NORTH WEST COAST OF AMERICA. 141 



great, occalioned by the fwelil, that it would hardly have ^ ^^j^ ^' 

 been poflible to have hoifted them out without dafliing — — — » 

 them to pieces ; indeed, if they had been out they September. 

 eould have had no effedt on the fhip againft' {o heavy a "' *y^ • 

 fwell rolling diredly on fhore. It continued calm till 

 eleven o'clock, at which time we were very near the 

 breakers, and the fwell feeming to increafe as we ap- 

 proached the fliore, I was preparing to anchor with one 

 of the bowers in lixty-four fathoms water, when a light 

 breeze fprung up at South EafI; ; this was, in the lituation 

 we then were, almoffc diredly from the entrance into 

 the Sound ; fo that we could not make it, and had no 

 alternative left but to get the fhip's head off fhore, and 

 get an offing as well as we could. 



At noon the breeze frefhened at Sout^h Eafl, and we 

 ftood to the South Weft ; at the fame time an exceeding 

 heavy fwell rolled in fhore, which broke in a frightful 

 furf on the rocks and breakers : the North point of the 

 entrance into King George's Sound bore North, 65° Weft, 

 four or five leagues diftant ; our diftance from the breakers 

 one mile and a half, and from the neareft land about three 

 miles.. 



In the afternoon we had light baffling winds, withfre-- 

 quent fqualls and heavy fliowers of hail and rain. 



I NOW faw not the leaft probability of our getting into 

 the Sound, this feafon ; the bad weather appeared to be 

 let in for a continuance, our fails and rigging ^ere much 

 damaged, and the crews ftood greatly in need cC refrefh- 

 ment j under thefe circumflances, I came to a o^termi- 



nation 



