After we had entered the bay, the flood set strong into the river Turnagain; the ebb came out with still greater force; the water falling, while we lay at anchor, twenty feet upon a perpendicular. These circumstances convinced me, that no passage was to be expected by this side river, any more than by the main branch. However, as the water during the ebb, though very considerably fresher, had still a strong degree of saltness, it is but reasonable to suppose that both these branches are navigable by ships, much farther than we examined them; and that by means of this river, and its several branches, a very extensive inland communication lies open. We had traced it as high as the latitude of 61° 30ʹ, and the longitude of 201°; which is seventy leagues, or more, from its entrance, without seeing the least appearance of its source.
If the discovery of this great river[[74]], which promises to vie with the most considerable ones already known to be capable of extensive inland navigation, should prove of use either to the present or to any future age, the time we spent in it ought to be the less regretted. But to us, who had a much greater object in view, the delay thus occasioned was an essential loss. The season was advancing apace. We knew not how far we might have to proceed to the south; and we were now convinced that the continent of North America extended farther to the west than, from the modern most reputable charts, we had reason to expect. This made the existence of a passage into Baffin’s or Hudson’s Bays less probable, or, at least, showed it to be of greater extent. It was a satisfaction to me, however, to reflect that, if I had not examined this very considerable inlet, it would have been assumed, by speculative fabricators of geography, as a fact that it communicated with the sea to the north, or with Baffin’s or Hudson’s Bay to the east; and been marked, perhaps, 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 the afternoon I sent Mr. King again, with two armed boats, with orders to land on the northern point of the low land, on the south-east side of the river; there to display the flag, and to take possession of the country and river in his Majesty’s name; and to bury in the ground a bottle, containing some pieces of English coin, of the year 1772, and a paper, on which were inscribed the names of our ships, and the date of our discovery. In the mean time, the ships were got under sail, in order to proceed down the river. The wind still blew fresh, easterly; but a calm ensued not long after we were under way; and the flood-tide meeting us off the point where Mr. King landed (and which thence got the name of Point Possession), we were obliged to drop anchor in six fathoms water, with the point bearing south, two miles distant.
When Mr. King returned, he informed me, that as he approached the shore about twenty of the natives made their appearance, with their arms extended; probably to express thus their peaceable disposition, and to show that they were without weapons. On Mr. King’s and the gentlemen with him landing with muskets in their hands, they seemed alarmed, and made signs expressive of their request to lay them down. This was accordingly done; and then they suffered the gentlemen to walk up to them, and appeared to be cheerful and sociable. They had with them a few pieces of fresh salmon, and several dogs. Mr. Law, surgeon of the Discovery, who was one of the party, having bought one of the latter, took it down toward the boat and shot it dead in their sight. This seemed to surprize them exceedingly; and, as if they did not think themselves safe in such company, they walked away; but it was soon after discovered that their spears and other weapons were hid in the bushes close behind them. Mr. King also informed me that the ground was swampy, and the soil poor, light, and black. It produced a few trees and shrubs; such as pines, elders, birch, and willows; rose and currant bushes; and a little grass; but they saw not a single plant in flower.
We weighed anchor, as soon as it was high water, and, with a faint breeze southerly, stood over to the west shore, where the return of the flood obliged us to anchor early next morning. Soon after, several large and some small canoes with natives came off, who bartered their skins; after which they sold their garments, till many of them were quite naked. Amongst others, they brought a number of white hare or rabbit skins, and very beautiful reddish ones of foxes; but there were only two or three skins of otters. They also sold us some pieces of salmon and halibut. They preferred iron to every thing else offered to them in exchange. The lip-ornaments did not seem so frequent amongst them as at Prince William’s Sound; but they had more of those which pass through the nose, and, in general, these were also much longer. They had, however, a greater quantity of a kind of white and red embroidered work on some parts of their garments, and on other things, such as their quivers and knife-cases.
At half past ten we weighed with the first of the ebb, and having a gentle breeze at south, plied down the river; in doing of which, by the inattention and neglect of the man at the lead, the Resolution struck, and stuck fast on the bank, that lies nearly in the middle of the river, and about two miles above the two projecting bluff points before mentioned. This bank was, no doubt, the occasion of that very strong rippling, or agitation of the stream, which we had observed when turning up the river. There was not less than twelve feet depth of water about the ship, at the lowest of the ebb; but other parts of the bank were dry. As soon as the ship came aground, I made a signal for the Discovery to anchor. She, as I afterward understood, had been near ashore on the west side of the bank. As the flood-tide came in, the ship floated off, soon after five o’clock in the afternoon, without receiving the least damage, or giving us any trouble; and, after standing over to the west shore, into deep water, we anchored to wait for the ebb, as the wind was still contrary.
We weighed again with the ebb, at ten o’clock at night; and, between four and five next morning, when the tide was finished, once more cast anchor about two miles below the bluff point, on the west shore, in nineteen fathoms water. A good many of the natives came off, when we were in this station, and attended upon us all the morning. Their company was very acceptable; for they brought with them a large quantity of very fine salmon, which they exchanged for such trifles as we had to give them. Most of it was split ready for drying; and several hundred weight of it was procured for the two ships.
In the afternoon, the mountains, for the first time since our entering the river, were clear of clouds; and we discovered a volcano in one of those on the west side. It is in the latitude of 60° 23ʹ; and is the first high mountain to the north of Mount St. Augustin. The volcano is on that side of it that is next the river, and not far from the summit. It did not now make any striking appearance, emitting only a white smoke, but no fire.
The wind remaining southerly, we continued to tide it down the river; and, on the 5th, in the morning, coming to the place where we had lost our kedge-anchor, made an attempt to recover it, but without success. Before we left this place, six canoes came off from the east shore; some conducted by one, and others by two men. They remained at a little distance from the ships, viewing them, with a kind of silent surprize, at least half an hour, without exchanging a single word with us, or with one another. At length they took courage, and came alongside; began to barter with our people; and did not leave us till they had parted with every thing they brought with them, consisting of a few skins and some salmon. And here it may not be improper to remark, that all the people we had met with in this river seemed, by every striking instance of resemblance, to be of the same nation with those who inhabit Prince William’s Sound, but differing essentially from those of Nootka, or King George’s Sound, both in their persons and language. The language of these is rather more guttural; but, like the others, they speak strongly and distinct, in words which seem sentences.
I have before observed, that they are in possession of iron; that is, they have the points of their spears and knives of this metal; and some of the former are also made of copper. Their spears are like our spontoons; and their knives, which they keep in sheaths, are of a considerable length. These, with a few glass beads, are the only things we saw amongst them that were not of their own manufacture. I have already offered my conjectures from whence they derive their foreign articles; and shall only add here, that, if it were probable that they found their way to them from such of their neighbours with whom the Russians may have established a trade, I will be bold to say, the Russians themselves have never been amongst them; for, if that had been the case, we should hardly have found them clothed in such valuable skins as those of the sea-otter.