[April, 1792.]

[Original Journal, Page 55.]

As my intention was to anchor for the night under the low point, the necessary signals were made to the Chatham; and at seven we hauled round it, at the distance of about a mile. This was, however, too near, as we soon found ourselves in three fathoms water; but, on steering about half a mile to the north, the depth increased to ten fathoms, and we rounded the shallow spit, which, though not very conspicuous, is shewn by the tide causing a considerable rippling over it. Having turned up a little way into the bay, we anchored on a bottom of soft sand and mud in 14 fathoms water. The low sandy point of land, which from its great resemblance to Dungeness in the British channel, I called NEW DUNGENESS, bore by compass N. 41 W. about three

66

New Dungeness. The word is sometimes spelled Dengeness, as by Montague Burrows," Cinque Ports," page 236, "that tract of land with the separate borough of Dengemarsh of which the mooring Dengeness or Dungeness is the extreme point." Halliwell's Dictionary, 1847, gives a meaning of "den" as a sandy tract near the sea as at Exmouth and at other places." Murray's great dictionary traces "den" and "dene" to "dune." "Ness" is easily traced to the Anglo-Saxon "naess," meaning cape. It is interesting to observe that the Indians of the Pacific Coast through their Chinook jargon call a cape, "nose." Dungeness, then, means a sandy or dunelike

cape.

The journal of the Royal Geographical Society, volume IX, 1897, page 536, has a paper called "Dungeness the Foreland," by F. P. Gulliver. The author produces a chart, comparing Dungeness Foreland with West Point, north of Seattle, and also with "False Dungeness Harbor, Port Angeles," probably in this last case confusing Port Angeles with New Dungeness. On page 546 of the same journal appears the following: "English sailors have recognized in other parts of the world forms similar to Dungeness Foreland and have applied the same name to two widely separated deposits, both having a similar geological structure. One is in Puget Sound and the other is South of Patagonia in the Strait of Magellan."

The Illustrated London News for February 1, 1873, in describing a wreck, used the following: "Dungeness is fourteen miles from Folkestone by road from Romney, the last four being a track over a shingly beach. The Ness runs out from the highland more than a couple of miles and creates a kind of breakwater."

During the search for Vancouver's reason for giving this name to the first harbor he found in Northwestern America, special permission was obtained from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to photograph an old chart.

[Original Journal,

Pages 55-56.]

[April, 1792.]

miles distant, from whence the low prejecting land extends until it reaches a bluff cliff of a moderate height, bearing from us S. 60 W. about a league distant. From this station the shores bore the same appearance as those we had passed

The chart was published on May 12, 1794, while Vancouver was exploring Cook's Inlet in Alaska. It is therefore practically contemporaneous with the naming of New Dungeness.

Search was also being made for a picture of the old lighthouse at Dungeness when the Lords Commissioners sent word through their Secretary, Evan MacGregor, that they had no picture of the lighthouse. "My Lords would suggest reference to the Trinity House for accurate information, as the light was originally established by the Elder Brethren." At Trinity House was found a water-color drawing of the old lighthouse as damaged by lightning. The Elder Brethren kindly gave their permission for a photograph to be made for this work, and in regard to the damages indicated in the picture, T. Matthews of Trinity House writes: "I have had search made, but regret that we are unable to fix the exact date when the lighthouse at Dungeness was struck with lightning. There is, however, a reference in one of the documents, dated 5th May 1846, to the effect that the brickwork of the Tower walls was shaken by lightning many years back.""

The Corporation of Trinity House is an exceedingly interesting institution of itself. It is an association of English mariners and got its first charter from Henry VIII in 1514, when it was described as the "guild or fraternity of the most glorious and undividable Trinity of St. Clement." Henry VIII intrusted it with the direction of the new naval dockyard at Deptford. Elizabeth, in 1573, conferred a grant of arms and gave it authority to erect beacons and other marks for the guidance of navigators along the coasts of England. In 1604 the Elder Brethren received control while the other members were called Younger Brethren. The corporation was dissolved by act of Parliament in 1647, but was restored in 1660. In 1836 Trinity House was empowered to buy all lighthouses and maintain them by tolls, the surplus to go toward the maintenance of indigent mariners. In 1853 the control of the funds passed to the Board of Trade. They still erect lighthouses, buoys, and beacons, and serve, in an advisory capacity, the High Court of Admiralty.

According to the records of Trinity House, the first lighthouse at Dungeness was built in 1615. It was rebuilt in 1792. In 1904 a finer and higher lighthouse was built, bearing this inscription, "This lighthouse and that on the Point together with the Fog Signal were erected in the year 1904 to supersede the lighthouse built in 1792."

A clipping from an English newspaper of 1904 gives some interesting information about the new lighthouse as follows: "The new lighthouse at

[April, 1792.]

[Original Journal, Page 56.]

in the morning, composing one entire forest. The snowy mountains of the inland country were, however, neither so high nor so rugged, and were further removed from the sea shore. The nearest parts bore by compass from us, south about half a league off; the apparent port S. 50 E. about two leagues; and the south point of an inlet, seemingly very capacious, S. 85 E.; with land appearing like an island, moderately elevated, lying before its entrance, from S. 85 E.; to N. 87 E.; and the S. E. extremity of that which now appeared to be southern shore, N. 71 E. From this direction round by the N. and N. W. the high distant land formed, as already observed, like detached islands, amongst which the lofty mountain, discovered in the afternoon by the third

Dungeness, which next to Cape Gris Nez, on the French Coast, has the most powerful light in the English Channel, was used for the first time last night. It has taken two years to construct, and supersedes the old building, which has been in existence for 114 years, but which now, owing to the accumulation of shingle, stands nearly half a mile inland. The illuminant is oil-gas, burnt on the incandescent principle, the intensity of the flash is 144,000 candle power, and the light is visible for seventeen and a half miles. There is also a subsidiary light in the same tower which can be seen for thirteen miles."

This reference to the changing of the beach at old Dungeness in England recalls a recorded change at New Dungeness near Puget Sound. Professor George Davidson, in his "Pacific Coast Pilot," page 530, discusses the curious harbor as follows: "This point is so low that vessels bound in or out of the harbor, before the erection of the Light-house, were upon it before they were aware of their danger. Several had run ashore on the outside beach; and in 1855, while we were anchored close under the point, with the weather thick and hazy, a vessel from Admiralty Inlet had been set out of her course by the currents, and came driving in with studding sails set, and only saw her mistake and danger when the black hull of our vessel attracted her attention." Then in a footnote on the same page: "On the 2nd of December, 1871, there was a violent gale of wind from the northwest, during which the sea made a breach across the spit nearly fifty yards in width, cutting off communication along the spit from the main land to the Light-house, except at low water and with a smooth sea. This cut was temporary. The sea also cut over one hundred feet into the spit northeast of the Light-house and reduced the distance of the Light-house from the water by that amount. At times during this gale clouds of sand arose and completely enveloped the top of the tower."