RESUME OF DR. HECTOR'S EXPLORATION OF THE WEST COAST.

Press, Volume III, Issue 335, 26 November 1863, Page 3

RESUME OF DR. HECTOR'S EXPLORATION OF THE WEST COAST.

£Fn>m the Olago Wiliss.]

In a narrative addressed to tTie Provincial Secwtafy. Dr. Hector ha* given the particulars of the principal incidente of Ills royago and of the diseoreries which he has made. This was published «• extento in the Otngo Provincial Government Gautte of the sth instant and was reprinted in the columns of the Daily Times. Deeply interesting ac tlie narrative is, we are precluded from ■•publishing it entire on account of its length, but five in a compressed form an account of the principal evcnU, adhering, as f;ir as possible, to the wordi of tho narrator. The details of the Voyage are preceded by a statement of the reasons whidi led Dr. Hector to conclude that a practi<*b> route across the island in a depressed valley •nwersing the Southern Alps would be found, and ef the confirmation of that opinion by his succeeding in reaching Duuedin by following that line of •onntry. Accompanied by three men on the 23rd <*f September he left the schooner in which he had performed the voyage of exploration in charge - *L *k° e^'PPer ft t its anchorage at Dart Foint, on the West Coast, and in a little "dingy" built at Milford Sound, ascended we Kakalio River and entered a late called *FDr. Heotor the Kakapo Lake. Leaving tho "eliooner there he took the dingy up a river which **»iato the lake, and led. into* another called by g* Maoris tlie Wokailiivuk Lake. This last he «d no opportunity of examining. Ascending the *>Ver a distance of seven miles, he fouud the B*Wen interrupted by rapids; at only one of - J** however it vu necessary to unload the ***t> Uw otliers being orewoine by dragging it for • wort dutamx- oveAhe stonee Vithout removing rtslioad. The above distance was uocouiplished in *••'hour*. The banks of the river are elevated < %*Bfttj to tkirU- feet, and consist of strati lied bed* *vday, saad, and alluvial silt, the Utter having

'*"' e P th , of , twcl ™ feet. The flats, which are »ell timbered, elope gentlyback to the base of tinmountains, where they are slightly swiunpr in .undent fall for natural drainage, but to thesiraili streams hemsr occasion .lly Mookwl by the fulJin- ' » r u CS RCPO3B their « ,la,m eU durin - floods. & About ten miles from its mouth t'.» channel was so obstructed by the immense b< nlders of en uieient moraine that the dingy became an ineuni- I hranee, an I wrs accordingly' sent back, the remainder of the jo'.irney to Qucenstown bein<» performed on foot. The difficulties of the overland route do not appear to have been very great, as the whol<* time occupied in actual travelling was only 16 hours. Tho scenery of a portion of the route after leaving the dingy' is thus described .- — " Above the boulder rapid just mentioned, the fall of the stream is comparatively slight for ten or twelve miles, nt which place the valley is crossed by a second moraine, but in this part of its course, besides the frequent occurrence of shallows, its channel is much obstructed by drift wood, which is frequently pileu to a height "of ten feet by the floods.

"In some parts of the valley the flat land, which is of good quality and above the highest floods, is nearly two miles in width, and a* the soil appears principally to be a deposit from a lake that once extended from side to side, and probably occupied the whole of this valley and its ramifications, it will have a more uniform character than is usual in valleys so closely hemmed by mountains. The forest which covers the flats is very open and free from underwood, and contains some fine timber trees, black birch, ironwool, renin, and white pine being the most preralent. About, the second boulder rapid the round shingle which lower down is confined to the bed of the principal stream and its tributaries, fills the valley from side to side, co that the useful land may be considered to terminate at that point, or about 18 miles from the south extremity of the Kakapo Lake.

"It is extremely difficult to form any estimate of the extent of available land in the valley, but Tdo not. think it can exceed 10,000 acres. Its quality is. however, excellent, the soil being generally a light, fritible loam, containing a proportion of vegetable matter. Tn travelling up the valley we crossed the stream repeatedly, taking advantage of the shingle beaches, over which we could progress more rapidly than through the woods ; but if this were impracticable from the flooded state of the river, the best road would be found along its west or left bank."

With respect to the value of the discovery, as tending to develop the resources of the Province, the Doctor says :—" Tn tho foregoing description of the route T have followed in crossing the mountains, and of the country at its western extremity, as given in the enclosed narrative, I have limited myself to the statement of what I observed and recorded on the spot, find have intentionally avoided expressing an opinion as to whether the present requirements of tho Province are such as to make the result of this part, of my explorations of immediate practical value. However, I may state that when such requirements do exist, there will be no difficulty in constructing a road at a moderate expense between tho Wakatipu and Kakapo Lakes that will pass over a summit level of the mountains that does not involve a rise of more than 400 feet above the Wakatipu Lake which, beinj elevated 1000 feet above the sea, consequently makes tho western descent equal to 1400 feet, 400 of which may be accomplished with an imperceptible gradient." In another portion of his journal he observes, " The total distance from the Kakapo Lake to the Wakatipu Lake by the route I followed is 90 miles. But if we had followed straight up the Kakapo Valley, and followed down the Greenstone R ; ver to* where it enters the Lake, which would be the proper line to cut a track, the distance would be less than 50 miles.

Abstaining from any particular account of the geological features of the country over which he passed, until able to make a more accurate examiTistkm, the narrator in- graiwal terms observes with regard to the Western District:—" The indications are much more favorable for the occurrence of valuable mineral lodes than in any of the ; country more to the eastward ; but it is not improbable that a belt of mineral ground similar to that which occurs in the Province of Kelson, may also be found at various points along the coast. Although the gold bearing rocks are to be met with at various points, 1 do not expect that any extensive auriferous deposits will be worked in the district I have examined, as the physical structure of the country is widely different from that of any cold producing country I am acquainted with. The district, however, which holds out most promise, will be in the neighborhood of the Waiuna Valley, and perhaps for some distance north and south* of it, among the lower ranges which lie between the sea and the coast and the lofty mountains. "Dnring the whole time of the Expedition, meteorological obserrntions have been regularly made, and are still being continued at six-hourly intervals by my assistant, Mr. Williams, so that there will exist abundant materials for making a comparison of the climate of the East and West Coast for the period during which we have been out. " So far as they have gone, the following abstract of these observations tends to show that, with nearly tho same atmospheric preesure as on the East Coast, the mean temperature on the West is considerably higher and without such an excess of moisture in the air as might reasonably have been expected :— May to September, 1863. Dunedin. West Coast Mean atmospheric pressure 29689 ...29879inches Mean temperature of air 41*1... 49.3 Fall. Mean amount of moisture— Sat,=loo ... 62 2... 737 Mean elastic force of rapour -232... 288 inches. The voyage of Exploration was performed in a email vessel of 20 tons register, called the Matilda Hayes, in which Dr. Hector sailed on the 20th Ma"* last. The schooner was chosen in preference to a larger vessel as being likely to be more manageable on the intricate sounds of the West Coast, and experience justified the choice. Eight Maoris were engaged to assist in the expedition, and nailing at various places along the coast and examining a variety of inlet* and bays, on the 7th of August the'vcssel entered Milford Sound. " We anchored." says Dr. Hector, " for a short time in Anita Bay. Proceeding up the Sound three miles j from the entrance, it becomes contracted to the j width of half a mile, and its sides rise perpendi- j cularly from the water's edge, sometimes for 2000 feet, and then slope at a high angle to the peaks that arc covered with perpetual enow. The scenery is quite equal to the finest that can be enjoyed by the most difficult and toilsome journeys into the Alps of the interior, and the effect being greatly enhanced as well as the access made more easy by the incursion of the eea as it were into their alpine solitudes. The sea in fapfc now occupies a chasm that was in past ages ploughed by i I an immense glacier, and it is through the natural process of events by which the mountain mass has"been reduced in altitude that the ice stream has been replaced by the waters of the occau. The evidence of this change may be seen at a glance. The lateral valleys join the mam one at various elevations, but are all sharply cat off by the precipitous wall of the Sound, the erasion of which was no doubt continued by a great central glacier Ion" after the subordinate and tributary ebciere hail ceased to exist, The precipices ex-j fubit the m irks of ice action with groat distinct-; ness, *r.l descend quite abruptly to a depth; of 800 to 1,200 feet below the water level. j Towards its head, - the Sound becomes | mori! expanded, and receives several large valleys j that preserve the same character, but radiate in j dittcreut directions into the highest ranges at the I

j time that these valleys were filled with glacier* i A great " Ice Lake" must have existed in tin J upper and expanded portion of the Sound, fron ■j which the only outlet could be made through th. chasms which form its lower part. Two hour.- ---> sail brought us into a fresh water basin, where v. anchored, and next day, as I intended to remaii here some time, a large tent was put up on shore and ererjthing in the yacht was taken out an« overhauled. The carpenter also commenced ti build the dingy, the timber for which had beer cut and sawn while we lay in Cuttle Cove, in Preservation Inlet. Two streams of considerable eizt enter the head of Milford Sound, the Clerldai River from the S S.E., and the Arthur River fron the S.W. A well-timbered flat about a mile in extent lies between them, but had beeu principally formed by the materials brought down by the first-mentioned stream, consisting of shingfc and stratified sands. It is evidently a river valley deposit, and its surface slopes up the valley of the Cleddau River, forming benches four to six feet above the highest floods. This flat (and a few hundred acres on islands in the lower part of the Arthur River) is the only land at the head of Milford Sound that could possibly be made available for any purpose. Below the narrow part of the Sound around Anita Bay there is another small portion of level land, but it is a mere strip by the water's edge along the base of steep ranges of hills. Fresh Water Basin, in which we were moored, is an expansion of the main channel of the Cleddau River lying between tho before mentioned flat and a verticil precipice of rock, but closed in from the up-sound winds by Cemetery Point. Wβ lay within a few hundred yards of the foot of a cascade 540 feet in vertical height. The grand scale of the surrounding scenery detracts, however, from the imposing effect which this fall would have in any other situation. The volume of water is very considerable, especially after heavy rains, forming a stream for a hundred yards between tho foot of the fall and the edge of the sea 40 feet in width, and, judging from the flood mark, sometimes 18 lo 20 feet in depth. The occasional flooding and the continued dashing of wind and spray from the falling water have prevented the growth of scrub on a small plot of about an acre in extent, which from a distance presents the pleasant because an unusual sign on this co.ist of a grassy knoll. The, geological structure of tho mountains around Milford Sound is more complicated than in any other part of the West Coast I have examined. The prevailing rock is syenitii; gneiss, associated wilh schist, greenstore, porphyry, and felsp.ithic schist, succeeded toward the lower part of the Sound by fine-grained gr.eiss of newer ago, felstones, quartzites, and clay slates. No metallic ores were observed, but several might be expected to occur amongst the last-mentioned groupe of strata, if a locality were found to have beeu traversed by fissures in which vein-stone could form.

During the voyage, the Maoris who had been directed to meet the expedition did not arrive, and therefore, on the 24th August, giving up nil hopes of their arrival, I left the head of Milford Sound and dropped down to Anita Bay, where we anchored at dark ; and next morning, at 4 a.m., taking advantage of the land breeze, sailed to the northwards the Awarua River, which is laid down on the chart 18 miles further up the coast. After making bis miles the wind diud away, when we were oft' Yafces'e Point, which is the first promontory to the north of Milford Sound.

As the yacht lay becalmed, with too heavy a swell running to allow oi our towing, and as it was necessary that the Awarua should be carefully examined before we attempted to enter it with the craft, I went on in advance, with three hands, in the whaleboat.

Keeping close in shore, I had a good view of the coast, and satisfied myself that it would be quite possible to get along it from Milford .Sound northwards. The appearance of the country is considerably altered from that to the south of Milford Sound, as the high snowy mountains trend to. the K.N.E. from FemUroke Peak, and retire behind lower wooded hills, which, however, arc too steep to be of any value, unless the bush could be replaced by pasturage. The coast line forms a succession of bold headlands, which generally have a group of sharp rocks or a long reef extending from them to the seaward. Between these headlands are shallow bays, with steep sandy or shingle beaches, on which the eurf breaks with tremendous violence. ] Three of these bays are of largo size—each having a large valley extending from it into the interior in a southerly direction ; and it is as flowing iuto the most ndttherly of these that the Awarua of the Admiralty Surveyor is laid down on the chart, j The proper Awarua of the Maoris, according to all the information I am able to collect, is, however, a large river that falls into Jackson's Bay to the north of that river, which I named the Jackson last summer, but which I have since learnt is known to the Maoris ns the Terrewhatta.

I After pulling ten miles, and when opposite to the south end of the second bay, op Martin's Bay of the chart, we observed a emoke on the shore ; i and, on standing in for it, found it to he a party of Maoris, who made signs for us to land ; but .'is the sea was breaking nearly a quarter of a mile j from the shore, I dared not take the boat even within hail. Quided by the Admiralty chart, which hitherto I had found faithfully correct, I was making to the next bay to the north, in search of the Dwarud River, when Henry, who had been along this coast sealing, though he knew nothing of that river, thought that 1 was going too far, ! and that the mouth of the only large river he had ! cror heard of on the coast, into which there was a chance of taking a yacht, was at the northern extremity of Martin's Bay, as he recognised the long i and dangerous reefs that lay before us. On making towards the north end of the sandy beach, which extends for three miles, we found a strong current against us, which quite confirmed this opinion. Still, however, when close in shore we could sec no appoarnuce of an entrance, the surf seeming to break with increased violence where the sandy beach meets the rocks. Proceeding cautiously and keeping a few boats' lengths from the rocks, we, however, fonnd that this appearance was deceptive, and that there was really a pretty wide channel lying between the rocks aud the point of the sandspit, and pulling up against a current of two or three knots, a few yards brought us into comparatively still water, when we found that we were in a laVgo river about a quarter of ■* mile m width, the first reach of which extends for nearly two miles, parallel with the sea shore, and separated from it only by- a narrow saudspit. After lauding on a gravelly point, where thero was an old Maori hut and a camping place where tents had been pitched very recently, I lost no time in examining and marking a rough plan of the entrance of the" river, and, having sounded ' carefully, set up guide-mirks by which to bring in the schooner at once with next morning's tide, should she arrive in the offing during the night. The channel is quite deep enough fur much larger vessels, as there are ten feet of water on the shallowest part of the bar, but it U very narrow, and there are Bye or six awkward sunken rocks on that j side on to wLieh the current would naturally tend to swoop a \cssel. Howover, I anticipated no difficulty in getting the yacht in if we could only | hit the proper time of the tide. Jf ext morning, as | we could see nothing of her in the offing, we pulled j up the river against the ebb for a few miles, and j were greatly pleased with the alluvial laud and the fine quality of the forest growth with which it is covered. Beiuij afraid that the schooner arrive in time for the evening tide, I did not go far up the river; aud ou returning to the san-.i- j spit at one p.m. we saw her at a distance of ': miles to the south-west, but further from I he laud j llwn whore we li:tl left her on the previous day. ■ After lighting a large {ire ;is a signal, it then \ low tide, I w:is able to improve my plan of the i entrance to the river, and fill 'in the rock* and vhauael mw fsuvuiMt'ily thm previously. Tiu ,

urrent «ins flowing out with great velocity, tii. lojir channel at the turn of the tide being con .seted to a width of 11 v feet. While we were tending the signal fire on tl> md spit after dark, the Maoris we had seen o> ..ts beach on the previous ilay joined us. Ther s only one family of them, consisting of a ver ■•Id man, his wife and two daughters. They hay. ived here for three years, having previously re .Jed in Jackson's liny. Through Kanry, I learn .-...in them that a vessel, which from thi»ir deserip ion we supposed to be a cutter, had oalled hei i

*>mc months ago an,l landed two men, who pro ■eiided up the river in a small boat, but returned n n short time in a starving condition, having lost clieir tent, gun, and provisions by a sudden freshet •f the river, which swept them away during thi night. The Maoris supported these nicn for a long time until their vessel called back for them. On her second visit she entered the river, and sailer up it for a long distance, and, as far as we could make out, they were here at the time of the great storm which we experienced in Thompson's Sound, which commenced on the 25th July.

Sext morning (the 27th August) there was a line southerly breeze, and we were on the lookout for the schooner, but she was not in sight. However, at Ba.m., no heard her gun Gre roun< the point to the north, and immediately put ou« icrosa the bar, it being then almost the turn of high water. When she picked us up after a pull >f a couple of miles from the land, I learnt thai the skipper, misled by the chart, had been sweepins; the northmost Bay all the morning in eearcl. of the entrance of the Awarau River, where lie expected to communicate with mc. lie describe.the bay as being very deep, with a bold boulder beach, without any appearance of a river, and complained of the great risk he had run iv being led to sweep so close in shore in search of the river, through the error of the chart, as, if a nor'-wester had sprung up, he never could have beat out against it. As the weather looked very threatening in that direction, the skipper was afraid that unless he got into the river with this tide he would have to run back to Milford Sound, and therefore we determined to try it at once, even though the best time was already ast before she was able to beat up to the entrance. However, I did not anticipate that the ebb current would acquire such velocity in euch a short time, as we afterwards found, or the attempt would never have been made. When within a cable's length of the entrance the anchor was dropned in five fathoms of water, while the first kedge and line was run out. This brought her right abreast the point of the sandspit, and in the worst part of the channel, having a group ol sharp rocks within a few yards of her stern. The second kedge did not take her out of danger, for the current had now acquired the velocity "of five or six knots an hour, so that we could hardly stem it with the boat to lay kedges. The sea had also increased, and made it wild and dangerous work, as immense rollers were breaking twenty feet to our left, the break just ceasing at the edge of the deep water in the channel. Twice the boat w:is nearly swamped in attempting to fetch back the line from the next kedge. At this timo a part of the windlass gave way owing to the violent jerking ef the chain, for the anchor had to be dropped each time the kedges were shifted, co that the position of the craft became very critical, and if any of the kedging lines had snipped, nothing could have saved her. However, (hanks to the judgment and care exercised by Captain Thomson before our startiug, all our gear was of first-rate quality, and the next kedge brought her behind the shelter of the sandspit, where she was tolerably safe. It was more than two hours' hard work to get her in so far—a distance of barely 500 yards— during which all hands were taxed to the utmost, and t cannot praise too highly the skill and coolness displayed by the skipper and crow on this trying occasion. When the tide slackened a little ; the yacht was tracked up for a short distance fartlier, and moored in a very snug place behind a rocky islet, on the right side of the river. ! Early on the morning of the 28th I proceeded lup the" rfver, accompanied by the skipper, to see how far up it would be advisuble to take the yacht. We had the advantage of the flood tide, which carried us rapidly up, and after a distance of four miles we were surprised and delighted to find that it flows out of a lake, one or two miles in width, and extending in a southerly direction for ten or twelve miles. We had a fair wind up this lake, so that by noon we reached its upper extremity, where a considerable stream enters ie from the S.S.E., and up which we were able to take the boat for nearly a mile. The lower part of this lake is comparatively sliallow, varying from six to ten fathoms, and surrounded by a large extent of level land, which is continuous with the flat through which the river winds, and is bounded on cither hand by low eloping hills. About five miles from its lower end, however, it acquires all the characters of one of the Sounds, beiug bounded by steep mountains that rise out of deep water. At the head of the Lake there is a large flat, covered with thickets of the tutu, fuschia, and other shrubs, where we found tracks of wild pigs—the progeny, Henry learned from the old Maori, of a pair that had been turned loose a few years since. After finding the only safe mooring place near the head of the lake, which is a little projecting headland on the cast shore, which will afford shelter from the N.W. gales, we returned next day to the schooner. For some time after this wo had stormy ami changeable weather, which caused some loss of time, and nearly a fortnight elapsed before I had completed the survey and examination of the lower part of the river and coast, and was able to proceed up to the lake with the schooner. The river is called by the Maoris the Wakatipu-kaduku. or the river tliat leads up to the Wakatipu Lake ; by which they mean, not the Wakatipu Lake of the east side of the mountains, but the lake I had just discovered, and which, in order to avoid coufusion, I propose to name the ICakapo Lake, in order to preserve- the name of that rare and interesting bird which will, in all probability, soon become extinct ; nnd preserving part of the Maori name I would name the river Kaduku. The best weather for entering the Kaduku river is after a few days of light N.N.E. or S.E. winds, or with a light S.W. wind if there has not been previously a galo from that quarto , , as in tliat case there is sure to be a heavy swell, especially if the barometer is low. The ttiost severe gnlcs on the coast are from between N.N.E. and N.N.W., and not often from X.W., as is the case further south, and on tltc whole these were the prevailing winds during the month's experience we had of the place. As the bay is open and the current sets strongly off shore to the southward, there would be little danger in a vessel anchoring iv it for a short time in fine weather to wait the proper time in taking the bar, as if a northerly breeze sprang up she could easily reach Milford Sound wUh the lirst of it. The dangers however which are incurred ip entering the Kailuku rivor are very great iv its present condition, arising from the narrowness of channel, ihe strength of the outsctting current (excepting at high wator), ami the exposed nature of the coast, ou which there is nearly always a heavy swell rolling. Still however I believe it could be greatly improved, aud would form at least ijuito as good a port as maiiy which are freely entered by sailing vessels and steamer* o£ small size on other parts of the New Zealand coast. The distance from the Kaduku River to Milford Sound is only 18 miles. lliiford Sound is one of the most easily catered of all the inlets ou the coait, tor, although sur-rouruli-d by high mountains, the wind draw* through it very steadily, aud ia moJorale weather there is . a marked land breeze during the forenoon, nntl a ?e,i br?t-zc in the afternoon, while ili<» iiirtu?!K-c of the tide i~ not at all felt.

The Kaduku River makes three reaches between .vhere it leave* the lake mid enters the sea. Tlu- • lwcst, or Kaiyk Ke:u-h, is a mile »nd a-half in and is only separated from the sea hv t r, e !'ul!.pit, which is 100 yards in width ntul 5o t l> feet in height. This part of (he river average* quarter of a-niile in width, and has a wide bannel with nowhere less than ten feet of water. I s inken reef of rocks, however, extends nearly xlf-way across it from the «plit rocks which lie <n it* eastern side, and asain at the upper end of he reach opposite to an old Maori kaiyk, a bank

lnned of snags buried in gravel noail. ito.*sc:

he river, and is almost dry at. low water; but dong its eastern side, however, there is a channel hirty fathouw in width, in which there is not 'ess than eleven feet at high water. From the Hend of the river a narrow creek navigable for boats extends for half a mile farther along the back of the sandspit, penetrating through dense scrubby thickets, and flowing from a small lake near which the Natives hare their present kaiyk and potato-garden. Above the Kaiyk Reach the river narrows considerably, the average width being one hundred and eighty yards. It is deep from side to side, hut out of the line of swiftest current there are a Tew snags, which n irrows the channel to some extent. The proper channel varies from twelve to twenty-five feet, and above the bank of the Kaiyk there are no obstacles of auj kind to its •lavigation.

Excepting at the entrance of the river, where the channel that is free from dangers is only 110 <"eet wide, and at the two obstructions which I 'iave mentioned as lying opposite to the Kaiyk Mid the split rocks, the river has a clear channel for navigation from the lake to the sea that is not 'ess than forty fathoms in width and twelve feet in arerage depth of water. The proper time for taking the bar is after three-quarters flood, when, unless there be a freshet in the river, the current generally ceases to flow out. At half-flood the average soundings are from fifteen to twenty feet, and only in one place on the bar ten feet, which was probably on the top of a rock. Besides the ■jronp of sharp rocks at the entrance, about a

•able's length within the bar there is a dangerous rock nearly in mid channel, and generally a wash it high water ; but the water being quite smooth ground it, it can easily be avoided.

It appears that, after a few days* rain the current runs out very strongly, and the effect of flood!ides is hardly at all felt, so that there is constant, outset. After fine weather the current in the river does not run stronger than between Dunedin and the Heads, which is from two to two and a half knots per hour during the ebb tide. The influence of the flood in ordinary weather is felt within the river about an hour after it is high water outside. But after a few days , fine weather and southerly winds, when the level of the lake becomes lowered, the flood tide commences to run up the river fully two and a half hour? before high water, at the rate of nearly two knots an hour. On the bar, however, the current never makes stronger than at th» rate of one knot an hour. Within the entrance of the river the rise and fall of the tide is from four to eight feet, Y;itir full tili at the change of the nvionat 11.40. The range, however, decreases on ascending the river, and in the lake it certainly does not exceed six inches. By keeping in line the marks which 1 put up to guide the yacht over the bar, nnd which I intend to place in a permanent form before I leave the river, a vessel will pass safely between the point of the spit and the sunken rocks ; but after Opening up the bend of the river she must keep close to the edge of the sandspit, where there is the deepest water within a couple of fathoms from the edge of the bank, the exact position of which can always be easily known by the tide rip which the rollers giro rise to on breaking over the spit into water. In the present state of the entrance no vessel drawing more than seven feet should attempt to enter this river, and then only under very favorable circumstances, with a high barometer and light south* east wind.

On the 18th we sailed to the upper end of the hike and made the schooner fast iv Warp Cove. The upper end of the lake. is in latitude 44 deg. 31 niiu. 41 sec.; that of Gravel Cove, where we were last anchored, 44deg. 22min. tOsec, and the lake is about 10| miles in length. About the 15th the barometer fell as low as 29*08, but without any remarkable change in the weather following. In the course of a few days it rose to 30*0, when a violent storm set in on the night, of the 18th, accompanied by a rain fill of six inches in the thirty-six hours that succeeded, but during which time the barometer continued to rise steadily. The frequency with which this anomaly occurred shows how little the indications of the barometer arc to be trusted in these deep mountain valleys.