THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
263 
feen from the deck. Between this illand or rock, and the 1778. 
Northern extreme of the land, there appeared to be a fmall 
opening, which flattered us with the hopes of finding an 
harbour. Thefe hopes leffened as we drew nearer; and, at 
laft, we had fome reafon to think, that the opening was 
clofed by low land. On this account I called the point of 
land to the North of it Cape Flattery. It lies in the latitude 
of 48° i5 / North, and in the longitude of 235 0 3' Eaft. There 
is a round hill of a moderate height over it; and all the 
land upon this part of the coaft is of a moderate and pret¬ 
ty equal height, well covered with wood, and had a very 
pleafant and fertile appearance. It is in this very latitude 
where we now were, that geographers have placed the pre¬ 
tended ftrait of Juan de Fuca. But we faw nothing like it; 
nor is there the leafl probability that ever any fuch thing 
exitted *. 
I flood off to the Southward till midnight, when I tacked, 
and fleered to the North Weft, with a gentle breeze at South 
Weft, intending to ftand in for the land as foon as day¬ 
light flxould appear. But, by that time, we were reduced Monday 23. 
to two courfes and clofe-reefed top-fails, having a very 
hard gale, with rain, right on fhore; fo that, inftead of 
running in for the land, I was glad to get an offing, or to 
keep that which we had already got. The South Weft 
wind was, however, hut of fhort continuance; for, in the 
evening, it veered again to the Weft. Thus had we per¬ 
petually ftrong Weft and North Weft winds to encounter. 
Sometimes, in an evening, the wind would become mo¬ 
derate, and veer to the Southward; but this was always a 
* See Michael Locke’s apocryphal account of Juan de Fuca, and his pretended ftrait, 
in Purchas, V oh iii. p. 849—852. and many later Collections. 
3 
fure 
