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 deg. 30' W., and Montagu Island N. 28 deg. 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 deg. 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 deg. 1' S., and the longitude, made from Port Sandwich, 1 deg.
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 deg. to 71 deg. W. distant about
ten or twelve leagues.[2]

Retarded by contrary winds, calms, and the currents, that set to N.W., we
were three days in gaining this space; in which time we discovered an
elevated land to the south of this; It first appeared in detached hummocks,
but we judged it to be connected. At length, on the 1st of August, about
ten a.m. we got a fine breeze at E.S.E., which soon after veered t