Page images
PDF
EPUB

for the most part, without any reference to their value as merchan dise, and were used on board ship as clothes or bedding; in consequence of which, many of them had become spoiled, and others were much injured, before the ships reached Petropawlowsk. At that place, a few skins were sold to the Russian traders, who were anxious to purchase the whole on similar terms; but the English officers, having, in the mean time, acquired information as to the high prices paid for furs in China, prevailed upon the seamen to retain those which they still possessed, until their arrival at Canton, where they were assured that a much better market would be found.

The hopes thus excited did not prove fallacious. The ships commanded by Gore were the only ones, with the exception of that under Benyowsky, in 1770, which had ever arrived at Canton directly from the coasts where furs were obtained; and no sooner was the nature of the merchandise which they brought known in the city, than all became eager to purchase those precious objects of comfort and luxury, either for their own use or upon speculation. The Chinese, according to custom, began by offering prices much below the ordinary; but the English, being on their guard, refused such terms, and, in the end, their whole stock of furs was sold for money and goods, to the amount of more than ten thousand dollars. The seamen, on witnessing these results, became, notwithstanding the previous length of their cruise, "possessed with a rage to return to the northern coasts, and, by another cargo of skins, to make their fortunes, which was, at one time, not far short of mutiny: " they were, however, restrained by their officers, and, after the completion of the business at Canton, the ships sailed around the Cape of Good Hope to England, where they arrived in the beginning of October, 1780.

With regard to the novelty of the discoveries effected in this voyage, it will be seen, on comparing the course of the English ships with those taken by the Spaniards, in 1774 and 1775- that Cook saw no part of the west coast of North America, south of Mount San Jacinto or Edgecumb, which had not been previously seen by Perez, Bodega, or Heceta; and, after passing that point, he was, as he frequently admits, aided, and in a measure guided, by the accounts of the Russian voyages. The observations of the English were, however, infinitely more minute, and more important, in their results, than those of any or all the other navigators who had pre

ceded them in the exploration of the North Pacific: for, by determining accurately the positions of the principal points on the coasts of Asia and America, bounding that sea, they first afforded the means of ascertaining the extent of those continents, and the degree of their proximity to each other, respecting which the most erroneous ideas had prevailed; and the comparative ease and security with which they executed this task, served to dispel apprehensions with regard to expeditions through that quarter of the ocean.

NOTE. In the "Exploration du Territoire de l'Oregon, des Californies," &c., by M. Duflot de Mofras, published at Paris, in the summer of 1844, by order of the king, and under the auspices of Marshal Soult, the author asserts and assumes that he has proved incontestably that the Columbia River had been discovered and explored completely by French officers and traders between 1716 and 1754, and that the whole country traversed by that stream rightfully forms part of Canada. In support of the latter assertion, he cites a passage from L'Escarbot's "Histoire de la Nouvelle France," published in 1617, claiming, as New France, the whole American continent, and the adjacent islands north of the tropic of Cancer; and a passage from the "Voyage de la Nouvelle France," published in 1632 by Champlain, who is content with all north of the 35th degree of latitude : and, in further confirmation, he refers to a manuscript Spanish map, drawn in Florence in 1606, to a Dutch map, drawn at Edam in 1610, and to an English map, engraved at London in 1747, all of which, it seems, represent Canada as extending to the Pacific. In proof that the French had explored the Columbia regions, M. de Mofras mentions a number of orders, preserved in the archives of the marine and colonies at Paris, from French ministers, and from governors of Canada, for the examination of the western territories - one of which, addressed, in 1730, by the governor, Beauharnois, to a trader named Verendrye, directs him "to send with his memoir a map drawn from his own observations and the indications of the Indians, and, among others, of a Kree chief, embracing the course of the River of the West, and showing that it must empty above California, near the entrance discovered by Martin de Aguilar." "Nothing can be more clear," adds M. de Mofras; it will, however, be observed that the Swedish naturalist Kalm, who visited Canada in 1749, was informed by Verendrye himself that "the chief intention of this expedition, viz., to come to the South Sea, and to examine its distance from Canada, was not attained."

"In fine," says M. de Mofras, (vol. ii. p. 254,) "the map accompanying the Memoires des Commissaires du Roi et de ceux de sa Majesté Britannique en Amerique, engraved in 1757, demonstrates, also, that New France extended to the Pacific Ocean. It will be seen, hereafter, that it is not surprising to find upon this map, in the 45th degree of latitude, on the north-west coast of America, a great river, the direction of which is exactly that of the River Columbia." Now M. de Mofras could not have examined the map here cited by him when he made this assertion. The work containing it is a collection of documents presented by the commissaries of France and England, appointed, under the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, in 1748, to decide certain disputed points of boundary in America. The map of America, to which M. Mofras refers, was drawn and presented by the French commissaries, as its title expressly declares, to expose the extravagant pretensions of the British to territories in America: it does not contain the words "Canada," or "Nouvelle France," or any other sign of French dominion; the whole division of the continent, between the 48th and the 31st parallels of latitude, being represented by strong lines and express notes, as included in the limits of the British provinces: nor does it show any large river falling into the Pacific north of the peninsula of California, nor any river en tering that ocean north of the 36th degree of latitude.

CHAPTER VII.

1780 TO 1789.

[ocr errors]

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 Pérouse - Direct Trade between the American Coasts and Canton commenced - Voyages of the English Fur Traders-Re-discovery of the Strait of Fuca - Voyage of 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.

WHILST Cook was engaged in his last expedition, Great Britain became involved in wars with the United States of America, France, and Spain; and, as there was no prospect of a speedy termination of the contests at the time when the ships sent out under that commander returned to Europe, the British government considered it prudent to withhold from the world all information respecting their voyage. The regular journals of the ships, together with the private notes and memoranda of the officers and men which could be collected, were, in consequence, placed under the charge of the Board of Admiralty, and thus remained concealed until peace had been restored. Notwithstanding this care, however, many of the occurrences of the expedition became known, the importance, or the novelty, of which was such as to raise to the highest degree the curiosity of the public, not only in England, but in all other civilized countries.

The wars having been, at length, concluded, the regular journals of the expedition were published at London, in the winter of 1784-5, under the care of the learned Bishop Douglas, with a number of maps, charts, and other illustrative engravings; and it is now scarcely necessary to say, that the anticipations which had been formed as to the importance of their contents, were fully realized.

The information obtained during the voyage, respecting the abundance of animals of fine fur on the north-west coasts of America, and the high prices paid for their skins in China, became

generally diffused before the publication of the journals, and it did not fail to attract the attention of enterprising men in all maritime countries. The trade in furs had been conducted, almost wholly, by the British and the Russians, between whom, however, there had been no opportunity for competition. The Russians procured their furs chiefly in the northern parts of their own empire; and they exported to China, by land, all such as were not required for their own use. The British market was supplied entirely from Hudson's Bay and Canada; and a great portion of the skins there collected was sent to Russia, whence many of them found their way to China, though none had ever been shipped directly for the latter country. That the furs of Canada and Hudson's Bay might be sold advantageously at Canton was certain, from a comparison between the prices of those articles in London and in Canton; and it was also clear that still greater profits might be secured by means of a direct trade between China and the north-west coasts of America, where the finest furs were to be obtained more easily than in any other part of the world. There could be, nevertheless, no doubt that, after the opening of such a trade, the prices in China would fall, while the difficulties and expenses of collecting the furs in America would be increased; and it was, therefore, material that those who wished to reap the fullest harvests in this new field, should begin their labors as speedily as possible.

The Russians were the first to avail themselves of Cook's discoveries, respecting which they had derived much information during the stay of the British ships at Petropawlowsk and Unalashka. In 1781, an association was formed between Gregory Schelikof, Ivan Gollikof, and other principal fur merchants of Siberia and Kamtchatka, for the more extensive and effective conduct of their business; and three vessels, equipped by them for a long voyage of trade and exploration, sailed from Ochotsk, in August, 1783, under the command of Schelikof. In this expedition they were absent three years, in the course of which the shores of the American continent and islands, between the south-west extremity of Aliaska and Prince William's Sound, were examined, and several colonies or factories were established, particularly on the large island of Kuktak, or Kodiak, near the entrance of the bay called Cook's River. Schelikof was a man of great intrepidity and perseverance, well acquainted with the business in which he was engaged, and apparently never troubled by scruples as to the morality or humanity of any measure, after he had satisfied himself of its expediency.

He and his followers are said to have exhibited the most barbarous dispositions in their treatment of the natives on the coasts, whole tribes of whom were put to death upon the slightest prospect of advantage from their destruction, and often through mere wantonness of cruelty.

In 1787, the Russians made establishments, also, on the shores of Cook's River; and, in the following year, two vessels were sent from Asia by the trading association, under Ismylof (one of the men found by Cook at Unalashka) and Betscharef, who proceeded as far east as the bay at the foot of Mount St. Elias, called Yakutat by the natives, and Admiralty Bay by the English. It seems to have also been the object of these traders to take possession of Nootka Sound, in which, however, they were anticipated, as will be shown in the ensuing chapter.

The empress Catharine had likewise become anxious to acquire glory by an expedition for discoveries in the North Pacific; but, as none of her subjects were qualified to conduct such an enterprise, she engaged for the purpose Captain Billings, an Englishman, who had accompanied Cook, as assistant astronomer, in his last voyage. Under his direction, two ships were built at Petropawlowsk; but they could not be completed before 1790, when Billings began his voyage, as will be hereafter related.

Among other nations, the first attempt to engage in the direct trade between the north-west coasts of America and China appears to have been made by Mr. Bolts, an eminent English merchant, residing at Trieste, who, in 1781, equipped a vessel for that purpose, to be navigated under the imperial flag of Germany; but he was obliged, from some unknown cause, to abandon the undertaking.

A similar attempt was shortly after made, with no greater success, in the United States of America. John Ledyard, who has been already mentioned as one of the crew of Cook's ship during the last voyage of that navigator, having deserted, or rather escaped, from a British frigate, in which he was serving against his countrymen, near New York, in 1782, prevailed on the celebrated merchant and financier, Robert Morris, of Philadelphia, to fit out a vessel, to be employed, under his direction, in the fur trade of the North Pacific. The pecuniary embarrassments of Mr. Morris, however, obliged him to abandon the enterprise before the vessel was ready for sea; and Ledyard, finding his efforts to procure coöperation for that object unavailing in America, went to France in

« PreviousContinue »