12/09/1838 AD arrived

British Fur trader James Douglas convinced Sutter that a winter crossing of the Siskiyou Mountains be perilous and then charged him £21 to arrange transportation on the British bark Columbia for himself and his eight followers instead.

The Columbia departed Fort Vancouver on November 11 and sailed to the Kingdom of Hawaii, reaching Honolulu on December 9. Sutter had missed the only ship outbound for Alta California, and had to remain in the Kingdom for four months.

Over the months Sutter gained friendly relations with the Euro-American community, dining with the Consuls of the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, John Coffin Jones and Richard Charlton, along with merchants such as American Faxon Atherton.

The brig Clementine was eventually hired by Sutter to take freight provisions and general merchandise for New Archangel (now known as Sitka), the capital of the Russian-American Company colonies in Russian America.

Joining the crew as unpaid supercargo, Sutter, 10 Native Hawaiian laborers, and several other followers embarked on April 20, 1839. Staying at New Archangel for a month, Sutter joined several balls hosted by Governor Kupreyanov, who likely gave help in determining the course of the Sacramento River. The Clementine then sailed for Alta California, arriving on July 1, 1839, at Yerba Buena (now San Francisco), which at that time was only a small seaport town.

Honolulu, HI

Lattitude: 21.3069° N
Longitude: 157.8583° W
Region: North America

Modern Day United States

Events in 1838 MORE