Light airs and calms having prevailed, by turns, all the night of the 3d of April, the easterly swell had carried the ships some distance from Wateeoo before day-break. But as I had failed in my object of procuring at that place some effectual supply, I saw no reason for staying there any longer. I therefore quitted it, without regret, and steered, for the neighbouring island, which, as has been mentioned, we discovered three days before.
With a gentle breeze at E. we got up with it before ten o'clock in the morning, and I immediately dispatched Mr Gore, with two boats, to endeavour to land, and get some food for our cattle. As there seemed to be no inhabitants here to obstruct our taking away whatever we might think proper, I was confident of his being able to make amends for our late disappointment, if the landing could be effected. There was a reef here surrounding the land as at Wateeoo, and a considerable surf breaking against the rocks. Notwithstanding which, our boats no sooner reached the lee, or west side of the island, but they ventured in, and Mr Gore and his party got safe on shore. I could, from the ship, see that they had succeeded so far, and I immediately sent a small boat to know what farther assistance was wanting. She did not return till three o'clock in the afternoon, having waited to take in a lading of what useful produce the island afforded. As soon as she was cleared, she was sent again for another cargo; the jolly boat was also dispatched, and Mr Gore was ordered to be on board, with all the boats, before night, which was complied with.
The supply obtained here consisted of about a hundred cocoa nuts for each ship; and, besides this refreshment for ourselves, we got for our cattle some grass, and a quantity of the leaves and branches of young cocoa-trees, and of the wharra-tree, as it is called at Otaheite, the pandanus of the East Indies. This latter being of a soft, spungy, juicy nature, the cattle eat it very well when cut into small pieces; so that it might be said, without any deviation from truth, that we fed them upon billet wood.
This island lies in the latitude of 19° 51' S. and the longitude of 201° 37' E, about three or four leagues from Wateeoo, the inhabitants of which called it Otakootaia; and sometimes they spoke of it under the appellation of Wenooa-ette, which signifies little island. Mr Anderson, who was on shore with our party, and walked round it, guessed that it could not be much more than three miles in circuit. From him I also learned the following particulars: The beach, within the reef, is composed of a white coral sand, above which the land within does not rise above six or seven feet, and is covered with a light reddish soil, but is entirely destitute of water.
The only common trees found there were cocoa-palms, of which there were several clusters, and vast numbers of the wharra. There was likewise the callophyllum, suriana, guettarda, a species of tournefortia, and tabernae montanae, with a few other shrubs, and some of the etoa tree seen at Wateeoo. A sort of bind-weed over-ran the vacant spaces, except in some places, where was found a considerable quantity of treacle-mustard, a species of spurge, with a few other small plants, and the morinda citrifolia, the fruit of which is eaten by the natives of Otaheite in times of scarcity. Omai, who had landed with the party, dressed some of it for their dinner, but it proved very indifferent.
The only bird seen amongst the trees was a beautiful cuckoo, of a chesnut brown, variegated with black, which was shot. But upon the shore were some egg-birds; a small sort of curlew; blue and white herons; and a great number of noddies; which last, at this time, laid their eggs a little farther up on the ground, and often rested on the wharra-tree.
One of our people caught a lizard of a most forbidding aspect, though small, running up a tree; and many of another sort were seen. The bushes toward the sea were frequented by infinite cumbers of a sort of moth, elegantly speckled with red, black, and white. There were also several other sorts of moths, as well as some pretty butterflies, and a few other insects.
Though there were, at this time, no fixed inhabitants upon the island, indubitable marks remained of its being at least occasionally frequented. In particular, a few empty huts were found. There were also several large stones erected, like monuments, under the shade of some trees, and several spaces inclosed with smaller ones, where, probably, the dead had been buried. And, in one place, a great many cockle-shells, of a particular sort, finely grooved, and larger than the first, were to be seen; from which it was reasonable to conjecture, that the island had been visited by persons who feed partly on shell-fish. In one of the huts Mr Gore left a hatchet and some nails, to the full value of what we took away.
As soon as the boats were hoisted in, I made sail again to the northward, with a light air of wind easterly, intending to try our fortune at Hervey's Island, which was discovered in 1773, during my last voyage. Although it was not above fifteen leagues distant, yet we did not get sight of it till day-break in the morning of the 6th, when it bore W.S.W. at the distance of about three leagues. As we drew near it, at eight o'clock, we observed several canoes put off from the shore, and they came directly toward the ships. This was a sight that indeed surprised me, as no signs of inhabitants were seen when the island was first discovered; which might be owing to a pretty brisk wind that then blew, and prevented their canoes venturing out as the ships passed to leeward, whereas now we were to windward.
As we still kept on toward the island, six or seven of the canoes, all double ones, soon came near us. There were from three to six men in each of them. They stopped at the distance of about a stone's throw from the ship, and it was some time before Omai could prevail upon them to come along-side; but no entreaties could induce any of them to venture on board. Indeed, their disorderly and clamorous behaviour by no means indicated a disposition to trust us, or treat us well. We afterward learnt that they had attempted to take some oars out of the Discovery's boat, that lay along-side, and struck a man who endeavoured to prevent them. They also cut away, with a shell, a net with meat, which hung over that ship's stern, and absolutely refused to restore it, though we afterward purchased it from them. Those who were about our ship behaved in the same daring manner; for they made a sort of hook of a long stick, with which they endeavoured openly to rob us of several things, and, at last, actually got a frock, belonging to one of our people that was towing, overboard. At the same time they immediately shewed a knowledge of bartering, and sold some fish they had (amongst which was an extraordinary flounder, spotted like porphyry, and a cream-coloured eel, spotted with black) for small nails, of which they were immoderately fond, and called them goore. But, indeed, they caught with the greatest avidity bits of paper, or any thing else that was thrown to them; and if what was thrown fell into the sea, they made no scruple to swim after it.