*77°- pearance. To the fouthward of the Cape the fhore forms a
Auguft, * .
v_____, large open bay, -which I called N ewcastle Ba y , and in
Tuefday 21. a r e f o m e fmall low iflands and fhoals ; the land adjacent
is alfo very low, flat, and fandy. The land of the
northern part o f the Gape is more hilly, the vallies feem to
be well clothed with wood, and the fhore forms fome fmall
bays, in which there appeared to be good anchorage. Clofe
to the eaftern point of the Cape are three fmall iflands, from
one of which a fmall ledge of rocks runs out into the fea:
there ’is alfo an ifland clofe to the northern point. The ifland
that forms the ftreight or channel through which we had
pafied, lies about four miles without thefe, which, except
two, are very fmall: the fouthermoft is the largeft, and
much higher than any part of the main land. On the north
weft fide of this ifland there appeared to be good anchorage,
and on fhore, vallies that promifed both wood and water.
Thefe iflands are diftinguifhed in the chart by the name of
Y o r k I s l e s . To the fouthward, and fouth eaft, and even to
the eaftward and northward of them, there are feveral other
low iflands, rocks, and fhoals: our depth of water in failing
between them and the main, was twelve, thirteen, and fourteen
fathom.
We flood along the fhore to the weftward, with a gentle
breeze at S. E. by S. and when we had advanced between
three and four miles, we difcovered the land ahead, which,
when we firft faw it, we took for the main, to be iflands detached
from it by feveral channels : upon this we fent away
the Boats, with proper inftruftions, to lead us through that
channel which was next the main; but foon after difcovering
rocks and fhoals in this channel, I made a fignal for the boats
to go through the next channel to the northward, which lay
between thefe iflands, leaving fome of them between us and
the
2
the main: the fhip followed, and had never lefs than five 1770.
fathom water in the narroweft part of the channel, where ■ Al‘8n‘t' ■
the diftance from ifland to ifland was about one mile and Tuef<iay 2I'
an half.
At four o’clock in the afternoon, we anchored, being
about a mile and a half, or two miles, within the entrance,
in fix fathom and a half, with clear ground | the channel
here had begun to widen, and the iflands on each fide of us
were diftant about a mile: the main land ftretched away to
the S. W. the fartheft point in view bore S. 48 W. and the
fouthermoft point of the iflands, on the north weft fide of
the paflage, bore S. 76 W. Between thefe two points wc
could fee no land, fo that we conceived hopes of having, at
laft, found a paflage into the Indian fea; however, that I
might be able to determine with more certainty, I refolved
te land upon the ifland which lies at the fouth eaft point of
the paflage. Upon this ifland we had feen many of the inhabitants
when we firft came to an anchor, and when I
went into the boat, with a party of men, accompanied by
Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, in order to go afhore, we faw
ten of them upon a h ill: nine of them were armed with
fuch lances as we had been ufed to fee, and the tenth had a
bow, and a bundle of arrows, which we had never feen in
the poflefiion of the natives of this country before: we alfo
obferved, that two of them had large ornaments of mother
of pearl hanging round their necks. Three of thefe, one of
whom was the bowman, placed themfelves upon the beach
abreaft of us, and we expected that they would have oppofed
our landing, but when we came within about a mufket’s
fhot of the beach, they walked leifurely away. We immediately
climbed the higheft hill, which was not more than
three times as high as the maft-head, and the molt barren of
D d 2 any