woman to set eyes upon this territory was the wife
of the commander who named the Strait of Juan de
Fuca, Capt. Barkley.

History records also the names of Portlock, Dixon,
Douglas, Kendrick, Gray and Mears, as being asso-
ciated with the exploration of the coastal waters.

The latter, John Meares, who had sailed with Capt.
Cook on his last two voyages, and having had some
experience of the lucrative fur trading, set out with
four schooners to establish himself in the British
Columbia waters. At the same time, however, Spain,
having considered that it was her right to all the
fishing and furs north of Mexico, decided to found
a colony under Don Estevan Jose Martinez. He built
a fortress in Nootka in 1789, but instead of pursuing
his instructions, devoted his time to the seizing of
Meares’ ships, which nearly upset the peaceful tran-
quility of Europe. It was not until a year later that
residence was established in Friendly Cove .. . the
same site as the fort built by Martinez. Judge F. W.
Howay in his “British Columbia," (Chap. 4, p. 25;
1928, Ryerson Press), quotes in regard to this settle-
ment: “It was a village that contained no women,
had no trade, raised little for its support, depending
almost entirely upon supplies from Mexico, and that
existed by Government order for the sole purpose of

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