1777.-
July.
iflands; and, as Tongataboo is- a fine level country, -the
horfes cannot but be ufeful.
Tiurfdayio. On the 10th, at eight o’clock in the morning, we weighed
anchor, and, with a fteady gale at South Eaft, turned
through the channel, between the fmall illes called Makka-
haa and Monooafiai; it being much wider than the channel
between the laft mentioned iiland and Pangimodoo. The
flood fet ftrong in our favour, till we were the length of the
channel leading up to the lagoon, where the flood from the
Eaftward meets that from the Weft. This, together with-
the indraught of the lagoon, and of the fhoals before it,
caufeth ftrong rrplings and whirlpools. To- add to thefe
dangers, the depth of water in the channel exceeds the
length of a cable; fo that there is no anchorage, except
- elofe to the rocks, where we meet with forty and forty-five
fathoms, over a bottom of dark fand. But then, here, a
fliip would be expofed to the whirlpools. This fruftrated
the defign which I had formed, of coming to an anchor, as
foon as w e were through the narrows, and of making an
excurfion to fee the funeral. I chofe rather to lofe that ceremony,
than to leave the fhips in a fituation, in which I
did not think them fafe. We continued to ply to windward,
between the two tides, without either gaining or lofing an
inch, till near high water, when, by a favourable fiant, we
got into the Eaftern tide’s influence. We expefted, there, to
find the ebb to run ftrong to the Eaftward in our favour; ,
but it proved fo inconfiderable, that,,at any other time, it-
would not have been noticed. This informed us, that moft'
of the water, which flows into the lagoon, comes from the
North Weft, and returns the fame way. About five in the.
afternoon, finding that we could not get to fea before it was
4 dark,
«dark, I came to an anchor, under the ihore of Tongataboo,
in forty-five fathoms water; and about two cables length
from the reef, that runs along that fide of the iiland. The
Difcovery dropped anchor under our ftern ; but before the
anchor took hold-, £he drove off the bank, and did not recover
it till after midnight.
We remained at this ftation, till eleven o’clock, the next
day, when we weighed, and plyed to the Eaftward. But it
was ten at night, before we weathered the Eaft end of the
ifland, and were enabled to ftretch away for Middleburg, or
Eooa (as it is called by the inhabitants), where we anchored,
at eight o’clock, the next morning, in forty fathoms water,
over a bottom of fand, interfperfed with coral rocks; the
extremes of the iflandi extending, from North, 40* Eaft, to
South, 220 Weft; the high land of Eooa, South, 45* Eaft;
and Tongataboo, from North, 70* Weft, to North, 19° Weft;
diftant about half a mile from the Ihore ; being nearly the
fame place where I had my ftation in 1773, and then named
by me, Engli/b Road.
We had no fooner anchored, than Taoofa the Chief, and
feveral other natives, vifited us on board, and feemed to rejoice
much at our arrival. This Taoofa * had been my Tayo,
when I was here, during my laft voyage ; confequently, we
were not ftrangers to each other. In a little time, I went
afhore with him, in fearch of ffefh water ; the procuring
o f which, was the chief objetft that brought me to Eooa. I
had been told, at Tongataboo, that there was here a ftream,
running from the hills into the fea; but this was not the
cafe now. I was firft conduced to a brackifh fpring, between
low and high water mark, amongft rocks, in the
* In the account o f Captain Cook’ s former voyage, he calls the only C h ie f he
then met with, at this place, fTioony. See Vol. i. p. 192.
Z ' z 2 cove
Friday in.
Saturday-is»