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1764. Novemb.

fouth-east we were then steering S. W. and I fent officers to the mast-head to look out upon the weather beam, and they called out that they faw land also a Mond, 12. great way to the windward. I immediately brought to, and founded; we had ftill fifty-two fathom, but I thought that we were embayed, and rather wifhed than hoped that we fhould get clear before night. We made fail and fteered E. S. E. the land ftill having the fame appearance, and the hills looking blue, as they generally do at a little diftance in dark rainy weather; and now many of the people faid that they faw the fea break upon the fandy beaches; but having fteered out for about an hour, what we had taken for land, vanished all at once, and to our great aftonishment appeared to have been a fog-bank. Though I had been almost continually at fea for feven-and-twenty years, I had never seen such a deception before; others however have been equally deceived; for the master of a ship, not long fince, made oath, that he had feen an island between the west end of Ireland and Newfoundland, and even diftinguished the trees that grew upon it. Yet it is certain that no fuch ifland exifts, at leaft it could never be found, though feveral fhips were afterwards fent out on purpose to feek it. And I am sure, that if the weather had not cleared up foon enough for us to fee what we had taken for land disappear, every man on board would freely have made oath, that land had been discovered in this fituation. Our latitude this day was 43° 46' S. longitude 600 5' W. and the variation 19o 30'E.

The next day, at four o'clock in the afternoon, the Tuef. 13, weather being extremely fine, the wind shifted at once to the S. W. and began to blow fresh, the sky at the fame time becoming black to windward: in a few minutes all the people that were upon the deck were alarmed with a fudden and unufual noife, like the breaking of the fea upon the fhore. I ordered the topfails to be handed immediately; but before it could be done, I saw the sea approaching at some distance, in vaft billows covered with foam; I called to the people to haul up the forefail, and let go the main sheet inftantly; for I was perfuaded that if we had any fail out when the guft reached us, we should either be over

fet,

1764. Novemb.

fet, or lose all our mafts. It reached us however before we could raise the main tack, and laid us upon our beam ends: the main tack was then cut, for it was become impoffible to caft it off; and the main sheet ftruck down the first Lieutenant, bruifed him dreadfully, and beat out three of his teeth: the main topfail, which was not quite handed, was fplit to pieces. If this fquall, which came on with lefs warning and more violence than any I had ever feen, had taken us in the night, I think the fhip must have been loft. When it came on we obferved feveral hundreds of birds flying before it, which expreffed their terror by loud fhrieks; it lasted about twenty minutes, and then gradually subsided. The Tamar split her main-fail, but as he was to leeward of us, fhe had more time to prepare. In a fhort time it began to blow very hard again, so that we reefed our main-fail, and lay to unWedn. 14. der it all night. As morning approached, the gale became more moderate, but we had still a great fea, and the wind shifting to S. by W. we stood to the weft ward under our courses. Soon after it was light, the sea appeared as red as blood, being covered with a small fhell-fifh of that colour, fomewhat refembling our cray-fish, but lefs, of which we took up great quantities in bafkets.

Thurf. 15.

At half an hour past four in the morning of Thurfday the 15th of November, we faw land, which had the appearance of an ifland about eight or nine leagues long, there being no land in fight either to the north. ward or fouthward, though by the charts it should be Cape Saint Helena, which projects from the coaft to a confiderable distance, and forms two bays, one to the north, and the other to the fouth. As the weather was very fine, I tacked and stood in for it about ten o'clock; but as there were many funken rocks at about two leagues distance from it, upon which the fea broke very high, and the wind feemed to be gradually dying away, I tacked again and stood off. The land appeared to be barren and rocky, without either tree or bush: when I was nearest to it I founded and had forty-five fathom, with black muddy ground. To my great misfortune, my three Lieutenants and the Mafter were at this time fo ill as to be incapable of duty, though

Novemb.

though the rest of the fhip's company were in good 1764.
health. Our latitude was 45° 21' S. longitude 63°
2' W. the variation 19° 41' E.

The next day I shaped my courfe by the chart in Frid. 16.
the account of Lord Anfon's voyage, for Cape Blanco.
In the evening it blew extremely hard at S. W. by S.
fo that we brought to for the night under our main-
fail. In the morning we made fail again, but we had Satur. 17.
a great fea; and although it was now almoft midfum-
mer in these parts, the weather was, in every respect,
much worse than it is in the Bay of Biscay at the depth
of winter. About fix in the evening, having carried
all the fail I could, we made land, bearing about S.
S. W. which, as we had good obfervation of the fun,
we knew to be Cape Blanco; but it now began to
blow with more violence then ever, and the storm
continued all night, with a fea that was continually
breaking over us, fo that the fhip laboured very much.
At four in the morning, we founded and had forty Sund. 18,
fathom, with rocky ground; having stood off in the
night, we now wore and stood in again, the ftorm still
continued with hail and fnow: and about fix o'clock.
we faw the land again, bearing S. W, by W. The ship
was now fo light, that, in a gale of wind fhe drove
bodily to leeward; fo that I was very folicitous to get
into Port Defire, that I might put her hold in order,
and take in fufficient ballaft, to avoid the danger of
being caught upon a lee fhore in her prefent trim. We
fteered in for the land with the wind at N. E. and in
the evening brought to; but the wind coming to the Mond. 19.
weftward, we were driven off in the night. At feven
the next morning, we stood in again, steering S. W.
by S. by the compafs, and foon perceived the fea to
break right a-head of us; we immediately founded,
and fhoaled our water from thirteen to feven fathom,
foon after deepening it again from feventeen to forty-
two; fo that we went over the end of a fhoal, which
a little farther to the northward might have been fatal
to us. Cape Blanco at this time bore W. S. W. S.
diftant four leagues: but we were still at a lofs for Port
Defire, it being impoffible that any defcription fhould
be more confused than that which Sir John Narbo-
rough has given of this harbour. I ftood into a bay to

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1764.

Novemb.

Tues. 20.

the fouthward of the Cape, as he directs, but could find no fuch place; I therefore ftood along the fhore to the fouthward, the wind blowing off the land very hard, and faw feveral large columns of fmoke rising in many places, but no tree or bush, the country refembling in appearance the barren downs of England. We obferved alfo that the water was frequently very fhallow at the distance of feven or eight miles from the shore, for we had many times not more than ten fathom.

We continued to stand along the shore all day as near as poffible, and in the evening we faw an Island at the distance of about fix leagues; in the morning we stood in for it, and found that it correfponded with Narborough's defcription of Penguin Ifland. As Port Defire is faid to lie about three leagues north west of this Ifland, I fent the boat to look for it, and when fhe returned, having found it, I ftood in for the land. There were thousands of feals and penguins about the fhip, and near Penguin ifland feveral fmaller iflands, or rather rocks. In the evening, we faw a remarkable rock, rifing from the water like a steeple, on the south fide of the entrance of Port Defire; this rock is an excellent mark to know the harbour, which it would otherwise be difficult to find. At night, there being little wind, we anchored at the distance of four or five Wed. 21 miles from the fhore; and in the morning, with a

breeze from the land, we turned up the harbour's
mouth; we found it very narrow, with many rocks
and fhoals about it, and the moft rapid tide I had ever
known. I came to an anchor off the harbour in nine
fathom, the entrance of the river being open, and
bearing W. S. W. Penguin ifland S. E. E. diftant
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about three leagues; the Steeple rock S. W. by W.
the northermoft land N. N. W. and two rocks,
which are covered at half tide, and lie at the fouther-
moft extremity of a reef which runs from the fame land,
N. E. by N. I mention all these bearings particularly,
because I think it may be of importance to future na-
vigators, especially as the defcriptions that have been
given of this place, by the few who have already visited
it, are extremely defective. The wind blew very hard
the greater part of this day, and there ran an ugly fea
where we were stationed, yet I ordered out two boats

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to found the harbour, and attended in my own boat
myfelf. We found it very narrow for near two miles,
with a tide running at the rate ofeight miles an hour:
we found also many rocks and fhoals, but all the dan-
ger fhows itself above water. When we came to the
fhore, I landed, and walked a little way into the coun-
try, which as far as I could fee was all downs, with-
out a single tree or thrub. We faw the dung of many
beasts, and had a glimpse of four, which ran away as
foon as we came in fight, fo that we could not cer-
tainly determine what they were; but we believed
them to be guanicoes, many of which we afterwards
saw come down to the water fide; they resemble our
deer, but are much larger, the height of fome being
not lefs than thirteen hands; they are very fhy, and
very swift. After I returned to my boat, I went far-
ther up the harbour, and landed upon an island that
was covered with feals, of which we killed above fifty,
and
among
them many
that were larger than a bul-
lock, having before half loaded our boat with different
kinds of birds, of which, and feals, there are enough
to fupply the navy of England. Among the birds
one was very remarkable : the head resembled that
of an eagle, except that it had a large comb upon it;
round the neck there was a white ruff, exactly re-
fembling a lady's tippet, the feathers on the back were
as black as jet, and as bright as the finest polish could
render that mineral: the legs were remarkably ftrong
and large, the talons were like those of an eagle, ex-
cept that they were not fo fharp, and the wings, when
they were extended, measured, from point to point,
no less than twelve feet.

The Tamar worked into the harbour with the tide of flood, but I kept my station with the Dolphin till I fhould have a leading wind; and the wind fhifting to the eastward, I weighed about five o'clock in the afternoon, intending to go up with the evening flood: before I could get under fail, however, the wind fhifted again to N. W. by N. and it being low water, the fhip lying but just within the harbour, and there being no tide to affift us, we were obliged to anchor near the fouth fhore. 'The wind came off the land in very hard flaws, and in a fhort time, our anchor coming home,

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