Few, if any, voyages in the history of navigation have been as successful as the one to the northwest coast of America made in the years 1791-95 by Captain George Vancouver of the British Navy. His two small ships returned to England safely after nearly five years of exploration and survey work in strange and dangerous waters, with only six men lost, but one of these from disease. With scurvy a prevalent scourge for seafaring men his ships were remarkably free of it. The astounding amount of survey work accomplished by him would be a creditable performance for a modern survey ship, covering the same waters in the same amount of time. Vancouver died shortly after the completion of this voyage and but for this he would probably hold a higher ranking among the brilliant eighteenth-century navigators than he does.
From the age of fourteen until he was nearly forty Vancouver’s life was spent aboard ship, except for short intervals between voyages, totaling about fifteen months. He was unmarried and left no writings other than his official letters and reports and his published Voyage of Discovery, which are the principal sources of information concerning him. Such records show only one side of a man’s character and it is because of the lack of intimate information concerning him that he has become a legendary figure, rather than a personality, identified with the waters in which his work was done. For a great many years his reputation was clouded by charges of brutality and harshness which close investigation shows were largely unwarranted.
Vancouver was fortunate in that his early years at sea were spent under Captain James Cook on that great explorer’s second and third voyages of discovery. Captain Cook’s own record was one of the most remarkable of his day. A farm laborer’s son, he spent his early days at sea in the merchant service and then joined the Navy, eventually reaching high rank, in itself an almost unprecedented feat. Early in his naval career he demonstrated his ability in survey and astronomical work in the region of the St. Lawrence River. On his record in America he was chosen to head a scientific expedition to the South Seas and on this, his first voyage of discovery, he established the insularity of New Zealand, also exploring and partially surveying the eastern coast of Australia.
His second voyage, lasting almost exactly three years, was the first experience at sea for young Vancouver. The primary purpose of the voyage was a search for an antarctic continent, and the expedition penetrated deeply into the Antarctic Ocean, reaching a point in 71 degrees south latitude. During this voyage Cook’s vessels circumnavigated the world and established the general contour and outlines of the land areas of the southern oceans as we know them today.
On Cook’s third voyage, in which Vancouver was a midshipman, the expedition again visited the South Sea Islands but the principal object was a search for the Pacific outlet to a possible northwest passage. Sailing northward from the southern seas Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands and named them for his friend, the Earl of Sandwich. After a brief stay in Hawaii he reached the California coast in about 45 degrees north latitude and made a rapid reconnaissance of the coast line of North America to the northward, continuing into the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean. He reached a point near 71 degrees north latitude, the same as he had reached in south latitude on the second voyage. Ice blocked further progress and the point near which he turned back was named by him Icy Cape, still shown on charts as such. Cook returned to Hawaii after exploring part of the Arctic Siberian coast and on the Island of Hawaii he was killed by natives. Vancouver was present on the beach when Cook was attacked and he displayed coolness and courage in helping the injured into the boats during the melee, although he himself was beaten and wounded.
Cook’s voyage along the northwest coast had noted only the more prominent landmarks along the outer coast and it was Vancouver’s task later to develop what really lay behind them. Cook was convinced that there was no northwest passage, but he might have missed it had there been one.
After his return from Cook’s third voyage Vancouver served as a lieutenant in Rodney’s Fleet on the West Indian station. He returned home with that fleet in 1783 but shortly returned to the West Indies where he demonstrated his own ability as a surveyor.
Upon his return to England in 1789, Vancouver was appointed second in command of a projected scientific expedition to the South Seas and to the northwest coast of America. This expedition was canceled when reports were received that the ships and property of an English fur trader at Nootka, a settlement on the outer coast of Vancouver Island, had been seized by Spanish authorities. This incident came dangerously near to causing a war between Spain and England. A powerful English naval concentration forced Spain to terms and in the resulting treaty she agreed to a restitution of the seized property, and of greater importance renounced her claims to sole sovereignty over the lands of the Pacific north of the Gulf of California, as far as latitude 60° N.
After the conclusion of this treaty Vancouver was commissioned to command a new expedition which was to receive back the seized property at Nootka and, in addition, was to make an accurate survey of the northwest coast of America from 30 degrees north latitude to 60 degrees north latitude. It was also to collect all possible information regarding the natural and political state of the country visited. England was anxious to establish herself on this coast before all of the available territory had been occupied by Russia and Spain.
The ships chosen for the expedition were the newly built sloop Discovery, of 330 tons, and the armed tender Chatham, of 135 tons. Of the characteristics of the Chatham little is known except that she was a poor and cranky sailer that more than once embarrassed the expedition. She was much smaller than the Discovery and some idea of her size can be gained from the dimensions of the larger vessel. The Discovery was 99 feet in length and 28 feet in beam; her draft was about 15 feet. The complement of the Discovery was 16 officers and 84 men, and of the Chatham, 10 officers and 35 men. It is difficult to conceive, in the present day, the hardships caused by crowding this number of men into such small ships which were without ventilation, heat, or other features which are considered necessities on modern vessels. Vancouver’s method of circulating air below decks, and of reducing dampness, was to have fires burned in the compartments of the ship. Cook had conquered scurvy by varying the standard diet, including such novelties as sauerkraut, and Vancouver used the same ideas. Every opportunity was taken to obtain fresh meats, fruits, and vegetables ashore, but it is still remarkable that the health of his expedition was kept at the high level that it was.
Vancouver chose most of his officers; an able group whose names are preserved in many landmarks in the Northwest. Puget Sound, for example, was named by Vancouver for one of the outstanding lieutenants of the expedition. Only one of the officers was a source of real trouble to the commander. This was a midshipman, Thomas Pitt, afterwards Lord Camelford. Vancouver set him ashore in Hawaii because of his insubordinate conduct. Bitter because he had been flogged, an unprecedented punishment for a midshipman, Pitt held a lifelong grudge against Vancouver and did much to damage his reputation. Pitt remained in the Navy with a colorful but questionable career. On one occasion he was court-martialed, although acquitted, on charges of murdering a brother officer. Later he resigned from the Navy in a rage and in London he was notorious for his violence and extravagances. He was killed in a duel with a former intimate friend.
The expedition sailed from England on April 1, 1791, by way of the Cape of Good Hope. From the Cape it proceeded to the southwestern coast of Australia, as yet unsurveyed, and Vancouver charted about 300 miles of that coast line. This was not directed by his orders but he took advantage of the opportunity that was his, an example of his passion for this type of work.
From the Australian coast Vancouver proceeded to New Zealand where he extended some of Cook’s surveys. Almost every ship that visited the South Seas in that age stopped at Tahiti for provisions and Vancouver followed this rule. Heavy storms had already taken their toll of his ships and some time was spent at Tahiti overhauling them. In January, 1792, the expedition was again ready for sea and it sailed for Hawaii where, by its orders, it should have wintered.
Although the islands of Hawaii, Oahu, and Kauai were visited, only a short time was spent in the Hawaiian area partly because of Vancouver’s keen desire to begin the continental survey and partly because the expedition was behind schedule. Sailing on March 16, he sighted the California coast, a few miles to the southward of Cape Mendocino, on April 17.
From this point Vancouver headed northward, keeping close inshore, and making a running survey of the coast line. After ten days of this work he was off the entrance to the Columbia River. Although he noted the indications of a river, he passed it by without examination because of the unbroken line of breakers across the entrance, a decision that had an important bearing upon the outcome of the Oregon boundary dispute. A few days later he was to meet the man who was even then en route to the same point and who was to sail into the river’s entrance, giving it the name of his vessel, Columbia. This meeting took place near the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, for which Vancouver was headed. Captain Gray, of the Columbia, was an American trader from Boston, and had been credited wrongly with having sailed around what is now known as Vancouver Island.
After parting with the Columbia, Vancouver entered the strait and began a detailed survey of the continental shore line. Except for those on the outer coast, nearly all of the English names of landmarks, islands, bays, capes, and points in the northwest Pacific area were given to them by Vancouver on this voyage. He honored in this way the officers who served with him and those under whom he had served. Mount Rainier was named for an admiral in the British Navy; Mount Baker for one of his own officers. Hood’s Canal was named for the great second in command of Rodney. Rodney himself, however, was never so honored by Vancouver. His feeling toward the man who boasted that his captains were more afraid of his wrath than of the enemy’s guns is indicated by this omission, a gesture that must have been deliberate.
This point marked the beginning of the detailed part of his survey. His ships penetrated the channels as far as they could safely go, keeping a close check of their tracks as they went. At every opportunity Vancouver himself and several of his officers took astronomical observations for latitude, longitude, the variation of the compass, and the error of the chronometer. The results were then averaged to obtain the best position. When the ships were at anchor as many as a hundred separate observations for longitude were taken at tunes. Observatories were set up ashore at several points. The various positions were correlated by a careful check of the ship’s run between them, corrected and adjusted as the information available increased.
From the various anchorages boats were sent out from the ships to examine every inlet along the shore line. The boats’ runs were reduced to the ship’s positions and the work of each type co-ordinated. The delineation of the shore line was made in much the same manner that would be used today for the same sort of exploratory survey. Often the boats would be absent from the ships for weeks at a time and Vancouver made several such boat trips himself. The chart-making was kept abreast of the survey, thus providing a running record of both the progress made and the completeness of the survey.
From the detailed exploration of Puget Sound, which included all of its arms and inlets, Vancouver proceeded northward through the San Juan Islands into Georgia Strait, continuing the methodical examination of the shore line, always insuring that no part of the continental shore was left unexamined. The boats entered all of the deep channels and fiords along the mountainous coast and penetrated each until convinced that it was no route to the interior. This search carried the expedition into and through what now forms part of the route of the Inside Passage to Alaska. Vancouver’s ships passed through these narrow stretches and emerged into Queen Charlotte Sound, once more sighting the waters of the open Pacific.
In the eastern part of Queen Charlotte Sound occurred a near-tragedy that threatened to end the expedition prematurely. The Discovery struck on a submerged rock and the ebbing tide caused her to list over, dangerously near capsizing. By using the masts and spars as shores, and by the removal of stores, she was held in position until the following high tide, when she was floated off with little real damage. The following evening the Chatham also grounded, and she was refloated in the same way. A large part of Queen Charlotte Sound is still unsounded and is shown on charts as foul ground.
Near the end of the summer Vancouver learned that the Spanish commander with whom he was to deal, and the transport which had been sent out with supplies for his expedition, were awaiting him at Nootka. Suspending the survey for the season he passed through Queen Charlotte Sound and proceeded to Nootka. He was the first to circumnavigate the island that now bears his name. In this season he had made a thorough examination of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, Georgia Strait, all of the passages and inlets to the northeast of Vancouver Island, and most of Queen Charlotte Sound.
At Nootka he undertook the formal restoration of the property seized by the Spaniards a few years earlier. Because of differences of opinion concerning the terms, Vancouver was unable to complete the restitution but he did form a firm friendship with the Spanish commander that led to his naming the island he had discovered “Quadra and Vancouver Island.” The “Quadra” part of this name has long since disappeared. When the acuteness of the situation created by the Nootka affair is considered, it is surprising that Vancouver delayed so long in reaching Nootka to carry out his part. This is foreign to the energy with which he undertook his other work. Very probably the exploratory objectives of the expedition were uppermost in his mind and he considered the ceremony at Nootka to be a mere formality.
Upon his departure from Nootka, Vancouver followed the coast line of the mainland to San Francisco Bay and to Monterey, thus extending his examination to that point. He left Monterey for Hawaii early in January, 1793. At Oahu he investigated the killing of the captain of the transport of his expedition, which had called there before proceeding to Nootka, and witnessed the native punishment of the guilty. His relations with the natives of Hawaii were very friendly and he developed a particularly cordial friendship with Kamehameha I. The fact that he had seen Cook killed in these islands and that a ship attached to his expedition had lost three men only the summer before could have given Vancouver ample grounds for reprisal and a hostile attitude. He chose the opposite one, however, with fruitful results for himself.
At the end of March, 1793, the expedition sailed for Nootka to continue its examination of the coast, beginning at the point where the previous season’s survey had ended. This was carried out in the same manner as the season before, handicapped by heavy rains and thick weather, and by the condition of the ships, now three years away from home. As before in the inner channels, the major part of the survey fell to the boats. One boat expedition taken by Vancouver himself lasted about three weeks and carried him around Revilla Gigedo Island, on which the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, now stands. In one cove he examined he was attacked by Indians and nearly lost his life, the only instance on the voyage in which he had serious difficulty with the natives. He felt in this case that the natives had been ill- treated by other white men. During the second season the survey was extended to include about one-half the area now known as Southeastern Alaska.
The two ships reached Nootka early in October, 1793, and from there Vancouver again went to the California coast with the object of extending the survey and negotiating with the Spaniards. At Monterey he met a different set of Spanish officials who were none too cordial, primarily because they felt that Vancouver had already learned too much about the Spanish settlements. He bitterly resented his reception, but this did not stop him from continuing to follow the coast southward, stopping at Santa Barbara, at San Diego, where he stayed long enough for one of the officers to complete some charts, and to latitude 30 north, the southern limit of his assignment. Having completed this in mid-December, he once more sailed for Hawaii.
He was heartily welcomed in Hawaii where he had taken an active interest in native political affairs. He had already had some success in curbing the warlike tendencies of some the chiefs. His extraordinary ability to cultivate their friendship and respect gave him an opportunity to perform a signal service for his country in a field far removed from navigation. After effecting a clever reconciliation between Kamehameha and his estranged queen, Vancouver induced the king and his leading chiefs to conclude a treaty in which the island of Hawaii was ceded to the King of England, with the natives submitting to that sovereign’s rule. This was a voluntary act on the part of the natives, although Kamehameha probably expected military assistance in return. This treaty was never ratified by the British government but this cannot detract from the credit due Vancouver for his work in securing it.
During this winter, in addition to his diplomatic work, Vancouver found time to complete his survey of the Hawaiian group, and by early March he was ready to leave for the mainland to complete his main survey.
For this season he chose to start at the northern limit assigned him and he planned to end the survey by joining with the previous season’s work. He sailed directly for what was then known as Cook’s River, and now as Cook’s Inlet. The area to the westward of this had been explored by the Russians and Vancouver acquired some geographical data from Russian traders he met in the area. Cook had already explored the inlet, hoping for a time that it was, at last, the beginning of a northwest passage, but when convinced it was not he erroneously decided that it was a huge river. Vancouver’s survey established its true nature.
From Cook’s Inlet he followed the coast of the Gulf of Alaska into Prince William Sound. His health was bad by this time and his ships and men were showing the strain of their labors. There was no apparent lowering of standards or lessening of the pace, however, as the coast of the mainland was traced to the southeastward. On the lower part of what is now known as Baranof Island, in Chatham Strait, his ships assembled in a small bay which he named Port Conclusion. Cape Decision, the point at which he had stopped the year before, was just across the strait, and it was here that the last threads of his work were tied together. Established for certain was the fact that there was no northwest passage within the limits covered by his expedition.
The survey completed, Vancouver proceeded to Nootka where he spent two months preparing his ships for the long voyage home. Here he had hoped to receive last minute instructions which would permit him to complete the settlement of the Nootka affair. In the middle of October, 1794, he headed his vessels southward, stopping at Monterey, where he learned that he was to be no longer a party to the formal transfer of the property at Nootka. On December 2, 1794, he sailed towards Cape Horn to carry out a final provision of his orders which directed him to survey the west coast of South America, from latitude 44 south to the Cape. On the way it was learned that one of the masts of the Discovery was so badly rotted as to need replacement. Although forbidden to touch at any Spanish port between the latitudes of 30 north and 44 south, he was unwilling to risk the remainder of the voyage without a new mast, and he decided to put into Valparaiso. Unfortunately, at Valparaiso he found that a suitable spar was not available and the old one had to be patched up as best it could be. For this reason he abandoned the survey of the west coast of South America.
During this leg of the voyage occurred the only serious outbreak of scurvy on the entire voyage. Its cause was discovered by the confession of the cook that he had been giving the crew fatty skimmings from the salt meat pots, contrary to strict orders. Vancouver himself was an ill man, slowly dying as it later developed.
The expedition proceeded from Valparaiso to St. Helena without an intermediate stop. There, learning that war existed between Holland and England, Vancouver captured a Dutch East Indiaman, adding one more to the accomplishments of his voyage. On September 13, 1795, the Discovery anchored in the River Shannon and completed its voyage, after an absence of 4 years, 8 months, and 29 days, having traveled about 55,000 miles.
The completion of the voyage ended Vancouver’s seagoing days. After the affairs of the ship had been disposed of he was commissioned by the Admiralty to prepare his journal for publication. When he had completed five of the six books of the narrative and was at work on the final book, he died of tuberculosis in May, 1798, at the age of forty. His brother, who had assisted him in writing the account, completed what little was left to be done and the Voyage of Discovery was published in 1798. This work proved to be very popular and was an outstanding narrative of its type in a day when books on exploration were in great demand. It was a fitting climax to a remarkable career.
Time has not treated Vancouver well, probably because of his difficulties with one or two of his officers. His severest critic was the young Thomas Pitt, whose record has already been mentioned. With the botanist of the expedition Vancouver also had trouble. He was none too sympathetic with scientists whose interests were in fields other than navigation, as may be gathered from the comment of Sir Joseph Banks, an influential scientist of his day, who formed a dislike for Vancouver. Before the start of the voyage, Menzies, the botanist, had referred a dispute regarding his mess fees to Banks. The latter had indicated then that the botanist might not find Vancouver too sympathetic towards his objectives. During the course of the voyage Menzies, at times, desired more service and attention than it was always convenient to give him. Near the end of the voyage he refused to deliver up his journal to Captain Vancouver although the latter had definite orders to collect all such documents. On the whole, the difficulties with Menzies were of a petty nature and they indicate a clash of personalities rather than serious deficiencies in the character of either man.
Vancouver has been criticized for an excessive use of flogging as a punishment, mainly because of having ordered it for Midshipman Pitt. It was a punishment prescribed by the King’s Regulations and Vancouver, in common with the other commanders of his time, had his share of tough and incorrigible characters. Considering the record of the British Navy of that time, with its many examples of extreme brutality in the use of flogging, Vancouver appears to have been relatively sparing in its use. Ten or a dozen lashes were his usual award for theft or drunkenness, although there is a record of an aggravated case in which he awarded three dozen lashes. On the occasion of the outbreak of scurvy on the homeward leg of the voyage, the confession of the cook was accepted by Vancouver, and he gave the man no punishment in view of his straightforward attitude in confessing. Normally such conduct would have brought about a severe punishment and the consideration shown was not that of a harsh disciplinarian.
Actually, Vancouver had less trouble with his men and officers than Cook did. He worked them hard, and drove them at times, but he was fair and considerate. Most captains of his time were hard drivers but few of them showed the real concern for the health and well-being of his men that Vancouver did. Although he forced his personnel to the utmost he did not spare himself. He could not tolerate idleness and more than once showed impatience when held up by adverse weather or other delays. The tremendous amount of detailed work that was done indicates the driving personality that was his.
Like Cook, Vancouver’s genius was in the field of navigation and surveying. Cook’s career was spectacular and timely; his discoveries covered a wide range of the globe but most of them were superficial in nature. Because a means of finding the longitude at sea had just been found he was the first to introduce accuracy into his results. His exploration of the northwest coast of America was hardly more than an offshore cruise, and he missed practically all of the details that Vancouver found on his voyage. Cook kept well clear of the beach and seldom risked his vessels close inshore; Vancouver took his ships into unknown channels and passages with daring and confidence. It is interesting to note that the track of Vancouver’s vessels in British Columbia and Alaskan waters was, with only minor exceptions, the route followed today by vessels running the Inside Passage to Alaska.
The vigor and confidence with which the survey was conducted indicates that Vancouver probably nursed an ambition to make a detailed examination of the waters of the northwest coast from the time that he first saw them. From what he already knew of the country it is probable that he was reasonably certain that there was no practicable northwest passage to be found. Still, there was a standing offer of 20,000 pounds sterling for the man who should make the discovery, plus the personal glory of finding that which had been sought for nearly 200 years. The reward probably had some influence on his decision to undertake the voyage but the real incentive was the opportunity to perform the type of work he loved. That his almost superhuman efforts on this voyage cost him his life, and a chance for further demonstrating his abilities, is hardly open to question. Had he lived longer his fame might have exceeded that of Cook, for his natural ability in the field of exploration and surveying was greater.
The best gauge of any man’s ability and quality is the test of time on his work. Vancouver’s surveys were condensed into one “Great Chart” of the northwest coast of America between the latitudes of 30 north and 60 north, extending as far as the western shore of Cook’s Inlet. This chart is approximately the same scale as the modern U. S. Hydrographic chart of the North Pacific Ocean, eastern part. A comparison of these two shows that Vancouver established, for the first time, the true contour of the coast line, including practically all of the details of the maze of islands and inlets fringing the British Columbia and Alaska shores. A comparison of the latitudes and longitudes of principal headlands shows a very high degree of accuracy in latitude, almost every point being in agreement with the modern chart. In longitude there is an error averaging about 20 minutes, Vancouver’s chart showing the landmarks to the eastward of their true positions. The error in longitude tends to increase uniformly with the latitude and the largest error is in Cook’s Inlet where Vancouver shows the shore line about 40 minutes to the eastward of its true position.
The latitude, then as now, was determined with accuracy by meridian altitudes, one of the oldest methods of finding the position at sea. The uniform accuracy of Vancouver’s latitudes indicates that extreme care was also taken in determining the longitude, but the methods used by him have long since been discarded for more precise and simple ones. The fact that the longitudes were in error a nearly constant amount suggests erroneous astronomical tables and data rather than instrumental or personal errors.
No greater tribute can be paid to any man than that his stature grows with the passage of time. Vancouver’s accomplishment is unique in its field and no one has since done a comparable task in anything like the same amount of time. His work withstands the critical analysis of modern knowledge far better than that of any of his predecessors. Columbus, Magellan, Drake, and Cook all have a permanent place in history, but theirs was the glory of venturing into the unknown, of being the first in the field. Vancouver did not so much explore new fields as develop them, and he has earned a place, sharing the honor to some extent with Cook, as the father of hydrographic surveying.