The first Adventurers of Oregon were therefore
certain Latin and Levantine seamen, who, for the
glory of some king, said that they had bravely
sailed and even meticulously charted these strange
waters of their own fancy! Truly, in their tales,
as Bancroft says, "maritime lying reaches the
climax and borders on the heroic." There was
no Strait of Anian such as they described. ¹ Yet
where the imagination of these romancers coursed
among fabulous isles, one lucky American seaman,
after three centuries of naval fantasy, discovered the
Columbia River flowing scarf-like over the shoulder
blade of the continent. And it was chiefly by vir-
tue of that discovery that the wilderness empire of
Oregon found its destiny within the United States
of America.

But we may not leave the myth of the direct pas-
sage to Asia with merely a passing reference; it has
had too potent an influence upon history for such
casual treatment. It dates back to Columbus, of
course. Columbus discovered America; but he

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