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
House, we saw high mountains, which, except two, are covered with wood:
These two lie inland behind the Pigeon House, and are remarkably flat at
the top, with steep rocky cliffs all round them as far as we could see.
The trees, which almost every where clothe this country, appear to be
large and lofty. This day the variation was found to be 9° 50' E., and
for the two last days, the latitude, by observation, was twelve or
fourteen miles to the southward of the ship's account, which could have
been the effect of nothing but a current setting in that direction.
About four in the afternoon, being near five leagues from the land, we
tacked and stood off S.E. and E., and the wind having veered in the
night, from E. to N.E. and N., we tacked about four in the morning, and
stood in, being then about nine or ten leagues from the shore. At eight,
the wind began to die away, and soon after it was calm. At noon, our
latitude, by observation, was 35° 38', and our distance from the land
about six leagues. Cape Dromedary bore S. 37 W. distant seventeen
leagues, and the Pigeon House N. 40 W.: In this situation we had 74
fathom water. In the afternoon, we had variable light airs and calms,
till six in the evening, when a breeze sprung up at N. by W.: At this
time, being about four or five leagues from the shore, we had seventy
fathom water. The Pigeon House bore N. 45 W. Mount Dromedary S. 30 W.
and the northermost land in sight N. 19 E.
We stood to the north-east till noon the next day, with a gentle breeze
at N.W., and then we tacked and stood westward. At this time, our
latitude, by observation, was 35° 10' S., and longitude 208° 51' W. A
point of land which I had discovered on St George's day, and which
therefore I called _Cape George_, bore W. distant nineteen miles, and
the Pigeon House (the latitude and longitude of which I found to be 35°
19' S. and 209° 42' W.) S. 75 W. In the morning, we had found the
variation, by amplitude, to be 7° 50' E. and by several azimuths 7° 54'
E. We had a fresh breeze at N.W. from noon till three; it then came to
the west, when we tacked and stood to the northward. At five in the
evening, being about five or six leagues from the shore, with the Pigeon
House bearing W.S.W. distant about nine leagues, we had eighty-six
fathom water; and at eight, having thunder and lightning, with heavy
squalls, we brought-to in 120 fathom.
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