March, 

 1826. 



266 VOYAGE TO THE 



chap. f or w hen they become peopled, the birds generally 

 quit them, and resort to those where they are less 

 molested. 



At day -light on the 15th the Island of Maitea was 

 seen in the north-west, and soon afterwards the 

 mountains of Otaheite appeared five minutes above 

 the horizon at the distance of ninety miles, from 

 which its height may be roughly estimated at 7000 

 feet. As we passed Maitea we had an opportunity 

 of verifying its position and ascertaining its height 

 to be 1432 feet. Baffling winds prevented us from 

 reaching our port until the evening of the 18th, 

 when, at the suggestion of Captain Charlton, his 

 Majesty's consul for the Society and Sandwich Is- 

 lands, from whom we had the pleasure of receiving a 

 visit, we anchored in the outer harbour of Toanoa, 

 about four miles to the westward of Matavai Bay. 



