At six in the morning we weighed, with a gentle breeze at south, and stood away to the N. W. between the outermost range of islands and the main, leaving several small islands between the main and the ship, which we passed at a very little distance: our soundings being irregular, from twelve to four fathom, I sent a boat ahead to sound. At noon we were about three miles from the main, and about the same distance from the islands without us: our latitude, by observation, was 23° 7ʹ S. The main land here is high and mountainous; the islands which lie off it are also most of them high, and of a small circuit, having an appearance rather of barrenness than fertility. At this time we saw smoke in many places at a considerable distance inland, and therefore conjectured that there might be a lagoon, river, or inlet, running up the country, the rather as we had passed two places which had the appearance of being such; but our depth of water was too little to encourage me to venture where I should probably have less. We had not stood to the northward above an hour, before we suddenly fell into three fathom; upon which I anchored, and sent away the master to sound the channel which lay to leeward of us, between the northernmost island and the main: it appeared to be pretty broad, but I suspected that it was shallow, and so indeed it was found; for the master reported at his return that in many places he had only two fathom and a half, and where we lay at anchor we had only sixteen feet, which was not two feet more than the ship drew. While the master was sounding the channel, Mr. Banks tried to fish from the cabin windows with hook and line. The water was too shallow for fish; but the ground was almost covered with crabs, which readily took the bait, and sometimes held it so fast in their claws, that they did not quit their hold till they were considerably above water. These crabs were of two sorts, and both of them such as we had not seen before: one of them was adorned with the finest blue that can be imagined, in every respect equal to the ultra-marine, with which all his claws and every joint was deeply tinged: the under part of him was white, and so exquisitely polished, that in colour and brightness it exactly resembled the white of old china. The other was also marked with the ultra-marine upon his joints and his toes, but somewhat more sparingly; and his back was marked with three brown spots, which had a singular appearance. The people who had been out with the boat to sound, reported, that, upon an island where we had observed two fires, they had seen several of the inhabitants, who called to them, and seemed very desirous that they should land. In the evening the wind veered to E. N. E., which gave us an opportunity to stretch three or four miles back by the way we came; after which, the wind shifted to the south, and obliged us again to anchor in six fathom.