*5* COOK’s VOYAG E. 
fore which lies a fmall ifland that feeras to flicker it frora the 
foutherly winds ; but I very much doubt whether there is fuf- 
ficient depth of water behind it for fhipping. I could not 
attempt to determine the queftion, becaufe the S. E, trade wind 
blows right into the bay, and we had not as yet had any breeze 
from the land. 
We ftretched off to fea till twelve o’clock, when we were 
about elevejfyleagues from the land, and had deepened our water 
to twenty-nine fathom. We now tacked and flood in tilliivein 
the morning; when, being in fix fathom and an half, we tacked 
and laid the head of the vefiel off till day-light, when we faw 
the land, bearing N. W. by W. at about the diflance of four 
leagues. We now made fail, and fleered firft W. S. W. then 
W. by S. ; but coming into five fathom and an a half, we 
hauled off S. W. till we deepened our water to eight fathom, 
and then kept away W. by S. and W. having nine fathom, 
and the land jufl in fight from the deck; we judged it to be 
about four leagues diftant, and it was ftill very low and woody. 
Great quantities of the brown feum continued to appear upon 
the water, and the failors, having given up the notion of 
its being fwamp, found a new name for it, and called it Sea- 
faw-dufl. At noon, our latitude by obfervation was 8° 30'S.; 
our longitude 222° 34 W, ; and Saint Bartholomew’s ifle bore 
N. 69 E. diftant feventy-four miles. 
As all this coaft appears to have been very minutely examined 
by the Dutch, it is fufficient to fay, that we continued our courfe 
to the northward with very fhallow water, upon a bank of mud, 
at fuch a diflance from the fhore as that it could fcarcely be feen 
from the (hip, till the 3d of September. During this time we 
made many attempts to get near enough to go on fhore, but 
without fuccefs ; and having now loft fix days of fair wind, at 
a time when we knew the foyth eaft monfoon to be nearly at 
an end, we began to he impatient of farther delay, and deter- 
mined to run the fhip in as near to the fhore as pofiible, and 
then land with the pinnace, while fhe kept plying off and on, 
to examine theproduce of the country, and thedifpofitionof the 
inhabitants, For the two laft days we had early in the morn- 
ing a light breeze from the fhore, which was flrongly impreg- 
nated with the fragrance of the trees, fhrubs, and herbage, 
that covered it, the fmell being fomething like that of Gum 
Benjamin. On the 3d of September, at day-break, we faw 
the land extending from N. by E. to S. E. at about four leagues 
diflance, and we then kept ftandir.g in for it with a frefh gale 
at E. S. E. and E. by S. tijl nine o’clock, when being within 
p-bout three or four miles of it, and in three fathom water, we 
brought to. The pinnace being hoifted out, I fet off from the 
fhip with the boat’s <frew, accompanied by Mr. Banks, who 
gjfq took his fervants, and Dr. Solander^ being in all twelve 
I’crfou* 
