Cape Horn, or through the streight of Magellan: That if she should get safely through the streight, or round the cape, it would be absolutely necessary for her to refresh in some port, but in that case no port would be in her reach; I therefore determined to make the best of my way to Tinian, Batavia, and so to Europe by the Cape of Good Hope. By this route, as far as we could judge, we should sooner be at home; and if the ship should prove not to be in a condition to make the whole voyage, we should still save our lives, as from this place to Batavia we should probably have a calm sea, and be not far from a port.

In consequence of this resolution, at noon I bore away, and passed Boscawen's Island without visiting it. It is a high round island, abounding in wood, and full of people; but Keppel's Isle is by far the largest and the best of the two. 1498 Boscawen's Island lies in latitude 15° 50 S. longitude 175° W. and Keppel's Isle in latitude 15° 55′ S. longitude 175° 3′ W.

3

1

We continued a W.N.W. course till ten o'clock in the morning of Sunday the 16th, when we saw land bearing N. by E. and hauled up for it. At noon, we were within three leagues of it: The land within shore appeared to be high, but at the water-side it was low, and had a pleasant appearance; the whole seemed to be surrounded by reefs, that ran two or three miles into the sea. As we sailed along. the shore, which was covered with cocoa-nut trees, we saw a few huts, and smoke in several parts up the country. Soon after we hauled without a reef of rocks, to get round the lee-side of the island, and at the same time sent out the boats to sound, and examine the coast.

The boats rowed close along the shore, and found it rocky, with trees growing close down to the water-side. These trees were of different sorts, many of them very large, but had no fruit: On the lee-side, however, there were a few cocoa-nuts, but not a single habitation was to be seen. They discovered several small rills of water, which, by clearing, might have been made to run in a larger stream. Soon after they had got close to the shore, several canoes came up to them, each having six or eight men on board. They appeared to be a robust, active people, and were quite naked, except a kind of mat that was wrapped round their middle. They were armed with large

maces

maces or clubs, such as Hercules is represented with, two of which they sold to the master for a nail or two, and some trinkets. As our people had seen no animal, either bird or beast, except sea-fowl, they were very desirous to learn of the natives whether they had either, but could not make themselves understood. It appears, that during this conference, a design was formed to seize our cutter, for one of the Indians suddenly laid hold of her painter, and hauled her upon the rocks. Our people endeavoured, in vain, to make them desist, till they fired a musket cross the nose of the man that was most active in the mischief. No hurt was done; but the fire and report so affrighted them, that they made off with great precipitation. Both our boats then put off, but the water had fallen so suddenly that they found it very difficult to get back to the ship; for when they came into deep water they found the points of rocks standing up, and the whole reef, except in one part, was now dry, and a great sea broke over it. The Indians probably perceived their distress, for they turned back, and followed them in their canoes all along the reef till they got to the breach, and then seeing them clear, and making way fast towards the ship, they returned.

About six in the evening, it being then dark, the boats returned, and the master told me, that all within the reef was rocky, but that in two or three places, at about two cables' length without it, there was anchorage in eighteen, fourteen, and twelve fathom, upon sand and coral. The breach in the reef he found to be about sixty fathom broad, and here, if pressed by necessity, he said a ship might anchor or moor in eight fathom; but that it would not be safe to moor with a greater length than half a cable.

When I had hoisted the boats in, I ran down four miles to leeward, where we lay till the morning; and then, finding that the current had set us out of sight of the island, I made sail. The officers did me the honour to call this island after my name. Wallis's Island lies in latitude 13 18' S. longitude 177° W.

As the latitudes and longitudes of all these islands are accurately laid down, and plans of them delivered in to the Admiralty, it will be easy for any ship, that shall hereafter navigate these seas, to find any of them, either to refresh er to make farther discoveries of their produce.

I thought it very remarkable, that although we found no

kind of metal in any of these islands, yet the inhabitants of all of them, the moment they got a piece of iron in their possession, began to sharpen it, but made no such attempt on brass or copper.

We continued to steer N. westerly, and many birds were from time to time seen about the ship, till the 28th, when her longitude being, by observation, 187° 24' W. we crossed the Line into north latitude. Among the birds that came about the ship, one which we caught exactly resembled a dove in size, shape, and colour. It had red legs, and was web-footed. We also saw several plantain leaves and cocoa-nuts pass by the ship,

On Saturday the 29th, about two o'clock in the afternoon, being in latitude 2° 50′ N. longitude 188 W. we crossed a great rippling, which stretched from the N. E. to the S. W. as far as the eye could reach from the mast-head. We sounded, but had no bottom with a line of two hundred fathoms.

པ། ན་།

On Thursday the 3d of September, at five o'clock in the morning, we saw land bearing E. N. E. distant about five miles: In about half an hour we saw more land in the N. W. and at at six, saw in the N. E. an Indian proa, such as is described in the account of Lord Anson's voyage. Perceiving that she stood towards us, we hoisted Spanish colours; but when she came within about two miles of us, she tacked, and stood from us to the N.N.W. and in a short time was out of sight.

At eight o'clock, the islands which I judged to be two of the Piscadores, bore from S. W. by W. to W. and to windward, from N. by E. to N. E. and had the appearance of small flat keys. They were distant about three leagues; but many others, much farther off, were in sight. The latitude of one of those islands is 11° N. longitude 192° 30′ W. and the other 11° 20′ N., longitude 192° 58′ W. On the 7th, we saw a curlieu and a pewit, and on the 9th we caught a land-bird, resembling a starling. On the 17th, we saw two gannets, and judged the island of Tinian to bear west, at about one and-thirty leagues 15° N., and our longitude 212° 30 W. At six o'clock the next morning, we saw the island of Saypan, bearing W. by N, distant about ten leagues. In the afternoon, we saw Tinian, and made sail for the road; where, at nine o'clock in the morning, of Saturday the 19th,

Very muc

tance; our latitude D

we

we came to an anchor in two-and-twenty fathom, sandy ground, at about a mile distant from the shore, and half a mile from the reef.

SECTION X.

Some Account of the present State of the Island of Tinian, and our Employment there; with what happened in the Run from thence to Batavia.

As soon as the ship was secured, I sent the boats on shore to erect tents, and bring off some refreshments; and about noon they returned, with some cocoa-nuts, limes, and oranges.

In the evening, the tents being erected, I sent the surgeon and all the invalids on shore, with two months provisions, of every kind, for forty men, the smith's forge, and a chest of carpenter's tools. I then landed myself, with the first lieutenant, both of us being in a very sickly condition, taking with us also a mate, and twelve men, to go up the country and hunt for cattle.

When we first came to an anchor, the north part of the bay bore N. 39 W. Cocoa point N. 7 W. the landingplace N. E. by N. and the south end of the island S. 28° E.; but next morning, the master having sounded all the bay, and being of opinion that there was a better situation to the southward, we warped the ship a little way up, and moored with a cable each way.

At six in the evening, the hunters brought in a fine young bull, of near four hundred weight: Part of it we kept on shore, and sent the rest on board with bread-fruit, limes, and oranges.

Early the next morning, the carpenters were set at work to caulk the ship all over, and put every thing in repair as far as possible. All the sails were also got on shore, and the sail-makers employed to mend them: The armourers at the same time were busy in repairing the iron-work, and making new chains for the rudder. The number of the people now on shore, sick and well, was fifty-three.

In this place we got beef, pork, poultry, papaw apples, bread-fruit, limes, oranges, and every refreshment that is mentioned in the account of Lord Anson's voyage. The

sick began to recover from the day they first went on shore: The air, however, was so different here from what we found it in King George's Island, that flesh meat, which there kept sweet two days, could here be scarcely kept sweet one. There had been many cocoa-nut trees near the landingplace, but they had been all wastefully cut down for the fruit, and none being grown up in their stead, we were forced to go three miles into the country before a single nut could be procured. The hunters also suffered incredible fatigue, for they were frequently obliged to go ten or twelve miles through one continued thicket, and the cattle were so wild that it was very difficult to come near them, so that I was obliged to relieve one party by another; and it being reported that cattle were more plenty at the north end of the island, but that the hunters being quite exhaust→ ed with fatigue when they got thither, were not able to kill them, much less to bring them down, I sent Mr Gore, with fourteen men, to establish themselves in that part of the island, and ordered that a boat should go every morn ing, at day-break, to bring in what they should kill. In the mean time the ship was laid by the stern to get at some of the copper sheathing which had been much torn; and in repairing the copper, the carpenter discovered and stopped a large leak under the lining of the knee of the head, by which we had reason to hope most of the water that the vessel had lately admitted in bad weather, came in. During our stay here, I ordered all the people on shore by turns, and by the 15th of October, all the sick being recovered, our wood and water completed, and the ship made fit for the sea, we got every thing off the shore, and embarked all our men from the watering place, each having, at least, five hundred limes, and there being several tubs full on the quarter-deck, for every one to squeeze into his water as he should think fit.

At break of day, on Friday the 16th, we weighed, and sailed out of the bay, sending the boats at the same time to the north end of the island, to bring off Mr Gore and his hunters. At noon, we received them and their tents on board, with a fine large bull, which they had just killed.

While we lay at anchor in this place, we had many ob servations for the latitude and longitude, from which we drew up the following table:

Latitude