A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 794 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13.

A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 794 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13.

On the 16th, at six in the morning, we saw land from the mast-head, bearing S.S.W.; and at noon it bore S. by W. distant fourteen leagues:  While we were standing in for the shore we sounded several times, but had no ground with ninety fathom.  At eight, we tacked in a hundred and eight fathom, at about three or four miles from the shore, which was the same point of land that we had to the N.W. before we were blown off.  At noon it bore S.W. distant about three miles; Mount Camel bore S. by E. distant about eleven leagues, and the westermost land in sight bore S. 75 W.; the latitude by observation was 34 deg. 20’ S. At four o’clock, we tacked and stood in shore, in doing which, we met with a strong rippling, and the ship fell fast to leeward, which we imputed to a current setting east.  At eight, we tacked and stood off till eight the next morning; when we tacked and stood in, being about ten leagues from the land:  At noon, the point of land which we were near the day before, bore S.S.W. distant five leagues.  The wind still continued at west; and at seven o’clock, we tacked in thirty-five fathom, when the point of land which has been mentioned before, bore N.W. by N. distant four or five miles; so that we had not gained one inch to windward the last twenty-four hours, which confirmed our opinion that there was a current to the eastward.  The point of land I called North Cape, it being the northern extremity of this country.  It lies in latitude 34 deg. 22’ S. longitude 186 deg. 55’ W. and thirty-one leagues distant from Cape Bret, in the direction of N. 63 W. It forms the north point of Sandy Bay, and is a peninsula jutting out N.E. about two miles, and terminating in a bluff head that is flat at the top.  The isthmus which joins this head to the main land is very low, and for that reason the land of the Cape, from several situations, has the appearance of an island.  It is still more remarkable when it is seen from the southward, by the appearance of a high round island at the S.E. point of the Cape; but this also is a deception; for what appears to be an island is a round hill, joined to the Cape by a low narrow neck of land.  Upon the Cape we saw a Hippah or village, and a few inhabitants; and on the south-east side of it there appears to be anchorage, and good shelter from the south-west and north-west winds.

We continued to stand off and on, making N.W. till noon on the 21st, when North Cape bore S. 39 E. distant thirty-eight leagues.  Our situation varied only a few leagues till the 23d, when, about seven o’clock in the evening, we saw land from the mast-head, bearing S. 1/2 E. At eleven the next morning, we saw it again, bearing S.S.E. at the distance of eight leagues:  We now stood to the S.W.; and at four o’clock, the land bore S.E. by S. distant four leagues, and proved to be a small island, with other islands or rocks, still smaller, lying off the south-west end of it, and another lying off the north-east end, which

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A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.