Page:Colnett - Voyage to the South Pacific (IA cihm 33242).djvu/72

 ofbreak of [sic] day, a coniderable quantity of tar was een floating on the urface of the water; a circumtance, which trengthened our hope, that we hould find a veel refitting there.

I had ome intention of anchoring here myelf, and having hove to, off the South Wet part of the ile, I ent the chief mate to ound for a dangerous rock under water, over which, the eas eldom or never breaks. It lays omewhere, in the middle of the roads, and everal whalers had truck on it; but I had not been able to procure the bearings of it. There was but little wind throughout the day, and the hip et coniderably to the Northward and Wetward, which opened the bay to us, when we were greatly diappointed, at not perceiving any hip at anchor in it. However, before the boat returned in the evening, we aw a ail tanding down on us, and it being hazy, as it generally is on this coat, the boat had at one time mitaken her for the Rattler.

The chief mate returned on board by even in the evening, and informed me, that he had not been able to dicover the rock, or to catch any thing but one turtle; but from the freh carcaes of eals which he had een, he very reaonably uppoed, that a veel could not have left the iland more than four or five days.