SEPARATED BY A STORM. 



445 



were attacked by the small-pox, and a pest-tent was erected upon 

 a spacious plain. The infection was not fatal in any instance. 

 The Dolphin anchored in the Downs on the 20th of May, 1768. 

 Wallis was enabled to communicate a paper to the Royal So- 

 ciety in time for that body to give to Lieutenant Cook, then pre- 

 paring for his first voyage, more complete instructions by which 

 to govern his movements. 



We must now return to the Swallow, commanded by Philip 

 Carteret, and, as far as the Strait of Magellan, the consort of 

 the Dolphin. A storm, as we have said, separated them ; and, 

 while Wallis sailed to the northwest, Carteret was driven due 

 north. He was surprised to find Juan Fernandez fortified by 

 the Spanish, and did not think it prudent to attempt a landing. 

 Sailing now due west, he discovered an island to which he gave 

 the name of Pitcairn, in honor of the young man who first saw 

 it. This island we shall have occasion to mention more particu- 

 larly hereafter, as it became the scene of the romantic adven- 

 tures of the mutineers of the Bounty. The vessel had now 

 become crazy, and leaked constantly. The sails were worn, 

 and split with every breeze. The men were attacked by the 

 scurvy; and Carteret began to fear that he should get neither 

 ship nor crew in safety back to England. 



At last, on the 12th of August, land was discovered at day- 

 break, which proved to be a cluster of islands, of which Carteret 

 counted seven. Ignorant that Mendana had discovered them in 

 1595, nearly two centuries previously, and had given them the 

 name of Santa Cruz, Carteret took possession of them, naming 

 them Queen Charlotte's Islands and giving a distinctive appella- 

 tion to each member of the archipelago. Cocoanuts, bananas, 

 hogs, and poultry were seen in abundance as they sailed along 

 the shore; but every attempt to land ended in bloodshed and 

 repulse. They now steered to the northwest, and, on the 26th 

 of August, saw New Britain and St. George's Bay, discovered 

 and named by Dampier. Anchoring temporarily, and agait 



