Page:A voyage to New Holland - Dampier.djvu/162

 gether; and a sort of white seamews, but black about the eyes, and with forked tails. We strove to run in near the shore to seek for a harbour to refresh us after our tedious voyage; having made one continued stretch from Brazil hither of about 114 degrees designing from hence also to begin the discovery I had a mind to make on New Holland and New Guinea. The land was low, and appeared even, and as we drew nearer to it it made with some red and some white cliffs; these last in latitude 26 10 south, where you will find 54 fathom within 4 miles of the shore.

About the latitude of 26 degrees south we saw an opening, and ran in, hoping to find a harbour there: but when we came to its mouth, which was about 2 leagues wide, we saw rocks and foul ground within, and therefore stood out again: there we had 20 fathom water within 2 mile of the shore. The land everywhere appeared pretty low, flat and even; but with steep cliffs to the sea; and when we came near it there were no trees, shrubs or grass to be seen. The soundings in the latitude of 26 degrees south, from about 8 or 9 leagues off till you come within a league of the shore, are generally about 40 fathom; differing but little, seldom above 3 or 4 fathom. But the