On the 2 lit, in the forenoon, wedifcovered land again, extending a great way,
and forming a Curve. It was very flat, level, and covered with trees, with a few
hills within-land. We failed along it, to look for a harbour, to the N. W. There
was no appearance of land to the S. W. fo that it is very probable there is a river
in that part. We found no current, and our courfe was very ihallow, as we had
but from feven to twenty fathoms water at a great diftance from land.
On the 22d, in the evening, we anchored in an open road or bay, round the
north cape of the great bay. As we failed along, this day, the country appeared
very barren and fandy, having only a few low ihrubs.*
On the 23d, the captain and fome others went on ihore, and faw a few of the
natives, but could not get near them. ' We faw, too, about twenty of them from
the fliip, who flood gazing at us upon the beach; alfo fmoke arifing out of the
woods, which, perhaps, was only an artifice of theirs, to make us think they were
numerous. We obferved nothing worthy of note on land, excepting a great variety
of plants j one of which bore a fruit like a fmall crab-apple, having a large
ftone in it, the E awharra of Otaheite, and the dung of fome quadruped that fed o.i
grais. We hauled the feine, and tore it in pieces, but caught no fiflt: though we
faw great fhoals of them in this bay, they would not take the bait. We found a
nautilus pompjlius, and fome of a curious kind of hammer oyfters j as alfo a number
of porpoifes. We (hot a duck of a beautiful plumage, with a white beak, black
body, and white and green on the wings. We likewife (hot another large bird, of
the buftard kind, coloured black', white, and brown, which weighed feventeen
pounds. The hills feen in this bay, which was called Buftard Bay, appeared
very barren, having nothing upon them but a few diminutive ihrubs; but we faw a
large tradt of low and flat land, that was covered with fmall wood, had feveral lagoons
in it, and fome of the fame kind of plants which grow on the ifland of Otaheite
and in theEaft-Indies.
On
* This day the captain’s clerk had his ears cut off, and his cloaths alfo cut off his back. The
captain and officers offered, fome time after, at Batavia, a reward of fifteen guineas, to any one who
fhould difcover the perfon or pe'rforis who cut off his ears, and fifteen gallons of arrack, to any one that
fhould difcoyer him or them who had cut off his cloaths.
On the 24th, in the morning, we weighed anchor, and left this bay. At noon,
we were becalmed, and caught, with hook and line, feveral forts of beautiful-
coioured filhes. We faw fome very large pelicans, which were near five feet high,
and the tail of fome quadruped, which. we fuppofed might be a .guanica. In latitude
23 51 the land tended away from the fandy point in the great bay to the
north-weft.
On the 25th, in the forenoon, we croifed the tropic of Capricorn. The land
appeared very defolate, being little e-lfe than fand and rocks, parcelled out into feveral
iflands and ragged points. We came to at night, in a fort of bay formed by
the turning of the land, and found a confiderable tide flowing into it. There was
the appearance of an opening in the land, which may poflibly be the mouth of
a river.
On the 26th, we got in among a parcel of iflands, to get clear of which we propofed
going by. a paflage to the north-weft, which was next to the main j but, finding
our water ihoal very much, we fent fome men in a boat a-head of us, to found,
and came into three and two and a half fathom water. They returned with an
account that there was hardly water enough j fowe tacked about and ftood' out.
The next morning, we had a fine breeze, and went through a paflage to the
north-eaft, between , two iflands f in this found, the tide fell thirteen feet. Our
people, who went off in the boat, faw many of the natives upon one of the iflands,
and they hallooed to them : they were of the fame fort as thofe we had feen before.
On the land round about, we faw both high and low ridges, with fome peaks : "
part of it was well covered j though there appeared fome large patches of white
fand. Latitude 2 z° 52'.
On the 28th, refolving to keep the main clofe aboard, which continued tending
away to the weft, we got into another clufter of iflands j where we were much
alarmed, having but three fathoms water, on a fudden, in a ripling tide : we,put
about, and hoifted out the boats, to feek for deeper water j after which, as it was
very gloomy and blew freih, we kept an eafy fail to the weft, founding all the way
and, at night, came to the entrance of a bay. This clufter of iflands is very much
T 2 variegated j