A General History & Collection of Voyages and Travels ... - Nauticus

harbour is not quite free from this inconvenience, but far more so than the other; it is also rather morecommodious, and equally safe. It lies in the direction of north, a mile and a half distant from the east end ofBurnt Island. I likewise found a good anchoring-place a little to the west of this harbour, before a stream ofwater, that comes out of a lake or large reservoir, which is continually supplied by a cascade falling into it.Leaving this place, we proceeded along the shore to the westward, and found other harbours which I hadnot time to look into. In all of them is fresh water, and wood for fuel; but, except these little tufts of bushes,the whole country is a barren rock, doomed by nature to everlasting sterility. The low islands, and evensome of the higher, which lie scattered up and down the sound, are indeed mostly covered with shrubs andherbage, the soil a black rotten turf, evidently composed, by length of time, of decayed vegetables.I had an opportunity to verify what we had observed at sea, that the sea- coast is composed of a number oflarge and small islands, and that the numerous inlets are formed by the junction of several channels; at leastso it is here. On one of these low islands we found several huts, which had lately been inhabited; and nearthem was a good deal of celery, with which we loaded our boat, and returned on board at seven o'clock inthe evening. In this expedition we met with little game; one duck, three or four shags, and about thatnumber of rails or sea-pies, being all we got. The other boat returned on board some hours before, havingfound two harbours on the west side of the other channel; the one large, and the other small, but both ofthem safe and commodious; though, by the sketch Mr Pickersgill had taken of them, the access to bothappeared rather intricate.[2]I was now told of a melancholy accident which had befallen one of our marines. He had not been seensince eleven or twelve o'clock the preceding night. It was supposed that he had fallen overboard, out of thehead, where he had been last seen, and was drowned.Having fine pleasant weather on the 23d, I sent Lieutenant Pickersgill in the cutter to explore the east sideof the sound, and went myself in the pinnace to the west side, with an intent to go round the island, underwhich we were at anchor (and which I shall distinguish by the name of Shag Island), in order to view thepassage leading to the harbours Mr Pickersgill had discovered the day before, on which I made thefollowing observations. In coming from sea, leave all the rocks and islands, lying off and within YorkMinster, on your larboard side; and the black rock, which lies off the south end of Shag Island, on yourstarboard; and when abreast of the south end of that island, haul over for the west shore, taking care toavoid the beds of weeds you will see before you, as they always grow on rocks; some of which I havefound twelve fathoms under water; but it is always best to keep clear of them. The entrance to the largeharbour, or Port Clerke, is just to the north of some low rocks lying off a point on Shag Island. Thisharbour lies in W. by S., a mile and a half, and hath in it from twelve to twenty-four fathoms depth, woodand fresh water. About a mile without, or to the southward of Port Clerke, is, or seemed to be, anotherwhich I did not examine. It is formed by a large island which covers it from the south and east winds.Without this island, that is, between it and York Minster, the sea seemed strewed with islets, rocks, andbreakers. In proceeding round the south end of Shag Island, we observed the shags to breed in vastnumbers in the cliffs of the rock. Some of the old ones we shot, but could not come at the young ones,which are by far the best eating. On the east side of the island we saw some geese; and having withdifficulty landed, we killed three, which, at this time, was a valuable acquisition.About seven, in the evening, we got on board, where Mr Pickersgill had arrived but just before. Heinformed me that the land opposite to our station was an island, which he had been round; that on another,more to the north, be found many terns eggs; and that without the great island, between it and the east-