TAKING IN WATER. 77 



hard up, and we went bowling away before a ten 

 knot breeze toward Vasse — a settlement situated in 

 Geographe Bay, a short distance to the northward of 

 Cape Leuwin. Soon we oould see the breakers dash- 

 ing and surging over the inhospitable coast, and at 

 7 o'clock P. M. let go our port anchor in three and 

 a half fathoms of water, about three miles distant 

 from the shore. We found several other whalers at 

 anchor, and two more came in the same evening. From 

 the ship the country looked low, sandy, and bushy. 

 The next day we went ashore for the purpose of 

 procuring fresh water, and found that we had an 

 onerous task; as the casks were towed ashore and 

 rolled about a quarter of a mile to the wells, over a 

 sandy, uneven road, into which the pedestrian sank 

 knee deep at every step. On arriving at the wells, 

 the water had to be dipped up by bucketsful from 

 a depth of twelve feet; nor was the water very 

 good, it being produced from the sea by filtration 

 through the sand, which deprived it of its saline 

 matter. On filling our casks, finding it impossible 

 to roll them through the sand, we took our raft 

 rope and laid it in a continuous line, rolled a cask 

 upon it, brought the end of the rope over it, and 

 thus, all hands taking hold, we succeeded in par- 

 buckling them, one by one, to the beach. I had 

 often heard it sung that Jordan was a hard road to 

 travel, and whilst engaged in this occupation, beneath 

 a burning sun and over the scorching sand, I thought 

 that it would not have been inappropriate to substi- 

 tute Geographe for Jordan ; as a harder road to travel 

 I defy any one to point out. Thus we toiled, day 

 after day, until we had four hundred barrels of water 



