Page:Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World in the Years 1791–95, volume 1.djvu/411

340 1792. July. ing cxtHMiicly well together ; gave the mean refult of the longitude by the lunar dillanees 15' 15" to the weilward oF the wateh. On fuch au- thorit)' hov(.er, I could not podibly determine that the chronometer erred To materially ; Aet had reafon to beliee, that it was not gaining at the rate we had allowed (ince our departure from Birch bay. The truf longitude therelbre of the refpeftive places hereafter mentioned, from Defolaiion found to Nootka, will be deduced from fuch obfervations as I was enabled to make at the latter place for corretling the error of the clironometer; by which, according to the Birch bay rate, the longitude of our prefent rendezvous was 234" 57' ; its true longitude, by fubfequent obfervations, 234° 52'!- ; the variation of the compafs by three fets of azimuths 18" 30' caftwardly.

From point Mudgc to this bay the channel is nearly flraight ; the weft- ern fhore is compaft, the eaflern one has fome rocky iflets and rocks ly- ing near it ; it is about half a league wide ; in turning up we found not the fmalleft obdruftion ; and the fhores are fufficiently bold for veffels to Hand as clofe to them as inclination may direft. Immediately above this Ration the channel contrafts to a fhort half mile, by the projefting land that forms the north fides of thefe two bays, and by an island on the eaftern fhore (navigable round for boats only) which projefts fo far as to reduce the channel to nearly one half its width. The tide, fetting to the fouthward through this confined paflage, ruflies with fuch immenfe impetuofity as to produce the appearance of falls confiderably high ; though not the lead obftruftion of either rocks or fands, fo far as we had an opportunity of examining it, appeared to exifl. The returning tide to the north, though very rapid, does not run with fuch violence ; this was eftimated to move at the rate of about 4 or 5 miles ; the other, at 7 or 8 miles per hour. They feemed regular in their quarterly change, but the vifible rife and fall by the fhore in this fituation, ^.as fo inconfide- rable as to allow us merely to diflinguifh the ebb from tlie flood tide.

In the evening of the 14th our boats returned, having found the chan- nel from thele narrow parts gradually increafing its -vvidih to a mile, and half a league, and to communicate with Johnflone's flraits in nearly the fame n.n.w. direftion, about 4 leagues further, without any vifible ob- fhuftion