Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/50

 longer than shall be absolutely necessary, and to be very careful not to give any umbrage or offense to any of the inhabitants or subjects of his Catholic majesty. And if in your further progress to the northward, as hereafter directed, you find any subjects of any European prince or state upon any part of the coast, you may think proper to visit, you are not to disturb them, or give them any just cause of offense."

Now, it is clear from these instructions that Cook was bound to respect the claims of Spain set up as prior discoveries of the Oregon coast, and the British government was bound by these instructions—Cook was to take possession of such lands as had not been discovered or visited by any other European power. He had reached the Sandwich islands in February, 1778, and sailing from the islands, came in sight of the Oregon coast on ilarch 7, 1778. He speaks of the coast as "New Albion" in his log, using the name given it by Drake nearly two hundred years before. At noon on March 7, the ship's position was 44° 33north by 236° and 30' east from Greenwich, and Cook's orders were to strike the coast at 45° north, so that he was showing good sailing qualities. The location on the Oregon coast reached first thus by Cook, is practically about the entrance of Yaquina Bay. In his log, he describes the land fairly well as of "moderate height, diversified with hill and valley, and almost everywhere covered with trees." Cook laid his course north up the coast and after passing a headland, foul weather set in and he named the point Cape Foulweather, which name has stayed with the headland to this day. Cook held to his course up the coast with continued stormy weather, until March 29, passing both the mouth of the Columbia river and the Straits of Fuca, without seeing either opening, and then turned into what he named Hope bay on the west coast of Vancouver island, and finding an extension of the bay into the land, gave it the Indian name of Nootka sound. Here he explored the country and traded with the Indians. Cook gave the names to Capes Foulweather, Perpetua and Gregory, all of which have been permanent except the last, which is now known as Arago. He traded with the same Indians as did Perez, and found silver spoons and other trinkets of European origin among them, and rightly concluded that they had been visited by more than one navigator on the coast and did not pretend to take possession of the country, although he remained at Nootka on the coast of Vancouver island for a month, making repairs on his ship.

On April 26, Cook resumed his cruise northward surveying the coast line as best he could keeping a sharp lookout for a ship passage eastwardly across the continent, for the discovery of which the British government had offered a reward of twenty thousand pounds. But he found no Strait of Anian, or any other strait; and coasted around northwesternly reaching Bering sea, and finally the coast of Asia, and after satisfying himself that there was no passage from the Pacific eastwardly to the Atlantic, he sailed for the Sandwich islands, which he reached February 8, 1779. Here he met with great trouble from the natives, and in attempting to recover a small boat they had stolen from his ship, he was violently attacked by a multitude on February 14, 1779, and brutally killed with clubs before his men could rescue him, and carried away and eaten by the cannibals. He had made three voyages of discovery around the globe, had discovered the Sandwich islands and many other lands.

Captain James Cook was the greatest of all the navigators and explorers of