Chilkat Inlet is an inlet in

Lynn Canal Lynn Canal is an inlet (not an artificial canal) into the mainland of southeast Alaska. Lynn Canal runs about from the inlets of the Chilkat River south to Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage. At over in depth, Lynn Canal is the deepest fjord ...

in the Southeast region of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

that includes the delta for the

Chilkat River The Chilkat River is a river in British Columbia and southeastern Alaska that flows southward from the Coast Range to the Chilkat Inlet and ultimately Lynn Canal. It is about long. It begins at Chilkat Glacier, in Alaska, flows west and south i ...

and borders Haines and the

Chilkat Peninsula The Chilkat Peninsula is a peninsula in Lynn Canal, Southeast Alaska that divides the Chilkoot and Chilkat Inlets and divides the Chilkat and Chilkoot watersheds. The peninsula extends into Lynn Canal as well. It was first charted in 1794 by J ...

. It was first charted in 1794 by

Joseph Whidbey Joseph Whidbey FRS (1757 – 9 October 1833) was a member of the Royal Navy who served on the Vancouver Expedition 1791–95, and later achieved renown as a naval engineer. He is notable for having been the first European to discover and char ...

, master of during George Vancouver's 1791–1795 expedition. Chilkat Inlet was frequently visited by maritime fur traders from at least 1800. The '' Atahualpa'' visited in 1801 and its log mentions an earlier trading visit by an unidentified ship. These traders spelled Chilkat variously, such as Chilcart and Chilkark. In April 1811 the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

maritime fur trader

Samuel Hill Samuel Hill (13 May 1857 – 26 February 1931), usually known as Sam Hill, was an American businessman, lawyer, railroad executive, and advocate of good roads. He substantially influenced the Pacific Northwest region's economic dev ...

, captain of ''

Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

'', battled the Chilkat

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

in Chilkat Inlet. Two of Hill's crew were killed, including his second mate and journal keeper Richard Kemp, and his

boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervise ...

. Six more were wounded. According to Captain Hill, the Tlingit suffered 40 killed, including 13 chiefs. Hill blamed both his first mate and the Tlingit, but he was notoriously violent and frequently attacked indigenous people unprovoked. For several years after the 1811 battle fewer trade ships visited. By 1821 it was again a regular trading site, with visits by ships such as the ''Mentor'' in 1821.

References

Inlets of Alaska Bodies of water of Haines Borough, Alaska Tlingit {{HainesAK-geo-stub