THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 405 



As the Dutch charts make the coaft of Japan extend about '779- 



F November. 



ten leagues to the South Weft of White Point, at eight we « 1 



tacked, and flood off to the Eaftward, in order to weather 

 the point. At midnight, we again tacked to the South 

 Weft, expecting to fall in with the coaft to the Southward, 

 but were furprized, in the morning at eight, to fee the Tuefdayz. 

 hummock, at the diilance only of three leagues, bear- 

 ing Weft North Weft. We began, at firft, to doubt the evi- 

 dence of our fenfes, and afterward to fufpect fome decep- 

 tion from a fimilarity of land ; but, at noon, we found our- 

 felves, by obfervation, to be actually in latitude 35° 43', at a 

 time when our reckonings gave us 34 48'. So that, during 

 the eight hours in which we fuppofed we had made a 

 courfe of nine leagues to the South Weft, we had in 

 reality been carried eight leagues from the pofition we left, 

 in a direction diametrically oppofite ; which made, on the 

 whole, in that fhort fpace of time, a difference, in our 

 reckoning, of feventeen leagues. From this error, we cal- 

 culated, that the current had fet to the North Eaft by North, 

 at the rate of at leaft five miles an hour. Our longitude, at 

 this time, was 141 16'. 



The weather having now the fame threatening appear- 

 ance as on the 29th of October, which was followed by fo 

 fudden and fevere a gale, and the wind continuing at South 

 South Eaft, it was thought prudent to leave the fhore, and 

 ftand off to the Eaftward, to prevent our being entangled 

 with the land. Nor were we wrong in our prognoftica- 

 tions ; for it foon afterward began, and continued till next 

 day, to blow a heavy gale, accompanied with hazy and 

 rainy weather. In the morning of the 3d, we found our- Wedne f, - 

 felves, by our reckoning, upward of fifty leagues from the 

 land 3 which circumftance, together with the very extraor- 

 dinary 



