352 cook's voyage to oct. 



We stood on all night, under an easy sail, to the 

 south south-west, having the wind westerly. At 

 midnight we sounded, and had sixty fathoms ; and 

 at day-break of the 13th, we saw the second of the 

 Kurile Islands (called by the Russians Paramousir), 

 extending from north-west by w T est, to west half 

 south. This land is very high, and almost entirely 

 covered with snow. .At noon, the extremes bore 

 from north north-west half west, to west north-west 

 half west ; and a high-peaked mountain, from which 

 some thought they saw smoke issuing, north-west 

 by west half west, about twelve or fourteen leagues 

 distant. At this time our latitude, by observation, 

 was 49° 49', and our longitude 157° 0'. In the 

 course of the day we saw many gulls and albatrosses, 

 and several whales. 



Paramousir is the largest of the Kuriles under 

 the dominion of Russia, and well deserves a more 

 accurate survey, than we were at this time allowed 

 to take. For, in the afternoon, the gale increasing 

 from the west, we were never able to approach it 

 nearer than w r e had done at noon ; and were, 

 therefore, obliged to be contented with endeavour- 

 ing to ascertain its situation at that distance. We 

 place the south end of the island in latitude 49° 58' ; 

 the north end in latitude 50° 46', and in longitude 

 10' W. of Lopatka ; and as this position is found 

 not to differ materially from that given by the 

 Russians, it is probably very near the truth. Whilst 

 we were abreast of this island, we had a very heavy 

 swell from the north-east, though the wind had, for 

 some time, been from the westward; a circumstance 

 which we have already remarked more than once 

 during the course of our voyage. In the night we 

 tried for soundings, but found no ground with fifty 

 fathoms of line. 



On the 14th and 15th, the wind blowing steadily 

 and fresh from the westward, w r e were obliged to 

 stand to the southward ; and consequently hindered 



