190
THE WEST SHORE.
July.
HKAl'TY'S LAMENT.
BY KU H v.. uoxTKlt, (Forest Grove.
I staal upon the dampened und
Wi.n li marks old Ocean's sway,
Anil witli totny akin to praise
I watch the king of day,
Km v'n . from fas zenith home,
' An 1 hasting toward thu West,
With coiifl'lonco inpnnt he sinks
Upon old Owip'l Weiwt.
Ami liht he rtndath as they meet
In broken ban u'oii tu my feet.
The ti l') hold liack the restless wave,
Tbi r.Vt ajijtenrto view,
FnlgbUd with life of varied forms
A IllimtfOll. a . n.tii'u crew,
i hurmit-crab look with cunning leer
Tlioii l.. ! in lit iijrrowtj cell, ,
And tlio utar-fldi oltogl with tenacioui bold
To the ruck it luvca so well.
Tim Mi WlldV plumes with grace and eaw?
M i't lowly btad to the paining bree4).
In each bfiOJf pool by the hull, cased roc k
Th pojjp it leauti(ul fringe has spread.
Bur). Nature ban given all dulicuto tints
To this truant of the ocean bed.
I feel, a.t 1 guu in gtai surprise
Upm the scene spread out to in'',
That bounty hits made her dwelling plana
Amid the -J.-!, of the sea.
When, imsuen by mini, unconfined by wall-,
ydte ralgtu lUprtmi 'mid Ocean's balls.
Tin- thought has scarculy taken shapo
When there appears truui out the spray
A bttuUflfl form of noble mien
, ' Of spliit nud not of claj.
One hand lio holds uvor the sea,
llie I 1.1 toward the lantl,
Saying, 11 1 am the Creator' eldest born
Anil it ii at his command
I j;iitit for yon the ocean's shell
Aji'l the II jwnrs of the laud as well.
1 Yi;s, I pfjnt with care each leaf, each flower,
M iking Dm world a beauteous stage
From year lo year, whore man may act,
At will, (he tool or sage.
M iy bo a ble-iMiig to his race,
liiving tvfim on Heaven's verge;
Or, to bis fulluH -man may be,
'Tb'i surest, dmlllut scourgu;'
Mty ! I or slight Mch Ifon giftn
To draw hu wamlering thoughts to llcavrn.
"I thought o uiake tlji home fur man
In baauty hko the world above,
TO bind his heart with silken OOfdl
To thl OHO whose heart is love.
Hut mi into my Kdeu cams
tjuenrhing the soul's celestial light,
An I now, wheniW 1 turn my U0,
I sou iUdntlly, withering blight,
I try, but ah t I try in rain,
I cannot hide ton's feartul stain."
HISTORICAL ADVENTURES
ON THE PACIFIC COAST.
l.v UK 9, Ki l". VICTOR.
TUB RPAN1S1I D1SCOVBRBRI,
The hiitorj orthc Northwest Coait,
very little understood, und extending
ovei .i period of more than three hun
dred years, is one 10 advent uroui und
romantic Hint even the most inveter.ite
novel-render could not Pall to find in it
the mine olementa of dramatic situation!
ami wonderful events that give to fic
tion its charm, We are not ncais.
t mud to think of Oregon as Spanish
territory; and yet ouch it wm accord
ing to the law of discovery three hun
dred and lirty yean ago, though it had
only been seen from the deck of a
Spanish sailing craft
The history of Spain, during the let
tei pari of the fifteenth and the first
half of the sixteenth centuries, surpasses
In brilliancy of achievement that of any
other nation or period since the be
Kiuninn if the Christian era. The in
tellectual darkness that had Wooded
OVO! I'm one lor a thousand mm ..
way to a ftosh and glorious dawn In
the fourteenth cvuturr, whieh was to!-
lowed by a vigorous revival of com
merce, it, ami learning, creattag the
world anew out of the ruins of peat dvlli
Rations. Charles Vnof Spain, Wis the
moat fortunate of tt,c mouarehs of
(Mtristendom, whom the new Impulse
of eventi benefitted, Portugal had
both taking the lead as maritime
power, when a single Individual ap.
peered w ho transferred the ssroiatlencs
to Spain, who, theneelorw aid for long
n'oryrlarit In iff? bv t. HsmuH All -MM -1
I period of time, possessed the most pow
erful navy and the most adventurous
people of that adventurous period.
The main impulse which led to the
greatness of Spain, was one that pic
vailed among all the maritime powers
of Europe the desire to discover
discoveries in an eastern! though the
crafty Spaniards had not forgotten to
avail themselves of the omission.
When, in 1513, Yasco Nunez de
Balboa, Governor of the colony of Da
Hen, led by guides who assured him
that from the summit of a certain high
sea-route to India, and to facilitate a mountain he could sec two oceans at
commerce which hitherto had been one time, beheld the blue expanse of
carried on overland by a class of mer-1 the Pacific, (which he mistook for the
chants whom we should denominate desired Indian Ocean) the history of
peddlers. j this Pacific Coast began to be shadowed
Pope Nicholas Y as early as liU. out. Makintr an excursion, which in
1 had issued a hill for the encouragement
of Portuguese commerce, giving them
exclusive right of navigation of all
vvaters, and the conquest of all lands
that day must have more than equalled
the more modern one of Lieut. Strain,
the noble Spaniard descended to the
shore of this unknow 11 sea, ami w&ding
discovered by them in their search tori into it waist-deep, took possession of it
entrance to the Indian sea. The J and of all lands washed by It, for the
geographers of the liftccnth century Government of Spain. It was this act,
1 hail very artless ideas of the sie and
; shape of the earth. They knew, how
ever, that oceans hounded the conti-
I ncnts, anil they had a prophetic sense
J that some communication existed be
tween those great seas of whose real
1 extent they were yet very ignorant.
The fact of Portugal having
three hundred and sixty-four years ago,
which made Oregon a Spanish posses
ion, anil gave Spain the sovereignty
uf the Pacific!
lint the dominion of an, ocean which
could not he entered front the Atlantic
was, not only unprofitable! hut tantallz-
the ;.r to it,.. 1.. ,u,r..,. c.t:.a.a ,
exclusive right to all discoveries of that no communication existed between
I w,ter or landi WOl the reason that to- the two oceans, by sea or strait, in the
lumbui appealed first to the Portuguese neighborhood oi the isthmus, the
monarcn lor an outllt to explore th
unknown oceans to the west ofE
1 Spaniards continued their examinations
rope; of the coast southwards, until in ?30,
i ""d it was a serious error on the par: Fernando Magellan, a Portugese navl-
of that gov ernment that his proposition gator in the 6crvice of Spain, discovered
I was not accepted. Had it not been and passed through the straits at the
mat an intelligent woman shared the southern end of the South American
throne of Spain, Columbus might have cpntinent, that bears his name; thus
had to look farther for aid to his enter- opening, indeed, a route to the East
prise; hut Isabella of Castile had power Indies but one that from its length.
to persuade Ferdinand of Arragon, and and from the perils of the Straits of
the discovery ol America was accom- Magellan, could never afford the facili
Plfhsdi tics for commerce enioved bv the Por-
proven, it became tugese. The ambition of Spain had re
ceived a check, hut not for long. Her
This done and
necessary that Spain should possess the
same rights to water and land that had
been granted to Portugal; and then
occurred the partition fif the ocean
This w as effected by a treaty, at Tonic
sillas,in 1494, The Portuguese were en
titled to possession and dominion of all
the seas and territories, not already
belonging to a Christian prince or peo
ple, which they should discover, cast of
a meridian line passing three hundred
and seventy leagues west of Cape
Vcrd Islands. The Spaniards were
given equal authority over all seas and
lands, not already Christianized, west
vessels crossed the Pacilic, and, very
naturally, came in conflict with Portu
gal in the Indian Ocean, where, no line
being set, they were sure to meet. As
Portugal had claimed Braall, so Spain
claimed the Molucca Islands, which
Portugal was fain to purchase at a sum
over three millions of dollars.
Nor were Spain's American posses
sions so unprofitable as at first they
seemed. Prom 1518 to 1535, she ran a
high course of conquest and glory.
Peru and Mexico had emptied their
treasures into her lap. Cortcz, in less
I the line of partition. The possibility than three years, had discovered. V
l their meeting was not considered by qulihed and robbed the wealthy Mexi-
the high contracting parties; nor did
either entertain a doubt of the right
possessed by the Pope to give away
the largest portion of the earth's sur
face. Under this arrangement, both Spain
and Portugal continued to or.we.-tit..
1 their search for a passage to the Indies;
and live years after the treaty of Totde-
; llllas, the Portuguese rounded the Cape
ol Good Hope, and reached India, thus
achieving a distinction and power for
w hich they had long striven w ith com.
inendable enterprise. Meanwhile, only
.1 new and wilderness country had re.
warded the adventures of the Spaniards,
can empire. Colonies were established
on the coast of South, and then of
North America. Ships traded from
these to the Phlllipine Islands without
the necessity for the long home-voyage
through the perilous straits. Adven
ture, and the thirst for gold and glorv,
were run mad. The subjects of his
most Catholic and Christian Majesty
practiced the most revolting cruelty
and injustice toward the inhabitants of
subjugated America. Though a terri
ble -tain on their history, the murder
of a whole population of peaceful na
tives sat lightly enough on their con
sciences, They might, to cncourai-e
encj ; devotion, have a mass said for the good
.1.1 ..r l ..1.. 1 .... . .
....-e m. legaiu 10 mi- new world , "I ti"an -uu but on P,, l,.t;.
( lor the Portuguese, extending their Jis- they had no compassion. The story of
..M ile- 10 the farthest limit the con- Spanish conquests in the early part of
dmon- ol their treaty allowed, touched the sixteenth century must ever read
up..,, the cOMt of Uracil, and thus actu- like the most exciting fiction, so far
.... . i' . 1 1 m M 01 1 le 1 o 11 i.'ii . 111- 11 vnt .. ... 1.. . i-
that bad been discovered by the
Spaniards, On the other hand Spain,
covetous of tlie treasures of the Baal
Indies, was indefatigable in endeavors
to find some strait leading from the
Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico into
the Indian Ocean, which was beUered
to lie just beyond the group of islands
named bj them the West indies the
realy of partition ha
11 its daring, its romance, its cruelty,
"id its wonderful dramatic effects, as
well as in its world-creating results.
When Mexico had been despoiled by
Cortcz ami his followers and imitators,
he proceeded, under instructions Irom
Charles V, to commence a careful search
of the coasts of .North America for the
much-desired shorter passage to the
...1111: nci-iC.ICil to , llli i.'S. w , .1, I....I I .
set a limit ,0 discoveries in a WMtorn up-which was not given up ,o hun
.b.econ which nugh. Interfere ithjl Ire,) year, later. While vessels were
building for this service on the PaciJ.
Coast, the search was going on
the Atlantic side of the continent win,
no encouraging results, except to prove
the vast extent of the New World. .
was not until i6jS that the sttrvevof
the western coast was begun, uiider
Corlez as grandee .of Castile, Captain.
General of New Spain (Mexico), and
Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, and
the port of Tehuantepec, with the right
to enjoy forever, and his children after
him. the government of all thn
tries he should discover and conquer 11
his own expense. Kings have always
known how to drive hard bargalns.S
none better than Charles V. In ad.
dltlon to these honors and privileges
Cortez was to have one-twelfth of all'
the gold, silver, pearls, and other riches
derivable therefrom; and he was to
treat the natives with kindness, and
convert them to the Chrlstian'falthl
The Mexican ports occupied by tlie
Spaniards in 1532, were Tehuantepec,
Acapulco.and Culiacan at the entrance
to the Gulf of California. During this
year Cortcz sent out two ships, built
m his own port of Tehuantepec, under
the command of a kinsman named
Mendoza. A serious mutiny amon
his men obliged him to send home one
of the vessels and the greater number
of his men, when he had proceeded no
farther north than the 270 of latitude.
The vessel was stranded near Cape
Corrlentes, when the crew were mur
dered by the natives, and the vessel
seized by the commander of the port of
Culiacan, who was an enemy to Cortez.
The other ship, with Mendoza in com
mand, proceeded on her voyage, but
was never heard of more.
The following year Cortez des
patched two other vessels in search of
Mendoza, hut these were equally unfor
tunate. One ship's crew mutinied,
murdering their commander, and being
murdered in turn by the natives. A
few survivors escaped with the vessel
to Culiacan, where it was confiscated,
as a previous one had been. The other
vessel only discovered the Jievilliigi
gcJo Islands, mi returned in 1534 to
Tehuantepec. So far, Cortez found the
expenses of discovery to outrun the
profits; but still determined to perse
vere, he himself explored the Gulf of
California in 1535, leaving a colony on
the peninsula, whieh, after one year's
experience of its desert nature, aban
doned it, and returned home.
Vet one more effort Cortez made to
ascertain what laid to the north of the
Gulf of Callfoi nia, which had been
named by him the "Sea of Cortez;"
hut his Lieutenant, Ullsa, who had
charge of the fleet of three vessels, ac
complished nothing more than a quite
thorough survey of the Gulf and Pe
ninsula of California, and the discovery
of the Isle of Cellars. This expedition
came to an end in 1540; and in this
year also, Cortcz returned to Spain hop
ing to secure the aid of the Government
in his enterprises; hut failing, died
there, seven years later.
One of those romantic episodes so
frequent in the history of the Spanish
discoveries, happened about this time.
In 1539 there had appeared at Culiacan
four persons, survivors of the expedition
of Penfilo Navarez against the Florida
Peninsula in 1527. For ten years they
had wandered living as wanderers
may, in forest, marsh and desert, until
finally they had nuule their way from
the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
Their advent in Culiacan created much
wonder, even among so adventurous a
class as the Spanish immigrants to
Mexico; and eagerly were their narra
tives listened to. When questioned by
the Viceroy, they could give no account
of civilized peoples, or countries rich ia
gold and silver that they had seen; but