January 1788 to August 1788
-Frequent interviews with the natives.--Weapons
described.--Ornaments.--Persons, manners, and
habitations.--Method of hunting.--Animals described.--Birds, and
insects.--Diary of the weather.--Departure of the Bussole and
Astrolabe.--A convict pretends to have discovered a gold
mine.--The fraud detected.--Observations for the longitude,
etc_.
A Few days after my arrival with the transports in Port
Jackson, I set off with a six oared boat and a small boat,
intending to make as good a survey of the harbour as
circumstances would admit: I took to my assistance Mr. Bradley,
the first lieutenant, Mr. Keltie, the master, and a young
gentleman of the quarter-deck.
During the time we were employed on this service, we had
frequent meetings with different parties of the natives, whom we
found at this time very numerous; a circumstance which I confess
I was a little surprized to find, after what had been said of
them in the voyage of the Endeavour; for I think it is observed
in the account of that voyage, that at Botany-bay they had seen
very few of the natives, and that they appeared a very stupid
race of people, who were void of curiosity. We saw them in
considerable numbers, and they appeared to us to be a very lively
and inquisitive race; they are a straight, thin, but well made
people, rather small in their limbs, but very active; they
examined with the greatest attention, and expressed the utmost
astonishment, at the different covering we had on; for they
certainly considered our cloaths as so many different skins, and
the hat as a part of the head: they were pleased with such
trifles as we had to give them, and always appeared chearful and
in good humour: they danced and sung with us, and imitated our
words and motions, as we did theirs. They generally appeared
armed with a lance, and a short stick which assists in throwing
it: this stick is about three feet long, is flattened on one
side, has a hook of wood at one end, and a flat shell, let into a
split in the stick at the other end, and fastened with gum; upon
the flat side of this stick the lance is laid, in the upper end
of which is a small hole, into which the point of the hook of the
throwing stick is fixed; this retains the lance on the flat side
of the stick; then poising the lance, thus fixed, in one hand,
with the fore-finger and thumb over it, to prevent its falling
off side-ways, at the same time holding fast the throwing-stick,
they discharge it with considerable force, and in a very good
direction, to the distance of about sixty or seventy yards*.
Their lances are in general about ten feet long: the shell at one
end of the throwing-stick is intended for sharpening the point of
the lance, and for various other uses. I have seen these weapons
frequently thrown, and think that a man upon his guard may with
much ease, either parry, or avoid them, although it must be owned
they fly with astonishing velocity.
[* I have since seen a strong young man throw the
lance full ninety yards; which, till then, I did not believe
possible. I measured the distance.]
While employed on the survey of the harbour, we were one
morning early, in the upper part of it, and at a considerable
distance from the ship, going to land, in order to ascertain a
few angles, when we were a little surprized to find the natives
here in greater numbers than we had ever seen them before in any
other place: we naturally conjectured from their numbers, that
they might be those who inhabited the coves in the lower part of
the harbour, and who, upon our arrival, had been so much alarmed
at our appearance, as to have judged it necessary to retire
farther up; they appeared very hostile, a great many armed men
appeared upon the shore wherever we approached it, and, in a
threatening manner, seemed to insist upon our not presuming to
land.
During the whole time we were near them, they hailed each
other through the woods, until their numbers were so much
increased, that I did not judge it prudent to attempt making any
acquaintance with them at this time: for, as I have already
observed, we had only a six-oared boat and a smaller one; our
whole number, leaving one man in each boat, amounted to ten
seamen, three officers, and myself, with only three muskets; we
therefore for the present, contented ourselves with making signs
of friendship, and returned to the ship.
In two days after, we appeared again in the same place, better
armed and prepared for an interview. Their numbers were not now
so many, at least we did not see them, although it is probable
they were in the wood at no great distance; but having occasion
to put on shore to cook some provisions for the boats crews, I
chose a projecting point of land for that purpose, which we could
have defended against some hundreds of such people: I ordered two
marine centinels upon the neck, in order to prevent a surprize,
and immediately set about making a fire.
We soon heard some of the natives in the wood on the opposite
shore; we called to them, and invited them by signs, and an offer
of presents, to come over to us, the distance not being more than
one hundred yards across: in a short time, seven men embarked in
canoes and came over; they landed at a small distance from us,
and advanced without their lances; on this I went up to meet
them, and held up both my hands, to show that I was unarmed; two
officers also advanced in the same manner; we met them and shook
hands; but they seemed a good deal alarmed at our five marines
who were under arms by the boats, upon which they were ordered to
ground their arms and stay by them; the natives then came up with
great chearfulness and good humour, and seated themselves by our
fire amongst us, where we ate what we had got, and invited them
to partake, but they did not relish our food or drink.
I was one day on shore in another part of the harbour, making
friendship with a party of natives, when in a very short time,
their numbers encreased to eighty or ninety men, all armed with a
lance and throwing-stick, and many with the addition of a shield,
made of the bark of a tree; some were in shape an oblong square,
and others of these shields were oval; these were the first
shields we had seen in the country*. Upon examining some of these
shields, we observed that many of them had been pierced quite
through in various places, which they by signs gave us to
understand had been done with a spear; but that those shields
will frequently turn the spear, they also showed us, by setting
one up at a small distance, and throwing a spear at it, which did
not go through. They were much surprized at one of our gentlemen
who pulling a pistol out of his pocket, that was loaded with
ball, and standing at the same distance, fired the ball through
the thickest part of the shield, which they examined with
astonishment, and seemed to wonder, that an instrument so small
should be capable of wounding so deep.
[* It has since been found that the shields are in
general made of wood.]
Our numbers at this time were what I first mentioned, with
only three muskets, one of which I carried. The natives were very
noisy, but did not appear disposed to quarrel; we gave them such
little presents as we had with us, with which they seemed well
pleased; although we had much reason afterwards to believe, that
such trifles only pleased them, as baubles do children, for a
moment: for at other times we had frequently found our presents
lying dispersed on the beach, although caught at by these people
with much apparent avidity at the time they were offered.
While we were employed with this party, we observed at a
distance, a number of women, who were peeping from their
concealments, but durst not gratify their natural curiosity, by
appearing openly and conversing with us; as the men appeared here
to be very absolute. I signified to the men that we had observed
the women, and that I wished to make them some presents, if they
might be permitted to come forward and receive them. The men
seemed unwilling to suffer them to advance; for we had frequently
observed, that they took particular care upon every occasion to
keep the women at a distance, and I believe wholly from an idea
of danger. They desired to have the presents for the women, and
they would carry and deliver them, but to this proposal I
positively refused to agree, and made them understand, that
unless they were allowed to come forward, they should not have
any. Finding I was determined, an old man, who seemed to have the
principal authority, directed the women to advance, which they
did immediately, with much good humour; and, during the whole
time that we were decorating them with beads, rags of white
linen, and some other trifles, they laughed immoderately,
although trembling at the same time, through an idea of danger.
Most of those we saw at this time were young women, who I judged
were from eighteen to twenty-five years of age; they were all
perfectly naked, as when first born.
The women in general are well made, not quite so thin as the
men, but rather smaller limbed. As soon as the women were ordered
to approach us, about twenty men, whom we had not before seen,
sallied from the wood, compleatly armed with lance and shield;
they were painted with red and white streaks all over the face
and body, as if they intended to strike terror by their
appearance: some of them were painted with a little degree of
taste, and although the painting on others appeared to be done
without any attention to form, yet there were those who, at a
small distance, appeared as if they were accoutred with
cross-belts: some had circles of white round their eyes, and
several a horizontal streak across the forehead: others again had
narrow white streaks round the body, with a broad line down the
middle of the back and belly, and a single streak down each arm,
thigh, and leg. These marks, being generally white, gave the
person, at a small distance, a most shocking appearance; for,
upon the black skin the white marks were so very conspicuous,
that they were exactly like so many moving skeletons. The colours
they use are mostly red and white; the first of which is a kind
of ochre, or red earth, which is found here in considerable
quantities; the latter is a fine pipe-clay.
The bodies of the men are much scarified, particularly their
breasts and shoulders; these scarifications are considerably
raised above the skin, and although they are not in any regular
form, yet they are certainly considered as ornamental.
The men, thus armed and painted, drew themselves up in a line
on the beach, and each man had a green bough in his hand, as a
sign of friendship; their disposition was as regular as any well
disciplined troops could have been; and this party, I apprehend,
was entirely for the defence of the women, if any insult had been
offered them. We also observed at this interview, that two very
stout armed men, were placed upon a rock, near to where our boats
lay, as centinels; for they never moved from the spot until we
left the beach: I therefore suppose they were ordered there to
watch all our motions. We left these people, after a visit of
about four hours, both parties apparently well satisfied with all
that passed.
In the different opportunities I have had of getting a little
acquainted with the natives, who reside in and about this port, I
am, I confess, disposed to think, that it will be no very
difficult matter, in due time, to conciliate their friendship and
confidence; for although they generally appear armed on our first
meeting, which will be allowed to be very natural, yet, whenever
we have laid aside our arms, and have made signs of friendship,
they have always advanced unarmed, with spirit, and a degree of
confidence scarcely to be expected: from that appearance of a
friendly disposition, I am inclined to think, that by residing
some time amongst, or near them, they will soon discover that we
are not their enemies; a light they no doubt considered us in on
our first arrival.
The men in general are from five feet six inches, to five feet
nine inches high; are thin, but very straight and clean made;
walk very erect*, and are active. The women are not so tall, or
so thin, but are generally well made; their colour is a rusty
kind of black, something like that of soot, but I have seen many
of the women almost as light as a mulatto. We have seen a few of
both sexes with tolerably good features, but in general they have
broad noses, large wide mouths, and thick lips; and their
countenance altogether not very prepossessing; and what makes
them still less so, is, that they are abominably filthy; they
never clean their skin, but it is generally smeared with the fat
of such animals as they kill, and afterwards covered with every
sort of dirt; sand from the sea beach, and the ashes from their
fires, all adhere to their greasy skin, which is never washed,
except when accident, or the want of food, obliges them to go
into the water.
[* See a plate of the natives in Phillip's
Voyage.]
Some of the men wear a piece of wood or bone, thrust through
the septum of the nose, which, by raising the opposite sides of
the nose, widens the nostril, and spreads the lower part very
much; this, no doubt, they consider as a beauty; most of those we
had hitherto met, wanted the two foremost teeth on the right side
of the upper jaw; and many of the women want the two lower joints
of the little finger of the left hand, which we have not as yet
been able to discover the reason or meaning of. This defect of
the little finger we have observed in old women, and in young
girls of eight or nine years old; in young women who have had
children, and in those who have not, and the finger has been seen
perfect in individuals of all the above ages and descriptions;
they have very good teeth in general; their hair is short,
strong, and curly, and as they seem to have no method of cleaning
or combing it, it is therefore filthy and matted.
The men wear their beards, which are short and curly, like the
hair of the head. Men, women, and children go entirely naked, as
described by Captain Cook; they seem to have no fixed place of
residence, but take their rest wherever night overtakes them:
they generally shelter themselves in such cavities or hollows in
the rocks upon the sea shore, as may be capable of defending them
from the rain, and, in order to make their apartment as
comfortable as possible, they commonly make a good fire in it
before they lie down to rest; by which means, the rock all round
them is so heated as to retain its warmth like an oven for a
considerable time; and upon a little grass, which is previously
pulled and dryed, they lie down and huddle together.
And here, we see a striking instance of the particular care of
Providence for all his creatures. These people have not the most
distant idea of building any kind of place which may be capable
of sheltering them from the severity of bad weather; if they had,
probably it would first appear in their endeavours to cover their
naked bodies with some kind of cloathing, as they certainly
suffer much from the cold in winter.
Their ignorance in building, is very amply compensated by the
kindness of nature in the remarkable softness of the rocks, which
encompass the sea coast, as well as those in the interior parts
of the country: they are a soft, crumbly, sandy stone; those
parts, which are most exposed to, and receive the most severity
of the weather, are generally harder than such parts as are less
exposed; in the soft parts time makes wonderful changes; they are
constantly crumbling away underneath the harder and more solid
part, and this continual decay leaves caves of considerable
dimensions: some I have seen that would lodge forty or fifty
people, and, in a case of necessity, we should think ourselves
not badly lodged for a night. Wherever you see rocks in this
country, either on the sea-shore, or in the interior parts, as
they are all of this soft sandy kind, you are sure of finding
plenty of such caves.
In the woods, where the country is not very rocky, we
sometimes met with a piece of the bark of a tree, bent in the
middle, and set upon the ends*, with a piece set up against that
end on which the wind blows. This hut serves them for a
habitation, and will contain a whole family; for, when the
weather is cold, which is frequently the case in winter, they
find it necessary to lie very close for the benefit of that
warmth to which each mutually contributes a share. These bark
huts, (if they deserve even the name of huts) are intended, as we
have lately discovered, for those who are employed in hunting the
kangaroo, opossums, or in short, any other animals which are to
be found in the woods; for at certain seasons, when those animals
are in plenty, they employ themselves frequently in catching
them.
[* For an exact description and representation of
this hut, see Governor Phillip's Voyage.]
As most of the large trees are hollow, by being rotten in the
heart, the opossum, kangaroo rat, squirrel, and various other
animals which inhabit the woods, when they are pursued, commonly
run into the hollow of a tree: in order, therefore, to make sure
of them, which they seldom fail in, when they find them in the
tree, one man climbs even the tallest tree with much ease, by
means of notches at convenient distances, that are made with a
stone hatchet; when he is arrived at the top, or where there may
be an outlet for the animal, he sits there with a club or stick
in his hand, while another person below applies a fire to the
lower opening, and fills the hollow of the tree with smoak; this
obliges the animal to attempt to make its escape, either upwards
or downwards, but whichever way it goes, it is almost certain of
death, for they very seldom escape. In this manner they employ
themselves, and get a livelihood in the woods.
They also, when in considerable numbers, set the country on
fire for several miles extent; this, we have generally
understood, is for the purpose of disturbing such animals as may
be within reach of the conflagration; and thereby they have an
opportunity of killing many. We have also had much reason to
believe, that those fires were intended to clear that part of the
country through which they have frequent occasion to travel; of
the brush or underwood, from which they, being naked, suffer very
great inconvenience. The fires, which we very frequently saw,
particularly in the summer-time, account also for an appearance,
which, when we arrived here, we were much perplexed to understand
the cause of; this was, that two-thirds of the trees in the woods
were very much scorched with fire, some were burnt quite black,
up to the very top: as to the cause of this appearance we
differed much in our opinions; but it is now plain, that it has
ever been occasioned by the fires, which the natives so
frequently make, and which we have seen reach the highest
branches of the trees: we sometimes, upon our arrival here,
conjectured that it proceeded from lightning, but upon looking
farther, it appeared too general amongst the woods to have been
occasioned by such an accident.
We had reason to believe, that the natives associate in tribes
of many families together, and it appeared now that they have one
fixed residence, and the tribe takes its name from the place of
their general residence: you may often visit the place where the
tribe resides, without finding the whole society there; their
time is so much occupied in search of food, that the different
families take different routs; but, in case of any dispute with a
neighbouring tribe, they can soon be assembled.
We are well informed by those whom we have had among us, that
they sometimes have quarrels, and that they endeavour from
concealments, to destroy those they are at war with. They are by
no means a brave and determined people, except when passion
overcomes them, and when they act as all savages do, like madmen.
In all their quarrels with one another, they put themselves under
the direction of a chief: how those chiefs are chosen we have not
learnt, but have reason to believe it is from an opinion of their
dexterity in war.
All the human race, which we have seen here, appear to live
chiefly on what the sea affords, and consequently we find the
sea-coast more fully inhabited than the interior, or that part of
the country which we have had an opportunity of visiting more
remote from the sea. The men fish with a spear, or fish-gig, in
the use of which, it is apparent they are very dextrous. The
fish-gig is in length something more than the war lance, but they
can, according to the depth of water, increase its length, by a
variety of joints; some have one, some two, three, or four
prongs, pointed and barbed with a fish, or other animal's bone.
We have sometimes, in fine weather, seen a man lying across a
canoe, with his face in the water, and his fish-gig immersed,
ready for darting: in this manner he lies motionless, and by his
face being a little under the surface, he can see the fish
distinctly; but were his eyes above, the tremulous motion of the
surface, occasioned by every light air of wind, would prevent his
sight: in this manner they strike at the fish with so much
certainty, that they seldom miss their aim.
The women are chiefly employed in the canoes, with lines and
hooks; the lines appear to be manufactured from the bark of
various trees which we found here, of a tough stringy nature, and
which, after being beaten between two stones for some time,
becomes very much like, and of the same colour as a quantity of
oakum, made from old rope: this they spin and twist into two
strands: in fact, I never saw a line with more than two. Their
hooks are commonly made from the inside, or mother of pearl, of
different shells; the talons of birds, such as those of hawks,
they sometimes make this use of; but the former are considered as
best.
In this necessary employment of fishing, we frequently saw a
woman with two or three children in a miserable boat, the highest
part of which was not six inches above the surface of the water,
washing almost in the edge of a surf, which would frighten an old
seaman to come near, in a good and manageable vessel. The
youngest child, if very small, lies across the mother's lap, from
whence, although she is fully employed in fishing, it cannot
fall; for the boat being very shallow, she sits in the bottom,
with her knees up to her breast, and between her knees and body,
the child lies perfectly secure. The men also dive for
shell-fish, which they take off from the rocks under water; we
frequently saw them leap from a rock into the surf or broken
water, and remain a surprizing time under: when they rise to the
surface, whatever they have gathered they throw on shore, where a
person attends to receive it, and has a fire ready kindled for
cooking.
They have no other method of dressing their food, than that of
broiling. Boiling water they have no conception of, as appeared
very lately; for when one of our boats was hauling the seine, one
of the sailors had put a pot on the fire ready to dress some
fish, and when the water was boiling, some fish were put in; but
several natives, who were near, and who wished to have more fish
than had been given them, seeing the fish put into the pot, and
no person watching them, a native put his hand into the boiling
water to take the fish out, and was of course scalded, and
exceedingly astonished.
With respect to religion, we have not been able yet to
discover that they have any thing like an object of adoration;
neither the sun, moon, nor stars seem to take up, or occupy more
of their attention, than they do that of any other of the animals
which inhabit this immense country.
Their dead they certainly burn, of which I have been well
convinced lately, when employed on the survey of a distant branch
of Port Jackson. Some of my boat's crew having, when on shore,
discovered a little from the water-side, upon a rising ground,
what they judged to be a fresh grave, I went up and ordered it to
be opened; when the earth was removed, we found a quantity of
white ashes, which appeared to have been but a very short time
deposited there: among the ashes we found part of a human
jaw-bone, and a small piece of the scull, which, although it had
been in the fire, was not so much injured, as to prevent our
distinguishing perfectly what it was. We put the ashes together
again and covered it up as before; the grave was not six inches
under the surface of the ground, but the earth was raised the
height of our graves in Europe.
In the months of March and April, we found the natives to
decrease in their numbers considerably; but we have no reason to
suppose that they retire back into the interior parts of the
country; for in all the excursions which have been made inland,
very few have been seen. The sea-coast, we have every reason at
present to believe, is the only part of this country which is
inhabited by the human race; the land seems to afford them but a
very scanty subsistence. We have seen them roast and chew the
fern-root. There is a small fruit here, about the size of a
cherry; it is yellow when half grown, and almost black when ripe;
it grows on a tree, which is not tall, but very full and bushy at
the top; of this fruit we have often seen them eat: it has a good
deal the taste of a fig, and the pulp, or inside, very much
resembles that fruit in appearance: but the sea is their
principal resource, and shell, and other fish, are their chief
support.
They frequently attended our boats when hauling the seine, and
were very thankful to the officer for any fish he might give
them, as in cold weather the harbour is but thinly stocked;
indeed, when we arrived here it was full of fish, and we caught
as many as we could use, but in the winter they seem to quit our
neighbourhood. I had reason to think, that the people who
inhabited Port Jackson when we first entered it were gone farther
to the northward, and that it is their constant custom, as the
cold weather approaches, to seek a warmer climate, by following
the sun; and in this practice they have another very powerful
incitement, as well as the comfortable warmth of the sun, which
is, that the fish incline to the northward, as the cold weather
comes on: this conjecture seems, in some degree, to account for
Captain Cook's having seen so few natives while he lay in
Botany-bay, and that it appeared to him the seacoast was thinly
inhabited; for I think it was in April, or May, that he was
there.
The animal described in the voyage of the Endeavour, called
the kangaroo, (but by the natives patagarang) we found in great
numbers; one was lately shot which weighed 140 pounds; its tail
was 40 inches long, and 17 in circumference at the root; it is
very well described in Phillip's Voyage: we ate the flesh with
great relish, and I think it good mutton, although not so
delicate as that which we sometimes find in Leadenhall-market.
The strength this animal has in its hind quarters is very great:
in its endeavours to escape from us, when surprized, it springs
from its hind legs, which are very long, and leaps at each bound
about six or eight yards, but does not appear ever in running to
let its fore-feet come near the ground; indeed they are so very
short, that it is not possible that the animal can use them in
running: they have vast strength also in their tail; it is, no
doubt, a principal part of their defence, when attacked; for with
it they can strike with prodigious force, I believe with
sufficent power to break the leg of a man; nor is it improbable
but that this great strength in the tail may assist them in
making those astonishing springs.
We for some time considered their tail as their chief defence,
but having of late hunted them with greyhounds very successfully,
we have had an opportunity of knowing that they use their claws
and teeth. The dog is much swifter than the kangaroo: the chase,
if in an open wood, (which is the place most frequented by that
animal,) is seldom more than eight or ten minutes, and if there
are more dogs than one, seldom so long. As soon as the hound
seizes him, he turns, and catching hold with the nails of his
fore-paws, he springs upon, and strikes at the dog with the claws
of his hind feet, which are wonderfully strong, and tears him to
such a degree, that it has frequently happened that we have been
under the necessity of carrying the dog home, from the severity
of his wounds: few of these animals have ever effected their
escape, after being seized by the dog, for they have generally
caught them by the throat, and there held them until they were
assisted, although many of them have very near lost their lives
in the struggle.
Some of the male kangaroos are of a very large size; I have
seen some, that when sitting on their haunches, were five feet
eight inches high, such an animal is too strong for a single dog,
and although he might be much wounded, would, without the dog had
assistance at hand, certainly kill him. We know that the native
dogs of this country hunt and kill the kangaroo; they may be more
fierce, but they do not appear to be so strong as our large
greyhound; there was one not long ago seen in pursuit of a
kangaroo, by a person who was employed in shooting, who mistaking
the two animals as they passed him to be of the kind he was
looking for, he fired at the hindmost and brought him down, but
when he came up it proved to be a native dog.
Of those dogs we have had many which were taken when young,
but never could cure them of their natural ferocity; although
well fed, they would at all times, but particularly in the dark,
fly at young pigs, chickens, or any small animal which they might
be able to conquer, and immediately kill, and generally eat them.
I had one which was a little puppy when caught, but,
notwithstanding I took much pains to correct and cure it of its
savageness, I found it took every opportunity, which it met with,
to snap off the head of a fowl, or worry a pig, and would do it
in defiance of correction. They are a very good natured animal
when domesticated, but I believe it to be impossible to cure that
savageness, which all I have seen seem to possess.
The opossum is also very numerous here, but it is not exactly
like the American opossum; it partakes a good deal of the
kangaroo in the strength of its tail and make of its fore-legs,
which are very short in proportion to the hind ones; like that
animal, it has the pouch, or false belly, for the safety of its
young in time of danger, and its colour is nearly the same, but
the fur is thicker and finer. There are several other animals of
a smaller size, down as low as the field-rat, which in some part
or other partakes of the kangaroo and opossum: we have caught
many rats with this pouch for carrying their young when pursued,
and the legs, claws, and tail of this rat are exactly like the
kangaroo.
It would appear, from the great similarity in some part or
other of the different quadrupeds which we find here, that there
is a promiscuous intercourse between the different sexes of all
those different animals. The same observation might be made also
on the fishes of the sea, on the fowls of the air, and, I may
add, the trees of the forest. It was wonderful to see what a vast
variety of fish were caught, which, in some part or other,
partake of the shark: it is no uncommon thing to see a skait's
head and shoulders to the hind part of a shark, or a shark's head
to the body of a large mullet, and sometimes to the flat body of
a sting-ray.
With respect to the feathered tribe, the parrot prevails; we
have shot birds, with the head, neck, and bill of a parrot, and
with the same variety of the most beautiful plumage on those
parts for which that bird here is distinguished, and a tail and
body of a different make and colour, with long, streight, and
delicate made feet and legs; which is the very reverse of any
bird of the parrot kind. I have also seen a bird, with the legs
and feet of a parrot, the head and neck made and coloured like
the common sea-gull, and the wings and tail of a hawk. I have
likewise seen trees bearing three different kinds of leaves, and
frequently have found others, bearing the leaf of the gum-tree,
with the gum exuding from it, and covered with bark of a very
different kind.
There are a great variety of birds in this country; all those
of the parrot tribe, such as the macaw, cockatoo, lorey, green
parrot, and parroquets of different kinds and sizes, are cloathed
with the most beautiful plumage that can be conceived; it would
require the pencil of an able limner to give a stranger an idea
of them, for it is impossible by words to describe them*. The
common crow is found here in considerable numbers, but the sound
of their voice and manner of croaking, is very different from
those in Europe. There are also vast numbers of hawks, of various
sizes and colours. Here are likewise pigeons and quails, with a
great variety of smaller birds, but I have not found one with a
pleasing note.
[* See very accurate representations, drawn from
nature, and described by that ingenious and able naturalist, John
Latham, Esq; in Phillip's Voyage.]
There have been several large birds seen since we arrived in
this port; they were supposed, by those who first saw them, to be
the ostrich, as they could not fly when pursued, but ran
exceedingly fast; so much so, that a very strong and fleet
greyhound could not come near them: one was shot, which gave us
an opportunity of a more close examination. Some were of opinion
that it was the emew, which I think is particularly described by
Dr. Goldsmith, from Linneus; others imagined it to be the
cassowary, but it far exceeds that bird in size; it was, when
standing, seven feet two inches, from its feet to the upper part
of its head; the only difference which I could perceive, between
this bird and the ostrich, was in its bill, which appeared to me
to be narrower at the point, and it has three toes, which I am
told is not the case with the ostrich: it has one characteristic,
by which it may be known, and which we thought very
extraordinary; this is, that two distinct feathers grew out from
every quill*. The flesh of this bird, although coarse, was
thought by us delicious meat; it had much the appearance, when
raw, of neck-beef; a party of five, myself included, dined on a
side-bone of it most sumptuously. The pot or spit received every
thing which we could catch or kill, and the common crow was
relished here as well as the barn-door fowl is in England.
[* See an elegant engraving of the Cassowary in
Phillip's Voyage.]
Of insects there are as great a variety here as of birds; the
scorpion, centipede, spider, ant, and many others; the ants are
of various sizes, from the smallest known in Europe, to the size
of near an inch long; some are black, some white, and others, of
the largest sort, reddish; those of this kind are really a
formidable little animal; if you tread near the nest, (which is
generally under ground, with various little passages or outlets)
and have disturbed them, they will sally forth in vast numbers,
attack their disturbers with astonishing courage, and even pursue
them to a considerable distance; and their bite is attended for a
time with a most acute pain. Some build their nests against a
tree, to the size of a large bee-hive; another kind raises little
mounts on the ground, of clay, to the height of four feet.
In speaking of the spider, it would be improper to be silent
upon the industry of this little creature; I call them little,
although, if compared with our common spider, they are very
large; they spread their web in the woods between trees,
generally to a distance of twelve or fourteen yards, and weave
them so very strong, that it requires considerable force to break
them. I have seen the silk of which the web is composed, wound
off into a ball, and think it equal to any I ever saw in the same
state from the silk worm; it is of the same colour, a pale
yellow, or straw colour. None of the gentlemen employed here have
as yet made any particular observations upon the manner in which
this animal is produced, or how they prepare their silk. I have
found upon bushes, on which the web has been hanging in clusters,
a thin shell, something like that wherein the silk-worm prepares
its silk, but of this shape, [The image is included in the HTML
version] and, upon opening them, I have seen a quantity of this silk
within, in which a spider was found wrapped up.
Of reptiles, there are snakes from the smallest size known in
England, to the length of eleven feet, and about as thick as a
man's wrist; and many lizards of different kinds and sizes.
The natives we have seen accompanied by dogs, which appear to
be domesticated the same as ours in Europe; they are of the wolf
kind, and of a reddish colour.
When speaking of birds, I should have mentioned, that some of
our gentlemen have seen in the lagoons and swamps which they have
fallen in with, in their shooting excursions, the black swan,
which is said to have been found in some parts of the west coast
of this country; the extremity of their wings are described to be
white, and all the rest of the plumage black. I have seen one
which has been shot. It answered the above description as to
colour, but the bill was a pale pink or crimson; it was about the
size of a common white swan, and was good meat.
The vast variety of beautiful plants and flowers, which are to
be found in this country, may hereafter afford much entertainment
to the curious in the science of botany; but I am wholly
unqualified to describe the different sorts with which we find
the woods to abound; we sometimes met with a little wild spinach,
parsly, and sorrel, but in too small quantities to expect it to
be of any advantage to the seamen. The flax plant has been found
here in several places, but not in any considerable quantity; I
have heard it reckoned a good kind, but in that also I must
confess my ignorance.
In the infancy of a distant settlement, the want of timber to
carry on the necessary buildings, will be allowed to be a very
great inconvenience; but we were here in the middle of a wood, in
which were trees from the size of a man's arm to twenty-eight
feet in circumference; but they were either so very crooked, so
rent, or so very rotten in the heart, that we could scarcely get
one sound or serviceable in a dozen; and what in our situation
was a very great misfortune, we had not as yet found one piece of
timber that would float in water. The wood is so exceedingly
heavy, that when a large tree was cut down, in order to clear a
piece of ground, it would sometimes take a party of men three or
four days to dispose of it, or move it from the place.
We arrived in this country in the end of January, 1788; the
weather was then very fine, though warm; the sea and land breezes
pretty regular, and Farenheit's thermometer was from 72° to
80°.
In February, the weather was sultry, with lightning, thunder,
and heavy rain; this sort of weather continued for a fortnight,
with few and very short intervals of fair weather; a flash of
lightning fell one night near the camp, and struck a tree near to
the post of a centinel, who was much hurt by it; the tree was
greatly rent, and there being at the foot of it a pen in which
were a sew pigs and sheep, they were all killed. Towards the
latter end of the month the weather was more settled, little
thunder, lightning, or rain, and the thermometer from 65° to
77°.
In the middle of this month, Lieutenant King of the Sirius, a
master's mate, and surgeon's mate, with four other men from the
ship, together with a few men and women convicts, embarked on
board the Supply armed tender, and she sailed with them for
Norfolk Island. In the passage thither, they fell in with a small
island which had not before been discovered; it lies in latitude
31° 36' south, and about 140 leagues to the eastward of this
coast; lieutenant Ball named it Lord Howe's Island. After having
landed the party intended to remain on Norfolk Island, with their
provisions and stores, Mr. Ball, in his return to Port Jackson,
called at Lord Howe's Island, in order to examine it more
particularly. He found anchorage on the west side of it, but the
bottom was coral rock. He landed, with his boat, within a reef,
and caught a number of excellent turtle upon a sandy beach: this
island also abounded with a variety of birds, which were so
unaccustomed to being disturbed, that the seamen came near enough
to knock down as many as they wanted with sticks.
In March, the weather was variable, sometimes strong gales
from the southward and south-east, with moist and hazy weather; a
great sea rolling in upon the coast. This month the marines were
ordered to clear ground and begin to build huts and barracks for
the winter; the convicts were also directed to employ certain
hours in the same necessary work for themselves. The mornings and
evenings were now rather cold; the thermometer from 60° to
75°.
In the month of April the weather was much the same as in
March; rather variable; a few days of cloudy weather with rain,
which generally fell in the night, and southerly and south-east
winds; but when the wind shifted to the westward or north-west,
the weather became fair and pleasant, and this weather was
frequently attended with sea and land breezes; the mornings and
evenings cold, and the middle of the day (if calm) very hot.
Thermometer from 68° to 72°.
The beginning of this month much bad weather; strong gales
from south to south-east, generally attended with rain in the
night; middle of the month fair and settled weather for several
days together, with a regular land and sea wind; towards the end
of the month the wind prevailed between south-west and
south-east, weather unsettled, showers of rain commonly in the
night; in the day little wind and warm weather. The thermometer
from 56° to 67°.
The beginning of June fair and pleasant weather, attended with
land and sea breezes; from the middle to the latter end, stormy
weather with much rain, wind chiefly from the south-east quarter.
The thermometer from 52° to 62°.
This month begun as the last ended, with blustering, rainy
weather; the middle was less windy, though cloudy and dull, with
frequent showers; the end of the month fair weather with westerly
winds. The thermometer from 52° to 63°.
This month commenced with cloudy weather and much rain,
southerly and south-east winds; the middle moderate and fair with
variable winds; the latter part was fair weather with light and
variable winds. The thermometer from 56° to 72°.
From the beginning till about the 20th, the weather was cloudy
with frequent showers of rain; but the latter part had strong
gales from the south-east quarter.
I was furnished with the following months by Lieutenant
William Dawes, of the marines.
The first and middle parts of this month the weather was
moderate and cloudy, and the wind very variable, frequent thunder
and lightning with showers of rain; the latter part was clear,
fine weather in general, with distant thunder and lightning, and
a few violent squalls of wind, which happened generally in the
night. The Thermometer from 49° to 81°.
In the beginning of this month the weather was generally
cloudy and hazy, the wind from the eastward; the middle part also
cloudy with frequent light showers of rain, thunder, and
lightning, sometimes distant and sometimes very heavy; latter
part, cloudy and hazy, with violent thunder, lightning, and rain;
wind from north-east to south-east; and the thermometer from
53° to 93°.
The first part was cloudy and hazy, with some thunder,
attended with light rain; middle, same kind of weather, with
frequent and light showers of rain; latter part, moderate weather
with a good deal of rain; the wind chiefly from the northward and
eastward. The thermometer from 53° to 102°.
During the whole of this month, the weather was cloudy and
hazy, with light showers of rain, and sometimes distant thunder;
the wind chiefly, though from the north-east and south-east, and
during the night, westerly, or land winds. The thermometer from
63° to 112°.
The thermometer, as marked for these last four months, was in
the open air occasionally exposed to the sun and wind.
I judged it better, while mentioning the weather during the
different months, to go on with that by itself, and not to mix it
with any other occurrences: I must, therefore, return back as far
as the beginning of March, at which time, as the two French ships
already spoken of were preparing to leave this coast, I
determined to visit Monsieur de la Perouse before he should
depart; I accordingly, with a few other officers, sailed round to
Botany-Bay, in the Sirius's long-boat. We staid two days on board
the Bussole, and were most hospitably and politely entertained,
and very much pressed to pass a longer time with them.
When I took my leave the weather proved too stormy to be able
to get along the coast in an open boat; I therefore left the
long-boat on board the Bussole, took my gun, and, with another
officer and two seamen, travelled through the woods and swamps,
of which there were many in our route. We directed our course by
a pocket compass, which led us within a mile of our own
encampment; the distance from Botany-Bay to Port Jackson, across
the land, and near the sea shore, is, in a direct line, eight or
nine miles; and the country about two miles to the southward of
Port Jackson abounds with high trees, and little or no underwood;
but between that and Botany-Bay, it is all thick, low woods or
shrubberies, barren heaths, and swamps; the land near the sea,
although covered in many places with wood, is rocky from the
water-side to the very summit of the hills.
Whilst walking on shore with the officers of the French ships
at Botany-Bay, I was shown by them a little mount upon the north
shore, which they had discovered, and thought a curiosity; it was
quite rocky on the top, the stones were all standing
perpendicularly on their ends, and were in long, but narrow
pieces; some of three, four, or five sides, exactly (in
miniature) resembling the Giants Causeway in the north of
Ireland.
The Bussole and Astrolabe sailed from Botany-Bay the 11th of
March.
As I have mentioned something of the country between
Botany-Bay and Port Jackson, I must farther observe, that in the
neighbourhood of Sydney Cove, which is that part of this harbour
in which Governor Phillip has fixed his residence, there are many
spots of tolerably good land, but they are in general of but
small extent; exclusive of those particular spots, it is rather a
poor steril soil, full of stones; but near, and at the head of
the harbour, there is a very considerable extent of tolerable
land, and which may be cultivated without waiting for its being
cleared of wood; for the trees stand very wide of each other, and
have no underwood: in short, the woods on the spot I am speaking
of resemble a deer park, as much as if they had been intended for
such a purpose; but the soil appears to me to be rather sandy and
shallow, and will require much manure to improve it, which is
here a very scarce article; however, there are people whose
judgment may probably be better than mine, that think it good
land; I confess that farming has never made any part of my
studies. The grass upon it is about three feet high, very close
and thick; probably, farther back there may be very extensive
tracts of this kind of country, but we, as yet, had no time to
make very distant excursions into the interior parts of this new
world.
On the 6th of May, three of the transports, which were
chartered by the East-India Company to load tea at China, sailed
from this port; the Supply also sailed for Lord Howe Island.
The carpenter of the Sirius, with his crew, had been
constantly employed on shore since our arrival in this country,
assisting in erecting store-houses, and other necessary
buildings. The ship's company were variously employed out of the
ship upon the business of the settlement. The scurvy had, for
some time past, appeared more amongst the seamen, marines, and
convicts, than when on board the ships, which will appear
strange, after having enjoyed the advantage of being much upon
the land, and eating various vegetable productions; but this the
gentlemen of the faculty say is no uncommon thing, particularly
when men are under the necessity of continuing the same salt
diet; setting aside this, and a few with dysenteries, the health
of the people cannot be said to be bad.
About the middle of this month a convalescent, who had been
sent from the hospital to gather wild spinach, or other greens,
was murdered by the natives; there were two of them together, the
one escaped, but was wounded, the other has never been heard of
since; but as some part of his cloaths were found which were
bloody, and had been pierced by a spear, it was concluded he had
been killed. A short time after this accident, a report
prevailed, that part of the bones of a man had been found near a
fire by which a party of the natives had been regaling
themselves; this report gave rise to a conjecture, that as this
man had been killed near this place, the people who had committed
the murder had certainly ate him.
Whether any of the natives of this country are cannibals is
yet a matter on which we cannot speak positively; but the murder
of two other men, as related immediately after this, seems to
contradict the conjecture that they are cannibals, as the men
were left on the spot where they were killed: however, the
following circumstance may, in some degree, incline us to
believe, that although the natives in general do not eat human
flesh, yet that that horrid custom is sometimes practised. I was
one day present when two native children were interrogated on the
subject of the quarrels of their countrymen; they were
particularly asked, what the different chiefs did with those they
killed; they mentioned some who burnt and buried the slain, but
they also particularly named one who ate those he killed.
Some short time after the before-mentioned accident happened,
two convicts who had been employed at a little distance up the
harbour, in cutting rushes for thatching, were found murdered by
the natives. It has been strongly suspected that these people had
engaged in some dispute or quarrel with them, and as they had
hatchets and bill-hooks with them, it is believed they might have
been rash enough to use violence with some of the natives, who
had, no doubt, been numerous there; be that as it might, the
officer who went to look after those unfortunate men, and to see
what work they had done, after hailing some time for them without
any reply, set his boat's crew upon the search, who, having found
a considerable quantity of blood near their tent, suspected what
they soon found to be the case: for they discovered the two men
immediately after, lying in different places, both dead; the one
had his brains beat out with a club or stone, besides several
other wounds; the other had many wounds, and part of a spear,
which had been broke, sticking quite through his body. Their
tent, provisions, and cloaths remained, but most of the tools
were taken away.
The 4th of June being the birth-day of our much beloved
sovereign, and the first we had seen in this most distant part of
his dominions, it was celebrated by all ranks with every possible
demonstration of loyalty, and concluded with the utmost
chearfulness and good order.
Having at this time of the year much bad weather, and very
heavy gales of wind, I must observe, that I had, as well as many
others, believed till now, that the gales had never blown upon
the coast in such a direction, but that a ship, on being close in
with the land when such a gale commenced, might gain an offing on
one tack or the other; but we now found, that those gales are as
variable in their direction upon this coast as any other during
the winter season: I would, therefore, recommend it to ships
bound to any port here to the southward of latitude 30° 00'
south, at this time of the year to get in or near the parallel of
their port, before they attempt to make the land; as in that
case, if a gale from the eastward should take them when near the
land, they would have their port under their lee, for it would be
next to an impossibility for a ship to keep off the land with
such a sea as these gales occasion.
In the month of July, our scorbutic patients seemed to be
rather worse; the want of a little fresh food for the sick was
very much felt, and fish at this time were very scarce: such of
the natives as we met seemed to be in a miserable and starving
condition from that scarcity. We frequently fell in with families
living in the hollow part of the rocks by the sea-side, where
they eagerly watched every opportunity of moderate weather to
provide shell or other fish for their present subsistence: if a
bird was shot, and thrown to them, they would immediately pluck
off the feathers, put it upon the fire without taking out the
intestines, and eat the whole; sometimes they did not pull off
the feathers, and, if it were a small bird, did not even throw
the bones away.
This season, in which fish is so scarce, subjects these poor
creatures to great distress, at least we were apt to believe so;
they were frequently found gathering a kind of root in the woods,
which they broiled on the fire, then beat it between two stones
until it was quite soft; this they chew until they have extracted
all the nutritive part, and afterwards throw it away. This root
appears to be a species of the orchis, or has much of its
nutritive quality.
Large fires were frequently seen in this season upon some of
the hills, and we had been much at a loss to know for what
purpose they were so frequently lighted, at this time of the
year; but in going down the harbour one day, with an intention to
get upon the North Head, for the purpose of ascertaining its
exact latitude, we observed on a hill near that point, one of
those large fires, which (with the first lieutenant and surgeon
who were with me) we determined to visit; and as we thought it
might probably be some funeral ceremony, which we were very
desirous of seeing, we took our guns, and intended getting up
amongst them unperceived; but when we arrived at the place, to
our very great disappointment, not a person was to be seen: I
believe there were not less than three or four acres of ground
all in a blaze; we then conjectured that these fires were made
for the purpose of clearing the ground of the shrubs and
underwood, by which means they might with greater ease get at
those roots which appear to be a great part of their subsistence
during the winter. We had observed that they generally took the
advantage of windy weather for making such fires, which would of
course occasion their spreading over a greater extent of
ground.
On the 14th of July four transports, under the command of
Lieutenant Shortland, sailed for England; they intended going to
the northward, and passing through the streights of Macassar and
Sunda, the season being too early either to attempt going round
Van Diemen's land, and to endeavour to get to the westward by
that tract, or to go to the eastward by Cape Horn.
The 12th of August being the birth-day of His Royal Highness
the Prince of Wales, a salute of 21 guns was fired from the
Sirius and Supply, and the officers of the settlement and ships
dined with the governor, as on His Majesty's birth-day.
We began at this time to take equal altitudes for ascertaining
the exact rate of the time-keeper. On the 17th, the governor
directed two boats from the Sirius, with a proper officer in
each, to go up the harbour; one to take the north, the other the
south side; they were to enter every cove in their way up, in
order to ascertain, as exactly as possible, the number of canoes
and natives within the harbour of Port Jackson; for the same
purpose, two other boats went down the harbour; in one of which
the governor went, and I proceeded in the other; in the lower or
north part of the harbour there was a considerable number of
canoes, some of which were then employed in catching fish.
Upon my going round the coves, they all left their work and
pushed with great precipitation for the land, which convinced me
that they were women who were thus employed; as they had always
shown a desire, as much as possible, to avoid us. I did every
thing in my power to prevent their being alarmed, or in any
respect uneasy, by keeping at a distance from them, and making
every friendly signal I could, but to no purpose; for although
there was no other boat in company, they did not seem disposed to
trust us near them: there were many men upon the shore, who spoke
to us in their usual familiar and chearful manner, and invited us
with much apparent earnestness and friendship to come on shore,
which, however, I declined, in order to prosecute the business I
was engaged in; although I own I thought the counting them from
the boat was a very uncertain method of coming at their
numbers.
It blew fresh, and there was so much surf on shore, that it
was impossible to land where the people stood, without the danger
of hurting the boat, otherwise it is probable that I, together
with Lieutenant George Johnston, of the marines, who was in the
boat with me, should have landed: we went as near as possible to
the shore, I believe within twenty yards, and whilst in friendly
conversation with them, and lying upon our oars, we observed one
of them place his lance upon the throwing-stick, but had no idea
that he meant to throw it amongst us, after so friendly an
invitation as we had received from them to land: but I was now
convinced, that they only wanted us within their reach, no doubt
from an opinion that we had no fire arms, as they did not appear:
as soon as they thought that they could throw it with effect, a
lance was discharged, which passed about six feet over our heads;
I saw the lance in the air, and immediately snatched up my gun,
which, as they run off the moment they had shown their hostile
intention, I was determined to discharge amongst them, and should
probably have killed one of their number, if my gun had not
missed fire. Mr. Johnston, upon my gun having missed, immediately
discharged his into the bushes in which they had sheltered
themselves from our sight; but as it was charged only with small
shot, I think it could not have hurt any of them.
What reason they could have had for this treacherous kind of
conduct, I am wholly at a loss to guess, for nothing hostile or
mischievous had appeared on our part; on the contrary, the most
friendly disposition had been manifested in every thing we said
or did; even when their women took the alarm upon our approach, I
spoke to them, and made such signs of friendship as we judged
they would understand, and went round at a distance to prevent
their apprehension of any insult. It was perhaps fortunate that
my gun did not go off; as I was so displeased at their treachery,
that it is highly probable I might have shot one of them.
On comparing the accounts, which were taken by the different
boats employed upon this business, it appeared that we had
seen--Canoes 67--men 94--women 34--children 9,--which is by no
means a just account of the numbers who, at that time, lived in
and about this harbour; for I have since seen in one part of the
harbour more than that number.
On the 27th, the Supply tender arrived from Norfolk Island,
where she had been with a quantity of provisions and stores for
that settlement; she brought the melancholy account of the loss
of Mr. James Cunningham, and four others, who were drowned in the
surf, by their boat being overset in landing the stores from the
Supply; so exceedingly difficult of access is the shore of that
island, from an almost continual surf breaking on a reef which
encompasses the coast on that part where the settlement is
formed.
In this month a report prevailed in the settlement, which
seemed at first to gain some credit:--It was, that one
-Dailey_, a convict, had discovered a piece of ground,
wherein he had found a considerable quantity of a yellow coloured
ore, which, upon its being tried, appeared to have a certain
proportion of gold in it; at this time the governor happened to
be absent on a short excursion into the country, to the
northward: the report having been made to the
lieutenant-governor, he, of course, examined the man, who had
made the discovery, and who told his story with so much
plausibility, that it was not doubted but an ore of some kind had
been sound.
Dailey was interrogated as to the place, but this he refused
to give any information of until the return of the governor, to
whom he would give a full account of the discovery, provided he
would grant him what the discoverer considered as but a small
compensation for so valuable an acquisition; this reward was, (as
there were ships upon the point of sailing) his own and a
particular woman convict's enlargement, and a passage in one of
the ships to England, together with a specified sum of money,
which I do not now recollect. The lieutenant-governor insisted,
that as he had already mentioned the discovery he had made, he
should also show what part of the country it was in, otherwise he
might expect punishment, for daring to impose upon those officers
to whom he had related this business: the fear of punishment
disposed him to incline a little, though apparently with much
reluctance; he proposed to the lieutenant-governor, that an
officer should be sent down the harbour with him, for the mine,
which, he said, was in the lower part of the harbour, and near
the sea shore, and he would show the place to the officer.
Accordingly, an officer, with a corporal and two or three
private soldiers were sent with him; he landed where he said the
walk would be but short, and they entered the wood in their way
to the mine; soon after they got among the bushes, he applied for
permission to go to one side for a minute upon some necessary
occasion, which was granted him; the officer continued there some
hours without seeing the discoverer again, who, immediately on
getting out of his sight, had pushed off for the camp by land,
for he knew the road very well, and he had cunning enough to
persuade the officer to send the boat away as soon as they had
landed, as he supposed he would not choose to quit the place
until a good guard came down; for which purpose, the officer was
to have dispatched a man by land, as soon as he arrived at the
place, and was satisfied that it merited attention.
The convict arrived in camp pretty early in the afternoon, and
informed the lieutenant-governor, that he had left the officer
who went down with him in full possession of the gold mine; he
then got a few things out of his own tent, and disappeared; the
party, after waiting for some hours hooping and searching through
the woods for the cheat, left their stations and marched round to
the camp, where they arrived at dusk, heartily tired, and not a
little chagrined at the trick the villain had played them. The
want of provisions soon brought him from his concealment, and a
severe punishment was the necessary consequence of this
imposition: however, he still gave out, that he had made the
discovery which he before had mentioned, and that his reasons for
quitting the officer who went with him was, that he thought, if
he gave the information to the governor himself, he should
certainly get what he had asked.
When the governor returned, another officer was sent with him,
although every person now believed that there was no truth in
what he had hitherto reported. This officer informed him, in
going down in the boat, that he would not suffer him to go three
yards from him when landed, and that he would certainly shoot him
if he attempted to run from him; for which purpose he showed him,
that he was loading his gun with ball: this so terrified the
cheat, that he acknowledged he knew of no gold mine. He was then
interrogated respecting the ore which he had produced, and he
confessed he had filed down part of a yellow metal buckle, and
had mixed with it some gold filed off a guinea, all which had
been blended with some earth, and made hard. The man who tried
the ore was bred a silversmith, and upon separating the different
parts, he discovered that it contained a small quantity of gold:
the inventor was, of course, well punished for his trick.
[The observations which I made here, both for the latitude and
longitude, as well as those that were made by Lieutenant Bradley,
were the same as are inserted in the following tables.]
[The tablse are included in the HTML version]