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BE!
1777.
May.
June.
Sunday 1.
were not without apprehenfions of danger. I kept the deck
till midnight, when I left it to the Mailer, with fuch directions
as, I thought, would keep the fhips clear of the ihoals and rocks, that lay round us. But, after making a trip to
the North, and Handing back again to the South, our lhip,
by a fmall ihift of the wind, fetched farther to the windward
than was expected. By this means fhe was very near
running full upon a low fandy iile, called Pootoo Pootooa,
furrounded with breakers. It happened, very fortunately,
that the people had juit been ordered upon the deck, to put
the lhip about, and the moil of them were at their ftations ; fo that the neceffary mqvements were not only executed with judgment, but alfo with alertnefs ; and this alone faved us. from deftruftion. The Difcovery being danger. Such hazardous fituations area fttehren , uwnaavs ooiduatb olef companions of the man, who goes upon a voyage of
difcovery.
This circumilance frightened our paffengers fo much,
that they exprefled a itrong defire to get aihore. Accordingly,
as foon as day-light returned, I hoiited out a boar,
and ordered the Officer who commanded her, after landing them at Kotoo, to found along the reef that fpits off from
that iiland, for anchorage. For I was full as much tired as they could be, with beating about amongil the furrounding
iiles and ihoals, and determined to get to an anchor, fome- where or other, if poifible. While the boat was abfent, we
attempted to turn the fhips through the channel, between the fandy ifle and the reef of Kotoo, in expectation of finding
a moderate depth of water behind them to anchor in.
But, meeting with a tide or current againil us, we were
obliged to deiift, and anchor in fifty fathoms water, With the
fandy iile bearing Eaft by North, one mile diftanr.
We lay here till the 4th. While in this ilation we
>777-
were, feveral times, vifited by the king, by Tooboueitoa,
June.
and by people from the neighbouring iilands, who came
off to trade with us, though the wind blevy very frefh
moil of the time. The mailer was now fent to found the
channels between the iilands that lie to the Eailward; and
I landed on Kotoo, to examine it, in the forenoon of
the 2d.
Monday 2;
This iiland is fearcely acceifible by boats, on account of aconrda lh arelfe,f so rt thwaot fmuirlreosu, nlodn igt.* aIntd ins ont ofot bmrooraed . thTanh ea N moritlhe Weil end of it is low, like the iilands of Hapaee ; but it rifes
fuddenly in the middle, and terminates in reddifh clayey cliffs, at the South Eail end, about thirty feet high. The
foil, in that quarter, is of the fame fort as in the cliffs; but,in the other parts, it is a loofe, black mould. It produces
the fame fruits and roots which we found at the other iilands; is tolerably cultivated, but thinly inhabited. While I was walking all over it, our people were employed in cutting fome grafs for the cattle; and we planted fome melon feeds, with which the natives feemed much pleafed,and inclofed them with branches. On our return to the boat, we paffed by two or three ponds of dirty water, which was-
more or lefs brackiih in each of them; and faw one of their
wbuerryei nmge-tp lwaictehs ,a tw Hhaipchae ew.as much neater than thofe that
On the 4th, at feven in the morning, we weighed; and, Wedaef. 4.with a frefh gale at Eail South Eail, flood away for Anna- mooka, where we anchored, next morning, nearly in the Thmrday5j fame ilation which we had fo lately occupied.
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