"f* ed at eight in the evening. The fliores on both fides of the
paflage were fteeper than any we had feen before, and
formed various wild landfcapes, ornamented with numerous
little cafeades, and many dragoii-trees (dracana.)
Thurfday 6. The captain being confined to the cabin by his rheuma-
tifm, fent an officer, accompanied by my father and my-
felf, to explore the fouthernmoft arm, which ran up eaft-
ward from our new paflage into the interior country.
During our abfence he ordered the Refolution to be well
cleaned and aired with fires between decks, a precaution
which ought never to be neglefted in a moift and raw
climate.
We rowed up this new inlet, were, delighted with many
cafeades on both fides of it, and found a number of good
anchoring places,, with plenty of fiffi and wild-fowl.
However, the woods confifted chiefly of fhrubberies, and
began to look very bare, the leaves being moftly ffied, and
what remained looking faded of a pale yellow colour.
Thefe ftrong marks of approaching winter feemed to be
peculiar to this part of the bay, and it is probable that the
adjacent high mountains, all which were now crowned
with fnow, caufed their premature appearance. We put
into a little cove about two o’clock to broil a few fifties
for our dinner, and then went on till it was dark, taking
Up Our night’s quarters oh a little beach, almoft at the
head of the inlet. Here we made a fire, but flept very
little
little on account of the cold of the night and the hardnefs v
of our pillows. The next morning we faw a cove, with Friday 7.
a little flat land, to the north of us, which formed the
end of this fpacious inlet or arm, about eight miles from
its entrance. Here we amufed ourfelves with ffiooting for
fome time, and then fet out to return towards the Refolution
; but the fair weather which had favoured us hitherto,
was now fucceeded by a ftorm at N. W, which blew in hard
fqualls, attended withviolent fhowers of rain. We made
fhift to row down the arm into the entrance which led to
the floop, and there fharing the remains of a bottle of rum
among our boat’s crew, by way of encouragement, we
entered the hollow fea in the paflage. The violence of
the wind, and the height of the ftiort waves were fuch, that
in fpight of our utmoft efforts we were thrown above half
a mile to leeward in a few minutes, and narrowly efcaped
being fwamped. With the greateft difficulty we regained
the inlet out of which we had paffed, and about two-
o’clock in the afternoon we put into a fmall fnug cove, at
its north entrance. After fecuring our boat in the belt
manner poffible, we climbed on a bleak hill, where we
made a fire on a narrow rock, and attempted to broil fome-
fifties ; but though we were foak'ed with rain, and feverely
cut by the wind, yet it was impoflible for us to keep near
our fire, of which the flames were continually whirled
about in a vortex by the ftorm, fo that we were forced to
change