The Logbooks of the Lady Nelson - With the journal of her first commander Lieutenant James Grant by Ida Lee
page 68 of 327 (20%)
page 68 of 327 (20%)
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country seemed not to be destitute of inhabitants, some of whom we
descried at a distance. The river here meandered so greatly that to have pursued its course the boats must have been pulled a whole day to have gained a direct distance of four or five miles from our present station. "The time limited for our departure for Sydney approaching very fast and the survey still to be made not being less than 70 miles up the river, it was judged prudent not to proceed any further. Passing the night upon the banks of the river we descended it the next day to our former rendezvous, Schanck Forest, Pasture Plains, where preparations were made for a general embarkation. "The next morning I left Colonel Paterson in company of Mr. Barrallier, who then proceeded on the survey of the river. On our passage down it, we saw several natives with their canoes...In many of them we saw fires, and in some of them observed that kind of eatable to which they give the name of cabra.* (* Teredo.) It appears to be abominably filthy; however, when dressed, it is not disagreeable to the taste. The cabra is a species of worm which breeds in the wood that happens to be immersed in water, and are found in such parts of the river wherein trees have fallen. They grow to a great size and soon reduce timber to the appearance of a honeycomb. They are of a glutinous substance, and after being put on the fire harden to the consistence of the spinal marrow of animals. When fire is not at hand, the natives eat them raw; some of them being found at a fire near one of the canoes, I tasted them on the recommendation of one of my men and found them not unpalatable... "We saw several natives at a small distance; one of them looked earnestly at us and seemed to be waiting our approach. One of my men called to him in his own language to stop, but at length he got behind a tree whence he |
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