1779. THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 3^3 



visited by Dampier, who gives a very favourable ac- 

 count, both of the civility of the inhabitants, and of 

 the plenty of hogs and vegetables, with which the 

 country abounds; they were afterward seen by Byron 

 and Wallis, who passed them without landing. 



In order to extend our view in the day-time, the 

 ships spread between two and three leagues from each 

 other, and during the night we went under an easy 

 sail ; so that it was scarcely possible to pass any land 

 that lay in the neighbourhood of our course. In this 

 manner we proceeded, without any occurrence worth 

 remarking, with a fresh breeze from the north-east, 

 till the 22d, when it increased to a strong gale, with 

 violent squalls of wind and rain, which brought us 

 under close-reefed top-sails. 



At noon of the 23d, the latitude, by account, was 

 21° 5', and longitude 123° 20'; at six in the evening, 

 being now only twenty-one leagues from the Bashee 

 islands, according to the situation in Mr. Dairy tuple's 

 map, and the weather squally, attended with a thick 

 haze, we hauled our wind to the north north-west, 

 and handed the fore top-sail. 



During the whole of the 24th it rained incessantly, 

 and the wind still blew a storm ; a heavy sea rolled 

 down on us from the north, and in the afternoon we 

 had violent flashes of lightning from the same quarter. 

 We continued upon a wind to the north north-west 

 till nine o'clock, when we tacked and stood to the 

 south south-east till four in the morning of the 25th, 

 and then wore. During the night there was an 

 eclipse of the moon, but the rain prevented our 

 making any observation ; unfortunately, at the time 

 of the greatest darkness, a seaman, in stowing the 

 main top-mast stay-sail, fell over board, but laying 

 hold of a rope which providentially was hanging out 

 of the fore-chains into the water, and the ship being 

 quickly brought in the wind, he was got on board 

 without any other hurt than a slight bruise on his 

 shoulder. At eight, the weather clearing, we bore 



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