A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
At four in the afternoon we saw the island, which, at six, extended
from N.E. 1/2 E. to S.E. by S. about eight leagues distant. In this
situation we tacked, and sounded; but a line of a hundred and sixty
fathoms did not reach the ground. I stood off till midnight, then
stood in again; and at half-past six we were within three leagues
of the land, which extended from N. by E. 1/2 E. to S. 1/2 E.; each
extreme about seven leagues distant. Seeing no signs of a harbour, and
the weather being still unsettled, I tacked, and stretched off S.W.
having then fifty-five fathoms water, over a muddy bottom.
That part of the land which we were so near when we tacked, is of a
moderate height, though in some places it rises higher within. It was
diversified with a great many rising grounds and small hills; many
of which were entirely covered with tall, straight trees; and
others, which were lower, and grew in spots like coppices; but the
interspaces, and sides of many of the rising grounds, were clear. The
whole, though it might make an agreeable summer prospect, had now an
uncomfortable appearance; as the bare grounds towards the coast were
all covered with snow, which seemed to be of a considerable depth
between the little hills and rising grounds; and in several places,
toward the sea, might easily have been mistaken, at a distance, for
white cliffs. The snow on the rising grounds was thinner spread; and
farther inland, there was no appearance of any; from whence we might,
perhaps, conclude, that what we saw toward the sea, had fallen during
the night; which was colder than any we had experienced since our
arrival on the coast; and we had sometimes a kind of sleet. The coast
seemed every where almost straight, without any opening or inlet; and
it appeared to terminate in a kind of white sandy beach; though some
on board thought that appearance was owing to the snow. Each extreme
of the land that was now before us, seemed to shoot out into a point.
The northern one was the same which we had first seen on the 7th; and
on that account I called it _Cape Perpetua_. It lies in the latitude
of 44 deg. 6' N., and in the longitude of 235 deg. 57'E. The southern extreme
before us, I named _Cape Gregory_.[3] Its latitude is 43 deg. 30', and its
longitude 235 deg. 57' E. It is a remarkable point; the land of it rising
almost directly from the sea to a tolerable height, while that on each
side of it is low.
[Footnote 3: In our calendar, the 7th of March is distinguished by the
name of Perpetua M, and the 12th by that of Gregory B.--D.]
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