the rest, swarmed with people, whose habitations we saw standing in
clusters all along the coast. We saw also a large vessel under sail, at
a little distance from the shore; but to our unspeakable regret we were
obliged to leave the place without farther examination, for it was
surrounded in every direction by rocks and breakers, which rendered the
hazard more than equivalent to every advantage we might procure. At this
time I took these for part of the islands called Solomon's Islands, and
was in hopes that I should fall in with others of them, in some of which
we might find an harbour.

The reef of rocks which we first saw as we approached these islands,
lies in latitude 10 deg.15'S. longitude 169 deg.28' W. and it bears from Prince
of Wales's Island N.76 deg.48' W. distant 352 leagues. The islands bear from
the reef W.N.W. distant nine leagues: I called them the _Islands of
Danger_, and steered from them N.W. by W. allowing for the variation.

After having seen the breakers soon after it was light in the morning, I
told my officers that I apprehended we should have frequent alarms in
the night; at night, therefore, every body was upon the watch, which a
very hard squall of wind, with rain, rendered the more necessary. About
nine o'clock, having just gone down into my cabin, I heard a great noise
above, and when I enquired what was the matter, I was told that the
Tamar, who was a-head, had fired a gun, and that our people saw breakers
to leeward: I ran instantly upon deck, and soon perceived that what had
been taken for breakers was nothing more than the undulating reflection
of the moon, which was going down, and shone faintly from behind a cloud
in the horizon; we therefore bore away after the Tamar, but did not get
sight of her till an hour afterwards.

Nothing worthy of notice happened till Monday the 24th when, about ten
o'clock in the morning, we discovered another island, bearing S.S.W.
distant about seven or eight leagues: We steered for it, and found it to
be low, but covered with wood, among which were cocoa-nut trees in great
abundance. It had a pleasant appearance, and a large lake in the middle,
like King George's Island: It is near thirty miles in circumference, a
dreadful sea breaks upon almost every part of the coast, and a great
deal of foul ground lies about it. We sailed quite round it, and when we
were on the lee-side, sent out boats to sound, in hopes of finding
anchorage: No soundings, however,