E., distant five leagues; and Round-hill, just peeping
above the horizon, which we judged to belong to the isles of St Ildefonso,
E. 25 deg. S., ten or eleven leagues distant. At ten o'clock, a breeze
springing up at E. by S., I took this opportunity to stand in for the land,
being desirous of going into one of the many ports which seemed open to
receive us, in order to take a view of the country, and to recruit our
stock of wood and water.
In standing in for an opening, which appeared on the east side of York
Minster, we had forty, thirty-seven, fifty, and sixty fathoms water, a
bottom of small stones and shells. When we had the last soundings, we were
nearly in the middle between the two points that form the entrance to the
inlet, which we observed to branch into two arms, both of them lying in
nearly north, and disjoined by an high rocky point. We stood for the
eastern branch as being clear of islets; and after passing a black rocky
one, lying without the point just mentioned, we sounded, and found no
bottom with a line of an hundred and seventy fathoms. This was altogether
unexpected, and a circumstance that would not have been regarded if the
breeze had continued; but at this time it fell calm, so that it was not
possible to extricate ourselves from this disagreeable situation. Two boats
were hoisted out, and sent a-head to tow; but they would have availed
little, had not a breeze sprung up about eight o'clock at S.W., which put
it in my power either to stand out to sea, or up the inlet. Prudence seemed
to point out the former, but the desire of finding a good port, and of
learning something of the country, getting the better of every other
consideration, I resolved to stand in; and, as night was approaching, our
safety depended on getting to an anchor. With this view we continued to
sound, but always had an unfathomable depth.
Hauling up under the east side of the land which divided the two arms, and
seeing a small cove ahead, I sent a boat to sound; and we kept as near the
shore as the flurries from the land would permit, in order to be able to
get into this place, if there should be anchorage. The boat soon returned,
and informed us that there was thirty and twenty-five fathoms water, a full
cable's length from the shore; here we anchored in thirty fathoms, the
bottom sand and broken shells; and carried out a kedge and hawser to steady
the ship for the night.
[1] Mr. G.F. describes this whale as being about twelve yards long,
having an oblong blunt head, on which there were two longitudinal
furrows, and as many upright ridges. It had small eyes, two semi-lunar
apertures, from whence it occasionally spouted the water, and it was
mottled all over with white spots. It had two large fins behind the
head, but none on the back. In his opinion this extraordinary creature
was entirely unknown before. - E.
[2] It is not to be supposed that I could know at this time, that the
Adventure had made the passage before me.
SECTION II.
Transactions in Christmas Sound, with an Account of the Country and its
Inhabitants.
The morning of the 21st was calm and pleasant. After breakfast I set out
with two boats to look for a more secure station. We no sooner got round,
or above the point, under which the ship lay, than we found a cove in which
was anchorage in thirty, twenty, and fifteen fathoms, the bottom stones and
sand. At the head of the cove was a stony beach, a valley covered with
wood, and a stream of fresh water, so that there was every thing we could
expect to find in such a place, or rather more; for we shot three geese out
of four that we saw, and caught some young ones, which we afterwards let
go.
After discovering and sounding this cove, I sent Lieutenant Clerke, who
commanded the other boat, on board, with orders to remove the ship into
this place, while I proceeded farther up the inlet. I presently saw that
the land we were under, which disjoined the two arms, as mentioned before,
was an island, at the north end of which the two channels united. After
this I hastened on board, and found every thing in readiness to weigh,
which was accordingly done, and all the boats sent ahead to tow the ship
round the point. But at that moment a light breeze came in from the sea too
scant to fill our sails, so that we were obliged to drop the anchor again,
for fear of falling upon the point, and to carry out a kedge to windward.
That being done, we hove up the anchor, warped up to, and weighed the
kedge, and proceeding round the point under our stay-sails; there anchored
with the best bower in twenty fathoms; and moored with the other bower,
which lay to the north, in thirteen fathoms. In this position we were shut
in from the sea by the point above-mentioned, which was in one with the
extremity of the inlet to the east. Some islets, off the next point above
us, covered us from the N.W., from which quarter the wind had the greatest
fetch, and our distance from the shore was about one-third of a mile.
Thus situated we went to work, to clear a place to fill water, to cut wood,
and to set up a tent for the reception of a guard, which was thought
necessary, as we had already discovered that, barren as this country is, it
was not without people, though we had not yet seen any.
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