and recognise at the mo- ment, without reference to precedent.] Messrs. Huskisson and Addington, in conclusion, presented the following summary of the pretensions of their Government, which may be considered as definitively indicating its views and proposed course witli regard to Northwest America : "Great Britain claims no exclusive sovereignty over any por- tion of the territory on the Pacific between the 42d and the 49th parallels of latitude ; her present claim, not in respect to any part, but to the whole, is limited to a right of joint occupancy in com- mon with other states, leaving the right of exclusive dominion in abeyance ; and her pretensions tend to the mere maintenance of her own rights, in resistance to the exclusive character of the pretensions of the United States. " The rights of Great Britain are recorded and defined in the convention of 1790; they embrace the right to navigate the waters of those countries, to settle in and over any part of them, and to trade with the inhabitants and occupiers of the same. These rights have been peaceably exercised ever since the date of that convention ; that is, for a period of nearly forty years. Under that convention, valuable British interests have grown up in those countries. It is admitted that the United States possess the same rights, although they have been exercised by them only in a single instance, and have not, since the year 1813, been ex- ercised at all ; but beyond those rights, they possess none. " In the interior of the territory in question, the subjects of Great Britain have had for many years numerous settlements and trading-posts ; several of these posts ore on the tributary streams of the Columbia; several upon the Columbia itself; some to the northward, and others to the southward of that river. And they 1827. ^'1 188 their produce sliipiuoiit of it Wii. naviyntc the Cohimbia as the sole channel for the conveyance of the Kritish stations nearest the sea, and for the oiu thence to Great Britain ; it is also by the (Jo- liiiubia and its tributary streams that these p(^)sts and settlements received their annual supplies from (jreat Britain. '• To the interests and establishments which British industry and enterprise have created, Great Britain owes protection ; that protection will be given, both as rei,'ards settlement, and freedom of trade and navigation, with every attention not to infringe the co-ordinate rights of the United Slates; it being the desire of the British Government, .s'« /onif oft the Joint urrupancy rontiimi's, to regulate its own obligations by the same rules Avhich govern the obligations of every other occuj)ying party." These concluding declarations of the British conmiissioners are sutliciently explicit. When taken in connexion with the reasonings which precede them, they show clearly that all farther attempts on the part of the United States to establish the justice of their claims by negotiation with Great Britain should be de- ferred until the two parties are more nearly ecjual as regards the power of enf(»rcing tlieir resi)ective determinations. The new convention was submitted by President Adams to the Senate of the United States in the winter of 18:^7, and, hav- ing been approved, was iimnediately ratified ; since which, no communication whatsoever, on subjects connected with the n.^rlhwest coasts of Ameri(;a, has passed between the Govern- moMt of the Re|niblic and that of Great Britain. '■'■♦'^ The documents relative to the negotiation Avere laid befiirc the House of H(>])resentatives at Washington in tlie spring of Ib'^iH, and were published by its order. In the ensuing session the sub- ject of the occupation of the mouth of the Colutnbia was again brought before that House, and, after a long series of debates, a bill was reported, authorizing the President to erect forts be- yond tlie Rocky Mountains, and to cause those territories to be explored ; and providing for the punishment of offences commit- ted there by American citizens. This bill was rejected on the iilJd of December. In Jainiary, 1831, President Jackson, in re- ply to a call for information, sent to the Senate a report from the Secretary of War, relative to the Jiritisli fstablis/mients on thv Co- lumOifi, and tlie state of the fur Iradc^ containing several interest- ing connnunications from persons engaged in that business, or acquainted with it; but no action was taken on the subject, and very little attention was given in either House to matters con- cerning the countries in question uinil 1838. 1 :;;.t. Before that year, the Government of the United States had been engaged in another discussion with that of Russia, respect- ing the northwest coasts. It will be remembered, that by the convention of 1824 it was miderstood that, during a term of ten years, coimting from the signature of the convention, the ships of both J'owers, or which belong to their citizens or subjects, re- spectively, might reciprocally frequent, without any hindrance whatever, the interior seas, gulfs, harbors, and creeks, upon the coast mentioned in the preceding article, for the purpose of fish- 1 -I ».). J.ri. 7. 1S9 Kmvcyance of a, and for the so by the (Jo- el settlements itish industry Dtection ; that , and freedom infringe the u desire of the 1 (witiiiuetf, to ch govern the ;onniiissioners xion with tlie tliat all farther ish tlie justice should be de- as regards the ent Adams to 827, and, hav- icc which, no Ued with the n the Govern- laid bel(>re the spring of lb"i8, ession the suh- ibia was again ies of debates, erect forts be- erritories to be fences commit- rejected on tiie Jackson, in re- report from the 'tuts on t/tv Co- leveral interest- at business, or he subject, and o mutters con- ted States had llussia, respect- ed, that by the g a term of ten iition, the ships or subjects, re- any hindrance reeks, upon the purpose of fish - IKJT Nov :? ing and trading with the natives of the country. The period 1834. during which this right was to he exercised by both parties ex- pired in Afjril, 1834, and innnediately afterwards two Anunican vessels were ordered by Haron VVrangel, the governor of the Rus- sian settlements in America, to cease their trade on the coasts north of the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes. The Russian minister at Washington, about the same time, gave notice of the expiration of this agreement to Mr. Forsyth, the Secretary of State of the United States,* suggesting to him, also, the propriety of conmiunicating the fact otKcially to the citizens of the Re- public. Mr. Forsyth, in his answer, expressed a wish to know whether a proposition for the continuance of the arrangement would be favorably received at Saint Petersburgh; and the Rus- siati minister being unable to answer the question, the represent- ative of the United States near the Imperial Government was instructed to propose formally the renewal of the stipulations for an indefinite period. In the mean time, however, a notice of the expiration of the agreement, and of the order given by Haron VVrangel, was ])ublished in the newspapers of the United States. f The reasoning of Mr. Forsyth on tliis question, as presented in his letter of instruction to Mr. Dallas, the envoy of the United States at Saint Petersburgh, can scarcely be abridged M'ithout materially impairing its strength. Mr. Forsyth, after repeating the cardinal rule as to the construction of instruments of every kind, namely — tlitit thcij shmthl he so rotistruff/, if possih/c, fis that eririj part iimy stand — maintains that the fourdi article of the convention cannot " be understood as implying an acknowledg- ment on the part of tlie United States of the right of Russia to the possfssion of the coast above the latitude of 54 degrees 40 miruUes north ; but that it should be taken in connexion with the other articles, which have, in fact, no reference whatever to the question of the right of ])ossession of the imoccupied parts of the coast. In a spirit of compromise, and to prevent future col- lisions or dirticullies, 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 the agreement; but the question of the ri<>/i( of jiosscssion beyond the existing establishments, as it subsisted previous to, or at the time of, the conclusion of the convention, was left untouched. The l/nited States, in agreeing not to limn 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, nuist have acknowledged the right of the United States to the territory south of the line. But that llussia did not so understand the article, is conclusively proved by her having entered into a similar agreement in a sub- sequent treaty (1825) with Great Britain, and having, in fact, ♦ Messajre of President Van Bureii of December 4, 1838, and the accompanying docuinenl No. 2. t See the Washington Globe of July 22, 1835. .\ I 190 1637. Not. 3. ^^v acknowledged in that instrument the right of possession of the same territory by Great Britain. The United States can only be considered as acknowledging 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 of interence, 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. i\dmitting 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 tfie natives. All that the convention admits is, an inference of the right of Russia to acquire possession by settlement north of 54 degrees and 4U minutes north ; and until that possession is taken, the first article of the convention acknowledges tlie right of the United States to fish and trade, as prior to its negotiation." These arguments, the conclusiveness of which appears to be unquestionable, the Russian Cliancellor of State, Count Nessel- rode, did not attempt to controvert. He contented himself sim- ply with declining, in behalf of his Government, the proposition for the renewal of the engagements contained in the fourth article of the convention ; and thus the matter rests. American vessels are prohibited from frequenting a large portion of the unoccupied west coasts of the continent, north of the latitude of 54 degrees and 40 minutes ; and the trade of the United States in the north Pacific has been doubtless somewhat diminished in consequence. The Russians have, in like manner, refused to renew the stip- ulations of the same nature contained in the fifth article of the treaty of 1825 between their Government and that of Great Brit- ain, and have, moreover, directly opposed the enforceme.v of the right, secured to the latter Power, by another article of that treaty, to navigate any rivers which may flow from the interior of the con- tinent to the ocean, across the line of boundary there establish- ed. The circumstances as related* are the following: In 1834, the Hudson's Bay Company fitted out an expedition for the pur- pose of establishing a trading post on the Sti/dne, a river lately discovered, entering the ocean in latitude of 56 degrees 50 min- utes, which IS said to be three miles broad at its mouth, and a mile broad at the distance of thirty-five miles higher up. Baron Wrangel, the Governor of the Russian-American possessions, hav- ing ' aen informed of this project, erected a block-house at the mouth of the river, and stationed a sloop of war there ; and on the appearance of the vessel bearing the men and materials for the contemplated establishments, the British were informed that they would not be allowed to pass. All appeals to the treaty were ineffectual; and the Hudson's Bay Company were foiled in their attempt, after having spent, as is asserted, twenty thousand pounds in preparations. ♦ London and Westminster Review for August, 1838. 191 »i ssession of the es can only be to acquire, by tids above the this is a mere itains notliing .ates to occupy inference was t cannot follow the just right, lem, under tiie he unoccupied )r trading with m inference of ment north of ; possession is dges the right s negotiation." appears to be Count Nessel- liimself sim- [he proposition e fourth article iierican vessels he unoccupied of 54 degrees 3s in the north 1 consequence. enew the stip- i article of the of Great Brit- rceme \; of the ! of that treaty, riorof thecon- lere establish- ^ing: In 1834, in for the pur- ', a river lately jgrees 50 min- niouth, and a er up. Baron ssessions, hav- :-house at the there ; and on I materials for informed that to the treaty were foiled in snty thousand CIIAl'TEK X. Arcminl of llie Hudson's Bay Cornpnny's psiabiishmcnts— Pur trade over land be- tween ilie United Unwc* nnd ihenmiliwisi terriiorifs— The Nitrih Amerienn and the Rocky Mountain Fur C< nipanies — Kxpcdiiions of Wyeili and Bonneville— Emigraliun from the Uniivd iStnU'K to the countries of the Columbia — Conclusion. In the preceding chapter, it was shown that the Northwest and Huflsim\s liaij trading companies were, in 1821, united; or rather, that the former was merged in the latter, which afterwards, in virtue of an act of Parliament, passed in the same year, received frotn the British crown the exclusive privilege of trade in all the territories of America north of Canada and the United States, not already possessed by the company, as well as in those west of the Rocky Mountains, so far as the claims of Great Britain ex- tended, agreeably to tlie convention of 1818 between her Gov- ernment and that of the United States ; that the jurisdiction of the courts of Upper Canada over British subjects in all those ter- ritories, was established by the abovementioned act of Parlia- ment; and that the stipulations of the convention of 1818, by which American citizens and British subjects were, during ten years, equally entitled to trade or settle in any country west of the Rocky Mountains, claimed by either party, had been contin- ued in f()rce for an indefinite period, with the understanding that they might be abrogated by either Government, after due notice of twelve months to the other. These arrangements, all of which remain at present in vigor, have proved highly advantageous to the British in every respect. The northern and northwestern regions of the continent liave been explored by their olFicers and men of science, and new means of commercial intercourse have been discovered, of which the Hudson's Bay Company Iiave availed themselves, by in- creasing their establishments and extending their operations. That company is, indeed, a powerful body, or rather a great Power, in America. Its posts may be found occupying all the most important points in those regions ; its boats may be met on every stream, conveying British manufactures to the interior, or furs to the great depositories on the seaboard, for shipment to England in British vessels ; and the Indians are everywhere so tutored and managed by its agents, that they have become the willing slaves of the association, and are ready at any time to strike at its adversaries. Yet the whole number of persons in the service of the company, in 1834, was, according to Mr. Mont- gomery Martin,* less than one thousand, and it has probably not since been increased. 1821 '. 1827 m. History of the British Colonies, vol. iii, page 533. 193 *S1 ii< j< IN38, 'I'll*.' f'nnr««riis of ilu> riiidsnii's Hay Company aro inaiiagtMl hy n i,'ovi!riior, drimty governor, and a mnnriittce meiits (I)r cultivation; ami the other in tlie delightful val- ley of the Wallamet, south of the lower (.'olumbia. The; inhabit- ants of these colonies are kept in a state of absolute dependence upon the company; from it alone they can receive their supplies of to reign necessaries; it retains the right of the soil, and can, m(»rcover, oblige them at a moment's warning to (piit its territo- ries. That the settlements should languish under such circum- stances, and that the able-bodied men should desert from the Hed River into the United States, as they fre(|uently do, is not sur- prising. The furs and skins, which form nearly the sole returns of the trade, are procured juincipally from the Indians, in exchange; for coarse manufactured goods, imported from (Jreat IJritain free ot duty into the company's territories; althougli servants of the asso- ciation are also emi>loyed in traj)piiig and hunting, at particular seasons. It is asserted on the [v.irt of the company, that ardent spirits are never bartered for furs, and that the average quantity introduced into the covuitry has not, for many years past, ex- ceeded a gill per annum for each person in it. There is no cause to doubt the sincerity of the statinnent, especially as it is the in- terest of the traders to keep the Indians sober, industrious, and free from vices ; though other accounts appear to show that the quantity of liquors introduced is much greater, and that they arc often given to the natives for furs — probably without the knowl- edge of the company's agents. The territories of the company are divided into districts or de- partments, each under the charge of an agent, who distributes to the traders the goods received from I'iUgland, and sends to their proper destination the furs collected in return ; the transportation being performed alternately in boats and by portage, for which J 93 ill > IlKiliti^'i'd liy vr'tors, t'sfah- ilatiori of tlio w ic|)nris iiiid is niidt'r the ; tlui iiiDM'ior iiH! of wImmii ! olIuM's being !ii.si()ii lor lit(! ftlK;s(! olliros Mirifcrs, triip- s, liidiaiis, or irir clnthiiig, licli llicy siib- c everywhere )iiipaiiy is iii- 11 thi northwest of liake Superior. Th(! furs and skins from Fort Vuih -iiver are all sent directly to London, by ships whii^h arrive atiin illy, brin^'in^' articles for the trade. The company, moreov<'r, t .iiploys several small vessels on the tiorthwest coasts, and a sti'amboaf, which latter is priniu- pally used in the Strait of l''uca, and the other channels among the Islands of the northwest Archi|M!lago. 'I'hi! average annual value of the peltries expoiUJil from Anu.'r- ica by the Hudson's Bay Company,* betwi'L < lH': " 'I'lic piinciiuil fsiahjishriicni oC the Hudson's Bay Compniiy on the norihwest coasi ..> h'nii Vancouver, .suiiaitd on llif north Imnk of llie Columbia llivur, alioul sevi'iiiy mill's Iroin the oi'i'aii, in iaiiiuiti' 155 ilf^'iei-s, loiiKiiude I'i'J dcprct's .30 miniiics. li was forincd hy Governor Simpson in IH-Jl, and named alier the di^iin- guishr-d u^iv ii:^iih)r w/io first (I isriitrnd and anrvii/ni the Columbia. [!J They have lik('A'i>e a post on ihe.soiiili side, ai ihe uKiiuh ol ihe river, iiumcd t''orl George, for- merlv Asona. 'I'hev have, moreover, Ihe post id' Nas(|ii;illy, in Put;ei's Soiini}, latiiiide ITdeirrees; the pnsi of Fori Laiigly,ni ihe niiilei of Fra/er's Kiver, Intimde 4'.( decrees 'Jf) miiiuies; ihe post (d Fort MeLoiiuhlm, in Mill Bank Sound, latitude 5;.' lit giees; ihe posi ol' Foil Simpson, on l)uiid:is island, laliiude 51j degree.i; and were fored)ly prevenied hvUie Russians, in IHIM, from esiablishiiii,' a post on the Stikiiie River, laiiiiide MiJ degrees west, longiiude IHl degrees 10 minutes. Inland, on the west sicie ihe moiininiiis, ihey have lifieen establishments, viz: Fra/er's Lake, McLeod's Lake, Fort Geoige, Alexandria-Chileoiins, I'.abine, ami Bear's Lake, in New Caledonia; the poM of 'rhomnsun's River, falling inio Frazer's River; the posi>nf Ne/ Perces, Cicami^nn, and Colvijle, on ihe Colnmba; the Flathead and koolania |)osls, between the iioiih and smih branflie- id" liie Columbia river, near the ■MKiiMi.iiiis; the posi of Foil ("lall, on the soiiiliern branrh of the Cidunibia; and the UiiHi'ia Posi, on ihe rivv-r id' I lie si me i,iiiiie, lali'ii le t.'l degrees 30 ininuies, lon- gitude i'Jt degrees, soiiih of the Columbia River. Tliey have, luriher, two migra- tory ti^tding and trappiii ; < xpediiinn-, ol nboiii fifiy men each — ihe one hunting in the country situated between the (."oluinlua and liie Bay of San Francisco, towards the coast; and the other in the inieiiorcuuntry bf iween the Columbia and the head- waters of the rivers falliiig into the Bay if San Franciseo. They likewise have a steam-vessel and five sailinjj-vessel.s, of fruu one hundred to three hundred tons burden, all armed." Ifklti. I* 'hi 194 1838. the whole western department (inchidiiig the Columbia conn- tries) did not exceed ten thousand dollars." The shares of the company are at this time worth more than double their original value, which was one hundred pounds each. In the most recent London tables of prices, the last annual dividend on each share is stated at ten pounds.* In the mean time, the regions west of the Rocky Mountains have not been neglected by the people of the United States. For some years after the destruction of the Pacific Fur Company, no American citizens were to be seen in those countries. The North Aiiicricnn Companij, of which Mr. Astor was also the head, con- fined its operations to the vicinity of the Great Lakes, the head- waters of the Mississippi, and the lower part of the Missouri ; sometimes extending them farther up the latter river, and on the Yellow Stone, particularly after its union with another company, organized in 1822, under the name of the Columbia Pur Com- panif. In 1823, Mr. W. H. Ashley, of Saint Louis, who had pre- viously established a trading-post on the Yellow Stone, fitted out an expedition for the country beyond the Rocky Mountains; and having crossed the chain between the so^^rces of the Platte and the Colorado, near the 42d degree of latitude, he obtained a large supply of furs, which were transported to Saint Louis. About a hundred men were in the followuig year left by him in that coun- try, to hunt and trap; and although they had to contend against the people of the Hudson's Bay Company, who opposed them in every way, the value of the furs collected by them in three years amounted to one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. 1827. In the first expeditions from Saint Louis, the goods were trans- ported on pack-horses. In 1827, Mr. Ashley sent sixty men, with a piece of cannon drawn by mules, who marched to the great Salt Lake, called Lake Youta, beyond the mountains; and after remaining in that country a sufficient length of time to col- lect the furs and distribute the supplies among the hunters, ;i 'I ♦ The following table of the number and value of furs and peltri*!* exported in 1831, from the pans of America owned or occupied by the British, is given in Mc- Cuiloch's Dictionary of Commerce, as extracted from the work of Bliss, on the Trade and Industry of British America : Skin. No. £ s. d. £ s. d. Beaver .... Muskrat .... Lynx .... Wolf .... Bear .... Fox .... Mink .... Racoon .... Tails .... Wolverine ... Deer .... Weasel .... The other articles exported by the Hudson's Bay Company, from America, are ising'ass, sea-horsf teeth, feathers, goo^e and swan quills, whalebone, and od; the value of all which is trifling. I2fi,!>44 each 1 5 n 158,«W0 375,751 " 6 9,393 5 6 5«,010 " 8 23,2(14 5,047 « 8 2,37H 1« 3,85t> " 1 3,850 8,765 " 10 4,38J 10 9,!W8 " •2 929 t(> 3J5 " 1 6 24 7 6 2,2!»0 " 1 114 10 1,744 •' n 3 2(;i 12 (i45 " 3 {) 9ti 15 34 " 6 17 £203,316 9 195 il: lumbia conn- shares of the their orighial ic most recent on each share ky Mountains d States. For Company, no i. The North the head, con- kes, the head- the Missouri; er, and on the ther company, bia Mir Com- who had pre- tone, fitted out ountains; and the Platte and )tained a large )uis. About a 1 in that coun- 3nteud against posed them in in three years liars. ids were trans- nt sixty men, larched to the ountains; and of time to col- f the hunters, eltries exported in sh, is given in Mc- k of Bliss, on the I. £ s. d. 15H,tW0 9,3»3 5 23,2(14 2,37H It; 3,a50 4,;wj 10 929 It; •^4 7 6 114 10 2t;i 12 9t; 15 17 £203,316 9 from America, are ebone, and oi 1; the returned to Missouri, having been absent just seven months. Since that time, wagons have been generally employed for car- rying the articles to the foot of the mountains; they may, indeed, cross the chain, through a depression called the f^oiit/ierti. Pass, nearly under the 42d parallel, between the head- waters of the Platte on the eastern side, and those of the Colorado and of the Lewis, the principal southern branch of the Columbia, on the west; and it is said that, recently, a light carriage has been driven from Connecticut to the Great Falls of the Columbia, near the Pacific. In 1826 Messrs. Smith, Jackson, and Sublette, of Saint Louis, engaged in the same business, and, having subsequently pur- chased Mr. Ashley's establishments and interests, they carried on a regular trade with the countries of the Columbia and the Co- lorado, under the name of the Rocky Mou?itain Fur Compcmij.* The active proceedings of the St. Louis traders roused the ♦ The followin? apcount of the first expedition with wae:ons to the Rcicky Moun- tains made in 1H29, by Messrs. Smith, Jackson, and Sublette, is extracted fiom a letter addressed tiy those gemlemcn to the Secretary of War, in October, Ih2'.(, and published with President Jackson's message to the House of IJcpresentaiives of Jan- uary 25, 1831. It will serve to show the mode and the route generally pursued in these expeditions at the present day: " On the lOth of April last, (IS2!),) we sot out from Saint Louis, with eighty-one men, al) mounted on mules, ten wagons, each drawn by five mules, and two "dear- borns, (light carriagis, or carts,) each drawn by one mule. Our route was r)early due west lo the wesiern limits of the Slate of Missouri, and thence along ihe Santa F€ trail, about forty miles from which the course was some degrees north of west, acruss the waters oithe Kansas, and up the Great Platte river, to the Rocky Moun- tains, and 10 the head of Wind River, where it issues from the mountains. This took us until the KJth ol' July, and was as lar as we wished the wagons to go, as ilie furs lo be brought in were to be collected at this place, which is, or was tins year, the great rendezvous of the persons engaged in that business. Here the wagons could easily have rrossKJ ihe Rocky Mountains, it being what is called the Southern Pass, had it been desirable lor theni to do so; wliich it was not, for the reason slated. For our suppoii, al leaving the Missouri settlements, until we siiould get into ihe bulfalo country, we drove twelve head of entile, besides a milch cow. Eight of ihese only being required for use before we got to the buffaloes, the others went on to the head of Wind River. We began lo tail in with thf buffaloes on the Platte, about three hundred and filly miles from the white settlemcnis; and from thai lime lived on buffaloes, the qimntiiy being infinitely beyond what we needed. On the 4ih of August, the wagons beiiig, in the mean timej loaded with the furs which had been previously taken, we set nut on the return to Saint Louis. All the high points of the mountains then in view were while wiih snow; bill the pas.ses and valleys, and all the level country, were green with grass. Our route back was over the same ground nearlv as in going out, and we arrived at Saint Louis on the 10th of October, bringing back the ten wagons, the dearborns being left behind ; four of the oxen and the milch cow were also brought back to the settlements in Missouri, as we did not need them for provision. Our men were all healthy during the whole time; we suf- fered nothing by the Indians, and had no acridenl but the denih of one man, being buri<-d under a bank of earth ihat fell in upon him, and another being crippled at the same time. Of the mules, we lost but one by fatigue, and two horse>; stolen by the Kan.sas Indians; the grass being, along the whole route, going and coming, suf- ficient for the support of the ho'ses and mules. The usual weight in the wagons was about one thousand eight hundred pounds. The usual progress of the wagons was from fifteen to iweniy five miles per day. The country being almost all open, level, and praiie, the chief ob.slructions were ravines and creeks, the banks of wnicn required cutting down; and, for this purpise, a few pioneers were generallv kept ahe d of the caavan. This is the first time that wagons ever went t) the Rocky Mountains, arid the ease and safety wiih which it was done prove the fnciliiy of communicating over land with the Pacific Ocean; the route from iheSnulhern Pa.ss, where the wagons slopped, to the Great Falls of the Columbia, being ca-iier and belter than on ihis side of the mountains, with gross enough for horses and mules, but a scarcity of game for the support of mea." 1827 1826 ;'lt 196 II: "1! m II 1632. spirit of the North American Fur Company, which also extended its op(!rations to the countries beyond the Rocky Mountains; and several independent parties of adventurers have, from time to time, made expeditions in the same direction. In 183*2 Captain Bonneville, of the United States army, wliile on a furlough, led a band of more than a hundred men, with twenty wagons and many mules and horses, carrying goods from Missouri to the Far West ; and remained with them two years, employed in tra- ding, hunting, and trapping, chiefly in the country drained by the Lewis and its branches.* About the same time, Mr. Nathaniel Wyeth, of Massachusetts, endeavored to establish a direct trade in American vessels, be- tween the ports of the United States and the Columbia ; from which latter, the returns were to be made in salmon and furs. With these views, he led two expeditions across the continent; and having also sent a vessel around to the west coast, he formed two trading-stations — one called Fort Hall, near the junction of 1834. the rixer Portiicuf with the Lewis^ in the southeast angle of Ore- gon ; and another on Wnppotoo Island, at the entrance of the Wal- lamet into the Columbia, sixty miles from the Pacific. He was, however, forced to abandon his attempts, chiefly in consequence of the opposition indirectly exerted by the Hudson's Bay Com- pany Captain Wyeth 's expeditions, though thus unprofitable to himself, have been rendered very advantageius to his country- men, by means of the information which he has atforded respect- ing the territories of the Columbia. His short memoir, printed by order of the House of Representatives at Washington, in Feb- ruary, 1839,t conveys more exact and useful instruction as to the climate, soil, configuration of the surface, and agricultural and commercial capabilities of those countries, than any other work yet publislied. 1838. The posts of the Americans west of the Rooky Mountains are few, and those are on a very limited scale. Nearly all their furs are procured directly by themselves, as they trade but little with the Indians, whom the agents of the Hudson's Bay Company take care to keep at enmity with them. The hunters and trap- pers who remain constantly in that country are about three or four hundred in number, nearly all of them white men. In the summer of each year they repair (carrying their furs on pack- horses, or on their backs) to certain places of rendezvous, where they meet the caravans from the United States ; and the trade is there conducted without the use of money, each article, however, bearing a nominal value,J expressed in dollars and cents. The • The adveriiures of this officer and his party have been made generally known by Mr. Washington Irving, who ha.s compiled from (Jap;ain Bonneville's notes a pleasant narrative, somewhat in the vein of Fray Antonio Agapida's Chroniile. t Hepori of the committee of the House of Repieseniaiives rtia ive lo ihe Oiewn Territory. Mr. Townsend. a naturalist of Phdadelphia, who accompanied Cap ain Wyeili m his second journey across the continent, has published a Narrative of his Adventures. Wyeth's movements are also related incidentally in the account of Captain Honneville's expedition. t These nominal values are curious. We find, among the prices current on the Colorado, whiskey quoted at three dollars a pint; tobacco at five dollars a pound; gunpowder at six dollars a pint; dogt> (for eating) at fifteen dollars each, &c. 197 also extended lountains ; and , from time to 1832 Captain furlough, led a y wagons and lissouri to the nployed in tra- try drained by Massachusetts, an vessels, be- nlunibia ; from nion and furs, the continent; last, he formed the junction of it angle of Ore- ice of the Wal- 2ific. He was, in consequence )n's Bay Com- iis unprofitable to his country- Iforded respect- nemoir, printed ington, in Feb- istruction as to nd agricultural than any other Mountains are ly all their furs 3 but little with Bay Company nters and trap- about three or B men. In the furs on pack- dezvous, where and the trade is rticle, however, id cents. The le generally known Jonneville's notes a Mila's Chroniilp. la ive to the ()iei;on ifompanied Cap ain 1 a Narrative of his y in the account of rices current on the /e dollars a pound ; lars each, &c. principal places of rendezvous are on Green River, a branch of the Colorado, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, on the western side, near the 42d degree of latitude ; and Pierre's Hole, a valley about one hundred miles north of the other, from which issues one of the easternmost head-waters of the Snake, or Lewis River, emptying into the Columbia. Both these places are near the sources of a branch of the Platte, there called the Sweet Water, along which lies the route of the caravans from and to Missouri. To conclude with regard to the trade in peltries, for which the countries on the northwest side of America have been hitherto principally used by the people of civilized nations. It appears to be certain that the business is declining in every part of the con- tinent, but particularly in the territories drained by the Colum- bia, in consequence of the disappearance of the animals yielding the furs and skins. The Hudson's Bay Company successfully endeavor to prevent this decrease on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, by allowing the districts in which it is perceived to remain undisturbed for some time. On the Columbia, however, where the control of that body is less absolute, and its tenure is uncertain, such precautions are not used; and every part is yearly ransacked by traders and trappers, both British and American. How long the fur trade may yet be profitably pursued beyond the mountains, it is impossible to judge from the imperfect data obtained ; there is, however, reason to believe that those regions must soon be abandoned by the Hudson's Bay Company, unless some other mode of employing its capital there can be devised, or the entire possession of the territory can be secured to it. In what other pursuits besides the fur trade British capitalists may advantageously employ their funds in Northwest America, is therefore an interesting question at present. From what has been hitherto learned of tliose countries, they do not oflfer pros- pects of a speedy return for the investment of capital in any other way. They contain lands in detached portions, which will immediately yield to the industrious cultivator the means of subsistence, and enable him, perhaps, to purchase some foreign articles of luxury or necessity. But this is all ; they produce no precious metals, or commodities, no gold nor silver, nor coffee, nor cotton, nor opium; nor are they, like India, inhabited by a numerous population, who may be easily forced to labor for the benefit of a few. Such is the state of the fur trade in the interior of Northwest America, according to the most recent accounts. In the north Pacific, this business is no longer carried on by vessels of the United States, which have been completely excluded from the coasts, by the prohibitory measures of the Russians, and the ac- tivity of the Hudson's Bay Company. The only North American furs which now enter China by sea, are brought thither direct from New York or from London ; but, in compensation for the loss of that trade, the Pacific is now traversed in all parts, by nu- merous Atnerican whaling vessels, giving employment to nearly four thousand seamen. For these vessels, the Sandwich Islands form the principal place of resort, although they often enter the 14 1839. I 198 1 1839. Bay of San Francisco, in California, in order to obtain water and fresh provisions. The Sandwich Islands* are now under the au- thority of a native Sovereign; the Bay of San F'rancisco still con- stitutes a part of the Mexican possessions. How long will these two important places remain in their present political condition? Great Britain has pretensions to the sovereignty of Owyhee; and it is rumored that her Government has made propositions to that of Mexico for the purchase of California. Should the British de- termine to take possession of Owyhee, there is no probability that they could be prevented from so doing. With regard to Califor- nia, however, it is not to be supposed that they would occupy the country without authorization from its present possessors ; and it is scarcely possible that any Mexican administration will venture to sanction such a measure, as it would undoubtedly bring imme- diate ruin upon the Republic. With regard to colonization in Northwest America, it has al- ready been shown that the Hudson's Bay Company is adverse to the existence of a free population in its territories. The only settlement which appears to have been made under its auspices, beyond the Rocky Mountains, is that on the Wallamet, where a few old Canadian voyageurs are permitted to reside, Avith their Indian wives and half breed families, on condition of remaining faithful to their liege lords of the company. In the neighborhood of each large factory, indeed, a portion of ground is cleared and cultivated, and dwelling-houses, mills, and shops for artisans are ♦ These islands have been so frequently mentioned in the coui'se of this memoir, that a short geographical notice olthem may be usefully inserted here. They are in number ten, situated in the north Pacific, just within the limits of the torrid zone, between 184 ami '^'^i degrees of latitude, about three thousand miles, or twenty days' sail southwest Irum the mouth of the Columbia, and abou' twice that distance from Canton, which lies nearly due west from them. The largest of the islands, Otcyhec, (or Hawaii, as ii is also sometimes written,) is about four thousand mi es in superficial extent, and is supposed to contam eighty thousand inlmbiiants. The principal port is Uonoruru, in the island of Woahoo, or Oahu, said to be the most fertile and agreeable of the group. They were discovered by Couk in 1778, and surveyed by Vancouver, who, in 1794, obtained from Tamahamaha, King of Owyhee, tlie cession of that island to Great Britain, as related at page 138. Tama- hamaha died in 1819, after having reduced all the Sandwich Islands under hi> au- thority ; and they are a' present governed by his reputed grandson, Kauikeaouli, or, as he styles himself, Tamahamaha III. The Christian religion was established, or rather the ancient religion wa.s over- thrown, after I he death of Tamahamaha; and several missionaries, nearly all of them Americans, of the Presbyterian church, are at present engaged in propagating their docirines among the people. Some time since, two French Catholic prie.M,s entered the same field as missionaries; but they were persecuted, branded as idola- ters, and at length driven from the islands by the Government, at the instigation, it is supposed, of the Protestants. The aflfair was forgotten until last year, when the French frigate Artemise arrived at Honoruru, and retribution was exacted for the alleged outrages, in a manner entirely confornaable with the honor and glory of the Grande Nation. The value of these islands to the commerce of the north Pacific is incalculable. They form, indeed, a hotel and storehouse for the refreshment and supply ol ves- sels, situated in the most convsnient position, immediately on the highway between Asia and America. Their importance as a place of resort for the whaling vessels of the United States may be estimated from the fact, that during the months of Sep- tember, October, and November, 1839, they were visited by thirty-three ships, four brig!!i, and one schooner, all American, employed in that branch of fishery. It is scarcely necessary to add, that, for the peace and freedom of navigation of the Pa- cific, the Sandwich Islands should continue politically independent. This is, how- ever, scarcely to be expected. 199 u in water and inder the au- sco still con- ig will these al condition? )wyhee; and itions to that 16 British de- obability that rd to Califor- id occupy the jssors •, and it will venture ' bring inime- ica, it has al- ny is adverse s. The only r its auspices, imet, where a le, with their of remaining neighborhood s cleared and )r artisans are c of this memoir, here. n ihf limits of the liousand miles, or abou' twice that rhe largest of the out four thousand sand inliiibiiunls. In, said lo be the by Cook in 1778, hamaha, Kina; of )age 138. Tama- iids under hi> au- , Kauikeaouli, or, eligion wa-s over- ries, nearly all of ed in propagating ti Catholic prie.->i.s branded »> idola- the instigation, it ist year, when the as exacted for the ir and glory of the fie is incalculable, jnd supply ol ves- highwav between le whaling vessels he months of Sep- ^-three ships, four h of fishery. It is igation of the Pa- nt. This is, how- crected ; but these improvements are all entirely subservient to the uses and objects of the company; all proceedings not strictly connected with its pursuits being discouraged, and all persons not under its authority being treated as intruders. Of the per- sons in the employment of the association, a small number only are white men ; and rarely is a white woman to be seen in its territories. The half-breed voyageurs, trappers, and hunters, are better, and less expensive, than any others who could be obtain- ed; and the Indian and half-breed women are the most useful lielpmates, with whom all ties may, moreover, be easily dissolved. There is, in consequence, little prospect of the diffusion of the pure Anglo-Saxon race through countries possessed by the Hud- son's Bay Company. The first emigrations from the United States for the purpose of settlement, without any special commercial views, in the coun- tries of the Columbia, appear to have been made in 1832. Three years afterwards, a small colony of Americans was established on the Wallamet, about seventy miles from its moutli, under the direction of Mr. Jason Lee, and other Methodist clergymen ; and since that period, the number of citizens of the United States per- manently residing beyond the Rocky Mountains has been much increased. With regard to the condition of these settlements, no information has been recently obtained. In 1837 they were all prospering; and it may be supposed that they are continuing to do well, inasmuch as a large niuiiber of emigrants sailed for the Columbia from New York in the autumn of last year, under the superintendence of one of the founders of trie Wallamet colony ; and other persons are said to be now in that city preparing for a similar expedition. It is not, however, by means of such long and dangerous voy- ages that citizens of the United States are to effect settlements in Northwest America; and it will doubtless be the care of their Government to render smoother and more secure the routes across the continent to those countries, li/infr entirely within the undis- puted limits of the Hepiiblic. In the possession of these routes, the Americans have infinite advantages over the British, and all other nations, for occupying the regions in question ; and nothing more is required to render the journey through them safe and easy, than the establishment of a few posts, at convenient dis- tances apart, on a line between the Missouri and the passes of the Rocky Mountains, which may serve as forts to overawe the savages, and as caravanserais for the repose, and possibly even for the supply, of travellers. When this has been done, the Amer- ican settlements on the Columbia will soon acquire that degree of extent and stability, which will render nugatory all claims on the part of other nations to the possession of those countries. Within the last five or six years the Government as well as the people of the United States have begun to devote their at- tention seriously to matters connected with the northwest regions of this continent. Numerous petitions have been presented, and motions have been made and discussed, in both Houses of the Federal Legislature, for the annulment of the existing arrange- 183a. If 'ti,' 200 P! i».|i ml j W 1839. ment with Great Britain, the miUtary occupation of those territo- ries, and the extension of American jurisdiction over them ; and the Executive has been sedulously engaged in collecting the in- formation which may be necessary in order to place the subject in a proper light, and to render movements effective at the proper time. These proceedings are all so recent, and so well known, that details respecting them would be needless. Suffice it to say, that no resolution has been taken on any of the plans pro- posed ; and that the position of the American Government with regard to the territories claimed for the United States on the Pa- cific, continues as fixed by its conventions with Great Britain, Russia, and Mexico.* The writer has now completed the task assigned to him, by presenting an exposition of the most important circumstances rel- ative to the discovery and occupation of the northwest coasts and territories of North America, by the people of various civilized nations, and of the pretensions advanced by the Governments of those nations in consequence. To indicate farther the course which should be pursued on the part of the United States with re- gard to their claims, lies not within his province. To conclude : he has, as he conceives, demonstrated that the titles of the United States to the possessio7i of the regions drained by the river Colum- bia, derived from priority of discovery and priority of occupation, are as yet stronger, and 'tore consistent with the principles of na- tional right, than those of any other Power, from whatsoever source derived. That those regions must be eventually possessed by the people of the United States only, no one acquainted with the progress of settlement in the Mississippi valley during the last fifteen years will be inclined to question ; but that Great Britain will, by every means in her power, evade the recognition of the American claims, and oppose the establishment of an American population on the shores of the Pacific, may be confidently ex- pected, from the dispositions evinced by her Government in all its recent discussions with the United States. It i ♦ That the British Government observes its engagements with equal strictness, there is some reason to doubt; inasmuch as it is said that a large tract in the angle formed by the Pacific and the Strait of Fuca, north of Bulfinch's Harbor, has been recently granted in full possession to the Hudson's Bay, or some other company, which is actually engaged in dividing and selling the lands. in ■tj' 201 ose territo- them; and ing the in- the subject the proper ell known, uffice it to plans pro- iment with on the Pa- sat Britain, to him, by istances rel- t coasts and js civilized ernments of the course ites with re- o conclude : f the United iver Volwm- ' occupation, 7ij)les of na- iocver source ossessed by ted with the ing the last reat Britain lition of the in American fidently ex- nnient in all u'qual strictness, act in the angle arbor, has beeo other compaQy, APPENDIX. A. EXTENT OF THE PART OP THE WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA SEEN BY FRANCIS DRAKE IN 1579. All that is known respecting Drake's visit to the northwest coast of America, has been derived from two narratives of his expedition, which are — 1. " The Famous Voyage of Sir Francis Drake into the South Sea, and there hence, about the whole globe of the earth ; begun in the year of our Lord 1577: by Francis Pretty f^ published in London by Hakluyt, in 1589, in his " Voyages and Navigations of the English;" and — 2. " The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake, collected out of the Notes of Mr. Francis Fletcher, Preacher in this employment, and compared with divers others' Notes, that went in the same voyage." It was published in 1(552; the name of the compiler is not known. Fletcher's Journal is still preserved in manuscript in the British Museum ; Burney, who con- sulted it, could, however, gather nothing from it, in addition to what is published. The Famous Voyage is undoubtedly one of the ^Uli vers others' notes" mentioned in the title, as whole sentences, and even paragraphs, are the same in both narratives.* The Famous Voyage is a plain and succinct account, in general suffi- ciently clear, of wliat the writer saw, or believed to have taken place, during the voyage. With regard to the extent of coast observed by Drake on the northwestern side of California, he says only what is contained in the following paragraph : " The 5th day of June, being in 43 degrees of the pole arctic, being speedily come out of the extreme heat, we found the air so cold that our men, being pinched with the same, complained of the extremity thereof; and the further we went, the more the cold increased upon us. Where- upon, we thought it best for that time to seek the land, and did so, finding it not mountainous, but low plain land, and we drew back again without landing, till we came within 38 degrees towards the line •, in which height it pleased God to send us into a fair and good bay, with a good Avind to enter the same. In this bay we anchored on the 17th of June." After which, the writer goes on to describe the occurrences on shore. Nothing is here said of the latitude, or of the day of the month, in which the land was first seen ; it is, however, to be inferred from the context, that they did not advance far towards the north after the 5th of June, on which they were in the latitude of 43. Such was the opinion of Hak- 1 ♦ The part of the Famous Voijas:e relating to the northwest coast may be found in the third volume of the reprint of Hakluyi's Cdlleciion, page b'i'S. Tlie World Encompassed is contained in the second volume of Osborne's Collection of Voyages, page 434. P M'i h- 'ii 1 1 S -i 202 liiyt, who, in many parts of his works, says that Drake sailed northwest of California to the 43d degree. Purchas, in his Pilgrims, published in 1()17, (page 52, vol. i,) relates that " Sir Francis Drake sailed on the other side of America to i3 degrees of northerly latitude, and with cold was forced to retire." And of all the other accounts and notices of this voyage, Avrittcn before 1750, three only have been found, in which it is asserted that the English proceeded north of the 43d parallel in the Pacific. The famous navigator, John Davis, in his World's Hydrographical Dis- covery, published in 1595, (Hakluyt, vol. iv, page 459,) says : *' And after that Sir Francis Drake was entered into the South Sea, he coasted all the western shores of America, until he came into the sej)tentrionaI latitude of 48 degrees." To this assertion, however, no credit can be given, inas- much as it is noAvhere else pretended that Drake saw any part of the western side of America, between Guatulco and the 38th degree. Admiral Sir William Monson, in his Naval Ti'acts^ first published iu 1712, also declares, that " from the 16th of April to the 15th of June, Drake sailed without seeing land ; and arrived in 48 degrees, thinking to find a passage into our seas, which land he named New Albion." Unfortu- nately for the admiral's consistency, he remarks, in many other parts of liis Tracts, that Cape Mendocino, which is near the 40th parallel, is " t/ie fari/ifst land discovered,^'' and " the furthermost Icnown part of America.^* The World Encompassed is the only work, besides the two above men- tioned, published before the middle of the last century, in which it is maintained that Drake advanced along the west coast of America beyond the 43d degree of latitude ; and upon the statements there given Burney founds his assertion, that the whole western shore of the continent be- tween the 42d and the 48ih parallels, was first discovered by the English navigator. A few extracts from the narrative, with observations upon them, will serve to show that this decision is not warranted by sufficient authority. * "From Guatulco," says the Rev. Mr. Fletcher, "we departed April 15, setting our course directly into the sea; whereupon we sailed five hundred leagues in longitude to get a wind, and between that and the 3d of June one thousand four hundred leagues in all, tdl we came into the latittide of 42 degrees north, where, in the night following, we found such an alteration of the heat into extreme and nipping cold, that our men in general did grievously complain thereof # # # # Jt came to that extremity, that in sailing but 2 degrees farther to the northward in our course, « « * * our meat, as soon as it was removed from the fire, woidd presently, in a manner, be frozen up ; and our ropes and tackling, in a few days, were grown to that stiffness, that what three men before were able to perform, now six men, with their best strength and utmost endeavor, were hardly able to accomplish. # * * ♦ The land in that part of America bearing farther out into the west than we ■before imagined, we were nearer on it than we were aware ; and yet, the nearer still we came unto it, the more extremity of cold did seize upon us. The 5th day of June we were forced by contrary winds to run in with * The part of the World Encompassed, devoted to Drake's Voyagfc in the north Pacific, is .spread over a number of paj^es, the fjreater pan of whi:h are occupied with the speculations (of the compiler, no doubi) on ihe causes of the great coldness of the atmosphere in that quar- ter, and with accounts of tlie ceremonies of the natives; ail of which are here omitted. 203 northwest mblishcd in ni the other th cold was this voyage, t is asserted icific. aphical Dis- *' And after as ted all the )nal latitude given, inas- part of the ree. Hiblishcd in June, Drake ng to find a Unfortu- ther parts of allel, is " the if AniencaJ* above nien- which it is 3rica beyond iven Burney ontinent be- the English '^ations upon by sufficient ^parted April e sailed live it and the 3d xme into the 3 found such t our men in It came to lorthward in emoved from ur ropes and at three men strength and * * The rest than we and yet, the lize upon us. run in with north Pacific, is the speculations ere in that quar- omilted. !»■ • the shore, which we then first descried ; and to cast anclior in a bad bay, the host road wo could for the pn^sent meet with, where we were not with- out some danger, by reason of the many extreme gusts and flaws that beat upon us. # # « « 1,1 tins place was no abiding fi)r us, and to go fartlier north the extremity of the cold would not permit us ; and the winds directly bent against us, having once gotten us under sail again, commanded us to the southward, whether we would or no. From the height of 48 degrees, in which we now were, to 38, we found the land, by coasting along it, to be but low and reasonably plain ; every hill, whereof we saw many, but none very high, though it were in June, and the sun in his nearest approach unto them, being covered with snow. In 38 de- grees 30 minutes, we foil in with a convenient and fit harbor; and June 17 came to anchor therein, where we continued till the 23d of July ; during all which time, notwithstanding it was the heiglit of summer, and so near the sun, yet we were constantly visited with like nipping colds as we had felt before. * # ♦ # Neither could we, at any time, in whole fourteen days together, find tlie air so clear as to be able to take the height of sun or star. * * « # How unhandsome and deformed appeared the face of the earth itself, showing trees without leaves, and the ground without greenness, in those months of June and July [ # * * For the causes of this extremity, * * the chiefest we conceive to be, the large spreading of the Asian and American continents, which, (some- what northward of these parts,) if they be not fully joined, yet seem to come very near one to anotlier ; from whoso high and snow-covered moun- tains, the north and northwest winds, the constant visiters of these coasts, send abroad their frozen nymphs. # * * # And that the north and northwest winds are here constant in June and July, as the north wind alone is in August and September, we not only found it by our own ex- perience, but wore fully confirmed in the opinion thereof by the continued observations of the Spaniards. « * * » Though we searched the coast diligently, even unto the 48th degree, yet found we not the land to trend so much as one point in any place towards the east, but rather run- ning on continually northwest, as if it went directly to meet with Asia." Upon examining these statements, given in the World Encompassed, we find that on the t/iird of June, Drake's vessel was in the latitude of fortif-tim (/e decrees latitude. VVo then left this coast, which we saw prolonged itself towards the south, and directed our prow to the west four days, at thirty leagues per day, and discovered a large land and great chains of mountams. We navigated along it, keeping at a distance, sometimes to the northeast, sometimes to the northwest, and sometimes to the north, but in general to the northeast. We could not know particular things of this coast, be- cause we kept far ofl' from tho land. I can only ailirm that the country is peopled, because in many places we saw men ; and wo judged that these lands were tho lands of the Tartars, or of Catay. At length, fol- lowing this same coast, wo again found ourselves in the Strait of Aniaii, from which we had gone fifteen days before into tho Great Sea, which we knew to be the South Sea, where lie the countries of Japan, China, the Moluccas, and New (iuinea, with the discovery of Captain Uuiros, and all the western coast of New Spain and Peru. " At the mouth of the strait by which you enter the South Sea, on the American side, is a port capable of containing five luuidred ships. The country is pleasant; tho temperature agreeable; the cold of the winter not rigorous, though in 69 degrees nortli latitude, to judge by tho kinds of fi-uits which were found. Here are very high trees, some producing good fruits like to those in Spain, and others not belbre known to tis. " The strait has fifteen leagues of extent, in which it makes six turns or angles, and the two entrances are north and south from each other. The breadth of the northern entrance is less than half a quarter of a league. The southern entrance, which is near the port, is more than a quarter of a league in breadth ; and in the middle is a great rock or islot, about two hundred paces in diameter, of a circular form, and of the height of three shades. The channel, on one side of this islot, is so shallow as to be navigable only for boats ; but the channel between the islot and the land of America, though not quite half a qtiarter of a league in breadth, has deep water for ships. The borders are low ; and forts might be built both on the main land and on the islot, which would straiten the [)assage to within musket shot. The passage might also be shut or locked up with a chain across, which with industry might be formed strong enough to stand against the currents. " It is difficult to know the entrance of the strait on the northern side, because the two shores interlock, reciprocally hiding each other. In fact, when we first arrived there, we were some days without perceiving it, al- though we had already entered, being guided by a good narrative of Juan Martinez, pilot-mayor, who was a Portuguese, a native of Algarva, a very old man and of much experience. But I have taken marks by the moun- tains, to enable me to make another navigation if I should have occasion. " In the port where we cast anchor, we lay from the beginning of April to the middle of June. At this epoch, we saw come from the South Sea to enter the strait a great ship of eight hundred tons, which made us take to our arms ; but we reciprocally came to know each other a"> peaceable t; voyagers cluuuiiso from Ch precious or Hansc of Saint which w where th tain muc little con separated took the The i. lion of tl and pron and audi of fifteen The revii north Pai bly have nnght ha America. ".'1 Note cuniino passarr " Who man, abo properly protessioi come lat( rt'ucc, wl iner, reat in whose glas beir Greek pi I ence bet\ in the Iti " First years, an the Span ♦ The Of oriijinal Sp 207 latitiido iippcars niphcrs iu tlu;ir li u strait exists, i(!!i oil the utiicr. l*arific Ocean,] luiulrod leagues, cs in /)i) degrees ed itself towards at thirty leagues noiiutaiiis. VVft :i the northeast, 1, l)nt iti general of this coast, bc- tluit the country wo judged that At length, fol- 1 Strait of Anian, ireat Sea, which >f Japan, China, Captain Uuiros, nuth Sea, on the red ships. Tlio Id of the winter Ige by the kinds some producing iiown to ns. makes six turns from each other. f a quarter of a t, is more than a •eat rock or islot, ind of the height is so shallow as the islot and the ngue in bread tli, ts might be built liten the passage ut or locked up d strong enough 18 northern side, 1 other. In fact, perceiving it, al- narrative of Juan f Algarva, a very ks by the moun- d have occasion, iginning of April in the South Sea ch made us take lier a-' peaceable voyagers. The sailors had the generosity to give us some of the nier- I'liaiulise of their cargo, which resembletl the things which come to us from China, as brocades, silks, |)or('(!lain, and other ellects of v. due, as precious stones and gold. Tluise peo[)le app«!ared to us to he Moscovites, or Hansentics ; that is to say, those who make their residence in the Port of Saint Mii'-hael, [Hamburg.] They said they came from a large town, which was distant from the strait a little more than one hundred leagues, where they had left another vessel of their country. We could not ob- tain much infbrmation from these people, because they siMtkt; to us with little confidence and much circumspection; and, for that reason, we soon s(!parated, and, Imving left them near the strait and in the North Sea, we t()(»k the route for Spain." The London Quarterly Review for October, IHIO, contains an exposi- tion of the numerous falsehoods and blunders contained in this rc/alinti, and pronounces "the pretended voyage of Maldonado to be tiie clumsy and audacious forgery of some ignorant German, from the circumstance of fifteen leagues to the degree being used in some of the computations." The reviewer avows his belief that Maldonado did make a voyage in the north Pacific, about the end of the Kith century, and that he may possi- bly have reached Prince William's Sound or Cook's Inlet, either of which might have been then at first mistaken lor a strait separating Asia from America. ik 0. ACCOUNT OK THE VOVAOK Ol' JUAN DE PLC . IN 1592. [Extracleil from Purchas's Pilgrim-*, vol. iii, page 81!).*J " A Note made by me, Mic/iaef Lor/,; the ehfer, tmichinrf the strait nf sea, commonly culled Prvtum Anian, in the /South Seu, through the northwest passage of Meta Incognita. "When I was at Venire, in A))ril, l.WG, happily arrived there an old man, about sixty years of uge, called commonly Juan de Fuea, but named properly Apostolos I'alerianus, of nation a (Jreek, born in (Jephalonia, of profession a mariner, and an ancient pilot of shii)s. This man, being come lately out of Spain, arrived first at Leghorn, and went thence to Flo- rence, where he fi^und one John Douglas, an Englishman, a famous mar- iner, ready coming for Venice, to be pilot of a Venetian ship for Kngland, in whose company they came both together to Venire. And John Dou- glas being acquainted with me before, he gave me knowledge of this Greek pilot, and brought liiin to my speech ; and in long talks and confer- ence between us, in presence of John Douglas, this Greek pilot declared, in the Italian and Spanish languages, thus much in effect as foUoweth : " 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. ♦ The orihogranhy of the English is modernized; the lelters are, however, given iu their original Spanish- Italian linguafranca. Vi V- 208 " Also, he said that he was in the Spanish ship which, in returnin; from the Islands Philippinas, towards Nova Spania, was robbed and take at the Cape California by Captain Candish, Englishman, whereby he los 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 ^.„q^ jj^jq l 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 thosj 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 was overthrown, and the ship 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 Mexico sent him out again in 1592, with a small caravel and a pinnace, armed with mariners only, to follow the said voyage for the discovery of the Straits of Anian, and the passage thereof into the sea, which they call thu North Sea, which is our northwest sea ; and that he fpreasnrpr followed his course in that voyage, west and northwest in the South Sea, > . .^^^ all along the coast of Nova Spania, and California, and the Indies, now , ^ ' called $it'orth 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 northeast, 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 northwest and northeast, and north, and also east and southeastward, 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 northwest ,„„„^ ^„ coast thereof, a great headland or island, with an exceeding high pinnacle, j- x^Jl or spired rock, like a pillar thereu}X)n. I ,. " Also, he said that he went on land in divers places, and that he saw pi-ppi^ -j some people on land clad in beasts' skins; and that the land is very fruit- i . jPg/. ful, and rich of gold, silver, pearls, and other things, like Nova 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 everywhere, and to be about tliirty or forty leagues wide in liie mouth of the straits, where he entered, he thought he had now well discharged 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 Acapvlco, anno 1592, hnping 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 Spa wn kindi « Also, I paniards, nation hai vest way i any more. " Also, 1 England, Majesty w would be ( age for th §ea, if sh« and a pinr end to the " And u thereof aci them to d England v !hat time. Idesired in ction diec n his owi fortnight " And ii *''Al Ma "MuyF tre de pocj Vonesia so carta a V. . To the Maf. Most Hon wbai passed Ihoughi prop* me word dire sel, which is Eleazer Hyc Venice, Jit 209 ich, in returnins robbed and taker , whereby he los^ out of Spain, and came into Italy, to go home again and Uve among his nvn 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 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 voy- age for the discovery perfectly of the northwest 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 perforin 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 reoi ""o "le sea, ,)iereof accordingly to England, unto the right honorable the old Lord •^^^li V f/% Treasurer Cecil, and to Sir Walter Raleigh, and to Master Richard Hak- m tne isoutn ^caMy^y^^ jj^at famous cosmographer, 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 iction died at that time, though the said Greek pilot perchance liveth still n his own country, in CephaUmia, towards which place he went within fortnight after this conference had at Venice. " And in the mean time, while I followed my own business in Venice, eing in a lawsuit against the company of merchants of Turkey, to re- vhich the Viceroy nen, under a cap f the coast of the lage and proceed- ss through those utiny which hap. ptain, that voyage a to Nova Spania. r their return, the I so ill ended, the h a small caravel aid voyage for the i the Indies, noM to me in a greai m,) until he came' t the land trended! 47 and 48 degrees han twenty days md northeast, and broader sea than ilands in that sail on the northwest . J. , , !over my pension due for being their consul at /1/jdo, which they held ing nig pninac e, ^^^ ^^ wrongfully ; and when I was in readiness to return to England, , , J 1 thought 1 should be able of my own purse to take with me the said , and that ne saw ^^^^^^ pjl^^. ^^^^^ therefore, 1 wrote unto him from Venice a letter, dated land is very iruit- j^j^^ jggg^ ^^^.^^ ^^ ^^p.^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ . ery e Nova Spanin to the said strait, ling the sea wide agues wide in tiie le had now well St the force of the id returned home- at Acapuko, anno srvice done in the greatly welcomed : that having sued 9 Viceroy told him iself, very greatly, he did perform, he was welcomed , he could not get jth he stole away • « Al Ma^'^o- Sig"^- Capitan Juan de Puca, Piloto de India, amigo mio char"'" en jSefalonia. " Muv HoNRADo Srnnor: Siendo yo para buelverme en Inglatierra den- tre de pocas mezes, y accucrdandome de lo trattado entre my y V. M. en Vonesia 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 escri- • To the MagniJicciU Captain Juan de f\ita, Pilot of the Indies; my most dear friend in Cepha- Ionia. Most [Ionored Sir: Being about to return to Eogland in a few months, and recollecting what passed bt-iween yon and myself at Venice respecting 'he voyatfe lo the Indies, I haye thought proper to write you ihis letter, so that it you have a mind to go with me, you can write me worddireclv how we are to arrange. You may send me your letter with this English ves- sel, which is at ianie, (if you should find no better opportunity,) directed to the care of Mr. Eleazer Hyckman, an English merchani, Saint Thomas street, Venice. God pieserve you, sir. Your friend, U\Cnk£l.hOQK, of England. Vemcr, July 1, 1596. liii ^; )i i3- 210 birme presto en que maniera quereis consertaros. Y puedais etnbiarmi vuestra carta con esta nao Ingles, que sta al Zante (sino hallais otra coi- untura nieior) con el sobrescritto que diga en casa del Sennor Eleazar m, mercader Ingles, al tragetto de San Tomas en Venisia. Y Dins guarde la persona 1596 annos Y puedais embiarmi (sino hallais otra coi- untura nieior) con el sobrescritto que diga en casa del Sennor Eleazar Hycman, 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. "Amigode V. M., " MICHAEL LOCK, Ingles. " 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 : * ".4/ III""' Sig"''- Michael Lock, Ingles, in casa del Sig°^- Lasaro, merca- der Ingles, al tragetto de San To-mas en Venesia. '' MuY Illustre Sig<"* : La carta de V. M. recevi a 20 dias del mese di Settembre, por loqual veo loche V. M. me manda. lo tengho animo de complir loche tengo promettido a V. M. y no solo yo, mas tengo vinte hom- bres para lievar con migo, porche son hombres vaglientes ; y assi estoi esperando por otra carta che avise a V. M. parache me embiais los dinieros che tengo escritto a V. M. Porche bien save V. M. como io vine pover, porque me glievo Captain Candis mas de sessenta mille ducados, como V. M. bien save ; embiandome lo dicho, ire a semr a V. M. con todos mis compagueros. 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 Ceffalonia a 24 de Settembre del 1596. " Amigo y servitor de V. M., "JUAN FUCA. " And the said letter came into my hands in Venice, the 16th day of November, 1596; 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 dis- charged, which I had attached in Venice for my said pension, and thereby my own purse was not yet ready for the Greek pilot. "And, nevertheless, hoping that my said suit would have shortly a good ♦ To the Illustrious Mic/iacl Lock, Englishman, at the house of Mr. Lazaro, English merchant, in Saint Thomas street, Venice. Most Illostriohs Sir: Your letier was received by me on the 20lh 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, f am waiting for another letter from you, about the money which I asked you to send me. For, you know well, sir, how I became poor, in consequence o( Captain Candish's having taken from me more than sixty thousand ducats, as you know. If you will send me what I asked, I will go with you, as well as all my companions. I expect no more from your kindness, or from the tenor of your letter. Gk>d. preserve you, most illustrious sir, for many years. Your friend and servant, JUAN FUCA. Cepoalonia, September 24, 1596. end, I w ofNover 1 dated th< he wrote 1st of Al in Lond perforin South S< former w he was u from Chi wrote hii a letter v the whic into Eng passage i of Nova I I will se money I sion owii I staid ai " And 1602, mil recoverec Lords of Greek pi go with as I hear great sic Venice, a where I absence 1 pany of for the w Thinslati ish con comma then ly In ord( ages, and port in inform ni 211 ledais embiarmi hallais otra coi- Sennor Eleazar enisia. Y Dios er dia de Julio, OCK, Ingles. ship Cherubin ; and also a third And unto my which came not ly hands ; which • Lasaro, merca- ?sia. !0 dias del mese tengho animo de tengo vinte hom- tes ; y assi estoi biais los dinieros 10 io vine pover, e ducados, como tf. con todos mis e carta de V. M. ie V. M. muchos FUAN FUCA. the 16th day of Turkey was not England at the his money dis- lion, and thereby ve shortly a good English merchant, in eptember, by which I my promise to you; carry with me; so, I rou to send me. For, ndish's having taken id me what I asked, I our kindness, or from years. JUAN FUCA. end, I wrote another letter to this Greek pilot from Venice, dated the 20th of November, 1596, which came not to his hands ; and, also, another letter, dated the 24th of January, 1596, which came to his hands. And thereof he wrote me answer, dated tlie 28th of May, 1597, which I received the 1st of August, 1697, 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 northwest passage into the South Sea, if I would send him money for his charges, according to his 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 Cahfornia. 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 I have still by me, wherein he promiseth still to go with me into England, and perform the said voyage of discovery of the northwest 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 1 had not yet recovered my pen- sion owing me by the company of Turkey aforesaid ; and so, of long time, I staid any further proceeding with him in this matter. " And yet, lastly, when I myself was at Zante in the month of June, 1602, 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 Cn"ncil of England, I wrote another letter to this Greek pilot to CephaU'u: '*nf\ required him to come to me to Zante, and go with me into Englf'r. . .t * had no answer thereof from him ; for that, as I heard afterward at » ' , he was then dead, or very likely to die of great sickness. Whereupon, I returned myself by sea from Zante to Venice, and from thence I went by land through France into England, where I arrived at Christmas, aimo 1602; safely, I thank God, after my absence from thence ten years' time, with great troubles had for the com- pany of Turkey's business, which hath cost me a great sum of money, for the which I am not yet satisfied of them." D. OCCURRENCES AT NOOTKA SOUND IN 1789 AND 1792. (I.) Translation of a letter from Dan J. F. de la Bodega y Quadra, the Span- ish commandant at Nootka Sound, to Captains Gray and Ingrahaniy commanding the American merchant vessels Columbia and Washington^ then lying in that harbor. Nootka, August 2, 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, 1 have to request of you, gentlemen, the favor to inform me, with that sincerity which distinguishes you, and which is 212] conformable with truth and honor, wherefore Don Esteban Jose Martinez seized the vessels of Colnett, the Iphigenia and the Northwest Auicvica? What establishment or building did Mr. Meares have, on the arrival of the Spaniards? What territories are those which he says that he pur- chased from Maquinna, Yuquiniarri, or any other chief of these tribes? With what objects were the crew of the Northwest America transferred to the Columbia; and were 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 BODEGA Y QUADRA. To Captains Robert Gray and Joseph Ingraham. (2.) Reply to the preceding letter.^ NooTKA Sound, August 3, 1792. Sir: Your esteemed favor was handed to us yesterday, requesting from us information relative to the transactions between the English and Span- iards in this sound in the year 1789, which we will do with great pleas- ure, and impartially, as you request. On the 5th of May, 1789, when Don Estevan Jose Martinez arrived in Friendly Cove, he found riding at anchoi- there the Iphigenia only; the ship Columbia being at Mahwhinna, five miles up the sound. The sloop Washington and Northwest 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 requested the papers of each vessel, and demanded why they were at anchor in Nootka Sound, alleging it belonged to his Catholic Majesty. Captain Viana, who passed as commander of the Iphigenia, answered, they had put in, being in distress, having but little provisions, and in great want of every necessary, such as cables, anchors, rigging, sails, «fcc. ; that they were in daily expectation of the arrival of Captain Meares from Macao to supply them, when they should depart.^ Captain Meares was expected to return in the same vessel he sailed in from hence in the year 1788, which was under the Portuguese colors, and had a Portuguese captain on bottrd ; this vessel with the Iphigenia were said to belong to one Cravalia, or Ca- vallo, a merchant of Macao, in whose name the Iphigenia's papers were made out. Seeing the Iphigenia was in such want, Don Martinez gave them a temporary assistance, by supplying them with such articles as they were most in want, till the vessel before mentioned should arrive. At this * The original letter is attached tu (he Journal of Capiain Ingraham, which is now in the of- fice of the Secretary of State, at Washington. t Copied from Ingraham's Journal. This letter is now for the first time published. An incor- rect synopsis of it may be found in the Journal ol Vancouver's Voyage, vol. i, pas^e 38y. Some of the discrepancies between which and the letter will be here indu aied by ih*- nofs. * Vancouver renders this passage as follows: " Captain Viana, of the Portuguese vessel, an- swered, that he had put in there m distress, to await the arrival of Capta(n Meares from Ma- cao;" omitting, as he does throuzhout his synopsis, ail the pariiculars calculaied to show ihe miserable condiiiun of the Iphigenia, and the extent of the assistance afforded by the Spaniardti. iards. *ii3 Jose Martinez vest Aiiiuica? the arrival of s that he pur- ' these tribes ? ica transferred >ard that ship ? you to China, dUADRA. ^ust 3, 1792. equesting from jlish and Span- ith great pleas- inez arrived in enia only, the nd. The sloop I cruise. This 3 present. After I requested the chor in Nootka Captain Viana, ley had put in, t want of every at they were in lacao to supply jected to return r88, which was tain on botird ; ravalia, or Ca- a's papers were Martinez gave articles as they arrive. At this icli is now in ihe of- ublished. An incor- i, pa-^e 381). Some r ihe notes. iriufiue.Ne vessel, an- 1 Meares Ironi Ma- Iculaied to show ihe id by the Spaniards. fi time there was not the least suspicion of any misunderstanding or disturb- ance among us, as Don Martinez was apparently satisfied with the an- swers each vessel had given to his request. However, on the 10th of May, the San Carlos, Captain Arrow, [Haro,] arrived. The same day the American officers came to Uquot, or Friendly Cove, to welcome them in, and the next morning, the 11th of May, Don Martinez captured the Iphigenia, and his reason, as we understood, was, that, in their Portuguese instructions, they had orders to capture any English, Spanish, or Russian subjects they met on the northwest coast of America. This, at the time, seemed improbable, as she was a vessel of small force, and it was afterwards found to have been a mistake, ow- ing to their want of a perfect knowledge of the Portuguese language. However, after the vessel was taken, the officers and seamen were di- vided, some on board the Princesa, and some on board the San Carlos, where they were treated wi'' all imaginable kindness and every attention paid them. * On the 24th of May the abovementioned mistake being discovered, the Iphigenia was returned again and the Portuguese flag hoisted on board her; the same day. Captain Douglas, with the Portuguese captain and sea- men, repaired on board. The Iphigenia, while in possession of the Span- iards, from being a wreck was put in complete order for sea, being calked, rigging and sails repaired, anchors and cables sent from the Princesa, &c. On the 26th Don Martinez supplied them with every kind of provisions they were in need of, for which Captain Douglas gave him bills on Cra- vallia, the beforementioncd merchant of Macao. On the 31st the Iphi- genia sailed, and was saluted by the Spanish fort ; and the commodore ac- companied them out of the harbor, giving every assistance Avith boats, &c. When Captain Douglas took his leave of the commodore, he declared he should ever entertain a sense of Don Martinez's kindness, deeming his conduct relative to the vessel no more than his duty as a king's officer. Upon the whole, we both believe the Iphigenia's being detained was of infinite service to those who were concerned in her. This must be plain to every one who will consider the situation of the vessel when the Prin- cesa arrived, and the advantages reaped from the supplies and assistance of the Spaniards. The detention, if it may be called so, could be no det- riment ; for, had nothing taken place, she must have remained two months- longer at least, having, as has already been mentioned, put into port, be- ing in distress ; of course they could not have sailed till supplies arrived, which was not till July, as will appear in the sequel ; whereas, being early fitted as above mentioned, she sailed on the coast northward of Nootka Sound, and there being no other vessel there, they collected up- wards of seven hundred sea-otter skins ; which has been often represent- ed to us by Captain Douglas and his officers, after our arri ral in China. This may suffice for the transactions relative to the Iphigenia. Before Captain Douglas sailed, he gave Don Estevan Martinez a letter to Mr> Funter, master of the schooner Northwest America, telling him, from Cap- ♦ Of the whole of this paragraph, all that is said by Vancouver is: "The vessel and cargo were liberated, and Martinez supplied the Iphigenia's wants from the Princesa, enxibling her, by so doing, to prosecute her voyage without wailing for the return of Mr. Meares." The ex- tremity of distress to which the Iphigenia was reduced on her arrival at Nootka, the seven hun- dred sea-otter skins, and the otner advantages derived by her owners from the supplies fui- nished by the Spanish commandant, are carefully kept out of sight. 15 314 tain Meares not arriving at the appointed time, there was great reason to fear the vessel he sailed from Nootita in had never reached China, (she be- ing in bad condition when she sailed from this place ;) therefore, as he, Mr. Punter, must, on his arrival, be destitute of every necessary, he was at liberty to conduct as he thought most conducive to the interests of his employers. We shall make mention of this vessel again hereafter. Interim, we observe your wish to be acquainted what house or es:tab- lishment Mr. Meares had at the time the Spaniards arrived here? We answer in a word — none. On the arrival of the Columbia in the year 1788, thii ' was a house, or rather a hut, consisting of rough posts covered \\d\\ boards made by the Indians; but this Captain Douglas pulled to pieces prior to his sailing for the Sandwich Islands the same year. The boards he took on board the Iphigenia, and the roof he gave to Captain Kendrick, which was cut up and used as firewood on board the Columbia; so that, on the arrival of Don Estevan J. Martinez, there was no vestige of any house remaining. As to the land Mr. Meares said he purchased of Maquinna or any other chief, we cannot say further than we never heard of any; although we remained among these people nine months, and could converse with them perfectly well. Besides this, we have asked Maquinna and other chiefs, since our late arrival, if Captain Meares ever purchased any land in Nootka Sound ; they answered — no, that Captain Kendrick was the only man to whom they had ever sold any land. On the 8th of June the schooner Northwest America arrived, and the next day the Spaniards took possession of her. Don E. J. Martinez had an account taken of the property on board, particularly of the skins, which he said should be given to the officers and seamen, that they might be sure of their wages. On the 16th of June the sloop I^rincess Royal arrived from Macao, commanded by Thomas Hudson ; this vessel brought accounts of the safe arrival of Captain Meares, and that Captain Colnett was coming on the coast, conmiodoro of the English trading-ves- sels from Macao, for the ensuing season, in a snow named the Argonaut. Mr. Hudson likewise brought accounts of the failure of Juan Cravallia & Co., merchants of Macao before mentioned. What right the conmio- dore had to detain the Northwest America before, it is not for us to say ; but he always said it was an agreement* between Captain Douglas and himself; but, after the arrival of this vessel with the above news, he held her as security for the bills of exchange drawn on said Cravallia 6c Co. in favor of his Catholic Majesty : this we have heard him say. On the 2d of July the Princess Royal sailed out of the port, having, to our knowledge, been treated by the commodore and his officers with every possible attention, which Captain Hudson himself seemed conscious of and grateful for. Prior to this vessel's sailing, the commodore gave to Mr. Funterf all the skins he brought in, in the Northwest America, which were shipped on board the sloop Princess Royal by Mr. Funter, for his own account. In the evening of the 2d a sail was descried from the Spanish fort ; we were among the first that went out to meet them ; it proved to be the Argonaut, Captain Colnett, before mentioned. The transactions of this vessel were such, that we can give the sense of them * Of this supposed agrecvicnt Vancouver says nothing. t Nothing of this in Vancouver's synopsis. 215 »reat reason to ihina, (she be- lerefore, as he, essaiy, he was interests of his ereaftor. louse or es:tab- Rd here? We »ia in the year f rough posts ptain Douglas lands the same le roof he gave )d on board the inez, tliere was Meares said he ly further than ise people nine esides this, we ■ival, if Captain answered — no, { had ever sold irrived, and the ]. Martinez liad y of the skins, men, that they t sloop Princess ;on ; this vessel nd that Captain ish trading-ves- i the Argonaut. Juan Cravallia r\it the conuno- )t for us to say ; in Douglas and news, he held Cravallia & Co. n say. On the having, to our Lcers with every led conscious of niodore gave to America, which . Funter, for his iscried from the meet them ; it lentioned. The le sense of them in a few words, that may answer every purpose of the particulars, many of which ai'e not innnediatoly to the point, or tending to what we suppose you wish to know. It seems Captain Meares, with some other Englishmen at Macao, had concluded to erect a fort and settle a colony in Nootka Sound ; fronj what authority we cannot say. However, on the arrival of the Argonaut, we heard Captain Colnett inform the Spanish commodore he had conn for (hat purpose, and to hoist the British flag, take formal possession, &c To which the commodore answered, ho had taken possesssion 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, got wood and water, &.c., after which he was at liberty to depart when he pleased ; but Captain Colnett said that was not what he Avanted, but to build a block-house, erect a fort, and settle a colony for the Crown of Great Britain. Don Estevau Jose Martinez answered fin; 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 olFicer; but Don Estevan replied, his being in the navy was of no consequence in the business. * In conversing on the subject, after the arrival of the vessel in port, it seems Captain Colnett insulted the com- modore 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 Princess Royal arrived a second time ; and, as she belonged to the same company, the commodore took possession of her also. With re- spect to the treatment of the prisoners, altliough we have not perused Mr. Mearcs's publication, we presume none of them will be backward in con- fessing that Don E. J. Martinez always treated them very kindly, Oiid all his ofHcers consistent with the character of gentlemen. Having acquainted you with the principal part of the business, agree- able to request, one thing remains to answer — which is, of the captain, oi- ficers, and seamen of the Northwest America. You ask if we carried them to China ? We did, and with them one hundred sea-otter skins, the value of which we judge, independent of freight, was $4,875 ; these were delivered to Mr. Meares, and were, we suppose, his property. We sincerely hope, sir, when things are represented with truth, it will rescue our friend Don Estevan J. Maitinez from censure ; at least, that he may not be deemed an impostor and a pirate, which many, from only hearing one part of the story, supposed he was. As to the treatment of the Ameri- cans by Don Estevan, wo liave ever testified it in terms due to such hos- pitality, and are happy again to have it in our power to do what we deem * Vancouver here writes, using the first person as if copying the words of the American captains: " In conversation afterwards on this suhjoct, as we were informed, (say these gentle- men,) for we were not present during this transaction, some dispute arose in the Princesa';; cabin; on which Don Martinez ordered the Argonaut to be seized. Snon after this the Prin- cess Royal returned," ^c. Tlie rumor that " ColmU insnlted the commodore by threatening him, and drew his sword in the Princesa's cabin," being omitted. 216 justice to his conduct. While speaking of others of your nation, we can never be unmindful of you ; your kind reception and treatment of us has made an impression that will not be easily erased ; and we hope you will bear in mind how very sincerely we are, sir, your most humble servants, ROBERT GRAY, JOSEPH INGRAHAM. To Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra. if I E. RESPECTING THE SUPPOSED SETTLEMENT OP BOUNDARIES BETWEEN the french and british possessions in america, agreeably to the provisions to that effect in the treaty of utrecht, (see page 150.) No allusion to the settlement of boundaries between the British and French possessions in America, agreeably to the tenth article of the treaty concluded at Utrecht, in 1714, or to the appointment of commissaries for that purpose, has been found in any of the following works, which have been all carefully examined with reference to the subject, viz : Corps Diplomatique, by Dumont ; Collection de Traites, by Martens ; Col- lections of British Treaties, by Wilkinson and Hertslet ; Actes, Memoires, &c., concernant la Paix d'Utrecht ; Actes, Negociations, &c., depuis la Paix d'Utrecht, by Rousset ; Memoires des Commissaires Anglais et Frany ais, (fcc, published in 1754; Collection des Edits, Ordonnances,&c., concern- ant le Canada ; Histoire de la Louisiane, by Dupratz ; Histoire de la Louis- iane, by Marbois ; Memoire sur la Louisiane, by Dumont ; Memoire sur la Louisiane, by Vergennes ; Histoire des Indes, A-c, byRaynal; the Encyclopedic Methodique ; Histories of England, by Smollett, Belsham, Lord Mahon, and Wade ; Parliamentary History of England ; History of the British Empire in America, by Wynne ; History of Hudson's Bay, by Dobbs; Beyer's Political State — the volume for 1721 contains memoirs of Louisiana, and a map of that country ; American Traveller, by Cluny ; the large historical and geographical atlas by Mitchell and Senex, pub- lished at London in 1721, containing particular accounts and maps of the British and the French possessions in America ; Civil and Natural History of the French Dominions in America, by Jeffries — a comprehensive work, containing numerous maps, published in 1760; American atlas, by Jef- fries, published in 1778; Alcedo's Dictionary of America; map of North America, (the largest and most beautiful ever published,) by Henry Pop- ple, which appeared in 1738, under the auspices of the Colonial Depart- ment of Great Britain ; map of America, published in 1794 from the ma- terials of Governor Pownal ; — or in any other works or maps which could be considered as authorities on the subject, except those now to be men- tioned. Charlevoix, in his Histoire de la Nouvelle France,* says that commis- saries were appointed in 1719 by the Governments of Great Britain and * Alluding lo disputes between the British and the Indians in Nova Scotia, Charlevoix says, (vol. iv, page 124:) "La France n'entrait point dans ce demele, pour ne point doiiner le moindie pretcxte de rompre la bonne intelligence qu'il avail tant coute de rClablir, enire les deux Cou- ronnes ; on ccs.ia memc de nesiocier dans les deux Cours, le reglement des limites, quoique des I'annec 1715) il y eut des commissaires nommesj)our cela depart et d'autre," 217 nation, we can nent of us has hope you will mble servants, 3RAY, ^GRAHAM. lES BETWEEN AGREEABLY TO OP UTllECHT. he British and ;le of the treaty snimissaries for ks, which have viz : Y Martens ; Col- ctes, Memoires, ,,depuis laPaix ais et Franyais, s,«fcc.,concern- )ire de la Louis- -, Memoire sur )y Raynal ; the ollett, Belsham, ind ; History of idson's Bay, by lins memoirs of Her, by Cluny ; id Senex, pub- md maps of the Natural History rehensive work, m atlas, by Jef- ; map of North by Henry Pop- 'olonial Depart- )4 from the ma- ips which could now to be men- |rs that commis- reat Britain and tia, Charlevoix saya, Qt doiiner le moindie enire les deux Cou- s, quoiqvje des Vannec France to determine the limits between the possessions of the two Powers in America; but that all negotiations on that subject ended in 172*2, in consequence of the desire of those Courts to avoid causes of dissatisfac- tion. Whether or not any settlement of boundaries was effected, he does not directly say ; but from his language it is lo be inferred that those ques- tions were left undetermined. In the maps attached to his work, no line appears as the limit between the Hudson's Bay territory and the posses sions of France. The Dictionary of Commerce, translated by M. Postlewhaite from the French of Savary, with alterations and amendments, and published in 1751 , contains no allusion to the southern limits of the Hudson's Bay ter- ritories, although a large portion of the work is devoted to the subject of the British and French possessions in America ; but in the large map of America, attached to the Dictionary, which is there stated to have been copied, with corrections, from one then recently published at Paris (in 1746) by D'Anville, a line is laid down as the limit between the Hudson's Bay countries and the French dominions. The part of this line extend- ing north and northwest of Lake Superior, runs nearly, but not exactly, along the 49th parallel ; and a note on the map says " the line that parts French Canada from British Canada was settled hy commissaries after the peace of Utrecht, ma/cinr>- a curve from Davis's Inlet, in the Atlantic Sea, down to the Lake Abitibis, to the Northwest Ocean; therefore M. D^Anville's dotted line east of James's Bay is false." No copy of D'Anville's map has been found ; but the above note appears to show that the line west of James's Bay is given by Postlewhaite as represented by the French ge- ographer. Postlewhaite's assertion is, however, directly contradicted by John Mitchell, whose large map of America, published in 1755, under the im- mediate patronage of the Colonial Department of Great Britain, is gener- ally considered as the best authority with regard to the political geography of America, at that period. In this map, a line drawn irregularly from the Atlantic along the highlands, or supposed highlands, dividing the waters falling into Hudson's Bay from those emptying into the great lakes, the St. liawrence, or the Mississippi, is given as " the bounds of Hudsori's Bay by the treaty of Utrecht." This line runs around Hudson's Bay, nearly at the same distance from the shores of that sea only, in its whole course ; and a very small part of it passes as far south as the 49th parallel. The boun- dary, thus given by Mitchell, is adopted in the map prefixed to Russell 'k History of America, in those published by Bennet in 1770, by Faden in 1777, and in other maps. Ta a map of the British possessions in America, as settled by the treaty of 1703, published at London in 1775 by Eman Bowen and John Gib- son, a line running along the 49th parallel, from a point immediately south of the southern extremity of James's Bay, westward to the Red River, and then northward, down that stream, to Lake Winnipeg, is given as the southern limit of the Hudson's Bay territory, agreeably to the treaty of Utrecht; and this is the earliest distinct declaration which has been discovered of the adoption of any part of that parallel precisely, as a boundary in North America. Thus it appears that all the most accredited authorities, with the ex- ception of Mitchell, are against the supposition that any boundary between the British and the French dominions in America Avas settled agreeably 218 II II 'I ' Im > to the treaty of Utrecht ; and that Mitchell represents the Hudson's Bay territories as separated from the French possessions hy an irregular Ihu; 'irawn along the course of the highlands surrounding, or supposed to sur- round, that sea. In support of the opinion that no such boundary was settled, may be cited the following remarks upon that article, extracted from Anderson's (elaborate History of Commerce, vol. iii, page 267: " Though the French King yielded to theUueen of Great Britain, to be possessed by her in fidl right, for ever, the Bay and Straits of Hudson, and all parts thenof, and within the same, then p(3ssessed 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, tiie same thing as giving up the point altogether; it being well knoAvn to all Europe, that France never permits her commissaries to determine matters retcr- red to such, unless it can be done with great advantage to her. Those boundaries, therefore, have never yet been settled, though both British uid 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 coni- juissarics were likewise to settle the boundaries between the other British and French colonies on that continent; which, likewise, was never done." The correctness of the concluding part of these remarks is well knoAvn ; and it is scarcely probable that either of the Powers would have assented to a partial determination of boundaries. The remarks of Anderson are incorporated in Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, published in 1805. Maps, which are so frequently consulted on the subject of boundaries, and Avhich, therefore, ought to be the best authorities, are, unfortunately, in general the very worst, as they are for the most part made by persons unacquainted with political history. Of the truth of this assertion innu- merable instances might be adduced. In a large and beautifully engraved map of the United States, published at Philadelphia in 1821, ''■from the most nndoultted authorities^ by motfruphcr and dronsrhtsinan^'' the northern boundary of the part of the United States west of the Missis- ;:ippi, is represented by a line drawn westward from the sources of that river nearly under the latitude of 47 degrees and 40 minutes ; the country north of this line being stated to be "i/i dispute bitncvn Spain and Great Britain.''^ Now, three years before this map appeared, the boundary be- tween the United States and the British possessions in that part of Ameri- ca, had been fixed by treaty ; according to which, the dividing-line followed the course of the 49th parallel ; and two years before the date of the map, Spain had also, by treaty, ceded to the United States her rights to all ter- ritories in America north of the 42d parallel. These treaties had been jmb- lished ; and it is scarcely credible that they should have been unknown to an American geographer engaged in preparing a map of the United States. The French have made great use of maps, and have had maps made for use in their negotiations about boundaries with Great Britain. Books of geography are also in general incorrect as regards boundaries. In the EncyclopoRdia of Geography, published at Edinburgh in 1834, by Hugh Murray, and other scientific persons, we find it stated, (page 1374,") that "the whole region west of the Rocky Mountains, extending between the 42d and the 49th parallels of latitude, //ws, by discovery and treaty, been assigned to the United States." A statement to the same effect may bo found in the London (Quarterly Review for January, 1822. Hudson's Bay I irregular line ipposed to sur- icttled, may be m\ Anderson's gli the French I by hor in fidl ts thereof, and he boundaries ^ing to France, ffcct, the same 1 to all Vjurope, ! matters retbr- her. Tliose both British from passing These com- ic other British IS never done." s well known •, I have assented [■ Anderson arc led in 1805. of boundaries, , unfortunately, ade by persons assertion innu- ifully engraved B21, ''from the drrmsrlUsman^'' It of the Missis- sources of that es ; the country 'pain and Great e boundary be- t part of Arneri- ig-line followed late of the map, rights to all ter- s had been pub- been unknown I of the United have had maps 1 Great Britain, rds boundaries, rgh in 1834, by ed, (page 1374,^ ending between and treaty, been 3 effect may bo 219 F. TnE.VTrRR AND COXVENTIONS nRTWF,r,.V TTTR OOVERXMEXTS OP DIFFEU- ENT NATIONS, UKLATINO TO TUi; NOHTllWEST TElllUTOUIES OK NORTH AMERICA. (1.) Convention hetirern Great Britain and Spain, sii>ned at tlie Flsciirial, Oc- tober 28, 1790, may be found at length in the Memoir, page 111. (2.) Convention between the United States of America and Great Britain, signed at London, October 20, 1818. s agreed that a line drawn from the most northwestern " Art. 2. It i point of the ijake of the Woods, along the 4*.Hh ])arallel of north latitude, or, if the said point shall not be in the 49th parallel of north latitude, then that a line drawn from the said point due north or south, as the case may be, until the said line shall intersect the said parallel of north latitude, and from the point of such intersection due west along and with the said par- allel, shall be the lint; of demarcation between the territories of the Uni- ted States and those of his Britannic Majesty; and that the said line shall l!)rm the northern boundary of the said territories of the United States, and the southern boundary of the territories of his Britannic Majesty, from the I^ako (>f the Woods to the Stony Mountains. " Art. 3. It is agreed that any country that may be claimed by either party on the northwest coast of America, westward of the Stony Moun- tains, shall, together with its harbors, bays, and creeks, and the naviga- tion of all rivers within the same, be free and open for the term of ten years from the date of the signature of the present convention, to the ves- sels, citizens, and subjects of the two PoAvers ; it being well understood that this agreement is not to be construed to the prejudice of any claim which either of the two high contracting parties may have to any part of the said country, nor shall it be taken to affect the claims of any other Power or State to any part of the said country; the only object of the high contracting parties, in that respect, being to prevent disputes and dif- ferences among themselves." (3.) 'Treaty of amity, settlement, and limits, between the United States and Spain, {commonlif called tite Florida Treaty^ signed at Washington, February 22, ISid. "Art. 3. The boundary-line between the two countries, west of the Mississippi, shall begin on the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of the River Sabine, in the sea, continuing north, along the western bank of that river, to the 32d degree of latitude ; thence, by a line due north, to the degree of latitude where it strikes the Rio lloxo of Natchitoclies, or Red River ; then, following the course of the Rio Roxo westward, to the degree of longitude 100 west from Loudon and 23 from Washington ; then crossing ':'! 1 iJ 220 the sail! lied Rivor, and running tlionro, by a lino due north, to tlio Uivcr Arkansas; tiit'iiri! lojlowing the cmirso of' th<' sonthcrn hiink of the Ar- kansas to its sovirre in latitude 12 norlli ; and thence, by that parallel of latitude, to the South Sea; tlie whole l)eini< as laid down in iVielish's mail of the Unitcid Stat(!S, |)id)lished at IMiiladelphia, improved to the 1st of jamiary, IHIS. IhU, if the source of tlie Arkiuisas Uiver shall b(; l(»und to liiU north or south of latitude I'i, tluni the line shall run from the said source due south or north, as the case may be, till it meets the said paral- lel of latitude 42, and thence, along the said parallel, to the South Sea. All the islands in the Sabine, antl the said Red and Arkansas Rivers, throughoiU the coiu'se 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 extiuit of the said bouiulary, on their respective banks, shall be connnon 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 ; tliat 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 hchoecn the United States und Jiussia, sicfned at Saint Peters- Inirifh on the ^\ of April, 1821. " AuT. 1. It is agreed that, in any part of the great ocean, commonly called the Pacific (.)ccan, or South Sea, the respective citizens or sid)ject3 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 occnjjied, ll)r the purpose of trading with the natives ; saving always the restrictions and conditions determined by the following articles : " AuT. 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 northwest 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 northwest 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 Rus- sian 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, I, to tlio lliver Ilk of tlic Ar- liat piirallcl of I in iVIclisli's v«mI to tliu 1st >li!)ll b(.' iliuiid from tilt! said lu! said paral- le South Soo. aiisas Rivers, 'd Status ; but ho sea, and of lit of th(j said the respective >uncc all their I by tlie said holic Majesty, IS to the terri- ., in like nian- ill his rii,dits, tiie said hue; iin to the said Saint Peters in, commonly ns or sulijects lor restrained, f to the coasts, )r the purpose nd conditions gation and of lubjects of the llicit trade, it rt to any point lission of the rts of Russia of the United not be formed ty of tlie said ca, nor in any iiutes of north rmed by Rus- sarne parallel. 1 of ten years, 221 counting from tlie signature of the present convention, the ships of both I'owers, or which Ixilong to their citizens or subjects, respectively, may rccinrocally Iri'tpient, without any himlrancc whatisver, the interior stras, gulls, harbors, and creeks, u|)on the coast mentioned in the preceding arti- cle, f(n* the purpose of fishing and trading with the natives of the country. *' AuT. i"). All spirituous li(|uors, fire-arms, other arms, powder, and mu- nitions of war of every kind, are always excepted from this same com- niorco permitt(!d by the preceding article; and the two Powers engage, reciprocally, neither to sell, nor sutler them to be sold to the natives, by their respective citizens and subjects, nor by any ])ers()n Avho 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 mercliandiso, or, in fine, any measures of constraint whatever, towards the merchants or tlie crews who may carry on this commerce -, the high contracting I'owers reciprocally reserving to themselves to determine upon the penalties to be incurred, and to indict the punishments in case ot the contravention of this article by their respective citizens or subjects." (5.) ConrcntioH between Great nHtnin ati'f lhissin,sisi-nefhtt Saint Petershtrnf/f, Februar !/ 'i"g,lS25. *' Art. 1. It is agreed that the respective subjects of the high contract- ing parties shall not be troubled or molested in any part of the ocean, com- monly called the Pacific Ocean, either in navigating the same, in fisliing therein, or in landing at such parts of the coast as sliall not have been aheady occupied, in order to trade with the natives, under the restrictions and (;oiiditions specified in the lollowiiig articles : "yViit. 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 l<)r an illicit commerce, it is agreed that the subjects of his nritaniiic Majesty shall not land at any place where there may be a Russian establishment, without the permission of the governor or com- mandant; and, on tlie other hand, that Russian subjects shall not land, without permission, at any IJritish establishment on the northwest coast. "AuT. 3. The line of demarcation between the possessions of the high contracting parties, upon the coast of the continent, and the islands of America to tlie northwest, shall be drawn in the manner (oUowing: (Joni- mencing from the southernmost pss the line of of the present years from the ^vo Powers, or y be at liberty seas, the gulfs, r the purposes be open to the ten years from invention. In granted to any eat Britain, dl not apply to gunpowder, or cally engaging ivered, in any Pacific Ocean, 5 shelter in the rein, to provide vithout paying e the same as er of such ves- is merchandise :" to the regula- [ifraction of the 223 ai'ticles 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 man- ner, and according to the principles of justice." (6.) Convention between the United States and Great Britain, signed at London, Avffust 6, 1827. "Art. 1. All the provisions of the third article of the convention con- cluded between the United States of America and his Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, on the 20th of Octo- ber, I81S, 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 par- ties, in case either sliould think fit, at any time after the 20th of October, 1 82S, on giving duo notice of twelve months to the other contracting party, to annul and abrogate this convention; and it shall, in such case, be ac- cordingly entirely annulled and abrogated, after the expiration of tlie 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 aflect, the claims which either of the contracting parties may have to any part of the country west- ward of the Stony or Rocky Mountains." INDEX. tr. Page. Adams's, J. QL; correspondence with the Russian Government respecting American fur-traders in the north Pacific correspondence with the Russian IMinister at Washington, respect- ing; the ukase of 1821 Aguilar .s voyage - . . Alarcon's voyage in search of Cibola Aleutian Islands ... Aliaska .... Arteaga's voyage Ashley's trading expeditions from Mis souri to the Far West Astoria founded .... taken by the British restored to the Americans 147 181 - 45 - 29 - 5,65 4 84 194 157 161 165 B. Balboa discovers the Pacific . -22 Baranofi", Governor of Russian- America 1 45 founds New Archangel - 145 establishes a Russian colony in California - - - 148 attempts to take possession of one of the Sanciwich Islands 149 Becerra discovers California . .24 Beering's first voyage - - - 59 second voyage - -60 third and last voyage - -61 death - - . - 63 Benyowsky's voyage from" Kamschatka to China - - . .67 Berkely rediscovers the Strait of Fuca 91 Billing's voyage ... go 132 Blue Mountains - . . .16 Bodega and Maurelle's first voyage - 71 second voyage - 84 Broughton surveys the lower part of the Columbia River . - 136 sent to receive possession of Nootka - - - 141 Bulfinch's Harbor discovered by Gray . 126 surveyed by Whidbey 135 Caamano's voyaere ... 122 Cabeza Vaca's jnirney from Florida to the Pacific . . . - 27 Cabrillo's v( viij;e - . - 31 Page. 9 24 California described - ♦ discovered ... unsuccessful attempts of the Spaniards to settle in it occupied hy the Jesuits - first colonies on its western side ... Carver's journey ... Cavendisli's voyage ... Cermefion's voyage ... Cibola, fabulous account of - Clarke and Lewis, expedition of Colnett's voyage . - . • Columbia River described its moath first discov- ered by Heceta sought tor in vain by Meares sought for in vain by Vancouver . first entered by Gray . survey of the lowerpart by Broughton examined by Lewis and Clarke first settlement on it by Henry Convention of 1790, between Great Brit. ain and Spain • 114,171 of 1818, between the United States and Great Brit, ain . . . 169,219 of 1834, between Russia and the United States - 180, 220 of 1825, between Russia and Great Britain ■ 181, 221 of 1827, between Great Britain and the United States . . 185,223 Cook s last voyage - - .78 death - . - .82 Coronado's expedition in search of Gib. ola . . . . .29 Cortereal discovers the Strait of Anion 39 Cortes conquers Mexico - - 23 expeditions of, on the Pacific - 24 48 49 53 76 38 34 28 152 106 18 72 93 124 126 . 136 152 - 156 Dixon's voyage - . . - 87 Douglas's voyage . . .101 Drake's voyage - - - 35 201 Duflin's evidence respecting the events ' at Nootka in 1789 - . 108, 133 S36 p. Page. m- Falkland Islands, dispute between Gr^at Britain and Spain respecting the - 51 Fidalgo's v'oyage - - . - US Fleunen's Introduction to Marchands Journal- - - - 71, 119 Florida explored by Narvaez - - 27 by Soto - - 31 Florida treaty - - - 170,219 Fonic, fabulous account of his voyage 41 Forsyth's, John, instructions to the Amer- ican minister at Saint Petersburgh, re- specting the renewal of the fourth ar- ticle of die convention of 1824 - 189 Forts Vancouver, Okanagan, and Col ville . - . . . Fuca's voyage Fur trade, Russian British American 20 42, 207 - 58, 64, 144 - 84, 87, 192 89, 143, 156, 194 G. Gali's voyage - - - - 33 Galiano and Valdes, voyage of - 122, 130 journal of - - 131 Gallatin's negotiations at London in 1826 183 Gray's first voyage - - - 89 second veyage . - . 129 Gray discovers Bulfinch's Harbor - 125 enters the Columbia River - 126 and Ingraham's letter toduadra 132, 210 PI. Harmon's Journal ... 155 Hearne's journeys - - - 75 Heceta's voyage - - - - 71 Heceia discovers the mouth of the Co- lumbia - - - - - 72 Howell's account of the negotiation be- tween Vancouver and duadra at Nootka 134 Hudson's Bay discovered • -47 Hudson's Bay Company established - 75 Hudson's Bay Company united with the Northwest Company ... 175 Hudson's Bay Company, particular ac- count of its system . . - 192 Humboldt's accounts of the northwest coast nearly all derived from Navar- rete - - - . - 34 Hunt — see Astoria. I. Ingraham's voyage - . - 120 Journal, extract from - 134 Ingraham and Gray, letter from, to auadra • . . 132,210 J. Jesuits establish themselves in California 48 are expelled from California - 50 Jesup's, General T. S., plan for occupy- ing the Columbia • • 'ITS Page. Jewitt's account of his captivity at Nootka M;! K. Kamschalka described - - - conquered by the Russians Kcndrick's voyage . . . Kendrick purchases land from the In- dians at Nootka commences the trade in san- dalwood between the Sand- wich Islands and China - Kodiak described Krenitzen and Levaslief 's voyage Krusenslern and Lisiansky's voyages - ■> .S9 1-21 1-2-2 6, (;.-> 66 147 110 66 19 152 119 Ledyard's attempt to proceed from Paris, through Russia and America, to the United States .... Levashef and Krenitzin's voyage Lewis or Snake River described Lewis and Clarke's expedition from the United States to the mouih ot the Co- lumbia in 1805-'6 ... Louisiana, supposed extent of, in the north and we^.t not limited on the north by the 49ih parallel, agreeably to the treaty of Utrecht, as gen- erally supposed • 150, 216 M. Mackenzie's journeys ... I3i» Magellan's voyage - - . 2'J Malaspina's voyage - . .US Maldonado's pretended voyage . 40, 205 Maquinna, king of Nootka 90, 101, 132, 142 Marchand's voyage - - - 119 observations of no value - 119 Marcos de Niza's fabulous account of Cibola 28 Martinez, first voyage of - - 96 occupies Nootka . - 104 seizes two Portuguese vessels 105 seizes two English vessels . 107 abandons Nootka - - ] 10 Maurelle's journal of his first voyage in the north Pacific - - 71 journal of his second voyage 85 McDougal — see Astoria. Meares's voyage from Macao to Nootka 100 Meares auempts to penetrate the Strait of Fuca . - - - 92 attempts to find the mouth of the great river, now called the Co- lumbia- . - - 93 it is pretended bjr the British, dis- covered the River Columbia - 129 falsehood of many of his state- ments proved ... 100 Mendoza's voyage . - - 24 Monroe's, President, declaration that the American continents are not to be con- sidered as subjects for colonization by European Powers - - .178 Pa£?e. tyatNootka U-2 ■} he Russians "jS . Si) rom the In- I 1-21 rade in san- cn the Saiid- d China - lJ-2 G , (i.> oyage ti(3 s voyages - 117 \ from Paris, erica, to the . 110 )yage (iii ibed 1"J ion from the ih of the Co- « a 152 f, in the north ■ 119 north by the agrtieabiy to echt, a» gen- l - 150 2U) 139 . • •2-i . lis \ge - 40 205 90, 101, 132 112 . 119 no value 119 i account of . 28 . 9(5 . 104 guese vessels 105 h vessels 107 . 110 rst voyage in flc - - 71 cond voyage 85 ao to Nootka E the Strait of mouth of the ailed the Co- e British, dis- : Columbia - of his state- ition that the lot to be con- lonization by 100 92 93 129 100 24 - 178 227 Monterey settled by the Spaniards Multonomah or Wallamei River N. Page. - 53 20, 198 Navarrelc's Inlroduclion la the Journal of the Suiil and Mexicana - - 131 Nootka Sound described - - 8, 90 discovered by Perez - - 70 visited by Cook - - - 80 great resort of the fur-traders - 70 occupied by the Spaniards - 104 claimed l)y the British - - 117 aliandoned by the Spaniards - 110 re-occupied by iho Spaniards - 118 finally abandoned • - 141 Northwest Fur-tradiiig Company, of Montreal, esiablished - - - 139 Northwest Fur trading Company's first establishment west of the Rocky Moun- tains ..... 155 Northwest Fur-trading Company united with the Hudson's Bay Company - 175 O. Oregon, River of, nsdescribed by Carver, does not exist - - - 77 name of, probably invented by Carver - - - 77 name of, should be retained - 128 terruory described - - 12 Owyhee ceded by its sovereign to Van- couver, for Great Britain - - 138 Perez, voyage of - - - - fi9 discovers Nootka Sound - - 70 Porouse, voyage of - - - 87 Philippine Islands comjuered by the Spaniards .... 32 Porilock's voyage - - - 91 Promuschleuiks - . - - 140 a. 132 Cluadra, Spanish commissioner at Nootka dueen Chailotte's, or Washington's Isl and .... 7, 1-23 R. Rocky Mountains described Rodman's journey across the continent from the Missouri to the Pacific Rush's negotiation!! at Londcm m IH18 - in 1824 - Russian discoveries in America Russian-American Company established Russian-American Company'^^ system, account of the - S. San Dirgo described settled by the Spaniards San Francisco Bay described 11 140 1(>4 179 58 145 14G 9 53 9 Sandwich Islands discovered by Cook described Shellikof makes the first Russian setilc- mcnis on iho American continent Sitca described - . . . founded . . . . Snake or Lewis River described Strait of Fuca described - discovered re-discovered by Berkely eiitert'd by Gray - completely explored by Vancouver an! Gaii- ano and Valdes Strait of Anian, supposed to be Hudson's Sirait, discovered by Corierenl Page. 82 ■ 198 88 141 145 19 8 42 91 92 130 39 Sutil and Mexicana, voyage of the 122, 130 Tamahamaha, king of the Sandwich Isl- ands, cedes Owyhee to Great Britain - 138 Treatv of Pailitidn between Spain and Portugal - - - 21 of Utrecht between Great Bi itain and France - - - 150 PMorida, between the United Slates and Spain - 170, 219 Tschirikof discovers the American con- tinent - . - - .63 U. Ukase of the Russian Emperor, issued in 1821, prohibiting foreigners from tra- ding in (he north Pacific - - 17(5 Ulloa's voyage, in which he discovers the west coist of California - - 2(> Unalashka described - - - 5 United Slates vessels first visit the north Pacific 89 United States treaties, respecting the northwest coasts: with Great Britain Urdaneta discovers 185, 219, with Spain 170, with Russia 180, the mode of navi- 1()9, 223 219 220 gating the Pacific from east to west - 32 Vancouver sails to the Pacific - - 117 explores tin' coast from Cape Mendocino to the Sirait of Fuca - - - 123 meeisGray, whoinfiirrns him of t he discovery of i he great river ... 124 surveys the Strait of Fuca - 130 ncgoliations of, with Cluadra, at Nootka - - - 132 orders Broughion to examine the Columbia River - 135 attempts to rob Gray of the 136 merit of his discoveries - 136 his animosity against the Americans - 133, 139 his other discoveries - 136 his death - - - 139 528 Page. Vancouver, great value of the journals and charts of - - - * ^39 Vizcaino's voyage, and survey of the west coast of California - - 4C W. Wallamet,or Multonomah River. Amer- can oieltlement - - - 20, 198 Washington's, or Clueen Charlotte's Island, first circumnavigated by Gray 92 Washington Isles, in the South Pacific, first discovered by Ingraham - - ISO Page. Whidbey surveys Bulfinch's Harbor - 135 Wiccanish, king ofNittinat - - 91 seizes the American ship Tonquin, and murders the crew ... 158 Wyeth's attempt to form an American trading settlement on the Columbia - 120 YoutaLake - - • - 17 Page. 's Harbor 135 t 91 nerican ship 1 murders the . 158 m American Columbia - 12G 17 4