597
The firft thing they did, after mooring the fhip, was to unbend all the fails; therenot being one but what wanted repair. In the afternoon they gave orders for all theempty water-cafks to be landed, in order to be repaired, cleaned and filled ; tents tobe fet up for the fail-makers, coopers, and others, whofe bufinefs made it neceffaryfor them to be on Ihore. The next day they began to caulk the fhip’s fides and decks,to overhaul her rigging, repair the fails, cut wood for fuel, and fet up the fmith’sforge to repair the iron-work ; all of which were abfolutely neceffary.
On the 5th, (the mod part of their bread being in calks), they ordered fome to beopened, when, to their mortification, they found a good deal of it damaged. Torepair this lofs in the bell manner they could, all the calks were opened, the bread waspicked, and the copper oven fet up, to bake fuch parcels of it, as, by that means,could be recovered. Some time this morning the natives Hole, out of one of thetents, a bag of clothes belonging to one of the feamen. As foon as the captain wasinformed of it, he went to them in an adjoining cove, demanded the clothes again, andafter fome time fpent in friendly application, recovered them.
With thefe people they faw the youngeft of the two fows Captain Furneaux had puton fhore in Cannibal Cove, when they were laft here ; it was lame of one of its hindlegs,, otherwife in good cafe, and very tame. If they underftood thefe people right,the boar and other fow were alfo taken away and feparated, but not killed. They werelikewife told, that the two goats they had put on fhore up the Sound , had been killedby that old rafcal Goubiah. Thus all their endeavours to flock this country with ufefulanimals were likely to be fruftrated, by the very people they meant to ferve. Thegardens had fared fomewhat better. Every thing in them, except the potatoes, theyhad left entirely to Nature , who had acted her part fo well, that they found moflarticles in a flourifhing Hate; a proof that the winter mull have been mild. The potatoeshad moft of them been dug up; fome, however, flill remained, and were growing,though, it is probable, they will never be got out of the ground.
Next morning the captain went over to the cove, where the natives refided, to haulthe feine ; and took with him a boar and a young fow, two cocks and two hens, theyhad brought from the ifles. Thefe he gave to the natives, being perfuaded they wouldtake proper care of them, by their keeping Captain Furneaux’s fow near five months.When they were purchafing fifh of thefe people they fhewed a great inclination to pickpockets, and to take away the fifh with one hand, which they had juft fold or barteredtvith the other. This evil one of the chiefs undertook to remove, and with fury inbis eyes made a fhew of keeping the people at a proper diftance. The captain fays,** I applauded his conduct, but at the fame time kept fo good a look-out, as to detectbim in picking my pocket of a handkerchief, which I fuffered him to put in hisbofom before I feemed to know any thing of the matter, and then told him what Ibad loft. He feemed quite ignorant and innocent, till I took it from him ; and thenhe put it off with a laugh, acting his part with fo much addrefs, that it was hardly,pofiible for me to be angry with him; fo that we remained good friends, and hea ccompanied me on board to dinner.” About that time, they were vifited by . feveralftrangers in four or five canoes, who brought with them fifh and other articles,whichthey exchanged for cloth, Stc. Thefe new-comers took up their quarters in a coven ear the tents; but very early the next morning moved off with fix I’mall water-cafks,and with them all the people they found here on their arrival. This precipitate retreat°f thefe laft, they fuppofed, was owing to the theft the others had committed. Theyleft behind them fome of their dogs, and the boar that had been given them theday before, which the captain now took back again, as he had not another, The calks
were