After being five minutes with them, the old men proposed to go to our boat; and this being agreed to, we proceeded together, hand in hand.  But they stopped half way, and retreating a little, the eldest made a short harangue which concluded with the word jahree! pronounced with emphasis:  they then returned to the rafts, and dragged them towards their three companions who were sitting on the furthest rocks.  These I judged to be women, and that the proposal of the men to go to our boat was a feint to get us further from them; it did not seem, however, that the women were so much afraid of us, as the men appeared to be on their account; for although we walked back, past the rafts, much nearer than before, they remained very quietly picking oysters.  It was not my desire to annoy these poor people; and therefore, leaving them to their own way, we took an opposite direction to examine the island.

This low piece of land is between one and two miles long, and from its form received the name of Horse-shoe Island; there is very little soil mixed with the sand on its surface, and except the mangrove trees upon the shore, it bears nothing larger than bushes.  We did not find any huts; but the dried grass spread round two or three neighbouring fire places, marked the last residence of the Indians.  Near it were lying several large spiral shells, probably the vessels in which they had brought water from the main land; for none was found on the island, nor was there any appearance that it could be procured.  Shells and bones of turtle, some of them fresh, were plentifully scattered around; upon the beach also there were turtle tracks, and several of these animals were seen in the water during the day; but it was not our fortune to take one of them.

In returning to the ship in the evening, I steered from Horse-shoe, to the south-east end of Allen’s Isle, and sounded the channel between them; but had only once so much as 3 fathoms.  There was consequently no fit passage this way for the ship, and the several low islets to the north-east, precluded the expectation of finding one any where to the west of Bentinck’s Island; I therefore judged it most advisable to return, and place the ship between Bentinck’s and Sweers’ Islands, until the necessary caulking was finished.  Natives had been seen on both those islands; and this gave a hope that water might still be found to complete the holds previously to encountering the bad weather of the north-west monsoon, which I had been expecting to set in every day.

SUNDAY 21 NOVEMBER 1802

At daylight next morning the anchor was weighed; and having to work against foul winds, the breadth of the ship passage between Bentinck’s Island and the southern main, was ascertained and sounded; and at dusk in the evening we anchored half a mile from the west sandy point of Sweers’ Island, in 5 fathoms, small stones and shells.  This anchorage between the two islands, though it may not be called a port, is yet almost equally well sheltered, and I named it Investigator’s Road; it has the appearance of being exposed between N. N. W. and N. E. 1/2 N.; but the rocks from each shore occupy nearly one half of the space, and the water is too shallow in the remaining part to admit any surge to endanger a ship.