1770.
June.
Sunday 24.
After the fhip was hauled afhore, all the water that came
into her of courfe went backwards; fo that although fire was
dry forward, Ihe had nine feet water abaft: as in this part
therefore her bottom could not be examined on the infide, I
took the advantage of the tide being out this evening to get
the matter and two of the men to go under her, and examine
her whole larboard fide without. They found the
fheathing gone about the floor heads abreaft of the main-
matt, and part of a plank a little damaged ; but all agreed
that fhe had received no other material injury. The lofs of
her fheathing alone was a great misfortune, as the worm
would now be Jet into her bottom, which might expofe us to
great inconvenience and danger; but as I knew no remedy
for the mifchief but heaving her down, which would be a
work of immenfe labour and long time, if practicable at
all in our prefent fituation, I was obliged to be content. The
carpenters however continued to work under her bottom in
the evening till they were prevented by the tide; the morning
tide did not ebb out far enough to permit them to work
at all, for we had only one tolerable high and low tide in
four and twenty hours, as indeed we had experienced when
we lay upon the rock. The pofition of the fhip, which
threw the water in her abaft, was very near depriving the
world of all the knowlege which Mr. Banks had endured fo
much labour, and fo many. rifles, to procure; for he had removed
the curious collection of plants which he made during
the whole voyage, into the bread room, which lies in
the after part of the fhip, as a place of the greateft fecu-
rity; and nobody having thought of the danger to which
laying her head fo much higher than the ftern would expofe
them, they were this day found under water. Molt
o f them however were, by indefatigable care and attention,
reftored
reftored to a ftate of prefervation, but fome were entirely
1770.
fpoilt and deftroyed.
June.
The 25th was employed in filling water and over-hauling Monday 25,
the rigging, and at low water the carpenters finifhed the
repairs under the larboard bow, and every other place which
the tide would permit them to come a t ; fome calks were
then 1 afhed under her bows to facilitate her floating, and at
night, when it was high water, we endeavoured to heave
her off, but without fuccefs, for fome of the calks that were
lafhed to her gave way.
The morning of the 26th was employed in getting more Tuefday 26»
calks ready for the fame purpofe, and in the afternoon we
lafhed no lefs than eight and thirty under the fhip’s bottom,
but to our great mortification thefe alfo proved ineffectual,
and we found ourfelves reduced to the necefflty of waiting-
till the next fpring-tide.
This day, fome of our gentlemen who had made an excur-
fion into the woods, brought home the leaves of a plant,
which was thought to be the fame that in the Weft Indies is
called coccos; but upon trial, the roots proved too acrid to
be eaten; the leaves however were little inferior to fpinnage.
In the place where thefe plants were gathered, grew plenty
of the cabbage trees which have occafionally been mentioned
before, a kind of wild plantain, the fruit of which
was fo full of ftones as fcarcely to be eatable ; another fruit
was alfo found about the lize of a fmall golden pippin, but.
flatter, and of a deep purple colour: when firft gathered;
from the tree it was very hard and difagreeable, but after
being kept a few days became foft, and tailed, very much,
like an indifferent damafeene.
The next morning we began to move fome o f the weight wi'dief..27,.
from the after-part of the fhip forward, to eafe her;. in the
mean time the armourer continued to work at the forge, the
carpenter.-