Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1908)
THE OREGON. SUNDAY .JOURNAL: PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER , 20, 1908. OTLLS STQRYS OF DISGOVERtf r . 7 Following is , the full tfext ot the paper I on ; "That Discovery of the Fraser. River arid! Its Significance t6f Oregon Pioneers,", read yesterday af ternoon before the Oregon Historical society at its tenth annual meeting, by the president, Frederick V, . Hoi man: ! 1 The dedicatipn of a monument to Bt nion Fraser at New Westminster, H. C on September SO. lastj in honor of his exploration, of the Kraser river. In 1808. recalls a most daring-achievement.--- It In an historic event Of great interest and Importance In the history, of Brit ish Columbia and of the original Ore- f:on country. The Fraser -and the Co umbta are the only rivers which break . through that great range of mountain which starts near the Qut of Califor nia, and la known In that state as the Sierra Nevada, and continues through Oregon and Washington. as the Cas cade mountains. This range of moun tains finally disappears In northern. British Columbia, " ' ' . In historical Importance this explora tion by Bimon Fraser should be consid ered as one of four notable events in , connection with these two great rivers. . These events chronologically are aa fol lows .---' fyr-i, is,&L iv 4 " - First, -the' discovery by Captain Kob ert Gray, May 11. 1793, of the' Colum bia river. Second, the discovery by Sir Alexan der Mackenxle, June 17, 1793, of the Tacoutche Tesse, which- is npw known ii the Fraser river. ' Third, the Lewis add Clark expedi tion. In 1804 and 1806, to ..the south of the Columbia river. - Fourth, the exploration bv Simon Fraser; in the, summer of 1808, of the Fraser river to its mouth. It la tho discovery and exploration of- the Fraser river, of which I : shall speak particularly in this address. As the mouth of . the Columbia -river wasH theoretically discovered my Captain Bruno Heceta f the - Spanish navy, August IS, 1776, who nafned it Rio de Ban Rooue, so the mouth of the SYaset river was theoretically discovered by . Lieutenant Don Francisco Ellxa, of the Spanish nsvy. In 1791, -who named it Boca de Florida Blanea. in honor of the prime ' minister of Spain. Neither of these discoverers entered either of these rivers. But .the mouth . of each of these rivers, was shown on Spanish maps afterward published. The mouth of the Fraser river Is practically a delta. Its several exits running through what is -apparently a sand island, es viewed from the Gulf of Georgia.- ,"..;....--.-, ...- ,? failure of Vancouver. , ' It is surprising that Captain George VlHncotfver did not find the Fraser river. r He was- an experienced explorer and hod bees a - midshipman in . Cap tain Cook's last voyage, in the vears 177 to 1780, Inclusive. But It "is no more surprising than Vancouver's fail ure to find the Columbia river. In 1789 Alexander Mackenzie, after wards: knighted- for his discoveries, dis covered the Mackenzie river. He went down Jhat river to where it flowed into the Arctic ocean. In 1791 he went to London- and returned to Canada In the spring of 1792.. Very soon after he started -with an expedition to cross the continent to the Pacific ocean. He .arrived at Fort Cblnoewayan, on the Lake of the Hills. October 10. 1781 Into this lake flow the waters of Peace river. With his party he ascended Peace river until November 1, 1792, when they came to a place to which Mackenzie had sent ahead two men to begin the preparation of winter quar ters. On Mackenzie's map it is called Fork Fort, Its latitude Is 6 degrees 9 minutes: its longitude 117 degrees,. 35 minutes, and 15 seconds, as ascertained by observations made by Mackenzie, i. Here Mackenzie and his party passed the winter. May 9. 1793, they started again on tneir journey, ascending Peace river. May 31 they came to the Junction of Unlay and Parsnip rivers, which form Peace r.iver. The party ascended Pars nip river to its head waters. After making a short portage, the expedition came to Kh1 river, which they descend ed until the latter river entered the great river, which Mackenzie called Tacoutche Tesse (Tesse meaning river). neing a name given it by a tribe or In dians. This Is Fraser river. The dls covery of this great river occurred June 17, 1193. Mackenzie descended . this river until he was deterred by the hostile attitude of the Indians and the. physical- diffi culties of following the river, and by information given by the Indians of its dangerous character. Mackenzie then ascended the river a distance equal to about one degree of latitude in that region. Here he left the Tacoutche and went overland, westerly, until he came to an arm or the paclrlc ocean now caled Bentlnok Inlet, at about latitude ' fifty-two degrees. On his return trip he arrived at Fort Chippewayan Aug- us? 24. HS3. where his journal ends. ' It Is sometimes said in -a loose way by writers that Mackenzie thought the Tacoutche was a part of the Columbia river. This was not the case when he discovered the Tacoutche. He did not then know that the Columbia river had been discovered, nor did he learn of it until after his return from his discov ery of the Tacoutche. Mackenzie kept a journal. In It he speaks of the Tacoutche ' as "the great river," and he also wrote in his jour nal: "The more I heard of the river (Te eoutche) the more I was convinced it could not. empty itself into the ocean to the north of what is called the River , of the West, so that with its windings, E the distance must be very great. Such being the discouraging circumstances of my situation, which were now height ened by the discontent of my people I could not but be alarmed at an idea of attempting to get to the discharge of such a rapid river, emphatically when I reflected on the tardy progress of mj return up it, even If I. should meet With no obstruction) from the natives." Fabled Oregon, or Brrer of West. In referring to the River of the West, Mackenzie undoubtedly had in mind the fabled river described by Jonathan Car ver in his travels. In 1778, Jonathan Carver published, at London, the first edition of his book, describing his trav els in the interior of North America. Carver was a great traveler, and also -what we may call a great fabricator of fictionlst. In the Introduction or pre face or lils oooK. uarver said: . "The account I give of the Naudo wesies, and the situation of the Heads of the four great rivers that take their rise within a rew leagues or each oth er, nearly about the center of this great continent, vis.: Tho River Bour bon, which empties Itself . into Hudson s bay, the Waters of Saint Lawrence; the Mississippi ana me ttiver Oregon, or the River of the West, that falls Into the Pacific ocean at the straits of Annlan.'' In tho book itself Carver wrote of these rivers, and showed on a map, bound in the book, that part of the River of the West which empties into the pacinc ocean, a snort distance be low latitude forty-five, the Straits of - Juan de Fuca, and the lower entrance to the "Straits or Anlan," running from " the Straits of Juan de Fuca at about latitude forty-eight to a short distance ' east of where the River of the West was sunnosed to now into the Pacific ocean. . Somewhat as though Puget sound extended south to the Columbia river. The substantial accuracy of this ' showing the present Straits of Juan de . Fuca. a ttart of Puget sound, t and the mouth of -the Columbia "1st remarkable 'considering that at the time this book , . was published none of these waters were known to exist. -- At the time Mackenzie discovered tho ' Tacoutche he knew from his voyage down the Mackenzie river to its mouth st the Arctic Mean that the fabled . , Ftraits of Anlan. and those of D Fonto-did not exist. But he supposed the Oregon or "River of tho West might 8 M n exist. Xackensies'a KMwiadgs of OoltunbissT The .Columbia' Hr;wa. dlsw.vefed bv Captain Rohfrt Grav May H, i79L I about the time Markensle left Montreal I on his Journey to the Paclflc-bcean. The! OF THE ERASER RIVER discovery of the Columbia river wag not known to Mackenzie probably until the return of Vancouver to England in 1795, although Mackenzie may have heard of it after his return, in tho fall of 1793 to Montreal, from his expedi tion, for , Captain Gray returned to Boston by the way of the Cape . of Good d Hope in 1793 or 1794. Mackei went to England in 1799 and there su pervised., the' jubllcation1 of his Jour nal. It was published ; in 18Q1. " Captain George Vancouver returned to London- in September, 1795, and his voyage was published in London in 1798 In his book, Vancouver gave a detailed statement of the discovery of the Columbia river, the latitude and longitude of its mouth, and of the ex ploration of thff Columbia by Lieuten ant Broughton from its mouth to Point Vancouver, in October, 1792, a distance Of about-. 100 miles. - Mackenzie's- main journal of his ex pedition was published as written by him, subject, of course, to editorial su pervision. But in the latter part of this volume is a summary, possibly written by his cousin Roderick Mackenzie, who is said to have revised the manuscript Of Alexander Mackenzie... In this sum mary raooutcne is spoxen or as Deing the Columbia river and a map is bound In the volume showing between dotted lines : the Columbia - river as . being a continuation of the Tacoutche Tesse, as far south as latitude 61, but no further south. , Vancouver's voyage is the undoubted source of Mackenzie's knowledge of 'the Columbia river, as set forth in the summary to Macken zie's Journal and in said mapv , The course of ' the' Columbia' river for more than, the .100 miles from its source as explored by Lieutenant Broughton. was hot known until the' Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804-1806, and then only from the junction of the . Snake with the Columbia river. North of thd Snake fiver the course of the Columbia river was not known until 1811. ... Tt- first white man who discovered and explored the sources of the Co lumbia river was David Thompson, one of the partners of, the Northwest company.- He was also the first white man to , descend , the Columbia river to its. conUuence.. with the Snake river. . ' In 111 Thompson, In a light canoe, manned by eight Iroquois and an inter preter, went down-the Columbia .river, arriving at Astoria July 15, 1811. This was only a short time a..er the found ing of Astoria. The Tonquln. the ship whir n brought the Astor expedition, e; tered the Columbia river March 24, 1811. April 12 the expedition landed and camped at Astoria to make that place its permanent home. rirst Settlement on Praser. The- first permanent 1 settlement '"on the Tacoutche or Fraser rlvw was made under the leadership of Simon Fraser on behalf of the Northwest company. This whs the first permanent occupa tion of the continent west of the Rocky mountains, north of latitude 42 degrees and -south of latitude 64 degrees. 40 minutes, and. being what was ' subse quently known as the Oregon country. It was in 1805 that Simon Fraser and his party arrived in that country. I shall not go into detuils concerning his occupation of this part of the country except to say that he nsmed.lt New Caledonia and established several trading- posts or forts, for this address re lates to tho discovery and exploration of the Fraser river -and not to settle ments in the country. nllllllREIiaiSUBHIBBEIIIIIsIIIISIIHZBlBIKBBEIII. ft m i m n s a a M H M M 0 M "ASSAM COMPRESSED CONCRETE PAVEMENT combineshe virtues of all other pavements witligat-'ffieir faults. At ,once the least expensive and the most ANY test which sizes its value rmm v cost less than J. 11 material on earth. 1 : ! ANITARY experts indorse it for its non-absorbent qualities and ease of cleaning. Water does not injure it. Absolutely dustless. MOOTH yet safe. Horses cannot slip or injure themselves. Recommended by fire department chiefs, teamsters and horsemen because best for horses in every way. AUTOMOBILES cannot skid on it or wear it out. The Vanderbilt cup course, sixty miles long and one hun dred feet wide, is paved with Hassam. The automobile pavement. 1 HI TV rpETS all requirements of engineers, V street and highway commissioners, i m taxpayers and the general public S 7 Quickly laid, simple and inexpensive .A. Y JJLto repair, best for any kind of traction, " S - most economical, will outlast others 8 that cost twice as much to lay and maintain. S '.'v:' : -. 1 Hassam costs not to exceed $2 per square yd. within the two-mile limit S OREGON HASSAM PAVING CO. 805-7 BOARD OF TRADE 3 BS - B EEsasSSXXSSSXXXSaZZSBXXXXSXSSSXSSXS HOLL AD AY'S J?l?!'Jm UTJll f ' Bstfsr go and T VlS?iZ. Ia,proymu ta J fits UKKUUIN KEAL t54 OXJUTO Vs. v.: . -V - T. "Simon Fraser was a near relative of tho noted Baron Simon Fraser Lovat, a Scotchman known as Lord Lovat. Lord Lovat was a Jacobite intriguer,' who took part in the Scottish rebellion of 1745, which ended in tha battle of Culloder. He was executed in 1747. His family is one of - the oldest - In the Scottish Highlands. Simon Fraser. tho explorer of Fraser river, was born in 1778, on hi father's farm near Ben nington. Vermont. His father. also named Simon Fraser. emigrated from Scotland- in - 1773. In the . American Revolutionary war his father was a British loyalist or Tory, one of the so caJled United Empire loyalists. He be came a captain in the British army. Ha was captured la the war and died in prison. - s ,r - -v -, , Young Simon Fraser was taken - by his widowed mothe to : St, ' Andrews, Ontario, which whs h(s home durmg his youth, although he attended school at Montreal. In 1792. when ho was 18 years old. he joined tho Northwest com pany. His promotion was rapid. In 1802 ne became a bourgeois or -partner of that company. :? That ho arrived at this position when he was only 28 years old is a proof of n4s ability and of how ne was considered oy n is .company, This Is also shown from his being sent to and being placed In command. in this new field of operation ... m New Caledonia. . .'; ;--'.. r:': ' ! Exploration of the rraser. ?' In-the fall of 1807 Simon Fraser re celved Instructions from the Northwest company to explore the Tacoutche to its mouth. It was then believed that this river was a part of the great Columbia river. This lief was strengthened by tha fact that for a long distance, to the point Mackenzie ceased olnt Mackenzie ceased to descend the Tacoutche. s, Ms course was. almost due south, and the mouth of -the Columbia was only about one degree of longitude west, of this part of the Tacoutche. . There were political reasons for this exploration because the expedition of Lewi, and Clark, in 1804-1806. was a milltaryexpedltton of the ITnlted 8tates government. There were business rea sons to ascertain If furs could be shipped by sea and supplies brought up the river. It was well to spy out the land. Fraser knew that the mouth of the Columbia, was about eight degrees of northern latitude, a distance of many hundred miles, from which he was to start. He knew it was a difficult and dangerous undertaking. He knew only of the route so far as Mackenzie had explored the Tacoutche. from what he had learned by his own experience, and from what the Indians had told htm. It Is more than doubtful that lie had any exact knowledge, or any knowledge. of wnai lewis ana t iarx nao aiscov ered on the Columbia north of Point Vancouver, for their expedition hadnot returned to St. Louis, Mo., until 8e tembet 23, 1806. and the instructions to Fraser to explore the river must have lft Montreal In tho spring of i 17. . 7 Was Blffioult Task. There could have been no doubt In Fraser's mind that his exploration would be a difficult and dangerous un dertaking. Mackenzie had turned back because he had found the river so dan gerous to navigate. The Indians along the river :below he knew were of a treacherous and ; warlike character. Fraser had no guide. He made very careful preparations for his Journey, The expedition consisted of 21 nen bo- desirable. may be applied empha- I and superiority. First 1 f' ! any other good pavme. w BUILDING, PORTIANOR. Esssaia ADDITION Oeograpblcal cet-ter and most d- tha many cholcs resldeneaa uadsp OB" fi US TATE COMPANY - , :;- ninin, ouoei. sides himself, in four canoes. The ex act .day. that the expedition started is in doubt, but it is not material. It probably left Fort George on tho .Ta coutche, which I shall hereinafter call the Fraser, on May 88. 1808. At tho outset one of his - canoes- was almost wrecked at Fort George canyon. The next two days were most dangerous navigation. -. 4. . -7 . .. , j May SO the expedition arrived at tho lowest point on the river reached by Mackenzie, where tho latter turned back. But Fraser did" not hesitate. In his journal he says, that for two miles there was a strong rapid with high and BCc-ep banks which Contracted the chan nel in many places to 40 or 60 yards and -that "this immense body of water, passing, through this, narrow space in a turbulent manner," forming; numer ous gulfs and . cascades, and making a tremendous noise, . had an awful and forbidding appearance." . .- As the passage by land appeared even worse, Fraser resolved to try to-have one canoe run the . rapid, with a light load and manned by his best five men. -ut the attempt was unsuccessful, the canoe was dashed against a rock, but its crew fortunately saved themselves by climbing up the rock. The rescue of these Ave men was a perilous act, en dangering the lives of all who took part in it. Fraser says in his journal: - Tb.e bank was extremely , high and steep, and we had 'to plunge our daggers at Intervals, into, tho ground to check our . speed, as otherwise we were ex posed to; slide Into the river. We cut steps in the declivity, fastened a line to the front of the canoe, with which some of the men ascended in order to haul it up, while the others supported it upon their arms.. In this manner our situation was most precarious; our lives hung, as it were.. upon a thread. -as the failure, of tho Bine or a false step of one of the nwii might have hurled the whole Of us- Into eternity," ' The Indians advised him to abandon the river and travel overland. Fraser says in ms journal .ii 'Going to sea by an indirect wav was not the oblect of mv nnriertn Lino- I therefore would not deviate." - He proceeded on the land a short dis tance wka horses obtained from the In- M dians. He then voyaged by tho river several days under great perils, at times portaging his goods and canoes over mountains' and across canyons and ra vines. Sometimes they went over rapids and through canyons, which it is said never before nor since was attempted. July i the expedition came to a place where the channel, contracted to a width of about 40 yards, encloseiLby two prec ipices of Immense height, bending' over toward each other. ; The water passing through rolling "In' tumultuous waves and with great velocity, had a frightful appearance." ' It was Impossible to carer the canoes overland. The whole party without hesitation and with most desperate daring embarked In their canoes. In his journal Fraser says: "Thus skmmlng ajong as fast as lightning, the crews, cool and deter mined, followed each other in awful si lence, and; when we arrived at the end we stood (.azlng at each other In silent congratulation at our narrow escape from total destruction." Here the Indians made a map and in formed Fraser that It was absolutely Impossible to -proceed further-bv- water, but ho continued for the day. On June 10. he -became convinced that at least at that stage of water, the summer freshet being on. he could not continue by- water. Bo -he left his canoes- and cached a part of his supplies. The whole party then proceeded on fool, carrying hevy' packs, occasionally' traveling by water" in canoe hired from the Indians. July 2 Fraser and his party arrived at one of the mouths of the Fraser, probably what is called the "North Arm." Althoughsome writers have en deavored to belittle Fraser1 s achieve ment and have asserted that he did not reach the mouth of -the river,. It is -now completely established that, be did reach the mouth of the river. In -his journal he gives Its latitude as "49 degrees nearly." He adds, in his Journal: "The river Is therefore not the Columbia. If I had been convinced of this when I left my canoes I would certainly have re turned." ' The latitude of the mouth of the Columbia river,- as published- by Vancouver in his voyage, Is 46 degrees and 18 minutes. r... Dr. George Bryee? truly says in' his Mscoimt Ceases m Swinton Lft oiiday, At f -P.'M. Thursday we announced to the public that we would discontinue the giving of ten per cent discount on SWINTON lots; that they would be sold at regular prices, beginning Tuesday, until Christmas, and would be ADVANCED TEN PER CENT December 26. The response to this advertisement was instanta neous and magnificent. This response showed plainly that the PUBLIC KNOWS that LOTS in SWINTON are a MOST DESIRABLE INVESTMENT. Are you one of those who bought on Thursday or Friday or Saturday? If not, remember that you've only TWO DAYS to get in on the ground floor. Remember also that it is almost absolutely certain that EVERY LOT will be sold by tomorrow night. Procrastination is a thief of time, and also of opportu nities. "Putting things off" may result in many re grets for you may result in your SEEING SOME ONE ELSE who was forehanded and far-sighted make several hundred per cent on SWINTON property you might just as well have bought at less than regular price. The price you pay .for these wonderful SWINTON lots includes grading of streets to city grade, laying of water mains in front of each lot and the clearing off of all brush are ready to build on. Never before in the history of this city has such a splendid investment been offered to the public as SWINTON lots. It's a pity that we can't show what these lots really are in cold print, but we are more than willing to show you the lots themselves. An inspection of them will convince you very quickly and speedily that they are a good purchase. Automobiles start from our office, 109 Fourth street, Couch building, every thirty minutes. Again we say, "Come and inspect." Columbia Trust Company Seventh Floor, Coach Building 109 Fourth St. Nesr Wcshington bookt "The remarkable history of tho Hudson Bay company," : referring o the latter entry In FTasers journal. "Hrsjr difflcul. It is to distinguish small from great actions! Here, was a man mak ing fame for all time, and tho idea of the greatness of his work had not dawned upon him." BIT WsU Xamed. .' And Simon Fraser's exploring expedi tion was a great work, not only in, its accomplishment, but In Its effects. It la proper that this river should always bear his name. In exploring a known river he discovered It. While the Fraser river is navigable only a short distance above Its mouth, it makes a water grade possible through almost impassible mountains. The great wagon road and the Canadian Pacific railway utilize this arade. Without delay the expedition returned. without notable Incident, arriving at Fort George, August 6. It seems some what strange that it took the party 36 days to go to the orean, and only 34 days to return. Had Fraser known of the conditions he could have made his trip much easier by waiting until later In the season, after the summer freshet was over. But this fact does not In any way detract from nor change the- renown to which this in trepid hand of sturdy Nor'westers, and especially its leader, are entitled. There Is no other large river on tho Pacific slope so terrible or so dan- ferous to follow as the Fraser, unless t be that part of the Snake river be tween Huntington. Or., and Lewlston. Idaho, along which Wilson Price Hunt snd his party wandered so helplessly and almost hopelessly In the fall and winter of 1811. Those interested in this perilous ex- J edition- of Fraser should read his ournal, which Is printed as a part of a work, in two volumns. written In French by R. Masson. entitled, 'Res Bourgeois de la Conpagnlo du Nord Quest." Tho Journal of Fraser lsprlnted In English. There are two editions of this book. The first was published at Quebec in 1889; the second at Montreal in 1890. Although not an old work, it is now very difficult to obtain. In preparing this address I have been kindly given interesting and Important Office Open All Day Today Bee. 3 1st Information, personally, by Judge T. W,' Noway, - of New Westminster, British Columbia, ' who, ' notwithstanding bis Judicial duties, has found tints to be come a diligent student and a scholarly writer ' of -British Columbia history, t have, so far as - possible, examined original sources of Information in an endeavor to be accurate In statement i of fact, .. Simon Fraser continued hv the service of the: North weet -company until the coalition of that - company " with tha Hudson's Bay company, in 1821. ' April 19, 1882. at the age of 88 he died t St Andrews Ontario, v where he had lived as a boy,. t - In recognition of bis exploration of the Fraser river, Fraser was offered knighthood,-but his limited means pre vented his acceptance It is said, how ever, that one reason for his refusal was that he believed that he was en titled to be Baron Lovat. as the near est relative of the noted Lord Lovat, of whom I have spoken. Simon Fraser was one of the intrepid explorers and hardv pioneers of the Pacific northwest, men who found ' the wav nn.A nthara w.Kawa I -to follow. The armies of occupation and of civilization follow slowly on. In a few years he '.was succeeded by the great leaders and successful fur traders of the Hudson's Bay company. At the old. the original Vancouver, on the Columbia river, came and ruled, Dr. John McLoughlin. the father of Oregon, James Douglas, . afterwards knighted, and Peter Htone Ogden, all held in grateful memory in Oregon and Washington. In this 100 years since Simon Fraser's explorations of the Fraser river, the whole Pacific northwest has grown la population and in civilization. Ths days of centennials, beginning with that of the expedition of Lewis and Clark, show that while the long sgo of this part of tho continent is com paratively new, its traditions are those of a hardy, a brave, and an Intrepid people. Tomorrow, Monday, last day for dis count on east side gas bills. .Don't over look gas appliance sale. ' .-1 : Sunday 17 7 - V