USA > California > The history of Oregon and California & the other territories of the northwest coast of North America > Part 47
USA > Oregon > The history of Oregon and California & the other territories of the northwest coast of North America > Part 47
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You will observe by this relation,
1. That, by the treaties, demarkations, takings of possession, and the most decided acts of sovereignty exercised by the Spaniards in these stations, from the reign of Charles II., and authorized by that monarch in 1692, the original vouchers for which shall be brought forward in the course of the negotiation, all the coast to the north of the Western Amer- ica, on the side of the South Sea, as far as beyond what is called Prince William's Sound, which is in the 61st degree, is acknowledged to belong exclusively to Spain.
2. That the court of Russia, having been informed of this extent of our boundary, assured the king, my master, without the least delay, of the purity of its intentions in this respect, and added, " That it was extremely sorry that the repeated orders issued to prevent the subjects of Russia from violating, in the smallest degree, the territory belonging to another power, should have been disobeyed."
3. That the state of the possessions and exclusive commerce on the sea-coast of the Southern Ocean, as it existed in the time of Charles II., had been acknowledged and defined anew by all the nations of Europe, and more particularly by England, in the eighth article of the treaty of Utrecht.
4. That, notwithstanding the just title he has to a preservation of his ancient rights, the king, my master, has approved of the conduct of the viceroy of Mexico, who, in consequence of his general orders and instruc- tions for the preservation of peace with every power, took upon himself to release the vessels seized in the port of Nootka, upon a supposition that the conduct of their captains was a consequence of their total ignorance with respect to the legitimacy of the rights of Spain on those coasts.
It is in consequence of the desire of his Catholic majesty to pre- serve peace to himself, and to establish the general tranquillity of Europe,
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that he has taken the steps you will observe in the said extract, and that he has commenced an amicable and direct negotiation with England, which he will finish with Mr. Fitzherbert, the new ambassador sent from that court to the court of Madrid. We are in hopes that the con- sequences of this negotiation will be favorable; but, at the same time, we must employ all the necessary means to make it so.
An immediate and exact accomplishment of the treaty signed at Paris, the 15th of August, 1761, under the title of the Family Compact, becomes an indispensable preliminary to a successful negotiation. It is in conse- quence of the absolute necessity which Spain finds of having recourse to the snccor of France, that the king, my master, orders me to demand expressly what France can do in the present circumstances to assist Spain, according to the mutual engagements stipulated by the treaties. His Catholic majesty desires that the armaments, as well as other proper measures to fulfil and realize these sacred engagements, be immediately put in execution. He charges me to add further, that the present state of this unforeseen business requires a very speedy determination, and that the measures which the court of France shall take for his assistance, shall be so active, so clear, and so positive, as to prevent even the smallest ground for suspicion. Otherwise his most Christian majesty must not be surprised that Spain should seek other friends and different allies among all the powers of Europe, without excepting any one, upon whose assist- ance she can rely in case of need. The ties of blood and personal friend- ship which unite our two sovereigns, and particularly the reciprocal interest which exists between two nations united by nature, shall be respected in all new arrangements, as far as circumstances will permit.
This, sir, is the positive demand which I am obliged to make, and in consequence of which I hope his most Christian majesty will immediately take such measures as shall seem most suitable, in the present circum- stances, to satisfy my master, in an object so interesting and important to the preservation of his legal rights, and the honor of his nation.
I have the honor to be, &c.,
EL CONDE DE FERNAN NUÑEZ.
(5.)
Letter from Mr. Fitzherbert to Count de Florida Blanca.
MADRID, [probably,] June 16th, 1790.
SIR,
In compliance with your excellency's desire, I have now the honor to communicate to you, in writing, what I observed to you in the conversation we had the day before yesterday.
The substance of these observations are briefly these : -
The court of London is animated with the most sincere desire of terminating the difference that at present subsists between it and the court of Madrid, relative to the port of Nootka, and the adjacent lati- tudes, by a friendly negotiation; but as it is evident, upon the clearest principles of justice and reason, that an equal negotiation cannot be opened till matters are put in their original state, and as certain acts have been committed in the latitudes in question by vessels belonging to the
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royal marine of Spain, against several British vessels, without any re- prisals having been made, of any sort, on the part of Britain, that power is perfectly in the right to insist, as a preliminary condition, upon a prompt and suitable reparation for these acts of violence ; and in consequence of this principle, the practice of nations has limited such right of reparation to three articles, viz., the restitution of the vessels - a full indemnification for the losses sustained by the parties injured - and, finally, satisfaction to the sovereign for the insult offered to his flag. So that it is evident that the actual demands of my court, far from containing any thing to preju- dice the rights or the dignity of his Catholic majesty, amount to no more, in fact, than what is constantly done by Great Britain herself, as well as every other maritime power, in similar circumstances. - Finally, as to the nature of the satisfaction which the court of London exacts on this occa- sion, and on which your excellency appears to desire some explanation, 1 am authorized, sir, to assure you, that if his Catholic majesty consents to make a declaration in his name, bearing in substance that he had deter- mined to offer to his Britannic majesty a just and suitable satisfaction for the insult offered to his flag, - such offer, joined to a promise of making restitution of the vessels captured, and to indemnify the pro- prietors, under the conditions specified in the official letter of Mr. Merry on the 16th of May, will be regarded by his Britannic majesty as consti- tuting in itself the satisfaction demanded; and his said majesty will accept of it as such by a counter-declaration on his part. I have to add, that as it appears uncertain if the vessels the North-West, an American vessel, and the Iphigenia, had truly a right to enjoy the protection of the British flag, the king will with pleasure consent that an examination of this ques- tion, as well as that relative to the just amount of the losses sustained by his subjects, may be left to the determination of commissioners to be named by the two courts.
Having thus recapitulated to your excellency the heads of what I observed to you in conversation, I flatter myself you will weigh the whole in your mind, with that spirit of equity and moderation which character- izes you, that I may be in a condition of sending to my court, as soon as possible, a satisfactory answer as to the point contained in the official paper sent to Mr. Merry, on the 4th of the month, and which, for the reasons I have mentioned, cannot be regarded by his Britannic majesty as fulfilling his just expectations.
I have the honor to be, &c., ALLEYNE FITZHERBERT.
(6.)
Letter from Count de Florida Blanca to Mr. Fitzherbert.
MADRID, June 18th, 1790.
You will pardon me, sir, that I cannot give my assent to the principles laid down in your last letter ; as Spain maintains, on the most solid grounds, that the detention of the vessels was made in a port, upon a coast, or in a bay, of Spanish America, the commerce and navigation of which belonged exclusively to Spain, by treaties with all nations, even England herself.
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The principles laid down cannot be adapted to the case. The vessels detained attempted to make an establishment at a port where they found a nation actually settled, the Spanish commander at Nootka having, previous to their detention, made the most amicable represen- tations to the aggressors to desist from their purpose.
Your excellency will also permit me to lay before you, that it is not at all certain that the vessels detained navigated under the British flag, although they were English vessels; there having been reason to believe that they navigated under the protection of Portuguese passports, fur nished them by the governor of Macao as commercial vessels, and not belonging to the royal marine. Your excellency will add to these rea- sons, that, by the restitution of these vessels, their furniture and cargoes, or their value, in consequence of the resolution adopted by the viceroy of Mexico, which has been approved of by the king, for the sake of peace, every thing is placed in its original state, the object your excellency aims at- nothing remaining unsettled but the indemnification of losses, and satisfaction for the insult, which shall also be regulated when evidence shall be given what insult has been committed, which hitherto has not been sufficiently explained.
However, that a quarrel may not arise about words, and that two nations friendly to each other may not be exposed to the calamities of war, I have to inform you, sir, by order of the king, that his majesty consents to make the declaration which your excellency proposes in your letter, and will offer to his Britannic majesty a just and suitable satisfac- tion for the insult offered to the honor of his flag, provided that to these are added either of the following explanations :
1. That, in offering such satisfaction, the insult and the satisfaction shall be fully settled, both in form and substance, by a judgment to be pronounced by one of the kings of Europe, whom the king, my master, leaves wholly to the choice of his Britannic majesty; for it is sufficient to the Spanish monarch that a crowned head, from full information of the facts, shall decide as he thinks just.
2. That, in offering a just and suitable satisfaction, care shall be taken that, in the progress of the negotiation to be opened, no facts be admitted as true but such as can be fully established by Great Britain with regard to the insult offered to her flag.
3. That the said satisfaction shall be given on condition that no inference be drawn therefrom to affect the rights of Spain, nor of the right of exacting from Great Britain an equivalent satisfaction, if it shall be found, in the course of negotiation, that the king has a right to demand satisfaction, for the aggression and usurpation made on the Spanish territory, contrary to subsisting treaties.
Your excellency will be pleased to make choice of either of these three explanations to the declaration your excellency proposes, or all the three together, and to point out any difficulty that occurs to you, that it may be obviated; or any other mode that may tend to promote the peace which we desire to establish.
I have the honor to be, &c.,
EL CONDE DE FLORIDA BLANCA.
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(7.)
Spanish Declaration, and British Counter-Declaration, exchanged at Madrid on the 24th of July, 1790.
DECLARATION.
His Britannic majesty having complained of the capture of certain vessels belonging to his subjects in the port of Nootka, situated on the north-west coast of America, by an officer in the service of the king, - the undersigned counsellor and principal secretary of state to his majesty, being thereto duly authorized, declares, in the name and by the order of his said majesty, that he is willing to give satisfaction to his Britannic majesty for the injury of which he has complained, fully persuaded that his said Britannic majesty would act in the same manner towards the king, under similar circumstances ; and his majesty further engages to make full restitution of all the British vessels which were captured at Nootka, and to indemnify the parties interested in those vessels, for the losses which they shall have sustained, as soon as the amount thereof shall have been ascertained.
It being understood that this declaration is not to preclude or preju- dice the ulterior discussion of any right which his majesty may claim to form an exclusive establishment at the port of Nootka.
In witness whereof, I have signed this declaration, and sealed it with the seal of my arms. At Madrid, the 24th of July, 1790. (L. s.) Signed,
LE COMTE DE FLORIDA BLANCA.
COUNTER - DECLARATION.
His Catholic majesty having declared that he was willing to give satisfaction for the injury done to the king, by the capture of certain vessels belonging to his subjects, in the bay of Nootka, and the Count de Florida Blanca having signed, in the name and by the order of his Catho- lic majesty, a declaration to this effect, and by which his said majesty likewise engages to make full restitution of the vessels so captured, and to indemnify the parties interested in those vessels for the losses they shall have sustained, -the undersigned ambassador extraordinary and plenipo- tentiary of his majesty to the Catholic king, being thereto duly and expressly authorized, accepts the said declaration in the name of the king, and declares that his majesty will consider this declaration, together with the performance of the engagements contained therein, as a full and entire satisfaction for the injury of which his majesty has complained.
The undersigned declares, at the same time, that it is to be under- stood, that neither the said declaration signed by Count Florida Blanca, nor the acceptance thereof by the undersigned, in the name of the king, is to preclude or prejudice, in any respect, the right which his majesty may claim to any establishment which his subjects may have formed, or should be desirous of forming in future, at the said bay of Nootka.
In witness whereof, I have signed this counter-declaration, and sealed Signed, it with the seal of my arms. At Madrid, the 24th of July, 1790. (L. s.)
ALLEYNE FITZHERBERT.
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(8.)
Decree of the National Convention of France, on the Subject of the Application of the King of Spain for Aid in resisting the Demands of Great Britain. Paris, August 6th, 1790.
THE National Assembly, deliberating on the formal proposition of the king, contained in the letter of the minister, dated the 1st of August,
Decree, that the king be supplicated to make known to his Catholic majesty, that the French nation, in taking all proper measures to maintain peace, will observe the defensive and commercial engagements which the French government have previously contracted with Spain.
They further decree that his majesty shall be requested immediately to charge his ambassador in Spain to negotiate with the minister of his Catholic majesty to the effect of perpetuating and renewing, by a national treaty, the ties so useful to the two nations, and to fix with precision and clearness every stipulation which shall be strictly conformable to the views of general peace, and to the principles of justice, which will be forever the policy of the French.
The National Assembly further taking into consideration the arma- ments of the different nations of Europe, their progressive increase, and the safety of the French colonies and commerce, decree, that the king shall be prayed to give orders that the French marine force in commission shall be increased to forty-five ships of the line, with a proportionate number of frigates and other vessels.
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DOCUMENTS RELATIVE TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER BY THE SPANIARDS AND THE AMERICANS.
(1.)
Extract from the Report of Captain Bruno Heceta, commanding the. Spanish Corvette Santiago, in a Voyage along the North-West Coast of America, in 1775, containing the Particulars of his Discovery of the Mouth of the Great River, since called the Columbia .*
ORIGINAL.
EL dia diez y siete, [de agosto, 1775,] recorri la costa, hasta el grado cuarenta y seis ; y vi que desde la latitud de cuarenta y siete grados y
* From the original Report, preserved in the Hydrographical Office at Madrid, copied under the supervision of Don Martin Fernandes de Navarate, the chief of that department, whose certificate in proof of its authenticity is appended to the copy. - See p. 120 of this History.
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cuarenta minutos, hasta la de cuarenta y seis grados cuarenta minutos, corria al angulo de diez y ocho, en el segundo cuadrante; y desde esta graduacion, hasta la de cuarenta y seis, y cuatro, al angulo de doce del mismo cuadrante, y con la misma sonda, playa y frondosidad, y algunos islotes, que la de los dias anteriores.
La tardé de este dia, descubri una grande bahia, que la nombré de la Asuncion ; cuya figura representa el plano que va inserto en este diario; su latitud y amplitud esta sujeta á las demarcaciones mas exactas que ofrece la theorica y practica de esta carrera.
Las latitudes de los cabos mas salientes de dicha bahia, particularmente la del Norte, está calculada por la observacion de aquel dia.
Habiendola llegado á flanquear á las seis de la tarde, y cuasi situada la fragata entre los dos Cabos, sondé en veinte y cuatro brazas, y eran tan rapidos los remolinos de las corrientes, que no obstante haber esforzado de vela, fué trabajoso el salir ó seperarse del Cabo de mas al Norte, que es hacia la parte donde mas se inclinaba la corriente, que tambien tenia su direccion al este, y con el dependia del flujo de la marea.
Estas corrientes y hervidero de aguas me han hecho créer sea desem- bocadura de algun gran rio ó paso para algun otro mar.
Si la latitud en que se situó la bahia no tubiera la constante prueba de la observacion de aquel dia creeria sin dificultad era este el paso descubierto el ano de 1592 por Juan de Fuca, que lo situan las cartas entre los grados de cuarenta y ocho grados y cuarenta y siete de latitud, donde no me queda duda, no se halla este estrecho, por haber estado fondeado el dia catorce de Julio, en el centro de estas latitudes, y registrado varias veces todas aquellas inmediaciones.
No obstante la mucha diferencia de la situacion de esta bahia, y el paso que citá de Fuca, se mi hace poco dificultoso el dudar, si es uno mismo ; porque he observado, hay igual variedad ó mayor, en las latitudes de otros cabos y puertos de esta costa, como los citaré á su tiempo; y en todos, es mayor la latitud en que los fijan, que la que tiene sus verdaderas situaciones.
El no haber entrado y fondeado en el puerto, que parece forma la que en el plano supongo isla, no obstante los vivos deseos que me asisten, fué porque, habiendo tomado parecer del segundo Capitan y practico Don Juan Perez, y piloto Don Christoval Revilla, insistieron en que no debia executar, porque, de dejar caer el ancla, no teniamos gente con que zarparla, y atender á la faena, que de esto resulta. Hecho cargo yo, de estas razones, y que para hacer rumbo al fondeadero, me era preciso hechar la lancha al agua (unica embarcacion menor que tenia) esquifarla con catorce individuos de la tripulacion, lo menos, y que sin estos no podia empeñarme, notando al mismo tiempo, era tarde, resolvi virar para fuera ; y hallandome á la distancia de tres ó cuatro leguas, hice capa. Experimenté esta noche vivas corrientes al S. O. que me imposibilitaron intentar recalar en esta bahia, la mañana del dia siguiente, por estar muy sotavento.
Tambien estas me hicieron consentir, en que en el reflujo, salia de aquella bahia, mucha cantidad de aguas.
Los dos Cabos que cito en el plano, de San Roque y del Frondoso corren al angulo de diez grados del tercer cuadrante; ambos son escar- pados de tierra colorada con poca elevacion.
El dia dies y ocho, demarqué el Cabo Frondoso que cito, con otro que
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le pusé por nombre de Falcon, situado en la latitud de cuarenta y cinco grados cuarenta y tres minutos ; y corria al angulo de veinte y dos grados del tercer cuadrante ; y desde este cabo sigue la costa, al angulo de cinco grados, del segundo cuadrante.
Esta es de tierra montuosa, no muy elevada, ni tan poblada de arboleda, como la que induce los grados desde la latitud de cuarenta y ocho, treinta, hasta los cuarenta y seis.
En la sonda, encontré notable diferencia; pues á distancia de siete leguas, sondé en ochenta y cuatro brazas, y acercandome á la costa, no halle algunas veces sonda ; lo que me ha hecho créer, hay algunos placeres ó bancos de arena, sobre estas costas, pues tambien el color de las aguas lo denota asi. En algunas partes, acaba la costa en playa, y en otros acantilada.
Una montaña plana, que la llamé de Mesa, hará que qualquier navegante se haga capaz de la situacion del Cabo Falcon, aunque no haya tenido observacion; por que está en la latitud de cuarenta y cinco veinte y ocho minutos, v se deja ver de lejos por ser medianamente alta.
TRANSLATION.
ON the 17th [of August, 1775] I sailed along the coast to the 46th degree, and observed that, from the latitude of 47 degrees 4 minutes to that of 46 degrees 40 minutes, it runs in the angle of 18 degrees of the second quadrant,* and from that latitude to 46 degrees 4 minutes, in the angle of 12 degrees of the same quadrant ; the soundings, the shore, the wooded character of the country, and the little islands, being the same as on the preceding days.
In the evening of this day, I discovered a large bay, to which I gave the name of Assumption Bay, and of which a plan will be found in this journal. Its latitude and longitude are determined according to the most exact means afforded by theory and practice.
The latitudes of the two most prominent capes of this bay, especially of the northern one, are calculated from the observations of this day.t
Having arrived opposite this bay at six in the evening, and placed the ship nearly midway between the two capes, I sounded, and found bottom in twenty-four brazas ; ¿ the currents and eddies were so strong that, notwithstanding a press of sail, it was difficult to get out clear of the north- ern cape, towards which the current ran, though its direction was east- ward, in consequence of the tide being at flood.
These currents and eddies of the water caused me to believe that the place is the mouth of some great river, or of some passage to another sea.
* The card of the Spanish compass was formerly divided into four quadrants, on which the points were counted by degrees.
t In the table accompanying the report, the position of the vessel is given on the 17th of August, as in latitude of 46 degrees 17 minutes, which is within one minute of the latitude of Cape Disappointment, (the Cape San Roque of Heceta,) the northern point, at the entrance of the Columbia; the longitude is made 15 degrees 38 minutes west of Cape San Lucas, the southern extremity of California, which is about a degree and a half too far west, yet remarkably near the truth, considering that the Spanish navigator was obliged to depend entirely on the dead reckoning for his longitudes.
# The Spanish braza, or fathom, contains six Spanish feet, nearly equal to five feet nine inches English.
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Had I not been certain of the latitude of this bay, from my observations of the same day, I might easily have believed it to be the passage dis- covered by Juan de Fuca, in 1592, which is placed on the charts between the 47th and the 48th degrees; where I am certain that no such strait exists; because I anchored on the 14th of July midway between these two latitudes, and carefully examined every thing around.
Notwithstanding the great difference between the position of this bay and the passage mentioned by De Fuca, I have little difficulty in con- ceiving that they may be the same, having observed equal or greater differences in the latitudes of other capes and ports on this coast, as I shall show at its proper time; and in all cases the latitudes thus assigned are higher than the real ones.
I did not enter and anchor in this port, which in my plan I suppose to be formed by an island, notwithstanding my strong desire to do so; because, having consulted the second captain, Don Juan Perez, and the pilot, Don Christoval Revilla, they insisted that I ought not to attempt it, as, if we let go the anchor, we should not have men enough to get it up, and to attend to the other operations which would be thereby rendered necessary. Considering this, and also that, in order to reach the anchor- age, I should be obliged to lower my long-boat, (the only boat that I had,) and to man it with at least fourteen of the crew, as I could not manage with fewer, and also that it was then late in the day, I resolved to put out; and at the distance of three or four leagues I lay to. In the course of that night, I experienced heavy currents to the south-west, which made it impossible for me to enter the bay on the following morning, as I was far to leeward.
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