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tances. One of our boats had gone towards land upon a fishing 
excursion, and came back loaded with a rich collection of various 
kinds of fish: flounders, bluefish, and herrings in abundance; 
clams, crabs beautifully coloured with blue and red; large sea- 
shells of extraordinary form, several bass and a small fish, with a 
brown back, resembling a toad, with a thick white belly, which 
it fills with air to such a degree, that the whole fish has the ap¬ 
pearance of a ball, three-fourths of it are white, and one-fourth 
forming the back, brown. When this fish is caught and dies, 
the air gradually escapes from it, and it ultimately assumes the 
form of an empty bladder. 
At last, on the 24th, the weather became somewhat clear and 
the wind came round favourably for us. At noon the anchor was 
weighed and we spread our sails. A number of vessels, desirous 
to avail themselves of the fair wind, were coming down from 
New York and the quarantine ground. The line packet, John 
Wells, next in rotation to the Pacific, made likewise it's appear¬ 
ance from port, which was no doubt the principal cause of our 
hastily hoisting sail. I counted more than fifty vessels of all 
sizes, putting to sea. The wind in the beginning was so slight, 
that we could only move along with the ebb tide. We doubled 
the low cape of Sandy Hook; in the back ground we saw the 
light-house, surrounded by underwood, and in front of it, like 
two outposts, the two low stony beacons. Not far from the light¬ 
house, stands a half ruined block-house, in which during the 
last war a military post was stationed; it now answers as a land¬ 
mark for mariners. In the rear of the high light-house, at a dis¬ 
tance of several miles, towers the highland of Navesink, pre¬ 
senting a charming prospect. To the south one discovers the 
long and low coast of New Jersey, and perceives the sea-baths of 
Long Branch, which during the heat of summer are numerously 
visited by the fashionables of New York and Philadelphia. The 
heights of Staten Island with Fort Richmond are seen, to the 
right of them are the Narrows, and farther to the right the south¬ 
ernmost high coast of Long Island, gradually fading from the 
view. In the centre of the Narrows, Fort La Fayette stretches out, 
like a solitary point. As we put farther out to sea, we saw se¬ 
veral buoys, which designated the shallows, through the midst of 
which the skilful pilot brought us safely. Two small vessels 
were employed in fishing up lost anchors. The pilot remarked, 
that the anchors of the French fleet under Admiral De Grasse, 
had remained here ever since the time of the American revolu¬ 
tionary war. This fleet owing to the unskilfullness of two 
pilots, was compelled to part with its anchors. When an enemy’s 
fleet blockades New York, the shipping make to Sandy Hook 
bay, properly called Raritan bay, for shelter against storms, and 
