1777. be 'effected. There was a reef here furrounding the land,
Ap"~ r as at Wateeoo, and a confiderable furf breaking againft the
rocks. Notwithftanding which, our boats no fooner reached
the lee, or Weft fide of the illand, but they ventured in, and
Mr. Gore and his party got fafe on ihore. I could, from
the ftiip, fee that they had fucceeded fo fa r ; and I immediately
fent a.fmall boat to know what farther afliftance was.
wanting. She did not return till three o’clock in the afternoon,
having waited to take in a lading of what ufeful
produce the iiland afforded. As foon as Ihe was cleared,
fhe was fent again for another cargo ; the Jolly boat was
alfo difpatched, and Mr. Gore was ordered to be on
board, with all the boats, before night ; which was complied
with.
The fupply obtained here, confifted o f about a hundred
cocoa nuts for each fhip; and befides this refreihment for
ourfelves, we got for our cattle fome grafs, and a quantity
of the leaves and branches of young cocoa trees, and of
the wharra tree, as it is called at Otaheite, the pandanus of
the Eaft Indies. This latter being of a fofr, fpungy, juicy
nature, the cattle eat it very well, when cut into fmall
pieces; fo that it might be faid, without any deviation from
truth, that we fed them upon billet wood.
This illand lies in the latitude of 19* 15' South, and the
longitude of 201° 37' Eaft, about three or four leagues from
Wateeoo, the inhabitants of which called it Otakoitaia ; and
fometimes they fpoke of it under the appellation of Wenooa-
ette, which fignifies little illand. Mr. Anderfon, who was
on ihore with our party, and walked round it, gueffed that
it could not be much more than three miles in circuit.
From him I alfo learned the following particulars. The
2 beach,
beach, within the reef, is compofed of a white coral fand ;
above which, the land within does not rife above fix or
feven feet, and is covered with a light reddilh fo il; but is
entirely deftltute of water.
The only common trees found there were eocoa-palms,
of which there were feveral clufters-; and vaft numbers of
the •wharra. There were, likewife, the caiibphyllnm, fu-riana,
guettarda, a fpecies of tournefortia, and tabernx motitans, with a
few other ihrubs; and fome of the etoa tree feen at Wateeoo.
A fort of bind-weed over-ran the vacant fpaces ; except in
fome places, where was found a confiderable quantity of
treacle-muftard, a fpecies of /purge, with a few other fmall
plants, and the morinda citri/olia ; the fruit o f which is.eaten
by the natives of Otaheite in times’of fcarcity. Omai, who
had landed with the party, drefled fome of it for their dinner
; but it proved very indifferent.
The only bird feen amongft the trees, was a beautiful
cuckoo, of a chefnut-brown, variegated with black, which
was ihot. But, upon the Ihore, were fome egg-birds; a
fmall fort of curlew; blue and white herons; and great
numbers of noddies; which laft, at this time, laid their eggs,
a little farther up, on the ground, and often relied on the
•wharra, tree. -
One of our people caught a lizard, of a moll forbidding
afpeft, though fmall, running up a tree; and many, of another
fort, were feen. The bufhes toward the fea, were
frequented by infinite numbers of a fort of moth, elegantly
fpeckled with red, black, and white. There were alfo fe-
veral other forts of moths, as well as fome pretty butterflies
; and a few other infedts.
Though