to the two gentlemen, that they had not sooner met with these people,
as a better acquaintance with the manners and disposition of the
inhabitants of the country might hence have been obtained in a day,
than had been acquired during the whole stay of the English upon the
coast.

When, on the 6th of February, Lieutenant Cook had gotten out of the
sound, he stood over to the eastward, in order to get the strait well
open before the tide of ebb approached. At seven in the evening, two
small islands, which lie off Cape Koamaroo, at the south-east head of
Queen Charlotte's Sound, bore east, at the distance of about four
miles. It was nearly calm, and the tide of ebb setting out, the
Endeavour, in a very short time, was carried by the rapidity of the
stream close upon one of the islands, which was a rock rising almost
perpendicularly out of the sea. The danger increased every moment, and
there was but one expedient to prevent the ship's being dashed to
pieces, the success of which a few moments would determine. She was
now within little more than a cable's length of the rock, and had
above seventy-five fathom water. But, upon dropping an anchor, and
veering above one hundred and fifty fathom of cable, she was happily
brought up. This, however would not have saved our navigators, if the
tide, which set south by east, had not, upon meeting with the island,
changed its direction to the south-east, and carried them beyond the
first point. In this situation they were not above two cables' length
from the rocks; and here they remained in the strength of the tide,
which set to the south-east, after the rate of at least five miles an
hour from a little after seven till midnight, when the tide abated,
and the vessel began to heave. By three in the morning, a light breeze
at north-west having sprung up, our voyagers sailed for the eastern
shore; though they made but little way, in consequence of the tide