Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 21.djvu/25



SPAIN AND ENGLAND QUARREL OVER OREGON 15

in a latitude that would mean trouble for the Spanish posses- sions on the Pacific Coast, if the entrance to this supposed waterway was not found and commanded by suitable fortifica- tions. Russian explorers, too, had pushed across Siberia and Vitus Bering and others were coming down this Northwest Coast. To anticipate these possible menaces to an unmolested sway over this region a more energetic Spanish King and Mexican viceroy renewed explorations. Accordingly, one vessel was dispatched northward in 1774 and two in 1775. These traced the main outlines) of our coast from about 55 southward. In the latter year, on the afternoon of July 17th, Heceta, in command of one of the ships, the Santiago, dis- covered a bay with strong currents and eddies, indicating the mouth of a great river or strait in latitude 46 9'. He named the point on the north, San Rbque, and the one on the south, Cabo Frondoso. He was looking at the mouth of the Columbia River between capes Disappointment and Adams. As he had not enough men to raise the anchor if it were once lowered, or to man his launch, he continued on to the south without consummating the discovery. Through these voyages in 1774-5, Spain had explored and taken possession of the whole extent of the Northwest Coast from 40 to 55. But the results of these expeditions were not published. Mean- while English maritime enterprise had followe'd the lead of the Cabots. Through activities of exploration and colonization the eastern shore of the North American was occupied by the English with Spain holding only St. Augustine in Florida. During the latter half of the 18th century there was a great renewal of exploring activity by England's navigators. The most intrepid of all her mariners of this period was James Cook. On his third voyage of discoverey in the Pacific he found the Sandwich Islands and proceeding northward arrived off our Oregon Coast in March, 1778. His quest was the northwest passage that had been the objective of Verrazano, Cartier, Hudson, Frobisher, Drake, Franklin and a host of