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Transcription
ful for me, and came off, bringing a
few Littorine &c which I had not before
seen. The bottom was rocky on this (the
East) side of the island, and from it we
dredged up, with difficulty, a few corals.
Proceeding along the shore to the South-
ward, we saw an accumulation of
fishing-boats who seemed at first sus-
picious of us, but afterward gained con-
fidence. These boats were off the S. point
of the island, and upon the point were
high, pointed rocks; upon which men
were posted, as sentinels to give the
alarm on the approach of pirates.
We passed through the boats and tried the
dredge outside of them but took noth-
ing. The fishermen here take a fish
of the size and general shape of a 50 lb
Cod, by pulling about in mid water
a hook baited with a herring, attached
to a long but slender grass line. After cruis-
ing off the island for some time, I at
last saw Mr Wright on top of the ridge
(which forms the back bone of the island),
making signals to us. I sent the boat
drew him in board; he had been
quite successful in his collecting.
We then put the boats head to the S. Eastward
and crossed over toward Grand Lema, taking
our dinner on the way. We tried the dredge
once or twice: 16-18 fathoms, soft bottom, but took
little or nothing. As the wind was light
it was late in the afternoon when we
arrived off the western shore of the island.
We ran into a little cove near the S.
extremity of the island, where there was a
fishing settlement, with boats of considera-
ble size anchored near. Mr W. and my-
selves went ashore, but I soon returned, find-
ing no land shells. By boarding several of
the boats I obtained a variety of fishes,
some of which were skinned. They were all
put at once into the large alcohol-tanks.
In trying the bottom, which was very soft, I
lost my smaller dredge, by the parting of the
warps.
The shores of this island, as in all the others
in the vicinity, were very bold, consisting of
high rocks of granite or compact felspar.
The smooth surface of the latter rock, when
not too highly inclined, afforded excellent
drying tables for fish, and were used by