Porter's Voyage 



Barrels I leave this port this Day With S50 Turpen 8 Boat 

 Load Wood Yesterday went Up to Patts Landing East Side, 

 to the Starboard hand of the Landing \\ miles Saw 100 Turpen 

 SO Rods A part Road Very Bad — .Yours Forevir 



JOHN MACY. 



Charles' Island aliords the same inducements for vessels io 

 touch at as Hood's Island, except that the harbour is not so 

 good. It is formed on the north-west part by a projecting pointy 

 off which lies a remarkably high, black, ragged rock, which, 

 from its appearance, I have been induced to call Rock Dismal. 

 Shipping^ lie in twelve fathoms, beyond the small reef which shel- 

 ters the landing ; the bottom is sandy, but vessels have had their 

 cables cut by scattering rocks. The landing here is very good; 

 and, at the time lieutenant Downes was on shore, a torrent 

 of very fine v/ater, many feet deep, discharged itself near the 

 beach ; but as it was raining constantly while he was on shore, 

 and the mountains were completely capt with the clouds, added 

 to which, as the banks of the deep ravine, worn away by the 

 stream, clearly showed that the torrent had subsided ten feet 

 within a very short period, it was evident to us, that this stream 

 owed its existence to temporary rains alone. This opinion was 

 not only confirmed by those on board the Essex who had been 

 there before, but by some person who had bountifully left on the 

 island, near the post-office, several articles for such persons as 

 might be there in distress, among which was a cask of water. 



This island is mountainous, (as are the whole group,) and is 

 covered with trees from fifteen to twenty feet in height, scat- 

 tered with considerable regularity, as to distance and appearance, 

 on the sides of the hills, which all have evident marks of volcanic 

 origin ; but what seems remarkable is, that every tree on the 

 island, at least all that could be approached by the boafs crew on 

 shore, and such as we could perceive by means of our perspec- 

 tives, was dead and mthered. This must have been occasioned 

 by the prevalence of an excessive drought, which entirely de- 

 prived them of the necessary moisture. As this island is not of 

 so great an elevation as many others, which has probably been 

 the cause of its suffering more than the larger and higher ones, 

 though they all seem more or less affected from the same cause ; 

 and as all the ttees on the islands I have yet seen, appear much 

 of the same size, not excepting those of the most flourishing 

 state, it seems not improbable, that the drought has not only 

 been recent, but that it has affected the whole at the same time. 

 As the whole group is destitute of trees of a large size, it seems 

 reasonable to believe, that their vegetation may be checked at 

 different periods by very dry seasons. To this cause may be 



