jJW- in latitude 58° 18', longitude 2240 28-5-'. This point the party reached
i--- v——' in the evening, and about a league to the fouth-weft of it they refted for
the night in a fmall cove under a high hill, where a box was found about
four feet fquare, placed upon wooden pillars about fix feet from the
ground. This box contained the remains of a human body very carefully
wrapped up, and by ils fide was erefted a pole about twenty feet
high, painted in horizontal llreaks red and white's the colours were frefh
and lively, and from the general neatnefs of the whole, it was fuppofed
to be the fepulchre of fome chief. The next morning in making the bed
of their way towards the veffels, 'the fouthern fhore was found from point
Adolphus, to contain many open bays, and to take an irregular courfe
about . Si 77 w., feventeen miles and a half to point Lavinia. In this
route they paffed to the fouth of the group of rocky iflands; noticed oh
the 11 th at point Wimbledon. Thefe iflands form a kind of termination
to Crofs found, and almoft feparate it from the paffage to the ocean
which had now been difcovered; but between thefe iflands and the Ihores
that form the northern and fouthern fides of entrance into this fpacious
branch, there are two narrow channelsthe northernmoft being the
wideft is near a mile acrofs, the fouthernmoft is about half that width,
both of which are free - from rocks, fhoals, or any other impediments,
excepting the large mafles of floating ice, which at that time rendered
each of thefe channels very dangerous to navigate, although in the fum-
mer feafon; and in the winter, they are moft probably intirely clofed, or
impaflable. The fhores of that branch had the appearance of affording
fome good harbours, but thefe muff neceflarily be greatly inconvenienced
by the ice, which did not appear to Mr. Whidbey and his party, to
have been much diminifhedin the courfe of the fortnight they had been
ablent, although they had not experienced quite fo much difficulty in
palling through it on their return, as on their outfet, which was accom-
plilhed as before Hated, having, notwithftanding the extremely fevere and
boifterous weather that had generally prevailed, completed in about fix-
teen days a traverfe of upwards of five hundred miles.
Such being , the refult of Mr. Whidbey’s refearches, I lhall now proceed
to notice fuch circumftances refpe&ing the port in which the veffels
fels had taken their ftation, and the neighbouring Ihores of Crofs found,
as fell under, my obfervation.
Although the exiftence of this fpacious arm of the ocean has been publicly
denied by fome vifitors fubfequent to its original difcovery by Captain
Cook, yet in common jufticë Mthe abilities of that able navigator,
it muff be obferved that hé has given a much more accurate defcription
of it, than from the tranfitory diftant vie\v he had of it, might have been
reafonably expefted. The recent examination it has no.w undergone
has however lhewn, that cape Crofs is not precifely its fouth-eaftem
point of entrance, as from that cape a tract o f low rocky land extends
in a north dirè&ion about fevén miles to a point, from whence the fouthern
Ihore of the found takes a lharp turn about Nwqó e ., and conftitutes
that as the fouth-eaft point of entrance, to which I have given the name
of P o in t B in gham ; it lies from cape Spencer s. 17 E., diftant ten
miles, and affords a bold entrance into the found, without rock, Ihoal,
or any permanent obftacle. This appears to be the cafe alfo in every
other part of the found, and if it do poffefs any-navigable objection, it is
the unfathomable depth of it, which everywhere exifts, excepting very near
the Ihores, along which, ih many places are detached rocks; thefe however
lie out of the way of its navigation, and are fufficiently confpicuous
to be avoided.
The northern Ihores of this found from cape Spencer to point Wimbledon,
which I confider as its boundary in that quarter, have been already
noticed in the account o f Mr. Whidbey’s excurfion ; and as I confider
point Lavinia to be its eaftern boundary, there yet remains to ftate'
of what its fouth-eaftem part is compofed,
Between the above-mentioned eaftern boundary and point Bingham,
on that fide, there are two openings ; the firft lying from point Bingham
N. 60 e ., diftant four miles, appeared to be about a mile and a quarter
wide, and to take a dire&ion s, 30 e . for fome diftancè. This was not
examined by us, but will moft likely be found to afford, anchorage and
fecure Ihelter; the other is the port Althorp which We had laft quitted.
This has its fouth point of entrance, which has obtained the name of
Po in t L u c a n , fituated in the fame line of direction, ten miles from
point
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