' >777^
April-
by funfet, I ordered every body on board. But having little
or no wind, I determined to wait, and to employ the nett
day, by endeavouring to get fome cocoa-nuts forour people,
from the next ifland to leeward, where we could obferve
that thofe trees were in much greater abundance, than upon
that where we had already landed, and where only the
wants of our cattle had been relieved.
Thurfday 17,
With this view, I kept {landing off and on, all night;,
and, in the morning, between eight and nine o’clock, I
went with- the boats to the Weft fide of the ifland, and
landed with little difficulty. I immediately fet the people
with me to work, to gather cocoa-nuts, which we found in
great abundance. But to get them to our boats was a tedious
operation ; for we were obliged to' carry them at leaft
half a mile over the reef, up to the middle in water. Omai,
who was with me, caught, with a fcoop net, in a very ffiorc
time, as much fiffi as lerved the whole party on ffiore for
dinner, befides fending forne to both ffiips, Here were alfo-
great abundance .of birds, particularly men-of-war and
Tropic birds ; fo that we fared fumptuoufly. And it is but
doing juftice to Omai to fay, that, in thefe excurfions to
the uninhabited iflands,he was of the greateft ufe. Tor he
not only caught the fiih, but drefled thefe, and the birds we
killed, in an oven, with heated ftones, after the faffiion of
his country, with a dexterity and good-humour that did
him great credit. The boats , made two trips, before night,,
well laden; with the laft, I returned on board, leaving Mr.
Williamfon, my third Lieutenant, with a party of men, to
prepare another lading for the boats which I propofed to
fend next morning.
I, accordingly, difpatched them at feven o'clock, and they
returned laden by noon. No time was loft in fending them
back
back for another cargo; and they carried orders for every
body to be on board by funfet. This being complied with,
we hoifted in the boats and made fail to the Weftward, with
a light air of wind from the North.
We found this iflot near a half larger than the' other,
and almoft entirely covered with cocoa-palms ; the greateft
part of which abounded -with excellent nuts, having, often,
both old and young on the fame tree. They were, indeed,
too thick, in many places, to grow with freedom.
The other productions were, in general, the fame as at the
firft iflot. Two pieces of board, one of which was rudely
Carved, with an elliptical paddle, were found on the beach.
Probably, thefe had belonged to the fame canoe, the remains
o f which were feen on the other beach, as the two iflots are
not above half a mile apart. A young turtle had alfo been
lately thrown affiore here, as it was flill full o f maggots.
There were fewer crabs than at the laft place; but we found
fome fcorpions, a few other infefts, and a greater number
o f fiffi upon the reefs. Amongft thefe were fome large
eels, beautifully fpotted, which, when followed, would raife
themfelves out of the water, and endeavour, with an open
mouth, to bite their purfuers. The other forts were, chiefly,
parrot-fiffi, fnappers, and a brown fpotted rock-fiffi, about
the fize of a haddock, fo tame, that, inftead of fwimming
.away, it would remain fixed, and gaze at us. Had we been
in abfolute want, a fufficient fupply might have been had;
for thoufands of the clams, already mentioned, ftuck upon
the reef, fome of which weighed two or three pounds. There
were, befides, fome other forts of ffiell-fiffi; particularly,
the large periwinkle. When the tide flowed, feveral iharks
came in, over the reef, fome of which our people killed;
F f 2 but