NORTH WEST COAST OF AMERICA. " 251 



arffis, that a few men well provided would be perfe6lly ^ " ^'^ ^• 



fecure; and were I to advife a place for wintering at and " ' 



forming a fettlement, it fhould be the Weft harbour of juiy." 

 Port Etches. It hath feveral advantages over any place I '^"^'''^>'3'- 

 have feen on the coaft ; one of them is, that it lies fo near 

 the fea, that in all probability it would be one of the laft 

 places that would freeze, and one of the firft in which 

 the ice would break up. In the next place, you would 

 be much fheltered by the high land lying to the Eaftward 

 and Northward from the bleak winds in the winter, and 

 you have all the Southern afped: open over the low land, 

 which lies to the Southward of you : which land in a little 

 time might be turned to very ufeful purpofes in railing ar- 

 ticles of food for the fettlers. You might fee from this 

 Situation the paffage from the fea, and a great part of the 

 Sound. The country around, after the fnow leaves it, 

 which is about the middle of June, is pleafant enough; 

 the weather is at times, long before that period, very fine 

 and pleafant, and at other times exceedingly boifterous, 

 with conftant rain, which wafhes in a fliort time great 

 quantities of the fnow away, foon leaves the lower parts 

 clear, and you immediately perceive the vegetables coming 

 forth. 



This country abounds in trees of the pine kind, fomc 

 very large, a good quantity of alder, a kind of hazel, but 

 not larger than will do for making hand-fpikes. The 

 fruit buflies are in great abundance, fuch as bilberry bufhes, 

 rafpberry bufhes, ftrawberries, alderberry buflies, and cur- 

 rant bufhes red and black. The vegetables are water- 

 crefles, wild celery, four dock, fhepherds purfe, angelica, 

 hemloc, and wild peas. We did not fee any wild onions 



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