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
Between ten and eleven, Mr Green and I took several observations of the
sun and moon, the mean result of which gave 209° 17' longitude W. By an
observation made the day before, our longitude was 210° 9' W., from.
which 20' being subtracted, there remains 209° 49', the longitude of the
ship this day at noon, the mean of which, with this day's observation,
gives 209° 33', by which I fix the longitude of this coast. At noon, our
latitude was 35° 49' S., Cape Dromedary bore S. 30 W., at the distance
of twelve leagues, and an open bay, in which were three or four small
islands, bore N.W. by W. at the distance of five or six leagues. This
bay seemed to afford but little shelter from the sea winds, and yet it
is the only place where there appeared a probability of finding
anchorage upon the whole coast. We continued to steer along the shore N.
by E. and N.N.E. at the distance of about three leagues, and saw smoke
in many places near the beach. At five in the evening, we were abreast
of a point of land which rose in a perpendicular cliff, and which, for
that reason, I called _Point Upright_. Our latitude was 35° 35' S. when
this point bore from us due west, distant about two leagues: In this
situation, we had about thirty-one fathom water with a sandy bottom. At
six in the evening, the wind falling, we hauled off E.N.E. and at this
time the northermost land in sight bore N. by E. 1/2 E. At midnight,
being in seventy fathom water, we brought-to till four in the morning,
when we made sail in for the land; but at day-break, found our situation
nearly the same as it had been at five the evening before, by which it
was apparent that we had been driven about three leagues to the
southward, by a tide or current, during the night. After this we steered
along the shore N.N.E. with a gentle breeze at S.W., and were so near
the land as to distinguish several of the natives upon the beach, who
appeared to be of a black, or very dark colour. At noon, our latitude,
by observation, was 35° 27' S. and longitude 209° 23' W.; Cape Dromedary
bore S. 28 W. distant nineteen leagues, a remarkable peaked hill, which
resembled a square dove-house, with a dome at the top, and which for
that reason I called the _Pigeon House_, bore N. 32° 30' W., and a small
low island, which lay close under the shore, bore N.W. distant about two
or three leagues. When I first discovered this island, in the morning, I
was in hopes from its appearance, that I should have found shelter for
the ship behind it, but when we came near it, it did not promise
security even for the landing of a boat: I should however have attempted
to send a boat on shore, if the wind had not veered to that direction,
with a large hollow sea rolling in upon the land from the S.E. which
indeed had been the case ever since we had been upon it. The coast still
continued to be of a moderate height, forming alternately rocky points
and sandy beaches; but within, between Mount Dromedary and the Pigeon
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