Page:Atlantis Arisen.djvu/25

Rh

the commencement of the present century, when we paid for our teas and silks with sealskins, cocoanut oil, and sandalwood, not to mention turtle and abalone shells, the United States were bounded by the British provinces on the north, by the Spanish possessions, called Florida, on the south, and by the French possessions, called Louisiana, on the west. Our seacoast extended only from the northern boundary of Maine to the southern boundary of Georgia; and the Mississippi River represented our western water-front, although the settlements in that part of our territory were chiefly French. Beyond the Mississippi was an expanse of country whose extent was undreamed of, as its geographical configuration was unknown. The explorations of the British fur companies in the north had revealed the existence of high mountains and great rivers in that direction; while the little knowledge obtained of the sources of the Missouri, the Columbia, and the Colorado, together with the immense volumes of these rivers, at so great an apparent distance from their springs, was sufficient to stimulate public inquiry and scientific research. How long such inquiry would have been deferred, but for a fortunate turn in the public affairs of the United States, can only be conjectured.

Our young republic had barely established her independence, and shaken off the lingering grasp of Great Britain from the forts and towns bordering on the Great Lakes,—had only just begun to feel the young giant's blood in her veins, and to trust her own strength when measured with that of an older and adroit foe,—when the nineteenth century dawned, in which so much has already been accomplished, though its ninth decade is but just completed.

The first event of importance marking this period, and bearing upon the history of Oregon, was the purchase from France of the Louisiana territory. This was a vast area of country,