calm; but a light breeze then springing up at E.N.E. we steered S.S.E. all night, edging off from the land, the hollow swell ftill continuing; our depth of water was from fixty to feventy-five fathom. While we were becalmed, Mr. Banks, being out in the boat, shot two Port Egmont hens, which were in every refpect the fame as thofe that are found in great numbers upon the island of Faro, and were the first of the kind we had seen upon this coaft, though we fell in with fome a few days before we made land.

At day-break, the wind freshened, and before noon we had a strong gale at N. N. E. At eight in the morning we saw the land extending as far as S. W. by S. and steered directly for it. At noon, we were in latitude 45° 22′ S.; and the land, which now ftretched from S. W. S. to N. N. W. appeared to be rudely diverfified by hill and valley. In the afternoon, we steered S. W. by S. and S. W. edging in for the land with a fresh gale at north; but though we were at no great diftance, the weather was fo hazy that we could fee nothing distinctly upon it, except a ridge of high hills lying not far from the sea, and parallel to the coaft, which in this place stretches S. by W. and N. by E. and feemed to end in a high bluff point to the fouthward. By eight in the evening we were abreast of this point; but it being then dark, and I not knowing which way the land trended, we brought to for the night. At this time, the point bore weft, and was distant about five miles: our depth of water was thirty-seven fathom, and the bottom confifted of fmall pebbles.

At day-break, having made fail, the point bore north, distant three leagues, and we now found that the land trended from it S. W. by W. as far as we could fee. This point I named CAPE SAUNDERS, in honour of Sir Charles. Our latitude was 45° 35′ S., and longitude 189° 4′ W. By the latitude, and the

angles

angles that are made by the coaft, this point will be fufficiently known; there is, however, about three or four leagues to the south west of it, and very near the fhore, a remarkable saddle-hill, which is a good direction to it on that quarter. From one league to four leagues north of Cape Saunders, the shore forms two or three bays, in which there appeared to be good anchorage, and effectual shelter from the S. W. wefterly, and N. wefterly winds; but my defire of getting to the fouthward, in order to afcertain whether this country was an island or a continent, prevented my putting into any of them.

1770. February.

Sunday 25.

We kept at a small distance from the shore all this morning, with the wind at S. W. and had a very distinct view of it: it is of a moderate height, and the furface is broken by many hills which are green and woody; but we saw no appearance of inhabitants. At noon, Cape Saunders bore N. 30 W. distant about four leagues. We had variable winds and calms till five o'clock in the evening, when it fixed at W. S. W. and foon blew fo hard that it put us paft our topfails, and split the forefail all to pieces: after getting another to the yard, we continued to ftand to the fouthward under two courses; and at fix the next morning, the fouthermost land in fight bore Monday 25.W. by N. and Cape Saunders N. by W. diftant eight leagues: at noon, it bore N. 20 W. fourteen leagues; and our latitude by observation was 46° 36'. The gale continued, with heavy fqualls and a large hollow fea all the afternoon; and at feven in the evening, we lay to under our forefail, with the fhip's head to the fouthward: at noon on the 27th, our Tuesday 27. latitude was 46° 54', and our longitude from Cape Saunders

1° 24′ E. At feven in the evening, we made fail under our courses; and at eight the next morning fet the topfails clofe Wednes. 28. reefed. At noon, our latitude was 47° 43′, and our longitude eaft from Cape Saunders 2° 10'. At this time, we wore

and

1770. February.

Wednef. 28.

March. Thursday 1.

Friday 2.

Saturday 3.

Sunday 4.

Monday 5.

and ftood to the northward: in the afternoon, we found the variation to be 16° 34′ E. At eight in the evening, we tacked and stood to the fouthward, with the wind at west.

At noon this day, our latitude by account was 47° 52′, and our longitude from Cape Saunders 1° 8' E. We stood to the fouthward till half an hour paft three in the afternoon; and then, being in latitude 48° S. and longitude 188° W. and feeing no appearance of land, we tacked and ftood to the northward, having a large swell from the S. W. by W. At noon the next day, our latitude was 46° 42′ S.; and Cape Saunders bore N. 46 W. diftant eighty-fix miles. The fouth weft fwell continuing till the 3d, confirmed our opinion, that there was no land in that quarter. At four in the afternoon, we flood to the weftward with all the fail we could make. In the morning of the 4th, we found the variation to be 16° 16' E. This day we saw some whales and feals, as we had done feveral times after our having paffed the ftreight; but we faw no feal while we were upon the coast of Eahienomauwe. We founded both in the night and this morning, but had no ground with one hundred and fifty fathom. At noon, we faw Cape Saunders bearing N. W.; and our latitude by observation was 46° 31'S. At half an hour past one o'clock, we saw land bearing W. by S. which we fteered for, and before it was dark were within three or four miles of it: during the whole night we saw fires upon it, and at seven in the morning were within about three leagues of the fhore, which appeared to be high, but level. At three o'clock in the afternoon, we faw the land extending from N. E. by N. to N. W. N.; and foon after we difcovered fome low land, which appeared like an island, bearing S. W. We continued our courfe to the W. by S. and in two hours we faw high land over the low land, extending to the fouthward as far as S. W. by S.; but it did not appear to be joined to the

2

2

land to the northward, so that there is either water, a deep bay, or low land between them.

1770. March.

At noon on the 6th, we were nearly in the fame fituation Tuesday 6. as at noon on the day before: in the afternoon we found the variation, by several azimuths and the amplitude, to be

15° 10' E. On the 7th at noon, we were in latitude 47° 6' S. Wednef. 7. and had made twelve miles eafting during the last twentyfour hours. We ftood to the weftward the remainder of this day, and all the next till fun-fet, when the extreams of the Thursday 8, land bore from N. by E. to W. diftant about feven or eight leagues in this fituation our depth of water was fifty-five fathom, and the variation by amplitude 16° 29' E. The wind now veered from the N. to the W. and as we had fine weather, and moonlight, we kept standing close upon the wind to the S. W. all night. At four in the morning, we had fixty Friday 9. fathom water; and at day-light, we discovered under our bow a ledge of rocks, extending from S. by W. to W. by S. upon which the sea broke very high: they were not more than three quarters of a mile diftant, yet we had five and forty fathom water. As the wind was at N. W. we could not now weather them, and as I was unwilling to run to leeward, I tacked and made a trip to the eastward; the wind however soon after coming to the northward, enabled us to get clear of all. Our foundings, while we were paffing within the ledge, were from thirty-five to forty-feven fathom with a rocky bottom.

This ledge lies S. E. fix leagues from the fouthermost part of the land, and S. E. by E. from fome remarkable hills which fland near the fhore: about three leagues to the northward of it, there is another ledge, which lies full three leagues from the fhore, and on which the fea broke in a dreadful furf. As we paffed these rocks to the north in the night,

VOL. HI.

C

1770. March.

Friday 9.

Saturday 10.

༧

night, and discovered the others under our bow at break of day, it is manifeft that our danger was imminent, and our escape critical in the highest degree: from the fituation of thefe rocks, fo well adapted to catch unwary strangers, I called them the TRAPS. Our latitude at noon was 47° 26′ S. The land in fight, which had the appearance of an island, extended from N. E. by N. to N. W. by W. and seemed to be about five leagues diftant from the main; the eastermost ledge of rocks bore S. S. E. distant one league and an half, and the northermoft N. E. E. diftant about three leagues. This land is high and barren, with nothing upon it but a few ftraggling fhrubs, for not a single tree was to be seen; it was however remarkable for a number of white patches, which I took to be marble, as they reflected the fun's rays very frongly other patches of the fame kind we had obferved in different parts of this country, particularly in Mercury Bay: we continued to ftand close upon a wind to the weftward, and at fun fet the fouthermoft point of land bore N. 38 E. diftant four leagues, and the weftermost land in fight bore N. 2 E. The point which lies in latitude 47° 19′ S. longitude 192° 12′ W. I named SOUTH CAPE; the weftermost land was a small island, lying off the point of the main.

Suppofing South Cape to be the fouthern extremity of this country, as indeed it proved to be, I hoped to get round it by the weft, for a large hollow fwell from the fouth west, ever fince our laft hard gale, had convinced me that there was no land in that direction.

In the night we had a hard gale at N. E. by N. and N. which brought us under our courfes, but about eight in the morning it became moderate; and at noon, veering to the weft, we tacked and flood to the northward, having no land in fight. Our latitude, by obfervation, was 47° 33′ S. our

longitude,