Exploring Hood Canal

ACCOUNT OF VANCOUVER & MENZIES' DISCOVERY of Hood Canal in 1792

Stella Wenstob | Journal excerpts & images

Capt. George Vancouver’s 1798 publication “A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World. Vol. I” G.G. and J. Robinson, Paternoster-Row and J. Edwards, Pall-Mall: London

Archives of British Columbia’s Memoir No. V. 1923 “Menzies’ Journal of Vancouver’s Voyage: April to October, 1792” edited by C.F. Newcombe

The Spring of 1792 brought new eyes to the Salish Sea. Thirty-four-year-old Captain Vancouver commanded the HMS Discovery and the armed tender HMS Chatham to the Pacific Northwest coast on a multi-purpose mission for the British crown.

His mission was primarily to oversee the cessation of the Spanish presence on the Northwest Coast and their fort San Miguel at Nootka Sound (Vancouver Island, Canada). However, this expedition was as much about exploration and research as it was about politics. At this time, it was not known that Vancouver Island was indeed an island. The Juan de Fuca Straits was rumored to be the opening of the legendary Northwest Passage connecting the Pacific to the Atlantic. Vancouver and his crew were the first to survey and chart Hood Canal and Puget Sound. Vancouver and the Spanish Explorer Quadra shared the credit for the exploration and charting off the inland passage which established Vancouver Island (to acknowledge this it was known originally as Vancouver and Quadra’s Island) as separate from the mainland. Also aboard employed as the ship's surgeon was Dr. Archibald Menzies who had his own orders from the Royal Botanical Gardens of Kew to collect and record plant specimens encountered during their voyage.

Menzies had a small greenhouse on the quarter-deck of the HMS Discovery for his plant specimens. Many species on the coast, such as the Pacific Madrone (Arbutus menziesii) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) are named in his honor. Although they did not find the opening to the Atlantic, they did lay the groundwork for newcomers thereafter.

In early May of 1792, Captain Vancouver, Dr. Menzies, Lt. Peter Puget and Master James Johnstone (of the Chatham) and three unnamed “gentlemen” left the HMS Discovery and the HMS Chatham at anchor in Discovery Bay under the care of the Lt. W.R. Broughton to survey ahead by long boat. They charted and named Port Townsend, Mount Rainier, Admiralty Inlet, Foulweather Bluff and many other places.

The following passages are an abridged account of Captain Vancouver’s and Dr. Menzies’ short sojourn down Hood Canal beginning at Oak Cove, just south of Port Townsend.

Etching of view of Mount Rainier from South part of Admiralty Inlet (1798)

THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1792 Vancouver – "As my intentions were not to depart from the continental boundary, the western arm [modern day Hood Canal] was the first object of our examination; and we directed our course towards a high lump of land that had the appearance of an island, entertaining little doubt of finding a way into the south eastern, or main arm, south of the supposed long low island.

Etching of Port Townsend (1798)

Instead of the sandy cliffs that form the shores within the straits, these were composed of solid rocks. On them the herbage and shrubs seemed to flourish with less luxuriance, though the trees appeared to form a much greater variety. Having landed about nine o'clock to breakfast [at Port Ludlow], and to take the advantage of the sun and wind to dry some of our clothes, our friends the Indians, seventeen in number, landed also from [six?] canoes about half a mile ahead of us, and then walked towards our party, attended by a single canoe along the shore; they having hauled up all the others.

They now approached us with the utmost confidence, without being armed, and behaved in the most respectful and orderly manner. They had not anything to dispose of excepting their bows, arrows, and some few of their woolen and skin garments; amongst the latter appeared to be the skin of a young lioness. These they exchanged for trinkets and in the traffic conducted themselves in a very fair and honest manner."

Menzies - "After crossing Oak Cove we kept the Starboard Shore on board & about nine fell in with a few Canoes of Indians seemingly a fishing party as they had no women with them or any thing to traffic.—We landed soon after on the inside of the point of a Cove which was named Indian Cove [Port Ludlow] to Breakfast & about eighteen of the Natives landed close to us upon the Beach, where they very quietly laid down their Bows & Quivers upon the stump of a tree & sat themselves down very peaceably. They were but indifferently clothed with the Skins of Animals chiefly / Deer Lynx Martin & Bear Skins, One of them had a very large skin of the brown Tiger." FRIDAY MAY 11, 1792 Menzies –"Next morning at day break we set out pursuing this Arm [Hood Canal] which was nearly two miles wide in a southerly direction with fair weather but little or no wind. In the afternoon we found a branch going off in a North West direction which we followed to its termination & finding it only a deep Bay we returned back along the opposite shore & about dark pitched our tents for the night near its Southern point of Entrance. At a place we landed on near the bottom of the Bay [Dabob Bay] I saw vast abundance of a beautiful new species of Vaccinium with ever green leaves in full bloom, it grew bushy & was of a dark green color like Myrtles which it much resembled in its general appearance. I had seen it before in several other places since we came into the Straights but no where in such perfection as here."

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 1792 Vancouver – "The next morning at four o'clock we again embarked. Having supplied for five days only, our provisions were greatly exhausted, and the commencement of this, which was the sixth, threatened us with short allowance. Our sportsmen had been unable to assist our flock; and the prospect of obtaining any supplies from the natives was equally uncertain.

The region we had lately passed seemed nearly destitute of human beings. The brute creation also had deserted the shores; the tracks of deer were no longer to be seen; nor was there an aquatic bird on the whole extent of the canal; animated nature seemed nearly exhausted; and her awful silence was only now and then interrupted by the croaking of a raven, the breathing of a seal, or the scream of an eagle.

To the westward and N.W. lay that range of snowy mountains, noticed the morning we spoke with the Columbia [off of Cape Flattery, The Columbia was an American trading vessel responsible for discovering the Pacific outlet of the Columbia River]. These gradually descended in a southern direction, while the summit of the eastern range now and then appearing, seemed to give bounds to this low country on that side. Between the S.E. and S.W. a country of a very moderate height seemed to extend as far as the eye could reach; and from its eminences and valleys [sic], there was reason to believe that this inlet continued to meander a very considerable distance, which made me much regret that we were not provided for a longer excursion.

Having very pleasant weather, and a gentle favorable breeze, we proceeded, and passed several runs of fresh water. Near one of the largest [likely the Skokomish River] we observed our latitude at noon to be 47° 27' ; and once again had the pleasure of approaching an inhabited country, A canoe, in which there were three men [likely individuals of Twana ancestory of the current Skokomish Tribe], went alongside the launch, and bartered a few trifles for beads, iron, and copper, but declined every invitation to come on shore. From Mr. Puget I learned, that they appeared to be very honest in their dealings, and had used their utmost endeavors to prevail on the party in the launch to attend them home, which we understood to be at the distance of about a league, and for which they seemed to make the best of their way, probably to acquaint their friends with the approach of strangers.

The habitations of our new friends appeared to be situated nearly at the extremity of this inlet [Big Bend], or where it appeared to take a very sharp turn to the S. W. still favoring our hopes of returning by the great eastern arm. These however vanished on landing, as we found its S.W. direction terminate in land, apparently low and swampy, with a shoal extending some distance from its shores, forming a narrow passage to the south-eastward into a cove or basin, which seemed its termination also in that direction.

Here we found the finest stream of fresh water [Skokomish River] from the size, clearness, and rapidity of which, little doubt could be entertained of its having its source in perpetual springs. Near it were two miserable huts with mats thrown carelessly over them, protecting their tenants neither from the heat nor severity of the weather ; these huts seemed calculated to contain only the five or six men then present, though previously to our quitting the boats we supposed a greater number of persons had been seen; those were probably their women, who on our approach had retired to the woods. These good people conducted themselves in the most friendly manner. They had little to dispose of, yet they bartered away their bows and arrows without the least hesitation, together with some small fish, cockles, and clams; of the latter we purchased a large quantity, a supply of which was very acceptable in the low condition of our stock.

Menzies – After dinner we set out to continue our examination of the arm which was now hemmed in by lofty Mountains on one side & low flat country of considerable extent on the other. About five in the afternoon we observed smoke & some Natives on a Beach on the Starboard shore to which we pulled in with the Boats & on landing found two or three families occupied in drying & smoking of Clams skewered upon small rods—We saw but a few men, the women & children having fled into the Woods at our approach & from all appearance their residence seemed to be a temporary one merely for the purpose of drying & collecting of fish. They told us that more natives were on the opposite point where the arm seemed to take an easterly direction [possibly Union], we crossed over & found them more numerous living on the beach without any kind of habitation shelter or covering whatever which leads us to conclude that they were only a foraging party in pursuit of game collecting & drying of fish / for we procured from them a number of salmon & flat fish & the men purchased several bear skins but we saw no sea otter skins among them. Several of them were pock marked—a number of them had lost an eye, & amongst them were some whose faces we recollected seeing in Indian Cove, this was better confirmed by finding in their possession some of the Trinkets we had there distributed—They had also Iron Chinese Cashes (a kind of base Money pierced with a hole) & beads which clearly showed that they had either a direct or indirect communication with the traders on the exterior part of the Coast [the American, Russian, Spanish and English traders interested in sea otter pelts were active on the outside coast from Cape Flattery to Alaska from 1775 to the early nineteenth century]. Having satisfied ourselves with respect to the termination of the Arm, we could do nothing else but return back the way we came. SUNDAY, MAY 13 Vancouver – Early on Sunday morning we again embarked; directing our route down the inlet, which, after the Right Honorable Lord Hood, I called Hood's Canal; but our progress homeward was so very slow, that it was Monday afternoon before we reached Foulweather bluff.

Christened with a new name by Captain Vancouver, Hood Canal was left mostly unmolested by newcomers for another forty-nine years.

In 1841, a surveying party of the United States Exploring Expedition under the Command of Charles Wilkes came to measure the depths of the waters of Hood Canal.