At length, on the 24th, at six o’clock in the morning, as we were steering to the eastward, the fog clearing away a little, we saw land[113], bearing S. S. E., which, upon a nearer approach, we found to be an island of considerable height, and about three leagues in circuit.[114] Soon after, we saw another of the same magnitude, one league to the eastward[115], and between these two, in the direction of S. E., some smaller ones.[116] In the direction of S. by E. 1/2 E., from the E. end of the first island, a third[117] high island was seen. At times, as the fog broke away, we had the appearance of land over the small islands; and I had thoughts of steering for it, by running in between them. But, on drawing near, I found this would be a dangerous attempt, while the weather continued foggy. For, if there should be no passage, or if we should meet with any sudden danger, it would have been impossible for us to get off; the wind being right astern, and a prodigious sea running, that broke on all the shores in a frightful surf. At the same time, seeing another island in the N. E. direction, and not knowing but that there might be more, I judged it prudent to haul off, and wait for clearer weather, lest we should get intangled amongst unknown lands in a thick fog. We did but just weather the island last mentioned. It is a high round rock, which was named Bligh’s Cap. Perhaps this is the same that Monsieur de Kerguelen called the Isle of Rendezvous[118]; but I know nothing that can rendezvous at it, but fowls of the air; for it is certainly inaccessible to every other animal. At eleven o’clock the weather began to clear up, and we immediately tacked, and steered in for the land. At noon we had a pretty good observation, which enabled us to determine the latitude of Bligh’s Cap, which is the northermost island, to be 48° 29ʹ S., and its longitude 68° 40ʹ E.[119] We passed it at three o’clock, standing to the S. S. E., with a fresh gale at W. Soon after we saw the land, of which we had a faint view in the morning; and at four o’clock it extended from S. E. 1/2 E., to S. W. by S., distant about four miles. The left extreme, which I judged to be the northeren point of this land called, in the French chart of the southern hemisphere, Cape St. Louis[120], terminated in a perpendicular rock of a considerable height; and the right one (near which is a detached rock) in a high indented point.[121] From this point the coast seemed to turn short round to the southward; for we could see no land to the westward of the direction in which it now bore to us, but the islands we had observed in the morning; the most southerly[122] of them lying nearly W. from the point, about two or three leagues distant.