PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
15a 
the bay, under a press of canvas, with a fresh breeze from the 
westward, while we had it from the eastward. I had not yet 
made up my mind whether to remain in the bay a few days to 
await the arrival of vessels there, or to look around among the 
other islands for them. One great object with me now was to 
find a convenient place for watering my ship ; none such was to 
be found at Albemarle, and I had but little hopes of being able 
to find any at the other islands ; but as I had understood that 
some fresh water was to be had at times at James’ Island, which 
lies at a short distance from Albemarle, I believed it would be 
advisable to proceed to that place, which is said to be much fre¬ 
quented by English whalers and smugglers, who resort there for 
wood and land tortoises; and considering the time I had been 
from the United States, during which period many of my crew 
had not been on shore, I considered it necessary, on account of 
their health, to take them where they could have an opportunity 
of getting on shore among the trees, the odour arising from which 
is said to be the most powerful antiscorbutic known. I deter¬ 
mined, however, before I adopted any plan for future operations, 
to obtain from captain Randall his opinion respecting the cause 
of this unexpected absence of British ships from Banks’ Bay, for 
I could not imagine any reason for it but one, which was, that 
they had, on the first news of war, captured all the American ves¬ 
sels they had found in the bay, and gone off with them ; and yet 
it appeared to me extraordinary that none others should have ar¬ 
rived since, particularly as some had sailed at a late period from 
Lima for that station. But while the Barclay was running into 
the bay, I stood over for the north-head of Albemarle ; and as I 
had no doubt, from what I had already seen, that every part of 
the bay abounded with fish, I sent three boats to endeavour to 
catch some, and shortly afterwards followed them myself. We 
proceeded to the foot of a remarkably black precipice, of a 
great height, evidently the half of a crater, which has been rent 
asunder by some violent convulsion of nature, or has been un¬ 
dermined by the slow but constant operation of the currents, 
and has gradually crumbled into the ocean; this, with a point or 
peninsula that projects to the southward, forms a bay, which may 
