Puget's Cruise and Discoveries. 67 



petual frost." A low iDrojecting point on the western side of the 

 entrance to Yakutat bay was named " Point Manby." The coast 

 beyond this toward tlie northeast became less wooded, and seemed 

 to produce only a brownish vegetation, which farther eastward 

 entirely disappeared. The country was then bare and composed 

 of loose stones. The narrative contains an interesting account 

 of the grand coast scenery from St. Elias to the eastern end of 

 the Fairweather range ; but this does not at present claim atten- 

 tion. 



While the Chatham continued her cruise eastAvard, Puget as- 

 cended Yakutat bay nearly to its head, and also navigated some 

 of the channels between the islands along its eastern shore. A 

 cape on the eastern side, where the bay penetrates the first range 

 of foot-hills, was named " Point Latouche ; " but the same land- 

 mark had previously been designated " Pa. de la Esperanza " 

 by Malaspina. The bay at the head of the inlet, which Malas- 

 pina had named " Desangano," was named " Digges sound," 

 after one of the officers of the Chatham. Boats were sent to ex- 

 plore this inlet, but found it " closed from side to side b}^ a firm, 

 compact body of ice, beyond which, to the back of the ice, a small 

 inlet appeared to extend N. 55° E. about a league."* 



These observations confirm those made by Malaspina and in- 

 dicated on the chart reproduced on plate 7, where the ice front 

 is represented as reaching as far south as Haenke island. 



The evidence furnished by Malaspina and Vancouver as to 

 the former extent of the glaciers at the head of Yakutat bay is 

 in harmony with observations made by Vancouver's party in Icy 

 strait and Cross sound.f Early in July, 1794, these straits were 

 found to be heavily encumbered with floating ice. At the pres- 

 ent time but little ice is met with in that region. On Vancouver's 

 charts there is no indication that he was aware of the existence 

 of Glacier bay, although one of his officers, in navigating Icy 

 strait, passed its immediate' entrance. These records, although 

 somewhat indefinite and of negative character, indicate that the 

 fields of floating ice at the mouth of Glacier bay were much more 

 extensive a hundred years ago than at present ; but they do not 

 show where the glaciers of that region formerly terminated. 



After the return of the Chatham'' s boats from the exploration of 



* Vancouver's Voyage, vol. 5, p. .389. 

 tlbid., pp. 417-421. 



