244 
PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
have called Bainbridge’s Rocks. At night the weather became 
thick and hazy ; and at 10 o’clock, supposing myself nearly up 
with Chatham island, I hove to, with the ship’s head to the S.W.; 
and in the morning the Kicker Rock, which lies off the mouth 
of Stephen’s bay, bearing E.N.E., distant about 10 miles, I 
made sail for it, and at 9 A.M. anchored in Stephen’s bay, in 12 
fathoms water, sandy bottom, the Kicker Rock bearing W. | N., 
Dalrymple Rock S.W. by S., the west point of the bay S.W. | S., 
and the north point N.N.E. In running in, we passed to the 
north of the Kicker Rock, at the distance of two cables’ length, 
and obtained no bottom with thirty fathoms of line. 
This rock is very remarkable in its appearance, and is the 
surest mark for finding the bay. It is very high, flat on the top, 
and from some points bears strongly the appearance of a castle. 
On the western side the rock is split from the summit to the 
base, and the part detached stand's like an obelisk on a very nar¬ 
row base, and from its slender appearance seems, as if ready to 
tumble down at every breeze. The bay is capacious, and well 
sheltered from the prevailing winds ; there is good landing on- 
several small white sandy beaches ; and to the N.W. of our an¬ 
chorage is a small cove, which would afford good shelter for ves¬ 
sels not drawing more than 10 feet water. We found here sea 
turtle in the greatest abundance, and of a most excellent quality, 
of which we took on board as many as we could stow away, some 
of them weighing upwards of 300 weight. They were found 
always at low water, lying on the small sandy beaches below the 
rocks. We killed also a number of seals, the skins of which 
were very serviceable to us as mockasons, made after the manner 
of those of the North American Indians, and were a very good 
substitute for shoes, of which we began to stand in need. Our 
seamen converted them into caps, hats, and various other arti¬ 
cles of use to them. We obtained here a large quantity of prick¬ 
ly pears, of a size far exceeding any I had hitherto met with ; 
they were found on low trees, growing among the hard beds of 
lava which skirt the bay, and were gathered in quantities more 
than sufficient for the supply of the whole ship’s company, some 
of them of the size of an orange, and nearly equal to that fruit 
