W. Two small islets lay without
this last direction, distant from us four or five miles; some others lay
between us and the shore, and to the east, where they seemed to be
connected by reefs, in which appeared some openings from space to space.
The country was mountainous, and had much the same aspect as about Balade.
On one of the western small isles was an elevation like a tower; and over a
low neck of land within the isle were seen many other elevations,
resembling the masts of a fleet of ships.
Next day at sun-rise, after having stood off all night with a light breeze
at S.E., we found ourselves about six leagues from the coast; and in this
situation we were kept by a calm till ten in the evening, when we got a
faint land-breeze at S.W., with which we steered S.E. all night.,
On the 22d at sun-rise the land was clouded, but it was not long before the
clouds went off, and we found, by our land-marks, that we had made a good
advance. At ten o'clock, the land-breeze being succeeded by a sea-breeze at
E. by S., this enabled us to stand in for the land, which at noon extended
from N. 78 deg. W. to S. 31 deg. 1/2 E., round by the S. In this last direction the
coast seemed to trend more to the south in a lofty promontory, which, on
account of the day, received the name of Cape Coronation. Latitude 22 deg. 2',
longitude 167 deg. 7' 1/2 E. Some breakers lay between us and the shore, and
probably they were connected with those we had seen before.
During the night, we had advanced about two leagues to the S.E.; and at
day-break on the 23d an elevated point appeared in sight beyond Cape
Coronation, bearing S. 23 deg. E. It proved to be the south-east extremity of
the coast, and obtained the name of Queen Charlotte's Foreland. Latitude
22 deg. 16' S., longitude 167 deg. 14' E. About noon, having got a breeze from the
N.E., we stood to S.S.E., and as we drew towards Cape Coronation, saw in a
valley to the south of it, a vast number of those elevated objects before-
mentioned; and some low land under the foreland was wholly covered with
them. We could not agree in our opinions of what they were. I supposed them
to be a singular sort of trees, being too numerous to resemble any thing
else; and a great deal of smoke kept rising all the day from amongst those
near the cape. Our philosophers were of opinion that this was the smoke of
some internal and perpetual fire. My representing to them that there was no
smoke here in the morning would have been of no avail, had not this eternal
fire gone out before night, and no more smoke been seen after.
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