The History of Oregon and California, and the other territories of the North West Coast of North America, etc

Front matter

HISTOEY OF OREGON AND CALIFORNIA. THE HISTORY OF OREGON AND CALIFORNIA, AND THE OTHER TERRITORIES ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA; ACCOMPANIED BV A GEOGRAPHICAL VIEW AND MAP OF THOSE COUNTRIES AND A NOMBEK OF DOCUMENTS AS PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HISTORY. BY ROBERT GREENHOW, TRANSLATOR AND LIBRARIAN TO THE DEPARTMENT OP STATE OP THE UNITED STATES ; AUTHOR OF A MEMOIR. HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL, ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA, PUBLISHED IN 1840, BY DIRECTION OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. " The possible destiny of the United States of America, as a Nation of a Hundred Millions of Freemen. Btret-ching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, living under the laws of Alfred, and speaking the language of Shakspeare and Milton, is an august con ception "— Coleridge's Table Talk.

LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET 1844. London : Printed by W. Clowes and Sons, 14, Charing Cross. TO MY VENERABLE AND EVER KIND FRIEND, MAJOR-GENERAL MORGAN LEWIS, LATE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK ; THIS FOLUME IS INSCRIBED, AS A MARK OF RESPECT AND GBATEFOL REMEMBRANCE. ROBERT GREENHOW.

Preface

. The following pages are devoted, principally, to the de scription and history of the portion of North America bordering on the Pacific Ocean, between the 40th and the 54th parallels of latitude, which is traversed and in a great meas ure drained, by the River Columbia, and to which the name of OREGON is now usually applied. It has, however, been found necessary, for the objects of the work, to bostow almost equal attention on the regions embraced under the general appellation of California, extending southward from the Columbia countries, to the arm of the Pacific, called the Californian Gulf; and also to take into considera tion the coasts and islands north and north-west of those countries, as far as the Artie Sea. The vast division of America, comprehending these ter ritories, remains, with the exception of a few isolated spots on the coasts and on the margins of the larger streams, uncultivated and inhabited only by tribes of wandering savages.

Its shores and some of the rivers have been examined with care, and their course may be found delineated with considerable minuteness on maps. Of the interior regions, some have never been explored, and are indeed apparently impenetrable by man ; others, which offer fewer obstacles to the traveller, are only known through the vague and im perfect accounts of traders or missionaries ; and in those which have been the most frequented by civilized persons, much remains to be effected by the aid of scientific observations^ order to obtain satisfactory ideas of their geog raphy and physical characteristics.

PREFACE.

. These territories, unoccupied, partially unexplored, and remote from all civilized countries, nevertheless present much that is interesting in their political history, as well as in their natural conformation and productions ; and events are now in progress which seem calculated, ere long, to direct towards them the views of the governments and peo ple of many powerful nations. Every part of this division of America is in fact claimed by some civilized state as its exclusive property, in virtue either of discoveries or settlements made by its citizens or subjects, or of transfer or inheritance from some other state claiming on similar grounds, or of contiguity to its own acknowledged territories. On these points, the principles of national law are by no means clearly defined ; nor is it easy to apply such as are most generally admitted, to particular cases ; nor are governments ordinarily found ready to re linquish claims merely because they are proved to be un founded : and disputes have in consequence arisen between different states asserting the right of possession to the same portion of Western America, which have more than once threatened to disturb the peace of the world.

Attempts have been made to settle the questions at issue by negotiation ; and certain lines of boundary have been agreed on by treaties between one and another of the claimant powers : but the arrangements thus made, can scarcely in any instance be considered definitive, as they have not received, and will probably never receive, the assent of the other parties interested. In the mean time these territories are daily becoming more important from the advancement of the popula tion of adjoining countries towards them ; and from the constant increase of the trade and navigation of several of the claimant powers in the Pacific, which would ren der the undisputed possession of establishments on the coasts of that Ocean most desirable for each. The difficulty of effecting an amicable partition of the territories

PREFACE.

. IX thus becomes daily greater, and more urgent therefore is the necessity of endeavoring to attain that object without delay. It was principally with the object of showing the nature, origin and extent, of these various claims, that the author of the following pages composed his " Memoir, Historical and Political, on the North-West Coasts of North America and the adjacent Territories,'''' * which was published by order of the Senate of the United States in 1840. He there endeavored to present a complete, clear and impartial view * The circumstances under which the Memoir, here mentioned, was composed and published, will be made apparent by the following letters, and extract from the Journal of the Senate of the United States. To the Hon. John Forsyth, Secretary of State. Washington, January 25, 1840.

Sir : I am informed that your department is in possession of much information relating to the territory of Oregon, its geography, resources, and the title of the United States to the same. If consistent with your duty, I would be pleased to be put in possession of such papers and documents as you may think proper to send me, requesting that you will mark such as you would rather not have printed or made public. Your obedient servant, L. F. LINN, Chairman of the Select Committee on the Territor7 of Oregon. Answer. — To the Hon. Lewis F. Linn, Senator of the United States. Department of State, Washington, Jan. 25th, 1840. Sir : I have had the honor to receive your letter of this day's date, asking for information relative to the territory of Oregon, its geography and resources, and the title of the United States to the same.

Mr. Greenhow, the translator and librarian of this department, has been for some time past, by my direction, em ployed in collecting and arranging historical information on the subject of the north-western coasts of America ; I send you the result of his labors, and submit it to the discretion of the committee to be printed or not, as they may think most advisable. Not having had the leisure to compare the statements in the Memoir with the various works and documents upon which they are founded, I can vouch only for the zeal, industry, and good faith of Mr. Greenhow, by whom they were prepared. I am, sir, your most obedient servant, JOHN FORSYTH, Secretary of State. From the Journal of the Senate of the United Slates. " Monday, February 10, 1840. On motion, by Mr. Linn, Ordered, That a History of the North-West Coast of North America and the ad jacent Territories, communicated to the Select Committee on the Oregon Territory, be printed, with the accompanying map ; and that two thousand five hundred copies, in addition to the usual number, be printed for the use of the Senate." B

PREFACE.

. X of all the discoveries and settlements, made or attempted, in those countries by civilized nations, and of all the disputes, negotiations, and conventions, between different governments with respect to them, from the period when they were first visited by Europeans ; founding his state ments, as much as possible, upon original authorities. That Memoir is the only work hitherto published, approaching in its character to a history of the western portion of North America. The History of California,* printed at Madrid, in 1758, is devoted almost exclusively to descriptions of the Californian Peninsula, and to accounts of the mission ary labors of the Jesuits, in that desolate region. The Introduction to the Journal of Marchand'' 's Voyages which appeared in 1799, and the Introduction to the Journal of Galiano and Valdes,\ published in 1802, are confined to the discoveries of European navigators on the North Pacific coasts of America, before 1793 ; upon which so many details have been made known, since the appearance of those works, that they are now entirely obsolete, and scarcely one of their paragraphs can be cited as correct.

The Journals of Cook, La Perouse, Vancouver, Macken sie, Krusenstern, Lewis and Clarke, Kotzebue, Beechey and Belcher, all contain important information as to the geography of the countries under consideration ; but as regards the events, which lie within the province of the historian, we have only the accounts of the Astoria enterprise by Franchere, Cox, and Irving, all interesting, yet all limited to the occurrences of three or four years. In the most popular histories of other countries, and especially of Great Britain, the circumstances relating to North-West America, are in every material point, misrepresented, either from neglect on the part of the authors, or from motives less excusable ; and these histories being universally read and received as true in England and in the * See page 105. t See page 223. % See page 241.

PREFACE.

. XI United States, it is not astonishing, that erroneous ideas should be generally entertained by the people of both nations, upon points, which have been and will continue to be, the subjects of discussion between their governments. The Memoir, above mentioned, contains the outlines of the History now presented ; for which the same authorities, with many others since collected, consisting of private and official reports, letters and accounts, journals of expeditions by sea and land, and histories and state papers of various civilized nations, have been carefully examined and com pared. Many errors of fact as well as of reasoning in the former work, have by this means been corrected ; and new circumstances have been brought to light, and new arguments have been founded upon them, of an important nature, and calculated perhaps materially to modify the views of those to whqgn the settlement of questions relative to North-West America may be hereafter entrusted.

The principal object of the author has been to present the facts relative to the discovery and settlement of those countries, fairly ; and to investigate, and judge the claims which have been deduced from them, agreeably to the immutable principles of right, and the general understanding of civilized nations : and although he fully appreciates, and endeavors in all cases to place in their proper light, the merits of his own countrymen, and the pretensions of his own government, he is not conscious that his desire to do so, has in any case led him to the commission of injustice towards other individuals, or nations, either by misstatements, or by suppressions of the truth. In order to unite the various parts into a regular narrative, and to preserve the remembrances of events which may be interesting, if not important at future periods, he has introduced circum stances not immediately tending to the attainment of the principal objects proposed ; but he has omitted nothing voluntarily, which if made known might have led to con clusions different from those here presented. The dates

PREFACE.

. XII and the authorities will be found generally inserted, and always in cases where the circumstances related are new or material, or in which the accounts here given differ from those usually received ; and he has appended a number of documents, extracts, and original notices as Proofs and Illustrations of the history. Among the latter, are some valuable papers never before published, others not com monly known, and others again which the reader will probably desire frequently to consult, including all the treaties and conventions between civilized nations, with respect to the countries forming the subjects of the history. In the geographical view he has collected, compared, and endeavored to arrange in order, what appeared to be the most exact and striking details, presented by the numerous travellers who have visited the countries in question.

The map has been composed, as far as possible, from the original authorities : being intended for the illustration of the history, it necessarily embraces a very large portion of the surface of the globe, and is consequently on a small scale ; it will however be found sufficient for that purpose, and perhaps on the whole, more nearly correct than any other yet offered to the public. Washington, Februaey, 1844. TABLE OF CONTENTS. GEOGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH AMERICA. GENERAL VIEW. Great Natural Divisions, or Sections of North America — Coasts on the Pacific and Arctic Seas — Mountain Chains of the Pacific Section — Rocky Mountains — Geology — Climate — Rivers — Aboriginal Inhabitants — Settlements and Claims of civilized Nations. 1-8 CALIFORNIA. Extent, and Divisions into Peninsula or Old, and Continental or New California — Gulf of California and Country on its eastern side — Peninsula of California — Continental California — Spanish, or Mexican Settlements — San Diego — Santa Barbara — Monterey — San Francisco — River Colorado — Utah Lake. ........ 9-20 OREGON.

Assumed Boundaries — Region of the Columbia River — The Columbia and its Branches — Pacific Coasts — Strait of Fuca — Natural Divisions of Oregon — Westernmost Chain, or Far- West Mountains — Blue Mountains — Rocky Mountains — Country north of the Columbia — North-West Archipelago — Hudson's Bay Company's Establishments — Settlements of Citizens of the United States — Territories east of the Rocky Mountains 20-37 RUSSIAN AMERICA. Extent and Limits — The Russian American Company — District of Sitka — District of Kodiak — Mount St. Elias — Michaelof District — Aliaska — District of Unalashka — Aleutian Islands — District of Atcha — Bering's Strait — Kamtchatka. 38-42 CONTENTS. XIV ■65 ■95 107 HISTORY OF OREGON AND CALIFORNIA, ETC.

Chapter I

To 1543. Preliminary Observations — Efforts of the Spaniards to discover Western Passages to India — Successive Discoveries of the West Indies, the North American Continent, the Eastern Passage to India, Brazil, and the racihc Ocean — Search for a navigable Passage connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans— Supposed Discovery of such a Passage, called the Strait of Anian — Discovery of Magellan's Strait and the Western Passage to India — Conquest of Mexico by Cortes, who endeavors to discover new countries farther north-west — Voyages of Maldonado, Hurtado de Mendoza, Grijalva, and Becerra — Discovery of California — Expedition of Cortes to California — Pretended Discoveries of Friar Marcos de Niza — Voyages of Ulloa, Alarcon, and Cabrillo — Expeditions of Coronado and Soto — The Spaniards desist from their Efforts to explore the North- West Coasts of America. ...... 45

Chapter II

1543 to 1606. The Spaniards conquer the Philippine Islands, and establish a direct Trade across the Pacific, between Asia and America — Measures of the Spanish Government to prevent other European Nations from settling or trading in America — These Measures resisted by the English, the French, and the Dutch — Free Traders and Freebooters infest the West Indies — First Voyages of the English in the Pacific — Voyages of Drake and Cavendish — Endeavors of the English to discover a North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific — False Reports of the Discovery of such Passages — Supposed Voyages ofUrdaneta, Maldonado, and Font6 — Voyage of Juan de Fuca — Expeditions of Sebastian Vizcaino — Supposed Discovery of a great River in North-West America. . . 66*

Chapter III

1608 to 1768. The North-West Coasts of North America remain nearly neglected during the whole of this Period — Efforts of the English and the Dutch to find new Passages into the Pacific — Discovery of Hudson's Bay and Baffin's Bay — Discovery of the Passage around Cape Horn — Establishment of the Hudson's Bay Trading Company — Endeavors of the Spaniards to settle California unsuccessful — The Jesuits undertake the Reduction of California — Establishments of the Jesuits in the Peninsula, and their Expulsion from the Spanish Dominions. .... 96- CONTENTS. XV 126 139 159 181

Chapter IV

1769 to 1779. First Establishments on the West Coast of California founded by the Spaniards — Dispute between Spain and Great Britain respecting the Falkland Islands — Exploring Voyages of the Spaniards under Perez, Heceta and Bodega, and Arteaga and Bodega — Discovery of Nootka Sound, Norfolk Sound, and the Mouth of the Columbia River — Importance of these Discoveries. ........ 108*

Chapter V

1711 to 1779. Discoveries of the Russians from Kamtchatka* — Voyages of Bering and Tchirikof to the Arctic Sea and to the American Continent — Establishments of the Russian Fur Traders in the Aleutian Islands — Voyages of Synd, Krenitzin, and Levashef — First Voyage from Kamtchatka to China, made by Polish Exiles under Benyowsky — General Inaccuracy of the Ideas of the Russians respecting the Geography of the northernmost Coasts of the Pacific, before 1779. .... 127-

Chapter VI

1763 to 1780. Great Britain obtains Possession of Canada — Journey of Carver to the Upper Mississippi — First Mention of the Oregon River — Inaccuracy of Carver's Statements — Journeys of Hearne through the Regions west of Hudson's Bay — Voyage of Captain Cook to the North Pacific — His important Discoveries in that Quarter, and death, — Return of his Ships to Europe ; Occurrences at Canton during their stay in that Port. 140-

Chapter VII

1780 to 1789. Commercial Results of Cook's Discoveries — Settlements of the Russians in America — Scheme of Ledyard for the Trade of the North Pacific — -Voyage of La Perouse — Direct Trade between the American Coasts and Canton commenced — Voyages of the English Fur Traders — Re-discovery of the Strait of Fuca — Voyage pf Meares, who endeavors to find a great River described by the Spaniards — First Voyages from the United States to the South Pacific, and to Canton — Voyage of the Columbia and Washington, under Kendrick and Gray, from Boston to the North Pacific. 160-

Chapter VIII

1788 and 1789. Uneasiness of the Spanish Government at the proceedings of the Fur Tradera in the North Pacific — Voyages of Observation by Martinez and Haro CONTENTS. XVIII Canada Courts to the Pacific Countries — Russian Establishments on the North Pacific — Expeditions in Search of Northern Passages between the Atlantic and the Pacific — Death of Tamahamaha, and Introduc tion of Christianity into the Sandwich Islands. . . • 306-330

CHAPTER XVI.

1820 to 1828. Bill reported by a Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, for the Occupation of the Columbia River — Ukase of the Emperor of Russia, with regard to the North Pacific Coasts — Negotiations between the Governments of Great Britain, Russia, and the United States — Conventions between the United States and Russia, and between Great Britain and Russia — Further Negotiations between the United States and Great Britain relative to the North-West Coasts — Indefinite Extension of the Arrangement for the joint Occupancy of the Territories west of the Rocky Mountains, by the British and the Americans. . . . 331-355

CHAPTER XVII.

1823 to 1843. Few Citizens of the United States in the Countries west of the Rocky Mountains between 1813 and 1823 — Trading Expeditions of Ashley, Sublette, Smith, Pilcher, Pattie, Bonneville, and Wyeth — Missionaries from the United States form Establishments on the Columbia — First Printing Press set up in Oregon — Opposition of the Hudson's Bay Company to the Americans ; how exerted — Controversy between the United States and Russia — Dispute between the Hudson's Bay and the Russian American Companies ; how terminated — California ; Capture of Monterey by Commodore Jones — The Sandwich Islands ; Proceedings of the Missionaries ; Expulsion of the Catholic Priests, and their Reinstatement by a French Force — The Sandwich Islands temporarily occupied by the British. 356-374

CHAPTER XVIII.

1842 to 1844. Excitement in the United States respecting Oregon — Treaty of Washington determining Boundaries between the Territories of Great Britain and those of the United States, east of the Lake of the Woods — Mr. Linn's Bill in the Senate of the United States, for the immediate occupation of Oregon — Reflections on the Convention of 1827 — Present State of the Hudson's Bay Company's Territories — Conclusion. . . . 375-403 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 405-471 GENERAL INDEX ERRATA. Page 389, line 4, for " he moreover," read " Mr. Macauley.'' „ 391, line 15, for " Lord Palmerston," read " Mr. Macauley." „ 395, line 13 from bottom, for "portion," read "position." „ 400, line 15 from bottom, for "in returning they," read "those returning from China." GEOGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH AMERICA.

GEOGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH AMERICA. GENERAL VIEW. North America borders upon three great divisions of the ocean : the Atlantic on the east — the Arctic on the north — and the Pacific on the south and west — each of which receives, either directly or through its gulfs and bays, the superfluous waters from a corresponding great section of the continent. These three great sections of North America are unequal in ex tent, and different in the character of their surface. At least one half of the continent is drained by streams entering the Atlantic ; and of that half, the waters from the larger, as well as the more fertile portion, are carried by the Mississippi into the Mexican Gulf. Of the other two sections, that which borders on the Arctic Sea is probably the more extensive. The Atlantic and the Arctic sections present each a large proportion of surface nearly plane, and comparatively little elevated above the sea ; and the line of separation between them is so indistinctly marked as to be, in many places, imperceptible.

The Pacific section, on the contrary, is trav ersed in every part by steep and lofty ridges of highland ; and it is completely divided from the other portions by a chain of mountains, extending, in continuation of the Andes of South America, from the Isthmus of Panama, north-westward, to the utmost ex tremities of the continent in that direction. Of the Atlantic coasts of America it is unnecessary to speak. The Pacific coast extends from Panama westward and northward, without any remarkable irregularity in its outline, to the tropic of Cancer, almost immediately under which is the entrance of the great Gulf of California, separating the Peninsula of Cali fornia from the main continent, on the east. From the southern extremity of this peninsula, the coast runs generally north-westward to Mount St. Elias, a lofty volcanic peak, rising from the shore of the ocean under the 60th parallel ; beyond which, the con tinent stretches far westward, between the Pacific on the south, and the Arctic Sea on the north, to its termination at Cape Prince of Wales, on Bering's Strait, the passage separating America from Asia.

The part of this coast south of the 49th degree of latitude presents few indentations, and the islands in its vicinity are neither numerous nor large. North of the 49th degree, on the contrary, the mainland is everywhere penetrated by inlets and bays ; and near it are thousands of islands, many of them extensive, lying singly or in groups, separated from each other and from the conti nent by narrow intricate channels. Bering's Strait is the only direct pass of communication between the Pacific and the Arctic Sea. Beyond it, the shores of the two great continents which it separates, run in opposite courses. The shores of Asia and Europe have been explored in their whole length on the Arctic Sea, though no vessel has hitherto made a voyage along them from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or vice versa.

The north coast of America has been traced from Cape Prince of Wales north-eastward, to Cape Barrow, near the 71st degree of latitude, and thence eastward more than fifteen hundred miles, though not continuously to the Atlantic. The portion north of Hudson's Bay is still imperfectly discovered ; and the interesting question whether the Arctic Sea there mingles its waters with those of the Atlantic, or is separated from them by the extension of the continent to the north pole, remains undetermined. Many circumstances, however, combine to favor the belief that a communication will be found between the two oceans, either through Fox's Channel, the northernmost part of Hudson's Bay, or through Lan caster Sound, which joins Baffin's Bay, under the 74th parallel of latitude. The Pacific coast of America, in its whole length, from the southern extremity of California to Bering's Strait, is bordered by lofty mountains, which appear to form a continuous chain, partially broken in a few places by the passage across it of rivers from the interior.

These mountains rise, for the most part, im mediately from the sea-shore, above which they may be seen towering one, two, and even three, miles in perpendicular eleva tion : in some parts, however, the main ridge is separated from the ocean by tracts of lower country, as much as one hundred miles in breadth, traversed by parallel lines of hills. The peninsulas of California and Aliaska, the numerous islands which mask the coast of the continent, between the 49th and the 58th parallels, and the Aleutian Islands, which stretch in a line across the sea, from the southern extremity of Aliaska to the vicinity of the opposite Asiatic peninsula of Kamtchatka, may all be considered as pro longations of this chain through the Pacific. The great chain of mountains which divides the streams emptying into the Pacific from those flowing into the other divisions of the ocean, runs through the northern continent, as through the southern, in a line nearly parallel with the shore of the Pacific, to which it is also generally much nearer than to the Atlantic.

Under the 40th parallel of latitude, where the western section of Amer ica is widest, the distance across it, from the summit of the dividing chain to the Pacific, is about seven hundred miles, which is not more than one third of the distance from the same point of the mountains to the Atlantic, measured in the same latitude. The part of the dividing chain extending south of the 40th degree of latitude to Mexico, has received many names, no one of which seems to have been universally adopted. The Anahuac Moun tains is, however, the appellation most commonly applied to it at present, and by which it will be distinguished in the following pages. The portion of the great ridge north of the 40th parallel is generally known as the Rocky or Stony Mountains. From that latitude, its course is nearly due north-westward, and gradually approaching the line of the Pacific coast to the 54th degree, where the main chain turns more westward, and continues in that direction so far as it has been traced.

Another ridge, called the Chipewyan Mountains, indeed extends, as if in prolongation of the Rocky Mountains, from the 53d parallel north-westward to the Arctic Sea, where it ends near the 70th degree of latitude : but the territory on its western side is drained by streams entering that sea, either directly or passing through the ridge into the Mackenzie River, which flows along its eastern base. Among the Rocky Mountains, nearly all the greatest rivers in North America have their sources. Within a hundred miles of the point where that chain is crossed by the 41st parallel of latitude, rise, on the eastern side, the Missouri, the Yellow-stone, the Platte, and the Arkansas, the waters of all which are carried through the Mississippi into the Mexican Gulf, and the River Bravo del Norte, which falls into the same arm of the Atlantic ; while on the western side are found the springs of the Leivis or Snake, the principal southern branch of the Columbia, which enters the Pacific near the 46th degree of latitude, and those of the Colorado, which terminates in the head or northern extremity of the Califor nian Gulf.

In the same great chain, also, near the 53d de gree of latitude, the northern branch of the Columbia runs from a lake, situated within a few feet of another lake, whence issues the west branch of the Athabasca, one of the affluents to the Mackenzie ; and at a short distance south rises the Saskatchawine, which takes its course eastward to Lake Winnipeg, and contributes to the supply of Hudson's Bay. Between the two great lines of mountains which thus extend along the eastern and the western borders of the Pacific section of North America, are other ridges, some apparently isolated, but the greater number connected with the above-described chains. The most extensive of these intermediate ridges is called the Snowy Mountains, and is believed to stretch uninterruptedly from the Rocky Mountains to the westernmost range, nearly in the course of the 41st parallel of latitude, constituting the southern bound ary of the territory drained by the Columbia River.

Another ridge, called the Blue Mountains, runs northward from the Snowy Mountains, bounding the valley of the Snake or Lewis River on the west. A lofty range also extends from the westernmost chain, near the 48th degree of latitude, northward to the Rocky Moun tains, near the 54th degree, separating the waters which flow into the northern branch of the Columbia from those of Fraser's River on the west, and forming another great natural line of boundary of the territory called Oregon, drained by the former river. In the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains, on the east, are several ridges, running generally parallel to the great chain, among which are the Wind River and Long's ranges, comprising some of the highest peaks in America, and the ridge separating the valley of the River Bravo del Norte from that of the Arkansas.