CAPTAIN TUCKEY'S NARRATIVE. 73 



" It is most particularly enjoined to every person who 

 may be on shore to return on board, as soon as possible, on 

 seeing the signal for that purpose." 



The scantiness and short duration of the sea breezes and 

 the current kept us nearly stationary, until the 5th, when in 

 the afternoon a fresh sea breeze sprung up at W. S. W. with 

 which we stood to the south, and soon shoaled our water 

 from 22 to 13 fathoms, which depth we carried without 

 alteration until 8 o'clock, when we deepened to 18 fathoms, 

 and the next cast had no ground with 150 fathoms of hne ; 

 whence it was evident we were in the deep channel of the 

 river Congo or Zaire, and thus had overshot my intention, 

 which was, in consequence of the expected velocity of the 

 stream, to anchor on the edge of the bank, and take the next 

 sea breeze to cross it. We had now however no alternative 

 but to stand on, and the breeze lasting for near an hour, 

 carried us across the fathomless channel, and we struck 

 soundings in 23 fathoms on this side, as suddenly as we had 

 lost them on the other ; the wind at the same time failing, 

 we anchored in that depth, and found no currelit whatever ; 

 indeed in the deep channel of the river it must have been 

 insignificant, in comparison with what we had been led to 

 expect, certainly cot above two miles an hour. 



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