When an unknown land is accessible by water, the shore line offers the easiest means for the first explorations and settlements. So it came about that nearly all the eastern coast of North America was known before men ventured far into the interior. Then the large rivers, like the St. Lawrence, the Hudson, and the Mississippi, seemed to offer inviting routes into the recesses of the continent, but exploration through the pathless woods and rough mountains was slow. It was soon discovered that the Hudson was a short river and did not lead across the continent as was at first hoped. Because of the absence of other large rivers upon that portion of the coast which the English occupied, their settlements did not spread westward as rapidly as they otherwise would have done. The country was covered with dense forests, and savage Indians disputed the right to occupy it. In time, however, passes were found leading over the Appalachian Mountains to the Ohio River and through the Mohawk Valley to the region of the Great Lakes. The advantages for travel offered by the St. Lawrence River and the chain of lakes above it were utilized at an early day. The route of the French missionary explorers and fur traders was from Montreal up the Ottawa River, then by a short portage and a series of small lakes to Lake Huron. From this point the most remote shores of Lakes Superior and Michigan could be easily reached. By the aid of several small bodies of water west of Lake Superior, Lake Winnipeg and Great Slave Lake were finally discovered; but from this point the waterways into the West were small and could be followed no farther, so that it was a long time before the Rocky Mountains were crossed. By floating down the Illinois River the French arrived at the Mississippi, explored much of its course, and took possession of the country in advance of the English. This fact was directly due to the difficulties which the English explorers experienced in forcing their way over the Appalachian highlands. The Spanish explored the southern shores of the continent, and crossing the Isthmus, were the first to behold the Pacific. The fact that the Pacific coast of North America was so easily reached at this point gave the Spanish a great advantage, and explains why they gained such a hold upon the lands bordering that ocean. It was a comparatively simple matter for them to fit out ships, and sailing north and south, to take possession wherever they desired. However, when they had gone as far as California, their progress was for a long time almost completely blocked by storms and head winds, for the prevailing direction of the wind is down the coast. The Spanish finally reached Vancouver Island, but never succeeded in making settlements north of San Francisco. Even the interior of California was little known to them, for the mountains and deserts discouraged their progress in that direction.