King George's Islands to Saypan, Tinian and Aguigan
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ground between them. The south east side of these islands lies N.E. by N. and S.W. by S. and is about three leagues in length between the extream points, from both which a reef runs out, upon which the sea breaks to a tremendous height. We sailed round the north end, and upon the north west and west side, saw innumerable rocks and shoals, which stretched near two leagues into the sea, and were extremely dangerous. The islands themselves had a more fertile and beautiful appearance than any we had seen before, and, like the rest, swarmed with people, whose habitations we saw standing in clusters all along the coast. We saw also a large vessel under sail, at a little distance from the shore; but to our unspeakable regret we were obliged to leave the place without farther examination, for it was surrounded in every direction by rocks and breakers, which rendered the hazard more than equivalent to every advantage we might procure. At this time, I took these for part of the islands called Solomon’s Islands, and was in hopes that I should fall in with others of them, in some of which we might find an harbour.
The reef of rocks which we first saw as we approached these islands, lies in latitude 10° 15’S., longitude 169° 28’W. and it bears from Prince of Wales’s Island N. 76° 48’W. distant 352 leagues. The islands bear from the reef W.N.W. distant nine leagues: I called them the ISLANDS OF DANGER, and steered from them N.W. by W. allowing for the variation.
After having seen the breakers soon after it was light in the morning, I told my officers that I apprehended we should have frequent alarms in the night; at night, therefore, every body was upon the watch, which a very hard squall of wind, with rain, rendered the more necessary. About nine o’clock, having just gone down into my cabbin, I heard a
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from Volume I of the London 1773 Edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 109, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv01/145.html