The wind was fixed in the western board, that is, from the N., round by the W. to S., and I steered E.N.E. and N.E., without meeting with anything remarkable, till eleven o’clock in the morning of the 8th of August, when land was seen, bearing N.N.E., nine or ten leagues distant.  At first, it appeared in detached hills, like so many separate islands; but, as we drew nearer, we found that they were all connected, and belonged to one and the same island.  I steered directly for it, with a fine gale at S.E. by S.; and at half-past six o’clock in the afternoon, it extended from N. by E., to N.N.E. 3/4 E., distant three or four leagues.

The night was spent standing off and on; and at day-break the next morning, I steered for the N.W., or lee-side of the island; and as we stood round its S. or S.W. part, we saw it every where guarded by a reef of coral rock, extending, in some places, a full mile from the land, and a high surf breaking upon it.  Some thought that they saw land to the southward of this island; but, as that was to the windward, it was left undetermined.  As we drew near, we saw people on different parts of the coast, walking, or running along the shore, and in a little time after we had reached the lee-side of the island, we saw them launch two canoes, into which above a dozen men got, and paddled toward us.

I now shortened sail, as well to give these canoes time to come up with us, as to sound for anchorage.  At the distance of about half a mile from the reef, we found from forty to thirty-five fathoms water, over a bottom of fine sand.  Nearer in, the bottom was strewed with coral rocks.  The canoes having advanced to about the distance of a pistol-shot from the ship, there stopped.  Omai was employed, as he usually had been on such occasions, to use all his eloquence to prevail upon the men in them to come nearer; but no entreaties could induce them to trust themselves within our reach.  They kept eagerly pointing to the shore with their paddles, and calling to us to go thither; and several of their countrymen who stood upon the beach held up something white, which we considered also as an invitation to land.  We could very well have done this, as there was good anchorage without the reef, and a break or opening in it, from whence the canoes had come out, which had no surf upon it, and where, if there was not water for the ships, there was more than sufficient for the boats.  But I did not think proper to risk losing the advantage of a fair wind, for the sake of examining an island that appeared to be of little consequence.  We stood in no need of refreshments, if I had been sure of meeting with them there; and having already been so unexpectedly delayed in my progress to the Society Islands, I was desirous of avoiding every possibility of farther retardment.  For this reason, after making several unsuccessful attempts to induce these people to come alongside, I made sail to the N., and left them, but not without getting from them, during their vicinity to our ship, the name of their island, which they called Toobouai.