Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/32

Rh Ledyard Inspires American Fur Trade. On Captain Cook's ship was a young American, John Ledyard by name. He was an ambitious, restless fellow who after preparing for missionary work, decided to be a seaman. He published the first account of Cook's voyage. His book interested Americans, who were thereby led to study Captain Cook's report of the valuable furs which the Russian traders purchased from the Indians for a few trinkets and sold at high prices in the ready markets of Canton. Soon a company in Boston equipped the "Columbia" and the "Washington"—henceforth called "Lady Washington"—to carry on the fur trade and explorations. On the 30th of September, 1787, the two vessels started on their long voyage with John Kendrick as Captain of the "Columbia" and Robert Gray as Captain of the "Lady Washington." These two ships were destined to carry the first American explorations and fur trade along the Oregon coast.

Captain Gray as a Fur Trader. After rounding Cape Horn, the ships ran into heavy seas, and lost sight of each other. The "Lady Washington, touched at several points along the coast, among which evidently were Alsea Bay or Yaquina Bay, and the anchorage at Cape Lookout. On the 16th of September, 1788, she arrived at Nootka Sound where "for many years all sea captains gathered to exchange the latest information as to new discoveries, etc." Here the British vessel, "Northwest America," constructed by Lieut. John Meares, was launched—the first sea-going vessel built on the Northwest Coast; and on the 27th of the same month