The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-02-26
Our Title west OF the Rocky Mountains.

We are indebted to Mr.. BtSGER Hermann.
Commissioner Of the General Land ONCE, for
u monograph entitled The Louisiana P,rchass
and our Title West Of the Rocky Mountains.
to which Is appended a general review Of nm
nexntion by tho United States. Government
Printing Once, Washington The author un.
dertakes to elucidate IA number 81 subjects
about which there is n good deal of miscon.
ception. What, for instance. was the original
Louisiana? What was the territory coded by
France to Spain in 11O2. and was this identical
with the tract subsequently, retroceded by Spain
to France. aud bv the latter power coded to
the United States? What were the boundary
of Florida on the west and what was the diyil-
ing line between Louisiana and Texas? What.
finally. was the basis of our claim to the own
ership OF territories beyond the Rocky Noun.
tains? Was Oregon, In other words. included
in the Louisiana Purchase ? Let us see what
our author has to say about these interesting
questions.
Mr.. Hermann points out on page Is that n
map published about ITO by Mol. the English
R"ographer. represents Louisiana to be as Louis
NV. describes it two years later in a grant
made TO Antoine de Crozat, The map is here
reproduced. To the east and along the GUT
G"ast me COUNTY, c33mrprisins tGS CHroIinas ,s
a boundary, is New Mexico and Old Mexico.
whilG. on the north is New France. Lake Huron
and Upper Lake Superior, A portion of the
western boundary is shown Us the North
Rive" tIio del Nortel. The more northwest
lands at the sources OF the Mississippi and
the, Missouri, marked on the map. respect
Moth, Ss west Of tho Rocky MoGntai9s is desailsE.
patel as Lontsitana' and aII north Of Cali;
Bowen ' GefGrc N.Y. I4E6i2. ' and %sntitls SI ..I ( as,
S S"fR6ri T"p Fl tnS N sShnt Am %d + Of iF Cane tf Blan nset
known; = that east Of the Rio del NoTte
drained by the waters O the N]iissoar! and Mis-.
sIssippi. and rs far east as the. "Apalachan
Florida, Georgia. Carolina. Virginia and Penn
sylyania; to the east Of these mountains, are all
Spain. in the treaty Of Nov. 3. l1B2. What was
the nam" Of fG%SHisialmlaa. together With SSevw" or.
leans. and, the island, on, which that city
stands" There is no other description or des-
ran west to the lhscrvillei or how far north
how much Franco claimed for Louisiana east Of
the I%berrillc. or whether she claimed anything
try; all these remained matters OF uncertainty
and contention. 50 far as the treaty of 1853
BY the treaty Of San ndofonso. concluded Oct.
]. $500. Slain retroceded to the French Repuh.-
lie " the colony or province OF Lot,siqna, With
Spain. ami that it had when France possessed
it. b, the trrsa,y ratified by Congress on OF.
lie coded to the United States ali the territory
that had been acquired by the ahove-men-
toned ratrocession from Srain on Oct. l. 1900.
Had, France, then, recovered possession OF the
Louisiana it formerly owned, and, il so. wns
to the. intel States? Let us see what view
vas taken Q, the matter by jefferson himself.
the sending Of the expedition under Lewis and
Clark" - tie Pacific is an evidence that Je"or-
son regarded the Oregon country as a nart Of
tho | nliSionD Purchase In lpttpr lataI Nom
ticeIlo, Dee. 81. 1871. AMI addressed to AEelIish.
the geography. Jefferson said: BY the char
ing . the tos" waters Which now into the Mis-
sissippi was made a part OF Louisiana. Consr-
Of the highlands in which It's northern waters
rise." Jefferson went on 70 point out. however,.
Utrecht France ana England agreed to appoint
Commissioners to >Hitle the boundary between
those S Sommi !gisn%rs settled ,a ' t at f the 4SFh de" ial
gree of latitude. This it was which induced
The British G% m ti ;j,in% bo in settling the
line to the Lake OF the Woods at tho l~atituLe Of
~. and then go on on that parallel, This.
ana. Jefferson thought ina, this was rightfullv
"th" main stream Of the, Rio Bravo, from. it,
mouth u, its source. and thence along the high
Iand7 md monmtaiins diyi,tmI IL Til w2ter1 Of the
son does not overlook the act that the usurpa-
tions Of Slain on the east side Of that river
suppose the Puerco or Snla1o t" he the bound
AIRY. hut he directs. attention to the circum-
s stamSe o 1hn ihc "bhG,o In" of f nl%Gs Ill., liz h HI hM4s@.
ance Of that Of the Rio Bravo for the reason
thar when La Sale took possession Of the Bay
of San Bernardo. PanucO was the nearest pos
session Of Spain. and the Rio Bravo the natural
halfway boundary between thanl.' Jefferson
many students of the subject have lost sight
of: on the waters Of the Pacific We, can f;;unl
that country at all. It must be on Astor's set
tlamer,t. near tho,,mouth o! the Columbia. and
that, when civilized nation takes possessioro'
tn" mouth 81 "A river IN. a new cQIntry. that
pnss"ss,o N i considered ns lnslnting al A.
Louisiana purchase covers SS3,OI2 square
miles. 1t embraced The entire States q
and South Dakota; parts of the States q Minno-
sots. Kansas. Colorado, Montana. Wyoming
Territory and part Of, Oklahoma Territory.
The area OF The, purchase, n, given in the
ports. is 1.IS2.752 SQUARE miles. but this esti.
mnt" enormously includes the Oregon country.
wS Milin' w saa % Soma Grt "n dn f !nS I So isio ffr"fHfIy az;
Catholic Majesty redcd 10 the United States IN
i Wbis G6roP peIdyg snf 80 s9IEGi m sItna "a, the To 'f tFa ensl,
ward Of the Mississippi. known by the name
Of East and West J oriIa BY Tho same treaty
cifc north uf the ipi degrc" Of latitude. a
ccselon which John Quincy Adams deemed one
tho .a'tlemeut of th"Oregon question. he hold
ing that the I on siana Purchase had given no
'tN III ~ III iNfhllll h N'0N VI It WI AIbltD'
tains. ThoHr.a acquired under this treaty. So
far a. tn" lIori a~ were concerned, was 81, 7+9
square miles. uf which 4,1Sl hav" been sui Sc
lucntly included. in, the Sta,e Of Louisiana.
$500 il MissiSstnpi and 1900 IN Alabama.
makes III, area q the Florida cession 5o.2rS
square miles. tor this Is merely the suparnrirs
of the present State Of Florida,
What really wrs the hnSiso ), ourclalm totlre
Oregon country? John c Calhoun. when Sc.
rotary OF state. nrGueltha on the score - COM
tguiiV. weHcTuired the region wcst ofthe RnrEv
Mountains hv the Louisiana cession. rnis
view has teen since officially accepted by tn"
United States, Tho report u the census OF
1870 contains n map which represents the
present area Of Oregon. .Washingt"4 aui
iomisinnn TurcRise ~ lSt3," TIns snnstInn,I
by the G~oyrrnmCrt. tn" assertion has been,
adopted ly the public, and has ibesn repeated
Encyclopedia. IN Gulhric's Universal Geoy:
raphy, in lusse'ls History Of the EnitTi
states, and in Olncvs History -of the IN tyt
states. The -o-called g Public Domain, pub
proved IN $50 and $50, contaiIcd . man
npunieSpal In the error of that p0nsus'S