Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/110

100 the land in the difference of colour of the water, ariing from the hallownes of its bottom.

Some eals, of the pecies called by Linnæus phoca puilla, approached very near to our veel in quet of their food amongt the large maes of fucus pyriformis, which floated upon the water. Thee animals often ecaped from our ailors by taking everal ucceive leaps over the water. This they perform by placing their hinder paws together, o as to reemble the broad tail of a fih, and act with coniderable reitance againt the urface of the water, over which they bound like a nimble quadruped over a level plain.

We fell a little to leeward of the mouth of Table Bay, which gave us hopes of coming to anchor in the coure of the day. It was not, however, the mot favourable weather for making the land; for the day was very rainy, and the coat often concealed by a thick fog from our view.

About even in the evening we were between 7 and 8,000 toies from the mountain of Hout Bay, which bore E. 3° 45′ N. The foreland of the Cape bore N.N.E. The Lion's-head E. 3° N. Our oundings gave us here the depth of water at eventy toies over a bottom of coral.

The ea appeared very phophorecent throughout the whole night which we pent off the coat. A great number of luminous pecks were oberv- able