John Matauray-1789

By Raymond Massey: Princess Royal off Kuai Coast

John Matauray was part of the royal family of Ni'ihau. He came with Captain James Colnett first on the Princess Royal, and then on the Argonaut which he sailed to the Northwest on. He was not only a guest on the ship, but also a great deckhand, at one point, he actually dove off the boat into the ocean after it began taking on water and discovered the leak in it's side.
Matauray had only been in the Northwest for a small amount of time before Spaniards accosted him and all of Colnett's crew. They were brought to a Spanish fort in San Blas off the coast of Mexico. The Spanish assumed that Matauray was taken unwillingly from his home, so they attempted to hold him in their custody after the release of Colnett's men. Eventually, with the help of the captain, Matauray was able to personally negotiate with the Spaniards to let him sail back to his family and home with Colnett on the Argonaut.
He sailed back and reached Washington's coast for his third and final time in 1790. He died of unknown causes. Colnett held Matauray in the highest regards, and their mutual friendship did not go unappreciated by the Hawaiian Islander. Before he died, he wrote a note of gratitude to Colnett for "all the good I had done him, and meant to do him." (Barman & Watson, 25) Matauray was known for being a quick learner and having a gift with speaking multiple languages.