?794- us thither. By a letter from Mr. Puget I became informed that the
i ■ Chatham had reached port Mulgrave on the 2gth of june, having completed
the examination of the continental fhore from cape Hinchinbrook
to that (lation, where he had found George Portoff (the Ruffian mentioned
in Cook’s inlet,) with nine of his countrymen, and nine hundred
Kodiak and Cook’s inlet Indians under his direftions, having extended
their excurfions in their fmall (kin canoes thus far, in quell of fea otter
and other (kins.
The pleafantnefs of the weather was much interrupted by the decline
of the wefterly wind; and we had now faint variable breezes between north
and s. e .,, attended with drizzling rain and thick mifty weather, that almoll
obfcured the land from our view. Whilll we were in this fituation, the
canoes that had come with Mr. Manby contrived to get unobferved at a
diftance from the ffiip ; and when called back, inltead of returning made
the belt of their way to the Ihore. This unpleafant weatheri with alternate
calms, continued until two in the afternoon, when a gentle breeze
fprang up from the N. w . ; but as' by this time we had drifted too far tq
the ealtward of cape Phipps to fetch into port Mulgrave, and as I had no
inducement from Mr. Puget’s communications to give up the advantage
o f the then favorable breeze for proceeding along the coalt, we hauled as
_ near to cape Phipps as the wind would allow, and after firing fome guns
to announce our fituation to the Chatham, we bore away along the
coaft, which from port Mulgrave is compofed of a low border, well
wooded, extending from the bafe of the mountains into the fea. The
feafon of the year not requiring that we Ihould lie to, to wait the return
of the day for carrying our furvey into execution, we continued under
an eafy fail, in expeflation of the Chatham overtaking us ; but this was
ih u r fd a y 3 . not the cafe, nor was our favorable gale of long duration. On thurfday
morning the wind was again variable in the eallern quarter, againft
which, as ufual, we plied, but to little purpofe. At ten in the forenoon
a ftrange fail was defcried to the eallward, and at noon the obferved latitude
was 59° 6', longitude 221*10'. In this fituation the coaft was
feen extending by compafs from N.w. to s. 82 e . ; its nearefl part
about 3 leagues diftant; the ffiores Hill continued to be covered with
3 wood,
*794-
Juty*
wood, were low, and appeared to be much inundated, and the waters
found their way to the fea in (hallow rivulets, through two or three
breaks in the beach.
The ftrange fail came up, and joined us in the afternoon. She proved
to be the Jackal], commanded by Mr. Brown. This veffel had vifited
thefe parts ,of the coaft the two preceding fummers, as a tender belonging
to the Butterworth, then under the command of this gentleman, but
at the cOnclufion of the feafon in 1793, (he had been difpatched towards
England, with directions to fiffi for whales and (eals in palling
through the pacific ocean, and at Staten land, where Mr. Brown had
formed a temporary eftablifhment. With this veffel, and the Prince le
Boo his other tender, Mr. Brown had gone to Canton, from whence
he had departed on the 24th of february; and after having a very tedious
paffage, he had reached this coaft on the 30th of the preceding month,
with the intention of proceeding to Crofs found ; but not having been able
to procure an obfervation for feveral days, he Was (leering to the north-
weft for that place ; this miftake was now corrected, and as there was not
much profpedt of our (lopping before we (hould reach Crofs found, Mr.
Brown offered to accompany us thither. From him we received the
lateft accounts of the (late of Europe that had appeared in China before
his failing. Thefe contained, not only the melancholy intelligence o f the .
death of Louis XVI. and of the anarchy which exifted in France, but
likewife of her declaration of war againft England, and of the attempts
which the difcotttented were making in Great Britain, by the promulgation
of French doflrines, to fubvert our ineftimable Conftitution. The
operation of fuch unwelcome and unexpefted tidings, breaking as it
were from a cloud upon the minds of perfons fo little prepared to receive
them, will be infinitely eafier for the reader to conceive than for
me to defcribe, and I (hall therefore only fay, that they became the fub-
jefls of our mod ferious and painful reflection.
Both wind and weather was very unpleafant; the former fettled on Friday 4.
friday in a fouth-eallerly gale, attended by a heavy (well, with fqualls
and dark rainy weather, which reduced us to clofe-reefed topfails. We
feparated from the Jackal], and attempted to beat to Windward, but loft
ground