, 1853-05-14
Extracts from Wilkes Exploring
Expedition.

We take the following extracts from Vol
Nv, of Chas. Wilkes Exploring Expedition
in 1911, relative to the surveys aud obsrl-
yalions made by the party under his com
mand, while in Puget Sound. They will
be found highly interesting.
"On the morning Of the lst of May,
1871, we found ourselves well into the
straits; aud as | proposed 10 defer the sur
vey Of this part Of them until my return,
We hastancd TO reach Port Discovery, where
We anchored at half past s. P. Nj on the ID
Of May; just forty nine years after Van
couver, pursuing the track of Dc Fuca, had
visited the same harbor.
The Straits Of Juan de Fuca may be safe.
ly navigated. The wind will for the great
er part Of the year be found to blow direct
ly through them, and generally oulwards {:
this wind is at times very violent. The
shores Of the strait are bold, and anchorage
is TO be found in but few places. We could
not obtain bottom in some places with sixty
tathoms of line, even within boats length
of the shore.
The south shore is composed Of perpen-
dicular sandy cliffs, that run hack into high
and rugged peaks, and is covered with a
forest Of various species Of pines, that rises
almost TO the highest points Of the range Of
mountains. The highest points themselves
are covered with snow; and among them
Mount Olympus was conspicuous, rising 10
an altitude of eight thousand one hundred
and lhirtvo foot
The north shore is rocky, and composed, ,
as far as we could examine it of onglome.
rate, and in some few places Of reddish
granite. ~
In the morning we we're boarded by a
large canoe, with Indians who spoke a few
words of English /; and we had occasion TO
notice the wide difference between them
and the Polynesians, both in language and
appearance. No contrast can be more stri.
king than this. They seemed TO have
scarcely any idea of dcccncy, and TO be lit
tie less elevated in their moral qualities than
the Furgians.
The principal man of the party was
dressed in a coarse coat of red cloth, with
the Hudson Bay Company's buttons, and
corduroy trousers. He had neither shirt,
shoes, nor hat, although the rain was falling
fast. The others we t habited in blankets
or skins, and wore conical grass hats, re-
sembling in shape those oil the Chinese.
The first inquiry was, whether we were
Boston or king Georges ships, by which
terms they distinguish Americans and Eng
lsh. They brought with them for sale some
fish and few furs. On the latter they ap-
prared TO set a high value, and we're not a
little disappointed when they learned that
we had no desire 10 purchase them. They
readily parted with their fine fish for few
6sh-hOoks and q little tobacco.
1hrsc Indians were short, thick set. bow
legged, muscular, and seemed capable of
enduring great fatigue. The most obvious
peculiarly was the shape of their heads,
which appcayed 10 have been compressed,
both before and behind, so as 10 give them
the form Of a wedge. Their cheek bones
were high, aud their eyes, which were fine,
were set wide apart their color was light
copper. The oblique eye of the Chinese
was not uncommon, and they had long flow
ing hair aquilinc or Roman noses were
prevalent. Their countenances wore an
expression Of wildness, and they had, in the
opinion Of some of US, a melancholy cast Of
features.
They manifested little curiosity, which
was not excited even by the appearance Of
a ship so much larger than any they could
have before seen, armed and manned in a
manner so superior to what is usual in the
vessels that visit them for traffic.
They wore but few ornaments, and that
on which they sci the greatest value was
small silver tube stuck through the carii-
lage of the nose. A few Of them had
small brass bells suspended around the rim
of their ears.
Their language was one Of the most disa-
greeable we had vet heard, full OF guileTals,
and the sounds Hiek, Huet, and fsak.
Late in the afternoon, we reached and
wealhered the low sand point, called by
Vancouver New Dungeness, and stood over
for his Protection Island. We passed with
in less than quarter OF mile Of the point,
where we had three and a half iathoms OF
water.
hltcI pdSailS Hlat iSldhui uH tAtehslNo
bay opened, on whose shores we saw the
long poles mentioned by Vancouver, and
represented in his book. The use of these
he was unable 10 discover, but the Indians
informed us that they were for the purpose
of suspending nets for the taking Of wild
fowl that frequent these shores in great
numbers. On these poles the nets are set
up at night, at which time the geese search
these grounds for food fires are then light
cd, which alarm the birds, and cause them
to fly against the nets, by which they are
thrown upon the ground, where, before they
have time TO recover themselves, they arc
caught and killed.
The description Of Vancouver is so cx-
actly applicable to the present state Of this
mort, that il was difficult 10 believe that al