page 14

Chapter II.
reflections suggested by our situation.—breaking up of the wreck.—a battle with the seals. — unsuccessful fishing.

Sunday, February 21, 1864.—I am in exceedingly low spirits to-day, and I know that one loved one in Sydney is so also; for I have no doubt but by this time they have given me up for lost, and what is to become of my own dear wife and children? May God, to whom only they can now look for comfort, watch over and protect them, is my constant and fervent prayer. I shall never forgive myself for coming on this enterprise, although strong inducements prompted me to the undertaking; and although the chief object of my coming was a failure, the sealing would have done very well, and I should have made a good thing of it, had the old chains only held the ship to her anchors. I could have loaded her with skins in a month, and should have been in Sydney before this time. However, this was an accident over which I had no control, and God in His wisdom knows best why I am left here, and how long we may remain here; but surely our friends will send some one to look after us by some means or other, for I told them before leaving, that if any accident did happen to the vessel, it was much more likely to happen in harbour than at sea; so it is to be hoped they will exert themselves in finding some means of getting a vessel sent to look for us. But if they do send one, it is not likely to be before next October or November, as I suppose people would not come down into these stormy and unexplored regions in the winter, which is now approaching. And this is certainly a very stormy place, and page 15the wind is almost constantly blowing out of the harbour, and blowing a gale; on an average there is not more than one day out of three that a vessel could beat up against it. During the last week we have had the finest weather that we have had since we came here. We have had no rain until yesterday, when it rained heavily from noon till 8 p.m. To-day it is blowing a heavy and very squally N.W. gale, with misty dark weather. Yesterday the wind was N.N.W. and a hot wind, such as is felt in New Zealand. We have had it before, but not so hot as yesterday. The thermometer was up to 60°, which is usually about 48°; barometer at 29·25.

On Wednesday we went across the bay in the boat, and in two hours and a half shot 150lbs. weight of widgeons and a one-year-old seal, part of which we had roasted for dinner to-day—it was delicious. It took three men a whole day to pluck the widgeons—I don't know how many there are of them. We have got them salted and hung up; they are in reserve for the winter, when we may not be able to go out to look for food. During the remainder of the time we have been occupied in laying ways for hauling up and launching the boat on, and making a jetty; cutting down and clearing the timber from about the house, and getting and tying in bundles of thatch for the sides of the house, &c. It will take an immense quantity of grass to thatch it round. I may here give a description of this castle of ours. It is 24 feet long by 16 wide. The walls are 7 feet high, roof 14 feet. The corner posts and centre posts, which are made of spars from the ship, as also the wall plates and ridge poles, are let three feet into the ground. The walls or sides and ends are made of timber out of the bush, placed upright, and let into the ground about a foot. They are far from being straight, consequently they are far from being close together. This is why we are obliged to thatch them. They are now covered with old canvas outside, but it lets a great deal of wind through. The door is a very good page 16one, made of inch boards. The floor is also boarded, and tolerably good. There are two small squares of glass, which were taken out of the cabin of the vessel. The rafters are sticks out of the bush, placed two feet apart. There is a double cover on the roof, with two sets of rafters and two ridge poles. The fireplace is built of stone, as high as the walls of the house; above, it is made of copper, tin, zinc, and boards towards the top, and is 15 feet high. The fireplace inside the walls is 6 feet, with four walls 1 foot thick. Furniture—stretchers to sleep on, six feet from floor; large dining table in centre, 7 feet by 3 feet, with benches on each side. I sit on a keg at the head. A table at one end, at which I am now writing, and where I keep my writing-desk, chronometer, barometer, books, &c. This, the north end of the house, is occupied by Mr. Raynal and myself; the men occupy the other end. A cook's dressing table stands behind the door which opens towards the men's end. There are also two or three shelves round the place, which, with a pair of bellows and my looking-glass, complete the furniture. It is now just four o'clock in the afternoon (three in Sydney), and it has commenced to rain heavily, with every appearance of continuing for the night. We have trenches all round the house two feet deep, which keep the floor perfectly dry, and no water has yet come through the roof. The barometer is now at 29·15. Thermometer 48°, which is 16° above freezing and 6° below temperate.

Sunday, February 28, 1864.—Another dreary week has passed. We have had very bad weather. It has rained every day. We have not been able to do much at the thatching; but we made a commencement yesterday, and worked at it between the showers. Last night it blew a very heavy gale from S.S.W., with frequent heavy showers. On Wednesday Mr. Raynal went across the bay in the boat, and got a one-year-old seal and two dozen widgeons; these we find very good, salted and smoke-dried. He also tried page 17fishing; but it came on to rain, and he was obliged to return without catching any. We have found a root, which is very abundant all over the island, and it is very good food; it makes a very good substitute for bread and potatoes. There is also a great deal of sugar in it. We intend to make sugar from it. We have also found a method of curing the seal skins without salt. This is by stretching them and fledging them clean, and rubbing them well with strong lye (made from ashes) two or three times a day, until they are perfectly dry; then scour them well with sandstone, take them down, roll them up tight, and beat them on something solid with a smooth piece of wood until they are quite soft. This does not injure the fur, and they remain quite soft. We shall be able to make either blankets or clothes of them. I sleep on one of them now, and it is very comfortable.

Amongst the birds with which the woods abound, there are three kinds of songsters. Some of them are so tame that they come and feed out of our hands, and come into the house and remain there for hours. They also fly to the house in flocks when the hawks are after them. We shoot all hawks that come near. We have killed five, and this encourages the small birds to come near. On Thursday it blew fresh from the eastward, with 24 hours' heavy rain. During the remainder of the week the wind has been westerly, until last night; and to-day S.S.W. Barometer 29·50; thermometer 40°.

Sunday, March 6, 1864.—The first part of the past week was very fine, and we got on tolerably well with the thatching, and got more grass; but since Wednesday we have had continual drizzling rain, with light westerly winds, until midnight last night, when it came on to blow a very heavy gale, and continued ever since, with frequent showers. On Thursday I went across to Figure-of-Eight Island (as I have named it from its shape), and I discovered a reef of rocks which are dry at low water. They bear about S.W. from the N.W. end of the island, and the centre page 18of the reef, which is round and composed of sharp loose rocks; it is about a cable's length from the shore, and connected with it. There is barely a passage for a boat, and very shallow water outside of the distance of a cable and a half, where the centre drops suddenly into eight fathoms, close to the edge, and deepens fast from that outwards. But I was not particular about sounding far from it, as it came on to rain, and we wanted seal, as our fresh provisions had been out for two or three days; so we landed on the island, and found three mobs of seals asleep. There were from 30 to 40 in each mob, and there were a great many very young calves amongst them. These we wanted to get without killing the old ones. I had only two men with me; so we took our clubs and each of us took a mob, and I suppose in ten seconds we had knocked down ten calves from two to three months old, and one two-year-old seal. We had to go right in amongst them, and, although they woke up, we were so quick about the job that they stared at us in confusion for a moment, and then by a simultaneous movement rushed towards the water. We could have got more, but one of the men was at this moment attacked by the only remaining one, which was a tremendous large bull—the largest tiger seal I have seen (they were all tigers), and he fought like a tiger. We immediately rushed to the rescue; the poor fellow was obliged to take to a tree till we came up, when all three set on to the seal, and he showed fight bravely. It was as long as ten minutes before we proved ourselves conquerors: we should have been quite willing to get out of his way, but he would not give us a chance. We were in a thick bush, so that he had a decided advantage. However, we, left him, as he was too big for us to attend to when we had so many little ones to look after. This was the greatest piece of excitement I have had for a long time. We got our booty into the boat, which was quite a load for her, and returned to the camp. We had also a lot of widgeons, which I had shot before landing. I had left my page 19gun in the boat, or else I should have shot the big seal. We salted all the meat excepting two seals, which we kept for present use; and this afternoon I found a young seal, not more than a month or six weeks old, sitting shivering at the end of the house. I took him in, and some of them wanted to keep him; but this of course we could not do, as he would eat nothing but fish, and not even that yet; so we killed him. I think he had lost his mother, for he was very low in flesh and had nothing at all in his inside. So this is more fresh meat. God is certainly good in sending us plenty to eat. I hope and pray that He will soon send some one in here that will take us away.

The 'Grafton' is breaking up fast to-day. There is a heavy surf on with the gale. Her decks are coming up. The barometer has been very high throughout the week; it has not been below 29·50 until to-day, when it fell, from 10 o'clock last night till 9 o'clock this morning, from 29·58 to 28 at 9 a.m. The thermometer has been about 48°, till to-day it is 47°.

Sunday, March 13, 1864.—My heart beats fast to-night as I sit down to write, somewhat similar to what it might do if I was about writing a love letter. I know that many a bitter tear has been shed for me by this time, and most likely to-day, as this is the end of another dreary month since I left those I loved so much; and how many more must pass, or how they will pass them until we meet again, or whether we shall ever meet again on earth—Heaven only knows. These thoughts, and such as these, which now prey continually on my mind, are maddening. I feel as if I was gradually consumed by an inward fire. I strive, by occupying my hands as much as possible, to dispel these sad feelings; but it is utterly impossible. A melancholy is getting hold of me; I am getting as thin as a lantern, and some disordered fluttering and heavy beating of the heart, which causes a faintness, is troubling, me. I have felt this before, but only on one particular occasion, and that is some time ago. Were it not for the hope that page 20I shall yet again be of service to my family, I think my spirit, if not my health, would break down; although under my present afflictions my continual prayer is that God may soon deliver me out of them. During the week the weather has been variable; wind generally from N.W.

On Wednesday we had a very heavy gale, similar to the one the 'Grafton' went on shore in; wind baffling between N.W. and S.W. On Friday Mr. Raynal and others went to Figure-of-Eight Island; they killed seven young seals. There were great numbers on the island. They might have killed any quantity, but we did not want them; we salt and dry what we cannot use fresh. Barometer 29·70; thermometer 48°.

Sunday, March 20, 1864.—During the last week we have had nothing but a succession of westerly gales, which only cease for a few hours and then blow again with great fury; and it has also rained almost constantly until yesterday at noon. Since then we have had very frequent falls of hail and snow: some of the mountains are now quite capped with snow. I fear we shall have a great deal of this sort of weather in the winter. However, we have got a good stock of meat hanging up in the house, and so long as we can get to the roots we shall not starve; but these roots will not keep long out of the ground. We are obliged to pull them as we want them. We had a few hours of moderate weather on Friday, and we went to Figure-of-Eight Island, and found the seals, both young and old, very numerous; but this time we had a regular pitched battle with some thirty or forty of them on the beach. We vanquished them, and got seven young calves. There were four of us; Mr. Raynal had the gun, but I did not want him to fire at them if we could avoid it, so he stood by as a reserve while we poured on to them with our clubs, and there was not a shot fired. We killed a number of old ones; but these we had to leave, as they would only have been an incumbrance to us, and the seals were running around in such numbers, and in such a threatening page 21manner, that we hurried away as fast as possible. There was a great number of young ones left on the island, and there is no doubt but they would have landed with increased numbers, and attacked us again. The very young seals do not like to take the water, as they cannot swim very well. When they first go into the water the old cow carries them on her back, or rather carries it, for I have not seen any of them with more than one calf, and they have a great job to get them down to the water at first. I have known a cow to be three days in getting a calf half a mile to get it into the water. When you surprise the calves when they are staying at the edge of the water, they will always run on shore and make for the bush. The last time that Raynal went without me the seals were very savage. In the water they attacked the boat; one left the marks of his teeth in an oar, and another one was going to jump into the boat, but Raynal shot him. When they are killed in the water they sink like a stone.

We have got a nest of young parrots. I think we have had them at the house a fortnight now. The steward attends to them; they are getting on very well. I think it very strange to find parrots here at all, and it is more surprising that they should have young ones at this season of the year. The common field mouse is also here. I do not know whether they are very numerous all over the islands or not, but there are a good many about the house. We have not been able to do anything at the thatching this week. About one-third of the house is finished, and the grass is all bundled for the remainder. We are only waiting for weather to put it on; but whether it will ever be favourable again or not I cannot say. In going to and from the island, on Friday last, I sounded all the way. I found a bank with eleven fathoms on it in the middle of the harbour, and well to windward of this is good anchorage ground. It will be, however, in the chart I have in course of construction; and as I have not yet named all the points, it is useless to note down any bearings here. We cure all page 22the skins; we shall soon have enough to make a suit of clothes each. This is seals' blood that I am writing with now, as our black ink is done. I think this will do very well. There is no getting it out of our clothes, although we use strong lye and soft soap, which we made ourselves. Monday is our washing day. We have strict regularity in all we do. Barometer 28·78; thermometer 36°.

Sunday, March 27, 1864.—During the first part of the last week the weather was very boisterous, and a good deal of hail and snow. The wind was generally from W.N.W., barometer sometimes as low as 28·62, and the thermometer was so low as 35°. Since Wednesday the weather has been tolerably fine, with fresh westerly winds and cloudy, though mild and pleasant weather. We have finished thatching the house, and find it very warm and comfortable. It has taken 5000 bundles of thatch, each bundle weighing a pound, so that the total weight of thatch on the sides and ends of the house is about two and a quarter tons. The roof remains covered with canvas. To-day I went in the boat up the harbour; I have not been there before. This harbour is rather narrow, but quite broad enough for any ship to work up. It is about half a mile wide in the narrowest place, which is about the entrance, and in some places it is about one and a half miles wide. I find that this is the proper place to anchor a vessel in; it is well sheltered from the prevailing winds, and there appears to be none of those sudden gusts of wind which are so frequent and dangerous in this part of the harbour. The depth of water in the middle harbour is from thirty fathoms at the entrance, gradually decreasing, and good anchorage will be found in from twelve down to four fathoms (stiff blue clay), about one mile and a half from the head of the harbour, and the water shallows so gradually for this mile and a half that a great deal of the head of the bay must be left dry at low water. It was half flood when I was up there.

There are several streams of beautiful water emptying page 23into the bay; two of them are the largest I have yet found in any part of the islands. We tried fishing, but unsuccessfully. We killed one seal and a number of widgeons, and then returned home. We did not see any seals on shore, but we saw great numbers in the water. I suppose, as it was a fine day, they were all out fishing. There must be great numbers of fish in these harbours to supply so many seals, but we have not yet found out how to catch them. All the fish we have got as yet we have picked up amongst the seaweed and stones on the beach at low water. During the last day or two all the snow has disappeared from the mountains. I hope we shall have some fine weather yet before the winter sets in. The barometer is very high to-day, 30·20; and the thermometer 47° in the shade. I have found another small bottle of black ink, so I shall use it while it lasts; for I see that the seals' blood fades away very much.