340
T iT ' Suished by three small peaks, which, one of them in particular, have
the appearance of craters; St. George’s consists of two hills united
by moderately high ground, and is higher than St. Paul’s ; both were
covered with a brown vegetation. Sea-otter Island is very small, and
httle better than a rock. The Kussians have long had settlements upon
both the large islands, subordinate to the establishment at Sitka, and
annually send thither for peltry, consisting principally of the skins of
amphibious animals, which, from their fine furry nature, are highly
valued by the Chinese and Tartar nations. 1 have given the geographical
position of these islands in the Appendix ; and for a further
account of them, the reader is referred to Langsdorff’s Travels, and to
Kotzebue’s Voyage.
At sunset we lost sight of St. Paul’s Island, and being at that time
ignorant of the position of St. George’s, further than what knowledge
was derived from a rough notice of it in the geological account of
Kotzebue’s Y"oyage, we pursued our course with some anxiety, as the
night was dark and unsettled, and the morning came without our obtaining
a sight of the island. On approaching the Aleutian Islands,
we found them obscured by a dense white haze which hung to windward
of the land ; and the wind increasing with every appearance of a
gale, our situation became one of great difficulty. Early in the morning
a peak was seen for so short a time that it only served to show us that
we were not far from the land, without enabling us to determine which
of the islands we were near; and as in this part of the --Aleutian Chain
there are several passages so close together, that one may easily be mistaken
for the other, an accurate knowledge of the position of the ship is
of the greatest importance. Under our circumstances, I relied on the accuracy
of Cook’s chart, and steered due east, knowing that if land were
seen in that parallel, it could be no other than the island of Oonemak;
and that then, should the fog not clear away, the course might still be
directed along that island to the southward.
This is a precaution I strongly recommend to any person who may
have to seek a channel through this chain in foggy weather, jiarti-
cularly as these passages are said to be rendered dangerous by the rapid
tides which set through them. It was no doubt these tides, added
to the prevalence of fogs, that caused many of the misfortunes which CHAP.
befel tbe early Russian navigators. Sbelekoff, in speaking of the straR ,
to the westward of Oonemak, through which we passed, observes that it is
Oct.
1826.
free from the danger of rocks and shoals, but is troubled with a strong
current. In our passage through it, however, we did not remark that
this was the case ; but no doubt there are just grounds for the obser-
vation*.
After running five miles, breakers were seen upon both bows, and, at
the same time, very high cliffs above them. YVe stood on a little further,
and then, satisfied that the land must be that of Oonemak, bore up along
it, and passed through the strait. YVe had no soundings with forty
fathoms of line until we were about four miles off the S. YY". end of the
island; and there we found thirty fathoms on a bank of dark-coloured
lava, pebbles, and scorim, but immediately lost it again, and had no
bottom afterwards. The south-west angle of Oonemak is distinguished
hy a wedge-shaped cape, with a pointed rock oft it. This cape and
the island of Coogalga form the narrowest part of the strait, which
is nine miles and a half across. Coogalga is about four miles long,
and rendered very conspicuous by a peak on its N . E. extremity.
Acouan, the island to the northward of this, which also forms part
of the strait, is high and remarkable; but on this occasion wc did not
see it, in consequence of the bright haze that hung over the hills on
the northern part of the chain.
Oonemak was the only island upon which snow was observed. Its
summit was capped about one-third down, even with a line of clouds
which formed a canopy over the iiorthern half of the groupe. The
limits of this canopy were so well defined, that in passing through the
strait on one side of us there was a dense fog, while on the other the
sun was shining bright from a cloudless sky.
As soon as we had fairly entered the Pacific the wind abated, and
wc had a fine clear night, as if in passing through the chain that
divides the Karaschatkan Sea from the Pacific we had left behind us the
• I afterwards learned from a very respectable master of an American brig, that^ m
passing through tbe strait to tlio westward of Oonalaska he experienced a cu rren t ru n n in g
to tlie northward a t the ra te of si.x miles an liour, and was unable to stem it.
Ml