120 FIRST MlSSIOSf^RY VOYAGE Oi'797*-
dming feheinight made Ihorfctack-s.under thetcipihik. In tbermorn--
hig, the.^29th,,'Vwe found optjfeLve^ farther, o f f 1 than we; expected,
owing to athe leewardly currentgaand "the Wind '.changing to N*. -N,, E.~
yh th ' onrdarboard .tacks' aboard w e ’ ftood in, , and at .eightr;o?Qlock
had the .’fquthipoihti.ofi.the ifland bearing; N . diftant threer-milesn
Shortly after it, fell little, winded andt^e lowered the jolly-ho'atidown,:
towed,dole tojtbefthore,. and tried to^effeS a-landing, hut -found .it
impradtieaMe.on account of, the h ig h furf which beat upon thd coral-
rocks; .. Supp.ofing.cwe m igh t. find; a-j.hefter! place,,'jW^rQ^e.daalong
Ihore two or,three miles; till we csfineito the fouth-'eaft lide, butjhad.the
mortification -tct’.find it every .where,: ;the-fame, therefore,we returned?
foithe Ihip. X&ierved^at noon in lat.,18? £hrf$Jthfi ^®t^nesvO&
theifland from N . 14° W . to['f$,l£6?;'W. .W e had fignsie'S
inhabitants, and having . loft hopes o f . finding ’.ajl|nj|ing»pl3C€;t
captain had determined to l^ve;ftjis^ftm4,ca^^|c^&onidth
as faft as ,the|iunfavourabIe winds we .then had 'would permit^;.
In the coiiirfe.of the night we had palled -to windward nhthe''ifland,-
and at fix>in the morning had the north-weft^end-hearing S.W-rby S.
and .the fea being .then ;fmooth cpcoufagod a- hope: Ofiproeuringra
few cocoa-nuts for our people, and herbage for, theigojjts., Therefore
. we’again ihaped bur' courfe-towards itU.jbutj -bjefOr^We ,came
near it by four miles, it fell almoft calm fo, that,* thedbfipdwenfe
but ftowlydbwn, we hoifted the pinriace;QHt., and I, with the-third
officer arid a .boat’s crewp; with .Peter and .Tom,.’ , fet off indiey,;
When, we had got /about a. mile round the poirit, a ll:ih :.the,..boat
(except one man and myfelf, who were but indiffef ent, fwimmers).
got into the water and effefted a, landing,' though the "(urf; ya §
very h igh . ».From . the edge o f the reef they had .fo .w d k %bgutf$
furiong,'» up» to the?knees in,water, pyer a hard cofal flat," before they
came_ to the trees.: and while 'they, were gone, I fhot tjufee or four
man o f war birds, and tried to catch fome o f the beautiful fifh which
fwam without, the furf ; hut .thgy.-were too Iby <?ƒ the bait? ,$hafks
o f various, fizes were very numerous,;;
TGT THE M ay.] SOtJTH-SEA ISLANDS. rai
A t Moon they bbferve'd athke'-fEip in i8°,Li|hS. the north-weft
end« bearing S» Sv:-W.-JiA\M:a mile and I a ’half.;1 and an hour after, in
rounding the point not moire than a cable’s length off fhore, founded
•With ninetyrfatfenihs of lihe?*'hut found1»no.heftom. ,
We had aheady^MuIed offaffthv cocM^iuts'jcliuWbistmethod was
fa tedioUs, th¥t all we -could’ procure b y ifiwowWkrtot repay the trouble, '
But juft about thisttirnfe it was low. Water; and the foj^fjffell remarkably,
To tftit putting th e ’boat’s ftern®^? the rocks Ifteppedout*
without foTmuehcas Wetting nay - feed*' has both cnfeoUraged-thofe
on Ihore to go oh,- and?-being obferved from-, tbs* Ihip, induced them
to fend therjollyi-bdat With mbrehands to.affift usi -(And. now
Were in'hopes o f getting a' plentiful fupply tyfithout »difficulty,or dang
e rd g n b ian t that It was.poffible only atipsyywatef ith u ^ ^ f ^ f s -and,
repafis, ThiS'rwe.'WEre to learn -afterwards b y unpleifant'fexpferience.
The land 'at this end of- th e -i-fland is about-’ . three fiurjbs^'h in
breadth'; upbn it th e only teoeoasriut trees ygrow^tand upan-ftiat fide
next tlfe'lagoon, -confeqwen-dy,the fartheft off from uss The way
td them, b y p a lin g through th e other trees, is‘* alfbcyery rough and
bard »• hut-by fearbh-ihg, we-fiound apleafaht 'road along the-ftde of a.
-feteefc; i fxbm? the life? into this lagoon, and tfuffidient in-depth .to
admit the. jolly-boat, when- Ihe tide was. up. Therefore' this?.was
propofed as otn: p k n i :t© getus many nutsiaspoffible before- four in
th e afternoon, and then bring the boat in for them, i
-jj Ajeectrdin^ty; by th a t ‘tdifie we -had ’ gat ftboift three hundred r-But,
C-orbur feXpeftations; a& the tide rofetlhe' :fiffftfecreafedi-t.d fo
ft alnioft iinpoffible either to g e t (hemy^r
fafefy t h f e ^ h it. HfcfWev'er, to put at to the.?ffitd,4JM^c^-
boSt Was brought abreaft t f th fe t^ k ,la n d i^w a tG h in g anfoppbrtunity
was »foWed throughthfe furf, b u tn o t Without fe ik ih g ’On the rooks ;?b)y
'which weknew there was no chance for theipinnace td-getfins/ jlis-tthere
were thirteen of us onfhore, the fmall boat was infufficient'to >cariy off
the whole. To make it ftill worfe, we faw «He wind was increaftng,
an d the Iky become overcaft With dink clouds. Therefore;: being
R