From the date 1793 or 1795 the
little sloop drops out of sea-faring annals.
What is Gray's place among pathfinders and naval {239} heroes? Where
does his life's record leave him? It was not spectacular work. It was
not work backed by a government, like Bering's or Cook's. It was the
work of an individual adventurer, like Radisson east of the Rockies.
Gray was a man who did much and said little. He was not accompanied by
a host of scientists to herald his fame to the world. Judged solely by
results, what did he accomplish? The same for the United States that
Cook did for England. He led the way for the American flag around the
world. Measuring purely by distance, his ship's log would compare well
with Cook's or Vancouver's. The same part of the Pacific coast which
they {240} explored, he explored, except that he did not go to northern
Alaska; and he compensated for that by discovering the great river,
which they both said had no existence. And yet, who that knows of Cook
and Vancouver, knows as much of Gray? Authentic histories are still
written that speak of Gray's discovery doubtfully.
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