o the
region of the Great Lakes.

The advantages for travel offered by the St. Lawrence River and
the chain of lakes above it were utilized at an early day. The
route of the French missionary explorers and fur traders was from
Montreal up the Ottawa River, then by a short portage and a series
of small lakes to Lake Huron. From this point the most remote shores
of Lakes Superior and Michigan could be easily reached. By the
aid of several small bodies of water west of Lake Superior, Lake
Winnipeg and Great Slave Lake were finally discovered; but from
this point the waterways into the West were small and could be
followed no farther, so that it was a long time before the Rocky
Mountains were crossed.

By floating down the Illinois River the French arrived at the
Mississippi, explored much of its course, and took possession of
the country in advance of the English. This fact was directly due
to the difficulties which the English explorers experienced in
forcing their way over the Appalachian highlands.

The Spanish explored the southern shores of the continent, and
crossing the Isthmus, were the first to behold the Pacific. The
fact that the Pacific coast of North America was so easily reached
at this point gave the Spanish a great advantage, and explains why
they gained such a hold upon the lands bordering that ocean. It
was a comparatively simple matter for them to fit out ships, and
sailing north and south, to take possession wherever they desired.
However, when they had gone as far as California, their progress
was for a long time almost completely blocked by storms and head
winds, for the prevailing direction of the wind is down the coast.
The Spanish finally reached Vancouver Island, but never succeeded
in making settlements north of San Francisco. Even the interior of
California was little known to them, for the mountains and deserts
discouraged their progress in that direction.

From an examination of a map we might suppose that the Colorado
River would offer as good a means for penetrating the continent as
did the Mississippi River, but as a matter of fact it is navigable
for a comparatively short distance. The Spanish made one attempt
to ascend this river, but finding themselves surrounded on every
hand by a most desolate, barren country, they turned back before
reaching the Grand Canon. In the eager search for gold the Spaniards
pushed north from Mexico and planted settlements in Arizona and
New Mexico, bu