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1767. September.

Thurfd. 10.

St. George's
Channel.

land.

leagues diftant from Cape George. As I coafted not New Britain, but the northermoft coast of the Streight, I passed through the pasfage that is formed by that coast, and the corresponding fide of the Duke of York's Inland, which is about eight leagues broad, and may be confidered as the First Nar.ow of the Streight; and then steering N. W. by W. all night, we found at day-break that we had loft fight of the Friday 11. fouthermoft island, or New Britain, and having now afcertained the supposed bay to be a Streight, I called it SAINT GEORGE'S CHANNEL, and to the northern island I gave the name of Nova New IreHIBERNIA, or NEW IRELAND. The weather being hazey, with a strong gale and sudden gufts, I continued to fteer along the coast of New Ireland at about the distance of fix leagues from the fhore, till I came off the weft end of it, and then, altering our course, I fteered W. N. W. I could plainly perceive, that we were fet along the fhore by a strong wefterly current. At noon, we found, by obfervation, that we were much to the northward of the log; but as it was impoffible the current could fet due north, as that would be right against the land, I was obliged, for the correction of my account, to allow no less than four and twenty miles W. N. W. which is nearly as the land lies along the fhore. At this time we had about half a point caft variation; and at night we discovered a fine

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Friday 11.

Sandwich
Island,

1767. large ifland, forming a ftreight or paffage with September. New Ireland. As it was very dark and fqually, with rain, we brought to, not knowing to what danger the navigation of this ftreight might expofe us. The night was tempeftuous, with much thunder and lightning, but about two in Gaturd. 12. the morning the weather cleared: the gufts fettled into a light breeze, and the moon fhone very bright. At this time therefore we made fail again, and found a strong current setting us to the weftward, through the paffage of the Second Narrow, which is about five leagues wide. The island, which has a pleasant appearance, and is very populous, I called SANDWICH ISLAND, in honour of the Earl, now First Lord of the Admiralty: it is larger than the Duke of York's Ifland, and there feems to be fome good bays and harbours upon the coaft. On the north part of it there is a remarkable peak, like a fugar loaf; and oppofite to it, upon the coaft of New Ireland, there is just such another: they are diftant about five leagues, in the direction of S. by E. E. and N. by W. W. All the while we lay to off this ifland, we heard an inceffant noise in the night, like the beating of a drum: and being becalmed juft as we got through the Streight, ten canoes put off from New Ireland, with about one hundred and fifty men on board, and rowed towards the ship; they came near enough to exchange fome trifles

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1767.

Saturd. 12.

with us, which were conveyed at the end of a long stick, but none of them would venture on board. They seemed to prefer such iron as we gave them to every thing else, though none of it was manufactured except nails; for, as I obferved before, we had no cutlery ware on board. The canoes were very long and very narrow, with an outrigger, and fome of them were very neatly made: one of them could not be less than ninety feet long, for it was very little shorter than the fhip; it was, notwithstanding, formed of a fingle tree; it had fome carved ornaments about it, and was rowed or paddled by three and thirty men: we faw no appearance of fails. The people are black, and woolly-headed, like Negroes, but have not the flat nose and thick lips; and we thought them much the fame people as the inhabitants of Egmont's Ifland: like them, they were all stark naked, except a few ornaments made of shells upon their arms and legs. They had, however, adopted a practice without which none of our belles and beaus are fuppofed to be completely drest, for the hair, or rather the wool upon their heads, was very abundantly powdered with white powder; the fashion of wearing powder, therefore, is probably of higher antiquity than it is generally supposed to be, as well as of more extenfive influence; it is indeed carried farther among these people than among any of the inhabitants

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1767.

September.

Saturd, 12.

habitants of Europe, for they powder not only their heads but their beards too. Their heads however were decorated with more fhowy orna ments, for I obferved that moft of them had, just above one ear, stuck a feather, which appeared to have been taken from the tail of the common dunghill cock; fo that these gentlemen are not without poultry for their table. They were armed with fpears, and long fticks or poles, like the quarter-ftaff; but we did not fee any bows and arrows among them: poffibly they might have them on board, and think proper to keep them out of fight. On my part, I kept every body at their quarters while they were hovering about the fhip, and I observed that they had a very watchful eye upon our guns, as if they apprehended danger from them; fo that poffibly they are not wholly unacquainted with the effect of fire-arms. They had fishing nets with them, which, as well as their cordage, feemed to be very well made. After they had been fome time with us, a breeze fprung up, and they returned to the fhore.

The peak upon Sandwich Island lies in latitude 2° 53′ S., longitude 149° 17′ E. After the Indians had left us, we fteered nearly weft, and foon after saw a point of land, which proved to be the fouth-west extremity of New Ireland, Cape Byron. to which I gave the name of CAPE BYRON: it lies in latitude 2° 30' S., longitude 149° 2′ E.

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1767. September.

Saturday 12.

Over-against the coaft of New Ireland, to the weftward of Cape Byron, lies a fine large ifland, to which I gave the name of NEW HANOVER. New HangBetween this island and New Ireland, there is a ver. ftreight or paffage, which turns away to the N. E. In this paffage lie feveral finall islands, upon one of which there is a remarkable peak: this Island

Inland.

I called BYRON'S ISLAND, and the paffage, or Byron's ftreight, I called BYRON'S STREIGHT.

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land of New Hanover is high; it is finely covered with trees, among which are many plantations, and the whole has a most beautiful appearance. The fouth-west point of it, which is a high bluff point, I called QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S FORELAND, in honour of her Majesty. This foreland, and the land about it, is remarkable for a great number of little hummocks or hills, but night coming on, with thick weather, hard fqualls, and much rain, we could not fee more of it diftinctly enough to describe its appearance.

We steered weftward all night, and in the Sunday 13. morning, the weather being still thick, our view of New Hanover was very imperfect; but we faw, about eight leagues to the weftward of it, fix or seven small islands, which I called the DUKE OF PORTLAND'S ISLANDS, two of which Portland's are pretty large. I now perceived by the swell of the fea that we were clear of all the land, and I found Saint George's Channel to be a much

better

Duke of

Inlands.

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