place where the sun came from; but if
the hord (sic) had not been on his side, he should have been lost, for he
had been two whole days without any food, except a little flour and
water.'

Among the public works that were carrying on during this month must be
reckoned the laying another floor in the granary at Parramatta; repairing
the military barracks, store-houses, and every brick building belonging
to government, which were so far decayed as to be scarcely able to
support their own weight. These repairs, which they had long been in want
of, and which if sooner attended to would have preserved them from the
ruin they were fast approaching, with the various other buildings that
were so essentially requisite, completely stood in the way of making any
exertions in clearing and cultivating land, and considerably added to the
expenses of the colony. At Sydney the tower of the second wind-mill was
begun; and on the 31st, the building being completed for its reception,
the public clock was set up, and, for the first time, announced the hour
to the inhabitants at Sydney. The shipwrights were employed in
constructing a flat-bottomed vessel for the carriage of planks, posts,
etc.

Some heavy rain fell in this month, which for the time retarded all
out-door work; but it came very opportunely for the maize, the growth of
which had been rather obstructed by the dry weather which preceded.

CHAPTER IX

The _Francis_ again sails for the wreck
Bennillong and his wife
Report respecting the wild cattle
An anonymous writing found
Account of a journey to the westward
Description of a new bird
A general muster
Mr Bass returns from an excursion in an open boat to the southward
Particulars of it
Three Irishmen picked up
Public works
Weather in February

February.] On the 1st of this month the _Francis_ was again dispatched
to the wreck of the _Sydney Cove_.

When Bennillong accompanied Governor Phillip to England in the year 1792,
he left a young wife to deplore his absence. The manners of savages, in
this instance, were found somewhat to resemble those of civilised life.
The lady surrendered to the importunities of a youthful lover, who, to
say the truth, had in some material points the advantage over Bennillong;
and of him she became so enamoured, that neither the entreaties, the
menaces, nor the presents* of her husband at his return, could induce her
to leave him. From that time, she was considered by every one