'791-
Dt'ctinbcr,
As ihe fiiuaiion of the Marias illands lying between cape St. Luca:^
anci cape Corientcs before the port of St. Bias, had been varioufly defined
by diHerent perfons, and as thefe iflands were nearly in our route, an
opportunity was likely to be afforded me for determining their pofition;
and on confidering the length of the paffage we had yet to perform, I
wns induced to hope we might at thofe illands be enabled to reeruit our
Hock of water; for thefe realbns our courfe wasdire61ed towaids the Ma-
rias, with a Irefh gale from the northward, and delightful weather. 1 he
fea fliil abounded with fifhes, and ftveral turtle were feen; but as our
former Ripply was not yet exhaufted, and as the gale was too favorably
tempting to admit of a momejit's delay, they remained unmolefted.
Acco'ding to Dam pier, the iflands for which we were then fteering are
fituated .-..s.!-:., at the diflance of 40 leagues from cape St. Lucas; ac-
cording to the Spanifli chart 47 leagues ; and by the Spanilh MS. chart
they are ftated to be 60 leagues from that promontory. This irrecon-
cilable dill'erence rendered it no cafy talk to determine on which to rely;
the difteience in the Spanifli charts rendered the accuracy of each equally
quellionable, and our own experience had proved both of them to be
very erroneous in fevcral inftances. Under this uncertainty about nine
Monday 15. o'clock on monday night, being then 42 leagues from cape St. Lucas,
and in the direftion in which die Marias were faid to lie, we plied under
an eafy fail until the next morning, when we made all fail, (leering to the
F.s.E., which courfe, by nine in the forenoon, brought us in fight of
thofe iflands, bearing by corapafs e.^nt.; in this dirctlion we inftandy
fleered, but as we were not fufficiently up with the land to gain ancho-
rage before dark, the night was paffed in preferving our filuation with
the land, and in the morning of the 17th we fleered for the paffage be-
tween the northernmod and the middle, or l^rince George's ifland, fo
diflinguiflicd by Dampier. The mofl northern and largefl ifland of
this group, is about thirteen miles long, in a s. e. by e. and n. w. by w.
dirertion, which is alio nearly the line in which thefe iflands feemcd to lie
from each other. As we paffed along the northernmofl ifland it ap-
peared to be but moderately elevated, notwithflanding that we had de-
K'licd it at the diflance of near 18 leagues: its highell part is towards the
Couth
Tuefcla-'
cu:k . 1
