»77$* a high barren hill, flattiih at the top, and when feen from
N o v em b e r . . ' .
—u t. the Weft South Weft, prelents an evident volcanic crater.
T he earth, rock, or fand, for it was not eafy to diftinguilh
o f which its furface is compofed, exhibited various Colours,
and a confiderable part we conjectured to be fulphur, both
from its appearance to the eye, and the ftrong iulphureous
fmell which we perceived, as w e approached the point.
Some o f the officers on board the Refolution, which palled
nearer the land, thought they faw fleams riling from the
top o f the hill. From thefe circumftances, Captain Gore
gave it the name o f Sulphur IJland. A low, narrow, neck o f
land conpefts this h ill with the South end o f the illand,
w hich Spreads out into a circumference o f three or four
leagues, and is o f a moderate height. T h e par.t near the
ifthmus-has fome.bulhes on it, and has a green appearance,
but thofe to the North Eaft are very barren, and fu ll off
large detached rocks, many o f which were exceedingly
white. Very* dangerous breakers extend two miles and a
h a lf to the Eaft, and two miles to the Weft off the middle
part o f the illand, on w hich the fea broke with great-
violence.
T h e 'N o r th and South illands appeared to us as fingle
mountains, o f a confiderable h e ight; the former peaked,
and o f a conical ihape ; the latter more fquare and flat at
the top. Sulphur Illand we place in latitude 24“ 48', longitude
141" 12'. The North illand in latitude 25’ 14', longitude
141° 10'. The South illand in latitude 34° 22',
. and longitude 141° 20'. The variation obferved was 3° 30',
Eaft.
Captain Gore now direiled his courfe to the Weft South
Weft,, for the Balhee Illands, hoping to procure, at them,
fuch
fu ch a fupply o f refrefhments as would help to ihorten his „"frfir
r J . ’ . \ N o v em b e r .
f la y in Macao. Thefe illands were vifited by Dampier, '— .— •
Who gives a very favourable account, both o f the civility
o f the inhabitants, and o f the pjenty o f hogs and vegetables,
with w h ich the country abounds : they were afterward.
feen b y Byron and Wallis', who paffed them without
landing.
In order to extend our view in the day time, the ihips
fpread between two and three leagues from each other,
and during the night, we went under an eafy f a i l ; fo that
it was fcarcely pollible to pafs any land that la y in the
neighbourhood o f our courfe. In this manner we proceeded,
without any occurrence worth remarking, with a
-frelh breeze from the North Eaft, till the 22d, when it in- M o n d a y 22;
creafed to a ftrong gale, with violent fqualls o f wind and
rain, which brought us under clofe reefed top-fails.
At noon o f the 23d, the latitude, by account, was 2 1 ° / , Tucfday 23.
and longitude 123'’ 20'; at fix in the evening, being now
only twenty-one leagues from the Balhee illands, according
to the fituation in Mr. Dalrymple’s map, and the weather
fqually attended with a thick haze, we hauled our wind
to the North North Weft, and handed the fore top-fail.
During the whole o f the 34th it rained inceflantly, and w e d n e f . 2 4 .
the wind ftill b lew a ftorm; a heavy fea rolled down on us
from the North, and in the afternoon we had violent flalhes
o f lightning from the fame quarter. We continued upon a
wind to the North North Weft till nine o’clock, when w e 1
tacked, and flood to the South South Eaft, till four in the
morning o f the 25th, and then.wore. During the night, T h u r fd a y z j .
there was an eclipfe o f the moon, but the rain prevented
3 G 2 our