The Chehalis are a group of culturally, linguistically, and historically related tribes that have lived in the American Pacific Northwest for thousands of years. The Chehalis had their first known contact with the Americans in 1792 when ships from Boston under the command of Captain Robert Gray (1755-1806) sailed the Columbia Rediviva along the Pacific Coast of what is now Oregon and Washington seeking to trade with the coastal Indians and obtain furs which were valuable in the European and Chinese markets.
Captain Gray had sailed from Boston in the fall of 1790 and reached the Pacific Northwest by sailing around South America via Cape Horn and arriving at Vancouver Island in the spring of 1791. This was his second trading expedition into the Pacific Northwest.
During the winter of 1791-1792, the Americans built Fort Defiance at Nootka Sound. As the Americans began their trip south in the spring of 1792, Captain Gray ordered the destruction of the Nuu-chah-nulth village of Opitsitah in retaliation for insults he felt he had endured during winter and because he feared that the Nuu-chah-nulth might attack. Over 200 homes are totally destroyed. The village, however, was deserted at the time.
On May 7, 1792, Captain Robert Gray sailed into a large estuarine bay about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of the mouth of the Columbia River. Ignoring any possibility that the indigenous people who lived in the area might have had a name for it, he named it Bullfinch Harbor in honor of Charles Bullfinch of Boston, one of the owners of the Columbia Rediviva. Later, Captain George Vancouver named it Grays Harbor in honor of Captain Robert Gray, and this is the name that it carries today.
Shown above is a portrait of Robert Gray which is on display in the Polson Museum in Hoquiam, Washington.
While most history books credit Robert Gray with “discovering” the harbor that currently carries his name, the people who lived there when he sailed in didn’t feel like the area needed to be “discovered.” When the ship sailed into the harbor, the Chehalis came out in canoes to greet it. John Boit, the ship’s fifth officer reported:
“Vast many canoes came off, full of Indians. They appeared to be a savage set, and was well arm’d, every man having his Quiver and Bow slung over his shoulder.”
The Americans traded with the Chehalis for some fish and furs. Boit also noted:
“The men were entirely naked, and the women, except a small apron made of rushes, was also in a state of nature. They were stout made, and very ugly.”
When the natives approached again the following day, the ship opened fire on the canoes with their cannons, destroying one canoe with 20 men in it and driving the others off. Boit wrote:
“I am sorry we was obliged to kill the poor Devils, but it could not with safety be avoided.”
The message to the people was clear: the intruders were not particularly peaceful.
More 18th century American Indian histories
Indians 201: Grey Lock's War in New England
Indians 201: Ute Indians and the Spanish quest for silver in 1765
Indians 201: The Iroquois Peace, 1700-1713
Indians 101: The eighteenth-century fur and hide trade
Indians 101: Little Turtle's War
Indians 101: Russians and Native Americans in the 18th century
Indians 101: Lacrosse at Fort Michilimackinac, 1763
Indians 201: Pontiac's War
For more about the Chehalis Indians see: Indians 201: A very short overview of Washington's Chehalis Indians
