February count l^at l^ey could find no place fit to receive the fhip,
'— |----' neither could any fuch place be found between Cape Quod
and Cape Notch.
Friday ao. In this place we remained till Friday the 20th, when about
noon the clouds gathered very thick to the weftward, and
before one it blew a florin, with fuch rain and hail as we
had fcarcely ever feen. We immediately ftruck the yards
and top-mafts, and having run out two haufers to a rock,
we hove the fhip up to i t : we then let go the fmall bower,
and veered away, and brought both cables a-head; at the
fame time we carried out two more haufers, and made them
faft to two other rocks, making ufe o f every expedient in
our power to keep the fhip fleady. The gale continued to
increafe till fix o clock in the evening, and to our great
aflonifhment the fea broke quite over the fore-caflle in upon
the quarter-deck, which, confidering the narrownefs o f the
Streight, and the fmallnefs o f the bay in which we were
flationed, might well have been thought impoflible. Our
danger here was very great, for i f the cables had parted, as
we could not run out with a fail, and as we had not room th
bring the fhip up with any other anchor, we muft have been
dafhed to pieces in a few minutes, and in fuch a fituation it is
highly probable that every foul would immediately have pe-
rifhed; however, by eight o’clock the gale was become fome-
what more moderate, and gradually decreafing during the
Saturday zi. night, we had tolerable weather the next morning. Upon
heaving the anchor, we had the fatisfaftion to find that our
cable was found, though our haufers were much rubbed by
the rocks, notwithftanding they were parcelled with old ham-
macoes, and other things. The firft thing I did after performing
the neceflary operations about the fhip, was to fend a
boat to the Swallow to enquire how £he had fared during the
gale: the boatreturned with an account that fhe had felt but
little
little of the gale, but that fhe had been very near being loft, in 1767-
pufhing through thelflands two days before, by the rapidity , Fe r^ ry‘ ,
o f the tide: that notwithftanding an alteration which had Sat“rda/ 21,
been made in her rudder, fhe fleered and worked fo ill, that
every time they got under way they were apprehenfive that
fhe could never fafely be brought to an anchor again; I was
therefore requefted, in the name of the captain, to confider
that fhe could be of very little fervice to the expedition, and
to direiSt what I thought would be beft for the fervice. I
anfwered, that as the Lords of the Admiralty had appointed
her to accompany the Dolphin, fhe muft continue to do it as
long as it was poflible; that as her condition rendered her a
bad failer, I would wait her time, and attend her motions,
and that i f any difafter fhould happen to either o f us, the
other fhould be ready to afford fuch affiftance as might be
in her power.
We continued here eight days, during which time we
completed our wood and water, dried our fails, and fent
great part o f the fhip’s company on fhore, to wafh their
cloaths and ftretch their legs, which was the more neceflary,
• as the cold, fnowy, and tempeftuous weather had confined
them too much below. We caught mufcles and limpets, and
gathered celery and nettles in great abundance. The mufcles
were the largeft we had ever feen, many o f them being
from five to fix inches long: we caught alfo great plenty o f
a fine, firm, red fifli, not unlike a gurnet, moft of which
were from four to five pounds weight. At the fame time,
we made it part of the employment o f every day to try the
current, which we found conftantly fetting to the eaftward.
The matter having been fent out to look for anchoring
places, returned with an account that he could find no fhelter,
except near the fhore, where it fhould not be fought but in
Vox. I. A a cafes