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

discover himself, had taken some liberties with her which she thus resented, I know not.In the afternoon, I took Mr Hodges to a large cascade, which falls from a high mountain on the southside of the bay, about a league above the place where we lay. He made a drawing of it on paper, andafterwards painted it in oil colours; which exhibits, at once, a better description of it than any I cangive. Huge heaps of stones lay at the foot of this cascade, which had been broken off and brought bythe stream from the adjacent mountains. These stones were of different sorts; none however,according to Mr Forster's opinion, (whom I believe to be a judge,) containing either minerals ormetals. Nevertheless, I brought away specimens of every sort, as the whole country, that is, therocky part of it, seemed to consist of those stones and no other. This cascade is at the east point of acove, lying in S.W. two miles, which I named Cascade Cove. In it is good anchorage and othernecessaries. At the entrance, lies an island, on each side of which is a passage; that on the east side ismuch the widest. A little above the isle, and near the S.E. shore, are two rocks which are covered athigh water. It was in this cove we first saw the natives.When I returned aboard in the evening, I found our friends, the natives, had taken up their quarters atabout a hundred yards from our watering- place; a very great mark of the confidence they placed inus. This evening a shooting party of the officers went over to the north side of the bay, having withthem the small cutter to convey them from place to place.Next morning, accompanied by Mr Forster, I went in the pinnace to survey the isles and rocks whichlie in the mouth of the bay. I began first with those which lie on the S.E. side of Anchor Isle. I foundhere a very snug cove sheltered from all winds, which we called Luncheon Cove, because here wedined on cray fish, on the side of a pleasant brook, shaded by the trees from both wind and sun.After dinner we proceeded, by rowing, out to the outermost isles, where we saw many seals,fourteen of which we killed and brought away with us; and might have got many more, if the surfhad permitted us to land with safety on all the rocks. The next morning, I went out again to continuethe survey, accompanied by Mr Forster. I intended to have landed again on the Seal Isles; but thereran such a high sea that I could not come near them. With some difficulty we rowed out to sea, andround the S.W. point of Anchor Isle. It happened very fortunately that chance directed me to takethis course, in which we found the sportsmen's boat adrift, and laid hold of her the very moment shewould have been dashed against the rocks. I was not long at a loss to guess how she came there, norwas I under any apprehensions for the gentlemen that had been in her; and after refreshing ourselveswith such as we had to eat and drink, and securing the boat in a small creek, we proceeded to theplace where we supposed them to be. This we reached about seven or eight o'clock in the evening,and found them upon a small isle in Goose Cove, where, as it was low water, we could not comewith our boat until the return of the tide. As this did not happen till three o'clock in the morning, welanded on a naked beach, not knowing where to find a better place, and, after some time, having gota fire and broiled some fish, we made a hearty supper, having for sauce a good appetite. This done,we lay down to sleep, having a stony beach for a bed, and the canopy of heaven for a covering. Atlength the tide permitted us to take off the sportsmen; and with them we embarked, and proceededfor the place where we had left their boat, which, we soon reached, having a fresh breeze of wind inour favour, attended with rain. When we came to the creek which was on the N.W. side of AnchorIsle, we found there an immense number of blue peterels, some on the wing, others in the woods inholes in the ground, under the roots of trees and in the crevices of rocks, where there was no gettingthem, and where we supposed their young were deposited. As not one was to be seen in the day, theold ones were probably, at that time, out at sea searching for food, which in the evening they bring totheir young. The noise they made was like the croaking of many frogs. They were, I believe, of thebroad-bill kind, which, are not so commonly seen at sea as the others. Here, however, they are ingreat numbers, and flying much about in the night, some of our gentlemen at first took them for bats.After restoring the sportsmen to their boat, we all proceeded for the ship, which we reached by seveno'clock in the morning, not a little fatigued with our expedition. I now learned that our friends thenatives returned to their habitation at night; probably foreseeing that rain was at hand; which sort of