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31 December 1768
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31 December 1768

Endeavour Voyage Maps

James Cook's Journal Ms 1, National Library of Australia

Transcript of Cook's Journal

Sydney Parkinson's Journal

The authorised published account of Cook's Voyage by John Hawkesworth

1768
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in Falconer's Dictionary of the Marine
 		31 December 1768

31. No insects seen today; the water changed to a little better colour. On looking over those taken yesterday find 31 species of land insects all so like in size and shape to those of England &c. that they are scarcely distinguishable, probably some will turn out identicaly the same. We ran among them 160 miles by the log without reckoning any part of last night, tho they were seen till dark, and most of this southing. Our latitude made us nearly opposite Baye Sans Fond near which place Mr Dalrymple supposes there to be a passage quite through the Continent of America. [67] It should seem by what we have seen that there should be at least a very large river, and that probably at this time much flooded: if even that could have so great an effect as (supposing us to be 20 leagues from the land) discolouring the water to almost a clay Colour and bringing of insects who never fly 20 yards such as grylli and one aranea. [68]

I lament much not having tasted the water at the time which never occurrd to me, but probably the difference of saltness would have been hardly perceptible to the taste and my Hydrostatick balance being broke I had no other method of trying it.

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© Derived from State Library of NSW 1998 Transcription of Banks's Endeavour Journal pages (vol.1) 140 - 140, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/banks/17681231.html