234 



SORTER'S J OURXAI, 



I had come to this island, I determined to cruise a lew days 

 to windward of it, with the hopes of falhng in with him there. 

 I was the more strongly induced to do this, from having for 

 some time past been extremely harassed by being so much 

 among those islands, our knowledge of which was as yet by 

 no means perfect, and whose rapid and irregular currents 

 kept me in a constant state of anxiety, from which I was 

 glad to be relieved for a short time. A fresh breeze spring- 

 ing up from the southward, which caused us to drift off the 

 bank, I weighed anchor, and stood on a wind to the east- 

 ward, keeping the island in sight from the deck, bearing W. 

 Here I reinained until the 1 3th September, when I ran down 

 for Charles Island, looking into Hood's Island, searching 

 for M'Gowen's Reef in my rout, and can now with safety 

 declare, that M'Gowen's Reef does not exist but in the chart 

 of captain Colnet. 



Off the nortliwest part of Hood's Island, about two and a 

 lialf miles from the shore, is a reef of some extent. It should 

 be avoided. This is the only danger 1 could discover, and 

 it lies so close in, and breaks with so much violence, that it 

 rnay at all times be discovered in time to shun it. This, how- 

 ever, is not M'Gowen's Reef, which by Colnet's chart lies 

 nearly halfway between Hood's and Barrington Islands, and 

 in the direct passage of vessels running down between 

 Hood's and Chatham for Charles' Island ; whereas, the one 

 I speak of lies close under Hood's Island, and is joined to 

 it by other rocks. 



1 looked into Charles' Island, and stood down for Cape 

 Essex, intending to cruise for a few days off the south part 

 of Albemarle, and at midnight of the 14th, hove to, the 

 southern part of Albemarle bearing north, distant nine or 

 ten leagues. At day-light in the morning, the men at the 

 masthead descried a strange sail to the southward. On go- 

 ing aloft with my glass, I could perceive that she was a ship, 

 and under very easy sail, apparently lying to. As she was 

 directly to windward of us, I did not wish to alarm her by 

 making much sail, as I believed her to be an English whaler. 

 I consequently directed the fore and main royal-yards to be 

 sent down, and the masts to be housed, the ports to be shut 

 in, and the ship to be disguised in every respect as a mer- 

 chantman, and kept plying to windward for the stranger un- 

 der easy sail, as he continued to lie to, drifting down on us 



