1770. ROUND THE WORLD. Ill 



meeting with shoal water. Upon this we hauled close 

 upon a wind to the eastward, but suddenly fell into 

 three fathom and a quarter : we immediately drop- 

 ped an anchor, which brought the ship up with all 

 her sails standing. When the ship was brought up 

 we had four fathom, with a coarse sandy bottom, and 

 found a strong tide setting to the N. W. by W. i W. 

 at the rate of near three miles an hour, by which we 

 were so suddenly carried upon the shoal. Our lati- 

 tude by observation was 22 8' S. ; Cape Townshend 

 bore E. 16 $., distant thirteen miles ; and the west- 

 ernmost part of the main in sight W. f N. At this 

 time a great number of islands lay all round us. 



In the afternoon, having sounded round the ship, 

 and found that there was water sufficient to carry her 

 over the shoal, we weighed, and about three o'clock 

 made sail and stood to the westward, as the land lay, 

 having sent a boat ahead to sound. At six in the 

 evening we anchored in ten fathom, with a sandy 

 bottom, at about two miles distance from the main ; 

 the westernmost part of which bore W. N. W., and a 

 great number of islands, lying a long way without us, 

 were still in sight. 



At five o'clock the next morning I sent away the 

 master with two boats to sound the entrance of an 

 inlet which bore from us west, at about the distance 

 of a league, into which I intended to go with the 

 ship, that I might wait a few days till the moon 

 should increase, and in the mean time examine the 

 country. As soon as the ship could be got under 

 sail, the boats made the signal for anchorage ; upon 

 which we stood in, and anchored in five fathom 

 water, about a league within the entrance of the in- 

 let ; which, as I observed a tide to flow and ebb con- 

 siderably, 1 judged to be a river that ran up the coun- 

 try to a considerable distance. In this place I had 

 thoughts of laying the ship ashore, and cleaning her 

 bottom ; I therefore landed with the master in search 

 of a convenient place for that purpose, and was ac- 



