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1767. April.

CHA P. IV.

The Paffage from the Streight of Magellan, to King
George the Third's Ifland, called Otaheite, in the
South Sea, with an Account of the Discovery of feve-
ral other Islands, and a Defcription of their Inhabi-

tants.

A

S we continued our course to the westward, after having cleared the Streight, we saw a great Sund. 12. number of gannet, fheerwaters, pintado birds, and many others, about the ship, and had for the most part ftrong gales, hazy weather, and heavy feas, fo that we were frequently brought under our courses, and there was not a dry place in the fhip for some weeks together.

Wedn. 22. At eight in the morning of the 22d, we had an obfervation, by which we found our longitude to be 950

Friday 24.

Sund. 26.

46′ W. and at noon, our latitude was 42° 24′ S. and the variation by azimuth, 1 10 6' E.

By the 24th, the men began to fall down very faft in colds and fevers, in confequence of the upper works being open, and their cloaths and beds continually

wet.

On the 26th, at four in the afternoon, the variation, by azimuth, was 10° 20' E. and at fix in the morning of the next day, it was 9o 8' E. Our latitude, on the Monday 27. 27th at noon, was 36° 54' S. our longitude, by account, 1000 W. This day, the weather being moderate and fair, we dried all the people's clothes, and got the fick opon deck, to whom we gave falop, and wheat boiled with portable foup, every morning for breakfast, and all the fhip's company had as much vinegar and mustard as they could use; portable foup was alfo conftantly boiled in their pease and oatmeal.

The hard gales, with frequent and violent fqualls, and a heavy fea, foon returned, and continued with very little intermiffion. The fhip pitched fo much that we were afraid fhe would carry away her masts, and the men were again wet in their beds.

On

On the 30th, the variation, by azimuth, was 8° 30' E. our latitude was 32° 50' longitude, by account, 100' W. I began now to keep the fhip to the northward, as we had no chance of getting wefting in this latitude; and the furgeon was of opinion, that in a little time the fick would fo much increase, that we should want hands to work the ship, if we could not get into better weather.

1767.

May.

Our Mond. 4.

On the third of May, about four in the afternoon, Sunday 3 we had an observation of the fun and moon, by which we found our longitude to be 96° 26' W. the variation by the azimuth was 5° 44' E. at fix in the evening, and at fix the next morning, it was 5° 58' E. latitude, this day at noon, was 28° 20' S. At four in the afternoon we had several obfervations for the longitude, and found it to be 96° 21' W at feven in the evening, the variation was 6° 40′ E. by the azimuth, and the next morning at 10 it was by amplitude, 5° Tuefd. 5. 48' E at three in the afternoon, the variation, by amplitude, was 7° 40′ E. This day we saw a tropic bird.

At fix o'clock in the morning, of Friday the eighth Friday 8. of May, the variation of the needle, by amplitude, was 7° 11' E. In the afternoon we faw feveral fheerwaters and fea fwallows. At eight in the morning of Satur. 9. the 9th, the variation by azimuth was 9° 34' E. and

in the morning of the 11th, by azimuth and amplitude, Monday 11. it was 4° 40′ E. Our latitude was 27° 28′ S. longi

tude, by account, 1060 W. This day, and the next, Tuesday 12. we saw several sea swallows, sheerwaters, and porpoi

fes, about the fhip.

On the 14th of May the variation, by four azi- Thurf, 14. muths, was 2o E. About four o'clock in the afternoon, we saw a large flock of brown birds, flying to the eastward, and fomething which had the appearance of high land, in the fame quarter. We bore away for it till fun-fet, and it ftill having the fame appearance, we continued our course; but at two in the morning, having run 18 leagues without making it, we hauled the wind, and at day-light nothing was to be seen. We had now the fatisfaction to find our ailing people mend a-pace. Our latitude was 24° 50′ our lonVOL. I. gitude,

M

Sund. 7.

1767. that they got on fhore, as the furf ran very high. June. Having received this account, I ftood off and on all night, and early the next morning I fent the boats out again to found, with orders, if poffible, to find a place where the ship might come to an anchor; but at eleven o'clock they returned, with no better fuccefs than before. The people told me that the whole ifland was furrounded by a reef, and that although on the weather fide of the island there was an opening through it, into a large bason, that extended to the middle of the island, yet they found it so full of breakers, that they could not venture in; neither indeed had they been able to land on any part of the island, the furf running ftill higher than it had done the day before. As it would therefore answer no purpose to continue here, I hoifted the boats in, and stood away for the other ifland, which bore S. 22o. E. distant about four leagues. The island which I now quitted, having been discovered on Whitfun-eve, I called it Whitfun- WHITSUN ISLAND. It is about four miles long, and three wide. Its latitude is 19° 26' S. and its longitude, by obfervation 137° 56' W.

Mand.

When we came under the lee of the other ifland, I fent Lieutenant Furneaux, with the boats manned and armed, to the fhore, where I faw about fifty of the natives armed with long pikes, and several of them running about with firebrands in their hands. I ordered Mr. Furneaux to go to that part of the beach where we faw the people, and endeavour to traffic with them for fruit and water, or whatever elfe might be useful; at the fame time, being particularly careful to give them no offence. I ordered him alfo to employ the boats in founding for anchorage. About feven o'clock he returned, and told me that he could find no ground with the line, till he came within half a cable's length of the fhore, and that there it confifted of fharp rocks, and lay very deep.

As the boat approached the fhore, the Indians thronged down towards the beach, and put themselves upon their guard with their long pikes, as if to difpute the landing. Our men then lay upon their oars, and made figns of friendship, fhewing at the fame time feveral ftrings of beads, ribbands, knives and other

trinkets.

trinkets. The Indians ftill made figns to our people, that they should depart, but at the fame time eyed the trinkets with a kind of wishful curiofity. Soon after fome of them advanced a few steps into the fea, and our people making figns that they wanted cocoa-nuts and water, fome of them brought down a fmall quantity of both; and ventured to hand them into the boat the water was in cocoa-nut shells, and the fruit was ftripped of its outward covering, which is probably ufed for various purposes. For this fupply they were. paid with the trinkets that had been fhewed them, and fome nails, upon which they feemed to fet a much greater value. During this traffic, one of the Indians found means to steal a filk handkerchief, in which fome of our fmall merchandize was wrapped up, and carried it clear off, with its contents, fo dexterously, that nobody obferved him. Our people made figns that a handkerchief had been stolen, but they either could not, or would not understand them. The boat continued about the beach, founding for anchorage, till it was dark; and having many times endeavoured to perfuade the natives to bring down fome scurvy-grafs, without fuccefs, the returned on board.

I stood off and on with the fhip all night, and as foon as the day broke, I fent the boats again, with orders to make a landing, but without giving any offence to the natives, that could poffibly be avoided. When our boats came near the fhore, the officer was greatly furprized to fee feven large canoes, with two ftout masts in each, lying juft in the furf, with all the inhabitants upon the beach, ready to embark. They made figns to our people to go higher up; they readily complied, and as foon as they went on fhore, all the Indians embarked, and failed away to the weftward, being joined by two other canoes at the weft end of the ifland. About noon, the boats returned, laden with cocoa-nuts, palm-nuts, and fcurvy grafs. Mr. Furneaux, who commanded the expedition, told me that the Indians had left nothing behind them but four or five canoes. He found a well of very good water, and described the island as being fandy and level, full of trees, but without underwood, and abounding with curvy-grafs. The canoes, which fteered about W. S.

W. as

1767.

June.

Monday 8.

1767. June

Tuefd. 9.

W. as long as they could be feen from the mast-head, appeared to be about thirty feet long, four feet broad, and three and an half deep. Two of these being brought along-fide of each other, were faftened together, at the diftance of about three feet afunder, by crofs beams, paffing from the larboard gunwale of one, to the ftarboard gunwale of the other, in the middle and near to each end.

The inhabitants of this ifland were of a middle ftature, and dark complexion, with long black hair, which hung loose over their fhoulders. The men were well made, and the women handsome. Their cloathing was a kind of coarse cloth or matting, which was faftened about their middle, and feemed capable of being brought up round their shoulders.

In the afternoon, I fent Lieutenant Furneaux with the boats again on fhore. He had with him a mate and twenty men, who were to make a rolling way for getting the cafks down to the beach from the well. I gave orders that he should take poffeffion of the island, in the name of King George the Third, and give it the name of QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S ISLAND, in honour of her Majefty. The boats returned freighted with cocoa-nuts and fcurvy-grafs, and the officer told me that he had found two more wells of good water, not far from the beach. I was at this time very ill, yet I went a-shore with the Surgeon, and feveral of the people, who were enfeebled by the fcurvy, to take a walk. I found the wells fo convenient that I left the mate and twenty men on fhore to fill water, and ordered a week's provisions to be sent them from the fhip, they being already furnished with arms and ammunition. In the evening I returned on board, with the Surgeon and the fick, leaving only the waterers on fhore. As we had not been able to find any anchorage, I ftood off and on all night.

In the morning, I fent all the empty water cafks on fhore; the Surgeon and the fick were alfo fent for the benefit of another airing, but I gave them strict orders that they should keep near the water-fide, and in the fhade; that they fhould not pull down or injure any of the houfes, nor, for the fake of the fruit, deftroy the cocoa-trees, which I appointed proper persons to

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