May 1838. gulf of penas — kelly harbour. 175 



until midnight of the 22d, it rained in torrents, without the 

 intermission of a single minute, the wind being strong and 

 squally at W., W.N.W., and N.W. 



" When the weather improved, on the 23d, we weighed, and 

 made sail along the northern side of the sound, for the pur- 

 pose of ascertaining whether it admitted of a passage to the 

 northward. We kept within a mile of the shore, sounding from 

 eight to fifteen fathoms, generally on a sandy bottom ; and a 

 run of seven miles brought us within three miles of the bottom 

 of the inlet, the depth of water being four fathoms, on sand. 

 The termination of this sound is continuous low land, with 

 patches of sandy beach, over which, in the distance, among 

 mountains of great height, we were again able to make out 

 and take tlie bearing of that remarkable one, named the ' Dome 

 of St. PauFs.'' The shores of this inlet are thickly wooded ; 

 the land near them is, for the most part, low, but rises into 

 mountains, or rather hills, from twelve to fifteen hundred feet 

 in height, from which many streams of water descend. As 

 soon as a ship has passed Dead Tree Island, she becomes land- 

 locked; and as in all parts of the sound there is anchorage 

 depth, with a muddy or sandy bottom, the advantages offered 

 to shipping would be of great consequence in parts of the world 

 more frequented than the Gulf of Penas. 



Whales were numerous, and seals were seen in this inlet, 

 now called the Gulf of San Estevan. 



" Hence we went to Kelly Harbour, at the north-eastern side 

 of the Gulf of Penas, four miles N.E. of Xavier Island. The 

 land around it is rocky and mountainous, but by no means 

 bare of wood. Near the entrance it is low, as compared with 

 the adjacent land ; but in the interior are lofty snow-capped 

 mountains. 



" A large field of ice, lying on the low land near Kelly Har- 

 bour, was remarkable. There was none on the low grounds at 

 the other (southern) side of the port, though it was almost the 

 winter solstice at the time of our visit. 



" Another day and night of incessant rain. In the morning 

 of the 25th we had some showers of hail, and at daylight found 



