the opening to a strait that might be that of Juan de
Fuca. However, on Monday, October 1, 1787, the two American vessels
sailed away from Boston. It was August of 1788 before they were off
Drake's New Albion; and in the stormy weather encountered all the way
up the Pacific, the little sloop _Lady Washington_ had proved a faster,
better sailer than the heavier cargo vessel, the _Columbia_. Signs of
a river were observed; and a pause was made at one of the harbours on
the coast--either Tillamook or Gray's Harbour. Here the Indians,
indignant at a recent outrage committed against them by whites,
attacked the Americans and drove them off before they could search for
an entrance to the Great River. It now became apparent that the small
sloop had the advantage, not only in speed, but because it could go in
closer to the coast. Towards the end of August Gray's crew distinctly
observed the Olympic mountains and set down record of Cape Flattery.
'I am of opinion,' notes the mate, 'that the Straits of Juan de Fuca
_do_ exist; for the coast takes a great bend here.'

{57}

At Nootka surprise awaited the Americans. John Meares and William
Douglas, English captains, were there in a palisaded fort and with two
vessels; a little trading schooner of thirty tons named the _North-West
America_ had just been built--the first ship built on the North-West
coast--and was being launched amid thunder of cannon and clinking of
glasses, and September 19 was observed as a holiday--the first public
holiday in what is now British Columbia. Meares and Douglas
entertained Gray at dinner, and over brimming wine-glasses gave him the
news of recent happenings on the coast. Captain Barkley, another
English trader, had looked into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and placed
it on his chart. Meares had sought in vain for the River of the West,
and did not believe that it existed. In fact, he had named the
headland that hid it Cape Disappointment. And, of course, no furs
existed on the Pacific coast. When did a fur trader ever acknowledge
to a rival that there were furs? Meares reported that he, too, had
been down at Tillamook Bay; and Gray guessed that it had been Meares's
injustice to the Indians that provoked the raid on himself. Meares was
short of provisions, and the _Lady Washington_ needed {58} repairs.
The American gave the Englishman provisions to reach China, and the
Englishman repaired the American's ship. Meares declared that he had