114
THE WEST SHORE.
neso'ta) river, anJ from thence up a
branch of the river Messorie, (Mis
souri), 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
which fall into the Pacific Ocean;" they
should sail down that river to the place
"where it is said to empty itself, near
the Strait of Anlan." Nothing further,
however, ever came of Carver's ex
plorations. The next land expedition in the in
terests ot Great Britain was under
taken in 1769 by Mr. Samuel Hearnc,
one of the Hudson's Bay Company's
Agents This gentleman discovered
the Great Stave La&eand the Copper
mine river, which he traced to the sea;
but his explorations destroyed the hope
of finding any passage from Hudson's
Hay across the continent, though it did
inspire the English Government to hope
that a passage might be found to exist
between the two oceans through the
sea lo the north of the continent. It
was this new hope that suggested the
Second odor of a reward of twenty
thousand pounds for the discovery of
any passage by sea between the At
lantic and Pacific, and which led to the
voyage of Captain James Cook to the
Pacific Coast
Meanwhile the fur-trade was prose
cuted with great success both by the
Hudson's Hay Company and the free
and independent traders of Canada.
These latter penetrated as far into the
northwest as the country drained by
the Saskatchewan and Athabasca riv
en, finding their enterprise well re
warded by the value of the peltries ob
tained. They. could not, however, es
cape the annoyances placed in their
way by the Hudson's Hay Company,
w!io claimed all the territories drained
by streams emptying into Hudson's
It. i , as granted them by their charter.
The better to enable themselves to con
tend with these difficulties, a number
of Montreal merchants, in 1 784, formed
themselves Into an association (or the
prosecution of the fur-trade, under the
name and style of the " Northwest
Company of Montreal." The organi
zation of tliis company was In every
way very efficient and thorough) like
that of the older one of Hudson's Hav,
BO that, thpuglt the two companies
often came in conflict, no material in
jury was sustained by either.
Like the Hudson's Bay, the North
west Company were ambitious to be
come discoverers of a more extended
field for tiu- prosecution of their bust
Hess, rather than to open the country
lo genera! commercial operations; and
yet were 11 t averse to the honor to be
obtained by explorations, SO long as the
to the country traversed, as we shall
have occasion to mention by and by.
In 1794, Mr. Alexander McKenzie,
a gentleman of the Hudson's Bay Com
pany, lett-Fort Chipewyan on Athabasca
Lake to continue the discoveries com
menced by Ilearne twenty years previ
ous, lie descended the blave river to
the Slave Lake, and there searched for
the large stream supposed to he its out
let. Such a stream was found at the
northwest extremity of the lake, and
was explored to the sea, by McKenzie,
who gave it his own name. He further
explored the country to the cant of Mi
Kcnzie's river, and returned to Fort
Chipewyan; but two years later he re
newed his efforts at discovery, and this
time ascended Peace river, which flows
into Lake Athabasca, until he came to
the Rocky Meuntains, at whose base
he spent the first winter in camp.
The following summer, McKenzie
resumed his voyage, and ascended
Peace river until he came to its springs,
in latitude about 54 deg. Within a
a short distance of these, were also dis
covered the sources of another river,
which the natives called Tacoutchee
'esse, on which McKenzie embarked
his oanocs, and floated down a distance
of two hundred and fifty miles. Here
he disembarked, and proceeded over
land in a westerly direction, for about
two hundred miles more, until he
reached the shores of the Pacific at
Cascade Canal Inlet, which had been
surveyed by Vancouver, only a few
weeks before. From this point Mc
Kenzie returned home, having crossed
the continent at its widest part, and
with Vie belief that the Tacoutchee
Tesse, whose headwaters he had dis
covered, was the river entered by
Capt. Gray, four years previously, and
named by him the Columbia. This
impression of the British explorers
was not removed until 1S12, when the
Tacoutchee Tesse, now known as
lrazerys River, was traced to its
mouth in the Gulf of Georgia, where
Vancouver, with all Ins careful survey
ing, had failed to discovered it.
Taken in conjunction with the coast
surveys of Vancouver, the land ex
plorations of McKenzie determined the
question of any water passage across
the continent, and was believed to de
termine in the negative, the practica
bility of navigation between the At
lantic and the Pacific by the way of
the North Sea. With a foresight
worthy of his nation, McKenzie urged
that the British government should as
sist in establishing commercial commu
nication across the continent, ami that
the Fast India Company should open
a direct trade between China and
the northwest coast of America ;
giving as one argument in favor of the
Country remained exclusively under 1 nniuediale adoption ot tins pohev, that
their control. Large parties of traders this commerce was "left to adven
sometimes pushed then enterprises far' tnrer ol the United btfttct, acting
r capital, or the
future confidence,
to the west and northwest, dhidintr
t' -t forces so as to cover the largest
extent of country possible, ami bring
ing the result of their traffic or their
discoveries to (he general rendezvous,
which hftd been previously agreed
upotti
On one of the
editions, in 17S0,
a parly of one hut bed Canadians pen
cilled to the foot of the Rocky Moun
tains, but were tillable to proceed
further on Recount of the warlike char
acter of the tribes inhabiting there, and
returned to wlntei 01. the Atslnibolnc
liver, which empties into Winnipeg
Like. Such othei of these expeditions
of the Northwest Company as were
made, up to 1805, were purely in the
Interest of the fur-trade, and with the
hope of extending theii traffic With
the Indians. Great Britain, however,
afterward founded upon the widely cx
tetulod rovluds, of th. .company, a claim
benevolence of the British government
failed to take it in charge.
During the remaining years of the
eighteenth century, very little was ef
fected toward the discovery of coun
tries immediate east of, or tying to
the west of the Rocky mountains. The
Northwest company's agents once
made an expedition to the foot of the
Rocky mountains, near the head
waters of the Missouri; and the French
and Spanish traders of St. Louis some
times voyaged up that river for some
distance above Council Bluffs; but, ex-
pt that every nation visiting the in
terior claimed it tor that nation's
sovereign, the country remained ab
solutely in the hands of the native
chiefs.
Meanwhile, the citizens of the
United States continued to trade from
the northwest coast to China, in the
manner which McKenzie thus truth
fully describes: "These adventurers
set out on a voyage with a few trinkets
of very little value. In the South Pa
cific they pick up some seal-skins, and
perhaps a few butts of oil; at the Gal
lipagos they lay in turtle, of which
they preserve the shells; at Valparaiso,
they raise a few dollars in exchange
for European articles; at Nootka and
other ports on the northwest coast, they
traffic with the natives for furs, which,
when winter commences, they carry to
the Sandwich Islands, to dry and pre
serve Irom vermin; here they leave
their own people to take care of them,
and in the spring embark, in lieu of
them, the natives of the islands, to
assist in navigating to the northwest
coast in search of more skins. The
remainder of the cargo is then made
up of sandal, which grows abundantly
in the woods of Atosi and Owyhee; of
ablone shells, shark s fins, and pearls
of an inferior kind, all of which are ac
ceptable in the China market; and
with these and their dollars, they pur
chase cargoes of tea, silks and nankins,
and thus complete their voyage in the
course of two or three vears." Thanks,
Mr. McKenzie. for this encouraging
bit of commercial history! It shows
from what small beginnings may grow
up in eighty years, a great national
commerce like that ot the tinted
States. With such an historical ex
ample before him, let no young man
despair of the success that belongs to
Industry ami enterprise.
While the Americans monopolized
this trans-Pacific trade, they were
pretty effectually excluded from the
central portion of the continent by the
fact of the failure of Great Britain to
surrender several important posts south
of the great lakes, though belonging to
the United States by the treaty which
concluded the war of Independence, in
17S3. However, by asubsequent treaty
in 1794, these posts were surrendered,
to the great inconvenience of the
Xorthwcst Company, and the propor
tionate benefit of the Americans, who
wished to engage in fur-hunting.
Stilt, Louisiana, which was held by
lent policy of wishing 1 the Trench or Spanish alternately, up
to I0O3, WO I very extensive domain,
stretching from the Mississippi to the
Pacific, and interfered with the ex
pansion of commerce in that direction.
Notwithstanding the restrictions, large
quantities of furs were gathered in the
countries about the great lakes, and
shipped annually to London or Canton.
Yet another competition for the pos
session of the west coasts of Amercia,
was Russia. For half a century she
wns content with holding the coast
north of the 55th parallel; but having
it WM because it had but one great been very successful in the fur trade,
post On its whole coast, and that one I she attempted, in 1S10, to drive Amer
esuiy secured by American enterprise,! ican commerce from the North Pacific,
and held by the indomitable will of ' affecting to claim the whole coast from
American settler, that the customary BehringN Strait to the Columbia river,
Upon the establishment of diplomatic
relations between Russia and the
United States, and after the acquisition
of Louisiana by the United States gov
ernment, Russia intimated to its min
ister, John Quincy Adams, she intended
to assert this claim; but Mr. Adams
signifying that his government would
not overlook the wholesale "jumping"
of its claims, acquired both by dis
covery, and by the recent purchase from
France of its territory acquired from
Spain, and known as the Louisiana ter
ritory, the subject was dropped not to
be again nrongnr up in mat manner.
But though Spain and Russia ceased
to be troublesome as claimants on the
northwest coasts of America, Great
Britain through her powerful fur com
panies continued to dispute possession
with the United States for another
half century. It was a race between
those two kindred nations for the coun
try west of the Rocky mountains;
how it ended, we all know; hut how
it was conducted it is our purpose to
consider in the following chapter.
SCHOOLS OF IDAHO TERRITORY.
Idaho is a new country, full of enter
prise, and much interest is paid in
promoting the cause of education.
School districts are being organized in
all parts of the territory, and school
houses are being built, and many
schools are now in session. Last May
Thorn Creek had but thirteen scholars
enrolled on the census roll; it now
numbers thirty-two, and we have a
good school in operation, though we
have no school house as yet, but occupy
a private house at present. The com
ing spring we intend to build a house,
1SX26, as part of the money is now
ready for use. Other districts are tak
ing similar interest in building and pre-,
paring to educate the youth. I would
say to my fellow teachers who may
read this article, that there is a good
chance yet in this part of the country
to get Government land, 'and one can
spend his time profitably teaching
school and at the same time hold and
improve his farm. Wages are from
$30 to $s;o per month. There is no
time to spare if you desire a farm, as
immigration is immense.
Yours, etc.,
G. M. Nichols.
Tiiohn Cheek, Nez Perce )
county, I. T.
i witbiiut retrularttv
desire of conclllattnj
and looking only l the interests of the
moment. M
This bene
to do well) that which, the I nited
States were only capable ol" doing
badly, continued to animate the British
Fur companies and the British govern
ment, half a century later. It Inspired
them to wish to take the port of Nootka
out of Spanish hands, and the Colum
bia river out of American hands; and
even as laic as the Ashburton treaty,
inspired them to the indefinite post
ponement of the boundary question in
the northwest. The history of the
Oregon territory discovers the fact that
Waitsiu'kg and Dayton. A coi
Spondent of the Willamette Fanner,
writes as follows:
" We came to the Touchet at Waits-
burg. This is a lively little place and
has enough good country tributary to
it, to reward the enterprise that is dis
played by the business men of the
place. Along the little river are to be
seen some good farms, but the wealth
that is building up Waitsburg and
makes Dayton, twelve miles above, a
town of no little importance, is back
toward the Blue Mountains. This
rich and well watered section is thickly
settled and produces an immense quan
tity of grain."
DESIKAUI.K HOMES.
Immigrants in search of homes would
do well to take a look at the country
situated in and about the great bend of
the Snake river, where thousands of
acres of rich rolling prairie lands yet
lie vacant. The town of Pomeroy,
centrally located, has a good flouring
mill, thus affording I home market for
grain. The settlers in this section have
nearly all located here within the past
year, are very hospitable, and will do
all in their power to assist new-comers
in obtaining desirable locations.
Those afflicted with neuralgia will
find relief in the following : Prepare
horse-radish, by grating and mixing in
vinegar, the same as for table purposes,
and apply to the temple when the face
or head is affected, or the wrist, when
the pain is in the arm or shoulder.