The weather now began to clear up; and being able to see several leagues round us, I steered more to the northward. At noon, the latitude, by observation, was 50° 1ʹ; longitude 229° 26ʹ.[[52]] I now steered N. W. by N., with a fresh gale at S. S. E., and fair weather. But at nine in the evening it began again to blow hard and in squalls with rain. With such weather, and the wind between S. S. E. and S. W., I continued the same course till the 30th, at four in the morning, when I steered N. by W., in order to make the land. I regretted very much indeed that I could not do it sooner, for this obvious reason, that we were now passing the place where geographers[[53]] have placed the pretended strait of Admiral de Fonte. For my own part, I give no credit to such vague and improbable stories, that carry their own confutation along with them. Nevertheless, I was very desirous of keeping the American coast aboard, in order to clear up this point beyond dispute. But it would have been highly imprudent in me to have engaged with the land in weather so exceedingly tempestuous, or to have lost the advantage of a fair wind by waiting for better weather. The same day at noon we were in the latitude of 53° 22ʹ, and in the longitude of 225° 14ʹ.
The next morning, being the first of May, seeing nothing of the land, I steered north-easterly, with a fresh breeze at S. S. E. and S., with squalls and showers of rain and hail. Our latitude at noon was 54° 43ʹ, and our longitude 224° 44ʹ. At seven in the evening, being in the latitude of 55° 20ʹ, we got sight of the land, extending from N. N. E. to E., or E. by S., about twelve or fourteen leagues distant. An hour after I steered N. by W., and at four the next morning, the coast was seen from N. by W. to S. E., the nearest part about six leagues distant.[[54]]
At this time the northern point of an inlet, or what appeared to be one, bore E. by S. It lies in the latitude of 56°, and from it to the northward, the coast seemed to be much broken, forming bays and harbours every two or three leagues, or else appearances much deceived us. At six o’clock, drawing nearer the land, I steered N. W. by N., this being the direction of the coast, having a fresh gale at S. E., with some showers of hail, snow, and sleet. Between eleven and twelve o’clock, we passed a group of small islands lying under the main land, in the latitude of 56° 48ʹ, and off, or rather to the northward of, the S. point of a large bay. An arm of this bay, in the northern part of it, seemed to extend in toward the N., behind a round elevated mountain that lies between it and the sea. This mountain I called Mount Edgecumbe, and the point of land that shoots out from it, Cape Edgecumbe. The latter lies in the latitude of 57° 3ʹ, and in the longitude of 224° 7ʹ, and at noon it bore N. 20° W., six leagues distant.
The land, except in some places close to the sea, is all of a considerable height, and hilly; but Mount Edgecumbe far out-tops all the other hills. It was wholly covered with snow; as were also all the other elevated hills; but the lower ones, and the flatter spots, bordering upon the sea, were free from it, and covered with wood.
As we advanced to the north, we found the coast from Cape Edgecumbe to trend to north and north easterly for six or seven leagues, and there form a large bay. In the entrance of that bay are some islands; for which reason I named it the Bay of Islands. It lies in the latitude of 57° 20ʹ[[55]]; and seemed to branch into several arms, one of which turned to the south, and may probably communicate with the bay on the east side of Cape Edgecumbe, and make the land of that cape an island. At eight o’clock in the evening, the cape bore south-east half south; the Bay of Islands N. 53° E.; and another inlet, before which are also some islands, bore N. 52° E., five leagues distant. I continued to steer N. N. W., half W., and N. W. by W., as the coast trended, with a fine gale at N. E., and clear weather.
At half an hour past four in the morning, on the 3d, Mount Edgecumbe bore S. 54° E.; a large inlet, N. 50° E., distant six leagues; and the most advanced point of the land, to the N. W., lying under a very high peaked mountain, which obtained the name of Mount Fair Weather, bore N. 32° W. The inlet was named Cross Sound, as being first seen on that day, so marked in our calendar. It appeared to branch in several arms, the largest of which turned to the northward. The south east point of this sound is a high promontory, which obtained the name of Cross Cape. It lies in the latitude of 57° 57ʹ, and its longitude is 223° 21ʹ. At noon it bore south-east; and the point, under the peaked mountain, which was called Cape Fair Weather, north by west a quarter west, distant thirteen leagues. Our latitude at this time was 58° 17ʹ, and our longitude 222° 14ʹ; and we were distant from the shore three or four leagues. In this situation we found the variation of the compass to be from 24° 11ʹ to 26° 11ʹ E.
Here the north-east wind left us, and was succeeded by light breezes from the north-west, which lasted for several days. I stood to the south-west, and west-south-west, till eight o’clock the next morning, when we tacked and stood toward the shore. At noon the latitude was 58° 22ʹ, and the longitude 220° 45ʹ. Mount Fair Weather, the peaked mountain over the cape of the same name, bore N., 63° E.; the shore under it twelve leagues distant. This mountain, which lies in the latitude of 58° 52ʹ, and in the longitude of 222°, and five leagues inland, is the highest of a chain, or rather a ridge of mountains, that rise at the north-west entrance of Cross Sound, and extend to the north-west in a parallel direction with the coast. These mountains were wholly covered with snow, from the highest summit down to the sea-coast, some few places excepted, where we could perceive trees rising, as it were, out of the sea; and which, therefore, we supposed grew on low land, or on islands bordering upon the shore of the continent[[56]]. At five in the afternoon, our latitude being then 58° 53ʹ, and our longitude 220° 52ʹ; the summit of an elevated mountain appeared above the horizon, being N. 26° W.; and, as was afterward found, forty leagues distant. We supposed it to be Beering’s Mount St. Elias; and it stands by that name in our chart.
This day we saw several whales, seals, and porpoises; many gulls, and several flocks of birds, which had a black ring about the head; the tip of the tail, and upper part of the wings with a black band; and the rest blueish above, and white below. We also saw a brownish duck, with a black or deep blue head and neck, sitting upon the water.
Having but light winds, with some calms, we advanced slowly; so that, on the 6th at noon, we were only in the latitude of 59° 8ʹ, and in the longitude of 220° 19ʹ. Mount Fair Weather bore S., 63° E., and Mount Elias N., 30° W.; the nearest land about eight leagues distant. In the direction of north, 47° E. from this station, there was the appearance of a bay, and an island off the south point of it, that was covered with wood. It is here where I suppose Commodore Beering to have anchored. The latitude, which is 59° 18ʹ, corresponds pretty well with the map of his voyage[[57]], and the longitude is 221° E. Behind the bay (which I shall distinguish by the name of Beering’s Bay, in honour of its discoverer), or rather to the south of it, the chain of mountains before mentioned is interrupted by a plain of a few leagues extent; beyond which the sight was unlimited; so that there is either a level country or water behind it. In the afternoon, having a few hours’ calm, I took this opportunity to sound, and found twenty fathoms’ water over a muddy bottom. The calm was succeeded by a light breeze from the north, with which we stood to the westward; and at noon the next day we were in the latitude of 59° 27ʹ, and the longitude of 219° 7ʹ. In this situation, Mount Fair Weather bore S., 70ʹ E.; Mount St. Elias N. half W.; the westernmost land in sight, N., 52° W.; and our distance from the shore four or five leagues; the depth of water being eighty-two fathoms over a muddy bottom. From this station we could see a bay (circular to appearance) under the high land, with low wood-land on each side of it.
We now found the coast to trend very much to the west, inclining hardly any thing to the north; and as we had the wind mostly from the westward, and but little of it, our progress was slow. On the 9th, at noon, the latitude was 59° 30ʹ, and the longitude 217°. In this situation the nearest land was nine leagues distant; and Mount St. Elias bore N. 30° E., nineteen leagues distant. This mountain lies twelve leagues inland, in the latitude of 60° 27ʹ, and in the longitude of 219°. It belongs to a ridge of exceedingly high mountains, that may be reckoned a continuation of the former; as they are only divided from them by the plain above mentioned. They extend as far to the west as the longitude of 217°; where, although they do not end, they lose much of their height, and become more broken and divided.