Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/522

484 The coast presented no bights in which we could hope to find good anchorage. At noon, we had arrived in latitude 43° 22′ S., and longitude 143° 28′ E., being but 5,100 toises distant from the land, which, from N. 7° W. to E. 23° S. always presented very high mountains to our view.

At six o'clock in the evening, we doubled the southern cape, at the distance of 10,200 toises. It is remarkable, that in the different windings of the coast, which we followed, we had always the wind a-stern. It appeared to me, that the high mountains, opposing a barrier to the wind, forced them to observe the direction of the coast.

All the other mountains were surpassed in altitude, by that which we saw covered with snow, when we anchored in Port Dentrecasteaux, the preceding year. But as this was a much warmer season, we observed snow only in great excavations, where it was screened from the solar rays, for a considerable part of the day. That mountain is remarkable for a little conical peak, which forms its summit.

At the approach of night, we passed very near the Mew-stone, and soon after we brought to, before a very fresh breeze at west.

We sounded several times with a line of eighty-three fathoms, without reaching the bottom. As