Mensies' Journal. 



Birch Bay. 55 



the sight of these in this remote corner so unexpectedly 

 indued them to return in the dusk of the evening to 

 acquaint us with it, & as it was expected that they would 

 Anchor near us in the course of the night, the two Boats 

 were dctaind till we should obtain some further information 

 about them, but the night being very dark we saw nothing 

 of them & early next morning the Boats were again dis- 

 patchd to pursue their intended examination, while Mr. 

 Broughton who wishd to know something more of the 

 strange Vessel went out with the Chatham in search of 

 them, having his reducd Crew augmented by an Ofificer & 

 ten Men from the Discovery & Mr. Johnstone was left 

 behind to carry on the Astronomical Observations on Shore. 

 Soon after they got out of the Bay they saw the two Vessels 

 laying at Anchor under the Land in a Bay a little to the 

 North East of us & as they soon after got under way on 

 seeing the Chatham she soon joind them & found them to 

 be Spanish Vessels belonging to his Catholic Majesty, the 

 one a small Brig / between 40 & 50 Tons named Sutil & 

 commanded by Don Dionisio Alcala Galeano Captain of a 

 Frigate in the Spanish Navy, the other was a Schooner 

 named Mexicana & commanded by Don Cayetano Valdes 

 likewise Captain of a Frigate. They both saild from 

 Acapulca on the 8th of March & arrivd at Nootka the nth 

 of April where they had remaind until the 5th of this Month 

 when they saild for the Streights of De Fuca which they 

 enterd on the day following to examine & survey it, in con- 

 tinuation they said of what had been already done by other 

 Vessels of his Catholic Majesties, for it was now we learnd 

 that they had Vessels employd on this examination last Year 

 that anchord in the same Harbour we did on our first arrival 

 & had namd it Port Quadra, These had made a Chart of 

 the Streights & this interior Navigation considerably to the 

 North West of our present situation but did not put ofif 

 much time to examine the narrow Inlets going off on either 

 side, & the business of these two Vessels was to prosecute 

 the examination of the great North West Arm & settle by 

 their Time Keepers the different head lands of what had 

 been already surveyd by their Pilots. 



They further said that they had at Nootka the Frigates 

 Getrudie, Conception, Aranzara & the Brig Activa under 

 the Command of Don Quadra Captain of a Man of War 



1792. 



June 13th. 

 Id Ensenada de 

 Lara, I.e., 

 I.umml Bay. 

 Hee Sutll y 

 .Mexicana, p. 48. 

 The Spanish 

 ships were 

 liasslng from 

 BelllDgbam 

 Bay towards 

 Birch Bay, 

 where the 

 lights of 

 Vancouver's 

 ships were 

 seen at 

 inidniKlit. 

 June 14th. 



Semiabmoo Bay. 



Spelling 

 erratic here. 

 As given lo the 



