Page:Castaway on the Auckland Isles (IA castawayonauckla01musg).pdf/24

8 one hanging up, and it is no use for us to kill them for their skins, as whoever takes us away would not feel inclined to humbug with our seal skins unless we gave them to them, which, of course, they would deserve.

But we have other work on our hands at present. We must get a place to live in, for the tent we are now living in is a beastly place. I expect we shall all get our death of cold before we get out of it yet; and the blow-flies blow our blankets and clothes, and make everything in the most disgusting state imaginable. A kind of mosquito is very troublesome in the day-time also, but fortunately they do not bite at night.

We have several kinds of birds here also, two kinds of which are songsters, and send forth beautiful notes; and there is the green parrot and robin-redbreast. They are all very tame. We could put out our hands and take hold of them, but we do not disturb them. The robins are very familiar with us; they come into the tent and chirp round us when we are at our meals, and are quite tame. While we were up the western arm of the harbour I shot a dozen of widgeon and young ducks; and we picked up a piece of a studding-sail boom on the beach, which had evidently not been lying there very long. We also found a seal dead on the beach, which I shot about a week ago close to where we were camped. The ball entered just before the shoulder, but he was quite close to the water, and got in and away before I could get at him to kill him. Where we found him is about eight or nine miles from here. I have taken a sketch of the western arm. The water is very deep, with bold, rocky shores, 10 fathoms deep, 50 yards from the shore, and we nowhere found bottom with a 20-fathom line at a hundred yards from the shore.

Sunday, January 24, 1864.—The weather has been tolerably fine since I last wrote, although it has been blowing a westerly gale ever since, and on Friday it rained heavily all day, with thunder and lightning in the evening. We have all been busy about the house, and I think we shall be