When the Hudson’s Bay Co. British bark William and Ann wrecked in 1829 near the mouth of the Columbia River, most of the cargo and all of the crew were lost, leaving Fort Vancouver (pictured in 1845) desperate for supplies.  

According to “Adventures of a Sea Hunter,” by James Delgado, in 1830, the brig Isabella was dispatched with the long-awaited cargo. Imagine the dismay when Capt. Ryan and crew turned up at the fort without the ship, explaining they had run aground. About to be attacked by homicidal natives, they abandoned ship and fled upriver to safety. 

Fort superintendent Dr. John McLoughlin soon found out what really happened in a message from Fort George (now Astoria). Some men there, who had witnessed the ship’s distress, were the so-called “homicidal natives” who had lit a signal fire and rushed out in boats to lend assistance. 

McLoughlin ordered Ryan back to the Isabella, but Ryan forgot where he left it. The men at Fort George remembered, however, and the two-week cargo salvage began. It soon became clear that if Ryan had just stayed with the ship, they probably could have refloated it. The cargo was mostly saved, but the ship was lost. (Painting: William Pierce Stubbs)