44 
PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
being H. B. M.’s sloop of war the Bonne Citoyenne, of which we 
obtained intelligence by the Nocton. The prisoners informed me, 
that she sailed 6 days before 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 Portuguese, who informed me, that she had sprung a leak 
from having been on shore, had taken out all her guns and money, 
and was preparing to heave out. My first intention was to go and 
cruize off 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 com. Bainbridge would, on ar¬ 
riving off St. Salvadore, continue to cruize 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 directly 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 believe, 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. Salvadore; I therefore made the best of 
my way for Cape Frio, where I believed 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 17° 35' S., and longitude of 34° 56' W., 
supposing myself to be on the Abrohlas shoal, sounded with 120 
fathoms of line, but got no bottom ; we again sounded in latitude 
of 19° 45' S., and longitude of 37° 22' W., with the same quantity 
of line, but did not succeed in getting bottom; and between the 
the soundings we did not perceive that the water was in the 
smallest degree discoloured about this place. Com. Anson, and 
other navigators, lay down soundings of considerable extent, at 
the depth of from 24 to 80 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 
