June.] 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 



215 



June 28th. — -On Tuesday, the 28th, we touched at Atooi, which 

 appears to be well wooded. Towards the north and north-west, the 

 face of the country is rugged and broken ; but to the south it is more 

 even. The hills rise from the seaside with a gentle acclivity, and at a 

 little distance back are clothed with flourishing timber. 



June 29th. — On the following day we touched at the island of 

 Oneeheeow, which is five leagues west of Atooi. Its eastern coast is 

 high, rising abruptly from the sea ; but the other parts consist of low 

 ground, except a round bluff head on the south-east point. It produces 

 a plenty of yams, and a sweet root called tee. It contains about ten 

 thousand inhabitants. Three leagues south-west of Mowee lies Ta- 

 hoorowa, one of the smallest of the group. It is destitute of wood, 

 and the soil seems to be sandy and barren. 



CHAPTER VII. 



Sail from the Sandwich Islands — Northern Polynesia — Bird's Island — Man-of- 

 war Rock — Lisiansky Island — Caution to Navigators — Pearl and Hermes 

 Island — Byers's Island — An unknown Island — Steer towards the Continent — 

 Clipperton's Rock — A Wild-goose Chase for St. Vincent Island — Arrive at the 

 Gallapagos Islands — Return to the Coast of Peru — Bay and Town of Sechura 

 — City of Piura — Directions for entering the Port of Sechura — Bay and Town 

 of Payta — Port of St. Pedro — Bay and Town of Ferrol — Natural Productions 

 — Cinchona, or Peruvian Bark — Animals, &c. — Arrive at the Port of Chorillos. 



The Sandwich Islands lie within the tropic of Cancer, about one- 

 third of the distance from the western coast of Mexico, towards the 

 eastern shores of China. They lie in a range from south-east to north- 

 west, Owhyee (or, according to the scientific Ellis, Hawaii) forming 

 the south-eastern extremity of the group, which is terminated on the 

 north-west by Nihau (Neeheeheon) and Taura (Toohoora), the latter 

 being merely a barren rock, inhabited only by a vast number of sea- 

 fowL The other uninhabited island is called Morokini (Morotinni), a 

 barren rock lying between Mowee and Toohoorawa, and would render 

 the navigation of the strait exceedingly dangerous, did not its elevation 

 above the water render it visible at all times. 



To the north-west of the group which bears the name of " the Sand- 

 wich Islands," are a number of uninhabited islands, or rocky islets, 

 which appear to be a continuation of the same chain, nearly to the 

 180° of longitude, and 30° of north latitude. These are called by 

 the names of Bird's, Necker, Gardner, Allen, Lisiansky, Bunker, 

 Clarke's, Massachusetts, &c. As it was my intention to examine 

 some of these lonely spots, which reared their rugged heads above 

 the surface of the wilderness of waters, I made but a short stay with 

 the friendly islanders of the Sandwich cluster, and shaped my course 

 for Northern Polynesia. 



June 30th. — On Thursday, the 30th, we got under way, and steered 



