The bay which the boat entered lies on the west side of the island, the bottom was foul and rocky, but the water so clear that it could plainly be seen at the depth of five and twenty fathom, which is one hundred and fifty feet.

This island is situated in the latitude of 22° 27’ S. and in the longitude of 150° 47’ W. from the meridian of Greenwich. It is thirteen miles in circuit, and rather high than low, but neither populous nor fertile in proportion to the other islands that we had seen in these seas. The chief produce seems to be the tree of which they make their weapons, called in their language Etoa; many plantations of it were seen along the shore, which is not surrounded, like the neighbouring islands, by a reef.

The people seemed to be lusty and well-made, rather browner than those we had left: under their arm-pits they had black marks about as broad as the hand, the edges of which formed not a strait but an indented line; they had also circles of the same colour, but not so broad, round their arms and legs, but were not marked on any other part of the body.

Voyaging Accounts