admitted into the iliips, except under certain reilriffions, 1 7 78 .
But the evil I meant to prevent, by this regulation, I foon
found, had already got amongft them.
At noon, the coaft extended from South 8i* Eaft, to North
56* Weft; a low flat, like an ifthmus, bore South 42° Weft;
the neareft ihore three or four miles d iftan t; the latitude
was 20° 59'; and the longitude 203° 50'. Seeing fome canoes
comin g o ff to us, I brought to. As foon as they got along
fide, many o f the people, who co n d u ced them, came into
the flxip, without the leaft hefitation. We found them to be
o f the fame nation with the inhabitants o f the iflands more
to leeward, which we had already vifited; and, i f we did
not miftake them, they knew o f our having been there. Indeed,
it rather appeared too e vid en t; for thefe people had
got amongft them the venereal diftemper; and, as yet, I
kn ew o f no other way o f its reaching t h e m , but by an inter-
eourfe with their neighbours Cnee our leaving them.
We got from our vifiters a quantity o f cuttle-fiflr, for nails
and pieces o f iron. They brought very little fruit and roots;
but told us that they had plenty o f them on their ifland, as
alfo hogs and fowls. In the evening, the horizon being
clear to the Weftward, we judged the Wefternmoft land in
fight to be an ifland, feparated from that o ff which we now
were. Having no doubt that the people would return to the
Ihips next day, with the produce o f their country, I kept
p lyin g off all night, and in the morning flood clofe in ihore. FrHay 2?.
At firft, only a few o f the natives vifited u s f but, toward
noon, we had the company o f a good many, who brought
with them bread-fruit, potatoes, tarro, or eddy roots, a few
plantains, and fmall pigs ; all o f which they exchanged for
nails and iron tools. Indeed, we had nothing elfe to give
3 Y 2 them.