James Cook - A Journal of the proceedings of His Majesty's Bark Endeavour on a voyage round the world, by Lieutenant James Cook, Commander, commencing the 25th of May 1768 - 23 Oct. 1770: No. 077

Remarkable Occurrences &tc. on the South Sea's

cannot think so great an Error can have been committed in the Ships run in so Short a time as those Observations seem to point out & therefore I shall abide by the Longitude given by the Log, unless from subsequent Observations this error should be found to be just 

A steady fresh Trade & fine Wear. Variation of Several Azmth 2º.32' East

A fresh Trade wind & fine pleasant wear. at Noon saw a Large flock of Birds they had brown backs & white Bellies, they fly & make a noise like starlings, & are shaped like them only something larger. saw likewise some black Shearwaters Several Man of War Birds

First & Latter parts a steady fresh Breeze & Cloudy the Middle sometimes squally with rain at other times little wind. PM saw 2 Birds like Albatrosses. they were all white except the Tip of their wings & Tails
 
Lagoon Island [in margin]
A Steady fresh Trade & clear wear. at ½ Part 10 AM saw land bearing Sº. distce. 3 or 4 Lg's hauld up for it & soon found it to be an Island of about 2 Leag.s in Circuit 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 & narrow particularly on the Sº. side where it is mostly a Beach or Reef of rocks, it is the same on the Nt. side in 3 places. & these disjoins the firm land & makes it appear like so many Islands, covered with wood. on the Wt. end of the Island is a large Tree which was looks fine - tree that looks like a large Tower, & about the Middle of the Island are two Cocoa Nutt Trees that appears above all the other around which as we approached the Island looked very much like a flag. We approached the Nº. side of this Island within a Mile & found no Bottom with 130 fathom of lines, neither did there appear to be any Anchorage about it. we saw several of the Inhabitants, the most of them Men & these Marched along the shore abreast of the Ship with long Aubr in the ir hands as tho' they mean t to oppose our landing. they were all naked except their Privy parts & were of a Dark Copper Colour with long black Hair but upon our leaving the island some of them were seen to put on a Covering Hone or two we saw in the Skirts of the Wood was clothed in white these we supposed to be Women ~ This Island lies in the Latitude of 18º47' & Longde. 139.28 West from the Meridian of Greenwich Variation 2.54 East ~ 

Thrum Cap [in margin]
S fresh steady gale & fine wear. at 1 PM made Sail to the Westwd. & at ½ past 3 saw land to the NWt which we got up with at Sun fall & proved to be a low woody Island of a Circular form & not much above a Mile in Compass. this Island I called Thrum Cap. it lies in the Latitude of 18.35 So. & in the Longde. of 139.48 Wt. from Greenwich & No63 W 7 Lg's from Lagoon Island. we saw no Inhabitants nor the appearance of any & yet we were within half a Mile of the Shore. I observed by the Shore that it was near low Water, & at Lagoon Island I observed that it was either high Water or else there was no Ebing & flowing of the Sea from these Circumstances I infer that a SSE or South Moon makes high Water. here we caught a King Fish, being the first fish we have got in these Seas.

A Fresh Trade & fine Pleasant wear. at 3 PM Saw land to the Westwd. which proved to be an Island of about 12 or 15 Leagues in Compass. is very low & entirely drowned in the Middle.