[Early Australian Voyages by John Pinkerton]@TWC D-Link bookEarly Australian Voyages CHAPTER XXI: REMARKS UPON THE VOYAGE 44/148
When they come about a ship they commonly perch in the night, and will sit still till they are taken by the seamen.
They build on cliffs against the sea, or rocks. The 30th day, being in latitude 18 degrees 21 minutes, we made the land again, and saw many great smokes near the shore; and having fair weather and moderate breezes, I steered in towards it.
At four in the afternoon I anchored in eight fathom water, clear sand, about three leagues and a half from the shore.
I presently sent my boat to sound nearer in, and they found ten fathom about a mile farther in, and from thence still farther in the water decreased gradually to nine, eight, seven, and at two miles distance to six fathom.
This evening we saw an eclipse of the moon, but it was abating before the moon appeared to us; for the horizon was very hazy, so that we could not see the moon till she had been half an hour above the horizon; and at two hours twenty-two minutes after sunset, by the reckoning of our glasses, the eclipse was quite gone, which was not of many digits.
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