fanciful, and it is not likely that
he ever saw the river which is now known as the Columbia, although
there is a possibility that he heard stories from the Indians of
a great river upon the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, and
invented for it the name Oregon.

In 1787 Meares, an English trader, visited the coast, and sailing
southward from the Strait of Juan de Fuca, attempted to find the
river San Roque as it was laid down upon the Spanish charts. Reaching
the proper latitude, Meares rounded a promontory and found behind
it a bay which he was unable to enter because of a continuous line
of breakers extending across it. He became satisfied that there
was no such river as the San Roque, and named the promontory Cape
Disappointment and the bay Deception Bay. If Meares had entered
the bay through the breakers, the English would undoubtedly have
made good their claim to the discovery of the Columbia River.

After the Revolution, American trading ships began to extend their
operations into the North Pacific. In 1787 two such vessels left
Boston, one of them under command of a Captain Gray. After reaching
the Pacific, the ships were parted during a storm, and Captain Gray
finally touched the American coast near the forty-sixth degree of
north latitude. For nine days he tried to enter an opening which
was in all probability the one attempted by Meares. After nearly
losing his ship and suffering an Indian attack, he sailed north
to Nootka Sound.

Captain Gray returned to Boston, but in 1790 started upon another
trading expedition in command of the ship _Columbia_. Arriving
safely in the North Pacific, he spent the winter of 1791-1792 upon
Vancouver Island.

Vancouver, whose name has been given to the largest island upon
the western coast of North America, and who did so much to make
known the intricate coast line of the Puget Sound region, arrived
upon the scene in 1792. He was authorized to carry on explorations,
and to treat with Spain concerning the abandonment of the Spanish
claim to Nootka Sound.

Vancouver sailed up the coast, keeping a close lookout for the
river San Roque. No opening in the land appeared, although at one
spot he sailed through a muddy-colored sea which he judged was
affected by the water of some river. Upon reaching the Strait of
Fuca, Vancouver expressed the opinion that there was no river between
the fortieth and forty-eighth degrees of north latitude, "only
brooks insufficient for our v