A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xii Part 26

SECTION VI.

_A general Description of the S.E. Part of Terra del Fuego, and the Streight of Le Maire; with some Remarks on Lord Anson's Account of them, and Directions for the Pa.s.sage Westward, round this Part of America, into the South Seas_.

Almost all writers who have mentioned the island of Terra del Fuego, describe it as dest.i.tute of wood, and covered with snow. In the winter it may possibly be covered with snow, and those who saw it at that season might perhaps be easily deceived, by its appearance, into an opinion that it was dest.i.tute of wood. Lord Anson was there in the beginning of March, which answers to our September; and we were there the beginning of January, which answers to our July, which way account for the difference of his description of it from ours. We fell in with it about twenty-one leagues to the westward of the streight of Le Maire, and from the time that we first saw it, trees were plainly to be distinguished with our gla.s.ses; and as we came nearer, though here and there we discovered patches of snow, the sides of the hills and the sea-coast appeared to be covered with a beautiful verdure. The hills are lofty, but not mountainous, though the summits of them are quite naked.

The soil in the valleys is rich, and of a considerable depth; and at the foot of almost every hill there is a brook, the water of which has a reddish hue, like that which runs through our turf bogs in England, but it is by no means ill tasted, and upon the whole proved to be the best that we took in during our voyage. We ranged the coast to the streight, and had soundings all the way from 40 to 20 fathom, upon a gravelly and sandy bottom. The most remarkable land on Terra del Fuego is a hill, in the form of a sugar-loaf, which stands on the west side not far from the sea; and the three hills, called the Three Brothers, about nine miles to the westward of Cape St Diego, the low point that forms the north entrance of the streight of Le Maire.

It is said in the account of Lord Anson's voyage, that it is difficult to determine exactly where the streight lies, though the appearance of Terra del Fuego be well known, without knowing also the appearance of Staten Land; and that some navigators have been deceived by three hills on Staten Land, which have been mistaken for the Three Brothers on Terra del Fuego, and so overshot the streight. But no s.h.i.+p can possibly miss the streight that coasts Terra del Fuego within sight of land, for it will then, of itself, be sufficiently conspicuous; and Staten Land, which forms the east side, will be still more manifestly distinguished, for there is no land on Terra del Fuego like it. The streight of Le Maire can be missed only by standing too far to the eastward, without keeping the land of Terra del Fuego in sight: If this is done, it may be missed, however accurately the appearance of the coast of Staten Land may have been exhibited; and if this is not done, it cannot be missed, though the appearance of that coast be not known. The entrance of the streight should not be attempted but with a fair wind and moderate weather, and upon the very beginning of the tide of flood, which happens here, at the full and change of the moon, about one or two o'clock; it is also best to keep as near to the Terra del Fuego sh.o.r.e as the winds will admit. By attending to these particulars, a s.h.i.+p may be got quite through the streight in one tide; or, at least, to the southward of Success Bay, into which it will be more prudent to put, if the wind should be southerly, than to attempt the weathering of Staten Land with a lee wind and a current, which may endanger her being driven on that island.

The streight itself, which is bounded on the west by Terra del Fuego, and on the east by the west end of Staten Land, is about five leagues long, and as many broad. The Bay of Good Success lies about the middle of it, on the Terra del Fuego side, and is discovered immediately upon entering the streight from the northward; and the south head of it may be distinguished by a mark on the land, that has the appearance of a broad road, leading up from the sea into the country: At the entrance it is half a league wide, and runs in westward about two miles and a half.

There is good anchorage in every part of it, in from ten to seven fathom, clear ground; and it affords plenty of exceeding good wood and water. The tides flow in the bay, at the full and change of the moon, about four or five o'clock, and rise about five or six feet perpendicular. But the flood runs two or three hours longer in the streight than in the bay; and the ebb, or northerly current, runs with near double the strength of the flood.

In the appearance of Staten Land, we did not discover the wildness and horror that is ascribed to it in the account of Lord Anson's voyage. On the north side are the appearances of bays or harbours; and the land when we saw it, was neither dest.i.tute of wood nor verdure, nor covered with snow. The island seems to be about twelve leagues in length and five broad.

On the west side of the Cape of Good Success, which forms the S.W.

entrance of the streight, lies Valentine's Bay, of which we only saw the entrance; from this bay the land trends away to the W.S.W. for twenty or thirty leagues; it appears to be high and mountainous, and forms several bays and inlets.

At the distance of fourteen leagues from the Bay of Good Success, in the direction of S.W.1/2 W. and between two and three leagues from the sh.o.r.e, lies New Island. It is about two leagues in length from N.E. to S.W. and terminates to the N.E. in a remarkable hillock. At the distance of seven leagues from New Island, in the direction of S.W. lies the isle _Evouts_; and a little to the west of the south of this island lie Barnevelt's two small flat islands, close to each other; they are partly surrounded with rocks, which rise to different heights above the water, and lie twenty-four leagues from the streight of Le Maire. At the distance of three leagues from Barnevelt's islands, in the direction of S.W. by S. lies the S.E. point of Hermit's islands: These islands lie S.E. and N.W. and are pretty high: From most points of view they will be taken for one island, or a part of the main.

From the S.E. point of Hermit's islands to Cape Horn the course is S.W.

by S. distance three leagues.

In the chart I drew of this coast, from our first making land to the cape, which includes the Streight of Le Maire, and part of Staten Land, I have laid down no land, nor traced out any sh.o.r.e, but what I saw myself, and thus far it may be depended upon: The bays and inlets, of which we saw only the openings, are not traced; it can, however, scarcely be doubted but that most, if not all of them, afford anchorage, wood and water. The Dutch squadron, commanded by Hermit, certainly put into some of them in the year 1624: And it was Chapenham, the vice-admiral of this squadron, who first discovered that the land of Cape Horn consisted of a number of islands. The account, however, which those who sailed in Hermit's fleet have given of these parts, is extremely defective; and those of Schouton and Le Maire are still worse: It is therefore no wonder that the charts. .h.i.therto published should be erroneous, not only in laying down the land, but in the lat.i.tude and longitude of the places they contain. I will, however, venture to a.s.sert, that the longitude of few parts of the world is better ascertained than that of the Streight of Le Maire, and Cape Horn, in the chart now alluded to, as it was laid down by several observations of the sun and moon that were made both by myself and Mr Green.[82]

[Footnote 82: This chart is necessarily omitted. Krusenstern, speaking of the observations respecting the position of Cape St John, says, "There are few cities in Europe, the geographical longitude of which is determined with the same degree of accuracy as that of this barren rock, in one of the roughest and most inhospitable islands of the globe. But how infinitely important is this accuracy to the safety of s.h.i.+pping!" He verified Cook's determination of the longitude of this cape.--E.]

The variation of the compa.s.s on this coast I found to be from 23 to 25 E. except near Barnevelt's islands and Cape Horn, where we found it less, and unsettled: Probably it is disturbed here by the land, as Hermit's squadron, in this very place, found all their compa.s.ses differ from each other. The declination of the dipping-needle, when set upon sh.o.r.e in Success Bay, was 68 15' below the horizon.

Between Streight Le Maire and Cape Horn we found a current setting, generally very strong, to the N.E. when we were in with the sh.o.r.e; but lost it when we were at the distance of fifteen or twenty leagues.

On the 26th of January, we took our departure from Cape Horn, which lies in lat.i.tude 55 53' S. longitude 68 13' W. The farthest southern lat.i.tude that we made was 60 10', our longitude was then 74 30' W.; and we found the variation of the compa.s.s, by the mean of eighteen azimuths, to be 27 9' E. As the weather was frequently calm, Mr Banks went out in a small boat to shoot birds, among which were some albatrosses and sheer-waters. The albatrosses were observed to be larger than those which had been taken northward of the streight; one of them measured ten feet two inches from the tip of one wing to that of the other, when they were extended: The sheer-water, on the contrary, is less, and darker coloured on the back. The albatrosses we skinned, and having soaked them in salt water till the morning, we parboiled them, then throwing away the liquor, stewed them in a very little fresh water till they were tender, and had them served up with savoury sauce; thus dressed, the dish was universally commended, and we eat of it very heartily even when there was fresh pork upon the table.

From a variety of observations which were made with great care, it appeared probable in the highest degree, that, from the time of our leaving the land to the 13th of February, when we were in lat.i.tude 49 32', and longitude 90 37', we had no current to the west.

At this time we had advanced about 12 to the westward, and 3 and 1/2 to the northward of the Streight of Magellan: Having been just three and thirty days in coming round the land of Terra del Fuego, or Cape Horn, from the east entrance of the streight to this situation. And though the doubling of Cape Horn is so much dreaded, that, in the general opinion, it is more eligible to pa.s.s through the Streight of Magellan, we were not once brought under our close reefed top sails after we left the Streight of Le Maire. The Dolphin in her last voyage, which she performed at the same season of the year with ours, was three months in getting through the Streight of Magellan, exclusive of the time that she lay in Port Famine; and I am persuaded, from the winds we had, that if we had come by that pa.s.sage, we should not at this time have been in these seas; that our people would have been fatigued, and our anchors, cables, sails, and rigging much damaged; neither of which inconveniences we had now suffered. But supposing it more eligible to go round the cape, than through the Streight of Magellan, it may still be questioned, whether it is better to go through the Streight of Le Maire, or stand to the eastward, and go round to Staten Land. The advice given in the account of Lord Anson's voyage is, "That all s.h.i.+ps bound to the South Seas, instead of pa.s.sing through the Streight of Le Maire, should constantly pa.s.s to the eastward, of Staten Land, and should be invariably bent on running to the southward as far as the lat.i.tude of 61 or 62 degrees, before they endeavour to stand to the westward." But, in my opinion, different circ.u.mstances may at one time render it eligible to pa.s.s through the streight, and to keep to the eastward of Staten Land at another. If the land is fallen in with to the westward of the streight, and the wind is favourable for going through, I think it would be very injudicious to lose time by going round Staten Land, as I am confident that, by attending to the directions which I have given, the streight may be pa.s.sed with the utmost safety and convenience: But if, on the contrary, the land is fallen in with to the eastward of the streight, and the wind should prove tempestuous or unfavourable, I think it would be best to go round Staten Land. But I cannot in any case concur in recommending the running into the lat.i.tude of 61 or 62, before any endeavour is made to stand to the westward. We found neither the current nor the storms which the running so far to the southward is supposed necessary to avoid; and indeed, as the winds almost constantly blow from that quarter, it is scarcely possible to pursue the advice.

The navigator has no choice but to stand to the southward, close upon a wind, and by keeping upon that tack, he will not only make southing, but westing; and, if the wind varies towards the north or the west, his westing will be considerable. It will indeed be highly proper to make sure of a westing sufficient to double all the lands, before an attempt is made to stand to the northward, and to this every man's own prudence will of necessity direct him.[83]

We now began to have strong gales and heavy seas, with irregular intervals of calm and fine weather.

[Footnote 83: Captain Krusenstern gave the preference to weathering the island: "Although," says he, "the wind was very favourable for us to have pa.s.sed through Streight Le Maire, I thought it better to sail round Staten Land, the violent currents in the streight being often very dangerous to s.h.i.+pping, as the experience of many navigators has shewn; and the advantages, on the contrary, but very trifling, since, the only wind which will carry you through it, soon brings you back the short distance to the westward, which you lose by steering an easterly course round Cape John."--E.]

SECTION VII.

_The Sequel of the Pa.s.sage from Cape Horn to the newly discovered Islands in the South Seas, with a Description of their Figure and Appearance; some Account of the Inhabitants, and several Incidents that happened during the Course, and at the s.h.i.+p's Arrival among them_.

On the 1st of March, we were in lat.i.tude 38 44' S. and longitude 110 33' W. both by observation and by the log. This agreement, after a run of 660 leagues, was thought to be very extraordinary; and is a demonstration, that after we left the land of Cape Horn we had no current that affected the s.h.i.+p. It renders it also highly probable, that we had been near no land of any considerable extent; for currents are always found when land is not remote, and sometimes, particularly on the east side of the continent in the North Sea, when land has been distant one hundred leagues.

Many birds, as usual, were constantly about the s.h.i.+p, so that Mr Banks killed no less than sixty-two in one day; and what is more remarkable, he caught two forest flies, both of them of the same species, but different from any that have hitherto been described; these probably belonged to the birds, and came with them from the land, which we judged to be at a great distance. Mr Banks also, about this time, found a large cuttle-fish, which had just been killed by the birds, floating in a mangled condition upon the water; it is very different from the cuttle-fishes that are found in the European seas; for its arms, instead of suckers, were furnished with a double row of very sharp talons, which resemble those of a cat, and, like them, were retractable into a sheath of skin, from which they might be thrust at pleasure. Of this cuttle-fish we made one of the best soups we had ever tasted.

The albatrosses now began to leave us, and after the 8th there was not one to be seen. We continued our course without any memorable event till the 24th, when some of the people who were upon the watch in the night reported that they saw a log of wood pa.s.s by the s.h.i.+p; and that the sea, which was rather rough, became suddenly as smooth as a mill-pond. It was a general opinion, that there was land to windward; but I did not think myself at liberty to search for what I was not sure to find; though I judged we were not far from the islands that were discovered by Quiros in 1606. Our lat.i.tude was 22 11' S. and longitude 127 55' W.[84]

[Footnote 84: Arrowsmith has laid down Ducies Island very near to this position. See his map of America.]

On the 25th, about noon, one of the marines, a young fellow about twenty, was placed as sentry at the cabin-door; while he was upon this duty, one of my servants was at the same place preparing to cut a piece of seal-skin into tobacco-pouches: He had promised one to several of the men, but had refused one to this young fellow, though he had asked him several times; upon which he jocularly threatened to steal one, if it should be in his power. It happened that the servant, being called hastily away, gave the skin in charge to the centinel, without regarding what had pa.s.sed between them. The centinel immediately secured a piece of the skin, which the other missing at his return, grew angry; but, after some altercation; contented himself with taking it away, declaring, that, for so trifling an affair, he would not complain of him to the officers. But it happened that one of his fellow-soldiers, overhearing the dispute, came to the knowledge of what had happened, and told it to the rest; who, taking it into their heads to stand up for the honour of their corps, reproached the offender with great bitterness, and reviled him in the most opprobrious terms; they exaggerated his offence into a crime of the deepest dye; they said it was a theft by a centry when he was upon duty, and of a thing that had been committed to his trust; they declared it a disgrace to a.s.sociate with him; and the serjeant, in particular, said, that, if the person from whom the skin had been stolen would not complain, he would complain himself; for that his honour would suffer if the offender was not punished. From the scoffs and reproaches of these men of honour, the poor young fellow retired to his hammock in an agony of confusion and shame. The serjeant soon after went to him, and ordered him to follow him to the deck. He obeyed without reply; but it being in the dusk of the evening, he slipped from the serjeant and went forward. He was seen by some of the people, who thought he was gone to the head; but a search being made for him afterwards, it was found that he had thrown himself overboard; and I was then first made acquainted with the theft and its circ.u.mstances. The loss of this man was the more regretted, as he was remarkably quiet and industrious.

On Tuesday the 4th of April, about ten o'clock in the morning, Mr Banks's servant, Peter Briscoe, discovered land, bearing south, at the distance of about three or four leagues. I immediately hauled up for it, and found it to be an island of an oval form, with a lagoon in the middle, which occupied much the larger part of it; the border of land which circ.u.mscribes the lagoon is in many places very low and narrow, particularly on the south side, where it consists princ.i.p.ally of a beach or reef of rocks: It has the same appearance also in three places on the north side; so that the firm land being disjoined, the whole looks like many islands covered with wood. On the west end of the island is a large tree, or clump of trees, that in appearance resembles a tower; and about the middle are two cocoa-nut trees, which rise above all the rest, and, as we came near to the island, appeared like a flag. We approached it on the north side, and though we came within a mile, we found no bottom with one hundred and thirty fathom of line, nor did there appear to be any anchorage about it. The whole is covered with trees of different verdure, but we could distinguish none, even with our gla.s.ses, except cocoa-nuts and palm-nuts. We saw several of the natives upon the sh.o.r.e, and counted four-and-twenty. They appeared to be tall, and to have heads remarkably large; perhaps they had something wound round them, which we could not distinguish; they were of a copper colour, and had long black hair. Eleven of them walked along the beach abreast of the s.h.i.+p, with poles or pikes in their hands, which reached twice as high as themselves. While they walked on the beach they seemed to be naked; but soon after they retired, which they did as soon as the s.h.i.+p had pa.s.sed the island, they covered themselves with something that made them appear of a light colour. Their habitations were under some clumps of palm-nut trees, which at a distance appeared like high ground; and to us, who for a long time had seen nothing but water and sky, except the dreary hills of Terra del Fuego, these groves seemed a terrestrial paradise. To this spot, which lies in lat.i.tude 18 47' S. and longitude 139 28' W. we gave the name of _Lagoon Island_. The variation of the needle here is 2 54' E.

About one o'clock we made sail to the westward, and about half an hour after three we saw land again to the N.W. We got up with it at sun-set; and it proved to be a low woody island, of a circular form, and not much above a mile in compa.s.s. We discovered no inhabitants, nor could we distinguish any cocoa-nut trees, though we were within half a mile of the sh.o.r.e. The land, however, was covered with verdure of many hues. It lies in lat.i.tude 18 35' S. and longitude 139 48' W. and is distant from Lagoon Island, in the direction of N. 62 W. about seven leagues. We called it _Thrumb-Cap_. I discovered, by the appearance of the sh.o.r.e, that at this place it was low water; and I had observed at Lagoon Island, that it was either high-water, or that the sea neither ebbed nor flowed. I infer, therefore, that a S. by E. or S. moon makes high water.

We went on with a fine trade-wind and pleasant weather; and on the 5th, about three in the afternoon, we discovered land to the westward. It proved to be a low island, of much greater extent than either of those that we had seen before, being about ten or twelve leagues in compa.s.s.

Several of us remained at the mast-head the whole evening, admiring its extraordinary figure. It was shaped exactly like a bow; the arch and cord of which were land, and the s.p.a.ce between them water; the cord was a flat beach, without any signs of vegetation, having nothing upon it but heaps of sea-weed, which lay in different ridges, as higher or lower tides had left them. It appeared to be about three or four leagues long, and not more than two hundred yards wide: but as a horizontal plane is always seen in perspective, and greatly foreshortened, it is certainly much wider than it appeared: The horns, or extremities of the bow, were two large tufts of cocoa-nut trees; and much the greater part of the arch was covered with trees of different height, figure, and hue; in some parts, however, it was naked and low like the cord. Some of us thought they discovered openings through the cord into the pool or lake, that was included between that and the bow; but whether there were or were not such openings is uncertain. We sailed abreast of the low beach or bowstring, within less than a league of the sh.o.r.e, till sun-set, and we then judged ourselves to be about half-way between the two horns.

Here we brought-to, and sounded, but found no bottom with one hundred and thirty fathom; and as it is dark almost instantly after sun-set in these lat.i.tudes, we suddenly lost sight of the land; and making sail again, before the line was well hauled in, we steered by the sound of the breakers, which were distinctly heard till we got clear of the coast.

We knew this island to be inhabited, by smoke which we saw in different parts of it, and we gave it the name of _Bow Island_. Mr Gore, my second lieutenant, said, after we had sailed by the island, that he had seen several of the natives, under the first clump of trees, from the deck; that he had distinguished their houses, and seen several canoes hauled up under the shade; but in this he was more fortunate than any other person on board. The east end of this island, which, from its figure, we called the Bow, lies in lat.i.tude 18 23' S. and longitude 141 12' W. We observed the variation of the compa.s.s to be 5 38' E.

On the next day, Thursday the 6th, about noon, we saw land again to the westward, and came up with it about three. It appeared to be two islands, or rather groups of islands, extending from N.W. by N. to S.E.

by S. about nine leagues. Of these, the two largest were separated from each other by a channel of about half-a-mile broad, and were severally surrounded by smaller islands, to which they were joined by reefs that lay under water.

These islands were long narrow strips of land, ranging in all directions, some of them ten miles or upwards in length, but none more than a quarter of a mile broad, and upon all of them there were trees of various kinds, particularly the cocoa-nut. The south-eastermost of them lies in the lat.i.tude of 18 12' S. and longitude 142 42' W. and at the distance of twenty-five leagues in the direction of W.1/2 N. from the west end of Bow Island. We ranged along the S.W. side of this island, and hauled into a bay which lies to the N.W. of the southermost point of the Group, where there was a smooth sea, and the appearance of anchorage, without much surf on the sh.o.r.e. We sounded, but we found no bottom with one hundred fathom, at the distance of no more than three quarters of a mile from the beach, and I did not think it prudent to go nearer.

While this was doing, several of the inhabitants a.s.sembled upon the sh.o.r.e, and some came out in their canoes as far as the reefs, but would not pa.s.s them: When we saw this, we ranged, with an easy sail, along the sh.o.r.e; but just as we were pa.s.sing the end of the island, six men, who had for some time kept abreast of the s.h.i.+p, suddenly launched two canoes with great quickness and dexterity, and three of them getting into each, they put off, as we imagined, with a design to come on board us; the s.h.i.+p was therefore brought-to, but they, like their fellows, stopped at the reef; we did not however immediately make sail, as we observed two messengers dispatched to them from the other canoes, which were of a much larger size: We perceived that these messengers made great expedition, wading and swimming along the reef; at length they met, and the men on board the canoes making no dispositions to pa.s.s the reef, after having received the message, we judged that they had resolved to come no farther. After waiting, therefore, some little time longer, we stood off; but when we were got about two or three miles from the sh.o.r.e, we perceived some of the natives following us in a canoe with a sail; we did not, however, think it worth while to wait for her, and though she had pa.s.sed the reef, she soon after gave over the chace.

According to the best judgment that we could form of the people, when we were nearest the sh.o.r.e, they were about our size, and well-made. They were of a brown complexion, and appeared to be naked; their hair, which was black, was confined by a fillet that went round the head, and stuck out behind like a bush. The greater part of them carried in their hands two weapons; one of them was a slender pole, from ten to fourteen feet long, on one end of which was a small k.n.o.b, not unlike the point of a spear; the other was about four feet long, and shaped like a paddle, and possibly might be so, for some of their canoes were very small: Those which we saw them launch seemed not intended to carry more than the three men that got into them. We saw others that had on board six or seven men, and one of them hoisted a sail, which did not seem to reach more than six feet above the gunwale of the boat, and which, upon the falling of a slight shower, was taken down and converted into an awning or tilt. The canoe which followed us to sea hoisted a sail not unlike an English log-sail, and almost as lofty as an English boat of the same size would have carried.

The people, who kept abreast of the s.h.i.+p on the beach, made many signals; but whether they were intended to frighten us away, or invite us on sh.o.r.e, it is not easy to determine. We returned them by waving our hats and shouting, and they replied by shouting again. We did not put their disposition to the test by attempting to land; because, as the island was inconsiderable, and as we wanted nothing that it could afford, we thought it imprudent as well as cruel to risk a contest, in which the natives must have suffered by our superiority, merely to gratify an idle curiosity; especially as we expected soon to fall in with the island where we had been directed to make our astronomical observation, the inhabitants of which would probably admit us without opposition, as they were already acquainted with our strength, and might also procure us a ready and peaceable reception among the neighbouring people, if we should desire it.

To these islands we gave the name of _The Groups_.

On the 7th, about half an hour after six in the morning, being just at day-break, we discovered another island to the northward, which we judged to be about four miles in circ.u.mference. The land lay very low, and there was a piece of water in the middle of it; there seemed to be some wood upon it, and it looked green and pleasant; but we saw neither cocoa-trees nor inhabitants: It abounded, however, with birds, and we therefore gave it the name of _Bird-Island_.

It lies in lat.i.tude 17 48' S. and longitude 143 35' W. at the distance of ten leagues, in the direction W. 1/2 N. from the west end of the Groups. The variation here was 6 32' E.

On the 8th, about two o'clock in the afternoon, we saw land to the northward, and about sun-set came abreast of it, at about the distance of two leagues. It appeared to be a double range of low woody islands joined together by reefs, so as to form one island, in the form of an ellipsis or oval, with a lake in the middle of it. The small islands and reefs that circ.u.mscribe the lake have the appearance of a chain, and we therefore gave it the name of _Chain Island_. Its length seemed to be about five leagues, in the direction of N.W. and S.E. and its breadth about five miles. The trees upon it appeared to be large, and we saw smoke rising in different parts of it from among them, a certain sign that it was inhabited. The middle of it lies in lat.i.tude 17 23' S. and longitude 145 54' W. and is distant from Bird Island forty-five leagues, in the direction of W. by N. The variation here was, by several azimuths, found to be 4 54' E.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ISLAND OF OTAHEITE]

On the 10th, having had a tempestuous night, with thunder and rain, the weather was hazy till about nine o'clock in the morning, when it cleared up, and we saw the island to which Captain Wallis, who first discovered it, gave the name of Osnaburgh Island, called by the natives _Maitea_, bearing N.W. by W. distant about five leagues. It is a high round island, not above a league in circuit; in some parts it is covered with trees, and in others a naked rock. In this direction it looked like a high-crowned hat; but when it bears north, the top of it has more the appearance of the roof of a house. We made its lat.i.tude to be 17 48' S.

its longitude 148 10' W. and its distance from Chain Island 44 leagues, in the direction of W. by S.[85]

[Footnote 85: The islands mentioned in this section, with some others since discovered, const.i.tute what has been called Dangerous Archipelago.

This is the name which Bougainville gave to this cl.u.s.ter.--E]

SECTION VIII.