Our travellers having slept, without once awaking, till the morning, examined the river, and finding the tide favoured their return, and the country promised nothing worthy of a farther search, they reimbarked in their boat, and made the best of their way to the ship.
Soon after the arrival of this party, the master also returned, having been seven leagues out to sea, and he was now of opinion that there was no getting out where before he thought there had been a passage; his expedition, however, was by no means without its advantage, for having been a second time upon the rock where he had seen the large cockles, he met with a great number of turtle, three of which he caught, that together weighed seven hundred and ninety-one pounds, though he had no better instrument than a boat-hook.
The next morning, therefore, I sent him out again, with proper instruments for taking them, and Mr. Banks went with him, but the success did not at all answer our expectations, for, by the unaccountable conduct of the officer, not a single turtle was taken, nor could he be persuaded to return: Mr. Banks, however, went ashore upon the reef, where he saw several of the large cockles, and having collected many shells, and marine productions, he returned at eleven o’clock at night, in his own small boat, the master still continuing with the large one upon the rock. In the afternoon, seven or eight of the natives had appeared on the south side of the river, and two of them came down to the sandy point, opposite to the ship; but upon seeing me put off in a boat to speak with them, they all ran away with the greatest precipitation.