Friday 19.
-were full o f men, way-laid her in her courfe, and threw
Several ftones into her, which wounded fome o f the people.
Upon this, the officer on board fired a mufquet, loaded with
buck-fhot, at the man who threw the firft ftone, and
wounded him in the ffioulder. The reft of the people in
‘the canoes, as foon as they perceived their companion
wounded, leapt into the fea, and the other canoes paddled
away, in great terror and confufion. As foon as the boats
■ reached the fhip, they were hoifted on board, and juft as fhe
was about to Hand on, we obferved a large canoe, under
fail, making after us. As I thought fhe might have fome
Chief on board, or might have been difpatched to bring me
a meffage from fome Chief, I determined to wait for her.
She failed very faft, and was foon along-fide o f the fhip, but
w e did not obferve among thofe on board, any one that
feemed to have an authority over the reft. One o f them,
however, flood up, and having made a fpeech, which continued
about five minutes, threw on board a branch o f the
plantain tree. We underftood this to be a token o f peace,
and we returned it, by handing over one o f the branches o f
plantain that had been left on board by our firft vifitors:
with this and fome toys, that were afterwards prefented to
him, he appeared to be much gratified, and after a fhort
time, went away.
The officers who had been fent out with the boats, informed
me that they had founded clofe to the reef, and
found as great a depth o f water as at the other iflands: however,
as I was now on the weather fide o f the ifland, I had
reafon to expedl anchorage in running to leeward. I therefore
took this courfe, but finding breakers that ran off to a great
diftance from the fouth-end of the ifland, I hauled the wind,
and continued turning to windward ail night, in order to
run down on the eaft fide of the ifland.
At
At five o'clock in the morning, we made fail, the land 1767.
Shearing N. W. by W. diftant to leagues; and there feemed
to be land five leagues beyond it, to the N. E .; a re- Saturday *“•
markable peak, like a fugar loaf, bore N. N. E. when we
were about two leagues from the fhore, which afforded a
moft delightful profpeS, and was full of houfes and inhabitants.
We faw feveral large canoes near the fhore, under
fail, but they did not fleer towards the fhip. At noon, we were
within two or three miles of the ifland, and it then bore
from S. 1 W.10N.W. by W. We continued our courfe along
the fhore, fometimes at the diftance o f half a mile, and
Sometimes at the diftance o f four or five miles, but hitherto
had got no foundings. At fix o’clock in the evening, we
■ were a-breaft of a fine river, and the coaft having a better
appearance here than in any other part that we had feen, l
determined to ftand off and on all night, and -try for anchorage
in the morning. As foon as it was dark, we faw a
gieat number o f lights all along the fhore. At day-break, -SnaBay**.
we fent out the boats to found, and foon after, they made
th e fignal for 20 fathom. This produced an univerfal joy,
which it is not eafy to defcribe, and we immediately ran in,
and came to an anchor in 17 fathom, with a clear fandy
bottom. We lay about a mile diftant from the fhore, oppos
e to a fine run o f water; the extreams o f the land bearing
from E. S. E. toN. W. by W. As foon as we had fecured the
fhip, I fent the boats to found along the coaft, and look at
the place where we faw the water. At this time, a con-
fiderable number o f canoes came off to the fhip, and
brought with them hogs, fowls, and fruit in great plenty,
which we purchafed for trinkets and nails. But when the
boats made towards the fhore, the canoes, moil o f which
were double, and very large, failed after them. At firfl
they kept at a diftance, but as the boats approached the
Vox.. I; F f fhore,