figure they fomewhat refembled the fquare tombs, with a flat top, which are always to be found in our country churchyards. Near thefe buildings we found many neat boxes full of human bones, and upon the branches of the trees which fhaded them, hung a great number of the heads and bones of turtle, and a variety of fish, inclosed in a kind of basketwork of reeds: fome of the fish we took down, and found that nothing remained but the skin and the teeth; the bones and entrails feemed to have been extracted, and the mufcular flesh dried away.

J

We fent off feveral boat-loads of cocoa-nuts, and a great quantity of fcurvy-grafs, with which the island is covered; refreshments which were of infinite service to us, as by this time I believe there was not a man among us wholly untouched by the scurvy.

The fresh water here is very good, but it is fcarce; the wells which fupply the natives are fo fmall, that when two or three cocoa nut fhells have been filled from them, they are dry for a few minutes; but as they presently fill again, if a little pains were taken to enlarge them, they would. abundantly fupply any fhip with water..

We saw no venomous creature here; but the flies were an intolerable torment, they covered us from head to foot, and filled not only the boat, but the fhips. We faw great numbers of parrots and parroquets, and feveral other birds which were altogether unknown to us; we faw alfo a beautiful kind of dove, fo tame that fome of them frequently came. close to us, and even followed us into the Indian huts..

All this day the natives kept themselves clofely concealed; and did not even make a smoke upon any part of the islands as far as we could fee; probably fearing that a smoke might discover.

1765.

June.

Tuesday 11.

discover the place of their retreat. In the evening, we all returned on board the ship.

This part of the island lies in latitude 14° 29′S., longitude 148° 50′ W. and after I got on board, I hauled a little way farther from the fhore, intending to vifit the other island in the morning, which had been feen to the weftward of that before which the fhip lay, and which is diftant about fixtynine leagues from the Iflands of Disappointment, in the direction of W. S.

The next morning, at fix o'clock, I made fail for the island which I intended to vifit, and when I reached it, I fteered S. W. by W. close along the north east side of it, but could get no foundings: this side is about fix or feven leagues long, and the whole makes much the fame appearance as the other, having a large falt water lake in the middle of it. As foon as the fhip came in fight, the natives ran down to the beach in great numbers: they were armed in the same manner as those that we had seen upon the other island, and kept abreast of the ship for several leagues. As the heat of this climate is very great, they seemed to fuffer much by running so far in the fun, for they fometimes plunged into the fea, and sometimes fell flat upon the fand, that the surf might break over them, after which they renewed the race with great vigour. Our boats were at this time founding along the shore, as usual, but I had given ftrict orders to the officers who commanded them never to moleft the natives, except it fhould become abfolutely neceffary for their own defence, but to try all poffible means to obtain their confidence and good-will: our people therefore went as near to the fhore as they durft for the furf, and made figns that they wanted water; the Indians readily understood them, and directed them to run down farther along the fhore,

1

which they did, till they came abreast of fuch a cluster of houfes as we had juft left upon the other ifland; to this place the Indians fill followed them, and were there joined by many others the boats immediately hauled clofe into the furf, and we brought to, with the fhips, at a little diftance. from the shore, upon which a ftout old man, with a long white beard, that gave him a very venerable, appearance, came down from the houses to the beach. He was attended by a young man, and appeared to have the authority of a Chief or King: the reft of the Indians, at a fignal which he made, retired to a little distance, and he then advanced quite to the water's edge; in one hand he held the green branch of a tree, and in the other he grafped his beard, which he preffed to his bofom; in this attitude he made a long oration, or rather fong, for it had a musical cadence which was by no means difagreeable. We regretted infinitely that we could not understand what he faid to us, and not less that he could not understand any thing which we fhould fay to him; to fhew our good-will, however, we threw him fome trifling presents, while he was yet fpeaking, but he would neither touch them himself, nor fuffer them to be touched by others till he had done: he then walked into the water, and threw our people the green branch, after which he took up the things which had been thrown from the boats. Every thing now having a friendly appearance, our people made figns that they should lay down their arms, and most of them having complied, one of the midshipmen, encouraged by this teftimony of confidence and friendship, leaped out of the boat with his clothes on, and swam through the surf to the shore. The Indians immediately gathered round him, and began to examine his clothes with great curiofity; they feemed particularly to admire his waistcoat, and being willing to gratify his new friends, he took it off, and pre

VOL. I.

P

fented

June.

Wednef. 12.

1765. fented it to them; this courtesy, however, produced a difagreeable effect, for he had no fooner given away his waistcoat, than one of the Indians very ingeniously untied his cravat, and the next moment snatched it from his neck, and ran away with it. Our adventurer, therefore, to prevent his being stripped by piece-meal, made the best of his. way back again to the boat: ftill, however, we were upon good terms, and several of the Indians fwam off to our people, fome of them bringing a cocoa-nut, and others a little fresh water in a cocoa-nut fhell. But the principal object of our boats, was to obtain fome pearls; and the men, to assist them in explaining their meaning, had taken with them fome of the pearl oyfter fhells which they had found in great numbers upon the coaft; but all their endeavours were ineffectual, for they could not, even with this affistance, at all make themselves understood. It is indeed probable that we should have fucceeded better, if an intercourse of any kind could have been established between us, but it was our misfortune that no anchorage could be found for the ships. As all Indians are fond of beads, it can fcarcely be supposed that the pearls, which the oysters at this place contained, were overlooked by the natives, and it is more than probable that if we could have continued here a few weeks, we might have obtained fome of great value in exchange for nails, hatchets, and bill-hooks, upon which the natives, with more reafon, fet a much higher value. We obferved, that in the lake, or lagoon, there were two or three very large veffels, one of which had two masts, and fome cordage aloft to support them.

King
George's

To these two islands, I gave the name of KING GEORGE'S ISLANDS, in honour of his Majefty. That which we last vifited, lies in latitude 14° 41' S., longitude 149° 15′ W.; the variation of the compass here was 5° E.

СНАР.

CHAP. X.

The Run from King George's lands to the Islands of
Saypan, Tinian, and Aguigan; with an Account of several
Iflands that were discovered in that Track.

WE purfued our courfe to the weftward the fame day,

June. 1765.

and the next, about three o'clock in the afternoon, we faw land again, bearing S. S. W. diftant about fix leagues. Thursday 13. We immediately ftood for it, and found it to be a low and very narrow island, lying east and weft: we ran along the fouth fide of it, which had a green and pleasant appearance, but a dreadful furf breaks upon every part of it, with foul ground at some distance, and many rocks and small islands scattered at about three leagues from the fhore. We found it about twenty leagues in length, and it appeared to abound with inhabitants, though we could get only a tranfient glance of them as we passed along. To this place I gave the name of the PRINCE OF WALES'S ISLAND. It lies in latitude 15° S. and the westermoft end of it in longitude 151° 53′ W. It is distant from King George's Islands about eight and forty leagues, in the direction of S. 80 W.; the variation here was 5° 30′ E.

Prince of

Wales's

From the western extremity of this ifland, we fteered N. 82 W. and at noon on the 16th, were in latitude 14° 28′ S., Sunday 16. longitude 156° 23′ W.; the variation being 7° 40′ E. The wind was now easterly, and we had again the fame mountainous fwell from the fouthward that we had before we made the Islands of Direction, and which, from that time to