The flour which had been brought from England did not serve much beyond the beginning of this month, and that imported from the Cape now supplied its place. Every one began to look forward with much anxiety to the arrival of supplies from England; and as it was reasonable to conclude that every day might bring them on the coast, Captain Hunter, accompanied by Mr. Worgan, the surgeon of the Sirius, and Mr. White, with six or eight seamen, having chosen a spot proper for their purpose, erected a flagstaff on the South Head of this harbour, whence, on the appearance of a ship in the offing, a signal might be made, as well to convey the wished-for information to the settlement, as to serve as a mark for the stranger. An hut was built for their accommodation, and this little establishment was of such importance, that our walks were daily directed to a spot whence it could be seen; thus fondly indulging the delusion, that the very circumstance of looking out for a sail would bring one into view.
A sufficient quantity of fish having been taken one night in this month, to admit the serving of two pounds to each man, woman, and child belonging to the detachment, the governor directed, that a boat should in future be employed three times in the week to fish for the public; and that the whole quantity caught should be issued at the above rate to every person in turn. This allowance was in addition to the ration of provisions; and was received with much satisfaction several times during the month.
Caesar, after his escape from and subsequent visit at Garden Island, found his way up to Rose Hill, whence he was brought on the 30th, very much wounded by some natives whom he had met with in the woods. Being fearful of severe punishment for some of his late offences, he reported, on being brought in, that he had fallen in with our cattle which had been so long lost; that they were increased by two calves; that they seemed to be under the care of eight or ten natives, who attended them closely while they grazed; and that, on his attempting to drive the cattle before him, he was wounded by another party of the natives. The circumstance of his being wounded was the only part of his story that met with any credit, and that could not well be contradicted, as he had several spear wounds about him in different parts of his body; but every thing else was looked upon as a fabrication (and that not well contrived) to avert the lash which he knew hung over him. He was well known to have as small a share of veracity as of honesty. His wounds however requiring care and rest, he was secured, and placed under the surgeon's care at the hospital.
Information was also received at this time from Rose Hill, that a convict who had been employed to strike the sting ray, with another, on the flats, having gone on shore, engaged in some quarrel with the natives, who took all his clothes from him, severely wounded, and would inevitably have killed him, but for the humane, friendly, and disinterested interference of one of their own women, who happened to be present. This accident, and many others of the same nature, could not have happened, had the orders which he had received, not to land upon any account, been attended to.
The bricklayers, having finished the judge-advocate's house, were employed in building a dispensary on the west side contiguous to the hospital, the medicines and chirurgical instruments being much exposed to damps in the place where they had hitherto been necessarily kept.
Garden robberies were frequent, notwithstanding the utmost care and vigilance were exerted to prevent them. A rainy tempestuous night always afforded a cloak for the thief, and was generally followed in the morning by some one complaining of his or her garden having been stripped of all its produce.
February.] The first signal from the flagstaff at the South Head was displayed on the 10th of February; and though every imagination first turned toward the expected stranger, yet happening about the time at which the Supply was expected from Norfolk Island, conjecture soon fixed on the right object; and the temporary suspence was put an end to, by word being brought up to the settlement, that the Supply, unable to get into Port Jackson, had borne up for Botany Bay, in which harbour she anchored in the dusk of the evening. The next morning the letters which she had brought were received. Lieutenant King wrote, that his people continued healthy, and his settlement went on well. His wheat had returned twenty fold, notwithstanding he had had much dry weather. He had relinquished his intention of throwing up a redoubt on Mount George; but, instead of that work, had employed his people in constructing a stockade of piles round his house, inclosing an oblong square of one hundred feet by one hundred and forty, within which he purposed erecting storehouses, and a barrack for the military. He stated, that the convicts under his orders had in general very good gardens, and that many of them would have a very large produce of Indian corn.
The Supply having in her way to Norfolk Island touched at Lord Howe Island, Lieutenant Ball left the gunner and a small party to turn turtle, but they met with no success; so that no dependance was to be placed on that island for any material relief. The gunner examined the island, and found fresh water in cavities, but not in any current.
The Supply could not get round from Botany Bay until the 12th, when she came to anchor in the cove, whence she had been absent just five weeks.
Lieutenant King having constantly written in high terms of the richness of the soil of Norfolk Island, the governor, on comparing the situation of the convicts there and in this settlement, where their gardens had not that fertility to boast of, and where the ration from the store was with too many hastily devoured, and with most derived but an uncertain and scanty aid from any other source, determined, and about the middle of the month announced his determination, to detach thither a large body of convicts, male and female, together with two companies of the marines. Some immediate advantages were expected to be derived from this measure; the garden ground that would be left by those who embarked would be possessed by those who remained, while the former would instantly on their arrival at Norfolk Island participate in the produce of luxuriant gardens, in a more constant supply of fish, and in the assistance that was occasionally obtained from the birds which settled on Mount Pitt.