We Now Saw That
What We Had Taken For Openings In The Coast Was Low Land, And That It Was
All Connected, Except The Western Extremity, Which Was An Island Known By
The Name Of Balabea, As We Afterwards Learnt.
The boats having made a signal for a channel, and one of them being placed
on the point of
The reef on the weather side of it, we stood in with the
ship, and took up the other boat in our way, when the officer informed me,
that where we were to pass, was sixteen and fourteen fathoms water, a fine
sandy bottom, and that having put alongside two canoes, he found the people
very obliging and civil.[2] They gave him some fish; and, in return, he
presented them with medals, &c. In one was a stout robust young man, whom,
they understood to be a chief. After getting within the reef, we hauled up
S. 1/2 E., for a small low sandy isle that we observed lying under the
shore, being followed by all the canoes. Our sounding in standing in, was
from fifteen to twelve fathoms (a pretty even fine sandy bottom,) for about
two miles; then we had six, five, and four fathoms. This was on the tail of
a shoal which lies a little without the small isle to the N.E. Being over
it, we found seven and eight fathoms water, which shallowed gradually as we
approached the shore, to three fathoms, when we tacked and stood off a
little, and then anchored in five fathoms, the bottom a fine sand mixed
with mud.
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