Lities of the firft and laft, and feemed to keep them with great care.

Few vegetables of any kind were feen; and the trees which chiefly grew here, were the Canadian and spruce pine, and fome of them tolerably large.

The beads and iron found amongst thefe people, left no doubt, that they mufl have received them from fome civilized nation. It was pretty certain, from circumftances already mentioned, that Capt. Cook's people were the firft Europeans with whom they had ever communicated directly; and it remains only to be decided, from what quarter they had got our manufactures, by intermediate conveyance. And there cannot be the leaf doubt of their having received thefe articles, through the intervention of the more inland tribes, from Hudfon's Bay, or the fettlers on the Canadian lakes; unless it can be fuppofed (which however is lefs likely) that the Ruffian traders, from Kamfchatka, have already extended their traffic thus far; or at least that the natives of their most Easterly Fox Iflands communicate along the coaft, with thofe of Prince William's Sound.

As to the copper, these people feem to procure it themfelves, or at mot it pallies through very few hands to them; for they used to exprefs it being in a fufficient quantity amongst them, when they offered any to barter, by pointing to their weapons, as if to fay, that having fo much of this metal of their own they wanted no more.

It is, however, remarkable,' fays Capt. Cook, if the inhabitants of this Sound be fupplied with European articles, by way of the intermediate uafhe to the Eaft coaft, that they thould, in return, never have given to the more inland Indians any of their fea-otter fkins: which would certainly have been fon fome time or other, about Hudfon's Bay.

But

as far as I know,, that is not the cafe; and the method of accounting for this, must be by taking into confideration the very great diftance: which, though it might not prevent European goods coming fo far,as being fo uncommon, might prevent the skins, which are a common article, from paffing through more than two or three different tribes, who might use them for their own clothing; and send others, which they esteemed lefs valuable, as being of their own animals, Eaftward, till they reach the traders from Europe.'

BOO K III.

CHAP. VI.

Difcovery of Cook's River. Reflections on this Difovery. Poffeffion taken of the Country and River, in his Majefty's name. A beautiful bird defcribed. Conjec lures concerning a Ruffian Letter brought on board by one of the Natives. --Picturefque Appearance of a volcano · -----Second vifit from a Native.-----Providential Efcape. -----Arival at the Island of Oonalafhka, and Intercourse with the Natives.

A

FTER leaving Prince William's Sound, on the 20th of May, 1778, Capt. Cook feered S. W. as the coaft lay; and, on the 21ft, difcovered a lofty promontory, which he named Cape Elizabeth, and which, at first he mistook for the western extremity of Amecica. But he foon faw more land to the weft ward, and found that this, with that which he had before fuppofed to be the west cape of America, were the two boundaries of the entrance into a very large river, up which he failed above 70 leagues, be

fore.

fore he was abfolutely certain it was not a freight which led into the northern ocean. This river has fince been named Cook's River, by the exprefs command of Lord Sandwich.

If the difcovery,' fays Capt. Cook, of this great river, which promife to vie with the most confiderable ones already known to be capable of extensive inland navigation, fhould prove of use either to the prefent, or to any future age, the time we fpend in it ought to be the lefs regretted. But to us who had a much greater object in view, the delay thus occafioned was an effential lofs. The feafon 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 America extended farther to the Weft, than from the modern molt reputable charts, we had reafon to expect. This made the exiftance of a paffage into Baffin's or Hudson's Bay less probable; for, at least, fhewed it to be of greater extent. It was a fatisfaction to me, however, to reflect, that, if I had not examined this very confiderable inlet, it would have been affumed by fpeculative fabricators of Geography, as a fact, that it communicated with the fea to the North, or with Ballin's or Hudfon's Bay to the eaft; and been marked, perhaps, in future maps of the world, with greater precision, and more certain figns of reality, than the invifible, because imaginary, Straits of de Fuca and de Fonte.

Before Capt. Cook quitted this river, he sent Lieut. King, with two armed boats, with orders to land on a point of land, on the S. E. fide of the river, to difplay the flags there, to take poffeffion of the country and river in his Majefty's name, and to bury in the ground a bottle containing fome pieces of English coin, of the year 1772, and a paper, on which was infcribed the names of the fhips, and date

of

of the discovery. On this account, this point of land was called Point poffeffion. The natives of the adjoining iflands and coaft, who trafficked much with the crews of the two fhips, while they were exploring the river, feemed to bear fuch a flriking refemblance to the inhabitant of Prince William's Sound, that a defcription of them is quite unneceffary.--To the preceeding reflections on the discovery of this river, Captain Cook adds, that 'there is not the leaft doubt that a very beneficial fur trade might be carried on with the inhabitants of this vaft coaft; but that unlefs a northern paffage fhould be found practicable, it feems rather too remote for Great Britain to receive any emolument from it.'

Having cleared the mouth of Cook's river, on the 6th of June, the Captain fteered, for feveral days, S. W. by W. as the coaft lay, being continually within figth of the continent, among innumerable islands, and generally in thick foggy weather.

On the 18th, having occafion to fend a boat on board the Discovery, one of the people in her fhot It is fomea very beautiful bird of the hawk kind. what less than a duck, and of a black colour, except the forepart of the head, which is white and from above and behind each eye rifes an elegant yellowish-white creft, revolved backward as a ram's horn; the bill and feet are red. Capt. Cook conjectures it to be the Alca Monochroa of Steller, mentioned in the Hiftory of Kamtfchatka. Several of thefe birds were afterwards feen, and fometimes in large flocks.

On the 19th fome natives, in three or four ca noes, who had been following the Difcovery for One of fome time, at length got under her flern.

them then made many figns, taking off his cap, and bowing, after the European manner. A rope being handed down, to this he faftened a fmall thin woden

-cafe

cafe or box; and having delivered this fafe, and fpoken fomething, and made fome more figns, the canoes dropped a ftern, and left the Difcovery. No one on board had any fufpicion that. the box contained any thing till after the departure of the canoes, when it was accidentally opened, and a piece of paper was found folded up carefully, upon which fomething was written in the Ruffian language, as was fuppofed. The date 1778 was prefixed to it; and, in the body of the written note, there was a reference to the year 1776. No one being learned enough to decypher the alphabet of the writer, hist numeralls marked fufficiently that others had preceded us in vifiting this dreary part of the globe, who were united to us by other ties befides thofe of our 'common nature; and the hopes of foon meeting with fome of the Ruffian traders, could not but give a fenfible fatisfaction to thofe who had, for fuch a length of time, been converfant with the favages of the Pacific Ocean, and of the continent of North America.

Capt. Clark was, at firfl, of opinion, that fome Ruffians had been hipwrecked here; and that these unfortunate perfons, fecing the hip pafe, had taken this method to inform them of their fituation. Imprelled with humane fentiments, on fuch an occafion, he was defirous of ftopping till they might have time to join the hips. But no fuch idea occurred to Capt. Cook, to whom it feemed obvious, that if this had been the cafe, it would have been the firft ftep taken by fuch, fhipwrecked perfons, in order to fecure to themselves, and to their companions, the relief they could not but be folicitous about, to fend fome of their body of to the fhips in the canoes. For this reafon, he rather thought that the paper contained a note of information, left by fome Rullian traders, who had lately been amongst these island