- E.]

[Footnote 160:

These observations within brackets are unintelligible: Probably notes in the log-book, for being attended to in calculating the ship's day's work; and either left unexplained as a species of short-hand writing of Keeling, or rendered unintelligible by the ignorant abbreviation of Purchas. Such often occur in this article of the Pilgrims; but, except in this instance, as an example, we have omitted such useless unintelligibilities. - E.]

The 17th of February we saw land, bearing E. about eight leagues from us, and, as I judged, in lat. 24 deg. 20' S. About noon we were athwart two small islands, which seemed to make a good road; but not being sure of our latitude, we stood off and on till high noon, when we might take an observation, having no ground with 60 fathoms line within two miles of the shore. The 18th, in lat. 23 deg. 37' we anchored in 71/2 fathoms sandy ground, the two islands bearing S.W. one mile distant. There was an island E. by N. from us about three leagues off, which the master supposed to be St Augustine, for which we proposed to search. The variation here was 15 deg. 30'. The 19th we weighed in the morning, when we broke one of our anchors, through an original defect; which surely deserves much blame, but for which I refer to a certificate I made on the subject. We now steered for the seeming harbour or bay of St Augustine, having from our former anchorage in sailing towards it, from ten to twelve and twenty fathoms; and on coming near the point of the bay, we had no ground with 100 fathoms, till we came far into the bay, our skiffs going before, and then had ground at thirty, shoaling to eight fathoms.

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