436
o a ?& fp°ke was a mixture o f Spanilh and their own provincial dialed, and
1---- ,---- < from this' we may infer, that they were either, fubordinate to the Spaniards,,
or that they had a conftant connection with the fettlement at St.
Francifco.
“ On the bluff o f the entrance is fixed in a confpicuous place a pole,
having a ftave lafhed acrofs its upper end, which was conjectured to be
the Spanifh token of pofleflion; indeed by the Indians our party learned,
if they were rightly underftaod, that fome of that nation were actually
there, at the extremity or north-weft end of the lagoon.
" 'Mr. Johnftone obferved the men to be in general naked, but the women
wore fkins of animals about their fhoulders and waifts, and »were
as much tatooed, or punctured, as any o f the females o f the Sandwich
iflands ; the hair o f both fexes was black, which they wore clubbed behind.
I The foil is fandy, and in general covered with bufhes and different forts
o f verdure; the country, inland, is o f a moderate height; but as their
examination was confined to the beach and its environs, they remained
ignorant of the vegetable productions the more inland parts afforded.
“ Great numbers o f the feathered tribe were feen, white and brown
pelicans, gulls, ployer, and a variety of aquatic fowl; on the fhores they
obferved eagles, hawks, the red-breafted lark, crows and ravens. No
quadrupeds were feen, they only diflinguifhed the track, and faw the
dung, o f what was confidered to be black cattle.
“ Having completed their examination o f this part of the bay, and feeino'
no likelihood of a favorable change in the weather, we weighed at two
in the afternoon, it being my intention immediately to proceed to the
examination of the next opening; but the wind coming to the s. w ., with
a very threatening appearance from that quarter, when we were off it,
deterred me from purfuing my firfl plan.
“ This opening is formed by two apparently low points, from which
extends a vaft deal of broken water; but whether there was a palfage between
them we could not determine. I fhould be inclined to think there
IS n o t; for which reafon I did not think it prudent to Hand too far in,
as, from the direction of the wind, we fhould not have been able to have
hauled
hauled out clear of the land ; had we met with fhoal water, our depth in „ ‘ 793-
_ . • ’ , - October.
that fi fixation being 7 fathom, having from our anchorage to a-breait of __„—«
this opening had from that depth to 13 fathoms, irregular hard bottom,
but not rocky ; and as this part of the coaft does not afford any known
fafe Ihelter, from whence we could have difpatched the boats, and left
the veffel in perfeft fecurity ; I therefore judged it beft, from fuch circumftances,
and the continual thicknefs and bad appearance, o f the weather,
to give up the examination until a more favorable opportunity fhould
offer, and make the bed of my way to join the Difcovery at St. Fancifco.”
I was much difappointed thatthefe untoward circumftances had prevented
Mr. Puget from completing his furvey o f port Bodega ; and I fhould
certainly have given directions for a fécond attempt, had it not been for
the reception we had met at St. F rancifco ; which had probably arifen,
either from the jealoufy or too general inftruCtions of the aCting governor
of the province ; whole difpleafure, under our prefent circumftances,
I did not think prudent to excite, efpecially as I had underftood that the
Spaniards had it in contemplation to make an eftablifhment at port
Bodega, in which, cafe a fécond vili.t might have been productive of offence.
In proceeding towards Monterrey we made fo little progrefs, that
we were ftill at no great diftance from St. Francifco the next morning ; Friday 25.
when a veffel was defcried to the N. n .w . and on ftanding towards her,
fhe proved to be the Dædalus.
About noon Lieutenant Hanfon came on board, and informed me
that he had purfued the route I had direCled towards New South-Wales.
That he had taken from New Zealand two.of the natives, in order that
they might inftruCt the inhabitants of port Jackfon in the ufe and management
o f the flax plant. That he had arrived at the fettlement on
the 20th of april, 1793, and was in readinefs to depart on the 20th of
june, but that he did not receive orders from Major Grofe until the
end of that month ; when he put to fea, and paffed to the weftward of
the Society iflands, in fight o f the ifland of Scilly, the only land feen
between port Jackfon and Owhyhee, which was in fight on the 1 ft of
feptember ; and that, after procuring fome refrelhments-amongft thofe
i f la n d s ,