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1770.

June.

as the land lay, under an eafy fail, having from fixteen to ten fathoms, till two o'clock in the morning, when we fell into seven fathoms, upon which we hauled our Tuesday 5. wind to the northward, judging ourselves to be very near land. At day-break we found our conjecture to be true, being within little more than two leagues of it. In this part of the coaft the land, being very low, is nearer than it appears to be, though it is diverfified with here and there a hill. At noon we were about four leagues from the land in fifteen fathoms water, and our latitude, by obfervation, was 19° 12' S. Cape Upftart bearing S. 32° 30' E. diftant twelve leagues. About this time fome very large columns of smoke were feen rifing from the low lands. At fun-fet, the preceding night, when we were close under Cape Upstart, the variation was nearly 9o E. and at fun-rife this day it was no more than 5° 35'; I judged therefore that it had been influenced by iron ore, or other magnetical matter, contained under the furface of the earth.

We continued to fteer W. N. W. as the land lay, with twelve or fourteen fathoms water, till noon on the 6th, when our latitude, by obfervation, was 19° 1' S. Wednesd. 6. and we had the mouth of a bay all open, extending from S. W. to S. W. S. diftant two leagues. This bay, which I named CLEVELAND BAY, appeared to be about five or fix miles in extent every way; the east point I named CAPE CLEVELAND, and the weft, which had the appearance of an island, MAGNETICAL ISLE, as we perceived that the compass did not traverse well when we were near it; they are both high, and fo is the main land within them, the whole forming a furface the most rugged, rocky, and barren of any we had seen upon the coaft; it was not, however, without inhabitants, for we faw fmoke in feveral parts of the bottom of the bay. The northernmost land that was in fight at this time bore N. W. and it had the appearance of an ifland, for we could not trace the main land farther than W. by N. We fteered W. N. W. keeping the main land on board, the outermost part of which, at fun-fet, bore W. by N. but without it lay high land, which we judged not to be part of it,

1770. At day-break we were a-breast of the eastern part of June. this land, which we found to be a group of iflands, lyThurfd. 7. ing about five leagues from the main. At this time,

being between the two fhores, we advanced flowly to the N. W. till noon, when our latitude, by obfervation, was 18° 49' S. and our distance from the main about five leagues: the north-weft part of it bore from us N. by W. W. the iflands extending from N. to E. and the nearest being diftant about two miles: Cape Cleveland bore S. 50 E. diftant eighteen leagues. Our foundings, in the course that we had failed between this time and the preceding noon, were from fourteen to eleven fathoms.

In the afternoon we faw feveral large columns of fmoke upon the main; we faw alfo fome people and canoes; and upon one of the islands what had the appearance of cocoa-nut-trees. As a few of these nuts would now have been very acceptable, I fent Lieute→ nant Hicks a-fhore, and with him went Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, to fee what refreshment could be procured, while I kept ftanding in for the ifland with the fhip. About feven o'clock in the evening they returned, with an account that what we had taken for Cocoa-nut-trees were a small kind of cabbage-palm, and that, except about fourteen or fifteen plants, they had met with nothing worth bringing away. While they were afhore they faw none of the people; but just as they had put off one of them came very near the beach, and fhouted with a loud voice: it was fo dark that they could not fee him, however they turned towards the fhore, but when he heard the boat putting back he ran away, or hid himself, for they could not get a glimpse of him, and though they shouted he made no reply. After the return of the boats, we stood away N. Friday 8. by W. for the northernmoft land in fight, of which we

were a-breaft at three o'clock in the morning, having paffed all the islands three or four hours before. This land, on account of its figure, I named POINT HILLOCK: it is of a confiderable height, and may be known by a round hillock, or rock, which joins to the point, but appears to be detached from it. Between this cape and Magnetical Ifle, the fhore forms a large bay,

which I called HALIFAX BAY: before it lay the group of iflands which has been juft mentioned, and fome others, at a lefs diftance from the fhore. By these iflands the Bay is fheltered from all winds, and it affords good anchorage. The land near the beach in the bottom of the Bay, is low and woody, but farther back it is one continued ridge of high land, which appeared to be barren and rocky. Having paffed Point Hillock, we continued standing to the N. N. W. as the land trended, having the advantage of a light moon. At fix, we were a-breast of a point of land which lies N. by W. W. diftant eleven miles from Point Hillock, which I named CAPE SANDWICH. Between these two points the land is very high, and the furface is craggy and barren. Cape Sandwich may be known not only by the high craggy land over it, but by a small island which lies eaft of it, at the distance of a mile, and fome others that lie about two leagues to the northward. From Cape Sandwich the land trends W. and afterwards N. forming a fine large bay, which I called ROCKINGHAM BAY, where there appears to be good fhelter, and good anchorage, but I did not stay to examine it: I kept the ranging along the fhore to the northward, for a clufter of fmall iflands, which lie off the northern point of the Bay. Between the three outermost of these iflands, and those near the fhore, I found a channel of about a mile broad, through which I paffed, and upon one of the nearest islands we saw with our glaffes about thirty of the natives, men, women, and children, all standing together, and looking with great attention at the fhip, the first instance of curiofity that we had seen among them: they were all stark naked, with fhort hair, and of the fame complexion with those that we had feen before. At noon, our latitude, by obfervation, was 17° 59′, and we were a-breast of the north point of Rockingham Bay, which bore from us W. at the distance of about two miles. This boundary of the Bay is formed by an island of confiderable height, which in the chart is distinguished by the name of DUNK ISLE, and which lies fo near the fhore as not to be eafily diftinguished from it. Our longitude was 213° 57′ W. Cape Sandwich bore S. by E. E. diftant nineteen miles, and the northermoft land in fight

1770.

June.

N.

1770. NW. our depth of water for the last ten hours had June. not been more than fixteen, nor less than seven fathoms. At fun-fet the northern extremity of the land bore N. 25 W. and we kept our courfe N. by W. along the coast, at the distance of between three and four leagues, with an eafy fail all night, having from twelve to fifteen fathoms water.

Saturday 9.

At fix o'clock in the morning we were a-breast of fome fmall iflands, which we called FRANKLAND'S ISLES, and which lie about two leagues diftant from the main land. The most distant point in fight to the northward bore N. by W. W. and we thought it was part of the main, but afterwards found it to be an ifland of confiderable height, and about four miles in circuit. Between this island and a point on the main, from which it is diftant about two miles, I paffed with the ship. At noon, we were in the middle of the channel, and by obfervation in the latitude of 16° 57' S. with twenty fathoms water. The point on the main, of which we were now a-breast, I called CAPE GRAFTON: its latitude is 16° 57' S. and longitude 214° 6' W. and the land here, as well as the whole coaft, for about twenty leagues to the fouthward, is high, has a rocky furface, and is thinly covered with wood: during the night we had seen several fires, and about noon some people. Having hauled round Cape Grafton, we found the land trend away N. W. by W. and three miles to the weftward of the Cape we found a bay, in which we anchored about two miles from the fhore, in four fathoms water with an oozy bottom. The east point of the bay bore S. 74 E. the weft point S. 83 W. and a low, green, woody ifland, which lies in the offing, N. 35 E. This ifland, which lies N. by E. E. diftant three or four leagues from Cape Grafton, is called in the chart GREEN ISLAND.

As foon as the fhip was brought to an anchor, I went afhore, accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander. As my principal view was to procure fome fresh water, and as the bottom of the bay was low land covered with mangroves, where it was not probable fresh water was to be found, I went out towards the Cape, and found two fmall ftreams, which however were rendered very difficult of access by the furf and rocks

upon

1770.

June.

upon the fhore: I saw alfo, as I came round the Cape, a small stream of water run over the beach, in a fandy cove, but I did not go in with the boat, because I saw that it would not be eafy to land. When we got a-shore, we found the country every where rifing into steep rocky hills, and as no fresh water could conveniently be procured, I was unwilling to lofe time by going in fearch of lower land elsewhere: we therefore made the best of our way back to the fhip, and about midnight we weighed and flood to the N. W. having but little wind, with fome fhowers of rain. At four in the Sund. 10. morning, the breeze freshened at S. by E. and the weather became fair: we continued steering N. N. W. W. as the land lay, at about three leagues diftant, with ten, twelve, and fourteen fathoms water. At ten we hauled off north, in order to get without a small low ifland, which lay at about two leagues distance from the main, and great part of which at this time, it being high water, was overflowed: about three leagues. to the north-west of this island, close under the main land, is another ifland, the land of which rifes to a greater height, and which at noon bore from us N. W. distant seven or eight miles. At this time our latitude was 16° 20' S. Cape Grafton bore S. 29 E. diftant forty miles, and the northernmost point of land in sight N. 20 W. our depth of water was fifteen fathoms. Between this point and Cape Grafton the shore forms a large, but not a very deep bay, which being discovered on Trinity Sunday, I called TRINITY BAY.

CHAP. V.

55

Dangerous Situation of the Ship in her Course from Trinity Bay to Endeavour River.

HT

ITHERTO we had fafely navigated this dan gerous coaft, where the fea in all parts conceals fhoals that fuddenly project from the fhore, and rocks that rise abruptly like a pyramid from the bottom, for an extent of two and twenty degrees of latitude, more than one thoufand three hundred miles; and therefore hitherto none of the names which distinguish the feveral

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