Early Australian Voyages [63]
in her, and came off in the pinnace which I sent to guard them; and now, being well-stocked with wood and all my water-casks full, I resolved to sail the next morning. All the time of our stay here we had very fair weather, only sometimes in the afternoon we had a shower of rain, which lasted not above an hour at most; also some thunder and lightning, with very little wind; we had sea and land breezes, the former between the south-south-east, and the latter from north-east to north-west.
This place I named Port Montague in honour of my noble patron: it lies in the latitude of 6 degrees 10 minutes south, and meridian distance from Cape St. George 151 miles west. The country hereabouts is mountainous and woody, full of rich valleys and pleasant fresh-water brooks. The mould in the valleys is deep and yellowish, that on the sides of the hill of a very brown colour, and not very deep, but rocky underneath, yet excellent planting land. The trees in general are neither very straight, thick, nor tall, yet appear green and pleasant enough; some of them bore flowers, some berries, and others big fruits, but all unknown to any of us; cocoa- nut trees thrive very well here, as well on the bays by the sea- side, as more remote among the plantations; the nuts are of an indifferent size, the milk and kernel very thick and pleasant. Here is ginger, yams, and other very good roots for the pot, that our men saw and tasted; what other fruits or roots the country affords I know not. Here are hogs and dogs; other land animals we saw none. The fowls we saw and knew were pigeons, parrots, cockatoos, and crows like those in England; a sort of birds about the bigness of a blackbird, and smaller birds many. The sea and rivers have plenty of fish; we saw abundance, though we caught but few, and these were cavallies, yellow-tails, and whip-rays.
We departed from hence on the 22nd of March, and on the 24th, in the evening, we saw some high land bearing north-west half-west, to the west of which we could see no land, though there appeared something like land bearing west a little southerly, but not being sure of it, I steered west-north-west all night, and kept going on with an easy sail, intending to coast along the shore at a distance. At ten o'clock I saw a great fire bearing north-west-by-west, blazing up in a pillar, sometimes very high for three or four minutes, then falling quite down for an equal space of time, sometimes hardly visible, till it blazed up again. I had laid me down, having been indisposed these three days; but upon a sight of this, my chief mate called me; I got up and viewed it for about half an hour, and knew it to be a burning hill by its intervals: I charged them to look well out, having bright moonlight. In the morning I found that the fire we had seen the night before was a burning island, and steered for it. We saw many other islands, one large high island, and another smaller but pretty high. I stood near the volcano, and many small low islands, with some shoals.
March the 25th, 1700, in the evening we came within three leagues of this burning hill, being at the same time two leagues from the main; I found a good channel to pass between them, and kept nearer the main than the island. At seven in the evening I sounded, and had fifty-two fathom fine sand and ooze. I stood to the northward to get clear of this strait, having but little wind and fair weather. The island all night vomited fire and smoke very amazingly, and at every belch we heard a dreadful noise like thunder, and saw a flame of fire after it the most terrifying that ever I saw; the intervals between its belches were about half a minute, some more, others less; neither were these pulses or eruptions alike, for some were but faint convulsions, in comparison of the more vigorous; yet even the weakest vented a great deal of fire; but the largest made a roaring noise, and sent up a large flame, twenty or thirty yards high; and then might be seen a great stream of fire running down to the foot of the island, even to the shore. From the furrows
This place I named Port Montague in honour of my noble patron: it lies in the latitude of 6 degrees 10 minutes south, and meridian distance from Cape St. George 151 miles west. The country hereabouts is mountainous and woody, full of rich valleys and pleasant fresh-water brooks. The mould in the valleys is deep and yellowish, that on the sides of the hill of a very brown colour, and not very deep, but rocky underneath, yet excellent planting land. The trees in general are neither very straight, thick, nor tall, yet appear green and pleasant enough; some of them bore flowers, some berries, and others big fruits, but all unknown to any of us; cocoa- nut trees thrive very well here, as well on the bays by the sea- side, as more remote among the plantations; the nuts are of an indifferent size, the milk and kernel very thick and pleasant. Here is ginger, yams, and other very good roots for the pot, that our men saw and tasted; what other fruits or roots the country affords I know not. Here are hogs and dogs; other land animals we saw none. The fowls we saw and knew were pigeons, parrots, cockatoos, and crows like those in England; a sort of birds about the bigness of a blackbird, and smaller birds many. The sea and rivers have plenty of fish; we saw abundance, though we caught but few, and these were cavallies, yellow-tails, and whip-rays.
We departed from hence on the 22nd of March, and on the 24th, in the evening, we saw some high land bearing north-west half-west, to the west of which we could see no land, though there appeared something like land bearing west a little southerly, but not being sure of it, I steered west-north-west all night, and kept going on with an easy sail, intending to coast along the shore at a distance. At ten o'clock I saw a great fire bearing north-west-by-west, blazing up in a pillar, sometimes very high for three or four minutes, then falling quite down for an equal space of time, sometimes hardly visible, till it blazed up again. I had laid me down, having been indisposed these three days; but upon a sight of this, my chief mate called me; I got up and viewed it for about half an hour, and knew it to be a burning hill by its intervals: I charged them to look well out, having bright moonlight. In the morning I found that the fire we had seen the night before was a burning island, and steered for it. We saw many other islands, one large high island, and another smaller but pretty high. I stood near the volcano, and many small low islands, with some shoals.
March the 25th, 1700, in the evening we came within three leagues of this burning hill, being at the same time two leagues from the main; I found a good channel to pass between them, and kept nearer the main than the island. At seven in the evening I sounded, and had fifty-two fathom fine sand and ooze. I stood to the northward to get clear of this strait, having but little wind and fair weather. The island all night vomited fire and smoke very amazingly, and at every belch we heard a dreadful noise like thunder, and saw a flame of fire after it the most terrifying that ever I saw; the intervals between its belches were about half a minute, some more, others less; neither were these pulses or eruptions alike, for some were but faint convulsions, in comparison of the more vigorous; yet even the weakest vented a great deal of fire; but the largest made a roaring noise, and sent up a large flame, twenty or thirty yards high; and then might be seen a great stream of fire running down to the foot of the island, even to the shore. From the furrows