1794* ground until the 6th ; when, after fome hours calm, we were favored in
. ^ ‘ly' 1 the morning with a gentle breeze from the N.w., and a return of plea-
Sunday 25. ,fant weather. We had now an extenlive view of the fea coall, llrctch-
ing by eompafs from s. 77 w. to N: 86 e ., within which limits mount
St. Elias and mount Fairweather rofe magnificently confpicuous, from
the ftill-continued range of lofty fnowy mountains. This favorable
gale foon enabled us to recover the ground we had loft, and by noon
we reached the latitude of 59° 3', longitude 221° 41', and the variation in
the afternoon was 310 q6/ eaftwardly. In this fituation mount St. Elias,
being the wefternmoft land in fight, bore by eompafs n . 73 w . ; mount
Fairweather was at this time obfeured by clouds.; the neareft Ihore,
which was near a narrow (hallow opening into a lagoon, je.n . e . diftant
feven miles ; and the eafternmoft land in fight s. 85 E. The part of the
coaft off which we had been thus cruifing fince the preceding thurfday,
appeared from its latitude, and relative fituation with thefe two very
confpicuous mountains, to Tie that part where Captain Cook fuppo-
fed that Beering had anchored, and to which he gave the name of
Beering, fuppofing it to be a bay, with an ifland covered with wood
lying off its foutherii point. But in this, neighbourhood no fuch bay
or ifland exifts, and Captain Cook mud have been led into the mif-
take by the great diftance at which he faw this coaft; in confequence
of which he was prevented noticing the extenfive border of. low land
that ftretches 'from the foot of the vaft range of lofty mountains, and
forms the fea fhore. The irregularity of the bafe of thefe mountains, which
retire in Tome places to a confiderable diftance, and efpecially in the part
now alluded to, would, on a more remote view than we had taken, lead
the moft cautious obferver to confider the appearances in the coaft, as
indicating deep bays, or openings likely to afford tolerable, and even good
fhelter; and had it not been for the information we had previoufly received
from Mr. Brown, who had been clofe in with thefe {bores, we
fhOuld have {Till fuppofed, until thus far advanced, that we had Beering’s
bay in view, with, the ifland lying near its fouth-eaftern point. This deception
is occafioned by a ramification of the mountains ftretching towards
the ocean, and terminating in a perpendicular cliff, as if at the
fea
fea fide; having a more elevated part of the low border, covered with
wood, lying to the fouth-weft of it; the former at a diftance, appears to
form the eaft point of an extenfive bay, and the latter, an ifland lying off
from it ; but both thefe are at the diftance o f fome miles from the fea {hore,
which from port Mulgrave to this ftation takes a general dire&ion about
s. 65 E. and is chiefly compofed of a very low tract of land, terminating
in fandy beaches ; over which, from the malt head, were feen confiderable
pools, or lagoons of water, communicating with the ocean by {hallow
breaks in the beach; acrofs all of which, the Tea broke with much violence.
Where this low country was not interfered by the inland waters,
it was tolerably well wooded; but as we advanced to the eaftward, this
border became lefs extenfive, was more elevated, much lefs covered with
wood, and for a few miles totally deftitute of either wood or verdure;
and like that part before noticed between point Riou and point Manby,
was compofed of naked rugged fragments of rocks of various magnitudes,
lying as it were in the front of mount fairweather, like thofe on the fhore
before mount St. Elias.
The bafe of this lofty range of mountains now gradually approached
the fea fide; and to the fouthward of cape Fairweather, it may be faid to
be waflied by the ocean; the interruption in the fummit o f thele very elevated
mountains mentioned by Captain Cook, was likewife confpicuoufly
evident to us as we failed along the coaft this day, and looked like a
plain compofed of a folid mafs of ice or frozen fnow, inclining gradually
towards the low border; which from the fmoothnefs, uniformly, and
clean appearance of its furface, conveyed the idea of extenfive waters
having once exifted beyond the then limits of our view, which had paffed
over this depreffed part of the mountains, until their progrefs had been
Hopped by the feverity of the climate, and that by the accumulation of
fucceeding fnow, freezing on this body of ice, a barrier had become formed,
that had prevented fuch waters from flowing into the fea. ’ This is not the
only place where we had noticed the like appearances; fince paffing the
icy bay mentioned on the 28th of june, other valleys' had been feen
ftrongly refembling this, but none were fo extenfive, nor was the furfacd
of any of them fo clean.; moft of them appearing to be very dirty. I do not
Vol. III. E e however