'794' by me S eymo ur’s C a n a l , which, at this place, is from two to three miles
I wide, and which kept gradually increasing to its head, where, in a direction
of n.e. and s.w., it is nearly two leagues acrofs : on the weftern
fide are many fmall bays, and it terminates, at its north-weft extremity,
in a fmall brook of frelh water, in latitude 57°gi', longitude 226°, lying
from point Hugh n. .gg w., diftant twenty-nine miles. One, mile
from the fouth point of the brook is an iftand, about three miles arid an
half long, and'half a league broad ; and half a mile from the fouth point
of that iftand lies- another iftand, about the fame width, and fix miles
long ; both thefe iflands lie in the above direftion, and occupy the middle
of the branch, having a great number of iflets on their north-call
fides, and fome; rocks on.,their oppofite'ftiöres: Here were feen. five
Indians, who were, very Ihy. . The party! caught fome young ducks,
but they were very fiftiy, and bad eating,. The adjacent country «'moderately
high, .and was covered with timber of large growth, excepting
towards, point Hugh, which is a lpfty .rocky promontory, from, whence
extends a ledge of rocks, where the. fca broke,with confiderable- force.
Owing to the.badnefs, of the weather thefe rocks were not pafleduntil
ten at night on the 6th, .and even then not without the moft imminent
danger, occafioned by.a heavy rain and the darknefs of. the night, which
prevented the party from difcovéring their,perilous fituation until they
were nearly amongft' the breakers,. when, by timely and great .exertion,
they happily pafled clear of- them, and retted for- the night, about a-mile
on the nórth-eaft fide .of that point. The rain continued,, with a ftrong
gale'from the. fouthward, until the forenoon of the 7 th, when the atmof-
phere becoming more clear, their fituation was difeovered to b e on the
weftern fide of the branch which was feen from point Gambier, extending
to the northward, about, four miles in width ; but was now feen to take a
.more wefterly direftion, nearly parallel to Seymour’s - canal, which the
party had quitted; and making the intervening Ihore a long narrow ftrip of
land. The oppofite or north-eaft fide of this northern branch is compofed
of a compaft range of ftupendous mountains, chiefly barren, and covered
with ice and fnow. The route of the party was along the fóuth-
weft fide; this is nearly ftraight, compaft, and free from rocks or other
interruptions,
interruptions, and favored b y a s .e . breeze, they advanced about 12
leagues from point Hugh ; where they flopped for the night, oppofite ----- ----->
to a high round iftand, lying m the middle of the channel.
From this ftation, fituated in latitude 58° T, longitude: 226° 3', in the
morning of the 8th, they departed with calm rainy weather, and pur-
fued their relearches along the weftern Ihore, which now took a direction
N. l o w . , eight miles, to a point named by me P o i n t A r d e n , where
this branch divided into three arms; that which appeared to be a continuation
of the arm they had been navigating took a north-eafterly direction;
the fecond, lying about a league to the N .w „ not more than half
a mile wide, took a nbrth-wefterly direftion, and, apparently, made the
land on' its fouth-weft fide an iftand. About 3 leagues up this arm is a
fmall iflet, nearly in mid-channel. This afforded another inftance of the
partial exiftence of the'doe, which here intirely blocked up this arm,
whilft the others were free from any fuch inconvenience. The third and
wideft arm took a general courfe1 N. 81 w . , and is about a league in
width; this agreeably to our ufual praftice was firft purfued along the
fouthern ihore about 5 -leagues to point Young, forming the eaft point of
a cove, with an iftand and rock in its entrance, and another at the bottom
of the cove. At this point the width of the arm decreafed to about
half a league, and from it the fouthern Ihore ftretched N . 42 w . At the
diftanceof about feven miles the eaft point of another final! cove was
reached, With an iflet lying near it. A t the back of this iflet was an
Indian village, and another was feen on an oppofite point lying north,
about a league and a half from this .cove, on the land forming the north
fide o f the arm, and feemed to be the north-weft point of the land before
mentioned, appearing to be an iftand.
As Mr. Whidbey advanced from this cove; the Ihore ftill continuing the
fame line of direftion, he recognized the Ipot, from whence in his excur-
fion from Crofs found on the night of .the 18 th of july he had retired, in
confequence of the hoftile behaviour of the natives, and he now became
fatisfied-that he had been miftaken in fuppofing at that time the branch
to be clofed; as it was now evident that it communicated with that which
the party had thus navigated, making the intermediate, land, which had
N n 2 hitherto