177-1. longitude 167° 3' Eaft; the mouth of the bay extending from
. A"s“lt‘ ■ N. 64° Weft to S. 86° Eaft, -which laft direction was the
hurfday 25. ^RifF-head, diftant three leagues. In the afternoon the wind
veering to E. S. E„ we could look up to the head of the bay;
but as the breeze was faint, a N. E. fwell hurtled us over to
the Weft fhore ; fo that, at half paft four o’clock P. M., we
were no more than two miles from it, and tacked in one
hundred and twenty fathoms water, a foft muddy bottom.
The bluff-head, or Eaft point of the bay, bore N. 53° Eaft.
We had no fooner tacked than it fell calm, and we were
left to the mercy Of the fwell, which continued toburtle us
towards the fhore, where large troops of people were affem-
hled. Some ventured off in two canoes; but all the figns o f
friendfhip we could make, did not induce them to come
along-fide, or near enough to receive any prefent from us.
At laft they took fudden fright at fomething, and returned
afhore. They were naked, except having fome long grafs, like
flags, fattened to a belt, and hanging down before and behind,
nearly as low as the knee. Their colour was very dark,
and their hair woolly; or cut fhort, which made it feem fo.
The canoes were fmall and had out-riggers. The calm continued
till near eight o’clock, in which time we drove into
eighty-five fathoms water, and fo near the fhore, that I expected
we fhould be obliged to anchor. A breeze of wind
fprung up at E. SI E., and firft took us on the wrong fide;
but, contrary to all our expectations, and when we had
hardly room to veer, the fhip came about, and haying filled
on the ftarboard tack, we flood off N. E. Thus we were relieved
from the apprehenfions of being forced to anchor in a
great depth, on a lee fhore, and in a dark and obfcure night.
We
We continued to ply upwards, with variable light
breezes between E, S. E. and South, till ten next morning, e.— .— ■
when it fell calm. We were, at this time, about feven or F * s *
eight miles from the head of the bay, which is terminated
by a low beach; and behind that, is an extenfive flat covered
with wood, and bounded on each fide by a ridge of mountains.
At noon we found the latitude to be 15° 3' South,
and were detained here by the calm till one o’clock P. M.
when we got a breeze at N. by W., with which we fleered
up to within two miles of the head of the bay; and then
I fent Mr. Cooper and Mr. Gilbert to found and reconnoitre
the coaft, while we flood to and fro with the fhip. This
gave time to three failing canoes, which had been following
us fome time, to come up. There were five or fix men in
each; and they approached near enough to receive fuch things
as were thrown to them fattened to a rope, but would not advance
along-fide. They were the fame fort o f people as thofe
we had feen the preceding evening ; indeed we thought they
came from the fame place. They feemed to be flouter and
better fhaped men than thofe of Mallicollo; and feveral cir-
cumftances concurred to make us think they were of another
nation. They named the numerals as far as five or fix,
in the language of.Anamocka, and underftood us when
we afked the names of the adjacent lands in that language.
Some, indeed, had black fhort frizzled hair like the natives
of Mallicollo ; but others had it long, tied up on the cro;vn
of the head, and ornamented with feathers like the New-
Zealanders. Their other ornaments were bracelets and
necklaces; one man had fomething like a white fhell on his
fore-head ; and fome were painted with a blackifh pigment.
I did not fee that they had any other weapon but darts
and gigs, intended only for ftriking of fifh. Their canoes
N 2 were