Were I to affix a name to the people of Nootka, as a distinct nation, I would call them Wakashians; from the word wakash, which was very frequently in their mouths. It seemed to express applause, approbation, and friendship. For when they appeared to be satisfied, or well pleased with any thing they saw, or any incident that happened, they would, with one voice, call out, wakash! wakash! I shall take my leave of them, with remarking, that, differing so essentially, as they certainly do, in their persons, their customs, and language, from the inhabitants of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, we cannot suppose their respective progenitors to have been united in the same tribe, or to have had any intimate connection, when they emigrated from their original settlements, into the places where we now find their descendants.

My account of the transactions in Nootka Sound would be imperfect, without adding the astronomical and nautical observations made by us, while the ships were in that

station.

Longitude by the Greenwich rate.. 235° 46′ 51′′, 0′′r

time-keeper...

From the results of the last fifteen days observations of equal altitudes of the sun, the daily rate of the time-keeper was losing, on mean time, 7"; and on the 16th of April, she was too slow for mean time by 16h 0m 58", 45. There was found an irregularity in her rate greater than at any time before. It was thought proper to reject the first five days, as the rate in them differed so much from that of the fifteen following; and even in these, each day differed from another more than usual.

The variation found on board the ship ought to be taken for the true one; not only as it agreed with what we observed at sea, but because it was found that there was something ashore that had a considerable effect upon the compasses; in some places more than others. At one spot, on the west point of the Sound, the needle was attracted 114 points from its proper direction.

228. Spare nee

73 28 30 End North 73 28 38

Unmarked

dle on board and dipping) 72 53 30 Hence the mean dip, with both needles, on shore, was On board

This is as near as can be expected; and shews, 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 full and new moon. The night-tides, at this time, rise near two feet higher. This was very conspicuous during the springtide of the full moon, which happened soon after our ar

rival; 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 away 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 north-west, south-west, or south-east. I think it does not come from the last quarter; but this is only conjecture, founded upon the following observations: The south-east 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 bave happened, if the flood and wind had been in the same direction.

3 !m: SECTION 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-Beh ring's Bay.-Kaye's Island, Account of it.-The Ships come to an 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

these signs did not deceive us. We were hardly out of the Sound, before the wind, in an instant, shifted from northeast to south-east by east, 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 south, which would put us in danger of a lee-shore, we got the tacks on board, and stretched off to the south-west, under all the sail that the ships could bear. Fortunately, the wind veered no farther southerly than south-east; so that at day-light the next morning we were quite clear of the coast.

The Discovery being at some distance a-stern, I broughtto till she came up, and then bore away, steering northwest; in which direction I supposed the coast to lie. The wind was at south-east, 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 south, 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.

The weather now began to clear up, and being able to