An Account of the Discovery of several Islands, and an Interview and Skirmish with the Inhabitants upon one of them. The Arrival of the Ship at Tanna, and the Reception we met with there.
1774 July
Soon after we got to sea, we had a breeze at E.S.E. with which we stood over for Ambrym till three o'clock in the afternoon, when the wind veering to the E.N.E. we tacked and stretched to the S.E. and weathered the S.E. end of Mallicolo, off which we discovered three or four small islands, that before appeared to be connected. At sun-set the point bore S. 77° W., distant three leagues, from which the coast seemed to trend away west. At this time, the isle of Ambrym extended from N. 3° E. to N. 65° E. The isle of Paoon from N. 76° E. to S. 88° E.; and the isle of Apee from S. 83° E. to S. 43° E. We stood for this last isle, which we reached by midnight, and then brought-to till day-break on the 24th, when we made sail to the S.E., with a view of plying up to the eastward on the south side of Apee. At sun-rise we discovered several more islands, extending from the S.E. point of Apee to the south as far as S.E. by S. The nearest to us we reached by ten o'clock, and not being able to weather it, we tacked a mile from its shore in fourteen fathoms water. This island is about four leagues in circuit, is remarkable by having three high peaked hills upon it, by which it has obtained that name. In the p.m. the wind veering more to the north, we resumed our course to the east; and having weathered Threehills, stood for the group of small isles which lie off the S.E. point of Apee. These I called Shepherd's Isles, in honour of my worthy friend Dr Shepherd, Plumian professor of astronomy at Cambridge. Having a fine breeze, I had thoughts of going through between them; but the channels being narrow, and seeing broken water in the one we were steering for, I gave up the design, and bore up, in order to go without, or to the south of them. Before this could be accomplished, it fell calm, and we were left to the mercy of the current, close to the isles, where we could find no soundings with a line of an hundred and eighty fathoms. We had now land or islands in every direction, and were not able to count the number which lay round us. The mountain on Paoon was seen over the east end of Apee, bearing N.N.W. at eight o'clock. A breeze at S.E. relieved us from the anxiety the calm had occasioned; and we spent the night in making short boards.
The night before we came out of Port Sandwich, two reddish fish, about the size of large bream, and not unlike them, were caught with hook and line. On these fish most of the officers, and some of the petty officers, dined the next day. The night following, every one who had eaten of them was seized with violent pains in the head and bones, attended with a scorching heat all over the skin, and numbness in the joints. There remained no doubt that this was occasioned by the fish being of a poisonous nature, and having communicated its bad effects to all who partook of them, even to the hogs and dogs. One of the former died about sixteen hours after; it was not long before one of the latter shared the same fate; and it was a week or ten days before all the gentlemen recovered. These must have been the same sort of fish mentioned by Quiros,* under the name of pargos, which poisoned the crews of his ships, so that it was some time before they recovered; and we should, doubtless, have been in the same situation, had more of them been eaten.
[* Dalrymple's Collection of Voyages, vol. I. p. 140, 141.]
At day break on the 25th, we made a short stretch to the east of Shepherd's Isles till after sun-rise, when seeing no more land in that direction, we tacked and stood for the island we had seen in the south, having a gentle breeze at S.E. We passed to the east of Threehills, and likewise of a low isle, which lies on the S.E. side of it, between a remarkable peaked rock which obtained the name of Monument, and a small island named Twohills, on account of two peaked hills upon it, disjoined by a low and narrow isthmus. The channel between this island and the Monument is near a mile broad, and twenty-four fathoms deep. Except this rock, which is only accessible to birds, we did not find an island on which people were not seen. At noon, we observed, in latitude 17° 18' 30"; longitude, made from Port Sandwich, 45' E. In this situation, the Monument bore N. 16° E. distant two miles; Twohills bore N. 25° W. distant two miles, and in a line with the S.W. part of Threehills; and the islands to the south extended from S. 16° 30' E. to S. 42° W.
Continuing our course to the south, at five p.m. we drew near the southern lands, which we found to consist of one large island, whose southern and western extremities extended beyond our sight, and three or four smaller ones lying off its north side. The two northernmost are much the largest, have a good height, and lie in the direction of E. by S. and W. by N. from each other, distant two leagues; I named the one Montagu and the other Hinchinbrook, and the large island Sandwich, in honour of my noble patron the Earl of Sandwich. Seeing broken water ahead, between Montagu and Hinchinbrook isles, we tacked; and soon after it fell calm. The calm continued till seven o'-clock the next morning, when it was succeeded by a breeze from the westward. During the calm, having been carried by the currents and a S.E. swell, four leagues to the W.N.W., we passed Hinchinbrook Isle, saw the western extremity of Sandwich Island, bearing S.S.W., about five leagues distant, and at the same time discovered a small island to the west of this direction. After getting the westerly breeze, I steered S.E. in order to pass between Montagu Isle and the north end of Sandwich Island. At noon we were in the middle of the channel, and observed in latitude 17° 31' S. The distance from one island to the other is about four or five miles; but the channel is not much above half that breadth, being contracted by breakers. We had no soundings in it with a line of forty fathoms.
As we passed Montagu Isle several people came down to the sea-side, and, by signs, seemed to invite us ashore. Some were also seen on Sandwich Island, which exhibited a most delightful prospect, being spotted with woods and lawns, agreeably diversified over the whole surface. It hath a gentle slope from the hills, which are of a moderate height, down to the sea coast. This is low, and guarded by a chain of breakers, so that there is no approaching it at this part. But more to the west, beyond Hinchinbrook Island, there seemed to run in a bay sheltered from the reigning winds. The examining it not being so much an object, with me as the getting to the south, in order to find the southern extremity of the Archipelago, with this view I steered S.S.E., being the direction of the coast of Sandwich Island. We had but just got through the passage, before the west wind left us to variable light airs and calms; so that we were apprehensive of being carried back again by the currents, or rather of being obliged to return, in order to avoid being driven on the shoals, as there was no anchorage, a line of an hundred and sixty fathoms not reaching to the bottom. At length a breeze springing up at S.W. we stood to S.E., and at sun-set the Monument bore N. 14° 30' W., and Montagu Island N. 28° W. distant three leagues. We judged we saw the S.E. extremity of Sandwich Island, bearing about S. by E.
We continued to stand S.E. till four a.m. on the 27th, when we tacked to the west. At sun-rise, having discovered a new land bearing south, and making in three hills, this occasioned us to tack and stand towards it. At this time Montagu Isle bore N. 52° W., distant thirteen leagues; at noon it was nearly in the same direction, and the new land extended from S. 1/2 E. to S. by W., and the three hills seemed to be connected. Our latitude by observation, was 18° 1' S., and the longitude, made from Port Sandwich, 1° 23' E. We continued to stand to the S.E., with a gentle breeze at S.W. and S.S.W. till the 28th at sun-rise, when, the wind veering to the south, we tacked and stood to the west. The three hills mentioned above, we now saw, belonging to one island, which extended from S. 35° to 71° W. distant about ten or twelve leagues.
1774 August