166 COOK ’s VOYAGE. 
Dampier, who has given a large defcription of the ifland of 
Timor, fays, that it is feventy leagues long, and fixteen 
broad, and that it lies nearly N. E. and S. W. I found the 
eafl fide of it to lie neareft N. E. by E. and S. W. by W. and 
the fouth end to lie in latitude io° 23' S. longitude 236° 5' W. 
We ran about forty- five leagues along the eafl; fide, and round 
the navigation altogether free from danger. The land which 
is' bounded by the fea, except near the fouth end, is low for 
two or three miles within the beach, and in general interfered 
by fait creeks : behind the low land are mountains, which rife 
one above another to a confiderable height. We fleered W. 
N. W. till two in the afternoon, when, being within a fmall 
diflance of the north end of Rotte, we hauled up N. N. W. in 
order to go between it and Semau : after fleering three leagues 
upon this courfe, we edged away N. W. and W. and by fix 
we were clear of all the iflands. At this time, the fouth part 
of Semau, which lies in latitude 10 8 15' S. bore N. E. diflant 
four leagues, and the ifland of Rotte extended as far to the 
fouthward as S. 36 W. The north end of this ifland, and the 
fouth end of Timor, lie N. \ E. and S. \ W. and are about 
three or four leagues diflant from each other. At the weft end 
of the paflage between Rotte and Semau, are two fmall iflands, 
one of which lies near the Rotte Ihore, and the other off the 
fouth weft point of Semau : there is a good channel between 
them, about fix miles broad, through which vve pafled. 
The ifle of Rotte has not fo lofty and mountainous an appear- 
ance as Timor, though it is agreeably diverfified by hill and 
valley : on the north fide, there are many fandy beaches, near 
which grew fome trees of the fan palm, but the far greater 
part was covered with a kind of bruihy wood, that was with- 
out leaves. The appearance of Semau was nearly the fame 
with that of Timor, but not quite fohigh. About ten o’clock 
at night, we obferved a phenomenon in the heavens, which 
in many particulars refembled the aurora borealis, and in 
others was very different : it confided of a dull reddilh light, 
and reached about twenty degrees above the horizon : its ex- 
tent was very different at different times, but it was never left 
than eight or ten points of the compafs : through, and out of 
this, palfed rays of light of a brighter colour, which vanilhed, 
and were renewed nearly in the lame time as thofe of the auro- 
ra borealis, but had no degree of the tremulous or vibratory 
motion which is obferved in that phenomenon : the body of 
it bore S. S. E. from the fliip, and it continued, without any 
diminution of its brightness, till twelve o’clock, when we 
retired to fleep, but how long afterwards, I cannot tell. 
Being clear of all the iflands, which are laid down in the ♦ 
maps we had on board, between Timor and Java, we fleered 
a weft courfe till fix o’clock the next morning, when we 
unexpectedly 
