Strait. One man faid it was two moons ago; but another
contradicted him, and counted on his fingers about twenty or
thirty days. They defcribed by actions how the fhip was beat
to pieces, by going up and down againft the rocks, till at laft
it was. all fcattered abroad.
Thurfday 27. The next day fome others told the fame ftory, or nearly to,
the fame purport, and pointed over the Eaft Bay, which is
on the eaft fide o f the Sound, as to the place where it happened.
Thefe ftories making .me very uneafy about the Adventure,
I defired Mr. Wales, and thofe on ftiore, to let me know
if any of the natives fhould mention it again, or to fend
them to me; for I had not heard any thing from them my-
felf. When Mr. Wales came on board to dinner, he found
the very people who had told him the" ftory on fhore, and
pointed them out to me. I inquired about the affair, and
endeavoured to come at the truth by every method I could
think of. All I could get from them was, Caurey (no); and
they not only denied every fyllable of what they had faid on
fhore", but feemed wholly ignorant of the matter; To that I
began to think our people had mifunderftood them, and that
the ftory referred to fome of their own people and boats.
Friday 28. On the °8th, frefh gales wefterly, and fair weather. We
rigged and fitted the top-mafts; Having gone on a fhooting-
party to Weft Bay, we went to the place where I left the hogs
and fowls; but faw no veftiges of them, nor of any body having
been there fince. In our return, having vifited the natives,
we got fome fifh in exchange for trifles which we gave
them. As we were coming away, Mr. Forfter thought he
heard the fqueaking o f a pig in the woods, clofe by their
habitations ; probably, they may have thofe I left with them
when laft here. In the evening, we got on board, with
about
■774.
OcSlober.
Wedaef. 26.
about a dozen and an half of wild-fowl, fhags, and fea-pies. ,
The fportfmen who had been out in the woods near the fhip,
were morefuccefsful among the fmall birds..
On the 29th and 3,0th, nothing remarkable happened, except Saturday 29.
that in the evening o f the latter all the natives left us.
The 31ft being a fine pleafant day, our botanifts went over Monday3,.
to Long Ifland, where one of the party faw a large black boar.
As it was defcribed to me, I thought it might be one of thofe
which Captain Furneaux left behind, and had been brought
over to this ifle by thofe who had it in keeping. Since they
did not deftroy thofe hogs when firft in their pofieffion, we
cannot fuppofe they will do it now; fo that there is little fear
but that this country will, in time, be flocked with thefe animals,
both in a wild and domeftic ftate.
Next day, we were vifited by a number o f ftrangers, who November,
came from up the Sound, and brought with them but little Tue da!' '■
fifh. Their chief commodity was green ftone or talk, an
article which never came to a bad market; and fome of the
largeft pieces of it I had ever feen, were got this day.
On the 2d, I went over to the eaft fide of the Sound, and wednef. 2.
without meetingany thing remarkable, returned on board in
the evening, when I learnt that the fame people who vifited us
the preceding day, had been on board moft of this, with their
ufual article of trade.
On the 3d, Mr. Pickerfgill met with fome of the natives, Thurfday 3.
who related to him the ftory of a fhip being loft, and the
people being killed ; but added, with great earneftnefs, it was
not done by them,