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 deg. 32’ 25” 1/2 S., and in the longitude of 169 deg. 44’ 35” E. It is no more than a little creek running in S. by W. 1/2 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 deg. 14’ 12” E., and the dip of its south end 45 deg. 2’ 3/4.  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.

1774 August

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 sun-rise on the 21st, we stood S.W., in order to get to the south of Tanna, and nearer to Annatom, 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 deg. 33’ 30”, the situation of the lands around us was as follows:  Port Resolution bore north 86 deg.