NORTH WEST COAST OF AMERICA. 13^ 



iTiere hurricane, which brought on a very heavy fea, and ^ ^ a p. 



vit 



V— — .. 



occalioned the fhip to labour and ftrain exceedingly. It 

 certainly was the moft dreadful night I ever faw, and to September.- 

 add to the awful fcene of a tremendous fea, loud thunder, "^ ^^ ^ ' 

 fierce lightning, and torrents of rain, we had at each 

 maft-head, and at every yard-arm, thofe meteors called 

 by failors compafants^ which gave a light at leaft equal to 

 the fame number of lights hung aloft : befides thofe on 

 the mails and yards, they were flying about on all parts 

 of the rigging. 



It is the generally received opinion of feafaring men, 

 that when the compafant reaches the topgallant-maft- 

 heads, the gale is at or near its height, and indeed we 

 found it fo ; for about half paft three, after a mofl: vio- 

 lent guft of wind, which did not continue more than two 

 or three minutes, the clouds began to break, and the 

 weather became more moderate, the wind inclining to the 

 South Eaft by South. At flx o'clock it fell almoft calm, 

 and we had a prodigious heavy fea from the South South 

 Eaft ; foon afterwards we faw the land near the entrance 

 into King George's Sound, bearing Eaft North Eaft, five 

 or fix leagues diftant, on which we ftood for it with a very 

 light breeze at Weft, the weather looking unfettled, and 

 a very heavy crofs fea running. By two in the afternoon 

 it grew nearly calm ; and finding all our efforts to get 

 into the Sound ineftedual, we hauled off fhore to the 

 Southward. 



Light airs, with intervening calms, prevailed till four 

 o'clock in the morning of the 27th, when a frefh gale wednef. 37; 

 fprung up at South Eaft by Eaft, attended with thick 



T 2 rainy 



