PORTER’S JOURNAL, 
219 
cured large quantities of them, but not having any, many were 
thrown overboard. 
Wenam’s island, like the Gallapagos, is evidently of volcan¬ 
ic origin. It is thinly scattered on its summit with withered 
shrubbery ; its sides are every where inaccessible ; it affords no 
anchorage; is 7 or 8 miles in circuit, and has two small islets, 
one off the S.E. the other off the N.W. parts, but neither more 
than 100 yards from the island; but there is no danger, except 
from the rapidity of the currents, in approaching it on any side, 
and there is every where water enough for the largest ship to 
lie within a few yards of the shore. We saw here but few tur¬ 
tle, and only one seal. The only birds’we saw, were the man-of- 
war hawk, garnets, gulls, and the black petrell, all of which were 
very abundant. On the north-west side I discovered the mouth 
of a cave, very small at the entrance, into which I went with my 
boat, and proceeded, as near as I can judge, about 100 yards ; 
and, judging from the beating of the sea against the sides, and 
the echo from the top, I supposed it to be there 40 yards wide, 
and 20 yards high. We were, however, in perfect obscurity, and 
the apprehension of not finding my way out again prevented my 
proceeding further. The water was every where of sufficient 
depth to float a ship of the line, and in this cavern, and at its 
mouth, we caught the most of our fish. Bait was scarcely ne¬ 
cessary, as they werC so ravenous as to bite at the bare hook, the 
line, and at the boat-hook, with which many were caught. They 
were of that kind called the rock cod, and were greatly relished 
6y our crew. 
I now stood away on a wind to the southward and westward, 
with a hope of getting beyond the influence of the current, and 
thus be enabled to reach the islands again. 
On the 24th, I determined, for several reasons, to send the 
Georgiana to the United States. In the first place, I considered 
that, on her arrival on our coast, the season would favour her get¬ 
ting in, as I calculated it would require five months for her to 
reach it, which would be the dead of winter, and consequently at 
a time when ships of war cannot cruize on the northern parts, on 
account of the prevalence of tempestuous weather. Secondly, 
