334
WILLIAM H. GALVANI
he discovered in 1771 a river in the northwest section of America not emptying in the Atlantic or Hudson Bay, but somewhere to the west. This changed considerably the pre- vailing notions regarding the Northwest country. Likewise the publication in 1778 of Captain Jonathan Carver's "Travels Throughout the Interior Parts of North America in 1766," 5 in which the Great River of the. West was for the first time mentioned under the name of Oregon, contributed somewhat to the general awakening of Britain in Northwestern projects for settlement, etc. Accordingly Captain James Cook, on his return to England from his second voyage of circumnaviga- tion, in obedience to instructions from the British Government, sailed from Plymouth on July 12th, 1776, on the Ship Reso- lution, accompanied by Captain Charles Clarke, on the Ship Discovery, and a number of other officers and crews. He was not to touch upon any part of the Spanish dominions, and, if he should do so by some unavoidable accident, to give no offence to any of the inhabitants or subjects of his Catholic majesty. He was "with the consent of the natives to take possession in the name of the King of Great Britain of con- venient situations .... but, if he should find countries so discovered to be uninhabited, he was to take possession for his sovereign by setting up proper marks and inscriptions as first discoverers and possessors." In obedience to these instructions he proceeded by way of the Cape of Good Hope, New Zealand and Otaheite to the Coast of New Albion which he was to reach in the latitude of 45 degrees. He discovered the Sandwich Islands, was near the 44th degree of latitude on March 7, 1778, and a little beyond the 48th parallel on March 22, he was opposite the projecting point of the Continent which he named Cape Flattery.
Captain Cook's voyage proved an epoch-making achievement, both from a geographical viewpoint and also from his discovery among the natives at Friendly Cove of a number of articles of
5 Carver's account, in a general way, was made up from existing journals and histories his descriptions of the habits, customs, religion and language of the Indians of the Upper Mississippi are vague and contradictory, and for the most part repetitions from existing accounts. If it were not for his using the name Oregon for the Great River of the West his book of travels might have been for- gotten long ago. As it is, it gave rise to the debatable question as to origin of the name first used by him.
