88 



Sierra Club Bulletin. 



Oregon, and Washington, and one of Alaska, attest to 

 that fact. 



As year after year I became more familiar with each 

 mile of the coast line, and with the narratives of the 

 early navigators, I entered upon the self-imposed task 

 of writing the ''Voyages of Discovery and Exploration 

 on the Northwest Coast of America, from 1539 to 1603"; 

 the "Identification of Drake's Anchorage on the Coast 

 of California in 1579"; and other works involving dis- 

 coveries on this coast, by land and by water, and by 

 Spaniards, English, French, and Americans. 



I have now ready for pubHcation three hundred and 

 ten manuscript pages on the "Discovery of San Fran- 

 cisco Bay, and the Rediscovery of the Port of Monterey," 

 more than one hundred pages on the origin of the name 

 California, and other matters of similar import. To aid 

 me, I have obtained copies of manuscripts from the 

 British Museum, from Madrid, and elsewhere. 



I have believed in retaining and in applying all the 

 old Spanish names ; and have utilized Indian names when 

 they were descriptive, and would use them all through 

 Alaska where the prospector may need the services of 

 native guides. 



During six years' continuous service in the Puget 

 Sound region, 1852-57, we retained the Indian, Spanish, 

 and English names where they could be verified. The 

 Hudson's Bay Company factors and traders used Indian 

 names. 



When there was no name for a permanent object avail- 

 able, it was of course necessary to adopt some appellation 

 to headland or rock or anchorage, in order that it could 

 be recognized in the Government records and charts. 



In our publications, we have always expressed our 

 admiration for the heroic labors of the early Spanish 

 navigators on this coast; of the almost superhuman 

 efforts of Bering and Chirikof ; of the unequaled surveys 

 of Cook and Vancouver ; and of the daring and privations 

 of the fur traders, English and American. 



