Page:Early voyages to Terra Australis.djvu/211

 about twenty-five or thirty fathoms deep; and, as night drew on, kept out to sea, standing in for the land again after midnight. On the morning of the 9th (of June) they found themselves, according to their reckoning, about three miles from the shore; this day they made four or five miles by many tacks, sailing sometimes north, sometimes west, the coast lying north-quarter-west, the coast appearing low, naked, and excessively rocky, being nearly of the same height as that near Dover. At last they saw a little creek, with sandy bottom, into which they were anxious to enter, but upon approaching it, they found that the sea ran high, and the weather becoming more threatening, they were obliged to haul off the coast.

On the 10th, they remained in the same parts, tacking first on one side and then on the other, but the sea being still rough, they determined to abandon their shallop, and even to throw a part of the bread which remained in the vessel overboard, since it hindered them from clearing themselves of the water, which the vessel made upon every side. It rained much that night, and afforded them hopes that their people who remained upon the islands would derive great relief therefrom. On the eleventh day, the wind, which was west-south-west, began to sink, and they steered their course towards the north, for the sea, which still ran high, obliged them to keep at a distance from the land. On the 12th, they made an observation, by which they found themselves in the latitude of 27°. The wind being south-east, they bordered the coast, but were unable to land on account of its steepness, there being no creek, or low land, in advance of the rocks, as is usually found on sea coasts. From a distance, the country appeared fertile and full of vegetation. On the 13th, they found themselves by observation in the latitude of 25° 40'; by which they discovered that the current had carried them towards the north, and over against an opening, the coast lying to the north-east.