THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 395 



the latter, to get a nearer view of the Eaftern branch ; and, '77?- 



Ju;ie. 



by that means, finally to determine whether the low land on 

 the Baft fide of the river was an ifland, as we had fuppofed, 

 or not. With this purpofe in view, we weighed with the 

 firft of the flood, and, having a faint breeze at North Eafl, 

 flood over for the Eailern fliore, with boats ahead, founding. 

 Our depth was from twelve to five fathoms ; the bottom a 

 hard gravel, though the water was exceedingly muddy. At 

 eight o'clock, a frefh breeze fprung up at Eaft, blowing in 

 an oppofite dire(5lion to our courfe ; fo that I defpaired of 

 reaching the entrance of the river, to which we were ply- 

 ing up, before high-water. But thinking that what the fliips 

 could not do, might be done by boats, I difpatchcd two, 

 under the command of Lieutenant King, to examine the 

 tides, and to make fuch other obfervations as might give us 

 fome infight into the nature of the river. 



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

 fathoms water, over a gravelly bottom. Obferving the tide 

 to be too fl:rong for the boats to make head againft it, I made 

 a fignal for them to return on board, before they had got 

 half way to the entrance of the river they were fent to ex- 

 amine, which bore from us South 80° Eaft, three leagues 

 diftant. The principal information gained by this tide's 

 work, was the determining that all the low land, which we 

 had fuppofed to be an ifland or ifland s, was one continued 

 tra(5t, 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 Eaflern branch, which I fliall difl;in- 

 guiih by the name of River Tiaiiagain. On the North fide of 

 this river, the low land again begins, and flretches out 

 from the foot of the mountains, down to tlie banks of the 

 great river; fo that, before the river Turnagain, it forms a 



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