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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1878)
VOL. 5 No. 8, PORTLAND, OREGON, APRIL, 1878. OREGON'S FUTURE DRY DOCK. We give our readers, on this page, a view of the "heaving down" of the American ship, Leading Windy of Boston, Mass. , at Westport, Oregon. This fine ship, having met with an accident necessitating the examination of her bot tom, it was at first thought that the only course with so large a vessel would be to send her to San Francisco; but some of our energetic Oregon ians, suggesting the perfect ease with which she could be 'Oiove down" at the quiet little slough at Westport, the proper authorities proceeded to carry the idea into execu tion, with perfect success in every particular. The ship's keel was exposed and the nec essary repairs effected under very unfavorable circumstances of weather, in a thorough and workmanlike manner, by Mr. Higgins, master shipwright, long and favorably known on Puget Sound. We under stand that Capt. West, the enterprising proprietor of Westport, and one of the earliest pioneers in the fisheries for salmon, is so pleased with the success of the operation that he offers, if a stock company can be organized, every facil ity for a good dock, where, with proper sheds aud appliances already on the premises, vessels of the largest size can be taken in, their ballast discharged and stiffening enough put on board to allow them to come to Portland and complete their loading of wheat. This would afford our British friends .1 much needed facility to clean the bottoms of their iron ships at comparatively small expense and thus insure them better home passages Whether the dock project is carried out or not, a good heaving down wharf with necessary sheds and float"!, blacksmith shop and saw mill handy, are fixed facts at Watt port, and it marks an era of progress in our waters which our merchants and ship-masters will welcome as another ad vance in our commercial pros perity. Westport is a small village of about 1 50 permanent inhab itants, but, during the fishing season, it usually receives an addition of 200, most of them being employed in Capt. West's extensive cannery. It is pleas antly located on a slough which is really an arm of the Colum bia river, and any ship which can cross the Columbia rir bar can sail to Westport with perfect ease. , Hliiglr MtlltlL WESTPORT, CLATSOP COUNTV, OREGON HISTORICAL ADVENTURES OS THE PACIFIC COAST. From a Photoc.raih BY BUCHTBLA Stohv. standing expressed in their charter, that I nics for nearly two centuries. Parliament then had re course to rewards, which it of fered ftnl in 1745, ami again in 1776; offers that set on foot the expeditions, first of Cook, and then of Vancouver. Hut the sea-voyages were not the only onet undertaken in the interest of the British Govern ment, Up to 1776, nothing was known of that region ex tending southwest from Hud son's Hay lo the headwaters of of the Mississippi, and border Bring on the great Lakes, ex cept such kuowldcgc as had been obtaimd by French tra ders, and some partial surveys of French ofliccrs, aided by albolic missionaries, Hut in 1766) while the Amer ican colonies still owned alle giance to Great Britain, Jona-. than Carver, a Connecticut Captain' who bad served with credit In the war against the they were to explore for such a j nv MRS, . r. VICTOR, some ACCOUNT or THE British h r NIKS and OVERLAND KXI'I.orkrs, INOMlH AM) AMERICAN. of reputl French province! in the north, set out ge, as wen as 10 iraue in airs, seen lor ... ... ... - ... 7 , ,, , , 1 certiinlng the breadth ol the continent mineral wealth, and advance commerce , . . Vi 1 1 h , - 1 1 1 between the .ltd and .16th parallels Ol lMiA- generally in those regions. j, . . 11 1 1 ,1 r- Fur-trading, however, appear to ment u t0 cstabli-h a pott in some of nave oeeu so proma.uc mat uus pow- ,h()SC parts all0lt lIu. Sra;, ()f Au;.(l It has been remarked in a previous crful corporation found enough to do whlch, having been discovered by Sir chapter that the British Government, to ,teml t0 Us own Intereete, without ' i.-mu .;s pj f court, belonged to desirous of discovering a Northwest particularly considering the national ! lhtf Englith." The ultimate object of passage to India, as well as willing to advantage to accrue from discoveries jtnc undertaking was to facilitate the explore that part of the continent west in that cold ami inhospitable region, 'discovery of a northwest passnge. of Hudson's and Baffin! Hays, had, in Tllc far-trade, moreover, is directly op-1 1669, granted the entire region lying Pwd to commercial enterprises of any i 1,1 Carver's account of his travels he around Hudson's Bay to a company Of kintl' ; will be shown hereafter; ! Kve but lille real info, .nation, and ad London merchants, with the under-'hcnce nt,,hi"K came to Great Britain , nothing ol value lo the discoveries in the way of political or commercial ready made. It would seem that his QpprrltMIn tW. tJ I aamnal. ii ngiiu ,,,,,, . .lmi,.l assertion that he met with Indian tribes who told 1 11 that the four - kk ' ' great riMis f the continent had their sou ices near togethci hi the Koiky Mountains, must have been true, since such in the now well known fact. But that he saw thctc rivers or their lOUrCCf could not be Le l it vet I, since lie names them as the Si. Lawrence, Mint lipplj Red Rival of the North, and Origoti. Carver was the first wiiter louse the word Or egon in connection with the River of the West; uud what authority be I. d for thus nam ing il dots not appear, although muh research has Wen made with the View of ascertaining ils origin. Whatever Captain Carver knew, he came very near the truth when eight years later he proposed to a party of Eng lish gentlemen to proceed with Ihim "up the St. Peter's (Min- 1111 mfflmni jffl THE LEADING WIND HOVE DOWN AT WESTPORT, OR Fmni I Ph(oriA Vr Rucltl & Sidl.