The Plough Boy Journals

The Journals and Associated Documents

The Plough Boy Anthology

19th Century American Whaling

Bonin Islands

Pitcairn's Island

Dictionaries & Glossaries

Ashley's Glossary of
Whaling Terms

Dana's Dictionary of
Sea Terms

AN

ACCOUNT

OF THE

VOYAGES

UNDERTAKEN BY THE

ORDER OF HIS PRESENT MAJESTY

FOR MAKING

Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere,

And sucoessively performed by

In the DOLPHIN, the SWALLOW, and the ENDEAVOUR:

DRAWN UP
From the Journals which were kept by the several Commanders,
And from the Papers of Joseph Banks, Esq;

By JOHN HAWKESWORTH, LL.D.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

Illustrated with CUTS, and a great Variety of CHARTS and MAPS relative to
Countries now first discovered, or hitherto but imperfectly known.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

Printed for W. STRAHAN; and T. CADELL in, the Strand.

MDCCLXXIII.

      We continued our course westward till the evening Thursday the 2d of July, when we discovered land to the northward of us. Upon approaching it the next day, it appeared like a great rock rising out of the sea: it was not more than five miles in circumference, and seemed to be uninhabited; it was, however, covered with trees, and we saw a small stream of fresh water running down one side of it. I would have landed upon it, but the surf, which at this season broke upon it with great violence, rendered it impossible. I got soundings on the west side of it, at somewhat less than a mile from the shore, in twenty-five fathom, with a bottom of coral and sand; and it is probable that in fine summer weather landing here may not only be practicable but easy. We saw a great number of sea birds hovering about it, at somewhat less than a mile from the shore, and the fea here seemed to have fish. It lies in latitude 20° 2' S., longitude 133° 21' W. and about a thousand leagues to the westward of the continent of America. It is so high that we saw it at the distance of more than fifteen leagues, and it having been discovered by a young gentleman, son to Major Pitcairn of the marines, who was unfortunately lost in the Aurora, we called it Pitcairn's Island.

      While we were in the neighbourhood of this island, the weather was extremely tempestuous, with long rolling billows from the southward, larger and higher than any I had seen before. The winds were variable, but blew chiefly from the S. S. W. W. and W. N. W. We had very feldom a gale to the eastward, so that we were prevented from keeping in a high south latitude, and were continually driving to the northward.

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