ne and
two days sail from Otaheite; and that hogs, fowls, and other
refreshments, with which we had of late been but sparingly supplied,
were there to be procured in great plenty; but having discovered from
the hills of Otaheite, an island lying to the northward, which he called
_Tethuroa_, I determined first to stand that way, to take a nearer view
of it. It lies N. 1/2 W. distant eight leagues from the northern
extremity of Otaheite, upon which we had observed the transit, and to
which we had, for that reason, given the name of _Point Venus_. We found
it to be a small low island, and were told by Tupia, that it had no
settled inhabitants, but was occasionally visited by the inhabitants of
Otaheite, who sometimes went thither for a few days to fish; we
therefore determined to spend no more time in a farther examination of
it, but to go in search of Huaheine and Ulietea, which he described to
be well peopled, and as large as Otaheite.[39]

[Footnote 39: Tethuroa consists of several low islets, enclosed in a
reef ten leagues round, and inaccessible to large canoes. The people are
subject to the sovereign of Otaheite, and are in general members of the
wandering society of the arreoyes, who frequent these spots for purposes
of amusement and luxury. No bread-fruit is allowed to be planted on
these islets, in order that the resident inhabitants, who are few in
number, may be obliged to come with their fish, which is their principal
commodity, to Oparre, where it may be had in exchange. Cocoa-nuts,
however, abound, as they thrive most in low places. The passage to these
islets is represented as difficult and dangerous, but this does not
deter the people from assembling on them in great numbers. So many as a
hundred canoes have been seen occasionally around this spot.--E.]

At six o'clock in the morning of the 14th, the westermost part of
_Eimeo_, or York island, bore S.E. 1/2 S. and the body of Otaheite E.
1/2 S. At noon, the body of York Island bore E. by S 1/2 S.; and
Port-Royal bay, at Otaheite, S. 70 deg. 45' E. distant 61 miles; and an
island which we took to be Saunders's Island, called by the natives
_Tapoamanao_, bore S.S.W. We also saw land bearing N.W. 1/2 W. which
Tupia said was Huaheine.[40]

[Footnote 40: Eimeo, or, as the natives usually call it, Morea, is the
nearest to Otaheite, its distance from the western coast being only
about four leagues.--It is reckoned ten miles long, from north to south,
and half a