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Rh took possession of the River and the Country in its vicinity in His Britannic Majesty's name having every reason to believe that the subjects of no other civilized Nation or State had ever entered this River before; in this opinion he was confirmed by Mr. Gray's sketch in which it does not appear that Mr. Gray either saw or was within five Leagues of its entrance."

According to Lt. Broughton's observations. Vancouver's Point is situated in Lat. 45° 27′ and Long. 237° 50′ computed to be about 100 miles from the mouth of the river.

In 1793. Sir Alexr. McKenzie crossed the Rocky Mountains and reached the coast about Lat. 52½ and soon after that time the North West Company of Montreal established trading Posts in the Country West of the Rocky Mountains on the head waters of the North Branch of the Columbia among the Flathead and Coutouais Tribes, and continued gradually to explore the country and extend their Trade towards the Coast down the Columbia as well as to the Northward.

Capts. Lewis and Clark in the command of an expedition fitted out by the American Government, ascended the Missouri, crossed the Rocky Mountains, descended the South branch of the Columbia called in "Arrowsmiths' map" "Lewis's River" and which falls into the main or North Branch in Lat. 46° 15′; they proceeded to the mouth of the River and passed the winter 1805–6 at Young's Bay, on the South side of the River. At this period, the British fur traders had pushed their trading post nearer to the junction of the Lewis's River with the North Branch of the Columbia River. In 1809 an Association composed of British and American subjects was formed in New York for the purpose of carrying on the fur Trade on