Auguft.
Thuriday 1.
ken parts of the country immediately along the fea coaft, I was encouraged
to perfevere in this pur-fuit.
We had not been long landed, before the natives, who had vilited us
at dinner time, made their appearance again, accompanied by a large
canoe, in which was the chief of their party.
I dire&ed them to land at a fmall diftance from our boats, with
which they readily complied. The chief received fome prefents, and,
in return, gave me two or three fea otters’ tails. This intercourfe
feemed, by our figns,, and fuch words as we had picked up, to be an
aflurance of a good underftanding between u s ; and, on a promife of
entering further into trade the next morning, they retired to a fmall
cove about half a mile from us, with every appearance of being perfeftly
fatisfied; but, about an hour afterwards, one o f their canoes was feen
paddling towards us. On this a piftol was fired in the air, which had
the good effect of Ihewing that we were upon our guard, and prevented
their giving us any further difturbance.
As foon as it was day-light the next morning, thefe people, accompanied
by another canoe, were with us according to appointment the
preceding evening. They offered for fale the fkins of the fea otter, and
a large black bear, that feemed to have been killed by a fpear in the
courfe of the night. I was not backward in complying with our part
o f the agreement; but, like thofe whom we had feen on faturday, thefe
rejected every article we had with us for the purpofe o f barter ; and,
excepting fire-arms and ammunition, which were not offered to them,
we could not difcover on what their inclinations were placed... They followed
us however for two miles, perfifting in defiring we would “ Winnee
matter,” until, at length, finding no other articles were tendered them
than thofe they had before declined, they retired, exclaiming “ Pufee”
and “ Pejhack which could not be mifunderftood as terms of difappro-
bation.
This party, including one woman with a lip ornament, confifted
o f fix teen or eighteen perfons, who, in character, much refembled
(though I think they were not quite fo ferocious).’ thofe we had
feen the preceding faturday. This woman, as well, as the other we
had
had feen on the 27th, fleered the canoe.; She appeared to be a molt ex- '793-
celfive fcold, and to polfefs great authority. She had much to fay refpeft-
ing the whole of their tranfa&ions, and exa&ed the mod ready obedience
to her commands, which were given in a very furly manner, particularly
in one iriftance to a man in the bow of the canoe ; who, in compliance
to her direftions, immediately made a different difpofition of the fpears.
Thefe- had all' lain on one fide of him, juft pointed over the- bow of
the canoe, with feveral* things earelefsly lying over them; but, on his
receiving her commands, the outer ends were projected further, their
inner ends cleared, of the lumber that was over them, and the whole,
amounting to about a dozen, were equally divided, and regularly laid on
each fide o f him.
From the plUce at which we had flept, this channel took a direction
s.42 w., about a league and-a half, to a point in latitude 54° 48', longitude
2290 S9i'> from whence the continental fhore takes a direction
n; 25 w. about a league, through a narrow channel not a fourth o f a mile
in breadth ; having in it feveral diets and rocks. In order to make fure
o f keeping the continental fhore on board, we purfued this, and left the
fouth-wefterly channel, whofe width had increafed to about a mile, and
whofe fhores appeared to be much broken, as if admitting feveral pal-
fages to the fea. A t the north end-of-this narrow channel we: came to a
larger one ex-tending N. 35 e . and s. 35 w . The former firft attracted
our notice ; this-by noon was found to-end in latitude 54° 55^', longitude
229* 40'; not in low marlhy land, as had been generally the cafe
in the interior parts of our furvey, but by low though fteep rocky
Ihores, forming many little hays and coves, abounding with rocks and
rocky ifiets. Here were feen an immenfe number of fea otters, and
amongft them fome few Teals, but more of the former than I had yet
noticed; Having dined we purfued the examination of the continent in
a fouth-wefterly direction,. which brought us by the evening to its end
in that direction, in latitude 54° 48 j-', longitude 229“ 31 a'. From hence
the channel extended to the s-. s. e . and met that which we had quitted in
the morning, making the land which formed the weftern fhore of the nar-
row channel, and that before us to the eaftward, an ifland about ten.
miles.