May* *ealm » a.nd we foon after anchored in twelve fathom, having
Friday I-- ' ^ main land and ifland® in a manner all round us, and
»Cape Capricorn bearing S. 54 E. diftant four leagues. In the
■ night, we found the tide rife and fall near feven feet; and
.-the flood to let to the weflward, and the ebb to the eaft ward,
which is juft contrary to what we found when we were at
anchor to the eaftward of Buftard Bay.
Saturday;*. At fix in the morning we weighed, with a gentle breeze
-at South, and flood away to the N*. W. between the outer-
moft range of iflands and the main, leaving feveral fmall
iflands between the main'and the Ihip, which we pafled at
a very little diftance : our foundings being" irregular, from
-twelve to four fathom, I fent a boat ahead to found. At
-noon we were about three miles from the main, and about
the fame diftance fiom the iflands without us: our latitude
by obfervation was 23° f S.: the main land here is high and
mountainous ; the iflands which lie off it are allb.mofi of
them high, and of a fmall circuit, having an appearance
rather of barrennefs than fertility. At this time we faw
fmoke iti many places at a confiderable diftance inland, and
therefore conjedtured that there might be a lagoon, river, or
inlet running up the country, the father as we had pafled
two places which had the appearance of being fucli; but our
depth of water was too little to encourage me to venture
where I fliould probably have lefs. We had not ftdod to the
northward above an hour, before we fuddenly fell into three
fathom-; upon which I anchored, and fent away the Mafter
to found the channel which lay to leeward of us, between
the noi rhermoft ifland and the main : it appeared to be
pretty broad, but I fufpecfed that it was fhaflow, and fo indeed
it was found; for the mafter reported at his return
thu in many places he had only two fathom and an
7 . half,
half, and where we lay at anchor we had only fifteen feet, 1770.
which was not two feet more than the fliip drew. While the <----^_1
mafter was founding the channel, Mr. Banks tried to fi£h from Saturdl)'
the cabbin windows with hook and line;; the water was too
fhallo.w for fifli ; but the ground was almoft covered with
■ crabs, which readily took the bait, and fometimes held it fo
faft in their claws, that they did not quit their hold till they
were eonfiderably above water. Thefe crabs were of two
forts, and both of them foph as we had not feen before : one
o f them was adorned with the fineft blue that pan he imagined,
in every refpeft equal to the ultramarine, with which
all his claws, and every joint was deeply tinged: the under
part of him was white, and fo exquifitely polifhed that in
colour and brightnefs it exactly refembled the white of old
china : the other was alfo marked with the ultramarine upon
his joints and his toes, but fomewhat more fparingly ; and
his back was marked with three brown fpots which had a
Angular appearance. The people who had been out with
the boat to found, reported, that upon an ifland where we
had obferved two fires, they had feen lèverai of the inhabitants,
who called to them, and feemed very defirous that
they Ihould land. In the evening, the wind veered to E. N. E.
which gave us an opportunity to ftrptch three or four miles
back by the way we came ; after which, the wind fhifted to
the South, and obliged us again to anchor in fix fathom.
At five in the morning, I fent away.the Mafter to fearch Sunday 27.
for a paflage between the iflands, while we got the Ihip under
fail ; and as foon as it was light we followed the boat,
which made alignai that a paflage had been found. As foon as
we got again into deep water, we made fail to the northward,
as the land lay, with foundings from nine fathom to fifteen,
and fonae fmall .iflands Hill without us. At noon we were
Von. III. about