certainly, if they had known any thing of their effect, they never would have dared to attempt taking a boat from under a ship's guns, in the face of above a hundred men; for most of my people were looking at them, at the very instant they made the attempt. However, after all these tricks, we had the good fortune to leave them as ignorant, in this respect, as we found them. For they neither heard nor saw a musquet fired, unless at birds.

Just as we were going to weigh the anchor, to proceed farther up the bay, it began to blow and to rain as hard as before; so that we were obliged to veer away the cable again, and lay fast. Toward the evening, finding that the gale did not moderate, and that it might be some time before an opportunity offered to get higher up, I came to a resolution to heel the ship where we were; and, with this view, moored her with a kedge-anchor and hawser. In heaving the anchor out of the boat, one of the seamen, either through ignorance or carelessness, or both, was carried over-board by the buoy-rope, and followed the anchor to the bottom. It is remarkable, that, in this very critical situation, he had presence of mind to disengage himself, and come up to the surface of the water, where he was taken up, with one of his legs fractured in a dangerous man

ner.

Early the next morning, we gave the ship a good heel to port, in order to come at, and stop the leak. On ripping off the sheathing, it was found to be in the seams, which were very open, both in and under the wale, and, in several places, not a bit of oakum in them. While the carpenters were making good these defects, we filled all our empty water-casks, at a stream hard by the ship. The wind was now moderate, but the weather was thick and hazy, with rain.

The natives, who left us the preceding day, when the bad weather came on, paid us another visit this morning. Those who came first, were in small canoes; others, afterward, arrived in large boats; in one of which were twenty women, and one man, besides children.

In the evening of the 16th, the weather cleared up, and we then found ourselves surrounded on every side by land. Our station was on the east side of the Sound, in a place, which in the chart is distinguished by the name of Snug Corner Bay. And a very snug place it is. I went, accom

panied

panied by some of the officers, to view the head of it, and we found that it was sheltered from all winds, with a depth of water from seven to three fathoms over a muddy boltom. The land, near the shore, is low, part clear, and part wooded. The clear ground was covered, two or three feet thick, with snow; but very little lay in the woods. The very summits of the neighbouring hills were covered with wood; but those farther inland seemed to be naked rocks, buried in snow.

The leak being stopped, and the sheathing made good over it, at four o'clock in the morning of the 17th, we weighed, and steered to the north-westward, with a light breeze at E.N.E.; thinking, if there should be any passage to the north through this inlet, that it must be in that direction. Soon after we were under sail, the natives, in both great and small canoes, paid us another visit, which gave us an additional opportunity of forming a more perfect idea of their persons, dress, and other particulars, which shall be afterward described. Our visitors seemed to have no other business, but to gratify their curiosity; for they entered into no sort of traffic with us. After we had got over to the N.W. point of the arm in which we had anchored, we found that the flood-tide came into the inlet through the same channel by which we had entered. Although this circumstance did not make wholly against a passage, it was, however, nothing in its favour. After passing the point above mentioned, we met with a good deal of foul ground, and many sunken rocks, even out in the middle of the channel, which is here five or six leagues wide. At this time the wind failed us, and was succeeded by calms and light airs from every direction; so that we had some trouble to extricate ourselves from the threatening danger. At length, about one o'clock, with the assistance of our boats, we got to an anchor, under the eastern shore, in thirteen fathoms water, and about four leagues to the north of our last station. In the morning, the weather had been very hazy; but it afterward cleared up, so as to give us a distinct view of all the land round us, particularly to the northward, where it seemed to close. This left us but little hopes of finding a passage that way, or, indeed, in any other direction, without putting out again to sea. To enable me to form a better judgment, I dispatched Mr Gore, with two armed boats, to examine the northern

arm;

arm; and the master, with two other boats, to examine another arm that seemed to take an easterly direction. Late in the evening they both returned. The master reported, that the arm he had been sent to, communicated with that from which we had last come; and that one side of it was only formed by a group of islands. Mr Gore informed me, that he had seen the entrance of an arm, which, he was of opinion, extended a long way to the N.E.; and that, probably by it, a passage might be found. On the other hand, Mr Roberts, one of the mates, whom I had sent with Mr Gore to sketch out the parts they had examined, was of opinion, that they saw the head of this arm. The disagreement of these two opinions, and the circumstance already mentioned of the flood-tide entering the Sound from the south, rendered the existence of a passage this way very doubtful. And, as the wind in the morning had become favourable for getting out to sea, I resolved to spend no more time in searching for a passage in a place that promised so little success. Besides this, I considered, that, if the land on the west should prove to be islands, agreeably to the late Russian Discoveries, we could not fail of getting far enough to the north, and that in good time, provided we did not lose the season in searching places, where a passage was not only doubtful, but improbable. We were now upward of five hundred and twenty leagues to the westward of any part of Baffin's, or of Hudson's Bay. And whatever passage there may be, it must be, or, at least, part of it, must lie to the north of latitude 72°." Who could expect to find a passage or strait of such extent ?

Having thus taken my resolution, next morning at three o'clock, we weighed, and with a gentle breeze at north, proceeded to the southward down the inlet, and met with the same broken ground, as on the preceding day. However, we soon extricated ourselves from it, and afterward never struck ground with a line of forty fathoms. Another passage into this inlet was now discovered to the S.W. of that by which we came in, which enabled us to shorten our way

10 Captain Cook seems to take his ideas of these from Mr Stæhlin's map, prefixed to the account of the Northern Archipelago, published by Dr Maty. London, 1774.-D.

"On what evidence Captain Cook formed his judgment as to this, is mentioned in the Introduction.-D.

way out to sea. It is separated from the other by an island, extending eighteen leagues in the direction of N.E. and S.W.; to which I gave the name of Montagu Island.

In this S.W. channel are several islands. Those that lie in the entrance, next the open sea, are high and rocky. But those within are low ones; and being entirely free from snow, and covered with wood and verdure, on this account they were called Green Islands.

At two in the afternoon, the wind veered to the S.W., and S.W. by S., which reduced us to the necessity of plying. I first stretched over to within two miles of the eastern shore, and tacked in fifty-three fathoms water. In standing back to Montagu Island, we discovered a ledge of rocks, some above, and others under water, lying three miles to the north of the northern point of Green Islands. Afterward, some others were seen in the middle of the channel farther out than the islands. These rocks made unsafe plying in the night (though not very dark); and, for that reason, we spent it standing off and on, under Montagu Island; for the depth of water was too great to come to an anchor.

At day-break, the next morning, the wind came more favourable, and we steered for the channel between Montagu Island and the Green Islands, which is between two and three leagues broad, and from thirty-four to seventeen fathoms deep. We had but little wind all the day, and, at eight o'clock in the evening, it was a dead calm, when we anchored in twenty-one fathoms water, over a muddy bottom, about two miles from the shore of Montagu's Island. The calm continued till ten o'clock the next morning, when it was succeeded by a small breeze from the north, with which we weighed; and, by six o'clock in the evening, we were again in the open sea, and found the coast trending west by south, as far as the eye could reach.

SECTION

SECTION V.

The Inlet called Prince William's Sound.-Its Extent.Persons of the Inhabitants described.-Their Dress.- Incision of the Under-lip-Various other Ornaments.-Their Boats.-Weapons, fishing, and hunting Instruments.-Utensils.-Tools.-Uses Iron is applied to.-Food.-Language, and a Specimen of it.-Animals.-Birds.-Fish.-Iron and Beads, whence received.

To the inlet, which we had now left, I gave the name of Prince William's Sound. To judge of this Sound from what we saw of it, it occupies, at least, a degree and a half of latitude, and two of longitude, exclusive of the arms or branches, the extent of which is not known.

The natives, who came to make us several visits while we were in the Sound, were generally not above the common height, though many of them were under it. They were square, or strongly-chested, and the most disproportioned part of their body seemed to be their heads, which were very large, with thick, short necks, and large, broad or spreading faces, which, upon the whole, were flat. Their eyes, though not small, scarcely bore a proportion to the size of their faces; and their noses had full, round points, hooked, or turned up at the tip. Their teeth were broad, white, equal in size, and evenly set. Their hair was black, thick, straight, and strong, and their beards, in general, thin, or wanting; but the hairs about the lips of those who have them, were stiff or bristly, and frequently of a brown colour. And several of the elderly men had even large and thick, but straight beards.

Though, in general, they agree in the make of their persons, and largeness of their heads, there is a considerable variety in their features; but very few can be said to be of the handsome sort, though their countenance commonly indicates a considerable share of vivacity, good-nature, and frankness. And yet some of them had an air of sullenness and reserve. Some of the women have agreeable faces; and many are easily distinguishable from the men by their features, which are more delicate; but this should be understood chiefly of the youngest sort, or middle-aged. The complexion