Page:Castaway on the Auckland Isles (IA castawayonauckla01musg).pdf/103

Rh picked up in the neighbourhood. We have had one hand out all the time grub-hunting. But he had very poor success, and things were looking very gloomy, when to-day

I will recount the day's proceedings. First thing after breakfast we all started off, taking different directions, and about one o'clock we began to return, one coming in after another without having met with anything (one brought two small fish), and we were all looking very blue at each other, when in came the only remaining man, carrying on his back a load of meat, weighing about one cwt. He had met with, and killed, two large cow seals about five miles from the house. We at once got something to eat, and all started off to bring the meat home. We had to make all possible haste, as we had only just sufficient time to go and come back again before dark; and we had also the risk of being caught by the tide, and being unable to get back again to-night at all, as there are several places on the way we had to go where there is six feet of water when the tide is up, and it would be almost impossible to get by going any other way.

On the way, Mr. Raynal and one of the men parted company with us, they going through the bush in passing the point, whilst we went round the point. They fell in with a young seal, and in chasing him he fell or leaped into a deep narrow gully, about thirty feet deep, with perpendicular sides, and at the bottom runs a stream of water which occupies the whole width of the chasm, and at a distance of about 100 yards from the beach is filled up at the top, and the stream is lost sight of, as it runs underneath the ground, and comes out of a small hole on the beach. One of them ran down to get to the hole before the seal would get there, but he did not come out, so Mr. Raynal went down after him, whilst the men kept guard over the outlet. He found, to his great surprise, after getting down to the bottom, that there was plenty of room to walk in