A Steady fresh Trade and clear weather. At 1/2 past 10 AM saw land bearing South distant 3 or 4 Leagues - hauld up for it and soon found it to be an Island of about 2 Leagues in circuit and of an Oval form with a Lagoon in the Middle for which I named it Lagoon Island -   the Border of land circumscribing this Lagoon is in many places very low and narrow particularly on the South side particularly on the South side where it is mostly a beach or Reef of Rocks, it is the same on the north in three places and these disjoins the firm land and makes it appear like so many Islands cover'd with Wood-   on the West end of the Island is a large tree which we took for a            tree that looks like a _^ ^Large Tower - and about the Middle of the Island are two Cocoa-nut trees that appears above all the other wood, which as we approache'd the Island look'd very much like a flag- We approach'd _^ ^{the north side of} this Island within a mile and found no Bottom with a 130 fathom of line neither _^ ^nor did there appear to be any Anchorage about it-   we saw several of the Inhabitants, the Most of them Men and these March'd along the shore abreast of the Ship with long clubs in their hands as tho they meant to oppose our landing,   they were all naked except their privy parts, and _^ ^{were of a dark Coper colour with} long black hair, but upon our leaving the Island some of them were seen _^ ^to put _^ ^on a covering- and one or two we saw in the skirts of the Wood was Cloathd in white, these we supposed to be Women — This Island lies in the Latitude of 18°..47' and Long^d 139°..28' West from the Meridian of Greenwich — Variation 2°..54' East —

Voyaging Accounts