We had fair weather, with the wind at N.E., on the 9th, which gave us some hopes of seeing the Adventure; but these hopes vanished in the afternoon, when the wind shifted to the westward.[3]

The next morning, our friends the natives returned again, and brought with them a quantity of fish, which they exchanged for two hatchets.

Fair weather on the 12th, enabled us to finish picking, airing, and baking our biscuit; four thousand two hundred and ninety-two pounds of which we found totally unfit to eat; and about three thousand pounds more could only be eaten by people in our situation.[4]

On the 13th, clear and pleasant weather.  Early in the morning the natives brought us a quantity of fish, which they exchanged as usual.  But their greatest branch of trade was the green talc or stone, called by them Poenammoo, a thing of no great value; nevertheless it was so much sought after by our people, that there was hardly a thing they would not give for a piece of it.[5]

The 15th being a pleasant morning, a party of us went over to the East Bay, and climbed one of the hills which overlooked the eastern part of the Strait, in order to look for the Adventure.  We had a fatiguing walk to little purpose; for when we came to the summit, we found the eastern horizon so foggy, that we could not see above two miles.  Mr Forster, who was one of the party, profited by this excursion, in collecting some new plants.  I now began to despair of seeing the Adventure any more; but was totally at a loss to conceive what was become of her.  Till now, I thought she had put into some port in the Strait, when the wind came to N.W., the day we anchored in the Cove, and waited to complete her water.  This conjecture was reasonable enough at first, but it was now hardly probable she could be twelve days in our neighbourhood, without our either hearing or seeing something of her.

The hill we now mounted is the same that I was upon in 1770, when I had the second view of the Strait:  We then built a tower, with the stones we found there, which we now saw had been levelled to the ground; no doubt by the natives, with a view of finding something hid in it.  When we returned from the hill, we found a number of them collected round our boat.  After some exchanges, and making them some presents, we embarked, in order to return on board; and, in our way, visited others of the inhabitants, by whom we were kindly received.

Our friends, the natives, employed themselves on the 17th in fishing in our neighbourhood; and, as fast as they caught the fish, came and disposed of them to us; insomuch that we had more than we could make use of.  From this day to the 22d nothing remarkable happened, and we were occupied in getting every thing in readiness to put to sea, being resolved to wait no longer than the assigned time for the Adventure.