Page:The Northwest Coast; Or, Three Years' Residence In Washington Territory.djvu/35

Rh tance might be four leagues from the shore, which appeared to run in the direction of east-southeast and west-northwest, and there appeared to be a large sound or opening in that direction. By two o'clock we were within two miles of the shore, along which we sailed, which appeared to be a perfect forest, without the vestige of a habitation. The land was low and flat, and our soundings were from fifteen to twenty fathoms, over a hard sand. As we were steering for the low point which formed part of the entrance into the bay or sound, we shoaled our water gradually to six fathoms, when breakers were seen to extend quite across it, so that it appeared to be quite inaccessible to ships. We immediately hauled off the shore till we deepened our water to sixteen fathoms.

"This point obtained the name of Low Point (now Leadbetter Point), and the bay that of Shoal-water Bay, and a headland that was high and bluff, which formed the other entrance, was also named Cape Shoal-water, The latitude of the headland we judged to be 46° 47^ north, and the longitude 23/)° IV east of Greenwich." (Vancouver makes the latitude of Cape Shoal-water 46° 40^ north, and longitude 236° east, while Captain Al- den, of the United States Coast Survey, makes the latitude 46° 43^ minutes north, a mean which is most prob- able to be correct.) " The distance from Low Point to Cape Shoal-water was too great to admit of an observation in our present situation. The shoals still appeared to run from shore to shore, but when about midway we bore up near them in order to discover if there be not a channel near the cape. We accordingly steered for the mouth of the bay, when we shoaled our water to eight fathoms. At this time the breakers were not more than three miles from us, when it was thought prudent to again haul off. From the mast-head it was observed