98 cook's first voyage may, 



ward, and from the shore, than I expected from the 

 course we steered, for we were distant at least seven 

 leagues ; I therefore hauled in N. W. by W., with a 

 fresh gale at S. S. W. The land that was farthest to 

 the north the night before now bore S. S. W., distant 

 six leagues, and I gave it the name of Cape Moreton, 

 it being the north point of Moreton's Bay : its lati- 

 tude is 26 56', and its longitude is 206 28'. From 

 Cape Moreton the land trends away west, farther 

 than can be seen, for there is a small space, where at 

 this time no land is visible ; and some on board having 

 also observed that the sea looked paler than usual, 

 were of opinion that the bottom of Moreton's Bay 

 opened into a river. We had here thirty-four 

 fathom water, and a fine sandy bottom : this alone 

 would have produced the change that had been ob- 

 served in the colour of the water ; and it was by no 

 means necessary to suppose a river to account for 

 the land at the bottom of the bay not being visible ; 

 for supposing the land there to be as low as we knew 

 it to be in a hundred other parts of the coast, it 

 would have been impossible to see it from the station 

 of the ship ; however, if any future navigator should 

 be disposed to determine the question, whether there 

 is or is not a river in this place, which the wind would 

 not permit us to do, the situation may always be 

 found by three hills which lie to the northward of it, 

 in the latitude of 26 53'. These hills lie but a little 

 way inland, and not far from each other : they are 

 remarkable for the singular form of their elevation, 

 which very much resembles a glass-house, and for 

 which reason I called them the Glass-Houses. The 

 northernmost of the three is the highest and largest : 

 there are also several other peaked hills inland to 

 the northward of these, but they are not nearly so 

 remarkable. At noon our latitude was, by observ- 

 ation, 26 28' S., which was ten miles to the north- 

 ward of the log, a circumstance which had never be- 

 fore happened upon this coast ; our longitude was 



