Tasman’s voyage of discovery.
443
fide, and as the flood came in from the fouth-eaft, we concluded that it would be thebelt to return into the bay, and feek feme other way out; but, on the 26th, the windbecoming more favourable, we continued our route to the north, turning a little to the’Well. On the 4th of January 1643, being then in the latitude of 34° 35' fouth, andin the longitude of 191 0 g', we failed quite to the cape, which lies north-weft, whereWe found the fea rolling in from the north-eaft; whence we concluded, that we had atlaft found a paffage, which gave us no fmall joy. There was in this ftreight an ifland,which we called the illand of the Three Kings ; the cape of which we doubled, with adefign to have refrelhed ourfelves ; but, as we approached it, we perceived on themountain thirty or five and thirty perfons, who, as far as we could difcern at fuch adiftance, were men of very large fize, and had each of them a large club in his•hand : they called out to us in a rough ftrong voice, but we could not underhand anything of what they faid. We obferved that thefe people walked at a very great rate,and that they took prodigious large ftrides. We made the tour of the illand; in doingwhich, we faw but very few inhabitants; nor did any of the country feem to be culti-vated ; we found indeed a frelh-water river, and then we refolved to fail eaft, as far as220° of longitude ; and from thence north, as far as the latitude of 17° fouth ; andthence to the weft, till we arrived at the illes of Cocos and Horne, which were dif-covered by William Schovten, where we intended to refrelh ourfelves, in cafe we foundno opportunity of doing it before ; for though we had actually landed on VanDiemen’s Land, we met with nothing there; and, as for New Zealand , we never fetfoot on it.
In order to render this paffage perfectly intelligible, it is neeeffary to obferve, that theilland of Cocos lies in the latitude of 15 0 to’ fouth; and, according to Schovten’saccount, is well inhabited, and well cultivated, abounding with all forts of refrelhments;but, at the fame time, he describes the people as treacherous and bafe to the laft degree.As for the iflands of Horne, they lie nearly in the latitude of 15 0 , are extremelyfruitful, and inhabited by people of a kind and gentle difpofition, who readily bellowedon. the Hollanders whatever refrelhments they could alk. It was no wonder therefore,that, finding themfelves thus diftreffed, Captain Tafman thought of repairing to thefeiflands, where he was fure of obtaining refrelhments, either by fair means or otherwife ;Which defign, however, he did not think fit to put in execution.
7. On the 8th of January, being in the latitude of 30° 25' fouth, and in the longitudeof 192° 2o’, we obferved the variation of the needle to be 9 0 towards the eaft ; and, asWe had an high rolling fea from the fouth-weft, I conjectured there could not be anyland hoped for on that fide. On the 12th, we found ourfelves in 30” 5' fouth latitude,and in 195 0 27' of longitude, where we found the variation 9 0 30' to the eaft, a rollingfea from the fouth-eaft and from the fouth-weft. It is very plain, from thefe obfervartions, that the pofition laid down by Dr. Halley, that the motion of the needle is notgoverned by the poles of the world, but by other poles which move round them, ishighly probable; for otherwife it is not ealy to underftand, how the needle came tohave, as our author affirms it had, a variation of near 27 0 to the weft, in the latitude of45 ° 47', and then gradually decreafing till it had no variation at all; after which itturned eaft, in the latitude of 42 0 37', and fo continued increafing its variation eaft-Wardly to this time.
8. On the 16th, we were in the latitude of 26° 29' fouth, and in the longitude of1 99 ° 32', the variation of the needle being 8°. Here we are to obferve, that theeaftern variation decreafes ; which is likewife very agreeable to Doctor Hailey’shypothefis ; which, in few words, is this: that a certain large folid body contained
3 l 2 within,