Tune’ largeft of the three weighed about 25 lb .; fu.ch of their quills as were
~~r— > hard) and in a perfeft ftate, did not exceed fix inches in length, although
they had others much longer, but thefe were foft and of no
ftrength.
In their way up Palfage canal, the progrefs of the party had been much
retarded by a ftrong wefterly, wind, and they had no fooner fat out on
their return than the wind fhifted, and blew equally ftrong from the
eaftward, which obliged them to be continually rowing until ten at night
before they reached the entrance; here they refted for the night in a
fmall bay, about half a league, to the north of the north point of entrance
into the canal, which I have ..called P oin t P ig o t , after one of
the young gentlemen who generally attended Mr. Whidbey on thefe
excurfions ; it is fituated in latitude 60° 47T', longitudes 12° 16±'. Early
in the morning of the 8th the examination of the continental fhore was
refumed; it forms the weftern fide of the northern branch o f this arm
before alluded to, and which in a direftion N. 30 E. is about 4 miles
wide. The continental fide of this branch is compofed of a ftupendous
range of fnowy mountains, from whofe bafe low projefting land extends,
jutting out into points, and forming the Ihores, which were thinly
wooded with dwarf pines and ftunted alders.
At one o f the points where the party had occafion to land, afepul-
chre was difcovered; Mr. Whidbey, in the courfe of this excurfion, had
obferved fimilar monuments before, but they were all fo old, decayed,
and'mutilated, that it was not an eafy matter to determine exaftly for
what fpecific purpofe they had been originally intended; but it was
now proved that their conjeftures had been rightly formed. This
tomb being of more recent date, Mr. Whidbey had it examined; a hole
was found dug about a foot deep, five feet long, and four feet wide; at
the bottom were fome thin planks, and acrofs them, nearly in the middle
of the grave, two pieces of wood were placed about a foot afunder, and
about nine inches thick, between which were depofited the remains of a dead
body, rolled up in a leal Ikin, and carefully tied with thongs of the fame
material. Thefe remains confifted of fome afhes and calcined bones,
which were concluded to be human; and as all the parts of the grave
2 Ihewed
(hewed evident figns of the aftion of fire, it is natural to infer, that con- ' 794-
fuming their dead by fire is the practice of the inhabitants. The relifts '---- ,---- >
thus depofited were covered' over with another plank, over which were
ftrewed ftones, mofs, and fome old broken paddles. The direftion of
the grave was nearly north and fouth, with a fmall pole about eight feet
long erefted at its fouth end. The cu’riofity of the party having been
thus fatisfied, every thing was reftored to its former ftate, and they proceeded
towards another low projefting point ftill on the larboard or
continental ftiore, in a direftion N. 63 E'. from this fpot, and at the diftance
of three miles. Between thefe points a bay is formed, about a league
and ahalf deep towards the W n. w y in which were feen feveral lhoals
and much ice; the termination Of this bay is bounded by a continuation
of the above range of lofty mountains. On this fecond low projefting
point, which Mr. Whidbey called P o i n t P a k e n h a m , the latitude was
obferved to be 6o° 59T', its longitude 212a 29'. The width of the arm at
this ftation was reduced to 2 miles, in which were feveral half concealed
rocks, and much floating ice, through which they purfued their examination,
to a point at the diftance of 3 milés along the weftern fhore, which
ftill continued to be compaft, extending n. 30 e. ; ■ in this direftion
they met fuch innumerable huge bodies of icë/ fome afloat, others lying
on the ground near the fhore in 10 of 12 fathoms water,: as' rendered
their further progrefs up the branch ralh, and highly dangerous. This
was however, very fortunately, an objeft of no moment, fince before their
return they had obtained a diftinft view of its termination about' 2
leagues further in the fame direftion, by a firm and compaft body of ice -
reaching from fide to fide, and greatly above the level of the lea; behind
which extended the continuation of the fame range of lofty mountains,’
1 whofe fümmits feemed to be higher than any that had yet been
feen on the coaft.
Whilft at dinner in this fituation they frequently heard a very loud
rumbling noife, not unlike loud, but diftant thunder; fimilar founds had
often been heard when the party was in the neighbourhood of large bodies
of ice, but they had not before been able to trace the caufe. They
now found the noife to originate from immenfe ponderous fragments of