not above seven leagues distance. As we edged from the land we had
a variety of soundings; first black sand, then muddy, and soon after
rough ground with stones: But when we had increased our depth to
forty-eight fathoms, we had a muddy bottom to the lat. of 46 deg. 10' S.
Hence drawing near the shore, we had at first thirty-six fathoms,
and still kept shoaling till we came into twelve fathoms, having
constantly small stones and pebbles at the bottom.

Part of this time we had a view of Cape Blanco, in about lat. 47 deg.
10' S. and long. 69 deg. W. from London.[2] Steering from hence S. by
E. nearly, we deepened our water to fifty fathoms in a run of about
thirty leagues, without once altering the bottom; and then drawing
towards the shore, with a S.W. course, varying rather westward, we had
constantly a sandy bottom till we came to thirty fathoms, when we had
again a sight of land in about lat. 48 deg. 31' S. We made this land on
the 17th February, and came to anchor at five that afternoon in lat.
48 deg. 58' S. with the same soundings as before; the southermost land
then in view bearing S.S.W. the northermost N.E. a small island N.W.
and the westermost hummock W.S.W. At this anchorage we found the tide
to set S. by W.

[Footnote 2: Cape Blanco is in lat 47 deg. 20' S. long. 64 deg. 30' W. from
Greenwich. At this place, instead of a description of Cape Blanco, the
original gives two views of the coast in different directions, as seen
from sea; here omitted for reasons already assigned.--E.]

We weighed anchor at five next morning, and an hour afterwards
descried a sail, which was soon found to be the Pearl, which had
separated from us a few days after leaving St Catharines. Yet she
increased her sail and stood away from the Gloucester; and when she
came up, the people of the Pearl had their hammocks in their netting,
and every thing ready for an engagement. The Pearl joined us about
two in the afternoon, and running up under our stern, Lieutenant
Salt informed the commodore that Captain Kidd had died on the 31st
of January. He likewise said that he had seen five large ships on
the 10th of this month, which he for some time imagined had been our
squadron, insomuch that he suffered the commanding ship, which wore a
red broad pendant exactly resembling that of our commodore at the
main top-mast head, to come within gun-shot of the Pearl before he
discovered the mistake; but then, finding it was not the Centurion,
he ha