As we were now safe at an anchor, the boats were sent upon the nearest shoal to search for shell-fish, turtle, or whatever else they could get; Dr. Solander and I accompanied them in my small boat. On our way we met with two water-snakes, one five and the other six feet long: we took them both. They much resembled land snakes, only their tails were flattened sideways, I suppose, for the convenience of swimming, and they were not venomous. The shoal we went upon was the very reef we had so nearly been lost upon yesterday, now no longer terrible to us. It afforded little provision for the ship, no turtle, only 300 lbs. of great cockles; some of an immense size. We had in the way of curiosity much better success, meeting with many curious fish and mollusca, besides corals of many species, all alive, among which was the Tubipora musica. I have often lamented that we had not time to make proper observations upon this curious tribe of animals; but we were so entirely taken up with the more conspicuous links of the chain of creation, as fish, plants, birds, etc. etc., that it was impossible.
21st. We observed both last night and this morning that the main looked very narrow,[1] so we began to look out for the passage we expected to find between New Holland and New Guinea. At noon one was seen, very narrow but appearing to widen; we resolved to try it, so stood in. The anchor was dropped, and we went ashore[2] to examine whether the place we stood into was a bay or a passage; for as we sailed right before the trade-wind, we might find difficulty in getting out, should it prove to be the former. The hill gave us the satisfaction of seeing a strait, at least as far as we could see, without any obstructions: in the evening a strong tide made us almost certain.[3]
26th. Fine weather and clear fresh trade: stood to the W. and deepened our water from 13 to 27 fathoms.
- ↑ York Peninsula.
- ↑ On Possession Island.
- ↑ Banks does not allude to Cook having here hoisted English colours and taken possession of the whole east coast of Australia from 38° S. to Cape York in the name of the king, as he had of several other places along the coast (Wharton's Cook, p. 312). Neither Cook nor Banks was aware that Torres had sailed through these straits in 1606 (see p. li.)
