VIII


From Juet's log I make the following extracts, telling of the "Half
Moon's" approach to Sandy Hook and of her passage into the Lower
Bay:

"The first of September, faire weather, the wind variable betweene
east and sooth; we steered away north north west. At noone we found
our height [a little north of Cape May] to bee 39 degrees 3
minutes.... The second, in the morning close weather, the winde at
south in the morning. From twelve untill two of the clocke we
steered north north west, and had sounding one and twentie fathoms;
and in running one glasse we had but sixteene fathoms, then
seventeene, and so shoalder and shoalder untill it came to twelve
fathoms. We saw a great fire but could not see the land. Then we
came to ten fathoms, whereupon we brought our tacks aboord, and
stood to the eastward east south east, foure glasses. Then the
sunne arose, and we steered away north againe, and saw the land
[the low region about Sandy Hook] from the west by north to the
north west by north, all like broken islands, and our soundings
were eleven and ten fathoms. Then we looft in for the shoare, and
faire by the shoare we had seven fathoms. The course along the land
we found to be north east by north. From the land which we had
first sight of, untill we came to a great lake of water [the Lower
Bay] as we could judge it to be, being drowned land, which made it
to rise like islands, which was in length ten leagues. The mouth
of that land hath many shoalds, and the sea breaketh on them as it