40 



PORTER S JOURNAL. 



the Nocton, and was so deep as to be thought by many very 

 unsafe ; her sides were painted red, and she is a long, low 

 corvette. This answers the description given by the Por- 

 tuguese, who informed me, that she had sprung a leak from 

 having been on shore, had taken out all her guns and mo- 

 ney, and was preparing to heave out. My first intention 

 was to go and cruise olf St. Salvadore until she came out, 

 and made all sail for that, port ; but, on a little reflection, 

 I considered it advisable to act differently, for the following 

 reasons : 



I thought it not unlikely that commodore Bainbridge 

 would, on arriving olF St. Salvadore, continue to cruise 

 there for the Bonne Citoyenne, and if so, my presence 

 there would prove unnecessary. I did not know, however, 

 but, with a view of collecting his squadron together, he 

 might forego every other consideration, and proceed di- 

 rectly off Cape Frio to join me. I therefore concluded it 

 incumbent in me to be punctual to the time and place of 

 every rendezvous. Added to these, I was induced to be- 

 lieve, that she would leave St. Salvadore under convoy of 

 the admiral's ship the Montague, which was to have sailed 

 from Rio Janeiro a few days after the Nocton, for St. Sal- 

 vadore ; I therefore made the best of my way for Cape Frio, 

 where I beheved I should be enabled to arrive time enough 

 to proceed from thence to St. Sebastians, if it should then 

 be advisable so to do. 



When in the latitude of 1 7" 35' south, and longitude of 

 34" 56' v/est, supposing myself to be on the Abrohlas shoal, 

 sounded with one hundred and twenty fathoms of line, but 

 got no bottom; we again sounded in the latitude of 19° 

 45' south, and longitude of 37° 22' west, with the same 

 quantity of line, but did not succeed in getting bottom ; and 

 between the soundings we did not perceive that the \>"ater 

 was in the smallest degree discoloured about this place. 

 Commodore Anson, and other navigators, lay down sound- 

 ings of considerable extent, at the depth of from twenty- 

 four to eighty fathoms, but I am persuaded that they are 

 laid down erroneously, as our latitude and longitude proved 

 to be very correct. Sir Erasmus Gower, in his passage to 

 Rio Janeiro with lord Macartney, endeavoured to find the 

 shoal, but did not succeed with two hundred fathoms of 

 line, in latitude 16° IB' south, longitude 36° 5' west; he 



