242 California and the North-west Coast. 



It can hardly be said that the question was settled in the 

 minds of geographers previous to 1764, whether Califor- 

 nia was an island or a peninsula. Purchas upon his map 

 of 1625, has engraved, " California was formerly supposed 

 to be a part of the continent, but now is known to be an 

 island," and he carries it up above the latitude of 43°, 

 makiug it, as did many geographers, 1,700 leagues long. 

 Many maps in the New York State Library, of as late 

 date as 1741, represent it as an island, as those of Overton, 

 Tillemon, DeFer and others, and they extend California up 

 to latitude 45°, including New Albion. Giustiniani's atlas 

 of 1755, makes California an island reaching to latitude 47°. 

 Engel in 1764, tries to prove that it is not true that Cali- 

 fornia, owing to the winds and tides, is sometimes a peninsula 

 and at other times an island. 



One hundred years since, the only coast of the cons- 

 ents of the world that had not beeu delineated with more 

 or less completeness, excepting in the Arctic and Antarctic 

 regions, was that of the north-west coast of America from 

 lat. 35° to 80°. 



The Russians under Behring in 1728 and Tchirikow in 

 1741 in successive voyages, had discovered points of land 

 in America, and on the archipelagos of islands. Behring 

 had discovered the strait that bears his name, but the dis- 

 coverers were still ignorant whether what we now call 

 Alaska belonged to America, and whether the lands which 

 they had discovered were islands, a new continent, or the 

 main land of America. As late as 1754 it was denied that 

 Alaska was part of our continent. (Letter of a Russian 

 officer, Dobbs). Bellin on a map of 1755 observes, " not 

 known whether the Russian discoveries are islands or con- 

 tinents, as they did not touch land." 



The observations of Sir Francis Drake in 1578 added no 

 knowledge of regions north of 43°, but he gave a name to 

 a portion of the coast which he saw from the deck of his 



