A Plan of Captain Carvers Travels in the Interior Parts of North America in 1766 and 1767 - London 1778

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This and the next map are from Jonathan Carver's journal "Travels through the Interior Parts of North America in the Years 1766, 1767, and 1768" by J. Carver, Esq. (London 1778). After serving in five campaigns against the French and their Indian allies in Canada, and narrowly escaping massacre while commanding a company in Fort William Henry, Carver was recruited by Robert Rogers, a noted frontiersman and commander of Robert’s Rangers, to undertake an exploration of “the uncharted western territories,” with the objective of finding the long-sought Northwest Passage or, failing that, an overland route to the Pacific. Deflected in his westward journey by a war between the Sioux and Chippewa tribes, he turned north and then west again, traveling as far as the Minnesota River and present-day south-central Minnesota (where he is commemorated in the name of Carver County) before turning back. Nevertheless, he traveled over seven thousand miles across America and made important contributions to the mapping of the central region and to the knowledge of Indian life and customs. Quarrelling with Rogers over his pay, Carver resolved to publish his journals. He made his way to London and eventually, after nine years of struggle and poverty, he found a publisher and enthusiastic readers. The journals were published in 1778 and were an immediate success, going through at least thirty editions in English and being published as well in several languages.19

Deflected in his westward journey by a war between the Sioux and Chippewa tribes, Carver turned north and then west again, traveling as far as the Minnesota River (where he is commemorated in the name of Carver County) before turning back.
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On the western edge of this map at latitude 47 N, above and to the left of White Bear Lake, can be found the legend Heads of Origan with a river flowing westward from an unnamed lake. This is the first use of the word "Oregon" in print and demonstrates the association, and for a time the considerable confusion, of "Oregon," "The River of the West," and later the Columbia River. The map suggests a relatively easy waterborne route from the interior of the continent to the Pacific Ocean by means of the Missouri River, northwest to White Bear Lake, and then a rather easy portage to the Heads of Origan. This suggestion may have contributed to Jefferson's decision to dispatch Lewis and Clark up the Missouri.