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422 Epiteme of Captain Wallis’s Voyage round the World.
On the 4th of February, Captain Wallis, after causing Jerome’s Bay to be founded, went himself and examined Batchelor’s river, where passing the bar, he beheld on the West side a cataract of a most astonishing appearance, precipitated from mountains of a stupendous height, rolling over rocks for a considerable descent, and then tumbling all at once with a perpendicular fall many hundred yards.
     Contrary winds detained the ships in York road till the 17th, when the Dolphin, attempting to sail, was precipitated by the currents so near the cliffs, that the crew had abandoned themselves to despair, their utmost efforts by towing and working the ship proving ineffectual, till opening St. David’s found, another current came rushing in upon them, and drove them to the middle of the channel the very moment they expected to be dashed in a thousand pieces.  The Swallow, being on the opposite shore, knew nothing of the Dolphin’s danger till it was past:  and fearcely was one disaster escaped, when another equally terrifying succeeded; for on the 20th a hurricane came on, which flew with such violence, that, though apprized of its approach, and every precaution had been taken to steady the ship, the sea broke from the sorecastle in upon the quarterdeck, and spread a general consternation throughout the crew.
	Next day, when the storm abated, the Captain sent out his boat to know how it fared with the Swallow: when the boat returned, the officer on board reported, that the Swallow being in the lee had fearce felt the storm; but that she had well high been cast away by the currents, and that she steered so badly, that she could be of very little rife in the prosecution of the voyage; and, therefore, Capt. Carteret was desirous of knowing what was best to be done for the service in so critical a situation.  He was told, that, as the Lords of the Admiralty had ordered the Swallow to continue the expedition, Capt. Wallis had no authority to dispense with her attendance; and that, as long as she could swim, she must accompany the Dolphin, who would give her every possible assistance.  
	With this message the Swallow was forced to comply; and, though the prospect from the mountains of desolation that appear above the clouds in this horrible region, was the most [[?]] that ever was beheld, and the perils that every-where surrounded her such as no man on board ever thought to escape, yet Capt. Carteret determined to obey the orders of his superiors, or perish in the attempt.
	At this time the Dolphin was at anchor in Butler’s -Bay, and the Swallow in Island-Bay, and the Swallow in Island-Bay, at two leagues distance on the opposite side.  Here they remained eight days, and employed the men in catching fish, and repairing the rigging, and in recovering by exercise the use of their limbs, which had been nummed by the intense cold, and by too long confinement under hatches during the perpetual tempests that had rendered standing on the decks utterly impracticable.
	On the 1st of March the Swallow ventured to sail, and the same day the Dolphin followed.  Next day they were both in danger of shipwreck; but on the 3d and 4th their deliverance was miraculous; for the blasts that succeeded each other almost incessantly brought such sheets of water from the ocean, that one ship thought it impossible for the other to ride out the storm; and it was four days before a boat could pass to learn each others fated.  The sufferings of the sailors during this dreadful interval were almost incredible; the crews of both ships were three days and as many nights upon deck, the weather intensely cold, and their cloaths never dry; yet not a man fell sick, being afterwards comfortably supplied with warm jackets, which the Commodore caused to be made of woolen cloth, and of which every man on board both ships, the officers themselves not expected, had one. 
	Happy it was that the Swallow, soon after the storm subsided, discovered one of the finest harbours in the Streights, which on account of the fortunate discovery was called Swallow Harbour.  
	In this harbour both ships refitted the refreshed; and on the 16th they weighed to pursue their voyage; but on the 18th were forced to moor their ships in a bay near Cape Upright.  Here they received a visit from some natives, who seemed, if possible, a more miserable race of wretches than any they had yet seen; they were of a low stature, stunk abominably, lived upon rotten seals flesh, and devoured whatever provisions they caught raw. A fish, given to one of them by a sailor, the savage snapt by the gills and devoured it, as a shark does a dolphin,

Mistake concerning Alexander Selkirk rectified. 423

Dolphins, bones, entrails and all. Their arms were pointed with bone, and their canoes the worst constructed of any seen during the whole voyage. Their cloathing was a seal-skin thrown lightly over them, and, when embarked they rowed naked. They had all fore eyes; one of them had a kind of an iron chisel, which was probably the gift of some European adventurer; the others were armed with bows and javelins.  About 30 sailors, having chosen to sleep on shore, were surprised in the night by a company  of these savages, who came to pilfer their boats; but, being opposed, they fled precipitately,  and took shelter in their canoes, where they armed, and stood on the defensive; but no violence being offered, and some few baubles presented to them, a perfect reconciliation was soon established, and they continued friends while the ships remained.  It should seems, that, in the neighbourhood of Cape Upright, the savages are more numerous than in any other part of the Streights, as, during the stormy weather, while the ships lay windbound, they were every day visited by troops of them, to whom the Captains gave toys, and to some hatchets and knives, in exchange for birds called Race-horses.  Here a remarkable incident happened, which marked the character of these Indians; for, while some of the men were on board, the ship’s boat had occasion to row to shore, and there being some women gathering muscles on the beach, the Indians took the alarm, jumped suddenly into their canoes, and with loud vociferation pursued the boat, and neared it at a great rate.  To calm their apprehensions, and to learn the cause of their destress, the boat’s crew lay upon their oars, to let them come up; but, without stopping to parley, they continued their rout, alarmed their women, who hastily fled, and were followed by the men, after landing and hauling their canoes safe upon the beach.  Perhaps this incident does not mark their jealousy so much as their timidity; they might fear being deprived of their women, though under no concern about their chastity; as they might dread the loss of their children, without being at all apprehensive of their future prostitution.
	In this tedious business of anchoring and weighing, they continued employed till Friday the 10th of April, when with an easy breeze both ships set sail for the Streights mouth; but the Swallow, as has been said, being a bad sailor, lost fight of the Dolphin in the night of the 12th, and never saw her afterwards till her return to England.  The Dolphin cleared the Steights on the morning of the 12th, and entered the Pacific Ocean after a passage of near four months.
(To be continued.)

Mr. Urban,
Give me leave to rectify a mistake in your last Magazine relating to Alexander Selkirk, as it was not Mafafuero, but the island Juan Fernandes that he left at, and was taken from thence by Capt. Wood Rogers.  “While Selkirk was on the island, he kept an account of 500 goats which he had killed during his refidence there, and of his having caught above as many more, which he marked on the ear and let them go.”  In Commodor Anson’s Voyage it is mentioned, that “the Centurion’s men found several goats of a most venerable aspect, which from having their ears slit, they naturally supposed had belonged to Mr. Selkirk, who had been left upon the island about 32 years before their arrival.’ 
I am, Sir, yours, &c.
J.S.
Mr. Urban, 
It is not small mortification to me to find myself under a necessity of breaking through my resolution of troubling you or your readers, no farther, on the subject of my late answer to Mr. Barker; but as your correspondent J.N. in July Magazine, has arraigned my veracity, this touches me in such a tender point, that I cannot help again begging a place for a few lines, to shew him the mistakes of his observations.
	He charges me with asserting that Dr. Clarke retracted, [[?]]. but my words are, he is said, [[?]] to have retracted, [[?]].  therefore, to have proved me guilty of asserting a falsehood in this point, he should have proved, that no such thing as I mention was ever said of Dr. Clarke.  The attestations of this report of Dr. Clarke’s retracting [[?]] would take up too much room in a Magazine; but they consist of a letter in the London Evening Post of the 23d of May, 1771, to which, I suppose. Mr. Clarke’s letter mentioned by J.N. was an answer; and of a passage in the  
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