OP LA PEROUSE. 45J 



the depth of water varying from nine to fourteen 

 fathoms. 



At noon, when our latitude was 3 2 19' fouth, 

 and our longitude 1 24 52'eaft, the neareft coaft 

 was two thirds of a kilometer to the north north- 

 weft of us; its extremes bore from north 69* 

 welt to caft 20 north : fhortly it prefent< d itlelf 

 under the form of a rampart, like that which 

 we had before coafted; but it differed from 

 the former, by its upper part rifing with a gen- 

 tle acclivity into the interior of the country. I 

 there remarked a few fhrubs, which feemed to 

 be in a more thriving ftate than thofe we had 

 hitherto perceived along this coaft. 



The fea was covered with a fpecies of fea- 

 weed caWedfucus nafans. 



Being baffled by the eafterly winds, we were 

 ft ill on the 31ft, towards the middle of the day, 

 only in latitude 32 8' fouth, and longitude 

 126 42' eaft, when we faw rifing a fog, which 

 reprefented to us on every fide a table land. The 

 illuflon was fo finking, that the perfons who 

 came up from below, thought we had juft entered 

 a vaft bafin. We were, however, two myria- 

 meters from the coaft, which this fog did not per- 

 mit us to diftinguifh. 



In the evening, the Iky darkened towards the 



land, and lightning flafhed from the thickefl 



cloudp; then the fog which encompaffed the 



q q 4 horizon 



