, as he was remarkably quiet and
industrious.

On Tuesday the 4th of April, about ten o'clock in the morning, Mr
Banks's servant, Peter Briscoe, discovered land, bearing south, at the
distance of about three or four leagues. I immediately hauled up for it,
and found it to be an island of an oval form, with a lagoon in the
middle, which occupied much the larger part of it; the border of land
which circumscribes the lagoon is in many places very low and narrow,
particularly on the south side, where it consists principally of a beach
or reef of rocks: It has the same appearance also in three places on the
north side; so that the firm land being disjoined, the whole looks like
many islands covered with wood. On the west end of the island is a large
tree, or clump of trees, that in appearance resembles a tower; and about
the middle are two cocoa-nut trees, which rise above all the rest, and,
as we came near to the island, appeared like a flag. We approached it on
the north side, and though we came within a mile, we found no bottom
with one hundred and thirty fathom of line, nor did there appear to be
any anchorage about it. The whole is covered with trees of different
verdure, but we could distinguish none, even with our glasses, except
cocoa-nuts and palm-nuts. We saw several of the natives upon the shore,
and counted four-and-twenty. They appeared to be tall, and to have heads
remarkably large; perhaps they had something wound round them, which we
could not distinguish; they were of a copper colour, and had long black
hair. Eleven of them walked along the beach abreast of the ship, with
poles or pikes in their hands, which reached twice as high as
themselves. While they walked on the beach they seemed to be naked; but
soon after they retired, which they did as soon as the ship had passed
the island, they covered themselves with something that made them
appear of a light colour. Their habitations were under some clumps of
palm-nut trees, which at a distance appeared like high ground; and to
us, who for a long time had seen nothing but water and sky, except the
dreary hills of Terra del Fuego, these groves seemed a terrestrial
paradise. To this spot, which lies in latitude 18 deg. 47' S. and longitude
139 deg. 28' W. we gave the name of _Lagoon Island_. The variation of the
needle here is 2 deg. 54' E.

About one o'clock we made sail to the westward, and about half an hour
after three we saw land again to the N.W. We got up