( 3<H ) 



old Araks of Bahama, in which there is water 

 for the largeft mips but fo full of rocks and 

 fhoals, that at prefent it is only ufed by fmali 



veffels. 



After having made the" latitude of thirty de- 

 grees and a half, our pilots reckoned them- 

 felves far enough to the eaft to fleer fouth, 

 without fear of falling upon any of thofe 

 Ihoals I have mentioned. They therefore fleer- 

 ed boldly to the fouth, and in a few days made, 

 great way, failing continually upon a fine fea, 

 and carried along by the trade winds. On the 

 twenty feventh of Augufl the man who was 

 looking out at the mail- head, cried out Land> 

 which occafioned a great joy, which, however, 

 was but fhort-, for on his coming down and 

 being afked if it was high land, he anfwer- 

 ed that it was very low, confequently could 

 be no other than one of the Caicoes or Turk 

 ijlands. 



We were very lucky in feeing them by day, 

 for had we fallen in with them in the night, we 

 muft have been infallibly fhip-wrecked and every 

 perfon loll ; for thefe iflands have no banks, 

 mo ft of them are furrounded with reefs of rocks, 

 which run far out to fea, between which there are 

 fmall channels, where there is not water enough 

 for a fhallop. Befides, they are fo very low, 

 that they are not feen in the night-time, till one 

 is upon them. 



But our having difcovered our danger did not 

 fave us , the land which we faw before us feem- 



ed 



