M. DE GUlGNES’ OBSERVATIONS, &C.

69

we got fight of the 14th of March. On part of the 15th we were becalmed ; the16th we defcried the mountains of the Ifle of France ; and on the 17th anchored m

the harbour, not indeed without difficulty, as the wind blewconftant y rom t e ou i

eaft. . .

The Me of France has a very picturefque appearance from the lea . it is w c» y covered with mountains, the moft remarkable of which are Pitrebot, or Pieter Both, andLe Pouce. The firft derives its name from a Dutchman; and the fecond from the re-femblance of a rock on the fummit of the mountain to a thumb. . f

Mount Pitrebot, of the form of a fugar-loaf is furmounted by a rock m lhape ot aninverted cone, which at a diftance has a fingular efFeft. 1 he rock appears of incon 1-derable dimenfions, although it is faid to be fixty feet over at the top.

The mountains of the Me of France are of flight elevation. M. de la Catlle affig *them no more than four hundred and fome few toifes above the level ot the lea .Thole in the vicinage of the port are chiefly bare' of trees. The furrounding territoryis arid, and almoft wholly covered with Hones. .

I remained on the Me of France till the 17th of July, when I quitted it for Manila .We made Bourbon the next day at one in the afternoon; but our_captain, who hadnever been at this ifland, apprehenfive of paffing Saint Denis, took in lail duringnight, by which we loft ground prodigioufly, and did not arrive at Saint Paul betorethe 21ft in the afternoon. The next day we attempted to double Bourbon to wind-ward; but being unable to. efted our purpofe, we paffed on the oppofite fade, andloft fight of the ifland on the 23d, with a wind from the fouth-eaft. I his win cotinued until we had attained the twenty-feventh degree of fouthern latitude, w en. 1veered to the north, and afterwards to the weft and fouth-weft by weft, blowing witviolence and with fudden gufts. _ . ,

As we increafed our latitude, and approached the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth e-grees, the wind began to flacken, blowing from the weft, the weft-north-welt, andnorth-weft till the 17th of Auguft, when, having defcended to ■the twenty-fixth andtwenty-feventh degree, it blew from the fouth-weft, fouth, and fouth-ealt, and final y,from the 20th to the 27th, we had eaft and north-eaft winds. Jwing tothefe contrary gales, and the currents, we miffed the Straits of Sunda, and on the 30tof Auguft found ourfelves before the Me Engano (the Deceiving Me). _

We were now obliged to traverfe in order to heighten our latitude, when having at-tained eight degrees fouth, and the wind beginning to be favourable we entered theStraits of Sunda on the 8th of September, and the next day anchored at Ameres.

I noticed that the currents along the coaft of Sumatra bear to the fouth-eaft, t atis to fay into the ftrait; but oif quitting the coaft their direction is weft, north-welt,and north-north-weft. On this account it is imprudent to run too large on tacking,efpecially when about the middle of the ftrait; from not attending to this we were

twice carried out of fight of land, notwithftanding we had proceeded fo far as to beabreaft of the Me of Candy.

We left Anieres on the 10th, and on the 14th entered the Straits of Banca . Thefewe cleared on the 15th with a fine breeze from the fouth-eaft, which enabled us toitem the current, though it ran very ftrong.

* The elevation of Pitrebot, according to L’Abbe de la Caille, is four hundred and twenty-four toifes,

or two thoufand feven hundred and eleven Euglifh feet. The height of Le Pouce, according to

fet. Vincent (Voyage aux lies Afric, tom. i, chap. 5.), exceeds that of Pitrebot, or any in the illand.—Translator. ' v 5

The