Saturday *5.
Sunday z6.
were heard a-head at two o’clock, and the land appeared at
day-break. We Rood for it, and foon found it to confift of
feveral low iflands, connected by a vaft reef. Another great
reef lay to the northward, and we paffed between them. At
noon a canoe came off towards us, though the neareft land
was above a league diftant. We difcerned two men in it,
who flood on a long while, but at laft, feeing that the fhip
gained upon them, they put about and returned. We co,uld
not help admiring the difference between this race, and the
favages whom we had fo lately left, and agreed that the
name Friendly was very juftly given to them. The wind
flackened all the afternoon, and died away to a perfect calm
during night. We approached fo near one of the reefs by
this means, that we ran great rifk of being wrecked j but a
breeze fpringing up in the morning, we were out of danger
in a fhort time.
The next morning we failed between reefs and fmall
iflands, which made the water fmooth. The iflands had a
little more elevation than the common coral iflands ; they
were eovered with groves and tufts of trees, which gave them
a moft enchanting appearance. The houfes were feen in
great numbers among the trees on the beach, and the iflands
had an air of happinefs and affluence. One of thefe little
gardens rofe at its eaft end into a white perpendicular cliff,
with fomething like horizontal ftrata. At our diftance it
looked like the baftion of a ruined fort, and being fringed
with
with woods and palms, formed altogether a romantic view.
Towards noon the wind flackened, and canoes put off from
different iflands to vifit us, though they were above a league
diftant. Some of them worked fo hard, that they were
■ near us in lefs than an hour ; and when they were about a
mufket-fhot off, they began to call to us from time to time,
ftill continuing to paddle towards us. Three perfons were
in the canoe, exadtly like the natives of Ea-oowhe and
Tonga-Tabboo, whom we had feen in October, 1773,
When they were along-fide, a few beads and nails were pre-
fented to them, for which they immediately fent a bunch of
bananas, and fome delicious fhaddocks (citrus decumanus) on
the deck, be tides a bunch of the red fruits of the palm-nut
tree or pandang (,athrodaBylis) which is a fign of friendfhip.
This being done, they fold us all the fhaddocks and fruit
which they had, and came on board. In the mean while
the other canoes arrived, and adted without the lead caution,
as if we had been long acquainted. They taught us
the names of all the iflands in the neighbourhood ; that
with the high cliff they called TerrefetcheS; the other,
which-we admired fo much for its beauty, Tonoomea: both
thefe lay to the eaftward of us. Mango-nooe (great) and
Mango-eetee (little) were two iflands to the weft of us ; and
to the S. W. beyond them lay Namoka-nooee and Namoka-
eetee; the firft of which Tafman has called Rotterdam
Ifland, or Anamocka.
Vol. II. Z After