On the 12th, at noon, we saw land extending from S. E. by S. to S. E. by E. Upon a nearer approach, we found it to be two islands. That which lies most to the south, and is also the largest, I judged to be about fifteen leagues in circuit; and to be in the latitude of 46° 53ʹ S., and in the longitude of 37° 46ʹ E. The most northerly one is about nine leagues in circuit; and lies in the latitude of 46° 40ʹ S., and in 38° 8ʹ E. longitude. The distance from the one to the other is about five leagues.
We passed through this channel, at equal distance from both islands; and could not discover, with the assistance of our best glasses, either tree or shrub on either of them. They seemed to have a rocky and bold shore; and, excepting the south-east parts, where the land is rather low and flat, a surface composed of barren mountains, which rise to a considerable height, and whose summits and sides were covered with snow, which in many places seemed to be of a considerable depth. The south-east parts had a much greater quantity on them than the rest; owing probably, to the sun acting for a less space of time on these than on the north and north-west parts. The ground, where it was not hid by the snow, from the various shades it exhibited, may be supposed to be covered with moss, or, perhaps, such a coarse grass as is found in some parts of Falkland’s Islands. On the north side of each of the islands is a detached rock: that near the south island is shaped like a tower, and seemed to be at some distance from the shore. As we passed along, a quantity of sea-weed was seen, and the colour of the water indicated soundings. But there was no appearance of an inlet, unless near the rock just mentioned; and that, from its smallness, did not promise a good anchoring-place.
These two islands, as also four others which lie from nine to twelve degrees of longitude more to the east, and nearly in the same latitude, were discovered, as I have mentioned in my late voyage[[106]], by Captains Marion du Fresne, and Crozet, French navigators, in January 1772, on their passage in two ships from the Cape of Good Hope to the Philippine Islands. As they have no names in the French chart of the southern hemisphere, which Captain Crozet communicated to me in 1775[[107]], I shall distinguish the two we now saw, by calling them Prince Edward’s Islands, after his Majesty’s fourth son; and the other four, by the name of Marion’s and Crozet’s Islands, to commemorate their discoveries.
We had now, for the most part, strong gales between the north and west, and but very indifferent weather; not better, indeed, than we generally have in England in the very depth of winter, though it was now the middle of summer in this hemisphere. Not discouraged, however, by this, after leaving Prince Edward’s Islands, I shaped our course to pass to the southward of the others, that I might get into the latitude of the land discovered by Monsieur de Kerguelen.
I had applied to the Chevalier de Borda, whom, as I have mentioned, I found at Teneriffe, requesting, that if he knew any thing of the island discovered by Monsieur de Kerguelen, between the Cape of Good Hope and New Holland, he would be so obliging as to communicate it to me. Accordingly, just before we sailed from Santa Cruz Bay, he sent me the following account of it, viz. “That the pilot of the Boussole, who was in the voyage with Monsieur de Kerguelen, had given him the latitude and longitude of a little island, which Monsieur de Kerguelen called the Isle of Rendezvous, and which lies not far from the great island which he saw. Latitude of the little isle, by seven observations, 48° 26ʹ south; longitude, by seven observations of the distance of the sun and moon, 64° 57ʹ east from Paris.” I was very sorry I had not sooner known that there was on board the frigate at Teneriffe an officer who had been with Monsieur de Kerguelen, especially the pilot; because from him I might have obtained more interesting information about this land than the situation alone, of which I was not before entirely ignorant.[[108]]
My instructions directing me to examine it, with a view to discover a good harbour, I proceeded in the search; and on the 16th, being then in the latitude of 48° 45ʹ and in the longitude of 52° E., we saw penguins and divers, and rock-weed floating in the sea. We continued to meet with more or less of these every day, as we proceeded to the eastward; and on the 21st, in the latitude of 48° 27ʹ S., and in the longitude of 65° E., a very large seal was seen. We had now much foggy weather, and, as we expected to fall in with the land every hour, our navigation became both tedious and dangerous.
At length, on the 24th, at six o’clock in the morning, as we were steering to the eastward, the fog clearing away a little, we saw land[[113]], bearing S. S. E., which, upon a nearer approach, we found to be an island of considerable height, and about three leagues in circuit.[[114]] Soon after, we saw another of the same magnitude, one league to the eastward[[115]], and between these two, in the direction of S. E., some smaller ones.[[116]] In the direction of S. by E. 1⁄2 E., from the E. end of the first island, a third[[117]] high island was seen. At times, as the fog broke away, we had the appearance of land over the small islands; and I had thoughts of steering for it, by running in between them. But, on drawing near, I found this would be a dangerous attempt, while the weather continued foggy. For, if there should be no passage, or if we should meet with any sudden danger, it would have been impossible for us to get off; the wind being right astern, and a prodigious sea running, that broke on all the shores in a frightful surf. At the same time, seeing another island in the N. E. direction, and not knowing but that there might be more, I judged it prudent to haul off, and wait for clearer weather, lest we should get intangled amongst unknown lands in a thick fog.
We did but just weather the island last mentioned. It is a high round rock, which was named Bligh’s Cap. Perhaps this is the same that Monsieur de Kerguelen called the Isle of Rendezvous[[118]]; but I know nothing that can rendezvous at it, but fowls of the air; for it is certainly inaccessible to every other animal.
At eleven o’clock the weather began to clear up, and we immediately tacked, and steered in for the land. At noon we had a pretty good observation, which enabled us to determine the latitude of Bligh’s Cap, which is the northermost island, to be 48° 29ʹ S., and its longitude 68° 40ʹ E.[[119]] We passed it at three o’clock, standing to the S. S. E., with a fresh gale at W.
Soon after we saw the land, of which we had a faint view in the morning; and at four o’clock it extended from S. E. 1⁄2 E., to S. W. by S., distant about four miles. The left extreme, which I judged to be the northeren point of this land called, in the French chart of the southern hemisphere, Cape St. Louis[[120]], terminated in a perpendicular rock of a considerable height; and the right one (near which is a detached rock) in a high indented point.[[121]] From this point the coast seemed to turn short round to the southward; for we could see no land to the westward of the direction in which it now bore to us, but the islands we had observed in the morning; the most southerly[[122]] of them lying nearly W. from the point, about two or three leagues distant.