e
brig only deterred them from so doing. The same people were hovering
on the beach till very late in the evening, when they dispersed; many
of them could be seen even at midnight, so that they were obliged to
keep a good look-out till the morning.

During the night, the vessel rode very uneasily, in consequence of
the long heavy waves which set in from the bar; these are technically
called by sailors _ground swell_, being different from the waves
which are raised while the wind blows; the latter generally break at
the top, while the former are quite smooth, and roll with great
impetuosity in constant succession, forming a deep furrow between
them, which, with the force of the wave, is very dangerous to vessels
at anchor.

Their motions were still closely watched by the natives. About eleven
they got under way, but were obliged to anchor again in the
afternoon, as the water was not deep enough for the vessel to pass
over the bar. The mate sounded the bar again, and placed a buoy as a
mark for the vessel to pass over in the deepest water.

On the following morning, the wind favouring them, they made another
attempt at getting out of the river. They had already made some
progress, when the wind again died away, and the current setting them
rapidly over to the eastern breakers, they were obliged to let go an
anchor to save them from destruction. They could see nothing of the
buoy, and no doubt was entertained that it was washed away by the
current. Their anchorage was in three and a half fathom water, and
the ground swell, which then set in, heaved the vessel up and down in
such a frightful manner, that they expected every moment to see the
chain cable break. As soon as they dropped their anchor, the tide
rushed past the vessel at the rate of eight miles an hour. After the
ebb tide had ceased running, the swell gradually subsided, and the
vessel rode easily.

The mate was again sent to sound the bar, and in about three hours
afterwards, returned with the information that two fathoms and three
quarters was the deepest water he could find. The bar extended across
the mouth of the river in the form of a crescent, leaving a very
narrow and shallow entrance for vessels in the middle, which was
generally concealed by the surf and foam of the adjacent breakers.
When the wind is light and the tide high, and the surface of the
water smooth, excepting in a few places, the bar is then most
dangerous. They observed several fires