i .7? 8.
S e p tem b e r .
T h u r fd a y 10.
F r id a y 1 u
Having continued to ply back all night, b y day-break the
next morning we had got into fix fathoms water. At nine
o’clock, being about a leagu e from the Weil ihore, I took
two boats, and landed, attended by Mr. King, to feek wood
and water. We landed where the coaft projedls out into a
b lu ff head, compofed o f perpendicular Jlrata o f a rock o f a
dark blue colour, mixed with quartz and glimmer. There
joins to the beach a narrow border o f land, now covered
with lo n g grafs, and where w e met w ith fome angelica.
Beyond this, the ground rifes abruptly. At the top o f this
elevation, w e found a heath, abounding with a variety o f
b e r r ie s ; and further on, the country was level, and thinly
covered with fmall fpruce trees ; and birch and willows no
b ig g e r than broom fluff. We obferved tracks o f deer and
foxes on the beach ; on w hich alfo la y a great quantity o f
drift-wood ; • and there was no want o f frefh water. I returned
on board, with an intention to bring the fhips to an
anchor h e r e ; but the wind then veering to North Eaft,
w h ich blew rather on this ihore, I ftretched over to the op-
pofite one, in the expectation o f finding wood there alfo, and
anchored at eight o’clock in the evening, under the South
end o f the Northernmoft ifland: fo w e then fuppofed it to
b e ; bur, next morning, we found it to be a peninfula, united
to the continent by a low n eck o f land, on each fide
o f which the coaft forms a bay. We plied into the South-
ernmoft, and about noon anchored in five fathoms water,
over a bottom o f m u d ; the point o f the peninfula, which
obtained the name o f Cape Denbigh, bearing North 68”
Weft, three miles diftant.
Several people were feen upon the peninfula; and one
man came o ff in a fmall canoe. I gave him a knife, and a
few beads, with which he feemed w e ll pleafed. Having
made
made figns to him to bring us fomething to eat, he immediately
left us, and paddled toward the ihore. But, meetin
g another man coming off, who happened to have two
dried Salmon, he got them from h im ; and on returning to
the ihip, would giv e them to no body but me. Some o f our
people thought that he afked for me under the name o f Ca-
pitane; but in this they were probably miftaken. He k n ew
w ho had given him the kn ife and beads, but I do not fee
how he could kn ow that I was the Captain. Others o f the
natives, foon after, came off, and exchanged a few dry fiih,
fo r fuch trifles as they could g e t, or we had to give them..
T h e y were moft defirous o f knives 7 and they had no diflike
to tobacco.
A fte r dinner, Lieutenant Gore was fent to the peninfulaf
to fee i f wood and water were there to be g o t ; or rather
w a te r ; fo r the whole beach round the bay feemed to be covered
with drift-wood. At the fame time, a boat was fent
from each ihip, to found round the b a y ; and, at three in:
the afternoon, the wind fre ihen in g at North Eaft, we
weigh ed, in order to w ork farther in. But i t was foon
found to be impoflible, on account o f the ihoals, which extended
quite round the bay, to the diftance o f two or three
miles from the ih o r e ;. as the officers, who had been fent to
found, reported. We, therefore, kept ftanding o ff and o n
w ith the Hups, waiting for Mr. Gore, who returned about
eight o’clock, with the launch laden with wood.
He reported, that there was but little freih water; and
that wood was difficult to be got at, by reafon o f the boats
grounding at fome diftance from the beach. This being the
cafe, I flood back to the other ihore; and, at eight o’clock
the next morning, fent all the boats, and a party o f men
’ Saturday; ic*.
w.iih
1 7 7 8 .
September-.