aving them grazing at some
little distance from the farm where they were kept; and in this manner
they were lost. They had strayed from the spot he expected to find them
on, or perhaps had been driven from it by the natives, and he spent two
days in searching for them before the governor was made acquainted with
the accident.

Several parties were successively sent out to endeavour the recovery of
stock so essential to the colony; but constantly returned without
success.

On the 27th a party of the natives, supposed to be in number from twenty
to thirty, landed at the point on the east side of the cove, between the
hours of eleven and twelve at night, and proceeded along close by the
sentinels, stopping for some time at the spot where the governor's house
was building, and in the rear of the tents inhabited by some of the
women. It was said that they appeared alarmed on hearing the sentinels
call out 'All is well,' and, after standing there for some time, went off
toward the run of water. The sentinels were very positive that they saw
them, and were minute in their relation of the above circumstances;
notwithstanding which, it was conjectured by many to be only the effect
of imagination. It is true, the natives might have chosen that hour of
the night to gratify a curiosity that would naturally be excited on
finding that we still resided among them; and perhaps for the purpose of
observing whether we all passed the night in sleep.

The cold weather which we had at this time of the year was observed to
affect our fishing, and the natives themselves appeared to be in great
want. An old man belonging to them was found on the beach of one of the
coves, almost starved to death.

It having been reported, that one of the natives who had stolen a jacket
from a convict had afterwards been killed or wounded by him in an attempt
to recover it, the governor issued a proclamation, promising a free
pardon, with remission of the sentence of transportation, to such male or
female convict as should give information of any such offender or
offenders, so that he or they might be brought to trial, and prosecuted
to conviction; but no discovery was made in consequence of this offer.

In the afternoon of the 22nd a slight shock of an earthquake was
observed, which lasted two or three seconds, and was accompanied with a
distant noise like the report of cannon, coming from the southward; the
shock was local, and so slight that many people