NORTH WEST COAST OF AMERICA. 107 



wards terminates in a frefK water river that branches out in ^ ^yA ^^ 

 leveral directions. There are feveral projedling points on "- — ^~—* 

 each fide the harbour that form very fnug and good bays, My- 

 with excellent beaches, where a Ihip might, if neceflary, * ""^ ^^ '^' 

 be hauled on fhore with the greateft fafety; the depth of 

 water clofe to the beach feven and eight fathoms. In our 

 way we called on the wooding party, whom we found 

 bufily employed. My carpenter informed me, that he 

 had feen a tree with two holes through it, which appeared 

 to have been made by fwivel fhot; if fo, they probably 

 were fired from a Ruffian floop when hereabouts at the 

 American Indians, who I am certain have recently inha- 

 bited this neighbourhood, and fled at the approach of the 

 Ruffians ; for we faw a number of huts fcattered here and 

 there, fome of them very large, and feveral appeared to 

 have been but lately defer ted. After determiniHg the ex- 

 tent of the harbour, we landed, and walked up to the 

 freffi water river; being at that time low water, the river 

 was very narrow ; it abounded with falmon, and on the 

 banks we could perceive the tracks of bears and the moofe 

 deer. The flood-tide making foon afterwards, we em- 

 barked, and rowed into one of the branches, intending to 

 proceed as far up it as poffible; but on getting into the 

 mouth of the largefl: branch, our attention was taken up 

 by a large brown bear coming down to the river. I was 

 in hopes that we ffiould have come within mufquet-ffiotof 

 him, but he got flght of us, and made off into the woods 

 with much greater fpeed than I imagined a bear could run, 

 and was prefentiy out of flght. 



In the courfe of an hour we faw more than t^venty 

 bears, but they were all fo ffiy, that we could not fhoot 



P 2 one. 



