Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/77

 tion of Washington's fortunes; from that moment he was the rising hope of Virginia."

To make a long story short, this was the challenge to France, and the prelude to the war which raged for six years on American soil to decide whether France with the Catholic or England with the Protestant Episcopal faith should rule America. It is one of the remarkable things of history that this war so decisive and far-reaching in its results should have been begun under the leadership of this young Virginian surveyor; and that it hardly had been closed by a treaty which gave nearly all of America to the English, until the colonies themselves, under the leadership of this same Virginian surveyor, should have disputed the rights of England and successfully made good their claim by a subsequent treaty which gave to Washington's work nearly everything the English had wrested from the French, and thus verifying the prophecy of the French statesman. Count Vergennes, "The colonies (said he) will no longer need the protection of the English; England will call on them to contribute toward supporting the burdens they have helped to bring on her, and they will answer by striking for independence."

B.y the treaty of Paris, made February 10, 1763, the whole of upper and lower Canada and all of Louisiana claimed by La Salle, east of the Mississippi river had been ceded to England, and the island and city of New Orleans and all of Louisiana west of the Mississippi had been ceded to Spain. By this treaty French rule disappeared from America, but French influence remained active by fomenting discord between the colonies and England.

Having thus traced out the impulse given to the exploration of the west by the French, we turn to the American colonies and find that no sooner than the treaty of Paris had been signed, that the hardy pioneers of the border poured over the Alleghany mountains into western Pennsylvania, western Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. The only Englishman we find in this flood of immigration is Jonathan Carver, born in Connecticut, who left Boston in June, 1766, intending to penetrate the western wilderness to the head of the Mississippi river. It is true there are many accounts of explorations to the far west which do not give any certain information, and which have a flavor of mystery if not fiction, but which it is not necessary to notice here. Carver's trip to the headwaters of the Mississippi is a veritable historical fact, and for many reasons, is of very great importance in any history of Oregon or the North Pacific. Carver was a captain in the British provincial army, and from necessity a man of education and ability to comprehend the facts coming under his observance. His exploration extended to a point about fifty miles west of where the city of St. Paul stands. Here he met the Dacotah Indians, and lived with them for seven months, studying their language and learning all he could from them about the country to the westward. These Indians drew maps for him as best they could on birch bark, which, though meagre and rude in drawing. Carver found to be correct when he had an opportunity to explore for himself. These Indians told Carver of the Rocky mountains; pointed to their location farther west, telling him they were the highest land in all the world they knew, and told him that four great rivers