t^ie main, they being only five leagues diftant, to catch
'— v— > turtle, when they come afliore to lay their eggs. We cqn-
tinued to ftand after the pinnace N. SL E. an4 N. by E. for
two other low iflands, having two ihoals without us, and
one between us and the main. At noon, we were ahout
four leagues from the main, which we faw extending to the
northward, as far as N.W. by N. all flat and fandy. Our latitude,
by obfervation, was ix° 23' S. and our longitude 217?
46' W. our foundings were from fourteen to twenty-three fathom
; but thefe, as well as the fhoals and iflands, which
are too numerous to be particularly mentioned, will be beft
feen upon the chart. By one o’clock, we had run nearly the
length of the fouthermoft of the two iflands in fight, and
finding that the going to windward of them would carry us
too far from the main, we bore up and ran to leeward,
where finding a fair open paflage, we fleered N. by W. in a
•direction parallel to the main, leaving a fmall ifland which
lay between it and the fhip, and fome low fandy ifles and
Ihoals without us, of all which we loft fight by four o’clock,
and faw no more before the fun went down: at this time
the fartheft part of the land in fight bore N. N. W. 4. W. and
.foon after we anchored in thirteen fathom, upon foft ground,
at the diftance of about five leagues from the land, where
•we lay till day-light.
Tuefday.ji. Early in the morning, we made fail again, and fleered
N.N.W. by compafs, for the northermoft land in fight; and
at this time, we obferved the variation of the needle to be
3° 6' E. At eight o’clock, we difcovered ihoals ahead, and
on our larboard bow, and faw that the northermoft land,
which we had taken for the main, was detached from it,
and that we might pafs between them, by running to leeward
of the ihoals on our larboard bow, which were now
near u s : we therefore wore and brought to, fending away
6 the
the pinnace- and yawl to direct us, and then fleered N.W.
along the S.W. or infide of the ihoals, keeping a good lookout
from the mail-head, and having another ihoal on our
larboard fide: we found however a good channel of a mile
broad between them, in which we had from ten to fourteen
fathom. At eleven o’clock, we were nearly the length of
the land detached from the main, and there appeared to be
no obftruCtion in the paflage between them, yet having the
long-boat aftern, and rigged, we fent her away to keep in
ihore upon our larboard bow, and at the fame time dispatched
the pinnace a-ftarboard; precautions which I thought
neceflary, as we had a ftrong flood that carried us an end
very fail, and it was near high water: as foon as the boats were
ahead, we flood after them, and by noon, got through the
paflage. Our latitude, by obfervation, was then ioQ 36', and
the neareft part of the main, which we foon after found to
be the northermoft, bore W. 2 S. diftant between three or
four miles: we found the land which was detached from
the main, to be a Angle ifland, extending from N. to N. 75 E.
diftant between two and three miles; at the fame time we
faw other iflands at a confiderable diftance,; extending from
N. by W. to W. N. W. and behind them another chain of
high land, which we judged alfo to be iflands: there were
ftill other iflands, extending as fa r as N. 71 W. which at this
time we took for the main.
The point of the main which forms the fide of the channel
through which we had pafied, oppofite to the ifland, is
the northern promontory of the country, and I called it Y ork
C a p e . Its longitude is 2 1 8 ? .24' W. the latitude of the north
point is io° 37', and of the eaft point to° 42' S. The land over
the eaft point, and to the fouthward of it, is rather low, and
as far as the eye can reach, very flat, and of a barren ap-
Voje. III. D d pearance.
1770.
Augult.
Tucfday z u