GEOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR, 293 
On the eastern shore of the port, near its southern entrance, lies the broad mouth of a little 
river called Snohomish river. 
Caamano island is an island fifteen miles long from north to south, with a broad northern 
head and a very narrow southern extremity, between Port Gardner and Port Susan. Though 
Wilkes represented this island in his charts as connected with the continent, still he must have 
had some suspicion about its insular character, for he called it McDonough’s island, after 
Mr. McDonough, United States navy, who commanded, 1812, in Lake Champlain, and gained 
there a victory over the English. 
On the English Admiralty charts, the island is called Caamano island, probably in remem- 
brance of the Spanish name, Bocas de Caamano, given by Elisa to Admiralty Entrance. 
This name seems to have prevailed and to have been adopted in all our modern charts, 
probably because the British officers have essentially proved the. insularity of the country. 
Point Allan is the southern extremity of Caamano island. It is the only point of the island 
to which Vancouver gave a name. He called it so, probably, after one of the lords of the 
admiralty, the Vice-Admiral Sir Allan Gardner. 
Port Gardner is the principal channel branching from Possession sound proper towards 
the northwest. It is about twenty nautical miles long, and two to three miles broad, between 
Whidby’s island on the west and Caamano island on the east. It was called by Vancouver 
Port Gardner in compliment to the Vice-Admiral Sir Allan Gardner, under the command of 
whom Vancouver formerly served. 
Wilkes, in 1841, called it Saratoga Passage, after the Saratoga, which Mr. McDonough, 
United States navy, commanded, 1812, on Lake Champlain. 
But it appears that on our maps the old name of the first English discoverer prevails over 
| the new one.. 
From the southwestern part of this bay. a long narrow inlet runs out to the south, cutting 
into Whidby's island. 
To this inlet Wilkes gave the name Holmes's bay,a surgeon of the Porpoise, who died when 
the chart was constructing. * 
Another little bay of this port was called by Wilkes Duncan's bay, after Mr. Duncan, an 
officer of the ship Saratoga, commanded by McDonough, in honor of whom the neighboring 
island and the whole passage was called. EH 2 
Penn’s cove is a spacious bay to the northeast of Port Gardner, re-entering into Nhidby 8 
island. It was first surveyed by Vancouver’ s officer, Mr. Whidby, and MOTA gave to it the 
name in honor of a particular friend of his, Mr. Penn.t It жы again surveyed (1841) by 
Wilkes, who named different points in it Middle Point, Point Williama, &c. . 
Deception Passage is a narrow and intricate channel by which the waters of Possession 
sound and Port Gardner communicate towards the northwest with De Fuca and Rosario straits. 
It is three miles long from east to west, and in parts only some one hundred yards broad 
between Fidalgo and Whidby islands. It abounds with rock above and beneath the surface of 
the water. Before its western mouth lies a little island called Deception island. 
The entrance to this passage was first seen from the western side from De Fuca strait by = 
Spanish explorers, Quimper and Elisa, and called by them Boca de Flon. They, however, did 
not enter it. It was first explored and recognized as a passage by Vancouver's officer, 
2 Verbal information. t Vancouver, vol. I, page 287. 
