accomplished, with a light fair wind, by all at once without accident
or delay. Had the wind been ahead, the ring bolts would have aided in
warping to a weatherly position.

During the evening the mail steamer caught us, and after putting a
little freight ashore, left us behind again. Here were some strange
epitaphs painted on the wooden slabs, also people ready to exchange or
sell at a far higher rate than we had hitherto paid, anything they
possessed for the cash which was all we had left to bargain with, the
available old clothes having been already disposed of.

It was hard to disabuse the minds of the people at Square Island
Harbor of the idea that we had come to seek gold or other valuable
mines, the reason being that several years before a party from the
States had spent considerable time prospecting in that vicinity and
partly opened one or two worthless mica quarries.

[A Bold Skipper] It was a glorious sight to see the fleet get under
way the next morning. Many a close shave and more bumps but no serious
collisions were caused by the twenty or more vessels crowding out
together through the narrow opening, each eager to get the first puff
from the fair breeze outside the lee of the cliffs. The whole fleet
was bound up the coast, but before many of the schooners had drifted
far enough out to catch the breeze it had failed, and only after an
hour or more of annoying experience with puffs from every quarter, did
the strong sea breeze set in. Sheets were trimmed flat aft, and all
settled down to beating up the coast. The Julia soon left the mass of
the fleet and before reaching Battle Harbor, where a long desired mail
was awaiting, had nearly overtaken the lucky ones who had drifted far
enough off shore to make a leading wind of the afternoon breeze.