poet on this account. But, if I see fewer exceptions, I can find infinitely more beauties in him; as he has, I think, scarce an action, circumstance, or description of any kind whatever, relating to a spear, which I have not seen and recognised among these people; as their whirling motion, and whistling noise, as they fly; their quivering motion, as they stick in the ground when they fall; their meditating their aim, when they are going to throw; and their shaking them in their hand as they go along, &c. &c."

I know no more of their cookery, than that it consists of roasting and baking; for they have no vessel in which water can be boiled. Nor do I know that they have any other liquor but water and the juice of the cocoa-nut. We are utter strangers to their religion, and but little acquainted with their government. They seem to have chiefs among them; at least some were pointed out to us by that title; but, as I before observed, they appeared to have very little authority over the rest of the people. Old Geogy was the only one the people were ever seen to take the least notice of; but whether this was owing to high rank or old age I cannot say. On several occasions I have seen the old men respected and obeyed. Our friend Paowang was so; and yet I never heard him called chief, and have many reasons to believe that he had not a right to any more authority than many of his neighbours, and few, if any, were bound to obey him, or any other person in our neighbourhood; for if there had been such a one, we certainly should, by some means, have known it. I named the harbour Port Resolution, after the ship, she being the first which ever entered it. It is situated on the north side of the most eastern point of the island, and about E.N.E. from the volcano; in the latitude of 19° 32′ 25′′ South, and in the longitude of 169° 44′ 35" East. It is no more than a little creek running in S. by W. W. three quarters of a mile, and is about half that in breadth. A shoal of sand and rocks lying on the east side makes it still narrower. The depth of water in the harbour is from six to three fathoms, and the bottom is sand and mud. No place can be more convenient for taking in wood and water; for both are close to the shore. The water stunk a little after it had been a few days on board, but it afterwards turned sweet; and, even when it was at the worst, the tin machine would, in a few hours, recover a whole cask. This is an excellent contrivance for sweetening water at sea, and is well known in the navy.

Mr. Wales, from whom I had the latitude and longitude, found the variation of the needle to be 7° 14′ 12′′ East, and the dip of its south end 45° 2. He also observed the time of high water, on the full and change days, to be about 5h. 45m., and the tide to rise and fall three feet.

CHAPTER VII.-THE SURVEY OF THE ISLANDS CONTINUED, AND A MORE PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF THEM.

As soon as the boats were hoisted in, we made sail, and stretched to the eastward, with a fresh gale at S.E., in order to have a nearer view of Erronan, and to see if there was any land in its neighbourhood. We stood on till midnight, when, having passed the island, we tacked, and spent the remainder of the night making two boards. At sunrise on the 21st, we stood to S. W. in order to get to the south of Tanna, and nearer to Anattom, to observe if any more land lay in that direction; for an extraordinary clear morning had produced no discovery of any to the east. At noon having observed in latitude 20° 33′ 30′′, the situation of the lands around us was as follows. Port Resolution bore 86° West, distant six and a half leagues; the island of Tanna extended from S. 88° West, to N. 64° West; Traitor's Head N. 58° West, distant twenty leagues; the island of Erronan N. 86° East, distant five leagues; and Anattom from S. E. to S. W., distant ten leagues. We continued to stretch to the south till two o'clock P.M. when, seeing no more land before us, we bore up round the S.E. end of Tanna; and, with a fine gale at E.S.E., ran along the south coast at one league from shore. It seemed a bold one, without the guard of any rocks; and the country full as fertile as in the neighbourhood of the harbour, and making a fine appearance: At six o'clock the high land of Erromango appeared over the west end of Tanna in the direction of N. 16° West; at eight o'clock we were past the island, and steered N.N.W. for

Sandwich Island, in order to finish the survey of it, and of the isles to the N.W. On the 22nd, at four o'clock P.M., we drew near the S.E. end, and ranging the south coast, found it to trend in the direction of W. and W.N.W. for about nine leagues. Near the middle of this length, and close to the shore, are three or four small isles, behind which seemed to be a safe anchorage. But not thinking I had any time to spare to visit this fine island, I continued to range the coast to its western extremity, and then steered N.N.W. for the S.E. end of Mallicollo, which, at half past six o'clock next morning, bore N. 14° East, distant seven or eight leagues, and Three-Hills Island S. 82° East. Soon after, we saw the islands Apee, Paoom, and Ambrym. What we had comprehended under the name of Paoom appeared now to be two isles, something like a separation being seen between the hill and the land to the West of it. We approached the S.W. side of Mallicollo to within half a league, and ranged it at that distance. From the S.E. point, the direction of the land is west, a little southerly, for six or seven leagues, and then N.W. by W. three leagues, to a pretty high point or head-land, situated in latitude 16° 29', and which obtained the name of South-West Cape. The coast, which is low, seemed to be indented into creeks and projecting points; or else, these points were small isles lying under the shore. We were sure

of one, which lies between two and three leagues east of the Cape. Close to the west side or point of the Cape lies, connected with it by breakers, a round rock or islet, which helps to shelter a fine bay, formed by an elbow in the coast, from the reigning winds.

The natives appeared in troops on many parts of the shore, and some seemed desirous to come off to us in canoes; but they did not: and, probably, our not shortening sail was the reason. From the South-West Cape, the direction of the coast is N. by W., but the most advanced land bore from it N.W. by N. at which the land seemed to terminate. Continuing to follow the direction of the coast, at noon it was two miles from us; and our latitude, by observation, was 16° 22' 30'' South. This is nearly the parallel to Port Sandwich, and our never-failing guide, the watch, showed that we were 26′ W. of it; a distance which the breadth of Mallicollo cannot exceed in this parallel. The South-West Cape bore S. 26° East, distant seven miles; and the most advanced point of land, for which we steered, bore N.W. by N. At three o'clock we were the length of it, and found the land continued, and trending more and more to the north. We coasted it to its northern extremity, which we did not reach till after dark, at which time we were near enough the shore to hear the voices of people, who were assembled round a fire they had made on the beach. There we sounded, and found twenty fathoms and a bottom of sand; but, on edging off from the shore, we soon got out of sounding, and then made a trip back to the south till the moon got up. After this we stood again to the north, hauled round the point, and spent the night in Bougainville's passage; being assured of our situation before sunset, by seeing the land, on the north side of the passage, extending as far as N.W. W. The south coast of Mallicollo, from the S. E. end to the S. W. Cape, is luxuriantly clothed with wood, and other productions of nature, from the sea-shore to the very summits of the hills. To the N.W. of the Cape the country is less woody, but more agreeably interspersed with lawns, some of which appeared to be cultivated. The summits of the hills seemed barren; and the highest lies between Port Sandwich and the S.W. Cape. Farther north, the land falls insensibly lower, and is less covered with wood. I believe it is a very fertile island, and well inhabited; for we saw smoke by day, and fire by night, in all parts of it.

Next morning at sunrise, we found ourselves nearly in the middle of the passage, the N.W. end of Mallicollo extending from S. 30° East, to S. 58° West; the land to the north from N. 70° West, to N. 4 East; and the Isle of Lepers bearing N. 30° East, distant eleven or twelve leagues. We now made sail, and steered N. by E., and afterwards north, along the east coast of the northern land, with a fine breeze at S.E. We found that this coast, which at first appeared to be continued, was composed of several low woody isles, the most of them of small extent, except the southernmost, which, on account of the day, I named St. Bartholomew. It is six or seven leagues in circuit, and makes the N.E. point of have its true situation, which cannot be done in a work of this nature.

The word Survey is not here to be understood in its literal sense. Surveying a place, according to my idea, is taking a geometrical plan of it, in which every place is to

Bougainville's Passage. At noon the breeze began to slacken. We were at this time between two and three miles from the land, and observed, in latitude 15° 23', the Isle of Lepers bearing from E. by N. to E. by S., distant seven leagues; and a high bluff-head, at which the coast we were upon seemed to terminate, N.N.W. W., distant ten or eleven leagues; but from the mast-head we could see land to the east. This we judged to be an island, and it bore N. by W. W.

As we advanced to N.N.W. along a fine coast covered with woods, we perceived low land that extended off from the bluff-head towards the island above mentioned, but did not seem to join it. It was my intention to have gone through the channel, but the approach of night made me lay it aside, and steer without the island. During the afternoon we passed some small isles lying under the shore, and observed some projecting points of unequal height, but were not able to determine whether or not they were connected with the main land. Behind them was a ridge of hills which terminated at the bluff-head. There were cliffs, in some places of the coast, and white patches, which we judged to be chalk. At ten o'clock, being the length of the isle which lies off the head, we shortened sail, and spent the night making short boards. At daybreak on the 25th, we were on the north side of the island (which is of a moderate height, and three leagues in circuit), and steered west for the bluff-head along the low land under it. At sunrise an elevated coast came in sight beyond the bluff-head, extending to the north as far as N.W. by W. After doubling the head we found the land to trend south, a little easterly, and to form a large, deep bay, bounded on the west by the coast just mentioned.

Everything conspired to make us believe this was the bay of St. Philip and St. Jago, discovered by Quiros in 1606. To determine this point it was necessary to proceed farther up; for at this time we saw no end to it. The wind being at south, we were obliged to ply, and first stretched over for the west shore, from which we were three miles at noon, when our latitude was 14° 55′ 30′′ south, longitude 167° 3′ east; the mouth of the bay extending from N. 64° west to S. 86° east, which last direction was the bluff-head, distant three leagues. In the afternoon, the wind veering to the E.S.E., we could look up to the head of the bay; but as the breeze was faint, a N.E. swell hurled us over to the west shore; so that at half-past four o'clock P.M. we were no more than two miles from it, and tacked in one hundred and twenty fathoms water, a soft muddy bottom. The bluff-head, or east point of the bay, bore N. 53' cast.

We had no sooner tacked than it fell calm, and we were left to the mercy of the swell, which continued to hurtle us towards the shore, where large troops of people were assembled. Some ventured off in two canoes; but all the signs of friendship we could make did not induce them to come alongside, or near enough to receive any present from us. At last they took sudden fright at something, and returned ashore. They were naked, except having some long grass, like flags, fastened to a belt, and hanging down before and behind, nearly as low as the knee. Their colour was very dark, and their hair woolly; or cut short, which made it seem so. The canoes were small, and had out-riggers. The calm continued till near eight o'clock, in which time we drove into eighty-five fathoms water, and so near the shore that I expected we should be obliged to anchor. A breeze of wind sprung up at E.S.E., and first took us on the wrong side; but, contrary to all our expectations, and when we had hardly room to veer, the ship came about, and having filled on the larboard tack, we stood off N.E. Thus we were relieved from the apprehensions of being forced to anchor in a great depth, on a lee shore, and in a dark and obscure night.

We continued to ply upwards, with variable light breezes between E.S.E. and S., till ten next morning, when it fell calm. We were, at this time, about seven or eight miles from the head of the bay, which is terminated by a low beach; and behind that is an extensive flat covered with wood, and bounded on each side by a ridge of mountains. At noon we found the latitude to be 15° 5' south, and were detained here by the calm till one o'clock P.M., when we got a breeze at N. by W., with which we steered up to within two miles of the head of the bay; and then I sent Mr. Cooper and Mr. Gilbert to sound and reconnoitre the coast, while we stood to and fro with the ship. This gave time to three sailing canoes, which had been following us some time, to come up. There were five or six men in each ;

and they approached near enough to receive such things as were thrown to them fastened to a rope, but would not advance alongside. They were the same sort of people as those we had seen the preceding evening; indeed we thought they came from the same place. They seemed to be stouter and better shaped men than those of Mallicollo; and several circumstances concurred to make us think they were of another nation. They named the numerals as far as five or six, in the language of Anamocka, and understood us when we asked the names of the adjacent lands in that language. Some, indeed, had black short frizzled hair, like the natives of Mallicollo; but others had it long, tied up on the crown of the head, and ornamented with feathers, like the New Zealanders. Their other ornaments were bracelets and necklaces; one man had something like a white shell on his forehead; and some were painted with a blackish pigment. I did not see that they had any other weapon but darts and gigs, intended only for striking of fish. Their canoes were much like those of Tanna, and navigated in the same manner, or nearly so. They readily gave us the names of such parts as we pointed to: but we could not obtain from them the name of the island. At length, seeing our boats coming, they paddled in for the shore, notwithstanding all we could say or do to detain them.

When the boats returned, Mr. Cooper informed me, that they had landed on the beach which is at the head of the bay, near a fine river, or stream of fresh water, so large and deep, that they judged boats might enter it at high water. They found three fathoms depth close to the beach, and fifty-five and fifty, two cables' length off. Farther out they did not sound; and where we were with the ship, we had no soundings with a hundred and seventy fathoms line, Before the boats got on board, the wind had shifted to S.S.E. As we were in want of nothing, and had no time to spare, I took the advantage of this shift of wind, and steered down the bay. During the fore-part of the night, the country was illuminated with fires, from the sea-shore to the summits of the mountains; but this was only on the west side of the shore. I cannot pretend to say what was the occasion of these fires, but have no idea of their being on our account. Probably they were burning or clearing the ground for new plantations. At daybreak on the 27th, we found ourselves two-thirds down the bay; and, as we had but little wind, it was noon before we were the length of the N.W. point, which at this time bore N. 82° west, distant five miles. Latitude observed, 14° 39′ 30".

Some of our gentlemen were doubtful of this being the bay of St. Philip and St. Jago, as there was no place which they thought could mean the port of Vera Cruz. For my part, I found general points to agree so well with Quiros's description, that I had not the least doubt about it. As to what he calls the port of Vera Cruz, I understand that to be the anchorage at the head of the bay, which in some places may extend farther off than where our boats landed. There is nothing in his account of the port which contradicts this supposition*. It was but natural for his people to give a name to the place, independent of so large a bay, where they lay so long at anchor. A port is a vague term, like many others in geography, and has been very often applied to places far less sheltered than this. officers observed that grass and other plants grew on the beach close to high-water mark ; which is always a sure sign of pacific anchorage, and an undeniable proof that there never is a great surf on the shore. They judged that the tide rose about four or five feet, and that boats and such craft might, at high water, enter the river, which seemed to be pretty deep and broad within; so that this, probably, is one of those mentioned by Quiros; and, if we were not deceived, we saw the other.

The bay hath twenty leagues sea-coast; six on the east side, which lies in the direction of S. west, and N. east; two at the head, and twelve on the west side, the direction of which is S. by E. and N. by W. from the head down to two-thirds of its length, and then N.W. by N. to the N.W. point. The two points which form the entrance lie in the direction of S. 53° east, and N. 53° west, from each other distant ten leagues. The bay is everywhere free from danger, and of unfathomable depth, except near the shores, which are for the most part low. This, however, is only a very narrow strip between the seashore and the foot of the hills; for the bay, as well as the flat land at the head of it, is * See Quiros's Voyage, in Dalrymple's Collection, vol. i. p. 136, 137.

bounded on each side by a ridge of hills, one of which, that to the west, is very high, and double, extending the whole length of the island. An uncommonly luxuriant vegetation was everywhere to be seen; the sides of the hills were checkered with plantations, and every valley watered by a stream. Of all the productions of nature this country was adorned with, the cocoa-nut trees were the most conspicuous. The columns of smoke we saw by day, and the fires by night, all over the country, led us to believe that it is well inhabited and very fertile. The east point of this bay, which I name Cape Quiros, in memory of its first discoverer, is situated in latitude 14° 56' south, longitude 167° 13' east. The N. W. point, which I named Cape Cumberland, in honour of his Royal Highness the Duke, lies in the latitude of 14° 38′ 45" south, longitude 166° 49' east, and is the N.W. extremity of this archipelago; for, after doubling it, we found the coast to trend gradually round to the S. and S.S.E.

On the 28th and 29th we had light airs and calms, so that we advanced but little. In this time we took every opportunity, when the horizon was clearer than usual, to look out for more land; but none was seen. By Quiros's track to the north, after leaving the bay above mentioned, it seems probable that there is none nearer than Queen Charlotte's Island, discovered by Captain Carteret, which lies about ninety leagues N.N.W. from Cape Cumberland, and I take to be the same with Quiros's Santa Cruz. On the 30th the calm was succeeded by a fresh breeze at S.S.E., which enabled us to ply up the coast. At noon we observed in 15° 20′; afterwards we stretched in east, to within a mile of the shore, and then tacked, in seventy-five fathoms, before a sandy flat, on which several of the natives made their appearance. We observed, on the sides of the hills, several plantations that were laid out by line, and fenced round. On the 31st, at noon, the S. or S.W. point of the island bore N. 62° east, distant four leagues. This forms the N.W. point of what I call Bougainville's Passage; the N.E. point, at this time, bore N. 85° east, and the N. W. end of Mollicollo from S. 54° east to S. 72° east. Latitude observed, 15° 45' S. In the afternoon, in stretching to the east, we weathered the S. W. point of the island, from which the coast trends east northerly. It is low, and seemed to form some creeks or coves; and, as we got farther into the passage, we perceived some small low isles lying along it, which seemed to extend behind St. Bartholomew Island.

Having now finished the survey of the whole archipelago, the season of the year made it necessary for me to return to the south, while I had yet some time left to explore any land I might meet with between this and New Zealand; where I intended to touch, that I might refresh my people, and recruit our stock of wood and water for another southern course. With this view, at five P.M. we tacked, and hauled to the southward, with a fresh gale at S.E. At this time the N.W. point of the passage, or the S. W. point of the island Tierra del Espiritu Santo, the only remains of Quiros's continent, bore N. 82° west, distant three leagues. I named it Cape Lisburne, and its situation is in latitude 15° 40', longitude 165° 59′ east.

The foregoing account of these islands, in the order in which we explored them, not being particular enough either as to situation or description, it may not be improper now to give a more accurate view of them, which, with the chart, will convey to the reader a better idea of the whole group.

The northern islands of this archipelago were first discovered by that great navigator, Quiros, in 1606; and, not without reason, were considered as part of the southern continent, which, at that time, and until very lately, was supposed to exist. They were next visited by M. de Bougainville, in 1768; who, besides landing on the Isle of Lepers, did no more than discover that the land was not connected, but composed of islands, which he called the Great Cyclades. But as, besides ascertaining the extent and situation of these islands, we added to them several new ones which were not known before, and explored the whole, I think we have obtained a right to name them; and shall in future distinguish them by the name of the New Hebrides. They are situated between the latitude of 14° 29′ and 20° 4′ south, and between 166° 41′ and 170° 21' east longitude, and extend an hundred and twenty-five leagues in the direction of N.N.W. west, and S.S. E. east.

The most northern island is that called by M. de Bougainville Peak of the Etoile. It is