A General History & Collection of Voyages and Travels ... - Nauticus

inlet was another, with several islands lying in the entrance.During the night between the 19th and 20th we had little wind easterly, which in the morning veered to N.E. and N.N.E., but it was too faint to be of use; and at ten we had a calm, when we observed the ship todrive from off the shore out to sea. We had made the same observation the day before. This must havebeen occasioned by a current; and the melting of the snow increasing, the inland waters will cause a streamto run out of most of these inlets. At noon we observed in latitude 55° 39' 30" S., York Minster thenbearing N. 15° E., distant five leagues; and Round-hill, just peeping above the horizon, which we judged tobelong to the isles of St Ildefonso, E. 25° S., ten or eleven leagues distant. At ten o'clock, a breezespringing up at E. by S., I took this opportunity to stand in for the land, being desirous of going into one ofthe many ports which seemed open to receive us, in order to take a view of the country, and to recruit ourstock of wood and water.In standing in for an opening, which appeared on the east side of York Minster, we had forty, thirty-seven,fifty, and sixty fathoms water, a bottom of small stones and shells. When we had the last soundings, wewere nearly in the middle between the two points that form the entrance to the inlet, which we observed tobranch into two arms, both of them lying in nearly north, and disjoined by an high rocky point. We stoodfor the eastern branch as being clear of islets; and after passing a black rocky one, lying without the pointjust mentioned, we sounded, and found no bottom with a line of an hundred and seventy fathoms. This wasaltogether unexpected, and a circumstance that would not have been regarded if the breeze had continued;but at this time it fell calm, so that it was not possible to extricate ourselves from this disagreeablesituation. Two boats were hoisted out, and sent a-head to tow; but they would have availed little, had not abreeze sprung up about eight o'clock at S.W., which put it in my power either to stand out to sea, or up theinlet. Prudence seemed to point out the former, but the desire of finding a good port, and of learningsomething of the country, getting the better of every other consideration, I resolved to stand in; and, asnight was approaching, our safety depended on getting to an anchor. With this view we continued to sound,but always had an unfathomable depth.Hauling up under the east side of the land which divided the two arms, and seeing a small cove ahead, Isent a boat to sound; and we kept as near the shore as the flurries from the land would permit, in order tobe able to get into this place, if there should be anchorage. The boat soon returned, and informed us thatthere was thirty and twenty-five fathoms water, a full cable's length from the shore; here we anchored inthirty fathoms, the bottom sand and broken shells; and carried out a kedge and hawser to steady the shipfor the night.SECTION II.Transactions in Christmas Sound, with an Account of the Country and its Inhabitants.The morning of the 21st was calm and pleasant. After breakfast I set out with two boats to look for a moresecure station. We no sooner got round, or above the point, under which the ship lay, than we found a covein which was anchorage in thirty, twenty, and fifteen fathoms, the bottom stones and sand. At the head ofthe cove was a stony beach, a valley covered with wood, and a stream of fresh water, so that there wasevery thing we could expect to find in such a place, or rather more; for we shot three geese out of four thatwe saw, and caught some young ones, which we afterwards let go.After discovering and sounding this cove, I sent Lieutenant Clerke, who commanded the other boat, on