December. covered with flirubs and herbage, the foil a black
wIlÉltlS, r0tten turf’ evident]y compofed, by length of time, of decayed
vegetables.
I had an opportunity to verify what we had obferved at
fea ; that the fea-coaft is compofed of a number of large and
fmall iHands, and that the numerous inlets are formed by
the junction of feveral channels at leaft fo it is here. On
one of thefe low iflands, we found feveral huts, which had
lately been inhabited; and near them was a good deal of
celery, with which we loaded our boat, and returned on
board at feven o’clock in the evening. In this expedition
we met with little game'; one duck, three or four Ihags, and
about that number o f rails or fea-pies being all we got. ’ The
other boat returned on board fome hours before; having
found two harbours on the weft fide of thé other channel;
the one large, and the other fmall; but both of them fafe’
and commodious; though, by the fketch Mr. Pickerfgill
had taken of them, the accefs to both appeared rather in- '
tricate.
I was now told of a melancholy accident which had befallen
one of our marines. He had not been feen fince
eleven or twelve o’clock the preceding night: It was fup-
pofed that he had fallen over-board, out of the head, where
he had been laft feen, and was drowned.
Enday 23. Having fine pleafant weather on the 23d, 1 fent Lieutenant
Pickerfgill in the cutter, "to explore the eaftfideof the Sound,
and went myfelf in the pinnace to jh e weft fide, with an intent
to go round the ifland, under which we were at anchor,
(and which I fhall diftinguifli by the name of Shag Ifland)
in order to view the paffage leading to the harbours Mr.
Pickerfgill
Pickerfgill had difcovered the day before, on which I made '77+-
the following obfervations. In coming from fea, leave all ,Pcce_‘nbcr‘.
the rocks and iflands, lying off.and within York Minfter, on / ndajr
your larboard fide ; and the black rock, which lies off the
fouth end of Shag Ifland, on your ftarboard; and when
abreaft of the fouth end of that ifland, haul over for the weft
fliore, taking care to avoid the beds of weeds you will fee
before you, as they always grow on rocks ; fome of which
I have found twelve fathoms under water ; but it is always
beft t® keep clear of them. The entrance to the large har-_
bour, or Port Clerke, is juft to the North of fome lo’w rocks.
lying off a point on Shag Ifland. This harbour lies in, W.
by S., a mile and an half, and hath in it from twelve to.
twenty-four fathoms depth, wood and frefli water. About
a mile withour, or to the fouthward of Port Clerke, is, or
feemed to be, another which I did not examine. It is.formed
by a large ifland which covers it from the fouth and eaft
winds. Without this ifland, that is between it and York
Minfter, the fea feemed ftrewed with iflots, rocks, and
breakers. In proceeding round the fouth end of Shag
Ifland, we obferved the Ihags to breed in vaft numbers in the-
cliffs of the rocks. Some of the old ones we fhot, but could-
not come at the young ones, which are, by far, the beft eat-,
ing. On the eaft fide of the ifland we faw fome geefe ; and.
having with difficulty landed, we killed three, which, at this .
time, was a valuable acquilition.
About feven in the evening we got on board, where Mr. '
Pickerfgill had arrived but juft before. He'informed me-
that the land oppofite to our flation was an ifland, which he
had been round that, on another, more to the North, he-
found many terns e g g s ; and that without the great ifland,.
between;