CHAP. VI.

DESCRIPTION OF LEFOOGA.—ITS CULTIVATED STATE.—ITS EXTENT.—TRANSACTIONS THERE.—A FEMALE OCULIST.—SINGULAR EXPEDIENTS FOR SHAVING OFF THE HAIR.—THE SHIPS CHANGE THEIR STATION.—A REMARKABLE MOUNT AND STONE.—DESCRIPTION OF HOOLAIVA.—ACCOUNT OF POULAHO, KING OF THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS.—RESPECTFUL MANNER IN WHICH HE IS TREATED BY HIS PEOPLE.—DEPARTURE FROM THE HAPAEE ISLANDS.—SOME ACCOUNT OF KOTOO.—RETURN OF THE SHIPS TO ANNAMOOKA.—POULAHO AND FEENOU MEET.—ARRIVAL AT TONGATABOO.

Curiosity on both sides being now sufficiently gratified, by the exhibition of the various entertainments I have described, I began to have time to look about me. Accordingly, next day, I took a walk into the island of Lefooga, of which I was desirous to obtain some knowledge. I found it to be in several respects superior to Annamooka. The plantations were both more numerous, and more extensive. In many places, indeed, toward the sea, especially on the east side, the country is still waste, owing perhaps to the sandy soil; as it is much lower than Annamooka, and its surrounding isles. But toward the middle of the island, the soil is better; and the marks of considerable population, and of improved cultivation, were very conspicuous. For we met here with very large plantations, inclosed in such a manner, that the fences running parallel to each other, from fine spacious public roads, that would appear ornamental in countries where rural conveniencies have been carried to the greatest perfection. We observed large spots covered with the paper mulberry-trees; and the plantations in general were well stocked with such roots and fruits as are the natural produce of the island. To these I made some addition, by sowing the seeds of Indian corn, melons, pumpkins, and the like. At one place was a house four or five times as large as those of the common sort, with a large area of grass before it; and I take it for granted, the people resort thither on certain public occasions. Near the landing-place we saw a mount two or three feet high, covered with gravel; and on it stood four or five small huts, in which the natives told us, the bodies of some of their principal people had been interred.

The island is not above seven miles long, and in some places not above two or three broad. The east side of it, which is exposed to the trade-wind, has a reef running to a considerable breadth from it, on which the sea breaks with great violence. It is a continuation of this reef that joins Lefooga to Foa, which is not above half a mile distant; and at low water the natives can walk upon this reef, which is then partly dry, from the one island to the other. The shore itself is either a coral rock, six or seven feet high, or a sandy beach; but higher than the west side, which in general is not more than three or four feet from the level of the sea, with a sandy beach its whole length.

When I returned from my excursion into the country, and went on board to dinner, I found a large sailing canoe fast to the ship’s stern. In this canoe was Latooliboula, whom I had seen at Tongataboo, during my last voyage, and who was then supposed by us to be the king of that island. He sat in the canoe with all that gravity, by which, as I have mentioned in my journal [182] , he was so remarkably distinguished at that time; nor could I by any entreaties, prevail upon him now to come into the ship. Many of the islanders were present, and they all call him Arekee, which signifies king. I had never heard any one of them give this title to Feenou, however extensive his authority over them both here and at Annamooka, had appeared to be; which had all along inclined me to suspect that he was not the king, though his friend Taipa had taken pains to make me believe he was. Latooliboula remained under the stern till the evening, when he retired in his canoe to one of the islands. Feenou was on board my ship at the same time; but neither of these great men took the least notice of the other.

Nothing material happened the next day, except that some of the natives stole a tarpaulin, and other things from off the deck. They were soon missed and the thieves pursued, but a little too late. I applied, therefore, to Feenou, who, if he was not king, was at least vested with the highest authority here, to exert it, in order to have my things restored. He referred me to Earoupa, who put me off from time to time; and at last nothing was done.

In the morning of the 23d, as we were going to unmoor, in order to leave the island, Feenou and his prime-minister Taipa, came alongside in a sailing canoe, and informed me that they were setting out for Vavaoo, an island, which they said, lies about two days’ sail to the northward of Hapaee. The object of their voyage, they would have me believe, was to get for me an additional supply of hogs, and some red-feathered caps for Omai, to carry to Otaheite, where they are in high esteem. Feenou assured me that he should be back in four or five days; and desired me not to sail till his return, when he promised he would accompany me to Tongataboo. I thought this a good opportunity to get some knowledge of Vavaoo, and proposed to him to go thither with the ships. But he seemed not to approve of the plan; and, by way of diverting me from it, told me that there was neither harbour nor anchorage about it. I, therefore, consented to wait in my present station for his return, and he immediately set out.

The next day our attention was for some time taken up with a report, industriously spread about by some of the natives, that a ship like ours, had arrived at Annamooka since we left it, and was now at anchor there. The propagators of the report were pleased to add, that Toobou, the chief of that island, was hastening thither to receive these newcomers; and as we knew that he had actually left us, we were the more ready to believe there might be some foundation for the story of this unexpected arrival. However, to gain some farther information, I went on shore with Omai, in quest of the man, who, it was said, had brought the first account of this event from Annamooka. We found him at the house of Earoupa, where Omai put such questions to him as I thought necessary; and the answers he gave were so clear and satisfactory, that I had not a doubt remaining. But just about this time, a chief of some note, whom we well knew, arrived from Annamooka, and declared that no ship was at that island, nor had been since our leaving it. The propagator of the report, finding himself detected in a falsehood, instantly withdrew, and we saw no more of him. What end the invention of this tale could answer, it was not easy to conjecture; unless we suppose it to have been artfully contrived, to get us removed from the one island to the other.

In my walk on the 25th, I happened to step into a house, where a woman was dressing the eyes of a young child, who seemed blind; the eyes being much inflamed, and a thin film spread over them. The instruments she used were two slender wooden probes, with which she had brushed the eyes so as to make them bleed. It seems worth mentioning, that the natives of these islands should attempt an operation of this sort; though I entered the house too late, to describe exactly how this female oculist employed the wretched tools she had to work with.

I was fortunate enough to see a different operation going on in the same house, of which I can give a tolerable account. I found there another woman shaving a child’s head with a shark’s tooth stuck into the end of a piece of stick. I observed, that she first wet the hair with a rag dipped in water, applying her instrument to that part which she had previously soaked. The operation seemed to give no pain to the child, although the hair was taken off as close as if one of our razors had been employed. Encouraged by what I now saw, I soon after tried one of these singular instruments upon myself, and found it to be an excellent succedaneum. However, the men of these islands have recourse to another contrivance when they shave their beards. The operation is performed with two shells, one of which they place under a small part of the beard, and with the other applied above, they scrape that part off. In this manner they are able to shave very close. The process is, indeed, rather tedious, but not painful; and there are men amongst them who seem to profess this trade. It was as common, while we were here, to see our sailors go ashore to have their beards scraped off, after the fashion of Hapaee, as it was to see their chiefs come on board to be shaved by our barbers.

Finding that little or nothing of the produce of the island was now brought to the ships, I resolved to change our station, and to wait Feenou’s return from Vavaoo, in some other convenient anchoring-place, where refreshments might still be met with. Accordingly, in the forenoon of the 26th, we got under sail, and stood to the southward along the reef of the island; having fourteen and thirteen fathoms’ water, with a sandy bottom. However, we met with several detached shoals. Some of them were discovered by breakers; some by the water upon them appearing discoloured; and others by the lead. At half past two in the afternoon, having already passed several of these shoals, and seeing more of them before us, I hauled into a bay that lies between the south end of Lefooga, and the north end of Hoolaiva, and there anchored in seventeen fathoms’ water, the bottom a coral sand; the point of Lefooga bearing south-east by east, a mile and a half distant. The Discovery did not get to an anchor till sunset. She had touched upon one of the shoals, but backed off again without receiving any damage.

As soon as we had anchored, I sent Mr. Bligh to sound the bay where we were now stationed; and myself, accompanied by Mr. Gore, landed on the southern part of Lefooga, to examine the country, and to look for fresh water; not that we now wanted a supply of this article, having filled all the casks at our late station; but I had been told, that this part of the island could afford us some, preferable to any we had got at the former watering-place. This will not be the only time I shall have occasion to remark, that these people do not know what good water is. We were conducted to two wells; but the water in both of them proved to be execrable; and the natives, our guides, assured us that they had none better.

Near the south end of the island, and on the west side, we met with an artificial mount. From the size of some trees that were growing upon it, and from other appearances, I guessed that it had been raised in remote times. I judged it to be about forty feet high, and the diameter of its summit measured fifty feet. At the bottom of this mount stood a stone, which must have been hewn out of coral rock. It was four feet broad, two and a half thick, and fourteen high; and we were told by the natives present, that not above half its length appeared above ground. They called it Tangata Arekee [183] ; and said that it had been set up, and the mount raised, by some of their forefathers, in memory of one of their kings; but how long since they could not tell.

Night coming on, Mr. Gore and I returned on board; and, at the same time Mr. Bligh got back from sounding the bay, in which he found from fourteen to twenty fathoms’ water; the bottom for the most part sand, but not without some coral rocks. The place where we now anchored is much better sheltered than that which we had lately come from; but between the two is another anchoring station, much better than either. Lefooga and Hoolaiva are divided from each other by a reef of coral rocks, which is dry at low water; so that one may walk at that time, from the one to the other without wetting a foot. Some of our gentlemen, who landed in the latter island, did not find the least mark of cultivation, or habitation upon it, except a single hut, the residence of a man employed to catch fish and turtle. It is rather extraordinary that it should be in this deserted state, communicating so immediately with Lefooga, which is so perfectly cultivated; for though the soil is quite sandy, all the trees and plants found in a natural state on the neighbouring islands, are produced here with the greatest vigour. The east side of it has a reef like Lefooga; and the west side has a bending at the north part, where there seems to be good anchorage. Uninhabited as Hoolaiva is, an artificial mount, like that at the adjoining island, has been raised upon it, as high as some of the surrounding trees.

At day-break next morning I made the signal to weigh; and as I intended to attempt a passage to Annamooka, in my way to Tongataboo, by the south-west, amongst the intervening islands, I sent the master in a boat to sound before the ships. But before we could get under sail, the wind became unsettled; which made it unsafe to attempt a passage in this way, till we were better acquainted with it. I therefore lay fast, and made the signal for the master to return; and afterward sent him and the master of the Discovery, each in a boat, with instructions to examine the channels as far as they could, allowing themselves time to get back to the ships before the close of the day.

About noon a large sailing canoe came under our stern, in which was a person named Futtafaihe, or Poulaho, or both; who, as the natives then on board told us, was king of Tongataboo, and of all the neighbouring islands that we had seen or heard of. It was a matter of surprize to me to have a stranger introduced under this character, which I had so much reason to believe really belonged to another. But they persisted in their account of the supreme dignity of this new visitor; and now, for the first time, they owned to me that Feenou was not the king, but only a subordinate chief, though of great power, as he was often sent from Tongataboo to the other islands on warlike expeditions, or to decide differences. It being my interest as well as my inclination to pay court to all the great men, without making inquiry into the validity of their assumed titles; I invited Poulaho on board, as I understood he was very desirous to come. He could not be an unwelcome guest; for he brought with him, as a present to me, two good fat hogs, though not so fat as himself. If weight of body could give weight in rank or power, he was certainly the most eminent man in that respect we had seen; for, though not very tall, he was very unwieldy, and almost shapeless with corpulence. He seemed to be about forty years of age, had straight hair, and his features differed a good deal from those of the bulk of his people. I found him to be a sedate sensible man. He viewed the ship and the several new objects with uncommon attention; and asked many pertinent questions, one of which was, what could induce us to visit these islands? After he had satisfied his curiosity in looking at the cattle, and other novelties which he met with upon deck, I desired him to walk down into the cabin. To this some of his attendants objected, saying, that if he were to accept of that invitation, it must happen that people would walk over his head, which could not be permitted. I directed my interpreter Omai to tell them, that I would obviate their objection, by giving orders that no one should presume to walk upon that part of the deck which was over the cabin. Whether this expedient would have satisfied them was far from appearing; but the chief himself, less scrupulous in this respect than his attendants, waved all ceremony, and walked down without any stipulation. He now appeared to be as solicitous himself as his people were, to convince us that he was king, and not Feenou, who had passed with us as such, for he soon perceived that we had some doubts about it; which doubts Omai was not very desirous of removing. The closest connection had been formed between him and Feenou, in testimony of which they had exchanged names; and, therefore, he was not a little chagrined that another person now put in his claim to the honours which his friend had hitherto enjoyed.

Poulaho sat down with us to dinner; but he ate little, and drank less. When we arose from the table, he desired me to accompany him ashore. Omai was asked to be of the party; but he was too faithfully attached to Feenou to show any attention to his competitor; and therefore excused himself. I attended the chief in my own boat, having first made presents to him of such articles as I could observe he valued much, and were even beyond his expectation to receive. I was not disappointed in my view of thus securing his friendship; for the moment the boat reached the beach, and before he quitted her, he ordered two more hogs to be brought and delivered to my people to be conveyed on board. He was then carried out of the boat by some of his own people upon a board resembling a hand-barrow, and went and seated himself in a small house near the shore, which seemed to have been erected there for his accommodation. He placed me at his side; and his attendants, who were not numerous, seated themselves in a semi-circle before us on the outside of the house. Behind the chief, or rather on one side, sat an old woman with a sort of fan in her hand, whose office it was to prevent his being pestered with the flies.

The several articles which his people had got by trading on board the ships were now displayed before him. He looked over them all with attention, inquired what they had given in exchange, and seemed pleased with the bargains they had made. At length he ordered every thing to be restored to the respective owners, except a glass bowl, with which he was so much pleased that he reserved it for himself. The persons who brought these things to him first squatted themselves down before him, then they deposited their several purchases, and immediately rose up and retired. The same respectful ceremony was observed in taking them away; and not one of them presumed to speak to him standing. I stayed till several of his attendants left him, first paying him obeisance, by bowing the head down to the sole of his foot, and touching or tapping the same with the upper and under side of the fingers of both hands. Others who were not in the circle came, as it seemed, on purpose, and paid him this mark of respect, and then retired without speaking a word. I was quite charmed with the decorum that was observed. I had no where seen the like, not even amongst more civilized nations.

I found the master returned from his expedition when I got on board. He informed me, that, as far as he had proceeded, there was anchorage and a passage for the ships; but that towards the south and south-east he saw a number of small isles, shoals, and breakers. Judging from this report that my attempting a passage that way would be attended with some risk, I now dropped all thoughts of it, thinking it better to return toward Annamooka by the same route, which we had so lately experienced to be a safe one.

Having come to this resolution, I should have sailed next morning, if the wind had not been too far southerly, and, at the same time, very unsettled. Poulaho, the king, as I shall now call him, came on board betimes, and brought as a present to me, one of their caps, made, or at least covered with red feathers. These caps were much sought after by us, for we knew they would be highly valued at Otaheite. But though very large prices were offered, not one was ever brought for sale; which showed that they were no less valuable in the estimation of the people here; nor was there a person in either ship that could make himself the proprietor of one, except myself, Captain Clerke, and Omai. These caps, or rather bonnets, are composed of the tail feathers of the tropic bird, with the red feathers of the parroquets wrought upon them, or jointly with them. They are made so as to tie upon the forehead without any crown, and have the form of a semicircle, whose radius is eighteen or twenty inches. The chief stayed on board till the evening, when he left us; but his brother, whose name was also Futtafaihe, and one or two or more of his attendants, continued in the ship all night.

At day-break the next morning, I weighed with a fine breeze at east north-east, and stood to the westward, with a view to return to Annamooka, by the track we had already experienced. We were followed by several sailing canoes, in one of which was the king. As soon as he got on board the Resolution he inquired for his brother, and the others who had remained with us all night. It now appeared that they had staid without his leave; for he gave them, in a very few words, such a reprimand as brought tears from their eyes; and yet they were men not less than thirty years of age. He was, however, soon reconciled to their making a longer stay; for, on quitting us, he left his brother and five of his attendants on board. We had also the company of a chief just then arrived from Tongataboo, whose name was Tooboueitoa. The moment he arrived, he sent his canoe away, and declared that he and five more who came with him would sleep on board; so that I had now my cabin filled with visitors. This, indeed, was some inconvenience; but I bore with it more willingly, as they brought plenty of provisions with them as presents to me, for which they always had suitable returns.

About one o’clock in the afternoon, the easterly wind was succeeded by a fresh breeze at south south-east. Our course, now being south south-west, or more southerly, we were obliged to ply to windward, and did but just fetch the north side of Footooha, by eight o’clock, where we spent the night, making short boards.

The next morning, we plied up to Lofanga, where, according to the information of our friends, there was anchorage. It was one o’clock, in the afternoon, before we got soundings, under the lee or north-west side, in forty fathoms’ water, near half a mile from the shore; but the bank was steep, and the bottom rocky, and a chain of breakers lay to leeward. All these circumstances being against us, I stretched away for Kotoo, with the expectation of finding better anchoring ground under that island. But so much time had been spent in plying up to Lofanga, that it was dark before we reached the other; and, finding no place to anchor in, the night was spent as the preceding one.

At day-break, on the 31st, I stood for the channel which is between Kotoo, and the reef of rocks that lie to the westward of it; but on drawing near, I found the wind too scant to lead us through. I, therefore, bore up on the outside of the reef, and stretched to the south west, till near noon, when perceiving that we made no progress to windward, and being apprehensive of losing the islands, with so many of the natives on board, I tacked and stood back, intending to wait till some more favourable opportunity. We did but just fetch in with Footooha, between which and Kotoo we spent the night, under reefed topsails and foresail. The wind blew fresh, and by squalls, with rain; and we were not without apprehensions of danger. I kept the deck till midnight, when I left it to the master, with such directions as, I thought, would keep the ships clear of the shoals and rocks that lay round us. But, after making a trip to the north, and standing back again to the south, our ship, by a small shift of the wind, fetched farther to the windward than was expected. By this means she was very near running full upon a low sandy isle, called Pootoo Pootooa, surrounded with breakers. It happened very fortunately that the people had just been ordered upon the deck, to put the ship about, and the most of them were at their stations; so that the necessary movements were not only executed with judgment, but also with alertness; and this alone saved us from destruction. The Discovery being astern, was out of danger. Such hazardous situations are the unavoidable companions of the man, who goes upon a voyage of discovery.

This circumstance frightened our passengers so much, that they expressed a strong desire to get ashore. Accordingly, as soon as day-light returned, I hoisted out a boat, and ordered the officer who commanded her, after landing them at Kotoo, to sound along the reef that spits off from that island, for anchorage. For I was full as much tired as they could be, with beating about amongst the surrounding isles and shoals, and determined to get to an anchor somewhere or other if possible. While the boat was absent, we attempted to turn the ships through the channel, between the sandy isle and the reef of Kotoo, in expectation of finding a moderate depth of water behind them to anchor in. But, meeting with a tide or current against us, we were obliged to desist, and anchor in fifty fathoms’ water, with the sandy isle bearing east by north, one mile distant.

We lay here till the 4th. While in this station we were, several times, visited by the king, by Tooboueitoa, and by people from the neighbouring islands, who came off to trade with us, though the wind blew very fresh most of the time. The master was now sent to sound the channels between the islands that lie to the eastward; and I landed on Kotoo, to examine it in the forenoon of the 2d.

This island is scarcely accessible by boats, on account of coral reefs that surround it. It is not more than a mile and half, or two miles, long; and not so broad. The north west end of it is low, like the islands of Hapaee; but it rises suddenly in the middle, and terminates in reddish clayey cliffs, at the south-east end, about thirty feet high. The soil, in that quarter, is of the same sort as in the cliffs; but, in the other parts, it is a loose, black mould. It produces the same fruits and roots which we found at the other islands; is tolerably cultivated, but thinly inhabited. While I was walking all over it, our people were employed in cutting some grass for the cattle; and we planted some melon seeds, with which the natives seemed much pleased, and inclosed them with branches. On our return to the boat, we passed by two or three ponds of dirty water, which was more or less brackish in each of them; and saw one of their burying-places, which was much neater than those that were met with at Hapaee.

On the 4th, at seven in the morning, we weighed; and, with a fresh gale at east south-east, stood away for Annamooka, where we anchored, next morning, nearly in the same station which we had so lately occupied.

I went on shore soon after, and found the inhabitants very busy in their plantations, digging up yams to bring to market; and, in the course of the day, about two hundred of them had assembled on the beach, and traded with as much eagerness as during our late visit. Their stock appeared to have been recruited much, though we had returned so soon; but, instead of bread-fruit, which was the only article we could purchase on our first arrival, nothing was to be seen now but yams, and a few plantains. This shows the quick succession of the seasons, at least of the different vegetables produced here, at the several times of the year. It appeared also that they had been very busy, while we were absent, in cultivating; for we now saw several large plantain fields, in places which we had, so lately seen lying waste. The yams were now in the greatest perfection; and we procured a good quantity, in exchanges for pieces of iron.

These people in the absence of Toobou, whom we left behind us, at Kotoo, with Poulaho and the other chiefs, seemed to be under little subordination. For we could not perceive, this day, that one man assumed more authority than another. Before I returned on board, I visited the several places where I had sown melon seeds, and had the mortification to find, that most of them were destroyed by a small ant; but some pine-apple plants, which I had also left, were in a thriving state.

About noon next day, Feenou arrived from Vavaoo. He told us that several canoes, laden with hogs, and other provisions, which had sailed with him from that island, had been lost, owing to the late blowing weather; and that every body on board them had perished. This melancholy tale did not seem to affect any of his countrymen who heard it; and as to ourselves, we were by this time too well acquainted with his character, to give much credit to such a story. The truth, probably was, that he had not been able to procure at Vavaoo the supplies which he expected; or, if he got any there, that he had left them at Hapaee, which lay in his way back, and where he could not but receive intelligence that Poulaho had been with us; who therefore, he knew, would, as his superior, have all the merit and reward of procuring them, though he had not any share of the trouble. The invention of this loss at sea was, however, well imagined; for there had lately been very blowing weather; in so much, that the king and other chiefs, who had followed us from Hapaee to Kotoo, had been left there, not caring to venture to sea when we did; but desired I might wait for them at Annamooka, which was the reason of my anchoring there, this second time, and of my not proceeding directly to Tongataboo.

The following morning Poulaho, and the other chiefs who had been wind-bound with him, arrived. I happened at this time to be ashore in company with Feenou, who now seemed to be sensible of the impropriety of his conduct, in assuming a character that did not belong to him. For he not only acknowledged Poulaho to be king of Tongataboo, and the other isles; but affected to insist much on it, which, no doubt, was with a view to make amends for his former presumption. I left him to visit this greater man, whom I found sitting with a few people before him. But, every one hastening to pay court to him, the circle increased pretty fast. I was very desirous of observing Feenou’s behaviour on this occasion; and had the most convincing proof of his superiority; for he placed himself amongst the rest that sat before Poulaho, as attendants on his majesty. He seemed at first rather abashed; as some of us were present who had been used to see him act a different part; but he soon recovered himself. Some little conversation passed between these two chiefs which none of us understood; nor were we satisfied with Omai’s interpretation of it. We were, however, by this time sufficiently undeceived as to Feenou’s rank. Both he and Poulaho went on board with me to dinner; but only the latter sat at table. Feenou, having made his obeisance in the usual way, saluting his sovereign’s foot with his head and hands, retired out of the cabin. [184] The king had before told us, that this would happen; and it now appeared that Feenou could not even eat or drink in his royal presence.

At eight o’clock next morning, we weighed and steered for Tongataboo, having a gentle breeze at north-east. About fourteen or fifteen sailing vessels, belonging to the natives, set out without us; but every one of them outrun the ships considerably. Feenou was to have taken his passage in the Resolution, but preferred his own canoe; and put two men on board, to conduct us to the best anchorage. We steered south by west by compass.

At five in the afternoon we saw two small islands bearing west, about four leagues distant. Our pilots called the one Hoonga Hapaee, and the other Hoonga Tonga. They lie in the latitude of 20° 36ʹ; and ten or eleven leagues from the west point of Annamooka, in the direction of south, 46° west. According to the account of the islanders on board, only five men reside upon Hoonga Hapaee; and Hoonga Tonga is uninhabited; but both of them abound with sea-fowl.

We continued the same course till two o’clock next morning, when, seeing some lights ahead, and not knowing whether they were on shore, or on board the canoes, we hauled the wind, and made a short trip each way till day-break. We then resumed our course to the south by west; and presently after, saw several small islands before us, and Eooa and Tongataboo beyond them. We had at this time twenty-five fathoms’ water, over a bottom of broken coral and sand. The depth gradually decreased as we drew near the isles above mentioned, which lie ranged along the north-east side of Tongataboo. By the direction of our pilots we steered for the middle of it, and for the widest space between the small isles which we were to pass; having our boats ahead, employed in sounding. We were insensibly drawn upon a large flat, upon which lay innumerable coral rocks, of different depths, below the surface of the water. Notwithstanding all our care and attention to keep the ship clear of them, we could not prevent her from striking on one of these rocks. Nor did the Discovery, though behind us, escape any better. Fortunately, neither of the ships stuck fast, nor received any damage. We could not get back without increasing the danger, as we had come in almost before the wind. Nor could we cast anchor, but with the certainty of having our cables instantly cut in two by the rocks. We had no other resource but to proceed. To this indeed, we were encouraged, not only by being told, but by seeing, that there was deeper water between us and the shore. However, that we might be better informed, the moment we found a spot where we could drop the anchor clear of rocks, we came-to; and sent the masters with the boats, to sound.

Soon after we had anchored, which was about noon, several of the inhabitants of Tongataboo came off in their canoes to the ships. These, as well as our pilots, assured us, that we should find deep water farther in, and a bottom free from rocks. They were not mistaken; for about four o’clock, the boats made the signal for having found good anchorage. Upon this we weighed, and stood in till dark, and then anchored in nine fathoms, having a fine, clear, sandy bottom.

During the night we had some showers of rain; but toward the morning, the wind shifted to the south, and south-east, and brought on fair weather. At day-break we weighed, and working in to the shore, met with no obstructions, but such as were visible, and easily avoided.

While we were plying up to the harbour, to which the natives directed us, the king kept sailing round us in his canoe. There were at the same time, a great many small canoes about the ships. Two of these, which could not get out of the way of his royal vessel, he run quite over, with as little concern, as if they had been bits of wood. Amongst many others who came on board the Resolution, was Otago, who had been so useful to me when I visited Tongataboo during my last voyage; and one Toobou, who, at that time, had attached himself to Captain Furneaux. Each of them brought a hog and some yams, as a testimony of his friendship; and I was not wanting, on my part, in making a suitable return.

At length, about two in the afternoon, we arrived at our intended station. It was a very snug place, formed by the shore of Tongataboo on the south-east, and two small islands on the east and north-east. Here we anchored in ten fathoms’ water, over a bottom of oozy sand; distant from the shore one-third of a mile.