Robert Gray's Columbia River expedition

Captain Gray was a merchant ship captain born in Rhode Island, who circumnavigated the globe between 1787 and 1790 on , a trading voyage out of Boston, Massachusetts. He traveled first to the north Pacific coast of North America, to trade for furs, and then to China, to trade the pelts for tea and other Chinese goods. After his return from that expedition, Gray set sail for the northwest coast again on September 28, 1790, reaching his destination in 1792. During his first voyage to the northwest coast, Gray was second-in-command of Columbia Rediviva under Captain John Kendrick, who remained in the Pacific, in command of . On the journey north along the coast to Nootka Sound, Gray encountered a strong outflow near 46'16". He spent nine days trying to enter the river without success before abandoning the effort and sailing north for Nootka. Gray rejoined Kendrick for a time after Gray's return to the region. After wintering on Vancouver Island, Gray set sail again on April 2, 1792, when he left the American trading post of Clayoquot on Vancouver Island. However, Vancouver still doubted any river existed there: So Gray informed Vancouver that he would further investigate that area, and then sailed south after several more days near the Strait of Juan de Fuca. ==Entering the Columbia==

The treacherous and shifting sand bar at the mouth of the Columbia River Estuary presented a challenge to any ship that attempted to enter the river. In April, Gray attempted to enter the mouth of the river, but bad weather forced him to give up. After sailing north, meeting Vancouver, and spending a time in Grays Harbor, as it was later named, Gray returned to the river. This time he ordered a small sailboat launched to attempt to find a safe passage across the sand bars in the process known as sounding. Once there they sailed upriver and Gray named this large river Columbia after his ship. Once entering the Columbia's estuary, according to the ship's log, they were met by many natives in their canoes, while the crew prepared to take on fresh water. Trading with these natives led to a collection of over 450 animal pelts to be traded in China. On this day is when Gray officially named the river Columbia and bestowed other landmarks with names: Then on May 20, Gray and crew took up anchor around 1 pm to sail for the ocean. However, before Gray and his crew sailed for China, they returned to Nootka Sound where he passed along news of his discovery to the Spanish commandant there, Quadra. Gray left with Quadra a chart and description of the river's mouth that Captain Vancouver obtained a copy of in September. ==Aftermath==

A short time after entering the Columbia River and trading with the natives, ship and crew sailed to China to sell the pelts In the end the dispute was resolved by compromise in the Oregon Treaty of 1846. Upon Gray's return, though, little was thought of his discovery. He did not publish it, and the long-term consequences to which it contributed were unforeseen. ==Crew of Columbia Redivia==

The following is a list of those on board Columbia Rediviva when it sailed from Boston: Captain Gray, Robert Haswell (Chief Mate), Joshua Caswell (second mate), Owing Smith (third mate), Abraham Waters (Fourth Mate), John Boit (Fifth Mate), John Hoskins, Samuel Homer, Jack atoe, Benjamin Harding/Harden, Samuel Yendell, Nahtan Dweley, John Emes, Popkins, Bart peas, Tom (the cook), Joseph Barnes, John Butler, Bryant Winle, Anteny Lows, Joseph Folger, Andrew Newhil, Elsworth, Weks, Obediar Weston, Isack, Ginnings, Sheperd, George Davidson (painter), Nickels (tailor), and Nathaniel Wooward. Caswell, Barnes, and Folger were killed on August 12, 1791, by natives. Harding died March 21, 1792, of dysentery. On March 24, 1792, Haswell took command of the sloop Adventure with Waters and ten others and thus were not part of the discovery of the river. ==Previous explorations==

In 1775, Spaniard Bruno de Heceta (also spelled Hezeta) was exploring the northwest coast of North America with the vessels Santiago and Sonora under his command. On his return journey south, with only the Santiago and a reduced crew, Heceta discovered a large bay penetrating far inland. He tried to sail in but the strong currents prevented it, even under a full press of sails. His crew was so reduced that they could not handle the anchor so he could not easily wait for better conditions. He wrote that the seething currents led him to believe it was the mouth of a great river or a passage to another sea. He named the bay Bahia de la Asunciõn and produced a map of what he could discern from outside the Columbia bar. Later Spanish maps often showed the Columbia River's estuary with the name Entrada de Hezeta, Rio de San Roque, and similar variants. Captain John Meares, during his 1788 exploration of the Pacific Northwest, had on board a copy of a Spanish map made by Francisco Antonio Mourelle and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra which showed the Columbia River's mouth as Entrada descubierta por Dn Bruno Hezeta. On July 6, aboard the 230-ton snow Felice Adventurer, Meares sailed off the mouth of the river at the latitude indicated on the Spanish map, but was unable to find the mouth. He did see the cape on the north side of the entrance and named it Cape Disappointment, reflecting his failure to find the river's mouth. This led Meares to write in his log: "We can now with safety assert, that no such river as that of St. Roc exists, as laid down in the Spanish charts." The last known attempt on the Columbia River before Gray's successful entering of the river was Captain Vancouver's visit in April 1792. ==See also==