■ 769' and he immediately led the way. The ladder confuted of November. .
'--- — -> ueps fattened to a pole, but we found the afcent both diffi-
" ' cult and dangerous. When we entered we found three
women, who, the moment they faw us,'burft into tears of
terror and furprize: fome kind words and a few prefents
foon removed their apprehenfions, and put them into good
humour. We examined the houfe of our old friend, and by
his intereft two others, which were all that the fortification
contained, and having diftributed a few more prefents, we
parted with mutual fatisfaction.
December. At four o’clock in the morning o f the 5th of December
uciuay -vve weighed, with a light breeze, but it being variable with
frequent calms, we made little way. We kept turning out
of the bay till the afternoon, and about ten o’clock we were
Suddenly becalmed, fo that the Ihip would neither wear nor
ftay, and the tide or current fetting ftrong, fhe drove
towards land fo faft, that before any mcafures could be
taken for her fecurity fhe was within a cable’s length of the
breakers: we had thirteen fathom water, but the ground
was fo foul that, we did not dare to drop our anchor; the
pinnace therefore was immediately hoifted out to take the
fhip in tow, and the men, fenfible of their danger, exerting
themfelves to the utmoft, and a faint breeze fpringingup off
the land, we perceived with unfpeakable joy that fhe made
head way, after having, been fo near the fir ore that Tupia,
who was not fenfible of our hair’s breadth efcape, was at
this very time -converting with the people upon the beach,
whofe voices were diftinftly heard, notwithftanding the roar
of fhe breakers. We now thought all danger was over, but
about an hour afterwards, juft as the man in the chains had
cried “ feventeen fathom,” the fhip ftruck. The ihock threw
•us all into the utmoft confternation; Mr. Banks, who had un-
.drefled himfel'f and was ftepping into bed, ran haftily up to
7 the
R O U N D T H E WORLD.
the deck, and the man in the chains called out M five fathom
by this time, the rock on which we had ftruck being
to windward, the fhip went off without having received the
leaft damage, and the water very foon deepened to twenty
fathom.
This rock lies half a mile W. N. W. of the northermoft or
outermoft ifland on the fouth eaft fide of the bay. We had
light airs from the land, with calms, till nine o’clock the
next morning, when we got out of the bay, and a breeze
fpringing up at N. N. W. we flood out to fea.
This bay, as T have before obferved, lies on the weft fide
of Cape Bret, and I named it the B a y o f I s l a n d s , from the
great number of iflands which line its fhores, and form
feveral harbours equally fafe and commodious, where there
is room and depth for any number of fhipping. That in
which we lay is on the fouth weft fide of the fouth wefter-
moft ifland, called Ma tu aro, on the fouth eaft fide of the
bay. I have made no accurate furvey of this bay, being, discouraged
by the time it would coft me ; I thought alfo that it
was fufficient to be able to affirm that it afforded us good anchorage,
and refrefhment of every kind. It was not the
feafon for roots, but we had plenty of fifh, molt of which,
however, we purchased of the natives, for we could catch
very little ourfelves either with net or line. When we
fhewed the natives our feine, which is fuch as the King’s
fliips are generally fu'rnifhed with, they laughed at it, and
in triumph produced their own, which was indeed of an
enormous fize, and made of a kind of grafs, which is very
ftrong: it was five fathom deep, and by the room it took up,
it could not be lefs than three or four hundred fathom long.
Fifhing feems indeed to be the chief bufinefs of life in this
part of the country; we faw about all their towns a great
number
1769.
December;
Tuefday 5..