39® 
A VOYAGE TO 
*779- 
Oftober. 
Friday 29. 
good fhelter. At noon, the North extreme bore North Weft 
by North, and a high peaked hill,, over a fteep head-land, 
Weft by North, diftant five leagues. Our latitude at this 
time, by obfervation, was 38° 16', longitude 142 0 The 
mean of the variation, from obfervations taken both in the 
fore and afternoon, was i° 20' Eaft. 
At half paft three in the afternoon, we loft fight of the 
land; and, from its breaking off lo fuddenly, conjectured, 
that what we had feen this day is an iftand, or, perhaps, a 
duller of iflands, lying off the main land of Japan; but as 
the iilands, called by Janfen the Schildpads, and by Mr,. 
D’Anville Matfima, though laid down nearly in the fame 
fituation, are not equal in extent to the land feen by us, we. 
muft leave this point undecided. Having kept a South Weft 
courfe during the remaining part of the day, we found 
ourfelves, at midnight, in feventy fathoms water, over a 
bottom of fine dark brown fand. We therefore hauled up 
to the Eaftward, till morning, when we faw the land again, 
about eleven leagues to the Southward of that which we 
had feen the day before; and at eight, we were within fix or 
feven miles of the fhore, having carried in regular found¬ 
ings from fixty-five to twenty fathoms, over coarfe fand 
and gravel. Unluckily there was a haze over the land, 
which hindered our diftinguifhing fmall objects on it. The 
coaft is ftraight and unbroken, and runs nearly in a North 
and South direction. Toward the fea the ground is low, 
but rifes gradually into hills of a moderate height, whofe 
tops are tolerably even, and covered with wood. 
At nine o’clock, the wind drifting to the Southward, and 
the fky lowring, we tacked and flood off to the Eaft, and 
foon after, we faw a veffel, clofe in with the land, ftanding 
along the fhore to the Northward, and another in the offing, 
3 coming 
