Page:The Annual Register 1758.djvu/306

 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1758.

292

but they found the fle(h very rank, of a fifliy tafte, and as black as a flioe. They alfo made a raft or fioat, called a catamaran, on which they purpofcd to go out a fifhing, with fuch hooks and lines as had come afhore. They killed alfo fome feals, but all thofe who eat of them were fick.

When they were driven to great diftrefs, they killed a hog, but they had generally fuccefi in Filhing on a fioat, and they fometimes fent out two at a time. It happened, however, that Mr. Collet the fe- cond mate, and Mr. Yets the jnidfhipman, were very near being driven out to fea on one of thele floats, where they would inevitably

their friends. The carpenter dif- patched the boat in a quarter of an hour, and Ihe foon overtook the float, and took Collet and Yets on board. They foon found, how- ever, that the water gained very faft upon them, notwithftanding their utmoft efforts, and when Ibe came in, Oie was fo full of water, that in a few minutes fhe mull have funk.

As they were now afraid of ven- turing any more on the raft, the carpenter went again to work en the little boat, and put her into compleat repair. Their fuccefs in fiibing was very uncertain ; fome- times they took great quantities, andfometimes they took none. Nor

have perilhed.— On the 20th of were the fupplies they gained on Augult they had been filhing all fhore lefs precarious ; the gannets

the afternoon, till about four o'clock, when they weighed, and endeavoured to come in again, but the wind fuddcnly frefhening up to the wertward, they found, that inllead of gaining a-head, they drove out very fall. The people on fhore perceived their diitrefs, but knew not how to aflifl them; at laft, however, they fent out ano- ther float, with kiliicks and ropes, which they hoped would enable them to ride till the wind became more moderate; but the furf was fo great, that it overfet three times, and the men were obliged to fwim back. In the mean time, they faw their friends driving out to fea at a great rate, and were juft giving them up to inevitable dellrudftion, when the carpenter fent them word, that he would make the little boat fo tight, that fhe (hould not take in w;ter, fafter than one man could lave it out. This gHve them frelh hope, and evejy one was ready to ven- ture out for the deliverance of

would fometimes fettle in amazing numbers like a cloud, and fome- times they would totally difap- pear for feveral days together. This made them very defirous of finding fome wa) to preferve the food they caught from putrefad^ion, that they might lay by the furplus of a fortunate day, to ferve them when neither gannets nor fifh were to be caught. They made feveral attempts to cure both their fifh and their fowl by fmoaking it, but without fuccefs. They then attempted to make fait, but this had like to have been fatal to them all. The fmith had mended a copper vefTel for the experiment, and they immediately began to work, without knowing that their procefs in falt-making would dif- folve the furface of the copper, into verdigreafe, and that this lolutioa or rult of copper was poifon. Salt, however, was procured, but the quality that made it poifonous hap- pened to abound in luch de- gree, as to muke it intolerablv of,

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