, ;Ori the.,i2th atwiQctniwe,were in-latitude 116^42?S.^nSJtaiigatude
i Sq° half an hour afterwards dawyland bearingtfouth-, for
which we hauled up, wiihtng; to-- have fomefjntercourfe 'with th®
natives. . -As we ran totthefouth we’had arreef on- the weatjaef fid®
juft in ftghtfroimthpideelf , and a low ifland on ourjee beam-bearing
W‘. bystf. The-win^ 'beingj.-E; S .E . we juft-weathered a -reef lying'
eaftward from a fi»all.*but high ifland ; and.ftandingia JitfeleJ.>fartheK',
tacked ftripxlqfetto the.north-eaft reefs o f . what we called Si*-€harles
Middleton’s ifland, and cfeofe the ground betweemihis. and the before-'
mentioned reef f0,ipenft'the|toight’c i jv a s wedhad- the! bearings;~CSfi
feyeral iflands. >whereby:-to direc^.-us clear, 36 therfurroHedi^g danger-.
- A t .daybreak onrtthe 1 3th_we bore away, and ran, along themortb
fide of. Sir .Claries - Middleton1 s ifland. ■ 'There ^pp^redf.iSf oppnipg
through Jhe reef, though -onc.-miight;perhaps bec.fo&nd-' fame where
about-the jiland, i f diligentlydoughtrfor but on this fide there j-s -piane.
As we ran to Jhe windward, .compafs 3 bearings were-taken Cfet-he
Aland's and reefe,?t€^afcey tain.-their relajhrefttuation^^ncJ^ftj.-tliic ohasl
conftrudled from thefe, with the help o f .the time-keeper ‘and-datjtiide,
We muft refer thofe Who anay -either have'tphaththis'-way,.tor» who
would iiBprove_the geography, o f .this Tpatt of. .the^globes | Leading
Middleton’s ifland, jwe fteered weftsper ccmpafs.dotH'.-or five leagues1;
and pafted vlofe % ^yhat We called Mhtland ifland. - There were
natives on the beach with -ipears :in their hands; and .the ifland,
which was moderately high; feemed to abound- ini- the- coynmofl
producej.but, like.thofe we had-already feen, 'was quke-furrounded by
a reef. .Thergfore failing thence t\V. N . W . .about fix leagues -further,
J|te came near to .the eaft end o f another pretty^Jarge ifland,’called
Rofs’s ifland,. where we faw vaft„numbers o f natives affemblpdrupon
the beach, and fmpke among the trees; but they alfo were quite
fecure, being, like their-neighbours,, ftrongly fortified. with a fur-
rounding reef. Juft off here we obferved, latitude S. and
longitude per chronometer. Many larger iflands were in
fight to leeward, which, from examination o f Bligh’s narrative, we
feppofed> to lie, N .E . from the Iargè iflands, which he pafled when
the' eKKieri 'qfeaföh him. 9
■ From the maft-head. we.;obferved ‘a reef trending to the N .E . to
weather which wdjhaufed o'ur wihcUto the northward; andpaftmg
ft, flood t'öwaydsnfömé fmallw iflands, which« we called the duffers .
As night approached.,’ being1 fulrdandèd' w ith reefs-'and iflands on all
fidèS’, iwö-put' the flip-: under; an» ehfy.fkil, artdc'hofe the moft clear
fpace-t&ïnaafeévft.ördtacks in, till -nexe" morning. . A t feven d’cldck a
low ifland to windward bore E. by-Nv and thd higkeft o f the Clufter^
bore- b .S A V :,;’-tHev.\^md.-Was‘:'eafter.ly(!3and ’.the fea?as firiooth a's a
river.-.v,At -'the,lkb0vé1timefweiftóod tovth^S-. È i th y & ' under theutêpv
la ih ; i'ztiètat nftiefo’oloGk,. no dangeriapyreafingj we,thought crurfelves
fafe; butitwe, Were -prefenHyr.afeiiffiedid^- the fhip ftrikihg upbna
coral; reef, 'upon which the fea-hrirdlyitoroke, to gavethbleaft wanting^
A h hartdf were‘ iujfeiSdfeSkiin “an'ïnïlant,>and,ias'lhe ikicKTfaftpbew
came -under .greatapprehenfions-tofi-btemg' fhipwrecked';' a misfoitune
w h ich prefented, itfelfl with a thodfaiyl fr igh t ful.ideasdv; We knew
that .the Eeejeesrwere cannibals ofi a <• fierce dlfpofition, 'and' who had
B'eveCthad the leaft intercsurfe with ahyvoyagefs>; -confecpiently. we
ccfaldk^petkf ffodfavouri fromffadh..... Imagination,' quick-and fertile
on 1 füctó èccafioifs^;figured them'dancing Toundnsp,While we were
roafted on lafge.fires. Hówever, rit was no timë to indulgë.thoughts
qfl'ithk kindvbüt'to’try what Gaiflaibbdone to faVe-the ihip. •Judging'
it to be a weather reef we were on, the moment ftie ftruck the fails
were, hove aback, and in about five or fix minutes we.beheld With
jo y that*'fhefcame: aftern, and ftiortly: after?hvas quitefafloat • When
we were again.delivered from our f e a r s • and'ifound' the fliip, which
had .kept 3upright the' whole time,: feemed to have received no injury.'
It was not poflible to afcértaih'at féa what damage had been fuftained,:
as flie made no. water ; .button hèr coming into: dock, we difeovered
how, veby wonderfully we had been prefervëd. The coral rock on
which.we ftruck was providentially diredted exadtly agaiirft one o f the
timbers. The violence o f the blow .had beat in the. copper,: dceply
' y i