lls
than I expected, and the way being steep and woody, I was obliged to
drop the design. At the foot of a tree, on a little eminence not far
from the shore, I left a bottle with a paper in it, on which were
inscribed the names of the ships, and the date of our discovery. And
along with it, I inclosed two silver two-penny pieces of his majesty's
coin, of the date 1772. These, with many others, were furnished me by
the Reverend Dr Kaye;[7] and, as a mark of my esteem and regard for
that gentleman, I named the island, after him, _Kaye's Island_. It is
eleven or twelve leagues in length, in the direction of N.E. and S.W.;
but its breadth is not above a league, or a league and a half, in any
part of it. The S.W. point, which lies in the latitude of 59 deg. 49',
and the longitude of 216 deg. 58', is very remarkable, being a naked
rock, elevated considerably above the land within it. There is also an
elevated rock lying off it, which, from some points of view, appears
like a ruined castle. Toward the sea, the island terminates in a kind
of bare-sloping cliffs, with a beach, only a few paces across to
their foot, of large pebble stones, intermixed in some places with a
brownish clayey sand, which the sea seems to deposit after rolling
in, having been washed down from the higher parts, by the rivulets or
torrents. The cliffs are composed of a bluish stone or rock, in a soft
or mouldering state, except in a few places. There are parts of the
shore interrupted by small vallies and gullies. In each of these, a
rivulet or torrent rushes down with considerable impetuosity; though
it may be supposed that they are only furnished from the snow, and
last no longer than till it is all melted. These vallies are filled
with pine-trees, which grow down close to the entrance, but only to
about half way up the higher or middle part of the island. The woody
part also begins, every-where, immediately above the cliffs, and is
continued to the same height with the former; so that the island is
covered, as it were, with a broad girdle of wood, spread upon its
side, included between the top of the cliffy shore; and the higher
parts in the centre. The trees, however, are far from being of an
uncommon growth; few appearing to be larger than one might grasp round
with his arms, and about forty or fifty feet high; so that the only
purpose they could answer for shipping, would be to make top-gallant
masts, and other small things. How far we may judge of