dampier's voyages. 147
seeing from this anchoring place all open before me, which therefore I designed to search before 1 left the bay. So on the 11th, about noon, I stcer'd farther in, with an easy sail, because we had but shallow water : we kept therefore good looking out for fear of shoals, sometimes shortning, some- times deepning the water. About two in the afternoon we saw the land a-head that makes the S. of the bay, and before night we had again sholdings from that shore : and therefore shortned sail and stood off and on all night, under two topsails, continually sounding, having never more than ten fathom, and seldom less than seven. The water deepned and sholdned so very gently, that in heaving the lead five or six times we should scarce have a foot difference. When we came into seven fathom either way, we presently went about. From this S. part of the bay, we could not see the land from whence we came in the afternoon : and this land we found to be an island of three or four leagues long ; but it appearing barren, I did not strive to go nearer it; and the rather, because the winds would not permit us to do it with- out much trouble, and at the openings the water was gene- rally shoal, I therefore made no farther attempts in this S.W. and S. part of the bay. and steered away to the east- ward, to see if there was any land that way, for as yet we had seen none there. On the 12th, in the morning, we pass'd by the N. point of that land, and were confirm'd in the persuasion of its being an island, by seeing an opening to the east of it, as we had done on the W. Having fair weather, a small gale, and smooth water, we stood further on in the bay, to see what land was on the E. of it. Our soundings at first were seven fathom, which held so a great while, but at length it decreas'd to six. Then we saw the land right a-head, that in the plan makes the E. of the bay. We could not come near it with the ship, having but shoal water ; and it being dangerous lying there, and the land extraordinary low, very unlikely to have fresh
