1 77^ THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 357 



however, hinder us from plying up as long as the 

 flood continued, which was till near five o'clock 

 the next morning. We had soundings from thirty- 

 five to twenty-four fathoms. In this last depth we 

 anchored about two leagues from the eastern shore, 

 in the latitude of G08'; some low land that we 

 judged to be an island, lying under the western 

 shore, extended from N. J W. to N. W. by N., 

 distant three or four leagues. 



The weather had now become fair and tolerablv 

 clear, so that we could see any land that might lie 

 within our horizon; and in a N.N. E. direction, no 

 land, nor any thing to obstruct our progress, was 

 visible. But on each side was a ridge of mountains, 

 rising one behind another without the least separ- 

 ation. I judged it to be low water, by the shore, 

 about ten o'clock \ but the ebb ran down till near 

 noon. The strength of it was four knots and a half, 

 and it fell upon a perpendicular ten feet three 

 inches, that is, while we lay at anchor ; so that 

 there is reason to believe this was not the greatest 

 fall. On the eastern shore we now saw two columns 

 of smoke, a sure sign that there were inhabitants. 



At one in the afternoon we weighed, and plied up 

 under double-reefed top-sails and courses, having 

 a very strong gale at N.N.E., nearly right down the 

 the inlet. We stretched over to the western shore, 

 and fetched within two leagues of the south end of 

 the low land or island before mentioned, under which 

 I intended to have taken shelter till the gale should 

 cease. But falling suddenly into twelve fathoms 

 water, from upward of forty, and seeing the appear- 

 ance of a shoal ahead spitting out from the low 

 land, I tacked and stretched back to the eastward ; 

 and anchored under the shore in nineteen fathoms 

 water, over a bottom of small pebble-stones. 



Between one and two in the morning of the 30th, 

 we weighed again with the first of the flood, the 

 gale having by this time quite abated, but still 



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