*794- remained on board the Chatham, where he was foon joined by the reft of
•j“1-.' ■ his countrymen and the other fquadron o f their Indian party;
In the morning of the 28th. the Chatham entered the channel before
mentioned; (a boat having been fent forward to carry on the examination
of the continental Ihore ;) here the depth of water was 30 fathoms.
After having advanced a ftiort diftance, the channel was found to unite
,with a paflage that took a winding courfe through the iflands to the
weftward, and was incommoded with many rocks and -huge ftones, fimi-
lar to thofe noticed in Cook’s inlet.
The channel leading along the continent was found on examination
to be not more than fifty yards wide, though nearly at high water; for a
fmall fpace- the depth, was only 15 feet, but it quickly increafed to id
fathoms. This narrow fhallow part was carefully examined as it was
palled o yer; the depth loon increafed to 17 fathoms, when port Mulgrave
wasfeen; point Turner bearing s. 33 w. The number of native vifitors
now amounted to ten, who feemed on the moft friendly terms with the
Kodiak party; one of the former by figns and words; ufed all his eloquence
to point out the impoflibilityof the veflel’s palling through this
narrow paflage, .and that ultimately file would return by the fame way
Ihe was going; in this however he was miftaken, for by keeping in midt-
channel the depth was no where found to be lefs than 3- fathoms. This
■ paflage is about fix hundred yards long, lying from the entrance of the
channel s. 60 w . , . 2 miles, in which fpace the continental Ihore forms a
fmall bay, and to the fouthward of the narrow part it takes a more fouth-
erly direction; along it are fome iflets and rocks, and the weftern fide
o f the channel is much broken. About a league from the narrow part
the depth continued to be from 17, to 12 fathoms, until a Ihoal was
reached that lies acrofs the paflage; with this Mr. Johnftone had been
acquainted on a former vifit, and he now entertained hopes of finding a
fufficient depth for the Chatham to pafs over it, for which purpofe a
boat was difpatched to fearch for its deepeft part. The boat had fcarcely
put.off when the depth of water fuddenly decrealed to 5 fathoms, and
the veflel inftantly grounded. The cutter which was in Ihore among!!
the iflands was immediately recalled, and attempts were made to heave
- the
the Chatham off, but it being then falling tide they proved ineffectual; ’M4-
and" as it was near the top of the fprings, a bower anchor was carried out v— y—
and a ftrong purchafe • prepared, left the veflel Ihould be pinched in
floating the next tide,
The native Indians here made their appearance again, and brought
with them a fupply of excellent falmon; they feemed to exult in the
correCtnefs of their information, and perfifted that no paflage for the vef-
fel would be gained by that route to port Mulgrave. Mr. Puget however
conceiving that they had now proceeded too far to abandon this
delign without making further attempts, determined to give it another
trial.
It was low water about eight in the evening, the tide not having fallen
more than fix feet perpendicularly fince the veflel had grounded. At
this time the boats were founding for the deepeft Water, when the tide
flowed fo much falter than was expeCted, that before eleven o’clock the
veflel floated, and Ihe was hove off into 13, fathoms water, without having
received the Ieaft apparent damage. Here the Chatham remained
during the night, which was dark and gloomy, attended with rain and a
frefh eafterly gale o f wind. The ebb tide on the morning, of the 29th
fell five feet lower than it had done on the preceding evening; this afforded
a perfeCt view of the furroiinding flioals, which were in moft
places dry, with; two. large rocks. Between thefe the Chatham had
grounded, and had Ihe. been fleered, a few yards only to the right or left-,
it is .moft probable Ihe would have relied on one' of them, which would
have endangered her overfetting. About the conclufion of the ebb, a
boat was fent to examine two places on the bar that were not dry, one of
thefe,1 though narrow, was found to be fufficiently deep and free from
danger, provided its line of direction was marked with buoys.} this was
immediately done, and at half flood the Chatham pafled through it, having
not lefs than 3 fathoms water, which foon after deepened to te
fathoms. As the Ihoals Were approached that are laid down by Mr. Dixon
to the north-eaft of point Turner, which- is a low narrow ftrip of land
forming the fouth-eaft point of the illand that protefts port-Mulgrave
from the ocean, the depth again, decreafed to 4 and 3-5 fathoms; but by
palling;