a while afterwards, more to the north-east, I had a strong suspicion that here might be a kind of archipelago of islands and a passage possibly to the south of New Holland and New Guinea into the great South Sea eastward; which I had thoughts also of attempting in my return from New Guinea (had circumstances permitted) and told my officers so:  but I would not attempt it at this time because we wanted water and could not depend upon finding it there.  This place is in the latitude of 20 degrees 21 minutes, but in the chart that I had of this coast, which was Tasman’s, it was laid down in 19 degrees 50 minutes, and the shore is laid down as all along joining in one body or continent, with some openings appearing like rivers; and not like islands, as really they are.  See several sights of it, Table 4 Numbers 8, 9, and 10.  This place lies more northerly by 40 minutes than is laid down in Mr. Tasman’s chart:  and beside its being made a firm, continued land, only with some openings like the mouths of rivers, I found the soundings also different from what the pricked line of his course shows them, and generally shallower than he makes them; which inclines me to think that he came not so near the shore as his line shows, and so had deeper soundings, and could not so well distinguish the islands.  His meridian or difference of longitude from Shark’s Bay agrees well enough with my account, which is 232 leagues, though we differ in latitude.  And to confirm my conjecture that the line of his course is made too near the shore, at least not far to the east of this place, the water is there so shallow that he could not come there so nigh.

He anchors on A third part of new Holland, and digs wells, but brackish.

But to proceed:  in the night we had a small land-breeze, and in the morning I weighed anchor, designing to run in among the islands, for they had large channels between them, of a league wide at least, and some 2 or 3 leagues wide.  I sent in my boat before to sound, and if they found shoal water to return again; but if they found water enough to go ashore on one of the islands and stay till the ship came in:  where they might in the meantime search for water.  So we followed after with the ship, sounding as we went in, and had 20 fathom, till within 2 leagues of the bluff head, and then we had shoal water, and very uncertain soundings:  yet we ran in still with an easy sail, sounding and looking out well, for this was dangerous work.  When we came abreast of the bluff head, and about 2 mile from it, we had but 7 fathom:  then we edged away from it, but had no more water; and, running in a little farther, we had but 4 fathoms; so we anchored immediately; and yet when we had veered out a third of a cable we had 7 fathom water again; so uncertain was the water.  My boat came immediately aboard, and told me that the island was very rocky and dry, and they had little