296 F. W. HOWAY
Captain Kendrick's motive in quarreling with him arose "as is mosc probable from his wish to elevate his son to the position of second mate." To understand this refer- ence it must be remembered that when the Columbia sailed from Boston in September 1787 her officers were: Simeon Woodruff e, first mate; Joseph Ingraham, second mate ; Robert Haswell, third mate ; John B. Cordis, fourth mate ; and John Kendrick Jr., fifth mate. The discharge of Woodruffe at Cape Verd Islands and of Haswell at the Falkland Islands would naturally raise the position occupied by John Kendrick Jr.
While the Columbia lay inert in Nootka Sound the son John entered the Spanish service. It would appear that Kendrick chose the psychological moment. In a letter dated 13th July 1789 (just ten days subsequent to the seizure of the British ship Argonaut) Martinez reports this young man's entry into the Spanish service. In his eyes the young New Englander has three qualifications which in the order in which he mentions them are : that he has of his own free will abjured the heresies of Luther and embraced the Roman Catholic religion; that he is well educated; and that he is expert as a pilot. 41 The first reference to him in Martinez's Diary is under date 25th August 1789 when he was acting as interpreter on the occasion of a visit from Maquinna, the head chief of the vicinity. The next entry in which he is mentioned in that diary is in October 1789. I quote : "One day this month (October) the reconnaissance of the country from Tashis to the bay of La Esperanza was casually made with the boat in charge of the second pilot, Don Juan Kendrick and the interpreter Gabriel del Castillo. They had left home in search of whale oil and red ochre, but finding themselves at Tashis they determined (with the agreement of those who accompanied them) to explore the arm toward the west. They undertook this work
41 Archives of Indies, Seville, Spain, Est. 90, Caj. 3, Leg. 18; copy in my possession.
