[Early Australian Voyages by John Pinkerton]@TWC D-Link bookEarly Australian Voyages CHAPTER XXI: REMARKS UPON THE VOYAGE 64/148
At night the yawl came aboard and brought a wooden fish-spear, very ingeniously made, the matter of it was a small cane; they found it by a small barbecue, where they also saw a shattered canoe. The next morning I sent the boatswain ashore fishing, and at one haul he caught three hundred and fifty-two mackerel, and about twenty other fishes, which I caused to be equally divided among all my company.
I sent also the gunner and chief mate to search about if they could find convenient anchoring near a watering-place; by night they brought word that they had found a fine stream of good water, where the boat could come close to, and it was very easy to be filled, and that the ship might anchor as near to it as I pleased, so I went thither.
The next morning, therefore, we anchored in twenty-five fathom water, soft oozy ground, about a mile from the river; we got on board three tuns of water that night, and caught two or three pike-fish, in shape much like a parracota, but with a longer snout, something resembling a garr, yet not so long. The next day I sent the boat again for water, and before night all my casks were full. Having filled here about fifteen tuns of water, seeing we could catch but little fish, and had no other refreshments, I intended to sail next day, but finding that we wanted wood, I sent to cut some, and going ashore to hasten it, at some distance from the place where our men were, I found a small cove, where I saw two barbecues, which appeared not to be above two months' standing; the spars were cut with some sharp instrument, so that, if done by the natives, it seems that they have iron.
On the 10th, a little after twelve o'clock, we weighed and stood over to the north side of the bay, and at one o'clock stood out with the wind at north and north- north-west.
At four we passed out by a White Island, which I so named from its many white cliffs, having no name in our drafts.
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