130 COOK’s VOYAGE. 
46' W. our foundings were from fourteen to twenty-three 
fathom ; but thefe, as well as the fhoals and iilands, are too 
numerous to be particularly mentioned. Ey one o’clock, we 
had run nearly the length of the fouthermoft of the two iflands 
in fight, and finding that the going to windward of them 
would carry us too far from the main, we bore up and ran to 
leeward, where, finding a fair open paffage, we fteered 
N. by W. in a direction parallel to the main, leaving a fmall 
i/land which lay between it and the Chip, and fome low fandy 
illes and fhoals without us, of all which we loll fight by four 
o’clock, and faw no more before the fun went down : at this 
time the fartheii part of the land in fight bore N. N. W, £ W. 
and foon after we anchored in thirteen fathom, upon foft 
ground, at the dlftance of about five leagues from the land, 
where we lay till day-light. 
Early in the morning, we made fail again, and fteered N. 
N. W. by compafs, for the northermoft land in fight ; and at 
. this time we obferved the variation of the needle to be 3 0 6' E. 
At 8 o’clock, we difcovered fhoals ahead, and on our larboard 
bow, and faw that the northermoft land, which we had taken 
for the main, was detached from it, and that we might pafs 
between them, by running to leeward of the fhoals on our 
larboard bow, which were now near us : we therefore wore 
and brought to, fending away the pinnace and yawl to diredl 
us, and then fteered N. W. along the S. W. or infide of the 
fhoals, keeping a good look-out from the mail-head, and 
having another Ihoal on our larboard fide : we found however 
a good channel of a mile broad between them, in which we 
had from ten to fourteen fathom. At eleven o’clock we were 
nearly the length of the land detached from the main, and 
there Appeared to be no obftruftion in the paffage between 
them, yet having the long boat allern and rigged, we fent 
her away to keep in fhore upon our larboard bow, and at the 
fame time difpatched the pinnace a-ftarboard ; precautions 
which I thought neceftary, as we had a ftrong flood that car- 
ried us an end very fall, and it was near high water : as 
fcon as the boats were ahead, we ftood after them, and by 
noon got through the paffage. Our latitude by obfervation, 
was then io° 30 , and the neareft part of the main, which we 
foon after found to be the northermoft, bore W. 2 S. diftant 
between three or four miles : we found the land which was 
detached from the main, to be a fingle ifland, extending from 
N. to N. 75 E. diftant between two and three miles ; at the 
fame time we faw other iflands at a confiderable diftance, ex- 
tending from N. by W. to V/. N. W. and behind them an- 
other chain of high land, which we judged alfo to be iflands : 
there were ftiii other iflands, extending a* far as N. 71 W. 
which at this time we took for the main. 
The 
