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THE DISCOVERY OF OREGON copyright (c) 1977, 2006 by Marilee Miller |
| #1.
NEW NAMES NEW MAPS |
The Discovery of Oregon, including the South Coast....... To "discover" something implies that it is heretofore missing, or unknown. In one sense, of course, Oregon never has been "lost". This land has always huddled in the place where it accepts the influences of the Pacific Ocean. And for generations, Native Americans lived here. They didn't consider the territory unknown (although it wasn't then called Oregon). On the other hand, Medieval Europeans didn't even know of the existence of a new continent which would be called North America. In the 13th Century, Europe's own lands comprised just about all of their then "known world." However, in 1296, the publication of Marco Polo's overland journey to China (which he called Cathay), provided important knowledge about the vast lands of the Orient. Eventually, sailors explored the coast of Africa. By 1488, Portugul's Bartolomeu Dias had discovered the Cape of Good Hope. Might not ships sail easterward to reach the valuable spices and condiments of the East? For years, countless school children learned a little ditty. "Columbus sailed the ocean blue In Fourteen-hundred-ninety-two." Christopher Columbus believed all the continents joined. For Spain's glory, he proposed to sail his small convoy -- the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria -- to the West to make contact with the Eastern shore. And lo! he did make landfall. Hence the expression: "Columbus discovered America." However, he didn't know he had discovered an unknown continent, with its attendant islands.. He thought his ships docked between the sub=continent of India and the celebrated Cathay itself. More filled in spaces appeared on the maps of the world. A new name appeared: Anian (after Indo-Chinese Annam, or Assam). Then an Italian geographer conceived of Asia and North America as separate continents. He split the old world to make a brand new continent by the insertion of the imaginary strait of Anian, about where Oregon came to be written on later maps. But did he check reports from intrepid explorers of the sea? Not at all. Apparently the idea came from his spinning mind. In 1728, Bering’s exploration finally proved the continents did not join. By this time, however, Europeans already believed steadfastly in the theory of separate continents. ans. Other adventuresome mapmakers, some of whom never left homes in London or Spain, refused to label the new lands “Unknown Territory.” These cartographers embellished vast blanks, especially on our West Coast, with creative inventions. In 1540, Coronado, the Spanish explorer, applied the name Quivira to a mythical city. Supposedly natives in New Mexico told in detail about ships from Cathay reaching this coast. Gold and silver abounded. Although Coronado never found the legendary Quivira, another name made its way onto the maps. About 1579, Sir Francis Drake originated the name New Albion. A number of maps extended the kingdom of New Albion as far northward as the present state of Oregon. At least Drake actually did sail up the Pacific Coast! So his findings were documentable. However, the northernmost point of his journey is disputed. He may have put in at Humboldt Bay, in Northern California, or some other California port. Possibly he came as far north as Coos Bay, or some other port in Oregon. A thorough imposter named Juan de Fuca helped stir the famous search for the Northwest Passage, a linkage of rivers and lakes reputed to stretch from Atlantic to Pacific. In 1596, de Fuca detailed his adventures in a strait some 30 – 40 miles wide at the mouth. He “saw” inhabitants wearing the skins of animals. However, when the actual Strait of Juan de Fuca was finally charted by Captain Charles Barkley in 1787, the details would not fit. Yes, there was a Strait. But it wasn't as he'd described it. (De Fuca moved as freely with his name as he had with his account. Actually, he was not a Spaniard, but a Greek ship pilot named Apostolos Valerianos.) |
| #2 AQUILAR'S RIVER. |
By 1603, the River of the West, or Northwest Passage, was regarded as a certainty. The Spaniard, Martin de Aguilar, was commissioned by the Viceroy of Mexico to claim the lands along the West Coast for Spain, and to search for the river. Aguilar reports that he did, indeed, locate a great river. An old Spanish journal describes Aguilar’s exploration. “”When the wind had become less violent they continued their journey close along the shore, and…from that point the coast begins to turn to the northwest” (that is, above Cape Blanco) “and near it was discovered a rapid and abundant river, with ash trees, willows, brambles, and other trees of Castile on its banks, which they endeavored to enter, but could not from the force of the current.” [Walling, History of Oregon 1884, quoting Torquemada] Did Aguilar make up the story about a great river to gain prestige? If not, why did his lavish proportions differ from reality? For the later explorers found no "rapid and abundant river" -- indeed, they found no river at all -- at the latitude Aguilar recorded. . Carey, in his history book, believes Aguilar must have sighted the Columbia. Orvil Dodge, Coos County historian, affirms in 1898, that without question Martin de Aguilar anchored outside Port Orford. Walling, writing in 1884, maintains it must have been the Umpqua. Still other histories vote that Aguilar mistook the waters of Coos Bay for his “rapid and abundant river”. The rivers and lands of great promise of those early mapmakers led to disappointment. There were no Quiveras. The Northwest Passage, conceived by hopeful dreamers, would finally be proven not to exist. But after the myths, came true scientific exploration. |
| #3. COLUMBIA RIVER Northwest Passage Captains Gray & Vancouver |
In a land spread with forests and hilly ranges, a major river would one day play a prominent role in development of the state of Oregon. The search for the celebrated Northwest Passage went on. Captain George Vancouver, an Englishman, was commissioned to find this waterway, and to note all landmarks. He put in at Cape Blanco, or Orford, and continued up the coast. In spite of the presence of “river-colored” water in a certain location, and an officer’s journal about sighting a very extensive Shoal,” [Carey, or Walling?] Vancouver sailed by the powerful Columbia without investigation. He didn’t see other bays in Oregon, either. Nor the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Vancouver denied all reports about a Northwest Passage. Did this prejudice blind him to a chance to conduct actual discoveries? The Columbia River, though not that notable link from Pacific to Atlantic (Northwest Passage), was Oregon’s major landmark. Its discovery a few days after Vancouver passed it by, later was to leave impact on the world. After Captain Vancouver put in at Nootka Sound, a strange sail was sighted. When hailed, the ship proved to be Captain Robert Gray’s “Columbia”, out of Boston. On April 27, 1792, Captain Gray had located and explored a major river, which he called after the ship, the “Columbia,” a vessel flying the new Stars and Stripes. America, rather than England, took possession of the new territory because of Vancouver's “mistake”. Vancouver must have been astonished to learn of Gray’s thorough exploration of the lower stretches of a river the Englishman said didn’t exist. Perhaps Gray demonstrated more courage in sailing close to the shoreline. Or maybe the weather was better! Where Vancouver found nothing worthy of comment, Gray charted bays and rivers along the entire coast of the new land. The so-called Northwest Passage had also been known as the “River of the West,” or the Oregon River. After Gray called Oregon’s river the Columbia, the name Oregon became a reference to the land mass of the Pacific Northwest. And so the name, Oregon Territory, was born. When settlers began to come, the Columbia River held a prime importance. In fact, all the waterways of Oregon helped shape the lives of the pioneers who were to live here. |
copyright (c) 1977, 2006 author's memo: |
[The foregoing text is adapted from scripts written by author for "Soundings", a local history series broadcast on KCBY-TV, Coos Bay, Oregon, ca. 1977-8] THE PART BELOW IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION ! . The name Oregon. Jedediah Smith. Soldiers at Ft Umpqua. 49'ers gold rush. Lewis and Clark. Jefferson. Manifest Destiny. Great Migration. By the time enough people lived in the area to scale down the once-vast Oregon territory into the smaller section which became a state in 1859, Congress, prodded by the loyal Provisional Senator and his (able) tongue, Gen. Joseph Lane, there were still not many permanent residents South coast. The incredible abundance of natural resources enticed. But isolation, difficulty of establishing roads and villages, lack of suitable marketplaces, obstacles. [M is this my original, or a note from other?] |