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HISTORY
OP
OREGON AND CALIFOENIA.
V
Ottaviori"
THE
» «
HISTORY
Of
OREGON AND CAUrOENIA,
AND THE
OTHER TERRITORIES
ON THE
NORTH-WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA;
ACCOMPANIED BT A
GEOGRAPHICAL VIEW AND MAP
OF THOSE COUNTRIES,
AND A NUMBER OF DOCUMENTS AS
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HISTORY.
BY
ROBERT GREENHOW
" THE POSBIBLE DESTINY OP THE UNITED STATES OP i «t.„.^
A HUNDRED MILUONS OP FREEMEN ST^t^Im^ . AMERICA, AS A NATION OP
PACIFIC. UVINQ UNDER TlTTAwTop^fprr """ ^HE ATLANTIC TO THE
OP SHAKSPEAHE AND Sl^^NTAN^rT^orp;.™" "'^ ^^''^-^
COLERIDQE'S. TABLE TALK.
BOSTON:
CHARLES C. LITTLE AND JAMES BROWN.
itavi
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844,
By Robert Greemhow,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Columbia.
BOSTON :
PRINTED BY FREEMAN AND BOLLBS,
WASHINGTON BTBEBT.
I
TO
MY VENERABLE AND EVER KIND FRIEND,
MAJOR-GENERAL MORGAN LEWIS,
LATE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK J
THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED,
AS A MARK OF RESPECT AND GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE.
ROBERT GREENHOW.
PREFACE.
The following pages are devoted, principally, to the de-
scription and histor) of the portion of North America hor-
dcring on the Pacific Ocean, between the 40th and the o4th
parallels of latitude, vhich is traversed and in a great meas-
ure drained, by the River Columbia, and to which the name
of OREGON is now usually applied. It has, however, been
found necessary, for the objects of the work, to bestow
almost equal attention on the regions embraced under the
general appellation of Cat-iforma, extending southward
from the Columbia countries, to the arm of the Pacific,
called the Cahfornian Gulf; and also to take into considera-
tion the coasts and islands north and north-west of those
countries, as far as the Artie Sea.
The vast division of America, comprehending these ter-
ritories, remains, with the exception of a few isolated spots
on the coasts and on the margins of the larger streams,
uncultivated and inhabited only by tribes of wandering sav-
ages. Its shores and some of the rivers have been examined
with care, and their course may be found delineated with
considerable minuteness on maps. Of the interior regions,
some have never been explored, and are indeed apparently
impenetrable by man ; others, which ofler fewer obstacles
to the traveller, are only known through the vague and im-
perfect accounts of traders or missionaries ; and in those
which have been the most frequented by civilized persons,
much remains to be effected by the aid of scientific obser-
vations in order to obtain satisfactory ideas of their geog-
raphy and physical characteristics.
i
VIII
PREFAf E.
These territories, unoccupied, partially unexplored, and
remote from all civilized countries, nevertheless present
much that is interesting in their political history, as well as
in their natural conformation and productions ; and events
are now in proji»rcss which seem calculated, ere long, to
direct towards them the views of the governments and peo-
ple of many powerful nations.
Every part of this division of America is in fact claimed
by some civilized state as its exclusive property, in virtue
either of discoveries or settlements made hy its citizens or
eulijects, or of transfer or inheritance from some other state
claiming on similar grounds, or of contiguity to its own ac-
knowledged territories. On these points, the principles of
national law are hy no means clearly defined ; nor is it easy
to apply such as arc most generally admitted, to particular
cases ; nor are governments ordinarily found ready to re-
linquish claims merely because they arc proved to be un-
foimdcd : and disputes have in consc(iuence arisen between
diflbrent states asserting the right of possession to the same
portion of Western America, which have more than onco
threatened to disturb the peace of the world. Attempts
have been made to settle the questions at issue by negotia-
tion ; and certain lines of boundary have been agreed on
by treaties between one and another of the claimant powers :
but the arrangements thus made, can scarcely in any instance
be considered definitive, as they have not received, and
will probably never receive, the assent of the other parties
interested.
In the mean time these territories are daily becoming
more important from the advancement of the popula-
tion of adjoining countries towards them ; and from the
constant increase of the trade and navigation of several
of the claimant powers in the Pacific, which would ren-
der the undisputed possession of establishments on the
coasts of that Ocean most desirable for each. The diffi-
culty of effecting an amicable partition of the territories
I
I *
PREFACE.
IX
f
thus becomes daily greater, and more urgent therefore is the
necessity of endeavoring to attain that object without delay.
It was principally with the object of showing the nature,
origin and extent, of these various claims, that the author
of the following pages composed his « il/emoiV, Historical
and Political, on the North- West Coasts of North America and
the adjacent Territories,'''^ * which was published by order
of the Senate of the United States in 1840. He there
endeavored to present a complete, clear and impartial view
ula-
the
eral
en-
the
iffi-
ries
■i
* The circumstances under which the Memoir, here mentioned, was composed
and publiched, will be made apparent by the following letters, and extract from
the Journal of the Senate of the United States.
To the Hon. John Forsyth, Secretary of Stale,
Washington, January 25, 1840.
Sir ; I am informed that your department is in possession of much information
relating to the territory of Oregon, its geography, resources, and the title of the
United States to the same. If consistent with your duty, I would be pleased to
be put in possession of such papers and documents as you may think proper to
send me, requesting that you will mark such as you would rather not have
printed or made public. Your obedient servant,
L. F. LINN,
Chairman ofllM Select CammlltM on the Terrllorjr of Ore(on.
Answer. — To the Hon. Lewis F. Linn, Senator of the United States.
Department of State, Washington, Jan. 25th, 1840.
Sir : I have had the honor to receive your letter of this day's date, asking for
information relative to the territory of Oregon, its geography and resources, and
the title of the United States to the same. Mr. Greenhow, the translator and
librarian of this department, has been for some time past, by my direction, em-
ployed in collecting and arranging historical information on the subject of the
north-western coasts of America ; I send you the icsult of his labors, and submit
it to the discretion of the committee to be printed or not, as they may think most
advisable. Not having had the leisure to compare the statements in the Memoir
with the various works and documents upon which they are founded, I can vouch
only for the zeal, industry, and good faith of Mr. Greenhow, by whom they were
prepared. I am, sir, your most obedient servant,
JOHN FORSYTH, Secretaty of State.
From the Journal of the Senate of the United States.
*' Monday, February 10, 1840. On motion, by Mr. Linn,
Ordered, That a History of the North-A^ est Coast of North America and the ad-
jacent Territories, communicated to the Select Committee on the Oregon Territory,
be printed, with the accompanying map ; and that two thousand five hundred
copies, in addition to the usual number, be printed for the use of the Senate."
B
PREFACE.
of all the discoveries and settlements, made or attempted,
in those countries by civilized nations, and of all the dis-
putes, negotiations, and conventions, between different
governments with respect to them, from the period when
they were first visited by Europeans ; founding his state-
ments, as much as possible, upon original authorities.
That Memoir is the only work hitherto published, approach-
ing in its character to a history of the western portion of
North America. The History of California* printed at
Madrid, in 1758, is devoted almost exclusively to descriptions
of the Cahfornian Peninsula, and to accounts of the mission-
ary labors of the Jesuits, in that desolate region. Tlie
Introduction to the Journal of Marchand^s Voijage,f which
appeared in 1799, and the Introduction to the Journal of
Galiano and Valdes,X published in 1802, are confined to
the discoveries of European navigators on the North
Pacific coasts of America, before 1793 ; upon which so
many details have been made known, since the appearance
of those works, that they are now entirely obsolete, and
scarcely one of their paragraphs can be cited as correct.
The Journals of Cook, La Perouse, Vancouver, Macken-
sie, Krusenstern, Lewis and Clarke, Kotzebue, Beechey
and Belcher, all contain important information as to the
geography of the countries under consideration ; but as
regards the events, which lie within the province of the
historian, we have only the accounts of the Astoria enter-
prise by Franchere, Cox, and Irving, all interesting, yet
all limited to the occurrences of three or four years. In
the most popular histories of other countries, and especially
of Great Britain, the circumstances relating to North- West
America, are in every material point, misrepresented,
either from neglect oh the part of the authors, or from
motives less excusable ; and these histories being univer-
sally read and received as true in England and in the
' See page 105.
f See page 223.
X See page 241.
J
PREFACE.
XI
as
the
nter-
yet
In
cially
West
nted,
from
Hiver-
the
241.
United States, it is not astonishing, that erroneous ideas
should be generally entertained by the people of both
nations, upon points, which have been and will continue to
be, the subjects of discussion between their governments.
The Memoir, above mentioned, contains the outlines of
the History now presented ; for which the same authorities,
with many others since collected, consisting of private and
official reports, letters and accounts, journals of expeditions
by sea and land, and histories and state papers of various
civilized nations, have been carefully examined and com-
pared. Many errors of fact as well as of reasoning in the
former work, have by this means been corrected ; and
new circumstances have been brought to light, and new
arguments have been founded upon them, of an important
nature, and calculated perhaps materially to modify the
views of those to whom the settlement of questions relative
to North- West America may be hereafter entrusted. The
principal object of the author has been to present the facts
relative to the discovery and settlement of those countries,
fairly ; and to investigate, and judge the claims which have
been deduced from them, agreeably to the immutable
principles of right, and the general understanding of
civilized nations: and although he fully appreciates, and
endeavors in all cases to place in their proper light, the
merits of his own countrymen, and the pretensions of his
own government, he is not conscious that his desire to do
so, has in any case led him to die commission of injustice
towards other individuals, or nations, either by misstate-
ments, or by suppressions of the truth. In order to unite
the various parts into a regular narrative, and to preserve
the remembrances of events which may be interesting, if
not important at future periods, he ha:^ introduced circum-
stances not immediately tending to the attainment of the
principal objects proposed; but he has omitted nothing
voluntarily, which if made known might have led to con-
clusions different from those here presented. The dates
il
XII
PREFACE.
V'
and the authorities will be found generally inserted, and
always in cases where the circumstances related are new or
material, or in which the accounts here given differ from
those usually received ; and he has appended a number of
documents, extracts, and original notices as Proofs and
Illustrations of the history. Among the latter, are some
valuable papers never before published, others not com-
monly known, and others again which the reader will
probably desire frequently to consult, including all the
treaties and conventions between civilized nations, with
respect to the countries forming the subjects of the history.
In the geographical view he has cDllected, compared, and
endeavored to arrange in order, what appeared to be the
most exact and striking details, presented by the numerous
travellers who have visited the countries in question. The
map has been composed, as far as possible, from the original
authorities : being intended for the illustration of the history,
it necessarily embraces a very large portion of the surface
of the globe, and is consequently on a small scale ; it will
however be found sufficient for that purpose, and perhaps
on the whole, more nearly correct than any other yet
offered to the public.
Washington, February, 1844.
E)
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
GEOGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH
AMERICA.
GENERAL VIEW.
Great Natural Divisions, or Sections of North America — Coasts on the
Pacific and Arctic Seas — Mountain Chains of the Pacific Section —
Rocky Mountains — Geology — Climate — Rivers — Aboriginal Inhabit-
ants — Settlements and Claims of civilized Nations. . . 1-8
CALIFORNIA.
Extent, and Divisions into Peninsula or Old, and Continental or New Cal-
ifornia — Gulf of California and Country on its eastern side — Peninsula
of California — Continental California — Spanish, or Mexican Settlements
— San Diego — Santa Barbara — Monterey — San Francisco — River
Colorado — Utah Lake. 9-20
OREGON.
Assumed Boundaries — Region of the Columbia River — The Columbia and
its Branches — Pacific Coasts — Strait of Fuca — Natural Divisions of
Oregon — Westernmost Chain, or Far- West Mountains — Blue Mountains
— Rocky Mountains — Country north of the Columbia — North- West
Archipelago — Hudson's Bay Company's Establishments — Settlements
of Citizens of the United States — Territories east of the Rocky Moun-
tains 20-37
RUSSIAN AMERICA.
Extent and Limits — The Russian American Company — District of Sitka
— District of Kodiak — Mount St. Elias — Michaelof District — Aliaska
— District of Unalashka — Aleutian Islands — District of Atcha — Ber-
ing's Strait — Kamtchatka. 38-42
XIV
CONTENTS.
HISTORY OF OREGON AND CALIFORNIA, ETC.
CHAPTER I.
To 1543.
Preliminary Observations — Efforts of the Spaniards to discover Western
Passages to India — Successive Discoveries of the West Indies, the North
American Continent, the Eastern Passage to India, Brazil, and the Pacific
Ocean — Search for a navigable Passage connecting the Atlantic and the
Pacific Oceans — Supposed Discovery of such a Passage, called the Strait
o/" Anion — Discovery of Magellan's Strait and the Western Passage to
India — Conquest of Mexico by Cortes, who endeavors to discover new
countries farther north-west — Voyages of Maldonado, Ilurtado de Men-
doza, Grijalva, and Becerra — Discovery of California — Expedition of
Cortes to California — Pretended Discoveries of Friar Marcos de Niza —
Voyages of Ulloa, Alarcon, and Cabrillo — Expeditions of Coronado and
Soto — The Spaniards desist from their Efforts to explore the North-
West Coasts of America. ...... 45-66
CHAPTER II
1543 TO 1606.
The Spaniards conquer the Philippine Islands, and establish a direct Trade
across the Pacific, between Asia and America — Measures of the Spanish
Government to prevent other European Nations from settling or trading in
America — These Measures resisted by the English, the French, and the
Dutch — Free Traders and Freebooters infest the West Indies — First
Voyages of the English in the Pacific — Voyages of Drake and Caven-
dish — Endeavors of the English to discover a North- West Passage from
the Atlantic to the Pacific — False Reports of the Discovery of such Pas-
sages — Supposed Voyages ofUrdaiieta, Maldonado, and Font^ — Voy-
age of Juan de Fuca — Expeditions of Sebastian Vizcaino — Supposed
Discovery of a great River in North-West America. . . 66-95
CHAPTER III.
1608 TO 1768.
The North- West Coasts of North America remain nearly neglected during
the whole of this Period — Efforts of the English and the Dutch to find
new Passages into the Pacific — Discovery of Hudson's Bay and Baflin's
Bay — Discovery of the Passage around Cape Horn — Establishment of
the Hudson's Bay Trading Company — Endeavors of the Spaniards to
settle California unsuccessful — The Jesuits undertake the Reduction of
California — Establishments of the Jesuits in the Peninsula, and their
Expulsion from the Spanish Dominions. .... 06-107
Or
Coi
Uni
e
CONTENTS.
XV
srtt
nil
ific
he
ait
to
ew
en-
of
ind
th-
45-65
CHAPTER IV.
1769 TO 1779.
First Establishments on the West Coast of California founded by the Span*
iards — Dispute between Spain and Great Britain respecting the Falkland
Islands — Exploring Voyages of the Spaniards under Perez, Heceta and
Bodega, and Arteaga and Bodega — Discovery of Nootka Sound, Norfolk
Sound, and the Mouth of the Columbia River — Importance of these Dis-
coveries. . ^•v* • • • • • • 108-126
CHAPTER V.
1711 TO 1779.
Discoveries of the Russians from Kamtchatka — Voyages of Bering and
Tchirikof to the Arctic Sea and to the American Continent — Establish-
ments of the Russian Fur Traders in the Aleutian Islands — Voyages of
Synd, Krenitzin, and Levashef — First Voyage from Kamtchatka to China,
made by Polish Exiles under Benyowsky — General Inaccuracy of the
Ideas of the Russians respecting the Geography of the northernmost
Coasts of the Pacific, before 1779. ... . . 127-139
M
ide
ish
in
le
rst
!n-
)m
is-
y-
ed
66-95
s
of
;o
jf
ir
6-107
CHAPTER VI.
1763 TO 1780.
Great Britain obtains Possession of Canada — Journey of Carver to the Up-
per Mississippi — First Mention of the Oregon River — Inaccuracy of Car-
ver's Statements — Journeys of Ilearne through the Regions west of
Hudson's Bay — Voyage of Captain Cook to the North Pacific — His im-
portant Discoveries in that Quarter, and death, — Return of his Ships to
Europe ; Occurrences at Canton during their stay in that Port. 140-159
CHAPTER VII.
1780 TO 1789.
Commercial Results of Cook's Discoveries — Settlements of the Russians in
America — Scheme of Ledyard for the Trade of the North Pacific — Voy-
age of La Perouse — Direct Trade between the American Coasts and Can-
ton commenced — Voyages of the English Fur Traders — Re-discovery of
the Strait of Fuca — Voyafie of Meares, who endeavors to find a great
River described by the Spaniards — First Voyages from the United States
to the South Pacific, and to Canton — Voyage of the Columbia and Wash-
ington, under Kendrick and Gray, from Boston to the North Pacific. 160-181
CHAPTER VIII.
1788 AND 1789.
Uneasiness of the Spanish Government at the proceedings of the Fur Trad-
ers in the North Pacific — Voyages of Observation by Martinez and Haro
\
XVI
CONTENTS.
to the Russian American Settlements — Remonstrances of the Court of
Madrid to that of St. Petersburg, against the alleged Encroachments of
the latter Power — Martinez and Haro sent by the Viceroy of Mexico to
take possession of Nootka Sound — Seizure of British and other Vessels
at Nootka by Martinez — Captain Gray, in the Washington, explores the
East Coast of Queen Charlotte's Island, and enters the Strait of Fuca —
Return of the Columbia to the United States. . . . 182-201
CHAPTER IX.
■ 1790.
Controversy between Great Britain and Spain respecting the North-West
Coasts of America and the Navigation of the Pacific — The Owners of the
Vessels seized at Nootka apply for Redress to the British Government,
which demands Satisfaction for the alleged Outrages — Spain resists the
Demand, and calls on France for Aid, agreeably to the Family compact —
Proceedings in the National Assembly of France on the Subject — Spain
engages to indemnify the British for the Property seized — Further De-
mands of Great Britain — Designs of Pitt against Spanish America —
Secret Meditation of France, through which the Dispute is settled — Con-
vention of October, 1790, called the Nootka Treaty — Proceedings in Parlia-
ment, and Reflections on this Convention. . . . 202-215
Ce!
t
t
I
t(
CHAPTER X.
1790 TO 1792.
Vancouver sent by the British Government to explore the Coasts of America,
and receive Possession of Lands and Buildings agreeably to the Conven-
tion with Spain — Passage of the Washington, under Kendrick, through
the Strait of Fuca, in 1789 — Nootka reoccupied by the Spaniards —
Voyages of Fidalgo, Quimper, Elisa, Billings, Marchand, and Mataspina
— Voyages of the American Fur Traders Gray, Ingraham, and Kendrick
— Discovery of the Washington Islands by Ingraham. . . 216-230
CHAPTER XI.
1792 TO 1796.
Vancouver and Broughton arrive on the American Coasts in 1792, and meet
with Gray, who informs them of his Discovery of the Columbia River —
The Strait of Fuca surveyed by Vancouver, Galiano, and Valdes — Nego-
tiations between Vancouver and Quadra at Nootka — Vancouver's injustice
to the Americans — Broughton 's Examination of the lower Part of the
Columbia River — Vancouver's Proceedings at the Sandwich Islands —
He completes the Survey of the North-West Coasts of America, and re-
turns to England — The Spaniards abandon Nootka — Conclusions with
Regard to the Dispute between Great Britain and Spain, and the Conven-
tion of 1790. ....... 231-260
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Lot
twe
of 1
CONTENTS.
XVII
of
of
to
3lS
he
82-201
est
the
;nt,
the
t —
)ain
De-
i —
>on-
rlia-
202-215
CHAPTER XII.
1788 TO 1810.
Establishment of the North- West Fur Trading Company of Montreal, in
1783 — Expeditions of Mackenzie to the Artie Sea and to the Pacific Coast
— The Trade between the North Pacific Coasts of America and Canton
conducted almost exclusively by Vessels of the United States from 1798
to 1814 — Establishment of the Russian American Company — Its Settle-
ments and Factories on the American Coasts — Expedition of Krusenstern
through the North Pacific — Proposition of the Russian Government
to that of the United States, with Regard to the Trade of the North
Pacific • . 260-275
CHAPTER XIII.
1803 TO 1806.
Cession of Louisiana by France to the United States — Inquiries as to the
true Extent of Louisiana — Erroneous Supposition that its Limits towards
the North had been fixed by Commissaries agreeably to the Treaty of
Utrecht — President Jefllerson sends Lewis and Clarke to examine the
Missouri and Columbia — Account of their Expedition from the Mississippi
to the Pacific. ....... 276-289
CHAPTER XIV
ica,
en-
tugh
I —
lina
[rick
216-230
leet
Ir —
}go-
ktice
llhe
re-
irith
Jren-
1231-260
1806 TO 1815.
First Establishments of the North- West Company in the Countries north of
the Columbia — Pacific Fur Company formed at New York — Plan of its
Founder — First Expedition from New York in the Tonquin — Founda-
tion of Astoria near the Mouth of the Columbia River — Destruction of
the Tonquin by the Savages — March of the Party under Hunt and Crooks
across the Continent — Arrival of the Beaver in the Columbia — War be-
tween the United States and Great Britain fatal to the Enterprise — Es-
tablishments of the Pacific Company sold to the North- West Company —
Astoria taken by the British — Dissolution of the Pacific Company. 290-305
CHAPTER XV.
1814 TO 1820.
Restitution of Astoria to the United States by Great Britain, agreeably
to the Treaty of Ghent — Alleged Reservation of Rights on the Part of
Great Britain — First Negotiation between the Governments of Great
Britain and the United States, respecting the Territories west of the Rocky
Mountains, and Convention for the joint Occupancy of those Territories
— Florida Treaty between Spain and the United States, by which the
Latter acquires the Title of Spain to the North-West Coasts — Colonel
Long's exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains — Disputes be-
tween the British North-West and Hudson's Bay Companies — Union
of those Bodies — Act of Parliament extending the Jurisdiction of the
XVIII
CONTENTS.
Canada Courts to the Pacific Countries — Russian Establishments on the
North Pacific — Expeditions in Search of Northern Passages between
the Atlantic and the Pacific — Death of Tamahamaha, and Introduc-
tion of Christianity into the Sandwicli Islands. . . . 306-330
CHAPTER XVI.
1820 TO 1828.
Bill reported by a Committee of the House of Representatives of the United
States, for the Occupation of the Columbia River — Ukase of the Emperor
of Russia, with regard to the North Pacific Coasts — Negotiations between
the Governments of Great Britain, Russia, and the United States — Con-
ventions between the United States and Russia, and between Great Britain
and Russia — Further Negotiations between the United States and Great
Britain relative to the Norlh-VVest Coasts — Indefinite Extension of the
Arrangement for the joint Occupancy of the Territories west of the Rocky
Mountains, by the British and the Americans. . . . 331-355
CHAPTER XVII,
1823 TO 1843.
Few Citizens of the United States in the Countries west of the Rocky Moun-
tains between 1813 and 1823 — Trading Expeditions of Ashley, Sublette,
Smith, Pilcher, Pattie, Bonneville, and Wyeth — Missionaries from the
United States form Establishments on the Columbia — First Printing Press
set up in Oregon — Opposition of the Hudson's Bay ('ompany to the
Americans; how exerted — Controversy between the United States and
Russia — Dispute between the Hudson's Bay and the Russian American
Companies ; how terminated — California ; Capture of Monterey by Com-
modore Jones — The Sandwich Islands ; Proceedings of the Missionaries ;
Expulsion of the Catholic Priests, and their Reinstatement by a French
Force — The Sandwich Islands temporarily occupied by the British. 356-374
CHAPTER XVIII.
1842 TO 1844.
Excitement in the United States respecting Oregon — Treaty of Washington
determining Boundaries between the Territories of Great Britain and those
of the United States, east of the Lake of the Woods — Mr. Linn's Bill
in the Senate of the United States, for the immediate occupation of Ore-
gon — Reflections on the Convention of 1827 — Present State of the Hud-
son's Bay Company's Territories — Conclusion. . . . 375-403
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
405-471
GENERAL INDEX
473
I on the
)etween
itrodiic-
306-330
United
Imperor
letween
- Con-
Britain
d Great
I of tho
Rocky
331-355
Moun-
ubiette,
•om the
? Press
to the
tes and
nerican
1^ Com-
naries ;
French
I. 356-374
GEOGRAPHY
OF THE
WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH AMERICA.
iington
d those
I's Bill
)f Ore-
eHud-
375-403
405-471
473
GEOGKAVIIY
or
TliE WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH AMERICA.
GENERAL VIEW.
NoKTii America borders upon three great divisions of the ocean :
the Atlunticon the east — the Arctic on the north — cuO the Pacific
on the south and west — eacli of which receives, either directly or
through its gulfs and bays, the superfluous waters from a corre-
sponding great section of the continent.
These three great sections of North America are une<|ual in ex-
tent, and difl'erent in the character of their surface. At least one
half of the continent is drained by streams entering the Atlantic ;
and of that half, the waters from the larger, as well as the more
fertile portion, arc carried by the Mississippi into the Mexican
Gulf. Of the other two sections, that which borders on the Arctic
Sea is probably the more extensive. The Atlantic and the Arctic
sections present each a large proportion of surface nearly plane, and
comparatively little elevated above the sea ; and the line of sepa-
ration between them is so indistinctly marked as to be, in many
places, imperceptible. The Pacific section, on the contrary, is trav-
ersed in every part by steep and lofty ridges of highland ; and it
is completely divided from the other portions by a chain of moun-
tains, extending, in continuation of the Andes of South America,
from the Isthmus of Panama, north-westward, to the utmost ex-
tremities of the continent in that direction.
Of the Atlantic coasts of America it is unnecessary to speak.
The Pacific coast extends from Panama westward and north-
ward, without any remarkable irregularity in its outline, to the
tropic of Cancer, almost immediately under which is the entrance
of the great Gulf of California, separating the Peninsula of Cali-
fornia from the main continent, on the east. From the southern
extremity of this peninsula, the coast runs generally north-westward
to JNIount St. Elias, a lofty volcanic peak, "rising from the shore
of the ocean under the 60th parallel ; beyond which, the con-
tinent stretches far westward, between the Pacific on the south,
and the Arctic Sea on the north, to its termination at Cape Prince of
Wales, on Bering's Strait, the passage separating America from Asia.
The part of this coast south of the 49th degree of latitude pre-
1
cmooRAPiiY — (ii:M:ii vL vikw.
lents few indentations, and the islnnds in its vicinity are neither
numerous nor Inrgr. North of the 'lOlh <legrco, on the contrary,
the mainhtnd is everywhere penetrated by inlets nnd bays ; and
near it are thousands of islands, many of them extensive, lying
singly or in groups, separated from each other and from the conti-
nent by narrow intricate channeKs.
Bering's Strait is the only direct pass of communication between
the Pacific and the Arctic Sea. Beyond it, the shores of the two
great continents which it separates, run in opposite courses. The
shores of Asia and Europe have been explored in their whole
lengtli on the Arctic Sea, though no vessel has hitherto made a
voyage along them from the Atlontic to the Pacific, or vice versa.
The north coast of America has been traced from Cape Prince of
Wales north-eastward, to Cape Barrow, near the 7 1st <logrce
of latitude, and thence eastward more thcM fifteen hundred miles,
though not continuously to the Atlantic. The portion north of
Hudson's Bay is still in)perfectly discovered ; and the interesting
question whether the Arctic Sea there mingles its waters with those
of the Atlantic, or is separated from them by the extension of the
continent to the north pole, remains undetermined. Many cir-
cumstances, however, combine to favor the belief that a commu-
nication will be found between the two oceans, either through Fox's
Channel, the northernmost part of Hudson's Bay, or through Lan-
caster Sound, which joins Baffin's Bay, under the 74th parallel of
latitude.
The Pacific coast of America, in its wliolo length, from the
southern extremity of California to Bering's Strait, is bordered
by lofty mountains, which oppear to form a continuous chain,
partially broken in a few places by the passage across it of rivers
from the interior. These mountains rise, lor the most part, im-
mediately from the sea-shore, above which they may be seen
towering one, two, and even three, miles in perpendicular eleva-
tion : in some parts, however, the main ridge is separated from the
ocean by tracts of lower country, as much as one hundred miles
in breadth, traversed by parallel lines of hills. The peninsulas of
California and Aliaska, the numerous islands which mask the coast
of the continent, between the 49th and the 58th parallels, and
the Aleutian Islands, which stretch in a line across the sea, from
the southern extremity of Aliaska to the vicinity of the opposite
Asiatic peninsula of Kamtchatka, may. all be considered as pro-
longations of this chain through the Pacific.
The great chain of mountains which divides the streams empty-
ing into the Pacific from those flowing into the other divisions of
the ocean, runs through the northern continent, as through the
southern, in a line nearly parallel with the shore of the Pacific, to
I '1
are neither
10 contrary,
1 bnys ; and
(Misive, lying
m the conti-
ion between
8 of the two
lurscs. The
their whole
erto made a
or vice versa.
pe Prince of
7l9t deaireo
indrcd miles,
ion north of
e interesting
!rs with those
snsion of the
Many cir-
at a commii-
hroiigh Fox's
through Lan-
th parallel of
;th, from the
is bordered
luous chain,
IS it of rivers
|ost part, iin-
lay be seen
icular eleva-
ted from the
[indred miles
leninsulas of
isk the coast
larallcis, and
lie sea, from
he opposite
[cred as pro-
pams empty-
I divisions of
through the
Pacific, to
ai:oaRAPHY — uunerai. view.
3
which it is also generally much nearer than to the Atlantic. Under
the 4Utli parallel of latitude, where the western section of Amer-
ica is widt-^t, the distance across it, from the summit of the
dividing chain to the Pacific, is about seven hundred miles, which
is not more than one i^liir^ of the distance from the same point of
the mountains to the Atlantic, measured in the same latitude.
The |iiKt uf the dividing chain extending south of the 40th
degree of luhtiide to Mexico, has received many names, no one of
which seems to liavo been universally adopted. The Anohuac Moun-
tains is, however, the appellation most commonly applied to it at
present, and by which it will bo distinguished in the following pages.
The portion of tho great ridge north of the 'lOth parallel is
generally known as the liorki/ or Sloni/ Mountnins. From that
latitude, its course is nearly due north-westwiud, and gradually
approaching the line of the Pacific coast to the 54th degree,
where the main chain turns more westward, an<l contimies in that
direction so fur as it has been traced. Another ridge, called the
Chipctvi/nn Mountains, indeed extends, as if in (irolongation of the
Rocky Moutitains, from the 53d parallel north-westward to the
Arctic Sea, where it ends near the 7()th degree of latitude : but
the territory on its western side is drained by streams entering
that sea, either directly or passing through the ridge into the
Mackenzie Hivcr, which flows along its eastern base.
Among the Rocky Mountains, nearly all the greatest rivers in
North America have their sources. Within a hundred miles of
the point where that chain is crossed by the 41st parallel of
latitude, rise, on the eastern side, the Missouri, the Yellowstone,
the Platte, and the Arkansas, the waters of all which are carried
through the Mississippi into the Mexican Gulf, and the River I?r«ro
del Ao/7c, which falls into the same arm of the Atlantic ; while on
the western side are found the springs of the Lewis or Snake, the
principal southern branch of the Columbia, which enters the Pacific
near the 46th degree of latitude, and those of the Colorado,
which terminates in the head or northern extremity of the Califor-
nian Gulf. In the same great chain, also, near the 53d de-
gree of latitude, the northern branch of the Columbia runs from
a lake, situated within a few feet of another lake, wiience issues
the west branch of the Athabasca, one of the aflluents to the
Mackenzie ; and at a short distance south rises the Saskatchawine,
which takes its course eastward to Lake Winnipeg, and contributes
to the supply of Hudson's Bay.
Between the two great lines of mountains which thus extend
along the eastern and the western borders of the Pacific section of
North America, are other ridges, some apparently isolated, but the
greater number connected with the above-described chains. The
* i
1
I I
4 GEOGRAPHY GENERAL VIEW.
most extensive of these intermediate ridges is called the Snotvi/
Mountains, and is believed to stretch uninterruptedly from the
Rocky Mountains to the westernmost range, nearly in the course
of the 41st parallel of latitude, constituting the southern bound-
ary of the territory drained by the Columbia River. Another
ridge, called the Blue Mountains, runs northward from the Snowy
Mountains, bounding the valley of the Snake or Lewis River on
the west. A lofty range also extends from the westernmost chain,
nea ' the 48th degree of latitude, northward to the Rocky Moun-
tains, near the 54th degree, sejiarating the waters which How into
the northern branch of the Columbia from those of Fraser's River
on the west, and forming another great natural line of boundary
of the territory called Oregon, drained by the former river.
In the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains, on the eiist, are several
ridges, running generally parallel to the great chain, among which
are the Wind River and Long^s ranges, comprising some of the
highest peaks in America, and the ridge separating the valley of
the River Bravo del Norte from that of the Arkansas. Farther
east the country becomes nearly level ; and the central portion of
the continent, extending from the foot of the last-mentioned ridges
to the Mississippi, Hudson's Bay and the Arctic Sea, may be con-
sidered as forming one plain, so slight and gradual are the inequal-
ities of its surface.
With regard to the geology of this section of America, — the
Rocky Mountains consist, so far as they have been examined,
entirely of primary formations ; while the regions beyond them,
especially those of the great chain, which runs nearest the Pacific
coast, and the adjacent islands, exhibit everywhere traces of vol-
canic eruptions, and contain numerous volcanoes in constant
action. The regions extending eastward from the Rocky IMomi-
tains, to a great distance, arc mostly composed of a very salifcrous
sandstone, overlaid in some places by beds of clay, and near the
streams by thin layers of alluvium. No signs of past or present
volcanic action have been discovered, in any part of America,
between the great dividing chain and the Atlantic, north of the
tropic of Cancer.
The countries on the Pacific side of North America also differ
materially in climate from those on the eastern side of the con-
tinent situated in the same latitudes, and at equal distances from
and elevations above the sea. These diflcrences are less within
the limits of the torrid zone, and perhaps also beyond the fiOth
parallel of latitude ; but in the intermediate space, every part west
of the dividing chain of mountains is much warmer, and is less
frequently visited by rain or snow, than places in the Atlantic or
the Arctic sections, under the same conditions as above expressed.
OROGRAPHY GENERAL VIEW.
3 Snowy
rom the
e course
I bound-
Another
e Snowy
llivcr on
>st chain,
y Moun-
ilow into
r's River
boundary
!r.
re several
ng which
lie of the
valley of
Farther
portion of
icd ridges
y be con-
e inequal-
ca, — the
xamined,
>nd them,
he Pacific
es of vol-
constant
ky INlonn-
salifcrous
near the
nr present
America,
irth of the
also ditler
the con-
iices from
ess within
the OOth
part west
tid is less
.llantic or
expressed.
Thus the north-westernmost regions of America appear to be
almost as cold, and to receive as nuicii water from the heavens, as
those surrounding Bafiin's Bay, or those in their own vicinity in
Asia ; but in the countries on the Pacific side, corresponding, in
latitude and other respects, with Newfoundland and Nova Scotia,
the ground is rarely covered with snow for more than three or
four weeks in the year, and it often remains unfrozen throughout
the winter. In the territories on the western coasts, opposite to
Virginia and Carolina, the winter is merely a wet season, no rain
falling at any other time : and in the Peninsula of California, which
is included between the same ))aralltls of latitude as Georgia and
Florida, the temperature is as high as in any tropical region, and
many years in succession pass without a shower or even a cloud.
It is likewise observed that the interior portions of the Pacific
section are in general more dry, and that the dilfereiice in tem-
perature between tlie day and tlie night is much greater, than in
the countries nearer the sea.
The central portions of the continent, immediately east of the
Rocky Mountains, exhibit the same jjeculiaritics of clinmte with
those adjoining west of that cliain, though in a less degree. The
vast plains within s(;vcral hundred miles east of the di\iding
chain of mountains, between the 3Sth and the 50th j)arallels of
latitude, present a surface of rocks and sand ; and except in the
vicinity of the streams which cross them from the mountains, they
produce nothing but stilf grass and shrubs. Descending towards
the jNIississippi, the climate becomes less dry, and gradually as-
smnes all the characters of that of the Atlantic regions. North of
the GOth parallel there is more rain at all seasons of the year ;
but the intensity of the cold and the length of the winter render
the coimtry almost every where uniidiabitable by those who depend
on agriculture for their su|)port.
In consequence of this greater dryness of the climate on the
western side of iVmeriea, and the proximity of the dividing chain
of mountains to the coast, the rivers on that side are generally
neither so long, nor so abundant in water, nor navigable to such
distances from their mouths, as those which full into the Atlantic.
The Columbia and the Colorado are the only streams flowing from
America into the Pacific, which can be compared in any of those
respects with several in the other sections of the continent ; being
both of them inferior to the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, the Ama-
zons, the Plate, and the Orinoco. The rivers of Western America
present, in fact, few or no facilities for conmiercial transportation.
They nearly all run, in their whole course, through deep ravines
among stony mountains ; and they are frequently interrupted by
ledges or accumulations of rock, producing falls and rapids, to
i'
'*' '"1
''t ''
6
GEOGUAPUY GENEKAL VIEW.
Wf.
overcome which all the resources of art would probably be una-
vailing. East of the Rocky Mountains are many great streams
flowing from that chain into the Missouri ; but none of them seem
calculated to serve as cliannels of communication between the
eastern and the western sides of the continent.
Under circumstances of climate, soil, and conformation of sur-
face, so different, it may be readily supposed that considerable
differences must exist between the natural productions of the
countries on the western side of North America, and those of the
eastern section of the continent. Accordingly it is found that
few species of plants, and indeed of animals, are common to the
Atlantic and the Pacific territories ; and that many genera which
abound on the one side of the dividing chain of mountains, are
rare, if not wanting, on the other side. Some vegetables acquire
a greater development in the vicinity of the north-west coasts of
the continent, than in any other part of the world ; but on the
other hand, large portions of the Pacific section are absolutely bar-
ren, and incapable of being rendered productive by art. In re-
compense, however, the rivers abound in fish, especially in salmon,
which ascend to great distances in the interior, and form the prin-
cipal food of the aboriginal inhabitants.
With respect to the aboriginal inhabitants of North America — the
Arctic coasts are occupied by a peculiar race, called the Eskhnaux,
who are also found on the northernmost shores of the Pacific, in-
termingled with the Tchikski, the aborigines of Northern Asia.
The remainder of the continent seems to have been inhabited, prior
to the entrance of the Europeans, by one and the same race of
men ; the natives of the various portions differing from each other
slightly, considering the differences of climate, soil, and modes of
life. That some admixture with the races of Southern Asia may
have taken place, is, however, not improbable, considering the fact
that two vessels from Japan have been driven on the west coasts of
North America since 1813.
The establishments of civilized nations in these countries are as
yet all on a small scale. The Russians occupy the coasts and
islands north of the latitude of 54 degrees 40 mirmtes : their
settlements are all under the control of the Itussinn Amcricon
Compovy, a corporation enjoying the special protection of the im-
perial government, and are devoted exclusively to the collection
of the furs and skins of the land and sea animals abounding in
that quarter, great numbers of which are annually transported to
Asia and Europe. The British and the Citizens of the United
States are spread throughout the regions south and east of those
occupied by the Russians, as far as California ; and have been hith-
erto likewise chiefly engaged in the fur trade, though some agricul-
4
m
G£OGRAPUY GENIUIAL VIKVV.
are as
ts and
: their
icrican
he im-
lection
ing in
irted to
United
those
in hith-
gricul-
tural settlements have been formed, by the people of both nations,
on the waters of the Columbia River : within the last two or three
years, however, particularly in 1843, large bodies of emigrants
from the United States have gone to those countries, respecting
whom no precise accounts have been yet obtained. The British
are all under the direction of the Hudson's Boy Company, which
possesses, in virtue of a grant from the British government, the
exclusive privilege of trading in all the Indian countries of Amer-
ica belonging to or claimed by that power, and they are restrained
and protected by British laws, under an act of parliament, extend-
ing the jurisdiction of the courts of Canada over all those coun-
tries, so far as regards subjects of Great Britain. The citizens of the
Dnited States, on the contrary, are deprived of all protection, and are
independent of all control ; as they are not subject to British laws,
and their own government exercises no authority whatever over
any part of America west of the Rocky Mountains. On the coasts
of California, south of the 38th degree of latitude, are many
colonies, garrisons, and missionary stations, founded by the Spati-
iards during the last century, and now maintained by the Mexi'
cans, who succeeded to the rights of Spain in that part of America
in 1821 : this country, though thinly inhabited by a wretched,
indolent population, is the only part of the Pacific section of North
America, which can be considered as regularly settled ; which
possesses an organized, civil and social system, and where indi-
viduals hold a property in the soil secured to them by law.
Each of these four nations claims the exclusive possession of a
portion of the territory on the Pacific side of America north of the
Californian Gulf; and each of them is a party to some treaty with
another, for the temporary use, or definitive sovereignty of such
portion. Thus it has been agreed by treaty, in 1819, between the
United States and Spain, renewed in 1828 between the United
States and Mexico — that a line drawn from the Rocky Moun-
tains to the Pacific, in the course of the 42d parallel of latitude,
should separate the dominions of the former power on the north
from those of Mexico on the south. It was in like manner agreed
in 1824, by convention between the United States and Russia —
that the former nation should make no establishments on the coasts
north of the parallel of .54 degrees 40 minutes, and that the latter
should make none south of the same line ; but this convention
was neutralized, and in fact abrogated, by a treaty concluded be-
tween Russia and Great Britain in the following year, by which
all the coasts and islands north of the latitude of 54 degrees
40 minutes, and the whole territory west of a line drawn along
the summits of the highlands bordering the western shores of
the continent, from that parallel northward to Mount St. Elias,
V\
I
m
8
GEOGRAPHY GENRUAL VIEW.
1 i
'!
\t i'
m: i
under the 60th degree, and thence due north to the Arctic Sea,
were declared to be the exclusive properly of Russia, while all
north and east of that line were to belont,' to Great Britain.
Thus we find on the western side of North America only two
lines of distinct boundary or partition, as yet settled between the
governments of civilized nations — the one between two powers,
the United States and Mexico — and the other between two ditter-
ent powers. Great Britain and Russia — each line traversing the
whole breadth of the Pacific section of the continent. Of the
vast territory comprised between these two lines, no spot has
yet been assigned by mutual agreement to any civilized nation.
The United States claim the country northward from the 452d
parallel, and Great Britain claims that extending south and east
from the other line, each to a distance undefined, but so far as to
secure for itself the whole, or nearly the whole, of tiie region
traversed by the Columbia River ; and, neither nation being willing
to recede from its pretensions, all the countries claimed by either,
west of the Rocky Mountains, remain, by convention between the
two governments concluded in 1821, free and open to the citizens
or subjects of both.
It would be improper here to omit to notice the group of the
San(livic/i Islands, or llaivniian Archipcla<ro, as they are some-
times called, which, from their peculiar position, within two thou-
sand five hundred miles of the American coast, between the IDth
and the 22(1 parallels of latitude, in the direct track of vessels
crossing the ocean, as well as from the productiveness of their soil
and the amenity of their climate, seem destined to be, to the coun-
tries bordering on the North Pacific, what the West Indies are to
those on the North Atlantic ; and probably to alVord, to some mar-
itime nation, the means of exerting a powerful inlluence, jmlitical
as well as connnercial, over the whole western division of America.
They remain in the possession of their aboriginal occupants, who
appear to evince considerable aptitude to receive instruction, and
have, with the aid of some missionaries from the United States,
established a regular government in the form of a hereditary mon-
archy, under constitutional limits. Their independence has, within
a few years, been more than once threatened, and must always be
in danger, from the jealousy or ambition of the great maritime
powers of I'Airope and America ; to one or the other of which they
will doubtless be rendered subject, whenever the present peaceful
condition of the world is broken by war between those powers.
Having presented this concise general view of the western sec-
tion of North America, its divisions will now be examined in de-
tail, beginning with the most southern, under the heads of Cali-
fornia, OregoiN, and Russian America.
m
c Sea,
lile all
,ly two
eii the
)o\vers,
dirter-
ng the
or the
)ot has
nation,
he 4'2d
nd cast
ir as to
roLiion
r willing
r either,
'eeu the
citizens
{) of the
•e sonio-
rt'o thon-
Uie IDth
vessels
their soil
ho coun-
.>s are to
ine inar-
|)olitical
America.
Mts, who
ion, and
States,
jiry inon-
s, within
Iways be
maritime
[lich they
peaceful
powers,
itern sec-
1 in de-
lof Cali-
CALIFORNIA.
TnK name Cah'fonna was first assi^^ned, by the Spaniards, in
1530, to the southern portion of the great peninsula which ex-
tends on the western side of North America, from the 3'2d de-
gree of latitude to and within the limits of the torrid zone ; and
it was afterwards made to comprehend the whole division of the
continent north-west of Mexico, just as that of Florida was ap-
plied to the opposite portion on the Atlantic side. At the present
day, California is usually considered as including' the peninsula, and
the territory extending from it, on the Pacific, northward as far as
the limits of Oregon, or the country drained by the Columbia
River; Cape Mendocino, in the latitude of 40 degrees 19 min-
utes, being assumed as the point of separation of the two coasts.
The Mexican government, however, regards the 4-2d parallel of
latitude as the northern limit of California, agreeably to the treaty
concluded between that republic and the United States of Amer-
ica in 18:28.
California is naturally divided into two portions : the Peninsula,
or Old, or Lower California, in the south, and Continental, or Neiv,
or i'ppcr California, in the north ; the line of separation between
which runs along the 3-2d parallel of latitude, from the head or
northern extremity of the Californian Gulf to the Pacific.
The Gulf of Calikokniv, called by the Spaniards the Sen of
Cortes, but more commonly the Vermilion Sea, is a great arm of
the Pacific, joining that ocean under the 2.'3d parallel of lati-
tude, and thence extending north-westward between the conti-
nent on the east and the Californian Peninsula on the west, to
its head or termination, under the .32d parallel, where it re-
ceives the waters of the llivers Colorado and Gila. Its length is
about seven hundred miles : its breadth, at its junction with the
Pacilic, is one hundred miles ; farther north it is somewhat wider,
and still farther, its shores gradually approach each other, until
they become the banks of the Colorado.
9
I
lit!
■!.
■> 1
'I I;
10
GEOGUAPHY OF CAMFORNIA.
/i!i
I)
i! W
r iff
'I': ;;i
«i '
'P
The western, or peninsular coasts of the gulf are high and steep,
offering very few places of security for vessels ; and not a single
river enters the sea on that side. Its <'astern, or contin(;ntal shores,
are generally low, and the sea in their vicinity is shallow, which
renders the navigation along them dangerous. Tiie |)rcvailing
winds are from the south ; a current, however, constantly sets out
from the gulf, which is perceived by vessels passing at a consid-
erable distance from its mouth.
'r/ic ttrrUonj on the eastern side of the C((]i for nirni Gulf wclmlcs
two large political divisions of the IMcxican Kepnblic, of which the
northern is called Sonora, and the southern Sinnloa, each extend-
ing from the coasts of the gulf, to the <lividing ridge of mountiiiiis.
These countries are as yet but thiidy iidiabited ; they are, how-
ever, from the number and richness of their mines, the prodiicrivc-
ness of their soil, and the salubrity of their climate, calcidated to
support an immense population, for which the gulf, and the many
rivers flowing into it from the mountains, will atTord the means of
communicating with the rest of the world. The port of (runi/-
mas, in Sonora, in latitude of 27 degrees 40 miimtes, is said
to be one of the best on the Pacific side of America. Mnzat-
lan, in Sinaloa, at the entrance of the gulf, has been hitherto
much fre(|uented by vessels ; but it is neither so secure as Guay-
mas, nor is the surrounding country so fertile and healthy. Far-
ther south-cast is San Bias, now the principal commercial port of
Mexico on the Pacific ; and still farther, in the same direction, arc
NaviclacJ, Acapulro, and Tehuanfepcc, all of which have been at
times the seats of considerable trade.
The Pkninsi'la of CALiroiixrA is about one hundred and thirty
miles in breadth, at its widest part, where it joins the continent,
nearly under the same parallel of latitude with the city of Savan-
nah, in Georgia. Thence it extends south-eastward about seven
hundred miles, varying, though generally diminishing in width,
between the Pacific on the west, and the Californian Gulf on
the east, to its termination in two points — Cape San Ijvcas
the southernmost, in latitude of Q'i degrees 5-2 minutes, corres-
ponding nearly with that of the city of Havanna — and Cape Pahno,
sixty miles east by north of the other, at the entrance of the
Californian Gulf, This country consists entirely of stony ridges and
narrow sandy valleys, and is simply the prolongation through the
sea, of the great maritime chain of mountains which borders the
western coast of North America, from the Californian Gulf to the
Arctic Sea.
The climate of the Peninsula is as hof ,(ii(i .Iry as that of Arabia.
At its southern extremity the earth is occasionally moistened by a
shower in summer ; near iis junction with the continent, rain is
'*
GEOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA.
11
I steep,
1 single
shores,
, which
cvuilinj^
sots out
consid-
includcs
hich the
i!Xten(l-
(iintniiis.
re, !io\v-
iductive-
lUiteil to
he many
neaiis of
(f (hiaij-
, is said
Mazat-
hitherto
as Guay-
port of
ction, arc
been at
iiid tliirty
onliucnt,
Savan-
)Ut seven
width,
Gulf on
n Lucas
corrcs-
)c Ptthno,
of the
idges and
ough the
i)rders the
If to the
f Arabia,
lied by a
it, vain is
never seen except in winter; and in the intermediate portion, many
years in succession pass by without tlie appearance of a single cloud.
Under such circumstances it may be concluded, that the springs of
water must be rare and small, and the surface generally bare and
free from vegetation. Yet wherever irrigation is practised the pro-
ductiveness of the soil is extraordinary ; and in the little oases,
where a scanty stream runs through a narrow sandy valley, pine-
apples, f)lantaiiis, ligs, grapes, oranges, and uU other fruits of torrid
climes, are yielded in abundance, and of the finest quality.
The aboriginal population of the peninsula consisted of four or
'I five thonsancl savages, who derived their subsistence from the fish
with which the surrounding seas are filled, and from roots growing
on the borders of the rivulets. Until the beginning of the last
century, all tiie attempts of the Spaniards to form establishments
of any kind in the country, proved fruitless. At that time, how-
ever, the Jesuits, by permission of the King of Spain, undertook to
convert the natives <»f the |)eninsula to Ciiristianity, and to initiate
them into the usages and arts of civilized life ; with which view
they formed a number of missions on the coast of the gulf, and,
by untiring assiduity, they succeeded partially in their objects.
In 1703 the .Jesuits were expelled from the Spanish dominions,
and their establishments in California were confided to the Domi-
nicans, who have ever since directed them, with little advantage in
any way.*
The number of persons in the peninsula at present has been
variously estimated ; from the best accounts, it does not exceed five
thousand, of whoin a small j)roportion only are Mexicans, and very
iiiw are of Kuropeaii origin. The principal j)laces now occupied
by the Alexicans an; — Lorcto. the capital of Old California, a mis-
erable village of about two hundred persons, situated near the
gulf, opposite the small Maiul of (.'anncn, in latitude of 25 degrees
14 minutes — Jj,i I'az, on the Bay of PichlUngue, a little farther
south, the port of comnnmication with Mexico — and Port San
Jose, near Cape San Lucas.
Tiio east coast of the peninsula has long been celebrated for the
size, beauty and fineness of the pearls found in the oysters which
abound in the parts of the gulf adjacent ; and the search for these
precious stones has always formed the princi|)al employment of the
Spaniards in that (piarter. The pearls are obtained, with much
difficulty and danger, by Indians, who dive for them to the depth
of twenty feet or more, and of whom a number are thus annually
drowned or destroyed by sharks. The value of the pearls, pro-
cured by this means, appears to be small when compared with the
* Sop Cliapter III. of the History.
'if: '■■
S: I
12
GEOGRAPHY OF CALIFOllNlA.
I
u
n
I r
time nnd Inbor spent in the search for them : in 1825, eight ves-
sels engiiged in the business, eollected nllogether five pciunds of
pearls, worth about ten thoiisnnfl dolhirs ; oeeasionally, however, a
single stone is found of vahie sniiicient to compensate for the losses
and disappointments of n)any years of fruitless toil. In 1825,
Lieutenant Hardy, of the British navy, was sent to the Californian
coast from London with two vessels, carrying diving-btlls, by the
use of which it was expected that the pearl fishery miiriit be con-
ducted more profitably aM<l with less danger : unfortunately, how-
ever, it was discovered that the oysters always lie in crevices of
the rocks, at the bottom of the sea, to which no access can be ob-
tained by meatis of the diving-bell ; and the enterprise was in con-
sequence abandoned.
On the west, or Pacific coasts of the peninsula, no settlement has
ever been formed or attempted by a civilized nation. This coast
offers many excellent harbors, btit the want of fresh water in their
vicinity must ever prove an etlectual obstacle to their occu[)ation.
The principal harbors arc — the extensive fini/ of Ln Mas^ilnlena,
in latitude of 25 degrees, separated from the ocean by the
long island of iSantn Mnrgnrita, which appears to stretch much
farther inland than had been until recently supposed — the Jinij
of Stbasfian Vizcaino, under the 2Sth parallel, east of the
Ish of Cedars — Port San Bartolome. called Turtle Jiaij by the
British and American traders — and Port San (^iiintin, nn excel-
lent harbor, with fresh water near it, in latitude of .'30 degrees 20
minutes, called by the old Spanish navigators the Port of the
Eleven Thousand flnrins, and rediscovered in 1800 by Captain
O'Kean, a fur-trader from Boston. At the distance of a hundred
and twenty miles from this coast, under the parallel of 28 degrees
45 minutes, is the small rocky island of Gundchipc, the existence
of which, after it had been denied by many navigators, has been
ascertained.
Continental, or Nkw, or Upper California, extends from the
peninsula about five hundred miles nortliward, on the Pacific, to
Oregon, or the country of the Columbia, from which it is divided,
naturally, by the Snowy Mountains, and politically, by the 42d
parallel of latitude. Its boundaries on the east arc not as
yet determined in any way : some geographers consider as New
California only the region immediately adjacent to the Pacific, be-
tween the coast and the summit of the nearest great chain of
mountains ; others extend its limits to the Colorado ; while others
include in it, and others again exclude from it, the whole territory
drained by that river.
The country between the Pacific and the summit of the great
chain of mountains running nearest the coast, is the only portion
GEOGUAPIIY OF CALIFORNIA.
13
le great
of Now California of which any distinct accounts have been ob-
tained. This chain, which traverses the whole of the j)eninsula,
thence continues northward, nearly parallel to the sea-coast, as far
as the .'Mth degree of latitude, where rises Mount San Jhr-
vardiii, one of the highest peaks in California, about forty miles
from the ocean. Beyond that latitude the coast turns more west-
ward, and the s|)acc between it and the mountains becomes wider,
so as to exceed eighty miles in some places ; the intermediate
country being, however, traversed by ranges of hills, or smaller
mountains connected with the main ridge. The principal of these
inferior ranges extends from Mount San Rernardin north-westward
to its termination, at the entrance of the Bay of San Francisco,
near the J38th degree of latitude, where it is called the San Bruno
Mountains. Another range, called the Santa liarhara Mountains,
runs between the one before-mentioned and the coast, and termi-
nates in the north at the Cape of Pines, on the south-west side
of the Bay of Monterey. Kast of the Bay of San Francisco is the
liolbonis ri<lirr, between which and that of San liruno is the long
valley of Tulc, containing several large lakes.
The southernmost part of New California resembles the penin-
sula in climate, being very hot and dry, except during a short time
in the winter. Farther north the wet season increases in length,
and about the Bay of San Francisco the rains arc almost constant
from November to April, the earth being moistened during the re-
mainder of the year by heavy dews and fogs. Snow and ice are
sometimes seen in the winter on the shores of this bay, but never
farther south, except on the mountain-tops. The supply of water
from the heavens, liowever, sometimes ceases for nearly two years
iti succession, even at the Bay of San Francisco ; such a drought
Avas experienced there in ISIO and 1841, during which the inhab-
itants suftbred severely.
The prevailing winds on this coast are the south-cast, which
blows generally from April to November ; and the north-west,
which is almost constant during the remainder of the year. It is,
however, remarked, that the north-west wind is more regular and
violent north of Cape Conception, a point near the .'35th de-
gree of latitude, and the south-east, on the coasts south of that
place.
Among the valleys in this part of California, are many streams,
some of which discharge large quantities of water in the rainy
season ; but no river is known to flow through the maritime ridge
of tnountains from the interior to the Pacific, except perhaps the
Sacramento, falling into the Bay of San Francisco, though several
are thus represented on tlie maps. The valleys thus watered atibrd
abundant pasturage for cattle, with which they are covered ; there
mH
'■H
%
14
GEOGHAPIIY OF CALIFOIIMA.
.1
;i 11
■III
f
I
are, however, but two tracts of country capable of support in<? lari^e
numbers of inhabitants, which arc, that west of Moinit San Hernar-
din, and that surrounding the Itay of San Francisco ; and even in
these phiccs, artificial irrigation would be indispensable for success
in agriculture.
The animals originally found in California, were buflaloes. bears,
deer, wild hogs, wild siicep, beavers, foxes, and many others not
known elsewliere ; sea otters were also very abundant in the bays
of Monterey and San Francisco, but are now seldom seen. One
of the scourges of this part of America is the cluipul. a kind of
grasshopper, which appears iii the summer, especially after a long
continuance of dry weather, in clouds, like the locusts of Southern
Asia, destroying every vegetable substance found in their way.
Cattle and hors(!S were introduced into California by the Spaniards
from Mexico during the last century, and have increased in an ex-
traordinary degree, particularly in the i)lains and valleys between
the coast and the mountains of the northern |)ortion.
The aborigines of Upper California are generally considered less
ferocious and violent, but more indolent and vicious, than those of
the peninsula; they have, however, been pUvcd, by those who have
had the opportunity of studying their character and dispositions,
with the Hottentots, the Patagonians, and t!je Australians, among
the lowest of the human race. The first attempt to civilize these
people, was made by the Spaniards in 1769, immediately after the
expulsion of the Jesuits from the peninsula. With this object, a
number of missions were formed near the coast, under the direc-
tion of Franciscan friars, forts being at the same time erected in
various places, for the security of the missions and the occupation
of the country. Towns were ^subsequently laid out and settled,
and public farms were cultivated by the natives under the direction
of the friars and soldiers. All these establishments have declined
considerably since the overthrow of the Spanish government in
Mexico, in consequence of want of funds and the diminution of
the influence of the priesthood ; of late years, however, the com-
merce of the country has increased, and many vessels, chiefly from
the United States, now resort to its j)orts, laden with manufactured
articles, for which they receive hides and tallow in return.*
In 1835 the number of the missions was twenty-one, and of the
towns seven ; to which were attached about twenty-three thousand
persons, mostly of the aboriginal race ; many of the missions have,
however, been deserted since that time. These places are nearly
all situated immediately on the coast, though some of the most
extensive and flourishing are farther in the interior. For their
" Sec Chapters IV. and XVII. ol the History.
i
CiEOOKAPHY or CALf 0RN14^.
16
12; large
15cin;ir-
L'VCIl ill
success
s. henrs,
lers not
iIk: buys
1. Olio
kind of
r a lont^
5outlicrn
cir way.
paiiiards
n an ex-
bclwccn
Icred less
those of
ivlio have
lositioiis,
s, among
lize these
after the
object, a
he direc-
ccted in
cupation
settled,
lirection
decHiied
iment in
ution of
the com-
cHy from
Lifactured
nd of the
thousand
ons have,
re nearly
the most
For their
I
i
government tlioy arc arranged in four c istricts, en 1 bearing the
name o( the principal presidio or fortrch>^ on the t msf, numoly ;
Stin Diriro, Snnta liarhara, Monterey, and Sun Frntuisco.
San l)iii(o, the southernmost settlement of any importan* ■ on
the Pacific coast of California, and the first established I the
Hpaniards in that country, is situated on the north side, and near
the entrance of an extensive bay, which communicates with tlio
ocean by a narrow passage opening to the south, in the lati-
tude of 3'2 degrees 41 minutes. The bay runs into the land
about ten miles, and is separated from the Pacific by a ridge of
sand ; vessels of any size may enter it, and find safe anchorage
and protection from all winds within a mile of the northern shore.
TIk! town of San Diego, the trade of which is probably greater
than that of any other i)lace in California, is a small village, situ-
ated about a mile north of the bay. The i)resi<lio is a mud fort,
two miles farther inland ; besides wliich, there are some fortifica-
tions capable of commanding the entrance of the port. The mis-
sion is (listant seven miles from the presidio, in a valley, through
which a torrent of fine water rushes during the rainy season.
Son Juan is a small, unsafe and inconvenient harbor, in latitude
of iV'i degrees 27 niinutes, about sixty miles north-west of San
Diego. Farther west is Snn Pedro, in latitude of 33 degrees
43 minutes, open to the south-west winds, but totally shel-
tered from the north-west. The country immediately around
these places is sandy and barren, yielding little besides grass
for cattle ; in the interior, however, is the wide tract already
mentioned, extending to Mount San Bernardin, which is said
to be of great fertility wherever it is properly irrigated, pro-
ducing wheat, vines, olives, and fruits of various kinds. In this
tract, at the disfanre of thirty miles from the sea, stands PiiMo de
los An^dca, the largest town in California, containing a tiiousand
inhabitants ; and near it is tiie Mission of San ({abrid, the vine-
yards of which formerly yielded a large supply of good wine.
From Port San I'edro the Californian coast runs westward more
than a hundred miles to Cape Conception, a point situated in
latitude of 34 degrees '2-1 minutes, which is as much dreaded
by navigators, on account of the violence and frequency of the
storms in its vi(;iiiity, as Cape Ilatteras, near the same parallel
on the opposite side of the continent. Opposite this part of
the coast are the Islands of Santa Barbara, the only ones of any
great extent on the eastern side of the Pacific, between the en-
trance of the Calilornian Gulf and the 40th degree of lati-
tude. They are cJL'lit in number, of which four, called Santa Criiz,
Santa Rosa, Santa ('atalina,i\iu\ San CIriiitntc, contain from twenty
to fifty square miles of surface each ; the others being mere rocks.
I
ik
^1
Ill
Hi
vM
16
(iKOnRAPHV OV CALlk'OHNIA.
Between the Island of Santa Cm/, and the main land on the north,
in the (.'haniid of Sitnfa liarOara, tiftcen miles in width, on the
north side of which stand the presidio, mission, and town of Sunta
Barbara: the hurhor is an open roadstead, sheltered from the
northerly and westerly winds, but atfording little protection to ves-
sels on the other sides ; the surrounding country is u sandy plain,
divided on the north by the Santa Uurburu range of mountains,
which extends along the coast to Monterey.
At the distance of a hundred miles north of Cape Conception
tije Santa Barbara range of mountains terminates on the shore in u
point called the Cape of Pines, between which and another point,
twenty-four miles further north, called Cape New I'kw, la included
the liai/ of Montn-ci/. This bay lies in an indentation of the coast
almost semicircular; its southern part is, however, separated from
the ocean by the Cape of Pines, and thus forms a cove or harbor,
near the shore of which statids the town of Monlcnij, or San Car-
los (Ic Montvruj, the seat of government of California. This is but
a wretched village of two or three hundred iiiliabitanis, mostly In-
dians; and although the surrounding country has a good elimattt
and soil, and miglit, with little labor, be suliicicMitly irrigated by
means of two small rivers (lowing from the mountains, scarcrly
any article of food, except beef, can be obtained there. The mis-
sion stands three miles south of the town, in a valley watered by
the River San Carmelo. The presidio, which is styled a castlt ,
near the town, and the fort on the Cape of Pines, at the entrance
of the harbor, are merely mud walls, with a few old guns, nearly
all of them inetlective.
From the eastern shore of the Bay of Monterey, a sandy plain
extends to the foot of the San Bruno range of hills, between wliicli,
and the Santa Barbara range, is a long valley, traversed by a river
called the Jhieiiaiundira. This river rises in the soutji-east, and
falls into the Bay of AFonterey, though, on some maps, it is erro-
neously represented as flowing from a great distance in the interior.
Across the maritime range of mountains, near the northerji shore of
the bay, is the Mission of Saiila Cruz, to which vessels eonnnonly
resort for water and provisions ; and a little farther in the interior
is the incorporated town oi Brand forte, having about three hundred
inhabitants.
Cape Jieycs, under the 88th parallel of latitude, the next re-
markable head-land on the coast north of tlu; Bay of Mon-
terey, is composed of high white clill's, projecting into the Pa-
cific; and when seen from the north or the south, it has the ap-
pearance of an island, being connected with the main land on the
east by low grounds. A few miles south of this point, are two clus-
ters of rocky islets called Farelloncs, immediately east of which,
, ,1
GEOGRAPHY or CALIFORNIA.
17
plaii)
wliicli,
a liver
ist, und
orio-
utfrior.
lore of
iiiionly
Ulterior
uiiilrod
cxt re-
Moll-
tlic ;ip-
011 llie
,o cliis-
whicli,
"n
Port San Francisco, or the Jhtj of Saint Francis, joins the
Pacific by a pnssago or channel two miles wide, and three in
length, under the parallel of .'H degrees 55 minutes ; that is,
nearly in the same latitude with the entrance of Chesapeake
Bay, and with the Straits of Gibraltar. From this passai^c the
the bay extends north-eastward twenty miles, and south-eastward
thirty miles, surrounded by ranges of high hills, and presenting
one of the most beautiful and sccuro harbors on the Pacific, and
indeed in the world.
The northern branch of the bay becomes contracted near the
entrance into a strait, beyond which open*) a basin, called the
liatj of San I'a'tlo, about ten miles in diameter. A second pas-
sage, called ti'c Strait of Carf/iiims, unites this basin to another,
filled with islands, into which two or three rivers empty. The
Sacramento is the only one of these streams, the course of which
has been explored ; it rises on the western side of the great range
of mountains, along the base of which it runs from its sources,
near the 41st degree of latitude, to its mouth, in the Hay of
San Francisco, about three hundred miles, being navigable by
small vessels for half that distance. The lower part of the country
traversed by this river, is an alluvial plain, parts of which are
prairies, while others arc covered with forests of nohlu trees, prin-
cipally oaks ; and from all accounts it is well adapted for the sup-
port of a large population. Near the northern l)r;uich of the bay,
are the missions of San Francisco Solano and Sim Rafael.
Tl'o southern branch of the bay extends about thirty miles
from the entrance, and may be considered as occupying tlie bot-
tom, or northern extremity of a long volley, which stretches between
the San IJruno Mountains on the west, and the Bolbones range
also communicating with the great Californian chain on the east.
The presidio and mission of San Francisco are situated on the
western shore of the bay, a few miles south of the entrance passage,
at the termination of the Sun Bruno range of highlands ; the
principal place of anchorage for vessels is a cove, a little farther
north, between the western shore and the Island of Yerba Buena,
where a settlement has been commenced by the English and
Americans, who conduct nearly all the trade of that part of Cali-
fornia. This branch of the bay is about twelve miles in its greatest
breadth ; it terminates in the south, in a number of small arms,
receiving streams from the valleys among the hills, one of which
forms a communication, during the wet season, between the bay
and the large Lakes of Tule, situated farther south. Of these
lakes very little is known ; they are said to be two or three in
number, forming a chain about one hundred miles long, in the
environs of which, is a large population of natives. Upon another
3
^1
tip
i'-*'l
\'\
1 .1
18
GEOGRAPHy OF CALIKOllNIA.
If
III
^1
t
Jill
M
f: Ji
tii
stream, entering the bay on the south-east, are the town of San
Jose, and the contiguous mission of Santa Clara, in the midst of a
dehghtful country, producing grains and fi'iits of all kinds in
abundance, and affording pasture to numerous herds of cattle.
The excellence of the harbors afforded by the Bay of San
Francisco, and the productiveness of the surrounding country, will
doubtless render it one of the most important spots on the coasts
of the North Pacific. It is already attracting the attention of en-
terprising individuals, as well as of the governments of maritime
states in Europe and America ; and there is but little risk in pre-
dicting that it will, ere long, be the subject of contention between
one or the other of those states and its present possessors, who
have neither the means nor the will to develop its advantages.
Immediately north of Cape Reyes, in the latitude of 38 de-
grees 33 minutes, a small bay, called Port Boih;jra, joins the
Pacific, on the shore of the northern branch of which the Rus-
sians, in 1812, ''ormed a settlement, chiefly with the view of
supplying their fur-trading establishments with meat and other
provisions. A few years afterwards another settlement of a simi-
lar kind, called Ross, was made by the same people, on the coast
of the Pacific, about fifteen miles north of Bodega, near the mouth
of a small stream, named by them the Slavinica lioss. Each of
these places consisted of a stockaded fort, enclosing dwellings for
the officers and magazines, and surrounded by other buildings,
among which were shops for carpenters and smiths, and stables
for numerous herds of cattle ; and in the neighborhood of Bodega
a farm was worked, from which several thousand bushels of wheat,
besides peas and other vegetables, were annually obtained. These
establishments of the Russians in California have been a constant
source of annoyance to the Spaniards and to their Mexican
successors ; they have, however, it is said, been recently ceded
to a company composed chiefly of Americans, who seem equally
determined to dispute the authority of Mexico over the country.
Cape Mendocino, where the coasts of California and Oregon are
united, presents two steep and lofty promontories, about ten miles
apart, of which the highest is the southern, in latitude of 40
degrees 19 minutes — nearly the same with that of Sandy Hook,
at the entrance of the Bay of New York. This cape is the most
elevated land on the sea-shore of that part of America, and was
formerly much dreaded by the Spanish navigators, on account
of the storms usually prevailing in its vicinity ; but those fears
have passed away, and Cape Mendocino has, in consequence,
lost much of the respect with which it was once regarded by
mariners.
The interior of new California, east of the mountains which
GEOGRAPHY OP CALIFORNIA.
19
1 of San
idst of a
kinds in
ittle.
of San
iitry, will
10 coasts
)n of en-
niaritinie
k in pre-
betvveen
sors, who
ages.
if 38 de-
joins the
the Rus-
I view of
md other
of a simi-
the coast
the mouth
Each of
ellings for
buildings,
id stables
)f Bodega
of wheat,
These
a constant
Mexican
itly ceded
in equally
ountry.
)regon are
ten miles
de of 40
idy Hook,
the most
, and was
1 account
lose fears
sequence,
;arded by
ins w
hich
border the coast, is but imperfectly known. According to the
vague reports of the Catholic missionaries and American traders,
who have traversed it in various directions, the northern portion is
a wilderness of lofty mountains, apparently forming a continuous
chain, from the range which borders the Pacific coast to the Rocky
Mountains ; and the southern division is a desert of sandy plains,
interspersed with rocky hills, and with lakes and marshes, nearly all
of them salt, and having no outlet to the sea. The heat of the sun
in these plains is described, by all who have experienced it, as most
intense ; and from their accounts it seems to be certain that thia
region, with the exception, perhaps, of the portion immediately
adjacent to the Colorado River, must ever remain uninhabited.
The Colorado River forms the only outlet of the waters of these
territories. It is formed near the 41st degree of latitude, by
the junction of several streams, rising among the Rocky Mountains,
of which the principal are the Sids-k'adee, or Green River, and the
Sondy River : thence tlovving south-westward it passes through a
range of mountains where its course is broken by numerous ledges
of rocks, producing falls and ra])ids ; after which it receives the
Nabojo, the Jaqmsila, the Gila, and other large streams from the
east, and enters the Gulf of California, under the parallel of 32
degrees. The country on both sides of this river, for some
distance from its mouth, is flat and is overflowed during the rainy
season, when the quantity of water discharged is very great; and
a high embankment is thus made by the deposit of the mud,
similar to those on the lower Mississippi. How far the Colorado
may be ascended by vessels from the gulf is not known ; but
from some accounts it would seem to be navigable for three or
four hundred miles.
Among the mountains west of the sources of Colorado River,
between the 40th and the 42d parallels of latitude, are several
lakes, which have no outlet, and the waters of which are, as a
necessary consecjuence, salt.* The largest of these, formerly called
* As this i)hysif al fnct is not ns yet goiiprally known, a few words may bo here
said in I'xiiiiination. Whenever water runs on or throiij^ii tlie earth for any dis-
tance, it iin<Is salts, which it dissolves and carries to its final reei[)ient or basin,
either the ocean, or some lalc(> or marsh having no connection with the ocean or
any lower recipient ; and as the water Irom this final recipient is taken away
only by evaporation, which does not abstract a single saline |)article, it is a neces-
saryjcdiisecpiencc, that the salt must be constantly accnnndatini; there. Thus the
Dead (Sea, which has no ontiet, is saturated with salts, \vhile the Lake of Tibe-
rias, iVom which it receives its waters tliroin;h the Jordan, is fiesh. In like man-
ner the snil'aces of countries, from which the water is not carrii'd otf either by
streams or inliltratioii. are always imprc'.'nated with salt ; of this the high plains
of Mexico, and the valleys immediately west of the Rocky jAIonntains, oiler ex-
amples; the soil di" the jiarts, not reirnlarly drained, beiiiu; so salt as to render
veiretalion impossible, even wlieri' all the other rerpusites are fmiiished in abnn-
(huice. The reviMse is not always true ; nevertheless, the saltnessof a lars^c body
of water, or of a liin^e extent of trronnd, alfords stront; reasons for suspecting that
there is no re"uhir dra
in from it into a lower rec! pieiit
;Ui
ft'*'i
vf II
30
GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON.
by the Spaniards, Lalce Timpanogoa, but now generally known as
the Utah Lake, is said to be more than a hundred miles in length
and of great breadth ; it is chiefly supplied by the Bear River,
which enters it on the north-east, alter a long and circuitous
course through the mountains. Farther south, near the 39th de-
gree of latitude, is Ashley's Lake, on the shores of which the
American traders from Missouri formerly had an establishment.
OREGON
i'4
t
f . [
ii
The political boundaries of Oregon have never yet been deter-
mined by common consent of the parties claiming to possess it. In
the United States they arc considered as embracing the whole
of America west of the Rocky Mountains, from the 4r2d par-
allel of latitude to that of 54 degrees 40 minutes. Some geo-
graphers have, however, regarded as Oregon oidy the region
actually traversed and drained by the Columbia River, for wliich
Oregon is supposed,* erroneously, to have been the aboriginal
name ; and the British government has always insisted on a still
farther contraction of its limits.
Leaving the political ijuestion to be settled hereafter, the region
of the Columbia River will be now examined.
The natural boundaries of this region seem to be as follows :
On the east, the R^cky Mountains from the 42d parallel of
latitude to the 53d ; on the south, the Snowy Mountains, which
are said to extend nearly in the course of the -i^d parallel
from the Rocky Mountains westward to the great chain bor-
dering the Pacific, and thence to the ocean west ; on the west,
the Pacific Ocean from Cape Mendocino, or its vicinity to Cape
Flattery, at the entrance of the Strait of Fuca, near the 49th
parallel ; and on the north, the Strait of Fuca, from the ocean
to its easternmost extremity, from which a ridge extends north-
eastward to the Rocky Mountains, separating the waters of the
Columbia from those of Fraser's River. It is impossible, how-
ever, to define those boundaries exactly, as the topography of the
interior, and particularly the course of the great mountain chains,
is but imperfectly known.
The territory included within the limits above indicated, and
" See page 142 of the history.
1
GEOGRAPHY OF OUKGON.
21
nown as
n length
r River,
ircuilous
39th de-
hich the
ment.
en detcr-
ess it. In
he whole
4:2d par-
onie tico-
le rcij;ion
for which
aboriginal
on a still
he region
follows :
larallel of
ns, which
I parallel
Imin bor-
thc west,
y to Cape
the 49th
he ocean
ids north-
rs of the
ible, how-
ly of the
in chains,
ated, and
1
i
i
I
drained almost exclusively by the Columbia, is not less than four
hundred thousand square miles in extent ; which is more than
double the surface of France, and nearly one half of that of all the
States of the American Federal Union. Its southernmost points
lie in the same latitude with Boston and with Florence ; while its
northernmost correspond with the northern extremity of New-
foundland and with Hamburg.
As the Columbia forms the most important geographical feature
of the country, a particular description of that river will be pre-
sented first.
The great trunk of the Columbia, which enters the Pacific in
the latitude of 46 degrees 15 minutes, is formed at the distance
of more than three hundred miles from the ocean, by the union
of two streams ; one from the south-east, called the Sahoptin, or
SnaJce, or Lewis Jlivcr, and the other, usually considered as the
main river, from the north-east. These two great confluents col-
lect together all the waters flowinsr from the western sides of the
Rocky Mountains, between the 4'2(1 and the 54th degrees of latitude.
The northernmost sources of the great river are situated in the
Rocky Mountains, near the 5;3d degree of latitude. One of
its head-waters, the Canoe River, rises in a cleft of the dividing
chain, called by the British traders the Punch Bowl, within a few
feet of the westernmost source of the Athabasca, one of the head-
waters of the Mackenzie, which empties into the Arctic Sea. This
cleft is the principal pass of conununication for the British traders
between the territories on either side of the ridge; it is described,
by all who have visited it, as presenting scenes of the most terrific
grandeur, being overhung by the highest peaks of the Rocky
Mountains, one of which. Mount Brown, is not less than sixteen
thousand feet, and the other, Mount lloolcer, exceeds fifteen thou-
sand feet, in heiiiht above the ocean level.
At a place called liont Encampment, near the 52d degree
of latitude. Canoe River joins two other streams, the one from the
north, the other, the largest of the three, from the south ; and the
river thus formed, considered as the Mttin Volumhia, takes its
course nearly due south, through defiles between lofty mountains,
being generally a third of a mile in width, but in some places
spreading out into broad lakes. In the latitude of 48 1-2 de-
grees, it receives the Flat Boio, or Mc(iillirrai/'s River, a large
stream, rising also in the dividing range ; and a little farther south
it unites with the Flat-head, or Clarke River, scarcely if at all in-
ferior, in the quantity of water supplied, to any of the other branches
of the Columbia. The sources of the Clarke River are in the
Rocky Momitains. near the 44th degree of latitude, not far from
those of the Missouri and of the Lewis ; thence it runs north-
:
!
^'\
■1 ',(1
-1 ('
i"
III
It;
;^;
I
' ■i
J'
r
\1
I i
I m
23
GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON.
ward along the base of the great chain, and then westward, forrn-
inj;, under the 48th parallel, an extensive lake, some distance
'n*
below which it falls into the Columbia over a ledge of rocks. After
uniting with Clarke River, the Columbia turns to the west, and
passes through a ridge of mountains, where it forms a cataract
called the Kcttk Falls ; running thence in the same direction
between the 48th and the 49th parallels it receives the i!>polian
from the south, and the Okinagnn from the north ; after which
it resumes its southern course, and thus continues to its junction
with the great southern branch, near the 46th degree of latitude.
Tliese streams are generally navigable by boats, the passage being
however, interrupted in many places by falls and rapids.
Of the great southern branch of the Columbia, the farthermost
sources are situated in the valleys or holes, as they are called,
of the Rocky Mountains, near the 4'2d degree of latitude ;
within short distances from the sources of the Yellow Stone, the
Platte and the Colorado of California. Tho principal head-waters
are Hciinjs River, the most eastern, and the I'ortneiil', which flows
from the vicinity of the Utah Salt Lake ; below their junction t!u;
Lewis flows west, and then north-west, receiving on its way the
Mnladc, or Sickhj River, the Roisc, or Reed's River, the Salmon
River, and the Kooskooslcee from the cast, and ihe Malheur and
Powder Rivers from the west, to its union with the northern branch
of the Columbia, near the 46th degree of latitude, about a
thousand miles from its sources. These streams are all bordered,
in most places, by steep mountains, generally of volcanic origin ;
and some of them rush violently, for long distances, through deep
and narrow chasms. Like the northern branches of the Columbia,
they also abound in cataracts, which must forever prevent their be-
ing used as channels for transportation by boats ; though the
country in the vicinity of the Lewis even now afl'ords passage for
wagons from the Rocky Moimtains to the point of junction of the
two great branches of the Columbia.
The width of the Columbia, at a short distance below the point
of junction of its northern and southern branches, is about tlnee-
quarters of a mile. Thence it flows westward, gradually becoming
narrower, to its falls in the chain of mountains which runs nearest
the coast; receiving the JValla-Jl nlla, the Cmatnlla, John Dai/s
River, and a large stream called the Fall's River, (the Toicahnahioks
of Lewis and Clarke) all from the south. This part of the Columbia
is navigable by boats ; but the passage is always attended with
much danger, from the tortuous course of the river, and the num-
ber of the rapids and whirlpools. The falls are formed by ledges
of rocks, over which the river is thrown with violence, between
perpendicular walls of basalt. Four miles lower are the dalles.
">
I
I
1
GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON.
93
pt!at rapids formed by the passaj^e of the water between vast
masses of rock ; and thirty miles below these are the cascades, a
series of falls extending about half a mile, near the lowermost of
which the tides of the Pacific are observable. All these cataracts
have, it is said, been passed by boats descending when the river
was at its floods; the navigation, however, according to all ac-
counts, must be most perilous, and from the nature of the ground
adjoining, it seems that no attempt to obviate, by art, the difHculties
thus presented, would be successful.
The cascades are about one hundred and twenty-five miles from
the mouth of the Columbia ; near them, the Clakamis River joins
the great stream from the south ; and a little farther down, the
Willamctt or MuUonomah comes in from the same direction by two
mouths, between which is Wappatoo Island, thus named from a
root much used as food by the Indians of the country. A few miles
lower, the CowcUtz River enters from the north, below which the
Cohmibia begins to widen ; and, at the distance of ten miles from
the sea, it spreads out to the breadth of several miles, forming, on
its northern side, a cove called Grni/s Ray, in honor of the com-
mander of the first ship which entered the river. Finally all the wa-
ters, collected from these various sources, rush into the Pacific be-
tween two points, seven miles apart; namely, Cape Adams, on the
south, and on the north Caj)c Disappointment, in latitude of 46 de-
grees 19 minutes, and longitude of 1'2'^ degrees west from Green-
wich, or 47 degrees west from Washington.
The mouth of the Columbia is the only harbor for ships on the
whole coast between the Bay of San Francisco and the Strait of
Fuca ; a distance equal to that from the mouth of Chesapeaixe Bay
to the mouth of the St. Lawrence, or from the Straits of Gibraltar
to the Straits of Dover; and during the greater part of the year it
is difiicult and dangerous, and often impossible, for any vessel
either to enter or quit the river, on account of the intricacy and
variability of the channel and the violence of the breakers, pro-
duced by the collision of the river floods with the ocean billows.
Many vessels have already been injured in attempting the passage,
even under circumstances apparently the most favorable ; and
many have been lost, when nothing seemed to indicate the ap-
proach of danger, until they were violently thrown upon the bot-
tom.
The coast south of the Columbia is most perilous to navigators
at all times ; as the shores are every where steep and rocky, and
bordered by reefs, on which the waves of the Pacific are driven
with fury by the prevailing north-west winds. Vessels not draw-
ing more than eight feet, may, however, find a harbor in the mouth
of the Umqua, a small stream falling into the Pacific in the latitude
11
;>■■ m
m
i
t,
,1 t
I;
34
GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON.
J..
of 42 degrees 51 minutes, immediately north of n remarkable
promontory called Ccipc Orford, probably the Cape iiluncu of the
old Spanish navigators. Small vessels may also find anchorage in
a cove or recess of the coast named by the S|)aniards Port Trini-
dad, under the parallel of 41 degrees 3 minutes, about forty miles
north of Cape Mendocino, and in some other spots ; but no place
on tins coast can be said to oHer protection to vessels against winds
or waves.
At the distance of forty-five miles north of the mouth of the
Columbia, under the parallel of 47 degrees, a small bay opens to
the Pacific, which was discovered in May, 1792, by Robert Gray,
of Boston, the captain of the ship Columbia, and named by him
Bulfincli's Harbor, in honor of one of the owners of his vessel ; it
has also been called (iraifs Harbor, and on English maps may be
found generally represented as Jl'hidbcifs Bay, after one of Van^
couver's officers, who surveyed it in December, 179*2. The en-
trance is about three miles in width ; thence the bay extends east,
south and north, about six miles in each direction, receiving at its
eastern extremity a small stream called the Chckclis. The harbor
is however shallow, and its entrance is obstructed by bars of sand,
factually preventing the passage of all vessels drawing more than
eight or ten feet. Besides Bulfinch's Harbor, there is no port or
place of security for vessels between the mouth of the Columbia
and the Strait of Fuca ; and the only spot worthy of mention, on
this part of the coast, is Destruction Inland, near the continent, in
the latitude of 47 1-2 degrees, so called by the captain of an Aus-
trian trading ship in 1787, in consequence of the murder of a
number of Ills men by the natives of the adjacent country.
The Strait of Fuca is an arm of the sea. separating a great
island from the continent on the south and west. To this strait,
considerable interest was at one time attached, from the supposi-
tion that it might be a channel connecting the Atlantic with the Pa-
cific : it extends from the ocean eastward about one hundred miles,
varying in breadth from ten to thirty miles, betv^een the 48th and
the 49th parallels of latitude ; thence it turns to the north-west, in
which direction it runs three hundred miles farther, first expanding
into a long, wide bay, and then contracting into narrow and intri-
cate passages among islands, to its reunion with the Pacific, under
the 51st parallel. From its south-eastern extremity, a great bay,
called Admiralty Inlet, stretches southward into the continent more
than one hundred miles, dividing into many branches, of which
the principal are Hood^s Canal, on the west, and Fufrct^s Sound
the southernmost, extending nearly to the 47th parallel. This in-
let possesses many excellent harbors, and as the country adjacent
is healthy and productive, there is every reason to believe that
* /
/'
GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON.
25
in
great
Id intri-
undcr
|!at bay,
It more
which
Sound
'his in-
Ijacent
le that
this part of America will, in time, become valuable, agriculturally,
as well as commercially. There are many other harbors on the
Strait of Fuca, of which the principal are Port Discovery, near
the entrance of Admiralty Inlet, said by Vancouver to be one of
the best in the Pacific, and Poverty Cove, called Port Nunez
Gaona by the Spaniards, situated a few miles west of Cape Flat-
tery. That cape, so called by Cook, and afterwards named by
Vancouver Cape Classct, is a conspicuous promontory in the lati-
tude of 48 degrees 27 minutes, near which is a large rock, called
Tatoochc's Island, united to the promontory by a rocky ledge, par-
tially covered by water. The shore between the cape and Admi-
ralty Inlet is composed of sandy cliffs overhanging a beach of sand
and stones ; from it the land gradually rises to a chain of moun-
tains stretching southwardly along the Pacific to the vicinity of the
Columbia, the highest point of which received, in 17S8, the
name of Mount Olympus,
The great chain of mountains, already so often mentioned as
extending along the whole western coast of the continent, runs
through Oregon, generally at the distance of eighty or one hun-
dred miles (torn the shore, as far north as the 49th degree of
latitude, where the eastern extremity of the Strait of Fuca washes
its base. Thence one of its ridges runs north-east to the Rocky
Mountains, dividing the waters of the Columbia from those of
Fraser's River; another ridge overhangs the sea-coast north-west-
ward ; and the islands of the JSorth-wf.st Archipelago, which border
the continent from the 49th to the 58th parallels, may be regarded
as another range stretching through the sea.
The part of this chain included in Oregon, has received several
appellations, of which, no one is as yet universally adopted. It is
called — the Californian Mountains — the Clamtt Mountains, from a
tribe of Indians inhabiting a part of the country on its western
side — the Cascade Alountains, from the cas^ .des or cataracts
formed by the Columbia, in passing throdg!. it — and finally, a
patriotic citiztMi of the United States, has proposed to call it the
President's Range, and has assigned to some of the highest
peaks, the names of chief magistrates of the Federal Republic*
One of these peaks, in the latitude of 44 degrees, received
from Lewis and Clarke, who, first of all white men, beheld it in
1805, the name o( Mount Jefferson ; for which, the British traders
have thought proper to substitute that of Mount Vancouver. The
other principal points in this ridge, are— Mount Baker, near the 49th
parallel, and Mount Rainier under the 47th ; 3[ount Saint Helens,
* The autlior of these pages will venture to suggest one more name — The
Far-lVest Movntai.is.
i
i
i> '.il
#■ - -■■J I
i
% ,
f
I
I^i
26
GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON.
the highest, rising not less than fifteen thousand feet above the
ocean level, due east of the mouth of the Columbia, for which
the name of Mount IVash'msrton has been proposed ; Mount Mac-
laughlin and Mount Maclcod, so called by the traders of the
Hudson's Bay Company, in honor of two of their factors ; Mount
Hood, near the 45th parallel ; Mount iShasti/ near the 43d, and
Mount Jackson, a stupendous pinnacle, in tlie latitude of 41
degrees 40 minutes, which has been also called Mount Pitt by
the British traders. Some of these peaks arc visible from the
ocean, particularly Mount Saint Helens, which serves as a mark
for vessels entering the Columbia : they present, when seen from
the summit of the Blue Mountains on the west, one of the grandest
prospects in nature.
The country between the Pacific coast and this westernmost
chain of mountains, consists of ranges of lower mountains, separated
by narrow valleys, generally running parallel with the great chain,
and with the coast. The climate of this region resembles that of
California : the summer is warm and dry, and rain seldom falls
between April and November, though during the remainder of the
year it is violent and almost constant; snow is rarely seen in the
valleys, in which the ground sometimes continues soft and unfrozen
throughout the winter. The soil in some of these valleys is said to
be excellent, for wheat, rye, oats, pease, potatoes and apples, fifteen
bushels of wheat being sometimes yielded by a single acre ; Indian
corn, which requires both heat and moisture, does not succeed there
or in any other part of Oregon. It is, however, evident, that with
the peculiarities of climate, above-mentioned, the country can never
be very productive, without artificial irrigation, which is practicable
only in a few places. Hogs live and multiply in the woods,
where an abundance of acorns is to be found ; the cattle also
increase, and it is not generally necessary for them to be housed
or fed in the winter. The hills are covered with timber, which
grows to an immense size. A fir, near Astoria, measured forty-
six feet in circumference at ten feet from the earth ; the length
of its trunk, before giving off a branch, was one huridred and fifty-
three feet, and its whole height not less than three hundred feet ;
another tree, of the same species, on the banks of the Umqua River,
is fifty-seven feet in girth of trunk, and two hundred and sixteen
feet in length, below its branches. " Prime sound pines," says Cox,
" from two hundred to two hundred and eighty feet in height, and
from twenty to forty feet in circumference, are by no means un-
common." The land, on which these large trees grow, is good ;
but the labor of clearing it would be so great as to prevent any
one from undertaking the task, until all the other spots, capable of
cultivation, should have been occupied.
plIltK
I.C CI
wiiicj
tlio 4:
four
tin- V
nry at
niinil)
ficial
GKOGRAPHY OF OREGON.
27
f)ve the
■ vvhicli
t Mac
of the
Mount
Ul, and
I of 41
Pitt by
cm the
a murk
en from
j;randest
ternmost
Rparatcd
[It chain,
s that of
lorn falls
er of the
!n in the
unfrozen
is saiil to
3s, fifteen
[ ; Indian
eed there
that with
an never
acticahle
woods,
Utlo also
housed
er, which
ed forty-
le length
and fifty-
red feet ;
ua River,
sixteen
says Cox,
ght, and
icans un-
is good ;
vent any
apable of
The superficial extent of this westernmost region of Oregon,
does not exceed forty thousand square miles ; of which, a small
{)roportion, not more than an eighth or a tenth, is fit for cultivation.
The l)est lands are believed to lie around Admiralty Inlet, on the
Chekelis River, which empties into Rulfinch's Harbor, on the
Cowelitz, on the Willamet, and on the Umqua.
Settlements have been formed by individual Americans and
by the Hudson's Day Company, in each ot those parts, as also at
one or two places on the banks of the Main Columbia, of which
those in the valley of the Willamet appear to give the greatest
promise of success ; but they are all on a scale so small, they have
existed so short a time, and the accounts as yet received of them
are so inexact and so much at variance with each other, that it is
impossible to arrive at any definite opinion with regard to them.'"'
'J'he region within about two hundred miles east of the western-
most or maritime chain of mountains, embraces several tracts of
country, comparatively level, and some valleys wider than those
west of the same chain ; the soil is, however, less productive, and
the cliniiite less favorable for agriculture, than in the places
similarly situated nearer the Pacific. The most extensive valleys
in this region, are those traversed by the streams, flowing into the
Columbia from the south, between the maritime range, and the
Blue Mountains, which form the western wall of the great valley
of J.ewis River ; the plains, as they are called, though they are
rather tracts of undulating country, are on both sides of the north-
ern branch, between the 46th and tlie 49th parallels of latitude.
The surface of the plaii.is consists generally of a yellow sandy clay,
covered with grass, small shrubs and prickly pears ; in the valleys
farther south, the soil is somewhat better, containing less of sand
and more of vegetable mould, and they give support to a few
trees, chiefly sumach, cotton-wood, and other such soft and useless
woods. The climate of this whole region is more dry than that of
the country nearer the Pacific, the days are warm, and the nights
* That dilTiTcncps of opinion slionUl pxist as to the quality of lands, is not siir-
prisint;; but it is not easy to acc-ouiit for tin- extravagantly erroneous assertions
wliii'li liavc Iicen made as to tlie e.rtcnt of land in tiiis ]i;irt of Oiegon, possessing
a si)il superior In inn/ in the United States. Tims, it lias been pravely stated, that
tlie valley of the Willamet contains not less than si.vtij thousand square miles, of
tl(e finest land; while this whole valley is, in reality, merely an inconsiderable
jiortion of the westernmost re;,'ion of Orei;oii, the siiperlieial extent of which, may
be easily shown not to exceed forty thousand scjiiare miles. 'J'he Strait of Fuca,
whicji bounds this reijion on the north, is in latitude of JsJ deijrces ; and assuming
the 'l-'d parallel, as its southern limit, its extreme length isOi dejj;rees, or less than
four himdred and lifty miles I'uijlish ; its breadth — that is, the distance between
the Paciiic shore and ihe great chain of mountains which forms the eastern bound-
ary of this region — does not avera;^e eit;hty miles ; and by mtdtiplying these two
nimd)ors, thirty-six thousand square Knt;iish miles appears as the utmost super-
ficial extent of the westernmost region of Oregon.
r
i
\ ii
m
I
i
i
28
GEOGRAFHV OV OIIUGON.
cool ; but the want of moisture in the air prevents the contrnsf of
temperature from beiii^' injurious to health, and this country is re-
presented, by all who have had the op|)ortunity of Judfiin^' by ex-
perience, as being of extraordinary salubrity. The wet season, as in
the country nearer to the Pacific, extends fron) October to April;
but the rains are neither frequent nor abundant, and they rarely
occur at any other period of the year. In the southern valleys
there is little snow ; farther north it is more connnon, but it seldom
lies long, except on the heiiihts.
Under such circumstances it will be seen that little encnurnge-
ment is oflered for the cultivation of this part of Oregon. On the
other hand, the plains and valleys appear to be admirably adapted
for the support of cattle, as grass, either green or dry, may be found
at all times, within a short distance, on the bottom lands or on the
hill sides. The want of wood must also prove a great obstacle to
settlement, as this indispensable article can only be procured froni
a great distance up the north branch of the Columbia, or from the
PaciPc region, with which the passages of communication through
the mountains are few and difllcult.
The country farther east, between the Blue INfounlains and the
Rocky IMouniains, appears to bo, except in a very few small de-
tached spots, absolutely uninhabitable by tliose who depend on
agriculture for subsistence. It is in fact a collection of l)are rocky
mountain chains, separated by deep gorges, ihrougli which (low the
streams produced by the melting of the snows on the smnmits ; for
in the lower grounds rain seldom falls, at any time. North of the
40th parallel, the climate is less dry, and the bases of the moiintains
are covered with wood ; but the temperature in most places is too
cold for the production of any of the useful grains or garden vege-
tables : the parts which appear to be the most favorable for aixri-
culture are those adjacent to the Clarke River, and particularly
around the Flat-head Lake, where the hills are well clothed with
wood, and the soil about their basis is of good quality. On the
borders of the Lewis, and of some of the streams falling iiiio it, are
valleys and prairies, producing grass for cattle ; but all the attempts
to cultivate the esculent vegetables have failed, chiefly, as it is be-
lieved, from the great difl'erence in the temperature between the
day and the succeeding night, especially in the summer, which is
commonly not less than 30, and often exceeds 50 degrees of Fah-
renheit's thermometer.*
The territory north of the 49th parallel of latitude, and north-
* The thermomptrr was seen by Wyetli, at Fort Hall, on tlie Lewis, near tl e
43d parallel of latitude, at the fVee/,in<r point in the niorriint;, and at '.)2 degrees if
Fahrenheit, in the middle of a day in August. Frosts occur at this place in neatly
e'.b'ry month in the year.
CKOGRAIMIY OK OUKCiON.
99
Irnst of
y is re-
by ex-
It. us in
April;
I mrcly
valleys
seldom
nnia^e-
Oii the
idaptt'd
e found
r on the
ilat'le to
cd iVoin
\o\\\ the
through
and the
nail «le-
)end on
rn rocky
flow the
lits ; for
'» of the
ountains
cs is too
211 vcge-
or atiri-
icularly
cd with
On the
to it, are
attempts
it is be-
ecn the
which is
of Fah-
J north -
, near tl o
(li>grees if
; in neaily
west of that drained by the Columbia river, has been called New
Ciikilonia, by tin; IJrilish fur-traders, who first established posts in
it beyond the r)(ith parallel, in 180(5. It is a sterile land of snow-
clad mountains, tortuous rivers, and lakes frozen over more than
two thirds of the year ; presenting scarcely a single spot in which
any of the vegetables used as food by civilized people can be pro-
duced. The waters, like those of the country further south, how-
ever abound in (isli, which, with berries, form the principal support
of the native population. The lurgest lakes are Bnbine, conimu-
nicuting with the oceun by Simpsoti's liivcr, and Stuart^s, C^iics-
niTs and Fi'ascr\s Lnkes, the outlet of all which is Frnser''s Jiher,
a long but shallow stream emptying into the Strait of Fuca, at its
eastern extremity. 'J'he const of this country is very irregular in
outline, being penetrated by many bays and inlets, running up
from the sea, among the mountains, which border that side of the
continent ; between it and the open Pacific lie the islands of the
North- West Airhipehigo, which will now be described.
The Nohth-VVkst Auchii'klago is the generul nnmc for the
remnrkable collection of islands, situated in and nearly filling a recess
of tue American coast, about seven hundred miles in length and
eighty or one hundred in breadth, which stretches from the 48th
degree of latitude north-west to the 7)S\\\ ; that is to say — between
the same |)arallels as Great liritain. These islands are in num-
ber many thousands, presenting together a surface of not less
than fifty thousand square miles : they are, however, witli the
exception of nine or ten, very small, and the greater part of them
arc mere rocks. 'J'he largest islands are all traversed by mountain
ridges, in the direction of their greatest length, from south-east to
north-west ; and the whole Archi|)ela<j:o may be considered as a
portion of the westernmost chain of mountains, running through
the sea, connecting tliose of Oreiron on the south, with the north-
ern range of which Mounts Fairweather and Saint Elias are the
most prominent peaks.
Of the interior parts of the islands, no accounts have been
obtained ; and probably nothing can be said, except that they are
rocky and barren. The coasts, like those of the continent in their
vicinity, are very irregular in outline, containing numerous bays
and inlets ; and the channels among them are nearly all narrow
and tortuous, forming a labyrinth of passages. These channels
were minutely surveyed during the years between 1785 and 1*95,
by the navigators of various nations, chieHy with the object of
finding some direct northern communication for ships between
the Pacific and Hudson's or Baflln's Bays, and their true geo-
graphical character was thus ascertained ; before that period,
they were regarded as parts of the continent. The British, who,
i
t
*j'i
I
n
M
' ,:
30
UCUCUAPIIY Ur OKEUUN.
'S '•,
under Voncouver, made the latest and most complete exiiminn-
tions of the Arcliipelugo, bestowed names on the islands, chan-
nels, capes, and bays, which still retain their place on charts ;
several of these have, however, already lallen into disuse, and it is
not probable that many of them will be retained, when the spots
to which they have been assigned arc occn|)ied by u civilized
population.
It has already been said, that Ilussia claims all the coasts and
islands on the Paciiic side of America, north of the parallel of
54 degrees 40 minutes ; and as this parallel divides the north-west
orchipclago into two nearly equal parts, the islands south of that
hne will be considered as attach<^d to Ore<fon. This southern
division of the North-Wcst Archipelago, embraces three grou|)s
of islands.
The southernmost group, situated between the 49th and tho
51st parallel, embraces the large Island of (■^nndrn and I'oncouvcr,
and a number of smaller ones, separated from Oregon on the south
and east, by the channel already described as the Strait of Fuea.
The main island, which received its present long and inconvenient
appellation in 179*^, in virtue of a compromise between a British
and a Spanish commander, each claiming for himself, or his
countrymen, the merit of establishing the fact of its separation
from the continent, is the large-st on the western side of America,
being about two hundred and tifty miles in length, with an average
breadth of forty-live miles, so that its superficial extent may be
estimated at about ten thousand s<|uare miles. On its western
side, are several large recesses containing islands, of which the
principal are — Xootka Sound, opening to the Pacific in the lati-
tude of 49 1-:^ degrees — JSIttuua near it, on the south-east —
and Cli/ofjiiot, a little farther, in the same direction, north of the
entrance of the Strait of Fuca. These places were formerly the
principal rendezvous of vessels engaged in the fur-trade ; at Nootka
Sound, transactions occurred, in 1789, which gave to that bay
much celebrity, and first rendered the north-west coasts of America
the subject of dispute and convention between the governments
of civilized nations.
(^ueen Charlotte's Island, named Jl'ashinirton's Island, by the
early American fur-traders, who first ascertained its separation
from the main land, forms the centre of another grou|), situated
between the latitudes of 52 and 54 degrees, at a considerable dis-
tance from the continent, and from any of the other islands. The
principal island is of triangular form, rather less in su[)erficial ex-
tent than that of Vancouver and Quadra, though Inrger than any
of the remaining islands of the Archipelago. Its north-western ex-
tremity received from the Spaniards, who discovered it in 1774,
GKOnRAI'IlV 01' OnEdON.
81
by the
the nnmo of Cape Santa Manrarita, but it is now Rcncrally known
as Ciijie \orih ; tliu nortli-t'aMU;rti end was called Copt: Invisible,
by tlic Spniiiards, and by tlio Ahioricans Samly I'oint ; the south-
frn termination is Cape Saint James, in latitude of 5-2 dej,'ree8.
This island presiMits u number of ^ood harbors, which received
names, first from the Ameriean traders, and afterwards from the
naval commanders of (ircat Britain and Spain; the principal of
them are — on the northern coast, Ifancock's Jiivir or Port Ks-
trada, near Sandy I'oint, and CrajVs Sound or Port Mazarcdo, a
little farther west — on the eastern f.ido; Skitikis, in latitude of
53 dejj[recs, '20 minutes, Cuinmashawa, near the 5:3d degree, and
Port Leah and '^ort Sturf^cs, farther south — on the west, or
Pacific coast, arc Master's Sound, in latitude of 52 1-2 degrees,
and Port Insrraham, near the north-west extremity of the island.
The country around some of these harbors, particularly Hancock's
River, and Magee's Sound, is described as fertile and beautiful,
and the climate as much milder than that of other places situated
farther norih.*
The Princess Roj/al Islands, linrke^s Island, and Pitt's Islands,
form the third division of the north-west Archipelago, lying near
to each other, and to the coast of the continent, between the 51st
and the 54th parallels, immediately east of (|ueen Charlotte's
Islands. Tliry are all inconsiderable in extent, and nothing is
known of them worthy of mention here.
Of the three above described groups, no part is at present oc-
cupied by any civili/.cfl nation, with the exception of Douglas
Island, the northernmost of the Pitt group, on which the Hudson's
Bay Company have a trading [)Ost.
To the aboriginal inhabitants of Oregon, it would be incon-
sistent with the plan of this ivork to devote much attention. They
make no figure in the history of the country, over the destinies of
which, they have not exerted, and they probably never will exert,
any influence. They are all savages ; difterent tribes diflering
from each other in habits and disposition only so far as they are
afliccted by the mode of life, which the nature or the country oc-
cupied by them respectively, compels them to adopt. Thus, the
people of the sea-coasts, who venture out upon the ocean, and
attack the whale, are much bolder and more ferocious than those
of the middle country, who derive their subsistence by the quiet
and unexciting employments of fishing in the river, and digging
■?»
i A
lV' 'I
* Many curious pnrtictilrirs rospcpting this islnnd, not to be found olsewhero,
are contained in the interesting,' Journal of the voyage of tiie brig Hope, from Bos-
ton to the Nortli Paeilic, in 17'.»l-lt, which still remains, in tlie manuscript of her
commander, Joseph Ingraham, among the archives of the Department of State, at
Washington.
!J';r.!
32
GEOGRAPHY OF OUKGOX.
If ''\
for roots. Among the peculiar Iial)its of some of these tribes should
be mentioned, that of compressintj: the lieads of their infants by
boards and bandages, so as materally to alter their shape ; which
induced the discoverers of tiie country, to apply to those people,
the name of Flathead Indians. This custom appears to have pre-
vailed chiefly among the tribes of the lower Columbia, and but
little among those dwelling on the northern branches of the river,
to whom the appellation of Flathcads is, however, at present con-
fined.
The principal tribes or nations of Indians inhabiting the Columbia
region, are — or rather were, for many of them are extinct — the
Clotsops and Chmooks occupying the country on both sides of the
lower part of the great river ; the Killamicks of the Umqua ; the
Classets, of the territory on the Strait of Fuca ; the Enishnrs, ma-
rauders infesting the passes about the falls of the great river ; the
Chopinish, or Nez-pcrccs of the Wallawalla, and Kooskooskee
countries ; the Kootanics of Clarke's River ; and the Slioshoncs or
Snakes of the Lewis. In the part of Oregon north-west of the
Columbia, are the Chilcotim and Talcotins, between which tribes
mortal enmity has always subsisted. The lilackfeet, so much
dreaded by travellers in the middle region, be!ong to the country
east of the Rocky Mountains, on the Yellow Stone, and the Mis-
souri above its falls ; and annually make inroads upon the Sho-
shones and the Chopunnish, whom they rob of their horses, their
only wealth. The numbers of all these tribes and of all other
persons inhabiting Oregon together, is supposed not to exceed
twenty thousand.
Among these people missionaries of various Christian sects have
long been laboring, with little profit, as it would seem, from all ac-
counts. The Roman Catholics appear to content themselves with
the administration of baptism, in whicii their success has been as
great as could possibly have been expected ; whole tribes submit-
ting at once to the rite. The Methodists and Presbyterians are
assiduously engaged in imparting a knowledge of the simplest and
most useful arts, and have thus induced some of the natives to
engage regularly in agricultural pursuits ; but the poverty of the
soil generally renders their efibrts, in this way, unavailing. The
last-mentioned missionaries also endeavor to convey religious and
literary instruction to their pupils, through the medium of their own
languages, into which books have been translated, and even print-
ed in the country. It would, perhaps, be better to teach the na-
tives to speak and read English. The other system has, however,
been generally adopted, by the British and American missionaries,
in all parts of the world.
The aborigines of the North- West Archipelago, are universally
GF.OGUAtMlV OF OaEGON.
33
should
nts by
which
jcople,
e pre-
id but
3 river,
it con-
lumbia
— the
of the
la; the
rs, ma-
3r; the
iooskee
ones or
of the
I tribes
) much
country
lie Mis-
lie Sho-
3S, their
II other
exceed
ts have
all ac-
rcs with
)een as
submit-
ans are
est and
tives to
of the
The
ous and
eir own
n print-
the na-
owever,
onaries,
versally
■'{'M
described, as daring and ferocious in the extreme ; but possessing
great self-command, by means of which they conceal their inten-
tions, until they are prepared to act. The history of the fur-trade
in the North Pacitic, presents innumerable instances of their cru-
elly and treachery, towards foreigners visiting their coasts ; and
many vessels have been taken by them, and all on board murdered
in an instant, without the previous occurrence of anything calcu-
lated to excite suspicion. There are, also, many reasons for be-
lieving that these people are cannibals ; though it seems probable,
that they only eat the bodies of their enemies killed in war.
The civilized inhabitants of Oregon are, as shewn in the gene-
ral view, all either citizens of the United States, or servants of the
Hudson's Bay Company : the latter body enjoying, by special
grant, the use, exclusive of other British subjects, of all the territo-
ries claimed by Great Britain west of the Rocky Mountains, and
exercising jurisdiction, in virtue of an act of parliament, over all
British subjects in those territories ; * while the citizens of the
United Slates are, as yet, independent of all authority or jurisdic-
tion whatsoever. The Hudson's Bay Company's establishments
in Oregon have been, until recently, devoted entirely to the collec-
tion of furs ; but within a few years past, many farms have been
laid out arid worked, and large quantities of timber have been cut
and sawed, and exported to the Sandwich Islands and to Mexico,
for the benefit of the Company. The settlements of the Ameri-
cans are all agricultural, and are on a very small scale ; more than a
thousand emigrants have, however, gone to that country from the
United States, during the years 1842 and 1843, of whose move-
ments and establishments no exact accounts have been yet re-
ceived.
The Hudson's Bay Company's establishments west of the Rocky
Mountains are called forts, and are all sufficiently fortified to re-
sist any attacks which might be expected. They are, by the latest
accounts, twenty-two in number, of which several are situated on
the coasts. The furs are obtained partly by hunters and trappers
in the regular service of the Company, but chiefly by trade with
the Indians, who take the animals : they are sent, at stated
periods, to one of the great depositories, either on the Atlantic or
on the Pacific, whence they are carried to London in the vessels
of the Company. The goods required for trade and for the sup-
ply of the forts, are received in the same manner ; the interior
transportation being performed almost entirely in boats on the
rivers and lakes, between which the articles are borne on the
backs of the voyageurs, or boatmen. In 1838, the Company em-
" See Proofs and Illustrations in the latter part of this volume, letter I, No. 3.
k
m
k^
'i-
i
■ ■ .)■■
1 , ■ i; -
■' m
34
GEOGRAPHY OF ORGGOM.
ployed six sail vessels, and one steamer, all armed, on the coasts
of the Pacific, besides three larjj,e ships engaged in the transporta-
tion to and from London.* Of the persons in the regular service
of the Company, the factors, traders, and clerks are, for the most
part, Scotchmen or Canadians ; the voyageurs are generally Ca-
nadians or half-breeds. The number of these servants, in the
country beyond the Rocky Mountains, does not, probably, exceed
four hundred ; many Indians are, however, constantly employed in
hunting and trapping, and as boatmen or porters.
Fort Vancouver, the principal establishment of the Hudson's
Bay Company, west of the Rocky Mountains, is situated near the
north bank of the Columbia, at the distance of eighty-two miles in
a direct line from its mouth, and about one hundred and twenty
miles, following the course of the stream. The fort is simply a
large, square, picketed enclosure, containing houses for the resi-
dence of the factor, traders, clerks and upper servants of the Com-
pany, magazines for the furs and goods, and workshops of various
kinds ; immediately behind it are a garden and orchard, and be-
hind these is the farm, of about six hundred acres, with barns and
all other necessary buildings. West of the fort are the hospital
and houses for the voyageurs and Indians ; about two miles lower
down the river, are the dairy and piggery, with numerous herds of
cattle, hogs, &c. ; and about three miles above the fort are water-
mills for grinding corn and sawing plank, and sheds for curing
salmon. The number of persons usually attached to tiie post is
not less than seven hundred, of whom more than half are Indians
of the country, the others being natives of Great Britain (princi-
pally from Scotland and the Orkney Islands), Canadians and half-
breeds. The whole establishment is governed nearly on the plan of
one of the small towns of Central Europe during the middle ages ;
the stockade fort representing the baronial castle, in which the great
dignitaries of the Company exercise almost absolute authority over
their dependants.
Fort George consists merely of two or three log houses, situated
on the south side of the Columbia, ten miles from its mouth, and
occupying the place of a trading establishment called Astoria,
which was founded in 1811 by the Pacific Fur Company of New
York.f Fort Umqua is near the mouth of the Umqua River,
which enters the Pacific about one hundred and eighty miles south
of the Columbia, and affords a harbor to vessels drawing not more
than eight feet. Fort Nasqually is at the mouth of a little river
emptying into Puget's Sound, the southernmost part of the great
• For particular ncconnts of the Hudson's B;iy Company's systom, seo page
392 of the History; and the Proofs and Ilhistrations niidcr tiic.' h ttcr 1.
t For accounts of this enterprise see Chap xiv. of the History.
"I
GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON.
33
> coasts
isporta-
service
le most
illy Ca-
in the
exceed
loyed in
[udson's
near the
miles in
I twenty
simply a
the resi-
hc Com-
f various
and be-
ams and
t hospital
Ics lower
herds of
re water-
or curing
le post is
3 Indians
1 (princi-
and half-
le plan of
die ages ;
the great
)rity over
, situated
outh, and
Astoria,
of New
la River,
ilcs south
not more
ttlc river
the great
n, see page
arm of the Strait of Fuca, called Admiralty Inlet ; near this place
the Company has a large agricultural establishment, which is said
to he in a prosperous condition. Fort Langley is at the entrance
of Eraser's River, into the eastern extremity of the Strait of Fuca,
in latitude of 49 degrees 25 minutes. Besides these, the Hud-
son's Bay Company has several forts on the channels separating
the islands of the north-west Archipelago from the continent ; the
northernmost of which is near the mouth of the Stikine, a large
river emptying into Prince Frederick's Sound, in the latitude of 56
degrees 50 minutes.
On the Columbia, above its falls, the Company has Fort Walla-
Walla or Nez-Pcrce, near the confluence of the great northern and
southern branches ; Fort Okinagan, at the entrance of the Okina-
gan River into the north or main branch ; Fort Colvillc, near the
Kettle Falls ; and some others, of less consequence. On the
Lewis, or great southern branch, are Fort Boise, at the mouth of
tlie Boise, or Reed's River, and Fort Hall, at the entrance of the
Portnenf. North of the Columbia country, are Fort Alexandria,
on Frasers River, and others on the lakes which abound in that
part of the continent. All these are, however, on a very small
scale, and seldom contain more than two or three clerks or traders
and a few Indians or half-breed hunters.
Of the American settlements in Oregon, no exact accounts have
been obtained of later date than the beginning of 1843, at which
time they were few and small, being indeed little more than mis-
sionary stations. The principal are those in the valley of the
VVillamet, then containing about a hundred Americans ; another
station is on the south side of the Columbia, near the Cascades ;
and others are at the Walla- Walla, and near Fort Colville. The
whole number of citizens of the United States, thus established,
di<l not probably exceed two hundred ; they were all apparently
prospering, in consequence, there is reason to believe, rather of
the industry, economy, and morality of the settlers, than of any
particular advantages offered by the country. The thousand and
more emigrants who have since arrived in Oregon, will succeed,
if any can; having been from their childhood accustomed to the
l;i!)ors and f)rivations to which all must be subjected in the colo-
nization of a new country.
The American hunters and trappers generally pursue their busi-
ness, in California, near the head-waters of the Colorado River,
and about the Utah Salt Lake. In the summer of each year,
they assemble at one of the places of rendezvous, near the South-
ern Pass, where they exciiaiiire their furs for money and goods
with the traders from Missouri.
Before terminating this sketch of the Geography of Oregon, it
i
111
i;
ii
(-'V
11
36
GEOGRAPHY OF OREGON.
!' ffl i'-' I
will be proper to devote a small space to the regions east of the
Rocky Mountains, included between that chain, and the settled
parts of the continent bordering upon the Atlantic.
It has already been said, that the portion of these regions, be-
tween the 38th and the 50th parallels of latitude, near the Rocky
Mountains, are almost as arid and barren as those on the other
side of the chain ; presenting, except in the immediate vicinity of
the rivers, little else than bare rocks and sand. Across these ter-
ritories flow the Missouri, and its great tributaries, the Yellow
Stone and the Platte, and the upper streams of the Arkansas, fall-
ing directly into the Mississippi ; all of which rise in the Rocky
Mountains, near the 426 degree of latitude. Unfortunately, how-
ever, none of them seem calculated to serve as channels for trans-
portation between the Atlantic and the Pacific territories. The
Missouri and Yellow Stone each take a devious course ; so that
after ascending them to the furthermost parts at which they are
navigable, the distance to the Oregon countries is nearly as great
as from the mouth of the Platte, juid the difficulties of crossing
the mountains are far greater. The Platte is the most shallow of
all large rivers : it passes through a country nearly level, and the
annual overflow of its waters only serves to render it wider, with-
out any increase of its depth. This is unfortunate, as its course
is precisely that which sjiould make it the most direct and advan-
tageous line of communication between the Missouri and the Co-
lumbia : its northern branch runs from the South Pass in the
Rocky Mountains, in latitude of 42 degrees 20 minutes, six hun-
dred miles nearly due east, to its junction with the south branch ;
beyond which the river continues in the same course, three hun-
dred miles further to its union with the Missouri.*
Along the banks of the main river and its noithern branch,
nature has provided a road, which, by some assistance from art at
certain points, will be one of the best in the world ; on it wagons
now proceed with little difficulty up the Platte, and through the
South Pass to the head-waters of the Colorado, there called the
Green River, whence they continue northward across the ridge
separating that river from the Lewis, the great south branch of the
Columbia. The difficulties of the road in Oregon are greater, but
they have already been partially overcome ; a light carriage was
several years since driven from Missouri to the Falls of the Colum-
bia ; and heavy wagons now perform the same journey. In order
* The Phitte River, from its junction with the Missouri to its sources in the
Wind River Mountains, has been accurately surveyed in the summer of 1842, by
Lieutenant Fremont, of the United States army ; whose report of the survey, ac-
companied by a large and beautiful map, and several views of scenery, published
by order of the Senate, in 1843, is a most valuable addition to our knowledge of
the geography of the central regions of the continent
GEOORAPHT OF OREGON.
37
with-
ridge
of the
er, but
re was
lolum-
order
in the
1842, by
vey, ac-
blished
edge of
to render the route safe and comparatively easy, the American
government should, without delay, cause fortified posts to be
established on the Platte, at distances of about two hundred miles
apart, to serve as caravanserais for the protection and refreshment
of travellers and emigrants.
North of the 50th parallel, the climate is more moist ; but its
extreme coldness renders the country of little value for agriculture.
The only part at which any settlement has been attempted, is that
in the vicinity of the Red River of the North, where about five
thousand persons, principally half-breeds and Indians, have been
established by the Hudson's Bay Company ; but the success of the
enterprise is as yet doubtful. This whole division of America is
drained by streams entering Hudson's Bay or the Arctic Sea ; the
principal are the Bed River of the North, the Assinahoin, and the
Snskntchou'ine, all emptying into Lake Winnipeg, which communi-
cates by several channels with Hudson's Bay, and the Mississippi
or ChurchiWs River, falling directly into that bay ; while the Arctic
Sea receives, nearly under the 69th parallel of latitude. Backus or
the great Fish Biver, the Coppermine and the Mackenzie, wiiich
latter carries off the waters from a territory almost equal in extent
to that drained by the Columbia. The regions through which these
rivers yiass are generally so level that it is in many places difficult to
trace the limits of the tracts from which the waters flow into the
respective streams or basins : they contain numerous lakes, some
of them very large, which are nearly all connected with each other,
and with Hudson's Bay on the west, and the Arctic Sea on the
north ; and the head-waters of the rivers supplying these reser-
voirs are situated in the vicinity of the sources of the Missis-
sippi, or those of the Missouri, or of the Columbia, or of the
streams falling into Lake Superior. The rivers above-named are
all navigable for great distances by boats, and they thus afford
considerable advantages for commercial intercourse, which are not
neglected by the British traders ; goods being now transported
across the continent from the mouth of the Columbia to Hudson's
Bay or to Montreal, and vise versa, almost entirely by water.
The principal pass in the Rocky Mountains, north of the 43d de-
gree of latitude, through which al! the communications between
Canada and Hudson's Bay on the one side, and the Columbia on
the other, are conducted, h that near the 53d degree, in which
the northernmost source of the Columbia and the westernmost
of the Athabasca are situated, as already mentioned.
mi
\mA
m
^vl:f
RUSSIAN AMERICA.
Ilrjl'i
Russia claims, as already stated, in virtue of the discoveries and
settlements of her subjects, and of treaties with the United States
and Great Britain, all the Pacific coasts and islands of America
north of the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes, and the whole
of the continent west of the 141st meridian of longitude west
from Greenwich, which line passes through Mount Saint Elias.
This power also claims the whole Asiatic coast of the Pacific,
north of the 51st parallel, and all the islands of the Kurile group
north of the southernmost point of one of them, called Urup, in
the latitude of 45 degrees 50 minutes.
Of the interior of the part of the American Continent possessed
by Russia, little is known. Several rivers flow from it, which
have been traced to considerable distances ; but the country has
not been generally explored, and from all accounts, it does not
seem to merit the labor and expense which would be required for
that purpose, as it presents, wherever it has been examined,
notliing but mountains of rocks, snow and ice. The coasts of the
continent, and the islands, have all been carefully surveyed ; and,
with the exception of those on the Arctic Sea, very little remains
to bo learned about their geography. Of all these territories only
small portions of some of the islands are fit for agriculture, or for
any purpose useful to man, except fishing and hunting, for which
obj(?cts exclusively are they frequented by people of civilized
nations.
The direction and use of all these islands and parts of the
American Continent, was, in 1779, granted by the emperor of
Russia, for twenty years, to a great commercial association, en-
titled the Russian American Company, whose charter has been
successively renewed, in 1819 and 1839, for the same length of
time, in each case. The inhabitants of the Kurile and Aleutian
Archipelagoes, and of the large island of Kodi<'ik on the east side
of l!je Peninsula of Aliaska, are regarded as the immediate sub-
m
,,w
GEOGRAPHY OF RUSSIAN AMERICA.
39
iries and
d States
America
e whole
ide west
lit Elias.
! Pacific,
le group
Unip, in
possessed
t, which
intry has
does not
uired for
<amined,
!ts of the
2d ; and,
1 remains
iries only
re, or for
or which
civilized
:s
of the
peror of
tion, en-
las been
cngth of
Aleutian
east side
iatc sub-
jects of this company ; in the service of which, every man between
the ages of eighteen and fifty years, may be required to pass at
least three years. The natives of the country adjacent to the two
great bays, called Cook's Inlet and Prince William's Sound, are
also under the control of the company, and are obliged to pay an
annual tax in furs and skins, though they are not compelled to
enter the regular service. All the other aborigines are regarded
as independent, except that they are not allowed to trade with
any other people than those of the Russian American Company.
In 1836, the number of the Russians in the company's territories,
was seven hundred and thirty ; the native subjects of the com-
pany were fourteen hundred and forty-two Creoles, or children of
Russian fathers, by women of the country , and about eleven
thousand aborigines of the Kurile, Aleutian and Kodiak Islands.
The population of the other parts of these dominions, cannot be
ascertained, but it must necessarily be very small when compared
with the extent of the surface.
The establishments of the Russian American Company are
devoted exclusively to the objects of the fur-trade. They consist
of towns, forts, and factories, or trading posts, all situated on the
coasts of the continent, or of the islands south of the 64th
parallel, and are about twenty-six in number. The furs and skins
are collected, either by hunters and fishermen in the regular ser-
vice of the company, or as taxes from its subjects, or by trade
with the independent aborigines ; and they are transported in the
company's vessels from the principal places of deposit to Petro-
pawlowsk in Kamtchatka, or to Ochotsk in Siberia, or by special
permission of the Chinese government, to Canton, or sometimes to
Europe : the supplies for the establishments, being received chiefly
from Europe and Asia, by the same vessels. The number of
vessels belonging to the company in 1840 was twelve, measuring
together fifteen hundred and sixty-five tons.
The Russian American territories are divided into six districts,
each of which is under the direction of an agent ; and they are all
superintended by a governor-general, residing at Sitka, the capital
of these possessions.
The District of Sitka comprehends all the coasts of the conti-
nent, south and east of Mount Saint Elias, as far as the latitude of
54 degrees 40 minutes, together with the adjacent islands of the
north-west Archipelago north of the same parallel. The conti-
nental coasts, opposite these islands, have, however, been leased
by the Russian American Company, to the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, for the term of ten years, from the first of June, 1840, in
consideration of an annual payment of two thousand seal skins to
the former body. This arrangement was made in consequence
fc;
ill
m
■ft: '!l
ill
. i
ii
■ill
40
GROGIIAPIIY OF RUSSIAN AMERICA.
I !i .!1
I! H'
of a dispute between the parties, witli regard to the right of navi-
gating the river Siikinc, which enters the sea from the continent,
in the latitude of 56 degrees 5U minutes, and is said to be naviga-
ble to a great distance into the interior.
The northernmost group of islands of the north-west Archipe-
lago, thus belonging to Russia, comprises six large, and many
small islands, separated from each other and from the main land,
by narrow but generally navigable channels. The large islands
are — the Prince of IVaks's Island, extending on the Pacific from
the latitude of 54 degrees 40 minutes, to that of 56 degrees '^5
minutes, and the Duke of York's and Rcvillagigedo Island, be-
tween it and the continent, on the west — farther north, on the
open ocean, the Islands of King George the Third, the largest and
most southern of which is called Baranof^s Island, and the north-
ern, Tchichagof's Island — and east of these latter, Admiralty
Island, Douglas Island, and some others of less extent.
Opposite the western end of the channel, separating Baranof's
from Tchichagof's Island, is a small island, consisting of a
single and beautiful conical peak, rising from the ocean, which
received from its Spanish discoverers, in 1775, the name of Mount
San Jacinto, but is better known by the English appellation of
Mount Edgecumb; a narrow passage, called Norfolk »Souwrf, separates
it from Baranof's Island, on the shore of which stands Sitka or
New Archangel, the capital of Russian Americ<'\ This is a small
town of wooden houses, covered mostly with iron, protected, or
rather overlooked by batteries, and inhabited by about a thou-
sand persons, of whom nearly one half are Russians, the major-
ity of the others being Creoles. Attached to the establishment
are a hospital, a ship-yard, a foundry, and shops for various me-
chanical employments. Sitka, moreover, though thus remote from
all civilized countries, contains several schools, in which the child-
ren are instructed at the expense of the company, a library of two
thousand volumes, a cabinet of natural history, and an observatory,
in which are the instruments most necessary for astronomical and
magnetic observations.
The District of Kodiak comprises all the coasts from the north-
west Archipelago northward and westward to the southern ex-
tremity of the Peninsula of Aliaska, and the adjacent islands, as also
a portion of the coast of the Sea of Kamtchatka, on the north-west
side of Aliaska. The largest island is Kodiak, situated near the east
coast of Aliaska, from which it is separated by the Strait of Sche-
likof; on its north-east side is St. Pauls, an inconsiderable place,
formerly the capital of Russian America. North of Kodiak, a great
arm of the ocean, called by the English Coo¥s Inlet, and by the
Russians the GulJ of Kenny, stretches northwardly into the con-
Hi'
OEOQRAPHY OF RUSSIAN AMERICA.
41
north-
iern ex-
as also
th-west
the east
)f Sche-
2 place,
a great
by the
ic con-
tinent from the latitude of 59 degrees to that of 61 degrees
20 minutes ; east of which, and separated from it by a peninsula,
is another great bay, filled with islands, called Prince U'lUiam's
Sound by the English, and the Guff of Tschugatsch by the Rus-
sians. Each of these bays was minutely examined by Cook in
1778, and by Vancouver in 1794, in search of a passage leading to
the Alantic ; and several good harbors were thus found in them,
on which the Russians have formed trading establishments.
About a hundred miles east of Prince William's Sound, Mount
Saint Elias, the highest peak in North America, rises nearly
eighteen thousand feet in perpendicular elevation from the shore
of the Pacific, under the parallel of 61 degrees, surrounded by
mountains, also of great height. Farther south-east is another
stupendous peak, called Mount Fuiriveather ; and many lofty pin-
nacles, all volcanoes or of volcanic formation, may be seen from
the coasts of Prince William's Sound and Cook's Inlet, and in the
Peninsula of Aliaska. At the foot of Mount Saint Elias, on the
east, is Admiralty or Bcring^s Bay, in which tlie unfortunate navi-
gator, Bering, is believed to have first anchored during his voyage
from Kamtchalka to America in 1741. On the western side of
the base of Mount Saint Elias is Comptroller's Bay, into which
empties the Copper River, the only large stream flowing into that
part of the Pacific.
The Northern or Michnelof District, includes all the coasts and
islands of America on the Sea of Kamtchatka, north of Bristol
Bay ; on which, however, the only establishments are those situated
on the shores of the great Gulf called Nortotis Sound. The prin-
cipal post is Fort Saint Michael on the south-east side of Norton's
Sound, near Stuart's Island, to which furs, skins, oil and ivory are
brought by the Esquimaux and Tchukskies, from the large islands
near Bering's Straits, and even from the coasts of the Arctic
Sea. From this part of the American coasts several expeditions
have been recently made by the Russians into the interior, in
which two large rivers have been discovered and traced to a con-
siderable distance from their mouths ; these are the KwicJcpak,
entering the Sea of Kamtchatka, near the 63d degree of latitude,
and the KusTcohwim, falling into the same sea, under the 60th par-
allel.
AliasJca is a long and generally narrow peninsula, stretching
south-westward from the continent, which it joins under the 59th
parallel, to the latitude of 541-2 degrees; it is simply a chain
of volcanic mountains, running through the Pacific. About its
southern extremity on the east is the small group of the Sciiuma-
gin Islands, so named from one of Bering's crew, who died there
in 1741 ; and from the same extremity, as if in continuation of the
6
11 ;■
I'll
Vi
m
'■iM
■A
• ■•■?.» !l
il
4t
GEOGRAPHY or RUSSIAN AMERICA.
n
fi
peninsula, a line of volcanic islands forming the Aleutian Archi-
pelago, stretches westward across the ocean, to the vicinity of the
opposite Asiatic Peninsula of Knmtchaika.
The District of Vnnlashha includes the westernmost of the
Aleutian, called the Fox Islands, amon<^ which are Unimak, Una'
Inshka and UmnaJc, the largest of the Archipelago ; as also the
Pribulow Islands, lying a little farther north, on the west side of
Aliaska. The principal settlement of the Russians is lllilluk, on
the bay of Samagoondha, on the north-easl side of Unalashka,
which is nlso the residence of a bishop of the Greek church.
The District of Atcha comprises the remainder of the Aleutian
Islands, which are all small, and are divided into three groups ;
tlio Rat, the Andreanowsky, and the Commodore Islands. The
westernmost of the last named group, near the coast of Kamt-
chatka, bears the name of Bering's Isle, in commemoration of
the shipwreck and death of Bering, which took place there in the
winter of 1741, while he was on his return from the American
coast.
The Sea of Kamtchatka or Bering^s Sea, is the division of the
Pacific, extending from the Aleutian Islands, northward to Bering's
Strait ; it contains many islands, some of them large, but all un-
inhabitable. Bering's Strait, fifty-one miles in width, between
Ca]pc Prince of Wales, the north-western extremity of America,
and East Cape or Tchukotskoi Boss, the north-easternmost point
of Asia, in latitude of 65 1-2 degrees, forms the only northern
communication between the waters of the Pacific and those of the
Arctic Sea ; and through it, consequently, must pass any vessel
which may succeed in effecting a northern voyage from the Atlan-
tic to the Pacific, or vice versa
The part of Asia west of the Sea of Kamtchatka, like that of
America on its eastern side, is a waste of rocks, covered almost
always with snow ; and is traversed by a great chain ot volcanic
mountains, extending southward, through the sea, to the 51st par-
allel, and thus forming the peninsula of Kamtchatka. The only
place in Kamtchatka, worthy of notice here, is Petropatvloivsk or
Petropaulski, or the Harbor of Peter and Paul, situated on the
north side of the Bay of Avatscha, which joins the Pacific in the
latitude of 53 degrees 58 minutes ; it is a small town, containing
not more than a thousand inhabitants. The part of the sea west
of Kamtchatka, is called the Gulf of Ochotsk ; at its north-eastern
extremity, stands Ochotsk, another small town, which shares with
Petropawlowsk, the trade of the Russian American coasts. South-
ward from Kamtchatka, are the Kurile Islands, and south of these
the Japan Islands, all parts of the same volcanic system of moun-
tains.
rr!;
HISTOEY
or
OREGON AND CALIFORNIA,
AND
THE OTHER COUNTRIES
ON THE
ri
'Ml
NORTH-WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA.
m]
ifr
l'^
1:1.
HISTORY
or
OREGON ANT) CALIFORNIA,
ETC.
CHAPTER I.
To 1513.
I'reliininary Observations — Kft'orfs of Mi Spaninrda to discover Western Passnfrng
Id liuliu — Succt'Hsivo Discovorii's o." tlio West 1 idles, tlie North Ainericuu
Continent, tlio Eastern I'lissnge to I;idia, Ilrr'il, iin(' iho Pacific Ocean — Search
for a naviifable Fassiifjo Cfmnectinj^f the Atlantic nnu the Pacific Or una — Sup-
posed Discuivery of such a Passnsje, cuiled the ^ •ait of .■!:, ■: — Discovery of
Magellan's Strait and the Western Passage t:i India — Coi est of Mexico by
Cortes, who endeavors to discover new Countries farther c 'in-west — Voyages
of Maldonado, llurtado de Mendo/.a, Grijalva, and Becon i — Discover' of Cali-
fornia — Expedition of Cortes to California— ; ♦ nded Discover! . of Friar
Marcos de Niza — Voyages of UUoa, Alarcoi^, anv Cabrillo — Expeditions f
(^oronado and Soto — The Spaniards desist from vhcir htforts to explore the North
West Coasts of America.
The western coasts of North America were first explored by the
Spaniards, in the sixteenth century. In order to convey a clear idea
of the circumstances which led to their discovery, as well as of the
claims and pretensions based upon it, a general view will be here
presented of the proceedin<,'s and objects of Europeans with regard to
the Now World, from the period v. hen its existence was ascertained,
to that in which the exploration of its north-west coasts was begun.
The islands found by Colui ib'js, in his voyage across the Atlantic
in 149"2, were supposed to bu .-.iuated in the immediate vicinity of
Asia, the eastern limits of which were then unknown ; and their dis-
covery was the result of onfleavors to reach, by a western course, the
shores of India, from whicii Europe chiefly derived its gold, silks, pre-
cious stones, and spices, and tliose of China and Japan, of the wealth
of which empires vague accounts had been brought by travellers.
With the same objects in view, the Portuguese had been long
engaged in exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa southward and
eastward, in search of some channel or sea, by which their ships
I
I
f (\
(!'.
Vi if:.
46
TREATY OF PARTITION OF THE OCEAN.
[1494.
might enter the Indian Ocean ; being encouraged in their exertions
by the Bull of Pope Nicholas V., issued in 1454, assuring to them
the exclusive rights of navigation, trade, fishery, and conquest, in all
seas and countries which they niigiit find in that course, not before
occupied by a Christian prince or people. They had, however, not
reached the southern extremity of Africa when Columbus returned
from his first voyage across the Atlantic ; and, immediately after-
wards, the united Spanish sovereigns procured from Pope Alex-
ander VI. Bulls, granting to thein and their successors, forever,
exclusive privileges with regard to the seas and countries which
might be found by navigating towards the west, similar to those
conferred on the Portuguese, as to seas and countries east of the
Atlantic.
Upon these extraordinary commissions, as bases, was founded the
celebrated Treaty of Partition of the Ocean, concluded at Torde-
sillas, on the 7th of June, 1494, between the sovereigns of Spain
and the king of Portugal, then the greatest maritime powers of
Europe. By this treaty, the Portuguese were to enjoy and possess
the exclusive rights of discovery, trade, conquest, and dominion, in
all the seas and territories not previously belonging to a Christian
prince or people, east of a meridian line passing three hundred and
seventy leagues west of the Cape Verd Islands ; and the Spaniards
were to possess the same rights, in all seas and all pagan lands
west of that line ; no provision being made for the contingency
of the meeting of the parties proceeding in these opposite direc-
tions. I'he two nations having thus, under the guaranty of the
highest authority recognized in Europe, settled the conditions on
which they were to appropriate to themselves, respectively, nearly
all the sea and nearly all the land on the globe, without regard for
the wishes or claims of any other people, each continued its search
for a navigable passage to India, generally, though not always,
within the limits assigned to it.
In this search the Portuguese were soon successful ; for, in 1499=
they sailed around the southern extremity of Africa, to India, where
they established their dominion or their influence over many of
those regions. They also, about the same time, obtained possession
of Bray.il, the coasts of which were found to extend east of the
meridian of partition, to the great regret and constant annoyance
of the Spaniards, who had hoped, by the treaty of 1494, to secure
to themselves the exclusive sovereignty of all the countries on the
western side of the Atlantic.
;i:'4jl
1500.]
THE STRAIT OF ANIAN.
47
The English, however, disregarding the Papal prohibitions, imme-
diately entered the career of discovery in the west ; and, under their
flag, John Cabot, first of all Europeans, reached the American conti-
nent in 1497. They were soon followed by the French, who, during
the early part of the sixteenth century, made numerous expeditions
across the Atlantic ; and the Portuguese, notwithstanding the restric-
tions of the treaty of partition, also endeavored to find a passage to
India in the same direction. It was, indeed, long believed that
Gaspar Cortereal, a Portuguese navigator, who explored the coasts
of Labrador in 1499 and 1500, had actually sailed through a narrow
channel, named by him the Strait of Anian,* westward from the
Atlantic, nearly in the course of the 58th parallel of latitude, into
another great sea, communicating with the Indian Ocean. This
channel may have been the same, now called IlmJson^s Strait, con-
necting the Atlantic with Hudson's Bay, the discovery of which is
generally attributed to Sebastian Cabot ; it was certainly known as
the Strait of Labrador long before its entrance by the navigator
whose name it bears. The belief in the existence of such a north'
west passage to India, joining the Atlantic in the position assigned
to the mouth of Cortereal's Strait of Anian, caused many voyages
to be made to the coasts of northern America, on both sides, during
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and many false reports to
be circulated of the discovery ol the desired channel ; the efiects of
which reports, in promoting the exploration of those coasts, will
be hereafter shown.
* " It is statod in several collections of voyages, that the name or^ninn was given
to the strait supposed to have been discovered by Gaspar Cortereal, in honor of two
brothers, who accompanied him ; but there are no grounds for such a supposition. * *
In the earliest maps, .^nia is marked as tlie name of the nortii-westerniuost part of
Ani'-rica. ^ni, in the Japanese language, is said to signify brother ; hence, probably,
the mistake." (Chronological History of V^oyages in th(! Arctic Regions, by John
Barrow, page 45.) — In an article on tlie subject of a north-west passage, in the
London Quarterly Review for October, 18IG, supposed to have Iwen written by
Harrow, it is asserted that Cortereal " named the Strait of Anian, not in honor
of two brothers who accompanied him, but because he. deemed it to be the eastern
crtremity of a strait tchose western end, opening into the Pocijie, had already received
that name." Tiie value of this assertion may be estimated from the fact, that
the ocean on the tcestern side of Jlmerica teas not discovered by Europeans until
thirteen years after Cortereal's voyage and death. The review abounds in similar
errors.
Many of the most important errors in Barrow's Chronological History have been
exposed by Mr. R. iiiddle, in his admirable Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, to which tlie
reader is referred for the most e.xact accounts, so far as they can be obtained, of these
early voyages to the north-west coasts of tlie Atlantic. A concise and clear view of
the results of these voyages will be found in tlie first chapter of Bancroft's History
of the United States.
I
3i -
if
48
DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
[1513.
The Spaniards were, in the mean time, assiduously engaged in
planting colonies in the countries newly fou.id by them beyond tlie
Atlantic, to which they gave the collective name of West Indies,*
and in exploring the coasts in the vicinity of the islands first dis-
covered, which were soon ascertained to be the borders of a vast
continent. How far south this continent extended, and whether it
was united, in the north, with Asia, or with the territories seen in that
direction by the English and the Portuguese, remained to bo deter-
mined ; and, with those objects, the Spaniards persevered in their
examinations, in which they were, moreover, encouraged by the
constant assurances of the natives of the coasts and islands,
respecting the existence of a great sea, and rich and powerful
nations, towards the setting sun.
In 1513, this great sea was discovered, near the spot where
Panama now stands, by Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the governor of
the Spanish colony of Darien. It was naturally supposed to be
the Southern Ocean, which bathed the shores of India ; and, as its
proximity to the Atlantic was at the same time ascertained, encour-
agement was afforded for the hope that the two great waters would
be found connected in a position the most favorable for navigation
between Europe and Asia. The examinations of the Spaniards
were, in consequence, directed particularly to the coasts of the
Isthmus of Darien, and were conducted with great zeal and perse-
verance, until the entire separation of the two oceans by land, in
that quarter, had been proved. These researches were, however,
also continued both north and south of the isthmus, until, at length,
in 1520, Fernando Magalhaens, or Magellan, a Portuguese, in the
naval service of Spain, discovered and sailed through the strait now
bearing his name, into the sea found by Balboa, over which he
pursued his voyage westward to India.
The great geographical question, as to the circumnavigation of
the globe, was thus solved, though not in a manner entirely satisfac-
tory to the Spaniards. The Strait of Magellan was intricate, and
'jf^ ^ I
* Tf • name America was first applied to Brazil about the year 1508, either by
Vespucci himself, or by Waldseemuller, a schoolmaster of the Vosges, (better known
by his assumed appellation of Hylacomytus,) and was afterwards extended to tho
whole western continent. The Spaniards, however, carefully avoided the use of it
in all their official documents and histories, in not one of which, anterior to the
middle of the last century, can it be found. It was, in fact, a rule of Spanish policy
never to allow the names of individuals, except of saints, to be ap])lii'd to places in
their dominions. We look in vain, on the maps of Spanish America, for memorials
of Columbus, of Cortes, of Pizarro, and even of the royal Ferdinands, Charles.. 3, or
Philips; while the whole calendar of saints is e.xhausted on every province
1518.]
THE SPANIARDS AND PORTUGUESE IN INDIA.
49
the passage through it was attended with great difficulties and
dangers ; besides which, it was itself almost as far from Europe as
India by the eastern route. Other and more direct channels of
communication between the Atlantic and the Southern Ocean might,
inooed. be discovered : but the latter sea was found to be infinitely
wider than had been supposed ; and, although the part of it crossed
by Magellan was so little disturbed by storms that he was induced
to name it the Pacific Ocean, yet he also observed timt the winds
blew over it invariably from eastern points. These circumstances
depressed the hopes of the Spaniards with respect to the establish-
ment of their power in Southern Asia, though they continued their
expeditions to that part of the world by way of Magellan's Strait,
and their search for new passages into the Pacific. Their expedi-
tions to India brought them into collision with the Portuguese,*
who had already made several settlements in the Molucca Islands,
and had obtained from the Chinese, in 1518, the possession, under
certain qualifications, of the important port of Macao, near Canton ;
and many bloody conflicts took place, in consequence, between the
subjects of those nations, in that distant quarter of the world, as
well as many angry disputes between their governments, before the
quest'ons of right at issue could be settled.
In the mean time, other events occurred, which consoled the
Spaniards for their disappointments with regard to India, and
caused them to direct their attention more particularly to the
New World.
Before the period of the departure of Magellan on his expedi-
tion, the Spaniards had, in fact, derived from their discoveries
beyond the Atlantic but few of the advantages which they anti-
cipated. They had found and taken possession of countries
i
'm
4
■■ ;:^;M
lion of
itisfac-
Ite, and
* Spain claimed the exclusive navigation, trade, and conquest, westward, to the
extremity of the peninsula of Malacca, so iis to include all the Molucca Islands and
China ; while the Portuguese insisted on exercising the same privileges, without
competition, eastward as far as tiie Ladrone Islands ; each on the ground that the
meridian of partition, settled with regard to tlie Atlantic, in 1494, would, if continued
on the other side of the globe, pass in such a manner as to place the portions claimed
by itself within its own hemisphere. The question was discussed between the two
courts directly, and by their commissioners who met at Badajos in 1523, but without
arriving at any definite arrangement. At length, on the 2iid of April, 15251, a treaty
was concluded at Saragossa, by the terms of which the king of Spain sold all his rights
to the Moluccas to the king of Portugal for 350,000 ducats of gold, ($3,080,000,)
with the proviso that tiie latter might, by repaying the sum, be at liberty again to
urge those rights. The sum was never repaid, and Spain did not again claim the
islands ; though, for a long period afterwards, the Spanish empire was represented
on Spanish maps as extending westward to the extremity of Malacca.
7
M
50
MEXICO CONQUERED BY THE SPANIAKDS.
[1522.
I -A
II
extensive, rich in mines, productive in soil, and delightful in
climate, but uncultivated, ond thinly peopled by savages, who
could neither by gentle nor by violent means be induced to labor
regularly for others or for themselves; and, although the want
of a working population was in part supplied by the introduction
of negro slaves from Africa, there was little prospect that Spain
would ever be much benefited by these distant colonics. While
Magellan's ships were on their western route to India, however,
the wealthy and powerful empire of Mexico, which had been
discovered in 1518 by a party of Spaniards from Cuba, was
conquered by Hernando Cortes; and Spain immediately became
the richest nation of Europe. The reports of the brilliant results
of this conquest drew to the West Indies crowds of adventurers,
all eager to acquire wealth and renown by similar means ; who,
uniting in bands, under daring and experienced captains, ranged
through both the western continents, seeking mines of precious
metals to work, or rich nations to plunder. In this manner
Peru was subjugated by Pizarro and his followers before 1535;
the other expeHit^ons were fruitless, as respects the principal
objects in view, while, in the course of them, many distant shores
and interior regions were explored, which would otherwise, perhaps,
not have been visited for centuries. The acts of these demon
heroes are recorded with minuteness in the stirring pages of the
chronicles of their day ; and curious narratives of several of their
expeditions, written by persons engaged in them, have been pre-
served by the assiduity of Spanish, Italian, English, and Dutch
collectors of historical tracts.
The desire to discover new passages of communication for vessels
between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, was also a strong
motive for the expeditions of the Spaniards along the coasts of the
New World ; and no one pursued this search with more zeal and
perseverance than Hernando Cortes. Scarcely had he established
the authority of his sovereign in Mexico, than he commenced the
exploration of the adjoining seas and countries, with that object,
as well as with the hope of finding other rich nations to subdue ;
and in such enterprises he spent a great portion of his time and
resources, during his residence in America. In prosecution of his
plans, chiefly, the long and in most places narrow territory,
connecting Mexico with the southern continent, was carefully
examined, until it had been ascertained that the two seas were
separated by land throughout the whole extent. He, at the same
1528.]
PLANS OF CORTES FOR FURTHER CONQUESTS.
51
the
and
ished
the
ibject,
)due ;
! and
)f his
ritory,
^efuUy
were
same
time, employed vessels in surveying the coasts of the Mexican Gulf,
and those of the Atlantic, farther north ; and he built others on the
Pacific side, for similar purposes, two of which he sent, as early as
1526, to the East Indies, in aid of the armaments despatched thither
from Spain, under Loyasa.*
The first expedition made by the Spaniards along the Pacific
coasts, westward from Mexico, was conducted by Pedro Nunez
Maldonado, one of the officers of Cortes, who sailed from the
mouth of the River of Zacatula in July, 1528, and passed nearly six
months in surveying the shores between that point and the mouth
of the River of Santiago, about a hundred leagues farther north-
west. The territory of which this coast formed the southern border
was then called Xalisco ; it was entirely unknown to the Europeans,
and was inhabited by fierce tribes of savages, who had never been
subdued by the Mexicans. Maldonado brought back flattering
accounts of its fertility, and of the abundance of precious metals
in its interior, which did not fail to excite tha attention of his
employer, as well as of others among their countrymen.
Cortts was at that time in Spain, whither he had gone in 1528,
chiefly with the object of obtaining some more definite recognition
of his powers and rights in the New World tlian had been hitherto
granted. He was received at Madrid with *.he most signal honors
by his sovereign, the celebrated emperor Charles V. ; and, on his
return to Mexico, he carried with him patents, confirming him
as captain-general of that country, then called New Spain, and
creating him a grandee of Castile, with the title of Marquis of the
Valley of Oaxaca ; to which was attached the possession of vast tracts
of country in America, including the port of Tehuantepec, on the
Pacific. He also procured from the emperor a capitulation, or
charter, empowering him to discover and conquer any islands in the
* The accounts of the early Spanish expeditions of discovery on the North Pacific
side of America, contained in tlie present chapter, are derived from — the publislied
letters of Corcts, and a number of letters and reports from him and other Spanish
commanders, hitherto unpublished, copies of which, made from the originals in
Madrid, were kindly placed at the disposition of the writer by W. H. I'rescott, of
Boston, the accomplished author of the Histories of Ferdinand and Isabella, and of
the Conquest of Mexico — the Historia General de las Indias, by Herrera — the
Crnnica de Nueva EspaHa, by Gomara — the Historia de la Conquista de Mexico,
by Bernal Dias — the Raccolte de Viaggi, by Ramusio — the Collection of Voyages
and Discoveries, by Hakluyt — the History of Voyages in the Pacific, by Burney —
and the Introduction to the Journal of the Voyage made, in 171)2, by Captains
Galiano and Valdcs, in the Spanish schooners Sutil and Mexicana, published at
Madrid, by order of the government, in 1802, to which references will also be fre-
quently made in the succeeding chapters.
If
M
m
m
'V:'.:\W.
i
I J'
NUNO DE GUZMAN.
[1530.
1 !'
Pacific, or other countries west of Mexico, not within the limits
assigned to any other Spanish governor ; of which countries he and
his heirs forever were to enjoy the government, and one twelfth of
all the precious metals, pearls, and other advantages therefrom
accruing, on condition of their treating the natives with kindness,
and endeavoring to convert them to tiie Christian faith. The politic
Charles did not, however, intrust such extensive powers to one so
capable and ambitious as Cortes, without at the same time providing
certain checks, by means of which the conqueror of Mexico might
be effectually prevented from using his faculties for any otiier
ends than enlarging the dominions of the crown of Castile. The
expenses of all his expeditions were to be borne by himself; and
he could do little, if any thing, without the assent of the Audiencia,
or Royal Court and Board of Administration, established at Mexico,
the members of which were chosen from among his most bitter
enemies.
The only governor in the New World with whose claims Cortes
might have been supposed to interfere, by expeditions westward
from Mexico, was Nuno de Guzman, the president of the Audiencia,
who had obtained from the emperor the government of Panuco,
the country on the Gulf of Mexico surrounding the spot now
occupied by the town of Tampico, and also that of Xalisco, of
which he had received accounts from Maldonado and other adven-
turers. This person, one of the same stamp with Pizarro and
Davila, had been assiduously engaged in undermining the authority
and influence of Cortes ; and no sooner did he learn that his rival
was returning to Mexico as captain-general, than he assembled all
the troops under his command in the capital, and marched for
Xalisco, where he remained many years, subduing the country, and
exterminating its aboriginal inhabitants.
Cortes thus, on his arrival in Mexico in July, 1530, found himself
deprived of the means not only of making expeditions of discov-
ery, but also of maintaining his authority in the kingdom ; and he
was obliged to wait two years before he could send a single vessel
out on the Pacific. At length, by the middle of the year 1532, he
had two ships ready for sea, which he determined to despatch on an
exploratory voyage, along the western coast, whilst the others were
in progress of construction at Tehuantepec.
At that period, the whole eastern coast of the American continent
had been explored, but imperfectly by European navigators ; though
no part of the interior, north of Mexico and the countries in its
1532.]
UNCERTAINTY OF ACCOUNTS OF OLD VOYAGES.
53
immediate vicinity, was known. The northernmost points occupied
by the Spaniards were, — on the Atlantic side, Panuco, within a few
miles of the Mexican Gulf, — and, on the Pacific side, Culiacan, which
was founded by Nuno de Guzman, in 1530, at the entrance of the
Gulf of California. Beyond Culiacan, towards the north and the
west, the lands and the seas were entirely unexplored ; and between
that place and the civilized portion of Mexico, extended a wide
space of uncultivated country, including Xalisco, which was called,
by the Spaniards, New Galicia. The ports occupied by the Span-
iards on the Pacific side of Mexico, were Tehuantepec, the most
eastern, at which Cortes had his arsenals and ship-yards ; Acapulco,
the principal place of trade, and ti.e nearest to tiie capital; and
Zacatula, and Aguatlan, on the confines of Xalisco, beyond which
the coasts wrre little known.
Before entering upon the history of the Spanish discoveries on
the North Pacific side of America, it should be observed, that the
accounts of these and other expeditions by sea, made at that period,
which have descended to us, are very obscure and inexact, especially
as regards geogniphical positions ; so that it is generally difficult,
and often impossible, to identify places by means of the descriptions
given in them. This arises partly from the circumstance, that the
accounts were nearly all written by priests, clerks, or other persons
unacquainted with naval niatters, who paid little attention to lati-
tudes, longitudes, courses, and bearings, and were unable to record
them properly ; and partly from the imperfection of tiie instruments
then employed to determine the altitudes and relative distances of
the heavenly bodies, which, even on land, and under the most favor-
able conditions of the atmosphei ^, gave results far from accurate,
and were entirely useless in a vessel on a re "gh sea, or in cloudy
weather. This uncertainty as to the positions of j^laces necessarily
leads to confusion respecting their names ; and we accordingly find,
in the account of each of these voyages along the same portion of the
coast, a nomenclature of capes, bays, and islands, almost entirely dif-
ferent from that contained in the narratives of all the other voyages.
The expedition of discovery, made, by order of Cortes, to the
coasts north-west of Mexico, in 153"2, was conducted by his kins-
man, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, who sailed from Tehuantepec in
July of that year, with two vessels, one commanded by himself, the
other by Juan de Mazuela. In the instructions drawn up by Cortes,
of which a copy has been preserved, Mendoza was directed to sail
within sight of the coast, and, at all convenient places, to land, and
i'l
':f1l
■1 Li
4
•ir ^S,
■ i\
#
,: ll
■t ;l
I
n
m
mI:
hi
,J
54
VOYAGES OF HENDOZA, GRIJALVA, AND BECERRA. [153'/2.
coiamunicatfi with the natives, whom he was to concihate by every
means in his jwwer. Should he find a country which seemed to be
rich, or inhabited by civiHzed persons, he was immediately to return,
or to send back one of his vessels, with the news.* Ilurtado de
Mendoza accordingly proceeded slowly along the shore of the
continent, as far north-west as the 27th degree of latitude, where,
finding his crew mutinous, he sent back one of his vessels, with
the greater part of his men, and continued the voyage, with a small
crew, in the other. The vessel sent back reached Culiacan River
in great distress, and was there deserted by nearly all her men. Her
commander then endeavored, with the remainder of his crew, to
carry her to Acapulco : but she was stranded at the mouth of the
River of Vanderas, near the point now called Cape Corrientes, and
all on board, with the exception of three, were put to death by the
natives of the country, after which the vessel was seized and plun-
dered by Nuno de Guzman. As to the vessel in which Mendoza
continued his voyage, a vague account was received, that she had
been thrown on the coast far north, and that all her crew had
perished.
Cortes did not receive the news of the loss of the vessel which
had been sent back by Ilurtado de Mendoza until the middle
of the following year; and he then immediately despatched two
ships from Tehuantepec, in search of the other vessel, under the
command, respectively, of Hernando Grijalva and Diego Becerra.
These ships left the port together, on the .'JOth of September,
1533, but were soon after separated. Grijalva, going far out,
discovered a group of islands situated about fifty leagues from
the coast, named by him Islands of St. Thomas, (the same now
called the Rtvillagigedo Islands,) where he remained until the
following spring, and then returned to Acapulco, without having
seen any new part of the continent. Becerra, with the other ship,
took his course north-westward along the shore of Xalisco, near
which his crew mutinied, and he was murdered by the pilot,
Fortuno Ximenes. The mutineers, under the command of the
pilot, then steered directly west from the ^ain-land, and soon
reached a coast not before known, on whicn they landed, after
anchoring their ship in a small bay, near the 23d degree of latitude.
There, more than twenty of their number, including Ximenes, were
* Hcrrera, Decade v. book vii. — Manuscript letters and memorials from Cortes to
the emperor, in 1539 and 1540; and from Nuno de Guzman, in 1535 and 1540.
rom
now
the
aving
ship,
near
iilot,
the
soon
after
itude.
were
>rtuB to
m
1535.]
COUTES LANDS IN CALIFORNIA.
55
killed by the natives ; the survivors succeec! . in carrying the vessel
over to the little harbor of Chiametla, in Xalisco, where she also
was seized by Nuno de Guzman.
These attempts of Cortes to make discoveries in the north-west,
had, in the mean time, excited Nuno de Guzman to efforts with the
same object ; and he had sent several parties of men in that direc-
tion, one of which appears to have traced the western shore of the
continent as far as the mouth of the river now called the Colorado,
and to have first brought accounts of rich and populous countries
and splendid cities in the interior. Guzman had alf-o received
large accessions to his forces from Mexico, and was making many
settlements, one of which soon prospered, and became, in time,
the city of Guadalaxara, the second in size in New Spain.
When Cortes l)ecame assured of the seizure of his vessels by
Guztnan, he addressed a complaint on the subject to the Audiencia ;
whose decision being, however, not so determinate in his favor as
he wished, he assembled a large body of troops, and marched with
them to Chiametla, where he also ordered three vessels to be sent
from Tchuantepec. On the approach of these forces, Guzman
advanced to meet them, but no action ensued ; and Cortes, having
been joined at Chiametla by his vessels, embarked in them, with a
portion of his men, and set sail for the new country, found by
Ximenes in the west, which was said to abound in the finest pearls.
On the 3d of May, 1535, the day of the Invention of the Holy
Cross, according to the Roman Catholic calendar, the squadron
anchored in the bay, on the shore of which the murderers of
Becerra had met their fate in the preceding year ; and, in honor of
the day, the name of Santa Cruz was bestowed on the place, of
which possession was solemnly taken for the Spanish sovereign.
The country thus claimed by Cortes for Spain, was the south-east
part of the great peninsula, which projects from the American con-
tinent on the Pacific side, in nearly the same direction, and between
nearly the same parallels of latitude, as that of Florida on the
Atlantic side. It soon after received the name of California,
respecting the origin and meaning of which, many speculations —
none of them satisfactory or even ingenious — have been offered.
The bay called Santa Cruz by Cortes was probably the same now
known as Port La Paz, about a hundred miles from the Pacific,
near the 24th degree of latitude ; though some accounts place
it in the immediate vicinity of the southernmost point of the
peninsula.
'
56
CORTES SUrUKSEUUD BY MENDUZA.
[1537.
u
"•Hi .
On the shore of this bay, surrounded by bare mountnins of rock,
arid and forbidding? in appearance, though not more so than the
sandy waste about Vera Cruz, Cortts landed with a liundr»'d and
thirty men and forty horses, and then sent back two of his vessels to
Chiametla, to brini; over the remainder of the forces ; hoping to
find, in the interior of the new country, another Mexico, in the
concjuest of which he might employ his powerful energies. The
vessels soon reappeared, with a portion of the troops, and were
again despatched to the Mexican coast, from which only one of
them returned, the other having been wrecked on her way. Cortes
thereupon embarked, with seventy men, for Xalisco, from which he
came back, after encountering the greatest dangers, just in time
to prevent the total destruction by famine of those left at Santa
Cruz.
In these operations, more than a year was consumed, without
obtaining any promise of advantage. The new country, so far as it
had been explored, was utterly barren, and, except that a few pearls
were found on the coast, destitute of all attraction for the Spaniards.
The officers of the expedition were discontented : of the men, a
number had died from want and disease ; the others were
mutinous, and cursed "Cortes, his island, his bay, and his dis-
covery."*
Meanwhile his wife, becoming alarmed by the reports of the ill
success of the expedition, which had reached Mexico, sent a vessel
to Santa Cruz, with letters entreating his immediate return ; and he,
at the same time, learned that he had been superseded in the
government of New Spain Ity Don Antonio de Mendoza, a noble-
man of iiigh rank and character, who had already made his
entrance into the capital as viceroy.
The removal of Cortes from the government of the country which
had, by his means, been added to the dominions of Spain, wa-i a
heavy blow ; particularly as he was, at that moment, much embar-
rassed from want of funds, his private property having been seriously
injured by the expenses of his recent expeditions, from which no
advantage had been obtained. He was, in consequence, obliged to
return to Mexico, where he arrived in the beginning of 1537, and,
soon after, to recall from Santa Cruz his lieutenant, Francisco de
Ulloa, with the forces which had been left there ; and, not being
able, at the time, to employ his vessels, he sent two of them, under
Grijalva, to Peru, laden with arms, ammunition, and provisions, in
" Bernal Dias, chap. 109.
vJtil.
■i'.\
1627.]
RAMBLES OF CABBZA-VACA.
57
the
jle-
his
aid of his friend Francisco Pizarro, who was then in great difficulties,
from an extensive insurrection of the natives.*
Corti'S, nevertheless, still claimed the right, in virtue of his
capitulation with the sovereign, und as admiral of the South Sea,
to make expositions on that ocean for his own benefit ; and he
resolved to prosecute the discovery of California, by which he
still expected to retrieve his fortunes, so soon as he could obtain the
requisite funds. The advancement of this claim, however, brought
him into collision with the new viceroy, who was an enlightened
and determined man, and who had likewise become interested in the
exploration of the regions north-west of Mexico, by the accounts of
some persons recently arrived from that quarter ; and a violent con-
troversy ensued between the two chiefs, which lasted until the
conqueror quitted Mexico.
The persons from whom the viceroy Mendoza received this
information respecting the territories north-west of Mexico, were
Alvaro Nunez de Cabeza-Vaca, two other Spaniards, and a negro or
Moor. They had landed, in 1527, near Tampa Bay, in the
peninsula of Florida, among the adventurers who invaded that
country under Panfilo Narvaez, in search of mines and plunder;
and, after the destruction of their comrades by shipwreck, starvation,
and the arrows of the Indians, they had wandered for nine years
through forosis and deserts, until they reached Culiacan, whence
they were sent on to Mexico. Of their route, it is impossible to
form any exact idea from thf? narrative published by Cabeza-Vaca :
he had seen no signs of wealth or civilization in the regions which
he had traversed; but he had, in many places, received from the
natives accounts of rich and populous countries, inhabited by
civilized people, situated farther north-west ; and the viceroy, after
hearing these accounts, thought proper to endeavor to ascertain the
4
V]
I
i
1fl
I
r^ n
Is, in
* A long account of the adventures of Cortes, in his Californian expedition, may
be found in Herrera, Decade viii. book viii. chap. ix. and x. The descriptions of
the localities given by Herrera, and other historians, are, however, so vague, that it in
impossible to trace the movements of the Spaniards with exactness ; and the events
related are unimportant, being merely details of disasters, such as might have
occurred to ordinary men, engaged in ordinary enterprises. Those who take interest
in every thing connected with Cort6s, — and the number of such will doubtless be
greatly increased, after the publication of Mr. Prescott's History of the Conquest of
Mexico, — may obtain explanations, as to the events of this expedition, from the
Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes, and from the first volume of
Burney's History of Voyages in the Pacific ; but they should avoid the account
given by Fleurieu, in his Introduction to the Journal of Marchand's Voyage, which
only renders confusion worse confused.
8
:,>ii
I
hi
tl
m
h'^r
]■• -1
58 ULLOA UIHCUVERS THK WKST COAST 01* CALIKOUNIA. [1539.
truth of them. For this purpose he collected u hnnd of fifty horse-
men, who were to he coinmniuled hy Dorantes, one of the conipnii-
ions of Cnbeza-V^ica ; hut, that plan hein^ overthrown by some
circumstance, he was inchiced, hy the representations of his friend,
the celebrated Bartoloniu de las Casas, to deputf; two friars to niako
the exploration, with the view of preservini^ the inhabitants of the
countries visited, from the violence to which military men would not
fail to resort, if there should be occasion, for the gratification of
their cupidity. The friars, Mare'os de Niza, provincial of the
Franciscan order in Mexico, and llonorato, accompanied by the
negro or Moor, FiStavanico, who had crossed the continent with
Cabeza-Vaca, accordingly sot out from Culiacan, on the 7th of March,
1539, in search of the rich countries reported to lie in the north-west.
Soon after the departure of the friars, the last expedition made
by order of Cortes was begun.* It was commanded by Francisco
de Ulloa, who sailed from Acapuico on the 8th of July, 1 539, with
three vessels, well manned and equipped, and took his course for
California. One of the vessels was driven ashore in a storm near
Culiacan : with the others Ulhia proceeded to the Bay of Santa
Cruz, and thence in a few days departed to survey the coasts
towards the north-east. In this occupation the ships were engaged
until the 18th of October, when Ulloa returned to Santa Cruz,
having in the mean time completely examined both shores of the
great gulf which separates California from the main land on the
east, and ascertained the fact of the junction of the two territories,
near the 3*2d degree of latitude, though he failed to discover the
Colorado River, which enters the gulf at its northern extremity.
This gulf was named, by Ulloa, the Sen of Cortes ; but it is gener-
ally distinguished, on Spanish maps, as the Vermilion Sea, [Mar
Vermejo,) and, in those of other nations, as the Gulf of California.
On the 29th of October, Ulloa again sailed from Santa Cruz, in
order to examine the coasts farther west, and having rounded the
point now called Cape San Lucas, which forms the southern
extremity of California, he pursued his voyage along the coast
towards the north. In this direction the Spaniards proceeded
slowly, often landing and fighting with the natives, and generally
opposed by violent storms from the north-west, until the end of
January, 1540, when they had reached an island near the coast,
under the 28th parallel of latitude, which they named the Isle of
• See Narrative of Francisco Preciado, one of the officers of the Santa Agueda, in
Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 283, and in Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 503.
•'I ^'\
1540.]
JOURNUY or FRIAR MARCOS DP. NIZA.
rilled
Cedars. There they rcnmineil the greater part of the time, until
the beginning of April, being prevented from advancing farther
north by head winds; and then, as several of the crews of both
vessels were disabled by sickness, and their provisions were insuf-
ficient to enal)Ie them to contintic the voyage together much longer,
Ulloa resolved to s<muI one of his ships back to Mexico. Tho
Siitita Agufdu, bearing the sick and the accounts of the discoveries,
accordingly sailed from the Isle of Cedars on the 5th of April, and
in the iH-ginning of the following month she arrived at Santiago, in
Xulisco, where she was seized by the officers of the viceroy, who
was anxious to learn the particulars of her discoveries. Of the fate
of Ulloa there are contra«lictory accounts. Herrera says that
nothing was ever heard of him after his parting with the Santa
Agueda ; others of his contemporaries, however, state that he con-
tinued his voyage along the west coast of California, as far as a
point called Cape Ensrano, near the 30th degree of latitude, and
thence returned safely to Mexico.
Whatsoever may have been the importance of the geographical
results of this voyage, they were scarcely satisfactory to Cortes ; and
they attracted little attention amotig the Spaniards in Mexico, who
were then all engaged in plans and s|)oculations concerning the rich
and delightful countries, of the discovery of which, by Friar Marcos
de Niza and his companions, accounts had recently arrived. From
these accounts, as contained in the letter addressed to the viceroy
by Friar Marcos,* and from other evidence, it is probable that the
reverend explorer did really penetrate to a considerable distance into
the interior of the continent, and did find there countries partially
cultivated, and inhabited by people possessing some acquaintance
with the arts of civilized life ; though, as to the precise situation of
those regions, or the routes pursued in reaching them, no definite
idea can be derived from the narrative. The friar pretended to
have discovered, north-west of Mexico, beyond the .35th degree of
latitude, extensive territories, richly cultivated, and abounding in
gold, silver, and precious stones, the population of which was much
greater, and farther advanced in civilization, than those of Mexico
or Peru. In these countries were many towns, and seven cities,
of which the friar only saw one, called Chvola or Cibola, containing
twenty thousand large stone houses, some of four stories, and
r'
t
i" ' ;'■ ■'1
" m
^ :'*li!
leda, in
* The letter of Friar Marcos, relating his discoveries, may be found in Rainusio,
vol. iii. p. 297, and in Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 438. See, also, Herrera, Decad(> vi. p. 204.
VOYAGE OF ALARCON.
If.
J
t^v
I,
^
[1540.
adorned with jewels ; yet he was assured, by the people, that this
was the smallest of the cities, and far inferior, in extent and mag-
nificence, to one called Totonteac, situated more towards the north-
west. The inhabitants of Cibola had, at first, been hostile to the
Spaniards, and had killed the negro; but they had, in the end,
manifested a disposition to embrace Christianity, and to submit to
the authority of the king of Spain, in whose name Friar Marcos
had taken possession of the whole country, by secretly erecting
crosses in many places.
These, and other things of a similar kind, gravely related by a
respectable priest, who professed to have witnessed what he described,
were universally admitted to be true ; and the viceroy Mendoza,
having communicated them to his sovereign, began to prepare for
the reduction of the new countries, and the conversion of their
inhabitants to Christianity. Cortes, however, insisted on continuing
his discoveries in the same direction, apparently giving little credit
to the statements of Friar Marcos ; while his old companion in arms,
the redoubtable Pedro de Alvarado, claimed to undertake the con-
quest in virtue of a capitulation recently concluded between himself
and the emperor. Hernando de Soto, likewise, who had just
obtained a commission for the discovery of Florida, declared the
seven cities to be within his jurisdiction ; and Nuno de Guzman
protested that his own right was the best, and witli some reason, in
consequence of his labors in the subjugation and settlement of New
Galicia, of which he maintained that the rich countries formed
part. After these disputes had lusted some months, a compromise
was made between the viceroy and Alvarado, agreeably to which
the latter was to command the expedition destined for the reduction
of the rich territories in the north-west ; and, about the same time,
Cortes returned in disgust to Spain, where he passed the remaining
seven years of his life in vain etforts to recover his authority in
Mexico, or to obtain indemnification for his losses.
The viceroy Mendoza had, however, immediately on receiving the
news of the discoveries from Friar Marcos, sent two bodies of armed
forces, the one by land, the other by sea, to reconnoitre the rich
countries, and prepare the way for their conquest.
The marine armament consisted of two ships, commanded by
Fernando de Alarcon, who sailed from thi port of Santiago on the
9th of May, 1540, and, proceeding along the coast towards the
north-west, reached the extremity of the Gulf of California in
August following. There he discovered a great river, which he
1540.]
EXPEDITION OF VAZQUEZ DE COftONADO.
61
named Rio de Nuesiru Senora de Buena Guia,* (or River of our
Lady of Safe Conduct,) probably the same now called the Colorado.
This stream Alarcon ascended, to the distance of more than eighty
leagues, with a party of his men, in boats, making inquiries on the
way about the seven cities; in reply to which, he received from
the Indians a number of confused stories — of kingdoms rich in
precious metals and jewels — of rivers filled with crocodiles and other
monsters — of droves of buflfaloes — of enchanters — and other won-
derful or remarkable objects. Of Totonteac he could learn nothing ;
though, at the end of his voyage up the river, he obtained what he
considered some definite information respecting Cibola, and was
assured that he might reach that place by a march of ten days into
the interior. He, however, suspected treachery on the part of those
who gave the assurance ; and, not conceiving it prudent to attempt
to advance farther, he returned to his ships. In a second voyage up
the river, he obtained no additional information ; and, believing it
needless to continue the search, he went back to Mexico, where he
arrived before the end of the year.f
The land forces, despatched at the same time towards the north-
west, were composed of cavalry and infantry, and were accompanied
by priests, for the conversion of the natives to Christianity. They
were commanded by Francisco Vaz(juez de Coronado, a man of
resolute and serious character, and by no means disposed to exag-
gerate, who had been appointed governor of New Galicia, in place
of Nuno de Guzman. His letter to the viceroy,J containing
accounts of the first period of the expedition, though wanting in
precision, is yet sJifficiently exart to aftbrd a general idea of the
direction in which he marched, and even of the position of some of
the principal places which he visited.
* In honor of the viceroy, who bore on his arms an imago of J\'ucstra Senora de
Buena Guia.
t Letter of Alarcon to the viceoy Mondo/a, in Ramuaio, vol. iii. p. 303, and in
Haklnyt, vol. iii. p. 50u. See, also, Herrcra, Decade vi. p. 'M6.
The Californian Gulf had thus been completely explored, as appears not only
from the accounts of the voyages of UUoa and Alarcon, but also from a chart of the
coasts of California, and the west coast of Mexico, drawn, in ir)41, by Domingo del
Castillo, Alarcon's pilot, of which an engraved /rtc-.v//H«7c may be found in the edition
of the Letters of Cortes, published at Mexico, in 177(1, by Archbishop Lorenzana.
The shores of the gulf, and of the west side of California, to the 30th degree of lati-
tude, are there delineated with a surprising approach to accuracy. The pilot doubt-
less derived his information chiefly from the journals of Ulloa, which were sent back
in the Santa Agueda, and were seized, by order of the viceroy, immediately on the
arrival of that vessel in Mexico.
t Ramuflio, vol. iii. p. 300. Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 447.
•f'i
:: A
■Sn ^'
Ml
m
62
CIBOLA.
[1540.
hi
Agreeably to this letter, the Spaniards left Culiacan on the 22(1
of April, 1540, and took their way towards the north, following, as
well as they could, the course described by the friar : but, ere they
had proceeded far, they had abundant evidences of the incorrect-
ness of the accounts of that personage ; for the route which he had
represented as easy and practicable, proved to be almost inipa'*sable.
They, however, made their way over mountains and deserts, and
through rivers, and, at length, in July, they reached the country of
the seven cities, for which Cibola a]>|)eared to be the general name ;
but, to their disappointment, it proved to be only a half-cultivated
region, thinly inhabited by people not absolutely savage, though
destitute of the wealth and rctinement attributed to them by B'riar
Marcos. The seven great cities were seven small towns, some of
them, indeed, containing large houses of stone, rudely built, and un-
ornamented. Of fruits there were none, except such as grew wild ;
and the immense quantities of precious metals and stones were
merely "a (cw tunjuoises. and some gold and silver, supposed to be
good. In tine," says Vazciuez de Coronado, in his letter to the
viceroy, "' of the seven cities, and the kingdoms and provinces of
which the reverend father provincial made a report to your excel-
lency, he spoke the truth in nothing ; for we have found all to be
quite the contrary, except only as to the houses of stone." The
Spaniards, nevertheless, took possession of the country, in due form,
for their sovereign ; and, being pleased with its soil and climate,
they entreated their connnander to allow them to remain and settle
there. To this inglorious proposition V a7.(jue7, refused to consent ;
and, having despatclied his letter to Mendoza. from one of the cities
of Cibola, named by him Granada, he took his departure, with his
forces, for the north-west, in search of other new countries.
From the descriptions of the position, climate, productions, and
animals, of Cibola, given by Vazquez de Coronado, there is some
reason for believing it to be the region near the great dividii „
chain of mountains, east of the northernmost part of the Gulf of
California, about the head-waters of the Rivers Yaqui and Gila,
which fall into that arm of the Pacific. This |)art of America, now
called Sonora, (a corruption of iSenora,) though long siuce settled by
the Spaniards, is little known to the inhabitants >^'{ other countries.
It is described, by those who have recently visited it, as a most
delightful, productive, and salubrious region, containing innumerable
mines of silver and gold, among which are some of the richest in
the world. There are, moreover, in that territory, many collections
1540—1543.]
QUIVIRA.
63
lUfc*
o
If of
iila,
Inovv
jlby
Iries.
most
lahle
It ill
lions
of ruins of laii^o stone buildinijrs, which were found in their present
state by the first Spanish settlers, and are called casus grandes ih
las Aztcques, (great houses of the Aztecks.) from the supposi-
tion or tradition that they were built by that people before tiieir
invasion of Mexico.* Vazquez de Coronado, indeed, remarks that
the inhabitants of Cibola, though not wanting in intelligence, did
not appear to be capable of erecting the houses which he saw there.
Of the movements of the Spaniards, after they quitted Cibola,
in August, 1540, the accounts are so vague and contradictory, that
it is im|)ossible to trace their route. It seems, however, that the
greater part of the forces soon returned to Mexico ; while the others,
under their commander, wandered, for nearly two years longer,
through the interior of the continent, in search of a country called
Qitlviro, said, by the Indians, to be situated far in the north, and to
be governed by " a king named Tatarrax, with a long beard, hoary-
liradod, and rich, who worshipped a cross of gold, and the image
of the Ciueen of Heaven.'' f This country they found near the 40th
degree of latitude : but the people had no other wealth than skins ;
and their king, though hoary-headed, possessed no jewels, •• save one
of copper, hanging about his neck." (luivira is described as a level
territory, covered with herds of l)ut^aloes, which form the whole
su[)i)ort of the inhabitants; and. if its latitude has been correctly
reported, it is most probably the region about the head-waters of the
Arkansas and Platte lliv(M"s ; though (lomara places it near the sea,
and says that the Spaniards saw ships on the coast, laden with
Kast India goods. Vaz(]nez had. probably, before leaving Quivira,
learned the true value of Indian accounts of rich countries ; and,
not deeming it advisable to pur;uie the search for them any longer,
he returned to Mexico in 151.'}.
During the absence of Vaz(]uez de Coronado, the great arma-
ment, destined for the (>xi)loration and concjuest of the north-western
territories, imder Pedro de Alvarado, was pi-(>pnred ; but, just as
the expedition was about to be commenced, a rebellion broke out
among the Indians of Xalisco, and all the forces at the viceroy's
disposal were reqinnul to (piell it. In the campaign which ensued,
in the summer of 1541 , Alvarado was killed by a kick from a horse ;
and Mendoza's expectations of advantage from the north-west
regions were, in the mean time, so much lowercfi, that he resolved
to reduce the scale of his expeditions for discovery in that quarter.
i^
■il
I
4 II
i
• Hardy's Travels in Mexico, from lH2c> to 1H28.
t Gomara, chap. 213.
f
i :li
Ivl
64
VOYAGE OF CABRILLO.
[1542, 1543.
The disturbances being, at length, ended, in the spring of 1542, two
vessels were placed under the command of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo,
a Portuguese of high reputation as a navigator, wlio was directed
to examine the western side of California, as far northward as pos-
sible, seeking particularly for rich corntries, and for passages leading
towards the Atlantic ; while Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, a relation of
the viceroy, was sent, with the rcmamder of the disposable vessels
and forces, across the Pacific, to endeavor to form establishments in
India.
The two vessels under Cabrillo sailed together from Navidad, a
small port in Xalisco, in June. 1542; and, having in a few days
doubled Cape San Lucas, tlio survey of the west coast of California
was begun from that point. It would be needless to endeavor to
trace the progress of Cabrillo along this coast, or to enumerate the
many capes and bays mentioned in the account of his voyage,
nearly all of which places, so far as they can be identified, are now
distinguished by names entirely ditTerent from those bestowed on
them by him. By the middle of August, he had advanced beyond
the limits of the supposed discoveries of Ulloa ; and, in November,
after having examined the coast as far north as the 88th degree of
latitude, he was driven back, and forced to take refuge in a harbor
Island of Sail
the main land,
under the 34th parallel. There Cabrillo, who had been for some
time sick, sank under the fatigues of the voyage, on rhe .3d of
January, 1'^^'^. leaving the command to the pilot, Bartolome Ferrelo.
The new commander, being no less zealous and determined than
his predecessor, resolved, if possible, to accomplish the main objects
of the expedition before returning to Mexico. He accordingly,
soon after, sailed from Port Possession towards the north, and, on
the 26th of February, reached a promontory situated under the 41st
parallel, to which he gave the name of Cabo dc Fortunes, (Cape
of Perils, or Stormy Cape,) from the dangers encountered in its
vicinity. On the 1st of March, the ships were in the latitude of
44 degrees, as determined by a solar observation ; but, on the fol-
lowing day, they were again driven to the south ; and, the men
being, at this time, almost worn out, by long exposure to cold and
fatigue, without sufficient food or clothing, Ferrelo determined to go
back to Mexico. The ships, therefore, quitted the Isle of Cedars,
discovered by Ulloa, in the beginning of April, and, on the 14th of
that month, they arrived at Navidad.
named by him Port Possession, situated in the
Bernardo, one of the Santa Barbara group, near
m
1543.]
EXPEDITION OF SOTO.
65
From *he accounts of this expedition which have been preserved,
it is not ea y to determine precisely how far north the American
coast was discovered. The most northern point of land mentioned
in those accounts is the Cape of Perils, which, though there placed
under the 41st parallel, was probably the same soon after called
Cape Mendocino, in the latitude of 40 degrees 20 minutes. Other
''uthors, however, whose opinions are entitled to respect, pronounce
the 43d parallel to be the northern limit of the discoveries made by
the Spaniards in 1543.*
Whilst these expeditions to the north-western parts of America
were in progress, Hernando de Soto, and his band of Spanish
adventurers, were performing their celebrated march, in quest of
mines and plunder, through the regions extending north of the Gulf
of Mexico, which wero then known by the general name of Florida.
Without attempting here to trace the line of their wanderings,
suffice it to say, that they traversed, in various directions, the vast
territories now composing the Southern and South- Western States
of the American Federal Union, and descended the Mississippi in
boats, from the vicinity of the mouth of the Arkansas to the Mex-
ican Gulf, on which they continued their voyage, along the coast,
to Panuco. From the accounts of the few who survived the toils
and perils of that memorable enterprise, taken together with those
colioctcd by Cabeza-Vaca and Vazquez de Coronado, concerning
the territories which they had respectively visited, it was considered
certain that neither ivealthy nations, nor navigable passages of com-
munication between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, tcere to be
found north of Mexico, unless beyond the 40th parallel of latitude.
The Spaniards, having arrived at these conclusions, for some time
desisted from attempting to explore the north western section of
the continent ; and circumstances, meanwhile, occurred, which
impressed their government with the belief that the discovery of any
passage facilitating the entrance of European vessels into the Pacific,
would be deleterious to the power and interests of Spain in the New
World.
1<
V-\
m
Ki
■I n
men
and
to go
;dars,
thof
• Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes, p, 35. See, also, Burney's
History of Voyages in the Pacific, vol. i. p. 220.
9
66
CHAPTER II.
1543 TO 160G.
l|^ •
■HP
The Spaniards conquer the Philippine Islands, and establish a direct Trade across the
Pacific, between Asia and America — Measures of the Spanish Government to
pn • ent other European Nations from settlinij or trading in America — These
Measures resisted by the Englisii, the French, and tlie Dutdi — Free Traders and
Freebooters infest the West Indies — First Voyages of the English in the Pacific —
Voyages of Drake and Cavendish — Endeavors of the English to discover a North-
West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific — False Reports of the Discovery
of such Passages — Supposed Voyages of Urdaiieta, Maldonado, and Fonte —
Voyage of Juan do Fuca — Expeditions of Sebiistian Vizcaino — Supposed Dis-
covery of a great Iliver in North- West America.
Whilst the Spaniards were thus extending their dominion in
the New World, the Portuguese were daily acquiring advantages
in India, with which they carried on a profitable trade, by means of
their ships sailing around the Cape of Good Hope. The Spaniards,
viewing this increase of the power of their rivals with jealousy and
hatred, made many endeavors, likewise, to form establishments in
Asia ; but all their expeditions for that purpose before the middle
of the sixteenth century, terminated disastrously. The armaments
sent from Spain to India under Loyasa, in 1 525, and from Mexico,
under Saavedra, in the ensuing year, were entirely ineffective. In
154-2, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos crossed the Pacific with a large
squadron from Mexico, and took possession of the Philippine Islands
for his sovereign ; but his forces were soon after dispersed, and
none of his vessels returned eith( f- to Europe or to America.
In 1564, the Spaniards made another attempt to gain a footing
in the East Indies, which was successful. The Philippine Islands
were in th^t yea' « ibjugated by Miguel de Legazpi, who had been
despatched from Mexico with a small squadron for the purpose ;
and a discov< ry was also made in the course of this expedition,
without which the conquest would have been of no value. Before
that period, no European had ever crossed the Pacific from Asia to
America; all who had endeavored to make such a voyage having
confined themselves to the part of the ocean between the tropics
1564.] IMPROVEMENTS IN THE NAVIGATION OP THE PACIFIC. 67
where the winds blow constantly from eastern points. Three of
Le^iazpi's vessels, however, under the direction of Andres de
Urdaneta, a friar, who had in early life accompanied Magellan in
his expedition, and had subsequently acquired great reputation as
a navigator, by taking a northward course from the Philippine
Islands, entered a region of variable winds, near the 40th parallel
of latitude, and were thus enabled to reach the coast of California,
along which the prevailing north-westers carried them speedily to
Mexico.
The Spaniards thus gained, what they had so long coveted, a
position in the East Indies ; and the practicability of communicating,
by way of the Pacific, between Asia and America, was placed
beyond a doubt. At the same time, also, Juan Fernandes discov-
ered the mode of navigating between places on the west coast of
South America, by standing out obliquely to a distance from the
continent ; and other improvements of a similar kind having been
moreover introduced, the Spanish commerce on the Pacific soon
became important. Large ships, called galleons, sailed annually
from Acapulco to Manilla, in the Philippine Islands, and to Macao,
in China, laden with precious metals and European merchandise, in
return for which they brought back silks, spices, and porcelain, for
consumption in America, or for transportation over the Atlantic to
Europe ; while an extensive trade in articles equally valuable was
carried on between Panama and the various ports of Peru and
Chili. These voyages on the Pacific were usually long, but com-
paratively safe, at least so far as regards exemption from injury by
winds and waves, though the crews of the vessels often suffered
dreadfully from scurvy occasioned by filth and want of good water
and provisions ; * and, as that ocean remained for some years undis-
turbed by the presence of enemies of Spain, little care or cost was
bestowed upon the defence, either of the vessels or of the towns on
the coasts.
The galleons, proceeding from Mexico to India, were wafted, by
the invariable easterly or trade winds, directly across the ocean, in
about three months ; in the return voyage, they often occupied
more than double that lime, and they always made the west coast
of California, the principal points on which thus became tolerably
well known before the end of the sixteentli century. Accounts of
■f M
m
* For accounts of the miseries of a voyage from Manilla to Acapulco, in 1697, see
Gemelli Carrcri's narrative, in the fourth volume of Churchill's collection of voyages,
which, if not true, is very like truth.
i-i
63
VOYAGE OF OALI.
[1584.
i
; I
some of these voyages have been preserved, but they are of little
value at present, from their want of precision. One of them is a
letter from Francisco Gali, addressed to the viceroy of Mexico,
describing his passage from Macao to Acapulco, in 1584, in the
course of which he sailed along the west coast of America, from the
latitude of thirty-seven and a half degrees southward to Mexico.*
It has, however, been maintained, on the evidence of papers found
in the archives of the Indies,! that Gali arrived on that coast in the
latitude of fifty-seven and a half degrees, and is therefore to be
considered as the discoverer of the whole shore between that par-
allel and the forty-third: but this assertion is supported by no
evidence sufficient to overthrow the express statement of the
navigator in his letter, the genuineness of which is not denied ; and
Gali, moreover, there declares that the land first seen by him was
" very high and fair, and tvholly without snotv,^' which could not
have been the case with regard to the north-west coast of America,
under the parallel of fifty-seven and a half degrees, in the middle
of October. In 1595, Sebastian Cermenon, in the ship San
Augustin, on his way from Manilla to Acapulco, examined the
same coasts, by order of the viceroy of Mexico, in search of some
harbor in which the galleons might take refuge, and make repairs,
or obtain water ; but nothing has been preserved respecting his
voyage, except that his ship was lost near the Bay of San Francisco,
south of Cape Mendocino.
The Spanish government was, in the mean time, engaged in
devising, and applying to its dominions in the New World, those
measures of restriction and exclusion, which were pursued so
rigidly, and with so little variation, during the whole period of its
supremacy in the American continent. The great object of this
system was simply to secure to the nnjiiarch and people of Spain
the entire enjoyment of all the advantages which were supposed to
be derivable from those dominions, consistently with the perpetual
maintenance of absolute authority over them ; and, for this object, it
* In Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 526 tlip lotter from Gali to the vicoroy is given at length,
as "translated out of the original Spanish into Dutch, by John Huyghen Van
Linschoten, and out of Dutch into English." In Linschoten, as in Hakluyt, thirty-
seven and a half degrees is given as the northernmost part of the coast seen by Gali.
t See tlie note in the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes, at page
46, in which two letters from the viceroy of Mexico to the king of Spain, relative
to the voyage of Gali, are mentioned ; but the account there given differs in nothing,
except as to the latitude, from that in the letter published by Linschoten and Hak-
luyt. Humboldt adopts the opinion of the author of the Introduction, without,
however, adding any information or reasoning on the subject.
1570.]
SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF AMERICA.
69
was deemed expedient not only to exclude the subjects of other Euro-
pean states from the territories claimed by Spain, — that is, from the
whole of the New World except Brazil, — but also to prevent the
rapid development of the resources of the Spanish provinces them-
selves.* In these views the Spaniards have not been singular ; but
no other power, in modern times, has employed measures so extreme
in fulfilling them. Thus no Spaniard could emigrate to America,
no new settlement could be formed there, and no new country or
sea could be explored, without the express permission of the sov-
ereign ; and, when expeditions for discovery were made, the results
were often concealed, or tardily and imperfecMy promulgated. No
article could be cultivated or manufactured for commerce in Amer-
ica, which could be imported from Spain ; and no intercourse could
be carried on between the difterent great divisions of those posses-
sions, or between either of them and the mother country, except in
vessels belonging to or sjiecially licensed by the government, or
otherwise under its immediate supervision. With the rest of the
world, the Spanish Americans could have no correspondence ; and
all foreigners were prohibited, under pain of death, from touching
the territories claimed by Spain, and even from navigating the seas
in their vicinity. '• Whoever," says Hakluyt, at the end of the
sixteenth century, " is conversant with the Portugal and Spanish
writers, shall find that they account all other nations for pirates,
i'l
»ngth,
Van
^hirty-
Gali.
page
blative
(thing,
Hak-
tthout,
* The Spanish dominions in America, togetlier with tlie Canary and the Philippine
Islands, formed one empire, called the Indies, of which the king of Spain was, ex
officio, the sovereign. Tiie territories were divided into great sections, or kingdoms,
each entirely indcpiMident of the others, except in cortain prescribed contingencies;
the general direction of the whole being committed to the Supreme Council of the
Indies, a special ministry, residing in the palace of the king, in whose name all its
orders were issued. The larger kingdoms of the Indies were under the immediate
government of riceroys, representing the authority and person of the sovereign ; the
others were governed by captains-general, or by presidents, whose powers were
more limited. All these high oHicers were, however, kept in check by the courts
called .iudiencias, resembling the Supreme Council in their organization and
attributes, one or two of which were established in each kingdom. The commerce
of those countries was under the superintendence of a board, called the House of
Contracts of the Indies, sitting'at Seville, to and from which port all expeditions, from
and to America, were, for a long time, obliged to pass.
The laws and regulations of the Supreme Council were, from time to time, revised ;
and those which were to remain in force were published in a collection entitled the
Rccopilacion de Leijes de Indias, (Compilation of Laws of the indies,) containing
the rules for the conduct of all the otHcers of the government. The provisions of
this celebrated code are, in general, remarkable for their justice and humanity ; the
enforcement of them, being, however, left to those who had no direct interest in the
prosperity and advancement of the country, was most shamefully neglected.
■ 'il
m
m
Eu
w i
^11:
I
W
»•
n
70
FREE TRADERS AND FRERHOOTERS.
[1570.
rovers, and thieves, which visit any hcathtMi coast that they have
sailed by or looked on."
Against these exclusive regulations the English and the French
at first murmured and protested, and then began to act. The
English government, having thrown oil' its allegiance to the head of
the Roman Catholic church, denied the validity of the Spanish
claims founded on the papal concessions, and itii^uired from Spain
the recognition of the rights of Englishmen to a a igate any part of
the ocean, to settle in any country not occupied by another Chris-
tian nation, and to trade with the Spanish American provinces.
These demands having been resisted, Queen Elizabeth * openly, as
well as covertly, encouraged her subjects, even in time of peace, to
violate regulations which she pronounced unjustifiable and inhuman ;
and the Gulf of Mexico and the West Indian seas were, in conse-
quence, haunted by bands of daring English, who, under the
equivocal denominations of free traders and freebooters, set at
defiance the prohibitions of the Spaniards, as to commerce and
territorial occupation, and plundered their ships, and the towns on
their coasts. About the same time, the French Protestants began
their attempts to plant colonies in Florida and Carolina, which were
not defeated without considerable expenditure of Spanish blood and
treasure ; and the revolt in the Netherlands, which ended in the
liberation of the Dutch provinces, soon after produced a formidable
addition to the forces of these irregular enemies of Spain. The
efforts of the English, and of their government, to establish com-
merce with the Spanish dominions in America, Imve, in fact, been
the principal causes or motives of nearly all the wars between those
nations since the middle of the sixteenth century. In these efforts
the English hive constantly persevered ; and the Spanish govern-
ment has resolutely opposed them, during peace, during war, and
* Queen Elizabeth's reply to the Spanish ambassador, who complained of the
plunder of one of his povereign's vessels by the English, in the West Indies, during
pi'ace between tho two nations, is characteristic of her disposition, as well as reason-
able. She said " that the Spaniards had drawn these inconveniences upon themselves,
by their severe and unjust dealings in their American commerce; for she did not
understand why either her subjects, or those of any other European prince, should
be debarred from traffic in the Indies ; that, as she did not acknowledge the Spaniards
to have any title, by donation of the bishop of Rome, so she knew no right they had
to any places other than those they were in actual possession of; for that their
having touched only here and there upon a coast, and given niimes to a few rivers
c capes, were such insignificant things as could in no ways entitle them to a pro-
priety farther than in the parts where they actually settled, and continued to inhabit."
— Camden's Annals of Queen Elizabeth's Reign, for 1580.
1570.]
ALARMS AND PH0IIIBITI0N9 OF THE SPANIARDS.
71
bf the
oven during alliance between the two powers, until the last moment
of the existence of the Spanish authority in the American continent.
Could Spain have so long retained the possession of her colonies
in America, if she had adopted any other system with regard to
them?
The Pacific was, for some years, preserved from the ravages of
these daring adventurers, by the dread of the difficulties and
dangers attending the passage of vessels into that ocean, from the
Atlantic, through the Strait of Magellan ; and the Spanish govern-
ment began to regard us bulwarks of defence those natural
obstacles to maritime intercourse between Europe and the
western sidr of America, to remove or counteract which so many
efforts had been previously made. Thenceforward, the expeditions
of the Spaniards, in search of new channels connecting the two
oceans, were undertaken only with the object of securing the
passage, if it should be f' i, against the vessels of other
nations ; and the heaviest peiiultics were denounced against all
persons who should attempt, or even propose, to form artificial
comnmnications by canals across the continent.* These circum-
stances, on the other hand, served to stimulate the enemies
of Spain in their endeavors to discover easier routes to the Pacific ;
to efTect which, the Dutch and the English navigators perseveringly
labored, during the latter years of the sixteenth and the beginning
of the seventeenth centuries.
In the mean time, the reports of the extent and value of the
Spanish commerce on the Pacific, and of the wealth accumulated
in the towns on the American coasts of that ocean, overcame all
the fears of the English, who at length spread their sails on its
waters, and carried terror and desolation along its coasts.
* Alcedo, in his Geographical and Historical Dictionary of the West Indies, under
the head Isthmus, says, " In tl.? time of Philip II., it was proposed to cut a canal
through the Isthmus of Panama, for the passage of ships from one ocean to the
uthor ; and two Flomisii engineers were sent to examine the place, with that object.
They, however, found the obstacles insuperable ; and the Council of the Indies at
the same time represented to the king the injuries which such a canal would occasion
to the monarchy ; in consequence of which, his majesty decreed that no one should
in future attempt, or even propose, such an undertaking, under pain of death."
The same author, speaking of the River Jitrato, in New Granada, emptying into
the Atlantic, — between which and the San Juan, falling into the Pacific, it was also
proposed to make a canal, — says, " The Atrato is navigable for many leagues ; but
all persons are forbidden, under pain of death, from navigating it, in order to prevent
the injuries which New Grenada would sustain, from the facility thus afforded for
entering it$ territory."
11
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72
VOYAGE OF DRAKE.
[1577.
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The first irruption of the EngHsh into the Pacific was made in
1575, by a party of freebooters under John Oxenham, who crossed
the isthmus a little west of Panama, and, having then built a vessel
on the southern side, took many valuable prizes before any attempt
could be made, by the Spaniards, to arrest their progress. They,
however, in a few months, fell successively into the hands of their
enemies, and were nearly all executed with ignominy at Panama.
Their fall was, three years afterwards, signally avenged by another
body of their countrymen, under the command of the greatest
naval captain of the age. It is scarcely necessary to say that this
captain could be no other than Francis Drake, of whose celebrated
voyage around the world — the first ever performed by one crew in
one vessel — an account will be here given, as he, in the course
of it, visited the north-west side of America, and is supposed,
though erroneously, as will be proved, to have made important
discoveries in that quarter.
Drake sailed from Plymouth on the 13th of December, 1577,
with five small vessels, which had been procured and armed by
himself and other private individuals in England, ostensibly for
a voyage to Egypt, but really for a predatory cruise against the
dominions and subjects of Spain. The governments of England
and Spain were then, indeed, at peace with each other : but mutual
hatred, arising from causes already explained, prevailed between the
two nations ; and the principles of general law or morals were not,
at that period, so refined as to prevent Queen Elizabeth from favor-
ing Drake's enterprise, with the real objects of which she was well
acquainted.
For some months after leaving England, Drake roved about the
Atlantic, without making any prize of value : he then refitted his
vessels at Port San Julian, on the eastern coast of Patagonia ; and
he succeeded in conducting three of them safely through the dread-
ed Strait of Magellan, into the Pacific, which he entered in Sep-
tember, 1578. Scarcely, however, was this accomplished, ere the
little squadron was dispersed by a storm ; and the chief of the
expedition was left with only a schooner of a hundred tons' burden,
and about sixty men, to prosecute his enterprise against the power
and wealth of the Spaniards on the western side of America.
Notwithstanding these disheartening occurrences, Drake did not
hesitate to proceed to the parts of the coast occupied by the Span-
iards, whom he found unprepared to resist him, either on land or on
He accordingly plundered their towns and ships with little
out the
ted his
l; and
dread-
n Sep-
ere the
of the
urden,
power
•
lid not
Span-
or on
Lh little
1579.]
VOTAGE OF DRAKE.
78
difficulty ; and so deep and lasting was the impression produced by
his achievements, that, for more than a century afterwards, his name
was never mentioned in those countries without exciting feelings of
horror and detestation.
At length, in the spring of 1579, Drake, having completed his
visitation of the Spanish American coasts, by the plunder of the
town of Guatulco, on the south side of Mexico, and filled his vessel
with precious spoils, became anxious to return to England ; but,
having reason to expect that the Spaniards would intercept him,
if he should attempt to repass Magellan's Strait, he resolved to
seek a northern route to the Atlantic. Accordingly, on quitting
Guatulco, he steered west and north-west, and, having sailed in
those directions about 1400 leagues, he had, in the beginning of
June, advanced beyond the 42d degree of north latitude, where
his men, being thus " speedily come out of the extreme heat, found
the air so cold, that, being pinched with the same, they complained
of the extremity thereof." He had, in fact, reached the part of
the Pacific, near the American coasts, where the winds blow con-
stantly and violently, during the summer, from the north and north-
west, accompanied, generally, by thick fogs, which obscure the
heavens for many days, and even weeks, in succession ; and, find-
ing these difficulties increase, as he went farther, " he thought it
best, for that time, to seek the land." He accordingly soon made
the American coast, and endeavored to approach it, so as to anchor ;
but, finding no proper harbor there, he sailed along the shore south-
ward, until the 17th of the month, when " it pleased God to send
him into a fair and good bay, within 38 degrees towards the line." *
In this bay the English remained five weeks, employed in re-
fitting their vessel, and obtaining such supplies for their voyage
as the country oflered. The natives, " having their houses close by
the water's side," at first exhibited signs of hostility : but they
were soon conciliated by the kind and forbearing conduct of the
strangers ; and their respect for Drake increased, so that, when
they saw him about to depart, they earnestly prayed him to con-
tinue among them as their king. The naval hero, though not
disposed to undertake, in person, tho duties of sovereignty over a
* These quotations are from the Famous Voyage of Sir Francis Drake, by Francis
Pretty, one of the crew of Drake's vessel, written at the request of Hakluyt, and
published by him in 1589. It is a plain and succinct account of what the writer taw,
or believed to have occurred, during the voyage, and bears all the marks of troth
and authenticity.
10
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74
NEW ALBION.
■M I
Fr ( f*4'
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[1579.
tribe of naked or skin-clad savages, nevertheless " thought not
meet to reject the crown, because he knew not what honor or profit
it might bring to his own country ; whereupon, in the name, and
to the use, of her majesty Queen Elizabeth, he took the crown,
sceptre, and dignity, of the country into his own hands, wishing
that the riches and treasure thereof might be so conveniently
transported, for the enriching her kingdom at home." The coro-
nation accordingly took place, with most ludicrous solemnities,
which are gravely described with minuteness, in the accounts of the
voyage ; and Drake, having assumed the dignity and title of Hioh,
bestowed on his dominions the name of ^'ew Albion.
The vessel having been refitted, Drake erected on the shore a
pillar, bearing an inscription, commemorating the fact of this
cession of sovereignty ; and, on the 22d of July, he took leave of
his new-made subjects, to their great regret. Having, however, by
this time, abandoned all idea of seeking a northern passage to the
Atlantic, he sailed directly across the Pacific, to the vicinity of the
Philippine Islands; and thence, pursuing the usual course of the
Portuguese, through the Indian Seas, and around the Cape of Good
Hope, he arrived at Portsmouth, with his booty undiminished, on
the 26th of September, 1580.
With regard to the harbor on the North Pacific side of America,
in which Drake repaired his vessel, nothing can be learned from the
accounts of his expedition which have been j)ublished, except that it
was situated about the 38th degree of latitude, and that a cluster of
small islets lay in the ocean, at a short distance from its mouth ; and
this description will apply equally to the great Bai/ of San Francisco,
and to the small Bay of Bodega, a few leagues farther north.
As to tlie extent of the portion of the north-west coast of
America seen by Drake, considerable diflfercnce of opinion exists.
In the earliest, and, apparently, the most authentic, account of the
expedition,* the vessel is represented as being in the 4JM degree of
latitude, on the 5th of June, about which day it was determined to
seek the land ; but when, and under what parallel of latitude, the
American coast was first seen, is not stated. In another account,
compiled long after the period of the voyage, it is said that the
vessel was in latitude of 42 degrees on the 3d of June, and that,
on the 5th of the same month, she anchored near the shore, in a
" bad bay," in latitude of 48 degrees, from which being soon driven
* The Famous Voyage, by Pretty.
MP :
'mi
1579.] PART OF THE NORTH-WEST COAST SEEN BV DRAKE. 75
by the violence of the winds, she ran along the coast southward, to
the harbor near the 38th degree, where she was refitted.'*
Thus the two accounts are at variance, with regard to the vessel's
position on the 5th of June, on or about which day, it is most
probable, from both, that the land was first seen. Hakluyt, who
seems to have taken great interest in the geography of the North
Pacific coasts of America, and to have endeavored to obtain the
most correct information as to the occurrences of Drake's voyage,
gives the 43d degree of latitude, in several parts of his works, as
tJje limit of his countrymen's discoveries in that quarter ; and
Purchas, in his Pilgrims, first published in 1617, declares expressly
that " Sir Francis Drake sailed, on the otjjer side of America, to 43
degrees, and, with cold, was forced to retire."
On the contrary, the famous navigator John Davis, in his
World's Hydrographicul Discovery, published in 1595, asserted
that, "after Sir Francis Drake was entered into the South Sea,
he coasted all the western shores of America, until he came into
the septentrional latitude of 48 degrees ; " and Sir William Mon-
son, another great naval authority of the following century, says,
in his Naval Tracts, 'From the 16th of April to the 15th of
June, Drake sailed, without seeing land, and arrived in 48 degrees,
thinking to find a i>assage into our seas, which land he named
New Albion.'''' The opinion of Davis cannot, however, be received
as of much value ; for it is by no one rise pretended, that Drake
saw any part of the west coast of America, between Guatulco, near
the 16th degree, and the harbor in which he refitted his ship, near
the 38th : and, unfortunately for Sir William Monson's consistency,
he maintains, in other parts of his Tracts, that '• Cape Mendocino
(near the 40th parallel) is the farthest land discovered," and " the
farthermost known land." Burney, who has examined the question
at length, in his History of Voyages in the South Sea, pronounces
that " the part of the coast discovered by Drake is to be reckoned
as beginning immediately to the north of Cape Mendocino, and
extending to 48 degrees of north latitude ; " considering as explicit
on the subject the statement in the latter of the two accounts of the
* Tho World Encompassotl by Sir Francis Drake, collpc-ted out of the Notrs of
Mr. Frannis Fletcher, Preacher, in this F.mploynient, and compared with divers others'
Notes that went in the same Voyage. It was first published in Xii'i'^, and may be
found entire in Osborne's Collection of Voyages, vol. ii. p. 434. It is long and
diffuse, and is filled with speculations, most probably by the compiler, on various
subjects ; yet it contains scarcely a single fact not related in the Famous Voyage,
from which many sentences and paragraphs are taken, verbatim, while others convey
the s.ame meaning in different words.
:-i!iE|
76 PART OF THE NORTH-WEST COAST SEEN BY DRAKE. [1579.
i- ''
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voyage* above cited, that the EngHsh "searched the coast dili-
gently, even into the 48th degree ; yet they found not the land to
trend so much as one point, in any place, toward the east." Bur-
ney, however, omits to notice the remainder of the sentence, —
" but rather running on continually north-west, as if it went directly
to meet with Asia," — which entirely destroys the value of the
evidence in the first part, as, in fact, the coast nowhere, between
the 40th and the 48th degrees of latitude, runs north-west, its
course being nearly due north.
On examining the two accounts of Drake's voyage, many cir-
cumstances will be found, in contradiction of the belief that the
English, in 1579, disco\ered the American coast as far north as the
48th degree of latitude. In the first place, it would be difficult,
if not impossible, for any vessel to sail, in two days, through six
degrees of latitude, northward, with the wind, as we are assured by
both accounts, blowing constantly and violently from the north and
north-west ; and much confidence cannot be placed on assertions as
to latitude, based on observations made in a vessel, on a stormy sea,
with imperfect instruments, and when the atmosphere was generally
charged with thick fogs. It is also to be observed, that the account
on which is founded the belief that Drake did reach the 48th
degree, contains statements, with respect to the intensity of the
cold in the North Pacific, so entirely at variance with the results of
universal experience, that they cannot be regarded as otherwise than
false. That men, suddenly transferred from the tropics to a region
north of the 40tli degree of latitude, should find the change of
temperature disagreeable, is consonant with reason ; but the asser-
tion that ropes were stilTcned by ice, and that meat, as soon as it
was removed from the fire, became frozen,* in any part of the
ocean between the 40th and the 48th parallels of north latitude, in
the month of June, must be condemned as an intentional untruth.
In conclusion, although there is no positive evidence that Drake
did not, in 1579, discover the north-west coast of America, to the
48th degree of latitude, yet, on the other hand, the assertion that
he did so, is not supported by sufficient evidence ; and, where origi-
nally made, it is accompanied by statements certainly erroneous, and
calculated to destroy the value of the whole testimony. It may be
admitted that the coast between the 43d and the 38th degrees was
seen by the English in 1579; but it is certain that this same coast
had been already seen, in 1543, by the Spaniards, under Ferrelo.
• The World Encompassed.
1578.]
CAVENDISH S EXPEDITION.
77
ie, in
iruth.
>rake
the
that
)rigi-
\, and
ly be
was
I coast
The success of Drake's enterprise encouraged other English
adventurers to attempt similar expeditions through the Straits of
Magellan ; and it stimulated the navigators of his nation in their
efforts to discover northern passages into the Pacific Ocean. Of
their predatory excursions, none were attended with success, except
that of the famous Thomas Cavendish, or Candish, who rendered
his name almost as terrible to the Spaniards as that of Drake, by
his ravages on the west coasts of America, during his voyage of
circumnavigation of the globe, in 1587. In this voyage. Cavendish
lay, for some time, near Cape San Lucas, the southern extremity
of California, and there captured the Manilla galleon Santa Anna,
on her way, with a rich cargo of East India goods, to Acapulco,
which he set on fire, after plundering her, and landing her crew on
the coast. The unfortunate Spaniards, thus abandoned in a desert
country, must soon have perished, had they not succeeded in
repairing their vessel, which was driven ashore near them, after the
extinction of the flames by a storm, and sailing in her to a port on
the opposite coast of Mexico. Among these persons were Juan
de Fuca and Sebastian Vizcaino, of each of whom much will be
said in this chapter.
About this time, the search for northern passages of communi-
cation between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans was begun bv
the English ; * and it was prosecuted at intervals, by the navigators
of that nation and of Holland, during nearly sixty years, after
which it was abandoned, or rather suspended. In the course of
the voyages undertaken for this object, eastward as well as west-
ward from the Atlantic, many ini))ortant geographical discoveries
and improvements in the art and science of navigation were
effected ; and the persons thus engaged acquired an honorable and
lasting reputation, by their skill, perseverance against difficulties,
and contempt of dangers. The Spanish government was, at the
same period, according to the direct testimony derived from its
official acts, and the accounts of its historians, kept in a state of
constant alarm, by these efforts of its most determined foes to
penetrate into an ocean of which it claimed the exclusive posses-
sion ; and the uneasiness thus occasioned was, from time to time,
increased, by rumors of the accomplishment of the dreaded
discovery.
These rumors were, for the most part, in confirmation of the
* The first voyage made from England, with the express object of seeking a north
west passage to the Pacific, was that of Martin Frobisher, in 1576.
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78
REPORTED DISCOVEKV OF URDANETA.
[1560.
existence of the passage calltMl the Strnit of Anian, joining the
Atlantic, under the (JOth parallel of north latitude, throu{,'h which
Cortereal was said to have sailed, in 1 500, into a ij;reat western sea ;
and those who pretended to have made northern voyages from either
ocean to the other, generally asserted that they had jiassed through
the Strait of Anian. The accoimts of all such voyages yet made
public are now known to be as false, with regard to the princl|)al
circumstances related, as those of the discovery of the philosopher's
stone and the elixir vita^, current at the same p<!riod in Europe ;
and the former, like the latter, had their origin, generally, in the
knavery or the vanity of their authors, though some of them were
evidently mere fictions, invented for the purpose of exercising
ingeiuiity, or of testing the credulity of the public. But, as the
conviction of the possibility of transnuiting all otiier metals into
gold, and of prolonging life intletinitcly, led to the knowledge of
many of the most important facts in chemistry, so did the belief in
the existenc<! of a north-west p^assage from the Atlantic to the
Pacific serve to accelerate the progress of geographi(;al discovery
and scientific navigation.
Among those w ho were earliest beli(>ved to have accomplished
northern voyages from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or via; versa, was
the celebrated Friar Andres de L'rdaneta, the disc<nerer of the mode
of navigating the Pa»;ific from east to west. "One Salvatierra, a
gentleman of Victoria, in Spain, that came by chance out of the
West Irxlies into Ireland, in 1")()H,"* there assured Sir Tfumphrey
Gilbert and Sir Henry Sydney, that Urdaneta had, more than
eight years jmnious, told iiim, in Mexico, *• that he came from Mar
del Sur [the Pacific] into (icrmany through the northern passage,
and showed Salvatierra a sea-card, [chart,] made by his own expe-
rience and travel in that voyage, wherein was plainly set down and
described the north-west passage." This was, however, most proba-
bly, a falsehood or amplification on the j)art of Salvatierra, to induce
Sir Humphrey to employ him on a voyage which he then projected,
as nothing appears in the history or character of Urdaneta to justify
the belief that he would have made such a declaration. In the
archives of the Council of the Indies,f which have been examined
* " A Discourse to prove a Passage by the North-West to C'athaia [Cliina] and the
East Indies, l)y Sir lluiniihrey (Jilbert," first |)ul>Iished in ir>7(», and republished by
llakluyt, in liis " Voyages, Navifjations, Tratno.s, and Discoveries, of the English
Nation." See tlie reprint of Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. '.i2.
t Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes, p. 36.
IS,
l,'i| hi-
158S.]
PRKTKNDKO VOYAGE OF MALDONAOO.
79
iphrcy
than
ti Mar
lassatjo,
expe-
m and
proba-
I induce
hjoctod,
justify
in tlie
unined
and the
lllshed by
English
with reference to tliis matter, are many original papers l)y Urdaneta,
in which he mentions a report, tliat some Frenchmen had sailed
from the Atlantic, beyond th(^ 70th deforce of north latitude, through
a passage opening into the Pacific, near the 50th degree, and thence
to China; and he reconunends that measures should be taken,
without delay, to ascertain the truth of the report, and, if the
passage should be found, to establish fortifications at its mouth, in
order to prevent other nations from using it to the injury of
Spain.
In 1 574, an old pilot, named Juan Ladrillero, living at Colima,
in Mexico, pretended that he had, in his youth, sailed through a
passage, from the Atlantic, near Newfoundland, into the Pacific ;
and other assertions, to the same eft'ect, were made by various other
individuals, either from a desire to attract notice, or with the view
of obtaining emolument or employment.
The most celebrated fiction of this class is the one of which
Loren/.o Ferrer de Maldonado is the hero. This person, a Portu-
guese by birth, who had written some extravagant works on
geography and navigsition, and pretended to have discovered a
magnetic needle without variation, presented to the Council of the
Indies, in 1609, a memoir or narrative of a voyage from Lisbon to
the Pacific, through seas and channels north of America, which he
declared that he himself had accomplished in 1588, accompanied
by a petition that he should be rewarded for his services, and be
intrusted with the ronmiand of forces, to occupy the passage, and
defend its entrance against other nations. This proposition was
in; tantly rejected by the Council : but some of the papers relating
to it were retained ; and two manuscripts are now preserved, the
one in the library of the duke of Infantado, at Madrid, the other
in the Ambrosian library, at Milan, each purporting to be the origi-
nal memoir presented by Maldonado.
These papers are each entitled '• A Relation of the Discovery of the
Strait of Anian, made by me, Captain Lorenzo Ferrer de Maldonado,
in the Year 1588 ; in which is described the Course of the Navigation,
the Situation of the Place, and the Manner of fortifying it ; " and
their contents are nearly the same, except that the Milan paper
is, in some places, more concise than the other, from which it seems
to have been, in a manner, abridged. Upon the whole, there is
reason to believe the Madrid document to be a true copy of the
memoir presented by Maldonado ; though it has been pronounced,
by one who has examined the subject with much care, to be a
!,;i,]
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60
PllETENDEU VOYAGE OF MALUONADO.
[1588.
V
'41
■'ipl-
fabrication of a later date* Whether the fabrication, as it un-
doubtedly is, proceeded froin Muldoiuido, or from some other
person, is of no im|)ortunce at the present day. A few extracts
will serve to show its general character, and to bring to view the
opinions entertained in Euro|)e, during the seventeenUi century,
with regard to the northern parts of America.
After stating the advantages which Hpuin might derive from a
northern passage between the two oceans, and the injury which she
might sustain, were it left open to other nations, Muldonado proceeds
thus to describe the voyage : —
"Departing from Spain, — suppose from Lisbon, — the course
is north-west, for the distance of 450 leagues, when the ship will
have reached the latitude of 60 degrees, where the Island of
Friesland f will be seen, cominordy called File, or Fuk : it is an
island somewhat smaller than Ireland. Thence the course is west-
ward, on the parallel of (iO dcgre(;s, for 180 leagues, which will
bring the navigator to the la:ul of Labrador, where the strait of that
name, or Davis's Strait, begins, the entrance of which is very wide,
being somewhat more than 30 leagues : the land on the coast of
Labrador, which is to the west, is very low ; but the opposite side
of the mouth of the strait consists of very high mountains. Here
two openings appear, between which are these high mountains.
One of the passages runs east-north-east, and the other north-
west ; the one running east-north-east, which is on the right hand,
and looks towards the north, must be left, as it leads to Greenland,
and thence to the Sea of Friesland. Taking the other passage, and
steering north-west 80 leagues, the ship will arrive in the latitude
* See a review, supposed to be written by Harrow, of the manuscript found at
Milan by Carlo Amoretli, in th*- London Quarterly Review for October, 181G. A
translation of the most material parts of that paper may be found in Burney's
History of Voyages in the Pacific, vol. '>, p. 167. A translation of the whole of the
Madrid document, with copies of the maps and plans annexed to it, is given by
Barrow, at the conclusion of his Chronological History of Voyages in the Arctic
Regions. See, also, the Introduction to the Journal of Galiiino and Valdes. p. 49.
The reviewer above mentioned " suspects this pretended voyage of Maldonado to be
the clumsy and audacious forgery of some ignorant German, from tiie circumstance
of 15 leagues to the degree being used in some of the computations;" but the
courses are not laid down with so much exactness in the account, as to warrant the
assertion tliat 1.") leagu(>s are employed, instead of 17.J, which would have been the true
subdivision of the degree of latitude in Spanish leagues.
t An island of this name was long supposed to exist near the position here assigned
to it, on the faith of an apocryphal account of some voyages which were said to
have been made in the North Atlantic about the year 1400, by the brothers Antonio
and Nicolo Zeno, of Venice. F'ricsland has been, by some, considered as identical
with the Feroe Islands.
588.
1588.]
PRETENDED VOYAGE OF MALOOViDO.
81
t un-
olher
tracts
V the
itury,
rom a
;h she
jceeds
course
lip will
nd of
t is an
s West-
ell will
of that
y wide,
oast of
ite side
. Here
luntains.
north-
t hand,
onland,
<re, and
latitude
found at
liei6. A
Burnoy's
[)le of the
J given by
|he Arctic
J.-8, p. 49.
Lado to be
Innistance
but the
Irrant the
In the true
assigned
Ire said to
Antonio
identical
of 64 degrees. There, the strait takes another turn to the north,
continuing one hundred and twenty leagues, as far as the latitude
of 70 degrees, when it again turns to the north-west, and runs in
that direction ninety leagues, to the 75th degree of latitude, near
which the whole of the Strait of Labrador will have been passed ;
that is to say, the strait begins at 60 degrees, and ends at 75 de«
grees, being two hundred and ninety leagues in length, and having
three turns, the first and last of which run north-west and south-
east, and the middle one north and south, being sometimes narrower
than twenty leagues, and sometimes wider than forty, and contain-
ing many bays and sheltering places, which might be of service in
cases of necessity. #*##*##*
" Having cleared the Strait of Labrador, we began to descend
from that latitude, steering west-south-west, and south-west, three
hundred and fifty leagues, to the 71st degree of latitude, when we
perceived a high coast, without being able to discover whether it
was part of the continent, or an island ; but we remarked that, if it
were the continent, it must be opposite the coast of New Spain.
From this land we directed our course west-south-west four hundred
and forty leagues, until we came to the 60th degree, in which par-
allel we discovered the Strait of Anian. * # * #
" The strait which we discovered in 60 degrees, at the distance of
one thousand seven hundred and ten leagues from Spain, appears,
according to ancient tradition, to be that named by geographers, in
their maps, the Strait of Anion ; and, if it be so, it must be a strait
having Asia on the one side, and America on the other, which seems
to be the case, according to the following narration : —
" As soon as we had cleared the strait, we coasted along the shores
of America for more than one hundred leagues south-westward, to
the 55th degree of latitude, on which coast there were no inhab-
itants, nor any opening, indicating the vicinity of another strait,
through which the South Sea, flowing into the North, might insulate
that part ; and we concluded that all that coast belonged to
America, and that, continuing along it, we might soon reach Qui-
vira and Cape Mendocino. We then left this coast, and, sailing
towards the west four days, with the wind a-beam, so that we made
thirty leagues a day, we discovered a very high land, and continued
along the coast, from which we kept at a safe distance, always in the
open sea, sailing, at one time, to the north-east, at others towards
north-north-east, and again to the north, whence it seemed to us
that the coast ran north-east and south-west. We were unable
U
n
82
PRETENDED VOYAGE OF MALDONADO.
[1588.
"i^l
1 'i
to mark any particular pointn, on ncconnt of our distancn from
tho land ; and wc can, therefore, only affirm that it is inhabited,
nearly to the entrance of the strait, as we saw smoke rising up in
many places. This country, according to the charts, must belong to
Tartary, or Cathaia, [China ;] and at the distance of a few leagues
from the coast must be the famed city of Cambalu, the metropolis
of Tartary. Finally, having followed the direction of this coast,
we found ourselves at the entrance of the same strait of Anian,
which, fifteen days before, we had passed through to the open sea;
this we knew to be the South Sea, where arc situated Japan,
China, the Moluccas, India, New Guinea, and the land discovered
by Captain Quiros, with all the coast of New Spain and Peru. * *
"The Strait of Anian is fifteen leagues in length, and can
easily be passed with a tide lasting six hours ; for those tides
are very rapid. There are, in this length, six turns, and two
entrances, which lie north and south ; that is, bear from each other
north and south. The entrance on the north side (through which
we passed) is less than half a quarter of a league in width, and
on each side are ridges of high rocks ; but the rock on the side of
Asia is higher and steeper than the other, and hangs over, so that
nothing falling from the top can reach its base. The entrance into
the South Sea, near the harbor, is more than a quarter of a league
in width, and thence the passage runs in an oblique direction,
increasing the distance between the two coasts. In the middle of
the strait, at the termination of the third turn, is a great rock, and
an islet, formed by a rugged rock, three estadias [about one
thousand one hundred feetj in height, more or less ; its form is
round, and its diameter may be two hundred paces ; its distance
from the land of Asia is very little ; but the sea, on that side, is
full of shoals and reefs, and can only be navigated by boats. The
distance between this islet and the continent of America is less
than a quarter of a league in width ; and, although its channel is so
deep that two or even three ships might sail abreast through it, two
bastions might be built on the banks with little trouble, which
would contract the channel to within the reach of a musket shot.
"In the harbor in which our ship anchored, at the entrance of
the strait, on the south side, we lay from the beginning of April to
the middle of June, when a large vessel, of eight hundred tons'
burden, came there from the South Sea, in order to pass the strait.
Upon this, we put ourselves on our guard ; but, having come to an
understanding with her, I found them willing to give us some
I :
-i
1588.]
PRETENDED VOYAGE OF MALDONADO.
83
# *
is less
Id is so
it, two
which
\t shot.
|nce of
ipril to
tons'
strait,
to an
some
of their merchandise, the greater part of which consisted of articles
similar to those manufactured in China, such as brocades, silks, porce-
bin, feathers, precious stones, pearls, and gold. These people
seemed to bo Ilanseatics, who inhabit the Bay of St. Nicholas, or
the port of St. Michael, [Archangel, on the White Sea.] In order
to understand one another, we were forced to speak Latin, those of
our party who understood that language talking with ♦Iiosc on board
the ship who were also ac(|uainted with it. They did not seem to
be Catholics, but Lutherans. They said they came from a large city,
more than one hundred leagues from the strait ; and, though I cannot
exactly remember its name, I think tiiey called it Ro/ir, or somo
such name, which they said had a good harbor, and a navigable
river, and was subject to the great khan, as it belonged to Tarlary,
and that, in that port, they left another ship belonging to their
country. We could learn no more from them, ot they acted with
great caution, and little confidence, being afraid of our company ;
wherefore we parted from them, near the strait, in the North Sea,
and set sail towards Spain."
The preceding extracts, from a translation of the manuscript at
Madrid, will sutfice to show the course which the Portuguese pre-
tended to have taken, in 158d. The remainder of the |)aper is
devoted to descriptions of the supposed strait, and plans for its
occupation and defence by Spain ; nothing being said as to tlie
circumstances which induced the navigators to return to Europe by
the same route, instead of pursuing their course to some Spanish
port on the Pacific. It is needless to use any arguments to pnive
that no such voyage could have been ever made ; as we know that
the only connection by water between the Atlantic and the Pacific,
north of America, is through the Arctic Sea and Bering's Strait,
which latter passage is more than sixteen leagues in width, and is sit-
uated near the 65th degree of latitude. It has, however, been sug-
gested, and it is not iniprobable, that, before the period when
Maldonado presented his memoir to the Council of the Indies, some
voyage, of which we have no account, may have been made in the
North Pacific,* as far as the entrance of the gulf called Cook's
Inlet, and that this entrance, situated under the 60th parallel of
latitude, may have been supposed, by the navigator, to be the
western termination of the long-sought Strait of Anian.
The story certainly attracted considerable attention at the time
* Article on the north-west passage, in the Quarterly, for Oo.tober, 1816, above
mentioned.
I
'<\ !('')
•1,
•I'li
; i^ii
'■if!'
• ,<',i
Wi\
84
STORT OF THE VOYAGE OF FONTE.
[1640.
when it was put forth, and allusions are made to it by several
Spanish authors of the seventeenth century ; it had, however, been
entirely forgotten when the French geographer M. Buache, having
obtained a copy of the Madrid manuscript, endeavored to establish
the truth of the most material points, in a paper read by him before
the Academy of Sciences, at Paris, on the 13th of November,
1790. At his request, the archives of the Indies were examined,
in search of documents relating to the supposed voyage ; and the
commanders of Spanish ships, then employed in the surveying
the north-west coasts of America, were instructed to endeavor
to find the entrance of the Strait of Anian, near the 60th
degree of latitude. These endeavors proved vain, and the
name of Maldonado had again sunk into oblivion, when it was
again, in 1812, brought before the world by Signor Amoretti, of
Milan, who found, in the Ambrosian library, in that city, the man-
uscript already mentioned, and published a French translation of
it, with arguments in support of the truth of its contents. So far
as is known, the falsehoods of Maldonado have injured no one,
and they were ultimately productive of great good ; for it was
while engaged, by order of the Spanish government, in examining
the archives of the Indies respecting this pretended voyage, that
Navarrete found those precious documents, relating to the expedi-
tions of Columbus and other navigators of his day, which have thrown
so much light on the history of the discovery of the New World.
Similar good effects have been produced by the story of the
voyage of Admiral Pedro Bartolome de Fonte, from the Pacific
to the Atlantic, through lakes and rivers extending across North
America, wl 'ch may also be here mentioned, though it belongs
properly to a later period of the history ; as the voyage was said to
have been performed in 1640, and the account first appeared in a
periodical work entitled — Monthly Miscellany, or Memoirs of the
Curious — published at London, in 1708. This account is very
confused, and badly written, and is filled with absurdities and con-
tradictions, which should have prevented it from receiving credit at
any time since its appearance : yet, as will be shown, it was seri-us-
ly examined and defended, so recently as in the middle of the last
century, by eminent scientific men ; and some faith continued to
be attached to it for many years afterwards. So far as its details
can be understood, they are to the following effect : —
Admiral Fonte sailed from Callao, near Lima, in April, 1640,
with four vessels, under orders, from the viceroy of Peru, to repair
V^'
'1 I IH
1
1640.]
STORY OF THE VOYAGE OF F0NT£.
83
to the North Pacific, for the purpose of exploring its American
coasts, and of intercepting certain vessels which were reported to
have been equipped at Boston, in New England, in search of a
north-west passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. From Callao
he proceeded to Cape San Lucas, where he detached a vessel to
explore the Californian Gulf ; thence, continuing his voyage along
the west coast, he passed about two hundred and sixty leagues, in
crooked channels, among a collection of islands called by him the
Archipelago of St. Lazarus; and beyond them he found, under
the 53d degree of latitude, the mouth of a great river, which he
named Rio de los Reyes — River of Kings. Having despatched his
lieutenant, Bernardo, with one vessel, to trace the coast on the
Pacific farther north, he entered the great river, and ascended it
north-eastward, to a large lake, called, from the beauty of its
sliores, Lake Belle, containing many islands, and surrounded by a
fine country, the inhabitants of which were kind and hospitable.
On the south shore of the lake was the large town of Conasset,
where the admiral left his vessels ; thence he proceeded, (in what
manner he does not say,) with some of his men, down a river
called the Parmentier, flowing from Lake Belle eastward into
another lake, to which he gave his own name, and thence, through
a passage called the Strait of Ronquillo, in honor of one of his
captains, to the sea.
On entering the sea, the admiral learned, from some Indians,
'' that, a little way off*, lay a great ship, where there had never been
one before ; " and, on boarding her, he found only an old man and
a youth, who told him that they came from the town called Boston,
in New England. On the following day, the captain, named
Nicholas Shapley, arrived, with the owner of the ship, Seymour
Gibbons, "a fine gentleman, and major-general of the largest
colony in New England, called Maltechusetts,^^ between whom and
the admiral a struggle of courtesy was begun. The Spanish com-
mander had been ordered to make prize of any people seeking for
a north-west or a west passage ; but he would look on the Bosto-
nians as merchants, trading for skins ; so he made magnificent
presents to them all, and, having received, in return, their charts
and journals, he went back to his ships, in Lake Belle, and thence,
down the Rio de los Reyes, to the sea.
In the njean time, the lieutenant, Bernardo, had ascended another
river, called, by him, Rio de Haro, into a lake named Lake Velasco,
situated under the 6 1st degree of latitude, from which he went, in
^^1
■ m
.-ii
'V
ri
iMti:
r:- )
86
VOYAGE OF JUAN DE FUCA.
[1592
canoes, as far as the 79th degree, where the land was seen, '* still
trending north, and the ice rested on the land." He was also as-
sured "that there was no communication out of the Atlantic Sea by
Davis's Strait ; for the natives had conducted one of his seamen to
the head of Davis's Strait, which terminated in a fresh lake, of about
thirty miles in circumference, in the 80th degree of north latitude ;
and there were prodigious mountains north of it." These accounts,
added to his own observations, led Admiral Fonte to conclude " that
there was no passage into the South Sea by what they call the north-
west passage ; " and he accordingly returned, with his vessels,
through the Pacific, to Peru.
Such are the principal circumstances related in the account of
Admiral Fonte's voyage, which was, for some time after its appear-
ance, received as true, and copied into all works on Northern
America. In 1750, a French translation of the account, with a
chart drawn from it, and a memoir, in support of its correctness,
were presented to the Academy of Sciences of Paris by Messrs.
Delisle and Buache, in consequence of which, the various Spanish
repositories of papers respecting America were carefully examined,
in search of information on the subject ; and, in all the voyages of
discovery along the north-west coasts of the continent, during
the last century, endeavors were made to discover the mouth of the
Rio de los Reyes. These labors, however, were vain. The exist-
ence of a number of islands near the position assigned to the
Archipelago of St. Lazarus, and of a large river, (the Stikine,)
entering the ocean near the 56th parallel, indeed, seems to favor
the supposition that some voyage, of which we have no record,
may have been made to that part of the Pacific before 1708 ; but
the rivers and lakes through which Fonte was said to have passed —
his town of Conasset — and his Boston ship — are now generally
believed to have all emanated from the brain of James Petiver, a
naturalist of some eminence, and one of the chief contributors to
the Monthly Miscellany.
The account of the voyage and discoveries of Juan de Fuca, on
the north-western side of America, in 1592, was, for a long time,
considered as less worthy of credit than those above noticed. More
recent examinations in that part of the world have, however, caused
it to be removed from the class of fictions ; although it is certainly
erroneous as regards the principal circumstance related. All the
information respecting this voyage is derived from ^'A Note made by
Michael Lock, the elder, touching the Strait of Sea commonly called
J.'- f.
I
1592.]
VOYAGE OF JUAN DE FUCA.
87
Fretum Anian, in the South Sea, through the North-west Passage of
Meta Incognita" — published in 1625, in the celebrated historical
and geographical collection called The Pilgrims, by Samuel
Purchas.*
Mr. Lock there relates that he met, at Venice, in April, 1596,
" an old man, about sixty years of age, called, commonly, Juan de
Fuca, but named, properly, Apostolos Valerianos, of nation a
Greek, born in Cephalonia, of profession a mariner, and an ancient
pilot of ships," who, " in long talks and conferences," declared that
he had been in the naval service of Spain, in the West Indies, forty
years, and that he was one of the crew of the galleon Santa Anna,
when she was taken by Cavendish, near Cape San Lucas, in 1587,
on which occasion " he had lost sixty thousand ducats of his own
goods." After his return to Mexico, he was despatched, by the
viceroy, with three vessels, "to discover the Strait of Anian, along
the coast of the South Sea, and to fortify that strait, to resist the
passage and proceeding of the English nation, which were feared
to pass through that strait into the South Sea." This expedition,
however, proving abortive, he was again sent, in 1592, with a small
caravel, for the same purpose, in which " he followed his course
west and north-west," along the coasts of Mexico and California,
" until he came to the latitude of 47 degrees ; and, there finding
that the land trended north and north-east, with a broad inlet of
sea, between 47 and 48 degrees of latitude, he entered thereinto,
sailing therein more than twenty days, and found that land trending
still sometime north-west, and north-east, and north, and also east,
and south-eastward, and very much broader sea than was at the
said entrance, and he passed by divers islands in that sailing ; and,
at the entrance of this said strait, there is, on the north-west coast
thereof, a great head-land or island, with an exceeding high pinna-
cle, or spired rock, like a pillar thereupon. * * * * Being entered
thus far into the said strait, and being come into the North Sea
already, and finding the sea wide enough every where, and to be
about thirty or forty leagues wide in the mouth of the straits, where
he entered, he thought he had now well 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 to Acapulco."
The Greek went on to say that, upon his arrival in Mexico, the vice-
11'
... '.\
* The whole note will be found among the Proofs and lUuslralioTiSf in the latter
part of this volume, under the letter A.
88
VOYAGE OF JUAN DE FUCA.
[1592.
i r
m't
19 ■
Ml
m
m\
^■M
'"■1.1 i
*
roy had welcomed him, and promised him a great reward ; but that,
after waiting in vain for two years, he had stole away to Europe,
and, " 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
voyage for the discovery perfectly of the north-west passage into
the South Sea, if she would furnish him with only one ship of forty'
tons' burden, and a pinnace ; and that he would perform it in thirty
days' time, from one end to the other of the strait." Mr. Lock
says that, on receiving this account, he endeavored to interest Sir
Walter Raleigh, and other eminent persons in England, in behalf
of the Greek pilot, and to have him employed on a voyage such
as he proposed to undertake ; but he was unable to do so, and, by
the last accounts, the old man was dying in Cephalonia, in 1602.
These are the most material circumstances respecting Juan de
Fuca and his voyage, as related by Mr. Lock, who was an intelli-
gent and respectable merchant engaged in the Levant trade.*
Other English writers, of the same time, allude to the subject ; but
they afford no additional particulars, nor has any thing been since
learned, calculated to prove directly even that such a person as
Juan de Fuca ever existed. On the contrary, the author of the
Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes, who loses no
opportunity to exalt the merits of his countrymen as discoverers,
after examining many papers in the archives of the Indies, relating
to the period given as the date of the voyage, pronounces the whole
to be a fabrication. The account attracted little attention in Eng-
land, and was almost unknown, out of that kingdom, until after
the publication of the journals of the last expedition of Cook, who
conceived that he had, by his examinations on the north-western
coasts of America, ascertained its falsehood. More recent exami-
nations in that quarter have, however, served to establish a strong
presumption in favor of its authenticity and general correctness,
so far as the supposed narrator could himself have known ; for
they show that the geographical descriptions contained in it are
as nearly conformable with the truth, as those of any other account
of a voyage written in the early part of the seventeenth century.
Thus Juan de Fuca says that, between the 47th and 48th
* He was, for sonio time, the Knglish consul at Aloppo, and was an intimate friend
of Hakluyt, for whom ho translated the Decades of Pedro Martir, and furnished other
papers published by that collector.
lilt ;■<!>:
'^'i
1595.]
CONFIRMATION OF FUCA S ACCOUNT.
89
degrees of latitude, he entered a broad inlet of sea, in which he
sailed for twenty days, and found the land trending north-west, and
north-east, and north, and east, and south-east, and that, '<n this
course, he passed numerous islands. Now, the fact is, that, between
the 48th and 49th degrees, a broad inlet of sea does extend from
the Pacific, eastward, apparently penetrating the American conti-
nent to the distance of more than one hundred miles, after which
it turns north-westward, and, continuing in that direction about
two hundred and fifty miles farther, it again joins the Pacific Ocean.
The differences as to the position and course of the inlet, between
the two descriptions here compared, are few and slight, and are
certainly all within the limits of supposable error on the part of the
Greek, especially considering his advanced age, and the circum-
stance that he spoke only from recollection ; while, on the other
hand, the coincidences are too strong to be attributable only to
chance. The pilot, indeed, asserts that through this inlet he sailed
to the Atlantic, but he does not pretend that he reached any known
coast, or previously-determined point of that ocean ; so that he is
liable only to the charge of having made an erroneous estimate of
the extent and value of his discovery, which he might well have
done, without any intention to deceive^ as the breadth of the North
American continent was then unknown.
Some false reports, such as those above mentioned, respecting
the discovery of a northern passage between the two oceans, and
the existence of rich nations in its vicinity, together with a desire
to lessen the dangers of the navigation along the western side of
California, by providing the ships in the Philippine trade with proper
descriptions of the coasts, induced King Philip II. of Spain, in
1595, to order that measures should be taken for a complete survey
of it.* There were, also, other reasons for examining that part of
^:|
:v
w'm
'iik
[tury.
48th
ate friend
lied other
* "His majesty knew that tlie viceroys of Mexico had endeavored to discover a
northern passage ; and he had found, among his father's papers, a declaration of
certain strangers, to tlie effect that they had been driven, by vioh^nt winds, from the
codfish coast, [about Newfoundland,] on the Atlantic, to the South Sea, through the
Strait of Anian, which is beyond Cape Mendocino, and had, on their way, seen a
rich and populous city, well fortified, and inhabited by a numerous and civilized
nation, who had treated them well ; as also many other things worthy to be seen and
known. His majesty had also been informed that ships, sailing from China to Mex-
ico, ran great risks, particularly near Cape Mendocino, where the storms are most
violent, and that it would be advantageous to have that coast surveyed thence to
Acapulco, BO that the ships, mostly belonging to his majesty, should find places for
relief and refreshment when needed." Whereupon, his majesty ordered the count
de Monterey, viceroy of Mexico, to have those coasts surveyed, at his own expense,
with all care and diligence, &c. — Torquemada, vol. i. p. 693.
ti';-
12
■|l!'
l,i
90
FIRST VOYAGE OF V'ZCAINO.
[1596.
tm
I. ,'
I i
■ i
the continent, as the Spaniards were then engaged in the settlement
of New Mexico, or the country traversed by the River Bravo del
Norte, in Wnich their colonies extended nearly to the 40th degree
of latitude ; and they had no clear idea of the distance between
that region and the Pacific.
The count de Monterey, viceroy of Mexico, in consequence,
despatched three vessels from Acapulco, in the spring of 1596,
under the command of Sebastian Vizcaino, a distinguished officer,
who had been in the ship Santa Anna, when she was taken and
burnt by Cavendish, off Cape San Lucas. Nothing, however, was
gained by this expedition. For reasons of which we are not
informed by the Spanish historians, Vizcaino did not proceed
beyond the Californian Gulf, on the shores of which he endeavored
to plant colonies, first at a place called St. Sebastian, and after-
wards at La Paz, or Santa Cruz, where Cortes had made a similar
attempt sixty years before : but both these places were soon aban-
doned, on account of the sterility of the surrounding country, and
tlie ferocity of the natives ; and Vizcaino returned to Mexico before
the end of the year.*
The viceroy had most probably hoped, by means of this voyage,
to escape the infliction of the heavy expenses of an expedition
such as that which he was enjoined to make by the royal decree ;
but King Philip IL died in 1598, and one of the first acts of the
reign of his successor, Philip IIL, was a peremptory order for the
immediate despatch of a squadron from Mexico, to complete the
survey of the west coasts of the continent, agreeably to the previous
instructions. The viceroy thereupon commenced preparations for
the purpose on an extended scale of equipment. Two large ships
and a fragata, or small vessel, were provided at Acapulco, and
furnished with all the requisites for a long voyage of discovery ; and,
in addition to their regular crews, a number of pilots, draughtsmen,
and educated priests, were engaged, forming together, says the
[:*
* This expedition is thus noticed by Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 522 : —
" We have seen a letter written the 8th of October, 1597, at a town called Puebla
de los Angeles, eighteen leagues from Mexico, making mention of the islands of Cal-
ifornia, situated two or three hundred leagues from the main land of New Spain, in
the South Sea, as that thither have been sent, before that time, some people to con-
quer them, which, with loss of some twenty men, were forced back, after that they
had well visited, and found those islands or countries to be very rich of gold and
silver mines, and of very fair Oriental pearls, which were caught, in good quantity,
upon one fathom and a half, passing, in beauty, the pearls of Margarita. The report
thereof caused the viceroy of Mexico to send a citizen of Mexico, with two hundred
men, to conquer the same."
r^i
1602.]
SECOND VOYAGE OF VIZCAINO.
91
Puebla
.ofCal-
Bpain, in
1 to con-
Jiat they
lold and
luantity,
le report
liundred
historian Torquemada, " the most enlightened corps ever raised in
New Spain." The direction of the whole expedition was intrusted
to Sebastian Vizcaino, as captain-general, who sailed in the largest
ship ; the other being commanded by Toribio Gomez de Corvan,
as admiral — an office equivalent in rank to that of vice-admiral in
the British service: the fragata was under ensign Martin de
Aguilar.*
All things being prepared, the vessels took their departure from
Acapulco on the 5th of May, 1602, and, after many troubles and
delays at various places on the Mexican coast, they were assembled
in the small Bay of San Bernabe, now called Port San Jose, imme-
diately east of Cape San Lucas, the southern extremity of the
Californian peninsula. There they remained until the 5th of July,
when they rounded the cape, and the survey of the west coast was
commenced from that point. The prosecution of the enterprise
was thenceforward attended by constant difficulties: the scurvy,
as usual, soon broke out among the crews ; and the Spaniards had
their courage and perseverance severely tried by their " chief
enemy, the north-west wind," which was raised up, says Torque-
mada, " by the foe of the human race, in order to prevent the
advance of the ships, and to delay the discovery of those countries,
and the conversion of their inhabitants to the Catholic faith."
Vizcaino and his followers, however, bore up nobly against all
these obstacles, and executed the duty confided to them most
faithfully. Proceeding slowly northward, they reached the exten-
sive Bay of La Magdalena, between the 24th and 25th parallels of
latitude, of which Vizcaino's survey was, until recently, the only
one upon record ; and before the end of August, the vessels which
had been separated almost ever since quitting Cape San Lucas,
were again united in a harbor in the island called Isla de Cedros,
or Isle of Cedars, by Cabrillo, but now generally known as Isla de
Cerros, or Isle of Mountains. Continuing their examination, they
found a bay near the 3 1st degree of latitude, which they named the
Port of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, now called Port San ^uintin,
and said to be an excellent harbor ; and farther north they entered
the Port San Miguel of Cabrillo, to which they assigned the appella-
* Torquemada, vol. i. p. 694. — Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes,
p. 60. — Torquemada's accounts are derived chiefly from the Journal of Fray An-
tonio de la Asencion, the chaplain of one of the ships. The author of the Introduc-
tion, &c., had recourse to the original notes of the expedition, from which he con-
structed a chart of the coast aorveyed.
, "IE
i
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92
VIZCAINO HEACHES MONTEREY.
[IC03.
tion of Port San Diego. There Vizcaino received accounts, from
the natives, of people residing in the interior, who had beards,
wore clothes, and dwelt in cities ; but h'j could learn no further
particulars, and was, upon the whole, inclined to believe that,
unless the Indians were deceiving him, these people must be the
Spaniards recently settled in New Mexico, on the River Bravo del
Norte.
Having minutely surveyed Port San Diego, the Spaniards quitted
it on the 1st of December, and sailed through the Archipelago
of Santa Barbara, in one of the islands of which Cabrillo died
sixty years previous ; then doubling the Cape de Galera of that
navigator, to which they gave the name of Cape Conception, now
borne by it, they anchored, in the middle of the month, in a
spacious and secure harbor, near the 37th parallel, where they
remained some time, engaged in refitting their vessels and obtaining
a supply of water. This harbor — the Port of Pines of Cabrillo —
was named Port Monterey by Vizcaino, in honor of the viceroy of
Mexico ; and as, before reaching it, sixteen of the crews of the
vessels had died, and many of the others were incapable of duty
from disease, it was determined that Corvan, the admiral, should
return to Mexico in his ship, carrying the invalids, with letters to the
viceroy, urging the immediate establishment of colonies and garrisons
at San Diego and Monterey. Corvan, accordingly, on the 29th,
sailed for Acapulco, where he arrived after a long and perilous
voyage, with but few of his men alive ; whilst Vizcaino, with his
ship and the fvagata, prosecuted their exploration along the coast
towards the north.
On the 3d of January, 1603, after the departure of Corvan,
Vizcaino, accompanied by the small vessel under Aguilar, quitted
Monterey ; but, ere proceeding much farther north, they were
driven back by a severe gale, in the course of which the two
vessels were separated. The ship took refuge in the Bay of San
Francisco, which seems to have been then well known ; and search
was made for the wreck of the San Augustin, which had been there
lost, as already mentioned, in 1595, during her voyage from the
Philippine Islands to Acapulco. Finding no traces of that vessel,
Vizcaino again put to sea ; and, passing a promontory, which he sup-
posed to be Cape Mendocino, he, on the 20th of January, reached
a high, white bluff, in latitude, as ascertained by solar observation,
of 42 degrees, which, in honor of the saint of that day, was named
Cape San Sebastian. By this time, few of his men were fit for
:; ,i'
i
1603.]
VIZCAINO RF.TURNS TO MEXICO.
93
were
two
^f San
search
there
kn the
i^essel,
le sup-
lached
mtion,
lamed
lilt for
service ; the weather was stormy, the cold was severe, the pro-
visions were nearly exhausted ; and, as the small vessel did not
appear, the commander, with the assent of his officers, resolved to
direct his course towards Mexico. He did so, and arrived at
Acapulco on the 21st of March.
The fragata, or small vessel, also reached Mexico about the same
time, having, however, lost, by sickness, her commander, Martin de
Aguilar, her pilot, Flores, and the greater part of her ciew. Tor-
quemada's account of her voyage, after parting with Vizcaino's
ship, is short, and by no means clear ; but the circumstances therein
related have attracted so much attention, that a translation of it
should be here presented. The historian says, —
" The fragata parted from the capitana, [Vizcaino's ship,] and,
supposing that she had gone onward, sailed in pursuit of her.
Being in the latitude of 41 degrees, the wind began to blow from
the south-west ; and the fragata, being unable to withstand the
waves on her beam, ran before the wind, until she found shelter
under the land, and anchored near Cape Mendocino, behind a great
rock, where she remained until the gale had passed over. When
the wind had become less violent, they continued their voyage close
along the shore ; and, on the 19th of January, the pilot, Antonio
Flores, found that they were in the latitude of 43 degrees, where
the land formed a cape or point, which was named Cape Blanco.
From that point, the coast begins to turn to the north-west ; and
near it was discovered a rapid and abundant river, with ash-trees,
willows, brambles, and other trees of Castile, on its banks, which
they endeavored to enter, but could not, from the force of the
current. Ensign Martin de Aguilar, the commander, and Antonio
Flores, the pilot, seeing that they had already reached a higher
latitude than had been ordered by the viceroy, in his instructions,
that the capitann did not appear, and that the number of the sick
was great, agreed to return to Acapulco ; and they did so, as I
shall hereafter show. It is supposed that this river is the one
leading to a great city, which was discovered by the Dutch when
they were driven thither by storms, and that it is the Strait of
Anian, through which the ship passed, in sailing from the North
Sea to the South Sea ; and that the city called Quivira is in
those parts ; and that this is the region referred to in the account
which his majesty read, and which induced him to order this
expedition."
This account of the discovery of a great river, near the 43d
1
*.!
ij
4
.1
5 11
rli,'
4
m
94
SUPPOSED RIVER OF AGUILAR.
[1603.
I
degree of latitude, was, for a long time, universally credited, and
excited many speculations. The supposed river was first, as Tor-
quemada says, generally believed to be the long-sought Strait of
Anian. It was then, upon the strength of a statement made by the
captain of a Manilla ship, in 1620, universally considered as the
western mouth of a passage, or channel, connecting the ocean with
the northern extremity of the Californian Gulf ; and, accordingly,
during the remainder of the seventeenth century, California was
represented, on all maps, as an island, of which Cape Blanco was
the northern end. When this error had been corrected, the exist-
ence of a great river, flowing from the centre of America into the
Pacific, under the 43d parallel, was again aflirmed by some geogra-
phers ; while others again placed at this point the western entrance
of a passage leading to the Atlantic.
It is now certain that no such stream or channel as that which
Aguilar is reported to have seen, falls into the Pacific within three
degrees of the 43d parallel ; although the mouths of two small
rivers are situated near the point where that line crosses the western
coast of the continent. Several head-lands project into the ocean,
not far from the positions assigned to the Capes Blanco and San
Sebastian. The former may have been the promontory, in latitude
of 42 degrees 52 minutes, on which Vancouver, in 1792, bestowed
the name of Cape Orford.
On comparing the accounts of Vizcaino's voyage with those of
Cabrillo's, it appears that the same, or very nearly the same, por-
tions of the American coast were seen by both commanders. The
expedition of Vizcaino was, however, conducted in a much more
efilicient manner than the other ; and a mass of valuable informa-
tion, respecting the geography of the western side of California,
was collected, in the shape of notes, plans, and sketches, upon
which were founded the first maps of that coast approaching
to correctness.
Vizcaino, after his return to Mexico, endeavored to prevail upon
the viceroy to establish colonies and garrisons on the western side
of California, at places which he recommended, in order to facili-
tate the trade with India, and to prevent the occupation of the
American coasts by people of other nations. His efforts, with this
view, however, produced no effect, as the viceroys never encouraged
such enterprises, being generally obliged to pay the costs them-
selves; and Vizcaino, in consequence, went to Spain, where, after
many years of solicitation, he at length procured the royal mandate,
4
1608.]
DEATH or VIZCAINO.
95
i
and a promise of means for the execution of his projects. Armed
with these, he hastened back to Mexico, and began his prepara-
tions ; but, while thus engaged, he was seized with a sickness,
of which he died in 1603, and the enterprise was then aban-
doned.
The Spanish government, at the period of Vizcaino's expeditions,
appears, indeed, to have been seriously interested in the exploration
of the Pacific, with which object several voyages were made from
Peru and Mexico. In 1595, Alvaro de Mendana discovered the
group of islands in the southern division of that ocean, to which he
gave the name of Mas de las Marquesas, (Islands of the Mar-
chionesses,) in token of his admiration of the beauty and grace of
their women. In 1605, Pedro Fernandez de Quiros visited many
other islands in the same sea, not previously known, among which
were, probably, those now called Otaheite and Owyhee : he also
believed that he had ascertained the existence of a great southern
continent, which he named Australia del Espiritu Santo ; and, like
Vizcaino, he spent many years at Madrid, in endeavors to obtain
from the government the command of an expedition for the occu-
pation of this new land.
m
m^
■' -I 41
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"iifi
111
1
I'd
'li 1
96
I' )
CHAPTER III.
1608 TO 1768.
The North-Wcst Coasts of North Ainorira ri'iimin nearly iiPglcctt-il during the whole
of this Period — Efforts of the (^nf^lisli and tiu< Dutch to find new Passages into
the Pacific — Discovery of lludoon'H Day and liafiin's Day — Discovery of the
Passage around Cupe llorn — EHtabiiKhnient of the Hudson's Bay Trading Com-
pany — Endeavors of the Spaniards to sctth- California unsuccessful — The
Jesuits undertake the Reduction of California — Establishments of the Jesuits in
the Peninsula, and tliuir Expulsion from the Spanish Dominions.
.•H!
n.^^
For more than a hundred and sixty years after the death of
Vizcaino, no attempt was made, by the Spaniards, to form estab-
lishments on the west coast of California, or to extend their
'discoveries in that part of America.
' Those countries, in the mean time, remained unknown, and
almost entirely neglected, by the civilized world. The Spanish
galleons, on their way from Manilla to Acapulco, annually passed
along the coasts south o*" Cape Mendocino, which were described
in Spanish works on the navigation of the Pacific ; and some spots,
farther north, were, as will be hereafter particularly shown, visited
by the Russians, in their exploring and trading voyages from Kamt-
chatka : but no new information, of an exact nature, was obtained
with regard to those regions, and they were represented on maps
according to the fancy of the geographer, or to the degree of
faith which he placed in the last fabrication respecting them.
Numerous were the stories, gravely related and published in France
and England, of powerful nations, of great rivers, of interior
seas, and of navigable passages connecting the Atlantic with the
Pacific, north of California. The most remarkable of these stories
is the account of the voyage of Admiral Fonte, already presented.
Captain Coxton, a veteran bucanier, who flourished in the latter
part of the seventeenth century, also declared that he had, in 1688,
sailed from the North Pacific, far eastward, into the American
continent, through a river which ran out of a great lake, called the
Lake of Thoyaga, containing many islands, inhabited by a numerous
ii'ir, ,
■A
1616.] Hudson's pat and BArriN's bat discovcrcd.
97
and warlike population ; and, upon the strength of the assertions of
this worthy, the lake and river, as described by him, were laid down
on many of the maps of that time. North' west America was,
indeed, during the period here mentioned, the terra incogmliss ma,
the favorite scene of extraordinary adventures and Utopian ro-
mances. Bacon there placed his Atlantis ; and Brobdignag, agree-
ably to the very precise description of its locality furnished by its
discoverer, the accomplished and veracious Captain Lemuel Gulli-
ver, must have been situated near the Strait of Fuca.
The Atlantic Ocean, and its American coasts, and the South
Pacific, were, however, not neglected by the Europeans during the
seventeenth century. Soon after the termination of Vizcaino'i
labors, settlements were made, in many places on the Atlantic,
between the Gulfs of Mexico and of St. Lawrence, by the English,
the French, and the Dutch, generally under the protection of charters
from the governments of those nations, in which the territories of
the several colonies were declared to extend from the Atlantic
westward to the Pacific ; and some of the most valuable of the
West India Islands had fallen into the possession of the same
powers.
Many discoveries were likewise effected, within this period, on
the coasts of the New World, and in the adjoining seas, some
of which were of great and immediate importance, while the others
served to strengthen the expectation that a north-west passage, or
navigable channel of communication between the Atlantic and the
Pacific, north of America, would be speedily found. Thus, in
1608, Henry Hudson discovered, or rediscovered, the strait, and
the bay connected by it with the Atlantic, to both of which his
name is now attached ; and, eight years afterwards, the adventu-
rous William Baflin penetrated, through the arm of that ocean
now called Baffin's Bay, separating Greenland from America, into a
passage extending westward, under the 74th parallel of latitude,
where his ship was arrested by ice.
The results of the voyages of Baffin, and other navigators, who
followed the same course, were not calculated to increase the hope
that the desired passage to the Pacific would be found opening
into Baffin's Bay. Strong grounds were, however, afforded for the
expectation that it might be discovered in one of the arms of
Hudson's Bay which had not been completely explored ; and, in
consequence, the whole region surrounding the latter sea was, in
1669, granted, by King Charles II., to an association of merchantf
13
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98
PASSAGE AROUND CAPE HORN DISCOVERED.
[1616.
^li
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and gentlemen, styled — The Company of Adventurers of England
trading into Hudson's Bay — with the object* expressed in the
charter, of encouraging the search for a northern passage to the
Pacific.
The most important discovery made in the seventeenth century
was that of the open sea, south of Magellan's Strait, through which
the Dutch navigators Lemaire and Van Pchouten sailed, in 1616,
from the Atlantic into the Pacific, around the island promontory
named by them Cape Horn, in honor of their native city in
Holland. By means of this new route, the perils and difficulties
of the navigation between the two oceans were so much lessened,
that voyages from Europe to the Pacific were no longer regarded
as very hazardous enterprises ; and the Spanish possessions and
commerce on that ocean were ever after annoyed by the armed
siiips of nations at war with Spain, or by pirates and smugglers of
various classes and denominations.
The Gulf of California became the principal resort of the Dutch
pirates, or, rather, privateers, who, under the name of Pichilingues,-\
kept the inhabitants of the adjacent coasts of Mexico in constant
anxiety. For the purpose of dislodging these depredators, and also
of obtaining advantages from the pearl fishery in the gulf, several
attempts were made, by the government of Spain, and by individ-
uals in Mexico, to establish colonies, garrisons, and fishing or
trading posts, on the eastern side of the peninsula of California.
The details of the expeditions for these purposes, made by Vicuna
and Ortega in 1631, by Barriga and Porter in 1644, by Piiiadero
in 1664 and 1667, by Lucenilla in 1668, and by Atondo in 1683,
are devoid of interest. Many pearls were obtained, among which
are some of the most valuable in the regalia of Spain ; but the
establishments all failed from want of funds, from the extreme
barrenness of the soil, and the determined hostility of the natives
of the peninsula, and, above all, from the indolence and viciousness
of the persons employed in the expeditions. In the last attempt
of this kind, under the direction of Don Isidro de Atondo, a number
of settlers, soldiers, and Jesuits, were carried out from Mexico, and
distributed at points on the gulf where the establishments were to
be formed ; but these stations were all abandoned before the end of
a year, and it was thereupon resolved, in a council of the chief
* See Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter I, No. 1.
t So called from the Bay of Pichilingue, on the east coast of the Californian
peninsula, which was the principal rendezvous of these Dutch piratea.
1683.]
JESUITS IN CALIFORNIA.
99
authorities of Mexico, that the reduction of California by such
means was impracticable.
The Jesuits, who had accompanied Atondo to California, while
concurring in this opinion with the council, nevertheless insisted
that the desired political objects might be attained by a different
course, namely, by the civilization and conversion to Christianity
of the natives of that country ; and this task they offered them-
selves to undertake, dotibting not that their labors would be crowned
with the same success which had attended them in Paraguay.
Their proposition was, as might have been expected, coldly received
by the authorities, who could gain nothing by its execution. The
Jesuits, however, not being disheartened by this refusal, perambu-
lated the whole country, preaching, and exhorting all to contribute
to the accomplishment of an enterprise so pious and so politic. By
such means, and by the cooperation of their brethren in Europe,
they raised a small fund; and finally, in 1697, they procured royal
warrants, authorizing them to enter upon the reduction of Califorjiia
for the king, and to do all that might tend to that object at their
oivn expense. On receiving these warrants, Father Salvutierra, the
chief missionary, immediately sailed, with a few laborers and sol-
diers, to the land which was to be the scene of their operations.
There he was soon after joined by Fathers Kuhn, (a German,
called, by the Spaniards, Kino,) Piccolo, Ugarte, and others, all
men of courage and education, and enthusiastically devoted to the
cause in which they were engaged ; and, in November, 1697, the
first establishment, called Lordo, was founded on the eastern side
of the peninsula, about two hundred miles from the Pacific.
The Jesuits, on entering California, had to encounter the same
perils and obstacles which had rendered ineffectual all the other
attempts to occupy that country. They were attacked by the
natives, to whose ferocity several of the fathers fell victims ; the
land was so barren, that it scarcely yielded the mtans of sustaining
life to the most industrious agriculturist, for which reason the set-
tlements were all located near the sea, in order that the necessary
food might be procured by fishing ; and the persons employed in
their service, being drawn from the most miserable classes in
Mexico, were always indolent and insubordinate, and generally
preferred loitering on the shore, in search of pearls, to engaging in
the regular labors required for the support of settlers in a new
region. The operations of the Jesuits were also, for some time,
confined within the narrowest limits, from want of funds. Their
/•I!
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JESUITS IN CALIFORNIA.
[1702.
brethren and friends occasionally made remittances to them, in
money or goods ; and the king was persuaded to assign, for their
use, a small annual allowance : but the Mexican treasury, which
was charged with the payment of this allowance, was seldom able
to meet their drafts when presented ; and the assistance derived
from all these sources was much diminished in value before it
reached those for whom it was destined. Embarrassments of this
nature occurred in 170'2, at the commencement of the undertaking,
in consequence of the great costs of the expeditions from Mexico
for ^he occupation of Texas, and the establishment of garrisons at
Ponsacola and other places in Florida, as checks upon the French.
By perseverance and kindness, however, rather than by any
other means, the Jesuits overcame all the difficulties to which they
were exposed ; and within sixty years after their entrance into Cal-
ifornia, they had formed sixteen principal establishments, called
missions, extending in a chain along the eastern side of the penin-
sula from Cape San Lucas to the head of the gulf. Each of these
missions comprised a church, a fort garrisoned by a few soldiers,
and some stores and dwelling-houses, all under the entire control of
the resident Jesuit ; and it formed the centre of a district containing
several ranchcrias, or villages of converted Indians. The principal
mission or capital was Lorcto ; south of it was La Paz, the port
of communication with Mexico, probably the same place called
Sonin Cniz by Cortes, where he endeavored to plant a colony in
1535 ; and near Cape San Lucas was San Jose, at which an attempt
was made to provide means for the repair and refreshment of vessels
employed in the Philippine trade. No establishments were formed
on the west coast, which does not seem to have been visited by the
Jesuits, except on one occasion, in 1716, The villages were each
under the superintendence of Indians selected for the purpose, of
whom one possessed the powers of a governor, another took care
of the church or chapel, and a third summoned the inhabitants to
prayers and reported the delinquents. The children were taught
to speak, read, write, and sing, in Spanish, and were initiated into
the doctrines and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic religion. The
converts were directed in their labors by the lathers ; each being
generally allowed to retain the fruits of his industry, though he
was at the same time made to understand that he could not claim
them as his property. Immigration from other countries, except of
Jesuits, was as far as possible prevented ; the efforts of the mission-
aries being, in California as in Paraguay, devoted exclusively to the
( .1
ony in
ttempt
vessels
brmed
by the
each
ise, of
care
nts to
aught
[ into
The
being
h he
claim
pt of
ssion-
o the
1760.]
JESUITS IN CALIFORNIA.
101
improvement of the natives, and their union into a species of com-
monwealth, under the guidance of their preceptors.
The Jesuits also in California, as in Paraguay and elsewhere,
exerted themselves assiduously in acquiring a knowledge of the
geography, natural history, and languages of the country. They
surveyed the whole coast of the Californian Gulf, determining with
exactness the relative positions of the principal points on it ; and in
1709, Father Kuhn ascertained beyond doubt the fact of the con-
nection of the peninsula with the continent, which had been denied
for a century. Indeed, as regards the eastern and middle parts of
the peninsula, nearly all the information which we possess at the
present day has been derived through the labors of these mission-
aries. On all those subjects, the results of their researches were
communicated to the world through the Lettres edijiantes et curi-
euses, published, from time to time, at Paris, by learned members of
their order, and afterwards more fully in their History of California,*
which appeared at Madrid in 1757, and has been translated into all
the languages of Western Europe.
In the mean time, — that is to say, ever since the beginning of the
seventeenth century, — the power of Spain had, from a variety of
causes, been constantly declining. Her resources, and those of her
colonies, had, within that period, been materially reduced ; in mari-
time force she had fallen far below England and France, and a
large portion of America, including valuable and extensive terri-
tories, which had been long occupied by her subjects, had passed
into the hands of her rivals or enemies. Her government, indeed,
resisted, as long as possible, these intrusions and encroachments, as
they were considered, of other nations upon territories of which
Spain claimed exclusive possession in virtue of the papal grant of
1493, as well as of prior discovery ; and never, until forced by
absolute necessity, did the court of Madrid recognize the claim of
any other power, except Portugal, to occupy countries in the New
World, or to navigate the Western Atlantic, or any part of the
Pacific, The earliest recognition of such a right by Spain was
* JVoticia de California y de sit Canquista cspiritual y temporal. — This work, though
usually attributed to Vcnegas, is doubtless chiefly due to the labors of Father Andres
Marcos Burriel. The portions relating to the proceedings of the Jesuits in California
are highly interesting, and bear every internal mark of truth and authenticity. The
observations on the policy of the Spanish government towards its American posses-
sions are replete with wisdom, and indicate more liberality, as well as boldness, on
the part of the authors, than could have been reasonably expected, considering the
circumstances under which they were written and published.
1
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4\}
102
DECLINE OF THE SPANISH POWER.
.■■■■V
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[1763.
made in the American treaty, as it was called, concluded with Great
Britain in 1670, by which it was agreed that the British king should
have and enjoy forever, with plenary right of sovereignty and
property, all lands, regions, islands, and colonics, possessed by him
or his subjects in the West Indies, or in any part of America ; with
the understanding, however, that the subjects of neither power
should trade with, or sail to, any place in those countries belonging
to the other, unless forced thither by stress of weather or pursuit
by enemies or pirates. These stipulations were renewed and con-
firmed by the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, in which the queen of
England, moreover, engaged to give assistance to the Spaniards for
the restoration of the ancient limits of their dominions in the West
Indies, as they were in the time of King Charles II. of Spain ;
and it was by common consent established, as a chief and funda-
mental rule, that the exercise of navigation and commerce in the
Spanish West Indies should remain as it was in the time of that
king, who died in 1700.
The terms of these, and all other treaties on the same subject,
between Great Britain and Spain, were, however, so vague, that
they served rather to increase than to prevent disputes. The
meaning of the expression Spanish West Indies never could be
fixed to the satisfaction of both the parties ; and it was impossible
for them, in any case of alleged trespass by either upon the rights
of the other, to agree as to what were the limits of their respective
dominions, or what was the state of their navigation and commerce
at the time of the death of King Charles II., or at any other time.
The British colonies were, nevertjieless, constantly advancing and
absorbing those of other European powers, and all the attempts of
the Spaniards to check their prosperity were ineffectual.
The French, by their occupation of Louisiana and the western
half of St. Domingo, also gave great uneasiness to the Spaniards
for some time ; but the political interests of the two nations had
become so closely involved, by the family ties between their sove-
reigns, that Spain, as the weaker, in this and in the other cases,
was obliged to submit to the influence and encroachments of her
powerful ally.
At length, in 1763, peace was restored among these three great
powers. Spain recovered from France New Orleans and the part
of Louisiana west of the Mississippi ; while the remainder of
Louisiana, together with Florida, Canada, and all the other French
possessions on the North American continent, became the property
]l
1762.]
FAMILY COMPACT.
103
of Great Britain. The interests of France in the New World were
so small, after these arrangements, that they could scarcely of them-
selves afford grounds for dispute between her and Spain ; and the
two crowns were, moreover, supposed to be firmly united by a
treaty celebrated in history as the Family Compact, concluded in
176*2, through the agency, chiefly, of the duke de Choiseul, prime
minister of France, by which the sovereigns of those kingdoms
guarantied to each other all their dominions in every part of the
world, and engaged to consider as their common enemy any nation
which should become the enemy of either.
The claims of Spain to the sovereignty of the western side of
America were never made the subject of controversy with any
other state until 1790 ; but her pretensions to the exclusive navi-
gation of the Pacific, though upheld by her government even after
that period, had long before ceased to be regarded with respect by
the rest of the world. The free-traders, freebooters, and bucaniers, —
that is to say, the smugglers and pirates, — of Great Britain, France,
and Holland, led the way into that ocean, which they continued
to infest during the whole of the seventeenth and a part of the
eighteenth centuries : they were followed by the armed squadrons
of those nations, with one or other of which Spain was almost
always at war ; and during the intervals of peace came the exploring
ships of the same powers, whose voyages, though at first ostensibly
scientific, were, with good reason, considered at Madrid as ominous
of evil to the dominion of Spain in America.*
These exploring voyages became more frequent, and their objects
were avowedly political as well as scientific, after the peace of
1763 ; about which time, moreover, they were rendered more safe,
expeditious, and effective in every respect, by the introduction of
the reflecting quadrant and the chronometer into use on board the
public ships of all the maritime nations of Europe, except Spain
and Portugal. Between that year and 1779 the Pacific and the
southern oceans were annually swept by well-appointed ships of
Great Britain or France, under able navigators, whose journals were
published immediately on the conclusion of their voyages, in the
M I
'\^\
m
* Lord Lansdowne, in a speech in the British House of Lords, December 13, 1790,
on the subject of the convention then recently concluded with Spain, said — " Sir
Benjamin Keene, [ambassador from Great Britain at Madrid from 1754 to 1757,] one
of the ablest foreign ministers this country ever had, used to say, that, if the Span-
iards vexed us in the first instance, we had means enough to vex them in return,
without infringing treaties ; and the first step he would recommend would be to
■end out ships of discovery to the South Sea."
V;!
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m ■•
104
ALARMS OF THE COURT OP MADRID
[1765.
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Hi;' j
M'ri
most authentic manner possible, illustrated by maps, plans, tables,
views of scenery, and portraits of natives, all conspiring to afford
the most exact ideas of the objects and places described in the
narratives. New lands and new objects and channels of com-
mercial and political enterprise were thus opened to all ; and new
principles of national right, adverse to the subsistence of the
exclusive system so long maintained by the Spanish government,
were established and recognized among all other states.
The voyages of the British exploring ships were, until 1778, con-
fined to the southern parts of the ocean ; but the Spanish govern-
ment had been constantly in dread of their appearance in the North
Pacific, particularly as a navigable communication between that
ocean and the Atlantic, in the north, was again generally believed
to exist. The acquisition of Canada by Great Britain rendered
the discovery of such a passage much more important to that
power, as there was less danger that any other nation should
derive advantages from it, to the injury of British interests ; while
Spain, becoming possessed of Louisiana, which was supposed to
extend indefinitely northward, had thus additional reasons for
viewing with dissatisfaction any attempts of her rival to advance
westward across the continent.
Serious grounds of apprehension were also afforded by the pro-
ceedings of the Russians on the northernmost coasts of the Pacific.
All that was generally known of them was obtained from the maps
and accounts of the French geographers, which, though vague and
contradictory, yet served to establish the certainty that this am-
bitious and enterprising nation had formed colonies and naval
stations in the north-easternmost part of Asia, and had found and
taken possession of extensive territories beyond the sea bathing
those shores ; and these circumstances were sufficient to alarm the
Spanish government for the safety of its provinces on the western
side of America.
In order to avert the evils thus supposed to be impending, and
at the same time to revive the claims of Spain to the exclusive
navigation of the Pacific, and to the possession of the vacant terri-
tories of America adjoining her settled provinces, as well as to
render those provinces more advantageous to and dependent on
the mother country, a system was devised at Madrid, about the
year 1765, embracing a series of measures which were to be applied
as circumstances might dictate or permit. This system, which is
supposed to have been elaborated chiefly by Carrasco, the fiscal of
•1 f ■;
I
1766.]
SCHEMES OF THE COURT OF SPAIN.
105
lis am-
naval
nd and
alhing
rm the
estern
kg, and
^elusive
Jit terri-
ll as to
lent on
[)ut tlie
ipplied
thich is
Iscal of
the Council of Castile, and Galvez, a high officer of the Council of
the Indies, embraced reforms in every part of the administration,
particularly in the finances of the American dominions, the shameful
abuses in which had been laid open by Ulloa, in his celebrated
report* presented to the government in 1747. It was likewise
intended that the vacant coasts and islands, adjacent to the settled
provinces in the New World, should be examined and occupied by
colonies and garrisons sufficient for their protection against the
attempts of foreign nations to seize them, or at least to secure
to Spain the semblance of a right of sovereignty over them, on
the ground of prior discovery and settlement. The deliberations
with regard to this system seem to have been conducted with the
utmost secrecy by the Spanish government ; and no idea was enter-
tained of its objects in 1766, when Galvez, the officer above named,
arrived in Mexico as visitad6r,\ with full powers to carry the new
measures into effect in that part of the dominions.
This Galvez was a man of the most violent and tyrannical dis-
position. His arbitrary proceedings in financial matters occasioned
an insurrection in the province of Puebla, which nothing but the
firmness and good sense of the marquis de Croix, then viceroy of
Mexico, prevented from becoming general. He then engaged in an
expensive war against the Indians in Sonora and Sinaloa, the coun-
tries bordering on the eastern side of the Californian Gulf, from
which very little cither of honor or of profit accrued to Spain ; and
a portion of his impetuosity having thus escaped, he turned his
attention towards California, where he was charged with an im-
portant duty.
The sovereigns of continental Europe and their ministers had
long been impatient and jealous of the influence enjoyed, or sup-
* yoticias srcrctas de Jimrrica — Secret inioriiiation rcspoctinsf tlic internal adminis-
tration of Peru, Quito, Chile, and New Granada, collected by Don Antonio de Ulloa
and Don Jorge Juan, who had been sent for that purpos.> by the Spanish govern-
ment in 174l) ; the only work from which it is possible to obtain a true picture of the
state of those countries, and of the abuses and corruptions practised in them by the
Spanish ollicials. It was first publish(<d at London, in \&A\, by some political refugees
of that nation, who had obtained possession of the original manuscript.
t " This title is given \n persons charged by the court of Madrid to make inquiries
as to the state of the colonies. Their risitu, in general, produce no other effects than
to balance for a time the authorities of the viceroy and the audiencia, [powers almost
o! ,. a; ^ at variance,] and to cause an infinite number of memorials, petitions, and
f !'ir>s, to be devised and presv'nted, and some new tax to be imposed. The people of
the country look for the arrival of a risittuhir with the same impatience with which
they afterwards desire his departure." — Humboldt's Essay on Mexico, book ii.
chapter vii.
14
''^■^it
. '■■'¥r
;'^ii,;
100
THE EXPULSION OF THE JESUITS.
[1767.
1
"1. V
posed to be enjoyed, by the Jesuits ; and the governments of Spain
and Portugal, though always opposed to each other, were equally
mistrustful as to the objects and proceedings of that order in the
New World. Suspicions were entertained at Lisbon and at Madrid
that those proceedings were not dictated solely by religious or phiU
anthropic motives ; but that the Jesuits aspired to the separation
and exclusive control of the greater part, if not of the whole, of
Southern America : and these suspicions were increased by the
successful stand which they made in Paraguay, at the head of the
natives, against the division of that province, and the transfer of a
portion of its territory to Portugal, agreeably to the treaty concluded
between the latter kingdom and Spain, in 1750. This act drew
down upon the order the hatred of the subtle and fearless marquis
de Pombal, who then ruled Portugal with a rod of steel ; from that
moment he devoted himself to its destruction, and, his plans having
been disposed with care and secrecy, all its members were expelled
from the Portuguese dominions, without difficulty, in 1759. In
France, the Jesuits were soon after entirely overthrown by the
agency of the duke de Choiseul, the minister, and madame de Pom-
padour, the mistress of Louis XV. ; and on the 2d of April, 1767,
a decree was unexpectedly issued by King Charles III. of Spain,
at the instigation of the celebrated count de Aranda, for their im-
mediate banishment from the Spanish territories. This decree was
executed without delay in every part of the empire. In Mexico,
the Jesuits, to the number of several hundreds, were, in July
following, arrested and sent off to Europe ; and a strong military
force was at the same time despatched to California, under the
command of Don Gaspar de Portola, who found no difficulty in
tearing a few old priests from the arms of their wailing converts.
Thus ended the rule of the Jesuits in Cahfornia. That their
efforts were attended with good cannot be denied ; for those who
were the immediate objects of their care, were certainly rendered
happier, more comfortable, and more free from vice, than they would
otherwise have been. Unfortunately, however, the aborigines of
California are among the most indolent and brutish of the human
race ; with minds as sterile and unimpro\ tible as the soil of their
peninsula. By constant watchfulness, by the judicious administra-
tion of rewards as well as punishments, by the removal of all evil
examples, and, above all, by studiously practising themselves what
they recommended to others, the benevolent, wise, and persevering
Jesuits did indeed introduce a certain degree of civilization, or
tu
sii
in
go
im
mi
an(
au£
Esl
8id(
neg
in >
the
li
17C7.]
EXPULSION or THE JESUITS.
107
apparent civilization, among these people ; but there is no reason
to believe that, by any means as yet employed for the purpose, a
single Californian Indian has been rendered a useful, or even an
innocuous, member of society.
There was, however, no intention on the part of the Spanish
government to abandon California. On the contrary, the peninsula
immediately became a province of Mexico, and was provided with
military and civil officers dependent on the viceroy of that kingdom;
and the missions were confided to the Dominicans, under whose
austere rule the majority of the converts relapsed into barbarism.
Establishments were also formed by the Spaniards on the western
side of California ; and the coasts farther north, which had been
neglected for more than a hundred and sixty years, were explored
in voyages made for the purpose from Mexico, as will be shown in
the succeeding chapter.
'^ ■
]i
'^ 'A
m
w
•.'I
' . a-
' :■ :lii:i
108
CHAPTER IV.
1769 TO 1779.
1 .^!i
iU
!: i il
';il. ...
«.' ^ ■';!;■
First Establishmonts on tho West Const of California fnundod by the Spaniards —
Dispute between Spain and Great Britain respecting tlio Falkland Islands —
Exploring Voyages of the Spaniards nnder I'orez, lleceta and Bodega, and Arti-agtt
and IJodega — Discovery of Nootkn Sound, Norfolk Sound, and the Mouth of the
Columbia River — Importance of these Discoveries.
Immediately after the expulsion of the Jesuits from Mexico, the
viceroy of Mexico, De Croix, und the visitador, Galvez, directed
their attention to the establishment of colonies and garrisons on the
western side of California, agreeably to the system adopted for the
restauration of the Spanish dominions in the New World.
At that time, little was known, with certainty, of any part of the
west coast of America north of the 43d parallel, to which latitude
it had been explored by Sebastian Vi/caino, in ICO.'J. The voyage
of Juan de Fuca was generally considered as apocryphal, and
nothing of an exact nature could be learned from the accounts of
the Russian expeditions in that quarter. Upon examining the
charts and journals of Vizcaino, descriptions were found of several
places surveyed by him, which he strongly recommended as suitable
for settlements or naval stations ; and, agreeably to his views, it was
determined in Mexico that the first establishments should be formed
on the harbors which had received from that navigator the names
of Port San Diego and Port Monterey. Accordingly, after much
difficulty, a small number of settlers, with some soldiers and Fran-
ciscan friars, were assembled at La Paz, on the western shore of the
Califoriiian Gulf, which had been selected as the place of rendez-
vous ; and thence, in the spring of 1769,* they began their march
* This account of the establishment of the first Spanish colonies on the west coast
of California is derived from — the narrative of Miguel Costanso, the engineer of the
expedition, which was published at Mexico in 1771, and immediately suppressed by
the government; a copy, however, escaped to England, from which a translation was
published at London, in 17!)0, by A. Dalrymple — and from the biography of Friar
Junipero Serra, the principal of the Franciscans who accompanied the expedition,
written by Friar Francisco Palou, and published at Mexico in 1787.
:'rli
niardfl —
glands —
, ArU'aga
th of the
ico, the
lircctcd
I on the
for the
t of the
latitude
voyage
il, and
>unt8 of
ing the
several
suitable
, it was
formed
names
ir much
Fran-
|e of the
rcndez-
march
krest coast
per of the
Ircsscd by
lation was
of Friar
ipedition,
1769.]
SPANISH COLONIES IN NEW CALIFORNIA.
109
through the peninsula towards San Diego, the nearest of the places
selected for the first establishments, in two parties, commanded
respectively by Gaspar de Portola, the governor of the newly-formed
province, and Fernando de Rivera, a captain in the army. Each
party carried a drove of cattle ; the materials and supplies for the
colonics being sent in three vessels directly to San Diego.
The first party of emigrants under Rivera, after a long and
painful march, reached San Diego on the 14th of May, 1769, and
found there two of the vessels, which, after disastrous voyages and
the loss of many of their crews by scurvy, had arrived a few days
previous. The other body, under Portola, marched by a still more
difHcult route, and did not join their companions on the Pacific
shore until nearly two months later. A spot having been chosen
fi»r the settlement near the entrance of the Buy of San Diego,
a portion of the men were employed in erecting the necessary
buildings ; with the remainder Portola set oft' for Monterey, where
he was anxious also to establish a colony immediately, leaving
directions that the third vessel, which was expected from Mexico,
ihould be ordered to proceed with her cargo to that place. This
expedition, however, was not successful ; for the Spaniards, march-
ing along the eastern side of the range of mountains which
border the coast northward of San Diego, passed by Monterey,
and found themselves, at the end of October, on the shore of a great
bay, which they supposed to be the same called Port Son Francisco
in the accounts of the old navigators. When they discovered the
place of which they were in search, the cold weather had begun ;
and, the vessel not appearing, with the supplies, as expected, they
were obliged to retrace their steps to San Diego. Of this third
vessel nothing was ever heard after her departure from the Gulf of
California.
In the mean time, the people left at San Diego had experienced
great difiiculties from the hostility of the natives, by whom they
were several times attacked ; and, after the return of the governor's
party, they were all in danger of perishing from want of food : so
tliat they unanimously agreed to abandon the country and return
to Mexico, unless they should be relieved, before St. Joseph's d;iy,
the 10th of March, 1770, by the return of one of the vessels, which
had been sent for supplies. On that day, one of the vessels
did arrive, and, the supplies being found suliicicnt, Portola again set
otf for Monterey, where a settlement was effected. During the
same year, other parties of emigrants came from Mexico, and new
i
I
ilHi!
n#
OISPUTi: ABOUT THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.
[1770.
J ;
If
'i!l
' I
^ m
eitnblishments were formed on the coast between San Diego and
Monterey ; and, as the means of subsistence soon became abundant
by the multiplication of their cattle, independently of the fruits of
their labor in agriculture, the Spanish colonies in Upper California
were, before 1775, in a condition to resist the dangers to which they
were likely to be exposed.
Another measure, undertaken by the Spanish government about
this time, in prosecution of its plans for securing the unsettled
coasts and islands of America from occupation by foreign powers,
brought Spain into collision, and nearly into war, with Great Britain.
Soon after the peace of 1763, colonies were formed by the French
and the British on the barren, storm-vexed group of the Folk-
land Islands, in the South Atlantic Ocean, near the entrance of
Magellan's Strait. The French colonists were soon withdrawn by
their government, at the instance of the Spanish king, though not
until after an angry discussion : the British ministers, on the other
hand, treated with contempt the remonstrances addressed to them
from Madrid, on the subject of their settlement. At length, in
June, 1770, the British colonists were expelled from Port Kgmont,
the place which they occupied, by a squadron and troops sent for the
purpose from Buenos Ayres by Don Francisco Bucareli, the gov-
ernor of that province. This event created great excitement in
England, and both nations prepared for war ; but the dispute was
compromised through the mediation of Fronce. A declaration was
presented on the part of Spain, to the effect — tliat the Catholic king
disavowed the act of the governor of Buenos Ayres, and promised
to restore the settlers to Port Egmont ; but that these concessions
were not to be considered as prejudicing his prior right of sovereign-
ty over the islands : and the British minister gave in return an accept-
ance of the disavowal and promise of restoration, without noticing
the Spanish reservation of right.* Agreeably to this promise, the
British colonists were replaced at Port Egmont in 1771 ; but they
were withdrawn by order of their government in 1774, on the plea
of the expensiveness and inutility of the establishment, but, as is
* The documents relative to this dispute may be found at length m the London
Annual Register, and in the Gentleman's Magazine, for 1770. See, also, — the
Parliamentary History, vol. xvi. — the Anecdotes of the Life of Lord Chathcn,
chap, xxxix. — Thoughts on the Falkland Islands, by Dr. Samuel Johnson, &c.
The author of this History may also be permitted to refer to — a Memoir, Historical
and Political, on the Falkland Islands — written by himself, and published in the New
York Merchant's Magazine for February, 1842, containing full accounts of all the
circumstances connected with this famous dispute.
1771.]
SETTLEMENT Or THE DISPUTE.
Ill
generally believed, in conHuqucnce of u secret engagement to that
eflect, concluded between the parties * at the time of the settlement
> London
80, — the
Jhathcn,
son, &c.
[iBtorical
the New
f all the
* That tho Uritiiih Kovcrniiicnt did locrotly t-ni^Kge— to abandon the Falkland lilandi
entirely, foon after the reHtitutioii of i'ort Eginoul iihould have been formally effected—
wai asiterted at the time openly in parliament, and without reply from the niiniiteri,
ai well M by many individuals in Ureat lintniii whoHe opiuion<< are entitled to credit.
It waa admitted by Dr. JohiiHon, in an edttiun of hiM Thoui;hta, Jkc, publinhed lub-
lequent to the evaciiatiiin ; and it has been h) u-d as true by every historian, British
and f(irei||;n, who has descrilu'd the affair. It tvus, indeed, regarded as an established
fact, and was untpiestioned until the Hth of January, IHIM, when Lord Paluierston,
the British secretary for forei|;n affairs, in answer to a protest on the part of the gov-
ernment of Buenos Ayres afjainst the recent occupation of th> Fa'kland Islands by
Ureal Britain, formally denied it, and produced a number of -^'racts from corre-
spondence bclwrrn Hrilish minintira and their own aticnts, which he considered as
affording '* concluHive evidence that no such secret understanding could have existed,"
as it is not mentioned in thoHc extractH. The papers cited by Lord Pulmerston, and
tile arguments whicli he draws from tliem, are, however, insutficient to change the
general preexisting belief on the subject ; for in none of them should we expect to
find any allusion to tiie engagement in question. There is no apparent reason for
which the ministers should have informed any of the persons addressed in these
letters of their promise to evacuate the islands ; while, on the other hand, it was
clearly important for them to suppress all proof uf their having made such an engage-
ment, which the whole British people would have considered dishonoring, it is no
novelty in diplomacy, that an ambassador should be kept in ignorance of matters
settled rr discussed between his own ministers of state and those of the government
to which he is accredited ; and the very negotiation by whicli this dispute was ter-
minated, was earrii'd on through the agency of the secretary of the French embassy
at London, while the ambassador himself knew nothing about it.
Equally inelHcient to produce conviction is the assertion of Lord Pahnerston in
the same letter, " that the reservation (with regard to the sovereignty of the Falkland
islands) contained in lh(> Spanish derltiratiou cannot be admitted to possess any sub-
stantial weight, inasuuieli as no notice whatever is taken of it in the British counter
dedariition." In the tirst place, no counter tieclarution was made on the occasion :
the British nunister presented, in return for the Spanish ambassador's declarulion, a
paper containing not u word of contradiction, and which isi, as it was styled when
submitted to parliament, an acrrptaiicc. These two documents — the only ones which
are as yet knuusn to have passed on the conclusion of the dispute — cannot be sepa-
rated in reasoning on their contents, but must be taken together, as forming one con
rentiiin, ailmittcd hij both parlim. It will not be pretended that the Spanish ambas-
sador delivered his declaration, without full knowledge of the answer which was to
be made to it ; and the silence of the British minister on the subject of the reser-
vation amounts, at least, to an acknowledgment that the fact of the restitution of Port
Eginont was not regarded as a surrender by Spain of her claim of sovereignty over
the Falkland group, which was to remain such as it had been before the dispute.
That this view must have been taken by the British government is likewise
strongly corroborated by the circumstance that the Spaniards continued to occupy
Soledad (another place in the Falkland Islands, where the French had made their
settlement) for more than forty years after this arrangement, without ony complaint
or objection on the part of Great Britain, though they had been formally ordered to
quit it before the dispute occurred.
It will be shown, in the fifteenth chapter of this History, that the British govern-
ment, in 1B27, took a different view of reservations of right, when they were in favor
of Great Britain.
V ; til
• & fit'
■ \
■i?
113
SPANISH COLONIES IN NEW CALIFORNIA.
[1774.
of the dispute. Bucareli, the governor of Buenos Ayres, whose acts
had been disavowed by his sovereign, was raised to the high and
lucrative post of viceroy of Mexico.
The issue of this dispute between Great Britain and Spain, served
to impress upon the government of the latter power still more
strongly, the conviction of the necessity of occupying the vacant
coasts and islands of America adjoining its settled provinces.
Efforts for this purpose were accordingly made, not only on the
coasts of California, but also on those of Texas, of the Mosquito
country, and of Patagonia, and were continued, at great expense,
though with little effect, until 1779, when they were abandoned, in
consequence of the wars excited by the revolution which ended in
the independence of the United States.
The efforts of the Spanish government were, however, specially
directed towards the west coasts of North America ; and, in order
to give them efficiency, a particular branch of the administration of
Mexico was created, under the title of the Marine Department of
tSan Bias, which was charged with the superintendence and ad-
vancement of the establishments in that quarter. The port of San
Bias, in Mexico, at the entrance of the Californian Gulf, was made
the centre of the operations for these purposes : arsenals, ship-
yards, and warehouses, were erected there ; all expeditions for the
coasts farther north were made from it, and all orders relative to
them passed through the chief of the department, who resided at
that port.
In this manner, before 1779, eight establishments were formed,
by the Spaniards, on the Pacific coast of America, between the
Californian peninsula and Cape Mendocino; the southernmost of
which was San Diego, near the 32d degree of latitude, and the
northernmost, San Francisco, on the great bay of the same name,
near the ;38t!i. These establishments were, in their character,
almost exclusively military and missionary ; being intended solely
for the occupation of the country, which it was proposed to effect,
as far as possible, by the conversion of the aborigines to the
Catholic religion, and to the forms and customs of civilized life.
The military arrangements were all on the most miserable scale.
The forts, some of them dignified with the name of castles, were
of mud ; the artillery were a few old pieces, of various sizes,
generally ineffective, and the garrisons were all slender : the men
were badly armed, badly clothed, and seldom or never exercised,
though they were well fed, as the country was covered with cattle,
1774.]
SPANISH COLONIES IN NEW CALIFORNIA.
118
)rmed,
in the
lost of
bd the
name,
^racter,
solely
effect,
I to the
life,
scale.
, were
sizes,
|e men
frcised,
cattle,
the descendants of the herds brought thither by the Spaniards in
1770 ; and the ground yielded, with little cultivation, as much
Indian corn, beans, and red pepper, as could be consumed. The
missions were, for the most part, in the vicinity of the military
stations, and, like those of the Jesuits, they each contained a church,
generally well built, with some ruder edifices, for the accommoda-
tion of the priests and their converts, and for store and work-
houses. The public farms were worked by the natives, under the
direction of the missionaries or soldiers, and merely produced the
food required in the establishments, and, in some places, a little
wine. Towns were afterwards formed, some of which were
endowed with the privileges of u corporation ; but none of them
attained a large size.
The missionaries were, as already stated, of the Franciscan
order, the members of which are incapacitated, by their vows, from
holding any property as individuals. They were, for the most part,
plain, uneducated men — taken from the lower classes of society, and
knowing no books but their breviaries, and the biographies of their
saints — who devoted themselves conscientiously and heroically to
the task of reclaiming and guiding the barbarous natives of that
remote region — without any expectation of acquiring wealth or
honors — unsupported by the ambition and pride of order which
animated the Jesuits — and uncheered by those social pleasures and
consolations which our Protestant apostles derive from their fam-
ilies, wherever they may be placed. To their virtuous conduct and
self-denial all the enlightened travellers* who have visited their
missions bear unqualified testimony.
These missionaries soon succeeded in reducing a large number
of the natives of California to a certain degree of conformity with
the customs of social life. The neophytes were obtained, gener-
ally when young, from their parents, by persuasion, or by purchase,
or, in some cases, by force, and were never suffered to return to
their savage friends, if it could be prevented. They were all, at
first, treated as children ; the nature and hours of their labors, their
studies, their meals, and their recreations, being prescribed by their
superintendents ; and they were punished when negligent or re-
fractory, though not with severity. After remaining ten years in
this state of pupilage, they might obtain their liberty, and have
ground allotted to them ; but comparatively few availed themselves
" La Ferouse, Vancouver, Kotzebue, Beechey, dtc.
15
I
i|-l!
1.1
i. ! i
■
i
1
'''
-
in
■iV
■■,v'
h.,
■'Ua-
114
VOYAGE OF JUAN PEREZ.
[1774.
of the permission, and those who did so, for the most part, sunk into
sloth and misery, or returned to the wilds, and resumed the savage
life. In the latter cases, the Spaniards employed every means in
their power to retake the fugitives, who were, indeed, often sent
back by the barbarians, as unworthy of enjoying the privileges of
freemen.
The Franciscans did not, like the Jesuits, exert themselves in
procuring information respecting the countries in which they
resided ; and nothing has been learnt from them of the geogra-
phy or natural history of the part of California which they occupied.
In 1775, Friars Font and Garzes travelled, by land, from Mexico,
through Sonora, and the country of the Colorado River, to the
mission of San Gabriel, in California, making observations on their
way, with the view to the increase of intercourse between Mexico
and the establishments in the latter region. They were, however,
coldly received by their brethren, who informed them that they had
no desire to have such communications opened ; and their journal
was never made public. In the same year. Friars Dominguez and
Escalante, of the same order, attempted to penetrate westward
from Santa Fe, in New Mexico, to the Pacific ; but, after proceed-
ing about half the distance, they turned back. The journals of
both these expeditions are still preserved, in manuscript, in Mexico,
where they have been consulted by Humboldt and other travellers ;
but they are, from all accounts, of no value.
Between 1774 and 1779, three exploring voyages were made,
by order of the Spanish government, in which the west coasts of
America were examined, as far north as the 60th degree of latitude.
The first of these voyages was conducted by Ensign Juan Perez,
who had been long employed in the Manilla trade, and afterwards
in the vessels sailing between San Bias and the new establishments
on the Californian coast. He was accompanied by Estevan Marti-
nez, as pilot, and Friars Pena and Crespi, as chaplains, from whose
journals, as well as from those of the commander, the following
account of the voyage is derived.*
Perez sailed from San Bias in the corvette Santiago, on the 25th
* The authorities for the account of this expedition are — the Narrative composed by
Perez for the viceroy — the Journal of Friar Tomasde la Peiia — and the Observations
of the pilot Martinez — manuscript copies of which have been procured from Madrid.
The Journal of Friar Crespi was examined by Humboldt, who has given some par-
ticulars derived from it in his Essay on Mexico. Of this voyage no account was ever
given to the world until 1802, when a short notice of it appeared in the Introduction
to the Journal of the Sutil and Mexicana.
1774.]
VOYAGE OF JUAN PEREZ.
115
made,
isis of
Ltitude.
Perez,
jrwards
hments
Marti-
whose
[lowing
25th
Iposed by
ervations
Madrid,
jme par-
Iwas ever
loduction
of January, 1774, with orders, from the viceroy of Mexico, to
proceed, as soon as possible, northward, to the 60th degree of
latitude, and then to survey the coasts of America from that paral-
lel, southward, to Monterey, taking possession, for the king, of
every place at which he might land. From San Bias he went first
to San Diego, and thence to Monterey, from which latter place he
took his departure, on the 16th of June, for the north. The
weather, as usual in that part of the Pacific, proved stormy, the
winds blowing almost constantly from the north-west ; so that it was
not until the 18th of July that the Santiago reached the 54th par-
allel of latitude, under which land was first seen in the east. The
coast thus observed was high and rocky, extending southward as far
as the eye could penetrate, and terminating, in the north, in a point,
to which Perez gave the name of Cape Santa Margarita. In the
interior was seen a lofty, snow-covered range of mountains, which
he called the Sierra de San Cristoval. On approaching the shore,
the Spaniards could find no place where it would be safe to anchor ;
and, on rounding the cape, the coast beyond it was found to stretch
directly westward. By this time, the crew were beginning to show
symptoms of scurvy, the weather was tempestuous, and the vessel
was small, and badly provided in every respect ; under which cir-
cumstances, it was determined that no attempt should be made to
go farther north. The Spaniards accordingly steered southward,
along the coast, for about a hundred miles, and were then driven
otT by a storm : before leaving it, however, they met some of the
natives, in t^eir canoes, with whom they traded, receiving sea-otter
and other •'aluable skins in return for old clothes, knives, shells,
and other trifles.
The land thus discovered was the west side of the large island
afterwards named (^ueen Charlotte's Island by the British ; Cape
Santa Margarita being the north-easternmost point, now called, on
English maps, Cape North, at the entrance of Dixon^s Channel.
Many particulars resj)ecting the people of these coasts are recorded
in the journals of the Spaniards, which agree precisely with the
accounts of subsequent navigators.
On the 9th of August, Perez again made the land, and discov-
ered, under the parallel of 49 degrees 30 minutes, a deep bay, at
the entrance of which he anchored, between two high points, one
bearing six leagues north-west, the other two leagues south-east.
Ere long, his vessel was surrounded by canoes, filled with natives of
the country, who readily engaged in trade with his crew : they are
w
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116
VOYAGE OF JUAN PEREZ.
[1774.
represented, in the journal of Friar Pena, as having Hghter complex-
ions than other aborigines of America; like those farther north,
they were clad in skins, their hats being, however, made of rushes,
curiously plaited and painted, of a conical shape, with a knob on the
top. To the surprise of the Spaniards, they had many knives,
arrow-points, and other articles, of iron and copper, though it did
not appear that they had held any intercourse with civilized people.
To this bay Perez gave the name of- Port San Lorenzo, in honor
of the saint on whose day it was first seen ; it is undoubtedly the
same which, four years afterwards, received, from Captain Cook,
the appellation of King Georgc\'^ or NootJca Sound. The point
north-west of its entrance, called, by the Spaniards, Cape Santa
Clara, is the JVoodi/ Point of the English ; and the other point —
the Cape San Estcvan of Perez — corresponds precisely, in situa-
tion and all other particulars, as described, with the Point Breakers
of the English navigator.
From Pert San Lorenzo, the Spaniards sailed along the coast
southward ; and, in the latitude of 47 degrees 47 minutes, they
beheld, at a distance in the interior, on the east, a lofty mountain,
covered with snow, which they named Sierra ih Santa Rosalia —
probably the Mount Olympus of the English maps. Martinez, the
pilot of the Santiago, many years after, thought proper to remem-
ber that he had also observed, between the 48th and the 41)ih
parallels, a wide opening in the land, and that he had given his own
name to the point on the south side of its entrance. Of this
observation no note appears in the journals of the voyage ; yet,
upon the strength of the tardy recollection of the pilot, his country-
men have claimed for him the merit of rediscovering the Strait of
Juan de Fuca, and have allixed the name of Cape Martinez, in
their charts, to the point of the continent where that passage joins
the Pacific. Continuing his voyage to the south, Perez, on the iilst
of August, passed in sight of Cape Mendocino, the true latitude of
which he first determined ; and, on the i27th, he arrived at Mon-
terey, whence he, after some time, went on to San Bias.
In this voyage, the first made by the Spaniards along the north-
west coasts of America after 1603, very little was learned, except
that there was land, on the eastern side of the Pacific, as far north
as the latitude of 54 degrees. The government of Spain, perhaps,
acted wisely in concealing the accounts of the expedition, which
reflected little honor on the courage or the science of its navigators ;
but it has thereby deprived itself of the means of establishing
il'
1775.]
VOYAGE OF HECETA AND BODEGA.
117
beyond question the claim of Perez to the discovery of the important
harbor called Nootka Sound, which is now, by general consent,
assigned to Captain Cook.
Immediately after the return of Perez to Mexico, the viceroy
Bucareli (the same officer who, as governor of Buenos Ayres, had
expelled the British from the Falkland Islands in 1770) ordered that
another expedition should be made for the purpose of examining
those coasts as far as the 65th degree of latitude, to which they
were believed to extend continuously north-westward. With this
object the Santiago was placed under the command of Captain
Bruno Heceta, under whom Perez was to go as ensign ; and she
was to be accompanied by a small schooner, called the Sonora, of
which Juan de Ayala was to have the command, and Antonio
Maurelle to be j)ilot. These two vessels, having been equipped,
and provided with the History of California by Venegas, and a chart
of the whole north-west coast of America, constructed according to
the fancy of the French geographer Bellin, in 1766,* sailed together
from San Bias, on the 15th of March, 1775, in company with the
sciiooner San Carlos, bound for Monterey, f Ere they had lost sight
of tlie land, however, the captain of the San Carlos became delirious,
in consequence of which Ayala was ordered to take his place, the
command of the Sonora being transferred to Lieutenant Juan Fran-
cisco de la Bodega y Quadra. These circumstances are mentioned,
bcciiuse, in nearly all the abstracts of the accounts of this voyage
hitherto published, Ayala appears as the chief of the expedition ;
whereas, in fact, he oidy accompanied the exploring vessels to a
short distance from San Bias.
'-'1:
■ 'I
i
m
.. I
north-
except
ir north
|)erlmps,
which
(igators ;
)lishing
* Carte ri'diiito de TOccan st'|)teiitrional, conipris entre I'Asie ct rAmerique,
suivant Ics Decouvt-rtes faiU's par Ics Russos. Par N. Bellin. Paris, 17()G.
t or this expedition no less than five separate accounts are found among the
manuscripts obtained from iMadrid, viz. : the official narrative of the whole, drawn
up for the viceroy of Me.xico — the Journal of Bodega — part of the Journal of
Heceta, showmg his course atler his parting with Bodega — a concise narrative by
Bodega — and, lastly, the Journal of Maurelle, the pilot of the Sonora. A copy of
Maurelle's Journal was obtained in Madrid, soon after the conclusion of the voyage,
from which an Etiglish translation was published at London, in 1781, by the Hon.
Daines Barriugton, among his MiscellanUs. This translation, though very inaccurate
and incomplete, attracted much attention at the time of its appearance, and from it,
and the short account given in the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and
Valdes, all the information respecting the voyage has been hitherto obtained. Bar-
rington's Miscellanies is, however, a rare book ; and the notices of this expi-ditiim
contained in the various memoirs, reports, correspondence, &c., relative to the north-
west coast, are, for the most part, taken directly, or at second hand, from the abstracts
of the Journal, given by Fleurieu in his instructions to La Perousc, and his Intro-
duction to the Journal of Marchand, which are both filled with errors.
•!;'5i
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■ U r
i 1 w\ m.
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i ;. '
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'1 .
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118
VOYAGE OF HECETA AND BODEGA.
[1775.
The exploring vessels, after parting with the Suii Carlos, doubled
Cape Mendocino, and, on the 10th of June, anchored in a small
roadstead beyond that promontory, in the latitude of 41 degrees
10 minutes. The officers, priests, and a portion of the men, imme-
diately landed, and took possession of the country, in the name
of their sovereign, with religious solemnities, bestowing upon the
harbor the name of Port Trinidad; and they then engaged in
repairing their vessels and obtaining a supply of water, which
afforded them employment for nine days.
During this period, the Spaniards held frequent communications
with the people of the country, who dwelt principally on the banks
of a small stream, named by the navigators Rio de las Tortolas, —
Pigeon River, — from the multitude of those birds in its vicinity.
The Indians conducted themselves uniformly in the most peace-
able fnanner, and appeared to be, on the whole, an inoffensive and
industrious race. They were clothed, for the most part, in skins,
and armed with bows and arrows, in the use of which they were
very expert ; their arrows were, in general, tipped with copper
or iron, of which metals they had k. ives and other implements —
whence procured the Spaniards could not learn. No signs of
religious feelings, or ceremonies of any kind, could be discovered
among them, unless their howling over the bodies of the dead may
iL,e considered in that light.
Having completed their arrangements, Heceta and Bodega sailed
from Port Trinidad on the 19th of June, leaving a cross erected
near the shore, with an inscription, setting forth the fact of their
having visited the place and taken possession of it for their sove-
reign : this monument the Indians promised to respect ; and they
kept their word, for Vancouver found it there untouched in 1793.
The Spaniards considered the discovery of the place important : the
harbor being, according to their journals, safe and spacious, and
presenting facilities for communication between vessels and the
shore ; and the surrounding country fruitful and agreeable. Van-
couver, however, gives a much less favorable view of the harbor,
which he pronounces to be in no respect a secure retreat for
vessels, as it is entirely open to the south-west winds, which blow
on that coast with the utmost violence at certain seasons of the
year. The other accounts of the Spaniards, respecting the place
and its inhabitants, are, in general, confirmed by those of the British
navigator.
The Spaniards, after leaving Port Trinidad, were obliged to keep
kr
1775.]
VOYAGE OF HECETA AND BODEGA.
119
to keep
at a distance from the coast for three weeks, at the end of which
time they again came in sight of it, in the latitude of 43 degrees
27 minutes. From that parallel they examined the shore towards
the south, in search of the strait said to have been discovered by
Juan de Fuca in 1592, the entrance of which was placed, in Bellin's
chart, between the 47th and the 48th degrees of latitude ; and, having
satisfied themselves that no such opening existed there, the two
vessels cast anchor near the land, though at some distance from
each other, in order to obtain water and to trade with the natives.
Here a severe misfortune befell the schooner on the 14th of July.
Seven of her men, who had been sent ashore in her only boat,
though well armed, were attacked and murdered, immediately on
landing, by the natives; and the schooner was herself in much
danger of being taken by those savages, who surrounded her, during
the whole day, in great numbers, in their canoes, and were with
difficulty prevented from boarding her. In commemoration of this
melancholy event, the place at which it occurred was called Punta
de Martires — Martyr's Point; it is in the latitude of 47 degrees
20 minutes, and on English maps is called Grenville's Point. A
small island, situated a few miles farther north, the only one de-
serving that name between Cape Mendocino and the Strait of Fuca,
was also named Ma de Dolores — Isle of Sorrows : twelve years
afterwards, this same isle received, from the captain of the ship
Imperial Eagle, of Ostend, the appellation of Destruction Island,
in consequence of a similar massacre of some of his crew by the
Indians, on the main land opposite.
This disaster, together with the wretched condition of the
schooner, and the appearance of scurvy in the crews of both ves-
sels, occasioned a debate among the officers, as to the propriety of
continuing the voyage. The commander, Heceta, was desirous to
return to Monterey, in which, however, he was opposed by his own
pilot, Juan Perez, and by Bodega, the captain, and Maurelle, the
pilot, of the schooner; and, their opinions having been given, as
usual in the Spanish service, in writing, the unwilling assent of the
commander was obtained, and the voyage towards the north was
resumed on the 20th of July. Ere they had proceeded far in that
direction, the vessels were separated in a storm ; whereupon Heceta
seized the opportunity to go back to Monterey, whilst Bodega per-
severed in his determination to accomplish, as far as possible, the
objects of the expedition.
Heceta, after parting with the schooner, made the land near the
'^
m
-.1 .
'1:
120
HECETA DISCOVERS A GREAT RIVER.
[1775.
in
W^
m-i
:il-...k.
50th degree of latitude, (on the south-west side of the great island
of Vancouver and Quadra,) and, passing by the Port San Lorenzo,
(Nootka Sound,) discovered in the previous year by Perez, he came
on the coast of the continent near the 48th parallel, without observ-
ing the intermediate entraij^e of the Strait of Fuca, for which he,
however, sought between the 47lh and 48th parallels. Theace he
ran along the shore towards the south, and, on the 15th of August,
arrived opposite an opening, in the latitude of 46 degrees 17 min-
utes, from which rushed a current so strong as to prevent his enter-
ing it. This circumstance convinced him that it was the mouth of
some great river, or, perhaps, of the Strait of Fuca, which might
have been erroneously placed on his chart: he, in consequence,
remained in its vicinity another day, in the hope of ascertaining
the true character of the place ; but, being still unable to enter the
opening, he continued his voyage towards the south.*
On the opening in the coast thus discovered Heceta bestowed
the name of Ensenadn de Asuncion f — Assumption Inlet ; calling the
point on its north side Cape San Roque, and that on the south Cape
Frondoso — Leafy Cape. In the charts published at Mexico, soon
after the conclusion of the voyage, the entrance is, however, called
Ensenada de Heceta — Heceta' s Inlet — and Rio de San Roque —
River of St. Roc. It was, undoubtedly, the mouth of the greatest
river on the western side of America ; the same which was, in 179*2,
first entered by the ship Columbia, from Boston, under the command
of Robert Gray, and has ever since been called the Columbia.
The evidence of its first discovery by Heceta, on the 15th of August,
1775, is unquestionable.
From Assumption Inlet, Heceta continued his course, along the
shore of the continent, towards the south, and arrived at Monterey,
with nearly two thirds of his men sick, on the 30th of August. In
his journal, he particularly describes many places on this part of the
coast which are now well known ; such as — the remarkable promon-
tory, in the latitude of 45J degrees, with small, rocky islets in front,
named by him Cape Falcon, the Cape Lookout of our maps — the
flat-topped mountain, overhanging the ocean, a little farther south,
noted, in his journal, as La Mesa, or The Table, which, in 1805,
1'
* See extract from the Journal of Heceta, among the Proofs and Illustrations,
under the letter E, in the latter part of this volume.
t The 15th of August is the day of the Assumption, and the 16th is the day of St.
Roque, or Roc, and St. Jacinto, or Hyacinth, according to the Roman Catholic
calendar.
1775.
island
»rcnzo,
5 came
jbscrv-
icli he,
iiice he
\ugust,
17 min-
3 enter-
outh of
\\ might
quence,
irtaining
inter the
jcstowed
ilUng the
ith Cape
ico, soon
LT, called
Roque —
greatest
in 179-2,
command
'olumbin.
August,
|ilong the
[onterey,
bust. In
tut of the
promon-
in front,
(ips — the
jr south,
lin 1805,
llustrations,
day of St.
Ln Catholic
1775.]
VOYAGi: OF BODEGA AND MAURELLE.
121
li
received, from Lewis and Clarke, the name of darkens Point of
View — and the numerous rocky points and reefs bordering the
shore, between those places and Cape Mendocino.
Meanwhile, Bodega and Maurclle, in their little vessel, were
striving, if possible, to reach the 65th degree of latitude, agreeably
to the instructions of the viceroy. With this object, after their
separation from Heceta, they advanced towards the north, without
seeing land, until they had passed the 56th degree of latitude, when
they unexpectedly beheld it, on the 16th of August, at a great dis-
tance in the north, and much nearer on the east ; though, by
Bellin's chart, and their own calculations, they should have been
one hundred and thirty-Hve leagues from any part of America.
Steering towards the east, they discovered a lofty mountain, rising
from the ocean in the form of a beautiful cone, and covered with
snow, occupying the whole of what seemed to be a peninsula,
projecting from the main land of an extensive and elevated ter-
ritory : this mountain innnediately received the name of San Jacinto,
in honor of St. Hyacinth, on whose day it was discovered, the pro-
jecting point of land which it occupied being called Cape Engaiio,
or False Cape. In the angles between this supposed peninsula and
the main land were two bays, or sounds, of which the northernmost
was named Port Remedios, and the other Port Gtiadtlnpe, after
the two celebrated shrines in the vicinity of the city of Meyi^o.
There is no difiiculty in identifying any of these places, as described
in the journals of the Spanish voyage. They are situated on the
west side of the largest island of the group distinguished, on
English maps, as King George IWs Archipelago : Mount San
Jacinto was, three vears afterwards, named bv Cook Mount
Edgecumb ; Port Remedios is the Bay of Islands of the same
navigator, and Port Guadelupe is the Norfolk Sound of the
English geographers. The two bays have since been found to com-
municate with each other by a narrow passage, which completely
separates the main land from the mountain. The Spaniards landed
on the shore of Port Remedios, where they took possession of the
country agreeably to the formalities prescribed, and obtained some
water and salmon for the supply of their vessel. While thus en-
gaged, they were surrounded by a crowd of natives of the country,
who appeared to be more savage and determined than those of any
other part of the coast, and also to entertain very distinct ideas
of their own superior rights of property and domain. Thus the
Spaniards were obliged to pay, not only for the fish, but also for
16
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122
THE SPANIARDS ON THEIR RETURN.
[1776.
the water taken away by them ; and the cross, and other marks
which they planted on the shore, were torn up immediately on their
departure, and treated with every indignity by the savages.
The voyage was resumed on the 20th of August, and was con-
tinued along the coast, to the 58th degree of latitude, beyond which
it was found impossible to proceed, as nearly all on board were, from
fatigue and sickness, incapable of performing duty, whilst the winds
were daily increasing in violence, and rendering greater exertions
necessary. They accordingly, on the 2"2d, turned towards the south ;
and, having passed Mount San Jacinto, they approached the coast,
in order to seek for the Rio de Reyes, the great river through which
Admiral Fonte was said to have penetrated far into the interior
of the American continent, in 1640. " With this intent," writes
Maurelle, in his journal, " we examined every bay and recess of the
coast, and sailed around every head-land, lying to, during the night,
in order that we might not miss this entrance ; after which exer-
tions, we may safely pronounce that no such passage is to be
found." This conclusion was certainly correct, but it was as
certainly not established by the exertions of the Spaniards on this
occasion : for, in the first place, they confined their search to the
pait of the coast north of the 54th parallel, whereas, in the
account of Fonte's voyage, the Rio de Reyes is made to enter the
Pacific under the 53(1 ; and, had their observations been as minute
as Maurelle represents them, several passages woidd have been
found, leadin<T from the ocean towards the north and east, for the
complete examination of any one of which, more time would have
been required than was spent by the Spaniards in their whole
search. Of the many openings in that part of the coast, the only
one penetrated by these navigators was the extensive bay, named,
by them. Port Bucareli, in the latitude of 55A degrees, on the
west side of the largest island of the group called, on English
maps, the Prince of Wales's Archipelago, where they landed, and
took possession, on the 24th of August. Thence proceeding south-
ward, they made the north-east extremity of Queen Charlotte's
Island, which had received, from Perez, in the preceding year, the
name of Cape Santa Margarita ; and they observed, immediately
north of that point, the wide passage which they called Entrada de
Perez — the DixoiCs Entrance of the English maps, separating
Queen Charlotte's from the Prince of Wales's Islands.
From Cape Santa Margarita, the Spoaiards sailed slowly towards
the south, frequently seeing the land, though always at too great a
r:
' f
775.
narks
their
con-
A^hich
, from
winds
;rtions
south ;
coast,
vvliich
nterior
writes
of the
! night,
11 exer-
to be
was as
on this
to the
in the
Uer the
minute
e been
for the
|U1 have
whole
|he only
named,
on the
English
led, and
south-
larlotte's
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lediately
Urada de
parating
I towards
great a
1775.]
RETUHN OF BUUCQA.
123
distance to be able to make any useful observations, except as to the
general direction of the shores, until the 1 9th of Scpteinlicr, when
they found themselves opposite the spot, near the 47th degree of
latitude, where their men had been murdered by the natives two
months before. Leaving that place, they next came on the coast
in the latitude of 45 degrees 27 minutes, from which parallel they
carefully examined the shores southward, to the 42d, in search of
the great river, said to have been seen by Martin de Aguilar, in
1603, as related in the account of Vizcaino's voyage. Their obser-
vations induced them to conclude that no such river entered the
Pacific from that part of the continent, though they perceived
strong currents oiitsetting from the land in several places ; they,
however, believed that they recognized the Cape Blanco of Aguilar,
near which the mouth of his river was said to be situated, in a high,
flat-topped promontory, with many white clilVs upon it, projecting
far into the sua, under the parallel of 42 degrees and 50 minutes —
the same, no doubt, afterwards named Caj'c OrJ'onl by Vancouver.
Having com|)leted this examinati.-n, they bore olV to sea, and,
rounding Cape Mendocino, they, on the 3(1 of October, discovered
a bay a little north of the 3Sth degree of latitude, which they
entered, supposing it to be Port San Francisco; but it proved to be
a smaller bay, not described in any pr(!vious account, and Podi^ga
accordingly bestowed on it his own name, which it still bears.
Having made a hasty survey of Port Bodega, the . Spaniards sailed
to Monterey, and thence to San Bias, where they arrived on the
20th of November, after a voyage of more than eight months.
In this expedition, the commander, Heceta, certainly ac(|uired no
laurels, though he etlected, at U^iist, one discovery, from which a nation
more enterprising and powerful than Spain might have derived im-
portanl advantages. Bodega and Maurelle, however, nobly vindicated
the cliaracter of their countrymen, by their constancy and persever-
ance in advancing through unknown seas, at a stormy period of the
year, in their small and miserably-equipped vessel, with a diminished
crew, the greater part of whom were laboring under that most debil-
itating and disheartening of diseases, the scurvy. Fortunately for
their reputation, a copy of Maurelle's journal escaped from its
prison-house in the archives of the Indies at Madrid, and was given
to the world, in an English version, before the appearance of any
other authentic account of the parts of the world which they had
explored ; and, by this means, together with the publication of their
chart about the same vime, their claims as discoverers were estab-
I 111
.\
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1'24
IMPOnTANCE or TIlKSf. DISCOVERIES.
[1775.
i.t'i
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u
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lished beyond nil cavil. Thus, without reference to the voyage of
Perez, it is conchisively provc^d that the Spaniards, in 1775, exam-
ined with minuteness the whole western shore of the American
continent, from Monterey, near the ;j7th degree of latitude, north-
ward, to and beyond the 48th degr(;e, and determined the general
direction of the west coasts of the westernmost islands, bordering
the continent between the 48th parallel and the 58th. Of these
coasts, the portion south of the 4J3d degree of latitude had been
seen by Ferrelo, in 1543, and possibly by Drake, in 1578; Juan de
Fuca had probably sailed along them to the .53d parallel, in 1593;
and the Russians, as will be hereafter shown, had discovered the part
near the 56th parallel, in 1741 : but no definite information had been
obtained, respecting any point, on the Pacific side of America,
between Cape Mendocino and Mount San Jacinto, previous to the
expedition of Perez. The geographical positions of the places
visited by the Spanish navigators in 1774 and 1775, were, indeed,
left very uncertain as regards their longitudes, though the latitudes
have been found nearly correct ; yet the great question as to the
extension of North America towards the west was approximately
answered, and useful hints were afforded for the organization and
conduct of future voyages.
The results of this expedition were considered, by the Spanish
government, as highly important ; a short notice of them was
published in the official gazette, at Madrid, which was copied, with
many additions, (nearly all of them erroneous,) into the London
newspapers ; * and orders were sent to the viceroy of Mexico, to
* " Several Spanish frigates having been sent from Aeapnico to make diacoveries,
and to propagate tlie gospel among the Indians, to the nortli of California, in the
month of July, 1744, they navigated as liigh up on the roast as the latitude of '}S
degrees 20 minutes, six degrees above Cape Blanro Having diseovercd several
good harbors and navigable rivers upon the west roast »)f this great eontinent, they
established, in one of the largest ports, a garrison, and ealled tiie p(»rt the Presidio
tic Sun Carlos, and, besides, left a mission at every port where the inhabitants were
to be found. The Indians they here met with are said to be a very doeile sort of
people, agreeable in their countenance, Imnest in their tratlic, and neat in tln'ir dress,
but, at the same time, idolaters to the greatest degree, having never before had any
intercourse with Europeans. M. Bucarelli, the viceroy of New Spain, has received
Ijis Catholic majesty's thanks for these discoverii's, as tiiey were made under his
direction ; and the several navy oHicers upon that voyage have been preferred. It is
im igined that those new discoveries will be very advantageous, as the coast abounds
witii whales, as also a fish, equal to the Newfijundland cod, known, in Spain, by the
name of narralao."
The above notice appears in the London Annual Register for 1776, under date of
June 2<Sth, which was a few days before the departure of Captain Cook from England
for the North Pacific.
'f :
panish
was
, with
ondon
tico, to
M)vcric9,
in the
de of r>8
sfvcrnl
•lit, they
Presidio
ntH were
sort of
■ir dross,
had any
rocoived
indcr his
>d. It is
abounds
1, by the
date of
I England
1779.]
VOYAGE or ARTKAOA AND BODEGA.
185
hnvc the discovery of the west rousts of America completed with-
out «l('lny, under the cure of the same ofHeers who hn<l uhcndy
efl'eeted so much for that oliject. With this view, the viceroy,
Bueareh, ordered u hir^'e ship to he buiU at San Hhis, and anoth(>r
was, at the same time, constructed at Ciuayaquil, in Quito. In
these preparations, nearly three; years were consumed, so that the
vessels we're not ready for the expedition until the hepnnin^' of
1771); they then (|uitted San Bias, un(h;r the command of Captain
Ignacio Arteaga, who sailed in the lar^'er ship, the Vr'nmsa, the
other, called the Favorita, being connnanded by Bodega, with Mau-
relle as second ollicer. Ileceta had been transferred to new duties.
Of this voyage a short notice will sutRce, as all the places dis-
covered in the course of it had b( en visited, and minutely examined,
in the preceding year, 1778, by the Knglish, under Captain James
Cook.*
On the 7th of February, 1779, Arteaga and Bodega sailed from
San Bias directly for I'ort Bucareli, which they entered after a
voyage of four months ; and there they remained nearly two months,
engaged in surveying the bay, in refitting their vessels, and in
trading with the native's, of whom v<'ry minute and interesting
accounts are given in the journals of this voyage. From Port
Bucareli they sailed northward, on the 1st of July, and in a few
days saw the land stretching before them from north-east to north-
west : on approaching it, they behtild rising from the coast a great
mountain, " higher than Orizaba," which was, no doubt, Mount St.
Elins ; and they began their search, west of these places, for a pas-
sage leading northwards into the Arctic Sea, as laid down in the
charts of Bellin, which they carried with them. In the course of
this search, they entered a great bay, containing many islands, on
the western side of the largest of which, called by them Isia dc la
Mtifilakna, thev found a good harbor, where thev cast anchor on
the 'ibi\\, and took possession of the whole region for the king of
S|)ain. From this harbor, named by the Spaniards Port Santiago,
parties were sent out in boats to explore the coasts ; but the com-
* Tlie pnptTs rolativf to this voyage, which have been obtained, in manuscript,
from the hydrosjrraphipal department at Madrid, are — the otlicial account of the whole
expedition — and the journals 'if Bodega and Maurelle — accompanied by several tables
of the navigation, and vocabularies of Indian languages, and the chart of the coast
about Prince William's Sound, which is utterly worthless. A translation of a part
of Maurelle's journal may be found in the first volume of the narrative of the expedi-
tion of La Perouse, accompanied by some severe, and not altogether just, reflections
on the conduct of the Spanish navigators in general.
II
i
,1
'^'
M
.'ill
126
SPAIN AT WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN.
: I!.
if
r '^
^:ii
[1779.
mander, Arteaga, becoming anxious to return to Mexico, soon found
that the men were beginning to suffer from scurvy, that the pro-
visions were faihng, and that there was no probabihty of their dis-
covering any passage, through which they might penetrate farther
north ; and he, in consequence, resolved that both vessels should
immediately proceed to Monterey. They accordingly sailed from
Port Santiago on the 7th of August ; on the 15th of October
they entered Port San Francisco, and on the 21st of November
they arrived at San Bias, " where," says Fleurieu, with more justice
than usually characterizes his remarks on Spanish voyages, " they
might have passed the whole time which they spent in their expedi-
tion, without our knowledge in geography having sustairied any loss
by their inaction." The voyage was, in fact, productive of no
benefit whatsoever, and the Spanish government should have been
mortified at its results ; instead of which, however, the officers
engaged in it were all promoted, for their good conduct and
exertions.
Of the places visited by Arteaga and Bodega, after leaving Port
Bucareli, the great bay, called by them Ensehada de Reglo, is now
generally known by the name of Prince Jf imam's Sound, and their
Lla de la Magdalena is the Montagitc^s Island of the English ma|)s.
It is needless to mention any other of the many appellations given
by the Spaniards to capes, bays, islands, and mountains, in that
part of America, as they have fallen into disuse.
In 1779, Spain became involved in war witli Great Britain, and
her flag did not again appear on the coasts north of Cape Mendo-
cino until 1788. Before relating the events which occurred in that
interval, it will be proper to present an account of the discoveries
effected in the North Pacific, since the commencement of the cen-
tury, by the Russians occupying the north-eastern extremity of
Asia.
i
[1779.
I found
»e pro-
i\r dis-
farther
should
d from
Dctober
(veinber
; justice
, "they
expedi-
any loss
e of no
ive been
officers
uct and
/ing Port
1, is now
and their
ish maps,
ms given
in that
[tain, and
Mendo-
!d in that
iscoveries
the cen-
imity of
127
CHAPTER V.
1711 TO 1779.
Discoveries of the Russians from Kaintciiatka — Voyages of Bering and Tchirikof to
the Arctic Sea and to the American Continent — Establishments of the Russian
Fur Traders in the Aleutian Islands — Voyages of Synd, Krenitzin, and Levashef
— First Voyage from Kamtchatka to China, made by Polish Exiles under Ben-
yowsky — General Inaccuracy of the Ideas of the Russians respecting the Geogra-
phy of the nortiiernmost Coasts of the Pacific, before 1779.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the coasts of Asia
on the Pacific, north of the 40th parallel of latitude, were as little
known as those of America on the opposite side of the ocean.
In 164.3, Martin Geritzin de Vries and Hendrick Schaep, two
Dutch navigators, commanding the ships Kastrikom and Breskens,
explored the seas near Japan, as far north as the 48th degree of
latitude, and probably entered tlie great gulf, called the Sea of
Ochotsk, between the main land of Asia on the west, and Kamt-
chatka and the Kurile chain of islands on the east. It is also
related, that Thomas Peclie, an English bucanier, sailed along the
same coasts in 1(373, while in search of the Strait of Anian, the
entrance of which he was said to have found north of Japan,
though he was unable to pass through it, on account of the violence
of the winds from the north.
From such imperfect accounts the m.ips of that part of the world
were generally constructed, before 1750. In those maps, Jesso, the
northernmost of the Japan Islands, appears as part of the Asiatic
continen* and Kamtchatka and the Kurile Islands are represented
as one extensive territory, under the name of the Compamfs Land,
united to America on the east, and separated from Jesso on the
west, by a narrow passage called the Strait of tries, or the Strait
of Anian.
In 1711, the whole of Northern Asia had been completely sub-
jugated by the Russians, to whom the rich furs * abounding in those
• See the article on Furs and the Fur Trade, among the Proofs and Illustrations at
the concluding part of this volump, under the letter B.
<l
•v
1
Si
u4
^ ■:::; I.
11
i. i
111
'1
Si>?"l:
f'f'l*^.''
1
\^-
f-3
Ul
1
V-
'ivr ■^'
il
i' ' -:
^ ^ ■'
-1' ' ; - *!i
IV'
II;
128
PLANS OF PETER THE GKEAT.
[1728.
regions proved as attractive as the gold and silver of America were
to the Spaniards. In the course of their expeditions, the Russians
had traced the northern shores of Asia, to a considerable distance
eastward from Europe, and they had formed establishments on those
of the peninsula of Kamtchatka. But they had not yet, by their
discoveries, afforded the means of determining whether Asia and
America were united on the north into one continent, or were sepa-
rated by a direct communication between the Pacific and the ocean
north of Asia, called the Arctic or Icy Sea • nor, indeed, was it
ascertained that the sea around Kamtchatlia was a part of the
Pacific, though it was generally believed to be so, from the traditions
preserved by the natives of that peninsula, of large ships having
been wrecked on their coasts.*
By these conquests the Russians had been enabled to secure, in
addition to the other advantages, a commercial intercourse with
China, which was carried on, agreeably to a treaty concluded in
1689, by caravans, passing between certain great marts in each
empire. But the ambitious czar Peter, who then filled the Russian
throne, was not content with such acquisitions ; he was anxious to
know what territories lay beyond the sea bounding his dominions
in the east, and whether he could not, by directing his forces in
that way, invade the establishments of the French, the British, or
the Spaniards, in America. With these views, he ordered that
vessels should be built in Kamtchatka, and equipped for voyages of
discovery, to be made according to instructions which he himself
drew up ; while, at the same time, other vessels should proceed
from Archangel, on the White Sea, eastward, to explore the ocean
north of Europe and Asia, in search of a navigable communication,
or north-east passage, through it from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Various circumstances prevented the execution of any of these
projects during the lifetime of Peter. His widow and successor,
Catharine, liowever, resolved to carry them into fulfilment ; and a
small vessel was, at length, in 1728, completed and prepared at the
mouth of the River of Kamtchatka, on the north-east side of that
peninsula, for a voyage of discovery, to be made agree.ibly to the
instructions of the great czar. The command of the expedition
was intrusted to Vitus Bering, a Dane, who had been selected for
* The particulars related in the present chapter are derived, principally, from the
History of Kamtchatka, by Krascheninikof — the Account of the Russian Voyages
from Asia to Ainorina, by MuUer — and the Account of the Discoveries of the Russians
in the North Pacific, by Coxe, the last edition of which, published in 1803, is the
most complete work on the subject.
728.
1728.]
BERING S VOYAGE TO THE ARCTIC SEA.
129
were
isians
lance
those
their
1 and
sepa-
occan
ivas it
of the
ditions
having
;ure, in
se with
ided in
in each
Hussian
fious to
minions
orces in
itish, or
red that
ages of
himself
proceed
ic ocean
ication,
icific.
if these
iccessor,
and a
Id at the
of that
to the
Ipedition
;ted for
, from the
Voyages
Russians
h03, is the
the purpose by Peter, on account of his approved courage and
nautical skill ; his lieutenants were Alexei Tchirikof, a Russian, and
Martin Spangberg, a German, each of whom afterwards acquired
reputation as a navigator.
Bering was instructed, first — to examine the coasts north and
east from Kamtchatka, in order to determine whether or not they
were connected with, or contiguous to, America; and next — to
reach, if possible, some port belonging to Europeans on the same
sea. With these objects he sailed from Kamtchatka River, on the
14th of July, 1728, and, taking a northward course along the Asiatic
shore, he traced it to the latitude of 67 degrees 18 minutes: there
he found the coast turning almost directly westward, and presenting
nothing but rocks and snow, as far as it could be perceived, whilst
no land was visible in the north or east. From these circumstances
the navigator concluded that he had reached the north-eastern ex-
tremity of Asia, that the waters in which he was sailing were those
of the Icy or Arctic Sea, bounding that continent on the north, and,
consequently, that he had ascertained the fact of the separation of
Asia from America. Being satisfied, therefore, that he had attained
the objects of his voyage u. that direction, and fearing that, if he
should attempt to advance ■■■ he might be obHged to winter in
those desolate regions, for ■ i - he was unprepared, he returned
to Kamtchatka, where he arrived on the 2d of September. All his
conclusions have been since verified ; he, however, little suspected
that he had, as was the fact, twice passed within a few leagues of
the American continent, through the only channel connecting the
Pacific with the Arctic Sea. When the existence of this channel
was satisfactorily determined, it received, by universal consent, the
name of Seringas Strait, which it still bears.
In the ensuing year, Bering attempted to reach the American
continent, by sailing direci'y eastward from Kamtchatka ; but, ere
he had proceeded far in that course, he was assailed by violent
adverse storms, which forced his vessel around the southern extrem-
ity of the peninsula, into the Gulf of Ochotsk. He then went to
St. Petersburg, from which he did not return to engage in another
voyage of discovery until twelve years afterwards.
While Bering thus remained at the Russian capital, the existence
of a direct communication between the sea which bathes the shores
of Kamtchatka and the Pacific was proved, — first, in 1729, by the
wreck of a Japanese vessel on the coast of tlie peninsula, — and, ten
years afterwards, by the voyages of two Russian vessels, under
17
I
I
m
M
m
m
130
DISCOVERIES OP SPANGBERO AND KRUPISCHEP.
[1740.
'I .■ ■
r I
lj,;,i:|
i^
-Fit
Martin Spangberg and William Walton, from Ochotsk, through the
passages between the Kurile Islands, to Japan. Within the same
period, also, the connection of the Pacific with the Atlantic, by the
Arctic Sea, north of Europe and Asia, had been ascertained by
means of expeditions, partly on land and partly on sea, along the
northernmost shores of the continents ; though all the attempts
made then, and since, to pass, in one vessel, around those coasts,
from Europe to the Pacific, have proved abortive. Moreover, a
Russian commander, named Krupischef, had sailed, in 1732, from
Kamtchatka, northward, as far as the extreme point of Asia, which
had been reached by Bering in his first voyage ; and he had thence
been driven, by storms, eastward, upon the coast of an extensive
mountainous territory, which was supposed to be, and doubtless
was, a part of America. Thus the great geographical fact of the
entire separation of Asia and America was supposed to be deter-
mined ; and all doubts as to the practicability of navigating between
the Russian dominions, in the former continent, and those of Spain,
in the latter, were dissipated.
These discoveries encouraged the empress Anne, who had suc-
ceeded to the throne of Russia in 1730, to persevere in endeavoring
to extend her authority farther eastward ; and she accordingly
commissioned Bering, in 1740, to make another expedition from
Kamtchatka, in search of America. For this purpose, two vessels
were built in the Bay of Avatscha, on the south-east side of Kamt-
chatka, which had been selected for the establishment of a marine
depot ; and scientific men were engaged, in France and Germany,
to accompany Bering, in order that precise information might be
obtained on all j)oints connected with the seas and territories to be
explored.
Before the preparations were completed, the empress Anne died ;
but her successor, Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great,
immediately declared her determination to prosecute the enterprise ;
and, no delays being experienced, the vessels sailed together from
the Bay of Avatscha, on the 4th of June, 1741. The larger vessel,
called the St. Peter, was commanded by Bering ; the other, the St.
Paul, by Tchirikof, who had accompanied the Dane in his previous
voyages. On leaving the harbor, they took an eastern course, and
continued together until the 21st of the month, when they were
separated during a violent gale, after which they never met again.
Of Bering's voyage, after his separation from Tchirikof, the only
definite accounts are contained in the journal cf Steller, the surgeon
P.
i
740.
li the
same
>y the
id by
ig the
empts
coasts,
iver, a
I, from
which
thence
:tensive
jubtless
of the
} deter-
3et\veen
f Spain,
lad suc-
eavoring
^ordingly
ion from
o vessels
f Kamt-
marine
ermany,
might be
les to be
1741.]
BERING S VOYAGE TO AMERICA.
131
M\
and naturalist of the ship, which was first pubhshed, in the original
German, by Professor Pallas, in 1795. Before that year, all that
was known on the subject was derived from a meagre and incorrect
abstract of the same journal, in Muller's collections of Russian
history. Steller is by no means precise on points of navigation
and geography, in consequence of which very few spots described
by him can now be identified, although the general course of the
voyage may be ascertained.
From Steller's journal, we learn that Bering, after parting with
Tchirikof, sailed south-eastward, as far as the 46th degree of lati-
tude ; and, not reaching Ameri ^, he then altered his course to the
north-east, in which he continued until the 18th of July, when land
was seen ahead, nearly under the 60th parallel of latitude. The
point first descried by the Russians was a mountain of such extra-
ordinary height, as to be visible at the distance of more than eighty
miles : on advancing towards it, other peaks, and then ridges,
apjicared, stretching along the coast, and into the interior, to the
utmost limits of the view; and, on entering a narrow passage,
between the main land and an island, where they anchored on the
:<Oth, they perceived a strong current of discolored water issuing
(Voin it, which convinced them that a large river emptied into the
sea in its vicinity. From these indications of the extensiveness of
the territory, together with its geographical position, they concluded
ti;at they had, at length, reached the American continent ; and the
officers thereupon entreated their commander to pursue the dis-
covery towards the south-east, in which direction the coast trended.
But Bering was then enfeebled in mind, as well as in body, by
severe illness, and was anxious to return to Kamtchatka ; in conse-
quence of which, he resisted their entreaties, and, after a supply of
water had been obtained from the island, they set sail for the west.
None of the crew were allowed to go on the main land, lest they
should be cut oti' by savages. On the island were found several
huts, which seemed to have been recently abandoned, and various
implements of fishing, hunting, and cooking, similar to those used
by the Kamtchatkans ; of the natives. howev(!r, not one was seen.
According to Steller, the name of Cape St. Elios was, much to
his discontent, bestowed on this island, or some other in its vicinity,
because it was reached on the day of St. Elias, agreeably to the
Russian calendar. The old accounts of the expedition, however,
state that Bering honored with the name of that saint the lofty
mountain which had first attracted his attention ; and, under this
.1 ,.
-ti*'
132
BERING ON THE AMERICAN COAST.
[1741.
14
>■ t (■ l««v, .
'.fl-l \
impression, Cook, when he -"xplored the north-west coast of Amer-
ica, in 1778, applied the name of Mount St. Elias to a stupendous
peak which he observed, rising from the shore, under the 60th
parallel, believing it to be, as it most probably was, the same dis-
covered by the Russians in 1741. Vancouver, who examined this
coast minutely in 1794, was convinced that the place where the
Russians first ancioved is on the eastern side of a bay at the foot
of Mount St. Elia^, on the east, which is called Admiralty or
Bering's Bay, on English maps, and Yakutat on those of the
Russians. The current of discolored water, setting out from that
part of the coast, was observed, in 1838 by Belcher.
After their departure from the islahd, the Russians continued
sailing westward, occasionally seeing the land in the north, until the
3d of August, when, in the latitude of 56 degrees, they beheld a
chain of high mountains, (those of the great peninsula of Aliaska,
and the contiguous island of Kodiak,) stretching before them from
north to south. Upon discovering this impediment to their prog-
ress, they turned to the south-west, in order to reach the 53d
parallel, under which they were sure, from their observations in
coming out, that they should find an open sea to Kamtchatka : but
their course was so much retarded by violent opposing winds, that
they had scarcely advanced sixty miles before the end of the month ;
and, being then exhausted by fatigue and sickness, they anchored
among a group of small islands, on one of which they remained
ashore several days. There they first saw natives of America, who
resembled the aborigines of Northern Asia in their features and
habits, and were provided with knives, and other articles of iron
and copper ; although they appeared never before to have held
any intercourse with civilized people. There, also, occurred the
first death among the Russians, in commemoration of which, the
name of the deceased sailor, Schumasrin, was bestowed on the
group. The islands now so called are about ten in number, situated
near the latitude of 55^ degrees, on the eastern side, and not far
from the extremity of Aliaska.
On quitting the Schumagin Islands, the Russians continued their
course south-westward, and passed by other islands, which were
those of the Aleutian Archipelago, extending westward from Aliaska,
nearly under the 53d parallel. They were then assailed by furious
storms, and were, for nearly two months, driven over the seas at
random, while famine, disease, and despair, were daily lessening
their numbers. "The general distress and mortality," says Steller,
741.
imer-
idous
60th
3 dis-
i this
•e the
e foot
Ity or
3f the
n that
itinued
ntil the
^held a
Vliaska,
ni from
ir prog-
he 53d
tions in
ka: but
ids, that
month ;
inchored
emained
ica, who
ires and
of iron
ive held
rred the
lich, the
on the
situated
not far
lied their
tch were
Aliaska,
ly furious
seas at
llessening
Is Steller,
1741.]
DEATH OF BERING.
133
'* increased so fast, that not only the sick died, but those who pre-
tended to be healthy, when relieved from their posts, fainted and
fell down dead ; of which the scantiness of the water, the want of
biscuits and brandy, cold, wet, nakedness, vermin, and terror, were
not the least causes." At length, on the 5th of November, they
again saw land, which proved to be an island, in the latitude of 55
degrees ; and on it they resolved, at all hazards, to pass the winter.
With this view, they anchored in the most secure place which could
be found, close to the shore, and, having landed their stores and
other necessaries, they began the construction of huts out of sails
and spars ; but they soon had an abundant supply of materials from
the wreck of their vessel, which was dashed in pieces on the island
by the waves.
On the 8th of December Bering expired, worn down by sickness,
fatigue, and disappointment, and thirty of the crew were consigned
to their graves on the island before the ensuing summer. The sur-
vivors recovered their health, and obtained a sufficiency of food, by
hunting the sea and land animals, which were found in great num-
bers on and about the shores. As soon as the mild season returned,
they collected the pieces of the wreck, of which they made a small
vessel ; and, having provisioned it as well as they could, they set
sail from the western side of the island on the 14lh of August, 1742.
Two days after, they made the coast of Kamtohatka; and, continuing
along it towards the south, they, on the evening of the 27th, landed,
forty-six in number, at the |)lace in the Bay of Avatscha from which
they had taken their departure fifteen months before. The island,
on which they had thus passed more than nine months, is situated
about eighty miles from the eastern shore of Kamtchatka, between
the latitudes, of 51i and 55i degrees, and has, ever since its dis-
covery, been called lierimr's Isle ; it consists entirely of granite
mountains.
Such were the occurrences, and the unfortunate termination, of
Bering's voyage.
Tchirikof, likewise, pursuing an eastward course, discovered land
in the latitude of 56 degrees. It was a mountainous territory, with
steep, rocky shores, extending on the ocean from north to south ;
and, the weather being unfavorable for approa(^hing it, ten men were
sent in a boat to make examinations. As these did not return, after
some time, nor make any signal from the sliore, six others were
despatched in search of them, whose reappearance was also ex-
pected in vain; and Tchirikof was obliged, at length, to quit the
i
> i-i
1 '' fei-wT
134
VOYAGE OF TCHIRIKOF.
[1741.
I ;'
I 'R^
J '1
IT'
■ •■'''.
m^
Mi^
v^m
'!
1
'
J
^
1
H
it
coast without learning what had befallen any of them. In the
mean time, the scurvy had broken out among his crew ; and as t!ie
stormy season was approaching, he resolved to hasten back to Kamt-
chatka. His voyage thither was attended with great difficulties,
and before the 8th of October, when he reached Avatscha, he had
lost twenty-one men by sickness, including the distinguished French
naturalist Delile de Croyere, in addition to the sixteen whose fate
was undelermine<l. The land discovered by him must have been,
agreeably to the account given of its latitude and bearings, the
western side of one of the islands, named, on English maps, the
Prince of fValcis Airhipclas^o., the inhabitants of which are remark-
able for their fierceness and hatred to strangers. It is, therefore,
most probable that the nien sent ashore by Tchirikof were murdered
as soon as they landed.
These discoveries of the Russians excited some attention in
Europe, where they were made known, first, by the periodical pub-
lications of France, England, and Germany, and afterwards more
fully, by the scientific men and historians of those countries. In
1750, a long memoir on the subject was read by the French geog-
rapher Delisle, before the Academy of Sciences of Paris,* wherein
he gives the highest praise to the Russian navigators, and pro-
nounces, as proved by their expeditions, "■ that the eastern portion
of Asia extends under the polar circU;, towards the western part of
America, from which it is se|iarated by a strait about thirty leagues
wide ; this strait is often frozen over, but, when free from ice, it
aflbrds communication for vessels into the Frozen Ocean."
The Russian government did not. however, consider the dis-
coveries of its subjects as sufficiently important to justify the imme-
diate despatch of other vessels in the same direction ; and no
further attempts to explore the North Pacific were made by its
authority until 1766. In the mean time, accidental circumstances,
cormected with Bering's last voyage, had drawn the attention of
individuals in Eastern Asia to the islands seen by that navigator,
on his return towards Kamtchatka ; and the part of the ocean in
which those islands lie had been thoroughly searched.
It has been mentioned, that the crew of Bering's vessel, during
the period passed by them in the island, near Kamtchatka, had sub-
sisted chi(!fly on the flesh of the sea and land animals found there.
The skins of these animals, particularly of the black foxes and sea
otters, were preserved by the men, and carried with them to Kamt-
* Histoire de I'Acadfiiuip Royale des Sciences, for 1750, p. 142.
1741.
n the
as the
Kunit-
;ulties,
lie Imd
French
se fate
! been,
lis, tliC
1760.]
VOYAQBS OF RUSSIAN FUH THADERS.
135
ps,
tlie
remark-
crcfore,
urdercd
ition in
cal pub-
ds more;
ries. In
eh v^coii-
whcrein
and pio-
porlion
part ol
leaiiucs
|m ice, it
the dis-
\e iinnu;-
and no
Ic by its
nistances,
:ntion of
navigator,
ocean in
|el, during
liad sub-
md there.
and sea
to Kamt-
chatka, where they were sold at such high prices, that several of
the seamen, as well as other persons, were induced immediately to
go to the island and procure further supplies. In the course of the
voyages made for this purpose, other islands, farther east, which had
been seen by Bering and Tchirikof, were explored, and found to
oft'er the same advantages ; and the number of persons employed in
seeking furs was constantly increasing.
The trade thus commenced was, for some time, carried on by
individual adventurers, each of whom was alternately a seaman, a
hunter, and a merchant; at length, however, some capitalists in
Siberia employed their funds in the pursuit, and expeditions to the
islands were, in consequence, made on a more extensive scale, and
with greater regularity and efficiency.* Trading stations were estab-
lislied at particular points, where the furs were collected by persons
left for that object ; and vessels were sent, at stated periods, from
tlie ports of Asiatic Russia, to carry the articles required for the use
of the agents and hunters, or for barter with the natives, and to
bring away the skins collected.
The vessels employed in this commerce were, in all respects,
wretched and insecure, the planks being merely attached together,
tvithout iron, by leathern thongs ; and, as no instruments were used
by the traders for determining latitudes or longitudes at sea, their
ideas of the relative positions of the places which they visited were
vague and incorrect. Their navigation was, indeed, performed in
the most simple and unscientific manner possible. A vessel sailing
from th'! Bay of Avatscha, or from Cape Lopatka, the southern ex-
tremity of Kamtchatka, could not have gone far eastward, without
falling in with one of the Aleutian Islands, which would serve as a
mark for her course to another ; and thus she might go on, from
point to point, throughout the whole chain. In like manner she
would return to Asia, and, if her course and rate of sailing were
observed /ith tolerable care, there could seldom be any uncertainty
as to whether she were north or south of the line of the islands.
Many vessels were, nevertheless, annually lost, in consequence of
* Tho islands discovorod and frcquontcd by the Russian fur traders woro those
called the .lleyutnlnj, or .ileutiiin, extendinif in a line nearly alonjr the alW parallel
of latitude, from tiie south-west extremity of the peninsula Aliaska, across the sea,
to tiie vicinity of Kamtriiatka. Aliaska was, like\vis««, supposed to be an island,
until 1778, when its connection with tiie American continent was ascertained by
Cook. The inhabitants of these islands were a bold rjice, who, for some time,
resisted the Russians, but were finally subdued, after their numbers had been con-
siderably reduced.
'
ii:
.Itl '
': 1.
'. ^1 1 1
t; 'Ji
-1' ,
1- : . ,M'M
}m
I
lis
136
VOYAOKS or RUSSIAN FUK TRADKKS.
[1760.
this want of knowledge of the coasts, and want of means to ascer-
tain positions at sea ; and a large nninber of those engaged in the
trade, moreover, fell victims to cold, starvation, and scurvy, and to the
enmity of the bold natives of the islands. Even as lately as 1806,*
it was calculated that one third of these vessels were lost in each
year. The history of the Russian trade and establishments on the
North Pacific, is a scries of details of dreadful disast'^rs and suffer-
ings ; and, whatever opinions may be entertained as to the humanity
of the adventurers, or the morality of their proceedings, the courage
and perseverance displayed by tiiem, in struggling against such
appalling difficulties, must command universal admiration.
The furs collected, by these means, at Avatscha and Ochotsk, the
principal fur-trading ports, were carried to Irkutsk, the capital of
Eastern Siberia, whence some of them were taken to Europe ; the
greater portion were, however, sent to Kiakta, a small town just
within the Russian frontier, close to the Chinese town of Maimatchin,
through which places all the conunerce between these two empires
passed, agreeably to a treaty concluded at Kiakta, in 17J28. In
return for the furs, which brought higher prices in China than any
where else, teas, tobacco, rice, porcelain, anil silk and cotton goods,
were brought to Irkutsk, whence all the most valuable of those
articles were sent to Europe. These transportations were effected
by land, except in some places, where the rivers were used as the
channel of conveyance ; no commercial exportation having been
made from Eastern Russia, by sea, before 1779: and, when the
immense distances,! between some of the points above mentioned,
are considered, it becomes evident that none but objects of great
value, in comparison with their bulk, at the place of their con-
sumption, could have been thus transported, with profit to those
engaged in the trade, and that a large portion of the price paid by
the consumer must have been absorbed by the expense of trans-
portation. A skin was, in fact, generally worth, at Kiakta, three
times as much as it cost at Ochotsk.
The Russian government appears to have remained almost en-
tirely unacquainted with the voyages and discoveries of its subjects,
* Krusenstern's journal of his voyage to the North Pacific.
t In the following table, each number expresses nearly the distance, in geographical
miles, between the places named on either side of it : —
St. Petersburg, 460, Moscow, 1500, Tobolsk, 1800, Irkutsk, 1550, Yakutsk, 600,
Ochotsk, 1300, Petropawlowsk, on the Bay of Avatscha; Irkutsk, 300, Kiakta,
1000, Pekin.
;l
1760.
ascer-
n the
to the
806*
1 each
on the
suffer-
manity
ourage
it such
tsk, the
pital of
pe ; the
wn just
natchin,
empires
"28. In
han any
n goods,
of tliose
effected
li as the
ng been
hen the
nlioned,
of great
leir con-
Ito those
paid by
>f trans-
three
lost en-
subjects,
Dgraphical
itsk, 600,
Kiakta,
1768.]
VOYAOK OK KHKNIT2.IN' AND LK.VASCUKF.
137
W
engaged in the fur trade of the North Pac^ific, until 1764, when the
empress Catharine II. ordered that proper measures should be
taken to procure exact information with regard to the islands, and
the American coasts, opposite her dominions in Asia. This am-
bitious sovereign had then just ascended the throne, arid was, or
chose to apjiear, determined to carry out the views of Peter the
Great for the extension of the Russian empire eastward beyond the
Pacific.
Agreeably to the orders of Catharine, Lieutenant Synd sailed, in
1766, from Ochotsk, and advanced northward, along the coast of
Knmtchatka, as far as the 66th degree of latitude ; and, in the fol-
lowing year, he made another voyage in the same direction, in
wliich he is supposed to have landed on the American continent.
Very few particulars respecting his expeditions are, however, known,
us the Russian government appears to have suppressed all accounts
of them, for reasons which have been suggested, but which it is
unnecessary here to repeat.
In 1768, another expedition was commenced, for the purpose of
surveying the islands. With this object. Captains Krenitzin and
Levaschef quittetl the mouth of Kamtchatka River, in July, each
ooiiimanding a snmll vessel ; and, after cursorily examining Bering's
Isle, and others near the coast of the peninsula, they stretched
across to the Fox Islands, the largest and easternmost of the Archi-
pclasjn. among which they passed the winter. Before the ensuing
summer, nearly half the crews of both vessels had perished from
scurvy ; and, when the navigators returned to Kamtchatka, in
October, 1769, they had done nothing more than to ascertain, ap-
proximately, the geographical positions of a few points in the Aleu-
tian chain. It appears, indeed, that Krenitzin had employed him-
self exclusively in collecting furs, with which his vessel was laden
on her arrival from her voyage. The only valuable informtL'ion ob-
tained by the Russian government, through this costly expedition,
related to the mode of conducting the fur trade between Kamt-
chatka and the islands ; upon which subject the reports of Levaschef
were curious and instructive, and served to direct the government
in its first administrative dispositions, with regard to the newly-
discovered territories.
The expedition of Krenitzin and Levaschef was the last made by
the Russians in the North Pacific, for purposes of discovery or
investigation, before 178:j. In 1771, however, took |)lace the first
voyage from the eastern coast of the empire, to a port frequented
18
1
lUii'
.■i
SI
: i
1 •
I,
1
1
1
*
Ui
»■ I; .
!' I
,!•
i!
'ni
1 ^ ..; ' 1
138
VOYA<*K (»K BKNVOWSKY.
(1771.
by the ships of Kiiropcan nntions ; nnd, strange to sny, this voyogo
was conducted under \\\c Polish Jlai* ! In th<! nicith of May of
that y<!ar, a few persons, chiefly Poles, who Imd been exiled to
Kamtchalka for political reasons, succeeded in over|)owering the
garrison of the small town of Rolscherctsk, on the south-west side
of Kanitchatka, where they were detained, and escaped to sea in
a vessel then lying in the harbor. They were directed in their
enterprise by Count Maurice de Bcuiyowsky, a Hungarian, who had
been an otHcer in the Polish service, and from whose history of his
own life, afterwards published, all the accounts of their adventures
are derived. From these accounts, it appears that the fugitives, on
entering the Pacific, were driven northward as far as the 66th
degree of latitude ; during which part of their voyage, they fre-
quently saw the coasts of both continents, and visited several of
the Aleutian Islands. At Bering's Isle they found a number of
fugitive exiles, like themselves, established in possesiiion, under the
command of a Saxon ; and ut Unalashka, the largest of the group,
they discovered crosses, with inscriptions, erected by Krenitzin, in
1768. Iroceeding thence towards the south, they touched at
several places in the Kurile, Japan, and Loochoo Islands, as also
at Formosa; and, at length, in September, they arrived at Canton,
where they carried the first furs which ever entered that city by sea.*
A circumstantial account of the principal voyages and discoveries
of the Russians, made between 1741 and 1770, drawn from original
sources, was published at St. Petersburg, in 1774. by J. L. Stiehlin,
councillor of state to the empress.f These records are curious and
interesting, but they throw very little light on the great geographical
questions relative to that part of the world, which then remained
unsolved ; and the accompanying chart only serves, at present, to
show more conspicuously the value of the discoveries effected by
other nations. According to this chart, the American coast ex-
tended, on the Pacific, in a line nearly due north-west from Cali-
* Memoirs an<i Trnvola of Mauricp Augustus Count de Bonyowsky, written by
himself, publislied at London, in 17iK). Benyowskys account of his escape from
Kamtchatka, and his voj'age to Cliina, were for some time discredited ; but they have
since been confirmed, at least as regards the principal circumstances. He afterwards
had a variety of adventures, especially in Madajrascar, of which he pretended to be
the rightful sovereign ; and he was, at length, killed at Foul Point, in that island, in
May, ITHi, while at the head of a party of Europeans and natives, in a contest with
the French from the Isle of France.
t Description of the newly-discovered Islands in the Sea between Asia and
Amerien. A Translation of the greater part of this work may be found in the last
edition of Coxe's Historv of Russian Discoveries.
-ni.
1776.1
KRIIOKS IN TIIK lIM'.t.V 'U'SMAN M \P!H.
139
Dyagc
ny of
ed lo
ig the
I side
sea in
\ their
ho had
of his
entures
ives, on
»c 66th
ley fre-
kcral of
uber of
ider the
le group,
litzin, in
iched at
IS, as also
t Canton,
! by sea.*
iscovcries
n original
SttL'hhn,
rious and
)graphical
remained
resent, to
rected by
coast cx-
froni Cali-
written by
lescape from
lilt they have
le afterwards
L-nded to be
lat island, in
Icontest with
^n Asia and
in the last
fornia, to the 7()th degree of iutitiidr. and was neparated from the
opposite const of Asia by a wide expanse of sea, coiitnining many
islnrids, several of which correspond in name with those of the
Aleutian Arehipelago, though the positions assigned to them are
far from correct: the largest of the islands there represented,
called Alascha, lies under the 67th parallel, between the western-
most point of America and th<> most eastern of Asia. In the beau-
tiful map of the Russian empire, published at St. Petersburg by
Treschot and Schmidt, in 1776, no land, except some islands, ap-
pears within twenty-five degn'es of longitude east of Kamtchatka.
Other maps, however, which appeared at a much earlier period,
offer a view more nearly correct of the extreme north-western coasts
of America, although the geographer who constructed them must
have been guided almost entirely by suppositions.
The errors of latitude, in all these maps, were very great, amount-
ing to ten degrees, in some instances ; and those of longitude were,
as may be readily supposed, nuich more considerable. Indeed,
hefore 1778, when Cook made his voyage through the North
Pacific, the differences in longitude, between places in that part
of the ocean, had never been estimated otherwise than by the dead
recl:onin!j^, which, however carefullv observed, cannot afford accurate
results ; nor had any relation, which coidd be considered as nearly
correct, been established between the meridian of any point on the
Atlantic and that of any point on the North Pacific.
i-
■ 1 '
! > ■
I. .'I,
f
M»
J
k
i '
I
Jlil
140
CHAPTER VI.
1763 TO 1780.
Great Britain dLl.iins Possession of Caniida — Journey of Carver to the Upper Mis-
sissippi — First Mention of tlic Oregon River — 1 naccuracy of Carver's Statements
— Journeys of Hearne througii the Regions west of Hudson's Bay — Voyage of
Captain Cook to the North Pacific — His important Discoveries in that Quarter,
and Death — Return of his Ships to Europe ; Occurrences at Canton during their
Stay in tliat Port.
Whilst the Russians were thus prosecuting the fur trade on
the north-westernmost coasts of America, the British were engaged
in the same pursuit on the north-eastern side of the continent.
It has been already mentioned that King Charles II. of England,
in 1669, granted to an association of gentlemen and merchants of
London the possession of all the territories surrounding Hudson's
Bay, and the exclusive trade in those regions, with the object, ex-
pressed in the charter, of encoursiging his subjects to prosecute tin;
search for a north-west passage for ships from that sea to the Pacific
Ocean. Under the protection of this charter, the Hudson's Bay
Company erected forts and trading establishments on the shores of
the bay, and carried on an extensive and profitable trade with the
natives of that part of America, to the annoyance of the French,
who, also, claimed the country as part of Canada, and more than
once dislodged the British traders. It was, indeed, provided In
the treaty of Utrecht, in 1714, that the Hudson's Bay territories
should belong to the former nation, and that commissaries should
be appointed, on both sides, to settle the line separating those terri-
tories from Canada : but no such boundary was ever fixed, by
commissaries or otherwise, as will be shown hereafter ; * and the
limits of the Hudson's Bay territories remained undetermined in
1763, when Canada, with all the other dominions of France in
North America, east of the Mississippi, were ceded to Great Britain
by the treaty of Paris.
t '
^\.
See chap, xiii., and Proofs and IHuatrations, letter F.
It i*; mi'
Fpper Mis-
statements
Voyage of
at Quarter,
uring their
trade on
engaged
lent.
England,
-chants of
Hudson's
object, ex-
^ecute tlu!
le Pacific
son's Tiay
sliores of
w'itli the
French,
norc tlmn
ovided l>y
territories
les shoulil
lose terri-
fixed, by
and the
mined in
ranee in
at Britain
1766.]
CANADA CEDKD TO CHEAT ItUlTAIN.
141
How far the Hudson's Bay Company, also, endeavored to fulfil
the intention expressed in the charter, of promoting the search
for a north-west passage, it is unnecessary here to inquire ; suffice
it to say, that, at the end of a century from the date of the con-
cession, the question, as to the existence of such a channel, was
nearly in the same state as at the commencement of that period.
Hudson's Bay had been navigated by Middleton, in 1741, to the
CGth degree of latitude, beyond which it was known to extend ;
Baffin's Bay had not been visited since the beginning of the seven-
teenth century, when it was examined imperfectly to the 74th
parallel. Tlie territories west of both these seas were entirely unex-
plored ; but accounts, which seemed to merit some credit, had been
received from the Indians, of great rivers and other waters in that
direction. The desired communication with the Pacific might,
therefore, exist ; or the Pacific, or some navigable river falling into
it, might l)e found within a short distance of places on the Atlantic
side of the continent, accessible to vessels from Europe : and the
determination of these questions became infinitely more important
to Great Britain, after the acquisition of Canada.
The region extending south-west, from Hudson's Bay to the
great lakes, and the head waters of the Mississippi, had long been
frequented by the traders from Canada and Louisiana, and had been
partially surveyed by French officers and missionaries, by whom
several journals, histories, and maps, relating to those countries,
had been given to the world. This region was also visited, imme-
diately after tjie transfer of Canada to Great Britain, by an Amer-
ican, whose travels arc here mentioned, because he is supposed to
have thrown much light upon the geography of North-west America
by his own observations, and by information collected from the
Indians of the Upper Mississippi.
This traveller. Captain Jonathan Carver, of Connecticut, who
had served with some credit in the war against the French, partic-
ularly in the country about Lakes Champlain and George, set out
from Boston in 1766, and proceeded, by way of Detroit and
Michilimackinac, to the regions of the Upper Mississippi, now
forming the territories of Wisconsin and Iowa, where he spent
two years among the Indians. His object was, as he says in the
introduction to his narrative, "after gaining a knowledge of the
manners, customs, languages, soil, and natural productions, of the
different nations that inhabit the back of the Mississippi, to ascer-
tain the breadth of the vast continent which extends from the
h"
«.
1 1,1 1
;i '
hp:
,
1 1 ' '
1 ' '
:k'
ill
<j i
in
r.
m
^
142
TRAVELS OP CARVER.
[1766.
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, in its broadest part, between the 43d
and the 46th degrees of northern latitude. Had I been able," he
continues, " to accomplish this, I intended to have proposed to
government to establish a post in some of those parts, about the
Strait of Anian, which, having been discovered by Sir Francis
Drake, of course belongs to the English. This, I am convinced,
would greatly facilitate the discovery of a north-west passage, or
communication between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific Ocean."
This extensive plan he was, however, unable to pursue, having
been disappointed in his intention to purchase goods, and then to
pursue his journey from the Upper Mississippi, " by way of the
Lakes Dubois, Dupluie, and Ouinipique, [the old French names of
Rainy Lake, Lake of the Woods, and hake Winnipeg,] to the head
waters of the Great River of the West, which falls into the Strait of
Anian."*
This Great River of the West is several times mentioned by Carver,
under the name of Oregon, or Origan. In another part of his
introduction, he refers to his account, in the journal, "of the
situation of the four great rivers that take their rise within a few
leagues of each other, nearly about the centre of the great con-
tinent, viz., the River Bourbon, {Red River of the north,] which
empties itself into Hudson's Bay, the waters of the St. Lawrence,
the Mississippi, and the River Oregon, or River of the West, that
falls into the Pacific Ocean at the Straits of Anian." At the con-
clusion of his work, also, in speaking of a project which had been
formed, in 1774, by himself, Mr. Whitvvorth, a member of the
British parliament, and other persons in London, to cross the
American continent, he says that they would have " proceeded up
the River St. Pierre, [St. Peter^s,] and from thence up a branch
of the River Messorie, till, having discovered the source of the
Oregon, or River of the West, on the other side of the summit of the
lands that divide the waters which fall into the Gulf of Mexico
from those that fall into the Pacific Ocean, they would have sailed
* Travels throughout the interior Parts of North America, in ITWJ — t*, by Jona-
than Carver, London, 1778. It consists of — an introduction, showing what the
author had done and wished to do — a journal of his travels, with descriptions of the
countries visited, and — an account of the origin, habits, religion, and languages,
of the Indians of the country about the Upper Missisnippi, which account occupies
two thirds of the work, and is extracted almost entirely, and, in many parts, verbatim,
from the French journals and histories. The book was written, or rather made up,
at London, at the suggestion of Dr. Lettsom and other gentlemen, and printed for
the purpose of relieving the wants of the author, who, however, died there, in misery,
in 1780, at the age of 48.
1766.
e43d
3," he
sed to
Ht the
'rancis
'inced,
ige, or
cean."
having
hen to
of the
mes of
le head
trait of
Carver,
t of his
'of the
1 a few
sat con-
,] which
vvrence,
est, that
he con-
lad been
of the
OSS the
ided up
branch
of the
lit of the
Mexico
e sailed
[, by Jona-
what the
Ions of the
languages,
It occupies
\, terbtitivi,
I made up,
krinted for
I in misery,
■'■I'
1766.]
OREGON, OR RIVER OF THE WEST.
143
down that river, to the place where it is said to empty itself, near
the Straits of Anian."
From these declarations, it has been supposed, by many, that
Carver was the first to make known to the vorld the existence of
the great stream since discovered, and nhincd the Columbia, which
drains nearly the whole region, on the Pacific side of America,
between the 40th and the 54th parallels of latitude ; and that stream
is, in consequence, frequently called the Oregon. On examining
the journal of the traveller, however, we find no further mention
of, or allusion to, his river than is contained in the following pas-
sages : " From these nations, [called by him the Naudowessies,
the Assinipoils, and the Killistinocs,] together with my own obser-
vations, I have learned that the four most capital rivers on the
continent of North America — viz., the St. Lawrence, the Missis-
sippi, the River Bourbon, and the Oregon, or River of the West, (as
I hinted in my introduction) — have their sources in the same
neighborhood. The waters of the three former are within thirty
miles of each other ; the latter, however, is rather farther west.
This shows that these parts arc the highest in North America ; and
it is an instance not to be paralleled in tho other three quarters of
the world, that four rivers of such magnitude should take their rise
together, and each, after running separate courses, discharge their
waters into different oceans, at the distance of two thousand miles
from their sources ; for, in their passage from this spot to the Bay
of St. Lawrence east, to the Bay of Mexico south, to Hudson^s
Bay north, and to the bay at the Straits of Anian west, each of
these traverse upwards of two thousand uiiles." The elevated part,
to which Carver here alludes, is no otherwise described by him than
as being near the Shining Mountains, " which begin at Mexico, and,
continuing northward, on the back, or to the east, of California,
separate the waters of those numerous rivers that fall into the Gulf
of Mexico or the Gulf of California. From thence, continuing
their course still northward, between the sources of the Mississippi
and the rivers that run into the South Sea, they appear to end in
about 47 or 48 degrees of north latitude, where a number of rivers
arise, and empty themselves either into the South Sea, into Hud-
son's Bay, or into the waters that communicate between these
two seas."
In the preceding extracts from Carver's book, embracing all that
he has said respectir,g his Oregon, or Great River of the West, there
is certainlv nothing lalculated to establish the identitv of the stream,
.. >■
'I. 'P
') V
.J
I
i,|ji
■.1l]
m
1 .i
144
MISUEPRESENTATIONS OF CAIIVER.
[1766.
ik.,
to which those vague descriptions and allusions apply, with the
Columbia, or with any other river. The Columbia does not rise
within a few leagues, or a few hundred leagues, of the waters of
the Red River, the St. Lawrence, or the Upper Mississippi, which
latter Carver carefully distinguishes from the Missouri; nor does
either of those rivers, flowing to the Atlantic, rise near the great
dividing ridge of the Shining Mountains ; which ridge, moreover,
does not end about the 48th degree of latitude, but continues more
than a thousand miles farther north-westward. If, under circum-
stances so different, we consider the head-waters of the Columbia
to be the same described by Carver as the htad-waters of the
Oregon, we should, a fortiori, admit the mouth of the Columbia to
be the same mouth of a river which Aguiiar is said to have discov-
ered in 1603.
Carver's descriptions of places, people, and things, in the Indian
countries, are vague, and often contradictory ; and, where they can
be understood, they are, for the most part, repetitions of the
accounts of those or of other parts of America, given by the old
French travellers and historians, whose works he, ne'?'-theless, takes
great pains to disparage, whenever he mentions them.* In many of
those works, the belief in the existence of a great river, flowing
from the vicinity of the head-w.i*ers of the Mississippi, westward,
to the Pacific, is distinctly affirmed, as founded on the reports of the
Indians ; and on nearly all maps of North America, published
during the early part of the last century, may be found one or more
of such streams, under the names of River of the West, River of
1%
" In proof that no injiisticf is lioro done to Carver's memory, read his magisterial
and contemptuous remarks on the works of Hennepin, Lahontan, and Cliarlevoix, in
the first chapter of his account of the origin, manners, &c., of the Indians; and
tiien com|)are his chapters describing, as from personal observation, tlic ceremonies
of marriage, burial, hunting, and others, of the natives of the Upper Mississippi coun-
tries, with those of Laiiontan, showing the conduct of the Iroquois, of Canada, on
Biiuilar occasions, by wiiieh it will be seen that Carver has sirnphj translated from
Lii/ioutii.n the irhiile of the accounts, eren to the speeches of the chiefs. Carver's chapter
on the origin o*" the Indians is merely an abridgment from Charlevoix's " Disserta-
tion " on the same subject. His descriptions of the language, manners, and customs,
of the inhabit^ints of the Upper Mississippi regions, are entirely at variance with those
of the same tribes at the present day, as clearly shown by the observations of Pike,
Jjong, and other [K-rsons of unquestionable chaiacter, who have since visited that part
of America. Keating, in his interesting narrative of Long's expedition in 1823,
expres.seshis belief liiat Carver "ascended the Mississippi to the Falls of St. Anthony,
that he saw the St. Peter, and that he may liave entered it ; but, liad he resided five
months in the country, and become acquainted with the language of the people, he
would not have applied to them the name of .Xaudowessies, and omitted to call them
the Dacota Indians, as they style themselves.'"
West;
story.
The
of Ameri
made, in
Hudson'
(nation i
* The ac(
Abi.,. le .\Ft-
I II'
1770.]
MONCACHTABK S ACCOUNT OF A GREAT RIVER.
145
Aguilar, River Thegoyo, or some other, represented on the author-
ity of accounts received from Indians, or of erroneous or fabulous
narratives of voyages along the North Pacific coasts. When we
consider the many and glaring plagiarisms, from the works above
mentioned, committed by Carver, we certainly have a right to sus-
pect, if not to conclude, that he derived from the same source
every thing relating to his River of the West, which he pretends to
have collected from the Indians of the Upper Mississippi. As to
the name Oregon, or the authority for its use, the traveller is silent ;
and nothing has been learned from any other source, though much
labor has been expended in attempts to discover its meaning and
derivation : it was, most probably, invented by Carver.
The most distinct and apparently authentic of these Indian
accounts of great rivers flowing from the central parts of North
America to the Pacific, is that recorded by the French traveller
Lepage Dupratz, as received from a native of the Yazoo country,
named Moncachtabe. The amount of this statement is — that the
Indian ascended the Missouri north-westward, to its source, beyond
which he found another great river, nmning towards the setting
sun ; this latter he descended to a considerable distance, though
not to its termination, which he was prevented from reaching by
wars among the tribes inhabiting the country on its banks ; though
he learned, from a woman who had been made prisoner by the tribe
with which he took part, that the riv r entered a great water, where
ships had been seen, navigated by white men with beards. All this
is related, with many accompanying circumstances, tending to
confirm the probabihly of the narrative ; and there is, indeed,
nothing about it which should induce us to reject it as false, except
the part respecting the ships and white men, which may have been
an embellishment added by Moncachtabt'.* The course of this
supposed stream is laid down on several maps of North America,
published about 1750, in which it is called the Great River of the
West ; and one of these maps probably formed tlie basis of Carver's
story.
The first actual discovery of a river in the northernmost section
of America, not emptying into the Atlantic or Hudson's Bay, was
made, in 1771, by Mr. Samuel Hearne, one of the agents of the
Hudson's Bay Company, who also obtained the earliest exact infor-
mation respecting the regions west and north-west of that bay.
* Thp account may be found at length in the Mimoires sur la Louisiane^ by the
Ahii- le Ml -crier, published at Paris in 1753, vol. ii. p. '^46.
H)
(11
i
li
I i:
A :;■ : !
V';
ill
:i-ii
^ i
I . '.'i- ■■■■
'li^'
M
146
HEARNE S TRAVELS.
[1771,
Hearne had been commissioned, by the directors of the company, to
explore those regions, in order to determine, if possible, the question
as to the existence of a northern passage between Hudson's Bay and
the Pacific ; and also, more especially, to find a rich mine of copper,
which was believed, from the accounts of the Indians, to lie on the
banks of a river or strait, called, in their language, " the Far-off
Metal River." From the general tenor of the instructions given
to Hearne, it is evident that the directors were convinced of the
non-existence of such a passage, and that they were merely anxious
to have the fact demonstrated, in order to clear themselves from the
imputation often cast upon them, of endeavoring Ao obstruct the
progress of discovery in the regions under their control.
Agreeably to these instructions, Hearne made, between 1769 and
1772, three journeys from Fort Prince of Wales, the company's
chief establishment on the western shore of Hudson's Bay, near
the 60th degree of latitude, through the regions west and north-
west of that place, which he examined, in various directions, to the
distance of about a thousand miles. In his last journey, he dis-
covered the Great Slave Lake, and other similar collections of fresh
water, from which issued streams flowing northward and westward ;
and he traced one of these streams, which proved to be the Far-off
Metal River, since called the Cqpper Mine River, to its termination
in a sea, where the tides were observed, and the relics of whales
were strowed in abundance on the shores. The mouth of this river
was calculated rudely by Hearne to be situated near the 72d degree
of latitude, and al)ovit 20 degrees of longitude, west of the most
western known part of Hudson's Bay ; and he learned from the
Indians that the continent extended much farther west, and that
there were high mountains in that direction. The sea into which
the Copper Mine River emptied was supposed by the traveller to be
"a sort of inland sea, or extensive bay, somewhat like that of
Hudson;" and he assured himself, by his own observations, that
the territory traversed by him, between this sea and Hudson's Bay,
was not crossed by any channel connecting the two waters : whence
it followed, that no vessel could sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific
north of America, without proceeding beyond the mouth of the
Copper Mine River. Hearne also conceived that he had proved
the entire impossibility of the existence of any direct communication
between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific ; in which he, undoubtedly,
assumed too much, as the northern termination of that bay had not
then, nor has it to this day, been discovered.
So(
return
ill wli
of a h
duct
accej)t
placed
In t
he is d
Zealan
to end
'• strict
of the
unless
he was
to be v(
inhabita
f1
1776.]
INSTRUCTIONS TO COOK.
147
Hearne's journals were not published until 1795, though they
were submitted, immediately after his return from his last journey,
to the lords commissioners of the British Admiralty, who did not
fail to perceive the importance of the information contained in
them. The commissioners agreed with Hearne in considering the
probability of reaching the Pacific through Hudson's Bay to be
destroyed ; but they were, on the other hand, induced to hope that
the newly-discovered sea, north of America, might be found to
communicate, by navigable passages, with Baffin's Bay on the east
and the Pacific on the west : and it was, in consequence, resolved,
that ships should be sent, simultaneously, to explore the western
side of Baffin's Bay and the north-easternmost coasts of the Pacific,
in search of the desired channels of connection with the Arctic
Sea. By an act of parliament, passed in 1745, a reward of twenty
tliousand pounds had been oflfered for the discovery of a north-west
passage, through Hudsoti's Bay, by ships belonging to his majesty^s
iubjccts; and, in order further to stimulate British navigators in
their exertions, a new act, in 1776, held out the same reward to the
owners of any ship belonging to his majesty's subjects, or to the
connnander, officers, and crew, of any vessel belonging to his
iiiiijesty, which should find out, and sail through, any passage by sea
bL'twcen the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, in any direction, or
parallel of the northern hemisphere, to the northward of the 52d
degree of latitude.
Soon after the adoption of these resolutions. Captain James Cook
returned to England from his second voyage of circumnavigation,
in which he had completely disproved all reports of the existence
of a habitable continent about the south pole ; and, his oflTer to con-
duct the proj)osed expedition to the North Pacific having been
accepted by the government, two vessels were soon prepared and
placed under his connnand for that purpose.
In the instructions delivered to Cook, on the 6th of July, 1776,
he is directed to proceed, by way of the Cape of Good Hope, New
Zealand, and Otaheite, to the coast of JVetv Albion, which he was
to endeavor to reach, in the latitude of 45 degrees. He was
" strictly enjoined, on his way thither, not to touch upon any part
of the Spanish dominions on the western continent of America,
unless driven to it by some unavoidable accident ; in which case,
he was to stay no longer than should be absolutely necessary, and
to be very careful not to give any umbrage or offence to any of the
inhabitants or subjects of his Catholic majesty. And if, in his
'I
w
■d\' \>f'.
4',\
I
V;'>
'i\'
'i:l
lU
J' !
148
I.NSTKUCTIONS TO COOK.
[1776.
farther progress northward, he should find uny subjects of any
European prince or state, upon any part of the coast which he
might think proper to visit, he was not to disturb them,- or give
them any just cause of offence, but, on the contrary, to treat them
with civility and friendship." This latter sentence bore reference
to the Russians ; the application of the name of New Albion to the
north-west coast of North America showed that the British govern-
ment had no intention to resign any rights to that region, which
were supposed, or pretended, to have been acquired by Drake's
visit, in 1579.
On reaching New Albion, Cook was " to put into the first con-
venient port to obtain wood, water, and refreshments, and thence
to proceed northward along the coast to the latitude of 65 degrees,"
where he was to begin his seareii for '• such rivers or inlets as might
appear to be of considerable extent, and jxjiiiling towards Hudson's
or Baflin's Bays." Should he find a passage of that description,
lie was to endeavor to sail throiigli it. with one or both of his ships.
or with smaller vessels, of which the materials were to be carried
out, prepared for being speedily |)nt together ; should he, however,
be satisfied that there is no such passage to the above-mentioned
bays, suflicient for the purposes of navigation, he was to n'pair to
the Russian establishments in Kamtchatka, and to explore the seas
north of them, " in fiirther search of a north-east or north-west
passage, from the Pacific Ocean into the Atliintic or the North
Sea." The instruction, not to begin the examination of the Amer-
ican coast south of the 65th degree of latitude, was bas(>d on the
proofs obtained by Ilearne, that the continent extended nnich
beyond that parallel ; before reaching whieli, indeed, it was expected
that the coast woidd be found turning north-eastward, in the direc-
tion of the mouth of the Copper Mine River.
The navigator was, likewise, " with the consent of the natives,
to take possession, in the name of tht; king of Great Britain, of
convenient situations in such countries as he might discover, that
had not been already discovered or visited by any other European
power ; and to distribute, among the inhabitants, sJich things as will
remain as traces of his having been there : but, if he should find
the countries so discovered to be nninhahited. he was to take pos-
session of them for his sovereign, by setting up proper marks and
inscriptions, as first discoverers and possessors."
The preceding extracts, from the instructions given to Cook, will
suffice to explain the objects and views of the British government,
-til
1176.
f any
ch he
r givo
them
nroiice
to the
overn-
wliich
brake's
rst con-
thence
•grers,"
IS might
[udsoti's
priptioiK
lis sliips.
! carried
jovvevor,
entioiiecl
rrpair to
the si-as
irth-vvest
North
le Amer-
on the
d much
expected
he direc-
natives.
ritain, of
>ver, that
"iMiropean
Igs as will
Mdd find
Itake pos-
lurks and
^ook, will
irernment,
1776.]
COOK SAILS Foil TUB PACIFIC.
149
with regard to the part of America hordering upon the North Pacific
Ocean ; which objects and views were, in every respect, confoim-
ahl(( wilh justice, with the existing treaties between Great Britain
and other powers, and with the ])rinciples of national law then
generally admitted in civilized countries. The part of America in
question was known to Europeans only through the imperfect
accounts of the Russian voyages, from which nothing certaii* was
learned, exeei)t that islands and other territories, supposed to be
extensive, had been found in the sea east of Kamtchatka. Of the
discoveries of the Spaniards, the most recent respecting which any
exact and authentic details had been connnunicated, were those
made by Vizcaino, in KiO.'J: he, how(;ver, had not advanced so far
north as the 45th degree of latitude, w here Cook was to begin his
observations; and between that parall(;l ami the .'jGth, the southern-
most limit r>f the «,'Xploratioiis of the Russians, was a vast space of
sea and land, concerning which all the accounts, pn^viously given
to the world, were generally regarded as fabulous. Before Cook's
departure, information had indeed reached England, of voyages,
niade by Spaniards, along the north-west coasts of America, during
the two preceding years,* and of colonies established by them in
that (juarter, which may, perhaps, have rendered the British
government more solicitous to have those coasts examined by its
own officers: this information was, however, too vague to have
allorded any light for the direction of Cook's movements; and it
has been alrea<ly shown that no more satisfactory accounts of those
recent Spanish voyages had been obtained in Knghuul before 1780.
With these instructions, Cook sailed frotn Plvniouth on the l-2th
of July, 1776, in his old ship, the Resolution, accom|)anied by
another called the Discovery, under Captain Charles Clt.'ke. Both
vessels were provided with every instrument and other means
which science or experience could suggest, for the ellectual ac-
complishment of the great objects in view ; an<l that tlie olficers
and crews were also judiciously selected, the results conclusively
proved. Among the lieutenants were Gore, (a native of Virginia.)
:».ing. Bligh, and Burney, who afterwards rose to eminence in their
profession : of the inferior members of tiie body, one deserves to
be named — John Ledyard, of Connecticut, who thus passed four
years of his irregular and adventurous life in the humble capacity
of a corporal of marines, on board the Resolution.
* See page 124 of this History.
'
mi
' ;
■III
111
■< Mi
m
', Li'
I-
150
COOK REACHES THK AMERICAN COAST.
[1773.
From England, Cook passed around the Cape of Good Hope,
and through the Southern Ocean, into the Pacific ; and, after
spending more than a year in examinations about Van Dieman's
Land, New Zealand, the Friendly Islands, the Society Islands, and
other places in the same division of the great sea, he bent his course
towards the north, in the beginning of 1778. The first fruit of
his researches in the North Pacific, was the discovery, on the 18th
of January, of Atooi, (or Kauai,) one of the islands of a group
near the iiOth degree of latitude, to which he gave the name of
Sandwich Islands, in honor of the first lord of the Admiralty. This
discovery was by no means the least important of the many efTccted
by the great navigator ; as those islands, situated nearly midway
between America and Asia, possessing a delightful climate, and a
fertile soil, ofter invaluable facilities for the repair and refreshment
of vessels traversing the vast expanse of sea which there separates
the two continents, and will, no doubt, be made the basis for the
exertion of a powerful influence on the destinies of North-west
America.
From the Sandwich Islands, the British ex|)loring ships took their
departure for the north-west coast of Ameri( a, in sight of which
they arrived on the 7th of March, 1778, near the 44th degree of
latitude, about two hundred miles north of Cape Mendocino. For
several days afterwards, Cook was prevented from advancing north-
ward by contrary winds, which forced him a hundred miles in
the op|)osite course ; but he was thereby enabled to see and |)ar-
tially examine a larger extent of coast, and to determine the longi-
tude of that j)art of America, which had been left uncertain by all
previous observations. The weitiu r at length permitting, he took
t. e desired direction, and, running rapidly northward, at some dis-
tance from the land, he was, on the 'i'2d of the month, opposite a
projecting point of the continent, a little beyond the 48th parallel,
to which he gave the name of Cape Flattery, in token of the
improvement in his prospects.
The coast south of Cape Flattery, to tht? 47th degree, was care-
fully examined by the English in search of the strait through which
Juan de Fuca was said to have sailed to the Atlantic in l.'59-2 ; and
as, in the account of that voyage, the entrance of the strait into the
Pacific is placed between the Alth and the 4Sth parallels, over whicii
space the American coast was found to extend unbroken, Cook
did not hesitate to pronounce that no such passage existed. Had
he, however, also traced the coast north and east of Cape Flattery,
si*, J
;f
;ma
Hope,
, after
enian's
[Is, and
course
ruit of
lie 1 8th
I ^'roup
anie of
. This
effected
midway
D, and a
csliinent
separates
i for the
arth-vvest
ook thcnr
of which
Irgree of
iiio. For
ng north-
miles in
and par-
ihe longi-
11.1 by all
, he took
some dis-
pposite a
parallel,
n of the
Lvas care-
Ijrli which
h9-2; and
It into the
VQX which
len, Cook
\i\. Had
Flattery,
1778.]
COOK AT ANCHOR IN NOOTKA SOCND.
151
he would have discovered an arm of the ocean, seeming to pene-
trate the continent, through which he might have sailed many days,
ere he could have been convinced that the old Greek pilot's account
was not true in all its most essential particulars. This arm of the
ocean was passed unobserved by the navigators, who, sailing north-
westward, in front of its entrance, doubled a projection of the land,
named, by them, Point Breakers, from the violence of the sun'
beating on it, and found immediately beyond a spacious bay, open-
ing to the Pacific, in the latitude of 49* degrees. Into this bay
they sailed, and anchored on its northern side, at the distance of
ten miles from the sea, in a safe and commodious harbor, to which
they gave the name of Friendly Cove.
The British vessels remained at Friendly Cove nearly all the
month of April, in the course of which they were completely
refitted, and supplied with wood and water, and the men were
refreshed, in preparation for the arduous labors of the ensuing
summer. During this period, they were surrounded by crowds of
natives, who came thither from all quarters, by sea and by land, to
visit and trade with the strangers, " bringing," says Cook, " skins of
various animals, such as wolves, foxes, bears, deer, raccoons, pole-
cats, martins, and, in particular, of the sea otters, which are found
ut the islands east of Kamtchatka. Besides the skii.s in their native
shape, they also brought garments made of the bark of a tree, or
soinc! plant like hemp ; weapons, such as bows and arrows, and
spears ; fish-hooks, and instruments of various kinds ; wooden
visors of many monstrous figures ; a sort of woollen stutt' or blan-
keting ; bags filled with red ochre ; pieces of carved work, beads,
and several other little ornaments of thin brass and iron, shaped
like a horse-shoe, which tiiey hang at their noses, and several
chisels, or pieces of iron fixed to handles."
• In trafficking with us," continues the navigator, " some of them
would betray a knavish disposition, and carry off our goods with-
out making any return ; but, in general, it was otherwise, and we
had abundant reason to commend the fairness of their conduct.
However, their eagerness to possess iron and brass, and, indeed,
any kind c*" metal, was so great, that few of them could resist
the temptation to steal it, whenever an o])portunity offere.1. They
were thieves in the strictest sense of the word ; for they pilfered
nothing from us but what they knew could be converted to the
purposes of private utility, and had a real value, according to their
estimation of things." Cook also observed among them a '' strict
I ? 11
■f
I '''m^l
(*'■
-I
}\y
y M
153
COOK S .\«'t Ol'NT OK TMK NOOTKANS.
[1778.
h
'W
llrii ■iii
notion of llieir having a ri^lit to the exclusive property of every
thing that their country produces," which had been roniurked, by
RfHlega and Maurelle, in the natives at Port Reniedios, further
north. " At first, they wanted our people to pay for the wood and
water that th(7 carried on board ; and, had I been upon the Hpot
when these demands W(.>re made, I should certainly have complied
with them. Our workmen, in my absence, thou<j[ht ditVercntly, for
they took but little noticn; of such claims ; and the natives, when
they found that we determined to pay nothing', ceased to apply.
But they made a merit of necessity, and frequently afterward took
occasion to remind us that they hud given us wood and water out
of friendship."
With regard to the disposition of these people, the English com-
mander was, on the whole, inclined to judge favorably. " They
seem," he says, " to be courteous, docile, and good nalured, but,
notwithstanding the predominant phlegm of their tempers, ijuick in
resenting what they look upon as un injury, and, like most other
passionate people, as soon forgetting it." Experience has, how-
ever, proved that Ledyard read their characters more correctly,
when he pronounced them "bold, ferocious, sly, and reserved;
not easily moved to anger, but revengeful in tlu; extreme."
From the number of articles of iron and brass found among these
people, one of whom had, moreover, two silver spoons, of Spanish
manufacture, hanging around his neck by way of ornament — from
their manifesting no surprise at the sight of his siiips, and not being
startled by the reports of his guns — and from the strong inclination
to trade exhibited by them, — Cook was, at first, inclined to suppose
that the place had been visited by vessels of civilized nations before
his arrival. He, however, became convinced, by his inquiries and
observations during his stay, that this was by no means probable ;
for though, as he says, "some account of a Spanish voyage to this
coast in 1774 or 1775 had reached England before I sailed, it was
evident that iron was too common here, was in too many hands,
and the use of it was too well known, for them to have had the first
knowledge of it so very lately, or, indeed, at any earlier period, by
an accidental supply from a ship. Doubtless, from the general use
they make of this metal, it may be supposed to come from some
constant source, by way of traffic, and that not of a very late date ;
for they are as dexterous in using their tools as the longest practice
can make tliem. The most probable way, therefore, by which we
cxiw suppose that they get their iron, is by trading for it with other
IM
nie.
every
I'd, by
urlher
(I and
c spot
inplictl
lly, for
I, when
apply-
•d took
iter out
sli coin-
" They
red, but,
(luick in
►St other
as, how-
:orrectly,
reserved ;
ne."
)ng these
Spanish
t — from
tiot being
jchnation
) suppose
ns before
liries and
probable ;
e to this
;d, it was
iiy hands,
the first
»eriod, by
neral use
•om some
late date ;
it practice
Iwhich vve
ith other
1778.]
COOK BAILS FROM NOOTKA.
153
I
Indian tribes, who cither have immediate communication with
European settlements upon the continent, or receive it, perhaps,
through several intermediate nations : the same might be said of
the brass and copper found amongst them." The iron and brass,
he conceived, might have been brought from Canada, or Hudson's
Bay, and the silver spoons from Mexico ; and he imputed the indif-
ference of the natives, respecting the ships, << to their natural indo-
lence of temper and want of curiosity."
On his arrival in this bay. Cook " honored it with the name of
King George's Sound ; " but he " afterwards found that it was called
Nootka, by the natives," and it has, accordingly, ever since been
known as Nootka Sound. No word has, however, been since found
in the language of the people of this country more nearly resembling
Nootka than Yuquatl, the name applied by them to Friendly Cove.
The bay is situated on the south-west Mo of the large Island of
Vancouver and Q^uadra, which was, until 1790, supposed to be a
part of the American continent; and it communicates with the
Pacific by two openings, the southernmost of which, the only one
afibrding a passage for large vessels, lies under the parallel of 49
degrees 33 minutes. This southern entrance is, undoubtedly, the
Port San Lorenzo, in which the Spanish navigator Perez lay
with his ship, the Santiago, on the 10th of August, 1774 ; and from
that vessel, most probably, were stolen the two silver spoons of
Spanish manufacture, which Cook saw at Nootka, in the possession
of one of the natives. The place possesses many advantages, which
will render it important, whenever that part of America shall be
occupied, as it certainly will be, by an enterprising and industrious
people.
It was Cook's intention, on leaving Nootka Sound, to proceed,
as speedily as possible, to the part of the coast under the 65th
degree of latitude, from which he was to commence his search for
a passage to the Atlantic. The violence of the wind prevented
him from approaching the land for some days, and he thus, to his
regret, left unseen the place, near the 53d parallel, " where geog-
raphers had placed the pretended Strait of Fonte. For my own
part," he continues, " I gave no credit to such vague and improb-
able stories, that carry their own confutation along with them ;
nevertheless, I was very desirous of keeping the American coast
aboard, in order to clear up this point beyond dispute." At length,
on the 1st of May, he saw the land, about the .'i5th parallel ; and,
on the following day, he passed near the beautiful conical mountain,
•20
■' I
>■.
5'.
i';i|
., •:
■W
Mi
\.\ ■ < ''':' '
■.rj 1 y
il • ' ' ' ■
' i- ''■ 1
Uj i
■ }'■
1 ;, . ■
' '!' 1
!■ '' ■■ '
uBi'
'''' . ■■ '
■ ' • !
; : ; i
i
J
'
154
COOK BEGINS HIS SURVEY OF THE COAST.
[1778.
under the 57th, which had received from Bodega, in 1775, the name
of Mount San Jacinto. This peak was called Mount Edgecumb by
Cook, who also gave the appellation oi Bay of Islands to the Port
Remedios of the Spaniards, on its northern side.
After leaving these places, the English observed a wide opening
on the east, called by them Cross Sound, and beyond it a very high
mountain, which obtained the name of Mount Fairweather ; and, as
the latter was situated near the 59th parallel, they had then advanced
farther north than the Spaniards, or any other navigators, had
proceeded from the south along that coast, and were entering upon
the scenes of the labors of the Russians. Accordingly, as they ex-
pected, on the 4th of the month, they beheld, rising from the shore
in the north, at the distance of forty leagues, a stupendous pile of
rocks and snow, which they immediately recognized as the Mount
St. Elias, described in the accounts of Bering's voyage ; and, as
the coast from its base was found to " trend very much to the west,
inclining hardly any thing to the north," Cook determined to com-
mence his survey at that point, hoping soon to discover some strait,
or arm of the ocean, through which he might pass around the north-
western extremity of America, into the sea bathi ig the northern
shores of the continent. Of the existence of such a passage he
was assured by the Russian geographers, on whose maps the whole
space between Mount St. Elias and Kamtchatka was represented
as occupied by a collection of islands and channels.
With this expc'jtation, the English advanced slowly along the
coast, from the foot of Mount St. Elias, westward, to a considerable
distance, and then south-westward, as far as the latitude of 54^
degrees ; minutely examinin7, in their way, every sinuosity on the
shores of the ocean, and particularly those of the two great gulfs,
named by them Prince William's Sound and Coo¥s River, which
stretch northwardly into the land from the 60th parallel. They
were, however, in each instance, disappointed ; for the coast was
found to extend continuously on their right, bordered every where
by lofty, snow-capped chains of mountains along the whole line thus
surveyed : and, as Cook became convinced that these territories
formed part of the American continent, which thus "extended
farther to the west than, from the modern most reputable charts, he
had reason to expect," he saw, with regret, that the probability of
his finding a passage eastward into Baffin's or Hudson's Bays was
materially diminished, if not entirely destroyed. He endeavored, in
his course, to identify the place3 described in the narrative of
f •I
m
[1778.
e name
imb by
he Port
opening
jry high
and, as
dvanced
0X3, had
ing upon
they ex-
ihe shore
IS pile of
he Mount
; and, as
the west,
i to com-
)me strait,
the north-
! northern
)assage he
the whole
epresented
along the
>nsiderable
ide of 54J
1778.]
COOK REACHES UNALASHKA.
155
Bering's voyage; but this he found, almost always, impossible,
though he assigned many of the names therein mentioned to spots
which seemed to correspond, in some respects, with those so called
by the Russians.
Whilst this survey was in progress, particularly at Prince Jfil-
liam^s Sound, the ships were frequently visited by the natives of the
surrounding country, who appeared to be of a different race from
those seen farther south. They were as thievish as the Nootkans,
though appnrently less ferocious and revengeful ; and Cook gives
several examples of their extraordinary apathy and indifference,
which appears, from all subsequent accounts, to be their most
remarkable characteristic. They, also, were well acquainted with
the use of iron and copper, of which metals, particularly of copper,
they possessed knives, or spear-heads, rudely made. Among them
were likewise found many ornaments made of glass beads, which
were evidently of European manufacture : yet the English could
not learn that they had ever had direct intercourse with any civilized
nation ; and Cook very justly concluded that the Russians " had
never been among them, for, if that had been the case, we should
hardly have found them clothed in such valuable skins as those of
tiie sea otter."
Proceeding south-westward from Cook's River, along the western
side of the peninsula of Aliaska, the English, on the 19th of June,
fell in with a group of small islands, near the 55th parallel, which
appeared to correspond, in position, with the Schumagin Islands of
Bering ; and, while sailing amongst them, they obtained, from some
natives, a note written on paper, in an unknown language, which
t!iey supposed to be Russian. Having reached tiie extremity of the
land in that direction, they doubled the point, and, sailing again
towards the east, they arrived, on the 27th, at a large island, which
proved to be Unalashka, one ol the Aleutian Archipelago, frequently
mentioned in the accounts of the Russians as a place of resort
for their traders : natives of the island only were found there ; but,
ap its position with reference to other points in America, and to
Kamtchatka, was supposed to be represented with some approach
to accuracy, on the chart published at St. Petersburg, the Eng-
lish, after reaching it, were better able to determine their future
course.
Being still anxious to discover, if possible, during that season,
how far America extended to the north-west. Cook departed from
Unalashka on the 2d of July, and, sailing northward along the coast,
*■
r
-i •■I' 1'
Hit
COOK MEETS RUSSIAN TRADERS.
[1778.
he carefully examined all its bays and recesses, in search of a pas-
sage towards the east, until he, at length, on the 9th of August,
reached a point, in the latitude of 65 degrees 46 minutes, which
his observations induced him to consider as the " north-western
extremity of all America." This point he named Cape Prince of
Wales, and thence proceeding westward, across a channel only fifty
miles in breadth, he arrived at another point, supposed to be tiiat
described, in the account of Boring's first voyage, as the Tchukoiskoi
Aoss, which was ascertained to be the easternmost spot in Asia, and
was accordingly named East Cape. The passage separating these
capes, which the Russians had called Bering^s Strait, was suffered
to retain that appellation, in honor of the navigator who first sailed
through it.
Beyond Bering's Strait, the American coast was traced by the
English, north-eastward upon the Arctic Sea, to Icy Cape, in the
latitude of 70 degrees 29 minutes, where the progress of the ex-
plorers was arrested by the ice. In like manner, the Asiatic coast
was surveyed north-westward, to Cape North, in the latitude of 63
degrees 56 minutes, the farthermost point to which it was then pos-
sible to advance in that direction ; and, the warm season being by
thi.^ time ended. Cook judged it prudent to retire to the south,
deferring the continuation of his researches until the ensuing
summer. He accordingly repassed Bering's Strait, and on the
3d of October his sliips were again anchored in the harbor of Sam-
agoonda, on the north side of Unalashka.
From this place, Corporal Lcdyard was despatched on an ex-
ploring trip into the interior of the island, where he at length dis-
covered some Russian traders, who accompanied him back to the
ships. The chief of these traders, named Gerassim Ismyloff, was
an old and experienced seaman, who had formed one of the party
under Benyowsky, in their adventurous voyage from Kamtchatka
to China, in 1770, and had since been engaged in the navigation
and traffic between Asia and the Aleutian Islands. He readily ex-
hibited to Cook the few charts in his possession, and communicated
what he knew respecting the geography of that part of the world
as well as was possible, considering that neither of the two under-
stood a word of the language of the other. The information thus
received from IsmylolT, however, only served to show the entire
inaccuracy of the ideas of the Russians with regard to America,
and to convince the English navigator of the importance of his own
discoveries.
1779.]
DEATH OF COOK.
157
Leaving Unalashka on the 27th of October, the English ships
continued their voyage southward to the Sandwich Islands, of which
the two largest, called Owyhee and Mowce, (^Hawaii and Mauai,)
were first discovered in the latter part of November. They passed
the winter on the western side of Owyhee, in a harbor called Kara-
kooa Bay i and there, on the 16th of February, 1779, the gallant
and generous Cook was murdered by the natives, in an aflfray.
Captain Charles Clerke, who succeeded to the command of the
expedition after this melancholy event, endeavored, in the summer
of 1779, to effect a passage through the Arctic Sea to the Atlantic.
With this view, he left the Sandwich Islands in March, and, on the
29th of April, reached the harbor of Petropawlowsk, in the Bay of
Avatscha, the principal port of the Russians on the North Pacific,
where the English were received with the utmost kindness by the
oiricers of the government ; and their ships were objects of the
greatest curiosity to the people, being the first from any foreign
country which had ever visited that part of the world. After some
days spent in Kamtchatka, Clerke sailed for Bering's Strait, beyond
whicli, however, he was unable to advance, in any direction, so far
as in the preceding year, in consequence of the great accumulation
of the ice. His health at that time being, moreover, in a very pre-
carious state, he returned to Petropawlowsk, near which he died, on
tiio '2-2d of August.
Lieutenant John Gore next assumed the direction of the enter-
prise: but the ships were considered, by him and the other officers,
unfit, from the bad condition of their bottoms and rigging, to en-
counter the shocks of another season in that tempestuous quarter
of the ocean ; and it was, thereupon, determined that they should
direct their course immediately for England. They accordingly
sailed from Petropawlowsk in October, and in the beginning of
December they anchored at the mouth of the River Tygris, near
Canton.
With the stay of tiic English ships in China are connected ':ome
circumstances, which gave additional importance to the discoveries
clfpcted in their expedition.
It has already been mentioned that, during the voyage along the
r Tth-west coasts of America, the officers and seamen had obtained
from the natives at Nootka, Prince William's Sound, and other
places which they visited, a quantity of furs, in exchange for knives,
old clothes, buttons, and other trifies. Ti'f'sp furs were collected,
1'
•!8r,!
^■
1
1 1
i r
158
THE ENGLISH SELL THEIR FURS AT CANTON.
l! 1 I ' i
[1779.
for the most part, without any reference to their value as merchan-
dise, and were used on board ship as clothes or bedding ; in conse-
quence of which, many of them had become spoiled, and others
were much injured, before the ships reached Petropawlowsk. At
that place, a few skins were sold to the Russian traders, who were
anxious to purchase the whole on similar terms ; but the English
officers, having, in the mean time, acquired information as to the
high prices paid for furs in China, prevailed upon the seamen to
retain those which they still possessed, until their arrival at Canton,
where they were assured that a much better market would be
found.
The hopes thus excited did not prove fallacious. The ships
commanded by Gore were the only ones, with the exception of that
under Benyowsky, in 1770, which had ever arrived at Canton
directly from the coasts where furs were obtained ; and no sooner
was the nature of the merchandise which they brought known in
the city, than all became eager to purchase those precious objects
of comfort and luxury, either for their own use or upon speculation.
The Chinese, according to custom, began by offering prices much
below the ordinary ; but the English, being on their guard, refused
such terms, and, in the end, their whole stock of furs was sold for
money and goods, to the amount of more than ten thousand dollars.
The seamen, on witnessing these results, became, notwithstanding
the previous length of their cruise, " possessed with a rage to return
to the northern coasts, and, by another cargo of skins, to make
their fortunes, which was, at one time, no* far short of mutiny : "
they were, however, restrained by their officers, and, after the com-
pletion of the business at Canton, the ships sailed around the Cape
of Good Hope to England, where they arrived in the beginning of
October, 1780.
With regard to the novelty of the discoveries effected in this
voyage, it will be seen, on comparing the course of the English
ships with those taken by the Spaniards, in 1774 and 1775 — that
Cook saw no part of the west coast of North America, south of
Mount San Jacinto or Edgecumb, which had not been previously
seen by Perez, Bodega, or Heceta ; and, after passing that point, he
was, as he frequently admits, aided, and in a measure guided, by the
accounts of the Russian voyages. The observations of the English
were, however, infinitely more minute, and more important, in their
results, than those of any or all the other navigators who had pre-
:4i
779.
;han-
onse-
ithers
At
were
nglish
,0 the
len to
anton,
lid be
1780.]
RESULTS OF COOK S DISCOVERIES.
159
coded them in the exploration of the North Pacific : for, by deter-
mining accurately the positions of the principal points on the coasts
of Asia and America, bounding that sea, they first afTorded the
means of ascertaining the extent of those continents, and the degree
of their proximity to each other, respecting which the most er-
roneous ideas had been adopted ; and the comparative ease and
security with which they executed this task, served to dispel the
apprehensions, previously entertained, with regard to expeditions
through that quarter of the ocean.
a
o
! ships
of that
[Janton
sooner
own in
objects
ulation.
s much
refused
sold for
I dollars.
landing
return
make
utiny : "
le com-
le Cape
ming of
in this
English
; — that
outh of
eviously
(oint, he
, by the
English
in their
lad pre-
4,'.'.'
} I'
I-
I"
1
1^
160
1781
w
CHAPTER VII.
1780 TO 1789.
Commercial Results of Cook's Discoveries — Settlements of the Russians in America
— Scheme of Ledyard for the Trade of tlio Nortli Pacific — Voyage of La P6rouse
— Direct Trade between the American Coasts and Canton commenced — Voyages
of the English Fur Traders — Re-discovery of the Strait of Fuca — Voyage of
Meares, who endeavors to find a great River described by the Spaniards — First
Voyages from the Unitcii States to the South Pacific, and to Canton — Voyage of
the Columbia and Wasliingtoii, under Kendrick and Gray, from Boston to the
North Pacific.
Whil-; 1' Cook was engaged in his last expedition, Great Britain
became ii'. )lve(! in vvar3 with the United States of America, France,
and Spaiii ; and, as there was no prospect of a speedy termination
of the co..tesls at the time when the ships sent out under that
commander returned to Europe, the British government considered
it prudent to withhold from the world all information respecting
their voyage. The regular journals of the ships, together with the
private notes and memoranda of the ofiiccrs and men which could
be collected, were, in consequence, placed under the charge of the
Board of Admiralty, and thus remained concealed until peace had
been restored. Notwithstm?jing this care, however, many of the
occurrences of the expedition became known, the importance, or
the novelty, of which was such as to raise to the highest degree the
curiosity of the pui)lic, not only in England, but in all other civilized
countries.
The wars having been, at longih, concluded, the regular journals
of the expedition were published at London, in the winter of 1784-5,
under the care of the learned Bishop Doug)as, with a number of
maps, charts, and other illustrative engra»ings ; and il is now
scarcely necessary to say, that the anticipauons which had been
formed as to the importai ;e of thf^ir contents, were fully realized.
The information obtained during the voyage, respecting the
abundance of animals of tine fur on the north-west coasts of
^merica, and the high prices paid for their skins in China, became
gene
not 1
coun
byth
been
furs (
expor
own I
Bay a
was s(
thougl
That t
tageou
prices
clear tl
trade I
the fini
part of
the ope
the diffi
ho incrc
to reap
labors a
The :
coveries
during tl
l<a. In
kof, Ivan
Kamtcha
Ijusi/iess ;
trade anc
the coinn
three yea
continent
and Princ
or factorit
Kiiktal\ o
liiccr. S
Wfll acquf
apparently
of any mr
1780.]
STATE OF THE FUR TRADE.
161
America
Ptrouse
Voyages
jyage of
g — First
oyage of
,n to the
t Britain
France,
mination
der that
nsidcrcd
specting
with the
ch could
e of the
ace had
y of the
ance, or
luree the
ilized
iciv
journals
1784-5,
Imbcr of
is now
lad been
realized,
jting the
loasts of
became
generally diffused before tlie publication of the journals, and it did
not fail to attract the attention of enterprising nnen in all maritime
countries. The trade in furs had been conducted, almost wholly,
by the British and the Russians, between whom, however, there had
been no opportunity for competition. The Russians procured their
furs cliiefly in the northern parts of their own empire ; and they
exported to China, by land, all such as were not required for their
own use. The British market was supplied entirely from Hudson's
Bay and Canada ; and a great portion of the skins there collected
was sent to Russia, whence many of them found their way to China,
though none had ever been shipped directly for the latter country.
That the furs of Canada and Hudson's Bay might be sold advan-
tageously at Canton was certain, from a comparison between the
prices of those articles in London and in Canton ; and it was also
clear that still greater profits might be secured by means of a direct
trade between China and the north-west coasts of America, where
the finest furs were to be obtained more easily than in any other
part of the world. There could be, nevertheless, no doubt that, after
the opening of such a trade, the prices in China would fall, while
the difficulties and expenses of collecting the furs in America would
bo increased ; and it was, therefore, material that those who wished
to reap the fullest harvests in this new field, should begin tiieir
labors as speedily as possible.
The Russians were the first to avail themselves of Cook's dis-
coveries, respecting which they had derived much information
during the stay of thv'^ British ships at Petropawlovvsk and Tnaiash-
ka. In 1781, an association was formed between Gregory Scheli-
kof, Ivan Gollikof, and other principal fur merchants of Siberia and
Kamtchatka, for the more extensive and eflective conduct of their
business ; and three vessels. (Mpiippod by them for a long voyage of
trade and exploration, sailed from Ochotsk, in August, I78-'}. under
the command of Schelikof. In this expedition they were absent
three vears, in the course of which the shores of the American
continent and islands, between the south-west extremity of Aliaska
and Prince William's Sound, were examined, and several colonies
or factories were established, particularly on the large island of
Kiiktak, or Kodiak, near the entrance of the bay called Cook^s
Rii'cr. Schelikof was a man of great intre[)idity and perseverance,
well acquainted with the business in which he was engaged, and
apparently never troubled by scruples as to the morality or humanity
of any measure, after he had satisfied himself of its expediency.
I
*■
162
LEDVARD S SCHEME FOll THE FL'R TRADE.
[178:2.
"'
He and his followers are said to have exhibited the most barbarous
dispositions in their treatment of the natives on the coasts, whole
tribes of whom were put to death upon the slifjfhtest prospect of
advantage from their destruction, and often through mere wanton-
ness of cruelty.
In 1787, the Russians made establishments, also, on the shores of
Cook's River ; and, in the following year, two vessels were sent
from Asia by the trading association, under Ismylof (one of the men
found by Cook at Unalashka) and Betscharef, who proceeded as
far east as the bay at the foot of Mount St. Elias, called Yakutat
by the natives, and Admiralty Bay by the English. It seems to
have also been the object of these traders to take possession of
Nootka Sound, in which, however, they were anticipated, as will
be shown in the ensuing chapter.
The empress Catharine had likewise become anxious to acquire
glory by an ex|)edition for discoveries in the North Pacific ; but, as
none of her subjects were qualified to conduct such an enterprise,
she engaged for the })urpose Captain Rillings, an Englishman, who
had accompanied Cook, as assistant astronomer, in his last voyage.
Under his direction, two ships wert; built at Petropawlowsk ; l)ut
they could not be comj)lcted before 1790, when Billings began his
voyage, as will be hereafter n;lated.
Among other nations, the first attempt to engage in llie direct
trade between the north-west coasts of America and China a|)pcars
to have been made by Mr. Bolts, an eminent English merchant,
residing at Trieste, who, in 1781, ecinipped a vessel for that pur-
pose, to be navigated under the imperial flag of Germany : but he
was obliged, from some unknown cause, to abandon the under-
taking.
A similar attempt was shortly after made, with no greater suc-
cess, in the United States of America. John LedyartI, who has
been already mentioned as one of the crew of Cook's ship during
the last voyage of tliat navigator, haviuir deserted, or rather es-
caped, from a British frii^ate. in which he whs serving against his
countrymen, near New York, in 17H-2, prevailed on the celebrated
merchant and financier. Robert Morris, of IMiiladelphia, to fit out a
vessel, to be employed, undcT his direction, in the fur trade of the
North Pacific. The pecuniary embarrassments of Mr. Morris,
however, obliged him to abandon the enterpris(; before the vessel
was ready for sea ; and Ledyard. finding his efi'orts to procure
cooperation for that object unavailing in America, went to France in
h
1786.]
VOYAGE OF L\ PEUOUSE.
163
1784, where he, in concert with Pnul Jones, endeavored to interest
the government, or private capitahsts, in his scheme.
The French gave no encouragement to Ledyard's plan for prose-
cuting the fur trade ; and no private vessels were sent from that
kingdom to the North Pacilic until 1791.* The government of
France, however, was not unaware of the advantages which might
be derived from this branch of conunerce ; and their great naviga-
tor, La Perouse, on leaving his country for the Pacilic, in 1785,
was specially instructed to " explore the parts of the north-west
coasts of America which had not been examined by Cook, and of
which the Russian accounts gave no idea, in order to obtain infor-
mation respecting the fur truie, and also to learn whether, in those
unknown })arts, some river or internal sea might not be found
communicating with Hudson's Bay or BatUn's Bay."f
The nmltiplicity of objects, in every department of science, to
which La Perouse was recjuired by his instructions to attend, during
his voyage, prevented him from devoting more than three months
to the north-west coasts of America ; and, of that time, he spent
one third at anchor, in a bay at the foot of Mount Fairweather,
near which he lirst saw the coast, on the '2'3i\ of June, 17SG. In
this bay, cidled, by La Perouse, Port dcs Fra)tfais,'l observations
were made by the French in various points of science ; and they
traded with the natives, of whose persons, language, arts, customs,
itc, minute accounts are presented in the journals of the expedi-
'
11
* Allcr the fiiiliiri" of this sfliciiic, I^cdyard luulcrtook, nt flio su^gt^stion of Mr.
JitViTson, thcii minister plenipotentiary of tlie United States in France, to proceed
by land to Kanitchatka, thence by sea to Noolka Sound, or some other point on the
west coast of North America, and thence across the continent, to the Atlantic
stites (if the P'ederal I'nion. With this view, j)ermission was obtained, throu^fh the
airi'iicy of the celebrated liaron de (iriinm, from the empress of Russia, for Ledyard
to pass throui;h her dominions ; and, tlius jirotected, as well ns aided, by the govern-
ment of that empire, he advanced as far as Irkutsk, in Siberia, on his way to
Ochotsk, where he proposed to embark for America. At Irkutsk, however, he was
arrested, by order of th(^ empress, on the niirht of the 2-lth of February, 1786, and
was thence conveyed to the frontiers of Poland, wliere he was liberated, with an
injunction not ajiain to set foot in the Russian territory. 'I'lie reasons for liis expul-
sion are uiiknr)wn; but it was probabl',- occasioned by the representations of the
inemt)£rs of the Russian American Tradinjr Com[)any, already mentioned, who
wished to keep their proceedinirs secret. On the ir>th of November foUowinif, Led-
yard's irrecjulnr life was ended at Cairo, whither he had jrone under the auspices of
tlie Alrican Association of London, on his way to seek for the sources of the Nile.
— Se(! tiio Biography of Ledyard, by Jarcd Sparks.
t Kinir Louis XVI. is said to have |>lanned the expedition of La Perouse himself,
and to have drawn up the <;reater part of the instructions with his own hand, before
he communicated his intentions to any other person.
t No account of this extraordinary place has been given by any other navigator.
u.i' I
».<!
' ! ('
M'
I h
164
TOTAGB OF LA PEROUSE.
[1786.
tion. Quitting the Port dcs Fran^ais on the 4th of August, they
sailed towards the south, and examined the coasts between Mount
San Jacinto, or Edgecunib, and Port Bucaruli, as well as those
discovered by the Spaniards in 1774 and 1775, between the 54th
and the 52d parallels, forming tlie western side of Queen Char-
lotte's Island, the separation of which from the American continent
seems to have been suspected by La Perouse. Continuing onwards,
they passed the mouth of Nootka Sound without entering it, and,
on the 8lh of September, they reached Monterey, where they were
received with the greatest attention, agreeably to orders previously
sent thilher from Mexico. At Monterey, the observations were
renewed, and the latitude and longitude of that part of the coast
were, for the first time, accurately determined ; after which, on the
24th of the month, the French ships quitted the American coast
forever.
The remarks and surmises of this accomplished officer, on several
points connected with the north-west coasts of America, display
much sagacity and s';ience ; but his labors were rendered almost
useless to the world, by the delay in the publication of his journals,
which did not ap|)ear i ntil 1797, when nearly all the places visited
by him had become well known, from the descriptions of many
other navigators.*
The first persons who actually engaged in the direct trade
between the north-west coasts of America and China, were British
subjects, tliough sailing, nearly all, under the Portuguese flag.
At the time of the publication of Cook's journals, the British
trade in the Pacific was divided between two great commercial
corporations, each possessing peculiar privileges, secured to itself
by act of parliament, to the exclusion of all other subjects of the
same nation. Tiius no British subjects, except those in the ser-
vice, or bearing the license, of the South Sea Company, could make
• Sailing f; '111 Monterey, La Perousr visited, in succession, lUacao, tho Philippine
Ishnds, the coast of Tartary, Kamtchatka, the Navijjators' Ishinds, md New Hol-
land. After leaving the latter country, in February, 1787, nothing was heard of his
siiips until Itf'^i, wiien information was received by the French government, in con-
fiMlui'nce of wiiich a vessel was sent to tlic Pacific, and tiie wreclts of both vessels
'vere discovered on the little island of Malicolo, one of the New Hebrides Archipel-
ago, east of New Holland. From tiie accounts of the natives, it appeared that a
number of the French landed on the island atler the wreck of tlieir ships, and built
a small vess-'l, in which they took their departure, and were d')ul)t]e-:;i 1 ist. The
journals of the e.xpedition, and letters r ;eived from the commander a'ld other
officers, were published at Paris in 17!i7, under the direction of Clairet de Fleurieu,
and were iinmediately translated into English and other European languages.
\:i
[1786.
It, they
Mount
i those
le 51th
I Char-
tntinent
Inwards,
it, and,
ey were
cviously
ns were
ne coast
, on the
an coast
n several
, display
d almost
journals,
es visited
of many
!ct trade
e British
lag.
c British
Immercial
to itself
Its of the
the ser-
ild make
Philippine
New Hol-
lieard of his
pnt, in con-
poth vessels
[s Archipcl-
|ared that a
and built
1 1 .St. Tlic
a'ul otlipr
ke Fleurieu,
Igea.
1785.]
VOYAGE OF 1 1 ANN A.
165
Hf
expeditions, for trade or fishery, by way of Cape Horn or Magel-
lan's Straits, to any part of the west coast of America, or the seas
;ind islands within three hundred leaij[uea of it: while no British
snhjocts, not employed or licensed by the East India Company,
could proceed, for either of those purposes, around the Cape of
Good Mope, to ar>y seas or lands <'ast of that point, between it
ind Mogellan's Straits ; with the provision, however, that the privi-
leges conferred on the East India Company should not be considered
r.s interfering with those previously granted to the other association.
All British vessels, found trading or fishing contrary to the acts by
which these privileges were conferred, became liable to confiscation,
and the persons directing such expeditions to heavy penalties.
Tlius the East India Company could carry on the direct trade
between the north-west coasts of America and China, at the risk of
II dispute with the Sotith Sea Comj)any, as to the extent of th<
interference with the i)rivilegos of the latter ; while those privileges
were rendered entirely useless to the South Sea Company, for the
purposes of that trade, by the exclusion of its vessels from the
Chinese ports, which ottered the j)rincipal, if not the only, profitable
market for furs. Accordingly, some of the earliest commercial
expeditions of the British to the north-west coasts were made under
tlic Hag of the ICast India Company ; while other subjects of that
nation eluded the regulations of both companies, by engaging in
the fur trade, under the Mag of Portugal, or with licenses granted
by the Portuguese authorities at Macao, near Canton.
The earliest of these expeditions appears to have been that of
.Tames Hanna, an Englishman, who sailed from Macao, in a small
vessel under Portuguese colors, in April, ITf-io,* and arrived at
Nootka Sound in August following. The natives of that country
at first refused to have any dealings with him, and endeavored to
seize his vessel, and murder his crew ; but they were foiled in the
attempt, and, after some combats between the parties, a trade was
estahlislied, the result of which was, that Ilanna brought back to
* The rollowiniT nrnoimt of the movpincnts of the fur traders in the Xorih Pacific,
between IT;-.') and IT-it, is derived prineipally from the Narrative of the Voyage
of the Ship (Jueen Cliailotte, by lier captain, Jolin Dixon, or rather by her super-
cargo, Heresford — the Narrative of the Voyaire of the Ship Kinj^ G-eoriife, by her
raptain, Natlianiel Porilock — the Narrative of the Voyajjcs of Captain John Meares,
to whicii is prefixed a Dissertation on the Probability of a Northern Passage between
tlic Atlantic and th" Paeillc, and the memorial and doeuments in proof, presented
by Captain Meares to the Hritisli parliament in May, 17!M). Many notable diftercnces
will be shown to exist between the statements of Meares in his narratice and hia
memorial.
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VOYAGES OF PETERS, LOWRIE, AND MCARES.
[1786.
China, before the end of the year, furs worth more than twenty
thousand dollars, in return for the old clothes, iron, and trifles,
which he had carried out in the spring.
In 1786, Hanna made another voyage to the coasts ; but he had
then to compete with traders from Bengal and England, in conse-
quence of which his profits were much less than in the preceding
voyage. In the same year, also, an attempt was made to establish
a direct trade between Macao an.d Kamtchatka, to be carried on
under the Portuguese flag. With this view. Captain Peters was
sent in the brig Lark to Petropawlowsk, where he made arrange-
ments with Schelikof, the head of the American Trading Company,
to supply them regularly with European and Chinese goods, taking
furs in return ; but the Lark was lost, with nearly all on board, on
Copper Island, one of the westernmost of the Aleutian Archipelago,
in her voyage back to China, and no attempt for the same purpose
was afterwards made.
Voyages were, about the same time, made to the North Pacific,
in search of furs, by Captains Lowrie and Guise, in two small
vessels from Bombay, and by Captains Meares and Tipping, in two
others from Calcutta, all under the flag of the East India Company.
Lowrie and Guise went to Nootka Sound, and thence northward,
along the coasts, to Prince William's Sound, from which they pro-
ceeded to Macao. Meares and Tipping sailed to the Aleutian
Islands, and thence to Prince William's Sound, after leaving which
nothing was ever heard of Tipping or his vessel : Meares spent the
winter of 1786—7 in that sound, where more than half of his
crew died from want or scurvy.
In the above-mentioned voyages, nothing of importance was
learned respecting the geography of North-west America. In order
to convey a clear idea of the extent and value of the discoveries
effected by the fur traders in the three years next ensuing, it should
be premised that, in the beginning of that period, the coast of the
American continent was supposed, according to the best accounts
and charts, to run in a regular, and almost unbroken, line north-
westward, from Cape Mendocino, near the 40th degree of latitude,
to Mount St. Elias, near the 60th ; the innumerable islands which
are now known to extend in chains between the continent and the
open Pacific Ocean, from the 48th degree to the 58th, being
regarded as the main land of North America. The western sides
of the most western of these islands had been examined, though
imperfectly, in their whole length, by the Spaniards, in 1774 and
\ 'I
[1786.
I twenty
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t he had
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arried on
eters was
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Company,
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1 they pro-
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tving which
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lalf of his
1787.]
MAQUINNA, KING OF NOOTKA.
167
1775: Cook had, in 1778, seen the portions about Nootka Sound
and Mount San Jacinto, or Edgecumb, leaving unexplored the inter-
mediate shores, which were represented — as expressed on the charts
attached to his journal — according to the accounts of the Spanish
navigators; and those coasts had also been seen by La Perouse,
who seems to have been the first to suspect their separation from
the continent, though he took no measures to ascertain the fact, by
penetrating any of the numerous openings which he observed when
passing them in )786. The coasts south of Nootka Sound, to
Cape Mendocino, were not visited by the people of any civilized
nation between the period of Cook's voyage and 1787 ; and the
best charts of them were those of the Spaniards, founded on the
observations of Heceta and Bodega. The parts respecting which
tiie most accurate information had been obtained were those west-
ward from Mount St. Elias, to the Aleutian Islands : that division
of the coast was, indeed, so thoroughly examined by Cook, in 1778,
that very little was left for subsequent navigators, except to verify
his statements and conclusions.
The principal places of resort for the fur traders on the American
coasts were, Nootka or King George's Sound, — Norfolk Sound, the
Port Guadelupe of the Spaniards, near their Mount San Jacinto, —
Prince William's Sound, and Cook's River. The two last-mentioned
places, having been, in 1788, occupied by the Russians, under
Schclikof, were seldom visited afterwards by the vessels of other
nations ; and, as the country about Nootka was well supplied with
wood fit for ship-building, and had a more agreeable climate than
could be found farther north, it was generally selected as the point
of destination, rendezvous, and departure, by the traders. The
people there, as already mentioned, exhibited, at first, great oppo-
sition to the foreigners ; but they soon acquired a taste for knives,
blankets, and other such articles of luxury or use, to gratify which
they were ready not only to traffic, but even to engage in labor with
some show of assiduity. Their king was named Maquinna: his
relations, Wicanish and Tatoochseatticus, ruled over the tribes
farther south-westward, inhabiting the shores of two large bays,
called Clyoquot and Nittinat. Maquinna, whose name will fre-
quently appear in the following pages, possessed in a high degree
the cunning, ferocity, and vindictiveness, characteristic of his race ;
for, though he occasionally exhibited evidences of better qualities,
yet, like the other chiefs, he seldom lost an opportunity for the
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TAMAHAMAHA, KING OF OWYHEE.
[1787.
[U-l>.
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commission of an act of blood or perfidy, in gratification of his
desires for revenge or profit.
The importance of the Sandwich Islands to the commerce of the
whole North Pacific was also soon made apparent ; and they
became, in a few years, the favorite places of refreshment of all
vessels navigating between Cape Horn and the north-west coasts
of America, and between those coasts and China. Their soil is
fertile, their climate delightful, and their productions are precisely
those most useful to vessels engaged in long voyages. Their
inhabitants, though naturally indolent, false, and treacherous, are
not positively ferocious ; and they are endowed with much cunning
and mechanical aptitude, which led them quickly to perceive the
immediate benefits to be derived from an intercourse with strangers,
and to submit to restraints, in order to secure such advantages. At
the time of their discovery, the islands were governed by separate
chiefs : in the course of the ensuing fifteen years, however, they all
fell under the authority of one man, Mahe-Mahe, or Tamahamaha,
who, by the possession of extraordinary acutencss and sagacity,
combined with courage and steadiness of purpose, overcame all
his rivals, and kept up something like a regular government until
his death. The most formidable opponent of Tamahamaha was
Tianna, a resolute and ferocious chief, who accompanied Meares to
Canton in 1787, and there acquired many new ideas, which gave
him, for some time, considerable advantages ; but he was, in the
end, defeated and slain by his rival.
The first discoveries, worthy of note, made on the north-west
coasts of America, after Cook's voyage, were those of Captains
Portlock and Dixon, who were sent from London, in 1785, in com-
mand of the ships King George and Queen Charlotte, by a
mercantile association, styled the King George's Sound Comjpany.
The object of this association was to monopolize the direct trade
between the North Pacific coasts and China, with which view its
operations were to be conducted in the following manner : — Under
the protection of licenses, granted by the South Sea Company, its
vessels were to proceed, by way of Cape Horn, to the north-west
coasts of America, laden with goods, whicli were there to be bar-
tered for furs ; the furs were to be carried to Canton, and there
sold by the agents of the East India Company, agreeably to a con-
tract with that body; and the produce of their sale was to be
vested in teas, and other Chinese commodities, which were to be
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[1787.
, of his
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It of ail
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precisely
, Their
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rcame all
nent until
maha was
Meares to
hich gave
as, in the
1787.]
VOYAGES OP POKTLOCK AND DIXON.
169
brought by the ships, around the Cape of Good Hope, to England.
Portlock and Dixon were both intelligent men, well acquainted with
the theory and practice of navigation, and their ships were well
provided with instruments for ascertaining geographical positions ;
the narratives published by them, after their return to England,
though tedious to the general reader, from the minuteness of the
details of trifling or personal matters, and not always strictly true,
are, nevertheless, valuable, as showing the history of the fur trade
in the North Pacific, and of the discovery of the American coasts
of that ocean, between the time of Cook's expedition and the year
1788.
Portlock and Dixon left England together in August, 1785, and,
passing around Cape Horn, and through the group of the Sandwich
Islands, they reached Cook's River in July, 1786. There they met
some Russians, though no establishment had been then formed by
that nation east of the Island of Kodiak ; and, after a short stay,
they proceeded to Nootka Sound, where they expected to spend
the winter. They were, however, unable to enter that bay, or any
other place on the American coast, in consequence of the violence
of the winds, and were obliged to return to the Sandwich Islands,
where they remained, very uncomfortably, until the spring of 1787 :
they then again went to the coasts about Cook's River and Prince
William's Sound, in the latter of which places they found Captain
Meares, with his vessel frozen up, more than half of his crew dead,
and the remainder sufifering dreadfully irom scurvy, as already men-
tioned. The manner in which Meares was treated by his country-
men on this occasion, has been represented by him, in the narrative
of his voyages, in a manner very different from that in which it
appears on the pages of Portlock and Dixon ; the latter asserting
that they rendered him every assistance in their power, while he,
on the other hand, declares that their conduct towards him was
selfish and inhuman in the extreme.
At Prince William's Sound Dixon left Portlock, and proceeded
along the coast, eastward, to the inlet on the south side of Mount
San Jacinto, or Edgecumb, called Port Remedlos by Bodega, but to
which he thought proper to give the name of Norfolk Sound. He
"had, indeed, heard that the Spaniards anchored very near this
place in 1775 ; " but this account, " he was afraid, was not absolutely
to be depended on," although Maurelle's journal, containing accu-
rate descriptions of that part of the coast, had been published in
English, at London, in 1781. In Hke manner, Dixon claimed the
22
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VOVAGES OF DUNCAN AND COLNETT.
[1787.
1787.
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discovery of the land farther soutli, between the 54th and the 52d
degrees of latitude, on the ground that it had not been seen by
Cook, though it is specially marked on the chart of that navigator,
as found by the Spaniards in 1775 ; and, having become convinced,
from the reports of the natives, that this land was separated from
the American continent by water, he bestowed on it the name of
Q^ueen Charlotte^s Island, and on the passage immediately north of
it, that of Dixon^s Entrance. From this part of the coast Dixon
proceeded to Nootka, and thence, by the Sandwich Islands, to
Canton, where he rejoined Portlock, who had passed the whole of
the trading season on the coast, between Prince William's Sound
and Mount St. Elias.
In China, Portlock and Dixon found the price of furs much
reduced, from the great quantities of those articles which had
entered the country during the season ; so great, indeed, was the
fall in their value, that, according to La Perouse, they were higher
at Petropawlowsk than at Canton during the whole of 1787. From
this circumstance, and also from the alleged unfairness of the East
India Company's agents towards them, in the sale of their cargoes,
the profits of the voyage of the King George and the Queen
Charlotte, from the teas and silks which they carried to England,
were not sufficient to cover the expenses of their expedition.
Before Portlock and Dixon quitted the north-west coasts of
America, in 1787, they met two other vessels, the Princess Royal,
commanded by Captain Duncan, and the Prince of Wales, under
Captain Colnett, which had been also sent, by the King George's
Sound Company, to prosecute the fur trade in the North Pjicific.
Duncan, in the following year, ascertained the separation of Queen
Charlotte's Island from the main land, which had been assumed by
Dixon, and, before him, by La Perouse ; he also explored the sea
between that island and the continent, in which he discovered a
group of small islands, named by him the Princess RoyaVs Archi-
pelago ; and thence he ran down the coast, by Nootka Sound and
Cape Flattery, to the 47th degree of latitude, from which he took
his departure for the Sandwich Islands and China.
The discovery of these islands, and of numerous openings in the
coast, which appeared to be the mouths of channels, from that part
of the Pacific, extending far eastward into the land, led to the
suspicion that the whole north-western division of America might be
a vast collection of islands ; and the old story of Admiral Fonte's
voyage began to gain credit. The islands and reputed islands in
questi
throu^
sixty I
of exf
Pacific
the 53
to hav(
TJie
the san
[1787.
he 52d
seen by
ivigator,
ivinced,
ed from
lame of
north of
!t Dixon
lands, to
vhole of
s Sound
irs much
hich had
, was the
re higher
7. From
F the East
ir cargoes,
he Queen
I England,
pdition.
coasts of
ess Royal,
cs, under
George's
th Pacific,
of Queen
ssumed by
d the sea
scovered a
aVs Archi-
Sound and
:h he took
lings in the
that part
led to the
a might be
iral Fonte's
islands in
1787.]
REDISCOVERY OF THE STRAIT OF FUCA.
171
question were supposed to be the Archipelago of St. Lazarus,
through which the admiral was said to have sailed two hundred and
sixty leagues before reaching the continent ; and the commanders
of exploring vessels, sent from Europe and America to the North
Pacific, for some years after, were generally directed to seek, near
the 53d parallel, for the mouth of the river which he was reported
to have ascended, into a lake communicating with the Atlantic.
The name of the old Greek pilot, Juan de Fuca, was also, about
the same time, rescued from oblivion, by the discovery, or redis-
covery, of a " broad arm of the sea," stretching eastwardly from
the Pacific, almost exactly in the position of the southern entrance
of the strait, through which he declared that he had sailed from
the Pacific to the Atlantic in 1592. This discovery was eflfected in
1787 by Captain Berkeley, an Englishman commanding a ship called
the Imperial Eagle, which had sailed from Ostend in the preceding
year, under the flag of the Austrian East India Company. The
passage thus found was situated immediately north of Cape Flattery,
to the coast south of which point Cook had confined his search for
it in 1778 ; and it opened to the ocean between the 48th and 49th
parallels, instead of between the 47th and 43th, as stated in the
account of the voyage of Fuca. Berkeley did not attempt to ex-
plore the passage, but, sailing along the coast south of Cape Flattery,
which had not been seen by the people of any civilized nation since
Cook's voyage, he sent a boat ashore with some men, who were
murdered by the savages, in the same manner, and almost at the
same spot, where the Spaniards of Bodega's crew were massacred
in 1775. In commemoration of this melancholy event, the name
of Destruction Island was given to the small point of land near the
continent, in the latitude of 47 degrees 35 minutes, which had,
for the like reason, been called by the Spaniards Isla de Dolores.
Berkeley, on his arrival at Canton, in November following, commu-
nicated the account of his rediscovery of the Strait of Fuca to
Meares, as expressly stated by the latter, in the Dissertation prefixed
to the narrative of his voyages in the Pacific, published in 1790 ;
though, in the narrative itself, Meares unequivocally claims as his
own the whole merit of finding the passage.
At the time when Berkeley made this communication, Meares
was engaged in preparations for a trading expedition to the north-
west coasts of America, of which a particular notice will be here
presented ; as the circumstances connected with it led to the first
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172
SECOND VOYAGE OF MEARES.
[1788
dispute, and the first treaty, between civilized nations, relative to
that part of the world.
For the expedition in question, two vessels were fitted out at the
Portuguese port of Macao, near Canton, in China, from which, as
already mentioned, several voyages had been previously made to
the north-west coasts of America, in search of furs. They were
both placed under the direction of John Mearcs, a lieutenant in the
British navy, on half pay, who sailed in the ship Felice as super-
cargo ; the other vessel, the brig Iphigenia, also carried a British
subject, William Douglas, in the same capacity : both vessels were,
however, commanded, ostensibly at least, by Portuguese captains ;
they were both furnished with passports, and other papers, in the
Portuguese language, granted by the Portuguese authorities of
Macao, and showing them to be the property of Juan Cavallo, a
Portuguese merchant of that place ; the instructions for the conduct
of the voyage were written only in tlie Portug»iese language,* and
contained nothing whatsoever calculated to afllbrd the slightest
grounds for suspicion that other than Portuguese subjects were
interested in the enterprise ; finally, the vessels sailed from Macao
on the 1st of January, 1788, under the Portuguese flag, and there
is no suflicient proof that any other was displayed by them during
the expedition.
Notwithstanding these evidences of ownership and national char-
acter, which appear to be complete and unequivocal, Mr. Meares,
in the Memorial -f addressed by him to the British government, in
May, 1790, asserts that the Felice and Iphigenia, as well as their
cargoes, were actually and bona fide British property, employed in
the service of British subjects only ; that Cavallo had no concern
nor interest in them, his name being merely used, with his consent,
for the purpose of obtaining from the governor of Macao, who
* Sec the Journal of Douglas, the captain or supercargo of the Iphigenia, attached
to the Memorial of Meares, and the quotation from it in the ensuing chapter, ut
page 192.
t The London Annual Register for 1790 contains what purports to be the Substance
of the Memorial of Lieutenant Meares, ^c, drawn up by Meares himself, or some oiw
in his interests. In this Substance, the word Portuguese does not occur, nor is any
thing mentioned relative to the apparent character of the vessels, which are, on the
contrary, directly asserted to have been British in all respects, and navigated under
the British flag. Mearcs's explanations, in his Memorial, relative to the arrangements
with Cavallo, are all omitted, the following short paragraph being inserted in their
place: — "Here Mr. Meares, by way of illustration, introduces a transaction no
otherwise connected with his narrative, but as it proves the merchandise, &c., of
which the British ships were plundered, to have been British property." ' ! ! Such
are the materials from which histories are generally composed.
^yvi
I:'
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1788.)
INSTULCTIOiNS TO MGARES.
173
connived at the whole deception, permission to navigate under the Por-
tuguese flag, and thereby to evade the excessive port charges demand-
ed, by tiie Chinese authorities, from vessels of all other European
nations ; and that Messrs. Meares and Douglas were really the
commanders of the vessels in which they respectively sailed, instead
of the Portuguese subjects, who figure as such in all the papers.
Some of these assertions may have been true ; yet the documents
annexed to the Memorial conclusively prove that all these deceptive
appearances were kept up at Nootka Sound, where there were no
Chinese authorities ; though, in the narrative of the voyage, pub-
lished by Mr. Meares, with the Memorial and documents, no hint
is given that either of the vessels were, or ever seemed to be, other
than British.
The instructions, of which an Enghsh copy or version — dated
China, December 24th, 1787, and signed The Merchant Proprietors
— is appended to the Memorial, contain general directions for the
conduct of the voyage, but no allusion whatsoever to the acquisition
of lands, the erection of buildings, or the formation of settlements or
atablishments of any Icind, in America or elsewhere. The Felice
was to go to Nootka Sound, from which she was to make trips
northivard and southward, for the purposes of trade and explora-
tion ; the Iphigenia was to sail first to Cook's River, and thence to
trade along the coasts, southward, to Nootka, where she was ex-
pected to arrive in September : all the furs collected were then to
be placed in one of the vessels, and brought to Macao, the other
vessel remaining, until the spring, either on the American coast or
a! the Sandwich Islands. These instructions conclude with the
following remarkable order to the commanders of the vessels : —
'Should you, in the course of your voyage, meet with any Russian,
English, or Spanish vessels, you will treat them with civility and
friendship, and allow them, if authorized, to examine your papers ;
hut you must, at the same time, guard against surprise. Should
they attempt to seize you, or even to carry you out of your way,
you will prevent it by every means in your power, and repel force
by force. You will, on your arrival in the first port, protest, before
a proper officer, against such illegal procedure, and ascertain, as
nearly as you can, the value of your vessel and cargo, sending your
protest, with a full account of the transaction, to us at China.
Should you, in such a conflict, have the superiority, you will take
possession of the vessel that attacked you, and bring both, with the
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174
MRAHRS AliniVKS AT NOOTKA.
[1788.
officers and crew, to China, tliat they may be condemned as legal
prizes, and the crews punished as pirates."
The latter part of these instructions, independently of numerous
other circumstances connected with the expedition, is sufficient,
alone, to show that the owners of the Felice and Iphigenia meant
to represent them as Portuguese vessels. As British vessels, they
could not legally navigate the North Pacific Ocean, being unpro<
vided with licenses or authority from the South Sea or the East
India Company : if found so doi4ig, they would be subject to
seizure, and their officers and crew to punishment; and it was,
doubtless, in order to evade such penalties, to which they might
have been subjected by coming in contact with the vessels of the
King George's Sound Company, that their commanders were
directed to take, and bring to a Portuguese port, for trial before
Portuguese courts, any English vessels which should attempt to
arrest them in thoir voyages.
From Macao the Iphigenia went to Cook's River, at which place,
and others farther south-cast, she passed the summer in trading.
The Felice sailed direct to Nootka Sound, where her crew imme-
diately began the construction of a small vessel, on the shore of
Friendly Cove, near which was situated the village of Maquinnn,
the king of the surrounding country. Meares, being desirous, whilst
this work was in progress, to take a voyage along the coast to the
south, made arrangements with Maquinna, who, as related in the
narrative of the expedition, " most readily consented to grant us a
spot of ground in his territory, whereon an house might be built,
for the accommodation of the people we intended to leave behind,
and also promised us his assistance and protection for the party who
were destined to remain at Nootka during our absence. In returti
for this kindness, and to insure the continuance of it, the chief was
presented with a pair of pistols, which he had regarded with an eye
of solicitation ever since our arrival. Upon this spot a house, suf-
ficiently capacious to contain all the party intended to be left at
the sound, was erected ; a strong breastwork was thrown up around
it, enclosing a considerable area of ground, which, with one piece
of cannon, placed in such a manner as to command the cove and
village of Nootka, formed a fortification sufficient to secure the
party from any intrusion."
That this spot of ground was granted by Maquinna, and was to
be occupied by Meares, only for temporary purposes, is clear from
■I
1788.]
MKARK4 AT TUB STHAlT OF I'UCA.
173
the above statement ; and Mearos nowhere in .lis narrative pretends
that he acquired permanent possession of it, or of any other land in
America. On the contrary, he expressly says that, " as a bribe to
secure Maquinna's attachment, he was promised that, when wo
finally left the coast, he should enter into full possession of the
house, and all the goods thereunto belonging." In the Memorial
addressed to his government, however, Meares declares that, '* im-
mediately on his arrival at Nootka Sound, he purchased from
Mnquinna, the chief of the district surrounding that place, a spot
of ground, whereon he built an house, for his occasional residence,
ns well as for the more convenient pursuit of his trade among the
rintives, and hoisted British colors thereon." Of this asserted
purchase of land and erection of buildings at Nootka, no evidence
or mention whatsoever is to be found among the documents sub-
mitted with the Memorial to the British ministry, except in the
deposition of William Graham, of Grub Street, a seaman of the
Felice, taken in London after the date of the Memorial.
Having completed these arrangements, Meares sailed from Nootka
in the Felice, leaving a part of his crew employed in l)uilding the
small vessel, and proceeded to the entrance of the passage supposed
to be the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which, as he expressly states in
the Dissertation prefixed to his narrative, had been discovered in
the |)receding year by Berkeley. The following extract from his
narrative will serve still further to show what value is to be placed
on his testimony in matters in which his own reputation or interests
are involved : —
" June '29t\\. At noon the latitude was 48 degrees 39 minutes
north, at which time we had a complete view of an inlet, whose
entrance appeared very extensive, bearing east-south-east, distant
about six leagues. We endeavored to keep up with the shore as
much as possible, in order to have a perfect view of the land. This
was an object of particular anxiety, as the part of the coast along
which we were now sailing had not been seen by Captain Cook, and
we knew no other navigator, said to have been this way, except
Maurtlle ; and his chart, which we now had on board, convinced
us that he had either never seen this part of the coast, or that he
had purposely misrepresented it. By three o'clock in the afternoon,
we arrived at the entrance of the great inlet, which appeared to be
twelve or fourteen leagues broad. From the mast head, it was
observed to stretch to the east by the north, and a clear and
unbounded horizon was seen, in this direction, as far as the eye
-t
i :i» i '
'i| i
1 I
M !■.
!■ ■■!;
;^'
[■■ ■ ,
176
MKAIIK , 8I:KKM rOil TIIR QIIRAT KIVEIl.
[1788.
'I ,
f t.
v\?
5' »•
im
l'"-,lli ...1
could rench. Tlio strongest curiosity impelled us to enter thJH
strait, which we shall call by the name of its original discoverer,
John de Fuca."
To examine the passage, — of which he thus claims the discovery,
after having distinctly assigned the merit of it to another, — Mcares
sent his mate, DufFin, with a party of men, in a boat. In a few
days the boat returned, with several of her crew disabled hy
wounds received in a conllict with the natives on the northern
shore. " She had sailed," writes Meorcs, " near thirty leagues up
the strait ; and, at that distance from the sea, it was fifteen leogiics
broad, with a clear horizon stretching to the east for fifteen leaf,'iits
more." Yet, from Dufiin's journal, which is given entire in Mr.
Meares's work, it seems that the boat did not advance ten miles
within the strait ; and we now know that the width of the passage
nowhere, within thirty leagues of its mouth, exceeds five leagues.
From the entrance of this passage, which has ever since been
distinguished by the name of Strait of Fuca, Meares sailed along
the shore of the continent, towards the south. His object was to
examine the opening in the coast, laid down on Spanish charts in
his possession, near the 46th degree of latitude, under the name
Jiio (h San Roquc, or River of Saint Roc, which had been first
observed by Ileceta, on the 16th of August, 177.'5, as mentioned in
the account of that voyage.* Proceeding in this course, he, on the
5th of July, remarked a headland, in the latitude of 46 degrees
47 miimtes, which he named Cajjc Shoalwater ; on the following
day, he writes in his journal, —
" At half past ten, being within three leagues of Cape Shoalwater,
we had a perfect view of it ; and, with the glasses, we traced tiit-
line of coast to the southward, which presented no ofMMiing that
promised any thing like an harbor. An high, bluflf promontory
bore ofl" us south-east, at the distance of only four leagues, for
which we steered to double, with the hope that between it and
Cape Shoalwater we should find some sort of harbor. We now
discovered distant land beyond this promontory, and we pleased
ourselves with the expectation of its being Cape St. Roc t)f the
Spaniards, near which they are said to have found a good port.
By half past eleven, we doubled this cape, at the distance of three
miles, having a clear and perfect view of the shore in every part,
on which we did not discern a living creature, or the least trace of
habitable life. A prodigious easterly swell rolled on the shore, and
• Page liiO.
1788.]
the ecu
n hard
large b
proinisi
couragi
of the
pied til
dircctio
seven I
ahead,
across ti
the oppi
discover
to the p
By an ii
degrees
degrees
of St. n
Maurelle
informati
side of t
and, beir
shelter f(
course w
the latiti
Lookout,
Falcon,
turned t(
having,
unfavoral
The la
somewha
with satij
that " no
Spanish
names of
the Ame
where the
the Spani
missionen
1788.]
MEAREB DOES NOT FIND THE GREAT RIVER.
177
the Boundings gradually decreased from forty to sixteen fathoms, over
n hard, sandy bottotii. After \vc had rounded the promontory, a
large bay, as we had imagined, opened to our view, that bore a very
promising appearance, and into which wo steered with every en-
couraging ex|)ectation. The high land that formed the boundaries
of the bay was at a great distance, and a flat, level country occu-
pied the intervening space ; the bay itself took rather a westerly
direction. As we steered in, the water shoaled to nine, eight, and
seven fathoms, when breakers were seen from the deck, right
ahead, and, from the mast head, they were observed to extend
across the bay ; we therefore hauled out, and directed our course to
the opposite shore, to sec if there was any channel, or if we could
discover any port. The name of Cape Disappointment was given
to the promontory, and the bay obtained the title of Deception Dnij.
By an indit!erent meridian observation, it lies in the latitude of 46
de^'rees 10 minutes north, and in the computed longitude of 235
degrees .34 minutes east.
" IVc can now with safety assert that there is no such river as that
of St. Roc exists, as laid down in the Spanish charts. To those of
Maurelle we made continual reference, but without deriving any
information or assistance from them. We now reached the opposite
side of the bay, where disappointment continued to accompany us ;
and, being almost certain that there we should obtain no place of
shelter for the ship, we bore up for a distant headland, keeping our
course within two miles of the shore." This distant headhmd, in
the latitude of 45 degrees 37 minutes, named by Meares Cape
Lookout, and probably the same called by the Spaniards Cape
Falcon, was the southernmost point seen by him; thence he re-
turned to the Strait of Fuca, without again observing the land,
having, as he conceived, " traced every part of the coast, which
unfavorable weather had prevented Captain Cook from approaching."
The language of Mr. Meares in the preceding extracts, though
somewhat ungrnmmatical, is yet clear and explicit. He records
with satisfaction his conviction, founded on his own observations,
that " no such river as that of St. Roc exists, as laid down in the
Spanish charts ; " in token of which conviction, he assigns the
names of Deception Bay and Cape Disappointment to the places on
the American coast, near the latitude of 46 degrees 10 minutes,
where the mouth of the river should have been found, according to
the Spanish charts. Yet, strange though it may appear, the com-
missioners, appointed by the British government, in 1826, to treat
23
iii
\ ■
I
i I,
k
-. 1
178
MEARGS RETURNS TO CHINA.
[1788.
4
':!
it
mmm
m
with the plenipotentiary of the United States at London, on the
subject of the claims of the respective parties to territories on the
north-west side of America, insisted that Meares, on this occasion,
discovered the great River Columbia, which actually enters the
Pacific at Deception Bay, and cited, in proof of their assertion, the
very parts of his narrative above extracted.*
On his way back to Nootka, Meares visited the two large bays,
called by the natives Clyoquot and Nittinat, and by himself Port
Cox and Port Effingham, situated a little north-west of the entrance
of Fuca's Strait, where, he declares in his Memorial to Parliament,
" he obtained from Wicanish, the chief of the surrounding districts,
in consequence of considerable presents, the promise of a free and
exclusive trade with the natives of the district, as also permission
to build any storehouses or other edifices which he might judge
necessary ; and he also acquired the same privileges of exclu-
sive trade from Tatooche, the chief of the country bordering upon
the Strait of Fuca, and purchased from him a tract of land within
the said strait, which one of his ofllicers took possession of, in the
king's name, calling the same Tatooche, in honor of the chief."
These purchases and cessions of territory are not, however, in any
manner noticed, either in the documents annexed to the Memorial,
or in the narrative of the voyage, which is most tediously minute
as to the circumstances of Mr. Meares's interviews with those chiefs.
At the end of July, Meares returned to Nootka Sound, where
the Iphigenia soon after arrived from the northern coasts, laden with
furs. The small vessel, which had been begun at Friendly Cove,
was then launched, and received the name of the North- West
America ; and Meares, considering the season as not too far ad-
vanced for a voyage across the Pacific, transferred to the Felice
all the furs which had been collected, and sailed in her, on the
28th of September, for China, leaving directions that the Iphigenia
and the North-West America should proceed to the Sandwich
Islands for the winter, and return in the following spring to Nootka,
where he would rejoin them.
Before the departure of Meares from Nootka, two other vessels
entered the sound, whose voyages merit particular attention.
Immediately after the recognition of the independence of the
United States of America, the citizens of that republic resumed the
* See British statement, among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the Utter part of
this volume, letter H.
was comi
If:
! '
V .¥
1787.]
AMERICANS ENGAGE IN TRADE IN THE PACIFIC.
179
on the
on the
ceasion,
ters the
Hon, the
er vessels
m.
06 of the
umcd the
Ltter part of
whale and seal fishery around Cape Horn, which they had carried
on before the revolution, and also engaged in the direct trade with
India and China. In the latter countries, however, they labored
under great disadvantages, from the inferiority in value of the
articles carried thither to those brought back by them, in conse-
quence of which they were obliged to take out large quantities of
specie, in order to obtain full homeward cai^oes. With the view
of obviating this inequality, some merchants of Boston, in 1787,
formed an association for the purpose of combining the fur trade
of the Nokth Pacific with the China trade, as attempted by the
King George's Sound Company of London ; and in such an enter-
prise they certainly had reason to anticipate success, as, with
industry and nautical skill unsurpassed by any other nation, the
Americans were free from the restrictions imposed on British
subjects by the charters of the South Sea and East India Com-
panies.*
In prosecution of this scheme, the ship Columbia, of two hundred
and twenty tons, and the sloop Washington, of ninety tons, were
fitted out at Boston in the summer of 1787, and laden with blan-
kets, knives, iron bars, copper pans, and other articles proper for the
trade with the Indians on the north-west coasts. The Columbia
was commanded by John Kendrick, to whom was intrusted the
* The first American citizens who engaged in the whaling and scaling business
around Cape Horn, after the peace of 1783, were the Nantucket men, as will be here-
after more particularly stated.
The first American vessel which entered the port of Canton was the ship Empress
of China, from New York, commanded by Daniel Parker, with Samuel Shaw as
supercargo: she arrived in China in tlie latter part of the summer of 1784, and
returned to New York in May of the following year. Mr. Shaw was appointed
consul of the United States at Canton in January, 17!I6; and, on the Slst of Decem-
ber of the sane year, he addressed to his government, from Canton, an interesting
memoir on the state of commerce at that place, which still remains, with many other
communications from him, unpublished, in the archives of the Department of State at
Washington. In 1787, not less than five American vessels were employed in the
trade with China ; among them were the Canton, under Captain Thomas Truxton,
who aflerwards distinguished himself in the naval service of his country, and the old
frigate Alliance, so celebrated during the war of the revolution, which had been sold
by order of Congress, and fitted out as a trading vessel, under the command of John
Reed. The Alliance entered Canton on the 21Uh of December, 1787 ; and her arrival
at that season caused much astonishment, as it had been previously considered impos-
sible for a vessel to sail from the Cape of Good Hope to China between October and
April, on account of the violence of the winds, blowing constantly, during that
period, from the north-east. Reed, however, had steered eastward from the Cape of
Good Hope, to the southern extremity of Van Dieman's Land, around the east coasts
of which island, and of New Holland, he sailed into the China Sea ; and the course
thui pointed out by him has been since often token, especially by American vcs.els..
^
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■:| i
■;:S
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; ■ '■ .
-M
180
VOYAGES OF THE COLUSIBIA AND WASHINGTON.
[1788.
direction of the expedition ; and her mate was Joseph Ingraham,
whose name will often appenr in the following pages. The
master of the Washington was Robert Gray. They were provided
with sea letters issued by the federal government, agreeably to a
resolution of Congress, and vvith passports from the state of Massa-
chusetts ; and they received letters from the Spanish minister
plenipotentiary in the United States, recommending them to the
attention of the authorities of his nation on the Pacific coasts.
They, moreover, carried out, for distribution at such places as they
might visit, a number of small copper coins, then recently issued
by the state of Massachusetts,* and likewise medals of copper,
struck expressly for the purpose, of one of which a representation is
here given.
The two vessels sailed together from Boston on the 30th of
September, 1787 : thence they proceeded to the Cape Verd Islands,
and thence to the Falkland Islands, in each of which places they
procured refreshments ; and, in January, 1788, they doubled Cape
Horn, immediately after which they were separated during a violent
gale. The Washington, continuing her course through the Pacific,
made the north-west coast in August, 1788, near the 46th degree
of latitude, where she was in danger of destruction, having grounded
while attempting to enter an opening, which was, most probably,
the mouth of the great river afterwards named by Gray the
Columbia. She was also attacked there by the savages, who killed
one of her men, and wounded the mate ; but she escaped without
further injury, and, on the 17th of September, reached Nootka
* Alexander Mackenzie, in July, 1793, found, in the possession of a native of the
country cast of the Slrait of Fuca, a " halfpenny of the state of Massachusetts Bay,
coined in 1787," which was doubtless one of those taken out by Kendrick and
Gray.
..'i 1
1788.]
VOYAGES OF THE COLUMBIA AND WASHINGTON.
181
Sound, where the Felice and Iphigenia were lying, as already
mentioned.* The Columbia did not enter the sound until some
days afterwards. She had been seriously injured in the storm
wliich separated her from her consort ; and Kendrick was obliged,
in consequence, to put into the harbor of the Island of Juan Fer-
nandez, where he was received with great kindness, and aided
in refitting his vessel, by Don Bias Gonzales, the commandant of
the Spanish garrison. The repairs having been completed, the
Columbia continued her voyage, and arrived at Nootka, which
had been selected as the place of rendezvous, without further
accident, in October.
Soon after the arrival of the Columbia at Nootka, the Iphigenia
and North- West America took their departure for the Sandwich
Islands, where they remained until the spring of 1789. The two
American vessels spent the winter in the sound, where the Columbia
also lay during the whole of the following summer, whilst the
important events related in the next chapter were in progress.
ii
■f
* Moarps, in his narrative, gives the following account of the arrival of the
Washington at Nootka Sound : —
" .SV/jtemfter 17th, 17d8. — A sail was seen in the offing. The long-boat was imine-
(liati'ly sent to her assistance, which, instead of the British vessel we expected,
conveyed into the sound a sloop named the Washington, from Boston, in New
Enirland, of ahont one hundred tons' burthen. Mr. Gray, the master, informed us
that he had sailed, in company with his consort, the Columbia, a ship of three hundred
tuns, in the month of August, 17H7, being equipped, under the patronage of Congress,
tn t-xamine the coast of America, and to open a fur trade between New England and
this part of the American continent, in order to provide funds for their China ships,
to enable them to return home teas and China goods. The vessels were separated in
a heavy gale of wind, in the latitude of '>!) south, and had not seen each other since
the period of their separation ; but, as King George's Sound was the place of ren-
dezvous appointed for them, the Columbia, if she was safe, was every day expected
lo join her consort at Nootka. Mr. Gray infornjed nie that he had put into an harbor
on tile coast of New Albion, wliere he got on shore, and was in danger of being lost
on the bar; he was also attacked by the natives, had one man killed, and one of his
oliieers wounded, and tiionght himself fortunate in having been able to make his
escape. This harbor could only admit vessels of small size, and must lie somewhere
near the cape to which we had given the name of Cape Lookout."
That this harhor was tiie mouth of the ffreat river since caHcd the Colvmhia, is most
probal)le from its situation, and because tliere is no evidence or reason to suppose that
Gray visited that pnrt of the coast on any other occasion prior to his meeting with
Vancouver, on the 2i)th of April, 17U2, as will be related in tlie eleventh chapter.
II'
' ; !
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182
CHAPTER VIII.
I . :! f-i
1*1' 1 ■
I'
l-i
Mi
1788 AND 1789.
Uneasiness of the Spanish Government at the Proceedings of the Fur Traders in the
North Pacific — Voyage of Observation by Martinez and Haro to the Russian
American Settlements — Remonstrances of the Court of Madrid to that of St.
Petersburg, against the alleged Encroachments of the latter Power — Martinez
and Haro sent by the Viceroy of Mexico to take Possession of Nootka Sound —
Seizure of British and other Vessels at Nootka by Martinez — Captain Gray, in
the Washington, explores the East Coast of Queen Charlotte's Island, and en-
ters the Strait of Fuca — Return of the Columbia to the United States.
Having, in the preceding chapter, presented a sketch of the geo-
graphical discoveries effected on the north-west coasts of America,
in the interval between the time of Cook's last voyage and the year
1790, we now proceed to relate the important events of a political
nature, which occurred on those coasts during the latter part of the
same period. These events have been variously represented — or
rather misrepresented — by the historians to whom reference is usu-
ally made for information respecting them ; ''*' and ample proofs will
be here offered, that the most essential circumstances have been ex-
hibited in false forms, and under false colors, either designedly, or
from indifference and want of research on the part of the authors.
The movements of the fur traders in the North Pacific were,
from the beginning, regarded with dissatisfaction and mistrust by the
court of Madrid. It was at first proposed to counteract them by
monopolizing that branch of commerce ; for which object an agent
was despatched to California, in 1786, with orders to collect all the
* Namely, the histories of England, by Bissett, Miller, Belsham, (in which latter
the accounts are more fair and more nearly correct than in any other,) Hughes, Wade,
and the Pictorial History of England — Schoell's Histoire des Traites de Paix — Brcn-
ton's Naval History of Great Britain, last edition — Introduction to the Journal of
Galiano and Valdes — History of Maritime and Inland Discovery, by T. D. Cooley —
Gifford's Life of William Pitt, &c. In the most recent ot these works, namely, the
Pictorial History of England, the account is farthest from the truth; the author has
evidently not consulted any original evidence on the subject, except, possibly, the
Memorial of Meares, or Uie abstract of that paper in Uie Annual Register.
M: '
I' 1
nee.]
APPREHENSIONS OF THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT.
183
adera in the
Lhe Russian
that of St.
— Martinez
ia Sound —
lin Gray, in
ind, and en-
es.
)f the geo-
f America,
id the year
a political
)art of the
jnted — or
ice is usu-
proofs will
e been ex-
gnedly, or
e authors,
cific were,
rust by the
;t them by
t an agent
lect all the
I which latter
]ighe8, Wade,
Paix — Bren-
le Journal of
|D. Cooley —
. namely, the
he author has
I possibly, the
egister.
sea otter skins '"' obtainable there, and carry them for sale to Canton :
but the enterprise proved unsuccessful, as the agent could only ob-
tain a small number of furs, of inferior quality, the produce of the
sale of which in China did not cover the expenses of their trans-
portation.
Considerable uneasiness was also created at Madrid, by the en-
deavors of the British government to advance the whale and seal
fishery in the seas surrounding the southern extremity of America.
A number of experienced whalers, especially from Nantucket, had
been induced, immediately after the peace of 1783, to engage in
this business, under the British flag; and high premiums were
offered by act of Parliament, in 1786, to encourage perseverance in
the pursuit. As British vessels and subjects would thus necessa-
rily frequent the unoccupied coasts of Patagonia and the adjacent
islands, it was apprehended, by the Spanish government, that estab-
lishments might be formed in those regions, for their protection ;
the natural consequence of which would be, the introduction of
foreign merchandise, and of opinions contrary to the interests of
Spain, into the contiguous provinces. In order to provide against
these evils, the Spaniards increased their garrison at Port Soledad,
in the Falkland Islands, as well as their naval force in that quarter ;
and an attempt was made, under the patronage of their government,
to organize a company for the whale and seal fishery in the South-
ern Ocean, which proved entirely abortive.
It was from Russia, however, that the Spanish government an-
ticipated the greatest danger to its dominions on the Pacific side of
America. Of the commerce and establishments of that nation on
the northernmost coasts of the Pacific, enough had been learned
from the narrative of Cook's expedition, and other works then re-
cently published, to show their advancement, and the enterprise of
those by whom they were conducted, as well as the determination
of the Russian government to maintain and encourage them ; and
La Perouse, during the stay of his ships at Conception, in Chili, in
1786, promised, at the particular request of the captain-general, to
communicate confidentially to the viceroy of Mexico the results of
the observations on those subjects which he might make in Kamt-
chatka and the islands and coasts of America adjacent. La Pe-
rouse, however, did not return to America after his visit to Kamt-
chatka, nor was any information on the points in question received
from him by the Spanish authorities ; and the viceroy of Mexico,
• La Perouse — Portlock.
,1
184
APPREHENSIONS OF THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT.
[1787.
*i •>'
liaving waited in vain for tfie promised intelligence until the end of
1787, resolved to despatch vessels to the North Pacific, in order to
r ortain the truth with regard to the trade and settlements of the
Russians and other foreign nations on the coasts of that division of
the ocean. "
Before relating the particulars of the expedition made for that
purpose, a circumstance may be mentioned, which serves to show
the state of feeling of the Spanish government at the period in
question, with regard to the proceedings of foreigners in the Pacific,
and the extent of the measures which it was ready to adopt in order
to exclude them from that ocean. It has been said, in the preced-
ing chapter, that the ship Columbia having received some damage
on her way from Boston to the north-west coast of America, in May,
1788, entered a harbor in the Island of Juan Fernandez, where as-
sistance was afforded in refitting her by the Spanish commandant
Don Bias Gonzales and his garrison. After her departure, the
commandant communicated the circumstances, by a despatch, to
his immediate superior, the captain-general of Chili, who thereupon
recalled Gonzales from the island, and placed him in arrest, address-
ing, at the same time, a report on the subject, with a request for
instructions, to the viceroy of Peru. The viceroy, after consulting
with his official legal adviser, replied to the captain-general at length
on the subject, and expressed his surprise and displeasure at the mis-
conduct of the commandant of Juan Fernandez, in allowing the
strange ship to leave the harbor, instead of seizing her and her crew ;
as he should have known that, by the royal ordinance of November,
169*2, every foreign vessel found in those seas, without a license
from the court of Spain, was to be treated as an enemy, even though
belonging to a friend or ally of the king, seeing that no other nation
had, or ought to have, any territories, to reach which its vessels
should pass around Cape Horn or through Magellan's Straits. In
so serious a light did the viceroy regard the matter, that a ship was
sent from Callao to track or intercept the Columbia ; the authori-
ties on the coasts of Peru and Chili were specially enjoined to be
vigilant, and, in case any foreign vessel siiould appear in the vicini-
ty, to seize her ; and the whole affair was made known by a de-
spatch to the viceroy of Mexico, in order that similar precautions
might be adopted on his part. The unfortunate commandant Gon-
zales was cashiered for his remissness ; and he subsequently ad-
dressed a petition to the government of the United States for its
intercession with his sovereign. Thus were half of the Spanish do-
''. I
1768.]
VOYAGE OF MARTINEZ AND HARO.
185
minions in America thrown into alarm and agitation, by the appear-
ance of a trading ship from the United States on the Pacific : yet
Tcodor Lacroix, the viceroy of Peru, and Ambrose O'Higgins, cap-
tain-general of Chili, were men of education and experience, distin-
guished for their courage and sagacity ; but such was the jealous
system which they were bound to support.*
For the expedition of inquiry to the north-west coasts of America,
the viceroy of Mexico employed two vessels, the corvette Princesa,
commanded by Estevan Martinez, (who had been the pilot in the
voyage of Juan Perez, in 1774,) and the schooner San Carlos, under
Lieutenant Gonzalo Haro. They were instructed to proceed direct-
ly k> Prince William's Sound, and to make every possible inquiry
and examination respecting the establishments of the Russians there
and in other parts of America adjacent ; having completed which,
they were to explore the coasts southward to California, if time
should be left for that purpose, seeking particularly for places
convenient for the reception of Spanish colonics : and they were
especially enjoined to treat the natives of the places which they
might visit with kindness, and not to engage in any quarrel with the
Russians.
Of this voyage of Martinez and Haro, a short account will suffice.
They quitted San Bias on the 8th of March, 1788, and, on the
25tli of May, they anchored in the entrance of Prince William's
Sound, where they lay nearly a month, without making any attempt
to examine the surrounding shores. At length, in the end of June,
Haro, having sailed, in the San Carlos, along the coast of the ocean
farther south-west, discovered a Russian establishment on the east
side of the Island of Kodiak, under the command of a Greek, named
Delaref, with whom he was able to communicate ; and from this
person he received detailed accounts of all the Russian establish-
ments in that quarter. On the 3d of July, Haro rejoined Martinez,
who had, in the mean time, explored the coasts of Prince William's
Sound ; and they proceeded together along the eastern side of the
• The petition of Gonzales, with copies of his reports to the captain-general, and
the sentence pronounced against him, remain in manuscript in the archives of the
Department of State at Wasliington. Mr. Jefferson, secretary of state of the United
States, recommended his case to the Spanish government, in a letter to Mr. Carmi-
chael, then plenipotentiary at Madrid, dated April 11th, 17!)0, with what success is
not known. The other particulars here related of this curious affair are derived from
the Creneral Report, or Instructions, left by the viceroy of Peru to his successor, on
his retirement from that office, which was published at London in 1823, in the BibliO'
teca Americana.
34
.-'•f I 111
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186
70TAGE or MARTINEZ AND HARO.
[1789.
peninsula of Aliaska, to Unalashka, the largest of the Aleutian
Islands, where they arrived on the 30th of August. There they re-
mained until the 18th of September, receiving every attention from
the Russians belonging to the factory, and then sailed for the south.
In their voyage homeward, the vessels were separated : Haro reached
San Bias on the 22d of October ; Martinez did not enter that port
until the 5th of December, having put into Monterey for refresh-
ments.*
The geographical observations made in this expedition were of
little value at the time ; and it would be needless to notice them
here, as the coasts to which they relate have been since completely
surveyed. Agreeably to the report presented by Martinez, on his
return to the viceroy of Mexico, the Russian establishments in Amer-
ica at that time were in number eight, all situated east of Prince
William's Sound, on which, however, one was then in progress;
and they contained, together, two hundred and fifty-two Russian
subjects, nearly all of whom were natives of Kamtchatka or Sibe-
ria. Martinez was, moreover, informed that two vessels had been
sent in that summer from Kodiak, to found a settlement at Nootka
Sound, and that two large ships were in preparation at Ochotsk, for
further operations of the same nature. The vessels sent from Ko-
diak were doubtless those which proceeded, under Ismyloff and
Betscharef, along the coast eastward to the foot of Mount St. Elias ;
the others were those intended for the expedition under Billings,
which was not begun until 1790.
These accounts of the establishments and projects of the Rus-
sians were immediately communicated to the court of Madrid,
which addressed to the empress of Russia a remonstrance against
such encroachments of her subjects upon the territories of his Cath-
olic majesty. In the memorial conveying this remonstrance, it is to
be remarked that Prince William's Sound is assumed as separating
the dominions of the two sovereigns ; it being doubtless intended,
* The preceding account of this voyage is derived from the journal of Martinez,
of which a copy, in manuscript, was obtained from the hydrographical office at
Madrid.
The first notice of this expedition, published in Europe, was taken from a letter
written at San Bias, soon afler the arrival of Haro at that port, in which it was said
that the Spaniards had found Russian establishments between the forty-ninth and
the fiftieth degrees of latitude, instead of between the fifty-ninth and the sixtieth degrees,
and on this error, such as is daily committed by persons ignorant of nautical matters,
M. Poletica, the Russian envoy in the United States, endeavored, in 1823, to found a
claim for his sovereign to the whole of the American coasts and islands on the Pacific
north of the forty-ninth parcdlel. See hereafter, chap. xvi.
1789.]
CLAIMS OF SPAIN EXAMINED.
187
by means of this gcogtiphical obscurity, to leave undefined the del-
icate question as to the limits of Spanish America in the north-
west. The empress of Russia answered — that orders had been
given to her subjects not to make settlements in places belonging
to other nations ; and, if those orders had been violated with regard
to Spanish America, she desired the king of Spain to arrest the en-
croachments, in a friendly manner. With this answer, more cour-
teous than specific, the Spanish minister professed himself content ;
observing, however, in his reply, that Spain " could not be respon-
sible for what her officers might do, at places so distant, whilst they
were acting under general orders to allow no settlements to be
made by other nations on the Spanish American continent." *
In the mean time, however, the viceroy of Mexico, Don Manuel
de Florcs, had, in virtue of his general instructions, taken a decisive
measure with regard to Nootka Sound. For that purpose, he de-
spatched Martinez and Haro from San Bias, early in 1789, with their
vessels manned and equipped effectively ; ordering them, in case any
British or Russian vessel should appear at Nootka, to receive her
with the attention and civility required by the peace and friendship
existing between Spain and those nations, but, at the same time,
to declare the paramount rights of his Catholic majesty to the place,
and the adjacent coasts, firmly, though discreetly, and without using
harsh or insulting language.f
Before entering upon the narrative of the events which followed,
it should be observed, with regard to the right of the Spanish gov-
ernment thus to take possession of Nootka, that, before the 6th of
May, 1789, when Martinez entered the sound with that object, no
settlement, factory, or other establishment whatsoever, had been
founded or attempted, nor had any jurisdiction been exercised
by the authorities or subjects of a civilized nation, in any part df
America bordering upon the Pacific, between Port San Francisco,
near the 38th degree of north latitude, and Prince William's Sound,
near the 60th. The Spaniards, the British, the Russians, and the
French, had, indeed, landed at many places on those coasts, where
they had displayed flags, performed ceremonies, and erected monu-
ments, by way of taking possession — as it was termed — of the ad-
i^v^m
^1 ,h
" Memorial addressed by the court of Spain to that of London, dated June 1 3th,
1790, among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the
letter D, No. 3.
t Abstract of these instructions to Martinez, in the Introduction to the Journal of
Galiano and Valdes, p. 106.
lijiili
li
188
RIGHTS DEHIVUO FROM DISCOVERT.
[1789.
J ,
jaccnt territories for their respective sovereigns ; but such acts are^
and were then, generally considered as empty pageants, securing
no real rights to those by whom, or in whose names, they were per-
formed. Nor does it appear that any portion of the ubovc-nien-
tioned territories hvn\ become the property of a foreigner, either by
purchase, occupation, or any other title, which can be regarded qs
valid. It has been already said that Mr. Meares, in his Memorial,
addressed to the British Parliament, in 1790, laid claim to certain
tracts of land about Nootka Sound, as having been ce<led to him by
the natives of the country, in 1788 ; but it was, at the same time,
shown that this claim was unsupported by sufficient evidence, and
was, moreover, directly, as well as indirectly, contradicted by Mr.
Meares himself, in his journal of the same proceedings : and other
circumstances will be mentioned hereafter, serving to prove the
falsehood of that jKjrson's assertions, and of his pretensions to the
possession of any part of the American territory.
The right of exclusive sovereignty over these extensive regions
was claimed by Spain, in virtue of the papol concession, 1493, of
the first discovery of their coasts by Spanish subjects, and of the
contiguity of the territories to the settled dominions of Spain. Of
the validity of the title derived from the popal concession it appears
to be needless, at the present day, to speak. That the Spaniards
were the first discoverers of the west coasts of America, at least as
far north as the 56th parallel of latitude, has been already shown ;
and the fact is, and has been ever since the publication of Maurelle's
Journal, in 1781, as indisputable as that the Portuguese discovered
the south coasts of Africa. The extent of the rights derived from
discovery are, however, by no means clearly defined by writers on
public law ; and the practice of nations has been so dilVerent in dif-
ferent cases, that it seems impossible to deduce any general rule of
action from it. That a nation whose subjects or citiztms had as-
certained the existence of a country previously unknown, should
have a better right than any other to make settlements in that coun-
try, and, after such settlement, to own it, and to exercise; sovereignty
over it, is in every rcsj)ect conformable with nature and justice ; bnt
this principle is liable to innumerable difficulties in its application lo
particular cases. It is seldom easy to decide how fur a discovery
may have been such, in all respects, as should give this strongest
right to settle, or to what extent of country a title of sovereignty
may have been acquired by a |)articular settlement : and even where
the novelty or priority and sufficiency of the discovery are admit-
1789.]
NEW EXfEDITION FROM MACAO.
189
ted, the right of prior occupation cannot surely be regarded as
subsisting forever, to the exclusion of all other nations ; and the
claims of states occupying contiguous territories are always to be
taken into consideration
Agreeably to these views, it could not with justice be assumed
that Spain, from the mere fact of the first discovery of the north-
west coasts of America by her subjects, acquired the right to
exclude all other nations from them forever ; but it would be most
unjust to deny that her right to occupy those vacant territories,
contiguous as they were to her settled dominions, even if they had
not been first discovered by her subjects, was much stronger than
that of any other nation. Thus the occupation, and even the
exploration, of any part of the north-west coasts by another power,
might have been reasonably considered by Spain a^ an unfriendly,
if not as an offensive, act ; while she might, on the contrary, have
extended her establishments at least as far north as the 56th parallel,
and have claimed the exclusive right of occupying all the coasts
south of her most northern establishment, without giving just cause
of jlissatisfaction to any other |x>wer. The exclusive right of
occupation must be here distinguished from the exclusive right of
sovereigiiti/ ; as no nation could be justified, by virtue of the former
right, and without occupation or the performance of acts indicating
an intention to occupy, in depriving others of the trade of extensive
vac'iiiit scu-coasts, unless upon the ground that the exercise of such
trade would be injurious to its actual interests in those countries.
Resuming the narrative of events in the North Pacific — It has
been mentioned, in the preceding clmpter, that Mcares sailed in the
Felice from Nootka Sound to China, in the end of September,
1789. On reaching Macao, in December following, he learned that,
(hiring his absence, Juan Cavallo, the Portuguese merchant, whose
name appearctl on the papers of the Felice and Iphigenia as their
owner, had become a bankrupt. What steps were taken immediate-
ly, in consequence of this event, is not related ; but an arrangement
was soon after made between the anonymous merchant proprietors
and Mr. Etches, the agent of the King George's Sound Company,
who was then at Macao, with the ship Prince of Wales and sloop
Princess Royal, for a union of the interests of the two parties.
A<:rceably to this arrangement, the Felice was sold, and the Prince
of Wales returned to England ; and a ship called the Argonaut was
purchased, in which Colnett, a lieutenant in the British navy, previ-
ously commanding the Princess Royal, was despatched, in April,
."It
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190
NEW EXPEDITION rROM MACAO.
[1789.
'ji 1 I ■
rh',.
I'^yMf
li
1789, to Nootka, as captain, and agent for the proprietors on the
American coast, accompanied by the Princess Royal, under Captain
William Hudson.
The management of the aflhirs of the association at Macao ap.
pears to have been committed entirely to Mcares, who drew up the
instructions for Colnett. From these instructions, of which a copy
is appended by Meares to his Memorial, it is evident that there was
really an intention to found a permanent establishment on some
part of the north-west coast of Anicrica, although no spot is dcsig.
nated as its site, and no hint is given of any acquisition of territory
having been already made at or near Nootka Sound. Indeed, the
only reference to that place, in the whole paper, is contained in the
words, ♦' We recommend you, if possible, to form a treaty with the
various chiefs, particularly at Nootka." Yet Meares, in his Memo-
rial, strangely enough says, '< Mr. Colnett was directed to fix his
residence at Nootka Sound, and, with that view, to erect a substan-
tial house on the spot which your memorialist had purchased in the
preceding year, os will appear by a copy of his instructions hereunto
annexed." The Argonaut and Princess Royal were, moreover,
certainly navigated under the British flag ; there being no object in
using any other, as they were both provided with licenses from the
East India and the South Sea Companies, which aflforded them the
requisite authorization.''*'
Whilst these vessels were on their way to Nootka Sound, their
first place of destination on the coast, the brig Iphigenia, and
schooner North- West America, belonging to the same association,
though under Portuguese colors, arrived in that bay from the
Sandwich Islands, where they had passed the winter, agreeably to
the instructions of Mr. Meares. They entered the sound on the
20th of April, in the most wretched condition imaginable. The
Iphigenia was a mere wreck ; according to the journal of Douglas,
her supercargo or captain, annexed to the Memorial of Meares,
• The following account of the occurrpncos at Nootka in the summer of 1789 is
taken from — the journal or narrative of the voyage of Meares, and the documents
attached to it, consisting of his Memorial to Parliament, and papers in proof, among
which is especially worthy of notice the journal of Douglas, the captain or supercargo
of the Iphigenia — the journal of Colnett's voyage, in 17!)3, in which some of those
circumstances are related in a note, at page 96 — the journal of Vancouver's voyage
in 17!)2 — the letter addresijcd by the American Captains Gray and Ingraham to the
Spanish commandant at Nootka, in 17!)3, which will be found at length among the
Proofs and Illustrations, at the end of this volume, under the letter C — and the
memorials and other papers relative to the dispute which ensued between Great
Britain, in the Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter D.
[1789.
rf on the
ir Captain
llacao a(>-
>w up the
ch a copy
there was
on some
t is design
if territory
ndced, the
ncd in the
y with the
his Memo-
to fix his
a substan-
ased in the
na hereunto
moreover,
lo object in
s from the
1 them the
ound, their
genia, and
issociation,
from the
^reeably to
md on the
able. The
)f Douglas,
of Meares,
icr of 1789 is
he documents
proof, among
or supercargo
some of those
luvcr's voyage
raham to the
th among the
C — and the
etween Great
1789.]
SEIZURE or THE IPIIIOENIA.
191
" she had like to have foundered at sea, for want of pitch and tar
to stop the leaks ; she had no bread on board, and nothing but salt
pork for her crew to live on ; she was without cables," and, on
attempting to moor her in the harbor, it was nt-cessary to *' borrow
a full from the American sloop Washington," which, with the ship
Columbia, was found lying there. The North- West Amorii;a was
in no better condition ; and, as they had un articles for barter with
the natives, they must have remained inactive for some time, had
they not procured some assistance and supplies from the American
vessels, by means of which the schooner was enabled to leave the
sound on the 28th of the month, for a short trading trip along the
coasts. The Washington, about the same time, also departed on a
similar expedition ; and the Iphigenia, lying at Friendly Cove, and
the Columbia, at Mawhinna, a few miles higher up, were the only
vessels in Nootka Sound on the 6th of May, when the Spanish
commander Martinez arrived there in the corvette Princesa, to take
possession of the country for his sovereign.
Martinez immediately communicated his intentions to the captains
of the other vessels, whose papers he also examined ; and, appear-
ini^ to be content, he landed materials and artillery, and began to
erect a fort on a small island at the entrance of Friendly Cove.
With this assumption of authority on his part, no dissatisfaction
appears to have been expressed or entertained by either of the other
parties ; on the contrary, the utmost good feeling for some time
prevailed on all sides : the officers of the diflferent vessels visited
and dined with each other, and Martinez readily supplied the
Iphigenia with articles of which she was in need, in order to go to
sea immediately, accepting, in return for them, bills drawn by her
Portuguese captain, Viana, upon Juan Cavallo, the Portuguese
merchant of Macao, as her owner.
Things remained thus at Nootka for a week, at the end of which
time the other Spanish vessel, the San Carlos, arrived, under
Captain Haro. On the following day, the 15th of May, Martinez
invited Viana and Douglas to come on board his ship; and, on
their doing so, he immediately told them that they were prisoners,
and their vessel was to be seized. " I inquired," says Douglas, in
his journal, *^ the cause of his not taking the Washington sloop, as he
had orders from the king of Spain to take every vessel he met out
on this coast. He gave me no satisfactory answer, but told me my
papers were bad ; that they mentioned I was to take all English,
Russian, and Spanish vessels that were of inferior force to the
MWi.
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19:2
THE IPUIGENIA RELKASF.D BV MAHTINEZ.
[iTsn.
Iphigenia, and send or carry their crews to Macao, there to be tried
for their lives as pirates. I told him they had not interpreted tho
papers right ; that, though I did not understand the Portuguese, /
had seen a copy of them in English, at Macao, which mentioned, if
I was attacked by any one of those nations, to defend myself, and,
if I had the superiority, to send the captains and crews to Macao,
to answer for the insult they had offered." Martinez, however,
was not, or did not choose to be, content with this explanation,
which certainly did not place the Iphigenia and her owners in a
position conformable with the usages of civilized nations ; and, in
obedience to his orders, that brig was boarded by the Spaniards, her
men, with her charts, papers, and instruments, were transferred to
the ships of war, and preparations were begun for sending her, as a
prize, to San Bias.
Whilst these preparations were in progress, the Spanish com-
mandant altered his intentions, and proposed to release the Iphigenia
and her crew, on condition that her officers would sign a declaration
to the effect that she had not been interrupted, but had been kindly
treated and supplied by him during her stay at Nootka. Tliis
proposition was at first refused : an arrangement was, however,
afierwurds made between the parties, in consequence of which tlio
declaration was signed by the officers of the Iphigenia, and she and
Jier crew were liberated on the 26th of May. Messrs. Viana and
Douglas at the same time engaged for themselves, as " captain aid
supercargo respectively, and for Juan Cavallo, of Macao, as oicntr
of the said vessel,^^ to pay her value, on demand, to the order of the
viceroy of Mexico, in case he should pronounce her capture legal.
This seizure of the Iphigenia by Martinez can scarcely be con-
sidered unjust or unmerited, when it is recollected that, if, in
attempting to enforce, with regard to her, the orders of his govern-
ment, — which were perfectly conformable with the principles of
national law as then recognized, and with treaties between Spain
and the other powers, — he had been resisted and overcome, ho,
with his officers and men, would have been carried to Macao as
prisoners, to be tried in Portuguese courts for piracy. Moreover,
he had been informed that Mcarcs was daily expected to arrive at
Nootka, with other vessels belonging to the same concern ; and it
was his duty to provide against the probability of being overpowered
or insulted, by lessening the forces of those from whom he had
every reason to apprehend an attack. He was, indeed, specially
enjoined, by the viceroy of Mexico, to treat English and Russian
1789.]
THE IPHIGENIA RETURNS TO CHINA.
193
vessels with respect ; but the contingency of his meeting with a
Portuguese vessel at Nootka, furnished with such instructions as
those carried by the Iphigenia, could not have been foreseen ; and
the only grounds upon which he could have excused himself to his
government for releasing her, even under the pledge given by
her officers, must have been, that, at the time when those instruc-
tions were written, it was not anticipated, by her proprietors, that
Spain would take possession of any place on the north-west coast
of America.
That the detention of the Iphigenia by the Spaniards was not
injurious to the interests of her owners, is clearly proved. The
distressed condition in which she reached Nootka has been already
shown from the accounts of her officers ; and she must have
remained at that place, unemployed, during the greater and better
part of the trading season, had she not been refitted and supplied
as she was by the Spaniards. According to the narrative of Meares,
she sailed from the sound on the 1st of June, to the coasts of Queen
Charlotte's Island, where she collected a number of valuable furs
in a few weeks : the trade was " so brisk," writes Meares, " that
all the stock of iron was soon expended, and they were under the
necessity of cutting up the chain plates and hatch-bars of the vessel,"
in order to find the means of purchasing the skins offered ; thence
she departed for the Sandwich Islands, and, after a short stay there,
continued her voyage to Macao, where she arrived in October, with
about seven hundred sea otter skins, all collected since leaving Nootka
Sound. Mr. Meares, in his Memorial, however, presents a very
difl'erent picture of these circumstances : he there says, " During
the time the Spaniards held possession of the Iphigenia, she was
stripped of all the merchandise which had been prepared for trading,
as also of her stores, provisions, nautical instruments, charts, &,c.,
and, in short, of every article, excejH twelve bars of iron, which they
could conveniently carry away, even to the extent of the master's
watch, and articles of clothing ; " he then goes on to state that,
"on leaving Nootka Sound, the Iphigenia, though in a very unfit
condition for such a voyage, proceeded from thence to the Sandwich
Islands, and, after obtaining tiiere such supplies as they were
enabled to purchase with the iron before mentioned, returned to
China, and anchored there in the month of October, 1789" — thus
omitting all notice of the trip to the northern coasts, and of the
brisk trade with the natives, in which the whole stock of iron
25
IV
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194
SEizrnr. of the north-west America.
[1789.
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(including, of course, the twelve bars before mentioned) was ex-
changed for furs.
Before taking leave of the Iphigenia, it may be added, in evi-
dence of her true character, that Douglas quitted her immediately
on her arrival in China ; after which she continued to trade under
the command of Viana, and under the flag of Portugal.
On the 8th of June, after the departure of the Iphigenia, the
schooner North- West America returned from her voyage along the
southern coasts, in which she had collected about two hundred sea
otter skins, and was immediately seized by Martinez, in consequence,
as he at first said, of an agreement to that effect between himself
and the captain of the Iphigenia. This agreement is expressly de-
nied by Douglas, who declares that both promises and threats had
been used in vain to induce him to sell the small vessel at a price
far below her real value ; and, in proof, he cites a letter given by
him to Martinez, addressed to the captain of the North- West Amer-
ica, in which he merely tells the latter to act as he may think best
for the interest of the owners. Mearcs, in his Memorial, however,
admits that the letter did not contain what Martinez understood to be
its purport when he received it, and that advantage had been taken
by Douglas of the Spaniard's ignorance of the English language ;
from which circumstances it is most probable that the agreement,
whether voluntary on the part of the captain of the Iphigenia, or
unjustly extorted from him, was actually made as asserted by Marti-
nez. A few days afterwards, the sloop Princess Royal, one of the
vessels sent from Macao by the associated companies, entered the
sound under the command of William Hudson, bringing infor-
mation of the failure of Cavallo, the Portuguese merchant, upon
whom, as owner of fhe Iphigenia, the bills in payment for the sup-
plies furnished to that vessel, were drawn. Upon learning this,
Martinez announced his determination to hold the North-West
America in satisfaction for the amount of those bills: she was
thereupon immediately equipped for a trading voyage, and sent out
under the command of one of the mates of the Columbia ; but her
officers and men were at the same time liberated, and nearly all the
skins collected by her were placed on board the Princess Royal, for
the benefit of the owners in China.
The Princess Royal remained at Nootka until the 2d of July,
during which period she was undisturbed, and her officers and
men were treated with perfect civility and respect by the Span-
1769.]
SEIZURE OF THE ARGONAUT AT NOOTKA.
195
.VI
j ♦■ri ii
iards. As she was leaving the sound on that day, her consort, the
ship Argonaut, came in from Macao, under Captain Colnett, who, as
already mentioned, had been charged by the associated companies
with the direction of their affairs on the American coasts, and the
estaWishment of a factory and fort for their benefit. What followed
with regard to this ship has been represented under various colors ;
but the principal facts, as generally admitted, were these : —
As soon as the Argonaut appeared at the entrance of the sound,
she was boarded by Martinez, who presented to Colnett a letter
from the captain of the Princess Royal, and pressed him earnestly
to enter the sound, and supply the Spanish vessels with some arti-
cles of which they were much in want. Several of the officers of
the North- West America and the Columbia also came on board the
Argonaut, and communicated what had occurred respecting the
Iphigenia and the small vessel to Colnett, who, in consequence, hes-
itated as to entering the sound ; but he was finally induced, by the
assurances of Martinez, to do so, and before midnight his ship
was anchored in Friendly Cove, between the Princesa and the San
Carlos.
On the following day, Colnett, having supplied the Spanish ships
with some articles, was preparing, as he states, to leave the sound,
when he received an invitation to go on board the commandant's
ship and exhibit his papers. He accordingly went, in uniform, and
with his sword by his side, into the cabin of the Princesa, where he
displayed his papers, and informed Martinez of his intention to take
possession of Nootka, and erect a fort there under the British flag.
The commandant replied, that this could not be done, as the place
was already occupied by the forces and in the name of his Catholic
majesty; and an altercation ensued, the results of which were the
arrest and confinement of Colnett, and the seizure of the Argonaut
by the Spaniards. From the moment of his arrest, Colnett became
insane or delirious, and continued in this state for several weeks,
during which Duffin, the mate of his vessel, acted as the representa-
tive of the proprietors : in the mean time, her cargo had been all
j)lacod on board the Spanish ships of war ; and. on the 13th of
July, she sailed, with her officers and nearly the whole of her crew as
prisoners, under the command of a Spanish lieutenant, for San Bias.
If the accounts of these transactions, presented by Meares in his
Memorial, and by Colnett in the narrative which he afterwards
published, be admitted as conveying a full and correct view of the
^i
t'
•i :v:t
! :i
:i
196
SEIZURE OF THE ARGONAUT AT NOOTKA.
, r
I i
if
.isiyii'
[1789.
circumstances, the conduct of Martinez must be considered as nearly
equivalent to piracy. From these accounts it would appear that the
ship was treacherously seized, without any reasonable ground, or
even pretext, and with the sole premeditated object of plundering
her ; and that the most cruel acts of violence, insult, and restraint,
were wantonly committed upon the officers and men during the
whole period of their imprisonment. Colnett relates * — that, when
he presented his papers to Martinez in the cabin of the Princesa,
the commandant, without examining them, pronounced them to be
forged, and immediately declared that the Argonaut should not go
to sea — that, upon his " remonstrating [in what terms he does not
say] against this breach of good faith, and forgetfulness of teord
and honor pledged,'^ the Spaniard rose, in apparent anger, and
introduced a party of armed men, by whom he was struck down,
placed in the stocks, and then closely confined — that he was after-
wards carried from ship to ship like a criminal, threatened with
instant execution as a pirate, and subjected to so many injuries and
indignities as to throw him into a violent fever and delirium, which
were near proving fatal — and that his officers and men were impris-
oned and kept in irons from the time of their seizure until their
arrival at San Bias, where many of them died in consequence of ill
treatment. Meares, in his Memorial, makes the same assertions,
many of which are supported by the deposition of the officers and
seamen of the North- West America, taken in China, and appended
to the Memorial. On the other hand. Gray, the captain of the
Washington, and Ingraham, the mate of the Columbia, both of
whom were at Nootka during the occurrence of the afl'air, " were
informed by those whose veracity they had no reason to doubt,"!
that Colnett, in his interview with Martinez on board the Princesa,
denied the right of the Spaniards to occupy Nootka, and endeav-
ored to impose upon the Spanish commandant, by representint;
himself as acting under direct orders from the British government ;
and that he afterwards insulted the Spaniard by threatening him
and drawing his sword. Colnett himself says that he attempted to
draw his sword on the occasion, but that it was in defence against
those who assailed him ; and it must be allowed to be very difficult to
" remonstrate " with a man upon " his breach of faith, and forgetful-
* Account of his Voyago in the Pacific in 1703, nolo at p. !t6; also Vancouver's
Jourtial, vol. iii. p. 402. These two accounts differ in some points.
t Letter of Gray and Ingraham, in the Proofs and Illustrations, letter C.
ns9.]
SKIZURE OF THE ARGONAUT.
\m
ness of his word and honor pledged," without insulting him. Duffin,
the mate of the Argonaut, writing to Meares from Nootka, ten days
after the seizure of the ship, gives nearly the same account of the
interview, adding that the misunderstanding was probably occa-
sioned by the interpreter's ignorance of the English language : he
says that Martinez appeared to be very sorry for what had hap-
pened, and had " behaved with great civility, by obliging his pris-
oners with every liberty that could be expected ; " and he com-
plains of no violence, either to the feelings or to the persons of any
of the crews of the vessels seized, although he charges the Span-
iards with plundering both openly and secretly. Moreover, Duffin
declares, and Meares repeats, in his Memorial, that the disease with
which Colnett was afflicted after his arrest was a fit of insanity, oc-
casioned by fear and disappointment operating upon a mind natu-
rally weak and hereditarily predisposed to such alienation.
On the part of Spain, the only statements which have been pub-
licly made are those contained in the notes and memorials ad-
dressed by the court of Madrid to other governments in 1790; and
in the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes — all of
which, though officially presented, are nevertheless imperfect and
evidently erroneous on several important points.*
Upon reviewing the circumstances of the affair, there appears
to be no reason to doubt that Colnett entered the sound, relying on
the assurances of Martinez, that he should be undisturbed while
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" These notes and memorials, which will be mentioned more particularly hereafter,
may be found in the Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter D. All that is said
in the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes respecting the dispute, or
the circumstances which led to it, is contained in the paragraph of which the
following is a translation : —
" On the 2d of July, the English ship Argonaut, which had been sent by an Eng-
lish company from Macao, entered the port. Her captain, James Colnett, came, with
authority from the king of England, to lake possession of the port of Nootka, to for-
tify it, and to establish there a factory for the collection of sea otter skins, and to
prevent other nations from engaging in this trade, with which objects he was to build
a large ship and a schooner. This manifest infraction of tiie riglils over that region
led to a serious quarrel between the Spanish commandant and the English captain,
which extended to Europe ; and, the two powers being alarmed, the world was for
some time threatened with war and devastation, tiio results of discord. Captain Col-
nett refused, repeatedly and obstinately, to exhibit to Martinez the instructions which
he brought; and he expressed himself in language so indecorous and irritating, that
our commandant, having exhausted all the measures of prudence which he had hith-
erto employed, resolved to arrest tiie British captain in tlie cabin of his ship, and to
declare all the persons on board the Argonaut prisoners of war, and to send them to
San Bias, to be there placed at the disposition of the viceroy of Mexico."
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SEIZURE or THE PRINCESS ROYAL.
[1789.
there, and be allowed to depart at his pleasure ; and it seems to be
equally certain that the English captain did afterwards conduct
hiinselt* with so much violence and extravagance towards the Span-
ish commandant, as to render his own arrest perfectly justifiable.
The seizure of the Argonaut, the imprisonment of her other officers
and crew, and the spoliation of her cargo, cannot, however, be
defended on those or on any grounds aflbrded by the evidence of any
of the parties ; for Martinez had no rcasou to apprehend an attack
from the Argonaut, and he had been specially instructed, by his
immediate superior, the viceroy of Mexico, to suspend, with regard
to British vessels on the north-west coasts, the execution of the
general orders to Spanish commandants, for the seizure of foreign
vessels entering the ports of the American dominions.
Still less excusable was the conduct of Martinez towards the sloop
Princess Royal, on her second arrival at Nootka. She appeared at
ilie entrance of the sound on the 13th of July, having made a short
trading cruise along the northern coasts ; and her captain, Hudson,
on coming up to Friendly Cove in a boat, was arrested, after which
his vessel was boarded and brought in as a prize by a party of
Spaniards desjiatched for the purpose. On the following day, the
majority of her crew were transferred to the Argonaut, which
carried them as prisoners to San Bias ; her cargo was then taken
out, and she was herself afterwards employed for nearly two years
in the Spanish service, under Lieutenant Quimper.
The schooner North- West America was also retained in the
national service of Spain ; her officers and men, with some of
those of the Argonaut and Princess Royal, were, however, placed
on board the American ship Columbia, to be carried as passengers
to China, one hundred of the sea otter skins found in the Princess
Royal being allowed in payment of their wages and transportation.
Martinez remained at Nootka until November, when he departed,
with his three vessels, for San Bias, agreeably to orders received by
liim from Mexico.
The Columbia had remained in the sound ever since her first
arrival there, in October, 1783; the Washington being, in the mean
time, engaged in trading along the coasts north and south of that
place, to which she, however, frequently returned, in order to
deposit the furs collected. The officers of these vessels were thus
witnesses of nearly all the occurrences at Nootka during the summer
of 1789, in which, indeed, they frequently took part as mediators;
1789.]
CONDUCT or THE AMEIIICANS AT NOOTKA.
199
and the only evidence, with regard to those events, except the
journal of Douglas, which can bear the test of strict examination, is
contained in a letter addressed, three years afterwards, lo the
Spanish commandant of Nootka, by Gray, the captain of the
Washington, and Ingraham, the mate of the Columbia.* Meares
and Colnett endeavor to cast blame on the Americans for their
conduct in these proceedings ; their complaints, however, on exam-
ination, seem to rest entirely on the fact that the Washington and
Columbia were undisturbed, while their own vessels were seized by
the Spaniards. That Gray and Kendrick profited by the quarrels
between the other two parties is probable, and no one can question
their right to do so ; but no evidence has been adduced that they, on
any occasion, took an unfair advantage of either: though it is also
probable that their feelings were rather in favor of the Spaniards,
by whom they were always treated with courtesy and kindness,
than of the British, to whom, if we are to judge by the expressions
of Meares and Colnett, they were, from the commencement, the
objects of hatred and ridicule.
In one of the above-mentioned trading excursions of the Wash-
ington, made in June, 1789, Gray explored the whole east coast of
Queen Charlotte's Island, which had never before been visited by
the people of any civilized nation, though Duncan, in the Princess
Royal, had, in the preceding year, sailed through the sea separating
it from the main land and other islands. The American, being
ignorant of this fact, as also of the name bestowed on the territory
by Dixon, called it Washington's Island; and thus it was, for a
long period, always distinguished by the fur traders of the United
States. Meares endeavors, in his narrative, to secure to Douglas,
the captain of the Iphigenia, the merit of having first established
the insulation of the territory ; though Douglas, in his journal
annexed to that narrative, expressly alludes to the previous visits
of the Washington to many places on the east coast. The assertion
of this claim for Douglas was one of the causes of the dispute
between Meares and Dixon, in 1791, which will be hereafter men-
tioned more particularly.
In a subsequent excursion from Nootka, Gray entered the opening
south-east of that place, between the 48th and 49th parallels of
latitude, which had been found by Berkely in 1787, and was sup-
posed to be the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Through
* See Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter D.
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RELEASE OF COLNETT.
[1789.
this opening Gray sailed, ns he informed Vancouver in 1792, "fifty
miles in an east-south-east direction, and found the passaize five
leagues wide." He then returned to the Pacific, and, on his wav
to Nootka, he met the Columbia, which had just quitted the sound,
with the crew of the North-West America on board as passengers,
for China ; and it was agreed between the two captains that
Kendrick should take command of the sloop, and remain on the
coast, while Gray, in the Columbia, should carry to Canton all the
furs which had been collected by both vessels. This was according-
ly done ; and Gray arrived, on the 6th of December, at Canton,
where he sold his furs, and took in a cargo of tea, with which he
entered Boston on the 10th of August, 1790, having carried the flag
of the United States for the first time around the world. Kendrick,
immediately on parting with the Columbia, proceeded in the
Washington to the Strait of Fuca, through which he passed, in its
whole length, as will be hereafter more fully shown.
The Argonaut, with Colnett and his men on board as prisoners,
arrived, on the 16th of August, at San Bias, near which place they
were kept prisoners until the arrival of the commandant of that
department. Captain Bodega y Quadra, by whom Colnett was
treated with great kindness, and soon after sent to the city of
Mexico. There he remained several months, during which the
examination of the cases of the seized vessels was in progress ; and
it was at length decided — that, although Martinez had acted con-
formably with the general laws and regulations of Spain, forbidding
all aliens from resorting to the Spanish American coasts, and the
vessels might therefore be retained as lawful prizes, yet, in con-
sideration of the apparent ignorance of their officers and owners
with regard to the laws and rights of Spain, as also for the sake of
peace with England, they should be released, with the understand-
ing, however, that they were not again to enter any place on the
Spanish American coasts, either for the purpose of settlement or
of trade with the natives. In virtue of this decision, Colnett
returned to San Bias, where he learned that several of his men had
died of the fever endemic at that place, and his ship was much
injured by the service to which she had been subjected ; she was,
nevertheless, refitted, and, with the remainder of her crew, he
sailed in her for Nootka, to receive possession of the Princess
Royal, for which he had an order. On arriving at the sound,
Colnett found the place deserted ; and, not knowing where to seek
1790.]
THE PRINCESS ROYAL RESTORED.
201
the sloop, he sailed for Macao, which he reached in the latter part
of 1790. Thence he went, in the following year, to the Sandwich
Islands, where the Princess Royal was restored to him, in March,
by Lieutenant Quimper, the Spanish officer under whose command
she had been employed for nearly two years.
The political discussions between the governments of Great
Britain and Spain, which had meanwhile taken place, in con-
sequence of the seizures at Nootka, will be related in the en-
suing chapter.
26
,.(•
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CHAPTER IX.
1790.
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Controvrrsy Ivtworn Gront Britain and Si)inn rt'Hptctinjj tho North-Wrst Coasts nf
Atiii-ripa iind tlip Naviiratioii nf tin' I'acitir — The Owners of the Vossfls seized
ut Nootka apply for Uedrrss to the Hritisli <Joveriiiiii'iit, wliicli (leiimiulH Satis-
faction for tlic allcjrt'd Ontraifcs — Spain resists the Demand, and calls on Franrc
for Aid, ajrreeably to the Family Compact — I'roeeediniis in the National Assenilily
of France on the Snhject — Sjiain enija^jcs to indemnify the Hritish for tiio
Property seized — Fnrther Demands of CJreul Britain — Desifrns of Pitt a>rainst
Sl)anish America — Secret Mediation of France, throuirii wliicli the Dispute is
settled — (convention of October, 17!>0, called the A'ootUa Treaty — Procuedinc!)
in Parliament, and lleilections on this Convention.
The Columbia arrived at Macao from Nootka in December,
1789, bringing as passengers the officers and crew of the North-
West America, who communicated the news of the capture of that
vessel, and of the Argonaut and Princess Royal, by the Spaniards.
The owners immediately determined to apply to the British govern-
ment for redress ; and Meares was accordingly despatched to Lon-
don, where he arrived in April. 1790, provided with depositions,
and other documents, in substantiation of their claims. While he
was on his way, however, the circumstances on which his upplica-
tion was to be founded had already become the subject of a serious
discussion between the courts of London and M.idrid.
On the 10th of February, 1790, the Spanish ambassador at
London presented to the British ministry a note, in which, after
communicating the fact of the seizure of a British vessel (the
Argonaut) at Nootka, he required, in the name of his government,
that the parties who had planned the expedition should be punished,
in order to deter other persons from making settlements on territo-
ries long occupied and frequented by the Spaniards ; and he at the
same time complained of the trade and fishery, by British subjects,
in the seas adjoining the Spanish American continent on the west,
as contrary to the rights of Spain, guarantied by Great Britain in
the treaty of Utrecht, and respected by all European nations. To
this the British ministers answered, on the 26th, that, although they
had not received exact information as to the facts stated by the
1790.]
DISCUSSIONS IN LONDON.
203
nmbassndor, yet the act of violence against British subjects described
in his note necessarily suspended all discussion of the claims ad-
viinced by him, until adequate atonement shoidd have been made
for the outrage. In the mean time, thoy domandcd the immediate
lostoration of the vessel seized, reserving further proceedings on the
subject until more complete details of the circumstances could be
obtained.
This unexpected answer, with other circumstances, induced the
Spanish cabinet to suspect that more was meant than had been
openly declared by Great Britain ; that this power was, in fact, only
seeking an occasion to break the peace with Spain for some ulte-
rior object : and, under the influence of this suspicion, preparations
for war were commenced in all the naval arsenals of the latter king-
dom. The king of Spain being, however, anxious to prevent a
rupture, if possible, his ambassador at London addressed another
note to the British government in April, declaring that, although
the Spanish crown had an indubitable right to the continent, islands,
harbors, and coasts, of America on the Pacific, founiled upon trea-
ties and immemorial possession, yet, as the viceroy of Mexico had
released the vessel sei/.(!d at Nootka, his Catholic majesty regarded
the atVair as concluded, without entering into any dispiitcs and dis-
cussions on the undoubted rights of SfMiin ; and, desiring to give a
proof of his friendship for Great Britain, he should rest satisfied, if
lior subjects were commanded to respect those rights in future.
This last communication was received al)ont the time when
Mearcs arrived in London from China : and the information brought
hy him was not calculated to render the British government inclined
to accept the pacific overture of Spain. On the contrary, onlers
wore issued for arming two large fleets, and the whole aflhir, which
had been previously kept secret, was submitted to Parliament by a
message from the king on the .jth of May.
In this message, his majesty states that two vessels, belonging to
his subjects, and navigated under the British flag, and two others,
of which the description was not then sufficiently ascertained, had
been captured at Nootka Sound, by an officer commanding two
Spanish ships of war ; the cargoes of the two British vessels had
been seized, and their crews had been sent as prisoners to a Span-
ish nort; — that, as soon as ho had been informed of the capture
of one of these vessels, he had ordered a demand to be made for
her restitution, and for adequate satisfaction, previous to any other
discussion ; from the answer to which demand, it appeared that the
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TIIR KINO OP ENGLAND S MESSAGE.
[1790.
vessel and her crew had been Hberatcd by the viceroy of Mexico,
on the supposition, however, thnt ignorance of the rights of Spuin
nlone induced individuals of other nations to frequent those coiiHts,
for the purposes of tra<le an<l settlement ; — but that no satisfaction
was made or otfcred by Spain, and a direct claim was asserted by
her government to the exclusive rights of sovereignty, navigation,
and commerce, in the territories, coasts, and sens, of that part of tin;
world. In consequence of all which, his majesty had directed lijs
minister at Madrid to make a fresh representation on the subject,
and to claim such full and ode(]uate satisfaction as the nature of the
case evidently required. Having, moreover, been informed that
considerable armaments were in progress in the ports of Spain, Im
had judged it indispensable to make preparations for acting witli
vigor and effect in support of the honor of his crown, and the inter-
ests of his people ; and he recommended thnt Parliament slionld
enable him to take such other measures, and to make such nn<;-
mentations of his forces, us might be eventually re(iuisitc for this
purpose.*
The recommendations in this message were received with ?vory
mark of concurrence in Parliament and throughout the kingdom ;
the supplies were immediately voted, and the preparations for wnr
were continued with unexampled activity. On the day in vviiicli
the message was sent, a note was addressed to the Spanish uinhas-
sador at London, containing a reiteration of the demands previously
made, and of the declaration that, until those demands should linv(!
been satisfied, the question of the rights of Spain would not be dis-
cussed. " His majesty," ssiys the note, " will take the most effectual
pacific measures to prevent his subjects from trespassing on the just
and acknowledged rights of Spain : but he cannot accede to the
pretensions of absolute sovereignty, commerce, and navigation.
which appeared to be the principal objects of the last note from
the Spanish ambassador ; and he considers it his duty to protect his
subjects in the enjoyment of the right of fishery in the Pacific
Ocean." The British Charge d'affaires at Madrid also present(!(l, in
the name of his government, formal demands for the restitution of
the other vessel [the Princess Royal] and cargo seized at Nootka,
and for reparation of the losses and injuries sustained by the British
subjects trading in the North Pacific under the British flag ; asserting,
* This rneasage, and all the other oiHcial documents relative to the discussion
which have been published, will be found in the Proofs and Illustrations, under the
letter U.
1790.]
DEMANDS or TIIR DniTISli QOVERNNGNT.
303
at the samo time, as a priiiciplo which would bo maintained by his
poverrimcnt, that *' British subjects have an indisputable, right to the
enjoyment of a free and uninterrupted Jiavigation, commerce, and fuh-
try, and to the possession of such establishments as they should form,
will) the consent of the natives of the country, not previously occu-
pied by ony of the European nations."
To these formal exactions of the British government, the court of
Madrid replied, ut tirst indirectly, l>y a circular letter addressed, on
the 4th of June, to all the other c< urts of Europe. This letter was
couched in the most conciliatory lunj^uago : it contained a recapitu-
lation of the circumstances of the dispute, according to the views
of Spain ; denying all intention, on her part, to commit or defend
any act of injustice against Great Britain, or o claim any rights
which did not rest upon irrefragable titles ; insisting that the cap-
ture of the British vessel had been repaired by the conduct of the
viceroy of Mexico in immediately restoring her ; and declaring the
readiness of his Catholic majesty to satisfy any demands which
should prove to be well founded, after an investigati n of the ques-
tion of right between the two crowns. This reply not being con-
sidered sufficient l)y the British ambassador, a Memorial was deliv-
ered to him, on the 13th of the same month, by count de Florida
Blanca, the Spanish minister of state, not diHering essentially in its
import from the circular letter ; which, however, served only to
render the ambassador still more urgent for a specific answer to the
(loniands of his government. At length, after repeated conferences,
tlic Spanish minister, on the 18th, officially signified that his sove-
reign, having approved the restitution of all the vessels and their car-
goes sei/edat Nootka. was willing to indemnify the owners for their
losses, and also to make satisfaction for the insult to the dignity of
the British crown ; provided, that the extent of the insult and of the
satisfaction should be settled, in form and substance, either by ono
of the kings of Europe, to be selected by his Britannic majesty, or
by a negotiation between the two governments, in which no facts
were to be admitted as true, except such as were fully established ;
and that no inference atrecting the rights of Spain should be drawn
from the act of giving satisfaction.
This offer of reparation was accepted by the court of London ;
and, on the 24th of July, count de Florida Blanca presented to
Mr. Fitzherbert, the British ambassador at Madrid, a Dcclarntiony
in the name of his sovereign, to the etTect — that he would restore
the vessels and indemnify the owners for their losses, so soon as the
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DECLARATION OF THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT.
[1790.
amount should have been ascertained, and would give satisfaction
to his Britannic majesty for the injury of which lie had complained •
and this Declaration, together with the performance of the engage-
ments made in it, was admitted by the ambassador in his Counter
Declaration,* as full and entire satisfaction for those injuries : it be-
ing, however, at the same time admitted and expressed on both
sides, that the Spanish '* Declaration was not to preclude or prcju-
dice the ulterior discussion of any right which his Catholic majesty
might claim to form an exclusive establishment at Nootka Sound." +
The affair had thus far proceeded, nearly in the same course as
that of the expulsion of the British from the Falkland Islands, twen-
ty years previous ; and the government of Madrid probably expected
that it would have been terminated in the same manner. But Mr.
Pitt, then in the fulness of his power in England, had inherited lijs
father's hatred for and contempt of the Spanish nation ; and he was
determined either to bend their government to his views, or to
strike a decisive blow at their empire. H^. had already, in an
inconceivjibly short space of time, assembled a mighty armament,
which he intended, in the event of a war, to direct against the
Spanish possessions in America, for the purpose of wresting those
countries from their actual rulers, either by conquest or by internal
revolution ;f and, having assumed this position, he did not Jicsitatc
to require from Spain the surrender of many of the exclusive rights
with regard to navigation, commerce, and territorial sovereignty,
upon which her dominion in the western continent was supposed,
with reason, to depend. The negotiation on the subject of these
demands was continued at Madrid for three montlis after the ac-
ceptance of the Spanish Declaration ; during which period couriers
were constantly flying between that city and London, and the whole
* The Declaration and Counter Declaration may bo found among the documents
connected with the discussion, in the Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter D.
It may be hero mentioned that the amount of the imlemnification tor the seizures
at Nootka was, after a long negotiation on the subject, finally settled by a ('onuuissinn
of subjects of both nations, appointed for the purpose, who, in 17!tii, awarded to thn
proprietors of the property the sum of two hundred and ten thousand dollars — a third
of the amount demanded by Meares, but undoubtedly far more than was justly due.
t Mr. Pitt's scheme for detaching from Spain her transatlantic dominions is br-
lieved, with reason, to have been suggested to him by Francisco Miranda, a native
of Caraccas, through whoso agency a number of exiles and fugitives from tliose
countries, including many of the expelled Jesuits, were engaged in the plan, and cor-
respondences were commenced with the princij>al persons inclined to a separation
from Sjjain in all parts of her American territories. On this subject, many curious
particulars may be found in the Edinburgh Review for Jaimary, IriOi). The subse-
quent history and the melancholy fate of Miranda are well known.
1790.]
SPAIN APPLIES FOR AID TO FRANCE.
20T
civilized world was in suspense and anxiety as to the issue. The
particulars of the negotiation have never been officially made public ;
and we are therefore only able to form suppositions as to its nature
and course from its result, and from other circumstances connected
with the dispute. The manner in which that result was effected
appears, however, to have been as follows : —
As soon as the dispute between Great Britain and Spain, and the
preparations of those powers for war, became known, King Louis
XVI. of France ordered fourteen sail of the line to be equipped for
active service ; cither in consequence of an application for aid from
Spain, or in order to be ready to meet contingencies. He was,
however, under the necessity of communicating this measure to the
National Assembly, then in session, which seized the occasion to
deprive the crown of one of its most essential attributes. On the
•24th of May, a decree was passed by that body, establishing that
the right to make war or peace belonged to the nation, and could
only be exercised through the concurrence of the legislative and the
executive branches of the government ; and that no treaty with an-
otlier power could have effect until it had been ratified by the rep-
resentatives of the nation : a committee was at the same time
appointed to examine and report upon all the existing treaties of
alliance between France and other nations. This decree was itself
equivalent to an annulment of the Family Compact between the
sovereigns of the house of Bourbon : nevertheless, when the king
of Spain found himself pressed by Great Britain to relinquish his
exclusive pretensions with regard to America, he formally applied
to his cousin of France for aid, agreeably to that compact, in resist-
ing those demands ; declaring, at the same time, that, unless the
assistance should be given speedily and effectually, " Spain would
be under the necessity of seeking other friends and allies among all
the powers of Europe, without excepting any on whom she could
rely in case of need."
The letter of the king of Spain was submitted by Louis XVL to
the National Assembly, by which it was referred to the committee
appointed to examine the existing treaties between France and
other nations ; and, in the name of that committee, the celebrated
Mirabeau, on the 24th of August, presented a luminous report, in-
cluding considerations of the character of the Family Compact and
other engagements between France and Spain, and a view of
the actual positions of Spain and Great Britain towards each
other and towards France. The questions raised by this report
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208
DECREE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.
[1790.
were debated,* with great display of eloquence and political wis-
dom, by Mirabeau, the Abbe Maury, Lameth, Barnave, and other
distinguished members of the Assembly : and it was decreed that
France, while taking proper measures to maintain peace, should
observe the existing commercial and defensive engagements between
l:er government and that of Spain : but that a new and national
treaty should be immediately negotiated, wherein the relations of
the two countries towards each other should be defined and fixed
with precision and clearness, agreeably to the views of general
peace, and the principles of justice, which were, in future, to prevail
in France ; and that, taking into consideration the armaments then
in progress throughout Europe, and the dangers to which the
commerce and colonies of France might be exposed, the marine
force of the kingdom should be increased, without delay, to forty-
five sail of the line, and a proportionate number of frigates.
Although this decree contained no direct promise of assistance
to Spain, yet it showed that the French government penetrated
the designs of the British, and considered them inimical to its own
interests ; while, at the same time, the report, on which the decree
was based, evinced an ardent desire, on the part of the French
reformers, to preserve peace. Meanwhile, revolutionary, anti-
monarchical principles were rapidly spreading, not only through
France, but in all the surrounding countries, and even in England.
The Dutch, who had engaged to assist the British with a fle it, in
case of a war with Spain, found their forces necessary at home;
and Sweden, having, much to the dissatisfaction of the court of
London, made peace with Russia, the latter power was left at
liberty to prosecute its schemes for the dismemberment of " Eng-
land's old ally," Turkey. Moreover, the financial condition of
Great Britain was not such as to encourage her government to
begin a war, which would, in all probability, become general.
Under these circumstances, Mr. Pitt's views were necessarily
changed ; and peace, and even alliance, with Spain were considered
preferable to a rupture with that power. He therefore commis-
sioned a gentleman at Paris, upon whom he could rely, to sound
Mirabeau, and other leaders of the National Assembly ; and, having
reason to believe them sincerely anxious to prevent hostilities, he
instructed his agent to propose a secret negotiation, to be carried
on through the medium of the French government, for the restora-
tion of a good understanding between Great Britain and Spain.
1 . i\
I' i it
Paris Moniteur for August 25th, and succeeding numbers.
1790.]
TEKMINATION OF THE DISPUTE.
209
In the letter of instructions from Mr. Pitt to his agent at Paris,*
he declares it to be essential that " the French should not appear in
the business as mediators, still less as arbitrators," and that no en-
couragement should be given to them to propose any other terms
than those on which Great Britain had already insisted ; that,
<'\vliatever confidential communications may take place with the
diplomatic committee of the National Assembly, for the sake of
bringing them to promote the views of Great Britain, no ostensible
intercourse could be admitted, except through accredited minis-
ters;" and especially that "no assurances be given, directly or
indirectly, which go further than that Great Britain means to perse-
vere in the neutrality which she has hitherto observed with respect
to the internal dissensions of France, and is desirous to cultivate
peace and friendly relations with that country." The agent, thus
instructed, presented himself to the diplomatic committee of the
National Assembly, which at once resolved to do all in its power
to strengthen the relations with England, and to prevent a war, if
possible ; and, with this view, three of its most influential members,
Freteau, Barnave, and Menou, were deputed to conduct the busi-
ness on its part. These members conferred with the British agent,
and also with M. dc Montmorin, the minister of foreign relations of
France, who conununicated directly with the Spanish government ;
and in this manner the controversy was brought to a close, by a
convention signed, at the palace of the Escurial, on the 28th of
October, by Mr. Fitzherbert, the British ambassador, and count de
Florida Blanca on the part of Spain.
This convention, commonly called the Xootka treaty, contains
eight articles, of which the substance is as follows : —
With respect to the circumstances which occasioned the dispute,
it was stipulated, by the first and second articles, that the build-
ings and tracts of land, on the north-west coasts of America,
of which British subjects were dispossessed by a Spanish officer,
^^ about the month of April, 1789," shall be restored ; a just repara-
tion shall be made for all acts of violence or hostility connnitted by
the subjects of either party against those of the other, " subsequent
to the month of April, 1789;" and, in case the subjects of either
should have been, *' since the same period,^' forcibly dispossessed of
their lands, vessels, or other property on the American coasts, or the
il*'-
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• The whole letter is given by Qishop Tomline, in his Life of Pitt, chap. xii. The
name of the person to wliom it is addressed does not appear ; he is simply mentioned
as "a gentleman resident at Paris, of considerable diplomatic experience."
27
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li
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hi"
310
NOOTKA CONVKNTION.
[1790.
adjoining seas, they shall be rec'Stablished in the possession thereof
or a just compensation shall be made to them for their losses,
For the future, it was agreed, by the third article of the conven-
tion, that the subjects of the two parties shall not be disturbed in
navigating or fishing in the South Seas, or the Pacific Ocean, or in
landing on the coasts thereof, in places not already occupied, for
the purposes of settlement or of trade with the natives ; the whole
subject, nevertheless, to the restrictions specified in the three
following articles, to wit : — that Jiis Britannic majesty shall take
the most effectual means to prevent his subjects from making their
navigation or fishery in those seas a pretext for illicit trade with
the Spanish settlements ; with which view it is agreed that British
subjects shall not navigate or fish within ten leagues of any part of
the coast already occupied by Spain ; that the subjects of both
nations shall have free access and right of trading in the places
restored to British subjects by this convention, and in any other
parts of the north-west coasts of America, north of the places
already occupied by Spain, where the subjects of either party shall
have made settlements since the month of April, 1789, or may in
future make any ; and that no settlement shall in future be made,
by the subjects of either power, on the eastern or the western coasts
of South America, or the adjacent islands, south of the parts of
the same coasts or islands already occupied by Spain ; though the
subjects of both remained at liberty to land on those coasts and
islands, and to erect temporary buildings only, for the purposes of
their fishery.
Finally, it was agreed, by the seventh article, that, in cases of
infraction of the convention, the officers of either party shall, with-
out committing any act of violence themselves, make an exact
report of the affair to their respective governments, which woidd
terminate such differences in an amicable manner. The eii,'hth
article relates merely to the time of ratification of the convention.*
The convention, together with the declaration and counter
declaration preceding it, were submitted to Parliament on the 3d
of December, unaccompanied by any other papers relative to the
negotiation ; and they became the subjects of animated debates, in
which the most distinguished members of both houses took parts.
The arrangements were extolled by the ministers and their friends
in general terms, as vindicating the dignity of the nation, and
/Hi
* The convention will be found at length among the Proofs and Illustrations, in
the latter part of this volume, under the letter K, No. 1.
1790.]
NOOTKA CONVENTION BEFORE PARLIAMENT.
211
1'
Illustrations, in
providing reparation for the injuries sustained by its subjects, and
as securing to those subjects, in future, the rights of navigation and
fishery in the Pacific and Southern Oceans, and of settlement on
(heir unoccupied coasts, and establishing the long-discussed ques-
tions on those points, on such grounds as must prevent all further
dispute. The opposition, on the other hand, contended that the
reparation promised by Spain was incomplete and insufficient ;
tliat the arrangements for the prevention of future difficulties were
merely culpable concessions to that power, whereby the rights of
British subjects were materially abridged, and the Spaniards would
1)0 encouraged to commit further acts of violence ; and, finally,
that all the advantages which could be expected from the con-
vention, even according to the views of the ministers, were far
below the amount of the expense at which they had been obtained.
It was noticed by Mr. Charles Fox, as a curious and inexplicable
incongruity in the treaty, that " about the month of April, 1789,"
should have been inserted as the date of what was known to have
taken place, agreeably to all the evidence produced, in May of the
same year ; and that, Jilthough, by the first article, the lands and
hiiildings declared to have l)cen taken from IJritish subjects by a
Spanisli officer, '' about the month of April, 1789," were to be
restored, yet, by the second article, the lands, buildings, and other
property, of which the subjects of either party had been dispos-
sessed ^^ subsequent to the month of April, 1789," were to be
restored, or compensation was to be made to the owners for the
losses which they might have sustained. Upon this point, it will be
seen that, if the word " or," in the concluding part of the second
artielc, were replaced by and. the incongruity would di.sappear ;
hut then, also, the first article would become entirely superfluous.
It would, however, be idle to suppose that any error could have
been committed with regard to matters so essential, or that the
want of accordance between the ditferent provisions of the con-
vention, noticed by Mr. Fox, should have been the result of accident
or carelessness. The ministers, when pressed for explanations on
this head, answered, indirectly, that the Spanish government would
make the restitutions as agreed in the first article.
It may here be observed, that no notice whatsoever of a claim,
on the part of British subjects, to lands or buildings on the north-
west coast of America, ap|)ears either in the king's message to
Parliament, commmiicating the fact of the seizures at Nootka, or
'ii ti
^^!
212
NOOTKA CONVENTION BEFORE PARLIAMENT.
[1790.
t }'■
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in the debates in Parliament on that message, or in the official
correspondence between the two governments on the subject, so far
as published ; and the only evidence of such acquisition of lands or
erection of buildings to be found among the documents annexed to
the Memorial presented by Meares to the ministry, is contained in
the infonnation of William Graham, a seaman of the Felice, which
was taken in London Jive days after the date of the Memorial,
" The statement of actual and j)robable losses," for which the memo-
rialists prayed to be indemnified, to the amount of six hundred ami
fifty thousand dollars, is, moreover, confined entirely to losses con-
sequent upon the seizure of the vessels and cargoes at Nontka.
This silence, with regard to lands and buildings, in all the docu-
ments brought from Cliina by jNIoares, certainly authorizes the
suspicion that the idea of advancing a claim on those points nmv
have occurred to thjit gentleman, or may have been suggested
to him after his arrival in England, and even after his first commii-
nications with the ministers.
With respect to the rights of navigation and fishery in the Pacit'ic
and Southern Oceans, and of settlement on their unoccupied coasi-.,
it was insisted by Fox, Grr /, the marquis of Lansdowne, and other
eminent members of the opposition in Parliament, that nothiiii.r
had been gained, but, on the contrary, much had been surrendorcd.
by the convention. " Our right, before the convention," said Mr. Fox,
— ^' ivhether admitted or denied hj Spain was of no consequence, —
was to settle in any part of South or North- West America, not for-
tified against us by previous occupancy ; and we were now restrict-
ed to settle in certain places only, and under certain conditions.
Our rights of fishing extended to the whole ocean ; and now it was
limited, and not to be exercised within certain distances of the
Spanish settlements. Our right of making settlements was not, as
now, a right to build huts, but to plant colonies, if we thought
proper. In renouncing all right to make settlements in South
America, we had given to Spain what slie considered as inestima-
ble, and had, in return, been contented witli dross." " In every
place in which we might settle," said Grey, " access was left for tiic
Spaniards. W'lere we might form a settlement on one hill, they
might erect a fort on another ; and a merchant must run all the
risks of a discovery, and all the expenses of an establislnnent, for a
property which was liable to be tlie subject of continual dispute,
and could never be placed upon a permanent footing."
i • !.
1790.]
REVIEW OF THE NOOTKA CONVENTION.
213
As to the utility of the convention in preventing disputes in
future between the two nations, Mr. Fox was wholly incredulous ;
and he predicted that difficulties would soon arise (as they did)
from the impossibility of devising and enforcing any measures on
tlie part of Great Britain, which could be considered " effectual" in
checking illicit trade between British subjects and the Spanish set-
tlements in America. " This treaty," says he, in conclusion, " re-
minds me of a lawyer's will, drawn by himself, with a note in the
margin of a particular clause — ' This will afford room for an excel-
lent disquisition in the Court of Chancery.' With equal propriety,
and full as much truth, might those who had extolled the late nego-
tiation, for the occasion it had given to show the vigor and prompt-
itude of the national resources, write in the margin of most of the
articles of the convention — * This tvill afford an admirable oppor-
umitij for a future display of the power and energy of Great
Britain.' "
To all these objections the ministers and their friends gave only
short, general, and evasive answers. Their great majorities in both
houses enabled them to dispense with arguments, and to evade the
calls for information or papers relating to the transaction ; and,
JKiviiip: triumphantly carried their vote of thanks to the sovereign,
they were left at liberty to execute the new engagements, according
to tiieir own construction, for which they had certainly provided
themselves with ample space.
As the convention of October, 1790, was the first diplomatic ar-
ran<i;emcnt between the governments of civilized nations with regard
to the north-west coast of North America, its conclusion forms an
important era in the history of that part of the world. On exam-
ining its stipulations, we shall see that they were calculated
to produce very few and slight changes in any way, and that
tiiosc changes were not, upon the whole, disadvantageous to the
real interests of Spain. The exclusive navigfition of the Pacific and
Southern Oceans, and the sovereignty of the vacant territories of
America bordering upon them, were claimed by Spain, only with
the object of preventing other nations from intercourse with her
settlements ; as her government foresaw that such intercourse, par-
ticularly with the British, who had for more than two centuries
been striving to establish it, would be fatal to the subsistence of
Spanish supremacy over those dominions. By the convention, both
parties were admitted, ecjually, to navigate and fish in the above-
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214
REVIEW OF THE NOOTKA CONVENTION,
[1790.
' So r! ' '■
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named seas ; but the British were, at the same time, specially pro-
hibited from approaching the territories under the actual authority
of Spain, and were thus debarred from the exercise of a privilege
advantageous to themselves and most annoying to Spain, whicli
they previously possessed in virtue of their maritime superiority.
Both parties were by the convention equally excluded from scttlin<'
on the vacant coasts of South America, and from exercising that
jurisdiction which is essential to political sovereignty, over any spot
north of the most northern Spanish settlement on the Pacific : but
the British and the Russians were the only nations who would be
likfc'.y to occupy any of those territories, and the British would not.
probably, concede to the Russians any rights greater than thoso
which they themselves possessed ; and any establisliment which
either of those powers might form in the north, under circunistancfs
so disadvantageous, would be separated from the settled provinces
of Spain by a region of mountains, forests, and deserts, of mnio
than a thousand miles in extent. The convention, in fine, estab-
lished new bases for the navigation and fishery of the respective
parties, and their trade with the natives on the tmoccupiod coasts
of America ; but it determined nothing regarding the rights of either
to the sovereignty of any portion of America, except so far as it
may imply an abrogation, or rather a suspension, of all such claims.
on both sides, to any of those coasts.
It is, however, probable that the convention published, as the
result of this negotiation, did not contain all the engagements
contracted by Great Britain and Spain towards each other on that
occasion. It was generally believed in Europe that a secret treaty
of alliance was at the same time signed, by which the two nations
were bound, under certain contingencies, to act together against
France, with the understanding that the stipulations of the conven-
tion published should remain inoperative ; and this supposition is
strengthened by the third article of the treaty of alliance between
those powers, concluded on the 25th of May, 1793, setting forth
that, " Their majesties having perceived just grounds of jealousy
and uneasiness for the safety of their respective dominions, and for
the maintenance of the general system of Europe, in the measures
which have been for some time past adopted by France, thci/ had
already agreed to establish between them an intimate and entire con-
cert, upon the means of opposing a sutficient barrier to those dan-
gerous views of aggression and aggrandizement," «fec. It was even
1790.]
REVIEW OF THE NOOTKA CONVENTION.
215
supposed, and insinuations to that cflfect were thrown out in the
debates in Parliament on the convention, that the dispute with Spain
was prolonged by Mr. Pitt in order to have a pretext for assem-
bling a large force, which might serve to overawe the revolutionary
party in France, and also to suppress tendencies of the same nature
in England. The preparations for war cost three millions of
pounds sterling; but the result proved that this sum was wisely
bestowed ; for the fleets thus armed in 1790 did '* yeoman's ser-
vice " under Howe four years afterwards.
1
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engagements
ther on tlwt
secret treaty
two nations
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the conven-
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CHAPTER X.
1790 TO 1792.
Vancouver sent by the British (roverninont to explore the Coasts of America, and
receive Possession of Lands and Buildings agreeably to the Convention witii
Spain — Passage of the Washington, under Kendrick, through the Strait of Fuca,
in 178!) — Nootka reoccupied by the Spaniards — Voyages of Fidalgo, Quiniper,
Elisa, Billings, Marchand, and Malaspina — Voyages of the American Fur Tra-
ders Gray, Ingraham, and Kendrick — Discovery of the Washington Islands by
Ingrahani.
In execution of the first and second articles of the conven-
tion of October, 1790, between Spain and Great Britain, com-
missioners were appointed on each side, who were to meet at
Nootka Sound, and there to determine what lands and buildings
were to be restored to the British claimants, or what amount of
indemnification was to be made to them by Spain. The Britisli
government at first selected Captain Trowbridge as its agent for
this purpose ; but the business was afterwards committed to Captain
George Vancouver, who was then about to sail on a voyage of ex-
ploration to the Pacific.
Vancouver was instructed to examine and survey the whole
shores of the American continent on the Pacific, from the 35th to
the 60th parallels of latitude ; to ascertain particularly the number,
situation, and extent of the settlements of civilized nations within
these limits ; and especially to acquire information as to the nature
and direction of any water-passage, which might serve as a channel
for commercial intercourse between that side of America and the
territories on the Atlantic side occupied by British subjects. For
this last-mentioned object, he was particularly to " examine the sup-
posed Strait of Juan de Fuca, said to be situated between the 48th
and the 49th degrees of north latitude, and to lead to an opening
through which the sloop Washington is reported to have passed in
1789, and to have come out again to the northward of Nootka."*
* Introduction to Vancouver's narrative of his voyage.
1791.] kendrick's passaor tiirouoh fuca's strait.
217
With these orders, Vancouver sailed from England in January,
1791, in the ship Discovery, accompanied by the brig Chatham,
under the command of Lieutenant Robert Broughton. The instruc-
tions for his conduct as commissioner were afterwards despatched
to him in the store-ship Dxdahis.
The account of the passage of the Washington through the Strait
of Fuca, mentioned in the instructions to Vancouver, had appeared
in the ^'Observations on the probable Existence of a JVorth-West
Passage,^' prefixed by Meares to the narrative of his voyages, which
had then been recently pubHshed at London. Meares there says,
" The Washington entered the Straits of John de Fuca, the knowl-
edge of which she had received from us ; and, penetrating up them,
entered into an extensive sea, where she steered to the northward
and eastward, and had communications with the various tribes who
inhabit the shores of the numerous islands that are situated at the
back of Nootka Sound, and speak, with some little variation, the
language of the Nootkan people. The track of this vessel is marked
on the map, and is of great mo.nent, as it is now completely ascer-
tained that Nootka Sound and the parts adjacent are islands, and
comprehended within the great northern archipelago. The sea also
which is seen to the east is of great extent, and it is from this sta-
tionary point, and the mtU westerly parts of Hudson's Bay, that we
are to form an estimate of the distance between them. The most
easterly direction of the Washington's course is to the longitude of
2;J7 degrees east of Greenwich. It is j)robable, however, that the
master of that vessel did not make any astronomical observations, to
give a just idea of that station ; but, as we have those made by Cap-
tain Cook at Nootka Sound, we may be able to form a conjecture,
somewhat approaching the truth, concerning the distance between
Xootka nnd the easternmost station of the Washington in the north-
ern archipelago ; and consequently this station may be presumed to
be in the longitude, or thereabout, of 237 degrees east of Green-
wich." In another place, Meares speaks of the proofs brought by
the Washington, " which sailed through a sea extending upwards of
eight degrees of latitude," in support of his opinion, that the north-
western portion of America was a collection of islands : and in the
chart annexed, " 'he sketch of the trade of the American sloop fVash-
ivgton in the autimn of 1789," is represented by those words run-
ning in a semi-oval line from the southern entrance of the Strait of
Fuca, at Cape Fhttery, eastwajfd, to the longitude of 237 degrees,
then north- westward, to the 55th parallel of latitude, then west-
20
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S18
KKNDKICK a PASSAGE TlinOCUII I'UCA S STHAIT.
11189.
ward, throuf^h the passage north of Queen Charlotte's Island, to tlio
Pacific. Tiic sea throuu;li wliieh the track extends is r('[)r<'Hcntoil
as unlimited in the east, and conununicatin:,', in the west, with the
Pacific by charmels between islands : no pretensittn to aecura(;y Is,
however, made in this |)art of the chart, the object being merely to
show that the Washington sail(?d from the southern entrance of tlio
strait eastward to the longitude of 237 degrees, and northward
to the latitude of 55 degrees.
The name of the person under whose command the [)assugc
was said to have been efiected is not given ; but, Gray being
frequently mentioned by Meares, in his narrative and accomjjanyiug
papers, as the captain of the Washington, it was naturally supiiosed
that, if that sloop did pass through the strait, she must have done so
under the command of Gray ; and when Vancouver, who met Cray
near Nootka in 179*2, as will be hereafter related, was assured by
him that he had entered the opcninff, hut had only advanced fij'tij
miles within it, the entire erroncousness of the account given by
Meares was regarded as established.
However, about the time of Vancouver's departure from Kngland,
an angry discussion was carried on through the medium of pum.
phlets, between Meares, and Dixon the captain of the ship Queen
Charlotte, (ojje of the vessels sent to the Pacific by the Kiiif.'
George's Sound Company of London,) in consequence of the se-
vere remarks made by Meares, in his work, on the character of
Dixon, and on many parts of his journal, which had been pub-
lished in 1789. Dixon, in his first pamphlet,* particularly attacked
and i diculed the account given by his opponent of the passage ot
the Washington, and sneeringly summoned him to " inform the
public from what authority he had introduced the track of that ves-
sel into his chart." To this Meares, in his Answer, f says, " Mr.
Neville, a gentleman of the most respectable character, who came
home in the Chesterfield, a ship in the service of the East India
Company, made that communication to me which I have communi-
cated to the public. Mr. Kcndrick, who commanded the Wash-
ington, arrived at China, with a very valuable cargo of furs, previ-
ous to the departure of the Chesterfield ; and Mr. Neville, who was
* Remarks on the Voyages of Jolin Meares, in a Letter to that Gentleman, by
George Dixon, late Commander of the Queen Charlotte in a Voyage around tlip
World. London, 1790.
t An Answer to Mr. George Dixon, &c., b^ John Meares; in which the Remarks
rf Mr. Dixon are fully considered and refuted. London, 1791.
hich the Remarks
1789.] kenduick's pamsahk tiiuoikjh tiik stkait ok ki;ca. 219
continually with him during that intorvnl, and received the particu-
lars of the track from him, vviih ho ohiiu^in^' as to Htatu it to me."
Thtiii it appears that the passa^'e of the Washington through the
gtrnit, as reported by Meares, took place under Kendrick, after Gray
had (juitted the eonunand of that sloop. This explanation was
published in London subsequent to the departure of Vancouver for
the Pdcitic ; and, the discussion between Meares and Dixon being
on matters in which the public could have taken little or no interest,
it was «loubtless forgotten, and their pamphlets were out of circu-
lulion, long before the return of the navigator to England.
W.ih regard to the truth or falsehood of the account, no infor-
mation has been obtained, in addition to that aflbrded by Meares ;
iiiul, although little depend'-nce can be placed on his statements,
when unsupported by other evidence, yet they should not bo
reinctcd in this case, because — first, he had no interest in ascribing
anything meritorious to citi/.ens of the Uritcd States, whom he
uniformly mentions with contempt or dislike in his work, and
accus»!S of taking part with the Spaniards against his vessels ;
— secondly, the subject was one with which he was perfectly con-
versant, and on which he would not probably have been deceived,
or have committed any error of judgment; and, — hstli/, the geog-
raphy of that part of the American coasts corresponds exactly with
the descriptions given by Kendrick of what he had seen, though
the inferences drawn from them by Meares are incorrect. Thus
the easternmost part of the Strait of Fuca is now known to be in
the meridian of 52.'i7i degrees east from Greenwich, and under the
parallel of 48^ degrees, from the intersection of which lines the
coast of the continent runs north-westward, through ten degrees of
latitude, penetrated by numerous inlets, and bordered by thousands
of islands ; so that a navigiitor, sailing along this coast, without
tracing to their terminations all these channels and inlets, might
well have supposed himself in a sea extending far on either side,
and filled with islands.
Under these circumstances, Kendrick is to be considered as the
first person, belonging to a civilized nation, who sailed through the
Strait of Fuca, after its discovery by the Greek pilot, in 159*2.
Vancouver did not reach the north-west coasts of America until
March, 1792. In the mean time, the Spaniards had resumed their
position at Nootka Sound, and formed another establishment in its
vicinity ; and several voyages of discovery had been made by their
navigators along those coasts. The Spanish government was,
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220
VOYAGE OF FIDALGO.
[1790
indeed, then seriously directing its attention to the discovery and
occupation of the territories north of its settlements in California
agreeably to the plan devised in 1765, and with the same object
of preventing those territories from falling into the possession of
other nations ; and, for these purposes, the viceroy of Mexico was
directed to employ every means at his disposal. Martinez was
indeed, deprived of his command, immediately on his arrival in
San Bias, in December, 1789: but his vessels, including the
Princess Royal, which had been taken from the English in the
preceding summer, were sent back to Nootka Sound, under Cap-
tain Francisco Elisa, in the spring of 1790 ; and preparations were
immediately begun for a permanent establishment on Friendly
Cove.
As soon as the first arrangements for this purpose were completed,
Elisa despatched Lieutenant Salvador Fidalgo, in the schooner San
Carlos, to examine the coasts occupied by the Russians, and inquire
into the proceedings of that nation in America. Fidalgo accord-
ingly sailed for Prince William's Sound, in which, and in Cook's
River, he spent nearly three months, engaged in surveying and
in visiting the Russian establishments ; his provisions being then
exhausted, he took his departure for San Bias, where he arrived on
the 14th of November. The geographical information obtained by
him was scanty ; and the only news which he brought back,
respecting the proceedings of the Russians, was, that they had
formed an establishment on Prince William's Sound, and that a
ship had passed that bay from Kamtchatka, on an exploring expe-
dition towards the east.*
The Russian ship, thus mentioned by Fidalgo, was one of those
which had been begun at Ochotsk in 1785, by order of the empress
Catharine, for a f " secret astronomical and geographical expedition,
to navigate the Frozen Ocean, and describe its coasts, and to
ascertain the situation of the islands in the sea between the conti-
nents of Asia and America." For this expedition, a number of
officers and men of science, from various parts of Europe, were
engaged ; and the command was intrusted to Joseph Billings, an
Englishman, who had accompanied Cook, in his last expedition, as
assistant astronomer : but the preparations proceeded so slowly, in
consequence of the want of every thing requisite for the purpose at
* Manuscript journal of the voyngo of Fidalgo, among the docunicntB obtained from
the hydrographical department of Madrid.
t Narrative of the Russian expedition under Billings, by Martin Sauer.
ts obtained from
1790.]
VOYAGKS OF BILLINGS AND QUIMPER.
221
Ochotsk, that the vessels were not ready for sea until 1789, and
then one of them was wrecked inunediately after leaving the port.
With the other vessel Billings took his departure, on the 2d of
May, 1790, and sailed eastward, stopping, in his way, at Unalashka,
Kodiak, and Prince William's Sound, as far as Mount St. Elias ;
but there his provisions began to fail, and he returned to Petro-
pawlowsk, soon after reaching which he abandoned the command
of the enterprise. In the following year, the same vessel, with
another, which had been built in Kamtchatka, quitted the Bay of
Avatscha, under Captains Hall and Sarytschetf, neither of whom
advanced beyond Bering's Strait on the north, or Aliaska on the
east, or collected any information of value within those limits. A
melancholy picture of the sufferings experienced in these vessels
has been presented in the narrative of Martin Sauer, a German,
who, in an unlucky moment, agreed to act as secretary to the expe-
dition : another account, contradicting that of Sauer in many
particulars, has been published by Sarytscheff, who attributes the
faihirc of the enterprise to the incapacity of Billings.
In the summer of 1790, an attempt was also made, by the
Spaniards, to explore the supposed Strait of Juan de Fuca. For
that purpose, Elisa. the commandant of Nootka, detached Lieu-
tenant Quimpcr, in the sloop Princess Royal, who traced the pas-
saiiP in an eastwardly direction, examining both its shores, to the
distance of about a hundred miles from its mouth, where it was
ohscrved to branch off into a number of smaller passages, towards
the south, the east, and the north, some of which were channels
between islands, while others appeared to extend far into the
interior. Quimper was unable, from want of time, to penetrate
any of these passag<*s ; and he could do Jio more than note the
positions of their entrances, and of several harbors, all of which
are now well known, though they are generally distinguished by
names different from those assigned to them by the Spaniards.
Among these passages and harbors were the Cannl de Caamauo,
aftoiwards named by Vancouver Admiraltij Inlet; the Boca de
Flon, or Deception Passao^e ; the Canal de Ouemes, and Canal de
Ilaro, which may still be found under those names in English
charts, extending northward from the eastern end of the strait ;
Port Qjiadra, the Port Discovery of Vancouver, said to be one of
the best harbors on the Pacific side of America, with Port (Quimper,
near it on the west ; and Port Anncz Gaona, called Poverty Cove
by the American fur traders, situated a few miles east of Cape
yw
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222
VOYAGE OF MALASPINA.
[1791.
m:''
Flattery, where the Spaniards attempted, in 1792, to form a settle-
ment. Having performed this duty as well as was possible under
the circumstances in which he was placed, Quimper returned to
Nootka, where he arrived in the beginning of August.*
On the 2d of June, 1791, Captain Alexandro Malaspina,f an
accomplished Italian navigator in the service of Spain, who was
then engaged in an expedition of survey and discovery in the
Pacific, arrived on the coast, near Mount San Jacinto, or Edge-
cumb, with his two ships, the Descuhicrta, commanded by himself,
and the Atrevich, under Captain Bustamente. The principal object
of their visit was to determine the question as to the existence of
the Strait of Anian, described in the account of Maldonado's
pretended voyage, the credibility of which had been, in the pre-
ceding year, affirmed, by the French geographer Buachc, in a
memoir read before the Academy of Sciences of Paris. With this
view, they carefully examined the coast between Prince William's
Sound and Mount Fairweather, running nearly in the direction of
the 60th parallel, under which Maldonado had placed the entrance
of his strait into the Pacific, searching the various bays and inlets
which there open to the sea, particularly that called by the English
Admiralty Bay, situated at the foot of Mount St. Elias. They
found, however, — doubtless to their satisfaction, — no passa;,'e
leading northward or eastward from the Pacific ; and they became
convinced that the whole coast thus surveyed was bordered by an
unbroken chain of lofty mountains. Want of time prevented them
from continuing their e.vaminations farther south ; and they could
only, in passing, determine the latitudes and longitudes of a few
'h:
* Tho journal of tliis voyiir" is amonjr the manuscripts obtained from the hydro-
graphical department of Madrid ; annexed to it is a memoir on the manners, customs,
and language, of the Indians about Nootka Sound, translated from tiie Englisli of
Joseph Ingraham, the mate of the American ship Columbia, who wrote it, at the
request of Martinez, in 17H!(.
t The journals of Malaspina's e.xi)e<lilion have never been published. A sketch
of his voyaije alono; the north-west coasts nf America is ^iven in the Introduction to
tlie Journal of flaliano and Valdes, in which the hiirhest, and, in some places, the
most extravairant, praise is bestowed on the ollieers eniratjed in it. Yet — will it be
bi lieved ? — iho name of .Valii.ipina does fint nppnir tlirrc or in ttnij other part of Ike
hook. The unfortunate eonnnander, having iriven some otVence to Godoy, bolter
known as the Prince of the Peace, who then ruled Spain without restriction, was, on
his return to Kurope in 17!t4, confined in a dimfreon at Coruima, and there kept as a
prisoner until IHUii, when he was liberatcjl, after the peace of Amiens, at tiie exprrss
desire of Napoleon. The name of one who h,id thus sinned could not bo allowed lo
appear on the pages of a work published officially, by the Spanish government, for
the purpose of vindicating the claims of its navigators.
1791.]
VOYAGE OP MARCHAND.
223
points between Mount San Jacinto and Nootka Sound, where they
arrived on the 13th of August.
The visit made to the north-west coasts of America, in the summer
of 1791, by Captain Etienne Marchand, in the French commercial
ship Solide, from Marseilles, is only mentioned on account of the
Introduction by Fleurieu to the Journal of her voyage, to which
allusion has been often made in the preceding pages. Marchand
landed on the shore of the Bay of Guadalupe, or Norfolk Sound,
near tlie 56th degree of latitude, where he remained two weeks, en-
jraged in trading with the natives ; after which he sailed along the
coasts southward, occasionally landing and making observations, to
the entrance of the Strait of Fuca, and thence took his departure
for Canton.*
In the mean time, nine vessels from England and seven from the
United States were engaged in the trade on the north-west coasts
nf America. Of the movements of the English traders few accounts
have been made public : the most active and enterprising among
them appears to have been Captain Brown,f of the ship Butter-
worth, from London, to whom Vancouver acknowledges himself
indebted for useful information on several occasions. In what man-
ner the British navigatoi 'eated citizens of the United States, from
whom he derived infoi. •; much more important, will be shown
liereafter.
* llpspocting tho places thus visited, very little exact information is to be derived
from tlic Journal of Marchand, though hundreds of its pages are devoted to philosoph-
icil speculations (doubtless by the editor) on the origin and capacity of the north-
west American Indians, their languages and political and religious institutions, and
political and religious institutions in general. The Journal, indeed, seems to have
iiicn [jublished merely in order to afford a frame-work for the comments and disqui-
sitions of the editor, Fleurieu, which, with all their faults, are the only parts of the
work of any value.
The Introduction to this Journal is a memoir read by Fleurieu before tlie National
Institute at Paris, in 171*7, on the subject of the discovery of the north-west coasts of
America, in which he pre; mts a history, with reviews of all other accounts, of the
several exploring voyaues made by people of civilized nations along those coasts,
I'roiu the period of tlie conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards to the year 1700, when
Marchand began his voyage. For such a task, Fleurieu was well fitted, by his
previous labors, his general science, and his acquaintance with geography and mari-
time affairs : his memoir is elegantly written, and his accounts and opinions are, for
the most part, clear, fair, and liberal towards individuals and nations. This praise is,
however, not to be awarded to every portion of his work. Ho was extravagant in
generalizing, and often careless in the examination of his autiiorities, in consequence
of which he committed numerous errors ; and his devotion to iiis own country, and
his contempt for the Spaniards and their government, led him frequently to make
assertions and observations at variance with justice and truth.
f Brown was killed by the natives, at Woahoo, one of the Sandwich Islands,
in January, 17ttr>.
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224
ATTACK ON THK ELEONOUA AT MOWKE.
[1790.
The second tradinj]^ adventure to the North Pacific made by citi-
zens of the United States was that of Captain Metcalf, who sailed
from New York in 1788, in the brig Eleonora, for Canton, and
there purchased a small schooner, which he named the Fair Amer-
ican, and placed under the command of his son, a youth of eighteen.
With these vessels he arrived, in November, 1789, at Nootka Sound
where the schooner was seized by the Spanish commandant Marti-
nez ; but she was soon liberated, unfortunately, as it proved, for
her captain and crew. On their way from the American coast, the
vessels were separated. The Eleonora, on the .30th of January, 1 790.
reached a small bay in Mowee, one of the Sandwich Islands, where
she anchored ; and, on the same night, her boat, and a seaman who
was sleeping in it, were taken away by the natives. On the foj-
lowing day, the islanders began to assemble in the bay in canoes.
and on the shores, in great numbers, armed, and showing evidenUv
the intention to take the vessel ; and one of them was seized in tlie
act of endeavoring to strip oft' a piece of her copper, under the idea.
as he confessed, that she would in consequence sink. The natives
becoming more daring, Metcalf fired on them with grape, and
burnt their village ; and, having thus apparently quieted them, he
went farther up the bay, in order to i ".)tain water. Three or four
days afterwards, a native came on board, who oftered to bring back
the boat and the sailor for a certain reward ; his ofti^r was accepted.
and, on the following day, he reappeared with tin; rudder of the
boat and some of the bones of the man, who had been sacrificed to
the gods of the island, and coolly demanded the promised recom-
pense. This demand was granted, with a view to conciliation ; but
the opposite eftect was produced : for the islanders, supposing that
they had intimidated the Americans, again surrounded the ship in
their canoes in vast numbers. Metcalf thereupon, either from exas-
peration, or from his seeing no other mode of safety, fired all his
guns, charged with grape and nails, among them, and killed, as
was said, more than one hundred and fifty ; after which he sailed
for Owyhee, and anchored in Karakakooa Ray.*
* Th<" account of thcsp transactions in taken principally from a Icttor written by a
person on board of the Kleonora, which was published in the newspapers of the
United States soon after the necurrences ; and from the manuscript jotirrial of Captain
Ingraham, which confirms all the stiiteiiients of the letter writer. Vancouver (vol. li.
p. lUfi) represents the affair as disadvantaoreftusly to the Americans .is possible, accord-
ing to his constant practice. Jarvis, in his History of tin- Sandwich Islands, givps
the account as handed down by the natives, holding Metcalf up to view as a monster
of frueity, and the capture of the Fair American as "an awful retribution."
*. ; ^ ' '
1790.]
CAPTURE OP THE FAIR AMERICAN AT OWYHEE.
225
While the Elconora was lying in this bay, the natives of Owyhee
signally avenged the slaughter of tlujir brethren at Movvee.
On the 5th of February, the schooner Fair American, which had
been separated from the brig, anchored in the Bay of Toyahyah,
(now called Kawaihac,) on the north-west side of Owyhee, about
tliirty miles north of Karakakooa Bay, where trade was begun with
the natives. As these people conducted themselves peaceably, they
were allowed to come on board the vessel without restriction ; at
length, a chief named Tamaahmoto, or Kamamoko, appeared, with
a number of attendants, to present the captain with a feather cap,
and while in the act of placing this ornament on young Metcalf's
head, he seized him and thrcv him overboard, where he was im-
mediately killed ; the other s^'amen, witji the e.\cei)tion of one, were
in like manner despatched, and the schooner was then drawn on
shore and ritled. There is no reason to believe that this was done
ill consequence of the proceedings of the captain of the Eleonora at
Mowee, or, indeed, that those proceedings were known at Owyhee
when the schooner was taken ; on the contrary, Tamaahmoto, in
1*91. assured V'aneoiiver that he was induced to act as he did, by
the ill-tr(>afmciit of Metcalf, who had whipped him severely when
al Toyahyah. in 17SJ).
A |)lan was, at the same time, formed by Tianna and Tamaha-
malia. the principal chiefs of th(! island, to take the Eleonora. The
boatswain of that brig, named John Young, happened, however,
to be on sjiore. and tiuMc met with two English seamen, from whom
hf received information of llu^ plan ; and they succeeded in ))re-
vaiiing on Tamaliamalia to allow tliem to write a letter to Captain
Metealf, urging his innuediate departure, on condition that they
phonld enter tlu; service of the native chief. Metealf took their
advice, and sailed away without learning the news of his son's fate.
Youn'' also succeeded in saviiiijj the life of Isaac Davis, the mate
of the Fair American, who had been severely wounded at the time
of the capture of that schooner ; and these two men remained in
the service of Tamahamaha until their deaths.*
The ship Columbia returned to Boston from Canton, under the
command of Gray, on the 10th of August, 1790, as already men-
tioned : but the cargo of Chinese articles brought by her was insuf-
ficient to cover the expenses of her voyage ; and her owners were
■1'!
i
i
if
• Davia died in 1808. Younsj was, for many yoars, jrovernor of Woahoo, and died
ill I'riJG, nearly ninety years old : for an anecdote illustrative of his character, see
Commodore Porter's Journal of his Cruise in the Pacific, vol. ii. p. 215.
29
T;
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226
VOYAGE OF INGRAHAM IN THE HOPE.
[1791.
SO little satisfied with these results, that some of them sold out their
shares to the others, who, determining to persevere in the enter-
prise, refitted the Columbia for a new voyage of the same kind.
Before her departure, however, the brig Hope, of seventy tons,
which had also been equipped for the North Pacific trade, sailed
from Boston, under the command of Joseph Ingraham, the former
mate of the Columbia; and these vessels were followed by the
Hancock , under Captain Crowel, and the Jefferson, under Captain
Roberts, likewise from Boston, and the Margaret, under Captain
Magee, from New York. A short notice of Ingraham's voyage will
be first presented.
The brig Hope quitted Boston on the 16th of September, 1790,
and, taking the usual course by the Cape Verd Islands and Brazil,
she arrived on the 13th of January, 1791, at the entrance of
Berkeley Sound, or Port Soledad, in the Falkland Islands, where
she found a Spanish establishment on the shore, and a Spanish
vessel of war in the harbor.* Ingraham was anxious to visit the
establishment, but the commandant was unwilling to allow him to
do so, though he furnished him liberally with provisions. Quitting
the Falkland Islands, Ingraham doubled Cape Horn, and, on the
19th of April, he discovered six islands previously unknown, in the
centre of the Pacific Ocean, between the 8th and the 10th parallels
of latitude,! to which he gave the names severally of Washington^
Adams, Franldin, Knox, Federal, and Lincoln ; and after some days
* Manuscript journal of the Hopo's voyage, written by Ingraliam.
t These islands are situated a little north of the group called the Marquesas de
Mendoza, discovered by the Spanish navigator Mendana, in XTt^H*, and about six
hundred miles north-east of Otalieite, directly in the course of vessels sailing from
Cape Horn to the north-west coast of America, or to China, to which they offer con-
venient places for obtaining water and other refreshments. They were not seen bv
Cook, who visited the Marquesas in 1774 ; nor does any notice of them appear on
any chart or account of earlier date than 17!H, when they were discovered by Ingra-
ham, as above stated. They were afterwards seen successively, on the iilst of June,
17i.U, by Marchand, in the French ship Solide, who named them lies dr la llituh-
tion; on the 3rttli of June, 17!)2, by Hergest, in the British brig Dcedalus, after whom
Vancouver called them Hrrgcst's Islands, though he was well awanr of their previous
discovery by Ingraham; and on the 6th of March, 17!K{, by Roberts, in the Jefferson,
from Boston, who bestowed on them the name of Washington's Islands. The earliest
notice of them was published in the form of an extract from Ingraham's Journal, in
the Massarhiisetts Historical Collection, at Boston, in 1793: the volume of the same
work, for 17!)5, contains Roberts's account of his visit, after which appeared, in suc-
cession, the accounts of Hergest in Vancouver's Journal, and of Marchand; and
they have since been visited and described by Krusenstern, Lisiansky, Langsdorf,
Porter, Belcher, Wilkes, and other navigators. Porter, during his cruise in the Pacific.
in the Essex, in 1813, remained some time at Nooahivah, the largest of the islands.
The recent occupation of this group by the French is well known.
1791.]
VOYAGE OF INGRAHAM IN THE HOPE.
227
spent in examining them, he took his course for Owyhee, where he
arrived on the 20th of May.
At Owyhee, the Hope was visited by Tamahamaha, whose power
was then rapidly increasing, as well as by his rival Tianna ; and both
these chiefs were earnest in their solicitations that Ingraham should
go on shore and visit their towns. The American captain, however,
feeling some distrust, did not think it prudent to leave his vessel ; and,
after obtaining some provisions and water, he sailed to the adjacent
Island of Mowee, where he received from two white men, who
escaped to the Hope, the news of the capture of the schooner Fair
American, and the murder of her crew at Owyhee, in February of
the preceding year. He then had reason to congratulate himself at
having resisted the invitations of Tamahamaha and Tianna, as he
had no doubt that he and his vessel and crew would otherwise have
been sacrificed to their hatred or cupidity. At Mowee, on the
•26th, the brig was honored by the presence of Titeree, or Kahikili,
the king, and Taio, a principal chief; and Ingraham obtained from
them the liberation of an American seaman, who had been, for
some time, detained as prisoner in the island. On the following
(lay, at Woahoo, the natives surrounded the vessel in their canoes,
to the number of many thousands, evidently with the intention of
taking her ; and it became necessary to fire several muskets upon
them before she could be freed from the danger.
On the 1st of June, Ingraham left the Sandwich Islands, and on
the 29th of the same month he dropped anchor in a harbor on the
south-east side of Queen Charlotte's, or Washington's, Island, to
which he gave the name of Magcc's Sound, in honor of one of the
owners of his vessel. On the coasts of this island, and of the other
islands, and the continent adjacent on the north and east, he spent
the summer in trading, and collecting information as to the geog-
raphy and natural history, and the languages, manners, and customs,
of the inhabitants, on all whicii subjects his journal contains
minute and interesting details ; and at the end of the season he
took his departure for China, where he arrived on the 1st of De-
cember, 1791.
At Macao, Ingraham found the French ship Solide, under
Captain Marchand, whose visit to the north-west coast of Amer-
ica, in the preceding summer, has been already mentioned ; and he
received much kindness, which he acknowledges by grateful expres-
sions in his journal, from Roblet, the surgeon, and Chanal, the first
I
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228 kknuuick's speculations in thk r,\ciFic. [1791.
officer of that vessel. To these irentlemen he ulsio communicatocl
the particulars of liis voyage ; and thus they learned, to their jj;reat
regret, that they liad been anticipated, by ihe American captain, in
a discovery which was expected by them to cast considerable eclat
on their expedition. Maichand had, in the month of June previous,
seen a group of islands in the centre of the Pacific Ocean, of which
he believed himself to be the discoverer, as they were not described
in any narrative or chart then ])ublished ; and, under this impres-
sion, he named them lies <lc la' liii'olutioii, and had just sent an
account of them to France, to be submitted formally to the National
Assembly: on examining the journal of the Hope, however, he
could have no doubt that this was the same grouj) which had been
found by Ingraham in April ; and the fact is admitted, though with
evident reluctance, in the narrative of his voviige.*
Captain Kendriek, in the Wasjiington, which hnd been altered
into a brig, also arrived at Macao while the Hope; was lying there.
He had been engaged, since 17S<), in various specidations, one of
which was the collection and transjmrtation to China of tin; odo-
riferous wood called sandal, which grows in many of the tro])iral
islands of the Paciric, and is in great demand throughout the
Celestial Emjjire. Vancouver pronounced this scheme chimerical;
but experience has proved that it was founded on just calctdations,
and the business has been ever since prosecuted with advantage,
es|)ecially by the Americans.
Another of Kendrick's s|)eculations has not hitherto produced
any fruit. In the sununer of 1791, he purchased from lMa(|uiiinii,
Wicanisli, and other chiefs, several large tracts of land near Xootka
f^ound, for which he obtained deeds duly uiarkeil by thos(! |)ers()ii-
ages, and witnessed by the officers and men of the Washington.
Attempts were made, by the owners of that vcjssel, to sell these
lands at London, in 17});}, but no purchasers were found: and
applications have since been addressed, by the legal re|)resentatives
of the owners and of Kendriek, to the government of the United
* Injrraliaiii's namn is not mpntionod in tlic narrative of .Marcliand, thnuirli many
particulars of his vnyairo aro tlifTo (jivon. Tiic cilitor, Fliniricii, tinis insiiiimifhi
tnimlndps tlie discussion as to the llrst discovery of the islands: "Cajjlain .Marcliaiid
undoubtedly cannot aspire to the honor of ])riority ; but, like the American cii|)t;iin
who ])receded him, ho has not, on that account, the less pretension to the honor of
the discovery; for ho could not know, in the nxtnth of .lune, ]T!tl, while he was
mvi^fntinij the irreat ocean, that, a month betiire, another niiviiralor, standing in tliR
same course with himself, liad mnde the same discovery." 'I'his is not tlie only
instance in which Fleuricu has displayed liis powers a.s a sopliisf.
i ) i
1
1791.]
SECOND VUYAUE OF Tilii CDLUMUIA.
229
Slates, for a confiriiiation of the title* That the lands were thus
sold by the savage chiefs, there is no reason to doubt ; and Maquinna
or VVicanish would as readily have conveyed the whole of America
to any one for the consideration of a copper kettle : but the validity
of the ac(iuisition will scarcely be recofrnized by the civilized nation
which may hereafter hold the sovereignty of the country about
Xootka t:?ound. Neither Kendrick nor Jiis vessel ever returned to
America: he was killed, in 1793, at Karakakooa Bay, in Owyhee,
by a ball accidentally lired from a British vessel, while saluting him.
At Canton, Ingraham disposed of his furs advantageously, and
vested the proceeds in teas, which he sent to Boston by a vessel
clmitorcil for the purpose. He thi-n sailed, on the :jd of April, for
the north-west coasts of America, and spent the sununer in trading
iii and about dueen Charlotte's Island, which was then the principal
Rsort of the Americans.
The Columbia, under her former captain, Gray, left Boston on
the 'i'-'th of September, 1790, ten days after the departure of the
Hope ; t and, without the occurrence of any thing worthy of note
on her way, she arrived at Clyociuot, near the entrance of the Strait
ol Fiica, on the 5th of Jimc, 1791. 'I'hencc she proceeded, in a
tbw days, to the eastern side of U,ueen Ciiarlotte's Island, on which,
and on the coasts of the continent and islands in its vicinity, she
rc'inaiiied until September, engaged in trading and exploring.
During this time, Gray examined many of the inlets and passages
between the 51th and the 5<5th parallels, in one of whieli — most
pioljubly the same afterwards calleil by V^ancouver the Portland
• t
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f;
" TIio I'irciiliir addrcssiMl by tin- owners of the Washiiiirton, cm tiiis ocoiision, is a
nirious ilocmnent. It is writtt ii in llnir lanijiKiucs, and is couclu'd in terms the
!!i(ist U!is])(M'ific whicii conld iiavc been st'li'cti'd. 'I'lu- '■'■ iitliahitiints iif Eiiriipr/' are
iiit'Driiicd liiat, " in IT."^?, Captain J. Kciidrici;, wliile prosecuting- an advantaifeous
voyaire willi the natives I'l^r tnrs, pnreliased ot" them, for the owners, a, tract ot' do-
liirhtfal coviiitry, coniprehendin;r four deifrees of latitude, or two hunch'ed and tiirty
miles square ; " and tliat " sncli as may be inelined to associate, ti>r settlinir a eom-
111' .wealtli on tlu'ir own code of laws, on a spot of the i^lobe nowheie surpassed in
(iiiii;iitful and lieallhy climate, and fertile soil, claimed liy no civilized nation, and
purchased, under a sacrod treaty of peace and commerce, and for a valuable considera-
tiini,of the friendly natives, may have the best opi>ortunity ot' tryinir tiie result of such
an cnteriirise." Of the situation of this tract of deliiilitful country we learn nothinij
from the circular, except that it lies in America. 'I'he deeds for the lands are de-
clared to have been recrist<'red in the olllce of the American consul at Macao; and
fiiese deeds, or some of them, have been lately publislie<l, referrinir only to the l(>rri-
torics about Nootka Wound, which, thouirh inclndiuii; all the <lonnnions of the chiet's
cunvcyinij them, do not amount to one twenty-t()urth part of two hundred and forty
miles sqtiare.
t Log-book of the Columbia, from September 8;?th, ITIK), to February S20lli, 17!)^.
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THE COLUMBIA WINTERS AT CLYOQUOT.
im-i
Canal — he penetrated from its entrance, in the latitude of 54
degrees 33 minutes, to the distance of a hundred miles north,
eastward, without reaching its termination. This inlet he supposed
to be the Rio de Reyes of Admiral Fonte ; a part of it was named
by him Massacre Cove, in commemoration of the murder of Cas-
well, the second mate, and two seamen of his vessel, by the
natives, on its shore, on the '2'2d of August. Shortly after this
melancholy occurrence, the Columbia fell in with the Hope, and
the twvi captains communicated to each other, though appareiulv
with some reserve, the results of their observations. They then
separated, Ingraham going to China, an above related, while Gray
returned to Clyoquot.
At Clyoquot, the crew of the Columbia passed the winter in a
fortified habitation, which they erected on the shore of the bay.
and called Fort Defiance ; and they were employed in building a
small vessel, which was launched, and named the Adventun.
Whilst preparing for sea, they were visited by Tatoochseatticus
and Wicanish, the principal chiefs of the surrounding country,
with a number of followers, between whom and a Sandwich
Islander on board the Columbia it soon became evident that some
understanding had been established. Gray's suspicions being ex-
cited, he questioned the Sandwich Islander, who at length confessed
that the Indians had formed a plan for the seizure of the vessels,
and the murder of their crews, and had promised to spare his life,
and make him a chief, if he would aid them by wetting the priming
of all the guns at a particular time. Thus forewarned, the Ameri-
cans were on their guard; and the savages, who suruunded the
vessel on the following day, were kept at a distance.
In the spring of 179*2, the Adventure sailed for Queen Char-
lotte's Island, under the command of Ilaswell, the first mate of the
Columbia; and Gray took his departure in the ship, on a cruise
southward along the coasts of the continent, the particulars of which
will appear in the next chapter.
S31
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CHAPTER XI.
179-2 TO 1796.
ulars of which
Vancouver and Broughton arrive on the American Coasts in 1702, and meet with
Gray, who informs them of hJH I)ineovery of thi' Columbia Ilivor — The Strait of
Fura HurveycMJ l>y Vancouver, (Jaliano, nnd Viildes — Necrotiations between Van-
rnuver and Quadra at Nootita — Vanrouvcr's Injuriticc to th(> Atiierieans —
llrouijhtou's Kxamination of the lower I'art of the Columbia lliver — Vancou-
ver's I'roeeedinjjs at the Saiulwieli Inlnnds — lie completes the Survey of tho
North-\Ve8t Coasts of America, and returns to Knifland — The Spaniards abandon
Nootka — Conclusions with llegard to the Dispute between Great Britain and
Spain, ond the Convention of 1700.
The viceroy of Mexico, count dc Rcvillagigedo, on learning the
results of the voyages of Fidalgo, Quimper, and Malaspina, along
the north-west cotists of America, ordered three other vessels to be
prepared, for continuing the exploration of those coasts. In one of
them, the corvette Aransasu, Lieutenant Jacinto Caamano was
directed to seek, particularly near the 53d degree of latitude, for
the mouth of the Rio <h Reyes, through which Admiral Fonte
was said to have sailed, in 1640, north-eastward, into a lake com-
municating with the Atlantic ; while Lieutenants Dionisio Alcala
Galiano and Cayetano Valdes were to survey tho Strait of Fuca, in
the small schooners Sutil and Mexicana. These vessels sailed from
San Bias in the spring of 1792, and arrived in May at Nootka Sound,
whence they soon after departed on their respective expeditions.*
Captain Bodega y Quadra, the superintendent of the marine
department of San Bias, was at the same time despatched to
Nootka, to take the command of the forces in that quarter, and to
treat with Captain Vancouver, who was expected to arrive there in
the following summer, with regard to the lands and buildings
claimed by British subjects, in virtue of the first and second articles
of the convention of 1790. He was instructed, in case it should
* The works which have served principally as authorities for the accounts in this
chapter are — tho journal of Captain George Vancouver, three vols. 4to., pu)>lished
at London in 1797 — the journal of Galiano and Valdes — and the manuscript journal
nf the voyage of the American brig Hope, written by her captain, J. Ingraham — with
others, to which reference will be made.
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VANIOUVF.U IlKACUKS TIIK Nf)KTir-\VR8T COAST. [HOiJ,
be rrijiiisitc, to ubiiiHlon Nootkti, mid witlulriiw nil tlio S|)!itiis!i
forces nnd settlors to some fonveniciit point of the enast fnrtliir
south ; nnd, in nntieiimtion of siieli a eontinijency, a Vfwel wus sent
from San Jllas, under the eonnnand of l''idalij;o, to seek for a prooor
spot, and innli(! |)n'pamtions on it for a permanent ('stahlishnicnt.
Vaneou>er and l?ro)ii;hton reaehcd the Amcrieari coast in April,
179-^. a little sonth of Capo Mendocino, whence they sailed slowly
northward, to the Strait of I'nca, which tlu>y were instructed par-
ticularly to explore. On tlieir way, they carefully examined t||(.
shores, and determined tiu; i^ooirraphica! positions of all the most
prominent points, eomparinir the r< suits of their observations witji
those obtained by Cook and others wIh) had preceded them. Near
the d.'hl de^'ref^ of latitude, they sought in vain for the river wliicli
Martin de Aijjuilar was said to have seen, enterint; the Pacitic; tlien;-
abouts, in \i')U'.i., nnd they appeared inclined to admit ns identiciil
with the Cape Blanco of thai navi<rator, a high, whitish promontory,
in the latitude of 4-2 detjrees 5'i minutes, to which they, houevcr.
did not scruple to assif^n the name of Cnpc Orjhrd.
Vancouver also observed with attention the Deception Hay of
Meares. which was represented on Spanish charts as the month of
a river. Of this ])art of his voyaijje, he presents the following
account in his journal, under date of
" April 27th. — Noon brou<>;Iit us up with a conspicuous point
of land, conijjosed of a cluster of hummocks, moderately hitrh. ami
projectini,' into the sea. On the south si<le of this prt)montory was
the api)earance of an inlet, or small river, the land not indicatinii; it
to be of any irreat extent, nor did it seem to be accessible for ves-
sels of our burden, as the breakt^rs extended from tiie above j)oint.
two or three miles into the ocean, utitil th«\v joined thos(3 on tin;
beach, nearly four leajrues farther south. On reference to Mr.
Meares's description of the coast south of this promontory, I was
at lirst inclined to believi.' it was Cap(! Shoalwaler; but, on nscor-
taininuf its latitude, I jiresmned it to be that which he calls Ciipo
Disappointment, and the openint,' south of it Deception Bay. This
cape we found to be in latitude of IG <letJ:rees 11) minutes, lon;ji-
tude 2.'J6 dci;recs 6 minutes [east]. TIk; sea had now changoil
from its natural to river-colored water, the jtrobuble cons<'(iuencc
of some streams falliiii; into tlu; bay, or into th(! oj)(>nini>; nf»rtli of
it, throuiih the low land. ?so! rovHidcnu'j; this npin'ni<;; worthij of
more attention, I continued our purstiit to th(> north-west, beini:
desirous to embrace the advantages of the now prcjvailiui^ breeze and
pleasant weather, so favorable to an examination of the coasts."
1792.) VANCOIIVKR MRKTS ORAY NKAR THE STRAIT OF TUCA. 233
Vancouver accordingly sailed onwards, to the entrance of the
Strait i>f Fiica, wliicfi he was eager to explore ; having, as he
believed, ascertained that " the several large rivers and capacious
inlets, that have been described as discharging their contents into
(he Pacific, iHjtwcen the -lOth and the 48th degrees of north lati-
tude, were reduced to brooks insufficient for our vessels to navigate,
or to bays inaccessible as harbors for refitting." Again he says,
'Considering ourselves now on the point of commencing an exami-
nation of an entirely new region, I cannot take leave of the coast
already known, without obtruding a short remark on that part of
the continent, comprehending a space of nearly two hundred and
fifteen leagues, on which our inquiries had been lately employed,
under the most fortunate and favorable circumstances of wind and
weather. Ho minutely has this extensive coast been inspected, that the
surf has been constantly seen to break on its shores from the mast-
head ; and it was but in a few small intervals only where our
distance precluded its being visible from the deck. Whenever the
weather prevented our making free with the shore, or on our haul-
iiin; oil* for the night, the return of fine weather and of daylight
uiiil'ormly brought us, if not to the identical spot we had departed
from, at least within a ft!W miles of it, and never beyond the
northern limits of the coast which we had previously seen. An
examination so directed, and circumstances happily concurring to
|icrmit its being so executed, afforded the most complete opportunity
ofddcrminins^ its various turnings and windings, as also the position
of all its conspicuous points, ascertained by meridional altitudes for
the latitude, and ()l)serviitions for the chronometer, which we had the
::oo(l fortune to make constantly once, and in general twice, every
(liiy. the preceding one only excepted. It must be considered a very
sin^'iilar circumstance, that, in so great an extent of sea-coast, we
should not until now have seen the appearance of any opening in its shore
which presented any certain prospect of affording a shelter, the whole
coast forming one compact and nearly straight barrier against the »t;.f."
On the same day, the 'iOth of April, 119'2, Vancouver writes m
his journal, " At four o'clock, a sail was discovered to the westward,
standing in shore. This was a very great novelty, not hating seen
any vessel but our consort during the last eight months. 8he soon
hoisted American colors, and fired a gun to leeward. At six we
spoke her ; she proved to be the ship Colnmbia, commanded by
Captain Robert Gray, belonging to Boston, whence she had been
absent nineteen months. Having little doubt of his being the same
30
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234
GRAY S ACCOUNT OF HIS DISCOVERIES.
[1792.
person who had formerly commanded the sloop Washington, I
desired he would bring to, and sent Mr. Puget and Mr. Menzies on
board, to acquire such information as might be serviceable in our
future operations. On the return of the boat, we found our con-
jectures had not been ill grounded ; that this was the same gentle-
man who had commanded the sloop Washington, at the time, we
are informed, she had made a very singular voyage behind Nootka.
It was not a little remarkable, that, on our approach to the entrance
of this inland sea, we should fall in with the identical person who.
it was said, had sailed through it. His relation, however, differed
very materially from that published in England. It is not possible
to conceive any one to be more astonished than was Mr. Gray, on
his being made acquainted that his authority had been quoted, and
the track pointed out that he had been said to have made in the
sloop Washington ; in contradiction to which, he assured the of-
ficers that he had penetrated only fifty miles into the straits in
question, in an e&st-south-east direction ; that he found the passage
five leagues wide, and that he understood from the natives that the
opening extended a considerable distance to the northward : that
this was all the information he had acquired respecting this inland
sea, and that he returned into the ocean by the same way he had
entered at. The inlet he supposed to be the same that De Fnca
had discovered, which opinion seemed to be universally received bv
all the modern visitors. He likewise informed them of his havinir
been off the mouth of a river, in the latitude of 46 degrees 10
minutes, where the outset or reflux was so strong as to prevent his
entering for nine days. This was probably the opening passed by
us on the forenoon of the 27th, and was apparently inaccessible,
not from the current, but from the breakers that extended across it.
He had also entered another inlet to the northward, in latitude of
54^ degrees, in which he had sailed to the latitude of 56 degrees,
without discovering its termination. The south point of entrance
into De Fuca's Straits he stated to be in 48 degrees 24 minutes;
and he conceived our distance from it to be about eight leagues.
The last winter he had spent in Port Cox, or, as the natives call it.
Clyoquot, from whence he had sailed but a few days," &,c.
The part of this account relating to the Strait of Fuca appears
to have been received with much satisfaction by Vancouver, as it
seemed to assure him that he had not been anticipated in the
exploration of that passage ; to Gray's statement of his discovery of
a river emptying into the Pacific, in the latitude of 46 degrees 10
1 y'
1792.]
GUAY S ACCOUNT OF HIS DISCOVERIES.
235
minutes, he gave little, or rather no credit, being content with his
own examination of that part of the coast. On the day after his
meeting with the Columbia, he writes, " The river mentioned by
Mr. Gray should, from the latitude he assigned to it, have existence
in the bay south of Cape Disappointment. This we passed in the
forenoon of the 27th ; and, as I then observed, if any inlet or river
should be found, it must be a very intricate one, and inaccessible to
vessels of our burden, owing to the reefs and broken ivater, which
then appeared in its neighborhood. Mr. Gray stated that he had
been several days attempting to enter it, which, at length, he was
unable to effect, in consequence of a very strong outset. This is
a phenomenon difficult to account for, as, in most cases where there
are outsets of such strength on a sea-coast, there are corresponding
tides setting in. Be that, however, as it may, / was thoroughly
convinced, as ivere also most persons of observation on board, that
ice could not possibly have passed any safe navigable opening, harbor,
or place of security for shipping, on this coast, from Cape Mendocino
to the promontory of Classct, [Cape Flattery, at the entrance of the
Strait of Fuca ;] nor had we any reason to alter our opinions,
notwithstanding that theoretical geographers have thought proper
to assert in that space the existence of arms of the ocean commu-
nicating with a mediterranean sea, and extensive rivers with safe
and convenient ports."
Having thus recorded his convictions, the British navigator
proceeded to survey the Strait of Fuca ; whilst the American fur
trader sailed towards the mouth of the river, into which he resolved,
if possible, to etlect an entrance.
After parting with the Eniilish ships, Gray sailed along the coast
of the continent to the south, and, on the 7th of May, he " saw
an entrance which luul a very good appearance of a harbor," in the
latitude of 46 degrees 58 minutes. Passing through this entrance,
lie found himself in a bay ■• well sheltered from the sea by long
sand-bars and spits," whore he remained at anchor three days,
engaged in trading with the natives ; and he then resumed his
voyage, bestowing on the place thus discovered the name of Bul-
fincKs Harbor, in honor of one of the owners of his ship.
At daybreak on the 11 th, after leaving Bulfinch's Harbor, Gray
observed " the entrance of his desired port, bearing east-south-east,
distant six leagues ; " and running into it, with all sails set, between
the breakers, (which Mearcs and Vancouver |)ronounce impassable,)
he anchored, at one o'clock, "' in a large river of fresh xvaicr," ten
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236
WHO DISCOVERED THE COLUMBIA
11792.
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miles above its mouth. At this spot lie remained three days, en-
gaged in trading and iiUing liis casks with water, and then sailed
up the river about twelve or fifteen miles along its northern shore •
where, finding that he could proceed no farther, from having " taken
the wrong channel," he again came to anchor. During the week
which followed, he made several attempts to quit the river, but
was constantly baffled, until, at length, on the 20th, he crossed the
bar at the mouth, by beating over it with a westerly wind, and
regained the Pacific*
On leaving the river. Gray gave to it the name of his ship — the
Columbia — which it still bears ; though attempts are made to fix
upon it that of Oregon, on the strength of the accounts which
Carver pretended to have collected, in 1766, among the Indians of
the Upper Mississippi, respecting a River Oregon, rising near Lake
Superior, and emptying into (he Strait of Anian.j The extremity
of the sand-bank, projecting into the sea on the south side of its en-
trance, was called by Gray Point Adams ; and he assigned the name
of Cape Hancock to the opposite promontory, on the north side, be-
ing ignorant that Meares had already called it Cape Disappointment,
in token of the unsuccessful result of his search for the river.
The principal circumstances relating to the discovery of this
river, the greatest which enters the Pacific from America, have
now been fairly presented. It has been shown — that the opening
through which its waters are discharged into the ocean was first
seen in August, 1776, by the Spanisji navigator Heceta,J and was
distinguished on Spanish charts, within the thirteen years next
following, as the moutii of the River San Roque — that it was
examined in July, 1738, by Mearcs,Ǥ> who quitted it with the con-
viction that no river existed there — and that this opinion of
Meares was subscribed, without qualification, by Vancouver, after he
had minutely examined that coast, " under the most favorable con-
ditions of wind and weather,'''' and notwithstanding the assurances
of Gray to the contrary. Had Gray, after parting with the Englisli
ships, not returned to the river, and ascended it as he did, there is
every reason to believe that it would have long remained unknown :
for the assertions of Vancouver that no opening, harbor, or place of
refuge for vessels, was to be found between Cape Mendocino and the
* See tlip extract from the loir-book of the Columbia, containing the account of
the entrance of Gray into the river, among the Proofa and Illustrations, in the latter
part of this volume, under the letter E, No. a.
t See p. 142. t See p. 120. § See p. 177.
1792.]
WHO DISCOVEftKD THE COLUMBIA?
237
Strait of Fuca, and that this part of the coast formed one compact,
solid, and nearly straight, harrier against the sea, would have served
completely to overthrow the evidence of the American fur trader,
and to prevent any further attempts to examine those shores, or
even to approach them.*
From the mouth of the Columbia Rivar, Gray sailed to the east
coast of Queen Charlotte's Island, neai which his ship struck on a
rock, and was so much injured that she was with difficulty kept
afloat until she reached Nootka Sound, where the damage was
repaired. The Hope also arrived at Nootka at this time, and
Gray communicated the particulars of his recent discoveries to
Ingraiiam, and to the Spanish commandant Quadra, to whom he
also gave charts and descriptions of Bulfinch's Harbor, and of
the mouth of the Columbia. On tliis occasion, moreover, the two
American captains addressed to Quadra, at his request, a letter f
containing a narrative of the transactions at Nootka in 1789, to
which particular reference will be hereafter made. Having soon
completed their business on the north-west coasts, Gray and Ingra-
liam departed severally for Canton, in September, and thence they
sailed to the United States. {
• It was, novcrthelcss, insisted, on tho part of tlie British government, in a discus-
sion with tlio United States, in 1H'J(), tliat the viirit of discorering the Columbia
bdonijs to Mearcs ! "that, in I76ii, four years before Gray entered the mouth of
the Cohinibia River, Mr. Meares, a lieutenant of the royal navy, who had been sent
by tlie East India Company on a tradinir e,\pedition to the north-west coast of
America, had already minutely explored the coast from tlit- 4'.lth to the r>4tli degree
of north latitude ; had taken formal possession of tlio Straits of I)e Fuca in the name
of his sovereign ; had purchased land, tratllcked and formed treaties with the natives ;
and had actually entered the Hay of the Cidumbia, to the northern headland of
which he gave the name of Cape I)isap(>ointment, a name whieii it bears to this
day;" and that " if any claim to these countries, as between (ireat Rritain and the
United States, is to be deduced from priority of the discovery, the above exposition
of dates and facts suffices to establish that claim in favor of (Ireat Britain, on a basis
too firm to be shaken. It must indeed be luimitted," contin\i< the British plenipo-
tentiaries, "that Mr. Clray, finding himself in the bay t'ormed by the discharge of
the waters of the Columbia into th(> Pacific, iras the first to asrirtnin that this buy
formed the outlet of a irrrat river — « iliscorrrij irhirh had nn-upiil Liiulrnant Jtcavs,
vhrn, ill 1788, four years before, he entered the same bay.' The truth in the last of
these assertions atones fiir the errors in those which precede, and counteracts the
impression which the whole was intended to produce. — See the statement presented
by Messrs. Iluskisson and Addington to Mr. (iallatin, in 18'i(J, among the Proofs
and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the letter G.
t See Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the letter C.
i Iiigrahain subsequently entered the navy of the United Slates as a lieutenant,
and was one of the officers of the ill-fated brig Pickering, of which nothing was ever
heard, after her departure from the Delaware in August, 18()(). (iray continued to
command tradin j vessels from Boston until 160!>, about which time he died.
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238
SURVEY OF ADMIRALTY INLET.
[1792.
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In the mean time, the survey of the Strait of Fuca had been
completed.
Vancouver and Broughton took their departure on the 1st of
May, as already mentioned, from Cape Flattery, the point at the
south side of the entrance of the Strait, and thence sailed slowly
along the coast eastward, about a hundred miles, to its extremity
in that direction, where they entered a harbor called by them Port
Discovery, the same which had, in 1790, received from Quimper
the name of Port Quadra. A little beyond this harbor, they found
another opening in the coast towards the south, corresponding with
that called by Quimper Canal de Caamano, through which they
entered an extensive arm of the sea, with several branches, stretch-
ing in various southerly directions, to the distance of more than a
hundred miles from the strait. This great arm, called Admiralty
Inlet, with its principal branches, Hood^s Canal on the west. Pos-
session Sound on the east, and Puget^s Sound, the southernmost,
were carefully surveyed to their respective terminations ; and tlie
navigators, having thus ascertained that no passage through the con-
tinent was to be effected by those channels, returned to the strait.
Of the beauty and apparent fertility of the country surrounding this
arm of the sea, Vancouver speaks in glowing terms. The surface
near the shores was generally undulating, presenting a succession
of meadows, lavns, and hillocks, many of which were covered
with noble forests of oak ; '" the soil jirincipally consisted of a rich.
black, vegetable mould, lying on a sandy or clayey substratum ; the
grass, of excellent quality, grew to the height of three feet, and the
ferns, which, in the sandy soils, occupied the clear spots, were
nearly twice as high." In the distance, on the east, the south, and
the west, the view was bounded by lofty mountains, to the stupen-
dous peaks of which Vancouver assigned the names of British
admirals and diplomatists.
After completing this part of their survey, the English landed on
the shore of Possession Sound, and celebrated the birthday of their
sovereign, the 4th of June, by taking possession, in his name, and
" with the usual formalities, of all that part of New Albion, from
the latitude of 39 degrees 20 minutes south, and longitude 236
degrees 26 minutes east, to the entrance of the inlet of the sea,
said to be the supposed Strait of Juan de Fuca, as also of all the
coasts, islands, &c., within the said strait, and both its shores; " to
which region they gave the appellation of Neio Georgia. With
regard to this ceremony, it may be observed, that, although naval
.1-
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179-2.]
VANCOUVER MEETS GALIANO AND VALDES.
239
officers are not expected to be minutely acquainted with diplomatic
aflliirs, yet Captain Vancouver, vvlio was sent to the North Pacific
as commissioner to execute the convention of October, 1790, should
have recollected that, by the stipulations of that convention, every
ynrt of the north-west coast of America teas rendered free and open
for trade or settlement to Spaiush as ivell as British subjects; and
that, consequently, no claim of sovereignty, on the part of cither of
those nations, could be valid. It may socm pedantic, if not unjust,
to make this remark with regard to what may have been nothing
more than thb result of an exuberance of loyal feeling in the officers
and crews of the vessels ; but this taking possession by Vancouver
has been since gravely adduced, by the representatives of the British
government, in support of its claims to the dominion of the terri-
tories above mentioned.*
On returning to the Strait of Fuca, the English examined several
other passages opening into it, some of which were found to ter-
minate in the land, at short distances from their mouths, and others
to be channels between islands. Through one of these latter chan-
nels, opening immediately opposite the entrance of Admiralty Inlet,
they passed into a long and wide gulf, extending north-westward ;
and, after proceeding a few miles within it, they, on the !23d of June,
unexpectedly met the Spanish schooners Sutil and Mexicana,t com-
manded by Lieutenants Galiano and Valdes, which had left Nootka
on the 4th of the month, and had advanced thus far along the
northern shore of the strait. The meeting was, doubtless, vexatious
to the commanders of both the parties, each being naturally anxious
to secure to himself all the merit which might be acquired by deter-
mining the character of this famous arm of the sea : they, however,
received and treated each other with the utmost civility, mutually
exhibiting their charts and journals, and comparing their obser-
vations ; and, having agreed to unite their labors, they remained to-
gether three weeks. During this time, they surveyed the shores of
the great gulf above mentioned, called by the Spaniards Canal del
Rosario, and by the English the Gulf of Georgia, which extended
* See statement of the British commissioners, among the Proofs and Illustrations,
in tlie latter part of this volume, under the letter G.
\ Vancouver describes these vessels as " each about forty-five tons burden, mount-
ing two brass guns, and navigated by twenty-four men ; bearing one lieutenant, with-
out a single inferior officer. Their apartments just allowed room for sleeping-places
on each side, with a table in the intermediate space, at which four persons could with
difHculty sit ; and they were, in all other respects, the most ill-calculated and unfit
vessels that could possibly be imagined for such an expedition."
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240
PASSAGE TUUOroll THE STRAIT OF FUCA.
[179^.
north- westward as far as the 50th degree of latitude ; and then, on
the 13th of July, the English took leave of their Spanish friends,
who, from want of force, were unable to keep up with them.
On parting with t!ie Spaniards, the English entered a passage,
named by them Johmtonc's Strait, leading from the north-west ex-
tremity of the gulf: and after a long and didicult navigation through
it, they, on the 10th of August, emerged into the Pacific at Queen
Charlotte's Sound, about one hundred miles north of Nootka.
Having been, from the commencement, persuaded that the land on
the western side of the strait was an island, they had devoted their
attention particularly to the eastetn shores, through which a jjassago
might be found to Hudson's Bay or the Arctic Sea ; but their search
proved vain, and, after tracing to their terminations in the interior a
number of long and intricate inlets, they became convinced tliat
the continent extended uninterruptedly northward, at least to tjio
51st parallel of latitude. Immediately on entering the Pacific, the
Discovery struck on a rock, and scarcely had she been got off ere
a similar misfortune befell the Chatham ; both vessels, however,
escaped with little injury, and they soon after arrived at Nootka
Sound. Galiano and Valdes also passed through the strait by the
same route, and reached Nootka in safety on the 4th of September.
After the arrival of the Sutil and Mexicana at Nootka, Vancouver
and the Spanish commander. Quadra, compared together the notes
and charts of the two voyages tlirough tlu; Strait of Fuca ; and it
was agreed between them, that the great island which that arm of
the sea separated from the American continent should bear the
names of them both. It has. in consequence, ever since been dis-
tinguisiied on maps by the long and inconvenient appellation of
Island of (Quadra and Vancourcr, which it will scarcely be allowed
to retain, when that part of the world shall be occupied by a civil-
ized people.
This survey of the Strait of Fuca was conducted in the most
complete and effectual nuinner possible by Vancouver, whose ac-
count of it, filling a large portion of his journ!il, together with his
charts, afford unequivocal testimony of the skill and perseverance of
the British navigators, (laliano and Valdes seem also to have done
as much as could have been expected, considering the smallness
of their force and the miserable scale of their equipments. Had
they not met the British ships, they would, doubtless, have found
their way through the strait ; but they could never have made even
a tolerable survey of it, as they must have left a number of passages
1 : ■!!
d then, on
sh friends,
len).
a passage,
th-\vest e.\-
on through
c at Queen
jf Nootka.
the land on
ivoted their
h a passage
their search
\c interior a
ivinced that
least to tlio
Pacific, the
1 fjot off ere
Is, however.
1 at Nootka
strait by the
f September.
II, Vancouver
i(>r the notes
uca ; and it
that arm of
d bear the
ice been dis-
pellation of
be allowed
;d by a civil-
in the most
T, whose ae-
ther with his
rscverance of
to have done
the smallness
ments. Had
have found
vc made even
er of passages
1792.]
NEGOTIATIONS AT NOOTKA.
241
unexplored ; and the world would, probably, never have received
any detailed report of their operations.*
Before the arrival of these vessels at Nootka Sound, Captain
Caamano returned from his search for the Rio de Reyes of Ad-
miral Fonte, in which he had spent two months. During this
period, he entered many of the openings in the coasts north and
north-east of Queen Charlotte's Island, between the 53d and the
56th parallels of latitude; some of which were found to be the
mouths of bays, or of inlets running far inland, and others to be
channels separating islands. He appears to have displayed much
skill and industry in his examinations, as Vancouver indirectly
testifies in his narrative : but he effected no discoveries calculated
to throw much light on the geography of that part of the coast ;
and his labors were productive of advantage only in so far as they
served to facilitate the movements of the English navigator, to
whom his charts and journals were e.xhibitcd at Nootka.
At Nootka, Vancouver found the store-shij) Daedalus, which
brought the instructions from the British government for his con-
duct as commissioner. She left England in the autumn of 1791,
under the command of Lieutenant Hergest ; and, passing around
Cape Horn, she, in the latter part of March, 1792, fell in with the
* The voyage of the Siitil and Mexicana was the last made by the Spaniards in
the North Pacific Ocean, for the purjioses of discovery ; and tlie only one, since that
of Vizcaino, of which an authentic account has been jriven to tlie world, witii the
sanction of tlie Spanish governnient. The Journal of Galiano and Valdes was pub-
lished at Madrid in 180:^, by order of tlic king, wtth an Introduction, oflen cited in
the preceding pages, including a historical sketch of the exploring voyages of the
Spaniards on the coasts of America, north-west of Mexico This Introduction is the
only valuable part of the work ; the nieagn' and ur.iuteresting details of the Journal
having been superseded by the full and luminous descriptions of Vanco.ver: it
was intended — as a defence of the rights of Spiiin to the north-west portion of
America, which were supposed to be endangered since the cession of Louisiana to
France — as a vindication of the claims of Spanish navigators to the merit of dis-
covering those regions, which the Itriti^h were endeavoring to monopolize — and as a
reply to the charges, insinuations, and sarcasms, against the intelligence, liberality,
and good faith, of the Spanish government and nation, brought forward by Fleurieu.
It was compiled chietly from the original journals lud other documents, in the
archives of the Council of the Indies, relative to the exploration of the North Pacific
coasts; and, in this manner, many curious if not important facts were communi-
cated, which might otherwise have remained forever buried. It is, however, to be
regretted that the author should have disfigured his work — as he has in every part in
which the honor or interests of Spain are concerned — by gross and palpable misstate-
ments of circumstances, respecting which he undoubtedly possessed the means of
arriving at the truth. It may, perhaps, be considered a sufficient apology for him,
that his book was published by the Spanish government, at Madrid, in 18l>8, as we
know not what changes may have been made in it by insertions, suppressions, and
alterations, after it left his hands.
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242
LETTER OF OHAY AND INGRAIIAM.
[1792.
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islands in the centre of the Pacific, north of the Marquesas, which
had been discovered by Ingraham in April of the preceding year.
Sailing thence, she reached Woahoo, one of the Sandwich Islands,
where Lieutenant Hergest and Mr. Gooch, the astronomer, wore
murdered by the natives, on the 11th of May; after which she
came to Nootka Sound, under the command of Lieutenant Now.
Vancouver gave the name of Hergest's Islands to the group visited
by the Da;dalus, as above mentioned ; and so they are called in his
chart, although, as he says in his journal, he had been informed
that they had been previously discovered and landed on by some of the
American traders.
For his conduct as commissioner, Vancouver was referred by his
instructions to the convention of October, 1790, and to a letter
brought by the Daedalus from count de Florida Blanca, the Spanish
minister of state, addressed to the commandant of the port of San
Lorenzo of Nootka, ordering that officer, in conformity with the
first article of the convention, to put his Britannic majesty's com-
missioner in possession of the buildings and districts, or parcels of
land, which were occupied by his subjects in April, 1789, as well
in the port of Nootka as in the other, said to be called Port Cox,
and to be situated about sixteen leagues farther southward. A copy
of this order had been given to Quadra, on his departure from
Mexico ; but it does not appear that either of the commissioners
was furnished by his government with any evidence to assist him in
ascertaining precisely what lands were to be restored, or for what
buildings indemnification was to be made by the Spaniards.
In order to supply this want of information. Quadra had, imme-
diately on arriving at Nootka, made inquiries on the subject of
Maquinna and other chiefs of the surrounding tribes ; all of whom,
without hesitation, denied that any lands had been purchased, or
any houses had been built there, by the English at any time. As
the testimony of the savage chiefs could not, however, be of much
value alone, he had next addressed his inquiries to Captains Gray
and Ingraham, who arrived at Nootka in July, as already stated,
and who had witnessed the proceedings at that place in 1789, when
the former commanded the Washington, and the latter was f t
mate of the Columbia ; and they, in answer, sent a letter, dated
August 2d, containing a clear and particular statement of all the
circumstances connected with the occupation of Nootka, and the
seizure of the vessels by Martinez. With regard to the particular
points in question, they declare unequivocally that, although they
..'"f I
1792.]
PnOPOSITIONS OF (QUADRA.
243
had been in habits of constant intercourse with Maquinna and his
people for nine months, they had never heard of any purchase of
lands on that coast by British subjects ; and that the only building
seen by them, when they reached the sound in September, 1789,
was a rude hut, made by the Indians, which had been destroyed
long before the arrival of the Spaniards.* These statements were,
in all resj)ects, confirmed by Viana, the Portuguese, who had been
the captain of the Iphigenia in 1788 and 1789, and who was then
witli his vessel at Nootka ; and the Spanish commissioner tliereupon
considered himself authorized to assume that no lands tvcrc to be
restored, and no buildings to be replaced or paid for by Spain.
A communication to this effect, with copies of the letters of Gray
and Ingraham and Viana, was , accordingly, addressed by Quadra
to Vancouver, on the arrival of the latter at Nootka. The Spanish
commissioner, however, at the same time offered, with the view of
removing all causes of disagreement between the two nations, to
surrender to the British the small spot of ground on the shore of
Friendly Cove, which had been temporarii}' occupied by Meares and
his people in 1 788 ; to give up, Tor their use, the houses and cul-
tivated lands of the Spaniards near that place ; and to retire with
all his forces to Port Nunez Gaona, in the Strait of Fuca, (where
an establishment had been begun by Fidalgo,) until the two govern-
ments should determine further on the matter: with the under-
standing, nevertheless, that this cession was not to be considered as
aflbcting the rights of his Catholic majesty to the dominion of the
territory, and that Nootka was to be regurded as the most northern
settlement of the Spaniards, to whom the whole coast lying south
of it, and the adjacent country, was to be acknowledged to belong
exclusively.
Vancouver, on the other hand, hau thought proper to construe
the first article of the convention of 1790 as giving to his country-
men possession of the whole territory surrounding Nootka and Clyo-
qmt; and he therefore refused to receive what was otTered by
Quadra, declaring, with regard to the concluding part of the
Spaniard's proposition, that he was not authorized to enter into any
discussion as to the rights or claims of the respective nations. In
this conviction he was supported by the evidence of Robert Duffin,
the former mate of the Argonaut, who happened to arrive at Nootka
while the negotiation was in progress. This person testified that
* S(>p letter of Gray and Ingraham to Quadra, among the Proofs and Illustrations,
in the latter part of this volume, under the letter D.
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244
DUFFIN S KVIPENCE.
[1792.
he had accompanied Mr. Menros to Nootka in 1788, with his two
vessels, which sailed under Portuguosc colors and under the nnme
of a Portuguese merchant, for the purpose of avoiding certain
heavy duties at Macao, hut were, notwithstanding, " entirely British
property, and wholly navigated by the subjects of his Britanuic
mnjesty '/' that he had himself been present when Mr. Menrcs
purchased " from the two chiefs, Muquinna and Callicum, the whole
of the land that forms Friendly Cove, Nootka Sound, in his Bri-
tannic majesty's name," for some sheets of copper and triflinjr
articles ; that the natives were perfectly satisfied, and, with the
chiefs, did homage to Mr. Meares as sovereign ; that the British ihi:
— noi the Portuguese — was displayed on shore on that occasion;
that Mr. Mearts caused a house to be erected on a convenient spot.
containing three bed-chambers, with a mess-room for the officers
and proper apartments for the men, "surrounded by several out-
houses and sheds for the artificers to work in, all of which he left
in good repair, under the care of Maquinna and Callicum, until ho,
or some of his associates, should return ; that he, Duffin, was not
at Nootka when Martinez arrived there, but he understood no vestige
of the house remained at that tiwe ; and, on his return thither in
July, 1789, he found the Cove occupied by the subjects of his
Catholic majesty, and on the spot on which the house had stood
were the tents and houses of some of the people of the ship
Columbia. U|)on the strength of this testimony, Vancouver pro-
nounced the declarations of Messrs. Gray and Ingraham to be en-
tirely false ; and he takes pains, in several parts of his work, to
animadvert, in severe terms, on what he is pleased to call " the
wilful misrepresentations of the Americans, to the prejudice of
British subjects,"
On the points to which Duffin's statement relates, it is unneces-
sary to add any thing to what has been already said. The evidcnn
is presented to us by Vancouver, in the form of an abstract, of the
correctness of which, as well as of the candor of that officer, we
may be enabled to form an estimate, by comparing his abstract of
the letter from Gray and Ingraham to Quadra, with the letter itself.
It will be thus seen, that the British commander has, most unfairly,
garbled the testimony of the American traders, by suppressing or
altering every part of it which could tend to place his countrymen,
or their cause, in an unfavorable light, or to excuse the conduct of
the Spaniards towards them. His bitterness towards the citizens
of the United States, on this occasion, may, perhaps, be attributed
tn, the whole
1792.]
NEGOTIATION SUSPENDbU.
245
to thu circumstance, that, on his arrival ut Nuotka, he learned the
complete success >f Gray in fuuling u large river, and a secure
Imrbor, on a coast which he hud himself explored in vain with the
same objects.
The correspondence between the two commissioners was con-
tinued for some weeks, at the end of whi( li, finding it impossible
to efl'ect any detinitivc arrangement, they agreed to submit the
matter, with all the additional evidence oLtuined by both parties, to
their respective governments, and to await further orders ; Nootka
being, in the mean time, considered a Spanish port.'"' Vancouver,
• The preceding ski-tch of the negotiation between Vancouver and Quadra is
derived from tlie JournaU of Vancouver, tJaliano and Valdes, and Iiigraliani. The
following nummary account of the business, extracted from Iiij^raiiam's Journal, was
drawn up, at hit) request, by Mr. Uowel, the supercargo of the American brig Mar-
gart't, who acted as translator for Quadra, and saw tlio whole of tie correspondence.
"Tiie indefinite mode of expression adopted by Messrs. Fitzherbert and Florida
Blanca did not atlix any boundarit>s to the cession expected by (.ireat Britain : what
the buildings were, or what was the extent of the tract of land to be restored, the
pli'iiipotentiaries did not think proper to determine. Don Juan Francisco, having
no better guide, collected the best t^videii''!' he could procure, and that could enable
him to determine what were the lands and buildings of which the British subjects
were dispossessed, and which the tenor of the first article of the convention alone
aiilliorized him to restore. The result of this investigation, in which he was much
aided by your communication, supported by tin? unifi)rm declarations of Maquinna
and his tribe, sulfu^iently evinced that tin? tract was a small corner of Friendly Cove,
and, to use the words of Captain Vancouver, little more than a hundred yards in ex-
tent any way; and the buildings, according to your information, dwindled to one
lint. Senor Quadra, having ascertained the limits usually occupied by Mr. Meares,
or hia servants, was ever n'ady to deliver it, in behalf of his Catholic majesty, to any
envoy tirom the British court. Cui>tain Vancouver arrived at Nootka Sound in the
latter end of .•\ugU9t; and tiei'ior Quadra wrote to him on the subject of their re-
spective orders, and enclosed your letter, together with one from a Captain Viana, a
I'lirtiiguese, who passed as captain of the Iphigenia, when she was detained by the
Spaniards, Don Juan Francisco, in his letter, avowed his readiness to put Captain
Vancouver in possession of the tract of land where Mr. Meares's house once stood,
which alone could be that ceded to (Ireat Britain by the convention. Senor Quadra
ntlered, likewise, to leave for his accommodation all the houses, gardens, &c., which
h^d beer, made at the expense of his Catholic majesty, as ho intended leaving the
port inmiediately. In the same letter, he tendered Captain Vancouver offers of
every service and assistance which hospitality or benevolence could dictate. Cap-
tain Vancouver, in reply, gratefully acknowledged the intended favors, but entirely
dissented from the boundaries affixed by Senor Quadra to the tract of land, of which
he was to receive the possession and property ; and, in pursuance of his directions,
interpreted the first article as a cession of this port, viz., Js'ootka Sound, in tola, to-
grtlier with Clyoquot, or Port Cox. He disclaimed all retrospective discussion of the
rights, pretensions, «&c., of the two courts, and also of the actual possessions of British
subjects in Nootka Sound, deeming it irrek vant to the business he was authorized
to transact, and only to be settled by the respective monarchs. The letters which
followed on both sides were merely a reiteration of the foregomg proposals and
demands. Senor Quadra invited to a discussion of the boundaries, &c., and sup-
» •<•
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346
SURVEY or BULriNCII S IIARUOn.
(17!)^'.
<i I:
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nccordingly, despatched Lieutenant Mudge, by way of Cliina, to
Mngland, with conununications for hin government ; and he tlicn
prepared for his own departure towards the south, being resolved to
examine the Cohnnbia River and Bulfmch's Harbor, of whi(!li he
had received from Uuadra copies of the charts given to that ollictr
by Gray.
Vancouver sailed from Nootka, with his three vessels, on the l.'jth
of October, and, on the 18th, he was opposite Rulfinrh's Hurlmr.
to examine which he detached, Lieutenant Whidbey, in the Dudn-
lus, while he himself proceded with the other vessels to the tnoiith
of the Columbia. Into that river IJroughton penetrated, in tin;
Chatham, on the iiOth : the Discovery was unable to pass the itar
at the mouth ; and Vancouver, being persuaded that the stream was
inaccessible to large ships, <' except in very line weather, wjih
moderate winds, and a smooth sea," sailed to the Bay of Sun
Francisco, where he had ordered the other oflicers to join him in
case of separation. In December following, the whole scjuadron
was reunited at JNIonterey, where Whidbey and Broughton pre-
sented the reports of their observations.
Whidbcy's account of Bulfmcirs Harbor was less favorable than
Gray's; from both, however, it appears that the place possesses
advantages which must render it important, whenever the surrouiid-
ing region becomes settled. It atl'ords a safe retreat for stmill
vessels, and there are several spots on its shore where boats may
land without dilHculty : n)oreover, it is the oidy harbor on the coast,
between Cape Mendocino and the Strait of Fuca, except the mouth
of the Columbia ; and, under such circumstances, labor and in<;e.
nuily will certainly be employed to correct and improve what nature
has ort'ered. Upon the strength of this survey, the place has b( eii
frequently distinguished on British, and even on American maps,
as IVIndbci/s Harbor, although Vancouver himself has not |)re-
tcnded to withhold from Gray the merit of discovering it.
Broughton. as before mentioned, entered the Columbia with the
K y
m
portod liis Pvidf nro witli woll-proundrd ronsoning; yrt Captain Vancouver steadily
adliiTt'd to tlie (Iciiiands lie tirnt made, and refused every kind of diHCUssion. 'I'lu'
definitive letter from Senor Quadra was transmitted on tlie ir>tli of September; liut,
it beinij of the same nature with the preceding ones, Captain V^aneouvt'r only rr-
plied by a repetition of his former avowal, and informing the Spanish conunnndaiit
that ho could receive, on tlie part of his master, the Aing of ilritain, no other terri-
tories than those he had pointed out in his other letters, wiih which if Sefior Qiuidra
did not comply, he must retain them for his Catholic majesty, until the respective
courts should determine what further proceedings they might deem necessary."
r
1 ■!'
noi.i
imoUUilTON SLUVKY3 TUB CULUMUIA IIIVKU.
217
Chathnm, on the 20th of October ; and ho there, to his surprise,
found lying at anchor the brig Jenny, from Bristol, which hod siiilcd
from Nootka Sound a few days previous. Scarcely had tlie Chat-
lianj cllected an entrance ere she ran aground ; and the channel
proved to bo so intricate, that Broughton determined to leave her
about four miles from the mouth, and to proceed up the stream in
his <;utter. A short account of his survey will bo sufficient, as it
would bo unnecessary to present an abridgment of the long and
minute description given in the journal of Vancouver.
The portion of the Columbia near the sea was found by Brough-
tou to be about seven miles in width ; its depth varied from two
fiitlioms to eight, and it was crossed in every direction by shoals,
which must always render the navigation difficult, even by small
vessels. Higher up, the stream become narrower, and, at the
(iistancc of twenty-five miles from its mouth, its breadth did not
oxcccd a thousan<l yards. These circumstances were considered by
Broughton and Vancouver as authorizing them to assume that the
true entrance of the river teas at the last-mentioned yoint, and that
the waters between it and the ocean constituted an inlet or sound.*
From the extremity of this inlet, the party rowed eighty miles up
the river, in a south-west course, to a bend, where, the current
hciiig so ra|)id as to prevent them from advancing without great
liibor, they abandoned the survey, and returned to their vessel.
The angle of land around which the river flowed, and where their
proijross was arrested, received the appellation of Poi7it Vancouver ;
the part of the inlet wh«?re the ship Columbia lay at anchor during
her visit, was called Grai/s Bay ; and that immediately within Cape
Disappointment was named Baker's Bay, in compliment to the
captain of the Jenny. On the lOth of November, the Chatham
* " I Bhall conclude tliis nccount of i\w Coluinbia River by a fi-w short remarks
thiit Mr. Hroui^liton made in the course of its survey, in liis own words. ' Tho
(iiscovcry of this river, we were given to understand, is claimed by the Spaniards,
wlio called it Entradu tlr Ctta, after tiie commander of tiie vessel who is said to be its
first discoverer, but who never entered it; he places it in 4(> degrees north latitude,
it is the same opening that Mr. Gray stated to us, in the spring, he had been nine
days off, the former year, but could not get in, in consequence of the outsetting
current ; that, in the course of the late summer, he had, however, entered the river,
or rather the sound, and had named it after the ship he then commanded. The ox-
tent Mr. Gray became acquainted with on that occasion is no further than what I
have called Gray's Bay, not more than fifteen miles from Cape Disappointment,
though, according to Mr. Gray's sketch, it measures thirty-six niiles. By his calcu-
lation, its entrance lies in latitude 46 degrees 10 minutes, longitude 237 degrees 18
minutes, differing materially, in these respects, from our observations.' " — Vancou-
ver, vol. ii. p. 74.
.I|
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348
UNWORTHY CONDUCT OF VANCOUVEH.
[1792.
quitted the Columbia, in company with the Jenny, and arrived at
Port San Francisco before the end of the month.
The distinction '.vhich Vancouver and Broughton have thus en-
deavored to estabhsh between the upper and the lower portions of
the Columbia, is entirely destitute of foundation, and at variance
with the principle's of our whole geographical nomenclature. Inlets
and sounds are arms of the sea, running up into the land ; and their
waters, being supplied from the sea, are necessarily salt : the waters
of the Columbia are, on the contrary, generally fresh and potable
within ten miles of the Pacific ; the volume and the overbearing
force of the current being sufficient to prevent the farther ingress
of the ocean. The question appears, at first, to be oi" no conse-
quence : the following extract from Vancouver's journal will, how-
ever, serve to show that the quibble was devised by the British
navigators, with the unworthy object of depriving Gray of the
merits of his discovery : " Previously to his [Broughton's] depart-
ure, he formally took possession of the river, and the country in its
vicinity, in his Britannic majesty's name, having every reason to
believe that the subjects of no other civilized nation or state had ever
entered this river before. In this opinion he was confirmed by ]\lr.
Gray^s sketch, in which it does not appear that Mr. Gray either saw
or ever loas within five leagues of its cntrance.^^ This unjust view
has been adopted by the British government and writers, and also,
doubtless from inadvertency, by some distinguished authors in the
United States. It may be, indeed, considered fortunate for Gray,
that, by communicating the particulars of his discoveries, as he did,
to <luadra, he secured an unimpeachable witness in support of his
claims ; had he not done so, the world would probably never have
learned that a citizen of the United States was the first to enter the
greatest river flowing from America into the Pacific, and to find the
only safe harbor on the long line of coast between Port San Fran-
cisco and the Strait of Fuca.
At San Francisco and Monterey, Vancouver surveyed the bays,
and examined the Spanish establishments, of which he presents
minute and graphic descriptions in his narrative ; and he obtained
satisfactory evidence that the presidio of San Francisco, ntuated
near the entrance of the bay, in latitude of 37 degrees 48 minutes,
tvas the northernmost spot, on the Pacific coast of America, occupied
by the Spaniards previous to the month of May, 1789, and was, con-
sequently, according to the convention of 1790, the northernmost
spot on that coast over which Spain could exercise exclusive juris-
1793.]
EXECUTION OF MURDERERS AT WOAHOO.
249
diction. At Monterey, the English commander again met and
conferred with the Spanish commissioner Quadra ; and it was
agreed between them, that Lieutenant Broughton should proceed
to Europe, across Mexico, with further communication?, for their
respective courts, on the subject of the arrangement of the ques-
tions at issue. These affairs having been concluded, the Daedalus
was sent to New South Wales ; and Vancouver proceeded, with
the Discovery and Chatham, the latter under Lieutenant Puget, to
the Sandwich Islands, where they arrived in the middle of Feb-
ruary, 1793.
At Owyhee, the English ships were visited by Tamahamaha,
who was, by this time, acknowledged as king of the island
by all the other chiefs except Tamaahmoto, the murderer of the
crew of the Fair American. Vancouver immediately recognized
the authority of Tamahamaha, to which he endeavored, but in vain,
to prevail on the others to submit; he then sailed to Movvee, where
he succeeded in negotiating a peace between Titeree, king of that
island, and the sovereign of Owyhee, and thence to Woahoo, where
he superintended the trial and execution of three natives, who
had been delivered up to him as the murderers of Hergest and
Ciooch. the officers of the Daedalus. The particulars of these
judicial proceedings are detailed with precision by Vancouver, who
seems to have been perfectly content with their regularity and
correctness ; nevertheless, when Broughton visited the island, in
1796, he was assured, as he says, "that the men who were exe-
cuted alongside of the Discovery had not committed the murders,
but were unfortunate beings whom the chief selected to satisfy
Captain Vancouver." * This appears to be certain from subsequent
accounts; and it seems to be somewhat strange, that Vancouver
should not have suspected it to have been the case, at the time of
the trial.
Having performed these acts of diplomacy and justice in the
Sandwich Islands, Vancouver proceeded to the American coasts;
and, after examirting the portion near Cape Mendocino, including
the place called Port Trinidad by the Spaniards, in 1775, so as to
connect his surveys north and south of that portion, he sailed to
Nootka, where he arrived on the '20tl\ of May, 1793. The remain-
der of the warm season was passed by the British navigators in
making a minute and laborious examination of the shores of the
• Journal of a Voyage to the Pacific, from 1793 to 1797, by Captain Robert
Broughton, p. 42.
3-2
■•* 'li
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250 PRETENDED CESSION OF OWYHEE TO GREAT BRITAIN. [1794
continent, and the islands in its vicinity, from the northern entrance
of the Strait of Fuca, near the 5 1 st degree of latitude, northward
as far as the 54th parallel ; tracing to their terminations, as in the
preceding year, all the passages which appeared to run eastward, as
well as many others, which were found to be channels separating
islands <'rom each other or from the main land. Several open-
ings still remained unexplored beyond the 54th parallel ; but the
weather became so stormy at the end of September, that the
survey could no longer be continued with safety or advantage:
Vancouver accordingly returned along the western side of Queen
Charlotte's f»(land to Nootka, and thence took his departure for
Port San Francisco, which he reached on the lOtli of October.
From Port San Francisco the British navigators sailed along the
shores of California — which Vancouver takes care always to call
New Albion — as far south as San Diego, near the 33d degree of
latitude, visiting every important point on their way, and observing
the coasts with great exactness ; and thence, in the middle of De-
cember, they went to Owyhee, where they found that the supremacy
of Tamahamaha was admitted, though with some qualifications, by
the people and the other chiefs. Here Vancouver succeeded in
effecting a reconciliation between the king and Tahowmannoo,
his sultana, (since better known as Kaahumanu.) from whom he
had been for some time separated on account of her open and
repeated infidelities ; and he soon after gave further proof of his
talents as negotiator, in a transaction the particulars of which do
not appear to have been understood in the same light by both
the parties.
The navigator states that a strong disposition had been manifested
by several chiefs, at the time of his first visit, to place their island
under subjection to the British king, but that it had been opposed
by other chiefs, on the ground that they should not surrender
themselves to a superior foreign power, unless they were assured
that they would thus bo really protected against distant and
neighboring enemies. At the time of his second visit, however,
he found the disposition to submit much increased, and, as he says,
" Under a conviction of the importance of these islands to Great
Britain, in ♦he event of an extension of her commerce over the
Pacific Ocean, and in return for the essential services we had
derived from the excellent productions of the country, and wie
ready assistance of its inhabitants, I lost no opportunity for encour-
aging their friendly dispositions toward us, notwithstanding the
1794.] PRETENDED CESSION OF OWYHEE TO GREAT BRITAIN. 251
disappointments they had met from the traders, for whose conduct
I could invent no apology; endeavoring to impress them with the
idea that, on submitting to the authority and protection of a superior
power, they might reasonably expect they would in future be less
liable to such abuses." Acting under these views, he conciliated
Tamahamaha by building for him a small vessel, on which the
0uns taken from the schooner Fair American were mounted ; and,
having induced all the principal chiefs to mf;et him on the shore
near liis ships, it was determined, at the assembly, that Owyhee
should be ceded to his Britannic majesty ; it being, however,
clearly understood, that no interference was to take place in the
reUs;ion, government, and domestic economy, of the island — ''that
Tamahamaha, the chiefs, and priests, ivere to continue, as usual, to
officiate, with the same authority as before, in their respective stations,
and that no alteration in those particulars was in any degree thought
of or intended." So soon as this resolution was announced. Lieu-
tenant Puget, the commander of the Chatham, landed, displayed
the British colors, and took possession of the island in the name of
his sovereign ; after which a salute was fired from the vessels, and a
copper plate was depositfnl in a coiis[)icuous place at the royal resi-
dence, bearing the following inscription : " On the 25th of February,
1794, Tamahamaha, king of Owyhee, in council with the principal
chiefs of the island, assembled on board his Britannic majesty's
sloop Discovery, in Karakakooa Bay, and, in presence of George
Vancouver, commander of the said sloop. Lieutenant Peter Puget,
commander of his said majesty's armed tender the Chatham, and
the other officers of the Discovery, after due consideration, unani-
mously ceded the said island of Owyhee to his Britainiic majesty,
and acknowledged themselves to be subjects of Great Britain."
That Vancouver assumed more than was warranted, in thus
asserting the cession of Owyhee, and the subjection of its chiefs to
Great Britain, is clear ; not only from the subsequent declarations
of the ^hiefs, that they only intended to place themselves under the
protection of that power, but also from the understanding estab-
lished between them and the navigator, that there was to be no
interference in their internal concerns. At farthest, the transaction,
even if ratified by the British government, can only be viewed as
an engagement, on the part of the islanders, not to cede their
country to any other nation, and, on the part of Great Britain, to
secure them against conquest or oppression by any other. Most
probably each of the parties merely desired to obtain for itself as
li'
I'M I
I'l
252
TAMAAHMOTO RECEIVED BY VANCOUVER.
[1794.
^$} '
\:^t
If
'i'^
"1'
■hi,
fi-^:
many advantages as could be derived from the transaction, without
any intention to observe concomitant obligations. Tamahaniaha
expected to receive assistance from Great Britain in conquering the
remaining islands of the group ; and Vancouver wished to prevent
other nations from resorting to Owyhee. It may be added, that
Great Britain has, to this day, been little, if at all, benefited by the
Sandwich Islands ; and that Tamahamaha, thougn he lived and
flourished for twenty-five years after the transaction above men-
tioned, never received a present, or even a message of any kind,
from his brother King George, to whom he, however, occasionally
sent a message by a whaling captain, reminding him that Vancou-
ver's promise of a ship of war had not yet been fulfilled. No such
promise is recorded in the journal of Vancouver ; though it there
appears that the islanders had reason to believe that a vessel of war
would be sent, for their protection, from Great Britain.
Another circumstance connected with this pretended cession of
Owyhee to the British deserves particular notice. The consumma-
tion was delayed for some time, on account of the absence of
Tamaahmoto, or Kamamoko, one of the most powerful chiefs, the
same who, in February, 1790, captured the schooner Fair American,
and murdered her crew, as already stated. Vancouver had, at
first, refused to receive this man, or to have any intercourse with
him ; but when it was found to be indispensable for the cession,
that Tamaahmoto should give his vote in favor of it, the British
commander began " seriously to reflect on all the circumstances
that had attended his visits to the islands ; " and he, in the end,
became " thoroughly convinced that implacable resentment or un-
relenting anger, exhibited ni his own practice, would ill accord
with the precepts which he had endeavored to inculcate for the
regulation of theirs." He therefore " determined, by an act of
oblivion in his own mind, to eflface all former injuries and oftences,"
which he probably found no difficulty in doing, as th(; injuries and
offences were committed against citizens of the United States ; and
he accordingly intimated that he would " no longer regard Tamaah-
moto as undeserving forgiveness, and would allow of his paying the
compliments as he had so repeatedly requested, provided he would
engage, in tiie most solemn manner, that neither himself not his
people (for he generally moved with a numerous train of attendants)
would behave in any manner so as to disturb the subsisting harmony."
On receiving this intimation, Tamaahmoto readily came forward ;
he was admitted to the table of the British commander, and was
1791.] VANCOUVEH COMPLETES THE SURVEY OF THE COAST. 253
one of the seven chiefs who assented to the cession. It is not
necessary to show what inference the natives of tlie Sandwich
Islands might draw from a comparison between the favor tlius
shown to the murderer of citizens of the United States, and the
trial and execution of the persons who were charged with causing
the deaths of the officers of the British vessel at Woahoo.*
Soon after these transactions, the British navigators took their
final leave of the Sandwich Islands, and, returning to the north-west
coasts of America, examined overy port which they had not previ-
ously visited, from the peninsula of Aliaska, eastward and southward,
to Queen Charlotte's Island. They began at Cook's River, and,
having ascertained that no great stream entered that bay, they
changed its name to Cook^s Inlet, which is now most commonly
applied to it. They then proceeded to Prince William's Sound, the
shores of which were completely surveyed ; and thence along the
bases of Mounts St. Elias and Fairwcather, to the great opening
in the coast, near the 58th de:^reo of latitude, which had been called
hy Cook Cross Sound. In Cook's Inlet and Prince William's
Sound, they visited all the Russian establishments, of which Van-
couver presents full and satisfactory accounts; and, having succeeded
ill proving that the j)lace in which Bering anchored on his last
c.vpcdition could be no other than that called Admiralty Bay, at
the foot of Mount St. Elias, on the east, they gave to it the name of
Bcriiii>^\s Bay, and as such it generally apj)ears on English charts :
the Russians call it the liny of Ynkutnt.
Through Cross Sound. Vancouver pas-'^'.fl into a labyrinth of
channels, some among islands, others running far inland, and termi-
nating in the midst of stupendous mountains ; and, having succeeded
in threading nearly all these passages, particularly those taking a
nortiiern or eastern direction, and thus joined his survey with that of
tlie preceding year, he considered his task acconiplislitd. He had
made known the existriioe of an almost infinite nnnil)er of islands,
between the 54th an<i the 58th parallels, in the posilioi. assigned
to the Archipclasro of S(. Lazarus, in the story of Fontc's voyage :
but whilst a part of that story thus seiMued to be confirmed, the
remainder was supposed to be entirely disproved, as no great river
* Tamaahnioto did not, howcvor, s<tuj-,v' ti) dorlarc, two years uftorwarils, that he
would take the first vessel whirh iiiisiiit rome within his reach; and so little etFeet
had tiie e/<'C?/t/«n.s at Woahoo, that (^iplain Brown, ot" tiie British ship BiUterwortli,
was killed, in January, ]7'Xt, liy the natives ol' that island, in an attack which they
made on his vessel vvitli the intention to take her. — See Broughton's account of his
voyage in the Pacific, p. 43.
> |.t>|
■! I
I'^Pr
254
STIKINE RIVER.
[1794.
m-
■ ?■
was found issuing from the continent opposite these islands ; and
Vancouver became well satisfied " that the precision with which
his survey had been conducted would remove every doubt, and set
aside every opinion of a north-west passage, or any water communi-
cation navigable for shipping, between the North Pacific and the
interior of the American continent, within the limit of his re-
searches." Tlie belief thus expressed by the navigator has been
completely confirmed. It must, nevertheless, be admitted that, con-
sidering the intricacies in the coasts between the 48th and the 58th
parallels, many passages, by which vessels could penetrate into the
interior of the continent, might have long escaped the notice of the
most careful observer ; and in evidence of this is the fact, that a
river called t!«e Stikinc* three miles wide at its mouth, and a mile
ulJo thirty miles higher up, has been, since Viiucouver's voyage,
found ontering the arm of the sea named by him Prince Frederick's
Souini, in the latitude of 56 degrees 50 minutes. Vancouver's
iivilure to discover the mouth of the Columbia should have ren-
dered him distrustful of the entire accuracy of his observations in
such cases.
After completing these discoveries, Vancouver took possession of
t!io |>art of the continent extending north-westward of that around
tho Strait of Fuca, which he had named JS'cw Georgia, as far as
the 59lh degree of latitude, and of all the adjacent islands, •• in
the name of his Britannic majesty, his heirs and successors," with
the formalities usutil on such occasions, including a double aUow-
ance of grog to tlie sailors. He also bestowed upon the various
territories, straits, bays, &.c., names derived almost entirely from
the lists of the members of the royal family, the ministry, the Par-
liament, the army and the navy of Great Britain ; the importance
* Viinrouvor inrntioiis Stikrrn as tlic naino of a rnuntry or nation on tlu" c<mti-
nental shun' of Prince Frodrrii'k's Hound ; and lie lioard, from tlie natives fartlior
south, of a place in that sound called hy them ron-vas.i, which word seemed to iiiran
great cliiiiiiiil. The first intiiiintiim of tlic existence of the river \v:us prohahlv cfiu-
nmnicated to the world hy the captain of th(; shi[) Atahiialpa, of Hoston, from wIkim-
journal an extract is puhlished in the Collections of the Rlassachnsctts llis'urir:.'
Society for 1~(I4, p. ti-1'2. Tht ( iptai;; there says, —
" Auifust 'J'lth, l~llli. I had sotiie conversation with <.'ou (a chief of an island near
Q\iten Charlotte's Sound) resju'c^ing the natives who inhahit the country liai:k of
Stikeen : he had his information from Cokshoo, the Stikeen chief » » « (\,n
also informs me that the place called .Xii.ss, or l'(in-niiss (spoken of hy Vancouver) liy
the natives in Chebass Strait, (frince Fre<lerifk's Sound,) is the month of a river iif
very considerahle extent, hut unknown, navijrable for vessels or lariif canoes." Near
this place, the Atahualpa was attacked, in January, Ir'O't, and h -r captain, mate, and
six seamen, were killed ; the others of her crew succeed'jd in escaping with the vessel.
[1794.
1794.]
NAMES OF PLACES ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST.
255
slands; and
with which
lubt, and set
or comniuni-
ific and the
of his re-
or has been
ed that, con-
and the 58th
trate into the
notice of the
c fact, that a
ji, and a mile
iver's voyage,
cc Frederick's
Vancouver's
lid liavo ren-
bservations in
, possession of
oi that around
as far as
•frut
islands, 'in
ccssors," with
double allow-
)n the various
entirely from
istry, the Tiu-
le iinportanco
lion on the ccmti-
lu" natives fartlier
(1 sceuicd to mean
;is probaWy eom-
iston, from whoso
husetts Historical
oi' an island near
. eovintry ha^ k "1
,f * » * ("oil
IliV VaneimvtT) by
lioiith of a river of
lie Cannes.' Nt'ar
piiptain, mate, and
lii<r with the vessel.
of the place thus distinguished being generally in proportion to the
rank of the individual. Thus we find upon his chart of the north-
west archipelago, the large islands or groups of King George the
Third, the Prince of Wales, the Diike of York, and the Admiralty ;
with the smaller ones of Pitt, Hatvlcesbunj, Dundas, and Burke ;
between which are the Duke of Clarence's Strait, Prince Frederick's
Sound, Chatham Canal, Grenville Canal, and Stcphens^s Passage :
a small group, near the 55th parallel, partially surveyed by Caamano,
in 1791, was allowed to retain the name of Revillagigedo Islands,
in honor of the enlightened viceroy of Mexico, The capes, bays,
and smaller points or channels, are distributed among the Windhams,
U'alpoles, and other high families, principally those belonging to
the Tory party ; one little point being, however, vouchsafed to
Charles James Fox. Without questioning the right of the discov-
erer to impose these names, it may be observed, that none of them
will, in all probability, ever be used by the iniiabitants of the region
in which the place so called is situated. The Russians, who occupy
the islands and coasts of the main-land north of the 54th parallel,
riiiorously ex<,'lude from their charts, and from use in every way, the
appellations assigned to places in their dominions by people of other
civilized countries ; and even the British traders, whose posts extend
through the parts of the continent distinguished by Vancouver as
Xcw Georgia, Nvw Hanover, New Cornwall, and I^civ Norfolk,
appear to be entirely ignorant of those names.
Fron\ tlie northern roasts, Van(;ouver, when his labor was ended,
went to Nootka. where he toimd the Spaniards still in possession,
under tlie command of IJrigadier Alava ; Quatlra having died in the
preceding spring, at San Bias. As no informiition had been received
there from Euro[)e respecting the surrender of the territories, the
British commander saih'd to Monterey, where he learned that the
question had Imcu '• adjusted by tlu^ two courts amicably, and nearly
oil tJK! terms which he had repeatedly olVered to Quadra in Sep-
teinher, 171)2 ;" and also •-that the buj-iiiess was not to be carried
into execution by him, as a frish commission had been issued for
the purpose by the court of liondon."' Un<l«'r these circumstances,
he resolved to return immediately t(» Europe; and he accordingly
quitted Monterey on the *2(l of December, 1794. On his way
southward, he examined the Californian coast, though not minutely,
as far as Cape San liUcas, from whicii he took his departure for
Valparaiso, in Chili. After a short stay at that place, he passed
around Cape Horn, and arrived in England in November, 1795 ;
•I'
I
• \ '
■ f
, I'
mi'i
2.j6
END OF THE NOOTKA CONTROVERSY
[1796.
I
■ 5
having? completed, in the most cflectiml manner, the most extensive
nautical survey which had ever been made in one expedition.*
No account has yet transpired of the negotiation betwocMi the
courts of London and Madrid, respecting the extent of territory, and
the Imihlings on the north-west coasts of America, which were to be
restored to British subjects, after the reference of that cjuestion to
them by their conunissioners. Lieutenant Broughton, who had
been despatched to England by Vancouver in 171)3, was thence
sent by the government on this business to Madrid ; and, on his
return to London, he was ordered to proceoi to the North Pacific,
in the sloop Providence, for the purpose of surveying the coasts of
Asia, near Japan, being commissioned, at the same time, to receive
possession of the territories at Nootka, in case the restitution should
not have been previously made. lie accordingly sailed from Enij;-
land for Nootka, where, in April, 1796, he was informed, by letters
left in charge of Maquinna,t " that the Spaniar<ls had delivered up
the port of Nootka, ttc, to Lieutenant Pierce, of the marines,
agreeably to the mode of restitution settled between the two courts,"
* Vancouver's journal and cliarts wero puhlislird at London in ITf"*, bcfori' whirh
period the naviirator had sunk into the grave. Mis journal is a simple recoril of nbsor-
vations and occurrences, written in a plain niid inlelliijible, ti»()U!;r|i homely and un-
pretending style ; and it is entirely tree from tiiose displays of imagination, in tho
shape of long political and philosophical distpiisitions, with which such works ;iro
often overloaded. The ciiarts and vi<'\vs of tlie land are ndmiralily executed, and ilicir
accuracy has lieen since generally confirmed. We are. in fact, indei)te(l to \ ancnuvcr
nnd his oHicers for our knowledge of the outline of the whole western coasts of Amer-
ica, from the peninsula of California to the peninsula of Aliaska ; of which all tiif
principal points have been ascertained with the utmost precision, so that siiccee(liii!r
navigators have only iiad to make corrections in the intermediate s))aces. VancoiiviT
himself was certainly a man of great courage, j)erseverance, and professional skill,
possessing also good temper and irood feelings, except with regard to citizens of iln'
United States, against whom and tiieir country he cherished the most bitter aniiiiositv.
While admitting, with trankness, tlie merits of subjects of other nations, as discoverers
or as men, he did not hesitate to adopt unworthy means to (h^prive the Americans ot"
the rejiutation which thev had justly earui'd i)y their labors in exi)loring, and to blacken
their characters as individuals: tor this object, he niaile use of niisrepresentations,
misstatements, insinuations, and concealments, whenever occasions presented them-
selves; and that which he would have comm(>nded in a Hriton, or excused in a Kns-
siun or a S|>auiard, becami^ criminMl in his eyes when connnitled by a citizen of tiio
hated n>|nil)lic. lie, nevertheless, ap|)ears to have given satisfaction to all with
whom he came personally into communication. Ingraham speaks of him with tlie
utmost res|)ect, and acknowledges his obligations fiir the und'orm kindness of the
British naviirator. In the Sandwich Islands his memory is universally cherisluMl.
He was long expected to n^turn and establish himself there, as a commissioner from
his sovereign ; and he probably would have been admitted among the number of
their gods, if the ship which lie is said to have |)romised to Tumahamalia had ever
Deen sent.
t Journal of a Voyage in the Pacific, by Captain Robert Broughton, p. 50.
1796.]
END OF THR NOOTKA CONTROVERSY.
257
st extensive
lition.*
jetvvein the
^rritory, and
I were to be
(luestion to
I, who had
was thence
and, on his
orth Pacific,
ihc coasts of
le, to receive
lution should
;(1 from Enji-
ed, by letters
delivered up
the marines,
3 two courts,"
rr»j*, before whirli
e record ot" nbsor-
I homely and un-
liiff illation, in the
s\i('h works ;iro
see\ite(l, and lln'ir
iteil to \ aiicouvtr
n coasts of Aniir-
of whicl) all llii-
r> that succecdiiij
ices. VnneoiiviT
professiiiiial skill,
to citizens of ih^'
t hitter aiiiniosity.
ins, asdiscovcnTs
the Anieri('!iiis(it'
(T, and to blacken
isrepresentatiDiis,
presented tlu'iii-
xeiised in n Hus-
)v a citizen of tlio
ction to all with
of liini with tho
II kindness o\' the
■rsally cherishcil.
(imniissioner from
ijT the number of
liamaha had ever
n, p
.50.
in March, 1795, after which the place had been entirely evacuated
by both parties. This is the account given by Broughton in his
journal, which, however, alibrds no information as to the mode of
restitution thus settled. On the other hand, Belsham, an historian
who, noiwithstanding the violence of his prejudices, cannot be sus-
pected of want of attachment to the honor or interests of his country,
and who possessed ample means of ascertaining the fact, writes, in
1805,* '• It is nevertheless certain, from the most authentic subse-
quent information, that the Spanish flag jlying at NootJca was never
struck, and that the territory has been virtually relinquished by
Great Britain." It indeed seems very improbable that the British
govornnient, which had just concluded a treaty of alliance with
Spain, and had induced that power to declare war against France,
when Broughton was sent to the Pacific, should at the same time
have re<juir(>d the surrender of this territory, or that Spain should
have assented to it while she possessed the right, by the contention,
to indemnify the British claimants for all such losses of land or build-
ings, as they could prove to have been sustained by them, since the
month of April, 1789. It is more reasonable to suppose that the
Spaniards merely abandoned the |)lace, the occupation of which was
useless an<l very ex|)ensive.f Since that period, no civilized nation
has ever attempted to form an establishment at Nootka Sound, nor
have the Spaniards occtipied any spot on the Pacific coast of America
north of JNut San Francisco.
in Jtdy, 179(3, Spain, having been unsuccessful in her hostile
operations against the French republic, was obliged to make peace
with that power ; and, in October following, she was likewise obliged
* History of Great Britain, vol. viii. p. 337.
t In the library of Congress, at VVa.sliinijrton, is an interestinfif Spanisli manuscript
presented by (leneral Tornel, durinif liis residence in the Ifnited States as minister
from IVhwico, entitled " Instruccion reservada del lleyno de Nueva I'^spana que el
E.\iiu). Senor N'irrey Conde de Ilevilla^iir«'do dio a su Sucesor el Kxmo. Scnor Mar-
ques de IJraneiforU' en el Ano de 17it4 " — Hirnt Instnirtioiiti rrsprctiiiir the Kinirdom of
.\cw Sjidin, L'ircn, in 17!)4, liij the Vicrroy, Count ih lireiUairiirido, to his Successor, the
Marquis dr Hrnncifortr. Tiiis work, which abounds in curious details relative to the
administration of atVairs in Mexico, lias been carefully e.vnmined with reference to the
objects of the present memoir. Nothing, however, has been collected from it, except
m confirniatiou of statements elsewhere made. The paraijrraphs from 703 to 713, in-
clusive, are devoted to tiie Marine Di/mrtmi nt of Sun lilas, to wliich, as already men-
tioned, the care of the Spanish colonies in California was connnitted. The count
recommends to his successor the maintenance of those colonies, as the best means of
preserving Mexico from foreign influences ; ailvising him, at the same time, liowever,
not to extend the estahlishments beyond the Strait of Fuca. Witii regard to Nootka,
it is merely stated, m paragraph 713, that orders had been sent to the commandant to
abandon tlie place, .agreeably to a royal dictamen.
33
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WAK BETWEEN SPAIN AND ENOLAND.
fl796.
to declare war against her former ally, Great Britain. In the munj.
festo published by the court of Madrid, on the latter occasion, " the
frequent arrival of English vessels on the coasts of Peru and Chili,
to carry on contraband trade, and to reconnoitre those coasts,
under the pretext of the whale fishery, which privilege they claimed
under the Nootka convention," is alleged among the causes of the
rupture. The British government, in its answer, denied '< tlint the
whale fishery by the English, in these parts, was, as asserted, c)« irned
in the convention of Nootka, as then for the first time established,"
insisting that the right was, in that convention, " solemnly recognized
by the court of Madrid, as hav ing always belonged to Great Britain,
and the full and undisturbed exercise of which was guarantied to
his majesty's subjects, in terms so express, and in a transaction so
recent, that ignorance of it cannot be pretended." That Great
Britain did always possess the right to fish in the Pacific and South-
ern Oceans, agreeably to the principles of common justice, is un-
questionable ; but that this right was acknowledged by Spain in
the Nootka convention, or in any other treaty between those powers
previous to 1796, is by no means exact. In the Nootka conven-
tion, all assertions and recognitions of rights are, on the contrary,
avoided ; the whole instrument being, in fact, a series of conces-
sions, limitations, and restrictions, resting entirely on the consent of
both parties, and expiring on the withdrawal of its consent by either.
On this declaration of war by Spain against Britain, the Nootka
convention, with all its stipulations, of whatsoever nature they might
have been, expired, agreeably to the rule universally observed and
enforced among civilized nations, that all treaties are ended b\j war
between the partien. From that moment, Spain might, as before
the convention, claim the exclusive navigation of the Pacific and
Southern Oceans, and the sovereignty of all their American coasts ;
and Great Britain might again assert the right of her subjects to sail
and fish in every open sea, and to settle on every unoccupied coast.*
From the preceding view of the circumstances connected with
the convention of October, 1790, and the occupation of Nootka
Sound by the Spaniards, we are authorized to conclude, —
That no part of " the north-west coasts of the continent of North
America, or of the adjacent islands," had ever been owned or occu-
pied by British subjects, anterior to the establishment of the Spanish
post at Nootka Sound, in May, 1789: Consequently, —
* Further considerationa on this Bubject will be found in the fifteenth chapter of
this History.
1796.]
WAR BETWEEN SPAIN AND ENGLAND.
259
That no " buildings or tracts of land," on those coasts or islands,
were " to bo restored to British subjects," agreeably to the first and
second articles of the convention of October, 1790: And, as a
further consequence, —
' That the abandonment of Nootka Sound by tlie Spaniards in
1795, under whatsoever circumstances it may have been effected,
gave to Great Britain no other rights at that place, than those which
she enjoyed in common with Spain, in every other part of the coasts
nnd islands north of Port San Francisco, by virtue of the third and
dfth articles of the same convention.
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CHAPTER XII.
1788 TO 1810.
Establishment of the North- West Fur Trading Company of Montreal, in 1783 —
Expeditions of Mackenzie to the Arctic Sea and to the Pacific Coast — The Trade
between the North Pacific Coasts of America and Canton conducted almost ex-
clusively by Vessels of the United States from 1796 to 1814 — Establishment of
the Russian American Company — Its Settlements and Factories on the American
Coasts — Expedition of Krusenstern through the North Pacific — Proposition of
the Russian Government to that of the United States, with Regard to the Trade
of the North Pacific.
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Whilst the navigators of various nations were thus completing
the survey of the shores of North- West America, important infor-
mation respecting the interior regions of that section of the conti-
nent was obtained by the agents of an association formed at
Montreal, in 1734, for the prosecution of the fur trade in the Indian
territories, which were supposed to be beyond the jurisdiction of
the Hudson's Bay Company.
Before Canada came into the possession of Great Britain, a large,
if not the greater, portion of the furs sent from America by the
subjects of that power was shipped from New York. After that
period, Montreal became the principal seat of the trade ; and dis-
putes immediately arose between the Hudson's Bay Company, which
claimed the whole division of America drained by streams falling
into that sea, and the Canadians, who pursued their trade in the
southern and western parts of that territory. These disputes, with
which the British government did not, from policy, choose to inter-
fere, were injurious to the interests of both parties ; and, the Indian
countries north of Lake Superior having been, about the same
time, almost depopulated by the smallpox, the trade was confined,
for some years, to the environs of Hudson's Bay, the lower lakes,
and the St. Lawrence, where the animals were less numerous, and
their furs inferior in quality.
At length, about the year 1775, some enterprising merchants of
Montreal penetrated into the countries, far north-west of Lake
Superior, drained by the Saskatchawine and Athabasca Rivers,
1784.]
NORTH-WEST COMPANY FORMED.
261
which had long before been frequented by the French ; and their
success in trade was such as to induce others to make similar ex-
peditions. The Canadians were, however, exposed, on their way,
to great difficulties and annoyances from the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, with which they were unable separately to contend; and
they, in consequence, in the year 1784, united their interests, and
assumed for their association the title of the North' West Company
of Montreal. Other associations were afterwards formed, under
different names ; but they were soon either dissolved or united with
the North- West Company.
The organization of this new company was such, as to insure the
utmost regularity and devotion to the interests of the concern,
among all who were engaged in its service. The number of the
shares was at first sixteen ; it was afterwards increased to twenty,
and then to forty : a certain proportion of them was held by the
agents, residing in Montreal, who furnished the capital ; the remain-
der being distributed among the proprietors, or partners, who super-
intended the business in the forts or posts in the interior, and the
clerks, who traded directly with the Indians. The clerks were
young men, for the most part natives of Scotland, who entered the
service of the company for five or seven years ; and, at the end of
that time, or even earlier, if they conducted themselves well, they
were admitted as proprietors. The inferior servants of the com-
pany were guides, interpreters, and voyageurs, the latter being
employed as porters on land, and as boatmen on the water, all of
whom were bound to the interests of the body by hopes of advance-
ment in station or in pay, and of pensions in their old age.
The agents imported from England the goods required for the
trade, had them packed into bundles of about ninety pounds
weight each, and despatched them to the different posts ; and they
received the furs in packs of the same size, and conducted the
shipment and sale of them. The furs, as also the articles for the
trade and use of the persons employed, were transported through
the continent principally in canoes, for which the Ottowa River,
Lakes Huron and Superior, and the other innumerable lakes, and
the streams connecting them farther north-west, offered great fa-
cilities ; the portage between the navigable waters on the lines of
the route being effected by the voyageurs, who carried the bundles,
and sometimes, also, the canoes, across the intervening tracts of
land. In this manner the goods and furs passed one, two, and even
three, thousand miles between the agent at Montreal and the pro-
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EXPEDITION TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
[1788.
prietor at the trading-post ; and nearly four years elapsed between
the period of ordering the goods in Canada, and that at which the
furs could be sold in London.
Before the formation of the North- West Company, the farther-
most trading establishment of British subjects was one on the
Athabasca or Elk River, about twelve hundred miles north-west of
Lake Superior, which had been founded by Messrs. Frobisher and
Pond, in 1778 ; and this continued to be the principal post in that
part of the continent for ten years, when it was abandoned, and
another, called Fort Chipewyan, was established on the south-west
side of the Athabasca Lake, or Lake of the Hills, into which
the Elk River discharges its waters. In the mean time, several
large parties had been sent, for the purposes of trade and discovery,
from Canada towards the west, one of which, consisting of about
a hundred men, penetrated to the foot of the great dividing chain
then called the Shining Mountains, or Mountains of Bright Stones,
and now commonly known as the Rocky Mountains ; * but they were
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* Of this expedition an account appeared in a letter written at Pittsburg, in 1791,
by an officer of General St. Clair's army, and published in the Collections of the
Massachusetts Historical Society for 1794. The writer, whose name is not given,
received his information from a Mr. M , who had, as he said, commanded tlie
party in question. The following extracts will show the principal circumstances
connected with the expedition, and among them will be found nothing which siiould
induce us to doubt the truth of the account : —
" Mr. M. stated that he had, about five years ago, departed from Montreal, with
a company of about one hundred men, fc ' the purpose of making a tour through the
Indian countries, to collect furs, and to make remarks, &c. He pursued his route
from Montreal, and entered the Indian country, and coasted about three hundred
leagues along the banks of Lake Superior, whence he made his way to the Lake of
the Woods, of which he took an accurate survey, and found it to be thirty-six leagues
in length, and thence to Lake Ounipique, [Winnipeg,] of which he also gives a
description. The tribes of Indians through which he passed were called the Mus-
kego, Shipewyan, Cithnistinee, Great-belly, Beaver, Blood, Black-feet, Snalie,
Ossnobian, Shiveyton, Mandon, Paunee, and several others, &c. In pursuing his
route, he found no difiiculty in obtaining a guide to accompany Iiim from one nation
to another, until he reached the foot of the Shining Mountains, or Mountains of Bright
Stones, where, in attempting to pass, he was frustrated by the hostile appearance of
the Indians who inhabit that part of the country ; the consequence of which was,
that he was disappointed in his intention, and obliged to turn his back upon them.
Having collected a number of Indians, he went forward again, with an intention to
force his way over these mountains, if necessary and practicable, and to reach Cooii's
River, on the north-west coast of America, supposed by him to be about three
hundred leagues from the mountains ; but the inhabitants of the mountains again met
him with their bows and arrows, and so superior were they in numbers to his little
forces, that he was obliged to flee before them. Cold weather coming on, he built
hutfl for himself and party in the Ossnobian [Assinaboin] country, and near to the
source of a large river called the Ossnobian River, where they tanied during the
cold season, and until some time in the warm months."
» ,.(•'
1789.]
MACKENZIE REACHES THE ARCTIC SEA.
263
unable to proceed farther, in consequence of the hostile dispositions
of the natives.
Between 1788 and 1794, two other expeditions were made from
Fort Chipewyan by Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, the superintending
proprietor at that place, of which a particular account should be
here given, as the geographical information obtained in them was
highly interesting, and led to important commercial and political
results.*
The Athabasca Lake is a basin about two hundred miles in
length from east to west, and about thirteen in average breadth, sit-
uated under the 59th parallel of latitude, midway between the
Pacific Ocean and Hudson's Bay. It is supplied by several streams,
of which the principal are the Athabasca or Elk River, flowing from
the south, and the Unjigah or Peace River, from the Rocky Moun-
tains, on the west ; and its waters are discharged through the Slave
River, running about two hundred miles north, into the Great Slave
Lake, discovered by Hearne in 1771. All these rivers join the
Athabasca Lake at its south-west end, near which Fort Chipewyan
was then situated.
Mackenzie's first expedition was made in 1789, and its principal
object was to ascertain the course of the waters from the Great Slave
Lake to the sea, which Hearne had left undetermined. For this
purpose, he left Fort Chipewyan, with his party, in bark canoes, on
the 3d of June, 1789, and, passing down the Slave River into the
Great Slave Lake, he discovered a large stream flowing out of the
latter basin, at its north-west extremity, to which he gave the name
of Mackenzie River ; and this stream he descended about nine
hundred miles, in a north-west direction, along the base of a chain
of mountains, to its termination in the sea. On his return, he
examined the country east of his great river, which had been
traversed by Hearne, and arrived at Fort Chipewyan on the 12th
of September, after an absence of nearly throe months.
The mouth of the Mackenzie was supposed by its discoverer to
be situated near the 69th degree of latitude, and about 25 degrees
of longitude, or five hundred miles, west of the mouth of Hearne's
Coppermine River, which is not far from its t.ae position.! Still
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North America, to the Frozen and the Pacific Oce&ns, in 1789 and 1793, with a pre-
liminary Account of the Fur Trade of that Country ; by Sir Alexander Mackenzie.
London, 1801.
t Its principal mouth is in latitude GD**, longitude ISO" west from Greenwich.
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264
MACKENZIE S JOURNEY TO THE PACIFIC.
[1792.
farther west must, of course, be situated any passage or sea con-
necting the Pacific with the part of the ocean into which both those
rivers were supposed to empty ; and the existence of any such
passage east of Bering's Strait became, in consequence, much less
probable.
In his second expedition, Mackenzie quitted Fort Chipewyan on
the 10th of October, 1792, and ascended the Unjigah or Peace
River, from the Athabasca Lake, with much difficulty, to the foot
of the Rocky Mountains, where he spent the winter in camp. In
June of the following year, he resumed his voyage up the same
stream, which he traced, in a south-west direction, through the
mountains, to its springs, near the 54th degree of latitude, distant
more than nine hundred miles from its mouth. Within half a mile
of one of these springs, he embarked on another stream, called by the
natives Tacoutchee-Tessee, down which he floated in canoes about
two hundred and fifty miles ; then, leaving the river, he proceeded
westward about two hundred miles over land, and, on the 23d of
July, 1793, he reached the Pacific Ocean, at the mouth of an inlet.
in the latitude of 52 degrees 20 minutes, which had, a few weeks
previous, been surveyed by Vancouver, and been named the Cascade
CanaL Having thus accomplished a passage across the American
continent at its widest part, he retraced his steps to Fort Chipewyan,
where he arrived on the 24th of August.
By this expedition, Mackenzie ascertained beyond all doubt the
fact of the extension of the American continent, on the Pacific
Ocean, undivided by any water passage, as far north as the latitude
of 52 degrees 20 minutes ; which fact was, about the same time,
rendered nearly, though not absolutely, certain by the examinations
of Vancouver. The River Tacoutchee-Tessee was supposed to be
the upper part of the Columbia, until 1812, when it was traced to
its mouth, in the Strait of Fuca, near the 49th degree of latitude;
and since that time it has been called Fraser's River.
The discoveries of Mackenzie, taken in conjunction with the re-
sults of Vancouver's surveys, strengthened the conclusion, at which
Cook had arrived, that the American continent extended uninter-
ruptedly north-westward to Bering's Strait; and Mackenzie him-
self conceived, though certainly without sufficient grounds, that he
had clearly determined in the negative the long-agitated question
as to the practicability of a voyage from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
around the northern shores of America. For the advancement of
British interests in the North Pacific, he recommended that the
1792.]
JOURNKYS OV I'IDLER AND THUUEAU.
265
Hudson's Bay and the North-West Companies, which had been
opposed to each other ever since the formation of the latter, should
be united ; that the British government should favor the establish-
ment of commercial communications across North America, for
which the rivers and lakes in the portion claimed by him for that
power afforded unrivalled facilities ; and that the East India Com-
pany should throw open to their fellow-subjects the direct trade
between the north-west coasts of America and China, which was
then, he says, " left to the adventurers of the United States, acting
without regularity or capital, or the desire of conciliating future
confidence, and looking only to the interest of the moment."
These recommendations were not thrown away, but were nearly all
adopted by those to whom they were addressed ; and the result has
been, the extension of British commerce and dominion throughout
the whole northern section of America.
Whilst Mackenzie was engaged in his journey to the Pacific
coast, Mr. Fidler, a clerk in the service of the North-West Company,
made an expedition from Fort Buckingham, a trading-post on the
Saskatchawine River, south-westward, to the foot of the Rocky
Mountains,* along which he seems to have travelled, through the
regions drained by the head-waters of the Missouri. About the
same time, several trading voyages were made up the Missouri by
the French and Spaniards of St. Louis ; particularly by the mem-
bers of a company formed at that place by a Scotchman named
Todd, under the special protection of the Spanish government, the
object of which was to monopolize the whole trade of the interior
and western portions of the continent.f
The trade of the citizens of the United States with the Indians
in the central portion of the continent was much restricted, for
many years after the establishment of the independence of the
republic, in consequence of the possession of Louisiana by the
Spaniards, and the retention by the British of several important
posts south of the great lakes, within the territory acknowledged as
• On Arrowstnith's "JMiip of all the new Discoveries in Korth America" published
at London in 1795, several streams are represented, on the authority of Mr. Fidler,
OS flowing from the Rocky Mountains on both sides j but none corresponding with
them in course or position have been since found.
t The journal of one of these voyages, made by M. Trudeau, in 1794, has been
preserved in the archives of the Department of State at Washington ; it is, however,
devoted chiefly to the numbers, manners, customs, religion, &c., of the natives on
the banks of the Missouri, particularly of the Arickaras, inhabiting the country
under the 46th parallel of latitude.
34
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266
AMERICAN COMMERCE IN THE PACIFIC. [179G — I8I4,
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belonging to the Union, by the treaty of 1783. At length, by the
treaty of November 19, 1794, between Great Britain and the
United States, it was agreed that these posts should be given up
to the Americans, and that the people of both nations, and the
Indians " dwelling on either side of the boundary line, should have
liberty freely to pass and repass, by land or inland navigation, into
the respective territories of the two parties, on the continent of
America, (the country within the limits of the Hudson's Bay onlv
excepted,) and to navigate all the lakes, rivers, and waters thereof,
and freely to carry on trade with each other." The surrender of
these posts, especially of Detroit and Michilimackinac, was vcrv
inconvenient to the North-West Company, whilst the trade of the
Americans with the central regions was thereby increased ; and
large quantities of furs were annually transported to the Atlantic
cities, principally to New York, from which place they were dis-
tributed throughout the United States, or shipped for London or
Canton.
On the North Pacific, the direct trade between the American
coasts and China remained, from 1796 to 1814, almost entirely, as
Mackenzie said, in the hands of the citizens of the United States;
the British merchants were restrained from engaging in it by the
opposition of their East India Company ; the Russians were not
admitted into Chinese ports ; and few ships of any other nation
were seen in that part of the ocean. That these American
"adventurers acted without regularity or capital, or the desire of
conciliating future confidence, and looking only to the interest of tk
moment," was also, to a certain extent, true ; though the facts can
scarcely be considered discreditable to them, as Mackenzie insinu-
ated, even supposing their operations to have been conducted in
the manner represented by a British writer, whose hostility to th
United States and their citizens was even more violent than that of
Vancouver.
"These adventurers," says the writer above mentioned,* "set
out on the voyage with a few trinkets of very little value. In the
Southern Pacific, they pick up some seal-skins, and perhaps a few
butts of oil ; at the Gallipagos, they lay in turtle, of which they
!•*!
* Review of "A Voyage around the World, from 1806 to 1812, by Archibald
Campbell," in the London Quarterly Review for October, 1816, written in a spirit of
the most deadly hatred towards the United States, and filled with assertions most
impudently false.
MM. f^
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]795 — 1814.] AMERICAN COMMERCE IN THE PACIFIC.
267
preserve the shells ; at Valparaiso, they raise a few dollars in ex-
change for European articles ; at Nootka, and other parts of the
north-west coasts, they traffic with the natives for furs, which, when
winter commences, they carry to the Sandwich Islands, to dry and
preserve from vermin ; here they leave their own people to take
care of them, and, in the spring, embark, in lieu, the natives
of the islands, to assist in navigating to the north-west coast, in
search of more skins. The remainder of the cargo is then made
up of sandal, which grows abundantly in the woods of Atooi and
Owyhee, of tortoise shells, sharks' iins, and pearls of an inferior
kind, [meaning, probably, mother-of-pearl shells,] all of which are
acceptable in the China market ; and with these and their dollars
they purchase cargoes of tea, silks, and nankins, and thus complete
their voyage in the course of two or three years."
This account appears to be, in most respects, correct, with regard
to many of the American vessels engaged in the Pacific trade at the
period to which it relates; and it serves only to prove the industry,
energy, courage, and skill, of those who embarked in such difficult
and perilous enterprises, and conducted them so successfully. It
would, however, be easy to show, from custom-house returns and
other authentic evidence, that the greater number of the vessels sent
from the United States to the north-west coasts were fine ships
or brigs, laden with valuable cargoes of West India productions,
British manufactured articles, and French, Italian, and Spanish
wines and spirits ; and that the owners were men of large capital
and high reputation in the commercial world, some of whom were
able to compete with the British companies, and even occasionally
to control their movements.
The American traders in the Pacific have also been accused, by
British writers, of practising every species of fraud and violence in
their dealings with the natives of the coasts of that sea : yet the
acts cited in support of these general accusations arc only such as
have been, and ever will be, committed by people of civilized
nations, — and by none more frequently than the British, — when
unrestrained by laws, in their intercourse with ignorant, brutal, and
treacherous savages, always ready to rob or murder upon the
slightest prospect of gain, or in revenge for the slightest affront.
Seldom did an American ship complete a voyage through the
Pacific without the loss of some of her men, by the treachery or
the ferocity of the natives of the coasts which she visited ; and
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AMERICAN COMMrKCE IN THR PACiriC. [1796 — IS]/].
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several instances have occurred of the st :uro of such vessels, and
the massacre of their whole crews, in this manner.'**'
All the islands in the Pacific, and every part of the north>wc8t
coasts of America, were visited by the vessels of the United Staffs
in the course of these voyages. Their principal places of resort
were the Sandwich Islands, where they obtained fresh provisions,
and occasionally seamen from among the natives ; and the month
of the Columbia, Nootka Sound, and Queen Charlotte's Island, In
which they traded with the Indians for furs. They occasionally
touched at the ports of California, where they were, however, viewprj
with great distrust by the Spanish authorities ; and they generally
made the tour of the Russian settlements, which derived from the
Americans, in this way, the greater part of their supplies of European
manufactures, ammunition, sugar, wines, and spirits, in exchange for
peltries. The furs were, as before, sold in Canton, at prices not
high, though sufficient to encourage a moderate importation ; but
they seldom formed the whole cargo of the vessels arriving there,
the remainder being composed of sandal-wood, and pearl and tor-
toise shells.
The Sandwich Islands fell in succession under the authority of
Tamahamaha, who displayed admirable sagacity in his mode of
conducting the government, amid all the dangers and difficulties
arising from internal opposition and the constant presence of stran-
gers of various nations. Like the present pacha of Egypt, he was
not only the political chief, but also the chief merchant of his
territories : in his minor commercial operations he was generally
\m K
* In 1805, the ship Atahualpa, of Rhode Island, was attacked by tne savagps in
Millbank Sound, and her captain, mate, and six seamen, were killed ; after which
the other seamen succeeded in repelling the assailants and saving the vessel. In
March, 1803, the ship Boston, of Boston, while lying at Nootka Sound, was attacked
by Maquinna and his followers, who obtained possession of her, and put to death all
on board, with the exception of two men, who, after remaining in slavery four
years, effected their escape. In the same manner, the ship Tonquin was, in June,
1811, seized by the natives, at the entrance of the Strait of Fuca, and her whole crew
murdered in a moment, as will be hereafter more particularly related ; and other
instances of a similar nature might be cited.
The account of the capture of the Boston, by John R. Jcwitt, the armorer of tiie
ship, contains many curious details respecting the country around Nootka Sound,
and its inhabitants, as observed by the author during his residence there, from
lc03 to 1807. This little work has been frequently reprinted, and, though seldom
found in libraries, is much read by boys and seamen in the United States. It prescnU
tlie last notices which have been found on record of Maquinna, for whom Jewitt
appears to have entertained a great admiration.
>'
1799.]
RUSSIAN AHUIIICAN COMPANY t:i>TAULlSllED.
269
successful ; but when he ventured to extend the scale of his specu-
lations, by sending vessels Inden with sandal-wood to Canton, he
was, as ho asserted, always cheated by those to whom ho committed
the management of the business.
In California, tho Franciscan missionaries were proceeding
steadily in their course, and the number of their convorts was
daily increasing. The government appears to have been liberal in
the appropriation of funds for their use ; but, in Spanish America, a
long time always elapsed between the issue of an order for supplies
and their delivery, and a large proportion of the amount originally
ordered was generally subtracted before it reached those for whose
use it was designed. Soldiers, whose terms had expired, were also,
in some cases, allowed to remain in the country ; and the com-
mandants permitted a little contraband trade with the Americans,
who introduced manufactured articles in return for hidas.
In the mean time, the Russians of Northern Asia, though ex-
cluded from the ports of China, continued their commerce with
that empire, as also with Europe, as formerly, by means of caravans
passing over land ; the communications being conducted principally
by a company established at Irkutsk, the great mart of that part of
the world. The fur trade of the northernmost coasts of the Pacific
was monopolized by the association, formed in 1781, under the
direction of Schelikof and GoUikof, which was protected by the
empress Catharine, and endowed with many important privileges.
After the death of Catharine, in 1794, her son and successor, Paul,
at first determined to put an end to the association, on account of
the alleged cruelty of its agents towards the natives of the American
coasts : he was, however, induced to change his resolution ; and, a
union having been effected, in 1798, between the two companies
above mentioned, a decree was issued, on the 8th of July of the
following year, conceding to them, under the title of the Russian
American Company, th j entire use and control, for twenty years, of
all the coasts of America on the Pacific, from the 55th degree of
north latitude to Bering's Strait, together with the adjacent islands,
including the Kurile and the Aleutian groups, all of which were
claimed as having been discovered by Russians. The company
was also authorized to explore, and bring under subjection to the
imperial crown, any other territories in America not previously
attached to the dominions of some civilized nation ; with the
express provision that the natives of all these countries should
be treated with kindness, and, if possible, be converted to the
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270
RUSSIAN ESTABLISHMENTS IN AMERICA.
11800.
Greek Catholic ihitli. These privileges wore confirmed and in.
creased by the emperor Al<;xander, whoso chief minister of Htnte
Count RoinanzofT, was u zealous promoter of all that could tend to
advance the |X)wor and interests of Russia in the Pacific ; and the
company still enjoys the favor of the government, its charter having
been renewed by successive decrees in 18'21 and 1839.
Under these advantageous circumstances, combined with great
skill and energy in the management of its atlairs, and aided by the
constant increase of facilities for communication throughout the
empire, the Russian American Company prospered ; and its cstab.
lishments soon extended over the whole of the Aleutian Archipelago,
and thence eastward along the coast and islands of the Amoricnn
continent, to the distance of more than a thousand miles. In 180.3,
the most eastern of these establishments was on Norfolk Sound, the
Port Guadelupe of the Spaniards, near the 5(>th degree of latitude,
at the southern entrance of the passage which separates Mount
San Jacinto or Edgecumb from the largest island of King George
III.'s Archipelago. This settlement, founded in 1799, was de-
stroyed, in 1803, by the natives of the country, with the assistance,
as it is said, of some seamen who had deserted from an American
vessel; but another was formed there in 1805, which received the
name of New Archangel of Sitca, and has ever since been the
capital of Russian America. The other principal establishments
of the company were in Unalashka and Kodiak, and on the shores
of Cook's Inlet, Prince William's Sound, and Admiralty or Bering's
Bay. In 1806, preparations were made for occupying the mouth
of the Columbia River ; but the plan was abandoned, although that
spot, and the whole region north of it, was then, and for some time
after continued to be, represented, on the maps published by the
company, as within the limits of its rightful possessions.
The population of each of these establishments consisted princi-
pally of natives of America, brought by the Russians from other and
distant parts of the coast ; between whom and the people of the
surrounding country there were no ties of kindred or language,
and there could be little community of feelings or interests. The
Aleutian Islands and Kodiak furnished the greater number of these
forced emigrants, and also a large proportion of the crews of the
vessels employed in the service of the company. The Russians
were enlisted in Kamtchatka and Siberia, for a term of years;
they entered as Promuschleniks, or adventurers, and were employed,
according to the will of their superiors, as soldiers, sailors, hunters,
1806.]
aOVGRNMKNT 01' RUSSIAN AMEHICA.
971
tishcrincn, or mechanics ; in the best of which sitimtions their lot
wafl more wretched than timt of any other cIqhs of human ltein^s
within the pale of civilization, or, indeed, of any other class of per-
sons whatsoever, except the natives of the American coasts, whom
they assisted in keeping under subjection. Under such circum-
stances, it will be easily believed that *< none but vagabonds and
adventurers ever entered the company's service as Promuschleniks ; "
that " it was their invariable destiny to pass a life of wretcher ^ess
in America ; " that « few had the good fortune ever to touch Rus-
mn ground again, and very few to attain the object of their wishes
hy returning to Europe." *
The government of Russian America was arranged on a plan
even more despotic than that of the other parts of the empire.
The general 8U|)erintendence of the affairs of the company was in
the hands of a Directory, residing at St. Petersburg, by which all
the regulations and appointments were made, and all questions
were decided, with the approval, however, of the imperial depart-
ment of commerce. All the territories belonging to the company,
and all persons and things in them, were placed under the control
of a chief agent or governor, residing at Kodiak or Sitca, from
whose orders there was no appeal, except to the Directory : in like
manner, each district or group of settlements was ruled by an
inferior agent, accountable directly to the governor-general ; and
each factory or settlement was commanded by an overseer, chosen
from among the Promuschleniks, who possessed the right to pun-
ish, to a certain extent, those within the circle or his authority.
The regulations for the government of these territories were,
like those of the Spanish Council of the Indies, generally just and
humane ; but the enforcement of them, as in Spanish America, was
intrusted, for some time, to men with whom justice and humanity
were subordinate to expediency. The first chief agent was Alex-
ander Baranof, who had accompanied Schelikof in his expedition in
1783, and was the superintendent of the settlements at Kodiak and
Cook's Inlet when Vancouver visited those places in 1794. He was
a shrewd, bold, enterprising, and unfeeling man, of iron frame and
nerves, and the coarsest habits and manners. By his inflexible
severity and energy, he seems to have maintained absolute and in-
dependent sway over all the Russian American coasts for more than
twenty years ; showing little respect to the orders of the Directory,
■* \
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272
GOVERNMENT OF RUSSIAN AMERICA.
[1806.
and even to those of the emperor, when they wore at variance with
his own views. He was, however, devoted to the interests of tlie
company, and, its affairs being most profitably managed under his
direction, he was allowed to follow his own course, and the com-
plaints against him which reached the Directory were unheeded.
These complaints were, it is true, not frequent ; for the Directory
and the imperial throne at St. Petersburg were almost as completely
inaccessible to the subjects and servants of the company residing in
America, as they would have been in another planet. Among the in-
ferior agents were men of higher and better character than their chief;
but they were forced to bend under his authority, and their efforts
to introduce improvements were vain, if they in any degree conflicted
with his views as to the immediate interests of the company.
Of the furs which formed the whole returns from these territories,
some were transported in the company's vessels to Petropawlowsk
and Ochotsk, whence were brought back the greater part of the
supplies of provisions for the use of the establishments; the re-
mainder of the furs being exchanged for arms, ammunition, spirits,
wine, tobacco, sugar, and European manufactures, furnished by the
trading ships of the United States, of which a large number were
then constantly employed in the North Pacific. The presence of
these American vessels was by no means agreeable to the Russians,
who would willingly have excluded them from that part of the
ocean, not only for the purpose of monopolizing the fur trade, but
also in order to prevent the natives of the coasts from obtaining
arms and ammunition from the Americans, as they frequently did,
to the detriment of the authority and interests of the company.
This, however, could not have been eflfected without maintaining a
large naval force in the North Pacific ; nor could the settlements
have been extended or supported without the supplies furnished by
the Americans, unless a direct intercourse were estabUshed by sea
with Europe, China, or Japan.
With the view of inquiring what measures would be most effect-
ual for the advancement of the interests of the Russian American
Company in these and other respects, it was determined at St.
Petersburg, in 1803, that an expedition, scientific and political,
should be made through the North Pacific. Two ships, the M-
deshda, commanded by Captain Krusenstern, and the Neva, by
Captain Lisiansky, were accordingly despatched from Cronstadt,
in August of that year, under the direction of Krusenstern, carry-
ing out a large body of officers and men, distinguished in various
1806.]
VOYAGE OF KRUSENSTERN.
273
branches of science, together with the chamberlain, Von Resanoff,
who was commissioned as ambassador to Japan, and as plenipoten-
tiary of the Russian American Directory.
The two ships passed together around Cape Horn, touched at tlie
Washington and the Sandwich Islands, and then separated ; the
Neva going to the north-west coasts of America, and the Nadeshda
to Petropawlowsk, where she arrived in the middle of July, 1804.
From Kamtchatka, Krusenstern proceeded, with the ambassador, to
Nangasaki, the capital of Japan, at which place their arrival only
served to excite suspicions : they were not allowed to land, except
for the purpose of taking exercise in a confined space ; the .letter
and presents of the Russian emperor were rejected ; and the am-
bassador was distinctly informed that no vessels belonging to his
nation would, in future, be permitted to enter a Japanese port.
After this rebuff, the Nadeshda returned to Kamtchatka, and Kru-
senstern passed several months in examining the coasts of Tartary
and the adjacent islands between that peninsula and Japan ; these
labors being completed, he went to Canton, where she arrived in the
end of November, 1805.
Lisiansky, in the Neva, had, in the mean time, visited Sitca,
Kodiak, and other Russian establishments, on the north-west coasts
of America, at which his presence was advantageous to the interests
of the company, by controlling the hostile dispositions of the natives ;
and having performed all that could be done by him in that quar-
ter, he proceeded to Canton, with a cargo of furs, and there rejoined
Krusenstern, in December, 1805. The Chinese were found equally
as determined as the Japanese to allow no commerce by sea with
the Russians ; and many difficulties were experienced before the
furs brought by the Neva could be landed for sale. This business
being at length despatched, the two vessels took their departure,
and, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, reached Cronstadt in
August, 1806, having carried the Russian flag for the first time
across the equator and around the world.
In the mean time, also. Von Resanoflf, — a singularly ridiculous
and incompetent person, — after the failure of his embassy to Japan,
had gone, as plenipotentiary of the Russian American Company, to
Sitca, where he passed the winter of 1805-1806, engaged in devis-
ing plans for the conduct of the company's affairs, all of which were
quietly set aside by the chief agent, Baranof. The propriety of
expelling the Americans from the North Pacific was at the same
time rendered questionable, by the fact that the garrison and set-
35
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VOYAGE OF KRUSENSTERN.
[1808.
tiers at this place would have all perished from famine, had they
not fortunately been supplied with provisions by the ship Juno, from
Rhode Island. This ship was purchased for the use of the company,
and Von Resanoff, embarking in her, sailed along the coast to Cal-
ifornia, endeavoring, in his way, but without success, to enter the
mouth of the Columbia, where he proposed to form a settlement ;
and having spent some time in trifling at San Francisco, he returned
to Kamtchatka, on his way from which to Europe he died.
Though not one of the commercial or political objects proposed
by this expedition was attained, it was, nevertheless, productive of
great advantages, not only to l!ie Russians, but to the cause of hu-
manity and of science in general ; particularly by the rectification
of numerous errors in the charts of the Pacific Ocean, and by the
exposure of the abuses in the administration of the Russian Amer-
ican Company's dominions, which led to the immediate removal of
many of them. No one could have been better qualified for the
direction of such an expedition than Krusenstern, whose narrative
is equally honorable to him as a commander, as a man of science,
and as a philanthropist. Those who wish to learn at what cost of
human life and suffering the furs of the North Pacific coasts are pro-
cured, will find ample information on the subject in his pages ; while,
at the same time, he presents instances of fortitude, perseverance,
and good feeling, on the part of his countrymen, calculated to coun-
teract, in a great measure, the unfavorable impressions, with regard
to them, which his other details might have produced.*
In 1808, soon after the return of Krusenstern's ships to Europe,
diplomatic relations were established between Russia and the United
States ; and in the following year, a representation was addressed
by the court of St. Petersburg to the government of the Union,
on the subject of the illicit trade of American citizens with the
natives of the North Pacific coasts, by means of which those savages
were supplied with arms and ammunition, to the prejudice of the
authority and interests of the emperor and his people in that portion
• Accounts of this expedition have been published by Krusenstern, by Lisianskj,
and by Langsdorf, the surgeon of the Nadeshda, all of which have been translated
into English and other European languages.
Krusenstern was, soon afler his return to Russia, raised to the rank of admiral. He
Btill lives at St. Petersburg, honored by his government, and esteemed by all who
know him. His communications frequently appear in the reports of the proceedings
of various scientific societies in Europe ; they are chiefly respecting the hydrography
of the Pacific Ocean, to which subject his labors have been long and assiduously
devoted, with results important and beneficial to the whole world.
1810.] PROPOSITIONS OF RUSSIA TO THE UNITED STATES.
275
of his dominions. A desire was at the same time expressed, that
some act should be passed by Congress, of some convention be
concluded between the two nations, which might have the effect of
preventing the continuance of such irregularities. No disposition
being shown by the American government to adopt any of those
measures, Count Romanzoff, the minister of foreign affairs at St.
Petersburg, proposed to Mr. John Quincy Adams, the plenipoten-
tiary of the United States at that court, an arrangement, by which
the vessels of the Union should supply the Russian settlements on
the Pacific with provisions and manufactures, and should transport
the furs of the company to Canton, under the restriction of their
abstaining from all intercourse with the natives of the north-west
coasts of America. Mr. Adams, in his answer, showed several
reasons for which his government could not, with propriety, accede
to this proposition ; and he moreover desired to know within what
limits it was expected that the restriction should be observed. This
question was, doubtless, embarrassing to the Russian minister, who,
however, after some time, replied, that the Russian American Com-
pany claimed the whole coast of America on the Pacific and the
adjacent islands, from Bering's Strait, southward to and beyond
the mouth of the Columbia River ; whereupon the correspondence
was immediately terminated.
There was, certainly, no disposition, on the part of the United
States, to encourage their citizens in the trade which formed the
subject of the complaints of the Russians, or to offend that power
by refusing to cooperate in suppressing such a trade. But the
American government properly considered that no means existed
for enforcing the restrictions, with justice and regularity, even on
the coasts which might be admitted to belong to Russia ; while, at
the same time, the right of that nation to the possession of the
coasts so far south as the Columbia, could not be recognized, for
reasons which will be made apparent in the ensuing chapter.
M''l'
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276
CHAPTER XIII.
1803 TO 1806.
Cession of Louisiana by France to the United States — Inquiries as to the true Extent
of Louisiana — Erroneous Supposition that its Limits towards the North had been
fixed by Commissaries agreeably to the Treaty of Utrecht — President Jefferson
sends Lewis and Clarke to examine the Missouri and Columbia — Account of their
Expedition from the Mississippi to the Pacific.
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The discovery, or rediscovery, of the Columbia River, by Gray,
remained almost entirely unknown, until it was communicated to the
world by the publication of the narrative of Vancouver's expedition,
in 1798 ; at which time, and for several years afterwards, no one
imagined that any thing connected with that river would ever be-
come particularly interesting to the people or government of the
United States of America.
The territories of the United States were, at that time, all in-
cluded between the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Mississippi
River on the west. In the north were the British provinces ; in the
south lay Florida, belonging to Spain ; and beyond the Mississippi,
the Spaniards also claimed the vast region called Louisiana, stretch-
ing from the Gulf of Mexico northward and north-westward to an
undefined extent. Thus all communication between the States of
the Federal Union and the Pacific was completely cut off, by the in-
terposition of countries possessed by foreign and unfriendly nations.
The position of the United States, and of their government and
people, with regard to the north-western portion of the continent,
was, however, entirely changed after the 30th of April, 1803, when
Louisiana, which had been ceded by Spain to France in 1 800, came
into their possession, by purchase from the latter power. From that
moment, the route across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pa-
cific lay open to the Americans ; and nothing could be anticipated
capable of arresting their progress in the occupation of the whole
territory included between those seas.
Before relating the measures taken by the government of the
United States in consequence of the acquisition of Louisiana, it will
1712.]
GRANT OF LOUISIANA TO CROZAT.
277
be convenient to present some observations respecting the northern
and western Hmits of that portion of America.
The first discovery of the southern part of the Mississippi and the
adjacent countries, by the Spaniards, in the sixteenth century, has
been already mentioned. The northern branches of that river were
explored in the latter years of the seventeenth century, by the French,
from Canada ; * and before 1710, many French colonies and posts had
been established on its banks, in virtue of which. King Louis XIV.
claimed possession of all the territories to a great distance on either
side of the stream. In 1712, the exclusive trade of the southern
division of these territories, then called Louisiana, was granted by
King Louis to Antoine Crozat, in a royal decree or charter, bearing
date the 17th of September, which contains the earliest exposition of
the limits of that region. The words of the decree are as follows : f
"Nous avons par ces presentes, signees de notre main, etabli et
etablissons ledit Sieur Crozat, pour faire seul, le commerce dans
toutes les terres par Nous possedees, et bornees par le Nouveau Mex-
ique, et par celles des Anglais de la Caroline, tous les etablissemens,
ports, havres, rivieres, et principalement le port et havre de I'isle
Dauphine, appellee autrefois de Massacre, le fleuve St. Louis, au-
trefois appellee Mississippy, depuis le bord de la mer jusqu'aux Illinois,
ensemble les rivieres St. Philippe, autrefois appellee des Missourys,
et St. Hierosme, autrefois appellee Ouabache, avec tous les pays,
contrees, lacs dans les terres, et les rivieres qui tombent directement
ou indirectement dans cctte partie du fleuve St. Louis. Voulons
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* Jeffreys — or whoever wrote the history of the French dominions in America, pub-
lished under the name of Jeffreys, in 175i> — says, at p. 134 of that work, " The Mis-
sissippi, the chief of all the rivers of Louisiana, which it divides almost into two equal
parts, was discovered by Colonel Wood, who spent almost ten years, or from 1654 to
1664, in searching its course, as also by Captain Bolt, in 1670."
t "We have, by these presents, signed with our hand, authorized, and do authorize,
the said Sieur Crozat, to carry on exclusively the trade in all the territories by us pos-
sessed, and bounded by New Mexico and by those of the English in Carolina, all the
establishments, ports, harbors, rivers, and especially the port and harbor of Dauphin
Island, formerly called Massacre Island, the River St. Louis, formerly called the Mis-
sissippi, from the sea-shore to the Illinois, together with the Rivers St. Philip, formerly
called the Missouries River, and the St. Jerome, formerly called the Wabash, [the
Ohio,] with all the countries, territories, lakes in the land, and the rivers emptying
directly or indirectly into that part of the River St. Louis. All the said territories,
countries, rivers, streams, and islands, we will to be and remain comprised under the
name of the government of Louisiana, which shall be dependent on the general gov-
ernment of New France, and remain subordinate to it ; and we will, moreover, that
all the territories which we possess on this side of the Illinois, be united, as far as need
be, to the general government of New France, and form a part thereof; reserving to
ourself, nevertheless, to increase, if we judge proper, the extent of the government
of the said country of Louisiana."
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278
LOUISIANA CEDED BY FRANCE TO SPAIN.
[1762.
que les dites terres, contrees, fleuves, rivieres et isles, soient et de-
meurent compris sous le nom du gouverncment de la Louisiane, qui
sera dependant du gouvernement general de la Nouvelle France,
auquel il demeurera subordonne ; et voulons en outre, que toutcs
les terres que nous possedons, depuis les Illinois, soient reunies, en
tant que besoin est, au gouvernement general de la Nouvelle France,
et en fassent partie ; Nous reservant neanmoins d'augmentcr, si
nous le jugeons a propos, I'etendue du gouvernement du dit pays
de la Louisiane."
This description of the extent of Louisiana was sufficiently defi-
nite for the immediate purposes of the concession : as the trade and
settlement of the country would necessarily be, for a long time, con-
fined to the vicinity of the great rivers, the precise determination of
its boundaries on the east and the west might well be deferred for
future arrangement with Great Britain and Spain. Crozat relin-
quished his privilege in 1717 ; the Illinois country was then annexed
to Louisiana, by a royal decree, and the whole region was granted
to the Compagnie rf' Orient, better known as Laic's Mississippi Com-
pany, which held it until 1732 : in that year it reverted to the
French crown, and was governed as a French province until 1769.
On the 3d of November, 1762, the preliminaries of peace were
signed at Paris, between France and Spain on the one part, and
England and Portugal on the other ; and on the same day, " the
most Christian king authorized his minister, the duke de Choiscul,
to deliver to the marquis di Grimaldi, the ambassador of the Cathohc
king, in the most authentic form, an act, whereby his most Christian
majesty cedes, in entire possession, purely and simply, without ex-
ception, to his Catholic majesty, and his successors in perpetuity, all
the country known under the name of Louisiana, as also New Or-
leans and the island in which that city is situated." The cession
accordingly took place in form, on the 23d of the same month, in
precisely the same terms as to the extent of the territory ceded ; *
and on the 10th of February following, a treaty was concluded at
Paris, between Fra-ce and Spain on the one part, and Great Britain
and Portugal on the other, by which Great Britain obtained posses-
sion of Canada, Florida, and the portion of Louisiana " east of a
line, drawn along the middle of the Mississippi, from its source to
* The documents relating to this cession were kept secret until 1836, when copies
of them were obtained from the archives of the Department of Foreign Affairs at Mad-
rid, by the late J. M. White, of Florida; from which translations were made by the
author of this History, and published by the Senate of the United States, in 1837.
M}i s ,'
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IN.
[1762.
B8, soient et de-
i Louisianc, qui
[ouvelle France,
utre, que toutes
Ment reunies, en
»fouvelle France,
d'augmenter, si
leiit du dit pays
sufficiently defi-
es the trade and
I long time, con-
ietermination of
I be deferred for
1. Crozat relin-
ks then annexed
^on was granted
Mississippi Corn-
reverted to the
^ince until 1769.
i of peace were
le one part, and
same day, " the
uke de Choiseul,
»r of the Catholic
is most Christian
ply, without ex-
in perpetuity, all
as also New Or-
The cession
same month, in
jrritory ceded ; *
as concluded at
nd Great Britain
obtained posses-
iana " east of a
m its source to
il 1836, when copies
eign Affairs at Mad-
s were made by the
d States, in 1837.
1800.]
LOUISIANA RETRO-CGDED TO FRANCE.
279
the River Ilierville, and thence along the middle of the Iberville,
and the Lakes Maurcpas and Pontchartrain, to the sea." In this
treaty, Great Britain formally renounced all claims to territories west
of the Mississippi, whether based on royal charters granted to colo-
nies planted on the Atlantic coasts, or on any other grounds : no
mention is made of the previous cession of any part of Louisiana
to Spain, which was not promulgated until 1764 ; nor did the
Spaniards obtain actual possession of New Orleans, or the territory
west of the Mississippi, until 1769.
From that period until Louisiana came into the possession of the
United States, its extent and limits were not defined, and could not
have been affected by any treaty or public act, which has been as
yet communicated to the world. Louisiana was retro-ceded by Spain
to France, on the 1st of October, 1800, "with the same extent,"
says the treaty, " that it now has in the hands of Spain, and that it
had when France possessed it, and such as it should be, after the
treaties subsequently entered into between Spain and other states ; "
and it was transferred by France to the United States on the 30th
of April, 1803, "with all its rights and appurtenances, as fully, and
in the same manner, as they have been acquired by the French
republic, in virtue of the above-mentioned treaty with his Cath-
olic majesty." *
• See the treaty of 1803, in which the part of the treaty of 1800, above quoted,
13 recited. It is, however, worthy of remark, that, in the copy of the treaty of 1800,
obtained by the late J. M. White from the Department of Foreign Affairs at Madrid,
as above mentioned in the note at p. 278, the words quoted in the treaty of 1803 — "ef
ipielle arait lorsque la France la possddait, et telle qu'elle doit itre, d'aprts les traites
passis suhsiquemmtnt entre VEspagne" — do not appear; the third article of the
former treaty being simply thus: "Srt Majestt Catholique promct et s'engnge de son
cuti n rilrocedcr h la R^publique Fran<;aise sir. ntois aprts Vrjf.cvtion pleine et entiere
its conditions et stipulations ci-dessus relatirei d son Altesse Royale le Due de Parme
la colonie ou province de la Louisiane, avec la meme itendue qu'elle a aduellement entre
les viains de VEspagne et d'autres Etats." There appears to be no reason to doubt
the exactness of the copy obtained by Mr. White, as it was made in the office of the
Department of Foreign Affairs, and bears the seal and certificate of the keeper of the
archives of that department, by whom it was transmitted to the Spanish minister plen-
ipotentiary at Washington, who delivered it, afler affixing his seal and certificate, to
Mr. White. If its authenticity be admitted, a vast field is certamly opened for con-
jectures, upon which, however, it would be improper here to enter.
That any settlement of the western boundaries of Louisiana should have been
made on the conclusion of the treaty of 1762, or of that of 1800, is not probable. In
the first case, it would have been superfluous, as Louisiana would certainly have joined
the other territories of Spain in that direction ; and, in 1800, it was clearly the inter-
est of Buonaparte, as the stronger power, to have the extent of Louisiana undefined,
in order that he might place its boundaries, in future, where they would be moit con«
venient for his ends.
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280
LOUISIAN/k CEDED TO THE UNITED STATES.
[1803.
At the time A'hen the treaty for the cession of Louisiana to the
United States was concluded, the Spaniards still remained in pos-
Ression of the country ; the order from the court of Madrid for the
delivery to France, was not executed until the 30th of November,
1804, twenty days after which the surrender to the American com-
missioners took place in due form at New Orleans. The Spanish
government had already protested against the transfer of Louisiana
to the United States, as being contrary to engagements previously
made by France, of which, however, no proof was adduced ; and
some disposition was at first manifested on the part of the Spanish
authorities at New Orleans, and in the provinces of Mexico adjacent,
to dispute the entrance of the Americans. This opposition was, how-
ever, abandoned, and a negotiation was commenced at Madrid, in
1804, between the governments of the United States and Spain,
for the adjustment of the lines which were to separate their re-
spective territories.
In this negotiation, the United States claimed the whole of the
territory ceded by France to Spain in 1762, with the exception of
the portion east of the Mississippi, which had been surrendered to
Great Britain in 1763 ; and this territory was considered by them
as including the whole coast on the Mexican Gulf, from the Perdido
River as the western limit of Florida, west and south to the River
Bravo del Norte as the north-east boundary of Mexico, with all the
intermediate rivers and all the countries drained by them, not pre-
viously possessed by the United States. The Spanish government,
on its side, contended — that France had never rightfully possessed
any part of America west of the Mississippi, the whole of which
had belonged to Spain ever since its discovery — that the French
establishments in that territory were all intrusive, and had only
been tolerated by Spain, for the sake of preserving peace ; and —
that the Louisiana ceded to Spain by France in 1762, and retro-
ceded to France in 1800, and transferred by the latter power to the
United States in 1803, could not, in justice, be considered as com-
prising more than New Orleans, with the tract in its vicinity east of
the Mississippi, and the country immediately bordering on the west
bank of that river. The parties were thus completely at variance
on fundamental principles ; and, neither being disposed to yield, the
negotiation, after having been carried on for some months, was
broken off, and it was not renewed until 1817. Meanwhile, how-
ever, the United States remained in possession of nearly all the
1804.J
NORTHERN BUUNUARY OF LOUISIANA.
281
■Ih
territories drained by the Mississippi ; the Sabine River being, by
tacit consent, regarded as the dividing line between Louisiana
and the Mexican provinces.
A negotiation was at the same time in progress, between the
government of the United States and that of Great Britain, re-
specting the northern boundary of Louisiana, for which the Amer-
icans claimed a line running along the 49th parallel of latitude,
upon the grounds that this parallel had been adopted and dejinitive-
Jy settled, by commissaries appointed agreeably to the tenth article
of the treaty concluded at Utrecht, in 1713, as the dividing line
betiveen the French possessions of Western Canada and Louisiana on
the south, and the British territories of Hudson's Bay on the north ;
and that, this treaty having been specially confirmed in the treaty
nf 1763, by which Canada and the part of Louisiana east of the
Mississippi and Iberville were ceded to Great Britain, the remainder
of Louisiana continued, as before, bounded on the north by the 49th
parallel.
This conclusion would be undeniable, if the premises on which
it is founded were correct. The tenth article of the treaty of
Utrecht docs certainly stipulate that commissaries should be ap-
pointed by the governments of Great Britain and France respec-
tively, to determine the line of separation between their possessions
in the northern part of America above specified ; and there is
reason to believe that persons were commissioned for that object :
hut there is no evidence which can be admitted as establishing the fact
that a line running along the 49th parallel of latitude, or any other
line, was ever adopted, or even proposed, by those commissaries, or by
their governments, as the limit of any part of the French possessions
on the north, and of the British Hudson's Bay territories on the
south.
It is true that, on some maps of Northern America, published in
the middle of the last century, a line drawn along the 49th parallel
does appear as a part of the boundary between the French posses-
sions and the Hudson's Bay territories, as settled according to the
treaty of Utrecht : but, on other maps, which are deservedly held
in higher estimation, a different line, following the course of the
highlands encircling Hudson's Bay, is presented as the limit of the
Hudson's Bay territory, agreeably to the same treaty ; and, in other
maps again, enjoying equal, if not greater, consideration, as having
been published under the immediate direction of the British gov-
36
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282 TREATY BKTWKEN ENnLANO AND THE UNITED STATES. [1807.
ernment, no line separating those British possessions from Louisiana
or Canada is to be seen. In the other works, politicpl, historical,
and geographical, which have been examined with reference to this
question, nothing has been found calculated to sustain the belief
that any line of separation was ever settled, or even proposed ; nor
has any trace of such an agreement been discovered in the archives
of the Department of Foreign Affairs of France, which have been
recently searched with the view of ascertaining the fact.*
The belief, nevertheless, that the 49th parallel of latitude was
fixed, by commissaries of Great Britain and France, appointed
agreeably to the provisions of the treaty of Utrecht, as the north-
ern limit of Louisiana and Western Canada, has been hitherto
universally entertained without suspicion in the United States, and
has formed the basis of most important treaties.
During the negotiations above mentioned, between the United
States and Great Britain, no attempt was made, on the part of the
latter power, to controvert the assertion of the Americans respeciint;
this supposed boundary line ; and, in the treaty signed by the
plenipotentiaries on the termination of the discussion, in April.
1807, it was agreed that <'a line drawn due north or south (us the
case may require) from the most north-western point of the Lake of
the Woods, until it shall intersect the 49th parallel of north latitude,
and from the point of such intersection, due west, along and with
the said parallel, shall be the dividing line between his majesty's
territories and those of the United States, to the westward of the
said lake, as far as their said respective territories extend in that
quarter; and that the said line shall, to that extent, form tlie
southern boundary of his majesty's said territories and the northern
boundary of the said territories of the United States: Provided,
That nothing in the present article shall be construed to extend
to the north-west coast of America, or to the territories belonging
to or claimed by either party on the continent of America to the
westward of the Stony Mountains." f This article was approved
by both governments; President Jefferson, nevertheless, wished
that the proviso respecting the north-west coast should be omitted,
as it "could have little othbr effect than as an offensive intimation
to Spain that the claims of the United States extend to the Pacific
* See Proofs and IlIuBtrations, in the concludinir part of this volume, under the
letter F.
t President Jefierson's Message to Congress of March 226, 1808.
STATES. [1807.
I803.J
WESTERN BOUNDARY OF LOUISIANA.
383
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Ocean. However reasonable such claims may be, compared with
those of others, it is impolitic, especially at the present moment, to
strengthen Spanish jealouHics of the United States, which it is
probably an object with Great Britain to excite, by the clause in
question." The outrage committed, about that time, by the British,
upon the American frigate Chesapeake, together with the change
in the British ministry, prevented the ratification of this treaty ; and
tlie question of boundaries was not again discussed between the
two nations until 1814.
How far Louisiana extended westward when it was ceded by
Franco to Spain, history offers no means of determining. The
charter granted to Crozat, in 1712, included only the territories
drained by the Mississippi south of the Illinois country ; and,
thou^'h the Illinois was annexed to Louisiana in 1717, nothing can
be found showing what territories were comprehended under that
|reneral appellation. In the old French maps, JVcm> France is
represented as extending across the continent to the Pacific: in
British maps, of the same period, a large portion of the territory
thus assigned to New France, appears as New England or as Fir-
^nitt ; while the Spanish geographers claimed the same portion for
their sovereign, under the names of New Mexico and California.
Whilst Louisiana remained in the ()ossession of Spain, it was
certainly never considered as embracing either New Mexico or
California ; though whether it was so considered or not, is imma-
terial to the question as to its western limits in 1803, which were,
by the treaty, to l)e the same as in 1762. In the absence of all
light on the subject from history, we are forced to regard the
boundaries indicated by nature — namely, the highlands separating
the waters of the Mississippi from those flowing into the Pacific or
the Californian Gulf — as the true western boundaries of the Lou-
isiana ceded to the United States by France in 1803.
Of the countries in which the sources of the Missouri and the
other great western branches of the Mississippi were situated, and of
those farther west, to the immediate vicinity of the Pacific, nothing
whatsoever was known when Louisiana came into the possession of
the United States ; but even before the transfer was completed, the
prompt and sagacious Jefferson, then president of the republic,
was preparing to have that part of the continent examined by
American agents. On the 18th of January, 1803, he addressed to
the Congress of the Union a confidential message, recommending
that means should be taken for the purpose without delay ; and»
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284
EXPEDITION Ol' mWli AND CLAHKL TU THE WEST. [IS'Oo.
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his suggestions having been approved, hu coninuHHiotied Cuptuicg
Meriwether Lewis and William Clarke to explore the River Mis-
souri and its principal hranclie.s to their sources, and then to .sock
and trace to its termination in the Pacific, some stream, « whttlicr
the Columbia, the Oregon, the Colorado, or any ofh^r, which njij,'lii
offer the most direct and practicable water communicutinn across
the continent, for the purposes of co'iinierce." Other persons
were, at the same time, appointed to exaiiuiif; the Upper Mississipj)i,
and the principal streams fulling into that great river from the west,
below the Missouri, in order that exact information might, as soon
as possible, be procured, with regard to the^channels of coninmnU
cation throughout the newly-acquired territories. "
A few days after Lewis had received his instructions os com-
mander of the party which was to cross the continent, the news of
the conclusion of the treaty for the cession of Louisiana reached
the United States ; and he immediately set otf for the west, with
the expectation of advancing some distance up the Missouri before
the winter. He was, however, unable to pass the Mississippi in
that year, in consequence of the delay in the surrender of the
country, which was not terminated until the latter part of Decem-
ber ; and it was not until the middle of May, 1804. that he could
begin the ascent of the Missouri. His party consisted of forty-four
men, who were embarked in three boats ; their progress against the
current of the mighty river was necessarily slow, yet, before the
end of October, they arrived in the country of the Mandan Indians,
where they remained until the following April, encamped at a place
neor the 48th degree of latitude, sixteen hundred miles from the
Mississippi.
On the 7th of April, 1805, Lewis and Clarke left their encamp-
ment in the Mandan country, with thirty men, the others having
been sent back to St. Louis ; and, after a voyage of three weeks up
the Missouri, they reached the junction of that river with the other
principal branch, scarcely inferior in magnitude, called by the old
French traders the Roche jaimc, or Yellowstone River. Thence
continuing their progress westward on the main stream, their navi-
gation was, on the 13th of June, arrested by the Great Falls of the
Missouri, a series of cataracts extending about ten miles in length,
in the principal of which the whole river rushes over a precipice of
rock eighty-seven feet in height. Above the falls, the party again
embarked in canoes hollowed out from the trunks of the largest
cotton-wood trees, growing near the river ; and, advancing south-
B WEST. [loO.j.
ldU5.J
PASSAUi: Ur THE RUCKY MUL'NTAINS.
285
'^ !
ward, ll>cy, on the 19lh of July, paHsed through the Gates of the
ttocky Mountains, where the MiHsouri, eiiic'r<,'iiig from that chain,
ruiiH, for six miles, in a narrow channel, between i)erpcndicuhir
para|)ett) of black rock, rising twelve hundred feet above itM surface.
Beyond this place, the river is formed by the confluence of several
streams, the largest of which, named by Lewis the Jefferson, was
osceiidctl to its sources, near the 44th degree of latitude, where the
iiavi|;ution of the Missouri ends, ut the diHtance of about three
tliousand miles from its entrance into the Mississippi.
Wliilst the canoes were ascending the Jenerson River, Captains
Lewis and Clarke, with some n( their men, proceeded through the
mountains, and soon found streamn flowing towards the west, one
of which was traced in that direction, by Clarke, for seventy miles;
tlicy also met several parties of Indians belonging to a nation
called Shoahonee, from whose (iccou)its they were convinced that
those streams were the head-waters of the Columbia. Having re-
ceived this satisfactory information, the commanders rejoined their
men at the head of the JeHcr»Hin ; and preparations were conunciiced
for pursuing the journey by land. For this purpose, the canoes
and a portion of tho goods were concealed in caches, or covered
pits, and a number of horses, with some guides, being procured
from the Shoshonees, the whole body of the Americans, on the 30th
of August, entered on the passage through the Rocky Mountains.
Up to this period, the diHiculties of the journey had been cotn-
paratively light, and the privations few. But, during the three
weeks which the Americans spent in passing the Rocky Mountains,
they underwent, as Clarke says, "every sutlering which hunger,
c(»M, and fatigue, could impose." The mountains were high, and
the passes through them rugged, and, in many places, covered with
snow ; and their food consisted of berries, dried fish, and the meat
of dogs or horses, of all which the supplies were scanty and preca-
rious. They crossed many streams, some of them large, which
emptied into the Columbia ; but their guides gave them no encour-
agement to embark on any, until they reached one called the
Kooskooskee, in the latitude of 43 degrees 34 minutes, about four
hundred miles, by their route, from the head of navigation of the
Missouri.
At this place, they constructed five canoes, and, leaving their
horses in charge of a tribt: of Indians of the Chopunnish nation,
they, on the 7th of October, begun the descent of the Kooskooskee.
Three days afterwards, they entered the principal southern branch
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286
DESCENT OF THE COLUMBIA.
[1805.
of the Columbia, to which they gave the name of Lewis ; and, in seven
days more, they reached the point of its confluence with the larger
northern branch, called by them the Clarke. They were then fairly
launched on the Great River of the West, and passing down it
through many dangerous rapids, they, on the 31st, arrived at the
Falls of the Columbia, where it rushes through the lofty chain of
mountains nearest the Pacific. Some of their canoes descended
these falls in safety ; the others and the goods were carried around
by land, and replaced in the water at the foot of the cataract. At
a short distance below, the tides of the Pacific were observed ; and,
on the 15th of November, the whole party landed on Cape Disap-
pointment, at the mouth of the Columbia, about six hundred miles
from the place at which they had embarked on its waters, and more
than four thousand, by their route, from the mouth of the Missouri.
The winter, or rather the rainy season, having commenced when
the party reached the mouth of the Columbia, it became necessary
for them to remain there until the following spring. They accord-
ingly prepared a habitation on the north side of the river, eleven
miles in a straight line from Cape Disappointment, from which they
were, however, soon driven by the floods ; they then found a suit-
able spot on the south side, a little higher up, where they formed
their dwelling, called by them Fort Clatsop, and remained until
the middle of March, 1806. During this period, the cold was by
no means severe, less so, indeed, than on the Atlantic shore of the
continent ten degrees farther south ; but the rains were incessant
and violent, and the river being at the same time generally too
much agitated by the winds and the waves from the ocean for the
Americans to venture on it in their canoes, they were often unable
to obtain provisions, either by hunting or fishing. The Clatsop
Indians who occupy the south side of the Columbia, at its mouth,
and the ChinnooTcs, on the opposite shore, conducted themselves
peaceably ; but their prices for every thing which they offered for
sale were so high, that no trade could be carried on with them.
The party were, in consequence of the rains, seldom able to quit
their encampment ; and the only excursion of any length made by
them during the winter, was as far as tlie promontory overhanging
the Pacific, thirty miles south of the Columbia, which they called
darkens Point of View, near the Cape Lookout of Meares.
On the 23d of March, 1806, the Americans commenced the
ascent of the Columbia in canoes, on their return to the United
States. Proceeding slowly up the river, they carefully examined
1806.]
RETURN OF LEWIS AND CLARKE.
287
its shores, and discovered a large stream, called by the natives the
Cowelitz, flowing into it from the north, at the distance of sixty
miles from the ocean. Thirty miles higher up, they found another
and much larger stream, joining the Columbia on the south side,
the Indian name of which was supposed to be Mulionomah ; it is
now, however, universally known as the Willamet, and on its banks
are situated the most flourishing settlements as yet formed by citi-
zens of the United States west of the Rocky Mountains.
In the middle of April, the exploring party reached the foot of
the great rapids, below the Falls of the Columbia, where they aban-
doned their canoes, and began their journey by land, on horses
purchased from the Indians. In this way, they traversed the gap or
defile in the mountains through which the river pours its floods,
and then, pursuing their course over the elevated plains east of that
ridge, they arrived, on the 8th of May, at the point on the Koos-
kooskee River, where they had left their horses, and first embarked
on the waters of the Columbia, in the preceding year. From this
place, they continued on horseback due eastward, through the
Rocky Mountains, to the Clarke River, which flows for some dis-
tance in a northerly direction from its sources, before turning
southward to join the other branches of the Columbia ; and there
it was agreed that the chiefs of the expedition should separate, to
meet again at the confluence of the Yellowstone with the Missouri.
The separation took place on the 3d of July, near the point at
which the Clarke River is crossed by the 47th parallel of latitude,
due west of the Falls of the Missouri. Captain Lewis and his
party proceeded some distance northward, down the Clarke, and
then, quitting it, crossed the Rocky Mountains to the head-waters of
Maria River, which empties into the Missouri just below the falls.
There they met a band of Indians belonging to the numerous and
daring race called the Black-foot, who infest the plains at the base
of the mountains, and are ever at war with all other tribes ; these
savages attempted to seize the rifles of the Americans, and Lewis
was obliged to kill one of them before they desisted. The party
then hastened to the Missouri, which they reached at the falls, and
thence floated down to the mouth of the Yellowstone.
Meanwhile, the others, under Clarke, rode southward up the
valley of the Clarke River, to its sources ; and, after exploring
several passes in the mountains between that point and the head-
waters of the Yellowstone, they embarked in canoes on the latter
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288
IMPORTANCE OF THE DISCOVERIES.
[1806.
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Stream, and descended it to the Missouri, where they joined Lewis
and his men on the 12th of August.
From the point of confluence of the two rivers, the whole body
moved down the Missouri ; and, on the 23d of September, 1806,
they arrived in safety at St. Louis, having travelled, in the course
of their expedition, more than nine thousand miles.
The preceding sketch of the long and diflicult expedition of
^Lewis and Clarke will serve, to show the general course of their
routes between the Mississippi and the Pacific. As to the priority
and extent of their geographical discoveries, a few words will
suffice. The Missouri had been ascended, by the French and
Spanish traders, to the mouth of the Yellowstone, long before
Lewis and Clarke embarked on it ; but ample proofs are aflforded,
by the maps drawn prior to their expedition, that no information
even approximating to correctness had been obtained respecting the
river and the countries in its vicinity. With regard to the territory
between the great Falls of the Missouri and those of the Columbia,
and the branches of either river joining it above its falls, we have
no accounts whatsoever earlier than those derived from the journals
of the American exploring party. The Tacoutchee-Tessee, navi-
gated by Mackenzie m 1793, and supposed by him to be a branch
of the Columbia, was afterwards discovered to be a different stream,
now called Froser^s River, emptying into the Strait of Fuca ; and
no evidence has been adduced of the passage of any white person
through the country between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific,
north of California, from the time of Mackenzie's journey to that
of the expedition of Lewis and Clarke.*
Politically, the expedition was an announcement to the world of
the intention of the American government to occupy and settle the
countries explored, to which certainly no other nation except Spain
could advance so strong a claim on the grounds of discovery or of
contiguity ; and the government and people of the United States
thus virtually incurred the obligation to prosecute and carry into
• The journal of the expedition of Lewis and Clarke was not published until 1814,
when it appeared nearly in the same state in which it came from the hands of Lewis,
shortly before the melancholy termination of his existence. It affords abundant proofs
of the powers of observation possessed by those who were engaged in the enterprise;
and the mass of facts, geographically, commercially, and politically important, which
it contains, causes it still to be regarded as the principal source of information respect-
ing the geography, the natural history, and the aboriginal inhabitants, of the portions
of America traversed by the Missouri and the Columbia.
1806.]
PIKE S EXPEDITION.
289
fulfilment the great ends for whicli the labors of Lewis and Clarke
were the first preparatory measure's.
During the absence of Lewis and Clarke, other persons were
engaged, under the orders of the government of the United States,
in exploring dififerent parts of the interior of Louisiana. Lieutenant
Pike ascended the Mississippi to its head-waters, near the 48lh
degree of latitude, where he obtained much useful information
respecting the course of that stream, and the numbers, characters,
and dispositions, of the Indians in its vicinity, as well as concerning
the trade and establishments of the North- West Company in that
quarter. Having completed this expedition. Pike, in 1806, under-
took another, in the course of which he travelled south-westward
from the mouth of the Missouri, to the upper waters of the Arkan-
sas, the Red River, and the Rio Bravo del Norte : on the latter
river, he and his party were made prisoners by the Spaniards of
Santa Fe, who carried them southward as far as the city of Chi-
huahua, and thence, through Texas, to the United States. The
Red and Washita Rivers were at the same time explored, to a con-
siderable distance from the Mississippi, by Messrs. Dunbar, Hunter,
and Sibley, whose journals, as well as those of Pike, subsequently
published, contain many interesting descriptions of those parts of
America.
Thus, within three or four years after Louisiana came into the
possession of the United States, it ceased to be an unknown region,
and the principal features of the territory drained by the Columbia
were displayed.
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290
CHAPTER XIV.
1806 TO 1815.
■:l !
First Establisliments of tlie North-West Company in the Countries north of the
Columbia — Pacific Fur Company formed at New York — Plan of its Founder —
First Expedition from New York in tiio Toaquin — Foundation of Astoria near the
Mouth of the Columbia River — Destruction of the Tonquin by the Savages —
March of the Party under Hunt and Crooks across the Continent — Arrival of the
Beaver in the Columbia — War between the United States and Great Britain fatal
to the Enterprise — Establishments of the Pacific Company sold to the North-
West Company — Astoria taken by the British — Dissolution of the Pacific
Company.
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The expeditions of Lewis and Clarke, and Pike, did not fail to
attract the attention, and to excite the jealousy, of the British
government and trading companies. Pike had restrained the incur-
sions of the North- West Company's people into the territories of
the Upper Mississippi, and had lessened their influence over the
Indians inhabiting those regions. From the moment when Lewis
and Clarke appeared on the Missouri, their movements were
watched by the agents of the British Association ; and, so soon
as it was ascertained that they were ordered to explore the Colum-
bia, preparations were made to anticipate the Americans in the
settlement of that portion of the continent, for which the expedition
of those officers was evidently intended to open the way. A party
of the North- West Company's men was accordingly despatched, in
1805, under the direction of Mr. Laroque, to establish posts and
occupy territories on the Columbia ; but this party proceeded no
farther than the Mandan villages on the Missouri. In the f., [lowing
year, 1806, another party was despatched from Fort Chipewyan,
under Mr. Simon Fraser, who crossed the Rocky Mountains near
the passage of the Peace River, and formed a trading establishment
on a small lake, now called Froser's Lake, situated in the 54th
degree of latitude. This was the first settlement or post of any hnd
made hy British subjects west of the Rocky Mountains. Other posts
were subsequently formed in the same country, which, in 1808,
received from the traders the name of Neio Caledonia ; but it does
: V,.
1806.]
FIRST BRITISH POSTS IN NEW CALEDONIA.
291
not appear, from any evidence as yet adduced, that any part of the
waters of the Columbia, or of the country through which they flow,
was seen by persons in the service of the North- West Company
until 1811.*
In the mean time, several establishments had been formed by
citizens of the United States on the Columbia and its branches.
Before the transfer of Louisiana to the United States, the trade
of the Missouri and the adjacent countries inhabited by the Indians,
had been granted by the Spanish government to Manuel Lisa, a
merchant of St. Louis, who continued to conduct it almos' exclu-
sively until 1806. After the return of Lewis and Clarke, other
individuals engaged in the business, the competition between whom
occasioned many and serious disputes ; until at length, in 1808, an
association, called the Missouri Fur Company, was formed among
* Many interesting details respecting the proceedings of the North- West Com-
pany, and the geography of the parts of America in which its establishments ai'e
situated, may be found in the journal of D. W. Harmon, a native of Vermont, who
was a partner in that company, and the superintendent of all its utfairs beyond the
Rocky Mountains for several years. This journal was published at Andover, in
Massachusetts, in 181!), but is now nearly out of print: a review of it, containing
many curious extracts, may be seen in the London Quarterly Review for Janu-
ary, 1822.
With regard to the dates of the earliest establishments of the North- West
Company beyond the Rocky Mountains, the following extracts from Harmon's
journal may be considered as decisive evidence : —
'■'■ Sattirdaij, A'ovember 24tlt, 1804. — Some people have just arrived from Montagne
la Basse, with a letter from Mr. Chaboillez, who informs me that two captains, Clarke
and Lewis, with one hundred and eighty sf)ldiers, iiave arrived at the Mandan village,
on tiio Missouri River, which place is situated about three days' distance from the
residence of Mr. Chaboillez. They have invited Mr. Chaboillez to visit them. It is
said that, on their arrival, they hoisted the American flag, and informed the natives
that their object was not to trade, but merely to explore the country, and that, as soon
as the navigation shall open, they design to continue their route across the Rocky
Mountains, and thence descend to the Fiicific Ocean.
^' H'cdHcsdnij, .'ipril liUh, 1^0."). — Whili- at Montagne la Basse, Mr. Chaboillez in-
duced me to consent to undertake a long and arduous tour of discovery. I am to leave
that place about the beginning of June, accom]mnied by six or seven Canadians, and
two or three Indians. The first place at which we shall stop will bo the Mandan
village, on the Missouri Rivt^r ; thence we shall steer our course towards the Rocky
Mountains, accompanied by a number of the Mandan Indians, who proceed in that
direction, every spring, to meet and trade with another tribe of Indians, who reside
on the other side of the Rocky Mountains. [This journey I never undertook : a
Mr. La Roque attempted to make this tour, but went no farther than the Mandan
village.] "
At page 281, Harmon says, " The part of the country west of the Rocky Moun-
tains, with which I am acquainted, has, ever since the North- West Company first
made an establishment there, which was in 1806, gone by the name of JVew Cale-
donia," &c. And in many places he speaks of Mr. Simon Fraser as having led the
first company of traders beyond the Rocky Mountains,' in 1806.
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292
FIRST TRADINU POSTS ON TlIK COLUMBIA.
[1810.
the principal traders in that part of America, by which posts were
estabhshcd on the Upper Mississippi, the Missouri, and even beyond
the Rocky Mountains. The trading post founded by Mr. Henry,
one of the agents of the Missouri Company, on a branch of the Lewis
River, the great southern arm of tiie Columbia, appears to have been
the earliest establishment of any kind made by people of a civilized
nation in the territory drained by the latter stream ; the enmity of
the savages in its vicinity, and the difficulty of obtaining provisions,
however, obliged Mr. Henry to abandon it in 1810.
In that year, an attempt was made by Captain Smith, the com-
mander of the ship Albatross, from Boston, to found a post for trade
with the Indians at a place called Oak Point, on the south bank of
the Columbia, about forty miles from its mouth. For this purpose a
house was built and a garden was laid out and planted there ; but
the site was badly chosen in all respects, and the scheme was aban-
doned before the close of the year.
In the same year, 1810, an association was formed at New York,
for the prosecution of the fur trade in the central and north-western
parts of the continent, in connection with the China trade, of which
a particular account will be presented, as the transactions attend
ing the enterprise led to important political results.
This association was called the Pacific Fur Company.* At its
head was John Jacob Astor, a German merchant of New York,
who had been for many years extensively engaged in the commerce
of the Pacific and China, and also in the trade with the Indian coun-
tries in the centre of the American continent, and, by his prudence
and skill, had thus accumulated an immense fortune, ere he passed
the meridian of life. He devised the scheme ; he advanced the
capital requisite for carrying it into execution, and he directed all
* The following account of tiio procoodings of the Pacific Fur Company is derived
chiefly from — Adventures on the Columbia River, &c., by Ross Cox. I^ondon, 1831.
— Relation d'un Voyage ii la Cote Nord-Ouest, de 1' Amerique Septentrionale, dans les
Annoes ]810-1.1, par Gabriel Franchcre. Montreal, Itf'JO. [Franchere went out
with the first parly in the Tonquin ; Co.v went out in the Beaver, and they bolii
returned to Canada by way of the lakes.] — Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise
beyond the Rocky MounttVins, by Washington Irving, Philadelphia, lH3fi; the latter
author gives the most complete account of the circumstances, particularly of the
adventures of the parties under Hunt, Crooks, and Stuart, derived from their state-
ments and the papers in the possession of Mr. Astor, to which he had access. In addi-
tion to these authorities, several letters and papers, addressed by Mr. Astor to the execu-
tive of the United States, have been examined, and some communications have been
personally received from that gentleman. One of his letters, containing a summary
of the circumstances connected with his enterprise, will be found among tlie Proofs
and Illustrations, at the end of thi.-s volume, under the letter G.
4
lA. [ibio.
lich posts Mere
id even beyond
by Mr. Henry,
icli of the Lewis
irs to have been
le of a civilized
; the enmity of
ning provisions,
3rnith, the com-
a post for trade
I south bank of
ir this purpose a
ited there; but
l^icme M as aban-
d at New York,
d north-western
I trade, of which
sactions attend
ts.
npany.* At its
of New York,
the commerce
le Indian coun-
by his prudence
ere he passed
advanced the
he directed all
Company is derived
Jox. London, 18",51.
itontrionalo, dans les
'ranchern went out
ver, and they botii
:es of an Enterprise
lia, 1.S36; the latter
particularly of the
ed from their state-
id access. In addi-
Astor to the exeou-
nications have been
titaining a summary
d among the Proofs
1810.] AST0R*S PLANS FOR MONOPOLIZING THE CHINA TRADE. 293
the operations. His first objects were to concentrate in the hands
of the company the fur trade of every part of the unsettled territo-
ries of America claimed by the United States, and also the supply
of the Russian establishments on the North Pacific, which was to be
conducted agreeably to arrangements made with the Russian Amer-
ican Company, similar to those proposed by the government of St.
Petersburg to the cabinet at Wasliington, as already mentioned ; and
by the attainment of these first objects, he expected to be able to con-
trol, if not exclusively to possess, the whole commerce between the
ports of China and those of America, and of a large portion of Europe.
For these purposes, posts were to be established on the Missouri,
the Columbia, and the coasts of the Pacific contiguous l.o the latter
river, at which places the furs were to be collected by trade with
the Indians, or by hunters in the employ of the company. The
posts were to be supplied with the merchandise required, either by
way of the Missouri, or by ships despatched from the ports of the
United States to the North Pacific ; and the furs collected were to be
carried either down the Missouri to the Atlantic ports of the Union,
or westward to the establishments of the company on the Pacific.
The merchandise sent to the Pacific would be discharged, in the first
instance, at a principal factory, to be founded at some point most
convenient for distributing the articles among the interior posts,
and for receiving the furs from those places ; and the vessels
would then take in cargoes of furs, which they would transport
to Canton. Vessels would also be sent, either directly from the
United States, or from the principal factory on the Pacific, to the
Russian American establislnnents, with provisions and other articles,
for which furs were to be received in payment ; and from Canton
these vessels would bring to Europe or America teas, silks, and other
Chinese goods, procured in exchange for their furs. It is scarcely
necessary to add, that ail these movements were to be conducted
with order and regularity, and at stated periods, so as to prevent loss
of time and labor, or injury to the various articles transported.
The number of shares in the company was to be one hundred :
of these half were retained by Mr. Astor, who was to advance the
funds necessary for the first operations, and to manage the con-
cerns at New York ; the remaining shares being divided among the
other partners, who were to conduct the business in the western
territories, on the Pacific, and at Canton. The association, if
prosperous, was to continue twenty years, after which it might be
prolonged ; but it might be abandoned by any of the partners, or
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PACIFIC FUR COMPANY S OPERATIONS.
:3"!->
[1810.
dissolved, within the first five years, Mr. Astor bearing all the
losses incurred during that period.
This was certainly an extensive and complicated scheme ; but it
appeared, at the time when it was devised, to be perfectly practicable.
The territories in which the new establishments were to be formed,
had never been occupied : there could be no doubt that the Russians
would gladly agree to the proposed arrangements for the trade with
their factories ; the demand for furs at Canton was regular, and suf-
ficiently great to insure the superiority, in that market, to those who
could control the supply ; and the Americans would possess, in
China and on the Pacific, a decided advantage over the British,
whose flag was then rarely seen in the Pacific, in consequence of
the monopoly enjoyed by the East India Company. Moreover, there
was then no prospect of a material change in the political positions
of the principal nations of the world.
The only party from which the Pacific Company could apprehend
any immediate and serious difliculties, was the North- West Company
of Montreal. The resources of that body were in every respect
inferior to Mr. Aster's ; but, in order to prevent rivalry, he communi-
cated his intentions confidentially to its directors, and oftered them
an interest to the extent of one third in his enterprise : they, how-
ever, rejected his proposal, and took measures, as will be shown
hereafter, to forestall him. Was Mr. Astor — a citizen of the United
States — justifiable in thus offering to an association of British sub-
jects, noted for its enmity to his adopted country, a share of the ad-
vantages to be obtained under the flag of the United States, from ter-
ritories exclusively belonging to the United States, or of which the
exclusive possession by the United States was evidently essential to
the welfare and advancement of the republic ?
Having matured his scheme, Mr. Astor engaged as partners,
clerks, and voyageurs, a number of Scotchmen and 'Canadians, who
had been in the service of the North- West Company, and afterwards
a number rather greater, of other persons, principally natives of the
United States. The partners first admitted were Alexander Mackay,
who had accompanied Mackenzie in his expedition to the Pacific in
1793, Duncan Macdougal, and Donald Mackenzie, all Scotchmen,
formerly belonging to the North- West Company : these persons
signed the constitution or articles of agreement of the Pacific Com-
pany, with Mr. Astor, on the 23d of June, 1810; having, however,
previously communicated the whole plan of the enterprise to Mr.
Jackson, the minister plenipotentiary of Great Britain in the United
[1810.
bearing all the
scheme ; but it
Rctly practicable,
re to be formed,
that the Russians
3r the trade with
regular, and suf>
let, to those who
ould possess, in
over the British,
consequence of
Moreover, there
political positions
ged as partners,
'Janadians, who
, and afterwards
lily natives of the
jxander Mackay,
to the Pacific in
, all Scotchmen,
y : these persons
the Pacific Corn-
having, however,
enterprise to Mr.
ain in the United
1810.]
PARTNERS IN THE PACIFIC COMPANY.
295
States, who quieted all their scruples as to engaging in it, uy assur-
ing them that, " in case of a war between the two nations, they would
be respected as British subjects and merchants." The partners sub-
sequently admitted were David and Robert Stuart, and Ramsay
Crooks, Scotchmen, who had also been in the service of the North-
West Company, and Wilson Price Hunt, John Clarke, and Robert
Maclellan, citi/.cns of the United States. The majority of the clerks
were Americans ; among the others were Ross Cox, an Englishman,
and Gabriel Franchere, a Canadian, each of whom has written an
interesting history of the enterprise. The voi/ageurs were nearly all
I'rom Canada. Mr. Hunt, a native of New Jersey, was chosen as
cliief agent of the company, to superintend all its concerns on the
western side of America for five years.
Thus it will be seen that, although the chief direction of the con-
cerns of the Pacific Fur Company, in New York and on the western
side of the continent, were at first intrusted to American citizens,
yet the majority not only of the inferior servants, but also of the
partners, were British subjects, nearly all of wliom had been in the
service of a rival British association.
The preparations for commencing the enterprise having been
completed, four of the partners, Messrs. Mackay, Macdougal, David
Stuart, and Robert Stuart, with eleven clerks, thirteen Canadian
mjageurs, and five mechanics, all British subjects, took their
departure from New York for the mouth of the Columbia River, in
September, 1810, in the ship Tonquin, commanded by Jonathan
Thome. In Jarmary following, the second detachment, conducted
l)y Mr. Hunt, the chief agent, and Messrs. Maclellan, Mackenzie,
and Crooks, set out for the same point, by way of the Missouri River ;
and in October, 1811, the ship Beaver, under Captain Sowles, car-
ried out from New York, to the North Pacific, Mr. Clarke, with six
clerks and a number of other persons.
Mr. Astor had already, in 1809, despatched the ship Enterprise,
under Captain Ebbets, an intelligent and experienced seaman and
trader, to make observations iit various places on the north-west
coasts of America, and particularly at the Russian settlements, and
to prepare the way for the new establishments. He, also, in 1811,
sent an agent to St. Petersburg, by whose means he concluded an
arrangement with the Russian American Company, to the effect
that his association should have the exclusive privileges, of supplying
the Russian establishments on the North Pacific with merchandise,
receiving furs in payment, and of transporting to Canton such
if
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THE ASTORIA ENTKRI'HISR BKOUN.
(1811.
Other furs as the Russians might chooHc to ship for that port, on
their own account, provided that the Americans should visit no
other parts of the coast north of a certain latitude.
The Tonquin passed around Cape Horn, and in February, 1811
arrived at Owyhee, where Macdougal, who was to superintend the
affairs of the company on the Pacific and its coasts until the arrival
of Hunt, endeavored to conclude a treaty of amity and commerce
with King Tamahamaha : but that aged chief, whom experience had
rendered distrustful, refused to bind himself by any contract with
the white men ; and he would only promise to furnish the vessels of
the company with provisions on the same terms with other vessels
— namely, on payment of the value in Spanish dollars. Having
obtained the necessary supplies in this way, and taken on board a
dozen of the islanders, who were permitted by their sovereign to
engage in the service of the Pacific Company, Captain Thome sailed
for the mouth of the Columbia, where he eft'ected an entrance on
the 24th of March, with great danger and difficulty, after losing
three of his men, who attempted to reach the shore in a boat.
The passengers immediately disembarked on the shore of Baker's
Bay, on the north side of the Columbia, just within Cape Disappoint-
ment, where sheds were built for their temporary accommodation. A
few days afterwards, the partners set ofl* in search of a place proper
for the establishment of a factory ; and they soon selected for that ol)-
ject a spot on the south bank of the river, distant about ten miles from
the ocean, which had received from Broughton, in 1792, the name of
Point George. To this place the Tonquin was removed ; and, her
goods and materials being landed, preparations were commenced for
the erection of a fort and other houses, and for building a small
vessel, of which the frame had been brought out from New York. In
the course of two months, these works were so far advanced, that
the assistance of the ship's crew was no longer needed ; and Captain
Tliorne accordingly sailed on the 5th of June for the northern coasts,
carrying with him Mr. Mackay who was to conduct the trade, and
to make arrangements with the Russians, Mr. Lewis one of the
clerks, and an Indian who spoke English, to serve as interpreter.
During the ensuing summer, much progress was made in the
buildings for the factory, which, in honor of the head of the com-
pany, was named Astoria. A large piece of ground was cleared
and laid out as a garden, in which various vegetables were planted;
the small vessel was finished and launched ; trade was carried on
with the neighboring Indians, and also with others from the higher
1^11. J
DAVID THOMPSO VISITS ASTORIA.
297
parts n' the river, who gave "ki •>. ,h, Bfld j^ame, in exchange for
manufti' tured articles ; and ever) Uiwig, in fine, seemed to promise
success lo the eii, rprise.
While the A*«)rians wf thus engaged, they were unexpectedly
visited, on the 1.. h of July by a party of the North-West Company's
men, under the flirection of Mr. David Thompson, the surveyor or
astronomer of that body. These men had been despatched fronj
Canada in the preceding year, with the object of forestalling the
Americans in the occupation of the mouth of tuc Columbia, which
they hoped to effect before the end of that season : but they were
so long delayed in seeking a passage through the Rocky Mountains,
that they were obliged to winter in that ridge, near the northernmost
sources of the Columbia, under the 52d parallel of latitude ; whence
they hastened down the river in the spring of 1811, building huts,
and erecting flags at various places, by way of taking possession of
the country. They were received at the fort not as rivals, but as
friends ; and were treated with the utmost respect and hospitality,
during their stay, by their old companion, the superintendent,
Macdougal, who, moreover, furnished them with provisions, and
even with goods, for trading on their departure up the river.
Mr. Thompson and his followers in this expedition were, from
all the accounts as yet made public, the first white persons who
navigated the northern branch of the Columbia, or traversed any
part of the country drained by it. The British commissioners, in the
negotiation with the American plenipotentiary at London, in 1826,
nevertheless, attempted to place Mr. Thompson's expedition on
an equality, not only as to extent of discovery, but also as to date,
with that of Lewis and Clarke ; and to represent the establishments
which he is said to have founded on his way down the Columbia as
prior to those formed by the Pacific Company. In their statement
of the claims of Great Britain to territories west of the Rocky Moun-
tains, they say* — "The United States further pretend that their
claim to the country in question is strengthened and confirmed by
the discovery of the sources of the Columbia, and by the exploration
of its course to the sea by Lewis and Clarke, in 1805-6. In reply
to this allegation, Great Britain affirms, and can distinctly prove,
that, if not before, at least in the same and subsequent years, her
North- West Trading Company had, by means of their agent, Mr.
Thompson, already established their posts among the Flat-head and
* See the British statement, among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part
of this volume, under the letter H.
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298
MARCH or HUNT, MACLKLLAN, AND CHO0K8.
11813.
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Kootanie tribes, on the hcad-walcrs or iimiii branch of the Columbia
and were gradually cxtoiiding thoni down the i)rinci|ml Htrcaiii of
that river ; thus giving to Great Britain in this particular, as in tho
discovery of the mouth of tho river, a title of parity at least, if not
of priority of discovery, an opposed to the United States, h was
from these posts that, having heard of the American establishtiicnt
forming in 1811 at the mouth of the riv^r, Mr. Thompson hastened
thither, descending tho riv r to ascertain the nature of that estab-
lishment." The expression " if not before, at least in the same and
following years," used here, is rather indefinite. In order to show
how it should be understood conformabl;' with truth, it will be
proper to repeat — that Lewis and Clarke lescemled the Columbia
and reached its mouth before the middle of November, 1H(),")-^
that the North-West Company made their first establishment beyond
the Rocky Mountains, at some distance north of any part of the Co-
lumbia, in 1806 — that American estoblishments were formed on
the Columbia in 1809, 1810, and 181 1 — an<l, finally, that Thompson
did not arrive among the Kootanie and Flat-head tribes until the
spring of 1811, after the foundation of Astoria.
Mr. Thompson and his people were accompanied, on their return,
by a party from the factory, under Mr. David Stuart, who established
a post at the confluence of a stream, called the Okinagan, with the
north branch of the Columbia, about six hundred miles above the
mouth of the latter river, and remained there during the winter.
The situation of those left at Astoria was, in the mean time, very un-
pleasant, and their spirits were depressed by various circumstances.
Their supplies of provisions were scanty and uncertain, and nothing?
was heard, for some months, of the party who were to come over land
from the United States ; the Tonquin, which was ex[)ected to return
to the river in September, did not appear, and rumors were brought
by the Indians of the destruction of a ship, and the massacre of her
crew, by the natives near the Strait of Fuca. Nothing, however,
occurred at the factory, worthy of note, until the 18th of January,
1812, when a portion of the detachment sent across the continent
arrived there in the most wretched condition.
This detachment, consisting of about sixty men, under the chief
agent, Hunt, and the partners, Crooks, Mackenzie, and Maclellan,
ascended the Missouri River in boats, from its mouth to the country
of the Arickara Indians, distant about fourteen hundred miles higher ;
during which voyage they were constantly annoyed by their rivals
of the Missouri Company ; and, there quitting the river, they took a
lif.!
mii ::.iJ( ■ tt
||j§H|iJ
'M'm,-^M
1813.] MARCH Ul' HUNT AND HIS PARTY TO THK COLUMBIA. 299
westward course to tlio Uocky Mountains, which they crossed in
September, 1811, near the head of the Yellowstono River. On
the western side of the ridge, they found a large stream, probably
the main branch of the Lewis, on which they cmlmrkcd in canoes,
with the expectation of thus Hoating down to the Falls of the Colum-
bia ; but ere they had proceeded far in this way, they encountered
so many dangers and obstructions, from falls and rapids, that they
were forced to abandon the stream and resume their march. It
would be needless here to attempt to describe the many evils from
hunger, thirst, cold, and fatigue, which these men underwent during
their wanderings through that dreary wilderness of snow-clad moun-
tains, in the winter of 181 1-1'2 : suffice ll to say, that, after several
of their number had perished from one or more of these causes, the
others reached Astoria in separate parties, in the tirst months of
Idlii, having spent more than a year in coming from St. Louis.
At the factory they found shelter, warmth, and rest ; but they had
httle food, until the fish began to enter the river, when they obtained
abundant supplies of pilchards, of the most delicious flavor.
On the 5th of May, 1812, the ship Beaver,* commanded by Cap-
tain Sowles, arrived in the Columbia, from New York, bringing
the third detachment of jxjrsons in the service of the Pacific Com-
pany, under the direction of Mr. Clarke, and twenty-six natives of
♦
■*
i
• Uos8 Cox, who arrived at Astoria in the Beaver, in May, 1812, givcB the follow-
itiif account of the establishment as it then appeared : —
"Tiie spot selected for the fort [Astoria] was a handsome eminence, called Point
Ucorfff, which commanded an extensive view of the majestic Columbia in front,
bnuiidcd by the bold and tiiickly-wooded northern shore. On tiie right, about three
mili'H distant, a long, l»ifj:h, and rocky penins.ila, covered with tindier, called Tongue
Point, extended a considerable distance into the river from the southern side, with
wiiicii it was connected by a narrow neck of land ; while, on tlie extreme left, Cape
Disappointment, with the bar and its terrific chain of breakers, were distinctly visible.
The l)uiidings consisted of apartments for tlie proprietors and clerks, with a capacious
dining-hall for both ; intensive warehouses for the trading goods and furs, a provision
store, a trading shoji, smith's forge, carpenter's shop, &c. ; the whole surrounded by
stockades, forming a square, and reaching about fifteen feet above the ground. A
gallery ran around the stockades, in which loopholes were pierced, sufficiently large
fir musketry ; two strong bastions, built of logs, commanded the four sides of the
square ; each bastion had two stories, in wliicli a number of chosen men slept every
riiij'ht; a six pounder was placed in tiie lower story of each, and tliey were both well
provided with small arms. Immediately in front of the fort was a gentle declivity,
sloping down to the river's side, which had been turned into an excellent kitchen
garden ; and, a few hundred rods to the left, a tolerable wharf had been run out, by
which bateaux and boats were enabled, at low water, to land their cargoes with-
out sustaining any damage. An impenetrable forest of gigantic pines rose in the
rear, and the ground was covered with a thick underwood of brier and whortleberry,
■ntermingled with fern and honeysuckle."
( ■ .
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300
DESTRUCTION OF THE TON^UIN BY SAVAGES.
[1812.
the Sandwich Islands, who were engaged as seamen or laborers.
The Beaver, moreover, brought from Owyhee a letter which had
been left there by Captain Ebbets, of the ship Enterprise, contain-
ing positive information of the destruction of the Tonquin and her
crew by the savages on the coast near the Strait of Fuca; the
particulars of this melancholy affair were not, however, learned
until August of the following year, when they were communicated
at Astoria by the Indian who had gone in the Tonquin as inter-
preter, and was the only survivor of those on board the ill-fated ship.
According to this interpreter's account, the Tonquin, after quit-
ting the river, sailed northward along the coast of the continent,
and anchored, in the middle of June, 1811, opposite a village on
the Bay of Clyoquot, near the entrance of the Strait of Fuca. She
was there immediately surrounded by crowds of Indians in canoes,
who continued for some days to trade in the most peaceable manner,
so as to disarm Captain Thorne and Mr. M'^Kay of all suspicions.
At length, either in consequence of an affront given to a chief by
the captain, or with the view of plundering the vessel, the natives
embraced an opportunity when the men were dispersed on or below
tiie decks, in the performance of their duties, and in a moment put
to death every one of the crew and passengers, except the inter-
preter, who leaped into a canoe, and was saved by some women, and
the clerk, Mr. Lewis, who retreated, with a few sailors, to the cabin.
The survivors of the crew, by the employment of their fire-arms,
succeeded in driving the savages from the ship ; and, in the night,
four of them quitted her in a boat, leaving on board Mr. Lewis and
some others, who were severely wounded. On the following day,
the natives again crowded around and on board the Tonquin ; and
while they were engaged in rifling her, she was blown up, most
probably by the wounded men left below deck. The seamen who
had endeavored to escape in the boat were soon retaken, and put
to death in the most cruel manner, by the Indians ; the interpreter
was preserved, and remained in slavery two years, at the end of
which time he was suffered to depart.
The loss of this ship was a severe blow to the Pacific Company;
but the partners at Astoria were consoled by the reflections, that
their chief could bear pecuniary damages to a far greater extent
without injury to his credit, and that, if their enterprise should prove
successful, ample indemnification would soon be obtained. It was
therefore determined that Mr. Hunt should embark in the Beaver,
to superintend the trade along the northern coasts, and visit the
1813.] WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND G. BRITAIN. 301
Russian establishments, as Mr. Mackay would have done, but for
the destruction of the Tonquin ; and he accordingly took his de-
parture in that ship in August, 1812, leaving the superintendence
of the affairs at the factory, as before, in the hands of Mr. Mac-
dougal. A party was at the same time despatched to the upper
country, by which another trading post was established on the
SpoJcan, a stream joining the northern branch of the Columbia,
about six hundred and fifty miles from the ocean ; and accounts of
all the transactions, to that period, were transmitted to the United
States, under the care of Messrs. Crooks, Maclellan, and Robert
Stuart, who recrossed the continent, and reached New York in the
spring of 1813, after encountering difficulties and dangers greater,
in many respects, than those undergone in their journey to the
Pacific.
The trade with the Indians of the Lower Missouri was, in the
mean time, going on prosperously ; provisions were abundant at
Astoria, and a large quantity of furs was collected there, in expecta-
tion of the arrival of the Beaver, which was to take them to Canton
in the ensuing spring. The hopes of the partners were thus revived,
and tliey had daily additional grounds for anticipating success in their
undertaking, when, in January, 1813, they learned that the United
States had declared war against Great Britain in June previous.
This news spread an instantaneous gloom over the minds of all,
which was increased by information received from a trading vessel,
that the Beaver was lying at Canton, blockaded by a British ship of
war : and soon afterwards, Messrs. Mactavish and Laroque, partners
in the North- West Company, arrived near Astoria, with sixteen men,
bringing accounts of the success of the British arms on the northern
frontiers of the United States, and of the blockade of all the
Atlantic coasts of the latter country by British squadrons.
Notwithstanding these circumstances, Laroque and Mactavish
were received and treated by Macdougal and Mackenzie, the only
partners of the Pacific Company then at Astoria, with the same
attention and hospitality which had been shown to Thompson in
the preceding year ; and were supplied with provisions and goods
for trading, as if they had been friends and allies, instead of com-
mercial rivals and political enemies. A series of private conferences
were then held between the chief persons of the two parties, at the
conclusion of which, Macdougal and Mackenzie announced their
determination that the company should be dissolved on the 1st of
July, and sent messengers to communicate the fact to the other
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HUNT S NEGOTIATIONS WITH BARANOr.
[1813.
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partners, Stuart and Clarke, at the Okinagan and Spokan posts.
The latter gentleman, on receiving this news, hastened to the
factory, and there strongly opposed the determination to abandon
the enterprise ; and it was at length agreed among them, that the
establishments should be maintained a few months longer, at the
end of whicli time, the company should be dissolved, unless assist-
ance were received from the United States. Three of the clerks
including Ross Cox, however, immediately quitted the concern
and, entering the service of the North- West Company, took their
departure for the upper country with Laroque and Mactavish,
in July.
From the United States no assistance came. The ship Lark was
despatched from New York, in March, 1813, with men and goods
for the Columbia ; but she was wrecked in October following, near
one of the Sandwich Islands, on which the captain, Northrup, and
crew succeeded in effecting a landing. The American government
also determined, in consequence of the representations of Mr. Astor,
to send the frigate Adams to the North Pacific, for the protection
of the infant establishment ; but, just as that ship was about to sail
from New York, it became necessary to transfer her crew to Lake
Ontario, and the blockade of the coasts of the United States by the
British rendered all further efforts to convey succors to Astoria
unavailing.
In the mean time, Mr. Hunt, the chief agent, who had sailed
from the Columbia in the Beaver, in August, 1812, as already men-
tioned, visited the principal Russian establishments on the north-
west coasts of America, and the adjacent islands, and collected a
large quantity of furs, besides concluding arrangements highly
advantageous to the Pacific Company, with Governor Baranof,* at
Sitka. It was then agreed between Mr. Hunt and Captain Sovvies,
that the Beaver should proceed, by way of the Sandwich Islands, to
Canton, instead of returning to the Columbia, as had been previous-
ly determined ; and this was done, though Hunt went no farther in
her than to Woahoo, one of the Sandwich group, where he remained
several months, waiting for some vessel to carry him to Astoria.
At length, in June, 1813, the ship Albatross, of Boston, arrived at
* An amusing account of the negotiations between Hunt and Baranof is given in
Mr. Irving's Astoria. The chief agent of the Pacific Company appears to have been
in as much danger from the " potations pottle deep" of raw rum and burning punch,
which accompanied each of his interviews with the governor of Russian America, as
from hunger, thirst, savages, or storms, during his whole expedition.
1813.]
ASTORIA SOLD TO THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY.
303
4
Woahoo, from China, bringing information of the war between the
United States and Great Britain, and also that the Beaver was
blockaded by a British siiip at Canton ; or> learning whicii, Mr.
Hunt chartered the Albatross, and proceeded in her to the Colum-
bia, where he arrived on the 4th of August.
Mr. Hunt was astounded on learning the resolution adopted by
the other partners at Astoria during his absence, which he endeav-
ored to induce them to change ; but, finding them determined, he
reluctantly acceded to it himself, and, after a few days, he re-
embarked in the Albatross, for the Sandwich Islands, in search of
some vessel to convey the property of the Pacific Company to a
place of safety. At the Sandwich Islands no vessel could be found ;
and Hunt accordingly continued in the Albatross until she arrived
at Nooahevah, (one of the Washington Islands, discovered by
Ingraham, in 1791,) where he learned from Commodore David
Porter, who was lying there in the American frigate Essex, that a
large British squadron, under Commodore Hillyar, was on its way
to the Columbia. This news caused Hunt to hasten back to the
Sandwich Islands, which he reached in December, soon after the
wreck of the Lark ; and, having there chartered a small brig, called
the Pedler, he sailed in her to Astoria, where he arrived in
February, 1814.
The fate of the Pacific Company, and its establishments in North-
West America, had, however, been decided some time before the
Pedler reached Astoria.
Soon after the departure of Hunt, Mr. Mactavish and his followers
of the North- West Company again appeared at Astoria, where they
expected to meet a ship called the Isaac Todd, which had sailed
from London in March, laden with goods, and under convoy of a
British squadron, charged " to take and destroy every thing Amer-
ican on the north-west coast.^^ They were received as before,
and allowed to pitch their camp unmolested near the factory ; and
private conferences were held between Mactavish and Macdougal,
the results of which were, after some days, communicated to the
other partners, and then to the clerks of the Pacific Company.
These results were set forth in an agreement, signed on the
16th of October, 1813, between Messrs. Mactavish and Alexander
Stuart, on the one part, and Messrs. Macdougal, Mackenzie, and
Clarke, on the other ; by which all the " establishments, furs, and
stock in hand" of the Pacific Company, in tho country of the
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ASTORIA TAKEN BY THE BRITISH.
[1813.
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Columbia, were sold to the North- West Company, for about fifty,
eight thousand dollars.
Whilst the business of valuing the furs and goods at Astoria, and
of transferring them to their new owners, was in progress, the British
sloop of war Raccoon appeared at the mouth of the river, under
the command of Captain Black, who had been despatched from the
South Pacific, by Commodore Hillyar, for the purpose of taking the
American forts and establishments on the Columbia, and had hast-
ened thither in expectation of securing some glory, and a rich share
of prize-money, by the conquest. On approaching the factory,
however, the captain soon saw that he should gain no laurels ; and,
after it had been formally surrendered to him by Mr. Macdougal,
he learnt, to his infinite dissatisfaction, that its contents had become
the property of British subjects. He could, therefore, only haul
down the flag of the United States, and hoist that of Great Britain
in its stead, over the establishment,* the name of which was, with
due solemnity, changed to Fort George ; and, having given vent to
his indignation against the partners of both companies, whom he
loudly accused of collusion to defraud himself and his officers and
crew of the reward due for their exertions, he sailed back to the
South Pacific.
The brig Pedler arrived in the Columbia, as before said, on the
28th of February, 1814, and Mr. Hunt found Macdougal super-
intending the factory, not, however, as chief agent of the Pacific
Company, but as a partner of the North- West Company, into
which he had been admitted. Hunt had, therefore, merely to
close the concerns of the American association in that quarter, and
to receive the bills on Montreal, given in payment for its effects;
after which he reembarked in the Pedler, with two of the clerks,
and proceeded, by way of Canton and the Cape of Good Hope, to
New York. Of the other persons who had been attached to the
Pacific Fur Company's establishments, some were murdered by the
Indians on Lewis River, in the summer of 1813; some, including
Mr. Franchere, the author of the narrative of the expeditions, re-
turned over land to the United States, or to Canada ; and some
remained on the Columbia, in the service of the North- West Com-
pany. The long-expected ship Isaac Todd reached Fort George
on the 17th of April, thirteen months after her departure from Eng-
* See the account of the capture of Astoria, extracted from Cox, in the Proofs
and Illustrations, under the letter 6, No. 3.
1814.]
TERMINATION OF THE ASTORIA ENTERPRISE.
305
-*'
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Cox, in the Proofii
land, bringing a large stock of supplies ; by the aid of which the
partners of the North- West Company were enabled to extend their
operations, and to establish themselves more firmly in the country.
Such was the termination of the Astoria enterprise; for no
attempt has been since made by any of the persons who were en-
gaged in it to form establishments on the western side of America.
It was wisely planned : the resources for conducting it were ample ;
and its failure was occasioned by circumstan-^es, the principal of
which could not have been reasonably anticipated at the time of its
commencement. That ships might be lost at sea, or that parties might
be destroyed by savages, or perish from cold or hunger, — casualties
such as these were expected, and provisions were made for the con-
tingencies. But, in 1810, when the Beaver sailed from New York,
no one believed that, before the end of two years, the United States
would be at war with the greatest maritime power in the world.
By that war the whole plan was traversed. Communications by
sea between the United States ano the Pacific coasts became diffi-
cult and uncertain, whilst those by land were of little advantage,
and were always liable to interruption by the enemy ; and there
was, in fact, no object in collecting furs on the Columbia, when
those articles could not be transported to China.
The Pacific Compan ^ nevertheless, might, and probably would,
have withstood all the ^ difliculties, if the directing partners on the
Columbia had been Americans, instead of being, as the greater part
of them loere, men unconnected with the United States by birth, or
citizenship, or previous residence, or family ties. Mr. Astor de-
clares that he would have preferred the loss of the establishments
and property by a fair capture, to the sale of them in a manner
which he considered disgraceful ; yet, although the conduct of
Macdougal and Mackenzie, in that sale, and subsequently, was
such as to authorize suspicions with regard to their motives, they
could not have been expected to engage in hostilities against their
compatriots and former friends. Being thus restrained from defend-
ing the honor of the Pacific Company by force, they may have con-
sidered themselves bound to take care of its interests, by the only
means in their power, as they did in the sale. American citizens
would have resisted the North-West Company, and would doubt-
less have maintained their supremacy, in the couptry of the Co-
lumbia, for some time, possibly until peace had been made between
Great Britain and the United States. '"
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306
CHAPTER XV.
1814 TO 1820.
Restitution of Astoria to the United States by Great Britain, agreeably to the Treaty
of Ghent — Alleged Reservation of Rights on the Part of Great Britain — First
Negotiation between the Governments of Great Britain and the United States
respecting the Territories west of the Rocky Mountains, and Convention for the
joint Occtipancy of those Territories — Florida Treaty between Spain and the
United States, by which the Latter acquires the Title of Spain to the North-
West Coasts — Colonel Long's exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains —
Disputes between the British North- West and Hudson's Bay Companies — Union
of those Bodies — Act of Parliament extending the Jurisdiction of the Canada
Courts to the Pacific Countries — Russian Establishments on the North Pacific-
Expeditions in Search of Northern Passages between the Atlantic and the Pacific
— Death of Tamahamaha, and Introduction of Christianity into the Sandwich
Islands.
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The capture of Astoria by the British, and the transfer of the
Pacific Company's establishments on the Columbia to the North-
West Company, were not known to the plenipotentiaries of the
United States at Ghent, on the 24th of December, 1814, when
they signed the treaty of peace between their country and Great
Britain. That treaty contains no allusion whatsoever to the north-
west coasts of America, or to any portion of the continent west of
the Lake of the Woods. The plenipotentiaries of the United
States had been instructed by their government to consent to no
claim on the part of Great Britain to territory in that quarter south
of the 49th parallel of latitude, for reasons which have been already
stated ; and, after some discussion, they proposed to the British an
article similar in effect to the fifth article of the convention signed,
but not definitively concluded, in 1807, according to which,* a
line drawn along that parallel should separate the territories of the
powers so far as they extended west of the Lake of the Woods,
provided, however, that nothing in the article should be construed
as applying to any country west of the Rocky Mountains. The
British plenipotentiaries were willing to accept this article, if it were
also accompanied by a provision that their subjects should have
access to the Mississippi River, through the territories of the United
" For the reasons and the contention here mentioned, see chap. xiii.
1815.]
THE UNITED STATES CLAIM ASTORIA.
307
States, and the right of navigating it to the sea ; but the Americans
refused positively to agree to such a stipulation, and the question
of boundaries west of the Lake of the Woods was left unsettled by
the treaty.
It was nevertheless agreed, in the first article of the treaty of
Ghent, that " all ttrritory, places, and possessions, whatsoever, taken
by either party from the other during the war, or which may be taken
after the signing of this treaty, excepting only the islands hereinafter
mentioned, [in the Bay of Fundy,] shall be restored without delay ; "
and, in virtue of this article, Mr. Monroe, the secretary of slate of
the United States, on the 18th of July, 1815, announced to Mr.
Baker, the charge d'affaires of Great Britain at Washington, that
the president intended immediately to reoccupy the post at the
mouth of the Columbia. This determination seems to have been
taken partly at the instance of Mr. Astor, who was anxious, if pos-
sible, to recommence operations on his former plan in North- West
America ; but no measures were adopted for the purpose until
September, 1817, when Captain J. Biddle, commanding the sloop
of war Ontario, and Mr. J. B. Prevost, were jointly commissioned
to proceed in that ship to the mouth of the Columbia, and there
'to assert the claim of the United States to the sovereignty of the
adjacent country, in a friendly and peaceable manner, and without
the employment of force." *
A few days after the departure of Messrs. Biddle and Prevost for
the Pacific, on this mission, Mr. Bagot, the British plenipotentiary
at Washington, addressed to Mr. J. Q, Adams, the American
secretary of state, some inquiries respecting the destination of the
Ontario, and the objects of her voyage ; and, having been informed
on those points, he remonstrated against the intended occupation
of the post at the mouth of the Columbia, on the groimds " that
the place had not been captured during tho late war, but that the
Americans had retired from it, under an agreement with the North-
West Company, which had purchased their effects, and had ever
since retained peaceable possession of the coast ; " and that " the
territory itself tvas early taken possession of in his majesty's name,
and had been since considered as forming part of his majesty's
dominions ; " under which circumstances, no claim for the restitution
of the post could be founded on the first article of the treaty of
Ghent. At what precise time this possession was taken, or on
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308
O. BRITAIN DENIES THE CLAIM OF THE U. STATES.
[1818.
what grounds the territory was considered as part of the British
dominions, the minister did not attempt to show.
Mr. Bagot at the same time communicated the circumstances to
his government, and they became the subjects of discussion between
Lord Castlereagh, the British secretary for foreign affairs, and Mr.
Rush, the American plenipotentiary at London. Lord Castlereagh
proposed tliat the question respecting the claim to the post on the
Columbia should be referred to commissioners, as many other dis-
puted points had been, agreeably to the treaty of Ghent ; to which
Mr. Rush objected, for the simple reasons — that the spot was in the
possession of the Americans before the war; that it fell, by bel-
ligerent capture, into the hands of the British during the war ; and
that, " under a treaty which stipulated the mutual restitution of all
places reduced by the arms of either party, the right of the United
Slates to immediate and full repossession could not be impugned."
The British secretary, upon this, admitted the right of the Ameri-
cans to be reinstated, and to be the party in possession, while
treating on the title ; though he regretted that the government of
the United States should have employed means to obtain restitution
which might lead to difficulties. Mr. Rush had no apprehensions
of that kind ; and it was finally agreed that the post should be
restored to the Americans, and that the question of the title to the
territory should be discussed in the negotiation as to limits and
other matters, which was soon to be commenced. ^ ord Bathurst,
the British secretary for the colonies, accordingly sent to the agents
of the North-West Company at the mouth of the Columbia a
despatch, directing them to afibrd due facilities for the reoccupation
of the post at that point by the Americans ; and an order to the
same eficct was also sent from the Admiralty to the conunandcr of
the British naval forces in the Pacific.
The Ontario passed around Cape Horn into the Pacific, and
arrived, in February, 1818, at Valparaiso, where it was agreed
between the commissioners that Captain Biddle should proceed to
the Columbia, and receive possession of Astoria for the United
States, Mr. Prevost remaining in Chili for the purpose of transact-
ing some business with the government of that country, which had
also been intrusted to him. Captain Biddle accordingly sailed to
the Columbia, and, on the 9th of August, he took temporary pos-
session of the country on that river, in the name of the United
States, after which he returned to the South Pacific.
In the mean time, Commodore Bowles, the commander of the
I'l
1818.]
ASTORIA RESTORED TO THE UNITED STATES.
309
British naval forces in the South Sea, received at Rio de Janeiro
the order iVoin the Admiralty for the surrender of the post on the
Columbia to the Americans. This order he transmitted to Captain
Sheriff, the senior officer of the ships in the Pacific, who, meeting
Mr. Prevost at Valparaiso, informed him of the contents of the
order, and oflered him a passage to the Columbia, for the purpose
of completing the business, as it certainly could not have been done
by Captain Biddle. This ofler was accepted by the American
commissioner, who proceeded, in the British frigate Blossom, to the
Columbia, and entered that river in the beginning of October ; and
Mr. Keith, the superintending partner of the North- West Company
at Fort George, or Astoria, having also received the order, from the
colonial department at London, for the surrender of the place, the
all'air was soon despatched.* On the 6th of the month. Captain
Hickey and Mr. Keith, as joint commissioners on the part of Great
Britain, presented to Mr. Prevost a paper declaring that, in obe-
dience to the commands of the prince regent, as signified in Lord
Bathurst's despatch of the 27th of January previous, and in con-
tbrmily to the first article of the treaty of Ghent, they restored to
the government of the United States, through its agent, Mr. Prevost,
the settlement of Fort George, on the Columbia River ; and Mr.
Prevost, in return, gave another paper, setting forth the fact of his
acceptance of the settlement for his government, agreeably to the
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' I'rcsidiMit Monroe's message to Congress of April 17th, 1S22, accompanied by
Mr. Prevost's letter, dated Monterey, November llth, 1816. The two papers above
m-ntioned are of so much importance, that they are here given at length.
Tiie act of delivery presented by the Britisli commissioners is as follows : —
"III obedience to the commands of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, signi-
fied in a despatch from the right honorable the Earl Bathurst, addressed to the part-
ners or agents of the North- West Company, bearing date the 27th of January, 1818,
and in obedience to a subsequ'-nt order, dated the 2(jth of July, from W. H. Sheriff,
Esq., captain of his Majesty's ship Andromache, we, the undersigned, do, in conform-
ity to the first article of the treaty of Ghent, restore to the Government of the
United States, through its agent, J. B. Prevost, Esq., the settlement of Fort George,
on the Columbia River. Given under our hands, in triplicate, at Fort George,
(Columbia River,) this 6th day of October, 1818.
" F. MicKEv, Captain of his Majesty's ship Blossom.
"J. Keith, of the JVorth-fVest Company."
The act of acceptance^ on the part of the American commissioner, is in these words : —
" I do hereby acknowledge to have this day received, in behalf of the Government
of the United States, the possession of tiie settlement designated above, in conformity
to the first article of the treaty of Ghent. Given under my hand, in triplicate, at
Fort George, (Columbia River,) this Gtli of October, 1818.
"J. B. Prevost, Agent for the United States."
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PRETENDED nESEHVATION OF THE BRITISH.
[1818.
above-mentioned treaty. The British flag was then formally low-
ered, and that of the United States, having been hoisted in its stead
over the fort, was saluted by the Blossom.
The documents above cited — the only ones which passed
between the commissioners on this occasion — are sufficient to
show that no reservation or exception was made on the part of Great
Britain, and that the restoration of Astoria to the United States
was complete and unconditional. Nevertheless, in a nef^otiation
between the governments of those nations, in 1826, relative to the
territories of the Columbia, it was maintained by the plenipoten-
tiaries of Great Britain,* that the restoration of Astoria could not
have been legally required by the United States, in virtue of the
treaty of Ghent, because the place was not a national possession,
nor a military post, and was not taken during war ; but " in order
that not even the shadow of a reflection might be cast upon the good
faith of the British government, the latter determined to give the
most liberal extension to the terms of the treaty of Ghent; and
in 1818, the purchase which the British Company had made in
1813 was restored to the United States; particular care being,
however, taken, on this occasion, to prevent any misapprehension as
to the extent of the concession made by Great Britain." In support
of this last assertion, two documents are produced, as having been
addressed, in 1818, bt/ the British ministers to their oivn agents, nn(\
which, though never before published, or communicated in any way to
the United States, were considered by the plenipotentiaries, in 1826,
as putting the " case of the restoration of Fort Astoria in too clear
a light to require further observation." One of these documents is
presented as an extract from Lord Castlereagh's despatch to Mr.
Bagot, dated February 4th, 1818, in which his lordship says, "You
will observe, that whilst this government is not disposed to contest
with the American government the point of possession, as it stood
in the Columbia River, at the moment of the rupture, they are not
prepared to admit the validity of the title of the government of the
United States to this settlement. In signifying, therefore, to Mr.
Adams the full acquiescence of your government in the reoccupa-
tion of the limited position which the United States held in that
river at the breaking out of the war, you will, at the same time, assert,
in suitalle terms, the claim of Great Britain to that territory, upon
which the American settlement must be considered an encroach-
* Staleiient presented by the British plenipotentiaries to Mr. Gtllatin, among the
Proofs and illustrations, letter H. See hereafter, chap. xvi.
•'^,
♦'
1818.]
PRETENDED RESERVATION OF BRITISH RIGHTS.
311
G-illatin, among the
ment : " the plenipotentiaries ndd that " this instruction was ex-
ecuted verbally by the person to whom it was addressed." The
other document purports to be a copy of the despatch from Lord
Bathurst to the partners of the North- West Company, mentioned in
the Act of Delivery, presented by Messrs. Keith and Hickey, direct-
ing them to restore the post on the Columbia, " in pursuance of the
first article of the treaty of Ghent," in which the words " without,
however, admitting the right of that government to the possession in
question " appear in a parenthesis.'**
Without inquiring, at present, whether or not Astoria was a
mtional possession of the United States, agreeably to the rules and
definitions laid down by writers on national law, there can be no
difficulty in showing that it was such according to the principles and
practice of Great Britain ; and for that purpose, it is necessary
merely to refer to the circumstances attending the dispute between
that power and Spain, in 1790, when the British government re-
quired from Spain the surrender of a territory discovered by her
navigators, and occupied by her forces, on the ground that it had,
previous to such occupation, become the property of British sub-
jects. Whether Astoria was a military post or not, could be of no
consequence, as the treaty of Ghent provides for the restoration of
"fl// territory, places, and possessions, whatsoever, taken by either
party from the other, during the war," except those on the Atlantic
side of America specially named ; and that the establishments on
the Columbia were so taken by the British during war, has been
sufficiently proved. The right of the United States to make settle-
ments on the Columbia, existed previous to the foundation of As-
toria, in virtue of the discoveries and explorations of their private
citizens and public officers ; and that right could not be lessened,
by any subsequent acts of their citizens, without the consent of
their government. The agents of the Pacific Company, in c.^pec-
* The following is a copy of this despatch, as given in tiie British statement, which
will be found among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume,
under the letter H : —
"Downing Street, January 27th, 1818.
" Intelligence having been received, that the United States sloop of war Ontario
has been sent by the American government to establish a settlement on the Columbia
River, which was held by that State on the breaking out of the last war, I am to
acquaint you that it is the Prince Regent's pleasure, (without, however, admitting the
right of that government to the possession in question,) that, in pursuance of the first
article of the treaty of Ghent, due facility should be given to the reoccupation of the
said settlement by the officers of the United States ; and I am to desire that you
would contribute, as much as lies in your power, to the execution of his Royal High-
Dew's commands. I have, &c. &c.,
"Bathcrst."
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312
BRITISH VIEWS OV NATIONAL rAITif.
(1818.
tation of the arrival of an overpowering Rritish force, sold their
" establishments, furs, and stock in hand,'' * to the North- West Com-
pany ; but they did not, nor eoiiM tin-y, alienate tfiv risrht of domain
of the United Staten, which continued as hefore that transuctioii
until the British forces arrived, ami took poHsession of the coutiirv
by right of conquest. The same circumstances might have oc-
curred with regard to places near the head of the Mississippi, or in
Maine ; oiid Great Britain would not have been bound more slrorii'.
ly by the treaty of Ghent to restore such places than to restore the
establishments on the Columbia.
With regard to the two documents, which the British plenipo-
tentiarics consider as putting *' the case of th. restoration of Astoria
in too clear a light to require further observation," — that is to say,
as establishing the fact of a reservation of right to that place on the
part of Great Britain, — it will not be difficult to show that they are
both insufficient, and, indeed, wholly inadmissible, as evidence in
" the case." The United States have no more concern with the
private despatches of the British ministers to their agents, than with
the private opinions of those ministers ; and the attempt to represent
such communications as reservations of rigl.t on the part of Great
Britain to the very territory which she was then in the act of re-
storing to the United States, expressedly in pursuance of a treaty,
is alike at variance with the common sense and the common inorals
of the day. No arguments are required to show that, if such reser-
vations were allowable, all engagements between nations would he
nugatory, and all faith at an end. With regard to the assertion of the
British claim to Astoria, which is said to have been verbally made hy
the British envoy at Washington to Mr. Adams — in the first placet
" it is not stated how the communication was received, nor whether
the American government consented to accept the restitution with
the reservation, as expressed in the despatch to the envoy ; " and it
is certainly by no means consonant with the usages of diplomatic
intercourse at the present day, to treat verbally on questions so
important as those of territorial sovereignty, or to consider f\s suf-
ficient protests and exceptions made in that manner, and brought
forward long after, without acknowledgment of any kind on the
part of those to whom they are said to have been addressed. The
only communication received by the American government, on the
* See Proofs and Illustrations, letter G, No. 2.
I Mr. Gallatin's counter statement, during the negotiation in 1826, communicated
to the Congress of the United States, with President Adams's message of December
12th, 1827.
• •''
1818.J
BHITIHII VIKWS or NATIONAL I'AITH.
313
occasion of tho restitution of Astoria, is explicit : " We, the nnder-
s/xf/jtrf, do, in confonnity to the first article of the treaty of (ihent,
rtitore to the government of the United States the settlement of Fort
(Jeorgc, on the Columbia River ;^' and this direct and unqualified
rccn^'nition of tiic right of tho United States cannot be aflected
by subae()uent communications to or from any persons.
It may also be remarked, that although the British government,
in \6M, pronounced as suflicient a reservation contained in a secret
(locputch from one of its own ministers to one of its own agents, and
withheld from the other party interested in the matter, yet, in 1834,
the sanjc government pronounced tho reservation contained in tho
Declaration publicly presented by the S|)anish ambassador at Lon-
don, in 1771, on the conclusion of the dispute respecting the Talk-
land Islands, " not to possess any substantial weight j" ^ inasmuch as
it had not been noticed in the Acceptance presented by the British
government in return. The circumstances connected with the last-
mentioned transaction have been already so fully exposed, that it
is unnecessary to repeat them here.
Immediately after the conclusion of the surrender of Astoria,
Mr. Keith presented to Mr. Prevost a note containing inquiries —
whether or not the government of tho United States would insist
upon tiie abandonment of the post by the North- West Company,!
belbrc the final decision of the question as to the right of sove-
reignty over the country ; and whether, in the event of such a
f
• Letter from Viscount Palmerston to Scnor Moreno, envoy of Buenos Ayres
at London, dati-d Junuary tith, IHIM. bee the note in p. Ill, containing a sketcti of
thi' circunistniices of tlif dispute rifspecting the Falkland Islands.
t The buildings, and, indeed, tho whole establishment at Astoria, had been consid-
erably increased, since it came into the hands of the North- West Company. Accord
iiig to the plan and description of the place sent by Mr. Prevost to Washington, the
factory consisted, in 18 Id, of a stockade made of pine logs, twelve feet in length
above tlie ground, enclosing a parallelogram of one hundred and fifly by two hundred
and fifty feet, extending in its greatest length from north-west to south-east, and
defended by bastions or towers at two opposite angles. Within this enclosure were
all the buildings of the establishment, such as dwelling-houses, magazines, store-
houses, mechanics' shops, &c. The artillery were two heavy eighteen-pounders,
six six-pounders, four four-pound carronades, two six-pound cohorns, and seven
swivels, all mounted. The number of persons attached to the place, besides a few
women and children, was sixty-five, of whom twenty-three were whites, twenty-six
Sandwich Islanders, (or Kana/tis, as they are generally called in the Pc.cific,) and
the remainder persons of mixed blood, from Canada. In 1821, these buildings were
all destroyed by tire ; and since that period, the principal establishment of the British
traders west of the Rocky Mountains has been Fort Vancouver, on the north side of
the Colunibia, about one hundred miles from the sea. Fort George now consists of
only three or four log-houses, occupied by a Hudson's Bay trader.
40
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314
NEGOTIATION AT LONDON.
4»i
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[1818.
decision being in favor of the United States, their government
would be disposed to indemnify the North- West Company for any
improvements which they might, in the mean time, have made there.
On these points, Mr. Prevost, having no instructions, could only
reply, as he did, to the effect — that his government would, doubtless,
if it should determine to keep up the settlement, satisfy any claims of
the North- West Company which might be conformable with justice
and the usages of civilized .nations. After a few days more spent
on the Columbia, the Blossom quitted the river with Mr. Prevost,
whom she carried to Peru, the post remaining in the hands of the
British traders, who have ever since continued to occupy it.
Whilst these measures for the restitution of Astoria were in
progress, a negotiation was carried on, at London, between the
plenipotentiaries of the American and British governments, for the
definitive arrangement of many questions which were left unsettled
by the treaty of Ghent, including those relating to the boundaries
of the territories of the two nations west of the Lake of the Woods.*
Messrs. Rush and Gallatin, the plenipotentiaries of the United
States, proposed — that the dividing line between those territories
should be drawn from the north-western extremity of that lake,
north or south, as the case might require, to the 49th parallel
of latitude, and thence along that parallel west to the Pacific
Ocean. The British commissioners, Messrs. Goulburn and Robin-
son, after a discussion in which they endeavored to secure to British
subjects the right of access to the Mississippi, and of navigatinii
that river, agreed to admit the line proposed as far west as the
Rocky Mountains ; and an article to that effect was accordingly
inserted in the projct of a convention.
The claims of the respective nations to territories west of the
Rocky Mountains were then considered. Messrs. Rush and Galla-
tin " did not assert that the United States had a perfect right to that
country, but insisted that their claim was at least good against Great
Britain ; " and they cited, in support of that claim, the facts of the
discovery of the Columbia River, of the first exploration from its
sources to its mouth, and of the formation of the first establishments
in the country through which it flows, by American citizens.
Messrs. Goulburn and Robinson, on the other hand, affirmed " that
former voyages, and principally that of Captain Cook, gave to
Great Britain the rights derived from discovery ; and they alluded to
* President Monroe's message to Congress, with the accompanying documents,
sent December 29th, 1818.
i,(i
smpanying document*,
1818.] CONVENTION OF UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN. 315
purchases from the natives south of the Columbia, which they
alleged to have been made prior to the American revolution.
They did not make any formal proposition for a boundary, but
intimated that the river itself was the most convenient which could
be adopted ; and that they would not agree to any which did not
give them the harbor at the mouth of that river, in common with
the United States."
It is needless here to repeat the proofs that Cook saw no part of
the west coast of America south of Mount San Jacinto, near the
57th degree of latitude, which had not been already explored by
the Spaniards ; with regard to the purchases from the natives
south of the Columbia, alleged to have been made by British
subjects prior to the revolution, history is entirely silent. The de-
termination expressed on the part of the British government not to
assent to ai.y arrangement which did not give to Great Britain the
mouth of the Columbia, was at least unequivocal, and was sufficient
to show that all arguments on the American side would be unavailing.
It was, accordingly, at length agreed that all territories and their
waters, claimed by either power, west of the Rocky Mountains,
should be free and open to the vessels, citizens, and subjects, of
both for the space of ten years ; provided, however, that no claim
of either, or of any other nation, to any part of those territories,
should be prejudiced by the arrangement.
This convention having been completed, it was signed by the
plenipotentiaries on the 20th of October, 1818, and was soon after
ratified by the governments of both nations.* The compromise
contained in its third article, with regard to the territories west of
the Rocky Mountains, was, perhaps, the most wise, as well as the
most equitable, measure which could have been adopted at that
tune ; considering that neither party pretended to possess a perfect
title to the sovereignty of any of those territories, and that there
was no prospect of the speedy conclusion of any arrangement with
regard to them, between either party and the other claimants,
Spain and Russia. The agreement could not certainly, at the
time, have been considered unfavorable to the United States ; for,
although the North- West Company held the whole trade of the
Columbia country, yet the important post at the mouth of that
river was restored to the Americans without reservation, and there
was every reason for supposing that it would be immediately re-
* See the third article of the convention of October, 1818, among the Proofs and
Illustrations, in the latter part of this History, under the letter K, No. 2.
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316
FLORIDA TREATY BETWEEN U. STATES AND SPAIN. [1818.
occupied by its founders : and it seemed, moreover, evident that
the citizens of the United States would enjoy many and great
advantages over all other people in the country in question, in con-
sequence of their superior facilities of access to it, especially since
the introduction of steam vessels on the Mississippi and its branches.
In the same year, a negotiation was carried on at Washington,
between the governments of the United States and Spain, in which
the question of boundaries on the north-west side of America was
likewise discussed. The Spanish minister, Don Luis de Onis,
began by declaring that " the right and dominion of the crown of
Spain to the north-west coast of America as high as the Californias,
is certain and indisputable ; the Spaniards having explored it as far
as the 47th degree, in the expedition under Juan de Fuca, in 1592,
and in that under Admiral Fonte, to the 55th degree, in 1640. The
dominion of Spain in these vast regions being thus established, and
her rights of discovery, conquest, and possession, being never dis-
puted, she could scarcely possess a property founded on more re-
spectable principles, whether of the law of nations, of public law, or
of any others which serve as a basis to such acquisitions as compose
all the indf per 'ent kingdoms and states of the earth." Upon these
positive asst I , he American plenipotentiary, Mr. J. Q. Adams,
secretary of / , did not consider himself required to offer any
comment ; and the origin, extent, and value, of the claims of Spain
to the nortli-western portion of America remained unquestioned
during the discussion. The negotiation was broken off in the early
part of the year, soon after its commencement ; it was, however,
renewed, and was terminated on the 22d of February, 1819, by a
treaty commonly called the Florida treaty, in which the southern
boundaries of the United States were definitively fixed. Spain
ceded Florida to the American republic, which relinquished all
claims to urritories west of the River Sabine, and south of the
upper parts of the Red and the Arkansas Rivers ; and it was
agreed that a line drawn on the meridian from the source of the
Arkansas northward to the 4-^d parallel of latitude, and thence
along that parallel westward to the Pacific, should form the
northern boundary of the Sj>anis!i possessions, and the southern
boundary of those of the United States, in that quarter, — " His
Catholic majesty ceding to the United States all his rights, claims,
and pretensions, to any territories nortii of the said line."
The provisions of this treaty, particularly those relating to limits,
appear to have been as nearly just as any which could have been
► SPAIN. [1818.
1818.]
TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN.
317
framed ; and, as an almost necessary consequence, they were not
received with general satisfaction by either nation. The Spanish
government withheld its ratification of the treaty for nearly two
years ; and within a year after that ratification had been made, the
authority of Spain was extinguished in every portion of America
which she had formerly possessed contiguous to the boundary thus
established in 1819.* The territories immediately adjoining that
boundary on the south, including Texas, New Mexico, and Califor-
nia, then became attached to the Mexican republic, with which
power the United States subsequently concluded a treaty confirm-
ing the limits settled with Spain.
With regard to the extent of the territory west of the Rocky
Mountains, and the validity of the title to it thus acquired by the
United States, it will be convenient here to introduce some observa-
tions : as the British government has since maintained that the only
riglits possessed by the United States in that part of America are
those derived from Spain through the Florida treaty ; and that they
are merely the rights secured to Spain, in common with Great
Britain, in 1790, by the Nootka convention.
♦
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* The third article of the Florida treaty, defining the boundary as settled, will be
found among the Proofs and Illustrations, in the latter part of this volume, under the
letter K, No. 3. The whole correspondence is contained in the documents accompa-
nying President Monroe's message to Congress of February 22d, 1819. Great skill, as
well as knowledge of the suhject, is displiiyed in the notes of each of the plenipoten-
tiaries, particularly in those of Mr. Adams, who moreover exhibits, in every part, that
earnestness arising from profound conviction of the justice of his cause, which has so
much weight even in diplomacy.
Many curious facts relative to the negotiation have subsequently been brought to
light, especially in the Memoir published by the Spanish plenipotentiary, in his defence,
after his return to Spain, in 1820. He there shows clearly, that he was by no means
convinced that the territory in dispute beyond the Sabine did not properly form a part
of Louisiana; and he declares expressly, that his principal object in the long corre-
spondence wiiich he kept up on tiiat subject, was to gain time. In fact, during the
summer of 1818, while the correspondence was partially suspended, (with the same
object of gaining time, no lU ubt,) the Spanish government formally applied to that of
Great Britain for aid, or at least for its mediation, in the aft'air; to which Lord Castle-
reagh immediately and decidedly answered in tiie negative, at the same time advising
the Spanish government to cede Florida to the United States, and to make any other
arrangement which might be deemed proper, ivithoiit ikliiij. The Chevalier de Onis,
in his Memoir, claims the praise of his nation for having exchanged, the small and com-
paratively unimportant province of Florida for the rich and productive territory of
Texas. " I will agree," he adds, " that the third article might, with greater clearness,
have been expressed thus — ' /« cx.chunge the United States cede to his Catholic majesty
the province of Texas,' &c. — but as I had been for three years maintaining, in the
lengthened correspondence herein inserted, that this province belonged to the king, it
would have been a contradiction to express, in the treaty, that the United States cede
it to his majesty."
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318
DURATTON OF THE NOOTKA OONVKNTION.
[1819.
That the Nootka convention expired on the declaration of war by
Spain against Great Britain in 1796, and conld not have been after
tlmt period in force, except in virtue of a distinct and formal renewal
by the same parties — is consonant with the universal practice of civ-
ilized nations, and especially of Great Britain, as manifested during
the well-known negotiations between her government and that of
the United States, in 1915, respecting the Newfoundland fishery.
Mr. Adams, the American plenipotentiary, on that occasion, insisted
that his countrymen should continue, not only to fish on the Banks
of Newfoundland, but also to land on the British American coasts
for the same purpoF , as they had done before the war of 1812, by
the treaty of 1783, although that treaty had not been renewed by
the treaty of Ghent, at the termination of the war — upon the ground
that the treaty of 1783, by which Great Britain acknowledged the
independence of the United States, was " of a peculiar nature, and
bore, in that nature, a character of permanency, not subject, like many
of the ordinary contracts between independent nations, to abrogation
by a subsequent war between the same parties." To this the British
minister. Lord Bathurst, answered, that, " if the United States derived
from the treaty of 1783 privileges from which other independent
nations, not admitted by treaty, were excluded, the duration of those
privileges must depend on the duration of the instrument by wliicli
they were granted ; and if the war abrogated the treaty, it deter-
mined the privileges. It has been urged, indeed," continues his
lordship, " on the part of the United States, that the treaty of 1783
was of a peculiar nature, and that, because it contained a recognition
of American independence, it could not be abrogated by a subse-
quent war between the parties. To a position of this novel nature
Great Britain cannot accede. She Icnoivs of no exception to the rule,
that all treaties are put an end to by a subsequent war between the
same parties : she cannot, therefore, consent to give to her diplo-
matic relations with one state a different degree of permanency
from that on which her connection with all other states depends.
Nor can she consider any one state at liberty to assign to a
treaty, made with her, such a peculiarity of character, as shall
make it, as to duration, an exception to all other treaties, in order
to found on a peculiarity thus assumed an irrevocable title to all
indulgences which have all the features of temporary concessions."
The British minister, indeed, admitted that recognitions of right
in a treaty might be considered as perpetual obligations : and, refer-
ring to the terms of the treaty of 1783, he showed that the right of
1819.]
THE NOOTKA CONVENTION EXPIRED IN 1796.
319
the Americans to fish on the banks of Newfoundland (that is to say,
in the open sea) was there distinctly acknowledged, while the liberty
to use the British coasts for the same purpose was conceded to them ;
and that, although the right subsisted in virtue of the independence
of the United States, the liberty expired on the declaration of war
in 1812, and could not again be enjoyed, without the express con-
sent of Great Britain. It may be added that the position thus
assumed by the British government was maintained throughout the
negotiation ; at the end of which, the liberty to take and cure fish
on certain parts of the British American coasts, so long as they
should remain unsettled, was secured to the citizens of the United
States, in common with British siibjects, forever, by the first article
of the convention of October 20th, 1818.*
Applying to the Nootka convention the rule thus enforced by
Great Britain in 1815, with all its exceptions in their widest sense,
there can be no question that this compact was entirely abrogated
by the war between that power and Spain, begun in October, 1796.
On analyzing the convention, it will be seen that the first, second,
and eighth articles relate exclusively to certain acts, which were to
be forthwith performed by one or both of the parties, and which
having been performed, as they all were, before 1796, those articles
became dead letters. By the third, article, " it is agreed, in order to
strengthen the bonds of friendship, and to preserve, in future, a perfect
harmony and good understanding betiveen the two contracting parties,"
that their respective subjects shall not be disturbed or molested in
navigating or fishing in the Pacific or Southern Oceans, or in land-
ing on the coasts of those seas in places not already occupiejl, "for
the purpose of carrying on their commerce with the natives of the
country, or of making settlements there ; " under certain restrictions,
nevertheless, to the specification of which the fourth, fifth, and
sixth articles are entirely devoted: the remaining seventh article
merely indicating the course to be pursued in cases of infraction of
the others. The Nootka convention thus contains nothing which
can be construed as a perpetual obligation, no assertion or recogni-
tion of right, which can be deemed irrevocable ; but is, as a whole,
and in each of its separate stipulations, a concession, or series of
concessions. To navigate and fish in the open sea, and to trade
and settle on coasts unoccupied by any civilized nation, are indeed
rights claimed by all civilized nations: Spain, however, did not
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THE NOOTKA CONVENTION KXPIRED IN 1796.
[1819.
acknowledge these rights as existing in any other power with
regard to the Pacific and Southern Oceans and their American
coasts ; and, by the Nootka convention, she merely engaged to
desist from the exercise of privileges claimed by her in those seas
and coasts, so far as British subjects might be affected by them,
on condition tliat Great Britain should desist from the exercise of
privileges claimed by her, in the same quarters of the world. After
the abrogation of the convention by war, each nation might again
assert and exercise the privileges claimed by it before the conclusion
of the compact ; and neither could be regjirdcd as bound by any
of the restrictions defined in tliJit instrument, until they had been
formally renewed by express consent of both the original parties.
The war begun by Spain against Great Britain, in 1796, con-
tinued, with the intermission of the two years of uncertainty suc-
ceeding the peace of Amiens, until 1809, when those nations were
again allied, in opposition to France. Since that period, they have
remained constantly at peace with each other. The only engage-
ment made between them for the renewal of treaties subsisting
before 1796, is contained in the first of the three additional articles
to the treaty of Madrid, signed on the '24th of August, 1314, wherein
" It is as'recd that, pending the negotiation of a neiv treaty of com-
merce, Great Britain shall be admitted to trade ivith Spain, upon the
same conditions as those tvhich existed previously to 1796 ; all the
treaties of commerce, which at that period subsisted between the two
nations, being hereby ratified and confirmed^ Thus the Nootka
convention could not have been in force at any time between Octo-
ber, 1796, and August, 1814; nor since that period, unless it were
renewed by the additional article above quoted. That the first part
of this article related only to trade between the European dominions
of Great Britain and Spain, is certain, because no trade had ever
been allowed, by treaty or otherwise, between either kingdom, or its
colonies, and the colonies of the other, except in the single case of
the ^s?'t7/^o, concluded in 171.3, and abrogated in 1740, agreeably
to which the British South Sea Company supplied the Spanish
colonies with negro slaves during that period ; and because, more-
over, by an article in the treaty of Madrid, to which the above-
quoted article is additional, " /n the event of the commerce of the
Spanish American colonies being oyened. to foreign nations, his
Catholic majesty promises that Great Britain shall be admitted to
trade with those possess^'ons, as the most favored nation." The second
part of the additional article is evidently intended merely in confir-
\ ;
1819.J THE NOOTKA CONVENTION EXPIRED IN 1796.
321
mation and completion of the first, which would otherwise have want-
ed the requisite degree of precision ; and it certainly could not have
embraced the convention of 1790, except so far as related to the
commerce of each of the parties on the unoccupied coasts of Amer-
ica, and the settlements made by each for that special purpose.
Had the convention of 1790 been expressly renewed and con-
firmed in 1814, it would still have been inoperative, except with
regard to subjects and establishments of the contracting parties.
The governments of Great Britain and Spain might have again
agreed that their subjects should reciprocally enjoy liberty of access
and trade, in all establishments which either might form on the
north-west coasts of America ; but neither power could have claimed
such rights in places on those coasts then occupied by a third nation.
It has been already shown that, after the abandonment of Nootka
Sound by the Spaniards, in March, 1795, no settlement was made,
or attempted, by them in any of the countries on the western side
of America north of the Bay of San Francisco ; and that, during
the period between that year and 1814, many establishments were
formed in those countries by Russians, British, and citizens of the
United States. The Russians extended their posts from Aliaska
eastward to Sitka, and even fixed themselves within a few miles of
the Bay of San Francisco. The British founded their first establish-
ment west of the Rocky Mountains, in 1806, on the upper waters
of Eraser's River, near the 54th degree of latitude. The Columbia
was surveyed by order of the government of the United States, with
a view to its occupation, in 1805 ; and their citizens made estab-
lishments on that river successively in 1808, 1810, and 1811, of
which the principal were, in 1813, taken by the British, and in
1818, restored to the Americans, agreeably to the treaty of Ghent.
Under such circumstances, the title of Spain to the countries north
of the Bay of San Francisco, however strong it may have been in
1790 or 1796, in virtue of discoveries and settlements, must be
allowed to have become considerably weaker in 1819, from disuse,
and from submission to the acts of occupation by other powers.
Thus, whilst it may be doubted th&t either of those powers could
in justice claim the sovereignty of the country occupied by its sub-
jects without the consent of Spain, the latter could not have claimed
the exclusive possession of such country, or have entered into com-
pacts with a third power, respecting trade, navigation, or settlement,
in it, agreeably to any recognized principle of national law. Still
less could Great Britain have claimed the right to exclude other
41
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LONG S EXPEDITION TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
[1819.
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nations from the sovereignty of the regions traversed by the Co-
lumbia, in which her subjects had made no discoveries, and wliicli
had been first occupied by the United States, unless upon the
ground of conquest during war ; and this ground became untena!)le
after the treaty of Ghent, as distinctly acknowledged by the British
government in the fact of the restoration of Astoria.
Thus, whilst the title to the countries north of the 42d parallel
of latitude, derived by the United States from Spain, through the
Florida treaty, was undoubtedly imperfect, — though not from any
possible effect of the Nootka convention, as insisted by the British
government in 1826, — yet that title, in addition to those previously
possessed by the Americans, in virtue of their discoveries and set-
tlements in the Columbia countries, appears to constitute a right of
occupation in their favor, stronger than could be alleged by any
other nation, if not amounting to an absolute right of sovereignty.
Immediately after the signature of the Florida treaty, an expedi-
tion for the purpose of examining the country drained by the
Missouri and its branches was organized by Mr. Calhoun, then
secretary of war of the United States, on a scale of equipment
more complete, in every respect, than any of those previously made
to that part of America. The party, comprising a large number of
officers, men of science, soldiers, and other persons, under the
command of Major Stephen Long, quitted Pittsburg on the SOth
of May, 1819, in a steam vessel which had been specially con-
structed for the purpose, and pursued their route down the Ohio,
and up the Mississippi and Missouri, examining many interestinj^
points in their way, as far as Council Bluffs, on the last-mentioned
river, eight hundred and fifty miles above its confluence with the
Mississippi. Near this place they spent the winter, and lost several
of their men from scurvy ; and, in the spring of 1820, orders were
received from Washington, in consequence of which, many of the
objects proposed were abandoned, and the operations were re-
stricted to tracing the Platte and Arkansas Rivers to their sources.
They accordingly, in June, proceeded up the valley of the Platte, a
very shallow stream, as its name imports, to the confluence of its
north and south branches or forks, distant about three hundred and
twenty miles from its mouth, and then continued along the south
fork, to its sources in the Rocky Mountains, near the 40th degree
of latitude. Here, on the 13th of July, Dr. James, the botanist of
the expedition, ascended a mountain, named after him James's
Peak, the height of which ."as estimated, though on data by no
'\p
rsons, under the
1820.] STERILITY or THE CENTRAL REGIONS OF AMERICA. 333
means sufficient, at not less than eight thousand five hundred feet
above the ocean level ; and then, striking the head-waters of th*?
Arkansas, which also flows from the same mountain, they de-
scended the valley of that river to its junction with the Mississippi.
Much information was obtained, through this expedition, respect-
ing the geography, natural history, and aboriginal inhabitants, of
the countries traversed, all of which was communicated to the
world in an exact and perspicuous narrative, published by D**.
James in 18^3. One most important fact, in a political point of
view, was completely established by the observations of the party ;
namely, that the whole division of North America, drained by the
Missouri and the Arkansas, and their tributaries, between the
meridian of the mouth of the Platte and the Rocky Mountains, is
almost entirely unfit for cultivation, and therefore uninhabitable by
a people depending upon agriculture for their subsistence. The
portion of this territory within five hundred miles of the Rocky
Mountains, on the east, extending from the 39th to the 49th paral-
lels of latitude, was indeed found to be a desert of sand and
stones ; and subsequent observations have shown the adjoining
regions, to a great distance west of those mountains, to be still
more arid and sterile. These circumstances, as they became known
through the United States, rendered the people and their repre-
sentatives in the federal legislature more and more indifferent with
re<^ard to the territories on the north-western side of the continent.
It became always difficult, and generally impossible, to engage the
attention of Congress to any matters connected with those countries :
emigrants from the populous states of the Union would not banish
themselves to the distant shores of the Pacific, whilst they could
obtain the best lands on the Mississippi and its branches at mod-
erate prices ; and capitalists would not vest their funds in establish-
ments for the administration and continued possession of which
they could have no guarantee. From 1813 until 1823, few, if
any, American citizens were employed in the countries west of the
Rocky Mountains ; and ten years more elapsed before any settle-
ment was formed, or even attempted, by them in that part of the
world.
Ciianges were, about the same time, made in the system of the
British trade in the northern parts of America, which led to the
most important political and commercial results.
Frequent allusions have been already made to the enmity svibsist-
ing between the Hudson's Bay and the North- West Compuaies.
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DISPUTES OF BItlTISH f'UR COMPANIES.
[1816.
This feeling was displayed only in words, or in the commission of
petty acts of injury or annoyance by each against the other, until
1814, when a regular war broke out between the parties, which
was, for some time after, openly carried on. The scene of the
hostilities was the territory traversed by the Red River of Hudson's
Bay and its branches, in which Lord Selkirk, a Scotch nobleman,
had, in 1811, obtained from the Hudson's Bay Company a grant
of not less than a hundred thousand square miles, for the establish-
ment of agricultural colonies. The validity of this grant was
denied by the North- West Company, to which the proposed occu-
pation of the territory in question would have been absolutely
ruinous, as the routes from Canada to the north-western trading
posts ran through it, and from it were obtained nearly all the pro-
visions consumed at those posts. The British government, however,
appeared to favor and protect Lord Selkirk's project, and a large
number of Scotch Highlanders were, without opposition, established
on Red River, the country about which received, in 1812, the
name of Ossinobia. For two years after the formation of the set-
tlement, peace was maintained; at length, in January, 1814, Miles
Macdonnel, the governor of the new province, issued a proclama-
tion, in which he set forth the limits of the region claimed by his
patron, and prohibited all persons, under pain of seizure and
prosecution, from carrying out of it " any provisions, either of flesh.
dried meat, grain, or vegetables," during that year. The attempts
to enforce this prohibition were resisted by the North- West traders,
who appeared so resolute in their determination not to yield, that
the colonists became alarmed, and quitted the country, some of
them returning to Canada, and others emigrating to the United
States. In the following year. Lord Selkirk again sent settlers of
various nations to the Red River, between whom and the North-
West people hostilities were immediately begun. Posts were taken
and destroyed on both sides; and, on the 19th of June, 1816, a
battle was fought, in which the Ossinobians were routed, and
seventeen of their number, including their governor, Mr. Semple,
were killed. The country was then again abandoned by the
settlers.*
These affairs were brought before the British Parliament in June,
• Lord Selkirk's Sketch of the British Fur Trade in jYorth .America, publishpd in
1816, and the review of it iii the London Quarterly Review for October, 1816 —
Jfarrative of the Occurrences in the Indian Countries of America, published by the
North- West Company in 1817, containing all the documents on the subject.
liament in June,
1821.] JUBISUICTION OF THE CANADA COIIITS EXTENDED. .325
1819; and a debate ensued, m the course of which the proceedings
of the two rival associations were minutely investigated. The
ministry then interposed its mediation, and a compromise was thus
at length eftected, by which the North- West Company became
united with, or rather merged in, the Hudson's Bay Company. At
the same time, and in connection with this arrangement, an " ac^
for regulating the fur trade and establishing a criminal and civil
jurisdiction in certain parts of North America " was passed in
Parliament, containing every provision recjuired to give stability to
the Hudson's Bay Company, and efficiency to its operations.
By this act, passed on the 2d of July, 1821, the king was
authorized to make grants or give licenses to any body corporate,
company, or person, for the exclusive privilege of trading with tne
jiuiians, in all such parts of North America as mny be specified
in the grants, not being parts of the territories previously granted
to the Hudson's Bay Company, or of any of his majesty's provinces
in North America, or any territories belonging to the United States
nf America : provided, however, that no such grant or license shall
be given for a longer period than twenty-one years ; that no grant
or license for exclusive trade, in the part of America west of the
Rocky Mountains, which, by the convention of 1818 with the United
States, remained free and open to the subjects or citizens of both
nations, shall be used to the prejudice or exclusion of citizens of
the United States engaged in such trade; and that no British sub-
ject shall trade in those territories west of the Rocky Mountains
without such license or grant. By the same act, also, the courts of
jiKJicature of Upper Canada are empowered to take cognizanco of
all causes, civil or criminal, arising in any of the abovf-mentioned
territories, including those previously granted to the Hudson's Bay
Company, and '^^ other parts of America, not within the limits of
either of the provinces of Upper or Lower Canada, or of any civil
government of the United States ; " and justices of the peace are to
be commissioned in those territories, to execute and enforce the
laws and the decisions of the courts, to take evidence, and commit
offenders and send them for trial to Canada, and even, under cer-
tain circumstances, to hold courts themselves, for the trial of crimi-
nal offences and misdemeanors not punishable by death, and of
civil causes, in which the amount at issue should not exceed two
hundred pounds.*
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BEAKCH run A NOHTII-WKhT PASSAGE RESUMED.
[18-21.
Upon the pnRsago of this act, the union of the two companies
was effected, an<l a grant was made, by the king, to " the governor
and company of adventurers trading to Hudson's Bay, and to
WilHam MacgilHvray, Simon Macgillivray, and Edward Elhce," the
persons so named, representing the former proprietors of the North-
West Company,* of the exclusive trade, for twenty-one years, in qH
the countries in which such privileges could be granted agreeably
to the act. Persons in the service of the company were, at the
same time, commissioned as justices of the peace for those coun-
tries ; and the jurisdiction of the courts of Upper Canada was
rendered effective as fur as the shores of the Pacific, no exception
being made, in that respect, by the act, with regard to any of the
territories embraced in the grant, ''not within the limits of any civil
government of the United States."
About this period, also, the search for a north-west pn sage, or
navigable communication between the Atlantic and the PaciiJc,
north of America, which had been so long suspended, was resuniij
by British officers, under the auspices of their government ; and
expeditions for that object were made through Baffin's Bay, as wtil
as by land, through the northernmost parts of the American conti-
nent. The geographical results of these expeditions were lii^'hlv
interesting, while, at the some time, the skill, courage, and {nrsi
verance, of the British were honorably illustrated by the labors ol
Ross, Parry, Franklin, and their companions. The west coasts of
Baffin's Bay were carefully surveyed, and many passages leadiiis;
from it towards the west and south-west, were traced to considera-
ble distances. The progress of the ships through these passagtj
was, however, in each case, arrested by ice ; and, although many
extensive portions of the northern coast of the continent wcro
explored, and the Arctic Sea, in their vicinity, was found 5ree from
ice during the short summer, the question respecting the existence
of a northern channel of communication between th» .ceanswas
left unsolved. These voyniros, independently of the value of their
scientific results, also proved most advantageous to the commerce
of the British throughout the whole of their terriluries in America,
as new routes were opened, and new regioiv.i, abounding in furs,
were rendered accessible.
The Russians were, in the mean lime, constantly increasing their
* In 1824, the North-West Company surrendered its rights and interests to tlie
Hudson's Bay Company, in the name of which alone all the operations were thence-
forward conducted.
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BUMED. [18i2I.
1815.1
KUHSIAN SKTThKMKNTH IN CALll'OUNl A.
337
trade in tlio Pacific, and, in luUlitinti to their establishments on the
nortlicrnmosf coasts of that ocean, they Imd taken possession of th«5
country a<ljoiiiiii^' Port San Francisco, which they seemed deter-
mined, as well ns able, to retain. With this object, Baranof, the
cliiof agent of the Russian American Company, in 1812, obtained
from the Spanish govcjrnor of California pern.! sion to erect some
houses, and to leave a few men on the shore of Bodega Bay, a
little north of Port San Francisco, where they were employed in
hunting the wild cattle, and drying meat for the supply of Sitka
and the other settlements. In the course of two or three years
after this permission was granted, the number of persons thus
employed became so great, and their dwelling assumed so much
the appearance of a fort, that the governor thought proper to
icmonstrate on the subject ; and, his representations being disre-
jtrded, he formally commanded the Russians to quit the territories
of his Catholic majesty. 'J'he command was treated with as little
respect as the remonstrance ; and, upon its repetition, the Russian
n.' 't, Kvikof, coolly denied the riglu of the Spaniards over the
te; ;*ory, which he asserted to be free and open for occupation by
i ,( people of any civilized power. The governor of California
\v!i* unab) to enforce his commands ; and, as no assistance could
bo artbrUeci to him from Mexico, in which the rebellion was then
at its height, the .oti'ders were left in possession of the ground,
where they remrincd until 1840, in defiance alike of Spaniards
aiul of Mexicans.
On the restoration of peace in Europe, in 1814, the Russian
American Company resolved to make another eflfort to establish a
direct commercial intercourse, by sea, between its possessions on
the North Pacific and the European ports of the empire. With this
object, the American ship Hannibal was purchased, and, her name
having been changed to Suwarrow, she was despatched from Cron-
stadt, under Lieutenant Lazaref, laden with merchandise, for Sitka,
whence she returned in the summer of 1815, with a cargo of furs
valued at a million of dollars. The adventure proving successful,
others of the same kind were made, until the communications be-
came regular, as they now are.
After the departure of this vessel from Sitka, Baranof sent about
a hundred Russians and Aleutians, under the direction of Dr.
Schaeffcr, a German, who had been the surgeon of the Suwarrow,
with the intention, apparently, of taking possession of one of the
Sandwich Islands. These men landed first at Owyhee, whence
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RUSSIAN SETTLKMKNTS IN CALIFORNIA.
[1819.
they passed successively to Woahoo and Atooi ; and in the latter
island they remained a year, committing many irregularities, witli-
out, however, effecting, in any way, the supposed objects of their
expedition, until they were at length forced to submit to the author-
ities of Tamahamaha, and to quit the islands.*
Expeditions were also made by the Russians to Bering's Strait,
and the seas beyond it, for the purpose of determining the question
as to the separation of Asia and America, which, though long before
supposed to have been ascertained, was again rendered doubtful by
some circumstances of recent occurrence. With this object, Cap-
tain Otto von Kotzebue sailed from Cronstadt in the ship Ruric,
which had been fitted out at the expense of the ex-chancellor
Romanzof, and, in the summer of 1816, penetrated through the
strait into the Arctic Sea ; but, although he surveyed the coasts of
both continents on that sea more minutely than any navigator who
had preceded him, he was unable to advance so far in any direction
as Cook had gone in 1778. In 1820, two other vessels were sent
to that part of the ocean, with the same objects ; but no detailed
account of their voyage has been made public. In the mean time,
however, the doubts as to the separation of the two continents were
completely removed, by Captains Wrangel and Anjou, who sur-
veyed the eastern parts of the Siberian coast with great care, in
defiance of the most dreadful difficulties and dangers.f
Nor did the Russians neglect to improve the administration of
their affairs on the North Pacific coasts. In 1817, Captain Golow-
nin was despatched from Europe, in the sloop of war Kamtchatka,
with a commission from the emperor to inquire into the state of the
Russian dominions in America ; and, upon the report brought back
by him, it was resolved that a radical change should be made in the
management of those possessions. Accordingly, upon the renewal
of the charter of the company on the 8th of July, 1819, regulations
were put in execution, by which the governor and other chief
officers of Russian America became directly responsible for their
* For further particulars on this subject, the reader — if he should consider the
matter worth investigating — may consult Kotzebue's narrative of his voyage to the
Pacific, in 1815-16, and Jarves's History of the Sandwich Islands.
t See the agreeable and instructive narrative, by Kotzebue, of his voyage in search
of a north-oast passage. Wrangol's account of his expedition, which has been re-
cently published, is a most interesting work, not only from the multitude of new facts
in geography, and in many of the piiysical scie.ices, which it communicates, but also
from the admiration which it inspires for the courage, good temper, and good feeling,
of the adventurous :iarrator. Wrangel has since been, for many years, the governor-
general of Russian America, and is now an admiral in the service of his country.
':il i
1819.J
OCCURKENCES AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.
329
condtJct, and the condition of all classes of the , -^'ilation of those
countries was materially benefited. The death of L»u.^...>f ren-
dered the introduction of these reforms less ditHcult ; and the
superintendence of the colonies has ever since been committed to
honorable and enlightened men, generally officers in the Russian
navy, under wiiosc direction the abuses formerly prevailing to so
frightful an extent, have been gradually removed or abated.*
About the same time, an event occurred, of great importance in
the history of a country which is, no doubt, destined materially to
influence the political condition of the north-western coasts and
regions of America. Tamahamaha, king of all the Sandwich
Islands, died in May, 1819, at the age of sixty-three, and was
succeeded in power by his son, or reputed son, Riho Riho, or
Tamahamaha Il.f Of the merits and demerits of Tamahamaha,
it would be out of place here to speak at length. He was a chief
of note at the time of the discovery of the islands by Cook, when
his character had been already formed, and the seeds of much that
was evil had been sown, and had taken firm root in his mind. No
sooner, however, was he brought into contact with civilized men,
than he began to learn, and, what was more difficult, to unlearn.
His first objects were of a nature purely selfish. He sought power
to gratify his ambition and his thirst for pleasure, but he used it,
when obtained, for nobler ends ; and of all the sovereigns of the
earth, his contemporaries, no one certainly attempted or effected as
much, in proportion to his means, for the advancement of his
people, as this barbarian chief of a little ocean island.
Upon the death of Tamahamaha, great changes were effected in
the affairs of the Sandwich Islands. The old king had resolutely
maintained the religion of his forefathers, though he suppressed
many of its horrible ceremonies and observances. Riho Riho, how-
ever, soon after his accession, abolished that religion, and embraced
the faith of the white men who came to his islands in great ships
from distant countries. His principal chiefs, Boki and Krymakoo,
(or Kalaimaku,) had been previously, in August, 1819, baptized
and received into the bosom of the Roman Catholic church by the
* Statische und cthnograpliisclie Naclirichten, Uber die Russischen Besitzungen an
der Nordwestkdstc von Ainerika — Statistical and etluiograpliical Notices concerning
thn Russian Possessions on tho North-Wost Coasts of America — by Admiral von
Wrangel, late governor-general of those countries, published at St. Petersburg,
in 18:«).
t These names are now generally written Liho Liho and Kamehamaha.
42
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OCCURRENCISS AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.
[1819.
chaplain of the French corvette L'Uranie ; and, early in 1820, a
vessel reached the islands from Boston, bringing a number of Prot-
estant missionaries, who have ever since been established there,
and have, until recently at least, exercised a powerful and generally
beneficial influence over all the ^iflairs of the kingdom.*
* For minute accounts of all these changes, and the different views of their efTects
see Account of a Residence in the Sandwich Islands from 1822 to 1825, by C. S.
Stewart, one of the missionaries — Polynesian Researches, by W. Ellis — The London
Quarterly Review for March, 1827 — The narratives of voyages in the Pacific, by
Beechey, Lord Byron^ and Belcher — The History of the Sandwich Islands, by Jarveg
— The History of American Missions, &c.
It
331
!•;!
H.I I
■'i i
CHAPTER XVI.
1820 TO 1828.
Bill reported by a Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States,
for tiie Occupation of the Columbia River — Ukase of the Emperor of Russia, with
Regard to the North Pacific Coasts — Negotiations between the Governments of Great
Britain, Russia, and the United States — Conventions between the United States
and Russia, and between Great Britain and Russia — Further Negotiations between
the United States and Great Britain relative to the North- West Coasts — Indefinite
Extension of the Arrangement for the joint Occupancy of the Territories west of
the Rocky Mountains, by the British and the Americans.
i;
Before 1820, little, if any thing, relative to the countries west of
the Rocky Mountains had been said in the Congress rf the United
States ; and those countries had excited very little interest among
the citizens of the federal republic in general.
In December of that year, however, immediately after the ratifica-
tion of the Florida treaty by Spain, a resolution was passed by the
House of Representatives in Congress, on the motion of Mr. Floyd,
of Virginia — "that an inquiry should be made, as to the situation
of the settlements on the Pacific Ocean, and as to the expediency
of occupying the Columbia River." The committee to which this
resolution was referred, presented, in January following, a long
report, containing a sketch of the history of colonization in Amer-
ica, with an account of the fur trade in the northern and north-
western sections of the continent, and a description of the country
claimed by the United States ; from all which are drawn the con-
clusions, — that the whole territory of America bordering upon the
Pacific, from the 41st degree of latitude to the 53d, if not to the
60th, belongs of right to the United States, in virtue of the purchase
of Louisiana from France, in 1803, of the acquisition of thie titles of
Spain by the Florida treaty, and of the discoveries and settlements
of American citizens ; — that the trade of this territory in furs and
other articles, and the fisheries on its coasts, might be rendered
highly productive ; and — that these advantages might be secured
to citizens of the United States exclusively, by establishing " small
trading guards" on the most north-eastern point of the Missouri,
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RUSSIAN UK ASK.
[1822.
and at the mouth of the Cohimbia, and by favoring emigration to
the country west of the Rocky Mountains, not only from the
United States, but also from Ciiina. To this report the com-
mittee appended " a bill for the occupation of the Columbia, and
the regulation of the trade with the Indians in the territories of
the United States." Without making any remarks upon the char-
acter of this report, it may be observed, that the terms of the bill
are directly at variance with the provisions of the third article of the
convention of October, 1818, between the United States and Great
Britain ; as the Columbia could not possibly be free and open to the
vessels, citizens, and subjects, of both nations, if it were occupied by
cither. The bill was suffered to lie on the table of the House during
the remainder of the session : in the ensuing year, it was again
brought before Congress, and an estimate was obtained, from the
navy commissioners, of the expense of transporting cannon, ariiinu-
nition, and stores, by sea, to the mouth of the Columbia ; but 110
further notice was taken of the subject until the winter of 18-2;j.
Measures had, in the mean time, been adopted by the Ilussi;iii
government, with regard to the north-west coasts of America, which
strongly excited the attention of both the other powers claiiiiiii;;
dominion in that quarter.
Soon after the renewal of the charter of the Russian Ameiicuii
Com|)any, a iiJcase, or imperial decree, was issued at St. Petersbuii:
by which the whole west coast of America, north of the 51st pii-
allel, and the whole east coast of Asia, north of the latitude of 1')
degrees 50 minutes, with all the adjacent and intervening islands,
were declared to belong exclusively to Russia ; and foreigners wvw
prohibited, under heavy penalties, from approaching vvitliin a
hundred miles of any of those coasts, except in cases of exlrcine
necessity.*
This decree was officially communicated to the government of
the United States in February, 18-2-2, by the Chevalier de Poletica,
Russian minister at Washington, between whom and Mr. J. Q
Adams, the American secrettary of slate, a correspondence iniiiit-
diately took place on the subject. Mr. Adams, in his first note.
simply made known the surprise of uk president at the assorlion
of a claim, on the part of Russia, to so large a portion of the west
* The ukasp, dated September 4tli, IS'21, and the correspondence between the
Russian and American irovernments with regard to it, may be found at length airioii^'
the documents accompanying President Monroe's message to Congress, of April
17th, 1822.
nd foreigners wvw
oaching witliiii a
I cases of cxtromc
182:2.]
DISCUSSION OF THE RUSSIAN CLAIMS.
333
coasts of America, and at the promulgation, by that power, of rules
of restriction so deeply affecting the rights of the United States
and their citizens ; and he desired to know whether the minister
was authorized to give explanations of the grounds of the right
claimed, upon principles generally recognized by the laws and
usages of nations.
To this M. Poletica replied by a long letter, containing a sketch —
generally erroneous — of the discoveries of his countrymen on the
north-west coasts of America, wiiich extended, according to his
idea, southward as far as tlie 49th parallel of latitude. He de-
fended the assumption of the 51st parallel as the southern limit of
the possessions of his sovereign, upon the ground that this line was
iiiiflway between the mouth of the Columbia, where the citizens of
the United States had made an establishment, and the Russian
settlement of Sitka ; and he finally maintained that his government
would be justifiable in exercising the rights of sovereignty over the
whole of the Pacific north of the said parallel, inasmuch as that sec-
tion of the sea was bounded on botli sides by Russian territories, and
was thus, in fact, a close sea. The secretary of state, in return,
asserted that, " from the period of the existence of the United
States as an independent nation, their v^^^els had freely navigated
those seas ; and the right to navigate them was a part of that inde-
pendence, as also the right of their citizens to trade, even in arms
a:i(l munitions of war, with the aboriginal natives of the north-
west coast of America, who were not under the territorial jurisdic-
tion of other nations." He denied in toto the claim of the Russians
to any part of America south of the 55th degree of latitude, on
the ground that this parallel was declared, in the charter * of the
Prussian American Company, to be the southern limit of the dis-
* The first article of the charter or privilcfrp ffrantcd by the emperor Paul to the
Russian American Company, on the 8th of July, 179!), is as follows : —
"In virtue of the discovery, by Russian navigators, of a part of the coast of
America in the north-east, beginning from the 55th degree of latitude, and of
chains of islands extending from Kamtchatka, northward towards America, and
sdulluvard towards Japan, Russia has ac(juired the right of possessing those lands;
and ihe said company is authorized to enjoy all the advantages of industry, and all
flic establishments, upon the said coast of America, in the north-east, from tiie 55th
liogree of latitude to Bering's Strait, and beyond it, as also upon the Aleutian and
Kurile Islands, and the others, situated in the eastern Arctic Ocean."
By the second article, —
"The company may make new disroveries, not only north, but also south, of the
said 55th parall(>l of latitude, and may occupy and bring under the dominion of Rus-
sia all territories tlius discovered, observing the rule, that such territories should not
hive been previously occupied and placed under subjection by another nation."
♦
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334
EXTRAVA«iANT I'KETLNSIONS OF RUSSIA.
[1822.
coveries of the Russians in 1799 ; since which period they had made
no discoveries or establishments south of the said line, on the
coast now claimed by them. With regard to the suggestion that
the Russian government might justly exercise sovereignty over the
Pacific Ocean os a dose sen, because it claims territories both on
the Asiatic and the American shores, Mr. Adams merely observed,
that the distance between those shores, on the parallel of 51 degrees
north, IS four thousand miles,; and he concluded by expressing the
persuasion of the president that the citizens of the United States
would remain unmolested in the pros^^cution of their lawful com-
merce, and that no effect would be given to a prohibition manifestly
incompatible with their rigjits.
The Russian minister plenipotentiary, a few days after the receipt
of Mr. Adams's last communication, sent another note, supporting
the rights of his sovereign, in which he advanced *' the authentic
fact, that, in 1789, the Spanish packet St. Charles, commanded by
Captain Haro, found, in the latitude of forty-eight and forty-nine
degrees, Russian establishments, to the number of eight, consisting,
in the whole, of twenty families, and four hundred and sixty-two
individuals, who were the descendants of the companions of Cap-
tain Tchirikof, supposed until then to have perished." Respecting
this '^ authentic fact, ^^ it has been shown, in the account*' already
given of the Spanish voyage to which the Chevalier Poletica refers,
that Martinez and Haro did find eight Russian establishments on
the North Pacific coast of America in 1788, but that they were till
situated in the latitudes o( ffty-cight and fifty-nine degrees, and that
the persons inhabiting them had all been, a short tir e previous,
transported thither, from Kamtchatka and the Aleutian Islands, by
Schelikof, the founder of the Russian American Company. The
minister doubtless derived his information from the introduction to
the journal of Marchand's voyage ; but he neglected to read the note
appended to that account, in which the error is explained.
The prohibitory regulation of the Russian emperor, and the
correspondence relating to it, were immediately submitted to the
Congress of the United States ; and, in the ensuing year, a nego-
tiation was commenced at St. Petersburg, the object of which was
to settle amicably and definitively the limits of the territories oa
the north-west side of America, claimed by the two nations re-
spectively, and the terms upon which their navigation and trade in
the North Pacific were in future to be conducted. A negotiation,
• • See p. 186.
1823.]
DECLARATION OF PRESIDENT MONROE.
335
for similar purposes, was, at the same time, in progress at St. Peters-
burg, between the governments of Russia and Great Britain ; the
latter power having formally protested against the claims and princi-
ples advanced in the ukase of 1821, immediately on its appearance,
and subsequently, during the session of the congress of European
sovereigns at Verona.* Under these circumstances, a desire was
felt, on the part of the government of the United States, that a joint
convention should be concluded between the three nations having
claims to territories on the north-west side of America; and the
envoys of the republic at London and St. Petersburg were severally
instructed to propose a stipulation to the effect that no settlement
should, during the next ten years, be made, in those territories, by
Russians south of the latitude of 55 degrees, by citizens of the
United States north of the latitude of 51 degrees, or by British
subjects south of the 51st or north of the 55th parallels.
This proposition for a joint convention was not accepted by
either of the governments to which it was addressed ; the principal
ground of the refusal by each being the declaration made by Presi-
dent Monroe in his message to Congress, at the commencement of
the session of 1823, that — in the discussions and arrangements then
going on with respect to the north-west coasts — " the occasion had
been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in which the rights
and interests of the United States are involved, that the American
continents, by the free and independent condition vhich they have
assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects
for colonization by any European poioer." f Against this declaration,
* Debate in Parliament on the inquiry made by Sir James Mackintosh on this
subject, May 21, 1823.
t The message of December 2d, 1823, containing this declaration, also announced
the resolution of the United States to view "as the manifestation of an unfriendly
disposition" towards themselves any attempt, on the part of a European power, to
oppress or control the destiny of any of the independent states of America. This
noble resolution was taken upon the assurance that the United States would, if ne-
cessary, be sustained in enforcing it by Great Britain, without whose cooperation it
would have been ineffective, certainly as to the prevention of the attempts. The
circumstances which induced the American government thus, at the same time,
openly to offer a blow at the only nation on whose assistance it could depend, in case
the anticipated attempts should be made by the despotic powers of Europe, have not
been disclosed. That it is the true policy of the United States, by all lawful means,
to resist the extension of European dominion in America, and to confine its limits,
and abridge its duration, wherever it may actually exist, is a proposition which no
arguments are required to demonstrate, either to American citizens or to European
sovereigns ; but this proclamation, by the government of the United States, of its
intention to pursue those ends, could have no other effect than to delay the attainment
of them, as it his evidently done.
.-■♦'
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336
BECOMMENDATIONS OF GENERAK JESLH.
[IS-^i].
I'' 1. 1 , I
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which — however just and poHtic niii^ht have been the principn
announced — was unquestionably imprudent, or at least preinatuic,
the British and the Russian f^vovernments severally protested ; and
as there were many other points on which it was not probable tluu
the three powers could agree, it was determined that the nej^otiu-
tions should be continued, as they had been commenced, separately
at London and at St. Petersburg.
Another publication, equally impolitic on the part of the Ameri-
can government, soon after contributed to render more difficult tlio
settlement of the question of boundaries on the Pacific between the
United States and Great Britain.
A select committee, appointed by the House of Representatives
of the United States, in December, 1823, with instructions to inquirf
into the expediency of occupying the mouth of the Columbin,
requested General Thomas S. Jesup, the quartermaster-general of the
army, to communicate his opinions respecting the propriety of the
measure proposed, as well as its practicability and the best method
of executing it; in answer to which that officer sent, on the IGih
of February, 1824, a letter containing an exposition of his views of
the true policy of the United States with regard to the north-west
coasts and territories of America, and of the means by which the\
might be carried into effect. Leaving aside the question as to tho
rights of the United States, he considered the possession and niilitiiiv
command of the Columbia and of the Upper Missouri necessary lor
the protection, not only of the fur trade, but also of the whole
western frontier of the republic, which is every where in contact
with numerous, powerful, and warlike tribes of savages : and, lor
this purpose, he recommended the immediate despatch of two
hundred men across the continent to the mouth of the Columbia,
while two merchant vessels should transport thither the cannon,
ammunition, materials, and stores, requisite for the first establish-
ment ; after which, four or five intermediate posts should be formed
at points between Council Bluflfs, on the Missouri, (the most western
spot then occupied by American troops,) and the Pacific. By such
means, says the letter, " present protection would be afforded to
our traders, and, on the expiration of the privilege granted to
British subjects to trade on the waters of the Columbia, we should
be enabled to remove them from our territory, and to secure the
whole trade to our own citizens."
The report of the committee, with the letter from General Jesup
annexed, was ordered to lie on the table of the House, and nothing
I'l
1824.]
NEGOTIATION AT J.OXDON.
337
more was done on the subject during that session ; the papers,
however, were both published, and they immediately attracted the
attention of the British ministry. In a conference hekl at London,
in July following, between the American envoy, Mr. Rush, and the
British conunissionerH, Messrs. Iluskisson and Stratford Canning,
tlie latter gentlemen cotnmented upon the observations of General
Jcsiip, particularly upon those respecting the removal of British
tiiidcrs from the territories of the Columbia, which, they said, " were
calculated to put Great Britain especially upon her guard, appear-
ing, as they did, at a moment when a friendly negotiation was
jicn«!lng between the two |)owers for the adjustment of their relative
and conflicting claims to that entire district of country."
It is moreover certain, from the accounts of Mr. Rusii, as well as
from those given sul)se(iuently by Mr. Gallatin, that the publication
of General Jesup's letter, and the declaration in President Monroe's
message against the establishment of European colonies in America,
rendered the British government much less disposed to any con-
cession, with regard to the north-west territories, than it would
otiiorwisc have been ; and there is reason to believe, froni many
circumstances, that they tended materially to produce a union of
views, api)roaching to a league, between that power and Russia,
which has proved very disadvantageous to the interests of the
United States on the North Pacific coasts.
The negotiation respecting the north-west coasts of America,
commenced at London in April, 1824, was not long continued ;
the parties being so entirely at variance with regard to facts as well
as principles, that the impossibility of eft'ecting any new arrange-
ment soon became evident. Mr. Rush,* the American plenipoten-
tiary, began by claiming for the United States the exclusive pos-
session and sovereignty of the whole country west of the Rocky
Mountains, from the 42d degree of latitude, at least as far north
as the 51st, between which i)arallels all the waters of the Columbia
were then supposed to be included. In support of this claim, he
cited, as in 1818, the facts — of the first discovery of the Columbia
by Gray — of the first exploration of that river from its sources to the
sea by Lewis and Clarke — of the first settlement on its banks by
the Pacific Fur Company, "a settlement which was reduced by
the arms of the British during the late war, but was formally sur-
♦
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* Letter from Mr. Rusli to the secretary of state, of August 12th, 1824, among the
docunionts accompanying President Adams's message to Congress of January Slst,
im.
43
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338 CLAIMS or the U. states and of great BRITAIN. [1824.
rendered up lo the United States at the return of peace," and — of
the transfer by Spain to the United States of all her titles to those
territories, founded upon the well-known discoveries of her navi-
gators ; and he insisted, agreeably to express instructions from his
government, "that no part of the Aniorican continent was thence-
forth to be open to colonization from Europe." In explanation and
defence of this declaration, Mr. Rush " referred to the principles
settled by the Nootka Sound convention of 1700, and remarked,
that Spain had now lost all her exclusive colonial rights, recognized
under that convention : first, by the fact of the independence of the
South American states and of Mexico ; and next, by her express
renunciation of all her rights, of whatever kind, above the lid
degree of north latitude, to the United States. Those new states
would themselves now possess the rights incident to their condition
of political independence ; and the claims of the United States
above the 42d parallel as high up as 60 degrees — claims as well
in their own right as by succession to the title of Spain — vvotdd
henceforth necessarily preclude other nations from forming colonial
establishments upon any part of the American continents,"
Messrs. Huskisson and Carming, in reply, denied that the
circumstance of a merchant vessel of the United States havitijr
penetrated the north-west coast of America at the Columbia River,
could give to the United States a claim along that coast, both
north and south of the river, over territories which, they insisted,
had been previously discovered by Great Britain herself, in e.\[)e-
ditions fitted out under the authority and with the resources of the
nation. They declared that British subjects had formed settle-
ments upon the Columbia, or upon rivers flowing into it west of
the Rocky Mountains, coc al with, if not prior to, the settlement
made by American citizens at its mouth ; and that the surrender of
that settlement after the late war was in fulfilment of the treaty of
Ghent, and did not aflfect the question of right in any way. Tiiey
treated as false or doubtful the accounts of many of the Spanish
voyages in the Pacific ; alleging, as more authentic, the narrative
of Drake's expedition, from which it appeared that he had, in
1.579, explored the west coast of America to the 48th parallel of
latitude, five or six degrees farther north than the Spaniards them-
selves pretended to have advanced before that period : and they
refused to admit that any title could be derived from the mere fact
of Spanish navigators having first seen the coast at particular spots,
even when this was capable of being fully substantiated. Finally,
DKITAIN. [1B24.
tcacp," and — of
cr titles to those
rics of her iiavi-
ructions from \m
nciit wus thcdce-
I explanation and
to the principles
), and remarked,
rif^hts, reco<ijnized
oi)endence of the
t, by her express
, above the '1-2(1
Those new states
to their condition
:ie United States
i — claims as well
)f Spain — would
1 forming colonial
itincnts."
denied that the
d States havirii,'
3 Columbia lliver,
that coast, belli
ich, they insisted,
herself, in expe-
resonrces of the
id formed settle-
g into it west of
to, the settlement
the surrender of
it of the treaty of
any way. They
ly of the Spanish
itic, the narrative
that he had, in
3 4Sth parallel of
3 Spaniards them-
period : and they
rem the mere fact
It particular spots,
itiated. Finally,
1824.]
PKOl'OSITIONS KOll PAUTITION.
339
they assured Mr. Hush that their government would never assent to
the claim set forth by him respecting the territory watered by the
Columbia River and its tributaries, which, besides being essentially
ol)jectionable in its general bearings, had also the effect of inter-
fering directly with the actual rights of Great Britain, derived from
use, occupancy, and settlement ; asserting, at the same time, that
" tliey considered the unoccupied parts of America just us much
open as heretofore to colonization by Great Britain, us well as by
other European powers, agreeably to the convention of 1790,
between the British and Spanish governments, and that the United
States would have no right to take umbrage at the establishment
of n«;w colonies from Europe, in any such parts of the American
continent." *
After much discussion on these points, Mr. Rush presented a
proposal from his government, that any country west of the Rocky
Mountains, which might be claimed by the United States, or by
Great Britain, should be free and open to the citizens or subjects
of both nations for ten years from the date of the agreement :
Provided, that, during this period, no settlements were to be made
by British subjects north of the 55th or south of the 51st degrees
of latitude, nor by Amcricni citizens north of the latter parallel.
To this proposal, which Mr. Rush afterwards varied by substituting
the 49th parallel of latitude for the 51st, Messrs. Huskisson and
Ciuniing replied by a counter proposal, to the effect, that the
boundary between the territories of the two nations, beyond the
Rocky Mountains, should pass from those mountains westward
along the 49th parallel of latitude, to the north-easternmost branch
of the Columbia River, called Macgillivray's River on the maps,
and thence down the middle of the stream, to the Pacific ; the
British possessing the country north and west of such line, and the
United States that which lay south and east of it : Provided, that
the subjects or citizens of both nations should be equally at liberty,
during the space of ten years from the date of the agreement, to
pass by land or by water through all the territories on both sides of
the boundary, and to retain and use their establishments already
formed in any part of them. The British plenipotentiaries at the
same time declared that this their proposal was one from which
* Protocol of the twelfth conference between the plenipotentiaries, held June 26th,
1824, among the documents annexed to President Adams's message to Congress of
January Slst, 1826.
4'
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PnOPOSlTIONS foil PARTITION.
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Great Britniii wouKI cortainly not depart ; nnd, n8 nil prospect of
compromise was thus destroyed, the negotiation ended.
In this discussion between the United States and Great nritnin,
uiMin the subject of thcMr respective claims to the soverei{;nty of
the countries west of the lloeky Mountains, the grounds of tlioso
claims were first made to assume a form somewhat definite ; and
this may be considered as princi|)ally due to the labor and pene-
tration of Mr. Rush, who seems to have been the first to inqiiirc
carefully into the facts of the case. The introduction by him of tlu>
Nootka convention, as an element in the controversy, was accordin;,'
to express instructions frotn his povernment.* It appears to Imvo
been wholly unnecessary, and was certainly impolitic. No allusjnii
had been made to that arrangement in any of the previous discus-
sions with regard to the north-west coasts, and it was doubth ss
considered extinct ; but when it was thus brought forward by thu
American government in connection with the declaration against
European colonization, as a settlement of general principles with
regard to those coasts, an argument was aHbrded in favor of ilu;
subsistence of the convention, of which the British government did
not fail to take advantage, as will be hereafter shown.
* " Tlie principles settlod by ttic Nootka Sound ronvontion of 28th October, 1711(1,
were —
"' 1st. That the rii;iits of fishinij in tiic South Seiis; of tnidiiiif with the nativPNnf
the north-west coast of America; and of inakinir settletnents on tlie coast itself, I'., r
the purposes of that trade, north of tiie artiuil settlements of Spain, were common to
all the European nation.s, and, of course, to the United States.
"'yd. That, so far as the aetmil settlements of Spain had extended, she possessed
the exclusive rights territorial, and of niivijifation iind fishery; extending to the dm-
tance often miles from the const so iirtiiiifhj ornifiinl,
" ' 3d. That, on the coasts of Smith ,'lmrriru, and the adjacent islands sonth of tlic
parts already occupied by Spain, no si<tt.lement should Ihereatler be made eillier hy
British or Spanish subjects; but, on both sides, should be retained the liberty of land-
ing and of erecting temporary buildings tor the purposes of the fishery. These riglil^
were, also, of course, enjoyed by the people of the United Slates.
"'The exclusive rights of Si)aiu to any j)art of the American continents liavo
ceased. That portion of the convention, therefore, which recognizes the exclusive
colonial rights of Spain on these continents, though confirmed, as between (Jrcat
Britain and Spain, by the first additional article to the treaty of the oth of July, If II,
has been extinguished by tlie fact of the independence ot'the South American nations
and of Mexico. Those independent nations will possess the rights incid(<nt to that
condition, and their territories will, of course, bo subject to no crchisirc right of nav-
igation in their vicmity, or of access to them, by anj' tiireign nation.
" ' A necessary consequence of this state of things will be, that the American con-
tinents, henceforth, will no longer be subject to colonization. Occupied by civilized,
independent nations, they will be accessible to Europeans, and each other, on that
18'2I.| tuNVr.NTlON UKTWKKN Till. l\ 8TATKS AND ULSSIA.
Ml
if 28th October, 17!l(),
In tli(3 incuii time, tliu iiui^otiiition between tlic Uiiitud States and
Knssiii was terminated by a convention, sij^ned ut St. PetcTsbnrj;,
oil tlio 5tli of April, \&M, containing five articles: by the Jint of
which, it is agreed that the respective citizens or subjects of the
two nations shall not l.o distiirlMid or r<Htniitie<l in navigating or in
fiHliing in any |>art of the I'acitic Ocean, or in the power of resort-
ing to the coasts upon points which may not already have been
occupied, for the purpose of trading with the natives; saving,
always, the restrictions and conditions determined by the following
articles, to wit: by the smntd article, the citizens of the Linitcil
?5tates shall not resort to any point on the north-west coasts of
America, where then; is n Russian establishment, without tho
IHMiiiission of the governor or commandant of the place, and vice
rersn: by the third article, neither the United States nor their
cilizons shall, in future, form any establishment on those coasts, or
the adjacent islands, north of the latitude of 51 degrees 40 minutes,
and the Russians shall make none south of that latitude. '' It is,
iii'vertheless, understood,'' says the fourth article, '' that dming a
torrii of ten years, counting from the signature of the present con-
vention, the ships of both powers, or which belong to their citizens
or subjects respectively, may reciprocally fre<juent, without any
liiuderance whatever, the interior seas, gult's, harbors, and creeks,
ii|)on the coast mentioned in the preceding anl< io, for the purpose
i . I
.'! 1
III !■
t ••
ii)otinif alonp; and the Pacific Oceiin, in ovory part of it, will rrinaiii opi-ii to tho
n;ivigiUion of all iiiitions, in like niiintu'r with thi' .'Vlluntic' " — Instructions of the
lion. J. Q. Adams, sccrt-tary of sfale of the United States, to .Mr. Rush, dated July
•,'•,'(!, l!^'£\, ainoii'^r the diieunients accompany injr President Adams's niessajfe to Con-
iricss iif January :Ust, 1^2G.
With reifard to the portion of tiiese instructions here extracted, the reader is re-
fiTred to the convention of \7'M) itsell", and to the remarks on it in pp. '-ll'-i, '2'>^, and
;ib, of this History, from which it will ho seen that the convention, in all its stipula-
tions, was simply an international airreement hetween Spain and (rreat Britain, bind-
iiilllhcni and their suhjecls only until its e.\|iiratioii, which took place, in consequence
of till' war, in 17!ll!, and apply in^r in no respect, either as to advantajres or restrictions,
til uiiy other nation whatsoever; and that, conse(pienlly, other nations luul the same
ri^'ht to occujiy the vacant coasts of .\)ncrica, and to iiavii^ale and fish in tho adjacent
seas, within ten leajfurs, (the distance defined by the convention,) and even within
ti'ii miles, of the parts occupied by Spain, after, as before, the signature of that agree-
ment; and Spain had as naich right, atler, as before, that event, to prohibit them
from so doing, if the Nootka (convention were, as as.-:erted by the secretary of state,
a defuiitive settlement of general principles of national law res|iecting navigation
and fi.sliery in the seas, and trade and settlenu'iit on the coasts, here mentioned, it
Would lie ditlicult to resist the ]iretensious of the IJrilish jdenipotentiaries with regard
to the territories west of the Kocky Mountains, as set forth in tho statement (Proofs
and Illustrations, letter II) presented by them to Mr. Gallatin in 1626.
1 ' ^
n h
',i. ' "
Pi?!-*
'it.
1 ll
342
TREATY BETWEEN RUSSIA AND GREAT BRITAIN.
[1825.
of fishing and trading with the natives of t''e country : " it being,
however, stipulated by the remaining Jifth article, that spirituous
liquors, fire-arms, other arms, powder, and munitions of war, are
always excepted from this same commerce permitted by the fourth
article, and that, in case of contravention of this part of the agree-
ment, the nation whose citizens or subjects may have committed
the delinquency, shall alone have the right to punish them.*
This convention does not appear to offer any grounds for dispute
as to the construction of its stipulations, but is, on the contrary, clear
and equally favorable to both nations. The rights of both parties to
navigate every part of the Pacific, and to trade with the natives of
any places oti the coasts of that sea, not already occupied, are first
distinctly acknowledged ; after which it is agreed, in order to pre-
vent future difficulties, that each should submit to certain limitations
as to navigation, trade, and settlement, on the north-west coasts of
America, either perpetually or during a fixed period. Neither party
claimed, directly or by inference, the immediate sovereignty of any
spot on the American coasts not occupied by its citizens or sub-
jects, or acknowledged the right of the other to the possession of
any spot not so occupied ; the definitive regulation of limits bcinj;
deferred until the establishments and other interests of the tuo
nations in that quarter of the world should have acquired such a
development as to render more precise stipulations necessary.
The Russian government, however, construed this convention as
giving to itself the absolute sovereignty of all the ivest coasts of
America north of the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes, while deny-
ing any such right on the part of the United States to the coasts
extending southward from that line. In February, 1825, a treaty
was concluded between Russia and Great Britain, relative to North-
West America, containing provisions similar to those of the con-
vention between Russia and the United States, expressed in nearly
the same words, but also containing many other provisions, some
of which are directly at variance with the evident sense of the last-
mentioned agreement. Thus it is established, by the treaty, that
*' the line of demarkation between the possessions of the high contract-
ing parties upon the coast of the continent, and the islands of
America to the north-west," shall be drawn from the southernmost
point of Prince of Wales's Island, in latitude of 54 degrees 40
i
* This convention will be found at length among the Proofs and Illustrations,
in the concluding part of this volume, under the letter K, No. 4.
1825.]
TREATY BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA.
343
minutes eastward, to the great inlet in the continent, called Port-
land Channel, and along the middle of that inlet, to the 56th
degree of latitude, whence it shall follow the summit of the moun-
tains bordering the coast, within ten leagues, north-westward, to
Mount St. Elias, and thence north, in the course of the 141st
meridian west from Greenwich, to the Frozen Ocean ; " which
line," says the treaty, " shaU form the limit between the Russian
and the British possessions in the continent of America to the north-
west ; " it being also agreed that the British should forever have
the right to navigate any streams flowing into the Pacific from the
interior, across the line of demarkatioiu*
That this treaty virtually annulled the convention, of the pre-
ceding year, between Russia and the United States, is evident ; for
the convention rested entirely upon the assumption that the United
States possessed the same right to the part of the American coast
south of the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes, which Russia pos-
sessed to the part north of that parallel : and the treaty distinctly ac-
knowledged the former or southern division of the coast to be the
property of Great Britain. It does not, however, appear that any
representation on the subject was addressed by the American gov-
ernment to that of Russia ; and the vessels of the United States
continued to frequent all the unoccupied parts of the north-west
coast, and to trade with the natives uninterruptedly, until 1834,
wiien, as will be hereafter shown, they were formally prohibited,
by the Russian authorities, from visiting any place on that coast
north of the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes, on the ground that
their right to do so had expired, agreeably to the convention of
18-24.
In December, 1824, President Monroe, in his last annual mes-
sage to Congress, recommended the establishment of a military post
at the mouth of the Columbia, or at some other point witiun the
acknowledged limits of the United States, in order to afford pro-
tection to their commerce and fisheries in the Pacific, to conciliate
the Indians of the north-west, and to promote the intercourse be-
■*
'i'
'li
10!
:*:.
■ 1 f •;
'■ .' !
* See Proofs and Illustrations, at the end of this volume, under the letter K, No. 5.
Some curious particulars relative to the nefrotiation wliicli led to this treaty may be
found in the Political Life of the Hon. George Canninjr, by A. G. Stapleton, chap.
xiv. Mr. Canning, it seems, was an.vious for the conclusion of a joint convention
between Great Britain, the United States, and Russia, as regards the freedom of
navigation of the Pacific, until the appearance of the declaration in the message of
President Monroe above mentioned, after which he determined only to treat with
each of the other parties separately.
I"t'-
,mn
I i:. i
-!. !
iU
.'^
344
MOVEMENTS IN CONiJBESS.
[18->4.
tween those territories and the settled portions of the republic-
to effect which ohjcrt, he advised lliat appropriations should be
made for the despatcb of a frigate, with engineers, to explore the
mouth of the Columbia and the cadjacent shores. The same
measures were, in the following year, also reconunended by Presi-
dent Adams, among the various jjlans for the advantage of the
United States and of the world in general, to which he requested
the attention of Congress, in his message, at the commencement
of the session. In compliance with this recommendation, a com-
mittee was api)ointed by the House of Representativ(!s, the chairniiia
of which, Mr. Haylies, of Massachusetts, presented two icporls,*
containing numerous details with respect to — the history of <liseove-
ry and trade in North- West America, — the geography, soil, climate.
productions, and iidiabitants, of the portion claimed by the United
States, — the number and value of the furs procured there, — the
expenses of surveying the coasts and of fonniiii; military estalihsh-
ments for its occupation, and many other matti'rs relating to that
part of the world : in consideration whereof, the committee intro-
duced a bill for the immediate execution of the measures ])ro|)()so(l
by the president. This bill was laid on the table of the House, and
the subject was not again agitated in Congress mitil 18'28.
Meanwhile, the period of ten years, during which the countrii'.
claimed by tlie United .States or by Great Britain, west of the Keckv
Mountains, n'ere, agreeably to the convention of IS 18, to remiiiu
free and open to the citizens or subjects of both nations, was (haw-
ing to a close ; and a strong desire was n)anifested, on the part of
the American government, that some definitive arrangement with
regard to those countries should be concluded between the two
powers, before the expiration of ihe term. The British secretarv
for foreign atlairs also signified that iiis government was j)repar(d
to enter into a new discussion of the (juestion at issue ; and a iiego-
.lation with these objects was accordingly commenced betwetMi
Mr. Callatin. Ilie minister pleni[)otentiary of the United States at
London, and Messrs. Addington and Huskisi^on, commissioners on
the j)art of (Jreat Britain.
Before relating the particulars of this negotiation, it should be
observed that the relative positions of the two parties, as to th(
occupancy and actual possession of the coimtries in (juestion, had
been materially changed since the conclusion of the former conven-
* Dated fipvernlly Jimunry lOtli, luid May 15th, 1826.
1826.] BRITISH IN ^UIET POSSESSION OF THE COLUMBIA.
345
tion between them. The union of the rival British companies, and
the extension of the jurisdiction of the courts of Upper Canada over
the territories west of the Rocky Mountains, had already proved
most advantageous to the Hudson's Bay Company, which had at the
same time received the privilege of trading in that territory, to the
exclusion of all other British snbjects. Great efforts were made,
and vast expenses were incurred, by this company, in its efforts to
found settlements on the Columbia River, and to acquire influence
over the natives of the surrounding country ; and so successful had
been those efforts, that the citizens of the United States were
obliged, not only to renounce all ideas of renewing their estab-
lishments in that part of America, but even to withdraw their
vessels from its coasts. Indeed, for more than ten years after the
capture of Astoria by the British, scarcely a single American citizen
was to be seen in those countries. Trading expeditions were sub-
sequently made from Missouri to the head-waters of the Platte
and the Colorado, "/ithin the limits of California, and one or two
hundred hunters and trappers, from the United States, were gen-
erally roving through that region ; but the Americans had no
settlements of any kind, and their government exercised no juris-
diction whatsoever west of the Rocky Mountains.
Under such favorable circumstances, the Hudson's Bay Company
could not fail to prosper. Its resources were no longer wasted in
disputes with rivals ; its operations were conducted with despatch
and certainty ; its posts were extended, and its means of communi-
cation increased, under the assurance that the honor of the British
government and nation was thereby more strongly interested in its
behalf. The agents of the company were seen in every part of the
continent, north and north-west of the United States and Canada,
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, hunting, trapping, and trading
with the aborigines ; its boats were met on every stream and lake,
conveying British goods into the interior, or furs to the great deposi-
tories on each ocean, for shipment to England in British vessels ;
and the utmost order and regularity were maintained throughout by
the supremacy of British laws. Of the trading posts, many were
fortified, and could be defended by their inmates — men inured lo
hardships and dangers — against all attacks which might be appre-
hended ; and the whole vast expanse of territory above described,
including the regions drained by the Columbia, was, in fact, occu-
pied by British forces, and governed by British laws, though there
44
! i J|
''■I
1
t' I
m
".;,;i.i
'4 I ,1'! .
.i: '
' 4 ,^i
m u-
V • ■
t^ \
:)i
346
NEGOTIATION AT LONDON.
[18-26.
was not a single British soldier — technically speaking — within
its limits.
Considering this state of things, and also the characters of the
two nations engaged in the controversy and of their governments,
it may readily be supposed that many and great obstacles would
exist in the way of a definitive and amicable arrangement of the
questions at issue, between the Americans ever solicitous with
respect to territory wnich they have any reason to regard as their
own, and the British with whom the acquisition and security of
commercial advantages always form a paramount object of policy.
To the difficulties occasioned by the conflict of such material
interests, in this particular case, were added those arising from the
pride of the parties, and their mutual jealousy, which seems ever to
render them adverse to any settlement of a disputed point, even
though it should be manifestly advantageous to them both.
In the first conference,* the British commissioners declared that
their government was still ready to abide by the proposition made
to Mr. Rush, in 1824, for a line of separation between the territories
of the two nations, drawn from the Rocky Mountains, along the
49th parallel of latitude to the north-easternmost branch of the
Columbia, and thence down that river to the sea ; giving to Great
Britain all the territories north, and to the United States all south,
of that line. Mr. Gallatin, in reply, agreeably to instructions from
his government, repeated the offer made by himself and Mr. Rush,
in 1818, for the adoption of the 49th parallel as the line of separa-
tion from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, with the additional
provisions, — 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 brandies, and of the
main stream, should be perpetually free and common to the people
of both nationr> — that the citizens or subjects of neither party
should thenceforward make any settlements in the territories of the
other ; but that all settlements already formed by tiie people of
either nation within the limits of the other, might be occupied and
used by them for ten years, and no longer, during which all the
remaining provisions of the existing convention should continue in
force. The British refused to accede to this or any other plan of
partition which should deprive them of the northern bank of the
* President Adams's message to Congress of December 28th, 1827, and the ac-
companying documents.
- ; .it, a .'§', %'. • i
4; =1 1 -
1826.]
NEGOTIATION SUSPENDED.
347
Columbia, and the right of navigating that river to and from the
sea ; though they expressed their vviUingness to yield to the United
States, in addition to what they first offered, a detached territory,
extending, or the Pacific and the Strait of Fuca, from Bulfinch's
Harbor to Hood's Canal, and to stipulate that no works should at
any time be erected at the mouth or on the banks of the Columbia,
calculated to impede the free navigation of that river, by either
party. The Americans, however, being equally determined not to
give up their title to any part of the country south of the 49th par-
allel, all expectation of effecting a definitive disposition of the claims
was abandoned.
The plenipotentiaries then directed their attention to the sub-
ject of a renewal of the arrangement for the use and occupancy
of the territories in question by the people of both nations. With
this view, the British proposed that the existing arrangement
should be renewed according to the terms of the third article
of the convention of October 20th, 1818, for fifteen years from
the date of the expiration of that convention ; with the addi-
tional provisions, however, that, during those fifteen years, neither
power should assume or exercise any right of exclusive sovereignty
or dominion over any part of the territory ; and that no settlement
then made, or which might thereafter be made, by either nation
in those countries, should ever be adduced in support of any
claim to such sovereignty or dominion. This proposition was re-
ceived by Mr. Gallatin for reference to his government, although
he sav/ a* once that the additional provisions were inadmissible ; and
the negotiation was, in consequence, suspended for some months.
During this first period of the negotiation, the claims and pre-
tensions of the two nations respecting the countries ii: question, were
developed and discussed more fully than on any previous occasion,
not only in the conferences between the plenipotentiaries, but also
in written statements,*'' formally presented on each side. As nearly
i<
i
1
1
r'
.: 1 i
ii ' 1
i
I'H 1
^1). !
■:i V
th, 1827, and the ac-
* The statement of the British commissioners is \,: sented entire in the Proofs and
Illustrations, under the letter H, in ordi. • * no doubt may subsist as to the nature
of the claims of Great Britain, and of vidence and arguments by which they
are supported. As a state paper, it will, ^ ps, be found unworthy of the nation on
whose part it was produced, and of at least one of the persons from whom it pro-
ceeded ; many will regret to see appended to it the name of William Huskisson, and
to learn that it received the approval of George Canning.
The counter -statevierd of Mr. Gallatin, a most able document, is omitted only be-
cause its insertion would have too much increased the bulk of the volume.
343
CLAIMS OF THE UNITED STATES.
[1826.
every point touched by either of the parties has been already ex-
amined minutely in the foregoing pages, it only remains now to
recapitulate them, and to add some remarks, which could not
have been conveniently introduced at an earlier period.
Mr. Gallatin claimed for the United States the possession of the
territory west of the Rocky Mountains, between the 42d and the
49th parallels of latitude, on the grounds of —
The acquisition by the United States of the titles of France
through the Louisiana treaty, and the titles of Spain through the
Florida treaty ;
The discovery of the mouth of the Columbia, the first explora-
tion of the countries through which that river flows, and the estab-
lishment of the first posts and settlements in those countries by
American citizens ;
Tiie i4rtual recognition of the title of the United States, by the
British government, in the restitution, agreeably to the first article
of the treaty of Ghent, of the post nea*- the mouth of the Columbia,
which had been taken during the war ;
And. lastly, upon the ground of contis^uity, which should givo the
United States a stronger right to those territories than could be
advanced by any other power — a doctrine always maintained by
Great Britain, from the poriod of her tarlicst attempts at roloni/n-
tion in America, as clearly proved by licr chiirtcrs, in wliicli the
whole breadth of the continent, hotwocn certain parallels of lati-
tude, was granted to colonies established only at points on the
borders of the Atlantic*
Messrs. Huskisson and Addinjiton, on the other hand, declared
that Great Britain claims no exclusive sovereignty over any portinii
of the territory on the Pacific between the 4-2d and the 49th paral-
lels of latitude ; her present claim, not in res[)ect to any part, but
to the whole, being limited to a right of joint occupancy, in com-
mon with other states, leaving the right of exclusive dominion in
abeyance. They then proceeded to examine the grounds of the
claims of the United States, none of which they admitted to be
* "If," says Mr. (lallatin, "sonic tradiiiir factDiii's on llic sliort's of Hudson's Ihv
have been considered by Great Britain as irivinir an exclusive rii;ht of oef upancv us
far as tlie Rocky Mf)untains; if liie infant sefllenierits on the mure soiitliern Atlantii:
shores justified a claim thence to the South Seas, and winch was actually enforced to
the Mississippi, — that of the millions already within reach of those seas cannot con-
sistently be rejected." This argument, it may be added, haa been since constantly
increasing in force.
♦
i; :
been already ex-
remains now to
vhich could not
period.
possession of the
he 42d and the
titles of France
pain through the
the first explora-
s, and the estab-
lose countries by
ed States, by the
) the first article
of the Columbia,
ih should givo the
es than could be
vs maintained by
npts at rolonizji-
rs, in which the
parallels of lati-
at points on the
r hand, declared
over any portion
id the 49th paral-
to any part, but
cupancy, in com-
sivf dominion in
ijrrounds of the
uduiiltcd to be
< of I ludson's H^.v
lit dl' ocoupaiicy ;is
uri' sotithern Atlaiitii;
s actually enforced to
liDse seas cannot con-
)een since constantly
1826.]
CLAIMS OF UUEAT BHITAIN.
349
valid, except that acquired from Spain, through the Florida treaty,
in 1819 ; and the right thus acquired they pronounced to be nothing
more than the right secured to Spain, in common with Great Brit-
ain, by the JNootka convention, in 1790, to trade and settle in any
part of those countries, and to navigate thei. waters. Dismissing
the claims of Spain, on the grounds of discovery, prior to 1790,
as futile and visionary, and inferior to those of Great Britain on the
same grounds, they maintained that all arguments and pretensions
of either of those powers, whether resting on discovery or on any
other consideration, were definitively set at rest by the Nootka
convention, after the signature of which, the title was no longer to
be traced in vague discoveries, several of them admitted to be
apocryphal, but in the text and stipulations of that convention
itself ; and that, as the Nootka convention applied to all parts of the
north-west coast of America not occupied, in 1790, by either of
the parties, it of course included any portion of Louisiana which
might then have extended, on the Pacific, north of the northern-
most Spanish settlement, and which could not, therefore, be claimed
by the United States, in virtue of the treaty for the cession of Lou-
isiiina to that republic, in 1803.
Having assumed this ground, it was scarcely necessary for the
British plenipotentiaries to go further into the examination of the
tiilfs of the United States; and they probably acted on this suppo-
sition, as it is otherwise impossible to account for the gross mis-
statements with rt^irard to the discoveries of the Americans, the
extravagant and unfounded assumptions, and the illogical deduc-
tions, in the document presented by them to Mr. Gallatin, on the
part of their government. Thus, with regard to the discovery of
the mouth of the Cohunbia; they insisted that •' Mr. Meares, a lieu-
tenant in the royal navy, who had been sent by the East India
Company on a trading expedition to the north-west coasts of
America," really etlected that <lis'ov(Y\ lour years before Gray is
even pretended to have; entered the river;* thovigh they indeed
admitted that " Mr. (jray, finding himself in the bay formed by the
discharge of th<? waters of the Columl)ia into the Pacific, was the
fust to ascertain that this bay formed the outlet nf a i>;reat river, a
discovery which had escaped Lieutenant Meares " when he entered
the same bay ; but that, even supposing the priority of Gray's dis-
covery lO be proved, it was of no cons(;(|nence in the case, as the
i^--
i
i'i
Ml
See p. 177.
i
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ml
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*^,i.'- '
■;/■
I
350
CLAIMS OV GKBAT BUITAIN.
[18ii6.
country in which it was made " fulls within the provisions of the
convention of 1790." They refused to allow that the claims of the
United States are strengthened by the exploration of the country
thniugh which the Columbia flows, as performed in 1805-6 by
Lewis and Clarke, " because, if not before, at least in the same and
subsequent years," the agents of the North-West Company had
established posts on the northern branch of the river, and were
extending them down to its mouth, when they heard of the forma-
tion of the American post at that place in 1811.* That the restora-
tion of Astoria, in 1818, conveyed a virtual acknowledgment by
Great Britain of the title of the United States to the country j.i
which that post is situated, was also denied, on the ground that
letters protesting against such title were, at the time of the restora-
ticn, addressed, by members of the British ministry, to British agents
in the United States and on the Columbia.f It is needless to add
any thing to what has been already said on these points, in order
to prove the entire groundlessness of the assertions contained in the
British statement with regard to them.
The charters granted by the sovereigns of Great Britain and
France, conveying to individuals or companies large tracts of terri-
tory in America, were represented, by the British plenipotentiaries,
as being nothing " more, in fact, than a cession to the grantee or
grantees of whatever rights the grantor might suppose himself to
possess, to the exclusion of other subjects of the same nation,—-
binding and restraining those only who were within the jurisdic-
tion of the grantor, and of no force or validity against the subjects
of other states, until recognized by treaty, and thereby becominj^ a
part of international law." The erroneousness of these views
is obvious, and was easily demonstrated by Mr. Gallatin, who
showed, by reference to the history of British colonization and
dominion in America, that the royal grantors of territories in that
continent did consider their charters as binding on all, whether their
own subjects or not, and with regard to countries first discovered
and settled by people of other nations, whenever they were found
to be within the limits thus indicated. These facts were cited, not
in vindication of the justice of those grants, but merely to prove
in what light they had been regarded by Great Britain : and, if the
principle thus assumed by that power, and maintained from 1580
to 1782, as relating to Atlantic colonies, were correct, she could not
See p. 297.
t See p. 310.
1826.]
DETEKMTNATIONS OF GREAT BRITAIN.
351
deny its application to th<; United States, now the owners of Lou-
isiana.*
The British plenipotentiaries worn, however, clear and explicit as
to the intentions of their jjovcrnnieiit, which were declared, at the
conclusion of their statenunit, in terms of moderation and forbear-
ance truly edifying. Great Britain, they assert, claims, at present,
nothing more than the rights of trade, navigation, and settlement,
in the part of the world under consideration, agreeably to the pro-
visions of the Nootka convention, the basis of the law of nations
with regard to those territories and waters, under the protection of
which many important British interests have grown up ; and she
admits that the United States have the same rights, but none other,
although they have been exercised only in one instance, and not
at all since 1813. In the territory between the 42d and the 49th
parallels of latitude, are many British posts and settlements, for the
trade and supply of which, the free navigation of the Columbia,
to and from the sea, is indispensable ; the United States possess
not a single post or settlement of any kind in that whole region.
Great Britain, nevertheless, for the sake of peace and good under-
standing, agrees to submit to a definitive partition of that territory,
giving to the United States the whole division south of the Co-
lumbia, and a large tract containing an excellent harbor, north of
that river ; and, the United States having declined to accede to this
proposition, it only remains for Great Britain to maintain and up-
* "This construction does not appear cither to have been tliat intended at the time
by the grantors, or to liave iroverned ttie subsequent conduct of Great Britain. By
excepting from the grants, as was gc^nerally the case, such lands as were already oc-
cupied by the subjects of other civilized nations, it was rlearly implied that no other
exception was contemplated, and that the grants were intended to include all unoccu-
pied lands within their respective boundaries, to the exclusion of all oth'T persons or
nations whatsoever. In point of fact, the whole country drained bj the several rivers
emptying into the Atlantic Ocean, the mouths of which were within those charters,
has, from Hudson's Bay to Florida, and, it is believed, without exception, been occu-
pied and held by virtue of those charters. Not only has this principle been fully
confirmed, but it has been notoriously euiorced much beyond the sources of the rivers
on which the settlements were formed. The priority of the French settlements on
the rivers flowing wcstwardly from the Alleghany Mountains into the Mississippi was
altogether disregarded ; and the rights of the Atlantic colonies to extend beyond those
mountains, as growing out of the contiguity of territory, and as asserted in the earliest
charters, was effectually and s>icce.ssfully enforced."
Tiie American minister might also have cited the charters granted to the Virginia
Company by King James I., in KlOit and 1611, in virtue of which, the Dutch settle-
ments on the Hudson River, in a country first discovered, explored, and occupied,
under the flag of the United Provinces, were, in IGCM, — forty years afler the disso-
lution of the company, — durin<r peace between the two nations, seized by British
forces, as being included in the territories conceded to that company.
(
f;i:S
k> i
iV 1
1!^ ;
!ii !i
N
352
BRITISH PROPOSITIONS REJECTED.
[18iiT.
M
hold the qualified rights which she now possesses over the whole of
the territory in question. ** To the interests which British indiKstry
and enterprise have created Great Britain owes protection. TImt
protection will be given, both as regards settlement and freedoni
of trade and navigation, with every attention not to infringe the
coordinate rights of the United States ; it being the earnest desire
of the British government, so long as the joint occupancy con-
tinues, to regulate its own obligations by the same rule which
governs the obligations of any other occupying party." Thus, in
1826, the British government based its claims, with regard to the
territories west of the Rocky Mountains, entirely on the Nootka
convention of 1790, and the acts of occupation by its subjects
under that agreement ; the abrogation of which, by the war between
the parties, in 1796, — ten years before a single spot in those tdrito-
ries had been occupied by a British subject, — has '^een already so
fully demonstrated,* that any further observation luld be super-
fluous.
The proposition of the British plenipotentiaries, with regard to the
renewal of the existing arrangement for ten years, was rejected by
the president of the United States,f on the grounds — that, so far as
it would tend to prevent the Americans from exercising exclusive
sovereignty at the mouth of the Columbia River, it would be con-
trary to their rights, as acknowledged by the treaty of Ghent, and
by the restitution of the place agreeably to that treaty ; — that the
proposed additional provisions do not define, but leave open to
disputation, the acts which might be deemed an exercise of exclu-
sive sovereignty ; — and that, from the nature of the institutions of
the United States, their rights in the territory in question must be
protected, and their citizens must be secured in their lawful pursuits,
by some species of government, diflferent from that which it has
been, or may be, the pleasure of Great Britain to establish there.
Mr. Gallatin, on the 24th of May, 18i«;7, communicated to the
British commissioners the fact of the rejection of their proposition,
and the reasons for it, declaring, at the same time, formally, in
obedience to special instructions, that his government did not hold
itself bound hereafter in consequence of any proposal which it had
made for a line of separation between the territories of the two
nations beyond the Rocky Mountains ; but tvoidd consider itself at
liberty to contend for the full extent of the claims of the United States.
* See the examinations of this question, at pp 213, 257, and 318.
t Letter of February 24th, 1827, from the Hon. Henry Clay to Mr. Gallatin.
♦
I 1
ivcr the whole of
I British induHtry
protection. Thut
ent and freedom
t to infringe the
the earnest desire
occupancy con-
same rule which
)arty." Thus, in
ith regard to the
' on the Nootka
n by its subjects
J the war between
ot in those tcirito-
LS Keen already so
.)uld be super-
with regard to the
3, was rejected by
Is — that, so far as
;ercising exclusive
it would be con-
ity of Ghent, and
reaty; — that the
lUt leave open to
exercise of exclu-
the institutions of
question must be
eir lawful pursuits,
that which it has
establish there,
municated to the
their proposition,
time, formally, in
ment did not hold
)osal which it had
tories of the two
consider itself at
the United States.
and 318.
;iay to Mr. Gallatin.
1827. J
NEOOTIVriON AT LONDON UKSL'.MKD.
353
The British pleni|>otcntiaries, having entered. on the protocol of
the conferences a declaration with regard to the previous claims
and propositions of their government, similar to tint nade on the
part of the United Statis by Mr. Gallatin tKi.n in i nuted their
readiness to agree to a Him[)l(! renewal of the turms of the existing
arrangement, for ten years from the (hite of the expiration of the
convention of IdlH; |)rovided, however, that, in so doing, they
should append to the new convention, in some way, a declara-
tion of what they considered to be its true intent, namely, — that
both pnrlies were restricted, during its continuance in force, from
exercising, or assuming to themselves the right to exercise, any exclu-
sive sovereignty or jurisdiction over the territories mentioned in the
agreement. The objections to this arrangement were nearly as
strong as to that which had already been pi()j)osed and refused ;
Mr. Gallatin, however, desired to know what species of acts the
British would consider as an exercise of exclusive sovereignty or
jurisdiction. In reply, ho was informed that Great Britain would
not complain of the extension, over the regions west of the Rocky
Mountains, of the jurisdiction of any territory, having for its eastern
boumlary a line within the acknowledged boundaries of the United
States; provided — thut no custom-house should be erected, nor
any duties or charges on tonnage, merchandise, or commerce, be
raised, by either party, in the country west of the Rocky Mountains
— that the citizens or subjects of the two powers residing in or
resorting to those countries, should be amen ille '.^uly to the juris-
diction of their own nation respectively — and that no military
post should be establislieil by either party in those countries ; or,
at least, no stich j)ost as would connnand the navigation of the
Columbia or any of its branches.
To the first of these conditions, Mr. Gallatin saw no strong reason
to object. With regard to the second, he considered it indispensable
that the respective jurisdiction of the courts of justice should be
determined by positive compact, as it would scarcely be possible
otherwise to prevent collisions ; and upon the third condition, he
believed it would be very difficult to arrive at a correct under-
standing, as the British government would not admit the posts of
the Hu'ison's Bay Company to be military establishments. On all
these points, the two governments might afterwards negotiate ;
but the American minister refused to assent to any declaration or
explanation whatsoever respecting the terms under which the terri-
tories in question were to remain open to the people of the two
45
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354
llENEWAL OF THE CONVENTION OF 1818.
[If^'-JT.
countries ; and the British were equally resolved not to agree to a
renewal of the engagement for a fixed period of time, without such
a declaration.
Finally, on the 6th of August, 1827, a convention was signed by
the plenipotentiaries, to the effect, that the provisions of the third
article of the convention of October 20th, 1818, — rendering all
the territories claimed by Great Britain or by the United States,
west of the Rocky Mountains, free and open to the citizens or
subjects of both nations for ten years, — should be further extended
for an indefinite period ; either party being, however, at liberty to
annul and abrogate the agreement, on giving a year's notice of its
intention to the other.* This convention was submitted to the
Senate of the United States in the following winter, and, having
been approved by that body, it was immediately ratified.
In relating the circumstances connected with the adoption of the
convention of October, 1818, the opinion was expressed, that it was
perhaps the most wise, as well as most just, arrangement which
could then have been made ; and this renewal of the arrangement
for an indefinite period, leaving each of the parties at liberty to
abrogate it, after a reasonable notice to the other, appears to merit
the same commendation. No unworthy concession was made.
no loss of dignity or right was sustained, on either side ; and to
break the amicable and mutually profitable relations, then subsistinjr
between the two coimtries, on a question of mere title to the pos-
session of territories from which neither could derive any immediate
benefit of consequence, would have been impolitic and unrighteous.
The advantages of the convention were, in 1827, as in 1818, nearly
equal to both nations ; but the difference was, on the whole, in
favor of the United States. The British might, indeed, derive more
profit from the fur trade as carried on by their organized Hudson's
Bay Company, than the Americans could expect to obtain by the
individual efforts of their citizens ; but the value of that trade is
much less than is generally supposed : no settlements could be
formed in the territory beyond the Rocky Mountains, by whicli it
could acquire a population, while the arrangement subsisted ; and
the facilities for occupying the territory at a future period, when its
occupation by the United States should become expedient, would
undoubtedly have increased in a far greater ratio on their part than
on that of Great Britain. For the diffioilties which must arise
f''" I.
Proofs and Illustrations, letter I, No. 6.
1829.]
PROCEEDINGS IN CONGRESS.
355
whenever the conveniion is abrogated, even agreeably to the man-
ner therein stipulated, it became, of course, the duty of each
government to provide in time.
In the session of Congress following that in which the new con-
vention with Great Britain had been approved, the subject of the
occupation of the mouth of the Columbia River was again discussed ;
and, after a long series of debates, in which the most eminent mem-
bers of the House of Representatives took part, a bill was reported,
whereby the president was authorized to cause the territory west
of the Rocky Mountains to be explored, and forts and garrisons to
be established in any proper places, between the parallels of 42
degrees and 54 degrees 40 minutes ; and also to extend the juris-
diction of the United States over those countries, as regards citizens
of the Union. The adoption of these measures was urged, on the
ground that it was the duty of the government to make good, by
occupation, the right of the United States, which was pronounced
unquestionable, lest, by neglect, the country should fall irrevocably
into the possession of another power, which had unjustly contested
that right : and, as inducements to pursue this course, pictures most
flattering were presented of the soil, climate, and productions, of
the regions watered by the Columbia, and of the various advantages
which would be secured to the citizens of the Union engaged in the
trade of the Pacific Ocean, by the settlement of those coasts. The
bill was opposed, as infringing the convention recently concluded
with Great Britain ; in addition to which, it was contended, that,
were all opposition on the part of that or other powers removed,
and the right of the United States established and universally
recognized, the occupation of the countries in question in the
manner proposed, would be useless, from their extreme barrenness,
from the dangers to navigation presented by their coasts, and from
the difficulty of communicating with them either by sea or by land ;
and such occupation might be injurious, as citizens of the United
States would be thus induced to settle in those countries, and their
government would find itself bound to protect and maintain them,
at great expense, without a commensurate advancement of the pub-
lic good. In the course of the debates, several amendments were
proposed to the bill, but it was finally rejected on the 9th of
January, 1829 ; and, for many years afterwards, very little atten-
tion was bestowed, by any branch of the government of the
United States, to matters connected with the territories west of
the Rocky Mountains.
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CHAPTER XVII.
18-23 TO 1844
Few Citizens of the United States in the Counlrion west of the Rocky Mountains
between 1813 and 1823 — Trading Expeditions of Ashley, Bublette, Smith, Pilcher,
Fattie, Bonneville, and Wy(<tli — Missionaries from tiie United States form Estab-
lishments on the Columbia— First Printiui;' Pn-ss set nji in Orejron — Opposi-
tion of the Hudson's Bay Comi)any to tlir Amerieans; hhw exerted — Contro-
versy between the United States and llnsHia— Uispuie between the Hudson's
Bay and tlie Russian American Companies; hnv Icrniiiiated — California ; Cap-
ture of Monterey by ("Commodore Jones — Tlie Sandwich Islands; Proceedinjrs of
the Missionaries ; Kxpnlsion of the Catholic Priests, and their Reinstatement by a
French Force — The Sandwich Islands U'niporarily occupied by the British.
It has already been said, that, durina: the ten years immediately
following the dissolution of the Pacific Fur Company, and the
seizure of its establishments on the Columbia by the British, few,
if any, citizens of the United States entered the countries west
of the Rocky Mountains ; although, within that period, the facilities
for communication between those countries and the settled portions
of the American Union had been increased by the introduction of
steam vessels on the Mississippi and its tributary rivers. Nearly
all the trade of the regions of the Upper Missji^sippi and the
Missouri was then carried on by the old North American Fur
Company, at the head of which Mr. Astor still remained ; and by
another association, called the Columbia Fur Company, formed in
1822, composed principally of persons who had been in the service
of the North- West Company, and were dissatisfied with their new
masters. The Columbia Company established several posts on the
upper waters of the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the Yellowstone,
which were, however, transferred to the North American Company,
on the junction of the two bodies in 1826. The Americans had also
begun to trade with the northernmost provinces of Mexico, before
the overthrow of the Spanish authority in that country ; after which
event, large caravans passed regularly, in each summer, between
St. Louis and Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, on the head-
waters of tlie River Bravo del Norti';.
Y
)mpany, formed in
1826.1
TUADINIJ F.XPKOITIONS OK ASHLEY.
357
The first attempt to reestablish commercial communication?
between the United States and the territories west of the Rocky
Mountains, was made by W. H. Ashley, of St. Louis, who had been,
for some time previous, engaged in the fur trade of the Missouri and
Yellowstone countries. He quitted the state of Missouri in the
spring of 1823, at the head of a large party of men, with horses
carrying merchandise and baggage, and proceeded up the Platt6
River, to the sources of its northern branch, called the Sweet Water,
which had not been previously explored. These sources were found
to be situated in a remarkable valley, or cleft, in the Rocky Moun-
tains, in the latitude of 4*2 degrees 20 minutes ; and immediately
beyond them were discovered those of another stream, flowing
south-westward, called by the Indians Sidskadee, and by the
Americans Green River, which proved to be one of the head-
waters of the Colorado of California. In the country about these
streams, which had not then been frequented by the British traders,
Mr. Ashley passed the summer, with his men, employed in trap-
ping, and in bartering goods for skins with the natives ; and, before
the end of the year, he brought back to St. Louis a large and valu-
able stock of furs.
In 1824, Mr. Ashley made another expedition up the Platte,
and through the cleft in the mountains, which has since been gen-
erally called the Southern Pass ; and then, advancing farther west,
he reached a great collection of salt water called the Utah Lake,
(probably the Lake Timpanogos, or Lake Tegayo, of the old Spanish
maps,) which lies imbosomed among lofty mountains, between the
40th and the 42d parallels of latitude. Near this lake, on the
south-east, he found another and smaller one, to which he gave his
own name ; and there he built a fort, or trading post, in which he left
about a hundred men, when he returned to Missouri in the autumn.
Two years afterwards, a six-pound cannon was drawn from Mis-
souri to this fort, a distance of more than twelve hundred miles ;
and, in 1828, many wagons, heavily laden, performed the same
journey.
During the three years between 1824 and 1827, the men left by
Mr. Ashley in the country beyond the Rocky Mountains collected
and sent to St. Louis furs to the value of more than one hundred
and eighty thousand dollars ; this enterprising man then retired from
the trade, and sold all his interests and establishments to the Rocky
Mountain Company, at the head of which were Messrs. Smith,
Jackson, and Sublette, persons not less energetic and determined.
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TUADING r.XP/DITION OF PILCHGR.
(1828.
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These traders carried on for many years an extensive and profit-
able business, in the course of uiiicli they traversed every part
of the country about the southern branch of the Columbia, and
nearly the whole of continental California. Unfortunately, how-
ever, they made no astronomical observations, and, being unac-
quainted with any branch of physical science, very little information
has been derived through their means. Smith, after twice crossing
the continent to the Pacific, was murdered, in the summer of 18-29,
by the Indians north-west of the Utah liake.
These active proceedings of the Missouri fur traders roused
the spirit of the North American Company, which also extended its
operations beyond the Rocky Mountains, though no establishments
were formed by its agents in those countries ; and many expeditions
were made, in the same direction, by independent parties, of wjiose
adventures, narratives, more or less exact and interesting, have bcon
published. In 18-27, Mr. Pilcher went from Council Bluffs, on the
Missouri, with forty-five men, and more than a hundred horses ; and,
having crossed the great dividing chain of mountains by the South-
ern Pass, he spent the winter on the Colorado. In the following
year, he proceeded to the Lewis River, and thence, northwardly,
along the foot of the Rocky Mountains, on their western side, to
the Flathead Lake, near the 47th degree of latitude, which he
describes as a beautiful sheet of water, formed by the expansion of
the Clarke River, in a rich and extensive valley, surrounded by hi^h
mountains. There he remained until the spring of 18-29, when
he descended the Clarke to Fort Colville, an establishment tiion
recently formed by the Hudson's Bay Company, on the northern
branch of the Columbia, at its falls ; and thence he returned to the
United States, through the long and circuitous route of the Upper
Columbia, the Athabasca, the Assinaboin, Red River, and the Upper
Missouri. The countries thus traversed by Mr. Pilcher have all
become comparatively well known from the accounts of subsequent
travellers ; but very little information had been given to the world
respecting them before the publication of his concise narrative*
The account of the rambles of J. O. Pattie, a Missouri fur trader,
through New Mexico, Ciiihuahua, Sonora, and California, published
in 18l}'2, throws some light on the geography of j)arts of those
countries of which little can as yet be learned from any other
source. During his peregrinations, Pattie several tinjes crossed the
great dividing chain of mountains between New Mexico on the
* Published with President Jackson's message to Congress, .?r<".n;iry 'Jlld, 1829.
i^
I.
[1828.
1834.]
PLANS OF WYETU KOH THE ORKGON TRADE.
359
iiisivc and profit-
ersed every part
e Columbia, and
fortunately, how-
md, being unac-
littlc information
:er twice crossing
summer of 18-29,
ir traders roused
also extended its
no establishments
many expeditions
parties, of whose
resting, have bcon
icil Bluffs, on the
idred horses ; and,
lins by the South-
In the following
;nce, northwardly,
r western side, to
ititude. whicii he
the expansion of
irrounded by iiiirh
of 18-29, when
stablishment then
on the northern
le returned to the
ute of the Upper
er, and the Upper
Pilcher have all
nts of subsequent
ven to the world
nncise narrative.*
souri fur trader,
lifornia, published
)f parts of those
from any other
limes erosseil the
.Mexico on the
' ■-.nary '?;^d, 1829.
east, and Sonora and California on the west, and descended and
ascended the Colorado, and its principal tributaries, which lie de-
scribes as being navigable by boats for considerable distances. He
also made trips across Sonora to the Californian Gulf, and across
California to the Pacific, as well as through the Mexican provinces
on the coasts of that ocean, where he suffered imprisonment and
many other hardships from the tyranny of the authorities.
In 1832, Captain Bonneville, of the army of the United States,
while on furlough, led a band of more than a hundred men, with
twenty w.igons, and many horses and mules, carrying merchandise
from Missouri to the countries of the Colorado and the Columbia,
in which he passed more than two years, engaged in hunting, trap-
ping, and trading.*
About the same time, Captain Wyeth, of Massachusetts, en-
deavored to establish a regular system of commercial intercourse
between the states of the Union and the countries of the Columbia,
to which latter the general name of OREGON then began to be
nniversally applied in the United States. His plan, like that devised
by Mr. Astor in 1810, was to send manufactured goods to the
Pacific countries, and from thence to transport to the United States,
and even to China, not only furs, but also the salmon which abound
in the rivers of North- Western America. With these objects, he
made two expeditions over land to tiie Columbia, in the latter of
whicii he founded a trading post, called Fort Hall, on the south
side of the Snake or Lewis branch of that river, at the entrance of
the Porlneuf, about a hundred miles north of the Utah Lake ; and
he then established another post, principally for fishing purposes, on
Wappatoo Island, near the confluence of the Willamet River with
the Columbia, a hundred miles above the mouth of the latter.
This scheme, however, failed entirely. The Hudson's Bay Com-
pany's agents immediately took the alarm, and founded a counter
establishment, called Fort Boise, at the entrance of the Boise or
7?tflrf's Riier into the Lewis, some distance below Fort Hall, where
they offered goods to the Indians at prices much lower than those
which the Americans could aflbrd to take ; and Wyeth, being thus
driven out of the market, was forced to compromise with his op-
ponents, by selling his fort to them, and engaging to desist from the
• The narrative of this oxpcditioii, wrilfon from tho nnti's of (^a])tain Boniiovillf,
by Washington Irvinjr, in llif vi'iii, hiilf siTious, lull" jocose, of Fray Agapida's
Chronicle, contains some curiou-s, tlioajrh gonorally ovrrchargod, picturci of lilL*
among the hunters, trappers, traders, Indians, and grisly bears, of the Rocky Moun-
tains; but it adds very little to our knowledge of tho geography of those regions.
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AMERICAN TRADERS IN CALirORNIA.
[1834.
fur trade. Meanwhile, a brig, which he had despatched from
Boston, with a cargo of goods, arrived at Wappatoo Island, where
she, after some further arrangements with the Hudson's Bay Coin-
pany, took in a cargo of salted salmon, for the United States.
She reached Boston in safety ; but the results of her voyage were
not such as to encourage perseverance in the enterprise, which was
thereupon abandoned.*
The American traders, being excluded by these and other means
from the Columbia countricti, confined themselves almost entirely to
the regions about the head-waters of the Colorado and the Utali
l^ake, where they formed one or two small establishments ; though
they sometimes extended their rambles westward to the Sacramento,
the Bay of San Francisco, and Monterey, where they were viewed
with dislike and mistrust by the Mexican authorities. The number
of citizens of the United States thus employed in the country west
o| the Rocky Mountains seldom, if ever, exceeded two hundred;
during the greater part of the year, they roved through the wilds,
i^Q search of fi;irs, which they carried, in the summer, to certain
places of rendezvous on the Colorado, or on the Lewis, and there
disposed of them to the traders from Missouri ; the whole business
being conducted by barter, and without the use of money, thoii^fh
each article bore a nominal value, expressed in dollars and cents.
very different from that assigned to it in the states of the Union.f
About the time of Wyeth's expeditions also took place the ear-
liest emigrations from the United States to the territories of the
Columbia, for the purpose of settlement, and without any special
commercial objects.
The fiifst of these colonies was founded, in 1834, in the valley of
* Captain Wyeth's expeditions, though unprofitable to himself, have been rendered
advantageous to the world at large ; for his short memoir on the regions which he
visited, printed with the report of the comniittee of the House of Representatives on
the Oregon territory, in February, 18:V.t, airi)rds more exact and useful information, as
to their general g''"graphy, climate, soil, and agricultural and commercial capabilitios,
than any other work yet published. Wyeth's movements are also related incidentally
in the account of Bonneville's adventures, and in the interesting Narrative of a Jour-
ney across tlie llocky Mountains, »&c., by J. K. Townsend, a naturalist of Philadelphia,
published in 1839.
t Thus, among the prices current at the rendezvous on Green River, in the
summer of 1H'^S, we find whisky at three dollars per pint, gunpowder at six dollars
per pint, tobacco at five dollars per pound, dogs (for food) at fifteen dollars each, Ac.
Twenty dollars were frequently expended in rum and sugar, for a night's carouse, by
two or three traders, afler the conclusion of a bargain. Under such circunislancps,
it may be supposed that the price of beaver and inuskrat skins was proportionally
raised ; and tliat a package, purchased for a hundred dollars on Green River, may have
been afterwards sold with profit at St. Louis for twenty.
♦
[1834.
icHputclicd from
Loo Island, where
idson's Bay Coin-
e United States.
her voyage were
rprise, which was
and other means
ahnost entirely to
do and the Utah
ishments; though
3 the Sacramento,
they were viewed
les. The number
I the country west
led two hundred:
through the wilds,
ummer, to certain
J Lewis, and there
the whole business
of money, thon;;h
dollars and cents.
s of the Union.f
:ook place the ear-
territories of the
[ithout any special
14, in the valley of
^clf, have been rendered
the regions which he
of Representatives on
Id useful information, as
Icommercial capabilities,
lalso related incidentally
Inij Narrative of a Jour-
Vuralist of Philadelphia,
Green River, in the
Inpowder at six dollars
Itteen dollars each, Ac.
V a night's carouse, by
der such circumstances,
liins was proportionally
I Green River, may have
1834.]
AMERICAN ViSSIONARIES IN OHEGON.
361
the Willamet River, eighty miles above its junction with the Columbia,
by a small party from the Northern and Eastern States of the Union,
under the direction of Messrs. Lee, Shepherd, and other Methodist
missionaries, who cleared land, erected houses, and opened schools
for the instruction of the natives. A few retired servants of the
Hudson's Bay Company had already settled in t)ie same valley, by
permission of the chief factor, and were there principally engaged
in herding cattle. In the following year, Mr. Parker, a Presby-
terian minister from Ithaca, in New York, proceeded, by way of the
Platte and the Southern Pass, to the mouth of the Columbia, and
thence returned to' the United States;* and, upon his reports,
Messrs. Spalding, Gray, and Whitman, were sent, by the American
Board of Foreign Missions, to prosecute the objects of that society
in the Oregon regions. Other missionaries of each of these sects,
with their families and friends, have since successively gone from
the United States, and formed settlements at various points, in all
of which schools for the education of the natives have been opened ;
and a printing press has been erected at the Walla- Walla station,
on which were struck off the first sheets ever printed on the Pacific
side of America north of Mexico.
In order <' to obtain some specific and authentic information in
regard to the inhabitants of the country in the neighborhood of the
Columbia," Mr. W. Slacum, a purser in the navy of the United
States, was, in 1838, commissioned by Mr. Forsyth, then secretary
of state, to proceed to that country, and make the necessary obser-
vations and inquiries ; in fulfilment of which commission, Mr. Sla-
cum went to the Columbia by sea, and spent six weeks, during the
winter of 1836-7, in visiting the various factories and settlements
on the great river below its falls and on the Willamet.f
The attention of the American government had been again
directed to the north-west coasts of America, by several circum-
stances, especially by the recent refusal of the Russian government
to allow the vessels of the United States to trade on the unoccupied
parts of that coast north of the latitude of 54 degrees 40 minutes,
as mentioned in the preceding chapter. This refusal was based on
* Mr. Parker's Journal of his tour beyond the Rocky Mountains, published at
Ithaca, in 1838, would have been more valuable, had the worthy and intelligent
author confined himself to accounts of what he himself experienced, and not wan-
dered, as he has done, into the regions of history, diplomacy, and cosmogony.
1 Mr. Slacum's Report may be found among the documents published by the
Senate of the United States, in 1837-8. It contains no information of value, and
abounds in errors, many of them on material points.
46
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362
PROCEEDINGS OF THE RUSSIANS.
[1838.
m
S^'.
the fact that the period of ten years, fixed by the fourtli article of
the convention of 1824 between the two nations, during which the
vessels of both parties might frequent the bays, creeks, harbors, niid
other interior waters on the north-west coast, had expired: and
the Russian government had chosen to consider that article as the
only limitation of its right to exclude American vessels from all
parts of the division of the coast on which the United States, by
the convention, engaged to form no establishments; disregarding
entirely the first article of the same agreement, by which all unoc-
cupied places on the north-west coast were declared free and open
to the citizens or subjects of both nations. The government of the
United States immediately protested against this exclusion; and
their plenipotentiaries at St. Petersburg have been instructed to
demand its revocation.* To the reasons oflered in support of
* See Piosident Van Burcn'a message to Congress of December 3d, 1838, nnd the
accompanying documents. The letters of Messrs. Wilkins and Dallas, succciisively
plenipotentiaries of the United States at St. Petersburg, relating the particulars ct"
their negotiations wiih the Russian minister, will be found very interesting, from tlio
luminous views of national rights presented in them. The instructions of Mr, For.
syth, the American secretary of state, to Mr. Dallas, dated November 3d, 1837, are
also especially worthy of attention. Aller repeating the cardinal rule as to the con-
struction of instruments, — that they should be so construed, if possible, as that erinj
part may stand, — he proceeds to show that the fourth article of the convention uf
April, 1824, was to bo understood as giving "permission to enter interior bays, At,,
at the mouth of which there might be establishments, or the shores of which iiiiirlit
be in part, but not wholly, occupied by such establishments ; thus providing for a
case which would otherwise admit of doubt, as it would be questionable whether the
bays, &.C., described in it, belonged to the Jirst or the second article. In no sense,"
continues Mr. Forsyth, " can it be understood as implying an acknowledgment, nn
the part of the United States, of the right of Russia to the possession of the coast
above the latitude of 54 degrees 40 minutes north ; but it should be taken in con-
nection with the other articles, which have, in fact, no reference whatever to the
question of the right of possession of the unoccupied parts of the coast. In a spirit
of compromise, and to prevent future collisions or difficulties, it was agreed that
no new establishments should be formed by the respective parties north or south of
a certain parallel of latitude, after the conclusion of tlie agreement; but the question
of the right of possession beyond the existing establishments, as it subsisted previous
to, or at the time of, the conclusion of the convention, was left untouched. The
United States, in agreeing not to form new establishments north of the latitude of
54 degrees and 40 minutes, made no acknowledgment of the right of Russia to the
possession of the territory above that line. If such admission had been made, Russia,
by the same construction of the article referred to, must have acknowledged the
right of the United States to the territory south of the line. But that Russia did not
80 understand the article, is conclusively proved by her having entered into a similar
agreement in a subsequent treaty (1825) with Great Britain, and having, in fact,
acknowledged in that instrument the right of possession of the same territory by
Great Britain. The United States can only be considered as - eknowledging the
right of Russia to acquire, by actual occupation, a just claim to unoccupied lands
above the latitude of 54 degrees 40 minutes north ; and even this is a mere matter
ics, it was agreed that
183d.]
pj:ocbeding3 of the Russians.
363
this demand, the Iluasiaii iiiiiiistcr of foreign Tairs, Count Nessel-
rode, did not attempt to otter any reply, contenting himself simply
with declaring that his sovereign was not inclined to renew the
fourth article, as it aflbrded the Americans the opportunity of fur-
nishing the natives on the coasts with spirituous liquors and fire-arms ;
though no case was adduced in support of that assertion. Thus
the matter rests ; the American traders being excluded from visiting
any of the coasts of the Pacific north of the parallel of 54 degrees
40 minutes, on the ground that those coasts are acknowledged by
the United States to belong to Russia, whilst the latter power, by
its treaty with Great Britain in 18'25, directly denies any rights,
on the part of the United States, to the coasts south of that parallel.
The Russian government also refused the same privilege to British
vessels after 1835, and moreover opposed by force the exercise of
another privilege claimed by the British under the treaty of 1825,
namely, that of navigating the rivers flowing from the interior of
the continent to the Pacific across the line of boundary therein
established. In 1834, the Hudson's Bay Company fitted out an
expedition for the purpose of establishing a trading post on the large
river Stikine, which enters the channel nutned by Vancouver Prince
Frederick's Sound, between the main land and one of the islands
of the north-west archipelago claimed by Russia, in the latitude of
56 degrees 50 minutes. Baron Wrangel, the Russian governor-
general, having, however, been informed of the project, erected a
block-house and stationed a sloop of war at the mouth of the
Stikine ; and, on the appearance of the vessel bringing the men
and materials for the contemplated establishment, the British were
warned not to attempt to pass into the river, and were forced to
return to the south. All appeals to the treaty were ineffectual, and
the Hudson's Bay Company was obliged to desist from the prose-
cution of the plan, after having, as asserted on its part, spent more
than twenty thousand pounds in fitting out the expedition.
of inference, as the convention of 1824 contains nothing more than a negation of the
right of the United States to occupy new points within that limit. Admitting that
this inference was in contemplation of the parties to the convention, it cannot follow
that the United States ever intended to abandon the just right, acknowledged by the
first article to belong to them, under the law of nations ; that is, to frequent any part of
the unoccupied coast of North America, for the purpose of fishing or trading with the
natives. All that the convention admits is, an inference of the right of Russia to
acquire possession by settlement north of 54 degrees and 40 minutes north ; and,
until that possession is taken, tlie first article of the convention acknowledges the
right of the United States to fish and trade, as prior to its negotiation."
i
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364
PR0CCEDIN09 OV TtlU RUSSIANS.
[1839.
/'■
The British government immediately demanded satisfaction from
that of Russia for this infraction of the treaty ; and, after some time
■pent in negotiation between the two {)owcr8, as well as between the
Hudson's Bay Company and the Russian American Company, it
was agreed, in 1839, that the British trading association should
enjoy, for ten years, from the 1st of June, 1840, the exclusive
use of the continent ossigned to Russia by the treaty of 18>25,
extending from the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes northward to
Cape Spenser, near the 58th degree, in consideration of the annual
payment of two thousand seal skins to the Russian Company.*
The difficulty was thus ended, to the advantage of both parties ;
the British having access to a long line of coast, without which the
adjoining interior territories would have been useless ; while the
Russians receive, as rent, a much greater amount in value than they
could possibly have drawn from that coast by any other means.
The charter of the Russian American Company was renewed for
twenty years, in 1839; at which time tlie company possessed
thirty-six establishments in its territories in America, and twelve
vessels, some of them large, employed in the transportation of furs
and merchandise. The revenue from these establishments is
undoubtedly large, as the company is constantly extending its
operations, and its stock maintains a high value. There is, more-
over, every reason to believe that the regulations of this body are
as humane, and arc enforced with as much strictness, as the
peculiar circumstances under which its servants are placed will
admit; and that, if the amount of labor required from those
servants is not diminished, their comforts are much increased.
Great care appears to be bestowed on the moral and religious ed-
ucation of the natives, particularly of those of the Aleutian Islands
and Kodiak, who are more intelligent than the people of the
coasts farther north or east. Moreover, a race of half breeds,
there called Creoles, children of native women by Russian fathers,
is growing up, to whose instruction in the language, religion, and
customs, of Russia, the company particularly directs its efforts.*
In California, few events worthy of note occurred during the
whole period of fifty years, from the first establishment of Spanish
* Wrangel'a Statistical and Ethnographical Account of the Russian Possessions in
America, above mentioned, at page 329. The accounts of Wrangel on these points
are particular, and they are confirmed by those of other persons who have recently
visited the Russian aettlementi.
1893.]
CALirORNIA BUUJRCT TO MEXICO.
363
coloniea and garrisons on tho west coasts of that country, to the
termination of tlio revolutionary struggle between Spain and Mex-
ico. Before tho disturbances in Mexico began, the missions were,
to a certain extent, fostered by the Spanish government ; and sup-
plies of money and goods were sent to them, with regularity, from
Acapulco and San Bias : but, after the revolution broke out, these
remittances were reduced, and all the establishments, civil, military,
and religious, fell into decay. The missionaries lost much of their
influence over the Indians ; and the defences of the country became
so ineflfective, that Monterey, in despite of its forts and castle, was,
in 1819,*taken and sacked by a Buenos Ayrean privateer, under
the command of a Frenchman.
On the termination of the revolutionary struggle, and the estab-
lishment of independence in Mexico, the soldiers and priests in
California, for the most part, submitted, though with reluctance, to
the authority of the new republic ; and the remainder of the pop-
ulation followed their example, probably without inquiring into
the circumstances. The country was then divided politically into
two territories, of which the peninsula formed one, called Lower
California ; the other, called Upper California, embracing the
whole of the continental portion. By the constitution of 1824,
each of these territories became entitled to send one member to
the National Congress ; and, by subsequent decrees of the general
government, all the adult Indians, who could be considered as
civilized or capable of reasoning, (gentc de razon,) were freed from
submission to their former pastors, had lands assigned to them, and
were declared citizens of the republic. These seeming bootiis were,
however, accompanied by the withdrawal of nearly all the allow-
ances previously made for the support of the establishments, and by
the imposition of taxes and duties on all imports, including those
from Mexico. The authority of the missionaries thus dwindled
away ; and those who had been long in the country, either returned
to Mexico or Spain, or escaped to other lands. The cultivation of
the mission farms was abandoned ; the Indians, freed from restraint,
relapsed into barbarism, or sunk into the lowest state of indolence
and vice ; and the missions were finally placed by the government
in the hands of administrators, under whom they appear to be fast
falling to ruin.
Whilst the number of civilized Indians in California was by these
measures diminished, the white population was at the same time
somewhat increased. Immediately after, and indeed before, the
i'
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36S
CALIFORNIA SUBJECT TO MEXICO.
[1828.
»•■'%■■■?'• -A- i*" ■'■■■ '
'nM'
overthrow of the Spanish authority in that country, its ports became
the resort of foreigners, especially of the whalers and traders of
the United States, who offered coarse manufactured articles and
groceries in exchange for provisions, and for the hides and tallow
of the wild cattle abounding in the country. This trade was at
first carried on in the same irregular manner as the fur trade with
the Indians on the coasts farther north ; as it increased, however,
it became more systematized, and mercantile houses were estab-
lished in the principal ports. The majority of the merchants were
foreigners, English, French, or Americans : in their train came shop
and tavern-keepers, and artisans, from various countries^ and to
these were added deserting seamen and stragglers from the Missouri
and the Columbia.
This state of things was by no means satisfactory to the Mexican
government ; and orders were given to the commandant-general of
Upper California to enforce the laws prohibiting foreigners from
entering or residing in the Mexican territories without special per-
mission from the authorities. Agreeably to these orders, a number
of American citizens were, in 1828, seized at San Diego, and kept
in confinement until 1830, when an insurrection broke out, headed
by a General Solis, which they were instrumental in subduing; and,
in consideration of their services, they were allowed to quit the
country. The trading expeditions of Ashley and Smith, of which
accounts have been already presented, at the same time gave great
uneasiness to the Mexican government, and were made the subjects
of formal complaints to that of the United States.
These circumstances, with others of the same nature then occur-
ring in Texas, served to delay the conclusion of treaties of limits,
and of amity, commerce, and navigation, between the United States
and Mexico ; which were, however, at length signed and ratified,
so as to become effective in 1832. By the treaty of limits, the line
of boundary from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, which was
settled between the United States and Spain in 1819, was adopted
as separating the territories of the United States on the north from
those of Mexico on the south ; and the latter power accordingly
claims as its own the whole territory west of the great dividing
chain of mountains, as far north as the 42d parallel of latitude.
The Mexican government likewise endeavored to prevent the
evils anticipated from the presence of so many foreigners in Cali-
fornia, by founding new colonies of its own citizens in that country.
Criminals were to be transported thither ; but although many were
[1828.
f, its ports became
rs and traders of
tured articles and
hides and tallow
rhis trade was at
the fur trade with
icreased, however,
Duses were estab-
le merchants were
ir train came shop
countries", and to
from the Missouri
•ry to the Mexican
landant-general of
g foreigners from
ithout special per-
} orders, a number
n Diego, and kept
broke out, headed
in subduing; and,
lowed to quit the
Smith, of which
le time gave great
made the subjects
lature then occur-
treaties of limits,
the United States
ijned and ratified,
of limits, the line
'acific, which was
819, was adopted
on the north from
>ower accordingly
he great dividing
el of latitude,
id to prevent the
breigners in Cali-
is in that country,
hough many were
1837.]
REVOLUTION IN CALIFORNIA.
367
thus sentenced, few, if any, ever reached the place of their desti-
nation. A number of persons, of various trades and professions,
were also sent out from Mexico in 1834, to be located on the lands
of the missions in California ; but, ere they reached those places,
the administration by which the scheme was devised, had been
overthrown, and the new authorities, entertaining different views,
ordered the settlers to be driven hack to their native land.
These new authorities — that is to say, General Santa Anna and
his pariisans — determined to remodel the constitution, under which
Mexico had been governed, as a federal republic, since 1824. ^What
other form was to have been introduced in its stead, is not known ;
for, in the spring of 1836, at the moment when the change was
about to be made, Santa Anna was defeated and taken prisoner by
the Texans at San Jacinto. Those who succeeded to the helm
being, however, no less averse to the federal system, it was abolished
in the latter part of the same year, and a constitution was adopted,
by which the powers of government were placed almost entirely in
the hands of the general congress and executive, all state rights
being destroyed. This central system was opposed in many parts
of the republic, and nowhere more strenuously than in California,
where the people rose in a body, expelled the Mexican officers, and
declared that their country should remain independent until the
federal constitution were restored. The general government, on
receiving the news of these proceedings, issued strong proclamations
against the insurgents, and ordered an expedition to be prepared
for the purpose of reestablishing its authority in the revolted
territory ; but General Urrea, to whom the execution of this
order was committed, soon after declared in favor of the fed-
eralisti5, and the Californians were allowed to govern themselves as
they chose for some months, at the end of which, in July, 1837,
their patriotic enthusiasm subsided, and they voluntarily swore alle-
giance to the new constitution.
Since that time, the quiet course of things in California has, so
far as known, been disturbed by only one occurrence worthy of
being mentioned ; namely, the capture and temporary occupation of
Monterey by the naval forces of the United States, under Commo-
dore T. A. C. Jones, of which the following brief account will suffice.
This officer, while cruising on the South American coast of the Pa-
cific, received information which led him to believe that Mexico had,
agreeably to a menace shortly before uttered by her government^
declared war against the United States; and, being determined
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368
CAPTUnE OF MONTEREY BY THE AMERICANS.
[1842.
to strike a blow at the supposed enemy, he sailed, with his frigate,
the United States, and the sloop of war Cyane, to Monterey, where
he arrived on the 19th of October, 1842. Having disposed his
vessels in front of the little town, he sent an officer ashore, to
demand the surrender " of the castle, posts, and military places,
with all troops, arms, and munitions of war of every class," in
default of which, the sacrifice of human life and the horrors of
war would be the immediate consequence. The commandant
of the place, astounded by such a demand, made in a time of
profound peace, summoned his officers to a council, in which it
was decided that no defence could be made : he therefore sub-
mitted without delay, and the flag of the United States replaced that
of Mexico over all the public edifices ; the fortifications were garri-
soned by American soldiers, and the commodore issued a proclama-
tion to the Californians, inviting them to submit to the government
of the federal republic, which would protect and insure to them the
undisturbed exercise of their religion, and all other privileges of
freemen. Scarcely, however, was this proclamation sent forth, ere
the commodore received advices which convinced him that he had
been in error, and that the peace between his country and Mexico
remained unbroken ; he had, therefore, only to restore the place to
its former possessors, and to retire with all his forces to his ships,
which was done ori the 21st of the month, twenty-four hours after
the surrender. Thus ended an aflair, the effects of which have been
unfortunately to increase the irritation already existing in Mexico
against the United States, and to render less easy the adjustment of
the differences between the two nations. The armed force in Cali-
fornia has since been considerably augmented ; but it is evident that
all the efforts of Mexico would be unavailing to retain those distant
possessions, in the event of a war with a powerful maritime state.
In the Sandwich Islands, a complete change has taken place
since the death of Tamahamaha. His son and successor, Riho
Riho, died, in 1824, in London, whither he had gone, with his
queen, to visit his brother sovereign of Great Britain ; and he was
himself succeeded by Kauikeaouli, another reputed son of the great
Tamahamaha, who now fills the throne, under the name of Kame-
hamaha HI. These changes were all advantageous to the mission-
aries from the United States, many of whom were domiciliated in
the islands ; particularly after the conversion of Krymakoo, or Billy
Pitt, the old prime minister, and of Kaahumanu, the widow of the
great Tamahamaha, who, after passing half a century in the con'
1837.]
LANGUAGE OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.
369
slant practice of the most beastly sensuality, embraced Christianity
in her old age, and became an efficient protector of its professors.
Kaahumanu acted as regent during the minority of the king, which
did not expire until 1834 ; this young man, immediately on taking
the reins of government into his own hands, determined to enjoy
life like other princes ; " he avoided the society of the more influential
chiefs, and associated with young and unprincipled men. Break-
ing over the laws to which he had formerly given his assent, he
bought ardent spirits, and drank with his companions, though seldom
to intoxication. He enticed others into the same practices, and is
said even to have inflicted punishment on those who would not
comply. He revived the hualaha, or national dance, and it was
understood that he intended to revive other practices, which had
been common in the days of heathenism." * The example of the
sovereign, was imitated by his subjects ; grog-shops were opened,
distilleries were set up, and other immoralities reappeared. But the
church had now been too strongly united to the state for these things
to continue : the chiefs were nearly all, nominally at least, Christians ;
and the king was, in the end, obliged to submit. He afterwards
proved quite tractable, and though he sometimes complains, he has
never again attempted to assert his freedom from religious restraint.
The missionaries, persevering in the task which they had under-
taken, employed every means to gain ascendency over the young,
and to train them in the ways of religion and strict morality. With
this object, they made themselves well acquainted with the language
of the islands ; and, finding that all its sounds might be expressed
by fourteen letters of the Roman alphabet,! they thus reduced its
* History of tlio American Board of Conimissionnrs for Foreign Missions, p. 241.
t Tlie letters are, a, e, i, o, ii, vowels, each havinij, in all cases, one and tiie same
sound, namely, that given to it in the Italian langnage ; and b, h, k, I, m, n, p, t,
and \v, consonants, having each the simple sound assigned to it in English. Tho
same language was found, by the missionaries, in use in all parts of the group ; but
it was pronounced dilferently in diirerent islands, and nearly all the names of peojjle
and places, which had been made known by Cook, Vancouver, and other navigators,
were written according to the sounds of an impure <lialect. The orthography of all
these names was, in consequence, changed to suit the new system, not only in the
books, published for the use of the islanders in their own language, but likewise in
all the publications in English, issuing from the missionary press. However advan-
tageous this may be for the natives, and for those who study their language, its
good effects, on the whole, may be doubted ; it supposes every person to be ac-
quainted with the new system, without a knowledge of which, no one can compare
or connect tho information afforded by Cook and Vancouver, with that obtained
from the modern works. As an exemplification of the serious embarrassment thus
47
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370
OPPOSITION TO THE MISSIONARIES.
[1838.
words to writing, and translated into it the Bible and several other
works, which were all successively printed, at Honolulu, in Woahoo,
the seat of the government. They, at the same time, exerted them-
selves to amend the customs of the people, and to reform the vices
of their government ; gradually procuring the adoption of written
laws, and, finally, in 1840, of a written constitution, all which
measures evinced much wisdom and knowledge of the world, as
well as justice and morality, on the part of the framers.
In these endeavors to raise a barbarous people to civilization, and
to place their country among Christian states, the American mission-
aries were constantly opposed and thwarted by their own fellow-
citizens and the subjects of other nations, who resorted to the islands
for the purposes of trade, or of refreshment, after long and danger-
ous voyages. The precepts of a religion enjoining self-denial in all
things could not find favor among such persons, to whom its apos-
tles became objects of hatred, as the destroyers of all their pleasures.
Bickerings took place between the two parties : the missionaries
were assaulted with sticks and stones, and knives, all which they
fearlessly confronted, rather than yield a foot of the ground already
occupied ; and the poor young king was alternately subjected to com-
plaints from sea-captains and consuls on the one side, and to remon-
strances from his spiritual advisers on the other. The missionaries
nevertheless prevailed : severe laws were enacted against intoxication
and other debauchery ; the drinking-shops and distilleries, though
one belonged to the king, and another to his prime minister, weie
successively closed ; and, finally, on the 28th of August, 1838, a law
was passed, forbidding the introduction of spirituous liquors into the
islands.
occasioned, it may be asked, what would be said of an English History of Ger-
many, in which Vienna should be written Wien, Cologne Coelln, Bolioniia Boelmen,
Moravia Maehrcn, according to their true German orthography ? Yet this M'oiild be
fully as reasonable, and not more embarrassing, than the changes of Owyhee into
Hawaii, of Atooi into Kauai, of Karakakooa into Keilakakua, of Tamoreo into
Kaumalii, and even of great Tamahamaha into Kamehameha, which are made
in all the reports, histories, newspapers, &c., of the American missionaries ami
their friends.
The writer of these observations makes them in no captious or unkind spirit : lu'
has himself, long since, mastered the difficulties of which he complains, though not
without considerable labor, much more than the generality of persons will give to
the subject : and he knows, from daily experience, that very few, even among the
best informed and most intelligent men in the United States, have any idea, that
Hawaii is identical with Owyhee, and that Tamahamaha and Kamehameha arc not
two distinct personages.
1839.]
CATHOLICS KXPELLED FROM SANDWICH ISLANDS.
371
But this course of things was not destined to run on smoothly.
In 1831, two CathoHc priests, Messrs. Bachelot, a Frenchman, and
Short, an Ii^ishman, who had resided some time in the islands, en-
gaged in propagating their doctrines among the natives, were forci-
bly expelled by the pious regent, Kaahumanu, on the ground, as it
has been said, that theij worshipped the bones of dead men, which
was strictly prohibited by law. A chapel and a school were, how-
ever, soon after opened at Honolulu, by another Catholic priest,
named Walsh ; and in 1838, Kaahumanu being dead, Messrs.
Bachelot and Short ventured to return to the islands, from Califor-
nia, where they had i)assed the greater part of their time, since their
expulsion. They were, however, again ordered by the government
to take their departure ; and, on their refusal, they were forcibly put
on board of the vessel which brought them, and thus sent away.
Against this act of violence protests were made by the consuls of
the United States and Great Britain, on the part of the owners of the
vessel, and by the commanders of a British and a French ship of
war, which arrived at the lime in the islands ; but the king carried
his determination into execution. That the Protestant missionaries
were the instigators of this proceeding, has been asserted, though it
is denied by their friends ; that they might, if they chosej'have pre-
vented the act, there can, however, be as little doubt, as that they
should have done so, if it were in their power.*
For this act, which, besides being entirely at variance with the
constant principle of protestantism, and with the spirit of toleration
now so happily pervading the world, indicated extreme ignorance,
and culpable disregard of consequences, on the part of those who
directed it, a severe retribution was soon after exacted. On the
9th of July, 1839, the French frigate Artemise arrived at Hono-
lulu, and her captain, Laplace, immediately demanded reparation
for the insult offered to his country and its national religion ;
with which object, he required — that the Roman Catholic wor-
ship should be declared free throughout the islands, and its pro-
fessors should enjoy all the privileges heretofore granted to Pro-
testants ; — that the government should give a piece of ground
for the erection of a Catholic church : — that all Catholics im-
IM!
!>
I .(■
m
i f ' :
it
* History of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, p. 221. —
"The American missionaries, as was their duty, hiborod to guard their hearers
against the delusions of Romanism, but gave no advice concerning the removal of
the priests."
372
THE FRENCH OBTAIN REPARATION.
[1842.
If.:' Mr '
f
prisoned on account of their religion should be liberated ; and
finally — that, as a security for the performance of these engage-
ments, twenty thousand dollars should be placed, and should remain,
in his hands. With these demands the king immediately com-
plied ; and had the French commander contented himself with what
he had thus effected, his conduct would have been blameless in
the eyes of all unprejudiced men : but he also required and ob-
tained, that the brandy and wines of his country, the introduc-
tion of which, as of all other spirituous liquors, was most properly
prohibited by law, should be admitted into the islands on paying
a duty of not more than five per cent, on their value ; an act, con-
sidering the relative degrees of civilization of the two parties, far
more reprehensible than that for which he had just before exacted
atonement. Captain Laplace also thought proper to declare, that in
case he should make an attack on Honolulu, the American mission-
aries should not enjoy the protection promised by him, in a circiilar,
to the people of civilized nations generally — a threat, which, it is
needless to show, would, if carried into execution, have occasioned
a most serious breach of good understanding between France and
the United States.
Difficulties about the same time arose between the government
of the Sandwich Islands and the British consul ; in consequence of
which, the king at length determined to despatch an agent to the
United States, Great Britain, and France, in order to obtain, if pos-
sible, the recognition of the indci)endence of his dominions by those
nations, and to make some definite arrangement for the prevention
of difliculties in future. With these objects, Timoteo Haalileo. a
young native who had been educated in the schools of the mission-
aries, and had filled several important offices, was selected as the
agent ; and he was to be accompanied by Mr. W. Richards, one of
the American missionaries, who had long resided in the islands, and
had distinguished himself for his zeal in behalf of the people and
their sovereign. They arrived in Washington in the winter of
184'2, and upon their fipplication. President Tyler addressed a mes-
sage to Congress,* in which, after briefly recapitulating the advan-
tages derived by the United States from the Sandwich Islands, as a
place of trade and refreshment for vessels in the Pacific, and allud-
ing to the desire manifested by their government to improve the
• President Tyler's messngc of December 21st, 1842, and accompanying documents.
I 4 I
k'
r. [1842.
3 liberated ; and
of these engage-
nd should remain,
immediately com-
himsclf with w hat
)ccn blameless in
required and ob-
ry, the introduc-
I'as most properly
islands on paying
alue ; an act, con-
e two parties, far
St before exacted
to declare, that in
/Vmerican mission-
him, in a circular,
hreat, which, it is
1, have occasioned
tween France and
'n the government
in consequence of
an agent to the
to obtain, if pos-
om in ions by those
or the prevention
moteo Haalileo, a
)ls of the niission-
s selected as the
, Richards, one of
n the islands, and
f the people and
in the winter of
addressed a nies-
ating the advan-
tvich Islands, as a
acific, and allud-
t to improve the
npanying documents.
1843.] BRITISH OCCUPY SANDWICH ISLANDS TEMPORARILY. 373
moral and social condition of the people, he declared — that any
attempt by another power to take possession of the islands, colonize
them, and subvert the native government, could not but create dis-
satisfaction on the part of the United States ; and that should such
attempt be made, the American government would be justified in
remonstrating decidedly against it. The only immediate result of
this message, however, was the despatch of an American agent to
the islands, of whose negotiations no accounts have been published.
Messrs. Richards and Haalileo proceeded to England, and thence
to France, in each of which countries their eflbrts are said to have
been crowned with success.
In the mean time, however, Lord George Paulet, a captain in the
British navy, arrived at Woahoo, in February, 1843, in the ship
Carysfort, and demanded from the king explanations with regard to
the conduct of his government towards the consul and subjects of
her Britannic majesty ; and, not receiving a satisfactory answer
within the period prescribed, he threatened, in the event of longer
delay, to make an attack on Honolulu. To this threat negotiations
succeeded, and the king, finding himself unable to comjdy with the
demands, or to resist them, declared that he surrendered all the
islands under his dominion to the king of Great Britain, until the
matter could be arranged between the government of that country
and the agents whom he had already sent thither. Lord George
Paulet accordingly hoisted tiie British flag, appointed commissioners
to take charge of the administration, and isstied various regulations
for the government of the islands until further orders could be re-
ceived from Finglaiid.
Tile news of these events created much excitement in the United
States ; and a protest against the occupation of the Sandwich Isl-
{jnds by Great Hritain, was addressed by the American government
to the court of London. On the •2.")th of June, however, the British
minister at Washington declared ofHcially, — that the acts of Lord
George Paulet were entirely unauthorized by her majesty's govern-
ment, which had determined to recognize the independence of the
islands, under their present chief; it being, however, understood,
that the government of the islands would be compelled to do full
justice to all British subjects aggrieved by it : and, conformably
with this declaration, on llie 31st of July, the king was reinstated in
all his jionors and privileges, by rear admiral Thonms, the com-
mander-in-chief of the British naval forces in the Pacific.
1
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1 t-
El! u 4i
374
BRITISH AND FRENCH MOVEMENTS IN THE PACIFIC.
[1843.
These acts of the British and the French, with regard to the
Sandwich Islands, arose, doubtless, rather from poHtical jealousy of
each other, on the parts of those nations, than from the simple desire
to protect their respective subjects, in their trade or religion. The
French are earnestly endeavoring to obtain a firm position in the
Pacific, as demonstrated by their attempt to form a settlement in
New Zealand, by their occupation of the islands north of the
Marquesas group, discovered by Ingraham in 1791, and by other
circumstances ; whilst the British have shown their determination to
counteract these efibrts, especially in their resistance to the occu-
pation of Otaheite by the French, during the summer of 1843. To
either of these nations the Sandwich Islands would prove a most valu-
able acquisition, as it would afford the means of controlling the
trade and fishery of the North Pacific, and of exercising a powerful
influence over the destinies of the North-west coasts of America
and California. The United States, claiming the North-west coasts,
and conducting nearly the whole of the fishery and trade of the
North Pacific, are of course most deeply interested in all that niav
aflect the independence of these islands ; and having neither the
power nor the will, to establish their own authority over places so
remote, it is the policy and duty of their government, to oppose,
at almost any hazard, the attempts of other nations to acquire intiu-
ence or dominion over them. So long as these three nations con-
tinue at peace with each other, the Sandwich Islands may continue
independent, and may be regarded, nominally at least, as a civilized
state ; but should a war, or even serious difiiculties occur between
any two of these powers, that independence will infallibly cease.
To conclude, with regard to the Sandwich Islands — their popula-
tion is rapidly diminishing under the too great warmth of the civil-
ization suddenly planted among them, by which new vices have been
introduced, and new wants, unaccompanied by any increase of en-
ergy and industry, have been engendered. The day is, probably,
not far distant, when the aborigines will be reduced to a few wander-
ers ; and the islands will be, effectively, occupied by Anglo Saxons,
the certain, though comparatively mild, exterminators of the uncivil-
ized races with which they are brought into contact.*
" The Sandwich Ishmds are ten in number, situated in the northern division of
the Pacific Ocean, between the latitudes of 1i) and 2L' des^iees ; about '2W0 miles
from the American coast and r),Of!f) miles fioin Cliina. The piincipnl islands arc —
Owyhee or Hawaii the largest, Moweu or Maui, VVoahoo or Oaliu, and Atooi or
PACIFIC. [1843.
375
♦
r I
til
CIIAPTER XVIII
184-2 TO 1844.
Excitement in the United States rospeeting Oieijon — Treaty of Washington ilcter-
mining Boundaries between tlie Tinritorii-s oi' Great Britain and tliose of tiie
United States, east of tlie Lajje of tlie Woods — ^Ir. Linn's Bill in tlie Senate of
the United States, iiir the immediate oecnpation of Oregon — Refleetions on tlio
Convention of 1827 — Present State of tlie Hudson's Bay Company's Territories
— Conehision.
DuniNG the latter years of the period to wliicli the preceding
chapter relates, the people as well as the government of the United
States were becoming seriously interested in the subject of the
claims of the republic to countries west of the Rocky Mountains.
Tlie population of the Union had, in fact, been so much increased,
that large numbers of persons were to be found in every part, whose
spirit of enterprise and adventure could not be restrained within the
limits of the states and organized territories ; and, as the adjoining
central division of the continent oflered no inducements to settlers,
those who ditl not choose to fix their habitations in Texas, began to
direct their views towards the valleys of the Columbia, wiiere they
expected to obtain rich lands without cost, and security under the
flag of the stars and stripes.
This feeling began to manifest itself, about the year 1837, by the
formation of societies for emigration to Oregon, in various parts of
the Union, and especially in those which had themselves been most
recently settled, and were most thinly peopled. From these asso-
ciations, and from American citizens already established in Oregon,
petitions were presented to Congress, as well as resolutions from
the legislatures of States, urging the general government, either to
Kauai ; the others, namely, Tahoorowa or Kahulatre, Morotai or Molokai, Moro-
iiini or Molokini, Ranai or Liinai, Oneehow or Nihaui, and Tahoora or Kaula, are
all small. The superficial extent of the whole group is about 6,500 square miles,
of which Owyhee ineludes about 4,500. Owyhee is supposed to contain 80,000
inhabitants ; the population of the remainder being about 70,000. The capital is
Honoruru or Honolulu, in Woahoo, which is said to have 10,000 inhabitants ; the
only other town of any size is Lahaina in Mowee.
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376
TREATY OF WASHlNfiTON.
[184-^.
WW ■
U'
w
4 l^i^ f.r
Si.
settle the questions of ri^'lit as to the country west of the Rocky
Mountains, by definitive nrrung(;inent witli the other cluinmnt |)ow<
ers, or to take immediate niihlury |)09session of thut country, and to.
extend over it the jurisdiction of the United States ; and hills,
having for their object the accomplishment of one or the other of
these ends, were annually introduced into each house of the fcilo-
ral legislature. The executive branch of the government was like-
wise assiduously engaged, in doing all that could be done by it,
with the same object. Mr. Forsyth, the enlightened and energetic
Secretary of State, exerted himself to procure every information,
which might serve to establish the true grounds and extent of the
rights of the United States, and the value of the countries claimed
by them, in order that their government might, whenever it should
act, be fully justified before the world ; and Messrs. Poinsett and
Paulding, the secretaries of war and the navy, besides furnishing,'
reports on various points connected with these subjects, which had
been submitted to their respective departments, particularly instruct-
ed Lieutenant Wilkes, the commander of the exploring vessels sent
to the Pacific about this time, to survey the Columbia regions as
completely as he could, and to inquire into the condition and pros-
pects of their actual occupants.*
The information thus obtained by the executive departments and
the legislative committees, was from time to time communicated to
Congress, and publislied by its order ; f no bill, with regard to Ore-
* Of this expedition, partial accounts only linvc appeared ; a narrative of all the
incidents and observations, will, however, soon be published, with maps, charts,
tables, &c., which, there is reason to believe, will not yield in interest and import-
ance to any similar work of the day. In addition to numerous explorations, dis-
coveries and surveys in the southern division of the ocean, the Sandwich Islands,
and the Columbia country, with the adjacent coasts, were carefully examined ; nnd
many new facts, relating to the geography of those parts of the world, will, doubt-
less, be communicated in the forthcoming narrative.
t Report to the Senate, by Mr. Linn, with Maps, June G, 1S3S. Senate Document,
No. 470 of the 2d Session of the ^rnh Congress.
Reports of the Committee on Foreign Alfairs, of the House of Representatives,
respecting the territory of Oregon, with a Map, presented Jan. 4tli and Feb. IGtli,
1S39, by Mr. Cushing ; accompanied by a bill to provide for the protection of the
citizens of the United States, residing in that territory or trading on the Columbia
River. Report of House of Representatives, No. 101, 3(i Session of QHtk Congress.
Memoir, Historical and Political, on the North- West Coast of North America, and
the adjacent Countries, with a Map and a Geographical View of those Countries.
By Robert Greenhow, Translator and Librarian to the Department of State. Pre-
sented Feb. 10th, 1840, by Mr. Linn. Senate Doc. No. 174, 1st Session of2(ith Con-
gress. See Preface to this History.
♦
[184-^.
est of the Rocky
tier chiinmiit pow-
at country, and to.
Slates ; and l)ilis,
)ne or the other of
ouse of the fcde-
/ernmcnt was likc-
il be done by it,
ned and energetic
every information,
and extent of the
! countries claimed
whenever it should
essrs. Poinsett and
besides furnisiiin;;
ubjects, which had
articularly instruct-
[)loring vessels sent
/olumbia regions as
condition and pros-
c departments and
communicated to
|\'ith regard to Ore-
a rmrrative of all the
1, with maps, charts,
u interest and import-
0113 explorations, dis-
le Sandwich Islands,
ircfully exuinined ; and
the world, will, doubt-
1842.]
BILL IN THE SENATE Or THE UNITED STATES.
377
tl:
S3S. Senate Document,
30 of Representatives,
an. 4th and Feb. IGtli,
the protection of the
ading on the Columbia
ion o/ 2r)th Congress.
of North America, and
w of those Countries,
irtment of State. Pre-
st Session of 2(ith Con-
gon, however, passed cither house of that body before 1843 ; and
no decisive measure on that subject was adopted by the American
government. In 1842, Lord Ashburton arrived at Washington, as
a special plenipotentiary of Great Britain, for the settlement of cer-
tain points of ditrercnce between that power and the United States ;
and it was at first su|)posed by the public in both countries, that
the arrangement of the questions respecting the countries west of
the Rocky Mountains, was one of the objects of his mission. A
treaty was, however, concluded, in August of tliat year, between
him and Mr. Webster, the Secretary of State of the United States,
in which all the undetermined parts of the line separating the terri-
tories of the two nations, from the Bay of Fundy to the Lake of the
Woods, were clearly defined and settled ; but no allusion was made
to any portion of America situated farther west. This treaty was
soon after ratified by both governments ; but the exclusion of the
Oregon question from it, seems to have increased the excitement
on that subject, among the people of the United States, and to
have created a similar excitement in Great Britain.
In the message of President Tyler to Congress, at the commence-
ment of the ensuing session, allusion was made to " the territory
of the United States commonly called the Oregon territory, lying on
the Pacific Ocean, north of the 42d degree of latitude, to a portion
of which Great Britain lays claim. In advance of the acquire-
ment of individual rights to these lands," continues the message,
•' sound policy dictates, that every eflbrt should be resorted to, by
the two governments, to settle their respective claims. It became
evident, at an early hour of the late negotiations, that any attempt,
for the time being, satisfactorily to determine those rights, would
lead to a protracted discussion, which might embrace in its failure
other more pressing matters ; and the executive did not regard it
as proper to waive all the advantages of an honorable adjustment
of other difficulties, of great magnitude and importance, because
this, not so immediately pressing, stood in the way." Having thus
indicated the circumstances which prevented the question from
being discussed during the recent negotiation, the president inti-
mated his intention " to urge on Great Britain the importance of its
early settlement."
This part of the president's message was referred to the com-
mittees on foreign affairs in both houses of Congress, and a few
days afterwards, Mr. Linn, one of the senators from Missouri, who
48
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If
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378
BILL IN TUB SKNATK Or TIIK UNITED STATES.
[1843.
had nlwnys displnyod llio strongest interest in nil timt related to the
territories west of tlm Rocky Moiintuins, iind Imd iiHsiduousJy en-
deavored to ellect tlirir incorporation into the republic, brought a
bill into the Senate " to aiithori/o the adoption of measures for the
occupation and settlement of the territory of Oregon, for extend-
ing certain portions of the laws of the United States over the
same, and for oth«!r |)urpos(>s." This bill proposed — that the presi-
dent be authorized and i(M|uired to cause to be erected, at suitable
places and distances, a line of stockade and blockhouse forts, not
exceeding five in numiicr, front some points on the Missouri and
Arkansas Ilivers, into the best pass for entering the valley of the
Oregon, and also at or near the mouth of the Columbia River —
that provision be made by law, to s(>curc and grant six hundred and
forty acres of land to every white male inhabitant of the territory of
Oregon, of the age of eighteen years and u{)wards, who shall cultivate
and use the same for live consecutive years, or to his heirs at law,
if such there be, in case of his decease ; and to every inhabitant or
cultivator, being a married man, in addition, one hundred and sixty
acres for his wife, and the same for each of his children under the
age of eighteen years, or who may be born within the five years
above mentioned ; provided, that no sale or other alienation of such
lands, or execution or lien on them, shall be valid until the patents
have been issued for them — that the civil and criminal jurisdiction
of the Su|»reme Court and the District Courts of the territory of
Iowa be extended over that part of the India|i countries lying west
of the present limits of Iowa, south of the 41)th parallel of latitude,
east of the Rocky Mountains, and north of the boundary line be-
tween the United Slates and Texas, not included within the limits
of any state ; and also over the Indian countries comprising the
Rocky Mountains, and the country between them and the Pacific
Ocean, south of the latitude of 51 degrees 40 minutes, and north of
the 4'^d parallel ; and that justices of the peace be appointed for all
these countries, as now apj)ointed by law for Iowa, who shall have
power to arrest and conunit for trial, agreeably to the laws of Iowa,
all offenders against the laws of the United States ; provided, — that
any subject of Great Britain, who may have been so arrested for
crimes or misdcmoanors committed in the countries west of the
Rocky Mountains, while they remain free and open to tlie people of
both nations, shall be delivered up to the nearest or most conve-
nient British authorities, for the purpose of being tried according to
♦
1843.] DBBATES IN TIIK SKNATE or TIIK LNITEO HTATE3. .'HO
British luws; — iind timt an additioiiul jiul^o of llio Siiprcnu.' Court
of lowu be u|)|)oiiil(n|, utid eiitpoworcd to liold i^oiirts in (Ik; coiin-
tries to which tho bill lelatt's. A preanihle (o the hill, declaring'
ihc rightH of the United States tf> all the tfrritoricH we • of the
llocky Mountains, between the latitudes of 4*2 dry^nes una j I <le-
groca 40 minutes, und the deterniinalion oi d <; tioverniiiMtt to niuin-
tuin iheni, was struck out, at the suji^m stion of Mr. Areher, Upon
tho ground that it was at best unnecessary, and wan certainly un-
courtcous towards the other party elaimintr the same territories,
which would be thus directly taxed with advancing an empty pro-
tension. ^
This bill was defended, generally, on the 1,'rounds that its adop-
tion would be the exercise by th<; United States of rights, wliich
were unquestionable, and had been long unjustly withheld from them
by Great Britain; and that taking this for granted, it ati'orded tho
best means, in all res|)ects, of making good those rights, and securing
to the Republic, the ultimate jtossession of the territories west of
the Rocky Mountains, which must otherwise reniuin, irretrievably,
in the hands of another power. 'J'lie oj)ponents to the bill, all in-
sisted that the proposed cession of lands would be a direct infraction
of the convention of 18-27, with Great Britain, which could not be
legally abrogated, by either party, until a year's notice of such in-
tention had been given to the other; and that indei)endentlr of this
consideration, the measures proposed were imj)olitic, expensive, and
by no means calculated to attain the end in view. With regard to
its particular provisions, the advocates of the bill appear to have
beon unanimous, in considering them all essential to its objects,
and were unwilling to admit any material amendments ; its oppo-
nents differed as to some of those ])rovisions, but they were united
in disapprobation of the clause relating to grants of lands to settlers.
As it would be impossible, within a reasonable sjjace, to present
clearly all the views of the dilVerent members of the Senate, who
took part in this discussion, nothing more will be here attempted
than to indicate, generally, the most striking points touched by each.
Mr. Linn, as the proposer of the bill, explained and defended each
of its provisions, on tho grounds of their justice, of tiieir compatibil-
ity with the existing diplomatic arrangements, and of their efficiency
for the attainment of the end in view, namely, — the possession of
these extensive and valuable territories, by the United States, to
which they belong of right. After recapitulating the various grounds
,f;
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380 DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. [1843.
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of that right, he contended that the Americans had been deprived of
the privileges of the joint occupancy, secured to them by the existing
convention of 1827, in consequence of the encroachments of the
Hudson's Bay Company, which, under the direct protection of the
British government, liad taken actuul possession of the whole terri-
tory beyond the Rocky Mountains. Great Britain, he insisted, was
there employing the same policy and mechanism, of a great trading
company, by means of which she had made her way to the domin-
ion of India : she had already practically taken possession of
all that she ever claimed south and north of the Columbia ; her
agents have directly avowed that she would not give up the estab-
lishments which she had encouraged her subjects to form there ; and
as a farther proof of her intentions, the Hudson's Bay Company had,
within a few years, founded farming settlements, on an extensive
scale, from which large exports of provisions are made to the
Russian posts, and the Sandwich Islands. The bill proposed, con-
tinued Mr. Linn, does not pretend to dispossess Great Britain of
what she now holds ; it does not define the territory of the United
States. Can that power object to proceedings on the part of the
United States, similar to her own ? She has extended her jurisdic-
tion over Oregon, has built forts, and set up farming and other
establishments. Why cannot the Americans do the same ?
Mr. Sevier, considered that the justice of the claims of the United
States being admitted, there should be no delay in taking possession
of the country claimed, for which the only means were, to provide
an adequate amount of population, within the shortest time. The
inducements held out to settlers by the bill, were trifling, when
compared with the difliculties to which they would be subjected;
and not only should the lands be granted to them, and forts be
built, and ganisoned for their protection, but, if necessary, a railroad
should be made from the Missouri to the Columbia, as he contended
might be done, for two millions of dollars, over which emigrants
might be conveyed in two or three days.
Mr. Benton, in defence of the bill, entered at length into the his-
tory of discovery and settlement, on the west coasts of North Amer-
ica, also presenting and reviewing the various conventions between
civilized nations, with regard to it. He considered the right of the
United States, to the territories south of the 49th parallel of latitude,
as determined by the possession of Louisiana, the northern boundary
of which he asserted to have been fixed at that parallel, by commis-
> STATES. [1843.
1843.] DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 381
sioners, appointed agreeably to the treaty of Utrecht ; and he was
prepared for war, if necessary, rather than surrender any part of the
territory, thus rightfully belonging to his country, the agricultural,
commercial and political advantages of which he described in detail,
displaying the same minute and accurate knowledge with regard to
its geography and resources, as he had shown respecting its history.
Mr. Morehead supported the same views. Examining the con-
vention of 1827, he conceived, that it provided only for temporary
occupation ; but that the felling of forests, the construction of regu-
lar habitations, the fencing in of fields, the regular improvement of
the soil, the fitting up of mills and workshops, and, added to all
these, the erection of forts to protect them, as had been done by the
British, in Oregon, meant something more, and were intended to
constitute a lasting, and, of course, exclusive occupation of the
places thus appropriated. Now these are not merely the acts of the
Hudson's Bay Company ; they arc done under the sanction of the
British government, and they form the system adopted everywhere
by that government, for territorial encroachment, especially against
nations capable of resisting a direct attack.
Mr. Woodbury took a view, somewhat different, of the bearing
of the convention of 18-27, which he regarded as leaving to each
party the right to settle, provided the trade were left free to both ;
in support of this construction, he cited the declarations of the
British ministers, during the negotiations on that subject, and the
stipulation proposed by them, — that " neither party should assume,
or exercise any right of sovereignty or dominion over any part of the
country," and — that " no settlement then existing, or which might
in future be made, should ever be adduced by either party, in sup-
port, or furtherance of such claims of sovereignty, or dominion."
On these grounds, he considered that the bill should pass, and that
the United States should no longer hesitate to exercise rights, which
Great Britain did not scruple to exercise herself.
Mr. Phelps concurred with Mr. Woodbury, in liis construction of
the convention of 1827, which he conceived, would not be violated
by the section of the bill, providing for grants of land to settlers.
The grants proposed, are but j)rospcctive. Citizens of the United
States are invited to settle in Oregon, and, after having resided
there five years, certain portions of land are to be secured to them.
Within those five years, the questions of right to the territory will
have been determined, and if those who have acted on the faith of
f f
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382 DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. [1843.
I' i
iiifi ^>*
4-'' I' i;
the invitation, do not then receive the advantages ])romised, their
government will, of course, be bound to indenniify them.
Mr. Young was also convinced of the right of the United States
to the territory claimed by them beyond the Rocky Mountains ; and
would give his full support to the bill, which he conceived in no
point at variance with the stii)ulations of the convention. The
grant of lands was promised, and not to be directly made. It was
the constant custom of this government, not to make the final grant,
until all conflicting title had been extinguished, as evinced by the
treaties with Indian tribes, for the acquisition of their titles to lands :
Great Britain, knowing this, could not object, but would consider
that the measure is provisional, and that as a negotiation was
pending for the adjustment of boundaries west of the Rocky Moun-
tains, no grant could be made until that <iuestion had been settled.
Mr. Mac Roberts dwelt particularly on the importance to the
claims of the United States, of the convention of 1790, between
Great Britain and Spain ; the fifth article of which, according to his
construction, assured to Sj)ain the sovereignty of all the coasts and
territories on the Pacific, south of Nootka Sound.
Mr. Henderson regarded the act of the British parliament, ex-
tending the jurisdiction of the courts of Canada over Oregon, to be
an act of possession, and implying either no such legal equalities on
the part of the United States, or that they also had their tribuiiab,
asserting their rights of jurisdiction ; which latter state of thini^s,
would be a conflict of jurisdictions, inca|)able of being reconciled.
Mr. Huntingdon, though firndy convinced of the rights of the
United States to the territory in question, and of the propriety of
making them good, so soon as possible, could not but consider the
bill as an infringement of the existing convention with Great Britain.
An exercise by either government, of the sovereign right to grant
lands, would be incompatible with that freedom and oj)enness of
the territory to the i)eople of both nations, which was the capital
object of the convention. Such a gift of lands was the highest act
of territorial sovereignty ; both parties could not exercise it at once,
and the people of the one not exercising it, nmst, of necessity, he
excluded, not oidy from the enjoyment of what was stipul.ited as
free to both, but from the territory itself, except on terms of suflcr-
ance and inferiority. The present state of things should undoubt-
edly be ended, but in the manner provided by the convention,
namely, — by giving immediate notice to Great Britain of the inten-
i STATES.
[1843.
;es ])romised, their
I'y tlicm.
the United States
;y Mountains ; and
he conceived in no
convention. The
z\\y made. It was
ake the final grant,
, as evinced by the
leir titles to lands :
)Ut would consider
a negotiation was
the Rocky Moun-
had been settled.
importance to the
of 1790, between
;h, according to his
all the coasts and
•
tish parliament, cx-
)ver Oregon, to be
legal e(iualities on
lad their tribunals,
ur state of thinus.
being reconciled,
the rights of the
)f the propriety of
but consider the
with Great Britain,
gn right to grant
and openness of
ch was the capital
as the highest act
exercise it at once,
st, of necessity, be
was stipulated as
>n terms of suflcr-
s should undoubt-
the convention,
ritain of the inten-
1843.] DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 383
tion of the United States to abrogate that convention, at the expi-
ration of a year.
Mr. Mac Duffie opposed the bill in toto. He insisted, that its
adoption would be a violation of the convention with Great Britain ;
as its tendency was, and could be no other than to take possession
of the country, and to make ready by all means and appliances, to
maintain that possession. It was an invitation to the citizens of the
Union — not to carry on the fur-trade, nor to do that which the
convention permits — but to settle permanently. For such a meas-
ure, he denied that any emergency then called. The question had
slept for many years, whilst the United States were at the height of
their prosperity ; and it was most imprudent to bring it up now,
when their condition was far otherwise, and to brandish the sword
in the face of a powerful opponent, when there was every proba-
bility that the matter might be arranged peaceably by negotiation.
He said, that Great Britain had done nothing which indicated an
intention to establish for herself an exclusive occupation. Her forts
were nothing more than stockades, made by her traders, for their
protection against Indians ; and the only mode in which her sub-
jects have intorferod with American citizens has been by under-
selling them in the commerce with the natives. lie then proceeded
to inquire what advantages the United States could derive from the
territories of which it was proposed, at these hazards and costs, to
take possession. He rejircscntcd the whole region beyond the
Rocky Mountains, and a vast tract between that chain and the
Mississippi, as a desert, utterly without value for agricultural pur-
poses, and which no American citizen should be condemned to in-
habit, unless as a punishment ; and ho combated tiie idea, that
steam could ever be employed to facilitate connnunications across
the continent, between the Columbia countries and the States of the
Union. The expenses which the passage of the bill must entail,
would, he conceived, be incalculable, whilst no returns could be
expected for them. The fur-trade, if advantageous, could benefit
only a few capitalists, for whose advancement the agriculture, com-
merce, and industry of the whole republic should not be taxed.
In conclusion, he entreated the Senate to pause — to wait a year
or two years, in order to see what might be done by peaceful means,
and without a ruinous waste of resources.
Mr. Calhoun presented a summary of the ground of the claims of
the United States and of Great Britain to the territories in question,
I ■*
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384 DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. [1843.
J r
and of the arrangements attempted, as well as of those made ; and,
reviewing the provisions of the bill, he conceived that it directly
violated the subsisting convention on the subject between the two
nations. The American government, it is true, does not, by this
bill, confer grants of land upon its citizens, but it binds itself to do
so ; and that engagement forms a complete reality as to assuming
possession. Upon examining all the acts of Great Britain, with re-
gard to those countries, he could find nothing in them of equal ex-
tent and force ; the act of parliament of 18'2l merely extends the
jurisdiction of British laws over British subjects, and authorizes no
possession. He could not but anticipate a breach of the peace with
Great Britain, if the part of the bill then before the Senate, relating
to grants of land, were carried into eflect ; all its other provisions
he regarded favorably, and he was resolved to contribute, so far as
lay in his power, to the maintenance of all the rights of the United
States which could be exercised conformably with the convention
of 18*27. With regard to the value of the territory to the United
States, he differed with his colleague (Mr. Mac Duffie). He be-
lieved the possession of the countries of the Columbia to be impor-
tant in many respects ; but he considered that the time was not
come, when their occupation should be attempted, at the risk of a
war with the most powerful nation of the earth. The advance of
the citizens of the Union over the western regions, had been already
rapid, beyond all the calculations of the most sanguine statesmen ;
no extraordinary means were required from their government to
accelerate it. He was desirous to give to the bill all the attention
which its importance required ; and he hoped that it would be re-
committed to the committee on Foreign Relations, whose report
would doubtless throw additional light on the subject.
Mr. Rives likewise presented a historical review of the circum-
stances on which the titles of the United States and Great Britain
were founded. Great Britain had taken measures to occupy the
country in question, the United States had taken none, and their
right might thus have been considered in time as waived, but for the
convention which preserved it untouched. It was time that the
United States should act on the subject ; and if the bill could be
recommitted and reported again, without the clause for granting
lands to settlers, he would give it his hearty support : but considering
that provision as inconsistent with the terms of the existing conven-
tion with Great Britain, he could not approve it in its present form.
STATES. [1843.
those made ; and,
;d that it directly
between the two
docs not, by this
t binds itself to do
lity as to assuming
it Britain, with re-
them of equal ex-
nercly extends the
and authorizes no
1 of the peace with
lie Senate, relating
its other provisions
ontributc, so far as
ights of the United
ith the convention
itory to the United
c Duffie). He be-
iimbia to be impor-
the time was not
id, at the risk of a
, The advance of
, had been already
nguine statesmen ;
leir government to
all the attention
lat it would be re-
ions, whose report
cct.
iw of the circum-
and Great Britain
res to occupy the
in none, and their
A^aived, but for the
vas time that the
the bill could be
lause for granting
rt : but considering
,e existing conven-
its present form.
1843.] DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 385
Mr. Choate opposed the provision in the bill for grants of land ;
but in all other particulars he was entirely in favor of it. He con-
tended that, agreeably to the convention of 1827, still subsisting,
neither government, as a government, could do any thing to divest
the citizens or subjects of the other of the enjoyment of the common
freedom of the country ; and if the subjects or citizens of either
made establishments there, they did so at their own risk, and neither
government was called to interfere. If this bill were passed, its
effect must be to hinder some part of the territory from being open,
except as regards American citizens. He was willing that the
United States should, as Great Britain had done, and as permitted
by the convention, extend their jurisdiction over all the countries to
which the bill applies, and erect forts where needed ; but not do
more. If they had not done so earlier, it was to be attributed to
their own supineness, not to the injustice of the other party. In
conclusion, he recommended, either that notice be given to Great
Britain of the intention of the United States to abrogate the con-
vention at the end of a year ; or — better still — that a negotiation
be immediately commenced, by means of which, the only material
subject of difficulty with that power, may be terminated amicably.
Mr. Berrien objected to the bill proposed, on many grounds, as
to its principles and its details. The question was one of the ut-
most gravity, — of a future empire, to be founded in the west, by
the institutions and commerce of the United States, — a question,
with which weighty considerations are complicated, including an
important compact with a foreign power. That power has its own
views on this question, at variance with those of the United States,
but on which she doubtless believes as fully. This bill, however,
supposes all the right to be on the side of the Union, which is thus
legislating upon an ex parte decision. The territory, which forms
the subject of the discussion, is a barren and savage region, as yet
unoccupied by the people of either nation, except for hunting, fish-
ing, and trading with the natives ; all which are conducted freely
and equally by the people of both nations, under the faith, of a con-
vention to that effect : and by the side of this compact a bill is
placed, which assumes and engages to give the soil itself, and all
that goes with it, not merely for the term of the duration of the
convention, but "as long as the grass shall grow or the waters shall
flow." The patents, thus granted, would bar all British subjects
from particular spots ; and the act of granting them being a clear
49
f
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386
DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES.
[184.3.
and positive appropriation, by the American government, of that
domain, would certainly be a violation of the compact. It has been
alleged, that the patents are not immediate, but provisional ; that
the government pledges itself to issue them to those entitled to
receive them, at the end of five years : but there is no diftcrence
between these two forms of the act of a government — of a per-
petual body ; the parties are put into present possession, and pro-
tection is promised to them there. The bill, moreover, violates tlio
faith of the political contract at home, by interfering with tlic
treaty-making power of the executive. The adjustment of the
matter by negotiation with Great Britain, is only postponed, in order
that it may be soon resumed, with the prospect of accommodation ;
and it is most inexpedient, at such a moment, to interfere with the
legitimate organ of the government, for such functions. Were the
bill passed, it would warrant, in his opinion, the exercise, by the
President, of the qualified I'eto, given to iiim by the constitution,
for the protection of the peculiar prerogative of his ollice.
Mr. Archer directed his attention chiefly to what he considered
as the two great points j)rcsented for consideration by this hill;
namely — the consistency of the provision for granting allodial titlos
to lands in Oregon, with the stipulations of the Convention of 1 B.'JT —
and the general policy of accelerating the scttl(>ment of that territory
by the people of the United States. Upon the first point he showed,
by reference to the proceedings and results of the several negotia-
tions between the United Slates and Great Britain on the subject, that
the title to the territory had been the only question discussed ; that
no agreement on that question had ever been attained, and that tlio
two governments, finding it impossible to arrive at a satisfactory
conclusion, had, by the convention, dissoluble at the pleasure of
either, left the country equally free to the people of both. The title
was thus in suspense, and with it were suspended all the privilegoj:
flowing therefrom, except those of temporary use ; most especially
was suspended the right to grant a property in the soil : and if this
were not the true meaning and intention of the agreement, it was
vain and useless. No breach of the contract on the part of Great
Britain had been proved ; the people of that nation had indeed
gained advantages in trade over the citizens of the United States:
yet it was not by constraint or intimidation, but by greater dextcrit ,
in business, which involved no contravention of stipulations, and
could authorize no contravention on the other side. If the present
:d states.
[1843.
government, of that
mpact. It has been
lit provisional; tluit
to those entitled to
here is no dift'erencc
jrnment — of a pcr-
possession, and pro-
lorcover, violates the
nterfering with the
adjustment of the
y postponed, in order
of accommodation;
o interfere with the
mclions. Were the
the exercise, by the
by the constitution,
his office.
what he considered
oration by this bill;
granting allodial titles
onvention of 1 8l]1 —
ment of that territory
irst point he shewed.
the several ncgotia-
n on the subject, that
stion discussed ; that
ttained, and that the
ivc at a satisfactory
at the pleasure of
-of both. The title
ed all the privilege;:
ise ; most especially
the soil : and if tills
ic agreement, it was
m the part of Great
nation had indeed
the United States :
by greater dextcriv.
of stipulations, and
,ide. If the present
1843.] DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 387
bill should become a law, the United States must be prepared to
maintain and execute all its provisions ; and Great Britain, tiiough
like the United States, directly interested in the continuance of
peace, would, if she viewed the measures in question as an infringe-
ment of the Convention, stand upon that point, when she might not
stand upon the value of the territory. War might be the conse-
quence, and it was i)roper to consider on which side the advantages
would be in the contest, and what would be its results. In any
case, whether or not war should ensue, the question of the posses-
sion of Oregon could only be decided by negotiation ; and if, at the
end of a war, the United States siiould obtain all that they here
claim, it would be but a poor recompense for the evils and costs
incurred. With regard to the policy of accelerating the settlement
of the territory west of the Rocky Mountains, by American citizens,
Mr. Archer coincided nearly in opinion with Mr. MacDutfie ; he con-
sidered that territory as of little value to any nation ; the part near
the coast alone contained land fit for agricultural purposes, and there
were no harbors which woio or could be rendered tolerable. The
United States had seven hundred millions of acres of land east of the
Rocky Mountains still vacant, of which a large portion was more
fertile and salubrious than any other lands, wherever they might be,
even in Oregon ; these should be occupied before the population
could with reason be urged to establish themselves in the latter
country. In conclusion, he had no objection to the extension of the
jurisdiction of the United States to the Pacific, in the manner pro-
posed by the bill, or to the erection of forts on the Columbia, if they
should be found necessary ; or to any other measure which might be
taken pari passu with Great Britain, not inconsistent with reciprocal
stipulations : but he should oppose the provision respecting grants of
land, not only for the reasons already given, but also because it
would tend to defeat the very object of the bill, namely, — the ultimate
possession of the country west of the Rocky Mountains by the Uni-
ted States.
To the objections thus made to his bill, Mr. Linn replied at
length, displaying considerable ingenuity of argument, particularly
with the object of shewing that all which was thereby openly pro-
posed had been already done in a covert manner by Great Britain.
He dwelt on the great importance of the Oregon countries, — on the
vast extent of lands on the Columbia and its tributary streams,
which were said to exceed in productiveness any in the States of
li
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383
DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES.
[1843.
the Union, — and on the number and excellence of the harbors on
those coasts, the use of which was imperatively required by the
American whaling vessels employed in the adjacent ocean, — on the
facility with which travel and transportation might be eflected
across the continent, by means of ordinary roads at present,
and by railroads hereafter ; and he produced a number of letters,
reports, and other documents from various sources, confirming all
these statements. Finally, he appealed to the honor and generosity
of the nation, for its protection to the American citizens already
established in Oregon, who had gone thither in confidence that
such aid would be extended to them, and were groaning under the
oppressions of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Previous to the final vote, Mr. Archer endeavored to have
the clause, respecting the grants of lands, struck out ; but liis
motion did not prevail, and on the 3d of February, 1843, the bill
was passed l)y the Senate, twenty-four being for, and twenty-two
against it. It was immediately sent to the House of Representa-
tives, in which a report against its passage was made by Mr. Adunis.
the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Afiairs ; the session,
however, expired, without any debate on the subject in that house.*
During the many years in the course of which the question of
the occupation of Oregon by the United States was frequently (hs-
cussed in Congress, nothing whatever was said on that subj- ct, in
the British Parliament, before 1843. The debates on Mr. Linn's
bill, in which the whole policy of the American government, its
means and intentions, its strength and its weakness, were minutely
set forth and communicated to the world, did not however fail to
elicit some observations from the leaders of the two parties in the
House of Commons. Whilst the treaty recently concluded at
Washington, relative to boundaries east of the Lake of the Woods,
was before that body, frequent allusions were made to the measures
proposed in Congress " for immediately taking forcible possession "
of Oregon, and to the spirit of the American people on that subject,
as indicated by the speeches, and the passage of the bill for those
measures, in the Senate.f Lord Palmerston, the leader of the op-
* This was dostineil to be the last effort of Mr. Linn, for the advancement of the
cause to wliich he had so lonir devoted his powerful energies. He expired on the
3d of October, 1S43, at iiis residence in St. Genevieve, Missouri, witliout warning,
and probably without a struggle.
t Debates in Parliament, March 21st, 1843.
♦'
STATES.
[1843.
1843.J
REVIEW OF THE CONVENTION OP 1827.
389
\.
I of the harbors on
J required by the
it ocean, — on the
miuht be eflected
•oads at present,
number of letters,
ces, confirming all
nor and generosity
,n citizens already
m confidence that
groaning under the
deavored to have
ruck out ; but iiis
lary, 184.3, the bill
or, and twenty-two
ise of Rcpresenta-
adu by Mr. Adams.
flairs ; the session,
•ject in that house.*
lich the question of
ivas fre<|uently dis-
on that subj' ct, in
ites on Mr. Linn's
,n government, its
ess, were minutely
lOt however fail to
two parties in the
ntly concluded at
,ake of the Woods,
Ide to the measures
ircible possession "
le on that subject,
the bill for those
leader of the op-
lie advjinccnicnt of the
^3. Ho expired on llie
)uri. without warning,
position to the ministry, pronounced, that if this bill were to pass,
and be acted on, it would be a declaration of war ; it would be the
invasion and seizure of a territory, in dispute, by virtue of a decree,
made by one of the parties in its own favor : be— moree^^ con-
ceived, that the passage of such a bill by the Senate, a body
comprising among its members a large portion of the men of the
greatest weight and most distinguished ability in the United States,
showed a most excited condition of the public mind in that country.
In answer to this, Sir Robert Peel, the Premier, simply said, that
a proposition had been addressed to the American government, for
considering the best means of efi'ccting a conciliatory adjustment of
the questions with regard to Oregon ; and if the bill had passed
the legislature of the Union, it would not have received the sanc-
tion of the executive, which had given to the British government
the strongest assurances of anxiety, to settle those questions by
negotiation.
In order to determine whether the bill for the occupation of
Oregon, passed by the Senate of the United States, in 1843, could,
if it had become a law, have been carried into fulfilment without a
breach of public faith, until after the abrogation of the existing
convention with Great Britain, in the manner therein stipulated, it
will be necessary first to analyze thiit convention, and to reduce
the various permissions, re<|uirements and prohibitions involved in
it, to their simplest expressions. The two nations on agreeing, as
by that convention, to leave the territory west of the Rocky Moun-
tains, with its waters, free and open to the citizens and subjt>cts of
both, of course agreed, that neither should exercise any exclusive
dominion, or do any thing calculated to hinder the people of the
other from enjoying the promised advantages, in any part of that
territory. Each nation of course reserved to itself the right to
provide for the maintenance of peace and the administration of
justice among its own citizens, and to appoint agents for that pur-
pose to reside in the territory ; it was, indeed, the duty of each as a
civilized power to do so without delay : and it was morally impera-
tive upon these governments to enter into a supplementary compact
for the exercise of concurrent jurisdiction, in cases aflfecting the per-
sons or interests of subjects or citizens of both nations, unless provi-
sion to that eflect should have already been made in some other way.
Finally, as the country was inhabited by tribes of savages, the citi-
zens and subjects of each of the civilized nations residing therein.
I'r;
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300
REVIEW OF THE CONVENTION OF
1827.
(1843.
xnv^hi take precautions for their defence against attacks from those
savages, by military organization among themselves, and by the
erection of the fortifications necessary for that special purpose ; and
it here again became the duty of the contracting parties to settle
by compact the manner in vi^hich their governments might jointly or
separately aid their people in such defence. As the advantages
otlcred to the citizens or subjects of the two nations are not defined,
the terms of the convention relating to them, are to be understood
in their most extensive favorable sense ; including the privileges, not
only of fishing, hunting and trading with the natives, but also — of
clearing and cultivating the ground, and using or disposing of the
|)ro(lncts of such labor in any peaceful way — of erecting build-
ings for residence or other purposes, and making dams, dikes, ca-
nals, bridges, and any other works which the private citizens or
suljjects of the parties might erect or make in their own countries;
iMidor no other restrictions or limitations than those contained in
the clause of the convention providing for the freedom and open-
ness of the territory, or those which might be imposed by the re-
sj^octive governments.
This appears to be the amount of the permissions, requiiemenis
and prohibitions of the convention ; and had the two governments
done all that is here demanded, no difficulties could have been rea-
sonably apprehended, so long at least as the territory in question re-
mains thinly peopled. These things, however, have not all been done.
Not only has no supplementary compact been made, l.otwcen the
two governments, but the United States have neglected to secure
the protection of their laws to their citizens, who have thus, doubt-
less in part, been prevented from drawing advantjiges from the
convention, equal to those long since enjoyed by British subjects,
under the security of the prompt and efficient measures of their gov-
ernment.
If this view of the existing convention between the United States
and Great Britain, relative to the territory west of the Rocky
INIountains be correct, and embrace all that it allows, demands and
forbids, neither of the parties could be justified, during the subsistence
of the agreement, in ordering the erection of forts at the mouth of
the Columbia, where they certainly are not required for protection
against any third power, and in promising to secure large tracts of
land in that territory, by patent, to its citizens or subjects. Had
the bill passed by the Senate in 1843, become a law, the convention
( I
1^
1827. [1843.
attacks from those
selves, and l)y tlio
;)cciul purpose ; and
lin;^ parties to settle
iits inij^ht jointly or
As the advantages
ins are not detiMid.
re to be understood
L,' the priviU'^'cs, not
tivcs, but also — of
or disposing of the
-of erecting build-
ng dams, dikes, ca-
])rivatc citizens or
heir own countries:
those contained in
freedom and open-
imposed by the rt-
ssions, rcquiiements
|ic two governments
•uld have been rea-
itory in question rc-
vc not aU been done.
made, lotween the
neglected to secure
have thus, doubt-
[Ivantiiges from the
)y British subjects,
lasures of their gov-
n the United States
^est of the Rocky
lows, demands and
iring the subsistence
ts at the mouth of
lired for protection
cure large tracts of
or subjects. Had
law, the convention
1843.] EMIGHANTS FUOM TMK UNITF.D STATES TO OnEGON.
391
would from that moment have been virttndly and violently rescind-
rd ; and any attempt to enforce the measures would undoubtedly
have been resisted by Great Britain. The abrogation of the con-
vention, in the manner therein provided, or in some other way, by
common consent of the parties, shoidd precede all attempts by either,
to occupy any spot in the territory permanently ; and whenever the
government of either nation considers the time to be near, in which
such occupation by its own citizens or subjects will be indispensa-
ble, it should endeavor to settle by negotiation with the other power,
some mode of effecting that object, before giving notice of its inten-
tion to abrogate the agreement ; for such a notice can only be
regarded as the announcement of the determination of the party
giving it, to take forcible possession of the territory, at the end of
the period prescribed.
Lord Palmornton was not mistaken in his estimate of the excite-
ment existing in the United States on this subject ; and that excite-
ment has been infinitely increased, by the recent debates in the
Senate. On the faith of the promise held out by the passage of
the bill for the immediate occupation of Oregon, nearly a thou-
sand American citizens, men, women, and children, began their
march in June, 1843, from Missouri to the Columbia ;* and there
* Tlicse eniis .nuts toolc tlicir departure from Wcstport, in INIissouri, tlie place of
ic'iidezvons, in tin- lieginniii;.^ of June, IS-lli, with about two liundred wagons, and a
liiige number of liorses anil cattle ; and having soon after divid<'d into four bodies,
they pursued their march along the valley of the river Platte, through the Southern
Piiss in the Rocky Mountains, and over the great ridge, separating the waters of
tlie Colorado from those of the Columbia, to Fort Hall, the Hudson's Buy Com-
pany's post on the Lewis River, where they arrived in August. They lost six or
seven of their number on their way to Fort Hall, from sickness, fatigue and acci-
dents ; but, upon the whole, their progress was attended with fewer diilicultics, or
dangers, than they had antici|)ated. The Sioux and Blaekfeet Indians did not
venture to attack them ; but gazed at a distance, with wonder, on those pale-faces,
leaving their sunny valleys on the Mississippi, for the rugged barren wastes of the
Colundjia. Since their depaiture from Fort Hall nothing has been heard from the
emigrants ; but there is no reason to believe that they will meet with any obstacles
of consequence, in their way to the Willaniet Valley, which seems to be the place
of their immediate destination.
It is somewhat curious, that on the first of July, 1S43, whilst this large body of
emigrants were quietly pursuing their way across the continent, an article ap-
peared in the Edinburgh Review, — a work so generally correct on American affairs,
anil so reasonable in its views a!id speculations, with regard to them — containing
such observations as the following — " However the political questions between
England and America, as to the ownership of Oregon may be decided, Oregon will
never be colonized overland from the United States. * » » j'/^. world must assume
a new face, before the .American wagons make plain the road to the Columbia as they
"i
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392
EMinilANTS I'llOM THE UNITED STATES TO OREGON. [1810.
is reason to believe that even n prenter number will soon follow, if
the accounts t'roni tlioHU ulretuly pone should prove as favorable ns
may bo expected. These inuniprations must necessarily change
the aspect of the queKtions at issue between Great Hritain and the
United States, and mati.'rially atlect the views of their governments;
arrangements which might have been made when the number of
American citizens and tlu; amount of American interests in Oregon
were trilling, may have been thus rendered impracticable, and the
obstacles to an amicable adjustment may have U-en considerahly
increased.
For the long and entire silence in the British legislature with
regard to Oregon, the ministry appears to have made ample amends,
by care and action ; and every thing seenis to have been done
which could tend to secure for (ireat Britain the ultimate possession
of the whole territory drained by the Columbia, without infringinfr,
in the mean time, the agreement made with the United States.
For this purpose the British ministers could have no counsellors
better (|ualitied to advise, or whose interests were more completely
identified with those of the government, than the Hudson's Hay
Company ; and from the results, the utmost confidence may be
supposed to exist between those two parties.
The Hudson's Bay Conipany, re|)resenting in all respects the
interests of (ireat Britain, in North- West America, has indeed he-
come a powerful body. The field of its operations was more than
doubled by its union with the North-West Company, and by the
license to trade, in exclusion of all other British subjects, in the
countries west of the Rocky Mountains, where the fur-bearing ani-
mals were more abundant than in any other part of the world;
while the extension of the jurisdiction of the Canada courts over
the whole division of the continent, to which its charters apply,
and the ap})ointment of its own agents as magistrates, in those re-
gions, gave all that could have been desired for the enforcement of
its regulations. The arrangement made with the Russian American
have done to the Ohio. • * • Wlioever, tlicreforo, is to be the future owner of
Oreijon, its people will come/ram Europe.'^ Tliis is not the lirst occasion, in vvhieli
European predictions, implying doubts as to the energy of American citizens, and
the success of tlieir undertakings, liave been contradicted by facts so soon as ut-
tered. Wliatevcr may be tlie result of tiiis enterjirise, certain it is that the emi-
grants from the Missouri, with tlieir wives, their children and their waa[ons, arrived
in Oregon ; an<l no one will question their power to maintain themselves there, if
any other people can do so.
h
»
I OREGON. [1813.
will soon follow, if
>V(' as liivomhlc m
urcessarily clmii{;;(;
ut Hritniii mid the
tlifir govcrnnicnts ;
icii the nuinliur of
interests in Oregon
prncticable, and the
b<;cn considembly
isli legislature with
ladc ample amends,
t have been done
ultimate possession
without infringini:,
the United States.
lavc no counsellors
re more completely
the Hudson's Bay
confidence may be
in all respects the
rica, has indeed bo-
ions was more than
tinpuny, and by the
ish subjects, in the
he fur-bearing ani-
lart of the world;
anada courts over
its charters apply,
itrates, in those re-
the enforcement of
Russian American
be the future owner of
lirst occasion, in wliicli
lAinericiin citizens, anil
lljy facts so soon ns ut-
Itain it is that the cmi-
[<1 tlieir wojions, arrived
Lin themselves there, if
1843.]
NEW GRANT TO IIL'USUN S BAY COMPANY.
398
Company, through the Intervention of the two governments, se-
cured to the HudHon's Bay Com^Hiny the most advantageous limits
in the north-west ; and the ftosition assumed by Great Britoin, in
the discussions with the United States, respecting Oregon, were
calculated to increase the confidence of the body, in the strength of
its tenure of that country, and to encourage greater efforts on iti
part to assure that tenure.
The license granted to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821, ex-
pired in 1842, but another had been previously conceded, also for
twenty-one years, containing some new and ir.'portant provisions.*
Thus, the Company was bound, under hea v penalties, to enforce
the due execution of all criminal processes, by the officers and
other persons legally empowered, in all its territories ; and to make
and submit to the government such rules and regulations for the
management of the trade with the Indians, as should be eflcctual
to prevent the sale and distribution of spirituous liquors among
them, and to promote their moral and religious improvement. It is
moreover declared in the grant, that nothing therein contained
should authorize the Company to claim the right of trade in any
part of America, to the prejudice or exclusion of the people of " any
foreign states" who may be entitled to trade there, in virtue of con-
ventions between such states and Great Britain ; and the govern-
ment reserves to itself the right to establish within the territories
included in the grant, any colony or province, to annex any part of
those territories to any existing colony or province, and to apply to
such portion any form of civil government which might be deemed
proper. Whether this last provision was introduced with some
special and immediate object, or with a view to future contingen-
cies, no means have as yet been aflbrded for determining. It is,
however, certain, that the British government insisted strongly on
retaining the above-mentioned privileges ; and it is most probable
that the Red River and the Columbia countries were in view at the
time, as the remainder of the territory, included in the grant and
not possessed by the Company in virtue of the charter of 1669, is
of little value in any way.
In addition to the assistance and protection thus received from
the British government, the constitution of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany is such as to secure the utmost degree of knowledge and pru-
* See extracts from these charters, showing all their provisions, in the Proofs
and Illustrations under the letter I.
50
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394
GOVERNMENT OF HUDSON S BAY COMPANY.
[1843.
dence in its councils, and of readiness and exactness in the execu-
tion of its orders. Its affairs are superintended by a Governor, a
Deputy Governor, and a Committee of Directors, established at
London, by whom all general orders and regulations are devised
and issued, and all reports and accounts are examined and con-
trolled. Tlie proceedings of this body are enveloped in profound
secrecy, and the communications made to the government in writ-
ing, which are likely to • be published, are expressed in terms of
studied caution, and afford only the details absolutely required.
The trade in America is especially directed by a Resident Governor,
who occasionally visits and inspects all the principal posts ; under
him, as officers, are chief factors, chief traders, and clerks, for the
most part natives of North Britain, and an army of regular servants,
employed as hunters, traders, voyageurs, &c., nearly all of them
Canadians or half-breeds. The number of all these persons is small,
when compared with the duties which they have to perform ; but
the manner in which they are admitted into the service, and the
training to which they are subjected, are such as to render their
efficiency and their devotion to the general interests as great as
possible. The strictest discipline, regularity and economy are en-
forced in every part of the company's territories ; and the magis-
trates appointed under the act of parliament for the preservation of
tranquilUty, are seldom called to exercise their functions, except in
the settlement of trifling disputes.
In the treatment of the aborigines of the countries under its
control, the Hudson's Bay Company appears to have admirably
combined and reconciled policy with humanity. The prohibition to
supply those people with ardent spirits, appears to be rigidly en-
forced. Schools for the instruction of the native children are estab-
lished at all the principal trading posts, each of which also contains
a hospital for sick Indians, and offers employment for those who are
disposed to work, whilst hunting cannot be carried on. Missiona-
ries of various sects are encouraged to endeavor to convert them to
Christianity, and to induce them to adopt the usages of civilized
life, so far as may be consistent with the nature of the labors re-
quired for their support ; and attempts are made, at great expense,
to collect the Indians in villages, on tracts where the climate and
soil are most fri '/orable for agriculture. Particular care is extended
to the education of the half-breed children, the offspring of the
marriage or concubinage of the traders with the Indian women,
r I
IPANY.
[1843.
1843.]
POLICY OP HUDSON S BAY COMPANY.
395
Iness in the execu-
by a Governor, a
ors, established at
ilations are devised
examined and con-
Dloped in profound
overnment in writ-
pressed in terms of
ibsolutely required.
Resident Governor,
icipal posts ; under
, and clerks, for the
of regular servants,
nearly all of them
ese persons is small,
re to perform ; but
the service, and the
as to render their
iterests as great as
id economy are cu-
es ; and the magis-
• the preservation of
functions, except in
countries under its
to have admirably
The prohibition to
rs to be rigidly en-
3 children are estab-
which also contains
lit for those who are
ried on. Missiona-
to convert them to
usages of civilized
te of the labors re-
, at great expense.
re the climate and
liar care is extended
he offspring of tlie
the Indian women,
e
who are retained, and bred as far as possible among the white peo-
ple, and are employed, whenever they are found capable, in the
service of the company. As there are few or no white women in
those territories, except in the Red River settlements, it may be
easily seen that the half-breeds must in a short time form a large
and important portion of the native population.
The conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company in these respects is
certainly worthy of commendation. It is however to be observed,
that of the whole territory placed under the authority of that body,
only a few small portions are capable of being rendered productive
by agriculture. From the remainder of the country, nothing of
value in commerce can be obtained except furs, and those articles
can be procured in greater quantities and at less cost, by the labor
of the Indians, than by any other means. There is, consequently,
no object in expelling or destroying the native population, which can
never be dangerous from its numbers ; while on the contrary, there
is a direct and evident motive of interest for preserving and con-
ciliating them, and the British certainly employ the best methods to
attain those ends. By the system above described, the natural shy-
ness and distrust of the savages have been in a great measure re-
moved ; the ties which bound together the members of the various
tribes have been loosened, and extensive combinations for any pur-
pose have become impossible. The dependence of the Indians upon
the company is at the same time rendered entire and absolute ; for
having abandoned the use of all their former arms, hunting and
fishing implements, and clothes, ihey can no longer subsist without
the guns, ammunition, fish-hooks, blankets and other similar arti-
cles, which they receive only from the British traders. The po/tion
of the Hudson's Bay Company towards the North-American Indians,
is thus wholly different from that held by the East India Company
with respect to the Chinese ; the motives for prohibiting the intro-
duction of spirits among the former people, being as strong on the
one part as those for favoring the consumption of opium among the
latter people, are on the other.
The course observed by the Hudson's Bay Company towards
American citizens, in the territory west of the Rocky Mountains,
has been equally unexceptionable, and yet equally politic. All the
missionaries and emigrants from the United States, and indeed all
strangers from whatsoever country they might come, were received
at the establishments of the company on the Columbia with the
',y.
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396
POLICY OF HUDSON S BAY COMPANY.
[1843.
utmost kindness and hospitality ; and they were aided in the prose-
cution of their objects, — so far and so long as those objects were not
commercial. But no sooner did any one, unconnected with the
company, attempt to hunt, or to trap, or to trade with the natives,
than all the force of the body was immediately directed towards
him.* There is no evidence or well-founded suspicion, that the
Hudson's Bay agents have ever resorted directly or indirectly to
violence, in order to defeat the efforts of such rivals. And, indeed,
those means would have been superfluous, whilst the company en-
joys such great advantages in its organization, its wealth, and the
minute knowledge of the country and influence over the natives,
possessed by its agents. Wherever an American trading post has
been established, or an American party has been engaged in trade
on the Columbia, there appeared a Hudson's Bay agent, at the head
of a number of hunters, or with a large stock of merchandise or a
large amount of specie in hand, which were offered for skins on
terms much more favorable to the Indians than those possessed
by the citizens of the United States ; and the latter, in consequence,
landing their labors vain, were soon obliged to retire from the
field. Even without employing such extraordinary and expensive
means, the British traders, receiving their goods in the Columbia by
sea from London, free from duty, can always undersell the Ameri-
cans, who must transport their merchandise two thousand miles
over land, from the frontiers of the United States, where the articles
best adapted for the trade have previously boen subjected to an
import duty. In pursuance of the same system, the company en-
deavors, and generally with success, to prevent the vessels of the
United States from obtaining cargoes on the north-west coasts of
America ; though the mariners of all nations, when thrown upon
these coasts by shipwreck or by other misfortunes, have uniformly
received shelter and protection, at its posts and factories.
The furs and skins which have hitherto formed almost the whole
returns from the territories of the Hudson's Bay Company, are
collected at the difterent posts, in part by regularly employed hunters
and trappers, but chiefly by trade with the Indians of the surround-
ing country ; and they are nearly all shipped for London in the
* A worthy missionary, now establishod on the Columbin, while acknowledging,
ill conversation with the uuihor, the many acts of khidness received by him fiom
tiie Hudson's Bay Company's agents, at the same time declared — that he would not
buy a skin to make a cap, without their assent.
1843.]
DECREASE OF FUR-BEARING ANIMALS.
397
company's vessels at Montreal, or York Factory on Hudson's Bay,
or Fort Vancouver on the Columbia ; the goods for the trade and
the supply of the posts being received in the same way. The
average annual value of the furs thus exported for several years
before 1838, was estimated at about one million of dollars ; and
that of the merchandise introduced at about two hundred thousand
dollars. It is, however, certain that the fur-trade is declining in
every part of these territories, from the diminution in the numbers
of the animals, whilst the price of the furs does not increase, in
consequence of the use of other articles in their place. The Hud-
son's Bay Company endeavors to prevent this decrease of the ani-
mals, particularly in the countries east of the Rocky Mountains, by
withdrawing its hunters and traders from certain districts during
several years in succession ; but in Oregon, where its control is less
absolute, and its tenure loss secure, no i)recautions of that kind are
observed, and many of the posts have been recently abandoned, or
reduced, from want of sufficient business. How much longer the
fur-trade may be prosecuted with advantage in the Columbia re-
gions, it is impossible to judge from the imperfect data as yet
afforded ; but there is reason to believe that the Hudson's Bay
Company must ere long abandon tliat part of America, unless some
other mode of employing its capital there, can be adopted.
With regard to colonization, it has been already said that a very
small proportion of the Hudson's Bay Company's territories is capa-
ble of being rendered productive by cdtivation. The only place
east of the Rocky Mountains, in which attempts have been made to
found permanent agricultural settlements, is on the Red River, be-
tween the 4J)th parallel of latitude, there forming the northern
boundary of the United States, and Lake Winnipeg, into which
that river empties. Of the cession of this country by the Hudson's
Bay Company to Lord Selkirk, and the unfortunate results of his
first etl'orts to colonize it, accounts have been already given. New
efforts, with the same object, were afterwards made by the son and
successor of that nobleman, with but little success ; and the territory
was at length, in 1836, retro-ceded to the company, which has,
with much difficulty and expense, established on it about six thou-
sand persons, while, Indian, and half-breed, under what conditions
as to tenure of the soil, is not known. The land produces wheat,
rye, potatoes, hemp and some other vegetables, and grass for cattle,
tolerably well, and it may be considered fertile, when compared with
! /
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398
RED RIVER COLONY.
[1843.
H'r''^
• s
it' >\\ , '
other parts of the continent situated so far north ; it is, however,
deficient in wood, and notwithstanding all the advantages held out to
the inhabitants by the Hudson's Bay Company, there is no proba-
bility that it will ever rise to importance in any way, and least of
all, as a check to incursions from the United States, which seems
to be one of the principal objects proposed by its founders.* West
of the Rocky Mountains the Hudson's Bay Company has not,
so far as is known, either formed, or encouraged others to form,
permanent settlements ; nor does it appear that any grant or sale
of lands, either immediate or prospective, has been made in these
territories, by any British authority. Some of tlie retired servants
of the company have indeed been allowed to remain in the country
with their families, as agriculturists ; but they are in all respects
subject to the company, and liable, at any moment, to be expelled
from their homes by its agents.
As the fur trade in the countries of the Columbia decreased, the
Hudson's Bay Company began to turn its attention to other objects.
Farms were laid out on an extensive scale, and mills for grinding
grain and sawing wood were erected near the lower part of the great
* Mr. Pelly, the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, in a hotter addiessed,
on the 10th of February, 1S37, to Lord Glencl^', tlic British secretary for the colo-
nies, says, with respect to the Red River settlement, *' Tliis rising community, if
well governed, may be found useful at some future period, in the event of diflicul-
ties occurring between Great Britain and the United States of America, who have
several military posts, say those of the Sault Saint Marie, Prairie du Chien, and the
River Saint Peters, established on their Indian frontiers, along the line of boundary
with British North America." On the other hand, Mr. Simpson, in his interesting
account of the discoveries made in the northernmost parts of America, by himself,
and his unfortunate companion Mr. Dease, in 1S3S and 1539, states that the settlers
on the Red River, have "found out the only practicable outlet for their cattle and
grain, in the fine level plains leading to the Mississippi and the St. Peters, whore
there is the promise of a suflicient market among the Americans ; " particularly as,
— "the bulky nature of the exports, [tallow, flax, hemp and wool] a long and dan-
gerous navigation to Hudson's Bay, and above all, the roving and indolent habits of
the half breed race, who form the mass of the population, and love the chase of the
buffalo better than the drudgery of agriculture or regular industry, seem to pre-
clude the possibility of this colony rising to importance."
According to Mr. Simpson, the colony, in 1339, contained between five and six
thousand persons, almost all Indians or half-breeds, whose general character has
been already given. The Scotch, who compose nearly the remainder of the popu-
lation, are industrious and economical, and avoid as carefully as possible all amal-
gamation with the others ; in order to avoid which, they generally retire to the
United States, so soon as they have accumulated a moderate amount of property
Four fifths of the people are Roman Catholics, for whose spiritual instruction and
assistance, a bishop and three priests reside among them ; the number of Protcstani
clergymen was two.
» • •
[1843.
h ; it is, however,
antages held out to
there is no proba-
way, and least of
tates, which seems
I founders.* West
Company has not,
ed others to form,
t any grant or sale
oen made in these
he retired servants
main in the country
' are in all respects
lent, to be expelled
mbia decreased, the
ion to other objects.
I mills for grinding
iver part of the great
y, in a letter addressed,
;li secretary for the coin-
hi3 rising community, if
, in the event of dilficul-
s of America, who hiivo
rairie du Chien, and the
ong the line of boundary
pson, in his interesting
of America, by himscir,
, states that the settlers
ntlet for their cattle and
nd the St. Peters, whore
icans ; " particularly as,
d wool] a long and dan-
g and indolent habits of
nd love the chase of the
industry, seem to pre-
d between five and six
c general character has
remainder of the popu-
dly as possible all anial-
generally retire to the
ate amount of property
spiritual instruction and
;he number of Protcstan;
1843.J
PROSPECTS OF SETTLERS IN OREGON.
399
river, near Bulfinch's Harbor, near Puget's Sound, and in other
places ; besides which, large quantities of salmon are annually taken
and cured. From the use and exportation of the articles thus pro-
duced, some revenue is gained ; but it is evident, that capital in-
vested in such a manner cannot yield considerable dividends ; and
no other modes for its employment are offered at present in these
territories or farther north. Oregon indeed contains lands in small
detached portions, which may afford to the industrious cultivator the
means of subsistence, and also, perhaps, in time, of procuring some
foreign luxuries ; but it produces no precious metals, no opium, no
cotton, no rice, no sugar, no coffee ; nor is it, like India, inhabited
by a numerous population, who may easily be forced to labor for
the benefit of a few. With regard to commerce, it offers no great
advantages, present or immediately prospective. It contains no
harbor in which articles of merchandise from other countries will,
probably at any future period, be deposited for reexportation ; while
the extreme irregularity of its surface, and the obstructions to the
navigation of its rivers, the removal of which is hopeless, forbid all
expectation, that the productions of China or any other land border-
ing on the Pacific, will ever be transported across Oregon to the
Atlantic regions of the continent.*
* It will here be proper to introduce some observations on a subject which merits
consideration from its connection with the interests and destinies of North-West
America, namely — the (piestion as to the practicability of eriecting a passage for
ships between the Atlantic and the Pacific, through the central parts of the Ameri-
can continent, where those seas are separated by narrow tracts of land.
Humboldt, in his justly-celebrated essay on Mexico, indicated nine places in
America, in which the waters of the two oceans, or of streams entering into them
respectively, are situated at short distances apart. Of these places it is necessary
here to notice but three, to each of which, attention has been strongly directed, at
ditferent times, and especially of late years, in the expectation that such a naviga-
ble passage for ships might be cllected through it. They are, — the Isthmus of
Panama — Nicaragua — and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
With regard to tlie last mentioned of these places, it has been determined, by
accurate surveys, that the mountain chain, separating the two oceans, is nowhere
less than a thousand feet in height above the level of the sea ; and that a canal
connecting the River Guasecualco, ilowing into the Mexican Gulf, with the Pacific,
must pass through an open cut of nearly that depth, or a tunnel, in either case
more than thirty miles in length, as there is no water on the summit to supply
locks, should it be found practicable to construct them. Thus much for the Isth-
mus of Tehuantepec.
In Nicaragua, it has been proposed to improve the navigation of the San Juan
River, from its mouth on the Mosquito coast, to the great Lake of Nicaragua from
which it fiows, or to cut a canal from the Atlantic to that lake, whence another
canal should be made to the Pacific. Now, without enumerating the many other
I
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400
SHIP CANAL. FROM ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC.
[1843.
Thus, on reviewing the agricultural, commercial, and other eco-
nomical advantages and disadvantages of Oregon, there appears to
be no reason, founded on such considerations, which should render
either of the powers, claiming the possession of that country, anx-
ious to occupy it immediately, or unwilling to cede its own pre-
tensions to the other, for a very moderate compensation. But
political considerations, among which are always to be reckoned, as
the principal, those proceeding from national and individual ambi-
tion, jealousy, and hatred, ever have proved, and doubtless will in this
obstacles to this plan, any one of tliem sufficient to defeat it, were all things besides
favorable, it may be simply stated — that one mile of tunnel and two of very deep
cutting through volcanic rocics, in addition to many locks, will be required in the
fifteen miles, which, by the shortest and least difficult route, must be passed be-
tween the lake and the Pacific. Is such a work practicable ?
The Isthmus of Panama remains to be considered. From recent and minute
surveys, it has been proved that no obstacles to a *hi[)-canal arc presented by the
surface of this isthmus, equal to those which have been surmounted in many in-
stances of a similar nature in Europe and in the United States. On the other hand,
the country contains only a few inhabitants of the most wretched description, from
whose assistance in the work no advantage in any way could be derived ; so that
all the laborers, with all th' -r clothes, provisions, and tools, must be transported
thither from a distance. The heat is at all times intense, and the wet season con-
tinues during eight months of the year; the rains in July, August, September, and
October, being mcessant, and heavier, perhaps, than in any other part of the world.
As to salubrity, there is a difference of opinion ; but it is scarcely possible that the
extremes of heat and dampness, which are there combined, could be otherwise tlian
■ deleterious to persons from Europe, or from the northern states of the American
Union, by whom the labor of cutting a canal mc.st be performed, — unless, indeed,
it should be judged proper to employ negroes from the West Indies on the work.
It seems, therefore, that a canal is practicable across the Isthmus of Panamd :
there is, however, not the slightest probability that it will be made during this cen-
tury, if ever ; the commercial utility of such a communication being scarcely suffi-
cient to warrant the enormous expenses of its construction and maintenance.
Ships from Europe or the United States, bound for the west coasts of America, or
the North Pacific, or China, would probably pass through it, unless the tolls should
be too heavy; but i n yoturn tH g th ay would pursue the route around the Cape of
Good Hope, which would be shorter, and in all respects more advantageous for
them, as well as for all vessels sailing, in either direction, between the Atlantic
coasts and India or Australia. Should the canal ever be made by any company or
nation whatsoever, it will, in time, notwithstanding any precautions by treaty or
otherwise, become the property of the greatest naval power, which toill derive a vast
increase of political strength from the possession.
The Isthmu" of Tehuantepec offers many advantages for travellers, and even for
the transportation of precious commodities, especially to the people of the United
States. The mouth of the Guasecualco River, on its northern shore, is less than
seven hundred miles from the mouth of the Mississippi, andoidy one hundred miles
by the road from a port on the Pacific, near Tehuantepec, which might be made a
good harbor ; so that even now a traveller might go in a fortnight from Washing-
ton to the Pacific coast, and thence, by a steam-vessel, in ten days more, to the
mouth of the Columbia, or to the Sandwich Islands.
1844.]
GENERAL RKVIEW.
401
case prove paramount to the others. It is the unobjectionable, and
indeed imperative policy of the United States, to secure the posses-
sion of those territories, in order to provide places of resort and
refreshment for their numerous vessels, engaged in the trade and
fishery of the Pacific, particularly as there is a prospect that they
may in time be excluded from the Sandwich Islands ; and also to
prevent those territories from falling into the hands of any other
power, which might direct against their western frontiers the hordes
of Indians roving through the middle and westernmost divisions of
the continents. Great Britain, on the other hand, can have no
motive for opposing the occupation of Oregon by the United States,
except that of checking their advancement, by excluding their ves-
sels from the Pacific, and by maintaining an influence deleterious
to their interests and safety, over the savages in their vicinity.
That the latter nation should, within any period which it is now
possible to foresee, furnish a population to the regions in question,
there are certainly at present no grounds for supposing. Her prov-
inces in America have no redundance of inhabitants ; and what
inducements can be offered in good faith to her subjects in Europe,
for undertaking a voyage of six months to the Columbia, or a voyage
to Canada and a subsequent journey of five thousand miles through
her wild and frozen Indian territories, so long as the West Indies,
Southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and, lastly — the Uni-
ted States — are open to them ? The difficulties experienced by
American citizens in their passage to Oregon, along the valleys of
the Platte and the Lewis, great though they may be at present, sink
into insignificance, when compared with those which British sub-
jects must encounter, in proceeding to that country, by either of the
routes above indicated : and the contrast becomes still stronger,
when we compare the character and habits of Americans, trained
from their childhood to struggle and provide against the hardships
and privations incident to the settlement of a new country, with
those of Europeans, accustomed only to a routine of labor the most
simple, and the least calculated to nourish energies or to stimulate
invention.
The history of the western section of America, has now been
concluded. Accounts have been presented of all the expeditions,
discoveries, settlements and other events worthy of record, in that
51
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402
CONCLUSION.
[1844.
part of the world ; and of all the claims, and pretensions advanced
by civilized nations, and all the discussions, negotiations and con-
ventions between them with regard to it. Of these international
questions, the only serious one remaining undetermined, is that
between the United States and Great Britain, the subject of which
is no less than the right of possessing the vast territories of the
Columbia, commonly called the Oregon region. Concerning this
question, it has been shown — that the United States asserted that
right against Great Britain in 1815, as founded on the discoveries
and settlements of their citizens, prior to any made by the other
party; and that having, in 1819, obtained by the Florida treaty,
all the titles of Spain to those countries, their government has ever
since claimed the entire and exclusive sovereignty over them, though
it has more than once offered, for the sake of peace, to surrender to
Great Britain, all north of the forty-ninth parallel of latitude. It
has also been shown, that Great Britain Hrst claimed the entire
sovereignty of the Columbia territories, on the ground of their hav-
ing been early taken possession of, and ever since considered as
part of the British dominions, and then of settlements made in
them by her subjects, coeval with, if not prior to, any made by
American citizens ; after all which direct and positive assertions of
absolute right, it was finally, in 1826, declared by that power in her
ultimatum, — that she claimed no exclusive sovereignty over any
portion of those territories, and that her pretensions with regard to
them, were limited to a right of joint occupancy of the whole, in
common with other states, agreeably to the Nootka convention of
1790, between her and Spain, leaving the right of sovereignty in
abeyance. The grounds of all these conflicting claims, the nature
and duration of the Nootka convention, and the extent and charac-
ter of the provisions of the convention of 1827, between Great
Britain and the United States, agreeably to which the part of Amer-
ica in question, has remained to this day free and open to the citi-
zens and subjects of both nations, have been examined and reviewed
so fully in the preceding pages, that farther particulars with regard
to them are unnecessary.
The period during which the right of dominion over the Oregon
regions, might remain in abeyance, is now drawing to a close. Under
the existing convention. Great Britain has enjoyed almost all the
advantages which she could have derived from those countries in
any case ; the United States have, how'over, secured the continuance
1844.]
....'*
CONCLUSION.
403
of their title unimpaired ; that they did not obtain farther benefits
from the arrangement, has been in a great measure due to them-
selves, or rather to the consideration that they could direct their
efforts more profitably elsewhere. This state of things can, however,
no longer continue. American citizens, relying on the justice of the
claims of their republic to the countries of the Columbia, are remov-
ing thither in great numbers ; and it becomes the duty of their govern-
ment, which has always asserted and supported those claims, to
provide for their protection and secure enjoyment of the fruits of their
labor, by measures entirely incompatible with the stipulations of the
subsisting convention. With this view. Great Britain has been again
invited to a negotiation, for the settlement of the questions of terri-
torial right, already so often and so vainly discussed ; the invitation
has been accepted, and the Hon. Richard Pakenham has arrived
at Washington, as Minister Plenipotentiary from that government,
provided — as there is reason to believe — with instructions to treat
for a definitive partition of the countries to which these questions
relate.
It is scarcely within the province of the historian to anticipate, or
at least to carry his speculations farther than the immediate conse-
quences of events which have already occurred. It appears, how-
ever, to be certain, that under all or any succeeding circumstances,
whether of peaceful partition of the countries in disp"te, or — the
only other probable alternative — of war between the two claimant
powers, those countries will receive their population from the United
States. Nearly a thousand citizens of the federal republic — a
number far greater than that of the first settlers in Virginia or in
New England — have within a few months entered Oregon ; and an
equal number will soon follow, with the determination to make it
their home. Many of them will, doubtless, like all other emigrants
to new countries, repent of having engaged in such an enterprise ;
and some will probably return, to seek a more agreeable abiding-
place in the regions of the east : but the great majority will remain
beyond the Rocky Mountains, and they and their descendants will
spread northward and southward from the Columbia so far as soil
and climate may invite.
I-' I !
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END OF THE HISTOttY.
, ' I*
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PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
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PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
A.
< i-
Original Account of thr Voyage of the Greek Pilot Juan
DE FUCA along the ^10RTH-WEST CoASTS OF AmERICA, IN
1592.
A Note made by me., Michael Lock the elder, t inching the Strait of Sea
commonly called Fretum Anian, in the South Sea, through the North-
West Passage of Meta Incognita.*
When I was at Venice, in April, 1596, haply arrived there an
old man, about sixty years of age, called, commonly, Juan de Fuca, but
named properly Apostolos Valcrianus, of nation f Greek, born in Cepha-
lonia, of profession a mariner, and an ancient pilot of ships. This man,
beiiiij come lately out of Spain, arrived first at Lrghnrn, and went thence
to Flonnce, where he found one John Douglas, an Englishman, a famous
mariner, ready coming for Venice, to be pilot of a Venetian ship for
Eiiirland, in whose company they came both together to Venice. And
John Douglas being acquainted with me before, he g.ive me knowledge
of this Greek pilot, and brought him to my speech; and, in long talks
and conference between us, in presence of John Douglas, this Greek
pilot declared, in the Italian and Spanish languages, thus much in effect
as followeth : —
First, he said that he had been in the West Indies of Spain forty
years, and had sailed to and from many places thereof, in the service of
the Spaniards.
Also, he said that he was in the Spanish ship which, in returning
from the Islands Philippinas, towards Nova Spania, was robbed and
taken at the Cape California by Captain Cnndish, Englishman, whereby
he lost sixty thousand ducats of his own goods.
Also, he said that he was pilot of three small ships which the viceroy
of Mexico sent from Mexico, armed with one hundred men, under a cap-
tain, Spaniards, to discover the Straits of Anian, along the coast of the
South Sea, and to fortify in that strait, to resist the passage and proceed-
ings of the English nation, which were feared to pass through those
• Extracted from the Pilgrims of Samuel Purchas, vol. iii. p. 849. The orthogra-
phy of the English is modernized. The letters inserted are, however, given in their
original lingua Franca. See p. 87 of the History.
■'♦'♦,
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408
PROOFS AND ILLIJSTKATIONS.
[A.
straits into the South Sea ; and that, by reason of a mutiny which hap-
pened among the soldiers for the misconduct of their captain, that voyage
Wiis overthrown, and the sliip returned from California to Nova Spania,
without any thing done in that voyage ; and that, after their return, the
captain was at Mexico punished by justice.
Also, he said that, shortly after the said voyage was so ill ended, the
said viceroy of Mcnco sent him out again, in 1592, with a small caravel
and a piimace, armed with mariners only, to follow the said voyage for
the discovery of the Straits of Anion , and the passage thereof into the
sea, which they call the North Sea, which is our north-west sea ; and that
he followed his course, in that voyage, west and north-west in the South
Sea, all along the coast of Nova Spania, and California, and the luriics,
now called North America, (all which voyage he signified to me in a great
map, and a sea card of mine own, which I laid before him,) until he came
to the latitude of 47 degrees ; and that, there finding that the land trended
north and north-east, with a broad inlet of sea, between 47 and 48 degrees
of latitude, he entered thereinto, sailing therein more than twenty days,
and found that land trending still sometime north-west, and north-east, and
north, and also cast and south-eastward, and very much broader sea than
was at the said entrance, and that he passed by divers islands in that sail-
ing ; and that, at the entrance of this said strait, there is, on the north-
west coast thereof, a great headland or island, with an exceeding high
pinnacle, or spired rock, like a pillar, thereupon.
Also, he said that he went on land in divers places, and that he saw
some people on land clad in beasts' skins ; and that the land is very fruit-
ful, and rich of gold, silver, pearls, and other things, like NotJa Spania.
And also, he said that he being entered thus far into the said strait,
and being come into the North Sea already, and finding the sea wide
enough every where, and to be about thirty or forty leagues wide in the
mouth of the straits where he entered, he thought he had now well dis-
charged his office ; and that, not being armed to resist the force of the
savage people that might happen, he therefore set sail, and returned home-
wards again towards Nova Spania, where he arrived at Acapulco, anno
1592, hoping to be rewarded by the viceroy for this service done in the
said voyage.
Also, he said that, after coming to Mexico, he was greatly welcomed
by the viceroy, and had promises of great reward ; but that, having sued
there two years, and obtained nothing to his content, the viceroy told him
that he should be rewarded in Spain, of the king himself, very greatly,
and willed him, therefore, to go to Spain, which voyage he did perform.
Also, he said .that, when he was come into Spain, he was welcomed
there at the king's court ; but, after long suit there, also, he could not get
any reward there to his content; and therefore, at length, he stole away
out of Spain, and came into Italy, to go home again and live among his
own kindred and countrymen, he being very old.
Also, he said that he thought the cause of his ill reward had of the
Spaniards, to be for that they did understand very well that the English
nation had now given over all their voyages for discovery of the north-
west passage ; wherefore they need not fear them any more to come that
way into the South Sea, and therefore they needed not his service therein
any more.
Also, he said that, understanding the noble mind of the queen of
[A.
mutiny which hap-
;aptain, that voyage
a to Nova Spania,
it their return, the
IS so ill ended, the
vith a small caravel
he said voyage for
^e thereof into the
-west sea ; and that
i-vvest in the South
lia, and the Indm,
ied to me in a great
him,) until he came
^lat the land trended
1 47 and 48 degrees
J than twenty days,
, and north-east, and
!h broader sea than
> islands in that sail-
re is, on the north-
an exceeding high
;s, and that he saw
lie land is very fruit-
;, like Noim Spania.
into the said strait,
nding the sea wide
leagues wide in the
> had now well dis-
ist the force of the
and returned home-
at Acapulco, anno
service done in the
IS greatly welcomed
It that, having sued
the viceroy told him
mself, very greatly,
age he did perform,
he was welcomed
so, he could not get
ngth, he stole away
nd live among his
reward had of the
;11 that the English
overy of the north-
more to come that
his service therein
d of the queen of
1
A.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
409
England, and of her wars against the Spaniards, and hoping that her
majesty would do him justice for his goods lost by Captain Candish, he
would be content to go into England, and serve her majesty in that voyage
for the discovery perfectly of the north-west passage into the South Sea,
if she would furnish him with only one ship of forty tons' burden, and a
pinnace, and that he would perform it in thirty days' time, from one end
to the other of the strait ; and he willed me so to write to England.
And, upon conference had twice with the said Greek pilot, I did write
thereof, accordingly, to England, unto the right honorable the old Lord
Treasurer Cecil, and to Sir Walter Raleigh, and to Master Richard Hak-
luyt, that famous cosinographer, certifying them hereof. And I prayed
them to disburse one hundred pounds, to bring the said Greek pilot into
England with myself, for that my own purse would not stretch so wide at
that time. And I had answer that this action was well liked and greatly
desired in England ; but the money was not ready, and therefore this
action died at that time, though the said Greek pilot, perchance, liveth
still in his own country, in Crphalonia, towards which place he went
within a fortnight after this conference had at Venice.
And, in the mean time, while I followed my own business in Venice,
being in a lawsuit .against the Company of Merchants of Turkey, to re-
cover my pension due for being their consul at Aleppo, which they held
from me wrongfully, and when I was in readiness to return to England,
I thought I should be able of my own purse to take with me the said
Greek pilot ; and therefore I wrote unto him from Venice a letter, dated
July, 1596, which is copied here under : —
* " Al Mag"- Sig"' Capitan Juan de Fuca, Piloto de India, amigo mio
char'""- en Zefalonia.
" MuY HONRADO SeNNOR,
" Siendo yo para buelvcrme en Inglatierra dentre de pocas
mezes, y accuerdandome de lo trattado entre my y V. M. en Venesia
sobre el viagio de las Indias, me ha parescido bien de scrivir esta carta
a V. M. para que se tengais animo de andar con migo, puedais escribirme
presto en que maniera quereis consertaros. Y puedais embiarmi vuestra
carta con esta nao Ingles, que sta al Zante (sino hallais otra coiuntura
meior) con el sobrescritto que diga en casa del Sennor Eleazar Hyc-
man, mercader Ingles, al tragetto de San Tomas en Venisia. Y Dios
guarde la persona de V. M. Fecha en Venesia al primer dia de Julio,
1596 annos.
" Amigo de V. M.,
■' Michael Lock, Ingles."
• To the Magnificent Captain Juan de Fuca, Pilot of the Indies, my most dear friend
in Cophalonia.
Most Honored Sir,
Being about to return lo England in a few months, and recollecting what
passed between you and myself, at Venice, respecting the voyage lo the Indies, I
nave thought proper to write you this letter, so that, if you have a mind to go with
me, you can write n>e word directly how you wisii to arrange. You may send me your
letter by this English vessel, which is at Zante, (if you should find no better op-
portunity,) directed to the care of Mr. Eleazer llyckman, an Engmii merchant, St
Thomas Street, Venice. God preserve you, sir.
Your friend,
Michael Lock, of England.
Venice, ,Tuhj l.«/, lJi96. 55
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410
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[A.
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It
And I sent the said letter from Venice to Zante in the ship Cherubin;
and, shortly after, I sent a copy thereof in the ship Minion, and also a
third copy thereof by Manea Orlando, patron de nave Venetian. And unto
my said letters he wrote me answer to Venice by one letter, which came
not to my hands, and also by another letter, which came to my hands,
which is copied here under : —
* " Al 111"'"* Sig"'- INIichael Lock, Ingles, in casa del Sig°'- Lasaro, merca-
der Ingles, al tragetto de San Tonias en Venesia.
" MuY Illustre Sig""-, ■
" La carta de V. M. recevi a 20 dias del mese di Sottcmbre,
por loqual veo loche V. M. nie manda. lotengho aniino de coinplir loclie
tengo promettido a V, M. y no solo yo, mas tengo vinte hoinbres p;ira
lievar con niigo, porche son liombres vagiientes; y assi estoi esperando
por otra carta che aviso ji V. M. parache me embiais los dinieros die tengo
escritto a V. M. Porche bien save V. M. como io vine pover, porqiie nie
glievo Ciiptain Candis mas de sessenta mille ducados, como V. M. bien
save ; embiandome lo dicho, ire a servir a V. M. con todos mis com-
pagneros. I no spero otra cosa mas de la voluntad e carta de V. M. con
tanto nostro Sig" Dios guarda la illustre persona de V. M. muchos annos.
De Ceifalonia a 24 de Settembre del I59<).
" Amigo y servitor de V. M.,
" Juan Flca."
And the said letter came into my hands in Venice, the lOth day of
November, 159G; but my lawsuit with the Company of Turkey was not
ended, by reason of Sir John Spenser's suit, made in England, at the
queen's court, to the contrary, seeking only to have his money discharuod
which I had attached in Venice for my said pension, and thereby my ouii
purse was not yet ready for the Greek pilot.
And, nevertheless, hoping that my said suit would have shortly a irood
end, I wrote another letter to this Greek pilot from Venice, dated the •^Oth
of November, 1596, which came not to his hands, and also another letter,
dated the 24th of January, 1590, which came to his hands. And thereof
he wrote me answer, dated the 28th of May, 1597, which I received the
1st of August, 1597, by Thomas Norden, an English merchant, yet living
in London, wherein he promised still to go with me unto England, to
perform the said voyage for discovery of the north-west passage into the
South Sea, if I would send hitn money for his charges, according to his
■h
i • I I
,(
i )
* To the Illustrious Miehnol Lock, Ensrlishman, at the honso of Mr. Lazaro, English
lui-rchant, in St. Thomas Strui-t, Venice.
Most Ilm'strious Sir,
Your letter was received by mo on the 2flth of September, by which I
am informed of what you communicate. 1 have a mind to comply with my promise
to you, and have not only myself, but twenty men, brave men, too, whom I can
carry with me ; so [ am waiting for an answer to another letter which I wrote you,
about the money which I asked you to send me. For you know well, sir, how I be-
came poor in consequence of Captain Candish's havinjr taken from me more than
sixty thousand ducats, as you well know. If you will send me what 1 asked, I will
go with you, as well as all my companions. I ask no more from your kindness, as
shown by your letter. God preserve you, most illustrious sir, for many years.
Your friend and servant,
Juan Fuca.
Ct,rHALotii A, September 2Athf 1596.
[A.
1 the ship Cherubin ;
Minion, and also a
k^enetian. And unto
) letter, which came
came to my hands,
Sig"- Lasaro, merca-
Venesia.
I mese di Settcmbre,
imo de coinplir loclie
vinte hombros p;ira
assi estoi esperando
OS dinicros cbe tengo
ine pover, porqiie me
los, conio V. M. bien
con todos mis corn-
'. carta do V. M. con
V. M. nuichos aniios.
or de V. M.,
" Jt.v.v Flca."
ice, the Ifith day of
y of Turkey was not
in En^bind, at the
lis money dischar;j!;cd
and thereby my own
have shortly a jjooci
enice, dated the "Jdth
id also another letter,
lands. And thereof
ivhich I received the
merchant, yet liviiiij
ne unto England, to
est passage into the
;es, according to his
of Mr. Lazaro, English
Soptomber, by which I
miply with my promise
men, too, whom I can
ttcr wliifii I wrote you,
now wfll, sir, liow 1 be-
n from mo iiiorp tiian
no what I askod, 1 will
from your kindness, as
, for many years.
and servant,
Juan Fuca.
B.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
411
^*i
former writing, without which money he said he could not go, for that as
he was undone utterly when he was in the ship Santa Anna, which came
from China, and was robbed at California. And yet again, afterward, I
wrote him another letter from Venice, whereunto he wrote me answer by
a letter written in his Greek language, dated the '20th of October, 1598,
the which 1 have still by me, wherein he promiseth still to go with me
into England, and perform the said voyage of discovery of the north-west
passage into the South Sea by the said straits, which he calleth the Strait
of Nova Spania, which he saith is but thirty days' voyage in the straits, if
I will send him the money formerly written for his charges ; the which
money I could not yet send him, for that I had not yet recovered my pen-
sion owing me by the Company of Turkey aforesaid; and so, of long time,
I stayed any further proceeding with him in this matter.
And yet, lastly, when I myself was at Zante, in the month of June,
IGU'i, minding to pass from thence for England by sea, for that I had then
recovered a little money from the Company of Turkey, by an order of the
lords of the Privy Council of England, I wrote another letter to this Greek
pilot, to Cephalonia, and required him to come to me to Zante, and go
with me into England, but 1 had no answer thereof from him ; for that,
as 1 heard afterward at Zante, he was then dea<l, 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, througli France, into England,
where 1 arrived at Christmas, anno 1002, safely, 1 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 avr du yet satisfied of them.
B.
Furs and the Fur Tr.\de.
FrR, strictly speaking, is the soft, fine hair which forms the natural
clothing of certain animals, j)articularly of those inhabiting cold countries.
In commerce, however, the word is understood to mean the skin of the
animal, with the hair .ittached, either before or after, but generally after,
it has been rendered soft and pliable, by a peculiar process, called drcss-
iii^r. The undressed skins are commonly called prltry : but /"«»• and
prifn/ are employed as synonymous terms; and the word fur, in com-
merce, is generally to be understood as peltri/. The skins of .seals, bears,
wolves, lions, leopards, buffaloes, &,c., are also placed under the denomi-
nation of /'wr.s-, in connnerce.
Skins nuist have formed the first clothing of man in cold cotmtries ;
and, at the present day, they constitute the whole or the greater part of
the dress of many millions of individuals. For this purpose, the skin,
with or without the fur, is employed as cloth would be ; or the fur alone
is converted by art into the peculiar substance called felt, of which hats
are made.
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413
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[B.
Furs differ in value, according to the fineness, the length, the thick-
ness, and tile color, of their hair. The most precious is thnt of the
ermine, a species of weasel ; it is thick, soft, fine, and of dazzling white-
ness, except the tip of the tail, which is of a glossy black color, and is
used to form spots on the skin. Of great value, also, are the skins of the
marten, the sable, the fiery fox, the silver fox, and the black fox ; after
which come those of the sea otter, the beaver, the seal, and — though far
inferior to the others — of the muskrat, the raccoon, the fox, the weasel,
di-c. Of these, the ermine is, as before said, the most precious; the
muskrat is that of which the greatest quantity is collected ; while the
aggregate value of the beaver skins annually consumed among civilized
nations is greater than that of all the other furs together.
The finer furs are principally used in Russia, Turkey, and China, —
in the latter country especially, where they form important portions of the
dress of every rich, noble, or ostentatious person. In Europe, and in the
United States, furs are also much worn in the shape of caps, nrnffs, and
trimmings. The greatest consumption of the inferior furs is in the man-
ufacture of hats, which is of comparatively modern date, and, as well us
the use of those articles, is confined almost entirely to Europe and
America. The furs mostly used for this purpose are those of the beaver,
the otter, the nutria, (an animal resembling the beaver, found in Patago-
nia,) and the muskrat; but thr greater number of hats are composed
chiefly of wool, with or without a slight covering of fur.
Nearly all the furs now brought into commerce are procured from the
countries north of the 4()th parallel of north latitude, through the agency
of the British Hudson's Bay Comp-'iy, or of the Russian American
Company, or by various private associations and individuals in the United
States. Of those obtained in the Russian dominions, some are carried
over land to China, others also over land to Europe, and the remainder by
sea to Europe. Those found in the territories of the United States are
nearly all carried to New York, from which portions are sent to London
or to Canton. The furs collected in the parts of America |)ossesst'd or
claimed by Great Britain, are mostly shipped for London, cither at Mont-
real, or at York Factory on Hudson's Bay, or at Fort Vancouver, at the
head of navigation of the Columbia River. The southern hemisphere
supplies scarcely any furs, except those of the nutria, of which consid-
erable quantities are brought from Buenos Ayres to New York or to
Ltmdon. London is undoubtedly the nmst extensive mart for furs in the
world, and New York is probably the second; of the others, the princi-
pal are Leipsic, Nijr.ey-Novogorod on the VVolga, Kiakta on the boun-
dary line between Russia and China, and Canton. Of the value of the
furs thus annually brought into trade, it is impossible to form an exact
estimate. According to a rough calculation, the amount received by the
first collectors, for the skins in their undressed state, is about three mil-
lions of dollars ; but they afterwards pass through many hands, so that the
price is much enhanced before they reach the actual consumer.
The fur trade has been, hitherto, very profitable to those engaged in it;
but it is now, from a variety of causes, declining every where. The in-
crease in the number of persons employed in the pursuit, and the spread
of civilized population over the countries from which the furs are chiefly
procured, are rapidly diminishing the number of the animals; so that, in
many countries in which they formerly abounded, not one can be obtained
I, ' "
I'S!
c]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
413
le length, the thick-
;ious is thnt of the
J of dazzling white-
black color, and is
, are the skins of the
the black fox; after
il, and — though far
the fox, the weasel,
most precious; the
collected; while the
led among civilized
)gether.
rkey, and China, —
>rtant portions of the
I Europe, and in the
of caps, mufls, and
ir furs is in the mmi-
Jate, and, as well as
rely to Europe and
those of the beaver,
er, found in Patago-
hats are composed
fur.
; procured from the
through the agency
Russian American
,'iduals in the United
IS, some are carried
nd the remainder by
le United States are
are sent to London
merica possessed or
don, either at Mont-
•t Vancouver, at the
outliern hemisphere
n, of wliich consid-
U) New York or to
mart for furs in the
le others, the princi-
iakta on the boiui-
Jf the value of the
to ft)rm an exact
unt received by the
is about three mil-
ly hands, so that the
onsumer.
those engaged in it;
ry where. The in-
iuit, and the spread
the furs are chiefly
mimals ; so that, in
one can be obtained
at the present day. This diminution in the amount of the article oflTered
has not, however, increased the price ; as other articles, composed of silk,
wool, or cotton, are substituted for furs, with advantage, both as to com-
fort and cheapness.
For particulars with regard to the manner in which the fur trade of the
northern parts of America is conducted, see the accounts of the Russian
American Company's establishments and system, in the Geographical
Sketch, and in chap. xii. of the History, and the view of the Hudson's
Bay Company's proceedings, in chap, xviii. Respecting the furs them-
selves, minute information may be derived from an article on the subject
by Mr. Aiken, in the Transactions of the Society for the Encouragement
of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, published at London in 1830, as
also from a similar article, by Professor Silliman, in the American Jour-
nal of Science and Art for April, 1834, and from the article on furs in
McCuUoch's Dictionary c Commerce.
c.
Correspondence between the Spanish Commandant and Com-
missioner AT NooTKA Sound and the Masters of the
American trading Vessels Columbia and Hope, respecting
THE Occurrences at that Place in the Summer of 1789.*
Translation of the Lttter from the Spanish Commandant to Captains
Robert Gray and Joseph Ingraham.
NooTKA, August 2d, 1792.
In order to satisfy the court of England, as is just, for the injury, dam-
ages, and usurpation, which it conceives itself to have sustained at this
port, in the year 1789, I have to request of you, gentlemen, the favor to
inform me, with that sincerity which distinguislies you, and which is
conformable with truth and honor, for what reason Don Esteban Jose
Martinez seized the vessels of Colnott, [called] the Ipliigenia and the
North- West America? What establishment or building had Mr. Meares
on the arrival of the Spaniards? What territories are tliose which he
savs that he purchased from Maquinna, Yuquiniarri, or other chief of
tliese tribes ? With what objects were the crew of the North-\\ est
America transferred to the Columbia, and ninety-six skins placed on
board that ship ? Finally, what was the whole amount of sKins carried
by you to China, and to whom did they belong ?
Your most obedient and assured servant,
Juan Francisco de la Bodkoa y Q,uadra.
* The letter of Gray and Ini^rnhnm is copied from Insrrnham's Joiirnal of his voyage
in the Hope, preservell, in manuscript, in the library of the Department of State at
Washinirton. The translation of Quadra's letter is made from the original in
Spanish, which is attached by a wafer to the journal. A synopsis of the Tetter of
Gray and Ingraham, which is, in every respect, incorrect, may be found in Vancou-
ver's Journal, vol. i. p. 389. See p. 242 of this History.
1
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414
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[c.
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Anstpcr of Captains Gray and Ingraham to Don Juan Francisco de la
liodiga If Quadra,*
Sir,
NooTKA SoiNn, August 3rf, 1703.
Your esteemed favor was handed to us yesterday, requesting ft-om
us inforiuation relative to the transactions between tlie English and Span-
iards in this sound, in the year 1781), whicii we will do witii great pleasure,
and impartially, as you re<juest.
'^u the 5th of May, 1789, when Don Esteviui Jose Martinez arrived in
Fri>' dly Cove, he found riding at anchor there the Iphigenia only; the
ship Columbia being at Mahwhiiuia, live miles up the sound. The sloop
Washington and North-West America (schooner) were on a cruise. This
information is necessary in order to regulate the sequel of the present.
After the usual ceremonies of meeting were over, Don Martinez reciucsted
the papers of each vessel, an<l demanded why they were at anchor in
Nootka Sound, alleging it belonged to his Catholic majesty. Captain
Viana, who passed as conuiiander 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, &c. ; that tlicv
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 l*t<s,
which was under the Portuguese colors, and had a i'ortuguese cjiptain on
board : this vessel, with the Iphigenia, were said to belong to one Cravalii,
or Cavallo, a merchant of Macio, in whose name the Iphinenia's papers
were made out. Seeing the Iphigenia was in such want, Don Martinez
gave them a temporary assistance, by supplying them with such artidis
as they were most in want, till the vessel before mentioned should arrive.
At this time there was i.ot the least suspicion of any misunderstandin(r or
disturbance among us, as Don Martinez was apparently satisfied witii tlit;
answers 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 ollicers came to L'(|ii()f, cr
Friendly Cove, to welcome them in; and the next morning, the lltli of
May, Don Martinez captured the Iphigenia, and his reason, as we under-
stand, was, that, in their Portuguese instructions, they had orders to cap-
ture any English, Spanish, or Russian, subjects they met on the norlli-
west 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, owing to their want of a perfect knowledge of the Portn^niese
languaire. However, after the vessel was taken, the ofiicers and seamen
were divided, some on board the Princosa, and s(mie on board the San
Carlos, where thev were treated with all imaginable kindness, and every
attention paid them.
* Referenep is frequently made to this letter in the Pth and 11th cliapfers of tlif^
prer.cdiiiij' History. A synopsis of its contents may be fdiinrl in the Kith chnpter nf
Vancouvrr's account of his expeditien, on cnmparinjr whicli with the letter, it will
be seen that the evidence of the American cnptains is jrarbied and distorted in tin."
most unworthy miinncr in the synopsis, not only by su])pressions, but even by direct
falsifications. To show this fully, it would be necessary to insert the whole of Van-
couver's synopsis; the assertion, however, is sutficiently proved by the few notes
which follow.
[a
tflfw Francisco de la
D, August n</, nna.
ay, requesting from
3 English and Sp;in-
witli great pleasure,
Martinez arrived in
Iphigenia only ; the
sound. The sloop
e on a cruise. Tliis
quel of the present.
1 Martinez re(|ui'stpd
' were at anclior in
c majesty. Captnin
, answered, they liad
ind in great wnnt of
sails, &c. ; that tlicy
kleares from Macao,
ileares was expected
e in tlie year I'^s,
ortuguese cisptiin on
long to one Cravaiin,
le Iphiirenia's papers
want, Don Martinez
n with such artides
tioned should arrive.
niisunderstandiim or
tly satisfied with tin;
OS, Captain Arrow,
rs came to L'lpiot, cr
lorning, the 1 Itli cf
reason, as we under-
had orders to c::|i-
V met on the norlli-
improbahle, as slio
ind to have been a
e of the Portuguese
oflicers and seamen
on hoard the San
kindness, and every
(1 mil rhnpters of fli"
1 in llie loth ehaplcr nf
I witli the letter, it will
(1 and distorted in tin.'
ons, but even by direct
inert tlie wliole of Van-
oved by the few notes
c]
■'•ii
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
415
* On the 24th of May, the above-mentioned 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 seamen, repaired on board. The Iphigenia, while in possession of
the Spaniards, from being a wreck was put in complete order for sea,
being calked, rigging and sails repaired, anchors and cables sent from the
Princesa, &lc. On the 2(ith, Don Martinez supplied them with every kind
of provisions they were in need of, for which Captain Douglas gave him
bills on Cravalia, the before-mentioned merchant of Macao. On the 3lst,
the Iphigenia sailed, and was saluted by the Spanish fort; and the com-
modore accompanied them out of the harbor, giving every assistance with
boats, &.C. VVhen Captain Douglas took his leave of the commodore, he
declared he should ever entertain a sense of Don Martinez's kindness,
(leeniing 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 intinite 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 Princesa arrived, and the advantages reaped from the
^npplies and assistance of the Spaniards. The detention, if it may be
called so, could be no detriment; for, had nothing taken place, she must
have remained two months longer at least, having, as has already been
mentioned, put into port, being 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 upwards of seven hundred sea otter skins; which ha3 been
often represented to us by Captain Douglas and his officers, after our
arrival in China. This may suffice for the transactions relative to the
Ijihigenia. Before Captain Douglas sailed, he gave Don Estevan Marti-
nez a letter to Mr. Eunter, master of the schooner North-West America,
telling him, from Captain Meares's not arriving at the appointed time, there
was great reason to fear the vessel he sailed from Nootka in had never
reached China, (she being in bad condition when she sailed from this
place;) therefore, as he, Mr. F'unter, must, on his arrival, be destitute of
every necessary, he was at liberty to conduct as he thought most condu-
cive 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 estab-
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
17S8, there was a house, or rather a hut, consisting of rough posts, cov-
ered with 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
* Of tlie whole of this paragraph, all tl.at is said by Vancouver is, "The vessel
and cargo were liberated, and Martinez supplied the Iphigenia's wants from the
Princesa, enabling her, by so doing, to prosecute her voyage without waiting for the
return of Mr. Meares." The extremity of distress to which the Iphigenia was re-
duced on her arrival at Nootka, tbf seven hundred sea otter skins, and the other ad-
vantages derived by her owners from tlie supplies furnished by the Spanish command-
ant, are carefully kept out of sight.
M
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416
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[c.
no vestige of any house remiTininji. As to the land Mr. Menres said he
purchased of Maquinna or any other cliicf, wo cannot say further than \vc
never heard of any ; ahhoujjli we remained anion^ 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, lYo;
that Captain Kendrick was the only man to whom they had ever sold
any land.
On the 8th of June, the schooner North-West 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, tliat they niitrht
be sure of their wages. On the UHh of June, the sloop Princess Uoyiil
arrived from Macao, commanded by Thomas Hudson ; this vessel bronjrht
accounts of the safe arrival of Captain Meares, and that Captain Colnctt
was coming on the coast, commodore of the English trading vessels from
Macao for the ensuing season, in a snow named the Argonaut. Mr.
Hudson likewise brought accounts of the failure of Juan Cravalia &, Co.,
merchants of Macao, i»efore mentioned. What right the commodore had
to detain the North-Weiit America before, it is not for tis to say ; but lie
always said it was an agreement* between Captain Douglas and himsell";
but, after the Jirrival of this vessel with the above news, he'held her as
security for the bills of exchange drawn on said Cravalia & Co. in fivor
of his Catholic majesty : this we have heard him say. On the 'id 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. Funtor all the
skins he brought in in the North-West 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 j)roved to be the
Argonaut, Captain Colnett, before mentioned. The transactions of tiiis
vessel were such, that we can give the sense of them in a few words, that
may answer every purpose of the particulars, many of which are not im-
mediately to the point, or tending to what we su|)j)ose 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 Soimd ; from wliat
authority we camiot say. However, on the arrival of the Argonaut, we
heard Captain Colnett inform the Spanish connnodore he had come for
that purpose, and to hoist the British Hag, take formal possession, &,c. ;
* The nccotint of the seizure of the North-West America in the letter is tlius
presented by Vancouver : —
•'The North-West America is stated by these pentlemen to have arrived on the
8th of June, and thjit, on the following any, the Spaniards took possession of her.
Ten days afterwards came the Princess Koyal, commanded by Mr. Hudson, from
Macao, who brought the news of the failure of the merchant at Macao, to whom tho
Iphigenia and other vessels belonged ; that Martinez assigned this as a reason for
his capturing the North-West America, (althont h she was seized before the arrival of
the Princess Royal ;) that he had detained her as an indenmification for the bills of
exchange drawn on her owner in favor of his Catholic majesty."
The parenthesis is here inserted obviously witli the intention of creating the im-
pression that Gray and Ingraham had committed a falsehood or inconsistency in their
evidence ; although this idea is specially contradicted in the letter.
ic
Mr. Mearcs said he
say further tlian we
jr these people nine
1. Besides this, \vc
e arrival, if Captain
they answered. No;
they had ever sold
imerica arrived, and
Don E. J. Martinez
cularly of the skins,
ncn, that they niiijlit
sloop Princess Royiij
; this vessel hroiiglit
that Captain Cohiott
I tradiiiir vessels from
the Argonaut. I\lr.
luan Cravalia tit Co.,
I the commodore had
lor us to say ; hut lie
Jougias and hiniselt';
news, he'held her as
ivalia &- Co. in favor
On the -id of July,
our knowledge, been
ry possible attention,
of and grateful for.
> Mr. Funter all the
lich were shipped on
is own account. In
10 Spanish fort. We
t proved to be tlie
transactions of this
in a few words, that
of which arc not ini-
se you wish to know.
nnen at Macao, had
a St)imd ; from what
of the Argonaut, we
)re he had come for
inal possession, &:.c. :
ica in tlie letter is tlius
to have arrived on the
took possession of her.
d by Mr. Hudson, from
at Macao, to whom the
lied tliia as a reason for
ized before the arrival of
ifioation for the bills of
ty."
tion of creating the im-
or inconsistency in their
letter.
c]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
417
to which the commodore answered, he had taken possession already in the
name of his Catholic majesty ; on which Captain Colnett asked if he
would be prevented from building a house in the port. The commodore,
mistaking his meaning, answered him, he was at liberty to erect a tent,
get wood and water, &-c., after which he was at liberty to depart when he
pleased ; but Captain Colnett said that was not what he wanted, but to
build a block house, erect a fort, and settle a colony, for the crown of
Great Britain. Don Estevan Jose Martinez answered, No; that, in doing
that, he should violate the orders of his king, run a risk of losing his
commission, and not only that, but it would be relinquishing the Span-
iards' claim to the coast : besides, Don Martinez observed, the vessels did
not belong to the king, nor was he intrusted with powers to transact such
public business. On which Captain Colnett answered, he was a king's
officer ; but Don Estevan replied, his being in the navy was of no conse-
quence in the business. *In conversing on the subject, after the arrival
of the vessel in port, it seems Captain Colnett insulted the commodore by
threatening him, and drew his sword in the Princesa's cabin ; on which
Don Martinez ordered the vessel to be seized. We did not see him draw
his sword, but were informed of the circumstance by those whose veracity
we had no reason to doubt. After seizing the Argonaut, the sloop Prin-
cess Royal arrived a secon<l time; and, as she belonged to the same com-
pany, the commodore took possession of her also. With respect to the
treatment of the prisoners, although we have not perused Mr. Meares's
publication, we presume none of them will be backward in confessing
that Don E. J. Martinez always treated them very kindly, and all his
officers, 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 Ctiptain,
officers, and seamen, of the North-West America. You ask if we car-
ried them to China. We did, and with them one hundred sea otter skins,
the value of which, we judge, independent of freight, was four thousand
eight hundred and seventy-five dollars ; these were delivered to Mr.
Meares, and were, we suppose, his pr«)pcrty. We sincerely hope, sir,
when tilings are represented with truth, it will rescue our friend Don
Estevan J. Martinez 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 Americans by Don
Estevan, we have ever testified it in terms due to such hospitality, and
are happy again to have it in our power to do what we deem justice to his
conduct. While speaking of others of your nation, we can never be un-
mindful 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.
* Vancouver here writes, — using the first person, as if copying the words of the
American captains, — " In conversation afterwards on tiiis subject, as we were in-
formed, (say these gentlemen,) — for we were not present during this transaction, —
some dispute arose in the Princesa's cabin ; on which Don Martinez ordered the Ar-
gonaut to be seized. Soon after this the Princess Royal returned," &-c. ; the rumor
that " Colnett insulted the commodore by threatening him, and drew his auiord in the
Prineeaa's eaMn," being omitted.
53
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418
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[D.
D.
Official Documents relative to the Dispute between Great
Britain and Spain in nOO.*
Message from the King of Great Britain to Parliament, May 5tk, 1790.
George R.
His majesty has received information that two vessels, bclonginir
to his majesty's subjects, and navigated under the British flag, and two
others, of which the description is not hitherto sutHciently ascertained,
have been captured at Nootka Sound, on the nortli-western coast of
America, by an officer commanding two Spanish ships of war; that the
cargoes of the British vessels have been seized, and that their officers and
crews have been sent as prisoners to a Spanish port.
The capture of one of these vessels had before been notified by the
ambassador of his Catholic majesty, by order of his court, who, at the
same time, desired that measures might be taken for preventing his ninjcs-
ty's subjects from frequenting those coasts, which were nijpged to have
been previously occupied and frequented by the subjects of Spain. Com.
plaints were also made of the fisheries carried on by his majesty's subjects
in the seas adjoining to the Spanish continent, as being contrary to the
rights of the crown of Spain. In consequence of this communication, a
demand was immediately made, by his majesty's or<ler, for adequate satis-
faction, and for the restitution of the vessel, previous to any other dis-
cussion.
By the answer from the court of Spain, it appears that this vessel and
her crew had been set at liberty by the viceroy of Mexico; but this is
represented to have been done by him on the supposition Jiat nothincr but
the ignorance of the rights of Spain encouraged the individuals of other
nations to come to those coasts for the purpose of making establishments,
or carrying on trade, and in conformity to his previous instructions, re-
quiring him to show all possible regard to the British nation.
No satisfaction is made or offered, Jind a direct claim is asserted by the
court of Spain to the exclusive rights of sovereignty, navigation, and
commerce, in the territories, coasts, and seas, in that part of the world.
His majesty has now directed his minister at Madrid to make a fresh
representation on this subject, and to claim such full and adequate satis-
faction as the nature of the case evidently requires. And, under these
circumstances, his majesty, having also received information that consid-
erable armaments are carrying on in the ports of Sptiin, has judged it
indispensably necessary to give orders for making such preparations as
may put it in his majesty's power to act with vigor and effect in support
of the honor of his crown and the interests of his people. And his
* The follow inff papers, with the exception of the last, are taken from the London
Annual Register for 1790. The translations of the Spanish notes are evidently made
with Uttle care. See chap. ix. of this History.
mmt, May 5th, 1790.
D.1
PROOrS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
419
majesty recommends it to hia faithful Commons, on whose zeal and public
spirit he has the most perfect reliance, to enable him to take such meas-
ures, and to ujiikc siicli augmentation of his forces, as may he eventually
iieccMsary for this purpose.
It is his majesty's earnest wish that the justice of his majesty's demands
may insure, from the wisdom and equity of his Catholic majesty, the sat-
isfaction which is so unquestionably due, and that this affair may be termi-
nated in such a manner as to prevent any grounds of misunderstanding in
future, and to continue and confirm that harmony and friendship which
has so happily subsisted between the two courts, and which his majesty
will always endeavor to maintain and improve, by all such means as are
consistent with the dignity of his majesty's crown and the essential interests
of his subjects.
G. R.
(2.)
Declaration of the King of Spain to alt the other Courts of Europe.
AnANjuEz, June 4tk, 1790.
Tin: king, being apprized of the particulars laid before his ministers,
on the IGth of May, by Mr. Merry, his Britannic maje-^ty's minister,
relative to the unexpected dispute between this court and Great Britain,
as to the vessels captured in Port St. Lawrence, or Nootka Soimd, on the
c(>ast of California, in the South Sea, has commanded the undersigned,
his miijcsty's first secretary of state, to answer to the said minister of
Eniilaiid, that he had the honor to make known personally, and in writing,
to the said minister, upon the 18th of the same month, that his majesty
at no time pretended to any rights in any ports, seas, or places, other than
what belongs to his crown by the most solemn treaties, recognized by all
niUions, and more particularly with Great Britain, by a right founded on
particular treaties, the uniform consent of both nations, and by an imme-
morial, regular, and established possession ; that his majesty is ready to
enter upon every examination and discussion most likely to terminate the
dispute in an amicable way, and is willing to enter into immediate con-
ference with the new ambassador, and, if justice requires it, will certainly
flisnpprove of the conduct, and punish liis subjects, if they have gone
beyond their powers. This offer and satisfaction will, it is hoped, serve
as an example to the court of London to do as much on its part.
As the two courts of London and Madrid have not yet received proper
and authenticated accounts and proofs of all that 'as really passed in
these distant latitudes, a contradiction in the development of facts has by
this means been occasioned. Even at this moment, the papers and min-
utes made up by the viceroy of New Spain on this, matter are not arrived.
Posterior letters, indeed, say that the English vessel, the Argonaut, had
not been seized and confiscated till legally condemned, and that the small
vessel, called the Princess Royal, which had afterwards arrived, was not
seized or confiscated, but that, on the contrary, full restitution was made
by the viceroy, and an obligation only taken from the captain to pay the
price of the vessel, if she was declared a lawful prize ; and on the precise
same terms he had liberated a Portuguese vessel belonging to Macao, and
two American vessels. These parti"ulars will be more explicitly proved
and elucidated on the arrival of the necessary papers.
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420
PROOrS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[D.
*-:
;' it!
fl !
The first time that our amba^Hador mnde a public notification of this
matter to tlic ministry ut Lomion, on the lOtti of February last, many of
the circum.itunces that are now certain were then doubtful. The riirhtg
and immemorial posHession of Spain to tliat coast and ports, as well an
several other titles proper to lie taken into view in a pacific negotiation,
were not (piito certain ; and, if the c«)urt of London had made an ami.
ruble return to the complaints made by his majesty relative to those incr<
chants whom Spain regards as usur[)ers and the violators of treaties, and
hnd sliowed any desire to terminate the atfuir by an amicable accomiiKv
datioii, a great deal of unnecessary expense nii^dit have been saved. The
high and menacing tone and manner in which the answer of the British
minister was couched, at a time when no certain inf«)rmation of the par-
ticulars had arrived, made the Spanish cabinet entertain some suspicions
that it was made not so much for the purpose of the dispute in (piestion,
as a pretext to break entirely with our court ; for which reason it was
thought necessary to take some precautions relative to the subject.
Ou a late occasion, a complaint was made to the court of Russia, as
to some similar points relative to the navigation of the South Sea. A
candid answer being returned by that court, the affair was terminated
withimt the least <lisagreement. Indeed, it may be asserted with truth,
that the manner, much more than the substance, has produced the dis-
putes that have taken place on this head with Great Britain.
Nevertheless, the king does deny — what the enemies to peace have
industriously circulated — that Spain extends pretensions and rights of
sovereignty over the whole of the South Sea as far as China. Wlien the
words are made use of, " In the name of the king, his sovereignty, nnvi-
gation, and exclusive commerce to the continent and islands of the South
Sea," it is the manner in which Spain, in speaking of the Indies, Ims
always used these words; that is to say, to the continent, islands, and
seas, which belong to his majesty, so far as <liscoveries have been made
and secured to him by treaties and inniiemorial possession, and iiniforndy
acquiesced in, notwithstanding some infringements by individuals, who
have been punished upon knowledge of their offences: and the king sets
up no pretc'isions to any possessions, the right to which he cannot prui^
by irrefragable titles.
Although Spain may not have establishments or colonies planted upon
the coasts or in the ports in dispute, it does not follow that such coast or
port does not belong to her. If this rule were to be followed, one nation
might establish colonies on the coasts of another nation, in America, Asin,
Africa, and Europe, by which means there would be no fixed boundaries
— a circuinst:ince evidently absurd.
But, whatever may be the issue of the question of right, upon a ma-
ture consideraticm of the claims of both parties, the result of the question
of fart is. tliat the capture of the English vessels is repaired by the resti-
tution that has been made, iind the conduct of the viceroy : for, as to the
qiinlification of such restitution, and whether the prize was lawful or not,
that respects the question of right yet to he investigated; that is to say,
if it has been agreeably to, or in contradiction to, the treaties relative to
the rights and possessions of Spain. Lastly, the king will readily enter
into any plan by which future disputes on this subject may be obviated,
that no reproach may be upon him as having refused any means of recon-
ciliation, and for the e.stablishment of a solid and permanent peace, not
I I
I
D.1
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
421
ti, I
i notification of this
l)ruury lust, many of
>ul)ttul. The rights
lid ports, as well as
pncitic iicgotiution,
I had made an niiii<
'lutive to those incr.
iturs of treaties, and
amicable accoinnio
le been saved. The
iiHwer of the British
orination of the par-
aiii some suspicions
dispute in (piestion,
which reason it was
o the subject.
court of Russia, as
the South Sea. A
rt'air was terminated
asserted with truth,
as produced the dis-
Britain.
jniies to peace have
isions and riylits of
s China. When the
his sovereignty, navi-
islands of the South
jT of the Indies, Ims
ntinent, islands, and
ies have been niiide
ssion, and iiniforndy
by individuals, who
s : and the king sets
ich he cannot piu.c
olonies planted upon
V that such coast or
bl lowed, one nation
)n, in America, Asia,
no fixed boundaries
f right, upon a ma-
esult of the (piestion
epaired by the resti-
ceroy : for, as to the
;c was lawful or not,
ted; that is to say,
treaties relative to
[ig will readily enter
:ct may be obviated,
any means of recon-
;rmanent peace, not
only between Spain and Great Britain, but also between nil nations ; for
the accomplishment of which object, his majesty has made the grealeat
clforts in all the courts of Ftlurope, which he certainly would not have
done if he had any design to involve England and the other European
powers in a calamitous and destructive war.
El Cunde de Florida Blanca.
(3.)
Memorial of the Court of Spain, presented by Count de Florida Blanca,
the Spanish Minister of State, to Mr. Fitzherbert, the British Ambas-
sador at Madrid.
Madrid, June VM, 1790.
Bv every treaty upon record betwixt Spain and the other nations of
Europe, for upwards of two centuries, an exclusive right of property,
navigation, and commerce, to the Spanish West Indies, has been uniformly
secured to Spain, England having always .stood forth in a particular i. mi-
ner in support of such right.
By article 8th of the treaty of Utrecht, (a treaty in which all he
r.iiropean nations may be said to have taken a part,) Spain and England
profess to establish it as a fundamental principle of agreement, that the
nivigatiou and commerce of the West Indies, under the duminion o{'
Sjiaiii, shall remain in the precise situation in which they stood in the
reiiru of his Catholic majesty Charles II., and that that rule shall be invi-
olahly adhered to, and be incapable of infringement.
Al'ter this maxim, the two powers stipulated that Spain should never
irrant liberty or permission to any nation to trade to, or introduce their
merchandises into, the Spanish American dominions, nor to sell, cede,
or (five up, to any other nation its lands, dominions, or territories, or any
part there»)f. On the contrary, and in order that its territories should be
preserved whole and entire, England otTers to aid and assist the Spaniards
::< 'oestaltlishing the limits of their American dominions, and placing
them ill the exact situation they stood in at the time of his said Catholic
majesty Charles II., if, by accident, it shall be discovered that they have
utKiersione any alteration to the prejudice of Spain, in whatever manner
or pretext such alteration may have been broiiglit about.
The vast extent of the Spanish territories, navigation, and dominion,
on the continent of America, isles and seas contiguous to the South Sea,
are clearly laid down, and authenticated by a variety of documents, laws,
and formal acts of possession, in the reign of King Charles II. li i- dso
clearly ascertained, that, notwithstanding the repeated attempts niiiJe by
adventurers and jiirates on the Spanish coasts of the South Sea and adja-
cent islands, Spain has still preserved her possessions entire, and opposed
with success those usurpations, by constantly sending her shiiJH Jind vessels
to take possession of such settlements. By these meas'ir' .-, and reiterated
acts of possession, Spain has preserved her dominion, which she has ex-
tended to the borders of the Russian establishments, in that part of the
world.
The viceroys of Peru and New Spain having been informed that these
seas had been, for some years past, more frequented than formerly,
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PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
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that smuggling had increased, that several usurpations prejudicial to
Spain and tho general tranquillity had been suffered to be made, they
gave orders that the western coasts of Spanish America, and islands and
seas adjacent, should be more frequently navigated and explored.
They were also informed that several Russian vessels were upon the
point of making commercial establishments upon that coast. At the time
that Spain demonstrated to Russia the inconveniences attendant upon
such encroachments, she entered upon the negotiation with Russia, upon
the supposition that the Russian navigators of the Pjicific Ocean had no
orders to make establishments within the limits of Spanish America, of
which the Spaniards were .the first possessors, (limits situated within
Prince William's Strait,) purposely to avoid all dissensions, and in order
to maintain the harmony and amity which Spain wished to preserve.
The court of Russia replied, it had already given orders that its sub-
jects should make no settlements in pliices belonging to other powers,
and that, if those orders had been violated, and any had been made in
Spanish America, they desired the king would put a stop to them in a
friendly manner. To this pacific language on the part of Russia, Spain
observed that she could not be answerable for what her officers miirht do
at that distance, whose general orders and instructions were, not to permit
any settlements to be made by other nations on the continent of Spanish
America.
Though trespasses had been made by the English on some of the
islands of those coasts, which had given rise to similar complaints havitiff
been made to the court of London, Spain did not know that the English
had endeavored to make any settlements on the northern part of the
Southern Ocean, till the commanding officer of a Spanish ship, m tlie
usual tour of the coasts of California, found two American vessels in St.
Laurence, or Nootka Harbor, where he was going for provisions and stores.
These vessels he permitted to proceed on their voyage, it appearing, from
their papers, that they were driven there by distress, and only came in
to refit.
He also found there the Tphigenia, from Macao, under Portuguese
colors, which had a passport from the governor; and, though he came
manifestly with a view to trade there, yet the Spanish admiral, when lie
saw his instructions, gave him leave to depart, upon his signing an en-
gagement to pay the value of the vessel, should the government of Mexico
declare it a lawful prize.
With this vessel there came a second, which the admiral detained,
and, a few days after, a third, named the Argonaut, from the above-
mentioned place. The captain of this latter was an Englishman. He
came not only to trade, but brousjht every thing with him proper to form
a settlement there, and to fortify it. This, notwithstanding the remon-
strances of the Spanish admiral, he persevered in, and was detained, to-
gether with his vessel.
After him came a fourth English vessel, named the Princess Royal,
and evidently for the same purposes. She, likewise, was detained, and
sent to Port St. Bias, where the pilot of the Argonaut made away with
himself.
The viceroy, on being informed of these particulars, gave orders that
the captain and the vessels should be released, and that they should have
leave to refit, without declaring them a lawful prize; and th'; he did, on
jf»f
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D.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
423
li; !
e, it appearinjj, from
and only came in
account of the ignorance of the proprietors, and the friendship which
subsisted between the two courts of London and Mndrid.
He also gave them leave to return to Macao with their cargo, after
capitulating with them in the same manner as with the Portuguese cap-
tain, and leaving the affair to be finally determined by the Count de
Revillagigedo, his successor, who also gave them their liberty.
As soon as the court of Madrid had received an account of the
detention of the first English vessel at Nootka Sound, and before that of
the second arrived, it ordered its ambassador at London to make a report
thereof to the English minister, which he did on the 10th of February
last, and to require that the parties who had planned these expeditions
should be punished, in order to deter others from making settlements on
territories occupied and frequented by the Spaniards for a number of years.
In the ambassador's memorial, mention was only made of the Spanish
admiral that comnianded the present armament, having visited Nootka
Sound in 1774, though that harbor had been frequently visited, both
before and since, with the usual forms of taking possession. These forms
were repeated more particularly in the years 1755 and 1779, all along the
coasts as far as Prince William's Sound; and it was these acts that gave
occasion to the memorial madrj by the court of Russia, as has been
already noticed.
The Spanish ambassador at London did not represent in this memo-
rial at that time, that the right of Spain to these coasts was conformable
to ancient boundaries, which had been guarantied by England at the
treaty of Utrecht, in the reign of Charles IL, deeming it to be unneces-
sary ; as orders had been given, and vessels had actually been seized on
those coasts, so far back as 1G92.
The answer thiit the English ministry gave, on the 26th of February,
was, that they had not as yet been informed of the facts stated by the
ambassador, and that the act of violmcc, mentioned in his memorial,
necessarily suspended any discussion of the claims therein, till an adequate
atonement had been made for a proceeding so injurious to Great Britain.
In addition to this haughty language of the British minister, he fur-
ther added, that the ship must in the first place be restored ; and that,
with respect to any future stipuhitions, it would be necessary to wait for a
more full detail of all the circumstances of this affair.
The harsh and laconic style in which this answer wjis given, made the
court of Madrid suspect that the king of Great Britain's ministers were
forming other plans; and they were the more induced to think so, as
there were reports that they were going to fit out two fleets, one for the
Mediterranean and the other for the Baltic. This, of course, obliged
Spain to increase the small squadron she was getting ready to exercise
her marine.
The court of Spain then ordered her ambassador at London to pre-
sent a memorial to the British ministry,
settmg
forth that, though the
crown of Spain had an indubitable right to the continent, islands, harbors,
and coasts, of that part of the world, founded on treaties and immemorial
possession, yet, as the viceroy of Mexico had released the vessels that were
detained, the king looked upon the affair as concluded, without entering
into any disputes or discussions on the undouSted rights of Spain ; and,
desiring to give a proof of his friendship for Great Britain, he should rest
satisfied if she ordered that her subjects, in future, respected those rights.
J if;
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424
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[a
As if Spain, in this answer, had laid chiim to the empire of that
ocean, though she only spoke of what belonged to her by treaties, and as
if it had been so grievous an oflfence to terminate this affair by restitution
of the only vessel which was then known to have been taken, it excited
such clamor and agitation in the Parliament of England, that the most
vigorous preparations for war have been commenced ; and those powers
disinclined to peace charge Spain with designs contrary to her known
principles of honor and probity, as well as to the tranquillity of Europe,
which the Spanish monarch and his ministers have always had in view.
While England was employed in making the greatest armaments and
preparations, that court made answer to the Spanish ambassador, (upon
the 5th of May,) that the acts of violence committed against the Briti.ih
flag " rendered it necessary for the sovereign to charge his minister at
Madrid to renew the remonstrances, (being the answer of England
already mentioned,) and to require that satisfaction which his majesty
thought he had an indisputable right to demand."
To this was added a declaration not to enter formally into the matter
until a satisfactory answer was obtained ; " and at the same time the
memorial of Spain should not include in it the question of right; " which
formed a most essential part of the discussion.
The British administration offer, in the same answer, to take the
most effectual and pacific measures, that the English subjects shall not
act " against the just and acknowledged rights of Spain, but that they
cannot at present accede to the pretensions of absolute sovereignty, com-
merce, and navigation, which appeared to be the principal object of the
memorials of the ambassador ; and that the king of England considers it
as a duty incumbent upon him to protect his subjects in the enjoyment of
the right of continuing their fishery in the Pacific Ocean."
If this pretension is found to trespass upon the ancient boundaries
laid down in the reign of King Charles II., and guarantied by England
in the treaty of Utrecht, as Spain believes, it appears that that court will
have good reason for disputing and opposing this claim ; and it is to be
hoped that the equity of the British administration will suspend and
restrict it accordingly.
In consequence of the foregoing answer, the charge (Fqfairfs from the
court of London at Madrid insisted, in a memorial of the 16th of May,
on restitution of the vessel detained at Nootka, and the property therein
contained ; on an indemnification for the losses sustained, and on a repa-
ration proportioned to the injury done to the English subjects trading
under the British flag, and that they have an indisputable right to the
enjoyment of a tree and uninterrupted navigation, commerce, and fishery;
and to the possession of such establishments as they should form with the
consent of the natives of the country, not previously occupied by any of
the European nations.
An explicit and prompt answer was desired upon this head, in such
terms as might tend to calm the anxieties, and to maintain the friendship,
subsisting between the two courts.
The charge d'affaires having observed that a suspension of the
Spanish armaments would contribute to tranquillity, upon the terms to
be communicated by the British administration, an answer was made by
the Spanish administration, that the king was sincerely inclined to disarm
upon the principles of reciprocity, and proportioned to the circumstances
kit i' ; .
D.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
425
of the two courts; adding tliat the court of Spain was actuated by the
most pacific intentions, and a desire to jTive every satisfaction and indem-
nification, if justice was not on their side, provided England did as much
if she was found to be in the wrong.
This answer must convince all the courts of Europe that the conduct
of the king and his administration is consonant to the invariable principles
of justice, truth, and peace.
Eiu CoNDE DE Florida Blanca.
V' ! ;
(4.)
Letter from Count de Fernan Nunez, the Spanish Ambassador at Paris,
to M. de Montmorin, the Secretary of the Foreign Department of
France.
Paris, June IQth, 1790.
Sir,
I have the honor to address you, with this, a faithful extract of
all the transactions which have hitherto passed between my court and that
of London, on the subject of the detention of two English vessels, which
were seized in the Bay of St. Lawrence, or Nootka, situated in the 50th
degree to the north of California, and which were afterwards taken to the
port of St. Bias.
You will observe by this relation,
L That, by the treaties, demarkations, takings of possession, and the
most decided acts of sovereignty exercised by the Spaniards in these
stations, from the reign of Charles IL, and authorized by that monarch in
1692, the original vouchers for wiiich shall be brought forward in the
course of the negotiation, all the coast to the north of the Western Amer-
ica, on the side of the South Sea, as far as beyond what is called Prince
William's Sound, which is in the 61st degree, is acknowledged to belong
exclusively to Spain.
2. That the court of Russia, having been informed of this extent of
our boundary, assured the king, my master, without the least delay, of
the purity of its intentions in this respect, and added, " That it was
extremely sorry that the repeated orders issued to prevent the subjects of
Russia from violating, in the smallest degree, the territory belonging to
another power, should have been disobeyed."
3. That the state of the possessions and exclusive commerce on the
sea-coast of the Southern Ocean, as it existed in the time of Charles IL,
had been acknowledged and defined anew by all the nations of Europe,
and more particularly by England, in the eighth article of the treaty
of Utrecht.
4. Thiit, notwithstanding the just title he has to a preservation of his
ancient rights, the king, my master, has approved of the conduct of the
viceroy of Mexico, who, in consequence of his general orders and instruc-
tions for the preservation of peace with every power, took upon himself to
release the vessels seized in the port of Nootka, upon a supposition that
the conduct of their captains was a consequence of their total ignorance
with respect to the legitimacy of the rights of Spain on those coasts.
It is in consequence of the desire of his Catholic majesty to pre-
serve peace to himself, and to establish the general tranquillity of Europe,
54
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PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[D.
that he has taken the steps you will observe in the said extract, and that
he has commenced an amicable and direct negotiation with England,
which he will finish with Mr. Fitzherbert, the new ambassador sent
from that court to the court of Madrid. We are in hopes that the con-
sequences of this negotiation will be favorable; but, at the same time, we
must employ all the necessary means to mcike it so.
An immediate and exact accomplishment of the treaty signed at Paris,
the loth of August, 1761, under the title of the Family Compact, becomes
an indispensable preliminary to a successful negotiation. It is in conse-
quence of the absolute necessity which Spain finds of having recourse to
the succor of France, that the king, my master, orders me to demand
expressly what France can do in the present circumstances to assist
Spain, according to the mutual engagements stipulated by the treaties.
His Catholic majesty desires that the armaments, as well as other proper
measures to fulfil and realize these sacred engagements, be immediately
put in execution. He charges me to add further, that the present state
of this unforeseen business requires a very speedy determination, and that
the measures which the court of France shall take for his assistance, shall
be so active, so clear, and so positive, as to prevent even the smallest
ground for suspicion. Otherwise his most Christian majesty niust not be
surprised that Spain should seek other friends and different allies amonsj
all the powers of Europe, without excepting any one, upon whose assist-
ance she can rely in case of need. The ties of blood and personal friend-
ship which unite our two sovereigns, and particularly the reciprocal
interest which exists between two ntions united by nature, shall be
respected in all new arrangements, aa far as circumstances will permit.
This, sir, is the positive demand which I am obliged to make, and iu
consequence of which I hope his most Christian majesty will immediately
take such measr.'es as shall seem most suitable, in the present circum-
stances, to satisfy my master, in an object so interesting and important to
the preservation of his legal rights, and the honor of his nation.
I have the honor to be, &c..
El Conde de Feknan Nunez.
(5.)
Letter from Mr. JFitzherbert to Count de Florida Blanca.
Sir,
Madrid, [probably,] June 16tA, 1790.
In compliance with your excellency's desire, I have now the
honor to communicate to you, in writing, what I observed to you in the
conversation we had the day before yesterday.
The substance of these observations are briefly these : —
The court of London is animated with the most sincere desire of
terminating the difference that at present subsists between it and the
court of Madrid, relative to the port of Nootka, and the adjacent lati-
tudes, by a friendly negotiation; but as it is evident, upon the clearest
principles of justice and reason, that an equal negotiation cannot be
opened till matters are put in their original state, and as certain acts have
been committed in the latitudes in question by vessels belonging to the
[D.
aid extract, and that
ution with England,
sw ambassador sent
hopes that the con-
at the same time, we
■eaty signed at Paris,
ly Compact, becomes
itioii. It is in conse-
>f having recourse to
rders me to demand
cumstances to assist
lated by the treiities.
I well as other proper
lents, be immediately
that the present stiite
itermination, and that
)r his assistance, shall
3nt even the smallest
1 majesty must not be
different allies among
le, upon whose assist-
d and personal friend-
ularly the reciprocal
by nature, shall be
imstanccs will permit.
iged to m:ike, and in
jesty will immediately
the present circum-
tinw and important to
his nation.
Fernan Nunez.
D.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
427
lorida Blanca.
jly,] June 16tA, 1790.
■sire, I have now the
bserved to you in the
lese : —
ost sincere desire of
between it and the
and the adjacent lati-
3nt, upon the clearest
legotiation cannot be
id as certain acts have
ssels belonging to the
royal marine of Spain, against several British vessels, without any re-
prisals having been made, of any sort, on the part of Britain, that power is
perfectly in the right to insist, as a preliminary condition, upon a prompt
and suitable reparation for these acts of violence ; and in consequence of
this principle, the practice of nations has limited such right of reparation
to three articles, viz., the restitution of the vessels — a full indemnification
for the losses sustained by the parties injured — and, finally, satisfaction to
the sovereign for the insult offered to his flag. So that it is evident that
the actual demands of my court, far from containing any thing to preju-
dice the rights or the dignity of his Catholic majesty, amount to no more,
in fact, than what is constantly done by Great Britain herself, as well as
every other maritime power, in similar circumstances. — Finally, as to the
nature of the satisfaction which the court of London exacts on this occa-
sion, and on which your excellency appears to desire some explanation, I
am authorized, sir, to assure you, that if his Catholic majesty consents to
make a declaration in his name, bearing in substance that he had deter-
mined to offer to his Britannic majesty a just and suitable satisfaction
for the insult offered to his flag, — such offer, joined to a promise of
making restitution of the vessels captured, and to indemnify the pro-
prietors, under the conditions specified in the official letter of Mr. Merry
on the IGth of May, will be regarded by his Britannic majesty as consti-
tuting in itself the satisfaction demanded; and his said majesty will accept
of it as such by a counter-declaration on his part. I have to add, that as
it appears uncertain if the vessels the North- West, an American vessel,
and the Iphigenia, had truly a right to enjoy the protection of the British
flag, the king will with pleastire consent that an examination of this ques-
tion, as well as that relative to the just amount of the losses sustained
by his subjects, may be left to the determination of commissioners to
be named by the two courts.
Having thus recapitulated to your excellency the heads of what I
observed to you in conversation, I flatter myself you will weigh the whole
in your mind, with that spirit of equity and moderation which character-
izes you, that I may be in a condition of sending to my court, as soon as
possible, a satisfactory answer as to the point contained in the official
paper sent to Mr. Merry, on the 4th of the month, and which, for the
reasons I have mentioned, cannot be regarded by his Britannic majesty
as fulfilling his just expectations.
I have the honor to be, &c.,
Allevne Fitzherbert.
(6.)
Letter from Count de Florida Blanca to Mr. Fitzherbert.
Madrid, June 18tA, 1790.
You will pardon me, sir, that I cannot give my assent to the principles
laid down in your last letter ; as Spain maintains, on the most solid
grounds, that the detention of the vessels was made in a port, upon a
coast, or in a bay, of Spanish America, the commerce and navigation of
which belonged exclusively to Spain, by treaties with all nations, even
England herself.
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PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
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The principles laid down cannot be adapted to the case. The
vessels detained attempted to make an establishment at a port where
they found a nation actually settled, the Spanish commander at Nootka
having, previous to their detention, made the most amicable represen-
tations to the aggressors to desist from their purpose.
Your excellency will also permit me to lay before you, that it is not
at all certain that the vessels detained navigated under the British flag,
although they were English vessels; there having been reason to believe
that they navigated under the protection of Portuguese passports, fur-
nished them by the governor of Macao as commercial vessels, and not
belonging to the royal marine. Your excellency will add to these rea-
sons, that, by the restitution of these vessels, their furniture and cargoes,
or their value, in consequence of the resolution adopted by the viceroy of
Mexico, which has been approved of by the king, for the sake of peace,
every thing is placed in its original state, the object your excellency aims
at — nothing remaining unsettled but the indemnification of losses, and
satisfaction for the insult, which shall also be regulated when evidence
shall be given what insult has been committed, which hitherto has not
been sufliciently explained.
However, that a quarrel may not arise about words, and that two
nations friendly to each other may not be exposed to the calamities of
war, I have to inform you, sir, by order of the king, that his majesty
consents to make the declaration which your excellency proposes in your
letter, and will offer to his Britannic majesty a just and suitable satisfac-
tion for the insult offered to the honor of his flag, provided that to these
are added either of the following explanations:
1. That, in offering such satisfaction, the insult and the satisfaction
shall be fully settled, both in form and substance, by a judgment to be
pronounced by one of the kings of Europe, whom the king, my master,
leaves wholly to the choice of his Britannic majesty ; for it is suflicient to
the Spanish monarch that a crowned head, from full information of the
facts, shall decide as he thinks just.
2. That, in offering a just and suitable satisfaction, care shall be
taken that, in the progress of the negotiation to be opened, no facts be
admitted as true but such as can be fully established by Great Britain
with regard to the insult offered to her flag.
3. That the said satisfaction shall be given on condition that no
inference be drawn therefrom to affect the rights of Spain, nor of the
right of exacting from Great Britain an equivalent satisfaction, if it shall
be found, in the course of negotiation, that the king has a right to
demand satisfaction, for the aggression and usurpation made on the
Spanish territory, contrary to subsisting treaties.
Your excellency will be pleased to make choice of either of these
three explanations to the declaration your excellency proposes, or all the
three together, and to point out any difficulty that occurs to you, that
it may be obviated ; or any other mode that may tend to promote the
peace which we desire to establish.
I have the honor to be, &c.,
El Conde de Florida Blanca.
[D.
the case. The
it at a port where
mander at Nootka
amicable represen-
you, that it is not
er the British flag,
n reason to believe
lese passports, fur-
al vessels, and not
1 add to these rea-
niture and cargoes,
ed by the viceroy of
the sake of peace,
four excellency aims
ation of losses, and
ated when evidence
ich hitherto has not
ords, and that two
to the calamities of
ng, that his majesty
ncy proposes in your
and suitable satisfac-
rovided that to these
and the satisfaction
by a judgment to be
the king, my master,
; for it is sufficient to
jU information of the
iction, care shall be
; opened, no facts be
hed by Great Britain
»n condition that no
of Spain, nor of the
satisfaction, if it shall
king has a right to
'pation made on the
;e of either of these
cy proposes, or all the
t occurs to you, that
' tend to promote the
; Florida Blanca.
D]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
429
(7.)
Sjtanish Declaration, and British Counter-Declaration, exchanged at
Madrid on the ^ith of July, 1790.
DECLARATION.
His Britannic m.ijesty having complained of the capture of certain
vessels belonging to his subjects in the port of Nootka, situated on the
north-west coast of America, by an officer in the service of the king, — the
undersigned counsellor and principal secretary of state to his majesty,
being thereto duly authorized, declares, in the name and by the order of
his said majesty, that he is willing to give satisfaction to his Britannic
majesty for the injury of which he has complained, fully persuaded that
his said Britannic majesty would act in the same manner towards the
king, under similar circumstances : and his majesty further engages to
make full restitution of all the British vessels which were captured at
Nootka, and to indemnify the parties interested in those vessels, for the
losses which they shall have sustained, as soon as the amount thereof
shall have been ascertained.
It being understood that this declaration is not to preclude or preju-
dice the ulterior discussion of any right which his majesty may claim to
form an exclusive establishment at the port of Nootka.
In witness whereof, I have signed this declaration, and sealed it with
the seal of my arms. At Madrid, the 24th of July, 1790.
(l. s.) Signed,
Le Comte de Florida Blanca.
counter-declaration.
His Catholic majesty having declared that he was willing to give
satisfaction for the injury done to the king, by the capture of certain
vessels belonging to his subjects, in the bay of Nootka, and the Count de
Florida Blanca having signed, in the name and by the order of h*s Catho-
lic majesty, a declaration to this effect, and by which his saia majesty
likewise engages to make full restitution of the vessels so captured, and
to indemnify the parties interested in those vessels for the losses they shall
have sustained, — the undersigned ambassador extraordinary and plenipo-
tentiary of his majesty to the Catholic king, being thereto duly and
expressly authorized, accepts the said declaration in the name of the king,
and declares that his majesty will consider this declaration, together with
the performance of the engagements contained therein, as a full and entire
satisfaction for the injury of which his majesty has complained.
The undersigned declares, at the same time, that it is to be under-
stood, that neither the said declaration signed by Count Florida Blanca,
nor the acceptance thereof by the undersigned, in the name of the king,
is to preclude or prejudice, in any respect, the right which his majesty
may claim to any establishment which his subjects may have formed, or
should be desirous of forming in future, at the said bay of Nootka.
In witness whereof, I have signed this counter-declaration, and sealed
it with the seal of my arms. At Madrid, the 24th of July, 1790.
(l. 8.) Signed,
Alleyne Fitzherbert.
1 1 i
I
• ■',•:.
*|''
ik.1.
430
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
b.
S' 'J i>
(8.)
Decree of the National Convention of France, on the Subject of the
Application of the King of Spain for Aid in resisting the Demands
of Great Britain. Paris, August iith, 1790.
Tub National Assembly, deliberating on the formal proposition of the
king, contained in the letter uf the minister, dated the 1st of August,
Decree, that the king be supplicated to make known to his Catholic
majesty, that the French nation, in taking all proper measures to maintain
peace, will observe the defensive and commercial engagements which the
French government have previously contracted with Spain.
They further decree that his majesty shall be requested immediately
to charge his ambassador in Spain to negotiate with the minister of his
Catholic majesty to the effect of perpetuating and renewing, by a national
treaty, the ties so useful to the two nations, and to fix with precision and
clearness every stipulation which shall be strictly conformable to the
views of general peace, and to the principles of justice, which will be
forever the policy of the French.
The National Assembly further taking into consideration the arma-
ments of the different nations of Europe, their progressive increase,
and the safety of the French colonies and commerce, decree, that the
king shall be prayed to give orders that the French marine force in
commission shall be increased to forty-five ships of the line, with a
proportionate number of frigates and other vessels.
E.
Documents relative to the Discovery of the Columbia
River by the Spaniards and the Americans.
Extract from the Report of Captain Bruno Heceta, commanding the
Spanish Corvette Santiago, in a Voyage along the North-West Coast
of America, in 1775, containing the Particulars of his Discovery of
the Mouth of the Great River, since called the Columbia*
original.
El dia diez y siete, [de agosto, 1775,] recorri la costa, hasta el grado
cuarenta y seis; y vi que desde la latitud de cuarenta y siete grades y
* From the original Report, proserved in the Hydrographieal Office at Madrid,
copied under the supervision of Don Martin Fernandes de Navarate, the chief of
that department, whose certificate in proof of its authenticity is appended to the
copy. — See p. 120 of this History.
t . II
.1 I
B.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
431
cuarenta minutes, hasta la de cuarenta y seis grados cuareuta minutos,
corria al angulo de diez y echo, en el segundo cuadrante ; y desde esta
graduacion, hasta la de cuarenta y seis, y cuatro, al angulo de doce del
mismo cuadrante, y con la misma sonda, playa y Irondosidad, y algunos
islotes, que la de los dias anteriores.
La tarde de este dia, descuhri una grande bahia, que la nombre de
la Asuncion ; cuya iigura representa el piano que va inserto en este diario ;
su latitud y amplitud esta sujeta a las demarcaciones mas exactas que
ofrece la thcorica y practica de esta carrera.
Las latitudes de los cabos mas salientes de dicha bahia, particularmente
la del Norte, esta calculada por la observacion de aquel dia.
Habiendula llegado a Hamiuear a lus seis de la tarde, y cuasi situada la
fragata entre los dos Cabos, sonde en veinte y cuatro brazas, y eran tan
rapidos los remolinos de liis corrientes, que no obstante haber esforzado
de vela, fue trabajoso el salir 6 seperarse del Cabo de mas al Norte, que
as hacia la parte donde mas se inclinaba la corriente, que tambien tenia
su direccion al este, y con el dependia del flujo de la marea.
Estas corrientes y hervidero de aguas me ban hecho crcer sea desem-
bocadurade algun gran rio 6 paso para algun otro mar.
Si la latitud en que se situo la bahia no tubiera la constante prueba de
la observacion de aquel dia creeria sin dificultad era este el paso descubierto
el ano de 1592 por Juan de Fuca, que lo situan las cartas entre los grados
de cuarenta y ocho grados y cuarenta y siete de latitud, donde no me
queda duda, no se halla este estrecho, por haber estado fondeado el dia
ciitorce de Julio, en el centro de estas latitudes, y registrado varias veces
todas aqiiellas inmediaciones.
No obstante la mucha diferencia de la situacion de esta bahia, y el
paso que cita de Fuca, se mi hace poco dificultoso el dudar, si es uno
mismo ; porque he observado, hay igual variedad 6 mayor, en las latitudes
de otros cabos y puertos de esta costa, couio los citare a su tiempo ; y en
todos, es mayor la latitud en que los fijan, que la que tiene sus verdaderas
sitiiacioncs.
El no haber entrado y fondeado en el puerto, que parece forma la que
en el piano supongo isla, no obstante los vivos deseos que me asisten, fue
porque, habiendo tornado parecer del segundo Capitan y practico Don
Juan Perez, y piloto Don Christoval Revilla, insistieron en que no debia
exccutar, porque, de dejar caer el ii.icla, no teniamos gente con que
ziirparla, y atender a la faena, que de esto rosulta. Hecho cargo yo, de
estas razones, y que para hacer ruinbo al fondeadero, me era preciso
hechar la lancha al agua (unica embarcacion menor que tenia) esquifarla
con catorce individuos de la tripulacion, lo menos, y que sin estos no
podia empefiarme, notando al mismo tiempo, era tarde, resolvi virar para
fuera ; y hallandome a la distancia de tres 6 cuatro leguas, hice capa.
Experimente esta noche vivas corrientes al S. O. que me imposibilitaron
intentar recalar en esta bahia, la manana del dia siguiente, por estar
muy sotavento.
Tambien estas me hicieron consentir, en que en el reflujo, salia de
aquella bahia, mucha cantidad de aguas.
Los dos Cabos que cito en el piano, de San Roque y del Frondoso
corren al angulo de diez grados del tercer cuadrante ; ambos son esoar-
pados de tierra colorada con poca elevacion.
El dia dies y ocho, demarque el Cabo Frondoso que cito, con otro que
ti I
W
432
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
i
fE.
le piise per nombre de Falcon, situado en la latitud de ciiarcntn y oinco
grados cuarentn y tres miniitos; y corri:i nl an^ulo de veiiite y do« grados
del tercer cuadraiite ; y dcsdc estc cubu ^iguc la cosla, al angolo dc ciiicu
grados, del segundo cuadrante.
Esta es de tierra montuosa, no may elevada, ni tan poblada de arboledn,
conio la que induce Ioh gradus desde la latitud de cuarenta y ocho, treiuta,
hasta los cuarenta y seis.
En la sonda, encontre notable diforcncia; pues a distancia de siete
leguas, sonde en ochenta y cuatro brazas, y acercandome a la costa, no
halle algunas veces sonda ; lo que me ha hecho creer, hay algunos placeres
6 bancos de arena, sobre estas costas, pue» tambicn el color de las aguas
lo denota asi. En algunas partes, acaba la costa en play a, y en utros
acantilada.
Una montana plana, que la llame de 3Icsa, hara que qualquier navegante
86 hag.t capaz Je la situacion del Cabo Falcon, aunquc no haya tenido
observacion; por que esta en la latitud de cuarenta y cinco veinte y ocho
minutos, y se deja ver de lejos por ser mcdianamente alta.
,11.1 V
TRANSLATION.
On the 17th [of August, 1775] I sailed along the coast to the 46th
degree, and observed that, from the latitude of 47 degrees 4 minutes
to that of 46 degrees 40 minutes, it runs in the angle of 18 degrees of the
second quadrant,* and from that latitude to 4(5 degrees 4 minutes, in the
angle of 1'2 degrees of the same ({uadr mt ; the soundings, the shore, the
wooded character of the country, and the little islands, being the same as
on the preceding days.
In the evening of this day, I discovered a large bay, to which I gave
the name of Assumption liaif, and of which a plan will be found in this
journal. Its latitude and longitude are determined according to the most
exact means afforded by theory and practice.
The latitudes of the two most prominent capes of this bay, especially
of the northern one, are calculated from the observations of this day.t
Having arrived opposite this bay at six in the evening, and plficed the
ship nearly midway between the two capes, I sounded, and found bottom
in twenty-four brazas ;\ the currents and eddies were so strong that,
notwithstanding a prer-s of sail, it was difficult to get out clear of the north-
ern cape, towards which the current ran, though its direction was east-
ward, in consequence of the tide being at flood.
These currents and eddies of the water caused me to believe that the
place is the mouth of some great river, or of some passage to another sea.
* The card of the Spanish compass was formerly divided into four quadrants, on
which the points were counted by degrees.
t In the table accompanyinff the report, trie position of the vessel is given on the
17th of Atigust, as in latitude of 4(J degrees 17 minutes, which is within one minute of
the latitude of Cape Disappointment, (the Cnnc San Hot/ur of Heceta,) the northern
point, at the entrance of the Columbia ; the longitude is made 15 decrees 38 minutes
west of Cape San Lucas, the southern extremity of California, which is about a
degree and a half too far west, yet remarkably near the truth, considering that
the Spanish navigator was obliged to depend entirely on the dead reckoning for
his longitudes.
t The Spanish braza, or fathom, contains six Spanish feet, nearly equal to five feet
nine inches English.
'i \
I I
I
into four quadrants, on
E.]
PHOOFS AND ILLUSTUATIONS.
433
Had I not been 'ertnin of the latitude of this bay, from my ohservationa
of the same day, I iniirht easily luive believed it to be the p;ist*a|;re dis-
covered by Juan de Fuca, in IM'2, which is placed on the clmrts between
the 47th and the 48th degrees; wiiere 1 am certain that no such strait
exists; because 1 anchored on the 14th of July midway between these
two latitudes, and carefully examined every thing around.
Notwithstanding the great difference betwiun the position of this bay
and the passage mentioned by De Fuca, I have little difficulty in con-
ceiving that they may be the same, having observed equal or greater
differences in the latitudes of other capes and ports on this coast, as I
shall show at its proper time ; and in all cases the latitudes thus assigned
are higher than the real ones.
I did not enter and anchor in this port, which in my plan I suppose
to be formed by an island, notwithstanding my strong desire to do so;
because, having consulted the second captain, Don Juan Perez, and the
pilot, Don Christot^al Revilla, they insisted that I ought not to attempt it,
as, if we let go the anchor, we should not have men enough to get it up,
and to attend to the other operations which would be thereby rendered
necessary. Considering this, and also that, in order to reach the anchor-
age, I should be obliged to lower my long-boat, (the only boat that I had,)
and to man it with at least fourt( '?n of the crew, as I could not manage with
fewer, and also that it was then late in the dciy, I resolved to put out ; and
at the distance of three or four leagues I lay to. In the course of that
night, I experienced heavy currents to the south-west, which made it
impossible for me to enter the bay on the following morning, as I was
far to leeward.
These currents, however, convinced me that a great quantity of water
rushed from this bay on the ebb of the tide.
The two capes which I name in my plan Cape San Roque * and Cape
Frondoso,i lie in the angle of ten degrees of the third quadrant. They
are both faced with red earth, and are of little elevation.
On the ISth, I observed Cape. Frondoso, with another cape, to which
I gave the name of Cape Falcon,^ situated in the latitude of 45 degrees
43 minutes, and they lay at the angle of 22 degrees of the third quadrant,
and from the last-mentioned cape I traced the coast running in the angle
of five degrees of the second quadrant.
This land is mountainous, but not very high, nor so well wooded as
that lying between the latitudes of 48 degrees 30 minutes, and 40 degrees.
On sounding, I found great differences : at the distance of 7 leagues,
I got bcttom !it 84 brazaa ; Rud nearer the coast, I sometimes found no
bottom; from which I am inclined to believe that there are reefs or
shoals on these coasts, which is also shown by the color of the water. In
some places, the coast presents a beach, in others it is rocky.
A flat-topped mountain, which I named The Table, '^w'lW enable any nav-
igator to know the position of Cape Falcon without observing it ; as it is
in the latitude of 45 degrees 28 minutes, and may be seen at a great dis-
tance, being somewhat elevated.
, nearly equal to five feet
* Cape Disappointment.
t Cape Adama.
55
t Cape Lookout.
§ Charke's Point of View.
11- ,<
t
■, 1
I'l
i'lU'
434
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
n.
if
(2.)
Extract from the Second Volume of the Log-Book of the Ship Columbia,
of Boston, commanded by Robert (jiruy, containing the Account of
her Entrance into the Columbia River, in May, 179il,*
May 7th, 1702, A. M. — Being within six miles of the land, saw an
entrance in the aiinie, whicli iiad a very good appearance of a harbor;
lowered away the jolly-boat,. and went in search of an anchoring-place,
the ship standing to and fro, with a very strong weatlier current. At one,
P. M., the boat returned, having found no place where the ship could
anchor with safety; made sail on the ship; stood in for the shore. We
soon saw, from our mast-head, u passage in between the sand-l)arH. At
half past three, bore away, and ran in north-east by east, having from four
to eight fathoms, sandy bottom ; and, as we drew in ncs-irer l)etween the
bars, had from ten to thirteen fathtims, having a very strong tide of ebb to
stem. Many canoes came alongside. At five, IV M., came to in live
fathoms water, sandy bottom, in a safe harbor, well sheltered from the
sea by long sand-bars and spits. Our latitude observed tliis day was
46 degrees ,W minutes north.
May lOth. — Fresh breezes and pleasant weather; many natives along-
side; at noon, all the canoes left us. At one, P. M., began to luimour,
took up the best bower-anchor, and hove short on the small bower-anchor.
At half past four, (being high water,) hove up the anchor, and came to
sail and a beating down the harbor.
3Iay llth. — At half past .seven, we were out clear of the bars, and
directed our course to the southward, along shore. At eight, P. M., the
entrance of BulBnch's Harbor bore north, distance four miles; the .south-
ern extremity of the land bore south-south-east half east, and the northern
north-north-west ; sent up the main-top-gallant-yard and set all sail. At
four, A. M., saw the entrance of our desired port bearing eiist-soutli-cast,
distance six leagues; in steering sails, and hauled our wind in shore. At
eight, A. M., being a little to windward of the entrance of the Harbor,
bore away, and run in east-north-east between the breakers, having from
five to seven fathoms of water. When we were over the bar, we found
this to be a large river of fresh water, up which we steered. Many canoes
came alongside. At one, P. M., came to with the small bower, in ten
fathoms, black and white sand. The entrance between the bars bore
west-south-west, distant ten miles; the north side of the river a half mile
distant from the ship; the south side of the same two and a half miles'
distance; a village on the north side of the river west by north, distant
three quarters of a mile. Vast numbers of natives came alongside;
people employed in pumping the salt water out of our water-casks, in
order to fill with fresh, while the ship floated in. So ends.
May 12</«. — Many natives alongside; noon, fresh wind; let go the
• This extract was made in 1816, by Mr. Bulfinch, of Boston, o-.e of the owners of
the Columbia, ."rom the second volume of the log-book, whic was then in the pos-
session of Captain Gray's heirs, but has since disappeared. It has been frequently
published in newspapers and reports to Congress, accompanied by the affidavit of Mr.
Bulfinch to its exactness. — See p. 236 of the History.
••*:
E.1
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
d.'Jj
the Skip Columbia^
ff the Account of
f the land, snw an
•;mce of a harbor;
II aiiclioriii;{-|)luce,
' current. At one,
[>re tlie uhip could
l(»r the sliore. We
tlie saiKl-barH. At
<t, haviii<T Iroin four
lu'arer between the
troiijj tide of ebb to
A., came to in five
sheltered from the
erved tliis day was
inniiy natives along-
, began to unmoor,
small bower-anchor,
nchor, and came to
■hT of the l)ars, and
At eiiTht, P. M., the
r mile!* ; the .south-
it, and the northern
lid set all sail. At
•iiig east-south-east,
wind in shore. At
nee of the Harbor,
akers, having from
the bar, we found
■red. Many canoes
mall bower, in ten
een the bars bore
le river a half mile
and a half miles'
st by north, distant
s came alongside;
5ur water-casks, in
So ends,
wind ; let go the
, o'.e of the owners of
, was then in the pos-
t has been frequently
by the affidavit of Mr.
bent bower-anchor, and veered out on both cables ; sent down the mnin-
top-gnl I ant-yard; filled up nil the water-casks in the hold. The latter
part, heavy gales, and rainy, dirty weather.
iHay lath. — Fre.sh winds and rainy weather; many natives along-
side ; hove up the best bower-anchor ; seunicn and tradesmen at their
vnri«nis departments.
Maif Hth. — Fresh gales and cloudy; many natives alongside; at
noon, weighed and came to sail, standing up the river north-east by east;
we found the channel very narrow. At four, IV M., we had sailed up-
wards of twelve or fifteen miles, when the channel was so very narrow
that it was almost impossible to keep in it, having from three to eighteen
fathoms water, sandy bottom. At half past four, the ship took ground,
but she did not stay long before she came off, without any assistance.
VVc backed her oil', stern foremost, into three fathoms, and let go the
small bower, and moored ship with kedge and hawser. The jolly-boat
was sent to sound the channel out, but found it not navigable any farther
up ; so, of course, we must have taken the wrong channel. So ends,
with rainy weather; many natives alongside.
Mm/ irtth. — Light airs and pleasant weather; many natives from
dilferent tribes came alongside. At ten, A. M., unmoored and dropped
down with the tide to a better aiichoring-place ; smiths and other trades-
men constantly employed. In the afternoon. Captain Gray and Mr. Hos-
kins, ill the jolly-boat, went on shore to take a short view of the country.
Miiif \iUh. — Light airs and cloudy. At four, A. M., hove up the
anchor and towed down about three miles, with the last of the ebb-tide ;
came into six fathoms, sandy bottom, the jolly-boat sounding the channel.
At ten, A. M., a fresh breeze came up river. With the first of the ebb-
tide we got under way, and beat down river. At one, (from its being
very scpially,) we came to, about two miles iVom the village, {Chinouk,)
which bore west-south-west ; many natives alongside ; fresh gales and
squally.
J/r/// \7th. — Fresh winds and squally ; many canoes .alongside; calk-
ers calking the pinnace; seamen paying the ship's sides with tar; painter
painting ship; smiths and carpenters at their departments.
Mai/ IS/A. — Pleasant weather. At four in the morning, began to
heave ahe.id ; at hitlf past, came to sail, standing down river with the ebb-
tide: at seven, (being slack water and the wind fluttering,) we came to in
five fathoms, sandy bottom ; the entrance between the bars bore south-
west by west, distant three miles. The north point of the harbor bore
north-west, distant two miles ; the south bore south-east, distant three and
a half miles. At nine, a breeze sprung up from the eastward ; took up
the anchor and came to sail, but the wind soon came fluttering again ;
came to with the kedge and hawser; veered out fifty fathoms. Noon,
pleasant. Latitude observed, 4(5 degrees 17 minutes north. At one,
came to sail with the first of the ebb-tide, and drifted down broadside,
with light airs and strong tide ; at three quarters past, a fresh wind came
from the northward; wore ship, and stood into the river again. At four,
came to in six fathoms; good holding-ground about six or seven miles
up; many canoes alongside.
May I9th. — Fresh wind and clear weather. Early a number of
canoes came alongside ; seamen and tradesmen employed in their various
departments. Captain Gray gave this river the name of Columbia's
(' i.
k
ll".}-'-
*4, jVJ'i > >• '
i' i i
436
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[F.
River, and the north side of the entrance Cape Hancock; the south,
Adams's Point.
May 20#/j. — Gentle breezes and pleasant weather. At one, P. M.,
(being full sea,) took up the anchor, and made sail, standing down river.
At two, the wind left us, we being on the bar with a very strong tide,
which set on the breakers; it was now not possible to get out without a
breeze to shoot her across the tide; so we were obliged to bring up in
three and a half fathoms, the tide running five knots. At three quarters
past two, a fresh wind came in from seaward ; we immediately came to
sail, and beat over the bar, having from five to seven fathoms water in the
channel. At five, P. M., we were out, clear of all the bars, and in twenty
fathoms water. A breeze came from the southward ; we bore away to
the northward ; set all sail to the best advantage. At eight, Cape Han-
cock bore south-east, distant three leagues ; the north extremity of the land
in sight bore north by west. At nine, in steering and top-gallant sails.
Midnight, light airs.
May ^\st. — At six, A. M., the nearest land in sight bore east-south-
east, distant eight leagues. At seven, set top-gallant-sails and light stay-
sails. At eleven, set steering-sails fore and aft. Noon, pleasant, agree-
able weather. The entrance of Bulfinch's Harbor bore south-east by east
half east, distant five leagues.
F.
\ .,1
Showing that the Forty-ninth Parallel of Latitude was
NOT selected as THE LiNE OF SEPARATION BETWEEN THE
French and the British Territories in North America,
BY Commissaries appointed agreeably to the Treaty of
Uti.echt.*
Mr. Monroe, minister plenipotentiary of the United States in London,
iii bis letter of September oth, 1804, to Lord Harrowby, the British secre-
tary for foreign affairs.t makes the following statement with regard to the
adoption of the 49th parallel of latitude as the northern boundary of Lou-
isiana : —
" By the tenth article of the treaty of Utrecht, it is agreed that 'France
shall restore to Great Britain the Bay and Straits of Hudson, together with
all the lands, seas, sea-coasts, rivers, and places, situate in the said bay
and straits, which belong thereto ; and it is also agreed, on both sides, to
determine, within a year, by commissaries to be forthwith named by e.ich
party, the limits which are to be fixed between the said Bjiy of lludson
and the places appertaining to the French, which limits both the British
and French subjects shall be wholly forbid to pass over, or thereby to go
to each other, by sea or by land : the same commissioners shall a' -o have
orders to describe and settle in like manner the boundaries between the
* See p. 282 of the History.
t Communicated to Congress, and published with President Jefferson's messaee of
March 30th, 1808.
t I
F.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
437
t-i'
JefTerson's mesaage of
other British and French colonies in those parts.* Commissaries were
accordingly appointed by each power, who executed the stipulations of
the treaty, in establishing the boundaries proposed by it. They fixed the
northern boundary of Canada and Louisiana by a line beginning on the
Atlantic, at a ciipe or promontory in 58 degrees 30 minutes north latitude,
thence south-westwardly to the Lake Mistissin, thence fartlier south-west
to the latitude of 49 degrees north from the equator, and along that line
indefinitely."
Mr. Monroe does not give his authority for the assertion respecting the
adoption of this line by the commissaries; he, however, most probably
derived his information from the map of America attached to Postle-
thwiiyt's Dictionary of Commerce, published in 1751, to which he alludes
in other parts of his correspondence, and in which a line appears nearly
as described by him, with a note on the map, saying, " The line that parts
French Canada from British Canada was settled hy commissaries, after
the peace of Utrecht, making a curve from Davis's Inlet, in the Atlantic
Si a, down to the 49th degree, through Lake Abitibis, to the North-West
Ocean." In the Dictionary to which this map is attached, the limits of
tliese territories are expressly declared to be zindetermined. The map of
North America, by Palairet and Delaroche, published at London in 1765,
also gives the same line, without any note as to the manner in which it
was adopted. In the map of the British Possessions in America, pub-
lished by Bowen and Gibson in 1775, and in one or two other inferior
maps, the 49th parallel is given as the southern limit of the Hudson's
Bay Company's territories, from the vicinity of Lake Superior, westward
to Red River, down which the boundary is continued to Lake Winnipeg.
Tliese are the only authorities, as yet discovered, for the belief that the
49th parallel was adopted as a boundary by commissaries appointed ac-
cording to the treaty of Utrecht.
On the other hand, Mitchell's great map of America, published in
1755 at London, under the patronage of the colonial department, presents
a line drawn around Hudson's Bay, at the distance of about one hundred
and fifty miles from its shore, as " the bounds of Hudson's Bay by the
treaty of Utrecht;" and the same line appears on the map of America
accompanying Smollett's History of England, published in 1700, on that
of Bennet, published in 1770, on that of Faden, in 1777, and on some
other maps of that period.
No line of separation whatsoever, between the Hudson's Bay territories
and the French possessions in America, is to be found on the large and
beautiful map of America by Henry Popple, published in 1738, also under
the patronage of the colonial department, and bearing the stamp of the
approbation of Dr. Hailey, which is particularl} minute in ail that relates
to the territories in question ; or on any of the maps in the atlas of Max-
well and Senex, published in 1721, or in any of those attached to the
volume of Boyer's Politicai State for 1721 — to the History of Hudson's
Bay, by Dobbs — to the American Traveller, by Cluny — to the History
of the British Empire in America, by Wynne — to Alcedo's Dictionary
of America, or on many other maps, of inferior merit, which might be
named.
These discrepancies should not excite surprise ; for maps, and books
of geography, which are most frequently consulted in relation to bounda-
ries, are, or rather have been, the very worst authorities on such suLjects ;
!:'■
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'ff rjfr'i'
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k -if
I'
' 't .Ir
^ !
1 .1
438
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[P.
as they are ordinarily made by persons wholly unacquainted with political
affairs. Of this, numerous examples may be cited from works of authors
the most highly esteemed as geographers, even at the present day.*
No allusion whatsoever to the settlement of any boundary line between
the Hudson's Bay territories and the Frrach dominions, by commissaries
appointed agreeably to the treaty of Utrecht, is to be found in any of the
followini^ works, which have been carefully examined with reference to
this question : viz. — Actes, Memoires, fitc, concernant la Paix d'Utrecht,
a voluminous work, published in 1710 — Actes, Negotiations, &c., depuis
la Paix d'Utrecht, 1745 — the collections of treaties and state papers by
Dumont, Boyer, Martens, Jenkinson, and Herstlet — Collection des Edits,
Ordonnances, &lc., concernant le Canada — the histories of, and memoirs
on, Louisiana, by Dumont, Le Page Duprntz, Vergennes, Marbois, and
others — Memoires des Commissaires Francais et Anglais, sur les Pos-
sessions, &c., des deux Couronnes en Amerique, 1754 — the works of
Swift and of Bolingbroke — the Parliamentary History of England — and
the Histories of England by Tindal, Smollet, Belsham, Mahon, or Wade.
This is strong negative evidence. Anderson, in his elaborate History
of Commerce, (vol. iii. p. 207,) thus pointedly denies that any such set-
tlement of limits was effected agreeably to the provisions of the treaty of
Utrecht: "Though the French king yielded to the queen of Greiit
Britain, to be possessed by her, in full right, forever, the Bay and Straits
of Hudson, and all parts thereof, and within the same then possessed by
France, yet leaving the boundaries between Hudson's Bay and the north
parts of Canada belonging to France to be determined by commissaries
within a year, was, in effect, the same thing as giving up the point alto-
gether; it being well known, to all Europe, that France never permits
her commissaries to determine matters referred to such, unless it can be
done with great advantage to her. Those boundaries, therefore, have
never yet been settled, tiiough the British and French subjects are, by
that article, expressly debarred from passing over the same, or thereby to
go to each other, by sea or land. These commissaries were likewise to
settle the boundaries between the other British and French colonies on
* In a lariTf and hcautifiilly-onirravcd map of the United States, published at Phila-
delphia, in If^'il, ^'froin tliv mo.it iimlmilitrd iiuthnritirs, by , <rrt>(rrtijilirr and
drausrhtsnian," tho nnrtluTn bi)undary of the United States west of the Mississippi is
represented l)y a lino drawn westward from the sources of that river, nearly under tlie
latitude of 47 deirrees and 40 niinut's; the country north of this line beinir stated to
be "in ilisputr bctirrcn S/iaiiiand (irrat Rritfiin." Now, thn-e years before this map
appeared, tin- boundary between the United States and the British possessions in tiiat
part of America liad been fixed by treaty, according to which, the dividinsr line ful-
towcd t!ie cours" of the 4!lth ])arallel ; and, two years before tht! date of the map,
Spain had also, l)y treaty, ceded to the United States her rights to all territories in
AiniTicn norlli of the 4'Jd parallel. These treaties had been published; and it is
scarcely crediiile tli;it they siiould have been UTikno.vn to an American geographc!
engaged in i)repariiiga niaj) of the United States. Mistakes of the same kind, equally
great, are, Imwiver, committed in l''urope. In the Encyclopn»dia of Geogrnphv,
published at Kdinburirh, in IHlM, by Hugh Murray, and other scientitic persons, we
find it staled, (p. 1;<74,) that "the whole region west of tho Rocky Moiir\tains, ex-
tending between the 4iJd and the 4IHh parallels of latitude, hiis, Inj (liarorrri/ ..td
trrtili/, hint dssiiriird ti> tlir I'rii/eil Sliitrs;" and a statement to tho same etfect may be
fo\ind in the Londnn Quarterly Review for January, 18y'2. Those mistakes evidently
arose from ignorance: but the same defence cannot be pleaded in all cases; for maps
have been drawn, and engraved, and colored, with a full knowledge of their falsehood,
in order to forward the ends of governments or of individuals.
[p.
nted with political
1 works of authors
resent day.*
iidary line between
i*, by commissaries
»und in any of the
with reference to
t la Paix d'Utrecht,
ations, fitc, depuis
md state papers by
)liection des Edits,
es of, and memoirs
ines, Marbois, and
iglais, sur les Pos-
>4 — the works of
of England — and
, Mahon, or Wade.
3 elaborate History
that any such set-
ns of the treaty of
e queen of Grent
he Bay and Straits
then possessed by
Bay and the north
ed by commissaries
up the point alto-
ance never permits
1, unless it can be
es, therefore, have
jh subjects are, hy
same, or thereby to
s were likewise to
'rench colonies on
f^s, published at Pliila-
— , iTfoirnijihrr and
it of the Mississippi is
iver, nearly iiiuicr tlv
s line beiiiy; stated to
years befori' this map
ish possessiidis in that,
the dividinji line tol-
the date of the map,
ts to nil territories in
l)nblish(>d ; and it is
American jreographer
he same kind, equally
ptrdia of Geogr;;pliy,
scientitic persons, wo
llocky xMountains, fX-
liiis, Inj (linrorrrij .id
lie same etfect may be
t'se mistakes evidently
in all eases ; for maps
dge of their falsehood,
a]
PROOFS \ND ILLUSTRATIONS.
439
that continent, which, likewise, was never done." The same denial is
transferred by Macpherson to his Annals of Commerce.
The only evidence of the appointment of commissaries for the settlement
of limits according to the treaty of Utrecht which has been discovered,
is contained in a passage in Charlevoix's Histoire de la Nouvelle France,
of which the following is a translation : •' France took no part in this
dispute, [between the British and the Indians of Nova Scotia, in 1722,1
in order to avoid giving the slightest pretext for interrupting the good
understanding between the two nations, which had been restored with so
much difficulty ; even the negotiations betiveen the two courts for the set-
tlement of boundaries ceased, although commissaries had been appointed,
on both sides, for that object since 1719."
G.
Papers relative to the American Establishment of Astoria,
ON the Coli;mbia River.*
Letter from J. J. Astor, of Nrw York, to the Ilonurahle John Quincy
Adams, Secretary of State of the United Stntcs.i
Siu,
Nkw Youk, January 4th, 1823.
I had the honor to receive your letter of the 24th ultimo. Indis-
position has prevented my acknowledging the receipt thereof at an earlier
period.
You request information of arrangements made, at or about 1814, by
the North-West Company and citizens of the United States, by which
that company became possessed of a settlement made at the mouth of
Columbia River by citizens of the United States. The settlement to
which you allude, I presume, is "Astoria," as I know of no other having
been made at or near the mouth of that river. Several circumstances are
alleged, as having contributed to the arrangement by which the North-
West Company became in possession of that settlement, but chiefly to the
misi: ., of the confidence which had been placed in Mr. McDougal, who,
at the time the arrangement was made, and at the time my agent, Mr.
Wilson P. Hunt, was absent, acted as sub-agent.
I beg leave briefly to state, that, contemplating to make an establish-
ment, at the mouth of Columbia River, which should serve as a place of
depot, and give further facilities for conducting a trade across this conti-
nent to that river, and from thence, on the range of north-west coast,
&c., to Canton, in China, and from thence to the United States, arrange-
ments were accordingly made, in 1810, for a party of men to cross the
* See '-hap. xiv. of the History.
t Documents accompanying President Monroe's message to Congress of January
27th, 1823.
!'■
l-i!
440
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[G.
.U
continent for the Columbia River. At the same time, I fitted out the
ship Tonquin, carryintr twenty guus and sixty men, commanded by the
late Captain Tiiorn, lieutenant in the United States navy. The ship
sailed in Septcml)er, 1810, having on board the means for making an
establishment at Columbia, where she arrived on the 2"2d of March, 1811.
They landed, found the natives friendly, and built a fort, erected a house,
store, &,c. Tiiis being accomplished, Captain Thorn left thirty men in
possession of the place, to await the party who were to m.ike the voyage
over land ; these, also, happily arrived, though not till several months after.
On or about the Ist of June, Captain Thorn left Columbia River, with a
view to make some trade on the coast, and f hen to return to the river;
but, unfortunately, Thorn never returned. At about two hundred miles
north of Columbia, he put in a bay to trade with the natives. Not at-
tending to the precautions necessary, as he had been instructed to do, to
guard against an attack, he suffered a whole tribe of Indians to come on
board and about his ship. An attack was made; he was overpowered:
fire was communicated to the magazine, the ship was blown up, and every
soul on board or near her perished.
In 1811, I fitted out another ship, the Beaver, carrying twenty guns,
with a duplicate cargo to the ship Tonquin, and sixty or seventy men.
The Captain [Sowles] was instructed to sail for the Columbia River, and
in search of the men who were sent across the continent, as also of the
Tonquin. The Beaver sailed from this in October, 1811, arrived at Co-
lumbia in May following, found the establishment, and landed such men,
goods, provisions, &c., as the establishment was in need of My instruc-
tions to the captain were, that, after supplying the establishment, he siionld
proceed to Chatka,* a Russian .settlement, for the purpose of trade, and
then return to Columbia, take what furs we had, and proceed to Canton,
and thence to New York. lie accordingly left Columbia, (and, nio.«t
unfortunately, Mr. Hunt, of Trenton, New Jersey, my chief agent, iel't
the river with him,) sailed, as directed, for the Russian settlement, and
effected their object; but, instead of following instructions to return to
Columbia, he sailed direct for Canton, leaving Mr. Hunt at one of the
Sandwich Islands, to await tlie arrival of another ship, which I had prom-
ised to send from this in 181*^. The ship Beaver arrived at Canton, and
received there the news of the war. I had sent orders to the captain to
return to Astoria; but he was feirfid of being ca))tured, and remained
safely at Canton till the war was over, when lie cnme home. In conso-
quence of the war, I found it inconvenient to send a ship in 1812, i)ut I
did send one, the Lark, early in 1813, with directions to the captain to
sail for Columbia River, and to stop at the Sandwich Islands for informa-
tion. Being within a kw day.s' sail of those islands, the ship, in a sqtiall
of wind, was upset, and finally drifted on the beach of one of tlio:*o
islands, a wreck, — ship and cargo totally lost. Here was met Mr. Hunt,
who, after all the information he received, and my great desire to protect
the establishment at Columbia River, procured an American vessel, took
some provisions, sailed, and arrived in Columbia River. lie there learned
that Mr. McDougal had transferred all my property to the North-West
Company, who were in possessicm of it by a sale, as he called it, for the
sum of about fifty-eight thousand dollars, of which he retained fourteen
* Sitka, or New Archangel, the chief establishment in Russian America.
ff
0.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
441
Russian America.
thousand dollars, for wages said to be due to some of the men. From the
price obtained for the goods, &,c., and he having himself become interested
in the purchase, and made a partner of the North-West Company, some
idea may be formed as to this man's correctness of dealings. It will be
seen, by the agreement (that of which I transmit a copy) and the invento-
ry, that he sold to the North-West Company eighteen thousand one
hundred and seventy and a quarter pounds of beaver at two dollars, which
was at that time selling in Canton at five and six dollars ; nine hundred
and seven otter skins at fifty cents, or half a dollar, which were selling at
Canton at five to six dollars per skin.
I estimated the whole property to be worth nearer two hundred
thousand dollars than forty thousand dollars, about the sum I received in
bills on Montreal. Previous to the transaction of McDougal, we had
already established trading posts in the interior, and were in contact with
the North-West Company. It is now to be seen what means have been
used by them to counteract my plan. It is well known that, as soon as
the North-West Company had information of my intention and plan for
conducting my commercial operations, they despatched a party of men
from the interior, with a view to arrive before my people at Columbia.
These men were obliged to return without effecting their object. In the
mean time, representation was made to their government as to the proba-
ble effect of my operations on their interest, and requesting to interfere
in their behalf. This being in time of peace, the government did not
deem it advisable so to do. So soon, however, as war was declared, these
representations were renewed, aid was asked from the government, and it
was granted. The Phoebe frigate, and sloops of war Raccoon and Por-
cupine, were sent fr(;in England, with orders to proceed to Columbia
River, and destroy my property. They sailed from England early in Jan-
uary, 1813. Arriving at Rio Janeiro, Admiral Dickson ordered the
Phoebe frigate, with one of the sloops, to pursue Captain Porter in the
frigate Essex, and the sloop of war Raccoon, to the Columbia. She ar-
rived there, took possession in the name of the king, and changed the
name of the place from Astoria to Fort George. Previous to this, the
North-West Company had despatched another or second party of men to
the Columbia. They arrived there in the ab.sence of Mr. Hunt ; McDou-
gal gave them support and protection, and they commenced, after some
time, to negotiate with this gentleman.
The reasons assigned by him for his conduct will be seen by an e.xtract
of a letter said to havr heen sent by a Mr. Shaw, of the North-West
Company, and of whicii i send you a copy. The plan by me adopted
was such as must materially have affected the interest of the North-West
and Hudson's Bny Companies, and it was easy to be foreseen that they
would employ every means to counteract my operations, and which, as my
impression, I stated to the executive of your department as early jis Feb-
ruary, 181:5, as will be seen by a copy of the sketch of a letter which I
wrote to the secretary of state, and to which no reply was given. On re-
peated application, some time after, aid was promised me; but I believe
the situation of our country rendered it inconvenient to give it. You
will observe that the name of the Pacific Fur Company is made use of at
the commeuccMnent of the arrangements for this undertaking. I preferred
to have it appear as the business of a ctmipany, rather than that of an
individual ; and several of the gentlemen engaged — Mr. Hunt, Mr. Crooks,
56
I/!
i!
"I !
442
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[0.
Mr. McKay, McDougul, Stuart, tfec. — were, in efiect, to be interested as
partners in the undertaking, so far as respected the profit which might
arise: but the means were furnished by me, and 'he property was solely
mine, and I sustained the loss, which, though considerable, I do not re-
gret, because, had it not been for the unfortunate occurrence just stated, I
should have been, as I believe, most richly rewarded ; as it will be seen
that the difference of price in the beaver and otter skins silone, say what
I received, and the value of them at Canton at that time, is about sixty
thousand dollars. The copy of the agreement, inventory, and extract of
Shaw's letter, you will please return to me.
I am, sir, &c.,
John Jacob Astor.
(2.)
Agreement between the Agent$ uf the Pacific Fur Company and the North-
West Company, for the Transfer of the Esiublishmmts of the Former,
on ih' Cc'umbia River, to the Latter; concluded on the I6th of Octo-
ber, 'i^ia.
Tiiu association heretofore carrying on the fur trade to the Columbia
River and its dependencies, under the firm and denomination of the
Pacific Fur Company, being dissolved, on the 1st of July last, by
Duncan McDougal, Donald McKenzie, David Stuart, and John Clarke,
witli i-lio intention to abandon the trade in that quarter, it is hereby agree d,
concluded, and settled upon, of their own free will and consent, by
Duncan McDougal, acting for himself and in behalf of his associates,
namely, Donald McKenzie, David Stuavt, and John Clarke, on the one
part, and John George McTavish and John Stuart, acting for themselves
and in behalf of the North-West Company, on the other part, that the
following agreement and settlement take place between them, and be
binding and obligatory in the manner, and subject to the terms and agree-
ments, hereinafter specified and contained. Now, therefore, it is hereby
mutually agreed and concluded, by and between the said parties to tlie.se
presents, and they do hereby mutually covenant and agree, to and with
each other, in manner following, that is to say: —
Articli; 1. The party of the former part hereby covenants and
agrees to deliver, or cause to be delivered, the whole of the establish-
ments, furs, and present stock in hand, on the Columbia and Thomp-
son's Rivers, as soon as the necessary inventories can be tnken, unto the
said party of the latter part, or any other person or persons appointed by
them to represent the North-West Company, to receive the same at the
prices and rates concluded and agreed upon as hereinafter specified, in
article fourth.
Art. 2. In consideration of article first being duly and faithfully
performed by the party of thr former part, they, the said John George
McTavish and John Stuart, for themselves and on behalf of the North-
West Company, do bind and oblige themselves and the said North-West
Company, or their agents, to pay or cause to be paid, imto the said
Duncan McDougal, acting for himself and in behalf of his associates, as
before mentioned, his attorneys, assigns, or order, the amount of the sums
arising from the sale, according to article first, and the rates hereinafter
[o.
G.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
443
to be interested as
profit which might
>roperty was solely
rable, I do not re-
rrence just stated, I
as it will be seen
ins nione, say what
inie, is about sixty
[)iy, and extract of
4 Jacob Astor.
•rtH?/ and the North-
lints of the Former,
t the I6th of Octo-
de to the Columbia
inoniination of the
t of July last, by
, and John Clarke,
, it is hereby agreed,
II and consent, by
f of his a^^sociates,
Clarke, on the one
ting for ibemselves
)ther part, that the
vecn them, and be
he tonus and aiirce-
[^rcfore, it is hereby
aid parties to these
agree, to and with
by covenants and
lo of the establish-
mibia and Thomp-
be tJiken, unto the
rsoiis appointed by
ve the same at the
jinafter specified, in
duly and faithfully
said John George
ehalf of the North-
he said North-West
)aid, unto the said
of his associates, as
amount of the sums
le rates hereinafter
specified in article fourth, at three several instalments ; the first one
third on or before the 2.>th of October, 1814, the second one third on
or before the 25th of November, and the remaining one third on or be-
fore the 25th of December. And, further, it is hereby understood that,
should the party of the former part find it convenient to leave the amount
of the several drafts, after becoming payable, as already specified, in the
hands of the party of the latter part, or their agents, they, the said party
of the latter part, or their agents, will allow interest at six per cent, until
paid on demand ; and, as there are several moneys, the produce of their
wages, due unto the people employed in the service of the late Pacific Fur
Company, carrying on trade on the Columbia and Thompson's Rivers,
the said party of the latter part, namely, John George McTavish and John
Stuart, acting for themselves and the North-West Company, as their
agents, do hereby bind and oblige themselves to pay, or cause to be paid,
unto the several individuals employed by the party of the former part, the
amount of the balances due to them, according to the statement that shall
be delivered by the said Duncan McDougal, acting for himself and his
associates, as before mentioned, within one month after their arrival at
Montreal, in the province of Lower Canada; the amount of which several
sums, so paid, is to be considered as part of, and deducted from, the first
instalment, to be paid unto the said Duncan McDougal, acting for him-
self and his associates, as before mentioned, his attorneys, assigns, or
order, on or before the 25th of October, 1814.
Aur. !}. And, further, the said John George McTavish and John
Stuart, acting fur themselves and the North-West Company, will be at
liberty to make a selection, and take into their service such of the peo-
ple in the employment of the party of the former part as they may think
proper ; in consideration of which, the said party of the latter part bind
and oblige themselves to pay, or cause to be paid, unto the said party of
the former part, the several sums due to them by such as may enter into
the service of the party of the latter part: and the said party of the latter
part further bind and oblige themselves to provide and insure a safe pas-
sage to tt\e said party of the former part, and the remaining part, that will
not be taken into their service, to their respective homes.
AiiT. 4. And, further, it is hereby agreed and concluded upon, by
the said parties, that the following are the rates at which the establish-
iiients, furs, and stock on hand, be valued at, as follows: dry goods, sta-
tionery, gunpowder, and leaf tobacco, fifty per cent, on the prime cost ;
sliip chandlery, sixty per cent.; shot, ball, lead, iron, and steel, one
hundred per cent. ; deduction on made-up iron works at Columbia River,
tiiirty-three and one third per cent. ; new boats, each, ten pounds Halifax
currency; boats in use, each, five pounds Halifax currency; shallop, with
riffffing complete, one hundred and twelve pounds ten shillinrrs; two black-
smith's forges complete, twenty-five i)ounds; plug tobacco, one shilling and
six pence per pound; plug tobacco manufactured at Columbia, one shil-
ling and three pence per pound; beads assorted, five shillings per pound;
arms, cannon, &,c., prime cost; provisions at fixed prices; articles in use,
half inventory prices; horses, thirty shillings each; buildings, two hun-
dred pounds; John Reid's adventure, and Freeman's, in the vicinity of
Snake country and Spanish River, to deduct one hundred per cent.;
beaver furs, ten shillings per pound ; beaver coating, eight shillings and
four pence per pound; muskrats, seven pence half-penny each; land
444
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[G.
otters, two shillings and six pence each ; sea otters, large, sixty shillings
each.
And for the faithful performance of all and singular the said covenants
and agreements, to be by them respectively kept and performed, all and
every of the parties to these presents bind themselves, separately and
jointly, for their several associates, firmly by these presents. In witness
whereof, the parties to these presents have hereunto set their hands and
seals, this 16th day of October, 1813, at the entrance of Columbia River,
north-west coast of America.
Witnesses.
John C. Hasley, Angus Bethune,
Gabriel Franchere, James McMillan,
Alfred Seaton, Joseph McGillivray
William Wallace,
Duncan McDougal,
J. G. McTavish,
J. Stuart.
(3.)
Account of the Capture of Astoria by the British Sloop of War Raccoon,
Captain Black, in December, 1813. Extracted from *' Adventures on
the Columbia River, by John Ross Cox."
The Isaac Todd sailed from London in March, 1813, in company
with the Phoebe frigate, and the Cherub and Raccoon sloops of war.
They arrived safe at Rio Janeiro, and thence proceeded around Cape
Horn to the Pacific, having previously made arrangements to meet at
Juan Fern.mdez. The three men-of-war reached the latter island, after
encountering dreadful gales about the cape : they waited there some time
for the Isaac Todd; but, as she did not make her appearance, Commo-
dore Hillyer did not deem it prudent to remain any longer inactive. He
therefore, in company with the Cherub, proceeded in search of Commcv
doie Porter, who, in the American frigate Essex, was clearing the South
Sea of English whalers, and inflicting other injuries of a serious nature
on our commerce ; he shortly after met the Essex at Valparaiso, and, after
a severe contest, captured her.
At the same time, he ordered Captain Black, in the Raccoon, to
proceed direct to the Columbia, for the purpose of destroying the Ameri-
can establishments at Astoria. The Raccoon arrived at the Columbia on
the 1st of December, 1813. The surprise and disappointment of Captain
Black and his officers were extrfine, on learning the arrangement that had
taken place between the two companies, by which the establishment had
become British property. They had calculated on obtaining a splendid
prize by the capture of Astoria, the strength and importance of which
had been much magnified ; and the contracting parties were therefore
fortunate in having closed their bargain previous to the arrival of the
Raccoon. On looking at the wooden fortifications. Captain Black ex-
claimed, " Is this the fort about which I have heard so much ? D — n me
but 1 'd batter it down in two hours with a four-pounder." Captain Black,
however, took possession of Astoria in the name of his Britannic majesty.
G.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
445
arge, sixty shillings
and rebaptized it by the name of " Fort George." He also insisted on
having an inventory taken of the valuable stock of furs, and all other
property purchased from the American company, with a view to the adop-
tion of ulterior proceedings in England for the recovery of tlie value from
the Norta-West Company ; but be subsefjueatly relinquished this idea, and
we heard no mure about his claims.
The Indians at the mouth of the Columbia knew well that Great
Britain and America were distinct nations, and that they were then at
war, but were ignorant of the arrangement made between Messrs. McDou-
gtd and McTavish, the former of whom still continued as nominal
chief at the fort. On the arrival of the Raccoon, which they quickly
discovered to be one of '*King George's fighting ships,"" they repaired,
armed, to the fort, and requested an audience of Mr. McDougal. He
was somewhat surprised at their numbers and warlike appearance, and
demanded the object of such an unusual visit. Comcomly, the principal
chief of the Chinooks, (whose daughter McDougal had married,) there-
upon addressed him in a long speech, in the course of which he said that
King George had sent a ship full of warriors, and loaded with nothing
but big guns, to take the Americans and make them all slaves, and that,
as tiiey (the Americans) were the first white men who settled in their
country, and treated the Indians like good relations, they had resolved to
defend them from King George's warriors, and were now ready to conceal
themselves in the woods close to the wharf, from whence they would be
able, with their guns and arrows, to shoot all the men that should attempt
to land from the English boats, while the peoj)Ie in the fort could fire at
them with their big guns and rifles. This proposition was uttered with
an earnestness of manner that admitted no doubt of its sincerity. Two
armed boats from the Raccoon were approaching; and, had the people
in the fort felt disposed to accede to the wishes of the Indians, every man
in them would have been destroyed by an invisible enemy. Mr. McDou-
gal thanked them for their friendly offer, but Jidded, that, notwithstanding
the nations were at war, the people in the boats would not injure him or
any of his people, and therefore requested them to throw by their war
shirts and arms, and receive the strangers as their friends. They at first
seemed astonished at this answer; but, on assuring them, in the most
positive manner, that he was under no apprehensions, they consented to
give up their weapons for a few days. They afterwards declared they
were sorry for having complied with Mr. McDongal's wishes ; for when
they observed Captain Black, surrounded by his officers and marines,
break the bottle of Port on the flag-staflF, and hoist the British ensign, after
changing the name of the fort, they remarked that, however we might
wish to conceal the fact, the Americans were undoubtedly made slaves;
and they were not convinced of their mistake until the sloop of war had
departed without taking any prisoners.
,-M [
>■■*;!
446
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[H.
11.
British Statement annexed to the Protocol of the sixth
Conference, held at London, December 16th, 1826, be-
tween Messrs. Huskisson and Addington, the British
Commissioners, and Mr. Gallatin, the Minister Pllnii-o-
TENTIARY OF THE UnITED StATES.*
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The government of Great Britain, in proposing to renew, for a further
term of years, the third article of the convention of 1818, respecting the
territory on the north-west coast of America, west of the Rocky Moun-
tains, regrets that it has been found impossible, in the present negotiation,
to agree upon aline of boundary which should separate those parts of that
territory, whicli might henceforward be occupied or settled by the subjects
of Great Britain, from the parts which would remain open to occupancy
and settlement by the United States.
To establish such a boundary must be the ultimate object of both
countries. With this object in contemplation, and from a persuasion that
a part of the dilKculties which have hitherto prevented its attainment is
to be attributed to a misconception, on the part of the United States, of
the claims and views of Great Britain in regard to the territory in ques-
tion, the British plenipotentiaries deem it advisable to bring under the
notice of the American plenipotentiary a full and explicit exposition of
those claims and views.
As preliminary to this discussion, it is highly desirable to mark dis-
tinctly the broad difference between the nature of the rights claimed by
Great Britain and those asserted by the United States, in respect to the
territory in question.
Over a large portion of that territory, namely, from the 4'2d degree
to the '10th degr'^c L.f nortli latitude, the United States claim full and ex-
clusive sovereignty.
Great Britain claims no cxclusioc sovrrn^ntif ovrr any portion of that
territory. Her present claim, not in respect to any part, but to the whole,
is limited to a right of joint occupancy, in common with other states,
leaving the right of exclusive dominion in abeyance.
In other words, the pretensions of the United States tend to the ejec-
tion of all other nations, and, among the rest, of Great Britain, from all
right of settlement in the district claimed by the United States.
The pretensions of Great Britain, on the contrary, tend to the mere
maintenance of her uwn rights, in resistaace to the exclusive character of
the pretensions of the United States.
Having thus stated the nature of the respective claims of the two
parties, the British plenipotentiaries will now examine the grounds on
which those claims are founded.
* This statement, published with the documents accompanying President Adams's
message to Congress of December TJth, li^27, is here inserted in full, chiefly because
reference is frequently made to it in the preceding History, in which its numerous
tiiisstdtements are exposed and refuted. See page 347 of the History, and other pages
to which reference is made bj' note.
H.]
PROOFS AND .'.LUSTRATIONS.
447
The claims of the United States arc urged upon three grounds :
1st. As resulting from their own proprr right.
2dly. As resulting from a right derived to them from Spain ; that
power having, by the treaty of Florida, concluded with the United States
in 1819, ceded to the latter all their rights and claims on the western
coast of America north of the 42d degree.
3diy. As resulting from a right derived to them from France, to
whom the United States succeeded, by treaty, in possession of the
province of Louisiana.
The first right, or right proper, of the United States, is founded on
the iilleged discovery of the Columbia River by Mr. Gray, of Boston,
who, in 1792, entered that river, and e.xplored it to some distance from
its mouth.
To this are added the first exploration, by Lewis and Clarke, of a
main branch of the same river, from its source downwards, and also the
alleged priority of settlement, by citizens of the United States, of the
country in the vicinity of the same river.
The second right, or right derived from Spain, is founded on the alleged
prior discovery of the region in dispute by Spanish navicr;it -i, of whom
the chief were, 1st, Cabrillo, who, in 154:1, visited that c< as far as 44
degrees north latitude; 2d, De Fuca, who, as it is afiirnied, in 1598,
entered the straits known by his name, in latitude 49 degrees; 3d,
Guelli, who, in 158*2, is said to have pushed his researches as high as
57 degrees north latitude; 4th, Perez, and others, who, between the years
1774 and 1792, visited Nootka Sound and the adjacent coasts.
The third right, derived from the cession of Louisiana to the United
States, is founded on the assumption that that province, its boundaries
never having been exactly defined lonffitudinol/i/, may fairly be as-
serted to extend westward across the Ilocky Mountains, to the shore
of the Pacific.
Before the merits of these respective claims are considered, it is
necessary to observe that one only out of the three can be valid.
They are, in fact, claims obviously incompatible the one with the
other. If, for example, the title of Spain by first discovery, or the title
of France as the original possessor of Louisiana, be valid, then must one
or the other of those kingdoms have been the lawful possessor of that
territory, at the moment when the United States claim to have discovered
it. If, on the other hand, the Americans were the first discoverers, there
is necessarily an end of the Spanish claim; and if priority of discovery
constitutes the title, that of France falls equally to the ground.
Upon the question, how far prior discovery constitutes a legal claim to
sovereignty, the law of nations is somewhat vague and undefined. It is,
however, admitted by the most approved writers that mere accidental
discovery, unattended by exploration — by formally taking possession in
the name of the discoverer's sovereign — by occupation and settlement,
more or less permanent — by purchase of the territory — or receiving the
sovereignty from the natives — constitutes the lowest degree of title, and
that it is only in proportion as first discovery is followed by any or all of
these acts, that such title is strengthened and confirmed.
The rights conferred by discovery, therefore, must be discussed on
their own merits.
But before the British plenipotentiaries proceed to compare the relative
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PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[H.
claims of Great Britain and the United States, in this respect, it will be
advisable to dispose of the two other grounds of right, put forward by the
United States.
The second ground of claim, advanced by the United States, is the
cession made by Spain to the United States, by the treaty of Florida,
in 1819.
If the conflicting claims of Great Britain and Spain, in respect to all
that part of the coast of North America, had not been finally adjusted by
the convention of Nootka, in the year 1790, and if all the arguments and
pretensions, whether resting on priority of discovery, or derived from any
other consideration, had not been definitively set at rest by the signature
of that convention, nothing would be more easy than to demonstrate that
the claims of Great Britain to that country, as opposed to those of Spain,
were so far from visionary, or arbitrarily assumed, that they established
more than a parity of title to the possession of the country in question,
either as against Spain, or any other nation.
Whatever that title may have been, however, either on the part of
Great Britain or on the part of Spain, prior to the convention of 1790, it
was from thenceforward no longer to be traced in vague narratives of
discoveries, several of them admitted to be apocryphal, but in the text and
stipulations of that convention itself.
By that convention it was agreed that all parts of the north-western
coast of America, not already occupied at that time by either of the con-
tracting parties, should thenceforward be equally open to the subjects
of both, for all purposes of commerce and settlement; the sovereignty
remaining in abeyance.
In this stipulation, as it has been already stated, all tracts of country
claimed by Spain and Great Britain, or accruing to either, in whatever
manner, were included.
The rights of Spain on that coast were, by the treaty of Florida, in
1819, conveyed by Spain to the United States. With those rights the
United States necessarily succeeded to the limitations by which they
were defined, and the obligations under which they were to be exercised.
From those obligations and limitations, as contracted towards Great
Britain, Great Britain cannot be expected gratuitously to release those
countries, merely because the rights of the party originally bound have
been transferred to a third power.
The third ground of claim of the United States rests on the right
supposed to be derived from the cession to them of Louisiana by
France.
In arguing this branch of the question, it will not be necessary to
examine in detail the very dubious point of the assumed extent of that
province, since, by the treaty between France and Spain of 1763, the
whole of that territory, defined or undefined, real or ideal, was ceded by
France to Spain, and, consequently, belonged to Spain, not only in 1790,
when the convention of Nootka was signed between Great Britain and
Spain, but also subsequently, in 1792, the period of Gray's discovery of
the nouth of the Columbia. If, then, Louisiana embraced the country
west of the Rocky Mountains, to the south of the 49th parallel of htitude,
it must have embraced the Columbia itself, which that parallel intersects;
and, consequently, Gray's discovery must have been made in a country
avowedly already appropriated to Spain, and, if so appropriated, neces<
. I
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Ills respect, it will be
It, put forward by the
United States, is the
he treaty of Florida,
lain, in respect to all
en finally adjusted by
all the arguments and
, or derived from any
rest by the signature
n to demonstrate thut
sed to those of Spain,
that they established
country in question,
either on the part of
ionvention of 1790, it
1 vague narratives of
al, but in the text and
of the north-western
I by either of the con-
open to the subjects
nent; the sovereignty
[ all tracts of country
.0 either, in whatever
treaty of Florida, in
Vith those rights the
tions by which they
were to be exercised,
acted towards Great
usly to release those
)riginally bound have
IS rests on the right
im of Louisiana by
not be necessary to
sumed extent of that
Spain of 1763, the
ideal, was ceded by
lin, not only in 1790,
;n Great Britain and
f Gray's discovery of
mbraced the country
th parallel of latitude,
at parallel intersects;
made in a country
appropriated, neces-
Hj
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
44d
//:
sarily included, with all other Spanish possessions and claims in that
quarter, in the stipulations of the Nootka convention.
Even if it could be shown, therefore, that the district west of the
Rocky Mountains was within the boundaries of Louisiana, that circum-
stance would in no way assist the claim of the United States.
It may, nevertheless, be worth while to expose, in a*few words, the
futility of the attempt to include that district within those boundaries.
For this purpose, it is only necessary to refer to the original grant of
Louisiana made to De Crozat by Louis XIV., shortly after its discovery
by La Salle. That province is therein expressly described as "the
country drained by the waters entering, directly or indirectly, into the
Mississippi." Now, unless it can be shown that any of the tributaries
of the Mississippi cross the Rocky Mountains from west to east, it is
difficult to conceive how any part of Louisiana can be found to the west
of that ridge.
There remains to be considered the first ground of claim advanced
by the United States to the territory in question, namely, that founded
on their own proper right as first discoverers and occupiers of that
territory.
If the discovery of the country in question, or rather the mere en-
trance into the mouth of the Columbia by a private American citizen, be,
as the United States assert, (although Great Britain is far from admitting
the correctness of the assertion,) a valid ground of national and exclusive
claim to all the country situated between the 42d and 49th parallels Of
latitude, then must any preceding discovery of the same country, by an
individual of any other nation, invest such nation with a more valid,
because a prior, claim to that country.
Now, to set aside, for the present, Drake, Cook, and Vancouver, who all
of them either took possession of, or touched at, various points of the coast
in question. Great Britain can show that in 1788 — that is, four years
before Gray entered the mouth of the Columbia River — Mr. Meares,*
a lieutenant of the royal navy, who had been sent by the East India
Company on a trading expedition to the north-west coast of America,
had already minutely explored that coast, from the 49th degree to the 45th
degree north latitude ; had taken formal possession of the Straits of De
Fuca, in the name of his sovereign ; had purchased land, trafficked and
formed treaties with the natives; and had actually entered the hdy of the
Columbia, to the northern headland of which he gave the name of Cape
Disappointment — a name which it bears to this day.
Dixon, Scott, Duncan, Strange, and other private British traders, had
also visited these shores and countries several years before Gray ; but the
single example of Meares suffices to quash Gray's claim to prior discovery.
To the other navigators above mentioned, therefore, it is unnecessary to
refer more particularly.
It may be worth while, however, to observe, with regard to Meares,
that his account of his voyages was published in London in August,
1790; that is, two years before Gray is even pretended to have entered
the Columbia.
To that account are appended, first, extracts from his log-book ;
secondly, maps of the coasts and harbors which he visited, in which every
fei!h:
Ml ;•
?v
See p. 177.
57
450
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[H.
K-:'
Hi
>^<i'i^.^/m^
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 sub-
sequent 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
entrance of De Fuca's Straits, executed after a design taken in June,
1788, by Meares himself.
With these physical evidences of authenticity, it is as needless to
contend for, as it is impossible to controvert, the truth of Meares's
statement.
It was only on the Mth of September, 1788, that the Washington,
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 flEivor
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 Columbia into the
Pacific, was the first to ascertain that this bay formed the outlet of a
great river — a discovery which had escaped Lieutenant Meares, when,
in 1788, four years before, he entered the same bay.
But can it be seriously urged that this single step in the progress of
discovery not only wholly supersedes the prior discoveries, both of the
bay and the coast, by Lieutenant Meares, but equally absorbs the subse-
quent exploration of the river by Captain Vancouver, for near a hundred
miles above the point to which Mr. Gray's ship had proceeded, the formal
taking possession of it by that British navigator,* in the name of his
sovereign, and also all the other discoveries, explorations, and temporary
possession and occupation of the ports and harbors on the const, as well
of the Pacific as within the Straits of De Fuca, up to the 49th parallel
of latitude ?
This pretension, however, extraordinary as it is, does not embrace
the whole of the claim which the United States build upon the limited
discovery of Mr. Gray, namely, that the bay of which Cape Disappoint-
ment is the northernmost headland, is, in fact, the embouchure of a
river. That mere ascertainment, it is asserted, confers on the United
States a title, in exclusive sovereignty, to the whole extent of country
drained by such river, and by all its tributary streams.
In support of this very extraordinary pretension, the United States
allege the- precedent of grants and charters accorded in former times to
companies and individuals, by various European sovereigns, over several
parts of the American continent. Amongst other instances are adduced
the charters granted by Elizabeth, James I., Charles II., and George II.,
to sundry British subjects and associations, as also the grant made by
Louis XIV. to De Crozat over the tract of country watered by the
Mississippi and its tributaries.
But can such charters be considered an acknowledged part of the
law of nations 7 Were they any thing more, in fact, than a cession to
the grantee or grantees of whatever rights the grantor might suppose
« See p. 248.
H.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
451
himself to possess, to the exclusion of other subjects of the same sov-
ereign? — charters binding and restraining those only who were within
the jurisdiction of the grantor, and of no force or validity against the
subjects of other states, until recognized by treaty, and thereby becom-
ing a part of international law.*
Had the United States thought proper to issue, in 1790, by virtue of
their national authority, a charter granting to Mr. Gray the whole extent
of country watered, directly or indirectly, by the River Columbia, such a
charter would, no doubt, have been valid in Mr. Gray's favor, as against
all other citizens of the United States. But can it be supposed that it
would have been acquiesced in by either of the powers. Great Britain
and Spain, which, in that same year, were preparing to contest by arms
the possession of the very country which would have been the subject of
such a grant ?
If the right of sovereignty over the territory in question accrues to
the United States by Mr. Gray's discovery, how happens it that they never
protested against the violence done to that right by the two powers, who,
by the convention of 1790, regulated their respective rights in and over a
district so belonging, as it is now asserted, to the United States?
This claim of the United States to the territory drained by the Co-
lumbia and its tributary streams, on the ground of one of their citizens
having been the first to discover the entrance of that river, has been here
so far entered into, not because it is considered to be necessarily entitled
t ) notice, since the whole country watered by the Columbia falls within
the provisions of the convention of 1790, but because the doctrine above
alluded to has been put forward so broadly, and with such confidence, by
the United States, that Great Britain considered it equally due to herself
and to other powers to enter her protest against it.
The United States further pretend tliat their claim to the country in
question is strengthened and confirmed by the discovery of the sources of
the Columbia, and by the exploration of its course to the sea by Lewis
and Clarke, in 1805-6.
In reply to this allegation, Great Britain affirms, and can distinctly
prove, that, if not before, at least in the same and subsequent years,
her North- Western Trading Company had, by means of their agent, Mr.
Thomson, already established their posts among the Flat-head and Koo-
tanie tribes, on the head-wates of the northern or main branch of the
Columbia, and were gradually extending them down the principal stream
of that river; thus giving to Great Britain, in this particular, again, as in
the discovery of the mouth of the river, a title to parity at least, if not
priority, of discovery, as opposed to the United States. It was from those
posts, that, having heard of the American establishment forming in 1811,
at the mouth of the river, Mr. Thomson hastened thither, descending the
river, to ascertain the nature of that establishment.t
Some stress having been laid by the United States on the restitution
to them of Fort George by the British, after the termination of the last
war, which restitution they represent as conveying a virtual acknowledg-
ment by Great Britain of the title of the United States to the country in
which that post was situated, — it is desirable to state, somewhat in detail,
the circumstances attending that restitution.
I I
II
.i''j
;l'l;
See p. 350.
t See p. 291, 297.
452
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[H.
!•
ii
liiiPI
ii
In the year 1815, a demand for the restoration of Fort George was
first made to Great Britain, by the American government, on the plea
that the first article of the treaty of Ghent stipulated the restitution
to the United States of all posts and places whatsoever, taken from them
by the British during the war, in which description Fort George (Astoria)
was included.
For some time the British government demurred to comply with the
demand of the United States, because they entertained doubts how far it
could be sustained by the construction of the treaty.
In the first place, the trading post called Fort Astoria (or Fort
George) was not a national possession ; in the second place, it was not
a military post ; and, thirdly, it was never captured from the Americans
by the British.
It was, in fact, conveyed in regular commercial transfer, and ac-
companied by a bill of sale, for a sum of money, to the British company,
who purchased it, by the American company, who sold it of their own
free will.
It is true that a British sloop of war had, about that time, been sent
to take possession of that post, but she arrived subsequently to the trans-
action above mentioned, between the two companies, and found the British
company already in legal occupation of their self -acquired property.
In consequence, however, of that ship having l)een sent out with
hostile views, although those views were not carried into efiect, and in
order that not even the shadow of a reflection might be cast upon the
good faith of the British government, the latter determined to give the
most liberal extension to the terms of the treaty of Ghent, and, in 1818,
the purchase which the British company had made in 1813 was restored
to the United States.*
Particular care, however, was taken, on this occasion, to prevent
any misapprehension as to the extent of the concession made by Great
Britain.
Viscount Castlereagh, in directing the British minister at Washington
to intimate the intention of the British government to Mr. Adams, then
secretary of state, uses these expressions, in a despatch dated 4th of
February, 1818: —
" You will observe, that, whilst this government is not disposed to
contest with the American government the point of possession as it
stood in the Columbia River at the moment of the rupture, thry are not
prepared to admit the validity of the title of the government of the United
States to this settlement.
" In signifying, therefore, to Mr. Adams the full acquiescence of your
government in the reoccupation of the limited position which the United
States held in that river at the breaking out of the war, you will at the
same time assert, in suitable terms, the claim of Great Britain to that terri-
tory, upon which the American settlement must be considered as an
encroachment."
This instruction was executed verbally by the person to whom it
was addressed.
The following is a transcript of the act by which the fort was
delivered up, by the British, into the hands of Mr. Prevost, the Amer-
ican agent: —
" See p. 309.
n.}
FROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
453
" In obedience to the command of H. R. H. the prince regent,
iignifird in a despatch from the rif^ht honorable the Earl Bathurst,
addressed to the partners or sigents ofthe North- West Company, bearing
date the 2Tth of January, 18 IS, and in obedience to a subsequent order,
dated the 2Gth July, from W. H. Sheriff, Esq., captain of H. M. 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. P. Prevost, Esq., the settlement of Fort George,
on the Columbia River.
"Given under our hands, in triplicate, at Fort George, (Columbia
River,) this tith day of October, 1818.
" F. HicKEY, Captain H. M. ship Blossom.
" J. Keith, of the N. W. Co."
The following is the despatch from Earl Bathurst to the partners of
the North-West Company, referred to in the above act of cession : —
" Downing Street, 27th January, 1818.
" Intelligence having been received that the United States sloop of
war Ontario has been sent by the American government to establish a
settlement on the Columbia River, which was held by that state, on
the breaking out of the last war, I am to acquaint you, that it is the
prince regent's pleasure {without, hoivever, admitting the right of that
gov(rnmmt to the possession in question) that, in pursuance of the first
article ofthe treaty of Ghent, due facility should be given to the reoccu-
pation ofthe said settlement by the officers ofthe United States; and I am
to desire that you would contribute as much as lies in your power to
the execution of his royal highness's commands.
" I have, &c. &c.,
" Bathurst.
" To the Partners or Agents ofthe North-West Company,
residing on the Columbia River."
'I !■;
erson to whom it
The above documents put the case of the restoration of Fort Astoria
in too clear a light to require further observation.
The case, then, of Great Britain, in respect to the country west of the
Rocky Mountains, is shortly this: —
Admitting that the United States have acquired all the rights which
Spain possessed, up to the treaty of Florida, either in virtue of discovery,
or, as is pretended, in right of Louisiana, Great Britain maintains that the
nature and extent of those rights, as well as of the rights of Great Britain,
are fixed and defined by the convention of Nootka ; that these rights are
equjil for both parties; and that, in succeeding to the rights of Spain,
under that convention, the United States must <iIso have succeeded to the
obligations which it imposed.
Admitting, further, the discovery of Mr. Gray, to the extent already
stated, Great Britain, taking the whole line of the coast in question, with
its straits, harbors, and bays, has stronger claims, on the ground of prior
discovery, attended with acts of occupancy and settlement, than the
United St-ates.
Whether, therefore, the United States rest their claims upon the title
454
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[a
«]
of Spain, or upon that of prior discovery, or upon both, Great Britain is
entitled to place her claims at least upon a parity with those of the
United States.
It is a fact, admitted by the United States, that, with the exception
of the Columbia River, there is no river which opens far into the intvrior,
on the whule western coast of the Pacific Ocean.
In the interior of the territory in question, the subjects of Great
Britain have had, for many yciirs, numerous settlements and trading
posts — several of these posts 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 navigate the Columbia as the sole
channel for the conveyance of their produce to the British stations nearest
the sea, and for the shipment of it from thence to Great Britain. It is
also by the Columbia and its tributary streams that these posts and
settlements receive their annual supplies from Great Britain.
In the whole of the territory in question, the citizens of the United
States have not a single settlement or trading post. They do not use
that river, either for the purpose of transmitting or receiving any produce
of their own, to or from other parts of the world.
In this state of the relative rights of the two countries, and of the
relative exercise of those rights, the United States claim the exclusive
possession of both banks of the Columbia, and, consequently, that of the
river itself; offering, it is true, to concede to British subjects a conditional
participation in that navigation, but subject, in any case, to the exclusive
jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States.
Great Britain, on her part, offers to make the river the boundary;
each country retaining the bank of the river contiguous to its own ter-
ritories, and the navigation of it remaining forever free, and upon a foot-
ing of perfect equality to both nations.
To carry into effect this proposal, on our part. Great Britain would
have to give up posts and settlements south of the Columbia. On the
part of the United States, there could be no reciprocal withdrawing from
actual occupation, as there is not, and never has been, a single American
citizen settled north of the Columbia.
The United States decline to accede to this proposal, even when
Great Britain has added to it the further offer of a most excellent harbor,
and an extensive tract of country on the Straits of De Fuca — a sacrifice
tendered in tlie spirit of accommodation, and for the sake of a final
adjustment of all differences, but which, having been made in this spirit,
is not to be considered as in any degree recognizing a claim on the part
of the United States, or as at all impairing the existing right of Great
Britain over the post and territory in question.
Such being the result of the recent negotiation, it only remains for
Great Britain to maintain and uphold the qualified rights which she now
possesses over the whole of the territory in question. These rights are
recorded and defined in the convention of Nootka.* They embrace the
right to navigate the waters of those countries, the right to settle in and
over any part of them, and the right freely to trade with the inhabitants
and occupiers of the same.
These rights have been peaceably exercised ever since the date of
* See considerations on the Nootka convention, at p. 213.
I
I.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
455
that convention ; that is, for a period of near forty year?. Under that
convention, valuable British interests have grown up in those countries.
It is fully 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 1S13, been exercised at all. But beyond
these rights they possess none.
To the interests and establishments which British industry and enter-
prise have created, Great Britain owes protection. That protection wih
be given, both as regards settlement and freedom of trade and navigation,
with every attention not to infringe the coordinate rights of the United
States; it being the earnest desire of the British government, so long
as the joint occupancy continues, to regulate its own obligations by the
same rule which governs the obligations of any other occupying party.
Fully sensible, at the same time, of the desirableness of a more
definite settlement, as between Great Britain and the United States, the
British government will be ready, at any time, to terminate the present
state of joint occupancy by an agreement of delimitation; but such
arrangement only can be admitted as shall not derogate from the rights
of Great Britain, as acknowledged by treaty, nor prejudice the advantages
which British subjects, under the same sanction, now enjoy in that part
of the world.
I.
Documents relating to the Hudson's Bay Company.
This company was incorporated by a charter from King Charles II.
of England, issued on the 16th of May, 1669; a few extracts from which
will be sufficient to show the powers of the company and the extent of its
territories under that grant.
(!•)
since the date of
His Majesty's Royal Charter to the Governor and Company of Hud-
son's Bay..
" Charles the Second, by the grace of God, king of England, dtc, to
all to whom these presents shall come. Greeting : Whereas our dearly
beloved cousin. Prince Rupert [and seventeen others, whose nam^s and
titles follow] have, at their own great cost and charges, undertaken an ex-
pedition for Hudson's Bay, in the north-west parts of America, for the dis-
covery of a new passage into the South Sea, and for the finding of some
trade for furs, minerals, and other considerable commodities ; and by such
their undertaking have already made such discoveries as do encourage them
to proceed farther in performance of their said design, by means whereof
there may probably arise great advantage to us and our kingdoms ; and
< I vi
^i,;-
456
PROOFS AND ILLCSTRATIONS.
[I
wherens the said undertakers, for their further encouragement in the snid
design, have humbly besought us to incorpornto them, nud to grant unto
them and their succesHors the whole trade and conunerce ol' all thuso
seas, straits and bays, rivers, hikes, creeks and soundM, in whatsoever lati*
tude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the straits commonly
called JIudsoii's Straitg, together with nil the lands, countries, and terri-
tories, upon the coasts and contines of the seas, straits, bays, lakes, rivers,
creeks, and sounds, aforesaid, which are not now actually possessed by
any of our subjects, or by the subjects of any other Christian prince
or state ; —
" Now, know ye, that we, being desirous to promote all endeavors that
may tend to the public good of our people, and to encourage the said
undertaking, have, of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere
motion, given, granted, ratified, and confirmed, and by these presents, for
us and our successors, do give, grant, ratify, and confirm, unto our said
cousin, Prince Rupert, &c., that they and such others as shall be ad-
mitted into the said society, as is hereafter expressed, shall be one body
corporate and politic, in deed and in name, by the name of T/ie (iovrmor
and Company of Advrnttirvrs of England trading into Hudnon's Bay,
• * * and at all times hereafter, shall be personable, and capal>le in
law, to have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy, and retain lands, rents,
privileges, liberties, jurisdiction, franchises, and hereditaments, of what
kind, nature, or quality soever they be, to them and their successors."
By succeeding sections of the charter, provisions are made — for the
election of a governor, a dipttty govtrnor, and a ronimittic of seven
members, who are to have the direction of all voyages, sales, and other
business of the company — for the election of new members — and for
holding, at particular periods, a general court of the company. The
first company and their successors are made lords proprietors of the
territories above mentioned, holding the lands " in free and conimou
socage, and not incapitc, or by knights' service;" and they are em-
powered to make all laws and regulations for the government of their
possessicms, which may " be reasonable, and not contrary or repugnant,
but as near as may be agreeable, to the laws, statutes, and customs," of
England. The whole trade, fishery, navigation, minerals, &-c., of the
countries, is granted to the company exclusively ; all others of the king's
subjects being forbidden to " visit, haunt, frequent, trade, trafiic, or
adventure," therein, under heavy penalties; and the company is more-
over empowered " to send ships, and to build fortifications, for the de-
fence of its possessions, as well as to make war or peace with all nations
or people, not Christian, inhabiting those territories, which are declared
to be thenceforth " reckoned and reputed as one of his majesty's plan-
tations or colonies, in America, called Rupert's Land."
Thus it will be seen, that the Hudson's Bay Company possessed by its
charter almost sovereign powers over the vast portion of America drained
by streams entering Hudson's Bay. With regard to the other countries
in British America, north and west of Canada, not included in the Hud-
son's Bay Company's possessions, and which were termed, generally, the
Indian countries, an act was passed on the llth of August, 1603, in the
43d year of the reign of King George HI., entitled,
d
4
PROOFS Xy^ ILLUSTRATIONS.
467
agcmcnt in the snid
I, niid to ^riint unto
iitiicrce of oil tliuso
I, in whatflocvcr lati*
he HtraitH commonly
countric8, and terri-
, bays, lakes, rivers,
Jtually possessed by
er Christian prince
te all endeavors that
encourage the said
lowledge, and mere
ly these presents, for
nfirm, unto our snid
hers as shall be ad-
I, shall be one body
me of T/i€ (itnurnor
into Hudson's liny,
able, and capable in
retain lands, rents,
reditaments, of wli.it
id their successors."
are made — for the
rommittrc of seven
tes, sales, and other
members — and for
the company. The
proprietors of the
free and comnioa
and they are em-
government of their
iitrary or repugnant,
and customs," of
inerals, &-c., of the
others of the king's
It, trade, traffic, or
J company is more-
ications, for the de-
face with ail nations
which are declared
his majesty's plan-
Iffrtrf."
any possessed by its
of America drained
the other countries
icluded in the Hud-
srmed, generally, the
iVugust, 1803, in the
(2.)
•• An Act for extending the Jurisdiction of the Courts of Justice in the
Provinces of Lower and Upper Canada to the Trial and Punishment
of Persons guilty of Crimes and Offences within certain Parts of
North America^ adjoining to the said Provinces."
By this act, oflfences committed within the Indian territories were to
be tried in the same manner as if committed within the provinces of
Lower and Upper Canada ; the governor of Lower Canada may em-
power persons to act as justices of the peace for the Indian territories,
for committing offenders until they are conveyed to Canada for trial, dtc.
This act remained in force until July 2d, \&l\ when was passed,
(3.)
•' An Act for regulating the Fur Trade, and establishing a Criminal and
Civil Jurisdiction, within certain Parts of North America*
" Whereas the competition in the fur trade between the Governor and
Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay, and cer-
tain associations of persons trading under the name of ' The North-West
Company of Montreal,' has been found, for some years past, to be pro-
ductive of great inconvenience and loss, not only to the said company and
associations, but to the said trade in general, and also of great injury to
the native Indians, and of other persons, subjects of his majesty : And
whereas the animosities and feuds arising from such competition have
also, fr)r some years past, kept the interior of America, to the northward
and westward of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and of the
territories of the United States of America, in a state of continued disturb-
ance: And whereas many breaches of the peace, and violence, extending
to the loss of lives, and considerable destruction of property have continu-
ally occurred therein : And whereas, for remedy of such evils, it is expe-
dient and necessary that some more effectual regulations should be estab-
lished for the apprehending, securing, and bringing to justice, all persons
committing such offences, and that his majesty should be empowered
to regulate the said trade : And whereas doubts have been entertained,
whether the provisions of an act passed in the forty-third year of the reign
of his late majesty. King George the Third, intituled 'An Act for extend-
ing the jurisdiction of the courts of justice in the provinces of Lower and
Upper Canada to the trial and punishment of persons guilty of crimes and
offences within certain parts of North America, adjoining to the said prov-
inces,' extended to the territories granted by charter to the said governor
and company ; and it is expedient that such doubts should be removed,
and that the said act should be further extended : Be it therefore
enacted, by the king's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, 'That, from and
I !
K.
68
Seep. 325.
458
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[t
i\h
after the passing of this act, it Hhali I>r Inwfiil for his mnjcHty, his hcirn or
successors, to make gruiitM or ^ivo \u» roytil li«'rns(>, under the hniui nml
seal of one of his mnjcHty's |)riiici|iiil Hccrctarius tif Mtiitc, to uuy body cor-
porate or company, or perHitn or p('rN<)U!<, of or for thu excUi.sivu privilc^^o
of trading with the Indians in all tiuch pnrtN of North Atnrrira ns Hhall hn
specified in any such grants or liceuHes respectively, not being part of
the lands or territories heretofore granted to the said (Jovernor and Com-
pany of Adventurers of Ktifjland trading to lluthon's Hay, and not bein^
part of any of his majesty's provinces in North Amrrira, or of any lands
or territories belonging to the United States o( Amerira ; and all such
grants and licenses shall be good, valid, and eflectual, for the purpose of
securing to all such bodies corporate, or conipiuiics, or persons, tlie sole
and exclusive privilege of trading with the liulians in all sucli parts nf
North America^ (except as hereinafter excepted,) as shall be specified in
such grants or licenses, any thing contained in any act or acts of Parlia-
ment, or any law, to the contrary notwithstanding.
" II. Provided always, and be it further enacted. That no such grant
or license, made or given by his majesty, his heirs or successors, of any
such exclusive privileges of trading with the Indinns in such parts of
North America as aforesaid, shall be m;idc or given for any longer period
than twenty-one years ; and no rent shiill be required or demanded for or
in respect of any such grant or license, or any privileges given therelty
under the prr>vision8 of this act, for the first period of twenty-one yeiirs ;
and from and af\er the expiration of such first period of twenty-one years,
it shall be lawful for his majesty, his heirs or successors, to reserve such
rents in any future grants or licenses to be made to the same or any other
parties, as shall be deemed just and reasonable, with security for the pay-
ment thereof; and such rents shall be deemed part of the land revenues
of his majesty, his heirs and successors, and be applied and accounted for
as the other land revenues of his majesty, his heirs or successors, shall,
at the time of payment of any such rent being made, be applied and ac-
counted for.
" III. And be it further enacted. That, from and after the passing of
this act, the Ciovernor and Company of Adventiirers trnding to IJiirlson's
Bay, and every body corporate, and company, and person, to whom every
such grant or license shall be made or given, as aforesaid, shall respec-
tively keep accurate registers of all persons in their employ in any parts
of North America, and shall, once in each year, return to his majesty's sec-
retaries of state accurate duplicates of such registers, and shall also enter
into such security as shall be required by his majesty for the due execu-
tion of all processes, criminal and civil, as well within the territories
included in any such grant, as within those granted by charter to the
Governor and Company of Adventurers trading to Ifiuhon's Bay, and for
the producing or delivering into safe custody, for purpose of trial, of all
persons in their employ or acting under their authority, who shall be
charged with ".uy criminal offence, and also for the due and faithful
observance of all such rules, regulations, and stipulations, as shall be con-
tained in any such grant or license, either for diminishing or preventing
the sale or distribution of spirituous liquors to the Indians, or for pro-
moting their moral and religious improvement, or for any other object
which his majesty may deem necessary for the remedy or prevention of
the other evils which have hitherto been found to exist.
I]
i'RUOrS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
469
" IV. And whorona, by a convontion entered into between his majesty
nnd the United Stiite.s of Aincrirn, it wiih stipulated and n^reed thut iitiy
country on tin; iiorth-wi'st coast of Americn to the westward of the iStonif
Mimntaiiii, sliould he Irui; and open to the citizciiH and suhjects of the
two powers, tor the term of ten yearn from the date of the signature of
that convention ; Be it therefore enacted, That nothing in this act con<
tamed shall be deemed or construed to authorize any body corporate,
company, or person, to whom his majcHty may have, under the provisions
of this act, made a grant or |,;ivcn a license of exclusive trade with the
Indians in such parts of North America as aforesaid, to claim or exercise
any such exclusive trade within the limits specified in the snid article, to
the prejudice or exclusion of any citizens of the said United States of
Amerira, who may be enj{a{(ed in the said trade : Provided always, that
no British subject shall trade with the Indians within such limits without
such ((rant or license as is by this act re(|uired.
" V. And be it declared and enacted. That the said act, passed in the
forty-third year of the reign of his late majesty, intituled An Act for er-
tenilinif the Jurisdiction of thr. courts of justice in the provinces of Lower
»;ir/ Upper Canada, to the trial and punishment of persons guilty of crimes
and ojf'rnccs within certain parts of North America adjoining to the said
provinces, and all the clauses nnd provisoes therein contained, shall be
deemed and construed, and it is and are hereby respectively declared, to
extend to and over, and to be in full force in and through, all the territo-
ries heretofore granted to the Company of Adventurers o( England trading
to Hudson's Bait ; any thing in any act or acts of Parliament, or this act,
or in any grant or charter to the company, to the contrary notwithstanding.
** VI. And be it further enacted. That, from and after the passing of
this act, the courts of judicature now existing, or which may be hereafter
established in the province of Upper Canada, shall have the same civil
jurisdiction, power, and authority, as well in the cognizance of suits as in
the issuing process, mesne and Anal, and in all other respects whatsoever,
within the said Indian territories, and other parts of America not within
the limits of either of the provinces of Lower or Upprr Canada, or of any
civil government of the United States, as the said courts have or are
invested with within the limits of the said provinces of Lower or Upper
Canada respectively ; and that all and every contract, agreement, debt,
li ibility, and demand whatsoever, made, entered into, incurred, or arising
within the said Indian territories and other parts of America, and all and
every wrong and injury to the person, or to propertif, real or personal, com-
mitted or done within the same, shall be, and be deemed to be, of the same
inlure, and be cognizable by the same courts, magistrates, or justices of the
peace, and be tried in the same manner, and subject to the same conse-
quences, in all respects, as if the same had been made, entered into, incurred,
arisen, committed, or done, within tlie said province of Upper Canada ; any
thing in any act or acts of Parliament, or grant, or charter, to the contrary
notwithstanding: Provided always, that all such suits and actions relating
to lands, or to any claims in respect of land, not being within the province
of Upper Canada, shall be decided according to the laws of that part of
the United Kingdom called England, and shall not l>e subject to or affected
by any local acts, statutes, or laws, of the legislature of Upper Canada.
" VII. And be it further enacted, That all process, writs, orders, judg-
ments, decrees, and acts whatsoever, to be issued, made, delivered, given,
and done, by or under the authority of the said courts, or either of them,
460
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[t
I 4
shall have tne same force, authority, and eflfect, within the said Indian
territory and other parts of Amrricn as aforesaid, as the same now have
within the said province of Upper Canada.
" VJIf. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the gov-
ernor, or lieutenant-governor, or person administering the government
for the time being, of Lower Canada, by commission under his hand and
seal, to authorize all persons who shall be appointed justices of the peace
under the provisions of this act, within the said Indian territories, or other
parts oi America as aforesaid, or any other person who shall be specially
named in any such commission, to act as a commissioner within the same,
for the purpose of executing, enforcing, and carrying into effect, all such
process, writs, orders, judgments, decrees, and acts, which shall be issued,
made, delivered, given, or done, by the said courts of judicature, and which
may require to be enforced and executed within the said Indian territo-
ries, or such other parts o( North America as aforesaid; and in case any
person or persons whatsoever, residing or being within the said Indian
territories, or such other parts of America as aforesaid, shall ' refuse to
obey or perform any such process, writ, order, judgment, decree, or act,
of the said courts, or shall resist or oppose the execution thereof, it shall
and may be lawful for the said justices of the peace or commissioners,
and they, or any of them, are, and is, hereby required, on the same being
proved before him, by the oath or atHdavit of one credible witness, to
commit the said person or persons so offending as aforesaid to custody,
in order to his or their being conveyed to Upper Canada ; and that it
shall be lawful for any such justice of the peace or commissioner, or any
person or persons acting under his authority, to convey, or cause to be
conveyed, such person or persons so offending as aforesaid to Upper Can-
ada, in pursuance of such process, writ, order, decree, judgment, or act ;
and such person and persons shall be committed to jail by the said court,
on his, her, or their being so brought into the said province of Upptr
Canada, by which such process, writ, order, decree, judgment, or act, was
issued, made, delivered, given, or done, until a final judgment or decree
shall have been pronounced in such suit, and shall have been duly per-
formed, and all costs paid, in cm^e such person or persons shall be a party
or parties in such suit, or until the trial of such suit shall have been con-
cluded, in case such person or persons shall be a witness or witnesses
therein : Provided always, that, if any person or persons, so apprehended as
aforesaid, shall enter into a bond recognizance to any such justice of the
peace or commissioner, with two sufficient sureties, to the satisfaction of
such justice of the peace or commissioner, or the said courts, conditioned
to obey and perform such process, writ, order, judgment, decree, or act, as
aforesaid, then and in such case it shall and may be lawful for the said
justice of the peace or commissioner, or the said courts, to discharge
such person or persons out of custody.
'* IX. And be it further enacted, That, in case such person or persons
shall not perform and fulfil the condition or conditions of such recogni-
zance, then and in such case it shall and may be lawftd for any such
justice or commissioner, and he is hereby required, to assign such recog-
nizance to the plaintiff or plaintiffs, in any suit in which such process,
writ, order, decree, judgment, or act, shall have been issued, made, deliv-
ered, given, or done, who may maintain an action in the said courts in his
own name against the said sureties, and recover against such sureties the
full amount of such loss or damage as such plaintiff shall prove to have
ll
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
461
been sustained by him, by reason of the original cause of action in respect
of which such process, writ, order, decree, judgment, or act, of the said
courts were issued, made, delivered, given, or done, as aforesaid, notwith-
standing any thing contained in any charter granted to the said Governor
and Company of Adventurers of England trading to Hudson's Bay.
" X. And be it further enacted. That it shall be lawful for his majesty,
if he shall deem it convenient so to do, to issue a commission or com-
missions to any person or persons to be and act as justices of the peace
within such parts oi America as aforesaid, as well within any territories
heretofore granted to the Company of Adventurers of England trading to
Hudson's Bay, as within the Indian territories of such other parts of
America as aforesaid ; and it shall be lawful for the court in the province
of Upper Canada, in' any case in which it shall appear expedient to have
any evidence taken by commission, or any facts or issue, or any cause or
suit, ascertained, to issue a commission to any three or more of such jus-
tices to take such evidence, and return the same, or try such issue, and
for that purpose to hold courts, and to issue subpcenas or other processes
to compel attendance of plaintiffs, defendants, jurors, witnesses, and all
other persons requisite and essential to the execution of the several pur-
poses for which such commission or commissions had issued, and with
the like power and authority as are vested in the courts of the said
province of Upper Canada; and any order, verdict, judgment, or decree,
that shall be made, found, declared, or published, by or before any court
or courts held under and by virtue of such commission or commissions,
shall be considered to be of as full eifect, and enforced in like manner, as
if the same had been made, found, declared, or published, within the juris-
diction of the court of the said province ; and at the time of issuing such
commission or commissions shall be declared the place or places where
such commission is to be opened, and the courts and proceedings there-
under held ; and it shall be at the same time provided how and by what
means the expenses of such commission, and the execution thereof, shall
be raised and provided for.
"XI. And be it further enacted. That it shall be lawful for his majesty,
notwithstanding any thing contained in this act, or in any charter granted
to the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading to
Hudson's Bay, from time to time, by any commission under the great
seal, to authorize and empthver any such persons so appointed justices of
the peace as aforesaid, to sit and hold courts of record for the trial of
criminal offences and misdemeanors, and also of civil causes; and it shall
be lawful for his majesty to order, direct, and authorize, the appointment
of proper officers to act in aid of such courts and justices wi;.iin the juris-
diction assigned to such courts .ind justices, in any such commission ;
any thing in this act, or in any charter of the Governor and Company of
Merchant Adventurers o( England trading to Hudson's Bay, to the con-
trary notwithstanding.
•' XII. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That such courts
shall be constituted, as to the number of justices to preside therein, and
as to such places within the said territories of the said company, or any
Indian territories, or other parts of North America as aforesaid, and the
times and manner of holding the same, as his majesty shall from time to
time order and direct ; but shall not try any offender upon any charge
or indictment for any felony made the subject of capital punishment, or
462
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[I^
. ''.5*,' '. <
11
m
p-
1 (
Mm
li. i >
for any ofTence, or passing sentence affecting the life of any offender, or
adjudge or cause any offender to suffer capital punishment or transporta-
tion, or take cognizance of or try any civil action or suit, in which the
cause of such suit or action shall exceed in value the amount or sum of
two hundred pounds ; and in every case of any offence subjecting the per-
son committing the same to capital punishment or transportation, the
court or any judge of any such court, or any justice or justices of the
peace, before whom any such offender shall be brought, shall commit such
offender to safe custody, and cause such offender to be sent in such custody
for trial in the court of the province of Upper Canada.
" XIII. And be it further enacted, That all judgments given in any
civil suit shall be subject to appeal to his majesty in council, in like
manner as in other cases in his majesty's province of Upper Canada, and
also in any case in which the right or title to any land shall be in
question.
" XIV. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act contained
shall be taken or construed to affect any right, privilege, authority, or
jurisdiction, which the Governor and Company of Adventurers trading to
Hudson's Bay are by law entitled to claim and exercise under their
charter ; but that all such rights, privileges, authorities, and jurisdictions,
shall remain in as full force, virtue, and effect, as if this act had never
been made; any thing in this act to the contrary notwithstanding."
Shortly before the passage of this act, the Hudson's Bay Company was
united with the North-West Company, or rather the latter was merged in
the former ; and on the 21st of December, 1821, the king made a
(4.)
" Grant of the exclusive Trade with the Indians of North America to
the Hudson's Bay Company"
of which the following are the terms : —
" And whereas the said Company of Adventurers of England, trading
into Hudson's Bay, and certain associations of persons trading under the
name of the North-West Company of Montreal, have respectively extended
the fur trade over many parts of North America, which had not been
before explored : And whereas the competition in the said trade has
been found, for some years past, to be productive of great inconvenience
and loss, not only to the said company and associations, but to the said
trade in general, and also of great injury to the native Indians, and of
other persons our subjects : And whereas the said Governor and Company
of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay. and William Mc-
Gillivray, of Montreal, in the province of Lower Canada, Esquire, Simon
McGillivray, of Suffolk Lane, in the city of London, merchant, and Edward
Ellice, of Spring Gardens, in the county of Middlesex, Esquire, have
represented to us, that they have entered into an agreement on the 26th
day of March last, for putting an end to the said competition, and carry-
II
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
46S
North America to
ing on the said trade for twenty-one years, commencing with the outfit of
1821, and ending with the returns of 1841, to be carried on in the name
of the said Governor and Company exclusively : And whereas the said
Governor and Company, and W. McGillivray, S. McGillivray, and E.
EUice, have humbly besought us to make a grant, and give our royal
license to them jointly, of and for the exclusive privilege of trading with
the Indians in North America, under the restrictions and upon the terms
and conditions specified in the said recited act : —
" Now, know ye, that we, being desirous of encouraging the said trade,
and remedying the evils which have arisen from the competition which
has heretofore existed therein, do grant and give our royal license, under
the hand and seal of one of our principal secretaries of state, to the said
Governor and Company, and W. McGillivray, S. McGillivray, and E. El-
lice, for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians, in all such
parts of North America, to the northward and westward of ttie lands and
territories belonging to the United Slates of America, as shall not form
part of any of our provinces in North America, or of any lands or terri-
tories belonging to the said United States of America, or to any European
government, state, or power; and we do by these presents give, grant,
and secure, to the said Governor and Company, and W . McGillivray, S.
McGillivray, and E. Ellice, jointly, the sole and exclusive privilege, for
the full period of twenty-one years from the date of this our grant, of
trading with the Indians in all such parts of North America as aforesaid,
(except as thereinafter excepted :) And we do hereby declare that no rent
shall be required or demanded for or in respect of this our grant and
license, or any privileges given thereby, for the said period of twenty-one
years, but that the said Governor and Company, and W. McGillivray, S.
McGillivray, and E. Ellice, shall, during the period of this our grant and
license, keep accurate registers of all persons in their employ, in any parts
of North America, and shall once in each year return to our secretary
of state accurate duplicates of all such registers, and shall also enter into
and give security to us, our heirs and successors, in the penal sum of five
thousand pounds, for insuring, ns far as in them may lie, the due execu-
tion of all the criminal processes, and of any civil process, in any suit,
where the matter in dispute shall exceed two hundred pounds, by the
officers and persons legally empowered to execute such processes, within
<nll the territories included in this our grant, and for the producing and
delivering into safe custody, for purposes of trial, any persons in their
employ or acting under their authority, within the said territories, who
may be charged with any criminal offence.
" And we do hereby require that the said Governor and Company, and
W. McGillivray, S. McGillivray, and E. Ellice, shall, as soon as the same
can be conveniently done, make and submit, for our consideration and
approval, such rules and regulations for the management and carrying on
the said fur trade with the Indians, and the conduct of the persons
employed by them therein, as may appear to us to be effectual, for gradu-
ally diminishing or ultimately preventing the sale and distribution of
spirituous liquors to the Indians, and for promoting their moral and
religious improvement. — And we do hereby declare that nothing in
this our grant contained shall be deemed or construed to authorize the
said Governor and Company, or W. McGillivray, S. McGillivray, and E.
Ellice, or any person in their employ, to claim or exercise any trade with
I »
M
464
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
p.
the Indians on the north-west coast of America, to the westward of the
Stony Mountains, to the prejudice or exclusion of any citizen of the
United States of America, who may be engaged in the said trade : Pro-
vided always, that no British subjects other than and except the said
Governor and Company, and the said W. McGiliivray, S. McGillivray, and
E. Eliice, and the persons authorized to carry on exclusive trade by them
on grant, shall trade with the Indians within such limits, during the
period of this our grant."
Under this license, the parlies to whom it was granted continued their
operations until 1824, when the claims of the Nortli-West Company were
extinguished by mutual consent ; the Hudson's Bay Company then became
the sole possessor of the privileges conceded, which were enjoyed by that
body until the expiration of the grant. Previous to that period, however,
a new grant was made to the company, entitled,
(5.)
" Chown Grant to the Hudson's Bay Company of the exclusive Trade
with the Indians in certain Parts of North America, for a Term of
twenty-one Years, and upon Surrender of a former Grant,"
which, after recapitulating the terms of the first grant, continues thus :
" And whereas the said Governor and Company have acquired to
themselves all the rights and interests of the said W. McGillivray, S.
McGillivray, and E. Eliice, under the said recited grant, and the said
Governor and Company have humbly besought us to Jiccept a surrender
of the said grant, and in consideration thereof to make a grant to them,
and give to them our royal license and authority of and for the like
exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians in North America, for the
like period, and upon similar terms and conditions to those specified and
referred to in the said recited grant : Now, know ye, that, in consideration
of the surrender made to us of the said recited grant, and being desirous
of encouraging the said trade, and of preventing as much as possible a
recurrence of the evils mentioned or referred to in the said recited grant,
as also in consideration of the yearly rent hereinafter reserved to us, we
do hereby grant and give our license, under the hand and seal of one of
our principal secretJiries of state, to the said Governor and Company, and
their successors, for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians in
all such parts of North America, to the northward and to the westward
of the lands and territories belonging to the United States of America, as
shall not form part of any of our provinces in North America, or of any
lands or territories belonging to the said United States of America, or to
any European government, state, or power, but subject, nevertheless, as
hereinafter mentioned : And we do, by these presents, give, grant, and
secure, to the said Governor and Company, and their successors, the sole
and exclusive privilege, for the full period of twenty-one years from the
date of this our grant, of trading with the Indians in all such parts of
North America as aforesaid, (except as hereinafter mentioned:) And we
p.
le westward of the
any citizen of the
le said trade : Pro-
id except the said
S. McGillivray, and
isive trade by them
limits, during the
led continued their
^est Company were
mpany then became
ere enjoyed by that
at period, however,
1.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
465
he exclusive Trade
ca, for a Term of
Grant,"
t, continues thus :
[ have acquired to
V. McGillivray, S.
rant, and the said
accept a surrender
ie a grant to them,
and for the like
America, for the
those specified and
at, in consi<leration
and l)eing desirous
much as possible a
said recited grant,
reserved to us, we
and seal of one of
and Company, and
with the Indians in
id to the westward
ates of America, as
America, or of any
of America, or to
ct, nevertheless, as
give, grant, and
■successors, the sole
one years from the
all such parts of
ntioned : ) And we
s
do hereby declare that no rent shall be required or demanded for or in
respect of this our grant and license, or any privileges given thereby for
the first four years of the said term of twenty-one years ; and we do hereby
reserve to ourselves, our heirs and successofv,, for the remainder of the
said term of twdnty-one years, the yearly rent or sum of five shillings, to be
paid by the said Governor and Company, or their successors, on the 1st
day of June, in every year, into our exchequer, on the account of us, our
heirs and successors : And we do hereby declare that the said Governor
and Comp.iny, and their successors, shall, during the period of this our
grant and license, keep accurate registers of all persons in their employ
in any parts of North America, and shall, once in each year, return to
our secretary of state accurate duplicates of such registers ; and shall also
enter into and give security to us, our heirs and successors, in the penal
sum of five thousand pounds, for insuring, as fur as in them may lie, or as
they can by their authority over the servants and persons in their employ,
the due execution of all criminal and civil processes by the officers and
persons legally empowered to execute such processes within all the terri-
tories included in this our grant, and for the producing or delivering into
custody, for the purposes of trial, all persons in their employ or acting
under their authority, within the said territories, who shall be charged with
any criminal otTence : And we do also hereby require that the said Gov-
ernor and Company, and their successors, shall, as soon as the same can
conveniently be done, make and submit for our consideration and approval,
such rules and regulations for the management and carrying on the said
fur trade with the Indians, and the conduct of the persons employed by
them therein, as may appear to us to be effectual for diminishing or pre-
venting the sale or distribution of spirituous liquors to the Indians, and
for promoting their moral and religious improvement : But we do hereby
declare that nothing in this our grant contained shall be deemed or con-
strued to authorize the said Governor and Company, or their successors,
or any persons in their employ, to claim or exercise any trade with the
Indians on the north-west coast of America, to the westward of the
Stony Mountains, to the prejudice or exclusion of any of the subjects of
any foreign states, who, under or by force of any convention for the time
being, between us and such foreign states respectively, may be entitled to,
and shall be engaged in, the said trade : Provided, nevertheless, and we
do hereby declare our pleasure to be, that nothing herein contained shall
extend or be construed to prevent the establishment by us, our heirs, or
successors, within the territories aforesaid, or tiny of them, of any colony
or colonies, province or provinces, or for annexing any part of the afore-
said territories to any existing colony or colonies to us in right of our
imperial crown belonging, or for constituting any such form of civil
government, as to us may seem meet, within any such colony or col-
onies, or provinces:
" And we do hereby reserve to us, our heirs and successors, full power
and authority to revoke these presents, or any part thereof, in so far as
the same may embrace or extend to any of the territories aforesaid, which
may hereafter be comprised within any colony or colonies, province or
provinces, as aforesaid :
" Tt !)eing, nevertheless, hereby declared that no British subjects, other
than and except the said Governor and Company, and their successors,
and the persons authorized to carry on exclusive trade by them, shall
o9
466
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[K.
trade with the Indians during the period of this our grant, within the
limits aforesaid, or within that part thereof which shall not be com*
prised within any such colony or province as aforesaid."
K.
Treaties and Conventions relative to the North-West
Territories of North America.
ifl 1 ••*
( i '
i ' I
A.'
(1.)
Convention between Great Britain and Spain, {commonly called the
NooTKA Treaty,) signed at the Escurial, October 28th, 1790.
Article 1. The buildings and tracts of land situated on the north-
west coast of the continent of North America, or on the islands adjacent
to that continent, of which the subjects of his Britannic majesty were dis-
possessed 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 nature of
the case, for all acts of violence or hostility which may have been com-
mitted subsequent to the month of April, 1789, by the subjects of either
of the contracting parties against the subjects of the other; and, in case
any of the said respective subjects shall, since the same period, have been
forcibly dispossessed of their lands, buildings, vessels, merchandise, and
other property, whatever, on the said continent, or on the seas and islands
adjacent, they shall be reestablished in the possession thereof, or a just com-
pensation shall be made to them for the losses which they have sustained.
Art. 3. In order to strengthen the bonds of friendship, and to pre-
serve in future a perfect harmony and good understanding, between the
two contracting parties, it is agreed that their respective subjects shall not
be disturbed or molested, either in navigating, or carrying on their fish-
eries, 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
settlements there ; the whole subject, nevertheless, to the restrictions
specified in the three following articles.
Art. 4. His Britannic majesty engages to take the most effectual
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 from
any part of the coasts already occupied by Spain.
Art. 5. 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 north-
HE NoRTH-WeST
K.]
PROOBS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
467
western coasts of North America, or of 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 of April, 1789, or shall hereafter make any, the subjects of the
othef shall hav6 free access, and shall carry on their trade without any
disturbance or molestation.
Art. 6. With respect to the eastern and western coasts of South
America, and to the islands adjacent, no settlement shall be formed here-
after 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 retain the liberty of landing on the coasts and islands so
situated for the purpose 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 them-
selves to commit any violence or act of force, shall be bound to make
an exact report of the affair and of its circumstances to their respective
courts, who will terminate such differences in an amicable manner.
I
(2.)
Convention between the United States of America and Great Britain^
signed at London, October 20M, 1818.
Article 2. It is agreed that a line drawn from the most north-western
point of the Lake of the Woods, along the 49th parallel 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
parallel, shall be the line of demarkation between the territories of the
United States and those of his Britannic majesty ; and that the said line
shall form the northern boundary of the said territories of the United
States, and the southern boundary of the territories of his Britannic
majesty, from the Lake of the Woods to the Stony Mountains.
Art. 3. It is agreed that any country that may be claimed by either
party on the north-west 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
vessels, citizens, and subjects, of the two powers; 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
differences among themselves.
468
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[K.
(3.)
Treaty of Amity, Settlement, and Limits, between the United States and
Spain, {commonly called the Florida TREAxy,) signed at Washing-
ton, February 2'ie/, 1819.
Article 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 3!2d degree of latitude; thence, by aline due north, to the degree
of latitude where it strikes the Uio Roxo of Natchitoches, or Red River;
then, following the course of the Rio Roxo westward, to the degree of
longitude 100 west from London and 23 from Washington ; then crossinir
the said Red River, and running thence, by a line due north, to llio
River Arkansas ; thence following the course of the southern l>iuik of the
Arkansas, to its source in latitude 42 nortli ; and thence, by that parallel
of latitude, to the South Sea; the whole being as laid down in Melish's
map of the United States, published at IMiiladelphia, improved to the 1st
of January, 18IS. But, if the source of the Arkansas River shall be found
to fall north or south of latitude 42, then the line shall run from the said
source due south or north, as the case may be, till it meets the said par-
allel of latitude 42, and thence, along the said parallel, to the South Sea;
all the islands in the Sabine, and the said Red and Arkansas Rivers,
throughout the course thus described, to belong to the United States; but
the use of the waters and the navigation of the Sabine to the sea, and of
the said Rivers Roxo and Arkansas, throughout the extent of the said
boundary, on their respective banks, shall be common to the respective
inhabitants of both nations.
The two high contracting parties agree to cede and renounce all their
rights, claims, and pretensions, to the territories described by the said
line ; that is to say, the United States hereby cede to his Catholic majesty,
and renounce forever, all their rights, claims, and pretensions, to the terri-
tories lying west and south of the above-described line; and, in like man-
ner, his Catholic majesty cedes to the said United States all his rights,
claims, and pretensions, to any territories east and north of the said line ;
and for himself, his heirs, and successors, renounces all claim to the said
territories forever.
(4.)
Convention between the United States and Russia, signed at St. Peters-
burg, on the j^j of April, 1824.
Article 1. It is agreed that, in any part of the great ocean, commonly
called the Pacific Ocean, or South Sea, the respective citizens or subjects
of the high contracting powers shall be neither disturbed nor restrained,
either in navigation or in fishing, or in the power of resorting to the
coasts, upon points which may not already have been occupied, for the
purpose of trading with the natives ; saving always the restrictions and
conditions determined by the following articles.
K.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
469
Art. 2. With the view of preventing the rights of navigation and of
fishing, exercised upon the great ocean by the citizens and subjects of
the high contracting powers, from becoming the pretext for an illicit
trade, it is agreed that the citizens of the United States shall not resort to
any point where there is a Russian establishment, without the permission
of the governor or commander ; and that, reciprocally, the subjects of
Russia shall not resort, without permission, to any establishment of the
United States upon the north-west coast.
Art. 3. It is, moreover, agreed that hereafter there shall not be
formed by the citizens of the United States, or under the authority of the
said States, any establishment upon the north-west coast of America, nor
in any of the islands adjacent, to the north of .54 degrees and 40 minutes
of north latitude ; and that, in the same manner, there shall be none
formed by Russian subjects, or under the authority of Russia, south of
the same parallel.
Art. 4. It is, nevertheless, understood that, during a term of ten
years, counting from the signature of the present convention, the ships of
both powers, or which belong to their citizens or subjects, respectively,
may reciprocally frequent, without any hindcrance whatever, the interior
seas, gulfs, harbors, ■'nd creeks, upon the coast mentioned in the pre-
ceding article, for the purpose of fishing and trading with the natives
of the country.
Art. 5. AH spirituous liquors, fire-arms, other arms, powder, and
munitions of war of every kind, are always excepted from this same com-
merce permitted by the preceding article; and the two powers engage,
reciprocally, neither to sell, nor suffer them to be sold, to the natives, by
their respective citizens and subjects, nor by any person who may be
under their authority. It is likewise stipulated, that this restriction shall
never afford a pretext, nor be advanced, in any case, to authorize either
search or detention of the vessels, seizure of the merchandise, or, in fine,
any measures of constraint whatever, towards the merchants or the crews
who may carry on this commerce; the high contracting powers recipro-
cally reserving to themselves to determine upon the penalties to be
incurred, and to ihflict the punishments in case of the contravention of
this article by their respective citizens or subjects.
(5.)
?ned at St. Peters-
Convention between Great Britain and Russia, signed at St. Peters-
burg, February ^|, 1825.
Article 1. It is agreed that the respective subjects of the high con-
tracting parties shall not be troubled or molested in any part of the ocean
commonly called the Pacific Ocean, either in navigating the same, in
fishing therein, or in landing at such parts of the coast as shall not have
been already occupied, in order to trade with the natives, ui>der the
restrictions and conditions specified in the following articles.
Art. 2. In order to prevent the right of navigating and fishing, exer-
cised upon the ocean by the subjects of the high contracting parties, from
becoming the pretext for an illicit commerce, it is agreed that the subjects
470
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
[K.
m
of bin Britannic majesty shnll not land at any place where there may be a
llusflian establishment, without the permission of the governor or com>
mnndant; and, on the other hnnd, that Russian subjects shall not land,
without permission, at any British establishment on the north-west coast.
Art. :). The line of demarkation between the possessions of the high
contracting parties, upon the cuust of the continent, and the islands of
America to the north-west, shall be drawn in the manner following : Com-
mencing from the southernmost point of the island called Prince ofWales's
Island, which point lies in the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes north
latitude, and between the 131st and the 133d degree of west longitude,
(meridian of Greenwich,) the said line shall ascend to the north along
the channel cnlled Portland Channel, as far as the point of the continent
where it strikes the r>Gth degree of north latitude. From this last-men-
tioned point, the line of demarkation shall follow the summit of the moun-
tains situated parallel to the coast, as far as the point of intersection of the
141st degree of west longitude, (of the same meridian.) And, finally,
from the said point of intersection, the said meridian line of the 141st
degree, in its prolongation as far as the Frozen Ocean, shall form the
limit between the Russian and British possessions on the continent of
America to the north-west.
Art. 4. With reference to the line of demarkation laid down in the
preceding article, it is understood —
1st. That the island called Prince of Wales's Island shall belong
wholly to Russia.
2d. That whenever the summit of the mountains which extend in a
direction parallel to the coast, from the 56th degree of north latitude to
the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude, shall prove
to be at the distance of more than ten marine leagues from the ocean, the
limit between the British possessions and the line of coast which is to
belong to Russia, as above mentioned, shall be formed by a line parallel to
the windings of the coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of
ten marine leagues therefrom.
Art. 5. It is, moreover, agreed that no establishment shall be formed
by either of the two parties within the limits assigned by the two preced-
ing articles to the possessions of the other ; consequently, British subjects
shall not form any establishment either upon the coast, or upon the border
of the continent comprised within the limits of the Russian possessions, as
designated in the two preceding articles ; and, in like manner, no estab-
lishment shall be formed by Russian subjects beyond the said limits.
Art. 6. It is understood that the subjects of his Britannic majesty,
from whatever quarter they may arrive, whether from the ocean or from
the interior of the continent, shall forever enjoy the right of navigating
freely, and without any hinderance whatever, all the rivers and streams
which, in their course towards the Pacific Ocean, may cross the line of
demarkation upon the line of coast described in article 3 of the present
convention.
Art. 7. It is also understood that, for the space of ten years from the
signature of the present convention, the vessels of the two powers, or
those belonging to their respective subjects, shall mutually be at liberty
to frequent, without any hinderance whatever, all the inland seas, the
gulfs, havens, and creeks, on the coast, mentioned in article 3, for the
purposes of fishing and of trading with the natives.
K.]
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
471
n laid down in the
sland shall belong
Art. 8. The port of Sitka, or Novo Archangelsk, shall be open to the
commerce and vessels of British subjects for the space of ten years from
the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the present convention. In
the event of an extension of this term of ten years being granted to any
other power, the like extension shall be granted also to Great Britain.
Art. 0. The above*mentioned liberty of commerce shall not apply to
the trade in spirituous liquors, in fire-arms, or other arms, gunpowder, or
other warlike stores ; the high contracting parties reciprocally engaging
not to permit the above-mentioned articles to be sold or delivered, m any
manner whatever, to the natives of the country.
Art. 10. Every British or Russian vessel navigating the Pacific
Ocean, which may be compelled by storms or by accident to take shelter
in the ports of the respective parties, shall be at liberty to refit therein,
to provide itself with all necessary stores, and to put to sea again, without
paying any other than port and lighthouse dues, which shall be the same
as those paid by national vessels. In case, however, the master of such
vessel should be under the necessity of disposing of a part of his merchan-
dise in order to defray his expenses, he shall conform himself to the regu-
lations and tariffs of the place where he may have landed.
Art. 11. In every case of complaint on account of an infraction of
the articles of the present convention, the civil and military authorities
of the high contracting parties, without previously acting, or taking any
forcible measure, shall make an exact and circumstantial report of the
matter to their respective courts, who engage to settle the same in a
friendly manner, and according to the principles of justice.
(6.)
Convention betteeen the United Slates and Great Britain, signed at
London, August 6th, 1827.
Article 1. All the provisions of the third article of the convention
concluded between the United States of America and his majesty the king
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, on the 20th of
October, 1818, shall be, and they are hereby, further indefinitely extended
and continued in force, in the same manner as if all the provisions of the
said article were herein specifically recited.
Art. 2. It shall be competent, however, to either of the contracting
parties, in case either should think fit, at any time after the 20th of Octo-
ber, 1828, on giving due notice of twelve months to the other contracting
party, to annul and abrogate this convention ; and it shall, in such case,
be accordingly entirely annulled and abrogated, after the expiration of the
said term of notice.
Art. 3. Nothing contained in this convention, or in the third article
of the convention of the 20th October, 1818, hereby continued in force,
shall be construed to impair, or in any manner affect, the claims which
either of the contracting parties may have to any part of the country west-
ward of the Stony or Rocky Mountains.
GENERAL INDEX.
GENERAL INDEX.
A.
Adams, John Q., United States minister
at St. Petersburg, correspondence with
the Russian government re8,)ecting
American traders on the nortli-west
coast, 275. Secretary of state of tiie
United States; negotiations with Spain
on tlie southern and western hmits of
the United States, 316. Correspond-
ence with the Russian minister at
Washington on the ukase of 1821,
332. Instructions to Mr. Rush, United
States minister at London, on claims
of the United SUtes, in 1H23, 340.
President of the United States ; message
recommending the adoption of measures
respecting Oregon, 344.
Aguilar, Martin de, voyage and supposed
discovery of a great river on the north-
west coast, 92.
Al'arcon, Hernando, voyage up the Cali-
fornian Gulf and the Colorado River, 60.
Aleutian Islands described, 41. Discov-
ered, 135.
Aliaska described, 41. Discovered, 132.
America. This name first given to Brazil
in 1508. Never used by Spanish govern-
ment and historians until recently, 48.
Anian, Strait of, said to have been dis-
covered by Cortereal, probably the same
now called Hudson's Strait, 47. Voy-
ages in search of it, 78. See Urdaiieta,
Ladrillero, Maldonado, Fonte, Vizcaino.
Archer, William S., his speech in ti»e
Senate of the United States on the bill
for the occupation of Oregon, 377, 384,
385.
Arteaga, Ignacio, voyage, 125.
Ashley, William II., conducts trading
expeditions from St. Louis to the
Rocky Mountain regions, 357.
Astoria established, 2!)(). Described, 2!)9
—313. Ceded to North- West Compa-
ny, 303. Taken bv Britisli, 304. Re-
stored to the United States, 30!>. Burnt,
313. See Pacific Fur Company.
Atlantis, Island, placed by Bacon on the
north-west coast, 97.
B.
Baranof, Alexander, governor of Russian
America, his character, 271. Founds
Sitka, 270. His mode of conducting
negotiations, 302. Seizes part of Cali-
fornia, 327. Attempts to seize one of
the Sandwich Islands, 328.
Becerra, Diego, voyage from Mexico by
order of Cortes, 54.
Benton, Thomas H., his speech in the
Sen.ale of the United States on the bill
for the occupation of Oregon, 380.
Benyowaky, August»:s, a Polish exile in
Kamtchatka, performs the first voyage
from that country to Canton, 138.
Bering, Alexander, first voyage from
Kamtchatka to the Arctic Sea, 129.
Second voyage, 12i). Third and last
voyage, 130. Reaches the American
continent, 131. Shipwreck and death,
133.
Bering's Strait discovered, 129. Described,
Berkeley, Captain, rediscovers the Strait
of Fuca ; murder of part of his crew off
Destruction Island, 171.
Berrien, John M., his speech in the Senate
of the United States on the bill for the
occupation of Oregon, 385.
Billings, Joseph, engaged by the empress
of Russia to explore the North Pacific,
162. His voyage produces no valuable
results, 221 .
Bodega y Quadra, Juan Francisco de, first
voyage, under Heceta, from Mexico,
along the north-west coast, 1 17. Impor-
tance of his discoveries, 123. Second
voyage, under Arteaga, 125. (See Mau-
relle.) Commissioner to treat with Van-
couver at Nootka, 231. (See Nootka
Convention.) Letter to Captains Gray
and Ingraiiam, 242, 443. Death, 2.55.
Brobdignag, placed by Swift on the north-
west coast, near Columbia River, 97.
Broughton, William, sent by Vancouver
to survey the lower part of tiie Co-
lumbia River, 247. Unfairness to the
Americans, 243. Sent to England, 249.
476
GENERAL INDEX.
Commands an exploring expedition in
the North Pacific, 25G. Finds Nootka
Sound deserted, ^57.
Bulfinch's Harbor discovered by Captain
Gray, of Boston, 2;{5. Examined l)y
Vancouver's lieutenant, Whidbey, 2ib.
Described, 24.
Caamano, Jacmto, voyage in the North-
West Archipelago, 241.
Cabeza-Vaca, Alvaro Nunez, journey from
Florida to the Californian Gulf, 57.
Cabot, John, and Sebastian, voyages, 47.
Cabrillo, Juan- Rodriguez, exploring voy-
age from Mexico, and death, (54.
Callioun, .lohn C, his speech in the Sen-
ate of the United States on the bill for
the occupation of Oregon, 382.
California, origin of the name unknown,
5.').
California, Peninsula of, described, 10.
Discovered ; fruitless attempts of the
Spaniards to settle, 1)0, Mr^. Jesuits
engage to civilize the inhabitants, it!).
Their partial success, 100. Their His-
tory of California, 101. Expulsion of
the Jesuits, lOG.
California, Continental, or New, described,
12. Discovered, r>e!. Settled by tiie
Spaniards, 10!). Claimed by Mexico,
'Ml. Attempted insurrection in, 3G7.
Recent events in, llGrt.
California, Gulf of, described, 9. Dis-
covered, .")4. Examined by Ulloa, 58;
and by Alarcon, 60.
Carver, Jon<athan, travels in the central
regions of North America, 141. Pre-
tended discov<'ry of a river called Ore-
gon, flowing into the Pacific, 142. His
accounts chiefly derived from old French
travellers, 144.
Cavendish, Thomas, voyage around the
world ; takes and burns a Spanish ship
near tiie coast of California, 77.
Cernienon, Sebastian, wrecked on the
coast of California, (W.
Choate, Rufus, hisspi-ech in tlie Senate of
the United States on the bill for the oc-
cupation of Oregiin, IlH.'i.
Cibola, a country or city north-west of
Mexico, discovered by Friar Marcos de
Niza, .")!). Supposed po-ition, ()2. Ex-
pedition of Vazquez de Coronado to
eontpier it, (Jl.
Clarke. Srr, Lewis and Clarke.
Clarke River discovered, 2(!'(). Described,
21.
Colnett, James, enofaged by Meares to
command the Arironaut, 180. Made
prisoner by the Spaniards at Nootka,
and sent to Mexico, IIt5. Lil)erated by
order of tlie viceroy of Mexico, 200.
Columbia. American trading ship, fitted
out at Boston, 179. Sails under Ken-
drick to the North Pacific, 180. Puts
into Juan Fernandez in distress, 181.
Reaches Nootka Sound, 181. Sails for
Canton and the United States, under
Captain Gray, 200. Second voyage
under Gray, 229. Winters at Clyo-
quot, 230. Discovery of tiie Columbia
River, 235. Sec Gray and Vancouver.
Columbia River, (called, also, Oregon,)
described, 21. Mouth seen by the Span-
ish commander Heceta, 120. Meares
seeks for it in vain, and denies its ex-
istence, 177. Mouth seen by the Amer-
ican Captain Gray, 181. Gray first en-
ters the river, 23ti. Lower part explored
by the British Lieutenant Broughton,
247, who unfairly pretends to have dis-
covered it, 248. Head-waters discov-
ered by Lewis and Clarke, who trace
the river thence to the sea, 285. British
plenipotentiaries claim the discovery for
Meares, 178.
Convention of 1790, between Great Brit-
ain and Spain, sec Nootka Convention.
Of 1818, between Great Britain and tiie
United States, concluded, 315, 4G7. Re-
newed in 1827 for an indefinite period,
:?54. Reflections on, 389. Of ls24,
between the United States and Russia,
concluded, 341, 4G8. Virtually abro-
gated by Russia, 342.
Cook, James, undertakes a voyage of
discovery in the North Pacific ; his in-
structions, 147. Discovers the Sand-
wich Islands, 150. Reaches Nootka
Sound, 151. Passes through Bering's
Straits, 156. Killed at the Sandwich
Islands, 157. Importance of his dis-
coveries, 158. Knew no particulars
of the recent Spanish voyages, 149;
thouirh he knew that such voyages
had been made, 152.
Coronado, Francisco Vazquez, expedition
from Mexico, to conquer the rich coun-
tries supposed to lie farther north-west,
Gl.
Cortereal, Caspar, discovers Labrador;
Strait of Anian said to have been
found by him, leading from the At-
lantic north-west to the Pacific, 47.
Cortes, Hernando, conquers Mexico, and
proposes to explore the coasts of that
country, 50. Expeditions made by his
order on the Pacific, 53. Leads an
expedition into California, 5.5. Super-
seded in the government of Mexico, to
which country he returns, 56. Claims
the right to make conquests in America;
returns to Spain, and dies, GO.
Dixon, George, voyage in the North Pa-
cific, 169. Dispute with Meares, 218.
Douglas, William, master of the Iphige-
nia; voyage under Meares to the North
I Pacific, 180. Puto
lez in distress, 181.
)und, 181. Sails for
Fnited States, under
0. Second voyage
Winters at Olyo-
pry of tiie Columbia '
Iray and Vancouver,
died, also, Oregon,)
itli seen by the Span-
eceta, 120. Meares
ri, and denies its ex-
th seen by the Amer-
,181. Gray first en-
Lower part explored
untenant Broughton,
pretends to have dis-
Head-waters discov-
1 Clarke, who trace
the sea, 285. British
aim the discovery for
between Great Brit-
Nootka Convention,
jreat Britain and the
3luded,3li>,4()7. Be-
an indefinite period,
on, 'MX Of l>s24,
d States and Russia,
IG8. Virtually abro-
42.
Ttakes a voyage of
lorth Pacific ; his in-
Discovers the Sand-
). Reaches Nootka
ics through Bering's
ed at the Sandwich
l)ortance of his dis-
new no particulars
anish voyages, 14!>;
that such voyages
i'i.
Vazquez, expedition
inquer the rich coun-
le farther north-west,
discovers Labrador ;
said to have been
iding from the At-
to the Pacific, 47.
nnquers Mexico, and
•e the coasts of that
editions made by his
;ific, .'')3. Leads an
ilifornia, .5.'). Super-
nment of Mexico, to
returns, .')6. Claims
onquests in America;
nd dies, GO.
ige in the North Pa-
(^with Meares, 218.
laster of the Iphige-
Meares to the North
GENERAL INDEX.
477
Pacific, 172. Taken prisoner by the
Spaniards at Nootka, 191. Released,
102.
Drake, Francis, voyage around the world,
72. Arrives in the North Pacific, and
lands on the American coast, 73. Re-
ceives from the natives the crown of
the country, which he calls New Albi-
on, and returnw to England, 74. Re-
view of accounts of his voyage in the
North Pacific, 7.'). Part of the coast
probably seen by him, 76.
Dufiin, Robert, mate of Meares's vessel,
enters the Strait of Fuca, 17G. Testi-
mony respecting events at Nootka, 244.
Falkland Islands, dispute between Great
Britain and Spain respecting them,
in. Lord Palmerston's letter to the
minister of Buenos Ayres on the sub-
ject of their occupation by Great Brit-
ain, 111—313.
Fidiilgo, Salvador, voyage of, 220.
FK'uricu, Clairet de, liis introduction to
the Journal of Marchands voyage, 223.
Admits the discovery of tlie Washing-
ton or North Marquesas Islands by
Ingraham, 22rf.
Floridii, tiie name applied originally by
tin; Spaniards to the whole eastern side
of America, north of the Mexican
Gulf, 55. Expeditions through it un-
der Narvaez, 57, and Soto, (i5. Ceded
to the United States, 3J6.
FonU', Admiriil, supposed voyage, in the
North Pacific, by a person so named,
84.
Forsyth, John, secretary of state of the
United States, instructions respecting
the meaning of the convention with
Russia, 3G2. Endeavors to procure in-
formation respecting the north-west
coast, 37(i.
Fox, ('iiarles J., his speech in Parliament
on the Nootka convention, 211.
Fuca, Juan de, voyage in the North
Pacific, and supji 'sed discovery of a
new passage leading to the Atlantic,
87, 4(17.
Fuca, Strait of, described, 24. Discovered
by J mm de Fuca, 87. Search for it by
Heceta, HO. By Cook, l.")0. Found by
Berkeley, 171. Rediscovery claimed by
Meares. 175. Entered by Gray, lO!*,
234. Kendrick passes through it, 200,
217. Surveyed by Vancouver, and Ga-
liano, and Valdes, 238.
Furs and fur trade, general account, 411.
See Russian American Company, Hud-
son's Bay Company, and North- West
Company.
G.
Gallatin, Albert, minister plenipotentiary
of the United States at London ; ne-
gotiations at London, 314, 344. Coun-
ter statement respecting the claims of
the United States, presented by him to
British commissioners, 347.
Gali, Francisco, his voyage, 68.
Galiano and Valdes, their voyage through
the Strait of Fuca, 240. Journal pub-
lished by the Spanish government;
Introduction to that Journal reviewed,
241.
Gray, Robert, first voyage to the North
Pacific, in command of the trading sloop
Washington, from Boston, 180. Sees
an o]>ening supposed to be the mouth of
the Columbia River, 181. First exam-
ines the east coast of Washington's or
Queen Charlotte's Island, 100. Knlers
tht> Strait of Fuca, 200. Returns to
Boston in the ship Columbia, 200.
Second voyage to tlie Nortii Pacific, in
the Columbia, 226, 220. Meets Van-
couver near tlie entrance of the Strait of
Fuca, and makes known his discovery
of the mouth of a great river, 233. Dis-
covers Bulfincli's Harbor, 235. Enters
the great river, which he names the
Columbia, 236. Makes known his dis-
covery to the Spanish commandant at
Nootka, 237. Letter of Gray and In-
graham to the Spanish commandant,
respecting the occurrences at Nootka
in 1780, 242, 413. Returns to the Unit-
ed States, 237.
H.
Harmon, D. W., important evidence
afforded by him respecting the first
trading posts established by the British
west of the Rocky Mountains, 201 .
Hawaii. Six Owyhee.
Hearne, Samuel, discoveries in the territo-
ry west of Hudson's Bay, 145. Reaehes
the Arctic Sen, at the mouth of Cop-
permine River, 146.
Heceta, Bruno, voyage along the north-
west coast of America, in 1775, 117.
Discovers a river, called by him Rio de
Sun liuqne, now called the Columbia,
120.
Henderson, John, speech in the Senate of
the United States on tlie bill for the
occupation of Oregon, 380.
Howi'l, account of the negotiation at
Nootka between Vancouver and Qua-
dra, 245.
Hudson, Henry, discovers Hudson's Bay,
07.
Hudson's Bny Company established by
charter, \)7. Efforts to discover a
478
GENERAL INDEX.
;,; S
north-west passage, 141. Disputes with
the North-West Company, aUO, 324.
Union of these two companies, o2ii.
Receives a grant of cxchisive trade in
the Indian territories, '.^'M. General
view of its system and establishments,
392. Papers relating to it, 4.')r>.
Hudson's Strait, probably tlic same called
by the Portuguese the Strait oJ\'i>uau,47.
Hunt, Wilson P., chief agent of the Pa-
cific Fur Company, 2i>5. His negotia-
tions with Governor liaranof at 'Sitka,
302.
Huntingdon, Jabez W., speech in the
Senate of the United States on the bill
for the occupation of Oregon, 382.
I.
Ingraham, Joseph, mate of the ship Co-
lumbia, in her first voyage from Boston
to the north-west coast, 180. Returns
to the Pacific as master of the brig
Hope, and discovers the Washing-
ton or North Marquesas Islands, 22G.
At the Sandwich Islands, 227. At
Queen Cliarlottes Island, 227. At Ma-
cao, where he meets Marchund, and
communicates his discovery of the
Washington Islands, the priority of
which is admitted by Marchaud and
Fleurieu, 22"*. At Nnotka, where he
writes a letter, signed by himself and
Gray, respecting tiie proceedings at
that place in 178!», 242. Copy ot that
letter, 414. Unfair synopsis of it by
Vancouver, 244. His journal, 231. His
death, 237.
Jesuits undertake the reduction of Cali-
fornia, !)!). Their system and establish-
ments, 100. Their History of Califor-
nia, 101. Expellfil from the Spanish
dominions, lOti. Results of their labors
in California, 107.
Jesup, Thomas S., quartermaster-general
of the United States ; report on the
best means of occupying Oregon, 336.
Effect of that report on the negotia-
tions in Europe, 337.
Jewitt, J. R., his captivity among the In-
dians at Nootka, 26S.
K.
Kamtchatka described, 42. Conquered
by the Cossacks, 128. Its position on
the Pacific ascertained, 12i).
Kendrick, John, commands the first trad-
ing expedition from the United States
to the North Pacific, 179. Arrives at
Nootka, 181. Sails in the sloop Wash-
ington through the Strait of Fuca,
2(10, 217. The first who engaged in
the transportation of sandal-wood from
the Sandwich Islands to Canton, 228.
His purchases of lands from the Indians
at Nootka ; accidentally killed, 229.
Kodiak Island, 40. Settlement on it by
the Russians, IGl.
Krenitzin and Levaschef, voyage of, 137.
Krusenstern, A. J. von, commands a
Russian exploring expedition to tiie
Pacific, 272. His great merit as a navi-
gator ; his journal of the expedition ;
etlicient in the reform of abuses in
Russian America, 274
L.
Ladrillero, Juan, an old Spanish pilot,
who pretended to have made a northern
voyage from tiie Atlantic to the Pacific,
79.
Ledyard, John, corporal of marines in
Cook's expedition, 149. Esca[)es from
a liritish sliip,otf the coast of Connecti-
cut, lt)2. Endeavors to obtain means
to engage in the fur trade ; attempts
to go by land from Paris to Kamt-
chalka ; arrested at Irkutsk, and
forced to return ; attempts to discover
the source of the ^ille, and dies at
Cairo, l()3.
Lewis, Meriwether, and John Clarke,
connnissioned by President JetVerson to
explore tlie Missouri and Columbia
countries, 284. Voyage up t!ie Mis-
souri to its sources ; passage through
tlie Rocky Mountains, 2H"). Descend
the Columbia to the Pacific; winter
iit the mouth of the Columbia, 281).
Return to the United States, 287. Gen-
eral results of tiieir expedition ; their
Journal written by Lewis ; melancholy
death of Lewis, 288.
Lewis, or Snake, or Sahaptin River,
principal southern branch of the Co-
lumbia, discovered by Lewisand Clarke,
287. Described, ;i2.
Linn, Lewis F., his bill and speeches in
the Senate of the United States on the
occupation of Oregon, !579, 387.
Louisiana, settled by the French ; grant-
ed by Louis XIV. to Cro/at, 227 ; and
atlerwards .to Law, 228. Ceded by
France to Spain ; retroceded by Spain
to F'rance, and sold by France to the
United States, 279. Its extent at dif-
ferent times, 280. Comprehended no
territory west of the Rocky Mountains,
283. Northern boundary not deter-
mined by commissaries agreeably to the
treaty of Utrecht, as generally sup-
posed, 281, 43G.
GENERAL INDEX.
479
'"^1
8 in the sloop Wash-
he Strait of Fuca,
■st who engaged in
of sandal-wood from
inds to Canton, 2*^6.
iida from the Indians
iitallv killed, 22'.K
yettlement on it by
chef, voyage of, 137.
von, commands a
; expedition to the
rreat merit as a navi-
1 of the expedition ;
}form of ahuscs in
a74
I old Spanish pilot,
lave made a northern
tlantic to the Facihc,
poral of marines in
14!>. E8ca|)es irom
le coast of Connecti-
ors to obtain means
fur trade °, attempts
om I'liris to Kamt-
at Irkutsk, and
ittempts to discover
i Nile, and dii's at
and John Clarke,
resident JelVerson to
)uri and Coluniliia
oyage up the Mis-
s ; passage through
lins, '-if^^i. Descend
the Pacific; winter
the Columbia, 'JfHi.
d States, '2>i7. Gen-
r expedition ; their
Lewis ; melancholy
fi.
r Sahaptin River,
braneli of the Co-
i)y Lewisand Clarke,
J.
)ill and speeches in
'iiited States on the
)!!, :{7i», :5.S7.
the French ; grant-
to Crozat, '227 ; and
a-J8. Cetled by
retroceded by Spain
d by France to the
Its extent at dif-
Comprehended no
Rocky Mountains,
undary not deter-
ries agreeably to the
as generally sup-
IV
M.
MacOougal, Duncan, partner in the Pa-
cific Company, 2\)4. Sells the estab-
lishments to tne North- West Company,
303. See Astoria.
MacDuifie, George, speech in the Senate
of the United States on the bill for the
occupation of Oregon, 380.
MacKenzie,Alexander, explores the north-
western parts of America; reaches the
Arctic Sea, 'M'i. Reaches the Pacific,
%4. MacKenzie River discovered by
MacKenzie, 2(>3.
Mac Roberts, Samuel, speech in the Senate
of the United States on the bill for the
occupation of Oregon, 382.
Magellan, Fernando, sails from the Atlan-
tic through Magellan's Strait into the
Pacific, and across the latter ocean to
India, 48.
Malaspina, Alexandro, explores the coasts
near Mount St. Elias, in search of a
passage supposed to communicate with
the Atlantic; arrested and imprisoned
on his return to Spain ; his name not
mentioned in the account of his voyage
officially published at Madrid, 2*22.
Maldonado, Lorenzo Ferrer de, account
of his pretended voyage from the At-
lantic to the Pacific, 79.
Maquinna, chief of Nootka, 167. Grants
land to Meares for his temporary use,
174. Denies that the British had bought
lands or erected buildings at Nootka,
242. Takes the ship Boston, of Boston,
and murders nearly all her crew, 268.
Marchand, Etienne, commands the ship
Solide, from Marseilles, in her voyage
around the world, 223. Sees the islands
which had been previously discovered
by Ingraham, of which he sent an ac-
count to France, claiming the discovery.
Ingraham's claim admitted by Fleu-
rieu, the editor of Marchand's Journal ;
Journal of Marchand's voyage, edited
by Fleurieu ; general character of the
work, 223. See Fleurieu.
Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan friar, pre-
tends to have discovered a rich and
populous country, called Cibola, north-
west of Mexico, 5!).
Marquesas Islands, discovered by Menda-
na, 95. North Marquesas or Washing-
ton Islands, discovered by Ingraham,
226. These islands occupied by the
French, 374.
Martinez, Estevan, pilot to Perez, in the
Santiago ; pretends to have rediscovered
the Strait of Fuca, 116. Commands
in a voyage of observation to the coasts
occupied by the Russians, 185. Or-
dered by the viceroy of Mexico to oc-
cupy Nootka Sound, 187. Arrives at
Nootka, 191. Seizes the Iphigenia,
but afterwards releases her, 192. Seizes
the North- West America, 194. Seizes
the Argonaut, and imprisons her cap-
tain, 195. Seizes the Princess Royal,
198. Reflections on these acts, 197.
Returns to Mexico, 198.
Maurelle, Antonio, pilot, under Bodega,
in his voyages along the north-west
coasts, 117 — 125. His Journal of the
first of these voyages, translated and
printed at London, 117. Importance
of this work, 123. His Journal of the
other voyage, 125.
Meares, John, his first voyage to the
north-west coast, 166. His second voy-
age, under the Portuguese flag, with
the Felice and Iphigenia, 172. In-
structed to take any vessels which
may attempt to molest him, but not in-
structed to form any establishment or
purchase lands, 173. Reasons for his
sailing under the Portuguese flag, 174.
Arrives in the Felice at Nootka, where
he obtains from Maquinna the use of a
piece of ground, afterwards claimed by
liim as purchased, 174. Receives from
Berkeley an account of the rediscovery
of the Strait of Fuca, by the latter, 171.
Yet claims the merit of^ the rediscoverj'
himself, 175. Seeks in vain for the
great River San Roque, (the Columbia^
as laid down on Spanish charts, 176.
Declares that no such river exists, 177.
Yet the British government claims the
discovery of the Columbia for him, 178,
440. His account of the arrival of the
sloop Washington at Nootka, 181. Re-
turns to China, 180. Sent to London,
to complain of the seizure of the vessels
at Nootka, by the Spaniards, 202. His
memorial to the British government,
203. Its numerous falsehoods and in-
consistencies, 172, 175, 178, 193, 211.
Mendocino, Cape, 18. Discovered, 65.
Mendoza, Antonio de, sent as viceroy to
supersede Cortes in the government of
Mexico, 56. Attempts to discover new
countries in America, 57.
Mendoza, Diego Hurtado, commands the
ships sent by Cortes to explore the Pa-
cific coasts of America, 53.
Metcalf, voyage of, fires on the natives
at Mowee, 224. Young Metcalf and
his crew murdered by the natives of
Owyhee, 225.
Moncachtabe, an Indian, his account of a
great river,flowing from the central parts
of North America to the Pacific, 145.
Monroe, James, secretary of state of the
United States, declares to the British
minister the intention of his govern-
ment to secure the possession of the
mouth of the Columbia, agreeably to
the treaty of Ghent, 307. President
of the United States; his message, de-
480
f'l
i I
:ih h 1
!^^ I '(
n^ M
GENERAL INDEX.
daring the Amcrienn continents not
subject to colonization by European
nations, 335.
Monterey discovered by Cabrillo, and so
named by Vizcaino, !(2. Colony es-
tablished there by the Spaniards, U)!>.
Taken by a Buenos Ayrean privateer,
365. Taken by an American stjuad-
ron, under Captain Jones, ;567.
Morehead, James T., speecli in the Sen-
ate of the United States on the bill
for the occupation of Oregon, 379.
N.
Navarrete, Martin F. de, chief of tiie Hy-
drograpliical Department at Madrid ; his
labors with regard to the history of ear-
ly voyages of discovery in America, 84.
Noolka Sound discovered by the Span-
iards under Perez, and called Port San
Lorenzo, 113. Cook enters it with
his ships, and calls it King George's
Sound, 153. The principal rendezvous
of the fur trader for some time, l(i7.
Proceedings of Meares at Nootka, 174.
The Spaniards determine to occupy it,
187. Proceedings of the Spaniards
under Martinez, 101. Claims of the
British to the possession of the country
examined, 242, 256. The Spaniards
abandon it, 257. Capture of the ship
Boston by the natives, and murder of
her crew, 268.
Nootka treaty, or convention of 1790,
between Great Britain and Spain, 450.
Discussions which led to it, 21)2 — 2()i).
(?:c Meares.) Review of its stipula-
tions, 213, 258. Expired in 1706, 258,
318. Not to be regarded as a definitive
settlement of principles, 340. Its con-
tinual subsistence asserted by Great
Britain, 340.
North-West Fur Trading Company of
Montreal founded ; its system, 261.
First posts established by it west of the
Rocky Mountains, 201. Purchases the
establishments of the Pacific Company,
304. Disputes with the Hudson's Bay
Company, 323. Union of the two com-
panies, 325.
o.
Oregon, river, so called by Carver, Bup-
uosed to flow from the central parts of
North America to the Pacific, 142. (6«c
Carver.) Name applied to the country
drained by the Columbia, 359. De-
scription of Oregon, 20.
Ossinobia, name given by Lord Selkirk
to the country purchased by him on
the Red River, 324.
Owyhee, or Hawaii, the largest of the
Sandwich Islands, discovered by Cook,
157.
Perez, Juan, voyage from Mexico along
the north-west coast to the 54th degree
of latitude, 114. Discovers Nootka
Sound, called by him Port San Loren-
zo, 116, 153.
Perouse, Francois G. de la, voyage along
apart of the north-west coast, 163.
Phelps, Samuel S., his speech in the
Senate of the United Stales on the bill
for the occupation of Oregon, 370.
Philippine Islands conquered by the
Spaniards, 67.
Poh'tica, Chevalier de, Russian minister
in the United States; correspondence
with the American government respect-
ing the ukase of 1H21, 332.
Promuschleniks, generuh name for the
Russians employed in the service of the
Russian American Trading Company,
Q.
Quadra and Vancouver's Island, 31, 240.
Quadra. See Bodega.
Queen Charlotte's or Washington's Is-
land, discovered by Perez, 115. Not
seen by Cook, 153, 170. Seen by La
Perouse, 164 ; and by Dixon, who gave
it its present name, 164. Its west coast
first explored by Gray, who names it
Washington's Island, 109. Described,
37.
Queen Charlotte's Sound, name first given
to the northern entrance of the Strait
of Fuca, 240.
R.
Rives, William C, his speech in the Sen-
ate of the United States on the bill for
the occupation of Oregon, 384.
Rocky Mountains described, 3. First
called the Shining Mountains, or Moun-
tains of Bright Stones, 143, 262.
Rush, Richard, minister plenipotentiary
of the United States at London ; discus-
sion with Lord Castlereagh respecting
the restoration of Astoria, 308. His
first negotiation respecting the claims
of the United States, 314. Concludes
a convention on the subject in 1818,
315. His second negotif ''on on the
subject, 336. Talent tjd industry dis-
played by him, 340.
Russia, government proposes an arrange-
ment with the United States respecting
the trade of American vessels in the
North Pacific, 275. Forbids foreign
i, tlie Inrgpst of the
, discovered by Cook,
! from Moxico along
ast to the r)4lh degree
Discovt'rs Nootka
him Fort San Loren-
r. de la, voyage along
i-west coast, 163.
., his speech in the
ited States on tlie bill
n of Oregon, [\7[).
conquered by the
de, Ilussinn minister
;ates ; correspondence
n government respect-
L-neral" name for the
d in the service of tho
n Trading Company,
a.
Ivor's Island, 31,240.
Ta.
or Washington's Is-
by Perez, 115. Not
'>3, 170. Seen by La
d by Dixon, who gave
e, 104. Its west coast
Gray, who names it
ind, 11)1). Described,
lound, name first given
ntrance of the Strait
lis speech in the Sen-
States on the bill for
Oregon, 384.
described, 3. First
Mountains, or Moun-
ones, 143, 262.
nister plenipotentiary
es at London ; discus-
astlereagh respecting
,f Astoria, 308. His
respecting the claims
ites, 314. Concludes
the subject in 1818,
negotif'''.'>n on the
lent f-'d industry dis-
40.
t proposes an arrange-
ited States respecting
erican vessels in the
175. Forbids foreign
GENERAL INDEX.
481
vessels from trading in the North Pa-
cific, 332. (See -.Ukase.) Convention
with the United States, 342. Treaty
with Gieat Britain, 343. Convention
with the United States virtually abro-
gated by that treaty, :S43. Ret uses to
renew the fourth article of the conven-
tion with the United States, 362.
Russian American Company established
by charter, 260. Its territories, 38.
Its system, 270. Abuses in the admin-
istration of its possessions, 271. Many
abuses removed, 274. Renewal of its
charter ; great improvement in its sys-
tem, 364. Leases a part of its terri-
tories to the Hudson's Bay Company,
364.
Russians conquer Northern Asia, 127.
Their discoveries in the North Pacific,
131, et acq.
San Diego, 15. Discovered by Vizcaino,
92. The first Spanish colony on the west
coast of California planted there, 10!).
San Francisco Bay, 17. The northern-
most spot on the west coast of America
occupied by the Spaniards previous to
May, 178!), 248.
San Lucas, Cape, the southern extremity
of California, 10.
San Roque, river so called by the Span-
iards, the same now called the Colum-
bia, discovered, 120.
Sandwich Islands described, 374. Dis-
covered 'uy Cook, 157. Frequented by
the Fur Traders, 108. Capture of the
schooner Fair American by the na-
tives, 225. Pretended cession of Owy-
hee to Great Britain by Taniahamaha,
251. Tamahamphu sovereign of the
whole group, 268. Death of Tama-
hamaha, 229. Christianity introduced
into the islands, 3'30. Proceedings of
the American missionaries; language
of the islands, 369. Expulsion of the
Catholic missionaries, and their rein-
statement, 371. The British occupy the
islands temporarily, 373. Diminution
of the native population, 374. See.
Cook, Tamahamaha, Metcalf, Vancou-
ver, Ingraham.
Santa Barbara Islands, 15. Discovered
by Cabrillo, 64.
Schelikof, Gregory, establishes Russian
colonies on the coasts and islands of
America, 161. Tho founder of the
Russian American Company, 269.
Sevier, Ambrose, speech in the Senate of
the United States on the bill for the
occupation of Oregon. 380.
Sitka, or New Archangel, capital of Rus-
sian America, 40. Founded bv Ba-
ranof, 270.
61
Snake River. See Lewis River.
South Pass in the Rocky Mountains, 36.
Discovered by Ashley, 357.
Sutil and Mexicana, voyage of, 239, 241.
See Guliano and Valdes.
T.
Tamahamaha, a chief of note in Owyhee,
168. King of Owyhee, 249. Pretend-
ed cession of the sovereignty of his
island to the British, 251. Acquires the
dominion over all the islands, 268. His
acuteness in trade, 269, 296. His death
and character, '32!).
Tchirikof, Alexei, voyages of, 129, 130,
133. See Bering.
Treaty of purtition between Spain and
Portugal in 1494, 46. Of Saragossa,
between the same powers, in 152i», 49.
Tlie American treaty between Spain
and England, in 1670, 102. Treaty of
Utrecht, between Great Britain and
France, in 1713, 140. No line of bound-
ary between the possessions of those
powers settled by that treaty, 140, 281,
4;J6. Family Compact, in 1762, be-
tween France and Spain, 103. Dis-
solved, 207. Treaty of Versadles, be-
tween England, France, Spain, and
Portugal, in 1763, 102, 278. Nootka
treaty, of 1790, between Great Britain
and Spain, 209, 258, 318, 466. Treaty
of 1800, by which Spain ceded Louis-
iana to France, 276, 279. Treaty of
1803, by which France ceded Louis-
iana to the United States, 276, 279.
Treaty of Ghent, in 1814, between the
United States and Great Britain, 306.
Florida treaty between the United
States and Spain, in 1819, 316, 468.
Treaty between Great Britain and Rus-
sia, in 1825, 342, 469. Treaty between
the United States and Great Britain,
settling boundaries east of the Lake of
the Woods, 377. See Conventions.
Tyler, John, president of the United
States; message respecting the Sand-
wich Islands, 372. Message respecting
Oregon, 377.
u.
Ukase of the Russian government, pro-
liibiting vessels of oOier nations ffom
frequenting the North Pacific coasts,
322. Correspondence respecting it, be-
tween the secretary of state of the
United States and the Russian plenipo-
tentiary, at Washington, 333. Protest of
the British government against it, '335.
Ulloa, Francisco, voyage through the
Gulf of California and along the west
coast, 58.
\
483
oeneraij index.
1 ^'<
Ulloa, Antonio, secret information afford-
ed by him to the Spanish government,
respecting the state of tlio Spanish
provinces in South America, in 1740,
105.
Unalashka Island, 40. Visited by Cook,
155, who there first meets with Rus-
sians, 156.
United States, first voyages of their citi-
zens to the Pacific and to China, 179.
First voyages to the* north-west coast
of America, 180. Their citizens' alone
can occupy Oregon, 403.
Urdaiieta, Andres de, discovers the mode
of crossing the Pacific from west to
east, 67. Supposed to have discovered
a northern passage between the Atlan-
tic and Pacific, 78.
Utah Salt Lake, 20.
V.
Vancouver, George, sails from England
on an exploring voyage to the Pacific,
and as commissioner on the part of
Great Britain to receive the lands and
buildings to be restored by Spain,
agreeably to the Nootka convention,
217. Reaches the north-west coast
of America, 232. Declares that no
river or harbor of consequence is to be
found between the 40th and the 4Sth
degree of latitude, 233. Meets Gray,
and receives from him an account of
the discovery of a great river, 232,
which he disbelieves, 233. Enters the
Strait of Fuca ; explores Admiralty In-
let, and takes possession of the whole
surrounding territory, 238. Remarks
on this act; meets Galiano and Val-
des, and continues the survey of the
strait, 239. Passes through tlie strait,
and arrives at Nootka, 240. Claims
the discovery of the Washington or
North Marquesas Islands for Hergest,
though he knew them to have been
first seen by the Americans, 242. Ne-
gotiations with the Spanish commis-
sioner Quadra, 242. Claims the whole
territory around Nootka for Great Brit-
ain, 243. His unfair synopsis of the
letter of Gray and Ingraham, 244, 417.
Receives accounts and charts of Gray's
discoveries from Quadra; sends Brongh-
ton to examine Columbia River, 247.
At the Sandwich Islands, executes per-
sons falsely charged with the murder
of his officers, 249. Examines a large
portion of the north-west coasts, and
returns to the Sandwich Islands, 250.
Pretended cession of Owyhee to him
for his sovereign, 251. Circumstances
connected with that affair, 252. Re-
turns to the north-west coast, of which
he completes tlie survey, 254. Names
given by him to places, 255. Returns
to England ; his death ; great value
of his journal; his hatred of Ameri-
cans, and constant injustice towards
them, 256.
Vizcaino, Sebastian, exploring voyage
along the north-west coast, 91. De-
sires to found colonies on those coasts,
94. Death, 95.
w.
Washington's or Queen Charlotte's Is-
land, east coast first explored by Gray,
199.
Washington or North Marquesas Islands,
discovered by Ingraham, 226. Discov-
ery claimed by Marchand, who, how-
ever, admits the priority of Ingraham's
claim, 228. Discovery claimed by Van-
couver for Hergest, 2i42. Occupied by
the French, 374.
Webster, Daniel, secretary of state of the
United States, concludes a treaty with
Lord Ashburton, settling the boundaries
east of the Lake of the Woods, 377.
Whidbey surveys Bulfinch's Harbor, 246.
Wiccanish, king of Nittinat, 167.
Wilkes, Charles, his voyage of explora-
tion in the Pacific, 376.
Willamet, river and valley, 26 First
settlements of citizens of the United
States there, 361.
Woodbury, Levi, speech in the Senate
of the United States on the bill for the
occupation of Oregon, 379.
Wyeth, Nathaniel, endeavors to establish
trading posts on the Columbia, 359.
Great value of his accounts of Oregon,
360.
; .r.i , .
-.-f
' .1.
m /
• f
BIBLIOTHEC:! ]
Ottaviens^ -^
a
M ^ ^
!^'i
t^i
iuadra; aends Brough-
Dolumbia River, 5447.
lalands, executes per-
ged with the murder
D. Examines a large
>rth-we8t coauts, and
iiidwich Islands, 1250.
1 of Owyhee to him
251. Circumstances
;hat affair, 252. Re-
-west coast, of which
survey, 254. Names
places, 255. Returns
death ; great value
his hatred of Anieri-
nt injustice towards
I, exploring voyage
vest coast, 91. De-
Dnies on those coasts,
ueen Charlotte's Is-
rst explored by Gray,
h Marquesas Islands,
raham, 'iSSo. Discov-
archand, who, how-
iriority of Ingraham's
very claimed by Van-
t, 1^2. Occupied by
sretary of state of the
irludes a treaty with
>ttling the boundaries
r the Woods, 377.
tlfinch's Harbor, 246.
iittinat, 167.
voyage of explora-
376.
i valley, 26 First
izens of the United
X
eech in the Senate
:es on the bill for the
:on, 379.
udeavors to establish
the Columbia, 359.
accounts of Oregon,
' .1..