Return to Northwest Coast of America exploration
Other British fur trading ships.
Prologue: The Sea otter.
The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is the only member of the genus Enhydra and the largest
member of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, skunks and badgers. It is
smallest marine mammal and hunts, sleeps and mates in the sea. It is found around the
coast of the North Pacific Ocean from the Kurils to California where it forms a close
relationship with the great kelp beds in which it spends most of its life. The sea otter
dives for sea urchins and other bottom-dwelling marine life that it then kills using
rocks as tools before eating.
The coat of the animal is extremely dense to act as insulation in the cold water and, as
such, is very warm. The indigenous peoples of the North Pacific region used the pelt of the
sea otter as clothing and, when Europeans arrived in the eighteenth century, the pelts
became one of the main items of trade.
James Cook's third voyage to the Pacific visited the Northwest Coast of America, Alaska and
Kamchatka. During the course of the voyage, his crew traded with local people and the
expedition acquired many sea otter pelts. When the ships reached Macao, the pelts were sold in Canton for a
considerable sum of money. The news of this transaction, in 1780, quickly spread and soon
companies were forming plans to sail to the North Pacific to exploit this new bonanza.
This trade in sea otter pelts would nearly lead to the extinction of the animal.
Fortunately, an international treaty halted the trade in 1911 but considerable damage
had already been done. Millions of animals had died to grace the backs of rich Asians,
Europeans and Americans. The sea otter had been killed off in huge stretches of the
Northwest Coast and only remained in very small numbers in isolated colonies. With help
numbers have been restored in many places but close to populous areas, such as California,
numbers are still very low.
This beautiful, clever and interesting animal was, innocently, the cause of most of what
followed in the history of the fur trade on the Northwest Coast.
Background
The Russians began moving into the North Pacific in the seventeenth century. They soon
encountered the sea otter and realised the potential commercial value of the animal's
pelts. However, news of the trade did not travel far. About the same time, the Spanish
reached Alta California where one of the sub-species of the sea otter lived amongst the
kelp beds off the coast. The waters off California were much warmer than further north
and the fur of the Californian animals was not as dense as that of its northern cousins.
Its potential as a valuable trading item was not developed therefore.
It was left to James Cook's third Pacific voyage to bring the pelt of the sea otter to the
world's attention. From the mid-1780s onwards, commercial ships, mainly from Britain and
America, arrived in large numbers in the North Pacific to exploit the pelts. Unlike the
Spanish ships that were already sailing in these waters that were mainly Government
ships, the British and American ships belonged to private commercial ventures based in
London, India, Macao and Boston. In the mid-1780s, the Royal Navy had laid off many of
its officers on half pay and there was, therefore, a large pool of experienced sailors
ready to command ships for these companies.
James Cook visited Nootka Sound on the Northwest Coast in 1778 and this inlet was the
base from which most of the fur traders operated, even after the Spanish had
occupied it 1789. There are records for many of the ships that sailed to the North
Pacific in this period and this text will draw from most of them. However, some ships were
lost without trace while others visited the region but left no written account of their
travels. Occasionally these ships receive passing mention in the known narratives.
In 1785, four different ventures began their efforts to reach the Northwest Coast of
America to reap the lucrative sea otter market. The first of the commercial fur traders
known to have reached the coast was:
was:
James Hanna and
his Sea Otters, 1785-1787.
John Henry Cox was a businessman based in Canton, China and, together with some
partners, he chartered a 60 ton brig named the Harmon. The ship was renamed the
Sea Otter in anticipation of its expected future cargo and placed under the
command of James Hanna. On 15 April 1785, Hanna sailed the Sea Otter from Macao
heading for Nootka. This was the first ship known to set out for the North Pacific (other
than Russian) to collect sea otter pelts.
After sailing close to Japan the Sea Otter crossed to arrive at Nootka Sound on
18 August, Hanna and his crew of 20 trade with the local Nootkan people and acquired
560 pelts. Relations with the Nootkans until an incident when a firework was lit under
Maquinna, the local chief. In an attempt to regain face, Maquinna attacked the ship but
the guns of the British ensured that the Nootkans fared worse, losing 20 men. Hanna was
able to restore friendly relations before he left Nootka at the end of September. The
Sea Otter reached Macao in late December 1785.
The pelts fetched $20,000 in Macao, representing a huge profit that encouraged Cox to
send Hanna back to Nootka. Another ship, a larger 120 ton snow, was acquired and also
called the Sea Otter. Hanna sailed from Macao in May 1786, not realising that
other ships were already making their own way to Nootka. In August, Hanna reached Nootka
to find that two ships, the Captain Cook and the Experiment had been and
taken all the available pelts. Hanna sailed and began investigating the coast northwest of
Nootka.
Hanna examined several inlets near the end of Vancouver Island and the proceeded across
Queen Charlotte Sound (called Lane's Bay by Hanna) into the entrance to a large sound
that Hanna named Fitz Hugh Sound. Hanna did not examine very far but returned and sailed
northwest up the west coast of Calvert Island and on to Goose Island (named Brown's Island
by Hanna). He then sailed back south, calling the string of islands of the end of
Vancouver Island, Lance's Islands (Scott Islands). Hanna produced a chart of the area he
had visited and many of the features are recognisable. He named the land to the north
Nova Hibernia. Many of his names, including Nova Hibernia, have been
replaced but Fitz Hugh Sound, Smith Inlet (Sound), Virgin Rocks and Cape Parkins are still
used. Hanna mistakenly thought the end of Vancouver Island was a separate island that he
called Cox's Island to honour his sponsor. The name was later transferred to the
innermost Scott Island. Hanna himself was later honoured when a headland near the end
of Vancouver Island was called Hanna Point. It overlooks Sea Otter Cove.
Hanna did not enter Nootka but went on to enter another inlet further to the southeast.
This was Clayoquot Sound and Hanna anchored near Ahousat on Vargas Island in September.
He formed a very close friendship with the local chief, Cleaskinah, and the pair exchanged
names. On 1 October, Hanna departed from Clayoquot and headed for Macao, which was reached
on 8 February 1787. His cargo was much smaller this time but still raised sufficient
money for the company to plan a third voyage. Unfortunately, James Hanna died in 1787
before this voyage could begin. Hanna in his brief visits produced an interesting early
chart of the Queen Charlotte Sound area.
James Strange and his two
ships, 1785-1786.
At about the same time that Hanna returned to Macao after his first voyage, another
expedition was leaving Bombay heading for Nootka. James Strange was based in India where
he worked for the East India Company. In the early 1780s, he spent time recuperating in
Britain, where he heard all about Cook's voyages and the sea otter pelts. On his return
to Bombay, he persuaded David Scott, a local merchant, to form a company to finance a
trip to Nootka Sound to obtain pelts. Two local Bombay-built ships were obtained. The
Captain Cook, (formerly the Betsey), was a 350 ton snow, commanded by Henry
Laurie, and the Experiment was a 100 ton snow, commanded by Henry Guise. James
Strange was to travel on board the Captain Cook.
Originally, the plan was for the ships to obtain Portuguese papers at Goa that would
allow then to trade at Macao. The ships sailed, however, on 8 December 1785, and went
straight to Batavia (Jakarta) on Java. From there they sailed to Nootka and arrived off
the coast of Vancouver Island on 25 June 1786 near Hope Bay. At first, they could not
find Nootka, even after some contact with local people. Eventually, they entered an inlet
that proved to be the northwest entrance to Nootka Sound and they finally anchored at
Friendly Cove on 7 July.
Strange had many men sick so he arranged to purchase a house ashore to be used as a
hospital. This did not prove very suitable so Strange had a tent erected instead. From
his descriptions, Strange did not like or have a good opinion of the Nootkan people. He
chose to deal with an older chief, Kurrighum, rather than Maquinna whose was the principal
chief of the area. Whereas Strange kept his dealings with the Nootkans to a minimum,
Alexander Walker, a soldier on the Experiment, mixed freely with them and wrote a
detailed, more sympathetic account of his time in the sound.
Part of Strange's plan involved setting up a base at Nootka and, when he sailed, he left
behind John Mackay, the assistant surgeon from the Experiment to organise the base
with the co-operation of Maquinna. The ships sailed on 28 July 1786 with 540 sea otter
pelts on board. They passed up the coast of Vancouver Island and, on 2 August, reached
the islands off the northwest point that Hanna called Lance's Islands. Strange renamed
them Scott Islands and the point, Cape Scott, after David Scott, the Bombay merchant.
Rounding Cape Scott, Strange entered a large inlet that he named Queen Charlotte Sound.
His tally of pelts was still low and he decided to sail for Alaska where he hoped to fare
better.
As they sailed north they sighted parts of the Queen Charlotte Islands. On 20 August, the
ships entered Prince William Sound and anchored at Snug Corner Cove at the entrance to
Port Fidalgo. Trading was very slow and only a few extra pelts were obtained. Strange was
surprised on 5 September when another British ship arrived. It proved to be the Sea
Otter (another one, not one of Hanna's), captained by William Tipping, which had left
Calcutta with John Meares' expedition in March 1786. Strange entertained Tipping on board
the Captain Cook but both men were very wary about telling the other where they
had been or intended to go next. Tipping decided to leave. He had found out that Strange
had already been to Nootka and he was seen heading toward Cook's River (Cook Inlet) when
he left. Tipping and his ship were never seen again.
Strange, on finding out that Tipping was heading for Cook's River, realised he would find
no pelts there for himself and decided to return to Asia. The two ships left Prince
William Sound on 14 September. The Experiment reached Macao on 15 November while
the Captain Cook took a month longer having sailed via Mednyy Island near
Kamchatka. Strange only had 604 pelts to trade and the expedition was a financial
disaster.
John Meares I; his first voyage,
1786-1787.
John Meares had been a lieutenant in the Royal Navy before travelling to India. At the
end of 1785 he was in Calcutta and heard about the trade in sea otter pelts. He arranged
backing for a venture that would go to Nootka for pelts. The Bengal Fur Company was formed
and, in January 1786, two ships were purchased. Meares was to captain the 200 ton
Nootka and another ex-Royal Navy lieutenant, William Tipping, was to captain the
100 ton Sea Otter (this was a completely different Sea Otter from either of
Hanna's ships). The ships sailed from Calcutta on 2 March. Meares had not obtained
licenses to go to Nootka from either the East India Company or the South Sea Company as
British ships were required to do.
The ships sailed separately with designated rendezvous locations at Malacca and Alaska.
Tipping had a cargo of opium aboard the Sea Otter and took it straight to Malacca.
Meares had been asked to deliver some officials to Madras first. He then had a very slow
crossing and many of his crew already had scurvy when he reached Malacca on 23 May.
Tipping had already left for Alaska. He would sadly be one of the first casualties of the
sea otter trade. It is thought that he sailed north passing Japan to approach the
Alaskan mainland via the Aleutian Islands. On 5 September 1786, he sailed into Snug
Corner Bay in Prince William Sound where he met James Strange and his expedition. After
a few days, Tipping sailed away, never to be seen or heard of again.
Meares meanwhile left Malacca on 29 May and headed for the Bashi Islands between the Philippines
and Formosa (Taiwan). He reached them on 22 June and anchored there for five days on the
26th. Sailing north on 1 July, the Nootka passed close to Japan to arrive of the
Aleutian Islands at the beginning of August. The area was enveloped in fog but Meares
thought he saw Atcha (Atka) and Amluc (Amlia) Islands. The Nootka continued northeast
through thick fog before meeting Aleuts and a Russian who escorted the ship to a harbour
on Unalaska Island (close to the one used by Cook seven years earlier).
On 20 August, Meares left Unalaska. He was keen to pass beyond the sphere of Russian
influence as the Russians were obtaining all the sea otter pelts. The Nootka
passed the Shumagin Islands and then entered a large inlet, which proved to be a strait
that separates Kodiak Island from the Alaskan mainland (Shelikov Strait). Meares called
it Petrie's Strait. He arrived at Cape Douglas and anchored at the entrance to Cook's
River (Cook Inlet). He was able to carry out a little trading and discerned the local
Tanaina people were afraid of the Russians. On 20 September, Meares met a party of
Russians travelling from their factory on the Kenai Peninsula to winter at Three Saints
Bay at the south end of Kodiak Island.
Meares sailed on and reached Snug Corner Cove on 25 September. There were signs that
another ship had been there recently (Tipping's Sea Otter had left about two weeks
earlier while Strange's two ships had sailed on 14 September). Meares next made a momentous
decision to spend the winter in Prince William Sound and not sail south to warmer climates.
It was a decision that would nearly be fatal for the whole expedition. In early October,
Meares made contact with local Chugach people but pelts were not plentiful. Shenawah, the local
chief offered to help them when he understood what Meares planned. He guided the
Nootka further up Port Fidalgo to the head of the inlet, recommending it as a
more sheltered spot. By mid-November, though, the ship was iced in, food was getting scarce
and the crew was all falling seriously ill. Only a few of them were prepared to take
anti-scurvy remedies and many of the others drank dangerous spirits to take them out of
the nightmare in which they found themselves. Shenewah promised that the worst would be
over by May but by then half the men were dead and the rest were close to death.
With the warmer weather in May 1787 came rescue in the shape of George Dixon and his crew
from the Queen Charlotte, which had arrived in Prince William Sound. It was the
end of Meares' nightmare but the start of different troubles for him.
Portlock and Dixon I;
in the North Pacific, 1785-1787.
The fourth expedition to arrive in the North Pacific had probably been the first to be
organised but starting from Britain put it at a disadvantage. In May 1785, a group of London
merchants was organised by Richard Cadman Etches into the King George's Sound Company
(King George's Sound was Cook's first name for Nootka Sound). They acquired two ships
and two seamen with experience in the North Pacific, having sailed on Cook's third voyage.
Nathaniel Portlock was in command of the expedition and the 320 ton ship, the King
George and his number two was George Dixon who captained the comapnion vessel, the
200 ton Queen Charlotte. It has been suggested that the use of the royal names
for the ships indicates that the expedition had Government approval if not overt
involvement. They did possess a five year license from the South Sea Company and would
use this "authority" when dealing with John Meares in 1787. They also had William
Beresford on the Queen Charlotte, who kept a detailed record of the voyage.
Portlock and Dixon departed from Britain in early 1785 and sailed down the Atlantic via
Madeira and the Cape Verde Islands to the Falkland Islands, which were reached in
January 1786. After 16 days in Port Egmont, the ships left and rounded Cape Horn to sail
north up the Pacific. They arrived off Hawaii on 24 May and stood off Kealakekua Bay
where they traded for fresh food. Scurvy had taken hold and the crew were in need of
fresh fruit and vegetables. Portlock was wary of landing, not being sure of how
Kamehameha, the overall chief of the island, would respond to them. He, therefore, moved
the ships on past Molokai. As he did he nearly met the French explorer, Laperouse, who was
just arriving at Maui. Portlock anchored on the south coast of Oahu at Maunalua Bay. Some
of his men rowed west to Waikiki and saw the entrance of Pearl Harbour beyond.
Waimea on Kauai was the next anchorage before they went on to Nihau, known to be a good
source of yams and pigs. On 13 June, the King George and the Queen Charlotte
left the Hawaiian Islands and finally headed for Cook's River (Cook Inlet) in Alaska. Fog
was encountered in early July when they approached the Alaskan coast. Land, possibly
Cape St. Hermogenes on Marmot Island, was sighted on the 16th. Two days later they passed
the Barren Islands and Cape Elizabeth. On 19 July near Cape Bede they were surprised to
hear a cannon firing.
Portlock and Dixon had found a Russian factory and contact was soon established. The
ships were anchored in Coal Bay (Coal Cove) on the north side of the entrance to
Graham's Harbour (Port Graham), near the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula. The Russians
were based opposite at Russian Point. Dixon surveyed the inlet while water and wood were
taken on board. They sailed again on 26 July and crossed Kachemak Bay to proceed up Cook
Inlet. From the 29th until 3 August, the ships anchored off the western shore in Trading
Bay and attempted to trade for pelts, which were in short supply. The local Tanaina people told
them of their dislike of the Russians. Portlock sailed out of Cook Inlet on 13 August
and headed for Prince William Sound.
On 17 August, the ships attempted to enter the south west approach to Prince William Sound
to the west of Montague Island. For a week they tried and then tried to enter via the
Hinchinbrook Island but again with no success. Portlock and Dixon decide to give up and
sail south along the coast to Nootka. Mount St. Elias was sighted on 5 September and they
soon passed Lituya Bay, which Laperouse had left a month earlier. They reached the
entrance to Nootka Sound on 22 September but once again could not manouevre the ships
into the inlet so after six days they agreed to sail to to Hawaii instead.
They arrived at Hawaii on 14 November and plied back and forth close to Maui and Hawaii
Islands trading. Portlock decided to move on to Oahu but the weather held them up off Maui
until the 30th. When they eventually came to Oahu, they found Maunalua Bay deserted, the result
of a taboo placed by the King. The King, Taheeterre, visited and lifted the taboo. Having
taken on fresh provisions, Portlock and Dixon sailed for Waimea Bay on Kauai. From 22
December until 15 March, the ships were based at Waimea or at the neighbouring island
of Nihau, moving back and forth between the two. They were able to obtain good supplies
of yams and pigs. They met the King, Taaao, and one of his relations called Kaiana (known
by the British at the time as Tyaana).
On 15 March 1787, the King George and the Queen Charlotte left Waimea and
sailed north for Alaska. Montague Island was sighted on 23 April and the ships anchored
in an inlet near the southwestern end of the island. Local Chugach people visited them and used
the word "Nootka" repeatedly while pointing to the northeast. The British did not
understand what was meant. Portlock sent off parties to explore their present harbour
(MacLeod's Harbour), a nearby one (Hanning's Harbour) and the island opposite that
Portlock called Mulgrave Island (Latouche Island).
Portlock had the ships moved north and, on 2 May, they anchored near Point Gilmour at the
entrance to Chalmer's Harbour (Port Chalmers). Two days later the ships were moved into
Port Chalmers. Dixon was dispatched with longboats to lead a trading and exploring
expedition north into Prince William Sound. Portlock had both ships in turn hauled on to
a beach for repairs. On 10 May, Dixon returned with momentous news. He had reached Snug
Corner Cove where Chugachs informed him about another European ship that had spent the
winter in the sound. They led Dixon up Port Fidalgo where he found John Meares, the
Nootka and what remained of the ship's crew.
Portlock and Dixon decided to leave Prince William Sound and sail separately down the
American coast, hoping to double their chances of obtaining sea otter pelts. When both
ships had been repaired and returned to the water, Portlock departed from Port Chalmers
and sailed round the top of Montague Island to Hinchinbrook Entrance. Portlock then took
the King George into an inlet on Hinchinbrook Island while Dixon sailed off in the
Queen Charlotte.
Portlock and Dixon encounter
Meares, 1787.
Meares II; after Portlock,
back to Macao, 1787.
Meares took the Nootka out of Prince William Sound on 22 June 1787. Including
himself and the two seamen that had joined from Prtlock's ship, there were 24 men on
board the Nootka though many were far from totally recovered so sailing the ship
was difficult. 23 men had died in Port Fidalgo. Meares had been told by Portlock not to
engage in any more trading as Meares did not possess any licenses but his first action on
clearing the sound was to head east with a view to trading. He made land near Cape
Edgecumbe and obtained some sea otter pelts from an unknown inlet just to the south on
Baranof Island. Meares then decided to head for Hawaii and reached the islands in early
August.
Meares sailed through the island group to reach Waimea on Kauai. He took on board Tiaana,
who had expressed a desire to travel, and the Nootka sailed on 2 September for
Macao. It arrived in Macao on 20 October 1787. The expedition had been one of the least
successful to visit the Northwest Coast. Tipping and the Sea Otter had been lost
completely while Meares had lost half his crew and returned with only a small number of
pelts. However, Meares possessed high powers of persuasion and soon his backers were
investing in another Meares expedition.
Portlock II;
Chichagof Island, Hawaii and on to Macao, 1787.
After Meares sailed from Prince William Sound in the Nootka on 19 June 1787,
Nathaniel Portlock was till not ready to sail himself. On 6 July, the longboat returned
from its second expedition back toward Cook Inlet. Finally, on 25 July, the King
George left Port Etches but Portlock decided not to leave by Hinchinbrook Entrance
and sailed down the west coast of Montague Island to reach open water so it was 31 July
when he cleared Cape Cleare, the island's southern point. He headed east and reached an
inlet south of Cape Cross on 6 August. Portlock carefully edged the ship into the inlet,
which he named Portlock Harbour after himself. He remained here for 17 days. A longboat
was sent off to explore and survey to the south of the inlet. The expedition visited and
named Salisbury Sound and showed that Mount Edgecumbe was on an island (Kruzof but called
Pitt Island by Portlock) by passing through Hayward Strait. Portlock, meanwhile, obtained
a few pelts but was intrigued by signs of smallpox in the local Tlingit people. He ascribed it to
the visit of Bodega's Spanish expedition in 1775.
On 23 August, Portlock left Portlock Harbour on Chichagof Island and, as the season was
advanced decided to make for Hawaii. He reached Hawaii on 27 September and, after trading
near Hawaii and Maui moved on to Waimea. Here, on 3 October, he learned that Dixon had
anchored there for three days and had left for Macao only 14 days earlier. He also
learned that John Meares had visited, had been involved in an incident that left several
Hawaiians dead, and had taken Kaiana with him to Macao. Dixon had left a letter for
Portlock but it was under taboo. Portlock crossed to Nihau to obtain yams and the letter
was brought to him. He left the Hawaiian Islands on 8 October.
Portlock anchored the King George in Macao on 21 November and four days later was
reunited with George Dixon and the Queen Charlotte
Dixon II;
Queen Charlotte Islands, Hawaii and on to Macao, 1787.
George Dixon and the Queen Charlotte sailed from Port Chalmers on 14 May 1787,
leaving Nathaniel Portlock and the King George in Prince William Sound. They
headed east and on 23 May entered a large inlet, Yakutat Bay. On the 24th, they went
ashore and, while trading began, Dixon went off to survey the inlet, which he called
Port Mulgrave. There was much contact with the local Tlingits but only a few pelts were
obtained. Dixon left on 4 June and followed the coast to the south.
The Queen Charlotte rounded Cape Edgecumbe and entered a large sound on 11 June.
The ship stayed for 12 days while brisk trading took place with Tlingit and the sound was surveyed.
A shirt was identified as being Spanish in origin and belived to have come from Bodega's
visit to the area in 1775. Dixon called the sound Norfolk Sound (Sitka Sound). Another
inlet just to the south, which Dixon called Port Banks, was examined from 24 to 26 June
before they sailed again. The Hazy Islands and Forrester Island were sighted and named
over the next few days. At the end of June, Dixon crossed the opening to a large inlet.
This was the Dixon Entrance (Dixon's Straits) that separates the Queen Charlotte Islands
from Prince of Wales Island.
On 1 July, Dixon reached Langara Island at the north of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Juan
Perez, the Spanish explorer, had stood off here in 1774. Dixon anchored the Queen
Charlotte in Cloak Bay, named for the many pelts that were obtained there by trading
with the resident Haida. After two
days Dixon moved on passing Hippah Island and collecting many pelts. The southern point
of the Queen Charlotte Islands was reached on 25 July. Dixon rounded it and began sailing
north up the east coast of what he realised were islands. He named them after his ship.
They had proven very profitable as over 1,800 pelts had been acquired.
Dixon now headed for Nootka Sound passing the Scott Islands (he named one Berresford
Island after the ship's trader and chronicler). On 8 August, the Queen Charlotte
encountered two ships leaving Nootka Sound. They were the Prince of Wales, commanded
by James Colnett and the Princess Royal, commanded by Charles Duncan. They proved
to be fellow ships of the King Georges Sound Company that had left Britain in September
1786. The meeting was providential for both sides. Dixon learned that Portlock was not at
Nootka and there were no pelts left there so he could sail for Hawaii. Colnett and Duncan
learned that there were no pelts in Prince William Sound and Dixon advised them to
investigate the area inside the Queen Charlotte Islands.
The ships parted on 9 August and Dixon headed for Hawaii, which he reached on 5 September.
Dixon worked his way through the islands, spending three days at both Maunalua Bay on Oahu
and Waimea on Kauai. He learned Meares had been to Waimea and had been involved in an
incident that left several Hawaiians dead. Dixon left a letter at Waimea for Portlock and
sailed, on 19 September for Macao. He reached Macao on 8 November 1787 and began
arranging how to proceed to Canton to sell the sea otter pelts. Another fur trader, Charles
Barkley was already at Macao with his ship, the Imperial Eagle. Nathaniel Portlock
appeared in Macao with the King George on 21 November.
Charles Barkley and
the Imperial Eagle, 1786-1787.
The monopoly exercised over British ships by the East India and South Sea Companies was
resented, even by some of their employees. One or two sought ways of bypassing the
system and John Reid and Daniel Beale had the idea to purchase ships and sail them under
foreign colours. Operating from Canton, Beale became the Prussian agent in that port. They
persuaded Charles Barkley, an East India Company naval captain, to resign his position
and travel to London. Once there, Barkley, using his own money, purchased the 400 ton
East-Indiaman, the Loudoun.
He sailed the Loudoun, on 6 September 1786, across to Ostend, then under control
by Austria. A new and dubious company, the Austrian East India Company fitted out the
ship, whose name was changed to the Imperial Eagle and it now flew Austrian
colours. Barkley quickly met and married the daughter of the local protestant chaplain.
Her name was Frances Hornby Trevor and she was only 16 years old but she joined Barkley on
the ship and became the first European woman to visit the Northwest Coast. The
Imperial Eagle sailed from Ostend on 24 November and headed down the Atlantic,
calling in only at Bahia in Brazil. Rounding Cape Horn, Barkley sailed to Hawaii, which
he reached in May 1787.
During the short stay in Hawaii, Frances Barkley employed Winee, a Hawaiian, as her maid
and she sailed with the Imperial Eagle on 25 May. The ship anchored in Nootka Sound
in June, the first European ship to arrive that year. The Barkleys soon met John Mackay,
who had been left in the sound by James Strange 11 months earlier, and agreed to take him
with them when they sailed. In July, two more British ships entered Nootka Sound. They were
two more ships sent out by Etches' King George's Sound Company,the Prince of Wales
and the Princess Royal, commanded by James Colnett and Charles Duncan respectively.
All the sea otter pelts had been obtained by Barkley so he sailed from Nootka to nearby
Clayoquot Sound (Barkley called it Wickananish's Sound after the local chief).
Barkley then moved on to another large inlet, which he called Barkley Sound after himself.
Two features in the sound were named after his wife, Frances Island and Hornby Peak, while
the ship's purser. Johnr Beale, was remembered by Cape Beale. Pelts were obtained in both sounds. A few
days later, the Imperial Eagle crossed the entrance to a very large inlet. Barkley
identified it as the mythical strait postulated by Michael Lok in his writing over 100 years
earlier and named it after its supposed discoverer, the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Barkley
made no attempt to sail into the Strait and, instead, sailed a short distance further down
the coast. He sent a longboat ashore onto a small island but Beale and the other five men
were all killed in a confrontation with Quileutes. The island was probably Destruction Island near the mouth of the Hoh
River.
Barkley decided to leave the Coast and headed for Macao, where he arrived in November
1787. Discharging his cargo of 880 pelts and picking up a different one, he sailed to
Mauritius under Portuguese colours and then on to
Calcutta. The ruse of sailing under Austrian colours had been discovered and Barkley's
partners had managed to avoid blame and liability, leaving Barkley to take all
responsibility. He suffered large finacial losses and had to sell off his possessions,
some of which John Meares obtained. Barkley appealed and eventually was partially
reimbursed. The Barkleys would return eventually to the Northwest Coast in the
Halcyon. Winee, though, would sail with Meares in January 1788 and die without
reaching Hawaii.
Colnett and Duncan, 1786-1787.
Even before they had received any news of Portlock and Dixon's voyage to the Northwest
Coast, Etches and the other members of the King George's Sound Company decided to send off
another two ships. John Etches, the brother of Richard Cadman Etches, travelled as
supercargo, while James Colnett, who had sailed on Cook's second Pacific voyage, was
chosen to command the larger ship, the Prince of Wales. Accompanying him was
Charles Duncan in command of the 50 ton Princess Royal. Among the crew were two
people who would return on Vancouver's 1791 voyage. Archibald Menzies was the first
botanist to visit the region and he descibed many of the trees and plants. Many now carry
his name in their latin descriptor. The other person was James Johnstone, who proved later
to be a first-rate surveyor. Colnett would later feature prominently in the events of 1789,
being arrested by Esteban Martinez. The Princess Royal would also figure and spend
part of its life as the Princesca Real.
The ships left Britain in September 1786 and sailed down the Atlantic. A small factory and
staging post was established on Staten Island, off Tierra del Fuego. It was intended to
deal with fur seals. Colnett and Duncan continued into the Pacific and reached Nootka
Sound in July 1787. There, they found the Imperial Eagle, a British ship, commanded
by Charles Barkley but flying Austrian colours. Colnett also discovered that Barkley, who
had no license, had acquired all the available sea otter pelts in Nootka that year. Barkley
soon left but Colnett and Duncan stayed on for a few weeks allowing Menzies the
opportunity to botanise.
The Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal left Nootka in early August and
soon, after clearing the sound, they met George Dixon in the Queen Charlotte. They
all worked for the same company so shared information and supplies. Dixon had come from
Prince William Sound, had visited Yakutat Bay and Baranof Island and had lately summised
the insularity of the Queen Charlotte Islands. He advised them to visit the area inside
the Queen Charlotte Islands as it was probable that nobody else had been there yet.
Initially, they called into a couple of the small inlets northwest of
Nootka on Vancouver Island. Then they made for the southern end of the Queen Charlotte
Islands. Colnett and Duncan put into an inlet, possibly Carpenter Inlet, near the southern
tip of Moresby Island. From there, they sailed north, crossing Hecate Strait, to reach the
northwestern end of a large island, named Banks Island by Colnett after Sir Joseph Banks.
The ships turned southeast and followed the coast. Near the southeastern tip of Banks
Island, the ships entered a bay and anchored.
Both ships were in need of repair and Colnett was hoping for better trading by visiting
this location. Caulking and rerigging of the Prince of Wales began while the
carpenters started replacing the bowsprit on the Princess Royal. An accident
occcurred when a tree, felled for the bowsprit, fell on the ship causing damage. It was the
first of several accidents, leading Colnett to call the bay Calamity Bay. The longboat and
whaleboat, which had been dispatched to explore the vicinity and obtain pelts, returned a
week later after a successful trip. On 16 September, another boat expedition was sent out.
It is probable that the boat parties went through to Nepean Sound and some of the inlets
beyond.
The local Tsimshian chief, Sa'oks (Seax, according to Colnett) visited Etches and Colnett.
It is believed to be the first contact between Tsimshians and Europeans and was the first
of many over the next seven weeks. The stay at Calamity Bay was prolonged as mishaps
continued to beset the two ships. Gradually the relationship between the two sides
deteriorated and, by late October, during a raid against the British stores on shore,
several Tsimshian were killed and a woman taken prisoner. On 1 November, Sa'oks visited
the ships, relations were restored and the woman returned to the Tsimshian.
As it was now late in the season, Etches, Colnett and Duncan decided to head for Hawaii and they passed out
of Hecate Strait, heading south, in mid-November. They reached Hawaii in December 1787.
Meares III: with two ships,
back to Nootka, 1788.
John Meares had returned to Macao in October 1787 after a disastrous voyage to the
Northwest Coast of America but he managed to persuade his backers to invest in another
expedition. Two ships were purchased in January 1788 and work began immediately to prepare
them. Meares was to command the Felice Adventurer, a ship of 230 tons , while
William Douglas, an experienced sailor, was appointed to command the second ship, the
Iphigenia Nubiana, of 200 tons. The Felice carried 50 men and the
Iphigenia carried 40. Among those on board were Tiaana, the Hawaiian, whom Meares
had brought from Kauai, and Winee, who had travelled as the maid of Frances Barkley on the
Imperial Eagle. A Nootkan, Comekela, was also being taken home.
Meares still did not possess any official license from either the East India Company or
the South Sea Company to trade for sea otter pelts in the North Pacific. It was pretended
that the ships were Portuguese and therefore not subject to the British companies. Even
the names of the ships had been chosen to disguise the fact that they were really British.
The ships sailed on 22 January 1788 and headed southeast for the Philippines. They passed
to the southwest of Luzon and reached Zamboanga on Mindanao on 8 February. En route,
scurvy took hold on the Iphigenia, which also sprang its foremast. Winee, the
Hawaiian died just before Zamboanga and a mutiny was suppressed before it had a chance to
take hold. Meares quickly restocked and sailed on 12 February,
leaving Douglas and the Iphigenia to make repairs to his mast. A rendezvous was
arranged in Nootka Sound. Tiaana transferred to the Iphigenia while Comekela
remained on the Felice.
Meares IV: in the
Felice Adventurer, 1788-1789.
On 12 February 1788, John Meares sailed his ship, the Felice Adventurer, from
Zamboanga in Mindanao, leaving his consort, William Douglas in the port, waiting for
repairs to be made to his ship, the Iphigenia Nubiana. Meares headed through the
strait south of Mindanao and out into the Pacific. After sailing east for several days,
he headed north, passing to the west of the Marianas Islands in late March. At the
beginning of April, near 20ºN, he changed direction again and headed northeast. In early
May, he reached the Nootka coast having only seen a solitary rock that he called Lot's
wife on the way.
Meares anchored the Felice Adventurer in Nootka Sound on 13 May. Comekela was
welcomed home even though Maquinna, the local chief, was not at Nootka on his arrival.
After a few days, Maquinna appeared and granted Meares a small piece of land in Friendly
Cove so that Meares could establish a base ashore. Meares had brought men with him to
build a small coasting vessel and they soon set about this task. He, meanwhile decided to
go trading to the south and left Nootka on 11 June.
The Felice Adventurer put into Clayoquot Sound on the 20th, which Meares called
Port Cox after his merchant backer in Macao. After a week of trading, he departed on 28
June and crossed the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Meares had a copy of a chart
drawn by Barkley the previous year and, like Barkley, he made no effort to enter the
strait. He sailed on passing Cape Alava (Meares like many at the time called this cape Cape
Flattery). On 1 July Meares was close to the mouth of the Hoh River and Destruction Island
where Barkley's men had been killed. The next day he passed the site of another killing,
near the mouth of the Quinault River and Cape Elizabeth, where Bodega had lost men in 1775.
On the 5th, Meares sighted a high mountain inland and called it Mount Olympus (Perez had
previously called it Cerro de Santa Rosalia in 1774).
Meares continued down the coast. He was not acquiring many sea otter pelts but he was
charting several new features. He next came to an inlet that he named Shoalwater Bay, that
the American, Robert Gray, would visit later a few weeks later and rename Gray's Harbor.
(Cape Shoalwater is now applied, incorrectly, to the northern point of Willapa Bay). On 6
July, Meares rounded a headland expecting to find the mouth of the river discovered by
Hezeta in 1775. Conditions did not allow Meares to tell if the bay was, in fact, a river
so he called it Deception Bay and the headland was called Cape Disappointment. The bay was
the mouth of the Columbia River a name given by Robert Gray.
Tillamook Bay was seen by Meares and called Quicksand Bay but he was ready to return to
Nootka and soon turned north. The headland just south of Tillamook Bay was called Cape
Lookout but has since been renamed to honour Meares' visit, Cape Meares. He proceeded north
sailing further from the coast and next made land in Barkley Sound on 11 July. The
Felice Adventurer anchored behind Effingham Island.
Robert Duffin was sent back in the longboat with 12 men to examine the northern shore of
the Strait of Juan de Fuca on 13 July. They arrived back a week later with most men wounded
by arrows and spears or at least badly bruised though none was dead. They had traded with
some people at Nitinat but, on the 16th, at Clo-oose Bay there had been a short skirmish
(Duffin called this Hostility Bay). No injuries were sustained here but, the next day, when
they examined a large inlet a more serious attack from Nitinahts occurred. An arrow pierced Duffin's
skull but his thick hat saved him. The longboat escaped from Port Hawkesbury, as Duffin
called the inlet (now Port San Juan) and returned to Barkley Sound. Meares exagerated the
distance Duffin rowed into the strait and also mentions that an act of possession for
Britain was made for the strait. This is interesting, if it in fact happened, as Meares
was sailing under Portuguese colours.
The Felice Adventurer left Barkley Sound on 21 July and anchored back in Nootka
five days later. Meares was very pleased with progress on the chooner that was being built
but his pleasue was shortlived when a second mutiny broke out on 28 July led by the
boatswain. Meares quickly restored the status quo and offered the mutineers the option of
punishment or living with the Nootkans. They chose the latter but the Nootkans did not want
them, leaving the mutineers in a wretched state.
Douglas and the Iphigenia Nubiana were expected but when sails were seen offshore
on 6 August, they belonged to Charles Duncan's Princess Royal. Meares decided to
visit Clayoquot Sound so left Nootka on the 8th and met Duncan at sea. Both ships entered
Clayoquot. Duncan stayed for five days while Meares left on 20 August and was in Nootka on
the 24th in time to welcome Douglas who arrived on 27 August.
During September, Maquinna left Friendly Cove to go to his winter quarters at Tahsis and
all the mutineers, except the boatswain, were reprieved. Preparations were being made for
the launch of the schooner when another ship entered Nootka on 17 September. It was the
Lady Washington from Boston, captained by Robert Gray. Both sides were surprised by
the presence of the other. The schooner was lauched on 20 September to huge satisfaction
for Meares as it was watched by the Americans and the Nootkans who returned specially. The
North West America, as it was called, was the first ship built on the Northwest
Coast of America. Robert Funter was given the command and men and stores were transferred
from the other two ships.
Meares decided that he would take the Felice Adventurer and the cargo of pelts back
to Macao while Douglas would take the other two vessels to winter in Hawaii before returning
to spend another season on the coast in 1789. Accordingly, Meares sailed on 24 September and,
apart from a small scare with a leak, arrived safely at Hawaii on 17 October. He called in
briefly at Hawaii, Kauai and Nihau before heading for Macao on the 27 October. Meares
reached Macao on 5 December 1788.
William Douglas
in the Iphigenia Nubiana, 1788-1789.
William Douglas and John Meares parted at Zamboanga on the island of Mindanao on 12
February 1788. The Iphigenia Nubiana needed a new mast and by the 19th, the ship
was ready to sail. The local Spanish Governor demanded extra payments and took possession
of the ship. Douglas had to go ashore to negotiate the ship's release, in which he was
successful, and he was able to sail on 22 February. Sailing at first southeast to pass to
the south of Mindanao Douglas went east and then headed north past Palau toward Japan
Douglas sailed to 25ºN and then, in late April, turned northeast for Alaska. On 30 May,
Amluk (Amlia) Island, one of the Aleutian Islands, was sighted. Douglas kept a safe
distance to the south as he sailed along the island chain and then the Alaskan Peninsula.
He reached Trinity Island on 5 June and spent several days off the south of Kodiak Island.
The Iphigenia Nubiana entered Cook's River (Cook Inlet) on the 17th and anchored
two days later off the Kenai Peninsula in Kachemak Bay. Douglas sent boats off to secure
water and wood. He also sent a party off to investigate as far as Point Possession. On
the 27th, the party returned and Adamson, its leader, reported he had reached 60º 42'N
but had been followed everywhere by Russians. Douglas had been trading with local Tanaina
and, like others before him, had discovered their dislike for the Russians.
The ship left Cook Inlet on 29 June and headed northeast for Prince William Sound. Douglas
sighted Montague Island on 6 July and worked his way up the Montague Channel to anchor in
Snug Corner Bay on the 9th. Members of the Chugach chief, Shenaway's, tribe informed Douglas
that another European ship had left the sound a few days earlier and this was confirmed
when an inscription was found on a tree mentioning John Etches, the Prince of Wales
and the date, 9 May 1788. After four days in the sound, Douglas sailed and headed east.
Several days were spent near Kayak Island and Cape Suckling before they reached Yakutat
Bay on 30 July. Douglas attempted to enter the bay (he called it Admiralty Bay) and sent
a longboat ahead. However, the longboat was swept out to sea and Douglas, after rescuing
it, decided to sail on. Douglas was, by now, attempting to investigate all the inlets and
trade for sea otter pelts whenever he could. On 3 August, he anchored off Icy Bay and, on
the 5th, he traded at a bay just north of Cross Sound that he called Tianna's Bay, after
the Hawaiian on board. Douglas sailed passed Mount Edgecumbe and, on 11 August, anchored
in an inlet he called Sea Otter Harbour. It was the opening between Noyes and Baker
Islands. Douglas named the headlands to either side of the inlet after two of his men,
Cape Barnett to the northwest (now Cape Addington) and Cape Adamson (now Cape Bartolome)
to the southeast. Douglas prepared a chart of the sound in the two days he was there.
Douglas moved on, on the 12th, and passed an island. Dixon had named it Forrester Island
the year before but it appeared on Douglas' chart as Douglas Island. He next rounded Cape
Muzon (Cape Irving to Douglas) and entered part of Cordova Bay. Douglas called an inlet
there Port Meares, after his colleague, but from the small chart he produced it is
impossible to know exactly which inlet it was. The written description favours an inlet
on the east side of Dall Island, possibly McLeod Bay. Douglas stayed there a week.
From Port Meares, Douglas sailed east. He was passing through the strait that Dixon had
summised to exist. Meares, who would later have a protracted and heated correspondence
with Dixon, insisted the naming should lie with Douglas who was the first European known
to sail through. Dixon won and it still carries his name, Dixon Entrance. On 21 August
1788, Douglas passed and named the low, slender northeastern point of the Queen Charlotte
Islands, Point Rose. He now headed south through Hecate Strait and, on the 27th, the
Iphigenia Nubiana entered Nootka Sound and was reunited with the Felice
Adventurer.
Meares had been in or near Nootka since May. His men had built a schooner and Douglas
arrived in time to see it launched on 20 September. It was called the North West
America and placed under the command of Robert Funter. Men and stores were
transferred from the other two ships. Meares decided to leave for Macao, taking the
accumulated pelts with him, and he sailed from Nootka on 24 September. Douglas was
instructed to take his ship and the schooner to Hawaii for the winter and then return to
the Northwest Coast for more trading in 1789.
October was spent preparing the North West America for sailing and the two ships
finally left Nootka on 27 October. Douglas still had on board Tiaana, the Hawaiian, who
was being returned home. Tiaana became very apprehensive when Maui was sighted on 6
December as he was unsure what his reception would be like. On the 7th, Douglas moved
over to Hawaii and sailed down to Kealakekua Bay. Tiaana was welcomed back and King
Kamehameha went aboard the Iphigenia Nubiana. Kamehameha was impressed by the
schooner and asked for one to be built for him.
Douglas would now spend the next three months sailing between the islands securing stores
and not outstaying his welcome in any one place. On 21 December, the ships left
Kealakekua Bay after dropping off Tiaana and went to Oahu, anchoring there on 1 January
1789. After three weeks, Douglas went on to Waimea on Kauai. The reception here was wary
as Tiaana was
expected and it was though he would be powerful after his time with the British. The ships
next sailed back to Hawaii where they met Kamehameha and Tiaana. This visit, in early
March,only lasted a few days and Douglas returned to Waimea and then Nihau. On 17 March,
Douglas and his two ships sailed from Nihau. On the 19th, Douglas saw Nihoa or Bird Island,
the same island seen by Colnett a few months earlier.
When the Iphigenia Nubiana arrived in Nootka Sound on 24 April 1789, Douglas found
that the American ship, the Lady Washington, had been joined by its companion
vessel, the Columbia Rediviva under the command of John Kendrick. Funter brought
the North West America into Nootka a few days later but was sent immediately by
Douglas, north to trade north of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Friendly Cove was living up
to its name at this time but events were about to remove the peacefulness.
The Spanish had become alarmed at the presence of foreign fur trading ships in northern
waters and the Viceroy in Mexico had issued instructions that an expedition should sail
north from San Blas to establish a base in Nootka and assert Spanish sovereignty over the
region. On 6 May 1789, the first of the Spanish ships sent north arrived at Nootka. It
was the Princesca, under the command of Esteban Martinez, who was also to be in
charge of the Spanish base. For the first few days, relations between the Spanish and the
British, the Americans, and the Nootkans were very cordial. However, on 13 May, a second
Spanish ship, the San Carlos, commanded by Lopez de Haro, arrived, which seemd to
give Martinez more confidence. The next day, 14 May 1789, Martinez arrested William
Douglas and his ship, the Iphigenia Nubiana. The Americans were left alone as
observers.
James Colnett in the
Prince of Wales, 1788-1789.
The Princess Royal and the Prince of Wales left Nihau together on 20 March
1788. On the 31st, the ships parted and the Prince of Wales headed north to Prince
William Sound. (The details of this part of Colnett's voyage are unClear). Colnett spent
some time at Snug Corner Cove in Prince William Sound in 1788.
Colnett returned to Hawaii to reunite with Charles Duncan. He touched at Nihoa (Bird
Island), northwest of the larger Hawaiian Islands before arriving back in Hawaii.
Early in 1789, Colnett and Duncan sailed from Hawaii to Macao, laden with sea otter pelts
and they had a very profitable return. The two captains exchanged ships in Macao and
Colnett stayed on with the Princess Royal. The Prince of Wales picked up
a new cargo of tea and sailed for Britain, which it reached on 14 July 1789. Duncan
travelled on board but not as captain. James Johnstone took over command while Archibald
Menzies also returned home.
Charles Duncan in the
Princess Royal, 1788.
The Princess Royal and the Prince of Wales left Nihau together on 20 March
1788. On the 31st, the ships parted and Duncan headed for Nootka Sound, which he reached
in May. The ship needed a new rudder, which was quickly fitted. Duncan was able to sail
again on 10 May and he headed north to the Queen Charlotte Islands. His intention was to
revisit the area he had been in late the previous year and also to investigate behind
Banks Island. The Princess Royal anchored in Luxana Bay, just north of Cape St.
James on the 14th.
Duncan began working his way up the inside of the Queen Charlotte Islands, stopping in
several inlets for a few days at each to trade with Haida for pelts. On 31 May, he crossed Hecate
Strait and entered the group of islands, he termed the Princess Royal Islands via the
Principe Channel. For the next few days he manoeuvred through the maze of islands behind
Banks Island and probably reached the upper reaches of Douglas Channel close to Maitland
Island.. He remained among the islands until 10 June and, at one time, was involved in a
skirmish with local Tsimshian. He returned to Squally Channel and Nepean Sound, and remained
there for five days trading.
The Princess Royal then sailed back up Principe Channel, stopping for a few days
at Port Stephens, before emerging again into Hecate Strait on the 20th. Duncan crossed
back to the Queen Charlotte Islands and anchored at Trollope's River. He was successful
here in obtaining pelts and soon moved south again. He revisited Juan Perez Sound (Etches
Sound) on 2 July as this had been designated by Duncan and Colnett as a rendezvous.
Colnett had not been there so Duncan left a letter for him when he sailed on 6 July.
Duncan sailed southeast crossing the strait once more and after suffering gales anchored
in a large sound on 14 July. Duncan named the sound Millbank (now Milbanke) Sound. He
procured a quantity of wet pelts from Heiltsuks so waited for them to dry before moving on to Fitz Hugh
Sound (Duncan called it Sir Charles Middleton's Sound). He came back down the sound to
anchor in Safety Cove on Calvert Island where he hauled the ship ashore to clean its
bottom. On 2 August he sailed for Nootka to meet Colnett but instead met John Meares, who
had returned to the coast in the Felice Adventurer. After a brief meeting and
learning that Colnett was not at Nootka, Duncan went on to Clayoquot Sound.
Duncan remained for five days in Clayoquot Sound before transferring to the village close
to Cape Flattery (Cape Claaset) at the southern entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca on
the 15th. Barkley had been here a year earlier and had lost some of his crew in a
skirmish. Duncan traded for more pelts and, on 17 August, left the American coast and
headed for Hawaii to meet Colnett. Early in 1789, they sailed from Hawaii to Macao, laden
with sea otter pelts. A very profitable return was obtained after they were taken to
Canton. The two captains exchanged ships in Macao and Colnett stayed on with the
Princess Royal. The Prince of Wales picked up a new cargo of tea and sailed
for Britain, which it reached on 14 July 1789. Duncan travelled on board but not as
captain. James Johnstone took over command while Archibald Menzies also returned home.
Other British fur trading ships.
As well as the fur traders detailed above, the following ships were in Northwest Coast
waters in the late 1780s and early 1790s. Either the information about these ships and
their voyages is sketchy or their role in the exploration of the coast is not
sufficiently important to warrant longer discussion.
The Butterworth squadron operated on the Northwest Coast for three years under the command
of William Brown. The squadron comprised three ships with the 392 ton Butterworth
being the largest vessel. It had originally been a 32 gun French frigate before entering
the fur trade. It was accompanied by the Jackal, a schooner comanded by Alexander
Stewart, and the 40 ton sloop, the Prince Lee Boo, commanded by Captain Sharp.
Stewart had been second mate on the Princess Royal in 1789.
The ships arrived in the region in May 1792, aiming to create three factories on the
coast. Brown had an argument with Chief Wickananish at Opitsat in Clayoquot Sound and
in the resulting fight one of Wickananish's brothers and two other chiefs were killed.
They then traded for the summer and were present in Nootka Sound in September. From here
they sailed to Hawaii where they are known to have sold guns to Kamehameha. In 1793, the
ships returned to the Northwest Coast and headed north to be near the Portland Inlet.
George Vancouver met the squadron near Stephens Island in July 1793. One of the
Butterworth's small boats escorted Vancouver's ships into a safe anchorage near
Rushton Island. Brown shared information with Vancouver and offered the Prince Lee
Boo as a guide. The sloop escorted the Discovery and the Chatham past
Dundas Island and into Portland Inlet before departing to rejoin the other ships.
Vancouver called the entrance north of Stephens Island, Brown Passage, after the leader of
the squadron, while the names of each of the ships were later ascribed to features in the
vicinity.
At the end of the season, the three ships left the region. William Brown left the
Butterworth, which sailed for Britain via Cape Horn and Staten Island, and took
charge of the Jackal. The Jackal and the Prince Lee Boo sailed to
Macao and Canton where they discharged their stock of sea otter pelts. Captain Gordon took
over on the Prince Lee Boo and, early in 1794, the two ships returned to America.
They headed for Alaska and the Jackal arrived there on 30 June. Three days later,
they met Vancouver between Cross Sound and Yakutat Bay and the next day met the
Chatham in Yakutat Bay.
On 26 July 1794, Brown met Vancouver again at Port Althorp in Cross Sound. He was able to
explain to Vancouver about Dry Passage, the passage between Stephens Passage and
Frederick Sound, that had defeated James Johnstone during his explorations the previous
year. Both the Jackal and the Prince Lee Boo were later in Nootka Sound
before they sailed to Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. Brown and Gordon became involved
in inter-island warfare. John Kendrick, the American fur trader arrived and the
Jackal fired a salute but, unfortunately, the guns were loaded and Kendrick was
killed aboard the Lady Washington. Early in January, the Hawaiians attacked and
captured the two British ships, with Brown and Gordon both being killed. The British
crews retook the ships and sailed them to China.
The Arthur, captained by Henry Barber, was recorded on the Northwest Coast in
1794 when George Vancouver saw the ship in Cross Sound on 15 July. It left on 23 July.
In 1796, the Arthur, which originally came from Bengal via Port Jackson (Sydney)
was wrecked off Barber's Point on Oahu, Hawaii.
William Douglas, who had captained the Iphigenia Nubiana in 1789, had purchased
some ships and one of them, the Fairy, visited the Northwest Coast in 1791.
Captain William Rogers sailed the ship from Calcutta and returned it to Canton, where
it was recorded on 11 December 1791. The Fairy was then chartered by Captains
Ingraham, Rogers and Coolidge to carry teas and other products to Boston.
Charles and Frances Barkley brought the Imperial Eagle to the North Pacific in
1787 only to suffer financial problems when they returned to Calcutta in 1788. Eventually,
they recovered sufficiently to be able to return in 1792. The Barkleys sailed in a brig,
the Halcyon, accompanied by the Venus, captained by Henry Shepherd. The two
ships separated with the Halcyon heading to be at Pevropavlosk in Kamchatka in
June 1792. It then headed for Alaska before proceeding on to Nootka Sound. Meanwhile, the
110 ton brig, the Venus, arrived on the coast in June 1792 and traded near the
Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island. It was recorded by Vancouver at Safety
Cove on Calvert Island on 17 August. Both ships then left the region.
The three masted schooner, the Jenny, sailed from Bristol on 18 June 1791 heading
for Nootka. Captained by James Baker, the Jenny travelled via Tahiti and Hawaii.
It left Hawaii in May 1792 having taken on board two young Hawaiian women, and sailed
for the Oregon coast. Its exact whereabouts on the coast are uncertain but it possibly
traded for sea otter pelts north from Oregon to Clayoquot Sound. Baker arrived in Nootka
Sound on 7 October 1792 and asked Vancouver to take the Hawaiian girls back to Hawaii.
Vancouver agreed and they were passed over to the Discovery. The Jenny left
Nootka on on 12 October for the Columbia River and was already there when Broughton
sailed the Chatham into the river mouth. Baker Bay, on the north shore
just inside the Columbia's mouth, commemorates the visit. Baker, in the Jenny on 10
November, led the Chatham back out to sea, where they suffered gales for a week
before being separated.
The Jenny returned in the summer of 1793 to Bristol where it was changed from a
schooner to a ship and acquired a new captain, John Adamson. Adamson was experienced,
having sailed with Meares and had recently been 2nd mate on the Hancock. Adamson
left Bristol in October 1793 and brought the 78 ton ship back to the Pacific. In April
1794, the Jenny reached California and began working its way up the coast. It had
reached the Columbia River by 11 May and was at Kaigani on Dall Island in July. The
Jefferson saw the Jenny at Langara Island on 1 August. Adamson went
further north, taking with him Kow, a Haida chief from Langara Island. Vancouver
met Adamson at Nootka on 29 September and learned that he had acquired over 2,000 pelts,
mainly in the Queen Charlotte Islands. The Jenny then sailed for China and
reached Canton on 25 December 1794. Adamson finally brought the Jenny back to
Bristol on 25 July 1795.
The Phoenix sailed from Canton and was at Prince William Sound in May 1792. The
two masted barque was captained by Hugh Moore. It was back on the coast in 1794, having
sailed from Bengal, in about January of that year. On 17 July, the barque was at the
north end of the Queen Charlotte Islands and had already visited Sitka Sound further
north. It was in Nootka Sound when Vancouver arrived on 2 October.
The Three Brothers and the Prince William Henry sailed together from
London to Nootka via Hawaii. Captain William Alder was in charge of the two ships and
captain of the brig, the Three Brothers. This ship was at Nootka in September 1792
when Vancouver arrived there. Alder had a small tender built at Nootka and tried to sell
it to Vancouver.
The Prince William Henry wintered on the Northwest Coast and was seen in 1793 by
the Chatham in May and by the Jefferson in June. It sailed to China at the
end of the year but returned to the coast in 1795. In 1796, the ship was in Macao and
was purchased by William Broughton as a consort vessel for the Providence.
Other Fur trading ships.
The British East India Company (E.I.C.) claimed the right to dictate who could trade for
sea otter pelts on the Northwest Coast. Ships flying British colours which visited the
coast were expected to carry authorisation from the E.I.C. In order to circumvent this
situation, some of the ships sailing from India and China did so under foreign colours,
Portuguese being the most popular given that Macao was a Portuguese settlement. Some of
the ships even carried a Foreign national as captain to enhance their claim to being
a foreign ship. None of these ships played a significant role in the exploration of the
coast but they deserve a short entry in this record.
The Florinda left Macao on 25 March 1792 under the Portuguese flag. It was seen
near the Queen Charlotte Islands by Ingraham (who gave the captain's name as William
Coles) and Haswell (who recorded the name as Thomas Cole). The ship was described as
being in a very poor condition.
William Douglas sailed the Iphigenia Nubiana to the coast in 1788 and 1789. He
then left the ship and transferred to the Grace. The Iphigenia Nubiana
was back in the Northwest Pacific in 1792 under the command of a Captain Viana.
The British 152 ton snow, the Mercury sailed to the North Pacific and was at
Unalaska in October and November 1789. It was owned and captained by John Henry Cox who
then took the ship to China. In 1790, it had changed its name to the Gustavus III
and operated under a Swedish flag, though still owned by Cox. Its movements are unclear
but it was on the Northwest Coast in 1792.
The Sao Jao y Fenix (often known as the Fenis and St. Joseph) was a
Portuguese brig captained by John de Barros Andrade, which visited Nootka in September
1792. However, it also had Robert Duffin, who had been First Officer under John Meares,
on board as supercargo and the suspicion was that Duffin was in charge. Duffin while
in Nootka provided a statement to Vancouver about the actions of John Meares at Nootka.
Vancouver dispatched Zachary Mudge to Britain with copies of journals, charts and logs,
and Mudge sailed as a passenger on the Sao Jao y Fenix when it sailed on 30
September back to China.
(still to be written up
Robert Funter and the North West America
Thomas Hudson and the Princess Royal and
Tri Svyatitelya
James Colnett and the Argonaut)Select Bibliography.
Return to Northwest Coast of America exploration