Page:A Voyage to Terra Australis Volume 1.djvu/274

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It was drunk upon deck; and with half a biscuit, made a luncheon for both officers and people. The allowance of grog was never issued until half an hour after the dinner time.

On the 6th of December, our latitude was 35° 10′, and longitude 114° 19′; which placed us about S.W. ½ S. twenty-two leagues from the westernmost isles lying off the south-west cape of New Holland, according to their position by the French rear-admiral D'Entrecasteaux; a traced copy of whose general chart of this coast had been furnished to me from the hydrographical office at the Admiralty. There were no names applied in this copy; but in the charts of the French voyage, lately published, these isles are called Îles St. Alouarn.

Notwithstanding the nearness of the land, there were no signs of such proximity: no discolouring in the water, no sea weed, no new birds, and but few of the species before seen. The current had, indeed, somewhat changed; for whilst, during the three preceding days, it had set N. 12° W. twenty-seven miles per day, on an average, it was found this day to have run N. 47° E. twenty-two miles. This change however could scarcely be thought a sign of land, since equal, or greater differences had occurred during the passage, and might arise, in part, from errors in the log.

At two in the afternoon, the wind being north-westward, we hauled up to make the south-western point of Leeuwin's Land, and bent the cables. At seven, land was seen right a-head, bearing N. 14° E., at the supposed distance of ten leagues; and on sounding, there was 85 fathoms, coral sand. We stood for it until eleven at night, and then veered to the south-west, in 65 fathoms, same bottom.

The examination of Nuyts' and of Leeuwin's Lands was not prescribed in my instructions to be made at this time; but the difference of sailing along the coast at a distance, or in keeping near it and making a running survey, was likely to be so little, that I judged