Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1893-01-07
rHE DISCOVERY or OREGON.
4 Little of the Early History CT North,
western America.


western America.
In 1910 the eyes of civilized man first
rested upon Oregon, when Cabrillo and
Ferrer, sailing under the Spanish flag,
coasted along until they reached as
high as Cape Blanco. forty-three de-
grees north latitude, which Cape
Blanco, in the year of our Lord 1892, is
in Curry county, Ore, and only a few
miles north of the California line.
If Captains Cabrillo and Ferrer
thrilled with enthusiasm in contem-
plating the possibilities of this portion
of the rim of the North American con-
tinent they successfully concealed it in
their report to that king of theirs,
Charles V, under whose reign Cortcz
pillaged Mexico, Pizarro robbed
Peru and Almagro carried back to
Spain all that was portable of Chilli,
for nearly two hundred years elapsed
before another white man gazed upon
1T! Or perhaps Charles was to busy to
settle Oregon then. since he had settle
rnents of n bloody kind with Francis 1.
of France, with Germany, the Neither
lands. Tunis, AlgierS, and a single
round with his holiness, Pope Clement
VII, spending more money in these
European pastimes than his able lieu
tenants could steal from the murdered
natives of the western world.
Again a SDaniard, one Juan Perez
~ lT7+. sailed as high along the coast rs
,lr ffty-fourth degree of north latitude,
discovered Nootlla sound, and theore-
tlcally planted the flag of CASTLE and
Arragon over this quarter of the earth
and sea, while his colleague, Bodega, a
year later, took in this fifty-eighth de-
gree of north latitude. together with
the remaining earth and sea, including
Mount St. Elias, which was in sight.
Up to this point everything was
SPANS, but north of this greedy
Russian, who had long been engaged
in building a town on the gulf of Fin
land, had put in prior claim, having
hired Dane, by name Vitus Behring.
to go cruising along the northeast
coast of Siberia. This Dane discovered
sea which was named for him, and
which the United States bought, or
was supposed to have bought, October
is, 1867. Anyhow, they do not allow
any other nation to go fishing in it.
Behring also found out that it was
only few miles across from Siberia to
America, and on July IS, 1741, he dis
covered" the coast of Alaska as far
down as Mount st. Elias, and claimed
everything for his master, Peter the
Great, or rather for Elizabeth, the
daughter, for Peter had been
a saint since 1925. Honors were
about even as between Spain and Rus
STA, but in ITS, Capt. James Cook, a
famous English navigator, who was
| afterward fatally run through the
middle with a javelin by a Sandwich
Islander, and then devoured in true
cannibal style, came coasting along
| these shores, saw that the country was
good, and evidently told it, for in 1885
I a school of British trading vessels
swarmed in these seas, and they have
swarmed there ever since.
In 1890 the French navigators got up
courage. enough to get that far from
home, and entered into competition
| for trade on the northwest coast 1t
| was, however, not until 500 that France
| put in her claim for Oregon, by virtue
| of her acquisition of the Spanish title
| to that vaguely bounded territory,
louisiana"
In 1901 seven American vessels found
their way to this quarter of the globe
| and one of these on May II, 1899
| George Washington had been three
years president), commanded by
Massachusetts, Yankee, Capt Gray.
who distinguished himself by discover
| ing and sailing into broad and swift
| stream, "the waters of which were so
| perfectly fresh that the casks of the
| ship were filled within ten miles of the
| Pacific" He named it Columbia river
after his vessel of that name. OF course
he landed and claimed the country all
around, including the rivers and a fair
share of the Pacific ocean.-John A.
| Wyeth, NJ. D., in Harper's Magazine.
| Usclessness of Church Bells.