At Four O'clock In The Morning, On The 24th, We Unmoored With An Intent To
Put To Sea; But The Wind Being At N. And N.E. Without, And Blowing Strong
Puffs Into The Cove, Made It Necessary For Us To Lie Fast.
While we were
unmooring, some of our old friends came on board to take their leave of us,
and
Afterwards left the cove with all their effects; but those who had been
out on the late expedition remained; and some of the gentlemen having
visited them, found the heart still sticking on the canoe, and the
intestines lying on the beach; but the liver and lungs were now wanting.
Probably they had eaten them, after the carcase was all gone.
On the 25th, early in the morning, we weighed, with a small, breeze out of
the cove, which carried us no farther than between Motuara and Long Island,
where we were obliged to anchor; but presently after a breeze springing up
at north, we weighed again, turned out of the Sound, and stood over for
Cape Teerawhitte.
During our stay in the Sound, we were plentifully supplied with fish,
procured from the natives at a very easy rate; and, besides the vegetables
our own gardens afforded, we found every where plenty of scurvy grass and
cellery, which I caused to be dressed every day for all hands. By this
means, they had been mostly on a fresh diet for the three preceding months;
and at this time, we had neither a sick nor scorbutic man on board. It is
necessary to mention, for the information of others, that we had now some
pork on board, salted at Ulietea, and as good as any I ever eat. The manner
in which we cured it, was this: In the cool of the evening the hogs were
killed, dressed, cut up, the bones cut out, and the flesh salted while it
was yet hot. The next morning we gave it a second salting, packed it into a
cask, and put to it a sufficient quantity of strong pickle. Great care is
to be taken that the meat be well covered with pickle, otherwise it will
soon spoil.
The morning before we sailed, I wrote a memorandum, setting forth the time
we last arrived, the day we sailed, the route I intended to take, and such
other information as I thought necessary for Captain Furneaux, in case he
should put into the Sound; and buried it in a bottle under the root of a
tree in the garden, which is in the bottom of the cove, in such a manner as
must be found by him or any other European who might put into the cove. I,
however, had little reason to hope it would fall into the hands of the
person for whom it was intended, thinking it hardly possible that the
Adventure could be in any port in New Zealand, as we had not heard of her
all this time. Nevertheless I was resolved not to leave the coast without
looking for her, where I thought it most likely for her to be. It was with
this view that I stood over for Cape Teerawhitte, and afterwards ran along-
shore, from point to point, to Cape Palliser, firing guns every half hour;
but all to no effect. At eight o'clock we brought-to for the night, Cape
Palliser bearing S.E. by E. distant three leagues; in which situation we
had fifty fathoms water.
I had now an opportunity of making the following remarks on the coast
between Cape Teerawhitte and Cape Palliser: The bay which lies on the west
side of the last Cape, does not appear to run so far inland to the
northward as I at first thought; the deception being caused by the land in
the bottom of it being low: It is, however, at least five leagues deep, and
full as wide at the entrance. Though it seems to be exposed to southerly
and S.W. winds, it is probable there may be places in the bottom of it
sheltered even from these. The bay or inlet, on the east side of Cape
Teerawhitte, before which we anchored, lies in north, inclining to the
west, and seemed to be sheltered from all winds. The middle cape, or point
of land that disjoins these two bays, rises to a considerable height,
especially inland; for close to the sea is a skirt of low land, off which
lie some pointed rocks, but so near to the shore as to be noways dangerous.
Indeed, the navigation of this side of the Strait seems much safer than the
other, because the tides here are not near so strong. Cape Teerawhitte and
Cape Palliser lie in the direction of N. 69 deg. W., and S. 69 deg. east, from each
other distant ten leagues. The cape which disjoins the two bays above-
mentioned lies within, or north of this direction. All the land near the
coast, between and about these capes, is exceedingly barren; probably owing
to its being so much exposed to the cold southerly winds. From Cape
Teerawhitte to the Two Brothers, which lie off Cape Koamoroo, the course is
nearly N.W. by N. distant sixteen miles. North of Cape Teerawhitte, between
it and Entry Island, is an island lying pretty near the shore. I judged
this to be an island when I saw it in my former voyage, but not being
certain, left it undetermined in my chart of the Strait, which is the
reason of my taking notice of it now, as also of the bays, &c. above-
mentioned.
At day-light in the morning on the 26th, we made sail round Cape Palliser,
firing guns as usual, as we ran along the shore. In this manner we
proceeded till we were three or four leagues to the N.E. of the Cape; when
the wind shifted to N.E., we bore away for Cape Campbell on the other side
of the Strait.
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