256 HISTORY OF 



The 25th, was properly observed as Christ- 

 mas-day, in the evening the Nautilus ar- 

 rived from the Southward. She had been at 

 Preservation Island, >vhere, and in the neigh- 

 bouring islands, she had been successful in 

 seal-catching. The master left 14 of his peo- 

 ple on the island of Cape Barren, to provide 

 as many skins and as much oil as they could 

 against his return. Those he brought with 

 him were in a few days sold at Sydney. 



The Indispensable and Britannia whalers, which 

 had been fishing on the coast, returned on the 29th 

 to repair and refresh their crews. They had 

 cruized from the latitude of 32° 00', to 55° 00' and 

 not farther from the coast than from. 20 to 30 

 leagues, and thought themselves successful, one 

 having got 54, and the other 60 tons of sperma- 

 ceti oil. 



The Eliza put into Botany Bay, to wood and 

 water ; but though much longer at sea had not 

 mK with equal success, obtaining only 45 tons 

 of oil. The master said he saw off the N. E. 

 part of New Calidonia, a ship on shore on a 

 reef, the lower masts of which were above 

 water ; but the weather being thick and hazy, 

 and blowing too fresh to allow him to examine 

 her ; but as a piece of a boat, seemingly part of 

 a whale-boat, floated near him, he jmdged it to 

 be the wreck of a whaler ; and he also fell in 

 with a seriously dangerous and extensive shoal, 

 lying N. N. W. 40 leagues from Sandy Cape, on 

 the coast of New South Wales. It was so ex- 

 tensive, that finding himself on it, and not 



