Our party had acquired no information since morning, but from the discoveries that had already been made, we felt satisfied, that on the following day, we should find other traces of the mutineers. In taking my departure, I stretched off with a fine breeze, but it was blowing directly from the point to which I wished to steer. I suffered the men to lay down and refresh themselves with sleep, whilst midshipman S. and myself steered the boat, and to my regret, in returning back towards the shore from whence I had started, discovered that we had lost ground; besides, our boat being clumsy and badly fitted, we found that we had to contend with a strong current. I got the oars out, therefore, and pulled dead to windward until day-light, when having proceeded about six miles, we again made sail to the northward and eastward, close haul upon a wind; it gradually veered, until I could head for an island eight or ten miles from us, which just appeared above the horizon, and where I designed to land and give the men breakfast. When within two or three miles of the island, I observed a number of canoes leaving places nearer to me and landing upon it. Two canoes had put off from thence, and were standing for me as I was beating with my clumsy boat to weather an intervening coral reef; they were manned with about twenty natives, all armed with spears and stones. When they had approached me pretty near, and were passing under my lee, I ran alongside to examine them, for which they gave us a great many cross looks. As soon as I suffered them to depart, they immediately returned to the shore from whence they came, and where I not long afterwards discovered about twenty canoes that would carry from twenty to forty men each. The canoes I had boarded, sailed at least three miles to my one, and I now discovered the impossibility of possessing ourselves of the mutineers of the Globe, whilst they, or the natives, if friendly, to them, had the disposal of such fleet vessels, with which to avoid us whenever our too near approach endangered their safety. I determined, therefore, to take possession of all that were now assembled, even though I should be opposed by the natives, and reduced to the necessity of measuring our strength with them.