Mensies' Journal. 



Nootka. 



129 



For the four following days the weather was very 

 unsettled thick & hazy with the Wind from the South East 

 quarter, blowing at times pretty fresh, & accompanied with 

 a good deal of rain. On the 8th a large party of the Officers 

 of both Vessels din'd on shore with S'" Fidalgo. On Land- 

 ing Cap*^ Vancouver was saluted & a Guard turned out to 

 receive him, & the day following S"" Fidalgo visited the Dis- 

 covery & had the same compliments paid to him on his 

 coming on board & going away. 



On the loth the Ship Buttersworth of London with her 

 Consort the Jackall arrivd in the Cove / these together with 

 the Prince Lee Boo were under the direction Mr. Brown 

 Commander of the Buttersworth & were the only English 

 Vessels who had an exclusive Grant from Government for 

 Trading on this Coast. 



We had Southerly Wind on the nth with dark gloomy 

 weather & much rain. In the forenoon a Schooner arrivd 

 in the Cove namd the Prince William Henry of London who 

 had spent the Summer to the Northward collecting Furs, 

 she was Commanded by Mr. Ewens a Master in the Royal 

 Navy, who as soon as he anchord favord us with a visit on 

 board the Discovery, & told us that he left England about 

 the middle of Dec^' 1791 & touchd for refreshments at 

 Maderia, Cape Verde Islands & Staten land, then coming 

 round Cape Horn, he touchd at the Sandwich Islands & 

 arrivd at Queen Charlotte's Island on this Coast the last day 

 in May 1792, making his passage from England to this Coast 

 in five months & a half, which is certainly by far the quickest 

 we have yet heard of by the same route. 



There were now seven English X'essels, a Spanish 

 Frigate & two American Vessels riding at Anchor in the 

 Cove, besides the two small ones that were building on 

 Shore. 



The South East Winds which now began to prevail 

 were always boisterous & attended with thick Weather & 

 excessive hard rain with a heavy Swell tumbling into the 

 Sound. The Spanish Officers who winterd here informd us 

 they had experiencd / this kind of weather for upwards of 

 two jMonths without intermission, & that it generally set in 

 about the latter end of October. 



The Latitude of the Observatory at Friendly Cove was 

 49° 34' 20" North, & the Longitude as determined by the 



Oct. 5tli and 



Oct. 11th. 



