Ihe received from them fo widened her leaks, that fhe admitted
no lefs than nine inches water in an hour, which,
confidering the ftate of our pumps, and the navigation that
was ftill before us, would have been a fubjedb of more feri-
ous confideration, to people whofe danger had not fo lately-
been fo much more imminent.
The paflage or channel, through which we palled into the
open fea beyond the reef, lies in latitude 140 32' S. and may
always be known by the three high iilands within it, which
I have called the Islands of Direc t ion, becaufe by thefe a
ftranger may find a fafe paflage through the reef quite to the
main. The channel lies from Lizard Illand N. E. f N. diftant
three leagues, and is about one third of a mile broad, and
not more in length. Lizard Ifland, which is, as I have before
obferved, the largeft and the northermoft of the three, affords
fafe anchorage under the north weft fide, frelh water,
and wood for fuel. The low iflands and Ihoals alfo which
lie between it and the main abound with turtle and fifh,
which may probably be caught in all feafons of the year,
except when the weather is very tempeftuous; fo that, ill
things confidered, there is not perhaps a better place for
Clips to refrelh at upon the whole coaft than this illand.
And before I difmifs it, I muft obferve, that we found upon
it, as well as upon the beach in and about Endeavour River,
bamboos, cocoa nuts, pumice ftone, and the feeds of plants
which are not the produce of this country, and which it is
reafonable to fuppofe are brought from the eaftward by the
trade winds. The iilands which were difcovered by Quiros,
and called Auftralia del Efpiritu Santa, lie in this parallel;
but how far to the eaftward cannot now be afcertained: in
moft charts they are placed in the fame longitude with this
country, which, as appears by the account of his voyage
2 that
that has been publilhed, he never faw; for that places his 1770.
difcoveries no lefs than two and twenty degrees to the eaft- ■ A“guft,_f
ward of it. Monday 13.
As foon as we were without the reef, we brought to, and
having hoifted in the boats, we flood off and on upon a wind
all night; for I was not willing to run to leeward till I had a
whole day before me. In the morning, at day-break, Lizard TaeHay ,t.
Ifland bore S. 15E. diftant ten leagues; and we then made
fail and flood away N.N.W.^W. till nine o’clock, when we
flood N. W. 4. N. having the advantage of a frefli gale at S. E.
At noon, our latitude by obfervation was 130 46' S. and at this
time we had no land in fight. At fix in the evening we
fhortened fail and brought the Clip to, with her head to the
N. E .; and at fix in the morning made fail and fleered weft, Wcd«r. , 5.
in order to get within fight of the land, that I might be fure
not to overfhoot the paflage, if a paflage there was, between
this land and New Guinea. At noon, our latitude by obfervation
was 130 2'S., longitude 216° W.; which was i° 23'W.
of Lizard Ifland: at this time we had no land in fight; but a
little before one o’clock, we faw high land from the maft-head,
bearing W. S. W. At two, we faw more land to the N. W.
of that we had feen before: it appeared in hills, like iflands;
but we judged it to be a continuation of the main land-.
About three, we difcovered breakers between the land and
the fhip, extending to the fouthward farther than we could
fee; but to the north we thought we faw them terminate
abreaft of us. What we took for the end of them in this
direction, however, foon appeared to be only an opening in
the reef; for we prefently faw them again, extending northward
beyond the reach of our fight. Upon this we hauled
clofe upon a wind, which was now at E. S. E. and we had
fcarcely trimmed our fails before it came to E- by N, whiehc
was right upon the reef, and confequently made our clearing