124 lawson's history 



day the 26th of November the wind being at south, 

 we could ^o^t go down to the river's mouth, but 

 on Friday the 27th, we weighed at the mouth of 

 Hilton's river, and got down a league towards the 

 harbour's mouth. On Sunday the 29th, we got 

 down to Crane island, which is four leagues or 

 thereabouts, above the entrance of the harbour's 

 mouth. On Tuesday the 1st of December, we 

 made a purchase of the river and land of Cape 

 Fair, of "Wat Coosa, and such other Indians as ap- 

 peared to us to be the chief of those parts. They 

 brought us store of fresh fish aboard, as mullet, 

 shads, and other sorts very good. This river is- 

 all fresh water, fit to drink. Some eight leagues 

 within the mouth the tide runs up about thirty- 

 five leagues, but stops and rises a great deal far- 

 ther up. It flows at the harbour's mouth, S. E. 

 and N. W. six feet at neap tides and eight feet at 

 spring tides. The channel on the east side by the 

 Cape shore, is the best, and lies close aboard the 

 cape land, being three fathoms at high water, in 

 the shallowest place in the channel just at the en- 

 trance ; but as soon as you are past that place, 

 half a cable's length inward, you have six or seven 

 fathoms, a fair turning channel into the river, and 

 so continuing five or six leagues upwards. Af- 

 terwards the channel is more difficult, in some 

 places six or seven fathoms, in others four or five, 

 and in others but nine or ten feet, especially where 

 the river is broad. When the river comes to part 

 and growb narrow, there it is all channel from side 



