We Had Eighteen Fathoms
Water, And The Next Cast Eighty-Five Fathoms.
We steered E. by S. and at
four p.m. the island bore N. by E. half a point N. three or four leagues
off.
We then had sight of two other low flat islands, one opening to the
eastwards, and the other to the westwards, so that the first seen lay in
the middle between them. At six p.m. that first seen island bearing N.
half a point E. we sounded, and had no ground at eighty fathoms. We
steered E. by S. constantly throwing the lead, in regard to the
overfalls or ripplings, which were very fearful, yet had no ground at
sixty fathoms.
At day-break of the 31st, we had sight of Celebes, its western extremity
rising like an island, and the outermost high land bearing E. by N. six
leagues off, our latitude 5 deg. 52' S. our course E. northerly sixteen
leagues, and a current setting N.W. At sun-set we took in our sails,
that we might not overshoot the straits of Desalon, called Solore by
the natives.[424] Keeping our lead going all night, while under easy
sail, we had first twenty fathoms, the high land being then north, and
drove thence into thirty-three and forty-seven fathoms, fearing a shoal
about two-thirds of a league from Celebes, on which the sea breaks at
low-water. The passage, or straits, on the Celebes side, is very
dangerous, and full of sunken ground, wherefore we hauled off to the
Desalon side, giving it a good birth, having a peaked hill next the
sea-side, rising like an island.
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