Page:Early voyages to Terra Australis.djvu/302

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146 DAMPIEU'S VOYAGES.

great many of them; but lost all except a very fcAV, aud those not of the best.

There are also some green turtle, weighing about two hundred pounds. Of these we caught two, which the water ebbing had left behind a ledge of rock, which they could not creep over. These served all my company two days, and they were indifferent sweet meat. Of the sharks we caught a great many, which our men eat very savourily. Among them we caught one which was eleven foot long. The space between its two eyes was twenty inches, and eighteen inches from one corner of his mouth to the other. Its maw was like a leather sack, very thick, and so tough that a sharp knife could scarce cut it ; in which we found the head and bones of a hippopotamus, the hairy lips of which were still sound and not putrified; and the jaw was also firm, out of which we pluckt a great many teeth, two of them eight inches long, and as big as a man's thumb, small at one end, and a little crooked ; the rest not above half so long. The maw was full of jelly, which stank extremely : however, I saved for a while the teeth and the shark's jaw. The flesh of it was divided among my men, and they took care that no waste should be made of it.

'Twas the 7th of August when we came into Shark's Bay, in which we anchor'd at three several places, and stay'd at the first of them (on the west side of the bay), till the 11th. During which time we searched about, as I said, for fresh water, digging wells, but to no purpose. However, we cut good store of fire wood at this first anchoring place, and my company were all here very well refreshed with raccoons, turtle, shark, and other fish, and some fowls ; so that we were now all much brisker than when we came in hither. Yet still I was for standing farther into the bay, partly be- cause I had a mind to increase my stock of fresh water, which was began to be low, and partly for the sake of dis- covering this part of the coast. I was invited to go further,by