Page:Voyage of discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and round the world in the years 1791-95, volume 2.djvu/481

444 November. Thurlday 7. ih Friday 8. In the evening we hauled our wind, and plied in order to retain our fituation, for the purpofe of profecuting our rcfearches in the morning ; when, notwithftanding that the wind was favorable to this defign, yet the fog prevented my putting it into execution, and we were obliged to ftand to windward all that day under an eafy fail. Unpleafant wea- ther like this had attended many of our favorable n.w. winds fince our departure from port Protection, and in a manner I had not been ac- cuftomed to notice. The fog did not in general rife more than ten or twelves degrees above the horizon ; above which the atmofphere was clear and pleafant, admitting us frequently to fee not only the fummits, but alfo fome diftance down the fides of the mountains that compofe the coaft. Thefe now appeared in a double ridge ; the interior ones produced foreft trees, that fhewed their tops above the fummits of thofe that feemed to rife abruptly from the fea fhore, the lower parts of which continued to be totally obfcured by the denfity of the fog, until the morning of the 8th ; when it in fome meafure difperfed, and permitted us to fee that part of the coaft from whence we had ftood to fea on the evening of the 6th, and enabled us to afcertain, that, fouthward from that ftation, the coaft fiill continued in a direftion S.40E., and was equally compa6l. The fame wind, with a continuance of thick hazy weather, fcarcely allowed us to fee from point to point as we failed along the coaft, and prevented our delineating its pofition with that degree of accuracy and precifion I could have wifhed ; though it did not preclude our afcertaining the continuation and connexion of the continental ft»ore, which, as we advanced, became lefs abrupt : and the country, compcfed of vallies and mountains that gradually dcfcended towards the fea ftiore, which confifted of alternate rocks and fandy beaches, put on a more agreeable appearance, as vegetation again feenud to ex- iil : fome dwarf trees were produced, and the furface was interfperfed with a few dull verdant fpots. About nine o'clock wc paffed a low projefting point, oft" which lie, at a fmall diftance, two or three rugged detached rocks ; the outcrmoft is fituated in latitude 35' 42", longitude 239' 6"; from whence the line of the coaft, for a Ihort diftance, inclines a few degrees more to the ea ft ward;