| April 5th. | On board with balanced needle | Marked | End North | 71° | 26ʹ | 221⁄2ʺ | 71° | 40ʹ | 221⁄2ʺ | ||||
| Unmarked | and dipping | 71 | 54 | 221⁄2 | |||||||||
| The same needle at the observatory | Marked | End North | 72 | 3 | 45 | 70 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Unmarked | and dipping | 71 | 56 | 15 | |||||||||
| 18th. | Ditto | Marked | End North | 71 | 58 | 20 | 72 | 7 | 15 | ||||
| Unmarked | and dipping | 72 | 16 | 10 | |||||||||
| 5th. | Spare needle at the observatory | Marked | End North | 72 | 32 | 30 | 72 | 49 | 15 | ||||
| Unmarked | and dipping | 73 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||
| 18th. | Ditto | Marked | End North | 72 | 55 | 0 | 73 | 11 | 45 | ||||
| Unmarked | and dipping | 73 | 28 | 30 | |||||||||
| 22d. | Spare needle on board | Marked | End North | 73 | 28 | 38 | 73 | 11 | 0 | ||||
| Unmarked | and dipping | 72 | 53 | 30 | |||||||||
| Hence the mean dip, with both needles, on shore, was | 72 | 32 | 33⁄4 | ||||||||||
| On board | 72 | 25 | 411⁄4 | ||||||||||
This is as near as can be expected; and shows that whatever it was that affected the compasses, whether on board or ashore, it had no effect upon the dipping needles.
Tides.
It is high-water on the days of the new and full moon at 12h 20m. The perpendicular rise and fall eight feet nine inches; which is to be understood of the day tides, and those which happen two or three days after the new and full moon. The night tides, at this time, rise near two feet higher. This was very conspicuous during the spring-tide of the full moon, which happened soon after our arrival; and it was obvious that it would be the same in those of the new moon, though we did not remain here long enough to see the whole of its effect.
Some circumstances that occurred daily, relating to this, deserve particular notice. In the cove where we got wood and water, was a great deal of drift-wood thrown ashore, a part of which we had to remove to come at the water. It often happened that large pieces of trees, which we had removed in the day out of the reach of the then high-water, were found the next morning floated again in our way, and all our spouts for conveying down the water thrown out of their places, which were immoveable during the day tides. We also found that wood which we had split up for fuel, and had deposited beyond the reach of the day-tide, floated during the night. Some of these circumstances happened every night or morning for three or four days, in the height of the spring tides; during which time we were obliged to attend every morning tide, to remove the large logs out of the way of watering.
I cannot say whether the flood-tide falls into the sound from the N. W., S. W., or S. E. I think it does not come from the last quarter; but this is only conjecture, founded upon the following observations: The S. E. gales which we had in the sound, were so far from increasing the rise of the tide, that they rather diminished it; which would hardly have happened, if the flood and wind had been in the same direction.
CHAP. IV.
A STORM AFTER SAILING FROM NOOTKA SOUND.—RESOLUTION SPRINGS A LEAK.—PRETENDED STRAIT OF ADMIRAL DE FONTE PASSED UNEXAMINED.—PROGRESS ALONG THE COAST OF AMERICA.—BEERING’S BAY.—KAYE’S ISLAND.—ACCOUNT OF IT.—THE SHIPS COME TO ANCHOR.—VISITED BY THE NATIVES.—THEIR BEHAVIOUR.—FONDNESS FOR BEADS AND IRON.—ATTEMPT TO PLUNDER THE DISCOVERY.—RESOLUTION’S LEAK STOPPED.—PROGRESS UP THE SOUND.—MESSRS. GORE AND ROBERTS SENT TO EXAMINE ITS EXTENT.—REASONS AGAINST A PASSAGE TO THE NORTH THROUGH IT.—THE SHIPS PROCEED DOWN IT TO THE OPEN SEA.
Having put to sea on the evening of the 26th, as before related, with strong signs of an approaching storm, these signs did not deceive us. We were hardly out of the sound before the wind, in an instant, shifted from N. E. to S. E. by E., and increased to a strong gale with squalls and rain, and so dark a sky that we could not see the length of the ship. Being apprehensive, from the experience I had since our arrival on this coast, of the wind veering more to the S., which would put us in danger of a lee-shore, we got the tacks on board, and stretched off to the S. W., under all the sail the ships could bear. Fortunately the wind veered no farther southerly than S. E., so that at day-light the next morning we were quite clear of the coast.
The Discovery being at some distance a-stern, I brought to, till she came up, and then bore away, steering N. W., in which direction I supposed the coast to lie. The wind was at S. E., blew very hard, and in squalls, with thick hazy weather. At half past one in the afternoon, it blew a perfect hurricane, so that I judged it highly dangerous to run any longer before it, and, therefore, brought the ships to with their heads to the southward, under the foresails and mizen stay-sails. At this time the Resolution sprung a leak, which, at first, alarmed us not a little. It was found to be under the starboard buttock; where, from the bread-room, we could both hear and see the water rush in, and, as we then thought, two feet under water. But in this we were happily mistaken; for it was afterward found to be even with the water-line, if not above it, when the ship was upright. It was no sooner discovered, than the fish-room was found to be full of water, and the casks in it afloat; but this was, in a great measure, owing to the water not finding its way to the pumps through the coals that lay in the bottom of the room; for after the water was baled out, which employed us till midnight, and had found its way directly from the leak to the pumps, it appeared that one pump kept it under which gave us no small satisfaction. In the evening, the wind veered to the S., and its fury in some degree ceased. On this we set the main sail and two topsails close-reefed, and stretched to the westward; but at eleven o’clock the gale again increased, and obliged us to take in the topsails, till five o’clock the next morning, when the storm began to abate; so that we could bear to set them again.