Three centuries after Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, almost every coastline of every continent on earth had been mapped and explored, except for the polar regions and one other: the coast of the Oregon territory. It took an American Captain, Robert Gray, to open the gate to our region by sailing into, and naming, the Columbia River. That leads to the big question; How the hell did he turn that sailing ship around in the narrow main channel when he figured out this thing was a river?
The Russians and the Brits had been bumping heads exploring Alaska for years before any serious expedition headed south subsequent to Bob crossing the bar at Astoria. Don't you think at least one or two Ivans or Berties would have gone to their leaders and said, "Hey, Captain, we're freezing our asses off up here? There's got to be plenty of fur bearing creatures down there where it gets hot."
Anyway, they finally came, Russians, Brits, French, and of course, Americans. It would take awhile for everything to settle down and I will be looking into some of the adventures that followed. One more thing: How about that Captain George Vancouver (nickname: "The Couve") of the British Royal Navy, who took it upon himself to name everything he laid his eyes on in the Pacific Northwest? He named our best mountain, "Mt.Hood" after his pal, British Viscount Samuel Hood, some Teddy-boy commander in the British navy who fought against our brave sailors in the Revolutionary War. Doesn't that bloody well piss you off? It does me. Let's give it a real Oregon name. How about Mt. Protest?
You don't think so...OK, a contest: Give me a better name and the winner (I command 51% of the votes) will be the point thrust of our start up protest against Samuel Hood and his George Washington-hating cohorts. This thing could get legs.
