J 7 74. ROUND THE WORLD. 305 



CHAP. X. 



DEPARTURE FROM THE MARQUESAS. A DESCRIPTION OF THE 



SITUATION, EXTENT, FIGURE, AND APPEARANCE OF THE 

 SEVERAL ISLANDS; WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE IN- 

 HABITANTS, THEIR CUSTOMS, DRESS, HABITATIONS, FOOD, 

 WEAPONS, AND CANOES. 



/Vt three o'clock in the afternoon we weighed, and 

 stood over from St. Christina for La Dominica, in 

 order to take a view of the west side of that isle ; but, 

 as it was dark before we reached it, the night was 

 spent in plying between the two isles. The next 

 morning we had a full view of the south-west point, 

 from which the coast trended north-east, so that it 

 was not probable we should find good anchorage on 

 that side, as being exposed to the easterly winds. We 

 had now but little wind, and that very variable, with 

 showers of rain. At length we got a breeze at east 

 north-east, with which we steered to the south. At 

 five o'clock in the afternoon, Resolution Bay bore E. 

 N. . -- E. distant five leagues, and the island 

 Magdalena south-east about nine leagues, distant. 

 This was the only sight we had of this isle. Erom 

 hence I steered S. S. W. W. for Otaheite, with 

 a view of falling in with some of those isles dis- 

 covered by former navigators, especially those dis- 

 covered by the Dutch, whose situations are not well 

 determined. 



But it will be necessary to return to the Marquesas; 

 which were, as I have already observed, first dis- 

 covered by Mendana, a Spaniard, and from him ob- 

 tained the general name they now bear, as well as 

 those of the different isles. The nautical account of 

 them, in Mr. Dalrymple's Collection of Voyages to 



VOL. III. x 



