334 cook's voyage to may, 



the inlet ; and met with the same broken ground as 

 on the preceding day. However, we soon extricated 

 ourselves from it, and afterward never struck ground 

 with a line of forty fathoms. Another passage into 

 this inlet was now discovered, to the south-west of 

 that by which we came in, which enabled us to 

 shorten our way out to sea. It is separated from the 

 other by an island, extending eighteen leagues in the 

 direction of north-east and south-west ; to which I 

 gave the name of Montagu Island. 



In this south-west channel are several islands. 

 Those that lie in the entrance, next the open sea, are 

 high and rocky. But those within are low ones ; and 

 being entirely free from snow, and covered with 

 wood and verdure, on this account they were called 

 Green Islands. 



At two in the afternoon the wind veered to the 

 south-west, and south-west by south, which reduced 

 us to the necessity of plying. I first stretched over 

 to within two miles of the eastern shore, and tacked 

 in fifty-three fathoms' water. In standing back to 

 Montagu Island, we discovered a ledge of rocks ; 

 some above, and others under water, lying three 

 miles within, or to the north of the northern point 

 of Green Islands. Afterward some others were seen 

 in the middle of the channel, farther out than the 

 islands. These rocks made unsafe plying in the night 

 (though not very dark) ; and, for that reason, we 

 spent it standing oft' and on, under Montagu Island ; 

 for the depth of water was too great to come to an 

 anchor. 



At day-break, the next morning, the wind be- 

 came more favourable, and we steered for the chan- 

 nel between Montagu Island and the Green Islands, 

 which is between two and three leagues broad, and 

 from thirty-four to seventeen fathoms deep. We 

 had but little wind all the day ; and, at eight o'clock 

 in the evening it was a dead calm ; when we anchored 

 in twenty-one fathoms' water, over a muddy bottom ; 



