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Our native Dick, already mentioned* thought proper to
leave us in an excursion we made with him into therfcountry,
Colonel Paterson discovered some copper and iron ores, the latr
ter strongly impregnated and rich in metal. The seine waa
hauled, and plenty of excellent fish caught, particularly ;the
mullet, with a fish much‘resembling the herring, which I am inclined
tO' think, like them, go in shoals. On an island in the
harbour a tree is found in great plenty, the Quality of whose
timber much resembles that of the a sh ; and from the great
numbers of them growing there, has given named© the islandt
Of this timber I had received orders to send a quantity to Sydney,
and had brought out sawyers for that purpose; but as
every object could not be at once accomplished, they were employed,
in the mean time, in cutting down and sawing into
planks, a tree, the" bark of which is mdclh Idee cork. The timber
of this tree is light, close and durable, and promises to
stand against the effects of worms on the bottoms of vessels. 1
had a boat built of this.wood, which proved it to be good dor
such uses. This wood has much the| resemblance of what is
called wainscot with us. Mr. Harreifiiers MWVpy was all this
time going on. Nearly abreast of the vessel was a.Creek* which
Colonel Paterson apd X penetrated for a considerable way up«
On its banks we found part of a net, made of strong vgiags, apparently
the work of an European. We likewise found, marks
of fires having been lighted there; and in the stream the remains
of a weir, the work of the native inhabitants, this being
one of their principal devices for taking fish. We concluded
the net had belonged to the unfortunate, men who ran away
with the Norfolk sloop, as mentioned before, it therefore; became
necessary to caution our out-parties against a'surprize
either from them or the New Hollanders,.
On examining Ash Island, we found many large timber
% trees
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trees intermixed with the ash, o n e tëf which I took on board as
a specimen; which has mnelklhbfiikeness of hickory* and m§§r
be applicable to* many^pf the pürpö$es that woodï i's used for. I
found-setéral. other. woódsf isbitfe Of them light* aftd pföttyj and;,
in particular^iaTferc^lfl^ll®®'^68, ofiWbi<Ëtr^iOg like nettles«ithis
acquired fröm fé-Öiè' nam© Of the,-Nettie Tféei >Th?0 native
Dick ndw-made his appearanCe # l|P tw o of his companions,
after an absence of eight ahd fOtty hours. - One of -these-had
teeëii a t Sydney, and was know-n töf(8elonréhPatCrson, jöy which
means a kind o f convdrsa-tion was kept Up. The fees of the
natives.and inany individuals ,of them were to be %ëèïf5,bh the
side ef„the harbour Opposite to Ash Island. We went up aft
arm of the.rivet, in order to reach thé place where theyiwerè';
but after crossing thé harbour, were disappointed in the deSrgif;
We.foui|dvtfLe harbourhgre fulbof flats and shoals* »over many
of which wè %érC'under tfiè fiëCëssity-of tiraging the boat by
feéte stieögth. Here we found trees iheriiëtèd with oy^tóTs-, and
the shore covered to a great depth with oyster-shells, from wfiilbli
lime might be made on the spot,, should it at any timebo'.re-
quired for the pérpoSès of building. We daily hauled theSeihe',
and often took mullets of a tery large Sièe. ' Our several* works
went vigorously Or}, and now it was th a ta party was ^ëht’tb work
on Ash Island in felling aiidh^^tvifig that timber. These took
with them a week’s provision, with arms and ammunition.
Their orders were to be on the watch against any surprize,
either from the-Norfolk crew or the n a tiv e s a n d in their inter!
course with the latter to conduct fhemselyes with prddénce and
moderation, and by no means tö provoke an attack from thèlu.
I visited the coal mine in company of Colonel Paterson, and
We were shewn by the miner ^evéM: vëins, which he had discor
verèd, ■ of a most excellent,1 qualityV Amongst the rocks wè
found plenty of what is called iivéifof. iron. Here.'were a va-
x % riety