A DIARY OF THE 



mounted in a similar manner, with the addition 

 of a sort of wrapper round the upper part of 

 the legs. Their cunning is very great. They 

 are very dirty; and they appear, in point of civil- 

 isation, a most degraded race of savages. Their 

 principal food is potatoes, sometimes a little 

 meat, frequently the flesh of mares ; and they 

 eat many of the numerous kinds of nuts and 

 berries which abound on the hills in the interior 

 of their country. Salt is an article much in re- 

 quest amongst them. It was not uncommon to 

 see a group of them squatted round a grass net 

 of boiled potatoes, with a lump of rock-salt, which 

 they constantly passed from mouth to mouth, 

 round their circle, each taking a hearty suck. The 

 surf continued heavy, and, at intervals, affected 

 the wreck a good deal. The evening closed in 

 with foggy damp weather : the arms were ex- 

 amined, and the watches on board, as well as in 

 the camp, mustered preparatory for the night. 



Sunday, May 24. — The necessary operation of 

 heaving in on our stern-fasts was early attended 

 to. The hull had, during the night, been labour- 

 ing heavily, and was a good deal displaced from 

 her position of yesterday : the wind was north- 

 erly, and the rollers broke so heavily, that the 



