Page:Lewis & Dryden's Marine History.djvu/26



{{hi|{{sc|Incentives for Marine Exploration in the Pacific Northwest— Magellan Enters the Pacific — Mendoza Dispatches thk flkst fl.kkt to search for tub northwest passage— arrival of Sir Francis Drakh and tiik "Golden Hind"— Juan dk Fl'ca's Discovery— Wreck of thk Beeswax Ship — Hfckta Discovkrs the Rivkk St, Roc— Captain Cook's Explorations — Porti.ock and Dixon Arrive, i 7S6 — Lieutenant Mkarhs and the "Nootka" — Launching of the First Vessel in the Northwest— Mearks Enthrs the Straits of Juan de Fuca— Arrival of Gray and Kendkick with the "Columbia" and "Lady Washington "—Spain Seizes all British Vessels in the Northwest — Capt. George Vancouver Arrives with thk •' Discovery '* and "Chatham"— Gray Enters and Names the Columbia- Growth of the Fir Trade — Massacre of the Crew of the Ship " Boston "—Rise and Fall of Astor's Enterprise at the Mouth of the Columbia— Fate of the " Tonouin "—Schooners " Vakcoi ver " and "Dolly" Launched — Wreck of the "William and Ann" — The Pioneer Steamer "Braver" Arrives— Log-books of Steamer "Beaver" and Schooner " Vancouver" — H. M. S. "Sulphur." }}

{{di|L}}OOKING backward into the dim and shadowy past until historical record loses itself in legend , j^f. and uncertain tradition, we find that, from the time old Father Noah started on his celebrated cruise with the ark, down to the present moment, the men who navigated the waters of the earth were the pioneers of civilization. Centuries before steam and electricity lxfgan the work of building modem cities with magical rapidity, the mariner's compass was guiding brave navigators to every corner of this globe, enabling them to lay the foundations of a civilization which has since brought all nations on the face of the earth almost within speaking distance of each other. This spirit of maritime conquest, finding no other worlds to conquer, eventually turned its attention to the territory which it had already brought to the notice of the world, and it is of the growth of this industry in the Northwest that this work treats. Until about one hundred years ago, the mariners who sailed around the North Pacific Coast paid but little attention to its commercial advantages, but instead persisted in pursuing that marine ignis fatuus. the Straits of Anian. This mythical body of water was heard of as far back as about 1500, when a Portuguese navigator, Gaspar Cortereal, in sailing around the North Atlantic in 1499, lost himself in what was afterward known as Hudson Bay. Cortereal spent considerable time in this large expanse of water, and, returning home, reported that he had discovered the straits which were supposed to connect the Atlantic with the Pacific. This short route to the Orient he christened the "Straits of Anian," a name whose origin has always been enveloped in conflicting traditions too hazy to be authentic, some historical writers even claiming that Cortereal was not responsible for the name, and that it originated with the Cabots, who were in the exploring business at the same time. Two oft-advanced theories of the origin of the name arc. First, that it was taken from a province in Asia named Ania, or the Isle of Anian,— a very plausible theory, as the newly discovered waterway was supposed to lead to these Oriental provinces ; Second, that Cortereal evolved the name from that of his brother Anus, who accompanied him on the expedition when he made the great discovery. Inasmuch as no less an important navigator than Christopher Columbus had spent considerable time in searching for this passage, the importance of Cortereal's alleged discovery can be lietter appreciated ; and for a great many years the merchants of the Old World continued wasting their money trying to get vessels through the mythical straits. Along in the sixteenth century they wearied of continually sailing up against the eastern coast, and for a change came round to the Pacific to begin their search for the western terminus of the alleged marine highway. In 1519 Magellan found his way into the Pacific via the straits which bear his name. He mistook