The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third VoyageCook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third Voyage
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
At four o’clock next morning, the wind, which had been mostly at
north-east, shifted to north. This being against us, I gave up the
design of going within the island, or into the bay, as neither could be
done without loss of time. I therefore bore up for the west end of the
island. The wind blew faint; and at ten o’clock it fell calm. Being not
far from the island, I went in a boat, and landed upon it, with a view
of seeing what lay on the other side; but finding it farther to the
hills than I expected, and the way being steep and woody, I was obliged
to drop the design. At the foot of a tree, on a little eminence not far
from the shore, I left a bottle, with a paper in it, on which were
inscribed the names of the ships, and the date of our discovery. And
along with it I inclosed two silver twopenny pieces of his Majesty’s
coin, of the date 1772. These, with many others, were furnished me by
the Reverend Dr. Kaye[58]; and, as a mark of my esteem and regard for
that gentleman, I named the island, after him, _Kaye’s Island_. It is
eleven or twelve leagues in length, in the direction of north-east and
south-west; but its breadth is not above a league, or a league and a
half, in any part of it. The south-west point, which lies in the
latitude of 59° 49ʹ, and the longitude of 216° 58ʹ, is very remarkable,
being a naked rock, elevated considerably above the land within it.
There is also an elevated rock lying off it, which, from some points of
view, appears like a ruined castle. Toward the sea the island terminates
in a kind of bare sloping cliffs, with a beach, only a few paces across
to their foot, of large pebble stones, intermixed in some places with a
brownish clayey sand, which the sea seems to deposit after rolling in,
having been washed down from the higher parts, by the rivulets or
torrents. The cliffs are composed of a bluish stone or rock, in a soft
or mouldering state, except in a few places. There are parts of the
shore interrupted by small valleys and gullies. In each of these a
rivulet or torrent rushes down with considerable impetuosity; though it
may be supposed that they are only furnished from the snow, and last no
longer than till it is all melted. These valleys are filled with
pine-trees, which grow down close to the entrance, but only to about
half way up the higher or middle part of the island. The woody part also
begins every where immediately above the cliffs, and is continued to the
same height with the former; so that the island is covered, as it were,
with a broad girdle of wood, spread upon its side, included between the
top of the cliffy shore, and the higher parts in the centre. The trees
however are far from being of an uncommon growth; few appearing to be
larger than one might grasp round with his arms, and about forty or
fifty feet high; so that the only purpose they could answer for shipping
would be to make top-gallant-masts, and other small things. How far we
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