November d 'nal7 effcdl o f currents we had before experienced, the
— > late feafon o f the year, the unfettled Hate o f the weather,
and the little likelihood o f any change for the better, made
Captain Gore refolve to leave Japan altogether, and profe-
cute our voyage to C h in a ; hoping, that as the track he
meant to purfue had never yet been explored, he ihould be
able to make amends, by fome new difcovery, for the dif-
appointments we had met with on this coaft.
I f the reader ihould be o f opinion that we quitted this ob-
je6t too haitily, in addition to the fa ils already ftated, it
ought to be remarked, Ksempfer defcribes the coail o f Japan
as the moil dangerous in the whole w o r ld * ; that it
would have been equally dangerous, in cafe o f diftrefs, tp
run into any o f their harbours; where we know, from
the beft authorities, that the averfion o f the inhabitants to
any intercourfe with ftrangers, has led them to commit the
moil atrocious barbarities ; that our ihips were in a leaky
condition; that our fails were worn out, and unable to
' withftand a gale o f w in d ; and that the rig g in g was fo rotten
as to require conftant and perpetual repairs.
As the ilrong currents, which fet along the Eaftern coail
o f Japan, may be o f dangerous confequence to the navigator,
who is not aware o f their extraordinary rapidity, I
ih a ll take leave o f this iiland, with a fummary account o f
their force and direction, as obferved by us from the til to
the 8th o f November. On the ift, at which time we were
about eighteen leagues to the Eailward o f White Point, the
current fet North Eail and by North, at the rate o f three
miles an hou r ; on the ad, as we approached the ihore, we
* See Ksmpfer’s Hi ft. of Japan, Vol. I. p. 92, 93, 94, and 102.
found
found it continuing in the fame diredlion, but increafed in N^ ” -ber
its rapidity to five miles an h o u r ; as we left the ihore it ■
again became more moderate and inclined to the Ea ilwa rd;
on the 3d, at the diftance o f fixty leagues, it fet to the Eaft
North Eaft, three miles an hou r ; on the 4th and 5th, it
turned to the Southward, and at one hundred and twenty
leagues from the land, its direilion was South Eaft, and its
rate not more than a mile and h a lf an h o u r : on the 6th and
7th, it again ihifted round to the North Eaft, its force gia-
dually diminiihing till the 8 th ; when we could no longer
.perceive any at all.
During the 4th and jth , we continued our courfe to the
South Eaft, having very unfettied weather, attended with
much lightning and rain. On both days we pafied great
quantities o f pumice ftone, feveral pieces o f w hich we took
up and found to weigh from one ounce to three pounds.
We conjedtured that thefe ftones had been thrown into the
fea, b y eruptions o f various dates, as many o f them were
covered with barnacles, and others quite bare. At the fame
time, we faw two wild ducks, and feveral fmall land birds,
and had many porpufies playing round us.
On the 6th, at day-light, we altered our courfe to the Saturday 6.
South South W e ft; but at eight in the evening, we were
taken back, and obliged to fteer to the South Eaft. On the
7th, at noon, we faw a fmall land bird, our latitude, by Sunday 7.
obfervation at this this time, being 330 52', and longitude
148" 42'. On the 9th, we were in latitude 31° 46', longitude Tuefday?.
146° 20’, when we again faw a fmall land bird, a tropic
bird, porpufies, flying fifties, and had a great fwell from
the Eaft South Eaft. We continued our courfe to the South
Weft, having the winds from the Northward, without any
2 remarkable