>794- rate, was by Kendall's, 235« 27*1 Arnold’s No. 14, 233.“ 2a'; and No.,
November, 1 ' 1 / —«-— 1 IffM 56 • I Mg ' f f f l i i « j|j# 1 • ■‘r
A s we drew in with the ftiores of the northern part of the cape, having
fince noon fleered s.E. by compafs about-3 . leagues, we fuddersly came
into d-ifeoloured water, with a very irregular fea j but foundings could
not be gained with the hand line, nor at the rate we were then going,
could bottom have been reached, at a greater depth than from 7 to 10
fathom?, 'idj
As I intended before we proceeded to Monterrey .to vifit the bay of
Sir'Francis Drake, and from thence in our boats , to acquire a better
knowledge than we had hitherto gained of port Bodega, our courfe after
palfing this promontory was direfled' along the coaft to the fouth-eaft for
that purpofe.
In the evening about fun-fet a very lingular appearance was obferved
over the interior mountains, immediately behind the high land of this
lofty projefting promontory. An immenfe body of very denfe clouds
enveloped the fummits of thofe mountain?, fifing in a eonfufed agitated
Hate like volumes of fleam from a boiling cauldron of great magnitude;
thefe expanded to the northward, and obfcured all that part of the horizon,
whilfl to the fouthward, it was perfeftly clear and unclouded.
From our own experience, as well as from the information: we had derived
from the Spaniards, we. had long been led to confider cape Mendocino
as fituated on the divifionary line between the moderate and
boifterous climates of this coaft. For this reafon, however unfcientific it
may appear, we could not avoid entertaining.an idea, that from the immenfe
accumulation of exhalations, which the flu pendents mountains in
this immediate neighbourhood arreft, arofe thofe violent fouth-eaft.florms,
.with which, further to the northward, we fo frequently contended, and by
which, the coaft of New Albion to the fouthward of this ftation, is certainly
but feldom, and never in fo violent a degree affefted. This extraordinary
appearance inclined us to believe that fome turbulent weather was not
far remote, but from what quarter we could not guefs, as the Heady favorable
north-weft gale, and the appearance of clear and fettled weather, in
the direftion we were fleering, did not give us reafon to apprehend any
2 inconvenience
inconvenience from the wind fhiftirag to the fouth-eaftward; and its NoJ|^'bcr
blowing from the oppofite point had always been confidered as the har- - ‘
binger of moderate and pleafant weather. This general rule was on Tud&y 4.
tuefday morning partly confirmed, and partly contradidled, as the vapours
we had obferved c oM in g on the preceding evening, were now
found to have been deftined to difeharge their fury from a quarter we
had leaft expefted. During the. night we had made fuch progrefs
along the coaft, that by four in the morning it became necelfary to haul
:to the wind, in order that we might not overlhoot our intended port
before day-light. A t this time the wind at n . n . w ., attended with a
rnoft tremendous fea from the' fame quarter, had increafed to fuch a
degree of violence, as allowed us to haul off the (bore under our forefail
and ftorm ftayfails only; but the forefail, though a very good one, not
•being able to refill the violence of the ftorm, was about fun-rife blown Wednef. 5.
nearly to pieces; this was immediately replaced with the heft we had,
the-topgallant-mafts were ftruck, and the {hip made'asTnug as poffible.;
but unable to fend with fafety before the ftorm, we lay to, with the
{hip’s head to the weftward, under the ftorm ftayfails, it being impoffible
to fhow more canvas,, and of courfe too hazardous to fleer for that part
of the coaft I wiftied toiHake, or t© attempt running under our barepdles
into a port, :of which, we had fo M e knowledge as that o f the bay of Sir
Francis Drake1; to keep the fea, was therefore our only prudent alternative.
• : PI " 1 '
During this ftorm I felt a high degree, of fatisfaclion, that we had not
•made a more fpeody palfage from Nootkato Monterrey, as from the
direfitionin which it had blown, I confidered, that had we been arrived
in that port,' we dhonld have been expofed 16 the whole.of .its fury,
and the violence of the fea that had attended it. As Monterrey was •
now lying silgom. (of us, I could not ftfppofe from the .diftance of that
■ port, -.that the gale had not .reached fo far, for excepting the florms we
experienced at and off New Zealand, this was certainly the moll violent
•of any we had met with during this voyage; the fhip however was by no.
.mean's fo uncomfortable as we had found her on many other occafions.
The waves although extremely high, were long and regular,-the fky was
T t 2 "hard