The people, who kept abreast of the ship on the beach, made many signals; but whether they were intended to frighten us away, or invite us on shore, it is not easy to determine: we returned them by waving our hats and shouting, and they replied by shouting again. We did not put their disposition to the test, by attempting to land; because, as the island was inconsiderable, and as we wanted nothing that it could afford, we thought it imprudent as well as cruel to risk a contest, in which the natives must have suffered by our superiority, merely to gratify an idle curiosity; especially as we expected soon to fall in with the island where we had been directed to make our astronomical observation, the inhabitants of which would probably admit us without opposition, as they were already acquainted with our strength, and might also procure us a ready and peaceable reception among the neighbouring people, if we should desire it. To these islands we gave the name of THE GROUPS. On the 7th, about half an hour after six in the morning, being just at day-break, we discovered another island to the northward, which we judged to be about four miles in circumference. The land lay very low, and there was a piece of water in the middle of it; there seemed to be some wood upon it, and it looked green and pleasant; but we saw neither cocoa-trees nor inhabitants: it abounded, however, with birds, and we therefore gave it the name of BIRD ISLAND. It lies in latitude 17° 48ʹ S. and longitude 143° 35ʹ W. at the distance of ten leagues, in the direction W. ½ N. from the west end of the Groups. The variation here was 6° 32ʹ E. On the 8th, about two o’clock in the afternoon, we saw land to the northward, and about sunset came abreast of it, at about the distance of two leagues. It appeared to be a double range of low woody islands joined together by reefs, so as to form one island, in the form of an ellipsis or oval, with a lake in the middle of it. The small islands and reefs that circumscribe the lake have the appearance of a chain, and we therefore gave it the name of CHAIN ISLAND. Its length seemed to be about five leagues, in the direction of N. W. and S. E., and its breadth about five miles. The trees upon it appeared to be large, and we saw smoke rising in different parts of it from among them, a certain sign that it was inhabited. The middle of it lies in latitude 17° 23ʹ S. and longitude 145° 54ʹ W., and is distant from Bird Island forty-five leagues, in the direction of W. by N. The variation here was, by several azimuths, found to be 4° 54ʹ E.