Departure por the Island Savu. 163 
and foul ground. Thefe iflands have no place in the charts 
except they are the Arrou iflands ; and if thefe, they are laid 
down much too far from New Guinea. I found the fouth part 
of them to lie in latitude 7 0 6' S., longitude 225 '' W. 
We continued to ileer W. S. W. at the rate offour miles and 
an half an hour, till ten o’clock at night, when we had forty- 
two fathom, at eleven we thirty-feven, at twelve forty-five, at 
one in the morning forty-nine, and at three 120, after which 
we had no ground. At day-light, we made all the fail we 
eould, and at ten o’clock, faw land, extending from N. N. 
W. to W. by N. diilant between five and fix leagues : at noon, 
it bore from N. to W. and at about the fame diilance: it ap- 
peared to be level, and of a moderate height: by our diilance 
from New Guinea, it ought to have been part of the Arrou 
Iflands, but it lies a degree faither to the fouth than any of 
thefe iflands are laid down in the charts ; and by the latitude 
fhould be Jimor Laoet : we founded, but had no ground with 
fifty fathom. 
As I was not able to fatisfy myfelf from any chart, what 
land it was that I faw to leeward, and fearing that it might 
trend away more foutherly, the weather alfo being fo hazy that 
we could not fee far, I fleered S. W. and by four had loft fight 
of the iiland. I was now fure that no part of it lay to the 
fouthward of 8° 1 5' S. and continued Handing to the S. W. with 
an eafy fail, and a frefh breeze at S. E. by E. and E. S. E. : 
we founded every hour, but had no bottom with 120 fathom. 
Atday-break in the morning, we fteered W. S. W. and after- 
wards W. by S. which by noon brought uc into the latitude of 
9 0 30'S, longitude 229 0 34/ W. and by our run from New 
Guinea, we ought to have been within fight of Weafel Ifles, 
which in the charts are laid down at the diilance of twenty or 
twenty-five leagues from the coaft of New Holland; we how-, 
ever faw nothing, and therefore they mull have been placed 
erroneoufly; nor can this be thought ftrange, when it is con- 
fidered that not only thefe iflands, but the coaft which bounds 
this fea, have been difcovered and explored by different people, 
and at different times, and the charts upon which they are de- 
lineated, put together by others, perhaps at the diilance of 
more than a century after the difcoveries had be^n made; not 
to mention that the difcoverers themfelves had not all the re- 
quires for keeping an accurate journal, of wh.ch thofe of the 
prefent age are pofieffed. 
We continued onr courfe, fleering W. till the evening of 
the 8th, when the variation of the compafs, by feveral azi- 
muths, was 12' W. and by the amplitude 5' W. At noon, on 
the gth, our latitude, by obfervation, was 9 0 46' S., longitude 
2 3>2 & i W. For the laft two days we had fteered due W. yet, 
by obfervation, we madefixteen miles fcuthing, fix miles from 
noon 
