me to take this course, in which we found the sportsmen’s boat adrift, and laid hold of her the very moment she would have been dashed against the rocks.  I was not long at a loss to guess how she came there, nor was I under any apprehensions for the gentlemen that had been in her; and after refreshing ourselves with such as we had to eat and drink, and securing the boat in a small creek, we proceeded to the place where we supposed them to be.  This we reached about seven or eight o’clock in the evening, and found them upon a small isle in Goose Cove, where, as it was low water, we could not come with our boat until the return of the tide.  As this did not happen till three o’clock in the morning, we landed on a naked beach, not knowing where to find a better place, and, after some time, having got a fire and broiled some fish, we made a hearty supper, having for sauce a good appetite.  This done, we lay down to sleep, having a stony beach for a bed, and the canopy of heaven for a covering.  At length the tide permitted us to take off the sportsmen; and with them we embarked, and proceeded for the place where we had left their boat, which, we soon reached, having a fresh breeze of wind in our favour, attended with rain.  When we came to the creek which was on the N.W. side of Anchor Isle, we found there an immense number of blue peterels, some on the wing, others in the woods in holes in the ground, under the roots of trees and in the crevices of rocks, where there was no getting them, and where we supposed their young were deposited.  As not one was to be seen in the day, the old ones were probably, at that time, out at sea searching for food, which in the evening they bring to their young.  The noise they made was like the croaking of many frogs.  They were, I believe, of the broad-bill kind, which, are not so commonly seen at sea as the others.  Here, however, they are in great numbers, and flying much about in the night, some of our gentlemen at first took them for bats.  After restoring the sportsmen to their boat, we all proceeded for the ship, which we reached by seven o’clock in the morning, not a little fatigued with our expedition.  I now learned that our friends the natives returned to their habitation at night; probably foreseeing that rain was at hand; which sort of weather continued the whole of this day.

On the morning of the 15th, the weather having cleared up and become fair, I set out with two boats to continue the survey of the N.W. side of the bay, accompanied by the two Mr Forsters and several of the officers, whom I detached in one boat to Goose Cove, where we intended to lodge the night, while I proceeded in the other, examining the harbours and isles which lay in my way.  In the doing of this, I picked up about a score of wild fowl, and caught fish sufficient to serve the whole party; and reaching the place of rendezvous a little before dark, I found all the gentlemen out duck-shooting.  They however soon returned, not overloaded with game.  By this time, the cooks had done their parts, in which little art was required; and after a hearty repast, on what the day had produced, we lay down to rest; but took care to rise early the next morning, in order to have the other bout among the ducks, before we left the cove.