i8q 
A VOYAGE TO 
1777. 
December. 
■-- J 
Monday 22. 
Tuefday 23. 
Wednef. 24. 
difcoveries, I ordered a furvey to be taken of all the boat” 
fwain’s and carpenter’s ftores that were in the fhips, that I 
might be fully informed of the quantity, hate, and condi¬ 
tion of every article; and, by that means, know how to 
ufe them to the greateft advantage. 
Before I failed from the Society Iflands, I loft no oppor¬ 
tunity of inquiring of the inhabitants, if there were any 
iflands in a North or a North Weft direction from them ; 
but I did not find that they knew of any. Nor did we 
meet with any thing that indicated the vicinity of land, till 
we came to about the latitude of 8° South, where we began 
to fee birds; fuch as boobies, tropic and men-of-war-birds, 
tern, and fome other forts. At this time our longitude 
was 205° Eaft. Mendana, in his firft voyage in 1568 *, 
difcovered an ifland which he named Ifla de Jefus, in lati¬ 
tude 6° 45 / South, and 1450 leagues from Callao, which 
is 200 0 Eaft longitude from Greenwich. We crofted this 
latitude near a hundred leagues to the Eaftward of this 
longitude, and faw there many of the above-mentioned 
birds; which are feldom known to go very far from land. 
In the night, between the 22d and 23d, we crofted the 
line in the longitude of 203° 15' Eaft. Here the variation 
of the compafs was 6° 30' Eaft, nearly. 
On the 24th, about half an hour after day-break, land 
was difcovered bearing North Eaft by Eaft, half Eaft. Upon 
a nearer approach, it was found to be one of thofe low 
iflands fo common in this ocean ; that is, a narrow bank of 
land inclofing the fea within, A few cocoa-nut trees were 
feen in two or three places; but, in general, the land had 
a very barren appearance. At noon, it extended from North 
Eaft by Eaft, to South by Eaft, half Eaft, about four miles 
* See Dalrymple’s Collection, Vol, i. p. 45. 
diftant* 
