Hervev’s Bay. 69 
fun-rife, to half an hour after, flights of them were continu- 
ally coming from the N. N. W. and flying to the S. S. E. nor 
was one of them fcen to fly in any other direction ; we there- 
fore conjedlured that there was a lagoon, river, or inlet of fhal- 
low water, in the bottom of the deep bay, ta the fouthward of 
us, whither thefe birds reforted to feed in the day, and that 
not far to the northward there were fome iflands to which they 
repaired in the night. To this bay I gave the name of Her- 
vey’s Bay, in honour of Captain Hervey. In the afternoon, 
we flood in for the land, fleering S. W. with a gentle breeze 
at S. E. till four o’clock, when, being in latitude Z4 : 36, 
about two leagues from the fhore, and having nine fathom 
water, we bore away along the coaft N. W. by W. and at the 
fame time could fee land extending to the S. S. E. about eight 
leagues. Near the fea the land is very low, but within there 
are iome lofty hills, all thickly clothed with wood. While 
we were running along the fhore, we fhallovved our water from 
nine to feven fathom, and at one time we had but fix, which 
determined us to anchor for the night. 
At fix in the morning we weighed, with a gentle breeze 
from the fouthward, and fleered N. W. | W. edging in for 
the land till we got within two miles of it, with water from 
feven to eleven fathom : we then fleered N. N. W. as the land 
lay, and at noon, our latitude was 24 : 19. We continued 
in the fame courfe, at the fame diftance, with from twelve 
fathom to feven, till five in the evening, when we were abreafl 
of the fouth point of a large open bay, in which I intended to 
anchor. During this courfe, we difcvered with our glafles 
that the land was covered with palm-nut- trees, which we had 
not feen from the t : me of our leaving the iflands within the 
Tropick : we alfo law two men walking along the fhore, who 
did not condefcend to take the leaf! notice of us. In the even- 
ing, having hauled clofe upon a wind, and made two or three 
trips, we anchored about eight o’clock in five fathom, with a 
fine Tandy bottom. The fouth point of the bay bore E. £ S. 
dirtant two miles, the north point N. W. \ N. and about 
the fame diftance from the fhore. 
Early the next morning I went afhore, with a party of men, 
in order to examine the country, accompanied by Mr. Banks, 
Dr. Solander, the other gentlemen, and Tupia : the wind 
blew freih, and we found it fo cold- that being at fome diftance 
from the fhore, we took our cloaks as a neceflary equipment 
fo-- the voyage. We lamed a little within the fouth point of 
the bay, where we found a channel leading into a large la- 
goon : this channel I proceeded to examine, and found three 
fathom water till I got about a mile up it, where I met with a 
fhoal, upon which there was little more than one fathom, 
but having paffed over it, I had three fathom again. The 
entrance 
