Page:Voyage of discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and round the world in the years 1791-95, volume 3.djvu/233

206 17Q4. us thither. By a letter from Mr. Pugct I became informed that the Chailiarn had reached port Mulgrave on the 29th of June, having com- pleted the examination of the continental fhore from cape Hinchinbrook to that ftation, where he had found George Portoflf (the RufiTian men- tioned in Cook's inlet,) with nine of his countrymen, and nine hundred Kodiak and Cook's inlet Indians under his direftions, having extended their excurfions in their fmall fliin canoes thus far, in quell of fea otter and odier fliins.

The pleafantnefs of the weather was much interrupted by the decline of the wcflerly wind ; and we had now faint variable breezes between north and s. E., attended with drizzling rain and thick mifty weather, that almofl obfcured the land from our view. Whilft we were in thi? fituation, the canoes that had come with Mr. Manby contrived to get i pobferved at a diftance from the fhip ; and when called back, indead of rc; urning made the bed of their way to the (hore. This unpleafant weather, with alter- nate calms, continued until two in the afternoon, when a gentle breeze fprang up from the N. w. ; but as by this time we had drifted too far to the eaftward of cape Phipps to fetch into port Mulgrave, and as I had no inducement from Mr. Puget's communications to give up the advantage of the then favorable breeze for proceeding i'long the coaft, we hauled as near to cape Phipps as the wind would allow, and after firing fome guns to announce our fituation to the Chatham, we bore away along the coaft, which from port Mulgrave is compofed of a low border, well wooded, extending from the bafe of the mountains into the fea. The feafon of the year not requiring that we ftiould lie to, to wait the return of the day for carrying our furvey into execution, we continued under an eafy fail, in expeftation of the Chatham overtaking us ; but this was "iTiurfday 3. not the Cafe, nor was our favorable gale of long duration. On thurfday morning the wind was again variable in the eaftern quarter, againft which, as ufual, we plied, but to little purpofe. At ten in the forenoon a ftrange fail was defcried to the eaftward, and at noon the obferved la- titude was 59° 6', longitude 221" lo'. In this fituation the coaft was feen extending by compafs from vt.w. to s. 82 e. ; its neareft part n.e., about 3 leagues diftant ; the ftiores ftill continued to be covered with 3 wood,