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I shall now quit this country with a few observations relative to the currents and tides upon the coast. From latitude 32°, and somewhat higher, down to Sandy Cape, in latitude 24° 46′, we constantly found a current setting to the southward, at the rate of about ten or fifteen miles a-day, being more or less, according to our distance from the land, for it always ran with more force in-shore than in the offing; but I could never satisfy myself whether the floodtide came from the southward, the eastward, or the northward; I inclined to the opinion that it came from the southeast; but the first time we anchored off the coast, which was in latitude 24° 30′, about ten leagues to the south-east of Bustard Bay, I found it came from the north-west; on the contrary, thirty leagues farther to the north-west, on the south side of Keppel Bay, I found that it came from the east, and at the northern part of that bay it came from the northward, but with a much slower motion than it had come from the east: On the east side of the Bay of Inlets, it set strongly to the westward, as far as the opening of Broad Sound; but on the north side of that sound it came with a very slow motion from the north-west; and when we lay at anchor before Repulse Bay, it came from the northward: To account for its course in all this variety of directions, we need only admit that the flood-tide comes from the east or south-east. It is well known, that where there are deep inlets, and large creeks into low lands running up from the sea, and not occasioned 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 position or direction of the coast which forms the entrance of such inlet, whatever be its course at sea; and where the tides are weak, which upon this coast is generally the case, a large inlet will, if I may be allowed the expression, attract the flood-tide for many leagues.

A view

"This table is exceedingly scanty and imperfect, and would not have been given were it not thought proper, for a reason already assigned, to preberve entire this early account of New Holland.-E.

A view of the chart will at once illustrate this position. To the northward of Whitsunday's Passage there is no large inlet, consequently the flood sets to the northward, or northwestward, according to the direction of the coast, and the ebb to the south, or south-eastward, at least such is their course at a little distance from the land, for very near it they will be influenced by small inlets. I also observed that we had only one high tide in twenty-four hours, which happened in the night. The difference between the perpendicular rise of the water in the day and the night, when there is a spring-tide, is no less than three feet, which, where the tides are so inconsiderable 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 ashore, and perhaps farther to the northward it is still greater. After we got within the reef the second time, we found the tides more considerable than we had ever done before, except in the Bay of Inlets, and possibly this may be owing to the water being more confined between the shoals; here also the flood sets to the north-west, and continues in the same direction to the extremity of New Wales, from whence its direction is west and south-west into the Indian sea,

SECTION XXXIV.

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

IN the afternoon of Thursday, August the 23d, after leaving Booby Island, we steered 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 setting to the N.E., we came to an anchor in eight fathom water, with a soft sandy bottom. Booby Island bore S. 50 E., distant five miles, and the Prince of Wales's Isles extended from N.E. by N. to S. 55 E.; between these there appeared to be a clear open passage, extending from N. 46 E. to E. by N.

At half an hour after five in the morning of the 24th, as 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

brought her up before she got more than a cable's length from the buoy; the boats were then sent to sweep for the anchor, but could not succeed. At noon our latitude by observation was 10° 30′ S. As I was resolved not to leave the anchor behind, while there remained a possibility of recovering it, I sent the boats again after dinner with a sinall line, to discover where it lay; this being happily effected, we swept for it with a hawser, and by the same hawser hove the ship up to it: We proceeded to weigh it, but just as we were about to ship it, the hawser slipped, and we had all our labour to repeat: By this time it was dark, and we were obliged to suspend our operations till the morning.

As soon as it was light, we sweeped it again, and heaved it to the bows: By eight o'clock we weighed the other anchor, got under sail, and, with a fine breeze at E.N.E. stood to the north-west. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 10° 18' S., longitude 219° 39′ W. At this time we had no land in sight, but about two miles to the southward of us lay a large shoal, upon which the sea broke with great violence, 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 seven 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 signal for shoal water; we immediately let go an anchor, and brought the ship up with all the sails standing, for the boat, having just been relieved, was at but a little distance: Upon looking out from the ship, we saw shoal water almost all round us, both wind and tide at the same time setting upon it. The ship was in six.fathom, but upon sounding round her, at the distance of half a cable's length, we found scarcely two. This shoal reached from the east, round by the north and west, as far as the south-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 short cockling sea, which must very soon have bulged the ship if she had struck; and if her direction had been half a cable's length more either to the right or left, she must have struck before the signal for the shoal was made. The shoals which, like these, lie a fathom or two under water, are the most

dangerous

dangerous of any, for they do not discover themselves till the vessel 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 sent the master to sound to the southward and south-westward, and in the mean time, as the ship tended, I weighed anchor, and with a little sail stood first to the southward, and after edging away to the westward, got once more out of danger. At sun-set we anchored in ten fathom, with a sandy bottom, having a fresh gale at E.S.E.

At six in the morning we weighed again and stood west, having, as usual, first sent a boat a-head to sound. I had intended to steer N.W. till I had made the south coast of New Guinea, designing, if possible, 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 succeeded, 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 sight. We continued to steer W. till sun-set, our depth of water being from twenty-seven to twenty-three fathom: We then shortened sail, and kept upon a wind all night; four hours on one tack and four on another. At day-light we made all the sail we could, and steered W.N.W. till eight o'clock, and then N.W. At noon our latitude, by observation, was 9° 56' S., longitude 221° W.; variation 2° 30′ E. We continued our N.W. course till sun-set, when we again shortened sail, and hauled close upon a wind to the northward: Our depth of water was twenty-one fathom. At eight, we tacked and stood to the southward till twelve; then stood to the northward, with little sail, till day-light: Our soundings were from twenty-five to seventeen fathom, the water growing gradually shallow as we stood to the northward. At this time we made sail and stood to the north, in order to make the land of New Guinea: From the time of our making sail, till noon, the depth of water gradually decreased from seventeen to twelve fathom, with a stoney and shelly 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 so far to the south, and I reckoned that we were a degree to the westward of them both, and therefore did not

see

see the land, which trends more to the northward. We found the sea here to be in many parts covered with a brown scum, such as sailors generally call spawn. When I first saw it, I was alarmed, fearing that we were among shoals; but upon sounding, we found the same depth of water as in other places. This scum 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 consist of thirty or forty tubes; and each tube was divided through its whole length by small partitions into many cells, like the tubes of the conferva: They were supposed to belong to the vegetable kingdom, because, upon burning them, they produced no smell like that of an animal substance. The same appearance had been observed upon the coast of Brazil and New Holland, but never at any considerable distance from the shore. In the evening a small bird hovered about the ship, and at night, settling among the rigging, was taken. It proved to be exactly the same 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 continued standing to the northward with a fresh gale at E. by S. and S.E., till six in the evening, having very irregular soundings, the depth changing at once from twenty-four fathom to seven. At four we had seen the land from the mast-head, bearing N.W. by N.; it appeared to be very low, and to stretch from W.N.W. to N.N.E., distant four or five leagues. We now hauled close upon a wind till seven, then tacked and stood to the southward till twelve, at which time we wore and stood to the northward till four in the morning, then laid the head of the vessel off till daylight, when we again saw the land, and stood in N.N.W., directly for it, with a fresh gale at E. by S. Our soundings during the night were very irregular, from seven to five fathom, suddenly changing from deep to shallow, and from shallow to deep, without in the least corresponding with our distance from the land. At half an hour after six in the morning, a small low island, which lay at the distance of

about

'Additional information on this subject remains for a subsequent part of our work.-E.

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