RETURN TO ERROOB. 243 



and paddled away. It was a canoe half sunk in 

 the water, with the natives crouched down and 

 propelling it by their hands over the side. 



We had now used every effort we could think of 

 to discover our missing boats, without success. 

 Neither the ship nor the Prince George could ap- 

 proach the shore nearer than eight miles ; our 

 boats were reduced to the cutter and one gig, so 

 that we could not send a sufficient force to thoroughly 

 explore all the fresh-water arms and channels, 

 swarming as they were with hostile inhabitants. 

 Our provisions also were running short, so that we 

 should be compelled very soon to leave the coast. 

 We feared our boats had either been swamped in the 

 heavy seas that roll over the mud-flats lying off the 

 coast, or, running for shelter into one of the fresh- 

 water inlets, had been surprised and cut off by the 

 natives. The latter seemed the most probable 

 supposition ; so, as a last chance, Captain Blackwood 

 determined to go to Erroob, and endeavour to per- 

 suade one or two of its inhabitants to return with 

 us to New Guinea, in order that by their means we 

 might perhaps procure a peaceful interview with 

 some tribe of the New Guinea people, and thus at 

 least learn what had been the fate of our shipmates. 

 As soon, therefore, as we had got in our cutter, we 

 beat to windward with the Prince George in com- 

 pany this afternoon, and the next day sent her to 

 procure eggs and spinach at Bramble Key, while we 

 stood for Erroob, where we anchored in Treacherous 

 Bay on the morning of the 24 th. 



