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Iflands; and was in hopes he ihould fall in with others of them, in fome of
which he might find an harbour.
On the 24th they difcovered another ifland, which they found to be lowr
but covered with wood, particularly with cocoa nut trees in great abundance.
It had a pleafant appearance, and was near thirty miles in circumference; but,
like the others, a dreadful fea breaks upon almoft every part ofa the coaft.
The boats, however, with great difficulty landed, and brought off about two
hundred cocoa huts, which, to perfons in their circumftances, were an inef-
timable treafure.
The people who went on ihore reported that there were no^figns of its ever
having been inhabited; but they found thousands of fea fowl fitting upoh their
nefts, which were built in high trees: thefe birds were fo tame, that they fuf-
fered themfelves to be knocked down without leaving their nefts; The ground
Was covered with land crabs, but no other animal was feen.
This ifland Commodore Byron named the Duke of York’s Ifland, in honour
of his late Royal Highnefs. At firft he was inclined to believe it to be the fame
that in the Neptune Francois is called Maluita, the principal of Solomon's Ifles,
but he was now convinced of the contrary; and is of opinion, that his people
were the firft human beings who ever faw it. •
They continued their courfe till the 29th in the track of thefe 'iflands, and
•being then ten degrees to the weft ward of their fituation in the chart, without
having feen any thing of them, he gave orders to haul to the northward, in
order to, crofe the equino&ial, and afterwards fhape his courfe for the Ladrone
Iflands. This, though a long run, he hoped to accomplifh before they ihould
be diftreffed for water, notwithftanding it now began to fall fhort. After he
had left the Prince of Wales’s Ifland, many circumftances had tended to convince
him there was land to the fouthward, but the ficknefs of the crews in
both (hips was an infuperable impediment to his attempting any farther difco-
veries in that quarter.
On
On the 3d o f July they fell in with another low flat ifland of a moil delightful p. m .
appearance, and Full of wood, among which the cocoa nut tree was very con-
fpicuous. They, however, faw, to their great regret, much foul ground
about it, upon which the fea broke with a dreadful furf. As they failed along the p. ua.
fouth weft fide of it, they foon perceived that it was very populous, for they
faw at leaftia thor.iand of the natives affembled upon the beach;, and in a ihort
time more than fixty canoes, .or rather proas, put off from the ihore, and
making towards the ihips, ranged themfelves in a circle round them.
Thefe veffels were very neatly made, and fo clean, that they appeared to be m u .
quite new. None o f them had fewer than three perfons on board, nor any of
them' more than fix. After the Indians had gazed at the people on board for
fome time, ieveral of them iwam to the ftiip, ran up the fide o f the gun room
ports, and having crept in, fnatched up whatever lay in their reach, and
immediately leaping into the fea, iwam away at a great rate, notwithftanding
fome of them, having both hands full, held up their arms quite out of the
water to prevent their plunder from being fpoiled.
Thefe people are tall, well proportioned, and clean limbed; their ikin is p. rij,
a bright copper colour; their features are extremely good; and there is a
mixture of intrepidity and chearfulnefs in their countenances that k very
ftriking; they have long black hair, which fome of them wore tied up behind
in a great bunch, others in three knots: fome of them had long beards, fome
only whffkers, and fome nothing more than a finall tuft at the point of the
ohin; they were all of them ftark naked, except their ornaments, which con-
fift of fhells, very prettily difpofed and ftrung together, and worn-round their
necks, wrifts, and waifts; their ears were bored, but they had no ornaments
then in them; their ornaments, when they wear any, are probably very heavy,
as their ears hang down almoft to their ihoulders, and fome of them were quite
fplit through. One of thefe men, who appeared to be a peffon. of fome con-
fequence, had a ftring o f human teeth about his waift, which was probably a
trophy of his military prowefs, for he would not part with it in exchange for
any thing that was offered him. Some of them were unarmed, but others
had one of the moft dangerous weapons ever feen; it was a kind of fpear, very
* H h broad!