One Of The Men, William Blake, Had Entered
The Brushes About A Hundred Yards From The Rest Of The People On The
North Side, With The Design Of Cutting A Cabbage Palm:
He had cut one
about half through, when he received a spear through his back, the point
of it sticking against his breast bone.
On turning his head round to see
from whence he was attacked, he received another, which passed several
inches through the lower part of his body: he let fall the axe with which
he was cutting, and which was instantly seized by a native, the only one
he saw; and it was probably the temptation of the axe that was the
principal incitement to the attack. Blake was immediately put into
the boat and sent over to the south side, where the doctor was,
who fortunately succeeded in extracting both the spears; but from
the nature of the wounds, his chance of recovery was considered
very doubtful. It was so late before every thing was got over,
that we were obliged to remain on the spot close to the wreck of
the Governor Hunter. The natives before dark had assembled in great
numbers, and we could count twelve or fourteen fires from their
camps. United as we were, we had little to fear from their attacks,
particularly in the night; and we remained so short a time at any place,
that we did not give them time to make any concerted attack. The country
west and south-west of this lagoon is rising forest land of pleasant
appearance; but the shores are flat, with thick brushes and steep fresh
water swamps. The lagoon itself is at low water nothing but a sand shoal,
with narrow and shallow channels. The surf beats quite across the
entrance, and though at high water a small vessel might beat over the
bar, it would be a mere chance if she escaped being lost upon the
sand-rollers inside, the surf breaking with a flood tide and easterly
wind full half a mile within the outer bar. The tides run near four miles
per hour, and the rise is from five to eight feet. From the south side of
the entrance into the lake the highest part of the North Brother bore
north 15. E.; ditto of the South Brother, north 8. 10. E. The point of
land of the bay northerly, distant seven or eight miles north 8. 30. E.;
and a high bluff point or projection southerly, north 163. 30. E.
October 27. - We did not make much progress this day, being greatly
embarrassed by the thick brushes which border on the coast in the
vicinity of Cape Hawke, and fresh water swamps near the edge of the lake.
There was, however, a good deal of forest land, and the brushes grew in
good soil. We halted in the afternoon, having gone only four miles (Cape
Hawke bearing east distant two miles and a half), on a piece of forest
land surrounded by brush, through which, however, in the course of the
evening we cut a road to the beach, to the southward of Cape Hawke.
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