Monday g.
with it, ftill at a confiderable diftance from us; both o f which feemed to
form very proje&ing points, from whence the Chores retired far to the
eaftward; but whether only a deep bay was thus formed, or whether"the
■ land was here divided into two feparate iilands, our diftance was too
great to determine.
In the evening the wind frelhened from the s. s.w;, with which we
plied to the fouthward, and having ftill the ftream in our favor, we kept
near the Chore where the current continued to be the ftrongeft. At
midnight this breeze was fucceeded by a calm, which lafted until daylight
the next morning, when, with a light breeze, and the.afliftance of
the current, we made fome progrefs along Chore. As we advanced,
land further diftant, and apparently detached, was difcovered to the
s . s . e . ; at noon the obferved latitude was l& j fouth, the longitude 268“
23';. in this fituation we were oppofite to the land mentioned the preceding
day at noon. This takes a circular form, and {hoots into feveral
fmall low projefting points. From the molt confpicuous of thefe,'called
cape: Douglas, the adjacent Ihores take on one fide a north-eaftwardly,.
.and on the other a foutherly, direftion. The above, being the neareft
lhore, bore by compafs N. 78 E . , diftant five miles; the fouthernmoft part
of this land in fight s. 39 e . ; the weft point of the laft-difcovered detached
land, which is named Chriftopher’s point, s. 28 e . ; and cape
Berkeley N . 14 w . . The land we were now abreaft of bore a ftrong
refemblance to that feen the preceding day, equally barren and dreary
■ towards the fea-fide, but giving nourilhment to a few fcattered vegetable
produffions on the more elevated part, which rofe to a table mountain
of confiderable height and magnitude,, and is the fourth mountain
of this table-like form of which this land is eompofed.
The wind, during the afternoon and night, blew a gentle breeze from
the fouthward, but as we continued to be aflifted by the current fetting
to windward, we made fome progrels in that direftion, and were fuffi-
eient-Iy to the fouthward the next morning to afcertain 'pretty clearly
that the laft'-difcovered- land, now bearing s. 54 e ., diftant 9 leagues,’ was
diftinft from the leeond’difcovered land, ;or ifland ; and that its weftern
part, Chriftopher’s point, lies from the fouth point of the fecond-difco-
2 ' vered
vered land, which is called cape Hamond, s. 13 e . , at the diftance of
twenty miles! :• ''Mr'.: : ■! ot ■ ' -- ■ '■'■■■' c ■ ■' ■ '■ "■ ■ 1
Thus concluded our examination of thefe Ihores, which proved to be
thole of the Gallipagos iilands. The wind now feemed to be fettled in
the fouth-eaftern quarter, blowing a fteady pleafant gale; and as the
weather was fine, we were once more flattered with the pleafing hopes o f
having at length reached the regular fouth-eaft trade wind; we therefore
made the beft of our way to the fouth-weftward with all fail fet, and at
noon obferved we were in latitude 44' fouth. The longitude by the feveral
chronometers, agreeably to their rates as afcertained at the ifla'nd of
Cocos,"was by Arnold’s No. 14, - - - 267° 5 4 'gb"!
Ditto 176, - - 267 52- 45 >
Kendall’s, - - - 267 52 30 •
but by the dead reckoning it appeared to be - 272 - 2 o
The variation of the: furveying compafs was 8° eaftwardly, and the
vertical inclination of the marine dipping needle was
Marked End, North Face Eaft, - - - 2* 50'
Ditto ditto Weft, - - - 2 45'
Ditto South Face Eaft, - - - 2 3o
Ditto ditto Weft, - - - 2 3o
Mean inclination o f the north point of the marine dipping needle, 2 29
The very exaft correfpondence of the longitude by the chronometers,
and which had uniformly been the cafe ever fince our departure from the
ifland of Cocos, induced me to believe, that at leaft the relative pofition
in point of longitude of that ifland with thefe would be found correfl;
and I truft, that the means adopted to afcertain the longitude of the former,
will not be found liable to any material error.
On reference to the relative pofition of the land to which our attention
had been diretted fince the 6th of this month, the delineation of its Ihores
from our obfervations, will be found to-bear a very ftriking refemblance to
that of the wefternmoft of the Gallipagos, as laid down in Captain Cook’s
general chart; and although the fituation of Wenman’s ifland does not
correft'ly agree, yet the correfpondence o f the larger portions of the land
V ol. III. 3 D with
*7.95-
February.