I saw nothing that could give the least insight into their notions of

religion, besides the figures before mentioned, called by them _Klumma_.

Most probably these were idols; but as they frequently mentioned the

word _acweek_, when they spoke of them, we may, perhaps, be authorised

to suppose that they are the images of some of their ancestors, whom

they venerate as divinities. But all this is mere conjecture; for we saw

no act of religious homage paid to them; nor could we gain any

information, as we had learned little more of the language, than to ask

the names of things, without being able to hold any conversation with

the natives, that might instruct us as to their institutions or

traditions.

In drawing up the preceding account of the people of this Sound, I have

occasionally blended Mr. Anderson’s observations with my own; but I owe

every thing to him that relates to their language; and the following

remarks are in his own words:

“Their language is, by no means, harsh or disagreeable, farther than

proceeds from their using the _k_ and _h_ with more force, or

pronouncing them with less softness than we do; and, upon the whole, it

abounds rather with what we may call labial and dental, than with

guttural sounds. The simple sounds which we have not heard them use, and

which, consequently, may be reckoned rare, or wanting in their language,

are those represented by the letters _b_, _d_, _f_, _g_, _r_, and _v_.

But, on the other hand, they have one, which is very frequent, and not

used by us. It is formed, in a particular manner, by clashing the tongue

partly against the roof of the mouth, with considerable force; and may

be compared to a very coarse or harsh method of lisping. It is difficult

to represent this sound by any composition of our letters, unless,

somehow, from _lszthl_. This is one of their most usual terminations,

though we sometimes found it in the beginning of words. The next most

general termination is composed of _tl_; and many words end with _z_ and

_ss_. A specimen or two, of each of these, is here put down:

_Opulszthl_, The sun.

_Onulszthl_, The moon.

_Kahsheetl_, Dead.

_Teeshcheetl_, To throw a stone.

_Kooomitz_, A human skull.

_Quahmiss_, Fish roe.

“They seem to take so great a latitude in their mode of speaking, that I

have sometimes observed four or five different terminations of the same

word. This is a circumstance very puzzling at first to a stranger, and

marks a great imperfection in their language.

“As to the composition of it, we can say very little; having been

scarcely able to distinguish the several parts of speech. It can only be

inferred, from their method of speaking, which is very slow and

distinct, that it has few prepositions or conjunctions; and, as far as

we could discover, is destitute of even a single interjection, to

express admiration or surprise. From its having few conjunctions, it may

be conceived, that these being thought unnecessary, as being understood,

each single word, with them, will also express a great deal, to

comprehend several simple ideas; which seems to be the case. But, for

the same reason, the language will be defective in other respects; not

having words to distinguish or express differences which really exist,

and hence not sufficiently copious. This was observed to be the case in

many instances, particularly with respect to the names of animals. The

relation or affinity it may bear to other languages, either on this or

on the Asiatic continent, I have not been able sufficiently to trace,

for want of proper specimens to compare it with, except those of the

Esquimaux and Indians about Hudson’s Bay; to neither of which it bears

the least resemblance. On the other hand, from the few Mexican words I

have been able to procure, there is the most obvious agreement, in the

very frequent terminations of the words in _l_, _tl_, or _z_, throughout

the language.”[50]

The large vocabulary of the Nootka language, collected by Mr. Anderson,

shall be reserved for another place[51], as its insertion here would too

much interrupt our narration. At present, I only select their numerals,

for the satisfaction of such of our readers as love to compare those of

different nations, in different parts of the world:

_Tsawack_, One.

_Akkla_, Two.

_Katsitsa_, Three.

_Mo_, or _moo_, Four.

_Sochah_, Five.

_Nofpo_, Six.

_Atslepoo_, Seven.

_Atlaquolthl_, Eight.

_Tsawaquulthl_, Nine.

_Haeeoo_, Ten.

Were I to affix a name to the people of Nootka, as a distinct nation, I

would call them _Wakashians_, from the word _wakash_, which was very

frequently in their mouths. It seemed to express applause, approbation,

and friendship; for when they appeared to be satisfied, or well pleased

with any thing they saw, or any incident that happened, they would, with

one voice, call out, _Wakash! wakash!_ I shall take my leave of them

with remarking, that, differing so essentially as they certainly do in

their persons, their customs, and language, from the inhabitants of the

islands in the Pacific Ocean, we cannot suppose their respective

progenitors to have been united in the same tribe, or to have had any

intimate connection, when they emigrated from their original

settlements, into the places where we now find their descendants.

My account of the transactions in Nootka Sound would be imperfect,

without adding the astronomical and nautical observations made by us,

while the ships were in that station.

_Latitude._

{ Sun 49° 36ʹ 1ʺ,15ʺʹ

The latitude of the observatory{ { South 49 36 8, 36

by { Stars { North 49 36 10, 30

---------------

The mean of these means - 49 36 6, 47 north.

_Longitude._

The longitude, { Twenty sets taken on the } 233° 26ʹ 18ʺ, 7ʺʹ

by { 21st and 23d of March }

lunar observations{ Ninety-three taken at the } 233 18 6, 6

{ observatory }

{ Twenty-four taken on the } 233 7 16, 7

{ 1st, 2d, and 3d of May }

----------------

The mean of these means 233 17 14, 0 east.

But by reducing each set taken before }

we arrived in the sound, and after we }

left it, by the time-keeper, and adding } 233° 17ʹ 30ʺ, 5ʺʹ

them up with those made on the spot, }

the mean of the 137 sets will be }

Longitude by the { Greenwich rate 235° 46ʹ 51ʺ, 0ʺʹ

time-keeper { Ulietea rate 233 59 24, 0

From the results of the last fifteen days’ observations of equal

altitudes of the sun, the daily rate of the time-keeper was losing, on

mean time, 7ʺ; and the 16th of April, she was too slow for mean time, by

16^h 0^m 58ʺ, 45. There was found an irregularity in her rate, greater

than at any time before. It was thought proper to reject the first five

days, as the rate in them differed so much from that of the fifteen

following; and even in these, each day differed from another more than

usual.

_Variation of the Compass._

April { A. M. } Observatory, { 15° 57ʹ 48-1/2ʺ } 15° 49ʹ 25ʺ east.

4th { P. M. } Mean of 4 needles { 15 41 2 }

5th. { A. M. } On board the ship,{ 19 50 49 } 19 44 57-1/2

17th. { P. M. } Mean of 4 needles { 19 38 46 }

The variation found on board the ship ought to be taken for the true

one, not only as it agreed with what we observed at sea; but because it

was found that there was something ashore that had a considerable effect

upon the compasses; in some places more than others. At one spot, on the

west point of the sound, the needle was attracted 11-3/4 points from its

proper direction.

_Inclination of the dipping Needle._

April

5th. On board with { Marked } End North { 71° 26ʹ 22-1/2ʺ } 71° 40ʹ 22-1/2ʺ

balanced needle { Unmarked } and dipping { 71 54 22-1/2 }

The same needle { Marked } End North { 72 3 45 } 70 0 0

at the observatory { Unmarked } and dipping { 71 56 15 }

18th. Ditto { Marked } End North { 71 58 20 } 72 7 15

{ Unmarked } and dipping { 72 16 10 }

5th. Spare needle at { Marked } End North { 72 32 30 } 72 49 15

the observatory { Unmarked } and dipping { 73 6 0 }

18th. Ditto { Marked } End North { 72 55 0 } 73 11 45

{ Unmarked } and dipping { 73 28 30 }

22d. Spare needle on { Marked } End North { 73 28 38 } 73 11 0

board { Unmarked } and dipping { 72 53 30 }

Hence the mean dip, with both needles, on shore, was 72 32 3-3/4

On board 72 25 41-1/4

This is as near as can be expected; and shows that whatever it was that

affected the compasses, whether on board or ashore, it had no effect

upon the dipping needles.

_Tides._

It is high-water on the days of the new and full moon at 12^h 20^m. The

perpendicular rise and fall eight feet nine inches; which is to be

understood of the day tides, and those which happen two or three days

after the new and full moon. The night tides, at this time, rise near

two feet higher. This was very conspicuous during the spring-tide of the

full moon, which happened soon after our arrival; and it was obvious

that it would be the same in those of the new moon, though we did not

remain here long enough to see the whole of its effect.

Some circumstances that occurred daily, relating to this, deserve

particular notice. In the cove where we got wood and water, was a great

deal of drift-wood thrown ashore, a part of which we had to remove to

come at the water. It often happened that large pieces of trees, which

we had removed in the day out of the reach of the then high-water, were

found the next morning floated again in our way, and all our spouts for

conveying down the water thrown out of their places, which were

immoveable during the day tides. We also found that wood which we had

split up for fuel, and had deposited beyond the reach of the day-tide,

floated during the night. Some of these circumstances happened every

night or morning for three or four days, in the height of the spring

tides; during which time we were obliged to attend every morning tide,

to remove the large logs out of the way of watering.

I cannot say whether the flood-tide falls into the sound from the N. W.,

S. W., or S. E. I think it does not come from the last quarter; but this

is only conjecture, founded upon the following observations: The S. E.

gales which we had in the sound, were so far from increasing the rise of

the tide, that they rather diminished it; which would hardly have

happened, if the flood and wind had been in the same direction.

CHAP. IV.

A STORM AFTER SAILING FROM NOOTKA SOUND.—RESOLUTION SPRINGS A LEAK.—

PRETENDED STRAIT OF ADMIRAL DE FONTE PASSED UNEXAMINED.—PROGRESS ALONG

THE COAST OF AMERICA.—BEERING’S BAY.—KAYE’S ISLAND.—ACCOUNT OF IT.—THE

SHIPS COME TO ANCHOR.—VISITED BY THE NATIVES.—THEIR BEHAVIOUR.—

FONDNESS FOR BEADS AND IRON.—ATTEMPT TO PLUNDER THE DISCOVERY.—

RESOLUTION’S LEAK STOPPED.—PROGRESS UP THE SOUND.—MESSRS. GORE AND

ROBERTS SENT TO EXAMINE ITS EXTENT.—REASONS AGAINST A PASSAGE TO THE

NORTH THROUGH IT.—THE SHIPS PROCEED DOWN IT TO THE OPEN SEA.

Having put to sea on the evening of the 26th, as before related, with

strong signs of an approaching storm, these signs did not deceive us. We

were hardly out of the sound before the wind, in an instant, shifted

from N. E. to S. E. by E., and increased to a strong gale with squalls

and rain, and so dark a sky that we could not see the length of the

ship. Being apprehensive, from the experience I had since our arrival on

this coast, of the wind veering more to the S., which would put us in

danger of a lee-shore, we got the tacks on board, and stretched off to

the S. W., under all the sail the ships could bear. Fortunately the wind

veered no farther southerly than S. E., so that at day-light the next

morning we were quite clear of the coast.

The Discovery being at some distance a-stern, I brought to, till she

came up, and then bore away, steering N. W., in which direction I

supposed the coast to lie. The wind was at S. E., blew very hard, and in

squalls, with thick hazy weather. At half past one in the afternoon, it

blew a perfect hurricane, so that I judged it highly dangerous to run

any longer before it, and, therefore, brought the ships to with their

heads to the southward, under the foresails and mizen stay-sails. At

this time the Resolution sprung a leak, which, at first, alarmed us not

a little. It was found to be under the starboard buttock; where, from

the bread-room, we could both hear and see the water rush in, and, as we

then thought, two feet under water. But in this we were happily

mistaken; for it was afterward found to be even with the water-line, if

not above it, when the ship was upright. It was no sooner discovered,

than the fish-room was found to be full of water, and the casks in it

afloat; but this was, in a great measure, owing to the water not finding

its way to the pumps through the coals that lay in the bottom of the

room; for after the water was baled out, which employed us till

midnight, and had found its way directly from the leak to the pumps, it

appeared that one pump kept it under which gave us no small

satisfaction. In the evening, the wind veered to the S., and its fury in

some degree ceased. On this we set the main sail and two topsails

close-reefed, and stretched to the westward; but at eleven o’clock the

gale again increased, and obliged us to take in the topsails, till five

o’clock the next morning, when the storm began to abate; so that we

could bear to set them again.

The weather now began to clear up; and being able to see several leagues

round us, I steered more to the northward. At noon, the latitude, by

observation, was 50° 1ʹ; longitude 229° 26ʹ.[52] I now steered N. W. by

N., with a fresh gale at S. S. E., and fair weather. But at nine in the

evening it began again to blow hard and in squalls with rain. With such

weather, and the wind between S. S. E. and S. W., I continued the same

course till the 30th, at four in the morning, when I steered N. by W.,

in order to make the land. I regretted very much indeed that I could not

do it sooner, for this obvious reason, that we were now passing the

place where geographers[53] have placed the pretended strait of Admiral

de Fonte. For my own part, I give no credit to such vague and improbable

stories, that carry their own confutation along with them. Nevertheless,

I was very desirous of keeping the American coast aboard, in order to

clear up this point beyond dispute. But it would have been highly

imprudent in me to have engaged with the land in weather so exceedingly

tempestuous, or to have lost the advantage of a fair wind by waiting for

better weather. The same day at noon we were in the latitude of 53° 22ʹ,

and in the longitude of 225° 14ʹ.

The next morning, being the first of May, seeing nothing of the land, I

steered north-easterly, with a fresh breeze at S. S. E. and S., with

squalls and showers of rain and hail. Our latitude at noon was 54° 43ʹ,

and our longitude 224° 44ʹ. At seven in the evening, being in the

latitude of 55° 20ʹ, we got sight of the land, extending from N. N. E.

to E., or E. by S., about twelve or fourteen leagues distant. An hour

after I steered N. by W., and at four the next morning, the coast was

seen from N. by W. to S. E., the nearest part about six leagues

distant.[54]

At this time the northern point of an inlet, or what appeared to be one,

bore E. by S. It lies in the latitude of 56°, and from it to the

northward, the coast seemed to be much broken, forming bays and harbours

every two or three leagues, or else appearances much deceived us. At six

o’clock, drawing nearer the land, I steered N. W. by N., this being the

direction of the coast, having a fresh gale at S. E., with some showers

of hail, snow, and sleet. Between eleven and twelve o’clock, we passed a

group of small islands lying under the main land, in the latitude of 56°

48ʹ, and off, or rather to the northward of, the S. point of a large

bay. An arm of this bay, in the northern part of it, seemed to extend in

toward the N., behind a round elevated mountain that lies between it and

the sea. This mountain I called _Mount Edgecumbe_, and the point of land

that shoots out from it, _Cape Edgecumbe_. The latter lies in the

latitude of 57° 3ʹ, and in the longitude of 224° 7ʹ, and at noon it bore

N. 20° W., six leagues distant.

The land, except in some places close to the sea, is all of a

considerable height, and hilly; but Mount Edgecumbe far out-tops all the

other hills. It was wholly covered with snow; as were also all the other

elevated hills; but the lower ones, and the flatter spots, bordering

upon the sea, were free from it, and covered with wood.

As we advanced to the north, we found the coast from Cape Edgecumbe to

trend to north and north easterly for six or seven leagues, and there

form a large bay. In the entrance of that bay are some islands; for

which reason I named it the _Bay of Islands_. It lies in the latitude of

57° 20ʹ[55]; and seemed to branch into several arms, one of which turned

to the south, and may probably communicate with the bay on the east side

of Cape Edgecumbe, and make the land of that cape an island. At eight

o’clock in the evening, the cape bore south-east half south; the Bay of

Islands N. 53° E.; and another inlet, before which are also some

islands, bore N. 52° E., five leagues distant. I continued to steer

N. N. W., half W., and N. W. by W., as the coast trended, with a fine

gale at N. E., and clear weather.

At half an hour past four in the morning, on the 3d, Mount Edgecumbe

bore S. 54° E.; a large inlet, N. 50° E., distant six leagues; and the

most advanced point of the land, to the N. W., lying under a very high

peaked mountain, which obtained the name of _Mount Fair Weather_, bore

N. 32° W. The inlet was named _Cross Sound_, as being first seen on that

day, so marked in our calendar. It appeared to branch in several arms,

the largest of which turned to the northward. The south east point of

this sound is a high promontory, which obtained the name of _Cross

Cape_. It lies in the latitude of 57° 57ʹ, and its longitude is 223°

21ʹ. At noon it bore south-east; and the point, under the peaked

mountain, which was called _Cape Fair Weather_, north by west a quarter

west, distant thirteen leagues. Our latitude at this time was 58° 17ʹ,

and our longitude 222° 14ʹ; and we were distant from the shore three or

four leagues. In this situation we found the variation of the compass to

be from 24° 11ʹ to 26° 11ʹ E.

Here the north-east wind left us, and was succeeded by light breezes

from the north-west, which lasted for several days. I stood to the

south-west, and west-south-west, till eight o’clock the next morning,

when we tacked and stood toward the shore. At noon the latitude was 58°

22ʹ, and the longitude 220° 45ʹ. Mount Fair Weather, the peaked mountain

over the cape of the same name, bore N., 63° E.; the shore under it

twelve leagues distant. This mountain, which lies in the latitude of 58°

52ʹ, and in the longitude of 222°, and five leagues inland, is the

highest of a chain, or rather a ridge of mountains, that rise at the

north-west entrance of Cross Sound, and extend to the north-west in a

parallel direction with the coast. These mountains were wholly covered

with snow, from the highest summit down to the sea-coast, some few

places excepted, where we could perceive trees rising, as it were, out

of the sea; and which, therefore, we supposed grew on low land, or on

islands bordering upon the shore of the continent[56]. At five in the

afternoon, our latitude being then 58° 53ʹ, and our longitude 220° 52ʹ;

the summit of an elevated mountain appeared above the horizon, being N.

26° W.; and, as was afterward found, forty leagues distant. We supposed

it to be Beering’s Mount St. Elias; and it stands by that name in our

chart.

This day we saw several whales, seals, and porpoises; many gulls, and

several flocks of birds, which had a black ring about the head; the tip

of the tail, and upper part of the wings with a black band; and the rest

blueish above, and white below. We also saw a brownish duck, with a

black or deep blue head and neck, sitting upon the water.

Having but light winds, with some calms, we advanced slowly; so that, on

the 6th at noon, we were only in the latitude of 59° 8ʹ, and in the

longitude of 220° 19ʹ. Mount Fair Weather bore S., 63° E., and Mount

Elias N., 30° W.; the nearest land about eight leagues distant. In the

direction of north, 47° E. from this station, there was the appearance

of a bay, and an island off the south point of it, that was covered with

wood. It is here where I suppose Commodore Beering to have anchored. The

latitude, which is 59° 18ʹ, corresponds pretty well with the map of his

voyage[57], and the longitude is 221° E. Behind the bay (which I shall

distinguish by the name of _Beering’s Bay_, in honour of its

discoverer), or rather to the south of it, the chain of mountains before

mentioned is interrupted by a plain of a few leagues extent; beyond

which the sight was unlimited; so that there is either a level country

or water behind it. In the afternoon, having a few hours’ calm, I took

this opportunity to sound, and found twenty fathoms’ water over a muddy

bottom. The calm was succeeded by a light breeze from the north, with

which we stood to the westward; and at noon the next day we were in the

latitude of 59° 27ʹ, and the longitude of 219° 7ʹ. In this situation,

Mount Fair Weather bore S., 70ʹ E.; Mount St. Elias N. half W.; the

westernmost land in sight, N., 52° W.; and our distance from the shore

four or five leagues; the depth of water being eighty-two fathoms over a

muddy bottom. From this station we could see a bay (circular to

appearance) under the high land, with low wood-land on each side of it.

We now found the coast to trend very much to the west, inclining hardly

any thing to the north; and as we had the wind mostly from the westward,

and but little of it, our progress was slow. On the 9th, at noon, the

latitude was 59° 30ʹ, and the longitude 217°. In this situation the

nearest land was nine leagues distant; and Mount St. Elias bore N. 30°

E., nineteen leagues distant. This mountain lies twelve leagues inland,

in the latitude of 60° 27ʹ, and in the longitude of 219°. It belongs to

a ridge of exceedingly high mountains, that may be reckoned a

continuation of the former; as they are only divided from them by the

plain above mentioned. They extend as far to the west as the longitude

of 217°; where, although they do not end, they lose much of their

height, and become more broken and divided.

At noon, on the 10th, our latitude was 59° 51ʹ, and our longitude 215°

56ʹ, being no more than three leagues from the coast of the continent,

which extended from east half north, to north-west half west, as far as

the eye could reach. To the westward of this last direction was an

island that extended from N., 52° W., to S., 85° W., distant six

leagues. A point shoots out from the main toward the north-east end of

the island, bearing at this time N., 30° W., five or six leagues

distant. This point I named _Cape Suckling_. The point of the cape is

low; but within it is a tolerably high hill, which is disjoined from the

mountains by low land; so that, at a distance, the cape looks like an

island. On the north side of Cape Suckling is a bay that appeared to be

of some extent, and to be covered from most winds. To this bay I had

some thoughts of going to stop our leak, as all our endeavours to do it

at sea had proved ineffectual. With this view I steered for the cape;

but as we had only variable light breezes, we approached it slowly.

However, before night, we were near enough to see some low land spitting

out from the cape to the north-west, so as to cover the east part of the

bay from the south wind. We also saw some small islands in the bay, and

elevated rocks between the cape and the north-east end of the island.

But still there appeared to be a passage on both sides of these rocks;

and I continued steering for them all night, having from forty-three to

twenty-seven fathoms’ water over a muddy bottom.

At four o’clock next morning, the wind, which had been mostly at

north-east, shifted to north. This being against us, I gave up the

design of going within the island, or into the bay, as neither could be

done without loss of time. I therefore bore up for the west end of the

island. The wind blew faint; and at ten o’clock it fell calm. Being not

far from the island, I went in a boat, and landed upon it, with a view

of seeing what lay on the other side; but finding it farther to the

hills than I expected, and the way being steep and woody, I was obliged

to drop the design. At the foot of a tree, on a little eminence not far

from the shore, I left a bottle, with a paper in it, on which were

inscribed the names of the ships, and the date of our discovery. And

along with it I inclosed two silver twopenny pieces of his Majesty’s

coin, of the date 1772. These, with many others, were furnished me by

the Reverend Dr. Kaye[58]; and, as a mark of my esteem and regard for

that gentleman, I named the island, after him, _Kaye’s Island_. It is

eleven or twelve leagues in length, in the direction of north-east and

south-west; but its breadth is not above a league, or a league and a

half, in any part of it. The south-west point, which lies in the

latitude of 59° 49ʹ, and the longitude of 216° 58ʹ, is very remarkable,

being a naked rock, elevated considerably above the land within it.

There is also an elevated rock lying off it, which, from some points of

view, appears like a ruined castle. Toward the sea the island terminates

in a kind of bare sloping cliffs, with a beach, only a few paces across

to their foot, of large pebble stones, intermixed in some places with a

brownish clayey sand, which the sea seems to deposit after rolling in,

having been washed down from the higher parts, by the rivulets or

torrents. The cliffs are composed of a bluish stone or rock, in a soft

or mouldering state, except in a few places. There are parts of the

shore interrupted by small valleys and gullies. In each of these a

rivulet or torrent rushes down with considerable impetuosity; though it

may be supposed that they are only furnished from the snow, and last no

longer than till it is all melted. These valleys are filled with

pine-trees, which grow down close to the entrance, but only to about

half way up the higher or middle part of the island. The woody part also

begins every where immediately above the cliffs, and is continued to the

same height with the former; so that the island is covered, as it were,

with a broad girdle of wood, spread upon its side, included between the

top of the cliffy shore, and the higher parts in the centre. The trees

however are far from being of an uncommon growth; few appearing to be

larger than one might grasp round with his arms, and about forty or

fifty feet high; so that the only purpose they could answer for shipping

would be to make top-gallant-masts, and other small things. How far we

may judge of the size of the trees which grow on the neighbouring

continent, it may be difficult to determine. But it was observed that

none larger than those we saw growing, lay upon the beach amongst the

drift wood. The pine-trees seemed all of one sort; and there was neither

the Canadian pine nor cypress to be seen. But there were a few which

appeared to be the alder, that were but small, and had not yet shot

forth their leaves. Upon the edges of the cliffs, and on some sloping

ground, the surface was covered with a kind of turf, about half a foot

thick; which seemed composed of the common moss; and the top, or upper

part, of the island had almost the same appearance as to colour; but

whatever covered it seemed to be thicker. I found amongst the trees some

currant and hawberry bushes; a small yellow-flowered violet; and the

leaves of some other plants not yet in flower, particularly one which

Mr. Anderson supposed to be the _heracleum_ of Linnæus, the sweet herb,

which Steller, who attended Beering, imagined the Americans here dress

for food, in the same manner as the natives of Kamtschatka.[59]

We saw, flying about the wood, a crow; two or three of the white-headed

eagles mentioned at Nootka; and another sort full as large, which

appeared also of the same colour, or blacker, and had only a white

breast. In the passage from the ship to the shore, we saw a great many

fowls sitting upon the water, or flying about in flocks or pairs; the

chief of which were a few quebrantahuesses, divers, ducks, or large

peterels, gulls, shags, and burres. The divers were of two sorts; one

very large, of a black colour, with a white breast and belly; the other

smaller, and with a longer and more pointed bill, which seemed to be the

common guillemot. The ducks were also of two sorts; one brownish, with a

black or deep blue head and neck, and is perhaps the stone-duck

described by Steller. The others fly in larger flocks, but are smaller

than these, and are of a dirty black colour. The gulls were of the

common sort, and those which fly in flocks. The shags were large and

black, with a white spot behind the wings as they flew; but probably

only the larger water-cormorant. There was also a single bird seen

flying about, to appearance of the gull kind, of a snowy white colour,

with black along part of the upper side of its wings. I owe all these

remarks to Mr. Anderson. At the place where we landed, a fox came from

the verge of the wood, and eyed us with very little emotion, walking

leisurely, without any signs of fear. He was of a reddish yellow colour,

like some of the skins we bought at Nootka, but not of a large size. We

also saw two or three little seals off shore; but no other animals or

birds, nor the least signs of inhabitants having ever been upon the

island.

I returned on board at half past two in the afternoon; and, with a light

breeze easterly, steered for the south-west of the island, which we got

round by eight o’clock, and then stood for the westernmost land now in

sight, which, at this time, bore north-west half north. On the

north-west side of the north-east end of Kaye’s Island, lies another

island, stretching south-east and north-west about three leagues, to

within the same distance of the north-west boundary of the bay above

mentioned, which is distinguished by the name of _Comptroller’s Bay_.

Next morning, at four o’clock, Kaye’s Island was still in sight, bearing

east a quarter south. At this time, we were about four or five leagues

from the main; and the most western part in sight bore north-west half

north. We had now a fresh gale at east-south-east; and as we advanced to

the north-west, we raised land more and more westerly; and, at last, to

the southward of west; so that at noon, when the latitude was 61° 11ʹ,

and the longitude 213° 28ʹ, the most advanced land bore from us

south-west by west half west. At the same time, the east point of a

large inlet bore west-north-west, three leagues distant.

From Comptroller’s Bay to this point, which I name _Cape Hinchingbroke_,

the direction of the coast is nearly east and west. Beyond this, it

seemed to incline to the southward; a direction so contrary to the

modern charts founded upon the late Russian discoveries, that we had

reason to expect that, by the inlet before us, we should find a passage

to the north; and that the land to the west and south-west was nothing

but a group of islands. Add to this, that the wind was now at

south-east, and we were threatened with a fog and a storm; and I wanted

to get into some place to stop the leak, before we encountered another

gale. These reasons induced me to steer for the inlet, which we had no

sooner reached, than the weather became so foggy, that we could not see

a mile before us, and it became necessary to secure the ships in some

place, to wait for a clearer sky. With this view, I hauled close under

Cape Hinchingbroke, and anchored before a small cove, a little within

the cape, in eight fathoms’ water, a clayey bottom, and about a quarter

of a mile from the shore.

The boats were then hoisted out, some to sound, and others to fish. The

seine was drawn in the cove; but without success, for it was torn. At

some short intervals, the fog cleared away, and gave us a sight of the

lands around us. The cape bore south by west half west, one league

distant; the west point of the inlet south-west by west, distant five

leagues; and the land on that side extended as far as west by north.

Between this point and north-west by west, we could see no land; and

what was in the last direction seemed to be at a great distance. The

westernmost point we had in sight on the north shore, bore north

north-west half west, two leagues distant. Between this point and the

shore under which we were at anchor is a bay about three leagues deep;

on the south-east side of which there are two or three coves, such as

that before which we had anchored; and in the middle some rocky islands.

To these islands Mr. Gore was sent in a boat, in hopes of shooting some

eatable birds. But he had hardly got to them, before about twenty

natives made their appearance in two large canoes; on which he thought

proper to return to the ships, and they followed him. They would not

venture along-side, but kept at some distance, holloing aloud, and

alternately clasping and extending their arms; and, in a short time,

began a kind of song exactly after the manner of those at Nootka. Their

heads were also powdered with feathers. One man held out a white

garment, which we interpreted as a sign of friendship; and another stood

up in the canoe, quite naked, for almost a quarter of an hour, with his

arms stretched out like a cross, and motionless. The canoes were not

constructed of wood, as at King George’s or Nootka Sound. The frame

only, being slender laths, was of that substance; the outside consisting

of the skins of seals, or of such-like animals. Though we returned all

their signs of friendship, and, by every expressive gesture, tried to

encourage them to come along-side, we could not prevail. Some of our

people repeated several of the common words of the Nootka language, such

as _seekemaile_, and _mahook_; but they did not seem to understand them.

After receiving some presents, which were thrown to them, they retired

toward that part of the shore from whence they came; giving us to

understand by signs, that they would visit us again the next morning.

Two of them, however, each in a small canoe, waited upon us in the

night; probably with a design to pilfer something, thinking we should be

all asleep; for they retired as soon as they found themselves

discovered.

During the night, the wind was at south south-east, blowing hard and in

squalls, with rain, and very thick weather. At ten o’clock next morning,

the wind became more moderate, and the weather being somewhat clearer,

we got under sail, in order to look out for some snug place, where we

might search for and stop the leak; our present station being too much

exposed for this purpose. At first, I proposed to have gone up the bay,

before which we had anchored; but the clearness of the weather tempted

me to steer to the northward, farther up the great inlet, as being all

in our way. As soon as we had passed the north-west point of the bay

above mentioned, we found the coast on that side to turn short to the

eastward. I did not follow it, but continued our course to the north,

for a point of land which we saw in that direction.

The natives who visited us the preceding evening, came off again in the

morning, in five or six canoes; but not till we were under sail; and

although they followed us for some time, they could not get up with us.

Before two in the afternoon, the bad weather returned again, with so

thick a haze, that we could see no other land besides the point just

mentioned, which we reached at half past four, and found it to be a

small island, lying about two miles from the adjacent coast, being a

point of land, on the east side of which we discovered a fine bay, or

rather harbour. To this we plied up, under reefed topsails and courses.

The wind blew strong at south-east, and in excessively hard squalls,

with rain. At intervals, we could see land in every direction; but, in

general, the weather was so foggy, that we could see none but the shores

of the bay into which we were plying. In passing the island, the depth

of water was twenty-six fathoms, with a muddy bottom. Soon after the

depth increased to sixty and seventy fathoms, a rocky bottom; but in the

entrance of the bay, the depth was from thirty to six fathoms; the last

very near the shore. At length, at eight o’clock, the violence of the

squalls obliged us to anchor in thirteen fathoms, before we had got so

far into the bay as I intended; but we thought ourselves fortunate that

we had already sufficiently secured ourselves at this hour; for the

night was exceedingly stormy.

The weather, bad as it was, did not hinder three of the natives from

paying us a visit. They came off in two canoes; two men in one, and one

in the other; being the number each could carry. For they were built and

constructed in the same manner with those of the Esquimaux; only in the

one were two holes for two men to sit in; and in the other but one. Each

of these men had a stick, about three feet long, with the large feathers

or wing of birds tied to it. These they frequently held up to us; with a

view, as we guessed, to express their pacific disposition.[60]

The treatment these men met with, induced many more to visit us between

one and two the next morning, in both great and small canoes. Some

ventured on board the ship; but not till some of our people had stepped

into their boats. Amongst those who came on board, was a good-looking

middle-aged man, whom we afterward found to be the chief. He was clothed

in a dress made of the sea-otter’s skin; and had on his head such a cap

as is worn by the people of King George’s Sound, ornamented with

sky-blue glass beads, about the size of a large pea. He seemed to set a

much higher value upon these, than upon our white glass beads. Any sort

of beads, however, appeared to be in high estimation with these people;

and they readily gave whatever they had in exchange for them; even their

fine sea-otter skins. But here I must observe, that they set no more

value upon these than upon other skins, which was also the case at King

George’s Sound, till our people set a higher price upon them; and even

after that, the natives of both places would sooner part with a dress

made of these, than with one made of the skins of wild cats or of

martins.

These people were also desirous of iron; but they wanted pieces eight or

ten inches long at least, and of the breadth of three or four fingers.

For they absolutely rejected small pieces. Consequently they got but

little from us; iron having, by this time, become rather a scarce

article. The points of some of their spears or lances were of that

metal; others were of copper, and a few of bone; of which the points of

their darts, arrows, &c. were composed. I could not prevail upon the

chief to trust himself below the upper deck; nor did he and his

companions remain long on board. But while we had their company, it was

necessary to watch them narrowly, as they soon betrayed a thievish

disposition. At length, after being about three or four hours alongside

the Resolution, they all left her, and went to the Discovery; none

having been there before, except one man, who at this time, came from

her, and immediately returned thither in company with the rest. When I

observed this, I thought this man had met with something there, which he

knew would please his countrymen better than what they met with at our

ship. But in this I was mistaken, as will soon appear.

As soon as they were gone, I sent a boat to sound the head of the bay.

For, as the wind was moderate, I had thoughts of laying the ship ashore,

if a convenient place could be found where I might begin our operations

to stop the leak. It was not long before all the Americans left the

Discovery, and instead of returning to us, made their way toward our

boat employed as above. The officer in her seeing this, returned to the

ship, and was followed by all the canoes. The boat’s crew had no sooner

come on board, leaving in her two of their number by way of a guard,

than some of the Americans stepped into her. Some presented their spears

before the two men; others cast loose the rope which fastened her to the

ship; and the rest attempted to tow her away. But the instant they saw

us preparing to oppose them, they let her go, stepped out of her into

canoes, and made signs to us to lay down our arms, having the appearance

of being as perfectly unconcerned as if they had done nothing amiss.

This, though rather a more daring attempt, was hardly equal to what they

had meditated on board the Discovery. The man who came and carried all

his countrymen from the Resolution to the other ship, had first been on

board of her; where, after looking down all the hatchways, and seeing

nobody but the officer of the watch, and one or two more, he, no doubt,

thought they might plunder her with ease; especially as she lay at some

distance from us. It was unquestionably with this view that they all

repaired to her. Several of them, without any ceremony, went on board;

drew their knives; made signs to the officer and people on deck to keep

off; and began to look about them for plunder. The first thing they met

with was the rudder of one of the boats, which they threw over-board to

those of their party who had remained in the canoes. Before they had

time to find another object that pleased their fancy, the crew were

alarmed, and began to come upon deck armed with cutlasses. On seeing

this, the whole company of plunderers sneaked off into their canoes,

with as much deliberation and indifference as they had given up the

boat; and they were observed describing to those who had not been on

board, how much longer the knives of the ship’s crew were than their

own. It was at this time, that my boat was on the sounding duty; which

they must have seen; for they proceeded directly for her, after their

disappointment at the Discovery. I have not the least doubt, that their

visiting us so very early in the morning, was with a view to plunder; on

a supposition, that they should find every body asleep.

May we not, from these circumstances, reasonably infer, that these

people are unacquainted with fire-arms? For certainly, if they had known

any thing of their effect, they never would have dared to attempt taking

a boat from under a ship’s guns, in the face of above a hundred men; for

most of my people were looking at them, at the very instant they made

the attempt. However, after all these tricks, we had the good fortune to

leave them as ignorant, in this respect, as we found them. For they

neither heard nor saw a musket fired, unless at birds.

Just as we were going to weigh the anchor, to proceed farther up the

bay, it began to blow and to rain as hard as before; so that we were

obliged to bear away the cable again, and lay fast. Toward the evening,

finding that the gale did not moderate, and that it might be some time

before an opportunity offered to get higher up, I came to a resolution

to heel the ship where we were; and with this view, moored her with a

kedge-anchor and hawser. In heaving the anchor out of the boat, one of

the seamen, either through ignorance or carelessness, or both, was

carried overboard by the buoy-rope, and followed the anchor to the

bottom. It is remarkable, that, in this very critical situation, he had

presence of mind to disengage himself, and come up to the surface of the

water, where he was taken up, with one of his legs fractured in a

dangerous manner.

Early the next morning we gave the ship a good heel to port, in order to

come at and stop the leak. On ripping off the sheathing, it was found to

be in the seams, which were very open, both in and under the wale; and,

in several places, not a bit of oakum in them. While the carpenters were

making good these defects, we filled all our empty water-casks at a

stream hard by the ship. The wind was now moderate, but the weather was

thick and hazy, with rain.

The natives, who left us the preceding day, when the bad weather came

on, paid us another visit this morning. Those who came first were in

small canoes; others afterward arrived in large boats; in one of which

were twenty women and one man, besides children.

In the evening of the 16th, the weather cleared up; and we then found

ourselves surrounded on every side by land. Our station was on the east

side of the sound, in a place which in the chart is distinguished by the

name of _Snug Corner Bay_; and a very snug place it is. I went,

accompanied by some of the officers, to view the head of it; and we

found that it was sheltered from all winds; with a depth of water from

seven to three fathoms over a muddy bottom. The land near the shore is

low; part clear and part wooded. The clear ground was covered, two or

three feet thick, with snow; but very little lay in the woods. The very

summits of the neighbouring hills were covered with wood; but those

farther inland seemed to be naked rocks, buried in snow.

The leak being stopped, and the sheathing made good over it, at four

o’clock in the morning of the 17th, we weighed, and steered to the

north-westward, with a light breeze at east-north-east; thinking if

there should be any passage to the north through this inlet, that it

must be in that direction. Soon after we were under sail, the natives,

in both great and small canoes, paid us another visit, which gave us an

additional opportunity of forming a more perfect idea of their persons,

dress, and other particulars, which shall be afterward described. Our

visitors seemed to have no other business but to gratify their

curiosity; for they entered into no sort of traffic with us. After we

had got over to the north-west point of the arm in which we had

anchored, we found that the flood-tide came into the inlet, through the

same channel by which we had entered. Although this circumstance did not

make wholly against a passage, it was, however, nothing in its favour.

After passing the point above mentioned, we met with a good deal of foul

ground, and many sunken rocks, even out in the middle of the channel,

which is here five or six leagues wide. At this time the wind failed us,

and was succeeded by calms and light airs from every direction; so that

we had some trouble to extricate ourselves from the threatening danger.

At length, about one o’clock, with the assistance of our boats, we got

to an anchor, under the eastern shore, in thirteen fathoms’ water, and

about four leagues to the north of our last station. In the morning the

weather had been very hazy; but it afterward cleared up, so as to give

us a distinct view of all the land round us, particularly to the

northward, where it seemed to close. This left us but little hopes of

finding a passage that way; or indeed, in any other direction, without

putting out again to sea.

To enable me to form a better judgment, I dispatched Mr. Gore, with two

armed boats, to examine the northern arm; and the master, with two other

boats, to examine another arm that seemed to take an easterly direction.

Late in the evening they both returned. The master reported that the arm

he had been sent to communicated with that from which he had last come;

and that one side of it was only formed by a group of islands. Mr. Gore

informed me that he had seen the entrance of an arm, which, he was of

opinion, extended a long way to the north-east; and that probably by it

a passage might be found. On the other hand, Mr. Roberts, one of the

mates, whom I had sent with Mr. Gore to sketch out the parts they had

examined, was of opinion that they saw the head of this arm. The

disagreement of these two opinions, and the circumstance already

mentioned of the flood-tide entering the sound from the south, rendered

the existence of a passage this way very doubtful. And, as the wind in

the morning had become favourable for getting out to sea, I resolved to

spend no more time in searching for a passage in a place that promised

so little success. Besides this, I considered that if the land on the

west should prove to be islands, agreeably to the late Russian

discoveries[61], we could not fail of getting far enough to the north,

and that in good time; provided we did not lose the season in searching

places where a passage was not only doubtful, but improbable. We were

now upward of five hundred and twenty leagues to the westward of any

part of Baffin’s, or of Hudson’s Bay. And whatever passage there may be,

it must be, or at least part of it must lie to the north of latitude

72°.[62] Who could expect to find a passage or strait of such extent?

Having thus taken my resolution, next morning, at three o’clock, we

weighed, and with a gentle breeze at north, proceeded to the southward

down the inlet; and met with the same broken ground as on the preceding

day. However, we soon extricated ourselves from it, and afterward never

struck ground with a line of forty fathoms. Another passage into this

inlet was now discovered, to the south-west of that by which we came in,

which enabled us to shorten our way out to sea. It is separated from the

other by an island, extending eighteen leagues in the direction of

north-east and south-west; to which I gave the name of _Montagu Island_.

In this south-west channel are several islands. Those that lie in the

entrance, next the open sea, are high and rocky. But those within are

low ones; and being entirely free from snow, and covered with wood and

verdure, on this account they were called _Green Islands_.

At two in the afternoon the wind veered to the south-west, and

south-west by south, which reduced us to the necessity of plying. I

first stretched over to within two miles of the eastern shore, and

tacked in fifty-three fathoms’ water. In standing back to Montagu

Island, we discovered a ledge of rocks; some above, and others under

water, lying three miles within, or to the north of the northern point

of Green Islands. Afterward some others were seen in the middle of the

channel, farther out than the islands. These rocks made unsafe plying in

the night (though not very dark); and, for that reason, we spent it

standing off and on, under Montagu Island; for the depth of water was

too great to come to an anchor.

At day-break, the next morning, the wind became more favourable, and we

steered for the channel between Montagu Island and the Green Islands,

which is between two and three leagues broad, and from thirty-four to

seventeen fathoms deep. We had but little wind all the day; and, at

eight o’clock in the evening it was a dead calm; when we anchored in

twenty-one fathoms’ water, over a muddy bottom; about two miles from the

shore of Montagu’s Island. The calm continued till ten o’clock the next

morning, when it was succeeded by a small breeze from the north, with

which we weighed; and, by six o’clock in the evening, we were again in

the open sea, and found the coast trending west by south, as far as the

eye could reach.

CHAP. V.

THE INLET CALLED PRINCE WILLIAM’S SOUND.—ITS EXTENT.—PERSONS OF THE

INHABITANTS DESCRIBED.—THEIR DRESS.—INCISION OF THEIR UNDER LIP.—

VARIOUS OTHER ORNAMENTS.—THEIR BOATS.—WEAPONS, FISHING, AND HUNTING

INSTRUMENTS.—UTENSILS.—TOOLS.—USES IRON IS APPLIED TO.—FOOD.—LANGUAGE,

AND A SPECIMEN OF IT.—ANIMALS.—BIRDS.—FISH.—IRON AND BEADS, WHENCE

RECEIVED.

To the inlet, which we had now left, I gave the name of _Prince

William’s Sound_. To judge of this sound, from what we saw of it, it

occupies, at least, a degree and a half of latitude, and two of

longitude, exclusive of the arms or branches, the extent of which is not

known. The direction which they seemed to take, as also the situation

and magnitude of the several islands in and about it, will be best seen

in the sketch, which is delineated with as much accuracy as the short

time and other circumstances would allow.

The natives, who came to make us several visits while we were in the

sound, were generally not above the common height; though many of them

were under it. They were square, or strong-chested; and the most

disproportioned part of their body seemed to be their heads, which were

very large, with thick, short necks, and large, broad, or spreading

faces; which, upon the whole, were flat. Their eyes, though not small,

scarcely bore a proportion to the size of their faces; and their noses

had full, round points, hooked, or turned up at the tip. Their teeth

were broad, white, equal in size, and evenly set. Their hair was black,

thick, straight and strong; and their beards, in general, thin, or

wanting; but the hairs about the lips of those who have them, were stiff

or bristly, and frequently of a brown colour. And several of the elderly

men had even large and thick, but straight beards.

Though, in general, they agree in the make of their persons, and

largeness of their heads, there is a considerable variety in their

features; but very few can be said to be of the handsome sort, though

their countenance commonly indicates a considerable share of vivacity,

good-nature, and frankness. And yet some of them had an air of

sullenness and reserve. Some of the women have agreeable faces; and many

are easily distinguishable from the men by their features, which are

more delicate; but this should be understood chiefly of the younger

sort, or middle-aged. The complexion of some of the women, and of the

children, is white; but without any mixture of red. And some of the men

who were seen naked, had rather a brownish or swarthy cast, which could

scarcely be the effect of any stain; for they do not paint their bodies.

Their common dress (for men, women, and children are clothed alike) is a

kind of close frock, or rather robe; reaching generally to the ankles,

though sometimes only to the knees. At the upper part is a hole just

sufficient to admit the head, with sleeves that reach to the wrist.

These frocks are made of the skins of different animals; the most common

of which are those of the sea-otter, grey fox, racoon, and pine martin;

with many of seal skins; and, in general, they are worn with the hairy

side outward. Some also have these frocks made of the skins of fowls,

with only the down remaining on them, which they glue on other

substances. And we saw one or two woollen garments like those of Nootka.

At the seams, where the different skins are sewed together, they are

commonly ornamented with tassels or fringes of narrow thongs, cut out of

the same skins. A few have a kind of cape, or collar, and some a hood;

but the other is the most common form, and seems to be their whole dress

in good weather. When it rains, they put over this another frock,

ingeniously made from the intestines of whales, or some other large

animal, prepared so skilfully as almost to resemble our gold-beaters’

leaf. It is made to draw tight round the neck; its sleeves reach as low

as the wrist, round which they are tied with a string; and its skirts,

when they are in their canoes, are drawn over the rim of the hole in

which they sit, so that no water can enter. At the same time, it keeps

the men entirely dry upward. For no water can penetrate through it, any

more than through a bladder. It must be kept continually moist or wet;

otherwise it is apt to crack or break. This, as well as the common frock

made of the skins, bears a great resemblance to the dress of the

Greenlanders, as described by Crantz.[63]

In general, they do not cover their legs or feet; but a few have a kind

of skin stockings, which reach half-way up the thigh; and scarcely any

of them are without mittens for the hands, made of the skins of bears’

paws. Those who wear any thing on their heads, resembled in this respect

our friends at Nootka; having high truncated conic caps, made of straw,

and sometimes of wood, resembling a seal’s head well painted.

The men commonly wear their hair cropt round the neck and forehead; but

the women allow it to grow long, and most of them tie a small lock of it

on the crown, or a few club it behind, after our manner. Both sexes have

the ears perforated with several holes about the outer and lower part of

the edge, in which they hang little bunches of beads, made of the same

tubulose shelly substance used for this purpose by those of Nootka. The

_septum_ of the nose is also perforated, through which they frequently

thrust the quill-feathers of small birds, or little bending ornaments

made of the above shelly substance, strung on a stiff string or cord

three or four inches long, which give them a truly grotesque appearance.

But the most uncommon and unsightly ornamental fashion adopted by some

of both sexes, is their having the under lip slit, or cut quite through,

in the direction of the mouth, a little below the swelling part. This

incision, which is made even in the sucking children, is often above two

inches long; and either by its natural retraction when the wound is

fresh, or by the repetition of some artificial management, assumes the

true shape of lips, and become so large as to admit the tongue through.

This happened to be the case, when the first person having this incision

was seen by one of the seamen, who called out that the man had two

mouths, and, indeed, it does not look unlike it. In this artificial

mouth they stick a flat narrow ornament, made chiefly out of a solid

shell or bone, cut into little narrow pieces like small teeth, almost

down to the base or thickest part, which has a small projecting bit at

each end that supports it when put into the divided lip, the cut part

then appearing outward. Others have the lower lip only perforated into

separate holes, and then the ornament consists of as many distinct

shelly studs, whose points are pushed through these holes, and their

heads appear within the lip, as another row of teeth immediately under

their own.

These are their native ornaments. But we found many beads of European

manufacture among them, chiefly of a pale blue colour, which they hang

in their ears, about their caps, or join to their lip-ornaments, which

have a small hole drilled in each point, to which they are fastened, and

others to them, till they hang sometimes as low as the point of the

chin. But, in this last case, they cannot remove them so easily; for as

to their own lip-ornaments, they can take them out with their tongue, or

suck within, at pleasure. They also wear bracelets of the shelly beads,

or others of a cylindrical shape, made of a substance like amber, with

such also as are used in their ears and noses. And so fond are they, in

general, of ornament, that they stick any thing in their perforated lip,

one man appearing with two of our iron nails projecting from it like

prongs, and another endeavouring to put a large brass button into it.

The men frequently paint their faces of a bright red, and of a black

colour, and sometimes of a blue or leaden colour; but not in any regular

figure; and the women, in some measure, endeavoured to imitate them, by

puncturing or staining the chin with black, that comes to a point in

each cheek; a practice very similar to which is in fashion amongst the

females of Greenland, as we learn from Crantz.[64] Their bodies are not

painted, which may be owing to the scarcity of proper materials, for all

the colours which they brought to sell in bladders were in very small

quantities. Upon the whole, I have no where seen savages who take more

pains than these people do to ornament, or rather to disfigure their

persons.

Their boats or canoes are of two sorts, the one being large and open,

and the other small and covered. I mentioned already, that in one of the

large boats were twenty women and one man, besides children. I

attentively examined and compared the construction of this with Crantz’s

description of what he calls the great, or women’s boat, in Greenland,

and found that they were built in the same manner, parts like parts,

with no other difference than in the form of the head and stern,

particularly of the first, which bears some resemblance to the head of a

whale. The framing is of slender pieces of wood, over which the skins of

seals, or of other larger sea-animals, are stretched to compose the

outside. It appeared also, that the small canoes of these people are

made nearly of the same form, and of the same materials, with those used

by the Greenlanders[65] and Esquimaux, at least the difference is not

material. Some of these, as I have before observed, carry two men; they

are broader in proportion to their length than those of the Esquimaux,

and the head or fore-part curves somewhat like the head of a violin.

The weapons and instruments for fishing and hunting are the very same

that are made use of by the Esquimaux and Greenlanders, and it is

unnecessary to be particular in my account of them, as they are all very

accurately described by Crantz.[66] I did not see a single one with

these people that he has not mentioned, nor has he mentioned one that

they have not. For defensive armour, they have a kind of jacket or coat

of mail made of thin laths bound together with sinews, which makes it

quite flexible, though so close as not to admit an arrow or dart. It

only covers the trunk of the body, and may not be improperly compared to

a woman’s stays.

As none of these people lived in the bay where we anchored, or where any

of us landed, we saw none of their habitations, and I had not time to

look after them. Of their domestic utensils, they brought in their boats

some round and oval shallow dishes of wood; and others of a cylindrical

shape much deeper. The sides were made of one piece, bent round like

chip-boxes, though thick, neatly fastened with thongs, and the bottoms

fixed in with small wooden pegs. Others were smaller and of a more

elegant shape, somewhat resembling a large oval butter-boat without a

handle, but more shallow, made from a piece of wood or horny substance.

These last were sometimes neatly carved. They had many little square

bags, made of the same gut with their outer frocks, neatly ornamented

with very minute red feathers interwoven with it, in which were

contained some very fine sinews and bundles of small cord made from

them, most ingeniously platted. They also brought many chequered baskets

so closely wrought as to hold water, some wooden models of their canoes,

a good many little images four or five inches long, either of wood or

stuffed, which were covered with a bit of fur, and ornamented with

pieces of small quill feathers, in imitation of their shelly beads, with

hair fixed on their heads. Whether these might be mere toys for

children, or held in veneration as representing their deceased friends,

and applied to some superstitious purpose, we could not determine. But

they have many instruments made of two or three hoops, or concentric

pieces of wood, with a cross-bar fixed in the middle, to hold them by.

To these are fixed a great number of dried barnacle-shells, with

threads, which serve as a rattle, and make a loud noise when they shake

them. This contrivance seems to be a substitute for the rattling-bird at

Nootka, and perhaps both of them are employed on the same occasions.[67]

With what tools they make their wooden utensils, frames of boats, and

other things, is uncertain, as the only one seen amongst them was a kind

of strong adze, made almost after the manner of those of Otaheite and

the other islands of the South Sea. They have a great many iron knives,

some of which are straight, others a little curved, and some very small

ones fixed in pretty long handles, with the blades bent upward, like

some of our shoemakers’ instruments. But they have still knives of

another sort, which are sometimes near two feet long, shaped almost like

a dagger, with a ridge in the middle. These they wear in sheaths of

skins, hung by a thong round the neck, under their robe, and they are

probably only used as weapons, the other knives being apparently applied

to other purposes. Every thing they have, however, is as well and

ingeniously made, as if they were furnished with the most complete

tool-chest; and their sewing, platting of sinews, and small work on

their little bags, may be put in competition with the most delicate

manufactures found in any part of the known world. In short, considering

the otherwise uncivilised or rude state in which these people are, their

northern situation, amidst a country perpetually covered with snow, and

the wretched materials they have to work with, it appears that their

invention and dexterity in all manual works, is at least equal to that

of any other nation.

The food which we saw them eat, was dried fish and the flesh of some

animal, either broiled or roasted. Some of the latter that was bought,

seemed to be bear’s flesh, but with a fishy taste. They also eat the

larger sort of fern-root, mentioned at Nootka, either baked or dressed

in some other way, and some of our people saw them eat freely of a

substance which they supposed to be the inner part of the pine bark.

Their drink is most probably water, for in their boats they brought snow

in the wooden vessels, which they swallowed by mouthfuls. Perhaps it

could be carried with less trouble in these open vessels than water

itself. Their method of eating seems decent and cleanly, for they always

took care to separate any dirt that might adhere to their victuals. And

though they sometimes did eat the raw fat of some sea animal, they cut

it carefully into mouthfuls with their small knives. The same might be

said of their persons, which, to appearance, were always clean and

decent, without grease or dirt; and the wooden vessels in which their

victuals are probably put, were kept in excellent order, as well as

their boats, which were neat and free from lumber.

Their language seems difficult to be understood at first, not from any

indistinctness or confusion in their words and sounds, but from the

various significations they have. For they appeared to use the very same

word frequently on very different occasions, though doubtless this

might, if our intercourse had been of longer duration, have been found

to be a mistake on our side. The only words I could obtain, and for them

I am indebted to Mr. Anderson[68], were those that follow, the first of

which was also used at Nootka in the same sense, though we could not

trace an affinity between the two dialects in any other instance.

Akashou, _What’s the name of that?_

Namuk, _An ornament for the ear._

Lukluk, _A brown shaggy skin, perhaps a bear’s._

Aa, _Yes._

Natooneshuk, _The skin of a sea-otter._

Keeta, _Give me something._

Naema, _Give me something in exchange_, or _barter_.

Ooonaka, _Of_, or _belonging to me_.—_Will you barter for this

that belongs to me?_

Manaka,

Ahleu, _A spear._

Weena, _or_ _Stranger—calling to one._

Veena,

Keelashuk, _Guts of which they make jackets._

Tawuk, _Keep it._

Amilhtoo, _A piece of white bear’s skin_, or _perhaps the hair

that covered it_.

Whaehai, _Shall I keep it? do you give it me?_

Yaut, _I’ll go_; or _shall I go_?

Chilke, _One._

Taiha, _Two._

Tokke, _Three._

(Tinke)

Chukelo[69], _Four?_

Koeheene, _Five?_

Takulai, _Six?_

Keichilho, _Seven?_

Klu, _or_ _Eight?_

Kliew,

As to the animals of this part of the continent, the same must be

understood as of those at Nootka, that is, that the knowledge we have of

them is entirely taken from the skins which the natives brought to sell.

These were chiefly of seals, a few foxes, the whitish cat, or _lynx_,

common and pine martins, small ermins, bears, racoons, and sea-otters.

Of these, the most common were the martin, racoon, and sea-otter-skins,

which composed the ordinary dress of the natives; but the skins of the

first, which in general were of a much lighter brown than those of

Nootka, were far superior to them in fineness; whereas the last, which,

as well as the martins, were far more plentiful than at Nootka, seemed

greatly inferior in the fineness and thickness of their fur, though they

greatly exceeded them in size, and were almost all of the glossy black

sort, which is doubtless the colour most esteemed in those skins. Bear

and seal skins were also pretty common; and the last were in general

white, very beautifully spotted with black, or sometimes simply white,

and many of the bears here were of a brown or sooty colour.

Besides these animals, which were all seen at Nootka, there are some

others in this place which we did not find there, such as the white

bear, of whose skins the natives brought several pieces, and some entire

skins of cubs, from which their size could not be determined. We also

found the wolverene, or quickhatch, which had very bright colours; a

larger sort of ermine than the common one, which is the same as at

Nootka, varied with a brown colour, and with scarcely any black on its

tail. The natives also brought the skin of the head of some very large

animal, but it could not be positively determined what it was, though,

from the colour and shagginess of the hair, and its unlikeness to any

land animal, we judged it might probably be that of the large male

ursine seal or sea-bear. But one of the most beautiful skins, and which

seems peculiar to this place as we never saw it before, is that of a

small animal about ten inches long, of a brown or rusty colour on the

back, with a great number of obscure whitish specks, and the sides of a

blueish ash-colour, also with a few of these specks. The tail is not

above a third of the length of its body, and is covered with a hair of a

whitish colour at the edges. It is no doubt the same with those called

spotted field-mice by Mr. Stæhlin[70], in his short account of the New

Northern Archipelago; but whether they be really of the mouse kind or a

squirrel, we could not tell, for want of perfect skins, though Mr.

Anderson was inclined to think that it is the same animal described

under the name of the _Casan_ marmot, by Mr. Pennant. The number of

skins we found here, points out the great plenty of these several

animals just mentioned; but it is remarkable, that we neither saw the

skins of the moose nor of the common deer.

Of the birds mentioned at Nootka, we found here only the white-headed

eagle; the shag; the _alcyon_, or great king-fisher, which had very

bright colours; and the humming-bird, which came frequently and flew

about the ship, while at anchor; though it can scarcely live here in the

winter, which must be very severe. The water-fowl were geese; a small

sort of duck, almost like that mentioned at Kerguelen’s Land; another

sort which none of us knew; and some of the black sea-pyes, with red

bills, which we found at Van Diemen’s Land, and New Zealand. Some of the

people who went on shore, killed a grouse, a snipe, and some plover. But

though, upon the whole, the water-fowl were pretty numerous, especially

the ducks and geese, which frequent the shores, they were so shy, that

it was scarcely possible to get within shot; so that we obtained a very

small supply of them as refreshment. The duck mentioned above, is as

large as the common wild-duck, of a deep black colour, with a short

pointed tail, and red feet. The bill is white, tinged with red toward

the point, and has a large black spot, almost square, near its base, on

each side, where it is also enlarged or distended: and on the forehead

is a large triangular white spot; with one still larger on the back part

of the neck. The female has much duller colours, and none of the

ornaments of the bill, except the two black spots, which are obscure.

There is likewise a species of diver here, which seems peculiar to the

place. It is about the size of a partridge; has a short, black,

compressed bill; with the head and upper part of the neck of a brown

black; the rest of a deep brown, obscurely waved with black, except the

under part, which is entirely of a blackish cast, very minutely varied

with white; the other (perhaps the female) is blacker above, and whiter

below. A small land-bird, of the finch kind, about the size of a

yellow-hammer, was also found; but was suspected to be one of those

which change their colour with the season, and with their migrations. At

this time, it was of a dusky brown colour, with a reddish tail; and the

supposed male had a large yellow spot on the crown of the head, with

some varied black on the upper part of the neck; but the last was on the

breast of the female.

The only fish we got, were some torsk and halibut, which were chiefly

brought by the natives to sell; and we caught a few sculpins about the

ship; with some purplish star-fish, that had seventeen or eighteen rays.

The rocks were observed to be almost destitute of shell-fish; and the

only other animal of this tribe seen, was a red crab, covered with

spines of a very large size.

The metals we saw were copper and iron; both which, particularly the

latter, were in such plenty, as to constitute the points of most of the

arrows and lances. The ores, with which they painted themselves, were a

red, brittle, unctuous ochre, or iron ore, not much unlike cinnabar in

colour; a bright blue pigment, which we did not procure; and black lead.

Each of these seems to be very scarce, as they brought very small

quantities of the first and last, and seemed to keep them with great

care.

Few vegetables of any kind were seen; and the trees which chiefly grew

here, were the Canadian and spruce pine, and some of them tolerably

large.

The beads and iron found amongst these people, left no room to doubt,

that they must have received them from some civilized nation. We were

pretty certain, from circumstances already mentioned, that we were the

first Europeans with whom they had ever communicated directly; and it

remains only to be decided, from what quarter they had got our

manufactures, by intermediate conveyance. And there cannot be the least

doubt of their having received these articles through the intervention

of the more inland tribes, from Hudson’s Bay, or the settlements on the

Canadian lakes; unless it can be supposed (which however is less likely)

that the Russian traders from Kamtschatka, have already extended their

traffic thus far; or at least that the natives of their most easterly

Fox Islands communicate along the coast with those of Prince William’s

Sound.[71]

As to the copper, these people seem to procure it themselves, or at most

it passes through few hands to them; for they used to express its being

in a sufficient quantity amongst them, when they offered any to barter,

by pointing to their weapons; as if to say, that having so much of this

metal of their own, they wanted no more.

It is, however, remarkable, if the inhabitants of this Sound be supplied

with European articles, by way of the intermediate traffic to the east

coast, that they should, in return, never have given to the more inland

Indians any of their sea-otter skins; which would certainly have been

seen, some time or other, about Hudson’s Bay. But, as far as I know,

that is not the case; and the only method of accounting for this, must

be by taking into consideration the very great distance; which, though

it might not prevent European goods coming so far, as being so uncommon,

might prevent the skins, which are a common article, from passing

through more than two or three different tribes, who might use them for

their own clothing, and send others, which they esteemed less valuable,

as being of their own animals, eastward, till they reach the traders

from Europe.

CHAP. VI.

PROGRESS ALONG THE COAST.—CAPE ELIZABETH.—CAPE ST. HERMOGENES.—ACCOUNTS

OF BEERING’S VOYAGE VERY DEFECTIVE.—POINT BANKS.—CAPE DOUGLAS.—CAPE

BEDE.—MOUNT ST. AUGUSTIN.—HOPES OF FINDING A PASSAGE UP AN INLET.—THE

SHIPS PROCEED UP IT.—INDUBITABLE MARKS OF ITS BEING A RIVER.—NAMED

COOK’S RIVER.—THE SHIPS RETURN DOWN IT.—VARIOUS VISITS FROM THE

NATIVES.—LIEUTENANT KING LANDS, AND TAKES POSSESSION OF THE COUNTRY.—

HIS REPORT.—THE RESOLUTION RUNS AGROUND ON A SHOAL.—REFLECTIONS ON THE

DISCOVERY OF COOK’S RIVER.—THE CONSIDERABLE TIDES IN IT ACCOUNTED FOR.

After leaving Prince William’s Sound, I steered to the south-west, with

a gentle breeze at north north-east; which, at four o’clock the next

morning, was succeeded by a calm; and soon after, the calm was succeeded

by a breeze from south-west. This freshening, and veering to north-west,

we still continued to stretch to the south-west, and passed a lofty

promontory, situated in the latitude of 59° 10ʹ, and the longitude of

207° 45ʹ. As the discovery of it was connected with the Princess

Elizabeth’s birth-day, I named it _Cape Elizabeth_. Beyond it we could

see no land; so that, at first, we were in hopes that it was the western

extremity of the continent; but not long after, we saw our mistake; for

fresh land appeared in sight, bearing west south-west.

The wind, by this time, had increased to a very strong gale, and forced

us to a good distance from the coast. In the afternoon of the 22d, the

gale abated; and we stood to the northward for Cape Elizabeth; which at

noon, the next day, bore west, ten leagues distant. At the same time, a

new land was seen, bearing south 77° west, which was supposed to connect

Cape Elizabeth with the land we had seen to the westward.

The wind continued at west, and I stood to the southward till noon the

next day, when we were within three leagues of the coast which we had

discovered on the 22d. It here formed a point that bore west north-west.

At the same time, more land was seen extending to the southward, as far

as south south-west; the whole being twelve or fifteen leagues distant.

On it was seen a ridge of mountains covered with snow, extending to the

north-west, behind the first land, which we judged to be an island, from

the very inconsiderable quantity of snow that lay upon it. This point of

land is situated in the latitude of 58° 15ʹ, and in the longitude of

207° 42ʹ; and by what I can gather from the account of Beering’s voyage,

and the chart that accompanies it in the English edition[72], I

conclude, that it must be what he called Cape St. Hermogenes. But the

account of that voyage is so very much abridged, and the chart so

extremely inaccurate, that it is hardly possible, either by the one or

by the other, or by comparing both together, to find out any one place

which that navigator either saw or touched at. Were I to form a judgment

of Beering’s proceedings on this coast, I should suppose, that he fell

in with the continent near Mount Fairweather. But I am by no means

certain, that the bay to which I have given his name, is the place where

he anchored. Nor do I know, that what I called Mount St. Elias, is the

same conspicuous mountain to which he gave that name. And as to his Cape

St. Elias, I am entirely at a loss to pronounce where it lies.

On the north side of Cape St. Hermogenes, the coast turned toward the

north-west, and appeared to be wholly unconnected with the land seen by

us the preceding day. In the chart above mentioned, there is here a

space, where Beering is supposed to have seen no land. This also

favoured the latter account published by Mr. Stæhlin, who makes Cape St.

Hermogenes, and all the land that Beering discovered to the south-west

of it, to be a cluster of islands; placing St. Hermogenes amongst those

which are destitute of wood. What we now saw seemed to confirm this; and

every circumstance inspired us with hopes of finding here a passage

northward, without being obliged to proceed any farther to the

south-west.

We were detained off the cape by variable light airs and calms, till two

o’clock the next morning, when a breeze springing up at north-east we

steered north-north-west along the coast; and soon found the land of

Cape St. Hermogenes to be an island, about six leagues in circuit,

separated from the adjacent coast by a channel one league broad. A

league and a half to the north of this island lie some rocks, above

water; on the north-east side of which we had from thirty to twenty

fathoms water.

At noon, the island of St. Hermogenes bore south-east, eight leagues

distant; and the land to the north-west of it extended from south 1/2

west to near west. In this last direction it ended in a low point, now

five leagues distant, which was called _Point Banks_. The latitude of

the ship, at this time, was 58° 41ʹ, and its longitude 207° 44ʹ. In this

situation, the land, which was supposed to connect Cape Elizabeth with

this south-west land, was in sight, bearing north-west 1/2 north. I

steered directly for it; and, on a nearer approach, found it to be a

group of high islands and rocks, entirely unconnected with any other

land. They obtained the name of _Barren Isles_ from their very naked

appearance. Their situation is in the latitude of 59°, and in a line

with Cape Elizabeth and Point Banks; three leagues distant from the

former, and five from the latter.

I intended going through one of the channels that divide these islands,

but meeting with a strong current setting against us, I bore up and went

to the leeward of them all. Toward the evening, the weather, which had

been hazy all day, cleared up, and we got sight of a very lofty

promontory, whose elevated summit, forming two exceedingly high

mountains, was seen above the clouds. This promontory I named _Cape

Douglas_, in honour of my very good friend, Dr. Douglas, canon of

Windsor. It is situated in the latitude of 58° 56ʹ, and in the longitude

of 206° 10ʹ, ten leagues to the westward of Barren Isles, and twelve

from Point Banks, in the direction of N. W. by W. 1/2 W.

Between this point and Cape Douglas, the coast seemed to form a large

and deep bay; which, from some smoke that had been seen on Point Banks,

obtained the name of _Smokey Bay_.

At day-break the next morning, being the 26th, having got to the

northward of the Barren Isles, we discovered more land, extending from

Cape Douglas to the north. It formed a chain of mountains of vast

height, one of which, far more conspicuous than the rest, was named

_Mount Saint Augustin_. The discovery of this land did not discourage

us, as it was supposed to be wholly unconnected with the land of Cape

Elizabeth. For, in a N. N. E. direction, the sight was unlimited by

every thing but the horizon. We also thought that there was a passage to

the N. W., between Cape Douglas and Mount St. Augustin. In short, it was

imagined, that the land on our larboard to the N. of Cape Douglas was

composed of a group of islands, disjoined by so many channels, any one

of which we might make use of according as the wind should serve.

With these flattering ideas, having a fresh gale at N. N. E., we stood

to the N. W. till eight o’clock, when we clearly saw that what we had

taken for islands were summits of mountains, every where connected by

lower land, which the haziness of the horizon had prevented us from

seeing at a greater distance. This land was every where covered with

snow, from the tops of the hills down to the very sea-beach, and had

every other appearance of being part of a great continent. I was now

fully persuaded that I should find no passage by this inlet; and my

persevering in the search of it here was more to satisfy other people

than to confirm my own opinion.

At this time, Mount St. Augustin bore N. 40° W., three or four leagues

distant. This mountain is of a conical figure, and of very considerable

height, but it remains undetermined whether it be an island, or part of

the continent. Finding that nothing could be done to the W., we tacked

and stood over to Cape Elizabeth, under which we fetched at half past

five in the afternoon. On the north side of Cape Elizabeth, between it

and a lofty promontory, named _Cape Bede_[73], is a bay, in the bottom

of which there appeared to be two snug harbours. We stood well into this

bay, where we might have anchored in twenty-three fathoms water: but as

I had no such view, we tacked and stood to the westward, with the wind

at N., a very strong gale, attended by rain, and thick hazy weather.

The next morning the gale abated, but the same weather continued till

three o’clock in the afternoon, when it cleared up. Cape Douglas bore

S. W. by W.; Mount St. Augustin W. 1/2 S., and Cape Bede S. 15° E., five

leagues distant. In this situation, the depth of water was forty

fathoms, over a rocky bottom. From Cape Bede, the coast trended N. E. by

E., with a chain of mountains inland, extending in the same direction.

The land on the coast was woody, and there seemed to be no deficiency of

harbours. But what was not much in our favour, we discovered low land in

the middle of the inlet, extending from N. N. E. to N. E. by E. 1/2 E.

However, as this was supposed to be an island, it did not discourage us.

About this time we got a light breeze southerly, and I steered to the

westward of this low land, nothing appearing to obstruct us in that

direction. Our soundings during the night were from thirty to

twenty-five fathoms.

On the 28th in the morning, having but very little wind, and observing

the ship to drive to the southward, in order to stop her I dropped a

kedge-anchor, with an eight-inch hawser bent to it. But, in bringing the

ship up, the hawser parted near the inner end, and we lost both it and

the anchor. For although we brought the ship up with one of the bowers,

and spent most of the day in sweeping for them, it was to no effect. By

an observation, we found our station to be in the latitude of 59° 51ʹ;

the low land above mentioned extended from N. E. to S. 75° E., the

nearest part two leagues distant, and extended from S. 35° W. to N. 7°

E., so that the extent of the inlet was now reduced to three points and

a half of the compass; that is, from N. 1/2 E. to N. E. Between these

two points no land was to be seen. Here was a strong tide setting to the

southward out of the inlet. It was the ebb, and ran between three and

four knots in an hour, and it was low water at ten o’clock. A good deal

of sea-weed and some drift-wood were carried out with the tide. The

water, too, had become thick like that in rivers, but we were encouraged

to proceed by finding it as salt at low water as the ocean. The strength

of the flood-tide was three knots, and the stream ran up till four in

afternoon.

As it continued calm all day, I did not move till eight o’clock in the

evening, when, with a light breeze at E., we weighed and stood to the

N., up the inlet. We had not been long under sail, before the wind

veered to the N., increasing to a fresh gale, and blowing in squalls,

with rain. This did not, however, hinder us from plying up as long as

the flood continued, which was till near five o’clock the next morning.

We had soundings from thirty-five to twenty-four fathoms. In this last

depth we anchored about two leagues from the eastern shore, in the

latitude of 60° 8ʹ; some low land that we judged to be an island, lying

under the western shore, extended from N. 1/2 W. to N. W. by N., distant

three or four leagues.

The weather had now become fair and tolerably clear, so that we could

see any land that might lie within our horizon; and in a N. N. E.

direction, no land, nor any thing to obstruct our progress, was visible.

But on each side was a ridge of mountains, rising one behind another

without the least separation. I judged it to be low water, by the shore,

about ten o’clock; but the ebb ran down till near noon. The strength of

it was four knots and a half, and it fell upon a perpendicular ten feet

three inches, that is, while we lay at anchor; so that there is reason

to believe this was not the greatest fall. On the eastern shore we now

saw two columns of smoke, a sure sign that there were inhabitants.

At one in the afternoon we weighed, and plied up under double-reefed

top-sails and courses, having a very strong gale at N. N. E., nearly

right down the inlet. We stretched over to the western shore, and

fetched within two leagues of the south end of the low land or island

before mentioned, under which I intended to have taken shelter till the

gale should cease. But falling suddenly into twelve fathoms water, from

upward of forty, and seeing the appearance of a shoal ahead spitting out

from the low land, I tacked and stretched back to the eastward; and

anchored under the shore in nineteen fathoms water, over a bottom of

small pebble-stones.

Between one and two in the morning of the 30th, we weighed again with

the first of the flood, the gale having by this time quite abated, but

still continuing contrary, so that we plied up till near seven o’clock,

when the tide being done, we anchored in nineteen fathoms, under the

same shore as before. The N. W. part of it forming a bluff point, bore

N. 20° E., two leagues distant; a point on the other shore opposite to

it, and nearly of the same height, bore N. 36° W., our latitude, by

observation, 60° 37ʹ.

About noon two canoes with a man in each came off to the ship, from near

the place where we had seen the smoke the preceding day. They laboured

very hard in paddling across the strong tide, and hesitated a little

before they would come quite close; but upon signs being made to them,

they approached. One of them talked a great deal to no purpose, for we

did not understand a word he said. He kept pointing to the shore, which

we interpreted to be an invitation to go thither. They accepted a few

trifles from me, which I conveyed to them from the quarter gallery.

These men in every respect resembled the people we had met with in

Prince William’s Sound, as to their persons and dress. Their canoes were

also of the same construction. One of our visitors had his face painted

jet black, and seemed to have no beard; but the other, who was more

elderly, had no paint, and a considerable beard, with a visage much like

the common sort of the Prince William’s people. There was also smoke

seen upon the flat western shore this day, from whence we may infer,

that these lower spots and islands are the only inhabited places.

When the flood made, we weighed, and then the canoes left us. I stood

over to the western shore, with a fresh gale at N. N. E., and fetched

under the point above mentioned. This, with the other on the opposite

shore, contracted the channel to the breadth of four leagues. Through

this channel ran a prodigious tide. It looked frightful to us, who could

not tell whether the agitation of the water was occasioned by the

stream, or by the breaking of the waves against rocks or sands. As we

met with no shoal, it was concluded to be the former; but in the end we

found ourselves mistaken. I now kept the western shore aboard, it

appearing to be the safest. Near the shore we had a depth of thirteen

fathoms; and two or three miles off, forty and upward. At eight in the

evening, we anchored under a point of land which bore N. E., three

leagues distant, in fifteen fathoms water. Here we lay during the ebb,

which ran near five knots in the hour.

Until we got thus far, the water had retained the same degree of

saltness at low as at high water, and at both periods was as salt as

that in the ocean. But now the marks of a river displayed themselves.

The water taken up this ebb, when at the lowest, was found to be very

considerably fresher than any we had hitherto tasted, insomuch that I

was convinced that we were in a large river, and not in a strait,

communicating with the northern seas. But as we had proceeded thus far,

I was desirous of having stronger proofs, and therefore weighed with the

next flood in the morning of the 31st, and plied higher up, or rather

drove up with the tide, for we had but little wind.

About eight o’clock we were visited by several of the natives, in one

large and several small canoes. The latter carried only one person each,

and some had a paddle with a blade at each end, after the manner of the

Esquimaux. In the large canoes were men, women, and children. Before

they reached the ship, they displayed a leathern frock upon a long pole

as a sign, as we understood it, of their peaceable intentions. This

frock they conveyed into the ship, in return for some trifles which I

gave them. I could observe no difference between the persons, dress,

ornaments, and boats of these people, and those of Prince William’s

Sound, except that the small canoes were rather of a less size, and

carried only one man. We procured from them some of their fur dresses,

made of the skins of sea-otters, martins, hares, and other animals, a

few of their darts, and a small supply of salmon and halibut. In

exchange for these they took old clothes, beads, and pieces of iron. We

found that they were in possession of large iron knives, and of sky-blue

glass beads, such as we had found amongst the natives of Prince

William’s Sound. These latter they seemed to value much, and

consequently those which we now gave them. But their inclination led

them, especially, to ask for large pieces of iron, which metal, if I was

not much mistaken, they called by the name of _goone_, though like their

neighbours in Prince William’s Sound, they seemed to have many

significations to one word. They evidently spoke the same language; as

the words _keeta_, _naema_, _oonaka_, and a few others of the most

common we heard in that sound, were also frequently used by this new

tribe. After spending about two hours between the one ship and the

other, they all retired to the western shore.

At nine o’clock we came to an anchor in sixteen fathoms water, about two

leagues from the west shore, and found the ebb already begun. At its

greatest strength it ran only three knots in the hour, and fell upon a

perpendicular, after we had anchored, twenty-one feet. The weather was

misty, with drizzling rain, and clear, by turns. At the clear intervals,

we saw an opening between the mountains on the eastern shore, bearing

east from the station of the ships, with low land, which we suppose to

be islands lying between us and the main land. Low land was also seen to

the northward, that seemed to extend from the foot of the mountains on

the one side to those on the other; and at low water we perceived large

shoals stretching out from this low land, some of which were at no great

distance from us. From these appearances, we were in some doubt whether

the inlet did not take an easterly direction, through the above opening,

or whether that opening was only a branch of it, and the main channel

continued its northern direction through the low land now in sight. The

continuation and direction of the chain of mountains on each side of it

strongly indicated the probability of the latter supposition.

To determine this point, and to examine the shoals, I dispatched two

boats, under the command of the master; and, as soon as the flood-tide

made, followed with the ships; but, as it was a dead calm, and the tide

strong, I anchored, after driving about ten miles in an east direction.

At the lowest of the preceding ebb, the water at the surface, and for

near a foot below it, was found to be perfectly fresh; retaining,

however, a considerable degree of saltness at a greater depth. Besides

this, we had now many other and but too evident proofs of being in a

great river; such as low shores, very thick and muddy water, large

trees, and all manner of dirt and rubbish, floating up and down with the

tide. In the afternoon the natives, in several canoes, paid us another

visit; and trafficked with our people for some time, without ever giving

us reason to accuse them of any act of dishonesty.

At two o’clock next morning, being the 1st of June, the master returned,

and reported that he found the inlet, or rather river, contracted to the

breadth of one league, by low land on each side, through which it took a

northerly direction. He proceeded three leagues through this narrow

part, which he found navigable for the largest ships, being from twenty

to seventeen fathoms deep. The least water, at a proper distance from

the shore and shoals, was ten fathoms; and this was before he entered

the narrow part. While the ebb or stream ran down, the water was

perfectly fresh; but after the flood made, it became brackish; and,

toward high water, very much so, even as high up as he went. He landed

upon an island, which lies between this branch and the eastern one; and

upon it saw some currant bushes, with the fruit already set, and some

other fruit-trees and bushes unknown to him. The soil appeared to be

clay, mixed with sand. About three leagues beyond the extent of his

search, or to the northward of it, he observed there was another

separation in the eastern chain of mountains, through which he supposed

the river took a north-east direction; but it seemed rather more

probable that this was only another branch, and that the main channel

kept its northern direction, between the two ridges or chains of

mountains before mentioned. He found that these two ridges, as they

extended to the north, inclined more and more to each other, but never

appeared to close; nor was any elevated land seen between them, only low

land, part woody, and part clear.

All hopes of finding a passage were now given up. But as the ebb was

almost spent, and we could not return against the flood, I thought I

might as well take the advantage of the latter, to get a nearer view of

the eastern branch; and, by that means, finally to determine whether the

low land on the east side of the river was an island, as we had

supposed, or not. With this purpose in view, we weighed with the first

of the flood, and, having a faint breeze at north-east, stood over for

the eastern shore, with boats ahead, sounding. Our depth was from twelve

to five fathoms; the bottom a hard gravel, though the water was

exceedingly muddy. At eight o’clock a fresh breeze sprung up at east,

blowing in an opposite direction to our course; so that I despaired of

reaching the entrance of the river to which we were plying up, before

high-water. But thinking that what the ships could not do, might be done

with boats, I dispatched two, under the command of Lieutenant King, to

examine the tides, and to make such observations as might give us some

insight into the nature of the river.

At ten o’clock, finding the ebb begun, I anchored in nine fathoms water,

over a gravelly bottom. Observing the tide to be too strong for the

boats to make head against it, I made a signal for them to return on

board, before they had got half way to the entrance of the river they

were sent to examine, which bore from us S., 80° E., three leagues

distant. The principal information gained by this tide’s work, was the

determining that all the low land, which we had supposed to be an island

or islands, was one continued tract, from the banks of the great river

to the foot of the mountains, to which it joined; and that it terminated

at the south entrance of this eastern branch, which I shall distinguish

by the name of _River Turnagain_. On the north side of this river, the

low land again begins, and stretches out from the foot of the mountains

down to the banks of the great river; so that, before the river

Turnagain, it forms a large bay, on the south side of which we were now

at anchor, and where we had from twelve to five fathoms, from half-flood

to high-water.

After we had entered the bay, the flood set strong into the river

Turnagain; the ebb came out with still greater force; the water falling,

while we lay at anchor, twenty feet upon a perpendicular. These

circumstances convinced me, that no passage was to be expected by this

side river, any more than by the main branch. However, as the water

during the ebb, though very considerably fresher, had still a strong

degree of saltness, it is but reasonable to suppose that both these

branches are navigable by ships, much farther than we examined them; and

that by means of this river, and its several branches, a very extensive

inland communication lies open. We had traced it as high as the latitude

of 61° 30ʹ, and the longitude of 201°; which is seventy leagues, or

more, from its entrance, without seeing the least appearance of its

source.

If the discovery of this great river[74], which promises to vie with the

most considerable ones already known to be capable of extensive inland

navigation, should prove of use either to the present or to any future

age, the time we spent in it ought to be the less regretted. But to us,

who had a much greater object in view, the delay thus occasioned was an

essential loss. The season was advancing apace. We knew not how far we

might have to proceed to the south; and we were now convinced that the

continent of North America extended farther to the west than, from the

modern most reputable charts, we had reason to expect. This made the

existence of a passage into Baffin’s or Hudson’s Bays less probable, or,

at least, showed it to be of greater extent. It was a satisfaction to

me, however, to reflect that, if I had not examined this very

considerable inlet, it would have been assumed, by speculative

fabricators of geography, as a fact that it communicated with the sea to

the north, or with Baffin’s or Hudson’s Bay to the east; and been

marked, perhaps, on future maps of the world, with greater precision,

and more certain signs of reality, than the invisible, because

imaginary, Straits of de Fuca, and de Fonte.