He Left On The Rocks Some
Medals, Nails, And A Knife, Which They No Doubt Found, As Some Were Seen
Near The Place Afterwards.
This island is not quite a league in length, in
the direction of N.E. and S.W., and not half that in breadth.
It is covered
with wood, and surrounded by a reef of coral rocks, which in some places
extend two miles from the shore. It seems to be too small to contain many
inhabitants; and probably the few whom we saw, may have come from some isle
in the neighbourhood to fish for turtle; as many were seen near this reef,
and occasioned that name to be given to the island, which is situated in
latitude 19 deg. 48' south, longitude 178 deg. 21' west.[1]
Seeing breakers to the S.S.W., which I was desirous of knowing the extent
of before night, I left Turtle Isle, and stood for them. At two o'clock we
found they were occasioned by a coral bank, of about four or five leagues
in circuit. By the bearing we had taken, we knew these to be the same
breakers we had seen the preceding evening. Hardly any part of this bank or
reef is above water at the reflux of the waves. The heads of some of the
rocks are to be seen near the edge of the reef, where it is the shoalest;
for in the middle is deep water. In short, this bank wants only a few
little islets to make it exactly like one of the half-drowned isles so
often mentioned. It lies S.W. from Turtle Island, about five or six miles,
and the channel between it and the reef of that isle is three miles over.
Seeing no more shoals or islands, and thinking there might be turtle on
this bank, two boats were properly equipped and sent thither; but returned
without having seen one.
The boats were now hoisted in, and we made sail to the west, with a brisk
gale at east, which continued till the 9th, when we had for a few hours, a
breeze at N.W., attended with squalls of rain. This was succeeded by a
steady fresh gale at S.E., with which we steered N.W., being at this time
in the latitude of 20 deg. 20' S. longitude 176 deg. 8' E.
On the 15th at noon, being in the latitude of 15 deg. 9' south, longitude 171 deg.
16' east, I steered west. The next day the weather was foggy, and the wind
blew in heavy squalls, attended with rain, which in this ocean, within the
tropics, generally indicates the vicinity of some high land. This was
verified at three in the afternoon, when high land was seen bearing S.W.
Upon this we took in the small sails, reefed the top-sails, and hauling up
for it, at half-past five we could see it extend from S.S.W. to N.N.W. half
W. Soon after we tacked and spent the night, which was very stormy, in
plying. Our boards were disadvantageous; for, in the morning, we found we
had lost ground. This, indeed, was no wonder, for having an old suit of
sails bent, the most of them were split to pieces; particularly a fore-top-
sail, which was rendered quite useless. We got others to the yards, and
continued to ply, being desirous of getting round the south ends of the
lands, or at least so far to the south as to be able to judge of their
extent in that direction. For no one doubted that this was the Australia
del Espiritu Santo of Quiros, which M. de Bougainville calls the Great
Cyclades, and that the coast we were now upon was the east side of Aurora
Island, whose longitude is 168 deg. 30' E.
The gale kept increasing till we were reduced to our low sails; so that, on
the 18th, at seven in the morning, I gave over plying, set the top-sails
double-reefed, bore up for, and hauled round the north end of Aurora
Island, and then stretched over for the Isle of Lepers, under close-reefed
topsails and courses, with a very hard gale at N.E.; but we had now the
advantage of a smooth sea, having the Isle of Aurora to windward. At noon
the north end of it bore N.E. 1/2 N., distant four leagues; our latitude,
found by double altitudes, and reduced to this time, was 15 deg. 1' 30" south,
longitude 168 deg. 14' east. At two o'clock p.m. we drew near the middle of the
Isle of Lepers, and tacked about two miles from land; in which situation we
had no soundings with a line of seventy fathoms. We now saw people on the
shore, and many beautiful cascades of water pouring down the neighbouring
hills. The next time we stood for this isle, we came to within half a mile
of it, where we found thirty fathoms a sandy bottom; but a mile off we
found no soundings at seventy fathoms. Here two canoes came off to us, in
one of which were three men, and in the other but one. Though we made all
the signs of friendship, we could not bring them nearer than a stone's
throw; and they made but a short stay before they retired ashore, where we
saw a great number of people assembled in parties, and armed with bows and
arrows. They were of a very dark colour; and, excepting some ornaments at
their breast and arms, seemed to be entirely naked.
As I intended to get to the south, in order to explore the land which might
lie there, we continued to ply between the Isle of Lepers and Aurora; and
on the 19th, at noon, the south end of the last-mentioned isle bore south
24 deg. east, and the north end north, distant twenty miles.
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