1

Near the Californian coast are many small settlements, which were originally established by missionaries of the Franciscan order from Mexico, and were intended chiefly for the purpose of civilizing and converting the natives. During the subsistence of the Spanish authority, these missions were fostered by the Government, and were maintained by means of supplies sent from Mexico; but, since the downfall of that Power, they have not only received little assistance from Mexico, but have, moreover, been taxed for the support of the republic, of which the Indian neophytes were declared to be citizens. These Indians are, however, unfortunately, among the most indolent and unintellectual of the human family; incapable of being affected by any other considerations than those addressed to their present and immediate hopes and fears. The missionaries treated them as children; and those who have been removed from under the care and authority of these priests have uniformly sunk at once into misery and vice. The Mexican population is little, if at all, better than the aboriginal; the soldiers and colonists sent there being generally criminals banished to this-the Botany Bay of the republic. There is no rain on the coast of California from March to November; during the other months the rains are generally incessant, though in some years very little falls. The dews in suminer are, however, so heavy as to prevent the destruction of vegetation. Near the sea, the temperature is at all times salubrious and agreeable, the heat of the sun in summer being moderated by constant breezes; but farther inland it is said to be most oppressive. Agriculture has been, as yet, little practised in this country; the inhabitants subsisting almost entirely on the meat of the wild cattle which cover the plains. The soil and climate appear to be favorable to the growth of every vegetable substance necessary for the subsistence and enjoyment of man; but no large portion of the territory will probably be found productive without artificial irrigation.

Of the interior of California little is known. The northern part, or continental portion, called New California, is said to be traversed by mountain-ridges, between which are extensive plains; some covered with grass, forming prairies, others sandy and destitute of vegetation, and others again being marshes. It appears to be certain that very little of the water which falls on this country from the clouds finds its way directly to the sea; as the line of mountains which borders the coast is traversed only by a few inconsiderable streams, besides those emptying into the Bay of San Francisco.

The peninsula, or Old California, is about seven hundred miles in length, and one hundred and thirty in breadth where it joins the continent, under the 33d parallel; farther south its breadth is less, not exceeding fifty miles in some places. The whole territory consists of mountains; its climate is hot and dry, the soil is barren, and the inhabitants are few and miserable, deriving their support almost exclusively from the sea. The Gulf of California, or Sea of Cortes, or Vermillion Sea, which separates the peninsula from the main land of Mexico on the east, is about seven hundred miles in length, varying in breadth from sixty to one hundred and twenty. At its northern extremity it receives two large rivers—the Gila, flowing from the east; and the Colorado, which rises in the north among the Rocky Mountains, about the 40th degree of latitude, near the sources of the Lewis, the Platte, the Arkansas, and the Rio del Norte. The northern part of the territory, on the eastern side of the

gulf, is called Sonora, and the southern part Sinaloa; they together form one department of the Mexican republic. The harbor of Guaymas in Sonora, near the 28th degree of latitude, is said to be one of the best in America, and the town has a large and increasing trade; at the entrance of the gulf, on its eastern side, is another rising commercial place, called Mazatlan; and farther south is San Blas, among the principal ports of Mexico on the Pacific. The old Mexican towns of Culiacan, on the river of the same name a little north of Mazatlan, and Chiametla, between the latter place and San Blas, are now nearly deserted.

X. We next proceed to take a—

GENERAL VIEW OF THE PRINCIPAL MOUNTAIN-CHAINS OF NORTH AMERICA.

It has been already said, that the whole western coast of North America is bounded by a continuous chain of mountains; and it may now be added, that the whole interior of the continent, to a considerable distance from the Pacific, is traversed by lofty ridges, separated from each other by valleys or plains of small extent. Of these interior ridges, the principal in every respect is that known by the general name of the Rocky Moun tains, forming the northern portion of the great chain of highlands which stretches from the Arctic Sea to the Strait of Magellan, dividing, except in a few places, the territories drained by streams flowing into the Atlantic, from those whose waters enter the Pacific. Throughout its whole course, this chain lies nearer to the western shores of the continent than to the eastern, and therefore much the greater quantity of the water which America supplies to the ocean is discharged into the Atlantic.

The general course of the Rocky Mountain ridge is from north-northwest to south-southeast. Between the 58th degree of latitude and the 48th, it is nearly parallel to the Pacific coast, from which its distance is about five hundred miles; from the 48th degree to the 40th, the coast runs due south, so that the distance between it and the ridge is constantly increasing, and on the 40th parallel exceeds seven hundred miles. The name of Rocky Mountains is not applied to any part of the chain south of the last-mentioned latitude; the parts north of the 50th degree are sometimes called the Chipewyan Mountains.

The highest points in the Rocky Mountains, and probably in North America, if not in the whole western continent, are those about the 52d degree of latitude, near the northernmost sources of the Columbia river. Mr. Thompson, the astronomer of the Hudson's Bay Trading Company, has measured several of these peaks, of which, one called Mount Brown is estimated by him at sixteen thousand feet, and another, Mount Hooker, at fifteen thousand seven hundred feet above the ocean level. It has been stated that the same gentleman has recently found other points farther north, which he considers to be more than ten thousand feet higher than either of those above mentioned. About the 42d parallel are also many lofty peaks, particularly among the Wind-river Mountains, a spur or offset, which extends southeast from the main chain, and from which flow many of the head-waters of the Missouri and the Yellow Stone Rivers. North of the 56th degree the ridge diminishes in height, and near the Arctic Sea it is only a line of hills.

Near the 42d degree of latitude, three other extensive ridges are united to the Rocky Mountains; one on its eastern side, running towards the

P

Mexican Gulf, and forming the eastern wall of a great valley or basin, through which flows the river Bravo del Norte; another, stretching southwest to and through the peninsula of California, between which and the Rocky Mountains is a vast region, drained principally by the rivers Colorado and Gila, emptying into the northern extremity of the Californian Gulf; the third ridge is that commonly called the Snowy Mountains, running westward to the Pacific, in which it terminates at Cape Mendocino, and completely separating Oregon, or the country of the Columbia, on the north, from California on its southern side. From the place of union of these chains also flow the head-waters of the Bravo, emptying into the Mexican Gulf of the Colorado-of the Lewis, the principal southern branch of the Columbia which falls into the Pacific -and of the Missouri, the Yellow Stone, the Platte, and the Arkansas, all of which are discharged into the Mississippi.

Near the place of union of these chains is a remarkable depression of the Rocky Mountains, called the Southern Pass, affording a short and easy route for carriages between the head-waters of the south branch of the Platte, on the east, and those of the Colorado, on the west; from which latter, is another pass through the mountains, northward, to the Lewis River. There are other depressions of the great chain farther north, between the Yellow Stone, on the one side, and the Salmon River and Flathead branches of the Columbia, on the other; but they offer much greater difficulties to the traveller than the Southern Pass, which is, and will probably continue to be, the principal avenue of communication between the United States and the territories of the Far West.

In latitude of 53 is the great cleft, from which the Columbia flows, on one side, to the Pacific, and the Athabasca, on the other, to the Mackenzie emptying into the Arctic Ocean. Farther north, the Peace and the Turnagain Rivers, which rise near the Pacific, pass through the Rocky Mountains into the Mackenzie.

Respecting the Snowy Mountains, very little exact information has been obtained. They appear to run in an unbroken line, from Cape Mendocino to the Rocky Mountains, between the 39th and the 42d parallels of latitude, and to be united with the other ridges extending northward and southward. Whether they are to be considered as a distinct chain, or as formed by the union of branches from the others, is a question interesting only to the geologist; certain it is, that they present a complete barrier between California and the country of the Columbia.

XI. The remainder of this sketch will be devoted entirely to the consideration of

OREGON, OR THE COUNTRY OF THE COLUMBIA.

Oregon, considered as comprehending the territory drained by the Columbia river, together with the seacoasts of that territory, lies within the following natural boundaries: on the east, the Rocky Mountains, extending about nine hundred miles, from the 54th parallel to the 41st; on the south, the Snowy Mountains, in their whole length about seven hundred miles, from the Rocky Mountains to Cape Mendocino, on the Pacific, near the 40th degree of latitude; on the west, the Pacific Ocean, from Cape Mendocino, about five hundred miles due north, to Cape Flattery, at the entrance of the Strait of Fuca, near the 48th degree of latitude; and on

the north, the Strait of Fuca, from Cape Flattery, about one hundred and twenty miles eastward, and thence by a line running northeast, along the summit of the highlands separating the waters of the Columbia from those of Frazer's River, to the Rocky Mountains, which it would reach about the 54th degree of latitude. Such are the natural boundaries of the territory drained by the Columbia, the surface of which may be estimated at about three hundred and fifty thousand square miles.

The coast of Oregon on the Strait of Fuca is about one hundred and twenty miles in length, eastward from Cape Flattery, where the strait joins the Pacific under the parallel of 48 degrees 23 minutes. The shores are composed of low sandy cliffs, overhanging beaches of sand or stones; from them the land ascends gradually to the foot of the mountains, which rise abruptly to a great height within a few miles of the sea. The only harbor immediately on the strait is Port Discovery, situated near the southeast angle, which Vancouver pronounces perfectly safe and convenient for ships of any size; it runs southward from the strait into the land, and is defended from the violence of the waves by Protection Island, which stretches partly across its entrance on the north. A few miles farther east a long arm of the sea, called Admiralty Inlet, penetrates the continent, southward from the strait, more than one hundred miles, terminating near the 47th degree of latitude in a bay named by Vancouver Puget's Sound; Hood's Canal is a branch of this inlet, extending southwestward, and many smaller branches are given off on each side. The country surrounding Admiralty Inlet is described by Vancouver as beautiful, fertile, and in every respect agreeable; and the bay, with its numerous arms stretching into the interior, must offer great advantages for commercial intercourse hereafter. The Hudson's Bay Company has trading-posts on these waters, of which the principal is Fort Nasqually, at the southernmost part of Puget's Sound.

On the Pacific, the coast of Oregon extends five hundred miles in a line nearly straight from north to south, presenting in its whole length but two places of refuge for vessels. The northernmost of these is Bulfinch's or Gray's Bay, discovered in May, 1792, by Captain Robert Gray, of Boston; it is situated in latitude of 46 degrees 58 minutes, and offers a secure anchorage for small vessels, sheltered from the sea by sandy spits and bars. "It appears to be of little importance as a port, in its natural state," says Vancouver, "as it affords but two or three situations where boats can approach sufficiently near the shore to effect a landing;" yet should the country become settled, this and other disadvantages may, perhaps, be corrected by artificial means. The other harbor is the mouth of the River Columbia, about thirty miles south of the former, which was also discovered by Captain Gray, and received from him the name of his ship; it will be described particularly hereafter. Port Trinidad, so called by the Spaniards who anchored there in 1775, is an open roadstead in latitude 41 degrees 3 minutes, entirely unprotected from the ocean, and, according to Vancouver, unworthy to be called a harbor. Several small rivers fall into the Pacific south of the Columbia, of which the principal are the Klamet and the Umqua, both discharging their waters near the 43d parallel. Vessels drawing not more than eight feet water may enter the Umqua; at the mouth of which the Hudson's Bay Company have a trading-factory.

On this coast are several capes; none of which, however, project far

into the ocean. The most remarkable is Cape Blanco, discovered by the Spanish navigator Aguilar in 1803, and named by Vancouver in 1792 Cape Orford; it lies nearly under the 43d parallel, and is the extremity of a line of highlands which separates the valley of the Umqua, on the north, from the Klamet, on the south. The only island between Cape Flattery and Cape Mendocino, which has been thought worthy of a name, is one close to the continent, near the latitude of 47 degrees, called by the Spaniards Isla de Dolores, or Isle of Grief, in commemoration of the murder of some of their men on the contiguous main land; it afterwards received the appellation of Destruction Island, from a similar loss there sustained by a British vessel in 1787.

XII. The territory drained by the Columbia presents a constant succession of mountain-ridges and valleys, or plains of small extent. The principal ridges are two in number, besides the Rocky Mountains, running nearly parallel to each other and to the coasts; and the country is thus divided into three great regions, which differ materially in climate, soil, and productive powers. The first region, or low country, is that between the coast and the chain of mountains nearest to the sea; the second region is between the mountains nearest the sea and the middle ridge, called the Blue Mountains; and the third region, or high country, is between the Blue Mountains and the Rocky Mountains. All these divisions are crossed by the Columbia, the main stream of which is formed in the middle region, by the union of several branches flowing from the Rocky Mountains, and receiving in their course supplies from innumerable smaller tributaries draining the intermediate countries.

The chain of mountains running nearest the Pacific, southward from the Strait of Fuca, has received many names, no one of which appears to have been generally adopted. It is called the California Mountains; the Klamet Mountains, from the Indian nation which occupies a part of the territory on its western side; and the Cascade Mountains, from the cascades or cataracts formed by the Columbia, in passing through the ridge. Mr. Kelly, a patriotic American citizen, has proposed to call it the President Range, and has accordingly assigned to the seven highest peaks, respectively, the names of the Chief Magistrates of the United States, from Washington to Jackson, in succession. These mountains are of considerable elevation, and many of their summits are visible from a great distance at sea, especially the most northern, called Mount Olympus, near Cape Flattery. Mr. Wyeth speaks thus rapturously of the view of them from the top of one of the Blue Mountains: "The traveller going west, sees the high points of the California Mountains, about one hundred and sixty miles distant, some of which rise about sixteen thousand feet above the level of the Pacific. All other views in America sink into littleness in comparison with this. From one spot, I have seen seven of

*Kelly's Mount Washington is the same called by Vancouver Mount Hood, rising due east of the mouth of the Columbia, at the distance of about one hundred miles; Mount Adams is the Mount St. Helen's, of the same navigator, under the 45th parallel; Mount Jefferson received that name from Lewis and Clarke, in 1805; it is the lofty peak in latitude of 441 degrees, which the British fur-traders have thought proper to call Mount Vancouver; Mount Madison is the Mount Maclaughlin of the British maps; Mount Monroe is in latitude of 43 degrees 20 minutes; Mount John Quincy Adams is in 42 degrees 10 minutes; Mount Jackson is a stupendous pinnacle, under the parallel of 41 degrees 40 minutes, called by the British Mount

Pitt.