POiaTER'S JOURNAL. 



137 



struction, with remarkably thin plank, and a gripe from one 

 of those would have torn them from her timbers. But we 

 guarded as much as lay in our power against the danger, by 

 thrusting boarding-pikes into them as they came up. 



As we proceeded along shore, and when we had arrived 

 at a black gravelly beach, within about five miles of Point 

 Christopher, we saw the shore covered with the wreck of 

 some vessel, which, from the number of pieces, apparently 

 staves, among them, I am induced to believe was that of a 

 whaler. But as the surf beat so high that we could not 

 land without risking the safety of the boat, we were unable 

 to determine whether her construction was American or 

 British, From the appearance of the wreck, 1 should sup- 

 pose she had not been lost more than two or three years ; 

 we could not, however, form any correct opinion on the 

 subject, as the whole wreck consisted of a multitude of frag- 

 ments, no part of the body of the vessel standing. She ap- 

 pears to have gone entirely to pieces, and some of her cop- 

 per, &LC, has been thrown a great distance among the rocks 

 by the violence of the sea. 



The water is very bold all along this coast, and the 

 largest ship may sail within a stone's throw of it, without 

 the least risk of touching the bottom. But yet it is not 

 safe to approach too near the shore, as calms are very fre- 

 quent here, the currents violent and irregular, with a heavy 

 swell constantly heaving on shore ; and it would be almost 

 impossible to bring a vessel up by her anchors, before she 

 would strike against the sides of the rocks which skirt the 

 shore, on account of the extreme depth of the water. 



Where we landed, the shore was moderately low, the 

 soil apparently rich and moist, and the vegetation luxuriant, 

 many of the trees being thirty feet in height, the under- 

 wood very thick, and pushing forth vigorously, and the 

 grass as high as a man's middle. The rain appeared to be 

 falling in torrents on the high lands, but we could see no- 

 thing that indicated the neighbourhood of a stream of wa- 

 ter. From the landing to Point Christopher, the shores 

 are bounded by precipices of several hundred feet in height, 

 which are as regularly formed of strata of stones and earthy 

 as if they had been laid by the most expert mason. The 

 strata of stones and earth are each about two feet in thick- 

 ness, and, from the base to the summit of the precipice, are 



VOL I« 18 



