and was
struck with one remark which he made.

"You Englishmen go to work in a queerish kind of way," said he; "you
send a parcel of soldiers to live on an island where none but sailors
can be of use. You listen to all that those redcoats tell you; they
never thrive when placed out of musket-shot from a gin-shop: and because
_they_ don't like it, you evacuate the island. A soldier likes his own
comfort, although very apt to destroy that of other folks; and it a'n't
very likely he would go and make a good report of an island that had
neither women nor rum, and where he was no better than a prisoner. Now,
if Brother Jonathan had taken this island, I guess he would a made it
pay for its keep; he would have had two or three crews of whalers, with
their wives and families, and all their little comforts about them, with
a party of good farmers to till the land, and an officer to command the
whole. The island can provide itself, as you may perceive, and all
would have gone on well. It is just as easy to `fish' the island from
the shore as it is in a vessel, and indeed much easier. Only land your
boilers and casks, and a couple of dozen good whale-boots, and this
island would produce a revenue that would repay with profit all the
money laid out upon it, for the sea-horses have no other place to go to,
either to shed their coats in the autumn, or bring forth their young in
the spring. The fishing and other duties would be a source of amusement
to the sailors, who, if they chose, might return home occasionally in
the vessels that came to take away the full casks of oil, and land the
empty ones."

The captain of the whaler returned to his ship, but, I suppose, forgot
to give our captain very particular directions about the anchorage. We
ran down to the east end of the island, and were just going to bring up,
when, supposing himself too near the whaler, Peters chose to run a
little further. I should have observed, that as we rounded the
north-east point, the breeze freshened, and the squall came out of the
gullies and deep ravines. We therefore shortened sail, and, passing
very near the whaler, they hailed us; but it blew so fresh that we did
not hear what they said; and, having increased our distance from the
whaler to what was judged proper, let go the anchor.

Ninety fathoms of cable ran out in a crack, before she turned head to
wind; and to our mortification, we found we had passed the bank upon
which the whaler h