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Updated: April 30, 2025
After getting through the passage, we found the north coast trended E. by N., for about nine miles; and then east and east-southerly to Cape Buller, which is eleven miles more. We ranged the coast, at one league distance, till near ten o'clock, when we brought-to for the night, and on sounding found fifty fathoms, a muddy bottom.
Soon afterwards the steamer 'Corsair' arrived from Melbourne, bringing many passengers, one of whom was John Reeve, who took up a station at Snake Ridge, and purchased the block of land known as Reeve's Survey. The new settlers also brought a number of horses, and Norman McLeod had twenty bullocks on board. The steamer could not reach the port, and brought-to abreast of the Midge Channel.
The ship, brought-to and bowing to enormous flashing seas, glistened wet from deck to trucks; her one set sail stood out a coal-black shape upon the gloomy blueness of the air. I was a youngster then, and suffering from weariness, cold, and imperfect oilskins which let water in at every seam.
At six in the evening we shortened sail, and at ten brought-to, at the distance of about five leagues from the shore, where we had 115 fathom.
At this time, the isle of Ambrym extended from N. 3° E. to N. 65° E. The isle of Paoon from N. 76° E. to S. 88° E.; and the isle of Apee from S. 83° E. to S. 43° E. We stood for this last isle, which we reached by midnight, and then brought-to till day-break on the 24th, when we made sail to the S.E., with a view of plying up to the eastward on the south side of Apee.
A quarter of an hour later, followed by Jack Millet and my crew of twelve, I clambered in over the bulwarks of the motherly old craft that we had brought-to, and formally took possession of the Haarlem, Dutch East Indiaman, of 965 tons, homeward-bound from Batavia, full to the hatches with a rich cargo of Eastern produce, and a cuddy-full of passengers who seemed to take their capture very philosophically, especially when I explained to them that they might rely upon being left in undisturbed possession of all their strictly personal effects.
Two hours after, we made the land, extending from N.E. by N. to E. by S. about six leagues distant. On this discovery, we wore and brought-to, with the ship's head to the south; and having sounded, found seventy-five fathoms water, the bottom stone and shells. The land now before us could be no other than the west coast of Terra del Fuego, and near the west entrance to the Straits of Magalhaens.
Till five in the afternoon it was calm, but afterwards we steered before the wind N.W. as the land lay till ten at night, and then brought-to, having had all along fourteen and fifteen fathom.
It was of course utterly impossible for us to help them in any way in the wind and sea that then raged; nor could we follow them in their helpless progress to leeward, and stand by them, the damage to our foremast being so serious as to utterly preclude the possibility of getting any headsail upon the schooner until it had been at least temporarily repaired, while the little hooker, having again been brought-to on the starboard tack, absolutely refused to pay off under her staysail only, which was perhaps just as well, so far as we were concerned, since any attempt on our part to run to leeward would almost certainly have resulted in the swamping of the schooner.
On the 13th the fleet began to move very slowly towards Jamaica, the local protection of which had become imperative through the failure to annihilate the enemy, who must now go to leeward to Hayti; but after four hours Rodney brought-to again, and on the 16th, according to Hood, was in "the exact same spot off Guadaloupe.
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