1770.

February.

tance within the coaft, had a lofty and mountainous appearance. We foon found that the accounts which had been given us by the Indi- Thurfd. zz. ans in Queen Charlotte's Sound of the land to the southward were not true; for they had told us that it might be circumnavigated in four days.

On the 23d, having a hollow fwell from the Friday 23. S. E. and expecting wind from the fame quarter, we kept plying between feven and fifteen leagues from the shore, having from seventy to forty-four fathom. At noon, our latitude by obfervation was 44° 40′ S. and our longitude from Banks's Inland 1° 31′ W. From this time. to fix in the evening it was 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 fwell still continuing; our depth of water was from fixty to feventy-five fathom. While we were becalmed, Mr. Banks, being out in the boat, fhot two Port Egmont hens, which were in every refpect the fame as those that are found in great numbers upon the island of Faro, and were the firft of the kind we had feen upon this coaft, though we fell in with fome a few days before we made land.

At day-break, the wind freshened, and before Saturd. 24. 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 fteered directly for it. At

noon,

1770. February.

2

noon, we were in latitude 45° 22' S.; and the land, which now stretched from S. W. S. to Saturd, 24, 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 distance, the weather was so hazy that we could fee nothing diftinctly upon it, except a ridge of high hills lying not far from the fea, and parallel to the coast, which in this place ftretches 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 diftant about five miles our depth of water was thirty-feven fathom, and the bottom confifted of small 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 that are made by the coaft, this point will be fufficiently known; there is, however, about three or four leagues to the fouth weft of it, and very near the fhore, a remarkable faddle-hill, which is a

good direction to it on that quarter. From one league to four leagues north of Cape Saunders,

1770. February.

the shore forms two or three bays, in which Sunday 5. there appeared to be good anchorage, and effec

tual 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.

We kept at a small diftance from the fhore all this morning, with the wind at S. W., and had a very diftinct view of it: it is of a moderate height, and the surface is broken by many hills which are green and woody; but we faw no appearance of inhabitants. At noon, Cape Saunders bore N. 30 W. diftant 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 fplit 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 fouth- Monday 26 ermost land in fight bore 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 obfervation 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

February.

1770. fhip's head to the fouthward: at noon on the 27th, our latitude was 46° 54', and our longiTuesday 2% tude from Cape Saunders 1° 24 E. At feven in the evening, we made fail under our courses; Wednef. 28. and at eight the next morning fet the topfails clofe reefed. At noon, our latitude was 47° 43', and our longitude eaft from Cape Saunders 2° 10'. At this time, we wore and stood to the northward: in the afternoon, we found the variation to be 16° 34' E. At eight in the evening, we tacked and ftood to the fouthward, with the wind at weft.

March. Thurfd. I.

Friday 2.

At noon this day, our latitude by account was 47° 52', and our longitude from Cape Saunders 1° 8' E. We ftood to the fouthward till half an hour past three in the afternoon; and then, being in latitude 48° S. and longitude 188° W., and feeing no appearance of land, we tacked and stood to the northward, having a large fwell from the S. W. by W. At noon the next day, our latitude was 46° 42′ S.; and Cape Saunders bore N. 46 W. distant eighty-fix miles. The fouth weft fwell continuing till the Saturd. g. 3d, confirmed our opinion, that there was no land in that quarter. At four in the afternoon, we ftood 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 faw fome whales and feals, as we had done several times after our having paffed the ftreight;

Sunday 4.

but

1770.

March.

but we faw no feal while we were upon the coaft of Eahienomauwe. We founded both in the night and this morning, but had no ground Sunday. 4. with one hundred and fifty fathom. At noon, we faw Cape Saunders bearing N. W.; and

our latitude by obfervation was 46° 31' S. At half an hour paft 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 faw fires upon it, and at feven in the morning were within about Monday 5 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 course to the W. by S., and in two hours we saw high land over the low land, extending to the fouthward as far as S. W. by S.; but did not appear to be joined to the land to the northward, so that there is either water, a deep bay, or low land between them.

2

At noon on the 6th, we were nearly in the Tuesday 6 fame fituation as at noon on the day before: in the afternoon we found the variation, by feveral azimuths and the amplitude, to be 15° 10′ E.

On the 7th at noon, we were in latitude 47° 6′ Wednes. 7, S., and had made twelve miles eating during

the last twenty-four hours. We stood to the

VOL. III.

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weft