174 cook's first voyage august, 



ing, we were obliged to veer away more cable, and 

 strike our top-gallant yards. At low water, myself, 

 with several of the officers, kept a look-out at the 

 mast-head, to see if any passage could be discovered 

 between the shoals, but nothing was in view except 

 breakers, extending from the S. round by the E. as 

 far as N. W., and out to sea beyond the reach of our 

 sight ; these breakers, however, did not appear to 

 be caused by one continued shoal, but by several 

 which lay detached from each other : on that which 

 lay farthest to the eastward the sea broke very high, 

 which made me think it was the outermost, for upon 

 many of these within, the breakers were inconsider- 

 able, and from about half ebb to half flood, they 

 were not to be seen at all, which makes sailing 

 among them still more dangerous, especially as the 

 shoals here consist principally of coral rocks, which 

 are as steep as a wall ; upon some of them, however, 

 and generally at the north end, there are patches of 

 sand, which are covered only at high water, and 

 which are to be discerned at some distance. Being 

 now convinced that there was no passage to sea, but 

 through the labyrinth formed by these shoals, I was 

 altogether at a loss which way to steer, when the 

 weather should permit us to get under sail. It was 

 the master's opinion, that we should beat back the 

 way we came, but this would have been an endless 

 labour, as the wind blew strongly from that quarter, 

 almost without intermission ; on the other hand, if 

 no passage could be found to the northward, we 

 should be compelled to take that measure at last. 

 These anxious deliberations engaged us till eleven 

 o'clock at night, when the ship drove, and obliged 

 us to veer away to a cable and one-third, which 

 brought her up \ but in the morning, the gale in- 

 creasing, she drove again, and we therefore let go 

 the small bower, and veered away to a whole cable 

 upon it, and two cables on the other anchors, yet 

 she still drove, though not so fast 5 we then got down 



