On August 2, 1788, the crew of "Washington" sighted land near the present border of California and Oregon, near the mouth of the Klamath River. After a friendly but brief encounter with a group of natives in a large redwood canoe, they continued north, looking for a safe harbor. They sailed past many native villages and encampments before finding a harbor deemed safe, in the vicinity of Tillamook Bay. They attracted the attention of many natives who began visiting the sloop for trade, offering, among other things, sea otter skins and fresh food, including baskets of berries, which helped relieve the symptoms of scurvy. Haswell noted that these natives had smallpox scars and carried steel knives, indicating previous encounters with trading vessels. On August 13, Gray anchored "Washington" in a protected inlet near a native village.