When the boat returned she brought three of them on board the ship, but they seemed to regard nothing with any degree of curiosity, except our clothes and a looking-glass; the looking-glass afforded them as much diversion as it had done the Patagonians, and it seemed to surprise them more: When they first peeped into it they started, back, first looking at us, and then at each other; they then took another peep, as it were by stealth, starting back as before; and then eagerly looking behind it: When by degrees they became familiar with it, they smiled, and seeing the image smile in return, they were exceedingly delighted, and burst into fits of the most violent laughter. They left this however, and every thing else, with perfect indifference, the little they possessed being to all appearance equal to their desires. They eat whatever was given them, but would drink nothing but water.
When they left the ship I went on shore with them, and by this time several of their wives and children were come to the watering-place. I distributed some trinkets among them, with which they seemed pleased for a moment, and they gave us same of their arms in return; they gave us also several pieces of mundic, such as is found in the tin mines of Cornwall: They made us understand that they found it in the mountains, where there are probably mines of tin, and perhaps of more valuable metal. When they left us and embarked in their canoes, they hoisted a sealskin for a sail, and steered for the southern shore, where we saw many of their hovels; and we remarked that not one of them looked behind, either at us or at the ship, so little impression had the wonders they had seen made upon their minds, and so much did they appear to be absorbed in the present, without any habitual exercise of their power to reflect upon the past.
In this station we continued till Tuesday the 3d of February. At about half an hour past twelve we weighed, and in a sudden squall were taken a-back, so as that both ships were in the most imminent danger of being driven ashore on a reef of rocks; the wind however suddenly shifted, and we happily got off without damage. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the tide being done, and the wind coming about to the west, we bore away for York Road, and at length anchored in it: The Swallow at the same time being very near Island Bay, under Cape Quod, endeavoured to get in there, but was by the tide obliged to return to York Road. In this situation Cape Quod bore W. 1/2 S. distant 19 miles, York Point E.S.E. distant one mile, Bachelor's River N.N.W. three quarters of a mile, the entrance of Jerom's Sound N.W. by W. and a small island on the south shore W. by S. We found the tide here very rapid and uncertain; in the stream it generally set to the eastward, but it sometimes, though rarely, set westward six hours together. This evening we saw five Indian canoes come out of Bachelor's River, and go up Jerom's Sound.
In the morning, the boats which I had sent out to sound both the shores of the streight and all parts of the bay, returned with an account that there was good anchorage within Jerom's Sound, and all the way thither from the ship's station at the distance of about half a mile from the shore; also between Elizabeth and York Point, near York Point, at the distance of a cable and a half's length from the weeds, in sixteen fathom, with a muddy bottom. There were also several places under the islands on the south shore where a ship might anchor; but the force and uncertainty of the tides, and the heavy gusts of wind that came off the high lands, by which these situations were surrounded, rendered them unsafe. Soon after the boats returned, I put fresh hands into them, and went myself up Bachelor's River: We found a bar at the entrance, which at certain times of the tide must be dangerous. We hauled the seine, and should have caught plenty of fish if it had not been for the weeds and stumps of trees at the bottom of the river. We then went ashore, where we saw many wigwams of the natives, and several of their dogs, who, as soon as we came in sight, ran away. We also saw some ostriches, but they were beyond the reach of our pieces: We gathered mussels, limpets, sea-eggs, celery, and nettles, in great abundance. About three miles up this river, on the west side, between Mount Misery and another mountain of a stupendous height, there is a cataract which has a very striking appearance: It is precipitated from an elevation of above four hundred yards; half the way it rolls over a very steep declivity, and the other half is a perpendicular fall. The sound of this cataract is not less awful than the sight.
In this place contrary winds detained us till 10 o'clock in the morning of Saturday the 14th, when we weighed, and in half an hour the current set the ship towards Bachelor's River: We then put her in stays, and while she was coming about, which she was long in doing, we drove over a shoal where we had little more than sixteen feet water with rocky ground; so that our danger was very great, for the ship drew sixteen feet nine inches aft, and fifteen feet one inch forward: As soon as the ship gathered way, we happily deepened into three fathom; within two cables' length we had five, and in a very short time we got into deep water. We continued plying to windward till four o'clock in the afternoon, and then finding that we had lost ground, we returned to our station, and again anchored in York Road.
Here we remained till five o'clock in the morning of the 17th, when we weighed, and towed out of the road. At nine, though we had a fine breeze at west, the ship was carried with great violence by a current towards the south shore: The boats were all towing a-head, and the sails asleep, yet we drove so close to the rock, that the oars of the boats were entangled in the weeds. In this manner we were hurried along near three quarters of an hour, expecting every moment to be dashed to pieces against the cliff, from which we were seldom farther than a ship's length, and very often not half so much. We sounded on both sides, and found that next the shore we had from fourteen to twenty fathom, and on the other side of the ship no bottom: As all our efforts were ineffectual, we resigned ourselves to our fate, and waited the event in a state of suspense very little different from despair. At length, however, we opened Saint David's Sound, and a current that rushed out of it set us into the mid-channel. During all this time the Swallow was on the north shore, and consequently could know nothing of our danger till it was past. We now sent the boats out to look for an anchoring-place; and at noon Cape Quod bore N.N.E. and Saint David's head S.E.
About one o'clock the boats returned, having found an anchoring-place in a small bay, to which we gave the name of Butler's Bay, it having been discovered by Mr Butler, one of the mates. It lies to the west of Rider's Bay on the south shore of the streight, which is here about two miles wide. We ran in with the tide which set fast to the westward, and anchored in sixteen fathom water. The extremes of the bay from W. by N. to N.1/2 W. are about a quarter of a mile asunder; a small rivulet, at the distance of somewhat less than two cables' length, bore S.1/2 W. and Cape Quod N. at the distance of four miles. At this time the Swallow was at anchor in Island Bay on the north shore, at about six miles distance.
I now sent all the boats out to sound round the ship and in the neighbouring bays; and they returned with an account that they could find no place fit to receive the ship, neither could any such place be found between Cape Quod and Cape Notch.
In this place we remained till Friday the 20th, when about noon the clouds gathered very thick to the westward, and before one it blew a storm, with such rain and hail, as we had scarcely ever seen. We immediately struck the yards and top-masts, and having run out two hausers to a rock, we hove the ship up to it: We then let go the small bower, and veered away, and brought both cables a-head; at the same time we carried out two more hausers, and made them fast to two other rocks, making use of every expedient in our power to keep the ship steady. The gale continued to increase till six o'clock in the evening, and to our great astonishment the sea broke quite over the forecastle in upon the quarter-deck, which, considering the narrowness of the streight, and the smallness of the bay in which we were stationed, might well have been thought impossible. Our danger here was very great, for if the cables had parted, as we could not run out with a sail, and as we had not room to bring the ship up with any other anchor, we must have been dashed to pieces in a few minutes, and in such a situation it is highly probable that every soul would immediately have perished; however, by eight o'clock the gale was become somewhat more moderate, and gradually decreasing during the night, we had tolerable weather the next morning. Upon heaving the anchor, we had the satisfaction to find that our cable was sound, though our hawsers were much rubbed by the rocks, notwithstanding they were parcelled with old hammacoes, and other things. The first thing I did after performing the necessary operations about the ship, was to send a boat to the Swallow to enquire how she had fared during the gale: The boat returned with an account that she had felt but little of the gale, but that she had been very near being lost, in pushing through the islands two days before, by the rapidity of the tide: That notwithstanding an alteration which had been made in her rudder, she steered and worked so ill, that every time they got under way they were apprehensive that she could never safely be brought to an anchor again; I was therefore requested, in the name of the captain, to consider that she could be of very little service to the expedition, and to direct what I thought would be best for the service. I answered, that as the Lords of the Admiralty had appointed her to accompany the Dolphin, she must continue to do it as long as it was possible; that as her condition rendered her a bad sailer, I would wait her time, and attend her motions; and that if any disaster should happen to either of us, the other should be ready to afford such assistance as might be in her power.
We continued here eight days, during which time we completed our wood and water, dried our sails, and sent great part of the ship's company on shore, to wash their clothes and stretch their legs, which was the more necessary, as the cold, snowy, and tempestuous weather had confined them too much below. We caught mussels and limpets, and gathered celery and nettles in great abundance. The mussels were the largest we had ever seen, many of them being from five to six inches long: We caught also great plenty of fine, firm, red fish, not unlike a gurnet, most of which were from four to five pounds weight. At the same time we made it part of the employment of every day to try the current, which we found constantly setting to the eastward.