OF LA PEROUSE. 4OI 



outrigger immediately came and reconnoitred 

 our fhips, to which (he approached very near; 

 but flie foon returned towards the weft, without 

 having fpoken us. Prefcntly we ran in full 

 nearer to the land : we faw on the beach fome 

 natives and a few canoes. We founded fevcral 

 times, without finding bottom at thirty fathoms. 



At four o'clock in the afternoon we diftin- 

 guifhed Batoa Ifland at the ditlance of two my- 

 riameters to the fouth-eaft; it is feparated from 

 Timor only by an interval of a demi-myriameter. 



Calms being very frequent along the coaft of 

 Timor, we hauled off from it in the afternoon 

 of the 25th by the help of a foutherly breeze, 

 and directed our courfe to the welt ward, without 

 however rinding frefher winds. Thefe calms 

 feem to be occafioned by the heat, which is the 

 more intenfe as the fun at this feafon here darts 

 its rays almoft perpendicularly. 



The continuance of the calms renders naviga- 

 tion very laborious along thefe coafts, on which 

 a ihip is inceffantly in danger of being driven by 

 the ftrength of the currents. The compolition 

 of charts of thefe different iflands is extremely 

 difficult, on account of the currents, which are 

 very irregular; and indeed thofe which have 

 been hitherto conflrucled prefent very material 

 differences. 



A great number of various fpecies of whales 



vol. 1. d d came 



