f 82 cook's first voyage 



APRIL. 



other island to the north wanl, which we judged to 

 he about four miles in circumference. The land lay 

 very low, and there was a piece of water in the 

 middle of it ; there seemed to be some wood upon 

 it, and it lopked green and pleasant ; but we saw 

 neither cocoa-trees nor inhabitants : it abounded, how- 

 ever, with birds, and we therefore gave it the name 

 of Bird Island. 



It lies in latitude 17° 48' S. and longitude 143° 35' W. 

 at the distance of ten leagues, in the direction W. ^ N. 

 from the west end of the Groups. The variation 

 here was 6° 32' E. 



On the 8th, about two o'clock in the afternoon, we 

 saw land to the northward, and about sunset came 

 abreast of it, at about the distance of two leagues. 

 It appeared to be a double range of low woody islands 

 joined together by reefs, so as to form one island, in 

 the form of an ellipsis or oval, with a lake in the 

 middle of it. The small islands and reefs that cir- 

 cumscribe the lake have the appearance of a chain, 

 and we therefore gave it the name of Chain Island. 

 Its length seemed to be about five leagues, in the 

 direction of N. W. and S.E., and its breadth about five 

 miles. The trees upon it appeared to be large, and 

 we saw smoke rising in different parts of it from 

 among them, a certain sign that it was inhabited. 

 The middle of it lies in latitude 17° 23' S. and longi- 

 tude 145° 54' W., and is distant from Bird Island 

 forty-five leagues, in the direction of W. by N. The 

 variation here was, by several azimuths, found to be 

 4° 54' E. 



On the 10th, having had a tempestuous night 

 with thunder and rain, the weather was hazy till 

 about nine o'clock in the morning, when it cleared 

 up, and we saw the island to which Captain Wallis, 

 who first discovered it, gave the name of Osnaburgh 

 Island, called by the natives Maitea, bearing N. W. 

 by W. distant about five leagues. It is a high round 

 island, not above a league in cirquit ; in some parts 



7 



