by Scott Ridley
“we discovered two vessels at anchor”: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 2, 209. the Sutil and the Mexicana: The ships were forty-six-foot schooners of less than fifty tons, ideal for shallow-water surveys. They had been dispatched from San Blas as part of Alexandro Malaspina’s Pacific exploration for Spain. For full background on these ships and their voyages, see Henry R. Wagner, Spanish Explorations in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Also John Kendrick, The Voyage of the Sutil and Mexicana, 1792: The Last Spanish Exploration of the Northwest Coast of America.
and had already mapped an area: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 2, 209–10. “I cannot avoid acknowledging”: Ibid., 210. “Senior Quadra, the commandant”: Ibid., 211.
270 "spoke the Indian language”: Ibid., 220.
Vancouver’s boats discovered: Edward Bell, “A New Vancouver Journal, Edward Bell,” 13.
“pistols and cutlasses which an American vessel”: Thomas Manby, Journal of the Voyages of the HMS Discovery and Chatham, entry for July 20, 1792. For those who might believe that Kendrick made the circumnavigation, this poses a tantalizing revelation.
they entered Queen Charlotte Sound: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 2, 308. Vancouver entered the area that had been visited and named by the ship Experiment out of Bengal in August 1786.
In reality, the honor of the first: Wagner, Spanish Explorations, 55. found their way through the channels: Cook, Flood Tide, 355. The Daedalus was waiting: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 2, 335.
271 On board were the additional orders: Ibid., 349.
272 “too good a man”: Bell, “New Vancouver Journal,” 25.
William Brown of the British Butterworth: Ingraham wrote, “It was now hinted about in Friendly Cove among those who chose to pay attention to it that as soon as the English men-of-war arrived there would be no more American flags flying.” Ingraham, Journal, 227.
273 According to a complaint: Ibid., 225–26.
“furnished Wickaninish with more”: José Mariano Mozino, Noticias de Nutka: An Account of Nootka Sound in 1792, 71.
“turn out four hundred men”: Bell, “New Vancouver Journal,” 40–41.
274 he went on to kill several natives: For the April skirmish, see Boit, Remarks, 31. For the June attack, ibid., 37.
275 Quadra had a position supported: Quadra’s documentation included a statement made by Joseph Ingraham and Robert Gray. Ingraham, Journal, 217–22. “forming a nearly equilateral triangle”: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 2, 374.
276 “as the object of restitution”: Ibid., 374–75. “were the tents and houses”: Ibid., 372.
“thisplace would not long remain”: Vancouver to Bodega, September 1, 1792, in Wagner, “Narrative,” 18.
277 be named “Quadra and Vancouver” Island: By the mid-nineteenth century the name Quadra and Vancouver Island would be changed on British charts to Vancouver Island, and except for the scattering of Spanish place names, the appropriation of the land and the Spanish legacy would be complete.
Like Martinez he recognized that: Cook, Flood Tide, 390.
Quadra also began considering: Ibid., 391.
“At the least,"he noted: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 2, 375.
William Brown had brought Vancouver: J. F. G. Stokes, “Honolulu and Some New Speculative Phases of Hawaiian History,” 91–94.
278 Vancouver also canceled plans: Cook, Flood Tide, 388.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
281 The best course was to try: Tropical cyclones that cross into the South China Sea have a high probability of passing within 180 nautical miles of Hong Kong. The overocean threat extends for a radius of 180 miles. See Dennis C. Perryman, Richard Gilmore, and Ronald E. Englebretson, “The Decision to Evade or Remain in Port.”
282 sustained winds can reach: For typhoon information, see S. Campbell, “Typhoons Affecting Hong Kong: Case Studies.”
282 The hull lay over on her side: The story of the Washington being caught in a typhoon is contained in John Boit, Remarks on the Ship Columbia’s Voyage from Boston (on a Voyage, Round the Globe), 52.
283 Days passed as Kendrick waited: The notice of the deaths of John Stoddard and David Wood III appeared nearly a year later in “Deaths,” Boston Columbian Centinel 19, no. 42 (August 8, 1793), 3.
a black man came aboard: Boit, Remarks, 52.
“skins are very low”: John Hoskins to Robert Gray and Joseph Barrell, December 22, 1792.
284 records of the voyage indicate: There are several summations of the profits of the Columbia’s second voyage. Boit recorded that the sea otter furs sold for ninety thousand dollars, an average of forty-five dollars each. Boit, Remarks, 53. This does not match Hoskins’s statement of twenty-five dollars per fur maximum (Hoskins to Barrell, December 22, 1792) or the later statement by the owners that it was a “saving voyage and some profit.” Boit’s statements appear at odds with more careful accounts at times.
“made a saving voyage”: Susan Bulfinch, The Life and Letters of Charles Bulfinch, Architect; with Other Family Papers, 68–69.
Gray had sought to cheat: John Hoskins to Joseph Barrell, August 21, 1792. “blundering along”: Letter of Robert Haswell to Joseph Barrell, August 21, 1792. “although he [Gray] cruiz’d the coast”: John Hoskins, The Narrative of a Voyage, 7.
285 Charles Bulfinch would note: Affidavit of Charles Bulfinch, April 21, 1838. “saw an appearance of a spacious harbor”: Boit, Remarks, 32. Gray recorded the day as May 11, which has become the officially recorded date of the Columbia entering the river.
“to view the Country”: Boit, Remarks, 33. F. W. Howay notes that the words “to take possession” were inserted later. Howay, Voyages of the Columbia to the Northwest Coast; 1787–1790 and 1790–1791, 398, fn 3. Although Hoskins stated that he and Gray went ashore and took possession (see U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Public Lands, Report No. 335 [Felch Report], 10), such an event, without witnesses or the participation of other crew members does not seem likely. However Gray’s discovery of the river was acknowledged by Quadra and Vancouver and withstood later dispute from Britain. “[T]he river abounds”: Boit, Remarks, 33.
286 Gray told him of their discovery: Ibid., 34. Other than by Vancouver, not much notice was taken of the discovery at the time, but together with Kendrick’s deeds, it would later support U.S. claims to the region.
286 Brown wanted to drive the Americans: Warren L. Cook, Flood Tide of Empire: Spain and the Pacific Northwest, 1543–1819, 345.
Among the British traders: Edward Bell, “A New Vancouver Journal, Edward Bell,” 58.
“unsuccessful this, their first season”: Ibid., 59. “Wicananish amongst others”: Ibid., 64.
287 Much of Kendrick’s information: F. W. Howay, “The Ship Margaret: Her History and Historian.”
288 his interest in expanding: Jefferson later stated: “I view it as a germ of a great, free & independent empire on that side of the continent.” Thomas Jefferson to John Jacob Astor, November 9, 1813. Also see Gordon S. Wood, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815.
“Port Independence, On The Island”: U.S. Congress, Felch Report, 17.
289 The letter was received: John Gilmary Shea and Henry Reed Stiles, “Explorations of the Northwest Coast of the United States. Report of the Claims of the Heirs of Captains Kendrick and Gray,” 168.
“the largest streams of that river”: Thomas Jefferson to André Michaux, January 23, 1793.
The British had also launched: Howard Terrell Fry, Alexander Dalrymple (1737–1808) and the Expansion of British Trade, 219.
290 The federal government wanted: U.S. Congress, Felch Report, 13. For background on early U.S. land laws affecting acquisition see Paul W. Gates, History of Public Land Law Development (Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., November 1968).
Genet disclosed to Jefferson: Merrill D. Peterson, Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography, 497.
Kendrick had been told by Joseph Barrell: This conclusion can be drawn from Joseph Barrell’s instructions to Kendrick and Kendrick’s letter to Tho
mas Jefferson. but the time for Congress: In addition to the other conditions mentioned, Jefferson left office in December 1793. No action was taken on Kendrick’s deeds at that time.
291 to reconnoiter Spanish defenses: Vancouver’s duplicity did not go unnoticed. In answer to a question about his activities, Vancouver told Governor Joseph Joaquin de Arrillaga that his voyage was a scientific one for the good of humanity, and that his coming to Monterey was for the purpose of making necessary repairs and pursuing botanical investigations. Arrillaga recorded the response. Papeles de Estado 20 N. 5642, Archivo General de Indias, Seville.
he anchored three leagues: Archibald Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 128 Years Ago: Journal of Archibald Menzies, 63.
292 “tasseled with ribbons”: George Vancouver, A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World…, vol. 3, 64.
“delighted with his present”: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 64. An estimated three thousand people: Ibid., 67. Kamehameha said he would also give: Ibid., 68. “Convinced of the advantage”: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 3, 223.
293 Kamehameha told Vancouver: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 73.
Some historians believe that Vancouver: Speculation appears based on the secret plan of early 1790 for establishing settlements and the interactions of the two captains. No documentation has come to light. J. F. G. Stokes, “Honolulu and Some New Speculative Phases of Hawaiian History,” 92–95. “the only English vessels”: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 129.
he had found no whales: William Brown to Sir William Curtis, December 1792. “It might be well worth”: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 79.
294 “with utmost astonishment”: Ibid., 93.
#x201C;Every hour,” he wrote: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 3, 302.
295 “almost inexhaustible”: Ibid., 303. Kahekili arrived on the afternoon: Ibid., 305.
296 “to the invasion of Kamehameha”: Ibid., 306.
297 “be the distance of time”: Ibid., 309.
executed him with a pistol: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 123–24.
298 causing Vancouver to despair: Ibid., 124.
a bay they had been told of: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 3, 361–63. “In the evening observing “: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 126. “and two other sailors”: Ibid., 128.
“was not so much against Kaeo”: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 133–34; Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 3, 373.
299 considered Inamoo “a monster”: John Meares, Voyages Made in the Years 1788 and 1789.
“limbs no longer able to support”: Ibid., 376.
regarded Kendrick as the leader: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 5, 112, 124.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
300 From the cannon battery: There has been a common misconception about the location of the Spanish installations. Estevan Martinez described San Miguel on Observatory Island at the opening of Friendly Cove. Just west of it he described the gun battery of San Rafael on Hog Island. See Estevan Martinez,
Diary of the Voyage …, 106–7, 166, and 170. Both installations were first constructed in June 1789 and reconstructed in 1790–1793.
301 The Spanish outpost onshore: There are variant descriptions of the Spanish compound at Yuquot in 1792. Joseph Ingraham wrote that the “village” consisted of sixteen buildings. See Joseph Ingraham’s Journal of the Brigantine Hope on a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America, 1790–1792, 213–14. John Boit reported fifty buildings, perhaps including native houses. Boit, Remarks on the Ship Columbia’s voyage from Boston (on a Voyage, round the Globe), entry for July 25, 1792, 44. This description follows “Plan of the Port of Nootka” shown in Warren L. Cook, Flood Tide of Empire: Spain and the Pacific Northwest, 1543–1819, fig. 46.
Vancouver departed for the north: He arrived on May 20, 1793, and departed on May 23. George Vancouver, A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World …, vol. 3, 428.
The viceroy in Mexico City: Ibid., 424.
302 when Maquinna arrived: Marshall, “Dangerous Liaisons.” in discussions with the three chiefs: Ibid., 169.
“You would be the first”: José Mariano Mozino, Noticias de Nutka: An Account of Nootka Sound in 1792, 56.
303 The Spanish fort at Neah Bay: The date of abandonment was September 29, 1792. Cook, Flood Tide, 386.
“would raise the Indians”: John Howell to Joseph Barrell, December 23, 1796. A ninety-ton schooner: The Resolution arrived at Nootka five weeks before the Jefferson. Bernard Magee, Log of the Jefferson, June 22, 1793. 305 “The Ballad of the Bold Northwestman”: The ballad was printed on a broadside by L. Deming in Boston between 1832 and 1836. F. W. Howay. “Ballad of the Bold Northwestman: An Incident in the Life of Captain John Kendrick,” Washington Historical Quarterly, 1929, 71–72.
William Sturgis, believed that nearly all: William Sturgis, “A Most Remarkable Enterprise”: Lectures on the Northwest Coast Trade and Northwest Coast Indian Life.
307 Solomon carried Gonzales’s written plea: F. W. Howay, “John Kendrick and His Sons.”
“On Board the Ship Lady Washington”: U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Public Lands, Report No. 335 (Felch Report), 20.
308 A rift had arisen between Maquinna: Archer, “Seduction before Sovereignty,” 158.
The marriage had been bartered: Menzies Journal, May 21, 1793.
309 a deal that was very costly: Ibid.
309 Solomon remained at Mawina: Magee, Log.
310 “entereda large Inlet”: Menzies Journal, September 8, 1793, 120–21.
in the vicinity where Caamano: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 4, 112. This was the area north of Ketchikan which the Spanish called “Bucareli” and Vancouver renamed “Clarence Strait.”
“more intricate and dangerous”: Vanouver, Voyage, vol. 4, 113.
311 “a very extensive inland navigation”: Ibid., 114. this was probably the same channel: Ibid., 113. “as long as [he] should find it”: Ibid., 114–15. “that appeared free from interruption”: Ibid., 116. “necessary to fire upon them”: Ibid., 114, 120.
312 On August 12, far inland: Ibid., 170–75.
“whilst a young man, appearing: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 4, 172. Remainder of scene 170–75.
having traversed about seven hundred miles: Ibid., 191.
313 “Alex Mackenzie from Canada”: Charles Henry Carey, History of Oregon, 153–54. “left to the adventurers”: Robert Greenhow, The History of Oregon and California and the Other Territories on the North-West Coast of North America, 265.
314 stories about passageways from the Straits: Ibid., 270–71. Nootka, arriving on October 5: Ibid., 290.
He told Vancouver of the ships: Despite Fidalgo’s orders, many trading vessels continued to stop at Nootka. Eighteen trading ships would visit the coast in 1793. Cook, Flood Tide, Appendix E: Nationality of Vessels Visiting the Northwest Coast, 1774–1820.
The Jefferson and Resolution were preparing: Magee, Log, September 7, 1793. No orders or letters had come: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 4, 289.
315 Britain‘s “extension of her commerce”: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 5, 50. “a voluntary resignation”: Ibid., 51.
“taken up their abode”: Ibid., 112. “furthering the ambitious views”: Ibid., 113.
316 “strangesail”: Ibid., 293. It should be noted that large heavy sloops like Vancouver’s do not sail well to windward. He could not have caught the “strange sail” if he wanted to, and certainly would not have recorded that he tried and failed.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
318 At 10 a.m., Kamehameha appeared: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 5, 5.
318 Kendrick had left a shipwright: Ibid., 29.
Kendrick was on the opposite side: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 128 Years Ago: Journal of Archibald Menzies, 139.
319 Vancouver was eager to get: Vancouver, Voyage, 6–7.
320 he couldn‘t stay because: Ibid., 7.
“had no doubt of soon finding”: Ibid., 8–9.
But before the young chief could return: Ibid., 11–12.
321 Young appeared the next morning: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 143. At 10p.m. thre
e ships appeared: Vancouver, Voyage, 14–15. “At this late hour”: Ibid., 15.
322 From his own supply rooms: Ibid., 29–30.
no other favor he could have bestowed: Ibid., 29.
estranged from his favorite queen: Vancouver wrote that she was with her parents at Kealakekua while Kamehameha was at Waiakea. According to Menzies she was left at Waiakea and later brought to Kealakekua. Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 146. more than one hundred eighty: There were 156 officers and sailors and 27 marines. For the full roster of expedition members, see Thomas Manby, Journal of the Voyages of the HMS Discovery and Chatham. Early on the morning after the British: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 146.
323 ambergris, a grayish waxy substance: Vancouver, Voyage, 121–22. He had impressed Vancouver: Ibid., 115.
opportunist and con artist: Charles Bishop, The Journal and Letters of Captain Charles Bishop on the North-West Coast of America, in the Pacific and in New South Wales, 1794–1799, xxxii.
Vancouver invited them to dine: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 146. “laden with forty very fine hogs”: Vancouver, Voyage, 17.
324 characterized as a “sort of Saturnalia”: James Jackson Jarves, History of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands, 81.
Brown left a letter for Vancouver: Vancouver, Voyage, 115, 125. “drove them with great slaughter”: Ibid., 126. “This melancholy event would not”: Ibid., 125–26.
325 Inamoo was brought aboard: Ibid., 126.
Kahekili signed an agreement: Kahekili signed the agreement ceding Oahu and perhaps Kauai. See Gavan Daws, Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands, 38.
“a copy of a letter which Mr. Brown”: John Scofield, Hail, Columbia: Robert Gray, John Kendrick, and the Pacific Fur Trade, 308. Scofield cites Archibald Menzies, Journal.
325 that Brown had approval from the Crown: Joseph Ingraham, Joseph Ingraham‘s Journal of the Brigantine Hope on a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America, 1790–1792, 222–24; Ralph S. Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom: Foundation and Transformation 1778–1854, vol. 1, 226–30.
326 “he would fire at a village”: Daniel W. Clayton, Islands of Truth: The Imperial Fashioning of Vancouver Island, 85.
Up near the beach, the Fair American: Menzies, Hawaii Nei, 148–49, 173. on February 1, the Discovery’s carpenters: Vancouver, Voyage, vol. 5, 30. “in whose good opinion”: Ibid., 40.