The Sea And Rivers Have Plenty
Of Fish; We Saw Abundance, Though We Caught But Few, And These Were
Cavallies, Yellow-Tails, And Whip-Rays.
We departed from hence on the 22nd of March, and on the 24th, in the
evening, we saw some
High land bearing north-west half-west, to the
west of which we could see no land, though there appeared something
like land bearing west a little southerly, but not being sure of it,
I steered west-north-west all night, and kept going on with an easy
sail, intending to coast along the shore at a distance. At ten
o'clock I saw a great fire bearing north-west-by-west, blazing up in
a pillar, sometimes very high for three or four minutes, then
falling quite down for an equal space of time, sometimes hardly
visible, till it blazed up again. I had laid me down, having been
indisposed these three days; but upon a sight of this, my chief mate
called me; I got up and viewed it for about half an hour, and knew
it to be a burning hill by its intervals: I charged them to look
well out, having bright moonlight. In the morning I found that the
fire we had seen the night before was a burning island, and steered
for it. We saw many other islands, one large high island, and
another smaller but pretty high. I stood near the volcano, and many
small low islands, with some shoals.
March the 25th, 1700, in the evening we came within three leagues of
this burning hill, being at the same time two leagues from the main;
I found a good channel to pass between them, and kept nearer the
main than the island. At seven in the evening I sounded, and had
fifty-two fathom fine sand and ooze. I stood to the northward to
get clear of this strait, having but little wind and fair weather.
The island all night vomited fire and smoke very amazingly, and at
every belch we heard a dreadful noise like thunder, and saw a flame
of fire after it the most terrifying that ever I saw; the intervals
between its belches were about half a minute, some more, others
less; neither were these pulses or eruptions alike, for some were
but faint convulsions, in comparison of the more vigorous; yet even
the weakest vented a great deal of fire; but the largest made a
roaring noise, and sent up a large flame, twenty or thirty yards
high; and then might be seen a great stream of fire running down to
the foot of the island, even to the shore. From the furrows made by
this descending fire, we could, in the day time, see great smoke
arise, which probably were made by the sulphurous matter thrown out
of the funnel at the top, which tumbling down to the bottom, and
there lying in a heap, burned till either consumed or extinguished;
and as long as it burned and kept its heat, so long the smoke
ascended from it; which we perceived to increase or decrease,
according to the quantity of matter discharged from the funnel:
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