»794- moratory, fome detached rocks were noticed lying about half a mile
■ - ■ from the fhore, along which we failed at a diftance from two to four miles,
and found it a little indented, and chiefly compofed of fteep rugged
cliffs.
The wind being light, enabled a few of the natives to vifit us: during
the afternoon, but they had little with them to difpofe of; in the evening
they returned home, and at dark we hauled off the Ihore m order to
WedneC 5. preferve our ftatiora for continuing our furvey. The next morning We;
again flood in for the.land, pafling the deep bay that bounds the northern
fide of the ifthmus, which connefls the two! lofty ranges of mountains
that form the ifland of Mowee. A very heavy, furf beat On the low
fandy lhores of the bay, from whence a few of the natives, as ill appointed
for barter as the former, paid us a vifit.
From thefe people we underftood that Titeeree was at Woahoo, and
that Taio was at Morotoi; but that Namahanna, who in the abfence. of
Titeeree had been left in charge of the government, accompanied by three
or four other chiefs and fome inferior people, were Unfortunately in a
hoofethat contained the major part of the gunpowder Titeeree pofifeffed,
when it took fire and blew up. By this accident Namahanna, with two
other chiefs.and fome of the people, had been killed, and all the reft
had been very badly wounded. This houfe appeared, by their account,
to have been appropriated by Titeeree as. a magazine; that the accident
had happened only a few days before our arrival, and-that fome of the
perfons who had been hurt had fince died of their wounds. -
A fine breeze from the n, e., with clear and pleafant weather, brought
us by noon up to the north-weft point o f Mowee; The obferved latitude
at this time was longitude 203° 2;/. The. point' bore by
compafs y. 8 w., diftant four miles ; off this lie an iflet and fome rooks,
at a fmall diftance from the fhore, which is fteep and cliffy. Having'
thus completed our intended furvey of Mowee, we flood over, and'
brought to within about half a league of the north-oaf) point of Morotoi,
in the expectation o f feeing Taio ; for whom, as well as for Titeeree,
I- had referved fome fheep, for eftablifhing the breed in each o f the
inlands. Taw, we had underftood, refided fome where hereabouts, and
fome
fome of the natives who came off to us repeated this intelligence, -but ,'79t
added that the day being taboo poory, it was impoflible we fhould re- v----v--- i
ceive a vifit from him.
We continued nearly flationary for three hours, in the hope o f obtaining
fome vegetables, but none were to be procured; at five we made
fail, and as the Chatham the preceding year had examined the north fide
of this ifland, our courfe was directed for the north-eaft fide o f Woahoo;
which at day-light the fucceeding morning bore by oompafs from w. to Thurfday 6.
s. 27 w., and Morotoi, from s. 32 e. to s. 45 e. We continued our
furvey from what we had formerly examined on the fouthern part of this
fide of the ifland, and fhortly after noon we paffed its north point; which,
according to our obfervations, is in latitude 21*42^', longitude 202° 1';
the former being three miles further fo.uth, and the latter fourteen miles
further weft, than the fituation of that point as laid down by Captain
K in g ; our prelent furvey however, correfponded with our former obfervations,
as to the pofition of the fouth-eaft point of Woahoo; and made
this fide of the ifland four miles longer than Captain King’s delineation
and agreed better with our eftimated diftance between Woahoo and At-
towai. In every other refpeCt our examination confirmed the remarks of
Captain K in g ; excepting, that in point of cultivation or fertility, the
country did not. appear in fo flourifhing a ftate, nor to be fo numeroufly
inhabited, as he reprefented it to have been at that time, occafioned molt
probably by the conftant hoftilities that had exifted fince that period.
My intentions were to have flopped near the run of water off which
the Refolution and Difcovery had anchored; called by the natives Why-
mea, and rendered memorable by the fatal cataftrophe that had awaited
the commander and the aftronomer of the Daedalus. Here I was in
expectation of procuring an interview with Titeeree, who we had been
informed was then in this neighbourhood; but learning from a few of
the inhabitants, who vifited us in a fmall, fhabby, Angle canoe, that he
was gone to Whyteete, and there being at this time a very heavy north-
weft fwell that broke inceffantly, and with great violence, on all the adjacent
lhores, to which from their greatly expofed fituation they feemed
very liable; and having alfo ftnifhed our furvey; we quitted Woahoo, and
difefted;