We had light airs from N.W. and S.W., and calms, till eleven in the morning of the 10th, when the wind freshened at W.N.W., which, with a strong current setting to the S.E., so much retarded us, that, in the evening, between seven and eight o’clock, the S. point of the island bore N. 10-1/2 deg.  W., four leagues distant.  The south snowy hill now bore N. 1-1/2 deg.  E.

At four in the morning of the 11th, the wind having fixed at W., I stood in for the land, in order to get some refreshments.  As we drew near the shore, the natives began to come off.  We lay to, or stood on and off, trading with them all the day, but got a very scanty supply at last.  Many canoes visited us, whose people had not a single thing to barter, which convinced us, that this part of the island must be very poor, and that we had already got all that they could spare.  We spent the 12th plying off and on, with a fresh gale at W. A mile from the shore and to the N.E. of the S. point of the island, having tried soundings, we found ground at fifty-five fathoms depth, the bottom a fine sand.  At five in the evening, we stood to the S.W., with the wind at W.N.W., and soon after midnight we had a calm.

At eight o’clock next morning, having got a small breeze at S.S.E., we steered to the N.N.W., in for the land.  Soon after, a few canoes came along-side with some hogs, but without any vegetables, which articles we most wanted.  We had now made some progress; for at noon the S. point of the island bore S. 86-1/2 deg.  E., the S.W. point N. 13 deg.  W., the nearest shore two leagues distant; latitude, by observation, 18 deg. 56’, and our longitude, by the time-keeper, 203 deg. 40’.  We had got the length of the S.W. point of the island in the evening, but the wind now veering to the westward and northward, during the night we lost all that we had gained.  Next morning, being still off the S.W. point of the island, some canoes came off; but they had nothing that we were in want of.  We had now neither fruit nor roots, and were under a necessity of making use of some of our sea-provisions.  At length, some canoes from the northward brought us a small supply of hogs and roots.

We had variable light airs next to a calm, the following day, till five in the afternoon, when a small breeze at E.N.E. springing up, we were at last enabled to steer along shore to the northward.  The weather being fine, we had plenty of company this day, and abundance of every thing.  Many of our visitors remained with us on board all night, and we towed their canoes astern.

At day-break on the 16th, seeing the appearance of a bay, I sent Mr Bligh, with a boat from each ship, to examine it, being at this time three leagues off.  Canoes now began to arrive from all parts; so that before ten o’clock, there were no fewer than a thousand about the two ships, most of them crowded with people, and well laden with hogs and other productions of the island.  We had the most satisfying proof