water which, in spite of every care, the sea threw in upon us.

After running near an hour in this critical manner, some high breakers
were distinguished ahead; and behind them there appeared no shade of
cliffs. It was necessary to determine, on the instant, what was to be
done, for our bark could not live ten minutes longer. On coming to what
appeared to be the extremity of the breakers, the boat's head was brought
to the wind in a favourable moment, the mast and sail taken down, and the
oars got out. Pulling then towards the reef during the intervals of the
heaviest seas, we found it to terminate in a point; and in three minutes
were in smooth water under its lee. A white appearance, further back,
kept us a short time in suspense; but a nearer approach showed it to be
the beach of a well-sheltered cove, in which we anchored for the rest of
the night. So sudden a change, from extreme danger to comparatively
perfect safety, excited reflections which kept us some time awake: we
thought Providential Cove a well-adapted name for this place; but by the
natives, as we afterwards learned, it is called _Watta-Mowlee_.

On landing next morning, March 30, water was found at the back of the
beach. The country round the cove is, in general, sandy and barren. No
natives were seen, but their traces were recent. The extremity of the
reef, which afforded us such signal shelter, bore S.E. by E. from the
centre of the beach, the north head of the cove E.N.E.; and except at the
intermediate five points of the compass, Watta-Mowlee affords shelter for
large boats, with anchorage on a fine sandy bottom.

Between three and four miles to the northward of this cove, we found the
river, or rather port, which was the original place of our destination;
and it having been a pilot named Hacking, from whom the first information
of it had been received, it was named after him: by the natives it is