CHAPTER VII. 



TAHITI. NASSAU ISLAND. UNION GROUP. 



WE sailed from Coquimbo on the I4th of June ; and after 

 a somewhat uneventful voyage across the Pacific, which 

 was considerably prolonged by sounding operations, and which 

 lasted fifty-three days, we arrived at Tahiti. 



Tahiti was discovered, in the year 1 606, by a Spanish exploring 



expedition, which set out from Peru under the command of Pedro 



Fernandez de Quiros, a navigator who had previously acquired 



some renown in Mendana's exploration of the New Hebrides 



group. One of his vessels anchored for a short time off the 



island ; but as a landing could not be safely effected by means 



of the ship's boats, an adventurous young Spanish sailor stripped 



and swam to the shore, where he was well received by the 



natives ; so that the honour of having discovered Tahiti and 



communicated with the natives is justly due to this expedition. 



The name then given to the island by Quiros was "La Sagittaria." 



In 1767 Tahiti was visited by an English exploring ship, the 



Dolphin, commanded by Captain Wallis, who, unaware of the visit 



of Quiros, and imagining himself to be the original discoverer, set 



up an English flag at Matavai Bay, took possession in the name 



of King George III., and named the island <( King George's 



Island." The account given by Wallis of this visit (published in 



Hawksworth's "Voyages") is full of most curious and interesting 



information, and perhaps in this respect equals the well-known 



