On the 17th, in the morning, we were near land again, which seemed to be the farthest north, the land tending away from this point, which we called the North Cape to the South West. This land was pretty high, with a table top. We saw no canoes, nor any inhabitants; but, in the evening, we saw some smoke on the high land.

On the 20th, the wind still continuing westerly, we got no farther than the last bluff point. We had some violent squalls of wind, with heavy rains, thunder, and lightening.

On the 21st, in the morning, the wind came about to the south; but, as we were a considerable distance from shore, we could only stand to the westward, without being able to get near the land.

On the 24th, after having beat about for three days, we discovered land, which we supposed was the island of the Three Kings, though we could not bring it to appear any thing like the described figure of that island in Dalrymple's Book, having nothing of that broken appearance which that figure exhibits, forming one large clump of land, rather flat at the top, with eleven small rocks lying in a row from it. It being calm, Mr. Banks went out in the small boat; and we saw some birds so much like our island geese, that we could not have distinguished the difference. We caught several of them, made them into a pye, and they tasted excellently.

On the 27th, in the morning, it blew very hard from the east, all day, accompanied with heavy showers of rain, and we brought the ship to under a reef main-sail.

Voyaging Accounts