about eleven leagues, and the paffage is about four 1767. miles broad; both of them appear to be fertile,

Auguft.

w

lfland.

and have a pleasant appearance, being covered Monday 17. with tall trees, of a beautiful verdure. Lord Howe's Inland, though more flat and even than the other, is notwithstanding high land. About thirteen leagues W. N. W. N. by compass, from Cape Byron, there is an ifland of a stu pendous height, and a conical figure. The top of it is fhaped like a funnel, from which we faw fmoke iffue, though no flame; it is, however, certainly a volcano, and therefore I called it VOLCANO ISLAND. To a long flat ifland Volcano that, when Howe's and Egmont's Inlands were right a-head, bore N. W. I gave the name of KEPPEL'S ISLAND. It lies in latitude 10° 15' S., Inland. longitude, by account, 165° 4′ E. The largest of two others to the S. E. I called LORD EDGCUMB'S ISLAND, the small one I called OURRY's ISLAND. Edgcumb's Inland has a fine pleafant appearance, and lies in latitude 11° 10' S., longitude 165° 14′ E. The latitude of Ourry's Inland is 11° 10' S., longitude 165° 19′ E. The other islands, of which there were several, I did not particularly name.

The inhabitants of Egmont Island, whose perfons have been described already, are extremely nimble, vigorous, and active, and feem to be almost as well qualified to live in the water as upon the land, for they were in and out

VOL. II.

G

of

Keppel's

Lord Edg cumb's

land.

Ourry's

land.

1767. Auguft.

of their canoes almost every minute. The canoes that came out against us from the weft end Monday 17. of the island, were all like that which our people brought on board, and might probably, upon occafion, carry about a dozen men, though three or four manage them with amazing dexterity: we faw, however, others of a large fize upon the beach, with awnings or fhades over them.

We got two of their bows, and a bundle of their arrows, from the canoe that was taken with the wounded man; and with these weapons they do execution at an incredible diftance. One of them went through the boat's washboard, and dangerously wounded a midshipman in the thigh. Their arrows were pointed with flint, and we saw among them no appearance of any metal. The country in general is woody and mountainous, with many vallies intermixed; several small rivers flow from the interior part of the country into the sea, and there are many harbours upon the coaft. The variation here was about 11° 15′ E.

СНАР.

CHA P. V.

Departure from Egmont Ifland, and Paffage to Nova Britannia; with a Defcription of feveral other lands, and their Inhabitants.

WE

E made fail from this island in the evening of Tuefday the 18th of August, with a fresh trade-wind from the eastward, and a few fqualls at times. At first we only hauled up W. N. W. for I was not without hope of falling in with some other islands, where we might be more fortunate than we had been at those we left, before we got the length of Nova Britannia.

I

1767.

Auguft.

Tuesday 18.

Thurfd. 20.

Inand.

On the 20th, we difcovered a small, flat, low island, and got up with it in the evening: it lies in latitude 7° 56' S., longitude 158° 56′ E. and gave it the name of GoWER'S ISLAND. To Gower's our great mortification we found no anchorage here, and could procure only a few cocoa-nuts from the inhabitants, who were much the fame kind of people that we had seen at Isle Egmont, in exchange for nails, and fuch trifles as we had; they promised, by figns, to bring us more the next day, and we kept off and on all night: the G 2 night

1767

Auguft.

Friday 21.

Simpson's
Inland.

Carteret's
Inland.

night was extremely dark, and the next morning
at day-break, we found that a current had fet us
confiderably to the fouthward of the island, and
brought us within fight of two more. They
were fituated nearly eaft and weft of each other,
and were distant about two miles. That to the
eastward is much the smallest, and this we called
SIMPSON'S ISLAND: to the other, which is lofty,
and has a stately appearance, we gave the name
of CARTERET'S ISLAND. The east end of it
bears about fouth from Gower's Island, and the
distance between them is about ten or eleven
leagues. Carteret's Ifland lies in about the lati-
tude of 8° 26' S., longitude 159° 14′ E. and its
length from east to weft is about fix leagues :
we found the variation here 8° 30′ E. Both
these islands were right to windward of us, and
we bore down to Gower's Ifland. It is about
two leagues and a half long on the western side,
which makes in bays: the whole is well wooded,
and many of the trees are cocoa-nut.
found here a confiderable number of the Indians,
with two boats or canoes, which we supposed to
belong to Carteret's Island, and to have brought
the people hither only to fish. We sent the
boat on fhore, which the natives endeavoured to
cut off, and hoftilities being thus commenced,
we feized their canoe, in which we found about
an hundred cocoa-nuts, which were very accept-
able; we saw fome turtle near the beach, but

We

were

were not fortunate enough to take any of them. The canoe, or boat, was large enough to carry eight or ten men, and was very neatly built, with planks well jointed; it was adorned with fhell-work, and figures rudely painted, and the feams were covered with a substance somewhat like our black putty, but it appeared to me to be of a better confiftence. The people were armed with bows, arrows, and fpears; the spears and arrows were pointed with flint. By fome figns which they made, pointing to our muskets, we imagined they were not wholly unacquainted with fire-arms. They are much the fame kind of people as we had feen at Egmont Ifland, and like them, were quite naked; but their canoes were of a very different structure, and a much larger fize, though we did not dif cover that any of them had fails. The cocoanuts which we got here, and at Egmont Inland, were of infinite advantage to the fick.

From the time of our leaving Egmont Ifland, we had obferved a current fetting strongly to the fouthward, and in the neighbourhood of these iflands we found its force greatly increased: this determined me, when I failed from Gower's Ifland to steer N. W. fearing we might otherwise fall in with the main land too far to the fouthward; for if we had got into any gulph or deep bay, our crew was fo fickly, and our fhip fo bad, that

1767.

Auguft. Friday 21,