1896] Back to Sitka 



we suddenly felt a great jolt as if the ship had 

 struck a rock; but it was soon discovered that the stor and 

 whale, struck amidships, had more cause for alarm ^ U( 

 than ourselves. Just outside the Aleutians, however, We ? ail as 

 we encountered a violent storm from the east; 

 around the Shumagin Islands it was so fierce that 

 the cutter made no progress whatever. Putting 

 out a sheet anchor to check the backward drift 

 and pouring oil on the water, Captain Roberts 

 tried, though unsuccessfully, to steam forward in 

 the teeth of the gale. We thus remained practically 

 stationary for two days and nights. Moreover, 

 during the fury of the storm no cooking was pos- 

 sible, and boards were nailed on our berths at night 

 to hold us in. 



Arrived at last at Sitka after a journey of ten 

 days instead of the usual six, we thought it the 

 Promised Land and Mount Edgecombe a veritable 

 Sinai. At the little inn the Joint Commission gave 

 a banquet to the local authorities and the officers 

 of the Rush, though Captain Roberts, finding that 

 the original company numbered thirteen, resolutely 

 refused to sit down until an extra guest was gathered 

 in. Thompson's after-dinner speech was a charming 

 and eloquent one. I myself touched a responsive 

 chord in referring to "that Greater Britain to which Greater 

 all English-speaking people belong." Britain 



The voyage from Sitka south to Seattle on the 

 City of Topeka, again by way of the inside passage, 

 offered few incidents worth noting. But passing 

 through the long and narrow Grenville Channel in 

 a dense fog made heavier by smoke from forest 

 fires, the boat was steered by whistle-echoes thrown 

 back from the cliffs on either side. At Seattle the 



