Page:History of Oregon Literature.djvu/49

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
LITERATURE OF THE EXPLORERS
31

he gathereth his meate, when he hath filled his belly abroade, that he may use it, either feed his young, or feed himself when he lists not to trauaile from his burrough; the people eate their bodies, and make great account of their skinnes, for their kings holidaies coate was made of them.


2

Tillamook Coast in 1775

By Captain Bruno Heceta

In 1775, the year the Revolutionary War began, Captain Bruno Heceta, the Spaniard, was the first white man historically known to have set foot on the Northwest Coast. Heceta Head, where Heceta Lighthouse now stands, was named after him. His imagination, unlike our lovable Parson's, was apparently kept under full control, and of the beauty of the Tillamook Coast, he could chronicle only such matter-of-fact observations as the following:

On the 18th (August, 1775) I observed cape Frondoso, with another cape, to which I gave the name of Cape Falcon, situated in the latitude of forty-five degrees forty-three minutes, ... This land is mountainous but not very high, nor so well wooded as that lying between the latitudes of forty-eight degrees thirty minutes, and forty-six degrees. ... In some places the coast presents a beach, in others it is rocky. ... A flat-topped mountain which I named the Table, will enable any navigator to know the position of Cape Falcon without observing it; as it is in the latitude of forty-five degrees twenty-eight minutes, and may be seen at a great distance, being somewhat elevated.


3

The Oregon Coast in 1778

By Captain James Cook

In submitting his writings to the public, Captain James Cook felt that he should make some excuse for any inaccuracies of composition, or lack of elegance in his style, which might be apparent in his narrative, so he explained "that it was the production of a man who had