1774- ROUND THE WORLD. l 25 



valley produced a fine stream of the former. We saw 

 people on the shore, and some canoes on the coast, 

 but none came off to us. Leaving the bay just men- 

 tioned, we stretched across the channel which di- 

 vides Aurora from Whitsuntide "island. At noon we 

 were abreast of the north end of this latter, which 

 bore E.N. E. and observed in 15° 28% The Isle of 

 Aurora bore from N. to N. E. £ E. and the Isle of 

 Lepers from N. by W.jW. to West. Whitsuntide 

 Isle appeared joined to the land to the S. and S. W. 

 of it ; but in stretching to S. W. we discovered the 

 separation. This was about four o'clock P. M., and 

 then we tacked and stretched in for the island till 

 near sunset, when the wind veering more to the east 

 made it necessary to resume our course to the south. 

 We saw people on the shore, smokes in many parts 

 of the island, and several places which seemed to be 

 cultivated. About midnight, drawing near the south 

 land, we tacked and stretched to the north, in order 

 to spend the remainder of the night. 



At daybreak on the 21st, we found ourselves be- 

 fore the channel that divides Whitsuntide island 

 from the south land, which is about two leagues 

 over. At this time, the land to the southward ex- 

 tended from S. by E. round to the west farther than 

 the eye could reach, and on the part nearest to us, 

 which is of considerable height, we observed two 

 very large columns of smoke, which, I judged, as- 

 cended from volcanos. We now stood S. S. W. with 

 a fine breeze at S. E., and at ten o'clock, discovered 

 this part of the land to be an island which is called 

 by the natives Ambrym. Soon after an elevated 

 land appeared open off the south end of Ambrym ; 

 and after that, another still higher, on which is a high 

 peaked hill. We judged these lands to belong to two 

 separate islands. The first came in sight at S. E. 

 the second at E. by S., and they appeared to be 

 ten leagues distant. Holding on our course for the 

 land ahead, at noon it was five miles distant from us, 



