On the following morning also at four o'clock the depth was the same; but at ten o'clock the water rose suddenly eighteen inches, upon which the anchors were lifted and the brig warped over the bar to an anchorage in three and a half fathoms off the outer watering-place, to await a favourable opportunity of going over to Seal Island; near which it was intended to anchor in order to refit the rigging and otherwise prepare the vessel for our voyage up the west coast.
In the afternoon we procured a load of water and permitted the natives, thirteen of whom were assembled, to pay us another visit. On their coming on board it was noticed that many of them belonged to the tribe that lived on the opposite shore, but how they had crossed over was not satisfactorily ascertained. Their wonder on this their last visit was much raised by our firing off a nine-pounder loaded with shot, the splash of which in the water caused the greatest astonishment, and one of them was extremely vehement and noisy in explaining it to his companions. Upon repeating this exhibition they paid particular attention to the operation of loading the gun, and expressed the greatest surprise at the weight of the ball, upon which, after they had all severally examined it, they held a long and wordy argument as to what it possibly could be. At the splash of the ball, for which they were all looking out, they expressed their delight by shouting in full chorus the words Cai, cai, cai, cai, caigh. After this they were sent on shore.
January 3.
At daybreak the next morning an opportunity offered to cross the sound, and by eight o'clock the brig was anchored under Seal Island; upon which we commenced the repair of the rigging, and in the course of the day shifted the main topmast. We had left the anchorage on the other side of the sound too early for our friends the natives, who had promised last evening to bring us a hawk's nest that was built upon a rock near the watering-place; at ten o'clock a very large fire was perceived close to the nest; it was no doubt kindled by them, and meant to show that they were not inattentive to their promise.
January 4.
The following day some natives were seen about a mile off upon the beach but did not come near the vessel. Mr. Cunningham botanised upon the summit of Bald Head. Of this excursion he gave me the following account: "Upon reaching the summit of the ridge, and clearing a rocky gully which intersected our track, we instantly entered an elevated valley of pure white sand, bounded on either side by ridges forty feet high, that were in themselves totally bare, excepting on the tops, where a thin clothing of shrubs was remarked; the whole surface reflected a heat scarcely supportable, and the air was so stagnant as scarcely to be respired, although we were at a considerable elevation, and in the vicinity of a constant current of pure atmospheric air on the ridge. After traversing the whole length of this sandy vale, which is one-third of a mile in extent, in our route towards Bald Head, with scarcely a plant to attract our attention, we perceived at its extremity some remarkably fine specimens of Candollea cuneiformis, Labil., which had, in spite of the poverty and looseness of the drifting sand, risen to large spreading trees, sixteen feet high, of robust growth and habit; they were at this time covered with flowers and ripe fruit; but so painful was it to the eyes and senses to remain for a moment stationary in this heated valley, that whilst I gathered a quantity of the seeds of this truly rich plant, my servant was obliged to hurry away to a cooler air on the ridge, which we had again nearly reached; and but for this fine plant, and the no less conspicuous blue-flowered Scaevola nitida, Br. The whole scene would have deeply impressed us with all the horrors that such extremes of aridity are naturally calculated to excite.
"Upon again reaching the ridge, whose moderated temperature required our care to avoid suffering from the sudden transition, we came to the granite, on whose bare surface I found a prostrate specimen of baeckea, remarkable for the regularity of its decussate leaves, which I have designated in my list as Baeckea saxicola. Continuing to the extremity of the ridge, I was much surprised to find we had already attained the highest point of the range, and to observe another expanse, or extensive cavity, of bare white sand below us, to the South-East, the termination of which we afterwards found to be the Bald Head, of Captain Vancouver. This part is of remarkable appearance from seaward, having on either side of its bare sandy summit a contrasting brushy vegetation: from the sea however a very small part only of its extensive surface of sand can be perceived, the greater part being only observable from the commanding hillocks we had with much exertion arrived at. A calcareous rock (affording evidently a very considerable portion of pure lime) was seen in a decomposing state piercing the sandy surface of all parts of the ridge about Bald Head which, however, is itself a pure granite; the dense low brushy wood in its vicinity is chiefly composed of the delicate baeckea."*
(*Footnote. Cunningham manuscripts.)
In the evening we visited Seal Island, and killed five seals for the sake of their skins, which were serviceable for the rigging; the boat's crew also found some penguins (Aptenodytes minor) and a nest of iguanas. The bottle deposited here at our last visit in 1818 was found suspended where it had been left and brought on board, when another memorandum was enclosed in it, containing a notification of our present visit, of the friendly and communicative disposition of the natives, and a copy of the vocabulary of their language.
January 5.