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Their fituation in itself indeed was no worse than it would have been if the obftacle to their wishes had been distance, and not a reef of rocks; and both being alike infuperable, a being wholly under the influence of reafon, would, by both, have been equally affected; but this is a fituation, among many others, that may be remarked by a diligent obferver, in which reafon cannot preferve mankind from the power which fancy is perpetually exerting to aggravate the calamities of life. When I knew the foundings, I could not forbear standing close round the ifland with the fhip, though I alfo knew it was impoffible to procure any of the refreshments which it produced. The natives ran along the shore a-breaft of the fhip, fhouting and dancing; they alfo frequently brandifhed their long fpears, and then threw themselves backward, and lay a few minutes motionless, as if they had been dead this we understood as a menace that they would kill us, if we ventured to go on fhore. As we were failing along the coaft, we took notice that in one place the natives had fixed upright in the fand two fpears, to the top of which they had faftened feveral things that fluttered in the air, and that some of them were every moment kneeling down before them, as we fuppofed, invoking the affiftance of fome invifible Being to defend them against us. While I was thus circumnavigating the island with the ship, I fent the boats out again to found, and when they came near the shore, the Indians fet up one of the most hideous yells I had ever heard, pointing at the fame time to their fpears, and poifing in their hands large ftones which they took up from the beach. Our men on the contrary made all the figns of amity and good-will that they could devife, and at the fame time threw them bread and many other things, none of which they vouchfafed fo much as to touch, but with great expedi tion hauled five or fix large canoes, which we saw lying upon the beach, up into the wood. When this was done, they waded into the water, and feemed to watch for an opportunity of laying hold of the boat, that they might drag her on fhore: the people on board her, apprehending that this was their defign, and that if they got them on fhore they would certainly put

them

1765.

June.

1765. them to death, were very impatient to be before-hand June. with them, and would fain have fired upon them; but the officer on board, having no permiffion from me to commit any hoftilities, reftrained them. I fhould indeed have thought myself at liberty to have obtained by force the refreshments, for want of which our people were dying, if it had been poffible to have come to an anchor, fuppofing we could not have made these poor favages our friends; but nothing could juftify the taking away their lives for a mere imaginary or intentional injury, without procuring the leaft advantage to ourselves. They were of a deep copper colour, exceedingly ftout and well-limbed, and remarkably nimble and active, for I never faw men run fo falt in my life. This island lies in latitude 14° 5' S. longitude 145° 4' W. from the meridian of London. As the boats reported a second time that there was no anchoring ground about this ifland, I determined to work up to the other, which was accordingly done all the reft of the day and the following night.

Satur. 8.

At fix o'clock in the morning of the 8th, we brought to on the weft fide of it, at the diftance of about three quarters of a mile from the fhore, but we had no foundings with one hundred and forty fathom of line. We now perceived several other low iflands, or rather peninfulas, most of them being joined one to the other by a neck of land, very narrow, and almost level with the furface of the water, which breaks high over it. In approaching these islands the cocoa-nut trees are first difcovered, as they are higher than any part of the furface. I fent a boat with an officer from each ship to found the lee-fide of thefe iflands for an anchoring place; and as foon as they left the fhip, I faw the Indians run down to the beach in great numbers, armed with long spears and clubs: they kept a-breast of the boats as they went founding along the shore, and used many threatening geftures to prevent their landing. I therefore fired a nine pound fhot from the fhip over their heads, upon which they ran into the woods with great precipitation. At ten o'clock the boats returned, but could get no foundings clofe in with the furf, which broke very high upon the fhore. The middle of this cluster of islands lies in latitude 14° 10' S. longi

tude

gitude 144° 52′ W. the variation of the compass was here 4o 30' E.

At half an hour after ten, we bore away and made fail to the westward, finding it impoffible to procure at these islands any refreshment for our fick, whofe fituation was becoming more deplorable every hour, and I therefore called them the ISLANDS OF DISAPPOINT

MENT.

1765. June.

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The Discovery of King George's Islands, with a defcription of them, and an Account of feveral Incidents that happened there.

A

T half an hour after five o'clock in the afternoon

of the 9th, we saw land again bearing W. S. Sund. 9. W. at the distance of fix or feven leagues; and at seven we brought to for the night. In the morning, Mond. 1. being within three miles of the fhore, we discovered it to be a long low ifland, with a white beach, of a pleafant appearance, full of cocoa-nut and other trees, and furrounded with a rock of red coral. We flood along the north eaft fide of it, within half a mile of the shore; and the favages, as foon as they faw us, made great fires, as we fuppofed, to alarm the diftant inhabitants of the island, and ran along the beach, a-breast of the ship, in great numbers, armed in the fame manner as the natives of the Islands of Disappointment. Over the land on this fide of the island we could fee a large lake of falt water, or lagoon, which appeared to be two or three leagues wide, and to reach within a small diftance of the oppofite fhore. Into this lagoon we faw a small inlet about a league from the fouth-west point, off which we brought to. At this place the natives have built a little town, under the fhade of a fine grove of cocoa-nut trees. I immediately fent off the boats, with an officer in each, to found; but they could find no anchorage, the shore being every where as steep as a wall, except at the very mouth of the inlet, which was scarcely a fhip's length wide, and there they had thirteen fathom, with a bottom of coral

rock.

1765. June.

rock. We stood clofe in with the fhips, and faw hun dreds of the favages, ranged in very good order, and ftanding up to their waifts in water; they were all armed in the fame manner as thofe that we had seen at the other islands, and one of them carried a piece of mat faftened to the top of a pole, which we imagined was an enfign. They made a moft hideous and inceffant noife, and in a fhort time many large canoes came down the lake to join them. Our boats were ftill out, and the people on board them made all the figns of friendship that they could invent, upon which fome of the canoes came through the inlet and drew near them. We now began to hope that a friendly intercourfe might be established; but we foon difcovered that the Indians had no other defign than to haul the boats on fhore: many of them leaped off the rocks, and swam to them; and one of them got into that which belonged to the Tamar, and in the twinkling of an eye feized a feaman's jacket, and jumping over board with it, never once appeared above water till he was close in fhore among his companions. Another of them got hold of a midshipman's hat, but not knowing how to take it off, he pulled it downward inftead of lifting it up; fo that the owner had time to prevent its being taken away, otherwise it would probably have disappeared as fuddenly as the jacket; our men bore all this with much patience, and the Indians feemed to triumph in their impunity.

About noon, finding there was no anchorage here, I bore away and steered along the shore to the westermost point of the island: the boats immediately followed us, and kept founding close to the beach, but could get no ground.

When we came to the westermoft point of this ifland, we faw another, bearing S. W. by W. about four leagues diftant. We were at this time about a league beyond the inlet where we had left the natives, but they were not fatisfied with having got rid of us quietly; for I now perceived two large double canoes failing after the fhip, with about thirty men in each, all armed after the manner of their country. The boats were a good way to the leeward of us, and the cances, paffing between the fhip and the fhore, feemed very

eagerly

eagerly to give them chace. Upon this I made the
fignal for the boats to speak with the canoes, and as
foon as they perceived it, they turned, and made to-
wards the Indians, who feeing this, were feized with
a fudden panic, and immediately hauling down their
fails, paddled back again at a furprizing rate. Our boats
however came up with them; but notwithstanding the
dreadful furf that broke upon the fhore, the canoes
pushed through it, and the Indians immediately hauled
them up upon the beach. Our boats followed them,
and the Indians, dreading an invafion of their coaft,
prepared to defend it with clubs and ftones, upon which
our men fired, and killed two or three of them: one of
them received three balls which went quite through
his body; yet he afterwards took up a large ftone,
and died in the action of throwing it against his enemy.
This man fell close to our boats, fo that the Indians
who remained unhurt did not dare to attempt the
carrying off his body, which gave us an opportunity
to examine it; but they carried off the rest of their
dead, and made the best of their way back to their
companions at the inlet. Our boats then returned, and
brought off the two canoes which they had purfued.
One of them was thirty two feet long, and the other
fomewhat lefs, but they were both of a very curious
construction, and must have coft thofe who made them
infinite labour. They confifted of planks exceedingly
well wrought, and in many places adorned with carv-
ing; these planks were fewed together, and over every
feam there was a strip of tortoise-shell, very artificially
faftened, to keep out the weather: their bottoms were
as fharp as a wedge, and they were very narrow;
and therefore two of them were joined laterally toge-
ther by a couple of strong spars, fo that there was a
fpace of about fix or eight feet between them: a mast.
was hoisted in each of them, and the fail was spread
between the mafts: the fail which I preferved, and
which is now in my poffeffion, is made of matting,
and is as neat a piece of work as ever I faw: their
paddles were very curious, and their cordage was as
good and as well laid as any in England, though it
appeared to be made of the outer covering of the

cocoa

1765

June.

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