BOOK II.

CHAP. I.

THE PASSAGE FROM OTEROAH TO NEW ZEALAND; INCIDENTS WHICH HAPPENED ON

GOING 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 we

celebrated the anniversary of our leaving England, by taking a Cheshire

cheese from a locker, where it had been carefully treasured up for this

occasion, 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 not

have come honestly by the liquor, but we afterwards learnt that the

boatswain, whose mate he was, had, in mere good-nature, given him part

of a bottle of rum.

On the 30th, we saw the comet; at one o’clock in the morning, it was a

little above the horizon in the eastern part of the heavens; at about

half an hour after four it passed the meridian, and its tail subtended

an angle of forty-two degrees. Our latitude was 38° 20ʹ S., our

longitude, by log, 147° 6ʹ W., and the variation of the needle, by the

azimuth, 7° 9ʹ E. Among others that observed the comet, was Tupia, who

instantly cried out, that as soon as it should be seen by the people of

Bolabola, they would kill the inhabitants of Ulietea, who would, with

the utmost precipitation, fly to the mountains.

On the 1st of September, being in the latitude of 40° 22ʹ S., and

longitude 147° 29ʹ W., and there not being any signs of land, with a

heavy sea from the westward, and strong gales, I wore, and stood back to

the northward, fearing that we might receive such damage in our sails

and rigging, as would hinder the prosecution of the voyage.

On the next day, there being strong gales to the westward, I brought to,

with the ship’s head to the northward; but in the morning of the 3d, the

wind being more moderate, we loosened the reef of the main-sail, set the

top-sails, and plied to the westward.

We continued our course till the 19th, when our latitude being 29° and

our longitude 159° 29ʹ, we observed the variation to be 8° 32ʹ E. On the

24th, being in latitude 33° 18ʹ, longitude 162° 51ʹ, we observed a small

piece of sea-weed, and a piece of wood covered with barnacles: the

variation here was 10° 48ʹ E.

On the 27th, being in latitude 28° 59ʹ, longitude 169° 5ʹ, we saw a seal

asleep upon the water, and several bunches of sea-weed. The next day we

saw more sea-weed in bunches, and on the 29th, a bird, which we thought

a land-bird; it somewhat resembled a snipe, but had a short bill. On the

1st of October, we saw birds innumerable, and another seal asleep upon

the 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

the contrary. Rock-weed is, however, a certain indication that land is

not far distant. The next day, it being calm, we hoisted out the boat,

to try whether there was a current, but found none. Our latitude was 37°

10ʹ, longitude 172° 54ʹ W. On the 3d, being in latitude 36° 56ʹ,

longitude 173° 27ʹ, we took up more sea-weed, and another piece of wood

covered with barnacles. The next day, we saw two more seals, and a brown

bird, 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 numbers

about Falkland’s Islands, and our people gave them the name of

Port-Egmont hens.

On the 5th, we thought the water changed colour, but, upon casting the

lead, had no ground with 180 fathom. In the evening of this day, the

variation was 12° 50ʹ E., and, while we were going nine leagues, it

increased to 14° 2ʹ.

On the next day, Friday, October the 6th, we saw land from the

mast-head, bearing W. by N., and stood directly for it; in the evening,

it could just be discerned from the deck, and appeared large. The

variation this day was, by azimuth and amplitude, 15° 4-½ʹ E., and by

observation made of the sun and moon, the longitude of the ship appeared

to be 180° 55ʹ W., and by the medium of this and subsequent

observations, there appeared to be an error in the ship’s account of

longitude during her run from Otaheite of 3° 16ʹ, she being so much to

the westward of the longitude resulting from the log. At midnight, I

brought to and sounded, but had no ground with one hundred and seventy

fathom.

On the 7th, it fell calm, we therefore approached the land slowly, and

in the afternoon, when a breeze sprung up, we were still distant seven

or eight leagues. It appeared still larger as it was more distinctly

seen, with four or five ranges of hills, rising one over the other, and

a chain of mountains above all, which appeared to be of an enormous

height. This land became the subject of much eager conversation; but the

general opinion seemed to be that we had found the _Terra australis

incognita_. About five o’clock, we saw the opening of a bay, which

seemed to run pretty far inland, upon which we hauled our wind and stood

in for it; we also saw smoke ascending from different places on shore.

When night came on, however, we kept plying off and on till day-light,

when we 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

that some of the trees in the valleys were very large. By noon we

fetched in with the south-west point; but not being able to weather it,

tacked and stood 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 least notice 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

people collected together, who were sitting upon the beach, and who, we

thought, were the same that we had seen in the canoes. Upon a small

peninsula, at the north-east head, we could plainly perceive a pretty

high and regular paling, which inclosed the whole top of a hill; this

was also the subject of much speculation, some supposing it to be a park

of deer, others an inclosure for oxen and sheep. About four o’clock in

the afternoon, we anchored on the north-west side of the bay, before the

entrance of a small river, in ten fathom water, with a fine sandy

bottom, and at about half a league from the shore. The sides of the bay

are white cliffs of a great height; the middle is low land, with hills

gradually rising behind, one towering above another, and terminating in

the chain of mountains, which appeared to be far inland.

In the evening I went on shore, accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr.

Solander, with the pinnace and yawl, and a party of men. We landed

abreast of the ship, on the east side of the river, which was here about

forty yards broad; but seeing some natives on the west side whom I

wished to speak with, and finding the river not fordable, I ordered the

yawl in to carry us over, and left the pinnace at the entrance. When we

came 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, we

walked up to some huts which were about two or three hundred yards from

the 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 to

attack the boat, would certainly have cut her off, if the people in the

pinnace had not discovered them, and called to the boys to drop down the

stream: the boys instantly obeyed; but being closely pursued by the

Indians, the Cockswain of the pinnace, who had the charge of the boats,

fired a musket over their heads; at this they stopped and looked round

them, but in a few minutes renewed the pursuit, brandishing their lances

in a threatening manner: the Cockswain then fired a second musket over

their heads, but of this they took no notice; and one of them lifting up

his spear to dart it at the boat, another piece was fired, which shot

him dead. When he fell, the other three stood motionless for some

minutes, as if petrified with astonishment; as soon as they recovered,

they went back, dragging after them the dead body, which however they

soon left, that it might not encumber their flight. At the report of the

first musket, we drew together, having straggled to a little distance

from each other, and made the best of our way back to the boat; and

crossing the river, we soon saw the Indian lying dead upon the ground.

Upon examining the body, we found that he had been shot through the

heart: he was a man of the middle size and stature; his complexion was

brown, but not very dark; and one side of his face was tattowed in

spiral 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 exactly

according to the representation in Valentyn’s Account of Abel Tasman’s

Voyage, vol. iii. part 2. page 50.: his hair also was tied in a knot on

the top of his head, but had no feather in it. We returned immediately

to the ship, where we could hear the people on shore talking with great

earnestness, and in a very loud tone, probably about what had happened,

and what should be done.

In the morning, we saw several of the natives where they had been seen

the night before, and some walking with a quick pace towards the place

where we had landed, most of them unarmed; but three or four with long

pikes in their hands. As I was desirous to establish an intercourse with

them, I ordered three boats to be manned with seamen and marines, and

proceeded towards the shore, accompanied by Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, the

other gentlemen, and Tupia; about fifty of them seemed to wait for our

landing, on the opposite side of the river, which we thought a sign of

fear, and seated themselves upon the ground: at first, therefore,

myself, with only Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, and Tupia, landed from the

little boat, and advanced towards them; but we had not proceeded many

paces before they all started up, and every man produced either a long

pike, or a small weapon of green Talc, extremely well polished, about a

foot long, and thick enough to weigh four or five pounds: Tupia called

to them in the language of Otaheite; but they answered only by

flourishing their weapons, and making signs to us to depart; a musket

was then fired wide of them, and the ball struck the water, the river

being still between us; they saw the effect, and desisted from their

threats: but we thought it prudent to retreat till the marines could be

landed. This was soon done; and they marched, with a jack carried before

them, to a little bank, about fifty yards from the water-side; here they

were drawn up, and I again advanced, with Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander;

Tupia, Mr. Green, and Mr. Monkhouse, being with us. Tupia was again

directed to speak to them, and it was with great pleasure that we

perceived he was perfectly understood, he and the natives speaking only

different dialects of the same language. He told them that we wanted

provision and water, and would give them iron in exchange, the

properties of which he explained as well as he was able. They were

willing to trade, and desired that we would come over to them for that

purpose: to this we consented, provided they would lay by their arms;

which, however, they could by no means be persuaded to do. During this

conversation, Tupia warned us to be upon our guard, for that they were

not 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 his

arms: he was almost immediately followed by two more, and soon after by

most of the rest, to the number of twenty or thirty; but these brought

their arms with them. We made them all presents of iron and beads; but

they seemed to set little value upon either, particularly the iron, not

having the least idea of its use; so that we got nothing in return but a

few feathers: they offered indeed to exchange their arms for ours, and,

when we refused, made many attempts to snatch them out of our hands. As

soon as they came over, Tupia repeated his declaration, that they were

not our friends, and again warned us to be upon our guard; their

attempts to snatch our weapons, therefore, did not succeed; and we gave

them to understand by Tupia, that we should be obliged to kill them, if

they offered any farther violence. In a few minutes, however, Mr. Green

happening to turn about, one of them snatched away his hanger, and

retiring to a little distance, waved it round his head, with a shout of

exultation: the rest now began to be extremely insolent, and we saw more

coming to join them from the opposite side of the river. It was

therefore become necessary to repress them, and Mr. Banks fired at the

man who had taken the hanger, with small shot, at the distance of about

fifteen yards: when the shot struck him, he ceased his cry; but instead

of returning the hanger, continued to flourish it over his head, at the

same time slowly retreating to a greater distance. Mr. Monkhouse seeing

this, fired at him with ball, and he instantly dropped. Upon this the

main body, who had retired to a rock in the middle of the river upon the

first discharge, began to return; two that were near to the man who had

been killed, ran up to the body, one seized his weapon of green Talc,

and the other endeavoured to secure the hanger, which Mr. Monkhouse had

but just time to prevent. As all that had retired to the rock were now

advancing, three of us discharged our pieces, loaded only with small

shot, upon which they swam back for the shore; and we perceived, upon

their landing, that two or three of them were wounded. They retired

slowly up the country, and we reimbarked in our boats.

As we had unhappily experienced, that nothing was to be done with these

people at this place; and finding the water in the river to be salt, I

proceeded in the boats round the head of the bay in search of fresh

water, and with a design, if possible, to surprise some of the natives,

and take them on board, where, by kind treatment and presents I might

obtain their friendship, and by their means establish an amicable

correspondence with their countrymen.

To my great regret, I found no place where I could land, a dangerous

surf every where beating upon the shore; but I saw two canoes coming in

from the sea, one under sail, and the other worked with paddles. I

thought this a favourable opportunity to get some of the people into my

possession without mischief, as those in the canoe were probably

fishermen, and without arms, and I had three boats full of men. I

therefore disposed the boats so as most effectually to intercept them in

their way to the shore; the people in the canoe that was paddled

perceived us so soon, that, by making to the nearest land with their

utmost strength, they escaped us; the other sailed on till she was in

the midst of us without discerning what we were; but the moment she

discovered us, the people on board struck their sail, and took to their

paddles, which they plied so briskly that she out-ran the boat. They

were however within hearing, and Tupia called out to them to come

along-side, and promised for us that they should come to no hurt: they

chose, however, rather to trust to their paddles than our promises, and

continued to make from us with all their power. I then ordered a musket

to be fired over their heads, as the least exceptionable expedient to

accomplish my design, hoping it would either make them surrender, or

leap into the water. Upon the discharge of the piece, they ceased

paddling; and all of them, being seven in number, began to strip, as we

imagined, to jump overboard; but it happened otherwise. They immediately

formed 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 other

offensive weapons that were in the boat, so vigorously, that we were

obliged to fire upon them in our own defence; four were unhappily

killed, and the other three, who were boys, the eldest about nineteen,

and the youngest about eleven, instantly leaped into the water; the

eldest swam with great vigour, and resisted the attempts of our people

to take him into the boat by every effort that he could make: he was

however at last overpowered, and the other two were taken up with less

difficulty. I am conscious that the feeling of every reader of humanity

will censure me for having fired upon these unhappy people, and it is

impossible that, upon a calm review, I should approve it myself. They

certainly did not deserve death for not chusing to confide in my

promises; or not consenting to come on board my boat, even if they had

apprehended no danger; but the nature of my service required me to

obtain a knowledge of their country, which I could no otherwise effect

than by forcing my way into it in a hostile manner, or gaining admission

through the confidence and good-will of the people. I had already tried

the power of presents without effect; and I was now prompted, by my

desire to avoid further hostilities, to get some of them on board, as

the only method left of convincing them that we intended them no harm,

and had it in our power to contribute to their gratification and

convenience. Thus far my intentions certainly were not criminal; and

though in the contest, which I had not the least reason to expect, our

victory might have been complete without so great an expence of life;

yet in such situations, when the command to fire has been given, no man

can restrain its excess, or prescribe its effect.

As soon as the poor wretches whom we had taken out of the water were in

the boat, they squatted down, expecting no doubt instantly to be put to

death: we made haste to convince them of the contrary, by every method

in our power; we furnished them with clothes, and gave them every other

testimony of kindness that could remove their fears and engage their

good-will. Those who are acquainted with human nature will not wonder,

that the sudden joy of these young savages at being unexpectedly

delivered from the fear of death, and kindly treated by those whom they

supposed would have been their instant executioners, surmounted their

concern for the friends they had lost, and was strongly expressed in

their countenances and behaviour. Before we reached the ship, their

suspicions and fears being wholly removed, they appeared to be not only

reconciled to their situation but in high spirits, and upon being

offered some bread when they came on board, they devoured it with a

voracious appetite. They answered and asked many questions, with great

appearance of pleasure and curiosity; and when our dinner came, they

expressed an inclination to taste every thing that they saw: they seemed

best pleased with the salt pork, though we had other provisions upon the

table. At sun-set, they eat another meal with great eagerness, each

devouring a large quantity of bread, and drinking above a quart of

water. We then made them beds upon the lockers, and they went to sleep

with great seeming content. In the night, however, the tumult of their

minds having subsided, and given way to reflection, they sighed often

and 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 a degree

of taste that surprised us: the tune was solemn and slow, like those of

our Psalms, containing many notes and semi-tones. Their countenances

were intelligent and expressive, and the middlemost, who seemed to be

about fifteen, had an openness in his aspect, and an ease in his

deportment, which were very striking: we found that the two eldest were

brothers, and that their names were TAAHOURANGE and KOIKERANGE; the name

of the youngest was MARAGOVETE. As we were returning to the ship, after

having taken these boys into the boat, we picked up a large piece of

pumice-stone floating upon the water; a sure sign that there either is,

or has been a volcano in this neighbourhood.

In the morning, they all seemed to be cheerful, and ate another enormous

meal; after this we dressed them, and adorned them with bracelets,

anclets, and necklaces, after their own fashion, and the boat being

hoisted out, they were told that we were going to set them ashore: this

produced a transport of joy; but upon perceiving that we made towards

our first landing-place near the river, their countenances changed, and

they entreated with great earnestness that they might not be set ashore

at that place, because they said, it was inhabited by their enemies, who

would kill them and eat them. This was a great disappointment to me;

because I hoped the report and appearance of the boys would procure a

favourable reception for ourselves. I had already sent an officer on

shore with the marines and a party of men to cut wood, and I was

determined to land near the place; not, however, to abandon the boys,

if, when we got ashore, they should be unwilling to leave us; but to

send a boat with them in the evening to that part of the bay to which

they pointed, and which they call their home. Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander,

and Tupia, were with me, and upon our landing with the boys, and

crossing the river, they seemed at first to be unwilling to leave us;

but at length they suddenly changed their mind, and, though not without

a manifest struggle, and some tears, they took their leave: when they

were gone, we proceeded along a swamp, with a design to shoot some

ducks, of which we saw great plenty, and four of the marines attended

us, walking abreast of us upon a bank that overlooked the country. After

we had advanced about a mile, these men called out to us and told us,

that a large body of the Indians was in sight, and advancing at a great

rate. Upon receiving this intelligence, we drew together, and resolved

to make the best of our way to the boats; we had scarcely begun to put

this into execution, when the three Indian boys started suddenly from

some bushes, where they had concealed themselves, and again claimed our

protection: we readily received them, and repairing to the beach as the

clearest place, we walked briskly towards the boats. The Indians were in

two bodies; one ran along the bank which had been quitted by the

marines, the other fetched a compass by the swamp, so that we could not

see them: when they perceived that we had formed into one body, they

slackened their pace, but still followed us in a gentle walk; that they

slackened their pace, was for us, as well as for them, a fortunate

circumstance; for when we came to the side of the river, where we

expected to find the boats that were to carry us over to the wooders, we

found the pinnace at least a mile from her station, having been sent to

pick up a bird which had been shot by the officer on shore, and the

little boat was obliged to make three trips before we could all get over

to 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 three

at a time, all armed, and in a short time their number increased to

about two hundred: as we now despaired of making peace with them, seeing

that the dread of our small arms did not keep them at a distance, and

that the ship was too far off to reach the place with a shot, we

resolved to re-imbark, lest our stay should embroil us in another

quarrel, and cost more of the Indians their lives. We therefore advanced

towards the pinnace, which was now returning, when one of the boys

suddenly cried out, that his uncle was among the people who had marched

down to us, and desired us to stay and talk with them: we complied, and

a parley immediately commenced between them and Tupia; during which the

boys held up every thing we had given them as tokens of our kindness and

liberality; but neither would either of the boys swim over to them, or

any of them to the boys. The body of the man who had been killed the day

before, still lay exposed upon the beach; the boys seeing it lie very

near us, went up to it, and covered it with some of the clothes that we

had given them; and soon after a single man, unarmed, who proved to be

the 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 as

at Otaheite, to be an emblem of peace. We received his branch by the

hands of Tupia, to whom he gave it, and made him many presents; we also

invited him to go on board the ship, but he declined it; we therefore

left him, and expected that his nephew, and the two other young Indians

would have staid with him, but to our great surprise, they chose rather

to go with us. As soon as we had retired, he went and gathered another

green branch, and with this in his hand, he approached the dead body

which the youth had covered with part of his clothes, walking sideways,

with many ceremonies, and then throwing it towards him. When this was

done, he returned to his companions, who had sat down upon the sand to

observe the issue of his negociation: they immediately gathered round

him, and continued in a body above an hour, without seeming to take any

farther notice of us. We were more curious than they, and observing them

with our glasses from on board the ship, we saw some of them cross the

river upon a kind of raft, or catamarine, and four of them carry off the

dead body which had been covered by the boy, and over which his uncle

had performed the ceremony of the branch, upon a kind of bier, between

four men: the other body was still suffered to remain where it had been

first left.

After dinner, I directed Tupia to ask the boys, if they had now any

objection to going ashore, where we had left their uncle, the body

having been carried off, which we understood was a ratification of

peace: they said, they had not; and the boat being ordered, they went

into it with great alacrity: when the boat, in which I had sent two

midshipmen, came to land, they went willingly ashore; but soon after she

put off, they returned to the rocks, and wading into the water,

earnestly entreated to be taken on board again; but the people in the

boat, having positive orders to leave them, could not comply. We were

very attentive to what happened on shore, and keeping a constant watch

with our glasses, we saw a man pass the river upon another raft, and

fetch them to a place where forty or fifty of the natives were

assembled, who closed round them, and continued in the same place till

sun-set: upon looking again, when we saw them in motion, we could

plainly distinguish our three prisoners, who separated themselves from

the rest, came down to the beach, and having waved their hands three

times towards the ship, ran nimbly back, and joined their companions,

who walked leisurely away towards that part which the boys had pointed

to as their dwelling-place; we had therefore the greatest reason to

believe that no mischief would happen to them, especially as we

perceived that they went off in the clothes we had given them.

After it was dark, loud voices were heard on shore in the bottom of the

bay as usual, of which we could never learn the meaning.

CHAP. II.

A DESCRIPTION OF POVERTY BAY, AND THE FACE OF THE ADJACENT COUNTRY. THE

RANGE FROM THENCE TO CAPE TURNAGAIN, AND BACK TO TOLAGA, WITH SOME

ACCOUNT OF THE PEOPLE AND THE COUNTRY, AND SEVERAL INCIDENTS THAT

HAPPENED ON THAT PART OF THE COAST.

THE next morning, at six o’clock, we weighed, and stood away from this

unfortunate and inhospitable place, to which I gave the name of POVERTY

BAY, and which by the natives is called TAONEROA, or Long Sand, as it

did not afford us a single article that we wanted, except a little wood.

It lies in latitude 38° 42ʹ S. and longitude 181° 36ʹ W.; it is in the

form of an horse-shoe, and is known by an island lying close under the

north-east point: the two points which form the entrance are high, with

steep white cliffs, and lie a league and a half, or two leagues from

each other, N. E. by E. and S. W. by W.; the depth of water in the bay

is from twelve to five fathom, with a sandy bottom and good anchorage;

but the situation is open to the wind between the south and east: boats

can go in and out of the river at any time of the tide in fine weather;

but as there is a bar at the entrance, no boat can go either in or out

when the sea runs high: the best place to attempt it, is on the

north-east side, 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

finely diversified by hills and valleys, all clothed with wood, and

covered with verdure. The country also appears to be well inhabited,

especially in the valleys leading up from the bay, where we daily saw

smoke rising in clouds one behind another, to a great distance, till the

view terminated in mountains of a stupendous height.

The south-west point of the bay I named YOUNG NICK’S HEAD, after

Nicholas Young, the boy who first saw the land; at noon, it bore N. W.

by W. distant about three or four leagues, and we were then about three

miles 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 as

far as the latitude of 40 or 41; and then, if I met with no

encouragement 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 of

the vessel; but could not be persuaded to come nearer, though Tupia

exerted all the powers of his lungs and his eloquence upon the occasion,

shouting, and promising that they should not be hurt. Another canoe was

now seen coming from Poverty Bay, with only four people on board, one of

whom we well remembered to have seen in our first interview upon the

rock. This canoe, without stopping or taking the least notice of the

others, came directly alongside of the ship, and with very little

persuasion, we got the Indians on board. Their example was soon followed

by the rest, and we had about us seven canoes, and about fifty men. We

made them all presents with a liberal hand; notwithstanding which, they

were so desirous to have more of our commodities, that they sold us

every thing they had, even the clothes from their backs, and the paddles

from their boats. There were but two weapons among them, these were the

instruments of green talc, which were shaped somewhat like a pointed

battledore, with a short handle and sharp edges; they were called

_Patoo-patoo_, and were well contrived for close-fighting, as they would

certainly split the thickest skull at a single blow.

When these people had recovered from the first impressions of fear,

which, notwithstanding their resolution in coming on board, had

manifestly thrown them into some confusion, we inquired after our poor

boys. The man who first came on board immediately answered, that they

were unhurt and at home; adding, that he had been induced to venture on

board by the account which they had given him of the kindness with which

they had been treated, and the wonders which were contained in the ship.

While they were on board they showed every sign of friendship, and

invited us very cordially to go back to our old bay, or to a small cove

which they pointed out, that was not quite so far off; but I chose

rather to prosecute my discoveries than go back, having reason to hope

that 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 the

few paddles they had reserved, which were scarcely sufficient to set

them on shore; but by some means or other three of their people were

left behind: as soon as we discovered it, we hailed them; but not one of

them would return to take them on board: this greatly surprised us; but

we were surprised still more to observe that the deserted Indians did

not seem at all uneasy at their situation, but entertained us with

dancing and singing after their manner, eat their suppers, and went

quietly to bed.

A light breeze springing up soon after it was dark, we steered along the

shore under an easy sail till midnight, and then brought to, soon after

which it fell calm; we were now some leagues distant from the place

where the canoes had left us, and at day-break, when the Indians

perceived it, they were seized with consternation and terror, and

lamented their situation in loud complaints, with gestures of despair

and many tears. Tupia, with great difficulty, pacified them; and about

seven o’clock in the morning, a light breeze springing up, we continued

to stand south-west along the shore. Fortunately for our poor Indians,

two canoes came off about this time, and made towards the ship: they

stopped, however, at a little distance, and seemed unwilling to trust

themselves nearer. Our Indians were greatly agitated in this state of

uncertainty, and urged their fellows to come alongside of the ship, both

by 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, we

did not eat men. We now began seriously to believe that this horrid

custom prevailed among them; for what the boys had said, we considered

as a mere hyperbolical expression of their fear. One of the canoes, at

length, ventured to come under the ship’s side; and an old man came on

board, who seemed to be a chief from the finery of his garment, and the

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 a short time,

and when he went away, he took with him our guests, very much to the

satisfaction both of them and us.

At the time when we sailed, we were abreast of a point, from which the

land trends S. S. W. and which on account of its figure, I called CAPE

TABLE. This point lies seven leagues to the southward of Poverty Bay, in

latitude 39° 7ʹ S. and longitude 181° 36ʹ W.; it is of a considerable

height, makes a sharp angle, and appears to be quite flat at the top.

In steering along the shore to the southward of the Cape, at the

distance of two or three miles, our soundings were from twenty to thirty

fathom, having a chain of rocks between us and the shore, which appeared

at different heights above the water.

At noon, Cape Table bore N. 20 E. distant about four leagues, and a

small island, which was the southernmost land in sight, bore S. 70 W. at

the distance of about three miles. This island, which the natives call

TEAHOWRAY, I named the ISLAND OF PORTLAND, from its very great

resemblance to Portland, in the English Channel: it lies about a mile

from 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. two

miles from the south point of Portland, lies a sunken rock, upon which

the sea breaks with great violence. We passed between this rock and the

land, having from seventeen to twenty fathom.

In sailing along the shore, we saw the natives assembled in great

numbers as well upon Portland island as the main: we could also

distinguish several spots of ground that were cultivated; some seemed to

be fresh turned up, and lay in furrows like ploughed land, and some had

plants upon them in different stages of their growth. We saw also in two

places, high rails upon the ridges of hills, like what we had seen upon

the peninsula at the north-east head of Poverty Bay: as they were ranged

in lines only, and not so as to inclose an area, we could not guess at

their use, and therefore supposed they might be the work of

superstition.

About noon another canoe appeared, in which were four men; she came

within about a quarter of a mile of us, where the people on board seemed

to perform divers ceremonies: one of them who was in the bow, sometimes

seemed to ask and to offer peace, and sometimes to threaten war, by

brandishing a weapon that he held in his hand: sometimes also he danced,

and sometimes he sung. Tupia talked much to him, but could not persuade

him to come to the ship.

Between one and two o’clock we discovered land to the westward of

Portland, extending to the southward as far as we could see; and as the

ship was hauling round the south end of the island, she suddenly fell

into shoal water and broken ground: we had indeed always seven fathom or

more, but the soundings were never twice the same, jumping at once from

seven fathom to eleven; in a short time, however, we got clear of all

danger, 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 the

sides of these cliffs sat vast numbers of people, looking at us with a

fixed attention, and it is probable that they perceived some appearance

of hurry and confusion on board, and some irregularity in the working of

the ship, while we were getting clear of the shallow water and broken

ground, from which they might infer that we were alarmed or in distress:

we thought that they wished to take advantage of our situation, for five

canoes were put off with the utmost expedition, full of men, and well

armed: they came so near, and showed so hostile a disposition by

shouting, brandishing their lances, and using threatening gestures, that

we were in some pain for our small boat, which was still employed in

sounding: a musket was therefore fired over them, but finding it did

them no harm, they seemed rather to be provoked than intimidated, and I

therefore 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 up

and shouted, but instead of continuing the chace, drew altogether, and

after a short consultation, went quietly away.

Having got round Portland, we hauled in for the land N. W. having a

gentle breeze at N. E. which about five o’clock died away, and obliged

us to anchor; we had one-and-twenty fathom, with a fine sandy bottom:

the south point of Portland bore S. E. ½ S. distant about two leagues,

and a low point on the main bore N. ½ E. In the same direction with this

low point, there runs a deep bay, behind the land of which Cape Table is

the extremity, so as to make this land a peninsula, leaving only a low

narrow neck between that and the main. Of this peninsula, which the

natives call TERAKACO, Cape Table is the north point, and Portland the

south.

While we lay at anchor, two more canoes came off to us, one armed, and

the other a small fishing boat, with only four men in her; they came so

near that they entered into conversation with Tupia; they answered all

the questions that he asked them with great civility, but could not be

persuaded to come on board; they came near enough, however, to receive

several presents that were thrown to them from the ship, with which they

seemed much pleased, and went away. During the night many fires were

kept upon shore, probably to show us that the inhabitants were too much

upon their guard to be surprised.

About five o’clock in the morning of the 13th, a breeze springing up

northerly, we weighed, and steered in for the land. The shore here forms

a 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 inclination

to examine, because there appeared to be safe anchorage in it, but not

being sure of that, and the wind being right on end, I was unwilling to

spare the time. Four-and-twenty fathom was the greatest depth within

Portland, but the ground was every where clear. The land near the shore

is of a moderate height, with white cliffs and sandy beaches; within, it

rises into mountains, and upon the whole the surface is hilly, for the

most part covered with wood, and to appearance pleasant and fertile. In

the morning nine canoes came after the ship, but whether with peaceable

or hostile intentions we could not tell, for we soon left them behind

us.

In the evening we stood in for a place that had the appearance of an

opening, but found no harbour; we therefore stood out again, and were

soon followed by a large canoe, with eighteen or twenty men, all armed,

who, though they could not reach us, shouted defiance, and brandished

their weapons, with many gestures of menace and insult.

In the morning we had a view of the mountains inland, upon which the

snow was still lying: the country near the shore was low and unfit for

culture, but in one place we perceived a patch of somewhat yellow, which

had greatly the appearance of a cornfield, yet was probably nothing more

than some dead flags, which are not uncommon in swampy places: at some

distance we saw groves of trees, which appeared high and tapering, and

being not above two leagues from the south-west cod of the great bay, in

which we had been coasting for the two last days, I hoisted out the

pinnace and long-boat to search for fresh water; but just as they were

about to put off, we saw several boats full of people coming from the

shore, and, therefore, I did not think it safe for them to leave the

ship. About ten o’clock, five of these boats having drawn together, as

if to hold a consultation, made towards the ship, having on board

between eighty and ninety men, and four more followed at some distance,

as if to sustain the attack: when the first five came within about a

hundred yards of the ship, they began to sing their war-song, and

brandishing their pikes, prepared for an engagement. We had now no time

to lose, for if we could not prevent the attack, we should come under

the unhappy necessity of using our fire-arms against them, which we were

very desirous to avoid. Tupia, was therefore, ordered to acquaint them

that we had weapons which, like thunder, would destroy them in a moment;

that we would immediately convince them of their power by directing

their effect so that they should not be hurt; but that if they persisted

in any hostile attempt, we should be obliged to use them for our

defence: a four-pounder, loaded with grape-shot, was then discharged

wide of them, which produced the desired effect; the report, the flash,

and above all, the shot, which spread very far in the water, so

intimidated them, that they began to paddle away with all their might:

Tupia, however, calling after them, and assuring them that if they would

come unarmed, they should be kindly received; the people in one of the

boats put their arms on board of another, and came under the ship’s

stern; we made them several presents, and should certainly have

prevailed upon them to come on board, if the other canoes had not come

up, and again threatened us, by shouting and brandishing their weapons:

at this the people who had come to the ship unarmed, expressed great

displeasure, and soon after they all went away.

In the afternoon we stood over to the south point of the bay, but not

reaching it before it was dark, we stood off and on all night. At eight

the next morning, being a-breast of the point, several fishing boats

came off to us, and sold us some stinking fish: it was the best they

had, and we were willing to trade with them upon any terms: these people

behaved very well, and we should have parted good friends if it had not

been for a large canoe, with two-and-twenty armed men on board, which

came boldly up along-side of the ship. We soon saw that this boat had

nothing for traffic, yet we gave them two or three pieces of cloth, an

article which they seemed very fond of. I observed that one man had a

black skin thrown over him, somewhat resembling that of a bear, and

being desirous to know what animal was its first owner, I offered him

for it a piece of red baize, and he seemed greatly pleased with the

bargain, immediately pulling off the skin, and holding it up in the

boat; he would not, however, part with it till he had the cloth in his

possession, and as there could be no transfer of property, if with equal

caution I had insisted upon the same condition, I ordered the cloth 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 the baize, which

he had received as the purchase of it, in a basket, without paying the

least regard to my demand or remonstrances, and soon after, with the

fishing boats, put off from the ship; when they were at some distance,

they drew together, and after a short consultation returned; the

fishermen offered more fish, which, though good for nothing, was

purchased, and trade was again renewed. Among others who were placed

over the ship’s side to hand up what we bought, was little Tayeto,

Tupia’s boy; and one of the Indians, watching his opportunity, suddenly

seized him, and dragged him down into the canoe; two of them held him

down in the forepart 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 to fire.

The shot was directed to that part of the canoe which was farthest from

the boy, and rather wide of her, being willing rather to miss the rowers

than to hurt him: it happened, however, that one man dropped, upon which

the others quitted their hold of the boy, who instantly leaped into the

water, and swam towards the ship; the large canoe immediately pulled

round and followed him, but some musquets, and a great gun being fired

at her, she desisted from the pursuit. The ship being brought to, a boat

was lowered, and the poor boy taken up unhurt, though so terrified, that

for a time he seemed to be deprived of his senses. Some of the gentlemen

who traced the canoes to shore with their glasses, said, that they saw

three men carried up the beach, who appeared to be either dead, or

wholly disabled by their wounds.

To the cape off which this unhappy transaction happened, I gave the name

of CAPE KIDNAPPERS. It lies in latitude 39° 43ʹ, and longitude 182° 24ʹ

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. distant thirteen

leagues from the isle of Portland; and between them is the bay of which

it is the south point, and which, in honour of Sir Edward Hawke, then

First Lord of the Admiralty, I called HAWKE’S BAY. We found in it from

twenty-four to seven fathom, and good anchorage. From Cape Kidnappers

the land trends S. S. W., and in this direction we made our run along

the shore, keeping at about a league distance, with a steady breeze 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, in

gratitude for his escape; Tupia commended his piety, and ordered him to

throw the fish into the sea, which was accordingly done.

About two o’clock in the afternoon, we passed a small but high white

island lying close to the shore, upon which we saw many houses, boats,

and people. The people we concluded to be fishers, because the island

was totally barren; we saw several people also on shore, in a small bay

upon the main, within the island. At eleven, we brought to till

day-light, and then made sail to the southward, along the shore. About

seven o’clock we passed a high point of land, which lies S. S. W. twelve

leagues from Cape Kidnappers: from this point the land trends

three-fourths of a point more to the westward; at ten, we saw more land

open to the southward, and at noon, the southernmost land that was in

sight, bore S. 39 W. distant eight or ten leagues, and a high bluff

head, with yellowish cliffs, bore W. distant about two miles: the depth

of water was thirty-two fathom.

In the afternoon we had a fresh breeze at west, and during the night

variable light airs and calms: in the morning a gentle breeze sprung up

between the N. W. and N. E., and having till now stood to the southward,

without seeing any probability of meeting with a harbour, and the

country manifestly altering for the worse, I thought that standing

farther in that direction would be attended with no advantage, but on

the contrary would be a loss of time that might be employed with a

better prospect of success in examining the coast to the northward;

about one, therefore, in the afternoon, I tacked, and stood north, with

a fresh breeze at west. The high bluff head, with yellowish cliffs,

which we were abreast of at noon, I called CAPE TURNAGAIN, because here

we turned back. It lies in latitude 40° 34ʹ S. longitude 182° 55ʹ W.,

distant eighteen leagues S. S. W. and S. S. W. ½ W. from Cape

Kidnappers. The land between them is of a very unequal height; in some

places it is lofty 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 about Hawke’s bay, but looks more like our high downs in

England: it is, however, to all appearance, well inhabited; for as we

stood along the shore, we saw several villages, not only in the valleys,

but on the tops and sides of the hills, and smoke in many other places.

The ridge of mountains which has been mentioned before, extends to the

southward farther 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 they must have been made to clear the land for tillage; but

however that be, they are a demonstration that the part of the country

where they appeared is inhabited.

On the 18th, at four o’clock in the morning, Cape Kidnappers bore N. 32

W. distant two leagues: in this situation we had sixty-two fathom, and

when the cape bore W. by N. distant three or four leagues, we had

forty-five fathom: in the mid-way between the isle of Portland and the

cape we had sixty-five fathom. In the evening, being abreast of the

peninsula, within Portland island, called TERAKAKO, a canoe came off

from that shore, and with much difficulty overtook the ship; there were

on board five people, two of whom appeared to be chiefs, and the other

three servants: the chiefs, with very little invitation, came on board,

and ordered the rest to remain in their canoe. We treated them with

great kindness, and they were not backward in expressing their

satisfaction; they went down into the cabin, and after a short time told

us that they had determined not to go on shore till the next morning. As

the sleeping on board was an honour which we neither expected nor

desired, I remonstrated strongly against it, and told them, that on

their account it would not be proper, as the ship would probably be at a

great distance from where she was then, the next morning: they

persisted, however, in their resolution, and as I found it impossible to

get rid of them without turning them by force out of the ship, I

complied: as a proper precaution, however, I proposed to take their

servants also on board, and hoist their canoe into the ship; they made

no objection, and this was accordingly done. The countenance of one of

these 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 sinister

design: they both examined every thing they saw with great curiosity and

attention, and received very thankfully such little presents as we made

them; neither of them, however, could be persuaded either to eat or

drink, but their servants devoured every thing they could get with great

voracity. We found that these men had heard of our kindness and

liberality to the natives who had been on board before, yet we thought

the confidence they placed in us, an extraordinary instance of their

fortitude. At night I brought to till day-light, and then made sail; at

seven in the morning, I brought to again under Cape Table, and sent away

our guests with their canoe, who expressed some surprise at seeing

themselves so far from home, but landed abreast of the ship. At this

time I saw other canoes putting off from the shore, but I stood away to

the northward without waiting for their coming up.

About three, I passed a remarkable head-land, which I called

GABLE-END-FORELAND, from the very great likeness of the white cliff at

the point, to the gable-end of a house: it is not more remarkable for

its figure, 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 shore between them forms a bay, within which lies Poverty Bay, at

the distance of four leagues from the head-land, and eight from the

Cape. At this place three canoes came off to us, and one man came on

board; we gave him some trifles, and he soon returned to his boat,

which, with all the rest, dropped astern.

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; the

southernmost I could not fetch, but I anchored in the other about eleven

o’clock.

Into this bay we were invited by the people on board many canoes, who

pointed to a place where they said there was plenty of fresh water: I

did not find so good a shelter from the sea as I expected; but the

natives who came about us, appearing to be of a friendly disposition, I

was determined to try whether I could not get some knowledge of the

country here before I proceeded farther to the northward.

In one of the canoes that came about us as soon as we anchored, we saw

two men, who by their habits appeared to be chiefs: one of them was

dressed in a jacket, which was ornamented, after their manner, with

dog’s skin; the jacket of the other was almost covered with small tufts

of red feathers. These men I invited on board, and they entered the ship

with very 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 to set no value upon the nail. We perceived that they knew what

had happened in Poverty Bay, and we had therefore no reason to doubt but

that they would behave peaceably; however, for further security, Tupia

was ordered to tell them for what purpose we came thither, and to assure

them that we would offer them no injury, if they offered none to us. In

the mean time those who remained in the canoes traded with our people

very fairly for what they happened to have with them: the chiefs, who

were old men, staid with us till we had dined, and about two o’clock I

put off with the boats, manned and armed, in order to go on shore in

search of water, and the two chiefs went into the boat with me. The

afternoon was tempestuous, with much rain, and the surf every where ran

so high, that although we rowed almost round the bay, we found no place

where we could land: I determined therefore to return to the ship, which

being intimated to the chiefs, they called to the people on shore, and

ordered a canoe to be sent off for themselves; this was accordingly

done, 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 boats

were again ordered out, and I landed, accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr.

Solander. We were received with great expressions of friendship by the

natives, who behaved with a scrupulous attention not to give offence. In

particular, they took care not to appear in great bodies: one family, or

the inhabitants of two or three houses only, were generally placed

together, to the number of fifteen or twenty, consisting of men, women,

and children. These little companies sat upon the ground, not advancing

towards us, but inviting us to them, by a kind of beckon, moving one

hand towards the breast. We made them several little presents; and in

our walk round the bay found two small streams of fresh water. This

convenience, and the friendly behaviour of the people, determined me to

stay at least a day, that I might fill some of my empty casks, and give

Mr. Banks an opportunity of examining the natural produce of the

country.

In the morning of, the 21st, I sent lieutenant Gore on shore, to

superintend the watering, with a strong party of men; and they were soon

followed by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, with Tupia, Tayeto, and four

others.

The natives sat by our people, and seemed pleased to observe them; but

did not intermix with them: they traded, however, chiefly for cloth, and

after a short time applied to their ordinary occupations, as if no

stranger had been among them. In the forenoon, several of their boats

went out a-fishing, and at dinner time every one repaired to his

respective dwelling; from which, after a certain time, he returned.

These fair appearances encouraged Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander to range

the bay with very little precaution, where they found many plants, and

shot some birds of exquisite beauty. In their walk, they visited several

houses of the natives, and saw something of their manner of life; for

they showed, without any reserve, every thing which the gentlemen

desired to see. They were sometimes found at their meals, which the

approach of the strangers never interrupted. Their food at this season

consisted of fish, with which, instead of bread, they eat the root of a

kind 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, till

the bark and dry outside fall off; what remains is a soft substance,

somewhat clammy and sweet, not unpleasing to the taste, but mixed with

three or four times its quantity of strings and fibres, which are very

disagreeable; these were swallowed by some, but spit out by the far

greater number, who had baskets under them to receive the rejected part

of what had been chewed, which had an appearance very like that of

tobacco in the same state, in other seasons they have certainly plenty

of excellent vegetables; but no tame animals were seen among them except

dogs, which were very small and ugly. Mr. Banks saw some of their

plantations, where the ground was as well broken down and tilled as even

in the gardens of the most curious people among us: in these spots were

sweet potatoes, coccos or eddas, which are well known and much esteemed

both in the East and West Indies, and some gourds: the sweet potatoes

were planted in small hills, some ranged in rows, and others in

quincunx, all laid by a line with the greatest regularity: the coccos

were 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 to

ten: taken together, there appeared to be from 150 to 200 acres in

cultivation in the whole bay, though we never saw an hundred people.

Each district was fenced in, generally with reeds, which were placed so

close together that there was scarcely room for a mouse to creep

between.

The women were plain, and made themselves more so by painting their

faces with red ochre and oil, which, being generally fresh and wet upon

their cheeks and foreheads, was easily transferred to the noses of those

who thought fit to salute them; and that they were not wholly averse to

such familiarity, the noses of several of our people strongly testified:

they were, however, as great coquets as any of the most fashionable

ladies 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 of

the blades of grass highly perfumed, and to the girdle was fastened a

small bunch of the leaves of some fragrant plant, which served their

modesty as its innermost veil. The faces of the men were not so

generally painted, yet we saw one whose whole body, and even his

garments, were rubbed over with dry ochre, of which he kept a piece

constantly in his hand, and was every minute renewing the decoration in

one part or another, where he supposed it was become deficient. In

personal delicacy they were not equal to our friends at Otaheite, for

the coldness of the climate did not invite them so often to bathe; but

we saw among them one instance of cleanliness in which they exceeded

them, and of which perhaps there is no example in any other Indian

nation. 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 in

regular dunghills, which probably they made use of at a proper time for

manure.

In this decent article of civil economy they were beforehand with one of

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 out

of the windows, during the night, into the street, where numbers of men

were employed to remove it, with shovels, from the upper parts of the

city to the lower, where it lay till it was dry, and was then carried

away in carts, and deposited without the gates. His present Catholic

Majesty, having determined to free his capital from so gross a nuisance,

ordered, by proclamation, that the proprietor of every house should

build a privy, and that sinks, drains, and common sewers should be made

at the public expense. The Spaniards, though long accustomed to an

arbitrary government, resented this proclamation with great spirit, as

an infringement of the common rights of mankind, and made a vigorous

struggle against its being carried into execution. Every class devised

some objection against it, but the physicians bid the fairest to

interest the king in the preservation of the ancient privileges of his

people; for they remonstrated that if the filth was not, as usual,

thrown into the streets, a fatal sickness would probably ensue, because

the putrescent particles of the air, which such filth attracted, would

then be imbibed by the human body. But this expedient, with every other

that could be thought of, proved unsuccessful, and the popular

discontent then ran so high that it was very near producing an

insurrection; his Majesty, however, at length prevailed, and Madrid is

now as clear as most of the considerable cities in Europe. But many of

the citizens, probably upon the principles advanced by their physicians,

that heaps of filth prevent deleterious particles of air from fixing

upon neighbouring substances, have, to keep their food wholesome,

constructed their privies by the kitchen fire.

In the evening, all our boats being employed in carrying the water on

board, and Mr. Banks and his company finding it probable that they

should be 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 had

gathered in order, they applied to the Indians for a passage in one of

their canoes: they immediately consented, and a canoe was launched for

their use. They went all on board, being eight in number, but not being

used to a vessel that required so even a balance, they unfortunately

overset her in the surf: no life, however, was lost, but it was thought

advisable that half of them should wait for another turn. Mr. Banks, Dr.

Solander, Tupia, and Tayeto embarked again, and without any further

accident arrived safely at the ship, well pleased with the good nature

of their Indian friends, who cheerfully undertook to carry them a second

time, after having experienced how unfit a freight they were for such a

vessel.

While these gentlemen were on shore, several of the natives went off to

the ship, and trafficked, by exchanging their cloth for that of

Otaheite: of this barter they were for some time very fond, preferring

the Indian cloth to that of Europe: but before night it decreased in its

value five hundred per cent. Many of these Indians I took on board, and

showed them the ship and her apparatus, at which they expressed equal

satisfaction and astonishment.

As I found it exceedingly difficult to get water on board on account of

the surf, I determined to stay no longer at this place; on the next

morning, therefore, about five o’clock, I weighed anchor, and put to

sea.

This bay, which is called by the natives TEGADOO, lies in the latitude

of 38° 10ʹ S.; but as it has nothing to recommend it, a description of

it is unnecessary.

From this bay I intended to stand on to the northward, but the wind

being right against me, I could make no way. While I was beating about

to windward, some of the natives came on board, and told me, that in a

bay which lay a little to the southward, being the same that I could not

fetch the day I put into Tegadoo, there was excellent water, where the

boats might land without a surf. I thought it better, therefore, to put

into this bay, where I might complete my water, and form farther

connections with the Indians, than to keep the sea. With this view I

bore up for it, and sent in two boats, manned and armed, to examine the

watering-place, who confirming the report of the Indians at their

return, 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 the

south point S. E. The watering-place, which was in a small cove a little

within 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 very

honestly for Otaheite cloth and glass-bottles, of which they were

immoderately fond.

In the afternoon of the 23d, as soon as the ship was moored, I went on

shore to examine the watering-place, accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr.

Solander: the boat landed in the cove, without the least surf; the water

was excellent, and conveniently situated; there was plenty of wood close

to high-water mark, and the disposition of the people was in every

respect such as we could wish.

Having, with Mr. Green, taken several observations of the sun and moon,

the mean result of them gave 180° 47ʹ W. longitude; but, as all the

observations made before exceeded these, I have laid down the coast from

the mean of the whole. At noon, I took the sun’s meridian altitude with

an astronomical quadrant, which was set up at the watering-place, and

found the latitude to be 38° 22ʹ 24ʺ.

On the 24th, early in the morning, I sent Lieutenant Gore on shore, to

superintend the cutting of wood and filling of water, with a sufficient

number of men for both purposes, and all the marines as a guard. After

breakfast, I went on shore myself, and continued there the whole day.

Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander also went on shore to gather plants, and in

their walks saw several things worthy of notice. They met with many

houses in the valleys that seemed to be wholly deserted, the people

living on the ridges of the hills in a kind of sheds very slightly

built. As they were advancing in one of these valleys, the hills on each

side of which were very steep, they were suddenly struck with the sight

of a very extraordinary natural curiosity. It was a rock, perforated

through its whole substance, so as to form a rude but stupendous arch or

cavern, opening directly to the sea: this aperture was seventy-five feet

long, twenty-seven broad, and five-and-forty high, commanding a view of

the 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 to

any of the contrivances of art.

As they were returning to the watering-place in the evening, they met an

old man, who detained them some time by showing them the military

exercises of the country with the lance and patoo-patoo, which are all

the weapons in use. The lance is from ten to fourteen feet long, made of

a very hard wood, and sharp at both ends: the patoo-patoo has been

described already: it is about a foot long, made of talc or bone, with

sharp edges, and used as a battle-axe. A post or stake was set up as his

enemy, to which he advanced with a most furious aspect, brandishing his

lance, which he grasped with great firmness; when it was supposed to

have been pierced by his lance, he ran at it with his patoo-patoo, and

falling upon the upper end of it, which was to represent his adversary’s

head, he laid on with great vehemence, striking many blows, any one of

which would probably have split the skull of an ox. From our champion’s

falling upon his mock enemy with the patoo-patoo, after he was supposed

to have been pierced with the lance, our gentlemen inferred, that in the

battles of this country there is no quarter.

This afternoon, we set up the armourer’s forge, to repair the braces of

the tiller, which had been broken, and went on getting our wood and

water, without suffering the least molestation from the natives; who

came 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 while

they were searching for plants, Tupia staid with the waterers: among

other Indians who came down to them, was a priest, with whom Tupia

entered into a very learned conversation. In their notions of religion

they seemed to agree very well, which is not often the case between

learned divines on our side of the ocean: Tupia, however, seemed to have

the most knowledge, and he was listened to with great deference and

attention by the other. In the course of this conversation, after the

important points of divinity had been settled, Tupia enquired if it was

their practice to eat men, to which they answered in the affirmative;

but said, that they eat only their enemies who were slain in battle.

On the 26th, it rained all day, so that none of us could go ashore; and

very 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 worth notice.

The people behaved very civilly, showing us every thing that we

expressed a desire to see. Among other trifling curiosities which Dr.

Solander purchased of them, was a boy’s top, shaped exactly like those

which children play with in England; and they made signs that to make it

spin it was to be whipped. Mr. Banks in the mean time went ashore at the

watering-place, and climbed a hill which stood at a little distant to

see a fence of poles, which we had observed from the ship, and which had

been much the subject of speculation. The hill was extremely steep, and

rendered almost inaccessible by wood; yet he reached the place, near

which he found many houses that for some reason had been deserted by

their inhabitants. The poles appeared to be about sixteen feet high;

they were placed in two rows, with a space of about six feet between

them, and the poles in each row were about ten feet distant from each

other. The lane between them was covered by sticks, that were set up

sloping towards each other from the top of the poles on each side, like

the roof of a house. This rail-work, with a ditch that was parallel to

it, 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 with

their war-song, in which the women joined, with the most horrid

distortions of countenance, rolling their eyes, thrusting out their

tongues, and often heaving loud and deep sighs; though all was done in

very good time.

On the 28th, we went ashore upon an island that lies to the left hand of

the entrance of the bay, where we saw the largest canoe that we had yet

met with: she was sixty-eight feet and a half long, five broad, and

three feet six high; she had a sharp bottom, consisting of three trunks

of trees hollowed, of which that in the middle was the longest: the side

planks were sixty-two feet long, in one piece, and were not despicably

carved in bas-relief; the head also was adorned with carving still more

richly. Upon this island there was a larger house than any we had yet

seen; but it seemed unfinished, and was full of chips. The wood-work was

squared so even and smooth, that we made no doubt of their having among

them very sharp tools. The sides of the posts were carved in a masterly

style, though after their whimsical taste, which seems to prefer spiril

lines and distorted faces: as these carved posts appeared to have been

brought from some other place, such work is probably of great value

among them.

At four o’clock in the morning of the 29th, having got on board our wood

and water, and a large supply of excellent celery, with which the

country abounds, and which proved a powerful antiscorbutic, I unmoored

and put to sea.

This bay is called by the natives TOLAGA; it is moderately large, and

has from seven to thirteen fathom, with a clean sandy bottom and good

anchorage; and is sheltered from all winds except the north-east. It

lies in latitude 38° 22ʹ S. and four leagues and a half to the north of

Gable-end Foreland. On the south point lies a small but high island, so

near the main as not to be distinguished from it. Close to the north end

of the island, at the entrance into the bay, are two high rocks; one is

round, like a corn-stack, but the other is long, and perforated in

several places, so that the openings appear like the arches of a bridge.

Within these rocks is the cove where we cut wood, and filled our

water-casks. Off the north point of the bay is a pretty high rocky

island; and about a mile without it are some rocks and breakers. The

variation of the compass here is 14° 31ʹ E., and the tide flows at the

full and change of the moon, about six o’clock, and rises and falls

perpendicularly from five to six feet: whether the flood comes from the

southward 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 saw

no four-footed animals, nor the appearance of any, either tame or wild,

except dogs and rats, and these were very scarce: the people eat the

dogs, like our friends at Otaheite; and adorn their garments with the

skins, 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 the

top except higher hills, in a boundless succession. The ridges of these

hills produce little besides fern; but the sides are most luxuriantly

clothed with wood, and verdure of various kinds, with little plantations

intermixed. In the woods, we found trees of above twenty different

sorts, and carried specimens of each on board; but there was nobody

among us to whom they were not altogether unknown. The tree which we cut

for firing was somewhat like our maple, and yielded a whitish gum. We

found another sort of it of a deep yellow, which we thought might be

useful in dyeing. We found also one cabbage-tree, which we cut down for

the cabbages. The country abounds with plants, and the woods with birds,

in an endless variety, exquisitely beautiful, and of which none of us

had the least knowledge. The soil both of the hills and valleys is light

and sandy, and very fit for the production of all kinds of roots; though

we saw none except sweet potatoes and yams.

CHAP. III.

THE RANGE FROM TOLAGA TO MERCURY BAY, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF MANY INCIDENTS

THAT HAPPENED BOTH ON BOARD AND ASHORE: A DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS

EXHIBITED BY THE COUNTRY, AND OF THE HEPPAHS, OR FORTIFIED VILLAGES OF

THE INHABITANTS.

On Monday, the 30th, about half an hour after one o’clock, having made

sail again to the northward for about ten hours, with a light breeze, I

hauled round a small island which lay east one mile from the north-east

point of the land: from this place I found the land trend away N. W. by

W. and W. N. W. as far as I could see, this point being the easternmost

land on the whole coast. I gave it the name of EAST CAPE, and I called

the island that lies off it EAST ISLAND; it is of a small circuit, high

and round, and appears white and barren: the cape is high, with white

cliffs, and lies in latitude 37° 42ʹ 30ʺ S. and longitude 181° W. The

land from Tolaga Bay to East Cape is of a moderate but unequal height,

forming several small bays, in which are sandy beaches: of the inland

country we could not see much, the weather being cloudy and hazy. The

soundings were from twenty to thirty fathom, at the distance of about a

league from the shore. After we had rounded the Cape, we saw in our run

along the shore a great number of villages, and much cultivated land;

the country in general appeared more fertile than before, and was low

near the sea, but hilly within. At six in the evening, being four

leagues to the westward of East Cape, we passed a bay which was first

discovered by Lieutenant Hicks, and which, therefore, I called HICKS’S

BAY. At eight in the evening, being eight leagues to the westward of the

Cape, and three or four miles from the shore, I shortened sail, and

brought to for the night, having at this time a fresh gale at S. S. E.

and squally; but it soon became moderate, and at two in the morning we

made sail again to the S. W. as the land now trended; and at eight

o’clock in the morning saw land, which made like an island, bearing

west, the south-westernmost part of the main bearing south-west; and

about nine no less than five canoes came off, in which were more than

forty men, all armed with their country pikes and battle-axes, shouting,

and threatening an attack; this gave us great uneasiness, and was,

indeed, what we did not expect; for we hoped, that the report both of

our power and clemency had spread to a greater extent. When one of these

canoes had almost reached the ship, another of an immense size, the

largest we had yet seen, crowded with people who were also armed, put

off from the shore, and came up at a great rate: as it approached it

received signals from the canoe that was nearest to the ship; and we

could see that it had sixteen paddles on a side, beside people that sat,

and others that stood in a row from stem to stern, being in all about

sixty men: as they made directly to the ship, we were desirous of

preventing an attack, by showing what we could do; and, therefore, fired

a gun, loaded with grape-shot, a-head of them: this made them stop, but

not retreat; a round-shot was then fired over them, and upon seeing it

fall, they seized their paddles and made towards the shore with such

precipitation that they seemed scarcely to allow themselves time to

breathe. In the evening, three or four more canoes came off unarmed; but

they would not venture within a musket-shot of the vessel. The Cape off

which we had been threatened with hostilities I called, from the hasty

retreat of the enemy, CAPE RUNAWAY. It lies in latitude 37° 32ʹ;

longitude 181° 48ʹ. In this day’s run, we found that the land, which

made like an island in the morning, bearing west, was so; and we gave it

the name of WHITE ISLAND.

At day-break, on the 1st of November, we counted no less than

five-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 mussels, and two conger eels. These people

traded pretty fairly; but when they were gone, some others came off from

another place, who began also to trade fairly: but after some time they

took what was handed down to them, without making any return; one of

them who had done so, upon being threatened, began to laugh, and with

many marks of derision set us at defiance, at the same time putting off

the canoe from the ship: a musket was then fired over his head, which

brought him back in a more serious mood, and trade went on with great

regularity. At length, when the cabin and gun-room had got as much as

they wanted, the men were allowed to come to the gangway, and trade for

themselves. Unhappily the same care was not taken to prevent frauds as

had been taken before, so that the Indians, finding that they could

cheat with impunity, grew insolent again, and proceeded to take greater

liberties. One of the canoes, having sold every thing on board, pulled

forward, and the people that were in her seeing some linen hang over the

ship’s side to dry, one of them, without any ceremony, untied it, and

put it up in his bundle: he was immediately called to, and required to

return it; instead of which, he let his canoe drop astern, and laughed

at us: a musket was fired over his head, which did not put a stop to his

mirth; another was then fired at him with small shot, which struck him

upon the back; he shrunk a little when the shot hit him, but did not

regard it more than one of our men would have done the stroke of a

rattan: he continued with great composure to pack up the linen that he

had stolen. All the canoes now dropped astern about a hundred yards, and

all set up their song of defiance, which they continued till the ship

was distant from them about four hundred yards. As they seemed to have

no design to attack us, I was not willing to do them any hurt; yet I

thought their going off in a bravado might have a bad effect when it

should be reported ashore. To show them, therefore, that they were still

in our power, though very much beyond the reach of any missile weapon

with which they were acquainted, I gave the ship a yaw, and fired a

four-pounder so as to pass near them. The shot happened to strike the

water and rise several times at a great distance beyond the canoes: this

struck them with terror, and they paddled away without once looking

behind them.

About two in the afternoon, we saw a pretty high island bearing west

from us; and at five, saw more islands and rocks to the westward of

that. We hauled our wind in order to go without them, but could not

weather them before it was dark. I, therefore, bore up, and ran between

them and the main. At seven, I was close under the first, from which a

large double canoe, or rather two canoes lashed together at the distance

of 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 that

we had seen since we left the South Sea islands. When she came near, the

people 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 of

stones, after which they paddled away.

We learnt from Tupia, that the people in the canoe called the island

which we were under MOWTOHORA; it is but of a small circuit, though

high, and lies six miles from the main; on the south side is anchorage

in 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 round

mountain, which I called MOUNT EDGECUMBE: it stands in the middle of a

large plain, and is, therefore, the more conspicuous; latitude 37° 59ʹ,

longitude 183° 7ʹ.

In standing westward, we suddenly shoaled our water from seventeen to

ten fathom; and knowing that we were not far from the small islands and

rocks which we had seen before dark, and which I intended to have passed

before 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

we had made sail to the westward, we discovered ahead of us several

rocks, some of which were level with the surface of the water, and some

below it: they lay N. N. E. from Mount Edgecumbe, one league and a half

distant from the island Mowtohora, and about nine miles from the main.

We passed between these rocks and the main, having from ten to seven

fathom water.

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 us

the night before. The people on board again entered into conversation

with Tupia; but we expected another volley of their ammunition, which

was not, indeed, dangerous to any thing but the cabin windows. They

continued abreast of the ship about an hour, and behaved very peaceably;

but at last the salute which we expected was given: we returned it by

firing a musket over them, and they immediately dropped astern and left

us, perhaps rather satisfied with having given a test of their courage

by twice insulting a vessel so much superior to their own, than

intimidated by the shot.

At half an hour after ten, we passed between a low flat island and the

main: the distance from one to the other was about four miles, and the

depth of water from ten to twelve fathom. The main land between this

flat island and Mowtohora is of a moderate height, but level, pretty

clear of wood, and full of plantations and villages. The villages, which

were larger than any we had yet seen, were built upon eminences near the

sea, and fortified on the land side by a bank and ditch, with a high

paling within it, which was carried all round: beside a bank, ditch, and

pallisadoes, some of them appeared to have outworks. Tupia had a notion

that the small inclosure of pallisadoes, and a ditch that we had seen

before, were morais or places of worship; but we were of opinion that

they were forts, and concluded that these people had neighbouring

enemies, and were always exposed to hostile attacks.

At two o’clock we passed a small high island, lying four miles from a

high round head upon the main. From this head the land trends N. W. as

far as can be seen, and has a rugged and hilly appearance. As the

weather was hazy, and the wind blew fresh on the shore, we hauled off

for the weathermost island in sight, which bore from us N. N. E.,

distant about 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 a

cluster of small islands and rocks bore N. ½ E., distant one league, to

which I gave the name of the COURT OF ALDERMEN. They lie in the compass

of about half a league every way, and five leagues from the main,

between which and them lie other islands, most of them barren rocks, of

which there is great variety: some of them are as small in compass as

the Monument of London, but rise to a much greater height, and some of

them are inhabited. They lie in latitude 36° 57ʹ, and at noon bore S. 60

E., distant three or four leagues; and a rock like a castle, lying not

far from the main, bore N. 40 W., at the distance of one league. The

country that we passed the night before appeared to be well inhabited,

many towns were in sight, and some hundreds of large canoes lay under

them upon the beach; but this day, after having sailed about fifteen

leagues, it appeared to be barren and desolate. As far as we had yet

coasted this country from Cape Turnagain, the people acknowledged one

chief, whom they called TERATU, and to whose residence they pointed, in

a direction that we thought to be very far inland, but afterwards found

to be otherwise.

About one o’clock, three canoes came off to us from the main, with

one-and-twenty men on board. The construction of these vessels appeared

to be more simple than that of any we had seen, they being nothing more

than trunks of a single tree hollowed by fire, without any convenience

or ornament. The people on board were almost naked, and appeared to be

of a browner complexion; yet naked and despicable as they were, they

sung their song of defiance, and seemed to denounce against us

inevitable destruction: they remained, however, some time out of stone’s

throw, and then venturing nearer, with less appearance of hostility, one

of our men went to the ship’s side, and was about to hand them a rope;

this courtesy, however, they thought fit to return by throwing a lance

at him, which having missed him, they immediately threw another into the

ship: upon this a musket was fired over them, which at once sent them

away.

About two, we saw a large opening, or inlet, for which we bore up; we

had now forty-one fathom water, which gradually decreased to nine, at

which time we were one mile and a half distant from a high towered rock

which lay near the south point of the inlet: this rock, and the

northernmost of the Court of Alderman being in one, bearing S. 61 E.

About seven in the evening we anchored in seven fathom, a little within

the south entrance of the bay: to this place we were accompanied by

several canoes and people like those we had seen last, and for some time

they behaved very civilly. While they were hovering about us, a bird was

shot from the ship, as it was swimming upon the water: at this they

showed less surprise than we expected, and taking up the bird, they tied

it to a fishing line that was towing astern; as an acknowledgment for

this favour, we gave them a piece of cloth: but notwithstanding this

effect of our fire-arms, and this interchange of civilities, as soon as

it grew dark, they sung their war-song, and attempted to tow away the

buoy of the anchor. Two or three muskets were then fired over them, but

this seemed rather to make them angry than afraid, and they went away,

threatening that to-morrow they would return with more force, and be the

death of us all; at the same time sending off a boat, which they told us

was going to another part of the bay for assistance.

There was some appearance of generosity, as well as courage, in

acquainting us with the time when they intended to make their attack,

but they forfeited all credit which this procured them, by coming

secretly upon us in the night, when they certainly hoped to find us

asleep: upon approaching the ship, they found themselves mistaken, and

therefore retired without speaking a word, supposing that they were too

early; after some time, they came a second time, and being again

disappointed, they retired as silently as before.

In the morning, at day-break, they prepared to effect by force what they

had in vain attempted by stealth and artifice: no less than twelve

canoes came against us with about a hundred and fifty men, all armed

with pikes, lances, and stones. As they could do nothing till they came

very near the ship, Tupia was ordered to expostulate with them, and if

possible divert them from their purpose: during the conversation, they

appeared 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, but

having 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 second

was sent down, but the weapon was still detained, and a demand made of a

third; this being refused with some expressions of displeasure and

resentment, the offender, with many ludicrous tokens of contempt and

defiance, paddled his canoe off a few yards from the ship. As I intended

to continue in this place five or six days, in order to make an

observation of the transit of Mercury, it was absolutely necessary, in

order to prevent future mischief, to show these people that we were not

to be treated ill with impunity; some small shot were therefore fired at

the thief, and a musket ball through the bottom of his boat: upon this

it was paddled to about a hundred yards’ distance, and to our great

surprise the people in the other canoes took not the least notice of

their wounded companion, though he bled very much, but returned to the

ship, and continued to trade with the most perfect indifference and

unconcern. They sold us many more of their weapons, without making any

other attempt to defraud us, for a considerable time; at last, however,

one of them thought fit to paddle away with two different pieces of

cloth which had been given for the same weapon: when he had got about an

hundred yards’ distance, and thought himself secure of his prize, a

musket was fired after him, which fortunately struck the boat just at

the water’s edge, and made two holes in her side; this only incited them

to ply their paddles with greater activity, and the rest of the canoes

also made off with the utmost expedition. As the last proof of our

superiority, therefore, we fired a round shot over them, and not a boat

stopped till they got on shore.

About ten o’clock, I went with two boats to sound the bay, and look out

for a more convenient anchoring-place, the master being in one boat and

myself in the other. We pulled first over to the north shore, from which

some 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 think

it proper to comply, but went towards the head of the bay, where I

observed a village upon a very high point, fortified in the manner that

has been already described, and having fixed upon an anchoring-place not

far from where the ship lay, I returned on board.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, I weighed, run in nearer to the

shore, and anchored in four fathom and an half water, with a soft sandy

bottom, the south point of the bay bearing E. distant one mile, and a

river which the boats can enter at low water S. S. E., distant a mile

and an half.

In the morning, the natives came off again to the ship, and we had the

satisfaction to observe that their behaviour was very different from

what it had been yesterday: among them was an old man, whom we had

before remarked for his prudence and honesty: his name was TOIAVA, and

he seemed to be a person of a superior rank; in the transactions of

yesterday morning he had behaved with great propriety and good sense,

lying in a small canoe, always near the ship, and treating those on

board as if he neither intended a fraud, nor suspected an injury: with

some persuasion this man and another came on board, and ventured into

the cabin, where I presented each of them with a piece of English cloth

and some spike nails. They told us that the Indians were now very much

afraid of us, and on our part we promised friendship, if they would

behave peaceably, desiring only to purchase what they had to sell upon

their own terms.

After the natives had left us, I went with the pinnace and long boat

into the river with a design to haul the seine, and sent the master in

the yawl to sound the bay and dredge for fish. The Indians, who were on

one side of the river, expressed their friendship by all the signs they

could devise, beckoning us to land among them; but we chose to go ashore

on the other side, as the situation was more convenient for hauling the

seine and shooting birds, of which we saw great numbers of various

kinds: the Indians, with much persuasion, about noon, ventured over to

us. With the seine we had very little success, catching only a few

mullets, neither did we get any thing by the trawl or the dredge, except

a few shells; but we shot several birds, most of them resembling

sea-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 boats

saw two of the Indians quarrel and fight: they began the battle with

their lances, but some old men interposed and took them away, leaving

them to decide the difference, like Englishmen, with their fists: they

boxed with great vigour and obstinacy for some time, but by degrees all

retired behind a little hill, so that our people could not see the event

of the combat.

In the morning the long-boat was sent again to traul in the bay, and an

officer, with the marines, and a party of men, to cut wood and haul the

seine. The Indians on shore appeared very peaceable and submissive, and

we had reason to believe that their habitations were at a considerable

distance, for we saw no houses, and found that they slept under the

bushes: the bay is probably a place to which they frequently resort in

parties to gather shell-fish, of which it affords incredible plenty; for

wherever we went, whether upon the hills or in the valleys, the woods or

the plains, we saw vast heaps of shells, often many waggon-loads

together, some appearing to be very old, and others recent. We saw no

cultivation in this place, which had a desolate and barren appearance;

the tops of the hills were green, but nothing grew there, except a large

kind of fern, the roots of which the natives had got together in large

quantities, in order to carry away with them. In the evening Mr. Banks

walked up the river, which, at the mouth, looked fine and broad, but at

the 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. The

seine and dredge were not more successful to-day than yesterday, but the

Indians in some measure compensated for the disappointment by bringing

us several baskets of fish, some dry, and some fresh dressed; it was not

indeed of the best, but I ordered it all to be bought for the

encouragement of trade.

On the 7th, the weather was so bad that none of us left the ship, nor

did any of the Indians come on board.

On the 8th, I sent a party of men on shore to wood and water; and in the

mean 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 from

the opposite side of the bay, upon which he hasted back again to the

shore with all his canoes, telling us that he was afraid of the people

who were coming: this was a farther proof that the people of this

country were perpetually committing hostilities against each other. In a

short time, however, he returned, having discovered that the people who

had alarmed him were not the same that he had supposed. The natives that

came to the ship this morning sold us, for a few pieces of cloth, as

much fish of the mackerel kind as served the whole ship’s company, and

they were as good as ever were eaten. At noon, this day, I observed the

sun’s meridional zenith distance by an astronomical quadrant, which gave

the latitude 36° 47ʹ 43ʺ within the south entrance of the bay.

Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander went on shore and collected a great variety

of plants, altogether unknown, and not returning till the evening, had

an opportunity of observing in what manner the Indians disposed

themselves to pass the night. They had no shelter but a few shrubs; the

women and the children were ranged innermost, or farthest from the sea;

the men lay in a kind of half circle round them, and their arms were set

up against the trees close by them, in a manner which showed that they

were afraid of an attack by some enemy not far distant. It was also

discovered that they acknowledged neither Teratu, nor any other person

as their king: as in this particular they differed from all the people

that we had seen upon other parts of the coast, we thought it possible

that they might be a set of outlaws, in a state of rebellion against

Teratu, and in that case they might have no settled habitations, or

cultivated land in any part of the country.

On the 9th, at day-break, a great number of canoes came on board, loaded

with mackerel of two sorts, one exactly the same with those caught in

England, and the other somewhat different: we imagined the people had

taken a large shoal, and brought us an overplus which they could not

consume; for they sold them at a very low rate. They were, however, very

welcome to us; at eight o’clock, the ship had more fish on board than

all her people could eat in three days; and before night, the quantity

was so much increased, that every man who could get salt, cured as many

as would last him a month.

After an early breakfast, I went ashore, with Mr. Green and proper

instruments, to observe the transit of Mercury, Mr. Banks and Dr.

Solander being of the party; the weather had for some time been very

thick, with much rain, but this day was so favourable that not a cloud

intervened during the whole transit. The observation of the ingress was

made by Mr. Green alone, while I was employed in taking the sun’s

altitude to ascertain the time. It came on at 7^h 20ʹ 58ʺ apparent time:

according to Mr. Green’s observation, the internal contact was at 12^h

8ʹ 58ʺ, the external at 12^h 9ʹ 55ʺ P. M. And according to mine, the

internal contact was at 12^h 8ʹ 54ʺ, and the external 12^h 9ʹ 48ʺ; the

latitude of the place of observation was 30° 48ʹ 5-½ʺ. The latitude

observed at noon was 36° 48ʹ 28ʺ. The mean of this and yesterday’s

observation gives 36° 48ʹ 5-½ʺ S. the latitude of the place of

observation; the variation of the compass was 11° 9ʹ 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 on

board, and the account that he gave was this. While some small canoes

were 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 be

strangers, and to be rather conscious of superiority over us by their

numbers, than afraid of any weapons which could give us the superiority

over them: no attack however was made; probably because they learnt from

the people in the other canoes, with whom they immediately entered into

conference, what kind of an enemy they had to deal with: after a little

time, they began to trade, some of them offering their arms, and one of

them a square piece of cloth, which makes a part of their dress, called

a _Haahow_; several of the weapons were purchased, and Mr. Gore having

agreed for a Haahow, sent down the price, which was a piece of British

cloth, and expected his purchase: but the Indian, as soon as he had got

Mr. Gore’s cloth in his possession, refused to part with his own, and

put off the canoe: upon being threatened for this fraud, he and his

companions began to sing their war-song in defiance, and shook their

paddles: still however they began no attack, only defying Mr. Gore to

take any remedy in his power, which so provoked him that he levelled a

musket loaded with ball at the offender, while he was holding the cloth

in his hand, and shot him dead. It would have been happy, if the effect

of a few small shot had been tried upon this occasion, which, upon some

others, had been successful.

When the Indian dropped, all the canoes put off to some distance; but as

they did not go away, it was thought they might still meditate an

attack. To secure therefore a safe passage for the boat, which it was

necessary to send on shore, a round shot was fired over their heads,

which effectually answered the purpose, and put them all to flight. When

an account of what had happened was brought ashore, our Indians were

alarmed, and drawing all together, retreated in a body. After a short

time, however, they returned, having heard a more particular account of

the affair; and intimated that they thought the man who had been killed

deserved his fate.

A little before sunset the Indians retired to eat their supper, and we

went with them to be spectators of the repast; it consisted of fish of

different kinds, among which were lobsters, and some birds, of a species

unknown to us: these were either roasted or baked; to roast them, they

fastened them upon a small stick, which was stuck up in the ground

inclining towards their fire; and to bake them, they put them into a

hole in the ground, with hot stones, in the same manner as the people of

Otaheite.

Among the natives that were assembled upon this occasion, we saw a

woman, who, after their manner, was mourning for the death of her

relation: she sat upon the ground near the rest, who, one only excepted,

seemed not at all to regard her: the tears constantly trickled down her

cheeks, and she repeated in a low, but very mournful voice, words, which

even Tupia did not at all understand: at the end of every sentence she

cut her arms, her face, or her breast with a shell that she held in her

hand, so that she was almost covered with blood, and was indeed one of

the most affecting spectacles that can be conceived. The cuts, however,

did not appear to be so deep as are sometimes made upon similar

occasions, 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 the

remains of wounds which they had inflicted upon themselves as

testimonies of their affection and sorrow.

The next day, I went with two boats, accompanied by Mr. Banks and the

other gentlemen, to examine a large river that empties itself into the

head of the bay. We rowed about four or five miles up, and could have

gone much farther, if the weather had been favourable. It was here wider

than at the mouth, and divided into many streams by small flat islands,

which are covered with mangroves, and overflowed at high water. From

these trees exudes a viscous substance which very much resembles resin:

we found it first in small lumps upon the sea-beach, and now saw it

sticking to the trees, by which we knew whence it came. We landed on the

east side of the river, where we saw a tree upon which several shags had

built their nests, and here therefore we determined to dine; twenty of

the shags were soon killed, and being broiled upon the spot, afforded us

an excellent meal. We then went upon the hills from whence I thought I

saw the head of the river. The shore on each side, as well as the

islands in the middle, were covered with mangroves; and the sandbanks

abounded in cockles and clams: in many places there were rock-oysters,

and every where plenty of wild fowl, principally shags, ducks, curlieus,

and the sea-pie, that has been described before. We also saw fish in the

river, but of what kind we could not discover: the country on the east

side of this river is for the most part barren, and destitute of wood;

but on the west it has a better aspect, and in some places is adorned

with trees, but has in no part the appearance of cultivation. In the

entrance of the river, and for two or three miles up, there is good

anchoring in four and five fathom water, and places very convenient for

laying a vessel on shore, where the tide rises and falls seven feet at

the full and change of the moon. We could not determine, whether any

considerable stream of fresh water came into this river out of the

country; but we saw a number of small rivulets issue from the adjacent

hills. Near the mouth of this river, on the east side, we found a little

Indian village, consisting of small temporary sheds, where we landed,

and were received by the people with the utmost kindness and

hospitality: they treated us with a flat shell fish of a most delicious

taste, somewhat like a cockle, which we eat hot from the coals. Near

this place is a high point or peninsula, projecting into the river, and

upon it are the remains of a fort, which they call _Eppah_, or _Heppah_.

The best engineer in Europe could not have chosen a situation better

adapted to enable a small number to defend themselves against a greater.

The steepness of the cliffs renders it wholly inaccessible from the

water which incloses it on three sides; and, to the land, it is

fortified by a ditch, and a bank raised on the inside: from the top of

the bank to the bottom of the ditch, is two and twenty feet; the ditch

on the outside is fourteen feet deep, and its breadth is in proportion.

The whole seemed to have been executed with great judgment; and there

had been a row of pickets or pallisadoes, both on the top of the bank

and along the brink of the ditch on the outside; those on the outside

had been driven very deep into the ground, and were inclined towards the

ditch, so as to project over it; but of these the thickest posts only

were left, and upon them there were evident marks of fire, so that the

place had probably been taken and destroyed by an enemy. If any occasion

should make it necessary for a ship to winter here, or stay any time,

tents might be built in this place, which is sufficiently spacious, with

great convenience, and might easily be made impregnable to the whole

country.

[Illustration: _A Fortified Town or Village, called a Hippah at

Tolaga._]

[Illustration: _A Natural Arch or Perforated Rock._]

On the eleventh, there was so much wind and rain that no canoe came off;

but the long-boat was sent to fetch oysters from one of the beds which

had been discovered the day before: the boat soon returned, deeply

laden, and the oysters, which were as good as ever came from Colchester,

and about the same size, were laid down under the booms, and the ship’s

company did nothing but eat them from the time they came on board till

night, when, as may reasonably be supposed, great part of them were

expended; this, however, gave us no concern, as we knew that not the

boat only, but the ship, might have been loaded, almost in one tide, as

the beds are dry at half ebb.

In the morning of Sunday the 12th, two canoes came off full of people

whom we had never seen before, but who appeared to have heard of us by

the caution which they used in approaching us. As we invited them to

come alongside with all the tokens of friendship that we could show,

they ventured up, and two of them came on board; the rest traded very

fairly for what they had: a small canoe also came from the other side of

the bay, and sold us some very large fish, which they gave us to

understand they would have brought yesterday, having caught them the day

before, but that the wind was so high they could not venture to sea.

[Illustration: _The Inside of a Hippah in New Zealand._]

After breakfast, I went with the pinnace and yawl, accompanied by Mr.

Banks and Dr. Solander, over to the north side of the bay, to take a

view of the country, and two fortified villages which we had discovered

at a distance. We landed near the smallest of them, the situation of

which was the most beautifully romantic that can be imagined; it was

built upon a small rock, detached from the main, and surrounded at high

water. 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 was

above sixty feet perpendicular above the sea, which at high water flowed

through the bottom of it: the whole summit of the rock above the arch

was fenced round after their manner; but the area was not large enough

to contain more than five or six houses: it was accessible only by one

very narrow and steep path, by which the inhabitants, at our approach,

came down, and invited us into the place; but we refused, intending to

visit a much more considerable fort of the same kind at about a mile’s

distance. We made some presents however to the women, and in the mean

time we saw the inhabitants of the town which we were going to, coming

towards us in a body, men, women, and children, to the number of about

one hundred: when they came near enough to be heard, they waved their

hands and called out _Horomai_; after which they sat down among the

bushes near the beach; these ceremonies we were told were certain signs

of their friendly disposition. We advanced to the place where they were

sitting, and when we came up, made them a few presents, and asked leave

to visit their Heppah; they consented with joy in their countenances,

and immediately led the way. It is called WHARRETOUWA, and is situated

upon a high promontory or point, which projects into the sea, on the

north side, and near the head of the bay: two sides of it are washed by

the sea, and these are altogether inaccessible; two other sides are to

the land: up one of them, which is very steep, lies the avenue from the

beach; the other is flat and open to the country upon the hill, which is

a narrow ridge: the whole is inclosed by a pallisade about ten feet

high, consisting of strong pales bound together with withes. The weak

side next the land is also defended by a double ditch, the innermost of

which has a bank and an additional pallisade: the inner pallisades are

upon the bank next the town, but at such a distance from the top of the

bank as to leave room for men to walk and use their arms, between them

and the inner ditch; the outermost pallisades are between the two

ditches, and driven obliquely into the ground, so that their upper ends

incline over the inner ditch: the depth of this ditch, from the bottom

to the top or crown of the bank, is four-and-twenty feet. Close within

the innermost pallisade is a stage, twenty feet high, forty feet long,

and six broad; it is supported by strong posts, and is intended as a

station for those who defend the place, from which they may annoy the

assailants 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

are some little outworks and huts, not intended as advanced posts, but

as the habitations of people who, for want of room, could not be

accommodated within the works, but who were, notwithstanding, desirous

of placing themselves under their protection. The pallisades, as has

been observed already, run round the whole brow of the hill, as well

towards the sea as towards the land; but the ground within having

originally been a mount, they have reduced it not to one level, but to

several, rising in stages one above the other, like an amphitheatre,

each of which is inclosed within its separate pallisade; they

communicate with each other by narrow lanes, which might easily be stopt

up, so that if an enemy should force the outward pallisade, he would

have others to carry before the place could be wholly reduced, supposing

these places to be obstinately defended one after the other. The only

entrance is by a narrow passage, about twelve feet long, communicating

with the steep ascent from the beach: it passes under one of the

fighting stages, and though we saw nothing like a door or gateway, it

may be easily barricaded in a manner that will make the forcing it a

very dangerous and difficult undertaking. Upon the whole, this must be

considered as a place of great strength, in which a small number of

resolute men may defend themselves against all the force which a people

with no other arms than those that are in use here could bring against

it. It seemed to be well furnished for a siege with every thing but

water; we saw great quantities of fern root, which they eat as bread,

and dried fish piled up in heaps; but we could not perceive that they

had any fresh water 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 a siege, or whether they have any method of storing it within the

works in gourds or other vessels, we could not learn; some resource they

certainly have with respect to this article, an indispensable necessary

of life, for otherwise the laying up dry provisions could answer no

purpose. Upon our expressing a desire to see their method of attack and

defence, one of the young men mounted a fighting stage, which they call

_Porava_, and another went into the ditch: both he that was to defend

the place, and he that was to assault it, sung the war-song, and danced

with the same frightful gesticulations that we had seen used in more

serious circumstances, to work themselves up into a degree of that

mechanical fury, which, among all uncivilized nations, is the necessary

prelude to a battle; for dispassionate courage, a strength of mind that

can surmount the sense of danger, without a flow of animal spirits by

which it is extinguished, seems to be the prerogative of those who have

projects of more lasting importance, and a keener sense of honour and

disgrace, than can be formed or felt by men who have few pains or

pleasures besides those of mere animal life, and scarcely any purpose

but 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 cool

blood, though they find it necessary to work themselves into passion

before they engage; as among us there have been many instances of people

who have deliberately made themselves drunk, that they might execute a

project which they formed when they were sober, but which, while they

continued so, they did not dare to undertake.

On the side of the hill, near this inclosure, we saw about half an acre

planted with gourds and sweet potatoes, which was the only cultivation

in the bay: under the foot of the point upon which this fortification

stands, are two rocks, one just broken off from the main, and the other

not perfectly detached from it: they are both small, and seem more

proper for the habitations of birds than men; yet there are houses and

places of defence upon each of them. And we saw many other works of the

same kind upon small islands, rocks, and ridges of hills, on different

parts of the coast, besides many fortified towns, which appeared to be

much superior to this.

The perpetual hostility in which these poor savages, who have made every

village a fort, must necessarily live, will account for there being so

little of their land in a state of cultivation; and, as mischiefs very

often reciprocally produce each other, it may perhaps appear, that there

being so little land in a state of cultivation, will account for their

living in perpetual hostility. But it is very strange, that the same

invention and diligence which have been used in the construction of

places so admirably adapted to defence, almost without tools, should

not, when urged by the same necessity, have furnished them with a single

missile weapon except the lance, which is thrown by hand; they have no

contrivance like a bow to discharge a dart, nor any thing like a sling

to assist them in throwing a stone; which is the more surprising, as the

invention of slings, and bows and arrows, is much more obvious than of

the works which these people construct, and both these weapons are found

among much ruder nations, and in almost every other part of the world.

Besides the long lance and Patoo-patoo, which have been mentioned

already, they have a staff about five feet long, sometimes pointed like

a Serjeant’s halberd, sometimes only tapering to a point at one end, and

having the other end broad, and shaped somewhat like the blade of an

oar. 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 of

their long lances are barbed, and they handle them with such strength

and 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 boats

with celery, which we found in great plenty near the beach, we returned

from our excursion, and about five o’clock in the evening got on board

the ship.