The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-05-03

the country, is as unquestionable as that Of any
other occurrences of the same nature, at the same
period; il is related by contemporary Spanish hsto-
rians upon the faith Of the journals Of the navgaiors
whose descriptions of the places visited correspond
with what we now know Of those places. Drake
visited these coasts only in 1879; and no claim on
the part of Great Britain, founded on that visit, de-
serves to be even examined, unless il can be shown
clearly that her navigator at least saw the Amer
can coasts north of the 43d parallel of latitude
Now all that is known of brakes visit is derived
from two narratives, namely, the Famous Yoyege,
written by one of his crew, and published by Hak-
buyt during the lifetime Of Drake in 1887, and
the World Eneompassed, compilation from various
accounts, including the Famous Voyags, which Yves
not Published until 1862. Without entering into
the question Of the relative merits Of these nara
tyes, It will be simply stated that in the Famous
Voyage brakes vessel is represented as being, ON
the fith Of June in the latitude Of fory-threc do
grees, no other date or latitude being mentioned
until we find her, on the seventeenth OF the
same month, anchored in harbor near the thir-
ty-eighth degree while, in the World Encompassed,
il is said that she was in the latitude of forty-two
degrees on the second of June; and that, the fifth
of the same month, she anchored in bay on the
coast, in the latitude Of forty-egh degrees, from
which she was driven southwark to the harbor near
the thirty-eighth degree. Both accounts represent
the wind blowing violently and constantly during
all this time, from the north and northwest; yet the
defenders of the British claims, who adopt the
"World Encompassed" as their authority, expect
US TO admit that vessel under such circumstances,
proceeded norhward through six degrees oflatitude,
in the interval Of time, at most sixty hours, be-
tween the third and the fifth of June--the distance
between the two attitudes being, at the least three
hundred and sixty marine miles BY both narra-
tives we are, moreover, assured that the heavens,
during all this portion of the voyage, were con-
stantly hidden by fogs, and the little vessel Of only
sixty tons must have been sadly tossed about by the
pillows Of the Paci6c yet to receive as accu
rate observations of latitude made with wretched in
struments, which, even land and under aclear sky
gave imperfect results, and utterly useless when
the heavenly bodies were ut all ohscured, or there
was much motion of the instruments Upon the
authority of the "World Encompassed, !" we also
to admit that the west coast of America runs on
continually northwest, as if it went directly to
meet with ASIA" from the thirty-eighth degree of
latitude to the forty-eighth; though we now know,
from minute surveys, that it does not run in that
direction single mile from the fortie,h degree to
the forty-ninth. Finally, agreeably to the in
fable guide, to believe that, in vessel sail
ing in the Pacific, under the i2d parallel Of latitude
the ropes sfened with ice, and meat frozen
hard as soon as taken from the fire. in the middle Of
June, according to our present calendar
British writer's of the present day are peculiarly
sensitive the point Of brakes visit to the north
west coast Of America. In order to support his
claims to the discovery of that coast far as the
forty-eighth degree of latitude, not only arguments
but sophisms, and moreover direct fasehoods, have
been employed to sustain the authenticity Of the
"World Encompassed.' That narrative is, according
to its title, collected chiefly from the journal Of
Francis Fletcher, the chaplain of brakes VESSEL
and Burney, in his History of Voyages in the Pacific
as we'll Barrow, in his recent Life Of Drake, fire.
quenty refers in support Of their statements respect
ing this part OF the expedition, TO the manuscript
journal Of Fletcher as now existing in the British
museum. Burney's History has long been regarded
as the highest authority on all such points; and
Banow's Life of Drake has been accepted as a wor-
thy monument to the memory of the daring naviga-
tor. Ye, what shall we think of these works, and
Of their authors, when we learn from the Edinburgh
Review for October, l644-and the statement
mains upanswered-that, of the said manuscript
journal in the British Museum, 'there is only the
first part remaining" which sends with the arrival
of the Golden Hind brakes vesse) in latitude 3S
degrees south, off the coast Of Chilli, and Of
contains not ,cord respecting The ps to the norihces
coast of .america. Moreover, from this same por-
ton, and from other original documents respecting
the early proceedings of the voyage, appears that
the said chaplain Fletcher, an abandoned scoun-
drel; and that Drake, on one occasion, ''caused a
posy to be written and bounde about Fletcher's
arms with charge that, if he took it off, he should
then be hanged. The posy was, Francis Fletcher
the falsest knape that ipeth'"
So much for the authorities which rests the as
sertion that Drake discovered the coast Of Oregon.
The voyage Of the old Greek pilot, Juan de Fuca,
in 1892 long lay consigned, with those Of Fonte and
Madonado to the class Of the fabulous; has, how
ever, been brought back within the limits Of the
thentic in consequence of the establishment Of the
general accuracy Of the geographical descriptions
contained in il. Fuca related that he had coasted
along the western side Of America northward from
Mexico, and had found a wide passage Of the sea,
opening TO the Pacific between the 47th and the 48th
parallels of latitude, through which he had sailed in
various directions for many days, into great ocean
supposed by him to be the Atlantic; and he had then
returned by the same passage to Mexico. Now,
between the 4s,h and the 49th parallels, wide pas
sage does thus open, which extends far in the d.
rections described by Fuca, until il opens again
not into the Atlantic, certainly into the Pacific.
The correspondence between the Greeks story
and the facts, is now universally considered too
strong to have been the result of accident; and the
passage is called the strait of Fuca, in the ex-
cellent harbors Of which, we confidently hope, the