With this view, I kept standing off and on, all night; and, in the morning, between eight and nine o’clock, I went with the boats to the west side of the island, and landed with little difficulty. I immediately set the people with me to work, to gather cocoa-nuts, which we found in great abundance. But to get them to our boats was a tedious operation; for we were obliged to carry them at least half a mile over the reef, up to the middle in water. Omai, who was with me, caught, with a scoop net, in a very short time, as much fish as served the whole party on shore for dinner, besides sending some to both ships. Here were also great abundance of birds, particularly men-of-war and tropic birds; so that we fared sumptuously. And it is but doing justice to Omai to say, that, in these excursions to the uninhabited islands, he was of the greatest use. For he not only caught the fish, but dressed these, and the birds we killed, in an oven, with heated stones, after the fashion of his country, with a dexterity and good-humour that did him great credit. The boats made two trips before night well laden; with the last, I returned on board, leaving Mr. Williamson, my third lieutenant, with a party of men, to prepare another lading for the boats which I proposed to send next morning. I, accordingly, dispatched them at seven o’clock, and they returned laden by noon. No time was lost in sending them back for another cargo; and they carried orders for every body to be on board by sunset. This being complied with, we hoisted in the boats and made sail to the westward, with a light air of wind from the north.