r, and ordered us a pilot. On the morning
of the 20th we weighed and stood in, and the pilot came aboard of us
about noon, and the same afternoon brought us to anchor in five and
a half fathoms, in a commodious bay on the continent, called by the
French Bon-port. From our last anchorage to this, we found every where
an oozy bottom, the water first regularly decreasing to five fathoms,
and then increasing to seven, after which we had five and six fathoms
alternately. The squadron weighed again next morning, in order to run
above the two fortifications formerly mentioned, which are called the
castles of Santa Cruiz and St Joam. Our soundings between the island
and the main were four, five, and six fathoms, with muddy ground. We
saluted the castle of Santa Cruiz in passing with eleven guns, and
were answered with an equal number. At one in the afternoon of the
21st December, the squadron came to anchor in five fathoms and a half,
Governor's Isle bearing N.N.W. St Joam's castle N.E. 1/2 E. and the
island of St Antonio S. At this time the squadron was sickly, and in
great want of refreshments, both of which we hoped to have speedily
remedied at this settlement, celebrated by former navigators for
its healthiness and abundance of provisions, and for the freedom,
indulgence, and friendly assistance given here to all the ships of
nations in amity with the crown of Portugal.

SECTION V.

_Proceedings at St Catharines, and a Description of that Place, with a
short Account of Brazil._

Our first care after mooring the ships was to get our sick men on
shore; preparatory for which each ship was ordered by the commodore to
erect two tents, one for the reception of the sick, and the other for
the surgeon and his assistants. We sent eighty sick on shore from the
Centurion, and I believe the other ships sent as many in proportion
to the number of their hands. As soon as this necessary duty was
performed, we scraped our decks, and gave our ship a thorough
cleansing, then smoaked it between decks, and lastly washed every part
with vinegar. These operations were extremely necessary for correcting
the noisome stench on board, and destroying the vermin; for, from the
number of our men and the heat of the climate, both these nuisances
had increased upon us to a very loathsome degree, and, besides being
most intolerably offensive, were doubtless in some sort productive of
the sickness we had laboured under for a considerable time before