About seven, in the evening, Mr King returned from his expedition; and reported, that he proceeded with the boats about three or four leagues farther than the ships had been able to go; that he then landed on the west side; that, from the heights, he could see the two coasts join, and the inlet to terminate in a small river or creek, before which were banks of sand or mud; and every where shoal water. The land, too, was low and swampy for some distance to the northward; then it swelled into hills; and the complete junction of those, on each side of the inlet, was easily traced.
From the elevated spot on which Mr King surveyed the Sound, he could distinguish many extensive valleys, with rivers running through them, well wooded, and bounded by hills of a gentle ascent and moderate height. One of these rivers to the N.W. appeared to be considerable; and from its direction, he was inclined to think, that it emptied itself into the sea at the head of the bay. Some of his people, who penetrated beyond this into the country, found the trees larger the farther they advanced.[6]
In honour of Sir Fletcher Norton,[7] Speaker of the House of Commons, and Mr King's nearest relation, I named this inlet Norton Sound. It extends to the northward as far as the latitude of 64° 55'. The bay, in which we were now at anchor, lies on the S.E. side of it; and is called by the natives Chacktoole. It is but an indifferent station, being exposed to the south and south-west winds. Nor is there a harbour in all this Sound. But we were so fortunate as to have the wind from the N. and N.E. all the time, with remarkable fine weather. This gave us an opportunity to make no less than seventy-seven sets of lunar observations between the 6th and 7th inclusive. The mean result of these made the longitude of the anchoring-place, on the west side of the Sound, to be
| 197° 13' | |
| Latitude | 64 31 |
| Variation of the compass | 25 45 east. |
| Dip of the needle | 76 25 |
Of the tides, it was observed, that the night-flood rose about two or three feet, and that the day-flood was hardly perceivable.
Having now fully satisfied myself, that Mr Stæhlin's map must be erroneous; and having restored the American continent to that space which he had occupied with his imaginary island of Alaschka, it was high time to think of leaving these northern regions, add to retire to some place during the winter, where I might procure refreshments for my people, and a small supply of provisions. Petropaulowska, or the harbour of St Peter and St Paul, in Kamtschatka, did not appear likely to furnish either the one or the other for so large a number of men. I had, besides, other reasons for not repairing thither at this time. The first, and on which all the others depended, was the great dislike I had to lie inactive for six or seven months; which would have been the necessary consequence of wintering in any of these northern parts. No place was so conveniently within our reach, where we could expect to have our wants relieved, as the Sandwich Islands. To them, therefore, I determined to proceed. But, before this could be carried into execution, a supply of water was necessary. With this view I resolved to search the American coast for a harbour, by proceeding along it to the southward, and thus endeavour to connect the survey of this part of it with that lying immediately to the north of Cape Newenham. If I failed in finding a harbour there my plan was then to proceed to Samganoodha, which was fixed upon as our place of rendezvous, in case of separation.
Footnote 1:[ (return) ]
Avec le vent le plus favorable, on peut aller par mer de cette pointe (des Tschukotschis), jusqu' à l'Anadir en trois fois 24 heures; et par terre le chemin ne peut guère etre plus long.—Muller, p. 13.—D.
Footnote 2:[ (return) ]
Deshnef's voyage in 1648, is considered the only one previous to this of Cook, in which the north-eastern extremity of Asia was doubled. Some account of it is given in Coxe's work. Others have pretended to this achievement, but there is not evidence to warrant belief of the fact. Beering, indeed, in 1728, got as far north as 67° 18'; but as he immediately returned, and made no progress on the Asiatic coast, he is not entitled to this merit, although the extent of his discovery, as to the separation of the two continents, has procured him the honour of giving a name to the Strait which divides them.—E.
Footnote 3:[ (return) ]
Captain Cook gives it this name, having anchored in it on St Laurence's day, August 10. It is remarkable, that Beering sailed past this very place on the 10th of August 1728; on which account, the neighbouring island was named by him after the same Saint.—D.
But Dr Douglas seems to err in this observation. At least, according to Mr Coxe's account, it would appear, that it was the island of St Laurence, which we shall immediately find Captain Cook afterwards fell in with, and not the bay so named, which Beering passed on the 10th August. This, however, is a trivial correction, if even the imperfect relation we possess of Beering's progress could prove it to be one.—E.
Footnote 4:[ (return) ]
Captain King has communicated the following account of an interview with the same family: "On the 12th, while I attended the wooding party, a canoe, full of natives, approached us; and, beckoning them to land, an elderly man and woman came on shore. I gave the woman a small knife, making her understand, that I would give, her a much larger one for some fish. She made signs to me to follow her. I had proceeded with them about a mile, when the man, in crossing a stony beach, fell down, and cut his foot very much. This made me stop; upon which the woman pointed to the man's eyes, which, I observed, were covered with a thick, white film. He afterward kept close to his wife, who apprised him of the obstacles in his way. The woman had a little child on her back, covered with the hood of her jacket; and which I took for a bundle till I heard it cry. At about two miles distant we came to their open skin boat, which was turned on its side, the convex part towards the wind, and served for their house. I was now made to perform a singular operation on the man's eyes. First, I was directed to hold my breath; afterwards, to breathe on the diseased eyes; and, next, to spit on them. The woman then took both my hands, and pressing them to his stomach, held them there for some time, while she related some calamitous history of her family; pointing sometimes to her husband, sometimes to a frightful cripple belonging to the family, and sometimes to her child. I purchased all the fish they had, consisting of very fine salmon, salmon-trout, and mullet; which were delivered most faithfully to the man I sent for them. The man was about five feet two inches high, and well made; his colour of a light copper; his hair black and short, and with little beard. He had two holes in his under-lip, but no ornaments in them. The woman was short and squat, with a plump round face; wore a deer-skin jacket, with a large hood, and had on wide boots. The teeth of both were black, and seemed as if they had been filed down level with the gums. The woman was punctured from the lip to the chin."—D.