A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 

ARRANGED IN SYSTEMATIC ORDER: FORMING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE ORIGINAND PROGRESS OF NAVIGATION, DISCOVERY, AND COMMERCE, BY SEA AND LAND, FROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO THE PRESENT TIME. 

BY ROBERT KERR; F. R. S. & F. A. S. EDIN. 

ILLUSTRATED BY MAPS AND CHARTS. 

VOL. XIII. 

WILLIAM BLACKWOOD, EDINBURGH: AND T. CADELL, LONDON. MDCCCXXIV. 

CONTENTS OF VOL. XIII. 

 * * * * *

PART III. --BOOK I. 

CHAP. IV. 

SECT. XVII. 

A particular Description of the Island of Otaheite; its Produce andInhabitants; their Dress, Habitation, Food, Domestic Life andAmusements. 

SECT. XVIII. 

Of the Manufactures, Boats, and Navigation of Otaheite. 

XIX. 

Of the Division of Time at Otaheite; Numeration, Computation ofDistance, Language, Diseases, Disposal of the Dead, Religion, War, Weapons, and Government; with some general Observations for the Use offuture Navigators. 

XX. 

Description of the several Islands in the Neighbourhood of Otaheite, with various Incidents; a Dramatic Entertainment; and many Particularsrelative to the Customs and Manners of the Inhabitants. 

XXI. 

The Passage from Oteroah to New Zealand; Incidents which happened ingoing ashore there, and while the Ship lay in Poverty Bay. 

SECT. XXII. 

A Description of Poverty Bay, and the Face of the adjacent Country. TheRange from thence to Cape Turnagain, and back to Tolaga, with someAccount of the People and the Country and several Incidents thathappened on that Part of the Coast. 

XIII. 

The Range from Tolaga to Mercury Bay, with an Account of many Incidentsthat happened both on board and ashore: A Description of several Viewsexhibited by the Country, and of the Hippahs, or fortified Villages ofthe Inhabitants. 

XXIV. 

The Range from Mercury Bay to the Bay of Islands: An Expedition up theRiver Thames: Some Account of the Indians who inhabit its Banks, and thefine Timber that grows there: Several Interviews with the Natives ondifferent Parts of the Coast, and a Skirmish with them upon an Island. 

XXV. 

Range from the Bay of Islands round North Cape to Queen Charlotte'sIsland; and a Description of that Part of the Coast. 

XXVI. 

Transactions in Queen Charlotte's Sound; Passage through the Streightwhich divides the two Islands, and back to Cape Turnagain: Horrid Customof the Inhabitants: Remarkable Melody of Birds: A Visit to a Hippah, andmany other Particulars. 

XXVII. 

Range from Cape Turnagain along the eastern Coast of Poenammoo, roundCape South, and back to the Entrance of Cook's Streight, which completedthe Circumnavigation of the Country; with a Description of the Coast, and of Admiralty Bay: The Departure from New Zealand, and variousParticulars. 

XXVIII. 

The Run from New Zealand to Botany Bay, on the East Coast of NewHolland, now called New South Wales; various Incidents that happenedthere; with some Account of the Country end its Inhabitants. 

SECT. XXIX. 

The Range from Botany Bay; with a farther Account of the Country, andits Inhabitants and Productions. 

XXX. 

Dangerous Situation of the Ship in her Course from Trinity Bay toEndeavour River. 

XXXI. 

Transactions while the Ship was refitting in Endeavour River: ADescription of the adjacent Country, its Inhabitants and Productions. 

XXXII. 

Departure from Endeavour River; a particular Description of the Harbourthere, in which the Ship was refitted, the adjacent Country, and severalIslands near the Coast; the Range from Endeavour River to the NorthernExtremity of the Country, and the Dangers of that Navigation. 

XXXIII. 

Departure from New South Wales; a particular Description of the Country, its Products, and People: A Specimen of the Language, and someObservations on the Currents and Tides. 

XXXIV. 

The Passage from New South Wales to New Guinea, with an Account of whathappened upon landing there. 

XXXV. 

The Passage from New Guinea to the Island of Semau, and the Transactionsthere. 

XXXVI. 

A particular Description of the Island of Savu, its Produce, andInhabitants, with a Specimen of their Language. 

XXXVII. 

The Run from the Island of Savu to Batavia, and an Account of theTransactions there while the Ship was refitting. 

XXVIII. 

Some Account of Batavia, and the adjacent Country; with the Fruits, flowers, and other Productions. 

XXXIX. 

Some Account of the Inhabitants of Batavia, and the adjacent Country, their Manners, Customs, and Manner of Life. 

XL. 

The Passage from Batavia to the Cape of Good Hope, Some Account ofPrince's Island and its Inhabitants. Our Arrival at the Cape of GoodHope. Some Remarks on the Run from Java Head to that Place, and to SaintHelena. The Return of the Ship to England. 

APPENDIX

An Abstract of the Voyage round the World, performed by Lewis deBougainville, Colonel of Foot, and Commander of the Expedition, in theFrigate La Boudeuse, and the Storeship L'Etoile, in the Years 1766-7-8, and 9, drawn up expressly for this Work. 

A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 

 * * * * *

PART III--BOOK I. 

 * * * * *

CHAP, IV. 

SECTION XVII. 

_A particular Description of the Island of Otaheite; its Produce andInhabitants; their Dress, Habitations, Food, Domestic Life andAmusements. _

We found the longitude of Port Royal bay, in this island, as settled byCaptain Wallis, who discovered it on the 9th of June, 1767, to be withinhalf a degree of the truth. We found Point Venus, the northern extremityof the island, and the eastern point of the bay, to lie in the longitudeof 149°13', this being the mean result of a great number of observationsmade upon the spot. The island is surrounded by a reef of coral rock, which forms several excellent bays and harbours, some of which have beenparticularly described, where there is room and depth of water far anynumber of the largest ships. Port Royal bay, called by the nativesMatavai which is not inferior to any in Otaheite, may easily be known, by a very high mountain in the middle of the island, which bears duesouth from Point Venus. To sail into it; either keep the west point ofthe reef that lies before Point Venus, close on board, or give it abirth of near half a mile, in order to avoid a small shoal of coralrocks, on which there is but two fathoms and a half of water. The bestanchoring is on the eastern side of the bay, where there is sixteen andfourteen fathom upon an oosy bottom. The shore of the bay is a finesandy beach, behind which runs a river of fresh water, so that anynumber of ships may water here without incommoding each other; but theonly wood for firing, upon the whole island, is that of fruit-trees, which must be purchased of the natives, or all hope of living upon goodterms with them given up. 

The face of the country, except that part of it which borders upon thesea, is very uneven; it rises in ridges that run up into the middle ofthe island, and there form mountains, which may be seen at the distanceof sixty miles: Between the foot of these ridges and the sea, is aborder of low land, surrounding the whole island, except in a few placeswhere the ridges rise directly from the sea: The border of low land isin different parts of different breadths, but no where more than a mileand a half. The soil, except upon the very tops of the ridges, isextremely rich and fertile, watered by a great number of rivulets ofexcellent water, and covered with fruit-trees of various kinds, some ofwhich are of a stately growth and thick foliage, so as to form, onecontinued wood; and even the tops of the ridges, though in general theyare bare, and burnt up by the sun, are, in some parts, not without theirproduce. 

The low land that lies between the foot of the ridges and the sea, andsome of the vallies, are the only parts of the island that areinhabited, and here it is populous; the houses do not form villages ortowns, but are ranged along the whole border at the distance of aboutfifty yards from each other, with little plantations of plantains, thetree which furnishes them with cloth. The whole island, according toTupia's account, who certainly knew, could furnish six thousand sevenhundred and eighty fighting men, from which the number of inhabitantsmay easily, be computed. [1]

[Footnote 1: It is questionable if the whole existing population of theisland amount to the number now mentioned. Such has been the decrease ofits interesting but licentious inhabitants since the time of Cook, towhich, it is melancholy to be obliged to say, their intercourse withEuropeans has most rapidly contributed. The reader is referred, for someinformation on this point, to the account of Turnbull's voyage, published in 1805. A few particulars as to the appearance of Otaheite, on the authority of subsequent accounts, may be given with satisfactionto the reader. The island, which consists of two peninsulas connected bya low neck or isthmus covered with trees and shrubs but quiteuninhabited, presents a mountainous aspect, rising high in the centre, with narrow valleys of romantic but luxuriantly pleasing scenery, andwell watered, studding its verdant surface. The lofty and clusteringhills of which the greater part of the island is formed, and which, however steep of ascent, or abrupt in termination, are clothed to thevery summit with trees of very various colours and sizes, are encircledwith a rich border of low land, the proper seat of the inhabitants, whoseem to realize, in its fertility and beauty, all that human imaginationcan conceive requisite for animal enjoyment. The soil of this border, and of the valleys, is a blackish mould; that of the hills is different, changing as you ascend them into variously coloured earth and marl. Thebeds of the streams and rivers, which swell into torrents during therainy season, consist of stones and gravel, often of a flinty nature, and often also containing particles of iron. Some basaltic appearancesin one of the districts into which the island is divided, and severalprecipices among the mountains, evidently produced by sudden violence, indicate the volcanic origin of this highly favoured country. There isplenty of good water to be had over all the island. The weather fromMarch till August is usually mild and pleasant. During the rough season, which lasts from December till March, the wind often blows very hardfrom the west, and is attended with rain. --E. ]

The produce of this island is bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, bananas ofthirteen sorts, the best we had ever eaten; plantains; a fruit notunlike an apple, which, when ripe, is very pleasant; sweet potatoes, yams, cocoas, a kind of _Arum_ fruit known here by the name of_Jambu_, and reckoned most delicious; sugar-cane, which the inhabitantseat raw; a root of the salop kind, called by the inhabitants _Pea_; aplant called _Ethee_, of which the root only is eaten; a fruit thatgrows in a pod, like that of a large kidney-bean, which, when it isroasted, eats very much like a chesnut, by the natives called _Ahee_; atree called _Wharra_, called in the East Indies _Pandanes_, whichproduces fruit, something like the pine-apple; a shrub called _Nono_;the _Morinda_, which also produces fruit; a species of fern, of whichthe root is eaten, and sometimes the leaves; and a plant called _Theve_, of which the root also is eaten: But the fruits of the _Nono_, the fern, and the _Theve_, are eaten only by the inferior people, and in times ofscarcity. All these, which serve the inhabitants for food, the earthproduces spontaneously, or with so little culture, that they seem to beexempted from the first general curse, that "man should eat his bread inthe sweat of his brow. " They have also the Chinese paper mulberry, _morus papyrifera_, which they call _Aouto_; a tree resembling the wildfig-tree of the West Indies; another species of fig, which they call_Mattè_; the _cordia sebestina orientalis_, which they call _Etou_; akind of Cyprus grass, which they call _Moo_; a species of_tournefortia_, which they call _Taheinoo_; another of the _convolvuluspoluce_, which they call _Eurhe_; the _solanum centifolium_, which theycall _Ebooa_; the _calophyllum mophylum_, which they call _Tamannu_; the_hibiscus tiliaceus_, called _Poerou_, a frutescent nettle; the _urticaargentea_, called _Erowa_; with many other plants which cannot here beparticularly mentioned: Those that have been named already will bereferred to in the subsequent part of this work. 

They have no European fruit, garden stuff, pulse, or legumes, nor grainof any kind. 

Of tame animals they have only hogs, dogs, and poultry; neither is therea wild animal in the island, except ducks, pigeons, paroquets, with afew other birds, and rats, there being no other quadruped, nor anyserpent. But the sea supplies them with great variety of most excellentfish, to eat which is their chief luxury, and to catch it theirprincipal labour. [2]

[Footnote 2: It was no doubt a work of supererogation in themissionaries, to attempt to augment the stock of animal provision inthis island, to which nature had been so bountiful in dispensing herfavours. This however they did, but with little success. The nativeswere too amply furnished with pleasant and wholesome aliment, toundertake the care of cattle, which accordingly either perished fromneglect, or were suffered to turn wild in their mountains. Theimperfection too of their cookery operations not a little tended tobring beef and mutton into contempt. Instead of dressing them in some ofthe European methods, they treated them, as they did their dogs andhogs, by the process of burning. The consequence was, the skin became astough as leather, and the taste very offensive. These were formidabledifficulties, to people of such nice sense as the Otaheitans, who weretherefore readily induced to revert to their own stock. See account ofthe missionary voyage, for a good deal of information on the subjectsalluded to in this note. --E. ]

As to the people, they are of the largest size of Europeans. The men aretall, strong, well-limbed, and finely shaped. The tallest that we sawwas a man upon a neighbouring island, called _Huaheine_, who measuredsix feet three inches and a half. The women of the superior rank arealso in general above our middle stature, but those of the inferiorclass are rather below it, and some of them are very small. This defectin size probably proceeds from their early commerce with men, the onlything in which they differ from their superiors, that could possiblyaffect their growth. 

Their natural complexion is that kind of clear olive, or _brunette_, which many people in Europe prefer to the finest white and red. In thosethat are exposed to the wind and sun, it is considerably deepened, butin others that live under shelter, especially the superior class ofwomen, it continues of its native hue, and the skin is most delicatelysmooth and soft; they have no tint in their cheeks, which we distinguishby the name of colour. The shape of the face is comely, the cheek-bonesare not high, neither are the eyes hollow, nor the brow prominent; Theonly feature that does not correspond with our ideas of beauty is thenose, which, in general, is somewhat flat; but their eyes, especiallythose of the women, are full of expression, sometimes sparkling withfire, and sometimes melting with softness; their teeth also are, almostwithout exception, most beautifully even and white, and their breathperfectly without taint. [3]

[Footnote 3: The missionary account speaks less favourably of thecomeliness of these islanders. But this being a matter of taste, will ofcourse be very variously considered. The reader may amuse himself bycomparing the following quotation with the text, and forming his ownopinion. He will at all events readily admit, that nature has done morefor these people than art, and that the predominance of fashion isamongst them, as it is sometimes elsewhere, accomplished at the expenceof beauty. "The natural colour of the inhabitants is olive, inclining tocopper. Some are very dark, as the fishermen, who are most exposed tothe sun and sea; but the women, who carefully clothe themselves, andavoid the sun-beams, are but a shade or two darker than a Europeanbrunette. Their eyes are black and sparkling; their teeth white andeven; their skin soft and delicate; their limbs finely turned; theirhair jetty, perfumed and ornamented with flowers; but we did not thinktheir features beautiful, as by continual pressure from infancy, whichthey call _tourooma_, they widen the face with their hands, distendtheir mouth, and flatten the nose and forehead, which gives them a toomasculine look; and they are in general large, and wide over theshoulders; we were therefore disappointed in the judgment, we had formedfrom the report of preceding visitors; and though here and there was tobe seen a living person who might be esteemed comely, we saw few who infact could be called beauties; yet they possess eminent feminine graces:Their faces are never darkened with a scowl, or covered with a cloud ofsullenness or suspicion. " This account fully concurs in what follows asto the manners and behaviour of the Otaheitans. --E. ]

The hair is almost universally black, and rather coarse; the men havebeards, which they wear in many fashions, always, however, plucking outgreat part of them, and keeping the rest perfectly clean and neat. Bothsexes also eradicate every hair from under their arms, and accused us ofgreat uncleanness for not doing the same. In their motions there is atonce vigour and ease; their walk is graceful, their deportment liberal, and their behaviour to strangers and to each other affable andcourteous. In their dispositions also, they seemed to be brave, open, and candid, without either suspicion or treachery, cruelty, or revenge;so that we placed the same confidence in them as in our best friends, many of us, particularly Mr Banks, sleeping frequently in their housesin the woods, without a companion, and consequently wholly in theirpower. They were, however, all thieves; and when that is allowed, theyneed not much fear a competition with the people of any other nationupon earth. During our stay in this island we saw about five or sixpersons like one that was met by Mr Banks and Dr Solander on the 24th ofApril, in their walk to the eastward, whose skins were of a dead white, like the nose of a white horse; with white hair, beard, brows, andeyelashes; red, tender eyes; a short sight, and scurfy skins, coveredwith a kind of white down; but we found that no two of these belonged tothe same family, and therefore concluded, that they were not a species, but unhappy individuals, rendered anomalous by disease. [4]

[Footnote 4: In the opinion here expressed the Editor has alreadyacquiesced. He would remark by the bye, that although two or morepersons had been of the same family, no sufficient argument could havebeen adduced, as to the peculiar affection depending on circumstancesadequate to constitute a species; for it is very clear that hereditarydiseases do not necessarily imply essential distinctions, and thereseems no reason to alter the laws of logic in favour of theAlbinos. --E. ]

It is a custom in most countries where the inhabitants have long hair, for the men to cut it short, and the women to pride themselves in itslength. Here, however, the contrary custom prevails; the women alwayscut it short round their ears, and the men, except the fishers, who arealmost continually in the water, suffer it to flow in large waves overtheir shoulders, or tie it up in a bunch on the top of their heads. 

They have a custom also of anointing their heads with what they call_monoe, an oil expressed from the cocoa-nut, in which some sweet herbsor flowers have been infused: As the oil is generally rancid, the smellis at first very disagreeable to a European; and as they live in a hotcountry, and have no such thing as a comb, they are not able to keeptheir heads free from lice, which the children and common peoplesometimes pick out and eat; a hateful custom, wholly different fromtheir manners in every other particular; for they are delicate andcleanly almost without example, and those to whom we distributed combs, soon delivered themselves from vermin, with a diligence which showedthat they were not more odious to us than to them. [5]

[Footnote 5: This remark is scarcely consistent with what is related inthe missionary account, by which it appears that these vermin areconsidered by the Otaheitans much in the same light as certain animalswere once in our own land, viz. Royal property. The passage is toocurious to be omitted. It displays a very remarkable instance of thatease and elegance, with which crowned heads can occasionally employthemselves for the good of their subjects. "The mode of carrying theking and queen is with their legs hanging down before, seated on theshoulders and leaning on the head of their carriers, and very frequentlyamusing themselves with picking out the vermin which there abound. It isthe singular privilege of the queen, that of all women, she alone mayeat them; which privilege she never fails to make use of. " Such huntingexcursions are surely much more commendable, because much more innocentin their own nature and more beneficial in their results, than thosepractised amongst ourselves, at the risque of neck and limbs, and to thestill more important detriment of the farmer's gates and fences. Thepoint of privilege, perhaps, is less capable of defence--admitting, however, for a moment, that pre-eminence of station and office entitlesthe holder to singularity of inclination and conduct, as it is certainlyallowed to do in the case of some other sovereigns, the question thenbecomes a mere matter of taste, and it is ungenerous to deny theOtaheitan queen the benefit of the old maxim, _de gustibus non estdisputandum_. --E. ]

They have a custom of staining their bodies, nearly in the same manneras is practised in many other parts of the world, which they call_tattowing_. They prick the skin, so as just not to fetch blood, with asmall instrument, something in the form of a hoe; that part whichanswers to the blade is made of a bone or shell, scraped very thin, andis from a quarter of an inch to an inch and a half wide; the edge is cutinto sharp teeth or points, from the number of three to twenty, according to its size: When this is to be used, they dip the teeth intoa mixture of a kind of lamp-black, formed of the smoke that rises froman oily nut which they burn instead of candles, and water; the teeth, thus prepared, are placed upon the skin, and the handle to which theyare fastened being struck, by quick smart blows, with a stick fitted tothe purpose, they pierce it, and at the same time carry into thepuncture the black composition, which leaves an indelible stain. Theoperation is painful, and it is some days before the wounds are healed. It is performed upon the youth of both sexes when they are about twelveor fourteen years of age, on several parts of the body, and in variousfigures, according to the fancy of the parent, or perhaps the rank ofthe party. The women are generally marked with this stain, in the formof a Z, on every joint of their fingers and toes, and frequently roundthe outside of their feet: The men are also marked with the same figure, and both men and women have squares, circles, crescents, andill-designed representations of men, birds, or dogs, and various otherdevices impressed upon their legs and arms, some of which we were toldhad significations, though we could never learn what they were. But thepart on which these ornaments are lavished with the greatest profusion, is the breech: This, in both sexes, is covered with a deep black; abovewhich, arches are drawn one over another as high as the short ribs. Theyare often a quarter of an inch broad, and the edges are not straightlines, but indented. These arches are their pride, and are shewn both bymen and women with a mixture of ostentation and pleasure; whether as anornament, or a proof of their fortitude and resolution in bearing pain, we could not determine. The face in general is left unmarked; for we sawbut one instance to the contrary. Some old men had the greatest part oftheir bodies covered with large patches of black, deeply indented at theedges, like a rude imitation of flame; but we were told, that they camefrom a low island, called _Noouoora_, and were not natives of Otaheite. 

Mr Banks saw the operation of _tattowing_ performed upon the backside ofa girl about thirteen years old. The instrument used upon this occasionhad thirty teeth, and every stroke, of which at least a hundred weremade in a minute, drew an ichor or serum a little tinged with blood. Thegirl bore it with most Stoical resolution for about a quarter of anhour; but the pain of so many hundred punctures as she had received inthat time then became intolerable: She first complained in murmurs, thenwept, and at last burst into loud lamentations, earnestly imploring theoperator to desist. He was, however, inexorable; and when she began tostruggle, she was held down by two women, who sometimes soothed andsometimes chid her, and now and then, when she was most unruly, gave hera smart blow. Mr Banks staid in a neighbouring house an hour, and theoperation was not over when he went away; yet it was performed but uponone side, the other having been done some time before; and the archesupon the loins, in which they most pride themselves, and which give morepain than all the rest, were still to be done. 

It is strange that these people should value themselves upon what is nodistinction; for I never saw a native of this island, either man orwoman, in a state of maturity, in whom these marks were wanting:Possibly they may have their rise in superstition, especially as theyproduce no visible advantage, and are not made without great pain; butthough we enquired of many hundreds, we could never get any account ofthe matter. [6]

[Footnote 6: It is very remarkable that something like this tattowingwas practised among the Thracians of old, and was actually considered asan indication of nobility. So says Herodotus in Terps. 6. The notion isno way irrational, that early and semi-civilized people had no other wayof distinguishing ranks, than by making visible differences on the skin. The original inhabitants of Britain, it is probable, meant the samething by their use of colouring substances. Though it is probable enoughtoo, that another purpose was also accomplished thereby, viz. Preservation in some degree from the inclemency of the climate. By someauthors, it has been imagined, that such painting rendered them moreterrible to their enemies, which was the reason for the practice. TheIndians of North Carolina, according to the curious account of them bySurveyor-General Lawson, Lond. 1714, had still another reason forsomething similar. Speaking of their use of varnish, pipe-clay, lamp-black, &c. &c. For colouring their bodies before going out to war, he says, "when these creatures are thus painted, they make the mostfrightful figures that can be imitated by man, and seem more like devilsthan human creatures. You may be sure that they are about some mischiefwhen you see them thus painted; for in all the hostilities which haveever been acted against the English at any time, in several of theplantations of America, the savages always appeared in this disguise, whereby they might never after be discovered, or known by any of theChristians that should happen to see them after they had made theirescape; for it is impossible even to know an Indian under these colours, although he has been at your house a thousand times, and you know him atother times as well as you do any person living. "--Mr Bryan Edwardsmentions something of the Charaibes like this. "Not satisfied with theworkmanship of nature, they called in the assistance of art, to makethemselves more formidable. They painted their faces and bodies witharnotto so extravagantly, that their natural complexion, which wasreally that of a Spanish olive, was not easily to be distinguished underthe surface of crimson. However, as this mode of painting themselves waspractised by both sexes, perhaps it was at first introduced as a defenceagainst the venomous insects, so common in tropical climates, orpossibly they considered the brilliancy of the colour as highlyornamental. " These Charaibes had other ways of deforming themselves, some of which resembled what we shall find described in the course ofthis work. They made deep cuts on their cheeks, and stained them black;and painted white and black circles round their eyes. The tatooing whichMr Barrow speaks of, as practised in part of Africa where he travelled, one should incline to imagine very different from what is in fashion atOtaheite, which, according to our text, affords any other thanpleasurable sensations to the person undergoing this operation. Thereader may judge for himself, at least so far as idea goes. "A greaterdegree of amusement (than what their music and dancing yield) seems tobe derived by the women from the practice of _tatooing_, or, marking thebody, by raising the epidermis from the cuticle; a custom that has beenfound to exist among most of the uncivilized nations inhibiting warmcountries, and which probably owes its origin to a total want of mentalresources, and of the employment of time. By slightly irritating, itconveys to the body pleasurable sensations. In Kafferland it has passedinto a general fashion. No woman is without a tatooed skin; and theiringenuity is chiefly exercised between the breast and on the arms. " Sucha description corresponds with the notion of some frequently renewedbeautfyings of the toilet, rather than that of the infliction of deepand indelible marks, as are prescribed in the Otaheitan ritual. Thus wemay see here, as in other instances, that different motives give rise tosimilar practices. --E. ]

Their clothing consists of cloth or matting of different kinds, whichwill be described among their other manufactures. The cloth, which willnot bear wetting, they wear in dry weather, and the matting when itrains; they are put on in many different ways, just as their fancy leadsthem; for in their garments nothing is cut into shape, nor are any twopieces sewed together. The dress of the better sort of women consists ofthree or four pieces: One piece, about two yards wide, and eleven yardslong, they wrap several times round their waist, so as 'to hang downlike a petticoat as low as the middle of the leg, and this they call_Parou_: Two or three other pieces, about two yards and a half long, andone wide, each having a hole cut in the middle, they place one uponanother, and then putting the head through the holes, they bring thelong ends down before and behind; the others remain open at the sides, and give liberty to the arms: This, which they call the _Tebuta_, isgathered round the waist, and confined with a girdle or sash of thinnercloth, which is long enough, to go many times round them, and exactlyresembles the garment worn by the inhabitants of Peru and Chili, whichthe Spaniards call _Poncho_. The dress of the men is the same, exceptthat, instead of suffering the cloth that is wound about the hips tohang down like a petticoat, they bring it between their legs so as tohave some resemblance to breeches, and it is then called _Maro_. This isthe dress of all ranks of people, and being universally the same as toform, the gentlemen and ladies distinguish themselves from the lowerpeople by the quantity; some of them will wrap round them several piecesof cloth, eight or ten yards long, and two or three broad; and somethrow a large piece loosely over their shoulders, in the manner of acloke, or perhaps two pieces, if they are very great personages, and aredesirous to appear in state. The inferior sort, who have only a smallallowance of cloth from the tribes or families to which they belong, areobliged to be more thinly clad. In the heat of the day they appearalmost naked, the women having only a scanty petticoat, and the mennothing but the sash that is passed between their legs and fastenedround the waist. As finery is always troublesome, and particularly in ahot country, where it consists in putting one covering upon another, thewomen of rank always uncover themselves as low as the waist in theevening, throwing off all that they wear on the upper part of the body, with the same negligence and ease as our ladies would lay by a cardinalor double handkerchief. And the chiefs, even when they visited us, though they had as much cloth round their middle as would clothe a dozenpeople, had frequently the rest of the body quite naked. 

Upon their legs and feet they wear no covering; but they shade theirfaces from the sun with little bonnets, either of matting or ofcocoa-nut leaves, which they make occasionally in a few minutes. This, however, is not all their head-dress; the women sometimes wear littleturbans, and sometimes a dress which they value much more, and which, indeed, is much more becoming, called _Tomou_; the _Tomou_ consists ofhuman hair, plaited in threads, scarcely thicker than sewing silk. MrBanks got pieces of it above a mile in length, without a knot. Thesethey wind round the head in such a manner as produces a very prettyeffect, and in a very great quantity; for I have seen five or six suchpieces wound about the head of one woman: Among these threads they stickflowers of various kinds, particularly the cape-jessamine, of which theyhave great plenty, as it is always planted near their houses. The mensometimes stick the tail-feather of the Tropic-bird upright in theirhair, which, as I have observed before, is often tied in a bunch uponthe top of their heads: Sometimes they wear a kind of whimsical garland, made of flowers of various kinds, stuck into a piece of the rind of aplantain; or of scarlet peas, stuck with gum upon a piece of wood: Andsometimes they wear a kind of wig, made of the hair of men or dogs, orperhaps of cocoa-nut strings, woven upon one thread, which is tied undertheir hair, so that these artificial honours of their head may hang downbehind. Their personal ornaments, besides flowers, are few; both sexeswear ear-rings, but they are placed only on one side: When we came theyconsisted of small pieces of shell, stone, berries, red peas, or somesmall pearls, three in a string; but our beads very soon supplanted themall. 

The children go quite naked; the girls till they are three or four yearsold, and the boys till they are six or seven. 

The houses, or rather dwellings of these people, have been occasionallymentioned before: They are all built in the wood, between the sea andthe mountains, and no more ground is cleared for each house, than justsufficient to prevent the dropping of the branches from rotting thethatch with which they are covered; from the house, therefore, theinhabitant steps immediately under the shade, which is the mostdelightful that can be imagined. It consists of groves of bread-fruitand cocoa-nuts, without underwood, which are intersected, in alldirections, by the paths that lead from one house to the other. Nothingcan be more grateful than this shade in so warm a climate, nor any thingmore beautiful than these walks. As there is no underwood, the shadecools without impeding the air; and the houses, having no walls, receivethe gale from whatever point it blows. I shall now give a particulardescription of a house of a middling size, from which, as the structureis universally the same, a perfect idea may be formed both of those thatare bigger, and those that are less. 

The ground winch it covers is an oblong square, four and twenty feetlong, and eleven wide; over this a roof is raised, upon three rows ofpillars or posts, parallel to each other, one on each side, and theother in the middle. This roof consists of two flat sides inclining toeach other, and terminating in a ridge, exactly like the roofs of ourthatched houses in England. The utmost height within is about nine feet, and the eaves on each side reach to within about three feet and a halfof the ground: Below this, and through the whole height at each end, itis open, no part of it being enclosed with a wall. The roof is thatchedwith palm-leaves, and the floor is covered, some inches deep, with softhay; over this are laid mats, so that the whole is one cushion, uponwhich they sit in the day, and sleep in the night. In some houses, however, there is one stool, which is wholly appropriated to the masterof the family; besides this, they have no furniture, except a few littleblocks of wood, the upper side of which is hollowed into a curve, andwhich serve them for pillows. 

The house is indeed principally used as a dormitory; for, except itrains, they eat in the open air, under the shade of the next tree. Theclothes that they wear in the day serve them for covering in the night;the floor is the common bed of the whole household, and is not dividedby any partition. The master of the house and his wife sleep in themiddle, next to them the married people, next to them the unmarriedwomen, and next to them, at a little distance, the unmarried men; theservants, or _toutous_, as they are called, sleep in the open air, except it rains, and in that case they come just within the shed. [7]

[Footnote 7: If the Otaheitans were little benefited by the attempts ofEuropeans to rear cattle among them, as we have seen, they werecertainly indebted for the introduction of another race of animals, notat all likely to degenerate or die out in a climate so much morecongenial to their nature, than the comparatively inclement regions ofour hemisphere, where, notwithstanding the activity of hostile hands, they are known to propagate with most vexatious activity. "Theirhouses, " says the missionary account, "are full of fleas, which harbourin the floor, and are very troublesome, though the natives are much lessaffected by them than we are; they say they were brought to them by theEuropeans. One of our missionaries writes, he has been obliged to get upat midnight, and to run into the sea to cool himself, and to get rid ofthe swarm of disagreeable companions. " The poor missionary was worse offamong the fleas, than even Mr Barrow in the midst of the musquitoes, from which, it does not seem, that he ever had occasion to seek refuge, in any such untimely ablution. --E. ]

There are, however, houses of another kind, belonging to the chiefs, inwhich there is some degree of privacy. These are much smaller, and soconstructed as to be carried about in their canoes from place to place, and set up occasionally, like a tent; they are enclosed on the sideswith cocoa-nut leaves, but not so close as to exclude the air, and thechief and his wife sleep in them alone. 

There are houses also of a much larger size, not built either for theaccommodation of a single chief, or a single family; but as commonreceptacles for all the people of a district. Some of them are twohundred feet long, thirty broad, and, under the ridge, twenty feet high;these are built and maintained at the common expence of the district, for the accommodation of which they are intended; and have on one sideof them a large area, inclosed with low pallisadoes. 

These houses, like those of separate families, have no walls. Privacy, indeed, is little wanted among people who have not the idea ofindecency, and who gratify every appetite and passion before witnesses, with no more sense of impropriety than we feel when we satisfy ourhunger at a social board with our family or friends. Those who have noidea of indecency with respect to actions, can have none with respect towords; it is, therefore, scarcely necessary to observe, that, in theconversation of these people, that which is the principal source oftheir pleasure, is always the principal topic; and that every thing ismentioned without any restraint or emotion, and in the most directterms, by both sexes. [8]

[Footnote 8: Let us for once hear the missionary account, in palliationat least, of such clamant enormities. "They have no partitions in theirhouses; but it may be affirmed, they have in many instances more refinedideas of decency than ourselves; and one long a resident, scruples notto declare, that he never saw any appetite, hunger and thirst excepted, gratified in public. It is too true, that for the sake of gaining ourextraordinary curiosities, and to please our brutes, they have appearedimmodest in the extreme. Yet they lay the charge wholly at our door, andsay, that Englishmen are ashamed of nothing, and that we have led themto public acts of indecency never before practised among themselves. Iron here, more precious than gold, bears down every barrier ofrestraint. Honesty and modesty yield to the force of temptation. " Aremark may be made here of some consequence. In estimating the momentumof temptations, we ought to consider not only their direct strength, butalso what is known or believed of the extent of their influence on thesociety to which people belong. A man, it is certain, will much morereadily acquiesce in those which he has reason to think common to hisfellow creatures, than in others exclusively directed to himself. In theone case he anticipates sympathy, should he transgress; in the other, heis deterred by the apprehension of being singular in guilt. TheOtaheitans were in the former predicament, and accordingly were perhapsuniversally accessible to the charms of nails and hatchets and beads. Whereas, it is probable, that had even similar solicitations beenattempted in any instances unknown to each other, they would perhapshave been resisted. But vice once known to be established in society, becomes daily more prolific of its kind, and, like the Fama of Virgil, _vires acquirit eundo_. It is but fair to give these islanders the fullbenefit of this principle, when we sit in assize on them. Pray who cantell what would be the consequence of a visit from some of theinhabitants of Saturn, or the Georgium Sidus, should they open up theirultramundane treasures in sight of the British court? Is it conceivable, that the lovers of embroidery, and lace and diamonds would resist thewitcheries of the strangers?--or that the marvellous effects of theirliberality in distribution, should be confined within the walls of StJames's? He that can wisely answer these questions, is at liberty toreturn a verdict in the trial of the Otaheitans. --E. ]

Of the food eaten here the greater part is vegetable. Here are no tameanimals except hogs, dogs, and poultry, as I have observed before, andthese are by no means plenty. When a chief kills a hog, if is almostequally divided among his dependants; and as they are very numerous, theshare of each individual at these feasts, which are not frequent, mustnecessarily be small. Dogs and fowls fall somewhat more frequently tothe share of the common people. I cannot much commend the flavour oftheir fowls; but we all agreed, that a South Sea dog was little inferiorto an English lamb; their excellence is probably owing to their beingkept up, and fed wholly upon vegetables. The sea affords them a greatvariety of fish. The smaller fish, when they catch any, are generallyeaten raw, as we eat oysters; and nothing that the sea produces comesamiss to them: They are fond of lobsters, crabs, and other shell-fish, which are found upon the coast; and they will eat not only sea-insects, but what the seamen call _blubbers_, though some of them are so tough, that they are obliged, to suffer them to become putrid before they canbe chewed. Of the many vegetables that have been mentioned already asserving them for food, the principal is the bread-fruit, to procurewhich costs them no trouble or labour but climbing a tree: The treewhich produces it, does not indeed shoot up spontaneously; but if a manplants ten of them in his lifetime, which he may do in about an hour, hewill as completely fulfil his duty to his own and future generations, asthe natives of our less temperate climate can do by ploughing in thecold of winter, and reaping in the summer's heat, as often as theseseasons return; even if, after he has procured bread for his presenthousehold, he should convert a surplus into money, and lay it up for hischildren. 

It is true, indeed, that the bread-fruit is not always in season; butcocoa-nuts, bananas, plantains, and a great variety of other fruits, supply the deficiency. 

It may well be supposed, that cookery is but little studied by thesepeople as an art; and, indeed, they have but two ways of applying fireto dress their food, broiling and baking; the operation of broiling isso simple that it requires no description, and their baking has beendescribed already, in the account of an entertainment prepared for us byTupia. Hogs and large fish are extremely well dressed in the samemanner; and, in our opinion, were more juicy, and more equally done, than by any art of cookery now practised in Europe. Bread-fruit is alsocooked in an oven of the same kind, which renders it soft, and somethinglike a boiled potatoe; not quite so farinaceous as a good one, but moreso than those of the middling sort. 

Of the-bread-fruit they also make three dishes, by putting either wateror the milk of the cocoa-nut to it, then beating it to a paste with astone pestle, and afterwards mixing it with ripe plantains, bananas, orthe sour paste which they call _mahie_. 

The mahie, which has been mentioned as a succedaneum for ripebread-fruit, before the season for gathering a fresh crop comes on, isthus made:

The fruit is gathered just before it is perfectly ripe, and being laidin heaps, is closely covered with leaves; in this state it undergoes afermentation, and becomes disagreeably sweet: The core is then taken outentire, which is done by gently pulling the stalk, and the rest of thefruit is thrown into a hole which is dug for that purpose, generally inthe houses, and neatly lined in the bottom and sides with grass; thewhole is then covered with leaves, and heavy stones laid upon them: Inthis state it undergoes a second fermentation, and becomes sour, afterwhich it will suffer no change for many months: It is taken out of thehole as it is wanted for use, and being made into balls, it is wrappedup in leaves and baked; after it is dressed, it will keep five orsix-weeks. It is eaten both cold and hot, and the natives seldom make ameal without it, though to us the taste was as disagreeable as that of apickled olive generally is the first time it is eaten. 

As the making of this mahie depends, like brewing, upon fermentation, so, like brewing, it sometimes fails, without their being able toascertain the cause; it is very natural, therefore, that the making itshould be connected with superstitious notions and ceremonies: Itgenerally falls to the lot of the old women, who will suffer no creatureto touch any thing belonging to it, but those whom they employ asassistants, nor even to go into that part of the house where theoperation is carrying on. Mr Banks happened to spoil a large quantity ofit only by inadvertently touching a leaf which lay upon it. The oldwoman, who then presided over these mysteries, told him, that theprocess would fail; and immediately uncovered the hole in a fit ofvexation and despair. Mr Banks regretted the mischief he had done, butwas somewhat consoled by the opportunity which it gave him of examiningthe preparation, which perhaps, but for such an accident, would neverhave offered. [9]

[Footnote 9: "This paste, " we are told in the missionary account, "makesa most nutritious and sweet pudding, and all the children of the familyand their relations feast on it eagerly. During this festive season theyseldom quit the house, and continue wrapped up in cloth: And it issurprising to see them in a month become so fair and fat, that they canscarcely breathe. The children afterwards grow amazingly. The bakedbread-fruit in this state very much in taste resembles gingerbread. "This delicate and wholesome provision, it is said, is not confined tothe chiefs and wealthier people, as all who will be at the pains toprovide an oven, may readily be supplied with bread-fruit from theirneighbours. Such is the generosity of these interesting people, thatall of a man's own rank are at all times ready to contribute largely tohis support, on his making known his need. In how many respects arethese islanders worthy of being held up as examples for us!--E. ]

Such is their food, to which salt-water is the universal sauce, no mealbeing eaten without it: Those who live near the sea have it fetched asit is wanted; those who live at some distance keep it in large bamboos, which are set up in their houses for use. Salt-water, however, is nottheir only sauce; they make another of the kernels of cocoa-nuts, whichbeing fermented till they dissolve into a paste somewhat resemblingbutter, are beaten up with salt-water. The flavour of this is verystrong, and was, when we first tasted it, exceedingly nauseous; a littleuse, however, reconciled some of our people to it so much, that theypreferred it to our own sauces, especially with fish. The natives seemedto consider it as a dainty, and do not use it at their common meals;possibly because they think it ill management to use cocoa-nuts solavishly, or perhaps when we were at the island, they were scarcely ripeenough for the purpose. 

For drink, they have in general nothing but water, or the juice of thecocoa-nut; the art of producing liquors that intoxicate, byfermentation, being happily unknown among them; neither have they anynarcotic which they chew, as the natives of some other countries doopium, beetle-root, and tobacco. Some of them drank freely of ourliquors, and in a few instances became very drunk; but the persons towhom this happened were so far from desiring to repeat the debauch, thatthey would never touch any of our liquors afterwards. We were, however, informed, that they became drunk by drinking a juice that is expressedfrom the leaves of a plant which they call _ava ava_. This plant was notin season when we were there, so that we saw no instances of itseffects; and as they considered drunkenness as a disgrace, they probablywould have concealed from us any instances which might have happenedduring our stay. This vice is almost peculiar to the chiefs, andconsiderable persons, who vie with each other in drinking the greatestnumber of draughts, each draught being about a pint. They keep thisintoxicating juice with great care from their women. [10]

[Footnote 10: Turnbull speaks of intoxication being quite common andexcessive at the feasts of the Otaheitans. And the reader will oftenhear of the intemperate use and had effects of the ava or yava. The loveof this liquor, or its effects rather, must indeed be strong, toreconcile them to the disgusting manner in which it is prepared. "Several women, " says the missionary account, "have each a portiongiven them to chew of the stem and root (of the yava shrub) together, which, when masticated, they spit into a bowl into which some of theleaves of the plant are finely broken; they add water, or cocoa-nutliquor: The whole is then well stirred, and begins quickly to ferment;when it is strained or wrung out in the moo gross, or cocoa-nut fibres, and drank in cups of folded leaves. It is highly intoxicating, and seemsfor a while to deprive them of the use of their limbs: They lie down andsleep till the effects are passed, and during the time have their limbschafed with their women's hands. A gill of the yava is a sufficient dosefor a man. When they drink it, they always eat something afterwards; andfrequently fall asleep with the provisions in their mouths: When drankafter a hearty meal, it produces but little effect. " The writer forgetshis authority, but he remembers to have read of a practice somewhat moreeconomical, though not more delicate, than what is adopted at Otaheite. The people are all passionately fond of the intoxicating beverageprepared from mushrooms; as the common sort cannot procure it at firsthand, owing to its price, they are in the habit of attending at thehouses of the grandees, where entertainments are going on, provided withvessels for the purpose of collecting the urine of the favoured few whohave drunk of it, which they eagerly swallow. The peculiar smell andflavour, it seems, are preserved notwithstanding this percolation, andare considered amply remunerative of the pains and importunity used toobtain it. Such things are strikingly expressive of that worse thanbrutish perversity which actuates man, when once his lusts have acquiredthe dominion. It is lamentable to think, that after that conquest overhis reason and interest, his degradation in sensuality is in proportionto his ingenuity of invention; and that no dignity of situation, orsplendour of office, or brilliancy of talent, can possibly redeem himfrom the contempt and detestation of those whose good opinion it oughtto be his ambition to covet. --E. ]

Table they have none; but their apparatus for eating is set out withgreat neatness, though the articles are too simple and too few to allowany thing for show: And they commonly eat alone; but when a strangerhappens to visit them, he sometimes makes a second in their mess. Of themeal of one of their principal people I shall give a particulardescription. 

He sits down under the shade of the next tree, or on the shady side ofhis house, and a large quantity of leaves, either of the bread-fruit orbanana, is neatly spread before him upon the ground as a table-cloth; abasket is then set by him that contains his provision, which, if fish orflesh, is ready dressed, and wrapped up in leaves, and two cocoa-nutshells, one full of salt water, and the other of fresh: His attendants, which are not few, seat themselves round him, and when all is ready, hebegins by washing his hands and his mouth thoroughly with the freshwater, and this he repeats almost continually throughout the whole meal;he then takes part of his provision out of the basket, which generallyconsists of a small fish or two, two or three breadfruits, fourteen orfifteen ripe bananas, or six or seven apples: He first takes half abread-fruit, peels off the rind, and takes out the core with his nails;of this he puts as much into his mouth as it can hold, and while hechews it, takes the fish out of the leaves, and breaks one of them intothe salt water, placing the other, and what remains of the bread-fruit, upon the leaves that have been spread before him. When this is done, hetakes up a small piece of the fish that has been broken into the saltwater, with all the fingers of one hand, and sucks it into his mouth, soas to get with it as much of the salt water as possible: In the samemanner he takes the rest by different morsels, and between each, atleast very frequently, takes a small sup of the salt water, either outof the cocoa-nut shell or the palm of his hand: In the mean time one ofhis attendants has prepared a young cocoa-nut, by peeling off the outerrind with his teeth, an operation which to an European appears verysurprising; but it depends so much upon sleight, that many or us wereable to do it before we left the island, and some that could scarcelycrack a filbert: The master, when he chuses to drink, takes thecocoa-nut thus prepared, and boring a hole through the shell with hisfinger, or breaking it with a stone, he sucks out the liquor. When hehas eaten his bread-fruit and fish, he begins with his plantains, one ofwhich makes but a mouthful, though it be as big as a black-pudding; ifinstead of plantains he has apples, he never tastes them till they havebeen pared; to do this a shell is picked up from the ground, where theyare always in plenty, and tossed to him by an attendant: He immediatelybegins to cut or scrape off the rind, but so awkwardly that great partof the fruit is wasted. If, instead of fish, he has flesh, he must havesome succedaneum for a knife to divide it; and for this purpose a pieceof bamboo is tossed to him, of which he makes the necessary implement bysplitting it transversely with his nail. While all this has been doing, some of his attendants have been employed in beating bread-fruit with astone-pestle upon a block of wood; by being beaten in this manner, andsprinkled from time to time with water, it is reduced to the consistenceof a soft paste, and is then put into a vessel somewhat like a butcher'stray, and either made up alone, or mixed with banana or mahie, accordingto the taste of the master, by pouring water upon it by degrees andsqueezing it often through the hand: Under this operation it acquiresthe consistence of a thick custard, and a large cocoa-nut shell full ofit being set before him, he sips it as we should do a jelly if we hadno spoon to take it from the glass: The meal is then finished by againwashing his hands and his mouth. After which the cocoa-nut shells arecleaned, and every thing that is left is replaced in the basket. 

The quantity of food which these people eat at a meal is prodigious: Ihave seen one man devour two or three fishes as big as a perch; threebread-fruits, each bigger than two fists; fourteen or fifteen plantainsor bananas, each of them six or seven inches long, and four or fiveround; and near a quart of the pounded bread-fruit, which is assubstantial as the thickest unbaked custard. This is so extraordinarythat I scarcely expect to be believed; and I would not have related itupon my own single testimony, but Mr Banks, Dr Solander, and most of theother gentlemen, have had ocular demonstration of its truth, and knowthat I mention them upon the occasion. 

It is very wonderful, that these people, who are remarkably fond ofsociety, and particularly that of their women, should exclude itspleasures from the table, where among all other nations, whether civilor savage, they have been principally enjoyed. [11] How a meal, whichevery where else brings families and friends together, came to separatethem here, we often enquired, but could never learn. They eat alone, they said, because it was right; but why it was right to eat alone, theynever attempted to tell us: Such, however, was the force of habit, thatthey expressed the strongest dislike, and even disgust, at our eating insociety, especially with our women, and of the same victuals. At first, we thought this strange singularity arose from some superstitiousopinion; but they constantly affirmed the contrary. We observed alsosome caprices in the custom, for which we could as little account as forthe custom itself. We could never prevail with any of the women topartake of the victuals at our table when we were dining, in company;yet they would go, five or six together, into the servants' apartments, and there eat very heartily of whatever they could find, of which I havebefore given a particular instance; nor were they in the leastdisconcerted if we came in while they were doing it. When any of us havebeen alone with a woman, she has sometimes eaten in our company; butthen she has expressed the greatest unwillingness that it should beknown, and always extorted the strongest promises of secrecy. 

[Footnote 11: This is not true, as the reader will find, if he knows itnot already, when he comes to the next note. Dr H. Does not seem to haveread extensively on the customs of different nations. It is indeedwonderful, that he did not advert to what had long been known of thepractices of the East. A single quotation from one author, may besufficient to prepare the reader for any additional information, on thesubject of the public separation of the sexes. "The regulations of theharam, " says Dr Russel, speaking of the Moosulmauns, "oppose a strongbarrier to curiosity; inveterate custom excludes females from minglingin assemblies of the other sex, and even with their nearestmale-relations they appear to be under a restraint from which, perhaps, they are never emancipated, except in familiar society amongthemselves. "--E. ]

Among themselves, even two brothers and two sisters have each theirseparate baskets, with provision and the apparatus of their meal. Whenthey first visited us at our tents, each brought his basket with him;and when we sat down to table, they would go out, sit down upon theground, at two or three yards distance from each other, and turningtheir faces different ways, take their repast without interchanging asingle word. 

The women not only abstain from eating with the men, and of the samevictuals, but even have their victuals separately prepared by boys keptfor that purpose, who deposit it in a separate shed, and attend themwith it at their meals. 

But though they would not eat with us or with each other, they haveoften asked us to eat with them, when we have visited those with whom wewere particularly acquainted at their houses; and we have often uponsuch occasions eaten out of the same basket, and drunk out of the samecup. The elder women, however, always appeared to be offended at thisliberty; and if we happened to touch their victuals, or even the basketthat contained it, would throw it away. [12]

[Footnote 12: Nothing can be more difficult in the way of philosophicalinvestigation, than to ascertain the origin and reasons of the customs, opinions, and prejudices established among different people. Theirvariety is quite destructive of any theory which might be built on thewell-known general principles of human nature; and their insignificanceoften derides every process of formal enquiry, which attempts by anything more recondite than the supposition of whim or caprice, to accountfor them. The peculiarities of all nations are, perhaps, on a par inthis respect, and only escape scrutiny and wonder, because unnoticed bythose to whom they are not familiar. But certainly, to the inhabitantsof Otaheite, our eating parties, where the sexes at times vie with eachother in the management of knife and fork, and where it usually happensthat a woman presides, would seem as unaccountable and as indelicate, asa certain social exhibition, already mentioned as occurring amongstthem, appeared to be to those who witnessed it. And perhaps it is lesseasy, than at first sight may be imagined, to justify one more than theother. Of actions equally natural, necessary, and proper, and at thesame time equally inoffensive to others, it is exceedingly perplexing todiscover good reasons for saying, that some are fitted for public noticemore than others. In the cases alluded to, a skilful controversialistmight be able to argue, why the Otaheitan practice ought to be esteemedthe more rational one. The writer has heard of a person, whoserefinement of taste and feeling was such, as made him quite disgustedwith any woman who eat in his presence; and perhaps the ladies ingeneral are somewhat apprehensive of their running the risk of beingdepreciated by the appearance of a good appetite in public, and hencetheir common practice of taking what is called a luncheon before goingto a feast, or social eating-party, and their being pleased with thecompliment given in the form of complaint, that they have very poorstomachs! The Otaheitans, however, are by no means singular in dividingthe sexes during their repasts. On the contrary, there is ground tothink, that in Persia, and indeed throughout almost all the East, it isusual for the women to eat apart from the men. See Harmer's Observationson Scripture, 4th ed. Vol. Ii. P. 109. Capt. Carver, speaking of theNaudowesses, a tribe of Americans, says, "The men and women feast apart;and each sex invites by turns their companions to partake with them ofthe food they happen to have. " He tells us, however, that in theirdomestic way of living, the sexes usually associate. Of the femaleCharaibes, Mr Edwards, quoting Labat, says, that they were not allowedthe privilege of eating in presence of their husbands. And Rochon, inhis account of Madagascar, tells us something to the same purport of thewomen of that island. It would be easy to multiply instances of thecustom which Hawkesworth thinks to be peculiar to the Otaheitans. --E. ]

After meals, and in the heat of the day, the middle-aged people of thebetter sort generally sleep; they are indeed extremely indolent, andsleeping and eating is almost all that they do. Those that are older areless drowsy, and the boys and girls are kept awake by the naturalactivity and sprightliness of their age. 

Their amusements have occasionally been mentioned in my account of theincidents that happened during our residence in this island, particularly music, dancing, wrestling, and shooting with the bow; theyalso sometimes vie with each other in throwing a lance. As shooting isnot at a mark, but for distance; throwing the lance is not for distance, but at a mark: The weapon is about nine feet long, the mark is the holeof a plantain, and the distance about twenty yards. 

Their only musical instruments are flutes and drums; the flutes aremade of a hollow bamboo about a foot long, and, as has been observedbefore, have only two stops, and consequently but four notes, out ofwhich they seem hitherto to have formed but one tune; to these stopsthey apply the fore-finger of the left hand and the middle-finger of theright. 

The drum is made of a hollow block of wood, of a Cylindrical form, solidat one end, and covered at the other with shark's skin: These they beatnot with sticks, but their hands; and they know how to tune two drums ofdifferent notes into concord. They have also an expedient to bring theflutes that play together into unison, which is to roll up a leaf so asto slip over the end of the shortest, like our sliding tubes fortelescopes, which they move up or down till the purpose is answered, ofwhich they seem to judge by their ear with great nicety. 

To these instruments they sing; and, as I have observed before, theirsongs are often extempore: They call every two verses or couplet a song, _Pehay_; they are generally, though not always, in rhyme; and whenpronounced by the natives, we could discover that they were metre. MrBanks took great pains to write down some of them which were made uponour arrival, as nearly as he could express their sounds by combinationsof our letters; but when we read them, not having their accent, we couldscarcely make them either metre or rhyme. The reader will easilyperceive that they are of very different structure. 

 Tede pahai de parow-a Ha maru no mina. 

 E pahah Tayo malama tai ya No Tabane tonatou whannomi ya. 

 E Turai eattu terara patee whannua toai Ino o maio Pretane to whennuaia no Tute. 

Of these verses our knowledge of the language is too imperfect toattempt a translation. They frequently amuse themselves by singing suchcouplets as these when they are alone, or with their families, especially after it is dark; for though they need no fires, they are notwithout the comfort of artificial light between sunset and bed-time. Their candles are made of the kernels of a kind of oily nut, which theystick one over another upon a skewer that is thrust through the middleof them; the upper one being lighted, burns down to the second, at thesame time consuming that part of the skewer which goes through it; thesecond taking fire burns in the same manner down to the third, and so ofthe rest: Some of these candles will burn a considerable time, and theygive a very tolerable light. They do not often sit up above an hourafter it is dark; but when they have strangers who sleep in the house, they generally keep a light burning all night, possibly as a check uponsuch of the women as they wish not to honour them with theirfavours. [13]

[Footnote 13: The reader, in perusing the above account of the Otaheitanevening-recreation, will readily recollect what Mr Park has soaffectingly told of the song of the African woman, of which he was madethe subject. Harmony, that "sovereign of the willing mind, " as Mr Graydenominates it, was both known and worshipped at this island, and thattoo, by the very same rites which are so generally practised throughoutthe world--regularity of measures, and the frequent recurrence ofsimilar sounds--

 She deigns to hear the savage youth repeat, In loose numbers wildly sweet, Their feather-cinctured chiefs and dusky loves. Her track, where'er the Goddess roves, Glory pursue, and generous shame, The unconquerable mind, and freedom's holy flame. --E. ]

Of their itinerary concerts I need add nothing to what has been saidalready; especially as I shall have occasion, more particularly, tomention them when I relate our adventures upon another island. 

In other countries, the girls and unmarried women are supposed to bewholly ignorant of what others upon some occasions may appear to know;and their conduct and conversation are consequently restrained withinnarrower bounds, and kept at a more remote distance from whateverrelates to a connection with the other sex: But here, it is justcontrary. Among other diversions, there is a dance, called _Timorodee_, which is performed by young girls, whenever eight or ten of them can becollected together, consisting of motions and gestures beyondimagination wanton, in the practice of which they are brought up fromtheir earliest childhood, accompanied by words, which, if it werepossible, would more explicitly convey the same ideas. In these dancesthey keep time with an exactness which is scarcely excelled by the bestperformers upon the stages of Europe. But the practice which is allowedto the virgin, is prohibited to the woman from the moment that she hasput these hopeful lessons in practice, and realized the symbols of thedance. [14]

[Footnote 14: If it be considered that in Otaheite women are very earlymarriageable, and that families are easily reared, one will not findcause for censuring the impolicy, whatever is thought of the immodesty, according to our notions, of the kind of dances here mentioned. It seemsreasonable enough, that the girls should be instructed in the only artsrequisite to obtain the affections of the other sex. Can it be said, that the system of female education established in our own country, ishalf so judicious, which prescribes a series of instructions in drawingand music, velvet-painting, &c. To girls who, it is morally certain, will never have the least occasion for them, and who, whateverexcellence they attain, totally abandon them on the day they happen tochange their names? Or shall we say, these things are like the gesturesof the Otaheitan damsels, merely symbols used as snares for the carelessbeaux, who pretend to taste and fashion, and indicative of the indolenceand extravagance which are to succeed the marriage ceremony? The factis, and it is foolish to attempt concealing it, that women in generalhave a nature so ductile as to be quite readily fashioned to any modelwhich is conceived agreeable to the other sex, and that they all havesufficient sagacity to practise the arts in demand, till they haveaccomplished the destiny of their constitution. On the supposition thatthese arts are equally commensurate to their object, it may well beasked, why some should be condemned and not others--or what authorityany people have to reproach the current allurements of another? In theeyes of an impartial spectator, if we can suppose there really is one, all of them must appear alike as to nature and origin, and to differonly in respect of adaptation to the ends in view. He would considerthem all as signs, merely more or less expressive, and might be inducedto censure most strongly, if he censured at all, the people who, inusing them, affected the closest concealment of the purposes intended bythem. A philosopher ought never to lose sight of this maxim, that humannature is essentially the same throughout the world, and that all thedesires and passions belonging to it have the same origin, and areequally good or bad as to morality; from which it follows, that customsand manners are to be judged of not so much by what is known or imaginedof the sources of them, as by what is evident or may be discovered oftheir effects on society. On this principle, it is strictlydemonstrable, that in such a state of things as exists in our owncountry at present, certain appearances and modes of dress adopted byour women, are actually more injurious, and of course more criminal, than the dancing gestures mentioned in the text. Any lady that canexpose her breasts to the gaze of _one_ and _all_ of our publiccompanies, has an undoubted right to be considered as possessing thesame feelings and propensities as the lewd girls of Otaheite; but thenshe is not entitled to censure, however she may envy, their happierexertions and success. She ought to know, that unless our taxes areremoved, and the bread-fruit is naturalized among us, it is impossiblefor her to have so speedy a redemption from the estate of "solitaryblessedness;" and that as many of her elder sisters still feel thenecessity of practising patience in the same condition, it is veryincumbent on her to learn by times a little self-controul. Besides, sheought, in charity to the other sex, to remember, that even the"concealed magic" of her _manner_, as Mr Hume expresses it, and which hesays is easily explained, is abundantly efficacious without furtherdisclosure than common necessity requires. --E. ]

It cannot be supposed that, among these people, chastity is held in muchestimation. It might be expected that sisters and daughters would beoffered to strangers, either as a courtesy, or for reward; and thatbreaches of conjugal fidelity, even in the wife, should not be otherwisepunished than by a few hard words, or perhaps a slight beating, asindeed is the case: But there is a scale in dissolute sensuality, whichthese people have ascended, wholly unknown to every other nation whosemanners have been recorded from the beginning of the world to thepresent hour, and which no imagination could possibly conceive. 

A very considerable number of the principal people of Otaheite, of bothsexes, have formed themselves into a society, in which every woman iscommon to every man; thus securing a perpetual variety as often as theirinclination prompts them to seek it, which is so frequent, that the sameman and woman seldom cohabit together more than two or three days. 

These societies are distinguished by the name of _Arreoy_; and themembers have meetings, at which no other is present, where the men amusethemselves by wrestling, and the women, notwithstanding their occasionalconnection with different men, dance the Timorodee in all its latitude, as an incitement to desires, which, it is said, are frequently gratifiedupon the spot. This, however, is comparatively nothing. If any of thewomen happen to be with child, which in this manner of life happens lessfrequently than if they were to cohabit only with one man, the poorinfant is smothered the moment it is born, that it may be no incumbranceto the father, nor interrupt the mother in the pleasures of herdiabolical prostitution. It sometimes indeed happens, that the passionwhich prompts a woman to enter into this society, is surmounted when shebecomes a mother, by that instinctive affection which Nature has givento all creatures for the preservation of their offspring; but even inthis case, she is not permitted to spare the life of her infant, exceptshe can find a man who will patronise it as his child: If this can bedone, the murder is prevented; but both the man and woman, being deemedby this act to have appropriated each other, are ejected from thecommunity, and forfeit all claim to the privileges and pleasures of theArreoy for the future; the woman from that time being distinguished bythe term _Whannownow_, "bearer of children, " which is here a term ofreproach; though none can be more honourable in the estimation of wisdomand humanity, of right reason, and every passion that distinguishes theman from the brute. 

It is not fit that a practice so horrid and so strange should beimputed to human beings upon slight evidence, but I have such asabundantly justifies me in the account I have given. The peoplethemselves are so far from concealing their connection with such asociety as a disgrace, that they boast of it as a privilege; and bothmyself and Mr Banks, when particular persons have been pointed out to usas members of the Arreoy, have questioned them about it, and receivedthe account that has been here given from their own lips. They haveacknowledged, that they had long been of this accursed society, thatthey belonged to it at that time, and that several of their children hadbeen put to death. [15]

[Footnote 15: It seems, from Mr Turnbull's account, that these accursedarreoys were rather on the increase, --a circumstance, which, consideringthat infanticide formed a part, an essential part indeed, of theirpolicy, may well explain the rapidity in the diminution of the peoplebefore noticed. --E. ]

But I must not conclude my account of the domestic life of these peoplewithout mentioning their personal cleanliness. If that which lessens thegood of life and increases the evil is vice, surely cleanliness is avirtue: The want of it tends to destroy both beauty and health, andmingles disgust, with our best pleasures. The natives of Otaheite, bothmen and women, constantly wash their whole bodies in running water threetimes every day; once as soon as they rise in the morning, once at noon, and again before they sleep at night, whether the sea or river is nearthem or at a distance. I have already observed, that they wash not onlythe mouth, but the hands at their meals, almost between every morsel;and their clothes, as well as their persons, are kept without spot orstain; so that in a large company of these people, nothing is sufferedbut heat, which, perhaps, is more than can be said of the politestassembly in Europe. [16]

[Footnote 16: Here Dr H. Seems to have forgotten altogether thesubstitutes which modern Europeans employ for cleanliness, to renderpolite assemblies tolerable--musk, bergamot, lavender, &c. &c. Articles, which, besides their value in saving the precious time of our fineladies, who could not easily spare a quarter of an hour a day from theirimportant occupations, for the Otaheitan practice of bathing, are ofvast utility to the state, by affording suitable exercise to the talentsof the vast tribe of perfumers and beautifiers of every description, who, it is probable, would otherwise become mere drones in thecommunity. But what would these Otaheitans conceive of the health andcomfort and appearance and odour of the great mass of British ladies, who, unless banished to a watering place, no more think of being_generally_ washed, than of being curried with a currying-comb, orundergoing the operation of tattowing? The powers of nature aremarvellous indeed, which can support their lives for years, under allthe fifth and exuviæ, accumulated with such idolatrous fondness. --E. ]

SECTION XVIII. 

_Of the Manufactures, Boats, and Navigations of Otaheite. _

If necessity is the mother of invention, it cannot be supposed to havebeen much exerted where the liberality of Nature has rendered thediligence of Art almost superfluous; yet there are many instances bothof ingenuity and labour among these people, which, considering the wantof metal for tools, do honour to both. 

Their principal manufacture is their cloth, in the making and dyeing ofwhich I think there are some particulars which may instruct even theartificers of Great Britain, and for that reason my description will bemore minute. 

Their cloth is of three kinds; and it is made of the bark of threedifferent trees, the Chinese paper mulberry, the bread-fruit tree, andthe tree which resembles the wild fig-tree of the West Indies. 

The finest and whitest is made of the paper mulberry, _Aouta_; this isworn chiefly by the principal people, and when it is dyed red takes abetter colour. A second sort, inferior in whiteness and softness, ismade of the bread-fruit tree, _Ooroo_, and worn chiefly by the interiorpeople; and a third of the tree that resembles the fig, which is coarseand harsh, and of the colour of the darkest brown paper: This, though itis less pleasing both to the eye and to the touch, is the most valuable, because it resists water, which the other two sorts will not. Of this, which is the most rare as well as the most useful, the greater part isperfumed, and worn by the chiefs as a morning dress. 

All these trees are propagated with great care, particularly themulberry, which covers the largest part of the cultivated land, and isnot fit for use after two or three years growth, when it is about six oreight feet high, and somewhat thicker than a man's thumb; its excellenceis to be thin, straight, tall, and without branches: The lower leaves, therefore, are carefully plucked off, with their germs, as often asthere is any appearance of their producing a branch. 

But though the cloth made of these three trees is different, it is allmanufactured in the same manner; I shall, therefore, describe theprocess only in the fine sort, that is made of the mulberry. [17] Whenthe trees are of a proper size, they are drawn up, and stripped of theirbranches, after which the roots and tops are cut off; the bark of theserods being then slit up longitudinally is easily drawn off, and, when aproper quantity has been procured, it is carried down to some runningwater, in which it is deposited to soak, and secured from floating awayby heavy stones: When it is supposed to be sufficiently softened, thewomen servants go down to the brook, and stripping themselves, sit downin the water, to separate the inner bark from the green bark on theoutside; to do this they place the under side upon a flat smooth board, and with the shell which our dealers call Tyger's tongue, _Tellinagargadia_, scrape it very carefully, dipping it continually in the watertill nothing remains but the fine fibres of the inner coat. Being thusprepared in the afternoon, they are spread out upon plantain leaves inthe evening; and in this part of the work there appears to be somedifficulty, as the mistress of the family always superintends the doingof it: They are placed in lengths of about eleven or twelve yards, oneby the side of another, till they are about a foot broad, and two orthree layers are also laid one upon the other: Care is taken that thecloth shall be in all parts of an equal thickness, so that if the barkhappens to be thinner in any particular part of one layer than the rest, a piece that is somewhat thicker is picked out to be laid over it in thenext. In this state it remains till the morning, when great part of thewater which it contained when it was laid out, is either drained off orevaporated, and the several fibres adhere together, so as that the wholemay be raised from the ground in one piece. 

[Footnote 17: The reader will find additional information on thissubject, and on several others here treated, in some of the subsequentaccounts; from which, however, it seemed unadvisable to make quotationsat present. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the curious art ofdyeing, which the Otaheitans seem to practise with no small ingenuity, has been much vestigated on philosophical principles since the date ofthis publication. Modern chemistry has a right to boast of heracquisitions in so very important a point of domestic science; but itwould be invidious and improper to specify them in this place. --E. ]

It is then taken away, and laid upon the smooth side of a long piece ofwood, prepared for the purpose, and beaten, by the women servants, withinstruments about a foot long and three inches thick, made of a hardwood which they call _Etoa_. The shape of this instrument is not unlikea square razor strop, only that the handle is longer, and each of itsfour sides or faces is marked, lengthways, with small grooves, orfurrows, of different degrees of fineness; those on one side being of awidth and depth sufficient to receive a small packthread, and the othersfiner in a regular gradation, so that the last are not more than equalto sewing silk. 

They beat it first with the coarsest side of this mallet, keeping timelike our smiths; it spreads very fast under the strokes, chiefly howeverin the breadth, and the grooves in the mallet mark it with theappearance of threads; it is successively beaten with the other sides, last with the finest, and is then fit for use. Sometimes, however, it ismade still thinner, by beating it with the finest side of the mallet, after it has been several times doubled: It is then called _Hoboo_, andis almost as thin as a muslin; It becomes very white by being bleachedin the air, but is made still whiter and softer by being washed andbeaten again after it has been worn. 

Of this cloth there are several sorts, of different degrees of fineness, in proportion as it is more or less beaten without being doubled: Theother cloth also differs in proportion as it is beaten; but they differfrom each other in consequence of the different materials of which theyare made. The bark of the bread-fruit is not taken till the trees areconsiderably longer and thicker than those of the fig; the processafterwards is the same. 

When cloth is to be washed after it has been worn, it is taken down tothe brook, and left to soak, being kept fast to the bottom, as at first, by a stone; it is then gently wrung or squeezed; and sometimes severalpieces of it are laid one upon another, and beaten together with thecoarsest side of the mallet, and they are then equal in thickness tobroad-cloth, and much more soft and agreeable to the touch, after theyhave been a little while in use, though when they come immediately fromthe mallet, they feel as if they had been starched. This cloth sometimesbreaks in the beating, but is easily repaired by pasting on a patch witha gluten that is prepared from the root of the _Pea_, which is done sonicely that it cannot be discovered. The women also employ themselves inremoving blemishes of every kind, as our ladies do in needle-work orknotting; sometimes when their work is intended to be very fine, theywill paste an entire covering of hoboo over the whole. The principalexcellencies of this cloth are its coolness and softness; and itsimperfections, its being pervious to water like paper, and almost aseasily torn. [18]

[Footnote 18: The missionary account tells us, that the noble Women arethe principal cloth-makers. Among these people, it seems, that it is farfrom being thought disgraceful, for the higher orders to engage indomestic concerns and useful manufactures, "nor is it the leastdisparagement for a chief to be found in the midst of his workmenlabouring with his own hands; but it would be reckoned a great disgracenot to shew superior skill. " Like the patriarchs of old, and the heroesof Homer, these chiefs assist in the preparation of victuals for theentertainment of their guests. --E. ]

The colours with which they dye this cloth are principally red andyellow. The red is exceedingly beautiful, and I may venture to say abrighter and more delicate colour than any we have in Europe; that whichapproaches nearest is our full scarlet, and the best imitation which MrBanks's natural history painter could produce, was by a mixture ofvermilion and carmine. The yellow is also a bright colour, but we havemany as good. 

The red colour is produced by the mixture of the juices of twovegetables, neither of which separately has the least tendency to thathue. One is a species of fig called here _Matte_, and the other the_Cordia Sebestina_, or _Etou_; of the fig the fruit is used, and of the_Cordia_ the leaves. 

The fruit of the fig is about as big as a rounceval pea, or very smallgooseberry; and each of them, upon breaking off the stalk very close, produces one drop of a milky liquor, resembling the juice of our figs, of which the tree is indeed a species. This liquor the women collectinto a small quantity of cocoa-nut water: To prepare a gill of cocoa-nutwater will require between three and four quarts of these little figs. When a sufficient quantity is prepared, the leaves of the Etou are wellwetted in it, and then laid upon a plantain leaf, where they are turnedabout till they become more and more flaccid, and then they are gentlysqueezed, gradually increasing the pressure, but so as not to breakthem; as the flaccidity increases, and they become spungy, they aresupplied with more of the liquor; in about five minutes the colourbegins to appear upon the veins of the leaves, and in about ten or alittle more, they are perfectly saturated with it: They are thensqueezed, with as much force as can be applied, and the liquor strainedat the same time that it is expressed. 

For this purpose, the boys prepare a large quantity of the Moo, bydrawing it between their teeth, or two little sticks, till it is freedfrom the green bark and the branny substance that lies under it, and athin web of the fibres only remains; in this the leaves of the Etou areenveloped, and through these the juice which they contain is strained asit is forced out. As the leaves are not succulent, little more juice ispressed out of them than they have imbibed: When they have been onceemptied, they are filled again, and again pressed, till the qualitywhich tinctures the liquor as it passes through them is exhausted; theyare then thrown away; but the moo, being deeply stained with the colour, is preserved, as a brush to lay the dye upon the cloth. 

The expressed liquor is always received into small cups made of theplantain leaf, whether from a notion that it has any quality favourableto the colour, or from the facility with which it is procured, and theconvenience of small vessels to distribute it among the artificers, I donot know. 

Of the thin cloth they seldom dye more than the edges, but the thickcloth is coloured through the whole surface; the liquor is indeed usedrather as a pigment than a dye, for a coat of it is laid upon one sideonly, with the fibres of the moo; and though I have seen of the thincloth that has appeared to have been soaked in the liquor, the colourhas not had the same richness and lustre, as when it has been applied inthe other manner. 

Though the leaf of the etou is generally used in this process, andprobably produces the finest colour, yet the juice of the figs willproduce a red by a mixture with the species of tournefortia, which theycall _taheinno_, the _pohuc_, the _eurhe_, or _convolvulusbrasiliensis_, and a species of solanum, called _ebooa_; from the use ofthese different plants, or from different proportions of the materials, many varieties are observable in the colours of their cloth, some ofwhich are conspicuously superior to others. 

The beauty, however, of the best, is not permanent; but it is probablethat some method might be found to fix it, if proper experiments weremade, and perhaps to search for latent qualities, which may be broughtout by the mixture of one vegetable juice with another, would not be anunprofitable employment: Our present most valuable dyes affordsufficient encouragement to the attempt; for, by the mere inspection ofindigo, woad, dyer's weed, and most of the leaves which are used for thelike purposes, the colours which they yield could never be discovered. Of this Indian red I shall only add, that the women who have beenemployed in preparing or using it, carefully preserve the colour upontheir fingers and nails, where it appears in its utmost beauty, as agreat ornament. 

The yellow is made of the bark of the root of the _morinda citrifolia_, called _nono_, by scraping and infusing it in water; after standing sometime, the water is strained and used as a dye, the cloth being dippedinto it. The morinda, of which this is a species, seems to be a goodsubject for examination with a view to dyeing. Brown, in his History ofJamaica, mentions three species of it, which he says are used to dyebrown; and Rumphius says of the _bancuda angustifolia_, which is nearlyallied to our nono, that it is used by the inhabitants of the EastIndian islands as a fixing drug for red colours, with which itparticularly agrees. 

The inhabitants of this island also dye yellow with the fruit of thetamanu; but how the colour is extracted, we had no opportunity todiscover. They have also a preparation with which they dye brown andblack; but these colours are so indifferent, that the method ofpreparing them did not excite our curiosity. 

Another considerable manufacture is matting of various kinds; some ofwhich is finer, and better, in every respect, than any we have inEurope; the coarser sort serves them to sleep upon, and the finer towear in wet weather. With the fine, of which there are also two sorts, much pains is taken, especially with that made of the bark of thepoerou, the _hibiscus tiliaceus_ of Linnæus, some of which is as fine asa coarse cloth: The other sort, which is still more beautiful, they callvanne; it is white, glossy, and shining, and is made of the leaves oftheir _wharrou_, a species of the _pandanus_, of which we had noopportunity to see either the flowers or fruit: They have other matts, or, as they call them, _moeas_, to sit or to sleep upon, which areformed of a great variety of rushes and grass, and which they make, asthey do every thing else that is plaited, with amazing facility anddispatch. 

They are also very dexterous in making basket and wicker-work; theirbaskets are of a thousand different patterns, many of them exceedinglyneat; and the making them is an art that every one practises, both menand women; they make occasional baskets and panniers of the cocoa-nutleaf in a few minutes, and the women who visited us early in a morningused to send, as soon as the sun was high, for a few of the leaves, ofwhich they made little bonnets to shade their faces, at so small anexpence of time and trouble, that, when the sun was again low in theevening, they used to throw them away. These bonnets, however, did notcover the head, but consisted only of a band that went round it, and ashade that projected from the forehead. 

Of the bark of the poerou they make ropes and lines, from the thicknessof an inch to the size of a small packthread: With these they make netsfor fishing. Of the fibres of the cocoa-nut they make thread forfastening together the several parts of their canoes and belts, eitherround or flat, twisted or plaited; and of the bark of the _erowa_, akind of nettle which grows in the mountains, and is therefore ratherscarce, they make the best fishing lines in the world; with these theyhold the strongest and most active fish, such as bonetas and albicores, which would snap our strongest silk lines in a minute, though they aretwice as thick. 

They make also a kind of seine, of a coarse broad grass, the blades ofwhich are like flags; these they twist and tie together in a loosemanner, till the net, which is about as wide as a large sack, is fromsixty to eighty fathoms long; this they haul in shoal smooth water, andits own weight keeps it so close to the ground, that scarcely a singlefish can escape. 

In every expedient, indeed, for taking fish, they are exceedinglyingenious; they make harpoons of cane, and point them with hard wood, which, in their hands, strike fish more effectually than those which areheaded with iron can do in ours, setting aside the advantage of oursbeing fastened to a line, so that the fish is secured if the hook takesplace, though it does not mortally wound him. 

Of fish-hooks they have two sorts, admirably adapted in theirconstruction as well to the purpose they are to answer, as to thematerials of which they are made. One of these, which they call _witleewitlee_, is used for towing. The shank is made of mother-of-pearl, themost glossy that can be got; the inside, which is naturally thebrightest, is put behind. To these hooks a tuft of white dog's or hog'shair is fixed, so as somewhat to resemble the tail of a fish; theseimplements, therefore, are both hook and bait, and are used with a rodof bamboo, and line of _erowa_. The fisher, to secure his success, watches the flight of the birds which constantly attend the bonetaswhen they swim in shoals, by which he directs his canoe, and when he hasthe advantage of these guides, he seldom returns without a prize. 

The other kind of hook is also made of mother-of-pearl, or some otherhard shell: They cannot make them bearded like our hooks; but, to effectthe same purpose, they make the point turn inwards. These are made ofall sizes, and used to catch various kinds of fish with great success. The manner of making them is very simple, and every fisherman is his ownartificer: The shell is first cut into square pieces by the edge ofanother shell, and wrought into a form corresponding with the outline ofthe hook, by pieces of coral, which are sufficiently rough to performthe office of a file; a hole is then bored in the middle; the drillbeing no other than the first stone they pick up that has a sharpcorner; this they fix into the end of a piece of bamboo, and turn itbetween the hands like a chocolate-mill; when the shell is perforated, and the hole sufficiently wide, a small file of coral is introduced, bythe application of which the hook is in a short time completed, fewcosting the artificer more time than a quarter of an hour. 

Of their masonry, carving, and architecture, the reader has alreadyformed some idea from the account that has been given of the morais, orrepositories of the dead: The other most important article of buildingand carving is their boats; and, perhaps, to fabricate one of theirprincipal vessels with their tools, is as great a work as to build aBritish man-of-war with ours. 

They have an adze of stone; a chissel, or gouge, of bone, generally thatof a man's arm between the wrist and elbow; a rasp of coral; and theskin of a sting-ray, with coral sand, as a file or polisher. 

This is a complete catalogue of their tools, and with these they buildhouses, construct canoes, hew stone, and fell, cleave, carve, and polishtimber. 

The stone which makes the blade of their adzes is a kind of basaltes, ofa blackish or grey colour, not very hard, but of considerable toughness:They are formed of different sizes; some, that are intended for felling, weigh from six to eight pounds; others, that are used for carving, notmore than so many ounces; but it is necessary to sharpen both almostevery minute; for which purpose, a stone and a cocoa-nut shell full ofwater are always at hand. 

Their greatest exploit, to which these tools are less equal than to anyother, is felling a tree: This requires many hands, and the constantlabour of several days. When it is down, they split it, with the grain, into planks from three to four inches thick, the whole length andbreadth of the tree, many of which are eight feet in the girt, and fortyto the branches, and nearly of the same thickness throughout. The treegenerally used, is, in their language, called _avie_, the stem of whichis tall and straight; though some of the smaller boats are made of thebread-fruit tree, which is a light spongy wood, and easily wrought. Theysmooth the plank very expeditiously and dexterously with their adzes, and can take off a thin coat from a whole plank without missing astroke. As they have not the art of warping a plank, every part of thecanoe, whether hollow or flat, is shaped by hand. [19]

[Footnote 19: One likes to see the exercise of human ingenuity even ontrifles. It flatters the consciousness of one's own powers, and affords, too, the ground-work of a comparison nowise disadvantageous to what onebelieves of his own capabilities. Man has been defined by a certainwriter, an animal that uses instruments for the accomplishment of hispurposes. But the definition is faulty in one important point; it doesnot exclude some beings which are not of the species. It is perhapsimpossible to furnish an adequate definition of his nature within thecompass of a single logical proposition. And what matter? Every man inhis senses knows what man is, and can hardly ever be necessitated toclothe his conception of him, in language metaphysicallyunexceptionable. But if any trait be more characteristic than another, that of invention may safely be asserted to have the pre-eminence. Man, in effect, evinces the superiority of his nature over all other animals, by a faculty which he seems exclusively to enjoy, in common with hisMaker, of creating systems, plans, and objects, by the exercise of anunderstanding and will adapted to certain ends fore-seen andpredetermined. No tribes of mankind are totally destitute of thisintellectual agency, which is proof, that none are without the mercifulvisitations of that great beneficent Being from whom the universe hasits existence. A canoe, a house, a basket, indicates mind. Mind, by thevery constitution of our nature, indicates power and authority. Reason, indeed, may dispute the necessity or the propriety of such connectionsin our thoughts and feelings, but reason cannot possibly set them aside, or eradicate them from the human breast, though aided by all thatdislike and fear of the solemn truth which the conviction of guilt ordemerit never fails to produce. These Otaheitans, then, are evidences tothemselves of the existence of a power and wisdom superior to their own, to which they are consciously accountable; and they are without excuse, if, knowing this, they do not worship God as they ought. It may amuse, and perhaps instruct the reader, which is the reason for introducingthis note, to enquire how far the inventions of the Otaheitans, as ofall other people, made any way necessary or desirable by thecircumstance of their climate and situation, influence them in theirnotions on the subject of their national religions. He will find thatamongst them, as amongst others, the popular religion is founded, not onthe exercise of reason contemplating the works of nature and thedispensations of Providence, but on principles intimately connected withman's physical wants, and modified by the peculiarities of ingenuity, which the artificial supply of those wants occasions; and perhaps hewill make out one remarkable conclusion from the survey of them comparedwith others--that where these arts of ingenuity are frequent, and at thesame time applied to very perishable subjects, there the objects ofworship and the kind of religious service, are of a refined nature, allowing little or nothing of the grossness of _material_ idolatry; andthat, on the contrary, when they are few, but at the same time exercisedon very durable substances, then the greatest tendency exists to theworship of the mere works of man's hands. Sagacious and clever people, in other words, have cunningly devised fables for their creeds; theclumsy-headed and the idle fall down before stocks and stones, as ifthere were no such things as memory or imagination or understanding inthe world. It follows, that to extirpate gross idolatry, you mustmultiply inventions, and encourage ingenuity--the first operation, itmay be confidently said, to which missionaries among the heathens shoulddirect their exertions. It is no less certain, that to destroy spiritualidolatry, nothing short of the mighty power of God himself, implanting anew principle allied to his own nature, is available. When missionariesobtain the management and dispensation of this new principle, then, andonly then, they will succeed in making men _worshippers in spirit and intruth_. But the propriety of their labours is to be evinced on othergrounds, than the success attending them. --E. ]

The canoes, or boats, which are used by the inhabitants of this and theneighbouring islands, may be divided into two general classes; one ofwhich they call _Ivahahs_, the other _Pahies_. 

The Ivahah is used for short excursions to sea, and is wall-sided andflat-bottomed; the Pahie for longer voyages, and is bow-sided andsharp-bottomed. The Ivahahs are all of the same figure, but of differentsizes, and used for different purposes: Their length is from seventy-twofeet to ten, but the breadth is by no means in proportion; for those often feet are about a foot wide, and those of more than seventy arescarcely two. There is the fighting Ivahah; the fishing Ivahah, and thetravelling Ivahah; for some of these go from one island to another. Thefighting Ivahah is by far the longest, and the head and stern areconsiderably raised above the body, in a semicircular form; particularlythe stern, which is sometimes seventeen or eighteen feet high, thoughthe boat itself is scarcely three. These never go to sea single; but arefastened together, side by side, at the distance of about three feet, bystrong poles of wood, which are laid across them and lashed to thegunwales. Upon these, in the fore-part, a stage or platform is raised, about ten or twelve feet long, and somewhat wider than the boats, whichis supported by pillars about six feet high: Upon this stage stand thefighting men, whose missile weapons are slings and spears; for, amongother singularities in the manners of these people, their bows andarrows are used only for diversion, as we throw quoits: Below thesestages sit the rowers, who receive from them those that are wounded, andfurnish fresh men to ascend in their room. Some of these have a platformof bamboos or other light wood, through their whole length, andconsiderably broader, by means of which they will carry a great numberof men; but we saw only one fitted in this manner. 

The fishing Ivahahs vary in length from about forty feet to the smallestsize, which is about ten; all that are of the length of twenty-five feetand upwards, of whatever sort, occasionally carry sail. The travellingIvahah is always double, and furnished with a small neat house aboutfive or six feet broad, and six or seven feet long, which is fastenedupon the fore-part for the convenience of the principal people, who sitin them by day, and sleep in them at night. The fishing Ivahahs aresometimes joined together, and have a house on board; but this is notcommon. 

Those which are shorter than five-and-twenty feet, seldom or never carrysail; and, though the stern rises about four or five feet, have a flathead, and a board that projects forward about four feet. 

The Pahie is also of different sizes, from sixty to thirty feet long;but, like the Ivahah, is very narrow. One that I measured was fifty-onefeet long, and only one foot and a half wide at the top. In the widestpart, it was about three feet; and this is the general proportion. Itdoes not, however, widen by a gradual swell; but the sides beingstraight, and parallel, for a little way below the gunwale, it swellsabruptly, and draws to a ridge at the bottom; so that a transversesection of it has somewhat the appearance of the mark upon cards calleda Spade, the whole being much wider in proportion to its length. These, like the largest Ivahahs, are used for fighting; but principally forlong voyages. The fighting Pahie, which is the largest, is fitted withthe stage or platform, which is proportionably larger than those of theIvahah, as their form enables them to sustain a much greater weight. Those that are used for sailing are generally double; and the middlesize are said to be the best sea-boats. They are sometimes out a monthtogether, going from island to island; and sometimes, as we werecredibly informed, they are a fortnight or twenty days at sea, and couldkeep it longer if they had more stowage for provisions, and conveniencesto hold fresh water. 

When any of these boats carry sail single, they make use of a log ofwood which is fastened to the end of two poles that lie cross thevessel, and project from six to ten feet, according to the size of thevessel, beyond its side, somewhat like what is used by the flying proaof the Ladrone Islands, and called in the account of Lord Anson'sVoyage, an Outrigger. To this outrigger the shrouds are fastened, and itis essentially necessary in trimming the boat when it blows fresh. [20]

[Footnote 20: For a short but sufficient notice of what is called anOutrigger, see our account of Anson's Voyage, in vol. Xi. P. 464. Thereader will find a drawing representing it in the translation of theAccount of Bougainville's Voyage. --E. ]

Some of them have one mast, and some two; they are made of a singlestick, and when the length of the canoe is thirty feet, that of the mastis somewhat less than five-and-twenty; it is fixed to a frame that isabove the canoe, and receives a sail of matting about one-third longerthan itself: The sail is pointed at the top, square at the bottom, andcurved at the side; somewhat resembling what we call ashoulder-of-mutton sail, and used for boats belonging to men-of-war: Itis placed in a frame of wood, which surrounds it on every side, and hasno contrivance either for reefing or furling; so that, if either shouldbecome necessary, it must be cut away, which, however, in these equalclimates, can seldom happen. At the top of the mast are fastenedornaments of feathers, which are placed inclining obliquely forwards. 

The oars or paddles that are used with these boats, have a long handleand a flat blade, not unlike a baker's peel. Of these every person inthe boat has one, except those that sit under the awning; and they pushher forward with them at a good rate. These boats, however, admit somuch water at the seams, that one person at least is continuallyemployed in throwing it out. The only thing in which, they excel islanding, and putting off from the shore in a surf: By their great lengthand high sterns they land dry, when our boats could scarcely land atall; and have the same advantages in putting off by the height of thehead. The Ivahahs are the only boats that are used by the inhabitants ofOtaheite; but we saw several Pahies that came from other islands. Of oneof these I shall give the exact dimensions from a careful admeasurement, and then particularly describe the manner in which they are built. 

 Feet. Inches. 

 Extreme length from stem to stern, not reckoning the bending up of either 51 0 Breadth in the clear of the top forward 1 3 Breadth in the midships 1 6 Breadth aft 1 3 In the bilge forward 2 8 In the midships 2 11 Aft 2 9 Depth in the midships 8 4 Height from the ground on which she stood 3 6 Height of her head from the ground, without the figure 4 4 Height of the figure 0 11 Height of the stern from the ground 8 9 Height of the figure 2 0

The first stage, or keel, is made of a tree hollowed out like a trough;for which the longest trees are chosen that can be got, so that thereare never more than three in the whole length: The next stage is formedof straight plank, about four feet long, fifteen inches broad, and twoinches thick: The third stage, is, like the bottom, made of trunks, hollowed into its bilging form; the last is also cut out of trunks, sothat the moulding is of one piece with the upright. To form these partsseparately, without saw, plane, chissel, or any other iron tool, maywell be thought no easy task; but the great difficulty is to join themtogether. 

When all the parts are prepared, the keel is laid upon blocks, and theplanks being supported by stanchions, are sewed or clamped together withstrong thongs of plaiting, which are passed several times through holesthat are bored with a gouge or auger of bone, that has been describedalready; and the nicety with which this is done, may be inferred fromtheir being sufficiently water-tight for use without caulking. As theplatting soon rots in the water, it is renewed at least once a-year; inorder to which, the vessel is taken entirely to pieces. The head andstern are rude with respect to the design; but very neatly finished, andpolished to the highest degree. 

These Pahies are kept with great care, in a kind of house built onpurpose for their reception; the houses are formed of poles set uprightin the ground, the tops of which are drawn towards each other, andfastened together with their strongest cord, so as to form a kind ofGothic arch, which is completely thatched quite to the ground, beingopen only at the ends; they are sometimes fifty or sixty paces long. 

As connected with the navigation of these people, I shall mention theirwonderful sagacity in foretelling the weather, at least the quarter fromwhich the wind shall blow at a future time; they have several ways ofdoing this, of which however I know but one. "They say, that theMilky-way, is always curved laterally; but sometimes, in one direction, and sometimes in another: And that this curvature is the effect of itsbeing already acted upon by the wind, and its hollow part thereforetowards it; so that, if the same curvature continues a night, acorresponding wind certainly blows the next day. Of their rules, I shallnot pretend to judge; but I know that, by whatever means, they canpredict the weather, at least the wind, with much greater certainty thanwe can. [21]

[Footnote 21: It is injudicious and unphilosophical to slight theobservations of the vulgar on subjects level to their capacities andhabits of thought. But, on the other hand, it is almost always necessaryto distrust their reasonings and theories about them. This is one of thecases in which both cautions are to be practised. The common people inall countries are more accustomed to make remarks upon the weather, thanthose who are given to literary or scientific pursuits. It would beworth some person's while to make a collection of their observations onthe subject. For a man of science, learning, and ingenuity, no oneperhaps has paid more attention to the signs of the weather than MrJones, --_See his Physiological Disquisitions, published at London_1781. --E. ]

In their longer voyages, they steer by the sun in the day, and in thenight by the stars; all of which they distinguish separately by names, and know in what part of the heavens they will appear in any of themonths during which they are visible in their horizon; they also knowthe time of their annual appearing and disappearing with more precisionthan will easily be believed by an European astronomer. [22]

[Footnote 22: Mr Bryan Edwards has been at pains to compare together theOtaheitans and the original inhabitants of some of the West Indiaislands. On the whole, he gives the preference to the latter. But he isfar indeed from being unjust to the former, in the description he hasgiven of them. A few quotations may be made from his work, to theedification of the reader, and it is conceived, that though some of themseem to respect subjects discussed in the next chapter, this is the bestplace for giving them. "Having mentioned the natives of the South-SeaIslands, I cannot but advert to the wonderful similarity observable, inmany respects, between our ill-fated West Indians and that placidpeople. The same frank and affectionate temper, the same cheerfulsimplicity, gentleness, and candour;--a behaviour, devoid of meannessand treachery, of cruelty and revenge, are apparent in the character ofboth; and although placed at so great a distance from each other, anddivided by the intervention of the American continent, we may trace aresemblance even in many of their customs and institutions; theirnational songs and dances, their domestic economy, their system ofgovernment, and their funeral ceremonies. I pretend not, however, toaffirm that this resemblance is so exact as to create the presumption ofcommon origin. The affinity perceivable in the dispositions and virtuesof these widely-separated tribes, arose probably from a similarity intheir circumstances and situation, operating on the general principlesof human nature. Placed alike in a happy medium; between savage life, properly so called, and the refinements of polished society, they arefound equally exempt from the sordid corporeal distresses and sanguinarypassions of the former state, and from the artificial necessities, therestraints, and solicitudes of the latter. "--"In those inventions andarts, which, varying the enjoyments, add considerably to the value oflife, I believe the Otaheitans were in general somewhat behind ourislanders; in agriculture they were particularly so. The great supportof the inferior territories of the South-sea consists of the bread-fruitand the plantain; both which flourish there spontaneously; and althoughthe inhabitants have likewise plantations of yams, and other excellentroots, yet the cultivation of none of them appears to be as extensive aswas that of the maize in the West Indies, or to display equal skill withthe preparation of the Cassavi-bread from the maniock. The West Indians, notwithstanding that they possessed almost every variety of vegetablenature which grew in the countries I have mentioned, the bread-fruitexcepted, raised also both the maize and the maniock in great abundance;and they had acquired the skill of watering their lands from distantrivers, in time of drought. It may likewise be observed, that althoughthe Otaheitans possess the shrub which produces cotton, they neitherimprove it by culture, nor have the knowledge of converting its woolinto cloth, but content themselves with a far meaner production as asubstitute. Our islanders had not only the skill of making excellentcloth from their cotton, but they practised also the arts of dying it, with a variety of colours, some of them of the utmost brilliancy andbeauty. In the science of shipbuilding (if the construction of suchvessels as either people used may be distinguished with thatappellation) the superiority is on the side of the Otaheitans; yet the_piraguas_ of the West Indians were fully sufficient for the navigationthey were employed in, and indeed were by no means contemptiblesea-boats. "--"On the other hand, our islanders far surpassed the peopleof Otaheite, in the elegance and variety of their domestic utensils andfurniture; their earthen-ware, curiously woven beds, and implements ofhusbandry. " For the particulars of the comparison here entered into, thereader who is interested will have recourse to the work itself, inwhich, besides, he will find several circumstances related of anotherpeople, the Charaibes, which much resemble what he has now read in theaccount of the Otaheitans. This note is already too large to admit oftheir being specified in any satisfactory manner, and it was thoughtimproper to be continually calling off the attention of the reader, from the text, to smaller notes at the individual instances. --E. ]

SECTION XIX. 

_Of the Division of Time in Otaheile; Numeration, Computation ofDistance, Language, Diseases, Disposal of the Dead, Religion, War, Weapons, and Government; with some general Observations for the Use offuture Navigators_. 

We were not able to acquire a perfect idea of their method of dividingtime; but observed, that in speaking of it, either past or to come, theynever used any term but _Malama_, which signifies Moon. Of these moonsthey count thirteen, and then begin again; which is a demonstration thatthey have a notion of the solar year: But how they compute their months, so that thirteen of them shall be commensurate with the year, we couldnot discover; for they say that each month has twenty-nine days, including one in which the moon is not visible. They have names for themseparately, and have frequently told us the fruits that would be inseason, and the weather that would prevail, in each of them; and theyhave indeed a name for them collectively, though they use it only whenthey speak of the mysteries of their religion. 

Every day is subdivided into twelve parts, each of two hours, of whichsix belong to the day, and six to the night. At these divisions theyguess pretty nearly by the height of the sun while he is above thehorizon; but there are few of them that can guess at them, when he isbelow it, by the stars. [23]

[Footnote 23: It is distinctly proved by President Goguet, that thecourse of the moon, and her various appearances, served mankind ingeneral, in the first ages, for the measurement of time. What is heresaid of the Otaheitans confirms his observations. We are told too, inanother work, that the natives of the Pellew Islands reckon their timeby months, and not by years; in which, however, we see they are inferiorto the former as to extent of science. Now there are two sorts of lunarmonth, called in the language of astronomers, synodical and periodical;the first is the time from new moon to new moon, consisting of 29 days, 12 hours, 44 min. 3 seconds, which is the month most commonly used bythe early observers; the second, consisting of 27 days, 7 hours, 43 min. 5 seconds, is that portion of time which the moon takes to finish hercourse round the earth. Neither of these multiplied by 13 will make upthe solar year exactly. In what manner then the Otaheitans reckon, it isnot easy to comprehend. The probability is, that they have no notion ofthe periodical month. --E. ]

In numeration they proceed from one to ten, the number of fingers onboth hands; and though they have for each number a different name, theygenerally take hold of their fingers one by one, shifting from one handto the other, till they come to the number they want to express. And inother instances, we observed that, when they were conversing with eachother, they joined signs to their words, which were so expressive that astranger might easily apprehend their meaning. 

In counting from ten they repeat the name of that number, and add theword _more_; ten, and one more, is eleven; ten, and two more, twelve;and so of the rest, as we say one-and-twenty, two-and-twenty. When theycome to ten and ten more, they have a new denomination, as we say ascore; and by these scores they count till they get ten of them, whenthey have a denomination for two hundred; and we never could discoverthat they had any denomination to express a greater number: Neither, indeed; do they seem to want any; for ten of these amount to twothousand, a greater number than they can ever apply. [24]

[Footnote 24: The reader cannot but be pleased with what Goguet says onthe practice of numbering with the fingers, so common in most nations, and adopted we see by the Otaheitans. "Nature has provided us with akind of arithmetical instrument more generally used than is commonlyimagined; I mean our fingers. Every thing inclines us to think, thatthese were the first instruments used by men to assist them in thepractice of numeration. We may observe in Homer, that Proteus counts hissea-calves by fives and fives, that is, by his fingers. Several nationsin America have no other instruments of calculation. It was probably thesame in the primitive ages. It is another strong presumption of thetruth of what I now advance, that all civilized nations count by tens, tens of tens, or _hundreds_, tens of hundreds, _thousands_, and so on;still from ten to ten. We can discover no reason why the number tenshould be chosen rather than any other for the term of numeration, except this primitive practice of counting by the fingers. " The whole ofhis observations on this subject are well worthy of minuteconsideration. On such elements, the provision of nature, are foundedthe most sublime and important sciences. --E. ]

In measuring distance they are much more deficient than in computingnumbers, having but one term which answers to fathom; when they speak ofdistances from place to place, they express it, like the Asiatics, bythe time that is required to pass it. 

Their language is soft and melodious; it abounds with vowels, and weeasily learnt to pronounce it: But found it exceedingly difficult toteach them to pronounce a single word of ours; probably not only fromits abounding in consonants, but from some peculiarity in its structure;for Spanish and Italian words, if ending in a vowel, they pronouncedwith great facility. 

Whether it is copious, we were not sufficiently acquainted with it toknow; but it is certainly very imperfect, for it is almost totallywithout inflexion, both of nouns and verbs. Few of the nouns have morethan one case, and few of the verbs more than one tense; yet we found nogreat difficulty in making ourselves mutually understood, howeverstrange it may appear in speculation. 

They have, however, certain _affixa_, which, though but few in number, are very useful to them, and puzzled us extremely. One asks another, _Harre hea?_ "Where are you going?" the other answers _Ivahinera_, "Tomy wives;" upon which the first repeating the answer interrogatively, "To your wives?" is answered, _Ivahinereira_; "Yes, I am going to mywives. " Here the suffixa _era_ and _eira_ save several words to bothparties. [25]

[Footnote 25: A table of some words of the language follows in thecopy. --It is omitted here, because an opportunity will occur, to giveone more full and correct; and it seemed injudicious to run the hazardof being charged with unnecessary repetition. --E. ]

Among people whose food is so simple, and who in general are seldomdrunk, it is scarcely necessary to say, that there are but few diseases;we saw no critical disease during our stay upon the island, and but fewinstances of sickness, which were accidental fits of the cholic. Thenatives, however, are afflicted with the erysipelas, and cutaneouseruptions of the scaly kind, very nearly approaching to a leprosy. Thosein whom this distemper was far advanced, lived in a state of seclusionfrom all society, each in a small house built upon some unfrequentedspot, where they were supplied with provisions: But whether they had anyhope of relief, or languished out the remainder of their lives insolitude and despair, we could not learn. We observed also a few who hadulcers upon different parts of their bodies, some of which had a veryvirulent appearance; yet they seemed not much to be regarded by thosewho were afflicted with them, for they were left entirely withoutapplication even to keep off the flies. [26]

[Footnote 26: The affection of the skin, called leprosy in the text, is, in the missionary account, ascribed to the excessive use of the _yava_, the intoxicating beverage of the Otaheitans, and is there said to beregarded by many as a _badge of nobility_. This perhaps is something onthe same principle as the gout is accounted among us, an evidence of aperson's being rich; for it appears, that the common people in generalare as unable to procure the yava in Otaheite, as they are on our sideof the world to indulge in luxurious living. What excellency there is inthe scabbed skins of the Otaheitan lepers, to entitle them to theestimation of nobility, or what advantage they find in this tocompensate the sufferings of so grievous a malady, is difficult indeedto divine; but it may be very safely affirmed of those among us, whohave prospered so well as to obtain the gout for a possession, that theyreally require all the comforts of riches, though tenfold more thanimagined, to render the residue of life any way tolerable. Yet such isthe inconsistency of human nature, and so formidable its weakness ofresolution, when pernicious habits are once formed, that few persons, though even writhing at the bare remembrance of its horrors, anddreading its approach as the attack of

 Perverse, all monstrous, all prodigious things, Abominable, unutterable, and worse Than fables yet have feign'd, or fear conceived, Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimeras dire, can be prevailed on to swear rebellion against it "For, " says DrHeberden, "this seems to be the favourite disease of the present age inEngland; wished for by those who have it not, and boasted of by thosewho fancy they have it, though very sincerely lamented by most who inreality suffer its tyranny. For, so much respect hath been shown to thisdistemper, that all the other evils, except pain, which the real orsupposed gouty patient ever feels, are imputed most commonly not to hishaving too much of this disease, but to his wanting more; and the gout, far from being blamed as the cause, is looked up to as the expecteddeliverer from these evils. " "The dread of being cured of the gout, " hefurther remarks, "was and is still much greater than the dread of havingit; and the world seems agreed patiently to submit to this tyrant, lesta worse should come in its room. " It is not difficult to account forsuch absurdity, though it be quite impracticable to palliate it; andwhat is worse, from its being founded on something more congenial tohuman nature than even prejudice, it is almost impossible to remove it. A single quotation more from the same author, so much in repute amonghis professional brethren, will at once unravel the mystery, and showhow rare a thing a cure is, where the means essential to it arenecessarily dependent on the self-denial of the patient. "Strong wines, and in no small quantity, have the reputation of being highly beneficialto gouty persons; which notion they have very _readily_ and _generally_received, not so much perhaps from a reasonable persuasion of its truth, as from a desire that it should be true, because they love wine. Letthem consider, that a free use of vinous and spirituous liquorspeculiarly hurts the stomach and organs of digestion, and that the goutis bred and fostered by those who indulge themselves in drinking muchwine; while the poorer part of mankind, who can get very little strongerthan water to drink, have better appetites than wine-drinkers, andbetter digestions, and are far less subject to arthritic complaints. Themost perfect cures, of which I have been a witness, have been effectedby a total abstinence from spirits, and wine, and flesh, which in two orthree instances hath restored the helpless and miserable patients from astate worse than death, to active and comfortable life: But I have seentoo few examples of the success of this method, to be confident orsatisfied of its general utility. " The language of the missionaryaccount is very similar and equally encouraging. "On the discontinuanceof the practice of drinking the yava, the skin of the leprous personssoon becomes smooth and clear, and they grow fat, though few are foundwho deny themselves the use of it. " If drugs could remove either ofthese calamities, it is certain there would be no difficulty in gettingthem to be swallowed; for most men, it seems, prefer any sorts of bitterand nauseating substances, though taken by the pound, and withoutintermission, to the salutary restraints on appetite and viciouspropensities, which common sense as well as common experience soauthoritatively enjoin. It is as unjust to censure physicians forfailing to cure the gout, as it would be to censure a surgeon for thelameness or deformity of the leg of a man, who, while under treatmentfor a fracture, should make daily attempts to dance or ride onhorseback. --E. ]

Where intemperance produces no diseases, there will be no physicians byprofession; yet where there is sufferance, there will always be attemptsto relieve; and where the cause of the mischief and the remedy are alikeunknown, these will naturally be directed by superstition: Thus ithappens, that in this country, and in all others which are not furtherinjured by luxury, or improved by knowledge, the management of the sickfalls to the lot of the priest. The method of cure that is practised bythe priests of Otaheite, consists chiefly of prayers and ceremonies. When he visits his patient he repeats certain sentences, which appear tobe set forms contrived for the occasion, and at the same time plaits theleaves of the cocoa-nut into different figures very neatly; some ofthese he fastens to the fingers and toes of the sick, and often leavesbehind him a few branches of the the _specia populnea_, which they call_E'midho_: These ceremonies are repeated till the patient recovers ordies. If he recovers, they say the remedies cured him, if he dies, theysay the disease was incurable, in which perhaps they do not much differfrom the custom of other countries. [27]

[Footnote 27: Dr Hawkesworth, we see, is at loggerheads with bothpriests and physicians, and spares neither. Let the respective membersof these bodies defend their crafts as they best can. Certainly theywill have the bias of the multitude in their favour, and so need to carelittle about the insinuations and sarcasms of the few. If nine-tenths ofmankind give them credit for their pretences, and of consequence yieldto their influence, they may contentedly, without a grudge, see theremaining modicum persist in their obstinacy. The fact is, however, thatthe fears and hopes of mankind are almost always superior in efficacy totheir reason, and accordingly, in the two predicaments of bodily andspiritual health, are continually acting like tendrils which embracewith undistinguishing affection whatever comes in their way, as the ivyclings to the tree or wall that happens to be in its neighbourhood. Influence, once acquired by accident or artifice, is easily prolonged byhim who knows the secret of its origin and existence--and hence in allages and countries of the world, the mysteries and mummeries ofdesigning men, leagued to practise on the infatuated propensities andreal weaknesses of their fellow creatures. It is not till manygenerations have passed, that the small sparks of reason, occasionallyshooting off in various directions, have penetrated the gloomyatmosphere around them, and ascertained the universal and unqualifieddependence of the whole human race on the same uncontroulable powers. Inproportion as these rays of light have coalesced, the presumption of the_learned brethren_ has decreased; and should this superlative discoverybe ever consummated in the general conviction of society, then willtheir characters undergo a thorough revolution--they will be loved moreand admired less--they will be considered, not as the repositories ofsecrets to be dispensed with the cold hand of calculating avarice andhypocrisy, but as the liberally minded declarers of those generallybeneficial truths which honest study has discovered, in their peculiardepartments of science. Till then the world must submit to wonder andbelieve, and, above all things, to pay them fees. But, looking forwardto this era of improvement, they may join with the poet in saying

 Yes! there are hearts, prophetic Hope may trust, That slumber yet in uncreated dust, Ordain'd to fire th' adoring sons of earth With every charm of wisdom and of worth; Ordain'd to light, with intellectual day, The mazy wheels of Nature as they play. --E. ]

If we had judged of their skill in surgery from the dreadful scars whichwe sometimes saw, we should have supposed it to be much superior to theart not only of their physicians, but of ours. We saw one man whose facewas almost entirely destroyed, his nose, including the bone, wasperfectly flat, and one cheek and one eye were so beaten in that thehollow would almost receive a man's fist, yet no ulcer remained; and ourcompanion, Tupia, had been pierced quite through his body by a spearheaded with the bone of the sting-ray, the weapon having entered hisback, and come out just under his breast; but, except in reducingdislocations and fractures, the best surgeon can contribute very littleto the cure of a wound; the blood itself is the best vulnerary balsam, and when the juices of the body are pure, and the patient is temperate, nothing more is necessary as an aid to nature in the cure of the worstwound, than the keeping it clean. 

Their commerce with the inhabitants of Europe has, however, alreadyentailed upon them that dreadful curse which avenged the inhumanitiescommitted by the Spaniards in America, the venereal disease. As it iscertain that no European vessel besides our own, except the Dolphin, andthe two that were under the command of Mons. Bougainville, ever visitedthis island, it must have been brought either by one of them or byus. [28] That it was not brought by the Dolphin, Captain Wallis hasdemonstrated in the account of her voyage, and nothing is more certainthan that when we arrived, it had made most dreadful ravages in theisland. One of our people contracted it within five days after we wenton shore; and by the enquiries among the natives, which this occasioned, we learnt, when we came to understand a little of their language, thatit had been brought by the vessels which had been there about fifteenmonths before us, and had lain on the east side of the island. Theydistinguished it by a name of the same import with _rottenness_, but ofa more extensive signification, and described, in the most patheticterms, the sufferings of the first victims to its rage, and told us thatit caused the hair and the nails to fall off, and the flesh to rot fromthe bones; that it spread a universal terror and consternation amongthem, so that the sick were abandoned by their nearest relations, lestthe calamity should spread by contagion, and left to perish alone insuch misery as till then had never been known among them. We had somereason, however, to hope that they had found out a specific to cure it:During our stay upon the island we saw none in whom it had made a greatprogress, and one who went from us infected, returned after a short timein perfect health; and by this it appeared, either that the disease hadcured itself, or that they were not unacquainted with the virtues ofsimples, nor implicit dupes to the superstitious follies of theirpriests. We endeavoured to learn the medical qualities which theyimputed to their plants, but our knowledge of their language was tooimperfect for us to succeed. If we could have learnt their specific forthe venereal disease, if such they have, it would have been of greatadvantage to us, for when we left the island it had been contracted bymore than half the people on board the ship. 

[Footnote 28: Bougainville most positively asserts, that the diseaseexisted in the island at his arrival; yet the statement of Wallis as tothe _soundness_ of his crew, seems deserving of all credit. After all, perhaps, there is reason to doubt if the affection judged to be the LuesVenerea, and at different times so exceedingly prevalent among thesepeople, were really so. Scientific men of the medical profession, knowthe extreme difficulty there is of deciding, as to the existence of thisdisease in certain cases. Common observers easily perceive andconfidently aver. But to the general reader the discussion of this topicwould be very unamusing. It is indeed quite irrelevant to the objects ofthis work. But there may be some propriety in giving the followingremarks. The origin of the disease in question has never been distinctlyascertained, and perhaps never will be. The common opinion is, that itwas brought from the western hemisphere; and the island of Hispaniola orSt Domingo is particularly mentioned by some writers as the place of itsfirst appearance. Hence the historian Robertson, with somewhat more ofunnecessary vehemence than of dignified moderation and good sense, tellsus in words very like part of our text: "One dreadful malady, theseverest scourge with which, in this life, offended heaven chastens theindulgence of criminal desire, seems to have been peculiar to theAmericans. By communicating it to their conquerors, they have not onlyamply avenged their own wrongs, but by adding this calamity to thosewhich formerly embittered human life, they have, perhaps, more thancounterbalanced all the benefits which Europe has derived from thediscovery of the New World. " As if a disease which every body might haveavoided, so soon as its existence, its inveterate nature, and the modeof communicating it, were known, and which, after all that has been saidof its malignity and rapid progress, was both mitigated by various meanssoon after its appearance, and ultimately at no great distance of timeeffectually arrested in its terrifying career--as if this could beconsidered competent to liquidate all the advantages and the greatlyaugmented comforts which have resulted to Europe and to the world atlarge by the discoveries of Columbus: And as if, granting all that hasbeen exaggeratingly related of its spreading over Europe with thecelerity and unqualified extension of an epidemic--such visitation onmultitudes of generations no way implicated in the guilt, could by anyrules of logic for the interpreting of Providence be construed into actsof righteous retribution in avenging these Indians! But in reality, itis highly disputable if the facts on which is exhibited such an_uncommonly_ zealous display of justice on the part of the historian, are adequate to warrant his opinion, that America inflicted thiscalamity. This is rather unfortunate for his apparent warmth of piety, and the more so, as, from the information to which he alludes in hisnote on the text, he must have been diffident at least of the accuracyof its application. In that note, he makes mention of a dissertationpublished in 1765, by Dr Antonio Sanchez Ribeiro, in which it isendeavoured to be proved that the venereal disease took its rise inEurope, and was brought on by an epidemical and malignant disorder. Though calling in question some of the facts on which this opinion isbuilt, the Principal allows that it "is supported with such plausiblearguments, as render it (what? deserving of considerable regard, or veryprobable? No such thing--as render it) a subject of enquiry welldeserving the attention of learned physicians!" Mr Bryan Edwards is moremoderate in his judgment of the matter, and seemingly more industriousin ascertaining the evidence of it. In his opinion, an attentiveenquirer will hesitate to subscribe to the conclusion that thisinfection was the product of the West Indies. He refers to the work ofSanchez above mentioned, and to several other works, for reasons tosubstantiate the other view; and he terminates his note with thefollowing paragraph, which by most readers will be considered ofsuperlative authority as to one important part of the case: In Stowe'sSurvey of London, vol. Ii. P. 7, is preserved a copy of the rules orregulations established by parliament in the eighth year of Henry theSecond, for the government of the licensed stews in Southwark, amongwhich I find the following: "No stewholder to keep any woman that haththe perilous infirmity of burning. " This was 330 years before the voyageof Columbus. If this "perilous infirmity of burning" be the disease nowdenominated the Lues Venerea, the question is solved as to the concernof America in its production. And all that Oviedo, Guicciardin, Charlevoix, and others say, as to its first appearance in Europe, whenthe king of Spain sent an army to the assistance of Ferdinand the Secondof Naples, must be reckoned as applicable only to its greater frequency, or more common occurrence, than had before been known. But, indeed, thedescription given of the disease which then prevailed so alarmingly, iswith some difficulty reconcileable to what is now ascertained of thevenereal infection. Guicciardin himself seems to hint at a diversity inits form and mode of reception, betwixt the period he assigns for itsappearance, and "after the course of many years. " "For then, " says he, (the quotation is made from Fenton's curious translation, London, 1599)"the disease began to be less malitious, changing itself into diversekindes of infirmity, _differing from the first calamity_, whereof trulythe regions and people of our times might justly complain, _if ithappened to them without their proper disorder_ (that is, without theirown fault, ) seeing it is well approved by all those that have diligentlystudied and observed the properties of that evil, that either never orvery rarely it happeneth to any otherwayes, than by contagious whoredomeor immoderate incontinency. " That a mistake exists in the early accountsas to the nature of the disease which was found at Hispaniola by theSpaniards, and by them on their return to Europe communicated to theFrench and Neapolitans, is very probable from the circumstance mentionedin them, that some vegetable substances, especially _guiaicum_, wereeffectual for its cure;--since it is most certain, that the Lues Venereaof modern times is not at all destructible by such means, whereas thereare several cutaneous affections which may be benefited by them. Asimilar remark may be made respecting the disease observable atOtaheite, which, as the reader will find in the text, is said to havebeen cured by _simples_ known to the inhabitants. This is most unlikely, if that disease were really the Lues Venerea, as is alleged, and had notexisted among them previous to the arrival of Europeans; though whatLawson says in his account of the natives of North Carolina doesundoubtedly yield material evidence to such an opinion. "They cure, "says he, "the pox, which is frequent among them, by a berry thatsalivates, as mercury does; yet they use sweating and decoctions verymuch with it; as they do, almost on every occasion; and when they arethoroughly heated, they leap into the river. " The natives of Madagascartoo are said to cure this disease by similar treatment. But the reader'spatience, perhaps, is exhausted, and it is full time to conclude thislong note. On the whole, it seems probable enough, that this disease isnot the product of any one particular country, and from it propagatedamong others by communication, but is the result of certaincircumstances not indeed yet ascertained, but common to the human race, and of earlier occurrence in the world than is generally imagined. --E. ]

It is impossible but that, in relating incidents, many particulars withrespect to the customs, opinions, and works of these people should beanticipated; to avoid repetition therefore, I shall only supplydeficiencies. Of the manner of disposing of their dead much has beensaid already. I must more explicitly observe, that there are two placesin which the dead are deposited; one a kind of shed, where the flesh issuffered to putrify; the other an inclosure, with erections of stone, where the bones are afterwards buried. The sheds are called _Tupapow_and the inclosures _Morai_. The Morais are also places of worship. [29]

[Footnote 29: "It is the heaviest stone, " says Sir Thomas Brown in hiscurious work Hydriotaphia, "that melancholy can throw at a man, to tellhim he is at the end of his nature; or that there is no farther state tocome, unto which this seems progressional, and otherwise made in vain. "But of such a conspiracy and assault against the best hopes of man, these Otaheitans, we see, are by no means guilty. They look for anotherexistence after that one is finished, in which the body held aninseparable companionship. By their mode of treating the dead, they seemto study the perpetuity of friendship, and by their using their moraisas places of worship, they acknowledge a fellowship with them insomething that death cannot destroy. The philosopher of modern times maysay this is foolish, and may call for evidence that the notion ofimmortality is not groundless. It is perhaps impossible to satisfy him, because, in fact, he demands of reason what it is not the province ofreason to afford. The notion is founded on other principles of theconstitution which God has imparted to man, and these principles rebutall the sophistry of the presumptuous sciolist. Is it true, that thisnotion prevails universally among the human race? Let him answer tothis. He must admit it;--let him then explain it, if he can. Reason, hewill say, is incompetent to the task. --Admitted. But so is it to manyother tasks--it cannot, for instance, solve the question, why we believethe sun will rise to-morrow and dispel the darkness now cloaking overthe horizon? The hope that it will do so, is nevertheless very natural. Who shall say it is improper, or that it is founded on the mere fancy ofman? Reason indeed may strengthen the ground of this hope, and so may ittoo the notion of a future existence. But they both rest on foundationsquite distinct from that faculty, and might, for any thing can be seento the contrary, have formed part of our moral constitution, althoughthat faculty had never existed in our minds. And here let it bedistinctly understood, that in stating the notion or expectation of afuture existence to be founded on some principle or principles separatefrom reason, and the same in all the human race, it is not meant to bedenied that the mere opinions as to the nature and condition of thatexistence may have no other foundation whatever than what Mr Hume, forinstance, has ascribed erroneously to the notion itself--men's ownconceit and imagination. This in fact is the secret of that writer'svile sophistry on the subject, and at once confutes it, by proving theinapplicability of his argument. All that is now contended for, is, theuniversality of the notion or belief, not by any means the similarity ofthe opinions connected with it. These opinions are as numerous, indeed, as the characteristic features of different nations and governments; butwere they a thousand times more diversified than they are ascertained tobe, and a thousand times more contradictory and absurd, they stillrecognise some instinctive or constitutional principle common to ourrace, and which no reasoning or artifices of priests or designing mencould possibly produce. No conceit or imagination can ever originate, though it may certainly foster, "this hope, this fond desire, thislonging after immortality;" and no reasoning, no efforts of the mind, nay, what is still more striking, no dislike, however strong, asproceeding from an apprehension of some evil consequences involved inthe truth of the belief, can eradicate the inclination to entertain it. In short, it is no way paradoxical to assert, that, were man by anymeans to know that there shall be no hereafter, his whole life, supposing his constitution to remain the same, would be a direct andcontinued contradiction to his knowledge. This, to be sure, would be astrange anomaly in the government of God, and utterly irreconcileablewith every view we can form of his veracity, if we may use theexpression, though still consistent with his wisdom and goodness. Butwhat then shall we say of the conduct of the would-be philosophers, who, with limited faculties and intelligences and benevolence, (this is nodisparagement, for even Voltaire himself, with all his powers, was but afinite creature!) force reason and science to prove what their ownfeelings belie, and to oppose what their consciences declare to beirresistible? It is not profane, on such an occasion, to accommodate thelanguage of an apostle into a suitable rebuke to such perversecontenders. "What if some labour not to believe, shall their attemptsfrustrate the work of God? Far be it--God will maintain his truth, though all men should conspire against it. " Allowing then free scope toa notion so natural to us, and having our opinions guided by an unerringlight, we shall see that there is something vastly more dignified thanfashion in the funeral rites of the Otaheitans--and feel that there issomething vastly more important than eloquence, in the words of anauthor already quoted at the commencement of this note:--"Man is a nobleanimal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave, solemnizingnativities and deaths with equal lustre, nor omitting ceremonies ofbravery, in the infancy of his nature;"--the reason for which isexplained by another author, in words still more sublime andexhilarating:--"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernaclewere dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. "--E. ]

As soon as a native of Otaheite is known to be dead, the house is filledwith relations, who deplore their loss, some by loud lamentations, andsome by less clamorous, but more genuine expressions of grief. Those whoare in the nearest degree of kindred, and are really affected by theevent, are silent; the rest are one moment uttering passionateexclamations in a chorus, and the next laughing and talking without theleast appearance of concern. In this manner the remainder of the day onwhich they assemble is spent, and all the succeeding night. On the nextmorning the body is shrouded in their cloth, and conveyed to the seasideupon a bier, which the bearers support upon their shoulders, attended bythe priest, who having prayed over the body, repeats his sentencesduring the procession: When it arrives at the water's edge, it is setdown upon the beach; the priest renews his prayers, and taking up someof the water in his hands, sprinkles it towards the body, but not uponit. It is then carried back forty or fifty yards, and soon after broughtagain to the beach, where the prayers and sprinkling are repeated: It isthus removed backwards and forwards several times, and while theseceremonies have been performing, a house has been built, and a smallspace of ground railed in. In the centre of this house, or Tupapow, posts are set up to support the bier, which is at length conveyedthither, and placed upon it, and here the body remains to putrify tillthe flesh is wholly wasted from the bones. 

These houses of corruption are of a size proportioned to the rank of theperson whose body they are to contain; those allotted to the lower classare just sufficient to cover the bier, and have no railing round them. The largest we ever saw was eleven yards long, and such as these areornamented according to the abilities and inclination of the survivingkindred, who never fail to lay a profusion of good cloth about the body, and sometimes almost cover the outside of the house. Garlands of thefruit of the palm-nut, or _pandanus_, and cocoa leaves, twisted by thepriests in mysterious knots, with a plant called by them _Ethee noMorai_, which is particularly consecrated to funeral solemnities, aredeposited about the place; provision and water are also left at a littledistance, of which, and of other decorations, a more particulardescription has been given already. 

As soon as the body is deposited in the Tupapow, the mourning isrenewed. The women assemble, and are led to the door by the nearestrelation, who strikes a shark's tooth several times into the crown ofher head: The blood copiously follows, and is carefully received uponpieces of linen, which are thrown under the bier. The rest of the womenfollow this example, and the ceremony is repeated at the interval of twoor three days, as long as the zeal and sorrow of the parties hold out. The tears also which are shed upon these occasions, are received uponpieces of cloth, and offered as oblations to the dead: Some of theyounger people cut off their hair, and that is thrown under the bierwith the other offerings. This custom is founded upon a notion that thesoul of the deceased, which they believe to exist in a separate state, is hovering about the place where the body is deposited; that itobserves the actions of the survivors, and is gratified by suchtestimonies of their affection and grief. 

Two or three days after these ceremonies have been commenced by thewomen, during which the men seem to be wholly insensible of their loss, they also begin to perform their part. The nearest relations take it inturn to assume the dress, and perform the office which have already beenparticularly described in the account of Tubourai Tamaide's having actedas chief mourner to an old woman, his relation, who died while we werein the island. One part of the ceremony, however, which accounts for therunning away of the people as soon as this procession is in sight, hasnot been mentioned. The chief mourner carries in his hand a long flatstick, the edge of which is set with shark's teeth, and in a phrenzy, which his grief is supposed to have inspired, he runs at all he sees, and if any of them happen to be overtaken, he strikes them mostunmercifully with this indented cudgel, which cannot fail to wound themin a dangerous manner. 

These processions continue at certain intervals for five moons, but areless and less frequent, by a gradual diminution, as the end of that timeapproaches. When it is expired, what remains of the body is taken downfrom the bier, and the bones having been scraped and washed very clean, are buried, according to the rank of the person, either within orwithout a morai: If the deceased was an earee, or chief, his skull isnot buried with the rest of the bones, but is wrapped up in fine cloth, and put in a kind of box made for that purpose, which is also placed inthe morai. This coffer is called _ewharre no te orometua_, the house ofa teacher or master. After this the mourning ceases, except some of thewomen continue to be really afflicted for the loss, and in that casethey will sometimes suddenly wound themselves with the shark's toothwherever they happen to be: This perhaps will account for the passionof grief in which Terapo wounded herself at the fort; some accidentalcircumstance might forcibly revive the remembrance of a friend orrelation whom she had lost, with a pungency of regret and tendernesswhich forced a vent by tears, and prompted her to a repetition of thefuneral rite. 

The ceremonies, however, do not cease with the mourning: Prayers arestill said by the priest, who is well paid by the surviving relations, and offerings made at the morai. Some of the things, which from time totime are deposited there, are emblematical: A young plantain representsthe deceased, and the bunch of feathers the deity who is invoked. Thepriest places himself over against the symbol of the god, accompanied bysome of the relations, who are furnished with a small offering, andrepeats his oraison in a set form, consisting of separate sentences; atthe same time weaving the leaves of the cocoa-nut into different forms, which he afterwards deposits upon the ground where the bones have beeninterred; the deity is then addressed by a shrill screech, which is usedonly upon that occasion. When the priest retires, the tuft of feathersis removed, and the provisions left to putrify, or be devoured by therats. [30]

[Footnote 30: There is something very remarkable in the circumstance ofresemblance among very different and distant people, as to the practiceof mourning for the dead, when in fact there can be no such thing asgrief in existence, and when the appearance of it is merely a part ofwhat may be called professional duty. It is clear from the accounts ofthe text and other authorities, that more are concerned in this mourningwork at Otaheite, than are really concerned in the occasion of it; andthe probability of course is, that in some way or other these additionalattendants are recompensed for their doleful services. That the use ofmercenary mourners prevailed, and still prevails, among some easternnations, is clear from Scripture and the relations of recent authors. The reader will find some amusing information concerning them, and anaccount of the Caoinan or funeral cry of the Irish as practised forsimilar purposes, in Dr A. Clarke's edition of Mr Harmer's Observations, before alluded to. A quotation from that work can scarcely fail tointerest the reader, who will be afterwards favoured with a very curiousdescription of what is said by Lawson to have been practised in NorthCarolina, in which the general point of resemblance is most strikinglydisplayed. --"Not only do the relations and female friends, in Egypt, surround the corpse, while it remains unburied, with the most bittercries, scratching and beating their faces so violently as to make thembloody, and black, and blue; but, to render the hubbub more complete, and do the more honour to the dead person, whom they seem to imagine tobe very fond of noise, those of the lower class of people are wont tocall in, on these occasions, certain _women_, who play on tabors, andwhose business it is to sing mournful airs to the sound of thisinstrument, which they accompany with a thousand distortions of theirlimbs, as frightful as those of people possessed by the devil. Thesewomen attend the corpse to the grave intermixed with the relations andfriends of the deceased, who commonly have their hair in the utmostdisorder, like the frantic Bacchanalian women of the ancient heathens, their heads covered with dust, their faces daubed with indigo, or atleast rubbed with mud, and howling like mad people. " Now let us hearLawson. --"These savages all agree in their mourning, which is to appear, every night, at the sepulchre, and howl and weep in a very dismalmanner, having their faces daubed over with light-wood soot, (which isthe same as lamp-black) and bears-oil. This renders them as black as itis possible to make themselves, so that their's very much resemble thefaces of executed men boiled in tar. If the dead person was a grandee, to carry on the funeral ceremonies, they hire people to cry and lamentover the dead man. Of this sort there are several, that practise it fora livelihood, and are very expert at shedding abundance of tears, andhowling like wolves, and so discharging their office with abundance ofhypocrisy and art. " The reader will meet with a pretty full account ofthe funeral ceremonies among some of the eastern nations, in Dr Scott'sintroduction to his recent edition of the Arabian NightsEntertainments. --E. ]

Of the religion of these people, we were not able to acquire any clearand consistent knowledge: We found it like the religion of most othercountries, involved in mystery, and perplexed with apparentinconsistencies. The religious language is also here, as it is in China, different from that which is used in common; so that Tupia, who tookgreat pains to instruct us, having no words to express his meaning whichwe understood, gave us lectures to very little purpose: What we learnt, however, I will relate with as much perspicuity as I can. 

Nothing is more obvious to a rational being, however ignorant or stupid, than that the universe and its various parts, as far as they fall underhis notice, were produced by some agent inconceivably more powerful thanhimself; and nothing is more difficult to be conceived, even by the mostsagacious and knowing, than the production of them from nothing, whichamong us is expressed by the word _Creation_. It is natural therefore, as no Being apparently capable of producing the universe is to be seen, that he should be supposed to reside in some distant part of it, or tobe in his nature invisible, and that he should have originally producedall that now exists in a manner similar to that in which nature isrenovated by the succession of one generation to another; but the ideaof procreation includes in it that of two persons, and from theconjunction of two persons these people imagine every thing in theuniverse either originally or derivatively to proceed. 

The Supreme Deity, one of these two first beings, they call_Taroataihetoomoo_, and the other, whom they suppose to have been arock, _Tepapa_. A daughter of these was _Tettowmatatayo_, the year, orthirteen months collectively, which they never name but upon thisoccasion, and she, by the common father, produced the months, and themonths, by conjunction with each other, the days; the stars they supposepartly to be the immediate offspring of the first pair, and partly tohave increased among themselves; and they have the same notion withrespect to the different species of plants. Among other progeny ofTaroataihetoomoo and Tepapa, they suppose an inferior race of deitieswhom they call _Eatuas_. Two of these Eatuas, they say, at some remoteperiod of time, inhabited the earth, and were the parents of the firstman. When this man, their common ancestor, was born, they say that hewas round like a ball, but that his mother, with great care, drew outhis limbs, and having at length moulded him into his present form, shecalled him _Eothe_, which signifies _finished_. That being prompted bythe universal instinct to propagate his kind, and being able to find nofemale but his mother, he begot upon her a daughter, and upon thedaughter other daughters for several generations, before there was ason; a son, however, being at length born, he, by the assistance of hissisters, peopled the world. 

Besides their daughter Tettowmatatayo, the first progenitors of naturehad a son whom they called _Tane_. Taroataihetoomoo, the Supreme Deity, they emphatically style the causer of earthquakes; but their prayers aremore generally addressed to Tane, whom they suppose to take a greaterpart in the affairs of mankind. 

Their subordinate deities or Eatuas, which are numerous, are of bothsexes: The male are worshipped by the men, and the female by the women;and each have morais to which the other sex is not admitted, though theyhave also morais common to both. Men perform the office of priest toboth sexes, but each sex has its priests, for those who officiate forone sex do not officiate for the other. [31]

[Footnote 31: In several respects the theological notions of theseislanders resemble those of the oriental philosophers, spoken of inMosheim's Historical Account of the Church in the First Century, towhich the curious reader is referred. The Otaheitan Eatuas and theGnostic [Greek] seem near a-kin; the generation scheme is common toboth. What said the philosophers? The Supreme Being, after passing manyages in silence and inaction, did at length beget of himself, two beingsof very excellent nature like his own; these, by some similar operation, produced others, who having the same desires and ability, soon generatedmore, till the [Greek], or whole space inhabited by them, wascompletely occupied. A sort of inferior beings proceeded from these, andwere considered by the worshippers as intermediate betwixt themselvesand the upper gods. But enough of this trash. Let certain infatuatedadmirers of ancient philosophy blush, if they are capable of such anindication of modesty, to find that the rude and tin-letteredinhabitants of an island in the South-Sea, are not a whit behind theirvenerated sages in the manufacture of gods and godlings. Alas, poorGibbon! must the popular religion of Otaheite, the licentious, thedissolute, the child-murdering, the _unnatural_ Otaheite, be put on alevel with the elegant mythology of Homer, and the mild, serviceablesuperstition of imperial Rome? Why not? Is it fitting that even Otaheitebe excluded the benefit of this very impartial historian's humane maxim, which he puts into the mouths of the Lords of the earth; "in everycountry, the form of superstition, which has received the sanction oftime and experience, is the best adapted to the climate and to itsinhabitants?" By all means, give Taroataihetoomoo, Tepapa, andTettowmatatayo, the _freedom of the city_--only clip their names alittle for the conveniency of the liberal-minded catholics who maydesire their acquaintance. --E. ]

They believe the immortality of the soul, at least its existence in aseparate state, and that there are two situations of different degreesof happiness, somewhat analogous to our heaven and hell: The superiorsituation they call _Tavirua Perai_, the other _Tiahoboo_. They do not, however, consider them as places of reward and punishment, but asreceptacles for different classes; the first, for their chiefs andprincipal people, the other for those of inferior rank, for they do notsuppose that their actions here in the least influence their futurestate, or indeed that they come under the cognizance of their deities atall. Their religion, therefore, if it has no influence upon theirmorals, is at least disinterested; and their expressions of adorationand reverence, whether by words or actions, arise only from a humblesense of their own inferiority, and the ineffable excellence of divineperfection. 

The character of the priest, or Tahowa, is hereditary: The class isnumerous, and consists of all ranks of people; the Chief, however, isgenerally the younger brother of a good family, and is respected in adegree next to their kings: Of the little knowledge that is possessed inthis country, the priests have the greatest share; but it consistsprincipally in an acquaintance with the names and ranks of the differentEatuas or subordinate divinities, and the opinions concerning the originof things, which have been traditionally preserved among the order indetached sentences, of which some will repeat an incredible number, though but very few of the words that are used in their common dialectoccur in them. 

The priests, however, are superior to the rest of the people in theknowledge of navigation and astronomy, and indeed the name Tahowasignifies nothing more than a man of knowledge. As there are priests ofevery class, they officiate only among that class to which they belong:The priest of the inferior class is never called upon by those ofsuperior rank, nor will the priest of the superior rank officiate forany of the inferior class. 

Marriage in this island, as appeared to us, is nothing more than anagreement between the man and woman, with which the priest has noconcern. Where it is contracted it appears to be pretty well kept, though sometimes the parties separate by mutual consent, and in thatcase a divorce takes place with as little trouble as the marriage. 

But though the priesthood has laid the people under no tax for a nuptialbenediction, there are two operations which it has appropriated, andfrom which it derives considerable advantages. One is _tattowing_, andthe other circumcision, though neither of them have any connection withreligion. The tattowing has been described already. Circumcision hasbeen adopted merely from motives of cleanliness; it cannot indeedproperly be called circumcision, because the _prepuce_ is not mutilatedby a circular wound, but only slit through the upper part to prevent itscontracting over the _glans_. As neither of these can be performed byany but a priest, and as to be without either is the greatest disgrace, they may be considered as a claim to surplice fees like our marriagesand christenings, which are cheerfully and liberally paid, not accordingto any settled stipend, but the rank and abilities of the parties ortheir friends. 

The morai, as has already been observed, is at once a burying-ground anda place of worship, and in this particular our churches too muchresemble it. The Indian, however, approaches his morai with a reverenceand humility that disgraces the christian, not because he holds anything sacred that is there, but because he there worships an invisibledivinity, for whom, though he neither hopes for reward, nor fearspunishment, at his hand, he always expresses the profoundest homage andmost humble adoration. I have already given a very particulardescription both of the morais and the altars that are placed near them. When an Indian is about to worship at the morai, or brings his offeringto the altar, he always uncovers his body to the waist, and his looksand attitude are such as sufficiently express a correspondingdisposition of mind. [32]

[Footnote 32: Almost all the particulars now and afterwards stated _infavour_ of the Otaheitans, are fully allowed by recent accounts, especially that of the Missionary Voyage already noticed. --E. ]

It did not appear to us that these people are, in any instance, guiltyof idolatry; at least they do not worship any thing that is the work oftheir hands, nor any visible part of the creation. This island indeed, and the rest that lie near it, have a particular bird, some a heron, andothers a king's fisher, to which they pay a peculiar regard, andconcerning which they have some superstitious notions with respect togood and bad fortune, as we have of the swallow and robin-red-breast, giving them the name of _Eatua_, and by no means killing or molestingthem; yet they never address a petition to them, or approach them withany act of adoration. [33]

[Footnote 33: The account now given of the religion of the Otaheitans isimperfect in point of information; and it must be held erroneous as toprinciple, by all who chuse to derive their knowledge on the subject ofman's relation to his Maker, from the sacred Scriptures alone. Theimperfections were the consequence of the very limited acquaintance withthese islanders, which existed at the time, and may be readily filled upon the authority of subsequent observers. As to the erroneousness ofprinciple, it may suffice for the enlightened reader to remind him, thatas the Supreme Being himself is the only object of worship, so everyother one that is worshipped in place of him, whether made by the handsof men, or found made by nature, or conceived to exist, is virtually andessentially an idol. It follows from this, that idolatry is much moreprevalent than is usually imagined, and is by no means confined tonations in a barbarous or semi-barbarous state. The worshippers ofreason, or virtue, or taste, or fashion, or nature, or one's owngoodness and piety, or the spiritual entities of philosophers andreligionists, are as truly idolaters as the worshippers of the grandlama in Thibet, or the economical sect in Lapland, who contentthemselves with the largest stone they can find. Mr Hume, who has beenat such pains to enquire into the natural history of religion, is mostunnecessarily cautious as to the qualifying of one of his most importantassertions on the subject of the prevalence of idolaters. "The savagetribes of America, Africa, and Asia, " says he, "are all idolaters. Not asingle exception to this rule. Insomuch, that, were a traveller totransport himself into any unknown region; if he found inhabitantscultivated with arts and sciences, though even upon that suppositionthere are odds against their being theists, yet could he not safely, till further enquiry, pronounce any thing on that head; but if he foundthem ignorant and barbarous, he might beforehand declare them idolaters;and there is scarcely a possibility of his being mistaken. " He mighthave said with perfect confidence, that a traveller would scarcely findone person in a thousand amid all the tribes of the earth, who wasentitled to be considered as a pure theist, or at least, who wassingle-minded in the exercise of his religious devotion. The generalityof mankind, in short, are like a certain people of old, --they fear theLord, and worship their own gods. Then again as to the disinterestednessof the Otaheitan devotees, Dr Hawkesworth egregiously blunders--as if itwere conceivable, or any way natural, that they or any other peoplecould possibly serve their divinities without entertaining the hope thatthey should be served by them in turn. This were to exceed even Homer inhis exaggerating human nature at the expence of the gods. That poet putsa curious speech in the mouth of Dione, the mother of Venus, whenaddressing her daughter, who had been wounded by Diomede:--

 My child! how hard soe'er thy sufferings seem, Endure them patiently, since many a wrong From human hands profane the gods endure, And many a painful stroke mankind from ours. 

But Dr H. It is probable, had embraced the fanatical and monstrousnotion of some specialists, that God and religion were to be loved fortheir own sakes; not because of the benefits they confer; and he wishedto exalt the characters of these islanders by representing them asacting on it. This, however, is as irrational in itself, as it isimpracticable by such a creature as man. Self-love, directed by wisdom, is perhaps the best principle that can actuate him. Consideringscripture as an authority, there is a high degree of commendationimplied in what is said of Moses by an apostle, when speaking of hisfaith and obedience, and accounting for it, "he had respect unto therecompence of reward;" and of one higher than Moses it is related, that, "for the joy set before him, (certainly not then possessed, ) he enduredthe cross. " Were man always to act from a sense of what he has received, and the hope of what he may receive, he would never do wrong. He, on theother hand, that attempts to serve God out of pure benevolence, andwithout expectation of advantage, will soon spurn archangels, and mayset up for a God himself, on any day he shall think he has succeeded inaccomplishing such super-eminent disinterestedness. On the whole, it maybe remarked, that the Dr seems correct enough in his notions ofreligion, considered as founded on reason; but is far from being so inthose concerning its foundation in the principles of human nature. This, however, seems the consequence of inattention to the subject as aspeculation, rather than of studied disregard to those secret surmisingswhich every human heart will oftentimes experience to carry it beyondthe brink of perishable things, and to give it a birth amid therealities of wonder, fear, and hope. Far be it from the writer to classhim amongst those whom the poet Campbell so pathetically, and yet soindignantly describes in the beautiful lines, --

 Oh! lives there, heaven! beneath thy dread expanse, One hopeless, dark idolater of chance, Content to feed, with pleasures unrefined, The lukewarm passions of a lowly mind; Who, mouldering earthward, 'reft of every trust, In joyless union wedded to the dust, Could all his parting energy dismiss, And call this barren world sufficient bliss?

He may not merit the "proud applause, " the "pre-eminence in ill, " ofthose "lights of the world, " and "demi-gods of fame, " who league reasonand science against the hopes of mankind, and busy themselves inthrowing the "heaviest stones of melancholy" at the poor wretchshivering over the dregs of life, and tottering towards the grass. Andyet it is certain, that what was written on his own tombstone impliedmuch less the hope of another life, than the gloomy satisfaction ofhaving partners in the darkness and inactivity of death. The reader willsee it in the Encyclopædia Britannica, where a short account of him isgiven. --E. ]

Though I dare not assert that these people, to whom the art of writing, and consequently the recording of laws, are utterly unknown, live undera regular form of government, yet a subordination is established amongthem, that greatly resembles the early state of every nation in Europeunder the feudal system, which secured liberty in the most licentiousexcess to a few, and entailed the most abject slavery upon the rest. [34]

[Footnote 34: The government of this island, it is most certain, is bothmonarchical and hereditary in one family. There is not the smallestreason to think that the Otaheitans, with all their ingenuity and loveof freedom, are, any more than other people, exempt from thoseprinciples so vigorously depicted by Cowper in his "Task, " as the originof kingship:--

 It is the abject property of most, That, being parcel of the common mass, And destitute of means to raise themselves, They sink, and settle, lower than they need. They know not what it is to feel within A comprehensive faculty, that grasps Great purposes with ease, that turns and wields Almost without an effort, plans too vast For their conception, which they cannot move. Conscious of impotence, they soon grow drunk With gazing, when they see an able man Step forth to notice; and besotted thus, Build him a pedestal, and say, "Stand there, And be our admiration and our praise. "

But at what time this able man stepped forth to monopolise theadmiration and the allegiance of his brethren (all sound men and true!), is not in the record. The Otaheitans, we know, are not historians. Probably, then, they have been favoured by their priests with some goodorthodox doctrine, as to divine appointment on the subject. Indeed, thecase of these islanders is one in which the necessary effect of thatconsciousness of impotence and self-abasement, is scarcely in any degreecounteracted by other principles. We see it literally exemplifying thedescription of the poet, --

 Thenceforth they are his cattle: drudges, born To bear his burdens, drawing in his gears, And sweating in his service, his caprice Becomes the soul that animates them all. 

"It is considered, " says the missionary account, "as the distinctivemark of their regal dignity, to be every where carried about on men'sshoulders. As their persons are esteemed sacred, before them all mustuncover below their breast. They may not enter into any house but theirown, because, from that moment, it would become raã, or sacred, and nonebut themselves, or their train, could dwell or eat there; and the landtheir feet touched would be their property. " It sometimes happens inother countries, it is true, that men can be found base enough toemulate beasts of burden, by drawing the carriages of their sovereignlords. This, however, is only on some peculiar occasions, where certainclear indications of personal superiority have been manifested, toinduce the mass of the people to revert to the notion of their ownpristine lowliness. The Otaheitan princes, on the other hand, practiseless self-denial in such imposition; or, which is perhaps more likely tobe the truth, they find their continuance in an exalted situation veryrequisite to discriminate their office, which could not be inferred fromany superiority of character they possess; for, says the same account, "the king and queen were always attended by a number of men, ascarriers, domestics, or favourites, who were ràa, or sacred, livingwithout families, and attending only on the royal pair; and a worse setof men the whole island does not afford for thievery, plunder, andimpurity. " If this opinion be correct, one might safely infer, that themonarchy of Otaheite is of very old standing, or, in other words, thatthe royal blood is run to the dregs. And what though it be? Cannot thepageantry of state suffice for all the ends of good government inOtaheite, as well as any where else? It is very foolish, to say no moreof it, to be exclaiming with the poet, But is it fit, or can it bear the shock Of rational discussion, that a man, Compounded and made up like other men, Of elements tumultuous, in whom lust And folly in as ample measure meet, As in the bosoms of the slaves he rules, Should he a despot absolute, and boast Himself the only freeman of his land?

This is to overlook, entirely, the existence of certain springs in agovernment, which ensure its not stopping, for a considerable time afterthe corruption or even disorganization of what is apparently its headand source of vitality. It is to imagine that a political constitutiondepends for its preservation on the same identical principles which gaveit origin, and that none other can be substituted in their place, without breaking up the whole machine. It is to forget, that after acertain period of society, the whims and vices of the nominal chief areof little more importance, than the movements and attitudes of a dancingdoll. "Habit, " says Mr Hume, in his sensible way, "soon consolidateswhat other principles of human nature had imperfectly founded; and menonce accustomed to obedience never think of departing from that path, inwhich they and their ancestors have constantly trod, and to which theyare confined by so many urgent and visible motives. "--E. ]

Their orders are, _earee rahie_, which answers to king; _earee_, baron;_manahouni_, vassal; and _toutou_, villain. The earee rahie, of whichthere are two in this island, one being the sovereign of each of thepeninsulas of which it consists, is treated with great respect by allranks, but did not appear to us to be invested with so much power as wasexercised by the earees in their own districts; nor indeed did we, as wehave before observed, once see the sovereign of Obereonoo while we werein the island. The earees are lords of one or more of the districts intowhich each of the peninsulas is divided, of which there may be about onehundred in the whole island; and they parcel out their territories tothe manahounies, who cultivate each his part which he holds under thebaron. The lowest class, called toutous, seem to be nearly under thesame circumstances as the villains in feudal governments: These do allthe laborious work, they cultivate the land under the manahounies, whoare only nominal cultivators for the lord, they fetch wood and water, and, under the direction of the mistress of the family, dress thevictuals; they also catch the fish. 

Each of the eares keeps a kind of court, and has a great number ofattendants, chiefly the younger brothers of their own tribe; and amongthese some hold particular offices, but of what nature exactly we couldnot tell. One was called the _Eowa no l'Earee_, and another the _Whannono l'Earee_, and these were frequently dispatched to us with messages. Of all the courts of these eares, that of Tootahah was the mostsplendid, as indeed might reasonably be expected, because headministered the government for Outou, his nephew, who was earee rahieof Obereonoo, and lived upon his estate. The child of the baron orearee, as well as of the sovereign or earee rahie, succeeds to the titleand honours of the father as soon as it is born: So that a baron, whowas yesterday called earee, and was approached with the ceremony oflowering the garments, so as to uncover the upper part of the body, isto day, if his wife was last night delivered of a child, reduced to therank of a private man, all marks of respect being transferred to thechild, if it is suffered to live, though the father still continuespossessor and administrator of his estate: Probably this custom has itsshare, among other inducements, in forming the societies calledArreoy. [35]

[Footnote 35: What renders this opinion the more probable, is thecircumstance of these societies being generally made up of the _nobles_. But it is certain, that the inhuman practice of child-murder is notconfined to the Arreoys. "It is the common practice, " says themissionary account, "among all ranks, to strangle infants the momentthey are born, " To the same work we are indebted for some particularsrespecting the division of ranks in Otaheite, which do not quite accordwith the statement in the text. The difference is indeed veryimmaterial, and would scarcely deserve notice, if any thing were notimportant which seems to illustrate the history of so interesting apeople. A slight sketch of the subject, as given in that work, maysuffice for the reader's consideration. The person next in rank to theking is his own father, if alive--it being the invariable maxim of thisgovernment, though quite unexampled elsewhere, for a son to succeed tothe title and dignity of king, immediately on his birth, and inprejudice of his own father, who, however, is usually, but not always, entrusted with the regency, till the young man have ability for theduties of his office. The chiefs of the several districts are next indignity; they exercise almost regal authority in their respectiveterritories; they are notwithstanding subject to the sovereign, andliable to be called on by him for such assistance as circumstances mayinduce him to require. Next to these, are the near relatives of thechiefs, called to-whas and tayos. Then follows the rank of rattira orgentlemen, whose estates are called rahoe. These two ranks have thepower of laying a prohibition on their respective lands, or onparticular sorts of provision, for the purpose of accumulating articlesfor their feasts, or after any great consumption of the necessaries oflife. The lowest class of society after the rattira, is the manahoune, which bears a resemblance to our cottagers. They cultivate the lands, and are in a state of vassalage, but they are not compelled to constantservice, and they are permitted both to change masters, and to migrateto other districts. The servants in any class are called _toutou_; suchas wait on the women, _tuti_, an occupation into which, it seems, forreasons best known to themselves, young men of the first families notunfrequently insinuate, though by so doing they are excluded from thesolemnities of religion. A detestable set of men named _mahoos_, andbearing a resemblance to the Catamites of old, deserve not to bementioned in the list of the ranks in this society. Birth has severaldistinctions in its favour among these people. Thus, a chief is always achief, notwithstanding his demerits or misdemeanours; and, on thecontrary, nothing can raise a common man above the station of a towha orrattira. The king allows perfect freedom of intercourse and communionwith his subjects, treating them with the greatest freedom, and, indeed, scarcely preserving any appearance of distinction from them. Hishousehold is often changed, as no one serves him longer than he likes, and it is not usual to engage for any stated time, or for any wages. With these people it is not a reproach to be poor; but they freelyexpress their contempt of those who are affluent, and at the same timecovetous. The dread of being thus despised is so great and prevalentamong them, that a man would give the clothes off his body, rather thanbe called in their language peere peere, _i. E. _ stingy. The rights of_property_ are sacredly respected, and though there be no records orwriting in the island, are minutely ascertained, and carefully preservedby tradition. --E. ]

If a general attack happens to be made upon the island, every districtunder the command of an earee, is obliged to furnish its proportion ofsoldiers for the common defence. The number furnished by the principaldistricts, which Tupia recollected, when added together, amounted, as Ihave observed before, to six thousand six hundred and eighty. 

Upon such occasions, the united force of the whole island is commandedin chief by the earee rahie. Private differences between two earees aredecided by their own people, without at all disturbing the generaltranquillity. 

Their weapons are slings, which they use with great dexterity, pikesheaded with the stings of sting-rays, and clubs, of about six or sevenfeet long, made of a very hard heavy wood. Thus armed, they are said tofight with great obstinacy, which is the more likely to be true, as itis certain that they give no quarter to either man, woman, or child, whois so unfortunate as to fall into their hands during the battle, or forsome hours afterwards, till their passion, which is always violent, though not lasting, has subsided. 

The earee rahie of Obereonoo, while we were here, was in perfect amitywith the earee rahie of Tiarreboo, the other peninsula, though he tookto himself the title of king of the whole island: This, however, produced no more jealousy in the other sovereign, than the title of Kingof France, assumed by our sovereign, did in his most Christian Majesty. 

In a government so rude, it cannot be expected that distributive justiceshould be regularly administered, and indeed, where there is so littleopposition of interest, in consequence of the facility with which everyappetite and passion is gratified, there can be but few crimes. [36]There is nothing like money, the common medium by which every want andevery wish is supposed to be gratified by those who do not possess it;there is no apparently permanent good which either fraud or force canunlawfully obtain; and when all the crimes that are committed by theinhabitants of civilized countries, to get money, are set out of theaccount, not many will remain: Add to this, that where the commerce withwomen is restrained by no law, men will seldom be under any temptationto commit adultery, especially as one woman is always less preferred toanother, where they are less distinguished by personal decorations, andthe adventitious circumstances which are produced by the varieties ofart, and the refinements of sentiment. That they are thieves is true;but as among these people no man can be much injured or benefited bytheft, it is not necessary to restrain it by such punishments, as inother countries are absolutely necessary to the very existence of civilsociety. Tupia, however, tells us, that adultery is sometimes committedas well as theft. In all cases where an injury has been committed, thepunishment of the offender lies with the sufferer: Adultery, if theparties are caught in the fact, is sometimes punished with death in thefirst ardour of resentment; but without circumstances of immediateprovocation, the female sinner seldom suffers more than a beating. Aspunishment, however, is enforced by no law, nor taken into the hand ofany magistrate, it is not often inflicted, except the injured party isthe strongest; though the chiefs do sometimes punish their immediatedependants for faults committed against each other, and even thedependants of others, if they are accused of any offence committed intheir district. [37]

[Footnote 36: It is impossible not to censure so gross a blunder, ifblunder that may be called, which is alike abhorrent to the truth offacts and to the validity of all good principle. The language indeed isso vague, as to admit something like a defence, under the shadow of adefinition which shall restrict crimes to gross violations of public andprivate right; but even this would be faulty, as implying what is notthe case, that the facility of indulgence, and of course the frequency, does not enhance the strength and efficacy of those passions andappetites, which, if not moderated, certainly lead to outrageousconduct. Habits of indulgence, it is no doubt certain, imply a softeningdown of the violence of character; and hence, in a _peculiar sense_, itmay be said, that the ages of refinement and luxury are the most happyand virtuous, an assertion which Mr Hume has spent no small labour inmaintaining: But, on the other hand, it is clear, that violence is moreeasily guarded against, in almost any state of society, than theartifices of dishonesty and the pollution of licentiousness; and, besides, it never will be found that any fecundity of nature can keeppace, with the accelerating increase of vicious desires andpropensities, consequent on indulgence. Restraint from the operation offear, and better still when practicable, the implantation and growth ofmoral principle and right feeling, are vastly better preservativesagainst crimes of every sort, than all the facilities of sensualgratification which Otaheite or any other country can afford. --E. ]

[Footnote 37: The nature of the laws of a country is perhaps the besttest of its civilization; as the condition and treatment of the womenare of its refinement in sentiment and feeling. In Otaheite, every manseems to be his own lawyer; because in fact, the whole society is heldtogether by principles quite natural to a state of ease and enjoyment. Now as women form a principal ingredient in this state of society, andas, at the same time, property is considered heritable, we may readilyenough infer what will be the conduct of a dishonoured husband amongthose islanders, when we know what his rank and circumstances are. Thepoor man will think no real injury done him, but may resent thepartiality shewn to another, by a conduct certainly not calculated toprocure affection for himself, coolness or a drubbing. The rich, on theother hand, in addition to the feeling of wounded pride, will dread thespuriousness of his offspring, and so storm most lustily on both maleand female sinner, till revenge be fully gratified. The difference ofopinion about this matter, in different nations and ages, is immense andembarrassing. Some people, we know, had their wives in common, asrelated of our own ancestors by Cæsar, and of the Massagetæ byHerodotus. The Greeks and Romans thought it more convenient to lend themout occasionally to a friend or acquaintance, in which they seem tohave imitated the Spartans. In certain countries, the offer of a wife isa common civility to strangers, who cannot be expected to carry theirown about with them constantly. The Indians of North Carolina, we aretold by Lawson, never punish a woman for adultery, because, say they, she is a weakly creature, and easily drawn away by the man's persuasion. That people, however, take good care to recover damages from the man, inwhich one might think the inhabitants of Britain now-a-days wouldconceive they acted wisely, and might only envy them the power theyallow to the husband of assessing the offender, and levying the fine;for, says Lawson, "he that strives to evade such satisfaction as thehusband demands lives daily in danger of his life; yet, when discharged, all animosity is laid aside, and the cuckold is very well pleased withhis bargain, whilst the rival is laughed at by the whole nation, forcarrying on his intrigue with no better conduct, than to be discovered, and pay so dear for his pleasure. " In this, however, _we_ differ; ourcuckolds are laughed at as fools, which is monstrously absurd, whilstthe transgressor is denominated a _fine fellow_, no less monstrouslyunjust. How far the laws of England may be accessary to such glaringperversity of sentiment, it is difficult to say; but if one weredisposed to fear with Mr Christian, (see his notes on Blackstone, lib. 1, ch. 16. ) "that there is little reason to pay a compliment to them fortheir respect and favour to the female sex, " he might not hesitate tosuspect some radical vice in their constitution, which could so fardebase female honour as to leave it problematical, whether or not theviolaters of it, in any sense or degree, were capable of any thing butinfamy. 'Twere too puritanical, perhaps, to join Cowper in his ironicalcommendation;--

 "But now, yes, now, We are become so candid and so fair, So liberal in construction, and so rich In Christian charity (good-natured age!) That they are safe, sinners of either sex, Transgress what laws they may. "

But surely it is desirable, that a nation professing supreme regard to adivine revelation, should shew something of its abhorrence, at a crimewhich strikes at the root of all social comfort and happiness. --E. ]

Having now given the best description that I can of the island in itspresent state, and of the people, with their customs and manners, language and arts, I shall only add a few general observations, whichmay be of use to future navigators, if any of the ships of Great Britainshould receive orders to visit it. As it produces nothing that appearsto be convertible into an article of trade, and can be used only byaffording refreshments to shipping in their passage through these seas, it might be made to answer this purpose in a much greater degree, bytransporting thither sheep, goats, and horned cattle, with Europeangarden stuff, and other useful vegetables, which there is the greatestreason to suppose will flourish in so fine a climate, and so rich asoil. 

Though this and the neighbouring islands lie within the tropic ofCapricorn, yet the heat is not troublesome, nor did the winds blowconstantly from the east. We had frequently a fresh gale from the S. W. For two or three days, and sometimes, though very seldom, from the N. W. Tupia reported, that south-westerly winds prevail in October, November, and December, and we have no doubt of the fact. When the winds arevariable, they are always accompanied by a swell from the S. W. OrW. S. W. ; there is also a swell from the same points when it is calm, andthe atmosphere loaded with clouds, which is a sure indication that thewinds are variable, or westerly out at sea, for with the settledtrade-wind the weather is clear. 

The meeting with westerly winds, within the general limits of theeastern trade, has induced some navigators to suppose that they werenear some large tract of land, of which, however, I think they are noindication. 

It has been found, both by us and the Dolphin, that the trade-wind, inthese parts, does not extend farther to the south than twenty degrees, beyond which, we generally found a gale from the westward; and it isreasonable to suppose, that when these winds blow strong, they willdrive back the easterly wind, and consequently encroach upon the limitswithin which they constantly blow, and thus necessarily produce variablewinds, as either happens to prevail, and a south-westerly swell. Thissupposition is the more probable, as it is well known that thetrade-winds blow but faintly for some distance within their limits, andtherefore may be more easily stopped or repelled by a wind in thecontrary direction: It is also well known, that the limits of thetrade-winds vary not only at different seasons of the year, butsometimes at the same season, in different years. 

There is therefore no reason to suppose that south-westerly winds, within these limits, are caused by the vicinity of large tracts of land, especially as they are always accompanied with a large swell, in thesame direction in which they blow; and we find a much greater surfbeating upon the shores of the south-west side of the islands that aresituated just within the limits of the trade-wind, than upon any otherpart of them. 

The tides about these islands are perhaps as inconsiderable as in anypart of the world. A south or S. By W. Moon makes high water in the bayof Matavai at Otaheite; but the water very seldom rises perpendicularlyabove ten or twelve inches. 

The variation of the compass I found to be 4° 46' easterly, this beingthe result of a great number of trials made with four of Dr Knight'sneedles, adapted to azimuth compasses. These compasses I thought thebest that could be procured, yet when applied to the meridian line, Ifound them to differ not only one from another, sometimes a degree and ahalf, but the same needle, half a degree from itself in different trialsmade on the same day; and I do not remember that I have ever found twoneedles which exactly agreed at the same time and place, though I haveoften found the same needle agree with itself, in several trials madeone after the other. This imperfection of the needle, however, is of noconsequence to navigation, as the variation can always be found to adegree of accuracy, more than sufficient for all nautical purposes. 

SECTION XX. 

_A Description of several other Islands in the Neighbourhood ofOtaheite, with various Incidents; a dramatic Entertainment; and manyParticulars relative to the Customs and Manners of the Inhabitants_. [38]

[Footnote 38: Several additional particulars respecting the islands herespoken of, are given on the authority of the missionary account, andother works, to which it is unnecessary to refer particularly. --E. ]

After parting with our friends, we made an easy sail, with gentlebreezes and clear weather, and were informed by Tupia, that four of theneighbouring islands, which he distinguished by the names of _Huaheine, Ulietea, Otaha, _ and _Bolabola_ lay at the distance of between one andtwo days sail from Otaheite; and that hogs, fowls, and otherrefreshments, with which we had of late been but sparingly supplied, were there to be procured in great plenty; but having discovered fromthe hills of Otaheite, an island lying to the northward, which he called_Tethuroa_, I determined first to stand that way, to take a nearer viewof it. It lies N. 1/2 W. Distant eight leagues from the northernextremity of Otaheite, upon which we had observed the transit, and towhich we had, for that reason, given the name of _Point Venus_. We foundit to be a small low island, and were told by Tupia, that it had nosettled inhabitants, but was occasionally visited by the inhabitants ofOtaheite, who sometimes went thither for a few days to fish; wetherefore determined to spend no more time in a farther examination ofit, but to go in search of Huaheine and Ulietea, which he described tobe well peopled, and as large as Otaheite. [39]

[Footnote 39: Tethuroa consists of several low islets, enclosed in areef ten leagues round, and inaccessible to large canoes. The people aresubject to the sovereign of Otaheite, and are in general members of thewandering society of the arreoyes, who frequent these spots for purposesof amusement and luxury. No bread-fruit is allowed to be planted onthese islets, in order that the resident inhabitants, who are few innumber, may be obliged to come with their fish, which is their principalcommodity, to Oparre, where it may be had in exchange. Cocoa-nuts, however, abound, as they thrive most in low places. The passage to theseislets is represented as difficult and dangerous, but this does notdeter the people from assembling on them in great numbers. So many as ahundred canoes have been seen occasionally around this spot. --E. ]

At six o'clock in the morning of the 14th, the westermost part of_Eimeo_, or York island, bore S. E. 1/2 S. And the body of Otaheite E. 1/2 S. At noon, the body of York Island bore E. By S 1/2 S. ; andPort-Royal bay, at Otaheite, S. 70° 45' E. Distant 61 miles; and anisland which we took to be Saunders's Island, called by the natives_Tapoamanao_, bore S. S. W. We also saw land bearing N. W. 1/2 W. WhichTupia said was Huaheine. [40]

[Footnote 40: Eimeo, or, as the natives usually call it, Morea, is thenearest to Otaheite, its distance from the western coast being onlyabout four leagues. --It is reckoned ten miles long, from north to south, and half as much in breadth. It has several harbours, and is intersectedby considerable valleys of a fertile appearance. The natives, who are atpresent dependent on Otaheite, are said to be as much addicted tothieving as those of that island. The women are inferior in attractionsto any in their neighbourhood. The harbour of Taloo on the north coastis very eligible for vessels--it is situate in 17° 30' latitude, and150° west longitude. This island is always seen by persons who touch atOtaheite. Tapoamanao, a little to the westward of Eimeo, has perhapsnever been landed on by Europeans and is little known. --It is not abovesix miles long, but seems fertile, and to abound especially withcocoa-nuts. There are not many habitations to be seen on it. Thegovernment is said to depend on Huaheine, which is distant from it aboutfourteen leagues. --E. ]

On the 15th, it was hazy, with light breezes and calms succeeding eachother, so that we could see no land, and made but little way. OurIndian, Tupia, often prayed for a wind to his god Tane, and as oftenboasted of his success, which indeed he took a very effectual method tosecure, for he never began his address to Tane, till he saw a breeze sonear that he knew it must reach the ship before his oraison was wellover. 

On the 16th, we had a gentle breeze; and in the morning about eighto'clock, being close in with the north-west part of the Island Huaheine, we sounded, but had no bottom with 80 fathom. Some canoes very soon cameoff, but the people seemed afraid, and kept at a distance till theydiscovered Tupia, and then they ventured nearer. In one of the canoesthat came up to the ship's side, was the king of the island and hiswife. Upon assurances of friendship, frequently and earnestly repeated, their majesties and some others came on board. At first they were struckwith astonishment, and wondered at every thing that was shewn them; yetthey made no enquiries, and seeming to be satisfied with what wasoffered to their notice, they made no search after other objects ofcuriosity, with which it was natural to suppose a building of suchnovelty and magnitude as the ship must abound. After some time, theybecame more familiar. I was given to understand, that the name of theking was _Oree_, and he proposed, as a mark of amity, that we shouldexchange names. To this I readily consented; and he was Cookee, for sohe pronounced my name, and I was Oree, for the rest of the time we weretogether. We found these people to be very nearly the same with those ofOtaheite, in person, dress, language, and every other circumstance, except, if Tupia might be believed, that they would not steal. 

Soon after dinner, we came to an anchor, in a small but excellentharbour on the west side of the island, which the natives call_Owharre_, in eighteen fathom water, clear ground, and secure from allwinds. I went immediately ashore, accompanied by Mr Banks, Dr Solander, Mr Monkhouse, Tupia, King Cookee, and some other of the natives who hadbeen on board ever since the morning. The moment we landed, Tupiastripped himself as low as the waist, and desired Mr Monkhouse to do thesame: He then sat down before a great number of the natives, who werecollected together in a large house or shed; for here, as well as atOtaheite, a house consists only of a roof supported upon poles; the restof us, by his desire, standing behind. He then began a speech or prayer, which lasted about a quarter of an hour, the king, who stood overagainst him, every now and then answering in what appeared to be setresponses. In the course of this harangue he delivered at differenttimes two handkerchiefs, a black silk neckcloth, some beads, two smallbunches of feathers, and some plantains, as presents to their Eatua, orGod. In return for these, he received for our Eatua, a hog, some youngplantains, and two small bunches of feathers, which he ordered to becarried on board the ship. After these ceremonies, which we supposed tobe the ratification of a treaty between us, every one was dismissed togo whither he pleased; and Tupia immediately repaired to offer hisoblations at one of the Morais. 

The next morning, we went on shore again, and walked up the hills, wherethe productions were exactly the same as those of Otaheite, except thatthe rocks and clay appeared to be more burnt. The houses were neat, andthe boat-houses remarkably large; one that we measured was fifty paceslong, ten broad, and twenty-four feet high; the whole formed a pointedarch, like those of our old cathedrals, which was supported on one sideby twenty-six, and on the other by thirty pillars, or rather posts, about two feet high, and one thick, upon most of which were rudelycarved the heads of men, and several fanciful devices, not altogetherunlike those which we sometimes see printed from wooden blocks, at thebeginning and end of old books. The plains, or flat part of the country, abounded in bread-fruit, and cocoa-nut trees; in some places, however, there were salt swamps and lagoons, which would produce neither. 

We went again a-shore on the 18th, and would have taken the advantage ofTupia's company, in our perambulation; but he was too much engaged withhis friends. We took, however, his boy, whose name was _Tayeto_, and MrBanks went to take a farther view of what had much engaged his attentionbefore; it was a kind of chest or ark, the lid of which was nicely sewedon, and thatched very neatly with palm-nut leaves: It was fixed upon twopoles, and supported on little arches of wood, very neatly carved; theuse of the poles seemed to be to remove it from place to place, in themanner of our sedan chairs: In one end of it was a square hole, in themiddle of which was a ring touching the sides, and leaving the anglesopen, so as to form a round hole within a square one. The first time MrBanks saw this coffer, the aperture at the end was stopped with a pieceof cloth, which, lest he should give offence, he left untouched;probably there was then something within, but now the cloth was takenaway, and, upon looking into it, it was found empty. The generalresemblance between this repository and the ark of the Lord among theJews is remarkable; but it is still more remarkable, that upon enquiringof the boy what it was called, he said, _Ewharre no Eatua_, the _houseof the God_: He could however give no account of its signification oruse. [41]

[Footnote 41: Mr Parkhurst, in his Hebrew Lexicon, takes notice of thiscircumstance, and admits the resemblance. But in fact, there is no needto have recourse to the Jews in particular, for something similar towhat is here mentioned. The Egyptians, according to Herodotus, Euter. 63, kept their god in a case or box, and at certain times carried itabout or drew it on a four-wheeled carriage. Diodorus Siculus says thesame thing of them, in his first book. Both these writers, it isremarkable, use the same word for this containing vehicle; it is [Greek]or [Greek], the temple, shrine, or sacred dwelling. The reader may haveheard of the horrid god at Juggernaut, who is drawn on a wheeledcarriage, as described in such dreadful terms by Dr Buchanan, in theaccount of his travels and researches in India. The Israelites, it isvery probable from a passage in the prophet Amos, v. 26, copied theexample of some of their idolatrous neighbours, in _bearing_ a temple ofMoloch and Chiun. See Raphelius on Acts vii. 43. Where mention is madeof the same offence against the positive commands of God. It may bedistinctly proved, that the gods and goddesses of the heathens wereaccustomed to have their _tabernacula_ and _fana_, and that some of themwere _portable_. Thus the Greeks had their [Greek], and the Romans their_thensa_. Virgil, we see in the Eneid, speaks of the Errantesque deos, agitataque numina Trojæ, as a great misfortune. It would be idle toenter here on the question discussed by different men of learning, whether the practice of having temples or places of abode for their godsoriginated among the Gentiles, and was thence adopted by way ofcondescension into the Mosaic economy; or was borrowed by the Gentilesfrom some early revelation corrupted, which had for its object theholding out the great promise, that God himself would one day tabernacleamong men upon the earth. This latter opinion is the more probable oneby a great deal. It is not a little like the sentiment so stronglymaintained by some excellent authors, and certainly in a high degreecountenanced by scripture, that the sacrifices amongst the heathens werederived from some early but vitiated revelation of that one greatsacrifice and atonement, which God himself had provided in behalf of hisguilty creatures. For this opinion, the candid reader will not fail toperceive the strongest evidence produced, in a most important recentpublication, Dr Magee's Discourses, &c. On the Atonement. --E. ]

We had commenced a kind of trade with the natives, but it went onslowly; for when any thing was offered, not one of them would take itupon his own judgment, but collected the opinions of twenty or thirtypeople, which could not be done without great loss of time. We got, however, eleven pigs, and determined to try for more the next day. 

The next day, therefore, we brought out some hatchets, for which wehoped we should have had no occasion, upon an island which no Europeanhad ever visited before. These procured us three very large hogs; and aswe proposed to sail in the afternoon, King Oree and several others cameon board to take their leave. To the King I gave a small plate ofpewter, on which was stamped this inscription, "His Britannic Majesty'sship, Endeavour, Lieutenant Cook Commander, 16th July, 1769, Huaheine. "I gave him also some medals or counters, resembling the coin ofEngland, struck in the year 1761, with some other presents; and hepromised that with none of these, particularly the plate, he would everpart. I thought it as lasting a testimony of our having first discoveredthis island, as any we could leave behind; and having dismissed ourvisitors well satisfied, and in great good humour, we set sail, abouthalf an hour after two in the afternoon. 

The island of Huaheine, or Huahene, is situated in the latitude of 16°48' S. And longitude 150° 52' W. From Greenwich: It is distant fromOtaheite about thirty-one leagues, in the direction of N. 58 W. And isabout seven leagues in compass. Its surface is hilly and uneven, and ithas a safe and commodious harbour. The harbour, which is called by thenatives _Owalle_, or _Owharre_, lies on the west side, under thenorthernmost high land, and within the north end of the reef, which liesalong that side of the island; there are two inlets or openings, bywhich it may be entered, through the reef, about a mile and a halfdistant from each other; the southermost is the widest, and on the southside of it lies a very small sandy island. 

Huaheine seems to be a month forwarder in its productions than Otaheite, as we found the cocoa-nuts full of kernel, and some of the newbread-fruit fit to eat. Of the cocoa-nuts the inhabitants make a foodwhich they call _Poe_, by mixing them with yams; they scrape both fine, and having incorporated the powder, they put it into a wooden trough, with a number of hot stones, by which an oily kind of hasty-pudding ismade, that our people relished very well, especially when it was fryed. Mr Banks found not more than eleven or twelve new plants; but heobserved some insects, and a species of scorpion which he had not seenbefore. 

The inhabitants seem to be larger made, and more stout, than those ofOtaheite. Mr Banks measured one of the men, and found him to be six feetthree inches and a half high; yet they are so lazy, that he could notpersuade any of them to go up the hills with him: They said, if theywere to attempt it, the fatigue would kill them. The women were veryfair, more so than those of Otaheite; and in general, we thought themmore handsome, though none that were equal to some individuals. Bothsexes seemed to be less timid, and less curious: It has been observed, that they made no enquiries on board the ship; and when we fired a gun, they were frightened indeed, but they did not fall down, as our friendsat Otaheite constantly did when we first came among them. . For thisdifference, however, we can easily account upon other principles; thepeople at Huaheine had not seen the Dolphin, those at Otaheite had. Inone, the report of a gun was connected with the idea of instantdestruction; to the other, there was nothing dreadful in it but theappearance and the sound, as they had never experienced its power ofdispensing death. 

While we were on shore, we found that Tupia had commended them beyondtheir merit, when he said that they would not steal; for one of them wasdetected in the fact. But when he was seized by the hair, the rest, instead of running away, as the people at Otaheite would have done, gathered round, and enquired what provocation had been given: But thisalso may be accounted for without giving them credit for superiorcourage; they had no experience of the consequence of Europeanresentment, which the people at Otaheite had in many instances purchasedwith life. It must, however, be acknowledged, to their honour, that whenthey understood what had happened, they showed strong signs ofdisapprobation, and prescribed a good beating for the thief, which wasimmediately administered. [42]

[Footnote 42: Huaheine or Aheine (a word which signifies woman) is theeastermost of the Society Isles. It bears some resemblance to Otaheite, being divided into two peninsulas by an isthmus of low land, having astripe of fertile soil next the shore, from which hills of a volcanicorigin arise towards the centre. Since Capt. Cook's time, this islandhas been visited by Lieut. Watts, Capt. Bligh, and Capt. Edwards, butnone of these officers has afforded any satisfactory informationrespecting its government and history. In the year 1791, it is said tohave acknowledged the sovereignty of Otaheite. --E. ]

We now made sail for the island of _Ulietea_, which lies S. W. By W. Distant seven or eight leagues from Huaheine, and at half an hour aftersix in the evening we were within three leagues of the shore, on theeastern side. We stood off and on all night, and when the day broke thenext morning, we stood in for the shore: We soon after discovered anopening in the reef which lies before the island, within which Tupiatold us there was a good harbour. I did not, however, implicitly takehis word; but sent the master out in the pinnace to examine it: He soonmade the signal for the ship to follow; we accordingly stood in, andanchored in two-and-twenty fathom, with soft ground. 

The natives soon came off to us in two canoes, each of which brought awoman and a pig. The woman we supposed was a mark of confidence, and thepig was a present; we received both with proper acknowledgments, andcomplimented each of the ladies with a spike-nail and some beads, muchto their satisfaction. We were told by Tupia, who had always expressedmuch fear of the men of Bolabola, that they had made a conquest of thisisland; and that, if we remained here, they would certainly come downto-morrow, and fight us. We determined, therefore, to go on shorewithout delay, while the day was our own. 

I landed in company with Mr Banks, Dr Solander, and the other gentleman, Tupia being also of the party. He introduced us by repeating theceremonies which he had performed at Huaheine, after which I hoisted anEnglish jack, and took possession of this and the three neighbouringislands, Huaheine, Otaha, and Bolabola, which were all in sight, in thename of his Britannic majesty. After this, we took a walk to a greatmorai, called _Tapodeboatea_. We found it very different from those ofOtaheite; for it consisted only of four walls, about eight feet high, ofcoral stones, some of which were of an immense size, inclosing an areaof about five-and-twenty yards square, which was filled up with smallerstones: Upon the top of it many planks were set up an end, which werecarved in their whole length: At a little distance we found an altar, orEwhatta, upon which lay the last oblation or sacrifice, a hog of abouteighty pounds weight, which had been offered whole, and very nicelyroasted. Here were also four or five Ewharre no-Eatua, or houses of God, to which carriage-poles were fitted, like that which we had seen atHuaheine. One of these Mr Banks examined by putting his hand into it, and found a parcel about five feet long and one thick, wrapped up inmatts: He broke a way through several of these matts with his fingers, but at length came to one which was made of the fibres of the cocoa-nut, so firmly plaited together that he found it impossible to tear it, andtherefore was forced to desist; especially as he perceived, that what hehad done already gave great offence to our new friends. From hence wewent to a long house, not far distant, where among rolls of cloth, andseveral other things, we saw the model of a canoe, about three feetlong, to which were tied eight human jaw-bones: We had already learntthat these, like scalps among the Indians of North America, weretrophies of war. Tupia affirmed that they were the jaw-bones of thenatives of this island; if so, they might have been hung up, with themodel of a canoe, as a symbol of invasion, by the warriors of Bolabola, as a memorial of their conquest. 

Night now came on apace, but Mr Banks and Dr Solander continued theirwalk along the shore, and at a little distance saw anotherEwharre-no-Eatua, and a tree of the fig kind, the same as that which MrGreen had seen at Otaheite, in great perfection, the trunk, or rathercongeries of the roots of which, was forty-two paces in circumference. 

On the 21st, having dispatched the master in the long-boat to examinethe coast of the south part of the island, and one of the mates in theyawl, to sound the harbour where the ship lay, I went myself in thepinnace, to survey that part of the island which lies to the north. MrBanks and the gentlemen were again on shore, trading with the natives, and examining the products and curiosities of the country; they sawnothing, however, worthy notice, but some more jaw-bones, of which theymade no doubt but that the account they had heard was true. 

On the 22d and 23d, having strong gales and hazy weather, I did notthink it safe to put to sea; but on the 24th, though the wind was stillvariable, I got under sail, and plied to the northward within the reef, with a view to go out at a wider opening than that by which I hadentered; in doing this, however, I was unexpectedly in the most imminentdanger of striking on the rock: The master, whom I had ordered to keepcontinually sounding in the chains, suddenly called out, "Two fathom. "This alarmed me, for though I knew the ship drew at least fourteen feet, and that therefore it was impossible such a shoal should be under herkeel, yet the master was either mistaken, or she went along the edge ofa coral rock, many of which, in the neighbourhood of these islands, areas steep as a wall. 

This harbour, or bay, is called by the natives _Oopoa, _ and taken in itsgreatest extent, it is capable of holding any number of shipping. Itextends almost the whole length of the east side of the island, and isdefended from the sea by a reef of coral rocks: The southermost openingin this reef, or channel, into the harbour, by which we entered, islittle more than a cable's length wide; it lies off the eastermost pointof the island, and may be known by another small woody island, whichlies a little to the south-east of it, called by the people here_Oatara_. Between three and four miles north-west from this island lietwo other islets, in the same direction as the reef, of which they are apart, called _Opururu_ and _Tamou_; between these lies the otherchannel into the harbour, through which I went out, and which is a fullquarter of a mile wide. Still farther to the north-west are some othersmall islands, near which I am told there is another small channel intothe harbour; but this I know only by report. 

The principal refreshments that are to be procured at this part of theisland are, plantains, cocoa-nuts, yams, hogs, and fowls; the hogs andfowls, however, are scarce; and the country, where we saw it, is neitherso populous, nor so rich in produce, as Otaheite, or even Huaheine. Woodand water may also be procured here; but the water cannot convenientlybe got at. [43]

[Footnote 43: Ulietea, or Reiadea, is nearly twice the size of Huaheine, and bears a still more striking resemblance to Otaheite. Its importancewas once very great among these islands, but this and its populationhave much declined, in consequence of an unsuccessful war it carried onwith the people of Bolabola, aided by those of Otaha. The distressedinhabitants fled in great numbers to Otaheite, and having obtained somereinforcement, ventured to attack their conquerors in Huaheine, wherethey had also carried their victorious arms. They succeeded in thisattack, which was conducted with much caution and prudence; but theywere never able to recover possession of their own island. The people ofOtaha were soon afterwards subdued by their own allies of Bolabola, bymuch the most formidable and warlike of all these people, and said to bedescended from persons who had been banished for their crimes from theneighbouring islands. Bolabola we shall find was not landed on by Capt. Cook, in consequence of his being on that side of it, where there is noharbour. It was touched at by him in a boat when he last visited thiscluster, and Capt. Edwards went ashore there in 1791. It is of a rude, barren appearance, especially on the eastern side, and is easily knownby its lofty double-peaked mountain. The warriors of Bolabola aredifferently punctured from all the other people in these islands, andare the terror of the whole neighbourhood. Otaha, which is about fourleagues to the south-west of Bolabola, and is subject to it, thoughsuperior in size, scarcely merits any notice additional to the text. Itis neither fertile nor populous, and being but about two miles fromUlietea, presents no inducements to Europeans. Capt. Edwards examined itin 1791. A material advantage it has in two very good harbours, as willsoon be mentioned. --E. ]

We were now again at sea, without having received any interruption fromthe hostile inhabitants of Bolabola, whom, notwithstanding the fears ofTupia, we intended to visit. At four o'clock in the afternoon of the25th, we were within a league of Otaha, which bore N. 77° W. To thenorthward of the south end of that island, on the east side of it, andsomething more than a mile from the shore, lie two small islands, called_Toahoutu_ and _Whennuia_; between which Tupia says, there is a channelinto a very good harbour, which lies within the reef, and appearancesconfirmed his report. 

As I discovered a broad channel between Otaha and Bolabola, I determinedrather to go through it, than run to the northward of all; but the windbeing right a-head, I got no ground. 

Between five and six in the evening of the 26th, as I was standing tothe northward, I discovered a small low island, lying N. By W. Or N. N. W. Distant four or five leagues from Bolabola. We were told by Tupia thatthe name of this island is _Tubai_; that it produces nothing butcocoa-nuts, and is inhabited only by three families; though it isvisited by the inhabitants of the neighbouring islands, who resortthither to catch fish, with which the coast abounds. [44]

[Footnote 44: It is singular that the language of the few people thatinhabit the cluster of islets, known under the name of Tubai or Toobae, is unintelligible to the natives of the other Society Islands. Thesupposition hence arises, that they are of a different race; but nosatisfactory information can be given respecting them. The island issaid to abound in turtle, and is in consequence often visited by thepeople of other isles. --E. ]

On the 27th, about noon, the peak of Bolabola bore N. 25° W. And thenorth end of Otaha, N. 80° W. Distant three leagues. The wind continuedcontrary all this day and the night following. On the 28th, at six inthe morning, we were near the entrance of the harbour on the east sideof _Otaha_, which has been just mentioned; and finding that it might beexamined without losing time, I sent away the master in the long-boat, with orders to sound it; and, if the wind did not shift in our favour, to land upon the island, and traffic with the natives for suchrefreshments as were to be had. In this boat went Mr Banks and DrSolander, who landed upon the island, and before night purchased threehogs, twenty-one fowls, and as many yams and plantains as the boat wouldhold. Plantains we thought a more useful refreshment even than pork; forthey were boiled and served to the ship's company as bread, and were nowthe more acceptable as our bread was so full of vermin, thatnotwithstanding all possible care, we had sometimes twenty of them inour mouths at a time, every one of which tasted as hot as mustard. Theisland seemed to be more barren than Ulietea, but the produce was of thesame kind. The people also exactly resembled those that we had seen atthe other islands; they were not numerous, but they flocked about theboat wherever she went from all quarters, bringing with them whateverthey had to sell. They paid the strangers, of whom they had received anaccount from Tupia, the same compliment which they used towards theirown kings, uncovering their shoulders, and wrapping their garments roundtheir breasts; and were so solicitous to prevent its being neglected byany of their people, that a man was sent with them, who called out toevery one they met, telling him what they were, and what he was to do. 

In the mean time, I kept plying off and on, waiting for the boat'sreturn; at half an hour after five, not seeing any, thing of her, Ifired a gun, and after it was dark hoisted a light; at half an hourafter eight, we heard the report of a musket, which we answered with agun, and soon after the boat came on board. The master reported, thatthe harbour was safe and commodious, with good anchorage fromtwenty-five to sixteen fathom water, clear ground. 

As soon as the boat was hoisted in, I made sail to the northward, and ateight o'clock in the morning of the 29th, we were close under the Peakof Bolabola, which was high, rude, and craggy. As the island wasaltogether inaccessible in this part, and we found it impossible toweather it, we tacked and stood off, then tacked again, and after manytrips did not weather the south end of it till twelve o'clock at night. At eight o'clock the next morning, we discovered an island, which borefrom us N. 63° W. Distant about eight leagues; at the same time the Peakof Bolabola bore N. 1/2 E. Distant three or four leagues. This islandTupia called _Maurua_, and said that it was small, wholly surrounded bya reef, and without any harbour for shipping; but inhabited, and bearingthe same produce as the neighbouring islands: The middle of it rises ina high round hill, that may be seen at the distance of ten leagues. [45]

[Footnote 45: The people of Otaheite are said to procure pearls fromthis island. It is, however, subject to Bolabola, as the reader willsoon see mentioned. --E. ]

When we were off Bolabola, we saw but few people on the shore, and weretold by Tupia that many of the inhabitants were gone to Ulietea. In theafternoon we found ourselves nearly the length of the south end ofUlietea, and to windward of some harbours that lay on the west side ofthis island. Into one of these harbours, though we had before beenashore on the other side of the island, I intended to put, in order tostop a leak which we had sprung in the powder-room, and to take in moreballast, as I found the ship too light to carry sail upon a wind. As thewind was right against us, we plied off one of the harbours, and aboutthree o'clock in the afternoon on the 1st of August, we came to ananchor in the entrance of the channel leading into it in fourteen fathomwater, being prevented from working in, by a tide which set very strongout. We then carried out the kedge-anchor, in order to warp into theharbour; but when this was done, we could not trip the bower-anchor withall the purchase we could make; we were therefore obliged to lie stillall night, and in the morning, when the tide turned, the ship going overthe anchor, it tripped of itself, and we warped the ship into a properbirth with ease, and moored in twenty-eight fathom, with a sandy bottom. While this was doing, many of the natives came off to us with hogs, fowls, and plantains, which they parted with at an easy rate. 

When the ship was secured, I went on shore to look for a proper place toget ballast and water, both which I found in a very convenientsituation. 

This day Mr Banks and Dr Solander spent on shore very much to theirsatisfaction; every body seemed to fear and respect them, placing inthem at the same time the utmost confidence, behaving as if consciousthat they possessed the power of doing them mischief, without anypropensity to make use of it. Men, women, and children crowded roundthem, and followed them wherever they went; but none of them were guiltyof the least incivility: On the contrary, whenever there happened to bedirt or water in the way, the men vied with each other to carry themover on their backs. They were conducted to the houses of the principalpeople, and were received in a manner altogether new: The people, whofollowed them while they were in their way, rushed forward as soon asthey came to a house, and went hastily in before them, leaving however alane sufficiently wide for them to pass. When they entered, they foundthose who had preceded them ranged on each side of a long matt, whichwas spread upon the ground, and at the farther end of which sat thefamily: In the first house they entered they found some very young womenor children, dressed with the utmost neatness, who kept their station, expecting the strangers to come up to them and make them presents, whichthey did with the greatest pleasure; for prettier children or betterdressed they had never seen. One of them was a girl about six years old;her gown, or upper garment, was red; a large quantity of plaited hairwas wound round her head, the ornament to which they give the name ofTamou, and which they value more than any thing they possess. She sat atthe upper end of a matt thirty feet long, upon which none of thespectators presumed to set a foot, notwithstanding the crowd; and sheleaned upon the arm of a well-looking woman about thirty, who wasprobably her nurse. Our gentlemen walked up to her, and as soon as theyapproached, she stretched out her hand to receive the beads which theyoffered her, and no princess in Europe could have done it with a bettergrace. 

The people were so much gratified by the presents which, were made tothese girls, that when Mr Banks and Dr Solander returned they seemedattentive to nothing but how to oblige them; and in one of the housesthey were, by order of the master, entertained with a dance, differentfrom any that they had seen. It was performed by one man, who put uponhis head a large cylindrical piece of wicker-work, or basket, about fourfeet long and eight inches in diameter, which was faced with feathers, placed perpendicularly, with the tops bending forwards, and edged, roundwith shark's teeth, and the tail-feathers of tropic birds: When he hadput on this head-dress, which is called a _Whow_, he began to dance, moving slowly, and often turning his head so as that the top of his highwicker-cap described a circle, and sometimes throwing it so near thefaces of the spectators as to make them start back: This was held amongthem as a very good joke, and never failed to produce a peal oflaughter, especially when it was played off upon one of the strangers. 

On the 3d, we went along the shore to the northward, which was in adirection opposite to that of the route Mr Banks and Dr Solander hadtaken the day before, with a design to purchase stock, which we alwaysfound the people more ready to part with, and at a more easy price, attheir houses than at the market. In the course of our walk we met with acompany of dancers, who detained us two hours, and during all that timeafforded us great entertainment. The company consisted of twowomen-dancers, and six men, with three drums; we were informed by Tupia, that they were some of the most considerable people of the island, andthat though they were continually going from place to place, they didnot, like the little strolling companies of Otaheite, take any gratuityfrom the spectators. The women had upon their heads a considerablequantity of Tamou, or plaited hair, which was brought several timesround the head, and adorned in many parts with the flowers of thecape-jessamine, which were stuck in with much taste, and made ahead-dress truly elegant. Their necks, shoulders, and arms were naked;so were the breasts also as low as the parting of the arm; below that, they were covered with black cloth, which set close to the body; at theside of each breast, next the arm, was placed a small plume of blackfeathers, much in the same manner as our ladies now wear their nosegaysor _bouquets_; upon their hips rested a quantity of cloth plaited veryfull, which reached up to the breast, and fell down below into longpetticoats, which quite concealed their feet, and which they managedwith as much dexterity as our opera-dancers could have done: The plaitsabove the waist were brown and white alternately, the petticoats belowwere all white. 

In this dress they advanced sideways in a measured step, keepingexcellent time to the drums, which beat briskly and loud; soon afterthey began to shake their hips, giving the folds of cloth that lay uponthem a very quick motion, which was in some degree continued through thewhole dance, though the body was thrown into various postures, sometimesstanding, sometimes sitting, and sometimes resting on their knees andelbows, the fingers also being moved at the same time with a quicknessscarcely to be imagined. Much of the dexterity of the dancers, however, and the entertainment of the spectators, consisted in the wantonness oftheir attitudes and gestures, which was, indeed, such as exceeds alldescription. 

One of these girls had in her ear three pearls; one of them was verylarge, but so foul that it was of little value; the other two were asbig as a middling pea; these were clear, and of a good colour and shape, though spoiled by the drilling. Mr Banks would fain have purchased them, and offered the owner any thing she would ask for them, but she couldnot be persuaded to part with them at any price: He tempted her with thevalue of four hogs, and whatever else she should chuse, but withoutsuccess; and indeed they set a value upon their pearls very nearly equalto what they would fetch among us, except they could be procured beforethey are drilled. 

Between the dances of the women, the men performed a kind of dramaticinterlude, in which there was dialogue as well as dancing; but we werenot sufficiently acquainted with their language to understand thesubject. 

On the 4th, some of our gentlemen saw a much more regular entertainmentof the dramatic kind, which was divided into four acts. 

Tupia had often told us that he had large possessions in this island, which had been taken away from him by the inhabitants of Bolabola, andhe now pointed them out in the very bay where the ship was at anchor. Upon our going on shore, this was confirmed by the inhabitants, whoshewed us several districts or Whennuas, which they acknowledged to behis right. 

On the 5th, I received a present of three hogs, some fowls, severalpieces of cloth, the largest we had seen, being fifty yards long, whichthey unfolded and displayed so as to make the greatest show possible;and a considerable quantity of plantains, cocoa-nuts, and otherrefreshments, from Opoony, the formidable king, or, in the language ofthe country, Earee rahie, of Bolabola, with a message that he was atthis time upon the island, and that the next day he intended to pay me avisit. 

In the mean time Mr Banks and Dr Solander went upon the hills, accompanied by several of the Indians, who conducted them by excellentpaths, to such a height, that they plainly saw the other side of theisland, and the passage through which the ship had passed the reefbetween the little islands of Opururu and Tamou, when we landed upon itthe first time. As they were returning, they saw the Indians exercisingthemselves at what they call _Erowhaw_, which is nothing more thanpitching a kind of light lance, headed with hard wood, at a mark: Inthis amusement, though they seem very fond of it, they do not excel; fornot above one in twelve struck the mark, which was the bole of aplantain tree, at about twenty yards distance. 

On the 6th, we all staid at home, expecting the visit of the great king, but we were disappointed; we had, however, much more agreeable company, for he sent three very pretty girls to demand something in return forhis present: Perhaps he was unwilling to trust himself on board theship, or perhaps he thought his messengers would procure a more valuablereturn for his hogs and poultry than he could himself; be that as itmay, we did not regret his absence, nor his messengers their visit. 

In the afternoon, as the great king would not come to us, we determinedto go to the great king. As he was lord of the Bolabola men, theconquerors of this, and the terror of all the other islands, we expectedto see a chief young and vigorous, with an intelligent countenance, andan enterprising spirit: We found, however, a poor feeble wretch, withered and decrepit, half blind with age, and so sluggish and stupidthat he appeared scarcely to have understanding enough left to know thatit was probable we should be gratified either by hogs or women. [46] Hedid not receive us sitting, or with any state or formality as the otherchiefs had done: We made him our present, which be accepted, and gave ahog in return. We had learnt that his principal residence was at Otaha;and upon our telling him that we intended to go thither in our boats thenext morning, and that we should be glad to have him along with us, hepromised to be of the party. 

[Footnote 46: He was alive, however, when Cook visited Bolabola in hislast voyage, and even then was universally esteemed and feared. --E. ]

Early in the morning, therefore, I set out both with the pinnace andlong-boat for Otaha, having some of the gentlemen with me; and in ourway we called upon Opoony, who was in his canoe, ready to join us. Assoon as we landed at Otaha, I made him a present of an axe, which Ithought might induce him to encourage his subjects to bring us suchprovision as we wanted; but in this we found ourselves sadlydisappointed; for after staying with him till noon, we left him withoutbeing able to procure a single article. I then proceeded to the northpoint of the island, in the pinnace, having sent the long-boat anotherway. As I went along I picked up half a dozen hogs, as many fowls, andsome plantains and yams. Having viewed and sketched the harbour on thisside of the island, I made the best of my way back, with the long-boat, which joined me soon after it was dark; and about ten o'clock at nightwe got on board the ship. 

In this excursion Mr Banks was not with us; he spent the morning onboard the ship, trading with the natives, who came off in their canoes, for provisions and curiosities; and in the afternoon he went on shorewith his draughtsmen, to sketch the dresses of the dancers which he hadseen a day or two before. He found the company exactly the same, exceptthat another woman had been added to it: The dancing also of the womenwas the same, but the interludes of the men were somewhat varied; he sawfive or six performed, which were different from each other, and verymuch resembled the drama of our stage-dances. The next day, he wentashore again, with Dr Solander, and they directed their course towardsthe dancing company, which, from the time of our second landing, hadgradually moved about two leagues in their course round the island. Theysaw more dancing and interludes, the interludes still varying from eachother: In one of them the performers, who were all men, were dividedinto two parties, which were distinguished from each other by the colourof their clothes, one being brown, and the other white. The brown partyrepresented a master and servants, and the white party a company ofthieves: The master gave a basket of meat to the rest of his party, witha charge to take care of it: The dance of the white party consisted ofseveral expedients to steal it, and that of the brown party inpreventing their success. After some time, those who had charge of thebasket placed themselves round it upon the ground, and leaning upon it, appeared to go to sleep; the others, improving this opportunity, camegently upon them, and lifting them up from the basket, carried off theirprize: The sleepers soon after awaking, missed their basket, butpresently fell a-dancing, without any farther regarding their loss; sothat the dramatic action of this dance was, according to the severestlaws of criticism, one, and our lovers of simplicity would here havebeen gratified with an entertainment perfectly suited to the chastity oftheir taste. 

On the 9th, having spent the morning in trading with the canoes, we tookthe opportunity of a breeze, which sprung up at east, and having stoppedour leak, and got the fresh stock which we had purchased on board, wesailed out of the harbour. When we were sailing away, Tupia stronglyurged me to fire a shot towards Bolabola, possibly as a mark of hisresentment, and to shew the power of his new allies: In this I thoughtproper to gratify him, though we were seven leagues distant. 

While we were about these islands, we expended very little of theship's provisions, and were very plentifully supplied with hogs, fowls, plantains, and yams, which we hoped would have been of great use to usin our course to the southward; but the hogs would not eat Europeangrain of any kind, pulse, or bread-dust, so that we could not preservethem alive; and the fowls were all very soon seized with a disease thataffected the head so, that they continued to hold it down between theirlegs till they died: Much dependence therefore must not be placed inlive-stock taken on board at these places, at least not till a discoveryis made of some food that the hogs will eat, and some remedy for thedisease of the poultry. 

Having been necessarily detained at Ulietea so long, by the carpentersin stopping our leak, we determined to give up our design of going onshore at Bolabola, especially as it appeared to be difficult of access. 

To these six islands, Ulietea, Otaha, Bolabola, Huaneine, Tubai, andMaurua, as they lie contiguous to each other, I gave the names of_Society Islands_, but did not think it proper to distinguish themseparately by any other names than those by which they were known to thenatives. 

They are situated between the latitude of 16° 10' and 16° 55' S. Andbetween the longitude of 150° 57' and 152° W. From the meridian ofGreenwich. Ulietea and Otaha lie within about two miles of each other, and are both inclosed within one reef of coral rocks, so that there isno passage for shipping between them. This reef forms several excellentharbours; the entrances into them, indeed, are but narrow, yet when aship is once in, nothing can hurt her. The harbours on the east sidehave been described already; and on the west side of Ulietea, which isthe largest of the two, there are three. The northermost, in which welay, is called _Ohamaneno_: The channel leading into it is about aquarter of a mile wide, and lies between two low sandy islands, whichare the northermost on this side; between, or just within the twoislands, there is good anchorage in twenty-eight fathom, soft ground. This harbour, though small, is preferable to the others, because it issituated in the most fertile part of the islands, and where fresh wateris easily to be got. The other two harbours lie to the southward ofthis, and not far from the south end of the island: In both of themthere is good anchorage, with ten, twelve, and fourteen fathom. They areeasily known by three small woody islands at their entrance. Thesouthermost of these two harbours lies within, and to the southward ofthe southermost of these islands, and the other lies between the twonorthermost. I was told that there were more harbours at the south endof this island, but I did not examine whether the report was true. 

Otaha affords two very good harbours, one on the east side, and theother on the west. That on the east side is called Ohamene, and has beenmentioned already; the other is called _Oherurua_, and lies about themiddle of the south-west side of the island; it is pretty large andaffords good anchorage in twenty and twenty-five fathom, nor is thereany want of fresh water. The breach in the reef, that forms a channelinto this harbour, is about a quarter of a mile broad, and, like all therest, is very steep on both sides; in general there is no danger herebut what is visible. 

The island of Bolabola lies N. W. And by W. From Otaha, distant aboutfour leagues; it is surrounded by a reef of rocks, and several smallislands, in compass together about eight leagues. I was told, that onthe south-west side of the island there is a channel through the reefinto a very good harbour, but I did not think it worth while to examineit, for the reasons that have been just assigned. This island isrendered very remarkable by a high craggy hill, which appears to bealmost perpendicular, and terminates at the top in two peaks, one higherthan the other. 

The land of Ulietea and Otaha is hilly, broken, and irregular, except onthe sea-coast, yet the hills look green and pleasant, and are in manyplaces clothed with wood. The several particulars in which these islandsand their inhabitants differ from what we had observed at Otaheite, havebeen mentioned in the course of the narrative. 

We pursued our course without any event worthy of note till the 13th, about noon, when we saw land bearing S. E. Which Tupia told us was anisland called _Oheteroa_. About six in the evening, we were within twoor three leagues of it, upon which I shortened sail, and stood off andon all night; the next morning stood in for the land. We ran to leewardof the island, keeping close in shore, and saw several of the natives, though in no great numbers, upon the beach. At nine o'clock I sent MrGore, one of my lieutenants, in the pinnace, to endeavour to land uponthe island, and learn from the natives whether there was anchorage in abay then in sight, and what land lay farther to the southward. Mr Banksand Dr Solander accompanied Mr Gore in this expedition, and as theythought Tupia might be useful, they took him with them. 

As the boat approached the shore, those on board perceived the nativesto be armed with long lances; as they did not intend to land till theygot round a point which run out at a little distance, they stood alongthe coast, and the natives therefore very probably thought they wereafraid of them. They had now got together to the number of about sixty, and all of them sat down upon the shore, except two, who were dispatchedforward to observe the motions of those in the boat. These men, afterwalking abreast of her some time, at length leaped into the water, andswam towards her, but were soon left behind; two more then appeared, andattempted to board her in the same manner, but they also were soon leftbehind; a fifth man then ran forward alone, and having got a good wayahead of the boat before he took to the water, easily reached her. MrBanks urged the officer to take him in, thinking it a good opportunityto get the confidence and good will of a people, who then certainlylooked upon them as enemies, but he obstinately refused: This mantherefore was left behind like the others, and so was a sixth, whofollowed him. 

When the boat had got round the point, she perceived that all herfollowers had desisted from the pursuit: She now opened a large bay, atthe bottom of which appeared another body of men, armed with long lanceslike the first. Here our people prepared to land, and pushed towards theshore, a canoe at the same time putting off to meet them. As soon as itcame near them, they lay upon their oars, and calling out to them, toldthem that they were friends, and that if they would come up they wouldgive them nails, which were held up for them to see: After somehesitation they came up to the boat's stern, and took some nails thatwere offered them with great seeming satisfaction; but in less than aminute they appeared to have formed a design of boarding the boat, andmaking her their prize: Three of them suddenly leaped into it, and theothers brought up the canoe, which the motion in quitting her had thrownoff a little, manifestly with a design to follow their associates, andsupport them in their attempt. The first that boarded the boat, enteredclose to Mr Banks, and instantly snatched his powder-horn out of hispocket: Mr Banks seized it, and with some difficulty wrenched it out ofhis hand, at the same time pressing against his breast in order to forcehim over-board, but he was too strong for him, and kept his place: Theofficer then snapped his piece, but it missed fire, upon which heordered some of the people to fire over their heads; two pieces wereaccordingly discharged, upon which they all instantly leaped into thewater: One of the people, either from cowardice or cruelty, or both, levelled a third piece at one of them as he was swimming away, and theball grazed his forehead; happily, however, the wound was very slight, for he recovered the canoe, and stood up in her as active and vigorousas the rest. The canoe immediately stood in for the shore, where a greatnumber of people, not less than two hundred, were now assembled. Theboat also pushed in, but found the land guarded all round with a shoal, upon which the sea broke with a considerable surf; it was thereforethought advisable by the officer to proceed along shore in search of amore convenient landing-place: In the mean time, the people on board sawthe canoe go on shore, and the natives gather eagerly round her toenquire the particulars of what had happened. Soon after, a single manran along the shore, armed with his lance, and when he came a-breast ofthe boat he began to dance, brandish his weapon, and call out in a veryshrill tone, which Tupia said was a defiance from the people. The boatcontinued to row along the shore, and the champion followed it, repeating his defiance by his voice and his gestures; but no betterlanding-place being found than that where the canoe had put the nativesonshore, the officer turned back with a view to attempt it there, hoping, that if it should not be practicable, the people would come to aconference either on the shoals or in their canoes, and that a treaty ofpeace might be concluded with them. 

As the boat rowed slowly along the shore back again, another championcame down, shouting defiance, and brandishing his lance: His appearancewas more formidable than that of the other, for he wore a large cap madeof the tail feathers of the tropic bird, and his body was covered withstripes of different coloured cloth, yellow, red, and brown. Thisgentleman also danced, but with much more nimbleness and dexterity thanthe first; our people therefore, considering his agility and his dress, distinguished him by the name of _Harlequin_. Soon after a more graveand elderly man came down to the beach, and hailing the people in theboat, enquired who they were, and from whence they came; Tupia answeredin their own language, from Otaheite: The three natives then walkedpeaceably along the shore till they came to a shoal, upon which a fewpeople were collected; here they stopped, and after a short conference, they all began to pray very loud: Tupia made his responses, butcontinued to tell us that they were not our friends. When their prayer, or, as they call it, their _Poorah_, was over, our people entered into aparley with them, telling them, that if they would lay by their lancesand clubs, for some had one and some the other, they would come onshore, and trade with them for whatever they would bring: They agreed, but it was only upon condition that we would leave behind us ourmusquets: This was a condition which, however equitable it might appear, could not be complied with, nor indeed would it have put the two partiesupon an equality, except their numbers had been equal. Here then thenegotiation seemed to be at an end; but in a little time they venturedto come nearer to the boat, and at last came near enough to trade, whichthey did very fairly, for a small quantity of their cloth and some oftheir weapons; but as they gave our people no hope of provisions, norindeed any thing else except they would venture through a narrow channelto the shore, which, all circumstances considered, they did not think itprudent to do, they put off the boat and left them. 

With the ship and the boat we had now made the circuit of the island, and finding that there was neither harbour nor anchorage about it, andthat the hostile disposition of the people would render landingimpracticable, without bloodshed, I determined not to attempt it, havingno motive that could justify the risk of life. 

The bay which the boat entered lies on the west side of the island; thebottom was foul and rocky, but the water so clear that it could plainlybe seen at the depth of five-and-twenty fathom, which is one hundred andfifty feet. 

This island is situated in the latitude of 22° 27' S. And in thelongitude of 150° 47' W. From the meridian of Greenwich. It is thirteenmiles in circuit, and rather high than low, but neither populous norfertile in proportion to the other islands that we had seen in theseseas. The chief produce seems to be the tree of which they make theirweapons, called in their language _etoa_; many plantations of it wereseen along the shore, which is not surrounded, like the neighbouringislands, by a reef. 

The people seemed to be lusty and well-made, rather browner than thosewe had left: Under their arm-pits they had black marks about as broad asthe hand, the edges of which formed not a straight but an indented line:They had also circles of the same colour, but not so broad, round theirarms and legs, but were not marked on any other part of the body. 

Their dress was very different from any that we had seen before, as wellas the cloth of which it was made. The cloth was of the same materialsas that which is worn in the other islands, and most of that which wasseen by our people was dyed of a bright but deep yellow, and covered onthe outside with a composition like varnish, which was either red, or ofa dark lead-colour; over this ground it was again painted in stripes ofmany different patterns, with wonderful regularity, in the manner of Ourstriped silks in England; the cloth that was painted red was stripedwith black, and that which was painted lead-colour with white. Theirhabit was a short jacket of this cloth, which reached about as low astheir knees; it was of one piece, and had no other making than a hole inthe middle of it, stitched round with long stitches, in which itdiffered from all that we had seen before: Through this hole the headwas put, and what hung down was confined to their bodies by a piece ofyellow cloth or sash, which, passing round the neck behind, was crossedupon the breast, and then collected round the waist like a belt, whichpassed over another belt of red cloth, so that they made a very gay andwarlike appearance; some had caps of the feathers of the tropic bird, which have been before described, and some had a piece of white orlead-coloured cloth wound about the head like a small turban, which ourpeople thought more becoming. 

Their arms were long lances, made of the etoa, the wood of which is veryhard; they were well polished and sharpened at one end: some were neartwenty feet long, though not more than three fingers thick; they hadalso a weapon which was both club and pike, made of the same wood, aboutseven feet long; this also was well polished, and sharpened at one endinto a broad point. As a guard against these weapons, when they attackeach other, they have matts folded up many times, which they place undertheir clothes from the neck to the waist: The weapons themselves indeedare capable of much less mischief than those of the same kind which wesaw at the other islands, for the lances were there pointed with thesharp bone of the stingray that is called the sting, and the pikes wereof much greater weight. The other things that we saw here were allsuperior in their kind to any we had seen before; the cloth was of abetter colour in the dye, and painted with greater neatness and taste;the clubs were better cut and polished, and the canoe, though a smallone, was very rich in ornament, and the carving was executed in a bettermanner: Among other decorations peculiar to this canoe, was a line ofsmall white feathers, which bung from the head and stern on the outside, and which, when we saw them, were thoroughly wetted by the spray. 

Tupia told us, that there were several islands lying at differentdistances, and in different directions from this, between the south andthe north-west; and that at the distance of three days sail to thenorth-east, there was an island called _Manua_, Bird-island: He seemed, however, most desirous that we should sail to the westward, anddescribed several islands in that direction which he said he hadvisited: He told us that he had been ten or twelve days in goingthither, and thirty in coming back, and that the _pahie_ in which he hadmade the voyage, sailed much faster than the ship: Reckoning his pahietherefore to go at the rate of forty leagues a-day, which from my ownobservation I have great reason to think these boats will do, it wouldmake four hundred leagues in ten days, which I compute to be thedistance of Boscawen and Keppel's Islands, discovered by Captain Wallis, westward of Ulietea, and therefore think it very probable that they werethe islands he had visited. [47] The farthest island that he knew anything of to the southward, he said, lay at the distance of about twodays sail from Oteroah, and was called _Moutou_; but he said that hisfather had told him there were islands to the southward of that: Uponthe whole, I was determined to stand southward in search of a continent, but to spend no time in searching for islands, if we did not happen tofall in with them during our course. 

[Footnote 47: These and other islands since discovered in the South Sea, will be properly laid down in a map to be afterwards given. The chartthat accompanied the preceding volume was restricted to the state ofgeographical knowledge at the time of publishing Hawkesworth's work, andis, of coarse, imperfect. But it was judged unadvisable to anticipaterecent information. --E. ]

SECTION XXI. 

_The Passage from Oteroah to New Zealand; Incidents which happened ongoing a-shore there, and while the Ship lay in Poverty Bay_. 

We sailed from Oteroah on the 15th of August, and on Friday the 25th wecelebrated the anniversary of our leaving England, by taking a Cheshirecheese from a locker, where it had been carefully treasured up for thisoccasion, and tapping a cask of porter, which proved to be very good, and in excellent order. On the 29th, one of the sailors got so drunk, that the next morning he died: We thought at first that he could nothave come honestly by the liquor, but we afterwards learnt that theboatswain, whose mate he was, had in mere good-nature given him part ofa bottle of rum. 

On the 30th we saw the comet: At one o'clock in the morning it was alittle above the horizon in the eastern part of the heavens; at abouthalf an hour after four it passed the meridian, and its tail subtendedan angle of forty-two degrees. Our latitude was 38° 20' S. , ourlongitude, by log, 147° 6' W. , and the variation of the needle, by theazimuth, 7° 9' E. Among others that observed the comet, was Tupia, whoinstantly cried out, that as soon as it should be seen by the people ofBolabola, they would kill the inhabitants of Ulietea, who would with theutmost precipitation fly to the mountains. 

On the 1st of September, being in the latitude of 40° 22' S. Andlongitude 147° 29' W, and there not being any signs of land, with aheavy sea from the westward, and strong gales, I wore, and stood back tothe northward, fearing that we might receive such damage in our sailsand rigging, as would hinder the prosecution of the voyage. 

On the next day, there being strong gales to the westward, Ibrought-to, with the ship's head to the northward; but in the mooring ofthe 3d, the wind being more moderate, we loosened the reef of themainsail, set the top-sails, plied to the westward. 

We continued our course till the 19th, when our latitude being 29° andour longitude 159° 29', we observed the variation to be 8° 32' E. On the24th, being in latitude 33° 18', longitude 162° 51', we observed a smallpiece of seaweed, and a piece of wood covered with barnacles: Thevariation here was 10° 48' E. 

On the 27th, being in latitude 28° 59', longitude 169° 5, we saw a sealasleep upon the water, and several bunches of sea-weed. The next day wesaw more seaweed in bunches, and on the 29th, a bird, which we thought aland bird; it somewhat resembled a snipe, but had a short bill. On the1st of October, we saw birds innumerable, and another seal asleep uponthe water; it is a general opinion that seals never go out of soundings, or far from land, but those that we saw in these seas prove thecontrary. Rock-weed is, however, a certain indication that, land is notfar distant. The next day, it being calm, we hoisted out the boat to trywhether there was a current, but found none. Our latitude was 37°10', longitude 172° 54' W. On the 3d, being in latitude 36° 56', longitude 173°27', we took up more sea-weed, and another piece of woodcovered with barnacles. The next day we saw two more seals, and a brownbird, about as big as a raven, with some white feathers under the wing. Mr Gore told us, that birds of this kind were seen in great numbersabout Falkland's Islands, and our people gave them the name ofPort-Egmont hens. 

On the 5th, we thought the water changed colour, but upon casting thelead, had no ground with 180 fathom. In the evening of this day, thevariation was 12° 50' E. , and while we were going nine leagues itincreased to 14° 2'. 

On the next day, Friday, October the 6th, we saw land from themast-head, bearing W. By N. And stood directly for it; in the evening itcould just be discerned from the deck, and appeared large. The variationthis day was, by azimuth and amplitude, 15° 4' 1/2 E. , and byobservation made of the sun and moon, the longitude of the ship appearedto be 180° 55' W. , and by the medium of this, and subsequentobservations, there appeared to be an error in the ship's account of herlongitude during her run from Otaheite of 3° 16', she being so much tothe westward of the longitude resulting from the log. At midnight Ibrought to and sounded, but had no ground with one hundred and seventyfathom. 

On the 7th it fell calm, we therefore approached the land slowly, and inthe afternoon, when a breeze sprang up, we were still distant seven oreight leagues. It appeared still larger as it was more distinctly seen, with four or five ranges of hills, rising one over the other, and achain of mountains above all, which appeared to be of an enormousheight. This land became the subject of much eager conversation; but thegeneral opinion seemed to be that we had found the _terra australisincognita_. About five o'clock we saw the opening of a bay, which seemedto run pretty far inland, upon which we hauled our wind and stood in forit; we also saw smoke ascending from different places on shore. Whennight came on, however, we kept plying off and on till day-light, whenwe found ourselves to the leeward of the bay, the wind being at north:We could now perceive that the hills were clothed with wood, and thatsome of the trees in the valleys were very large. By noon we fetched inwith the south-west point; but not being able to weather it, tacked andstood off: At this time we saw several canoes standing cross the bay, which in a little time made to shore, without seeming to take the leastnotice of the ship; we also saw some houses, which appeared to be small, but neat; and near one of them a considerable number of the peoplecollected together, who were sitting upon the beach, and who, wethought, were the same that we had seen in the canoes. Upon a smallpeninsula, at the north-east head, we could plainly perceive a prettyhigh and regular paling, which inclosed the whole top of a hill; thiswas also the subject of much speculation, some supposing it to be a parkof deer, others an inclosure for oxen and sheep. About four o'clock inthe afternoon we anchored on the north-west side of the bay, before theentrance of a small river, in ten fathom water, with a fine sandybottom, and at about half a league from the shore. The sides of the bayare white cliffs of a great height; the middle is low land, with hillsgradually rising behind, one towering above another, and terminating inthe chain of mountains which appeared to be far inland. 

In the evening I went on shore, accompanied by Mr Banks and DrSolander, with the pinnace and yawl and a party of men. We landedabreast of the ship, on the east side of the river, which was here aboutforty yards broad; but seeing some natives on the west side, whom Iwished to speak with, and finding the river not fordable, I ordered theyawl in to carry us over, and left the pinnace at the entrance. When wecame near the place where the people were assembled, they all ran away;however, we landed, and leaving four boys to take care of the yawl, wewalked up to some huts which were about two or three hundred yards fromthe water-side. When we had got some distance from the boat, four men, armed with long lances, rushed out of the woods, and running up toattack the boat, would certainly have cut her off, if the people in thepinnace had not discovered them, and called to the boys to drop down thestream: The boys instantly obeyed; but being closely pursued by theIndians, the cockswain of the pinnace, who had the charge of the boats, fired a musket over their heads; at this they stopped and looked roundthem, but in a few minutes renewed the pursuit, brandishing their lancesin a threatening manner: The cockswain then fired a second musket overtheir heads, but of this they took no notice; and one of them lifting uphis spear to dart it at the boat, another piece was fired, which shothim dead. When he fell, the other three stood motionless for someminutes, as if petrified with astonishment; as soon as they recovered, they went back, dragging after them the dead body, which, however, theysoon left, that it might not encumber their flight. At the report of thefirst musket we drew together, having straggled to a little distancefrom each other, and made the best of our way back to the boat; andcrossing the river, we soon saw the Indian lying dead upon the ground. Upon examining the body, we found that he had been shot through theheart: He was a man of the middle size and stature; his complexion wasbrown, but not very dark; and one side of his face was tattowed inspiral lines of a very regular figure: He was covered with a fine cloth, of a manufacture altogether new to us, and it was tied on exactlyaccording to the representation in Valentyn's Account of Abel Tasman'sVoyage, vol. 3, part 2, page 50, his hair also was tied in a knot on thetop of his head, but had no feather in it. [48] We returned immediatelyto the ship, where we could hear the people on shore talking with greatearnestness, and in a very loud tone, probably about what had happened, and what should be done. 

[Footnote 48: Abel Tasman was sent out by the Dutch East India Companyin 1642, to take surveys of the new-found countries, and, if possible, to make discoveries. The account of his voyage was published in LowDutch, by Dirk Rembrant. A French translation of it was given byThevenot, in the 4th part of his collection, published at Paris, 1673, an abridgement of which was inserted in Harris's collection. Thoughcurious and considerably important, his observations were longdisregarded; and in particular, his discovery of New Zealand or StaatenLand, as he called it in honour of the States General, seems to havebeen either discredited or held immaterial or overlooked, till thisvoyage of Captain Cook obtained for it the notice it deserved. Then, asis not unusual, it attracted undue consideration and importance. MrFinkerton has re-published the account of this voyage in his collection. Tasman discovered New Zealand on the 13th September, 1642, but did notland on it, an unfortunate event having given him a total distrust ofthe natives. Some of them, after a good deal of backwardness and seemingfear, ventured to go on board the Heenskirk, which was the consort ofhis own vessel, named the Zee-Haan. Tasman, not liking their appearance, and being apprehensive of their hostile intentions, sent seven of hismen to put the people of that vessel on their guard. The savagesattacked them, killed three, and forced the others to seek their livesby swimming. This occasioned his giving the name of the Bay ofMurderers, to the place where it happened. The rough weather preventedhim from taking vengeance. --E. ]

In the morning we saw several of the natives where they had been seenthe night before, and some walking with a quick pace towards the placewhere we had landed, most of them unarmed; but three or four with longpikes in their hands. As I was desirous to establish an intercourse withthem, I ordered three boats to be manned with seamen and marines, andproceeded towards the shore, accompanied by Mr Banks, Dr Solander, theother gentlemen, and Tupia; about fifty of them seemed to wait for ourlanding, on the opposite side of the river, which we thought a sign offear, and seated themselves upon the ground: At first, therefore, myself, with only Mr Banks, Dr Solander, and Tupia, landed from thelittle boat, and advanced towards them; but we had not proceeded manypaces before they all started up, and every man produced either a longpike, or a small weapon of green talc, extremely well polished, about afoot long, and thick enough to weigh four or five pounds: Tupia calledto them in the language of Otaheite; but they answered only byflourishing their weapons, and making signs to us to depart; a musketwas then fired wide of them, and the ball struck the water, the riverbeing still between, us: They saw the effect, and desisted from theirthreats; but we thought it prudent to retreat till the marines could belanded. This was soon done; and they marched, with a jack carried beforethem, to a little bank, about fifty yards from the water-side; here theywere drawn up, and I again advanced, with Mr Banks and Dr Solander;Tupia, Mr Green, and Mr Monkhouse, being with us. Tupia was againdirected to speak to them, and it was with great pleasure that weperceived he was perfectly understood, he and the natives speaking onlydifferent dialects of the same language. He told them that we wantedprovision and water, and would give them iron in exchange, theproperties of which he explained as well as he was able. They werewilling to trade, and desired that we would come over to them for thatpurpose: To this we consented, provided they would lay by their arms;which, however, they could by no means be persuaded to do. During thisconversation, Tupia warned us to be upon our guard, for that they werenot our friends: We then pressed them in our turn to come over to us;and at last one of them stripped himself, and swam over without hisarms: He was almost immediately followed by two more, and soon after bymost of the rest, to the number of twenty or thirty; but these broughttheir arms with them. We made them all presents of iron and heads; butthey seemed to set little value upon either, particularly the iron, nothaving the least idea of its use; so that we got nothing in return but afew feathers: They offered indeed to exchange their arms for ours, and, when we refused, made many attempts to snatch them out of our hands. Assoon as they came over, Tupia repeated his declaration, that they werenot our friends, and again warned us to be upon our guard; theirattempts to snatch our weapons, therefore, did not succeed; and we gavethem to understand by Tupia, that we should be obliged to kill them ifthey offered any farther violence. In a few minutes, however, Mr Greenhappening to turn about, one of them snatched away his hanger, andretiring to a little distance, waved it round his head with a shout ofexultation: The rest now began to be extremely insolent, and we saw morecoming to join them from the opposite side of the river. It wastherefore become necessary to repress them, and Mr Banks fired at theman who had taken the hanger with small shot, at the distance of aboutfifteen yards: When the shot struck him, he ceased his cry; but insteadof returning the hanger, continued to flourish it over his head, at thesame time slowly retreating to a greater distance. Mr Monkhouse seeingthis, fired at him with ball, and he instantly dropped. Upon this themain body, who had retired to a rock in the middle of the river uponthe first discharge, began to return; two that were near to the man whohad been killed, ran up to the body, one seized his weapon of greentalc, and the other endeavoured to secure the hanger, which Mr Monkhousehad but just time to prevent. As all that had retired to the rock werenow advancing, three of us discharged our pieces, loaded only with smallshot, upon which they swam back for the shore; and we perceived, upontheir landing, that two or three of them were wounded. They retiredslowly up the country, and we re-embarked in our boats. 

As we had unhappily experienced that nothing was to be done with thesepeople at this place, and finding the water in the river to be salt, Iproceeded in the boats round the head of the bay in search of freshwater, and with a design, if possible, to surprise some of the natives, and take them on board, where by kind treatment and presents I mightobtain their friendship, and by their means establish an amicablecorrespondence with their countrymen. 

To my great regret, I found no place where I could land, a dangeroussurf every where beating upon the shore; but I saw two canoes coming infrom the sea, one under sail, and the other worked with paddles. Ithought this a favourable opportunity to get some of the people into mypossession without mischief, as those in the canoe were probablyfishermen, and without arms, and I had three boats full of men. Itherefore disposed the boats so as most effectually to intercept them intheir way to the shore; the people in the canoe that was paddledperceived us so soon, that by making to the nearest land with theirutmost strength, they escaped us; the other sailed on till she was inthe midst of us, without discerning what we were; but the moment shediscovered us, the people on board struck their sail, and took to theirpaddles, which they plied so briskly that she out-ran the boat. Theywere however within hearing, and Tupia called out to them to comealong-side, and promised for us that they should come to no hurt: Theychose, however, rather to trust to their paddles than our promises, andcontinued to make from us with all their power. I then ordered a musquetto be fired over their heads, as the least exceptionable expedient toaccomplish my design, hoping it would either make them surrender orleap into the water. Upon the discharge of the piece, they ceasedpaddling; and all of them, being seven in number, began to strip, as weimagined to jump overboard; but it happened otherwise. They immediatelyformed a resolution not to fly, but to fight; and when the boat came up, they began the attack with their paddles, and with stones and otheroffensive weapons that were in the boat, so vigorously, that we wereobliged to fire upon them in our own defence: Four were unhappilykilled, and the other three, who were boys, the eldest about nineteen, and the youngest about eleven, instantly leaped into the water; theeldest swam with great vigour, and resisted the attempts of our peopleto take him into the boat by every effort that he could make: He washowever at last overpowered, and the other two were taken up with lessdifficulty. I am conscious that the feeling of every reader of humanitywill censure me for having fired upon these unhappy people, and it isimpossible that, upon a calm review, I should approve it myself. Theycertainly did not deserve death for not chusing to confide in mypromises; or not consenting to come on board my boat, even if they hadapprehended no danger; but the nature of my service required me toobtain a knowledge of their country, which I could no otherwise effectthan by forcing my way into it in a hostile manner, or gaining admissionthrough the confidence and good-will of the people. I had already triedthe power of presents without effect; and I was now prompted, by mydesire to avoid further hostilities, to get some of them on board, asthe only method left of convincing them that we intended them no harm, and had it in our power to contribute to their gratification andconvenience. Thus far my intentions certainly were not criminal; andthough in the contest, which I had not the least reason to expect, ourvictory might have been complete without so great an expence of life, yet in such situations, when the command to fire has been given, no mancan restrain its excess, or prescribe its effect. [49]

[Footnote 49: It seems impossible to justify the transaction. Letconscience and the law of nature speak. Palliating circumstances may beallowed their full influence, but still there will remain enough in thedeed, to spot the memory of our great and certainly humane navigator. The life of man is the most sacred property under the heavens--its valueis perhaps incalculable by any other means than an appeal to theconsciousness of its dignity and importance, which every one who enjoysit possesses. It is worse than vain to set about considering thecomparative value of different lives, in order to ascertain the momentumof the guilt of violating them in particular instances; and thus todepreciate the existence of savages, by comparing their habits, theirmanners, their enjoyments, and sufferings, with those of civilizedpeople. A man's life is always valuable to himself, in the proportion ofwhat he would give to secure and prolong it. Is not this the basis ofthe law, which excuses homicide when committed in self-defence? Does notthat law imply the equality of lives in all cases, without disparagementof rank, station, or circumstances? Yet even that law, recognised in allcountries worthy of notice for their intelligence and cultivation, required something of the nature of a purgation of the person, whom itat the same time absolved of the deadly guilt of the action. DrHawkesworth, in his General Introduction, which it was quite unnecessaryto give entire in this work, argues the question of the lawfulness ofsuch aggression as has been mentioned, on the abstract principle thatthe advantages of discoveries overbalance the evils attendant on themaking of them. But admitting all that he says on the subject, which is_something_ more than he proves--admitting, in _this_ case, that the endjustifies the means--still it may be contended with _propriety_, thatthose who have been entrusted with such commands are amenable to thefundamental laws of humanity and all good governments--Let it be provedthat they have not exceeded their instructions, or availed themselves ofa concession only problematically and in fact eventually just, to useforce and deal out slaughter in conferring their favours. Let there beno relaxation of the solemnity and imposing aspect of the law in suchcases, whatever there be of its retributive severity. Sailors ingeneral, and our own in particular, as we may see even in the course ofthis narrative, are not to be trusted with the smallest discretionarypower, where the lives of _naked_ men are concerned. The obviouscontrast is too much for their pride; mercifulness of disposition doesnot mitigate its pungency. An abatement in the rigour of the lawunfortunately flatters their prejudices, and loosens the tie by whichtheir passions are feebly bound under a sense of duty and fear. Theconsequences are shocking and unavoidable. Abrogate entirely from theseat all times unthinking men, the liberty of judgment as to the worth oflife--let there be but one law for an Englishman and a savage--declareby the voice of justice, that though their skins have not the same hue, and though their hair be differently turned on their heads, yet theirblood is the same, and that He that made one made the other also, andhas the same interest in both. Such principles would facilitatediscoveries, and would render them blessings. The maxims and the Conductof William Penn, a name, associated, as it no doubt is, with ideas ofsomething extravagant, and perhaps with the opinion of somethingimpracticable, nevertheless so dear and encouraging to humanity, areworthy of being set up in letters of gold before the eyes of allgenerations. "Whoever, (was his enactment for the regulation ofintercourse with the natives of the country still bearing his name), whoever shall hurt, wrong, or offend any Indian, shall incur the samepenalty as if he had offended in like manner against his fellowplanter. " He treated these savages as his brethren, and he made themsuch. They pledged themselves "to live in love with William Penn andhis children as long as the sun and moon should endure"--nor did theyviolate their faith. It is lamentable to be constrained to join withVoltaire in saying, "this is the only treaty ever concluded betwixtChristians, and Savages that was not ratified by an oath; and the onlyone that never was broken!" Penn outlived the storms and malice of morethan half a century of persecutions, and died in peace at the age ofseventy-two. Who does not think of the _murder_ of Cook, with a feelingof _something more than common regret_ for the loss of a great and mostestimable man!--E. ]

As soon as the poor wretches whom we had taken out of the water were inthe boat, they squatted down, expecting no doubt instantly to be put todeath: We made haste to convince them of the contrary, by every methodin our power; we furnished them with clothes, and gave them every othertestimony of kindness that could remove their fears and engage theirgood-will. Those who are acquainted with human nature will not wonder, that the sudden joy of these young savages at being unexpectedlydelivered from the fear of death, and kindly treated by those whom theysupposed would have been their instant executioners, surmounted theirconcern for the friends they had lost, and was strongly expressed intheir countenance and behaviour. Before we reached the ship, theirsuspicions and fears being wholly removed, they appeared to be not onlyreconciled to their situation but in high spirits, and upon beingoffered some bread when they came on board, they devoured it with avoracious appetite. They answered and asked many questions, with greatappearance of pleasure and curiosity; and when our dinner came, theyexpressed an inclination to taste every thing that they saw: They seemedbest pleased with the salt pork, though we had other provisions upon thetable. At sun-set, they eat another meal with great eagerness, eachdevouring a large quantity of bread, and drinking above a quart ofwater. We then made them beds upon the lockers, and they went to sleepwith great seeming content. In the night, however, the tumult of theirminds having subsided, and given way to reflection, they sighed oftenand loud. Tupia, who was always upon the watch to comfort them, got up, and by soothing and encouragement, made them not only easy but cheerful;their cheerfulness was encouraged, so that they sung a song with adegree of taste that surprised us: The tune was solemn and slow, likethose of our Psalms, containing many notes and semitones. Theircountenances were intelligent and expressive, and the middlemost, whoseemed to be about fifteen, had an openness in his aspect, and an easein his deportment, which were very striking: We found that the twoeldest were brothers, and that their names were _Tuahourange_ and_Koikerange_; the name of the youngest was _Maragovete_. As we werereturning to the ship, after having taken these boys into the boat, wepicked up a large piece of pumice stone floating upon the water; a suresign that there either is, or has been a volcano in this neighbourhood. 

In the morning, they all seemed to be cheerful, and eat another enormousmeal; after this we dressed them, and adorned them with bracelets, anclets, and necklaces, after their own fashion, and the boat beinghoisted out, they were told that we were going to set them ashore: Thisproduced a transport of joy; but upon perceiving that we made towardsour first landing-place near the river, their countenances changed, andthey entreated with great earnestness that they might not be set ashoreat that place, because they said, it was inhabited by their enemies, whowould kill them and eat them. This was a great disappointment to me;because I hoped the report and appearance of the boys would procure afavourable reception for ourselves. I had already sent an officer onshore with the marines and a party of men to cut wood, and I wasdetermined to land near the place; not, however, to abandon the boys, if, when we got ashore, they should be unwilling to leave us, but tosend a boat with them in the evening to that part of the bay to whichthey pointed, and which they called their home. Mr Banks, Dr Solander, and Tupia were with me, and upon our landing with the boys, and crossingthe river, they seemed at first to be unwilling to leave us; but atlength they suddenly changed their mind, and, though not without amanifest struggle, and some tears, they took their leave: When they weregone, we proceeded along a swamp, with a design to shoot some ducks, ofwhich we saw great plenty, and four of the marines attended us, walkingabreast of us upon a bank that overlooked the country. After we hadadvanced about a mile, these men called out to us and told us, that alarge body of the Indians was in sight, and advancing at a great rate. Upon receiving this intelligence, we drew together, and resolved tomake the best of our way to the boats; we had scarcely begun to put thisinto execution, when the three Indian boys started suddenly from somebushes, where they had concealed themselves, and again claimed ourprotection: we readily received them, and repairing to the beach as theclearest place, we walked briskly towards the boats. The Indians were intwo bodies; one ran along the bank which had been quitted by themarines, the other fetched a compass by the swamp, so that we could notsee them: When they perceived that we had formed into one body, theyslackened their pace, but still followed us in a gentle walk: That theyslackened their pace, was for us, as well as for them, a fortunatecircumstance; for when we came to the side of the river, where weexpected to find the boats that were to carry us over to the wooders, wefound the pinnace at least a mile from her station, having been sent topick up a bird which had been shot by the officer on shore, and thelittle boat was obliged to make three trips before we could all get overto the rest of the party. As soon as we were drawn up on the other side, the Indians came down, not in a body as we expected, but by two or threeat a time, all armed, and in a short time their number increased toabout two hundred: As we now despaired of making peace with them, seeingthat the dread of our small arms did not keep them at a distance, andthat the ship was too far off to reach the place with a shot, weresolved to re-embark, lest our stay should embroil us in anotherquarrel, and cost more of the Indians their lives. We therefore advancedtowards the pinnace which was now returning, when one of the boyssuddenly cried out, that his uncle was among the people who had marcheddown to us, and desired us to stay and talk with them: We complied, anda parley immediately commenced between them and Tupia; during which theboys held up every thing we had given them as tokens of our kindness andliberality; but neither would either of the boys swim over to them, orany of them to the boys. The body of the man who had been killed the daybefore, still lay exposed upon the beach; the boys seeing it lie verynear us, went up to it, and covered it with some of the clothes that wehad given them; and soon after a single man, unarmed, who proved to bethe uncle of Maragovete, the youngest of the boys, swam over to us, bringing in his hand a green branch, which we supposed, as well here asat Otaheite, to be an emblem of peace. We received his branch by thehands of Tupia, to whom he gave it, and made him many presents; we alsoinvited him to go on board the ship, but he declined it; we thereforeleft him, and expected that his nephew, and the two other young Indians, would have staid with him, but to our great surprise, they chose ratherto go with us. As soon as we had retired, he went and gathered anothergreen branch, and with this in his hand, he approached the dead bodywhich the youth had covered with part of his clothes, walking sideways, with many ceremonies, and then throwing it towards him. When this wasdone, he returned to his companions, who had sat down upon the sand toobserve the issue of his negociation: They immediately gathered roundhim, and continued in a body above an hour, without seeming to take anyfarther notice of us. We were more curious than they, and observing themwith our glasses from on board the ship, we saw some of them cross theriver upon a kind of raft, or catamarine, and four of them carry off thedead body which had been covered by the boy, and over which his unclehad performed the ceremony of the branch, upon a kind of bier, betweenfour men: The other body was still suffered to remain where it had beenfirst left. 

After dinner, I directed Tupia to ask the boys, if they had now anyobjection to going ashore, where we had left their uncle, the bodyhaving been carried off, which we understood was a ratification ofpeace: They said, they had not; and the boat being ordered, they wentinto it with great alacrity: When the boat, in which I had sent twomidshipmen, came to land, they went willingly ashore; but soon after sheput off, they returned to the rocks, and wading into the, water, earnestly entreated to be taken on board again; but the people in theboat, having positive orders to leave them, could not comply. We werevery attentive to what happened on shore, and keeping a constant watchwith our glasses, we saw a man pass the river upon another raft, andfetch them to a place where forty or fifty of the natives wereassembled, who closed round them, and continued in the same place tillsun-set: Upon looking again, when we saw them in motion, we couldplainly distinguish our three prisoners, who separated themselves fromthe rest, came down to the beach, and having waved their hands threetimes towards the ship, ran nimbly back and joined their companions, whowalked leisurely away towards that part which the boys had pointed to astheir dwelling-place; we had therefore the greatest reason to believethat no mischief would happen to them, especially as we perceived thatthey went off in the clothes we had given them. 

After it was dark, loud voices were heard on shore in the bottom of thebay as usual, of which we could never learn the meaning. [50]

[Footnote 50: It is remarked in the account of Tasman's voyage, that thepeople of this island had very hoarse, rough, strong voices. --E. ]

SECTION XXII. 

_A Description of Poverty Bay, and the Face of the adjacent Country. TheRange from thence to Cape Turnagain, and back to Tolaga, with someAccount of the People and the Country, and several Incidents thathappened on that Part of the Coast_. 

The next morning, at six o'clock, we weighed, and stood away from thisunfortunate and inhospitable place, to which I gave the name of _PovertyBay_, and which by the natives is called _Taoneroa_, or Long Sand, as itdid not afford us a single article that we wanted except a little wood. It lies in latitude 38° 42' S. And longitude 181° 36' W. ; it is in theform of an horse-shoe, and is known by an island lying close under thenorth-east point: The two points which form the entrance are high, withsteep white cliffs, and lie a league and a half, or two leagues, fromeach other, N. E. By E. And S. W. By W. ; the depth of water in the bay isfrom twelve to five fathom, with a sandy bottom and good anchorage; butthe situation is open to the wind between the south and east: Boats cango in and out of the river at any time of the tide in fine weather; butas there is a bar at the entrance, no boat can go either in or out whenthe sea runs high: The best place to attempt it, is on the north-eastside, and it is there practicable when it is not so in any other part. The shore of the bay, a little within its entrance, is a low flat sand;behind which, at a small distance, the face of the country is finelydiversified by hills and valleys, all clothed with wood, and coveredwith verdure. The country also appears to be well inhabited, especiallyin the valleys leading up from the bay, where we daily saw smoke risingin clouds one behind another to a great distance, till the viewterminated in mountains of a stupendous height. 

The south-west point of the bay I named _Young Nick's Head_, afterNicholas Young, the boy who first saw the land; at noon, it bore N. W. ByW. Distant about three or four leagues, and we were then about threemiles from the shore. The main-land extended from N. E. By N; to south, and I proposed to follow the direction of the coast to the southward asfar as the latitude of 40 or 41; and then, if I met with noencouragement to proceed farther, to return to the northward. 

In the afternoon we lay becalmed, which the people on shore perceiving, several canoes put off, and came within less than a quarter of a mile ofthe vessel; but could not be persuaded to come nearer, though Tupiaexerted all the powers of his lungs and his eloquence upon the occasion, shouting, and promising that they should not be hurt. Another canoe wasnow seen coming from Poverty Bay, with only four people on board, one ofwhom we well remembered to have seen in our first interview upon therock. This canoe, without stopping or taking the least notice of theothers, came directly alongside of the ship, and with very littlepersuasion, we got the Indians on board. Their example was soon followedby the rest, and we had about us seven canoes, and about fifty men. Wemade them all presents with a liberal hand; notwithstanding which, theywere so desirous to have more of our commodities, that they sold usevery thing they had, even the clothes from their backs, and the paddlesfrom their boats. There were but two weapons among them, these were theinstruments of green talc, which were shaped somewhat like a pointedbattledore, with a short handle and sharp edges; they were called_Patoo-Patoo_, and were well contrived for close-fighting, as they wouldcertainly split the thickest scull at a single blow. 

When these people had recovered from the first impressions of fear, which, notwithstanding their resolution in coming on board, hadmanifestly thrown them into some confusion, we enquired after our poorboys. The man who first came on board immediately answered, that theywere unhurt and at home; adding, that he had been induced to venture onboard by the account which they had given him of the kindness with whichthey had been treated, and the wonders that were contained in the ship. 

While they were on board they shewed every sign of friendship, andinvited us very cordially to go back to our old bay, or to a small covewhich they pointed out, that was not quite so far off; but I choserather to prosecute my discoveries than go back, having reason to hopethat I should find a better harbour than any I had yet seen. 

About an hour before sun-set, the canoes put off from the ship with thefew paddles they had reserved, which were scarcely sufficient to setthem on shore; but by some means or other three of their people wereleft behind: As soon as we discovered it, we hailed them; but not one ofthem would return to take them on board: This greatly surprised us; butwe were surprised still more to observe that the deserted Indians didnot seem at all uneasy at their situation, but entertained us withdancing and singing after their manner, eat their suppers, and wentquietly to bed. 

A light breeze springing up soon after it was dark, we steered along theshore under an easy sail till midnight, and then brought-to, soon afterwhich it fell calm; we were now some leagues distant from the placewhere the canoes had left us, and at day-break, when the Indiansperceived it, they were seized with consternation and terror, andlamented their situation in loud complaints, with gestures of despairand many tears. Tupia, with great difficulty, pacified them; and aboutseven o'clock in the morning, a light breeze springing up, we continuedto stand south-west along the shore. Fortunately for our poor Indians, two canoes came off about this time, and made towards the ship: Theystopped, however, at a little distance, and seemed unwilling to trustthemselves nearer. Our Indians were greatly agitated in this state ofuncertainty, and urged their fellows to come alongside of the ship, bothby their voice and gestures, with the utmost eagerness and impatience. Tupia interpreted what they said, and we were much surprised to find, that, among other arguments, they assured the people in the canoes, wedid not eat men. We now began seriously to believe that this horridcustom prevailed among them; for what the boys had said, we consideredas a mere hyperbolical expression of their fear. [51] One of the canoes, at length, ventured to come under the ship's side; and an old man cameon board, who seemed to be a chief from the finery of his garment, andthe superiority of his weapon, which was a Patoo-Patoo, made of bone, that, as he said, had belonged to a whale. He staid on board but ashort time, and when he went away, he took with him our guests, verymuch to the satisfaction both of them and us. 

[Footnote 51: It is remarked in the account of Tasman's voyage, that thepeople of this island had very hoarse, rough, strong voices. --E. ]

At the time when we sailed, we were abreast of a point, from which theland trends S. S. W. And which, on account of its figure, I called _CapeTable_. This point lies seven leagues to the southward of Poverty Bay, in latitude 39° 7' S. And longitude 181° 36' W. ; it is of a considerableheight, makes in a sharp angle, and appears to be quite flat at the top. 

In steering along the shore to the southward of the Cape, at thedistance of two or three miles, our soundings were from twenty to thirtyfathom, having a chain of rocks between us and the shore, which appearedat different heights above the water. 

At noon, Cape Table bore N. 20 E. Distant about four leagues, and asmall island, which was the southernmost land in sight, bore S. 70 W. Atthe distance of about three miles. This island, which the natives call_Teahowray_, I named the _Island of Portland_, from its very greatresemblance to Portland in the English Channel: It lies about a milefrom a point on the main; but there appears to be a ridge of rocks, extending nearly, if not quite, from one to the other. N. 57 E. Twomiles from the south point of Portland, lies a sunken rock, upon whichthe sea breaks with great violence. We passed between this rock and theland, having from seventeen to twenty fathom. 

In sailing along the shore, we saw the natives assembled in greatnumbers as well upon Portland Island as the main: We could alsodistinguish several spots of ground that were cultivated; some seemed tobe fresh turned up, and lay in furrows like ploughed land, and some hadplants upon them in different stages of their growth. We saw also in twoplaces, high rails upon the ridges of hills, like what we had seen uponthe peninsula at the north-east head of Poverty Bay: As they were rangedin lines only, and not so as to inclose an area, we could not guess attheir use, and therefore supposed they might be the work ofsuperstition. 

About noon another canoe appeared, in which were four men; she camewithin about a quarter of a mile of us, where the people on board seemedto perform divers ceremonies: One of them, who was in the bow, sometimesseemed to ask and to offer peace, and sometimes to threaten war, bybrandishing a weapon that he held in his hand: Sometimes also he danced, and sometimes he sung. Tupia talked much to him, but could not persuadehim to come to the ship. 

Between one and two o'clock we discovered land to the westward ofPortland; extending to the southward as far as we could see; and as theship was hauling round the south end of the island, she suddenly fellinto shoal water and broken ground: We had indeed always seven fathom ormore, but the soundings were never twice the same, jumping at once fromseven fathom to eleven; in a short time, however, we got clear of alldanger, and had again deep water under us. 

At this time the island lay within a mile of us, making in white cliffs, and a long spit of low land running from it towards the main. On thesides of these cliffs sat vast numbers of people, looking at us with afixed attention, and it is probable that they perceived some appearanceof hurry and confusion on board, and some irregularity in the working ofthe ship, while we were getting clear of the shallow water and brokenground, from which they might infer that we were alarmed or in distress;we thought that they wished to take advantage of our situation, for fivecanoes were put off with the utmost expedition, full of men, and wellarmed: They came so near, and shewed so hostile a disposition byshouting, brandishing their lances, and using threatening gestures, thatwe were in some pain for our small boat, which was still employed insounding: A musket was therefore fired over them, but finding it didthem no harm, they seemed rather to be provoked than intimidated, and Itherefore fired a four-pounder, charged with grape-shot, wide of them:This had a better effect; upon the report of the piece they all rose upand shouted, but instead of continuing the chace, drew altogether, andafter a short consultation, went quietly away. 

Having got round Portland, we hauled in for the land N. W. Having agentle breeze at N. E. Which about five o'clock died away, and obliged usto anchor; we had one-and-twenty fathom, with a fine sandy bottom: Thesouth point of Portland bore S. E. 1/2 S. Distant about two leagues, anda low point on the main bore N. 1/2 E. In the same direction with thislow point, there runs a deep bay, behind the land of which Cape Table isthe extremity, so as to make this land a peninsula, leaving only a lownarrow neck between that and the main. Of this peninsula, which thenatives call _Terakaca_, Cape Table is the north point, and Portland thesouth. 

While we lay at anchor, two more canoes came off to us, one armed, andthe other a small fishing-boat, with only four men in her; they came sonear that they entered into conversation with Tupia; they answered allthe questions that he asked them with great civility, but could not bepersuaded to come on board; they came near enough, however, to receiveseveral presents that were thrown to them from the ship, with which theyseemed much pleased, and went away. During the night many fires werekept upon shore, probably to shew us that the inhabitants were too muchupon their guard to be surprised. 

About five o'clock in the morning of the 13th, a breeze springing upnortherly we weighed, and steered in for the land. The shore here formsa large bay, of which Portland is the north-east point, and the bay, that runs behind Cape Table, an arm. This arm I had a great inclinationto examine, because there appeared to be safe anchorage in it, but notbeing sure of that, and the wind being right an end, I was unwilling tospare the time. Four-and-twenty fathom was the greatest depth withinPortland, but the ground was every where clear. The land near the shoreis of a moderate height, with white cliffs and sandy beaches; within, itrises into mountains, and upon the whole the surface is hilly, for themost part covered with wood, and to appearance pleasant and fertile. Inthe morning nine canoes came after the ship, but whether with peaceableor hostile intentions we could not tell, for we soon left them behindus. 

In the evening we stood in for a place that had the appearance of anopening, but found no harbour; we therefore stood out again, and weresoon followed by a large canoe, with eighteen or twenty men, all armed, who, though they could not reach us, shouted defiance, and brandishedtheir weapons, with many gestures of menace and insult. 

In the morning we had a view of the mountains inland, upon which thesnow was still lying: The country near the shore was low and unfit forculture, but in one place we perceived a patch of somewhat yellow, whichhad greatly the appearance of a corn field, yet was probably nothingmore than some dead flags, which are not uncommon in swampy places:[52]At some distance we saw groves of trees, which appeared high andtapering, and being not above two leagues from the south-west cod of thegreat bay, in which we had been coasting for the two last days, Ihoisted out the pinnace and long-boat to search for fresh water; butjust as they were about to put off, we saw several boats full of peoplecoming from the shore, and therefore I did not think it safe for them toleave the ship. About ten o'clock, five of these boats having drawntogether, as if to hold a consultation, made towards the ship, having onboard between eighty and ninety men, and four more followed at somedistance, as if to sustain the attack: When the first five came withinabout a hundred yards of the ship, they began to sing their war-song, and brandishing their pikes, prepared for an engagement. We had now notime to lose, for if we could not prevent the attack, we should comeunder the unhappy necessity of using our fire-arms against them, whichwe were very desirous to avoid. Tupia was therefore ordered to acquaintthem that we had weapons which, like thunder, would destroy them in amoment; that we would immediately convince them of their power bydirecting their effect so that they should not be hurt; but that if theypersisted in any hostile attempt, we should be obliged to use them forour defence: A four-pounder, loaded with grape-shot, was then dischargedwide of them, which produced the desired effect; the report, the flash, and above all, the shot, which spread very far in the water, sointimidated them, that they began to paddle away with all their might:Tupia, however, calling after them, and assuring them that if they wouldcome unarmed, they should be kindly received, the people in one of theboats put their arms on board of another, and came under the ship'sstern: We made them several presents, and should certainly haveprevailed upon them to come on board, if the other canoes had not, comeup, and again threatened us, by shouting and brandishing their weapons:At this the people who had come to the ship unarmed, expressed greatdispleasure, and soon after they all went away. 

[Footnote 52: The natives cultivate a plant much resembling flag. It istheir substitute for hemp and flax; and by their ingenuity ofmanagement, yield them excellent clothing, and lines and cordage fortheir fishing-nets and other useful purposes. --E. ]

In the afternoon we stood over to the south point of the bay, but notreaching it before it was dark, we stood off and on all night. At eightthe next morning, being a-breast of the point, several fishing-boatscame off to us, and sold us some stinking fish: It was the best theyhad, and we were willing to trade with them upon any terms: These peoplebehaved very well, and we should have parted good friends if it had notbeen for a large canoe, with two-and-twenty armed men on board, whichcame boldly up alongside of the ship. We soon saw that this boat hadnothing for traffic, yet we gave them two or three pieces of cloth, anarticle which they seemed very fond of. I observed that one man had ablack skin thrown over him, somewhat resembling that of a bear, andbeing desirous to know what animal was its first owner, I offered himfor it a piece of red baize, and he seemed greatly pleased with thebargain, immediately pulling off the skin, and holding it up in theboat;[53] he would not, however, part with it till he had the cloth inhis possession, and as there could be no transfer of property, if withequal caution I had insisted upon the same condition, I ordered thecloth to be handed down to him, upon which, with amazing coolness, instead of sending up the skin, he began to pack up both that, and thebaize, which he had received as the purchase of it, in a basket, withoutpaying the least regard to my demand or remonstrances, and soon after, with the fishing-boats, put off from the-ship; when they were at somedistance, they drew together, and after a short-consultation returned;the fishermen offered more fish, which, though good for nothing, waspurchased, and trade was again renewed. Among others who were placedover the ship's side to hand up what we bought, was little Tayeto, Tupia's boy; and one of the Indians, watching his opportunity, suddenlyseized him, and dragged him down into the canoe; two of them held himdown in the fore-part of it, and the others, with great activity, paddled her off, the rest of the canoes following as fast as they could;upon this the marines, who were under arms upon deck, were ordered tofire. The shot was directed to that part of the canoe which was farthestfrom the boy, and rather wide of her, being willing rather to miss therowers than to hurt him: It happened, however, that one man dropped, upon which the others quitted their hold of the boy, who instantlyleaped into the water, and swam towards the ship; the large canoeimmediately pulled round and followed him, but some muskets, and a greatgun being fired at her, she desisted from the pursuit. The ship beingbrought-to, a boat was lowered, and the poor boy taken up unhurt, thoughso terrified, that for a time he seemed to be deprived of his senses. Some of the gentlemen, who traced the canoes to shore with theirglasses, said, that they saw three men carried up the beach, whoappeared to be either dead, or wholly disabled by their wounds. 

[Footnote 53: The principal clothing of these people is prepared fromthe flag, as has been mentioned; but they greatly esteem the skins ofsuch animals as they can procure. These, however, are neither verynumerous nor valuable. They will be mentioned hereafter. --E. ]

To the cape off which this unhappy transaction happened, I gave the nameof _Cape Kidnappers_. It lies in latitude 39° 43', and longitude 182°24' W. And is rendered remarkable by two white rocks like hay-stacks, and the high white cliffs on each side. It lies S. W. By W. Distantthirteen leagues from the isle of Portland; and between them is the bayof which it is the south point, and which, in honour of Sir EdwardHawke, then First Lord of the Admiralty, I called _Hawke's Bay_. Wefound in it from twenty-four to seven fathom, and good anchorage. FromCape Kidnappers the land trends S. S. W. And in this direction we made ourrun along the shore, keeping at about a league distance, with a steadybreeze and clear weather. 

As soon as Tayeto recovered from his fright, he brought a fish to Tupia, and told him that he intended it as an offering to his Eatua, or god, ingratitude for his escape; Tupia commended his piety, and ordered him tothrow the fish into the sea, which was accordingly done. [54]

[Footnote 54: This may be held as no small evidence that the Otaheitansare not so disinterested in their devotion as Dr Hawkesworth imagined, according to an assertion of his already commented on. Gratitude impliesthe reception of a favour, and prayer the expectation of one. Religionwithout interest is both unnatural and absurd. The very notion ofreligion is humble reliance upon God. "Take this away, " says Dr Mageevery justly, "and we become a race of independent beings, claiming as adebt the reward of our good works; a sort of contracting party with theAlmighty, contributing nought to his glory, but anxious to maintain ourown independence, and our own rights. " The lips of uninspired man neverspake more truth in one sentence. Let the aspiring moralist consider itin its nature and consequences. If he obtain humility by the meditation, he will feel the blessedness of a grateful heart. --E. ]

About two o'clock in the afternoon, we passed a small but high whiteisland lying close to the shore, upon which we saw many houses, boats, and people. The people we concluded to be fishers, because the islandwas totally barren; we saw several people also on shore, in a small bayupon the main, within the island. At eleven, we brought-to tillday-light, and then made sail to the southward, along the shore. Aboutseven o'clock we passed a high point of land, which lies S. S. W. Twelveleagues from Cape Kidnappers: From this point the land trendsthree-fourths of a point more to the westward; at ten, we saw more landopen to the southward, and at noon, the southermost land that was insight bore S. 39° W. Distant eight or ten leagues, and a high bluffhead, with yellowish cliffs, bore W. Distant about two miles: The depthof water was thirty-two fathom. 

In the afternoon we had a fresh breeze at west, and during the nightvariable light airs and calms: In the morning a gentle breeze sprung upbetween the N. W. And N. E. And having till now stood to the southward, without seeing any probability of meeting with a harbour, and thecountry manifestly altering for the worse, I thought that standingfarther in that direction would be attended with no advantage, but onthe contrary would be a loss of time that might be employed with abetter prospect of success in examining the coast to the northward;about one, therefore, in the afternoon, I tacked, and stood north, witha fresh breeze at west. The high bluff head, with yellowish cliffs, which we were a-breast of at noon, I called Cape Turnagain, because herewe turned back. It lies in latitude 40° 34' S. Longitude 182° 55' W. , distant eighteen leagues S. S. W. And S. S. W. 1/2 W. From Cape Kidnappers. The land between them is of a very unequal height; in some places it islofty next the sea with white cliffs, in others low, with sandy beaches:The face of the country is not so well clothed with wood as it is aboutHawke's bay, but looks more like our high downs in England: It is, however, to all appearance, well inhabited, for as we stood along theshore, we saw several villages, not only in the vallies, but on the topsand sides of the hills, and smoke in many other places. The ridge ofmountains, which has been mentioned before, extends to the southwardfarther than we could see, and was then every where chequered with snow. At night we saw two fires inland, so very large, that we concluded theymust have been made to clear the land for tillage; but however that be, they are a demonstration that the part of the country where theyappeared is inhabited. 

On the 18th, at four o'clock in the morning, Cape Kidnappers bore N. 32W. Distant two leagues: In this situation we had sixty-two fathom, andwhen the Cape bore W. By N. Distant three or four leagues, we hadforty-five fathom: In the mid-way between the isle of Portland and theCape we had sixty-five fathom. In the evening, being abreast of thepeninsula, within Portland island, called Terakako, a canoe came offfrom that shore, and with much difficulty overtook the ship; there wereon board five people, two of whom appeared to be chiefs, and the otherthree servants: The chiefs, with very little invitation, came on board, and ordered the rest to remain in their canoe. We treated them withgreat kindness, and they were not backward in expressing theirsatisfaction; they went down into the cabin, and after a short time toldus that they had determined not to go on shore till the next morning. Asthe sleeping on board was an honour which we neither expected nordesired, I remonstrated strongly against it, and told them, that ontheir account it would not be proper, as the ship would probably be at agreat distance from where she was then, the next morning: Theypersisted, however, in their resolution, and as I found it impossible toget rid of them without turning them by force out of the ship, Icomplied: As a proper precaution, however, I proposed to take theirservants also on board, and hoist their canoe into the ship; they madeno objection, and this was accordingly done. The countenance of one ofthese chiefs was the most open and ingenuous of all I have ever seen, and I very soon gave up every suspicion of his having any sinisterdesign: They both examined every thing they saw with great curiosity andattention, and received very thankfully such little presents as we madethem; neither of them, however, could be persuaded either to eat ordrink, but their servants devoured every thing they could get with greatvoracity. We found that these men had heard of our kindness andliberality to the natives who had been on board before, yet we thoughtthe confidence they placed in us an extraordinary instance of theirfortitude. At night I brought-to till day-light, and then made sail; atseven in the morning, I brought-to again under Cape Table, and sent awayour guests with their canoe, who expressed some surprise at seeingthemselves so far from home, but landed a-breast of the ship. At thistime I saw other canoes putting off from the shore, but I stood away tothe northward without waiting for their coming up. 

About three, I passed a remarkable head-land, which I calledGable-End-Foreland, from the very great likeness of the white cliff atthe point to the gable-end of a house: It is not more remarkable for itsfigure, than for a rock which rises like a spire at a little distance. It lies from Cape Table N. 24 E. Distant about twelve leagues. The shorebetween them forms a bay, within which lies Poverty Bay, at the distanceof four leagues from the head-land, and eight from the Cape. At thisplace three canoes came off to us, and one man came on board; we gavehim some trifles, and he soon returned to his boat, which, with all therest, dropped a-stern. 

In the morning I made sail in shore, in order to look into two bays, which appeared about two leagues to the northward of the Foreland; thesouthernmost I could not fetch, but I anchored in the other about eleveno'clock. 

Into this bay we were invited by the people on board many canoes, whopointed to a place where they said there was plenty of fresh water: Idid not find so good a shelter from the sea as I expected, but thenatives who came about us appearing to be of a friendly disposition, Iwas determined to try whether I could not get some knowledge of thecountry here before I proceeded farther to the northward. 

In one of the canoes that came about us as soon as we anchored, we sawtwo men, who by their habits appeared to be chiefs: One of them wasdressed in a jacket, which was ornamented after their manner, with dog'sskin; the jacket of the other was almost covered with small tufts of redfeathers. These men I invited on board, and they entered the ship withvery little hesitation: I gave each of them about four yards of linen, and a spike nail; with the linen they were much pleased, but seemed toset no value upon the nail. We perceived that they knew what hadhappened in Poverty Bay, and we had therefore no reason to doubt butthey would behave peaceably; however, for further security, Tupia wasordered to tell them for what purpose we came thither, and to assurethem that we would offer them no injury, if they offered none to us. Inthe mean time those who remained in the canoes traded with our peoplevery fairly for what they happened to have with them: The chiefs, whowere old men, staid with us till we had dined, and about two o'clock Iput off with the boats, manned and armed, in order to go on shore insearch of water, and the two chiefs went into the boat with me. Theafternoon was tempestuous, with much rain, and the surf every where ranso high, that although we rowed almost round the bay, we found no placewhere we could land: I determined therefore to return to the ship, whichbeing intimated to the chiefs, they called to the people on shore, andordered a canoe to be sent off for themselves; this was accordinglydone, and they left us, promising to come on board again in the morning, and bring us some fish and sweet-potatoes. 

In the evening, the weather having become fair and moderate, the boatswere again ordered out, and I landed, accompanied by Mr Banks and DrSolander. We were received with great expressions of friendship by thenatives, who behaved with a scrupulous attention not to give offence. Inparticular, they took care not to appear in great bodies: One family, orthe inhabitants of two or three houses only, were generally placedtogether, to the number of fifteen or twenty, consisting of men, women, and children. These little companies sat upon the ground, not advancingtowards us, but inviting us to them, by a kind of beckon, moving onehand towards the breast. We made them several little presents; and inour walk round the bay found two small streams of fresh water. Thisconvenience, and the friendly behaviour of the people, determined me tostay at least a day, that I might fill some of my empty casks, and giveMr Banks an opportunity of examining the natural produce of the country. 

In the morning of the 21st, I sent Lieutenant Gore on shore, tosuperintend the watering, with a strong party of men; and they were soonfollowed by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, with Tupia, Tayeto, and fourothers. 

The natives sat by our people, and seemed pleased to observe them; butdid not intermix with them: They traded, however, chiefly for cloth, andafter a short time applied to their ordinary occupations, as if nostranger had been among them. In the forenoon, several of their boatswent out a-fishing, and at dinner time every one repaired to hisrespective dwelling; from which, after a certain time, he returned. These fair appearances encouraged Mr Banks and Dr Solander to range thebay with very little precaution, where they found many plants, and shotsome birds of exquisite beauty. In their walk, they visited severalhouses of the natives, and saw something of their manner of life; forthey showed, without any reserve, every thing which the gentlemendesired to see. They were sometimes found at their meals, which theapproach of the strangers never interrupted. Their food at this seasonconsisted of fish, with which, instead of bread, they eat the root of akind of fern, very like that which grows upon our commons in England. These roots they scorch over the fire, and then beat with a stick, tillthe bark and dry outside fall off; what remains is a soft substance, somewhat clammy and sweet, not unpleasing to the taste, but mixed withthree or four times its quantity of strings and fibres, which are verydisagreeable; these were swallowed by some, but spit out by the fargreater number, who had baskets under them to receive the rejected partof what had been chewed, which had an appearance very like that oftobacco in the same state. In other seasons they have certainly plentyof excellent vegetables; but no tame animals were seen among them exceptdogs, which were very small and ugly. Mr Banks saw some of theirplantations, where the ground was as well broken down and tilled as evenin the gardens of the most curious people among us: In these spots weresweet potatoes, coccos or eddas, which are well known and much esteemedboth in the East and West Indies, and some gourds: The sweet potatoeswere planted in small hills, some ranged in rows, and others inquincunx, all laid by a line with the greatest regularity: The coccoswere planted upon flat land, but none of them yet appeared above ground;and the gourds were set in small hollows, or dishes, much as in England. These plantations were of different extent, from one or two acres toten: Taken together, there appeared to be from 150 to 200 acres incultivation in the whole bay, though we never saw an hundred people. Each district was fenced in, generally with reeds, which were placed soclose together that there was scarcely room for a mouse to creepbetween. 

The women were plain, and made themselves more so by painting theirfaces with red ochre and oil, which being generally fresh and wet upontheir cheeks and foreheads, was easily transferred to the noses of thosewho thought fit to salute them; and that they were not wholly averse tosuch familiarity, the noses of several of our people strongly testified:They were, however, as great coquets as any of the most fashionableladies in Europe, and the young ones as skittish as an unbroken filly:Each of them wore a petticoat, under which there was a girdle, made ofthe blades of grass highly perfumed, and to the girdle was fastened asmall bunch of the leaves of some fragrant plant, which served theirmodesty as its innermost veil. [55] The faces of the men were not sogenerally painted, yet we saw one whose whole body, and even hisgarments, were rubbed over with dry ochre, of which he kept a piececonstantly in his hand, and was every minute renewing the decoration inone part or another, where he supposed it was become deficient. [56] Inpersonal delicacy they were not equal to our friends at Otaheite, forthe coldness of the climate did not invite them so often to bathe; butwe saw among them one instance of cleanliness in which they exceededthem, and of which perhaps there is no example in any other Indiannation. Every house, or every little cluster of three or four houses, was furnished with a privy, so that the ground was every where clean. The offals of their food, and other litter, were also piled up inregular dunghills, which probably they made use of at a proper time formanure. 

[Footnote 55: It is elsewhere said of these women, that, contrary to thecustom of the sex in general, they affected dress rather less than themen. As to their modesty, let one fact related in the same place, beallowed its legal influence. --Their innermost veil, as our author willhave it, was always bound fast round them, except when they went intothe water to catch lobsters, and then great care was taken that theyshould not be seen by the other sex. "Some of us happening one day toland upon a small island in Tolaga Bay, we surprised several of them atthis employment; and the chaste Diana, with her nymphs, could not havediscovered more confusion and distress at the sight of Actæon, thanthese women expressed on our approach. Some of them hid themselves amongthe rocks, and the rest crouched down in the sea till they had madethemselves a girdle and apron of such weeds as they could find, and whenthey came out, even with this veil, we could perceive that their modestysuffered much pain by our presence!" One fact of this kind speaksvolumes. The reader may glance over them at his leisure. --E. ]

[Footnote 56: It is elsewhere remarked, that the bodies of both sexesare marked with the black stains called Amoco, like the tattowing of theOtaheitans, but that the women are not so lavish in the decoration asthe men, and that whereas at Otaheite the breech is the choice spot forthe display of their beautifying ingenuity, in New Zealand, on thecontrary, it is almost entirely neglected as unworthy of embellishment. So much for the capricious partiality of dame Fashion. --E. ]

In this decent article of civil oeconomy they were beforehand with oneof the most considerable nations of Europe, for I am credibly informed, that, till the year 1760, there was no such thing as a privy in Madrid, the metropolis of Spain, though it is plentifully supplied with water. Before that time it was the universal practice to throw the ordure outof the windows, during the night, into the street, where numbers of menwere employed to remove it, with shovels, from the upper parts of thecity to the lower, where it lay till it was dry, and was then carriedaway in carts, and deposited without the gates. His catholic majesty, having determined to free his capital from so gross a nuisance, ordered, by proclamation, that the proprietor of every house should build aprivy, and that sinks, drains, and common-sewers should he made at thepublic expence. The Spaniards, though long accustomed to an arbitrarygovernment; resented this proclamation with great spirit, as aninfringement of the common rights of mankind, and made a vigorousstruggle against its being carried into execution. Every class devisedsome objection against it, but the physicians bade the fairest tointerest the king in the preservation of the ancient privileges of hispeople; for they remonstrated, that if the filth was not, as usual, thrown into the streets, a fatal sickness would probably ensue, becausethe putrescent particles of the air, which such filth attracted, wouldthen be imbibed by the human body. But this expedient, with every otherthat could be thought of, proved unsuccessful, and the populardiscontent then ran so high that it was very near producing aninsurrection; his majesty, however, at length prevailed, and Madrid isnow as clear as most of the considerable cities in Europe. But many ofthe citizens, probably upon the principles advanced by their physicians, that heaps of filth prevent deleterious particles of air from fixingupon neighbouring substances, have, to keep their food wholesome, constructed their privies by the kitchen fire. [57]

[Footnote 57: It is a little singular, that Dr Hawkesworth did notadduce a similar instance of negligence, in a certain Northern Capital. The English, not much averse, at the time of the publication, todepreciate and despise their neighbours, would certainly have relishedit vastly--for, as Swift somewhere wittily observes, your men of nicetaste have very filthy ideas. That the city alluded to has improvedmuch, within the last half century, is but to lump it with almost allthe other cities and towns in Britain, of which the same thing may bepredicated. Still, however, it is chargeable with glaring sins of bothomission and commission; and it is certain, that the vigilance of itspolice has hitherto been insufficient to vindicate its cleanliness. Onemight incline to think, that the prejudice in favour of bad smells hadnot quite abandoned the inhabitants, who could allow for months, andthat even in the consummating fervour of the summer sun, and in opendespite of his face too, of putrifying dunghills within the precincts oftheir city. It is a certain fact that such a receptacle of filth, of thelargest size, is established in all its amplitude of abomination on thewest side of it, and often emits its pestilential spirit on the wholetrack of one of its _principal_ streets. Such things ought not to be, and would not, if people used their heads as well as their noses. --E. ]

In the evening, all our boats being employed in carrying the water, onboard, and Mr Banks and his company finding it probable that they shouldbe left on shore after it was dark, by which much time would be lost, which they were impatient to employ in putting the plants they hadgathered in order, they applied to the Indians for a passage in one oftheir canoes: They immediately consented, and a canoe was launched fortheir use. They went all on board, being eight in number, but not beingused to a vessel that required so even a balance, they unfortunatelyoverset her in the surf: No life however was lost, but it was thoughtadvisable that half of them should wait for another turn. Mr Banks, DrSolander, Tupia, and Tayeto embarked again, and without any fartheraccident arrived safely at the ship, well pleased with the good natureof their Indian friends, who cheerfully undertook to carry them a secondtime, after having experienced how unfit a freight they were for such avessel. 

While these gentlemen were on shore, several of the natives went off tothe ship, and trafficked, by exchanging their cloth for that ofOtaheite: Of this barter they were for some time very fond, preferringthe Indian cloth to that of Europe: But before night it decreased in itsvalue five hundred per cent. Many of these Indians I took on board, andshewed them the ship and her apparatus, at which they expressed equalsatisfaction and astonishment. 

As I found it exceedingly difficult to get water on board on account ofthe surf, I determined to stay no longer at this place; on the nextmorning, therefore, about five o'clock, I weighed anchor and put to sea. 

This bay, which is called by the natives _Tegadoo_, lies in the latitudeof 38° 10' S. ; but as it has nothing to recommend it, a description ofit is unnecessary. 

From this bay I intended to stand on to the northward, but the windbeing right against me, I could make no way. While I was beating aboutto windward, some of the natives came on board, and told me, that in abay which lay a little to the southward, being the same that I could notfetch the day I put into Tegadoo, there was excellent water, where theboats might land without a surf. I thought it better therefore to putinto this bay, where I might complete my water, and form fartherconnections with the Indians, than to keep the sea. With this view Ibore up for it, and sent in two boats, manned and armed, to examine thewatering place, who, confirming the report of the Indians at theirreturn, I came to an anchor about one o'clock, in eleven fathom water, with a fine sandy bottom, the north point of the bay N. By E. And thesouth point S. E. The watering-place, which was in a small cove a littlewithin the south point of the bay, bore S. By E. Distant about a mile, many canoes came immediately off from the shore, and all traded veryhonestly for Otaheite cloth and glass bottles, of which they wereimmoderately fond. 

In the afternoon of the 23d, as soon as the ship was moored, I went onshore to examine the watering-place, accompanied by Mr Banks and DrSolander: The boat landed in the cove, without the least surf; the waterwas excellent, and conveniently situated; there was plenty of wood closeto high-water mark, and the disposition of the people was in everyrespect such as we could wish. 

Having, with Mr Green, taken several observations of the sun and moon, the mean result of them gave 180° 47' W. Longitude; but, as all theobservations made before exceeded these, I have laid down the coast fromthe mean of the whole. At noon, I took the sun's meridian altitude withan astronomical quadrant, which was set up at the watering-place, andfound the latitude to be 38° 22' 24". 

On the 24th, early in the morning, I sent Lieutenant Gore on shore, tosuperintend the cutting of wood and filling of water, with a sufficientnumber of men for both purposes, and all the marines as a guard. Afterbreakfast, I went on shore myself, and continued there the whole day. 

Mr Banks and Dr Solander also went on shore to gather plants, and intheir walks saw several things worthy of notice. They met with manyhouses in the vallies that seemed to be wholly deserted, the peopleliving on the ridges of the hills in a kind of sheds very slightlybuilt. As they were advancing in one of these vallies, the hills on eachside of which were very steep, they were suddenly struck with the sightof a very extraordinary natural curiosity. It was a rock, perforatedthrough its whole substance, so as to form a rude but stupendous arch orcavern, opening directly to the sea; this aperture was seventy-five feetlong, twenty-seven broad, and five-and-forty high, commanding a view ofthe bay and the hills on the other side, which were seen through it, and, opening at once upon the view, produced an effect far superior toany of the contrivances of art. 

As they were returning to the watering-place in the evening, they met anold man, who detained them some time by shewing them the militaryexercises of the country with the lance and Patoo-Patoo, which are allthe weapons in use. The lance is from ten to fourteen feet long, made ofa very hard wood, and sharp at both ends: The Patoo-Patoo has beendescribed already, it is about a foot long, made of talc or bone, withsharp edges, and used as a battle-axe. A post or stake was set up as hisenemy, to which he advanced with a must furious aspect, brandishing hislance, which he grasped with great firmness; when it was supposed tohave been pierced by his lance, he ran at it with his Patoo-Patoo, andfalling upon the upper end of it, which was to represent his adversary'shead, he laid on with great vehemence, striking many blows, any one ofwhich would probably have split the skull of an ox. From our champion'sfalling upon his mock enemy with the Patoo-Patoo, after he was supposedto have been pierced with the lance, our gentlemen inferred, that in thebattles of this country there is no quarter. 

This afternoon, we set up the armourer's forge, to repair the braces ofthe tiller which had been broken, and went on getting our wood andwater, without suffering the least molestation from the natives; whocame down with different sorts of fish, which we purchased with cloth, beads, and glass bottles, as usual. 

On the 25th, Mr Banks and Dr Solander went again on shore; and whilethey were searching for plants, Tupia staid with the waterers: Amongother Indians who came down to them was a priest, with whom Tupiaentered into a very learned conversation. In their notions of religionthey seemed to agree very well, which is not often the case betweenlearned divines on our side of the ocean: Tupia, however, seemed to havethe most knowledge, and he was listened to with great deference andattention by the other. In the course of this conversation, after theimportant points of divinity had been settled, Tupia enquired if it wastheir practice to eat men, to which they answered in the affirmative;but said that they eat only their enemies who were slain in battle. [58]

[Footnote 58: There is some reason, however, to believe that they makebattle in order that they may have enemies to eat. It is something likethe plea of the slave-dealers. They took those only who had been madeprisoners in war, and who would be butchered if not thus disposed of. But who occasioned the wars which brought these miserable beings intothe hands of their enemies? There's the rub. --E. ]

On the 26th, it rained all day, so that none of us could go ashore; andvery few of the Indians came either to the watering-place or the ship. 

On the 27th, I went with Dr Solander to examine the bottom of the bay;but though we went ashore at two places, we met with little worthnotice. The people behaved very civilly, shewing us every thing that weexpressed a desire to see. Among other trifling curiosities which DrSolander purchased of them, was a boy's top, shaped exactly like thosewhich children play with in England; and they made signs, that to makeit spin it was to be whipped. Mr Banks in the mean time went ashore atthe watering-place, and climbed a hill which stood at a little distanceto see a fence of poles, which we had observed from the ship, and whichhad been much the subject of speculation. The hill was extremely steep, and rendered almost inaccessible by wood; yet he reached the place, nearwhich he found many houses that for some reason had been deserted bytheir inhabitants. The poles appeared to be about sixteen feet high;they were placed in two rows, with a space of about six feet betweenthem, and the poles in each row were about ten feet distant from eachother. The lane between them was covered by sticks, that were set upsloping towards each other from the top of the poles on each side, likethe roof of a house. This rail-work, with a ditch that was parallel toit, was carried about a hundred yards down the hill in a kind of curve;but for what purpose we could not guess. 

The Indians, at the watering-place, at our request, entertained us withtheir war-song, in which the women joined, with the most horriddistortions of countenance, rolling their eyes, thrusting out theirtongues, and often heaving loud and deep sighs; though all was done invery good time. 

On the 28th, we went ashore upon an island that lies to the left hand ofthe entrance of the bay, where we saw the largest canoe that we had yetmet with: She was sixty-eight feet and a half long, five broad, andthree feet six high; she had a sharp bottom, consisting of three trunksof trees hollowed, of which that in the middle was the longest: Theside-planks were sixty-two feet long in one piece, and were notdespicably carved in bas relief; the head also was adorned with carvingstill more richly. Upon this island there was a larger house than any wehad yet seen; but it seemed unfinished and was full of chips. The woodwork was squared so even and smooth, that we made no doubt of theirhaving among them very sharp tools. The sides of the posts were carvedin a masterly style, though after their whimsical taste, which seems toprefer spiral lines and distorted faces: As these carved posts appearedto have been brought from some other place, such work is probably ofgreat value among them. 

At four o'clock in the morning of the 29th, having got on board our woodand water, and a large supply of excellent celery, with which thecountry abounds, and which proved a powerful antiscorbutic, I unmooredand put to sea. 

This bay is called by the natives Tolaga; it is moderately large, andhas from seven to thirteen fathom, with a clean sandy bottom and goodanchorage; and is sheltered from all winds except the north-east. Itlies in latitude 38° 22' S. And four leagues and a half to the north ofGable-end Foreland. On the south point lies a small but high island, sonear the main as not to be distinguished from it. Close to the north endof the island, at the entrance into the bay, are two high rocks; one isround like a corn-stack, but the other is long, and perforated inseveral places, so that the openings appear like the arches of a bridge. Within these rocks is the cove where we cut wood, and filled ourwater-casks. Off the north point of the bay is a pretty high rockyisland; and about a mile without it, are some rocks and breakers. Thevariation of the compass here is 14° 31' E. , and the tide flows at thefull and change of the moon, about six o'clock, and rises and fallsperpendicularly from five to six feet: Whether the flood comes from thesouthward or the northward I have not been able to determine. 

We got nothing here by traffic but a few fish, and some sweet potatoes, except a few trifles, which we considered merely as curiosities. We sawno four-footed animals, not the appearance of any, either tame or wild, except dogs and rats, and these were very scarce: The people eat thedogs, like our friends at Otaheite; and adorn their garments with theskins, as we do ours with fur and ermine. I climbed many of the hills, hoping to get a view of the country, but I could see nothing from thetop except higher hills, in a boundless succession. The ridges of thesehills produce little besides fern; but the sides are most luxuriantlyclothed with wood, and verdure of various kinds, with little plantationsintermixed. In the woods, we found trees of above twenty differentsorts, and carried specimens of each on board; but there was nobodyamong us to whom they were not altogether unknown. The tree which we cutfor firing was somewhat like our maple, and yielded a whitish gum. Wefound another sort of it of a deep yellow, which we thought might beuseful in dying. We found also one cabbage tree, which we cut down forthe cabbages. The country abounds with plants, and the woods with birds, in an endless variety, exquisitely beautiful, and of which none of ushad the least knowledge. The soil, both of the hills and vallies, islight and sandy, and very fit for the production of all kinds of roots;though we saw none except sweet potatoes and yams. 

SECTION XXIII. 

_The Range from Tolaga to Mercury Bay, with an Account of many Incidentsthat happened both on board and ashore: A Description of several Viewsexhibited by the Country, and of the Heppahs, or fortified Villages ofthe Inhabitants_. 

On Monday the 30th, about half an hour after one o'clock, having madesail again to the northward for about ten hours, with a light breeze, Ihauled round a small island which lay east one mile from the north-eastpoint of the land: From this place I found the land trend away N. W. ByW. And W. N. W. As far as I could see, this point being the eastermostland on the whole coast. I gave it the name of East Cape, and I calledthe island that lies off it East Island; it is of a small circuit, highand round, and appears white and barren: The Cape is high, with whitecliffs, and lies in latitude 37° 42' 30" S. And longitude 181° W. Theland from Tolaga Bay to East Cape is of a moderate, but unequal height, forming several small bays, in which are sandy beaches: Of the inlandcountry we could not see much, the weather being cloudy and hazy. Thesoundings were from twenty to thirty fathom at the distance of about aleague from the shore. After we had rounded the Cape, we saw in our runalong the shore a great number of villages, and much cultivated land;the country in general appeared more fertile than before, and was lownear the sea, but hilly within. At six in the evening, being fourleagues to the westward of East Cape, we passed a bay which was firstdiscovered by Lieutenant Hicks, and which therefore I called Hicks'sBay. At eight in the evening, being eight leagues to the westward of theCape, and three or four miles from the shore, I shortened sail, andbrought-to for the night, having at this time a fresh gale at S. S. E. Andsqually; but it soon became moderate, and at two in the morning, we madesail again to the S. W. As the land now trended; and at eight o'clock inthe morning, saw land, which made like an island, bearing west, thesouth-westermost part of the main bearing south-west; and about nine noless than five canoes came off, in which were more than forty men, allarmed with their country pikes and battle-axes, shouting and threateningan attack; this gave us great uneasiness, and was indeed what we did notexpect; for we hoped, that the report both of our power and clemency hadspread to a greater extent. When one of these canoes had almost reachedthe ship, another, of an immense size, the largest that we had yet seen, crowded with people, who were also armed, put off from the shore, andcame up at a great rate; as it approached it received signals from thecanoe that was nearest to the ship, and we could see that it had sixteenpaddles on a side, beside people that sat, and others that stood in arow from stem to stern, being in all about sixty men: As they madedirectly to the ship, we were desirous of preventing an attack, byshowing what we could do; and therefore fired a gun, loaded withgrape-shot, a-head of them: This made them stop, but not retreat; around shot was then fired over them, and upon seeing it fall, theyseized their paddles and made towards the shore with such precipitation, that they seemed scarcely to allow themselves time to breathe. In theevening, three or four more canoes came off unarmed; but they would notventure within a musket-shot of the vessel. The Cape, off which we hadbeen threatened with hostilities, I called, from the hasty retreat ofthe enemy, Cape Runaway. It lies in latitude 37° 32'; longitude 181°48'. In this day's run, we found that the land, which made like anisland in the morning, bearing west, was so; and we gave it the name ofWhite Island. 

At day-break on the 1st of November, we counted no less thanfive-and-forty canoes that were coming from the shore towards the ship:Seven of them came up with us, and after some conversation with Tupia, sold us some lobsters and muscles, and two conger eels. These peopletraded pretty fairly: When they were gone, some others came off fromanother place, who began also to trade fairly; but after some time theylook what was handed down to them, without making any return; one ofthem who had done so, upon being threatened, began to laugh, and withmany marks of derision set us at defiance, at the same time putting offthe canoe from the ship: A musket was then fired over his head, whichbrought him back in a more serious mood, and trade went on with greatregularity. At length, when the cabin and gun-room had got as much asthey wanted, the men were allowed to come to the gangway, and trade forthemselves. Unhappily the same care was not taken to prevent frauds ashad been taken before, so that the Indians, finding that they couldcheat with impunity, grew insolent again, and proceeded to take greaterliberties. One of the canoes, having sold every thing on board, pulledforward, and the people that were in her seeing some linen hang over theship's side to dry, one of them, without any ceremony, untied it, andput it up in his bundle: He was immediately called to, and required toreturn it; instead of which, he let his canoe drop astern, and laughedat us: A musket was fired over his head, which, did not put a stop tohis mirth; another was then fired at him with small shot, which struckhim upon the back; he, shrunk a little when the shot hit him, but didnot regard it more than one of our men would have done the stroke of arattan: He continued with great composure to pack up the linen that hehad stolen. All the canoes now dropped astern about a hundred yards, andall set up their song of defiance, which they continued till the shipwas distant from them about four hundred yards. As they seemed to haveno design to attack us, I was not willing to do them any hurt; yet Ithought their going off in a bravado might have a bad effect when itshould be reported ashore. To show them therefore that they were stillin our power, though very much beyond the reach of any missile weaponwith which they were acquainted, I gave the ship a yaw, and fired afour-pounder so as to pass near them. The shot happened to strike thewater, and rise several times at a great distance beyond the canoes;This struck them with terror, and they paddled away without once lookingbehind them. 

About two in the afternoon, we saw a pretty high island bearing westfrom us; and at five, saw more islands and rocks to the westward ofthat. We hauled our wind in order to go without them, but could notweather them before it was dark. I therefore bore up, and ran betweenthem and the main. At seven, I was close under the first, from which alarge double canoe, or rather two canoes lashed together at the distanceof about a foot, and covered with boards so as to make a deck, put off, and made sail for the ship: This was the first vessel of the kind thatwe had seen since we left the South Sea islands. When she came near, thepeople on board entered very freely into conversation with Tupia, and, we thought, showed a friendly disposition; but when it was just dark, they ran their canoe close to the ship's side, and threw in a volley ofstones, after which they paddled ashore. 

We learnt from Tupia, that the people in the canoe called the islandwhich we were under Mowtohora; it is but of a small circuit, thoughhigh, and lies six miles from the main; on the south side is anchoragein fourteen fathom water. Upon the main land, S. W. By W. Of this island, and apparently at no great distance from the sea, is a high roundmountain, which I called Mount Edgecumbe: it stands in the middle of alarge plain, and is therefore the more conspicuous; latitude 37° 59', longitude 183° 7'. 

In standing westward, we suddenly shoaled our water from seventeen toten fathom; and knowing that we were not far from the small islands androcks which we had seen before dark, and which I intended to have passedbefore I brought-to for the night, I thought it more prudent to tack, and spend the night under Mowtohora, where I knew there was no danger. It was indeed happy for us that we did so; for in the morning, after wehad made sail to the westward, we discovered a-head of us several rocks, some of which were level with the surface of the water, and some belowit: They lay N. N. E. From Mount Edgecumbe, one league and a half distantfrom the island Mowtohora, and about nine miles from the main. We passedbetween these rocks and the main, having from ten to seven fathomwater. 

This morning, many canoes and much people were seen along the shore;several of the canoes followed us, but none of them could reach us, except one with a sail, which proved to be the same that had pelted usthe night before. The people on board again entered into conversationwith Tupia; but we expected another volley of their ammunition, whichwas not indeed dangerous to any thing but the cabin windows. Theycontinued abreast of the ship about an hour, and behaved very peaceably;but at last the salute which we expected was given; we returned it byfiring a musquet over them, and they immediately dropped astern and leftus, perhaps rather satisfied with having given a test of their courageby twice insulting a vessel so much superior to their own, thanintimidated by the shot. 

At half an hour after ten, we passed between a low flat island and themain: The distance from one to the other was about four miles, and thedepth of water from ten to twelve fathom. The main land between thisflat island and Mowtohora is of a moderate height, but level, prettyclear of wood, and full of plantations and villages. The villages, whichwere larger than any we had yet seen, were built upon eminences near thesea, and fortified on the land side by a bank and ditch, with a highpaling within it, which was carried all round: Beside a bank, ditch, andpallisadoes, some of them appeared to have out-works. Tupia had a notionthat the small inclosures of pallisadoes, and a ditch that we had seenbefore, were Morais, or places of worship; but we were of opinion thatthey were forts, and concluded that these people had neighbouringenemies, and were always exposed to hostile attacks. [59]

[Footnote 59: The latter opinion was the more correct, as might bereadily shewn; but it is not purposed to treat of the subject till wecome to the account of the 3d voyage. --E. ]

At two o'clock we passed a small high island, lying four miles from ahigh round head upon the main. From this head the land trends N. W. Asfar as can be seen, and has a rugged and hilly appearance. As theweather was hazy, and the wind blew fresh on the shore, we hauled offfor the weathermost island in sight, which bore from us N. N. E. Distantabout six or seven leagues. 

Under this island, which I have called the _Mayor_, we spent the night. At seven in the morning it bore S. 47 E. Distant six leagues, and acluster of small islands and rocks bore N. 1/2 E. Distant one league, towhich I gave the name of the _Court of Aldermen_. They lie in thecompass of about half a league every way, and five leagues from themain, between which and them lie other islands, most of them barrenrocks, of which there is great variety: Some of them are as small incompass as the Monument of London, but rise to a much greater height, and some of them are inhabited. They lie in latitude 36° 57', and atnoon bore S. 60 E. Distant three or four leagues; and a rock like acastle, lying not far from the main, bore N. 40 W. At the distance ofone league. The country that we passed the night before, appeared to bewell inhabited, many towns were in sight, and some hundreds of largecanoes lay under them upon the beach; but this day, after having sailedabout fifteen leagues, it appeared to be barren and desolate. As far aswe had yet coasted this country from Cape Turnagain, the peopleacknowledged one Chief, whom they called Teratu, and to whose residencethey pointed, in a direction that we thought to be very far inland, butafterwards found to be otherwise. 

About one o'clock three canoes came off to us from the main, withone-and-twenty men on board. The construction of these vessels appearedto be more simple than that of any we had seen, they being nothing morethan trunks of a single tree hollowed by fire, without any convenienceor ornament. The people on board were almost naked, and appeared to beof a browner complexion; yet naked and despicable as they were, theysung their song of defiance, and seemed to denounce against usinevitable destruction: They remained, however, some time out of stonesthrow, and then venturing nearer, with less appearance of hostility, oneof our men went to the ship side, and was about to hand them a rope;this courtesy, however, they thought fit to return by throwing a lanceat him, which having missed him, they immediately threw another into theship: Upon this a musquet was fired over them, which at once sent themaway. [60]

[Footnote 60: We are elsewhere told, that "When they were at too great adistance to reach us with a lance, or a stone, they presumed that we hadno weapon with which we could reach them; here then the defiance wasgiven, and the words were almost universally the same, _Haromai, haromai, harre uta a Patoo-Patoo oge_: Come to us, come on shore, andwe will kill you all with our Patoo-Patoos. " The language of defianceand bravado we see is pretty much the same throughout the world. CertainEuropeans, however, excel vastly in the ingenuity and brilliancy withwhich they puff it off with oaths and curses; in this most courageousinvention, they as much surpass the mere savages as they do ininstruments of death. Indeed this co-superiority is in excellentharmony. Our great poet Milton makes no scruple, of course, to ascribeboth offensive means to the inhabitants of the fiery gulph. See the 6thbook of his immortal work for the origin of one, and the whole of thebook, where the arch enemy makes speeches, for specimens of the other. Milton's devils, however, very commonly preserve a dignified decorum intheir wrath--an indication, by the bye, of his judicious care tomaintain consistency in his characters. --E. ]

About two, we saw a large opening, or inlet, for which we bore up; wehad now forty-one fathom water, which gradually decreased to nine, atwhich time we were one mile and a half distant from a high towered rockwhich lay near the south point of the inlet: This rock and thenorthermost of the Court of Aldermen being in one, bearing S. 61 E. 

About seven in the evening we anchored in seven fathom, a little withinthe south entrance of the bay: To this place we were accompanied byseveral canoes and people like those we had seen last, and for some timethey behaved very civilly. While they were hovering about us, a bird wasshot from the ship, as it was swimming upon the water: At this theyshewed less surprise than we expected, and taking up the bird, they tiedit to a fishing line that was towing a-stern; as an acknowledgment forthis favour we gave them a piece of cloth: But notwithstanding thiseffect of our fire-arms, and this interchange of civilities, as soon asit grew dark, they sung their war song, and attempted to tow away thebuoy of the anchor. Two or three musquets were then fired over them, butthis seemed rather to make them angry than afraid, and they went away, threatening that to-morrow they would return with more force, and be thedeath of us all; at the same time sending off a boat, which they told uswas going to another part of the bay for assistance. 

There was some appearance of generosity, as well as courage, inacquainting us with the time when they intended to make their attack;but they forfeited all credit which this procured them, by comingsecretly upon us in the night, when they certainly hoped to find usasleep: Upon approaching the ship they found themselves mistaken, andtherefore retired without speaking a word, supposing that they were tooearly; after some time they came a second time, and being againdisappointed, they retired as silently as before. [61]

[Footnote 61: It may not be difficult, perhaps, to explain the conductof these people in the case now stated, on principles pretty wellascertained by observation on different classes of mankind. Theseislanders have advanced a certain step towards civilization; this isindicated by the regularity of their conduct, as pointed to someparticular object of general interest; by their being influenced toemulate one another in the operations of either real or fictitiouswarfare, which of course implies free and extensive social intercourse;and by the cultivation of land, and the useful though not numerousdomestic arts of cookery, and the making of nets and cloth, &c. --not tomention their music and dancing. In consequence of this progress, theyare excited by the love of property to the display of courage asnecessary for its preservation, and, it seems, often required againstrival or more needy tribes. But their advancement has not been so greatas to destroy or counteract the treacherousness of disposition so commonto savages, whose minds are too intent on objects of desire orresentment to allow place for reflection on the propriety or improprietyof the means of attaining them, and whose whole morality, in short, consists of appetites and indulgence. Hence, on the one hand, amagnanimity which avows and boasts of its enmity, and on the other, acunning which seeks to gratify that feeling by artifices calculated toput those who are the objects of it, off their guard against itsviolence. They would be generous in their hate as well as in their love;but the evil propensities of their lower life, check the virtues of thehigher. Thus they lose the merit of their valour by the meanness oftheir deceit. Their inconsistency renders them more formidable thaneither. --E. ]

In the morning, at day-break, they prepared to effect by force what theyhad in vain attempted by stealth and artifice: No less than twelvecanoes came against us, with about a hundred and fifty men, all armedwith pikes, lances, and stones. As they could do nothing till they camevery near the ship, Tupia was ordered to expostulate with them, and, ifpossible, divert them from their purpose: During the conversation theyappeared to be sometimes friendly and sometimes otherwise; at length, however, they began to trade, and we offered to purchase their weapons, which some of them consented to sell: They sold two very fairly, buthaving received what had been agreed upon for the purchase of a third, they refused to send it up, but offered it for a second price; a secondwas sent down, but the weapon was still detained, and a demand made of athird; this being refused with some expressions of displeasure andresentment, the offender, with many ludicrous tokens of contempt anddefiance, paddled his canoe off a few yards from the ship. As I intendedto continue in this place five or six days, in order to make anobservation of the transit of Mercury, it was absolutely necessary, inorder to prevent future mischief, to shew these people that we were notto be treated ill with impunity; some small shot were therefore fired atthe thief, and a musquet-ball through the bottom of his boat: Upon thisit was paddled to about a hundred yards distance, and to our greatsurprise the people in the other canoes took not the least notice oftheir wounded companion, though he bled very much, but returned to theship, and continued to trade with the most perfect indifference andunconcern. They sold us many more of their weapons without making anyother attempt to defraud us, for a considerable time; at last, however, one of them thought fit to paddle away with two different pieces ofcloth which had been given for the same weapon: When he had got about anhundred yards distance, and thought himself secure of his prize, amusket was fired after him, which fortunately struck the boat just atthe water's edge, and made two holes in her side; this only incited themto ply their paddles with greater activity, and the rest of the canoesalso made off with the utmost expedition. As the last proof of oursuperiority, therefore, we fired a round shot over them, and not a boatstopped till they got on shore. 

About ten o'clock, I went with two boats to sound the bay, and look outfor a more convenient anchoring-place, the master being in one boat andmyself in the other. We pulled first over to the north shore, from whichsome canoes came out to meet us; as we advanced, however, they retired, inviting us to follow them: But, seeing them all armed, I did not thinkit proper to comply, but went towards the head of the bay, where Iobserved a village upon a very high point, fortified in the manner thathas been already described, and having fixed upon an anchoring place notfar from where the ship lay, I returned on board. 

At three o'clock in the afternoon, I weighed, run in nearer to theshore, and anchored in four fathom and a half water, with a soft sandybottom, the south point of the bay bearing E. Distant one mile, and ariver which the boats can enter at low water S. S. E. Distant a mile and ahalf. 

In the morning, the natives came off again to the ship, and we had thesatisfaction to observe that their behaviour was very different fromwhat it had been yesterday: Among them was an old man, whom we hadbefore remarked for his prudence and honesty: His name was _Toiava_, andhe seemed to be a person of a superior rank; in the transactions ofyesterday morning he had behaved with great propriety and good sense, lying in a small canoe, always near the ship, and treating those onboard as if he neither intended a fraud nor suspected an injury: Withsome persuasion this man and another came on board, and ventured intothe cabin, where I presented each of them with a piece of English clothand some spike nails. They told us that the Indians were now very muchafraid of us, and on our part we promised friendship if they wouldbehave peaceably, desiring only to purchase what they had to sell upontheir own terms. 

After the natives had left us, I went with the pinnace and long-boatinto the river with a design to haul the seine, and sent the master inthe yawl to sound the bay and dredge for fish. The Indians who were onone side of the river, expressed their friendship by all the signs theycould devise, beckoning us to land among them; but we chose to go ashoreon the other side, as the situation was more convenient for hauling theseine and shooting birds, of which we saw great numbers of variouskinds: The Indians, with much persuasion, about noon, ventured over tous. With the seine we had very little success, catching only a fewmullets, neither did we get any thing by the trawl or the dredge, excepta few shells; but we shot several birds, most of them resemblingsea-pies, except that they had black plumage, and red bills and feet. While we were absent with our guns, the people who staid by the boatssaw two of the Indians quarrel and fight: They began the battle withtheir lances, but some old men interposed and took them away, leavingthem to decide the difference, like Englishmen, with their fists: Theyboxed with great vigour and obstinacy for some time, but by degrees allretired behind a little hill, so that our people could not see the eventof the combat. 

In the morning the long-boat was sent again to trawll in the bay, and anofficer, with the marines, and a party of men, to cut wood and haul theseine. The Indians on shore appeared very peaceable and submissive, andwe had reason to believe that their habitations were at a considerabledistance, for we saw no houses, and found that they slept under thebushes: The bay is probably a place to which they frequently resort inparties to gather shell-fish, of which it affords incredible plenty, forwherever we went, whether upon the hills or in the vallies, the woods orthe plains, we saw vast heaps of shells, often many waggon loadstogether, some appearing to be very old, and others recent. We saw nocultivation in this place, which had a desolate and barren appearance:The tops of the hills were green, but nothing grew there except a largekind of fern, the roots of which the natives had got together in largequantities, in order to carry away with them. In the evening Mr Bankswalked up the river, which at the mouth looked fine and broad, but atthe distance of about two miles was not deep enough to cover the foot;and the country inland was still more barren than at the sea-side. Theseine and dredge were not more successful to-day than yesterday, but theIndians in some measure compensated for the disappointment by bringingus several baskets of fish, some dry, and some fresh dressed; it was notindeed of the best, but I ordered it all to be bought for theencouragement of trade. 

On the 7th, the weather was so bad that none of us left the ship, nordid any of the Indians come on board. 

On the 8th, I sent a party of men on shore to wood and water; and in themean time many canoes came off, in one of which was our friend Toiava;soon after he was alongside of the ship, he saw two canoes coming fromthe opposite side of the bay, upon which he hasted back again to theshore with all his canoes, telling us that he was afraid of the peoplewho were coming: This was a farther proof that the people of thiscountry were perpetually committing hostilities against each other. In ashort time, however, he returned, having discovered that the people whohad alarmed him were not the same that he had supposed. The natives thatcame to the ship this morning sold us, for a few pieces of cloth, asmuch fish of the mackrel kind as served the whole ship's company, andthey were as good as ever were eaten. At noon, this day, I observed thesun's meridional zenith distance by an astronomical quadrant, whichgave the latitude 36° 47' 43" within the south entrance of the bay. 

Mr Banks and Dr Solander went on shore and collected a great variety ofplants, altogether unknown, and not returning till the evening, had anopportunity of observing in what manner the Indians disposed themselvesto pass the night. They had no shelter but a few shrubs: The women andthe children were ranged innermost, or farthest from the sea; the menlay in a kind of half circle round them, and their arms were set upagainst the trees close by them, in a manner which showed that they wereafraid of an attack by some enemy not far distant. It was alsodiscovered that they acknowledged neither Teratu, nor any other person, as their king: As in this particular they differed from all the peoplethat we had seen upon other parts of the coast, we thought it possiblethat they might be a set of outlaws, in a state of rebellion againstTeratu, and in that case they might have no settled habitations, orcultivated land, in any part of the country. 

On the 9th, at day-break, a great number of canoes came on board, loadedwith mackerel of two sorts, one exactly the same with those caught inEngland, and the other somewhat different: We imagined the people hadtaken a large shoal, and brought us an overplus which they could notconsume; for they sold them at a very low rate. They were, however, verywelcome to us; at eight o'clock the ship had more fish on board than allher people could eat in three days; and before night, the quantity wasso much increased, that every man who could get salt, cured as many aswould last him a month. 

After an early breakfast, I went ashore, with Mr Green and properinstruments, to observe the transit of Mercury, Mr Banks and Dr Solanderbeing of the party; the weather had for some time been very thick, withmuch rain, but this day was so favourable that not a cloud intervenedduring the whole transit. The observation of the ingress was made by MrGreen alone, while I was employed in taking the sun's altitude, toascertain the time. It came on at 7h 20' 58" apparent time: According toMr Green's observation, the internal contact was at 12h 8' 58", theexternal at 12h 9' 55" p. M. And according to mine, the internal contactwas at 12h 8' 54", and the external 12h 9' 48"; the latitude of theplace of observation was 30° 48' 5-1/2". The latitude observed at noonwas 36° 48' 28". The mean of this and yesterday's observation gives 36°48' 5-1/2" S. The latitude of the place of observation; the variation ofthe compass was 11° 9' E. 

About noon we were alarmed by the firing of a great gun from the ship;Mr Gore, my second lieutenant, was at this time commanding officer onboard, and the account that he gave was this. While some small canoeswere trading with the people, two very large ones came up, full of men, one of them having on board forty-seven, all armed with pikes, darts, and stones, and apparently with a hostile intention: They appeared to bestrangers, and to be rather conscious of superiority over us by theirnumbers, than afraid of any weapons which could give us superiority overthem: No attack was however made; probably because they learnt from thepeople in the other canoes, with whom they immediately entered intoconference, what kind of an enemy they had to deal with: After a littletime, they began to trade, some of them offering their arms, and one ofthem a square piece of cloth, which makes a part of their dress, calleda _haahow;_ several of the weapons were purchased, and Mr Gore havingagreed for a haahow, sent down the price, which was a piece of Britishcloth, and expected his purchase: But the Indian, as soon as he had gotMr Gore's cloth in his possession, refused to part with his own, and putoff the canoe: Upon being threatened for this fraud, he and hiscompanions began to sing their war song in defiance, and shook theirpaddles: Still, however, they began no attack, only defying Mr Gore totake any remedy in his power, which so provoked him that he levelled amusket loaded with ball at the offender, while he was holding the clothin his hand, and shot him dead. It would have been happy if the effectof a few small shot had been tried upon this occasion, which upon someothers had been successful. 

When the Indian dropped, all the canoes put off to some distance; but asthey did not go away, it was thought they might still meditate anattack. To secure therefore a safe passage for the boat, which it wasnecessary to send on shore, a round shot was fired over their heads, which effectually answered the purpose, and put them all to flight. Whenan account of what had happened was brought on shore, our Indians werealarmed, and drawing all together, retreated in a body. After a shorttime, however, they returned, having heard a more particular account ofthe affair; and intimated that they thought the man who had been killeddeserved his fate. [62]

[Footnote 62: Savages in general, and more especially when inunfavourable circumstances as to the means of rendering lifecomfortable, shew little sympathy for each other; and accordingly, theprinciple of fortitude, which, as justly observed by Mr Millar, in oneof his chapters on the effects of commerce, &c. "is diminished by theexquisite fellow-feeling of those who live with us, " is their prevalentvirtue. Every man is too much occupied by his own wants and desires tohave any fine feeling to squander away on his neighbours; and thus everyman learns to bear his own burdens without any expectation of assistancefrom others, who are of course equally loaded with himself. But theseNew Zealanders, as we have seen, had so far advanced in the arts ofcivilization, as to have exhibited considerable social qualities. Thepresent instance of concern for their citizen, and of consideration ofthe justice of his fate, proves the truth of the remark. --E. ]

A little before sun-set the Indians retired to eat their supper, and wewent with them to be spectators of the repast; it consisted of fish ofdifferent kinds, among which were lobsters, and some birds, of a speciesunknown to us: These were either roasted or baked; to roast them, theyfastened them upon a small stick, which was stuck up in the ground, inclining towards their fire; and to bake them, they put them into ahole in the ground with hot stones, in the same manner as the people ofOtaheite. 

Among the natives that were assembled upon this occasion, we saw awoman, who, after their manner, was mourning for the death of herrelation: She sat upon the ground near the rest, who, one only excepted, seemed not at all to regard her: The tears constantly trickled down hercheeks, and she repeated in a low, but very mournful voice, words, whicheven Tupia did not at all understand: At the end of every sentence shecut her arms, her face, or her breast, with a shell that she held in herhand, so that she was almost covered with blood, and was indeed one ofthe most affecting spectacles that can be conceived. The cuts, however, did not appear to be so deep as are sometimes made upon similaroccasions, if we may judge by the scars which we saw upon the arms, thighs, breasts, and cheeks of many of them, which we were told were theremains of wounds which they had inflicted upon themselves astestimonies of their affection and sorrow. 

The next day I went with two boats, accompanied by Mr Banks and theother gentlemen, to examine a large river that empties itself into thehead of the bay. We rowed about four or five miles up, and could havegone much farther if the weather had been favourable. It was here widerthan at the mouth, and divided into many streams by small flat islands, which are covered with mangroves, and overflowed at high water. Fromthese trees exudes a viscous substance which very much resembles resin;we found it first in small lumps upon the sea beach, and now saw itsticking to the trees, by which we knew whence it came. We landed on theeast side of the river, where we saw a tree upon which several shags hadbuilt their nests, and here therefore we determined to dine; twenty ofthe shags were soon killed, and being broiled upon the spot, afforded usan excellent meal. We then went upon the hills, from whence I thought Isaw the head of the river. The shore on each side, as well as theislands in the middle, were covered with mangroves; and the sandbanksabounded in cockles and clams: In many places there were rock oysters, and everywhere plenty of wild fowl, principally shags, ducks, curlieus, and the sea-pie, that, has been described before. We also saw fish inthe river, but of what kind we could not discover: The country on theeast side of this river is for the most part barren and destitute ofwood; but on the west it has a better aspect, and in some places isadorned with trees, but has in no part the appearance of cultivation. Inthe entrance of the river, and for two or three miles up, there is goodanchoring in four and five fathom water, and places very convenient forlaying a vessel on shore, where the tide rises and falls seven feet atthe full and change of the moon. We could not determine whether anyconsiderable stream of fresh water came into this river out of thecountry; but we saw a number of small rivulets issue from the adjacenthills. Near the mouth of this river, on the east side, we found a littleIndian village, consisting of small temporary sheds, where we landed, and were received by the people with the utmost kindness andhospitality: They treated us with a flat shell-fish of a most delicioustaste, somewhat like a cockle, which we eat hot from the coals. Nearthis place is a high point or peninsula, projecting into the river, andupon it are the remains of a fort, which they call _eppah_, or _heppah_. The best engineer in Europe could not have chosen a situation betteradapted to enable a small number to defend themselves against a greater. The steepness of the cliffs renders it wholly inaccessible from thewater which incloses it on three sides; and, to the land, it isfortified by a ditch, and a bank raised on the inside: From the top ofthe bank to the bottom of the ditch, is two-and-twenty feet; the ditchon the outside is fourteen feet deep, and its breadth is in proportion. The whole seemed to have been executed with great judgment; and therehad been a row of pickets or pallisadoes, both on the top of the bankand along the brink of the ditch on the outside; those on the outsidehad been driven very deep into the ground, and were inclined towards theditch, so as to project over it; but of these the thickest posts onlywere left, and upon them there were evident marks of fire, so that theplace had probably been taken and destroyed by an enemy. If any occasionshould make it necessary for a ship to winter here, or stay any time, tents might be built in this place, which is sufficiently spacious, withgreat convenience, and might easily be made impregnable to the wholecountry. 

On the 11th, there was so much wind and rain that no canoe came off; butthe long-boat was sent to fetch oysters from one of the beds which hadbeen discovered the day before: The boat soon returned, deeply laden, and the oysters, which were as good as ever came from Colchester, andabout the same size, were laid down under the booms, and the ship'scompany did nothing but eat them from the time they came on board tillnight, when, as may reasonably be supposed, great part of them wereexpended; this, however, gave us no concern, as we knew that not theboat only, but the ship, might have been loaded, almost in one tide, asthe beds are dry at half-ebb. 

In the morning of Sunday the 12th, two canoes came off full of peoplewhom we had never seen before, but who appeared to have heard of us, bythe caution which they used in approaching us. As we invited them tocome alongside with all the tokens of friendship that we could shew, they ventured up, and two of them came on board; the rest traded veryfairly for what they had: A small canoe also came from the other side ofthe bay, and sold us some very large fish, which they gave us tounderstand they would have brought yesterday, having caught them the daybefore, but that the wind was so high they could not venture to sea. 

After breakfast I went with the pinnace and yawl, accompanied by MrBanks and Dr Solander, over to the north side of the bay, to take a viewof the country, and two fortified villages which we had discovered at adistance. We landed near the smallest of them, the situation of whichwas the most beautifully romantic that can be imagined; it was builtupon a small rock, detached from the main, and surrounded at highwater. The whole body of this rock was perforated by an hollow or arch, which possessed much the largest part of it; the top of the arch wasabove sixty feet perpendicular above the sea, which at high water flowedthrough the bottom of it: The whole summit of the rock above the archwas fenced round after their manner; but the area was not large enoughto contain more than five or six houses: It was accessible only by onevery narrow and steep path, by which the inhabitants, at our approach, came down, and invited us into the place; but we refused, intending tovisit a much more considerable fort of the same kind at about a mile'sdistance. We made some presents, however, to the women, and in the meantime we saw the inhabitants of the town which we were going to, comingtowards us in a body, men, women, and children, to the number of aboutone hundred: When they came near enough to be heard, they waved theirhands and called out _Horomai_; after which they sat down among thebushes near the beach; these ceremonies we were told were certain signsof their friendly disposition. We advanced to the place where they weresitting, and when we came up, made them a few presents, and asked leaveto visit their Heppah; they consented with joy in their countenances, and immediately led the way. It is called Wharretouwa, and is situatedupon a high promontory or point, which projects into the sea, on thenorth side, and near the head of the bay: Two sides of it are washed bythe sea, and these are altogether inaccessible; two other sides are tothe land: Up one of them, which is very steep, lies the avenue from thebeach; the other is flat and open to the country upon the hill, which isa narrow ridge: The whole is enclosed by a pallisade about ten feethigh, consisting of strong pales bound together with withes. The weakside next the land is also defended by a double ditch, the innermost ofwhich has a bank and an additional pallisade; the inner pallisades areupon the bank next the town, but at such a distance from the top of thebank as to leave room for men to walk and use their arms, between themand the inner ditch: The outermost pallisades are between the twoditches, and driven obliquely into the ground, so that their upper endsincline over the inner ditch: The depth of this ditch, from the bottomto the top or crown of the bank, is four-and-twenty feet. Close withinthe innermost pallisade is a stage, twenty feet high, forty feet long, and six broad; it is supported by strong posts, and is intended as astation for those who defend the place, from which they may annoy theassailants by darts and stones, heaps of which lay ready for use. Another stage of the same kind commands the steep avenue from the beach, and stands also within the pallisade; on this side of the hill there aresome little outworks and huts, not intended as advanced posts, but asthe habitations of people who for want of room could not be accommodatedwithin the works, but who were, notwithstanding, desirous of placingthemselves under their protection. The pallisades, as has been observedalready, ran round the whole brow of the hill, as well towards the seaas towards the land; but the ground within having originally been amount, they have reduced it not to one level, but to several, rising instages one above the other, like an amphitheatre, each of which isinclosed within its separate pallisade; they communicate with each otherby narrow lanes, which might easily be stopt up, so that if an enemyshould force the outward pallisade, he would have others to carry beforethe place could be wholly reduced, supposing these places to beobstinately defended one after the other. The only entrance is by anarrow passage, about twelve feet long, communicating with the steepascent from the beach: It passes under one of the fighting stages, andthough we saw nothing like a door or gateway, it may be easilybarricaded in a manner that will make the forcing it a very dangerousand difficult undertaking. Upon the whole, this must be considered as aplace of great strength, in which a small number of resolute men maydefend themselves against all the force which a people with no otherarms than those that are in use here could bring against it. It seemedto be well furnished for a siege with every thing but water; we sawgreat quantities of fern root, which they eat as bread, and dried fishpiled up in heaps; but we could not perceive that they had any freshwater nearer than a brook, which runs close under the foot of the hill:Whether they have any means of getting it from this place during asiege, or whether they have any method of storing it within the works ingourds or other vessels, we could not learn; some resource theycertainly have with respect to this article, an indispensable necessaryof life, for otherwise the laying up dry provisions could answer nopurpose. Upon our expressing a desire to see their method of attack anddefence, one of the young men mounted a fighting stage, which they call_Porava_, and another went into the ditch: Both he that was to defendthe place, and he that was to assault it, sung the war-song, and dancedwith the same frightful gesticulations that we had seen used in moreserious circumstances, to work themselves up into a degree of thatmechanical fury, which, among all uncivilized nations, is the necessaryprelude to a battle; for dispassionate courage, a strength of mind thatcan surmount the sense of danger, without a flow of animal spirits bywhich it is extinguished, seems to be the prerogative of those who haveprojects of more lasting importance, and a keener sense of honour anddisgrace, than can be formed or felt by men who have few pains orpleasures besides those of mere animal life, and scarcely any purposebut to provide for the day that is passing over them, to obtain plunder, or revenge an insult: They will march against each other indeed in coolblood, though they find it necessary to work themselves into passionbefore they engage; as among us there have been many instances of peoplewho have deliberately made themselves drunk, that they might execute aproject which they formed when they were sober, but which, while theycontinued so, they did not dare to undertake. [63]

[Footnote 63: Dr Hawkesworth, we see, is anxious to array the characterof a mercenary soldier, in the best garment his reason and consciencecould allow him to fabricate--But the deformities are scarcelyconcealed. It had been more candid, and on the whole too more judicious, to say, that he fights without having interest in the nature of thecontest, and butchers without feeling passion against his opponent, forhe can scarcely be called enemy. It follows then, that the efforts ofcourage he makes are the product of some superinduced principles, theresult of a certain discipline, suited to his desire for distinction, and the love of what he holds to be glory. These principles are moreuniformly steady of operation than the rage, whether real or affected, of savages, and are more conducive to the accomplishment of the objectsin view, than even the desperate intrepidity which they so oftenexhibit, or that amazing fortitude in which they excel. Among these, theenthusiasm of every individual is efficient indeed to the infliction ofvengeance and suffering, but it wants the energy of combination and thesagacity of practised theory, for the accomplishment of great andimportant designs. An army of soldiers, on the contrary, is a machineorganized and adjusted for a particular purpose, and formidable, not inthe proportion merely of the numbers of which it is composed, but in amuch higher degree; it operates, in short, by the accumulation of therespective agencies of which it is made up, and the skill of theengineer who conducts its operations. The whirlwind of the former isdreadful indeed, but it is soon hushed on the ruins it has occasioned, and it blusters no more; but the gale of the latter is interminable indesolation, and seems to increase in strength as the bulwarks whichopposed it disappear. The repose of Europe has been assailed by both, atdifferent periods of her history. It is our mercy to have outlived themighty storm, and we are now in a condition to look with gratitude, though mixed with pain, on the general wreck around us. It is not one ofthe least singularities in the astonishing events we are still so busyin contemplating, that the union of the two kinds of force nowspecified, was essential to the liberation of the world from that odiousbut scientific oppression, by which it had been so long held in misery, and which was repeatedly found, by very direful experience, to be toostrong for either of them separately. It was not till the enthusiasticindignation of vulgar minds, and the cordial ferocity of some of therudest of the allied tribes, had been amalgamated with the disciplinedvalour and the love of most enviable honour, conspicuous in veteranwarriors, that the blasting demon of destruction knew his policy to beunravelled, or felt his power to do mischief controuled to hisinfamy. --E. ]

On the side of the hill, near this inclosure, we saw about half an acreplanted with gourds and sweet potatoes, which was the only cultivationin the bay: Under the foot of the point upon which this fortificationstands, are two rocks, one just broken off from the main, and the othernot perfectly detached from it: They are both small, and seem moreproper for the habitations of birds than men; yet there are houses andplaces of defence upon each of them. And we saw many other works of thesame kind upon small islands, rocks, and ridges of hills, on differentparts of the coast, besides many fortified towns, which appeared to bemuch superior to this. 

The perpetual hostility in which these poor savages, who have made everyvillage a fort, must necessarily live, will account for there being solittle of their land in a state of cultivation; and, as mischiefs veryoften reciprocally produce each other, it may perhaps appear, that therebeing so little land in a state of cultivation, will account for theirliving in perpetual hostility. But it is very strange, that the sameinvention and diligence which have been used in the construction ofplaces so admirably adapted to defence, almost without tools, shouldnot, when urged by the same necessity, have furnished them with a singlemissile weapon except the lance, which is thrown by hand: They have nocontrivance like a bow to discharge a dart, nor any thing like a slingto assist them in throwing a stone; which is the more surprising, as theinvention of slings, and bows and arrows, is much more obvious than ofthe works which these people construct, and both these weapons are foundamong much ruder nations, and in almost every other part of the world. Besides the long lance and Patoo-Patoo, which have been mentionedalready, they have a staff about five feet long, sometimes pointed, likea serjeant's halberd, sometimes only tapering to a point at one end, andhaving the other end broad, and shaped somewhat like the blade of anoar. They have also another weapon, about a foot shorter than these, pointed at one end, and at the other shaped like an axe. The points oftheir long lances are barbed, and they handle them with such strengthand agility, that we can match them with no weapon but a loaded musquet. 

After taking a slight view of the country, and loading both the boatswith celery, which we found in great plenty near the beach, we returnedfrom our excursion, and about five o'clock in the evening got on boardthe ship. 

On the 15th, I sailed out of the bay, and at the same time had severalcanoes on board, in one of which was our friend Toiava, who said, thatas soon as we were gone he must repair to his Heppah or fort, becausethe friends of the man who had been shot by Mr Gore on the 9th, hadthreatened to revenge his death upon him, whom they had reproached asbeing our friend. Off the north point of the bay I saw a great number ofislands, of various extent, which lay scattered to the north-west, in adirection parallel with the main as far as I could see. I steerednortheast for the north eastermost of these islands; but the wind comingto the north-west, I was obliged to stand out to sea. 

To the bay which we now left I gave the name of _Mercury Bay_, onaccount of the observation which we had made there of the transit ofthat planet over the sun. It lies in latitude 30° 47 S. ; and in thelongitude of 184° 4' W. : There are several islands lying both to thesouthward and northward of it, and a small island or rock in the middleof the entrance: Within this island the depth of water no where exceedsnine fathom: The best anchoring is in a sandy bay, which lies justwithin the south head, in five and four fathom, bringing a high tower orrock, which lies without the head, in one with the head, or just shut inbehind it. This place is very convenient both for wooding and watering, and in the river there is an immense quantity of oysters and othershell-fish: I have for this reason given it the name of _Oyster River_. But for a ship that wants to stay here any time, the best and safestplace is in the river at the head of the bay, which, from the number ofmangrove trees about it, I have called _Mangrove River_. To sail intothis river, the south shore must be kept all the way on board. Thecountry on the east side of the river and bay is very barren, its onlyproduce being fern, and a few other plants that will grow in a poorsoil. The land on the north-west side is covered with wood, and the soilbeing much more fertile, would doubtless produce all the necessaries oflife with proper cultivation: It is not however so fertile as the landsthat we have seen to the southward, nor do the inhabitants, thoughnumerous, make so good an appearance: They have no plantations; theircanoes are mean, and without ornament; they sleep in the open air; andsay, that Teratu, whose sovereignty they do not acknowledge, if he wasto come among them, would kill them. This favoured our opinion of theirbeing outlaws; yet they told us, that they had Heppahs or strongholds, to which they retired in time of imminent danger. 

We found, thrown upon the shore, in several parts of this bay, greatquantities of iron-sand, which is brought down by every little rivuletof fresh water that finds its way from the country; which is ademonstration that there is ore of that metal not far inland: Yetneither the inhabitants of this place, or any other part of the coastthat we have seen, know the use of iron, or set the least value upon it;all of them preferring the most worthless and useless trifle, not onlyto a nail, but to any tool of that metal. 

Before we left the bay, we cut upon one of the trees near thewatering-place the ship's name, and that of the commander, with the dateof the year and month when we were there; and after displaying theEnglish colours, I took a formal possession of it in the name of hisBritannic majesty King George the Third. 

SECTION XXIV. 

_The Range from Mercury Bay to the Bay of Islands: An Expedition up theRiver Thames: Some Account of the Indians who inhabit its Banks, andthe fine Timber that grows there: Several Interviews with the Natives ondifferent Parts of the Coast, and a Skirmish with them upon an Island_. 

I continued plying to windward two days to get under the land, and onthe 18th, about seven in the morning, we were abreast of a veryconspicuous promontory, being then in latitude 36°26', and in thedirection of N. 48 W. From the north head of Mercury Bay, or PointMercury, which was distant nine leagues: Upon this point stood manypeople, who seemed to take little notice of us, but talked together withgreat earnestness. In about half an hour, several canoes put off fromdifferent places, and came towards the ship; upon which the people onthe point also launched a canoe, and about twenty of them came in her upwith the others. When two of these canoes, in which there might be aboutsixty men, came near enough to make themselves heard, they sung theirwar-song; but seeing that we took little notice of it, they threw a fewstones at us, and then rowed off towards the shore. We hoped that we hadnow done with them, but in a short time they returned, as if with afixed resolution to provoke us into a battle, animating themselves bytheir song as they had done before. Tupia, without any directions fromus, went to the poop, and began to expostulate: He told them, that wehad weapons which would destroy them in a moment; and that, if theyventured to attack us, we should be obliged, to use them. Upon this, they flourished their weapons, and cried out, in their language, "Comeon shore, and we will kill you all:" Well, said Tupia, but why shouldyou molest us while we are at sea? As we do not wish to fight, we shallnot accept your challenge to come on shore; and here there is nopretence for quarrel, the sea being no more your property than the ship. This eloquence of Tupia, though it greatly surprised us, having givenhim no hints for the arguments he used, had no effect upon our enemies, who very soon renewed their battery: A musquet was then fired throughone of their boats and this was an argument of sufficient weight, forthey immediately fell astern and left us. 

From the point, of which we were now abreast, the land trends W. 1/2 S. Near a league, and then S. S. E. As far as we could see; and, besides theislands that lay without us, we could see land round by the S. W. As faras the N. W. ; but whether this was the main or islands, we could not thendetermine: The fear of losing the main, however, made me resolve tofollow its direction. With this view, I hauled round the point andsteered to the southward, but there being light airs all round thecompass, we made but little progress. 

About one o'clock, a breeze sprung up at east, which afterwards came toN. E. And we steered along the shore S. By E. And S. S. E. Having fromtwenty-five to eighteen fathom. 

At about half an hour after seven in the evening, having run seven oreight leagues since noon, I anchored in twenty-three fathom, not causingto run any farther in the dark, as I had now land on both sides, formingthe entrance of a strait, bay, or river, lying S. By E. For on thatpoint we could see no land. 

At day-break, on the 19th, the wind being still favourable, we weighedand stood with an easy sail up the inlet, keeping nearest to the eastside. In a short time, two large canoes came off to us from the shore;the people on board said, that they knew Toiava very well, and calledTupia by his name. I invited some of them on board; and as they knewthey had nothing to fear from us, while they behaved honestly andpeaceably, they immediately complied: I made each of them some presents, and dismissed them much gratified. Other canoes afterwards came up to usfrom a different side of the bay; and the people on board of these alsomentioned the name of Toiava, and sent a young man into the ship, whotold us he was his grandson, and he also was dismissed with a present. 

After having run about five leagues from the place where we had anchoredthe night before, our depth of water gradually decreased to six fathom;and not chusing to go into less, as it was tide of flood, and the windblew right up the inlet, I came to an anchor about the middle of thechannel, which is near eleven miles over; after which I sent two boatsout to sound, one on one side, and the other on the other. 

The boats not having found above three feet more water than we were nowin, I determined to go no farther with the ship, but to examine thehead of the bay in the boats; for, as it appeared to run a good wayinland, I thought this a favourable opportunity to examine the interiorpart of the country, and its produce. 

At day-break, therefore, I set out in the pinnace and long-boat, accompanied by Mr Banks, Dr Solander, and Tupia; and we found the inletend in a river, about nine miles above the ship: Into this river weentered with the first of the flood, and within three miles found thewater perfectly fresh. Before we had proceeded more than one third ofthat distance, we found an Indian town, which was built upon a smallbank of dry sand, but entirely surrounded by a deep mud, which possiblythe inhabitants might consider as a defence. These people, as soon asthey saw us, thronged to the banks, and invited us on shore. We acceptedthe invitation; and made them a visit notwithstanding the mud. Theyreceived us with open arms, having heard of us from our good old friendToiava; but our stay could not be long, as we had other objects ofcuriosity in view. We proceeded up the river till near noon, when wewere fourteen miles within its entrance; and then, finding the face ofthe country to continue nearly the same, without any alteration in thecourse of the stream, which we had no hope of tracing to its source, welanded on the west side, to take a view of the lofty trees which everywhere adorned its banks. They were of a kind that we had seen before, though only at a distance, both in Poverty Bay and Hawke's Bay. Beforewe had walked an hundred yards into the wood, we met with one of themwhich was nineteen feet eight inches in the girt, at the height of sixfeet above the ground: Having a quadrant with me, I measured its heightfrom the root to the first branch, and found it to be eighty-nine feet:It was as straight as an arrow, and tapered but very little inproportion to its height; so that I judged there were three hundred andfifty-six feet of solid timber in it, exclusive of the branches. As weadvanced, we saw many others that were still larger; we cut down a youngone, and the wood proved heavy and solid, not fit for masts, but such aswould make the finest plank in the world. Our carpenter, who was withus, said that the timber resembled that of the pitch-pine, which islightened by tapping; and possibly some such method might be found tolighten these, and they would then be such masts as no country in Europecan produce. As the wood was swampy, we could not range far; but wefound many stout trees of other kinds, all of them utterly unknown tous, specimens of which we brought away. 

The river at this height is as broad as the Thames at Greenwich, andthe tide of flood as strong; it is not indeed quite so deep, but haswater enough for vessels of more than a middle size, and a bottom ofmud, so soft that nothing could take damage by running ashore. 

About three o'clock, we reimbarked, in order to return with the first ofthe ebb, and named the river the _Thames_, it having some resemblance toour own river of that name. In our return, the inhabitants of thevillage where we had been ashore, seeing us take another channel, cameoff to us in their canoes, and trafficked with us in the most friendlymanner, till they had disposed of the few trifles they had. The tide ofebb just carried us out of the narrow part of the river, into thechannel that run up from the sea, before it was dark; and we pulled hardto reach the ship, but meeting the flood, and a strong breeze at N. N. W. With showers of rain, we were obliged to desist; and about midnight, werun under the land, and came to a grappling, where we took such rest asour situation would admit. At break of day, we set forward again, and itwas past seven o'clock before we reached the ship. We were all extremelytired, but thought ourselves happy to be on board; for before nine itblew so hard that the boat could not have rowed ahead, and musttherefore either have gone ashore, or taken shelter under it. 

About three o'clock, having the tide of ebb, we took up our anchor, madesail, and plied down the river till eight in the evening, when we cameto an anchor again: Early in the morning we made sail with the firstebb, and kept plying till the flood of tide obliged us once more to cometo an anchor. As we had now only a light breeze, I went in the pinnace, accompanied by Dr Solander, to the western shore, but I saw nothingworthy of notice. 

When I left the ship, many canoes were about it; Mr Banks thereforechose to stay on board, and traffic with the natives: They barteredtheir clothes and arms, chiefly for paper, and behaved with greatfriendship and honesty. But while some of them were below with Mr Banks, a young man who was upon the deck stole a half minute glass which was inthe binnacle, and was detected just as he was carrying it off. Mr Hicks, who was commanding officer on board, took it into his head to punishhim, by giving him twelve lashes with a cat-o'-nine-tails; andaccordingly ordered him to be taken to the gang-way, and tied up to theshrouds. When the other Indians who were on board saw him seized, theyattempted to rescue him; and being resisted, called for their arms, which were handed up from the canoes, and the people of one of themattempted to come up the ship's side. The tumult was heard by Mr Banks, who, with Tupia, came hastily upon the deck to see what had happened. The Indians immediately ran to Tupia, who, finding Mr Hicks inexorable, could only assure them, that nothing was intended against the life oftheir companion; but that it was necessary he should suffer somepunishment for his offence, which being explained to them, they seemedto be satisfied. The punishment was then inflicted, and as soon as thecriminal was unbound, an old man among the spectators, who was supposedto be his father, gave him a hearty beating, and sent him down into hiscanoe. All the canoes then dropped astern, and the people said that theywere afraid to come any more near the ship: After much persuasion, however, they ventured back again, but their cheerful confidence was atan end, and their stay was short; they promised indeed, at theirdeparture, to return with some fish, but we saw no more of them. 

On the 23d, the wind being contrary, we kept plying down the river, andat seven in the evening, got without the N. W. Point of the islands lyingon the west side of it. The weather being bad, night coming on, andhaving land on every side of us, I thought it most advisable to tack, and stretch in under the point, where we anchored in nineteen fathom. Atfive in the morning of the 24th, we weighed, and made sail to the N. W. Under our courses and double-reefed top-sails, the wind being at S. W. ByW. And W. S. W. A strong gale and squally. As the gale would not permit usto come near the land, we had but a slight and distant view of it fromthe time when we got under sail till noon, daring a run of twelveleagues, but we never once lost sight of it. At this time, our latitude, by observation, was 36° 15' 20", we were not above two miles from apoint of land on the main, and three leagues and a half from a very highisland, which bore N. E. By E. : In this situation we had twenty-sixfathom water: The farthest point on the main that we could see bore N. W. But we could perceive several small islands lying to the north of thatdirection. The point of land of which we were now a-breast, and which Icalled _Point Rodney_, is the N. W. Extremity of the river Thames; forunder that name I comprehend the deep bay, which terminates in the freshwater stream, and the N E. Extremity is the promontory which we passedwhen we entered it, and which I called _Cape Colville_, in honour of theRight Honourable Lord Colville. 

Cape Colville lies in latitude 36° 26', longitude 184° 27'; it risesdirectly from the sea, to a considerable height, and is remarkable for alofty rock, which stands to the pitch of the point, and may bedistinguished at a very great distance. From the south point of thisCape the river runs in a direct line S. By E. , and is no where less thanthree leagues broad for the distance of fourteen leagues above the Cape, and there it is contracted to a narrow stream, but continues the samecourse through a low flat country, or broad valley, which lies parallelwith the sea coast, and the end of which we could not see. On the eastside of the broad part of this river the land is tolerably high andhilly; on the west side it is rather low, but the whole is covered withverdure and wood, and has the appearance of great fertility, thoughthere were but a few small spots which had been cultivated. At theentrance of the narrow part of the river the land is covered withmangroves and other shrubs; but farther, there are immense woods ofperhaps the finest timber in the world, of which some account hasalready been given: In several places the wood extends to the very edgeof the water, and where it is at a little distance, the intermediatespace is marshy, like some parts of the banks of the Thames in England:It is probable that the river contains plenty of fish, for we saw polesstuck up in many places to set nets for catching them, but of what kindsI do not know. The greatest depth of water that we found in this riverwas six-and-twenty fathom, which gradually decreased to one fathom and ahalf: In the mouth of the fresh-water stream it is from four to threefathom, but there are large flats and sand-banks lying before it. A shipof moderate draught may, notwithstanding, go a long way up this riverwith a flowing tide, for it rises perpendicularly, near ten feet, and atthe full and change of the moon, it is high water about nine o'clock. 

Six leagues within Cape Colville, under the eastern shore, are severalsmall islands, which, together with the main, seem to form goodharbours; and opposite to these islands, under the western shore, lieother islands, by which it is also probable that good harbours may beformed: But if there are no harbours about this river, there is goodanchoring in every part of it where the depth of water is sufficient, for it is defended from the sea by a chain of islands of differentextent, which lie cross the mouth of it, and which I have, for thatreason, called _Barrier Islands_: They stretch N. W. And S. E. Tenleagues. The south end of the chain lies N. E. Between two and threeleagues from Cape Colville; and the north end lies N. E. Four leagues anda half from Point Rodney. Point Rodney lies W. N. W. Nine leagues fromCape Colville, in latitude 36°15' S. Longitude 184° 53' W. 

The natives residing about this river do not appear to be numerous, considering the great extent of the country. But they are a strong, well-made, and active people, and all of them paint their bodies withred ochre and oil from head to foot, which we had not seen before. Theircanoes were large and well-built, and adorned with carving, in as good ataste as any we had seen upon the coast. 

We continued to stand along the shore till night, with the main land onone side, and islands on the other, and then anchored in a bay, withfourteen fathom, and a sandy bottom. We had no sooner come to an anchor, than we tried our lines, and in a short time caught near one hundredfish, which the people called sea-bream; they weighed from six to eightpounds a piece, and consequently would supply the whole ship's companywith food for two days. From the success of our lines here, we calledthe place _Bream Bay_: The two points that form it lie north and south, five leagues from each other; it is every where of a good breadth, andbetween three and four leagues deep: At the bottom of it there appearsto be a river of fresh water. The north head of the bay, called _BreamHead_, is high land, and remarkable for several pointed rocks, whichstand in a range upon the top of it: It may also be known by some smallislands which lie before it, called the _Hen and Chickens_, one of whichis high, and terminates in two peaks. It lies in latitude 35°46' S. , andat the distance of seventeen leagues and a half from Cape Colville, inthe direction of N. 41 W. 

The land between Point Rodney and Bream Head, an extent of ten leagues, is low, and wooded in tufts, with white sand-banks between the sea andthe firm lands. We saw no inhabitants, but many fires in the night; andwhere there are fires there are always people. 

At day break, on the 25th, we left the bay, and steered along the shoreto the northward: We found the variation of the compass to be 12° 49' E. At noon, our latitude was 35° 36' S. , Bream Head bore south, distant tenmiles; and we saw some small islands, to which I gave the name of the_Poor Knights_, at N. E. By N. Distant three leagues; the northernmostland in sight bore N. N. W. : We were in this place at the distance of twomiles from the shore, and had twenty-six fathom water. 

The country appeared low; but well covered with wood: We saw somestraggling houses, three or four fortified towns, and near them a largequantity of cultivated land. 

In the evening, seven large canoes came off to us, with about twohundred men: Some of them came on board, and said that they had heard ofus. To two of them, who appeared to be chiefs, I gave presents; but whenthese were gone out of the ship, the others became exceedinglytroublesome. Some of those in the canoes began to trade, and, accordingto their custom, to cheat, by refusing to deliver what had been bought, after they had received the price: Among these was one who had receivedan old pair of black breeches, which, upon a few small shot being firedat him, he threw into the sea. All the boats soon after paddled off tosome distance, and when they thought they were out of reach, they beganto defy us, by singing their song and brandishing their weapons. Wethought it advisable to intimidate them, as well for their sakes as ourown, and therefore fired first some small arms, and then round shot overtheir heads; the last put them in a terrible fright, though theyreceived no damage, except by overheating themselves in paddling away, which they did with astonishing expedition. 

In the night we had variable light airs; but towards the morning abreeze sprung up at S. And afterwards at S. E. With which we proceededslowly to the northward, along the shore. 

Between six and seven o'clock two canoes came off, and told us that theyhad heard of yesterday's adventure, notwithstanding which the peoplecame on board, and traded very quietly and honestly for whatever theyhad: Soon after two canoes came off from a more distant part of theshore; these were of a much larger size, and full of people: When theycame near, they called off the other canoes which were along side of theship, and after a short conference they all came up together. Thestrangers appeared to be persons of a superior rank; their canoes werewell carved with many ornaments, and they had with them a great varietyof weapons: They had patoo-patoos both of stone and whalebone, uponwhich they appeared to set a great value; they had also ribs of whale, of which we had before seen imitations in wood, carved and adorned withtufts of dog's hair. Their complexions were browner than those of thepeople we had seen to the southward, and their bodies and faces weremore marked with the black stains which they call amoco: They had abroad spiral on each buttock; and the thighs of many of them were almostentirely black, some narrow lines only being left untouched, so that atfirst sight they appeared to wear striped breeches. With respect to theamoco, every different tribe seemed to have a different custom, for allthe men in some canoes seemed to be almost covered with it, and those inothers had scarcely a stain, except on the lips, which were black in allof them without a single exception. These gentlemen, for a long time, refused to part with any of their weapons, whatever was offered forthem; at last, however, one of them produced a piece of talc, wroughtinto the shape of an axe, and agreed to sell it for a piece of cloth:The cloth was handed over the ship's side, but his honour immediatelyput off his canoe with the axe. We had recourse to our usual expedient, and fired a musket-ball over the canoe, upon which it put back to theship, and the piece of cloth was returned; all the boats then wentashore, without offering any further intercourse. 

At noon, the main land extended from S. By E. To N. W. By W. A remarkablepoint of land bearing W. Distant four or five miles; at three we passedit, and I gave it the name of Cape Bret, in honour of Sir Piercy. Theland of this Cape is considerably higher than any part of the adjacentcoast: At the point of it is a high round hillock, and N. E. By N. At thedistance of about a mile, is a small high island or rock, which, likeseveral that have already been described, was perforated quite through, so as to appear like the arch of a bridge. This Cape, or at least somepart of it, is by the natives called Motugogogo, and it lies inlatitude 35° 10' 30" S. Longitude 185° 25' W. On the west side of it isa large and pretty deep bay, lying in S. W. By W. In which there appearedto be several small islands: The point that forms the N. W. Entrance liesW. 1/4 N. At the distance of three or four leagues from Cape Bret, and Idistinguished it by the name of Point Pococke. On the west side of thebay we saw several villages, both upon islands and the main, and severalvery large canoes came off to us, full of people, who made a betterappearance than any we had seen yet: They were all stout and well-made;their hair, which was black, was tied up in a bunch on the crown oftheir heads, and stuck with white feathers. In each of the canoes weretwo or three chiefs, whose habits were of the best sort of cloth, andcovered with dog's skin, so as to make an agreeable appearance: Most ofthese people were marked with the amoco, like those who had beenalongside of us before: Their manner of trading was also equallyfraudulent; and the officers neglecting either to punish or fright them, one of the midshipmen, who had been defrauded in his bargain, hadrecourse for revenge to an expedient which was equally ludicrous andsevere: He got a fishing line, and when the man who had cheated him wasclose under the ship's side in his canoe, he heaved the lead with sogood an aim that the hook caught him by the backside; he then pulled theline, and the man holding back, the hook broke in the shank, and thebeard was left sticking in the flesh. 

During the course of this day, though we did not range more than six oreight leagues of the coast, we had alongside and on board the shipbetween four and five hundred of the natives, which is a proof that thispart of the country is well inhabited. 

At eight o'clock the next morning we were within a mile of a group ofislands which lie close under the main, at the distance oftwo-and-twenty miles from Cape Bret, in the direction of N. W. By W. 1/2W. At this place, having but little wind, we lay about two hours, duringwhich time several canoes came off, and sold us some fish, which wecalled cavalles, and for that reason I gave the same name to theislands. These people were very insolent, frequently threatening us, even while they were selling their fish; and when some more canoes cameup, they began to pelt us with stones. Some small shot were then fired, and hit one of them while he had a stone in his hand, in the veryaction of throwing it into the ship: They did not, however, desist, tillsome others had been wounded, and then they went away, and we stood offto sea. 

The wind being directly against us, we kept plying to windward till the29th, when we had rather lost than gained ground; I therefore bore upfor a bay which lies to the westward of Cape Bret; at this time it wasabout two leagues to leeward of us; and at about eleven o'clock weanchored under the south-west side of one of the many islands which lineit on the south-east, in four fathom and a half water; we shoaled ourwater to this depth all at once, and if this had not happened I shouldnot have come to an anchor so soon. The master was immediately sent outwith two boats to sound, and he soon discovered that we had got upon abank, which runs out from the northwest end of the island, and that onthe outside of it there was from eight to ten fathom. 

In the mean time the natives, to the number of near four hundred, crowded upon us in their canoes, and some of them were admitted onboard: To one, who seemed to be a chief, I gave a piece of broad cloth, and distributed some trifling presents among the rest. I perceived thatsome of these people had been about the ship when she was off at sea, and that they knew the power of our fire-arms, for the very sight of agun threw them into manifest confusion: Under this impression theytraded very fairly; but the people in one of the canoes took theopportunity of our being at dinner to tow away our buoy: A musket wasfired over them, but without effect, we then endeavoured to reach themwith small shot; but they were too far off: By this time they had gotthe buoy into their canoe, and we were obliged to fire a musket at themwith ball: This hit one of them, and they immediately threw the buoyoverboard: A round shot was then fired over them, which struck the waterand went ashore. Two or three of the canoes immediately landed theirpeople, who ran about the beach, as we imagined, in search of the ball. Tupia called to them, and assured them that while they were honest theyshould be safe, and with a little persuasion many of them returned tothe ship, and their behaviour was such as left us no reason to suspectthat they intended to give us any farther trouble. 

After the ship was removed into deeper water, and properly secured, Iwent with the pinnace and yawl, manned and armed, accompanied by MrBanks and Dr Solander, and landed upon the island, which was about threequarters of a mile distant: We observed that the canoes which were aboutthe ship, did not follow us upon our leaving her, which we thought agood sign; but we had no sooner landed than they crowded to differentparts of the island and came on shore. We were in a little cove, and ina few minutes were surrounded by two or three hundred people, somerushing from behind the heads of the cove, and others appearing on thetops of the hills: They were all armed, but they came on in so confusedand straggling a manner that we scarcely suspected they meant us anyharm, and we were determined that hostilities should not begin on ourpart. We marched towards them, and then drew a line upon the sandbetween them and us, which we gave them to understand they were not topass: At first they continued quiet, but their weapons were held readyto strike, and they seemed to be rather irresolute than peaceable. Whilewe remained in this state of suspence, another party of Indians came up, and now growing more bold as their number increased, they began thedance and song which are their preludes to a battle: Still, however, they delayed the attack, but a party ran to each of our boats, andattempted to draw them on shore; this seemed to be the signal, for thepeople about us at the same time began to press in upon our line: Oursituation was now become too critical for us to remain longer inactive, I therefore discharged my musket, which was loaded with small shot, atone of the forwardest, and Mr Banks and two of the men fired immediatelyafterwards: This made them fall back in some confusion, but one of thechiefs, who was at the distance of about twenty yards, rallied them, andrunning forward waving his patoo-patoo, and calling loudly to hiscompanions, led them to the charge. Dr Solander, whose piece was not yetdischarged, fired at this champion, who stopped short upon feeling theshot, and then ran away with the rest: They did not, however, disperse, but got together upon a rising ground, and seemed only to want someleader of resolution to renew their attack. As they were now beyond thereach of small shot, we fired with ball, but as none of them took placethey still continued in a body, and in this situation we remained abouta quarter of an hour: In the mean time the ship, from whence a muchgreater number of Indians were seen than could be discovered in oursituation, brought her broad-side to bear, and entirely dispersed them, by firing a few shot over their heads. In this skirmish only two of theIndians were hurt with the small-shot, and not a single life was lost, which would not have been the case if I had not restrained the men, who, either from fear or the love of mischief, shewed as much impatience todestroy them as a sportsman to kill his game. [64] When we were in quietpossession of our cove, we laid down our arms and began to gathercelery, which grew here in great plenty: After a little time werecollected to have seen some of the people hide themselves in a cave ofone of the rocks, we therefore went towards the place, when an oldIndian, who proved to be the chief that I had presented with a piece ofbroad-cloth in the morning, came out with his wife and his brother, andin a supplicating posture, put themselves under our protection. We spokekindly to them, and the old man then told us that he had anotherbrother, who was one of those that had been wounded by the small shot, and enquired with much solicitude and concern if he would die. Weassured him that he would not, and at the same time put into his handboth a musket-ball and some small shot, telling him, that those only whowere wounded with the ball would die, and that the others would recover;at the same time assuring him, that if we were attacked again, we shouldcertainly defend ourselves with the ball, which would wound themmortally. Having now taken courage, they came and sat down by us, and, as tokens of our perfect amity, we made them presents of such trifles aswe happened to have about us. 

[Footnote 64: This is a very candid admission, and quite characteristicof the ordinary race of sailors. They who freely expose their own lives, as a principle of professional expediency, are not by any meanssolicitously sparing of the lives of others, who may happen to disagreewith them on questions of interest and advantage. Even the inferiorofficers, and especially those who wish to attract notice in whatever isreputable, as the means of obtaining promotion, do not in general differessentially from the common men. The ingenious midshipman who contrivedso very dexterously to hook the poor savage's backside, would have hadvery little difficulty in bringing himself to act the sportsman as ahunter or shooter as well as a fisher. Indeed there seems much strongerevidence than mere imagination can supply, for the opinion of Hobbes, that war is the state of nature to mankind. It is certain at least, thatthe love of mischief is very congenial to that part of it, which, on thewhole, receives the least modification of what is natural, from therestraints of education. The darling dreams of Rousseau, alas! have noprototype in the history of our species. --E. ]

Soon after we re-embarked in our boats, and having rowed to another covein the same island, climbed a neighbouring hill, which commanded thecountry to a considerable distance. The prospect was very uncommon andromantic, consisting of innumerable islands, which formed as manyharbours, where the water was as smooth as a mill-pool: We saw also manytowns, scattered houses, and plantations, the country being much morepopulous than any we had seen. One of the towns was very near us, fromwhich many of the Indians advanced, taking great pains to shew us thatthey were unarmed, and in their gestures and countenances, expressinggreat meekness and humility. In the mean time, some of our people, who, when the Indians were to be punished for a fraud, assumed the inexorablejustice of a Lycurgus, thought fit to break into one of theirplantations, and dig up some potatoes: For this offence I ordered eachof them to be punished with twelve lashes, after which two of them weredischarged; but the third, insisting that it was no crime in anEnglishman to plunder an Indian plantation, though it was a crime in anIndian to defraud an Englishman of a nail, I ordered him back into hisconfinement, from which I would not release him till he had received sixlashes more. 

On the 30th, there being a dead calm, and no probability of our gettingto sea, I sent the master, with two boats; to sound the harbour; and allthe forenoon had several canoes about the ship, who traded in a veryfair and friendly manner. In the evening we went ashore upon the main, where the people received us very cordially; but we found nothing worthyof notice. 

In this bay we were detained by contrary winds and calms several days, during which time our intercourse with the natives was continued in themost peaceable and friendly manner, they being frequently about theship; and we ashore, both upon the islands and the main. In one of ourvisits to the continent, an old man shewed us the instrument they use instaining their bodies, which exactly resembled those that were employedfor the same purpose at Otaheite. We saw also the man who was wounded inattempting to steal our buoy: The ball had passed through the fleshypart of his arm, and grazed his breast; but the wound, under the care ofnature, the best surgeon, and a simple diet, the best nurse, was in agood state, and seemed to give the patient neither pain norapprehension. [65] We saw also the brother of our old chief, who had beenwounded with small shot in our skirmish: They had struck his thighobliquely, and though several of them were still in the flesh, the woundseemed to be attended with neither danger nor pain. We found among theirplantations the _morus papyrifera_, of which these people, as well asthose of Otaheite, make cloth; but here the plant seems to be rare, andwe saw no pieces of the cloth large enough for any use but to wear byway of ornament in their ears. 

[Footnote 65: Dr Hawkesworth is much given to this silly sort of cant, more gratifying to vulgar prejudice, than becoming a scholar, or a manof science. One knows not how to show its absurdity better than, bymerely directing the reader to consider for a moment, the things thatare put in contrast or compared together. If he cannot be at the troubleof this, or, if attempting it, he finds his optics will not penetratethe mist, let him ask himself whether dame Nature is a good setter ofbones, or is very expert in stopping dangerous bleedings from woundedarteries;--or if a simple diet, say for example hasty-pudding andwater-gruel, personified by any fertility of poetic fancy, can smoothone's pillow when his head aches, or bathe one's body when burning withfever? No good surgeon _pretends_ to heal wounded parts, but he _is_positively useful nevertheless, by placing them so as to render theefforts of nature efficient towards healing: And no nurse, howeverconceited, ever had the least inclination to be stewed down into jelly, or made a fricasee of, for the nourishment of her patient, though shecan _help_ him to his candle and wine very delectably! But, to be sure, where a wound gave neither pain nor apprehension, as is mentioned in thetext, it is very likely, that both nature and diet are quite differentbeings from what are so called in our corner of the world. If so, Dr H. Ought to have given their history, as a _genus incognitum_. But this isidle. --E. ]

Having one day landed in a very distant part of the bay, the peopleimmediately fled, except one old man, who accompanied us wherever wewent, and seemed much pleased with the little presents we made him. Wecame at last to a little fort, built upon a small rock, which at highwater was surrounded by the sea, and accessible only by a ladder: Weperceived that he eyed us with a kind of restless solicitude as weapproached it, and upon our expressing a desire to enter it, he told usthat his wife was there: He saw that our curiosity was not diminished bythis intelligence, and after some hesitation, he said, if we wouldpromise to offer no indecency he would accompany us: Our promise wasreadily given, and he immediately led the way. The ladder consisted ofsteps fastened to a pole, but we found the ascent both difficult anddangerous. When we entered we found three women, who, the moment theysaw us, burst into tears of terror and surprise: Some kind words, and afew presents, soon removed their apprehensions, and put them into goodhumour. We examined the house of our old friend, and by his interest twoothers, which were all that the fortification contained, and havingdistributed a few more presents, we parted with mutual satisfaction. 

At four o'clock in the morning of the 5th of December, we weighed, witha light breeze, but it being variable, with frequent calms, we madelittle way. We kept turning out of the bay till the afternoon, and aboutten o'clock we were suddenly becalmed, so that the ship would neitherwear nor stay, and the tide or current setting strong, she drove towardsland so fast, that before any measures could be taken for her securityshe was within a cable's length of the breakers: We had thirteen fathomwater, but the ground was so foul that we did not dare to drop ouranchor; the pinnace therefore was immediately hoisted out to take theship in tow, and the men, sensible of their danger, exerting themselvesto the utmost, and a faint breeze springing up off the land, weperceived with unspeakable joy that she made head-way, after having beenso near the shore that Tupia, who was not sensible of our hair's breadthescape, was at this very time conversing with the people upon the beach, whose voices were distinctly heard, notwithstanding the roar of thebreakers. We now thought all danger was over, but about an hourafterwards, just as the man in the chains had cried "Seventeen fathom, "the ship struck. The shock threw us all into the utmost consternation;Mr Banks, who had undressed himself, and was stepping into bed, ranhastily up to the deck, and the man in the chains called out "Fivefathom;" by this time, the rock on which we had struck being towindward, the ship went off without having received the least damage, and the water very soon deepened to twenty fathom. 

This rock lies half a mile W. N. W. Of the northermost or outermost islandon the south-east side of the bay. We had light airs from the land, with calms, till nine o'clock the next morning, when we got out of thebay, and a breeze springing up at N. N. W. We stood out to sea. 

This bay, as I have before observed, lies on the west side of Cape Bret, and I named it the _Bay of Islands_, from the great number of islandswhich line its shores, and from several harbours equally safe andcommodious, where there is room and depth for any number of shipping. That in which we lay is on the south-west side of the south-westermostisland, called _Maturaro_, on the south-east side of the bay. I havemade no accurate survey of this bay, being discouraged by the time itwould cost me; I thought also that it was sufficient to be able toaffirm that it afforded us good anchorage, and refreshment of everykind. It was not the season for roots, but we had plenty of fish, mostof which, however, we purchased of the natives, for we could catch verylittle ourselves either with net or line. When we shewed the natives ourseine, which is such as the king's ships are generally furnished with, they laughed at it, and in triumph produced their own, which was indeedof an enormous size, and made of a kind of grass, which is very strong:It was five fathom deep, and by the room it took up, it could not beless than three or four hundred fathom long. Fishing seems indeed to bethe chief business of life in this part of the country; we saw about alltheir towns a great number of nets, laid in heaps like hay-cocks, andcovered with a thatch to keep them from the weather, and we scarcelyentered a house where some of the people were not employed in makingthem. The fish we procured here were sharks, stingrays, sea-bream, mullet, mackrel, and some others. 

The inhabitants in this bay are far more numerous than in any other partof the country that we had before visited; it did not appear to us thatthey were united under one head, and though their towns were fortified, they seemed to live together in perfect amity. 

It is high water in this bay at the full and change of the moon, abouteight o'clock, and the tide then rises from six to eight feetperpendicularly. It appears from such observations as I was able to makeof the tides upon the sea-coast, that the flood comes from thesouthward; and I have reason to think that there is a current whichcomes from the westward, and sets along the shore to the S. E. Or S. S. E. As the land happens to lie. [66]

[Footnote 66: Some sketches of the Bay of Islands, and a good deal ofvaluable information about it, are given by Mr Savage in his Account ofNew Zealand, to which we shall be indebted hereafter. --E. ]

SECTION XXV. 

_Range from the Bay of Islands round North Cape to Queen Charlotte'sSound; and a Description of that Part of the Coast_. 

On Thursday the 7th of December, at noon, Cape Bret bore S. S. E. 1/2 E. Distant ten miles, and our latitude, by observation, was 34° 59' S. ;soon after we made several observations of the sun and moon, the resultof which made our longitude 185° 36' W. The wind being against us, wehad made but little way. In the afternoon, we stood in shore, andfetched close under the Cavalles, from which islands the main trends W. By N. : Several canoes put off and followed us, but a light breezespringing up, I did not chuse to wait for them. I kept standing to theW. N. W. And N. W. Till the next morning at ten o'clock, when I tacked andstood in for the shore, from which we were about five leagues distant. At noon, the westernmost land in sight bore W. By S. And was about fourleagues distant. In the afternoon, we had a gentle breeze to the west, which in the evening came to the south, and continuing so all night, byday-light brought us pretty well in with the land, seven leagues to thewestward of the Cavalles, where we found a deep bay running in S. W. ByW. And W. S. W. The bottom of which we could but just see, and there theland appeared to be low and level. To this bay, which I called_Doubtless Bay_, the entrance is formed by two points, which lie W. N. W. And E. S. E. And are five miles distant from each other. The wind notpermitting us to look in here, we steered for the westermost land insight, which bore from us W. N. W. About three leagues, but before we gotthe length of it it fell calm. 

While we lay becalmed, several canoes came off to us, but the peoplehaving heard of our guns, it was not without great difficulty that theywere persuaded to come under our stern: After having bought some oftheir clothes, as well as their fish, we began to make enquiriesconcerning their county, and learnt, by the help of Tupia, that, at thedistance of three days rowing in their canoes, at a place called_Moore-wennua_, the land would take a short turn to the southward, andfrom thence extend no more to the west. This place we concluded to bethe land discovered by Tasman, which he called _Cape Maria van Diemen_, and finding these people so intelligent, we enquired farther, if theyknew of any country besides their own: They answered, that they neverhad visited any other, but that their ancestors had told them, that tothe N. W. By N. Or N. N. W. There was a country of great extent, called_Ulimaroa_, to which some people had sailed in a very large canoe; thatonly part of them returned, and reported, that after a passage of amonth they had seen a country where the people eat hogs. Tupia thenenquired whether these adventurers brought any hogs with them when theyreturned? They said No: Then, replied Tupia, your story is certainlyfalse, for it cannot be believed that men who came back from anexpedition without hogs, had ever visited a country where hogs were tobe procured. It is however remarkable, notwithstanding the shrewdness ofTupia's objection, that when they mentioned hogs it was not bydescription but by name, calling them _Booah_, the name which is giventhem in the South-sea islands; but if the animal had been wholly unknownto them, and they had no communication with people to whom it was known, they could not possibly have been acquainted with the name. 

About ten o'clock at night, a breeze sprung up at W. N. W. With which westood off north; and at noon the next day, the Cavalles bore S. E. By E. Distant eight leagues; the entrance of Doubtless Bay S. By W. Distantthree leagues; and the north-west extremity of the land in sight, whichwe judged to be the main, bore N. W. By W. : Our latitude by observationwas 34° 44' S. In the evening, we found the variation to be 12°41' E. Bythe azimuth, and 12° 40' by the amplitude. 

Early in the morning, we stood in with the land, seven leagues to thewestward of Doubtless Bay, the bottom of which is not far distant fromthe bottom of another large bay, which the shore forms at this place, being separated only by a low neck of land, which juts out into apeninsula that I have called _Knuckle Point_. About the middle of thisBay, which we called _Sandy Bay_, is a high mountain, standing upon adistant shore, to which I gave the name of _Mount Camel_. The latitudehere is 84° 51' S. And longitude 186° 50'. We had twenty-four andtwenty-five fathom water, with a good bottom; but there seems to benothing in this bay that can induce a ship to put into it; for the landabout it is utterly barren and desolate, and, except Mount Camel, thesituation is low: The soil appears to be nothing but white sand, thrownup in low irregular hills and narrow ridges, lying parallel with theshore. But barren and desolate as this place is, it is not withoutinhabitants: We saw one village on the west side of Mount Camel, andanother on the east side: We saw also five canoes full of people, whopulled after the ship, but could not come up with us. At nine o'clock, we tacked and stood to the northward; and at noon, the Cavalles boreS. E. By E. Distant thirteen leagues; the north extremity of the land insight, making like an island, bore N. W. 1/4 N. Distant nine leagues; andMount Camel bore S. W. By S. Distance six leagues. 

The wind being contrary, we kept plying northward till five o'clock inthe evening of the 12th, when, having made very little way, we tackedand stood to the N. E. Being two leagues to the northward of Mount Camel, and about a mile and a half from the shore, in which situation we hadtwo-and-twenty fathom water. 

At ten, it began to blow and rain, which brought us under double-reefedtopsails; at twelve we tacked and stood to the westward till seven thenext morning, when we tacked and stood again to the N. E. Being about amile to windward of the place where we tacked last night. Soon after itblew very hard at N. N. W. With heavy squalls and much rain, which broughtus under our courses, and split the maintop-sail; so that we wereobliged to unbend it and bend another: At ten it became more moderate, and we set the top-sails, double-reefed. At noon, having strong galesand heavy weather, we tacked and stood to the westward, and had no landin sight for the first time since we had been upon this coast. 

We had now strong gales at W. And W. S. W. ; and at half an hour past threewe tacked and stood to the northward. Soon after, a small island lyingoff Knuckle Point bore S. 1/2 W. Distant half a league. In the evening, having split the fore and mizen topsails, we brought the ship under hercourses; and at midnight we wore, and stood to the southward till fivein the morning; when we tacked and stood to the N. W. And saw landbearing south, at the distance of eight or nine leagues; by this wediscovered that we had fallen much to the leeward since yesterdaymorning. At noon, our latitude by observation was 34° 6' S. ; and thesame land which we had seen before to the N. W. Now bore S. W. Andappeared to be the northern extremity of the country. We had a largeswell rolling in from the westward, and therefore concluded that we werenot covered by any land in that quarter. At eight in the evening, wetacked and stood to the westward, with as much sail as we could bear;and at noon the next day, we were in latitude 34° 10', longitude 186°45' W. And by estimation about seventeen leagues from the land, notwithstanding our utmost endeavours to keep in with it. 

On the 16th, at six in the morning, we saw land from the mast-head, bearing S. S. W. ; and at noon it bore S. By W. Distant fourteen leagues:While we were standing in for the shore we sounded several times, buthad no ground with ninety fathom. At eight, we tacked in a hundred andeight fathom, at about three or four miles from the shore, which was thesame point of land that we had to the N. W. Before we were blown off. Atnoon it bore S. W. Distant about three miles; Mount Camel bore S. By E. Distant about eleven leagues, and the westermost land in sight bore S. 75 W. ; the latitude by observation was 34° 20' S. At four o'clock, wetacked and stood in shore, in doing which, we met with a strongrippling, and the ship fell fast to leeward, which we imputed to acurrent setting east. At eight, we tacked and stood off till eight thenext morning; when we tacked and stood in, being about ten leagues fromthe land: At noon, the point of land which we were near the day before, bore S. S. W. Distant five leagues. The wind still continued at west; andat seven o'clock, we tacked in thirty-five fathom, when the point ofland which has been mentioned before, bore N. W. By N. Distant four orfive miles; so that we had not gained one inch to windward the lasttwenty-four hours, which confirmed our opinion that there was a currentto the eastward. The point of land I called _North Cape_, it being thenorthern extremity of this country. It lies in latitude 34° 22' S. Longitude 186° 55' W. And thirty-one leagues distant from Cape Bret, inthe direction of N. 63 W. It forms the north point of Sandy Bay, and isa peninsula jutting out N. E. About two miles, and terminating in a bluffhead that is flat at the top. The isthmus which joins this head to themain land is very low, and for that reason the land of the Cape, fromseveral situations, has the appearance of an island. It is still moreremarkable when it is seen from the southward, by the appearance of ahigh round island at the S. E. Point of the Cape; but this also is adeception; for what appears to be an island is a round hill, joined tothe Cape by a low narrow neck of land. Upon the Cape we saw a Hippah orvillage, and a few inhabitants; and on the south-east side of it thereappears to be anchorage, and good shelter from the south-west andnorth-west winds. 

We continued to stand off and on, making N. W. Till noon on the 21st, when North Cape bore S. 39 E. Distant thirty-eight leagues. Oursituation varied only a few leagues till the 23d, when, about seveno'clock in the evening, we saw land from the mast-head, bearing S. 1/2E. At eleven the next morning, we saw it again, bearing S. S. E. At thedistance of eight leagues: We now stood to the S. W. ; and at fouro'clock, the land bore S. E. By S. Distant four leagues, and proved to bea small island, with other islands or rocks, still smaller, lying offthe south-west end of it, and another lying off the north-east end, which were discovered by Tasman, and called the Three Kings. Theprincipal island lies in latitude 34° 12' S. Longitude 187° 48' W. Anddistant fourteen or fifteen leagues from North Cape, in the direction ofW. 14 N. At midnight, we tacked and stood to the N. E. Till six the nextmorning, which was Christmas day, when we tacked and stood to thesouthward. At noon, the Three Kings bore E. 8 N. Distant five or sixleagues. The variation this morning by the azimuth was 11° 25' E. 

On the 26th, we stood to the southward close upon a wind; and at noon, were in latitude 35° 10' S longitude 188° 20' W. The Three Kings bearingN. 26 W. Distant twenty-two leagues. In this situation we had no land insight; and yet, by observation, we were in the latitude of the Bay ofIslands; and by my reckoning but twenty leagues to the westward of NorthCape: From whence it appears, that the northern part of this island isvery narrow; for otherwise we must have seen some part of the west sideof it. We stood to the southward till twelve at night, and then tackedand stood to the northward. 

At four o'clock in the morning, the wind freshened, and at nine blew astorm; so that we were obliged to bring the ship to under her mainsail. Our course made good between noon this day and yesterday was S. S. W. 1/2W. Distance eleven miles. The Three Kings bore N. 27 E. Distantseventy-seven miles. The gale continued all this day, and till two thenext morning, when it fell, and began to veer to the southward and S. W. Where it fixed about four, when we made sail and steered east in forthe land, under the fore-sail and main-sail; but the wind then rising, and by eight o'clock being increased to a hurricane, with a prodigioussea, we were obliged to take in the main-sail; we then wore the ship, and brought her to with her head to the north west. At noon the gale wassomewhat abated, but we had still heavy squalls. Our course made goodthis day, was north, a little easterly, twenty-nine miles; latitude byaccount 34° 50' S. Longitude 188° 27' W. ; the Three Kings bore N. 41 E. Distant fifty-two miles. At seven o'clock in the evening, the wind beingat S. W. And S. W. By W. With hard squalls, we wore and lay on the othertack; and at six the next morning spread more sail. Our course anddistance since yesterday was E. By N. Twenty-nine miles. In theafternoon, we had hard squalls at S. W. ; and at eight in the evening, wore and stood to the N. W. Till five the next morning; and then wore andstood to the S. E. At six, we saw the land bearing N. E. Distant about sixleagues, which we judged to be Cape _Maria Van Diemen_, and whichcorresponded with the account that had been given of it by the Indians. At midnight we wore and stood to the S. E. And on the next day at noon, Cape Maria Van Diemen bore N. E. By N. Distant about five leagues. Atseven in the evening, we tacked and stood to the westward, with amoderate breeze at S. W. By S. And S. W. Mount Camel then bore N. 88 E. And the northermost land, or Cape Maria Van Diemen, N. By W. ; we werenow distant from the nearest land about three leagues, where we hadsomething more than forty fathom water; and it must be remarked, thatMount Camel, which when seen on the other side did not seem to be morethan one mile from the sea, seemed to be but little more when seen fromthis side; which is a demonstration that the land here cannot be morethan two or three miles broad, or from sea to sea. 

At six o'clock in the morning of January the 1st, 1770, being New-year'sDay, we tacked and stood to the eastward, the Three Kings bearing N. W. By N. At noon, we tacked again, and stood to the westward, being inlatitude 34° 37' S. ; the Three Kings bearing N. W. By N. At the distanceof ten or eleven leagues; and Cape Maria Van Diemen N. 31 E. Distantabout four leagues and a half: In this situation we had fifty-fourfathom water. 

During this part of our navigation two particulars are very remarkable;in latitude 35° S. And in the midst of summer, I met with a gale ofwind, which for its strength and continuance was such as I had scarcelyever been in before, and we were three weeks in getting ten leagues tothe westward, and five weeks in getting fifty leagues, for at this timeit was so long since we passed Cape Bret. During the gale, we werehappily at a considerable distance from the land, otherwise it is highlyprobable that we should never have returned to relate our adventures. 

At five o'clock in the evening, having a fresh breeze to the westward, we tacked and stood to the southward: At this time North Cape bore E. 1/4 N. And just open of a point that lies three leagues W. By N. Fromit. 

This Cape, as I have observed before, is the northermost extremity ofthis country, and the eastermost point of a peninsula, which runs outN. W. And N. W. By N. Seventeen or eighteen leagues, and of which CapeMaria Van Diemen is the westermost point. Cape Maria lies in latitude34° 30' S. Longitude 187° 18' W. ; and from this point the land trendsaway S. E. By S. And S. E. Beyond Mount Camel, and is every where a barrenshore, consisting of banks of white sand. 

On the 2d, at noon, we were in latitude 35° 17' S. And Cape Maria borenorth, distant about sixteen leagues, as near as we could guess; for wehad no land in sight, and did not dare to go nearer, as a fresh galeblew right on shore, with a rolling sea. The wind continued at W. S. W andS. W. With frequent squalls; in the evening we shortened sail, and atmidnight tacked, and made a trip to the N. W. Till two in the morning, when we wore and stood to the southward. At break of day, we made sail, and edged away, in order to make land; and at ten o'clock, we saw it, hearing N. W. It appeared to be high, and at noon extended from N. ToE. N. E. Distant by estimation eight or ten leagues. Cape Maria then boreN. 2° 30' W. Distant thirty-three leagues; our latitude by observationwas 36° 2' S. About seven o'clock in the evening, we were within sixleagues of it; but having a fresh gale upon it, with a rolling sea, wehauled our wind to the S. E. ; and kept on that course close upon the windall night, sounding several times, but having no ground with one hundredand one hundred and ten fathom. 

At eight o'clock the next morning, we were about five leagues from theland, and off a place which lies in latitude 86° 25', and had theappearance of a bay or inlet. It bore east; and in order to see more ofit, we kept on our course till eleven o'clock, when we were not morethan three leagues from it, and then discovered that it was neitherinlet nor bay, but a tract of low land, bound by higher lands on eachside, which produced the deception. At this time, we tacked and stood tothe N. W. ; and at noon, the land was not distant more than three or fourleagues. We were now in latitude 36° 31' S. Longitude 185° 50' W. CapeMaria bore N. 25 W. Distant forty-four leagues, and a half; so that thecoast must be almost straight in the direction of S. S. E. 3/4 E. AndN. N. W. 3/4 W. Nearly. In about latitude 35° 45' is some high landadjoining to the sea; to the southward of which the shore is also high, and has the most desolate and inhospitable appearance that can beimagined. Nothing is to be seen but hills of sand, on which there isscarcely a blade of verdure; and a vast sea, impelled by the westerlywinds, breaking upon it in a dreadful surf, renders it not only forlorn, but frightful; complicating the idea of danger with desolation, andimpressing the mind at once with a sense of misery and death. From thisplace I steered to the northward, resolving never more to come withinthe same distance of the coast, except the wind should be veryfavourable indeed. I stood under a fresh sail all the day, hoping to getan offing by the next noon, and we made good a course of a hundred andtwo miles N. 38 W. Our latitude by observation was 35° 10'S. ; and CapeMaria bore N. 10 E. Distance forty-one miles. In the night, the windshifted from S. W. By S. To S. And blew fresh. Our course to the noon ofthe 5th was N. 75 W. Distance eight miles. 

At day-break on the 6th, we saw the land which we took to be Cape Maria, bearing N. N. E. Distant eight or nine leagues: And on the 7th, in theafternoon, the land bore east: And some time after we discovered aturtle upon the water; but being awake, it dived instantly, so that wecould not take it. At noon, the high land, which has just beenmentioned, extended from N. To E. At the distance of five or sixleagues; and in two places, a flat gave it the appearance of a bay orinlet. The course that we made good the last four-and-twenty hours wasS. 33 E. Fifty-three miles; Cape Maria bearing N. 25 W. Distant thirtyleagues. 

We sailed within sight of land all this day, with gentle gales betweenthe N. E. And N. W. ; and by next noon had sailed sixty-nine miles, in thedirection of S. 37 E. ; our latitude, by observation was 36° 39' S. Theland which on the 4th we had taken for a bay, now bore N. E. By N. Distant five leagues and a half; and Cape Maria N. 29 W. Forty-sevenleagues. 

On the 9th, we continued a south-east course till eight o'clock in theevening, having run seven leagues since noon, with the wind at N. N. E. And N. And being within three or four leagues of the land, whichappeared to be low and sandy. I then steered S. E. By S. In a directionparallel wills the coast, having from forty-eight to thirty-four fathomwater, with a black sandy bottom. At day-break the next morning, wefound ourselves between two and three leagues from the land, which beganto have a better appearance, rising in gentle slopes, and being coveredwith trees and herbage. We saw a smoke and a few houses, but it appearedto be but thinly inhabited. At seven o'clock we steered S. By E. Andafterwards S. By W. , the land lying in that direction. At nine, we wereabreast of a point which rises with an easy ascent from the sea to aconsiderable height: This point, which lies in latitude 37° 43', I namedWoody Head. About eleven miles from this Head, in the direction of S. W. 1/2 W. Lies a very small island, upon which we saw a great number ofgannets, and which we therefore called Gannet Island. At noon, a highcraggy point bore E. N. E. Distant about a league and a half, to which Igave the name of Albetross Point: It lies in latitude 38° 4' S. Longitude 184° 42' W. ; and is distant seven leagues, in the direction ofS. 17 W. From Woody Head. On the north side of this point the shoreforms a bay, in which there appears to be anchorage and shelter forshipping. Our course and distance for the last twenty-four hours was S. 37 E. Sixty-nine miles; and at noon this day Cape Maria bore N. 30 W. Distant eighty-two leagues. Between twelve and one, the wind shifted atonce from N. N. E. To S. S. W. With which we stood to the westward till fouro'clock in the afternoon, and then tacked, and stood again in shore tillseven; when we tacked again and stood to the westward, having but littlewind. At this time Albetross Point bore N. E. Distant near two leagues, and the southermost land insight bore S. S. W. 1/2 W. Being a very highmountain, and in appearance greatly resembling the peak of Teneriffe. Inthis situation we had thirty fathom water, and having but little windall night, we tacked about four in the morning and stood in for theshore. Soon after, it fell calm; and being in forty-two fathom water, the people caught a few sea-bream. At eleven, a light breeze sprang upfrom the west, and we made sail to the southward. We continued to steerS. By W. And S. S. W. Along the shore, at the distance of about fourleagues, with gentle breezes from between N. W. And N. N. E. At seven inthe evening, we saw the top of the peak to the southward, above theclouds, which concealed it below. And at this time, the southermost landin sight bore S. By W. ; the variation, by several azimuths which weretaken both in the morning and the evening, appeared to be 14° 15'easterly. 

At noon on the 12th, we were distant about three leagues from the shorewhich lies under the peak, but the peak itself was wholly concealed byclouds: We judged it to bear about S. S. E. ; and some very remarkablepeaked islands, which lay under the shore, bore E. S. E. Distant three orfour leagues. At seven in the evening we sounded, and had forty-twofathom, being distant from the shore between two and three leagues: Wejudged the peak to bear east; and after it was dark, we saw fires uponthe shore. 

At five o'clock in the morning we saw, for a few minutes, the summit ofthe peak, towering above the clouds, and covered with snow. It now boreN. E. ; it lies in latitude 39° 16' S. Longitude 185° 15' W. ; and I namedit Mount Egmont, in honour of the Earl. It seems to have a large base, and to rise with a gradual ascent. It lies near the sea, and issurrounded by a flat country of a pleasant appearance, being clothedwith verdure and wood, which renders it the more conspicuous, and theshore under it forms a large cape, which I have named Cape Egmont. Itlies S. S. W. 1/2 W. Twenty-seven leagues distant from Albetross Point, and on the north side of it are two small islands, which lie near aremarkable point on the main, that rises to a considerable height in theform of a sugar-loaf. To the southward of the Cape, the land trends awayS. E. By E. And S. S. E. And seems to be every where a bold shore. At noon, Cape Egmont bore about N. E. ; and in this direction, at about fourleagues from the shore, we had forty fathom of water. The wind, duringthe rest of the day was from W. To N. W. By W. And we continued to steeralong the shore S. S. E. And S. E. By E. Keeping at the distance of betweentwo and three leagues. At half an hour after seven, we had anothertransient view of Mount Edgecombe, which bore N. 17 W. Distant about tenleagues. 

At five the next morning, we steered S. E. By S. The coast inclining moresoutherly; and in about half an hour, we saw land bearing S. W. By S. Forwhich we hauled up. At noon the north-west extremity of the land insight bore S. 63 W. And some high land, which had the appearance of anisland lying under the main, bore S. S. E. Distant five leagues. We werenow in a bay, the bottom of which bearing south we could not see, thoughit was clear in that quarter. Our latitude by observation was 40° 27' S. Longitude 184° 39' W. At eight in the evening, we were within twoleagues of the land which we had discovered in the morning, having runten leagues since noon: The land which then bore S. 63 W. Now bore N. 49W. At the distance of seven or eight leagues, and had the appearance ofan island. Between this land and Cape Egmont lies the bay, the west sideof which was our situation at this time, and the land here is of aconsiderable height, and diversified by bill and valley. 

SECTION XXVI. 

_Transactions in Queen Charlotte's Sound: Passage through the Streightwhich divides the two Islands, and back to Cape Turnagain: Horrid Customof the Inhabitants: Remarkable Melody of Birds: A Visit to a Heppah, andmany other Particulars_. 

The shore at this place seemed to form several bays, into one of which Iproposed to carry the ship, which was become very foul, in order tocareen her, and at the same time repair some defects, and recruit ourwood and water. 

With this view I kept plying on and off all night, having from eighty tosixty-three fathom. At day-break the next morning, I stood for an inletwhich runs in S. W. ; and at eight I got within the entrance, which maybe known by a reef of rocks, stretching from the north-west point, andsome rocky islands which lie off the south-east point. At nine o'clock, there being little wind, and what there was being variable, we werecarried by the tide or current within two cables' length of thenorth-west shore, where we had fifty-four fathom water, but by the helpof our boats we got clear. Just at this time we saw a sea-lion risetwice near the shore, the head of which exactly resembled that of themale which has been described in the account of Lord Anson's voyage. Wealso saw some of the natives in a canoe cross the bay, and a villagesituated upon the point of an island which lies seven or eight mileswithin the entrance. At noon, we were the length of this island, butthere being little wind, the boats were ordered a-head to tow. About oneo'clock we hauled close round the southwest end of the island; and theinhabitants of the village which was built upon it, were immediately upin arms. About two, we anchored in a very safe and convenient cove, onthe north-west side of the bay, and facing the southwest end of theisland, in eleven fathom water, with soft ground, and moored with thestream anchor. 

We were about four long cannon-shot distant from the village or Heppah, from which four canoes were immediately dispatched, as we imagined toreconnoitre, and, if they should find themselves able, to take us. Themen were all well armed, and dressed nearly as they are represented inthe figure published by Tasman; two corners of the cloth which theywrapped round the body were passed over the shoulders from behind, andbeing brought down to the upper edge of it before, were made fast to itjust under the breast; but few, or none, had feathers in their hair. 

They rowed round the ship several times, with their usual tokens ofmenace and defiance, and at last began the assault, by throwing somestones: Tupia expostulated with them, but apparently to very littlepurpose; and we began to fear that they would oblige us to fire at them, when a very old man in one of the boats expressed a desire of coming onboard. We gladly encouraged him in his design, a rope was thrown intohis canoe, and she was immediately alongside of the ship: The old manrose up, and prepared to come up the ship's side, upon which all therest expostulated with great vehemence against the attempt, and at lastlaid hold of him, and held him back: He adhered, however, to hispurpose, with a calm but steady perseverance, and having at lengthdisengaged himself, he came on board. We received him with all possibleexpressions of friendship and kindness, and after some time dismissedhim, with many presents, to his companions. As soon as he was returnedon board his canoe, the people in all the rest began to dance, butwhether as a token of enmity or friendship we would not certainlydetermine, for we had seen them dance in a disposition both for peaceand war. In a short time, however, they retired to their fort, and soonafter I went on shore, with most of the gentlemen, at the bottom of thecove, a-breast of the ship. 

We found a fine stream of excellent water, and wood in the greatestplenty, for the land here was one forest, of vast extent. As we broughtthe seine with us, we hauled it once or twice, and with such success, that we caught near three hundred weight of fish, of different sorts, which was equally distributed among the ship's company. 

At day-break, while we were busy in careening the ship, three canoescame off to us, having on board above a hundred men, besides several oftheir women, which we were pleased to see, as in general it is a sign ofpeace; but they soon afterwards became very troublesome, and gave usreason to apprehend some mischief from them to the people that were inour boats alongside the ship. While we were in this situation, thelong-boat was sent ashore with some water-casks, and some of the canoesattempting to follow her, we found it necessary to intimidate them, byfiring some small shot: We were at such a distance, that it wasimpossible to hurt them, yet our reproof had its effect, and theydesisted from the pursuit. They had some fish in their canoes, whichthey now offered to sell, and which, though it stunk, we consented tobuy: For this purpose a man in a small boat was sent among them, andthey traded for some time very fairly. At length, however, one of them, watching his opportunity, snatched at some paper which our market-manheld in his hand, and missing it, immediately put himself in a postureof defence, flourishing his patoo-patoo, and making show as if he wasabout to strike; some small-shot were then fired at him from the ship, afew of which struck him upon the knee: This put an end to our trade, but the Indians still continued near the ship, rowing round her manytimes, and conversing with Tupia, chiefly concerning the traditions theyhad among them with respect to the antiquities of their country. To thissubject they were led by the enquiries which Tupia had been directed tomake, whether they had ever seen such a vessel as ours, or had everheard that any such had been upon their coast. These enquiries were allanswered in the negative, so that tradition has preserved among them nomemorial of Tasman; though, by an observation made this day, we findthat we are only fifteen miles south of Murderer's bay, our latitudebeing 41° 5' 32", and Murderer's bay, according to his account, being40° 50'. 

The women in these canoes, and some of the men, had a head-dress whichwe had not before seen. It consisted of a bunch of black feathers, madeup in a round form, and tied upon the top of the head, which it entirelycovered, and made it twice as high, to appearance, as it was in reality. 

After dinner, I went in the pinnace with Mr Banks, Dr Solander, Tupia, and some others, into another cove, about two miles distant from that inwhich the ship lay: In our way we saw something floating upon the water, which we took for a dead seal, but upon rowing up to it, found it to bethe body of a woman, which to all appearance had been dead some days. Weproceeded to our cove, where we went on shore, and found a small familyof Indians, who appeared to be greatly terrified at our approach, andall ran away except one. A conversation between this person and Tupiasoon brought hack the rest, except an old man and a child, who stillkept aloof, but stood peeping at us from the woods. Of these people, ourcuriosity naturally led us to enquire after the body of the woman, whichwe had seen floating upon the water: And they acquainted us, by Tupia, that she was a relation, who had died a natural death; and that, according to their custom, they had tied a stone to the body, and thrownit into the sea, which stone, they supposed, had by some accident beendisengaged. 

This family, when we came on shore, was employed in dressing someprovisions: The body of a dog was at this time buried in their oven, andmany provision baskets stood near it. Having cast our eyes carelesslyinto one of these as we passed it, we saw two bones pretty cleanlypicked, which did not seem to be the bones of a dog, and which, upon anearer examination, we discovered to be those of a human body. At thissight we were struck with horror, though it was only a confirmation ofwhat we had heard many times since we arrived upon this coast. As wecould have no doubt but the bones were human, neither could we have anydoubt that the flesh which covered them had been eaten. They were foundin a provision basket; the flesh that remained appeared manifestly tohave been dressed by fire, and in the gristles at the end, were themarks of the teeth which had gnawed them: To put an end, however, toconjecture, founded upon circumstances and appearances, we directedTupia to ask what bones they were; and the Indians, without the leasthesitation, answered, the bones of a man: They were then asked what wasbecome of the flesh, and they replied that they had eaten it; but, saidTupia, why did you not eat the body of the woman which we saw floatingupon the water: The woman, said they, died of disease; besides, she wasour relation, and we eat only the bodies of our enemies, who are killedin battle. Upon enquiry who the man was whose bones we had found, theytold us, that about five days before, a boat belonging to their enemiescame into the bay, with many persons on board, and that this man was oneof seven whom they had killed. Though stronger evidence of this horridpractice prevailing among the inhabitants of this coast will scarcely berequired, we have still stronger to give. One of us asked if they hadany human bones with the flesh remaining upon them, and upon theiranswering us that all had been eaten, we affected to disbelieve that thebones were human, and said that they were the bones of a dog; upon whichone of the Indians with some eagerness took hold of his own fore-arm, and thrusting it towards us, said, that the bone which Mr Banks held inhis hand had belonged to that part of a human body; at the same time, toconvince us that the flesh had been eaten, he took hold of his own armwith his teeth, and made shew of eating: He also bit and gnawe'd thebone which Mr Banks had taken, drawing it through his mouth, andshewing, by signs, that it had afforded a delicious repast; the bone wasthen returned to Mr Banks, and he brought it away with him. Among thepersons of this family, there was a woman who had her arms, legs, andthighs frightfully cut in several places; and we were told that she hadinflicted the wounds upon herself, in token of her grief for the lossof her husband, who had been lately killed and eaten by their enemies, who had come from some place to the eastward, towards which the Indianspointed. 

The ship lay at the distance of somewhat less than a quarter of a milefrom the shore, and in the morning we were awakened by the singing ofthe birds: The number was incredible, and they seemed to strain theirthroats in emulation of each other. This wild melody was infinitelysuperior to any that we had ever heard of the same kind; it seemed to belike small bells, exquisitely tuned, and perhaps the distance and thewater between, might be no small advantage to the sound. Upon enquiry, we were informed that the birds here always began to sing about twohours after midnight, and continuing their music till sunrise, were, like our nightingales, silent the rest of the day. [67] In the forenoon, a small canoe came off from the Indian village to the ship, and amongthose that were in it, was the old man who had first come on board atour arrival in the bay. As soon as it came alongside, Tupia renewed theconversation that had passed the day before, concerning their practiceof eating human flesh, during which they repeated what they had told usalready; but, said Tupia, where are the heads? do you eat them too? Ofthe heads, said the old man, we eat only the brains, and the next time Icome I will bring some of them, to convince you that what we have toldyou is truth. After some farther conversation between these people andTupia, they told him that they expected their enemies to come veryshortly, to revenge the death of the seven men whom they had killed andeaten. 

[Footnote 67: This is a vulgar error, though at the same time a poeticalone. It is known that nightingales do sing in the day; but their song isthen less attended to or distinguished, because it forms a part only ofthe harmony of the feathered choir. --E. ]

On the 18th, the Indians were more quiet than usual, no canoe came nearthe ship, nor did we see one of them moving on the shore, their fishing, and other usual occupations, being totally suspended. We thought theyexpected an attack on this day, and therefore attended more diligentlyto what passed on shore; but we saw nothing to gratify our curiosity. 

After breakfast, we went out in the pinnace, to take a view of the bay, which was of vast extent, and consisted of numberless small harbours andcoves, in every direction: We confined our excursion, however, to thewestern side, and the country being an impenetrable forest where welanded, we could see nothing worthy of notice: We killed, however, agood number of shaggs, which we saw sitting upon their nests in thetrees, and which, whether roasted or stewed, we considered as very goodprovision. As we were returning, we saw a single man in a canoe fishing;we rowed up to him, and to our great surprise he took not the leastnotice of us, but even when we were alongside of him, continued tofollow his occupation, without adverting to us any more than if we hadbeen invisible. He did not, however, appear to be either sullen orstupid: We requested him to draw up his net, that we might examine it, and he readily complied: It was of a circular form, extended by twohoops, and about seven or eight feet in diameter: The top was open, andsea-ears were fastened to the bottom as a bait: This he let down so asto lie upon the ground, and when he thought fish enough were assembledover it, he drew it up by a very gentle and even motion, so that thefish rose with it, scarcely sensible that they were lifted, till theycame very near the surface of the water, and then were brought out inthe net by a sudden jerk. By this simple method, he had caught abundanceof fish, and indeed they are so plenty in this bay, that the catchingthem requires neither much labour nor art. 

This day, some of our people found in the skirts of the wood, near ahole or oven, three human hip-bones, which they brought on board; afarther proof that these people eat human flesh: Mr Monkhouse, oursurgeon, also brought on board, from a place where he saw many desertedhouses, the hair of a man's head, which he had found, among many otherthings, tied up to the branches of trees. 

In the morning of the 19th, we set up the armourer's forge to repair thebraces of the tiller, and other iron-work, all hands on board beingstill busy in careening, and other necessary operations about thevessel: This day, some Indians came on board from another part of thebay, where they said was a town which we had not seen: They broughtplenty of fish, which they sold for nails, having now acquired somenotion of their use; and in this traffic no unfair practice wasattempted. 

In the morning of the 20th, our old man kept his promise, and broughton board four of the heads of the seven people who had been so much thesubject of our enquiries: The hair and flesh were entire, but weperceived that the brains had been extracted; the flesh was soft, buthad by some method been preserved from putrefaction, for it had nodisagreeable smell. Mr Banks purchased one of them, but they sold itwith great reluctance, and could not by any means be prevailed upon topart with a second; probably they may be preserved as trophies, like thescalps in America, and the jaw-bones in the islands of the South Seas. Upon examining the head which had been bought by Mr Banks, we perceivedthat it had received a blow upon the temples, which had fractured theskull. This day we made another excursion in the pinnace, to survey thebay, but we found no flat large enough for a potatoe garden, nor couldwe discover the least appearance of cultivation: We met not a singleIndian, but found an excellent harbour, and about eight o'clock in theevening returned on board the ship. 

On the 21st, Mr Banks and Dr Solander went a-fishing with hook and line, and caught an immense quantity every where upon the rocks, in betweenfour and five fathom water: The seine was hauled every night, and seldomfailed to supply the whole ship's company with as much fish as theycould eat. This day all the people had leave to go on shore at thewatering-place, and divert themselves as they should think proper. 

In the morning of the 22d, I set out again in the pinnace, accompaniedby Mr Banks and Dr Solander, with a design to examine the head of theinlet, but after rowing about four or five leagues without so much ascoming in sight of it, the wind being contrary, and the day half spent, we went on shore on the south-east side, to try what might be discoveredfrom the hills. 

Mr Banks and Dr Solander immediately employed themselves in botanizingnear the beach, and I, taking a seaman with me, ascended one of thehills: When I reached the summit, I found a view of the inletintercepted by hills, which in that direction rose still higher, andwhich were rendered inaccessible by impenetrable woods; I was, however, abundantly compensated for my labour, for I saw the sea on the easternside of the country, and a passage leading from it to that on the west, a little to the eastward of the entrance of the inlet where the ship nowlay. The main land, which lay on the south east of this inlet, appearedto be a narrow ridge of very high hills, and to form part of thesouth-west side of the streight; the land on the opposite side appearedto trend away east as far as the eye could reach; and to the south-eastthere appeared to be an opening to the sea, which washed the easterncoast: On the east side of the inlet also I saw some islands which I hadbefore taken to be part of the main land. Having made this discovery, Idescended the hill, and as soon as we had taken some refreshment, we setout on our return to the ship. In our way, we examined the harbours andcoves which lie behind the islands that I had discovered from the hill;and in this route we saw an old village, in which there were many housesthat seemed to have been long deserted: We also saw another villagewhich was inhabited, but the day was too far spent for us to visit it, and we therefore made the best of our way to the ship, which we reachedbetween eight and nine o'clock at night. 

The 23d I employed in carrying on a survey of the place; and upon one ofthe islands where I landed, I saw many houses which seemed to have beenlong deserted, and no appearance of any inhabitant. 

On the 24th, we went to visit our friends at the Hippah or village onthe point of the island near the ship's station, who had come off to uson our first arrival in the bay. They received us with the utmostconfidence and civility, shewing us every part of their habitations, which were commodious and neat. The island or rock on which this town issituated, is divided from the main by a breach or fissure so narrow, that a man might almost leap from one to the other: The sides of it areevery where so steep as to render the artificial fortification of thesepeople almost unnecessary: There was, however, one slight pallisade, andone small fighting-stage, towards that part of the rock where access wasleast difficult. 

The people here brought us out several human bones, the flesh of whichthey had eaten, and offered them to sale; for the curiosity of thoseamong us who had purchased them as memorials of the horrid practice, which many, notwithstanding the reports of travellers, have professednot to believe, had rendered them a kind of article of trade. In onepart of this village we observed, not without some surprise, a crossexactly like that of a crucifix; it was adorned with feathers, and uponour enquiring for what purpose it had been set up, we were told that itwas a monument for a man who was dead: We had before understood thattheir dead were not buried, but thrown into the sea; but to our enquiryhow the body of the man had been disposed of, to whose memory this crosshad been erected, they refused to answer. 

When we left these people, we went to the other end of the island, andthere taking water, crossed over to the main, where we saw severalhouses but no inhabitants, except a few in some straggling canoes, thatseemed to be fishing. After viewing this place, we returned on board theship to dinner. 

During our visit to the Indians this day, Tupia being always of ourparty, they had been observed to be continually talking of guns, andshooting people: For this subject of their conversation we could not atall account; and it had so much engaged our attention, that we talked ofit all the way back, and even after we got on board the ship: We hadperplexed ourselves with various conjectures, which were all given up intheir turn; but now we learnt, that on the 21st one of our officers, upon pretence of going out to fish, had rowed up to the Hippah, and thattwo or three canoes coming off towards his boat, his fears suggestedthat an attack was intended, in consequence of which three muskets werefired, one with small shot, and two with ball, at the Indians, whoretired with the utmost precipitation, having probably come out withfriendly intentions, for such their behaviour both before and afterwardsexpressed, and having no reason to expect such treatment from people whohad always behaved to them not only with humanity, but kindness, and towhom they were not conscious of having given offence. 

On the 25th, I made another excursion along the coast, in the pinnace, towards the mouth of the inlet, accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, and going on shore at a little cove, to shoot shags, we fell in with alarge family of Indians, whose custom it is to disperse themselves amongthe different creeks and coves, where fish is to be procured in thegreatest plenty, leaving a few only in the Hippah, to which the restrepair in times of danger. Some of these people came out a good way tomeet us, and gave us an invitation to go with them to the rest of theirparty, which, we readily accepted. We found a company of about thirty, men, women, and children, who received us with all possibledemonstrations of friendship: We distributed among them a few ribbandsand beads, and in return, received the kisses and embraces of bothsexes, both young and old: They gave us also some fish, and after alittle time we returned, much pleased with our new acquaintance. 

In the morning of the 26th, I went again out in the boat, with Mr Banksand Dr Solander, and entered one of the bays, which lie on the east sideof the inlet, in order to get another sight of the streight, whichpassed between the eastern and western seas. For this purpose, havinglanded at a convenient place, we climbed a hill of a very considerableheight, from which we had a full view of it, with the land on theopposite shore, which we judged to be about four leagues distant; but asit was hazy in the horizon, we could not see far to the south-east: Iresolved however to search the passage with the ship, as soon as Ishould put to sea. Upon the top of this hill we found a parcel of loosestones, with which we erected a pyramid, and left in it somemusket-balls, small shot, beads, and other things, which we happened tohave about us, that were likely to stand the test of time, and not beingof Indian workmanship, would convince any European who should come tothe place and pull it down, that other natives of Europe had been therebefore him. When this was done we descended the hill, and made acomfortable meal of the shags and fish which our guns and lines hadprocured us, and which were dressed by the boat's crew in a place thatwe had appointed: In this place we found another Indian family, whoreceived us, as usual, with strong expressions of kindness and pleasure, shewing us where to procure water, and doing us such other good officesas were in their power. From this place we went to the town, of whichthe Indians had told us, who visited us on the 19th: This, like thatwhich we had seen before, was built upon a small island or rock, sodifficult of access, that we gratified our curiosity at the risk of ournecks. The Indians here also received us with open arms, carried us toevery part of the place, and shewed us all that it contained: This town, like the other, consisted of between eighty and an hundred houses, andhad only one fighting-stage. We happened to have with us a few nails andribbands, and some paper, with which our guests were so gratified, thatat our coming away they filled our boat with dried fish, of which weperceived they had laid up great quantities. 

The 27th and 28th were spent in refitting the ship for the sea, fixing atransom for the tiller, getting stones on board to put into the bottomof the bread-room, to bring the ship more by the stern, in repairing thecasks, and catching fish. 

On the 29th, we received a visit from our old man, whose name we foundto be _Topaa_, and three other natives, with whom Tupia had muchconversation. The old man told us, that one of the men who had beenfired upon by the officer who had visited their Hippah, under pretenceof fishing, was dead; but to my great comfort I afterwards discoveredthat this report was not true, and that if Topaa's discourses were takenliterally, they would frequently lead us into mistakes. Mr Banks and DrSolander were several times on shore during the last two or three days, not without success, but greatly circumscribed in their walks byclimbers of a most luxuriant growth, which were so interwoven together, as to fill up the space between the trees about which they grew, andrender the woods altogether impassable. This day also I went on shoreagain myself, upon the western, point of the inlet, and from a hill ofconsiderable height, I had a view of the coast to the N. W. The farthestland I could see in that quarter, was an island which has been mentionedbefore, at the distance of about ten leagues, lying not far from themain: Between this island and the place where I stood, I discovered, close under the shore, several other islands, forming many bays, inwhich there appeared to be good anchorage for shipping. After I had setoff the different points for my survey, I erected another pile ofstones, in which I left a piece of silver coin, with some musket-ballsand beads, and a piece of an old pendant flying on the top. In my returnto the ship, I made a visit to several of the natives, whom I saw alongthe shore, and purchased a small quantity of fish. 

On the 30th, early in the morning, I sent a boat to one of the islandsfor celery, and while the people were gathering it, about twenty of thenatives, men, women, and children, landed near some empty huts: As soonas they were on shore, five or six of the women sat down, upon theground together, and began to cut their legs, arms, and faces, withshells, and sharp pieces of talc or jasper, in a terrible manner. Ourpeople understood that their husbands had lately been killed by theirenemies; but while they were performing this horrid ceremony, the menset about repairing the huts, with the utmost negligence and unconcern. The carpenter having prepared two posts to be left as memorials of ourhaving visited this place, I ordered them to be inscribed with theship's name, and the year and month; one of them I set up at thewatering-place, hoisting the union flag upon the top of it; and theother I carried over to the island that lies nearest to the sea, calledby the natives _Motuara_. I went first to the village or Hippah, accompanied by Mr Monkhouse and Tupia, where I met with our old man, andtold him and several others, by means of Tupia, that we were come to setup a mark upon the island, in order to show to any other ship whichshould happen to come thither, that we had been there before. To thisthey readily consented, and promised that they never would pull it down:I then gave something to every one present; and to the old man I gave asilver threepence, dated 1736, and some spike nails, with the king'sbroad arrow cut deep upon them; things which I thought most likely toremain long among them: I then took the post to the highest part of theisland, and after fixing it firmly in the ground, I hoisted upon it theunion-flag, and honoured this inlet with the name of _Queen Charlotte'sSound_, at the same time taking formal possession of this and theadjacent country, in the name and for the use of his majesty King Georgethe Third. We then drank a bottle of wine to her majesty's health, andgave the bottle to the old man who had attended us up the hill, and whowas mightily delighted with his present. 

While the post was setting up, we enquired of the old man concerning thepassage into the eastern sea, the existence of which he confirmed; andthen asked him about the land to the S. W. Of the streight, where we werethen situated: This land, he said, consisted of two Whennuas or islands, which might be circumnavigated in a few days, and which he called _TovyPoenammoo_; the literal translation of this word is, "the water of greentalc:" and probably, if we had understood him better, we should havefound that Tovy Poenammoo was the name of some particular place wherethey got the green talc or stone of which they make their ornaments andtools, and not a general name for the whole southern district: He said, there was also a third Whennua, on the east side of the streight, thecircumnavigation of which would take up many moons: This he called_Eaheinomauwe_; and to the lands on the borders of the streight he gavethe name of _Tiera Witte_. Having set up our post, and procured thisintelligence, we returned on board the ship, and brought the old manwith us, who was attended by his canoe, in which, after dinner, hereturned home. 

On the 31st, having completed our wooding, and filled all our watercasks, I sent out two parties, one to cut and make brooms, and anotherto catch fish. In the evening, we had a strong gale from the N. W. Withsuch a heavy rain, that our little wild musicians on shore suspendedtheir song, which till now we had constantly heard during the night, with a pleasure which it was impossible to lose without regret. 

On the 1st, the gale increased to a storm, with heavy gusts from thehigh land, one of which broke the hawser, that we had fastened to theshore, and obliged us to let go another anchor. Towards midnight, thegale became more moderate, but the rain continued with such violence, that the brook which had supplied us with water overflowed its banks, and carried away ten small casks which had been left there full ofwater, and notwithstanding we searched the whole cove, we could neverrecover one of them. 

On the 3d, as I intended to sail the first opportunity, I went over tothe Hippah on the east side of the Sound, and purchased a considerablequantity of split and half-dried fish, for sea stores. The people hereconfirmed all that the old man had told us concerning the streight andthe country, and about noon I took leave of them: Some of them seemed tobe sorry, and others glad that we were going: The fish which I boughtthey sold freely, but there were some who shewed manifest signs ofdisapprobation. As we returned to the ship, some of us made an excursionalong the shore to the northward, to traffic with the natives for afarther supply of fish; in which, however, they had no great success. Inthe evening, we got every thing off from the shore, as I intended tosail in the morning, but the wind would not permit. 

On the 4th, while we were waiting for a wind, we amused ourselves byfishing, and gathering shells and seeds of various kinds; and early inthe morning of the 5th, we cast off the hawser, hove short on the bower, and carried the kedge-anchor out in order to warp the ship out of thecove, which having done about two o clock in the afternoon, we hove upthe anchor and got under sail; but the wind soon failing, we wereobliged to come to an anchor again a little above Motuara. When we wereunder sail, our old man Topaa came on board to take his leave of us, andas we were still desirous of making farther enquiries whether any memoryof Tasman had been preserved among these people, Tupia was directed toask him whether he had ever heard that such a vessel as ours had beforevisited the country. To this he replied in the negative, but said, thathis ancestors had told him there had once come to this place a smallvessel, from a distant country, called _Ulimaroa_, in which were fourmen, who, upon their coming on shore, were all killed: Upon being askedwhere this distant land lay, he pointed to the northward. Of Ulimaroa wehad heard something before from the people about the Bay of Islands, whosaid that their ancestors had visited it; and Tupia had also talked tous of Ulimaroa, concerning which he had some confused traditionarynotions, not very different from those of our old man, so that we coulddraw no certain conclusion from the accounts of either. 

Soon after the ship came to an anchor the second time, Mr Banks and DrSolander went on shore, to see if any gleanings of natural knowledgeremained, and by accident fell in with the most agreeable Indian familythey had seen, which afforded them a better opportunity of remarking thepersonal subordination among these people, than had before offered. Theprincipal persons were a widow, and a pretty boy about ten years old:The widow was mourning for her husband with tears of blood, according totheir custom, and the child, by the death of its father, was becomeproprietor of the land where we had cut our wood. The mother and the sonwere sitting upon matts, and the rest of the family, to the number ofsixteen or seventeen, of both sexes, sat round them in the open air, forthey did not appear to have any house, or other shelter from theweather, the inclemencies of which, custom has probably enabled them toendure without any lasting inconvenience. Their whole behaviour wasaffable, obliging, and unsuspicious; they presented each person withfish, and a brand of fire to dress it, and pressed them many times tostay till the morning, which they would certainly have done if they hadnot expected the ship to sail, greatly regretting that they had notbecome acquainted with them sooner, as they made no doubt but that moreknowledge of the manners and disposition of the inhabitants of thiscountry would have been obtained from them in a day, than they had yetbeen able to acquire during our whole stay upon the coast. 

On the 6th, about six o'clock in the morning, a light breeze sprung upat north, and we again got under sail, but the wind proving variable, wereached no farther than just without Motuara; in the afternoon, however, a more steady gale at N. By W. Set us clear of the Sound, which I shallnow describe. 

The entrance of Queen Charlotte's Sound is situated in latitude 41° S. Longitude 184° 45' W. And near the middle of the south-west side of thestreight in which it lies. The land of the south-east head of the Sound, called by the natives _Koamaroo_, off which lie two small islands andsome rocks, makes the narrowest part of the streight. From thenorth-west head a reef of rocks runs out about two miles, in thedirection of N. E. By N. ; part of which is above the water, and partbelow. By this account of the heads, the Sound will be sufficientlyknown: At the entrance, it is three leagues broad, and lies in S. W. ByS. S. W. And W. S. W. At least ten leagues, and is a collection of some ofthe finest harbours in the world, as will appear from the plan, which islaid down with all the accuracy that time and circumstances would admit. The land forming the harbour or cove in which we lay, is called by thenatives _Totarranue_: The harbour itself, which I called _Ship Cove_, isnot inferior to any in the Sound, either for convenience or safety: Itlies on the west side of the Sound, and is the southermost of threecoves, that are situated within the island of Motuara, which bears eastof it. Ship Cove may be entered, either between Motuara and a longisland, called by the natives _Hamote_, or between Motuara and thewestern shore. In the last of these channels are two ledges of rocks, three fathom under water, which may easily be known by the sea-weed thatgrows upon them. In sailing either in or out of the Sound, with littlewind, attention must be had to the tides, which flow about nine or teno'clock at the fall and change of the moon, and rise and fall betweenseven and eight feet perpendicularly. The flood comes in through thestreight from the S. E. And sets strongly over upon the north-west head, and the reef that lies off it: The ebb sets with still greater rapidityto the S. E. Over upon the rocks and islands that lie off the south-easthead. The variation of the compass we found from good observation to be13° 5' E. 

The land about this Sound, which is of such a height that we saw it atthe distance of twenty leagues, consists wholly of high hills and deepvallies, well stored with a variety of excellent timber, fit for allpurposes except masts, for which it is too hard and heavy. The seaabounds with a variety of fish, so that without going out of the covewhere we lay, we caught every day, with the seine and hooks and lines, aquantity sufficient to serve the whole ship's company: And along theshore we found plenty of shags, and a few other species of wild-fowl, which those who have long lived upon salt provisions will not thinkdespicable food. 

The number of inhabitants scarcely exceeds four hundred, and they livedispersed along the shores, where their food, consisting of fish andfern roots, is most easily procured; for we saw no cultivated ground. Upon any appearance of danger, they retire to their Hippahs, or forts;in this situation we found them, and in this situation they continuedfor some time after our arrival. In comparison of the inhabitants ofother parts of this country, they are poor, and their canoes are withoutornament; the little traffic we had with them was wholly for fish, andindeed they had scarcely any thing else to dispose of. They seemed, however, to have some knowledge of iron, which the inhabitants of someother parts had not; for they willingly took nails for their fish, andsometimes seemed to prefer it to every thing else that we could offer, which had not always been the case. They were at first very fond ofpaper; but when they found that it was spoiled by being wet, they wouldnot take it: Neither did they set much value upon the cloth of Otaheite;but English broad-cloth, and red kersey, were in high estimation; whichshewed that they had sense enough to appreciate the commodities which weoffered by their use, which is more than could be said of some of theirneighbours, who made a much better appearance. Their dress has beenmentioned already, particularly their large round head-dresses offeathers, which were far from being unbecoming. 

As soon as we got out of the Sound I stood over to the eastward, inorder to get the streight well open before the tide of ebb came on. Atseven in the evening, the two small islands which lie off Cape Koamaroo, the south-east head of Queen Charlotte's Sound, bore east, distant aboutfour miles: At this time it was nearly calm, and the tide of ebb settingout, we were, in a very short time, carried by the rapidity of thestream close upon one of the islands, which was a rock rising almostperpendicularly out of the sea: We perceived our danger increase everymoment, and had but one expedient to prevent our being dashed to pieces, the success of which a few minutes would determine. We were now withinlittle more than a cable's length of the rock, and had more thanseventy-five fathom water; but upon dropping an anchor, and veeringabout one hundred and fifty fathom of cable, the ship was happilybrought up: This, however, would not have saved us, if the tide whichset S. By E. Had not, upon meeting with the island, changed itsdirection to S. E. And carried us beyond the first point. In thissituation, we were not above two cables' length, from the rocks; andhere we remained in the strength of the tide, which set to the S. E. After the rate of at least five miles an hour, from a little after seventill near midnight, when the tide abated, and we began to heave. Bythree in the morning the anchor was at the bows, and having a lightbreeze at N. W. We made sail for the eastern shore; but the tide beingagainst us, we made but little way: The wind however afterwardsfreshened, and came to N. And N. E. With which, and the tide of ebb, wewere in a short time hurried through the narrowest part of the straight, and then stood away for the southermost land we had in sight, which borefrom us S. By W. Over this land appeared a mountain of stupendousheight, which was covered with snow. 

The narrowest part of the streight, through which we had been drivenwith such rapidity, lies between Cape Tierawitte, on the coast ofEaheinomawe, and Cape Koamaroo: The distance between them I judged to bebetween four or five leagues, and notwithstanding the tide, now itsstrength is known, may be passed without much danger. It is howeversafest to keep on the north-east shore, for on that side there appearedto be nothing to fear; but on the other shore there are not only theislands and rocks which lie off Cape Koamaroo, but a reef of rocksstretching from these islands six or seven miles to the southward, atthe distance of two or three miles from the shore, which I haddiscovered from the hill when I took my second view of the streight fromthe east to the western sea. The length of the streight we had passed Ishall not pretend to assign, but some judgment may be formed of it froma view of the chart. 

About nine leagues north from Cape Tierawitte, and under the same shore, is a high and remarkable island which may be distinctly seen from QueenCharlotte's Sound, from which it is distant about six or seven leagues. This island, which was noticed when we passed it on the 14th of January, I have called _Entry Isle_. 

On the east side of Cape Tierawitte, the land trends away S. E. By E. About eight leagues, where it ends in a point, and is the southermostland on Eaheinomawe. To this point I have given the name of _CapePalliser_, in honour of my worthy friend Captain Palliser. It lies inlatitude 41° 34, ' S. Longitude 183° 56' W. And bore from us this day atnoon S. 79 E. Distant about thirteen leagues, the ship being then in thelatitude of 41° 27' S. ; Koamaroo at the same time bearing N. 1/2 E. Distant seven or eight leagues. The southermost land in sight bore S. 16W. And the snowy mountain S. W. At this time we were about three leaguesfrom the shore, and abreast of a deep bay or inlet, to which I gave thename of _Cloudy Bay_, and at the bottom of which there appeared low landcovered with tall trees. 

At three o'clock in the afternoon we were abreast of the southermostpoint of land that we had seen at noon, which I called Cape Campbell; itlies S. By W. Distant between twelve and thirteen leagues from CapeKoamaroo, in latitude 41° 44' S. Longitude 185° 45' W. ; and with CapePalliser forms the southern entrance of the streight, the distancebetween them being between thirteen and fourteen leagues W. By S. And E. By N. 

From this cape we steered along the shore S. W. By S. Till eight o'clockin the evening, when the wind died away. About half an hour afterwards, however, a fresh breeze sprung up at S. W. And I put the ship rightbefore it. My reason for this was a notion which some of the officershad just started, that Eaheinomauwe was not an island, and that theland might stretch away to the S. E. From between Cape Turnagain and CapePalliser, there being a space of between twelve and fifteen leagues thatwe had not seen. I had indeed the strongest conviction that they weremistaken, not only from what I had seen the first time I discovered thestreight, but from many other concurrent testimonies that the land inquestion was an island; but being resolved to leave no possibility ofdoubt with respect to an object of such importance, I took theopportunity of the wind's shifting, to stand eastward, and accordinglysteered N. E. By E. All the night. At nine o'clock in the morning we wereabreast of Cape Palliser, and found the land trend away N. E. TowardsCape Turnagain, which I reckoned to be distant about twenty-six leagues:However, as the weather was hazy, so as to prevent our seeing above fouror five leagues, I still kept standing to the N. E. With a light breezeat south; and at noon Cape Palliser bore N. 72 W. Distant about threeleagues. 

About three o'clock in the afternoon, three canoes came up to the shipwith between thirty and forty people on board, who had been pullingafter us with great labour and perseverance for some time: They appearedto be more cleanly, and a better class, than we had met with since weleft the Bay of Islands, and their canoes were also distinguished by thesame ornaments which we had seen upon the northerly part of the coast. They came on board with very little invitation; and their behaviour wascourteous and friendly: Upon receiving presents from us, they made uspresents in return, which had not been done by any of the natives thatwe had seen before. We soon perceived that our guests had heard of us, for as soon as they came on board, they asked for _whow_, the name bywhich nails were known among the people with whom we had trafficked: butthough they had heard of nails, it was plain they had seen none; forwhen nails were given them, they asked Tupia what they were. The term_whow_, indeed, conveyed to them the idea not of their quality, but onlyof their use; for it is the same by which they distinguish a tool, commonly made of bone, which they use both as an auger and a chisel. However, their knowing that we had _whow_ to sell was a proof that theirconnections extended as far north as Cape Kidnappers, which was distantno less than forty-five leagues; for that was the southermost place onthis side the coast where we had had any traffic with the natives. It isalso probable, that the little knowledge which the inhabitants of QueenCharlotte's Sound had of iron, they obtained from their neighbours atTierawitte; for we had no reason to think that the inhabitants of anypart of this coast had the least knowledge of iron or its use before wecame among them, especially as when it was first offered they seemed todisregard it, as of no value. We thought it probable, that we were nowonce more in the territories of Teratu; but upon enquiring of thesepeople, they said that he was not their king. After a short time, theywent away, much gratified with the presents that we had made them; andwe pursued our course along the shore to the N. E. Till eleven o'clockthe next morning. About this time the weather happening to clear up, wesaw Cape Turnagain, bearing N. By E. 1/2 E. At the distance of aboutseven leagues: I then called the officers upon deck, and asked them, whether they were not now satisfied, that Eahienomauwe was an island;they readily answered in the affirmative, and all doubts being nowremoved, we hauled our wind to the eastward. 

SECTION XXVII. 

_Range from Cape Turnagain southward along the eastern Coast ofPoenammoo, round Cape South, and bade to the western Entrance of Cook'sStreight, which completed the Circumnavigation of this Country; with aDescription of the Coast, and of Admiralty Bay: The Departure from NewZealand, and various Particulars_. 

At four o'clock in the afternoon of Friday the 9th of February, wetacked, and stood S. W. Till eight o'clock the next morning; when, beingnot above three or four miles from the shore, we stood off two hours, and then again S. W. Till noon, when, at the distance of about two milesfrom the shore, we had twenty-six fathom water. 

We continued to make sail to the southward till sunset on the 11th, whena fresh breeze at N. E. Had carried us back again the length of CapePalliser, of which, as the weather was clear, we had a good view. It isof a height sufficient to be seen in clear weather at the distance oftwelve or fourteen leagues, and the land is of a broken and hillysurface. Between the foot of the high land and the sea there is a lowflat border, off which there are some rocks that appear above water. Between this Cape and Cape Turnagain, the land near the shore is, inmany places, low and flat, and has a green and pleasant appearance; butfarther from the sea it rises into hills. The land between Cape Palliserand Cape Tierawitte is high, and makes in table-points; it also seemedto us to form two bays, but we were at too great a distance from thispart of the coast to judge accurately from appearances. The wind havingbeen variable, with calms, we had advanced no farther by the 12th atnoon than latitude 41° 52', Cape Palliser then bearing north, distantabout five leagues; and the snowy mountain S. 83 W. 

At noon on the 13th, we found ourselves in the latitude of 42° 2' S. ;Cape Palliser bearing N. 20 E. Distant eight leagues. In the afternoon, a fresh gale sprung up at N. E. And we steered S. W. By W. For thesouthermost land in sight, which at sun-set bore from us S. 74 W. Atthis time the variation was 15° 4' E. 

At eight o'clock on the morning of the 14th, having run one-and-twentyleagues S. 58 W. Since the preceding noon, it fell calm. We were thenabreast of the snowy mountain which bore from us N. W. And in thisdirection lay behind a mountainous ridge of nearly the same height, which rises directly from the sea, and runs parallel with the shore, which lies N. E. 1/2 N. And S. W. 1/2 S. The north-west end of the ridgerises inland, not far from Cape Campbell; and both the mountain and theridge are distinctly seen as well from Cape Koamaroo as Cape Palliser:From Koamaroo they are distant two-and-twenty leagues S. W. 1/2 S. ; andfrom Cape Palliser thirty leagues W. S. W. ; and are of a height sufficientto be seen at a much greater distance. Some persons on board were ofopinion that they were as high as Teneriffe; but I did not think them ashigh as Mount Egmont on the south-west coast of Eahienomauwe; becausethe snow, which almost entirely covered Mount Egmont, lay only inpatches upon these. At noon this day, we were in latitude 42° 34' S. Thesouthermost land in sight bore S. W. 1/2 S. ; and some low land thatappeared like an island, and lay close under the foot of the ridge, boreN. W. By N. About five or six leagues. 

In the afternoon, when Mr Banks was out in the boat a-shooting, we sawwith our glasses, four double canoes, having on board fifty-seven men, put off from that shore, and make towards him: We immediately madesignals for him to come on board; but the ship, with respect to him, being right in the wake of the sun, he did not see them. We were at aconsiderable distance from the shore, and he was at a considerabledistance from the ship, which was between him and the shore; so that, itbeing a dead calm, I began to be in some pain for him, fearing that hemight not see the canoes time enough to reach the ship before theyshould get up with him: Soon after, however, we saw his boat in motion, and had the pleasure to take him on board before the Indians came up, who probably had not seen him, as their attention seemed to be whollyfixed upon the ship. They came within about a stone's cast, and thenstopped, gazing at us with a look of vacant astonishment: Tupia exertedall his eloquence to prevail upon them to come nearer, but without anyeffect. After surveying us for some time, they left us, and made towardsthe shore; but had not measured more than half the distance between thatand the ship before it was dark. We imagined that these people had heardnothing of us, and could not but remark the different behaviour anddispositions of the inhabitants of the different parts of this coastupon their first approaching the vessel. These kept aloof with a mixtureof timidity and wonder: Others had immediately commenced hostilities, bypelting us with stones: The gentleman whom we had found alone, fishingin his boat, seemed to think us entirely unworthy of his notice; andsome, almost without invitation, had come on board with an air ofperfect confidence and good-will. From the behaviour of our lastvisitors, I gave the land from which they had put off, and which, as Ihave before observed, had the appearance of an island, the name ofLookers-on. 

At eight o'clock in the evening, a breeze sprung up at S. S. W. With whichI stretched of south-east, because some on board thought they saw landin that quarter. In this course we continued till six o'clock the nextmorning, when we had run eleven leagues, but saw no land, except thatwhich we had left. Having stood to the S. E. With a light breeze, whichveered from the west to the north, till noon, our latitude byobservation was 42° 56' S. , and the high land that we were abreast ofthe preceding noon bore N. N. W. 1/2 W. In the afternoon we had a lightbreeze at N. E. With which we steered west, edging in for the land, whichwas distant about eight leagues. At seven in the evening, we were aboutsix leagues from the shore, and the southermost extremity of the land insight bore W. S. W. 

At day-break on the 16th, we discovered land bearing S. By W. Andseemingly detached from the coast we were upon. About eight, a breezesprung up, at N. By E. And we steered directly for it. At noon, we werein latitude 43° 19' S. The peak on the snowy mountain bore N. 20 E. Distant twenty-seven leagues; the southern extremity of the land wecould see bore west, and the land which had been discovered in themorning appeared like an island extending from S. S. W. To S. W. By W. 1/2W. Distant about eight leagues. In the afternoon, we stood to thesouthward of it, with a fresh breeze at north: At eight in the evening, we had run eleven leagues, and the land then extended from S. W. By W. ToN. By W. We were then distant about three or four leagues from thenearest shore, and in this situation had fifty fathom water, with a finesandy bottom. The variation of the compass by this morning's amplitudewas 14° 39' E. 

At sun-rise, the next morning, our opinion that the land we had beenstanding for was an island, was confirmed, by our seeing part of theland of Tovy Poenammoo open to the westward of it, extending as far asW. By S. At eight in the morning, the extremes of the island bore N. 76W. And N. N. E. 1/2 E. ; and an opening near the south point, which had theappearance of a bay or harbour, N. 20 W. Distant between three and fourleagues: In this situation we had thirty-eight fathom water, with abrown sandy bottom. 

This island, which I named after Mr Banks, lies about five leagues fromthe coast of Tovy Poenamoo; the south point bears S. 21 W. From thehighest peak on the snowy mountain, and lies in latitude 43° 32' S. Andin longitude 186° 30' W. By an observation of the sun and moon which wasmade this morning: It is of a circular figure, and about twenty-fourleagues in compass: It is sufficiently high to be seen at the distanceof twelve or fifteen leagues, and the land has a broken irregularsurface, with the appearance rather of barrenness than fertility; yet itwas inhabited, for we saw smoke in one place, and a few stragglingnatives in another. 

When this island was first discovered in the direction of S. By W. Somepersons on board were of opinion that they also saw land bearing S. S. E. And S. E. By E. I was myself upon the deck at the time, and told them, that in my opinion it was no more than a cloud, and that as the sun roseit would dissipate and vanish. However, as I was determined to leave nosubject for disputation which experiment could remove, I ordered theship to be wore, and steered E. S. E. By compass, in the direction whichthe land was said to bear from us at that time. At noon, we were inlatitude 44° 7' S. ; the south point of Banks's Island bearing north, distant five leagues. By seven o'clock at night we had runeight-and-twenty miles, when seeing no land, nor any signs of any, butthat which we had left, we bore away S. By W. And continued upon thatcourse till the next day at noon, when we were in latitude 45° 16', thesouth point of Banks's Island bearing N. 6° 30' W. Distant twenty-eightleagues. The variation by the azimuth this morning was 15° 30' E. As nosigns of land had yet appeared to the southward, and as I thought thatwe had stood far enough in that direction to weather all the land we hadleft, judging from the report of the natives in Queen Charlotte's Sound, I hauled to the westward. 

We had a moderate breeze at N. N. W. N. Till eight in the evening, when itbecame unsettled; and at ten fixed at south: During the night, it blewwith such violence that it brought us under our close reefed topsails. At eight the next morning, having run twenty-eight leagues upon a W. ByN. 1/2 N. Course, and judging ourselves to be to the westward of theland of Tovy Poenammoo, we bore away N. W. With a fresh gale at south. Atten, having run eleven miles upon this course, we saw land extendingfrom the S. W. To the N. W. At the distance of about ten leagues, which wehauled up for. At noon, our latitude by observation was 44° 38', thesouth-east point of Banks's Island bore N. 58° 30' E. Distant thirtyleagues, and the main body of the land in sight W. By N. A head seaprevented us from making much way to the southward; at seven in theevening the extremes of the land stretched from S. W. By S. To N. By W. ;and at six leagues from the shore we had thirty-two fathom water. Atfour o'clock the next morning, we stood in for the shore W. By S. Andduring a course of four leagues, our depth of water was from thirty-twoto thirteen fathom. When it was thirteen fathom we were but three milesdistant from the shore, and therefore stood off; its direction is herenearly N. And S. The surface, to the distance of about five miles fromthe sea, is low and flat; but it then rises into hills of a considerableheight. It appeared to be totally barren, and we saw no signs of itsbeing inhabited. Our latitude, at noon, was 44° 44'; and the longitudewhich we made from Banks's Island to this place was 2° 22' W. During thelast twenty-four hours, though we carried as much sail as the ship wouldbear, we were driven three leagues to the leeward. 

We continued to stand off and on all this day and the next, keeping atthe distance of between four and twelve leagues from the shore, andhaving water from thirty-five to fifty-three fathom. On the 22d, atnoon, we had no observation, but by the land judged ourselves to beabout three leagues farther north than we had been the day before. Atsun-set, the weather, which had been hazy, clearing up, we saw amountain which rose in a high peak, bearing N. W. By N. ; and at the sametime, we saw the land more distinctly than before, extending from N. ToS. W. By S. Which, at some distance within the coast, had a lofty andmountainous appearance. We soon found that the accounts which had beengiven us by the Indians in Queen Charlotte's Sound of the land to thesouthward were not true; for they had told us that it might becircumnavigated in four days. 

On the 23d, having a hollow swell from the S. E. And expecting wind fromthe same quarter, we kept plying between seven and fifteen leagues fromthe shore, having from seventy to forty-four fathom. At noon, ourlatitude by observation was 44° 40' S. And our longitude from Banks'sIsland 1° 31' W. From this time to six in the evening it was calm; but alight breeze then springing up at E. N. E. We steered S. S. E. All night, edging off from the land, the hollow swell still continuing; our depthof water was from sixty to seventy-five fathom. While we were becalmed, Mr Banks, being out in the boat, shot two Port Egmont hens, which werein every respect the same as those that are found in great numbers uponthe island of Faro, and were the first of the kind we had seen upon thiscoast, though we fell in with some a few days before we made land. 

At day-break, the wind freshened, and before noon we had a strong galeat N. N. E. At eight in the morning we saw the land extending as far asS. W. By S. And steered directly for it. At noon, we were in latitude 45°22' S. ; and the land, which now stretched from S. W. 1/2 S. To N. N. W. Appeared to be rudely diversified by hill and valley. In the afternoon, we steered S. W. By S. And S. W. Edging in for the land with a fresh galeat north; but though we were at no great distance, the weather was sohazy that we could see nothing distinctly upon it, except a ridge ofhigh hills, lying not far from the sea, and parallel to the coast, whichin this place stretches S. By W. And N. By E. And seemed to end in ahigh bluff point to the southward. By eight in the evening we wereabreast of this point; but it being then dark, and I not knowing whichway the land trended, we brought-to for the night. At this time, thepoint bore west, and was distant about five miles: Our depth of waterwas thirty-seven fathom, and the bottom consisted of small pebbles. 

At day-break, having made sail, the point bore north, distant threeleagues, and we now found that the land trended from it S. W. By W. Asfar as we could see. This point I named Cape Saunders, in honour of SirCharles. Our latitude was 45° 35' S. , and longitude 189° 4' W. By thelatitude, and the angles that are made by the coast, this point will besufficiently known; there is, however, about three or four leagues tothe south-west of it, and very near the shore, a remarkable saddle-hill, which is a good direction to it on that quarter. From one league to fourleagues north of Cape Saunders, the shore forms two or three bays, inwhich there appeared to be good anchorage, and effectual shelter fromthe S. W. Westerly, and N. Westerly winds; but my desire of getting tothe southward, in order to ascertain whether this country was an islandor a continent, prevented my putting into any of them. 

We kept at a small distance from the shore all this morning, with thewind at S. W. , and had a very distinct view of it: It is of a moderateheight, and the surface is broken by many hills which are green andwoody; but we saw no appearance of inhabitants. At noon, Cape Saundersbore N. 30 W. Distant about four leagues. We had variable winds andcalms till five o'clock in the evening, when it fixed at W. S. W. And soonblew so hard that it put us past our topsail, and split the foresailall to pieces: After getting another to the yard, we continued to standto the southward under two courses; and at six the next morning, thesouthermost land in sight bore W. By N. And Cape Saunders N. By W. Distant eight leagues: At noon, it bore N. 20 W. Fourteen leagues; andour latitude by observation was 46° 36'. The gale continued, with heavysqualls and a large hollow sea all the afternoon; and at seven in theevening, we lay-to under our foresail, with the ship's head to thesouthward: At noon on the 27th, our latitude was 46° 54', and ourlongitude from Cape Saunders 1° 24' E. At seven in the evening, we madesail under our courses; and at eight the next morning set the top-sailsclose reefed. At noon, our latitude was 47° 43', and our longitude eastfrom Cape Saunders 2° 10'. At this time we wore and stood to thenorthward: In the afternoon, we found the variation to be 16° 34' E. Ateight in the evening, we tacked and stood to the southward, with thewind at west. 

At noon, this day, our latitude, by account, was 47° 52', and ourlongitude from Cape Saunders 1° 8' E. We stood to the southward tillhalf an hour past three in the afternoon; and then, being in latitude48° S. And longitude 188° W. , and seeing no appearance of land, wetacked and stood to the northward, having a large swell from the S. W. ByW. At noon, the next day, our latitude was 46° 42' S. ; and Cape Saundersbore N. 46 W. Distant eighty-six miles. The south-west swell continuingtill the 3d, confirmed our opinion, that there was no land in thatquarter. At four in the afternoon, we stood to the westward with all thesail we could make. In the morning of the 4th, we found the variation tobe 16° 16' E. This day we saw some whales and seals, as we had doneseveral times after our having passed the streight; but we saw no sealswhile we were upon the coast of Eahienomauwe. We sounded both in thenight and this morning, but had no ground with one hundred and fiftyfathom. At noon, we saw Cape Saunders bearing N. 1/2 W. ; and ourlatitude by observation was 46° 31' S. At half an hour past one o'clock, we saw land bearing W. By S. , which we steered for, and before it wasdark were within three or four miles of it: During the whole night wesaw fires upon it, and at seven in the morning were within about threeleagues of the shore, which appeared to be high, but level. At threeo'clock in the afternoon, we saw the land extending from N. E. By N. ToN. W. 1/2 N. ; and soon after we discovered some low land, which appearedlike an island, bearing S. 1/2 W. We continued our course to the W. ByS. , and in two hours we saw high land over the low land, extending tothe southward as far as S. W. By S. ; but it did not appear to be joinedto the land to the northward, so that there is either water, a deep bay, or low land between them. 

At noon on the 6th, we were nearly in the same situation as at noon onthe day before: In the afternoon we found the variation, by severalazimuths and the amplitude, to be 15° 10' E. On the 7th at noon, we werein latitude 47° 6' S. And had made twelve miles easting during the lasttwenty-four hours. We stood to the westward the remainder of this day, and all the next till sun-set, when the extremes of the land bore fromN. By E. To W. Distant about seven or eight leagues: In this situationour depth of water was fifty-five fathom, and the variation by amplitude16° 29' E. The wind now veered from the N. To the W. , and as we had fineweather, and moon-light, we kept standing close upon the wind to theS. W. All night. At four in the morning, we had sixty fathom water; andat day-light, we discovered under our bow a ledge of rocks, extendingfrom S. By W. To W. By S. Upon which the sea broke very high: They werenot more than three quarters of a mile distant, yet we hadfive-and-forty fathom water. As the wind was at N. W. We could not nowweather them, and as I was unwilling to run to leeward, I tacked andmade a trip to the eastward; the wind however soon after coming to thenorthward, enabled us to get clear of all. Our soundings, while we werepassing within the ledge, were from thirty-five to forty-seven fathom, with a rocky bottom. 

This ledge lies S. E. Six leagues from the southermost part of the land, and S. E. By E. From some remarkable hills which stand near the shore:About three leagues to the northward of it, there is another ledge, which lies full three leagues from the shore, and on which the sea brokein a dreadful surf. As we passed these rocks to the north in the night, and discovered the others under our bow at break of day, it is manifestthat our danger was imminent, and our escape critical in the highestdegree: From the situation of these rocks, so well adapted to catchunwary strangers, I called them the _Traps_. Our latitude at noon was47° 26' S. The land in sight, which had the appearance of an island, extended from N. E. By N. To N. W. By W. And seemed to be about fiveleagues distant from the main; the eastermost ledge of rocks bore S. S. E. Distant one league and a half, and the northermost N. E. 1/2 E. Distantabout three leagues. This land is high and barren, with nothing upon itbut a few straggling shrubs, for not a single tree was to be seen; itwas however remarkable for a number of white patches which I took to bemarble, as they reflected the sun's rays very strongly: Other patches ofthe same kind we had observed in different parts of this country, particularly in Mercury Bay: We continued to stand close upon a wind tothe westward, and at sun-set the southermost point of land bore N. 38 E. Distant four leagues, and the westermost land in sight bore N. 2 E. Thepoint which lies in latitude 47° 19' S. Longitude. 192° 12' W. I named_South Cape_; the westermost land was a small island, lying off thepoint of the main. 

Supposing South Cape to be the southern extremity of this country, asindeed it proved to be, I hoped to get round it by the west, for a largehollow swell from the south-west, ever since our last hard gale, hadconvinced me that there was no land in that direction. 

In the night we had a hard gale at N. E. By N. And N. Which brought usunder our courses, but about eight in the morning it became moderate;and at noon veering to the west, we tacked and stood to the northward, having no land in sight. Our latitude, by observation, was 47° 33' S. Our longitude, west from the South Cape, 59'. We stood away N. N. E. Closeupon a wind, without seeing any land, till two the next morning, when wediscovered an island bearing N. W. By N. Distant about five leagues:About two hours afterwards we saw land a-head, upon which we tacked andstood off till six, when we stood in to take a nearer view of it: Ateleven we were within three leagues of it, but the wind seeming toincline upon the shore, I tacked and stood off to the southward. We hadnow sailed round the land which we had discovered on the 5th, and whichthen did not appear to be joined to the main which lay north of it; andbeing now come to the other side of what we supposed to be water, a bay, or low land, it had the same appearance, but when I came to lay it downupon paper I saw no reason to suppose it to be an island; on thecontrary, I was clearly of opinion that it made part of the main. Atnoon, the western extremity of the main bore N. 59 W. , and the islandwhich we had seen in the morning S. 59 W. Distant about five leagues. It lies in latitude 46° 31' S. Longitude 192° 49' W. , and is nothingbut a barren rock about a mile in circuit, remarkably high, and liesfull five leagues distant from the main. This island I named after DrSolander, and called it _Solander's Island_. The shore of the main liesnearest E. By S. And W. By N. And forms a large open bay, in which thereis no appearance of any harbour or shelter for shipping against S. W. Andsoutherly winds: The surface of the country is broken into craggy hills, of a great height, on the summits of which are several patches of snow:It is not, however, wholly barren, for we could see wood not only in thevallies, but upon the highest ground, yet we saw no appearance of itsbeing inhabited. 

We continued to stand to the S. W. By S. Till eleven o'clock the nextmorning, when the wind shifted to the S. W. By W. , upon which we wore, and stood to the N. N. W. , being then in latitude 47° 40' S. Longitude193° 50' W. , and having a hollow sea from the S. W. 

During the night, we steered N. N. W. Till six in the morning, when, seeing no land, we steered N. By E. Till eight, when we steered N. E. ByE. 1/2 E. To make the land, which at ten we saw bearing E. N. E. , but itbeing hazy, we could distinguish nothing upon it. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 46° S. About two it cleared up, and the landappeared to be high, rude, and mountainous. : About half an hour afterthree I hauled in for a bay, in which there appeared to be goodanchorage; but in about an hour, finding the distance too great to runbefore it would be dark, and the wind blowing too hard to make theattempt safe in the night, I bore away along the shore. 

This bay, which I called _Dusky Bay_, lies in latitude 45° 47' S. : It isbetween three and four miles broad at the entrance, and seems to be fullas deep as it is broad: It contains several islands, behind which theremust be shelter from all winds, though possibly there may not besufficient depth of water. The north point of this bay, when it bearsS. E. By S, is rendered very remarkable by five high peaked rocks whichlie off it, and have the appearance of the four fingers and thumb of aman's hand, for which reason I called it _Point Five Fingers_: The landof this point is farther remarkable, for being the only level landwithin a considerable distance. It extends near two leagues to thenorthward, is lofty, and covered with wood. The land behind it is verydifferent, consisting wholly of mountains, totally barren and rocky; andthis difference gives the Cape the appearance of an island. 

At sun-set, the southermost land in sight bore due south, distant aboutfive or six leagues; and as this is the westermost point of land uponthe whole coast, I called it _West Cape_. It lies about three leagues tothe southward of Dusky Bay, in the latitude of 45° 54' S. And in thelongitude of 193° 17' W. The land of this Cape is of a moderate heightnext the sea, and has nothing remarkable about it, except a very whitecliff, two or three leagues to the southward of it: To the southward ofit also the land trends away to the S. E. And to the northward it trendsN. N. E. 

Having brought-to for the night, we made sail along the shore at four inthe morning, in the direction of N. E. 1/2 N. With a moderate breeze atS. S. E. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 45° 18' S. At thistime, being about a league and a half from the shore, we sounded, buthad no ground with seventy fathom: We had just passed a small narrowopening in land, where there seemed to be a very safe and convenientharbour, formed by an island, which lay in the middle of the opening ateast. The opening lies in latitude 45° 16' S. , and on the land behind itare mountains, the summits of which were covered with snow, thatappeared to have been recently fallen; and indeed for two days past wehad found the weather very cold. On each side the entrance of theopening, the land rises almost perpendicularly from the sea to astupendous height, and this indeed was the reason why I did not carrythe ship into it, for no wind could blow there but right in, or rightout, in the direction of either east or west, and I thought it by nomeans advisable to put into a place whence I could not have got out butwith a wind which experience had taught me did not blow more than oneday in a month. In this, however, I acted contrary to the opinion ofsome persons on board, who in very strong terms expressed their desireto harbour for present convenience, without any regard to futuredisadvantages. 

In the evening, being about two leagues from the shore, we sounded, andhad no ground with 108 fathom: The variation of the needle, by azimuth, was 14° E. And by amplitude 15° 2'. We made the best of our way alongthe shore with what wind we had, keeping at the distance of between twoand three leagues. At noon, we were in latitude 44° 47', having run onlytwelve leagues upon a N. E. 1/4 N. Course, during the lastfour-and-twenty hours. 

We continued to steer along the shore, in the direction of N. E. 1/4 E. Till six o'clock in the evening, when we brought-to for the night. Atfour in the morning, we stood in for the land, and when the day broke wesaw what appeared to be an inlet; but upon a nearer approach proved tobe only a deep valley between two high lands: We proceeded therefore inthe same course, keeping the shore at the distance of between four andfive miles. At noon on the 16th, the northermost point of land in sightbore N. 60 E. At the distance of ten miles; and our latitude, byobservation, was 44° 5', our longitude from Cape West 3° 8' E. Abouttwo, we past the point which at noon had been distant ten miles, andfound it to consist of high red cliffs, down which there fell a cascadeof water in four small streams, and I therefore gave it the name of_Cascade Point_. From this Point the land trends first N. 76 E. Andafterwards more to the northward. At the distance of eight leagues fromCascade Point, in the direction of E. N. E. And at a little distance fromthe shore, lies a small low island, which bore from us S. By E. At thedistance of about a league and a half. 

At seven in the evening, we brought-to, in thirty-three fathom, with afine sandy bottom; at ten we had fifty fathom, and at twelve wore insixty-five fathom, having driven several miles N. N. W. After our havingbrought-to. At two in the morning, we had no ground with 140 fathom, bywhich it appears that the soundings extend but a little way from theshore. About this time it fell calm; at eight, a breeze sprung up atS. W. With which we steered along the shore, in the direction of N. E. ByE. 1/2 E. At the distance of about three leagues. At six in the evening, being about one league from the shore, we had seventeen fathom; and ateight, being about three leagues from the shore, we had forty-four; wenow shortened sail, and brought-to, having run ten leagues N. E. By E. Since noon. 

It was calm most part of the night; but at ten in the morning a lightbreeze sprung up at S. W. By W. When we made sail again along the shoreN. E. By N. , having a large swell from the W. S. W. Which had risen in thenight; at noon, our latitude, by observation, was 43° 4' S. And ourlongitude from Cape West 4° 12' E. We observed, that the vallies as wellas the mountains were this morning covered with snow, part of which wesupposed to have fallen during the night, when we had rain. At six inthe evening we shortened sail, and at ten brought-to, at the distance ofabout five leagues from the shore, where we had 115 fathom. At midnight, there being little wind, we made sail, and at eight in the morning westood to the N. E. Close upon a wind till noon, when we tacked, beingabout three leagues from the land, and, by observation, in latitude 42°8' and longitude from Cape West 5° 5' E. 

We continued to stand westward till two in the morning, when we made atrip to the eastward, and afterwards stood westward till noon, when, byour reckoning, we were in the latitude 42° 23', and longitude from CapeWest 3° 55' E. We now tacked and stood eastward, with a fresh gale at N. By W. Till six in the evening, when the wind shifted to the S. AndS. S. W. With which we steered N. E. By N. Till six in the morning, when wehauled in E. By N. To make the land, which we saw soon afterwards; atnoon, our latitude, by account, was 41° 37', and our longitude from CapeWest 5° 42' E. We were now within three or four leagues of the land, butit being foggy, we could see nothing upon it distinctly, and as we hadmuch wind, and a vast swell rolling in upon the shore, from the W. S. W. Idid not think it safe to go nearer. 

In the afternoon, we had a gentle breeze from the S. S. W. With which westeered north along the shore till eight, when, being within between twoand three leagues, we sounded, and had but thirty-four fathom; uponwhich we hauled off N. W. By N. Till eleven at night, and thenbrought-to, having sixty-four fathom. At four in the morning, we madesail to the N. E. With a light breeze at S. S. W. Which at eight veered tothe westward, and soon after died away; at this time we were withinthree or four miles of the land, and had fifty-four fathom, with a largeswell from the W. S. W. Rolling obliquely upon the shore, which made mefear that I should be obliged to anchor; but by the help of a light airnow and then from the S. W. I was able to keep the ship from driving. Atnoon, the northermost land in sight bore N. E. By E. 1/2 E. Distant aboutten leagues; our latitude, by account, was 40° 55' S. Longitude fromCape West 6° 35' E. From this time we had light airs from the southward, with intervals of calm, till noon on the 23d, when our latitude, byobservation, was 40° 36' 30" S. And our longitude from Cape West 6° 52'E. The eastermost point of land in sight bore E. 10 N. At the distanceof seven leagues, and a bluff head or point, of which we had beenabreast at noon the day before, and off which lay some rocks abovewater, bore S. 18 W. At the distance of six leagues. This point I called_Rock's Point_. Our latitude was now 40° 55' S. , and having nearly rundown the whole of the north-west coast of Tovy Poenammoo, I shall givesome account of the face of the country. 

I have already observed, that on the 11th, when we were off the southernpart, the land then seen was craggy and mountainous; and there is greatreason to believe that the same ridge of mountains extends nearly thewhole length of the island. Between the westernmost land which we sawthat day, and the easternmost which we saw on the 13th, there is a spaceof about six or eight leagues, of which we, did not see the coast, though we plainly discovered the mountains inland. The sea-coast nearCape West is low, rising with an easy and gradual ascent to the foot ofthe mountains, and being in most parts covered with wood. From PointFive Fingers, down to latitude 44° 26', there is a narrow ridge of hillsthat rises directly from the sea, and is covered with wood: Close behindthese hills are the mountains, extending in another ridge of astupendous height, and consisting of rocks that are totally barren andnaked, except where they are covered with snow, which is to be seen inlarge patches upon many parts of them, and has probably lain there eversince the creation of the world: A prospect more rude, craggy, anddesolate than this country affords from the sea, cannot possibly beconceived, for as far inland as the eye can reach, nothing appears butthe summits of rocks, which stand so near together, that instead ofvallies there are only fissures between them. From the latitude of 44°20', to the latitude of 42° 8', these mountains lie farther inland, andthe sea-coast consists of woody hills and valleys, of various heightand extent, and has much appearance of fertility: Many of the valliesform plains of considerable extent, wholly covered with wood, but it isvery probable that the ground, in many places, is swampy, andinterspersed with pools of water. From latitude 42° 8', to 41° 30', theland is not distinguished by any thing remarkable: It rises into hillsdirectly from the sea, and is covered with wood; but the weather beingfoggy while we were upon this part of the coast, we could see verylittle inland, except now and then the summits of the mountains, towering above the cloudy mists that obscured them below, whichconfirmed my opinion that a chain of mountains extended from one end ofthe island to the other. 

In the afternoon, we had a gentle breeze at S. W. , which, before it wasquite dark, brought us abreast of the eastern point which we had seen atnoon; but not knowing what course the land took on the other side of it, we brought-to in thirty-four fathom, at the distance of about one leaguefrom the shore. At eight in the evening, there being little wind, wefilled and stood on till midnight, and then we brought-to till four inthe morning, when we again made sail, and at break of day we saw lowland extending from the point to the S. S. E. As far as the eye couldreach, the eastern extremity of which appeared in round hillocks: Bythis time the gale had veered to the eastward, which obliged us to plyto windward. At noon next day, the eastern point bore S. W. By S. Distantsixteen miles, and our latitude was 40° 19': The wind continuingeasterly, we were nearly in the same situation at noon on the dayfollowing. About three o'clock the wind came to the westward, and westeered E. S. E. With all the sail we could set till it was dark, and thenshortened sail till the morning: As we had thick hazy weather all night, we kept sounding continually, and had from thirty-seven to forty-twofathom. When the day broke we saw land bearing S. E. By E. And an islandlying near it, bearing E. S. E. Distant about five leagues: This island Iknew to be the same that I had seen from the entrance of QueenCharlotte's Sound, from which it bears N. W. By N. Distant nine leagues. At noon, it bore south, distant four or five miles, and the north-westhead of the Sound S. E. By S. Distant ten leagues and a half. Ourlatitude, by observation, was 40° 33' S. 

As we had now circumnavigated the whole country, it became necessary tothink of quitting it; but as I had thirty tons of empty water casks onboard, this could not be done till I had filled them: I therefore hauledround the island, and entered a bay which lies between that and QueenCharlotte's Sound, leaving three more islands, which lay close under thewestern shore, between three or four miles within the entrance, on ourstarboard hand: While we were running in, we kept the lead continuallygoing, and had from forty to twelve fathom. At six o'clock in theevening, we anchored in eleven fathom with a muddy bottom, under thewest shore, in the second cove, that lies within the three islands; andas soon as it was light the next morning, I took a boat, and went onshore to look for a watering-place, and a proper birth for the ship, both which I found, much to my satisfaction. As soon as the ship wasmoored, I sent an officer on shore to superintend the watering, and thecarpenter, with his crew, to cut wood, while the long-boat was employedin landing the empty casks. 

In this employment we were busy till the 30th, when the wind seeming tosettle at S. E. And our water being nearly completed, we warped the shipout of the cove, that we might have room to get under sail: And at noonI went away in the pinnace to examine as much of the bay as my timewould admit. 

After rowing about two leagues up it, I went ashore upon a point of landon the western side, and having climbed a hill, I saw the western arm ofthis bay run in S. W. By W. About five leagues farther, yet I could notdiscover the end of it: There appeared to be several other inlets, or atleast small bays, between this and the north-west head of QueenCharlotte's Sound, in each of which, I make no doubt, there is anchorageand shelter, as they are all covered from the sea-wind by the islandswhich lie without them. The land about this bay, as far as I could seeof it, is of a hilly surface, chiefly covered with trees, shrubs, andfern, which render travelling difficult and fatiguing. In this excursionI was accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, who found several newplants. We met with some huts, which seemed to have been long deserted, but saw no inhabitants. Mr Banks examined several of the stones thatlay upon the beach, which were full of veins, and had a mineralappearance; but he did not discover any thing in them which he knew tobe ore: If he had had an opportunity to examine any of the bare rocks, perhaps he might have been more fortunate. He was also of opinion thatwhat I had taken for marble in another place, was a mineral substance;and that, considering the correspondence of latitude between this placeand South America, it was not improbable but that, by a properexamination, something very valuable might be found. 

At my return in the evening, I found all the wood and water on board, and the ship ready for the sea; I resolved therefore to quit thecountry, and return home by such a route as might be of most advantageto the service; and upon this subject took the opinion of my officers. Ihad myself a strong desire to return by Cape Horn, because that wouldhave enabled me finally to determine, whether there is or is not asouthern continent; but against this it was a sufficient objection thatwe must have kept in a high southern latitude in the very depth ofwinter, with a vessel which was not thought sufficient for theundertaking: And the same reason was urged against our proceedingdirectly for the Cape of Good Hope, with still more force, because nodiscovery of moment could be hoped for in that route; it was thereforeresolved that we should return by the East Indies, and that with thisview we should, upon leaving the coast, steer westward, till we shouldfall in with the east coast of New Holland, and then follow thedirection of that coast to the northward, till we should arrive at itsnorthern extremity; but if that should be found impracticable, it wasfurther resolved that we should endeavour to fall in with the land, orislands, said to have been discovered by Quiros. 

With this view, at break of day on Saturday the 31st of March, 1770, wegot under sail, and put to sea, with the advantage of a fresh gale atS. E. And clear weather, taking our departure from the eastern point, which we had seen at noon on the 23d, and to which, on this occasion Igave the name of _Cape Farewell_. 

The bay out of which we had just sailed I called _Admiralty Bay_, givingthe name of _Cape Stephens_ to the northwest point, and _Cape Jackson_to the south-east, after the two gentlemen who at this time weresecretaries to the board. 

Admiralty Bay may easily be known by the island that has been justmentioned, which lies two miles N. E. Of Cape Stephens, in latitude 40°37' S. Longitude 185° 6' W. , and is of a considerable height. Betweenthis island and Cape Farewell, which are between fourteen and fifteenleagues distant from each other, in the direction of W. By N. And E. ByS. The shore forms a large deep bay, the bottom of which we couldscarcely see while we were sailing in a straight line from one Cape tothe other; it is, however, probably of less depth than it appeared tobe, for as we found the water shallower here, than at the same distancefrom any other part of the coast, there is reason to suppose, that theland at the bottom which lies next the sea is low, and therefore noteasily to be distinguished from it. I have for this reason called it_Blind Bay_, and am of opinion that it is the same which was calledMurderer's Bay by Tasman. [68]

[Footnote 68: The three following sections of the original are occupiedby unsatisfactory accounts of New Zealand, which it seemed veryunadvisable to give here, as the subject must be resumed when we come tothe third voyage of Captain Cook. It was equally objectionable toanticipate fuller information _now_, and to repeat imperfect notices_hereafter_. The present omission will be made up to the reader'scontent. We now go on with the remainder of the narrative. --E. ]

SECTION XXVIII. 

_The Run from New Zealand to Botany Bay, on the East Coast of NewHolland, now called New South Wales; various Incidents that happenedthere; with some Account of the Country and its Inhabitants_. 

Having sailed from Cape Farewell, which lies in latitude 40° 33' S. , longitude 186° W. , on Saturday the 31st of March, 1770, we steeredwestward, with a fresh gale at N. N. E. , and at noon on the 2d of April, our latitude, by observation, was 40°, our longitude from Cape Farewell2° 31' W. 

In the morning of the 9th, being in latitude 38° 29' S. We saw a tropicbird which in so high a latitude is very uncommon. 

In the morning of the 10th, being in latitude 38° 51' S. , longitude 202°43' W. , we found the variation, by the amplitude, to be 11° 25' E. Andby the azimuth 11° 20'. 

In the morning of the 11th, the variation was 13° 48', which is twodegrees and a half more than the day before, though I expected to havefound it less. 

In the course of the 13th, being in latitude 39° 23' S. , longitude 204°2' W. , I found the variation to be 12° 27' E. , and in the morning of the14th, it was 11° 30'; this day we also saw some flying fish. On the15th, we saw an egg bird and a gannet, and as these are birds that nevergo far from the land, we continued to sound all night, but had no groundwith 130 fathom. At noon on the 16th, we were in latitude 39° 45' S. , longitude 208° W. At about two o'clock the wind came about to the W. S. W. Upon which we tacked and stood to the N. W. ; soon after, a smallland-bird perched upon the rigging, but we had no ground with 120fathom. At eight we wore and stood to the southward till twelve atnight, and then wore and stood to the N. W. Till four in the morning, when we again stood to the southward, having a fresh gale at W. S. W. Withsqualls and dark weather till nine, when the weather became clear, andthere being little wind, we had an opportunity to take severalobservations of the sun and moon, the mean result of which gave 207° 56'W. Longitude: Our latitude at noon was 39° 36' S. We had now a hard galefrom the southward, and a great sea from the same quarter, which obligedus to run under our fore-sail and mizen all night, during which wesounded every two hours, but had no ground with 120 fathom. 

In the morning of the 18th, we saw two Port Egmont hens, and a pintadobird, which are certain signs of approaching land, and indeed by ourreckoning we could not be far from it, for our longitude was now onedegree to the westward of the east side of Van Diemen's land, accordingto the longitude laid down by Tasman, whom we could not suppose to haveerred much in so short a run as from this land to New Zealand, and byour latitude we could not be above fifty or fifty-five leagues from theplace whence he took his departure. All this day we had frequentsqualls and a great swell. At one in the morning we brought-to andsounded, but had no ground with 130 fathom; at six we saw land extendingfrom N. E. To W. At the distance of five or six leagues, having eightyfathom, water with a fine sandy bottom. 

We continued standing westward, with the wind at S. S. W. Till eight, whenwe made all the sail we could, and bore away along the shore N. E. Forthe eastermost land in sight, being at this time in latitude 37° 58' S. , and longitude 210° 39' W. The southermost point of land in sight, whichbore from us W. 1/4 S. , I judged to lie in latitude 38°, longitude 211°7', and gave it the name of _Point Hicks_, because Mr Hicks, the firstlieutenant, was the first who discovered it. To the southward of thisPoint no land was to be seen, though it was very clear in that quarter, and by our longitude, compared with that of Tasman, not as it is laiddown in the printed charts, but in the extracts from Tasman's journal, published by Rembrantse, the body of Van Diemen's land ought to haveborne due south; and indeed, from the sudden falling of the sea afterthe wind abated, I had reason to think it did; yet as I did not see it, and as I found this coast trend N. E. And S. W. Or rather more to theeastward, I cannot determine whether it joins to Van Diemen's land ornot. [69]

[Footnote 69: This part of geography has been a good deal improved sinceCook's time, as will be illustrated in progress. Van Diemen's land, which was formerly reckoned a part of New Holland, and is marked as suchin the accompanying chart, is separated from it by Bass's Strait, whichis about 30 leagues in breadth, ' and contains several groups of islands. Of these more hereafter. --E. ]

At noon, we were in latitude 370° 5', longitude 210° 29' W. The extremesof the land extended from N. W. To E. N. E. And a remarkable point bore N. 20 E. At the distance of about four leagues. This point rises in a roundhillock, very much resembling the Ram-Head at the entrance of PlymouthSound, and therefore I called it by the same name. The variation by anazimuth, taken this morning, was 3° 7' E. ; and what we had now seen ofthe land, appeared low and level: The sea-shore was a white sand, butthe country within was green and woody. About one o'clock, we saw threewater spouts at once; two were between us and the shore, and the thirdat some distance, upon our larboard quarter: This phenomenon is so wellknown, that it is not necessary to give a particular description of ithere. 

At six o'clock in the evening, we shortened sail, and brought-to for thenight, having fifty-six fathom water, and a fine sandy bottom. Thenorthermost land in sight then bore N. By E. 1/2 E. , and a small islandlying close to a point on the main bore W. Distant two leagues. Thispoint, which I called _Cape Howe_, may be known by the trending of thecoast, which is north on the one side, and south-west on the other; itmay also be known by some round hills upon the main, just within it. 

We brought-to for the night, and at four in the morning made sail alongshore to the northward. At six, the northermost land in sight boreN. N. W. And we were at this time about four leagues from the shore. Atnoon, we were in latitude 36° 51' S. Longitude 209° 53' W. And aboutthree leagues distant from the shore. The weather being clear, gave us agood view of the country, which has a very pleasing appearance: It is ofa moderate height, diversified by hills and vallies, ridges and plains, interspersed with a few lawns of no great extent, but in general coveredwith wood: The ascent of the hills and ridges is gentle, and the summitsare not high. We continued to sail along the shore to the northward, with a southerly wind, and in the afternoon we saw a smoke in severalplaces, by which we knew the country to be inhabited. At six in theevening, we shortened sail, and sounded: We found forty-four fathomwater, with a clear sandy bottom, and stood on under an easy sail tilltwelve, when we brought-to for the night, and had ninety fathom water. 

At four in the morning, we made sail again, at the distance of aboutfive leagues from the land, and at six, we were abreast of a highmountain, lying near the shore, which, on account of its figure, Icalled _Mount Dromedary_: Under this mountain the shore forms a point, to which I gave the name of _Point Dromedary_, and over it there is apeaked hillock. At this time, being in latitude 36° 18' S. , longitude209° 55' W. We found the variation to be 10° 42' E. 

Between ten and eleven, Mr Green and I took several observations of thesun and moon, the mean result of which gave 209° 17' longitude W. By anobservation made the day before, our longitude was 210° 9' W. , from. Which 20' being subtracted, there remains 209° 49', the longitude of theship this day at noon, the mean of which, with this day's observation, gives 209° 33', by which I fix the longitude of this coast. At noon, ourlatitude was 35° 49' S. , Cape Dromedary bore S. 30 W. , at the distanceof twelve leagues, and an open bay, in which were three or four smallislands, bore N. W. By W. At the distance of five or six leagues. Thisbay seemed to afford but little shelter from the sea winds, and yet itis the only place where there appeared a probability of findinganchorage upon the whole coast. We continued to steer along the shore N. By E. And N. N. E. At the distance of about three leagues, and saw smokein many places near the beach. At five in the evening, we were abreastof a point of land which rose in a perpendicular cliff, and which, forthat reason, I called _Point Upright_. Our latitude was 35° 35' S. Whenthis point bore from us due west, distant about two leagues: In thissituation, we had about thirty-one fathom water with a sandy bottom. Atsix in the evening, the wind falling, we hauled off E. N. E. And at thistime the northermost land in sight bore N. By E. 1/2 E. At midnight, being in seventy fathom water, we brought-to till four in the morning, when we made sail in for the land; but at day-break, found our situationnearly the same as it had been at five the evening before, by which itwas apparent that we had been driven about three leagues to thesouthward, by a tide or current, during the night. After this we steeredalong the shore N. N. E. With a gentle breeze at S. W. , and were so nearthe land as to distinguish several of the natives upon the beach, whoappeared to be of a black, or very dark colour. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 35° 27' S. And longitude 209° 23' W. ; Cape Dromedarybore S. 28 W. Distant nineteen leagues, a remarkable peaked hill, whichresembled a square dove-house, with a dome at the top, and which forthat reason I called the _Pigeon House_, bore N. 32° 30' W. , and a smalllow island, which lay close under the shore, bore N. W. Distant about twoor three leagues. When I first discovered this island, in the morning, Iwas in hopes from its appearance, that I should have found shelter forthe ship behind it, but when we came near it, it did not promisesecurity even for the landing of a boat: I should however have attemptedto send a boat on shore, if the wind had not veered to that direction, with a large hollow sea rolling in upon the land from the S. E. Whichindeed had been the case ever since we had been upon it. The coast stillcontinued to be of a moderate height, forming alternately rocky pointsand sandy beaches; but within, between Mount Dromedary and the PigeonHouse, we saw high mountains, which, except two, are covered with wood:These two lie inland behind the Pigeon House, and are remarkably flat atthe top, with steep rocky cliffs all round them as far as we could see. The trees, which almost every where clothe this country, appear to belarge and lofty. This day the variation was found to be 9° 50' E. , andfor the two last days, the latitude, by observation, was twelve orfourteen miles to the southward of the ship's account, which could havebeen the effect of nothing but a current setting in that direction. About four in the afternoon, being near five leagues from the land, wetacked and stood off S. E. And E. , and the wind having veered in thenight, from E. To N. E. And N. , we tacked about four in the morning, andstood in, being then about nine or ten leagues from the shore. At eight, the wind began to die away, and soon after it was calm. At noon, ourlatitude, by observation, was 35° 38', and our distance from the landabout six leagues. Cape Dromedary bore S. 37 W. Distant seventeenleagues, and the Pigeon House N. 40 W. : In this situation we had 74fathom water. In the afternoon, we had variable light airs and calms, till six in the evening, when a breeze sprung up at N. By W. : At thistime, being about four or five leagues from the shore, we had seventyfathom water. The Pigeon House bore N. 45 W. Mount Dromedary S. 30 W. And the northermost land in sight N. 19 E. 

We stood to the north-east till noon the next day, with a gentle breezeat N. W. , and then we tacked and stood westward. At this time, ourlatitude, by observation, was 35° 10' S. , and longitude 208° 51' W. Apoint of land which I had discovered on St George's day, and whichtherefore I called _Cape George_, bore W. Distant nineteen miles, andthe Pigeon House (the latitude and longitude of which I found to be 35°19' S. And 209° 42' W. ) S. 75 W. In the morning, we had found thevariation, by amplitude, to be 7° 50' E. And by several azimuths 7° 54'E. We had a fresh breeze at N. W. From noon till three; it then came tothe west, when we tacked and stood to the northward. At five in theevening, being about five or six leagues from the shore, with the PigeonHouse bearing W. S. W. Distant about nine leagues, we had eighty-sixfathom water; and at eight, having thunder and lightning, with heavysqualls, we brought-to in 120 fathom. 

At three in the morning, we made sail again to the northward, having theadvantage of a fresh gale at S. W. At noon, we were about three or fourleagues from the shore, and in latitude 34° 22' S. , longitude 208° 36'W. In the course of this day's run from the preceding noon, which wasforty-five miles north-east, we saw smoke in several places near thebeach. About two leagues to the northward of Cape George, the shoreseemed to form a bay, which promised shelter from the north-east winds, but as the wind was with us, it was not in my power to look into itwithout beating up, which would have cost me more time than I waswilling to spare. The north point of this bay, on account of its figure, I named _Long Nose_; its latitude is 35° 6', and about eight leaguesnorth of it there lies a point, which, from the colour of the land aboutit, I called _Red Point_: Its latitude is 34° 29', and longitude 208°45' W. To the north-west of Red Point, and a little way inland, stands around hill, the top of which looks like the crown of a hat. In theafternoon of this day, we had a light breeze at N. N. W. Till five in theevening, when it fell calm: At this time, we were between three and fourleagues from the shore, and had forty-eight fathom water: The variationby azimuth was 8° 48' E. And the extremities of this land were from N. E. By N. To S. W. By S. Before it was dark, we saw smoke in several placesalong the shore, and a fire two or three times afterwards. During thenight we lay becalmed, driving in before the sea till one in themorning, when we got a breeze from the land, with which we steered N. E. Being then in thirty-eight fathom. At noon, it veered to N. E. By N. Andwe were then in latitude 34° 10' S. , longitude 208° 27' W. : The land wasdistant about five leagues, and extended from S. 37 W. To N. 1/2 E. Inthis latitude, there are some white cliffs, which rise perpendicularlyfrom the sea to a considerable height. We stood off the shore till twoo'clock, and then tacked and stood in till six, when we were within fouror five miles of it, and at that distance had fifty fathom water. Theextremities of the land bore from S. 28 W. To N. 25° 30' E. We nowtacked and stood off till twelve, then tacked and stood in again tillfour in the morning, when we made a trip off till day-light; and duringall this time we lost ground, owing to the variableness of the winds. Wecontinued at the distance of between four and five miles from the shore, till the afternoon, when we came within two miles, and I then hoistedout the pinnace and yawl to attempt a landing, but the pinnace proved tobe so leaky that I was obliged to hoist her in again. At this time wesaw several of the natives walking briskly along the shore, four of whomcarried a small canoe upon their shoulders: We flattered ourselves thatthey were going to put her into the water, and come off to the ship, butfinding ourselves disappointed, I determined to go on shore in the yawl, with as many as it would carry: I embarked, therefore, with only MrBanks, Dr Solander, Tupia, and four rowers: We pulled for that part ofthe shore where the Indians appeared, near which four small canoes werelying at the water's edge. The Indians sat down upon the rocks, andseemed to wait for our landing; but to our great regret, when we camewithin about a quarter of a mile, they ran away into the woods: Wedetermined however to go ashore, and endeavour to procure an interview, but in this we were again disappointed, for we found so great a surfbeating upon every part of the beach, that landing with our little boatwas altogether impracticable: We were therefore obliged to be contentwith gazing at such objects as presented themselves from the water: Thecanoes, upon a near view, seemed very much to resemble those of thesmaller sort at New Zealand. We observed, that among the trees on shore, which were not very large, there was no underwood; and could distinguishthat many of them were of the palm kind, and some of them cabbage trees:After many a wishful look we were obliged to return, with our curiosityrather excited than satisfied, and about five in the evening got onboard the ship. About this time it fell calm, and our situation was byno means agreeable: We were now not more than a mile and a half from theshore, and within some breakers, which lay to the southward; but happilya light breeze came off the land, and carried us out of danger. Withthis breeze we stood to the northward, and at day-break we discovered abay, which seemed to be well sheltered from all winds, and into whichtherefore I determined to go with the ship. The pinnace being repaired, I sent her, with the master, to sound the entrance, while I kept turningup, having the wind right out. At noon, the mouth of the bay bore N. N. W. Distant about a mile, and seeing a smoke on the shore, we directed ourglasses to the spot, and soon discovered ten people, who, upon ournearer approach, left their fire, and retired to a little eminence, whence they could conveniently observe our motions. Soon after twocanoes, each having two men on board, came to the shore just under theeminence, and the men joined the rest on the top of it. The pinnace, which had been sent ahead to sound, now approached the place, upon whichall the Indians retired farther up the hill, except one, who hid himselfamong some rocks near the landing-place. As the pinnace proceeded alongthe shore, most of the people took the same route, and kept abreast ofher at a distance; when she came back, the master told us, that in acove a little within the harbour, some of them had come down to thebeach, and invited him to land by many signs and words of which he knewnot the meaning; but that all of them were armed with long pikes, and awooden weapon shaped somewhat like a cymitar. The Indians who had notfollowed the boat, seeing the ship approach, used many threateninggestures; and brandished their weapons; particularly two, who made avery singular appearance, for their faces seemed to have been dustedwith a white powder, and their bodies painted with broad streaks of thesame colour, which, passing obliquely over their breasts and backs, looked not unlike the cross-belts worn by our soldiers; the same kind ofstreaks were also drawn round their legs and thighs like broad garters:Each of these men held in his hand the weapon that had been described tous as like a cymitar, which appeared to be about two feet and a halflong, and they seemed to talk to each other with great earnestness. 

We continued to stand into the bay, and early in the afternoon anchoredunder the south shore, about two miles within the entrance, in sixfathom water, the south point bearing S. E. And the north point east. Aswe came in we saw, on both points of the bay, a few huts, and several ofthe natives, men, women, and children. Under the south head we saw foursmall canoes, with each one man on board, who were very busily employedin striking fish with a long pike or spear: They ventured almost intothe surf, and were so intent upon what they were doing, that althoughthe ship passed within a quarter of a mile of them, they scarcely turnedtheir eyes toward her; possibly being deafened by the surf, and theirattention wholly fixed upon their business or sport, they neither sawnor heard her go past them. 

The place where the ship had anchored was abreast of a small village, consisting of about six or eight houses; and while we were preparing tohoist out the boat, we saw an old woman, followed by three children, come out of the wood; she was loaded with fire-wood, and each of thechildren had also its little burden: When she came to the houses, threemore children, younger than the others, came out to meet her: She oftenlooked at the ship, but expressed neither fear nor surprise: In a shorttime she kindled a fire, and the four canoes came in from fishing. Themen landed, and having hauled up their boats, began to dress theirdinner, to all appearance wholly unconcerned about us, though we werewithin half a mile of them. We thought it remarkable that of all thepeople we had yet seen, not one had the least appearance of clothing, the old woman herself being destitute even of a fig-leaf. 

After dinner the boats were manned, and we set out from the ship, havingTupia of our party. We intended to land where we saw the people, andbegan to hope that as they had so little regarded the ship's coming intothe bay, they would as little regard our coming on shore: In this, however, we were disappointed; for as soon as we approached the rocks, two of the men came down upon them to dispute our landing, and the restran away. Each of the two champions was armed with a lance about tenfeet long, and a short stick, which he seemed to handle as if it was amachine to assist him in managing or throwing the lance: They called tous in a very loud tone, and in a harsh dissonant language, of whichneither we nor Tupia understood a single word: They brandished theirweapons, and seemed resolved to defend their coast to the uttermost, though they were but two, and we were forty. I could not but admiretheir courage, and being very unwilling that hostilities should commencewith such inequality of force between us, I ordered the boat to lie uponher oars: We then parlied by signs for about a quarter of an hour, andto bespeak their good-will, I threw them nails, beads, and othertrifles, which they took up and seemed to be well pleased with. I thenmade signs that I wanted water, and, by all the means that I coulddevise, endeavoured to convince them that we would do them no harm: Theynow waved to us, and I was willing to interpret it as an invitation; butupon our putting the boat in, they came again to oppose us. One appearedto be a youth about nineteen or twenty, and the other a man of middleage: As I had now no other resource, I fired a musquet between them. Upon the report, the youngest dropped a bundle of lances upon the rock, but recollecting himself in an instant he snatched them up again withgreat haste: A stone was then thrown at us, upon which I ordered amusquet to be fired with small shot, which struck the eldest upon thelegs, and he immediately ran to one of the houses, which was distantabout an hundred yards: I now hoped that our contest was over, and weimmediately landed; but we had scarcely left the boat when he returned, and we then perceived that he had left the rock only to fetch a shieldor target for his defence. As soon as he came up, he threw a lance atus, and his comrade another; they fell where we stood thickest, buthappily hurt nobody. A third musquet with small shot was then fired atthem, upon which one of them threw another lance, and both immediatelyran away: If we had pursued, we might probably have taken one of them;but Mr Banks suggesting that the lances might be poisoned, I thought itnot prudent to venture into the woods. We repaired immediately to thehuts, in one of which we found the children, who had hidden themselvesbehind a shield and some bark; we peeped at them, but left them in theirretreat, without their knowing that they had been discovered, and wethrew into the house when we went away some beads, ribbons, pieces ofcloth, and other presents, which we hoped would procure us the good-willof the inhabitants when they should return; but the lances which wefound lying about, we took away with us, to the number of aboutfifty:[70] They were from six to fifteen feet long, and all of them hadfour prongs in the manner of a fish-gig, each of which was pointed withfish-bone, and very sharp: We observed that they were smeared with aviscous substance of a green colour, which favoured the opinion of theirbeing poisoned, though we afterwards discovered that it was a mistake:They appeared, by the sea-weed that we found sticking to them, to havebeen used in striking fish. Upon examining the canoes that lay upon thebeach, we found them to be the worst we had ever seen: They were betweentwelve and fourteen feet long, and made of the bark of a tree in onepiece, which was drawn together and tied up at each end, the middlebeing kept open by sticks which were placed across them from gunwale togunwale as thwarts. We then searched for fresh water, but found none, except in a small hole which had been dug in the sand. 

[Footnote 70: This action is not altogether to be commended--perhapsindeed, it is scarcely justifiable, but on the same principle that wouldwarrant these or other savages making off with the muskets or any thingelse belonging to the ship's company. These lances were most valuableproperty to their original possessors; and it is doubtful if the pleawhich might be set up for the abstraction of them, viz. That they wouldbe used against our people, can be sustained, seeing the savages hadfled; and more especially as, supposing, them to have so purposed, theycould with readiness be checked by a display of superior means ofannoyance. Is it conceivable, that the unworthy desire to possess theselances as curiosities, could actuate the persons concerned to such apiece of pilfering? We have repeatedly seen that our people had not beenscrupulous in allegiance to the commandment--thou shalt not covet, &c. --E. ]

Having re-embarked in our boat, we deposited our lances on board theship, and then went over to the north point of the bay, where we hadseen several of the inhabitants when we were entering it, but which wenow found totally deserted. Here however we found fresh water, whichtrickled down from the top of the rocks, and stood in pools among thehollows at the bottom; but it was situated so as not to be procured forour use without difficulty. 

In the morning, therefore, I sent a party of men to that part of theshore where we first landed, with orders to dig holes in the sand wherethe water might gather; but going ashore myself with the gentlemen soonafterwards, we found, upon a more diligent search, a small stream, morethan sufficient for our purpose. 

Upon visiting the hut where we had seen the children, we were greatlymortified to find that the beads and ribbons which we had left there thenight before, had not been moved from their places, and that not anIndian was to be seen. [71]

[Footnote 71: Beads and ribbons, and all other niceties in ornament, could be of little or no value in the estimation of those, who withdifficulty could procure the necessaries of life. The love of suchtrifles does not seem to be excited, till the physical wants are so farsupplied, as to leave the mind free to the discursive recreations offancy. Their excellence or superiority in attire becomes distinctive ofaffluence and ease, and of course procures respect, which, by aprinciple inherent in human nature, all persons seek to obtain. --E. ]

Having sent some empty water-casks on shore, and left a party of men tocut wood, I went myself in the pinnace to sound, and examine the bay;during my excursion I saw several of the natives, but they all fled atmy approach. In one of the places where I landed, I found several smallfires, and fresh mussels broiling upon them; here also I found some ofthe largest oyster-shells I had ever seen. 

As soon as the wooders and waterers came on board to dinner, ten ortwelve of the natives came down to the place, and looked with greatattention and curiosity at the casks, but did not touch them: They tookaway however the canoes which lay near the landing-place, and againdisappeared. In the afternoon, when our people were again ashore, sixteen or eighteen Indians, all armed, came boldly within about anhundred yards of them, and then stopped: Two of them advanced somewhatnearer; and Mr Hicks, who commanded the party on shore, with another, advanced to meet them, holding out presents to them as he approached, and expressing kindness and amity by every sign he could think of, butall without effect; for before he could get up with them they retired, and it would have answered no purpose to pursue. In the evening, I wentwith Mr Banks and Dr Solander to a sandy cove on the north side of thebay, where, in three or four hauls with the seine, we took above threehundred-weight of fish, which was equally divided among the ship'scompany. 

The next morning, before day-break, the Indians came down to the housesthat were abreast of the ship, and were heard frequently to shout veryloud. As soon as it was light, they were seen walking along the beach;and soon after they retired to the woods, where, at the distance ofabout a mile from the shore, they kindled several fires. 

Our people went ashore as usual, and with them Mr Banks and Dr Solander;who, in search of plants, repaired to the woods. Our men, who wereemployed in cutting grass, being the farthest removed from the main bodyof the people, a company of fourteen or fifteen Indians advanced towardsthem, having sticks in their hands, which, according to the report ofthe serjeant of the marines, shone like a musquet. The grass-cutters, upon seeing them approach, drew together, and repaired to the main body. The Indians, being encouraged by this appearance of a flight, pursuedthem; they stopped however when they were within about a furlong ofthem, and after shouting several times went back into the woods. In theevening they came again in the same manner, stopped at the samedistance, shouted and retired. I followed them myself, alone andunarmed, for a considerable way along the shore, but I could not prevailupon them to stop. 

This day Mr Green took the sun's meridian altitude a little within thesouth entrance of the bay, which gave the latitude 34° S. , the variationof the needle was 11° 3' E. 

Early the next morning, the body of Forby Sutherland, one of our seamen, who died the evening before, was buried near the watering-place; andfrom this incident I called the south point of this bay _SutherlandPoint_. This day we resolved to make an excursion into the country. MrBanks, Dr Solander, myself, and seven others, properly accoutred for theexpedition, set out, and repaired first to the huts, near thewatering-place, whither some of the natives continued every day toresort; and though the little presents which we had left there beforehad not yet been taken away, we left others of somewhat more value, consisting of cloth, looking-glasses, combs, and beads, and then went upinto the country. We found the soil to be either swamp or light sand, and the face of the country finely diversified by wood and lawn. Thetrees are tall, straight, and without underwood, standing at such adistance from each other, that the whole country, at least where theswamps do not render it incapable of cultivation, might be cultivatedwithout cutting down one of them: Between the trees the ground iscovered with grass, of which there is great abundance, growing in tuftsabout as big as can well be grasped in the hand, which stand very closeto each other. We saw many houses of the inhabitants, and places wherethey had slept upon the grass without any shelter; but we saw only oneof the people, who the moment he discovered us ran away. At all theseplaces we left presents, hoping that at length they might produceconfidence and good-will. We had a transient and imperfect view of aquadruped about as big as a rabbit: Mr Banks's grey-hound, which waswith us, got sight of it, and would probably have caught it, but themoment he set off he lamed himself, against a stump which lay concealedin the long grass. We afterwards saw the dung of an animal which fedupon grass, and which we judged could not be less than a deer; and thefootsteps of another, which was clawed like a dog, and seemed to beabout as big as a wolf; we also tracked a small animal, whose footresembled that of a polecat or weasel. The trees over our head aboundedwith birds of various kinds, among which were many of exquisite beauty, particularly loriquets and cockatoos, which flew in flocks of severalscores together. We found some wood which had been felled by the nativeswith a blunt instrument, and some that had been barked. The trees werenot of many species; among others there was a large one which yielded agum not unlike the _Sanguis draconis_; and in some of them steps thathad been cut at about three feet distance from each other, for theconvenience of climbing them. 

From this excursion we returned between three and four o'clock, andhaving dined on board, we went ashore again at the watering-place, wherea party of men were filling casks. Mr Gore, the second lieutenant, hadbeen sent out in the morning with a boat to dredge for oysters at thehead of the bay; when he had performed this service, he went ashore, andhaving taken a midshipman with him, and sent the boat away, set out tojoin the waterers by land. In his way he fell in with a body oftwo-and-twenty Indians, who followed him, and were often not more thantwenty yards distant; when Mr Gore perceived them so near, he stopped, and faced about, upon which they stopped also; and when he went onagain, continued their pursuit: They did not however attack him, thoughthey were all armed with lances, and he and the midshipman got in safetyto the watering-place. The Indians, who had slackened their pursuit whenthey came in sight of the main body of our people, halted at about thedistance of a quarter of a mile, where they stood still. Mr Monkhouseand two or three of the waterers took it into their head to march up tothem; but seeing the Indians keep their ground till they came prettynear them, they were seized with a sudden fear very common to the rashand fool-hardy, and made a hasty retreat: This step, which insured thedanger that it was taken to avoid, encouraged the Indians, and four ofthem running forward discharged their lances at the fugitives, with suchforce, that flying no less than forty yards, they went beyond them. Asthe Indians did not pursue, our people, recovering their spirits, stopped to collect the lances when they came up to the place where theylay; upon which the Indians, in their turn, began to retire. Just atthis time I came up, with Mr Banks, Dr Solander, and Tupia; and beingdesirous to convince the Indians that we were neither afraid of them, nor intended them any mischief, we advanced towards them, making signsof expostulation and entreaty, but they could not be persuaded to waittill we could come up. Mr Gore told us, that he had seen some of them upthe bay, who had invited him by signs to come on shore, which he, certainly with great prudence, declined. 

The morning of the next day was so rainy, that we were all glad to stayon board. In the afternoon, however, it cleared up, and we made anotherexcursion along the sea-coast to the southward: We went ashore, and MrBanks and Dr Solander gathered many plants; but besides these we sawnothing worthy of notice. At our first entering the woods, we met withthree of the natives, who instantly ran away: More of them were seen bysome of the people, but they all disappeared, with great precipitation, as soon as they found that they were discovered. By the boldness ofthese people at our first landing, and the terror that seized them atthe sight of us afterwards, it appears that they were sufficientlyintimidated by our fire-arms: Not that we had any reason to think thepeople much hurt by the small-shot which we were obliged to fire atthem, when they attacked us at our coming out of the boat; but they hadprobably seen the effects of them, from their lurking-places, upon thebirds that we had shot. Tupia, who was now become a good marksman, frequently strayed from us to shoot parrots; and he had told us, thatwhile he was thus employed, he had once met with nine Indians, who, assoon as they perceived he saw them, ran from him, in great confusion andterror. 

The next day, twelve canoes, in each of which was a single Indian, cametowards the watering-place, and were within half a mile of it aconsiderable time: They were employed in striking fish, upon which, likeothers that we had seen before, they were so intent, that they seemed toregard nothing else. It happened, however, that a party of our peoplewere out a-shooting near the place, and one of the men, whose curiositymight at length perhaps be roused by the report of the fowling-pieces, was observed by Mr Banks to haul up his canoe upon the beach, and gotowards the shooting party: In something more than a quarter of an hourhe returned, launched his canoe, and went off in her to his companions. This incident makes it probable that the natives acquired a knowledge ofthe destructive power of our fire-arms, when we knew nothing of thematter; for this man was not seen by any of the party whose operationshe had reconnoitred. 

While Mr Banks was gathering plants near the watering-place, I went withDr Solander and Mr Monkhouse to the head of the bay, that I mightexamine that part of the country, and make farther attempts to form someconnection with the natives. In our way we met with eleven or twelvesmall canoes, with each a man in it, probably the same that wereafterwards abreast of the shore, who all made into shoal water upon ourapproach. We met other Indians on shore the first time we landed, whoinstantly took to their canoes, and paddled away. We went up the countryto some distance, and found the face of it nearly the same with thatwhich has been described already, but the soil was much richer; forinstead of sand, I found a deep black mould, which I thought very fitfor the production of grain of any kind. In the woods we found a treewhich bore fruit that in colour and shape resembled a cherry; the juicehad an agreeable tartness, though but little flavour. We found alsointerspersed some of the finest meadows in the world: Some places, however, were rocky, but these were comparatively few: The stone issandy, and might be used with advantage for building. When we returnedto the boat, we saw some smoke upon another part of the coast, and wentthither in hopes of meeting with the people, but at our approach, thesealso ran away. We found six small canoes, and six fires very near thebeach, with some mussels roasting upon them, and a few oysters lyingnear: By this we judged that there had been one man in each canoe, who, having picked up some shell-fish, had come ashore to eat it, and madehis separate fire for that purpose: We tasted of their cheer, and leftthem in return some strings of beads, and other things which we thoughtwould please them. At the foot of a tree in this place we found a smallwell of fresh water, supplied by a spring; and the day being now farspent, we returned to the ship. In the evening, Mr Banks made a littleexcursion with his gun, and found such a number of quails, resemblingthose in England, that he might have shot as many as he pleased; but hisobject was variety and not number. 

The next morning, as the wind would not permit me to sail, I sent outseveral parties into the country to try again whether some intercoursecould not be established with the natives. A midshipman who belonged toone of these parties having straggled a long way from his companions, met with a very old man and woman, and some little children; they weresitting under a tree by the water-side, and neither party saw the othertill they were close together: The Indians showed signs of fear, but didnot attempt to run away. The man happened to have nothing to give thembut a parrot that he had shot; this he offered, but they refused toaccept it, withdrawing themselves from his hand, either through fear oraversion. His stay with them was but short, for he saw several canoesnear the beach fishing, and being alone, he feared they might comeashore and attack him: He said, that these people were verydark-coloured, but not black; that the man and woman appeared to be veryold, being both grey-headed; that the hair of the man's head was bushy, and his beard long and rough; that the woman's hair was cropped short, and both of them were stark naked. Mr Monkhouse the surgeon, and one ofthe men, who were with another party near the watering-place, alsostrayed from their companions, and as they were coming out of a thicket, observed six Indians standing together, at the distance of about fiftyyards. One of them pronounced a word very loud, which was supposed to bea signal, for a lance was immediately thrown at him out of the wood, which very narrowly missed him. When the Indians saw that the weapon hadnot taken effect, they ran away with the greatest precipitation; but onturning about towards the place whence the lance had been thrown, he sawa young Indian, whom he judged to be about nineteen or twenty years old, come down from a tree, and he also ran away with such speed as made ithopeless to follow him. Mr Monkhouse was of opinion that he had beenwatched by these Indians in his passage through the thicket, and thatthe youth had been stationed in the tree, to discharge the lance at him, upon a signal as he should come by; but however this be, there could beno doubt that he was the person who threw the lance. 

In the afternoon I went myself with a party over to the north shore, andwhile some of our people were hauling the seine, we made an excursion afew miles into the country, proceeding afterwards in the direction ofthe coast. We found this place without wood, and somewhat resembling ourmoors in England; the surface of the ground, however, was covered with athin brush of plants, about as high as the knees: The hills near thecoast are low, but others rise behind them, increasing by a gradualascent to a considerable distance, with marshes and morasses between. When we returned to the boat, we found that our people had caught withthe seine a great number of small fish, which are well known in theWest-Indies, and which our sailors call leather-jackets, because theirskin is remarkably thick. I had sent the second lieutenant out in theyawl a-striking, and when we got back to the ship, we found that he alsohad been very successful. He had observed that the large sting-rays, ofwhich there is great plenty in the bay, followed the flowing tide intovery shallow water; he therefore took the opportunity of flood, andstruck several in not more than two or three feet water: One of themweighed no less than two hundred and forty pounds after his entrailswere taken out. 

The next morning, as the wind still continued northerly, I sent out theyawl again, and the people struck one still larger, for when hisentrails were taken out he weighed three hundred and thirty-six pounds. 

The great quantity of plants which Mr Banks and Dr Solander collected inthis place induced me to give it the name of _Botany Bay_. [72] It issituated in the latitude of 34° S. , longitude 208° 37' W. It iscapacious, safe, and convenient, and maybe known by the land on thesea-coast, which is nearly level, and of a moderate height; in generalhigher than it is farther inland, with steep rocky cliffs next the sea, which have the appearance of a long island lying close under the shore. The harbour lies about the middle of this land, and in approaching itfrom the southward, is discovered before the ship comes abreast of it;but from, the northward it is not discovered so soon: The entrance is alittle more than a quarter of a mile broad, and lies in W. N. W. To sailinto it the southern shore should be kept on board, till the ship iswithin a small bare island, which lies close under the north shore;within this island the deepest water on that side is seven fathom, shallowing to five a good way up. At a considerable distance from thesouth shore there is a shoal, reaching from the innersouth point quiteto the head of the harbour; But over towards the north and north-westshore there is a channel of twelve or fourteen feet at low water, forthree or four leagues, up to a place where there is three or fourfathom, but here I found very little fresh water. We anchored near thesouth shore, about a mile within the entrance, for the convenience ofsailing with a southerly wind, and because I thought it the bestsituation for watering; but I afterwards found a very fine stream on thenorth shore, in the first sandy cove within the island, before which aship might lie almost land-locked, and procure wood as well as water ingreat abundance. Wood indeed is every where plenty, but I saw only twokinds which may be considered as timber. These trees are as large, orlarger than the English oak, and one of them has not a very differentappearance: This is the same that yields the reddish gum like _sanguisdraconis_, and the wood is heavy, hard, and dark-coloured, like _lignumvitae_; the other grows tall and straight, something like the pine; andthe wood of this, which has some resemblance to the live oak of America, is also hard and heavy. There are a few shrubs, and several kinds of thepalm; mangroves also grow in great plenty near the head of the bay. Thecountry in general is level, low, and woody, as far as we could see. Thewoods, as I have before observed, abound with birds of exquisite beauty, particularly of the parrot kind; we found also crows here, exactly thesame with those in England. About the head of the harbour, where thereare large flats of sand and mud, there is great plenty of water-fowl, most of which were altogether unknown to us: One of the most remarkablewas black and white, much larger than a swan, and in shape somewhatresembling a pelican. On these banks of sand and mud there are greatquantities of oysters, mussels, cockles, and other shell-fish, whichseem to be the principal subsistence of the inhabitants, who go intoshoal water with their little canoes, and pick them out with theirhands. We did not observe that they eat any of them raw, nor do theyalways go on shore to dress them, for they have frequently fires intheir canoes for that purpose. They do not however subsist wholly uponthis food, for they catch a variety of other fish, some of which theystrike with gigs, and some they take with hook and line. All theinhabitants that we saw were stark naked: They did not appear to benumerous, nor to live in societies, but like other animals werescattered about along the coast, and in the woods. Of their manner oflife, however, we could know but little, as we were never able to formthe least connection with them: After the first contest at our landing, they would never come near enough to parley; nor did they touch a singlearticle of all that we had left at their huts, and the places theyfrequented, on purpose for them to take away. 

[Footnote 72: The reader will be plentifully supplied with informationrespecting this noted place, and the settlement of British convicts madeat Port Jackson, in another part of this work. It would be veryinjudicious to break down the matter intended to be given there, forthe purpose of ekeing out the limited remarks here made. This intimationmay be equally applied to the whole subject of New Holland: about whichthe reader may promise himself very ample satisfaction in the course ofthis collection. Let this then be accepted as a pledge in apology forthe paucity of observations on the text. --E. ]

During my stay in this harbour, I caused the English colours to bedisplayed on shore every day, and the ship's name, and the date of theyear, to be inscribed upon one of the trees near the watering-place. 

It is high water here at the full and change of the moon about eighto'clock, and the tide rises and falls perpendicularly between four andfive feet. 

SECTION XXIX. 

_The Range from Botany Bay to Trinity Bay; with a farther Account of theCountry, its Inhabitants; and Productions_. 

At day-break, on Sunday the 6th of May 1770, we set sail from BotanyBay, with a light breeze at N. W. Which soon after coming to thesouthward, we steered along the shore N. N. E. ; and at noon, our latitude, by observation, was 33° 50' S. At this time we were between two andthree miles distant from the land, and a-breast of a bay, or harbour, inwhich there appeared to be good anchorage, and which I called _PortJackson_. This harbour lies three leagues to the northward of BotanyBay: The variation, by several azimuths, appeared to be 8° E. Atsun-set, the northermost land in sight bore N. 26 E. And some brokenland, that seemed to form a bay, bore N. 40 W. Distant four leagues. This bay, which lies in latitude 33° 42' I called _Broken Bay_. Westeered along the shore N. N. E. All night, at the distance of about threeleagues from the land, having from thirty-two to thirty-six fathomwater, with a hard sandy bottom. 

Soon after sun-rise on the 7th, I took several azimuths, with fourneedles belonging to the azimuth compass, the mean result of which gavethe variation 7° 56' E. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 33°22' S. : We were about three leagues from the shore; the northermost landin sight bore N. 19 E. And some lands which projected in three bluffpoints, and which, for that reason; I called _Cape Three Points_, boreS. W. Distant five leagues. Our longitude from Botany Bay was 19' E. Inthe afternoon, we saw smoke in several places upon the shore, and in theevening, found the variation to be 8° 25' E. At this time we werebetween two and three miles from the shore, in twenty-eight fathom; andat noon the next day, we had not advanced one step to the northward. Westood off shore, with the winds northerly, till twelve at night, and atthe distance of about five leagues, had seventy fathom; at the distanceof six leagues we had eighty fathom, which is the extent of thesoundings; for at the distance of ten leagues, we had no ground with 150fathom. 

The wind continuing northerly, till the morning of the 10th, wecontinued to stand in and off the shore, with very little change ofsituation in other respects; but a gale then springing up at S. W. Wemade the best of our way along the shore to the northward. At sun-rise, our latitude was 33° 2' S. And the variation 8° E. At nine in theforenoon, we passed a remarkable hill, which stood a little way inland, and somewhat resembled the crown of a hat: And at noon, our latitude, byobservation, was 32° 53' S. , and our longitude 208° W. We were about twoleagues distant from the land, which extended from N. 41 E. To S. 41 W. , and a small round rock, or island, which lay close under the land, boreS. 82 W. Distant between three and four leagues. At four in theafternoon, we passed, at the distance of about a mile, a low rockypoint, which I called _Point Stephens_, on the north side of which is aninlet, which I called _Port Stephens_: This inlet appeared to me, fromthe mast-head, to be sheltered from all winds. It lies in latitude 32°40', longitude 207° 51', and at the entrance are three small islands, two of which are high; and on the main near the shore are some highround hills, which at a distance appear like islands. In passing thisbay, at the distance of two or three miles from the shore, our soundingswere from thirty-three to twenty-seven fathom, from which I conjecturedthat there must be a sufficient depth of water within it. At a littledistance within land, we saw smoke in several places; and at half anhour past five, the northermost land in sight bore N. 36 E. And PointStephens S. W. Distant four leagues. Our soundings in the night, werefrom forty-eight to sixty-two fathom, at the distance of between threeand four leagues from the shore, which made in two hillocks. This PointI called _Cape Hawke_: It lies in the latitude of 32° 14' S. , longitude207° 30' W. ; and at four o'clock in the morning bore W. Distant abouteight miles; at the same time the northermost land in sight bore N. 6 E. And appeared like an island. At noon, this land bore N. 8 E. Thenorthermost land in sight N. 13 E. And Cape Hawke S. 37 W. Our latitude, by observation, was 32° 2' S. Which was twelve miles to the southward ofthat given by the log; so that probably we had a current setting thatway: By the morning amplitude and azimuth, the variation was 9° 10' E. During our run along the shore, in the afternoon, we saw smoke inseveral places, at a little distance from the beach, and one upon thetop of a hill, which was the first we had seen upon elevated groundsince our arrival upon the coast. At sun-set, we had twenty-threefathom, at the distance of a league and a half from the shore: Thenorthermost land then bore N. 13 E. And three hills, remarkably largeand high, lying contiguous to each other, and not far from the beach, N. N. W. As these hills bore some resemblance to each other, we calledthem _The Three Brothers_. They lie in latitude 31° 40' and maybe seenfourteen or sixteen leagues. We steered N. E. By N. All night, havingfrom twenty-seven to sixty-seven fathom, at the distance of between twoand six leagues from the shore. 

At day-break, we steered north, for the northermost land in sight. Atnoon, we were four leagues from the shore, and by observation, inlatitude 31° 18' S. , which was fifteen miles to the southward of thatgiven by the log; our longitude 206° 58' W. In the afternoon, we stoodin for the land, where we saw smoke in several places, till six in theevening, when, being within three or four miles of it, and intwenty-four fathom of water, we stood off with a fresh breeze at N. AndN. N. W. Till midnight, when we had 118 fathom, at the distance of eightleagues from the land, and then tacked. At three in the morning, thewind veered to the westward, when we tacked and stood to the northward. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 30° 43' S. , and our longitude206° 45' W. At this time we were between three and four leagues fromthe shore, the northermost part of which bore from us N. 13 W. And apoint, or head-land, on which we saw fires that produced a greatquantity of smoke, bore W. Distant four leagues. To this Point I gavethe name of _Smokey Cape_: It is of a considerable height, and over thepitch of the point is a round hillock; within it are two others, muchhigher and larger, and within them the land is very low. Our latitudewas 30° 31' S. , longitude 206° 54' W. : This day the observed latitudewas only five miles south of the log. We saw smoke in several partsalong the coast, besides that seen upon Smokey Cape. 

In the afternoon, the wind being at N. E. We stood off and on, and atthree or four miles distance from the shore had thirty fathom water: Thewind afterwards coming cross of land, we stood to the northward, havingfrom thirty to twenty-one fathom, at the distance of four or five milesfrom the shore. 

At five in the morning, the wind veered to the north, and blew fresh, attended with squalls: At eight, it began to thunder and rain, and inabout an hour it fell calm, which gave us an opportunity to sound, andwe had eighty-six fathom at between four and five leagues from theshore: Soon after this we had a gale from the southward, with which westeered N. By W. For the northermost land in sight. At noon, we wereabout four leagues from the shore, and by observation, in latitude 30°22', which was nine miles to the southward of our reckoning, longitude206° 39' W. Some lands near the shore, of a considerable height, bore W. 

As we advanced to the northward from Botany Bay, the land graduallyincreased in height, so that in this latitude it may be called a hillycountry. Between this latitude and the Bay, it exhibits a pleasingvariety of ridges, hills, vallies, and plains, all clothed with wood, ofthe same appearance with that which has been particularly described: Theland near the shore is in general low and sandy, except the points, which are rocky, and over many of them are high bills, which, at theirfirst rising out of the water, have the appearance of islands. [73] Inthe afternoon, we had some small rocky islands between us and the land, the southermost of which lies in latitude 30° 10', and the northermostin 29° 58', and somewhat more than two leagues from the land: About twomiles without the northermost island we had thirty-three fathom water. Having the advantage of a moon, we steered along the shore all night, inthe direction of N. And N. By E. Keeping at the distance of about threeleagues from the land, and having from twenty to twenty-five fathomwater. As soon as it was light, having a fresh gale, we made all thesail we could, and at nine o'clock in the morning, being about a leaguefrom the shore, we discovered smoke in many places, and having recourseto our glasses, we saw about twenty of the natives, who had each a largebundle upon his back, which we conjectured to be palm-leaves forcovering their houses: We continued to observe them above an hour, during which they walked upon the beach, and up a path that led over ahill of a gentle ascent, behind which we lost sight of them: Not one ofthem was observed to stop and look towards us, but they trudged along, to all appearance, without the least emotion either of curiosity orsurprise, though it is impossible they should not have seen the ship bya casual glance as they walked along the shore; and though she must, with respect to every other object they had yet seen, have been littleless stupendous and unaccountable than a floating mountain with all itswoods would have been to us. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was28° 39' S. , and longitude 206° 27' W. A high point of land, which Inamed _Cape Byron_, bore N. W. By W. At the distance of three miles. Itlies in latitude 28° 37' 30" S. , longitude 206° 30' W. , and may be knownby a remarkable sharp peaked mountain, which lies inland, and bears fromit N. W. By W. From this point, the land trends N. 13 W. : Inland it ishigh and hilly, but low near the shore; to the southward of the point itis also low and level. We continued to steer along the shore with afresh gale, till sun-set, when we suddenly discovered breakers a-head, directly in the ship's course and also on our larboard bow. At this timewe were about five miles from the land, and had twenty fathom water: Wehauled up east till eight, when we had run eight miles, and increasedour depth of water to forty-four fathom: We then brought-to, with theship's head to the eastward, and lay upon this tack till ten, when, having increased our sounding to seventy-eight fathom, we wore, and laywith the ship's head to the land till five in the morning, when we madesail, and at day-light, were greatly surprised to find ourselves fartherto the southward, than we had been the evening before, though the windhad been southerly, and blown fresh all night: We now saw the breakersagain within us, and passed them at the distance of one league. Theylie in latitude 28° 8' S. Stretching off east two leagues from a pointof land, under which is a small island. Their situation may always beknown by the peaked mountain which has been just mentioned, and whichbears from them S. W. By W. For this reason I have named it _MountWarning_. It lies seven or eight leagues inland, in latitude 28° 22' S. The land about it is high and hilly, but it is of itself sufficientlyconspicuous to be at once distinguished from every other object. ThePoint off which these shoals lie, I have named _Point Danger_. To thenorthward of this Point the land is low, and trends N. W. By N. ; but itsoon turns again more to the northward. 

[Footnote 73: The appearance and adjustment of the hills in New Hollandhave attracted very considerable regard. They are thought to bear astrong resemblance in disposition to the Andes in South America. Someinteresting information on this topic will be given when we treat ofanother voyage. This hint may suffice for the present. --E. ]

At noon, we were about two leagues from the land, and by observation, inlatitude 27° 46' S. , which was seventeen miles to the southward of thelog; our longitude was 206° 26' W. Mount Warning bore S. 26 W. Distantfourteen leagues, and the northermost land in sight bore N. We pursuedour course along the shore, at the distance of about two leagues, in thedirection of N. 1/4 E. Till between four and five in the afternoon, whenwe discovered breakers in our larboard bow. Our depth of water wasthirty-seven fathom, and at sun-set, the northermost land bore N. By W. The breakers N. W. By W. Distant four miles, and the northermost land setat noon, which formed a point, and to which I gave the name of _PointLook-out_, W. Distant five or six miles, in the latitude of 27° 6'. Onthe north side of this Point, the shore forms a wide open bay, which Icalled _Moreton's Bay_, in the bottom of which the land is so low that Icould but just see it from the top-mast head. The breakers lie betweenthree or four miles from Point Look-out; and at this time we had a greatsea from the southward, which broke upon them very high. We stood onN. N. E. Till eight o'clock, when having passed the breakers, and deepenedour water to fifty-two fathom, we brought-to till midnight, when we madesail again to the N. N. E. At four in the morning, we had 135 fathom, andwhen the day broke, I perceived that during the night I had got muchfarther northward, and from the shore, than I expected from the coursewe steered, for we were distant at least seven leagues; I thereforehauled in N. W. By W. With a fresh gale at S. S. W. The land that wasfarthest to the north the night before, now bore S. S. W. Distant sixleagues, and I gave it the name of _Cape Moreton_, it being the northpoint of Moreton's Bay: Its latitude is 26° 56', and its longitude is206° 28'. From Cape Moreton the land trends away west, farther than canbe seen, for there is a small space, where at this time no land isvisible, and some on board having also observed that the sea lookedpaler than usual, were of opinion that the bottom of Moreton's Bayopened into a river. We had here thirty-four fathom water, and a finesandy bottom: This alone would have produced the change that had beenobserved in the colour of the water; and it was by no means necessary tosuppose a river to account for the land at the bottom of the Bay notbeing visible, for supposing the land there to be as low as we knew itto be in a hundred other parts of the coast, it would have beenimpossible to see it from the station of the ship; however, if anyfuture navigator should be disposed to determine the question, whetherthere is or is not a river in this place, which the wind would notpermit us to do, the situation may always be found by three hills whichlie to the northward of it, in the latitude of 26° 53'. These hills liebut a very little way inland, and not far from each other: They areremarkable for the singular form of their elevation, which very muchresembles a glasshouse, and for which reason I called them the _GlassHouses_: The northermost of the three is the highest and largest: Thereare also several other peaked hills inland to the northward of these, but they are not nearly so remarkable. [74] At noon, our latitude was, byobservation, 26° 28' S. Which was ten miles to the northward of the log, a circumstance which had never before happened upon this coast; ourlongitude was 206° 46'. At this time we were between two and threeleagues from the land, and had twenty-four fathom water. A low bluffpoint, which was the south head of a sandy bay, bore N. 62 W. , distantthree leagues, and the northermost point of land in sight bore N. 1/4 E. This day we saw smoke in several places, and some at a considerabledistance inland. 

[Footnote 74: The depth of the Bay from Cape Moreton is said to be 34miles--it then contracts into a small stream; and there is aconsiderable river near Glass-House Peaks, as they have beencalled. --E. ]

In steering along the shore at the distance of two leagues, oursoundings were from twenty-four to thirty-two fathom, with a sandybottom. At six in the evening, the northermost point of land bore N. 1/4W. , distant four leagues; at ten it bore N. W. By W. 1/2 W. And as we hadseen no land to the northward of it, we brought-to, not well knowingwhich way to steer. 

At two in the morning, however, we made sail with the wind at S. W. , andat day-light, we saw the land extending as far as N. 1/4 E. The point wehad set the night before bore S. W. By W. , distant between three and fourleagues. It lies in latitude 25° 58', longitude 206° 48' W. : The landwithin it is of a moderate and equal height, but the point itself is sounequal, that it looks like two small islands lying under the land, forwhich reason I gave it the name of _Double Island Point_; it may also beknown by the white cliffs on the north side of it. Here the land trendsto the N. W. And forms a large open bay, the bottom of which is so low aflat that from the deck it could scarcely be seen. In crossing this bay, our depth of water was from thirty to twenty-two fathom, with a whitesandy bottom. At noon, we were about three leagues from the shore, inlatitude 25° 84' S. , longitude 206° 45' W. : Double Island Point bore S. 1/4 W. And the northermost land in sight N. 1/4 E. This part of thecoast, which is of a moderate height, is more barren than any we hadseen, and the soil more sandy. With our glasses we could discover thatthe sands, which lay in great patches of many acres, were moveable, andthat some of them had not been long in the place they possessed; for wesaw in several parts, trees half buried, the tops of which were stillgreen; and in others, the naked trunks of such as the sand hadsurrounded long enough to destroy. In other places the woods appeared tobe low and shrubby, and we saw no signs of inhabitants. Two water-snakesswam by the ship: They were beautifully spotted, and in every respectlike land-snakes, except that their tails were broad and flat, probablyto serve them instead of fins in swimming. In the morning of this day, the variation was 8° 20' E. , and in the evening, 8° 36. During thenight, we continued our course to the northward, with a light breezefrom the land, being distant from it between two and three leagues, andhaving from twenty-three to twenty-seven fathom, with a fine sandybottom. 

At noon on the 19th, we were about four miles from the land, with onlythirteen fathom. Our latitude was 26° 4', and the northermost land insight bore N. 21 W. , distant eight miles. At one o'clock, being stillfour miles distant from the shore, but having seventeen fathom water, wepassed a black bluff head, or point of land, upon which a great numberof the natives were assembled, and which therefore I called _IndianHead_: it lies in latitude 25° 3'. About four miles N. By W. Of thishead, is another very like it, from whence the land trends away somewhatmore to the westward: Next to the sea it is low and sandy, and behind itnothing was to be seen, even from the mast-head. Near Indian Head we sawmore of the natives, and upon the neighbouring shore fires by night, andsmoke by day. We kept to the northward all night, at the distance offrom four miles to four leagues from the shore, and with a depth ofwater from seventeen to thirty-four fathom. At daybreak, the northermostland bore from us W. S. W. And seemed to end in a point, from which wediscovered a reef running out to the northward as far as we could see. We had hauled our wind to the westward before it was light, andcontinued the course till we saw the breakers upon our lee-bow. We nowedged away N. W. And N. N. W. Along the east side of the shoal, from two toone mile distant, having regular soundings from thirteen to sevenfathom, with a fine sandy bottom. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 20°26', which was thirteen miles to the northward of the log: Wejudged the extreme point of the shoal to bear from us about N. W. And thepoint from which it seemed to run out bore S. 3/4 W. , distant twentymiles. This point I named _Sandy Cape_, from two very large patches ofwhite sand which lay upon it. It is sufficiently high to be seen at thedistance of twelve leagues, in clear weather, and lies in latitude24°45', longitude 206° 51': The land trends from it S. W. As far as canbe seen. We kept along the east side of the shoal till two in theafternoon, when, judging that there was a sufficient depth of water uponit to allow passage for the ship, I sent the boat a-head to sound, andupon her making the signal for more than five fathom, we hauled ourwind, and stood over the tail of it in six fathom. At this time we werein latitude 24°22', and Sandy Cape bore S. 1/2 E. , distant eightleagues; but the direction of the shoal is nearest N. N. W. And S. S. E. Itis remarkable that when on board the ship we had six fathom, the boat, which was scarcely a quarter of a mile to the southward, had little morethan five, and that immediately after six fathom we had thirteen, andthen twenty, as fast as the man could cast the lead: From thesecircumstances, I conjectured that the west side of the shoal was steep. This shoal I called the _Break Sea Spit_, because we had now smoothwater, and to the southward of it we had always a high sea from the S. E. At six in the evening, the land of Sandy Cape extended from S. 17 E. ToS. 27 E. , at the distance of eight leagues; our depth of water wastwenty-three fathom: With the same soundings we stood to the westwardall night. At seven in the morning, we saw, from the mast-head, the landof Sandy Cape bearing S. E. 1/2 E. , distant about thirteen leagues: Atnine, we discovered land to the westward, and soon after saw smoke inseveral places. Our depth of water was now decreased to seventeenfathom, and by noon we had no more than thirteen, though we were sevenleagues from the land, which extended from S. By W. To W. N. W. Ourlatitude at this time was 24° 28' S. For a few days past we had seenseveral of the sea-birds called boobies, not having met with any of thembefore; last night a small flock of them passed the ship, and went awayto the N. W. ; and in the morning, from about half an hour beforesun-rise, to half an hour after, flights of them were continually comingfrom the N. N. W. And flying to the S. S. E. Nor was one of them seen to flyin any other direction; we therefore conjectured that there was alagoon, river, or inlet of shallow water, in the bottom of the deep bay, to the southward of us, whither these birds resorted to feed in the day, and that not far to the northward there were some islands to which theyrepaired in the night. To this bay I gave the name of _Hervey's Bay_, inhonour of Captain Hervey. In the afternoon we stood in for the land, steering S. W. With a gentle breeze at S. E. Till four o'clock, when, being in latitude 24° 36', about two leagues from the shore, and havingnine fathom water, we bore away along the coast N. W. By W. And at thesame time could see land extending to the S. S. E. About eight leagues. Near the sea the land is very low, but within there are some loftyhills, all thickly clothed with, wood. While we were running along theshore, we shallowed our water from nine to seven fathom, and at one timewe had but six, which determined us to anchor for the night. 

At six in the morning we weighed, with a gentle breeze from thesouthward, and steered N. W. 1/4 W. Edging in for the land till we gotwithin two miles of it, with water from seven to eleven fathom; we thensteered N. N. W. As the land lay, and at noon, our latitude was 24° 19'. We continued in the same course, at the same distance, with from twelvefathom to seven, till five in the evening, when we were abreast of thesouth point of a large open bay, in which I intended to anchor. Duringthis course, we discovered with our glasses that the land was coveredwith palm-nut trees, which we had not seen from the time of our leavingthe islands within the tropic; we also saw two men walking along theshore, who did not condescend to take the least notice of us. In theevening, having hauled close upon a wind, and made two or three trips, we anchored about eight o'clock in five fathom, with a fine sandybottom. The south point of the bay bore E. 3/4 S. Distant two miles, thenorth point N. W. 1/4 N. And about the same distance from the shore. 

Early the next morning I went ashore, with a party of men, in order toexamine the country, accompanied by Mr Banks, Dr Solander, the othergentlemen, and Tupia: The wind blew fresh, and we found it so cold, thatbeing at some distance from the shore, we took our cloaks as a necessaryequipment for the voyage. We landed a little within the south point ofthe bay, where we found a channel leading into a large lagoon: Thischannel I proceeded to examine, and found three fathom water till I gotabout a mile up it, where I met with a shoal, upon which there waslittle more than one fathom; but having passed over it, I had threefathom again. The entrance of this channel lies close to the south pointof the bay, being formed by the shore on the east, and on the west by alarge spit of sand: It is about a quarter of a mile broad, and lies inS. By W. In this place there is room for a few ships to lie in greatsecurity, and a small stream of fresh water; I would have rowed into thelagoon, but was prevented by shallows. We found several bogs, and swampsof salt water, upon which, and by the sides of the lagoon, grows thetrue mangrove, such as is found in the West Indies, and the first of thekind that we had met with. In the branches of these mangroves there weremany nests of a remarkable kind of ant, that was as green as grass: Whenthe branches were disturbed they came out in great numbers, and punishedthe offender by a much sharper bite than ever we had felt from the samekind of animal before. [75] Upon these mangroves also we saw small greencaterpillars in great numbers: Their bodies were thick set with hairs, and they were ranged upon the leaves side by side like a file ofsoldiers, to the number of twenty or thirty together: When we touchedthem, we found that the hair of their bodies had the quality of anettle, and gave us a much more acute, though less durable pain. Thecountry here is manifestly worse than about Botany Bay: The soil is dryand sandy, but the sides of the hills are covered with trees, which growseparately, without underwood. We found here the tree that yields a gumlike the _sanguis draconis_; but it is somewhat different from the treesof the same kind which we had seen before, for the leaves are longer, and hang down like those of the weeping willow. [76] We found also muchless gum upon them, which is contrary to the established opinion, thatthe hotter the climate, the more gums exude. Upon a plant also whichyielded a yellow gum, there was less than upon the same kind of plant inBotany Bay. Among the shoals and sandbanks we saw many large birds, somein particular of the same kind that we had seen in Botany Bay, muchbigger than swans, which we judged to be pelicans; but they were so shythat we could not get within gun-shot of them. Upon the shore we saw aspecies of the bustard, one of which we shot; it was as large as aturkey, and weighed seventeen pounds and a half. We all agreed that thiswas the best bird we had eaten since we left England; and in honour ofit we called this inlet _Bustard Bay_. It lies in latitude 24° 4', longitude 208° 18'. The sea seemed to abound with fish; but unhappily, we tore our seine all to pieces at the first haul: Upon the mud banks, under the mangroves, we found innumerable oysters of various kinds;among others the hammer-oyster, and a large proportion of smallpearl-oysters: If in deeper water there is equal plenty of such oystersat their full growth, a pearl fishery might certainly be establishedhere to very great advantage. 

[Footnote 75: For some remarks on these creatures, see the Section whichtreats of this country in general, --E. ]

[Footnote 76: There are several trees which yield a resinous substance, resembling what is called dragon's blood, as the Pterocarpus draco, theDracaena draco, the Calamus draco, the Dalbergia monetaria, &c. Someobservations on the botany of New Holland are reserved for a futurepage. --E. ]

The people who were left on board the ship said, that while we were inthe woods about twenty of the natives came down to the beach, abreast ofher, and having looked at her some time, went away; but we that wereashore, though we saw smoke in many places, saw no people: The smoke wasat places too distant for us to get to them by land, except one, towhich we repaired. We found ten small fires still burning within a fewpaces of each other; but the people were gone: We saw near them severalvessels of bark, which we supposed to have contained water, and someshells and fish-bones, the remains of a recent meal. We saw also, lyingupon the ground, several pieces of soft bark, about the length andbreadth of a man, which we imagined might be their beds; and, on thewindward side of the fires, a small shade, about a foot and a half high, of the same substance. The whole was in a thicket of close trees, whichafforded good shelter from the wind. The place seemed to be muchtrodden, and as we saw no house, nor any remains of a house, we wereinclined to believe that, as these people had no clothes, they had nodwelling; but spent their nights, among the other commoners of Nature, in the open air; and Tupia himself, with an air of superiority andcompassion, shook his head, and said, that they were _Taata Enos_, "poorwretches, ". [77] I measured the perpendicular height of the last tide, and found it to be eight feet above low-water mark, and from the time oflow-water this day, I found that it must be high-water at the full andchange of the moon at eight o'clock. 

[Footnote 77: The natives of New Holland are indeed "poor wretches;" butlet it be remembered that the term poor is relative. The reader mustmake allowance for prejudice, in judging of their state from thetestimony of one who had lived in Otaheitan luxury. A Sicilian, it isprobable, would give a very sorry account of the Highlands andHighlanders of Scotland--

 Yet still e'en here Content can spread a charm, Redress the clime, and all its rage disarm. 

We never more erroneously estimate the happiness of a people, than whenwe set up our own habits as the criterion of perfection. The error ofTupia is the error of thousands. --E. ]

At four o'clock in the morning we weighed, and with a gentle breeze atsouth made sail out of the bay. In standing out, our soundings were fromfive to fifteen fathom; and at day-light, when we were in the greatestdepth, and abreast of the north head of the bay, we discovered breakersstretching out from it N. N. E. Between two and three miles, with a rockat the outermost point of them just above water. While we were passingthese rocks, at the distance of about half a mile, we had from fifteento twenty fathom; and as soon as we had passed them, we hauled alongshore W. N. W. For the farthest land we had in sight. At noon, ourlatitude, by observation, was 23° 52' S. ; the north part of Bustard Baybore S. 62 E. Distant ten miles; and the northermost land in sight N. 60W. ; the longitude was 208° 37', and our distance from the nearest shoresix miles, with fourteen fathom water. 

Till five in the afternoon it was calm, but afterwards we steered beforethe wind N. W. As the land lay till ten at night, and then brought-to, having had all along fourteen and fifteen fathom. At five in the morningwe made sail; and at day-light the northermost point of the main bore N. 70 W. Soon after we saw more land, making like islands, and bearing N. W. By N. At nine, we were abreast of the point, at the distance of onemile, with fourteen fathom water. This point I found to lie directlyunder the tropic of Capricorn; and for that reason I called it _CapeCapricorn_: Its longitude is 208° 58' W. It is of a considerable height, looks white and barren, and may be known by some islands which lie tothe N. W. Of it, and some small rocks at the distance of about a leagueS. E. On the west side of the cape there appeared to be a lagoon, and onthe two spits which formed the entrance we saw an incredible number ofthe large birds that resemble a pelican. The northermost land now insight bore from Cape Capricorn N. 24 W. And appeared to be an island;but the main land trended W. By N. 1/2 N. Which course we steered, having from fifteen to six fathom, and from six to nine, with a hardsandy bottom. At noon, on latitude, by observation, was 23° 24' S. ; CapeCapricorn bore S. 60 E. Distant two leagues; and a small island N. By E. Two miles: In this situation we had nine fathom, being about four milesfrom the main, which, next the sea, is low and sandy, except the pointswhich are high and rocky. The country inland is hilly, but by no meansof a pleasing aspect. We continued to stand to the N. W. , till fouro'clock in the afternoon, when it fell calm; and we soon after anchoredin twelve fathom, having the main land and islands in a manner all roundus, and Cape Capricorn bearing S. 54 E. Distant four leagues. In thenight, we found the tide rise and fall near seven feet; and the flood toset to the westward, and the ebb to the eastward, which is just contraryto what we found when we were at anchor to the eastward of Bustard Bay. 

At six in the morning we weighed, with a gentle breeze at south, andstood away to the N. W. Between the outermost range of islands and themain, leaving several small islands between the main and the ship, whichwe passed at a very little distance; our soundings being irregular, fromtwelve to four fathom, I sent a boat a-head to sound. At noon, we wereabout three miles from the main, and about the same distance from theislands without us: Our latitude, by observation, was 23° 7' S. The mainland here is high and mountainous; the islands which lie off it are alsomost of them high, and of a small circuit, having an appearance ratherof barrenness than fertility. At this time we saw smoke in many placesat a considerable distance inland, and therefore conjectured that theremight be a lagoon, river, or inlet, running up the country, the ratheras we had passed two places which had the appearance of being such; butour depth of water was too little to encourage me to venture where Ishould probably have less. We had not stood to the northward above anhour, before we suddenly fell into three fathom; upon which I anchored, and sent away the master to sound the channel which lay to the leewardof us, between the northermost island and the main: It appeared to bepretty broad, but I suspected that it was shallow, and so indeed it wasfound; for the master reported at his return that in many places he hadonly two fathom and a half, and where we lay at anchor we had onlysixteen feet, which was not two feet more than the ship drew. While themaster was sounding the channel, Mr Banks tried to fish from the cabinwindows with hook and line: The water was too shallow for fish; but theground was almost covered with crabs, which readily took the bait, andsometimes held it so fast in their claws, that they did not quit theirhold till they were considerably above water. These crabs were of twosorts, and both of them such as we had not seen before: One of them wasadorned with the finest blue that can be imagined, in every respectequal to the ultra-marine, with which all his claws and every joint wasdeeply tinged; the under part of him was white, and so exquisitelypolished, that in colour and brightness it exactly resembled the whiteof old china: The other was also marked with the ultra-marine upon hisjoints and his toes, but somewhat more sparingly; and his back wasmarked with three brown spots, which had a singular appearance. Thepeople who had been out with the boat to sound reported, that upon anisland where we had observed two fires, they had seen several of theinhabitants, who called to them, and seemed very desirous that theyshould land. In the evening, the wind veered to E. N. E. Which gave us anopportunity to stretch three or four miles back by the way we came;after which the wind shifted to the south, and obliged us again toanchor in six fathom. 

At five in the morning, I sent away the master to search for a passagebetween the islands, while we got the ship under sail; and as soon as itwas light, we followed the boat, which made a signal that a passage hadbeen found. As soon as we had got again into deep water, we made sail tothe northward, as the land lay, with soundings from nine fathom tofifteen, and some small islands still without us. At noon we were abouttwo leagues distant from the main, and by observation, in latitude 22°53' S. The northermost point of land in sight now bore N. N. W. Distantten miles. To this point I gave the name of Cape Manifold, from thenumber of high hills which appeared over it. It lies in latitude 22° 43'S. And distant about seventeen leagues from Cape Capricorn, in thedirection of N. 26 W. Between these capes the shore forms a large bay, which I called Keppel Bay; and I also distinguished the islands by thename of Keppel's Islands. In this bay there is good anchorage; but whatrefreshments it may afford I know not; we caught no fish, though we wereat anchor, but probably there is fresh water in several places, as boththe islands and the main are inhabited. We saw smoke and fires upon themain, and upon the islands we saw people. At three in the afternoon wepassed Cape Manifold, from which the land trends N. N. W. The land of theCape is high, rising in hills directly from the sea, and may be knownby three islands which lie off it, one of them near the shore, and theother two eight miles out at sea. One of these islands is low and flat, and the other high and round. At six o'clock in the evening webrought-to, when the northermost part of the main in sight bore N. W. Andsome islands which lie off it N. 31 W. Our soundings after twelveo'clock were from twenty to twenty-five fathom, and in the night fromthirty to thirty-four. 

At day-break we made sail, Cape Manifold bearing S. By E. Distant eightleagues, and the islands which I had set the night before were distantfour miles in the same direction. The farthest visible point of the mainbore N. 67 W. At the distance of twenty-two miles; but we could seeseveral islands to the northward of this direction. At nine o'clock inthe forenoon we were abreast of the point which I called Cape Townshend. It lies in latitude 22° 15', longitude 209° 43'. The land is high andlevel, and rather naked than woody. Several islands lie to the northwardof it, at the distance of four or five miles out at sea; three or fourleagues to the S. E. The shore forms a bay, in the bottom of which thereappeared to be an inlet or harbour. To the westward of the Cape the landtrends S. W. 1/2 S. And there forms a very large bay which turns to theeastward, and probably communicates with the inlet, and makes the landof the Cape an island. As soon as we got round this cape, we hauled ourwind to the westward, in order to get within the islands, which liescattered in the bay in great numbers, and extend out to sea as far asthe eye could reach, even from the mast-head: These islands vary both inheight and circuit from each other, so that although they are verynumerous, no two of them are alike. We had not stood long upon a windbefore we came into shoal water, and were obliged to tack at once toavoid it. Having sent a boat a-head, I bore away W. By N. Many smallislands, rocks, and shoals lying between us and the main, and many of alarger extent without us; our soundings till near noon were fromfourteen to seventeen fathom, when the boat made the signal for meetingwith shoal water; upon this we hauled close upon a wind to the eastward, but suddenly fell into three-fathom and a quarter; we immediatelydropped an anchor, which brought the ship up with all her sailsstanding. When the ship was brought up we had four fathom, with acoarse sandy bottom, and found a strong tide setting to the N. W. By W. 1/2 W. At the rate of near three miles an hour, by which we were sosuddenly carried upon the shoal. Our latitude, by observation, was 22°8' S. Cape Townshend bore E. 16 S. Distant thirteen miles; and thewestermost part of the main in sight W. 3/4 N. At this time a greatnumber of islands lay all round us. 

In the afternoon, having sounded round the ship, and found that therewas water sufficient to carry her over the shoal, we weighed, and aboutthree o'clock made sail and stood to the westward, as the land lay, having sent a boat a-head to sound. At six in the evening we anchored inten fathom, with a sandy bottom, at about two miles distance from themain; the westermost part of which bore W. N. W. And a great number ofislands, lying along way without us, were still in sight. 

At five o'clock the next morning, I sent away the master with two boatsto sound the entrance of an inlet which bore from us west, at about thedistance of a league, into which I intended to go with the ship, that Imight wait a few days till the moon should increase, and in the meantime examine the country. As soon as the ship could be got under sail, the boats made the signal for anchorage, upon which we stood in, andanchored in five fathoms water, about a league within the entrance ofthe inlet; which, as I observed a tide to flow and ebb considerably, Ijudged to be a river that ran up the country to a considerable distance. In this place I had thoughts of laying the ship ashore, and cleaning herbottom; I therefore landed with the master in search of a convenientplace for that purpose, and was accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr Solander. We found walking here exceedingly troublesome, for the ground wascovered with a kind of grass, the seeds of which were very sharp andbearded backwards, so that whenever they stuck into our clothes, whichindeed was at every step, they worked forwards by means of the beard, till they got at the flesh, and at the same time we were surrounded by acloud of musquitos, which incessantly tormented us with their stings. Wesoon met with several places where the ship might conveniently be laidashore, but to our great disappointment we could find no fresh water. Weproceeded however up the country, where we found gum trees like thosethat we had seen before, and observed that here also the gum was in verysmall quantities. Upon the branches of these trees, and some others, wefound ants nests made of clay, as big as a bushel, something like thosedescribed in Sir Hans Sloan's Natural History of Jamaica, vol. Ii. P. 221, tab. 258, but not so smooth; the ants which inhabited these nestswere small and their bodies white. But upon another species of the treewe found a small black ant, which perforated all the twigs, and havingworked out the pith, occupied the pipe which had contained it, yet theparts in which these insects had thus formed a lodgment, and in whichthey swarmed in amazing numbers, bore leaves and flowers, and appearedto be in as flourishing a state as those that were sound. We found alsoan incredible number of butterflies, so that for the space of three orfour acres the air was so crowded with them, that millions were to beseen in every direction, at the same time that every branch and twig wascovered with others that were not upon the wing. We found here also asmall fish of a singular kind; it was about the size of a minnow, andhad two very strong breast fins; we found it in places that were quitedry, where we supposed it might have been left by the tide; but it didnot seem to have become languid by the want of water, for upon ourapproach it leaped away, by the help of the breast fins, as nimbly as afrog; neither indeed did it seem to prefer water to land; for when wefound it in the water, it frequently leaped out, and pursued its wayupon dry ground; we also observed that when it was in places where smallstones were standing above the surface of the water at a little distancefrom each other, it chose rather to leap from stone to stone, than topass through the water; and we saw several of them pass entirely overpuddles in this manner, till they came to dry ground, and then leapaway. [78]

[Footnote 78: As the natural history department of the account of thiscountry will be filled up when we come to another voyage, little or noattention is paid to it at present. Dr Hawkesworth's labours, it mayhave been already observed by the intelligent reader, are satisfactoryto any one more than to a student of that science. --E. ]

In the afternoon we renewed our search after fresh water, but withoutsuccess, and therefore I determined to make my stay here but short;however, having observed from an eminence that the inlet penetrated aconsiderable way into the country, I determined to trace it in themorning. 

At sun-rise I went ashore, and climbing a considerable hill, I took aview of the coast and the islands that lie off it, with their bearings, having an azimuth compass with me for that purpose, but I observed thatthe needle differed very considerably in its position, even to thirtydegrees, in some places more, in others less; and once I found it differfrom itself no less than two points in the distance of fourteen feet. Itook up some of the loose stones that lay upon the ground, and appliedthem to the needle, but they produced no effect, and I thereforeconcluded that there was iron ore in the hills, of which I had remarkedother indications both here and in the neighbouring parts. After I hadmade my observations upon the hill, I proceeded with Dr Solander up theinlet; I set out with the first of the flood, and long before high waterI had advanced above eight leagues. Its breadth thus far was from two tofive miles, upon a S. W. By S. Direction; but here it opened every way, and formed a large lake, which to the N. W. Communicated with the sea;and I not only saw the sea in this direction, but found the tide offlood coming strongly in from that point: I also observed an arm of thislake extending to the eastward, and it is not improbable that it maycommunicate with the sea in the bottom of the bay, which lies to thewestward of Cape Townshend. On the south side of the lake is a ridge ofhigh hills which I was very desirous to climb; but it being high-water, and the day far spent, I was afraid of being bewildered among the shoalsin the night, especially as the weather was dark and rainy; andtherefore I made the best of my way to the ship. In this excursion I sawonly two people, and they were at a distance; they followed the boatalong the shore a good way, but the tide running strongly in my favour, I could not prudently wait for them: I saw however several fires in onedirection, and smoke in another, but they also were at a distance. WhileI was tracing the inlet with Dr Solander, Mr Banks was endeavouring topenetrate into the country, where several of the people who had leave togo ashore were also rambling about. Mr Banks and his party found theircourse obstructed by a swamp, covered with mangroves, which, however, they resolved to pass; the mud was almost knee deep, yet they resolutelywent on, but before they got half way, they repented of theirundertaking: The bottom was covered with branches of trees interwovenwith each other, sometimes they kept their footing upon them, sometimestheir feet slipt through, and sometimes they were so entangled amongthem, that they were forced to free themselves by groping in the mud andslime with their hands. In about an hour, however, they crossed it, andjudged it might be about a quarter of a mile over. After a short walkthey came up to a place where there had been four small fires, and nearthem some shells and bones of fish, that had been roasted: They foundalso heaps of grass laid together, where four or five people appeared tohave slept. The second lieutenant, Mr Gore, who was at another place, saw a little water lying in the bottom of a gully, and near it the trackof a large animal: Some bustards were also seen, but none shot, nor anyother bird except a few of the beautiful loriquets which we had seen inBotany Bay. Mr Gore, and one of the midshipmen, who were in differentplaces, said that they had heard the voices of Indians near them, buthad seen none. The country in general appeared sandy and barren, andbeing destitute of fresh water, it cannot be supposed to have anysettled inhabitants. The deep gullies, which were worn by torrents fromthe hills, prove that at certain seasons the rains here are very copiousand heavy. 

The inlet in which the ship lay I called Thirsty Sound, because itafforded us no fresh water. It lies in latitude 22° 10' S. And longitude210° 18' W. And may be known by a group of small islands lying under theshore, from two to five leagues distant, in the direction of N. W. And byanother group of islands that lie right before it, between three andfour leagues out at sea. Over each of the points that form the entranceis a high round hill, which on the N. W. Is a peninsula that at highwater is surrounded by the sea; they are bold to both the shores, andthe distance between them is about two miles. In this inlet is goodanchorage in seven, six, five, and four fathom; and places veryconvenient for laying a ship down, where, at spring-tides, the waterdoes not rise less than sixteen or eighteen feet. The tide flows at thefull and change of the moon about 11 o'clock. I have already observedthat here is no fresh water, nor could we procure refreshment of anyother kind. We saw two turtles, but we were not able to take either ofthem; neither did we catch either fish or wild-fowl, except a few smallland-birds: We saw indeed the same sorts of water-fowl as in Botany Bay, but they were so shy that we could not get a shot at them. 

As I had not therefore a single inducement to stay longer in this place, I weighed anchor at six o'clock in the morning of Thursday the 31st ofMay, and put to sea. We stood to the N. W. With a fresh breeze at S. S. E. And kept without the group of islands that lie in shore, and to the N. W. Of Thirsty Sound, as there appeared to be no safe passage between themand the main: At the same time we had a number of islands without us, extending as far as we could see: During our run in this direction ourdepth of water was ten, eight, and nine fathom. At noon, the west pointof Thirsty Sound, which I have called Pier Head, bore S. 36 E. Distantfive leagues; the east point of the other inlet, which communicates withthe sound, bore S. By W. Distant two leagues; the group of islands justmentioned lay between us and the point, and the farthest part of themain in sight, on the other side of the inlet, bore N. W. Our latitude byobservation was 21° 53'. At half an hour after twelve, the boat, whichwas sounding a-head, made the signal for shoal water, and we immediatelyhauled our wind to the N. E. At this time we had seven fathom, at thenext cast five, and at the next three, upon which we instantly droppedan anchor that brought the ship up. Pier Head, the north-west point ofThirsty Sound, bore S. E. Distant six leagues, being half-way between theislands which lie off the east point of the western inlet, and threesmall islands which lie directly without them. It was now the first ofthe flood, which we found to set N. W. By W. 1/2 W. ; and having soundedabout the shoal, upon which we had three fathom, and found deep waterall round it, we got under sail, and having hauled round the threeislands that have been just mentioned, came to an anchor under the leeof them, in fifteen fathom water; and the weather being dark, hazy, andrainy, we remained there till seven o'clock in the morning. At this timewe got again under sail, and stood to the N. W. With a fresh breeze atS. S. E. ; having the main land in sight, and a number of islands all roundus, some of which lay out at sea as far as the eye could reach. Thewestern inlet, which in the chart is distinguished by the name of BroadSound, we had now all open; at the entrance, it is at least nine or tenleagues wide: In it, and before it, lie several islands, and probablyshoals also; for our soundings were very irregular, varying suddenlyfrom ten to four fathom. At noon, our latitude by observation was 21°29' S. , a point of land which forms the north-west entrance into BroadSound, and which I named _Cape Palmerston_, lying in latitude 21° 30', longitude 210° 54' W. Bore W. By N. Distant three leagues. Our latitudewas 21° 27', our longitude 210° 57'. Between this Cape and CapeTownshend lies the bay which I called the _Bay of Inlets_. We continuedto stand to the N. W. And N. W. By N. As the land lay, under an easy sail, having a boat a-head to sound: At first the soundings were veryirregular, from nine to four fathom; but afterwards they were regular, from nine to eleven. At eight in the evening, being about two leaguesfrom the main land, we anchored in eleven fathom, with a sandy bottom, and soon after we found the tide setting with a slow motion to thewestward. At one o'clock it was slack, or low water; and at half an hourafter two the ship tended to the eastward, and rode so till six in themorning, when the tide had risen eleven feet. We now got under sail, andstood away in the direction of the coast, N. N. W. From what we hadobserved of the tide during the night, it is plain that the flood camefrom the N. W. , whereas the preceding day, and several days before, itcame from the S. E. ; nor was this the first or even second time that wehad remarked the same thing. At sun-rise this morning, we found thevariation to be 6° 45' E. ; and in steering along the shore, between theisland and the main, at the distance of about two leagues from the main, and three or four from the island, our soundings were regular fromtwelve to nine fathom; but about eleven o'clock in the forenoon we wereagain embarrassed with shoal water, having at one time not more thanthree fathom, yet we got clear without casting anchor. At noon we wereabout two leagues from the main, and four from the islands without us. Our latitude by observation was 20° 56', and a high promontory, which Inamed _Cape Hillsborough_, bore W. 1/2 N. , distant seven miles. The landhere is diversified by mountains, hills, plains, and valleys, and seemsto be well clothed with herbage and wood: The islands which lie parallelto the coast, and from five to eight or ten miles distant, are ofvarious height and extent; scarcely any of them are more than fiveleagues in circumference, and many are not four miles: Besides thischain of islands, which lies at a distance from the coast, there areothers much less, which lie under the land, from which we saw smokerising in different places. We continued to steer along the shore at thedistance of about two leagues, with regular soundings from nine to tenfathom. At sun-set, the farthest point of the main bore N. 48 W. And tothe northward of this lay some high land, which I took to be an island, and of which the north-west point bore 41 W. ; but not being sure of apassage, I came to an anchor about eight o'clock in the evening, in tenfathom water, with a muddy bottom. About ten we had a tide setting tothe northward, and at two it had fallen nine feet; after this it beganto rise, and the flood came from the northward, in the direction of theislands which lay out to sea; a plain indication that there was nopassage to the N. W. This however had not appeared at day-break, when wegot under sail and stood to the N. W. At eight o'clock in the morning, wediscovered low land quite across what we took for an opening, whichproved to be a bay, about five or six leagues deep; upon this we hauledour wind to the eastward round the north point of the bay, which at thistime bore from us N. E. By N. Distant four leagues: From this point wefound the land trend away N. By W. 1/2 W. And a streight or passagebetween it and a large island, or islands, lying parallel to it. Havingthe tide of ebb in our favour, we stood for this passage; and at noonwere just within the entrance: Our latitude by observation was 20° 26'S. ; Cape Hillsborough bore S. By E. Distant ten leagues; and the northpoint of the bay S. 19 W. Distant four miles. This point, which I named_Cape Conway_, lies in latitude 26° 36' S. , longitude 211° 28' W. ; andthe bay which lies between this Cape and Cape Hillsborough I called_Repulse Bay_. The greatest depth of water which we found in it wasthirteen fathom, and the least eight. In all parts there was safeanchorage, and I believe, that upon proper examination, some goodharbours would be found in it; especially at the north side within CapeConway; for just within that Cape there lie two or three small islands, which alone would shelter that side of the bay from the southerly andsoutheasterly winds, that seem to prevail here as a Trade. Among themany islands that lie upon this coast, there is one more remarkable thanthe rest; it is of a small circuit, very high and peaked, and lies E. ByS. Ten miles from Cape Conway, at the south end of the passage. In theafternoon, we steered through this passage, which we found to be fromthree to seven miles broad, and eight or nine leagues in length, N. ByW. 1/2 W. , S. By E. 1/2 E. It is formed by the main on the west, and bythe islands on the east, one of which is at least five leagues inlength: Our depth of water in running through was from twenty tofive-and-twenty fathom, with good anchorage everywhere, and the wholepassage may be considered as one safe harbour, exclusive of the smallbays and coves which abound on each side, where ships might lie as in abason. The land both upon the main and islands is high, and diversifiedby hill and valley, wood and lawn, with a green and pleasant appearance. On one of the islands we discovered with our glasses two men and awoman, and a canoe with an outrigger, which appeared to be larger, andof a construction very different from those of bark tied together at theends, which we had seen upon other parts of the coast; we hopedtherefore that the people here had made some farther advances beyondmere animal life than those that we had seen before. At six o'clock inthe evening, we were nearly the length of the north end of the passage;the north-westermost point of the main in sight bore N. 54. W. , and thenorth end of the island N. N. E. With an open sea between the two points. As this passage was discovered on Whitsunday, I called it _Whitsunday'sPassage_, and I called the islands that form it _Cumberland Islands_, inhonour of his Royal Highness the Duke. We kept under an easy sail, withthe lead going all night, being at the distance of about three leaguesfrom the shore, and having from twenty-one to twenty-three fathom water. At daybreak, we were abreast of the point which had been the farthest insight to the north-west the evening before, which I named _CapeGloucester_. It is a lofty promontory, in latitude 19° 59'S. , longitude211° 49' W. And may be known by an island which lies out at sea N. By W. 1/2 W. At the distance of five or six leagues from it, and which Icalled _Holborne Isle_; there are also islands lying under the landbetween Holborne Isle and Whitsunday's Passage. On the west side of CapeGloucester the land trends away S. W. And S. S. W. And forms a deep bay, the bottom of which I could but just see from the mast-head: It is verylow, and a continuation of the low land which we had seen at the bottomof Repulse Bay. This bay I called _Edgecumbe Bay_, but without staying, to look into it, we continued our course to the westward, for thefarthest land we could see in that direction, which bore W. By N. 1/2 N. And appeared very high. At noon, we were about three leagues from theshore, by observation in latitude 19° 47' S. , and Cape Gloucester boreS. 63 E. Distant seven leagues and a half. At six in the evening, wewere abreast of the westermost point just mentioned, at about threemiles distance, and because it rises abruptly from the low lands whichsurround it, I called it _Cape Upstart_. It lies in latitude 19° 39' S. , longitude 212° 32' W. , fourteen leagues W. N. W. From Cape Gloucester, andis of a height sufficient to be seen at the distance of twelve leagues:Inland there are some high hills or mountains, which, like the Cape, afford but a barren prospect. Having passed this Cape, we continuedstanding to the W. N. W. As the land lay, under an easy sail, having fromsixteen to ten fathom, till two o'clock in the morning, when we fellinto seven fathom; upon which we hauled our wind to the northward, judging ourselves to be very near land: At day-break, we found ourconjecture to be true, being within little more than two leagues of it. In this part of the coast the land, being very low, is nearer than itappears to be, though it is diversified with here and there a hill. Atnoon, we were about four leagues from the land, in fifteen fathom water, and our latitude, by observation, was 19° 12' S. Cape Upstart bearing S. 32° 30' E. Distant twelve leagues. About this time some very largecolumns of smoke were seen rising from the low lands. At sun-set, thepreceding night, when we were close under Cape Upstart, the variationwas nearly 9° E. , and at sun-rise this day, it was no more than 5° 35'. ;I judged therefore that it had been influenced by iron-ore, or othermagnetical matter, contained under the surface of the earth. 

We continued to steer W. N. W. As the land lay, with twelve or fourteenfathom water, till noon on the 6th, when our latitude by observation was19° 1' S. And we had the mouth of a bay all open, extending from S. 1/2E. To S. W. 1/2 S. Distant two leagues. This bay, which I named_Cleaveland Bay_, appeared to be about five or six miles in extent everyway: The east point I named _Cape Cleaveland_, and the west, which hadthe appearance of an island, _Magnetical Isle_, as we perceived that thecompass did not traverse well when we were near it: They are both high, and so is the main-land within them, the whole forming a surface themost rugged, rocky, and barren of any we had seen upon the coast; it wasnot however without inhabitants, for we saw smoke in several parts ofthe bottom of the bay. The northermost land that was in sight at thistime, bore N. W. And it had the appearance of an island, for we could nottrace the main-land farther than W. By N. We steered W. N. W. Keeping themain land on board, the outermost part of which, at sun-set, bore W. ByN. But without it lay high land, which we judged not to be part of it. At day-break, we were abreast of the eastern part of this land, which wefound to be a group of islands, lying about five leagues from the main:At this time, being between the two shores, we advanced slowly to theN. W. Till noon, when our latitude, by observation, was 18° 49' S. Andour distance from the main about five leagues: The northwest part of itbore from us N. By W. 1/2 W. The islands extending from N. To E. And thenearest being distant about two miles: Cape Cleaveland bore S. 50 E. Distant eighteen leagues. Our soundings, in the course that we hadsailed between this time and the preceding noon, were from fourteen toeleven fathom. 

In the afternoon, we saw several large columns of smoke upon the main;we saw also some people and canoes, and upon one of the islands what hadthe appearance of cocoa-nut trees: As a few of these nuts would now havebeen very acceptable, I sent Lieutenant Hicks ashore, and with him wentMr Banks and Dr Solander, to see what refreshment could be procured, while I kept standing in for the island with the ship. About seveno'clock in the evening they returned, with an account that what we hadtaken for cocoa-nut trees, were a small kind of cabbage-palm, and that, except about fourteen or fifteen plants, they had met with nothing worthbringing away. While they were ashore, they saw none of the people, butjust as they had put off, one of them came very near the beach, andshouted with a loud voice; it was so dark that they could not see him, however they turned towards the shore, but when he heard the boatputting back, he ran away or hid himself, for they could not get aglimpse of him, and though, they shouted he made no reply. After thereturn of the boats, we stood away N. By W. For the northermost land insight, of which we were abreast at three o'clock in the morning, havingpassed all the islands three or four hours before. This land, on accountof its figure, I named _Point Hillock_: It is of a considerable height, and may be known by a round hillock, or rock, which joins to the Point, but appears to be detached from it. Between this Cape and MagneticalIsle the shore forms a large bay, which I called _Halifax Bay_: Beforeit lay the group of islands which has been just mentioned, and someothers, at a less distance from the shore. By these islands the Bay issheltered from all winds, and it affords good anchorage. The land nearthe beach, in the bottom of the Bay, is low and woody, but farther backit is one continued ridge of high land, which appeared to be barren androcky. Having passed Point Hillock, we continued standing to the N. N. W. As the land trended, having the advantage of a light moon. At six, wewere abreast of a point of land which lies N. By W. 1/2 W. , distanteleven miles from Point Hillock, which I named _Cape Sandwich_. Betweenthese two points the land is very high, and the surface is craggy andbarren. Cape Sandwich may be known not only by the high craggy land overit, but by a small island which lies east of it; at the distance of amile, and some others that lie about two leagues to the northward. FromCape Sandwich the land trends W. And afterwards N. Forming a fine largebay, which I called _Rockingham Bay_, where there appears to be goodshelter, and good anchorage, but I did not stay to examine it: I keptranging along the shore to the northward, for a cluster of smallislands, which lie off the northern point of the Bay. Between the threeoutermost of these islands, and those near the shore, I found a channelof about a mile broad, through which I passed, and upon one of thenearest islands we saw with our glasses about thirty of the natives, men, women, and children, all standing together, and looking with greatattention at the ship; the first instance of curiosity we had seen amongthem: They were all stark naked, with short hair, and of the samecomplexion with those that we had seen before. [79] At noon, ourlatitude, by observation, was 17° 59', and we were abreast of the northpoint of Rockingham Bay, which bore from us W. At the distance of abouttwo miles. This boundary of the Bay is formed by an island ofconsiderable height, which I distinguished by the name of _Dunk Isle_, and which lies so near the shore as not to be easily distinguished fromit. Our longitude was 213° 57' W. Cape Sandwich bore S. By E. 1/2 E. Distant nineteen miles, and the northermost land in sight N. 1/2 W. : Ourdepth of water for the last ten hours had not been more than sixteen, nor less than seven fathom. At sun-set, the northern extremity of theland bore N. 25 W. And we kept our course N. By W. Along the coast, atthe distance of between three and four leagues, with an easy sail allnight, having from twelve to fifteen fathom water. 

[Footnote 79: Dampier was of opinion, from the inattention of the peopleof New Holland whom he fell in with, that they had some defect invision, so that they could not see at the usual distance. But thisopinion has been long abandoned. Other savages have occasionallyexhibited as strong marks of indifference to objects, one should think, well fitted to attract their admiration and astonishment. A certaindegree of civilization seems absolutely requisite to rouse the humanmind to feelings of curiosity. Under this degree, man resembles avegetable, much more than that animated and intelligent being he becomesin cultivated society. --E. ]

At six o'clock in the morning, we were abreast of some small islands, which we called _Frankland's Isles_, and which lie about two leaguesdistant from the mainland. The most distant point in sight to thenorthward bore N. By W. 1/2 W. And we thought it was part of the main, but afterwards found it to be an island of considerable height, andabout four miles in circuit. Between this island and a point on themain, from which it is distant about two miles, I passed with the ship. At noon, we were in the middle of the channel, and by observation in thelatitude of 16° 57' S. With twenty fathom water. The point on the main, of which we were now abreast, I called _Cape Grafton_: Its latitude is16° 57' S. , and longitude 214° 6' W. , and the land here, as well as thewhole coast for about twenty leagues to the southward, is high, has arocky surface, and is thinly covered with wood: During the night we hadseen several fires, and about noon some people. Having hauled round CapeGrafton, we found the land trend away N. W. By W. , and three miles to thewestward of the Cape we found a bay, in which we anchored about twomiles from the shore, in four fathom water with an oozy bottom. The eastpoint of the bay bore S. 74 E. , the west point S. 83 W. , and a low, green, woody island, which lies in the offing, N. 35 E. This island, which lies N. By E. 1/2 E. Distant three or four leagues from CapeGrafton, I called _Green Island_. 

As soon as the ship was brought to an anchor, I went ashore, accompaniedby Mr Banks and Dr Solander. As my principal view was to procure somefresh water, and as the bottom of the bay was low land covered withmangroves, where it was not probable fresh water was to be found, I wentout towards the Cape, and found two small streams, which however wererendered very difficult of access by the surf and rocks upon the shore:I saw also, as I came round the Cape, a small stream of water run overthe beach, in a sandy cove, but I did not go in with the boat, because Isaw that it would not be easy to land. When we got ashore, we found thecountry every where rising into steep rocky hills, and as no fresh watercould conveniently be procured, I was unwilling to lose time by goingin search of lower land elsewhere: We therefore made the best of our wayback to the ship, and about midnight we weighed and stood to the N. W. , having but little wind, with some showers of rain. At four in themorning, the breeze freshened at S. By E. And the weather became fair:We continued steering N. N. W. 1/2 W. As the land lay, at about threeleagues distance, with ten, twelve, and fourteen fathom water. At ten, we hauled off north, in order to get without a small low island, whichlay at about two leagues distance from the main, and great part of whichat this time, it being high-water, was overflowed: About three leaguesto the north-west of this island, close under the main land, is anotherisland, the land of which rises to a greater height, and which at noonbore from us N. 55 W. Distant seven or eight miles. At this time ourlatitude was 16° 20' S. Cape Grafton bore S. 29 E. Distant forty miles, and the northermost point of land in sight N. 20 W. ; our depth of waterwas fifteen fathom. Between this point and Cape Grafton, the shore formsa large, but not a very deep bay, which being discovered on TrinitySunday, I called _Trinity Bay_. 

SECTION XXX. 

_Dangerous Situation of the Ship in her Course from Trinity Bay toEndeavour River_. [80]

[Footnote 80: We have now to relate some of the most remarkableincidents in the history of nautical deliverances. These, however, thephilosophical composure of Dr Hawkesworth's creed did not allow him toparticularize, with that acknowledgment of providential interposition, which those who have actually been in such dangers, are, in general, strongly enough, and, it may be safely affirmed, sincerely inclined tooffer. It would be unjust not to hear him in defence of his own opinionsand conduct in the matter. It is given with all the candour that becomesa man who chuses to think for himself, and at the same time with as muchboldness as entitles him to _generous_ treatment from those who thinkthemselves bound to oppose him. The passage may seem long for a note, but no one will object to it _as such_, who sets a value on correctnessof sentiment on the subject of which it treats. 

"I have now only to request, " says he, "of such of my readers as may bedisposed to censure me for not having attributed any of the criticalescapes from danger that I have recorded, to the particularinterposition of Providence, that they would, in this particular, allowme the right o£ private judgment, which I claim with the greaterconfidence, as the very same principle which would have determined themto have done it, has determined me to the contrary. As I firmly believethe divine precept delivered by the Author of Christianity, 'there isnot a sparrow falls to the ground without my Father, ' and cannot admitthe agency of chance in the government of the world, I must necessarilyrefer every event to one cause, as well the danger as the escape, aswell the sufferings as the enjoyments of life: and for this opinion, Ihave, among other respectable authorities, that of the Bible. 'Shallwe, ' says Job, 'receive good from the hand of God, and shall we notreceive evil?' The Supreme Being is equally wise and benevolent in thedispensation of both evil and good, as means of effecting ultimatepurposes worthy of his ineffable perfections; so that whether weconsider ourselves as Christians or philosophers, we must acknowledgethat he deserves blessing not more when he gives than when he takesaway. If the fall of a sparrow, as well as its preservation, is imputedto Providence, why not the fall as well as the preservation of a man?And why should we attribute to Providence only what appears to be goodin its immediate effect, when we suppose that the whole concatenation ofevents, whether the preservation or destruction of particular parts, tends ultimately to the good of the whole? The same voice commissionsthe winds to plough up the deep, which at the appointed time rebukesthem, saying, 'Peace, be still. ' If the adorable Author and Preserver ofNature was such a being as Baal is represented to have been by theprophet, when he derided his worshippers; if he was sometimes on ajourney, and sometimes asleep, we might with propriety say that a fire_happened_ to break out, or a storm to rise, but that by theinterposition of Providence life was preserved, expressions which implythat the mischief had one origin, and the remedy another; but suchlanguage certainly derogates, from the honour of the great UniversalCause, who, acting through all duration, and subsisting in all space, fills immensity with his presence, and eternity with his power. 

"It will perhaps be said, that in particular instances evil necessarilyresults from that constitution of things which is best upon the whole, and that Providence occasionally interferes, and supplies the defects ofthe constitution in these particulars; but this notion will appear notto be supported by those facts which are said to be providential; itwill always be found that Providence interposes too late, and onlymoderates the mischief which it might have prevented. But who cansuppose an extraordinary interposition of Providence to supplyparticular defects in the constitution of Nature, who sees those defectssupplied but in part? It is true, that when the Endeavour was upon therock off the coast of New Holland, the wind ceased, and that otherwiseshe must have been beaten to pieces; but either the subsiding of thewind was a mere natural event, If it was a natural event, Providence isout of the question, at least we can with no more propriety say thatprovidentially the wind ceased, than that providentially the sun rose inthe morning. If it was not a mere natural event, but produced by anextraordinary interposition, correcting a defect in the constitution ofnature, tending to mischief, it will lie upon those who maintain theposition, to shew, why an extraordinary interposition did not take placerather to prevent the ship's striking, than to prevent her being beatento pieces after she had struck. A very slight impulse upon the ship'scourse would have caused her to steer clear of the rock; and if allthings were not equally easy to Omnipotence, we should say that thismight have been done with less difficulty than a calm could be producedby suspending the general laws of Nature, which had brought on the gale. 

"I have, however, paid my homage to the Supreme Being, consonant to myown ideas of his agency and perfections; and those who are of opinionthat my notions are erroneous, must allow, that he who does what hethinks to be right, and abstains from what he thinks to be wrong, acquits himself equally of moral obligation, whether his opinions arefalse or true. "

Such are the concluding observations in Dr Hawkesworth's GeneralIntroduction to this work. That they have a most specious and rationalaspect, cannot be denied, with the exception of scarcely any thing morethan the last paragraph, in which it is implied, most erroneously, thatthe conviction of being right is a sufficient evidence that one isso, --a sentiment not more certainly the result of ignorance of humannature in its present condition, than it is the potential source ofalmost every immorality and mischief that have degraded or destroyed ourspecies. But conceding entirely the principles contended for by Dr H. , it may be demonstrated, that a directly contrary conclusion is theirproper legitimate issue, and that too, independent of any considerationof other parts of our moral system, which, however, it will be found, inpoint of fact, are more concerned than even our reason in the influenceexerted over our conduct. Neither time nor place admits the discussionof the topic; and to the intelligent reader, this will seem quiteunnecessary, when he recollects a single principle, and follows it outinto its just consequences, viz. That as the Supreme Being is the causeof all things, and is equally wise and benevolent in the dispensation ofboth evil and good, so is he entitled to the homage, the fear, and loveof those whom he has created with faculties competent to theunderstanding, in any degree, of his ineffable perfections; and inconsequence, his actions or dispensations become to them the properindications of the qualities of mind with which they ought to adore him. It follows, that though alike proceeding from his benevolence or wisdom, good and evil must be differently accepted by them, as really intendedfor different, though perfectly consistent purposes. The humiliationtherefore of affliction, and the fervour of joy, are alike becoming themon different occasions. We find accordingly, that in the constitution hehas given us, there is ample provision made for both, and that he actsin perfect consistency with that constitution: And thus we may cordiallyjoin in the sentiment of Mr Gibbon (ay, Mr Gibbon!) on another occasion:"The satirist may laugh, the philosopher may preach; but reason herselfwill respect the prejudices and habits which have been consecrated bythe experience of mankind. " But Dr H. , we see, is not content with thedictates of reason; he calls in another aid to maintain this exercise ofprivate judgment. Has he appealed to Scripture? Then to Scripture heshall go. But perhaps it may be said to him, as a popish priest, defending the doctrine of purgatory, said to a protestant, who did notrelish it, "He may go farther, and fare worse. The language of the Bibleseems not to concur in the propriety of the Doctor's philosophic apathyin such occurrences. The Psalmist, it may be safely affirmed, knew asmuch of human nature as the Doctor, and was as well acquainted too withwhat was becoming worship. He, however, differs egregiously in opinion. In the 107th psalm, which so beautifully describes the manifoldgoodness, and yet the varying providences of the Most High, we find apassage which strikingly applies to such a case as we have beencontemplating, and which, at the same time, points out the natural andhighly proper emotions which result from it. "They that go down to thesea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works ofthe Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth and raiseth thestormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up toheaven, they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted becauseof trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, andall their wisdom is swallowed up. Then they cry unto the Lord in theirtrouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh thestorm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they gladbecause they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Ohthat men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderfulworks to the children of men!" Almost every word of this gives the lieto the practical consequences of our Doctor's theory. It would beinvidious to oppress him with any other of the numerous such likeinstances which this book presents. He appears to make much of theobvious impropriety of using such terms as _happened_, in speaking ofcertain events. But this is childish; for every one knows that by suchterms is expressed merely our ignorance of the series or train ofoperations by which those events are brought to pass. They are used inrespect of ourselves, not by any means in reference to the Deity. Butthere is something vastly worse than childishness, in his insinuation asto what Omnipotence might do in preventing, not remedying evils. Theybreathe a spirit of malevolent disaffection, which is indeed but veryimperfectly smothered in the decent language of conjecturalpropositions. A sounder philosophy than his own would have told Dr H. Inthe words of Bacon, that "the prerogative of God extendeth as well tothe reason, as to the will of man;" and that therefore it became himhumbly to contemplate what God _has_ done, rather than to speculate asto what he _might have_ done. In nothing, however, has he so monstrouslyblundered, as in hinting, that if an event is natural, thereforeProvidence is out of the question in effecting it; and that, on theother hand, if it is not natural, therefore even a benevolentProvidence, that has interposed to remedy the evils of it, is faulty innot having been earlier at work to prevent its occurrence altogether. This is sophistry of the worst kind. A single remark may be sufficientto silence it. Nature is the regular operation of an intelligentProvidence; and natural events are the individual instances of it; butit does not follow, either that events which to us seem irregular, aretherefore uninfluenced by the same Agent, or that the addition of theword _mere_ to the word _natural_, can signify any thing else than thepresumption of him, who chuses to exercise his right of private judgmentin using it, to exclude entirely the consideration of a Providence. Thisis the more extraordinary in Dr H, because in his letter to MrDalrymple, who had taxed him with some errors on this subject, heaffirms his belief to be "that the Supreme Being is perpetuallyoperating, " and "that he is the cause of _all_ events, "--propositionscertainly not very reconcileable with what he says here as to merenatural events. It is, however, very like the inconsistencies of a manwho esteems his own conviction of consciousness of the rectitude of hisopinions, so highly, as to make him comparatively indifferent whetherthey are false or true. Taking the view of the subject, then, which suchan admission offers, the question is readily solved, but not to thecredit of Dr H. 's judgment. If the Supreme Being is continuallyoperating, and is the cause of _all_ things, then the Supreme Being isthe only providence, and providence is concerned in every event. Butaccording to the constitution which this providence has given us, different events produce different effects on us, and these, on the sameprinciple, are also in the order of providence; and besides, we have theadvice of an inspired writer to this purport. "In the day of prosperitybe joyful, but in the day of adversity consider. " It will be difficultto shew that any prosperity is so blissful to the human heart asredemption from death, in whatever sense we take the word; or that anyjoy is so rational as that which expresses itself in gratitude to God, the author of the blessing enjoyed. The converse of the text may besimilarly applied. That is the greatest adversity that most threatenslife (for all that a man hath will he give for it); and that is the mostsuitable consideration that teaches to acknowledge the hand that smites, and produces humble submission to the blow, --that leads a man, to saywith Job of old, "I have heard of thee (0 Lord) by the hearing of theear; but now mine eye seeth thee: Wherefore I abhor myself, and repentin dust and ashes. "--E. ]

Hitherto we had safely navigated this dangerous coast, where the sea inall parts conceals shoals that suddenly project from the shore, androcks that rise abruptly like a pyramid from the bottom, for an extentof two-and-twenty degrees of latitude, more than one thousand threehundred miles; and therefore hitherto none of the names whichdistinguish the several parts of the country that we saw, are memorialsof distress; but here we became acquainted with misfortune, and wetherefore called the point which we had just seen farthest to thenorthward, _Cape Tribulation_. This cape lies in latitude l6° 6' S. Andlongitude 214° 39' W. We steered along the shore N. By W. At thedistance of between three and four leagues, having from fourteen totwelve, and ten fathom water: In the offing we saw two islands, whichlie in latitude 16° S. And about six or seven leagues from the main. Atsix in the evening, the northermost land in sight bore N. By W. 1/2 W. And two low woody islands, which some of us took to be rocks abovewater, bore N. 1/2 W. At this time we shortened sail and hauled offshore E. N. E. And N. E. By E. Close upon a wind; for it was my design tostretch off all night, as well to avoid the danger we saw a-head, as tosee whether any islands lay in the offing, especially as we were nownear the latitude assigned to the islands which were discovered byQuiros, and which some geographers, for what reason I know not, havethought fit to join to this land. We had the advantage of a fine breeze, and a cleat moonlight night, and in standing off from six till near nineo'clock, we deepened our water from fourteen to twenty-one fathom; butwhile we were at supper it suddenly shoaled, and we fell into twelve, ten, and eight fathom, within the space of a few minutes. I immediatelyordered every body to their station, and all was ready to put about andcome to an anchor; but meeting at the next cast of the lead with deepwater again, we concluded that we had gone over the tail of the shoalswhich we had seen at sun-set, and that all danger was past. Before ten, we had twenty and one-and-twenty fathom, and this depth continuing, thegentlemen left the deck in great tranquillity, and went to bed; but afew minutes before eleven, the water shallowed at once from twenty toseventeen fathom, and before the lead could be cast again, the shipstruck, and remained immoveable, except by the heaving of the surge, that beat her against the crags of the rock upon which she lay. In a fewmoments every body was upon the deck, with countenances whichsufficiently expressed the horrors of our situation. We had stood offthe shore three hours and a half, with a pleasant breeze, and thereforeknew that we could not be very near it, and we had too much reason toconclude that we were upon a rock of coral, which is more fatal than anyother, because the points of it are sharp, and every part of the surfaceso rough as to grind away whatever is rubbed against it, even with thegentlest motion. In this situation all the sails were immediately takenin, and the boats hoisted out to examine the depth of water round theship. We soon discovered that our fears had not aggravated ourmisfortune, and that the vessel had been lifted over a ledge of therock, and lay in a hollow within it: In some places there was from threeto four fathom, and in others not so many feet. The ship lay with herhead to the N. E. ; and at the distance of about thirty yards on thestarboard side, the water deepened to eight, ten, and twelve fathom. Assoon as the long-boat was out, we struck our yards and topmasts, andcarried out the stream anchor on the starboard bow, got the coastinganchor and cable into the boat, and were going to carry it out the sameway; but upon sounding a second time round the ship, the water was foundto be deepest astern: the anchor therefore was carried out from thestarboard quarter instead of the starboard bow, that is, from the sterninstead of the head, and having taken ground, our utmost force wasapplied to the capstern, hoping that if the anchor did not come home, the ship would be got off; but, to our great misfortune anddisappointment, we could not move her. During all this time shecontinued to beat with great violence against the rock, so that it waswith the utmost difficulty that we kept upon our legs; and to completethe scene of distress, we saw by the light of the moon thesheathing-boards from the bottom of the vessel floating away all roundher, and at last her false keel, so that every moment was making way forthe sea to rush in which was to swallow us up. We had now no chance butto lighten her, and we had lost the opportunity of doing that to thegreatest advantage, for unhappily we went on shore just at high water, and by this time it had considerably fallen, so that after she should belightened so as to draw as much less water as the water had sunk, weshould be but in the same situation as at first; and the onlyalleviation of this circumstance was, that as the tide ebbed the shipsettled to the rocks, and was not beaten against them with so muchviolence. We had indeed some hope from the next tide, but it wasdoubtful whether she would hold together so long, especially as the rockkept grating her bottom under the starboard bow with such force as to beheard in the fore store-room. This, however, was no time to indulgeconjecture, nor was any effort remitted in despair of success. That notime might be lost, the water was immediately started in the hold, andpumped up; six of our guns, being all we had upon the deck, our iron andstone ballast, casks, hoop staves, oil jars, decayed stores, and manyother things that lay in the way of heavier materials, were thrownoverboard with the utmost expedition, every one exerting himself with analacrity almost approaching to cheerfulness, without the least repiningor discontent; yet the men were so far imprest with a sense of theirsituation, that not an oath was heard among them, the habit ofprofaneness, however strong, being instantly subdued by the dread ofincurring guilt when death seemed to be so near. 

While we were thus employed, day broke upon us, and we saw the land atabout eight leagues distance, without any island in the intermediatespace, upon which, if the ship should have gone to pieces, we might havebeen set ashore by the boats, and from which they might have taken us bydifferent turns to the main: The wind however gradually died away, andearly in the forenoon it was a dead calm; if it had blown hard, the shipmust inevitably have been destroyed. At eleven in the forenoon weexpected high water, and anchors were got out, and every thing madeready for another effort to heave her off if she should float; but, toour inexpressible surprise and concern, she did not float by a foot anda half, though we had lightened her near fifty ton, so much did the daytide fall short of that in the night. We now proceeded to lighten herstill more, and threw overboard every thing that it was possible for usto spare: Hitherto she had not admitted much water, but as the tidefell, it rushed in so fast, that two pumps, incessantly worked, couldscarcely keep her free. At two o'clock, she lay heeling two or threestreaks to starboard, and the pinnace, which lay under her bows, touchedthe ground; we had now no hope but from the tide at midnight, and toprepare for it we carried out our two bower anchors, one on thestarboard quarter, and the other right a-stern, got the blocks andtackle which were to give us a purchase upon the cables in order, andbrought the falls, or ends of them, in abaft, straining them tight, thatthe next effort might operate upon the ship, and by shortening thelength of the cable between that and the anchors, drew her off the ledgeupon which she rested, towards the deep water. About five o'clock in theafternoon, we observed the tide begin to rise, but we observed at thesame time that the leak increased to a most alarming degree, so thattwo, more pumps were manned, but unhappily only one of them, would work;three of the pumps, however, were kept going, and at nine o'clock theship righted, but the leak had gained upon us so considerably, that itwas imagined she must go to the bottom as soon as she ceased to besupported by the rock: This was a dreadful circumstance, so that weanticipated the floating of the ship not as an earnest of deliverance, but as an event that would probably precipitate our destruction. We wellknew that our boats were not capable of carrying us all on shore, andthat when the dreadful crisis should arrive, as all command andsubordination would be at an end, a contest for preference wouldprobably ensue, that would increase even the horrors of shipwreck, andterminate in the destruction of us all by the hands of each other; yetwe knew that if any should be left on board to perish in the waves, theywould probably suffer less upon the whole than those who should get onshore, without any lasting or effectual defence against the natives, ina country where even nets and fire-arms would scarcely furnish them withfood; and where, if they should find the means of subsistence, they mustbe condemned to languish out the remainder of life in a desolatewilderness, without the possession, or even hope, of any domesticcomfort, and cut off from all commerce with mankind, except the nakedsavages who prowled the desert, and who perhaps were some of the mostrude and uncivilized upon the earth. 

To those only who have waited in a state of such suspense, Death hasapproached in all his tenors; and as the dreadful moment that was todetermine our fate came on, every one saw his own sensations pictured inthe countenances of his companions: However, the capstan and wind-lacewere manned with as many hands as could be spared from the pumps, andthe ship floating about twenty minutes after ten o'clock, the effort wasmade, and she was heaved into deep water. It was some comfort to findthat she did not now admit more water than she had done upon the rock;and though by the gaining of the leak upon the pumps, there was no lessthan three feet nine inches water in the hold, yet the men did notrelinquish their labour, and we held the water as it were at bay; buthaving now endured excessive fatigue of body and agitation of mind formore than four-and-twenty hours, and having but little hope ofsucceeding at last, they began to flag: None of them could work at thepump more than five or six minutes together, and then, being totallyexhausted, they threw themselves down upon the deck, though a stream ofwater was running over it from the pumps between three and four inchesdeep; when those who succeeded them had worked their spell, and wereexhausted in their turn, they threw themselves down in the same manner, and the others started up again, and renewed their labour; thusrelieving each other till an accident was very near putting an end totheir efforts at once. The planking which lines the inside of the ship'sbottom is called the ceiling, and between this and the outside plankingthere is a space of about eighteen inches: The man who till this timehad attended the well to take the depth of water, had taken it only tothe ceiling, and gave the measure accordingly; but he being nowrelieved, the person who came in his stead reckoned the depth to theoutside planking, by which it appeared in a few minutes to have gainedupon the pumps eighteen inches, the difference between the plankingwithout and within. Upon this even the bravest was upon the point ofgiving up his labour with his hope, and in a few minutes every thingwould have been involved in all the confusion of despair. But thisaccident, however dreadful in its first consequences, was eventually thecause of our preservation. The mistake was soon detected, and the suddenjoy which every man felt upon finding his situation better than hisfears had suggested, operated like a charm, and seemed to possess himwith a strong belief that scarcely any real danger remained. Newconfidence and new hope, however founded, inspired new vigour; andthough our state was the same as when the men first began to slacken intheir labour, through weariness and despondency, they now renewed theirefforts with such alacrity and spirit, that before eight o'clock in themorning the leak was so far from having gained upon the pumps, that thepumps had gained considerably upon the leak. Every body now talked ofgetting the ship into some harbour, as a thing not to be doubted, and ashands could be spared from the pumps, they were employed in getting upthe anchors: The stream anchor and best bower we had taken on board; butit was found impossible to save the little bower, and therefore it wascut away at a whole cable; we lost also the cable of the stream anchoramong the rocks; but in our situation these were trifles which scarcelyattracted our notice. Our next business was to get up the fore top-mast, and fore-yard, and warp the ship to the south-east, and at eleven, having now a breeze from the sea, we once more got under sail and stoodfor the land. 

It was however impossible long to continue the labour by which the pumpshad been made to gain upon the leak, and as the exact situation of itcould not be discovered, we had no hope of stopping it within. In thissituation, Mr Monkhouse, one of my midshipmen, came to me and proposedan expedient that he had seen used on board a merchant ship, whichsprung a leak that admitted above four feet water an hour, and which bythis expedient was brought safely from Virginia to London; the masterhaving such confidence in it, that he took her out of harbour, knowingher condition, and did not think it worth while to wait till the leakcould be otherwise stopped. To this man, therefore, the care of theexpedient, which is called fothering the ship, was immediatelycommitted, four or five of the people being appointed to assist him, andhe performed it in this manner: He took a lower studding sail, andhaving mixed together a large quantity of oakum and wool, chopped prettysmall, he stitched it down in handfuls upon the sail, as lightly aspossible, and over this he spread the dung of our sheep and other filth;but horse dung, if we had had it, would have been better. When the sailwas thus prepared, it was hauled under the ship's bottom by ropes, whichkept it extended, and when it came under the leak, the suction whichcarried in the water, carried in with it the oakum and wool from thesurface of the sail, which in other parts the water was not sufficientlyagitated to wash off. [81] By the success of this expedient, our leak wasso far reduced, that instead of gaining upon three pumps, it was easilykept under with one. This was a new source of confidence and comfort;the people could scarcely have expressed more joy if they had beenalready in port; and their views were so far from being limited torunning the ship ashore in some harbour, either of an island or themain, and building a vessel out of her materials to carry us to the EastIndies, which had so lately been the utmost object of our hope, thatnothing was now thought of but ranging along the shore in search of aconvenient place to repair the damage she had sustained, and thenprosecuting the voyage upon the same plan as if nothing had happened. Upon this occasion I must observe, both in justice and gratitude to theship's company, and the gentlemen on board, that although in the midstof our distress every one seemed to have a just sense of his danger, yetno passionate exclamations, or frantic gestures, were to be heard orseen; every one appeared to have the perfect possession of his mind, andeveryone exerted himself to the uttermost, with a quiet and patientperseverance, equally distant from the tumultuous violence of terror, and the gloomy inactivity of despair. [82]

[Footnote 81: A somewhat different account of the operation calledfothering a vessel, is given in the Encyclopædia Britannica. Theexpedient does not appear to be adopted. The importance of the benefitintended by it is so great, as to justify the most sedulous care tobring the principle within the range of a seaman's professional studies. It is somewhat singular that Cook was not acquainted with it. --E. ]

[Footnote 82: With the modesty of real worth, Cook expends his eulogiumon his companions in danger, without seeming to reserve the smallestconsideration for his own dignified behaviour in such extreme peril. Whocan doubt, that the conduct of the crew was in unison with the fortitudeand intelligence of their commander? It is on such occasions that theeffects of discipline are most conspicuous. In common occurrences, themere attention to rules is amply sufficient to call forth our esteem. What shall we say of their merit, who, in such untoward emergencies, extend the influence of beneficial authority beyond the force of some ofthe strongest passions that agitate our frame?--E. ]

In the mean time, having light airs at E. S. E. We got up the maintop-mast, and main-yard, and kept edging in for the land, till about sixo'clock in the evening, when we came to an anchor in seventeen fathomwater, at the distance of seven leagues from the shore, and one from theledge of rocks upon which we had struck. 

This ledge or shoal lies in latitude 15° 45' S. , and between six andseven leagues from the main. It is not however the only shoal on thispart of the coast, especially to the northward; and at this time we sawone to the southward, the tail of which we passed over, when we haduneven soundings about two hours before we struck. A part of this shoalis always above water, and has the appearance of white sand: A part alsoof that upon which we had lain is dry at low water, and in that placeconsists of sand stones, but all the rest of it is a coral rock. 

Whilst we lay at anchor for the night, we found that the ship made aboutfifteen inches water an hour, from which no immediate danger was to beapprehended; and at six o'clock in the morning we weighed and stood tothe N. W. , still edging in for the land with a gentle breeze at S. S. E. Atnine we passed close without two small islands that lie in latitude 15°41' S. , and about four leagues from the main: To reach these islandshad, in the height of our distress, been the object of our hope, orperhaps rather of our wishes, and therefore I called them _HopeIslands_. At noon we were about three leagues from the land, and inlatitude 15° 37' S. ; the northermost part of the main in sight bore N. 30 W. ; and Hope Islands extended from S. 30 E. To S. 40 E. In thissituation we had twelve fathom water, and several sand banks without us. At this time the leak had not increased; but that we might be preparedfor all events, we got the sail ready for another fothering. In theafternoon, having a gentle breeze at S. E. By E. , I sent out the masterwith two boats, as well to sound a-head of the ship as to look out for aharbour where we might repair our defects, and put the ship in a propertrim. At three o'clock we saw an opening that had the appearance of anharbour, and stood off and on while the boats examined it, but they soonfound that there was not depth of water in it sufficient for the ship. When it was near sun-set, there being many shoals about us, we anchoredin four fathom, at the distance of about two miles from the shore, theland extending from N. 1/2 E. To S. By E. 1/2 E. The pinnace was stillout with one of the mates; but at nine o'clock she returned, andreported, that about two leagues to leeward she had discovered justsuch a harbour as we wanted, in which there was a sufficient rise ofwater, and every other convenience that could be desired, either forlaying the ship ashore, or heading her down. 

In consequence of this information, I weighed at six o'clock in themorning, and having sent two boats a-head, to lie upon the shoals thatwe saw in our way, we ran down to the place; but notwithstanding ourprecaution, we were once in three fathom water. As soon as these shoalswere passed, I sent the boats to lie in the channel that led to theharbour, and by this time it began to blow. It was happy for us that aplace of refuge was at hand; for we soon found that the ship would notwork, having twice missed stays: Oar situation, however, though it mighthave been much worse, was not without danger; we were entangled amongshoals, and I had great reason to fear being driven to leeward beforethe boats could place themselves so as to prescribe our course. Itherefore anchored in four fathom, about a mile from the shore, and thenmade the signal for the boats to come on board. When this was done, Iwent myself and buoyed the channel, which I found very narrow; theharbour also I found smaller than I expected, but most excellentlyadapted to our purpose; and it is remarkable, that in the whole courseof our voyage we had seen no place which, in our present circumstances, could have afforded us the same relief. At noon, our latitude was 15°26' S. During all the rest of this day, and the whole night, it blew toofresh for us to venture from our anchor and run into the harbour; andfor our farther security, we got down the top-gallant yards, unbent themain-sail and some of the small sails; got down thefore-top-gallant-mast, and the jibb-boom, and sprit-sail, with a view tolighten the ship forwards as much as possible, in order to come at herleak, which we supposed to be somewhere in that part; for in all the joyof our unexpected deliverance, we had not forgot that at this time therewas nothing but a lock of wool between us and destruction. The galecontinuing, we kept our station all the 15th. On the 16th, it wassomewhat more moderate; and about six o'clock in the morning we hove thecable short, with a design to get under sail, but were obliged todesist, and veer it out again. It is remarkable that the sea-breeze, which blew fresh when we anchored, continued to do so almost every daywhite we stayed here; it was calm only while we were upon the rock, except once; and even the gale that afterwards wafted us to the shore, would then certainly have beaten us to pieces. In the evening of thepreceding day, we had observed a fire near the beach over against us;and, as it would be necessary for us to stay some time in this place, wewere not without hope of making an acquaintance with the people. We sawmore fires upon the hills to-day, and with our glasses discovered fourIndians going along the shore, who stopped and made two fires; but forwhat purpose it was impossible we should guess. 

The scurvy now began to make its appearance among us, with manyformidable symptoms. Our poor Indian, Tupia, who had some time beforecomplained that his gums were sore and swelled, and who had takenplentifully of our lemon juice by the surgeon's direction, had now lividspots upon his legs, and other indubitable testimonies that the diseasehad made a rapid progress, notwithstanding all our remedies, among whichthe bark had been liberally administered. Mr Green, our astronomer, wasalso declining; and these, among other circumstances, embittered thedelay which prevented our going ashore. 

In the morning of the 17th, though the wind was still fresh, we venturedto weigh, and push in for the harbour; but in doing this we twice runthe ship aground: The first time she went off without any trouble, butthe second time she stuck fast. We now got down the fore-yard, foretop-masts, and booms, and taking them overboard, made a raft of themalongside of the ship. The tide was happily rising, and about oneo'clock in the afternoon she floated. We soon warped her into theharbour, and having moored her alongside of a steep beach to the south, we got the anchors, cables, and all the hawsers on shore before night. 

SECTION XXXI. 

_Transactions while the Ship was refitting in Endeavour River: ADescription of the adjacent Country, its Inhabitants and Productions_. 

In the morning of Monday the 18th, a stage was made from the ship to theshore, which was so bold that she floated at twenty feet distance: Twotents were also set up, one for the sick, and the other for stores andprovisions, which were landed in the course of the day. We also landedall the empty water-casks, and part of the stores. As soon as the tentfor the sick was got ready for their reception, they were sent ashore tothe number of eight or nine, and the boat was dispatched to haul theseine, in hopes of procuring some fish for their refreshment; but shereturned without success. In the mean time, I climbed one of the highesthills among those that overlooked the harbour, which afforded by nomeans a comfortable prospect: The low land near the river is whollyover-run with mangroves, among which the salt water flows every tide;and the high land appeared to be everywhere stoney and barren. In themean time, Mr Banks had also taken a walk up the country, and met withthe frames of several old Indian houses, and places where they haddressed shell-fish; but they seemed not to have been frequented for somemonths. Tupia, who had employed himself in angling, and lived entirelyupon what he caught, recovered in a surprising degree; but Mr Greenstill continued to be extremely ill. 

The next morning I got the four remaining guns out of the hold, andmounted them upon the quarter-deck; I also got a spare anchor andanchor-stock ashore, and the remaining part of the stores and ballastthat were in the hold; set up the smith's forge, and employed thearmourer and his mate to make nails and other necessaries for the repairof the ship. In the afternoon, all the officers' stores and ground tierof water were got out, so that nothing remained in the fore and mainhold but the coals, and a small quantity of stone ballast. This day MrBanks crossed the river to take a view of the country on the other side;he found it consist principally of sand-hills, where he saw some Indianhouses, which appeared to have been very lately inhabited. In his walkhe met with vast flocks of pigeons and crows: Of the pigeons, which wereexceedingly beautiful, he shot several; but the crows, which wereexactly like those in England, were so shy that he could not get withinreach of them. 

On the 20th, we landed the powder and got out the stone ballast andwood, which brought the ship's draught of water to eight feet ten inchesforward, and thirteen feet abaft; and this I thought, with thedifference that would be made of trimming the coals aft, would besufficient; for I found that the water rose and fell perpendicularlyeight feet at the spring-tides: But as soon as the coals were trimmedfrom over the leak, we could hear the water rush in a little abaft theforemast, about three feet from the keel; this determined me to clearthe hold entirely. This evening Mr Banks observed that in many parts ofthe inlet there were large quantities of pumice-stones, which lay at aconsiderable distance above high-water mark, whither they might havebeen carried either by the freshes or extraordinary high tides, forthere could be no doubt but that they came from the sea. 

The next morning we went early to work, and by four o'clock in theafternoon had got out all the coals, cast the moorings loose, and warpedthe ship a little higher up the harbour to a place which I thought mostconvenient for laying her ashore in order to stop the leak. Her draughtof water forward was now seven feet nine inches, and abaft thirteen feetsix inches. At eight o'clock, it being high water, I hauled her bowclose ashore, but kept her stern afloat, because I was afraid of neipingher; it was however necessary to lay the whole of her as near the groundas possible. 

At two o'clock in the morning of the 22d, the tide left her, and gave usan opportunity to examine the leak, which we found to be at herfloor-heads, a little before the starboard fore-chains. In this placethe rocks had made their way through four planks, and even into thetimbers; three more planks were much damaged, and the appearance ofthese breaches was very extraordinary: There was not a splinter to beseen, but all was so smooth as if the whole had been cut away by aninstrument: The timbers in this place were happily very close, and ifthey had not, it would have been absolutely impossible to have saved theship. But after all, her preservation depended upon a circumstance stillmore remarkable: One of the holes, which was big enough to have sunk us, if we had had eight pumps instead of four, and been able to keep themincessantly going, was in great measure plugged up by a fragment of therock, which, after having made the wound, was left sticking in it, sothat the water which at first had gained upon our pumps was what came inat the interstices, between the stone and the edges of the hole thatreceived it. We found also several pieces of the fothering, which hadmade their way between the timbers, and in a great measure stopped thoseparts of the leak which the stone had left open. Upon furtherexamination, we found that, besides the leak, considerable damage hadbeen done to the bottom; great part of the sheathing was gone from underthe larboard bow; a considerable part of the false keel was alsowanting, and these indeed we had seen swim away in fragments from thevessel, while she lay beating against the rock: The remainder of it wasin so shattered a condition, that it had better have been gone; and thefore foot and main keel were also damaged, but not so as to produce anyimmediate danger: What damage she might have received abaft could notyet be exactly known, but we have reason to think it was not much, asbut little water made its way into her bottom, while the tide kept belowthe leak which has already been described. By nine o'clock in themorning the carpenters got to work upon her, while the smiths were busyin making bolts and nails. In the mean time, some of the people weresent on the other side of the water to shoot pigeons for the sick, whoat their return reported that they had seen an animal as large as agreyhound, of a slender make, a mouse-colour, and extremely swift; theydiscovered also many Indian houses, and a fine stream of fresh water. 

The next morning I sent a boat to haul the seine; but at noon itreturned with only three fish, and yet we saw them in plenty leapingabout the harbour. This day the carpenter finished the repairs that werenecessary on the starboard side; and at nine o'clock in the evening weheeled the ship the other way, and hauled her off about two feet forfear of neiping. This day almost every body had seen the animal whichthe pigeon-shooters had brought an account of the day before; and one ofthe seamen, who had been rambling in the woods, told us at his returnthat he verily believed he had seen the devil: We naturally enquired inwhat form he had appeared, and his answer was in so singular a style, that I shall set down his own words: "He was, " says John, "as large asa one gallon keg and very like it; he had horns and wings, yet he creptso slowly through, the grass, that if I had not been afeard I might havetouched him. " This formidable apparition we afterwards discovered tohave been a batt; and the batts here must be acknowledged to have afrightful appearance, for they are nearly black, and full as large as apartridge; they have indeed no horns, but the fancy of a man who thoughthe saw the devil, might easily supply that defect. 

Early on the 24th the carpenters began to repair the sheathing under thelarboard bow, where we found two planks cut about half through; and inthe mean time I sent a party of men, under the direction of Mr Gore, insearch, of refreshments for the sick: This party returned about noonwith a few palm cabbages, and a bunch or two of wild plantain; theplantains were the smallest I had ever seen, and the pulp, though it waswell tasted, was full of small stones. As I was walking this morning ata little distance from the ship, I saw myself one of the animals whichhad been so often described; it was of a light mouse-colour, and in sizeand shape very much resembling a greyhound; it had a long tail also, which it carried like a greyhound; and I should have taken it for awild-dog, if, instead of running, it had not leapt like a hare or deer:Its legs were said to be very slender, and the print of its foot to belike that of a goat; but where I saw it the grass was so high that thelegs were concealed, and the ground was too hard to receive the track. Mr Banks also had an imperfect view of this animal, and was of opinionthat its species was hitherto unknown. [83]

[Footnote 83: It is almost superfluous to tell any reader now that theanimal mentioned is the kangaroo, of which specimens are to be seen innearly every travelling collection of wild beasts. --E. ]

After the ship was hauled ashore, all the water that came into her ofcourse went backwards; so that although she was dry forwards, she hadnine feet water abaft: As in this part therefore her bottom could not beexamined on the inside, I took the advantage of the tide being out thisevening to get the master and two of the men to go under her, andexamine her whole larboard side without. They found the sheathing goneabout the floor-heads abreast of the main-mast, and part of a plank alittle damaged; but all agreed that she had received no other materialinjury. The loss of her sheathing alone was a great misfortune, as theworm would now be let into her bottom, which might expose us to greatinconvenience and danger; but as I knew no remedy for the mischief butheaving her down, which would be a work of immense labour and long time, if practicable at all in our present situation, I was obliged to becontent. The carpenters however continued to work under her bottom inthe evening till they were prevented by the tide; the morning tide didnot ebb out far enough to permit them to work at all, for we had onlyone tolerable high and low tide in four-and-twenty hours, as indeed wehad experienced when we lay upon the rock. The position of the ship, which threw the water in her abaft, was very near depriving the world ofall the knowledge which Mr Banks had endured so much labour, and so manyrisks, to procure; for he had removed the curious collection of plantswhich he made during the whole voyage into the bread-room, which lies inthe after-part of the ship, as a place of the greatest security; andnobody having thought of the danger to which laying her head so muchhigher than the stem would expose them, they were this day found underwater. Most of them however were, by indefatigable care and attention, restored to a state of preservation, but some were entirely spoilt anddestroyed. 

The 25th was employed in filling water and overhauling the rigging, andat low-water the carpenters finished the repairs under the larboard bow, and every other place which the tide would permit them to come at; somecasks were then lashed under her bows to facilitate her floating, and atnight, when it was high water, we endeavoured to heave her off, butwithout success, for some of the casks that were lashed to her gave way. 

The morning of the 26th was employed in getting more casks ready for thesame purpose, and in the afternoon we lashed no less thaneight-and-thirty under the ship's bottom, but to our great mortificationthese also proved ineffectual, and we found ourselves reduced to thenecessity of waiting till the next spring-tide. 

This day some of our gentlemen who had made an excursion into the woods, brought home the leaves of a plant which was thought to be the same thatin the West Indies is called coccos; but upon trial the roots proved tooacrid to be eaten; the leaves, however, were little inferior tospinnage. In the place where these plants were gathered, grew plenty ofthe cabbage trees which have occasionally been mentioned before, a kindof wild plantain, the fruit of which was so full of stones as scarcelyto be eatable; another fruit was also found about the size of a smallgolden pippin, but flatter, and of a deep purple colour: When firstgathered from the tree, it was very hard and disagreeable, but afterbeing kept a few days became soft, and tasted very much like anindifferent damascene. 

The next morning we began to move some of the weight from the after-partof the ship forward, to ease her; in the mean time the armourercontinued to work at the forge, the carpenter was busy in caulking theship, and the men employed in filling water and overhauling the rigging:In the forenoon, I went myself in the pinnace up the harbour, and madeseveral hauls with the seine, but caught only between twenty and thirtyfish, which were given to the sick and convalescent. 

On the 28th, Mr Banks went with some of the seamen up the country, toshew them the plant which in the West Indies is called Indian kale, andwhich served us for greens. Tupia had much meliorated the root of thecoccos, by giving them a long dressing in his country oven, but theywere so small that we did not think them an object for the ship. Intheir walk they found one tree which had been notched for theconvenience of climbing it, in the same manner with those, we had seenin Botany Bay: They saw also many nests of white ants, which resemblethose of the East Indies, the most pernicious insects in the world. Thenests were of a pyramidical figure, from a few inches to six feet high, and very much resembled the stones in England, which are said to bemonuments of the Druids. Mr Gore who was also this day four or fivemiles up the country, reported that he had seen the footsteps of men, and tracked animals of three or four different sorts, but had not beenfortunate enough to see either man or beast. 

At two o'clock in the morning of the 20th, I observed, in conjunctionwith Mr Green, an emersion of Jupiter's first satellite; the time herewas 2h 18' 53", which gave the longitude of this place 214° 42' 30" W. ;its latitude is 15° 26' S. At break of day, I sent the boat out againwith the seine, and in the afternoon it returned with as much fish asenabled me to give every man a pound and a half. One of my midshipmen, an American, who was this day abroad with his gun, reported that he hadseen a wolf, exactly like those which he had been used to see in his owncountry, and that he had shot at it, but did not kill it. 

The next morning, encouraged by the success of the day before, I sentthe boat again to haul the seine, and another party to gather greens: Isent also some of the young gentlemen to take a plan of the harbour, andwent myself upon a hill, which lies over the south point, to take a viewof the sea. At this time it was low water, and I saw, with greatconcern, innumerable sand-banks and shoals lying all along the coast inevery direction. The innermost lay about three or four miles from theshore, the outermost extended as far as I could see with my glass, andmany of them did but just rise above water. There was some appearance ofa passage to the northward, and I had no hope of getting clear but inthat direction, for as the wind blows constantly from the S. E. , it wouldhave been difficult, if not impossible, to return back to the southward. 

Mr Gore reported that he had this day seen two animals like dogs, of astraw colour, that they ran like a hare, and were about the same size. In the afternoon, the people returned from hauling the seine, with stillbetter success than before, for I was now able to distribute two poundsand an half to each man: The greens that had been gathered I ordered tobe boiled among the peas, and they made an excellent mess, which, withcopious supplies of fish, afforded us unspeakable refreshment. 

The next day, July the 1st, being Sunday, every body had liberty to goashore, except one from each mess, who were again sent out with theseine. The seine was again equally successful, and the people who wentup the country gave an account of having seen several animals, thoughnone of them were to be caught. They saw a fire also about a mile up theriver, and Mr Gore, the second lieutenant, picked up the husk of acocoa-nut, which had been cast upon the beach, and was full ofbarnacles: This probably might come from some island to windward, perhaps from the Terra del Espirito Santo of Quiros, as we were now inthe latitude where it is said to lie. This day the thermometer in theshade rose to 87, which was higher than it had been on any day since wecame upon this coast. 

Early the next morning, I sent the master in the pinnace out of theharbour, to sound about the shoals in the offing, and look for a channelto the northward: At this time we had a breeze from the land, whichcontinued till about nine o'clock, and was the first we had since ourcoming into the river. At low water we lashed some empty casks under theship's bows, having some hope that as the tides were rising she wouldfloat the next high water. We still continued to fish with greatsuccess, and at high water we again attempted to heave the ship off, butour utmost efforts were still ineffectual. 

The next day at noon the master returned, and reported that he had founda passage out to sea between the shoals, and described its situation. The shoals, he said, consisted of coral rocks, many of which were dry atlow water, and upon one of which he had been ashore. He found here somecockles of so enormous a size, that one of them was more than two mencould eat, and a great variety of other shell-fish, of which he broughtus a plentiful supply: In the evening he had also landed in a bay aboutthree leagues to the northward of our station, where he disturbed someof the natives who were at supper; they all fled with the greatestprecipitation at his approach, leaving some fresh sea-eggs, and a fireready kindled, behind them, but there was neither house nor hovel nearthe place. We observed that although the shoals that lie just withinsight of the coast, abound with shell-fish, which may be easily caughtat low water; yet we saw no such shells about the fire-places on shore. This day an allegator was seen to swim about us for some time; and athigh water we made another effort to float the ship, which happilysucceeded: We found however that by lying so long with her heada-ground, and her stern a-float, she had sprung a plank between decks, a-breast of the main-chains, so that it was become necessary to lay herashore again. 

The next morning was employed in trimming her upon an even keel, and inthe afternoon, having warped her over, and waited for high water, welaid her ashore on the sandbank on the south side of the river; for thedamage she had received already from the great descent of the ground, made me afraid to lay her broad-side to the shore in the same place fromwhich we had just floated her. I was now very desirous to make anothertrial to come at her bottom, where the sheathing had been rubbed off, but though she had scarcely four feet water under her, when the tide wasout, yet that part was not dry. 

On the 5th, I got one of the carpenter's crew, a man in whom I couldconfide, to go down again to the ship's bottom, and examine the place. He reported, that three streaks of the sheathing, about eight feet long, were wanting, and that the main plank had been a little rubbed. Thisaccount perfectly agreed with the report of the master, and others, whohad been under her bottom before: I had the comfort, however, to findthe carpenter of opinion that this would be of little consequence, andtherefore, the other damage being repaired, she was again floated athigh water, and moored alongside the beach, where the stores had beendeposited; we then went to work to take the stores on board, and put herin a condition for the sea. This day, Mr Banks crossed to the other sideof the harbour, where, as he walked along a sandy beach, he foundinnumerable fruits, and many of them such as no plants which he haddiscovered in this country produced: Among others were some cocoa-nuts, which Tupia said had been opened by a kind of crab, which from hisdescription we judged to be the same that the Dutch call _Beurs Krabbe_, and which we had not seen in these seas. All the vegetable substanceswhich he found in this place were encrusted with marine productions, andcovered with barnacles; a sure sign that they must have come far by sea, and, as the trade-wind blows right upon the shore, probably from Terradel Espirito Santo, which has been mentioned already. 

The next morning, Mr Banks, with Lieutenant Gore, and three men, set outin a small boat up the river, with a view to spend two or three days inan excursion, to examine the country, and kill some of the animals whichhad been so often seen at a distance. 

On the 7th, I sent the master again out to sound about the shoals, theaccount which he had brought me of the channel being by no meanssatisfactory; and we spent the remainder of this day, and the morning ofthe next, in fishing, and other necessary occupations. 

About four o'clock in the afternoon, Mr Banks and his party returned, and gave us an account of their expedition. Having proceeded about threeleagues among swamps and mangroves, they went up into the country, whichthey found to differ but little from what they had seen before: Theypursued their course therefore up the river, which at length wascontracted into a narrow channel, and was bounded, not by swamps andmangroves, but by steep banks, that were covered with trees of a mostbeautiful verdure, among which was that which in the West Indies iscalled _Mohoe_, or the bark tree, the _hibiscus tiliaceus_; the landwithin was in general low, and had a thick covering of long grass: Thesoil seemed to be such as promised great fertility to any who shouldplant and improve it. In the course of the day, Tupia saw an animal, which, by his description, Mr Banks judged to be a wolf: They also sawthree other animals, but could neither catch nor kill one of them, and akind of bat, as large, as a partridge, but this also eluded all theirdiligence and skill. At night, they took up their lodging close to thebanks of the river, and made a fire, but the musquitos swarmed aboutthem in such numbers, that their quarters were almost untenable: Theyfollowed them into the smoke, and almost into the fire, which, hot asthe climate was, they could better endure than the stings of theseinsects, which were an intolerable torment. The fire, the flies, and thewant of a better bed than the ground, rendered the night extremelyuncomfortable, so that they passed it not in sleep, but in restlesswishes for the return of day. With the first dawn they set out in searchof game, and in a walk of many miles, they saw four animals of the samekind, two of which Mr Banks's greyhound fairly chaced, but they threwhim out at a great distance, by leaping over the long thick grass, whichprevented his running: This animal was observed not to run upon fourlegs, but to bound or hop forward upon two, like the _Jerbua_, or _MusJaculus_. About noon, they returned to the boat, and again proceeded upthe river, which was soon contracted into a fresh-water brook, where, however, the tide rose to a considerable height. As evening approached, it became low water, and it was then so shallow that they were obligedto get out of the boat and drag her along, till they could find a placein which they might, with some hope of rest, pass the night. Such aplace at length offered, and while they were getting the things out ofthe boat, they observed a smoke at the distance of about a furlong: Asthey did not doubt but that some of the natives, with whom they had solong and earnestly desired to become personally acquainted, were aboutthe fire, three of the party went immediately towards it, hoping that sosmall a number would not put them to flight: When they came up to theplace, however, they found it deserted, and therefore they conjectured, that before they had discovered the Indians, the Indians had discoveredthem. They found the fire still burning, in the hollow of an old treethat was become touch-wood, and several branches of trees newly brokendown, with which children had been playing: They observed also manyfootsteps upon the sand, below high-water mark, which were certainindications that the Indians had been recently upon the spot. Severalhouses were found at a little distance, and some ovens dug in theground, in the same manner as those of Otaheite, in which victualsappeared to have been dressed since the morning; and scattered aboutthem, lay some shells of a kind of clamm, and some fragments of roots, the refuse of the meal. After regretting their disappointment, theyrepaired to their quarters, which was a broad sand-bank, under theshelter of a bush. Their beds were plantain leaves, which they spreadupon the sand, and which were as soft as a mattress; their cloaks servedthem for bed-clothes, and some bunches of grass for pillows: With theseaccommodations they hoped to pass a better night than the last, especially as, to their great comfort, not a musquito was to be seen. Here then they lay down, and, such is the force of habit, they resignedthemselves to sleep, without once reflecting upon the probability anddanger of being found by the Indians in that situation. If this appearsstrange, let us for a moment reflect, that every danger, and everycalamity, after a time becomes familiar, and loses its effect upon themind. If it were possible that a man should first be made acquaintedwith his mortality, or even with the inevitable debility and infirmitiesof old age, when his understanding had arrived at its full strength, andlife was endeared by the enjoyments of youth, and vigour, and health, with what an agony of terror and distress would the intelligence bereceived! yet, being gradually acquainted with these mournful truths, byinsensible degrees, we scarce know when, they lose all their force, andwe think no more of the approach of old age and death, than thesewanderers of an unknown desert did of a less obvious and certain evil, the approach of the native savages, at a time when they must have fallenan easy prey to their malice or their fears. And it is remarkable, thatthe greater part of those who have been condemned to suffer a violentdeath, have slept the night immediately preceding their execution, though there is perhaps no instance of a person accused of a capitalcrime having slept the first night of his confinement. Thus is the evilof life in some degree a remedy for itself, and though every man attwenty deprecates fourscore, almost every man is as tenacious of life atfourscore as at twenty; and if he does not suffer under any painfuldisorder, loses as little of the comforts that remain by reflecting thathe is upon the brink of the grave, where the earth already crumblesunder his feet, as he did of the pleasures of his better days, when hisdissolution, though certain, was supposed to be at a distance. [84]

[Footnote 84: The reader will receive this hypothetical statement as hefinds it agreeable, or not, to his own experience, --a better guide, inall probability, than mere philosophy. The writer has his doubts uponthe subject. But let every one judge for himself. For his part, he isconvinced that frequent contemplation of death, though it certainly aidsthe mind in reasoning about it, does not lessen the apprehension of it, but the reverse: so that, did not _some peculiar principle_ come to hisaid, and seem indeed to acquire continually more clearness andefficiency, his distress or uneasy feeling would be much heightened bythe exercise. But he sees no reason either to expect, or to wish, thatit may be ever otherwise with him; for he is persuaded, that much ofman's dignity and welfare consists in his seeing things just as theyare, without any disguise or delusion; and that whatever death reallyis, there is an infallible remedy provided against its greatest terrors, to which he can always have recourse. So far, on the other hand, as hisobservation on others, which has not been small, extends, he wouldnotice, that, on the whole, young persons die more easily than the aged;he means, they submit to that event, when really imminent, with moreapparent tranquillity, though, when at a distance, they are much lessdisposed either to think or to speak about it. It will not be easy toreconcile these two facts with the reasoning in the text. But to besure, a wider induction is requisite for the establishment of anytheory. This is not the place for it. The instances adduced by Dr H. Insupport of his theory, are explicable on another principle, viz. Thatevery excitement of mind or body is followed by a depression preciselyproportioned to its intensity. This seems a law in our economy, deducible from almost unlimited observation, and of extreme importance, both in point of fact, and as a principle for discussion. Before endingthis note, it is suggested to the reader, to consult, on the subjects ofit, his own heart and mind, in preference to all the books ever written, _save one_. If that one enforce the dictates promulgated within, and atthe same time minister consolation, he will smile at philosophy, andgain the best victory over the fear of death. To him then, notwithstanding every outward difficulty to which he can possibly beexposed, and all that inward strife and humiliation which he cannot butexperience, the words of Cowper will be expressively applicable:--

 "Therefore in Contemplation is his bliss, Whose power is such, that whom she lifts from earth She makes familiar with a heaven unseen, And shows him glories yet to be revealed. "

But this is a mystery!--E. ]

Our travellers having slept, without once awaking, till the morning, examined the river, and finding the tide favoured their return, and thecountry promised nothing worthy of a farther search, they re-embarked intheir boat, and made the best of their way to the ship. 

Soon after the arrival of this party, the master also returned, havingbeen seven leagues out to sea, and he was now of opinion that there wasno getting out where before, he thought there had been a passage: Hisexpedition, however, was by no means without its advantage; for havingbeen a second time upon the rock where he had seen the large cockles, hemet with a great number of turtle, three of which he caught, thattogether weighed seven hundred and ninety-one pounds, though he had nobetter instrument than a boat-hook. 

The next morning, therefore, I sent him out again, with properinstruments for taking them, and Mr Banks went with him; but the successdid not at all answer our expectations, for, by the unaccountableconduct of the officer, not a single turtle was taken, nor could he bepersuaded to return: Mr Banks, however, went ashore upon the reef, wherehe saw several of the large cockles, and having collected many shellsand marine productions, he returned at eleven o'clock at night in hisown small boat, the master still continuing with the large one upon therock. In the afternoon, seven or eight of the natives had appeared onthe south side of the river, and two of them came down to the sandypoint, opposite to the ship; but upon seeing me put off in a boat tospeak with them, they all ran away with the greatest precipitation. 

As the master continued absent with the boat all night, I was forced tosend the second lieutenant for him early the next morning in the yawl;and soon after, four of the natives appeared upon the sandy point, onthe north side of the river, having with them a small wooden canoe, without-riggers: They seemed for some time to be busily employed in strikingfish. Some of our people were for going over to them in a boat, but thisI would by no means permit, repeated experience having convinced me thatit was more likely to prevent, than procure an interview. I wasdetermined to try what could be done by a contrary method, andaccordingly let them alone, without appearing to take the least noticeof them: This succeeded so well, that at length two of them came in thecanoe within a musket-shot of the ship, and there talked a great deal ina very loud tone. We understood nothing that they said, and thereforecould answer their harangue only by shouting, and making all the signsof invitation and kindness that we could devise. During this conference, they came, insensibly, nearer and nearer, holding up their lances, notin a threatening manner, but as if to intimate that if we offered themany injury, they had weapons to revenge it. When they were almostalong-side of us, we threw them some cloth, nails, beads, paper, andother trifles, which they received without the least appearance ofsatisfaction: At last, one of the people happened to throw them a smallfish; at this they expressed the greatest joy imaginable, andintimating, by signs, that they would fetch their companions, immediately paddled away towards the shore. In the mean time some of ourpeople, and among them Tupia, landed on the opposite side of the river. The canoe, with all the four Indians, very soon returned to the ship, and came quite along-side, without expressing any fear or distrust. Wedistributed some more presents among them, and soon after they left us, and landed on the same side of the river where our people had goneashore: Every man carried in his hand two lances, and a stick, which isused in throwing them, and advanced to the place where Tupia and therest of our people were sitting. Tupia soon prevailed upon them to laydown their arms, and come forward without them: He then made signs thatthey should sit down by him, with which they complied, and seemed to beunder no apprehension or constraint: Several more of us then goingashore, they expressed some jealousy lest we should get between them andtheir arms; we took care, however, to shew them that we had no suchintention, and having joined them, we made them some more presents, as afarther testimony of our good-will, and our desire to obtain theirs. Wecontinued together, with the utmost cordiality, till dinner-time, andthen giving them to understand that we were going to eat, we invitedthem, by signs, to go with us: This, however, they declined, and as soonas we left them, they went away in their canoe. One of these men wassomewhat above the middle age, the other three were young; they were ingeneral of the common stature, but their limbs were remarkably small;their skin was of the colour of wood soot, or what would be called adark chocolate colour; their hair was black, but not woolly; it wasshort cropped, in some lank, and in others curled. Dampier says, thatthe people whom he saw on the western coast of this country wanted twoof their fore-teeth, but these had no such defect. Some part of theirbodies had been painted red, and the upper-lip and breast of one of themwas painted with streaks of white, which he called _Carbanda_; theirfeatures were far from disagreeable, their eyes were lively, and theirteeth even and white; their voices were soft and tunable, and theyrepeated many words after us with great facility. In the night, Mr Goreand the master returned with the long-boat, and brought one turtle and afew shell-fish. The yawl had been left upon the shoal with six men, tomake a farther trial for turtle. 

The next morning, we had another visit from four of the natives; threeof them had been with us before, but the fourth was a stranger, whosename, as we learnt from his companions who introduced him, was_Yaparico_. This gentleman was distinguished by an ornament of a verystriking appearance: It was the bone of a bird, nearly as thick as aman's finger, and five or six inches long, which he had thrust into ahole made in the gristle that divides the nostrils. Of this we had seenone instance, and only one, in New Zealand; but upon examination, wefound that among all these people this part of the nose was perforated, to receive an ornament of the same kind: They had also holes in theirears, though nothing was then hanging to them, and had bracelets uponthe upper part of their arms, made of plaited hair; so that, like theinhabitants of Terra del Fuego, they seem to be fond of ornament, thoughthey are absolutely without apparel; and one of them, to whom I hadgiven part of an old shirt, instead of throwing it over any part of hisbody, tied it as a fillet round his head. They brought with them a fish, which they gave us, as we supposed, in return for the fish that we hadgiven them the day before. They seemed to be much pleased, and in nohaste to leave us; but seeing some of our gentlemen examine their canoewith great curiosity and attention, they were alarmed, and jumpingimmediately into it, paddled away without speaking a word. 

About two the next morning, the yawl, which had been left upon theshoal, returned, with three turtles and a large skeat. As it seemed nowprobable that this fishery might be prosecuted with advantage, I senther out again, after breakfast, for a further supply. Soon after, threeIndians ventured down to Tupia's tent, and were so well pleased withtheir reception, that one of them went with the canoe to fetch twoothers whom we had never seen: When he returned, he introduced thestrangers by name, a ceremony which, upon such occasions, was neveromitted. As they had received the fish that was thrown into their canoe, when they first approached the ship, with so much pleasure, some fishwas offered to them now, and we were greatly surprised to see that itwas received with the greatest indifference: They made signs, however, to some of the people, that they should dress it for them, which wasimmediately done, but after eating a little of it, they threw the restto Mr Banks's dog. They staid with us all the forenoon, but would neverventure above twenty yards from their canoe. We now perceived that thecolour of their skin was not so dark as it appeared, what we had takenfor their complexion, being the effects of dirt and smoke, in which, weimagined, they contrived to sleep, notwithstanding the heat of theclimate, as the only means in their power to keep off the musquitos. Among other things that we had given them when we first saw them, weresome medals, which we had hung round their necks by a ribband; and theseribbands were so changed by smoke, that we could not easily distinguishof what colour they had been: This incident led us more narrowly toexamine the colour of their skin. While these people were with us, wesaw two others on the point of land that lay on the opposite side of theriver, at the distance of about two hundred yards, and by our glassesdiscovered them to be a woman and a boy; the woman, like the rest, beingstark naked. We observed, that all of them were remarkably clean-limbed, and exceedingly active and nimble. One of these strangers had a necklaceof shells, very prettily made, and a bracelet upon his arm, formed ofseveral strings, so as to resemble what in England is called gymp: Bothof them had a piece of bark tied over the forehead, and were disfiguredby the bone in the nose. We thought their language more harsh than thatof the islanders in the South Sea, and they were continually repeatingthe word _chercau_, which we imagined to be a term expressingadmiration, by the manner in which it was uttered: They also cried out, when they saw any thing new, _Cher, tut, tut, tut, tut_! which probablyhad a similar signification. Their canoe was not above ten feel long, and very narrow, but it was fitted with an outrigger, much like those ofthe islands, though in every respect very much inferior: When it was inshallow water, they set it on with poles, and when in deep, they workedit with paddles about four feet long: It contained just four people, sothat the people who visited us to-day went away at two turns. Theirlances were like those that we had seen in Botany Bay, except that theyhad but a single point, which in some of them was the sting of the ray, and barbed with two or three sharp bones of the same fish: It was indeeda most terrible weapon, and the instrument which they used in throwingit, seemed to be formed with more art than any we had seen before. Abouttwelve o'clock next day, the yawl returned, with another turtle, and alarge sting-ray, and in the evening, was sent out again. 

The next morning, two of the Indians came on board, but after a shortstay, went along the shore, and applied themselves with great diligenceto the striking of fish. Mr Gore, who went out this day with his gun, had the good fortune to kill one of the animals which had been so muchthe subject of our speculation. This animal is called by the natives_Kangaroo_. The next day it was dressed for dinner, and proved mostexcellent meat; we might now indeed be said to fare sumptuously everyday, for we had turtle in great plenty, and we all agreed that they weremuch better than any we had tasted in England, which we imputed to theirbeing eaten fresh from the sea, before their natural fat had beenwasted, or their juices changed by a diet and situation so differentfrom what the sea affords them, as garbage and a tub. Most of those thatwe caught here, were of the kind called green turtle, and weighed fromtwo to three hundred weight, and when these were killed, they werealways found to be full of turtle-grass which our naturalists took to bea kind of _conferva_: Two of them were loggerheads, the flesh of whichwas much less delicious, and in their stomachs nothing was to be foundbut shells. 

In the morning of the 16th, while the people were employed as usual ingetting the ship ready for the sea, I climbed one of the hills on thenorth side of the river, from which I had an extensive view of theinland country, and found it agreeably diversified by hills, vallies, and large plains, which in many places were richly covered with wood. This evening, we observed an emersion of Jupiter's first satellite, which gave 214° 53' 45" of longitude. The observation which was made onthe 29th of June gave 214° 42' 30"; the mean is 214° 48' 7-1/2", thelongitude of this place west of Greenwich. 

On the 17th, I sent the master and one of the mates in the pinnace tolook for a channel to the northward; and I went myself with Mr Banks andDr Solander into the woods on the other side of the water. Tupia, whohad been thither by himself, reported, that he had seen three Indianswho had given him some roots about as thick as a man's finger, in shapenot much unlike a radish, and of a very agreeable taste. This induced usto go over, hoping that we should be able to improve our acquaintancewith the natives; in a very little time we discovered four of them in acanoe, who, as soon as they saw us, came ashore, and, though they wereall strangers, walked up to us, without any signs of suspicion or fear. Two of these had necklaces of shells, which we could not persuade themto part with for any thing we could give them: We presented them howeverwith some beads, and after a short stay they departed. We attempted tofollow them, hoping that they would conduct us to some place where weshould find more of them, and have an opportunity of seeing their women;but they made us understand, by signs, that they did not desire ourcompany. 

At eight o'clock the next morning, we were visited by several of thenatives, who were now become quite familiar. One of them, at our desire, threw his lance, which was about eight feet-long: It flew with aswiftness and steadiness that surprised us, and though it was never morethan four feet from the ground, it entered deeply into a tree at fiftypaces distance. After this they ventured on board, where I left them, toall appearance, much entertained, and went again with Mr Banks to take aview of the country; but chiefly to indulge an anxious curiosity, bylooking round us upon the sea, of which our wishes almost persuaded uswe had formed an idea more disadvantageous than the truth. After havingwalked about seven or eight miles along the shore to the northward, weascended a very high hill, and were soon convinced that the danger ofour situation was at least equal to our apprehensions; for in whateverdirection we turned our eyes, we saw rocks and shoals without number, and no passage out to sea, but through the winding channels betweenthem, which could not be navigated without the last degree of difficultyand danger. We returned therefore to the ship, not in better spiritsthan when we left it: We found several natives still on board, and wewere told that the turtles, of which we had no less than twelve upon thedeck, had fixed their attention more than any thing else in the ship. 

On the 19th in the morning, we were visited by ten of the natives, thegreater part from the other side of the river, where we saw six or sevenmore, most of them women, and, like all the rest of the people we hadseen in this country, they were stark naked. Our guests brought withthem a greater number of lances than they had ever done before, andhaving laid them up in a tree, they set a man and a boy to watch them:The rest then came on board, and we soon perceived that they haddetermined to get one of our turtle, which was probably as great adainty to them as to us. They first asked us by signs, to give them one;and being refused, they expressed, both by looks and gestures, greatdisappointment and anger. At this time we happened to have no victualsdressed, but I offered one of them some biscuit, which he snatched andthrew overboard with great disdain. One of them renewed his request toMr Banks, and upon a refusal stamped with his foot, and pushed him fromhim in a transport of resentment and indignation: Having applied byturns to almost every person who appeared to have any command in theship, without success, they suddenly seized two of the turtles, anddragged them towards the side of the ship where their canoe lay: Ourpeople soon forced them out of their hands, and replaced them with therest. They would not however relinquish their enterprise, but madeseveral other attempts of the same kind, in all which being equallydisappointed, they suddenly leaped into their canoe in a rage, and beganto paddle towards the shore. At the same time I went into the boat withMr Banks, and five or six of the ship's crew, and we got ashore beforethem, where many more of our people were already engaged in variousemployments; as soon as they landed, they seized their arms, and beforewe were aware of their design, they snatched a brand from under a pitchkettle which was boiling, and making a circuit to the windward of thefew things we had on shore, they set fire to the grass in their way, with surprising quickness and dexterity: The grass, which was five orsix feet high, and as dry as stubble, burnt with amazing fury; and thefire made a rapid progress towards a tent of Mr Banks's, which had beenset up for Tupia when he was sick, taking in its course a sow and pigs, one of which it scorched to death. Mr Banks leaped into a boat, andfetched some people from on board, just time enough to save his tent, byhauling it down upon the beach; but the smith's forge, at least suchpart of it as would burn, was consumed. While this was doing, theIndians went to a place at some distance, where several of our peoplewere washing, and where our nets, among which was the seine, and a greatquantity of linen, were laid out to dry; here they again set fire to thegrass, entirely disregarding both threats and entreaties. "We weretherefore obliged to discharge a musquet, loaded with small shot, at oneof them, which drew blood at the distance of about forty yards, and thisputting them to flight, we extinguished the fire at this place before ithad made much progress; but where the grass had been first kindled, itspread into the woods to a great distance. As the Indians were still insight, I fired a musquet, charged with ball, abreast of them among themangroves, to convince them that they were not yet out of our reach:Upon hearing the ball they quickened their pace, and we soon lost sightof them. We thought they would now give us no more trouble; but soonafter we heard their voices in the woods, and perceived that they camenearer and nearer. I set out, therefore, with Mr Banks and three or fourmore, to meet them: When our parties came in sight of each other, theyhalted; except one old man, who came forward to meet us: At length hestopped, and having uttered some words, which we were very sorry wecould not understand, he went back to his companions, and the whole bodyslowly retreated. We found means however to seize some of their darts, and continued to follow them about a mile: We then sat down upon somerocks, from which we could observe their motions, and they also sat downat about an hundred yards distance. After a short time, the old managain advanced towards us, carrying in his hand a lance without a point:He stopped several times, at different distances, and spoke; we answeredby beckoning and making such signs of amity as we could devise; uponwhich the messenger of peace, as we supposed him to be, turned and spokealoud to his companions, who then set up their lances against a tree, and advanced towards us in a friendly manner: When they came up, wereturned the darts or lances that we had taken from them, and weperceived with great satisfaction that this rendered the reconciliationcomplete. We found in this party four persons whom we had never seenbefore, who as usual were introduced to us by name; but the man who hadbeen wounded in the attempt to burn our nets and linen, was not amongthem; we knew however that he could not be dangerously hurt, by thedistance at which the shot reached him. We made all of them presents ofsuch trinkets as we had about us, and they walked back with us towardsthe ship: As we went along, they told us, by signs, that they would notset fire to the grass any more; and we distributed among them somemusquet balls, and endeavoured to make them understand their use andeffect. When they came abreast of the ship, they sat down, but could notbe prevailed upon to come on board; we therefore left them, and in abouttwo hours they went away, soon after which we perceived the woods onfire at about two miles distance. If this accident had happened a verylittle while sooner, the consequence might have been dreadful; for ourpowder had been aboard but a few-days, and the store-tent, with manyvaluable things which it contained, had not been removed many hours. Wehad no idea of the fury with which grass would burn in this hot climate, nor consequently of the difficulty of extinguishing it; but wedetermined, that if it should ever again be necessary for us to pitchour tents in such a situation, our first measure should be to clear theground round us. 

In the afternoon we got every thing on board the ship, new-birthed her, and let her swing with the tide; and at night the master returned, withthe discouraging account that there was no passage for the ship to thenorthward. 

The next morning, at low water, I went and sounded and buoyed the bar, the ship being now ready for sea. We saw no Indians this day, but allthe hills round us for many miles were on fire, which at night made amost striking and beautiful appearance. 

The 21st past without our getting sight of any of the inhabitants, andindeed without a single incident worth notice. On the 22d, we killed aturtle for the day's provision, upon opening which we found a woodenharpoon or turtle-peg, about as thick as a man's finger, near fifteeninches long, and bearded at the end, such as we had seen among thenatives, sticking through both shoulders: It appeared to have beenstruck a considerable time, for the wound had perfectly healed up overthe weapon. 

Early in the morning of the 23d, I sent some people into the country togather a supply of the greens which have been before mentioned by thename of Indian Kale; one of them having straggled from the rest, suddenly fell in with four Indians, three men and a boy, whom he did notsee, till, by turning short in the wood, he found himself among them. They had kindled a fire, and were broiling a bird of some kind, and partof a Kangaroo, the remainder of which, and a cockatoo, hung at a littledistance upon a tree: The man, being unarmed, was at first greatlyterrified; but he had the presence of mind not to run away, judging veryrightly, that he was most likely to incur danger by appearing toapprehend it; on the contrary, he went and sat down by them, and, withan air of chearfulness and good humour, offered them his knife, the onlything he had about him which he thought would be acceptable to them;they received it, and having handed it from one to the other, they gaveit him again: He then made an offer to leave them; but this they seemednot disposed to permit: Still however he dissembled his fears, and satdown again; they considered him with great attention and curiosity, particularly his clothes, and then felt his hands and face, andsatisfied themselves that his body was of the same texture with theirown. They treated him with the greatest civility, and having kept himabout half an hour, they made signs that he might depart: He did notwait for a second dismission, but when he left them, not taking thedirect way to the ship, they came from their fire, and directed him; sothat they well knew whence he came. 

In the mean time, Mr Banks, having made an excursion on the other sideof the river to gather plants, found the greatest part of the cloth thathad been given to the Indians lying in a heap together, probably asuseless lumber, not worth carrying away; and perhaps if he had soughtfurther, he might have found the other trinkets; for they seemed to setvery little value upon any thing we had, except our turtle, which was acommodity that we were least able to spare. 

The blowing weather, which prevented our attempt to get out to sea, still continuing, Mr Banks and Dr Solander went out again on the 24th tosee whether any new plant could be picked up: They traversed the woodsall day without success; but as they were returning through a deepvalley, the sides of which, though almost as perpendicular as a wall, were covered with trees and bushes; they found lying upon the groundseveral marking nuts, the _Anacardium orientate_; these put them upon anew scent, and they made a most diligent search after the tree that borethem, which perhaps no European botanist ever saw; but to their greatmortification they could not find it: So that, after spending much time, and cutting down four or five trees, they returned quite exhausted withfatigue to the ship. 

On the 25th, having made an excursion up the river, I found a canoebelonging to our friends the Indians, whom we had not seen since theaffair of the turtle; they had left it tied to some mangroves, about amile distant from the ship, and I could see by their fires that theywere retired at least six miles directly inland. 

As Mr Banks was again gleaning the country for his Natural History onthe 26th, he had the good fortune to take an animal of the _Opossum_tribe: It was a female, and with, it he took two young ones: It wasfound much to resemble the remarkable animal of the kind which Mons. DeBuffon has described in his Natural History by the name of _Phalanger_, but it was not the same. Mons. Buffon supposes this tribe to be peculiarto America, but in this he is certainly mistaken; and probably, asPallas has observed in his Zoology, the Phalanger itself is a native ofthe East Indies, as the animal which was caught by Mr Banks resembled itin the extraordinary conformation of the feet, in which it differs fromanimals of every other tribe. 

On the 27th, Mr Gore shot a kangaroo, which, with the skin, entrails, and head, weighed eighty-four pounds. Upon examination, however, wefound that this animal was not at its full growth, the innermostgrinders not being yet formed. We dressed it for dinner the next day;but to our great disappointment, we found it had a much worse flavourthan that we had eaten before. 

The wind continued in the same quarter, and with the same violence, till five o'clock in the morning of the 29th, when it fell calm; soonafter a light breeze sprung up from the land, and it being about twohours ebb, I sent a boat to see what water was upon the bar; in the meantime we got the anchor up, and made all ready to put to sea. But whenthe boat came back, the officer reported that there was only thirteenfeet water upon the bar, which was six inches less than the ship drew. We were therefore obliged to come to, and the sea breeze setting inagain about eight o'clock; we gave up all hope of sailing that day. 

We had fresh gales at S. E. , with hazy weather and rain, till two in themorning of the 31st, when the weather being something more moderate, Ihad thoughts of trying to warp the ship out of the harbour; but upongoing out myself first in the boat, I found it still blow too fresh forthe attempt. During all this time the pinnace and yawl continued to plythe net and hook with tolerable success; sometimes taking a turtle, andfrequently bringing in from two to three hundred-weight of fish. 

On the 1st of August, the carpenter examined the pumps, and to our greatmortification, found them all in a state of decay, owing, as he said, tothe sap's being left in the wood; one of them was so rotten, as, whenhoisted up, to drop to pieces, and the rest were little better; so thatour chief trust was now in the soundness of our vessel, which happilydid not admit more than one inch of water in an hour. 

At six o'clock in the morning of Friday the 3d, we made anotherunsuccessful attempt to warp the ship out of the harbour; but at fiveo'clock in the morning of the 4th, our efforts had a better effect, andabout seven we got once more under sail, with a light air from the land, which soon died away, and was followed by the sea breezes from S. E. ByS. , with which we stood off to sea E. By N. , having the pinnace a-head, which was ordered to keep sounding continually. The yawl had been sentto the turtle bank to take up the net which had been left there; but asthe wind freshened, we got out before her. A little before noon weanchored in fifteen fathom water, with a sandy bottom, for I did notthink it safe to run in among the shoals till I had well viewed them atlow water from the mast head, which might determine me which way tosteer; for as yet I was in doubt whether I should beat back to thesouthward, round all the shoals, or seek a passage to the eastward orthe northward, all which at present appeared to be equally difficult anddangerous. When we were at anchor, the harbour from which we sailed boreS. 70 W. , distant about five leagues; the northermost point of the mainin sight, which I named _Cape Bedford_, and which lies in latitude 15°16' S. Longitude 214° 45' W. , bore N. 20 W. , distant three leagues and ahalf; but to the N. E. Of this cape we could see land which had theappearance of two high islands: The turtle banks bore east, distant onemile; our latitude by observation was 15° 32' S. , and our depth of waterin standing off from the land was from three and a half to fifteenfathom. 

SECTION XXXII. 

_Departure from Endeavour River; a particular Description of the Harbourthere, in which the Ship was refitted, the adjacent Country, and severalIslands near the Coast; the Range from Endeavour River to the NorthernExtremity of the Country, and the Dangers of that Navigation_. 

To the harbour which we had now left, I gave the name of _EndeavourRiver_. It is only a small bar, harbour, or creek, which runs in awinding channel three or four leagues inland, and at the head of whichthere is a small brook of fresh water: There is not depth of water forshipping above a mile within the bar, and at this distance only on thenorth side; where the bank is so steep for near a quarter of a mile, that a ship may lie afloat at low water, so near the shore as to reachit with a stage, and the situation is extremely convenient for heavingdown; but at low water the depth upon the bar is not more than nine orten feet, nor more than seventeen or eighteen at the height of the tide;the difference between high and low water, at spring tides, being aboutnine feet. At the new and full of the moon it is high water between nineand ten o'clock: It must also be remembered, that this part of the coastis so barricaded with shoals, as to make the harbour still moredifficult of access; the safest approach is from the southward, keepingthe main land close upon the board all the way. Its situation mayalways be found by the latitude, which has been very accurately laiddown. Over the south point is some high land, but the north point isformed by a low sandy beach, which extends about three miles to thenorthward, where the land begins again to be high. 

The chief refreshment that we procured here was turtle, but as they werenot to be had without going five leagues out to sea, and the weather wasfrequently tempestuous, we did not abound with this dainty: What wecaught, as well as the fish, was always equally divided among us all byweight, the meanest person on board having the same share as myself; andI think every commander, in such a voyage as this, will find it hisinterest to follow the same rule. In several parts of the sandy beaches, and sand hills near the sea, we found purslain, and a kind of bean thatgrows upon a stalk, which creeps along the ground: The purslain we foundvery good when it was boiled, and the beans are not to be despised, forwe found them of great service to our sick: The best greens, however, that could be procured here, were the tops of the coccos, which havebeen mentioned already, as known in the West Indies by the name of_Indian kale_: These were, in our opinion, not much inferior tospinnage, which in taste they somewhat resemble; the roots indeed arenot good, but they might probably be meliorated by proper cultivation. They are found here chiefly in boggy ground. The few cabbage palms thatwe met with were in general small, and yielded so little cabbage thatthey were not worth seeking. 

Besides the kanguroo and the opossum that have been already mentioned, and a kind of pole-cat, there are wolves upon this part of the coast, ifwe were not deceived by the tracks upon the ground, and several speciesof serpents; some of the serpents are venomous, and some harmless: Thereare no tame animals here except dogs, and of these we saw but two orthree, which frequently came about the tents to pick up the scraps andbones that happened to lie scattered near them. There does not indeedseem to be many of any animal except the kanguroo; we scarcely saw anyother above once, but this we met with almost every time we went intothe woods. Of land-fowls we saw crows, kites, hawks, cockatoos of twosorts, one white and the other black, a very beautiful kind ofloriquets, some parrots, pigeons of two or three sorts, and severalsmall birds not known in Europe. The water-fowls are herns, whistlingducks, which perch, and, I believe, roost upon trees, wild geese, curlieus, and a few others, but these do not abound. The face of thecountry, which has been occasionally mentioned before, is agreeablydiversified by hill and valley, lawn and wood. The soil of the hills ishard, dry, and stony, yet it produces coarse grass besides wood: Thesoil of the plains and vallies is in some places sand, and in some clay;in some also it is rocky and stony, like the hills; in general, however, it is well clothed, and has at least the appearance of fertility. Thewhole country, both hill and valley, wood and plain, abounds withanthills, some of which are six or eight feet high, and twice as much incircumference. The trees here are not of many sorts; the gum tree, whichwe found on the southern part of the coast, is the most common, but hereit is not so large: On each side of the river, through its whole course, there are mangroves in great numbers, which in some places extend a milewithin the coast. The country is in all parts well watered, there beingseveral fine rivulets at a small distance from each other, but none inthe place where we lay, at least not during the time we were there, which was the dry season; we were, however, well supplied with water bysprings, which were not far off. 

In the afternoon of the 4th, we had a gentle breeze at S. E. , and clearweather, but as I did not intend to sail till the morning, I sent allthe boats to the reef to get what turtle and shell-fish they could. Atlow water I went up to the mast-head and took a view of the shoals, which made a very threatening appearance: I could see several at aremote distance, and part of many of them was above water. The seaappeared most open to the north-east of the turtle reef, and I came to aresolution to stretch out that way close upon a wind, because, if weshould find no passage, we could always return the way we went. In theevening, the boats brought in a turtle, a sting-ray, and as many largecockles as came to about a pound and a half a man, for in each of themthere was not less than two pounds of meat: In the night also we caughtseveral sharks, which, though not a dainty, were an acceptable increaseof our fresh provision. 

In the morning I waited till half ebb before I weighed, because at thattime the shoals begin to appear, but the wind then blew so hard that Iwas obliged to remain at anchor: In the afternoon, however, the galebecoming more moderate, we got under sail, and stood out upon a windN. E. By E. , leaving the turtle reef to windward, and having the pinnacesounding a-head: We had not kept this course long before we discoveredshoals before us, and upon both the bows; and at half an hour afterfour, having run about eight miles, the pinnace made the signal forshoal water, where we little expected it: Upon this we tacked, and stoodon and off, while the pinnace stretched farther to the eastward, andnight approaching, I came to an anchor in twenty fathom water, with amuddy bottom. Endeavour River then bore S. 52 W. ; Cape Bedford W. By N. 1/2 N. , distant five leagues; the northermost land in sight, which hadthe appearance of an island, N. ; and a shoal, a small sandy part ofwhich appeared above water, bore N. E. , distant between two and threemiles: In standing off from turtle reef to this place, we had fromfourteen to twenty fathom water, but when the pinnace was about a milefarther to the E. N. E. , there was no more than four or five feet water, with rocky ground, and yet this did not appear to us in the ship. In themorning of the 6th, we had a strong gale, so that instead of weighing, we were obliged to veer away more cable, and strike our top-gallantyards. At low water, myself, with several of the officers, kept alook-out at the mast-head to see if any passage could be discoveredbetween the shoals, but nothing was in view except breakers, extendingfrom the S. Round by the E. As far as N. W. , and out to sea beyond thereach of our sight; these breakers, however, did not appear to be causedby one continued shoal, but by several which lay detached from eachother: On that which lay farthest to the eastward, the sea broke veryhigh, which made me think it was the outermost, for upon many of thesewithin, the breakers were inconsiderable, and from about half ebb tohalf flood, they were not to be seen at all, which makes sailing amongthem still more dangerous, especially as the shoals here consistprincipally of coral rocks, which are as steep as a wall; upon some ofthem, however, and generally at the north end, there are patches ofsand, which are covered only at high water, and which are to bediscerned at some distance. Being now convinced that there was nopassage to sea but through the labyrinth formed by these shoals, I wasaltogether at a loss which way to steer, when the weather should permitus to get under sail. It was the master's opinion that we should beatback the way we came, but this would have been an endless labour, as thewind blew strongly from that quarter, almost without intermission; onthe other hand, if no passage could be found to the northward, we shouldbe compelled to take that measure at last. These anxious deliberationsengaged us till eleven o'clock at night, when the ship drove, andobliged us to veer away to a cable and one third, which brought her up;but in the morning, the gale increasing, she drove again, and wetherefore let go the small bower, and veered away to a whole cable uponit, and two cables on the other anchors, yet she still drove, though notso fast; we then got down top gallant-gallant-masts, and struck theyards and topmasts close down, and at last had the satisfaction to findthat she rode. Cape Bedford now bore W. S. W. Distant three leagues and ahalf, and in this situation we had shoals to the eastward, extendingfrom the S. E. By S. To the N. N. W. , the nearest of which was about twomiles distant. As the gale continued, with little remission, we rodetill seven o'clock in the morning of the 10th, when it being moremoderate, we weighed and stood in for the land, having at lengthdetermined to seek a passage along the shore to the northward, stillkeeping the boat a-head: During our run in we had from nineteen totwelve fathom: After standing in about an hour, we edged away for threesmall islands that lay N. N. E. 1/2 E. , three leagues from Cape Bedford, which the master had visited while we were in port. At nine o'clock wewere a-breast of them, and between them and the main: Between us and themain there was another low island, which lies N. N. W. Four miles from thethree islands; and in this channel we had fourteen fathom water. Thenorthermost point of land in sight now bore N. N. W. 1/2 W. , distant abouttwo leagues. Four or five leagues to the north of this head-land we sawthree islands, near which lay some that were still smaller, and we couldsee the shoals and reefs without us, extending to the northward, as faras these islands: Between these reefs and the headland we directed ourcourse, leaving to the eastward a small island, which lies N. By E. , distant four miles from the three islands. At noon, we were got betweenthe headland and the three islands: From the head-land we were distanttwo leagues, and from the islands four; our latitude by observation was14° 51'. We now thought we saw a clear opening before us, and hoped thatwe were once more out of danger; in this hope, however, we soon foundourselves disappointed, and for that reason I called the head-land _CapeFlattery_. It lies in latitude 14° 56' S. , longitude 214° 43' W. , and isa lofty promontory, making next the sea in two hills, which have a thirdbehind them, with low sandy ground on each side: It may, however, bestill better known by the three islands out at sea: The northermost andlargest lies about five leagues from the cape, in the direction ofN. N. E. From Cape Flattery the land trends away N. W. And N. W. By W. Westeered along the shore N. W. By W. Till one o'clock, for what we thoughtthe open channel; when the potty officer at the mast-head cried-out thathe saw land a-head, extending quite round to the islands that laywithout us, and a large reef between us and them: Upon this I ran up tothe mast-head myself, from whence I very plainly saw the reef, which wasnow so far to windward, that we could not weather it, but the landa-head, which he had supposed to be the main, appeared to me to be onlya bluster of small islands. As soon as I got down from the mast-head, the master and some others went up, who all insisted that the landa-head was not islands, but the main; and, to make their report stillmore alarming, they said that they saw breakers all round us. In thisdilemma, we hauled upon a wind in for the land, and made the signal forthe boat that was sounding a-head to come on board, but as she was farto leeward, we were obliged to edge away to take her up, and soon afterwe came to an anchor, under a point of the main, in somewhat less thanfive fathom, and at about the distance of a mile from the shore. CapeFlattery now bore S. E. Distant three leagues and a half. As soon as theship was at anchor, I went ashore upon the point, which is high, andafforded me a good view of the sea coast, trending away N. W. By W. Eightor ten leagues, which, the weather not being very clear, was as far as Icould see. Nine or ten small low islands, and some shoals, appeared offthe coast; I saw also some large shoals between the main and the threehigh islands, without which, I was clearly of opinion there were moreislands, and not any part of the main. Except the point I was now upon, which I called _Point Lookout_, and Cape Flattery, the main-land, to thenorthward of Cape Bedford, is low, and chequered with white sand andgreen bushes, for ten or twelve miles inland, beyond which it rises to aconsiderable height. To the northward of Point Lookout, the coastappeared to be shoal and flat for a considerable distance, which did notencourage the hope that the channel we had hitherto found in with theland would continue. Upon this point, which was narrow, and consisted ofthe finest white sand we had ever seen, we discovered the footsteps ofpeople, and we saw also smoke and fire at a distance up the country. 

In the evening, I returned to the ship, and resolved the next morning tovisit one of the high islands in the offing, from the top of which, asthey lay five leagues out to sea, I hoped to discover more distinctlythe situation of the shoals, and the channel between them. 

In the morning therefore of the 11th, I set out in the pinnace, accompanied by Mr Banks, whose fortitude and curiosity made him a partyin every expedition, for the northermost and largest of the threeislands, and at the same time I sent the master in the yawl to leeward, to sound between the low islands and the main. In my way, I passed overa reef of coral rock and sand, which lies about two leagues from theisland, and I left another to leeward, which lies about three miles fromit: On the north part of the reef, to the leeward, there is a low sandyisland, with trees upon it; and upon the reef which we passed over, wesaw several turtle: We chased one or two, but having little time tospare, and the wind blowing fresh, we did not take any. 

About one o'clock, we reached the island, and immediately ascended thehighest hill, with a mixture of hope and fear, proportioned to theimportance of our business, and the uncertainty of the event: When Ilooked round, I discovered a reef of rocks, lying between two and threeleagues without the islands, and extending in a line N. W. And S. E. Farther than I could see, upon which the sea broke in a dreadful surf:This however made me think that there were no shoals beyond them, and Iconceived hopes of getting without these, as I perceived several breaksor openings in the reef, and deep water between that and the islands. Icontinued upon this hill till sunset, but the weather was so hazy duringthe whole time that I came down much disappointed. After reflecting uponwhat I had seen, and comparing the intelligence I had gained with what Iexpected, I determined to stay upon the island all night, hoping thatthe morning might be clearer, and afford me a more distinct andcomprehensive view. We therefore took up our lodging under the shelterof a bush which grew upon the beach, and at three in the morning, havingsent the pinnace, with one of the mates whom I had brought out with me, to sound between the island and the reefs, and examine what appeared tobe a channel through them, I climbed the hill a second time, but to mygreat disappointment found the weather much more hazy than it had beenthe day before. About noon the pinnace returned, having been as far asthe reef, and found between fifteen and twenty-eight fathom of water;but it blew so hard that the mate did not dare to venture into one ofthe channels, which he said appeared to him to be very narrow: Thishowever did not discourage me, for I judged, from his description of theplace he had been at, that he had seen it to disadvantage. While I wasbusy in my survey, Mr Banks was attentive to his favourite pursuit, andpicked up several plants which he had not before seen. We found theisland, which is visible at twelve leagues distance, to be about eightleagues in circumference, and in general very rocky and barren. On thenorth-west side, however, there are some sandy bays, and some low land, which is covered with long thin grass, and trees of the same kind withthose upon the main: This part also abounded with lizards of a verylarge size, some of which we took. We found also fresh water in twoplaces: One was a running stream, but that was a little brackish where Itasted it, which was close to the sea; the other was a standing pool, close behind the sandy beach, and this was perfectly sweet and good. Notwithstanding the distance of this island from the main, we saw, toour great surprise, that it was sometimes visited by the natives; for wefound seven or eight frames of their huts, and vast heaps of shells, thefish of which we supposed had been their food. We observed that allthese huts were built upon eminences, and entirely exposed to the S. E. Contrary to those which we had seen upon the main; for they were allbuilt either upon the side of a hill, or under some bushes, whichafforded them shelter from the wind. From these huts, and theirsituation, we concluded that at some seasons of the year the weatherhere is invariably calm and fine; for the inhabitants have no boat whichcan navigate the sea to so great a distance, in such weather as we hadfrom the time of our first coming upon the coast. As we saw no animalsupon this place but lizards, I called it _Lizard Island_; the other twohigh islands, which lie at the distance of four or five miles from it, are comparatively small; and near them lie three others smaller still, and low, with several shoals or reefs, especially to the S. E. There is, however, a clear passage from Cape Flattery to these islands, and evenquite to the outward reefs, leaving Lizard Island to the N. W. And theothers to the S. E. 

At two in the afternoon, there being no hope of clear weather, we setout from Lizard Island to return to the ship, and in our way landed uponthe low sandy island with trees upon it, which we had remarked in ourgoing out. Upon this island we saw an incredible number of birds, chiefly sea-fowl: We found also the nest of an eagle with young ones, which we killed; and the nest of some other bird, we knew not what, of amost enormous size; it was built with sticks upon the ground, and was noless than six-and-twenty feet in circumference, and two feet eightinches high. We found also that this place had been visited by theIndians, probably to eat turtle, many of which we saw upon the island, and a great number of their shells, piled one upon another in differentplaces. 

To this spot we gave the name of _Eagle Island_, and after leaving it, we steered S. W. Directly for the ship, sounding all the way, and we hadnever less than eight fathom, nor more than fourteen; the same depth ofwater that I had found between this and Lizard Island. 

When I got on board, the master informed me that he had been down to thelow islands, between which and the main I had directed him to sound;that he judged them to lie about three leagues from the main; thatwithout them he found from ten to fourteen fathom, and between them andthe main seven: But that a flat, which ran two leagues out from themain, made this channel narrow. Upon one of these low islands he slept, and was ashore upon others; and he reported, that he saw every wherepiles of turtle-shells; and fins hanging upon the trees in many places, with the flesh upon them, so recent, that the boats crew eat of them: Hesaw also two spots, clear of grass, which appeared to have been latelydug up, and from the shape and size of them, he conjectured they weregraves. 

After considering what I had seen myself, and the report of the master, I was of opinion that the passage to leeward would be dangerous, andthat, by keeping in with the main, we should run the risk of beinglocked in by the great reef, and at last be compelled to return back insearch of another passage, by which, or any other accident that shouldcause the same delay, we should infallibly lose our passage to the EastIndies, and endanger the ruin of the voyage, as we had now but littlemore than three months provisions on board at short allowance. 

Having stated this opinion, and the facts and appearances upon which itwas founded, to the officers, it was unanimously agreed, that the bestthing we could do would be to quit the coast altogether, till we couldapproach it with less danger. 

In the morning, therefore, at break of day, we got under sail, and stoodout N. E. For the north-west end of Lizard Island, leaving Eagle Islandto windward, and some other islands and shoals to the leeward, andhaving the pinnace a-head to ascertain the depth of water in every partof our course. In this channel we had from nine to fourteen fathom. Atnoon, the north-west end of Lizard Island bore E. S. E. Distant one mile;our latitude, by observation, was 14° 38', and our depth of waterfourteen fathom. We had a steady gale at S. E. And by two o'clock we justfetched to windward of one of the channels or openings in the outerreef, which I had seen from the island. We now tacked, and made a shorttrip to the S. W. While the master, in the pinnace, examined the channel:He soon made the signal for the ship to follow, and in a short time shegot safe out. As soon as we had got without the breakers, we had noground with one hundred and fifty fathom, and found a large sea rollingin from the S. E. A certain sign that neither land nor shoals were nearus in that direction. 

Our change of situation was now visible in every countenance, for it wasmost sensibly felt in every breast: We had been little less than threemonths entangled among shoals and rocks, that every moment threatenedus with destruction; frequently passing our nights at anchor withinhearing of the surge that broke over them; sometimes driving towardsthem even while our anchors were out, and knowing that if by anyaccident, to which an almost continual tempest exposed us, they shouldnot hold, we must in a few minutes inevitably perish. But now, afterhaving sailed no less than three hundred and sixty leagues, without oncehaving a man out of the chains heaving the lead, even for a minute, which perhaps never happened to any other vessel, we found ourselves inan open sea, with deep water, and enjoyed a flow of spirits, which wasequally owing to our late dangers and our present security: Yet the verywaves, which by their swell convinced us that we had no rocks or shoalsto fear, convinced us also that we could not safely put the sameconfidence in our vessel as before she had struck; for the blows shereceived from them so widened her leaks, that she admitted no less thannine inches water an hour, which, considering the state of our pumps, and the navigation that was still before us, would have been a subjectof more serious consideration to people whose danger had not so latelybeen so much more imminent. 

The passage or channel, through which we passed into the open sea beyondthe reef, lies in latitude 14° 32' S. And may always be known by thethree high islands within it, which I have called the _Islands ofDirection_, because by these a stranger may find a safe passage throughthe reef quite to the main. The channel lies from Lizard Island N. E. 1/2N. Distant three leagues, and is about one-third of a mile broad, andnot more in length. Lizard Island, which is, as I have before observed, the largest and the northermost of the three, affords safe anchorageunder the north-west side, fresh water, and wood for fuel. The lowislands and shoals also which lie between it and the main abound withturtle and fish, which may probably be caught in all seasons of theyear, except when the weather is very tempestuous; so that, all thingsconsidered, there is not perhaps a better place for ships to refresh atupon the whole coast than this island. And before I dismiss it, I mustobserve, that we found upon it, as well as upon the beach in and aboutEndeavour River, bamboos, cocoa-nuts, pumice-stone, and the seeds ofplants which are not the produce of this country, and which it isreasonable to suppose are brought from the eastward by the trade-winds. The islands which were discovered by Quiros, and called Australia delEspiritu Santa, lie in this parallel, but how far to the eastward cannotnow be ascertained: In most charts they are placed in the same longitudewith this country, which, as appears by the account of his voyage thathas been published, he never saw; for that places his discoveries noless than two-and-twenty degrees to the eastward of it. [85]

[Footnote 85: The islands form part of what is now called New Hebrides. We shall have occasion to speak of them when we treat of a subsequentvoyage, it is needless to say a word about them at present. --E. ]

As soon as we were without the reef, we brought-to, and having hoistedin the boats, we stood off and on upon a wind all night; for I was notwilling to run to leeward till I had a whole day before me. In themorning, at daybreak, Lizard Island bore S. 15 E. Distant ten leagues, and we then made sail and stood away N. N. W. 1/2 W. Till nine o'clock, when we stood N. W. 1/2 N. Having the advantage of a fresh gale at S. E. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was I3° 46' S. And at this timewe had no land in sight. At six in the evening we shortened sail andbrought the ship to, with her head to the N. E. ; and at six in themorning made sail and steered west, in order to get within sight of theland, that I might be sure not to overshoot the passage, if a passagethere was, between this land and New Guinea. At noon, our latitude, byobservation, was 13° 2' S. , longitude 216° W. ; which was 1° 23' W. OfLizard Island: At this time we had no land in sight; but a little beforeone o'clock, we saw high land from the masthead, bearing W. S. W. At two, we saw more land to the N. W. Of that we had seen before: It appeared inhills, like islands; but we judged it to be a continuation of the mainland. About three, we discovered breakers between the land and the ship, extending to the southward farther than we could see; but to the northwe thought we saw them terminate abreast of us. What we took for the endof them in this direction, however, soon appeared to be only an openingin the reef; for we presently saw them again, extending northward beyondthe reach of our sight. Upon this we hauled close upon a wind, which wasnow at E. S. E. And we had scarcely trimmed our sails before it came toE. By N. Which was right upon the reef, and consequently made ourclearing it doubtful. At sun-set the northermost part of it that was insight bore from us N. By E. And was two or three leagues distant; thishowever being the best tack to clear it, we kept standing to thenorthward with all the sail we could set till midnight; when, beingafraid of standing too far in this direction, we tacked and stood to thesouthward, our run from sun-set to this time being six leagues N. And N. By E. When we had stood about two miles S. S. E. It fell calm. We hadsounded several times during the night, but had no bottom with onehundred and forty fathom, neither had we any ground now with the samelength of line; yet, about four in the morning, we plainly heard theroaring of the surf, and at break of day saw it foaming to a vastheight, at not more than a mile's distance. Our distress now returnedupon us with double force; the waves, which rolled in upon the reef, carried us towards it very fast; we could reach no ground with ananchor, and had not a breath of wind for the sail. In this dreadfulsituation, no resource was left us but the boats; and to aggravate ourmisfortune the pinnace was under repair: The long-boat and yawl, however, were put into the water, and sent a-head to tow, which, by thehelp of our sweeps abaft, got the ship's head round to the northward;which, if it could not prevent our destruction, might at least delay it. But it was six o'clock before this was effected, and we were not then ahundred yards from the rock upon which the same billow which washed theside of the ship, broke to a tremendous height the very next time itrose; so that between us and destruction there was only a dreary valley, no wider than the base of one wave, and even now the sea under us wasunfathomable, at least no bottom was to be found with a hundred andtwenty fathom. During this scene of distress the carpenter had foundmeans to patch up the pinnace, so that she was hoisted out, and senta-head, in aid of the other boats, to tow; but all our efforts wouldhave been ineffectual, if, just at this crisis of our fate, a light airof wind had not sprung up, so light, that at any other time we shouldnot have observed it, but which was enough to turn the scale in ourfavour, and, in conjunction with the assistance which was afforded us bythe boats, to give the ship a perceptible motion obliquely from thereef. Our hopes now revived; but in less than ten minutes it was again adead calm, and the ship was again driven towards the breakers, whichwere not now two hundred yards distant. The same light breeze, however, returned before we had lost all the ground it had enabled us to gain, and lasted about ten minutes more. During this time we discovered asmall opening in the reef, at about the distance of a quarter of a mile:I immediately sent one of the mates to examine it, who reported that itsbreadth was not more than the length of the ship, but that within itthere was smooth water: This discovery seemed to render our escapepossible, and that was all, by pushing the ship through the opening, which was immediately attempted. It was uncertain indeed whether wecould reach it; but if we should succeed thus far, we made no doubt ofbeing able to get through: In this however we were disappointed, forhaving reached it by the joint assistance of our boats and the breeze, we found that in the mean time it had become high water, and to ourgreat surprise we met the tide of ebb rushing out of it like amill-stream. We gained, however, some advantage, though in a mannerdirectly contrary to our expectations: We found it impossible to gothrough the opening, but the stream that prevented us, carried us outabout a quarter of a mile: It was too narrow for us to keep in itlonger; yet this tide of ebb so much assisted the boats, that by noon wehad got an offing of near two miles. We had, however, reason to despairof deliverance, even if the breeze, which had now died away, shouldrevive, for we were still embayed in the reef; and the tide of ebb beingspent, the tide of flood, notwithstanding our utmost efforts, againdrove the ship into the bight. About this time, however, we saw anotheropening, near a mile to the westward, which I immediately sent the firstlieutenant, Mr Hicks, in the small boat to examine: In the mean time westruggled hard with the flood, sometimes gaining a little, and sometimeslosing; but every man still did his duty, with as much calmness andregularity as if no danger had been near. About two o'clock, Mr Hicksreturned with an account that the opening was narrow and dangerous, butthat it might be passed: The possibility of passing it was sufficientencouragement to make the attempt, for all danger was less imminent thanthat of our present situation. A light breeze now sprung up at E. N. E. With which, by the help of our boats, and the very tide of flood thatwithout an opening would have been our destruction, we entered it, andwere hurried through with amazing rapidity, by a torrent that kept usfrom driving against either side of the channel, which was not more thana quarter of a mile in breadth. While we were shooting this gulph, oursoundings were from thirty to seven fathom, very irregular, and theground at bottom very foul. 

As soon as we had got within the reef, we anchored in nineteen fathom, over a bottom of coral and shells. And now, such is the vicissitude oflife, we thought ourselves happy in having regained a situation, whichbut two days before it was the utmost object of our hope to quit. Rocksand shoals are always dangerous to the mariner, even where theirsituation has been ascertained; they are more dangerous in seas whichhave never before been navigated, and in this part of the globe they aremore dangerous than in any other; for here there are reefs of coralrock, rising like a wall almost perpendicularly out of the unfathomabledeep, always overflowed at high-water, and at low-water dry in manyplaces; and here the enormous waves of the vast Southern Ocean, meetingwith so abrupt a resistance, break with inconceivable violence, in asurf which no rocks or storms in the northern hemisphere can produce. The danger of navigating unknown parts of this ocean was now greatlyincreased by our having a crazy ship, and being short of provisions andevery other necessary; yet the distinction of a first discoverer made uscheerfully encounter every danger, and submit to every inconvenience;and we chose rather to incur the censure of imprudence and temerity, which the idle and voluptuous so liberally bestow upon unsuccessfulfortitude and perseverance, than leave a country which we had discoveredunexplored, and give colour to a charge of timidity and irresolution. 

Having now congratulated ourselves upon getting within the reef, notwithstanding we had so lately congratulated ourselves upon gettingwithout it, I resolved to keep the main-land on board in my future routeto the northward, whatever the consequence might be; for if we had nowgone without the reef again, it might have carried us so far from thecoast as to prevent my being able to determine, whether this countrydid, or did not, join to New Guinea; a question which I was determinedto resolve from my first coming within sight of land. However, as I hadexperienced the disadvantage of having a boat under repair, at a timewhen it was possible I might want to use her, I determined to remainfast at anchor, till the pinnace was perfectly refitted. As I had noemployment for the other boats, I sent them out in the morning to thereef, to see what refreshments could be procured, and Mr Banks, in hislittle boat, accompanied by Dr Solander, went with them. In thissituation I found the variation by amplitude and azimuth to be 4° 9' E. ;and at noon, our latitude by observation was 12° 38' S. , and ourlongitude 216° 45' W. The main land extended from N. 66 W. To S. W. ByS. , and the nearest part of it was distant about nine leagues. Theopening through which we had passed I called _Providential Channel_; andthis bore E. N. E. Distant ten or twelve miles: On the main land within uswas a lofty promontory which I called _Cape Weymouth_; on the north sideof which is a bay, which I called _Weymouth Bay_: They lie in latitude12° 42' S. , longitude 217° 15' W. At four o'clock in the afternoon theboats returned with two hundred and forty pounds of the meat ofshell-fish, chiefly of cockles, some of which were as much as two mencould move, and contained twenty pounds of good meat. Mr Banks alsobrought back many curious shells, and _Mollusca_; besides manyspecies of coral, among which was that called the _Tubipora musica_. 

At six o'clock in the morning, we got under sail and stood away to theN. W. , having two boats ahead to direct us; our soundings were veryirregular, varying five or six fathom every cast, between ten andtwenty-seven. A little before noon, we passed a low sandy island, whichwe left on our starboard-side, at the distance of two miles. At noon, our latitude was 12° 28', and our distance from the main about fourleagues: It extended from S. By W. To N. 71 W. , and some small islandsfrom N. 40 W. To 54 W. Between us and the main were several shoals, andsome without us, besides the main or outermost reef, which we could seefrom the mast-head, stretching away to the N. E. At two in the afternoon, as we were steering N. W. By N. We saw a large shoal right ahead, extending three or four points upon each bow; upon this we hauled upN. N. E. And N. E. By N. To get round the north point of it, which wereached by four, and then edged away to the westward, and ran betweenthe north end of this shoal and another, which lies two miles to thenorthward of it, having a boat all the way ahead sounding; our depth ofwater was still very irregular, from twenty-two to eight fathom. At halfan hour after six, we anchored in thirteen fathom: The northermost ofthe small islands seen at noon bore W. 1/2 S. , distant three miles:These islands, which I distinguished by the name of _Forbes's Islands_, lie about five leagues from the main, which here forms a high point thatwe called _Bolt Head_, from which the land trends more westerly, and isin that direction all low and sandy; to the southward it is high andhilly even near the sea. 

At six in the morning we got again under sail, and steered for an islandwhich lay at a small distance from the main, and at this time bore fromus N. 40 W. , distant about five leagues: Our course was soon interruptedby shoals; however, by the help of the boats, and a good look-out fromthe top of the mast, we got into a fair channel that led us down to theisland, between a very large shoal on our starboard side and severalsmall ones towards the main: In this channel we had from twenty tothirty fathom water. Between eleven and twelve o'clock we hauled roundthe north-east side of the island, leaving it between us and the main, from which it is distant about seven or eight miles. This island isabout a league in circuit, and we saw upon it five of the natives, twoof whom had lances in their hands; they came down upon a point, andhaving looked a little while at the ship, retired. To the N. W. Of it areseveral low islands and quays, which lie not far from the main; and tothe northward and eastward are several other islands and shoals; so thatwe were now encompassed on every side: But having lately been exposed tomuch greater danger, and rocks and shoals being grown familiar, welooked at them comparatively with little concern. The main land appearedto be low and barren, interspersed with large patches of the very finewhite sand, which we had found upon Lizard Island and different parts ofthe main. The boats had seen many turtle upon the shoals which theypassed, but it blew too hard for them to take any. At noon, our latitudeby observation was 12°, and our longitude 217° 25': Our depth of waterwas fourteen fathom; and our course and distance, reduced to a straightline, was, between this time and the preceding noon, N. 29 W. Thirty-two miles. 

The main land within the islands that have been just mentioned forms apoint, which I called _Cape Grenville_: It lies in latitude 11° 58', longitude 217° 38'; and between it and Bolt Head is a bay, which Icalled _Temple Bay_. At the distance of nine leagues from CapeGrenville, in the direction of E. 1/2 N. Lie some high islands, which Icalled _Sir Charles Hardy's Isles_; and those which lie off the Cape Icalled _Cockburn's Isles_. Having lain by for the boats, which had gotout of their station, till about one o'clock, we then took the yawl intow; and the pinnace having got ahead, we filled, and stood N. By W. Forsome small islands which lay in that direction; such at least they werein appearance, but upon approaching them we perceived that they werejoined together by a large reef: Upon this we edged away N. W. And leftthem on our starboard hand; we steered between them and the islands thatlay off the main, having a clear passage, and from fifteen totwenty-three fathom water. At four o'clock, we discovered some lowislands and rocks, bearing W. N. W. , and stood directly for them: At halfan hour after six, we anchored on the north-east side of the northermostof them, at one mile distance, and in sixteen fathom. These islands lieN. W. Four leagues from Cape Grenville, and from the number of birds thatI saw upon them, I called them _Bird Isles_. A little before sun-set, wewere in sight of the main-land, which appeared all very low and sandy, extending as far to the northward as N. W. By N. , some shoals, quays, andlow sandy isles stretching away to the N. E. 

At six o'clock in the morning, we got again under sail, with a freshbreeze at E. , and stood away N. N. W. For some low islands in thatdirection, but were soon obliged to haul close upon a wind to weather ashoal which we discovered upon our larboard bow, having at the same timeothers to the eastward: By the time we had weathered this shoal toleeward, we had brought the islands well upon our lee-bow, but seeingsome shoals run off from them, and some rocks on our starboard-bow, which we did not discover till we were very near them, I was afraid togo to windward of the islands, and therefore brought-to, and having madethe signal for the pinnace, which was ahead, to come on board, I senther to leeward of the islands, with orders to keep along the edge ofthe shoal, which ran off from the south side of the southermost island, sending the yawl at the same time, to run over the shoal in search ofturtle. As soon as the pinnace had got to a proper distance, we wore, and stood after her: As we ran to leeward of this land, we took the yawlin tow, she having seen only one small turtle, and therefore made butlittle stay upon the shoal. The island we found to be a small spot ofsand with some trees upon it, and we could discern many huts, orhabitations of the natives whom we supposed occasionally to visit theseislands from the main, they being only five leagues distant, to catchturtle, when they come ashore to lay their eggs. We continued to standafter the pinnace N. N. E. And N. By E. For two other low islands, havingtwo shoals without us, and one between us and the main. At noon, we wereabout four leagues from the main, which we saw extending to thenorthward, as far as N. W. By N. All flat and sandy. Our latitude, byobservation, was 11° 23' S. And our longitude 217° 46' W. Our soundingswere from fourteen to twenty-three fathom. By one o'clock, we had runnearly the length of the southermost of the two islands in sight, andfinding that the going to windward of them would carry us too far fromthe main, we bore up and ran to leeward, where finding a fair openpassage, we steered N. By W. In a direction parallel to the main, leaving a small island which lay between it and the ship, and some lowsandy isles and shoals without us, of all which we lost sight by fouro'clock, and saw no more before the sun went down: At this time thefarthest part of the land in sight bore N. N. W. 1/2 W. , and soon after weanchored in thirteen fathom, upon soft ground, at the distance of aboutfive leagues from the land, where we lay till day-light. 

Early in the morning, we made sail again, and steered N. N. W. By compass, for the northermost land in sight; and at this time, we observed thevariation of the needle to be 3° 6' E. At eight o'clock, we discoveredshoals ahead, on our larboard bow, and saw that the northermost land, which we had taken for the main, was detached from it, and that we mightpass between them, by running to leeward of the shoals on ourlarboard-bow, which were now near us: We therefore wore and brought-to, sending away the pinnace and yawl to direct us, and then steered N. W. Along the S. W. Or inside of the shoals, keeping a good look-out from themast-head, and having another shoal on our larboard-side: We foundhowever a good channel of a mile broad between them, in which we hadfrom ten to fourteen fathom. At eleven o'clock, we were nearly thelength of the land detached from the main, and there appeared to be noobstruction in the passage between them, yet having the long-boatastern, and rigged, we sent her away to keep in shore upon our larboardbow, and at the same time dispatched the pinnace a starboard;precautions which I thought necessary, as we had a strong flood thatcarried us an end very fast, and it was near high water: As soon as theboats were ahead, we stood after them, and by noon got through thepassage. Our latitude, by observation, was then 10° 36', and the nearestpart of the main, which we soon after found to be the northermost, boreW. 2 S. , distant between three or four miles: We found the land whichwas detached from the main, to be a single island, extending from N. ToN. 75 E. , distant between two and three miles; at the same time we sawother islands at a considerable distance, extending from N. By W. ToW. N. W. , and behind them another chain of high land, which we judged alsoto be islands; there were still other islands, extending as far as N. 71W. , which at this time we took for the main. 

The point of the main which forms the side of the channel through whichwe passed, opposite to the island, is the northern promontory of thecountry, and I called it _York Cape_. Its longitude is 218° 24' W. , thelatitude of the north point is 10° 37', and of the east point 10° 42' S. The land over the east point, and to the southward of it, is rather low, and as far as the eye can reach, very flat, and of a barren appearance. To the southward of the Cape the shore forms a large open bay, which Icalled _Newcastle Bay_, and in which are some small low islands andshoals; the land adjacent is also very low, flat, and sandy. The land ofthe northern part of the Cape is more hilly, the vallies seem to be wellclothed with wood, and the shore forms some small bays, in which thereappeared to be good anchorage. Close to the eastern point of the Capeare three small islands, from one of which a small ledge of rocks runsout into the sea: There is also an island close to the northern point. The island that forms the streight or channel through which we hadpassed, lies about four miles without these, which, except two, are verysmall: The southermost is the largest, and much higher than any part ofthe main land. On the north-west side of this island there appeared tobe good anchorage, and on shore, vallies that promised both wood andwater. These islands are distinguished in the chart by the name of _YorkIsles_. To the southward, and south-east, and even to the eastward andnorthward of them, there are several other low islands, rocks, andshoals: Our depth of water in sailing between them and the main, wastwelve, thirteen, and fourteen fathom. 

We stood along the shore to the westward, with a gentle breeze at S. E. By S. , and when we had advanced between three and four miles, wediscovered the land ahead, which, when we first saw it, we took for themain, to be islands detached from it by several channels: Upon this wesent away the boats, with proper instructions, to lead us through thatchannel which was next the main; but soon after discovering rocks andshoals in this channel, I made a signal for the boats to go through thenext channel to the northward, which lay between these islands, leavingsome of them between us and the main: The ship followed, and had neverless than five fathom water in the narrowest part of the channel, wherethe distance from island to island was about one mile and a half. 

At four o'clock in the afternoon, we anchored, being about a mile and ahalf, or two miles, within the entrance, in six fathom and a half, withclear ground: The channel here had begun to widen, and the islands oneach side of us were distant about a mile: The main-land stretched awayto the S. W. , the farthest point in view bore S. 48 W. , and thesouthermost point of the islands, on the north-west side of the passage, bore S. 76 W. Between these two points we could see no land, so that weconceived hopes of having, at last, found a passage into the Indian sea;however, that I might be able to determine with more certainty, Iresolved to land upon the island which lies at the south-east point ofthe passage. Upon this island we had seen many of the inhabitants whenwe first came to an anchor, and when I went into the boat, with a partyof men, accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, in order to go ashore, we saw ten of them upon a hill: Nine of them were armed with such lancesas we had been used to see, and the tenth had a bow, and a bundle ofarrows, which we had never seen in the possession of the natives ofthis country before: We also observed, that two of them had largeornaments of mother-of-pearl hanging round their necks. Three of these, one of whom was the bowman, placed themselves upon the beach abreast ofus, and we expected that they would have opposed our landing, but whenwe came within about a musket's shot of the beach, they walked leisurelyaway. We immediately climbed the highest hill, which was not more thanthree times as high as the mast-head, and the most barren of any we hadseen. From this hill, no land could be seen between the S. W. And W. S. W. , so that I had no doubt of finding a channel through. The land to thenorth-west of it consisted of a great number of islands of variousextent, and different heights, ranged one behind another, as far to thenorthward and westward as I could see, which could not be less thanthirteen leagues. As I was now about to quit the eastern coast of NewHolland, which I had coasted from latitude 38 to this place, and which Iam confident no European had ever seen before, I once more hoistedEnglish colours, and though I had already taken possession of severalparticular parts, I now took possession of the whole eastern coast, fromlatitude 38° to this place, latitude 10 1/2 S. In right of his MajestyKing George the Third, by the name of _New South Wales_, with all thebays, harbours, rivers, and islands situated upon it: We then firedthree vollies of small arms, which were answered by the same number fromthe ship. Having performed this ceremony upon the island, which wecalled _Possession Island_, we re-embarked in our boat, but a rapidebb-tide setting N. E. Made our return to the vessel very difficult andtedious. From the time of our last coming among the shoals, weconstantly found a moderate tide, the flood setting to the N. W. And theebb to the S. E. At this place, it is high water at the full and changeof the moon, about one or two o'clock, and the water rises and fallsperpendicularly about twelve feet. We saw smoke rising in many placesfrom the adjacent lands and islands, as we had done upon every part ofthe coast, after our last return to it through the reef. 

We continued at anchor all night, and between seven and eight o'clock inthe morning, we saw three or four of the natives upon the beachgathering shell-fish; we discovered, by the help of our glasses, thatthey were women, and, like all the other inhabitants of this country, stark naked. At low water, which happened about ten o'clock, we gotunder sail, and stood to the S. W. With a light breeze at E. Whichafterwards veered to N. By E. : Our depth of water was from six to tenfathom, except in one place, where we had but five. At noon, PossessionIsland bore N. 53 E. , distant four leagues, the western extremity of themain-land in sight bore S. 43 W. , distant between four and five leagues, and appeared to be extremely low, the south-west point of the largestisland on the north-west side of the passage bore N. 71 W. , distanteight miles, and this point I called _Cape Cornwall_. It lies inlatitude 10° 43'S. , longitude 219° W. ; and some lowlands that lie aboutthe middle of the passage, which I called _Wallis's Isles_, bore W. ByS. 1/2 S. , distant about two leagues: Our latitude, by observation, was10° 46' S. We continued to advance with the tide of flood W. N. W. Havinglittle wind, and from eight to five fathom water. At half an hour afterone, the pinnace, which was a-head, made the signal for shoal-water, upon which we tacked, and sent away the yawl to sound also: We thentacked again, and stood after them: In about two hours, they both madethe signal for shoal-water, and the tide being nearly at its greatestheight, I was afraid to stand on, as running aground at that time mightbe fatal; I therefore came to an anchor in somewhat less than sevenfathom, sandy ground. Wallis's Islands bore S. By W. 1/2 W. , distantfive or six miles, the islands to the northward extended from S. 73 E. To N. 10 E. , and a small island, which was just in sight, bore N. W. 1/2W. Here we found the flood-tide set to the westward, and the ebb to theeastward. 

After we had come to an anchor, I sent away the master in the long-boatto sound, who, upon his return in the evening, reported that there was abank stretching north, and south, upon which there were but threefathom, and that beyond it there were seven. About this time it fellcalm, and continued so till nine the next morning, when we weighed witha light breeze at S. S. E. ; and steered N. W. By W. For the small islandwhich was just in sight, having first sent the boats a-head to sound:The depth of water was eight, seven, six, five, and four fathom, andthree fathom upon the bank, it being now the last quarter ebb. At thistime, the northermost island in sight bore N. 9 E. , Cape Cornwall E. , distant three leagues, and Wallis's Isles S. 3 E. , distant threeleagues. This bank, at least so much as we have sounded, extends nearlyN. And S. , but to what distance I do not know: Its breadth is not morethan half a mile at the utmost. When we had got over the bank, wedeepened our water to six fathom three quarters, and had the same depthall the way to the small island a-head, which we reached by noon, whenit bore S. , distant about half a mile. Our depth of water was now fivefathom, and the northermost land in sight, which is part of the samechain of islands that we had seen to the northward from the time of ourfirst entering the streight, bore N. 71 E. Our latitude by observationwas 10° 33' S. , and our longitude 219° 22' W. : In this situation no partof the main was in sight. As we were now near the island, and had butlittle wind, Mr Banks and I landed upon it, and found it, except a fewpatches of wood, to be a barren rock, the haunt of birds, which hadfrequented it in such numbers as to make the surface almost uniformlywhite with their dung: Of these birds the greater part seemed to beboobies, and I therefore called the place _Booby Island_. After a shortstay, we returned to the ship, and in the mean time the wind had got tothe S. W. ; it was but a gentle breeze, yet it was accompanied by a swellfrom the same quarter, which, with other circumstances, confirmed myopinion that we were got to the westward of Carpentaria, or the northernextremity of New Holland, and had now an open sea to the westward, whichgave me great satisfaction, not only because the dangers and fatigues ofthe voyage were drawing to an end, but because it would no longer be adoubt whether New Holland and New Guinea were two separate islands, ordifferent parts of the same. [86]

[Footnote 86: Here it may be proper to introduce a paragraph from M. Peron's Historical Relation of a Voyage of Discovery to the SouthernIslands, as presented to the Imperial Institute in June 1806. It willshow his conception of the difficulties attendant on navigating theseparts: "In fact, it is not in voyages on the high seas, however longthey may be, that adverse circumstances or shipwrecks are so much to bedreaded; those, on the contrary, along unknown shores and barbarouscoasts, at every instant present new difficulties to encounter, withperpetual dangers. Those difficulties and dangers, the woeful appendageof all expeditions begun for the purposes of geographic detail, were ofmore imminent character from the nature of the coasts we had to explore;for no country has hitherto been discovered more difficult toreconnoitre than New Holland, and all the voyages of any extent made forthe purpose in this point, have been marked either by reverses orinfructuous attempts. For example, Paliser on the western coast was oneof the first victims of these shores; Vlaming speaks of wrecks by whichRottnest island was covered when he landed there in 1697; and weourselves observed others of much more recent date. Captain Dampier, notwithstanding his intrepidity and experience, could not preserve hisvessel from grounding when on the northwest coast of this continent, acoast already famous for the shipwreck of Vianin; on the east, Bougainville, menaced with destruction, was constrained to precipitateflight; Cook escaped by a kind of miracle, the rock which pierced hisship remaining in the breach it made, and alone preventing it fromsinking; on the south-west, Vancouver and D'Entrecasteaux were not morefortunate in their several plans of completing its geography, and theFrench admiral nearly lost both his ships. Towards the south, but a fewyears have elapsed since the discovery of Bass's Straits, and alreadythe major part of the islands of this strait is strewed with the wrecksof ships; very recently, and almost before our face, I may say, theFrench ship Enterprize was dashed to pieces against the dangerousislands which close its eastern opening. The relation of our voyage, andthe dangers incurred, will still farther demonstrate the perils of thisnavigation; and the loss of the two vessels of Captain Flinders, sent bythe English government to compete with us, will but too clearly furnisha new and lamentable evidence. The circumstance of Cook's escape, wesee, is allowed its due impression on the mind of this gentleman. It isvery probable that had Dr Hawkesworth himself ever been in such criticalperils, and experienced any thing like such a remarkable deliverance, the placidity of his principles would have given way to more livelyemotions. The deductions of reason, it is certain, are not unusually atvariance with the instantaneous, but perhaps more real and genuineproductions of our feelings, which it is the cant of modern days todenominate the lower parts of our constitution. --E. ]

The north-east entrance of this passage or streight lies in the latitudeof 10° 39' S. , and in the longitude of 218° 36' W. It is formed by themain, or the northern extremity of New Holland, on the S. E. , and by acongeries of islands, which I called the _Prince of Wales's Islands_, tothe N. W. , and it is probable that these islands extend quite to NewGuinea. They differ very much both in height and circuit, and many ofthem seemed to be well clothed with herbage and wood: Upon most, if notall of them, we saw smoke, and therefore there can be no doubt of theirbeing inhabited: It is also probable, that among them there are at leastas good passages as that we came through, perhaps better, though betterwould not need to be desired, if the access to it from the eastward wereless dangerous: That a less dangerous access may be discovered, I thinkthere is little reason to doubt, and to find it, little more seems to benecessary than to determine how far the principal, or outer reef, whichbounds the shoals to the eastward, extends towards the north, which Iwould not have left to future navigators if I had been less harassed bydanger and fatigue, and had had a ship in better condition for thepurpose. 

To this channel, or passage, I have given the name of the ship, andcalled it _Endeavour Streights_. Its length from N. E. To S. W. Is tenleagues, and it is about five leagues broad, except at the north-eastentrance, where it is somewhat less than two miles, being contracted bythe islands which lie there. That which I called Possession Island is ofa moderate height and circuit, and this we left between us and the main, passing between it and two small round islands which lie about two milesto the N. W. Of it. The two small islands, which I called Wallis'sIslands, lie in the middle of the south-west entrance, and these we leftto the southward. Our depth of water in the streight was from four tonine fathom, with every where good anchorage, except upon the bank, which lies two leagues to the northward of Wallis's Islands, where atlow water there are but three fathom: For a more particular knowledge ofthis streight, and of the situations of the several islands and shoalson the eastern coast of New Wales, I refer to the chart where they aredelineated with all the accuracy that circumstances would admit; yet, with respect to the shoals, I cannot pretend that one half of them arelaid down, nor can it be supposed possible that one half of them shouldbe discovered in the course of a single navigation: Many islands alsomust have escaped my pencil, especially between latitude 20° and 22°, where we saw islands out at sea as far as an island could bedistinguished; it must not therefore be supposed, by future navigators, that where no shoal or island is laid down in my chart, no shoal orisland will be found in these seas: It is enough that the situation ofthose that appear in the chart is faithfully ascertained, and, ingeneral, I have the greatest reason to hope that it will be found asfree from error as any that has not been corrected by subsequent andsuccessive observations. The latitudes and longitudes of all, or most ofthe principal head-lands and bays, may be confided in, for we seldomfailed of getting an observation once at least every day, by which tocorrect the latitude of our reckoning, and observations for settling thelongitude were equally numerous, no opportunity that was offered by thesun and moon being suffered to escape. It would be injurious to thememory of Mr Green, not to take this opportunity of attesting that hewas indefatigable both in making observations and calculating upon them;and that, by his instructions and assistance, many of the petty officerswere enabled both to observe and calculate with great exactness. Thismethod of finding the longitude at sea may be put into universalpractice, and may always be depended upon within half a degree, which issufficient for all nautical purposes. If, therefore, observing andcalculating were considered as necessary qualifications for every seaofficer, the labours of the speculative theorist to solve this problemmight be remitted, without much injury to mankind: Neither will it be sodifficult to acquire this qualification, or put it in practice, as mayat first appear; for, with the assistance of the nautical almanack, andastronomical ephemeris, the calculations for finding the longitude willtake up little more time than the calculation of an azimuth for findingthe variation of the compass. [87]

[Footnote 87: Reference is made above to Cook's large chart, which ofcourse could not be given here with advantage corresponding to theexpence of engraving it. This omission is of less moment, as the chartthat accompanies the work is quite sufficient for general readers; andas any additional one that may be afterwards given, must derive much ofits value from the labours of Cook. Important aids have been affordedthe navigator since the date of this publication; and the two greatproblems in nautical astronomy, viz. The deducing the longitude fromlunar distances, and the latitude from two altitudes of the sun, havebeen brought within the reach of every one who is in full possession ofelementary arithmetic. See a Collection of Tables for those important, purposes, by Joseph de Mendoza Rios, published at London, 1806, --anaccount of which is given in the Edinburgh Review, vol. Viii. P. 451. ]

SECTION XXXIII. 

_Departure from New South Wales; a particular Description of theCountry, its Products, and People: A Specimen of the Language, and someObservations upon the Currents and Tides_. [88]

[Footnote 88: All these particulars will be more fully illustratedhereafter. The present account is certainly imperfect, but it has itsvalue; and it could not have been omitted without some disparagement tothe original work, and some loss of interest to the reader. It is worthwhile to possess all the histories, and more especially the originalones, of a country like New Holland, which, its extent, position, andnature, as well as some peculiar contingencies, are likely to rendermore and more conspicuous in the records of mankind. There is anotherreason for wishing to retain the account now given, and which would notapply to any equally imperfect one of any other country or people wherecivilization had made greater progress. Dr Robertson, referring to thisvery description, says, "This perhaps is the country where man has beendiscovered in the earliest stage of his progress, and it exhibits amiserable specimen of his condition and powers in the uncultivatedstate. If this country shall be more fully explored by futurenavigators, the comparison of the manners of its inhabitants, with thoseof the Americans, will prove an instructive article in the history ofthe human species, "--Note 33, in the ninth volume of his works. What washeld as a desideratum by this historian, has been accomplished in so faras additional materials are concerned: How far it has been so in aphilosophical point of view, may be afterwards considered. --E. ]

Of this country, its products and its people, many particulars havealready been related in the course of the narrative, being so interwovenwith the events as not to admit of a separation. I shall now give a morefull and circumstantial description of each, in which, if some thingsshould happen to be repeated, the greater part will be found new. NewHolland, or, as I have now called the eastern coast, New South Wales, isof a larger extent than any other country in the known world that doesnot bear the name of a continent: The length of coast along which wesailed, reduced to a straight line, is no less than twenty-seven degreesof latitude, amounting to near 2000 miles, so that its square surfacemust be much more than equal to all Europe. To the southward of 33 or34, the land in general is low and level; farther northward it is hilly, but in no part can be called mountainous; and the hills and mountains, taken together, make but a small part of the surface, in comparison withthe vallies and plains. It is, upon the whole, rather barren thanfertile, yet the rising ground is chequered by woods and lawns, and theplains and vallies are in many places covered with herbage: The soil, however, is frequently sandy, and many of the lawns, or savannahs, arerocky and barren, especially to the northward, where, in the best spots, vegetation was less vigorous than in the southern part of the country;the trees were not so tall, nor was the herbage so rich. The grass ingeneral is high, but thin, and the trees, where they are largest, areseldom less than forty feet asunder; nor is the country inland, as faras we could examine it, better clothed than the sea coast. The banks ofthe bays are covered with mangroves to the distance of a mile within thebeach, under which the soil is a rank mud, that is always overflowed bya spring tide; farther in the country we sometimes met with a bog, uponwhich the grass was very thick and luxuriant, and sometimes with avalley that was clothed with underwood: The soil in some parts seemed tobe capable of improvement, but the far greater part is such as can admitof no cultivation. The coast, at least that part of it which lies to thenorthward of 25° S. , abounds with fine bays and harbours, where vesselsmay lie in perfect security from all winds. 

If we may judge by the appearance of the country while we were there, which was in the very height of the dry season, it is well watered. Wefound innumerable small brooks and springs, but no great rivers; thesebrooks, however, probably become large in the rainy season. ThirstySound was the only place where fresh water was not to be procured forthe ship, and even there, one or two small pools were found in thewoods, though the face of the country was every where intersected bysalt-creeks and mangrove-land. 

Of trees there is no great variety. Of those that could be calledtimber, there are but two sorts; the largest is the gum-tree, whichgrows all over the country, and has been mentioned already: It hasnarrow leaves, not much unlike a willow; and the gum, or rather resin, which it yields, is of a deep red, and resembles the _sanguis draconis_;possibly it may be the same, for this substance is known to be theproduce of more than one plant. It is mentioned by Dampier, and isperhaps the same that Tasman found upon Diemen's Land, where he says hesaw "gum of the trees, and gum lac of the ground. " The other timbertree is that which grows somewhat like our pines, and has beenparticularly mentioned in the account of Botany Bay. The wood of boththese trees, as I have before remarked, is extremely hard and heavy. Besides these, here are trees covered with a soft bark that is easilypeeled off, and is the same that in the East Indies is used for thecaulking of ships. 

We found here the palm of three different sorts. The first, which growsin great plenty to the southward, has leaves that are plaited like afan: The cabbage of these is small, but exquisitely sweet; and the nuts, which it bears in great abundance, are very good food for hogs. Thesecond sort bore a much greater resemblance to the true cabbage-tree ofthe West Indies: Its leaves were large and pinnated, like those of thecocoa-nut; and these also produced a cabbage, which, though not so sweetas the other, was much larger. The third sort, which, like the second, was found only in the northern parts, was seldom more than ten feethigh, with small pinnated leaves, resembling those of some kind of fern:It bore no cabbage, but a plentiful crop of nuts, about the size of alarge chesnut, but rounder. As we found the hulls of these scatteredround the places where the Indians had made their fires, we took forgranted that they were fit to eat; those however who made the experimentpaid dear for their knowledge of the contrary, for they operated both asan emetic and cathartic with great violence. Still, however, we made nodoubt but that they were eaten by the Indians; and judging that theconstitution of the hogs might be as strong as theirs, though our ownhad proved to be so much inferior, we carried them to the stye: The hogseat them, indeed, and for some time we thought without suffering anyinconvenience; but in about a week they were so much disordered that twoof them died, and the rest were recovered with great difficulty. It isprobable, however, that the poisonous quality of these nuts may lie inthe juice, like that of the cassada of the West Indies; and that thepulp, when dried, may be not only wholesome, but nutricious. Besidesthese species of the palm, and mangroves, there were several small treesand shrubs altogether unknown in Europe; particularly one which produceda very poor kind of fig; another that bore what we called a plum, whichit resembled in colour, but not in shape, being flat on the sides like alittle cheese; and a third that bore a kind of purple apple, which, after it had been kept a few days, became eatable, and tasted somewhatlike a damascene. 

Here is a great variety of plants to enrich the collection of abotanist, but very few of them are of the esculent kind. A small plant, with long, narrow, grassy leaves, resembling that kind of bulrush whichin England is called the Cat's-tail, yields a resin of a bright yellowcolour, exactly resembling gambouge, except that it does not stain: Ithas a sweet smell, but its properties we had no opportunity to discover, any more than those of many others with which the natives appear to beacquainted, as they have distinguished them by names. 

I have already mentioned the root and leaves of a plant resembling thecoccos of the West Indies, and a kind of bean; to which may be added, asort of parsley and purselain, and two kinds of yams; one shaped like aradish, and the other round, and covered with stringy fibres: Both sortsare very small, but sweet; and we never could find the plants thatproduced them, though we often saw the places where they had been newlydug up: It is probable that the drought had destroyed the leaves, and wecould not, like the Indians, discover them by the stalks. 

Most of the fruits of this country, such as they are, have beenmentioned already. We found one in the southern part of the countryresembling a cherry, except that the stone was soft; and another notunlike a pine-apple in appearance, but of a very disagreeable taste, which is well known in the East Indies, and is called by the Dutch _PynAppel Boomen_. 

Of the quadrupeds, I have already mentioned the dog, and particularlydescribed the kangaroo, and the animal of the opossum kind, resemblingthe phalanger of Buffon; to which I can add only one more, resembling apole-cat, which the natives call _Quoll_: The back is brown, spottedwith white, and the belly white unmixed. Several of our people said theyhad seen wolves; but perhaps, if we had not seen tracks that favouredthe account, we might have thought them little more worthy of creditthan he who reported that he had seen the devil. 

Of batts, which hold a middle place between the beasts and the birds, wesaw many kinds, particularly one which, as I have observed already, waslarger than a partridge: We were not fortunate enough to take one eitheralive or dead, but it was supposed to be the same as Buffon hasdescribed by the name of _Rouset_ or _Rouget_. 

The sea and other water-fowl of this country, are gulls, shags, solandgeese, or gannets, of two sorts, boobies, noddies, curlieus, ducks, pelicans of an enormous size, and many others. The land-birds, arecrows, parrots, paroquets, cockatoos, and other birds of the same kind, of exquisite beauty; pigeons, doves, quails, bustards, herons, cranes, hawks, and eagles. The pigeons flew in numerous flocks, so that, notwithstanding their extreme shyness, our people frequently killed tenor twelve of them in a day: These birds are very beautiful, and crestedvery differently from any we had seen before. 

Among other reptiles, here are serpents of various kinds, some noxious, and some harmless; scorpions, centipieds, and lizards. The insects arebut few. The principal are the musquito and the ant. Of the ant thereare several sorts; some are as green as a leaf, and live upon trees, where they build their nests of various sizes, between that of a man'shead and his fist. These nests are of a very curious structure: They areformed by bending down several of the leaves, each of which is as broadas a man's hand, and gluing the points of them together, so as to form apurse; the viscus used for this purpose is an animal juice, which Naturehas enabled them to elaborate. Their method of first bending down theleaves, we had not an opportunity to observe; but we saw thousandsuniting all their strength to hold them in this position, while otherbusy multitudes were employed within, in applying the gluten that was toprevent their returning back. To satisfy ourselves that the leaves werebent, and held down by the effort of these diminutive artificers, wedisturbed them in their work, and as soon as they were driven from theirstation, the leaves on which they were employed sprung up with a forcemuch greater than we could have thought them able to conquer by anycombination of their strength. But though we gratified our curiosity attheir expence, the injury did not go unrevenged; for thousandsimmediately threw themselves upon us, and gave us intolerable pain withtheir stings, especially those who took possession of our necks and ourhair, from whence they were not easily driven: The sting was scarcelyless painful than that of a bee; but, except it was repeated, the paindid not last more than a minute. 

Another sort are quite black, and their operations and manner of lifeare not less extraordinary. Their habitations are the inside of thebranches of a tree, which they contrive to excavate by working out thepith almost to the extremity of the slenderest twig; the tree at thesame time flourishing, as if it had no such inmate. When we first foundthe tree, we gathered some of the branches, and were scarcely lessastonished than we should have been to find that we had prophaned aconsecrated grove, where every tree, upon being wounded, gave signs oflife; for we were instantly covered with legions of these animals, swarming from every broken bough, and inflicting their stings withincessant violence. They are mentioned by Rumphius in his _HerbariumAmboinense_, vol. Ii. P. 257; but the tree in which he saw theirdwelling is very different from that in which we found them. 

A third kind we found nested in the root of a plant, which grows on thebark of trees in the manner of misletoe, and which they had perforatedfor that use. This root is commonly as big as a large turnip, andsometimes much bigger: When we cut it, we found it intersected byinnumerable winding passages, all filled with these animals, by which, however, the vegetation of the plant did not appear to have suffered anyinjury. We never cut one of these roots that was not inhabited, thoughsome were not bigger than a hazle nut. The animals themselves are verysmall, not more than half as big as the common red ant in England. Theyhad stings, but scarcely force enough to make them felt: They had, however, a power of tormenting us in an equal, if not a greater degree;for the moment we handled the root, they swarmed from innumerable holes, and running about those parts of the body that were uncovered, produceda titillation more intolerable than pain, except it is increased togreat violence. Rumphius has also given an account of this bulb and itsinhabitants, vol. Vi. P. 120, where he mentions another sort that areblack. 

We found a fourth kind, which are perfectly harmless, and almost exactlyresemble the white ants of the East Indies: The architecture of these isstill more curious than that of the others. They have houses of twosorts; one is suspended on the branches of trees, and the other erectedupon the ground: Those upon the trees are about three or four times asbig as a man's head, and are built of a brittle substance, which seemsto consist of small part of vegetables kneaded together with a glutinousmatter, which their bodies probably supply. Upon breaking this crust, innumerable cells, swarming with inhabitants, appear in a great varietyof winding directions, all communicating with each other, and withseveral apertures that lead to other nests upon the same tree; they havealso one large avenue, of covered way, leading to the ground, andcarried on under it to the other nest or house that is constructedthere. This house is generally at the root of a tree, but not of thatupon which their other dwellings are constructed: It is formed like anirregularly sided cone, and sometimes is more than six feet high, andnearly as much in diameter. Some are smaller, and these are generallyflat-sided, and very much resemble in figure the stones which are seenin many parts of England, and supposed to be the remains of druidicalantiquity. The outside of these is of well-tempered clay, about twoinches thick; and within are the cells, which have no opening outwards, but communicate only with the subterranean way to the houses on thetree, and to the tree near which they are constructed, where they ascendup the root, and so up the trunk and branches, under covered ways of thesame kind as those by which they descended from their other dwellings. To these structures on the ground they probably retire in the winter, orrainy seasons, as they are proof against any wet that can fall, whichthose in the tree, though generally constructed under some overhangingbranch, from the nature and thinness of their crust or wall, cannotbe. [89]

[Footnote 89: There are upwards of twenty species of ants known, whichdiffer from one another in several respects, but more especially in thematerials and construction of their habitations. Some employ earth, others the leaves and bark of trees, and others again prefer straw;whilst another species, as is mentioned above, occupy the central partsof trees. Their manners too are very different, though all, in variousdegrees, no doubt, manifest very remarkable instinctive wisdom, and, ifthe expression be allowable, even acquired knowledge. The reader who isdesirous of minute and most instructive information on the subject ofthese sagacious animals, will do well to consult the Edinburgh Review, vol. Xx. Page 143, &c. Where an account is given of Mr Huber'sobservations and experiments respecting them. A single extract from theReview may prove interesting to the reader who has not the convenienceof referring to the volume. "The accounts of these same animals, inother climates, sufficiently shew what formidable power they acquirewhen the efforts of numbers are combined. Mr Malovat mentions, in hisaccount of his travels through the forest of Guyana, his arriving at asavannah, extending in a level plain beyond the visible horizon, and inwhich he beheld a structure that appeared to have been raised by humanindustry. M. De Prefontaine, who accompanied him in the expedition, informed him that it was an ant-hill, which they could not approachwithout danger of being devoured. They passed some of the pathsfrequented by the labourers, which belonged to a very large species ofblack ants. The nest they had constructed, which had the form of atruncated pyramid, appeared to be from fifteen to twenty feet in height, on a base of thirty or forty feet. He was told that when the newsettlers, in their attempt to clear the country, happened to meet withany of these fortresses, they were obliged to abandon the spot, unlessthey could muster sufficient forces to lay regular siege to the enemy. This they did by digging a circular trench all round the nest, andfilling it with a large quantity of dried wood, to the whole of whichthey fire at the same time, by lighting it in different parts all roundthe circumference. While the entrenchments are blazing, the edifice maybe destroyed by firing at it with cannon; and the ants being by thismeans dispersed, have no avenue for escape except through the flames, inwhich they perish. " It might be worthy the attention of philosophers toenquire, what general purposes in the economy of Nature thesewonder-working animals accomplish. The labours of certain othercreatures, there is every reason to believe, are destined to raise uphabitable islands in various parts of the ocean. May not these smallarchitects be employed in fitting certain soils for the growth ofvegetable substances? There seems, indeed, to exist in our world aliving spirit, or principle, continually operating in the production ofcreatures, and places suitable for them, to compensate the loss of thosewhich an irrevocable law of the great Fabricator has doomed tosuccessive destruction, as if He chose to manifest the glory of Hiswisdom and power, by creating new existences, rather than by preservingthe old ones. --E. ]

The sea in this country is much more liberal of food to the inhabitantsthan the land; and though fish is not quite so plenty here as theygenerally are in higher latitudes, yet we seldom hauled the seinewithout taking from fifty to two hundred weight. They are of varioussorts; but, except the mullet, and some of the shell-fish, none of themare known in Europe: Most of them are palatable, and some are verydelicious. Upon the shoals and reef there are incredible numbers of thefinest green turtle in the world, and oysters of various kinds, particularly the rock-oyster and the pearl-oyster. The gigantic cockleshave been mentioned already; besides which, there are sea-crayfish, orlobsters, and crabs: Of these, however, we saw only the shells. In therivers and salt creeks there are aligators. 

The only person who has hitherto given any account of this country orits inhabitants is Dampier, and though he is, in general, a writer ofcredit, yet in many particulars he is mistaken. The people whom he sawwere indeed inhabitants of a part of the coast very distant from thatwhich we visited; but we also saw inhabitants upon parts of the coastvery distant from each other, and there being a perfect uniformity inperson and customs among them all, it is reasonable to conclude, thatdistance in another direction has not considerably broken it. 

The number of inhabitants in this country appears to be very small inproportion to its extent. We never saw so many as thirty of themtogether but once, and that was at Botany Bay, when men, women, andchildren, assembled upon a rock to see the ship pass by: When theymanifestly formed a resolution to engage us, they never could musterabove fourteen or fifteen fighting men; and we never saw a number oftheir sheds or houses together that could accommodate a larger party. Itis true, indeed, that we saw only the sea-coast on the eastern side; andthat, between this and the western shore, there is an immense tract ofcountry wholly unexplored: But there is great reason to believe thatthis immense tract is either wholly desolate, or at least still morethinly inhabited than the parts we visited. It is impossible that theinland country should subsist inhabitants at all seasons withoutcultivation; it is extremely improbable that the inhabitants of thecoast should be totally ignorant of arts of cultivation, which werepractised inland; and it is equally improbable that, if they knew sucharts, there should be no traces of them among them. It is certain thatwe did not see one foot of ground in a state of cultivation in the wholecountry; and therefore it may well be concluded that where the sea doesnot contribute to feed the inhabitants, the country is not inhabited. 

The only tribe with which we had any intercourse, we found where theship was careened; it consisted of one-and-twenty persons; twelve men, seven women, one boy, and one girl: The women we never saw but at adistance; for when the men came over the river they were always leftbehind. The men here, and in other places, were of a middle size, and ingeneral well-made, clean-limbed, and remarkably vigorous, active, andnimble: Their countenances were not altogether without expression, andtheir voices were remarkably soft and effeminate. 

Their skins were so uniformly covered with dirt, that it was verydifficult to ascertain their true colour: We made several attempts, bywetting our fingers and rubbing it, to remove the incrustations, butwith very little effect. With the dirt they appear nearly as black as anegro; and according to our best discoveries, the skin itself is of thecolour of wood-soot, or what is commonly called a chocolate-colour. Their features are far from being disagreeable, their noses are notflat, nor are their lips thick; their teeth are white and even, andtheir hair naturally long and black, it is however universally croppedshort; in general it is straight, but sometimes it has a slight curl; wesaw none that was not matted and filthy, though without oil or grease, and to our great astonishment free from lice. Their beards were of thesame colour with their hair, and bushy and thick: They are not howeversuffered to grow long. A man whom we had seen one day with his beardsomewhat longer than his companions, we saw the next, with it somewhatshorter, and upon examination found the ends of the hairs burnt: Fromthis incident, and our having never seen any sharp instrument amongthem, we concluded that both the hair and the beard were kept short bysingeing them. [90]

[Footnote 90: It is somewhat curious that almost all savages entertainan abhorrence at hair on any other part of the body than the head; andsome of them even to that. Two reasons, at least, may be assigned forit, both of them, however, somewhat hypothetical, it must be owned. 1. Their admiration of youth--the same principle which induces some_civilized_ people to powder their heads, and _dye_ their whiskers, &c. When assuming the silvery hue of age! And, 2. Their having learned byexperience that it rendered them more obnoxious to vermin and filth. Thehair of the head is one of the finest objects in human beauty, and assuch, probably in defiance of interlopers, has been generally saved inits natural state, or made the basis of important decorations. --E. ]

Both sexes, as I have already observed, go stark naked, and seem to haveno more sense of indecency in discovering the whole body, than we havein discovering our hands and face. Their principal ornament is the bonewhich they thrust through the cartilage that divides the nostrils fromeach other: What perversion of taste could make them think this adecoration, or what could prompt them, before they had worn it or seenit worn, to suffer the pain and inconvenience that must of necessityattend it, is perhaps beyond the power of human sagacity to determine:As this bone is as thick as a man's finger, and between five and sixinches long, it reaches quite across the face, and so effectually stopsup both the nostrils that they are forced to keep their mouths wide openfor breath, and snuffle so when they attempt to speak, that they arescarcely intelligible even to each other. Our seamen, with some humour, called it their spritsail-yard; and indeed it had so ludicrous anappearance, that till we were used to it, we found it difficult torefrain from laughter. [91] Beside this nose-jewel, they had necklacesmade of shells, very neatly cut and strung together; bracelets of smallcord, wound two or three times about the upper part of their arm, and astring of plaited human hair about as thick as a thread of yarn, tiedround the waist. Besides these, some of them had gorgets of shellshanging round the neck, so as to reach cross the breast. But thoughthese people wear no clothes, their bodies have a covering besides thedirt, for they paint them both white and red: The red is commonly laidon in broad patches upon the shoulders and breast; and the white instripes, some narrow, and some broad: The narrow were drawn over thelimbs, and the broad over the body, not without some degree of taste. The white was also laid on in small patches upon the face, and drawn ina circle round each eye. The red seemed to be ochre, but what the whitewas we could not discover; it was close-grained, saponaceous to thetouch, and almost as heavy as white lead; possibly it might be a kind of_Steatites_, but to our great regret we could not procure a bit of it toexamine. They have holes in their ears, but we never saw any thing wornin them. Upon such ornaments as they had, they set so great a value, that they would never part with the least article for any thing we couldoffer; which was the more extraordinary as our beads and ribbons wereornaments of the same kind, but of a more regular form and more showymaterials. They had indeed no idea of traffic, nor could we communicateany to them: They received the things that we gave them; but neverappeared to understand our signs when we required a return. The sameindifference which prevented them from buying what we had, preventedthem also from attempting to steal: If they had coveted more, they wouldhave been less honest; for when we refused to give them a turtle, theywere enraged, and attempted to take it by force, and we had nothingelse upon which they seemed to set the least value; for, as I haveobserved before, many of the things that we had given them, we foundleft negligently about in the woods, like the playthings of children, which please only while they are new. Upon their bodies we saw no marksof disease or sores, but large scars in irregular lines, which appearedto be the remains of wounds which they had inflicted upon themselveswith some blunt instrument, and which we understood by signs to havebeen memorials of grief for the dead. [92]

[Footnote 91: Other people, we know, have a fancy for such ornaments. According to Captain Carver's account of some of the North AmericanIndians, "it is a common custom among them to bore their noses, and wearin them pendants of different sorts. " And more instances might bementioned. But we shall have occasion hereafter to speak of someremarkable modes in which the love of distinction and ornament manifestsitself The very same principle leads human nature to embellish itselffrom the "crown of the head to the sole of the foot. " One's own dearself is so lovely as to become every sort of ornament that ingenuity cancontrive!--E. ]

[Footnote 92: It might be worth one's while to enquire as to theprevalency of this practice amongst different people, and whether or notit is in general connected with any peculiarities of religious belief. That it was in use in early times, is certain, for we find a prohibitionagainst it in the Mosaic code, Deut. Xiv. 1. And an allusion to it inJerem. Xvi. 6. Mr Harmer, who has some observations on the subject, seems to be of opinion that the expression used in Deuteronomy, _thedead_, means _idols_, and that the practice accordingly was rather of areligious nature. But the language of the prophet in the verse alludedto, does not fall in with such a notion. Cicero speaks contemptuously ofsuch modes of mourning for the dead, calling them _varie et detestabiliagenera lugendi_. Tusc. Quæst. 3. --E. ]

They appeared to have no fixed habitations, for we saw nothing like atown or village in the whole country. Their houses, if houses they maybe called, seem to be formed with less art and industry than any we hadseen, except the wretched hovels at Terra del Fuego, and in somerespects they are inferior even to them. At Botany Bay, where they werebest, they were just high enough for a man to sit upright in; but notlarge enough for him to extend himself in his whole length in anydirection: They are built with pliable rods about as thick as a man'sfinger, in the form of an oven, by sticking the two ends into theground, and then covering them with palm-leaves, and broad pieces ofbark: The door is nothing but a large hole at one end, opposite to whichthe fire is made, as we perceived by the ashes. Under these houses, orsheds, they sleep, coiled up with their heels to their head; and inthis position one of them will hold three or four persons. As weadvanced northward, and the climate became warmer, we found these shedsstill more slight: They were built, like the others, of twigs, andcovered with bark; but none of them were more than four feet deep, andone side was entirely open: The close side was always opposed to thecourse of the prevailing wind, and opposite to the open side was thefire, probably more as a defence from the musquitos than the cold. Underthese hovels it is probable, that they thrust only their heads and theupper part of their bodies, extending their feet towards the fire. Theywere set up occasionally by a wandering horde in any place that wouldfurnish them for a time with subsistence, and left behind them when, after it was exhausted, they went away: But in places where theyremained only for a night or two, they slept without any shelter, exceptthe bushes or grass, which is here near two feet high. We observed, however, that though the sleeping huts which we found upon the main, were always turned from the prevailing wind, those upon the islands wereturned towards it; which seems to be a proof that they have a mildseason here, during which the sea is calm, and that the same weatherwhich enables them to visit the islands, makes the air welcome evenwhile they sleep. 

The only furniture belonging to these houses that fell under ourobservation, is a kind of oblong vessel made of bark, by the simplecontrivance of tying up the two ends with a withy, which not being cutoff serves for a handle; these we imagined were used as buckets to fetchwater from the spring, which may be supposed sometimes to be at aconsiderable distance. They have however a small bag, about the size ofa moderate cabbage-net, which is made by laying threads loop withinloop, somewhat in the manner of knitting used by our ladies to makepurses. This bag the man carries loose upon his back by a small stringwhich passes over his head; it generally contains a lump or two of paintand resin, some fish-books and lines, a shell or two, out of which theirhooks are made, a few points of darts, and their usual ornaments, whichincludes the whole worldly treasure of the richest man among them. 

Their fish-hooks are very neatly made, and some of them are exceedinglysmall. For striking turtle they have a peg of wood which is about afoot long, and very well bearded; this fits into a socket at the end ofa staff of light wood, about as thick as a man's wrist, and about sevenor eight feet long: To the staff is tied one end of a loose line aboutthree or four fathom long, the other end of which is fastened to thepeg. To strike the turtle, the peg is fixed into the socket, and when ithas entered his body, and is retained there by the barb, the staff fliesoff and serves for a float to trace their victim in the water; itassists also to tire him, till they can overtake him with their canoes, and haul him ashore. One of these pegs, as I have mentioned already, wefound buried in the body of a turtle, which had healed up over it. Theirlines are from the thickness of a half-inch rope to the fineness of ahair, and are made of some vegetable substance, but what in particularwe had no opportunity to learn. 

Their food is chiefly fish, though they sometimes contrive to kill thekangaroo, and even birds of various kinds; notwithstanding they are soshy that we found it difficult to get within reach of them with afowling-piece. The only vegetable that can be considered as an articleof food is the yam; yet doubtless they eat the several fruits which havebeen mentioned among other productions of the country; and indeed we sawthe shells and hulls of several of them lying about the places wherethey had kindled their fire. 

They do not appear to eat any animal food raw; but having no vessel inwhich water can be boiled, they either broil it upon the coals, or bakeit in a hole by the help of hot stones, in the same manner as ispractised by the inhabitants of the islands in the South Seas. 

Whether they are acquainted with any plant that has an intoxicatingquality, we do not know; but we observed that several of them heldleaves of some sort constantly in their mouths, as an European doestobacco, and an East-Indian betele; we never saw the plant, but whenthey took it from their mouths at our request; possibly it might be aspecies of the betele, but whatever it was, it had no effect upon theteeth or lips. 

As they have no nets, they catch fish only by striking, or with a hookand line, except such as they find in the hollows of the rocks, andshoals, which are dry at half-ebb. 

Their manner of hunting we had no opportunity to see; but weconjectured, by the notches which they had every where cut in largetrees in order to climb them, that they took their station near the topsof them, and there watched for such animals as might happen to pass nearenough to be reached by their lances: It is possible also, that in thissituation they might take birds when they came to roost. 

I have observed that when they went from our tents upon the banks ofEndeavour River, we could trace them by the fires which they kindled intheir way; and we imagined that these fires were intended some way forthe taking the kangaroo, which we observed to be so much afraid of fire, that our dogs could scarcely force it over places which had been newlyburnt, though the fire was extinguished. 

They produce fire with great facility, and spread it in a wonderfulmanner. To produce it they take two pieces of dry soft wood, one is astick about eight or nine inches long, the other piece is flat: Thestick they shape into an obtuse point at one end, and pressing it uponthe other, turn it nimbly by holding it between both their hands as wedo a chocolate mill, often shifting their hands up, and then moving themdown upon it, to increase the pressure as much as possible. By thismethod they get fire in less than two minutes, and from the smallestspark they increase it with great speed and dexterity. We have oftenseen one of them run along the shore, to all appearance with nothing inhis hand, who stooping down for a moment, at the distance of every fiftyor a hundred yards, left fire behind him, as we could see first by thesmoke and then by the flame among the drift-wood, and other litter whichwas scattered along the place. We had the curiosity to examine one ofthese planters of fire, when he set off, and we saw him wrap up a smallspark in dry grass, which, when he had run a little way, having beenfanned by the air that his motion produced, began to blaze; he then laidit down in a place convenient for, his purpose, inclosing a spark of itin another quantity of grass, and so continued his course. 

There are perhaps few things in the history of mankind moreextraordinary than the discovery and application of fire: It willscarcely be disputed that the manner of producing it, whether bycollision or attrition, was discovered by chance: But its first effectswould naturally strike those to whom it was a new object, withconsternation and terror: It would appear to be an enemy to life andnature, and to torment and destroy whatever was capable of beingdestroyed or tormented; and therefore it seems not easy to conceivewhat should incline those who first saw it receive a transient existencefrom chance, to reproduce it by design. It is by no means probable thatthose who first saw fire, approached it with the same caution, as thosewho are familiar with its effects, so as to be warmed only and notburnt; and it is reasonable to think that the intolerable pain which, atits first appearance, it must produce upon ignorant curiosity, would sowperpetual enmity between this element and mankind; and that the sameprinciple which incites them to crush a serpent, would incite them todestroy fire, and avoid all means by which it would be produced, as soonas they were known. These circumstances considered, how men becamesufficiently familiar with it to render it useful, seems to be a problemvery difficult to solve: Nor is it easy to account for the firstapplication of it to culinary purposes, as the eating both animal andvegetable food raw, must have become a habit, before there was fire todress it, and those who have considered the force of habit will readilybelieve, that to men who had always eaten the flesh of animals raw, itwould be as disagreeable dressed, as to those who have always eaten itdressed, it would be raw. It is remarkable that the inhabitants of Terradel Fuego produce fire from a spark by collision, and that the happiernatives of this country, New Zealand and Otaheite, produce it by theattrition of one combustible substance against another: Is there notthen some reason to suppose that these different operations correspondwith the manner in which chance produced fire in the neighbourhood ofthe torrid and frigid zones? Among the rude inhabitants of a coldcountry, neither any operation of art, or occurrence of accident, couldbe supposed so easily to produce fire by attrition, as in a climatewhere every thing is hot, dry, and adust, teeming with a latent firewhich a slight degree of motion was sufficient to call forth; in a coldcountry therefore, it is natural to suppose that fire was produced bythe accidental collision of two metallic substances, and in a coldcountry, for that reason, the same expedient was used to produce it bydesign: But in hot countries, where two combustible substances easilykindle by attrition, it is probable that the attrition of suchsubstances first produced fire, and here it was therefore natural forart to adopt the same operation, with a view to produce the same effect. It may indeed be true that fire is now produced in many cold countriesby attrition, and in many hot by a stroke; but perhaps upon enquirythere may appear reason to conclude that this has arisen from thecommunication of one country with another, and that with respect to theoriginal production of fire in hot and cold countries, the distinctionis well founded. 

There may perhaps be some reason to suppose that men became graduallyacquainted with the nature and effects of fire, by its permanentexistence in a volcano, there being remains of volcanoes, or vestiges oftheir effects, in almost every part of the world: By a volcano, however, no method of producing fire, otherwise than by contact, could be learnt;the production and application of fire therefore, still seem to affordabundant subject of speculation to the curious. [93]

[Footnote 93: Mr Jones, who writes on this subject in one of hisPhysiological Disquisitions, is not a little displeased with some of theobservations made here, which seem to imply that mankind were leftdestitute of the knowledge of fire, and had to acquire it by mereaccidental notice. --Mr Jones's zeal, however, appears more conspicuousin this matter than either his judgment or his acquaintance with theremarks of various authors. President Goguet has shewn his usualindustry in this matter. He refers to a considerable number of authorsfor proof that the knowledge of fire was by no means very extensiveamong the early nations, and that even where it existed, it had beenoften discovered by accident. A summary of what this excellent writerhas said on the subject, with a quotation or two, cannot fail to beinteresting to the reader, and will scarcely run any risk of beingjudged either ill-timed or tedious. The Chinese, Persians, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, and several other nations, admit that theirancestors were once without the use of fire. This is said on theauthority of Plato, Diodorus Siculus, Sanchoniathon, authors mentionedby Bannier, as Hesiod, Lucretius, Virgil, &c. &c. And we learn fromPomponius Mela, Pliny, Plutarch, and others, that in their times therewere nations who were either quite ignorant of fire, or had but justlearned its nature and effects. These authorities are strengthened bywhat has been related of people discovered in modern times. Thus theinhabitants of the Marian or Ladrone Islands, and also of the Philippineand Canaries, are said to have been without this knowledge, at the timeof their discovery. We are told besides of several nations in Americaand Africa being in the same state of ignorance. As to these, however, it is but fair to apprize the reader, that the authorities adduced bythe President are not such as can be implicitly relied on--a remark, perhaps, which some readers will not fail to apply to certain of thewriters formerly mentioned. The Egyptians owed their knowledge of fireto thunder and lightning; the Phoenicians to the effect of the wind onwoods and forests; volcanos, burning earth, (as in a province of Persia)and boiling wells (frequent in several countries), gave rise to thisknowledge amongst other people. "We may form very probable conjecturesabout the methods which men at first used to procure fire, when they hadoccasion for it, from ancient traditions, and from the present practicesof the savages. They could not be long in discovering, that by strikingtwo flints each against other, there went sparks from them:" "Theyremarked, that by rubbing two pieces of hard wood very strongly againsteach other, they raised sparks; nay, that by rubbing for some time twopieces of wood, they raised flame. " "The Chinese say that one of theirfirst kings taught them this latter method; and the Greeks had nearlythe same tradition. " This method, we learn from Lawson, was in useamongst the natives of Carolina, before they became acquainted, with theuse of steel and flints. "They got their fire, " says he, "with sticks, which by vehement collision, or rubbing together, take fire. " "You areto understand, " he adds, "that the two sticks they use to strike firewithal, are never of one sort of wood, but always differ from eachother. " Indeed it is probable that this method has been very generallypractised. Seneca makes mention of it in the 2d book, chap. 22. Of hisNat. Quæst. , and he specifies some of the kinds of wood known by theshepherds to be fit for the purpose, "_sicut lauris, hederæ, et alia inhunc usum nota pastoribus_. " This is noticed by Mr Jones, who gives itas his opinion that the _lauris_, here spoken of, is the bay-tree, which, according to the poet Lucretius, is remarkable for itsinflammability. The reader may desire to see the opinion of Mr Jones asto the origin of man's acquaintance with fire. --It is certainly worthyof consideration, and supposing it restricted to the parent of our race, and his immediate offspring, may be held with no small confidence. Itembraces indeed a wider field than can possibly be investigated in thisplace. "The first family, " says he, "placed by the Creator upon thisearth, offered sacrifices; which being an article of religious duty, they were certainly possessed of the means of performing it, andconsequently of the knowledge and use of fire, without which it couldnot be practised. The next generation presents us with artificers inbrass and iron, which could not possibly be wrought without the completeknowledge of fire; neither indeed could any works of art be well carriedon. The account of this affair in the Bible is much more natural, because it is much more agreeable to the goodness of God, and thedignity of the human species, than to suppose, on the principles of awild and savage philosophy (alluding to Dr Hawkesworth's poorconjectures, as Mr Jones styles them), that men were left ignorant ofthe use of an element intended for their accommodation and support. Tointerdict a man from the use of fire and water, was accounted the samein effect as to send him out of life; so that if men, upon the originalterms of their creation, were thus interdicted by the Creator himself, as the Heathen mythologists supposed them to be, they were sent intolife upon such terms as others were sent out of it. If we admit any suchgloomy suppositions, where shall we stop? If mankind were left destitutein respect to the knowledge of fire, perhaps they were left withoutlanguage, without food, without clothing, without reason, and in a worsecondition than the beasts, who are born with the proper knowledge oflife, but man receives it by education; therefore he who taught thebeasts by instinct, taught man by information. " Much might be said forand against this mode of reasoning, which this place, already so fullyoccupied, will not admit. The history of fire is involved indifficulties, and has really obtained less attention from men oflearning than it deserves. Probably, on appointing the rites ofsacrifice, which there is reason to believe was immediately after thefirst gracious promise to Adam, God testified his acceptance of theoffering by fire from heaven, which was the beginning of man'sacquaintance with it, and in this manner it is certain God afterwardsshewed his approbation. --E. ]

The weapons of these people are spears or lances, and these are ordifferent kinds: Some that we saw upon the southern part of the coasthad four prongs, pointed with bone, and barbed; the points were alsosmeared with a hard resin, which gave them a polish, and made them enterdeeper into what they struck. To the northward, the lance has but onepoint: The shaft is made of cane, or the stalk of a plant somewhatresembling a bulrush, very straight and light, and from eight tofourteen feet long, consisting of several joints, where the pieces arelet into each other, and bound together; to this are fitted points ofdifferent kinds; some are of hard heavy wood, and some are the bones offish: We saw several that were pointed with the stings of the sting-ray, the largest that they could procure, and barbed with several that weresmaller, fastened on in a contrary direction; the points of wood werealso sometimes armed with sharp pieces of broken shells, which werestuck in, and at the junctures covered with resin: The lances that arethus barbed, are indeed dreadful weapons, for when once they have takenplace, they can never be drawn back without tearing away the flesh, orleaving the sharp ragged splinters of the bone or shell which forms thebeard, behind them in the wound. These weapons are thrown with greatforce and dexterity; if intended to wound at a short distance, betweenten and twenty yards, simply with the hand, but if at the distance offorty or fifty, with an instrument which we called a throwing-stick. This is a plain smooth piece of a hard reddish wood, very highlypolished, about two inches broad, half an inch thick, and three feetlong, with a small knob, or hook at one end, and a cross piece aboutthree or four inches long at the other: The knob at one end is receivedin a small dent or hollow, which is made for that purpose in the shaftof the lance near the point, but from which it easily slips, upon beingimpelled forward: When the lance is laid along upon this machine, andsecured in a proper position by the knob, the person that is to throwit holds it over his shoulder, and after shaking it, delivers both thethrowing-stick and lance with all his force; but the stick being stoppedby the cross piece which comes against the shoulder, with a sudden jerk, the lance flies forward with incredible swiftness, and with so good anaim, that at the distance of fifty yards these Indians were more sure oftheir mark than we could be with a single bullet. Besides these lances, we saw no offensive weapon upon this coast, except when we took our lastview of it with our glasses, and then we thought we saw a man with a bowand arrows, in which it is possible we might be mistaken. We saw, however, at Botany Bay, a shield or target of an oblong shape, aboutthree feet long, and eighteen inches broad, which was made of the barkof a tree: This was fetched out of a hut by one of the men that opposedour landing, who, when he ran away, left it behind him, and upon takingit up, we found that it had been pierced through with a single pointedlance near the center. These shields are certainly in frequent use amongthe people here; for though this was the only one that we saw in theirpossession, we frequently found trees from which they appearedmanifestly to have been cut, the marks being easily distinguished fromthose that were made by cutting buckets: Sometimes also we found theshields cut out, but not yet taken off from the tree, the edges of thebark only being a little raised by wedges, so that these people appearto have discovered that the bark of a tree becomes thicker and strongerby being suffered to remain upon the trunk after it has been cut round. 

The canoes of New Holland are as mean and rude as the houses. Those onthe southern part of the coast are nothing more than a piece of bark, about twelve feet long, tied together at the ends, and kept open in themiddle by small bows of wood: Yet in a vessel of this construction weonce saw three people. In shallow water they are set forward by a pole, and in deeper by paddles, about eighteen inches long, one of which theboatman holds in each hand; mean as they are, they have manyconveniencies; they draw but little water, and they are very light, sothat they go upon mud banks to pick up shell-fish, the most importantuse to which they can be applied, better perhaps than vessels of anyother construction. We observed, that in the middle of these canoesthere was a heap of sea-weed, and upon that a small fire; probably thatthe fish may be broiled and eaten the moment it is caught. 

The canoes that we saw when we advanced farther to the northward, arenot made of bark, but of the trunk of a tree hollowed, perhaps by fire. They are about fourteen feet long, and, being very narrow, are fittedwith an outrigger to prevent their oversetting. These are worked withpaddles, that are so large as to require both hands to manage one ofthem: The outside is wholly unmarked by any tool, but at each end thewood is left longer at the top than at the bottom, so that there is aprojection beyond the hollow part resembling the end of a plank; thesides are tolerably thin, but how the tree is felled and fashioned, wehad no opportunity to learn. The only tools that we saw among them arean adze, wretchedly made of stone, some small pieces of the samesubstance in form of a wedge, a wooden mallet, and some shells andfragments of coral. For polishing their throwing-sticks, and the pointsof their lances, they use the leaves of a kind of wild fig-tree, whichbites upon wood almost as keenly as the shave-grass of Europe, which isused by our joiners: With such tools, the making even such a canoe as Ihave described, must be a most difficult and tedious labour: To thosewho have been accustomed to the use of metal, it appears altogetherimpracticable; but there are few difficulties that will not yield topatient perseverance, and he who does all he can, will certainly produceeffects that greatly exceed his apparent power. [94]

[Footnote 94: This very just observation cannot be too forcibly urged, or too frequently recollected. The deficiency of which most men havereason to complain, is not that of ability, but of industry andapplication. Genius is pursued and coveted, because it is imagined to bea sort of creating energy which produces at will, and withoutlabour. --It is therefore desirable to indolent minds. But this is amistake of no small detriment, though of very common occurrence. Fewpeople perhaps discover it to be so, till they have to condemnthemselves for the loss of much of their best time, spent in idlywishing for the inspiration which is to do such wonders, for themwithout exertion on their part. Reader, in place of this, fix on someuseful or laudable work, and set about _doing_ it. --E. ]

The utmost freight of these canoes is four people, and if more at anytime wanted to come over the river, one of those who came first wasobliged to go back for the rest: From this circumstance we conjecturedthat the boat we saw, when we were lying in Endeavour River, was theonly one in the neighbourhood: We have however some reason to believethat the bark canoes are also used where the wooden ones areconstructed, for upon one of the small islands where the natives hadbeen fishing for turtle, we found one of the little paddles which hadbelonged to such a boat, and would have been useless on board any other. 

By what means the inhabitants of this country are reduced to such anumber as it can subsist, is not perhaps very easy to guess; whether, like the inhabitants of New Zealand, they are destroyed by the hands ofeach other in contests for food; whether they are swept off byaccidental famine, or whether there is any cause which prevents theincrease of the species, must be left for future adventurers todetermine. [95] That they have wars, appears by their weapons; forsupposing the lances to serve merely for the striking of fish, theshield could be intended for nothing but a defence against men; the onlymark of hostility, however, which we saw among them, was the perforationof the shield by a spear, which has been just mentioned, for none ofthem appeared to have been wounded by an enemy. Neither can we determinewhether they are pusillanimous or brave; the resolution with which twoof them attempted to prevent our landing, when we had two boats full ofmen, in Botany Bay, even after one of them was wounded with small shot, gave us reason to conclude that they were not only naturally courageous, but that they had acquired a familiarity with the dangers of hostility, and were, by habit as well as nature, a daring and warlike people; buttheir precipitate flight from every other place that we approached, without even a menace, while they were out of our reach, was anindication of uncommon tameness and timidity, such as those who had onlybeen occasionally warriors must be supposed to have shaken off, whatevermight have been their natural disposition. I have faithfully relatedfacts, the reader must judge of the people for himself. [96]

[Footnote 95: Some remarks on this very interesting subject will begiven hereafter. --E. ]

[Footnote 96: The reader may wait a little till he has received someinformation destined to his use. What has been now given is too scantyevidence to justify a final decision in the matter. --E. ]

From the account that has been given of our commerce with them, itcannot be supposed that we should know much of their language; yet asthis is an object of great curiosity, especially to the learned, and ofgreat importance in their researches into the origin of the variousnations that have been discovered, we took some pains to bring away sucha specimen of it as might, in a certain degree, answer the purpose, andI shall now give an account how it was procured. If we wanted to knowthe name of a stone, we took a stone up into our hands, and, as well aswe could, intimated by signs that we wished they should name it: Theword that they pronounced upon the occasion, we immediately wrote down. This method, though it was the best we could contrive, might certainlylead us into many mistakes; for if an Indian was to take up a stone, andask us the name of it, we might answer a pebble or a flint; so when wetook up a stone and asked an Indian the name of it, he might pronounce aword that distinguished the species, and not the genus, or that insteadof signifying stone simply, might signify a rough stone, or a smoothstone: However, as much as possible to avoid mistakes of this kind, several of us contrived, at different times, to get from them as manywords as we could, and having noted them down, compared our lists; thosewhich were the same in all, and which, according to every one's account, signified the same thing, we ventured to record, with a very few others, which, from the simplicity of the subject, and the ease of expressingour question with plainness and precision by a sign, have acquired equalauthority. 

 English. New Holland. 

 _The head_, Wageegee. _Hair_, Morye. _Eyes_, Meul. _Ears_, Melea. _Lips_, Yembe. _Nose_, Bonjoo. _Tongue_, Unjar. _Nails_, Kulke. _Sun_, Gallan. _Fire_, Meanang. _A stone_, Walba. _Sand_, Yowall. _A rope_, Gurka. _A man_, Bama. _Beard_, Wallar. _Neck_, Doomboo. _Nipples_, Cayo. _Hands_, Marigal. _Thighs_, Coman. _Navel_, Toolpoor. _Knees_, Pongo. _Feet_, Edamal. _Heel_, Kniorror. _Cockatoo_, Wanda. _The soal of the foot_ Chumal. _Ankle_, Chongurn. _Arms_, Aco, or Acol. _Thumb_, Eboorbalga. _The fore, middle, and ring fingers_, Egalbaiga. _The little finger_, Nakil, or Ebornakil. _The Sky_, Kere, or Kearre. _A father_, Dunjo. _A Son_, Jumurre. _A male turtle_, Poinga. _A female_, Mameingo. _A canoe_, Marigan. _To paddle_, Pelenyo. _Sit down_, Takai. _Smooth_, Mier Carrar. _A dog_, Cotta, or Kota. _A loriquet_. Perpere, or pier-pier. _Blood_, Yarmbe. _Wood_, Yocou. _The bone in the nose_, Tapool. _A bag_, Charngala. _A great cockle_, Moingo. _Cocos, Yams_, Maracatou. 

 New Holland. English

 Cherr, } _Expressions, as we supposed, of_ Cherco, } _admiration, which they continually_ Yarcaw, } _used when they were_ Tut, tut, tut, tut, } _in company with us_. [97]

[Footnote 97: This table is exceedingly scanty and imperfect, and wouldnot have been given were it not thought proper, for a reason alreadyassigned, to preserve entire this early account of New Holland. --E. ]

I shall now quit this country with a few observations relative to thecurrents and tides upon the coast. From latitude 32°, and somewhathigher, down to Sandy Cape, in latitude 24° 46', we constantly found acurrent setting to the southward, at the rate of about ten or fifteenmiles a-day, being more or less, according to our distance from theland, for it always ran with more force in-shore than in the offing; butI could never satisfy myself whether the flood-tide came from thesouthward, the eastward, or the northward; I inclined to the opinionthat it came from the southeast; but the first time we anchored off thecoast, which was in latitude 24° 30', about ten leagues to thesouth-east of Bustard Bay, I found it came from the north-west; on thecontrary, thirty leagues farther to the north-west, on the south side ofKeppel Bay, I found that it came from the east, and at the northern partof that bay it came from the northward, but with a much slower motionthan it had come from the east: On the east side of the Bay of Inlets, it set strongly to the westward, as far as the opening of Broad Sound;but on the north side of that sound it came with a very slow motion fromthe north-west; and when we lay at anchor before Repulse Bay, it camefrom the northward: To account for its course in all this variety ofdirections, we need only admit that the flood-tide comes from the eastor south-east. It is well known, that where there are deep inlets, andlarge creeks into low lands running up from the sea, and not occasionedby rivers of fresh water, there will always be a great indraught of theflood-tide, the direction of which will be determined by the position ordirection of the coast which forms the entrance of such inlet, whateverbe its course at sea; and where the tides are weak, which upon thiscoast is generally the case, a large inlet will, if I may be allowed theexpression, attract the flood-tide for many leagues. 

A view of the chart will at once illustrate this position. To thenorthward of Whitsunday's Passage there is no large inlet, consequentlythe flood sets to the northward, or northwestward, according to thedirection of the coast, and the ebb to the south, or south-eastward, atleast such is their course at a little distance from the land, for verynear it they will be influenced by small inlets. I also observed that wehad only one high tide in twenty-four hours, which happened in thenight. The difference between the perpendicular rise of the water in theday and the night, when there is a spring-tide, is no less than threefeet, which, where the tides are so inconsiderable as they are here, isa great proportion of the whole difference between high and low water. This irregularity of the tides, which is worthy of notice, we did notdiscover till we were ran ashore, and perhaps farther to the northwardit is still greater. After we got within the reef the second time, wefound the tides more considerable than we had ever done before, exceptin the Bay of Inlets, and possibly this may be owing to the water beingmore confined between the shoals; here also the flood sets to thenorth-west, and continues in the same direction to the extremity of NewWales, from whence its direction is west and south-west into the Indiansea. 

SECTION XXXIV. 

_The Passage from New South Wales to New Guinea, with an Account of whathappened upon landing there_. 

In the afternoon of Thursday, August the 23d, after leaving BoobyIsland, we steered W. N. W. With light airs from the S. S. W. Till fiveo'clock, when it fell calm, and the tide of ebb soon after setting tothe N. E. , we came to an anchor in eight fathom water, with a soft sandybottom. Booby Island bore S. 50 E. , distant five miles, and the Princeof Wales's Isles extended from N. E. By N. To S. 55 E. ; between thesethere appeared to be a clear open passage, extending from N. 46 E. To E. By N. 

At half an hour after five in the morning of the 24th, as we werepurchasing the anchor, the cable parted at about eight or ten fathomfrom the ring: The ship then began to drive, but I immediately droppedanother anchor, which brought her up before she got more than a cable'slength from the buoy; the boats were then sent to sweep for the anchor, but could not succeed. At noon our latitude by observation was 10° 30'S. As I was resolved not to leave the anchor behind, while thereremained a possibility of recovering it, I sent the boats again afterdinner with a small line, to discover where it lay; this being happilyeffected, we swept for it with a hawser, and by the same hawser hove theship up to it: We proceeded to weigh it, but just as we were about toship it, the hawser slipped, and we had all our labour to repeat: Bythis time it was dark, and we were obliged to suspend our operationstill the morning. 

As soon as it was light, we sweeped it again, and heaved it to the bows:By eight o'clock we weighed the other anchor, got under sail, and, witha fine breeze at E. N. E. Stood to the north-west. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 10° 18' S. , longitude 219° 39' W. At this time wehad no land in sight, but about two miles to the southward of us lay alarge shoal, upon which the sea broke with great violence, and part ofwhich, I believe, is dry at low water. It extends N. W. And S. E. , and isabout five leagues in circuit. Our depth of water, from the time weweighed till now, was nine fathom, but it soon shallowed to sevenfathom; and at half an hour after one, having run eleven miles betweennoon and that time, the boat which was a-head made the signal for shoalwater; we immediately let go an anchor, and brought the ship up with allthe sails standing, for the boat, having just been relieved, was at buta little distance: Upon looking out from the ship, we saw shoal wateralmost all round us, both wind and tide at the same time setting uponit. The ship was in six fathom, but upon sounding round her, at thedistance of half a cable's length, we found scarcely two. This shoalreached from the east, round by the north and west, as far as thesouth-west, so that there was no way for us to get clear but that whichwe came. This was another hair's-breadth escape, for it was near highwater, and there run a short cockling sea, which must very soon havebulged the ship if she had struck; and if her direction had been half acable's length more either to the right or left, she must have struckbefore the signal for the shoal was made. The shoals which, like these, lie a fathom or two under water, are the most dangerous of any, for theydo not discover themselves till the vessel is just upon them, and thenindeed the water looks brown, as if it reflected a dark cloud. Betweenthree and four o'clock the tide of ebb began to make, and I sent themaster to sound to the southward and south-westward, and in the meantime, as the ship tended, I weighed anchor, and with a little sail stoodfirst to the southward, and after edging away to the westward, got oncemore out of danger. At sun-set we anchored in ten fathom, with a sandybottom, having a fresh gale at E. S. E. 

At six in the morning we weighed again and stood west, having, as usual, first sent a boat a-head to sound. I had intended to steer N. W. Till Ihad made the south coast of New Guinea, designing, if possible, to touchupon it; but upon meeting with these shoals, I altered my course, inhopes of finding a clearer channel, and deeper water. In this Isucceeded, for by noon our depth of water was gradually increased toseventeen fathom. Our latitude was now, by observation, 10° 10' S. , andour longitude 220° 12' W. No land was in sight. We continued to steer W. Till sun-set, our depth of water being from twenty-seven to twenty-threefathom: We then shortened sail, and kept upon a wind all night; fourhours on one tack and four on another. At day-light we made all the sailwe could, and steered W. N. W. Till eight o'clock, and then N. W. At noonour latitude, by observation, was 9° 56' S. , longitude 221° W. ;variation 2° 30' E. We continued our N. W. Course till sun-set, when weagain shortened sail, and hauled close upon a wind to the northward:Our depth of water was twenty-one fathom. At eight, we tacked and stoodto the southward till twelve; then stood to the northward, with littlesail, till day-light: Our soundings were from twenty-five to seventeenfathom, the water growing gradually shallow as we stood to thenorthward. At this time we made sail and stood to the north, in order tomake the land of New Guinea: From the time of our making sail, tillnoon, the depth of water gradually decreased from seventeen to twelvefathom, with a stoney and shelly bottom. Our latitude, by observation, was now 8° 52' S, which is in the same parallel as that in which thesouthern parts of New Guinea are laid down in the charts; but there areonly two points so far to the south, and I reckoned that we were adegree to the westward of them both, and therefore did not see the land, which trends more to the northward. We found the sea here to be in manyparts covered with a brown scum, such as sailors generally call spawn. When I first saw it, I was alarmed, fearing that we were among shoals;but upon sounding, we found the same depth of water as in other places. This scum was examined both by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, but they couldnot determine what it was: It was formed of innumerable small particles, not more than half a line in length, each of which in the microscopeappeared to consist of thirty or forty tubes; and each tube was dividedthrough its whole length by small partitions into many cells, like thetubes of the conferva: They were supposed to belong to the vegetablekingdom, because, upon burning them, they produced no smell like that ofan animal substance. The same appearance had been observed upon thecoast of Brazil and New Holland, but never at any considerable distancefrom the shore. In the evening a small bird hovered about the ship, andat night, settling among the rigging, was taken. It proved to be exactlythe same bird which Dampier has described, and of which he has given arude figure, by the name of a Noddy, from New Holland. [See his Voyages, vol. Iii. P. 98, Tab. Of Birds, fig. 5. ][98]

[Footnote 98: Additional information on this subject remains for asubsequent part of our work. --E. ]

We continued standing to the northward with a fresh gale at E. By S. AndS. E. , till six in the evening, having very irregular soundings, thedepth changing at once from twenty-four fathom to seven. At four we hadseen the land from the mast-head, bearing N. W. By N. ; it appeared to bevery low, and to stretch from W. N. W. To N. N. E. , distant four or fiveleagues. We now hauled close upon a wind till seven, then tacked andstood to the southward till twelve, at which time we wore and stood tothe northward till four in the morning, then laid the head of the vesseloff till daylight, when we again saw the land, and stood in N. N. W. , directly for it, with a fresh gale at E. By S. Our soundings during thenight were very irregular, from seven to five fathom, suddenly changingfrom deep to shallow, and from shallow to deep, without in the leastcorresponding with our distance from the land. At half an hour after sixin the morning, a small low island, which lay at the distance of about aleague from the main, bore N. By W. Distant five miles: This island liesin latitude 8° 13' S. , longitude 231° 25' W. ; and I find it laid down inthe charts by the names of Bartholomew and Whermoysen. We now steeredN. W. By W. W. N. W. , W. By N. W. By S. , and S. W. By W. , as we found theland lie, with from five to nine fathom; and though we reckoned we werenot more than four leagues from it, yet it was so low and level that wecould but just see it from the deck. It appeared, however, to be wellcovered with wood, and, among other trees, we thought we coulddistinguish the cocoa-nut. We saw smoke in several places, and thereforeknew there were inhabitants. At noon we were about three leagues fromthe land; the westermost part of which that was in sight bore S. 79° W. Our latitude, by observation, was 8° 19' S. , and longitude 221° 44' W. The island of St Bartholomew bore N. 74 E. Distant 20 miles. 

After steering S. W. By W. Six miles, we had shoal water on our starboardbow, which I sent the yawl to sound, and at the same time hauled offupon a wind till four o'clock, and though during that time we had runsix miles, we had not deepened our water an inch. I then edged away S. W. Four miles more; but finding it still shoal water, I brought-to andcalled the boats aboard. At this time, being between three and fourleagues from the shore, and the yawl having found only three fathomwater in the place to which I had sent her to sound, I hauled off closeupon a wind, and weathered the shoal about half a mile. 

Between one and two o'clock we passed a bay or inlet, before which liesa small island that seems to shelter it from the southerly winds; but Ivery much doubt whether there is sufficient depth of water behind it forshipping. I could not attempt to determine the question, because theS. E. Trade-wind blows right into the bay, and we had not as yet had anybreeze from the land. 

We stretched off to sea till twelve o'clock, when we were about elevenleagues from the land, and had deepened our water to twenty-nine fathom. We now tacked and stood in till five in the morning, when, being in sixfathom and a half, we tacked and laid the head of the vessel off tilldaylight, when we saw the land, bearing N. W. By W. , at about thedistance of four leagues. We now made sail, and steered first W. S. W. , then W. By S. ; but coming into five fathom and a half, we hauled offS. W. Till we deepened our water to eight fathom, and then kept away W. By S. And W. , having nine fathom, and the land just in sight from thedeck; we judged it to be about four leagues distant, and it was stillvery low and woody. Great quantities of the brown scum continued toappear upon the water, and the sailors having given up the notion of itsbeing spawn, found a new name for it, and called it sea saw-dust. Atnoon, our latitude, by observation, was 8° 30' S. , our longitude 222°34' W. ; and Saint Bartholomew's Isle bore N. 69 E. , distant seventy-fourmiles. 

As all this coast appears to have been very minutely examined by theDutch, and as our track will appear by the chart, it is sufficient tosay, that we continued our course to the northward with very shallowwater, upon a bank of mud, at such a distance from the shore as that itcould scarcely be seen from the ship till the third of September. Duringthis time we made many attempts to get near enough to go on shore, butwithout success; and having now lost six days of fair wind, at a timewhen we knew the south-east monsoon to be nearly at an end, we began tobe impatient of farther delay, and determined to run the ship in as nearto the shore as possible, and then land with the pinnace, while she keptplying off and on to examine the produce of the country, and thedisposition of the inhabitants. For the two last days we had, early inthe morning, a light breeze from the shore, which was stronglyimpregnated with the fragrance of the trees, shrubs, and herbage thatcovered it, the smell being something like that of gum Benjamin. On the3d of September, at day-break, we saw the land extending from N. By E. To S. E. , at about four leagues distance, and we then kept standing infor it with a fresh gale at E. S. E. And E. By S. Till nine o'clock, whenbeing within about three or four miles of it, and in three fathom water, we brought-to. The pinnace being hoisted out, I set off from the shipwith the boat's crew, accompanied by Mr Banks, who also took hisservants, and Dr Solander, being in all twelve persons, well armed; werowed directly towards the shore, but the water was so shallow that wecould not reach it by about two hundred yards; we waded, however, therest of the way, having left two of the seamen to take care of the boat. Hitherto we had seen no signs of inhabitants at this place; but as soonas we got ashore we discovered the prints of human feet, which could notlong have been impressed upon the sand, as they were below high-watermark: We therefore concluded that the people were at no great distance, and, as a thick wood came down within a hundred yards of the water, wethought it necessary to proceed with caution, lest we should fall intoan ambuscade, and our retreat to the boat be cut off. We walked alongthe skirts of the wood, and at the distance of about two hundred yardsfrom the place where we landed, we came to a grove of cocoa-nut trees, which stood upon the banks of a little brook of brackish water. Thetrees were of a small growth, but well hung with fruit; and near themwas a shed or hut, which had been covered with their leaves, though mostof them were now fallen off: About the hut lay a great number of theshells of the fruit, some of which appeared to be just fresh from thetree. We looked at the fruit very wishfully, but not thinking it safe toclimb, we were obliged to leave it without tasting a single nut. At alittle distance from this place we found plantains, and a bread-fruittree, but it had nothing upon it; and having now advanced about aquarter of a mile from the boat, three Indians rushed out of the woodwith a hideous shout, at about the distance of a hundred yards; and asthey ran towards us, the foremost threw something out of his hand, whichflew on one side of him, and burnt exactly like gunpowder, but made noreport: The other two instantly threw their lances at us; and as no timewas now to be lost, we discharged our pieces, which were loaded withsmall shot. It is probable that they did not feel the shot, for thoughthey halted a moment, they did not retreat; and a third dart was thrownat us. As we thought their farther approach might be prevented with lessrisk of life than it would cost to defend ourselves against their attackif they should come nearer, we loaded our pieces with ball, and fired asecond time: By this discharge it is probable that some of them werewounded; yet we had the satisfaction to see that they all ran away withgreat agility. As I was not disposed forcibly to invade this country, either to gratify our appetites or our curiosity, and perceived thatnothing was to be done upon friendly terms, we improved this interval, in which the destruction of the natives was no longer necessary to ourown defence, and with all expedition returned towards our boat. As wewere advancing along the shore, we perceived that the two men on boardmade signals that more Indians were coming down; and before we got intothe water we saw several of them coming round a point at the distance ofabout five hundred yards: It is probable that they had met with thethree who first attacked as; for as soon as they saw us they halted, andseemed to wait till their main body should come up. We entered the waterand waded towards the boat, and they remained at their station, withoutgiving us any interruption. As soon as we were aboard we rowed abreastof them, and their number then appeared to be between sixty and ahundred. We now took a view of them at our leisure; they made much thesame appearance as the New Hollanders, being nearly of the same stature, and having their hair short cropped: Like them also, they were all starknaked, but we thought the colour of their skin was not quite so dark;this however might perhaps be merely the effect of their not beingquite so dirty. All this while they were shouting defiance, and lettingoff their fires by four or five at a time. What these fires were, or forwhat purpose intended, we could not imagine: Those who discharged themhad in their hands a short piece of stick, possibly a hollow cane, whichthey swung sideways from them, and we immediately saw fire and smoke, exactly resembling those of a musket, and of no longer duration. Thiswonderful phenomenon was observed from the ship, and the deception wasso great that the people on board thought they had fire-arms; and in theboat, if we had not been so near as that we must have heard the report, we should have thought they had been firing volleys. [99] After we hadlooked at them attentively some time, without taking any notice of theirflashing and vociferation, we fired some muskets over their heads: Uponhearing the balls rattle among the trees, they walked leisurely away, and we returned to the ship. Upon examining the weapons they had thrownat us, we found them to be light darts, about four feet long, very illmade, of a reed or bamboo cane, and pointed with hard wood, in whichthere were many barbs. They were discharged with great force; for thoughwe were at sixty yards distance, they went beyond us, but in what mannerwe could not exactly see; possibly they might be shot with a bow, but wesaw no bows among them when we surveyed them from the boat, and we werein general of opinion that they were thrown, with a stick, in the mannerpractised by the New Hollanders. 

[Footnote 99: So far as the writer recollects, no satisfactory accountof this singular fact has been given. He has long borne it inremembrance, and sought for further information respecting it, buthitherto has failed. He can conjecture, it is true, two or three modesof explanation; but he does not chuse to be wise abase what iswritten. --E. ]

This place lies in the latitude of 6° 15' S. , and about sixty-fiveleagues to the N. E. Of Port Saint Augustine, or Walche Cape, and is nearwhat is called in the charts C. De la Colta de St Bonaventura. The landhere, like that in every other part of the coast, is very low, butcovered with a luxuriance of wood and herbage that can scarcely beconceived. We saw the cocoa-nut, the bread-fruit, and the plantain tree, all flourishing in a state of the highest perfection, though thecocoa-nuts were green, and the bread-fruit not in season; besides mostof the trees, shrubs, and plants that are common to the South-Seaislands, New Zealand, and New Holland. 

Soon after our return to the ship, we hoisted in the boat, and made sailto the westward, being resolved to spend no more time upon this coast, to the great satisfaction of a very considerable majority of the ship'scompany. But I am sorry to say that I was strongly urged by some of theofficers to send a party of men ashore and cut down the cocoa-nut treesfor the sake of the fruit. This I peremptorily refused, as equallyunjust and cruel. The natives had attacked us merely for landing upontheir coast, when we attempted to take nothing away, and it wastherefore morally certain that they would have made a vigorous effort todefend their property if it had been invaded, in which case many of themmust have fallen a sacrifice to our attempt, and perhaps also some ofour own people. I should have regretted the necessity of such a measure, if I had been in want of the necessaries of life, and certainly it wouldhave been highly criminal when nothing was to be obtained but two orthree hundred of green cocoa-nuts, which would at most have procured usa mere transient gratification. [100] I might indeed have proceededfarther along the coast to the northward and westward, in search of aplace where the ship might have lain so near the shore as to cover thepeople with her guns when they landed; but this would have obviated onlypart of the mischief, and though it might have secured us, wouldprobably in the very act have been fatal to the natives. Besides, we hadreason to think that before such a place would have been found, weshould have been carried so far to the westward as to have been obligedto go to Batavia, on the north side of Java, which I did not think sosafe a passage as to the south of Java, through the Streights of Sunday:The ship also was so leaky, that I doubted whether it would not benecessary to heave her down at Batavia, which was another reason formaking the best of our way to that place, especially as no discoverycould be expected in seas which had already been navigated, and whereevery coast had been laid down by the Dutch geographers. The Spaniards, indeed, as well as the Dutch, seem to have circumnavigated all theislands in New Guinea, as almost every place that is distinguished inthe chart has a name in both languages. The charts with which I comparedsuch part of the coast as I visited, are bound up with a French work, entitled, "Histoire des Navigationes aux Terres Australes, " which waspublished in 1756, and I found them tolerably exact; yet I know not bywhom, or when they were taken: And though New Holland and New Guinea arein them represented as two distinct countries, the very history in whichthey are bound up, leaves it in doubt. [101] I pretend, however, to nomore merit in this part of the voyage than to have established the factbeyond all controversy. 

[Footnote 100: Delicacy of feeling, perhaps, would have preferred theomission of what has now been recorded as to the advice of some of theofficers, to the stating it in such a manner as leaves the responsiblepersons under the shade of the guiltless, or implicates the latter inthe odium of the former. The advice, at all events, might have beenstated impersonally, as a mere suggestion that would naturally presentitself to any one who considered the benefit of the crew only, withoutrespect to the rights and properties of the natives, --a suggestion, however, which it required but a moment's reflection on the laws ofhumanity to dissipate with reproach. Some readers, it is probable, willbe sensible, as well as the writer, of an uncomfortable emotion at theperusal of this part of the text, exclusive entirely of disapprobationof the matter of which it treats. --E. ]

[Footnote 101: The work here mentioned was the valuable labour ofPresident De Brosses, and appeared at Paris, in two vols. Quarto. It wastranslated into English, and published at London in 1767. We shallhereafter have occasion to cull some information from it, and to revertto the fact of the separation of New Holland and New Guinea now alludedto. Callender published a work at Edinburgh, in 1766, in three vols. Octavo, entitled, "Terra Australis Cognita; or Voyages to the TerraAustralis, or Southern Hemisphere, &c. " It bore to be an original, butis in fact a translation of what has now been mentioned. --E. ]

As the two countries lie very near each other, and the intermediatespace is full of islands, it is reasonable to suppose that they wereboth peopled from one common stock; yet no intercourse appears to havebeen kept up between them; for if there had, the cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, plantains, and other fruits of New Guinea, which areequally necessary for the support of life, would certainly have beentransplanted to New Holland, where no traces of them are to be found. The author of the "Histoire des Navigationes aux Terres Australes, " inhis account of La Maire's voyage, has given a vocabulary of the languagethat is spoken in an island near New Britain, and we find, by comparingthat vocabulary with the words which we learnt in New Holland, that thelanguages are not the same. If therefore it should appear that thelanguages of New Britain and New Guinea are the same, there will bereason to suppose that New Britain and New Guinea were peopled from acommon stock, but that the inhabitants of New Holland had a differentorigin, notwithstanding the proximity of the countries. [102]

[Footnote 102: An interesting enough subject for enquiry is herestarted. We shall, in another part of our work, have to give it someattention. --E. ]

SECTION XXXV. 

_The Passage from New Guinea to the Island of Semau, and theTransactions there_. [103]

[Footnote 103: It is quite unnecessary, and would answer no goodpurpose, to occupy the reader's attention with any geographical notesrespecting the islands mentioned in this section. Subsequent voyages, and other publications, have greatly enriched our acquaintance with thissubject; but it would make sad patch-work to detail it here. The readerwill do better to amuse himself with the narrative for the present, andto reserve study for a future occasion. --E. ]

We made sail, from noon on Monday the 3d, to noon on Tuesday the 4th, standing to the westward, and all the time kept in soundings, havingfrom fourteen to thirty fathom; not regular, but sometimes more, sometimes less. At noon on the 4th, we were in fourteen fathom, andlatitude 6° 44' S. , longitude 223° 51' W. ; our course and distance sincethe 3d, at noon, were S. 76 W. , one hundred and twenty miles to thewestward. At noon on the 5th of September, we were in latitude 7° 25'S. , longitude 225° 41' W. , having been in soundings the whole time fromten to twenty fathom. 

At half an hour after one in the morning of the next day, we passed asmall island which bore from us N. N. W. , distant between three and fourmiles; and at day-light we discovered another low island, extending fromN. N. W. To N. N. E. , distant about two or three leagues. Upon this island, which did not appear to be very small, I believe I should have landed toexamine its produce, if the wind had not blown too fresh to admit of it. When we passed this island we had only ten fathom water, with a rockybottom, and therefore I was afraid of running down to leeward, lest Ishould meet with shoal water and foul ground. These islands have noplace in the charts except they are the Arrou islands; and if these, they are laid down much too far from New Guinea. I found the south partof them to lie in latitude 7° 6' S. , longitude 225° W. 

We continued to steer W. S. W. , at the rate of four miles and a half anhour, till ten o'clock at night, when we had forty-two fathom, at elevenwe had thirty-seven, at twelve forty-five, at one in the morning, forty-nine, and at three, 120, after which we had no ground. Atday-light we made all the sail we could, and at ten o'clock saw landextending from N. N. W. To W. By N. , distant between five and six leagues:At noon it bore from N. To W. , and at about the same distance: Itappeared to be level, and of a moderate height; by our distance from NewGuinea, it ought to have been part of the Arrou Islands, but it lies adegree farther to the south than any of these islands are laid down inthe charts; and, by the latitude, should be Timor Laoet: We sounded, buthad no ground with fifty fathom. 

As I was not able to satisfy myself from any chart, what land it wasthat I saw to leeward, and fearing that it might trend away moresoutherly, the weather also being so hazy that we could not see far, Isteered S. W. , and by four had lost sight of the island. I was now surethat no part of it lay to the southward of 8° 15' S. , and continuedstanding to the S. W. With an easy sail, and a fresh breeze at S. E. By E. And E. S. E. : We sounded every hour, but had no bottom with 120 fathom. 

At day-break in the morning, we steered W. S. W. , and afterwards W. By S. , which by noon brought us into the latitude of 9° 30' S. , longitude 229°34' W. , and by our run from New Guinea, we ought to have been withinsight of Weasel Isles, which in the charts are laid down at the distanceof twenty or twenty-five leagues from the coast of New Holland; wehowever saw nothing, and therefore they must have been placederroneously; nor can this be thought strange, when it is considered thatnot only these islands, but the coast which bounds this sea, have beendiscovered and explored by different people, and at different times, andthe charts upon which they are delineated, put together by others, perhaps at the distance of more than a century after the discoveries hadbeen made; not to mention that the discoverers themselves had not allthe requisites for keeping an accurate journal, of which those of thepresent age are possessed. 

We continued our course, steering W. Till the evening of the 8th, whenthe variation of the compass, by several azimuths, was 12' W. , and bythe amplitude 5' W. At noon, on the 9th, our latitude, by observation, was 9° 46' S. , longitude 232° 7' W. For the last two days we had steereddue W. , yet, by observation, we made sixteen miles southing, six milesfrom noon on the 6th to noon on the 7th, and ten miles from noon on the7th to noon on the 8th, by which it appeared that there was a currentsetting to the southward. At sun-set, we found the variation to be 2 W. , and at the same time, saw an appearance of very high land bearing N. W. 

In the morning of the 10th, we saw clearly that what had appeared to beland the night before, was Timor. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 10° 1' S. , which was fifteen miles to the southward of that given bythe log; our longitude, by observation, was 233° 27' W. We steered N. W. In order to obtain a more distinct view of the land in sight, till fouro'clock in the morning of the 11th, when the wind came to the N. W. AndW. , with which we stood to the southward till nine, when we tacked andstood N. W. , having the wind now at W. S. W. At sun-rise the land hadappeared to extend from W. N. W. To N. E. , and at noon, we could see itextend to the westward as far as W. By S. 1/2 S. But no farther to theeastward than N. By E. We were now well assured, that as the first landwe had seen was Timor, the last island we had passed was Timor Laoet, orLaut. [104] Laoet, is a word in the language of Malaca, signifying Sea, and this island was named by the inhabitants of that country. The southpart of it lies in latitude 8° 15' S. , longitude 228° 10' W. , but in thecharts the south point is laid down in various latitudes, from 8° 30' to9° 30': It is indeed possible that the land we saw might be some otherisland, but the presumption to the contrary is very strong, for if TimorLaut had lain where it is placed in the charts, we must have seen itthere. We were now in latitude 9° 37' S. ; longitude, by an observationof the sun and moon, 233° 54' W. ; we were the day before in 233° 27';the difference is 27', exactly the same that was given by the log: This, however, is a degree of accuracy in observation that is seldom to beexpected. In the afternoon, we stood in shore till eight in the evening;when we tacked and stood off, being at the distance of about threeleagues from the land, which at sun-set extended from S. W. 1/2 W. ToN. E. : At this time we sounded, and had no ground with 140 fathom. Atmidnight, having but little wind, we tacked and stood in, and at noonthe next day, our latitude, by observation, was 9° 36' S. This day, wesaw smoke on shore in several places, and had seen many fires during thenight. The land appeared to be very high, rising in gradual slopes oneabove another: The hills were in general covered with thick woods, butamong them we could distinguish naked spots of a considerable extent, which had the appearance of having been cleared by art. At five o'clockin the afternoon, we were within a mile and a half of the shore, insixteen fathom water, and abreast of a small inlet into the low land, which lies in latitude 9° 34 S. , and probably is the same that Dampierentered with his boat, for it did not seem to have sufficient depth ofwater for a ship. The land here answered well to the description that hehas given of it: close to the beach it was covered with high spirytrees, which he mentions as having the appearance of pines; behind thesethere seemed to be salt-water creeks, and many mangroves, interspersedhowever with cocoa-nut trees: The flat land at the beach appeared insome places to extend inward two or three miles before the rise of thefirst hill; in this part, however, we saw no appearance of plantationsor houses, but great fertility, and from the number of fires, we judgedthat the place most be well peopled. 

[Footnote 104: Little is known of this island. Timor is said to havebeen discovered by the companions of Magellan in 1522, when it was foundfull of white sandal wood. The Portuguese very early settled in it as aplace of refuge from the Dutch, who however soon followed them, and in1613, drove them from Cupan, their principal town, at the west end ofthe island. The possession of this island might be made more valuablethan it seems as yet to have been. With scarcely any help from humanindustry, its products in useful articles are considerable. We shallhave to treat of it hereafter. --E. ]

When we had approached within a mile and a half of the shore, we tackedand stood off, and the extremes of the coast then extended from N. E. ByE. To W. By S. 1/2 S. The south-westerly extremity was a low point, distant from us about three leagues. While we were standing in for theshore, we sounded several times, but had no ground till we came withinabout two miles and a half, and then we had five-and-twenty fathom, witha soft-bottom. After we had tacked, we stood off till midnight, with thewind at S. ; we then tacked and stood two hours to the westward, when thewind veered to S. W. And W. S. W. , and we then stood to the southwardagain. In the morning, we found the variation to be 1° 10' W. By theamplitude, and by the azimuth 1° 27'. At noon, our latitude was, byobservation, 9° 45' S. , our longitude 234° 12' W. ; we were then aboutseven leagues distant from the land, which extended from N. 31 E. ToW. S. W. 1/2 W. 

With light land-breezes from W. By N. For a few hours in a morning, andsea-breezes from S. S. W. And S. We advanced to the westward but slowly. At noon on the 14th, we were between six and seven leagues from theland, which extended from N. By E. To S. 78 W. ; we still saw smoke inmany places by day, and fire by night, both upon the low land and themountains beyond it. We continued steering along the shore, till themorning of the 15th, the land still appearing hilly, but not so high asit had been: The hills in general came quite down to the sea, and wherethey did not, we saw instead of flats and mangrove land, immense grovesof cocoa-nut trees, reaching about a mile up from the beach: There theplantations and houses commenced, and appeared to be innumerable. Thehouses were shaded by groves of the fan-palm, or _borassus_, and theplantations, which were inclosed by a fence, reached almost to the topsof the highest hills. We saw however neither people nor cattle, thoughour glasses were continually employed, at which we were not a littlesurprised. 

We continued our course, with little variation, till nine o'clock in themorning of the 16th, when we saw the small island called _Rotte_; and atnoon the island _Semau_, lying off the south end of Timor, bore N. W. 

Dampier, who has given a large description of the island of Timor, says, that it is seventy leagues long, and sixteen broad, and that it liesnearly N E. And S. W. I found the east side of it to lie nearest N. E. ByE. And S. W. By W. , and the south end to lie in latitude 10° 23' S. , longitude 236° 5' W. We ran about forty-five leagues along the eastside, and found the navigation altogether free from danger. The landwhich is bounded by the sea, except near the south end, is low for twoor three miles within the beach, and in general intersected by saltcreeks: Behind the low land are mountains, which rise one above anotherto a considerable height. We steered W. N. W. Till two in the afternoon, when, being within a small distance of the north end of Rotte, we hauledup N. N. W. In order to go between it and Semau: After steering threeleagues upon this coarse, we edged away N. W. And W. , and by six, we wereclear of all the islands. At this time, the south part of Semau, whichlies in latitude 10° 15' S. , bore N. E. Distant four leagues, and theisland of Rotte extended as far to the southward as S. 36 W. The northend of this island, and the south end of Timor, lie N. 1/2 E. And S. 1/4W. , and are about three or four leagues distant from each other. At thewest end of the passage between Rotte and Semau, are two small islands, one of which lies near the Rotte shore, and the other off the south-westpoint of Semau: There is a good channel between them, about six milesbroad, through which we passed. The isle of Rotte has not so lofty andmountainous an appearance as Timor, though it is agreeably diversifiedby hill and valley: On the north side, there are many sandy beaches, near which grew some trees of the fan-palm, but the far greater part wascovered with a kind of brushy wood, that was without leaves. Theappearance of Semau was nearly the same with that of Timor, but notquite so high. About ten o'clock at night, we observed a phænomenon inthe heavens, which in many particulars resembled the aurora borealis, and in others, was very different: It consisted of a dull reddish light, and reached about twenty degrees above the horizon: Its extent was verydifferent at different times, but it was never less than eight or tenpoints of the compass: Through and out of this passed rays of light of abrighter colour, which vanished, and were renewed nearly in the sametime as those of the aurora borealis, but had no degree of the tremulousor vibratory motion which is observed in that phænomenon: The body of itbore S. S. E. From the ship, and it continued, without any diminution ofits brightness, till twelve o'clock, when we retired to sleep, but howlong afterwards, I cannot tell. 

Being clear of all the islands, which are laid down in the maps we hadon board, between Timor and Java, we steered a west course till sixo'clock the next morning, when we unexpectedly saw an island bearingW. S. W. , and at first I thought we had made a new discovery. We steereddirectly for it, and by ten o'clock were close in with the north side ofit, where we saw houses, cocoa-nut trees, and to our very agreeablesurprise, numerous flocks of sheep. This was a temptation not to beresisted by people in our situation, especially as many of us were in abad state of health, and many still repining at my not having touched atTimor: It was, therefore soon determined to attempt a commerce withpeople who appeared to be so well able to supply our many necessities, and remove at once the sickness and discontent that had got footingamong us. The pinnace was hoisted out, and Mr Gore, the secondlieutenant, sent to see if there was any convenient place to land, taking with him some trifles, as presents to the natives, if any of themshould appear. While he was gone, we saw from the ship two men onhorseback, who seemed to be riding upon the hills for their amusement, and often stopped to look at the ship. By this we knew that the placehad been settled by Europeans, and hoped, that the many disagreeablecircumstances which always attend the first establishment of commercewith savages, would be avoided. In the mean time, Mr Gore landed in asmall sandy cove near some houses, and was met by eight or ten of thenatives, who, as well in their dress as their persons, very muchresembled the Malays; They were without arms, except the knives which itis their custom to wear in their girdles, and one of them had a jack-asswith him: They courteously invited him ashore, and conversed with him bysigns, but very little of the meaning of either party could beunderstood by the other. In a short time he returned with this report, and, to our great mortification, added, that there was no anchorage forthe ship. I sent him however a second time, with both money and goods, that he might, if possible, purchase some refreshments, at least for thesick; and Dr Solander went in the boat with him. In the mean time I keptstanding on and off with the ship, which at this time was within about amile of the shore. Before the boat could land, we saw two otherhorsemen, one of whom was in a complete European dress, consisting of ablue coat, a white waistcoat, and a laced hat: These people, when theboat came to the shore, took little notice of her, but sauntered about, and seemed to look with great curiosity at the ship. We saw howeverother horsemen, and a great number of persons on foot, gather round ourpeople, and, to our great satisfaction, perceived several cocoa-nutscarried into the boat, from which we concluded that peace and commercewere established between us. 

After the boat had been ashore about an hour and a half, she made thesignal for having intelligence that there was a bay to leeward, where wemight anchor: We stood away directly for it, and the boat following, soon came on board. The lieutenant told us, that he had seen some of theprincipal people, who were dressed in fine linen, and had chains of goldround their necks: He said, that he had not been able to trade, becausethe owner of the cocoa-nuts was absent, but that about two dozen hadbeen sent to the boat as a present, and that some linen had beenaccepted in return. The people, to give him the information that hewanted, drew a map upon the sand, in which they made a ruderepresentation of a harbour to leeward, and a town near it: They alsogave him to understand, that sheep, hogs, fowls, and fruit might therebe procured in great plenty. Some of them frequently pronounced the wordPortuguese, and said something of Larntuca upon the island of Ende: Fromthis circumstance, we conjectured that there were Portuguese somewhereupon the island, and a Portugueze, who was in our boat, attempted toconverse with the Indians in that language, but soon found that theyknew only a word or two of it by rote: One of them however, when theywere giving our people to understand that there was a town near theharbour to which they had directed us, intimated, that, as a token ofgoing right, we should see somewhat, which he expressed by crossing hisfingers, and the Portuguese instantly conceived that he meant to expressa cross. Just as our people were putting off, the horsemen in theEuropean dress came up, but the officer not having his commission abouthim, thought it best to decline a conference. 

At seven o'clock in the evening, we came to an anchor in the bay towhich we had been directed, at about the distance of a mile from theshore, in thirty-eight fathom water, with a clear sandy bottom. Thenorth point of the bay bore N. 30 E. , distant two miles and a half, andthe south point, or west end of the island, bore S. 63 W. Just as we gotround the north point, and entered the bay, we discovered a large Indiantown or village, upon which we stood on, hoisting a jack on the foretop-mast head: Soon after, to our great surprise, Dutch colours werehoisted in the town, and three guns fired; we stood on, however, till wehad soundings and then anchored. 

As soon as it was light in the morning, we saw the same colours hoistedupon the beach, abreast of the ship; supposing therefore that the Dutchhad a settlement here, I sent Lieutenant Gore ashore, to wait upon thegovernor, or the chief person residing upon the spot, and acquaint himwho we were, and for what purpose we had touched upon the coast. As soonas he came ashore, he was received by a guard of between twenty andthirty Indians, armed with musquets, who conducted him to the town, where the colours had been hoisted the night before, carrying with themthose that had been hoisted upon the beach, and marching without anymilitary regularity. As soon as he arrived, he was introduced to theRaja, or king of the island, and by a Portuguese interpreter told him, that the ship was a man-of-war belonging to the king of Great Britain, and that she had many sick on board, for whom we wanted to purchase suchrefreshments as the island afforded. His majesty replied, that he waswilling to supply us with whatever we wanted, but, that being inalliance with the Dutch East India Company, he was not at liberty totrade with any other people, without having first procured theirconsent, for which, however, he said he would immediately apply to aDutchman who belonged to the Company, and who was the only white manupon the island. To this man, who resided at some distance, a letter wasimmediately dispatched, acquainting him with our arrival and request: Inthe mean time, Mr Gore dispatched a messenger to me, with an account ofhis situation, and the state of the treaty. In about three hours, theDutch resident answered the letter that had been sent him, in person: Heproved to be a native of Saxony, and his name was Johan ChristopherLange, and the same person whom we had seen on horseback in a Europeandress: He behaved with great civility to Mr Gore, and assured him, thatwe were at liberty to purchase of the natives whatever we pleased. Aftera short time, he expressed a desire of coming on board, as did the kingalso, and several of his attendants: Mr Gore intimated that he was readyto attend them, but they desired that two of our people might be leftashore as hostages, and in this also they were indulged. 

About two o'clock, they all came aboard the ship, and our dinner beingready, they accepted our invitation to partake of it: I expected themimmediately to sit down, but the king seemed to hesitate, and at last, with some confusion, said, he did not imagine that we, who were whitemen, would suffer him, who was of a different colour, to sit down in ourcompany; a compliment soon removed his scruples, and we all sat downtogether with great cheerfulness and cordiality: Happily we were at noloss for interpreters, both Dr Solander and Mr Sporing understandingDutch enough to keep up a conversation with Mr Lange, and several of theseamen were able to converse with such of the natives as spokePortuguese. Our dinner happened to be mutton, and the king expressed adesire of having an English sheep; we had but one left, however that waspresented to him: The facility with which this was procured, encouragedhim to ask for an English dog, and Mr Banks politely gave up hisgreyhound: Mr Lange then intimated that a spying-glass would beacceptable, and one was immediately put into his hand. Our guests thentold us, that the island abounded with buffaloes, sheep, hogs, andfowls, plenty of which should be driven down to the beach the next day, that we might purchase as many of them as we should think fit: This putus all into high spirits, and the liquor circulated rather faster thaneither the Indians or the Saxon could bear; they intimated their desireto go away, however, before they were quite drunk, and were receivedupon deck, as they had been when they came aboard, by the marines underarms. The king expressed a curiosity to see them exercise, in which hewas gratified, and they fired three rounds: He looked at them with greatattention, and was much surprised at their regularity and expedition, especially in cocking their pieces; the first time they did it, hestruck the side of the ship with a stick that he had in his hand, andcried out with great vehemence, that all the locks made but one clink. They were dismissed with many presents, and when they went away salutedwith nine guns: Mr Banks and Dr Solander went ashore with them; and assoon as they put off they gave us three cheers. 

Our gentlemen, when they came ashore, walked up with them to the town, which consists of many houses, and some of them are large; they arehowever nothing more than a thatched roof, supported over a boardedfloor, by pillars about four feet high. They produced some of theirpalm-wine, which was the fresh unfermented juice of the tree; it had asweet, but not a disagreeable taste; and hopes were conceived that itmight contribute to recover our sick from the scurvy. Soon after it wasdark, Mr Banks and Dr Solander returned on board. 

In the morning of the 19th I went ashore with Mr Banks, and several ofthe officers and gentlemen, to return the king's visit; but my chiefbusiness was to procure some of the buffaloes, sheep, and fowls, whichwe had been told should be driven down to the beach. We were greatlymortified to find that no steps had been taken to fulfil this promise;however, we proceeded to the house of assembly, which, with two or threemore, had been erected by the Dutch East India Company, and aredistinguished from the rest by two pieces of wood resembling a pair ofcow's horns, one of which is set up at each end of the ridge thatterminates the roof; and these were certainly what the Indian intendedto represent by crossing his fingers, though our Portuguese, who was agood catholic, construed the sign into a cross, which had persuaded usthat the settlement belonged to his countrymen. In this place we met MrLange, and the king, whose name was A. Madocho Lomi Djara, attended bymany of the principal people. We told them that we had in the boat goodsof various kinds, which we proposed to barter for such refreshments asthey would give us in exchange, and desired leave to bring them onshore; which being granted, they were brought ashore accordingly. Wethen attempted to settle the price of the buffaloes, sheep, hogs, andother commodities which we proposed to purchase, and for which we wereto pay in money; but as soon as this was mentioned, Mr Lange left us, telling us that these preliminaries must be settled with the natives: Hesaid, however, that he had received a letter from the governor ofConcordia in Timor, the purport of which he would communicate to us whenhe returned. 

As the morning was now far advanced, and we were very unwilling toreturn on board and eat salt provisions, when so many delicaciessurrounded us ashore, we petitioned his majesty for liberty to purchasea small hog and some rice, and to employ his subjects to dress them forus. He answered very graciously, that if we could eat victuals dressedby his subjects, which he could scarcely suppose, he would do himselfthe honour of entertaining us. We expressed our gratitude, andimmediately sent on board for liquors. 

About five o'clock dinner was ready; it was served in six-and-thirtydishes, or rather baskets, containing alternately rice and pork; andthree bowls of earthenware, filled with the liquor in which the pork hadbeen boiled: These were ranged upon the floor, and mats laid round themfor us to sit upon. We were then conducted by turns to a hole in thefloor, near which stood a man with water in a vessel, made of the leavesof the fan-palm, who assisted us in washing our hands. When this wasdone, we placed ourselves round the victuals, and waited for the king. As he did not come, we enquired for him, and were told that the customof the country did not permit the person who gave the entertainment tosit down with his guests; but that, if we suspected the victuals to bepoisoned, he would come and taste it. We immediately declared that wehad no such suspicion, and desired that none of the rituals ofhospitality might be violated on our account. The prime minister and MrLange were of our party, and we made a most luxurious meal: We thoughtthe pork and rice excellent, and the broth not to be despised; but thespoons, which were made of leaves, were so small, that few of us hadpatience to use them. After dinner, our wine passed briskly about, andwe again enquired for our royal host, thinking that though the custom ofhis country would not allow him to eat with us, he might at least sharein the jollity of one bottle; but he again excused himself, saying, thatthe master of a feast should never be drunk, which there was no certainway to avoid but by not tasting the liquor. We did not, however, drinkour wine where we had eaten our victuals; but as soon as we had dined, made room for the seamen and servants, who immediately took our places:They could not dispatch all that we had left, but the women who came toclear away the bowls and baskets, obliged them to carry away with themwhat they had not eaten. As wine generally warms and opens the heart, wetook an opportunity, when we thought its influence began to be felt, torevive the subject of the buffaloes and sheep, of which we had not inall this time heard a syllable, though they were to have been broughtdown early in the morning. But our Saxon Dutchman, with great phlegm, began to communicate to us the contents of the letter which he pretendedto have received from the governor of Concordia. He said, that afteracquainting him that a vessel had steered from thence towards the islandwhere we were now ashore, it required him, if such ship should apply forprovisions in distress, to relieve her; but not to suffer her to staylonger than was absolutely necessary, nor to make any large presents tothe inferior people, or to leave any with those of superior rank to beafterwards distributed among them; but he was graciously pleased to add, that we were at liberty to give beads and other trifles in exchange forpetty civilities, and palm-wine. 

It was the general opinion that this letter was a fiction; that theprohibitory orders were feigned with a view to get money from us forbreaking them; and that by precluding our liberality to the natives, this man hoped more easily to turn it into another channel. 

In the evening, we received intelligence from our trading-place that nobuffaloes or hogs had been brought down, and only a few sheep, which hadbeen taken away before our people, who had sent for money, could procureit. Some fowls, however, had been bought, and a large quantity of akind of syrup made of the juice of the palm-tree, which, thoughinfinitely superior to molasses or treacle, sold at a very low price. Wecomplained of our disappointment to Mr Lange, who had now anothersubterfuge; he said, that if we had gone down to the beach ourselves, wemight have purchased what we pleased, but that the natives were afraidto take money of our people, lest it should be counterfeit. We could notbut feel some indignation against a man who had concealed this, beingtrue; or alleged it, being false. I started up, however, and wentimmediately to the beach, but no cattle or sheep were to be seen, norwere any at hand to be produced. While I was gone, Lange, who knew wellenough that I should succeed no better than my people, told Mr Banksthat the natives were displeased at our not having offered them gold fortheir stock; and that if gold was not offered, nothing would be bought. Mr Banks did not think it worth his while to reply, but soon after roseup, and we all returned on board, very much dissatisfied with the issueof our negociations. During the course of the day, the king had promisedthat some cattle and sheep should be brought down in the morning, andhad given a reason for our disappointment somewhat more plausible; hesaid that the buffaloes were far up the country, and that there had notbeen time to bring them down to the beach. 

The next morning we went ashore again: Dr Solander went up to the townto speak to Lange, and I remained upon the beach, to see what could bedone in the purchase of provisions. I found here an old Indian, who, ashe appeared to have some authority, we had among ourselves called theprime minister; to engage this man in our interest, I presented him witha spying-glass, but I saw nothing at market except one small buffalo. Ienquired the price of it, and was told five guineas: This was twice asmuch as it was worth; however, I offered three, which I could perceivethe man who treated with me thought a good price; but he said he mustacquaint the king with what I had offered before he could take it. Amessenger was immediately dispatched to his majesty, who soon returned, and said that the buffaloe would not be sold for any thing less thanfive guineas. This price I absolutely refused to give; and anothermessenger was sent away with an account of my refusal: This messengerwas longer absent than the other, and while I was waiting for hisreturn, I saw, to my great astonishment, Dr Solander coming from thetown, followed by above a hundred men, some armed with muskets and somewith lances. When I enquired the meaning of this hostile appearance, theDoctor told me that Mr Lange had interpreted to him a message from theking, purporting that the people would not trade with us, because we hadrefused to give them more than half the value of what they had to sell;and that we should not be permitted to trade upon any terms longer thanthis day. Besides the officers who commanded the party, there came withit a man who was born at Timor; of Portuguese parents, and who, as weafterwards discovered, was a kind of colleague to the Dutch factor; bythis man, what they pretended to be the king's order was delivered tome, of the same purport with that which Dr Solander had received fromLange. We were all clearly of opinion that this was a mere artifice ofthe factors to extort money from us, for which we had been prepared bythe account of a letter from Concordia; and while we were hesitatingwhat step to take, the Portuguese, that he might the sooner accomplishhis purpose, began to drive away the people who had brought down poultryand syrup, and others that were now coming in with buffaloes and sheep. At this time I glanced my eye upon the old man whom I had complimentedin the morning with the spying-glass, and I thought, by his looks, thathe did not heartily approve of what was doing; I therefore took him bythe hand, and presented him with an old broad-sword. This instantlyturned the scale in our favour; he received the sword with a transportof joy, and flourishing it over the busy Portuguese, who crouched like afox to a lion, he made him, and the officer who commanded the party, sitdown upon the ground behind him. The people, who, whatever were thecrafty pretences of these iniquitous factors for a Dutch company, wereeager to supply us with whatever we wanted, and seemed also to be moredesirous of goods than money, instantly improved the advantage that hadbeen procured them, and the market was stocked almost in an instant. Toestablish a trade for buffaloes, however, which I most wanted, I foundit necessary to give ten guineas for two, one of which weighed no morethan a hundred and sixty pounds; but I bought seven more much cheaper, and might afterwards have purchased as many as I pleased almost upon myown terms, for they were now driven down to the water-side in herds. Inthe first two that I bought so dear, Lange had certainly a share, and itwas in hopes to obtain part of the price of others, that he hadpretended that we must pay for them in gold. The natives, however, soldwhat they afterwards brought down much to their satisfaction, withoutpaying part of the price to him as a reward for exacting money from us. Most of the buffaloes that we bought, after our friend, the primeminister, had procured us a fair market, were sold for a musket a-piece, and at this price we might have bought as many as would have freightedour ship. 

The refreshments which we procured here consisted of nine buffaloes, sixsheep, three hogs, thirty dozen of fowls, a few limes, and somecocoa-nuts; many dozen of eggs, half of which, however, proved to berotten; a little garlic, and several hundred gallons of palm syrup. 

SECTION XXXVI. 

_A particular Description of the Island of Savu, its Produce, andInhabitants, with a Specimen of their Language_. 

This island is called by the natives _Savu_; the middle of it lies inabout the latitude 10° 35' S. , longitude 237° 30' W. ; and has in generalbeen so little known, that I never saw a map or chart in which it isclearly or accurately laid down. I have seen a very old one, in which itis called Sou, and confounded with Sandel Bosch. Rumphius mentions anisland by the name of Saow, and he also says that it is the same whichthe Dutch call Sandel Bosch: But neither is this island, nor Timor, norRotte, nor indeed any one of the islands that we have seen in theseseas, placed within a reasonable distance of its true situation. [105] Itis about eight leagues long from east to west; but what is its breadth, I do not know, as I saw only the north side. The harbour in which we layis called Seba, from the district in which it lies: It is on thenorth-west side of the island, and well sheltered from the south-westtrade-wind, but it lies open to the north-west. We were told that therewere two other bays where ships might anchor; that the best, calledTimo, was on the south-west side of the south-east point: Of the thirdwe learnt neither the name nor situation. The sea-coast, in general, islow; but in the middle of the island there are hills of a considerableheight. We were upon the coast at the latter end of the dry season, whenthere had been no rain for seven months; and we were told that when thedry season continues so long, there is no running stream of fresh waterupon the whole island, but only small springs, which are at aconsiderable distance from the sea-side; yet nothing can be imagined sobeautiful as the prospect of the country from the ship. The level groundnext to the sea-side was covered with cocoa-nut trees, and a kind ofpalm called _arecas_; and beyond them the hills, which rose in a gentleand regular ascent, were richly clothed, quite to the summit, withplantations of the fan-palm, forming an almost impenetrable grove. Howmuch even this prospect must be improved, when every foot of groundbetween the trees is covered with verdure, by maize, and millet, andindigo, can scarcely be conceived but by a powerful imagination, notunacquainted with the stateliness and beauty of the trees that adornthis part of the earth. The dry season commences in March or April, andends in October or November. 

[Footnote 105: These islands are far from being well known to Europeans;The policy of both Portuguese and Dutch has ever been unfavourable tothe communication, whatever it may have been to the commercialextension, of geographical science. Pinkerton has laid down (in his mapof East India isles) Sou, as he has chosen to call it, in 10 S. Lat. , and 121° 30' E. Long. , but on what authority does not appear. He doesnot, however, confound it with Sandle-Wood Island. --E. ]

The principal trees of this island are the fan-palm, the cocoa-nut, tamarind, limes, oranges, and mangoes; and other vegetable productionsare maize, Guinea-corn, rice, millet, callevances, and water-melons. Wesaw also one sugar-cane, and a few kinds of European garden-stuff, particularly cellery, marjoram, fennel, and garlic. For the supply ofluxury, it has betel, areca, tobacco, cotton, indigo, and a smallquantity of cinnamon, which seems to be planted here only for curiosity;and indeed we doubted whether it was the genuine plant, knowing that theDutch are very careful not to trust the spices out of their properislands. There are, however, several kinds of fruit besides those whichhave been already mentioned; particularly the sweet-sop, which is wellknown to the West Indians, and a small oval fruit, called the _blimbi_, both of which grow upon trees. The blimbi is about three or four incheslong, and in the middle about as thick as a man's finger, taperingtowards each end: It is covered with a very thin skin of a light greencolour, and in the inside are a few seeds disposed in the form of astar: Its flavour is a light, clean, pleasant acid, but it cannot beeaten raw; it is said to be excellent as a pickle; and stewed, it made amost agreeable sour sauce to our boiled dishes. 

The tame animals are buffaloes, sheep, goats, hogs, fowls, pigeons, horses, asses, dogs, and cats; and of all these there is great plenty. The buffaloes differ very considerably from the horned cattle of Europein several particulars; their ears are much larger, their skins arealmost without hair, their horns are curved towards each other, buttogether bend directly backwards, and they have no dewlaps. We sawseveral that were as big as a well-grown European ox, and there must besome much larger; for Mr Banks saw a pair of horns which measured, fromtip to tip, three feet nine inches and a half, across their widestdiameter, four feet one inch and a half, and in the whole sweep of theirsemicircle in front, seven feet six inches and a half. It must, however, be observed, that a buffalo here of any given size, does not weigh abovehalf as much as an ox of the same size in England: Those that we guessedto weigh four hundred weight, did not weigh more than two hundred andfifty; the reason is, that so late in the dry season the bones are verythinly covered with flesh: There is not an ounce of fat in a wholecarcase, and the flanks are literally nothing but skin and bone: Theflesh, however, is well tasted and juicy, and I suppose better than theflesh of an English ox would be if he was to starve in this sun-burntcountry. 

The horses are from eleven to twelve hands high, but though they aresmall, they are spirited and nimble, especially in pacing, which istheir common step: The inhabitants generally ride them without a saddle, and with no better bridle than a halter. The sheep are of the kind whichin England are called Bengal sheep, and differ from ours in manyparticulars. They are covered with hair instead of wool; their ears arevery large, and hang down under their horns, and their noses are arched;they are thought to have a general resemblance to a goat, and for thatreason are frequently called _cabritos_: Their flesh we thought theworst mutton we had ever eaten, being as lean as that of the buffaloes, and without flavour. The hogs, however, were some of the fattest we hadever seen, though, as we were told, their principal food is the outsidehusks of rice, and a palm syrup dissolved in water. [106] The fowls arechiefly of the game breed, and large, but the eggs are remarkably small. 

[Footnote 106: The reader will please remember this evidence of thenutritious quality of the palm-syrup. He will find it useful veryshortly, when the value of sugar as an article of diet is mentioned. --E]

Of the fish which the sea produces here, we know but little: Turtles aresometimes found upon the coast, and are by these people, as well as allothers, considered as a dainty. 

The people are rather under than over the middling size; the womenespecially are remarkably short and squat built: Their complexion is adark brown, and their hair universally black and lank. We saw nodifference in the colour of rich and poor, though in the South-Seaislands those that were exposed to the weather were almost as brown asthe New Hollanders, and the better sort nearly as fair as the natives ofEurope. The men are in general well-made, vigorous, and active, and havea greater variety in the make and disposition of their features thanusual: The countenances of the women, on the contrary, are all alike. 

The men fasten their hair up to the top of their heads with a comb, thewomen tie it behind in a club, which is very far from becoming. Bothsexes eradicate the hair from under the arm, and the men do the same bytheir beards, for which purpose, the better sort always carry a pair ofsilver pincers hanging by a string round their necks; some, however, suffer a very little hair to remain upon their upper-lips, but this isalways kept short. 

The dress of both sexes consists of cotton cloth, which being dyed bluein the yarn, and not uniformly of the same shade, is in clouds or wavesof that colour, and even in our eye had not an inelegant appearance. This cloth they manufacture themselves, and two pieces, each about twoyards long, and a yard and a half wide, make a dress: One of them isworn round the middle, and the other covers the upper part of the body:The lower edge of the piece that goes round the middle, the men drawpretty tight just below the fork, the upper edge of it is left loose, soas to form a kind of hollow belt, which serves them as a pocket to carrytheir knives, and other little implements which it is convenient to haveabout them. The other piece of cloth is passed through this girdlebehind, and one end of it being brought over the left shoulder, and theother over the right, they fall down over the breast, and are tuckedinto the girdle before, so that by opening or closing the plaits, theycan cover more or less of their bodies as they please; the arms, legs, and feet are always naked. The difference between the dress of the twosexes consists principally in the manner of wearing the waist-piece; forthe women, instead of drawing the lower edge tight, and leaving theupper edge loose for a pocket, draw the upper edge tight, and let thelower edge fall as low as the knees, so as to form a petticoat; thebody-piece, instead of being passed through the girdle, is fastenedunder the arms, and cross the breast with the utmost decency. I havealready observed that the men fastened the hair upon the top of thehead, and the women tie it in a club behind, but there is anotherdifference in the head-dress, by which the sexes are distinguished: Thewomen wear nothing as a succedaneum for a cap, but the men constantlywrap something round their heads in the manner of a fillet; it is small, but generally of the finest materials that can be procured: We saw somewho applied silk handkerchiefs to this purpose, and others that worefine cotton, or muslin, in the manner of a small turban. 

These people bore their testimony that the love of finery is a universalpassion, for their ornaments were very numerous. Some of the better sortwore chains of gold round their necks, but they were made of plaitedwire, and consequently were light and of little value; others had rings, which were so much worn that they seemed to have descended through manygenerations; and one person had a silver-headed cane, marked with a kindof cypher, consisting of the Roman letters, V, O, C, and thereforeprobably a present from the Dutch East India Company, whose mark it is:They have also ornaments made of beads, which some wear round theirnecks as a solitaire, and others as bracelets, upon their wrists: Theseare common to both sexes, but the women have, besides, strings orgirdles of beads, which they wear round their waists, and which serveto keep up their petticoat. Both sexes had their ears bored, nor wasthere a single exception that fell under our notice, yet we never saw anornament in any of them; we never, indeed, saw either man or woman inany thing but what appeared to be their ordinary dress, except the kingand his minister, who in general wore a kind of night-gown of coarsechintz, and one of whom once received us in a black robe, which appearedto be made of what is called prince's stuff. We saw some boys, abouttwelve or fourteen years old, who had spiral circles of thick brass-wirepassed three or four times round their arms, above the elbow, and somemen wore rings of ivory, two inches in breadth, and above an inch inthickness, upon the same part of the arm; these, we were told, were thesons of the rajas, or chiefs, who wore those cumbrous ornaments asbadges of their high birth. 

Almost all the men had their names traced upon their arms, in indeliblecharacters of a black colour, and the women had a square ornament offlourished lines, impressed in the same manner, just under the bend ofthe elbow. We were struck with the similitude between these marks andthose made by tattowing in the South-Sea islands, and upon enquiringinto its origin, we learnt that it had been practised by the nativeslong before any Europeans came among them, and that in the neighbouringislands the inhabitants were marked with circles upon their necks andbreasts. The universality of this practice, which prevails among savagesin all parts of the world, from the remotest limits of North America, tothe islands in the South-Seas, and which probably differs but littlefrom the method of staining the body that was in use among the ancientinhabitants of Britain, is a curious subject of speculation. [107]

[Footnote 107: In the account which Mr Bossu has given of some Indianswho inhabit the banks of the Akanza, a river of North America, whichrises in New Mexico, and falls into the Mississippi, he relates thefollowing incident: "The Akanzas, " says he, "have adopted me, and as amark of my privilege, have imprinted the figure of a roebuck upon mythigh, which was done in this manner: An Indian having burnt some straw, diluted the ashes with water, and with this mixture drew the figure uponmy skin; he then retraced it, by pricking the lines with needles, so asat every puncture just to draw the blood, and the blood mixing with theashes of the straw, forms a figure which can never be effaced. " SeeTravels through Louisiana, vol. I, p. 107. 

So far this note is by Dr Hawkesworth. Some observations on the practiceof staining or tattowing the body, have been offered in another part ofthis work. It may be worth while to add here the account whichKrustenstern has given of the mode adopted in Nukahiwa, one of theWashington Islands: "As soon as a Nukahiewer arrives at the age ofpuberty, his whole body is tatooed; an art carried to a much greaterperfection in this island than in any other, as they paint, in fact, their bodies with different figures, rubbing a pleasing colour into theskin, which is first scratched until it bleeds. Black is the colourgenerally used for this purpose, which, after some time, takes a bluishtinge. The king, his father, and the high-priest, were the only personswho were coloured quite black, nor was any part of their bodies leftunadorned; the face, eye-lids, and even a part of their heads, fromwhich the hair had been shaved, being tatooed. Neither in the Societynor the Friendly Islands is this customary. In the latter, the kingalone is not tatooed; and it is only in New Zealand, and the SandwichIslands, as Captain King relates, where the face is tatooed. The NewZealander and the Nukahiwer have a similar mode of performing thisoperation; for instance, they not only mark the body with single uprightfigures, or animals, as in the Sandwich Islands, but represent upon it, in the most perfect symmetry, connected ornaments in concentric ringsand knots, which added greatly to the beauty of its appearance. Thewomen only tatoo their hands and arms, the ends of their ears, and theirlips. The lower classes are less tatooed, and many of them not at all;and it is therefore not improbable that this ornament serves to pointout a noble, or, at any rate, a distinguished personage. There are someamong them who have particularly acquired this art; one of whom took uphis residence on board the ship, where he found sufficient employment, as almost all the sailors underwent the operation. " Figures of animalsare favourite decorations for the skin with some people. Hutchinson, inhis History of Massachusets Bay, second edition, tells of thenatives, --"Upon their cheeks, and in many parts of their bodies, some ofthem, by incisions, into which they convey a black unchangeable ink, make the figures of bears, deer, moose, wolves, eagles, hawks, &c, whichwere indelible, and generally lasted as long as they lived. " Not contentwith their own art of embellishment, however, he says, in a note, "Sincethey have been furnished with paints from Europe, they daub their faceswith vermillion, and sometimes with blue, green, and other colours. "Colden observes of the five nations of Canada, that their faces werealways painted in a frightful manner when they went out to war, "to makethemselves terrible to their enemies. " Neal, speaking of the NewEnglanders, says, --"They grease their bodies and hair very often, andpaint themselves all over; their faces and shoulders with a deep red, and their bodies with a variety of ugly mishapen figures; and he is thebravest fellow that has the most frightful forms drawn upon him, andlooks most terrible. " Again, describing their diversions, "If thedancers or actors are to shew warlike postures, then they come inpainted for war, some with their faces red, and some black; some blackand red, with streaks of white; under their eyes, as they imagine willappear most terrible. " Captain Carver gives a similar account of thetribes he saw. --E. ]

The houses of Savu are all built upon the same plan, and differ only insize, being large in proportion to the rank and riches of theproprietor. Some are four hundred feet long, and some are not more thantwenty: They are all raised upon posts, or piles, about four feet high, one end of which is driven into the ground, and upon the other end islaid a substantial floor of wood, so that there is a vacant space offour feet between the floor of the house and the ground. Upon this floorare placed other posts or pillars, that Support a roof of sloping sides, which meet in a ridge at the top, like those of our barns: The eaves ofthis roof, which is thatched with palm-leaves, reach within two feet ofthe floor, and overhang it as much: The space within is generallydivided lengthwise into three equal parts; the middle part, or centre, is enclosed by a partition of four sides, reaching about six feet abovethe floor, and one or two small rooms are also sometimes taken off fromthe sides, the rest of the space under the roof is open, so as freely toadmit the air and the light: The particular uses of these differentapartments, our short stay would not permit us to learn, except that theclose room in the centre was appropriated to the women. 

The food of these people consists of every tame animal in the country, of which the hog holds the first place in their estimation, and thehorse the second; next to the horse is the buffalo, next to the buffalotheir poultry, and they prefer dogs and cats to sheep and goats. Theyare not fond of fish, and, I believe, it is never eaten but by the poorpeople, nor by them except when their duty or business requires them tobe upon the beach, and then every man is furnished with a lightcasting-net, which is girt round him, and makes part of his dress; andwith this he takes any small fish which happen to come in his way. 

The esculent vegetables and fruits have been mentioned already, but thefan-palm requires more particular notice, for at certain times it is asuccedaneum for all other food both to man and beast. A kind of wine, called toddy, is procured from this tree, by cutting the buds which areto produce flowers, soon after their appearance, and tying under themsmall baskets, made of the leaves, which are so close as to hold liquidswithout leaking. The juice which trickles into these vessels iscollected by persons who climb the trees for that purpose, morning andevening, and is the common drink of every individual upon the island;yet a much greater quantity is drawn off than is consumed in this use, and of the surplus they make both a syrup and coarse sugar. The liquoris called _dua_, or _duac_, and both the syrup and sugar, _gula_. Thesyrup is prepared by boiling the liquor down in pots of earthen-ware, till it is sufficiently inspissated; it is not unlike treacle inappearance, but is somewhat thicker, and has a much more agreeabletaste: The sugar is of a reddish brown, perhaps the same with the Jugatasugar upon the continent of India, and it was more agreeable to ourpalates than any cane-sugar, unrefined, that we had ever tasted. We wereat first afraid that the syrup, of which some of our people eat verygreat quantities, would have brought on fluxes, but its aperient qualitywas so very slight, that what effect it produced was rather salutarythan hurtful. I have already observed, that it is given with the husksof rice to the hogs, and that they grow enormously fat without takingany other food: We were told also, that this syrup is used to fattentheir dogs and their fowls, and that the inhabitants themselves havesubsisted upon this alone for several months, when other crops havefailed, and animal food has been scarce. [108] The leaves of this treeare also put to various uses, they thatch houses, and make baskets, cups, umbrellas, and tobacco-pipes. The fruit is least esteemed, and asthe blossoms are wounded for the tuac or toddy, there is not much of it:It is about as big as a large turnip, and covered, like the cocoa-nut, with a fibrous coat, under which are three kernels, that must be eatenbefore they are ripe, for afterwards they become so hard that theycannot be chewed; in their eatable state they taste not unlike a greencocoa-nut, and, like them, probably they yield a nutriment that iswatery and unsubstantial. 

[Footnote 108: Few things are so nutritious to animals as sugar; andvegetable substances, in general, are nutritious in proportion to thequantity of it they contain. How it can be pernicious, then, as aningredient in diet, it would be very difficult to show, withoutdisparaging the wisdom and goodness by which the world is supported. Butin fact there is not the least reason for such an opinion; and if thestrongest assertions of most respectable men are at all to be regarded, a very different one, indeed, must be maintained. A few quotations maysatisfy the reader on the subject, and dispossess him of unfoundedprejudices _reluctantly_ imbibed in the nursery. "So palatable, salutary, and nourishing is the juice of the cane, that every individualof the animal creation drinking freely of it, derives health and vigourfrom its use. The meagre and sickly among the negroes exhibit asurprising alteration in a few weeks after the mill is set in action. The labouring horses, oxen, and mules, though almost constantly at workduring this season, yet being indulged with plenty of the green tops ofthis noble plant, and some of the scummings from the boiling-house, improve more than at any one period of the year. Even the pigs andpoultry fatten on the refuse. " So says Mr Edwards. Two physicians quotedby him speak to the same effect, --take the words of one of them; DrRush, of Philadelphia, --"Sugar affords the greatest quantity ofnourishment in a given quantity of matter, of any substance in nature. Used alone, it has fattened horses and cattle in St Domingo, for aperiod of several months. The plentiful use of sugar in diet is one ofthe best preventatives that ever has been discovered, of the diseaseswhich are produced by worms. The plague has never been known in thiscountry, where sugar composes a material part of the diet of theinhabitants. " Dr Mosely, in his Treatise on Sugar, speaks equallyconfidently of the nutritious and beneficial effects of this substance. Now, indeed, the concurrent testimony and opinions of medical men are sodecided on the subject, that it seems impossible to entertain any othersentiment. The principal objection to the use of sugar in diet, is whatapplies to certain cases only, when the stomach and bowels are_particularly_ disordered, or where there is a strong tendency to anover full state of the blood-vessels, tending to the production of palsyor apoplexy, which this article, from its very nutritious properties, and because also it perhaps undergoes a sort of fermentation in thestomach, by which something of the nature of wine may be produced, wouldbe apt rather to augment. --E. ]

The common method of dressing food here is by boiling, and as fire-woodis very scarce, and the inhabitants have no other fuel, they make use ofa contrivance to save it, that is not wholly unknown in Europe, but isseldom practised, except in camps. They dig a hollow under ground, in ahorizontal direction, like a rabbit-burrow, about two yards long, andopening into a hole at each end, one of which is large, and the othersmall: By the large hole the fire is put in, and the small one servesfor a draught. The earth over this burrow is perforated by circularholes, which communicate with the cavity below; and in these holes areset earthen pots, generally about three to each fire, which are large inthe middle, and taper towards the bottom, so that the fire acts upon alarge part of their surface. Each of these pots generally contains abouteight or ten gallons, and it is surprising to see with how small aquantity of fire they may be kept boiling; a palm-leaf, or a dry stalkthrust in now and then, is sufficient: In this manner they boil alltheir victuals, and make all their syrup and sugar. It appears byFrazier's account of his voyage to the South-Sea, that the PeruvianIndians have a contrivance of the same kind, and perhaps it might beadopted with advantage by the poor people even of this country, wherefuel is very dear. 

Both sexes are enslaved by the hateful and pernicious habit of chewingbetel and areca, which they contract even while they are children, andpractise incessantly from morning till night. With these they always mixa kind of white lime, made of coral stone and shells, and frequently asmall quantity of tobacco, so that their mouths are disgustful in thehighest degree both to the smell and the sight: The tobacco taints theirbreath, and the betel and lime make the teeth not only as black ascharcoal, but as rotten too. I have seen men between twenty and thirty, whose fore-teeth have been consumed almost down to the gums, though notwo of them were exactly of the same length or thickness, butirregularly corroded, like iron by rust. The loss of teeth is, I think, by all who have written upon the subject, imputed to the tough andstringy coat of the areca-nut; but I impute it wholly to the lime: Theyare not loosened, or broken, or forced out, as might be expected if theywere injured by the continual chewing of hard and rough substances, butthey are gradually wasted like metals that are exposed to the action ofpowerful acids; the stumps always adhering firmly to the socket in thejaw, when there is no part of the tooth above the gums: And possiblythose who suppose that sugar has a bad effect upon the teeth ofEuropeans, may not be mistaken, for it is well known that refinedloaf-sugar contains a considerable quantity of lime; and he that doubtswhether lime will destroy bone of any kind, may easily ascertain thefact by experiment. [109]

[Footnote 109: The injurious effect of sugar on the teeth, it isbelieved, is not now seriously contended for by any persons who thinkand make observations on the matter, though, undoubtedly, the assertionrespecting it holds its place as strongly as ever, among the economicalmaxims of prudent matrons. A word or two as to lime. When this is spokenof, let it be understood always what is meant; whether pure lime, thatis what is called burnt lime, or the same substance in combination withfixed air, or carbonic acid, of which the process of burning deprivesit. The effects of these two preparations are exceedingly different onanimal bodies; the former causing rapid decomposition and consumption;the latter being, on the contrary, quite inert. Loaf-sugar, thoughprepared by means of lime, ought never to contain a particle of it, andscarcely ever does. So that, on the whole, the remarks in the text aretotally incorrect. As a matter of fact, again, the writer, from his ownexperience, and as what he has often occasion to recommend to others, takes the liberty of prescribing a tooth-powder, equal in comfort, efficacy, and safety, to any sold in the shops under such pompous andimposing titles. It consists of equal parts of lump-sugar, (the finerthe better) Spanish or French chalk, (which is in fact lime) rose-pink, (for the purpose of colouring, and also as an absorbent) and oris-root, (remarkable for its pleasant smell, and to be had in the perfumers' ordruggists' shops, ready powdered) all in very fine powder, and properlymixed together. A box of this never-to-be-excelled dentifrice, may costtwo-pence, or so, for which, however, or for something else not a whitbetter, if as good, they who choose may give half-a-crown. When theteeth are already tolerably clean, and not encrusted with what is calledtartar, a soft brush is always to be preferred, as risking the enamelless. Hard brushes and gritty powders ruin more teeth than all the sugarand lime in the world. Charcoal is undoubtedly a good substitute for a_tooth-powder_; but it is to be objected to as leaving black furrows inthe gums, which even much washing fails to remove in any reasonabletime. This is a good deal obviated when it forms but a part of thearticle used. It may be mixed with the powder recommended. --E. ]

If the people here are at any time without this odious mouthful, theyare smoking. This operation they perform by rolling up a small quantityof tobacco, and putting it into one end of a tube about six inches long, and as thick as a goose-quill, which they make of a palm leaf. As thequantity of tobacco in these pipes is very small, the effect of it isincreased, especially among the women, by swallowing the smoke. 

When the natives of this island were first formed into civil society, isnot certainly known, but at present it is divided into fiveprincipalities or nigrees: _Laai_, _Seba_, _Regeeua_, _Timo_, and_Massara_, each of which is governed by its respective raja or king. Theraja of Seba, the principality in which we were ashore, seemed to havegreat authority, without much external parade or show, or muchappearance of personal respect. He was about five-and-thirty years ofage, and the fattest man we saw upon the whole island; he appeared tobe of a dull phlegmatic disposition, and to be directed almostimplicitly by the old man who, upon my presenting him with a sword, hadprocured us a fair market, in spite of the craft and avarice of theDutch-factors. The name of this person was _Mannu Djarme_, and it mayreasonably be supposed that he was a man of uncommon integrity andabilities, as, notwithstanding his possession of power in the characterof a favourite, he was beloved by the whole principality. If anydifference arises among the people, it is settled by the raja and hiscounsellors, without delay or appeal, and, as we were told, with themost solemn deliberation and impartial justice. 

We were informed by Mr Lange, that the chiefs who had successivelypresided over the five principalities of this island, had lived for timeimmemorial in the strictest alliance and most cordial friendship witheach other; yet he said the people were of a warlike disposition, andhad always courageously defended themselves against foreign invaders. Wewere told also that the island was able to raise, upon very shortnotice, 7300 fighting men, armed with muskets, spears, lances, andtargets. Of this force, Laai was said to furnish 2600; Seba, 2000;Regeeua, 1500; Timo, 800; and Massara, 400. Besides the arms that havebeen already mentioned, each man is furnished with a large pole-ax, resembling a wood-bill, except that it has a straight edge, and is muchheavier: This, in the hands of people who have courage to come to closequarters with an enemy, must be a dreadful weapon; and we were told thatthey were so dexterous with their lances, that at the distance of sixtyfeet they would throw them with such exactness as to pierce a man'sheart, and such force as to go quite through his body. 

How far this account of the martial prowess of the inhabitants of Savumay be true, we cannot take upon us to determine; but during our stay, we saw no appearance of it. We saw indeed in the town-house, or house ofassembly, about one hundred spears and targets, which served to arm thepeople who were sent down to intimidate us at the trading place; butthey seemed to be the refuse of old armories, no two being of the samemake or length, for some were six, and some sixteen feet long: We saw nolance among them, and as to the muskets, though they were clean on theoutside, they were eaten into holes by the rust within; and the peoplethemselves appeared to be so little acquainted with military discipline, that they marched like a disorderly rabble, every one having, instead ofhis target, a cock, some tobacco, or other merchandise of the likekind, which he took that opportunity to bring down to sell, and few ornone of their cartridge-boxes were furnished with either powder or ball, though a piece of paper was thrust into the hole to save appearances. Wesaw a few swivel guns and pateraros at the town-house, and a great gunbefore it; but the swivels and pateraros lay out of their carriages, andthe great gun lay upon a heap of stones, almost consumed with rust, withthe touch-hole downwards, possibly to conceal its size, which mightperhaps be little less than that of the bore. 

We could not discover that among these people there was any rank ofdistinction between the raja and the landowners: The land-owners wererespectable in proportion to their possessions; the inferior ranksconsist of manufacturers, labouring poor, and slaves. The slaves, likethe peasants in some parts of Europe, are connected with the estate, andboth descend together: But though the landowner can sell his slave, hehas no other power over his person, not even to correct him, without theprivity and approbation of the raja. Some have five hundred of theseslaves, and some not half a dozen: The common price of them is a fathog. When a great man goes out, he is constantly attended by two or moreof them: One of them carries a sword or hanger, the hilt of which iscommonly of silver, and adorned with large tassels of horse hair; andanother carries a bag which contains betel, areca, lime, and tobacco. Inthese attendants consists all their magnificence, for the raja himselfhas no other mark of distinction. 

The chief object of pride among these people, like that of a Welchman, is a long pedigree of respectable ancestors, and indeed a veneration forantiquity seems to be carried farther here than in any other country:Even a house that has been well inhabited for many generations, becomesalmost sacred, and few articles either of use or luxury bear so high aprice as stones, which having been long sat upon, are become even andsmooth: Those who can purchase such stones, or are possessed of them byinheritance, place them round their houses, where they serve as seatsfor their dependants. [110]

[Footnote 110: The specification of the Welch here is very vulgar, andthe more so, as obviously sarcastic. Deeper or more scientificobservation would have led Dr Hawkesworth to some general principlewhich produces a love of ancestry in all our species. Mr Gibbon has veryexpressively described it, in the beginning of the memoirs of his ownlife, to which the reader is referred. Nothing is less becoming aphilosopher, than wittily pointing out national peculiarities, withouttaking the least pains to discover the foundations on which they arebuilt, or connecting them with circumstances and principles common tomankind. Every thing, in fact, will seem anomalous and insulated in thehistory of different nations, if it is not distinctly recollected thathuman nature is the same throughout the globe which it inhabits, and ismerely modified by external causes. --E. ]

Every Raja sets up in the principal town of his province, or nigree, alarge stone, which serves as a memorial of his reign. In the principaltown of Seba, where we lay, there are thirteen such stones, besides manyfragments of others, which had been set up in earlier times, and are nowmouldering away: These monuments seem to prove that some kind of civilestablishment here is of considerable antiquity. The last thirteenreigns in England make something more than 276 years. 

Many of these stones are so large, that it is difficult to conceive bywhat means they were brought to their present station, especially as itis the summit of a hill; but the world is full of memorials of humanstrength, in which the mechanical powers that have been since added bymathematical science, seem to be surpassed; and of such monuments thereare not a few among the remains of barbarous antiquity in our owncountry, besides those upon Salisbury plain. 

These stones not only record the reigns of successive princes, but servefor a purpose much more extraordinary, and probably altogether peculiarto this country. When a raja dies, a general feast is proclaimedthroughout his dominions, and all his subjects assemble round thesestones: Almost every living creature that can be caught is then killed, and the feast lasts for a less or greater number of weeks or months, asthe kingdom happens to be more or lets furnished with live stock at thetime; the stones serve for tables. When this madness is over, a fastmust necessarily ensue, and the whole kingdom is obliged to subsist uponsyrup and water, if it happens in the dry season, when no vegetables canbe procured, till a new stock of animals can be raised from the few thathave escaped by chance, or been preserved by policy from the generalmassacre, or can be procured from the neighbouring kingdoms. Such, however, is the account that we received from Mr Lange. 

We had no opportunity to examine any of their manufactures, except thatof their cloth, which they spin, weave, and dye; we did not indeed seethem employed, but many of the instruments which they use fell in ourway. We saw their machine for clearing cotton of its seeds, which ismade upon the same principles as those in Europe, but is so small thatit might be taken for a model, or a toy: It consists of two cylinders, like our round rulers, somewhat less than an inch in diameter, one ofwhich, being turned round by a plain winch, turns the other by means ofan endless worm; and the whole machine is not more than fourteen incheslong, and seven high: That which we saw had been much used, and manypieces of cotton were hanging about it, so that there is no reason todoubt its being a fair specimen of the rest. We also once saw theirapparatus for spinning; it consisted of a bobbin, on which was wound asmall quantity of thread, and a kind of distaff filled with cotton; weconjectured therefore that they spin by hand, as the women of Europe didbefore the introduction of wheels; and I am told that they have not yetfound their way into some parts of it. Their loom seemed to be in onerespect preferable to ours, for the web was not stretched upon a frame, but extended by a piece of wood at each end, round one of which thecloth was rolled, and round the other the threads: The web was abouthalf a yard broad, and the length of the shuttle was equal to thebreadth of the web, so that probably their work goes on but slowly. Thatthey dyed this cloth we first guessed from its colour, and from theindigo which we saw in their plantations; and our conjecture wasafterwards confirmed by Mr Lange's account. I have already observed, that it is dyed in the yarn, and we once saw them dying what was said tobe girdles for the women, of a dirty red, but with what drug we did notthink it worth while to enquire. 

The religion of these people, according to Mr Lange's information, is anabsurd kind of paganism, every man chusing his own god, and determiningfor himself how he should be worshipped; so that there are almost asmany gods and modes of worship as people. In their morals, however, theyare said to be irreproachable, even upon the principles of Christianity:No man is allowed more than one wife; yet an illicit commerce betweenthe sexes is in a manner unknown among them: Instances of theft are veryrare; and they are so far from revenging a supposed injury by murder, that if any difference arises between them, they will not so much asmake it the subject of debate, lest they should be provoked toresentment and ill-will, but immediately and implicitly refer it to thedetermination of their king. 

They appeared to be a healthy and long-lived people; yet some of themwere marked with the small-pox, which Mr Lange told us had several timesmade its appearance among them, and was treated with the same precautionas the plague. As soon as a person was seized with the distemper, hewas removed to some solitary place, very remote from any habitation, where the disease was left to take its course, and the patient suppliedwith daily food by reaching it to him at the end of a long pole. 

Of their domestic economy we could learn but little: In one instance, however, their delicacy and cleanliness are very remarkable. Many of uswere ashore here three successive days, from a very early hour in themorning till it was dark; yet we never saw the least trace of anoffering to Cloacina, nor could we so much as guess where they weremade. In a country so populous this is very difficult to be accountedfor, and perhaps there is no other country in the world where the secretis so effectually kept. 

The boats in use here are a kind of proa. 

This island was settled by the Portugueze almost as soon as they firstfound their way into this part of the ocean; but they were in a shorttime supplanted by the Dutch. The Dutch however did not take possessionof it, but only sent sloops to trade with the natives, probably forprovisions to support the inhabitants of their spice islands, who, applying themselves wholly to the cultivation of that important articleof trade, and laying out all their ground in plantations, can breed fewanimals: Possibly their supplies by this occasional traffic wereprecarious; possibly they were jealous of being supplanted in theirturn; but however that be, their East India Company, about ten yearsbefore, entered into a treaty with the rajas, by which the Companystipulated to furnish each of them with a certain quantity of silk, finelinen, cutlery ware, arrack, and other articles, every year; and therajas engaged that neither they nor their subjects should trade with anyperson except the Company, without having first obtained their consent, and that they would admit a resident on behalf of the Company, to resideupon the island, and see that their part of the treaty was fulfilled:They also engaged to supply annually a certain quantity of rice, maize, and calevances. The maize and calevances are sent to Timor in sloops, which are kept there for that purpose, each of which is navigated by tenIndians; and the rice is fetched away annually by a ship which bringsthe Company's returns, and anchors alternately in each of the threebays. These returns are delivered to the rajas in the form of apresent, and the cask of arrack they and their principal people nevercease to drink, as long as a drop of it remains. In consequence of thistreaty, the Dutch placed three persons upon the island: Mr Lange, hiscolleague, the native of Timor, the son of an Indian woman by aPortuguese, and one Frederick Craig, the son of an Indian woman by aDutchman. Lange visited each of the rajas once in two months, when hemade the tour of the island, attended by fifty slaves on horseback. Heexhorted these chiefs to plant, if it appeared that they had beenremiss, and observed where the crops were got in, that he might ordersloops to fetch it; so that it passed immediately from the ground to theDutch store-houses at Timor. In these excursions he always carried withhim some bottles of arrack, which he found of great use in opening thehearts of the rajas, with whom he had to deal. 

During the ten years that he had resided upon this island he had neverseen a European besides ourselves, except at the arrival of the Dutchship, which had sailed about two months before we arrived; and he was tobe distinguished from the natives only by his colour and his dress, forhe sate upon the ground, chewed his betel, and in every respect adoptedtheir character and manners: He had married an Indian woman of theisland of Timor, who kept his house after the fashion of her country;and he gave that as a reason for not inviting us to visit him, saying, that he could entertain us in no other manner than the Indians had done, and he spoke no language readily but that of the country. 

The office of Mr Frederick Craig was to instruct the youth of thecountry in reading and writing, and the principles of the Christianreligion; the Dutch having printed versions of the New Testament, acatechism, and several other tracts, in the language of this and theneighbouring islands. Dr Solander, who was at his house, saw the books, and the copy-books also, of his scholars, many of whom wrote a very fairhand. He boasted that there were no less than six hundred Christians inthe township of Seba; but what the Dutch Christianity of these Indiansmay be, it is not perhaps very easy to guess, for there was not achurch, nor even a priest, in the whole island. 

While we were at this place, we made several enquiries concerning theneighbouring islands, and the intelligence which we received is to thefollowing effect:--

A small island to the westward of Savu, the name of which we did notlearn, produces nothing of any consequence but areca-nuts, of which theDutch receive annually the freight of two sloops, in return for presentsthat they make to the islanders. 

Timor is the chief, and the Dutch residents on the other islands gothither once a-year to pass their accounts. The place was nearly in thesame state as in Dampier's time, the Dutch having there a fort andstorehouses; and by Lange's account we might there have been suppliedwith every necessary that we expected to procure at Batavia, saltprovisions and arrack not excepted. But the Portuguese were still inpossession of several towns on the north side of the island, particularly Laphao and Sesial. 

About two years before our arrival, a French ship was wrecked upon theeast coast of Timor; and after she had lain some days upon the shoal, asudden gale broke her up at once, and drowned the captain, with thegreatest part of the crew: Those who got ashore, among whom was one ofthe lieutenants, made the best of their way to Concordia; they were fourdays upon the road, where they were obliged to leave part of theircompany through fatigue, and the rest, to the number of about eighty, arrived at the town. They were supplied with every necessary, and sentback to the wreck, with proper assistance, for recovering what could befished up: They fortunately got up all their bullion, which was inchests, and several of their guns, which were very large. They thenreturned to the town, but their companions who had been left upon theroad were missing, having, as it was supposed, been kept among theIndians, either by persuasion or force; for they are very desirous ofhaving Europeans among them, to instruct them in the art of war. After astay of more than two months at Concordia, their number was diminishednearly one half by sickness, in consequence of the fatigue and hardshipwhich they had suffered by the shipwreck, and the survivors were sent ina small vessel to Europe. 

Rotte was in much the same situation as Savu; a Dutch factor residedupon it to manage the natives, and look after its produce, whichconsists, among other articles, of sugar. Formerly it was made only bybruising the canes, and boiling the juice to a syrup, in the same manneras toddy; but great improvements have lately been made in preparing thisvaluable commodity. The three little islands called the Solars were alsounder the influence of the Dutch settlement at Concordia: They are flatand low, but abound with provisions of every kind, and the middlemostis said to have a good harbour for shipping. Ende, another littleisland to the westward of the Solars, was still in the hands of thePortuguese, who had a good town and harbour on the north-east corner ofit called Larntuca: They had formerly an harbour on the south side ofit, but that, being much inferior to Larntuca, had for some time beenaltogether neglected. 

The inhabitants of each of these little islands speak a languagepeculiar to themselves, and it is an object of Dutch policy to prevent, as much as possible, their learning the language of each other. If theyspoke a common language, they would learn, by a mutual intercourse witheach other, to plant such things as would be of more value to themselvesthan their present produce, though of less advantage to the Dutch; buttheir languages being different, they can communicate no such knowledgeto each other, and the Dutch secure to themselves the benefit ofsupplying their several necessities upon their own terms, which it isreasonable to suppose are not very moderate. It is probably with a viewto this advantage that the Dutch never teach their own language to thenatives of these islands, and have been at the expence of translatingthe Testament and catechisms into the different languages of each; forin proportion as Dutch had become the language of their religion, itwould have become the common language of them all. [111]

[Footnote 111: The Dutch in all their transactions abroad seem to haveinvariably minded the _main chance, the one thing needful_; and to thisconsideration, as a fundamental principle in their character, they neverscrupled to sacrifice every and any matter of religion, policy orhumanity, --as if the love of money was (to reverse the language of anapostle) the root of all virtue, and alone worthy of cultivation in thebreasts of mankind. Whether their contempt of other people were greaterthan their indifference to the real interests which necessary connexionwith them recommended, it is impossible to ascertain in some cases. Itis on either supposition, to their indelible disgrace, that not theleast pains were almost at any time bestowed by them, to acquire aknowledge of the languages of the people whom they had subdued. TheJavanese, a language venerable from its antiquity, as certainlyconnected with the Sanscrit or sacred dialect of the Hindus, andimportant from its own excellence, as well as because spoken by somemillions of people with whom the Dutch had very long intercourse, was socompletely neglected, that till very lately not a single individualamong them could write or converse in it. Of the Malayan tongue, whichis quite distinct, though it has borrowed much from it, in consequenceof certain commercial and even religious intercourse, a little knowledgehad been acquired, and plainly for this reason, that without it nocommunication could have been carried on with the people inhabiting thesea-coasts and islands of the eastern parts of India. But even thisknowledge, it is probable, extended no farther than to the names ofsubstances imperatively alluring to the cupidity of Dutch merchants. What, alas! could be expected of intellectual energy or enterprize, frommen who had surrendered their souls to _mammon_, and whose onlyremaining care it was, to guzzle gin and devour enough of victuals?--E. ]

To this account of Savu, I shall only add a small specimen of itslanguage, by which it will appear to have some affinity with that of theSouth-Sea islands, many of the words being exactly the same, and thenumbers manifestly derived from the same source. 

 _A man_, Momonne. _A sheep_, Doomba. _A woman_, Mobunne. _A goat_, Kesavoo. _The head_, Catoo. _A dog_, Guaca. _The hair_, Row catoo. _A cat_, Maio. _The eyes_, Matta. _A fowl_, Mannu. _The eye_ } Rowna matta. _The tail_, Carow. _lashes_, } _The beak_, Pangoutoo. _The nose_, Swanga. _A fish_, Ica. _The cheeks_, Cavaranga. _A turtle_, Unjoo. _The ears_, Wodeeloo. _A cocoa-nut_, Nieu. _The tongue_, Vaio. _Fan-palm_, Boaceree. _The neck_, Lacoco. _Areca_, Calella. _The breasts_, Soosoo. _Betele_, Canana. _The nipples_, Caboo soosoo. _Lime_, Aou. _The belly_, Dulloo. _A fish-hook_, Maänadoo. _The navel_, Assoo. _Tattow, the_} Tata. _The thighs_, Tooga. _marks on_ } _The knees_, Rootoo. _the skin_, } _The legs_, Baibo. _The sun_, Lodo. _The feet_, Dunceala. _The moon_, Wurroo. _The toes_, Kissovei yilla. _The sea_, Aidassee. _The arms_, Camacoo. _Water_, Ailea. _The hand_, Wulaba. _Fire_, Aee. _A buffalo_, Cabaou. _To die_, Maate. _A horse_, Djara. _To sleep_, Tabudge. _A hog_, Vavee. _To rise_, Tateetoo. 

 One, Usse. Two, Lhua. Three, Tullu. Four, Uppah. Five, Lumme. Six, Unna. Seven, Pedu. Eight, Arru. Nine, Saou. Ten, Singooroo. Eleven Singurung usse. 20, Lhuangooroo. 100, Sing assu. 1000, Setuppah. 10, 000, Selacussa. 100, 000, Serata. 1, 000, 000, Sereboo. 

In this account of the island of Savu it must be remembered, that, except the facts in which we were parties, and the account of theobjects which we had an opportunity to examine, the whole is foundedmerely upon the report of Mr Lange, upon whose authority alone thereforeit most rest. 

SECTION XXXVII. 

_The Run from the Island of Savu to Batavia, and an Account of theTransactions there while the Ship was refitting_. 

In the morning of Friday the 21st of September, 1770, we got under sail, and stood away to the westward, along the north side of the island ofSavu, and of the smaller that lies to the westward of it, which at noonbore from us S. S. E. Distant two leagues. At four o'clock in theafternoon, we discovered a small low island, bearing S. S. W. Distantthree leagues, which has no place in any chart now extant, at least innone that I have been able to procure: It lies in latitude 10° 47' S. , longitude 238° 28' W. 

At noon on the 22d, we were in latitude 11° 10' S. , longitude 240° 38'W. In the evening of the 23d, we found the variation of the needle to be2° 44' W. ; as soon as we got clear of the islands we had constantly aswell from the southward, which I imagined was not caused by a windblowing from that quarter, but by the sea being so determined by theposition of the coast of New Holland. 

At noon on the 26th, being in latitude 10° 47' S. , longitude 249° 52'W. , we found the variation to be 3° 10' W. , and our situation to betwenty-five miles to the northward of the log; for which I know not howto account. At noon on the 27th, our latitude by observation was 10° 51'S. , which was agreeable to the log; and our longitude was 252° 11' W. Westeered N. W. All day on the 28th, in order to make the land of Java; andat noon on the 29th, our latitude by observation was 9° 31' S. , longitude 254° 10' W. ; and in the morning of the 30th, I took into mypossession the log-book and journals, at least all I could find, of theofficers, petty officers, and seamen, and enjoined them secrecy withrespect to where they had been. 

At seven in the evening, being in the latitude of Java Head, and notseeing any land, I concluded that we were too far to the westward: Itherefore hauled up E. N. E. Having before steered N. By E. In the night, we had thunder and lightning; and about twelve o'clock, by the light ofthe flashes, we saw the land bearing east. I then tacked and stood tothe S. W. Till four o'clock in the morning of the 1st of October; and atsix, Java Head, or the west end of Java, bore S. E. By E. , distant fiveleagues: Soon after we saw Prince's Island, bearing E. 1/2 S. ; and atten, the island of Cracatoa, bearing N. E. Cracatoa is a remarkablyhigh-peaked island, and at noon it bore N. 40 E. Distant seven leagues. 

I must now observe that, during our run from Savu, I allowed twentyminutes a-day for the westerly current, which I concluded must runstrong at this time, especially off the coast of Java, and I found thatthis allowance was just equivalent to the effect of the current upon theship. [112]

[Footnote 112: This is a single but not an inconsiderable instance ofCook's skill, in the important art of navigation. --E. ]

At four o'clock in the morning of the 2d, we fetched close in with thecoast of Java, in fifteen fathom; we then stood along the coast, andearly in the forenoon, I sent the boat ashore to try if she couldprocure some fruit for Tupia, who was very ill, and some grass for thebuffaloes that were still alive. In an hour or two she returned withfour cocoa-nuts, and a small bunch of plantains, which had beenpurchased for a shilling, and some herbage for the cattle, which theIndians not only gave us, but assisted our people to cut. The countrylooked like one continued wood, and had a very pleasant appearance. 

About eleven o'clock, we saw two Dutch ships lying off Anger Point, andI sent Mr Hicks on board of one of them to enquire news of our country, from which we had been absent so long. In the mean time it fell calm, and about noon I anchored in eighteen fathom with a muddy bottom. [113]When Mr Hicks returned, he reported that the ships were Dutch EastIndiamen from Batavia, one of which was bound to Ceylon, and the otherto the coast of Malabar; and that there was also a flyboat or packet, which was said to be stationed here to carry letters from the Dutchships that came hither to Batavia, but which I rather think wasappointed to examine all ships that pass the Streight: From these shipswe heard, with great pleasure, that the Swallow had been at Bataviaabout two years before. [114]

[Footnote 113: Mr Barrow advises that vessels should touch at Anger orAngeire Point, for refreshments. He says it is vastly better thanstopping near North Island, on the Sumatra side, as the stores are muchsuperior, and the station is very healthy. --E. ]

[Footnote 114: This is related in the preceding volume. --E. ]

At seven o'clock a breeze sprung up at S. S. W. , with which havingweighed, we stood to the N. E. Between Thwart-the-way-Island and the Cap, sounding from eighteen to twenty-eight fathom: We had but little windall night, and having a strong current against us, we got no further byeight in the morning than Bantam Point. At this time the wind came tothe N. E. , and obliged us to anchor in two-and-twenty fathom, at aboutthe distance of two miles from the shore; the point bore N. E. By E. , distant one league, and here we found a strong current setting to theN. W. In the morning we had seen the Dutch packet standing after us, butwhen the wind shifted to the N. E. She bore away. [115]

[Footnote 115: There is considerable difficulty at certain seasons, inworking up this strait. Thus it is not unusual for a vessel going at awrong time, to be six weeks in accomplishing a distance, which atanother time may be gone over in twelve hours. This, however, is whenthe Great Channel, as it is called, is attempted at a wrong season. TheSecured Passage or Bahonden, viz. Betwixt Java and Prince's Island, ismore generally navigated, except by vessels coming from Bengal, Surat, &c. Which cannot reach the windward shore of Java against the south-eastmonsoon. Those which take the Secured Passage soon get into anchoringdepth off the Java shore, which is one of its greatest advantages, --E. ]

At six o'clock in the evening, the wind having obliged us to continue atanchor, one of the country boats came along side of us, on board ofwhich was the master of the packet. He seemed to have two motives forhis visit, one to take an account of the ship, and the other to sell usrefreshments; for in the boat were turtle, fowls, ducks, parrots, paroquets, rice-birds, monkies, and other articles, which they held at avery high price, and brought to a bad market, for our Savu stock was notyet expended: However, I gave a Spanish dollar for a small turtle, whichweighed about six-and-thirty pounds: I gave also a dollar for ten largefowls, and afterwards bought fifteen more at the same price; for adollar we might also have bought two monkies, or a whole cage ofrice-birds. The master of the sloop brought with him two books, in oneof which he desired that any of our officers would write down the nameof the ship and its commander, with that of the place from which shesailed, and of the port to which she was bound, with such otherparticulars relating to themselves, as they might think proper, for theinformation of any of our friends that should come after us: And in theother he entered the names of the ship and the commander himself, inorder to transmit them, to the governor and council of the Indies. Weperceived that in the first book many ships, particularly Portuguese, had made entries of the same kind with that for which it was presentedto us. Mr Hicks, however, having written the name of the ship, onlyadded "from Europe. " He took notice of this, but said, that he wassatisfied with any thing we thought fit to write, it being intendedmerely for the information of those who should enquire after us frommotives of friendship. 

Having made several attempts to sail with a wind that would not stem thecurrent, and as often come to an anchor, a proa came along-side of us inthe morning of the 5th, in which was a Dutch officer, who sent me down aprinted paper in English, duplicates of which he had in other languages, particularly in French and Dutch, all regularly signed, in the name ofthe governor and council of the Indies, by their secretary: Itcontained nine questions, very ill expressed, in the following terms:

 "1. To what nation the ship belongs, and its name? "2. If it comes from Europe, or any other place? "3. From what place it lastly departed from? "4. Whereunto designed to go? "5. What and how many ships of the Dutch Company by departure from the last shore there layed, and their names? "6. If one or more of these ships in company with this, is departed for this or any other place? "7. If during the voyage any particularities is happened or seen? "8. If not any ships in sea, or the Streights of Sunda, have seen or hailed in, and which? "9. If any other news worth of attention, at the place from whence the ship lastly departed, or during the voyage, is happened?

 BATAVIA, in the Castle. "By order of the Governor-General and the Counsellors of India, J. BRANDER BUNGL, Sec. "

Of these questions I answered only the first and the fourth; which whenthe officer saw, he said answers to the rest were of no consequence: Yethe immediately added, that he must send that very paper away to Batavia, and that it would be there the next day at noon. I have particularlyrelated this incident, because I have been credibly informed that it isbut of late years that the Dutch have taken upon them to examine theships that pass through this Streight. [116]

[Footnote 116: The Dutch East-India Company claimed the absolutesovereignty of the Straits of Sunda, as possessing the kingdom ofBantam, on the shore of Java, and having conquered the land of Lamponand other provinces on the opposite side. --E. ]

At ten o'clock the same morning, we weighed, with a light breeze atS. W. ; but did little more than stem the current, and about two o'clockanchored again under Bantam Point, where we lay till nine; a lightbreeze then springing up at S. E. We weighed and stood to the eastwardtill ten o'clock the next morning, when the current obliged us again toanchor in twenty-two fathom, Pulababi bearing E. By S. 1/2 S. Distantbetween three and four miles. Having alternately weighed and anchoredseveral times, till four in the afternoon of the 7th, we then stood tothe eastward, with a very faint breeze at N. E. And passed Wapen Island, and the first island to the eastward of it; when the wind dying away, wewere carried by the current between the first and second of the islandsthat lie to the eastward of Wapen Island, where we were obliged toanchor in thirty fathom, being very near a ledge of rocks that run outfrom one of the islands. At two the next morning we weighed with theland-wind at south, and stood out clear of the shoal; but before noonwere obliged to come-to again in twenty-eight fathom, near a smallisland among those that are called the Thousand Islands, which we didnot find laid down in any chart. Pulo Pare at this time bore E. N. E. Distance between six and seven miles. 

Mr Banks and Dr Solander went ashore upon the island, which they foundnot to be more than five hundred yards long, and one hundred broad; yetthere was a house upon it, and a small plantation, where among otherthings was the _Palma Christi_, from which the caster-oil is made in theWest Indies:[117] they made a small addition to their collection ofplants, and shot a bat, whose wings when extended measured three feetfrom point to point: They shot also four plovers, which exactlyresembled the golden plover of England. Soon after they returned, asmall Indian boat came along-side with two Malays on board, who broughtthree turtles, some dried fish, and a few pumpkins: We bought theturtle, which altogether weighed a hundred and forty-six pounds, for adollar, and considering that we had lately paid the Dutchman a dollarfor one that weighed only six-and-thirty pounds, we thought we had agood bargain. The seller appeared equally satisfied, and we then treatedwith him for his pumpkins, for which he was very unwilling to take anymoney but a dollar; we said that a whole dollar was greatly too much; towhich he readily assented, but desired that we would cut one and givehim a part: At last, however, a fine shining Portuguese petack temptedhim, and for that he sold us his whole stock of pumpkins, being innumber twenty-six. At parting, he made signs that we should not tell atBatavia that any boat had been aboard us. 

[Footnote 117: The Ricinus Communis: The oil is obtained from the seeds, either by expression or decoction. --E. ]

We were not able to weather Polo Pare this day, but getting theland-wind at south about ten o'clock at night, we weighed and stood tothe E. S. E. All night. At ten in the morning, we anchored again, to waitfor the sea-breeze; and at noon it sprung up at N. N. E. With which westood in for Batavia road, where at four o'clock in the afternoon wecame to an anchor. 

We found here the Harcourt Indiaman from England, two English privatetraders of that country, thirteen sail of large Dutch ships, and aconsiderable number of small vessels. 

A boat came immediately on board from a ship which had a broad pendantflying, and the officer who commanded having enquired who we were, andwhence we came, immediately returned with such answers as we thought fitto give him: Both he and his people were pale as spectres a sad presageof our sufferings in so unhealthy a country; but our people, who, exceptTupia, were all rosy and plump seemed to think themselves so seasoned byvarious-climates that nothing could hurt them. [118] In the mean time, Isent a lieutenant ashore to acquaint the governor of our arrival and tomake an excuse for our not saluting; for as I could salute with onlythree guns, except the swivels, which I was of opinion would not beheard, I thought it was better to let it alone. As soon as the boat wasdispatched, the carpenter delivered me an account of the defects of theship, of which the following is a copy:

 "The defects of his Majesty's bark Endeavour, "Lieutenant James Cook Commander. 

 "The ship very leaky, as she makes from twelve to six inches water an hour, occasioned by her main keel being wounded in many places, and the scarfs of her stern being very open: The false keel gone beyond the midships from forward, and perhaps farther, as I had no opportunity of seeing for the water; when hauled ashore for repairing: Wounded on the larboard side under the main channel, where I imagine the greatest leak is, but could not come at it for the water: One pump on the larboard side useless; the others decayed within an inch and a half of the bore. Otherwise masts, yards, boats, and hull, in pretty good condition. "

As it was the universal opinion that the ship could not safely proceedto Europe without an examination of her bottom, I determined to applyfor leave to heave her down at this place; and as I understood that itwould be necessary to make this application in writing, I drew up arequest, and the next morning, having got it translated into Dutch, weall went ashore. 

[Footnote 118: It is of some consequence to remember the circumstance ofthe crew's good health on arriving at Batavia. So far the precautionsused for their welfare had been found very efficacious. --E. ]

We repaired immediately to the house of Mr Leith, the only Englishman ofany credit who was resident at this place; he received us with greatpoliteness, and engaged us to dinner: To this gentleman we applied forinstructions how to provide ourselves with lodgings and necessarieswhile we should stay ashore, and he told us that there was a hotel, orkind of inn, kept by the order of government, where all merchants andstrangers were obliged to reside, paying half per cent, upon the valueof their goods for warehouse room, which the master of the house wasobliged to provide; but that as we came in a king's ship, we should beat liberty to live where we pleased, upon asking the governor'spermission, which would be granted of course. He said that it would becheaper for us to take a house in the town, and bring our own servantsashore, if we had any body upon whom we could depend to buy in ourprovisions; but as this was not the case, having no person among us whocould speak the Malay language, our gentlemen determined to go to thehotel. At the hotel, therefore, beds were immediately hired, and wordwas sent that we should sleep there at night. 

At five o'clock in the afternoon I was introduced to thegovernor-general, who received me very courteously; he told me that Ishould have every thing I wanted, and that in the morning my requestshould be laid before the council, which I was desired to attend. 

About nine o'clock we had a dreadful storm of thunder, lightning, andrain, during which the main-mast of one of the Dutch East Indiamen wassplit, and carried away by the deck; the main-top-mast andtop-gallant-mast were shivered to pieces; she had an iron spindle at themain-top-mast-head, which probably directed the stroke. This ship laynot more than the distance of two cables' length from ours, and in allprobability we should have shared the same fate, but for the electricalchain which we had but just got up, and which conducted the lightningover the side of the ship; but though we escaped the lightning, theexplosion shook us like an earthquake, the chain at the same timeappearing like a line of fire: A centinel was in the action of charginghis piece, and the shock forced the musket out of his hand, and brokethe rammer-rod. Upon this occasion I cannot but earnestly recommendchains of the same kind to every ship, whatever be her destination, andI hope that the fate of the Dutchman will be a warning to all who shallread this narrative, against having an iron spindle at themast-head. [119]

[Footnote 119: Thunder storms are particularly frequent in this climate, especially about the ends of the monsoons, at which times scarcely anevening passes without one. But in general, it has been remarked, theyare not productive of much mischief; the reason, perhaps, why theIndiaman was not furnished in the manner recommended. The Dutch arescarcely to be charged with want of foresight, or with inattention totheir interests. Nevertheless, the advice here given is worthy ofattention, as well to them as to others. --E. ]

The next morning I attended at the council-chamber, and was told that Ishould have every thing I wanted. In the mean time, the gentlemen ashoreagreed with the keeper of the hotel for their lodging and board, at therate of two rix-dollars, or nine shillings sterling a-day for each; andas there were five of them, and they would probably have many visitorsfrom the ship, he agreed to keep them a separate table, upon conditionthat they should pay one rix-dollar for the dinner of every stranger, and another for his supper and bed, if he should sleep ashore. Underthis stipulation they were to be furnished with tea, coffee, punch, pipes and tobacco, for themselves and their friends, as much as theycould consume; they were also to pay half a rupee, or one shilling andthree-pence a-day for each of their servants. [120]

[Footnote 120: Captain Bligh, who got to Batavia in 1739, speaks veryindifferently of the hotel there. "One of the greatest difficulties, "says he, "that strangers have to encounter, is their being obliged tolive at the hotel. This hotel was formerly two houses, which, by doorsof communication, have been made one. It is in the middle of a range ofbuildings more calculated for a cold country than for such a climate asBatavia. There is no free circulation of air, and what is equally bad, it is always very dirty; and there is great want of attendance. Whatthey call cleaning the house, is another nuisance; for they never useany water to cool it or lay the dust, but sweep daily with brooms, insuch a manner, that those in the house are almost suffocated by a cloudof dust. " His officers, he tells us, complained of the tradesmenimposing on them as to the price of goods, in consequence of which hespoke to the sabander, who gave redress. He himself was obliged; onaccount of his health, to have a house in the country. --E. ]

They soon learnt that these rates were more than double the commoncharges of board and lodging in the town, and their table, though it hadthe appearance of magnificence, was wretchedly served. Their dinnerconsisted of one course of fifteen dishes, and their supper of onecourse of thirteen, but nine or ten of them consisted of bad poultry, variously dressed, and often served up the second, third, and even thefourth time: The same duck having appeared more than once roasted, foundhis way again to the table as a fricasee, and a fourth time in the formof forced meat. It was not long, however, before they learnt that thistreatment was only by way of essay, and that it was the invariablecustom of the house to supply all strangers, at their first coming, withsuch fare as could be procured for the least money, and consequentlywould produce the most gain: That if either through indolence or goodnature they were content, it was continued for the benefit of the host, but that if they complained, it was gradually amended till they weresatisfied, which sometimes happened before they had the worth of theirmoney. After this discovery, they remonstrated, and their fare becamebetter; however, after a few days, Mr Banks hired a little house, thenext door on the left hand to the hotel, for himself and his party, forwhich he paid after the rate of ten rix-dollars, or two pounds fiveshillings sterling a-month; but here they were very far from havingeither the convenience or the privacy which they expected; no person waspermitted to sleep in this private house occasionally, as a guest to theperson who hired it, under a penalty, but almost every Dutchman thatwent by ran in without any ceremony, to ask what they sold, there havingbeen very seldom any private persons at Batavia who had not something tosell. Every body here hires a carriage, and Mr Banks hired two. They areopen chaises, made to hold two people, and driven by a man sitting on acoach-box; for each of these he paid two rix-dollars a-day. 

As soon as he was settled in his new habitation, he sent for Tupia, who, till now, had continued on board upon account of his illness, which wasof the bilious kind, and for which he had obstinately refused to takeany medicine. He soon came ashore, with his boy Tayeto, and though whilehe was on board, and after he came into the boat, he was exceedinglylistless and dejected, he no sooner entered the town than he seemed tobe animated with a new soul. The houses, carriages, streets, people, anda multiplicity of other objects, all new, which rushed upon him at once, produced an effect like the sudden and secret power that is imagined offascination. Tayeto expressed his wonder and delight with still lessrestraint, and danced along the street in a kind of extasy, examiningevery object with a restless and eager curiosity, which was every momentexcited and gratified. One of the first things that Tupia remarked, wasthe various dresses of the passing multitude, concerning which he mademany enquiries; and when he was told that in this place, where people ofmany different nations were assembled, every one wore the habit of hiscountry, he desired that he might conform to the custom, and appear inthat of Otaheite. South-Sea cloth was therefore sent for from the ship, and he equipped himself with great expedition and dexterity. The peoplewho had seen Otouron, the Indian, who had been brought hither by M. Bougainville, enquired whether Tupia was not the same person: From theseenquiries, we learnt who it was that we had supposed to be Spaniards, from the accounts that had been given of two ships by theislanders. [121]

[Footnote 121: Should our limits allow it, an abstract of Bougainville'svoyage will be given as an appendix, in which mention will be made ofthe Indian here alluded to. --E. ]

In the mean time, I procured an order to the superintendant of theIsland of Onrust, where the ship was to be repaired, to receive herthere; and sent by one of the ships that sailed for Holland, an accountof our arrival here, to Mr Stephens, the secretary to the Admiralty. 

The expences that would be incurred by repairing and refitting the ship, rendered it necessary for me to take up money in this place, which Iimagined might be done without difficulty, but I found myself mistaken;for after the most diligent enquiry, I could not find any private personthat had ability and inclination to advance the sum that I wanted. Inthis difficulty I applied to the governor himself, by a written request, in consequence of which, the shebander had orders to supply me with whatmoney I should require, out of the Company's treasury. 

On the 18th, as soon as it was light, having by several accidents andmistakes suffered a delay of many days, I took up the anchor, and randown to Onrust: A few days afterwards we went alongside of the wharf, onCooper's Island, which lies close to Onrust, in order to take out ourstores. 

By this time, having been here only three days, we began to feel thefatal effects of the climate and situation. Tupia, after the flow ofspirits which the novelties of the place produced upon his firstlanding, sank on a sadden, and grew every day worse and worse. Tayetowas seized with an inflammation upon his lungs, Mr Banks's two servantsbecame very ill, and himself and Dr Solander were attacked by fevers; ina few days, almost every person both on board and ashore were sick;affected, no doubt, by the low swampy situation of the place, and thenumberless dirty canals which intersect the town in all directions. Onthe 26th, I set up the tent for the reception of the ship's company, ofwhom there was but a small number able to do duty. Poor Tupia, of whoselife we now began to despair, and who till this time had continuedashore with Mr Banks, desired to be removed to the ship, where, he said, he should breathe a freer air than among the numerous houses whichobstructed it ashore: On board the ship, however, he could not go, forshe was unrigged, and preparing to be laid down at the careening-place;but on the 28th, Mr Banks went with him to Cooper's Island, or, as it iscalled here, Kuypor, where she lay, and as he seemed pleased with thespot, a tent was there pitched for him: At this place both thesea-breeze and the land-breeze blew directly over him, and he expressedgreat satisfaction in his situation. Mr Banks, whose humanity kept himtwo days with this poor Indian, returned to the town on the 30th, andthe fits of his intermittent, which was now become a regular tertian, were so violent as to deprive him of his senses while they lasted, andleave him so weak that he was scarcely able to crawl down stairs: Atthis time, Dr Solander's disorder also increased, and Mr Monkhouse, thesurgeon, was confined to his bed. 

On the 5th of November, after many delays in consequence of the Dutchships coming alongside the wharfs to load pepper, the ship was laiddown, and the same day, Mr Monkhouse, our surgeon, a sensible skilfulman, fell the first sacrifice to this fatal country, a loss which wasgreatly aggravated by our situation. Dr Solander was just able to attendhis funeral, but Mr Banks was confined to his bed. Our distress was nowvery great, and the prospect before us discouraging in the highestdegree: Our danger was not such as we could surmount by any efforts ofour own; courage, skill, and diligence were all equally ineffectual, anddeath was every day making advances upon us, where we could neitherresist nor fly. Malay servants were hired to attend the sick, but theyhad so little sense either of duty or humanity, that they could not bekept within call, and the patient was frequently obliged to get out ofbed to seek them. [122] On the 9th, we lost our poor Indian boy, Tayeto, and Tupia was so much affected, that it was doubted whether he wouldsurvive till the next day. 

[Footnote 122: The Malays are not indebted to the representations of anyauthor who has ever been at the pains to paint their character. Whatevery body says, is at least likely to be true; and if so, they are acompound of every thing that is terrific in the rudest of the species, and of every thing that is odious in human nature, when corrupted to theextreme. Desperadoes in courage, and gluttons in revenge, they have alsothe low cunning and the treacherous plausibility with all the licentiouspropensities of the most designing and profligate of mankind. Theiradvancement in the arts which render life comfortable, and sometimes, too, embellish even vice, cannot in any measure redeem them intofavourable estimation. They are in most points inferior (perhaps inevery respect, save navigation, ) to all the nations that inhabit thevast peninsula of Eastern India. --E. ]

In the mean time, the bottom of the ship being examined, was found to bein a worse condition than we apprehended: The false keel was all gone towithin twenty feet of the stern-post; the main keel was considerablyinjured in many places; and a great quantity of the sheathing was tornoff, and several planks were much damaged; two of them, and the half ofa third, under the main channel near the keel, were, for the length ofsix feet, so worn, that they were not above an eighth part of an inchthick, and here the worms had made their way quite into the timbers; yetin this condition she had sailed many hundred leagues, where navigationis as dangerous as in any part of the world: How much misery did weescape by being ignorant that so considerable a part of the bottom ofthe vessel was thinner than the sole of a shoe, and that every life onboard depended upon so slight and fragile a barrier between us and theunfathomable ocean! It seemed, however, that we had been preserved onlyto perish here; Mr Banks and Dr Solander were so bad that the physiciandeclared they had no chance for recovery but by removing into thecountry; a house was therefore hired for them at the distance of abouttwo miles from the town, which belonged to the master of the hotel, whoengaged to furnish them with provisions, and the use of slaves. As theyhad already experienced their want of influence over slaves that hadother masters, and the unfeeling inattention of these fellows to thesick, they bought each of them a Malay woman, which removed both thecauses of their being so ill served; the women were their own property, and the tenderness of the sex, even here, made them good nurses. [123]While these preparations were making, they received an account of thedeath of Tupia, who sunk at once after the loss of the boy, whom heloved with the tenderness of a parent. [124]

[Footnote 123: Dr Hawkesworth seems to have forgotten here thesuperiority of a simple diet over the tribe of nurses; it would seem, too, as if nature did not possess in this climate any considerableskill in surgery or medicine. --E. ]

[Footnote 124: Tupia merited some eulogium; and it is singular that DrHawkesworth did not bestow it. This, however, has been done by MrForster, in his account of Cook's second voyage. --E. ]

By the 14th, the bottom of the ship was thoroughly repaired, and verymuch to my satisfaction: It would, indeed, be injustice to the officersand workmen of this yard, not to declare, that, in my opinion, there isnot a marine yard in the world where a ship can be laid down with moreconvenience, safety, and dispatch, nor repaired with more diligence andskill. At this place they heave down by two masts, a method which we donot now practise; it is, however, unquestionably more safe andexpeditious to heave down with two masts than one, and he must have agood share of bigotry to old customs, and an equal want of common sense, who will not allow this, after seeing with what facility the Dutch heavedown their largest ships at this place. 

Mr Banks and Dr Solander recovered slowly at their country-house, whichwas not only open to the sea breeze, but situated upon a running stream, which greatly contributed to the circulation of the air: But I was nowtaken ill myself; Mr Sporing, and a seaman who had attended Mr Banks, were also seized with intermittents; and, indeed, there were not morethan ten of the whole ship's company that were able to do duty. 

We proceeded however in rigging the ship, and getting water and storesaboard: The water we were obliged to procure from Batavia, at the rateof six shillings and eight-pence a leager, or one hundred and fiftygallons. 

About the 26th, the westerly monsoon set in, which generally blows herein the night from the S. W. , and in the day from the N. W. Or N. For somenights before this, we had very heavy rain, with much thunder; and inthe night between the 25th and 26th, such rain as we had seldom seen, for near four hours without intermission. Mr Banks's house admitted thewater in every part like a sieve, and it ran through the lower rooms ina stream that would have turned a mill: He was by this time sufficientlyrecovered to go out, and upon his entering Batavia the next morning, hewas much surprised to see the bedding every where hung out to dry. 

The wet season was now set in, though we had some intervals of fairweather. [125] The frogs in the ditches, which croak ten times loaderthan any frogs in Europe, gave notice of rain by an incessant noisethat was almost intolerable, and the gnats and musquitos, which had beenvery troublesome even during the dry weather, were now becomeinnumerable, swarming from every plash of water like bees from a hive;they did not, however, much incommode us in the day, and the stings, however troublesome at first, never continued to itch above half anhour, so that none of us felt in the day the effects of the wounds theyhad received in the night. 

[Footnote 125: They reckon two seasons or monsoons in this climate. Theeast, or good one, begins about the end of April, and continues tillabout the beginning of October. During this, the trade-winds usuallyblow from the south-east and east-south-east, and there is fine weather, with a clear sky. The west, or bad monsoon, begins about the end ofNovember, or commencement of December, and continues till towards theend of February, during which the winds are mostly from the west. Thisis the most unhealthy season. It has been remarked, but not explained, that the periods of the monsoons are not so regular as they once were, so that neither their beginning nor end can be so confidently dependedon. The months not included in either of the monsoons are calledshifting-months. --E. ]

On the 8th of December, the ship being perfectly refitted, and havingtaken in most of her water and stores, and received the sick on board, we ran up to Batavia Road, and anchored in four fathom and a half ofwater. [126]

[Footnote 126: Batavia Road is reckoned one of the best in the world forsize, safety, and goodness of anchorage. It is open indeed from thenorth-west to east north-east and east; nevertheless, ships lie quitesecure in it, as there are several islands on that side which break theforce of the waves. There is no occasion for mooring stern and stern init. --E. ]

From this time, to the 24th, we were employed in getting on board theremainder of our water and provisions, with some new pumps, and inseveral other operations that were necessary to fit the ship for thesea, all which would have been effected much sooner, if sickness anddeath had not disabled or carried off a great number of our men. 

While we lay here, the Earl of Elgin, Captain Cook, a ship belonging tothe English East India Company, came to anchor in the road. She wasbound from Madras to China, but having lost her passage, put in here towait for the next season. The Phoenix, Captain Black, an English countryship, from Bencoolen, also came to an anchor at this place. 

In the afternoon of Christmas-eve, the 24th, I took leave of thegovernor, and several of the principal gentlemen of the place, with whomI had formed connexions, and from whom I received every possiblecivility and assistance; but in the mean time an accident happened whichmight have produced disagreeable consequences. A seaman had run awayfrom one of the Dutch ships in the road, and entered on board of mine:The captain had applied to the governor to reclaim him as a subject ofHolland, and an order for that purpose was procured: This order wasbrought to me soon after I returned from my last visit, and I said, thatif the man appeared to be a Dutchman, he should certainly be deliveredup. Mr Hicks commanded on board, and I gave the Dutch officer an orderto him to deliver the man up under that condition. I slept myself thisnight on shore, and in the morning the captain of the Dutch commodorecame and told me that he had carried my order on board, but that theofficer had refused to deliver up the man, alleging not only that he wasnot a Dutchman, but that he was a subject of Great Britain, born inIreland; I replied, that the officer had perfectly executed my orders, and that if the man was an English subject, it could not be expectedthat I should deliver him up. The captain then said, that he was justcome from the governor to demand the man of me in his name, as a subjectof Denmark, alleging that he stood in the ship's books as born atElsineur. The claim of this man as a subject of Holland being now givenup, I observed to the captain that there appeared to be some mistake inthe general's message, for that he would certainly never demand a Danishseaman from me who had committed no other crime than preferring theservice of the English to that of the Dutch. I added, however, toconvince him of my sincere desire to avoid disputes, that if the man wasa Dane, he should be delivered up as a courtesy, though he could not bedemanded as a right; but that if I found he was an English subject, Iwould keep him at all events. Upon these terms we parted, and soon afterI received a letter from Mr Hicks, containing indubitable proof that theseaman in question was a subject of his Britannic majesty. This letter Iimmediately carried to the shebander, with a request that it might beshewn to the governor, and that his excellency might at the same time betold I would not upon any terms part with the man. This had the desiredeffect, and I heard no more of the affair. [127]

[Footnote 127: Whatever may be thought of the advantage of such policy, it is certain that Cook acted here in the full spirit of a Britishofficer and _minister_. Every reader must be aware how materially thesame determination on the part of our government has tended to embroilus with the Americans, betwixt whom and us, the question of fact, as tocountry, is often much more difficult of solution than it can well bewhere any other people oppose our claims. --E. ]

In the evening I went on board, accompanied by Mr Banks, and the rest ofthe gentlemen who had constantly resided on shore, and who, thoughbetter, were not yet perfectly recovered. 

At six in the morning of the 26th, we weighed and set sail, with a lightbreeze at S. W. The Elgin Indiaman saluted us with three cheers andthirteen guns, and the garrison with fourteen; both which, with the helpof our swivels, we returned, and soon after the sea-breeze set in at N. By W. Which obliged us to anchor just without the ships in the road. 

At this time the number of sick on board amounted to forty, and the restof the ship's company were in a very feeble condition. Every individualhad been sick except the sail-maker, an old man between seventy andeighty years of age; and it is very remarkable, that this old man, during our stay at this place, was constantly drunk every day:[128] Wehad buried seven, the surgeon, three seamen, Mr Green's servant, Tupia, and Tayeto, his boy. All but Tupia fell a sacrifice to the unwholesome, stagnant, putrid air of the country, and he who, from his birth, hadbeen used to subsist chiefly upon vegetable food, particularly ripefruit, soon contracted all the disorders that are incident to a sealife, and would probably have sunk under them before we could havecompleted our voyage, if we had not been obliged to go to Batavia torefit. 

[Footnote 128: Cases similar to this are of constant occurrence, and arefamiliarly known to medical men who have a principle to account for it. The _continual_ operation of exciting causes so as to produce a certaindegree of action of the system, will prevent, as well as remedy, diseases of debility. The plague has been kept off by a like treatmenton the same principle, and so has the ague, an intermitting fever soformidable in some countries. Giving over or abating of this stimulatingtreatment, however, if other circumstances remain the same, will, ofcourse, render the person as obnoxious as ever to attack, or rather moreso. It is evident that at times this cure is as bad as the disease; forscarcely any state of health is more deplorably fatal than constantdrunkenness. --E. ]

SECTION XXXVIII. 

_Some Account of Batavia, and the adjacent Country; with their Fruits, Flowers, and other Productions_. 

Batavia, the capital of the Dutch dominions in India, and generallysupposed to have no equal among all the possessions of the Europeans inAsia, is situated on the north side of the island of Java, in a lowfenny plain, where several small rivers, which take their rise in themountains called Blaeuwen Berg, about forty miles up the country, emptythemselves into the sea, and where the coast forms a large bay, calledthe Bay of Batavia, at the distance of about eight leagues from thestreight of Sunda. It lies in latitude 6° 10' S. , and longitude 106° 50'E. From the meridian of Greenwich, as appears from astronomicalobservations made upon the spot, by the Rev. Mr Mohr, who has built anelegant observatory, which is as well furnished with instruments as mostin Europe. [129]

[Footnote 129: Batavia, called by some writers, the Queen of the East, on account of its wealth and the beauty of its buildings, is situatevery near the sea, in a fertile plain, watered by the river Jaccatra, which divides the town. The sea-shore is on the north of the city; andon the south the land rises with a very gentle slope to the mountains, which are about fifteen leagues inland. One of these is of great height, and is called the Blue Mountain. The early history of this city is givenin the tenth volume of the Modern Universal History, to which the readeris referred for information which it would perhaps be tedious to detailin this place. Batavia, the reader will easily imagine, has been muchimpaired by the calamities of her European parent; but, indeed, for someconsiderable time before they commenced, she had very materiallydeclined in consequence and power. --E. ]

The Dutch seem to have pitched upon this spot for the convenience ofwater-carriage, and in that it is indeed a second Holland, and superiorto every other place in the world. There are very few streets that havenot a canal of considerable breadth running through them, or ratherstagnating in them, and continued for several miles in almost everydirection beyond the town, which is also intersected by five or sixrivers, some of which are navigable thirty or forty miles up thecountry. [130] As the houses are large, and the streets wide, it takes upa much greater extent, in proportion to the number of houses itcontains, than any city in Europe. Valentyn, who wrote an account of itabout the year 1726, says, that in his time there were, within thewalls, 1242 Dutch houses, and 1200 Chinese; and without the walls, 1066Dutch, and 1240 Chinese, besides 12 arrack houses, making in all 4760:But this account appeared to us to be greatly exaggerated, especiallywith respect to the number of houses within the walls. 

[Footnote 130: The river Jaccatra, as has been mentioned, runs throughthe city, viz. From south to north, and having three bridges, one nearthe castle, at the lower end, another at the upper end, and the thirdabout the centre of the town. It is from 160 to 180 feet broad, withinthe city, and is fortified, though indifferently, at its mouth, which, however, is of less importance, as a continually increasing bar rendersaccess to the city by it impracticable for large vessels. --E. ]

The streets are spacious and handsome, and the banks of the canals areplanted with rows of trees, that make a very pleasing appearance; butthe trees concur with the canals to make the situation unwholesome. [131]The stagnant canals in the dry season exhale an intolerable stench, andthe trees impede the course of the air, by which, in some degree, theputrid effluvia would be dissipated. In the wet season the inconvenienceis equal, for then these reservoirs of corrupted water overflow theirbanks in the lower part of the town, especially in the neighbourhood ofthe hotel, and fill the lower stories of the houses, where they leavebehind them an inconceivable quantity of slime and filth: Yet thesecanals are sometimes cleaned; but the cleaning them is so managed as tobecome as great a nuisance as the foulness of the water; for the blackmud that is taken from the bottom is suffered to lie upon the banks, that is, in the middle of the street, till it has acquired a sufficientdegree of hardness to be made the lading of a boat, and carried away. Asthis mud consists chiefly of human ordure, which is regularly throwninto the canals every morning, there not being a necessary-house in thewhole town, it poisons the air while it is drying, to a considerableextent. Even the running streams become nuisances in their turn, by thenastiness or negligence of the people; for every now and then a deadhog, or a dead horse, is stranded upon the shallow parts, and it beingthe business of no particular person to remove the nuisance, it isnegligently left to time and accident. While we were here, a deadbuffalo lay upon the shoal of a river that ran through one of theprincipal streets, above a week, and at last was carried away by aflood. [132]

[Footnote 131: Some of the streets are paved, but they consist of a hardclay which allows of being made plain and smooth; and within the citythere are stone foot paths along their sides. --E. ]

[Footnote 132: Five roads lead from the city into the country, all ofwhich are finely planted with trees, and have very agreeable gardens onboth sides. These roads run along the course of the rivulets or canalswhich form so remarkable a feature in the history and appearance of thiscity. The environs of Batavia have always been highly commended fortheir beauty and the fertility of the soil; the consequence, no doubt, of the extraordinary care taken to have them well watered--E. ]

The houses are in general well adapted to the climate; they consist ofone very large room, or hall, on the ground floor, with a door at eachend, both which generally stand open: At one end a room is taken off bya partition, where the master of the house transacts his business; andin the middle, between each end, there is a court, which gives light tothe hall, and at the same time increases the draught of air. From onecorner of the hall the stairs go up to the floor above, where also therooms are spacious and airy. In the alcove, which is formed by thecourt, the family dine; and at other times it is occupied by the femaleslaves, who are not allowed to sit down any where else. [133]

[Footnote 133: The houses are mostly built of brick, stuccoed without, and with sash-windows, so as to have a light agreeable appearance. Theplan of their internal construction is much the same in the whole. Onone side of a narrow passage into which you enter from the street, youhave a parlour, and a little farther on, a large long room, lighted froman inner court, as is mentioned in the text. The rooms in general arebadly furnished, and are floored with dark-red stones. The upper roomsare laid out like the under ones; Few of the private houses havegardens. --E. ]

The public buildings are most of them old, heavy, and ungraceful; butthe new church is not inelegant; it is built with a dome, that is seenfrom a great distance at sea, and though the outside has rather a heavyappearance, the inside forms a very fine room: It is furnished with anorgan of a proper size, being very large, and is most magnificentlyilluminated by chandeliers. [134]

[Footnote 134: There are several churches for the reformed religion, andservice is performed in the Dutch, Portuguese, and Malay languages. Thedescription in the text is believed to apply to the Lutheran church, erected during the government of Baron Van Imhof. --E. ]

The town is enclosed by a stone wall of a moderate height; but the wholeof it is old, and many parts are much out of repair. This wall itself issurrounded by a river, which in some places is fifty, and in some ahundred yards wide: The stream is rapid, but the water is shallow. Thewall is also lined within by a canal, which in different parts is ofdifferent breadths; so that, in passing either out or in through thegates, it is necessary to cross two draw-bridges; and there is noaccess for idle people or strangers to walk upon the ramparts, whichseem to be but ill provided with guns. [135]

[Footnote 135: The wall is built of coral rock, and part of it, according to Sir Geo. Staunton's account, of lava of a dark-blue colour, and firm hard texture. It has twenty two bastions mounted withartillery, and is surrounded by a broad moat, generally well filled withwater. There are five gates to the city; two on the south, the New Gate, and the Diast Gate; one on the north, the Square Gate; Rotterdam Gate onthe east; and the Utrecht Gate on the west--E. ]

In the north-east corner of the town stands the castle or citadel, thewalls of which are both higher and thicker than those of the town, especially near the landing-place, where there is depth of water onlyfor boats, which it completely commands, with several large guns, thatmake a very good appearance. 

Within this castle are apartments for the governor-general, and all thecouncil of India, to which they are enjoined to repair in case of asiege. Here are also large storehouses where great quantities of theCompany's goods are kept, especially those that are brought from Europe, and where almost all their writers transact their business. In thisplace also are laid up a great number of cannon, whether to mount uponthe walls or furnish shipping, we could not learn; and the Company issaid to be well supplied with powder, which is dispersed in variousmagazines, that if some should be destroyed by lightning, which in thisplace is very frequent, the rest may escape. [136]

[Footnote 136: The castle is a square fortress, having four bastionsconnected by curtains, surrounded by a ditch. The walls are abouttwenty-four feet high, and built also of coral rock. Besides the houses, &c. Mentioned in the text and near to what is called the Iron Magazine, is the grass plot where criminals are executed: It is a square space, artificially elevated, and furnished with gallows, &c. Close adjoining, and fronting it, is a small building where the magistrates, according tothe Dutch custom, attend during the execution. --E. ]

Besides the fortifications of the town, numerous forts are dispersedabout the country to the distance of twenty or thirty miles; these seemto have been intended merely to keep the natives in awe, and indeedthey are fit for nothing else. For the same purpose a kind of houses, each of which mounts about eight guns, are placed in such situations ascommand the navigation of three or four canals, and consequently theroads upon their banks: Some of these are in the town itself, and it wasfrom one of these that all the best houses belonging to the Chinese werelevelled with the ground in the Chinese rebellion of 1740. [137] Thesedefences are scattered over all parts of Java, and the other islands ofwhich the Dutch have got possession in these seas. Of one of thesesingular forts, or fortified houses, we should have procured a drawing, if our gentlemen had not been confined by sickness almost all the timethey were upon the island. 

[Footnote 137: One of the most shocking transactions ever recorded, ishere alluded to. It has been often described, for it horrified allEurope, and excited most general disgust at the very name of Dutchmen. They, however, endeavoured to make the affair look as decent aspossible, and when forced to abandon every other claim to favourableinterpretation, used at last the tyrant's plea, necessity. Rebellionmust be punished, it is admitted; a thousand reasons are in readiness tojustify the punishment of it. But, alas! in this case many hundreds werepunished who had never been in rebellion, never thought of it, neverknew it, were incapable of it. The vengeful spirit of their "HighMightinesses" in Batavia, was glutted to the throat. Butchery could notdo her work more thoroughly. Not a drop of blood was left in Chineseveins to circulate disaffection, or boil in the agony of despairinghate. Extermination smiled in the gloom of Death, --merciful in this atleast, that she suffered not a heart to remain to curse her triumph. SeeModern Universal History, vol. Xiv. Ch. 7. Our limits will not permitthe dreadful recital. --E. ]

If the Dutch fortifications here are not formidable in themselves, theybecome so by their situation; for they are among morasses where theroads, which are nothing more than a bank thrown up between a canal anda ditch, may easily be destroyed, and consequently the approach of heavyartillery either totally prevented or greatly retarded: For it would beexceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to transport them in boats, asthey all muster every night under the guns of the castle, a situationfrom which it would be impossible for an enemy to take them. Besides, inthis country, delay is death; so that whatever retards an enemy, willdestroy him. In less than a week we were sensible of the unhealthinessof the climate; and in less than a month half the ship's company wereunable to do their duty. We were told, that of a hundred soldiers whoarrive here from Europe, it was a rare thing for fifty to survive thefirst year; that of those fifty, half would then be in the hospital, andnot ten of the rest in perfect health: Possibly this account may beexaggerated; but the pale and feeble wretches whom we saw crawling aboutwith a musket, which they were scarcely able to carry, inclined us tobelieve that it was true. [138] Every white inhabitant of the town indeedis a soldier; the younger are constantly mustered, and those who haveserved five years are liable to be called out when their assistance isthought to be necessary; but as neither of them are ever exercised, ordo any kind of duty, much cannot be expected from them. The Portuguese, indeed, are in general good marksmen, because they employ themselvesmuch in shooting wild-hogs and deer: Neither the Mardykers nor theChinese know the use of fire-arms; but as they are said to be brave, they might do much execution with their own weapons, swords, lances, anddaggers. The Mardykers are Indians of all nations, who are descendedfrom free ancestors, or have themselves been made free. 

[Footnote 138: Mr Barrow does not give a more favourable report. According to him, no less than three out of five of the new settlers atthis place die in the first year of their residence; and he learned fromthe registers of the military hospital, that though the establishment oftroops never exceeded 1500 men, and sometimes was not half this number, yet during sixty-two years the annual deaths amounted to 1258! Of thoseEuropeans who have in some degree got accustomed to the place, he saysthat rather more than ten in a hundred die yearly; and that scarcely anylive beyond the middle stage of life. The natives, as might be expected, suffer less, but even they are exposed to frequent visits of the oldenemy. In Mr B. 's opinion, the climate is not so injurious as thecircumstances of the situation, and the pernicious, though convenient, prevalency of canals, aided, he admits, by the bad habits of thepeople. --E. ]

But if it is difficult to attack Batavia by land, it is utterlyimpossible to attack it by sea: For the water is so shallow, that itwill scarcely admit a long-boat to come within cannon-shot of the walls, except in a narrow channel, called the river, that is walled on bothsides by strong piers, and runs about half a mile into the harbour. Atthe other end, it terminates under the fire of the strongest part of thecastle; and here its communication with the canals that intersect thetown is cut off by a large wooden boom, which is shut every night at sixo'clock, and upon no pretence opened till the next morning. [139] Theharbour of Batavia is accounted the finest in India, and, to allappearance, with good reason; it is large enough to contain any numberof ships, and the ground is so good that one anchor will hold till thecable decays: It never admits any sea that is troublesome, and its onlyinconvenience is the shoal water between the road and the river. Whenthe sea-breeze blows fresh, it makes a cockling sea that is dangerous toboats: Our long-boat once struck two or three times as she wasattempting to come out, and regained the river's mouth with somedifficulty. A Dutch boat, laden with sails and rigging for one of theIndiamen, was entirely lost. 

[Footnote 139: The reader need not be reminded of the facility withwhich Batavia was lately taken by our gallant countrymen. The accountsof that successful expedition may be advantageously compared with whatis here given. This, however, they must do who are interested in thesubject. The introduction of it here would be very irrelevant--E. ]

Round the harbour, on the outside, lie many islands, which the Dutchhave taken possession of, and apply to different uses. [140] To one ofthem, called Edam, they transport all Europeans who have been guilty ofcrimes that are not worthy of death: Some are sentenced to remain thereninety-nine years, some forty, some twenty, some less, down to five, inproportion to their offence; and during their banishment, they areemployed as slaves in making ropes, and other drudgery. [141] In anotherisland, called Purmerent, they have an hospital, where people are saidto recover much faster than at Batavia. [142] In a third, called Kuyper, they have warehouses belonging to the Company, chiefly for rice, andother merchandise of small value; and here the foreign ships, that areto be laid down at Onrnst, another of these islands, which with Kuyperhas been mentioned before, discharge their cargoes at wharfs which arevery convenient for the purpose. [143] Here the guns, sails, and otherstores of the Falmouth, a man-of-war which was condemned at this placewhen she was returning from Manilla, were deposited, and the shipherself remained in the harbour, with only the warrant officers onboard, for many years. Remittances were regularly made them from home;but no notice was ever taken of the many memorials they sent, desiringto be recalled. Happily for them, the Dutch thought fit, about sixmonths before our arrival, to sell the vessel and all her stores, bypublic auction, and send the officers home in their own ships. AtOnrust, they repair all their own shipping, and keep a large quantity ofnaval stores. 

[Footnote 140: There are fifteen islands in all, but only four of themare used by the Company; and of these, Onrust is the chief. This isabout three leagues north-west from the city, and is fortified, ascommanding the channel. It is very small, but there are severalwarehouses and other buildings on it. --E. ]

[Footnote 141: Edam is three leagues north-north-east from the city. Itabounds in wood, and is remarkable for a large tree of the fig kind, which is an object of high veneration among the superstitiousJavanese. --E. ]

[Footnote 142: Purmerent is to the eastward of Onrust, and is half aslarge again as that island. It is planted with trees. The hospital on itis maintained by the voluntary alms of both the natives andEuropeans. --E. ]

[Footnote 143: Kuyper, or Cooper's Isle, is considerably less thanOnrust, and lies very near it. Several large tamarind trees yield it anagreeable shade. It has two pier-heads at its south side, where shipstake in and discharge their freight. --E. ]

The country round Batavia is for some miles a continued range of countryhouses and gardens. Many of the gardens are very large, and by somestrange fatality, all are planted with trees almost as thick as they canstand; so that the country derives no advantage from its being clearedof the wood that originally covered it, except the fruit of that whichhas been planted in its room. These impenetrable forests stand in a deadflat, which extends some miles beyond them, and is intersected in manydirections by rivers, and more still by canals, which are navigable forsmall vessels. Nor is this the worst, for the fence of every field andgarden is a ditch; and interspersed among the cultivated ground thereare many filthy fens, bogs, and morasses, as well fresh as salt. 

It is not strange that the inhabitants of such a country should befamiliar with disease and death: Preventative medicines are taken almostas regularly as food; and every body expects the returns of sickness, aswe do the seasons of the year. We did not see a single face in Bataviathat indicated perfect health, for there is not the least tint of colourin the cheeks either of man or woman: The women indeed are toastdelicately fair; but with the appearance of disease there never can beperfect beauty. People talk of death with as much indifference as theydo in a camp; and when an acquaintance is said to be dead, the commonreply is, "Well, he owed me nothing;" or, "I must get my money of hisexecutors. "[144]

[Footnote 144: Those parts of the city are said to be most healthy whichare farthest off from the sea; and the reason given for the differenceis, that a great deal of mud, filth, blubber, &c. Is thrown up by thetide close to the other parts, and soon putrifying from the extremebeat, adds materially to the influence of the generally operatingnuisances. But it seems pretty plain that the difference can be butsmall, as the contaminated air must rapidly defuse itself throughout theneighbourhood. Admitting it, however, to be appreciable, the inferenceis very obvious as to what ought to be done for the bettering ofBatavia, considered as a receptacle of human beings, and not as a putridditch from which gold is to be raked at the certain expense oflife. --E. ]

To this description of the environs of Batavia there are but twoexceptions. The governor's country house is situated upon a risingground; but its ascent is so inconsiderable, that it is known to beabove the common level only by the canals being left behind, and theappearance of a few bad hedges: His excellency, however, who is a nativeof this place, has, with some trouble and expence, contrived to inclosehis own garden with a ditch; such is the influence of habit both uponthe taste and the understanding. A famous market also, called PassarTanabank, is held upon an eminency that rises perpendicularly aboutthirty feet above the plain; and except these situations, the ground, for an extent of between thirty and forty miles round Batavia, isexactly parallel to the horizon. At the distance of about forty milesinland, there are hills of a considerable height, where, as we wereinformed, the air is healthy, and comparatively cool. Here thevegetables of Europe flourish in great perfection, particularlystrawberries, which, can but ill bear heat, and the inhabitants arevigorous and ruddy. Upon these hills some of the principal people havecountry houses, which they visit once a-year; and one was begun for thegovernor, upon the plan of Blenheim, the famous seat of the Duke ofMarlborough in Oxfordshire, but it has never been finished. To thesehills also people are sent by the physicians for the recovery of theirhealth, and the effects of the air are said to be almost miraculous: Thepatient grows well in a short time, but constantly relapses soon afterhis return to Batavia. [145]

[Footnote 145: On approaching the mountains towards the southern partsof the island, the heat of the air gradually diminishes, till at last, especially in the morning and evening, it is absolutely cold, and cannotbe endured without the aid of such clothing as is used in winter inother countries. How materially the proper use of such a change ofclimate may operate to the restoration of health, can be easily imaginedby any one who has felt the different effects of deleterious heat andinvigorating cold. The island of Jamaica presents something very similarto what is now related of the different climates in the vicinity ofBatavia. --E. ]

But the same situation and circumstances which render Batavia and thecountry round it unwholesome, render it the best gardener's ground inthe world. The soil is fruitful beyond imagination, and the conveniencesand luxuries of life that it produces are almost without number. 

Rice, which is well known to be the corn of these countries, and toserve the inhabitants instead of bread, grows in great plenty; and Imust here observe, that in the hilly parts of Java, and in many of theeastern islands, a species of this grain is planted, which in thewestern parts of India is entirely unknown. It is called by the natives_Paddy Gunung_, or Mountain Rice: This, contrary to the other sort, which must be under water three parts in four of the time of itsgrowth, is planted upon the sides of hills where no water but rain cancome: It is however planted at the beginning of the rainy season, andreaped in the beginning of the dry. How far this kind of rice might beuseful in our West-Indian islands, where no bread corn is grown, it mayperhaps be worth while to enquire. [146]

[Footnote 146: The island of Java produces rice, which is the principalfood of millions, in such quantities, as to have obtained the title ofthe granary of the East. Nearly three thousand cwt. , it is said, werefurnished by it in the year 1767, for the use of Batavia, Ceylon, andBanda. It is sown in low ground generally, and after it has got a littleabove the ground, is transplanted in small bundles, in rows, each bundlehaving about six plants. The waters of the rivulets, &c. Are thenallowed to flow on it till the stalk has attained due strength, when theland is drained. When ripe, the fields of rice have an appearance likewheat and barley. It is cut down by a small knife, about a foot underthe ear. In place of being threshed, the seed is separated from the huskby stamping with wooden blocks. --E. ]

Indian corn, or maize, is also produced here, which the inhabitantsgather when young, and toast in the ear. Here is also a great variety ofkidney-beans, and lentiles which they call _Cadjang_, and which make aconsiderable part of the food of the common people; besides millet, yamsboth wet and dry, sweet potatoes, and European potatoes, which are verygood, but not cultivated in great plenty. In the gardens, there arecabbages, lettuces, cucumbers, radishes, the white radishes of China, which boil almost as well as a turnip; carrots, parsley, celery, pigeonpeas, the egg plant, which, broiled and eaten with pepper and salt, isvery delicious; a kind of greens resembling spinnage; onions, verysmall, but excellent; and asparagus: Besides some European plants of astrong smell, particularly sage, hysop, and rue. Sugar is also producedhere in immense quantities; very great crops of the finest and largestcanes that can be imagined are produced with very little care, and yielda much larger proportion of sugar than the canes in the West Indies. White sugar is sold here at two-pence half-penny a pound; and themolasses makes the arrack, of which, as of rum, it is the chiefingredient; a small quantity of rice, and some cocoa-nut wine, beingadded, chiefly, I suppose, to give it flavour. A small quantity ofindigo is also produced here, not as an article of trade, but merely forhome consumption. [147]

[Footnote 147: Pepper, sugar, and coffee, are produced in veryconsiderable quantities, especially the first, which has been reckonedone of the chief commodities of the place. As to sugar, one may havesome notion of the quantity yielded, by a circumstance noticed byStavorinus in his account. He says that thirteen millions of pounds weremanufactured, in 1765, in the province of Jaccatra alone. Much of itused to be sent to the west of India, and a considerable part found itsway to Europe before the derangement, or rather annihilation of theDutch trade, by the effects of the revolutionary wars. --E. ]

But the most abundant article of vegetable luxury here, is the fruit; ofwhich there is no less than six-and-thirty different kinds, and I shallgive a very brief account of each. 

1. The pine-apple; _Bromelia Ananas_. This fruit, which is here called_Nanas_, grows very large, and in such plenty that they may sometimes bebought at the first hand for a farthing a-piece; and at the commonfruit-shops we got three of them for two-pence half-penny. They are veryjuicy and well flavoured; but we all agreed that we had eaten as goodfrom a hot-house in England: They are however so luxuriant in theirgrowth that most of them have two or three crowns, and a great number ofsuckers from the bottom of the fruit; of these Mr Banks once countednine, and they are so forward that very often while they still adheredto the parent plant they shot out their fruit, which, by the time thelarge one became ripe, were of no inconsiderable size. We several timessaw three upon one apple, and were told that a plant once produced acluster of nine, besides the principal: This indeed was considered as sogreat a curiosity, that it was preserved in sugar, and sent to thePrince of Orange. 

2. Sweet oranges. These are very good, but while we were here, sold forsix-pence a piece. 

3. Pumplemoeses, which in the West Indies are called Shaddocks. Thesewere well flavoured, but not juicy; their want of juice, however, was anaccidental effect of the season. 

4. Lemons. These were very scarce; but the want of them was amplycompensated by the plenty of limes. 

5. Limes. These were excellent, and to be bought at about twelve-pence ahundred. We saw only two or three Seville oranges, which were almost allrind; and there are many sorts, both of oranges and lemons, which Ishall not particularly mention, because they are neither esteemed byEuropeans nor the natives themselves. 

6. Mangos. This fruit during our stay was so infested with maggots, which bred in the inside of them, that scarcely one in three waseatable; and the best of them were much inferior to those of Brazil:They are generally compared by Europeans to a melting peach, whichindeed they resemble in softness and sweetness, but certainly fall muchshort in flavour. The climate here, we were told, is too hot and dampfor them; but there are as many sorts of them as there are of apples inEngland, and some are much superior to others. One sort, which is called_Mangha Cowani_, has so strong a smell that a European can scarcely bearone in the room. These, however, the natives are fond of. The threesorts which are generally preferred, are the _Mangha Doodool_, the_Mangha Santock_, and the _Mangha Gure_. 

7. Bananas. Of these also there are innumerable sorts, but three onlyare good; the _Pissang Mas_, the _Pissang Radja_, and the _PissangAmbou_: All these have a pleasant vinous taste, and the rest are usefulin different ways; some are fried in batter, and others are boiled andeaten as bread. There is one which deserves the particular notice of thebotanist, because, contrary to the nature of its tribe, it is full ofseeds, and is therefore called _Pissang Batu_, or _Pissang Bidjie_; ithis however no excellence to recommend it to the taste, but the Malaysuse it as a remedy for the flux. 

8. Grapes. These are not in great perfection, but they are very dear;for we could not buy a moderate bunch for less than a shilling oreighteen-pence. 

9. Tamarinds. These are in great plenty, and very cheap: The people, however, do not put them up in the manner practised by the West Indians, but cure them with salt, by which means they become a black mass, sodisagreeable to the sight and taste, that few Europeans chuse to meddlewith them. 

10. Water melons. These are in great plenty, and very good. 

11. Pumpkins. These are beyond comparison the most useful fruit that canbe carried to sea; for they will keep without any care several months, and with sugar and lemon-juice, make a pye that can scarcely bedistinguished from one made of the best of apples; and with pepper andsalt, they are a substitute for turnips, not to be despised. 

12 Papaws. This fruit when it is ripe is full of seeds, and almostwithout flavour; but if when it is green it is pared, and the core takenout, it is better than the best turnip. 

13. Guava. This fruit is much commended by the inhabitants of ourislands in the West Indies, who probably have a better sort than we metwith here, where the smell of them was so disagreeably strong that itmade some of us sick; those who tasted them said, that the flavour wasequally rank. 

14. Sweet sop. The _Annona Squammosa_ of Linnæus. This is also aWest-Indian fruit: It consists only of a mass of large kernels, fromwhich a small proportion of pulp may be sucked, which is very sweet, buthas little flavour. 

15. Custard apple. The _Annona Reticulata_ of Linnæus. The quality ofthis fruit is well expressed by its English name, which it acquired inthe West Indies; for it is as like a custard, and a good one too, as canbe imagined. 

16. The cashew apple. This is seldom eaten on account of itsastringency. The nut that grows upon the top of it is well known inEurope. 

17. The cocoa-nut. This is also well known in Europe: There are severalsorts, but the best of those we found here is called _Calappi Edjou_, and is easily known by the redness of the flesh between the skin and theshell. 

18. Mangostan. The _Garcinia Mangostana_ of Linnæus. This fruit, whichis peculiar to the East Indies, is about the size of the crab apple, andof a deep red-wine colour: On the top of it is the figure of five or sixsmall triangles joined in a circle, and at the bottom several hollowgreen leaves, which are remains of the blossom. When they are to beeaten, the skin, or rather flesh, must be taken off, under which arefound six or seven white kernels, placed in a circular order, and thepulp with which these are enveloped, is the fruit, than which nothingcan be more delicious: It is a happy mixture of the tart and the sweet, which is no less wholesome than pleasant; and with the sweet orange, this fruit is allowed in any quantity to those who are afflicted withfevers, either of the putrid or inflammatory kind. 

19. The jamboo. The _Eugenia Mallaccensis_ of Linnæus. This fruit is ofa deep red colour, and an oval shape; the largest, which are always thebest, are not bigger than a small apple; they are pleasant and cooling, though they have not much flavour. 

20. The jambu-eyer. A species of the _Eugenia_ of Linnæus. Of this fruitthere are two sorts of a similar shape, resembling a bell, but differingin colour; one being red, the other white. They somewhat exceed a largecherry in size, and in taste have neither flavour nor even sweetness, containing nothing but a watery juice, slightly acidulated; yet theircoolness recommends them in this hot country. 

21. Jambu-eyer mauwar. The _Eugenia Jambos_ of Linnæus. This is moregrateful to the smell than the taste: In taste it resembles the conserveof roses, and in smell the fresh scent of those flowers. 

22. The pomegranate. This is the same fruit that is known by the samename all over Europe. 

23. Durion. A fruit that in shape resembles a small melon, but the skinis covered with sharp conical spines, whence its name; for _dure_, inthe Malay language, signifies prickle. When it is ripe, it divideslongitudinally into seven or eight compartments, each of which containssix or seven nuts, not quite so large as chesnuts, which are coveredwith a substance that in colour and consistence very much resemblesthick cream: This is the part that is eaten, and the natives are fond ofit to excess. To Europeans it is generally disagreeable at first; for intaste it somewhat resembles a mixture of cream, sugar, and onions; andin the smell, the onions predominate. 

24. Nanca. This fruit, which in some parts of India is called Jakes, has, like the Durion, a smell very disagreeable to strangers, andsomewhat resembling that of mellow apples mixed with garlic: The flavouris not more adapted to the general taste. In some countries that arefavourable to it, it is said to grow to an immense size. Rumphiusrelates, that it is sometimes so large that a man cannot easily lift it;and we were told by a Malay, that at Madura it is sometimes so large asnot to be carried but by the united efforts of two men. At Batavia, however, they never exceed the size of a large melon, which in shapethey very much resemble: They are covered with angular prickles, likethe shootings of some crystals, which however are not hard enough towound those who handle them. 

25. Champada. This differs from the Nanca in little except size, it notbeing so big. . 

26. Rambutan. This is a fruit little known to Europeans. In appearanceit very much resembles a chesnut with the husk on, and like that, iscovered with small points, which are soft, and of a deep red colour:Under this skin is the fruit, and within the fruit a stone; the eatablepart thereof is small in quantity, but its acid is perhaps moreagreeable than any other in the whole vegetable kingdom. 

27. Jambolan. This, in size and appearance, is not unlike a damascene;but in taste is still more astringent, and therefore less agreeable. 

28. The Boa Bidarra, or _Rhamnus Jujuba_ of Linnæus. This is a roundyellow fruit, about the size of a gooseberry; its flavour is like thatof an apple, but it has the astringency of a crab. 

29. Nam nam. The _Cynometra Cauliflora_ of Linnæus. This fruit in shapesomewhat resembles a kidney; it is about three inches long, and theoutside is very rough: It is seldom eaten raw, but fried with batter itmakes a good fritter. 

30, 31. The Catappa, or _Terminalia Catappa_; and the Canare, the_Canarium Commune_ of Linnæus, are both nuts, with kernels somewhatresembling an almond; but the difficulty of breaking the shell is sogreat, that they are no where publicly sold. Those which we tasted weregathered for curiosity by Mr Banks from the tree upon which they grew. 

32. The Madja, or _Limoni_ of Linnæus, contains, under a hard brittleshell, a lightly acid pulp, which cannot be eaten without sugar; andwith it, is not generally thought pleasant. 

33. Suntul. The _Trichilia_ of Linnæus. This is the worst of all thefruits that I shall particularly mention: In size and shape it resemblesthe Madja, and within a thick skin contains kernels like those of theMangostan, the taste of which is both acid and astringent, and sodisagreeable, that we were surprised to see it exposed upon thefruit-stalls. 

34, 35, 36. The Blimbing, or _Averrhoa Belimbi_; the Blimbing Besse, or_Averrhoa Carambola_; and the Cherrema, or _Averrhoa Acida_ of Linnæus, are three species of one genus; and though they differ in shape, arenearly of the same taste. The Blimbing Besse is the sweetest: the othertwo are so austerely acid, that they cannot be used without dressing;they make, however, excellent pickles and sour sauce. 

37. The Salack, or _Calamus Rotang Zalacca_ of Linnæus. This is thefruit of a prickly bush; it is about as big as a walnut, and coveredwith scales, like those of a lizard: Below the scales are two or threeyellow kernels, in flavour somewhat resembling a strawberry. 

Besides these, the island of Java, and particularly the country roundBatavia, produces many kinds of fruit which were not in season duringour stay: We were also told that apples, strawberries, and many otherfruits from Europe, had been planted up in the mountains, and flourishedthere in great luxuriance. We saw several fruits preserved in sugar, that we did not see recent from the tree, one of which is called_Kimkit_, and another _Boa Atap_: And here are several others which areeaten only by the natives, particularly the _Kellor_, the _Guilindina_, the _Moringa_, and the _Soccum_. The Soccum is of the same kind with thebreadfruit in the South-Sea islands, but so much inferior, that if ithad not been for the similitude in the outward appearance both of thefruit and the tree, we should not have referred it to that class. Theseand some others do not merit to be particularly mentioned. 

The quantity of fruit that is consumed at Batavia is incredible; butthat which is publicly exposed to sale is generally over-ripe. Astranger, however, may get good fruit in a street called Passar Pissang, which lies north from the great church, and very near it. This street isinhabited by none but Chinese fruit-sellers, who are supplied from thegardens of gentlemen in the neighbourhood of the town with such as isfresh, and excellent in its kind, for which, however, they must be paidmore than four times the market price. 

The town in general is supplied from a considerable distance, wheregreat quantities of land are cultivated merely for the production offruit. The country people, to whom these lands belong, meet the peopleof the town at two great markets; one on Monday, called Passar Sineeu, and the other on Saturday, called Passar Tanabank. These fairs are heldat places considerably distant from each other, for the convenience ofdifferent districts; neither of them, however, are more than five milesdistant from Batavia. At these fairs, the best fruit may be bought atthe cheapest rate, and the sight of them to a European is veryentertaining. The quantity of fruit is astonishing; forty or fiftycart-loads of the finest pine-apples, packed as carelessly as turnips inEngland, are common, and other fruit in the same profusion. The days, however, on which these markets are held are ill contrived; the timebetween Saturday and Monday is too short, and that between Monday andSaturday too long: Great part of what is bought on Monday is always muchthe worse for keeping before a new stock can be bought, either by theretailer or consumer; so that for several days in every week there is nogood fruit in the hands of any people but the Chinese in Passar Pissang. 

The inhabitants of this part of India practise a luxury which seems tobe but little attended to in other countries; they are continuallyburning aromatic woods and resins, and scatter odours round them in aprofusion of flowers, possibly as an antidote to the noisome effluvia oftheir ditches and canals. Of sweet-smelling flowers they have a greatvariety, altogether unknown in Europe, the chief of which I shallbriefly describe. 

1. The _Champacka_, or _Michelia Champacca_. This grows upon a tree aslarge as an apple-tree, and consists of fifteen long narrow petala, which give it the appearance of being double, though in reality it isnot so: Its colour is yellow, and much deeper than that of a jonquil, towhich it has some resemblance in smell. 

2. The _Cananga_, or _Uvaria Cananga_, is a green flower, not at allresembling the blossom of any tree or plant in Europe: It has indeedmore the appearance of a bunch of leaves than a flower; its scent isagreeable, but altogether peculiar to itself. 

3. The _Mulatti_, or _Nyctanthes Sambac_. This is well known in Englishhot-houses by the name of Arabian jessamine: It grows here in thegreatest profusion, and its fragrance, like that of all other Indianflowers, though exquisitely pleasing, has not that overpowering strengthwhich distinguishes some of the same sorts in Europe. 

4, 5. The _Combang Caracnassi_, and _Combang Tonquin, PerculariaGlabro_. These are small flowers, of the dog's-bane kind, very muchresembling each other in shape and smell, highly fragrant, but verydifferent from every product of an English garden. 

6. The _Bonga Tanjong_, or _Mimusops Elengi_ of Linnaeus. This flower isshaped like a star of seven or eight rays, and is about half an inch indiameter: It is of a yellowish colour, and has an agreeable smell. 

Besides these, there is the _Sundal Malam_, or _Polianthes Tuberosa_. This flower, being the same with our own tuberose, can have no placeamong those that are unknown in Europe; but I mention it for its Malayname, which signifies "Intriguer of the night, " and is not inelegantlyconceived. The heat of this climate is so great, that few flowers exhaletheir sweets in the day; and this in particular, from its total want ofscent at that time, and the modesty of its colour, which is white, seems negligent of attracting admirers, but as soon as night comes on, it diffuses its fragrance, and at once compels the attention, andexcites the complacency, of all who approach it. 

These are all sold about the streets every evening at sunset, eitherstrung upon a thread, in wreaths of about two feet long, or made up intonosegays of different forms, either of which may be purchased for abouta half-penny. Besides these, there are, in private gardens, many othersweet flowers, which are not produced in a sufficient quantity to bebrought to market. With a mixture of these flowers, and the leaves of aplant called _Pandang_, cut into small pieces, persons of both sexesfill their hair and their clothes, and with the same mixture indulge amuch higher luxury by strewing it on their beds; so that the chamber inwhich they sleep breathes the richest and purest of all odours, unallayed by the fumes which cannot but arise where the sleeper liesunder two or three blankets and a quilt, for the bed covering here isnothing more than a single piece of fine chintz. 

Before I close my account of the vegetable productions of this part ofIndia, I must take some notice of the spices. Java originally producednone but pepper. This is now sent from hence into Europe to a greatvalue, but the quantity consumed here is very small: The inhabitants use_Capsicum_, or, as it is called in Europe, Cayan pepper, almostuniversally in its stead. Cloves and nutmegs, having been monopolized bythe Dutch, are become too dear to be plentifully used by the otherinhabitants of this country, who are very fond of them. Cloves, althoughthey are said originally to have been the produce of Machian, orBachian, a small island far to the eastward, and only fifteen miles tothe northward of the line, and to have been from thence disseminated bythe Dutch, at their first coming into these parts, over all the easternislands, are now confined to Amboina, and the small isles that lie inits neighbourhood; the Dutch having, by different treaties of peacebetween them and the conquered kings of all the other islands, stipulated, that they should have only a certain number of trees intheir dominions; and in future quarrels, as a punishment fordisobedience and rebellion, lessened the quantity, till at last theyleft them no claim to any. Nutmegs have in a manner been extirpated inall the islands except their first native soil, Banda, which easilysupplies every nation upon earth, and would as easily supply everynation in another globe of the same dimensions, if there was any suchto which the industrious Hollander could transport the commodity: It is, however, certain, that there are a few trees of this spice upon thecoast of New Guinea. There may perhaps be both cloves and nutmegs uponother islands to the eastward; for those, neither the Dutch, nor anyother European, seem to think it worth while to examine. 

The principal tame quadrupeds of this country, are horses, cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, and hogs The horses are small, never exceedingin size what we call a stout galloway, but they are nimble and spirited, and are reported to have been found here when the Europeans first cameround the Cape of Good Hope. The horned cattle are said to be the samespecies as those in Europe, but they differ so much in appearance, thatwe were inclined to doubt it: They have indeed the _palearia_ or_dewlap_, which naturalists make the distinguishing characteristic ofthe European species, but they certainly are found wild, not only inJava, but several of the eastern islands. The flesh of those that we eatat Batavia, had a finer grain than European beef, but it was less juicy, and miserably lean. Buffaloes are plenty, but the Dutch never eat them, nor will they drink their milk, being prepossessed with a notion thatboth are unwholesome, and tend to produce fevers; though the natives andChinese eat both, without any injury to their health. The sheep are ofthe kind which have long ears that hang down, and hair instead of wool:The flesh of these is hard and tough, and in every respect the worstmutton we ever saw. We found here, however, a few Cape sheep, which areexcellent, but so dear that we gave five-and-forty shillings a-piece forfour of them, the heaviest of which weighed only five-and-forty pounds. The goats are not better than the sheep; but the hogs, especially theChinese breed, are incomparable, and so fat, that the purchaser agreesfor the lean separately. The butcher, who is always a Chinese, withoutthe least scruple cuts off as much of the fat as he is desired, andafterwards sells it to his countrymen, who melt it down, and eat itinstead of butter with their rice: But notwithstanding the excellence ofthis pork, the Dutch are so strongly prejudiced in favour of every thingthat comes from their native country, that they eat only of the Dutchbreed, which are here sold as much dearer than the Chinese, as theChinese are sold dearer than the Dutch in Europe. 

Besides these animals, which are tame, they have dogs and cats, andthere are among the distant mountains some wild horses and cattle:Buffaloes are not found wild in any part of Java, though they abound inMacassar, and several other eastern islands. The neighbourhood ofBatavia, however, is plentifully supplied with two kinds of deer, andwild hogs, which are sold at a reasonable price by the Portuguese, whoshoot them, and are very good food. 

Among the mountains, and in the desert parts of the island, there aretigers, it is said, in great abundance, and some rhinoceroses: In theseparts also there are monkies, and there are a few of them even in theneighbourhood of Batavia. 

Of fish, here is an amazing plenty; many sorts are excellent, and allare very cheap, except the few that are scarce. It happens here, as inother places, that vanity gets the better even of appetite: The cheapfish, most of which is of the best kind, is the food only of slaves, andthat which is dear, only because it is scarce, and very much inferior inevery respect, is placed upon the tables of the rich. A. Sensiblehouse-keeper once spoke to us freely upon the subject. "I know, " saidhe, "as well as you, that I could purchase a better dish of fish for ashilling, than what now costs me ten; but if I should make so good a useof my money, I should here be as much despised, as you would be inEurope, if you were to cover your table with offals, fit only forbeggars, or dogs. "

Turtle is also found here, but it is neither so sweet nor so fat as theWest-Indian turtle, even in London; such as it is, however, we shouldconsider it as a dainty; but the Dutch, among other singularities, donot eat it. We saw some lizards, or Iguanas, here of a very large size;we were told that some were as thick as a man's thigh, and Mr Banks shotone that was five feet long: The flesh of this animal proved to be verygood food. 

Poultry is very good here, and in great plenty: Fowls of a very largesize, ducks, and geese, are very cheap; pigeons are dear, and the priceof turkies extravagant. We sometimes found the flesh of these animalslean and dry, but this was merely the effect of their being ill fed, forthose that we fed ourselves were as good as any of the same kind that wehad tasted in Europe, and we sometimes thought them even better. 

Wild fowl in general is scarce. We once saw a wild duck in the fields, but never any that were to be sold. We frequently saw snipes of twokinds, one of them exactly the same as that in Europe; and a kind ofthrush was always to be had in great plenty of the Portuguese, who, forI know not what reason, seem to have monopolized the wild fowl and game. Of snipes, it is remarkable, that they are found in more parts of theworld than any other bird, being common almost all over Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. 

With respect to drink, Nature has not been quite so liberal to theinhabitants of Java as to some whom she has placed in the less fruitfulregions of the north. The native Javanese, and most of the other Indianswho inhabit this island, are indeed Mahometans, and therefore have noreason to regret the want of wine; but, as if the prohibition of theirlaw respected only the manner of becoming drunk, and not drunkennessitself, they chew opium, to the total subversion not only of theirunderstanding, but their health. [148]

[Footnote 148: Besides opium, both betel and a sort of tobacco is muchused by most people at Batavia. A lady scarcely ever goes out unattendedby a slave, who carries her betel box, to which she very frequently hasrecourse. The constant use of this substance has a very unpleasant (i. E. According to European opinion) effect on the teeth, rendering themquite black! This, however, is not thought any disparagement of theirbeauty, and it is believed that the toothache is prevented by thepractice of chewing. A few additional remarks on this subject are givenin the following section. --E. ]

The arrack that is made here, is too well known to need a description:Besides which, the palm yields a wine of the same kind with that whichhas already been described in the account of the island of Savu: It isprocured from the same tree, in the same manner, and is sold in threestates. The first, in which it is called _Tuac manise_, differs littlefrom that in which it comes from the tree; yet even this has receivedsome preparation altogether unknown to us, in consequence of which itwill keep eight-and-forty hours, though otherwise it would spoil intwelve: In this state it has an agreeable sweetness, and will notintoxicate. In the other two states it has undergone a fermentation, andreceived an infusion of certain herbs and roots, by which it loses itssweetness, and acquires a taste very austere and disagreeable. In one ofthese states it's called _Tuac cras_, and in the other _Tuac cuning_, but the specific difference I do not know; in both, however, itintoxicates very powerfully. A liquor called Tuac is also made from thecocoa-nut tree, but this is used chiefly to put into the arrack, for inthat which is good it is an essential ingredient. 

SECTION XXXIX. 

_Some Account of the Inhabitants of Batavia, and the adjacent Country, their Manners, Customs, and Manner of Life_. 

The town of Batavia, although, as I have already observed, it is thecapital of the Dutch dominions in India, is so far from being peopledwith Dutchmen, that not one-fifth part, even of the European inhabitantsof the town, and its environs, are natives of Holland, or of Dutchextraction: The greater part are Portuguese, and besides Europeans, there are Indians of various nations, and Chinese, besides a greatnumber of negro slaves. [149] In the troops, there are natives of almostevery country in Europe, but the Germans are more than all the rest puttogether; there are some English and French, but the Dutch, though otherEuropeans are permitted to get money here, keep all the power in theirown hands, and consequently possess all public employments. No man, ofwhatever nation, can come hither to settle, in any other character thanthat of a soldier in the Company's service, in which, before they areaccepted, they must covenant to remain five years. As soon, however, asthis form has been complied with, they are allowed, upon application tothe council, to absent themselves from their corps, and enterimmediately into any branch of trade which their money or credit willenable them to carry on; and by this means it is that all the whiteinhabitants of the place are soldiers. 

[Footnote 149: Mr Barrow estimates the population of Batavia, and theadjacent villages, at 116, 000, of which only about 8000 are Europeans;the slaves are supposed 17, 000, the Chinese 22, 000, and the remainderconsists of free Javanese or Malays. The streets of Batavia, he says, present a greater variety of races than are almost any where else to befound together. Among these, however, as is to be expected, the Dutchmanis by much the most consequential, when he condescends, which is notfrequent, to appear amongst the lower species. Mr B. 's description ofthis important being may amuse the reader. "The Dutchman, whosepredominant vice in Europe is avarice, rising into affluence in anunhealthy foreign settlement, almost invariably changes this part of hischaracter, and, with a thorough contempt of the frugal maxim of Molier'sL'Avare, lives to eat, rather than eats to live. His motto is, 'Let useat and drink, for tomorrow we die. ' He observes, it is true, the oldmaxim of rising at an early hour in the morning, not however for thesake of enjoying the cool breeze, and of taking moderate exercise, butrather to begin the day's career of eating and drinking. His first essayis usually a _sopie_, or glass of gin to which succeed a cup of coffeeand a pipe. His stomach thus fortified, he lounges about the great hallof the house, or the viranda, if in the country, with a loosenight-gown, carelessly thrown over his shoulders, a night-cap andslippers, till about eight o'clock, which is the usual hour ofbreakfast. This is generally a solid meal of dried meat, fish, andpoultry, made into curries, eggs, rice, strong beer, and spirits. _Currie_ and rice is a standing dish at all meals, and at all seasons ofthe year, being considered as an excellent stimulus to the stomach. Thebusiness of the day occupies little more than a couple of hours, fromten to twelve, when he again sits down to dinner, a meal that issomewhat more solid than the breakfast. From table he retires to sleep, and remains invisible till about five in the evening, when he rises andprepares for a ride or a walk, from which he uniformly returns to asmoking-hot supper. " So much for the portly Dutchman at Batavia, --a sortof animal not unsuccessfully emulated, as to substantials, by a certain_genus_ in some islands of the West Indies!-E. ]

Women, however, of all nations, are permitted to settle here, withoutcoming under any restrictions; yet we were told that there were not, when we arrived at Batavia, twenty women in the place that were born inEurope, but that the white women, who were by no means scarce, weredescendants from European parents of the third or fourth generation, thegleanings of many families who had successively come hither, and in themale line become extinct; for it is certain that, whatever be the cause, this climate is not so fatal to the ladies as to the other sex. 

These women imitate the Indians in every particular; their dress is madeof the same materials, their hair is worn in the same manner, and theyare equally enslaved by the habit of chewing betel. 

The merchants carry on their business here with less trouble perhapsthan in any other part of the world: Every manufacture is managed by theChinese, who sell the produce of their labour to the merchant residenthere, for they are permitted to sell it to no one else; so that when aship comes in, and bespeaks perhaps a hundred leagers of arrack, or anyquantity of other commodities, the merchant has nothing to do but tosend orders to his Chinese to see them delivered on board: He obeys thecommand, brings a receipt, signed by the master of the ship, for thegoods to his employer, who receives the money, and having deducted hisprofit, pays the Chinese his demand. With goods that are imported, however, the merchant has a little more trouble, for these he mustexamine, receive, and lay up in his warehouse, according to the practiceof other countries. 

The Portuguese are called by the natives Oranserrne, or Nazareen men(Oran, being Man in the language of the country, ) to distinguish themfrom other Europeans; yet they are included in the general appellationof _Caper_, or _Cafir_, an opprobrious term, applied by Mahometans toall who do not profess their faith. These people, however, arePortuguese only in name; they have renounced the religion of Rome, andbecome Lutherans: Neither have they the least communication with thecountry of their forefathers, or even knowledge of it: They speak indeeda corrupt dialect of the Portuguese language, but much more frequentlyuse the Malay: They are never suffered to employ themselves in any butmean occupations: Many of them live by hunting, many by washing linen, and some are handicraftsmen and artificers. They have adopted all thecustoms of the Indians, from whom they are distinguished chiefly bytheir features and complexion, their skin being considerably darker, andtheir noses more sharp; their dress is exactly the same, except in themanner of wearing their hair. 

The Indians, who are mixed with the Dutch and Portuguese in the town ofBatavia, and the country adjacent, are not, as might be supposed, Javanese, the original natives of the island, but natives of the variousislands from which the Dutch import slaves, and are either such as havethemselves been manumized, or the descendants of those who formerlyreceived manumission; and they are all comprehended under the generalname of _Oranslam_, or _Isalam_, signifying believers of the true faith. The natives of every country, however, in other respects, keepthemselves distinct from the rest, and are not less strongly marked thanthe slaves by the vices or virtues of their respective nations. Many ofthese employ themselves in the cultivation of gardens, and in sellingfruit and flowers. The betel and areca, which are here called _siri_ and_pinang_, and chewed by both sexes and every rank in amazing quantities, are all grown by these Indians: Lime is also mixed with these roots hereas it is in Savu, but it is less pernicious to the teeth, because it isfirst slaked, and, besides the lime, a substance called _gambir_, whichis brought from the continent of India; the better sort of women alsoadd cardamum, and many other aromatics, to give the breath an agreeablesmell. Some of the Indians, however, are employed in fishing, and aslightermen, to carry goods from place to place by water; and some arerich, and live with much of the splendour of their country, whichchiefly consists in the number of their slaves. 

In the article of food, these Isalams are remarkably temperate: Itconsists chiefly of boiled rice, with a small portion of buffalo, fish, or fowl, and sometimes of dried fish, and dried shrimps, which arebrought hither from China; every dish, however, is highly seasoned withCayan pepper, and they have many kinds of pastry made of rice-flour, andother things to which I am a stranger; they eat also a great deal offruit, particularly plantains. 

But notwithstanding their general temperance their feasts areplentiful, and, according to their manner, magnificent. As they areMahometans, wine and strong liquors professedly make no part of theirentertainment, neither do they often indulge with them privately, contenting themselves with their betel and opium. 

The principal solemnity among them is a wedding, upon which occasionboth the families borrow as many ornaments of gold and silver as theycan, to adorn the bride and bridegroom, so that their dresses are veryshowy and magnificent. The feasts that are given upon these occasionsamong the rich, last sometimes a fortnight, and sometimes longer; andduring this time the man, although married on the first day, is, by thewomen, kept from his wife. 

The language that is spoken among all these people, from what placesoever they originally came, is the Malay; at least, it is a language socalled, and probably it is a very corrupt dialect of that spoken atMalacca. Every little island, indeed, has a language of its own, andJava has two or three, but this lingua franca is the only language thatis now spoken here, and, as I am told, it prevails over a great part ofthe East Indies. A dictionary of Malay and English was published inLondon by Thomas Bowrey, in the year 1701. [150]

[Footnote 150: What is here said of the Malay language cannot beimplicitly relied on, information on the subject being exceedinglyscanty at the time of the publication. Mr Marsden has lately favouredthe world with both dictionary and grammar of the Malay, of which a veryimportant account will be found in the Edinburgh Review for April1814. --E. ]

Their women wear as much hair as can grow upon the head, and to increasethe quantity, they use oils, and other preparations of various kinds. Ofthis ornament Nature has been very liberal; it is universally black, andis formed into a kind of circular wreath upon the top of the head, whereit is fastened with a bodkin, in a taste which we thought inexpressiblyelegant: The wreath of hair is surrounded by another of flowers, inwhich the Arabian jessamine is beautifully intermixed with the goldenstars of the _bonger tanjong_. 

Both sexes constantly bathe themselves in the river at least oncea-day, a practice which, in this hot country, is equally necessary bothto personal delicacy and health. The teeth of these people also, whatever they may suffer in their colour by chewing betel, are an objectof great attention: The ends of them, both in the upper and under jaw, are rubbed with a kind of whetstone, by a very troublesome and painfuloperation, till they are perfectly even and flat, so that they cannotlose less than half a line in their length. A deep groove is then madeacross the teeth of the upper jaw, parallel with the gums, and in themiddle between them and the extremity of the teeth; the depth of thisgroove is at least equal to one-fourth of the thickness of the teeth, sothat it penetrates far beyond what is called the enamel, the leastinjury to which, according to the dentists of Europe, is fatal; yetamong these people, where the practice of thus wounding the enamel isuniversal, we never saw a rotten tooth; nor is the blackness a stain, but a covering, which may be washed off at pleasure, and the teeth, thenappear as white as ivory, which, however, is not an excellence in theestimation of the belles and beaux of these nations. 

These are the people among whom the practice that is called a _mock_, orrunning a muck, has prevailed for time immemorial. It is well known, that to run a muck, in the original sense of the word, is to getintoxicated with opium, and then rush into the street with a drawnweapon, and kill whoever comes in the way, till the party is himselfeither killed or taken prisoner; of this several instances happenedwhile we were at Batavia, and one of the officers, whose business it is, among other things, to apprehend such people, told us, that there wasscarcely a week in which he, or some of his brethren, were not calledupon to take one of them into custody. In one of the instances that cameto our knowledge, the party had been severely injured by the perfidy ofwomen, and was mad with jealousy before he made himself drunk withopium; and we were told, that the Indian who runs a muck is always firstdriven to desperation by some outrage, and always first revenges himselfupon those who have done him wrong: We were also told, that though theseunhappy wretches afterwards run into the street with a weapon in theirhand, frantic and foaming at the mouth, yet they never kill any butthose who attempt to apprehend them, or those whom they suspect of suchan intention, and that whoever gives them way is safe. They aregenerally slaves, who indeed are most subject to insults, and least ableto obtain legal redress: Freemen, however, are sometimes provoked intothis extravagance, and one of the persons who ran a muck while we wereat Batavia, was free, and in easy circumstances. He was jealous of hisown brother, whom he first killed, and afterwards two others, whoattempted to oppose him: He did not, however, come out of his house, butendeavoured to defend himself in it, though the opium had so fardeprived him of his senses, that of three muskets, which he attempted touse against the officers of justice, not one was either loaded orprimed. If the officer takes one of these amocks, or mohawks, as theyhave been called by an easy corruption, alive, his reward is veryconsiderable, but if he kills them, nothing is added to his usual pay;yet such is the fury of their desperation, that three out of four are ofnecessity destroyed in the attempt to secure them, though the officersare provided with instruments like large tongs, or pincers, to lay holdof them without coming within the reach of their weapon. Those whohappen to be taken alive are generally wounded, but they are alwaysbroken alive upon the wheel, and if the physician who is appointed toexamine their wounds thinks them likely to be mortal, the punishment isinflicted immediately, and the place of execution is generally the spotwhere the first murder was committed. [151]

[Footnote 151: The word _amock_, which is vulgarly applied to this mostextraordinary exhibition of ferocious despair, signifies, in the nativelanguage, _kill_, and is often vociferated by the unhappy madmen as theyprowl the streets, intent on vengeance. There is reason to believe thatopium is no otherwise concerned in producing such frenzy than as itcontributes to keep up the passions which had been previously raised, and to render the persons under their influence insensible to thedangers that beset them:--In the same manner as in other countries, theintemperate use of spirits produces a sort of temporary, but oftenfatal, and always hazardous derangement. The Malays are remarkable forferocity of temper, and are, at the same time, exceedingly liable tojealousy, and to take offence. It is usually after such occurrences asexcite their bad passions, that they take to opium and are at lastwrought up to the madness of the "amock, " which ends their days andgriefs together. --E. ]

Among these people there are many absurd practices and opinions whichthey derive from their pagan ancestors: They believe that the devil, whom they call Satan, is the cause of all sickness and adversity, andfor this reason, when they are sick, or in distress, they consecratemeat, money, and other things to him as a propitiation. If any one amongthem is restless, and dreams for two or three nights successively, heconcludes that Satan has taken that method of laying his commands uponhim, which if he neglects to fulfil, he will certainly suffer sicknessor death, though they are not revealed with sufficient perspicuity toascertain their meaning: To interpret his dream, therefore, he taxes hiswits to the uttermost, and if, by taking it literally or figuratively, directly or by contraries, he can put no explanation upon it thatperfectly satisfies him, he has recourse to the cawin, or priest, whoassists him with a comment and illustrations, and perfectly reveals themysterious suggestions of the night. It generally appears that the devilwants victuals or money, which are always allotted him, and being placedon a little plate of cocoa-nut leaves, are hung upon the branch of atree near the river, so that it seems not to be the opinion of thesepeople, that in prowling the earth "the devil walketh through dryplaces. " Mr Banks once asked, whether they thought Satan spent themoney, or eat the victuals? he was answered, that as to the money, itwas considered rather as a mulct upon an offender, than a gift to himwho had enjoined it, and that therefore, if it was devoted by thedreamer, it mattered not into whose hands it came, and they supposedthat it was generally the prize of some stranger who wandered that way;but as to the meat, they were clearly of opinion that although the devildid not eat the gross parts, yet, by bringing his mouth near it, hesucked out all its savour without changing its position, so thatafterwards it was as tasteless as water. [152]

[Footnote 152: The people of Borneo are said to have a similar mode ofplacating the devil by means of victuals, &c. A curious account of it isgiven by Capt. Daniel Beeckman, in his relation of a voyage to thatisland, published at London, 1718. The following extract mayamuse:--"There was one Cay Deponattee, a very honest man, who often usedto visit us; he happened to come one day when Mr Becher was delirious, (being ill of a fever) and perceiving him to be very earnest inspeaking, he asked us what he talked of? We told him he was seila, thatis, light-headed; and we explained to him what extravagant things hesaid. Whereupon he told us, that he was possessed with the devil, andthat it was not he that spoke, but the devil that was within him. Hebegged that we would carry some fowls, rice, and fruit, and offer it tothe devil in the woods, where they have certain places for that purpose, and that then the devil would leave him; for, says he, what signifiesthe expence? We answered him, that we knew better things, and that hisillness did not proceed from what he imagined; that we Christians fearednot the devil, for that he had no power to hurt any but those that puttheir trust in him, and not in God. The old man laughed at our notions, and said, that their sultan was of our opinion, but that, for his ownpart, he knew otherwise by experience. The next day he came to see himagain; and upon his enquiry how he did, Mr Becher (being then sensible)answered him, that he was something better, but that he had a great painacross his stomach. 'Ay, ' says the old man, 'I told you yesterday whatthe matter was, but you are fools, and would not believe me, nor beruled by me; but though the devil is gone, he has smote you on thestomach; and without you follow my directions, you will certainly die ina very little time. ' Then he desired that his wife might go and makesuch offerings; but Mr Becher answered, that she might do what shepleased, but not on his account, for that he would rather lose his lifethan be beholden to the devil for it. The manner of these offerings isthus; When any person is very ill, especially in the condition Mr B. Was, imagining him to be possessed, they buy the aforesaid provisions;and having dressed them with as much care as if they were to make asplendid entertainment, they carry this banquet into the woods to acertain house or shed, built always under the largest trees near thewater side, where they leave it. As to what ceremonies of prayer, &c. , they use on this occasion, I know not particularly, only that theyinvite the devil very kindly to it, assuring him that it is very good, and well dressed, and begging him to accept it. Now these woods are sofull of monkeys, that if never so much was left at night, they woulddevour it before morning, which these ignorant creatures believe to beeaten by the devil; and if the person recovers, they think themselvesvery much obliged to him for his civility and good nature, and, by wayof thanks, they send him more; but if the person dies, then they revileagainst him, calling him a cross ill-natured devil, that he is often adeceiver, and that he has been very ungrateful in accepting the present, and then killing their friend: In fine, they are very angry with him. "He mentions some other ways of enchanting away distempers, where suchofferings to the devil are no inconsiderable part of theprescription. --E. ]

But they have another superstitious opinion that is still moreunaccountable. They believe that women, when they are delivered ofchildren, are frequently at the same time delivered of a youngcrocodile, as a twin to the infant: They believe that these creaturesare received most carefully by the midwife, and immediately carried downto the river, and put into the water. The family in which such a birthis supposed to have happened constantly put victuals into the river fortheir amphibious relation, and especially the twin, who, as long as helives, gets down to the river at stated seasons, to fulfil thisfraternal duly, for the neglect of which it is the universal opinionthat he will be visited with sickness or death. What could at firstproduce a notion so extravagant and absurd, it is not easy to guess, especially as it seems to be totally unconnected with any religiousmystery, and how a fact which never happened, should be pretended tohappen every day, by those who cannot be deceived into a belief of it byappearances, nor have any apparent interest in the fraud, is a problemstill more difficult to solve. Nothing however can be more certain thanthe firm belief of this strange absurdity among them, for we had theconcurrent testimony of every Indian who was questioned about it, in itsfavour. It seems to have taken its rise in the islands of Celebes andBoutou, where many of the inhabitants keep crocodiles in their families;but however that be, the opinion has spread over all the easternislands, even to Timor and Ceram, and westward as far as Java andSumatra, where, however, young crocodiles are, I believe, neverkept. [153]

[Footnote 153: Maximus Tyrius tells us a story of an Egyptian womanhaving brought up a young crocodile as a companion to her son, who wasmuch about the same age. Things went on very well with these two friendsfor a considerable time; but the crocodile gaining strength and thecommon properties of his species, at last devoured his comrade. TheEgyptians, it is well known, had a peculiar regard for this animal, andesteemed it as sacred. What could have given rise to the strange notionsmentioned in the text, the writer is utterly unable to conjecture, andhe does not recollect any relation or circumstances that can illustratethem. --E. ]

These crocodile twins are called _sudaras_, and I shall Relate one ofthe innumerable stories that were told us, in proof of their existence, from ocular demonstration. 

A young female slave, who was born and bred up among the English atBencoolen, and had learnt a little of the language, told Mr Banks, thather father, when he was dying, acquainted her that he had a crocodilefor his _sudara_, and solemnly charged her to give him meat when heshould be dead, telling her in what part of the river he was to befound, and by what name he was to be called up: That in pursuance of herfather's instructions and command, she went to the river, and standingupon the bank, called out, _Radja Pouti_, white king, upon which acrocodile came to her out of the water, and eat from her hand theprovisions that she had brought him. When she was desired to describethis paternal uncle, who in so strange a shape had taken up his dwellingin the water, she said, that he was not like other crocodiles, but muchhandsomer; that his body was spotted, and his nose red; that he hadbracelets of gold upon his feet, and ear-rings of the same metal in hisears. Mr Banks heard this tale of ridiculous falsehood patiently to theend, and then dismissed the girl, without reminding her that a crocodilewith ears was as strange a monster as a dog with a cloven foot. Sometime after this, a servant whom Mr Banks had hired at Batavia, and whowas the son of a Dutchman by a Javanese woman, thought fit to acquainthis master that he had seen a crocodile of the same kind, which had alsobeen seen by many others, both Dutchmen and Malays: That being veryyoung, it was but two feet long, and had bracelets of gold upon itsfeet. There is no giving credit to these stories, said Mr Banks, for Iwas told the other day that a crocodile had ear-rings, and you know thatcould not be true, because crocodiles have no ears. Ah, sir, said theman, these sudara oran are not like other crocodiles; they have fivetoes upon each foot, a large tongue that fills their mouth, and earsalso, although they are indeed very small. 

How much of what these people related, they believed, cannot be known;for there are no bounds to the credulity of ignorance and folly. In thegirl's relation, however, there are some things in which she could notbe deceived; and therefore must have been guilty of wilful falsehood. Her father might perhaps give her a charge to feed a crocodile, inconsequence of his believing that it was his sudara; but its coming toher out of the river when she called it by the name of white king, andtaking the food she had brought it, must have been a fable of her owninvention; for this being false, it was impossible that she shouldbelieve it to be true. The girl's story, however, as well as that of theman, is a strong proof that they both firmly believed the existence ofcrocodiles that are sudaras to men; and the girl's fiction will beeasily accounted for, if we recollect that the earnest desire whichevery one feels to make others believe what he believes himself, is astrong temptation to support it by unjustifiable evidence. And theaverring what is known to be false, in order to produce in others thebelief of what is thought to be true, must, upon the most charitableprinciples, be imputed to many, otherwise venerable characters, throughwhose hands the doctrines of Christianity passed for many ages in theirway to us, as the source of all the silly fables related of the Romishsaints, many of them not less extravagant and absurd than this story ofthe white king, and all of them the invention of the first relater. [154]

[Footnote 154: It is no doubt very true, that many of the _piousfrauds_, as they have been called, are as absurd as the story alludedto; but really there does not seem to be any occasion whatever forlugging them in here, in order to shew a sort of malicious contempt ofthose who framed them. Dr Hawkesworth, it is very clear, kept himselfmuch on the look-out for subjects capable of serving as baits for thegreedy scoffers of his day. Few people have candour or patience enoughto discriminate betwixt truth and its counterpart, when religion is tobe investigated; and nothing is more common among the witlings, than asneer at the bullion, because of its being occasionally blended withdross. But such behaviour has much stronger indications of spite thanclaims to the merit of ability or good sense. --E. ]

The Bougis, Macassars, and Boetons, are so firmly persuaded that theyhave relations of the crocodile species in the rivers of their owncountry, that they perform a periodical ceremony in remembrance of them. Large parties of them go out in a boat, furnished with great plenty ofprovisions, and all kinds of music, and row backwards and forwards, inplaces where crocodiles and alligators are most common, singing andweeping by turns, each invoking his kindred, till a crocodile appears, when the music instantly stops, and provisions, betel, and tobacco arethrown into the water. By this civility to the species, they hope torecommend themselves to their relations at home, and that it will beaccepted instead of offerings immediately to themselves, which it is notin their power to pay. 

In the next rank to the Indians stand the Chinese, who in this place arenumerous, but possess very little property; many of then live within thewalls, and keep shops. The fruit-sellers of Passar-Pissang have beenmentioned already; but others have a rich show of European and Chinesegoods: The far greater part, however, live in a quarter by themselves, without the walls, called Campang China. Many of them are carpenters, joiners, smiths, tailors, slipper-makers, dyers of cotton, andembroiderers, maintaining the character of industry that is universallygiven of them; and some are scattered about the country, where theycultivate gardens, sow rice and sugar, and keep cattle and buffaloes, whose milk they bring daily to town. [155]

[Footnote 155: The Chinese who carry on any trade or profession, _i. E. _almost all of them, pay a monthly tax to the government. In Stavorinus'stime, this was about six shillings sterling a-piece. --E. ]

There is nothing clean or dirty, honest or dishonest, provided there isnot too much danger of a halter, that the Chinese will not readily dofor money. But though they work with great diligence, and patientlyundergo any degree of labour, yet no sooner have they laid down theirtools than they begin to game, either at cards or dice, or some otherplay among the multitude that they have invented, which are altogetherunknown in Europe: To this they apply with such eagerness as scarcely toallow time for the necessary refreshments of food and sleep; so that itis as rare to see a Chinese idle, as it is to see a Dutchman or anIndian employed. 

In manners they are always civil, or rather obsequious; and in dressthey are remarkably neat and clean, to whatever rank of life theybelong. [156] I shall not attempt a description either of their personsor habits, for the better kind of China paper, which is now common inEngland, exhibits a perfect representation of both, though perhaps withsome slight exaggerations approaching towards the caricatura. 

[Footnote 156: Whatever may be their personal cleanliness in appearance, their moral impurity, according to all accounts, is most gross anddetestable. We shall not pollute our page by the slightest mention ofthe abominable gratifications in which they are said to indulge, contrary to the most palpable enactments of nature. --E. ]

In eating, they are easily satisfied, though the few that are rich havemany savory dishes. Rice, with a small proportion of flesh or fish, isthe food of the poor; and they have greatly the advantage of theMahometan Indians, whose religion forbids them to eat of many thingswhich they could most easily procure. The Chinese, on the contrary, being under no restraint, eat, besides pork, dogs, cats, frogs, lizards, serpents of many kinds, and a great variety of sea-animals, which theother inhabitants of this country do not consider as food: They also eatmany vegetables, which an European, except he was perishing with hunger, would never touch. [157]

[Footnote 157: The reader may turn to our account of Anson's voyage forsome particulars respecting their taste. Indeed, in almost every voyagehe will find abundantly disgusting information of this singularlyunamiable people. It is but fair, however, to allow them credit for oneof the virtues of necessity. Their capability of subsisting on such foodas others reject, is a very requisite part of education in their owncountry, where the danger of famine is so great and frequent. --E. ]

The Chinese have a singular superstition with regard to the burial oftheir dead; for they will upon no occasion open the ground a second timewhere a body has been interred. Their burying-grounds, therefore, in theneighbourhood of Batavia, cover many hundred acres, and the Dutch, grudging the waste of so much land, will not sell any for this purposebut at the most exorbitant price. The Chinese, however, contrive toraise the purchase-money, and afford another instance of the folly andweakness of human nature, in transferring a regard for the living to thedead, and making that the object of solicitude and expence, which cannotreceive the least benefit from either. Under the influence of thisuniversal prejudice, they take an uncommon method to preserve the bodyentire, and prevent the remains of it from being mixed with the earththat surrounds it. They enclose it in a large thick coffin of wood, notmade of planks joined together, but hollowed out of the solid timberlike a canoe; this being covered, and let down into the grave, issurrounded with a coat of their mortar, called chinam, about eight orten inches thick, which in a short time becomes as hard as a stone. Therelations of the deceased attend the funeral ceremony, with aconsiderable number of women that are hired to weep: It might reasonablybe supposed that the hired appearance of sorrow could no more flatterthe living than benefit the dead, yet the appearance of sorrow is knownto be hired among people much more reflective and enlightened than theChinese. In Batavia, the law requires that every man should be buriedaccording to his rank, which is in no case dispensed with; so that ifthe deceased has not left sufficient to pay his debts, an officer takesan inventory of what was in his possession when he died, and out of theproduce buries him in the manner prescribed, leaving only the overplusto his creditors. Thus in many instances are the living sacrificed tothe dead, and money that should discharge a debt, or feed an orphan, lavished in idle processions, or materials that are deposited in theearth to rot. [158]

[Footnote 158: Their veneration for the dead is certainly excessive, andby no means in unison with the rest of their character, which seems tobe made up of the grossest selfishness, avarice, and apathy. They oftenvisit the graves of their friends, strew flowers around them, and whenthey leave them, deposit presents and sundry articles of provisions, which, of course, are soon removed, though not by the dead. In this, respect, then, it is very obvious that their mourning may not be quiteuseless to the living. --E. ]

Another numerous class among the inhabitants of this country is theslaves; for by slaves the Dutch, Portuguese, and Indians, howeverdifferent in their rank or situation, are constantly attended: They arepurchased from Sumatra, Malacca, and almost all the eastern islands. The natives of Java, very few of whom, as I have before observed, livein the neighbourhood of Batavia, have an exemption from slavery underthe sanction of very severe penal laws, which I believe are seldomviolated. The price of these slaves is from ten to twenty poundssterling; but girls, if they have beauty, sometimes fetch a hundred. They are a very lazy set of people; but as they will do but little work, they are content with a little victuals, subsisting altogether uponboiled rice, and a small quantity of the cheapest fish. As they arenatives of different countries, they differ from each other extremely, both in person and disposition. The African negroes, called here_Papua_, are the worst, and consequently may be purchased for the leastmoney: They are all thieves, and all incorrigible. Next to these are theBougis and Macassars, both from the island of Celebes: These are lazy inthe highest degree, and though not so much addicted to theft as thenegroes, have a cruel and vindictive spirit, which renders themextremely dangerous, especially as, to gratify their resentment, theywill make no scruple of sacrificing life. The best slaves, andconsequently the dearest, are procured from the island of Bali: The mostbeautiful women from Nias, a small island on the coast of Sumatra; butthey are of a tender and delicate constitution, and soon fall asacrifice to the unwholesome air of Batavia. [159] Besides these, thereare Malays, and slaves of several other denominations, whose particularcharacteristics I do not remember. 

[Footnote 159: Other causes operate to the early extinction of theseunfortunate females, --the lusts of their masters, and the crueljealousy, ingenious and discriminating in torture, of their mistresses. Stavorinus well explains what is here meant. Speaking of the ladies ofBatavia, he writes to this effect. In common with most women in India, they have an extreme jealousy of their husbands and female slaves. Ifthey observe the least familiarity between them, they set no bounds totheir revenge against the poor creatures, who, in general, have noalternative but that of gratifying their masters, or experiencing veryharsh usage from them. On such discovery, their mistresses punish themin different ways, whipping them with ropes; or beating them with canes, till they fall down exhausted. One of the modes of tormenting them, isto pinch them with their toes in a certain tender part, against whichtheir vengeance is chiefly directed; for this purpose, these wretchedgirls are made to sit before them in a peculiar position, and soexquisite is their suffering, that they often faint away. Indeed, therefinements in cruelty practised on them almost exceed belief. --E. ]

These slaves are wholly in the power of their masters, with respect toany punishment that does not take away life; but if a slave dies inconsequence of punishment, though his death should not appear to havebeen intended, the master is called to a severe account, and he isgenerally condemned to suffer capitally. For this reason the masterseldom inflicts punishment upon the slave himself, but applies to anofficer called a Marineu, one of whom is stationed in every district. The duty of the Marineu is to quell riots, and take offenders intocustody; but more particularly to apprehend runaway slaves, and punishthem for such crimes as the master, supported by proper evidence, laysto their charge: The punishment, however, is not inflicted by theMarineu in person, but by slaves who are bred up to the business. Menare punished publicly, before the door of their master's house; butwomen within it. The punishment is, by stripes, the number beingproportioned to the offence; and they are given with rods made ofrattans, which are split into slender twigs for the purpose, and fetchblood at every stroke. A common punishment costs the master arix-dollar, and a severe one a ducatoon, about six shillings andeight-pence. The master is also obliged to allow the slave threedubbelcheys, equal to about seven-pence half-penny a-week, as anencouragement, and to prevent his being under temptations to steal, toostrong to be resisted. 

Concerning the government of this place I can say but little. Weobserved, however, a remarkable subordination among the people. Everyman who is able to keep house has a certain specific rank, acquired bythe length of his services to the Company: The different ranks which arethus acquired are distinguished by the ornaments of the coaches and thedresses of the coachmen: Some are obliged to ride in plain coaches, someare allowed to paint them in different manners and degrees, and some togild them. The coachman also appears in clothes that are quite plain, ormore or less adorned with lace. [160]

[Footnote 160: The distinctions of rank, and all the punctilios of therespective ceremonies and homage, are attended to at Batavia with themost religious exactness. Stavorinus specifies many instances, which, tosome readers, it might be amusing enough to transcribe. But in fact, andto be honest, the writer has neither time, inclination, nor patience tointerfere with such mummeries, or investigate the claims to precedencyand peculiarly modified respect set up by Dutch merchants, and theirstill more consequential spouses. He has not the smallest pretensions tothe office of master of the ceremonies for any society whatever. --E. ]

The officer who presides here has the title of Governor General of theIndies, and the Dutch governors of all the other settlements aresubordinate to him, and obliged to repair to Batavia that he may passtheir accounts. If they appear to have been criminal, or even negligent, he punishes them by delay, and detains them during pleasure, sometimesone year, sometimes two years, and sometimes three; for they cannot quitthe place till he gives them a dismission. Next to the governor are themembers of the council, called here _Edele Heeren_, and by thecorruption of the English, _Idoleers_. These Idoleers take upon them somuch state, that whoever meets them in a carriage is expected to rise upand bow, then to drive on one side of the road, and there stop till theyare past: The same homage is required also to their wives, and eventheir children; and it is commonly paid them by the inhabitants. Butsome of our captains have thought so slavish a mark of respect beneaththe dignity which they derive from the service of his Britannic majesty, and have refused to pay it; yet, if they were in a hired carriage, nothing could deter the coachman from honouring the Dutch grandee attheir expence, but the most peremptory menace of immediate death. [161]

[Footnote 161: The reader will remember what Captain Carteret says onthis subject, in the account given of his voyage. --E. ]

Justice is administered here by a body of lawyers, who have ranks ofdistinction among themselves. Concerning their proceedings in questionsof property, I know nothing; but their decisions in criminal cases seemto be severe with respect to the natives, and lenient with respect totheir own people, in a criminal degree. A Christian always is indulgedwith an opportunity of escaping before he is brought to a trial, whatever may have been his offence; and if he is brought to a trial andconvicted, he is seldom punished with death; while the poor Indians, onthe contrary, are hanged, and broken upon the wheel, and even impaledalive without mercy. [162]

[Footnote 162: Impalement, as practised at Batavia, is one of the mostshocking punishments ever invented. An iron spike, about six feet long, is forcibly passed between the back-bone and the skin from the lowerpart of the body, where a cross cut is made for its insertion, till itcome out betwixt the shoulders and neck, the executioner guiding thepoint of it so that none of the vitals or large blood vessels may bewounded. The under end of the spike is afterwards made fast to a woodenpost, which is then stuck into the ground, so that the miserable wretchis raised aloft, where he is supported partly by the iron spike in hisskin, and partly by a little bench, projecting about ten feet from theground. He may remain alive in this most cruel situation for severaldays, during which period he is tortured besides with hunger and thirst, for no victuals, of any kind, are allowed him; and numerous insects alsocontinually torment him in the fervent heat of the sun. His misery isthe greater and longer, as the weather is clear and dry. Should a showerof rain fall, he is soon relieved from torment, as it is noticed thatany water getting into the wounds speedily induces gangrene and death. Stavorinus saw an execution of this sort, and relates some veryaffecting particulars. The fortitude of the wretched sufferer wasastonishing. He uttered no complaint, unless when the spike was fastenedto the post, when the agitation occasioned by hammering, &c. Appeared togive him intolerable pain, so that he roared out. He did so again whenthe post was lifted up and put into the ground. In this dreadfulsituation he continued till death ended his torment, which happened nextday. This was owing to a light shower of rain, of about an hour'scontinuance, half an hour after which he breathed his last. Hecontinually complained of thirst, which no one was allowed to relieve bya single drop of water. --E. ]

The Malays and Chinese have judicial officers of their own, under thedenominations of captains and lieutenants, who determine in civil cases, subject to an appeal to the Dutch court. 

The taxes paid by these people to the Company are very considerable; andthat which is exacted of them for liberty to wear their hair, is by nomeans the least. They are paid monthly, and, to save the trouble andcharge of collecting them, a flag is hoisted upon the top of a house inthe middle of the town when a payment is due, and the Chinese haveexperienced that it is their interest to repair thither with their moneywithout delay. 

The money current here consists of ducats, worth a hundred andthirty-two stivers; ducatoons, eighty stivers; imperial rix-dollars, sixty; rupees of Batavia, thirty; schellings, six; double cheys, twostivers and a half; and doits, one fourth of a stiver. Spanish dollars, when we were here, were at five shillings and five-pence; and we weretold, that they were never lower than five shillings and four-pence, even at the Company's warehouse. For English guineas we could never getmore than nineteen shillings upon an average; for though the Chinesewould give twenty shillings for some of the brightest, they would giveno more than seventeen shillings for those that were much worn. 

It may perhaps be of some advantage to strangers to be told that thereare two kinds of coin here, of the same denomination, milled andunmilled, and that the milled is of most value. A milled ducatoon isworth eighty stivers; but an unmilled ducatoon is worth no more thanseventy-two. All accounts are kept in rix-dollars and stivers, which, here at least, are mere nominal coins, like our pound sterling. Therix-dollar is equal to forty-eight stivers, about four shillings andsix-pence English currency. [163]

[Footnote 163: The reader need scarcely be informed, that the statementsgiven in the text as to the respective value of the coin, are fitted tothe circumstances of the period at which the account of the voyage waspublished. It was thought unnecessary to correct them to the presenttimes in this place. --E. ]

SECTION XL. 

_The Passage from Batavia to the Cape of Good Hope. Some Account ofPrince's Island and its Inhabitants. Our Arrival at the Cape of GoodHope. Some Remarks on the Run from Java Head to that Place, and to SaintHelena. The Return of the Ship to England_. [164]

[Footnote 164: The original contains some remarks on the language ofPrince's Island, and a comparative view of it with the Malay andJavanese. These have been omitted, because another opportunity willpresent of treating the subject more fully than could be done here, without anticipating information which belongs to another place. Muchadditional light has been thrown on this interesting topic since thedate of this navigation. --E. ]

On Thursday the 27th of December, at six o'clock in the morning, weweighed again and stood out to sea. After much delay by contrary winds, we weathered Pulo Pare on the 29th, and stood in for the main: Soonafter, we fetched a small island under the main, in the midway betweenBatavia and Bantam, called Maneater's Island. The next day, we weatheredfirst Wapping Island, and then Pulo Babi. On the 31st, we stood over tothe Sumatra shore; and on the morning of new-year's-day, 1771, we stoodover for the Java shore. 

We continued our course as the wind permitted us till three o'clock inthe afternoon of the 5th, when we anchored under the south-east side ofPrince's Island in eighteen fathom, in order to recruit our wood andwater, and procure refreshments for the sick, many of whom were nowbecome much worse than they were when we left Batavia. As soon as theship was secured, I went ashore, accompanied by Mr Banks and DrSolander, and we were met upon the beach by some Indians, who carried usimmediately to a man, who, they said, was their king. After we hadexchanged a few compliments with his majesty, we proceeded to business;but in settling the price of turtle we could not agree: This however didnot discourage us, as we made no doubt but that we should buy them atour own price in the morning. As soon as we parted, the Indiansdispersed, and we proceeded along the shore in search of awatering-place. In this we were more successful; we found water veryconveniently situated, and, if a little care was taken in filling it, wehad reason to believe that it would prove good. Just as we were goingoff, some Indians, who remained with a canoe upon the beach, sold usthree turtle, but exacted a promise of us that we should not tell theking. 

The next morning, while a party was employed in filling water, werenewed our traffic for turtle: At first, the Indians dropped theirdemands slowly, but about noon they agreed to take the price that weoffered, so that before night we had turtle in plenty: The three that wehad purchased the evening before, were in the mean time served to theship's company, who, till the day before, had not once been served withsalt provisions from the time of our arrival at Savu, which was now nearfour months. In the evening, Mr Banks went to pay his respects to theking, at his palace, in the middle of a rice field, and though hismajesty was busily employed in dressing his own supper, he received thestranger very graciously. 

The next day, the natives came down to the trading place, with fowls, fish, monkies, small deer, and some vegetables, but no turtle; for theysaid that we had bought them all the day before. The next day, however, more turtle appeared at market, and some were brought down every dayafterwards, during our stay, though the whole, together, was not equalto the quantity that we bought the day after our arrival. 

On the 11th, Mr Banks having learnt from the servant whom he had hiredat Batavia, that the Indians of this island had a town upon the shore, at some distance to the westward, determined to see it. With this viewhe set out in the morning, accompanied by the second lieutenant; and ashe had some reason to think that his visit would not be agreeable to theinhabitants, he told the people whom he met, as he was advancing alongthe shore, that he was in search of plants, which indeed was also true. In about two hours they arrived at a place where there were four or fivehouses, and meeting with an old man, they ventured to make someenquiries concerning the town. He said that it was far distant; but theywere not to be discouraged in their enterprize, and he, seeing themproceed in their journey, joined company and went on with them. Heattempted several times to lead them out of the way, but withoutsuccess; and at length they came within sight of the houses. The old manthen entered cordially into their party, and conducted them into thetown. The name of it is Samadang; it consists of about four hundredhouses, and is divided by a river of brackish water into two parts, oneof which is called the old town, and the other the new. As soon as theyentered the old town, they met several Indians whom they had seen at thetrading-place, and one of them undertook to carry them over to the newtown, at the rate of two-pence a-head. When the bargain was made, twovery small canoes were produced, in which they embarked; the canoesbeing placed along-side of each other, and held together, a precautionwhich was absolutely necessary to prevent their oversetting, thenavigation was at length safely performed, though not without somedifficulty; and when they landed in the new town, the people receivedthem with great friendship, and showed them the houses of their kingsand principal people, which are in this district: Few of them, however, were open, for at this time the people had taken up their residence inthe rice-grounds, to defend the crop against the birds and monkies, bywhich it would otherwise have been destroyed. When their curiosity wassatisfied, they hired a large sailing boat for two rupees, fourshillings, which brought them back to the ship time enough to dine uponone of the small deer, weighing only forty pounds, which had been boughtthe day before, and proved to be very good and savoury meat. 

We went on shore in the evening, to see how the people who were employedin wooding and watering went on, and were informed that an axe had beenstolen. As the passing over this fault might encourage the commission ofothers of the same kind, application was immediately made to the king, who, after some altercation, promised that the axe should be restored inthe morning; and kept his word, for it was brought to us by a man whopretended that the thief, being afraid of a discovery, had privatelybrought it and left it at his house in the night. 

We continued to purchase between two and three hundred weight of turtlein a day, besides fowls and other necessaries; and in the evening of the13th, having nearly completed our wood and water, Mr Banks went ashoreto take leave of his majesty, to whom he had made several triflingpresents, and at parting gave him two quires of paper, which hegraciously received. They had much conversation, in the course of whichhis majesty enquired, why the English did not touch there as they hadbeen used to do. Mr Banks replied, that he supposed it was because theyfound a deficiency of turtle, of which there not being enough to supplyone ship, many could not be expected. To supply this defect, he advisedhis majesty to breed cattle, buffaloes, and sheep, a measure which hedid not seem much inclined to adopt. 

On the 14th, we made ready to sail, having on board a good stock ofrefreshments, which we purchased of the natives, consisting of turtle, fowl, fish, two species of deer, one as big as a sheep, the other notlarger than a rabbit; with cocoa-nuts, plantains, limes, and othervegetables. The deer, however, served only for present use, for we couldseldom keep one of them alive more than four-and-twenty hours after itwas on board. On our part, the trade was carried on chiefly with Spanishdollars, the natives seeming to set little value upon any thing else; sothat our people, who had a general permission to trade, parted with oldshirts and other articles, which they were obliged to substitute formoney, to great disadvantage. In the morning of the 15th, we weighed, with a light breeze at N. E. And stood out to sea. Java Head, from whichI took my departure, lies in latitude 6° 49' S. , longitude 258° 12' W. 

Prince's Island, where we lay about ten days, is, in the Malay language, called _Pulo Selan_, and in the language of the inhabitants, _PuloPaneitan_. It is a small island, situated in the western mouth of theStreight of Sunda. It is woody, and a very small part of it only hasbeen cleared: There is no remarkable hill upon it, yet the English callthe small eminence which is just over the landing-place the Pike. It wasformerly much frequented by the India ships of many nations, butespecially those of England, which of late have forsaken it, as it issaid, because the water is bad; and touch either at North Island, asmall island that lies on the coast of Sumatra, without the eastentrance of the streight, or at Mew Bay, which lies only a few leaguesfrom Prince's Island, at neither of which places any considerablequantity of other refreshments can be procured. Prince's Island is, upon the whole, certainly more eligible than either of them; and thoughthe water is brackish if it is filled at the lower part of the brook, yet higher up it will be found excellent. 

The first and second, and perhaps the third ship that comes in theseason, may be tolerably supplied with turtle; but those that comeafterwards must be content with small ones. Those that we bought were ofthe green kind, and at an average cost us about a half-penny or threefarthings a pound. We were much disappointed to find them neither fatnor well flavoured; and we imputed it to their having been long kept incrawls or pens of brackish water, without food. The fowls are large, andwe bought a dozen of them for a Spanish dollar, which is aboutfive-pence a-piece: The small deer cost us two-pence a-piece, and thelarger, of which two only were brought down, a rupee. Many kinds of fishare to be had here, which the natives sell by hand, and we found themtolerably cheap. Cocoa-nuts we bought at the rate of a hundred for adollar, if they were picked; and if they were taken promiscuously, onehundred and thirty. Plantains we found in great plenty: We procured alsosome pine-apples, water melons, jaccas, and pumpkins; besides rice, thegreater part of which was of the mountain kind, that grows on dry land;yams, and several other vegetables, at a very reasonable rate. 

The inhabitants are Javanese, whose Raja is subject to the Sultan ofBantam. Their customs are very similar to those of the Indians aboutBatavia; but they seem to be more jealous of their women, for we neversaw any of them during all the time we were there, except one by chancein the woods, as she was running away to hide herself. They profess theMahometan religion, but I believe there is not a mosque in the wholeisland: We were among them during the fast, which the Turks call_Ramadan_, which they seemed to keep with great rigour, for not one ofthem would touch a morsel of victuals, or even chew their betel, tillsun-set. 

Their food is nearly the same as that of the Batavian Indians, exceptthe addition of the nuts of the palm, called _Cycas circinalis_, withwhich, upon the coast of New Holland, some of our people were made sick, and some of our hogs poisoned. 

Upon observing these nuts to be part of their food, we enquired by whatmeans they deprived them of their deleterious quality; and they toldus, that, they first cut them into thin slices, and dried them in thesun; then steeped them in fresh water for three months, and afterwards, pressing out the water, dried them in the sun a second time; but welearnt that, after all, they are eaten only in times of scarcity, whenthey mix them with their rice to make it go farther. 

The houses of their town are built upon piles, or pillars, four or fivefeet above the ground: Upon these is laid a floor of bamboo canes, whichare placed at some distance from each other, so as to leave a freepassage for the air from below; the walls also are of bamboo, which areinterwoven, hurdlewise, with small sticks, that are fastenedperpendicularly to the beams which form the frame of the building: Ithas a sloping roof, which is so well thatched with palm leaves, thatneither the sun nor the rain can find entrance. The ground over whichthis building is erected, is an oblong square. In the middle of one sideis the door, and in the middle between that and the end of the house, towards the left hand, is a window: A partition runs out from each endtowards the middle, which, if continued, would divide the whole floorinto two equal parts, longitudinally; but they do not meet in themiddle, so that an opening is left over-against the door: Each end ofthe house therefore, to the right and left of the door, is divided intotwo rooms, like stalls in a stable, all open towards the passage fromthe door to the wall on the opposite side: In that next the door to theleft hand, the children sleep; that opposite to it, on the right hand, is allotted to strangers; the master and his wife sleep in the innerroom on the left hand, and that opposite to it is the kitchen. There isno difference between the houses of the poor and the rich, but in thesize; except that the royal palace, and the house of a man, whose namewas _Gundang_, the next in riches and influence to the king, were walledwith boards, instead of being wattled with sticks and bamboo. 

As the people are obliged to abandon the town, and live in therice-fields at certain seasons, to secure their crops from the birds andthe monkies, they have occasional houses there for their accommodation. They are exactly the same as the houses in the town, except that theyare smaller, and are elevated eight or ten feet above the ground insteadof four. 

The disposition of the people, as far as we could discover it, is good. They dealt with us very honestly, except, like all other Indians, andthe itinerant retailers of fish in London, they asked sometimes twice, and sometimes thrice as much for their commodities as they would take. As what they brought to market belonged, in different proportions, to aconsiderable number of the natives, and it would have been difficult topurchase it in separate lots, they found out a very easy expedient, withwhich every one was satisfied: They put all that was bought of one kind, as plantains, or cocoa-nuts, together; and when we had agreed for theheap, they divided the money that was paid for it among those of whoseseparate property it consisted, in a proportion corresponding with theircontributions. Sometimes, indeed, they changed our money, giving us 240doits, amounting to five shillings, for a Spanish dollar, andninety-six, amounting to two shillings, for a Bengal rupee. 

They all speak the Malay language, though they have a language of theirown, different both from the Malay and the Javanese. Their own languagethey call _Catta Gunung_, the language of the mountains; and they saythat it is spoken upon the mountains of Java, whence their tribeoriginally migrated, first to Mew Bay, and then to their presentstation, being driven from their first settlement by tygers, which theyfound too numerous to subdue. 

We now made the best of our way for the Cape of Good Hope, but the seedsof disease which we had received at Batavia began to appear with themost threatening symptoms in dysenteries and slow fevers. Lest the waterwhich we had taken in at Prince's Island should have any share in oursickness, we purified it with lime, and we washed all parts of the shipbetween decks with vinegar, as a remedy against infection. Mr Banks wasamong the sick, and for some time there was no hope of his life. We werevery soon in a most deplorable situation; the ship was nothing betterthan an hospital, in which those that were able to go about were too fewto attend the sick, who were confined to their hammocks; and we hadalmost every night a dead body to commit to the sea. In the course ofabout six weeks, we buried Mr Sporing, a gentleman who was in Mr Banks'sretinue, Mr Parkinson, his natural history painter, Mr Green, theastronomer, the boatswain, the carpenter and his mate, Mr Monkhouse, themidshipman, who had fothered the ship after she had been stranded on thecoast of New Holland, our old jolly sail-maker and his assistant, theship's cook, the corporal of the marines, two of the carpenter's crew, amidshipman, and nine seamen; in all three-and-twenty persons, besidesthe seven that we buried at Batavia. [165] On Friday the 15th of March, about ten o'clock in the morning, we anchored off the Cape of Good Hope, in seven fathom, with an oozy bottom. The west point of the bay, calledthe Lion's Tail, bore W. N. W. , and the castle S. W. , distant about a mileand a half. I immediately waited upon the governor, who told me that Ishould have every thing the country afforded. My first care was toprovide a proper place ashore for the sick, which were not a few; and ahouse was soon found, where it was agreed they should be lodged andboarded at the rate of two shillings a-head per day. 

[Footnote 165: In the Biog. Brit. Where a summary of Cook's Voyages isgiven, an observation is made on this melancholy part of the narrative, which the reader may not be displeased to see copied here. "It isprobable that these calamitous events, which could not fail of making apowerful impression on the mind of Lieutenant Cook, might give occasionto his turning his thoughts more zealously to those methods ofpreserving the health of seamen, which he afterwards pursued with suchremarkable success. " These methods will be amply detailedhereafter. --E. ]

Our run from Java Head to this place afforded very few subjects ofremark that can be of use to future navigators; such as occurred, however, I shall set down. We had left Java Head eleven days before wegot the general south-east trade-wind, during which time we did notadvance above 5° to the southward, and 3° to the west, having variablelight airs, interrupted by calms, with sultry weather, and anunwholesome air, occasioned probably by the load of vapours which theeastern trade-wind and westerly monsoons bring into these latitudes, both which blow in these seas at the time of the year when we happenedto be there. The easterly wind prevails as far as 10° or 12° S. , and thewesterly as far as 6° or 8°; in the intermediate space the winds arevariable, and the air, I believe, always unwholesome; it certainlyaggravated the diseases which we brought with us from Batavia, andparticularly the flux, which was not in the least degree checked by anymedicine, so that whoever was seized with it considered himself as adead man; but we had no sooner got into the trade-wind, than we began tofeel its salutary effects: We buried indeed several of our peopleafterwards, but they were such as had been taken on board in a state solow and feeble that there was scarcely a possibility of their recovery. At first we suspected that this dreadful disorder might have beenbrought upon us by the water that we took on board at Prince's Island, or even by the turtle that we bought there; but there is not the leastreason to believe that this suspicion was well-grounded, for all theships that came from Batavia at the same season, suffered in the samedegree, and some of them even more severely, though none of them touchedat Prince's Island in their way. 

A few days after we left Java, we saw boobies about the ship for severalnights successively, and as these birds are known to roost every nighton shore, we thought them an indication that some island was not fardistant; perhaps it might be the island of Selam, which, in differentcharts, is very differently laid down both in name and situation. 

The variation of the compass off the west coast of Java, is about 3° W. , and so it continued without any sensible variation, in the common trackof ships, to the longitude of 288° W. , latitude 22° S. , after which itincreased apace, so that in longitude 295°, latitude 23°, the variationwas 10° 20' W. : In seven degrees more of longitude, and one of latitude, it increased two degrees; in the same space farther to the west, itincreased five degrees: In latitude 28°, longitude 314°, it was 24°, 20', in latitude 29°, longitude 317°, it was 26° 10', and was thenstationary for the space of about ten degrees farther to the west; butin latitude 34°, longitude 333°, we observed it twice to be 28° 1/4 W. , and this was its greatest variation, for in latitude 35° 1/2 longitude337°, it was 24°, and continued gradually to decrease; so that off CapeAnguillas it was 22° 30', and in Table Bay 20° 30' W. 

As to currents, it did not appear that they were at all considerable, till we came within a little distance of the meridian of Madagascar; forafter we had made 52° of longitude from Java Head, we found, byobservation, that our error in longitude was only two degrees, and itwas the same when we had made only nineteen. This error might be owingpartly to a current setting to the westward, partly to our not makingproper allowances for the setting of the sea before which we run, andperhaps to an error in the assumed longitude of Java Head. If thatlongitude is erroneous, the error must be imputed to the imperfection ofthe charts of which I made use in reducing the longitude from Batavia tothat place, for there can be no doubt but that the longitude of Bataviais well determined. After we had passed the longitude of 307°, theeffects of the westerly currents began to be considerable; for, in threedays, our error in longitude was 1° 5': The velocity of the current keptincreasing as we proceeded to the westward, in so much, that for fivedays successively after we made the land, we were driven to the S. W. OrS. W. By W. , not less than twenty leagues a-day; and this continued tillwe were within sixty or seventy leagues of the Cape, where the currentset sometimes one way, and sometimes the other, though inclining ratherto the westward. 

After the boobies had left us, we saw no more birds till we got nearlyabreast of Madagascar, where, in latitude 27° 3/4 S. , we saw analbatross, and after that time we saw them every day in great numbers, with birds of several other sorts, particularly one about as big as aduck, of a very dark brown colour, with a yellowish bill. These birdsbecame more numerous as we approached the shore, and as soon as we gotinto soundings, we saw gannets, which we continued to see as long as wewere upon the bank which stretches off Anguillas to the distance offorty leagues, and extends along the shore to the eastward, from CapeFalse, according to some charts, one hundred and sixty leagues. The realextent of this bank is not exactly known; it is, however, useful as adirection to shipping when to haul in, in order to make the land. 

While we lay here, the Houghton Indiaman sailed for England, who, during, her stay in India, lost by sickness between thirty and fortymen; and when she left the Cape, had many in a helpless condition withthe scurvy. Other ships suffered in the same proportion, who had beenlittle more than twelve months absent from England; our sufferings, therefore, were comparatively light, considering that we had been absentnear three times as long. 

Having lain here to recover the sick, procure stores, and performseveral necessary operations upon the ship and rigging, till the 13th ofApril, I then got all the sick on board, several of whom were still in adangerous state, and having taken leave of the governor, I unmoored thenest morning, and got ready to sail. [166]

[Footnote 166: Some remarks concerning the Cape of Good Hope are nowgiven in the original. They are omitted here, as being onlysupplementary to other accounts, and because we shall elsewhere have anopportunity of drawing the reader's attention very fully to the subject. The same thing may be said respecting some notices of St Helena, contained in this section. Whatever is of value in either of theseaccounts, will be had recourse to on another occasion. --E. ]

On the morning of the 14th we weighed and stood out of the bay; and atfive in the evening anchored under Penquin, or Robin Island: We lay hereall night, and as I could not sail in the morning for want of wind, Isent a boat to the island for a few trifling articles which we hadforgot to take in at the Cape. But as soon as the boat came near theshore, the Dutch hailed her, and warned the people not to land, at theirperil, bringing down at the same time six men armed with muskets, whoparaded upon the beach. The officer who commanded the boat not thinkingit worth while to risk the lives of the people on board for the sake ofa few cabbages, which were all we wanted, returned to the ship. At firstwe were at a loss to account for our repulse, but we afterwardsrecollected, that to this island the Dutch at the Cape banish suchcriminals as are not thought worthy of death, for a certain number ofyears, proportioned to the offence, and employ them as slaves in digginglime-stone, which, though scarce upon the continent, is in plenty here;and that a Danish ship, which by sickness had lost great part of hercrew, and had been refused assistance at the Cape, came down to thisisland, and sending her boat ashore, secured the guard, and took onboard as many of the criminals as she thought proper to navigate herhome: We concluded therefore that the Dutch, to prevent the rescue oftheir criminals in time to come, had given order to their people here tosuffer no boat of any foreign nation to come ashore. 

On the 25th, at three o'clock in the afternoon, we weighed, with a lightbreeze at S. E. , and put to sea. About an hour afterwards, we lost ourmaster, Mr Robert Mollineux, a young man of good parts, but unhappilygiven up to intemperance, which brought on disorders that put an end tohis life. 

We proceeded in our voyage homeward without any remarkable incident; andin the morning of the 29th we crossed our first meridian, havingcircumnavigated the globe in the direction from east to west, andconsequently lost a day, for which we made an allowance at Batavia. 

At day-break on the first of May, we saw the island of Saint Helena; andat noon we anchored in the road before James's fort. 

We staid here till the 4th, to refresh, and Mr Banks improved the timein making the complete circuit of the island, and visiting the mostremarkable places upon it. At one o'clock in the afternoon of the 4th ofMay, we weighed and stood out of the road, in company with the Portlandman-of-war, and twelve sail of Indiamen. 

We continued to sail in company with the fleet, till the 10th in themorning, when, perceiving that we sailed much heavier than any othership, and thinking it for that reason probable that the Portland wouldget home before us, I made the signal to speak with her, upon whichCaptain Elliot himself came on board, and I delivered to him a letterto the Admiralty, with a box, containing the common logbooks of theship, and the journals of some of the officers. We continued in company, however, till the 23d in the morning, and then there was not one of theships in sight. About one o'clock in the afternoon, died our firstlieutenant, Mr Hicks, and in the evening we committed his body to thesea, with the usual ceremonies. The disease of which he died was aconsumption, and as he was not free from it when we sailed from England, it may truly be said that he was dying during the whole voyage, thoughhis decline was very gradual till we came to Batavia: The next day Igave Mr Charles Clerk an order to act as lieutenant in his room, a youngman who was extremely well qualified for that station. 

Our rigging and sails were now become so bad, that something was givingway every day. We continued our course, however, in safety till the 10thof June, when land, which proved to be the Lizard, was discovered byNicholas Young, the same boy that first saw New Zealand; on the 11th werun up the Channel, at six in the morning of the 12th we passed BeachyHead, at noon we were abreast of Dover, and about three came to ananchor in the Downs, and went ashore at Deal. 

APPENDIX. 

_An Abstract of the_ VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, _performed by_ LEWIS DEBOUGAINVILLE, _Colonel of Foot, and Commander of the Expedition, in theFrigate_La Boudeuse, _and the Store-ship_ L'Etoile, _in the Years_1766-7-8 _and_ 9. (_Drawn up expressly for this Work_. )

The restitution of the Falkland Islands to the Spaniards was the firstobject of this voyage. So early as February 1764, France had commenced asettlement on them, and in all probability would have ensured itsprosperity; but the property was claimed by Spain, in virtue of the oldand at best imaginary rights conferred on that power by the Pope to thelands of the western hemisphere, of which they were held to be a part. It is sometimes more politic, and perhaps almost always more convenient, to avoid war, by the display of generosity in concession, than to runthe hazard of expensive contension, and an unprofitable issue, by theobstinate maintenance of dubious advantages. Such seems to have been theopinion of the French king, in this instance. He acknowledged the claimof the Spaniards, and accordingly gave orders for the delivering up ofthe settlement. In this determination, it is probable, he wasstrengthened by the apprehension of the difficulties of supporting anddefending an establishment, at so great a distance from his dominions. M. Bougainville, the person who had proposed the settlement, and in aconsiderable degree accomplished it, by carrying out several Frenchfamilies, and cultivating and stocking some parts of the islands, wasappointed to execute a formal surrender; and he was further instructed, after doing so, to traverse the South Sea between the tropics, for thepurpose of making discoveries, and to return home by the East Indies. The fulfilment of these directions constitutes his voyage round theworld, with a short, but it is believed satisfactory abstract of which, it is now intended to supply the reader. The account of the voyage wasdrawn up and published by Bougainville himself, and has always beenhighly esteemed by his countrymen, who are commonly patriotic enough intheir commendations. In this instance, however, if one may judge fromthe concurrence in opinion of others, their praise has not beeninjudicious; though it must be admitted on the other hand, that thepartiality is ridiculous, which would place it above the narratives ofAnson's and Cook's Voyages. Bougainville seems to have been a man oftalents, of refined taste, and considerable literary acquirements; andhis work, though, as he says in his introduction, written for seamenchiefly, yet presents some very interesting features to the generalreader, and not a little information to scientific observers. He hasthought proper to apologize for his deficiency in composition; but it isquestionable if this be not mere affectation, common with writers whoare far from thinking too meanly of themselves, for the reasons theychuse to state in the way of deprecating critical severity, andabundantly disposed to attach magnitude of consequence to the veryparticulars which they have employed to indicate their own inferiority. A translation of his work by Mr John Reinhold Forster, was published atLondon 1772, and contains additional notes. This has principally beenconsulted in drawing up the present abstract, which is intended as acompanion to the accounts of voyages it is the object of our work togive entire. This is the proper place for its insertion, if it be rightto insert it at all, and opportunities will present themselves as weproceed, for giving similar abstracts of other voyages. 

Bougainville had under his command the frigate La Boudeuse, carrying 26twelve-pounders, and the store-ship L'Etoile, appointed to supply himwith provisions and stores, and to accompany him during the whole of hisvoyage. His establishment consisted of eleven commissioned officers, three volunteers, and two hundred sailors, &c. The prince ofNassau-Sieghen obtained leave from the king to go out on thisexpedition, and availed himself of it. He sailed from Nantes on the 15thNovember, 1766, purposing to make the river La Plata, where two Spanishfrigates, appointed to receive possession of the islands, were to waitfor his arrival. A squall of wind occasioned him much confusion, andforced him to put into Brest, whence, after having undergone severalrepairs and alterations, which the deficient state of his vesselrendered necessary, he departed on the 5th December, but not withoutbeing obliged to cut his cable, as the east wind and the ebb tideprevented his tacking about to keep clear of the shore. A prettyconstant and fresh wind accompanied him, till he got sight of theSalvages on the 17th, in the afternoon. These are uninhabited islands orrocks, lying to the north of the Canary islands, and belong to thePortuguese, who, although making little or no use of them, are jealouslycareful to prevent others from visiting or profiting by them. The sightof these rocks convinced M. Bougainville of a considerable error in hisreckoning, during even this short trip. Having rectified it, and madeobservations for their position, he took a fresh departure on the 19thDecember, at noon, when he got sight of the Isle of Ferro. On the 8th ofJanuary, he crossed the Line between 27° and 28° of longitude, and onthe 31st of the same month, after an easy and uninteresting voyage, cameto an anchor in Monte Video bay, where the Spanish frigates had lainexpecting him four weeks. He made some observations on the currentsnoticed during this voyage, which are well known to occasion much errorin the calculations of the navigator; but as these are not interestingto the general reader, they are omitted here, and the more properly so, because we have had frequent occasion to notice the subject in ouraccounts of other voyages. 

Bougainville left Monte Video on the 28th February, in company with theSpanish ships, but having encountered a storm and a good deal ofcontrary wind, he did not quit the river till the 3d March. The voyageto the Falkland Islands was rough and troublesome, especially to the twoSpanish frigates, which suffered a good deal during the course, and werefor some time separated from Bougainville's ship. On the 23d and 24th ofMarch, however, they all arrived at the place of their destination, where a formal surrender of the settlement was made according to theinstructions of the two governments. The islands were delivered up onthe 1st April, the Spaniards taking possession by planting theircolours, which were saluted both on shore and from aboard the vessels. Several families resident there availed themselves of the French king'spermission to remain under the new government, and the others embarkedin the Spanish frigates to return home. M. Bougainville has relatedseveral particulars respecting the history of these islands, which, however, it is quite unnecessary to consider here, as we have eitheralready stated them, or may hereafter have occasion to do so; they are, besides, little connected with our present object, that of tracing hiscourse round the world. 

As the store-ship did not join him at the time expected, and as it wasimpossible for him to traverse the Pacific Ocean, without the suppliesand assistance she was appointed to afford, Bougainville resolved toquit these islands, and go to Rio Janeiro, the place specified as therendezvous to both vessels. He sailed therefore on the 2d June, got insight of the high head-lands of the Brazils on the 20th, and in theevening of the following day came to an anchor in the roads of RioJaneiro, where the Etoile had arrived but a few days before. Beingstill, however, imperfectly furnished with provisions, he returned toMonte Video, as a fitter place for procuring them. The Etoile being abad sailer, and having made a good deal of water, he was retarded inthis voyage, which in consequence took him up from the 14th to the 31stof July. A little before his departure, he rendered some importantservices to a Spanish man-of-war, which had been obliged to put into RioJaneiro to refit for her voyage to Europe, and was most ungenerouslydenied what was needful by the Portuguese government, for eight months. The viceroy seems to have been of an unfeeling and absurdlyconsequential disposition, of which some instances have been alreadyrelated in our account of another voyage. 

Whilst lying in Montevideo bay, a register ship ran foul of the Etoileduring a hurricane, and did her so much damage, as to render itnecessary to heave her down to be repaired. This was done at theEncenada de Baragan up the river, Monte Video itself not having properaccommodation for the purpose. But the requisite repairs were after allaccomplished with much difficulty, and at a great expence of money, andoccupied the whole of the month of October. To add to these sources ofregret, this vessel had the misfortune to lose three of her crew, inreturning down the river to Monte Video, a passage, which, though short, is described as very difficult, and requiring almost constant soundingsto avoid danger. This accident happened from the boat containing themand other two men getting foul under the ship when it was wearing. During this passage too, it was observed, that the Etoile stillcontinued to take in water, notwithstanding the overhauling she hadreceived. 

Some days were now occupied in the necessary preparations for leavingthe Rio La Plata, such as stowing and caulking the Boudeuse, repairingthe Etoile's boat, cutting grass for the live cattle on board, &c. Partof the delay, however, which these preparations occasioned, wasfortunate, as a schooner happened to come from Buenos Ayres laden withflour, of which they contrived to stow sixty hundred weight on boardtheir ships, and which proved to be a valuable addition to their stockof provisions. At this time, the crew was in perfect health, andnotwithstanding the loss already mentioned, and the desertion of twelvemen from the two ships, was made up to its original establishment, assome sailors had been engaged at the Falkland Islands, besides anengineer, a supercargo, and a surgeon. The provisions laid in weresupposed enough for a voyage of ten months. 

They left Monte Video the 14th November, with a fine breeze from thenorth, which was favourable for their course to Magellan's Straits. Thewind was contrary from the 16th to the 21st, and they had a very highsea, so that they were obliged to keep what advantageous boards theycould in tacking under their courses and close-reefed top-sails. On the22d there was a hard gale, accompanied with squalls and showers, whichcontinued during the night, over a frightful sea. The Etoile madesignals of distress, but it was not till the 24th that she came withinhail, or could specify the damage she had received. Herfore-top-sail-yard had been carried away, and four of her chain plates;and all the cattle she had taken in at Monte Video, except two, werelost in the storm. This last misfortune, unluckily, was common to bothvessels, and in their present situation admitted no remedy. During theremainder of this month, the wind was variable from S. W. To N. W. And thecurrents ran rapidly to the southward, as far as 45° latitude, wherethey were merely perceptible. No ground was reached by sounding till the27th at night, when they were in latitude 47°, and about thirty-fiveleagues from the coast of Patagonia. In this position, they had seventyfathoms, and an oozy bottom with black and grey sand. From the 27th tillthey saw land, they had pretty regular soundings, in 67, 60, 55, 50, 47, and 40 fathoms, when they got sight of Cape Virgin, or, as Anson callsit, Cape Virgin Mary, the same name by which it was known to Sir JohnNarborough. Bougainville advises not to approach near the coast tillcoming to latitude 49°, as there is a hidden rock in 48° 30', at six orseven leagues off shore, which he says he discovered when sailing herein 1765. He then ran within a quarter of a league of it, and the personwho first saw it, took it to be a _grampus_. 

He now enters upon a discussion respecting the longitude of this cape, of which he got sight on the 2d December, and which is certainly aninteresting point in geography, as it determines the length of thestraits. This however may be omitted, as the question is considered inthe account of Captain Cook's Second Voyage, and will of course comebefore the reader in its proper place. Though differing with Anson as toits precise position, Bougainville admits that his lordship's view of itis most exactly true. 

Contrary winds and stormy weather opposed the entrance into the straitsfor several days, and after having entered, obliged him to lie-tobetween the shores of Terra del Fuego and the continent. His foresailwas split on the 4th December, and as he had then only twenty fathom, the fear of the breakers which extend S. S. E. Off the cape, induced himto scud under bare poles, which, however, facilitated his bendinganother foresail to the yard. He afterwards discovered that thesesoundings were not so alarming as he then imagined them to be, as theywere in fact those in the channel; and he remarks, for the benefit ofsucceeding navigators, that a gravelly bottom shews the position to benearer the Terra del Fuego coast, than that of the continent, where afine sandy, and sometimes an oozy bottom will be found. On the eveningof this day, he brought-to again, under main and mizen-stay-sails, butafter several disadvantageous tacks, got somewhat further from the coasttowards night. At four o'clock the next afternoon, he again got sight ofCape Virgin, when he made sail in order to double it, at about a leagueand a half or two leagues distance. In his opinion, it was improper tosail nearer, as a bank lies off it, over the tail of which he thought hepassed even at that distance; for between two soundings made by his ownvessel, one of twenty-four, and the other of seventeen fathom, theEtoile, which sailed in his wake, found no more at one time than eightfathom, but immediately afterwards deepened her water. On the night ofthe 5th, he got Cape Virgin to bear N. , but as there was a fresh breeze, and the night was gloomy, threatening a storm, he kept off and on tillday-break, when having unreefed his top-sails, he run to W. N. W. Hecontinued plying to windward, under courses and top-sails, for the wholeof the 6th, during which he discovered Cape Possession on the continentcoast, and also got sight of Terra del Fuego. By noon on the 7th, however, he found himself still at Cape Possession, as, besides hisnever going more than three leagues from the northern shore, which, obliged him to sound continually, he lost as much by the tides as heever gained by them. About this time the wind shifting favourably, hecontinued his voyage, and got to the entrance of the first gut abouthalf after two o'clock; but now with all his sails set, and aided by afine breeze, he could not stem the tide, which ran six knots an houragainst him, and carried him astern. It was in vain to strive; andfearing, as the wind was unsteady, that he might be becalmed in the gut, and therefore exposed to danger on the ledges off the capes forming theentrance, especially a long one on the Terra del Fuego side, he was atlast constrained to turn in search of anchorage in the bottom ofPossession Bay, for which he steered N. By E. This he found at seven inthe evening, about two leagues from the land, in twenty fathom, having amud and sand ground, with black and white gravel. He was more successfulin his exertions the following morning, when having stemmed a contrarytide, the current set to windward, and carried him, tacking frequentlyto avoid both coasts, through the first gut, in spite of the wind whichblew hard against him. It was noon before he accomplished this, afterwhich he made sail, as the wind had veered to S. , and the tide still ranto windward; both, however, failing about three o'clock, he anchored inBoucalt Bay on the continent side, in eighteen fathom, having an oozybottom. Immediately afterwards he hoisted out one of his boats, as didalso the Etoile, and embarking in them to the number of ten officers, each armed with his musket landed at the bottom of the bay to have aninterview with the Patagonians, who had kept up fires all night on thecoast, and in the morning had hoisted a white flag, supposed to be thesame which the Etoile, when here in June 1766, had left with them as asign of friendship and alliance. Their having kept it, is properlyenough considered by Bougainville, as an indication of very laudablesocial qualities. The Spaniards, indeed, have given a favourable reportof the people that inhabit this part of the strait, mentioning severalcircumstances in praise of their humanity and good faith. 

As soon as the officers got ashore, six of the natives rode up to themin full gallop, and having alighted when about fifty yards off, immediately came up to them with outstretched arms, and congratulatoryshouts of _Shawa, shawa_, which the officers were careful to repeat, with similar marks of satisfaction. Some symptoms of fear were visibleon two of these people, but they were speedily removed; and shortlyafterwards this party was joined by many more of their countrymen, whomanifested entire confidence and good nature. They did not seemsurprised at seeing the strangers; and as they imitated the report ofmuskets, it was inferred that they were not ignorant of the use of thesearms, and that consequently, they had had previous intercourse withEuropeans, in proof of their willingness to please their visitors, it ismentioned, that they immediately set about picking plants, and carryingthem to some of the officers who had commenced searching for them; andit is noted, as an evidence of their having some notions of the use ofmedicines, that one of them afflicted with a sore eye, applied by signsto Chevalier du Bouchage, one of the gentlemen so engaged, to point outa remedy for it. They asked in a similar manner for tobacco. Any thingof a red colour pleased them highly; and always when any presents hadbeen made them, and at every mark of kindness, they testified theirsatisfaction by loud shouts of _shawa_. Among other things given themin exchange for skins, or in mere condescension, was some brandy, ofwhich each got a little drop. The effect of it was singular; immediatelyon swallowing it, they beat with their hands on their throats, anduttered a sort of tremulous, but inarticulate sound, which wasterminated by a quick motion of the lips. This is said to have been doneby all of them. They expressed a degree of uneasiness and concern, whenthey understood the officers were preparing to leave them. This wasappeased, however, when it was intimated to them that they would bevisited again on the following day; and they accompanied the party tothe sea-shore, one of their number singing during the march. Some ofthem even waded into the water, and got within reach of the boats; butthis was not so convenient, as they manifested a pretty strongdisposition to furnish themselves with whatever they could lay hold on. Before the boats got to any distance, the number of the savagesincreased very much, many coming up in the same manner as these haddone, at full gallop. 

In the opinion of Bougainville, these people were the same that had beenseen by the Etoile in 1765; for he says, that one of his presentsailors, who was then on board that vessel, distinctly recognised one ofthem. They were well shaped, and their height was estimated at betwixt 5feet 5 inches, and 5 feet 10 inches French; or in English, measure, 5feet 10, 334 inches, and 6 feet 2, 5704 inches. They appeared gigantic, itis added very properly, because they had very broad shoulders, theirheads were large, and their limbs thick. They were robust and verymuscular, and seemed to enjoy perfection of health, and to possessabundance of wholesome diet. Their figures, notwithstanding thedimensions, were far from being coarse or unpleasant; on the contrary, many of them might be esteemed handsome. The peculiarities of theirfeatures were, a round and somewhat flat face, very fiery eyes, uncommonly white teeth, and long black hair which was worn tied on thetop of the head. In the colour of the skin, they did not differ fromother Americans. Some of them had their cheeks painted red. The languagethey used is said to have been very delicate. The description now givenof these people, it must be remarked, applies to the men, for hithertonone of the women had been seen. In dress they nearly resembled theIndians residing about the Rio de la Plata. A piece of leather servedthem for an _apron_, and a cloak of skin fastened round the body with agirdle, hung as far down as their heels, but had besides a part, generally allowed to fall down also, which might occasionally covertheir shoulders, though this was not often done. They did not seem verysensible to the cold of the climate, which, even at this season, viz. Their summer, was only ten degrees less than that which freezes water. Their legs were covered with a sort of half boot, open behind; and someof them, wore on the thigh a copper ring about two inches broad. Thatthey had had acquaintance with Europeans was still more clearlymanifested by sundry articles amongst them, of which are mentionedparticularly little iron knives, supposed to have been given them byCommodore Byron a short time before. Their horses were bridled andsaddled in the same manner as those of the inhabitants of Rio de laPlata; and one of these bulky cavaliers had gilt nails at his saddle, wooden stirrups covered with copper plates, a bridle of twisted leather, and an entire Spanish harness. Here did not appear to be any thing likesuperiority of rank or subordination established among them; nor couldit be remarked, that three old men who were in the party, received anypeculiar marks of esteem from the rest. Bougainville gives it as hisopinion, that these savages lived somewhat in the manner of the Tartars, traversing the immense plains of South America, living almost constantlyon horse-back, and subsisting on such fare as their hunting expeditions, if not their pillaging ones, brought them in. 

On the morning of the 9th, an attempt was made to stem the tide, bysteering S. W. By W. , but the progress was very inconsiderable; and thewind having veered from N. W. To S. W. , it was found necessary to come toan anchor again, which was done in nineteen fathom. The weather duringthis day and the following one, was so exceedingly unfavourable, thatnot one fit opportunity presented of sending out a boat to fulfil thepromise made to the Patagonians, which probably was an equaldisappointment to both parties. Whole troops of the natives were seen atthe place where the landing had been made, and where, there can be nodoubt, another was anxiously expected. At midnight on the 11th, the windhaving veered to N. E. , and the tide having set to the westward, a signalwas made for weighing, but unfortunately the cable parted the bits andthe hawse, so that the anchor was lost. The sails being set, some waywas made next morning; but it was little, however, as the tide soon rancontrary, and could scarcely be stemmed with the light breeze at N. W. This difficulty was removed at noon, about which time the tide ebbed, and favoured their passing the second gut, when the frigate came to ananchor to the northward of the Isle of Elizabeth, in seven fathom, atabout two miles off shore, and the store-ship a quarter of a leaguefarther to the S. E. In seventeen fathom. A boat landed at the island onthe 12th, but the description of it is uninteresting, as, except itspresenting great facility for landing, and having some bustards, it wasno way remarkable. 

On the 13th in the afternoon, they weighed and made sail betwixt theisland and the Isles of St Bartholomew and Lions, the only practicablechannel here in the opinion of Bougainville, who, however, it is likely, rather followed the example of Byron, than investigated for himself. Here the tide set to the southward, and was very strong, and there werecontinual squalls coming off the high land of Elizabeth Island, to whichthey were forced to keep near, in order to avoid the breakers extendinground the other islands. The coast of the continent from below CapeNoir, and which runs southward, was well covered with woods, and had avery pleasant appearance. They sailed along the coast at about a leaguedistance, and for a considerable time this day, hoping to be able todouble Cape Round during the night; but in this they were disappointed, for a little after midnight, very suddenly the wind got round to theS. W. , the coast became foggy, and the weather altogether exceedinglyfoul; an evidence of the fickleness of the climate. Having split theirmain-sail, they had to ply to windward as well as they could, endeavouring to get shelter in Port Famine; but this they were unable toeffect; and, as in consequence of the short tacks they had to make, andtheir being obliged to wear, they were in some risk of being taken by astrong current into a great inlet on the Terra del Fuego side, it becamenecessary for them, after losing much time and labour, to go along thecoast in search of anchorage to leeward. It was not till eleven o'clocknext morning that they succeeded in this, when they got to a bay namedby him Duclos Bay, after the second in command, where they cast anchorin eight and a half fathom, and an oozy bottom. This bay is a little tothe south of Fresh-Water Bay, and, besides having good anchorage, affords water of an excellent quality, about four hundred yards from themouth of two rivers, which discharge themselves into it: No quadrupedswere seen here, and only a very few birds. At four o'clock on the 16th, they set sail with a pretty favourable wind, but a cloudy sky, passedPoint St Anne and Cape Round, the Cape Shutup of others, andbrought-to, within a league and a half from Cape Forward, where theywere becalmed for two hours. Between the two points last mentioned, adistance, according to Byron, of seven leagues S. W. By S. Course, Bougainville says there are four bays in which a vessel may anchor, andthat two of them are separated from each other by a cape of a verysingular appearance and structure. It rises more than 150 feet above thelevel of the sea, and consists entirely of petrified shells lying inhorizontal strata; a line of 100 fathom, it is added, did not reach thebottom of the sea at the foot of it. This very extraordinary monument ofthe revolutions which our globe has undergone, does not seem to havebeen noticed by the geologists. 

Cape Forward, or St Isidore, as it has been named by some navigators, and which is the most southerly point of the American continent, lies inlat. 54° 5' 45". It is a perpendicular rock, the top of which is coveredwith snow, but some trees are to be seen on its sides. The sea below itis too deep for anchorage; however, between two hillocks which shew onpart of its surface, there is a little bay provided with a rivulet, where, in case of necessity, a vessel might anchor in about fifteenfathom. Having ascertained these and some other matters during the calmwhich allowed him to use his pinnace, Bougainville returned on board, and set out for Cape Holland. But the wind veering to S. W. , he went insearch of the harbour which M. De Gennes named French Bay, and anchoredbetween the two points which constitute its entrance, in ten fathom. Here he resolved to take in wood and water for his voyage across thePacific Ocean, as it had been so favourably described by that gentleman, and as he himself was ignorant of the remaining navigation of thestraits. But having ascertained, however, that the anchorage was notsafe here, and that the boats could not get up the river, except at highwater, he removed eastward to a small bay, in which in 1765, as relatedin the account of Byron's voyage, he had taken in wood for the FalklandIslands, and which had been named after him Bougainville's Bay. Herethen he anchored in twenty-eight fathom, and afterwards warped into thebottom of the bay, to ensure all safety during his continuance for thenecessary repairs and getting supplies, which took him up till the endof December, and would in all probability have consumed more time, hadnot the labours of the Etoile, his present consort, when here before, facilitated his operations. This residence, it was expected, would allowopportunity for examining the straits in this part, besides occupyingthe astronomer and botanist, and the useful pursuits of hunting andfowling. Their success, however, was not very considerable in any ofthese respects. The sky was exceedingly unfavourable for observation;many obstacles impeded those who searched for plants; the only animalseen was a fox, which was killed amongst the workmen; and the attempt toexplore the coast of the continent was fruitless, as the weather becameso very tempestuous, as to force those who were engaged in it to returnto the vessel with all possible celerity, after being thoroughlydrenched in rain, and almost starved to death by cold, though in themiddle of summer. Some days after this uncomfortable expedition, anotherwas planned to the Terra del Fuego side, and succeeded better. On the27th, the party intended for it, consisting among others of Bougainvillehimself, Messrs de Bournand, and d'Oraison, and the Prince of Nassau, well armed with swivel-guns and muskets, sailed in the Boudeuse'slong-boat, and the Etoile's barge, across the straits, and landed at themouth of a little river, on the banks of which they dined beneath theshade of a pleasant wood, where they discovered several huts belongingto the natives. After dinner, they rowed along the coast of Terra delFuego in a hollow sea, and with the wind somewhat westerly, which wasunfavourable. It carried them, however, across a great inlet, of whichthey could not see the end, and which, indeed, they believed, from thecircumstances of the high rolling sea, and the numbers of whales theyobserved, to have a communication with the ocean at Cape Horn. On thefarther side of this inlet, they saw several fires, which wereafterwards extinguished and again lighted, when some savages made theirappearance on the low point of a bay where it was intended to touch. They were recognized by Bougainville, as the same people he had seen inhis first voyage in the straits, and then denominated _Pecherais_, fromthe word which they pronounced so often to their visitants. They aredescribed as most disgustingly filthy, and extremely wretched as toprovisions, and every accommodation that renders life desirable; inshort, as the poorest and most miserable of all that bear the name ofsavages. Meanly, however, as they are spoken of, it is admitted, thatthey have some social virtues; but, perhaps, it is a doubtful article inthe short catalogue of their commendation, that they are superstitionsenough to put implicit confidence in the efficacy of their physiciansand priests. The number of this forlorn tribe is too inconsiderable torender their history important, even though their manners and characterswere more calculated than they are represented to be, to excite interestor call forth sympathy on the part of the reader. The enthusiasticeulogist of Optimism will readily reconcile their condition to theprinciples which claim his admiration, by the obvious discovery, thattheir natures are in alliance with their circumstances, and by the easybelief, that hitherto no hope or idea of greater comfort had enhancedthe magnitude of their present misery. The wretch, he would say, whosetaste can regale itself on putridity and corruption, need never be heldup as an exception to the philosophical system, which finds nothing butbeauty and happiness diffused throughout the universe; though hisappearance, it must be owned, in the very act of indulgence especially, might somewhat stagger the student who was still engaged in enquiringinto the grounds of the theory. To be content, it is often preached, isto be happy; the reason is, however, what perhaps they who so stronglyurge the proposition, are not quite aware of in their voluntarycomplacency, that, in order to be happy, one must be contented. Thedialectical skill of an Aquinas would fail to prove the theme, thathappiness exists where there are desires ungratified, and appetitesunprovided for; and most certainly, these poor _Pecherais_ would neverbe adduced by him as evidence, till he had humanely, thoughsophistically, secured their testimony by bribing their stomachs. If onemay judge from the experience of Bougainville, this kind of subornationwould be somewhat difficult of accomplishment. To return. --The nightafter falling in with these people, was passed on the banks of a prettyconsiderable river, on which the party made a fire, and erected a sortof tents with the sails of their boats, the weather being cold, thoughfine. Next morning they discovered the bay and port of Beaubassin, socalled by them from the beauty of the anchoring-place, and which isrepresented to be a commodious and safe situation. Bougainvillecontinued his survey to the westward, of which he has given a minute, and to navigators, it is probable, a very useful description, not, however, requisite for this work. Having spent a little time in thisexcursion, and encountered a good deal of disagreeable weather, hereturned to the frigate, and on the last day of December weighed and setsail, in order to pass the remainder of the straits. On the evening ofthis day he doubled Cape Holland, and came to an anchor in the road ofPort Gallant, which was very fortunate, as the succeeding night becametempestuous, the wind blowing hard at S. W. In this place, however, theywere forced by the state of the weather, which, it is said, wasinconceivably worse than the severest winter at Paris, to remain forthree weeks together, a space abundantly long to give them an intimateacquaintance with the parts in their neighbourhood. Amongst the objectswhich attracted their notice here, they found vestiges of the passageand touching of English ships, especially a label of wood with the words_Chatham, March_, 1766, and initial letters and names with the samedate, marked on several of the trees. M. Verron, who had got hisastronomical instruments on shore, made an observation, by which hefound the latitude to be 53° 40' 41" S. , from which, and some bearingstaken at different times, it was inferred that the distance from PortGallant to Port Forward was twelve leagues. An attempt was made by thesame gentleman to determine the longitude of the bay, by means of aneclipse of the moon which occurred on the 3d January (1768); but theexcessive rain which continued through the whole day and nightfrustrated his endeavours. The declination of the needle was observed bythe azimuth-compass to be 22° 30' 32" N. E. , and its inclination from theelevation of the pole, 11° 11'. Such is the poor amount of theastronomical labours for nearly a month, in this so uncourteous a seasonand climate. During this long and disagreeable residence, most annoyingto both men of science and common sailors, some visits from the_Pecherais_, already mentioned, afforded a little recreation, but of novery elegant or dignified kind; and even this, indifferent as it was, presented a melancholy accident, with which the reader has been alreadymade acquainted--one of the children of these poor creatures swallowingsome bits of glass, improvidently given him by the sailors, and losinghis life in consequence. [167] On the 13th, 14th, and 15th of January, the weather assumed something of a milder form; and on the 16th, appearances were altogether so agreeable, as to induce Bougainville toweigh, the breeze being from the north, and the tide, which was ebbing, in his favour. He was not long, however, before he had cause to repenthis facility of confidence. The wind soon shifted to W. And W. S. W. , andthe tide would not serve him to gain Rupert Isle. His vessel sailed veryill, and drove rapidly to leeward. The Etoile, it seems, had nowconsiderably the advantage over her. They plied all this day betweenRupert Island, and a head-land of the continent, waiting for the ebb, with which it was hoped they might gain either the anchoring-place inBay Dauphine on Louis le Grand Island, or Elizabeth Bay. But as groundwas lost in this labour, Bougainville sent out a boat to sound for ananchorage to the S. E. Of Rupert's Island, where he now intended to wait, if possible, till the tide became favourable. A signal was made from theboat that this was found, but by this time they had fallen to leeward ofit, and had to endeavour to gain it by making a board in-shore. Thefrigate unfortunately missed stays twice, and it became necessary towear, in the very act of which, the force of the tide brought her to thewind again, a strong current having already taken her within half acable's length of the shore. In this state, an anchor was let go ineight fathom, but falling upon rocks it came home again. At this time, they had only three fathom and a half of water astern, and were not morethan thrice the length of the ship from the shore, when a little breezeopportunely springing up, filled their sails, and carried them toleeward, the boats of both vessels coming a-head, and taking her in tow. Their danger, however, was yet to be increased, for when veering awaytheir cable, it happened to get foul between decks, and so stopt theircourse; a hinderance, for which there remained no other remedy than thatof cutting it, which was most promptly done, and saved the ship. Thebreeze then freshened, and enabled them with some difficulty andtacking, to return to Port Gallant, where they anchored in twentyfathom, and an oozy bottom. Thus ended their enjoyment of the fineweather. 

[Footnote 167: This is particularly related in our account of Cook'svoyage, vol. Xii. P. 397. ]

On the following day, a greater storm came on than had been yetexperienced. The sea ran mountains high in the channel, and oftenexhibited waves striking in contrary directions against each other. Aclap of thunder was heard at noon, the only one they had ever noticed inthis strait, and it seemed to be a signal for an increased violence ofthe wind. They dragged their anchor in the storm, and were obliged tolet go the sheet-anchor, and to strike their lower yards and top-masts. Some intervals between the bad weather occurred on the 18th and 19th, and allowed them, among other things, to send the Etoile's barge, whichwas in peculiar good condition, to view the channel of _Sainte Barbe_, about which, however, his information was so scanty and apparentlyincorrect, at least imperfect, as to prove of little utility in hispresent situation. This he the more regretted, as, in his opinion, theperfect knowledge of it would have considerably shortened the passage ofthe straits. It requires little time, he remarks, to get to PortGallant, the chief difficulty being to double Cape Forward, which, hesays, is rendered easier by the discovery he made of three ports on theTerra del Fuego side; and when once that port is gained, even though thewinds should prevent a vessel taking the ordinary course, this channelis open, and may be gone through in twenty-four hours, so as to reachthe South Sea. He could not perfectly demonstrate the truth of thisopinion he entertained, as the bad weather prevented the examination ofsome points as he had projected. 

The storm and bad weather continued with little intermission till the24th, when a calm and some sun-shine induced him to make another attemptto proceed. Since re-entering Port Gallant, he had taken in several tonsof ballast, and altered his stowage, by which he succeeded in gettingthe frigate to sail better than it did before. On the whole, however, heremarks, it will always be found very difficult to manage so long avessel as a frigate usually is, in the midst of currents. Captain Cook, perhaps, had contemplated such a difficulty, when he assigned hisreasons for preferring a vessel like the Endeavour, for the purposes ofdiscovery. 

On the 25th, at one in the morning, they unmoored, weighed at three, thebreeze being northerly, but settling in the east at half-past five, whenthey got top-gallant and studding-sails set, a circumstance somewhatunusual in this navigation. They kept the middle of the strait, following the windings of what Narborough justly calls Crooked Reach. The coast runs W. N. W. For about two leagues from Bay Elizabeth, whenyou reach the Bachelor river of that navigator. This is easily known; itcomes from a deep valley, having a high mountain on the west, the mostwesterly point of which is low and wooded, and the coast is sandy. Bougainville reckons three leagues from this river to the entrance of StJerome's channel, or the False Strait as others have called it, and thebearing is N. W. By W. This channel, the entrance of which is said to beabout half a league broad, may be easily mistaken for the true one, asit is admitted, happened at first on the present occasion. In order toavoid it, Bougainville advises to keep the coast of Louis le GrandIsland on board, which may be done, he says, without danger. He himselfran within a mile of the shore of this island, which is about fourleagues long, and the north side of which runs W. N. W. , as far as BayDauphine. At noon this day, Cape Quade (or Quod) which is about fourleagues from St Jerome's channel, bore W. 13° S. Two leagues distant, and Cape St Louis, E. By N. About two leagues and a half. The weathercontinued fair, and they had the advantage of all their sails being set. 

The strait runs W. N. W. And N. W. By W. From Cape Quade, and being withoutany considerable turnings, has obtained the name of Long-Reach. The capeconsists of craggy rocks, resembling some ancient ruins, and the coast, up to it is wooded, the verdure of the trees contrasting finely with thefrozen and snowy summits of the neighbouring mountains; but afterdoubling this point, the nature of the country is said to be verydifferent, presenting scarcely any thing but barren rocks, the intervalsof which are filled up with immense masses of no less unfriendly ice, altogether meriting the name which Narborough bestowed on it in thepenury of his feelings, the Desolation of the South. Opposite this cape, and about fifteen leagues off, is Cape Monday on the Terra del Fuegoside, which, with other remarkable points of this strait, we haveelsewhere described. Bougainville was tempted by the fineness of theweather to continue his course in this strait during the night, but theexcessive rain and wind which came on about ten o'clock, made him repenthis temerity, and rendered his situation betwixt two shores, which itrequired the greatest caution and continual activity to avoid, one ofthe most critical and unpleasant he experienced during the voyage. Thedawn of the following day, gave them sight of the land, which for somehours they had been groping against in the utmost fear of collision;and about noon, they descried Cape Pillar, the termination of thisperilous strait, beyond which, there beamed on their joyful eyes animmense horizon and an unspotted sea. 

Fifty-two days were elapsed since they left Cape Virgin, the half ofwhich had been spent in inactive but painful suffering at Port Gallant. Bougainville reckons the length of the strait at about one-hundred andfourteen leagues, viz. From Cape Virgin Mary to Cape Pillar; and in hisopinion, notwithstanding the difficulties of the passage, it is to bepreferred to doubling Cape Horn, especially in the period from Septemberto the end of March. His reasons for this opinion, and the concurrentand contrary sentiments of other navigators, have been either alreadystated, or will require to be so hereafter, and need not now interruptour prosecution of the remainder of his voyage. 

A few days after entering the Western Sea, the wind got S. And S. S. W. This was sooner than Bougainville expected, as it was thought the westwinds generally lasted to about 30°, and obliged him to lay aside hisintention of going to the isle of Juan Fernandez, as the doing so wouldnecessarily prolong his voyage. He stood, therefore, as much as possibleto the west, in order to keep the wind, and to get off the coast; andwith a view to discover a greater space of the ocean, he directed thecommander of the Etoile to go every morning southward as far from him asthe weather would permit, keeping in sight, and to join, him in theevening, and follow in his wake at about half a league's distance. Thisit was hoped would both facilitate examination, and secure mutualassistance, and was the order of sailing preserved throughout thevoyage. 

He now directed his course in search of the land seen by Davis in 1686, between 27° and 28° south latitude, and sought for in vain by Roggewein. This search, however, was equally fruitless, though Bougainville crossedthe position laid down for it in M. De Bellin's chart. His conclusion, in consequence, is, that the land spoken of by Davis was no other thanthe isles of St Ambrose and St Felix, which are about two hundredleagues off the coast of Chili. Westerly winds came on about the 23d ofFebruary, and lasted to the 3d of March, the weather varying much, butalmost every day bringing rain about noon, accompanied with thunder. This seemed strange to Bougainville, as this ocean under the tropic hadalways been renowned for the uniformity and freshness of the E. And S. E. Trade-winds, supposed to last throughout the year. In the month ofFebruary, four astronomical observations were made for determining thelongitude. The first, made on the 6th, differed 31' from the reckoning, the latter being to the westward. The second, on the 11th, differed 37'45", in the opposite direction. By the third, made on the 22d, thereckoning was 42' 30", westward in excess; and that of the 27th shewed adifference of 1' 25" in the same line. At this time they had calms andcontrary winds. The thermometer, till they came to 45° latitude, hadalways kept between 5° and 8° above the freezing point; after that, itrose successively, and when they were between 27° and 24° latitude, varied upwards a good deal. A sore throat prevailed among the crew ofthe frigate ever since leaving the straits, and was attributed, whetherjustly or not, to the snow waters they had been in the habit of usingthere. It was not, however, very obstinate, readily yielding to simpleremedies; and at the end of March, it is said, there was no body on thesick list. 

On the 21st of this month, a tunny was caught with some little fish, notyet digested in its belly, which are noticed never to go any greatdistance from the shore. This accordingly was held as an indication ofland being near, and indeed a just one, in the present instance; forabout six in the morning of the next day, they got sight of four littleisles at one time, bearing S. S. E. 1/2 E. , and of another about fourleagues west. The former, Bougainville called _les quatre Facardins_, but being too far to windward for him at present, he preferred standingfor the single one a-head. On approaching this, it was discovered to besurrounded with a very level sand, and to have all its interior partscovered with thick woods surmounted by cocoa-trees. So delightful anappearance as it presented, lost none of its charms in the eyes of menwho longed for the refreshments of dry land and the vegetable world. Buttheir desires must have consumed them, had this been the only shorewhich could gratify them. It was found impossible to land on it, or toobtain the advantages which it seemed to hold out to their hopes. Bougainville bestowed on it the name of _Isle des Lanciers_, from thecircumstance of his noticing about fifteen or twenty of its inhabitantscarrying very long pikes, as in the act of brandishing them against theship, with signs of threatening. After this idle display of courage, they were seen to retire to the woods, where it was possible todistinguish their huts by means of glasses. The men are represented asbeing tall, and of a bronze colour, and destitute of clothing. 

In the night of the 22d, a storm came on attended with thunder and rain, which obliged Bougainville to bring to, for fear of running against someof the lowlands in this sea. At day-break on the following day, land wasseen bearing from N. E. By N. To N. N. W. , which he stood for; at eighto'clock, he got about three leagues from its eastermost point; but thenperceiving that there were breakers all along the opposite coast, whichseemed low and covered with trees, he stood out to sea again, waitingfor fairer weather to permit a nearer approach. This was done towardsten o'clock, when the island was not more than a league off. Similardifficulties, however, were experienced here, as at the former island;and after several fruitless attempts to find anchorage for the ships, ora landing-place for the boats, it was necessary to abandon it, which wasdone with similar feelings of chagrin on the morning of the 24th. Thisisland was denominated Harp Island, from its figure, and had inhabitantsmuch resembling those of the one which had been previously discovered. At five in the afternoon of this day, an island was discovered aboutseven or eight leagues distant; another, in the morning of the 25th, extending S. E. And N. W. ; and the course was continued till the 27th, between several low and partly overflowed islands, four of which wereexamined and found quite inaccessible, or undeserving of being visited. To the whole cluster, Bougainville gave the name of _DangerousArchipelago_, by which they have been generally known since his day, andwhich sufficiently indicates the nature of the navigation around them. 

He now shaped his course more southerly, in order to avoid a situationwhich presented him with so many difficulties, and yielded so fewcomforts; and on the 28th, he ceased to see land. About this time, it isnoted, the scurvy made its appearance on eight or ten of the crew, which was imputed in a great degree to the moistness of the weather. Lemonade was the principal article used for the removal or prevention ofit. From the 3d of March till his arrival at New Britain, Bougainvilleconstantly used Poissonier's distilling apparatus, by which, he says, above a barrel of tolerably fresh water was obtained daily. 

On the 2d of April, the island of Otaheite, or Taiti, as Bougainvillecalls it, was got sight of, and soon afterwards were discovered some ofthe islands in its neighbourhood. But it was not till the 4th, that, when standing in for the shore of the former, as likely to realize thehopes of refreshment, which had been so eagerly entertained by the crew, some of the natives came off to them in their canoes, and commenced afriendly intercourse. Being ignorant of the coast and nature of thesituation, for to Bougainville, at this time, Otaheite was a newdiscovery, a good deal of time was lost in examining the island for ananchoring-place, which was not determined on till the 6th. The numbersof islanders that surrounded the ships as they neared the land, renderedthe operations of mooring and warping somewhat difficult andtroublesome. The manners too of these _easy_ people multipliedembarrassments, of a particular kind, which it required no ordinaryauthority and self-denial to controul. In one instance, however, it issaid, the presence of an Otaheitan Venus, in any thing else than arepulsive attitude, had the effect of expediting the necessary work. Both sailors and soldiers, it seems, pressed towards the hatch-way, where she had planted herself in all the revealed attraction of _native_beauty; and the capstern was in consequence hove with more than commoneagerness and expedition. But the utmost care, one may readily believe, was requisite to keep these enchanted fellows in good order. It is atrite remark, that the imaginary anticipation of pleasure is seldom orever equalled by the enjoyment of it. Independent of the causes whichmay account for such commonly experienced disappointment, it is ten toone in almost any case, but that in a world like this, some vexatiousoccurrence or other, nowise calculated on by an excited fancy, willaltogether prevent the realization hoped for. Such was the fortune ofBougainville's cook, who, in spite of the law to the contrary, effectedhis escape to the shore in company with a complying damsel. The poorfellow soon returned on board, more dead than alive. Immediately onlanding, it seems, the natives surrounded him, and with all the ease andgenuine curiosity of naturalists inspecting a non-descript mineral, proceeded to turn him over and over, undressing him from head to foot, and pawing him about most tumultuously. They afterwards returned him hisclothes, replacing whatever they had taken out of his pockets, and thenbrought the girl to him. But after such a scrutinizing and fatiguingprocess, it was no wonder that the terrified cook should desist from hisaddresses, and make the best of his way back. He afterwards said, hismaster might reprimand him as much as he pleased, but could neverfrighten him so much as he had been frightened on shore. When the shipswere moored, Bougainville with several of his officers went to surveythe watering-place. The natives expressed joy at their arrival; and thechief of the district conducted them into his own house, and entertainedthem there with liberal hospitality. The rights of friendship, nevertheless, did not obliterate the inclination to thieving, soprevalent among these people, for a little before going on board, one ofthe gentlemen missed a pistol, which he had been in the habit ofcarrying in his pocket. The chief was immediately informed of it, andgave orders for searching all the persons present. Bougainville stoppedhim, and endeavoured to make him understand, that the thief wouldcertainly be the victim of his own dishonesty, for that what he hadstolen would kill him. This hint had the desired effect; for on thefollowing day, the pistol was brought on board by the chief himself. 

It was now proposed to erect a camp on shore for the sick, and to carryon the watering and other necessary operations. But this was soonopposed, the principal people of the district, headed by the chief, whose name was Ereti, and his father, coming to Bougainville, andexpressing their unwillingness to suffer any of the crew to remain onshore at night, though they did not object to frequenting it in theday-time. To this tolerably reasonable intimation, Bougainville replied, that encampment was absolutely necessary for him, and would facilitatethe friendly intercourse that had been commenced. On this, the nativesheld a council, the result of which was, that the chief came toBougainville, and made enquiry of him, whether or not he intended toremain there for ever, and if the latter, how long it would be before hedeparted. He was informed that the ships were to sail in eighteen days. Another council was now held, at which Bougainville was desired to bepresent. A grave man who took an active part in the conference, was verydesirous to reduce the time of encamping to half the number of days; butBougainville still insisted on his original proposal, to which at lastthe council assented, and a good understanding was immediately restored. The remainder of the stay here does not seem, however, to have beeneither very peaceable or free from danger. The thieving disposition ofthe natives occasioned several unpleasant contentions and perpetualjealousy. Two of them were murdered by some of the crew, but on whatgrounds, or by whom particularly, it is said, could not be discovered. The circumstance led to much apprehension of an attempt to revenge, andmeasures were accordingly taken to render it inefficient, but they wereseemingly unnecessary. The dangers at sea were much more formidable, andfar less easily provided against. It is perhaps quite enough to say ofthem, that the ships were for a considerable time in the greatest risqueof being wrecked on the reef coast of the island, and that in the shortspace of nine days during which they were here, they lost no less thansix anchors. All this, it is probable, would have been avoided, ifBougainville had been better acquainted with the island. His descriptionof it, indeed, is so imperfect, and in several respects erroneous, as tobe altogether void of interest to any one who peruses what we havealready given on the subject, in the preceding and present volumes. Weshall accordingly pass it over, specifying only a few particularsrespecting one of its natives Aotourou, who, at his own desire, accompanied Bougainville to Europe, and whose history has attracted alittle notice. 

This young man was the son of an Otaheitan chief, and a captive woman ofthe neighbouring isle of Oopoa, with the natives of which the Otaheitansoften carried on war. Immediately on Bougainville's arrival at hisnative place, he expressed a determination to follow the strangers, which his countrymen seemed to applaud, and his zeal in which was sogreat as to overcome an attachment to a handsome girl, from whom he hadto tear himself on coming aboard the ship. Bougainville admits, that inyielding to this determination, he hoped to avail himself of one whoseknowledge of the language of the people in this part of the world, waslikely to be useful in the remainder of his voyage; and besides this, which perhaps was laudable enough, or at least justifiable, heentertained the supposition, rather an unlikely one indeed, that throughhim on his return, _enriched by the useful knowledge_ which he wouldbring, a profitable union might be established betwixt these islandersand his own nation. The immediate advantages were not considerable, forthis youth's talents were but slender, and the ultimate object was neveraccomplished, as he died of the small-pox in the voyage out to Otaheite. Bougainville, notwithstanding, is deserving of credit for the care andattention he bestowed on him. He spared neither money nor trouble torender his residence at Paris both comfortable and useful, and so farsucceeded, it appears, as that during the long time Aotourou was there, he gave no symptoms of weariness. But it is certain, on the other hand, that his advancement in useful knowledge was not very flattering to histeachers, and never equalled the favourable ideas Bougainville hadentertained of his capabilities. Mr Forster says, in a footnote to thetranslation, that some Englishmen who saw him at Paris, and whosetestimony, were their names mentioned, would be decisive with thepublic, were decidedly of opinion, that Aotourou was naturally a stupidfellow, an opinion, it seems, in which his own countrymen unanimouslyconcurred. The amount of his improvements, even on Bougainville's ownevidence, was, his _scarcely_ blabbering out some French words, hisfinding his way through Paris, his _hardly ever_ paying for thingsbeyond their real value, and his _perfectly well knowing the days of theopera_, to the amusements of which he shewed an excessive partiality. These degrees of refinement, it must be allowed, do not indicatesuperlative talents; yet, if one may judge from the advancement in_Frenchification_ made by many who have visited Paris from othercountries, they may not depreciate the docility of poor Aotourou, muchbelow the common average! He embarked at Rochelle in 1770, on board theBrisson, which was to take him to the Isle of France, whence, by ordersof the ministry, he was to be conveyed home, which, as alreadymentioned, he never reached. 

At eight in the morning of the 16th of April, the ships were about tenleagues N. E. By N. Off the north point of Otaheite, from which point, Bougainville now took his departure. He got sight of some land in thevicinity on the same day, and shaped his course so as to avoid whatRoggewein called the Pernicious Isles. During the remainder of thismonth, the weather continued very fine, and the winds were chiefly fromthe east inclining to the north. In the first week of May, severalislands were discovered, which Bougainville divided into two clusters, calling one the Archipelago of Bourbon, and the other the Archipelago ofthe Navigators. Some of them, it is probable, had been known before, asthe ascertained longitude corresponded tolerably well with that whichAbel Tasman gave for the isles of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, &c. Bad weathercame on the 6th of this month, and continued with scarcely anyinterruption till the 20th, during which period, calms, rains, andwesterly winds were to be encountered. The situation of the ships hadnow become very distressing. There was a scarcity of water and wholesomeprovisions; the scurvy broke out among the crew, and several men wereaffected with venereal symptoms, the consequence, it is said, ofinfection got at Otaheite. Hence it is asked, but by no means is theaffirmative reply distinctly asserted, if the English brought it there?This subject has been discussed with tolerable freedom in another partof this work, and need not be resumed here. Such critical circumstancesinduced Bougainville to use all possible speed in getting to some placeof refreshment, and of course materially interfered with his plan ofmaking discoveries. 

On the 22d of May, two isles were observed, the most southerly bearingfrom S. By E. To S. W. By S. , and seeming to be about twelve leagueslong, in a N. N. W. Direction; the other bore from S. W. 1/2 S. To W. N. W. , and having been first seen at day-break, was called Aurora. To theformer, in honour of the day, was given the name of _Isle de laPentecôte_, or Whitsun Isle. Bougainville attempted to pass betwixtthese two islands, but the wind failing him, he was obliged to go toleeward of Aurora. In getting to the northward, along its eastern shore, he saw a little isle, rising like a sugar-loaf and bearing N. By W. Which he denominated Peak of the Etoile. He now ranged along the Isleof Aurora, at about a league and a half distant. It is described asabout ten leagues in length, but not more than two in breadth, withsteep shores, and as covered with wood. At two in the afternoon, whencoasting this isle, the summits of high mountains were perceived overit, about ten leagues off, which belonged to another island, as wasfound next morning. This island lay S. W. Of Aurora, and at the nearestpart was about three or four leagues from it. Several canoes were seenalong its coasts, but none of the natives put off to the ships. Thoughno bottom could be found near the shore with fifty fathom, yetBougainville resolved, if possible, to make a landing on it, in order toget wood and necessary refreshments. A party of men was accordingly sentoff in three armed boats; and effected a landing without any opposition. Bougainville himself and some others went to join this party in theafternoon, and found it busily employed as directed, the natives lendingconsiderable assistance by conveying wood, &c. To the boats. At first, indeed, they presented themselves in an armed posture, and seemedresolved to prevent any intrusion on their ground, but the prudent andconciliatory conduct of the officers effected a relinquishment ofimmediate hostility. This, it is thought, was but deceitful, andapparently intended to throw the party off its guard. Very probably, they meditated a serious attack, but were disconcerted by the partyembarking sooner than they expected. In doing so, they exhibited whathad continued to actuate them, for when the party put off in theirboats, these people followed it, and showed their dexterity in throwingstones and arrows, from which they did not desist, till twice fired onby the crew. These savages are unfavourably described; they are said tohave been ugly, of short stature, and ill proportioned; and as they wereaffected with a disease which Bougainville considered leprosy, thisisland got the name of Isle of Lepers. The few women that were seen, atbest rivalled the men in disagreeable appearance, and were about asnaked. 

Bougainville now made sail to the S. W. For a long coast in sight, extending as far as the eye could reach, from S. W. To W. N. W. , but asthere was little or no wind during the 24th, both day and night, he wasleft to the mercy of the currents, which would scarcely allow him to getthree leagues off the Isle of Lepers. He advanced somewhat better on the25th, though the Etoile still lay becalmed, and at last found himself, as it were, shut up in a great gulph in the land, which lay to the west. Not knowing whether he was so or not, it became necessary to stand againtowards that island, and in consequence the 25th was lost in makingshort tacks, which were the more required, as the Etoile did not feelthe breeze till the evening. 

The bearings taken on the 26th, shewed that the currents had taken themseveral miles to the southward of their reckoning. Whitsun-isle stillappeared separated from the S. W. Land, but by a narrower passage, andwhat had before been considered a continued coast, was now found to be acluster of islands. Some agreeable appearances induced several attemptsat landing, but they were unavailing, and only exposed those that madethem to attacks from the natives, who seemed to concur with the naturaldifficulties around their islands, in preventing too near an approach. Bougainville bestowed the name of Archipelago of the Great Cyclades onthese very numerous isles, which lie in 30° S. Latitude, and 180°longitude west of Ferro, and which have been better known since the timeof Cook by the name of New Hebrides. During Bougainville's being onboard the Etoile about this time, transacting some necessary business, he had the opportunity of verifying a report, which had for a good whilebeen circulated in both ships, viz. That M. De Commerçon's servant, named Baré, was a woman. Several suspicious circumstances had beennoticed as to her sex, and something amounting to a discovery of it hadbeen made, it seems, by the _very discerning_ people of Otaheite; butnow, she came to Bougainville, her face covered with tears, andconfessed it, giving a history of herself, and an explanation of herreasons for undertaking so romantic an expedition. "She will be thefirst woman, " says Bougainville, "that ever made such a voyage, and Imust do her the justice to affirm, that she always behaved on board withthe most scrupulous modesty. She was neither ugly nor handsome, and notmore than twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age. It must be owned, that if the two ships had been wrecked on any uninhabited island in theocean, the fate of Baré would have been a very singular one. " The ideaperhaps is scarcely susceptible of embellishment, but one may wonder, that it never struck the fancy of a poet. 

On the 29th of May, they lost sight of the land, which had so much butso fruitlessly engaged their attention, and sailed westward with a veryfresh south-east wind. This brought them on the 4th June, to a low flatisland, surrounded, by a dangerous shoal, to which with little courtesy, perhaps, to the goddess, was given the name of the Shoal of Diana. Asand-bank and breakers were discovered on the 6th, and indicated such adangerous navigation, that Bougainville immediately resolved on alteringhis course, which he did by steering N. E. By N. , abandoning entirely hisscheme of proceeding westward, in the latitude of 15°. He justifies thisconduct by the reflection, that though he had persevered in his originalintention, he must have reached the eastern coast of New Holland, which, estimating it by what Dampier ascertained of the western coast, wouldhave proved both unimportant and inhospitable. The judicious reader, however, will allow far greater weight to the circumstances of hisdeficiency for an uncertain navigation, than to such hypotheticalreasoning. He had only bread for two months, and pulse for forty days;and his salt meat had become so bad, that the crew preferred the rats toit, whenever they were fortunate enough to catch them. 

The S. E. Wind unluckily failing them, their course from the 7th madegood, was only N. By E. , when on the 10th at day-break, land was seen, bearing from E. To N. W. , a delicious smell having previously intimatedits vicinity. This was off the N. E. Coast of New Holland, the passagebetwixt which and New Britain, Bougainville mistook for a deep gulph orbay, and which of course he had the utmost difficulty to get clear of, with an unfavourable wind, very bad weather, and a great south-easternswell. This mistake seems to have occasioned him more danger and muchgreater hardships than had yet been experienced. To this imaginarygulph, Bougainville gave the name of Gulph of the Louisiade, and that ofCape Deliverance to its N. Or N. N. E. Extremity, which he doubled afterno less than a fortnight spent in extreme peril and continual fears. Inthe morning of the 28th, when about sixty leagues to the northward ofthis cape, and steering N. E. On the coast of New Britain, he discoveredland to the N. W. Nine or ten leagues off. This proved to be two isles, and about the same time there appeared a long high coast, extending tothe northward for some distance, and then turning to N. N. W. Hissituation was extremely hazardous among these lands, to him altogetherunknown, often surrounded with dangerous shoals, and his boats, whichwere occasionally sent out to sound, being sometimes beset by thenatives. It was not till the 5th of July, that he succeeded in findingany thing like safe anchorage, which he at last effected in Carteret'sHarbour, or, as he calls it, Port Praslin. It was here, as we haveelsewhere related, that he found some vestiges of the Swallow'sresidence a short time before. The situation was far from yielding theadvantages so much longed for; no refreshments could be procured for thesick, and scarcely any thing solid for the healthy. The miseries offamine stared them in the face, and the delay occasioned by thenecessity of repairing the vessels, and the wretched state of theweather, aggravated their sufferings in the highest degree. At last, onthe evening of the 24th, a breeze springing up from the bottom of theharbour, enabled them, with the help of the boats, to get out to sea, when they steered from E. By S. To N. N. E. , turning to northward with theland. The longitude was corrected by observation on leaving PortPraslin, which gave a difference of about 3°, the reckoning being to theeastward. 

Bougainville now coasted New Britain for some time, passing betwixt itand a series of islands, on which he bestowed the names of his principalofficers. The sufferings of the crew for want of proper and sufficientvictuals, were now extreme; but no one, we are told, was dejected oraltogether lost patience. On the contrary, it was quite usual for bothofficers and men to dance in the evenings, as if in a time of thegreatest ease and plenty. Such recreation, one may most certainly inferfrom Bougainville's own words, must soon have been performed verylanguidly, and in a little time longer ceased entirely; for it becamenecessary to shorten even the small allowance of food, which, repeatedattempts at landing on different shores failed to augment, and thequality of the provisions too, was such, as in the emphatic language ofBougainville, rendered those the hardest moments of the sad days theypassed, when the bell gave notice to receive the disgusting andunwholesome fare. The scurvy also made fearful impression on them afterleaving Port Praslin; no one could be said to be quite free from it, and half of the ships' companies could not do duty. But such misery wasnow near a termination, for having navigated, with several nauticaldifficulties, a strait formed by the Papou Isles denominated _Passagedes Francois_, the ships came to an anchor on the last day of August, inCajeli Bay, on the coast of the island Boero, where there was a Dutchsettlement, and where provisions of an excellent sort, and the necessaryrefreshments, were got in abundance. The effects of such a favourablechange were most speedy and obvious, so that in the course of six days, all things were ready for prosecuting the voyage. Bougainville thereforeleft Boero on the 7th September, and steered successively N. E. By N. AndN. N. E in order to clear the guiph of Cajeli. Having accomplished this, he directed his course through the straits of Bouton, of which, and ofthe adjacent coasts, he has given a tolerably minute description, useful, it is likely, to mariners. After this, he got sight of the highlands of the island Saleyer, on the 18th September, and passed thestrait betwixt it and the island of Celebes. On the 21st, he got sightof the isles Alambia, the position of which, as of several otherinteresting points in this navigation, it is candidly admitted, is veryinaccurately laid down in the common French charts; but Bougainvilletakes the opportunity, which, it is believed, no one will grudge, ofpaying a tribute of commendation to the labours and worth of D'Anville. His map of Asia, he says, published in 1752, gave him the greatestassistance, and is very good from Ceram to the isles of Alambia, Bougainville having verified his positions in this navigation. He adds, "I do this justice to M. D'Anville's work with pleasure; I knew himintimately, and he appeared to me to be as good a member of society ashe was a critic and a man of erudition. " Bougainville now kept along theshore of Java, and after being out at sea for ten months and a half, arrived at Batavia on the 28th of September. 

After the account we have already given of Batavia in this volume, itwould be quite unnecessary to notice what Bougainville says of it. Weshall only mention that his experience of its unhealthiness was such, asmade him use all imaginable expedition to leave it, in order to save thelives of his people, who were reduced to a most deplorable state ofhealth. What Captain Cook says of his old sail-makers is somewhatparalleled by what Bougainville relates of the effect of the noveltiesof Batavia on the Otaheitan man Aotourou, in keeping him so highly andconstantly excited, as for long to preserve him from the prevailingillnesses. At last, we are told, the poor fellow fell sick, and it ismentioned, evidently in praise of his docility, that he became as good aswallower of physic, as a man born in Paris! The inference from this issomewhat dubious, but not to be sceptical, _valeat quantum valerepotest_. Aotourou's remembrance of the evils of Batavia was such, asprompted him, whenever he named it, to call it, in the language of hiscountry, _enoua mate_, "the land which kills. "

It was the 16th October when Bougainville quitted Batavia, on the 19thhe cleared the straits of Sunda, and in little more than a fortnightafterwards, he came in sight of the Isle of France, where he found itnecessary to put in, to have the frigate hove down and repaired, and toprocure refreshments for his voyage home. Having accomplished theseobjects, he set sail on the 12th December, leaving the Etoile there tobe careened, as his junction with her was no longer needed for eithervessel. On touching at the Cape of Good Hope, he learned, as iselsewhere mentioned, that Captain Carteret was eleven days before him. This, however, owing to the state of the Swallow, was an inconsiderableadvantage, and soon ceased to exist. The particulars of the meetingwhich took place betwixt that vessel and Bougainville's, have beenrelated in our account of Carteret's voyage, to which the reader isreferred. 

On the 4th of March, Bougainville got sight of the isle of Tereera, onthe 14th of Ushant, and on the 16th entered the port of St Maloes, aftera voyage of two years and four months. 

END OF THE THIRTEENTH VOLUME.