FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105  
106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   >>   >|  
it was N. W. by W. The high round mountain was then seen bearing west, eight leagues, and this was the furthest land visible, nor did the wind allow them to come in with it again. At noon, the latitude was judged to be 41 deg. 34', and longitude 169 deg.; the course for the last day having been N. E. by N. 80 miles. Tasman then steered "precisely eastward, to make further discoveries," agreeably to a resolution of the council, taken in the morning. The copy of Tasman's charts, given in the Atlas, PLATE III. of D'Entrecasteaux's Voyage, and taken from Valentyn, is conformable to the manuscript charts in the Dutch journal. There is, however, an error of one degree too much east, in the scale of longitude; and Pedra Blanca is erroneously written against the Eddystone, in the general chart. In the plan of Frederik Hendrik's Bay, the name is placed _within_ the inner bay, instead of being written, as in the original, on the point of land between the inner and outer bays: I conceive the name was intended to comprise both.* [* In Vol. III. just published, of captain Burney's _History of Discoveries in the South Sea_, a copy is given of Tasman's charts, as they stand in the original.] COOK. 1770. More than a century had elapsed after this celebrated voyage of Tasman, and the eastern limit of Terra Australis remained still unknown. But the British nation was then taking the lead in discovery; and the new and liberal principles upon which His Majesty, GEORGE III, ordered it to be prosecuted, was a sure indication that so considerable a part of the globe would not long escape attention. Captain JAMES COOK, accompanied by Mr. Green, was sent in the _Endeavour_ to observe, at Taheity, the transit of Venus over the sun's disk; and after accomplishing that object, and making a survey of New Zealand, he continued his course westward, in order to explore the east side of the _Terra Australis Incognita_. (Atlas, Pl. I.) In the morning of April 19,1770, the land was seen bearing from north-east to west; the furthest part, in the latter direction, being judged to lie in 38 deg. south, and 148 deg. 53' east. But captain Cook could not determine whether it did, or did not, join to Tasman's Van Diemen's Land. It would be superfluous, here, to follow our great navigator in his discoveries along the coast, northward to _Botany Bay_ and from thence to Cape York. Such an abstract as suits the plan of this Introduction would be lit
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105  
106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Tasman
 

charts

 
written
 

discoveries

 
original
 

morning

 

captain

 
longitude
 

Australis

 

judged


furthest
 

bearing

 

taking

 

Endeavour

 

British

 
Taheity
 

transit

 
nation
 
discovery
 

observe


liberal

 

prosecuted

 

ordered

 

escape

 

considerable

 

indication

 

GEORGE

 

attention

 

principles

 

accompanied


Majesty
 

Captain

 

superfluous

 
follow
 

Diemen

 

determine

 

navigator

 

abstract

 
Introduction
 
northward

Botany

 

Zealand

 
continued
 

westward

 

survey

 

accomplishing

 

object

 

making

 

explore

 

direction