may afford I know not; we caught no fish, though we were at anchor, but probably there is fresh water in several places, as both the islands and the main are inhabited.  We saw smoke and fires upon the main, and upon the islands we saw people.  At three in the afternoon we passed Cape Manifold, from which the land trends N.N.W.  The land of the Cape is high, rising in hills directly from the sea, and may be known by three islands which lie off it, one of them near the shore, and the other two eight miles out at sea.  One of these islands is low and flat, and the other high and round.  At six o’clock in the evening we brought-to, when the northermost part of the main in sight bore N.W. and some islands which lie off it N. 31 W. Our soundings after twelve o’clock were from twenty to twenty-five fathom, and in the night from thirty to thirty-four.

At day-break we made sail, Cape Manifold bearing S. by E. distant eight leagues, and the islands which I had set the night before were distant four miles in the same direction.  The farthest visible point of the main bore N. 67 W. at the distance of twenty-two miles; but we could see several islands to the northward of this direction.  At nine o’clock in the forenoon we were abreast of the point which I called Cape Townshend.  It lies in latitude 22 deg. 15’, longitude 209 deg. 43’.  The land is high and level, and rather naked than woody.  Several islands lie to the northward of it, at the distance of four or five miles out at sea; three or four leagues to the S.E. the shore forms a bay, in the bottom of which there appeared to be an inlet or harbour.  To the westward of the Cape the land trends S.W. 1/2 S. and there forms a very large bay which turns to the eastward, and probably communicates with the inlet, and makes the land of the Cape an island.  As soon as we got round this cape, we hauled our wind to the westward, in order to get within the islands, which lie scattered in the bay in great numbers, and extend out to sea as far as the eye could reach, even from the mast-head:  These islands vary both in height and circuit from each other, so that although they are very numerous, no two of them are alike.  We had not stood long upon a wind before we came into shoal water, and were obliged to tack at once to avoid it.  Having sent a boat a-head, I bore away W. by N. many small islands, rocks, and shoals lying between us and the main, and many of a larger extent without us; our soundings till near noon were from fourteen to seventeen fathom, when the boat made the signal for meeting with shoal water; upon this we hauled close upon a wind to the eastward, but suddenly fell into three-fathom and a quarter; we immediately dropped an anchor, which brought the ship up with all her sails standing.  When the ship was brought up we had four fathom, with a coarse sandy bottom, and found a strong tide setting to the N.W. by W. 1/2 W. at the rate of near three miles an hour, by which we were so suddenly carried upon the shoal.  Our latitude, by observation, was 22 deg. 8’ S. Cape Townshend bore E. 16 S. distant thirteen miles; and the westermost part of the main in sight W. 3/4 N. At this time a great number of islands lay all round us.