e at three o'clock, and the rise of the tide about five feet.
According to this it is high-water on the full and change at 19 minutes
past 9 in the morning: I observed the flood to come from the southward,
though at Restoration Island I thought it came from the northward. I
think Captain Cook mentions that he found great irregularity in the set
of the flood on this coast.

We steered for the key seen in the north-west by north where we arrived
just at dark, but found it so surrounded by a reef of rocks that I could
not land without danger of staving the boat; and on that account we came
to a grapnel for the night.

Monday June 1.

At dawn of day we got on shore and tracked the boat into shelter for, the
wind blowing fresh without and the ground being rocky, it was not safe to
trust her at a grapnel lest she should be blown to sea: I was therefore
obliged to let her ground in the course of the ebb. From appearances I
expected that if we remained till night we should meet with turtle as we
discovered recent tracks of them. Innumerable birds of a noddy kind made
this island their resting-place; so that we had reason to flatter
ourselves with hopes of getting supplies in greater abundance than it had
hitherto been in our power. Our situation was at least four leagues
distant from the main. We were on the north-westernmost of four small
keys which were surrounded by a reef of rocks connected by sandbanks
except between the two northernmost, and there likewise it was dry at low
water, the whole forming a lagoon island into which the tide flowed: at
this entrance I kept the boat.

As usual I sent parties away in search of supplies but, to our great
disappointment, we could only get a few clams and some dolichos: with
these and the oysters we had brought from Sunday Island I made up a mess
for dinner with the addition of a small quantity of bread.

Towards noon Nelson and some others who had been to the easternmost key
returned, but Nelson was in so weak a condition that he was obliged to be
supported by two men. His complaint was a violent heat in his bowels, a
loss of sight, much drought, and an inability to walk. This I found was
occasioned by his being unable to support the heat of the sun and that,
when he was fatigued and faint, instead of retiring into the shade to
rest he had continued to attempt more than his strength was equal to. I
was glad to find that he had no fever; and it was now that the little
wine which