Eugene Duflot De Mofras:  Carte Du Rio Colombia Depuis Son Embouchure Jusqu'au Fort Vancouver

Title: Carte Du Rio Colombia Depuis Son Embouchure Jusqu'au Fort Vancouver

Map Maker: Eugene Duflot De Mofras

Description:

Duflot de Mofras' map of the Lower Columbia River is one of the earliest detailed maps of the region and perhaps the earliest printed map of this section of the River.  The map covers the region from Fort Vancouver to Pacific Ocean and includes a number of early settlements, forts, Indian Villages and other points of interest.  The channels of the River, deeper navigation points and soundings are also indicated.

Duflot de Mofras drew upon the 1837 Arrowsmith map of the British Dominions of North America for much of his information in the region and this map is no exception.  For example, this map notes the "Hutte ou Lewis et Clarke hivernerent" (the Hut where Lewis & Clark wintered in 1805) on the east side of Youngs Bay. The unnamed river emptying into the southeast end of Youngs Bay should be identified as Youngs River, but it is not. What de Mofras identified as "R. de Young" is the Lewis and Clark River and it was on the west bank of this river that Fort Clatsop was located. It appears that Duflot de Mofras located the "hutte" of Lewis and Clark several miles from its actual site on the Lewis and Clark River to the east side of Youngs Bay.

In 1839, Eugene Duflot de Mofras,  was assigned to the embassy in Mexico City and instructed to visit the northwestern provinces of Mexico, report on potential commerce, observe U. S., British, and Russian interests, and determine feasibility of French posts in the region.  De Mofras visited Jalisco, Colima, Sinaloa, and Sonora in 1840, then sailed from Mazatlán to Monterey. He met with commandant Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo in Sonoma, continued to Fort Ross, and returned to Monterey in July. On September 1 he sailed up the Sacramento River with A.G. Rotchev, manager of Fort Ross, to New Helvetia, where he met with John Sutter, with whom Rotchev was to initiate negotiations for sale of the Russian fort. He later visited San Jose, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco, before travelling to the Hudson Bay Company’s Fort Vancouver.  On this trip, de Mofras met and talked with Charles Wilkes. He returned to San Francisco with Hudson Bay Company director Sir George Simpson and factor John McLoughlin and U.S. agent Horatio Hale to Monterey. On January 3 1842, de Mofras sailed via Santa Bárbara to San Diego, before returning to Mexico.

Duflot de Mofras provided important information on its economic life, foreign involvement, and geography. He provides excellent descriptions of the Russian posts at Ross and Bodega just prior to their sale to the United States, notes Sutter’s willingness to serve France, and reports on the reputed plot of Isaac Graham to overthrow Mexican government in California.

A seminal map for regional collectors.

Related Categories:
Maps of America
Maps of Northwest America