ts
and rocks, as they are marked in the chart*. At noon on the
20th, we lost fight of Ball's pyramid in the haze, after having
run 22 leagues from it in the direction of east by south: I
think, in clear weather, it may be seen at the distance of thirty
leagues. We had light winds and pleasant weather until the 24th,
when we had very strong gales from east-south-east, with a high
cross sea.

[* For this Chart, and a View of Ball's Pyramid, with
a full Description, see Phillip's Voyage, 4to.
Edition.]

Early in the morning of the 28th, the wind veered to
south-west, and, imagining ourselves to be about fifteen leagues
to the westward of Norfolk-Island, we hove to at seven in the
evening. The next morning, at day-light, we made sail, steering
east: we had great numbers of birds round us, and the clouds
hanging very thick to the eastward, indicated our being near the
land; but it was not till eleven o'clock in the forenoon that we
made the largest of the two small islands which lie off the
south-west end of Norfolk-Island, bearing east 16 deg. north,
five leagues distant.

At noon, the body of Norfolk-Island bore north 61 deg. east,
distant seven or eight leagues. At four in the afternoon, we
rounded the northern point of the island, which I named Point
Howe, in honour of the first lord of the admiralty, at the time
we left England: we soon after hove to, off a cascade, which is
situated near the middle of the north side of the island: the
boat was hoisted out, and lieutenant Ball and myself went to
examine if it were possible to land on a stony beach, which is
situated a little to the eastward of the cascade; but we found so
great a surf rolling on the shore, that the loss of the boat, and
perhaps of the sailors lives, would have been the consequence of
our attempting to land; so that at sun-set we returned on board,
and the boat was hoisted in.

Early the next morning, lieutenant Ball and myself went in a
boat to examine whether we could find a landing-place from the
southermost, or Point Ross, to the north-west, or Point Howe,
which was (the wind being then west-north-west,) the lee side of
the island. From the cascade to a small bay, which lies on the
north-east side of the island, we found the shore lined with
steep inaccessible cliffs, against which the sea broke with great
violence, and rendered the boat's approach impracticable. The
small bay, which I named Ball-bay, (after lieutenant Henry
Lidgbird Ball)