difference, whatever it was, seemed to be compromised; but the strangers were not allowed to come alongside the ships, nor to have any trade or intercourse with us.  Probably we were the cause of the quarrel; the strangers, perhaps, being desirous to share in the advantages of a trade with us, and our first friends, the inhabitants of the Sound, being determined to engross us entirely to themselves.  We had proofs of this on several other occasions, nay, it appeared, that even those who lived in the Sound were not united in the same cause; for the weaker were frequently obliged to give way to the stronger party, and plundered of every thing, without attempting to make the least resistance.

We resumed our work in the afternoon, and the next day rigged the fore-mast; the head of which being rather too small for the cap, the carpenter went to work, to fix a piece on one side, to fill up the vacant space.  In cutting into the mast-head for this purpose, and examining the state of it, both cheeks were found to be so rotten, that there was no possibility of repairing them, and it became necessary to get the mast out, and to fix new ones upon it.  It was evident, that one of the cheeks had been defective at the first, and that the unsound part had been cut out, and a piece put in, which had not only weakened the mast-head, but had, in a great measure, been the occasion of rotting every other part of both cheeks.  Thus, when we were almost ready to put to sea, we had all our work to do over again; and, what was still more provoking, an additional repair was to be undertaken, which would require some time to be completed.  But, as there was no remedy, we immediately set about it.  It was fortunate for the voyage, that these defects were discovered, when we were in a place, where the materials requisite were to be procured.  For, amongst the drift-wood, in the cove where the ships lay, were some small seasoned trees very fit for our purpose.  One of these was pitched upon, and the carpenters began, without loss of time, to make out of it two new cheeks.

In the morning of the 7th, we got the fore-mast out, and hauled it ashore, and the carpenters of the ships were set to work upon it.  Some parts of the lower standing rigging having been found to be very much decayed, as we had time now to put them in order, while the carpenters were repairing the fore-mast, I ordered a new set of main-rigging to be fitted, and a more perfect set of fore-rigging to be selected out of the best parts of the old.

From the time of our putting into the Sound till now, the weather had been exceedingly fine, without either wind or rain.  That comfort, at the very moment when the continuance of it would have been of most service, was withdrawn.  In the morning of the 8th, the wind freshened at S.E., attended with thick hazy weather and rain.  In the afternoon the wind increased; and, toward the evening, it blew very hard indeed.  It came, in excessively heavy squalls,