From this long and important navigation, I can only select some few incidents, that may be accommodated to the taste and expectations of the generality of readers.
One thing it is not improper here to observe; which is, that the captain, in his passage along the coast of America, kept at a distance from that coast, whenever the wind blew strongly upon it, and sailed on till he could approach it again with safety. Hence several great gaps were left unexplored, and particularly between the latitudes of 50° and 55°. The exact situation, for instance, of the supposed Straits of Anian was not ascertained. Every one who is acquainted with the character of our commander will be sensible, that if he had lived to return again to the north in 1779. he would have endeavoured to explore the parts which had been left unexamined.
The first place at which Captain Cook landed, after his departure from Nootka Sound, was at an island, of eleven or twelve leagues in length, the south-west point of which lies in the latitude of 59° 49' north, and the longitude of 216° 58' east. Here, on the 11th of May, at the foot of a tree, on a little eminence not far from the shore, he left a bottle, with a paper in it, on which were inscribed the names of the ships, and the date of the discovery. Together with the bottle, he enclosed two silver twopenny pieces of his majesty's coin, which had been struck in 1772. These, with many others, had been given him by the Reverend Dr. Kaye, the present Dean of Lincoln; and our commander, as a mark of his esteem and regard for that learned and respectable gentleman, named the island, after him, Kaye's island.
At an inlet, where the ships came to an anchor, on the 12th, and to which Captain Cook gave the appellation of Prince William's Sound, he had an opportunity not only of stopping the leak which the Resolution had sprung in the late storm, and of prosecuting his nautical and geographical discoveries, but of making considerable additions to his knowledge of the inhabitants of the American coast. From every observation which was made concerning the persons of the natives of this part of the coast, it appeared, that they had a striking resemblance to those of the Esquimaux and Greenlanders. Their canoes, their weapons, and their instruments for fishing and hunting, are likewise exactly the same, in point of materials and construction, that are used in Greenland. The animals in the neighbourhood of Prince William's Sound are, in general, similar to those which are found at Nootka. One of the most beautiful skins here offered for sale, was, however, that of a small animal, which seemed to be peculiar to the place. Mr. Anderson was inclined to think that it is the animal which is described by Mr. Pennant, under the name of the casan marmot. Among the birds seen in this country, were the white-headed eagle; the shag; and the alcedo, or great king-fisher, the colours of which were very fine and bright. The humming-bird, also, came frequently and flew about the ship, while at anchor; but it can scarcely be supposed, that it can be able to subsist here during the severity of winter. Waterfowl, upon the whole, are in considerable plenty; and there is a species of diver, about the size of a partridge, which seems peculiar to the place. Torsk and halibut were almost the only kinds of fish that were obtained by our voyagers. Vegetables, of any sort, were few in number; and the trees were chiefly the Canadian and spruce pine, some of which were of a considerable height and thickness. The beads and iron, that were found among the people of the coast, must undoubtedly have been derived from some civilized nation; and yet there was ample reason to believe that our English navigators were the first Europeans with whom the natives had ever held a direct communication. From what quarter, then, had they gotten our manufactures? Most probably, through the intervention of the more inland tribes, from Hudson's Bay, or the settlements on the Canadian lakes. This, indeed, must certainly have been the case, if iron was known, amongst the inhabitants of this part of the American coast, prior to the discovery of it by the Russians, and before there was any traffic with them carried on from Kamtschatka. From what was seen of Prince William's Sound, Captain Cook judged that it occupied, at least, a degree and a half of latitude, and two of longitude, exclusively of the arms or branches, the extent of which is not known.
Some days after leaving this sound our navigators came to an inlet, from which great things were expected. Hopes were strongly entertained, that it would be found to communicate either with the sea to the north, or with Baffin's or Hudson's Bay to the east; and accordingly it became the object of very accurate and serious examination. The captain was soon persuaded that the expectations formed from it were groundless; notwithstanding which, he persisted in the search of a passage, more, indeed, to satisfy other people, than to confirm his own opinion. In consequence of a complete investigation of the inlet, indubitable marks occurred of its being a river. This river, without seeing the least appearance of its source, was traced by our voyagers, as high as the latitude of 61° 34', and the longitude of 210°, being seventy leagues from its entrance. During the course of the navigation, on the first of June, Lieutenant King was ordered on shore, to display the royal flag, and to take possession of the country in his majesty's name. The lieutenant, at the same time, buried in the ground a bottle, containing some pieces of English coin, of the year 1772, and a paper, on which the names of the ships were inscribed, and the date of the present discovery. The great river now discovered, promises to vie with the most considerable ones already known; and, by itself and its branches, lies open to a very extensive inland communication. If, therefore, the knowledge of it should be of future service, the time which was spent in exploring it ought the less to be regretted. But to Captain Cook, who had a much greater object in view, the delay that was hence occasioned was a real loss, because the season was advancing apace. It was, however, a satisfaction to him to reflect, that if he had not examined this very considerable inlet, it would have been assumed, by speculative fabricators of geography, as a fact, that there was a passage through it to the North Sea, or to Baffin's or Hudson's Bay. Perhaps, too, it would have been marked, on future maps of the world, with greater precision, and more, certain signs of reality, than the invisible, because imaginary, Straits of de Fuca and de Fonte. In describing the inlet, our commander had left a blank which was not filled up with any particular name; and, therefore, the Earl of Sandwich directed, with the greatest propriety, that it should be called Cook's River.
All the natives who were met with, during the examination of this river, appeared, from every mark of resemblance, to be of the same nation with the inhabitants of Prince Willam's Sound; but from the people of Nootka, or King George's Sound, they essentially differed, both in their persons and their language. The only things which were seen among them, that were not of their own manufacture, were a few glass beads, the iron points of their spears, and knives of the same metal. Whencesoever these articles might be derived, it was evident, that they had never had any immediate intercourse with the Russians; since, if that had been the case, our voyagers would scarcely have found them clothed in such valuable skins as those of the sea-otter. A very beneficial fur-trade might undoubtedly be carried on with the inhabitants of this vast coast. But without a practicable northern passage, the situation is too remote to render it probable, that Great Britain should hence ever derive any material advantage; though it is impossible to say with certainty, how far the spirit of commerce, for which the English nation is so eminently distinguished, may extend. The most valuable, or rather the only valuable skins, which Captain Cook saw on the west side of America, were those of the sea-otter; for as to the skins of all the other animals of the country, and especially of the foxes and martins, they seemed to be of an inferior quality.
It was on the 6th of June that our navigators got clear of Cook's River. Proceeding in the course of their discoveries, when they were sailing, on the 19th, amidst the group of islands, which were called, by Beering, Schumagin's Islands, Captain Clerke fired three guns, and brought to, expressing by the proper signals, that he wished to speak with Captain Cook. At this our commander was not a little alarmed; and as no apparent danger had been remarked in the passage through the channel where the vessels now were, it was apprehended, that some accident, such as springing a leak, must have happened. On Captain Clerke's coming on board the Resolution, he related that several of the natives had followed his ship; that one of them had made many signs, taking off his cap, and bowing after the manner of Europeans; and that, at length, he had fastened to a rope, which was handed down to him, a small thin wooden case or box. Having delivered his parcel safe, and spoken something, accompanied with more signs, the canoes dropped astern, and left the Discovery. On opening the box, a piece of paper was found, folded up carefully, upon which something was written, that was reasonably supposed to be in the Russian language. To the paper was prefixed the date 1778, and in the body of the note there was a reference to the year 1776. Although no person on board was learned enough to decipher the alphabet of the writer, his numerals sufficiently marked, that others had preceded our voyagers in visiting this dreary part of the globe; and the prospect of soon meeting with men, who were united to them in ties somewhat closer than those of our common nature, and who were not strangers to the arts and commerce of civilized life, could not but afford a sensible satisfaction to people who, for such a length of time, had been conversant with the savages of the Pacific Ocean, and of the North American continent. Captain Clerke was, at first, of opinion that some Russians had been shipwrecked; but no such idea occurred to Captain Cook. He rather thought, that the paper contained a note of information, left by some Russian traders, to be delivered to the next of their countrymen who should arrive; and that the natives, seeing the English pass, and supposing them to be Russians, had resolved to bring off the note. Accordingly, our commander pursued his voyage, without inquiring farther into the matter.
On the 21st, amongst some hills, on the main land, that towered above the clouds to a most amazing height, one was discovered to have a volcano, which continually threw up vast columns of black smoke. It doth not stand far from the coast; and it lies in the latitude of 54° 48', and the longitude of 195° 45'. The mountain was rendered remarkable by its figure, which is a complete cone, and the volcano is at the very summit. While, in the afternoon of the same day, during a calm of three hours the English were fishing with great success for halibuts, a small canoe, conducted by one man, came to them from an island in the neighbourhood. On approaching the ship, he took off his cap, and bowed, as the native had done, who had visited the Discovery a day or two before. From the acquired politeness of these people, as well as from the note already mentioned, it was evident that the Russians must have a communication and traffic with them; and of this a fresh proof occurred in the present visitor; for he wore a pair of green cloth breeches, and a jacket of black cloth, or stuff, under the gut-shirt or frock of his own country.
In the prosecution of the voyage, on the 26th, there was so thick a fog, that our navigators could not see a hundred yards before them; notwithstanding which, as the weather was moderate, the captain did not intermit his course. At length, however, being alarmed at the sound of breakers on one side of the ship, he immediately brought her to, and came to anchor; and the Discovery, by his order, did the same. A few hours after, the fog having in some degree cleared away, it appeared, that both the vessels had escaped a very imminent danger. Providence, in the dark, had conducted them between rocks which our commander would not have ventured to pass through in a clear day, and had conveyed them to an anchoring place, as good as he could possibly have fixed upon, had the choice been entirely at his option.
On the 27th, our voyagers reached an island, that is known by the name of Oonalashka; the inhabitants of which behaved with a degree of politeness uncommon to savage tribes. A young man, who had overset his canoe, being obliged by this accident to come on board the ship, went down into Captain Cook's cabin, upon the first invitation, without expressing the least reluctance or uneasiness. His own clothes being wet, the captain gave him others, in which he dressed himself with as much ease as any Englishman could have done. From the behaviour of this youth, and that of some of the rest of the natives, it was evident, that these people were no strangers to Europeans, and to several of their customs. There was something, however, in the English ships, that greatly excited their attention; for such as could not come off in canoes, assembled on the neighbouring hills to look at them. In one instance it was apparent, that the inhabitants were so far from having made any progress in politeness, that they were still immersed in the most savage manners. For as our commander was walking along the shore, on the 29th, he met with a group of them, of both sexes, who were seated on the grass, at a repast, consisting of raw fish, which they seemed to eat with as much relish, as persons in civilized life would experience from a turbot, served up in the richest sauce. Soon after the vessels had come to an anchor at Oonalashka, a native of the island brought on board such another note as had been given to Captain Clerke. He presented it to Captain Cook; but, as it was written in the Russian language, and could be of no use to the English, though it might be of consequence to others, the captain returned it to the bearer, and dismissed him with a few presents; for which he expressed his thanks by making several low bows as he retired.