December. 1769. hogs, it was not by defcription but by name, calling them Booah, the name which is given them in the South-Sea iflands; but if the animal had been wholly unknown to them, and they had had no communication with people to whom it was known, they could not poffibly have been acquainted with the name. About ten o'clock at night, a breeze fprung up at W. N. W. with which we ftood off north; and at Sunday 10. noon the next day, the Cavalles bore S. E. by E. diftant eight leagues; the entrance of Doubtlefs Bay S. by W. diftant three leagues; and the north-west extremity of the land in fight, which we judged to be the main, bore N. W. by W. our latitude by obfervation was 34° 44' S. In the evening, we found the variation to be 12° 41' E. by the azimuth, and 12° 40′ by the amplitude. Monday 11. Early in the morning, we flood in with the land, feyen leagues to the westward of Doubtlefs Bay, the bottom of which is not far diftant from the bottom of another large bay, which the fhore forms at this place, being feparated only by a low neck of land, which juts out into a peninfula that I have called KNUCKLE POINT. About the middle of this bay, which we called SANDY BAY, is a high mountain, ftanding upon a diftant shore, to which I gave the name of MOUNT CAMEL. The latitude here is 34° 51' S. and longitude 186° 50'. We had twenty-four and twenty-five' fathom water, with a good bottom; but there feems to be nothing in this bay that can induce a hip to put into it; for the land about it is utterly barren and defolate, and, except Mount Camel, the fituation is low: the foil appears to be nothing but white fand, thrown up in low irregular hills and narrow ridges, lying parallel with the fhore. But barren and defolate as this place is, it is not without inhabitants: we faw one village on the weft fide of Mount Camel, and another on the eaft fide; we faw alfo five canoes full of people, who pulled after the fhip, but could not come up with us. At nine o'clock, we tacked and flood to the northward; and at noon the Cavalles bore S. E. by E. diftant thirteen leagues; the north extremity of the land in fight making like an ifland, bore N. W. N. diftant diftant nine leagues, and Mount Camel bore S. W. by 1769. S. distance fix leagues. December. The wind being contrary, we kept plying northward till five o'clock in the evening of the 12th, when Tuesd. 12. having made very little way, we tacked and ftood to the north-east, being two leagues to the northward of Mount Camel, and about a mile and an half from the fhore, in which fituation we had two-and-twenty fa thoms water. At ten it began to blow and rain, which brought Wednef, 13. us under double-reefed top-fails; at twelve we tacked, and ftood to the weftward till feyen the next morning, when we tacked and ftood again to the N. E. being about a mile to the windward of the place where we tacked last night. Soon after it blew very hard at N. N. W. with heavy fqualls and much rain, which brought us under our courses, and split the main-topfail, fo that we were obliged to unbend it, and bend another. At ten it became more moderate, and we fet the top-fails double reefed. At noon, having ftrong gales and heavy weather, we tacked and stood to the westward, and had no land in fight for the first time fince we had been upon this coaft. We had now strong gales at W. and W. S. W. and at half an hour paft three we tacked and stood to the northward. Soon after a small ifland, lying off Knuckle Point, bore S. W. diftant half a league. In the evening, having fplit the fore and mizen top-fails, we brought the fhip under her courfes; and at midnight we wore, and stood to the fouthward till five in the morning, when we tacked and stood to the N. W. and Thurfd. 14. faw land bearing fouth, at the diftance of eight or nine leagues; by this we discovered that we had fallen much to the leeward fince yesterday morning. At noon, our latitude by obfervation was 34° 6 S. and the fame land which we had feen before to the N. W. now bore S. W. and appeared to be the northern extremity of the country. We had a large fwell rolling. in from the weftward, and therefore concluded that we were not covered, by any land in that quarter. At eight in the evening we tacked and food to the weftward, with as much fail as we could bear; and at noon the next day we were in latitude 134° 10', longitude Friday 15, 1769. 185° 45' W. and by estimation about seventeen leagues December., from the land, notwithstanding our utmost endeavours to keep in with it. Saturd. 16. Sunday 17. On the 16th, at fix in the morning, we faw land from the maft-head, bearing S. S. W. and at noon it bore S. by W. diftant fourteen leagues. While we were standing in for the fhore, we founded feveral times, but had no ground with ninety fathoms. At eight we tacked in a hundred and eight fathoms, at about three or four miles from the fhore, which was the fame point of land that we had to N. W. before we were blown off. At noon it bore S. W. diftant about three miles: Mount Camel bore S. by E. distant about eleven leagues, and the westermoft land in fight bore S. 75 W. the latitude by obfervation was 34° 20' S. At four o'clock we tacked and stood in Thore, in doing which we met with a strong rippling, and the ship fell fast to leeward, which we imputed to a current setting eaft. At eight we tacked and stood off till eight the next morning, when we tacked and ftood in, being about ten leagues from the land. At noon, the point of land which we were near the day before, bore S. S. W. diftant five leagues. The wind ftill continued at weft; and at feven o'clock we tacked in thirty-five fathoms, when the point of land which has been mentioned before bore N. W. by N. distant four or five miles; fo that we had not gained one inch to windward the last twenty-four hours, which confirmed our opinion that there was a current to the eastward. The point of land I called NORTH CAPE, it being the northern extremity of this country. It lies in latitude 34° 22' S. longitude 186° 55′ W. and thirty-one leagues diftant from Cape Bret, in the direction of N. 63 W. It forms the north point of Sandy Bay, and is a peninfula jetting out N. E. about two miles, and terminating in a bluff head that is flat at the top. The isthmus which joins this head to the main land is very low, and for that reason the land of the Cape, from feveral fituations, has the appearance of an island. It is ftill more remarkable when it is feen from the fouthward, by the appearance of a high round island at the S. E. point of the Cape; but this is alfo a deception; for what appears to be an ifland is a round a round hill, joined to the Cape by a low narrow neck of land. Upon the Cape we faw a Hippah, or village, and a few inhabitants; and on the fouth-eaft fide of it there appears to be anchorage, and good fhelter from the fouth-west and north-west winds. 1769. December. We continued to ftand off and on, making N. W. Thursd. 21. till noon on the 21ft, when North Cape bore S. 39 E. diftant thirty-eight leagues. Our fituation varied only a few leagues till the 23d, when, about feven o'clock Satur. 23. in the evening, we faw land from the maft-head bearing S. E. At eleven the next morning we saw it Sunday 24. again, bearing S. S. E. at the distance of eight leagues. We e now flood to the S. W. and at four o'clock the land bore S. E. by S. diftant four leagues, and proved to be a fmall ifland, with other iflands or rocks ftill fmaller, lying off the fouth-weft end of it, and another lying off the north-east end, which were difcovered by Tafman,. and called the Three Kings. The principal island lies in latitude 34° 12' S. longitude 187° 48′ W. and distant fourteen or fifteen leagues from North Cape, in the direction of W. 14 N. At midnight we tacked, and ftood to the N. E. till fix the next morning, which was Christmas day, when we tacked and stood to the fouth- Monday 25. ward. At noon, the Three Kings bore E. 8 N. diftant five or fix leagues. The variation this morning by the azimuth was 11° 25′ E. On the 26th, we stood to the fouthward close upon Tuesday 26. a wind, and at noon were in latitude 35° 10' S. longitude 180 20 W. the Three Kings bearing N. 26 W. diftant twenty-two leagues. In this fituation we had no land in fight; and yet, by obfervation, we were in the latitude of the Bay of Islands, and by my reckoning but twenty leagues to the weftward of North Cape; from whence it appears, that the northern part of this ifland is very narrow; for otherwise we must have seen fome part of the weft fide of it. We ftood to the fouthward till twelve at night, and then tacked and tood to the northward. At four o'clock in the morning the wind freshened, Wednes. 27. and at nine blew a ftorm, fo that we were obliged to bring the fhip to under her main-fail. Our courfe made good between noon this day and yesterday VOL. II. was 1769. December. was S. S. W. W. diftance eleven miles. The Three Kings bore N. 27 E. diftant feventy-feven miles. The Thurf. 28. gale continued all this day, and till two the next morning, when it fell, and began to veer to the fouthward and S. W. where it fixed about four, when we made fail, and fteered eaft in for the land, under the forefail and main-fail; but the wind then rifing, and by eight o'clock being increased to a hurricane, with a prodigious fea, we were obliged to take in the mainfail; we then wore the fhip, and brought her to with her head to the north-weft. At noon the gale was fomewhat abated, but we had ftill heavy fqualls. Our course made good this day was north, a little easterly, twenty-nine miles; latitude by account 34° 50' S. longitude 1 88° 27' W. the Three Kings bore N. 41 E. diftant fifty-two miles. At feven o'clock in the evening, the wind being at S. W. and S. W. by W. with hard fqualls, we wore and lay on the other tack, and at fix Friday 29. the next morning spread more fail. Our courfe and di ftance fince yesterday was E. by N. twenty-nine miles. In the afternoon we had hard fqualls at S. W. and at eight in the evening wore and stood to the N. W. till Saturd. 30. five the next morning, and then wore and flood to the S. E. At fix we faw the land bearing N. E. diftant about fix leagues, which we judged to be Cape Maria Van Diemen, and which correfponded with the account that had been given of it by the Indians. And Sunday 31. on the next day, at noon, Cape Maria Van Diemen bore N. E. by N. diftant about five leagues. At feven in the evening, we tacked and ftood to the weftward, with a moderate breeze at S. W. by S. and S. W. Mount Camel then bore N. 83 E. and the northermost land, or Cape Maria Van Diemen, N. by W. We were now diftant from the nearest land about three leagues, where we had fomething more than forty fathoms water; and it must be remarked, that Mount Camel, which when feen on the other fide did not seem to be more than one mile from the fea, feemed to be but little more when feen from this fide; which is a demonftration that the land here cannot be more than two or three miles broad, or from fea to fea. At |