246* cook's first voyage sept* 



through which we passed. The isle of Rotte has 

 not so lofty and mountainous an appearance as 

 Timor, though it is agreeably diversified by hill and 

 valley : on the north side, there are many sandy 

 beaches, near which grew some trees of the fan palm, 

 but the far greater part was covered with a kind of 

 brushy wood, that was without leaves. The appear- 

 ance of Semau was nearly the same with that of 

 Timor, but not quite so high. About ten o'clock 

 at night, we observed a phenomenon in the heavens, 

 which, in many particulars, resembled the aurora 

 borealis, and in others was very different : it con- 

 sisted of a dull reddish light, and reached about 

 twenty degrees above the horizon : its extent was 

 very different at different times, but it was never less 

 than eight or ten points of the compass : through 

 and out of this passed rays of light of a brighter 

 colour, which vanished, and were renewed nearly in 

 the same time as those of the aurora borealis, but had 

 no degree of the tremulous or vibratory motion which 

 is observed in that phenomenon : the body of it 

 bore S. S. E. from the ship, and it continued with- 

 out any diminution of its brightness, till twelve 

 o'clock, when we retired to sleep, but how long 

 afterwards, I cannot tell. 



Being clear of all the islands which are laid down 

 in the maps we had on board, between Timor and 

 Java, we steered a west course till six o'clock the 

 next morning, when we unexpectedly saw an island 

 bearing W. S. W., and at first I thought we had 

 made a new discovery. We steered directly for it, 

 and by ten o'clock were close in with the north side 

 of it, where we saw houses, cocoa-nut trees, and to 

 our very agreeable surprise, numerous flocks of 

 sheep. This was a temptation not to be resisted 

 by people in our situation, especially as many of us 

 were in a bad state of health, and many still repining 

 at my not having touched at Timor ; it was there- 

 fore soon determined to attempt a commerce with 



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