porter's journal^ 



51 



^^ance consists of two floating anchors, six feet square, which 

 are worked on both sides of the ship, by hauhng hnes from 

 'the spritsail-yard, and a spar rigged across the stern. The 

 line from the spritsail-yard is made fast to the upper corner 

 of the anchor^ and when hauled on, it brings the anchor for- 

 ward skimming along on the surface of the water. When 

 it is let go, the anchor falls, by means of the weight attached 

 to it, in a vertical position. As it is slung something in the 

 manner of a log-chip, and the rope to the stern made fast to 

 the spar, it is dragged aft, propelling the ship in proportion 

 to the force applied to the drag-rope. A ship's crew, consist- 

 ing of three hundred men, will drag her forward in a calm^ 

 with this contrivance, at the rate of two miles per hour. 



On passing the fort, we fired a salute of thirteen guns., 

 which was returned by an equal number. 



When the ship was anchored, I went on shore to fix on 

 the watering-place. The first I saw did not please me, al- 

 though I was informed that it was the place preferred by all 

 ships for filling their water. It was on the continent, about 

 fifty yards to the southward of a beach about one hundred 

 yards in length, near which were a few huts. The water 

 was excellent ; the stream was very clear, and ran from the 

 mountain ; but it was impossible to get the casks on shore to 

 fill them, in consequence of the rocks piled up before it. It 

 would have been necessary to fill them in the boat, and as 

 we had nearly all our water to fill, it would in that man- 

 ner have taken a month to water our ship. The guide then 

 took me to a small sandy beach, farther to the north, and 

 directly opposite the fort, where we found a watering- 

 place, the most convenient of any I ever met with. A 

 small and limpid stream ran from the mountain. The sea 

 had thrown a bank of sand up before its mouth, and formed 

 a small lake of about twenty yards in circumference, and 

 five or six feet deep. It was not necessary to roll the 

 casks five yards. We had a beautiful beach to land on, 

 and for rafting our casks. There are no houses in the 

 neighbourhood. The woods are impenetrable. There is 

 no possibility of the people straggling from their work, nor 

 any inducement for doing so ; and what is a great consider- 

 ation, they cannot get rum. There is one thing, however, 

 that it is necessary to guard against, in order to get good 

 water here« When the tide is high, the sea-water forces 



