1871.] 289 [Grayson. 



chart as Cornwallis Bay. In this cove, I had been two years previ- 

 ously. 



"Although it is a very unsafe anchorage, yet it is the only place 

 we could find fit to come to anchor, in which we might lay with any 

 show of safety. The shores of this cove are rough and rocky, upon 

 which the sea breaks in the calmest weather. There is no beach to 

 land upon, instead of which, at its head, are heaped up round water- 

 worn stones, and its sides are bold and precipitous. We did not see 

 when sailing nearly all around this Island, any beaches or a better 

 place to land than this little cove, which opens broadly to the 

 southwest. 



"On the 19th of May, seventeen days from Mazatlan, we ran into 

 this little bay with a fair breeze, and delighted with the green trees 

 at the head of the cove and the song of birds among them. But the 

 captain appeared to feel a great deal of uneasiness at the general 

 appearance of things. He let go the anchors as he thought a little 

 too near the shore, and the breakers so near and all around, filled 

 him with fear; and just when we felt that all was safe and our 

 voyage at an end for the present, he ordered the anchor to be 

 hauled up and at the same time the main sail hoisted, with the in- 

 tention of beating out against a head wind ; his excuse was that the 

 anchor would not hold. But this movement proved fatal to our 

 craft. Before headway could be made, she was driven in by the 

 wind and swells among the breakers near the shore; both anchors 

 were again ' let go,' but it was too late, her doom was sealed. We 

 made every effort to haul her out by kedging with the small anchor, 

 this being taken ahead with great difficulty in the little skiff and 

 dropped — we would then pull upon the chain; but futile was the 

 effort. Her centre-board had already struck and broken off and her 

 keel was thumping on the rocks as she surged heavily at her chains, 

 which threatened every moment to part. 



"We now turned our attention to saving the water and provisions ; 

 the former giving me the most anxiety. As for the latter I had no 

 fears, as fish of excellent quality swarm around the shores and are 

 easily taken with hook and line. We still had hopes of saving the 

 sloop when the sea became a little smoother, as she was not yet 

 much damaged. We however, made preparations for landing every- 

 thing we could. A rope was fastened to a point of rocks about 

 twenty-five yards distant, to facilitate our landing, and the skiff was 

 pulled back and forth just when the sea would give us an opportu- 



PROCEItDINGS B. S. N. H. —VOL. XXV. 19 APRIL, 1872, 



