177$' THE pacific OCEAN. 363 



At ten o'clock, finding the ebb begun, I anchored 

 in nine fathoms water, over a gravelly bottom. Ob- 

 serving the tide to be too strong for the boats to make 

 head against it, I made a signal for them to return 

 on board, before they had got half way to the en- 

 trance of the river they were sent to examine, which 

 bore from us S., 80 E., three leagues distant. The 

 principal information gained by this tide's work, was 

 the determining that all the low land, which we had 

 supposed to be an island or islands, was one continued 

 tract, from the banks of the great river to the foot 

 of the mountains, to which it joined ; and that it 

 terminated at the south entrance of this eastern 

 branch, which I shall distinguish by the name of 

 River Turnagain. On the north side of this river, 

 the low land again begins, and stretches out from the 

 foot of the mountains down to the banks of the great 

 river ; so that, before the river Turnagain, it forms 

 a large bay, on the south side of which we were now 

 at anchor, and w T here we had from twelve to five 

 fathoms, from half-flood to high-water. 



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 exten- 

 sive inland communication lies open. We had traced 

 it as high as the latitude of 61 80', and the longi- 

 tude of 201 ; which is seventy leagues, or more, 

 from its entrance, without seeing the least appearance 

 of its source. 



