ease and cheerfulness.

Having no other but our sheet-anchor left, except our prize-anchors,
which were stowed in the hold, and were too light to be depended on,
we were under great concern how we should manage on, the coast
of China, where we were all entire strangers, and where we should
doubtless be frequently under the necessity of coming to an anchor.
Our sheet-anchor being much too heavy for a coasting anchor, it was
at length resolved to fix two of our largest prize-anchors into one
stock, and to place between their shanks two guns, four pounders,
which was accordingly executed, and it was to serve as a best bower:
And a third prize-anchor being ill like manner joined with our
stream-anchor, with guns between them, we thereby made a small bower;
so that, besides our sheet-anchor, we had again two others at our
bows, one of which weighed 3900, and the other 2900 pounds.

The 3d of November, about three in the afternoon, we saw an island,
which at first we imagined to be the island of Botel Tobago Xima: But
on nearer approach we found it to be much smaller than that is usually
represented; and about an hour after we saw another island, five or
six miles farther to the westward. As no chart, nor any journal we had
seen, took notice of any other island to the eastward of Formosa, than
Botel Tobago Xima, and as we had no observation of our latitude
at noon, we were in some perplexity, being apprehensive that an
extraordinary current had driven us into the neighbourhood of the
Bashee islands; and therefore, when night came on, we brought to, and
continued in this posture till the next morning, which proving dark
and cloudy, for some time prolonged our uncertainty; but it cleared
up about nine o'clock, when we again discerned the two islands
above-mentioned; we then prest forwards to the westward, and by
eleven got a sight of the southern part of the island of Formosa. This
satisfied us that the second island we saw was Botel Tobago Xima, and
the first a small island or rock, lying five or six miles due east
from it, which, not being mentioned by any of our books or charts, was
the occasion of our fears.[3]

[Footnote 3: These two islands are marked in Arrowsmith's map of Asia,
under the names of Bottle Tobago and Little Bottle Tobago.--E.]

When we got sight of the island of Formosa, we steered W. by S. in
order to double its extremity, and kept a good look-out for the rocks
of Vele Rete, which we did not see till