242 cook's voyage to march; 



till noon the next day, when the wind began to- 

 freshen at east south-east, and I again stood to the 

 north-east. But as the wind often veered to east 

 and east north-east, we frequently made no better 

 than a northerly course ; nay sometimes to the 

 westward of north. But the hopes of the wind 

 coming more southerly, or of meeting with it from 

 the westward, a little without the tropic, as I had 

 experienced in my former visits to this ocean, 

 encouraged me to continue this course. Indeed it 

 was necessary that I should run all risks, as my 

 proceeding to the north this year, in prosecution of 

 the principal object of the voyage, depended entirely 

 on my making a quick passage to Otaheite, or the 

 Society Islands. 



The wind continued invariably fixed at east south- 

 east, or seldom shifting above two points on either 

 side. It also blew very faint, so that it was the 

 27th before we crossed the tropic, and then we 

 were only in the longitude of 201 23' east, which 

 was nine degrees to the westward of our intended 

 port. In all this run we saw nothing, except now 

 and then a tropic bird, that could induce us to 

 think we had sailed near any land. In the latitude of 

 34 20', longitude 199, we passed the trunk of a 

 large tree, which was covered with barnacles, a sign 

 that it had been long at sea. 



On the 29th, at ten in the morning, as we were 

 standing to the north-east, the Discovery made the 

 signal of seeing land. We saw it from the mast- 

 head almost the same moment, bearing north-east by 

 east by compass. We soon discovered it to be an 

 island of no great extent, and stood for it till sunset, 

 when it bore north north-east, distant about two or 

 three leagues. 



The night was spent in standing off and on, and 

 at day-dreak the next morning, I bore up for the 

 lee or west side of the island, as neither anchorage 

 nor landing appeared to be practicable on the south 



19 



