On 6th April they reached Hervey's Island, and were somewhat surprised to be visited by several canoes, as on Cook's previous visit no signs of inhabitants had been noticed. Omai gathered from one or two natives who came on board to sell a few fish, that the Resolution and Adventure had been seen in 1776 when passing the island. King was sent to look for a landing-place, but, seeing that the women were quietly bringing down arms to their menfolk on the beach, he thought it better to return to the ship, and sail was made for the Friendly Islands, the Discovery being sent on about a league ahead, as she was better able "to claw off a lee shore than mine." At this time Cook was getting rather short of water, so he set the still to work, and obtained from "13 to 16 gallons of fresh water" between 6 A.M. and 4 P.M. "There has lately been made some IMPROVEMENT, as they are pleased to call it, to this machine, which in my opinion is much for the worse." Falling in with repeated thunderstorms in which they caught more water in an hour "than by the still in a month, I laid it a side as a thing attended with more trouble than profit." At one of the Palmerston Group they found, amongst other things drifted over the reef, some planks, one of which was very thick, with trunnell holes in it, and a piece of moulding from some ship's upper works, painted yellow, with nail holes showing signs of iron rust: probably the remains of some wrecked European ship. At Comango, where they anchored on 28th April, Cook notes: "It was remarkable that during the whole day the Indians would hardly part with any one thing to anybody but me; Captain Clerke did not get above one or two hogs." A supply of water was obtained and wood was cut, but most of the trees were what Cook calls Manchineel, the sap from which produced blisters on the men's skin, and Burney says some of them were blind for a fortnight, having rubbed their faces with their juice-stained hands. One of the carpenters had a bad fall and broke his leg, but for the rest, says Burney, they were "in good health; thank God, no appearance of scurvy." FLOGGING NO GOOD.