In the evening, I returned to the ship, and resolved the next morning to visit one of the high islands in the offing, from the top of which, as they lay five leagues out to sea, I hoped to discover more distinctly the situation of the shoals, and the channel between them.
In the morning therefore of the 11th, I set out in the pinnace, accompanied by Mr Banks, whose fortitude and curiosity made him a party in every expedition, for the northermost and largest of the three islands, and at the same time I sent the master in the yawl to leeward, to sound between the low islands and the main. In my way, I passed over a reef of coral rock and sand, which lies about two leagues from the island, and I left another to leeward, which lies about three miles from it: On the north part of the reef, to the leeward, there is a low sandy island, with trees upon it; and upon the reef which we passed over, we saw several turtle: We chased one or two, but having little time to spare, and the wind blowing fresh, we did not take any.
About one o'clock, we reached the island, and immediately ascended the highest hill, with a mixture of hope and fear, proportioned to the importance of our business, and the uncertainty of the event: When I looked round, I discovered a reef of rocks, lying between two and three leagues without the islands, and extending in a line N.W. and S.E. farther than I could see, upon which the sea broke in a dreadful surf: This however made me think that there were no shoals beyond them, and I conceived hopes of getting without these, as I perceived several breaks or openings in the reef, and deep water between that and the islands. I continued upon this hill till sunset, but the weather was so hazy during the whole time that I came down much disappointed. After reflecting upon what I had seen, and comparing the intelligence I had gained with what I expected, I determined to stay upon the island all night, hoping that the morning might be clearer, and afford me a more distinct and comprehensive view. We therefore took up our lodging under the shelter of a bush which grew upon the beach, and at three in the morning, having sent the pinnace, with one of the mates whom I had brought out with me, to sound between the island and the reefs, and examine what appeared to be a channel through them, I climbed the hill a second time, but to my great disappointment found the weather much more hazy than it had been the day before. About noon the pinnace returned, having been as far as the reef, and found between fifteen and twenty-eight fathom of water; but it blew so hard that the mate did not dare to venture into one of the channels, which he said appeared to him to be very narrow: This however did not discourage me, for I judged, from his description of the place he had been at, that he had seen it to disadvantage. While I was busy in my survey, Mr Banks was attentive to his favourite pursuit, and picked up several plants which he had not before seen. We found the island, which is visible at twelve leagues distance, to be about eight leagues in circumference, and in general very rocky and barren. On the north-west side, however, there are some sandy bays, and some low land, which is covered with long thin grass, and trees of the same kind with those upon the main: This part also abounded with lizards of a very large size, some of which we took. We found also fresh water in two places: One was a running stream, but that was a little brackish where I tasted it, which was close to the sea; the other was a standing pool, close behind the sandy beach, and this was perfectly sweet and good. Notwithstanding the distance of this island from the main, we saw, to our great surprise, that it was sometimes visited by the natives; for we found seven or eight frames of their huts, and vast heaps of shells, the fish of which we supposed had been their food. We observed that all these huts were built upon eminences, and entirely exposed to the S.E. contrary to those which we had seen upon the main; for they were all built either upon the side of a hill, or under some bushes, which afforded them shelter from the wind. From these huts, and their situation, we concluded that at some seasons of the year the weather here is invariably calm and fine; for the inhabitants have no boat which can navigate the sea to so great a distance, in such weather as we had from the time of our first coming upon the coast. As we saw no animals upon this place but lizards, I called it Lizard Island; the other two high islands, which lie at the distance of four or five miles from it, are comparatively small; and near them lie three others smaller still, and low, with several shoals or reefs, especially to the S.E. There is, however, a clear passage from Cape Flattery to these islands, and even quite to the outward reefs, leaving Lizard Island to the N.W. and the others to the S.E.
At two in the afternoon, there being no hope of clear weather, we set out from Lizard Island to return to the ship, and in our way landed upon the low sandy island with trees upon it, which we had remarked in our going out. Upon this island we saw an incredible number of birds, chiefly sea-fowl: We found also the nest of an eagle with young ones, which we killed; and the nest of some other bird, we knew not what, of a most enormous size; it was built with sticks upon the ground, and was no less than six-and-twenty feet in circumference, and two feet eight inches high. We found also that this place had been visited by the Indians, probably to eat turtle, many of which we saw upon the island, and a great number of their shells, piled one upon another in different places.
To this spot we gave the name of Eagle Island, and after leaving it, we steered S.W. directly for the ship, sounding all the way, and we had never less than eight fathom, nor more than fourteen; the same depth of water that I had found between this and Lizard Island.
When I got on board, the master informed me that he had been down to the low islands, between which and the main I had directed him to sound; that he judged them to lie about three leagues from the main; that without them he found from ten to fourteen fathom, and between them and the main seven: But that a flat, which ran two leagues out from the main, made this channel narrow. Upon one of these low islands he slept, and was ashore upon others; and he reported, that he saw every where piles of turtle-shells; and fins hanging upon the trees in many places, with the flesh upon them, so recent, that the boats crew eat of them: He saw also two spots, clear of grass, which appeared to have been lately dug up, and from the shape and size of them, he conjectured they were graves.
After considering what I had seen myself, and the report of the master, I was of opinion that the passage to leeward would be dangerous, and that, by keeping in with the main, we should run the risk of being locked in by the great reef, and at last be compelled to return back in search of another passage, by which, or any other accident that should cause the same delay, we should infallibly lose our passage to the East Indies, and endanger the ruin of the voyage, as we had now but little more than three months provisions on board at short allowance.
Having stated this opinion, and the facts and appearances upon which it was founded, to the officers, it was unanimously agreed, that the best thing we could do would be to quit the coast altogether, till we could approach it with less danger.
In the morning, therefore, at break of day, we got under sail, and stood out N.E. for the north-west end of Lizard Island, leaving Eagle Island to windward, and some other islands and shoals to the leeward, and having the pinnace a-head to ascertain the depth of water in every part of our course. In this channel we had from nine to fourteen fathom. At noon, the north-west end of Lizard Island bore E.S.E. distant one mile; our latitude, by observation, was 14° 38', and our depth of water fourteen fathom. We had a steady gale at S.E. and by two o'clock we just fetched to windward of one of the channels or openings in the outer reef, which I had seen from the island. We now tacked, and made a short trip to the S.W. while the master, in the pinnace, examined the channel: He soon made the signal for the ship to follow, and in a short time she got safe out. As soon as we had got without the breakers, we had no ground with one hundred and fifty fathom, and found a large sea rolling in from the S.E. a certain sign that neither land nor shoals were near us in that direction.
Our change of situation was now visible in every countenance, for it was most sensibly felt in every breast: We had been little less than three months entangled among shoals and rocks, that every moment threatened us with destruction; frequently passing our nights at anchor within hearing of the surge that broke over them; sometimes driving towards them even while our anchors were out, and knowing that if by any accident, to which an almost continual tempest exposed us, they should not hold, we must in a few minutes inevitably perish. But now, after having sailed no less than three hundred and sixty leagues, without once having a man out of the chains heaving the lead, even for a minute, which perhaps never happened to any other vessel, we found ourselves in an open sea, with deep water, and enjoyed a flow of spirits, which was equally owing to our late dangers and our present security: Yet the very waves, which by their swell convinced us that we had no rocks or shoals to fear, convinced us also that we could not safely put the same confidence in our vessel as before she had struck; for the blows she received from them so widened her leaks, that she admitted no less than nine inches water an hour, which, considering the state of our pumps, and the navigation that was still before us, would have been a subject of more serious consideration to people whose danger had not so lately been so much more imminent.