226 cook's first voyage august, 



than in the offing ; but I could never satisfy my- 

 self whether the flood-tide came from the south- 

 ward, the eastward, or the northward ; I inclined 

 to the opinion that it came from the south-east, 

 but the first time we anchored off the coast, which 

 was in latitude 24 30', about ten leagues to the 

 south-east of Bustard Bay, I found it come from the 

 north-west ; on the contrary, thirty leagues farther 

 to the north-west, on the south side of Keppel Bay, 

 I found that it came from the east, and at the north- 

 ern part of that Bay it came from the northward, 

 but with a much slower motion than it had come 

 from the east : on the east side of the Bay of Inlets, 

 it set strongly to the westward, as far as the opening 

 of Broad Sound ; but on the north side of that sound, 

 it came with a very slow motion from the north- 

 west; and when we lay at anchor before Repulse 

 Bay, it came from the northward : to account for its 

 course in all this variety of directions, we need only 

 admit that the flood-tide comes from the east, or 

 south-east. It is well known, that where there are 

 deep inlets, and large creeks into low lands, running 

 up from the sea, and not occasioned by rivers of 

 fresh water, there will always be a great indraught 

 of the flood-tide, the direction of which will be de- 

 termined by the position or direction of the coast 

 which forms the entrance of such inlet, whatever be 

 its course at sea ; and where the tides are weak, 

 which upon this coast is generally the case, a large 

 inlet will, if I may be allowed the expression, attract 

 the flood-tide for many leagues. 



A view of the chart will at once illustrate this 

 position. To the northward of Whitsunday's Pas- 

 sage there is no large inlet, consequently the flood 

 sets to the northward, or north-westward, according 

 to the direction of the coast, and the ebb to the 

 south, or south-eastward; at least such is their course 

 at a little distance from the land, for very near it they 

 will be influenced by small inlets. I also observed, 



