or LA PEROUSK. 185 



of the torrents which we perceived towards, the 

 fouth-weft; their foaming waters produced an 

 agreeable contraft with the. dull gfcen of thefc 

 elevated lands. 



We fpent the night in nraking fhort tacks 

 trying to hold our own againft the currents, in 

 order to he enabled to come to an anchor the 

 next morning. 



As foon as the day broke on the iqthi we ap- 

 proached within a kilometer and a half of the 

 reefs, ranging. along them.to difcover the chan- 

 nel by which it was neccffiry for us to enter, in 

 order to arrive at the anchorage; but it blew 

 very frefh from the fouth fouth-eafl, and we 

 had already fallen to leew^ard w^hen we diftin- 

 guifhed the break in the reefs: although we 

 were pretty near the coad^ we did not perceive 

 Obfervatory liland, which left us for. fome 

 time uncertain whether we were oppolite to the 

 place where Captain Cook had caft anchor in 

 1774; we therefore tacked to get to the north-? 

 eaft. But about the middle of the day our ob- 

 fervations left us no longer in doubt that wc 

 were very near Obfervatory I fland, and it was 

 not long before we difcerned it, though it is ex- 

 tremely low; we then flood on to reach the 

 anchorage. Our depth of water in the cue 

 formed between the reefs was from ten f.ithoma 

 to twelve and a half, and as foon as we were be- 

 tween 



