While we were thus employed, day broke upon us, and we saw the land at

about eight leagues distance, without any island in the intermediate

space, upon which, if the ship should have gone to pieces, we might have

been set ashore by the boats, and from which they might have taken us by

different turns to the main: the wind however gradually died away, and

early in the forenoon it was a dead calm; if it had blown hard, the ship

must inevitably have been destroyed. At eleven in the forenoon we

expected high water, and anchors were got out, and every thing made

ready for another effort to heave her off if she should float, but to

our inexpressible surprise and concern, she did not float by a foot and

a half, though we had lightened her near fifty ton; so much did the

day-tide fall short of that in the night. We now proceeded to lighten

her still more, and threw overboard every thing that it was possible for

us to spare: hitherto she had not admitted much water, but as the tide

fell, it rushed in so fast, that two pumps, incessantly worked, could

scarcely keep her free. At two o’clock, she lay heeling two or three

streaks to starboard, and the pinnace, which lay under her bows, touched

the ground: we had now no hope but from the tide at midnight, and to

prepare for it we carried out our two bower anchors, one on the

starboard quarter, and the other right a-stern, got the blocks and

tackle which were to give us a purchase upon the cables in order, and

brought the falls, or ends of them, in abaft, straining them tight, that

the next effort might operate upon the ship, and by shortening the

length of the cable between that and the anchors, draw her off the ledge

upon which she rested, towards the deep water. About five o’clock in the

afternoon, we observed the tide begin to rise, but we observed at the

same time that the leak increased to a most alarming degree, so that two

more pumps were manned, but unhappily only one of them would work: three

of the pumps however were kept going, and at nine o’clock the ship

righted; but the leak had gained upon us so considerably, that it was

imagined she must go to the bottom as soon as she ceased to be supported

by the rock: this was a dreadful circumstance, so that we anticipated

the floating of the ship not as an earnest of deliverance, but as an

event that would probably precipitate our destruction. We well knew that

our boats were not capable of carrying us all on shore, and that when

the dreadful crisis should arrive, as all command and subordination

would be at an end, a contest for preference would probably ensue, that

would increase even the horrors of shipwreck, and terminate in the

destruction of us all by the hands of each other; yet we knew that if

any should be left on board to perish in the waves, they would probably

suffer less upon the whole than those who should get on shore, without

any lasting or effectual defence against the natives, in a country,

where even nets and fire-arms would scarcely furnish them with food; and

where, if they should find the means of subsistence, they must be

condemned to languish out the remainder of life in a desolate

wilderness, without the possession, or even hope, of any domestic

comfort, and cut off from all commerce with mankind, except the naked

savages who prowled the desert, and who perhaps were some of the most

rude and uncivilized upon the earth.

To those only who have waited in a state of such suspense, death has

approached in all his terrors; and as the dreadful moment that was to

determine our fate came on, every one saw his own sensations pictured in

the countenances of his companions: however, the capstan and windlace

were manned with as many hands as could be spared from the pumps, and

the ship floating about twenty minutes after ten o’clock, the effort was

made, and she was heaved into deep water. It was some comfort to find

that she did not now admit more water than she had done upon the rock;

and though, by the gaining of the leak upon the pumps, there was no less

than three feet nine inches water in the hold, yet the men did not

relinquish their labour, and we held the water as it were at bay; but

having now endured excessive fatigue of body and agitation of mind for

more than four-and-twenty hours, and having but little hope of

succeeding at last, they began to flag: none of them could work at the

pump more than five or six minutes together, and then, being totally

exhausted, they threw themselves down upon the deck, though a stream of

water was running over it from the pumps between three and four inches

deep; when those who succeeded them had worked their spell, and were

exhausted in their turn, they threw themselves down in the same manner,

and the others started up again, and renewed their labour; thus

relieving each other till an accident was very near putting an end to

their efforts at once. The planking which lines the inside of the ship’s

bottom is called the ceiling, and between this, and the outside

planking, there is a space of about eighteen inches: the man who till

this time had attended the well to take the depth of water, had taken it

only to the ceiling, and gave the measure accordingly; but he being now

relieved, the person who came in his stead, reckoned the depth to the

outside planking, by which it appeared in a few minutes to have gained

upon the pumps eighteen inches, the difference between the planking

without and within. Upon this, even the bravest was upon the point of

giving up his labour with his hope, and in a few minutes every thing

would have been involved in all the confusion of despair. But this

accident, however dreadful in its first consequences, was eventually the

cause of our preservation: the mistake was soon detected, and the sudden

joy which every man felt upon finding his situation better than his

fears had suggested, operated like a charm, and seemed to possess him

with a strong belief that scarcely any real danger remained. New

confidence and new hope, however founded, inspired new vigour; and

though our state was the same as when the men first began to slacken in

their labour, through weariness and despondency, they now renewed their

efforts with such alacrity and spirit, that before eight o’clock in the

morning the leak was so far from having gained upon the pumps, that the

pumps had gained considerably upon the leak. Every body now talked of

getting the ship into some harbour, as a thing not to be doubted, and as

hands could be spared from the pumps, they were employed in getting up

the anchors: the stream anchor and best bower we had taken on board; but

it was found impossible to save the little bower, and therefore it was

cut away at a whole cable: we lost also the cable of the stream anchor

among the rocks; but in our situation these were trifles which scarcely

attracted our notice. Our next business was to get up the fore-top-mast

and fore-yard, and warp the ship to the south-east, and at eleven,

having now a breeze from the sea, we once more got under sail and stood

for the land.

It was, however, impossible long to continue the labour by which the

pumps had been made to gain upon the leak; and as the exact situation of

it could not be discovered, we had no hope of stopping it within. In

this situation, Mr. Monkhouse, one of my midshipmen, came to me, and

proposed an expedient that he had once seen used on board a

merchant-ship, which sprung a leak that admitted above four feet water

an hour, and which, by this expedient, was brought safely from Virginia

to London; the master having such confidence in it, that he took her out

of harbour, knowing her condition, and did not think it worth while to

wait till the leak could be otherwise stopped. To this man, therefore,

the care of the expedient, which is called fothering the ship, was

immediately committed, four or five of the people being appointed to

assist him, and he performed it in this manner: he took a lower studding

sail, and having mixed together a large quantity of oakum and wool,

chopped pretty small, he stitched it down in handfuls upon the sail, as

lightly as possible, and over this he spread the dung of our sheep and

other filth; but horse-dung, if we had had it, would have been better.

When the sail was thus prepared, it was hauled under the ship’s bottom

by ropes, which kept it extended, and when it came under the leak, the

suction which carried in the water, carried in with it the oakum and

wool from the surface of the sail, which in other parts the water was

not sufficiently agitated to wash off. By the success of this expedient

our leak was so far reduced, that instead of gaining upon three pumps,

it was easily kept under with one. This was a new source of confidence

and comfort; the people could scarcely have expressed more joy if they

had been already in port; and their views were so far from being limited

to running the ship ashore in some harbour, either of an island or the

main, and building a vessel out of her materials to carry us to the East

Indies, which had so lately been the utmost object of our hope, that

nothing was now thought of but ranging along the shore in search of a

convenient place to repair the damage she had sustained, and then

prosecuting the voyage upon the same plan as if nothing had happened.

Upon this occasion I must observe, both in justice and gratitude to the

ship’s company, and the gentlemen on board, that although in the midst

of our distress every one seemed to have a just sense of his danger, yet

no passionate exclamations or frantic gestures were to be heard or seen;

every one appeared to have the perfect possession of his mind; and every

one exerted himself to the uttermost, with a quiet and patient

perseverance, equally distant from the tumultuous violence of terror,

and the gloomy inactivity of despair.

In the mean time, having light airs at E. S. E., we got up the

main-top-mast, and main-yard, and kept edging in for the land, till

about six o’clock in the evening, when we came to an anchor in seventeen

fathom water, at the distance of seven leagues from the shore, and one

from the ledge of rocks upon which we had struck.

This ledge or shoal lies in latitude 15° 45ʹ S., and between six and

seven leagues from the main. It is, not, however, the only shoal on this

part of the coast, especially to the northward; and at this time we saw

one to the southward, the tail of which we passed over, when we had

uneven soundings about two hours before we struck. A part of this shoal

is always above water, and has the appearance of white sand: a part also

of that upon which we had lain is dry at low water, and in that place

consists of sand stones; but all the rest of it is a coral rock.

While we lay at anchor for the night, we found that the ship made about

fifteen inches water an hour, from which no immediate danger was to be

apprehended; and at six o’clock in the morning, we weighed and stood to

the N. W., still edging in for the land with a gentle breeze at S. S. E.

At nine we passed close without two small islands that lie in latitude

15° 41ʹ S. and about four leagues from the main: to reach these islands

had, in the height of our distress, been the object of our hope, or

perhaps rather of our wishes, and therefore I called them HOPE ISLANDS.

At noon we were about three leagues from the land, and in latitude 15°

37ʹ S.; the northernmost part of the main in sight bore N. 30 W.; and

Hope Islands extended from S. 30 E. to S. 40 E. In this situation we had

twelve fathom water, and several sand-banks without us. At this time the

leak had not increased; but that we might be prepared for all events, we

got the sail ready for another fothering. In the afternoon, having a

gentle breeze at S. E. by E., I sent out the master with two boats, as

well to sound a-head of the ship, as to look out for a harbour where we

might repair our defects, and put the ship in a proper trim. At three

o’clock, we saw an opening that had the appearance of a harbour, and

stood off and on while the boats examined it; but they soon found that

there was not depth of water in it sufficient for the ship. When it was

near sunset, there being many shoals about us, we anchored in four

fathom, at the distance of about two miles from the shore, the land

extending from N. ½ E. to S. by E. ½ E. The pinnace was still out with

one of the mates; but at nine o’clock she returned, and reported, that

about two leagues to leeward she had discovered just such a harbour as

we wanted, in which there was a sufficient rise of water, and every

other convenience that could be desired, either for laying the ship

ashore, or heaving her down.

In consequence of this information, I weighed at six o’clock in the

morning, and having sent two boats a-head, to lie upon the shoals that

we saw in our way, we ran down to the place; but notwithstanding our

precaution, we were once in three fathom water. As soon as these shoals

were passed, I sent the boats to lie in the channel that led to the

harbour, and by this time it began to blow. It was happy for us that a

place of refuge was at hand; for we soon found that the ship would not

work, having twice missed stays: our situation, however, though it might

have been much worse, was not without danger; we were entangled among

shoals, and I had great reason to fear being driven to leeward, before

the boats could place themselves so as to prescribe our course. I

therefore anchored in four fathom, about a mile from the shore, and then

made the signal for the boats to come on board. When this was done, I

went myself and buoyed the channel, which I found very narrow; the

harbour also I found smaller than I expected, but most excellently

adapted to our purpose; and it is remarkable, that in the whole course

of our voyage we had seen no place which, in our present circumstances,

could have afforded us the same relief. At noon, our latitude was 15°

26ʹ S. During all the rest of this day, and the whole night, it blew too

fresh for us to venture from our anchor and run into the harbour; and

for our farther security, we got down the top-gallant yards, unbent the

mainsail and some of the small sails; got down the fore-top-gallant

mast, and the gib-boom, and sprit-sail, with a view to lighten the ship

forwards as much as possible, in order to come at her leak, which we

supposed to be somewhere in that part; for in all the joy of our

unexpected deliverance, we had not forgot that at this time there was

nothing but a lock of wool between us and destruction. The gale

continuing, we kept our station all the 15th. On the 16th, it was

somewhat more moderate; and about six o’clock in the morning, we hove

the cable short, with a design to get under sail, but were obliged to

desist, and veer it out again. It is remarkable that the sea-breeze,

which blew fresh when we anchored, continued to do so almost every day

while we stayed here; it was calm only while we were upon the rock,

except once; and even the gale that afterwards wafted us to the shore,

would then certainly have beaten us to pieces. In the evening of the

preceding day, we had observed a fire near the beach over against us;

and as it would be necessary for us to stay some time in this place, we

were not without hope of making an acquaintance with the people. We saw

more fires upon the hills to-day, and with our glasses discovered four

Indians going along the shore, who stopped and made two fires; but for

what purpose it was impossible we should guess.

The scurvy now began to make its appearance among us, with many

formidable symptoms. Our poor Indian, Tupia, who had some time before

complained that his gums were sore and swelled, and who had taken

plentifully of our lemon juice by the surgeon’s direction, had now livid

spots upon his legs, and other indubitable testimonies that the disease

had made a rapid progress, notwithstanding all our remedies, among which

the bark had been liberally administered. Mr. Green, our astronomer, was

also declining; and these, among other circumstances, embittered the

delay which prevented our going ashore.

In the morning of the 17th, though the wind was still fresh, we ventured

to weigh, and push in for the harbour; but in doing this we twice run

the ship aground: the first time she went off without any trouble, but

the second time she stuck fast. We now got down the fore-yard,

fore-top-masts, and booms, and taking them overboard, made a raft of

them alongside of the ship. The tide was happily rising, and about one

o’clock in the afternoon, she floated. We soon warped her into the

harbour, and having moored her along side of a steep beach to the south,

we got the anchors, cables, and all the hawsers on shore before night.

CHAP. IV.

TRANSACTIONS WHILE THE SHIP WAS REFITTING IN ENDEAVOUR RIVER; A

DESCRIPTION OF THE ADJACENT COUNTRY, ITS INHABITANTS, AND PRODUCTIONS.

IN the morning of Monday the 18th, a stage was made from the ship to the

shore, which was so bold that she floated at twenty feet distance: two

tents were also set up, one for the sick, and the other for stores and

provisions, which were landed in the course of the day. We also landed

all the empty water-casks, and part of the stores. As soon as the tent

for the sick was got ready for their reception, they were sent ashore to

the number of eight or nine, and the boat was dispatched to haul the

seine, in hopes of procuring some fish for their refreshment; but she

returned without success. In the mean time, I climbed one of the highest

hills among those that overlooked the harbour, which afforded by no

means a comfortable prospect: the low land near the river is wholly

over-run with mangroves, among which the salt-water flows every tide;

and the high land appeared to be every where stony and barren. In the

mean time Mr. Banks had also taken a walk up the country, and met with

the frames of several old Indian houses, and places where they had

dressed shell-fish; but they seemed not to have been frequented for some

months. Tupia, who had employed himself in angling, and lived entirely

upon what he caught, recovered in a surprising degree; but Mr. Green

still continued to be extremely ill.

The next morning I got the four remaining guns out of the hold, and

mounted them upon the quarter-deck; I also got a spare anchor and

anchor-stock ashore, and the remaining part of the stores and ballast

that were in the hold: set up the smith’s forge, and employed the

armourer and his mate to make nails and other necessaries for the repair

of the ship. In the afternoon, all the officers’ stores and the ground

tier of water were got out; so that nothing remained in the fore and

main hold, but the coals, and a small quantity of stone ballast. This

day Mr. Banks crossed the river to take a view of the country on the

other side: he found it consist principally of sand hills, where he saw

some Indian houses, which appeared to have been very lately inhabited.

In this walk, he met with vast flocks of pigeons and crows: of the

pigeons, which were exceedingly beautiful, he shot several; but the

crows, which were exactly like those in England, were so shy that he

could not get within reach of them.

On the 20th, we landed the powder, and got out the stone ballast and

wood, which brought the ship’s draught of water to eight feet ten inches

forward, and thirteen feet abaft; and this I thought, with the

difference that would be made by trimming the coals aft, would be

sufficient; for I found that the water rose and fell perpendicularly

eight feet at the spring-tides: but as soon as the coals were trimmed

from over the leak, we could hear the water rush in a little abaft the

foremast, about three feet from the keel: this determined me to clear

the hold entirely. This evening, Mr. Banks observed that in many parts

of the inlet there were large quantities of pumice stones, which lay at

a considerable distance above high-water mark; whither they might have

been carried either by the freshes or extraordinary high tides, for

there could be no doubt but that they came from the sea.

The next morning we went early to work, and by four o’clock in the

afternoon had got out all the coals, cast the moorings loose, and warped

the ship a little higher up the harbour, to a place which I thought most

convenient for laying her ashore, in order to stop the leak. Her draught

of water forward was now seven feet nine inches, and abaft thirteen feet

six inches. At eight o’clock, it being high-water, I hauled her bow

close ashore; but kept her stern afloat, because I was afraid of neiping

her; it was however necessary to lay the whole of her as near the ground

as possible.

At two o’clock in the morning of the 22d, the tide left her, and gave us

an opportunity to examine the leak, which we found to be at her floor

heads, a little before the starboard fore-chains. In this place the

rocks had made their way through four planks, and even into the timbers;

three more planks were much damaged, and the appearance of these

breaches was very extraordinary: there was not a splinter to be seen,

but all was as smooth, as if the whole had been cut away by an

instrument: the timbers in this place were happily very close, and if

they had not, it would have been absolutely impossible to have saved the

ship. But after all, her preservation depended upon a circumstance still

more remarkable: one of the holes, which was big enough to have sunk us,

if we had had eight pumps instead of four, and been able to keep them

incessantly going, was in great measure plugged up by a fragment of the

rock, which, after having made the wound, was left sticking in it; so

that the water which at first had gained upon our pumps, was what came

in at the interstices, between the stone and the edges of the hole that

received it. We found also several pieces of the fothering, which had

made their way between the timbers, and in a great measure stopped those

parts of the leak which the stone had left open. Upon further

examination, we found that, besides the leak, considerable damage had

been done to the bottom; great part of the sheathing was gone from under

the larboard bow; a considerable part of the false keel was also

wanting; and these indeed we had seen swim away in fragments from the

vessel, while she lay beating against the rock: the remainder of it was

in so shattered a condition that it had better have been gone; and the

fore-foot and main keel were also damaged, but not so as to produce any

immediate danger: what damage she might have received abaft could not

yet be exactly known, but we had reason to think it was not much, as but

little water made its way into her bottom, while the tide kept below the

leak which has already been described. By nine o’clock in the morning

the carpenters got to work upon her, while the smiths were busy in

making bolts and nails. In the mean time, some of the people were sent

on the other side of the water to shoot pigeons for the sick, who at

their return reported that they had seen an animal as large as a

grey-hound, of a slender make, a mouse colour, and extremely swift; they

discovered also many Indian houses, and a fine stream of fresh water.

The next morning, I sent a boat to haul the seine; but at noon it

returned with only three fish, and yet we saw them in plenty leaping

about the harbour. This day the carpenter finished the repairs that were

necessary on the starboard side; and at nine o’clock in the evening, we

heeled the ship the other way, and hauled her off about two feet for

fear of neiping. This day almost every body had seen the animal which

the pigeon-shooters had brought an account of the day before; and one of

the seamen, who had been rambling in the woods, told us at his return,

that he verily believed he had seen the devil: we naturally inquired in

what form he had appeared, and his answer was in so singular a style

that I shall set down his own words: “He was,” says John, “as large as a

one gallon keg, and very like it; he had horns and wings, yet he crept

so slowly through the grass, that if I had not been _afeard_ I might

have touched him.” This formidable apparition we afterwards discovered

to have been a batt; and the batts here must be acknowledged to have a

frightful appearance, for they are nearly black, and full as large as a

partridge; they have indeed no horns, but the fancy of a man who thought

he saw the devil, might easily supply that defect.

Early on the 24th, the carpenters began to repair the sheathing under

the larboard bow, where we found two planks cut about half through; and

in the mean time I sent a party of men, under the direction of Mr. Gore,

in search of refreshments for the sick: this party returned about noon,

with a few palm cabbages, and a bunch or two of wild plantain; the

plantains were the smallest I had ever seen, and the pulp, though it was

well tasted, was full of small stones. As I was walking this morning at

a little distance from the ship, I saw, myself, one of the animals which

had been so often described: it was of a light mouse colour, and in size

and shape very much resembling a greyhound; it had a long tail also,

which it carried like a greyhound; and I should have taken it for a wild

dog, if, instead of running, it had not leapt like a hare or deer: its

legs were said to be very slender, and the print of its foot to be like

that of a goat; but where I saw it, the grass was so high that the legs

were concealed, and the ground was too hard to receive the track. Mr.

Banks also had an imperfect view of this animal, and was of opinion that

its species was hitherto unknown.

After the ship was hauled ashore, all the water that came into her of

course went backwards; so that although she was dry forwards, she had

nine feet water abaft: as in this part therefore her bottom could not be

examined on the inside, I took the advantage of the tide being out this

evening to get the master and two of the men to go under her, and

examine her whole larboard side without. They found the sheathing gone

about the floor-heads abreast of the main-mast, and part of a plank a

little damaged; but all agreed that she had received no other material

injury. The loss of her sheathing alone was a great misfortune, as the

worm would now be let into her bottom, which might expose us to great

inconvenience and danger; but as I knew no remedy for the mischief but

heaving her down, which would be a work of immense labour and long time,

if practicable at all in our present situation, I was obliged to be

content. The carpenters however continued to work under her bottom in

the evening till they were prevented by the tide; the morning tide did

not ebb out far enough to permit them to work at all, for we had only

one tolerable high and low tide in four-and-twenty hours, as indeed we

had experienced when we lay upon the rock. The position of the ship,

which threw the water in her abaft, was very near depriving the world of

all the knowledge which Mr. Banks had endured so much labour, and so

many risks, to procure; for he had removed the curious collection of

plants which he had made during the whole voyage, into the bread-room,

which lies in the after-part of the ship, as a place of the greatest

security; and nobody having thought of the danger to which laying her

head so much higher than the stern would expose them, they were this day

found under water. Most of them however were, by indefatigable care and

attention, restored to a state of preservation, but some were entirely

spoilt and destroyed.

The 25th was employed in filling water and overhauling the rigging; and

at low water the carpenters finished the repairs under the larboard bow,

and every other place which the tide would permit them to come at: some

casks were then lashed under her bows to facilitate her floating; and at

night, when it was high water, we endeavoured to heave her off, but

without success, for some of the casks that were lashed to her gave way.

The morning of the 26th was employed in getting more casks ready for the

same purpose, and in the afternoon we lashed no less than eight and

thirty under the ship’s bottom, but to our great mortification these

also proved ineffectual, and we found ourselves reduced to the necessity

of waiting till the next spring-tide.

This day, some of our gentlemen who had made an excursion into the

woods, brought home the leaves of a plant, which was thought to be the

same that in the West Indies is called coccos; but upon trial, the roots

proved too acrid to be eaten; the leaves however were little inferior to

spinnage. In the place where these plants were gathered, grew plenty of

the cabbage trees which have occasionally been mentioned before, a kind

of wild plantain, the fruit of which was so full of stones as scarcely

to be eatable; another fruit was also found about the size of a small

golden pippin, but flatter, and of a deep purple colour: when first

gathered from the tree, it was very hard and disagreeable, but after

being kept a few days became soft, and tasted very much like an

indifferent damascene.

The next morning we began to move some of the weight from the after-part

of the ship forward, to ease her; in the mean time the armourer

continued to work at the forge, the carpenter was busy in calking the

ship, and the men employed in filling water and overhauling the rigging:

in the forenoon, I went myself in the pinnace up the harbour, and made

several hauls with the seine, but caught only between twenty and thirty

fish, which were given to the sick and convalescent.

On the 28th, Mr. Banks went with some of the seamen up the country, to

show them the plant which in the West Indies is called Indian kale, and

which served us for greens. Tupia had much meliorated the root of the

coccos, by giving them a long dressing in his country oven, but they

were so small that we did not think them an object for the ship. In

their walk they found one tree which had been notched for the

convenience of climbing it, in the same manner with those we had seen in

Botany Bay: they saw also many nests of white ants, which resemble those

of the East Indies, the most pernicious insects in the world. The nests

were of a pyramidical figure, from a few inches to six feet high, and

very much resembled the stones in England, which are said to be

monuments of the Druids. Mr. Gore, who was also this day four or five

miles up the country, reported that he had seen the footsteps of men,

and tracked animals of three or four different sorts, but had not been

fortunate enough to see either man or beast.

At two o’clock in the morning of the 29th, I observed, in conjunction

with Mr. Green, an emersion of Jupiter’s first satellite; the time here

was 2^h 18ʹ 53ʺ, which gave the longitude of this place 214° 42ʹ 30ʺ W.:

its latitude is 15° 26ʹ S. At break of day, I sent the boat out again

with the seine, and, in the afternoon, it returned with as much fish as

enabled me to give every man a pound and an half. One of my midshipmen,

an American, who was this day abroad with his gun, reported that he had

seen a wolf, exactly like those which he had been used to see in his own

country, and that he had shot at it, but did not kill it.

The next morning, encouraged by the success of the day before, I sent

the boat again to haul the seine, and another party to gather greens: I

sent also some of the young gentlemen to take a plan of the harbour, and

went myself upon a hill, which lies over the south point, to take a view

of the sea. At this time it was low water, and I saw with great concern,

innumerable sand banks and shoals lying all along the coast in every

direction. The innermost lay about three or four miles from the shore,

the outermost extended as far as I could see with my glass, and many of

them did but just rise above water. There was some appearance of a

passage to the northward, and I had no hope of getting clear but in that

direction, for, as the wind blows constantly from the S. E., it would

have been difficult, if not impossible, to return back to the southward.

Mr. Gore reported, that he had this day seen two animals like dogs, of a

straw colour, that they ran like a hare, and were about the same size.

In the afternoon, the people returned from hauling the seine, with still

better success than before, for I was now able to distribute two pounds

and an half to each man: the greens that had been gathered I ordered to

be boiled among the pease, and they made an excellent mess, which, with

two copious supplies of fish, afforded us unspeakable refreshment.

The next day, July the 1st, being Sunday, every body had liberty to go

ashore, except one from each mess, who were again sent out with the

seine. The seine was again equally successful, and the people who went

up the country gave an account of having seen several animals, though

none of them were to be caught. They saw a fire also about a mile up the

river, and Mr. Gore, the second lieutenant, picked up the husk of a

cocoa nut, which had been cast upon the beach, and was full of

barnacles: this probably might come from some island to windward,

perhaps from the Terra del Espirito Santo of Quiros, as we were now in

the latitude where it is said to lie. This day the thermometer in the

shade rose to 87, which was higher than it had been on any day since we

came upon this coast.

Early the next morning, I sent the master in the pinnace out of the

harbour, to sound about the shoals in the offing, and look for channel

to the northward: at this time we had a breeze from the land, which

continued till about nine o’clock, and was the first we had since our

coming into the river. At low water we lashed some empty casks under the

ship’s bows, having some hope that, as the tides were rising, she would

float the next high water. We still continued to fish with great

success, and at high water we again attempted to heave the ship off, but

our utmost efforts were still ineffectual.

The next day at noon, the master returned, and reported, that he had

found a passage out to sea between the shoals, and described its

situation. The shoals, he said, consisted of coral rocks, many of which

were dry at low water, and upon one of which he had been ashore. He

found here some cockles of so enormous a size, that one of them was more

than two men could eat, and a great variety of other shell-fish, of

which he brought us a plentiful supply: in the evening, he had also

landed in a bay about three leagues to the northward of our station,

where he disturbed some of the natives who were at supper: they all fled

with the greatest precipitation at his approach, leaving some fresh sea

eggs, and a fire ready kindled behind them, but there was neither house

nor hovel near the place. We observed, that although the shoals that lie

just within sight of the coast, abound with shell-fish, which may be

easily caught at low water; yet we saw no such shells about the fire

places on shore. This day an alligator was seen to swim about the ship

for some time, and at high water we made another effort to float her,

which happily succeeded: we found however that by lying so long with her

head a-ground, and her stern a-float, she had sprung a plank between

decks, a-breast of the main chains, so that it was become necessary to

lay her ashore again.

The next morning was employed in trimming her upon an even keel, and in

the afternoon, having warped her over, and waited for high water, we

laid her ashore on the sand bank on the south side of the river, for the

damage she had received already from the great descent of the ground,

made me afraid to lay her broadside to the shore in the same place from

which we had just floated her. I was now very desirous to make another

trial to come at her bottom, where the sheathing had been rubbed off,

but though she had scarcely four feet water under her, when the tide was

out, yet that part was not dry.

On the 5th, I got one of the carpenter’s crew, a man in whom I could

confide, to go down again to the ship’s bottom, and examine the place.

He reported, that three streaks of the sheathing, about eight feet long,

were wanting, and that the main plank had been a little rubbed; this

account perfectly agreed with the report of the master, and others, who

had been under her bottom before: I had the comfort however to find the

carpenter of opinion that this would be of little consequence, and

therefore the other damage being repaired, she was again floated at high

water, and moored along-side the beach, where the stores had been

deposited; we then went to work to take the stores on board, and put her

in a condition for the sea. This day, Mr. Banks crossed to the other

side of the harbour, where, as he walked along a sandy beach, he found

innumerable fruits, and many of them, such as no plants which he had

discovered in this country produced: among others were some cocoa nuts,

which Tupia said had been opened by a kind of crab, which from his

description we judged to be the same that the Dutch call _Bears Krabbe_,

and which we had not seen in these seas. All the vegetable substances

which he found in this place, were encrusted with marine productions,

and covered with barnacles; a sure sign that they must have come far by

sea, and, as the trade-wind blows right upon the shore, probably from

Terra del Espirito Santo, which has been mentioned already.

The next morning, Mr. Banks, with lieutenant Gore, and three men, set

out in a small boat up the river, with a view to spend two or three days

in an excursion, to examine the country, and kill some of the animals

which had been so often seen at a distance.

On the 7th, I sent the master again out to sound about the shoals, the

account which he had brought me of the channel being by no means

satisfactory; and we spent the remainder of this day, and the morning of

the next, in fishing, and other necessary occupations.

About four o’clock in the afternoon, Mr. Banks and his party returned,

and gave us an account of their expedition. Having proceeded about three

leagues among swamps and mangroves, they went up into the country, which

they found to differ but little from what they had seen before: they

pursued their course therefore up the river, which at length was

contracted into a narrow channel, and was bounded, not by swamps and

mangroves, but by steep banks, that were covered with trees of a most

beautiful verdure, among which was that which in the West Indies is

called Mohoe, or the bark-tree, the _hibiscus tiliaceus_; the land

within was in general low, and had a thick covering of long grass: the

soil seemed to be such as promised great fertility, to any who should

plant and improve it. In the course of the day, Tupia saw an animal,

which, by his description, Mr. Banks judged to be a wolf: they also saw

three other animals, but could neither catch nor kill one of them, and a

kind of bat, as large as a partridge, but this also eluded all their

diligence and skill. At night, they took up their lodging close to the

banks of the river, and made a fire, but the musquitos swarmed about

them in such numbers, that their quarters were almost untenable; they

followed them into the smoke, and almost into the fire, which, hot as

the climate was, they could better endure than the stings of these

insects, which were an intolerable torment. The fire, the flies, and the

want of a better bed than the ground, rendered the night extremely

uncomfortable, so that they passed it, not in sleep, but in restless

wishes for the return of day. With the first dawn they set out in search

of game, and in a walk of many miles, they saw four animals of the same

kind, two of which Mr. Banks’s greyhound fairly chased, but they threw

him out at a great distance, by leaping over the long thick grass, which

prevented his running: this animal was observed not to run upon four

legs, but to bound or hop forward upon two, like the _Jerbua_, or _Mus

Jaculus_. About noon, they returned to the boat, and again proceeded up

the river, which was soon contracted into a fresh-water brook, where,

however, the tide rose to a considerable height: as evening approached,

it became low water, and it was then so shallow that they were obliged

to get out of the boat and drag her along, till they could find a place

in which they might, with some hope of rest, pass the night. Such a

place at length offered, and while they were getting the things out of

the boat, they observed a smoke at the distance of about a furlong: as

they did not doubt but that some of the natives, with whom they had so

long and earnestly desired to become personally acquainted, were about

the fire, three of the party went immediately towards it, hoping that so

small a number would not put them to flight: when they came up to the

place, however, they found it deserted, and therefore they conjectured,

that before they had discovered the Indians, the Indians had discovered

them. They found the fire still burning, in the hollow of an old tree

that was become touch-wood, and several branches of trees newly broken

down, with which children appeared to have been playing: they observed

also many footsteps upon the sand, below high-water mark, which were

certain indications that the Indians had been recently upon the spot.

Several houses were found at a little distance, and some ovens dug in

the ground, in the same manner as those of Otaheite, in which victuals

appeared to have been dressed since the morning, and scattered about

them lay some shells of a kind of clamm, and some fragments of roots,

the refuse of the meal. After regretting their disappointment, they

repaired to their quarters, which was a broad sand-bank, under the

shelter of a bush. Their beds were plantain leaves, which they spread

upon the sand, and which were as soft as a mattress; their cloaks served

them for bed-clothes, and some bunches of grass for pillows: with these

accommodations they hoped to pass a better night than the last,

especially as, to their great comfort, not a musquito was to be seen.

Here then they lay down, and, such is the force of habit, they resigned

themselves to sleep, without once reflecting upon the probability and

danger of being found by the Indians in that situation. If this appears

strange, let us for a moment reflect, that every danger, and every

calamity, after a time, becomes familiar, and loses its effect upon the

mind. If it were possible that a man should first be made acquainted

with his mortality, or even with the inevitable debility and infirmities

of old age, when his understanding had arrived at its full strength, and

life was endeared by the enjoyments of youth, and vigour, and health,

with what an agony of terror and distress would the intelligence be

received? yet, being gradually acquainted with these mournful truths, by

insensible degrees, we scarce know when, they lose all their force, and

we think no more of the approach of old age and death, than these

wanderers of an unknown desert did of a less obvious and certain evil,

the approach of the native savages, at a time when they must have fallen

an easy prey to their malice or their fears. And it is remarkable, that

the greater part of those who have been condemned to suffer a violent

death, have slept the night immediately preceding their execution,

though there is perhaps no instance of a person accused of a capital

crime having slept the first night of his confinement. Thus is the evil

of life in some degree a remedy for itself, and though every man at

twenty deprecates fourscore, almost every man is as tenacious of life at

fourscore as at twenty; and if he does not suffer under any painful

disorder, loses as little of the comforts that remain by reflecting that

he is upon the brink of the grave, where the earth already crumbles

under his feet, as he did of the pleasures of his better days, when his

dissolution, though certain, was supposed to be at a distance.

Our travellers having slept, without once awaking, till the morning,

examined the river, and finding the tide favoured their return, and the

country promised nothing worthy of a farther search, they reimbarked in

their boat, and made the best of their way to the ship.

Soon after the arrival of this party, the master also returned, having

been seven leagues out to sea, and he was now of opinion that there was

no getting out where before he thought there had been a passage; his

expedition, however, was by no means without its advantage, for having

been a second time upon the rock where he had seen the large cockles, he

met with a great number of turtle, three of which he caught, that

together weighed seven hundred and ninety-one pounds, though he had no

better instrument than a boat-hook.

The next morning, therefore, I sent him out again, with proper

instruments for taking them, and Mr. Banks went with him, but the

success did not at all answer our expectations, for, by the

unaccountable conduct of the officer, not a single turtle was taken, nor

could he be persuaded to return: Mr. Banks, however, went ashore upon

the reef, where he saw several of the large cockles, and having

collected many shells, and marine productions, he returned at eleven

o’clock at night, in his own small boat, the master still continuing

with the large one upon the rock. In the afternoon, seven or eight of

the natives had appeared on the south side of the river, and two of them

came down to the sandy point, opposite to the ship; but upon seeing me

put off in a boat to speak with them, they all ran away with the

greatest precipitation.

As the master continued absent with the boat all night, I was forced to

send the second lieutenant for him, early the next morning in the yawl;

and soon after four of the natives appeared upon the sandy point, on the

north side of the river, having with them a small wooden canoe, with

out-riggers: they seemed for some time to be busily employed in striking

fish: some of our people were for going over to them in a boat, but this

I would by no means permit, repeated experience having convinced me that

it was more likely to prevent, than procure an interview. I was

determined to try what could be done by a contrary method, and

accordingly let them alone, without appearing to take the least notice

of them: this succeeded so well, that at length two of them came in the

canoe within a musket shot of the ship, and there talked a great deal in

a very loud tone: we understood nothing that they said, and therefore

could answer their harangue only by shouting, and making all the signs

of invitation and kindness that we could devise. During this conference,

they came insensibly nearer and nearer, holding up their lances, not in

a threatening manner, but as if to intimate that if we offered them any

injury, they had weapons to revenge it. When they were almost along-side

of us, we threw them some cloth, nails, beads, paper, and other trifles,

which they received without the least appearance of satisfaction: at

last, one of the people happened to throw them a small fish, at this

they expressed the greatest joy imaginable, and, intimating by signs,

that they would fetch their companions, immediately paddled away towards

the shore. In the mean time some of our people, and among them Tupia,

landed on the opposite side of the river: the canoe, with all the four

Indians, very soon returned to the ship, and came quite alongside,

without expressing any fear or distrust. We distributed some more

presents among them, and soon after they left us, and landed on the same

side of the river where our people had gone ashore: every man carried in

his hand two lances, and a stick, which is used in throwing them, and

advanced to the place where Tupia and the rest of our people were

sitting. Tupia soon prevailed upon them to lay down their arms, and come

forward without them: he then made signs that they should sit down by

him, with which they complied, and seemed to be under no apprehension or

constraint: several more of us then going ashore, they expressed some

jealousy lest we should get between them and their arms; we took care

however to show them that we had no such intention, and having joined

them, we made them some more presents, as a farther testimony of our

good-will, and our desire to obtain theirs. We continued together, with

the utmost cordiality, till dinner-time, and then giving them to

understand that we were going to eat, we invited them, by signs, to go

with us: this however they declined, and as soon as we left them, they

went away in their canoe. One of these men was somewhat above the middle

age, the other three were young; they were in general of the common

stature, but their limbs were remarkably small; their skin was of the

colour of wood-soot, or what would be called a dark chocolate colour;

their hair was black, but not woolly; it was short cropped, in some

lank, and in others curled. Dampier says, that the people whom he saw on

the western coast of this country, wanted two of their fore-teeth, but

these had no such defect: some part of their bodies had been painted

red, and the upper lip and breast of one of them was painted with

streaks of white, which he called _Carbanda_; their features were far

from disagreeable, their eyes were lively, and their teeth even and

white, their voices were soft and tunable, and they repeated many words

after us with great facility. In the night, Mr. Gore and the master

returned with the long-boat, and brought one turtle and a few

shell-fish. The yawl had been left upon the shoal with six men, to make

a farther trial for turtle.

The next morning, we had another visit from four of the natives; three

of them had been with us before, but the fourth was a stranger, whose

name, as we learnt from his companions who introduced him, was YAPARICO.

This gentleman was distinguished by an ornament of a very striking

appearance: it was the bone of a bird, nearly as thick as a man’s

finger, and five or six inches long, which he had thrust into a hole,

made in the gristle that divides the nostrils; of this we had seen one

instance, and only one, in New Zealand; but, upon examination, we found

that among all these people this part of the nose was perforated, to

receive an ornament of the same kind: they had also holes in their ears,

though nothing was then hanging to them, and had bracelets upon the

upper part of their arms, made of platted hair, so that, like the

inhabitants of Terra del Fuego, they seem to be fond of ornament, though

they are absolutely without apparel; and one of them, to whom I had

given part of an old shirt, instead of throwing it over any part of his

body, tied it as a fillet round his head. They brought with them a fish,

which they gave us, as we supposed, in return for the fish that we had

given them the day before. They seemed to be much pleased, and in no

haste to leave us, but seeing some of our gentlemen examine their canoe

with great curiosity and attention, they were alarmed, and jumping

immediately into it, paddled away without speaking a word.

About two the next morning, the yawl, which had been left upon the

shoal, returned with three turtles and a large skeat. As it seemed now

probable that this fishery might be prosecuted with advantage, I sent

her out again after breakfast, for a further supply. Soon after, three

Indians ventured down to Tupia’s tent, and were so well pleased with

their reception, that one of them went with the canoe to fetch two

others whom we had never seen: when he returned, he introduced the

strangers by name, a ceremony which, upon such occasions, was never

omitted. As they had received the fish that was thrown into their canoe,

when they first approached the ship, with so much pleasure, some fish

was offered to them now, and we were greatly surprised to see that it

was received with the greatest indifference: they made signs, however,

to some of the people, that they should dress it for them, which was

immediately done, but after eating a little of it, they threw the rest

to Mr. Banks’s dog. They staid with us all the forenoon, but would never

venture above twenty yards from their canoe. We now perceived that the

colour of their skin was not so dark as it appeared, what we had taken

for their complexion, being the effects of dirt and smoke, in which we

imagined, they contrived to sleep, notwithstanding the heat of the

climate, as the only means in their power to keep off the musquitos.

Among other things that we had given them when we first saw them, were

some medals, which we had hung round their necks by a ribband; and these

ribbands were so changed by smoke, that we could not easily distinguish

of what colour they had been: this incident led us more narrowly to

examine the colour of their skin. While these people were with us, we

saw two others on the point of land that lay on the opposite side of the

river, at the distance of about two hundred yards, and by our glasses

discovered them to be a woman and a boy; the woman, like the rest, being

stark naked. We observed, that all of them were remarkably clean-limbed,

and exceedingly active and nimble. One of these strangers had a necklace

of shells, very prettily made, and a bracelet upon his arm, formed of

several strings, so as to resemble what in England is called gymp: both

of them had a piece of bark tied over the forehead, and were disfigured

by the bone in the nose. We thought their language more harsh than that

of the Islanders in the South Sea, and they were continually repeating

the word _chercau_, which we imagined to be a term expressing

admiration, by the manner in which it was uttered: they also cried out,

when they saw any thing new, _cher, tut, tut, tut, tut!_ which probably

had a similar signification. Their canoe was not above ten feet long,

and very narrow, but it was fitted with an outrigger, much like those of

the islands, though in every respect very much inferior: when it was in

shallow water, they set it on with poles, and when in deep, they worked

it with paddles about four feet long: it contained just four people, so

that the people who visited us to-day went away at two turns. Their

lances were, like those that we had seen in Botany Bay, except that they

had but a single point, which in some of them was the sting of the ray,

and barbed with two or three sharp bones of the same fish: it was indeed

a most terrible weapon, and the instrument which they used in throwing

it, seemed to be formed with more art than any we had seen before. About

twelve o’clock next day, the yawl returned, with another turtle, and a

large sting-ray, and in the evening, was sent out again.

The next morning, two of the Indians came on board, but after a short

stay, went along the shore, and applied themselves with great diligence

to the striking of fish. Mr. Gore, who went out this day with his gun,

had the good fortune to kill one of the animals which had been so much

the subject of our speculation: an idea of it will best be conceived by

the cut, plate XX, without which, the most accurate verbal description

would answer very little purpose, as it has not similitude enough to any

animal already known, to admit of illustration by reference. In form, it

is most like the gerbua, which it also resembles in its motion, as has

been observed already, but it greatly differs in size, the gerbua not

being larger than a common rat, and this animal, when full grown, being

as big as a sheep: this individual was a young one, much under its full

growth, weighing only thirty-eight pounds. The head, neck, and

shoulders, are very small in proportion to the other parts of the body;

the tail is nearly as long as the body, thick near the rump, and

tapering towards the end: the fore-legs of this individual were only

eight inches long, and the hind-legs two and twenty: its progress is by

successive leaps or hops, of a great length, in an erect posture; the

fore-legs are kept bent close to the breast, and seemed to be of use

only for digging: the skin is covered with a short fur, of a dark mouse

or grey colour, excepting the head and ears, which bear a slight

resemblance to those of a hare. This animal is called by the natives

_Kanguroo_.

The next day, our kanguroo was dressed for dinner, and proved most

excellent meat; we might now indeed be said to fare sumptuously every

day, for we had turtle in great plenty, and we all agreed that they were

much better than any we had tasted in England, which we imputed to their

being eaten fresh from the sea, before their natural fat had been

wasted, or their juices changed by a diet and situation so different

from what the sea affords them, as garbage and a tub. Most of those that

we caught here, were of the kind called green turtle, and weighed from

two to three hundred weight, and when these were killed, they were

always found to be full of turtle grass, which our naturalists took to

be a kind of _conferva_: two of them were logger-heads, the flesh of

which was much less delicious, and in their stomachs nothing was to be

found but shells.

In the morning of the 16th, while the people were employed as usual in

getting the ship ready for the sea, I climbed one of the hills on the

north side of the river, from which I had an extensive view of the

inland country, and found it agreeably diversified by hills, vallies,

and large plains, which in many places were richly covered with wood.

This evening, we observed an emersion of Jupiter’s first satellite,

which gave 214° 53ʹ 45ʺ of longitude. The observation which was made on

the 29th of June gave 214° 42ʹ 30ʺ, the mean is 214° 48ʹ 7-½ʺ, the

longitude of this place west of Greenwich.

On the 17th, I sent the master and one of the mates in the pinnace to

look for a channel to the northward; and I went myself with Mr. Banks

and Dr. Solander into the woods on the other side of the water. Tupia,

who had been thither by himself, reported, that he had seen three

Indians who had given him some roots about as thick as a man’s finger,

in shape not much unlike a radish, and of a very agreeable taste. This

induced us to go over, hoping that we should be able to improve our

acquaintance with the natives; in a very little time we discovered four

of them in a canoe, who as soon as they saw us come ashore, and, though

they were all strangers, walked up to us, without any signs of suspicion

or fear. Two of these had necklaces of shells, which we could not

persuade them to part with for any thing we could give them: we

presented them, however, with some beads, and after a short stay they

departed. We attempted to follow them, hoping that they would conduct us

to some place where we should find more of them, and have an opportunity

of seeing their women; but they made us understand, by signs, that they

did not desire our company.

At eight o’clock the next morning, we were visited by several of the

natives, who were now become quite familiar. One of them, at our desire,

threw his lance, which was about eight feet long; it flew with a

swiftness and steadiness that surprised us, and though it was never more

than four feet from the ground, it entered deeply into a tree at fifty

paces’ distance. After this they ventured on board, where I left them,

to all appearance, much entertained, and went again with Mr. Banks to

take a view of the country; but chiefly to indulge an anxious curiosity,

by looking round us upon the sea, of which our wishes almost persuaded

us we had formed an idea more disadvantageous than the truth. After

having walked about seven or eight miles along the shore to the

northward, we ascended a very high hill, and were soon convinced that

the danger of our situation was at least equal to our apprehensions; for

in whatever direction we turned our eyes, we saw rocks and shoals

without number, and no passage out to sea but through the winding

channels between them, which could not be navigated without the last

degree of difficulty and danger. We returned therefore to the ship, not

in better spirits than when we left it: we found several natives still

on board, and we were told that the turtles, of which we had no less

than twelve upon the deck, had fixed their attention more than any thing

else in the ship.

On the 19th, in the morning, we were visited by ten of the natives, the

greater part from the other side of the river, where we saw six or seven

more, most of them women, and, like all the rest of the people we had

seen in this country, they were stark naked. Our guests brought with

them a greater number of lances than they had ever done before, and

having laid them up in a tree, they set a man and a boy to watch them:

the rest then came on board, and we soon perceived that they had

determined to get one of our turtle, which was probably as great a

dainty to them as to us. They first asked us by signs to give them one;

and being refused, they expressed, both by looks and gestures, great

disappointment and anger. At this time we happened to have no victuals

dressed, but I offered one of them some biscuit, which he snatched and

threw overboard with great disdain. One of them renewed his request to

Mr. Banks, and upon a refusal stamped with his foot, and pushed him from

him in a transport of resentment and indignation. Having applied by

turns to almost every person who appeared to have any command in the

ship, without success, they suddenly seized two of the turtles, and

dragged them towards the side of the ship where their canoe lay: our

people soon forced them out of their hands, and replaced them with the

rest. They would not however relinquish their enterprise, but made

several other attempts of the same kind, in all which being equally

disappointed, they suddenly leaped into their canoe in a rage, and began

to paddle towards the shore. At the same time, I went into the boat with

Mr. Banks and five or six of the ship’s crew, and we got ashore before

them, where many more of our people were already engaged in various

employments. As soon as they landed, they seized their arms, and before

we were aware of their design, they snatched a brand from under a

pitch-kettle which was boiling, and making a circuit to the windward of

the few things we had on shore, they set fire to the grass in their way,

with surprising quickness and dexterity: the grass, which was five or

six feet high, and as dry as stubble, burnt with amazing fury; and the

fire made a rapid progress towards a tent of Mr. Banks’s, which had been

set up for Tupia when he was sick, taking in its course a sow and pigs,

one of which it scorched to death. Mr. Banks leaped into a boat, and

fetched some people from on board, just time enough to save his tent, by

hauling it down upon the beach; but the smith’s forge, at least such

part of it as would burn, was consumed. While this was doing, the

Indians went to a place at some distance, where several of our people

were washing, and where our nets, among which was the seine, and a great

quantity of linen, were laid out to dry; here they again set fire to the

grass, entirely disregarding both threats and entreaties. We were

therefore obliged to discharge a musket, loaded with small shot, at one

of them, which drew blood at the distance of about forty yards, and thus

putting them to flight, we extinguished the fire at this place before it

had made much progress; but where the grass had been first kindled, it

spread into the woods to a great distance. As the Indians were still in

sight, I fired a musket, charged with ball, abreast of them among the

mangroves, to convince them that they were not yet out of our reach:

upon hearing the ball they quickened their pace, and we soon lost sight

of them. We thought they would now give us no more trouble; but soon

after we heard their voices in the woods, and perceived that they came

nearer and nearer. I set out, therefore, with Mr. Banks and three or

four more to meet them. When our parties came in sight of each other,

they halted; except one old man, who came forward to meet us: at length

he stopped, and having uttered some words, which we were very sorry we

could not understand, he went back to his companions, and the whole body

slowly retreated. We found means, however, to seize some of their darts,

and continued to follow them about a mile: we then sat down upon some

rocks, from which we could observe their motions, and they also sat down

at about an hundred yards’ distance. After a short time, the old man

again advanced towards us, carrying in his hand a lance without a point:

he stopped several times, at different distances, and spoke; we answered

by beckoning, and making such signs of amity as we could devise; upon

which the messenger of peace, as we supposed him to be, turned and spoke

aloud to his companions, who then set up their lances against a tree,

and advanced towards us in a friendly manner: when they came up, we

returned the darts or lances that we had taken from them, and we

perceived with great satisfaction that this rendered the reconciliation

complete. We found in this party four persons whom we had never seen

before, who as usual were introduced to us by name; but the man who had

been wounded in the attempt to burn our nets and linen, was not among

them; we knew, however, that he could not be dangerously hurt, by the

distance at which the shot reached him. We made all of them presents of

such trinkets as we had about us, and they walked back with us towards

the ship. As we went along, they told us, by signs, that they would not

set fire to the grass any more; and we distributed among them some

musket-balls, and endeavoured to make them understand their use and

effect. When they came abreast of the ship, they sat down, but could not

be prevailed upon to come on board; we therefore left them, and in about

two hours they went away, soon after which we perceived the woods on

fire at about two miles’ distance. If this accident had happened a very

little while sooner, the consequence might have been dreadful; for our

powder had been aboard but a few days, and the store-tent, with many

valuable things which it contained, had not been removed many hours. We

had no idea of the fury with which grass would burn in this hot climate,

nor consequently of the difficulty of extinguishing it; but we

determined, that if it should ever again be necessary for us to pitch

our tents in such a situation, our first measure should be to clear the

ground round us.

In the afternoon, we got every thing on board the ship, new birthed her,

and let her swing with the tide; and at night the master returned, with

the discouraging account that there was no passage for the ship to the

northward.

The next morning, at low water, I went and sounded and buoyed the bar,

the ship being now ready for sea. We saw no Indians this day, but all

the hills round us for many miles were on fire, which at night made a

most striking and beautiful appearance.

The 21st passed without our getting sight of any of the inhabitants, and

indeed without a single incident worth notice. On the 22d we killed a

turtle for the day’s provision, upon opening which we found a wooden

harpoon or turtle-peg, about as thick as a man’s finger, near fifteen

inches long, and bearded at the end, such as we had seen among the

natives, sticking through both shoulders: it appeared to have been

struck a considerable time, for the wound had perfectly healed up over

the weapon.

Early in the morning of the 23d I sent some people into the country to

gather a supply of the greens which have been before mentioned by the

name of Indian kale; one of them having straggled from the rest,

suddenly fell in with four Indians, three men and a boy, whom he did not

see till, by turning short in the wood, he found himself among them.

They had kindled a fire, and were broiling a bird of some kind, and part

of a kanguroo, the remainder of which, and a cockatoo, hung at a little

distance upon a tree. The man, being unarmed, was at first greatly

terrified; but he had the presence of mind not to run away, judging,

very rightly, that he was most likely to incur danger by appearing to

apprehend it; on the contrary, he went and sat down by them, and, with

an air of cheerfulness and good-humour, offered them his knife, the only

thing he had about him which he thought would be acceptable to them;

they received it, and having handed it from one to the other, they gave

it him again: he then made an offer to leave them, but this they seemed

not disposed to permit; still, however, he dissembled his fears, and sat

down again; they considered him with great attention and curiosity,

particularly his clothes, and then felt his hands and face, and

satisfied themselves that his body was of the same texture with their

own. They treated him with the greatest civility, and having kept him

about half an hour, they made signs that he might depart: he did not

wait for a second dismission, but when he left them, not taking the

direct way to the ship, they came from their fire and directed him, so

that they well knew whence he came.

In the mean time, Mr. Banks, having made an excursion on the other side

of the river to gather plants, found the greatest part of the cloth that

had been given to the Indians lying in a heap together, probably as

useless lumber, not worth carrying away; and perhaps, if he had sought

further, he might have found the other trinkets; for they seemed to set

very little very value upon any thing we had, except our turtle, which

was a commodity that we were least able to spare.

The blowing weather, which prevented our attempt to get out to sea,

still continuing, Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander went out again on the 24th

to see whether any new plant could be picked up: they traversed the

woods all day without success; but as they were returning through a deep

valley, the sides of which, though almost as perpendicular as a wall,

were covered with trees and bushes, they found lying upon the ground

several marking nuts, the _anacardium orientale_; these put them upon a

new scent, and they made a most diligent search after the tree that bore

them, which perhaps no European botanist ever saw; but to their great

mortification they could not find it: so that, after spending much time,

and cutting down four or five trees, they returned quite exhausted with

fatigue to the ship.

On the 25th, having made an excursion up the river, I found a canoe

belonging to our friends the Indians, whom we had not seen since the

affair of the turtle; they had left it tied to some mangroves, about a

mile distant from the ship, and I could see by their fires that they

were retired at least six miles directly inland.

As Mr. Banks was again gleaning the country for his Natural History, on

the 26th he had the good fortune to take an animal of the _Opossum_

tribe: it was a female, and with it he took two young ones: it was found

much to resemble the remarkable animal of the kind, which Mons. de

Buffon has described in his Natural History by the name of _Phalanger_,

but it was not the same. Mons. Buffon supposes this tribe to be peculiar

to America, but in this he is certainly mistaken; and, probably, as

Pallas has observed in his Zoology, the Phalanger itself is a native of

the East Indies, as the animal which was caught by Mr. Banks resembled

it in the extraordinary conformation of the feet, in which it differs

from animals of every other tribe.

On the 27th Mr. Gore shot a kanguroo, which, with the skin, entrails,

and head, weighed eighty-four pounds. Upon examination, however, we

found that this animal was not at its full growth, the innermost

grinders not being yet formed. We dressed it for dinner the next day,

but to our great disappointment, we found it had a much worse flavour

than that we had eaten before.

The wind continued in the same quarter, and with the same violence, till

five o’clock in the morning of the 29th, when it fell calm; soon after a

light breeze sprung up from the land, and it being about two hours’ ebb,

I sent a boat to see what water was upon the bar; in the mean time we

got the anchor up, and made all ready to put to sea. But when the boat

came back, the officer reported that there was only thirteen feet water

upon the bar, which was six inches less than the ship drew. We were

therefore obliged to come to, and the sea-breeze setting in again about

eight o’clock, we gave up all hope of sailing that day.

We had fresh gales at S. E., with hazy weather and rain, till two in the

morning of the 31st, when the weather being something more moderate, I

had thoughts of trying to warp the ship out of the harbour; but upon

going out myself first in the boat, I found it still blow too fresh for

the attempt. During all this time the pinnace and yawl continued to ply

the net and hook with tolerable success; sometimes taking a turtle, and

frequently bringing in from two to three hundred weight of fish.

On the 1st of August the carpenter examined the pumps, and, to our great

mortification, found them all in a state of decay, owing, as he said, to

the sap having been left in the wood; one of them was so rotten, as,

when hoisted up, to drop to pieces, and the rest were little better; so

that our chief trust was now in the soundness of our vessel, which

happily did not admit more than one inch of water in an hour.

At six o’clock in the morning of Friday, the 3d, we made another

unsuccessful attempt to warp the ship out of the harbour; but at five

o’clock in the morning of the 4th, our efforts had a better effect, and

about seven we got once more under sail, with a light air from the land,

which soon died away, and was followed by the sea-breezes from S. E. by

S., with which we stood off to sea E. by N., having the pinnace ahead,

which was ordered to keep sounding continually. The yawl had been sent

to the turtle bank, to take up the net which had been left there; but as

the wind freshened, we got out before her. A little before noon we

anchored in fifteen fathom water, with a sandy bottom; for I did not

think it safe to run in among the shoals till I had well viewed them at

low water from the mast-head, which might determine me which way to

steer; for, as yet, I was in doubt whether I should beat back to the

southward, round all the shoals, or seek a passage to the eastward or

the northward, all which at present appeared to be equally difficult and

dangerous. When we were at anchor, the harbour from which we sailed bore

S. 70 W., distant about five leagues; the northernmost point of the main

in sight, which I named CAPE BEDFORD, and which lies in latitude 15° 16ʹ

S., longitude 214° 45ʹ W., bore N. 20 W., distant three leagues and a

half; but to the N. E. of this cape we could see land which had the

appearance of two high islands: the turtle banks bore east, distant one

mile: our latitude, by observation, was 15° 32ʹ S., and our depth of

water in standing off from the land was from three and a half to fifteen

fathom.

CHAP. V.

DEPARTURE FROM ENDEAVOUR RIVER; A PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE HARBOUR

THERE, IN WHICH THE SHIP WAS REFITTED, THE ADJACENT COUNTRY, AND SEVERAL

ISLANDS NEAR THE COAST: THE RANGE FROM ENDEAVOUR RIVER TO THE NORTHERN

EXTREMITY OF THE COUNTRY, AND THE DANGERS OF THAT NAVIGATION.

TO the harbour which we had now left, I gave the name of ENDEAVOUR

RIVER. It is only a small bar harbour, or creek, which runs in a winding

channel three or four leagues inland, and at the head of which there is

a small brook of fresh water. There is not depth of water for shipping

above a mile within the bar, and at this distance only on the north

side, where the bank is so steep for near a quarter of a mile, that a

ship may lie afloat at low water, so near the shore as to reach it with

a stage, and the situation is extremely convenient for heaving down; but

at low water, the depth upon the bar is not more than nine or ten feet,

nor more than seventeen or eighteen at the height of the tide; the

difference between high and low water, at spring tides, being about nine

feet. At the new and full of the moon it is high water between nine and

ten o’clock. It must also be remembered, that this part of the coast is

so barricaded with shoals, as to make the harbour still more difficult

of access; the safest approach is from the southward, keeping the main

land close upon the board all the way. Its situation may always be found

by the latitude, which has been very accurately laid down. Over the

south point is some high land, but the north point is formed by a low

sandy beach, which extends about three miles to the northward, where the

land begins again to be high.

The chief refreshment that we procured here was turtle, but as they were

not to be had without going five leagues out to sea, and the weather was

frequently tempestuous, we did not abound with this dainty: what we

caught, as well as the fish, was always equally divided among us all by

weight, the meanest person on board having the same share as myself; and

I think every commander, in such a voyage as this, will find it his

interest to follow the same rule. In several parts of the sandy beaches,

and sand hills near the sea, we found purslain, and a kind of bean that

grows upon a stalk, which creeps along the ground: the purslain we found

very good when it was boiled, and the beans are not to be despised, for

we found them of great service to our sick: the best greens, however,

that could be procured here were the tops of the coccos, which have been

mentioned already, as known in the West Indies by the name of _Indian

kale_: these were, in our opinion, not much inferior to spinnage, which

in taste they somewhat resemble; the roots indeed are not good, but they

might probably be meliorated by proper cultivation. They are found here

chiefly in boggy ground. The few cabbage palms that we met with, were in

general small, and yielded so little cabbage, that they were not worth

seeking.

Besides the kanguroo, and the opossum, that have been already mentioned,

and a kind of polecat, there are wolves upon this part of the coast, if

we were not deceived by the tracks upon the ground, and several species

of serpents: some of the serpents are venemous, and some harmless. There

are no tame animals here except dogs, and of these we saw but two or

three, which frequently came about the tents, to pick up the scraps and

bones that happened to lie scattered near them. There does not indeed

seem to be many of any animal, except the kanguroo; we scarcely saw any

other above once, but this we met with almost every time we went into

the woods. Of land fowls we saw crows, kites, hawks, cockatoos of two

sorts, one white and the other black, a very beautiful kind of

loriquets, some parrots, pigeons of two or three sorts, and several

small birds not known in Europe. The water-fowls are herns, whistling

ducks, which perch, and, I believe, roost upon trees, wild geese,

curlieus, and a few others; but these do not abound. The face of the

country, which has been occasionally mentioned before, is agreeably

diversified by hill and valley, lawn and wood. The soil of the hills is

hard, dry, and stony, yet it produces coarse grass besides wood: the

soil of the plains and valleys is in some places sand, and in some clay;

in some also it is rocky and stony, like the hills; in general, however,

it is well clothed, and has at least the appearance of fertility. The

whole country, both hill and valley, wood and plain, abounds with

ant-hills, some of which are six or eight feet high, and twice as much

in circumference. The trees here are not of many sorts; the gum-tree,

which we found on the southern part of the coast, is the most common,

but here it is not so large: on each side of the river, through its

whole course, there are mangroves in great numbers, which in some places

extend a mile within the coast. The country is in all parts well

watered, there being several fine rivulets at a small distance from each

other, but none in the place where we lay, at least not during the time

we were there, which was the dry season; we were, however, well supplied

with water by springs, which were not far off.

In the afternoon of the 4th we had a gentle breeze at S. E. and clear

weather, but as I did not intend to sail till the morning, I sent all

the boats to the reef, to get what turtle and shell-fish they could. At

low water I went up to the mast-head, and took a view of the shoals,

which made a very threatening appearance: I could see several at a

remote distance, and part of many of them was above water. The sea

appeared most open to the north-east of the turtle reef, and I came to a

resolution to stretch out that way close upon a wind, because if we

should find no passage, we could always return the way we went. In the

evening the boats brought in a turtle, a sting-ray, and as many large

cockles as came to about a pound and a half a man, for in each of them

there was not less than two pounds of meat: in the night also we caught

several sharks, which, though not a dainty, were an acceptable increase

of our fresh provision.

In the morning I waited till half ebb before I weighed, because at that

time the shoals begin to appear, but the wind then blew so hard that I

was obliged to remain at anchor: in the afternoon, however, the gale

becoming more moderate, we got under sail, and stood out upon a wind N.

E. by E., leaving the turtle reef to windward, and having the pinnace

sounding a-head. We had not kept this course long, before we discovered

shoals before us, and upon both the bows; and at half an hour after

four, having run about eight miles, the pinnace made the signal for

shoal water, where we little expected it: upon this we tacked, and stood

on and off, while the pinnace stretched farther to the eastward, and

night approaching, I came to an anchor in twenty fathom water, with a

muddy bottom. Endeavour River then bore S. 52 W.; Cape Bedford W. by N.

½ N., distant five leagues; the northernmost land in sight, which had

the appearance of an island N.; and a shoal, a small sandy part of which

appeared above water, bore N. E., distant between two and three miles:

in standing off from turtle reef to this place, we had from fourteen to

twenty fathom water, but when the pinnace was about a mile farther to

the E. N. E. there was no more than four or five feet water, with rocky

ground; and yet this did not appear to us in the ship. In the morning of

the 6th we had a strong gale, so that instead of weighing, we were

obliged to veer away more cable, and strike our top-gallant yards. At

low water, myself, with several of the officers, kept a look-out at the

mast-head, to see if any passage could be discovered between the shoals,

but nothing was in view except breakers, extending from the S. round by

the E. as far as N. W., and out to sea beyond the reach of our sight;

these breakers, however, did not appear to be caused by one continued

shoal, but by several which lay detached from each other: on that which

lay farthest to the eastward the sea broke very high, which made me

think it was the outermost, for upon many of these within, the breakers

were inconsiderable, and from about half ebb to half flood, they were

not to be seen at all, which makes sailing among them still more

dangerous, especially as the shoals here consist principally of coral

rocks, which are as steep as a wall; upon some of them, however, and

generally at the north end, there are patches of sand, which are covered

only at high water, and which are to be discerned at some distance.

Being now convinced that there was no passage to sea, but through the

labyrinth formed by these shoals, I was altogether at a loss which way

to steer, when the weather should permit us to get under sail. It was

the master’s opinion, that we should beat back the way we came, but this

would have been an endless labour, as the wind blew strongly from that

quarter, almost without intermission; on the other hand, if no passage

could be found to the northward, we should be compelled to take that

measure at last. These anxious deliberations engaged us till eleven

o’clock at night, when the ship drove, and obliged us to veer away to a

cable and one-third, which brought her up; but in the morning, the gale

increasing, she drove again, and we therefore let go the small bower,

and veered away to a whole cable upon it, and two cables on the other

anchors, yet she still drove, though not so fast; we then got down

top-gallant masts, and struck the yards and top-masts close down, and at

last had the satisfaction to find that she rode. Cape Bedford now bore

W. S. W. distant three leagues and a half, and in this situation we had

shoals to the eastward, extending from the S. E. by S. to the N. N. W.,

the nearest of which was about two miles distant. As the gale continued,

with little remission, we rode till seven o’clock in the morning of the

10th, when, it being more moderate, we weighed, and stood in for the

land, having at length determined to seek a passage along the shore to

the northward, still keeping the boat ahead: during our run in we had

from nineteen to twelve fathom: after standing in about an hour, we

edged away for three small islands that lay N. N. E. ½ E., three leagues

from Cape Bedford, which the master had visited while we were in port.

At nine o’clock we were abreast of them, and between them and the main:

between us and the main there was another low island, which lies N. N.

W. four miles from the three islands; and in this channel we had

fourteen fathom water. The northernmost point of land in sight now bore

N. N. W. ½ W., distant about two leagues. Four or five leagues to the

north of this head-land we saw three islands, near which lay some that

were still smaller, and we could see the shoals and reefs without us,

extending to the northward, as far as these islands: between these reefs

and the head-land we directed our course, leaving to the eastward a

small island, which lies N. by E., distant four miles from the three

islands. At noon we were got between the head-land and the three

islands: from the head-land we were distant two leagues, and from the

islands four; our latitude, by observation, was 14° 51ʹ. We now thought

we saw a clear opening before us, and hoped that we were once more out

of danger; in this hope, however, we soon found ourselves disappointed,

and for that reason I called the head-land CAPE FLATTERY. It lies in

latitude 14° 56ʹ S., longitude 214° 43ʹ W., and is a lofty promontory,

making next the sea in two hills, which have a third behind them, with

low sandy ground on each side: it may however be still better known by

the three islands out at sea: the northernmost and largest lies about

five leagues from the cape, in the direction of N. N. E. From Cape

Flattery the land trends away N. W., and N. W. by W. We steered along

the shore N. W. by W. till one o’clock, for what we thought the open

channel, when the petty officer at the mast-head cried out that he saw

land ahead, extending quite round to the islands that lay without us,

and a large reef between us and them: upon this I ran up to the

mast-head myself, from whence I very plainly saw the reef, which was now

so far to windward, that we could not weather it, but the land ahead,

which he had supposed to be the main, appeared to me to be only a

cluster of small islands. As soon as I got down from the mast-head, the

master, and some others went up, who all insisted that the land ahead

was not islands, but the main, and to make their report still more

alarming, they said that they saw breakers all round us. In this dilemma

we hauled upon a wind in for the land, and made the signal for the boat

that was sounding ahead to come on board, but as she was far to leeward,

we were obliged to edge away to take her up, and soon after we came to

an anchor, under a point of the main, in somewhat less than five fathom,

and at about the distance of a mile from the shore. Cape Flattery now

bore S. E., distant three leagues and a half. As soon as the ship was at

anchor, I went ashore upon the point, which is high, and afforded me a

good view of the sea coast, trending away N. W. by W. eight or ten

leagues, which, the weather not being very clear, was as far as I could

see. Nine or ten small low islands, and some shoals, appeared off the

coast; I saw also some large shoals between the main and the three high

islands, without which I was clearly of opinion there were more islands,

and not any part of the main. Except the point I was now upon, which I

called POINT LOOK-OUT, and Cape Flattery, the main land, to the

northward of Cape Bedford, is low, and chequered with white sand and

green bushes, for ten or twelve miles inland, beyond which it rises to a

considerable height. To the northward of Point Look-out the coast

appeared to be shoal and flat for a considerable distance, which did not

encourage the hope that the channel we had hitherto found in with the

land would continue. Upon this point, which was narrow, and consisted of

the finest white sand we had ever seen, we discovered the footsteps of

people, and we saw also smoke and fire at a distance up the country.

In the evening I returned to the ship, and resolved the next morning to

visit one of the high islands in the offing, from the top of which, as

they lay five leagues out to sea, I hoped to discover more distinctly

the situation of the shoals, and the channel between them.

In the morning therefore of the 11th I set out in the pinnace,

accompanied by Mr. Banks, whose fortitude and curiosity made him a party

in every expedition, for the northernmost and largest of the three

islands, and at the same time I sent the master in the yawl to leeward,

to sound between the low islands and the main. In my way I passed over a

reef of coral rock and sand, which lies about two leagues from the

island, and I left another to leeward, which lies about three miles from

it: on the north part of the reef, to the leeward, there is a low sandy

island, with trees upon it; and upon the reef which we passed over, we

saw several turtle: we chased one or two, but having little time to

spare, and the wind blowing fresh, we did not take any.

About one o’clock we reached the island, and immediately ascended the

highest hill, with a mixture of hope and fear, proportioned to the

importance of our business, and the uncertainty of the event. When I

looked round, I discovered a reef of rocks lying between two and three

leagues without the islands, and extending in a line N. W. and S. E.

farther than I could see, upon which the sea broke in a dreadful surf;

this, however, made me think that there were no shoals beyond them, and

I conceived hopes of getting without these, as I perceived several

breaks or openings in the reef, and deep water between that and the

islands. I continued upon this hill till sunset, but the weather was so

hazy during the whole time, that I came down much disappointed. After

reflecting upon what I had seen, and comparing the intelligence I had

gained with what I expected, I determined to stay upon the island all

night, hoping that the morning might be clearer, and afford me a more

distinct and comprehensive view. We therefore took up our lodging under

the shelter of a bush which grew upon the beach, and at three in the

morning, having sent the pinnace with one of the mates whom I had

brought out with me, to sound between the island and the reefs, and

examine what appeared to be a channel through them, I climbed the hill a

second time, but to my great disappointment found the weather much more

hazy than it had been the day before. About noon the pinnace returned,

having been as far as the reef, and found between fifteen and

twenty-eight fathom of water; but it blew so hard, that the mate did not

dare to venture into one of the channels, which he said appeared to him

to be very narrow: this, however, did not discourage me, for I judged

from his description of the place he had been at, that he had seen it to

disadvantage. While I was busy in my survey, Mr. Banks was attentive to

his favourite pursuit, and picked up several plants which he had not

before seen. We found the island, which is visible at twelve leagues’

distance, to be about eight leagues in circumference, and in general

very rocky and barren. On the north-west side, however, there are some

sandy bays, and some low land, which is covered with long thin grass,

and trees of the same kind with those upon the main: this part also

abounded with lizards of a very large size, some of which we took. We

found also fresh water in two places: one was a running stream, but that

was a little brackish where I tasted it, which was close to the sea; the

other was a standing pool, close behind the sandy beach, and this was

perfectly sweet and good. Notwithstanding the distance of this island

from the main, we saw, to our great surprise, that it was sometimes

visited by the natives; for we found seven or eight frames of their

huts, and vast heaps of shells, the fish of which we supposed had been

their food. We observed that all these huts were built upon eminences,

and entirely exposed to the S. E., contrary to those which we had seen

upon the main; for they were all built either upon the side of a hill,

or under some bushes, which afforded them shelter from the wind. From

these huts, and their situation, we concluded that at some seasons of

the year the weather here is invariably calm and fine; for the

inhabitants have no boat which can navigate the sea to so great a

distance, in such weather as we had from the time of our first coming

upon the coast. As we saw no animals upon this place but lizards, I

called it LIZARD ISLAND. The other two high islands, which lie at the

distance of four or five miles from it, are comparatively small; and

near them lie three others smaller still, and low, with several shoals

or reefs, especially to the S. E.: there is, however, a clear passage

from Cape Flattery to these islands, and even quite to the outward

reefs, leaving Lizard Island to the north-west, and the others to the

south-east.

At two in the afternoon, there being no hope of clear weather, we set

out from Lizard Island to return to the ship, and in our way landed upon

the low sandy island with trees upon it, which we had remarked in our

going out. Upon this island we saw an incredible number of birds,

chiefly sea-fowl: we found also the nest of an eagle, with young ones,

which we killed; and the nest of some other bird, we knew not what, of a

most enormous size: it was built with sticks upon the ground, and was no

less than six-and-twenty feet in circumference, and two feet eight

inches high. We found, also, that this place had been visited by the

Indians, probably to eat turtle, many of which we saw upon the island,

and a great number of their shells, piled one upon another in different

places.

To this spot we gave the name of EAGLE ISLAND; and after leaving it, we

steered S. W. directly for the ship, sounding all the way, and we had

never less than eight fathom, nor more than fourteen, the same depth of

water that I had found between this and Lizard Island.

When I got on board, the master informed me that he had been down to the

low islands, between which and the main I had directed him to sound;

that he judged them to lie about three leagues from the main; that

without them he found from ten to fourteen fathom, and between them and

the main, seven; but that a flat, which ran two leagues out from the

main, made this channel narrow. Upon one of these low islands he slept,

and was ashore upon others; and he reported, that he saw every where

piles of turtle-shells, and fins hanging upon the trees in many places,

with the flesh upon them, so recent, that the boat’s crew ate of them:

he saw also two spots, clear of grass, which appeared to have been

lately dug up, and from the shape and size of them, he conjectured they

were graves.

After considering what I had seen myself; and the report of the master,

I was of opinion that the passage to leeward would be dangerous, and

that, by keeping in with the main, we should run the risk of being

locked in by the great reef, and at last be compelled to return back in

search of another passage, by which, or any other accident that should

cause the same delay, we should infallibly lose our passage to the East

Indies, and endanger the ruin of the voyage, as we had now but little

more than three months’ provisions on board at short allowance.

Having stated this opinion, and the facts and appearances upon which it

was founded, to the officers, it was unanimously agreed, that the best

thing we could do would be to quit the coast altogether, till we could

approach it with less danger.

In the morning, therefore, at break of day, we got under sail, and stood

out N. E. for the north-west end of Lizard Island, leaving Eagle Island

to windward, and some other islands and shoals to the leeward, and

having the pinnace a-head to ascertain the depth of water in every part

of our course. In this channel we had from nine to fourteen fathom. At

noon, the north-west end of Lizard Island bore E. S. E., distant one

mile; our latitude by observation was 14° 38ʹ, and our depth of water

fourteen fathom. We had a steady gale at S. E., and by two o’clock we

just fetched to windward of one of the channels or openings in the outer

reef, which I had seen from the island. We now tacked, and made a short

trip to the S. W., while the master in the pinnace examined the channel:

he soon made the signal for the ship to follow, and in a short time she

got safe out. As soon as we had got without the breakers, we had no

ground with one hundred and fifty fathom, and found a large sea rolling

in from the S. E., a certain sign that neither land nor shoals were near

us in that direction.

Our change of situation was now visible in every countenance, for it was

most sensibly felt in every breast: we had been little less than three

months entangled among shoals and rocks, that every moment threatened us

with destruction; frequently passing our nights at anchor within hearing

of the surge that broke over them; sometimes driving towards them even

while our anchors were out, and knowing that if by any accident, to

which an almost continual tempest exposed us, they should not hold, we

must in a few minutes inevitably perish. But now, after having sailed no

less than three hundred and sixty leagues, without once having a man out

of the chains heaving the lead, even for a minute, which perhaps never

happened to any other vessel, we found ourselves in an open sea, with

deep water; and enjoyed a flow of spirits, which was equally owing to

our late dangers and our present security: yet the very waves, which by

their swell convinced us that we had no rocks or shoals to fear,

convinced us also that we could not safely put the same confidence in

our vessel as before she had struck; for the blows she received from

them so widened her leaks, that she admitted no less than nine inches’

water an hour, which, considering the state of our pumps, and the

navigation that was still before us, would have been a subject of more

serious consideration to people whose danger had not so lately been so

much more imminent.

The passage or channel, through which we passed into the open sea beyond

the reef, lies in latitude 14° 32ʹ S., and may always be known by the

three high islands within it, which I have called the ISLANDS OF

DIRECTION, because by these a stranger may find a safe passage through

the reef quite to the main. The channel lies from Lizard Island N. E. ½

N., distant three leagues, and is about one third of a mile broad, and

not more in length. Lizard island, which is, as I have before observed,

the largest and the northernmost of the three, affords safe anchorage

under the north-west side, fresh water, and wood for fuel. The low

islands and shoals also which lie between it and the main abound with

turtle and fish, which may probably be caught in all seasons of the

year, except when the weather is very tempestuous; so that, all things

considered, there is not perhaps a better place for ships to refresh at

upon the whole coast than this island. And, before I dismiss it, I must

observe, that we found upon it, as well as upon the beach in and about

Endeavour River, bamboos, cocoa-nuts, pumice-stone, and the seeds of

plants which are not the produce of this country, and which it is

reasonable to suppose are brought from the eastward by the trade winds.

The islands which were discovered by Quiros, and called Australia del

Espiritu Santa, lie in this parallel; but how far to the eastward cannot

now be ascertained: in most charts they are placed in the same longitude

with this country, which, as appears by the account of his voyage that

has been published, he never saw; for that places his discoveries no

less than two-and-twenty degrees to the eastward of it.

As soon as we were without the reef, we brought to, and having hoisted

in the boats, we stood off and on upon a wind all night; for I was not

willing to run to leeward till I had a whole day before me. In the

morning, at daybreak, Lizard Island bore S. 15 E., distant ten leagues;

and we then made sail, and stood away N. N. W. ½ W. till nine o’clock,

when we stood N. W. ½ N., having the advantage of a fresh gale at S. E.

At noon, our latitude by observation was 13° 46ʹ S., and at this time we

had no land in sight. At six in the evening we shortened sail, and

brought the ship to, with her head to the N. E.; and at six in the

morning made sail, and steered west, in order to get within sight of the

land, that I might be sure not to overshoot the passage, if a passage

there was, between this land and New Guinea. At noon, our latitude by

observation was 13° 2ʹ S., longitude 216° W.; which was 1° 23ʹ W. of

Lizard Island: at this time we had no land in sight; but a little before

one o’clock we saw high land from the mast-head, bearing W. S. W. At

two, we saw more land to the N. W. of that we had seen before: it

appeared in hills, like islands; but we judged it to be a continuation

of the main land. About three, we discovered breakers between the land

and the ship, extending to the southward farther than we could see; but

to the north we thought we saw them terminate abreast of us. What we

took for the end of them in this direction, however, soon appeared to be

only an opening in the reef; for we presently saw them again, extending

northward beyond the reach of our sight. Upon this we hauled close upon

a wind, which was now at E. S. E., and we had scarcely trimmed our sails

before it came to E. by N., which was right upon the reef, and

consequently made our clearing it doubtful. At sunset the northernmost

part of it that was in sight bore from us N. by E., and was two or three

leagues distant; this however being the best tack to clear it, we kept

standing to the northward with all the sail we could set till midnight;

when, being afraid of standing too far in this direction, we tacked and

stood to the southward, our run from sunset to this time being six

leagues N. and N. by E. When we had stood about two miles S. S. E. it

fell calm; we had sounded several times during the night, but had no

bottom with one hundred and forty fathom, neither had we any ground now

with the same length of line; yet, about four in the morning, we plainly

heard the roaring of the surf, and at break of day saw it foaming to a

vast height, at not more than a mile’s distance. Our distress now

returned upon us with double force; the waves, which rolled in upon the

reef, carried us towards it very fast; we could reach no ground with an

anchor, and had not a breath of wind for the sail. In this dreadful

situation, no resource was left us but the boats; and to aggravate our

misfortune the pinnace was under repair: the long-boat and yawl,

however, were put into the water, and sent a-head to tow, which, by the

help of our sweeps abaft, got the ship’s head round to the northward;

which, if it could not prevent our destruction, might at least delay it.

But it was six o’clock before this was effected, and we were not then a

hundred yards from the rock upon which the same billow which washed the

side of the ship, broke to a tremendous height the very next time it

rose; so that between us and destruction there was only a dreary valley,

no wider than the base of one wave, and even now the sea under us was

unfathomable, at least no bottom was to be found with a hundred and

twenty fathom. During this scene of distress the carpenter had found

means to patch up the pinnace; so that she was hoisted out, and sent

a-head, in aid of the other boats, to tow; but all our efforts would

have been ineffectual, if, just at this crisis of our fate, a light air

of wind had not sprung up, so light, that at any other time we should

not have observed it, but which was enough to turn the scale in our

favour, and, in conjunction with the assistance, which was afforded us

by the boats, to give the ship a perceptible motion obliquely from the

reef. Our hopes now revived; but in less than ten minutes it was again a

dead calm, and the ship was again driven towards the breakers, which

were not now two hundred yards distant. The same light breeze, however,

returned before we had lost all the ground it had enabled us to gain,

and lasted about ten minutes more. During this time we discovered a

small opening in the reef, at about the distance of a quarter of a mile:

I immediately sent one of the mates to examine it, who reported that its

breadth was not more than the length of the ship, but that within it

there was smooth water: this discovery seemed to render our escape

possible, and that was all, by pushing the ship through the opening,

which was immediately attempted. It was uncertain, indeed, whether we

could reach it; but if we should succeed thus far, we made no doubt of

being able to get through: in this however we were disappointed, for

having reached it by the joint assistance of our boats and the breeze,

we found that in the mean time it had become high water, and to our

great surprise we met the tide of ebb rushing out of it like a

mill-stream. We gained, however, some advantage, though in a manner

directly contrary to our expectations; we found it impossible to go

through the opening, but the stream that prevented us, carried us out

about a quarter of a mile; it was too narrow for us to keep in it

longer; yet this tide of ebb so much assisted the boats, that by noon we

had got an offing of near two miles. We had, however, reason to despair

of deliverance, even if the breeze, which had now died away, should

revive, for we were still embayed in the reef; and the tide of ebb being

spent, the tide of flood, notwithstanding our utmost efforts, again

drove the ship into the bight. About this time, however, we saw another

opening, near a mile to the westward, which I immediately sent the first

lieutenant, Mr. Hicks, in the small boat to examine: in the mean time we

struggled hard with the flood, sometimes gaining a little, and sometimes

losing; but every man still did his duty, with as much calmness and

regularity as if no danger had been near. About two o’clock Mr. Hicks

returned, with an account that the opening was narrow and dangerous, but

that it might be passed: the possibility of passing it was sufficient

encouragement to make the attempt, for all danger was less imminent than

that of our present situation. A light breeze now sprung up at E. N. E.,

with which, by the help of our boats, and the very tide of flood that,

without an opening, would have been our destruction, we entered it, and

were hurried through with amazing rapidity, by a torrent that kept us

from driving against either side of the channel, which was not more than

a quarter of a mile in breadth. While we were shooting this gulf, our

soundings were from thirty to seven fathom, very irregular, and the

ground at bottom very foul.

As soon as we had got within the reef we anchored in nineteen fathom,

over a bottom of coral and shells. And now, such is the vicissitude of

life, we thought ourselves happy in having regained a situation, which

but two days before it was the utmost object of our hope to quit. Rocks

and shoals are always dangerous to the mariner, even where their

situation has been ascertained; they are more dangerous in seas which

have never before been navigated, and in this part of the globe they are

more dangerous than in any other; for here they are reefs of coral rock,

rising like a wall almost perpendicularly out of the unfathomable deep,

always overflowed at highwater, and at low water dry in many places; and

here the enormous waves of the vast Southern Ocean meeting with so

abrupt a resistance, break, with inconceivable violence, in a surf which

no rocks or storms in the northern hemisphere can produce. The danger of

navigating unknown parts of this ocean was now greatly increased by our

having a crazy ship, and being short of provisions and every other

necessary; yet the distinction of a first discoverer made us cheerfully

encounter every danger, and submit to every inconvenience; and we chose

rather to incur the censure of imprudence and temerity, which the idle

and voluptuous so liberally bestow upon unsuccessful fortitude and

perseverance, than leave a country which we had discovered unexplored,

and give colour to a charge of timidity and irresolution.

Having now congratulated ourselves upon getting within the reef,

notwithstanding we had so lately congratulated ourselves upon getting

without it, I resolved to keep the main land on board in my future route

to the northward, whatever the consequence might be; for if we had now

gone without the reef again, it might have carried us so far from the

coast as to prevent my being able to determine, whether this country

did, or did not join to New Guinea; a question which I was determined to

resolve from my first coming within sight of land. However, as I had

experienced the disadvantage of having a boat under repair, at a time

when it was possible I might want to use her, I determined to remain

fast at anchor, till the pinnace was perfectly refitted. As I had no

employment for the other boats, I sent them out in the morning to the

reef, to see what refreshments could be procured, and Mr. Banks, in his

little boat, accompanied by Dr. Solander, went with them. In this

situation I found the variation by amplitude and azimuth to be 4° 9ʹ E.;

and at noon, our latitude, by observation, was 12° 38ʹ S., and our

longitude 216° 45ʹ W. The main land extended from N. 66 W. to S. W. by

S., and the nearest part of it was distant about nine leagues. The

opening through which we had passed, I called PROVIDENTIAL CHANNEL; and

this bore E. N. E., distant ten or twelve miles: on the main land within

us was a lofty promontory, which I called CAPE WEYMOUTH; on the north

side of which is a bay, which I called WEYMOUTH BAY: they lie in

latitude 12° 42ʹ S., longitude 217° 15ʹ W. At four o’clock in the

afternoon the boats returned with two hundred and forty pounds of the

meat of shell-fish, chiefly of cockles, some of which were as much as

two men could move, and contained twenty pounds of good meat. Mr. Banks

also brought back many curious shells, and _Mollusca_; besides many

species of coral, among which was that called the _Tubipora musica_.

At six o’clock in the morning we got under sail, and stood away to the

N. W., having two boats a-head to direct us; our soundings were very

irregular, varying five or six fathom every cast, between ten and

twenty-seven. A little before noon, we passed a low sandy island, which

we left on our starboard side, at the distance of two miles. At noon our

latitude was 12° 28ʹ, and our distance from the main about four leagues:

it extended from S. by W. to N. 71 W., and some small islands from N. 40

W. to 54 W. Between us and the main were several shoals, and some

without us, besides the main or outermost reef, which we could see from

the mast head, stretching away to the N. E. At two in the afternoon, as

we were steering N. W. by N. we saw a large shoal right a-head,

extending three or four points upon each bow; upon this we hauled up N.

N. E. and N. E. by N. to get round the north point of it, which we

reached by four, and then edged away to the westward, and ran between

the north end of this shoal and another which lies two miles to the

northward of it, having a boat all the way a-head sounding; our depth of

water was still very irregular, from twenty-two to eight fathom. At half

an hour after six, we anchored in thirteen fathom: the northernmost of

the small islands seen at noon bore W. ½ S., distant three miles: these

islands are distinguished in the chart by the name of FORBES’S ISLANDS,

and lie about five leagues from the main, which here forms a high point

that we called BOLT HEAD, from which the land trends more westerly, and

is in that direction all low and sandy; to the southward it is high and

hilly, even near the sea.

At six in the morning we got again under sail, and steered for an island

which lay at a small distance from the main, and at this time bore from

us N. 40 W., distant about five leagues: our course was soon interrupted

by shoals; however, by the help of the boats, and a good look-out from

the top of the mast, we got into a fair channel that led us down to the

island, between a very large shoal on our starboard side, and several

small ones towards the main: in this channel we had from twenty to

thirty fathom water. Between eleven and twelve o’clock we hauled round

the north-east side of the island, leaving it between us and the main,

from which it is distant about seven or eight miles. This island is

about a league in circuit, and we saw upon it five of the natives, two

of whom had lances in their hands; they came down upon a point, and

having looked a little while at the ship, retired. To the N. W. of it

are several low islands and quays, which lie not far from the main; and

to the northward and eastward are several other islands and shoals; so

that we were now encompassed on every side: but having lately been

exposed to much greater danger, and rocks and shoals being grown

familiar, we looked at them comparatively with little concern. The main

land appeared to be low and barren, interspersed with large patches of

the very fine white sand which we had found upon Lizard Island and

different parts of the main. The boats had seen many turtle upon the

shoals which they passed, but it blew too hard for them to take any. At

noon our latitude, by observation was 12°, and our longitude 217° 25ʹ:

our depth of water was fourteen fathom; and our course and distance,

reduced to a straight line, was, between this time and the preceding

noon, N. 29 W. thirty-two miles.

The main land within the islands that have been just mentioned forms a

point, which I called CAPE GRENVILLE: it lies in latitude 11° 58ʹ,

longitude 217° 38ʹ; and between it and Bolt Head is a bay, which I

called TEMPLE BAY. At the distance of nine leagues from Cape Grenville,

in the direction of E. ½ N. lie some high islands, which I called SIR

CHARLES HARDY’S ISLES; and those which lie off the Cape I called

COCKBURN’S ISLES. Having lain by for the boats, which had got out of

their station, till about one o’clock, we then took the yawl in tow; and

the pinnace having got a-head, we filled, and stood N. by W. for some

small islands which lay in that direction; such at least they were in

appearance, but upon approaching them we perceived that they were joined

together by a large reef: upon this we edged away N. W. and left them on

our starboard hand; we steered between them and the islands that lay off

the main, having a clear passage, and from fifteen to twenty-three

fathom water. At four o’clock we discovered some low islands and rocks,

bearing W. N. W., and stood directly for them: at half an hour after six

we anchored on the north-east side of the northernmost of them, at one

mile distance, and in sixteen fathom. These islands lie N. W. four

leagues from Cape Grenville, and from the number of birds that I saw

upon them, I called them BIRD ISLES. A little before sun-set, we were in

sight of the main land, which appeared all very low and sandy, extending

as far to the northward as N. W. by N., some shoals, quays, and low

sandy isles stretching away to the N. E.

At six o’clock in the morning we got again under sail, with a fresh

breeze at E., and stood away N. N. W. for some low islands in that

direction, but were soon obliged to haul close upon a wind to weather a

shoal which we discovered upon our larboard bow, having, at the same

time, others to the eastward: by the time we had weathered this shoal to

leeward, we had brought the islands well upon our lee-bow, but, seeing

some shoals run off from them, and some rocks on our starboard bow,

which we did not discover till we were very near them, I was afraid to

go to windward of the islands, and therefore brought to, and having made

the signal for the pinnace, which was a-head, to come on board, I sent

her to leeward of the islands, with orders to keep along the edge of the

shoal, which ran off from the south side of the southernmost island,

sending the yawl at the same time to run over the shoal in search of

turtle. As soon as the pinnace had got to a proper distance, we wore,

and stood after her: as we ran to leeward of this island, we took the

yawl in tow, she having seen only one small turtle, and therefore made

but little stay upon the shoal. The island we found to be a small spot

of sand with some trees upon it, and we could discern many huts, or

habitations of the natives, whom we supposed occasionally to visit these

islands from the main, they being only five leagues distant, to catch

turtle when they come ashore to lay their eggs. We continued to stand

after the pinnace N. N. E., and N. by E. for two other low islands,

having two shoals without us, and one between us and the main. At noon

we were about four leagues from the main, which we saw extending to the

northward, as far as N. W. by N., all flat and sandy. Our latitude, by

observation, was 11° 23ʹ S., and our longitude 217° 46ʹ W., our

soundings were from fourteen to twenty-three fathom; but these, as well

as the shoals and islands, which are too numerous to be particularly

mentioned, will be best seen upon the chart. By one o’clock we had run

nearly the length of the southernmost of the two islands in sight, and

finding that the going to windward of them would carry us too far from

the main, we bore up and ran to leeward, where, finding a fair open

passage, we steered N. by W. in a direction parallel to the main,

leaving a small island which lay between it and the ship, and some low

sandy isles and shoals without us, of all which we lost sight by four

o’clock, and saw no more before the sun went down: at this time the

farthest part of the land in sight bore N. N. W. ½ W., and soon after we

anchored in thirteen fathom, upon soft ground, at the distance of about

five leagues from the land, where we lay till daylight.

Early in the morning we made sail again, and steered N. N. W. by

compass, for the northernmost land in sight; and at this time, we

observed the variation of the needle to be 3° 6ʹ E. At eight o’clock we

discovered shoals a-head, and on our larboard bow, and saw that the

northernmost land, which we had taken for the main, was detached from

it, and that we might pass between them, by running to leeward of the

shoals on our larboard bow, which were now near us: we therefore wore

and brought to, sending away the pinnace and yawl to direct us, and then

steered N. W. along the S. W. or inside of the shoals, keeping a good

look-out from the mast-head, and having another shoal on our larboard

side: we found, however, a good channel of a mile broad between them, in

which we had from ten to fourteen fathom. At eleven o’clock, we were

nearly the length of the land detached from the main, and there appeared

to be no obstruction in the passage between them; yet, having the

long-boat astern and rigged, we sent her away to keep in shore upon our

larboard bow, and at the same time dispatched the pinnace a starboard;

precautions which I thought necessary, as we had a strong flood that

carried us an end very fast, and it was near high water: as soon as the

boats were a-head, we stood after them, and by noon, got through the

passage. Our latitude, by observation, was then 10° 36ʹ and the nearest

part of the main, which we soon after found to be the northermost, bore

W. 2 S., distant between three or four miles: we found the land, which

was detached from the main, to be a single island, extending from N. to

N. 75 E., distant between two and three miles; at the same time we saw

other islands at a considerable distance, extending from N. by W. to W.

N. W., and behind them another chain of high land, which we judged also

to be islands; there were still other islands, extending as far as N. 71

W., which at this time we took for the main.