Ugh point, from whence a clear- and diftinfil view of< the fea-was- gained; be--
—w— ’ -tween the high land of cape Decifion, lying s-.g-i?., and1 tHeifouth extremity.
of the land, forming, the weftern fide of tlie-fe ftraits dying- fouth.
Here Mr. Whidbey obferved the latitude to- be 57P i',' longitude 225*'
39 - The fhores of the eaftern fide, along which they had! pafled fince
the morning, of the igtb/ were confidered1 in general' to be not more-
than moderately high, and terminating uniformly-in a- bold Ihore,- ffee
from Ihoals or other interruptions to navigation-, excepting, that the
flood tide is of Ihort- duration, the ftream having been'generally found
to fet downwards. The furfâce-o f the country is compofed1 of rugged
rocks, but in their chafins was a-tokrably goodToil,1 which-produced an
abundance of very (fine timber -of the pine-tribe-in great variety, fome of
which trees, meafured-twenty-three feet in girt-; but the oppofite Ihore
feemed to be compofed of rugged mountains lefs fertile, and riling by a
more fteep afcent from the water fide. From this point; which obtained
the name of P o i n t G a r d n e r , in a direéïion S.-23E., lie fame rocks
and a fmall illand, the former at the diftanee-of three quarters of a mile,
and the latter at that of three miles. It forms alfo theTouth-weft point
of entrance into another -very fpacious-arm- of the -féa, that takes a di-
reffion toward the-rj-. e ., where; after continuing-their examination for
about 10 -miles along its larboard or northsweftern Ihore; off'which lie
many detached rocks; thfe-party, refted-for-the-night meara point which
I called P o i n t T o w n s h -e-n d .
In the morning of the 23d the weatherwas again dark and gloomy; it
however permitted them to fee, that the furrounding-regidiis were too
much divided b y water, to admit of the moll diflant -probability-. of their
beingable to complete-their fiirvey up-to cape Decifion, during this expedition
; the party having alreadyheen-abfent-the lengthLo f time for which
they had been provided, and being now diftant upwards of an hundred and
twenty miles from- the veffels. Mr. Whidbèy was therefore obliged to
decline any further profecution of his refearches, and to make the belt of
his way back to Grofs found.’ They- had now a ftrong-gale from the eaft- -
ward, which after they hadpafledpoint Gardner-veered to the s.E;, greatly
increafed, and was-attended with heavy rain; but as it was fair, and juft
■ 3 , . permitted
permitted the boats to carry their clofe-reefed forefails, they made great
progrefs until the yawl’s mail Was carried away, which compelled them
to flop in a final! cove to repair the damage. Here they embraced an
opportunity of taking dome refrelhment of which they ftood in great
need, as they were all extremely wet and very cold. Soon after quitting
this place, they pafled clofe by the village of friendly Indians, but not one
of them was feen, and at is moll probable that the badnefs o f the weather had
confined them to their habitations. At the time o f ftarting from the cove;
Mr. Whidbey had intended to avail himfelf of the favorable gale, by running
all night; but by eleven o’clock the atmofphere became fo thick,
and the night fo dark, that he was obliged to abandon that defign, and
take Ihelter in a fmall cove on the eaftern Ihore, 21 leagues from point
Gardner. On the following morning the weather was calm, fair, and
pleafant; but the preceding gale had left behind it a Ihort irregular fwell,
which rendered their paffage acrofs the ftraits, fo extremely tedious and
flow, that they did not reach the fouth-eaft point of the branch leading
into Crofs found until near noon; when from this point, which obtained
the name of P o i n t A u g u s t a , and is fituated in latitude 58° 3-j, longitude
2250 to',, their courfe was direfted along the fouth-weft Ihore; but
the continued agitation of the water, fo obftru&ed their rowing, that
- they had not advanced more than 2 leagues, before it was time to halt for
the night. .
The weather continued to be calm and pleafant, and as they again
proceeded on the morning of the 25th, this fide of the branch was found
to be compofed chiefly of rocky cliffs, with iflets and detached rocks, lying
at fome diftance from the Ihore, which was compafl, not very high,
hut well covered with wood, taking a direction N. 60 w ., 17 miles, to a
point which I called P o i n t S o p h i a ; forming the north-eaft point of
entrance into- a deep found, which I named P o r t F r e d e r i c k , about
a league wide, in an eaft and weft direction, winding to the fouthward,
and apparently much divided by water. From the weft fide of this
found the Ihore took a more northerly direftion, with fome iflets lying
near it, to a point, which is the northern extremity of this filppofed archipelago,
and which obtained the name of P o i n t A d o l p h u s ,- fituated
L I 2 in
«7S4-
J u ly .