st island, is
8 deg. 06' north, and longitude 140 deg. 03' east. I did at first
suppose them to have been part of the New Carolines, but they
seem to lie quite alone, and are about five miles asunder. I
called them Phillip Islands, after Arthur Phillip, the governor
of New South Wales.

On the 17th of July in the morning, we saw land from the
mast-head, bearing west by south nine or ten leagues distant; at
noon we could see it from the deck, and it appeared to be three
islands; at four in the afternoon, they bore south by west
three-quarters west, and were by intersections taken from the
ship, distant eight leagues. A considerable number of fish being
at that time round the ship, the people, in looking over the side
at them, discovered rocks under the bottom; we immediately
sounded, and had fifteen fathoms: the rocks appeared very large,
with patches of white sand between them; in twenty minutes, the
water appeared to deepen, and we had no ground with forty fathoms
of line. This ridge of rocks appeared to be about half a mile in
breadth, and was seen from the mast-head to stretch to the
southward towards the islands, and considerably to the northward
of the ship; although it be of great extent in a north-north-east
and south-south-west direction, yet I do not think there is any
very shoal water upon it, for we saw no break, surf, or rippling,
which would indicate shoal water; and there was a sufficient
swell of the sea to have occasioned some appearance where any
ship would have struck the ground.

These islands lie in the latitude of 9 deg. 33' north;
longitude 137 deg. 30' east, and are probably a part of the New
Carolines; at least, from the situation of those islands in the
charts, they answer to the place of some of them; but as the New
Carolines are marked as very numerous, and very contiguous to one
another, I did expect to have seen many more; there were of
these, three only; the largest was very high, but not extensive.
From the time of our making these islands until the 23d, when we
were in latitude 11 deg. 56' north; longitude 132 deg. 20' east,
we had light and variable winds, but chiefly from the eastward;
in the above latitude and longitude it inclined to the northward,
and from that to the westward, and became very squally and
unsettled weather, with very heavy rains at times.

During these heavy showers, which were in our situation very
comfortable, whether in the day or night, every one was employ