he had no motive to land, he did not give them an oppor-
—«— ' tunity to ufe them.”
Having received this report, I Confidered, that, as the {hips
could not be brought to an anchor, we ihould find that the
attempt to procure grafs here, would occafion much delay,
as well as be attended with fome danger. Befides, we
were equally in want of water; and though the inhabitants
had told us, that there was water on their ifland, yet we
neither knew in what quantity, nor from what diftance, we
might be obliged to fetch it. And, after all, fuppofing no
other obftruction, we were fure, that to get over the reef,
would be an operation equally difficult and tedious.
Being thus difappointed at all the iflands we had met
with, fince our leaving New Zealand, and the unfavourable
winds, and other unforefeen circumftances, having unavoidably
retarded our progrefs fo much, it was now impof-
fible to think of doing any thing this year, in the high latitudes
of the Northern hemifphere, from which we were ftill
at fo great a diftance, though the feafon for our operations
there was already begun. In this fituation, it was abfolutely
neceflary to purfue fuch meafures as were moft likely to
preferve the cattle we had on board, in the firfl; place ; and,
in the next place (which was ftill a more capital objefl), to
fave the ftores and provifions of the fhips, that we might'
be better enabled to profecute our Northern difcoveries,
which could not now commence till a year later than wa£
orginally intended.
If I had been fo fortunate as to have procured a fupply of
water, and of grafs, at any of the iflands we had lately vifited,
it was my purpofe to have flood back'to the South, till I
had
had met with a Wefterly wind. But the certain confequence
of doing this, without -fuch a fupply, would have been the
lofs of all the cattle, before we could polfibly reach Ota-
heite, without gaining any one advantage, with regard'to
the great objetfl of our voyage.
I, therefore, determined to bear away for the Friendly
Iflands, where I was fure of meeting with abundance of
every thing I wanted : and it being neceflary to run in the
night, as well as in the day, I ordered Captain Clerke to
keep about a league ahead of the Refolution. I ufed this
precaution, becaufe his ihip could beft claw off the land;
and it was very polfible we might fall in with fome, in our
paflage.
The longitude of Hervey’s Ifland, when firfl difcovered,
deduced from Otaheite, by the time-keeper, was found to
be 201° 6' Eaft, and now, by the fame time-keeper, deduced
from Queen Charlotte’s Sound, 200° 56' Eaft. Hence I conclude,
that the error of the time-keeper, at this time, did
not exceed twelve miles in longitude.
When we bore away, I fleered Weft by South, with a fine
breeze Eafterly. I propofed to proceed firfl; to Middleburgh,
orEooa; thinking, if the wind continued favourable, that
we had food enough on board, for the cattle, to laft till we
ihould reach that ifland. But, about noon, next day, thofe
faint breezes, that had attended and retarded us- fo long,
again returned; and I found it neceflary to haul more to the
North, to get into the latitude of Palmerfton’s and Savage
Iflands, difcovered in 1774, during my laft voyage*; that, if
neceflity required it, we might have recourfe to them.
f See Cook’s Voyage, Vol. ii. p. 2, 3.
This