were in the Strait of Magellan, I caused a little awning to be made, which I covered with a clean painted canvas, that had been allowed me for a floor-cloth to my cabin, and with this we caught so much rain water, with but little trouble or attendance, that the people were never put to a short allowance of this important article: The awning also afforded shelter from the inclemency of the weather, and to these precautions I imputed our having escaped the scurvy so long, though perhaps it was in some measure owing to the mixture of spirit of vitriol with the water that was thus preserved, our surgeon putting a small quantity into every cask when it was filled up. On Saturday the 11th, we discovered a small, low, flat island, which appeared to be almost level with the water's edge, and was covered with green trees: As it was to the south, and directly to windward of us, we could not fetch it. It lies in latitude 22° S., and longitude 141° 34′ W.; and we called it the BISHOP OF OSNABURGH'S ISLAND, in honour of his majesty's second son." On the 12th, we fell in with two more small islands, which were covered with green trees, but appeared to be uninhabited. We were close in with the southermost, which proved to be a slip of land in the form of a half-moon, low, flat, and sandy: From the south end of it a reef runs out to the distance of about half a mile, on which the sea breaks with great fury. We found no anchorage, but the boat landed. It had a pleasant appearance, but afforded neither vegetables nor water; there were however many birds'upon it, so tame that they suffered themselves to be taken by hand. The other island very much resembles this, and is distant from it about five or six leagues: They lie W.N.W. and E. S. E. of each other. One of them is in latitude 20° 38′ S., longitude 146° W.; the other 20° 34′ S., longitude 1-46′ 15′ W., and we called them the DUKE OF GLOUCESTER'S ISLANDS; the variation here is five degrees east. These islands are probably the land seen by Quiros, as the situation is nearly the same; but if not, the land he saw could not be more considerable: Whatever it was, he went to the southward of it, and the long billows we had here, convinced us that there was no land near us in that direction. 2 There is another island of this name, among those that were discovered by Captain Wallis. direction. The wind here being to the eastward, I hauled to the southward again, and the next day, Monday the 13th, in the evening, as we were steering W. S. W. we observed that we lost the long southerly billows, and that we got them again at seven o'clock the next day. When we lost them we were in latitude 21° 7' S., longitude 147° 4′ W.; and when we got them again we were in latitude 21° 43 S., longitude 149° 48′ W; so that I imagine there was some land to the southward, not far distant. 3 From this time to the 16th, the winds were variable from N. E. round by the N. the N. W. and S. W. and blew very hard, with violent gusts, one of which was very near being fatal to us, with thick weather and hard rain. We were then in latitude 29° S., and 70° 30′ W. of our departure, where we found the variation 6° 30′ E. and the tempestuous gales were succeeded by a dead calm. After some time, however, the wind sprung up again at west, and at length settled in the W. S. W. which soon drove us again to the northward, so that on the 20th we were in latitude 19° S., longitude 75° 30' W. of our departure: The variation was here 6o E. The On the 22d, we were got into latitude 18° S., longitude 161° W., which was about one thousand eight hundred leagues to the westward of the continent of America, and in all this track we had no indication of a continent. men now began to be very sickly, the scurvy having made great progress among them, and as I found that all my endeavours to keep in a high southern latitude at this time were ineffectual, and that the badness of the weather, the variableness of the winds, and above all, the defects of the ship, rendered our progress slow, I thought it absolutely necessary to fix upon that course which was most likely to preserve the vessel and the crew; instead therefore of attempting to return back by the south-east, in which, considering our condition, and the advanced season of the year, it was scarcely possible that we should succeed, I bore away to the northward, that I might get into the trade-wind, keeping still in such a track, as if the charts were to be trusted, was most likely to bring me to some island, where the refreshments of which we stood so much in need might be 3 The Islands called Oheteroa, Toobouai, Vabouai, Vavitoo, lie a little to the south of this part of Carteret's track.-E. be procured intending then, if the ship could be put in a proper condition, to have pursued the voyage to the southward, when the fit season should return, to have attempted farther discoveries in this track; and, if I should discover a continent, and procure a sufficient supply of provisions there, to keep along the coast to the southward till the sun had crossed the equinoctial, and then, getting into a high southern latitude, either have gone west about to the Cape of Good Hope, or returned to the eastward, and having touched at Falkland's Islands, if necessary, made the best of my way from thence back to Europe. When I got into latitude 16° S. and not before, I found the true trade-wind; and as we proceeded to the northwest, and the northward, we found the variation increase very fast; for when we had advanced to latitude 18° 15'S. and were in longitude 80° W. of our departure, it was 7° So' E. We had bad weather, with hard gales, and a great sea from the eastward till the 25th, when, being in latitude 129 15' S., we saw many birds flying in flocks, and supposed ourselves to be near some land, particularly several islands that are laid down in the charts, and one which was seen by Commodore Byron in 1765, and called the Island of Danger; none of these islands, however, could we see. At this time it blew so hard, that, although we went before the wind, we were obliged to reef our top-sails, and the weather was still very thick and rainy. The next morning, being in latitude 10° S., longitude 167° W., we kept nearly in the same parallel, in hopes to have fallen in with some of the islands called Solomon's Islands, this being the latitude in which the southermost of them is laid down. We had here the trade-wind strong, with violent squalls and much rain, and continuing our course till Monday the 3d of August, we were then in latitude 10° 18′ S. longitude, by account, 177° E.; our distance west from the continent of America about twenty-one hundred leagues, and we were five degrees to the westward of the situation of those islands in the charts. It was not our good fortune, however, to fall in with any land; probably we might pass near some, which the thick weather prevented our seeing; for in this run great numbers of sea birds were often about the ship: However, as Commodore Byron in his last voyage sailed over the northern limits of that part of the ocean in which the Islands of Solomon are said to lie, and as I sail ed ed over the southern limits without seeing them, there is great reason to conclude, that, if there are any such islands, their situation in all our charts is erroneously laid down From the latitude 14° S., longitude 163° 46′ W., we had a strong gale from the SE which made a great sea after us, and from that time I did not observe the long billows from the southward till we got into latitude 10% 18% Say longitude 177 30 E., and then it returned from the SW, and S.S.W. and we found a current setting to the southward, although a current in the contrary direction had attended us almost all the way from the Streight of Magelland conjectured therefore that there the passage opened between New Zea land and New Holland. The variation here was 11° 14′E. On the 5th, being in latitude 10° S., longitude 175° 44′ E., the variation was 11° 15' E.; and on the 8th, in latitude 11° S., longitude 171° 14' Exit was 11° E. About this time we found our stock of log-lines nearly expended, though we had already converted all our fishing lines to the same use. I was some time in great perplexity how to supply this defect, but, upon a very diligent enquiry, found that we had, by chance, a few fathom of thick untarred rope. This, which in our situation was an inestimable treasure, I ordered to be untwisted; but as the yarns were found to be too thick for our purpose, it became necessary to pick them into oakham; and when this was done, the most difficult part of the work remained; for this oakham could not be spun into yarn, till, by combing, it was brought into hemp, its original state. This was not seamen's work, and if it had, we should have been at a loss how to perform it for want of combs; one difficulty therefore arose upon another, and it was necessary to make combs, before we could try our skill in making hemp. Upon this trying occasion we were again sensible of the danger to which we were exposed by the want of a forge: Necessity, however, the fruitful mother of invention, suggested an expedient. The armourer was set to work to file nails down to a sinooth point, with which we produced a tolerable succedaneum for a comb; and one of the quarter masters was found sufficientTy * 4. See what is said on this subject in the account of Byron's voyage. It will be resumed when we come to speak of some of Cook's discoveries.-E. ly skilled in the use of this instrument to render the oakham so smooth and even, that we contrived to spin it into yarn, as fine as our coarse implements would admit; and thus we made tolerable log-lines, although we found it much more difficult than to make cordage of our old cables, after they had been converted into junk, which was an expedient that we had been obliged to practise long before. We had also long before used all our sewing sail-twine, and if, knowing that the quantity with which I had been supplied was altogether inadequate to the wants of such a voyage, I had not taken the whole quantity that had been put on board to repair the seine into my own custody, this deficiency might have been fatal to us all. SECTION IV. An Account of the Discovery of Queen Charlotte's Islands, with a Description of them and their Inhabitants, and of what happened at Egmont Island. THE Scurvy still continued to make great progress among us, and those hands that were not rendered useless by disease, were worn down by excessive labour; our vessel, which at best was a dull sailer, had been long in so bad a condition that she would not work; and on the 10th, to render our condition still more distressful and alarming, she sprung a leak in the bows, which being under water, it was impossible to get at while we were at sea. Such was our situation, when, on the 12th, at break of day, we discovered land: The sudden transport of hope and joy which this inspired, can perhaps be equalled only by that which a crimi nal feels who hears the cry of a reprieve at the place of exe cution. The land proved to be a cluster of islands, of which I counted seven, and believe there were many more. We kept on for two of them, which were right a-head when land was first discovered, and seemed to lie close together; in the evening we anchored on the north-east side of one of them, which was the largest and the highest of the two, in about thirty fathom, with a good bottom, and at the distance of about three cables' length from the shore. We soon after saw two of the natives, who were black, with woolly heads, and stark naked; I immediately sent the mas |