. and forms a large open bay, the bottom of which is so low a
flat that from the deck it could scarcely be seen. In crossing this bay,
our depth of water was from thirty to twenty-two fathom, with a white
sandy bottom. At noon, we were about three leagues from the shore, in
latitude 25 deg. 84' S., longitude 206 deg. 45' W.: Double Island Point bore S.
1/4 W. and the northermost land in sight N. 1/4 E. This part of the
coast, which is of a moderate height, is more barren than any we had
seen, and the soil more sandy. With our glasses we could discover that
the sands, which lay in great patches of many acres, were moveable, and
that some of them had not been long in the place they possessed; for we
saw in several parts, trees half buried, the tops of which were still
green; and in others, the naked trunks of such as the sand had
surrounded long enough to destroy. In other places the woods appeared to
be low and shrubby, and we saw no signs of inhabitants. Two water-snakes
swam by the ship: They were beautifully spotted, and in every respect
like land-snakes, except that their tails were broad and flat, probably
to serve them instead of fins in swimming. In the morning of this day,
the variation was 8 deg. 20' E., and in the evening, 8 deg. 36. During the
night, we continued our course to the northward, with a light breeze
from the land, being distant from it between two and three leagues, and
having from twenty-three to twenty-seven fathom, with a fine sandy
bottom.

At noon on the 19th, we were about four miles from the land, with only
thirteen fathom. Our latitude was 26 deg. 4', and the northermost land in
sight bore N. 21 W., distant eight miles. At one o'clock, being still
four miles distant from the shore, but having seventeen fathom water, we
passed a black bluff head, or point of land, upon which a great number
of the natives were assembled, and which therefore I called _Indian
Head_: it lies in latitude 25 deg. 3'. About four miles N. by W. of this
head, is another very like it, from whence the land trends away somewhat
more to the westward: Next to the sea it is low and sandy, and behind it
nothing was to be seen, even from the mast-head. Near Indian Head we saw
more of the natives, and upon the neighbouring shore fires by night, and
smoke by day. We kept to the northward all night, at the distance of
from four miles to four leagues from the shore, and with a depth of
water from seventeen to thirty-four fathom.