34
THE WEST SHORE.
November,
Continued.)
HISTORICAL ADVENTURES ON THE
I'ACinC COAST.
AJ'T, COOK S
fAO TO Tm NORTHWEST
COAST.
c v. vicroK.
The period between 1774 and 1788
h an Important one in the history of
the Northwest Coast, as it embraces
not only the final decline of Spanish
power 011 the North Pacific, but also
the temporary supremacy of Great
Britain, and the advent of American
vessels iii these wateri
The following is a list of the vessels
known to have visited the waters con
tiguous to the territory subsequently
claimed by the United States, from the
time of Hecota'a discovery of the en
trance of the Columbia, to the first
appearance of American vessels north
of California.:
The rVW7(JW, Capti James Cook,
from 1'lynioulh, England, on a voyage
of discovery, 1 778.
The OfAitWCapt. Charles Clarke,
from the lame port on the lame errand,
A French exploring expedition, Li
I'erouso, commander, 1786,
An English vettel, James Manila,
muter, trading from Nootka Sound to
Macao in China, under the Portuguese
Hag, 1 785-'Srt.
Two English veateli, Lowrie and
Guise, matters, trading from Nootka
Sound to Macao, China, under the East
India Company'! Hag, 17S6.
Two English vessels, Mcars and Lip
ping, misters, in the same trade, under
the same ling, 1
Ship Imperial Eagle, from the port
of Ostrnd, Rerkely, master, trading
from the Northwest Coast to Canton in
China, under the flag of the Austrian
Kast India Company, 17S7.
Slop h'etiee, John Mean, master,
ti iding from Nootka Sound to Macao,
under the Portuguese flag, 17SS.
Ship Ipliig tula, Wm. Douglas, mas
ter, trading fiom Nootka Sound to
Macao, under the Portuguese flag,
788.
Ship Columbia, John Kendrick, mas
ter, from the port of Boston, Massa
chusetts, trading from the Northwest
Coast to Canton in China, under the
American Hag, 17SS.
1. Sloo Washington Robert Gray,
master, from the same pott, in the same
trade, 17S8.
It will be necessary to the under
standing of w hat follows, and of the
reasons that led to the sudden swoop,
in;; down of different nationalities upon
the fur-offNorthwest Coast of America,
that some account should here be given
of the voyages and missions of these
vessels. The expedition ofCapt Cook
having been the chief promoter of all
tlie rest, deserves special attention.
It has been remarked in another
place thai the power of Spain and the
fame of her navigators had been de
clining almost from the beginning of
the 17th century, At the time when
llccota, in doubt of Lis discovery of the
Columbia river, gave it the name of
na) or Rival in his icport to the Span
ish government, Spain ranked lowest
of any of the great maritime nations of
Europe, Never much renowned for
literature of science, she was then far
behind England, France or Holland in
those scientific di-covcries which gave
greatly Increased effectiveness, speed
Mid seem iti to the vessels of those na
tions. K01 tliiitccn years after the
peace of 17C-, Great Britain had annu
ally sent Well appointed ships to cruise
in the South PacMk ; not without alarm
ing Spain, as we have seen. Mean
while many expeditions were made on
Comrlsht III 1ST, by I. -sot,,,: a .,,
of rseesjUsalsi imiiViu-
thc North Atlantic side of the Ameri
can continent, and many journeys in
land undertaken with the ohject of as
certaining its width.
The theory of a Mediterranean Sea,
or navigahlc channel across the con
tinent, had not yet heen explored.
While Spain had heen looking for the
Strait of Anlan on the west side, Eng
land had been equally diligent on the
east. The "Fretum Anian in the South
Sea, through the northwest passage of
Meta Incognita," continued to be the
illusion in which kings and sea-captains
delighted, ll was with the avowed in
tention of encouraging the search for a
northern passage to the Pacific that
Charles the Second, made in 1666, his
magnificent grant to the Hudson's Bay
Company. At that time the Company,
so famous in the early settlement of
Oregon, was styled "The Company of
Adventurers of England, trading into
Hudson's Hay." King Charles hoped
that the explorations of the Company,
which would naturally take place,
would lead to the desired discovery of
water communication across the north
ern portion of the American continent.
These expectations made no allow
ance for that part of the continent lying
north of California, anil the general be.
lief was that the Pacific ocean was al
most immediately west of Canada, hut
as one cxpidition after nnother penetra
ted farther anil farther west, the conti
nent continued to broaden out murvcl
ously; yet as late as 1745 a reward was
offered by the English Parliament, of
twenty thousand pounds, for the dis
covery of a northwest passage "through
Hudson's Bay, by ships belonging to
His Majesty's subjects." And still later
in 1776, parliament offered a similar
reward to the owners of any ship he
longing to His Majesty's service, or to
the commander and crew of any ship
belonging to 1 lis Majesty, which should
find out any such passage, and sail
through it, between the Atlantic anil
Pacific oceans, in any direction, or un
der any parallel north of the 5id. At
the same time that these oilers of re
ward testified to the ignorance of the
navigators of that day, they stimulated
them to great exertions, and led at last
to the more perfect and scientific explo
rations of Capt James Cook, as his re
ports did to all the other expeditions
immediately following.
Upon the adoption by parliament of
the resolutions above mentioned, Capt.
Cook, who had just returned' from a
voyage of discovery about the south
pole, offered his services to conduct
such an expedition of discovery as was
had in contemplation. His proposal
being accepted, he was instructed to
proceed, at once, by way of the Cape
of Good Hope, New Zealand anil
Otohelte, to the coast of Ntm Albion,
meaning that portion of the California
coast discovered by Drake, and so
named; and to make the land in lati
tude 45 degrees, whence he was to ex
amine the coast northward.
Capt. Cook was also Instructed not
to touch upon any perl of the coast be
longing to Spain, unless forced to do so
by stress of weather or accident, in
which case he was to avoid gi ing of.
fence to the subjects of His Catholic
Majesty. The same caution was given
in reaped to the Russian settlements,
extending then from liehring's Straits
to the txith parallel. The limits of
Russian discovery were probably un
known to parliament, as was also the
more recent action of the Mexican gov
ernment in sending out exploring expe
ditions; and Capt. Cook acted in good
faith in follow ing his instructions, w hich
were to begin his search for Fretum
Anian at latitude 6j degrees, though
that was Russian territory, as New 'Al
bion was Spanish territory,
Further, Cook's instructions were
very complete in regard to his treat
ment of the natives, whose consent he
must obtain before taking possession of
inhabited countries in the name of the
King of Great Britain. Amongst those
willing subjects of his king, he was to
distribute such articles as would remain
in proof of his having been there; and
of uninhabited countries he was ordered
to take possession by "setting up proper
marks and inscriptions, as first discov
erers and possessors." This was de
cidedly much more fair and open than
the course of Spain, whose monks set
tin crosses in "secret places" to take
possession of a country already in
habited. It would have saved trouble
if Capt. Cook had adhered to this part
of bis instructions as faithfully as he did
to some others.
On the 12th of July, 1776, Cook
sailed from Plymouth, in the ship Reso
lution, accompanied by the Discovery,
Captain Charles Clarke, lloth vessels
were thoroughly equipped for the ob
ject in view, and their officers were as
well chosen as their furnishing was
perfect. There was no haste about
this well appointed expedition. It
sailed around the Cape of Good Hope
ami through the landless Southern
Ocean to Van Dieman's Land, on the
borders of the Pacific. A year was
spent cruising about among the islands
of this portion of the Pacific, from New
Zealand to the Society Islands.
It was already the Spring of 177S
before the prow of the Resolution was
tinned towards Drake's Nevj Albion
hut once turned in this direction no time
was lost. On the run over, the Sand
wich Islands were discovered. Had
Capt, Cook tarried as long there on
this occasion as be subsequently did,
there might not be anything to record
concerning the English claims on the
Northwest Coast; but tarry he did not,
and arrived in sight of the Oregon
coast March 7th, when the weather was
as disagreeable as March weather in
this region can be. The vessels were
driven one hundred miles south of 44
degrees, Cook employing the time in
taking correct longitudes, and, turning
bark as soon us the storm abated, he
had discovered Cape Flattery between
48 and 49 deg. by the lad of the month.
Singularly enough, Cook was deceived
as the Spanish navigators had been be
fore him. He looked for the Strait of
Fuca between the 47th and 48th paral
lels, and not finding it, decided that no
such passage existed as described by
the Greek, and proceeded northward
about one degree, where he found a
small, commodious harbor which he en
tered and where he remained .1 month
in total unconsciousness of the fact that
he had actually named the Cape at the
entrance to the looked for Straits, and
equally unconscious that the Friendly
Cove in which he was anchored was
the Port San Lorenzo of the Spanish
navigator Perez; though on discover
ing that the native name was Nootia,
he changed it from Friendly Cove to
Nootka Sound, which it retains to-
Captain Cook records that the natives
received him kindly, being very eager
to trade in the skin's of " wolves, foxes,
bear, deer, raccoon, pole-cats martins,
and In particular, of the sea-otters which
are found in the islands east of Kamch
atka." His account of the manufactu
res of the natives agrees with that of
Friars Pena and Crispi, who accompa
nied Perez in 1774. He says: "Be
sides the skins in their native shape,
they also brought garments made of
the bark of a tree, or some plant like
hemp, (this is the inside bark of the ce
dar tree; weapons, such as bows, ar
rows and spears; fish-hooks, and instru
ments of various kinds; wooden visors
ot many monstrous figures; a sort of
wooden stuff or blanketing; bags tilled
with red ochre; pieces of carved wood
work, heads, and several other little or
laments of thin brass and iron, shaped
like a horse-shoe, which thev hung at
their noses, and several chisel's or pieces
of iron fixed in handles."
The character which Captain Cook
Itai e the natives w as hardly so correct
as Ins observations on the manufactures.
Alter remarking on their general fair
ness in trade, he says: "Thev were
thieves 1.1 the strictest sense of the word ;
for they pdtcreU nothing from us but
what the knew could be converted to
the purposes of private utility, and had
J 1e.1l value according to their estima
tion of things."
In other things he was somewhat dis
posed to be deceived. He calls (ffi
inhospitable selfishness in demandin.
pay for wood and water, " a strictn?
tion of their exclusive right to everv
thing which their land produces" aj
adds that "they seem to be courteous
docile, and good-natured, but quick in
resenting what they look upon us an in
jury; and, like most passionate people
soon forgetting it." We of this ,,!
know that the Indian never forgets
John Ledyard, the adventurous Con!
nccticut traveler, who was then serving
on board the Resolution in the humble
capacity of corporal of marines, had
sharper perceptions, and called them
"hold, ferocious, sly and reserved, not
easily moved to anger, but revengful in
the extreme;" a judgment which later
events fully confirmed.
From the fact that he found some
silver spoons in possession of the Noot
ka Indians, and from the corresponding
fact, also, that they did not appear to
be cither alarmed or surprised at the
appearance of his vessels, Capt. Cook
came to the very just conclusion that
other ships must have been there before
him. The Indians, however, denied
having had previous knowledge of
white men and their vessels, and took
felt compelled to believe them, and to
forget the evidence of the spoons and
other things in the interest of his King
and country; such is the mutability of
human opinion under pressure. The
native who sported his necklace of
stolen spoons, must have hugged him
self in his bask shirt with extra satisfac
tion when he saw the English captain
depart under the belief that his ships
were the first foreign bottoms that had
taken out their papers from that port!
On leaving Nootka Sound, Captain
Cook proceeded along up the coast
looking for the strait which Sante pre
tended to have discovered, though he
did not give much credit to the report,
if we may believe his professions. On
the second of May, he passed near to a
beautiful, conical mountain, under the
57th parallel. Three years before
Bodega had sailed around the base of
this mountain, which he named the
San Jacinto, and had discovered two
bays in the windings of the shores,
which he called Port Jicinedias and
Port Guadalupe, respectfully. As at
Nootka, Cook rediscovered and re
named these places, changing pious
San yacinto to secular Mount Ed
gecombe, and Port RcmediasKo Bay of
Islands; all of which nomenclature was
wasted, so far as the King's interests
were concerned, as will be seen here
after. The voyage of Cant. Cook was pro
tracted for some months longer on the
more northern portion of the American
coast; but as he did not discover a
northwest passage, and as we have fol
lowed him as far north as the boundary
line of any territory ever claimed by
the United States under treaty, we
must, to save time and space, content
ourselves with considering the results
of his expedition to the political and
commercial world; results that have
extended down to our own time.
The more perfect instruments in use
on board Cook's vessels, determined the
latitude and especially the longitude of
coast, as it had never before been deter
mined, vand, consequently, established
the great breadth of the northern por
tion of the continent, to the complete
refutation of the absurd travelers' tales
that had so long circulated, both in
"camp and court" all over Europe.
Cook was a man of good practical bus
iness ideas; and when he beheld the
vast extent of country fit for settlement
that was lying unoccupied by civiliied
races, and considered the profits that
might arise from a trade even with the
natives, and from the fisheries that
might be carried on in the seas contig
uous, he could not but report most fav
orably upon them. He had the proofs
of what he said on board his vessels;
for his men collected from the Indians,
for very trifling pay, furs that sold in
Canton for more ' than ten thousand
dollars.
Cook, himself, perished at the hands
of the natives of the Sandwich Is
lands, in the year following his visit to
this coast, and his journal, for politic
reasons, was w ithheld from publication
for a period of six years; but rumors
were circulated by private individuals,
that were already'directing attention to
the fur-trade of 'the Northwest, when
the event took place which will be de
scribed In the following chapter.