KERGUELEN AND VAN DIEMEN'S LAND 197 



that this elevation should be seen by navigators 

 calling in the bay, he planted the British flag 

 on it. 



On December 30th Cook left this melancholy 

 land, where the inclemency of the weather had 

 cost him the lives of several of his animals, and 

 continued eastward. He sailed 300 leagues in 

 the thickest of mists. The Resolution and Dis- 

 covery seemed like two phantom ships sailing on 

 an infernal sea in a world of nightmare. 



At last the veil of fog was rent asunder. The 

 sun appeared to the dazzled eyes of the travel- 

 lers, who began to doubt the light of the sky. 

 On January 24th they sighted Van Diemen's 

 Land, and two days later they anchored in Ad- 

 venture Bay. 



Cook sent in search of wood, and himself 

 landed later. While he watched the sailors cut- 

 ting wood, he saw eight natives and a young boy 

 coming towards him. They were without 

 clothes or arms. Most of them had their beards, 

 hair and even face, smeared with a sort of red 

 grease. Their skin was of a beautiful black, as 

 were their large soft eyes. Teeth of dazzling 

 whiteness showed a line of light across their 

 dusky faces. 



Cook observed that one of the islanders car- 

 ried a small stick pointed at one end, and he 



