250 cook's second voyage may, 



of sowing turnips and other useful vegetables. I was 

 also told there is a fine spring in a valley which dis- 

 joins two hills on the top of the mountain above men- 

 tioned ; besides great quantities of fresh water in 

 holes in the rocks, which the person who gave me 

 this information believed was collected from rains. 

 But these supplies of water can only be of use to the 

 traveller; or to those who may be so unfortunate as 

 to be shipwrecked on the island ; which seems to 

 have been the fate of some not long ago, as appeared 

 by the remains of a wreck we found on the N. E. side. 

 By what we could judge, she seemed to have been a 

 vessel of about one hundred and fifty tons burthen. 



While we lay in the road, a sloop of about seventy 

 tons burthen came to an anchor by us. She belonged 

 to New York, which place she left in February ; and 

 having been to the coast of Guinea with a cargo of 

 goods, was come here to take in turtle to carry to 

 Barbadoes. This was the story which the master, 

 whose name was Greves, was pleased to tell, and 

 which may, in part, be true. But I believe the chief 

 view of his coming here, was the expectation of 

 meeting with some of the India ships. He had been 

 in the island near a week, and had got on board 

 twenty turtle. A sloop, belonging to Bermuda, had 

 sailed but a few days before with one hundred and 

 five on board, which was as many as she could take 

 in 5 but having turned several more on the different 

 sandy beaches, they had ripped open their bellies, 

 taken out the eggs, and left the carcasses to putrify ; 

 an act as inhuman as injurious to those who came 

 after them. Part of the account I have given of the 

 interior parts of this island I received from Captain 

 Greves, who seemed to be a sensible intelligent man, 

 and had been all over it. He sailed in the morning 

 of the same day we did. 



Turtle, I am told, are to be found at this isle from 

 January to June. The method of catching them is 

 to have people upon the several sandy bays, to watch 



