A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
At four o'clock in the afternoon of Friday the 9th of February, we
tacked, and stood S.W. till eight o'clock the next morning; when, being
not above three or four miles from the shore, we stood off two hours,
and then again S.W. till noon, when, at the distance of about two miles
from the shore, we had twenty-six fathom water.
We continued to make sail to the southward till sunset on the 11th, when
a fresh breeze at N.E. had carried us back again the length of Cape
Palliser, of which, as the weather was clear, we had a good view. It is
of a height sufficient to be seen in clear weather at the distance of
twelve or fourteen leagues, and the land is of a broken and hilly
surface. Between the foot of the high land and the sea there is a low
flat border, off which there are some rocks that appear above water.
Between this Cape and Cape Turnagain, the land near the shore is, in
many places, low and flat, and has a green and pleasant appearance; but
farther from the sea it rises into hills. The land between Cape Palliser
and Cape Tierawitte is high, and makes in table-points; it also seemed
to us to form two bays, but we were at too great a distance from this
part of the coast to judge accurately from appearances. The wind having
been variable, with calms, we had advanced no farther by the 12th at
noon than latitude 41° 52', Cape Palliser then bearing north, distant
about five leagues; and the snowy mountain S. 83 W.
At noon on the 13th, we found ourselves in the latitude of 42° 2' S.;
Cape Palliser bearing N. 20 E. distant eight leagues. In the afternoon,
a fresh gale sprung up at N.E. and we steered S.W. by W. for the
southermost land in sight, which at sun-set bore from us S. 74 W. At
this time the variation was 15° 4' E.
At eight o'clock on the morning of the 14th, having run one-and-twenty
leagues S. 58 W. since the preceding noon, it fell calm. We were then
abreast of the snowy mountain which bore from us N.W. and in this
direction lay behind a mountainous ridge of nearly the same height,
which rises directly from the sea, and runs parallel with the shore,
which lies N.E. 1/2 N. and S.W. 1/2 S. The north-west end of the ridge
rises inland, not far from Cape Campbell; and both the mountain and the
ridge are distinctly seen as well from Cape Koamaroo as Cape Palliser:
From Koamaroo they are distant two-and-twenty leagues S.W. 1/2 S.; and
from Cape Palliser thirty leagues W.S.W.; and are of a height sufficient
to be seen at a much greater distance. Some persons on board were of
opinion that they were as high as Teneriffe; but I did not think them as
high as Mount Egmont on the south-west coast of Eahienomauwe; because
the snow, which almost entirely covered Mount Egmont, lay only in
patches upon these. At noon this day, we were in latitude 42° 34' S. The
southermost land in sight bore S.W. 1/2 S.; and some low land that
appeared like an island, and lay close under the foot of the ridge, bore
N.W. by N. about five or six leagues.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account