256 California and the North-west Coast. 



European to cross the continent on the north, and in its 

 broadest part, latitude 52° 20'. He had started also from 

 the same fort on Hudson's bay, from which Ilearne had 

 proceeded. The British had no trading or military posts 

 west of the Rocky mountains previous to the year 1800. 



A map of Mexico of Humboldt's, bearing date of the year 

 1811, designates the whole of the western territory of the 

 United States.as " unknown." 



In concluding this representation of our ignorance of 

 California and the north-west coast until a comparatively 

 very recent period, I will simply enumerate very briefly 

 the prominent American exploring tours of the present 

 century, by means of which this ignorance has been re- 

 moved, and the country opened for settlement. 



It was not until 1804, the continuous chain of the Rocky 

 mountains being as yet untraversed, and it still being 

 possible that an inland sea existed larger than Lake Supe- 

 rior, that the continent was traversed by explorers through 

 the territory of the United States. The expedition of our 

 government, for which so much credit is due to Jefferson, 

 was commanded by Lewis and Clark, and went down the 

 Columbia river to its mouth. Their full narrative was not 

 published till 1814, and down to 1844 was the principal 

 source of information regarding the interior. 



Major Zebulon Pike's expedition in 1805 to 1807, was to 

 find the sources of the Mississippi, and of the Arkansas, 

 Kansas and Tlatte rivers. 



Hunt's expedition of 1811 was to found the settlement 

 of Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia river. This settle- 

 ment was shortly after abandoned by the American interest, 

 owing to the war with Great Britain. 



Major S. II. Long's expedition in 1819 and 1820, was up 

 the Platte to the Rocky mountains, and hack by way of 

 the Arkansas river. 



