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Friday, August 16, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5 HISTORY’S SHORT STRAW Oregon State Capitol Captain Robert Gray at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1792. By BRIAN D. RATTY For Seaside Signal A ugust is the 231st anniversary of Capt. Robert Gray’s many discoveries on the Pacifi c Northwest coast. So who was this great man and why should we care? Long before Lewis and Clark trudged across the heartland (17 years to be precise), Gray was explor- ing and charting the pristine lands and waterways of the North American continent. His maiden voyage to the Pacifi c was a daring enter- prise that started in Boston Harbor in October 1787 and ended in that same harbor on August 1790. During this passage, Gray and his crew of the sloop Lady Washing- ton were the fi rst non-Native Americans to set foot on the Pacifi c Coast. On Aug. 14, 1788, they discovered and named Tillamook Bay and the natives who thrived on its shore. Here they traded trinkets with the Indians for sea otter pelts. This they con- tinued to do as they sailed up the Pacifi c coastline. In 1789, now in com- mand of the full-rigged ship Columbia Rediviva, he departed Nootka (Vancou- ver Island) with 1,300 prime pelts and sailed for China, via the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) to trade the skins for Canton tea. When he arrived back in Boston, this black-eye- patched captain became the fi rst American to have cir- cumnavigated the globe. For this accomplishment, he was paraded through Boston and attended a reception held in his honor by Gov. John Hancock. The sloop Lady Washington on Tillamook Bay on Aug. 14, 1788. While the commercial value of this fi rst voyage was disappointing, due to dam- aged tea from sea seepage, Capt. Gray and the Colum- bia Rediviva would depart for a second historic voyage to the Northwest in just six short weeks. With the Columbia Redi- viva overhauled and made ready for sea again, he sailed from Boston Harbor in September 1790. After another long and treacher- ous trip around Cape Horn, Gray arrived at Clayoquot, an American trading post on Nootka in June 1791. Here he met up again with the quirky Capt. Kendrick and Gray’s old ship, the Lady Washington, which had been converted from a sloop (single mast) to a brigantine (double mast). The two ships did not fare well during that summer of discovery. The Columbia sailed far north, trading with the natives, but some of his men were murdered by hos- tile Indians. The Lady Wash- ington sailed for the Queen Charlotte Island and was also attacked when a few sailors went ashore. One among those slain was Capt. Kendrick’s son. The two ships returned to the Clayoquot in Septem- ber, and the Lady Washing- ton, under the command of Kendrick, set out for China with the furs from both ships. With winter approach- ing, Gray and his crew went to work, erecting a log fort which they named Defi ance, and building a small 45-ton sloop that he christened Adventure. This ship was put under the command of Haswell, Gray’s fi rst offi cer. The Indians around the tiny American outpost were not friendly, so Gray and his men were obliged to keep constant vigil during the long, dark and wet win- ter. In early April, both ves- sels fi nally departed Clayo- quot, with the Adventure sailing north for trade and the Columbia sailing for the rich sea-otter waters south of Nootka. But Capt. Gray was not only searching for furs; he also explored many riv- ers, bays and inlets that he charted and named. A few weeks later, after arriving at the south- ern reaches of the Oregon Coast, he turned north again, still seeking safe shelter for his ship and crew. Near the end of April, Gray sighted Capt. Robert Gray’s voyages. another ship and hove to for an exchange of greetings with Capt. George Vancou- ver, a British Naval offi cer commanding the ship Dis- covery. Using a voice-horn, Gray informed the captain that he had recently lain off for nine days at the mouth of a large river where the tides were so violent that he dared not attempt to cross the bar. Vancouver doubted this news but noted in his journal: “If any river should be found, it must be a very intricate one and inacces- sible to vessels of our bur- den.” The Discovery pushed on northward. Gray continued on his journey, trading along the way. As he sailed up the coastline, the lookouts kept a keen eye out for any safe harbor where the Colum- bia could lay over. On May 7, Gray noted in his log book the discovery of what would become known as Gray’s Harbor. After spend- ing but a short time in the bay he had just discovered, Gray decided to sail south again to enter the mouth of the river he had sighted. This time luck and the tides were with him. A small yawl was launched to locate a safe passage across the treacher- ous bar which fl owed with the strong, muddy current of a great river. According to the ship’s log, the crossing was made on May 11, 1792. Gray had found the “Great River of the West” and yet described the event in his logs with one of his- tory’s most understated Prepare for the next quake or tsunami Lincoln County Sheriff ’s Offi ce Some people think it is not worth preparing for an earth- quake or tsunami because whether you survive or not is up to chance. Not so! Most Oregon buildings will survive even a large earthquake, and so will you, especially if you follow these simple response guide- lines and start preparing today. If you know how to recog- nize the warning signs of a tsu- nami and understand what to do, you will survive that too, but you need to know what to do ahead of time. Government agencies and other emergency organizations cannot protect you from the next earthquake or tsunami. Even under the best of circumstances, medi- cal aid or fi re and law enforce- ment offi cials may not be able to reach you for many hours or even days. It is our respon- sibility as individuals, neigh- borhoods and communities to reduce risks, to prepare for the critical period immedi- ately after the earthquake, and to make sure that planning for earthquakes and tsunamis has the high priority it deserves. By becoming informed, we can take actions to protect ourselves, reduce losses, and recover quickly. • Earthquake Preparation: Cascadia Subduction Zone or on-shore earthquakes Anchor and secure heavy appliances, furniture and glass objects to wall studs and/or other furniture items. Know how to turn off water, gas and electricity and have the tools needed to do so. Tie a bag next to your bed with shoes, extra glasses, gloves, poncho, fl ashlight or headlamp so you are ready to evacuate once the shaking stops. Have a three-to-fi ve day kit in your car in case you need to use it as a place of shelter until the aftershocks subside. • Earthquake Response — If you feel an earthquake Drop, cover and hold on until after the shaking stops, then evacuate outside to sur- vey damages to the building. If indoors, get under a sturdy table, hold on and be prepared to move with the table. If in bed, stay in the bed and protect your head with a pillow. If outdoors, fi nd a clear spot away from buildings and trees and stay until the shak- ing stops. If in a vehicle, pull over to a clear location until shaking stops. Expect and be ready for aftershocks that could last for days after the main shock. • Tsunami preparedness and response A tsunami is a series of sea waves, usually caused by a displacement of ocean fl oor by an undersea earthquake. As tsunamis enter shallow water near land, they increase in height and can cause great loss of life and property damage. When at the coast, know the distant and local tsunami evacuation routes for low lying areas; look for educa- tional signs at beach entry areas and tsunami assembly area points. A distant tsunami will take 4 or more hours to come on shore and you will feel no earthquake. The tsunami will generally be smaller than that from a local earthquake. Typi- cally, there is time for an offi - cial warning and the National Warning Center to evacuate to safety. A local tsunami can come on shore within 15 to 20 min- utes after the earthquake before there is time for an offi - cial warning from the national warning system. Ground shak- ing may be the only warning you have, so evacuate quickly to high ground out of the local tsunami zone. Do not return until the alert has been canceled and emer- gency offi cials have advised that it’s safe to return. comments: “So ends.” It is almost as if he considered this discovery unimportant. The Columbia sailed upriver, trading trinkets to the Indi- ans for pelts, food and water. During this nine-day jour- ney, Gray named many land- marks, bays and inlets. He also named the mighty river “Columbia,” after his ship. While on the river, Gray made a detailed chart of his discoveries, a copy of which was later acquired by Capt. Vancouver. Gray sailed to China in 1793 and sold his furs. The venture must have not been profi table as he was not sent out to repeat it. Capt. Ken- drick of the Lady Washing- ton was killed in the Sand- wich Islands in 1794. Gray’s many discoveries appar- ently impressed the pub- lic little more than they had impressed Gray himself, for he never sailed the far Pacifi c again. Neither recog- nition nor wealth befell him. With quiet despair he died in 1806 of yellow fever. Yankee trader Capt. Rob- ert Gray may have died in obscurity, while drawing the short straw of history, but his memory as a bril- liant navigator and gifted sea captain with grit and vision lives on. So ends his many accomplishments. This article was con- densed from information in the novel, “Tillamook Pas- sage,” by Brian D. Ratty. For more information on Capt. Robert Gray, visit the Garibaldi Maritime Museum or your local library. Ratty is a retired media executive and graduate of Brooks Institute of Photog- raphy. He and his wife live on the North Oregon Coast. Aug. 21 10 a.m., pre- school bilin- gual story time shark week theme. OFF THE SHELVES SEASIDE LIBRARY CALENDAR Aug. 22 7 p.m., for adults: music concert solo guitar with Wes Wahrmund. Aug. 24 1 p.m., for adults: Vintage jewelry appraisal with Danu- ta Hackett Aug. 28 10 a.m., preschool story time summer reading wrap up theme Aug. 31 Last day to turn in summer reading logs for prizes 1 p.m., for adults: Albacore tuna cooking class; sign-up required with Jennifer Burns Bright LETTERS Old technology still necessary Before the REdfi eld-8 phone numbers were used in Seaside, the R.J. Marx article brought to mind the prior phone number scenario I remember when I vis- ited my grandparents when they lived on North Prom in our family beach house. They had an apartment with a phone number of 258 J next to the house. We still have the phone number for the house today using the 738 phone code and not long ago we got an award from the phone company for hav- ing the number for so long. The reason we kept the number after all these years was to insure we got notifi ed if a tsunami warning was announced in the county. Old technology, but still necessary now that we know the dangers from the Cascadia Subduc- tion Zone. Kevin Kelty Portland
