small inlet, and some low land with dunes, which we meant
to touch at, but on nearer approach we found a heavy sea and violent
breakers on the shore, while at the same time the swell from the west
suddenly began to run towards the land so strongly and so high, that we
could hardly keep off it, the less so as the storm always rose in
violence.

On the 10th do. we kept holding off and on for twenty-four hours owing to
the strong wind, while the storm from the north-west, which stood on the
boat we had taken with us, forced us to cut the same adrift and to throw
overboard a part of the bread we had with us, together with other things
that were in the way, since we could not keep the water out of our
pinnace.

During the night we were in great peril of foundering owing to the
violent gale and the hollow seas. We could not keep off the land, because
we did not venture to carry sail, and so were wholly at the mercy of wind
and waves, while it kept raining the whole night.

On the 1lth do. in the morning the weather began somewhat to abate, the
wind turning to west-south-west, upon which we held our course to
northward, but the sea was still very rough.

On the 12th do. at noon we were in Lat. 27 deg.; we ran close along the land
with a south-east wind, but could find no means to get near the land with
the pinnace, owing to the violent surf; we found the coast falling off
very steeply, without any foreland or inlets, such as other lands are
found to have: in short it seemed to us a barren, accursed earth without
leafage or grass.

On the 13th do. at noon we were in Lat. 25 deg. 40'; we found ourselves
drifting very rapidly northward, having rounded the point where the land
extends mainly N.N.E. and S.S.W. During the last 24 hours our course was
chiefly north. The coast was steep, consisting of red rock, without
foreland, of the same height almost everywhere, and impossible to touch
at owing to the breakers.

On the 14th do. in the morning there was a faint breeze, but during the
day it fell a dead calm. At noon we were in Lat. 24 deg.; course held N.,
with a S.E. wind; during the whole of the day the current carried us
northward against our will, for we {Page 57} were running along the land
with small sail. In the afternoon we saw smoke rising up from the land;
we accordingly rowed to shore in order to land if possible, with our
spirits somewhat raised, for I concluded that if there were men, there
must be water too. Co