was so great, that they would not
venture to land, though the young women repeated the allurements which
they had practised the day before, with still more wanton, and, if
possible, less equivocal gestures. Fruit and provisions of various kinds
were brought down and ranged upon the beach, of which our people were
also invited to partake, as an additional inducement for them to leave
the boat. They continued, however, inexorable, and shewing the Indian's
the barecas on board, made signs that they should bring down those which
had been detained the day before: To this the Indians were inexorable in
their turn, and our people therefore weighed their grapplings, and
sounded all round the place, to see whether the ship could come in near
enough to cover the waterers, in which case they might venture on shore,
in defiance of the whole island. When they put off, the women pelted
them with apples and bananas, shouting, and shewing every mark of
derision and contempt that they could devise. They reported, that the
ship might ride in four fathom water, with sandy ground, at two cables'
length from the shore, and in five fathom water at three cables' length.
The wind here blew right along the shore, raising a great surf on the
side of the vessel, and on the beach.

At day-break, the next morning, we weighed, with a design to anchor off
the watering-place. As we were standing off, to get farther to windward,
we discovered a bay about six or eight miles to leeward, over the land,
from the mast-head, and immediately bore away for it, sending the boats
a-head to sound. At nine o'clock, the boats making the signal for twelve
fathom, we hauled round a reef, and stood in, with a design to come to
an anchor; but when we came near the boats, one of which was on each
bow, the ship struck. Her head continued immoveable, but her stern was
free; and, upon casting the lead, we found the depth of water, upon the
reef or shoal, to be from seventeen fathom to two and a half: We clewed
all up as fast as possible, and cleared the ship of what lumber there
happened to be upon the deck, at the same time getting out the
long-boat, with the stream and kedge anchors, the stream-cable and
hauser, in order to carry them without the reef, that when they had
taken ground, the ship might be drawn off towards them, by applying a
great force to the capstern, but unhappily without the reef we had no
bottom. Our condition was now very alarming, the ship continued