»733- ceeded thus1 about a league, I flopped about noon at a point on the
. ■ north-weA fhore to obferve the latitude, which was 52*17', longitude
231» 54'; and whilft I was fo employed, Mr. Swaine was fent forward,
with direflions, on his difcovering a clear channel to fea, to return. As
I was preparing to follow him, the cutter was feen coming back;
Mr. Swaine reported, that from a point lying s. 48 w . a mile and a
half from our then.Ration, he had feen the ocean in a direftion s. 70 w . ;
the furtheft land being about 3 or 4 leagues diflant.
Being now fatisfied that all the land forming the fea coafl, from the
fouth entrance into Fitzhugh’s found, to the place from whence we now
looked into the ocean, confifted of two extenfi ve iflands, that were again
probably much fubdivided; I confidered the objeft of our errand ac-
complilhed, and we fat off on our return towards the Ration o f the vef-
fels, from whence we were 45 miles diRant. In the evening we paffed
clofe to the rock on which the village laR mentioned is fituated; it appeared
to be about half a mile in circuit, and was intirely occupied by
the habitations o f the natives. Thefe appeared to be well conflrufted;
the boards forming the fides of the houfes were well fitted, and the roofs
rofe from each fide with fufficient inclination to throw off the rain. The
gable ends were decorated with curious painting, and near one or two
of the moR confpicuous manfions were carved figures in large logs of
timber, reprefenting a gigantic human form, with flrange and uncommonly
diRorted features. Some of our former vifitors again came off,
and conduced themfelves as before with great civility; but thefe, as
well as thofe on fhore, had great objeftions to our landing at their village
; the latter making figns to us to keep off, and the former giving us
to underRand, that our company was not defired at their habitations.
Their numbers, I fhould imagine, amounted at leaR to three hundred.
After gratifying our friends with fome prefents, they returned to their
rock, and we continued our route homewards.
Saturday 8. About noon the next day, in a bay oppofite an opening on the wef-
tern fhore, that had the appearance o f communicating with the ocean,
we fell in with about forty men, women, and children of the fame tribe
o f Indians we had met on the firR day. Thefe received us with the
fame
fame kind of caution we had before experienced, and defired we would ‘ 793-
land at a rock a little diflant from the party. On complying with their v——,—
wifhes; we were vifited by moR of the men and boys, Who, after receiving
fome prefents, • gave us fully to underRand, that the women would
have had no objeftion to our company; but having Rill a long pull"
againfl wind and tide before we could reach the fhips, I declined their
civil felicitations.
The whole of this party were employed in gathering cockles, and in
preparing a fort o f, pafle from the inner bark o f a particular kind of
pine tree, intended we fuppofed as a fubflitute for bread; this they
wafhed in the fea water, beat it very hard on the rocks, and then made
it up into balls. It had a fweetilh tafle, was very tender, and if we
may judge from their actions, it feemed by them to be confidered as
good food.
This as well as the cockles they offered in abundance, in return for
nails and trinkets, but we accepted only a few of the latter.
About ten at night we arrived on board, where I found all well, and
moft of our material work executed. Mr. Baker informed me, that the
weather had been very unpleafant during my abfence, and according to
his account infinitely worfe than what we hadr experienced; this had
greatly protratted the neceffary duties of the Ihip, and prevented due
obfervations being made for afcertaitiing our fituation, and the rate of
the chronometers ; I was apprehenfive, that the few that had been obtained
were all that on the prefent occafion were likely to be procured.
The next morning Mr. JohnAone informed me, that on the forenoon Sunday 9.
of the 30th of may he reached point Menzies, from whence he found an
arm lying in a direftion with, little variation s. 33 e . By noon they
had advanced about 5 miles from point Menzies, where the latitude was
pbferved to be 52“ 15-', and about 4 miles further pafled an ifland on
the eaflern fhore. The weather being pleafant great progrefs was made
until the evening, when they reached its termination in latitude 52“ 1',
longitude 233° 18'. Its width in general a little exceeded a mile, and
the furrounding country exaftly refembled that which we had found
contiguous to thofe branches of the fea that have been fo repeatedly
V ol. II. N n defcribed.