I4Q 
PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
from the fires they say are frequently visible. Four days sailing^ 
agreeable to the rate estimated by captain Cook, would place 
Nookuahe and Kafifienooa about twelve degrees to the west of 
Madison’s Island: nearly in this spot Tupia has placed an island 
which he calls O-Hee-uafmtto. Captain Marchand and captain In- 
graham of Boston (before him) both discovered strong appear¬ 
ances of land to leeward of them, in the W.S.W* quarter, in their 
route from the southern to the northern part of Washington 
Group, and nearly in the place ascribed by the natives to Poohekai 
that land exists in that quarter there cannot be a doubt; for two 
successive days the clouds were arrested in one point of the ho¬ 
rizon, and several of the seamen declared they plainly distinguish¬ 
ed land. No known navigator has yet traversed that part of the 
ocean, and except from the information of Tupia and the natives 
of Nooaheevah, we are ignorant of that part of the world; perhaps 
a group of equal importance to that of which we now treat, may 
there exist, and I regret that the object of my cruise would not 
admit of my deviating so far, as to clear up a point so interesting 
to geography. 
On the 9th December I had all my provisions, wood, and 
water on board, my decks filled with hogs, and a most abundant 
supply of cocoa-nuts and bananas, with which we had been furnish¬ 
ed by the liberality of our Nooahee van friends, who had reserved 
for us a stock of dried cocoa-nuts, suitable for taking to sea and 
were calculated for keeping three or four months. 
I now found it necessary to stop the liberty I had heretofore 
given to my people, and directed that every person should remain 
on board and work late and early to hasten the departure of the 
ship, but three of my crew determined on having a parting kiss, 
and to obtain it, swam on shore at night; they were caught on the 
beach and brought to me. I immediately caused them to be 
confined in irons, and determined to check any farther disobedi¬ 
ence of my orders by the most exemplary punishment I next 
morning caused them to be punished severely at the gangway, 
and set them to work in chains with my prisoners; this severity 
excited some discontents and murmurings among the crew, but 
it effectually prevented a recurrence.. 
