presently I went in my boat to search for fresh water, or get speech of
the natives; for we saw smokes, houses, and plantations against the sides
of the mountains, not far from us. It was ebbing water before we got
ashore, though the water was still high enough to float us in without any
great trouble. After we were within the mouth we found a large salt-water
lake which we hoped might bring us up through the mangroves to the fast
land: but before we went further I went ashore on the sandy land by the
seaside, and looked about me; but saw there no sign of fresh water.
Within the sandy bank the water forms a large lake: going therefore into
the boat again we rowed up the lake towards the firm land, where no doubt
there was fresh water, could we come at it. We found many branches of the
lake entering within the mangrove land but not beyond it. Of these we
left some on the right hand and some on the left, still keeping in the
biggest channel; with still grew smaller, and at last so narrow that we
could go no farther, ending among the swamps and mangroves. We were then
within a mile of some houses of the Indian inhabitants and the firm land
by the sides of the hills: but the mangroves thus stopping our way, we
returned as we came: but it was almost dark before we reached the mouth
of the creek. It was with much ado that we got out of it again; for it
was now low-water, and there went a rough short sea on the bar; which
however we passed over without any damage and went aboard.

The next morning at five we weighed and stood alongshore to the eastward,
making use of the sea and land-breezes. We found the seabreezes here from
the south-south-east to the south-south-west, the land-breezes from the
north to the north-east. We coasted along about 20 leagues and found it
all a straight, bold, even shore, without points, creeks or inlets for a
ship: and there is no anchoring till within a mile or a mile and a half
of the shore. We saw scarce any opening fit for our boats; and the fast
land was still barricaded with mangroves; so that here was no hope to get