Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 22.djvu/364



352 CAPTAIN ROBERT GRAY

REMNANT OF OFFICIAL LOG OF THE COLUMBIA

ANNOTATIONS BY T. C. ELLIOTT.

Text in Greenhow, 1848 Edition, p. 434.

Extract from the Second Volume of the LOG BOOK OF THE SHIP COLUMBIA, of Boston, commanded by Robert Gray, containing the Account of her Entrance into Gray's Harbor and the Columbia River.

May 7th, 1792 A. M. Being within six miles of the land, saw an entrance in the same, which had a very good appearance of a harbor ; lowered away the jolly-boat, and went in search of an anchoring-place, the ship standing to and fro, with a very strong weather current. At one P. M., the boat, returned, hav- ing no place where the ship could anchor with safety 1 ; made sail on the ship; stood in for the shore. We soon saw from our mast-head, a passage in between the sand-bars. At half past three, bore away, and ran in north-east by east, having from four to eight fathoms, sandy bottom ; and, as we drew in nearer between the bars, had from ten to thirteen fathoms, having a very strong tide of ebb to stem. Many canoes came alongside. At five, P. M., came to in five fathoms water, sandy bottom, in a safe harbor, well sheltered from the sea by long sand- bars and spits. Our latitude observed this day was 46 degrees 58 minutes north.

May 10th Fresh breezes and pleasant weather; many na- tives along side ; at noon all the canoes left us. At one, P. M., began to unmoor, took up the best bower anchor, and hove short on the small bower-anchor. At half past four, (being high water,) hove up the anchor, and came to sail and a beating down the harbor. 2

May llth. At half past seven, we were out clear of the bars, and directed our course to the southward, along shore. 3 At

1 This log makes no mention of the sending of a small boat ahead of the ship, either here or at the mouth of the Columbia river, which precaution is men- tioned by Mr. Boit in his journal. Neither does Capt. Gray mention any observations for longitude, as Mr. Boit does. For more extended comments see the Boit Journal printed herewith.

2 This entry indicates that Capt. Gray's anchorage was not far inside the entrance, but any attempt to designate it would be mere speculation. The pre- sumption is in favor of the bay behind one of the capes.

3 This entry written at evening on the nth, clearly states that the ship left Gray's Harbor on the evening of the loth. Boit erroneously puts the date as the nth.