Long before the iconic wooden fishing boats began plying the waters of Yaquina Bay, a small band of Native Americans, the Yacana (or Yakonans) called the rainy, windy estuary their home. The earliest account of the Yacana came in 1849 from explorer Theodore Talbot, who described them as healthy, intelligent and friendly, living on the bounty of the bay and surrounding forests. The first ship to enter the bay was the Calamet, which crossed the bar in 1856 to deliver provisions to the newly formed Coast Indian Reservation. Shortly after, the Yacana found themselves reluctant hosts to natives from other tribes who were moved north to avoid conflicts with aggressive settlers during the gold rush in Southern Oregon.