*794* The favorable breeze with which we had failed out of prince Wil-
<_ ; liam’s found did us but little fervice, as it was. foon fucceeded by a calm,
Friday 20. j n a few hours was followed by a s. w . wind, with rainy unplea-
Saturday 2 1 . fant weather. In the afternoon of faturday we were within about 4
leagues of Kaye’s illand; the wind then veered round and fixed in the
eaftern quarter, attended with fome variety both as to its force and direftion,
againft which we plied to fo little purpofe, that although every
Thu rfd aya6. advantage that offered was embraced in the morning of the 26th, yet the
fouth point of Kaye’s illand, which after Sir Andrew Snape Hamond, I
have diftinguilhed by the name of C a p e H a m o n d , bore by compafs
N . 16 E . , to leagues diftant. After about five hours calm, a light breeze
fprang up from the weftward, attended by fair pleafant weather; the variation
of the furveying compafs was at this time obferved to be 290 23’
ealtwardly j to this favorable gale we fpread all our canvas, and direfted
our courfe towards cape Suckling. At noon the obferved latitude was
59° 33*’ longitude' 215° 26'; in this flotation the high land of cape Suckling
bore by compafs N . 23 e . , and cape Hamond, N. 13 E . This cape,
according to feveral obfervations made whilft beating off it, and all agreeing
extremely well, is fituated in latitude 59° 48^', longitude 215” 51'. In
Captain Cook’s Jail voyage, vol. ii. page 35O, this very confpicuous
cape is Hated to be in longitude 216“ 58', but in the chart it is placed in
•pig“ 3'; from Captain Cook’s Situation on the preceding day in longitude
215” 56', he defcribes Kaye’s illand to be g or 6 leagues to the
weftward, hence the latter, or longitude 215“ 3’, is to be taken as the
longitude then afligned to it; and this made our obfervations for the
longitude vary lefs from Captain Cook’s, than on the coaft further to the
weftward.
The difference in longitude between Captain Cook’s calculations and
ours, appeared to decreafe as we advanced to the eaftward; for at cape
Elizabeth it was i°8', at cape Hinchinbrook it was 54', but at cape
Hamond it was only 48'. In the evening we palled cape Suckling,
which was found to be fituated in latitude 60° 1', longitude 216° 19’ ;
and as it was my intention to recommence our furvey of the coaft from
that point, we proceeded along it within about 2 leagues of the Ihore;
which
which (hot out into fmall projefting points, with alternate low cliffy, or *794-
white fandy, beaches, being the termination of a border of low woodland 1--- ,—
country, extending fome diftance within, until it joins the foot of a clofe-
eonnefted chain of lofty frozen mountains, which is a continuation of
the fame range that had been conftantly obferved to extend from the
head of Cook’s inlet, along the northern boundary of Prince William’s
found. From thefe low projefting points, fome Ihoals ftretch into the
ocean; one of thefe we palled about two in the morning, at the diftance z7-
of about four miles, without gaining foundings, with 35 fathoms of line ;
it extends in a foutherly direftion, two miles from a low point of land
that forms the weft point of a bay apparently very ftioal, and from the
quantity of white muddy water, that flowed from it into the fea, we
concluded it to be the outlet of the floods formed on the low land, by
the dilfolving ice and fnow on the fides of the neighbouring mountains ;
which at this feafon of the year mull be copious, as our thermometers
were generally between 50 and 65, and the elevated parts of the coaft
were ftill covered with fnow, as low down as where the pine trees began
to grow. Fsom the weft point of this bay, in latitude 60° 3^', longitude
2x6° 57', the Ihore, towards cape Suckling, makes a fmall bend to
the north-weftward, but the general direftion of the coaft is nearly eaft
and weft, and appeared to us to be firm and compaft.
A t fix in the morning the wefterly wind- died away, and the weather
remained calm, or nearly fo, until noon, during which time we drifted
a few miles to the eaftward, and Ihoaled our water from 60 to 42 fathoms,
without appearing to approach the Ihore ; our obfervations (hewed
the latitude to be 59<’ g7', longitude 217° 46'; at this time the weftern-
moft land in fight bore by compafs s. 60 w. ; a fmall opening in the beach',
-which, from the muddy water flowing from it, was evidently the entrance
into a lagoon or (hallow rivulet, N..6.6 w., diftant nine miles; the neareft
Ihore, which is an abrupt cliff at the extremity of a range of hills that
ftretch as it were perpendicularly to the bafe of the mountains, intercepting
the low border, andterminatingatthefea-fi.de n. j w ,, diftant five
or fix miles; and the eafternmoft land in fight, which is low, and apparently
a projefting point» N. 54 E.
D d 2 Our