48 Mcnzies' Journal. 



Admiralty Inlet. 



1792. 

 June 6th. 



To the South East of us down Admiralty Inlet was 

 seen through a beautiful avenue formed by the Banks of 

 the Inlet Mount Rainier at the distance of 26 Leagues, 

 which did not diminish but rather apparently augmented its 

 great elevation & huge bulky appearance ; from it a compleat 

 ridge of Mountains with rugged & picked summits covered 

 here & there with patches of Snow & forming a solid & 

 impassable barrier on the East Side of New Georgia, runing 

 in a due North direction to join Mount Baker about 15 

 leagues to the North Eastward of us & from thence pro- 

 ceeded in high broken Mountains to the North Westward. 



Between us & the above Ridge & to the Southward of 

 us between the two Mountains already mentioned a fine 

 level Country intervened chiefly covard with pine forests 

 abounding here & there with clear spots of considerable 

 extent & intersected with the various winding branches of 

 Admiralty Inlet as already mentioned. These clear spots 

 or lawns are clothed with a rich carpet of Verdure & adornd 

 with clumps of Trees & a surrounding verge of scatterd 

 Pines which with their advantageous situation on the Banks 

 of these inland Arms of the Sea give them a beauty of 

 prospect equal to the most admired Parks in England. 

 /' A Traveller wandering over these unfrequented Plains 

 is regaled with a salubrious & vivifying air impregnated 

 with the balsamic fragrance of the surrounding Pinery, 

 while his mind is eagerly occupied every moment on new 

 objects & his senses rivetted on the enchanting variety of 

 the surrounding scenery where the softer beauties of Land- 

 scape are harmoniously blended in majestic grandeur with 

 the wild & romantic to form an interesting / & picturesque 

 prospect on every side. 



The Climate appeard to us exceeding favorable in so 

 high a Latitude, a gentle westerly breeze generaly set in the 

 forenoon which died away in the Evening & the Nights were 

 mostly calm & serene, nor do we believe that those destruc- 

 tive Gales which drive their furious course along the exterior 

 edge of the Coast ever visit these interior regions but with 

 the mildest force, as we saw no traces of their devastation 

 that would lead us to think otherwise. The Soil tho in 

 general light & gravely would I am confident yield most of 

 the European fruits & grains in perfection, so that it offers 

 a desirable situation for a new Settlement to carry on Hus- 



