The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. I. Being the First of the First Voyage.Cook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. I. Being the First of the First Voyage.
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
At noon on the 12th, we were distant about three leagues from the shore
which lies under the peak, but the peak itself was wholly concealed by
clouds: we judged it to bear about S. S. E.; and some very remarkable
peaked islands, which lay under the shore, bore E. S. E., distant three
or four leagues. At seven in the evening we sounded, and had forty-two
fathom, being distant from the shore between two and three leagues: we
judged the peak to bear east; and after it was dark, we saw fires upon
the shore.
At five o’clock in the morning we saw, for a few minutes, the summit of
the peak, towering above the clouds, and covered with snow. It now bore
N. E.; it lies in latitude 39° 16ʹ S., longitude 185° 15ʹ W.; and I
named it MOUNT EGMONT, in honour of the earl. It seems to have a large
base, and to rise with a gradual ascent; it lies near the sea, and is
surrounded by a flat country, of a pleasant appearance, being clothed
with verdure and wood, which renders it the more conspicuous, and the
shore under it forms a large cape, which I have named CAPE EGMONT. It
lies S. S. W. ½ W. twenty-seven leagues distant from Albatross Point,
and on the north-side of it are two small islands, which lie near a
remarkable point on the main, that rises to a considerable height in the
form of a sugar-loaf. To the southward of the cape, the land trends away
S. E. by E. and S. S. E., and seems to be every where a bold shore. At
noon, Cape Egmont bore about N. E.; and in this direction, at about four
leagues from the shore, we had forty fathom of water. The wind during
the rest of the day was from W. to N. W. by W., and we continued to
steer along the shore S. S. E. and S. E. by E., keeping at the distance
of between two or three leagues. At half an hour after seven, we had
another transient view of Mount Edgcombe, which bore N. 17 W., distant
about ten leagues.
At five the next morning, we steered S. E. by S., the coast inclining
more southerly; and in about half an hour we saw land, bearing S. W. by
S., for which we hauled up. At noon, the north-west extremity of the
land in sight bore S. 63 W., and some high land, which had the
appearance of an island lying under the main, bore S. S. E., distant
five leagues. We were now in a bay, the bottom of which bearing south,
we could not see, though it was clear in that quarter. Our latitude by
observation was 40° 27ʹ S., longitude 184° 39ʹ W. At eight in the
evening, we were within two leagues of the land which we had discovered
in the morning, having run ten leagues since noon: the land which then
bore S. 63 W., now bore N. 59 W., at the distance of seven or eight
leagues, and had the appearance of an island. Between this land and CAPE
EGMONT lies the bay, the west-side of which was our situation at this
time, and the land here is of a considerable height, and diversified by
hill and valley.
CHAP. VI.
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