e shield of fire in the sunrise, a white mass whiter than the
whitest clouds, swimming aerially in mid-heaven. Lieutenant Baker was
the first to catch a glimpse of the vision for which every western
traveller now watches, the famous peak seen by land or sea for hundreds
of miles, the playground of the jagged green lightnings on the hot
summer nights; and the peak was named after him.--Mount Baker.

For the first time in history white men's boats plied the waters of the
great inland sea now variously known as Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound,
Hood Canal. There must be no myth of a Northeast Passage left lurking
in any of the many inlets of this spider-shaped sea. {271} Vancouver,
Menzies, Puget, and Johnstone set out in the small boats to penetrate
every trace of water passage. Instead of leading northeast, the
tangled maze of forest-hidden channels meandered southward. Savages
swarmed over the water, paddling round and round the white men, for all
the world like birds of prey circling for a chance to swoop at the
first unguarded moment. Tying trinkets to pieces of wood, Puget let
the gifts float back as peace-offerings to woo good will. The effect
was what softness always is to an Indian spoiling for a fight, an
incentive to boldness. When Puget landed for noon meal, a score of
redskins lined up ashore and began stringing their bows for action.
Puget drew a line along the sand with his cutlass and signalled the
warriors to keep back. They scrambled out of his reach with a great
clatter. It only needed some fellow bolder than the rest to push
across the line, and massacre would begin. Puget did not wait. By way
of putting the fear of the Lord and respect for the white man in the
heart of the Indian, he trained the swivel of the small boat landward,
and fired in midair. The result was instant. Weapons were dropped.
On Monday, midday, June 4, Vancouver and Broughton landed at Point
Possession. Officers drew up in line. The English flag was unfurled,
a royal salute fired, and possession taken of all the coast of New
Albion from latitude 39 to the Straits of Fuca, which Vancouver named
Gulf of Georgia. Just a month before, Gray, the American, had preceded
this act of {272} possession by a similar ceremony for the United
States on the banks of the Columbia.

The sum total of Vancouver's work so far had been the exploration of
Puget Sound, which is to the West what the Gulf of St. Lawrence is to
the East. For