i^94* lying 14 leagues to the eaftward of cape Elizabeth, our furvey made
1— ----> thefe promontories fcarcely 10 leagues apart.
On reference to our pofition on the coaft, the land feen before us
forming the north extreme could be no other than the fouthernmoft of
Pies iflands; towards which with a pleafant breeze from the s lw . we
made great progrefs, at the diftance of 3 or 4 miles from the Ihore.
Two openings were palled, and we obferved along the coaft feveral low
detached parcels of rocks, at a greater diftance from the main land .than
we had generally remarked along the exterior coafts of this-country.-
One group in particular lying s. 75 w,, diftant near four miles from the
fouthernmoft o f Pies iflands, muft be very dangerous in thick weather,
efpecially as at high water during the fpring tides it is probably overflown.
The coaft we failed along this day is in moft parts very mountainous,
and defcends rather quickly into the ocean, excepting in thofe
places where it is broken into vallies, lbme of which are extenfive, and
gradually incline to the water fide. Thefe in fome inftances were ftill
buried in ice and fnow, within a few yards of the walh of the fea; whilft
here and there fome of the loftieft o f the pine trees juft fhewed their
heads through this frigid furface.
We could not avoid remarking, that the whole of this exterior coaft
feemed to wear a much more wintry afpefl: than the countries bordering
on thofe more northern inland waters we had fo recently quitted.
The fouthernmoft of Pies iflands in feveral points of View forms a very
confpicuous peak, and although not remarkable for its great height, yet
from its lingular appearance it is not eafily to be miftaken in this neighbourhood,
as it defcends with great regularity from its fummit to the
water’s edge; its- fouth extremity by our obfervations, is .fituated in latitude
590 1 (/, longitude 210° 21’. To the north-eaftward o f this ifland
the coaft ftill prefented a broken appearance, and our north-eaftern point
of view in the evening exhibited a clufter of iflands and rocks, extending
fome diftance from the main land; thefe we fuppofed were thofe named by
Mr. Portlock Chifwell’s ifles, lying before port Andrews, that is to fay,
Blying’s found, for which we continued our courfe until ten at night, when
we hauled to the wind under an eafy fail, in order to keep our ftation for
a continuing
continuing our examination o f the coaft in the morning. The depth of
water was 75 fathoms, about 5 miles' from the Ihore. The fine weather
with which we had been indulged was of Ihort duration. The wind by
one in the morning had veered round to the eaft and n . e ., and in a
few hours reduced us to clofe-reefed topfails; and finding in the forenoon
that the bowfprit was dangeroufly fprung in a llanting dire&ion,
from the cap nearly to the collar of the foreftay, we lay to about an
hour for the purpofe o f giving it fuch fecurities as our fituation permitted
us to apply, and then again flood to windward, under the courfes
and clofe-reefed topfails. Notwithftanding that it rained very heavily,
the gale continued to increafe, attended with a great fea from the eaftward,
which reduced us to our forefail and ftorm ftayfails, until four in
the afternoon, when the mainfaih and clofe-reefed topfails were again
fet. This prefs of fail I was induced to carry to prevent as much as
poflible our falling to leeward during the gale, which on funday morning
moderated, but the rain continued.
We now made fail, and flood towards the land ; the wind veered to
the fouthward of eaft in the forenoon, which enabled us to fleer for the
Chifwell ifles; and on the rain ceafing, in the afternoon, we got fight
of them, bearing by eompafs n. n,w . ; but the wind returning again
from the n.e., the night was pafled in making fhort trips, with the hope
that the weather would prove more favorable to our willies ; but in this
we were difappointed, the wind continued to be unfettled between eaft
and n.e., accompanied by mifty rainy weather, with fome fhort intervals
of funfhine, which afforded an opportunity of afcertaining the latitude
to be 590 16', longitude 211“ 13'. The hazinefs of the atmo-
fphere to the northward prevented our feeing the coaft; in the afternoon
we pafled Chifwell’s ifles, and found the center of the fouthernmoft
group to be in latitude 59° 31', longitude 211° iO'L; from this the eaft-
ernmoft, which is a Angle detached rock, lies n. 54 e., about a league
diftant; and the northernmoft, which' the hazy weather permitted' our
feeing, having feveral lefs iflets and rocks about it, lies n. 15 e., five
miles, diftant. Thefe Were all we faw of the Chifwell ifles, which are a
group of naked rugged rocks, feemingly deftitute of foil and any kind
V ol. III. x of
1794.
May.
Saturday 17.
Sunday 18.
Monday 19,