of water competing for the title of Portlund Channel, from the point of agreement to the open sea, The channel contended for by Great Britain is in length twenty-cight nautical miles; of an average width of 0.76 of a nautical mile: and of an average depth of sixty-four fathoms. ‘This channel is at two points narrowed to a width of about two hundred and fifty metres (about an eivhth of a mile), the result of which is a choking of the waters passing through it. in its tidal tetion, to such an extent thit about ninety per cent of the tidal tlow is throngh the channel contended for hy the United States.
The channel contended for by Great Britain, between Wales pissuge and ‘Tongass passive. ts foul eround, and the most ordinary prudence would forbid its navigation. ‘The best evidence of that fact is to be drawn from Vancouver himself who tells us in bis narmtive that even when he was making his wuy to the sea by the channel in question he passed to the vorthward and westward of Fillmore Iskind instead of proceeding direetly weross the foul ground, thus avoiding tive miles of the channel now embraced in the British contention.” Vancouver puts it beyond all doubt that at no time. either before or after his boat exploration, did he ever yenture to enter with his ships into the channel in question, Certainly he was but little inmpressed with either the yalue or importance of the smaller channel, because after he had completed his exploration of it. he said, in the evening of August 2,
This disappointment ovvasioned us no small degree of mortification, since we had already been absent from the ships a whole week, with the finest weather the <en- son had yet afforded; and though our utmost exertions had been called forth in tracing the continent throngh this labyrinth of rocks we had not adyauced more than thirteen leagues in a right line from the ships to the entrance of this inlet, and that in a southwest direetion; very different from the course we could haye wished to have pursuel, It was also now evident that we hai the exterior coast Lo contend with and from the length of time we ln been indulged with tine weather, we could not reasonably expect its continuing much longer; indeed the appearance of the evening indicated an unfavorable alteration which nuwle wwe apprehensive that probably the finest part of the season had been devoted, in our late pursuit, to a very perplexing object of wo great value or consideration.
‘The channel contended for by the United States is likewise twenty- eight nautieal miles in length; of au average wilth of 2.58 nauticul miles; and of an average depth of two hundred and eighteen fathoms, ‘The volume of water contained in that channel is therefore wbout eleven
Vancouver's Narrative, Vol. IT, pp. 345-45.
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