On the 7th [June 1853] we drifted into Padilla bay. Here we ran aground several times and I was obliged to hire another Indian pilot. We did not make more than ten miles, and camped in a little cove on one of the islands, probably Guymas. In the twilight I paddled about the base of the cliffs in our little canoe and admired the deep blue of the waters and the grandeur of the rocks. On the 8th we reached Whatcom.
Early on the morning of the 10th we left Whatcom. The tide was with us, but the wind was against us, and it was 11 o’clock before we lost sight of Whatcom. We lunched in a beautiful little cove on Lummi island, which forms the southwest boundary of the [Bellingham] bay. The wind lulled, but, the tide favoring us, we continued on our course, entered the grand canal of the Swinomish [Slough] and succeeded in reaching our camp of the 6th near the same Indian camp.
https://github.com/davepinch/pinchy.cc/blob/master/content/topics/places/cities/united-states/washington/whatcom-county/whatcom/whatcom-washington.md
Whatcom is today’s “Old Town” area [of Bellingham, Washington] and was founded with Roeder’s Mill in 1852.