NEW ISLANDS DISCOVERED. 275 



After having terminated our observations, we 

 pursued a southerly course, in hopes of discover- 

 ing more land, and sailed at a great rate during 

 the whole of the day, without seeing any thing. 

 At night we lay-to ; but the following morning, 

 the 9th of October, we had scarcely spread our 

 sails, before the man at the mast-head disco- 

 vered some low islands to the north, which we 

 had already past, and which now lay to wind- 

 ward of us. I immediately changed "our course, 

 and endeavoured to approach them by dint of 

 tacking, but a strong easterly current, which 

 increased as we drew nearer to the land, almost 

 baffled our efforts. We succeeded with much 

 difficulty in getting within eleven miles and a 

 half of the western extremity of the group, dis- 

 tinguished by a small round hill, which at noon 

 lay due east, our latitude by observation being 

 11" 30' 32", and our longitude 194« 34'. From 

 this point we could see the group, stretching to 

 the verge of the horizon, in a south-easterly and 

 north-easterly direction. We again attempted 

 to approach them nearer ; but not succeeding, 

 we were obliged to continue our course to 

 the westward, contenting ourselves with deter- 



