]lut' a’nd Hinchinbrook illand, the fpacé was occupied by a low uninterrupted
—\— -> barren fand. as far .as the eye could reach, being the continuation of the
fhoal bank that they had traced ever fince quitting the ifleton the preceding
afternoon. This bank feemed to be impaffable, but as thefe obferva-
lions were made at low .water, a few feet only above the furfacé of an
extenfive and nearly level.tra.Cl of fands, Mr. Johnftone thought it
not improbable that a channel for the boats .might be found winding
through it into thé oceap. He was confirmed in this opinion by the
Ruffians on his' return to. the illand ; where, finding the other boat in
readipefs' to depart, they took leav.e of their Ruffian friends* with many
thankful expreffions for thé kindnelfes they: had bellowed. Thefe Mr.
Johnftone endeavoured to requite by a few trifling articles of traffic,
which he conceived might be acceptable, and which were received with
great pleafure by the Ruffians.
Thé wind ftill blew very'ftrong from the S.É., attended'with thick
rainy we&ther, but the hopes of being yet able to profecute their rè-
fearches along the continental ffiore'to the eaftward, induced them, to
continue in that purfuit towards the north-ëaft point of Hinchinbrook
ifland'.(which obtained the name of P o i n t B é'n t i n c k ) as the. moft
probable means for finding the expected boat paflage; but on their
reaching that point Mr. Johnftone perceived, as he had done in the
morning, the continuation of the fand-bank, connecting the land ' he
was then upon with the continent; with the only difference of its being
partly dry, the tide not being quite.fo low as before. To the eaft'ward
the ocean feemed to be very tempeftuous, and the fpace between, point
Bentinck and point Witlhed was occupied by a tremendous furf that rendered
any paflage at that time impracticable, though in more favorable
weather it might probably be elfecicd.
The .party had now been abfent ten days from the ffiip, which was
the period for which they had been fupplied, and as the only means' o f
carrying bn the furvey of the exterior coaft was round by cape Hinchinbrook,
a navigation far too extenfive for them to attempt with dip
remaining ftock of their prbvifions,' and expofed to the ocean on an in-
tirely opfn coaft, they were obliged, though, with great reluctance, to
. abandon
-abandon that objeft, and direCt their way towards home. In doing this . - J794-
.they pafled along the ffiores of Hinchinbrook ifland, nearly in a weft 1— v^=—’
direction, ftill doubtful whether the land,, forming the north-weftern
fide of the channel they had thus purfued, was an illand, or only a penin-
fula. Should however the former corijeCture prove correCt, their paflage
to the veffels would belhortened many leagues ; and to afcertain this faCt
they rowed until near midnight, when, having advanced about eight
miles from point Bentinck, their, labours were rewarded by reaching the
weftern fide of the expelled paflage leading into the found, by a channel
about half a league wide and about two miles long, in which were
fonae iflets and rocks, with a fhoal lying before its northern entrance.
The land in queftion was now proved to be an ifland; from one to four
miles wide, and about twenty miles long, in a north-eaft and fouth-weft
direction. This illand obtained the name of H a w k i n s ’s I s l a n d .
After refting a few hours, early in the morning of the 6th they, again
fat off, but their progrefs was flow in confequence of a ftrong wefterly
wind, almoft as adverfe to their returning as the eafterly. ftorms had
been-to their advancing, but with the alleviation of more pleafant weather.
They pafled along the north-weft part of Hinchinbrook illand,
which in a wefterly. direction is formed into Coves, and fmall open bays ;
in one of thefe they Hopped • to breakfaft. Here they found a crofs
ereCted, on which was infcribed, “ Carolus IV. Hifpan. Rex. An. 1790.
“ Pr D" Salvador Fidalgo.” The north-weft extremity of this ifland was
reached about noon, when the latitude,was obferved to be 6o° 30', its
longitude 213° 54', about y-J miles nearly in a weft direction from the
paflage they had pafled through the preceding night. This was only
the fecond obfervation that had been obtained for the latitude during
this expedition, but this fortunately happened to be at a confpicuoiis
ftation, from whence they were able to correCt the menfufation of the
whole of their furvey, which otherwife mult have. been. liable ,to material
error from the very, inclement weather they had experienced.
From this point the ffiores, which were indented into fmall coves, took
a s. s. w. direction, about eight miles to the north-weft point of entrance
into.port Etches; which Mr. Johnftone had my directions to vilit if circum-
Z .2 (lances