Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/42

6 was in fact an island, and printed a long document describing the country as "a far extended kingdom of which the end is only known by geographical conjectures which make it an island stretching from the northwest to southeast, forming a Mediterranean sea, adjacent to the incognita contraeosta de la Florida. It is one of the richest lands in the world, with silver, gold, pearls, etc."

In 1748, one Henry Ellis, published in London, a summary of the voyages and explorations to find a northwest passage across America to China and in which he gives the story of a Dutchman sailor who having been driven to the coast of California, had found that country to be either an island or a peninsula, according as the tide was high or low. Before 1750, the Russians had crossed Asia and arrived on the coast of Bering strait, and made such discoveries as proved the existence of our Alaskan possessions, and greatly narrowed the northern mystery—they had discovered the real strait which separated America and Asia. And as embodying the geographical knowledge of this region at that time, we have printed Jeffrey's map of 1768, which shows the location of Oregon under the name of New Albion, which was the name Drake gave the Oregon coast in 1579. This is the first map to give any hint of the great river of Columbia, which is here put down on imaginary lines by both French and Russians as "River of the West."

But as time passed on and explorers and navigators converged from north to south and compared their observations, it was made plain that there was no Strait of Anian or any other navigable strait or water passage across the continent. The east coast lines had been followed from Hudson's bay south to the Straits of Magellan, and thence along the west coast north to the Bering sea, and no strait found. The result of this conclusion was, to start explorations overland, first from Canada and afterward from Missouri territory, which finally developed the emigration to Oregon. And as this fact became fixed in the minds of men, we see the then ruling powers of the world taking steps to establish claims to the country by more open and assertive action.

The first attempt to get on to the land north of California, was made by Bartolome Ferrulo, sent out in two small vessels by the Spanish government in 1543. It seems to be certain that Ferrulo did get north of 42° north latitude and near enough to the Oregon coast to obserye birds, driftwood and the outflow of a river. But he made no landing, and did not see the land on account of the fogs during the month of February. The next navigator on the Oregon coast was Francis Drake in the year 1579. Drake's claims to be the discoverer of Oregon are certainly better than those of De Fuca, and may with good reason be accepted as the fact. Drake had come around into the Pacific by way of Cape Horn, and prepared for any feat or fortune, had captured and robbed a number of Spanish merchant ships, returning from Peru and Mexico. He was to all intents, a pirate on the high seas; and knowing full well that if any Spaniard able to capture him fell in with his ship, he would get a short shrift and off the taffrail, he laid his course north close to the coast, where there were neither ships nor men, hoping to find a passage east across the continent to the Atlantic ocean; or failing in that, to cross over to Asia and get back to England by the way of Good Hope, clear of Spanish ships. In the first printed account of this voyage, it is claimed Drake reached 42° north, which would be on the southern boundary of Oregon, where it is claimed the ship got fresh water, and to get which, the ship and crew