1770. about two leagues diftant from the main; and by obferva-
|----.--- i tion in latitude 22° 53' S. The northermoft point of land in
t. unday fight now bore N. N. W. diftant ten miles. To this point I
gave the name of C a p e M a n i f o l d , from the number of high
hills which appeared over it : it lies in latitude 22° 43' S. and
diftant about feventeen leagues from Cape Capricorn, in the
direction of N. 26 W. Between thefe Capes the fhore forms
a large bay, which I called K e p p e l B a y ; and I alfo diftin-
guilhed the illands by the name o f K e p p e l ’s I s l a n d s . In
this bay there is good anchorage ; but what refrelhments it
may afford, I know not: we caught no fifh, though we were'
at anchor; but probably there is frefh water in feveral places,
as both the iflands and the main are inhabited. We faw
fmoke and fires upon the main; and upon the iflands we
faw people. At three in the afternoon, we paffed Cape Manifold,
from which the land trends N. N. W. The land of
the Cape is high, rifing in hills direftly from the fea; and
may be known by three illands which lie off it, one of them
near the fhore, and the other two eight miles out at fea. One
of thefe iflands is low and flat, and the other high and
round. At fix o’clock in the evening we brought to, when
the northermoft part of the main in fight bore N. W. and
fome iflands which lie off it N. 31 W. Our foundings after
twelve o’clock were from twenty to twenty-five fathom, and
in the night from thirty to thirty-four.
Monday as. At day-break we made fail, Cape Manifold bearing S. by E.
diftant eight leagues, and the iflands which I had fet the
night before were diftant four miles in the fame direction.
The fartheft vifible point of the main bore N. 67 W. at the
diftance of twenty-two miles; but we could fee feveral
iflands to the northward of this dir eft ion. At nine o’clock
in the forenoon, we were abreaft of the point which I called
1 C a p e
C ape T ownshend. It lies in latitude .22° 15'; longitude
209° 43': the land is high and level, and rather naked than
woody. Several iflands lie to the northward of it, at the diftance
o f four or five miles out at fea; three or four leagues
to the S. E. the fhore forms a bay, in the bottom of which
there appeared to be an inlet or harbour. To the weftward
of the Cape the land trends S. W. a S. and there forms a
very large bay which turns to the eaftward, and probably
communicates with the inlet, and makes the land of the
Cape an ifland. As foon as we got round this Cape, we
hauled our wind to the weftward, in order to get within the
iflands, which lie fcattered in the bay in great numbers, and
extend out to fea as far as the eye could reach even from the
maft-head: thefe iflands vary both in height and circuit from
each other; fo that, although they are very numerous, no
two o f them are alike. We had not flood long upon a wind
before we came into fhoal water, and were obliged to tack
at once to avoid it. Having fent a boat ahead, I bore away
W. by N. many fmall iflands, rocks, and fhoals, lying between
us and the main, and many of a larger extent without
us: our foundings till near noon were from fourteen to
feventeen fathom, when the boat made the fignal for meeting
with fhoal water: upon this we hauled clofe upon a
wind to the eaftward, but fuddenly fell into three fathom
and a quarter; we immediately dropped an anchor, which
brought the fhip up with all her fails Handing. When the
fhip was brought up we had four fathom, with a coarfe
fandy bottom, and found a ftrong tide fetting to the N. W.
by W. f W. at the rate of near three miles an hour, by
which we were fo fuddenly carried upon the fhoal. Our
latitude by obfervation was 22° 8' S.; Cape Townfhend bore
E. 16 S. diftant thirteen miles; and the weftermoft part of
Q ji the