islands, and some land to the southward, which we could not
well tell whether it were islands or part of the main. These islands are
all high, full of fair trees and spots of great savannahs, as well the
Burning Isle as the rest; but the Burning Isle was more round and peaked
at top, very fine land near the sea, and for two-thirds up it: we also
saw another isle sending forth a great smoke at once, but it soon
vanished, and we saw it no more; we saw also among these islands three
small vessels with sails, which the people of Nova Britannia seem wholly
ignorant of.

The 11th, at noon, having a very good observation, I found myself to the
northward of my reckoning, and thence concluded that we had a current
setting north-west, or rather more westerly, as the land lies. From that
time to the next morning we had fair clear weather, and a fine moderate
gale from south-east to east-by-north: but at daybreak the clouds began
to fly, and it lightened very much in the east, south-east, and north-
east. At sun-rising, the sky looked very red in the east near the
horizon, and there were many black clouds both to the south and north of
it. About a quarter of an hour after the sun was up, there was a squall
to the windward of us; when on sudden one of our men on the forecastle
called out that he saw something astern, but could not tell what: I
looked out for it, and immediately saw a spout beginning to work within a
quarter of a mile of us, exactly in the wind: we presently put right
before it. It came very swiftly, whirling the water up in a pillar about
six or seven yards high. As yet I could not see any pendulous cloud,
from whence it might come, and was in hopes it would soon lose its force.
In four or five minutes' time it came within a cable's length of us, and
passed away to leeward, and then I saw a long pale stream coming down to
the whirling water. This stream was about the bigness of a rainbow: the
upper end seemed vastly high, not descending from any dark cloud, and
therefore the more strange to me, I never having seen the like before. It
passed about a mile to leeward of us, and then broke. This was but a
small spout, not strong nor lasting; yet I perceived much wind in it as
it passed by us. The current still continued at north-west a little
westerly, which I allowed to run a mile per hour.

By an observation the 13th, at noon, I found myself 25 minutes to the
northward of my reckoning; whether occasioned by