From this place we sailed to a little cove about three or four miles distant; to which we gave the name of ENGLISH COVE: here we anchored, and immediately began to get wood and water, which we found in great plenty, besides ballast; I also sent the boat out every day to different places with the seine, but though there was plenty of fish, we were able to catch very little; a misfortune which was probably owing in part to the clearness of the water, in part to the rockiness of the beach, and perhaps in some degree also to our want of skill: we plied this labour day and night, notwithstanding the want of success, and at the same time had recourse to the hook and line, but to our great mortification not a single fish would take the bait. We saw a few turtle, but they were so shy that we could not catch one of them; here therefore we were condemned to the curse of Tantalus, perpetually in the fight of what our appetites most importunately craved, and perpetually disappointed in our attempts to reach it. We got, however, from the rocks at low water, a few rock oysters, and cockles of a very, large size; and from the shore some cocoa-nuts, and the upper part of the tree that bears them, which is called the cabbage: this cabbage is a white, crisp, juicy substance, which, eaten raw, tastes somewhat like a chesnut, but when boiled is superior to the best parsnip; we cut it small into the broth that we made of our portable soup, which was afterwards thickened with oatmeal, and made a most comfortable mess: for each of these cabbages however we were forced to cut down a tree, and it was with great regret that we destroyed, in the parent stock so much fruit, which perhaps is the most powerful antiscorbutic in the world; but necessity has no law. This supply of fresh vegetables, and especially the milk, or rather the water of the nut, recovered our sick very fast. They also received great benefit and pleasure from the fruit of a tall tree, that resembles a plum, and particularly that which in the West Indies is called the Jamaica plum; our men gave it the same name; it has a pleasant tartish taste, but is a little woody probably only for want of culture: these plums were not plenty, so that having the two qualities of a dainty, scarcity and excellence, it is no wonder that they were held in the highest estimation.

Voyaging Accounts