dnight it
fell a calm; sailed 6 miles.

[* Cf. _Remarkable Maps_ II, 2, II, 3. Under date of March 31 the present
journal once more refers to this mistake in the older charts.]

{Page 23}

In the morning of the 6th the wind was N.E. with a tolerable breeze,
course held N.N.W., we saw high land ahead both on the lee and the
weather bow--at noon latitude 4 deg. 57', sailed three miles on the said
course; for the rest of the day we had a calm, towards the evening the
wind went round to S.E., course held N.E. by E., sailed 4 miles.

On Sunday the 8th the wind was S. by W., with rain; course held N.E. by
E., at noon latitude 4 deg. 27, sailed 4 miles on the said course. We then
went on a N.E. course, with a variable wind, which at last fell to a
calm; towards evening after sunset the wind turned to S. by E., we sailed
with the fore- and mizen-sails only on an E. course, sailed three miles
to E.S.O. [sic] In the night the two yachts ran foul of each other in
tacking, but got no damage worth mentioning. The latter part of the night
we drifted in a calm without sails until daybreak.

In the morning of the 9th we made sail again and with a weak N.E. wind
held our course for the land: somewhat later in the day the wind turned
to N.W., at noon we were in latitude 4 deg. 17' and had the south-coast of
the land east slightly north of us, course and wind as before; in the
evening we were close inshore in 25 fathom clayey ground, but since there
was no shelter there from sea-winds, we again turned off the land, and
skirted along it in the night with small sail, seeing we had no knowledge
of the land and the shallows thereabouts; variable wind with rain.

* * *

NOTE.

The same day the plenary council having been convened, it was determined
and fixed by formal resolution to continue our present course along the
coast, and if we should come upon any capes, bights, or roads, to come to
anchor there for one or two days at the utmost for a landing, in which we
shall run ashore in good order with two well-manned and armed pinnaces,
to endeavour to come to parley with the inhabitants and generally inspect
the state of affairs there; in leaving we shall, if at all practicable,
seize one or two blacks to take along with us; the main reason which has
led us to touch at the island aforesaid being, that certain reports and
writings seem to imply that the land which we are now near to, is the
Gouwen-eylandt [*], which it would be impossib