2l8 
A VOYAGE TO 
1777. With this view, I kept handing off and on, all night; 
t AprU ' < and, in the morning, between eight and nine o’clock, I 
Wedncf. 16. went with the boats to the Weft fide of the bland, and 
landed with little difficulty. I immediately fet the people 
with me to work, to gather cocoa-nuts, which we found in 
great abundance. But to get them to our boats was a 
tedious operation; for we were obliged to carry them at 
leaft half a mile over the reef, up to the middle in wa¬ 
ter. Omai, who was with me, caught, with a fcoop net, 
in a very fhort time, as much fiili as ferved the whole 
party on ffiore for dinner, befides fending fome to both 
fhips. Here were alfo great abundance of birds, particu¬ 
larly men-of-war and Tropic birds; fo that we fared fump- 
tuoufly. And it is but doing juftice to Omai to fay, that, 
in thefe excurfions to the uninhabited iflands, he was of 
the greateft ufe. For he not only caught the fifti, but 
dreffed thefe, and the birds we killed, in an oven, with 
heated ftones, after the fafhion. of his country, with a 
dexterity and good-humour that did him great credit. The 
boats made two trips, before night, well laden; with the 
laft, I returned on board, leaving Mr. Williamfon, my 
third Lieutenant, with a party of men, to prepare ano¬ 
ther lading for the boats which I propofed to fend next 
morning. 
Thurfday 1 7. I? accordingly, difpatched them at feven o’clock, and they 
returned laden by noon. No time was loft in fending them 
back for another cargo ; and they carried orders for every 
body to be on board by funfet. This being complied with, 
we hoifted in the boats and made fail to the Weft ward, with 
a light air of wind from the North. 
We found this iflot near a half larger than the other, and 
almoft entirely covered with cocoa-palms; the greateft part 
of 
