Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1845-1851, 1846-06-17

north f it, to the gulf of Georgia, into which ias
behind Vancouvcr's island The upper part OF u''s
river is GOOD for navigation; the lower hall punging
through volcanic chaslns IN mountains oil rock, Is
wholly uuua,irablc for any species oil craft Ihis
river was discovered by Sir Alexander Mackenzie III
l,g3 was settled by the Northwest Company III i-oo,
nd soon covered by their establishments from mead
10 mouth No American or Spaniard HAD ever cft
tr,rk upon ti, river its valley Our clam To 1t,
n far ms can see rested wholly upon the treaty with
Spolu of 1919; and her claim rested wholly upon
those discoveries among the islands, the value of
which, as comforting claims upon the continent, 1t has
been my province To show IN our negotiations with
Russia III lS2l. AT the time Ina, We acquired the
Spanish claim Frnzers river, ii had already been
discovered twcn'y-six years by the British; had been
settled by them for twelve years; vas known by a
British name; and no SpanIard had ever made track
on It's banks. New Caledonia. or Western Caledonia,
was the name which it then bore and It so happens
that an American citizen. native OF vermont, re-
specially known to the Senators now present from
that State, aud who had spent twenty years OF h's
life in the hypcrborean regions Of Northwest America
in publishing account of his travels and soJourn-
ings III that quarter, actually published description
of this New Caledonia n British province at the
very moment that were getting II from Spain, ana
without the least suspicion that belonged TO Spain
speak of Mr.. David Harmon, whose journal OF nlne-
teen years residence between ATTITUDES n and d IN
Northwestern America, published at Andovcr IN
his native State In the year lS2O, the precise year
after we had purchased this New CALEDONIA from the
Smniarls | read not from the volume itsei winch
is not in the library of Congress, but from the London
Quarterly Review, January number, 49, as reprint
ed nj Boston article WESTERN CALEDONIA.
The descent Of the Peace Though deep chasm in
the Rocky Mountains inst opened passage TO The a,cntu
above mentioned into the unexplocd county behind
To which they gave the Of New Calcdonia-a
name, however which, being alIcady occupied by the
Aus,aia>ns might advanaecousiy be changed To that 81
rcSfera Caledonia This passage lies III latitude oO degrees
80 mnues. Mackenzie had crossed the Rocky chain many
before latitude 5 degrees, and descended large
i've, n,wng the soulhwad, named Tacouchc Jesse,
which he conceived 10 be the Columbia but Is now known
empty Brchs bay of Vancouver, in latitude
10 degrees; whcr The mouth Of the Columbia lies IN 10
degrees H. minutes Another liver, called the Caledonia,
Frazers river holding parallel To the Tacoucthc
Jesse, Columba) falls into the the Admiralty
ulc Of Vancouver latitude IS degrees and forms na'u
boundary the territory Of Caledonia and
the United states falling in precisely with continued line
the parallel with The lake of the Woods and leaving
about degrees Of latitude between il and the Coumbi'
IT, northern bounda, my be taken IN latitude o. degrees
close the Of the Russian settlements. The
therefore, will be about 5J0 aud the BREADTH from
the untains TO The Pacific, om 800 to 800 geographical
miles.
whole Of this county fact incrsectcd
with and Lakes, that Mr.. Harmon thinks onc-siN
pant OF It, surface may be- cousdced water The largest
OF the latter vi-sd is named Siu,r lake, and Is sup
posed be about 100 miles in circumference post has
north long udc 10 degrees Fifty miles TO the west
ward If this Frazeis lake about ehy ninety miles
in circumference here too, post established IN 1906
thd, of sky seventy mile, circumference, has been
named McLeod lake. the shore Of which for has been
built latitude % degrees north ongtudc l2i degrees west
The of this lake fall into the Peace river; those
flowing OF the other supposed to empty them
selves the Pacific and probably the two pointed
Vancouver, Essns had occasion
10 observe former article. The immense quantity OF
salmon which annually visit these two lakes leave doubt
whatever Of their communication with The Pacific; and the
absence of this ,h from McLeods lake, makes IT almost
equally that its outlet that The
lowing of Sua lake passes through the populous
tubes Of the Naeoe- who that white people
up in large boats to trade with the A-te-nas nation
dwelling between them and the sea- which fully
proved by the pots, cloth, and other articles
found in their possession.
Most of the mountains of Western Caledonia clothed
with TIMBER trees to their very SUBMITS, consisting pnci-
paiy of spruce aud other kinds of birch poplar aspen
cypress, and generally speaking, all those which found
the Opposite sile of Rocky Mountains. The large
animals common to North America, such as buffalo, elk
moose, reindeer bears, SC, not this
territory scarcity of the beaver, otter
VERNE marten foxes different kinds,
fur animals, than OF wolves, badgers and pole
CATS fowls also all the descriptions found North
America plentiful in Western Caledonia visit
them prodigIOus numbers do swans buzzaIds,
and ducks
This is TIE account given by Mr.. Harmon of New
Caledonia, and given of it by him at the exact mo-
ment that purchasing the Spanish title to ii
Of this Spanish title, of which the Spanlards never
heard, the narrator to have been as profoundly
ignorant as the Spanards were themselves; and made
his description of New Caledonia of a British
possession, without any reference to adverse
title than if he had been speaking of Canada :,
much for the written description: let look at
the map, and how it stands there. Here is mar
"a 81 40 map-whch will show the features OF
the country, and the names of the settlements upon it
Here is Frazer srver running from - deg. TO 40 deg
and here * line of British posts upon 1t, from Foi
Mcleod, at lis head, TO Fort Langley, at its mouth
and from Thompson's Fork, SIDE to Stuart,
Fork, the other. And here clusters Of British
: NJ mos hv tho
Fort George, St James, Simpson, Thompson, Frazer
Mcleod, Langley, and others rivers and lakes witt
the same names and others; and here is Descrers
creek, named by Mackenzie. because his guide
deserted him there III July, 1888; and here is al
Indian village which he named Friendly, because tn,
people the most friendly strangers that he hat
ever seen; and here another called Rascals' village
so named by Mackenzie fftythre years ago, because
It's inhabitants the most rascally Indians he hat
ever sccn; and here is the representation Of thai
famous boundary line ii 40, which is supposed TO be
the boundary of American territorial rights
that quarter. and which happens to include the whole
of New Caledonia. except McLeods fort, and the
half Of Stuars lake, and spring, which is left tC
the British, while take the branch which flows
from It, This line takes In all rivers, lakes forts
and villages. See how it goes Starting at the sea
1t gives uS, by quarter of inch the map, Fort
Simpson, so named after the British Governor Simp
son, and founded by the Hudson Bay Company. Upon
what principle we take this British fort know not
except 1t be on the assumption that sacred right
and title being adjusted to minute by the aid 81
these 1O minutes, so apposltcy determined by the
Emperor Paus charter a fur company in 1899, tC
be on this straight line, the bad example of even
slight deviation from II at the start should not be
allowed even TO spare British fort away up at Point
Mcintyre, In Chatham sound On this principle We
can understand the Inclusion, by quarter Of incl
on the map of tins remote and isolated British post
The cutting IN two Of Stuarts lake, which the line
does as 1t runs is quite Ineligible must be til,