The history of Oregon and California, and the other territories of the north-west coast of North America

Front matter

Qass.

o

HISTORY

Preface To The Fourth Edition

Since the publication of the first edition of this History, one of the countries, to which it relates, has been the subject of a most serious discussion between the two great nations claiming the sovereignty over it ; and the peace of the civilized world seemed, for a time, to depend upon the determination of the question, — whether the territory drained by the Columbia River should belong, definitively, to the United States or to Great Britain ? This question has been settled, amicably, and honorably to both the parties, by the Treaty of June 15, 1846, and Oregon has ceased to be the topic of the day. The war between the United States and Mexico, however, at the same time, brought California before the public ; but less interest was felt on the subject, as no one appeared to doubt that the latter country would also be speedily annexed to the Great American Republic.

By the events which have been thus consummated, or are now in progress, the foundation has been laid for a new power on the shores of the North Pacific. Thousands of American citizens are already established there, and as many more are now on their way thither, by land and by sea, carrying with them the feelings, the institutions, and the arts of their native land ; and cities will soon rise in Oregon and California, and vessels will be sent forth from their ports, under the flag of the United States, to vie with those of other civilized lands, in the trade and fishery of the Western Ocean. The History of North-West

X PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.

America will not lose its interest, in consequence of these changes, but will be studied with greater care by the political philosopher, the merchant, the agriculturist, and the man of the world ; and the rising population of those countries will treasure up the annals of their discovery and settlement, and many a barren waste, and naked promontory or islet, will be endowed with a romantic value, as the scenes of adventures of the early explorers and colonists.

The author of the present work has reason to congratulate himself, that he devoted his leisure hours to the investigation of the history of Oregon and California, before the occurrence of the discussion with regard to the former country ; of which he has thus been able to contribute, in some measure, to the favorable conclusion, by removing a mass of embarrassing errors, and placing the most material points, for the first time, in a clear and distinct light. That attempts would be made, as they have been, and will continue to be, to deprive him of his share of merit, in the production of these important results, he fully anticipated from the commencement of his labors, and he has, therefore, suffered no disappointment ; on the contrary, his work has met with a success, both in America and in Europe, far exceeding his most sanguine anticipations, and well calculated to assure him, that it will survive the memory of those, who have endeavored to destroy it, by falsehood or by affected contempt.

In the present edition, the author has availed himself of all the information which he has been able to obtain, since the publication of the last preceding ; and he has particularly studied the numerous reviews of his work, and answers to it, which have appeared in Europe, without allowing himself to be affected by the hostile tone in general pervading them. The objections urged by those writers, have been all carefully examined ; and, where they have been considered either well-founded, or worthy of refutation from their speciousness, corresponding altera-

Preface To The Fourth Edition. XI

tions have been made in the text. Among the portions which have thus been in a manner renewed, are those relating to Drake's voyage, (page 70) — to the boundaries of Louisiana, Canada, and the Hudson's Bay Company's territories, (pages 100 and 277) — especially to the supposed adoption of the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, as the separation between the Hudson's Bay countries and the French possessions, agreeably to the Treaty of Utrecht, on which, it is believed, all doubts will be now set at rest, (pages 280 and 436) — to the meaning and duration of the Nootka Convention, of 1790, between Great Britain and Spain, (pages 256 and 318), in which is presented (page 259,) an analysis of the law of nations, as to the effects of war and peace upon treaties. On these, and other points, more or less important, much care has been bestowed, and the views and statements of the author have been modified, as circumstances seemed to require ; while many new facts and arguments have been introduced, tending to make the whole more complete. The account of the recent discussions and treaty, between the United States and Great Britain, on the subject of Oregon, terminating this history, is confined entirely to essential circumstances, which are related as concisely and accurately as possible, and with very few remarks of any kind ; the Treaty will be found at length, on page 482.

The author must be permitted, in conclusion, to protest against the assertion which has been made, that his work is merely an argument, or brief, in favor of the claims of the United States to the possession of Oregon. It was intended to be, and is, neither more nor less than its name imports, a History of Oregon and California, and the adjacent territories on the North-West Coast of North America ; and not one line in it, or in the Memoir on the North-West Coast, which preceded it, has been written under the dictation, or even with the advice, of any member of the American Government. Had the author been thus influenced, contrary to his own convictions, the whole

Xll PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.

work would have been different ; and he would scarcely have ventured to oppose, as he has in so many, and indeed in nearly all cases, the views long established in the United States, and uniformly maintained by their Government, in its previous discussions and declarations, at the risk of the abuse and injury to which he has, as he anticipated, been exposed. His maxim has been, to present what he believed to be true and right, in the narration of events, and in reasoning upon them ; and while endeavoring to guard and advance the interests of his country, he is not conscious that he has, in any case, been the advocate of a course, by which those interests were to be preserved or benefited, at the expense of its honor or of justice.

The author will moreover take this occasion to say, that he expects ere long to offer to the public, another work on the same plan, and on a kindred subject, namely : "A History of Florida, Louisiana and Texas, and the adjacent countries, including the whole valley of the Mississippi, from their discovery to their incorporation with the United States," which has for some time past occupied his leisure hours, and on which he has collected a vast mass of new and interesting facts, calculated materially to change the existing opinions on many important points, relative to that portion of America.

Washington, January, 1847.

Table Of Contents

GEOGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN SECTION OF NORTH

AMERICA.

GENERAL VIEW.

Chapter I

Preliminary Observations, 43 — 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 Pacific Ocean, 44 — Search for a navigable Passage connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans — Supposed Discovery of such a Passage, called the Strait of Anian, 45 — Discovery of Magellan's Strait and the Western Passage to India, 46 — Conquest of Mexico by Cortes, who endeavors to discover nevi^ Countries farther north-west, 48 — Voyages of Maldonado, Hurtado de Mendoza, Grijalva, and Becerra, 52 ■ — Discovery of California — Expedition of Cortes to California, 53 — Pretended Discoveries of Friar Marcos de Niza, 57 — Voyages of Ulloa, Alarcon, and Cabrillo, 68 — Expeditions of Coronado and Soto, 69 — The Spaniards desist from their Efforts to explore the North-West Coasts of America, 63.

Chapter II. 1543 To 1608

The Spaniards conquer the Philippine Islands, and establish a direct Trade across the Pacific, between Asia and America, 64 — Measures of the Spanish Government to prevent other European Nations from settling or trading in America, 66 — These Measures resisted by the E.nglish, the French, and the Dutch — Free Traders and Freebooters infest the West Indies, 68 — First Voyages of the English in the Pacific, 70 — Voyages of Drake and Cavendish, 71 — Endeavors^of the English to discover a Worth-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 76 — False Reports of the Discovery of such Passages, 78 — Supposed Voyages of Urdaneta, Maldonado, and Fonte, 77 — Voyage of Juan de Fuca, 84 — Expeditions of Sebastian Vizcaino, 88 — Supposed Discovery of a great River in North West America, 91.

Chapter III

The North-West Coasts of North America remain nearly neglected during the whole of this Period, 93 — Efforts of the English and the Dutch to find new Passages into the Pacific — Discovery of Hudson's Bay, Baffin's Bav, and the Passage around the Cape of Good Hope, 94 — Establishment of British and French Colonies in America — Charter of the Hudson's Bay Company — Endeavors of the Spaniards to settle California unsuccessful, 95 — The Jesuits undertake the Reduction of California. 96 — Their Success, 97 — American Treaty between Great Britain and Spain; confirmed by Treaty of Utrecht, 99 — Discovery and Settlement of Louisiana by the French, 100 — Limits of Louisiana, 101 — Expulsion of the Jesuits from the Spanish Dominions, 106.

Chapter I V. 1769 To 1779

First Establishments on the West Coast of California founded by the Spaniards, 108 — Dispute between Spain and Great Britain respecting the Falkland Islands, 111 — Exploring Voyages of the Spaniards under Perez, 111— Heccta and Bodega, 117, and Arteaga and Bodega, 125 — Discovery of Nootka Sound. Norfolk Sound, and the Mouth of the Columbia River. 120 — Importance of these Discoveries, 124.

CONTENTS. XV

CHAPTER V.

Discoveries of the Russians from Kamtchatka — Voyages of Bering and Tchirikof to the Arctic Sea and to the American Continent, 129 — Establishments of the Russian F'ur Traders in the Aleutian Islands, 135 — Voyages of Synd, Krenitzin, and Levashef, 137 — First Voyage from Kamtchatka to Cliina, made by Polish Exiles under Benyovvsky, 138 — General Inaccuracy of the Ideas of the Russians respecting the Geography of the northernmost Coasts of the Pacific, before 1779, 139.

CHAPTER VI.

Great Britain obtains Possession of Canada, 110 — Journey of Carver to the Upper Mississippi, 141 — First Mention of the Oren;on River, 142 — Inaccuracy of Carver's Statements, 1+i — Journeys of Hearne throu<;h tlie Regions west of Hudson's Bay, 145 — Voyage of Captain Cook to the JNorth Pacific, 147 — His important Discoveries in that Quarter, and Death, 137 — Return of his Ships to Europe} Occurrences at Canton during their Stay in that Port, 158.

CHAPTER VII.

Commercial Results of Cook's Discoveries, 160 — Settlements of the Russians in America, 161 — Scheme of Ledyard for the Trade of the North Pacific, 162 — Voyage of La Perouse, 163 — Direct Trade between the American Coasts and Canton commenced, 163 — Voyages of the English Fur Traders — Re-discovery of the Strait of Fuca, 171 — Voyage of Meares, who endeavors to find a great River described by the Spaniards, 175 — First Voyages from the United States to the South Pacific, and to Canton, 179 — Voyage of the Columbia and Washington, under Kendrick and Gray, from Boston to the Worth Pacific, 180.

CHAPTER VIII.

Uneasiness of the Spanish Government at the Proceedings of the Fur Traders in the JNorth Pacific, 183 — Voyages of Observation by M.irtinez and Haro to the Russian American Settlements, 185 — Remonstrances of tlie Co\irt of Madrid to that of St. Petersburg, against the alleged Encroachments of the latter Power. 186 — Martinez and Haro sent by the Viceroy of Mexico to take Possession of JNootka Sound, 187 — Claims of Spain examined, 188 — Seizure of British and other Vessels at Nootka by Martinez, 191 — Captain Gray, in the Washington, explores the East ("oast of Queen Charlotte's Island, and enters the Strait of Fuca, 199 — Kendrick. in the Washington, passes through the Strait of Fuca — Return of the Columbia to llie United States, 200.

CHAPTER IX.

Controversy between Great Britain and Spain respecting the North-West Coasts of America and the Navication of the Pacific, ?02 — The Owners of the Vessels seized at Mootka apply for Redress to the British Government, which demands Satisfaction for the alleged Outrages, 203 — Spain resists the Demand, and calls on France for Aid, agreeably to the

XVI CONTENTS.

Family Compact, 207 — Proceedings in the JNational Assembly of France on the Subject, 208 — Spain engages to indemnify the British for the Property seized, 205 — Further Demands of Great Britain — Designs of Pitt against Spanish America, 20G — Secret Mediation of France, through which the Dispute is settled, 209 — Convention of October, 1790, called tlie Nootka Treaty, 210 — Proceedings in Parliament, and Reflections on this Convention, 211.

CHAPTER X.

Vancouver sent by the British Government to explore the Coasts of America, and receive Possession of Lands and Buildings agreeably to the Convention with Spain, 216 — Passage of the Washington, under Kendnck, through the Strait of Fuca, in 1789, 218 — JNootka reoccupied by the Spaniards, 220 — Voyages of Fidalgo, Quimper, Elisa, Billings, Marchand, and Malaspina, 221 — Voyages of the American Fur Traders, Gray, Ingraham, and Kendrick, 224 — Discovery of the Washington Islands by Ingraham, 226.

CHAPTER XI.

Vancouver and Broughton arrive on the American Coasts in 1792, and meet with Gray, who informs them of his Discovery of the Columbia River, 233 — The Strait of tuca surveyed by Vancouver, Galiano, and Valdes, 238 — Negotiations between Vancouver and Quadra at Nootka, 2-13 — Vancouver's Injustice to the Americans, 2-14, 248,256 — Broughton's Examination of the Lower Part of the Columbia River, 247 — Vancouver's Proceedings at the Sandwich Islands, 249 — He completes the Survey of the North-West Coasts of America, and returns to England, 255 — The Spaniards abandon Nootka, 257 — Conclusions with Regard to the Dispute between Great Britain and Spain, and the Convention of 1790, 258.

CHAPTER XII.

Establishment of the North-West Fur Trading Company of Montreal, in 1784,261 — Expeditions of Mackenzie to the Arctic Sea and to the Paciiic Coast, 263 — The Trade between the North Pacific Coasts of America and Canton conducted almost exclusively by Vessels of the United States from 1796 to K;14, 266 — Establishment of the Russian American Company, 269 — Its Settlements and Factories on the American Coasts, 270 — Expedition of Krusenstern through the North Pacific, 272 — Proposition of the Russian Government to that of the United States, with Regard to the Trade of the North Pacific, 275.

CHAPTER XIII.

Cession of Louisiana by France to the United States, 276 — Inquiries as to the true Extent of Louisiana, 277 — Erroneous Supposition that its Limits towards the North had been fixed by Commissaries agreeably to the Treaty of Utrecht, 281 — President Jeti'erson sends Lewis and ("larke to examine the Missouri and Cohimbia, 284 — Account of their Expedition from tlie Mississippi to the Pacific, 285.

CONTENTS. XVII

CHAPTER XIV.

First Establishments of the JMorth-West Company in the Countries north of the Columbia, 2y0 — Facihc Fur Company formed at JNew York, 292 — Plan of its Founder, 293 — First Expedition from New York in the Tonquin, 295 — Foundation of Astoria near the Mouth of the Columbia River, 29G — March of the Party under Hunt and Crooks across the Continent, 298 — Arrival of the Beaver in the Columbia, 299 — Destruction of the Tonquin by the Savages, 300 — War between the United States and Great Britain fatal to the Enterprise, 301 — Establishments of the Pacific Company sold to the JNorth-West Company, 303 — Astoria taken by the British, 304 — Dissolution of the Pacific Company, 305.

CHAPTER XV.

Restitution of Astoria to the United States by Great Britain, agreeably to the Treaty of Ghent, 309 — Alleged Reservation of Rights on the Part of Great Britain, 310 — First IVegotiation between the Governments of Great Britain and the United States respecting the Territories west of the Rocky Mountains, and Convention for the joint Occupancy of those Territories, 314 — Florida Treaty between Spain and the United States, by which the Latter acquires the Title of Spain to the North-West Coasts, 315 — Colonel Long's exploring Expedition to the Kocky Mountains, 322 — Disputes between the British .\orth- VVest and Hudson's Bay Companies, 324 — Union of those Bodies — Act of Parliament extending the Jurisdiction of the Canada Courts to the Pacific Countries, 325 — Russian Establishments on the North Pacific, 3'27 — Expeditions in Search of Northern Passages between the Atlantic and the Pacific, 326 — Death of Tamaliamaha, and Introduction of Christianity into the Sandwich Islands, 329.

CHAPTER XVI.

Bill reported by a Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, for the Occupation of the Columbia River, 331 — Ukase of the Emperor of Russia, with Regard to the North Pacific Coasts, 332 — Negotiations between the Governments of Great Britain, Russia, and the United States, 335 — Conventions between the L'nited States and Russia, and between Great Britain and Russia, 341 — t'urther Negotiations between the United States and Great Britain relative to the North-West Coasts, 3-44 — Indefinite Extension of the Arrangement for the joint Occupancy of the Territories west of the Rocky Mountains, by the British and the Americans, 351.

CHAPTER XVll.

Few Citizens of the United States in the Countries west of the Rocky Mountains between J813 and 1823, 35G — Trading Expeditions of Ashley, Sublette, Smith, Pilcher, Pattie, Bonneville, and Wyeth, 357 — Missionaries from the United States form Establishments on the Columbia, 360 — First Printing Press set up in Oregon, 361 — Opposition of the Hudson's Bay Company to the Americans ; how exerted, 359 — Controversy between the United States and Russia, 362 — Dispute between the Hudson's Bay and the Russian American Companies; how terminated, 363 — California, 365 — Capture of Monterey by Commodore Jones. 368 — The Sandwich Islands, .369 — Proceedings of the Missionaries, ."570 — Expulsion of the Catholic Priests, and their Reinstatement by a French Force, 372 — The Sandwich Islands temporarily occupied by the British, 374— ■Exploring Expedition of the .\niericans under Wilkes, 375.

XVllI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Excitement in the United States respecting Oregon, 376 — Bill in the Senate for the immediate Occupation of Oregon, 379 — That Bill inconsistent with the Convention of 1827, between the United States and Great Britain, S83 — Renewal of Negotiations between the United States and Great Britain — Emigrations from the United States to Oregon, 386 — State of the Hudson's Bay Company's Possessions, 388 — Treaty concluded, 404.

PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

Original Account of the Voyage of the Greek Pilot Juan de Fuca along the North-West Coasts of America in 1592 4(}7

B.

Furs and the Fur Trade 411

c.

Correspondence between the Spanish Commandant at Nootka Sound, and the Masters of the American trading Vessels Columbia and Hope, respecting the Occurrences at that Place in the Summer of 1789 413

D.

Original Documents relative to the Dispute between Great Britain and Spain, in 1790. . 418

E.

Original Documents relative to the Discovery of the Columbia River, by the Spaniards and the Americans 430

F.

Showing that the Forty -ninth Parallel of Latitude was not selected as the Line of Separation between the French and the British Territories in North America, by Commissioners appointed agreeably to the Treaty of Utrecht 436

G.

Papers relative to the American Establishment of Astoria, on the Columbia River. . . 439

H.

Statements presented on each side in the course of the Conferences, held at London, in December 1826, between Messrs. Huskisson and Addington, the British Plenipotentiaries, and Mr. Gallatin, the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States 446

Documents relating to the Hudson's Bay Company 466

K.

Treaties and Conventions relative to the North-West Territories of North America. . 476

GEOGRAPHY

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 extent, 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 traversed 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 extremities of the continent in that direction.

Of the Atlantic coast of America it is unnecessary here to speak particularly. The irregularity of its outline, the numerous gulfs and bays enclosed by its sinuosities, the great rivers flowing through it into the sea, the archipelagoes in its vicinity, and all its other characteristic features, may be found minutely described in many works. The only parts of this coast, to which reference will be hereafter made, are those surrounding the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay, as many of the most important discoveries on the western side of the continent have been effected in consequence of the belief in the existence of a direct navigable communication between those portions of the Atlantic and the Pacific.

The Pacific coast extends from Panama, near the 9th degree of latitude,* westward and northward, without any remarkable break in its outline, to

* All latitudes mentioned in the following pages are north latitudes, unless otherwiae specially stated.

4 GENERAL VIEW OF THE GEOGKAPHT.

the 23d parallel, under which the Gulf of California, separating the peninsula of California from the main continent on the east, joins the ocean. From the southern extremity of this peninsula, called Cape San Lucas, situated near the entrance of the gulf, the American coast runs northwestward to the foot of Mount St. Elias, a stupendous volcanic peak, rising from the shore, under the 60th parallel ; beyond which the continent stretches far westward, between the Pacific on the south and the Arctic Sea on the north, to its termination at Cape Prince of Wales, near the 64th degree.

Cape Prince of Wales, the westernmost point of America, is the eastern pillar of Bering's Strait, a passage only fifty miles in width, separating that continent from Asia, and forming the only direct communication between the Pacific and the Arctic Oceans. Beyond it, 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 through that sea from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or vice vprsa. The north coast of America has been traced from Cape Prince of Wales, north-eastward, to Point 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 Lancaster Sound, which joins Baffin's Bay, under the 74th parallel ; though there is little reason to expect that any facilities for commercial intercourse will be gained by the discovery.

The Pacific coast, between the entrance of the Californian Gulf and the Strait of Fuca, which joins the ocean under the 49th parallel, presents few remarkable indentations, and the islands in its vicinity are neither numerous nor large. North of the 49th parallel, on the contrary, the mainland is every where penetrated by inlets and bays ; and many peninsulas protrude from it into the sea. In its vicinity, moreover, are thousands of islands, some of them very large, lying singly or in groups, separated from each other, and from the continent, by narrow, intricate channels. The most extensive of these collections of islands is the North- West Archipelago, nearly filling a great recess of the coast, between the 48th and the 58th parallels. Kodiak is the centre of another archipelago, on the east side of the peninsula of Aliaska ; and a long line of islands, forming the Aleutian Archipelago, stretches from the southern extremity of Aliaska, westward, across the sea, in the course of the 54th parallel of latitude, to the vicinity of the opposite Asiatic peninsula of Kamtchatka, The part of the Pacific called the Sea of Kamtchatka, or Bering's Sea, north of the Aleutian chain, likewise contains several islands, situated, nearly all, close to the shores of one or the other continent.

This coast, in its whole length, from the southern extremity of Call- ."ornia to Bering's Strait, is bordered by lofty mountams, which appear to form a continuous chain, partially broken, in a few places, by the passage across it of rivers from the interior. The mountains rise, for the most part, immediately from the sea-shore, above which they may be seen towermg one, two, and even three, miles in perpendicular elevation : in

GENERAL VIEW OF THE GEOGRAPHY. O

some places, 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. This ridge, for which no general name has yet been adopted,* is almost entirely of volcanic formation ; being part of the great line or system of volcanoes, which extends from Mexico to the East Indies, passing along the west coast of America, from the southernmost point of California to the south-west extreme of Aliaska, thence through the Aleutian Islands to Kamtchatka, and thence southward through the Kurile, the Japan, the Philippine, and the Molucca Islands. There are many elevated peaks, nearly ail of them volcanoes, in every part of the chain ; the most remarkable break, or gap, is that near the 46th degree of latitude, through which the Columbia rushes, at the distance of a hundred miles from the Pacific.

The great chain of mountains which separates 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 lina generally parallel with the shore of the Pacific, and much nearer to that sea than to the Atlantic. Under the 40th degree of latitude, where the western section of America 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 dividing chain south of the 40th degree of latitude has received many names, no one of which seems to have been universally adopted. It has been called, by some geographers, the Anahuac Mountains; and by that name, though entirely unknown to the people of the adjacent country, it will be distinguished whenever reference is made to it 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, — probably to Bering's Strait. 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.

The Rocky Mountains, so far as their geological structure has been ascertained, consist of primary formations, principally of granite. Though rising, in many places, from eight to sixteen thousand feet above the ocean level, they do not, in general, appear very high to the beholder, on account of the great elevation of the country at their bases. On the eastern side, within a hundred and fifty miles of the great chain, and running nearly parallel to it, are several ridges, from which the surface gradually declines, becoming more nearly plane as it approaches the Mississippi, the Red River, and Hudson's Bay. The part of the continent west of the Rocky Mountains is, as already stated, traversed, in its whole extent, by