The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. II. Being the Second of the First VoyageCook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. II. Being the Second of the First Voyage
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
The next morning I got the four remaining guns out of the hold, and
mounted them upon the quarter-deck; I also got a spare anchor and
anchor-stock ashore, and the remaining part of the stores and ballast
that were in the hold: set up the smith’s forge, and employed the
armourer and his mate to make nails and other necessaries for the repair
of the ship. In the afternoon, all the officers’ stores and the ground
tier of water were got out; so that nothing remained in the fore and
main hold, but the coals, and a small quantity of stone ballast. This
day Mr. Banks crossed the river to take a view of the country on the
other side: he found it consist principally of sand hills, where he saw
some Indian houses, which appeared to have been very lately inhabited.
In this walk, he met with vast flocks of pigeons and crows: of the
pigeons, which were exceedingly beautiful, he shot several; but the
crows, which were exactly like those in England, were so shy that he
could not get within reach of them.
On the 20th, we landed the powder, and got out the stone ballast and
wood, which brought the ship’s draught of water to eight feet ten inches
forward, and thirteen feet abaft; and this I thought, with the
difference that would be made by trimming the coals aft, would be
sufficient; for I found that the water rose and fell perpendicularly
eight feet at the spring-tides: but as soon as the coals were trimmed
from over the leak, we could hear the water rush in a little abaft the
foremast, about three feet from the keel: this determined me to clear
the hold entirely. This evening, Mr. Banks observed that in many parts
of the inlet there were large quantities of pumice stones, which lay at
a considerable distance above high-water mark; whither they might have
been carried either by the freshes or extraordinary high tides, for
there could be no doubt but that they came from the sea.
The next morning we went early to work, and by four o’clock in the
afternoon had got out all the coals, cast the moorings loose, and warped
the ship a little higher up the harbour, to a place which I thought most
convenient for laying her ashore, in order to stop the leak. Her draught
of water forward was now seven feet nine inches, and abaft thirteen feet
six inches. At eight o’clock, it being high-water, I hauled her bow
close ashore; but kept her stern afloat, because I was afraid of neiping
her; it was however necessary to lay the whole of her as near the ground
as possible.
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