AMuguÜft.
Monday 17.
ping. After croffing the firft entrance, and coming off the
north weft part of Trevanion’s Ifland, which we called Cap e
T revanion, we faw a great rippling, and therefore fent the
boat off to found; we had, however, no bottom with fifty
fathom, the rippling being caufed only by the meeting of
the tides. Having hauled round this Cape, we found the
land trend to the fouthward, and we continued to ftand
along the fhore, till we opened the weftern paffage into the
lagoon between Trevanion’s Ifland and the main. In this
place, both the main and the ifland appeared to be one continued
town, and the inhabitants were innumerable. We
fent.a boat to examine this entrance or paffage, and found
the bottom to be coral and rock, with very irregular foundings
over it. As foon as the natives faw the boat leave the
fhip, they fent off feveral armed canoes to attack h e r : the
firft that came within bow-flxot difcharged her arrows at the
people on board, who being ready, fired a volley, by which
one of the Indians was killed, and another wounded; at the
fame time we fired a great gun from the ftiip, loaded with
grape-Ihot, among them, upon which they all pulled back
to the fhore with great precipitation, except the canoe which
began the attack, and that being fecured by the boat’s crew,
with the wounded man in her, was brought to the fhip. I
immediately ordered the Indian to be taken on board, and
the Surgeon to examine his wounds : it appeared that one
fhot had gone through his head, and that his arm was
broken by another: the Surgeon was o f opinion that the
wound in his head was mortal, I therefore ordered him to
be put again into his canoe, and, notwithftanding his condition,
he paddled away towards the fhore. He was a young
. man, with a woolly head, like that of the negroes, and a
fmall beard, but he was well-featured, and not fo black as
the natives o f Guinea: he was o f the common ftature, and,
6 like
like all the reft o f the people whom we had feen upon this
ifland, quite naked. His canoe was very fmall, and o f rude
workmanfhip, being nothing more than part of the trunk o f
a tree made hollow; it had, however, an outrigger, but
none of them had fails.
We found this place to be the weftern extremity o f the
ifland on the north fide, and that it lay in exactly the fame
latitude as the eaftern extremity on the fame fide. The distance
between them is about fifty miles due eaft and weft,
and a ftrong current fets weftward along the fhore.
I was ftill confined to my bed, and it was with infinite regret
that I gave up the hopes o f obtaining refrelhments at
th is . place, efpecially as our people told me they faw
hogs and poultry in great plenty as we failed along the fhore,
with cocoa-nut trees, plantains, bananas, and a variety o f
other vegetable productions, which would foon have reftored
to us the health and vigour we had loft, by the fatigue and
hardfhips of a long voyage ; but no friendly intercourfe with
the natives could now be expeffed, and I was not in a fitu-
ation to obtain what I wanted by force. I was myfelf dan-
geroufly ill, great part o f my crew, as I have already
obferved, was difabled, and the reft difpirited by difappoint-
ment and vexation, and i f the men had been all in health
and fpirits, I had not officers to lead them on or direct them
in any enterprize, nor even to fuperintend the duties that
were to be performed on board the fhip. Thefe difadvan-
tages, which prevented my obtaining refrefhments at this
ifland, prevented me alfo from examining the reft that were
near it. Our little ftrength was every minute becoming
lefs; I was not in a condition-to purfue the voyage to the
fouthward, and was in danger of lofing the rnonfoon, fo
that no time was ntiw to be loft ; I therefore gave orders to
. V ol, .1, 3 A fleer
1767.
Auguft.
■ -/
Monday 17.