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1770. Auguft.

it came from the northward: to account for its course in all this variety of directions, we need only admit that the floodtide comes from the east or fouth east. It is well known,. that where there are deep inlets, and large creeks into low lands, running up from the fea, and not occafioned by rivers of fresh water, there will always be a great indraught of the flood-tide, the direction of which will be determined by the pofition or direction of the coaft which forms the entrance of fuch inlet, whatever be its courfe at fea; and where the tides are weak, which upon this coaft is generally the cafe, a large inlet will, if I may be allowed the expreffion, attract the flood-tide for many leagues.

A view of the chart will at once illuftrate this position. To the northward of Whitfunday's Paffage there is no large inlet, confequently the flood fets to the northward, or north weftward, according to the direction of the coaft, and the ebb to the fouth, or fouth eastward, at least fuch is their courfe at a little distance from the land, for very near it they will be influenced by fmall inlets. I also observed, that we had only one high tide in twenty-four hours, which happened in the night. The difference between the perpen dicular rise of the water in the day and the night, when there is a fpring-tide, is no less than three feet, which, where the tides are fo inconfiderable as they are here, is a great proportion of the whole difference between high and low water. This irregularity of the tides, which is worthy of notice, we did not discover till we were run afhore, and perhaps farther to the northward it is ftill greater: after we got within the reef the second time, we found the tides more confiderable than we had ever done before, except in the Bay of Inlets, and poffibly this may be owing to the water being more confined between the fhoals; here also the flood fets to

the

the north weft, and continues in the fame direction to the extremity of New Wales, from whence its direction is west and fouth west into the Indian fea.

1770.

Auguft.

CHAP. VII.

The Paffage from New South Wales to New Guinea, with an Account of what happened upon landing there.

I

N the afternoon of Thursday August the 23d, after leaving Thursday 23. Booby land, we fteered W. N. W. with light airs from

the S. S. W. till five o'clock, when it fell calm, and the tide of ebb soon after fetting to the N. E. we came to an anchor in eight fathom water, with a foft fandy bottom. Booby Ifland bore S. 50 E. diftant five miles, and the Prince of Wales's Ifles extended from N. E. by N. to S. 55 E.; between these there appeared to be a clear open paffage, extending from N. 46 E. to E. by N.

At half an hour after five, in the morning of the 24th, as Friday 24. we were purchasing the anchor, the cable parted at about eight or ten fathom from the ring: the ship then began to drive, but I immediately dropped another anchor, which brought her up before she got more than a cable's length from the buoy; the boats were then fent to fweep for the anchor, but could not fucceed. At noon, our latitude, by obfervation, was 10° 30'S. As I was refolved not to leave the anchor behind, while there remained a poffibility of recovering it, I fent the boats again after dinner, with a fmall line, to discover where it lay; this being happily effected, we swept for it with a hawfer, and by the fame hawfer hove the fhip up to it: we proceeded to weigh it, but

just

1770. Auguft.

Friday 24.

Saturday 25.

juft as we were about to ship it, the hawser flipped, and we
had all our labour to repeat: by this time it was dark, and
we were obliged to fufpend our operations till the morning.
As foon as it was light, we fweeped it again, and heaved
it to the bows: by eight o'clock, we weighed the other an-
chor, got under fail, and, with a fine breeze at E. N. E. ftood
to the north weft. At noon, our latitude, by obfervation,
was 10° 18' S. longitude 219° 39′ W. At this time, we had
no land in fight, but about two miles to the fouthward of us
lay a large fhoal, upon which the fea broke with great vio-
lence, and part of which, I believe, is dry at low water. It
extends N. W. and S. E. and is about five leagues in circuit.
Our depth of water, from the time we weighed till now, was
nine fathom, but it soon shallowed to feven fathom; and at
half an hour after one, having run eleven miles between
noon and that time, the boat which was a-head made the
fignal for fhoal water; we immediately let go an anchor,
and brought the ship up with all the fails standing, for the
boat having just been relieved, was at but a little distance:
upon looking out from the fhip, we faw fhoal water almost
all round us, both wind and tide at the fame time setting
upon it. The fhip was in fix fathom, but upon founding
round her, at the diftance of half a cable's length, we
found scarcely two.
by the north and weft, as far as the fouth west, so that there
was no way for us to get clear but that which we came.
This was another hair's-breadth escape, for it was near high
water, and there run a fhort cockling fea, which must very
foon have bulged the fhip if fhe had ftruck; and if her direc-
tion had been half a cable's length more either to the right
or left, fhe must have ftruck before the fignal for the fhoal
was made. The fhoals which, like thefe, lie a fathom or
two under water, are the most dangerous of any, for they do

This fhoal reached from the east, round

not

not discover themselves till the veffel is just upon them, and then indeed the water looks brown, as if it reflected a dark cloud. Between three and four o'clock the tide of ebb began to make, and I fent the Mafter to found to the fouthward and fouth westward, and in the mean time, as the fhip tended, I weighed anchor, and with a little fail ftood first to the southward, and afterwards edging away to the westward, got once more out of danger. At funfet, we anchored in ten fathom, with a fandy bottom, having a fresh gale at

E. S. E.

1770. Auguft.

Saturday 25.

At fix in the morning, we weighed again and flood west, Sunday 26. having, as usual, first sent a boat a-head to found. I had intended to fteer N. W. till I had made the fouth coast of New Guinea, defigning, if poffible, to touch upon it; but upon meeting with these shoals, I altered my course, in hopes of finding a clearer channel, and deeper water. In this I fucceeded, for by noon our depth of water was gradually increased to seventeen fathom. Our latitude was now by observation 10° 10′ S.; and our longitude 220° 12′ W. No land was in fight. We continued to fteer weft till funfet, our depth of water being from twenty-feven to twenty-three fathom: we then shortened fail, and kept upon a wind all night; four hours on one tack, and four on another. At day-light, we made all the fail we could, and fteered W. N. W. Monday 27. till eight o'clock, and then N. W. At noon, our latitude by obfervation was 9° 56′ S.; longitude 221° W.; variation 2° 30′ E. We continued our N. W. courfe till funfet, when we again fhortened fail, and hauled clofe upon a wind to the northward: our depth of water was twenty-one fathom. At eight, we tacked and stood to the fouthward till twelve ; then stood to the northward with little fail till day-light: our foundings were from twenty-five to feventeen fathom, the water growing gradually fhallow as we flood to the north

[blocks in formation]

Tuesday 28.

1770. Auguft.

Tuesday 28.

ward. At this time we made fail and flood to the north, in order to make the land of New Guinea: from the time of our making fail till noon, the depth of water gradually decreased from feventeen to twelve fathom, with a ftoney and fhelly bottom. Our latitude by observation was now 8° 52′ S. which is in the same parallel as that in which the southern parts of New Guinea are laid down in the charts; but there are only two points fo far to the fouth, and I reckoned that we were a degree to the weftward of them both, and therefore did not fee the land, which trends more to the northward. We found the fea here to be in many parts covered with a brown fcum, fuch as failors generally call fpawn. When I first saw it, I was alarmed, fearing that we were among fhoals; but upon founding, we found the fame depth of water as in other places. This fcum was examined both by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, but they could not determine what it was: it was formed of innumerable small particles, not more than half a line in length, each of which in the microscope appeared to confift of thirty or forty tubes; and each tube was divided through its whole length by fmall partitions into many cells, like the tubes of the conferva: they were fuppofed to belong to the vegetable kingdom, because upon burning them they produced no fmell like that of an animal fubftance. The fame appearance had been obferved upon the coaft of Brazil and New Holland, but never at any confiderable distance from the fhore. In the evening a small bird hovered about the fhip, and at night, fettling among the rigging, was taken. It proved to be exactly the fame bird which Dampier has described, and of which he has given a rude figure, by the name of a Noddy from New Holland. [See his Voyages, vol. iii. p. 98. Tab. of Birds, Fig. 5.]

We

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