calm; but a light breeze then fpringing up at E.N.E. we fleered
S.S.E. all night, edging off from the land, the hollow fwell
fiill continuing; our depth of water was from fixty to
feventy-flve fathom. While we were becalmed, Mr. Banks,
being out in the boat, fhot two Port Egmont hens, which
were in every refpedf the fame as thofe that are found in
great numbers upon the ifland of Faro, and were the firftof
the kind we had feen upon this coaft, though we fell in with
fome a few days before we made land.
Saturday 24, At day-break, the wind frelhened, and before noon we
had a ftrong gale at N. N. E. At eight in the morning we faw
the land extending as far as S. W. by S. and fleered direffly
for it. At noon, we were in latitude 45° 22' S .; and the land,
which now ftretched from S.W. f S. to N. N.W. appeared to
be rudely diverfified by hill and valley. In the afternoon,
we fleered S.W. by S. and S.W. edging in for the land with
a frelh gale at north; but though we were at no great dif-
tance, the weather was fo hazy that we could fee nothing
diftinftly upon it, except a ridge of high hills lying not far
from the fea, and parallel to the coaft, which in this place
ftretches S. by W. and N. by E. and feemed to end in a high
bluff point to the fouthward. By eight in the evening we
were abreaft of this point; bur it being then dark, and I not
knowing which way the land trended, we brought to-for the
night. At this time, the point bore weft, and was diftant
about five miles: our depth of water was thirty-feven fathom,
and the bottom confifted of fmall pebbles.
Friday 23.
***** n ' At day-break, having made fail, the point bore north, diftant
three leagues, and we now found that the land trended from
it S. W. by W. as far as we could fee. .This point I named
■ Ca p e Sa u n d e r s , in honour o f Sir Charles. Our latitude was
<éS ° 3.5 S., and longitude i%° 4' W. By the latitude, and the
-angles
angles that are made by the coaft, this JxJifit 'Will he fuffi- ruiiffiy.
eiently known; there is, however, about three or four >—p,—j,.
leagues to the fouth weft of it, and very near the more, a
remarkable'faddle-hill, which is a good direction to it-on
that quarter. Erom one league to four leagues north of Cape
Saunders, the-fhore forms two or three bays, in which there
appeared to be good anchorage, and effectual flicker from
the S.W. wefterly, and N. wefterly winds; but my defire of
getting to the fouthward, in order to afcertain whether this
country was an ifland. or a continent, prevented my putting
into any of them..
We kept at a fmall dlftance from the fhore all this morning,
with the wind at S. W. and had a very diftindt view of
i t : it is of a moderate height, and the furface is broken by
many hills which are green and woody ; but we faw no appearance
of inhabitants. At noon, Cape Saunders boreN. 30 W..
diftant about four leagues. We had variable winds and calmS
till five o’clock in the evening, when it fixed at W.S.W. and:
foon blew fo hard that it put us paft our topfails, and fplitthe-
forefail all to pieces: after getting another to the yard, we
continued to ftand to the fouthward under two courfes; and
at fix the next morning, the fouthermoft land in fight bore Monday.zfo.
W. by N. and Cape Saunders N. by W. diftant eight leagues :
at noon, it bore N. 20 W. fourteen leagues ; and our latitude
by obfervation was 46° 36'. The gale continued, with heavy,
fqualls and a large hollow fea all the afternoon; and at
feven in the evening, we lay to under our forefail, with the
fhip’s head to the fouthward: at noon on the 27th, our Tuefda?27,.
latitude was 46° 54', and our longitude from Cape Saunders
1° 24' E. At feven in the evening, we made fail under our
courfes ; and. at eight the next morning fet the topfails clofe WedncC. zsa
reefed. At noon, our latitude was 47° 43', and our longitude
eaft from Cape Saunders 2° 1.0'. At this time, we wore
and: