Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 22.djvu/271

Rh multitudinous island groups constituted a veritable labyrinth of passages to be defined. Then representatives of four or five different nationalities simultaneously and without concert participated in effecting the exploration. That such materials of history may enter into the lives of a people they needs must be sublimated and vitalized. Adequate annotation is the first step toward this end.

Through the Boit log we have for the first time a view of this historic voyage as a unit. We are in position, therefore, to get more completely the meaning of it. But this meaning and the import of the record cannot be satisfactorily grasped unless the situation under which the Columbia participated in this work of exploration is clearly visualized. To get this background it is necessary to note the transformation wrought during the last quarter of the 18th century in the geography of northwest America, affecting nearly if not quite one-fourth of the continent. The typical map of this part of North America at the opening of the fourth quarter of that century represented an inland sea as occupying a goodly share of the lower portion of this region and two or three wide straits cutting diagonally across the upper part. The actors in this transformation scene were to approach independently from the landward and the seaward sides. Alexander Mackenzie played almost the sole role during this period in the exploration on land from the east. The Mackenzie river, the Peace river and portions of the Fraser and other rivers were placed on the map. From the side of the sea the participating personnel included illustrious representatives of four leading nations but Robert Gray through entering the Columbia on this second voyage won the highest honor. Through such cooperation the salient features of the interior and the coast line of northwest America were defined, named and mapped.

By following now a little more in detail the development of this quarter of a century of exploration from the seaward side we get the stage setting for Robert Gray's achievement. The Spanish authorities with newly established outposts as far north as San Francisco Bay were first on the scene. Reports of advances down the coast from the Alaskan region by