BOOK I.

TRANSACTIONS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE VOYAGE TILL OUR DEPARTURE FROM NEW ZEALAND.

CHAP. I.

VARIOUS PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE.—OMAI’S BEHAVIOUR ON EMBARKING.— OBSERVATIONS FOR DETERMINING THE LONGITUDE OF SHEERNESS, AND THE NORTH FORELAND.—PASSAGE OF THE RESOLUTION FROM DEPTFORD TO PLYMOUTH.— EMPLOYMENTS THERE.—COMPLEMENTS OF THE CREWS OF BOTH SHIPS, AND NAMES OF THE OFFICERS.—OBSERVATIONS TO FIX THE LONGITUDE OF PLYMOUTH.— DEPARTURE OF THE RESOLUTION.

Having, on the ninth day of February, 1776, received a commission to command his Majesty’s sloop the Resolution, I went on board the next day, hoisted the pendant, and began to enter men. At the same time, the Discovery, of three hundred tons’ burthen, was purchased into the service, and the command of her given to Captain Clerke, who had been my second Lieutenant on board the Resolution, in my second voyage round the world, from which we had lately returned.

These two ships were, at this time, in the dock at Deptford, under the hands of the shipwrights; being ordered to be equipped to make farther discoveries in the Pacific Ocean, under my direction.

On the 9th of March, the Resolution was hauled out of dock into the river; where we completed her rigging, and took on board the stores and provisions requisite for a voyage of such duration. Both ships, indeed, were supplied with as much of every necessary article as we could conveniently stow, and with the best of every kind that could be procured. And, besides this, every thing that had been found, by the experience acquired during our former extensive voyages, to be of any utility in preserving the health of seamen, was supplied in abundance.

It was our intention to have sailed to Long Reach on the 6th of May, when a pilot came on board to carry us thither; but it was the 29th before the wind would permit us to move; and the 30th before we arrived at that station, where our artillery, powder, shot, and other ordnance stores were received.

While we lay in Long Reach, thus employed, the Earl of Sandwich, Sir Hugh Palliser, and others of the Board of Admiralty, as the least mark of the very great attention they had all along shown to this equipment, paid us a visit on the 8th of June, to examine whether every thing had been completed conformably to their intentions and orders, and to the satisfaction of all who were to embark in the voyage.

They, and several other noblemen and gentlemen, their friends, honoured me with their company at dinner on that day; and, on their coming on board, and also on their going ashore, we saluted them with seventeen guns, and three cheers.

With the benevolent view of conveying some permanent benefit to the inhabitants of Otaheite, and of the other islands in the Pacific Ocean, whom we might happen to visit, his Majesty having commanded some useful animals to be carried out, we took on board, on the 10th, a bull, two cows with their calves, and some sheep, with hay and corn for their subsistence; intending to add to these, other useful animals, when I should arrive at the Cape of Good Hope.

I was also, from the same laudable motives, furnished with a sufficient quantity of such of our European garden seeds, as could not fail to be a valuable present to our newly-discovered islands, by adding fresh supplies of food to their own vegetable productions.

Many other articles, calculated to improve the condition of our friends in the other hemisphere in various ways, were, at the same time, delivered to us by order of the Board of Admiralty. And both ships were provided with a proper assortment of iron tools and trinkets, as the means of enabling us to traffic and to cultivate a friendly intercourse with the inhabitants of such new countries as we might be fortunate enough to meet with.

The same humane attention was extended to our own wants. Some additional clothing, adapted to a cold climate, was ordered for our crews: and nothing was denied to us, that could be supposed in the least conducive to health, or even to convenience.

Nor did the extraordinary care of those at the head of the naval department stop here. They were equally solicitous to afford us every assistance towards rendering our voyage of public utility. Accordingly, we received on board, next day, several astronomical and nautical instruments, which the Board of Longitude intrusted to me, and to Mr. King, my second lieutenant; we having engaged to that board to make all the necessary observations during the voyage, for the improvement of astronomy and navigation; and, by our joint labours, to supply the place of a professed observator. Such a person had been originally intended to be sent out in my ship.

The Board, likewise, put into our possession the same watch, or time-keeper, which I had carried out in my last voyage, and had performed its part so well. It was a copy of Mr. Harrison’s, constructed by Mr. Kendall. This day, at noon, it was found to be too slow for mean time at Greenwich, by 3ʹ, 31ʺ, 890; and by its rate of going, it lost on mean time, 1ʺ, 209 per day.

Another time-keeper, and the same number and sort of instruments for making observations, were put on board the Discovery, under the care of Mr. William Bailey; who, having already given satisfactory proofs of his skill and diligence as an observator, while employed in Captain Furneaux’s ship, during the late voyage, was engaged a second time, in that capacity, to embark with Captain Clerke.

Mr. Anderson, my surgeon, who, to skill in his immediate profession, added great proficiency in natural history, was as willing as he was qualified to describe every thing in that branch of science which should occur worthy of notice. As he had already visited the South Sea Islands in the same ship, and been of singular service, by enabling me to enrich my relation of that voyage with various useful remarks on men and things[75], I reasonably expected to derive considerable assistance from him in recording our new proceedings.

I had several young men amongst my sea-officers who, under my direction, could be usefully employed in constructing charts, in taking views of the coasts and headlands near which we should pass, and in drawing plans of the bays and harbours in which we should anchor. A constant attention to this I knew to be highly requisite, if we would render our discoveries profitable to future navigators.

And, that we might go out with every help that could serve to make the result of our voyage entertaining to the generality of readers, as well as instructive to the sailor and scholar, Mr. Webber was pitched upon, and engaged to embark with me, for the express purpose of supplying the unavoidable imperfections of written accounts, by enabling us to preserve, and to bring home, such drawings of the most memorable scenes of our transactions, as could only be executed by a professed and skilful artist.

Every preparation being now completed, I received an order to proceed to Plymouth, and to take the Discovery under my command. I accordingly gave Captain Clerke two orders; one to put himself under my command, and the other to carry his ship round to Plymouth.

On the 15th, the Resolution sailed from Long Reach, with the Discovery in company, and the same evening they anchored at the Nore. Next day the Discovery proceeded, in obedience to my order; but the Resolution was ordered to remain at the Nore till I should join her, being at this time in London.

As we were to touch at Otaheite and the Society Islands, in our way to the intended scene of our fresh operations, it had been determined not to omit this opportunity (the only one ever likely to happen) of carrying Omai back to his native country. Accordingly, every thing being ready for our departure, he and I set out together from London on the 24th, at six o’clock in the morning. We reached Chatham between ten and eleven o’clock; and after dining with Commissioner Proby, he very obligingly ordered his yacht to carry us to Sheerness, where my boat was waiting to take us on board.

Omai left London with a mixture of regret and satisfaction. When we talked about England, and about those who, during his stay, had honoured him with their protection or friendship, I could observe that his spirits were sensibly affected, and that it was with difficulty he could refrain from tears. But, the instant the conversation turned to his own islands, his eyes began to sparkle with joy. He was deeply impressed with a sense of the good treatment he had met with in England, and entertained the highest ideas of the country and of the people. But the pleasing prospect he now had before him of returning home, loaded with what he well knew would be esteemed invaluable treasures there, and the flattering hope which the possession of these gave him, of attaining to a distinguished superiority amongst his countrymen, were considerations which operated by degrees to suppress every uneasy sensation; and he seemed to be quite happy when he got on board the ship.

He was furnished, by his Majesty, with an ample provision of every article which, during our intercourse with his country, we had observed to be in any estimation there, either as useful or as ornamental. He had, besides, received many presents of the same nature from Lord Sandwich, Mr. Banks[76], and several other gentlemen and ladies of his acquaintance. In short, every method had been employed, both during his abode in England, and at his departure, to make him the instrument of conveying to the inhabitants of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, the most exalted opinion of the greatness and generosity of the British nation.

While the Resolution lay at the Nore, Mr. King made several observations for finding the longitude by the watch. The mean of them all gave O° 44ʹ Oʺ, for the longitude of the ship. This, reduced to Sheerness, by the bearing and estimated distance, will make that place to be O° 37ʹ Oʺ east of Greenwich; which is more by seven miles than Mr. Lyons made it, by the watch which Lord Mulgrave had with him, on his voyage towards the North Pole. Whoever knows any thing of the distance between Sheerness and Greenwich, will be a judge which of these two observations is nearest the truth.

The variation of the needle here, by a mean of different sets, taken with different compasses, was 20° 37ʹ west.

On the 25th, about noon, we weighed anchor, and made sail for the Downs, through the Queen’s Channel, with a gentle breeze at north-west by west. At nine in the evening we anchored, with the North Foreland bearing south by east, and Margate Point south-west by south.

Next morning, at two o’clock, we weighed and stood round the Foreland; and when it bore north, allowing for the variation of the compass, the watch gave 1° 24ʹ east longitude, which, reduced to the Foreland, will be 1° 21ʹ east. Lunar observations made the preceding evening, fixed it at 1° 20ʹ east. At eight o’clock the same morning, we anchored in the Downs. Two boats had been built for us at Deal, and I immediately sent on shore for them. I was told that many people had assembled there to see Omai; but to their great disappointment he did not land.

Having received the boats on board, and a light breeze at south south-east springing up, we got under sail the next day at two o’clock in the afternoon. But the breeze soon died away, and we were obliged to anchor again till ten o’clock at night. We then weighed, with the wind at east, and proceeded down the channel.

On the 30th, at three o’clock in the afternoon, we anchored in Plymouth Sound, where the Discovery had arrived only three days before. I saluted Admiral Amherst, whose flag was flying on board the Ocean, with thirteen guns, and he returned the compliment, with eleven.

It was the first object of our care, on arriving at Plymouth, to replace the water and provisions that we had expended, and to receive on board a supply of Port wine. This was the employment which occupied us on the 1st and 2d of July.

During our stay here, the crews were served with fresh beef every day: and I should not do justice to Mr. Ommanney, the agent-victualler, if I did not take this opportunity to mention, that he showed a very obliging readiness to furnish me with the best of every thing that lay within his department. I had been under the like obligations to him on my setting out upon my last voyage. Commissioner Ourry, with equal zeal for the service, gave us every assistance that we wanted from the naval yard.

It could not but occur to us as a singular and affecting circumstance, that at the very instant of our departure upon a voyage, the object of which was to benefit Europe by making fresh discoveries in North America, there should be the unhappy necessity of employing others of his Majesty’s ships, and of conveying numerous bodies of land forces, to secure the obedience of those parts of that continent which had been discovered and settled by our countrymen in the last century. On the 6th, his Majesty’s ships Diamond, Ambuscade, and Unicorn, with a fleet of transports, consisting of sixty-two sail, bound to America, with the last division of the Hessian troops, and some horse, were forced into the Sound by a strong north-west wind.

On the 8th, I received, by express, my instructions[77] for the voyage, and an order to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope with the Resolution. I was also directed to leave an order for Captain Clerke to follow us, as soon as he should join his ship; he being, at this time, detained in London.

Our first discoverers of the New World, and navigators of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, were justly thought to have exerted such uncommon abilities, and to have accomplished such perilous enterprises, that their names have been handed down to posterity as so many Argonauts. Nay, even the hulks of the ships that carried them, though not converted into constellations in the heavens, used to be honoured and visited as sacred relics upon earth. We, in the present age of improved navigation, who have been instructed by their labours, and have followed them as our guides, have no such claim to fame. Some merit, however, being still, in the public opinion, considered as due to those who sail to unexplored quarters of the globe, in conformity to this favourable judgment, I prefixed to the account of my last voyage the names of the officers of both my ships, and a table of the number of their respective crews. The like information will be expected from me at present.

The Resolution was fitted out with the same complement of officers and men she had before; and the Discovery’s establishment varied from that of the Adventure, in the single instance of her having no marine officer on board. This arrangement was to be finally completed at Plymouth; and, on the 9th, we received the party of marines allotted for our voyage. Colonel Bell, who commanded the division at this port, gave me such men for the detachment as I had reason to be satisfied with. And the supernumerary seamen, occasioned by this reinforcement, being turned over into the Ocean man-of-war, our several complements remained fixed, as represented in the following table:

+----------------------------------------------+-------------------------+ | RESOLUTION. | DISCOVERY. | +-------------------+-----+--------------------+----+--------------------+ |_Officers and Men._| N^o.| _Officers’ Names._ |N^o.| _Officers’ Names._ | +-------------------+-----+--------------------+----+--------------------+ | Captain | 1 | James Cook | 1 | Charles Clerke | | Lieutenants | 3 | John Gore | 2 | James Burney | | | | James King | | John Rickman | | | | John Williamson | | | | Master | 1 | William Bligh | 1 | Thomas Edgar | | Boatswain | 1 | William Ewin | 1 | Eneas Atkins | | Carpenter | 1 | James Clevely | 1 | Peter Reynolds | | Gunner | 1 | Robert Anderson | 1 | William Peckover | | Surgeon | 1 | William Anderson | 1 | John Law | | Master’s Mates | 3 | | 2 | | | Midshipmen | 6 | | 4 | | | Surgeon’s Mates | 2 | | 2 | | | Captain’s Clerk | 1 | | 1 | | | Master at Arms | 1 | | 1 | | | Corporal | 1 | | | | | Armourer | 1 | | 1 | | | Ditto Mate | 1 | | 1 | | | Sail Maker | 1 | | 1 | | | Ditto Mate | 1 | | 1 | | | Boatswain’s Mates | 3 | | 2 | | | Carpenter’s Ditto | 3 | | 2 | | | Gunner’s Ditto | 2 | | 1 | | | Carpenter’s Crew | 4 | | 4 | | | Cook | 1 | | 1 | | | Ditto Mate | 1 | | | | | Quarter Masters | 6 | | 4 | | | Able Seamen | 45 | | 33 | | | | | | | | | | | _Marines._ | | | | | | | | | | Lieutenant | 1 | Molesworth Philips | | | | Serjeant | 1 | | 1 | | | Corporals | 2 | | 1 | | | Drummer | 1 | | 1 | | | Privates | 15 | | 8 | | | |-----| |----| | | Total | 112 | | 80 | | +-------------------+-----+--------------------+----+--------------------+

On the 10th, the commissioner and pay-clerks came on board, and paid the officers and crew up to the 30th of last month. The petty officers and seamen had, besides, two months’ wages in advance. Such indulgence to the latter, is no more than what is customary in the navy. But the payment of what was due to the superior officers was humanely ordered by the Admiralty, in consideration of our peculiar situation, that we might be better able to defray the very great expense of furnishing ourselves with a stock of necessaries for a voyage which, probably, would be of unusual duration, and to regions where no supply could be expected.

Nothing now obstructing my departure but a contrary wind, which blew strong at south-west, in the morning of the 11th I delivered into the hands of Mr. Burney, first lieutenant of the Discovery, Captain Clerke’s sailing orders; a copy of which I also left with the officer[78] commanding his Majesty’s ships at Plymouth, to be delivered to the Captain immediately on his arrival. In the afternoon, the wind moderating, we weighed with the ebb, and got farther out, beyond all the shipping in the Sound; where, after making an unsuccessful attempt to get to sea, we were detained most of the following day, which was employed in receiving on board a supply of water; and, by the same vessel that brought it, all the empty casks were returned.

As I did not imagine my stay at Plymouth would have been so long as it proved, we did not get our instruments on shore to make the necessary observations for ascertaining the longitude by the watch. For the same reason, Mr. Baily did not set about this, till he found that the Discovery would probably be detained some days after us. He then placed his quadrant upon Drake’s Island; and had time, before the Resolution sailed, to make observations sufficient for the purpose we had in view. Our watch made the island to lie 4° 14ʹ, and his, 4° 13-1/2ʹ west of Greenwich. Its latitude, as found by Messrs. Wales and Baily, on the last voyage, is 50° 21ʹ 30ʺ north.

We weighed again at eight in the evening, and stood out of the Sound, with a gentle breeze at north-west by west.

CHAP. II.

PASSAGE OF THE RESOLUTION TO TENERIFFE.—RECEPTION THERE.—DESCRIPTION OF SANTA CRUZ ROAD.—REFRESHMENTS TO BE MET WITH.—OBSERVATIONS FOR FIXING THE LONGITUDE OF TENERIFFE.—SOME ACCOUNT OF THE ISLAND.—BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS.—CITIES OF SANTA CRUZ AND LAGUNA.—AGRICULTURE.—AIR AND CLIMATE.—COMMERCE.—INHABITANTS.

We had not been long out of Plymouth Sound, before the wind came more westerly, and blew fresh, so that we were obliged to ply down the Channel; and it was not till the 14th, at eight in the evening, that we were off the Lizard.

On the 16th, at noon, St. Agnes’s lighthouse on the Isles of Scilly, bore north-west by west, distant seven or eight miles. Our latitude was now 49° 53ʹ 30ʺ north, and our longitude, by the watch, 6° 11ʹ west. Hence, I reckon that St. Agnes’s light-house is in 49° 57ʹ 30ʺ north latitude, and in 6° 20ʹ of west longitude.

On the 17th[79] and 18th we were off Ushant, and found the longitude of the island to be, by the watch, 5° 18ʹ 37ʺ west. The variation was 23° 0ʹ 50ʺ, in the same direction.

With a strong gale at south, on the 19th, we stood to the westward, till eight o’clock in the morning; when, the wind shifting to the west and north-west, we tacked and stretched to the southward. At this time, we saw nine sail of large ships, which we judged to be French men-of-war. They took no particular notice of us, nor we of them.

At ten o’clock in the morning of the 22d, we saw Cape Ortegal; which at noon bore south-east, half south, about four leagues distant. At this time we were in the latitude of 44° 6ʹ north; and our longitude, by the watch, was 8° 23ʹ west.

After two days of calm weather we passed Cape Finisterre, on the afternoon of the 24th, with a fine gale at north north-east. The longitude of this Cape, by the watch, is 9° 29ʹ west; and, by the mean of forty-one lunar observations, made before and after we passed it, and reduced to it by the watch, the result was 9° 19ʹ 12ʺ.

On the 30th, at six minutes and thirty-eight seconds past ten o’clock at night, apparent time, I observed with a night-telescope, the moon totally eclipsed. By the _ephemeris_, the same happened at Greenwich at nine minutes past eleven o’clock: the difference being one hour, two minutes, and twenty-two seconds, or 15° 35ʹ 30ʺ of longitude. The watch, for the same time, gave 15° 26ʹ 45ʺ longitude west; and latitude 31° 10ʹ north. No other observation could be made on this eclipse, as the moon was hid behind the clouds the greater part of the time; and, in particular, when the beginning and end of total darkness, and the end of the eclipse, happened.

Finding that we had not hay and corn sufficient for the subsistence of the stock of animals on board, till our arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, I determined to touch at Teneriffe, to get a supply of these, and of the usual refreshments for ourselves; thinking that island, for such purposes, better adapted than Madeira. At four in the afternoon of the 31st, we saw Teneriffe, and steered for the eastern part. At nine, being near it, we hauled up, and stood off and on during the night.

At day-light, on the morning of the 1st of August, we sailed round the east Point of the island; and, about eight o’clock, anchored on the south-east side of it, in the road of Santa Cruz, in twenty-three fathoms water; the bottom, sand and owze. Punta de Nago, the east point of the road, bore north 64° east; St. Francis’s church, remarkable for its high steeple, west south-west; the Pic, south 65° west; and the south-west point of the road, on which stands a fort or castle, south 39° west. In this situation, we moored north-east and south-west, with a cable each way, being near half a mile from the shore.

We found, riding in this road, La Boussole, a French frigate, commanded by the _Chevalier de Borda_; two brigantines of the same nation; an English brigantine from London, bound to Senegal; and fourteen sail of Spanish vessels.

No sooner had we anchored, than we were visited by the master of the port, who satisfied himself with asking the ship’s name. Upon his leaving us, I sent an officer ashore to present my respects to the Governor; and to ask his leave to take in water, and to purchase such articles as we were in want of. All this he granted with the greatest politeness: and, soon after, sent an officer on board, to compliment me on my arrival. In the afternoon, I waited upon him in person, accompanied by some of my officers; and, before I returned to my ship, bespoke some corn and straw for the live stock; ordered a quantity of wine from Mr. M’Carrick, the contractor, and made an agreement with the master of a Spanish boat to supply us with water, as I found that we could not do it ourselves.

The road of Santa Cruz is situated before the town of the same name, on the south-east side of the island. It is, as I am told, the principal road of Teneriffe, for shelter, capacity, and the goodness of its bottom. It lies entirely open to the south-east and south winds. But these winds are never of long continuance; and, they say, there is not an instance[80] of a ship driving from her anchors on shore. This may, in part, be owing to the great care they take in mooring them: for I observed, that all the ships we met with there, had four anchors out; two to the north-east, and two to the south-west: and their cables buoyed up with casks. Ours suffered a little by not observing this last precaution.

At the south-west part of the road, a stone pier runs out into the sea from the town, for the convenience of loading and landing of goods. To this pier, the water that supplies the shipping is conveyed. This, as also what the inhabitants of Santa Cruz use, is derived from a rivulet that runs from the hills, the greatest part of which comes into the town in wooden spouts or troughs, that are supported by slender posts, and the remainder doth not reach the sea; though it is evident, from the size of the channel, that sometimes large torrents rush down. At this time these troughs were repairing, so that fresh water, which is very good here, was scarce.

Were we to judge from the appearance of the country in the neighbourhood of Santa Cruz, it might be concluded that Teneriffe is a barren spot, insufficient to maintain even its own inhabitants. The ample supplies, however, which we received, convinced us that they had enough to spare for visitors. Besides wine, which is the chief produce of the island, beef may be had at a moderate price. The oxen are small and boney, and weigh about ninety pounds a quarter. The meat is but lean, and was, at present, sold for half a bit (three-pence sterling) a pound. I, unadvisedly, bought the bullocks alive, and paid considerably more. Hogs, sheep, goats, and poultry, are likewise to be bought at the same moderate rate: and fruits are in great plenty. At this time we had grapes, figs, pears, mulberries, plantains, and musk-melons. There is a variety of other fruits produced here, though not in season at this time. Their pumpkins, onions, and potatoes, are exceedingly good of their kind, and keep better at sea than any I ever before met with.

The Indian corn, which is also their produce, cost me about three shillings and sixpence a bushel; and the fruits and roots were, in general, very cheap. They have not any plentiful supply of fish from the adjoining sea; but a very considerable fishery is carried on by their vessels upon the coast of Barbary; and the produce of it sells at a reasonable price. Upon the whole, I found Teneriffe to be a more eligible place than Madeira for ships bound on long voyages to touch at; though the wine of the latter, according to my taste, is as much superior to that of the former, as strong beer is to small. To compensate for this, the difference of prices is considerable; for the best Teneriffe wine was now sold for twelve pounds a pipe; whereas a pipe of the best Madeira would have cost considerably more than double that sum.[81]

The Chevalier de Borda, commander of the French frigate now lying in Santa Cruz road, was employed, in conjunction with Mr. Varila, a Spanish gentleman, in making astronomical observations for ascertaining the going of two time-keepers which they had on board their ship. For this purpose, they had a tent pitched on the pier head, where they made their observations, and compared their watches, every day at noon, with the clock on shore, by signals. These signals the Chevalier very obligingly communicated to us; so that we could compare our watch at the same time. But our stay was too short to profit much by his kindness.

The three days’ comparisons which we made, assured us that the watch had not materially, if at all, altered her rate of going; and gave us the same longitude, within a very few seconds, that was obtained by finding the time from observations of the sun’s altitude from the horizon of the sea. The watch, from a mean of these observations, on the 1st, 2d, and 3d of August, made the longitude 16° 31ʹ west; and, in like manner, the latitude was found to be 28° 30ʹ 11ʺ north.

Mr. Varila informed us, that the true longitude was 18° 35ʹ 30ʺ, from Paris, which is only 16° 16ʹ 30ʺ from Greenwich; less than what our watch gave by 14ʹ 30ʺ. But, far from looking upon this as an error in the watch, I rather think it a confirmation of its having gone well; and that the longitude by it may be nearer the truth than any other. It is farther confirmed by the lunar observations that we made in the road, which gave 16° 37ʹ 10ʺ. Those made before we arrived, and reduced to the road by the watch, gave 16° 33ʹ 30ʺ. And those made after we left it, and reduced back in the same manner, gave 16° 28ʹ. The mean of the three is 16° 30ʹ 40ʺ.

To reduce these several longitudes, and the latitude, to the Pic of Teneriffe, one of the most noted points of land with geographers (to obtain the true situation of which, I have entered into this particular discussion), I had recourse to the bearing, and a few hours of the ship’s run after leaving Santa Cruz road; and found it to be 12ʹ 11ʺ south of the road, and 29ʹ 30ʺ of longitude west of it. As the base, which helped to determine this, was partly estimated, it is liable to some error; but I think I cannot be much mistaken. Dr. Maskelyne, in his _British Mariner’s Guide_, places the Pic in the latitude of 28° 12ʹ 54ʺ. This, with the bearing from the road, will give the difference of longitude 43ʹ, which considerably exceeds the distance they reckon the Pic to be from Santa Cruz. I made the latitude of the Pic to be 28° 18ʹ north. Upon that supposition, its longitude will be as follows:

{ the time-keeper 17° 0ʹ 30ʺ } By { lunar observations 16° 30ʹ 20ʺ } west. { Mr. Varila 16° 46ʹ 0ʺ }

But if the latitude of it is 28° 12ʹ 54ʺ, as in the _British Mariner’s Guide_, its longitude will be 13ʹ 30ʺ more westerly.

The variation, when we were at anchor in the road, by the mean of all our compasses, was found to be 14° 41ʹ 20ʺ west. The dip of the north end of the needle was 61° 52ʹ 30ʺ.

Some of Mr. Anderson’s remarks on the natural appearances of Teneriffe, and its productions; and what he observed himself, or learnt by information, about the general state of the island, will be of use, particularly in marking what changes may have happened there since Mr. Glas visited it. They here follow in his own words:

“While we were standing in for the land, the weather being perfectly clear, we had an opportunity of seeing the celebrated Pic of Teneriffe. But, I own, I was much disappointed in my expectation with respect to its appearance. It is, certainly, far from equalling the noble figure of Pico, one of the western isles which I have seen; though its perpendicular height may be greater. This circumstance, perhaps, arises from its being surrounded by other very high hills; whereas Pico stands without a rival.

“Behind the city of Santa Cruz, the country rises gradually, and is of a moderate height. Beyond this, to the south westward, it becomes higher, and continues to rise towards the Pic, which, from the road, appears but little higher than the surrounding hills. From thence it seems to decrease, though not suddenly, as far as the eye can reach. From a supposition that we should not stay above one day, I was obliged to contract my excursions into the country; otherwise, I had proposed to visit the top of this famous mountain.[82]

“To the eastward of Santa Cruz, the island appears perfectly barren. Ridges of hills run towards the sea; between which ridges are deep valleys, terminating at mountains or hills that run across, and are higher than the former. Those that run towards the sea, are marked by impressions on their sides, which make them appear as a succession of conic hills, with their tops very rugged. The higher ones that run across, are more uniform in their appearance.

“In the forenoon of the 1st of August, after we had anchored in the road, I went on shore to one of these valleys, with an intention to reach the top of the remoter hills, which seemed covered with wood; but time would not allow me to get further than their foot. After walking about three miles, I found no alteration in the appearance of the lower hills; which produce great quantities of the _euphorbia Canariensis_. It is surprising that this large succulent plant should thrive on so burnt-up a soil. When broken, which is easily done, the quantity of juice is very great; and it might be supposed that, when dried, it would shrivel to nothing; yet it is a pretty tough, though soft and light wood. The people here believe its juice to be so caustic as to erode the skin[83]: but I convinced them, though with much difficulty, to the contrary, by trusting my finger into the plant full of it, without afterwards wiping it off. They break down the bushes of _euphorbia_, and suffering them to dry, carry them home for fuel. I met with nothing else growing there, but two or three small shrubs, and a few fig-trees near the bottom of the valley.

“The basis of the hills is a heavy, compact, blueish stone, mixed with some shining particles; and, on the surface, large masses of red friable earth, or stone, are scattered about. I also often found the same substance disposed in thick _strata_; and the little earth, strewed here and there, was a blackish mould. There were likewise some pieces of slag; one of which, from its weight and smooth surface, seemed almost wholly metalline.

“The mouldering state of these hills is, doubtless, owing to the perpetual action of the sun, which calcines their surface. This mouldered part being afterwards washed away by the heavy rains, perhaps is the cause of their sides being so uneven. For, as the different substances of which they are composed, are more or less easily affected by the sun’s heat, they will be carried away in the like proportions. Hence, perhaps, the tops of the hills, being of the hardest rock, have stood, while the other parts on a declivity have been destroyed. As I have usually observed, that the tops of most mountains that are covered with trees have a more uniform appearance, I am inclined to believe that this is owing to their being shaded.

“The city of Santa Cruz, though not large, is tolerably well built. The churches are not magnificent without; but within are decent, and indifferently ornamented. They are inferior to some of the churches at Madeira; but, I imagine, this rather arises from the different disposition of the people, than from their inability to support them better. For the private houses, and dress of the Spanish inhabitants of Santa Cruz, are far preferable to those of the Portuguese at Madeira; who, perhaps, are willing to strip themselves, that they may adorn their churches.

“Almost facing the stone pier at the landing-place, is a handsome marble column lately put up, ornamented with some human figures, that do no discredit to the artist; with an inscription in Spanish, to commemorate the occasion of the erection, and the date.

“In the afternoon of the 2d, four of us hired mules to ride to the city of Laguna[84], so called from an adjoining lake, about four miles from Santa Cruz. We arrived there between five and six in the evening; but found a sight of it very unable to compensate for our trouble, as the road was very bad, and the mules but indifferent. The place is, indeed, pretty extensive, but scarcely deserves to be dignified with the name of city. The disposition of its streets is very irregular; yet some of them are of a tolerable breadth, and have some good houses. In general, however, Laguna is inferior in appearance to Santa Cruz, though the latter is but small, if compared with the former. We were informed, likewise, that Laguna is declining fast; there being, at present, some vineyards where houses formerly stood; whereas Santa Cruz is encreasing daily.

“The road leading from Santa Cruz to Laguna runs up a steep hill, which is very barren; but, lower down, we saw some fig-trees, and several corn fields. These are but small, and not thrown into ridges, as is practised in England. Nor does it appear that they can raise any corn here without great labour, as the ground is so encumbered with stones, that they are obliged to collect and lay them in broad rows, or walls, at small distances. The large hills that run to the south-west, appeared to be pretty well furnished with trees. Nothing else worth noticing presented itself during this excursion, except a few aloe plants in flower, near the side of the road, and the cheerfulness of our guides, who amused us with songs by the way.

“Most of the laborious work in this island is performed by mules; horses being to appearance scarce, and chiefly reserved for the use of the officers. They are of a small size, but well-shaped and spirited. Oxen are also employed to drag their casks along upon a large clumsy piece of wood; and they are yoked by the head; though it doth not seem that this has any peculiar advantage over our method of fixing the harness on the shoulders. In my walks and excursions, I saw some hawks, parrots, which are natives of the island, the sea-swallow or tern, sea-gulls, partridges, wagtails, swallows, martins, blackbirds, and canary birds in large flocks. There are also lizards of the common, and another sort; some insects, as locusts; and three or four sorts of dragon-flies.

“I had an opportunity of conversing with a sensible and well-informed gentleman residing here, and whose veracity I have not the least reason to doubt. From him I learnt some particulars, which, during the short stay of three days, did not fall within my own observation. He informed me, that a shrub is common here, agreeing exactly with the description given by Tournefort and Linnæus, of the _tea shrub_, as growing in China and Japan. It is reckoned a weed, and he roots out thousands of them every year, from his vineyards. The Spaniards, however, of the island, sometimes use it as tea, and ascribe to it all the qualities of that imported from China. They also give it the name of tea; but what is remarkable, they say it was found here when the islands were first discovered.

“Another botanical curiosity, mentioned by him, is what they call the _impregnated lemon_.[85] It is a perfect and distinct lemon, inclosed within another, differing from the outer one only in being a little more globular. The leaves of the tree that produces this sort, are much longer than those of the common one; and it was represented to me as being crooked, and not equal in beauty.

“From him I learnt also, that a certain sort of grape growing here, is reckoned an excellent remedy in phthisical complaints. And the air and climate, in general, are remarkably healthful, and particularly adapted to give relief in such diseases. This he endeavoured to account for, by it’s being always in one’s power to procure a different temperature of the air, by residing at different heights in the island; and he expressed his surprise that the English physicians should never have thought of sending their consumptive patients to Teneriffe, instead of Nice or Lisbon. How much the temperature of the air varies here, I myself could sensibly perceive, only in riding from Santa Cruz up to Laguna; and you may ascend till the cold becomes intolerable. I was assured that no person can live comfortably within a mile of the perpendicular height of the Pic, after the month of August.[86]

“Although some smoke constantly issues from near the top of the Pic, they have had no earthquake or eruption of a volcano since 1704, when the port of Garrachica, where much of their trade was formerly carried on, was destroyed.[87]

“Their trade, indeed, must be considered as very considerable; for they reckon that forty thousand pipes of wine are annually made; the greatest part of which is either consumed in the island, or made into brandy, and sent to the Spanish West Indies.[88] About six thousand pipes were exported every year to North America, while the trade with it was uninterrupted; at present, they think not above half the quantity. The corn they raise is, in general, insufficient to maintain the inhabitants; but the deficiency used to be supplied by importation from the North Americans, who took their wines in return.

“They make a little silk; but unless we reckon the filtering-stones, brought in great numbers from Grand Canary, the wine is the only considerable article of the foreign commerce of Teneriffe.

“None of the race of inhabitants found here when the Spaniards discovered the Canaries now remain a distinct people[89], having intermarried with the Spanish settlers; but their descendants are known, from their being remarkably tall, large-boned, and strong. The men are, in general, of a tawny colour, and the women have a pale complexion, entirely destitute of that bloom which distinguishes our northern beauties. The Spanish custom of wearing black clothes continues amongst _them_; but the men seem more indifferent about this, and, in some measure, dress like the French. In other respects, we found the inhabitants of Teneriffe to be a decent and very civil people, retaining that grave cast which distinguishes those of their country from other European nations. Although we do not think that there is a great similarity between our manners and those of the Spaniards, it is worth observing, that Omai did not think there was much difference. He only said, that they seemed not so friendly as the English; and that, in their persons, they approached those of his countrymen.”

CHAP. III.

DEPARTURE FROM TENERIFFE.—DANGER OF THE SHIP NEAR BONAVISTA.—ISLE OF MAYO.—PORT PRAYA.—PRECAUTIONS AGAINST THE RAIN AND SULTRY WEATHER IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE EQUATOR.—POSITION OF THE COAST OF BRAZIL.— ARRIVAL AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.—TRANSACTIONS THERE.—JUNCTION OF THE DISCOVERY.—MR. ANDERSON’S JOURNEY UP THE COUNTRY.—ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS.—NAUTICAL REMARKS ON THE PASSAGE FROM ENGLAND TO THE CAPE, WITH REGARD TO THE CURRENTS AND THE VARIATION.

Having completed our water, and got on board every other thing we wanted at Teneriffe, we weighed anchor on the 4th of August, and proceeded on our voyage, with a fine gale at north-east.

At nine o’clock in the evening on the 10th[90], we saw the island of Bonavista bearing S., distant little more than a league; though, at this time, we thought ourselves much farther off; but this proved a mistake. For, after hauling to the east-ward till twelve o’clock, to clear the sunken rocks that lie about a league from the S. E. point of the island, we found ourselves, at that time, close upon them, and did but just weather the breakers. Our situation, for a few minutes, was very alarming. I did not choose to sound, as that might have heightened the danger without any possibility of lessening it. I make the N. end of the island of Bonavista to lie in the latitude of 16° 17ʹ N., and in the longitude of 22° 59ʹ W.

As soon as we were clear of the rocks, we steered S. S. W., till day-break next morning, and then hauled to the westward, to go between Bonavista and the isle of Mayo, intending to look into Port Praya for the Discovery, as I had told Captain Clerke that I should touch there, and did not know how soon he might sail after me. At one in the afternoon, we saw the rocks that lie on the S. W. side of Bonavista, bearing S. E., distant three or four leagues.

Next morning, at six o’clock, the isle of Mayo bore S. S. E., distant about five leagues. In this situation we sounded, and found ground at sixty fathoms. At the same time the variation, by the mean of several azimuths taken with three different compasses, was 9° 32-1/2ʹ W. At eleven o’clock, one extreme of Mayo bore E. by N., and the other S. E. by S. In this position, two roundish hills appeared near its N. E. part; farther on, a large and higher hill; and, at about two-thirds of its length, a single one that is peaked. At the distance we now saw this island, which was three or four miles, there was not the least appearance of vegetation, nor any relief to the eye from that lifeless brown which prevails in countries under the torrid zone that are unwooded.

Here I cannot help remarking that Mr. Nichelson, in his Preface to _Sundry Remarks and Observations made in a Voyage to the East Indies_[91], tells us, that “with eight degrees W. variation, or any thing above that, you may venture to sail by the Cape de Verde Islands night or day, being well assured, with that variation, that you are to the eastward of them.” Such an assertion might prove of dangerous consequence, were there any that would implicitly trust to it. We also tried the current, and found one setting S. W. by W., something more than half a mile an hour. We had reason to expect this, from the differences between the longitude given by the watch and dead reckoning, which, since our leaving Teneriffe, amounted to one degree.

While we were amongst these islands we had light breezes of wind, varying from the S. E. to E., and some calms. This shows that the Cape de Verde Islands, are either extensive enough to break the current of the trade-wind, or that they are situated just beyond its verge, in that space where the variable winds, found on getting near the line, begin. The first supposition, however, is the most probable, as Dampier[92] found the wind westerly here in the month of February; at which time the trade-wind is supposed to extend farthest towards the equinoctial. The weather was hot and sultry, with some rain; and, for the most part, a dull whiteness prevailed in the sky, that seems a medium between fog and clouds. In general, the tropical regions seldom enjoy that clear atmosphere observable where variable winds blow; nor does the sun shine with such brightness. This circumstance, however, seems an advantage; for otherwise, perhaps, the rays of the sun, being uninterrupted, would render the heat quite unsupportable. The nights are, nevertheless, often clear and serene.

At nine o’clock in the morning of the 13th, we arrived before Port Praya, in the island of St. Jago, where we saw two Dutch East India ships, and a small brigantine at anchor. As the Discovery was not there, and we had expended but little water in our passage from Teneriffe, I did not think proper to go in, but stood to the southward. Some altitudes of the sun were now taken, to ascertain the true time. The longitude by the watch, deduced therefrom, was 23° 48ʹ W.; the little island in the bay bore W. N. W., distant near three miles, which will make its longitude 23° 51ʹ. The same watch, on my late voyage, made the longitude to be 23° 30ʹ W.; and we observed the latitude to be 14° 53ʹ 30ʺ N.

The day after we left the Cape de Verde Islands, we lost the N. E. trade-wind; but did not get that which blows from the S. E. till the 30th, when we were in the latitude of 2° N., and in the twenty-fifth degree of W. longitude.

During this interval[93], the wind was mostly in the S. W. quarter. Sometimes it blew fresh, and in squalls; but for the most part a gentle breeze. The calms were few, and of short duration. Between the latitude of 12° and of 7° N., the weather was generally dark and gloomy, with frequent rains, which enabled us to save as much water as filled most of our empty casks.

These rains, and the close sultry weather accompanying them, too often bring on sickness in this passage. Every bad consequence, at least, is to be apprehended from them; and commanders of ships cannot be too much upon their guard, by purifying the air between decks with fires and smoke, and by obliging the people to dry their clothes at every opportunity. These precautions were constantly observed on board the Resolution[94] and Discovery; and we certainly profited by them, for we had now fewer sick than on either of my former voyages. We had, however, the mortification to find our ship exceedingly leaky in all her upper works. The hot and sultry weather we had just passed through, had opened her seams, which had been badly caulked at first, so wide, that they admitted the rain-water through as it fell. There was hardly a man that could lie dry in his bed; and the officers in the gun-room were all driven out of their cabins, by the water that came through the sides. The sails in the sail-room got wet; and before we had weather to dry them, many of them were much damaged, and a great expense of canvas and of time became necessary to make them in some degree serviceable. Having experienced the same defect in our sail-rooms on my late voyage, it had been represented to the yard-officers, who undertook to remove it. But it did not appear to me that any thing had been done to remedy the complaint. To repair these defects the caulkers were set to work, as soon as we got into fair settled weather, to caulk the decks and inside weather works of the ship; for I would not trust them over the sides while we were at sea.

On the first of September[95] we crossed the equator, in the longitude of 27° 38ʹ W., with a fine gale at S. E. by S.; and notwithstanding my apprehensions of falling in with the coast of Brazil in stretching to the S. W., I kept the ship a full point from the wind. However, I found my fears were ill grounded; for on drawing near that coast, we met with the wind more and more easterly; so that, by the time we were in the latitude of 10° S., we could make a south-easterly course good.

On the 8th we were in the latitude of 8° 57ʹ S.; which is a little to the southward of Cape St. Augustine, on the coast of Brazil. Our longitude, deduced from a very great number of lunar observations, was 34° 16ʹ W.; and by the watch 34° 47ʹ. The former is 1° 43ʹ, and the latter 2° 14ʹ more westerly than the island of Fernando de Noronha, the situation of which was pretty well determined during my late voyage.[96] Hence I concluded that we could not now be farther from the continent than twenty or thirty leagues at most; and perhaps not much less, as we neither had soundings, nor any other signs of land. Dr. Halley, however, in his voyage, published by Mr. Dalrymple, tells us[97], that _he made no more than one hundred and two miles, meridian distance, from the island_ [Fernando de Noronha] _to the coast of Brazil_; and seems to think that _currents could not be the whole cause_ of his making so little. But I rather think that he was mistaken, and that the currents had hurried him far to the westward of his intended course. This was, in some measure, confirmed by our own observations; for we had found, during three or four days preceding the 8th, that the currents set to the westward; and, during the last twenty-four hours, it had set strong to the northward, as we experienced a difference of twenty-nine miles between our observed latitude and that by dead reckoning. Upon the whole, till some better astronomical observations are made on shore on the eastern coast of Brazil, I shall conclude that its longitude is thirty-five degrees and a half, or thirty-six degrees west, at most.

We proceeded on our voyage, without meeting with any thing of note, till the 6th of October. Being then in the latitude of 35° 15ʹ S., longitude 7° 45ʹ W., we met with light airs and calms by turns, for three days successively. We had, for some days before, seen albatrosses, pintadoes, and other petrels; and here we saw three penguins, which occasioned us to sound; but we found no ground with a line of one hundred and fifty fathoms. We put a boat in the water, and shot a few birds; one of which was a black petrel, about the size of a crow, and, except as to the bill and feet, very like one. It had a few white feathers under the throat; and the under-side of the quill-feathers were of an ash-colour. All the other feathers were jet black, as also the bill and legs.

On the 8th, in the evening, one of those birds which sailors call noddies, settled on our rigging, and was caught. It was something larger than an English black-bird, and nearly as black, except the upper part of the head, which was white, looking as if it were powdered; the whitest feathers growing out from the base of the upper bill, from which they gradually assumed a darker colour, to about the middle of the upper part of the neck, where the white shade was lost in the black, without being divided by any line. It was web-footed; had black legs and a black bill, which was long, and not unlike that of a curlew. It is said these birds never fly far from land. We knew of none nearer the station we were in, than Gough’s or Richmond Island, from which our distance could not be less than one hundred leagues. But it must be observed that the Atlantic Ocean, to the southward of this latitude, has been but little frequented; so that there may be more islands there than we are acquainted with.

We frequently, in the night, saw those luminous marine animals mentioned and described in my first voyage.[98] Some of them seemed to be considerably larger than any I had before met with; and sometimes they were so numerous, that hundreds were visible at the same moment.

This calm weather was succeeded by a fresh gale from the N. W., which lasted two days. Then we had again variable light airs for about twenty-four hours; when the N. W. wind returned, and blew with such strength, that on the 17th we had sight of the Cape of Good Hope; and the next day anchored in Table Bay, in four fathoms water, with the church bearing S. W. 1/4 S., and Green Point N. W. 1/4 W.

As soon as we had received the usual visit from the master attendant and the surgeon, I sent an officer to wait on Baron Plettenberg, the governor; and, on his return, saluted the garrison with thirteen guns, which complement was returned with the same number.

We found in the bay two French East India ships; the one outward, and the other homeward bound. And two or three days before our arrival, another homeward bound ship of the same nation had parted from her cable, and been driven on shore at the head of the bay, where she was lost. The crew were saved; but the greatest part of the cargo shared the same fate with the ship, or (which amounted to the same) was plundered and stolen by the inhabitants, either out of the ship, or as it was driven or carried on shore. This is the account the French officers gave to me; and the Dutch themselves could not deny the fact. But, by way of excusing themselves from being guilty of a crime disgraceful to every civilised state, they endeavoured to lay the whole blame on the French captain, for not applying in time for a guard.

As soon as we had saluted, I went on shore, accompanied by some of my officers, and waited on the governor, the lieutenant-governor, the fiscal, and the commander of the troops. These gentlemen received me with the greatest civility; and the governor, in particular, promised me every assistance that the place afforded. At the same time I obtained his leave to set up our observatory on any spot I should think most convenient; to pitch tents for the sailmakers and coopers; and to bring the cattle on shore, to graze near our encampment. Before I returned on board, I ordered soft bread, fresh meat, and greens, to be provided, every day, for the ship’s company.

On the 22d, we set up the tents and observatory, and began to send the several articles out of the ship which I wanted on shore. This could not be done sooner, as the militia of the place were exercising on, or near the ground which we were to occupy.

The next day, we began to observe equal altitudes of the sun, in order to ascertain the rate of the watch, or, which is the same thing, to find whether it had altered its rate. These observations were continued every day, whenever the weather would permit, till the time of our departure drew near. But before this, the caulkers had been set to work to caulk the ship; and I had concerted measures with Messrs. Brandt and Chiron, for supplying both ships with such provisions as I should want. Bakers, likewise, had been ordered, immediately after our arrival, to bake such a quantity of bread as I thought would be requisite. As fast as the several articles destined for the Resolution were got ready, they were carried on board.

On the 26th, the French ship sailed for Europe, and by her, we sent letters to England. The next day, the Hampshire, East India ship, from Bencoolen, anchored in the bay, and saluted us with thirteen guns, which we returned with eleven.

Nothing remarkable happened till the evening of the 31st, when it came on to blow excessively hard at S. E., and continued for three days; during which time there was no communication between the ship and the shore. The Resolution was the only ship in the bay that rode out the gale without dragging her anchors. We felt its effects as sensibly on shore. Our tents and observatory were torn to pieces; and our astronomical quadrant narrowly escaped irreparable damage. On the 3d of November the storm ceased, and the next day we resumed our different employments.

On the 6th, the Hampshire India ship, sailed for England. In her I sent home an invalid, whom Captain Trimble was so obliging as to receive on board. I was afterwards sorry that I had not availed myself of this opportunity to part with two or three more of my crew, who were troubled with different complaints; but, at this time, there was some hope of their health being re-established.

In the morning of the 10th, the Discovery arrived in the bay. Captain Clerke informed me that he had sailed from Plymouth on the 1st of August, and should have been with us here a week sooner if the late gale of wind had not blown him off the coast. Upon the whole, he was seven days longer in his passage from England than we had been. He had the misfortune to lose one of his marines, by falling over-board; but there had been no other mortality amongst his people, and they now arrived well and healthy.

Captain Clerke having represented to me that his ship was in want of caulking; that no time might be lost in repairing this defect, next day I sent all my workmen on board her, having already completed this service on board the Resolution. I lent every other assistance to the captain to expedite his supply of provisions and water, having given him an order to receive on board as much of both articles as he could conveniently stow. I now found that the bakers had failed in baking the bread I had ordered for the Discovery. They pretended a want of flour; but the truth was, they were doubtful of her coming, and did not care to begin till they saw her at anchor in the bay.

I have before made mention of our getting our cattle on shore. The bull and two cows, with their calves, were sent to graze along with some other cattle; but I was advised to keep our sheep, sixteen in number, close to our tents, where they were penned up every night. During the night preceding the 14th, some dogs having got in amongst them, forced them out of the pen, killing four, and dispersing the rest. Six of them were recovered the next day; but the two rams, and two of the finest ewes in the whole flock, were amongst those missing. Baron Plettenberg being now in the country, I applied to the lieutenant-governor, Mr. Hemmy, and to the fiscal. Both these gentlemen promised to use their endeavours for the recovery of the lost sheep. The Dutch, we know, boast that the police at the Cape is so carefully executed, that it is hardly possible for a slave, with all his cunning and knowledge of the country, to effectuate his escape. Yet my sheep evaded all the vigilance of the fiscal’s officers and people. However, after much trouble and expence, by employing some of the meanest and lowest scoundrels in the place (who, to use the phrase of the person who recommended this method to me, would, for a ducatoon, cut their master’s throat, burn the house over his head, and bury him and the whole family in the ashes), I recovered them all but the two ewes. Of these I never could hear the least tidings: and I gave over all inquiry after them, when I was told, that since I had got the two rams, I might think myself very well off. One of these, however, was so much hurt by the dogs, that there was reason to believe he would never recover.

Mr. Hemmy very obligingly offered to make up this loss, by giving me a Spanish ram, out of some that he had sent for from Lisbon. But I declined the offer, under a persuasion that it would answer my purpose full as well, to take with me some of the Cape rams; the event proved, that I was under a mistake. This gentleman has taken some pains to introduce European sheep at the Cape; but his endeavours, as he told me, have been frustrated by the obstinacy of the country people, who hold their own breed in greater estimation, on account of their large tails, of the fat of which they sometimes make more money than of the whole carcass besides[99]; and think that the wool of European sheep will, by no means, make up for their deficiency in this respect. Indeed, I have heard some sensible men here make the same observation. And there seems to be foundation for it. For, admitting that European sheep were to produce wool of the same quality here as in Europe, which experience has shown not to be the case, the Dutch have not hands, at the Cape of Good Hope, to spare for the manufacturing even their own clothing. It is certain that, were it not for the continual importation of slaves, this settlement would be thinner of people than any other inhabited part of the world.

While the ships were getting ready for the prosecution of our voyage, some of our officers made an excursion to take a view of the neighbouring country. Mr. Anderson, my surgeon, who was one of the party, gave me the following relation of their proceedings[100]:

“On the 16th, in the forenoon, I set out in a waggon, with five more, to take a view of some part of the country. We crossed the large plain that lies to the eastward of the town, which is entirely a white sand, like that commonly found on beaches, and produces only heath, and other small plants of various sorts. At five in the afternoon we passed a large farm-house, with some corn-fields, and pretty considerable vineyards, situated beyond the plain, near the foot of some low hills, where the soil becomes worth cultivating. Between six and seven we arrived at Stellenbosh, the colony next to that of the Cape for its importance.

“The village does not consist of more than thirty houses, and stands at the foot of the range of lofty mountains, above twenty miles to the eastward of the Cape Town. The houses are neat; and, with the advantage of a rivulet which runs near, and the shelter of some large oaks, planted at its first settling, forms what may be called a rural prospect in this desert country. There are some vineyards and orchards about the place, which, from their thriving appearance, seem to indicate an excellent soil; though, perhaps, they owe much to climate, as the air here has an uncommon serenity.

“I employed the next day in searching for plants and insects about Stellenbosh, but had little success. Few plants are in flower here at this season, and insects but scarce. I examined the soil in several places, and found it to consist of yellowish clay, mixed with a good deal of sand. The sides of the low hills, which appear brown, seem to be constituted of a sort of stone marle.

“We left Stellenbosh next morning, and soon arrived at the house we had passed on Saturday; the owner of which, Mr. Cloeder, had sent us an invitation, the evening before, to visit him. This gentleman entertained us with the greatest hospitality, and in a manner very different from what we expected. He received us with music; and a band also played while we were at dinner; which, considering the situation of the place, might be reckoned elegant. He shewed us his wine-cellars, his orchards, and vineyards; all which, I must own, inspired me with a wish to know in what manner these industrious people could create such plenty in a spot where, I believe, no other European nation would have attempted to settle.

“In the afternoon we crossed the country, and passed a few plantations, one of which seemed very considerable, and was laid out in a taste somewhat different from any other we saw. In the evening we arrived at a farm-house, which is the first in the cultivated tract called the _Pearl_. We had, at the same time, a view of Drakenstein, the third colony of this country, which lies along by the foot of the lofty hills already mentioned, and contains several farms or plantations, not very extensive.

“I went, on the 19th in the forenoon, in quest of plants and insects, which I found almost as scarce as at Stellenbosh; but I met with more shrubs or small trees, naturally produced, in the valleys, than in any part of the country I had hitherto seen.

“In the afternoon, we went to see a stone of a remarkable size, called by the inhabitants the Tower of Babylon, or the Pearl Diamond.[101] It lies, or stands, upon the top of some low hills, at the foot of which our farm-house was situated; and though the road to it is neither very steep nor rugged, we were above an hour and a half in walking to it. It is of an oblong shape, rounded on the top, and lies nearly south and north. The east and west sides are steep, and almost perpendicular. The south end is likewise steep, and its greatest height is there; from whence it declines gently to the north part, by which we ascended to its top, and had an extensive view of the whole country.

“Its circumference, I think, must be at least half a mile; as it took us above half an hour to walk round it, including every allowance for the bad road, and stopping a little. At its highest part, which is the south end, comparing it with a known object, it seems to equal the dome of St. Paul’s church. It is one uninterrupted mass of stone, if we except some fissures, or rather impressions, not above three or four feet deep, and a vein which runs across near its north end. It is of that sort of stone called, by mineralogists, _Saxum conglutinatum_, and consists chiefly of pieces of coarse _quartz_ and _glimmer_, held together by a clayey cement. But the vein which crosses it, though of the same materials, is much compacter. This vein is not above a foot broad or thick; and its surface is cut into little squares or oblongs, disposed obliquely, which makes it look like the remains of some artificial work. But I could not observe whether it penetrated far into the large rock, or was only superficial. In descending, we found at its foot a very rich black mould; and on the sides of the hills, some trees of a considerable size, natives of the place, which are a species of _olea_.[102]

“In the morning on the 20th, we set out from the _Pearl_; and going a different road from that by which we came, passed through a country, wholly uncultivated, till we got to the _Tyger_ hills, when some tolerable corn-fields appeared. At noon, we stopped in a hollow for refreshment; but, in walking about here, were plagued with a vast number of musquitoes or sand-flies, which were the first I saw in the country. In the afternoon we set out again, and in the evening arrived at the Cape Town, tired with the jolting waggon.”

On the 23d, we got on board the observatory, clock, &c. By a mean of the several results of the equal altitudes of the sun, taken with the astronomical quadrant, the astronomical clock was found to lose on sidereal time, 1ʹ 8ʺ, 368 each day. The pendulum was kept at the same length as at Greenwich, where the daily loss of the clock on sidereal time, was 4ʺ.

The watch, by the mean of the results of fifteen days’ observations, was found to be losing 2ʺ 261, on mean time, each day; which is 1ʺ 052 more than at Greenwich: and on the 21st, at noon, she was too slow for mean time by 1^h 20ʹ 57ʺ 66. From this, 6ʹ 48ʺ, 956, is to be subtracted, for what she was too slow on the 11th of June at Greenwich, and her daily rate since; and the remainder, viz. 1^h 14ʹ 08ʺ 704, or 18° 32ʹ 10ʺ, will be the longitude of the Cape Town by the watch. Its true longitude, as found by Messrs. Mason and Dixon, is 18° 23ʹ 15ʺ. As our observations were made about half a mile to the east of theirs, the error of the watch, in longitude, is no more than 8ʹ 25ʺ. Hence we have reason to conclude, that she had gone well all the way from England, and that the longitude, thus given, may be nearer the truth than any other.

If this be admitted, it will, in a great measure, enable me to find the direction and strength of the currents we met with on this passage from England. For, by comparing the latitude and longitude by dead reckoning, with those by observation and the watch, we shall from time to time, have, very accurately, the error of the ship’s reckoning, be the cause what it will. But as all imaginable care was taken in having and keeping the log, and every necessary allowance made for lee-way, heave of the sea, and other such circumstances, I cannot attribute those errors that did happen, to any other cause but currents; but more particularly when the error was constantly the same way, for several days successively.

On the contrary, if we find the ship ahead of the reckoning on one day, and astern of it on another, we have reason to believe that such errors are owing to accidental causes, and not to currents. This seems to have been the case in our passage between England and Teneriffe. But, from the time of our leaving that island, till the 15th of August, being then in the latitude of 12° N., and longitude 24° W., the ship was carried 1° 20ʹ of longitude to the westward of her reckoning. At this station, the currents took a contrary direction, and set to E. S. E., at the rate of twelve or fourteen miles a day, or twenty-four hours, till we arrived into the latitude of 5° N., and longitude of 20° W.; which was our most easterly situation after leaving the Cape de Verde Islands, till we got to the southward. For in this situation the wind came southerly, and we tacked and stretched to the westward; and for two or three days could not find that our reckoning was affected by any current. So that, I judged, we were between the current that generally, if not constantly, sets to the east upon the coast of Guinea, and that which sets to the west towards the coast of Brasil.

This westerly current was not considerable till we got into 2° N., and 25° W. From this station, to 3° S. and 30° W., the ship, in the space of four days, was carried one hundred and fifteen miles in the direction of S. W. by W., beyond her reckoning; an error by far too great to have any other cause but a strong current running in the same direction. Nor did its strength abate here; but its course was, afterward, more westerly, and to the N. of W.; and off Cape Augustine, north, as I have already mentioned. But this northerly current did not exist at twenty or thirty leagues to the southward of that Cape, nor any other, that I could perceive, in the remaining part of the passage. The little difference we afterward found between the reckoning and observations, might very well happen without the assistance of currents; as will appear by the Table of Days’ Works.

In the account of my last voyage[103], I remarked, that the currents one meets with in this passage generally balance each other. It happened so then; because we crossed the line about 20° more to the eastward than we did now; so that we were, of consequence, longer under the influence of the easterly current, which made up for the westerly one.

And this, I apprehend, will generally be the case, if you cross the line 10° or 15° to the east of the meridian of St. Jago.

From these remarks I shall draw the following conclusion, that, after passing the Cape de Verde Island, if you do not make above 4° or 5° easting, and cross the line in, or to the westward of, the meridian of St. Jago, you may expect to find your ship 3° or 4° to the westward of her reckoning, by the time you get into the latitude of 10° S. If, on the other hand, you keep well to the east, and cross the line 15° or 20° to the east of St. Jago, you will be then as much to the east of your reckoning; and the more you keep to the eastward, the greater will be your error; as has been experienced by some India ships, whose people have found themselves close upon the coast of Angola, when they thought its distance was above two hundred leagues.

During the whole of our passage from England, no opportunity was admitted of observing, with all the attention and accuracy that circumstances would permit, the variation of the compass, which I have inserted in a table, with the latitude and longitude of the ship at the time of observation. As the longitude may be depended upon, to a quarter or half a degree at most, this table will be of use to those navigators who correct their reckoning by the variation. It will also enable Mr. Dun to correct his new Variation Chart, a thing very much wanted.

It seems strange to me, that the advocates for the variation should not agree amongst themselves. We find one[104] of them telling us, as I have already observed, _that with 8° west variation, or any thing above that, you may venture to sail by the Cape de Verde Islands, by night or day, being well assured, with that variation, that you are to the eastward of them_. Another, in his chart[105], lays down this variation ninety leagues to the westward of them. Such a disagreement as this, is a strong proof of the uncertainty of both. However, I have no doubt, the former found here, as well as in other places, the variation he mentions. But he should have considered, that at sea, nay even on land, the results of the most accurate observations will not always be the same. Different compasses will give different variations; and even the same compass will differ from itself two degrees, without our being able to discover, much less to remove, the cause.

Whoever imagines he can find the variation within a degree, will very often see himself much deceived. For, besides the imperfection which may be in the construction of the instrument, or in the power of the needle, it is certain that the motion of the ship, or attraction of the ironwork, or some other cause not yet discovered, will frequently occasion far greater errors than this. That the variation may be found, with a share of accuracy more than sufficient to determine the ship’s course, is allowed; but that it can be found so exactly as to fix the longitude within a degree, or sixty miles, I absolutely deny.

CHAP. IV.

THE TWO SHIPS LEAVE THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.—TWO ISLANDS, NAMED PRINCE EDWARD’S, SEEN, AND THEIR APPEARANCE DESCRIBED.—KERGUELEN’S LAND VISITED.—ARRIVAL IN CHRISTMAS HARBOUR.—OCCURRENCES THERE.—DESCRIPTION OF IT.

After the disaster which happened to our sheep, it may be well supposed I did not trust those that remained long on shore; but got them, and the other cattle, on board as fast as possible. I also added to my original stock, by purchasing two young bulls, two heifers, two young stone-horses, two mares, two rams, several ewes and goats, and some rabbits and poultry. All of them were intended for New Zealand, Otaheite, and the neighbouring islands, or any other places, in the course of our voyage, where there might be a prospect that the leaving any of them would be useful to posterity.

Towards the latter end of November, the calkers had finished their work on board the Discovery, and she had received all her provisions and water. Of the former, both ships had a supply sufficient for two years and upwards. And every other article we could think of, necessary for such a voyage, that could be had at the Cape, was procured; neither knowing when, or where, we might come to a place where we could furnish ourselves so well.

Having given Captain Clerke a copy of my instructions, and an order directing him how to proceed in case of separation; in the morning of the 30th, we repaired on board. At five in the afternoon, a breeze sprung up at S. E., with which we weighed, and stood out of the bay. At nine it fell calm, and we anchored between Penguin Island and the east shore, where we lay till three o’clock next morning. We then weighed and put to sea, with a light breeze at south; but did not get clear of the land till the morning of the 3d, when with a fresh gale at W. N. W., we stood to the S. E. to get more into the way of these winds.

On the 5th, a sudden squall of wind carried away the Resolution’s mizen top-mast. Having another to replace it, the loss was not felt; especially as it was a bad stick, and had often complained. On the 6th, in the evening, being then in the latitude of 39° 14ʹ S., and in the longitude of 23° 56ʹ E., we passed through several small spots of water of reddish colour. Some of this was taken up; and it was found to abound with a small animal, which the microscope discovered to be like a cray-fish, of a reddish hue.

We continued our course to the south-east, with a very strong gale from the westward, followed by a mountainous sea; which made the ship roll and tumble exceedingly, and gave us a great deal of trouble to preserve the cattle we had on board. Notwithstanding all our care, several goats, especially the males, died; and some sheep. This misfortune was, in a great measure, owing to the cold, which we now began most sensibly to feel.

On the 12th, at noon, we saw land extending from S. E. by S. to S. E. by E. Upon a nearer approach, we found it to be two islands. That which lies most to the south, and is also the largest, I judged to be about fifteen leagues in circuit; and to be in the latitude of 46° 53ʹ S., and in the longitude of 37° 46ʹ E. The most northerly one is about nine leagues in circuit; and lies in the latitude of 46° 40ʹ S., and in 38° 8ʹ E. longitude. The distance from the one to the other is about five leagues.

We passed through this channel, at equal distance from both islands; and could not discover, with the assistance of our best glasses, either tree or shrub on either of them. They seemed to have a rocky and bold shore; and, excepting the south-east parts, where the land is rather low and flat, a surface composed of barren mountains, which rise to a considerable height, and whose summits and sides were covered with snow, which in many places seemed to be of a considerable depth. The south-east parts had a much greater quantity on them than the rest; owing probably, to the sun acting for a less space of time on these than on the north and north-west parts. The ground, where it was not hid by the snow, from the various shades it exhibited, may be supposed to be covered with moss, or, perhaps, such a coarse grass as is found in some parts of Falkland’s Islands. On the north side of each of the islands is a detached rock: that near the south island is shaped like a tower, and seemed to be at some distance from the shore. As we passed along, a quantity of sea-weed was seen, and the colour of the water indicated soundings. But there was no appearance of an inlet, unless near the rock just mentioned; and that, from its smallness, did not promise a good anchoring-place.

These two islands, as also four others which lie from nine to twelve degrees of longitude more to the east, and nearly in the same latitude, were discovered, as I have mentioned in my late voyage[106], by Captains Marion du Fresne, and Crozet, French navigators, in January 1772, on their passage in two ships from the Cape of Good Hope to the Philippine Islands. As they have no names in the French chart of the southern hemisphere, which Captain Crozet communicated to me in 1775[107], I shall distinguish the two we now saw, by calling them Prince Edward’s Islands, after his Majesty’s fourth son; and the other four, by the name of Marion’s and Crozet’s Islands, to commemorate their discoveries.

We had now, for the most part, strong gales between the north and west, and but very indifferent weather; not better, indeed, than we generally have in England in the very depth of winter, though it was now the middle of summer in this hemisphere. Not discouraged, however, by this, after leaving Prince Edward’s Islands, I shaped our course to pass to the southward of the others, that I might get into the latitude of the land discovered by Monsieur de Kerguelen.

I had applied to the Chevalier de Borda, whom, as I have mentioned, I found at Teneriffe, requesting, that if he knew any thing of the island discovered by Monsieur de Kerguelen, between the Cape of Good Hope and New Holland, he would be so obliging as to communicate it to me. Accordingly, just before we sailed from Santa Cruz Bay, he sent me the following account of it, viz. “That the pilot of the Boussole, who was in the voyage with Monsieur de Kerguelen, had given him the latitude and longitude of a little island, which Monsieur de Kerguelen called the Isle of Rendezvous, and which lies not far from the great island which he saw. Latitude of the little isle, by seven observations, 48° 26ʹ south; longitude, by seven observations of the distance of the sun and moon, 64° 57ʹ east from Paris.” I was very sorry I had not sooner known that there was on board the frigate at Teneriffe an officer who had been with Monsieur de Kerguelen, especially the pilot; because from him I might have obtained more interesting information about this land than the situation alone, of which I was not before entirely ignorant.[108]

My instructions directing me to examine it, with a view to discover a good harbour, I proceeded in the search; and on the 16th, being then in the latitude of 48° 45ʹ and in the longitude of 52° E., we saw penguins and divers, and rock-weed floating in the sea. We continued to meet with more or less of these every day, as we proceeded to the eastward; and on the 21st, in the latitude of 48° 27ʹ S., and in the longitude of 65° E., a very large seal was seen. We had now much foggy weather, and, as we expected to fall in with the land every hour, our navigation became both tedious and dangerous.

At length, on the 24th, at six o’clock in the morning, as we were steering to the eastward, the fog clearing away a little, we saw land[113], bearing S. S. E., which, upon a nearer approach, we found to be an island of considerable height, and about three leagues in circuit.[114] Soon after, we saw another of the same magnitude, one league to the eastward[115], and between these two, in the direction of S. E., some smaller ones.[116] In the direction of S. by E. 1/2 E., from the E. end of the first island, a third[117] high island was seen. At times, as the fog broke away, we had the appearance of land over the small islands; and I had thoughts of steering for it, by running in between them. But, on drawing near, I found this would be a dangerous attempt, while the weather continued foggy. For, if there should be no passage, or if we should meet with any sudden danger, it would have been impossible for us to get off; the wind being right astern, and a prodigious sea running, that broke on all the shores in a frightful surf. At the same time, seeing another island in the N. E. direction, and not knowing but that there might be more, I judged it prudent to haul off, and wait for clearer weather, lest we should get intangled amongst unknown lands in a thick fog.

We did but just weather the island last mentioned. It is a high round rock, which was named Bligh’s Cap. Perhaps this is the same that Monsieur de Kerguelen called the Isle of Rendezvous[118]; but I know nothing that can rendezvous at it, but fowls of the air; for it is certainly inaccessible to every other animal.

At eleven o’clock the weather began to clear up, and we immediately tacked, and steered in for the land. At noon we had a pretty good observation, which enabled us to determine the latitude of Bligh’s Cap, which is the northermost island, to be 48° 29ʹ S., and its longitude 68° 40ʹ E.[119] We passed it at three o’clock, standing to the S. S. E., with a fresh gale at W.

Soon after we saw the land, of which we had a faint view in the morning; and at four o’clock it extended from S. E. 1/2 E., to S. W. by S., distant about four miles. The left extreme, which I judged to be the northeren point of this land called, in the French chart of the southern hemisphere, Cape St. Louis[120], terminated in a perpendicular rock of a considerable height; and the right one (near which is a detached rock) in a high indented point.[121] From this point the coast seemed to turn short round to the southward; for we could see no land to the westward of the direction in which it now bore to us, but the islands we had observed in the morning; the most southerly[122] of them lying nearly W. from the point, about two or three leagues distant.

About the middle of the land there appeared to be an inlet, for which we steered; but, on approaching, found it was only a bending on the coast, and therefore bore up, to go round Cape St. Louis.[123] Soon after, land opened off the Cape, in the direction of S. 53° E., and appeared to be a point at a considerable distance; for the trending of the coast from the Cape was more southerly. We also saw several rocks and islands to the eastward of the above directions, the most distant of which was about seven leagues from the Cape, bearing S. 88° E.[124]

We had no sooner got off the Cape, than we observed the coast, to the southward, to be much indented by projecting points and bays; so that we now made sure of soon finding a good harbour. Accordingly, we had not run a mile farther, before we discovered one behind the Cape, into which we began to ply; but after making one board, it fell calm, and we anchored at the entrance, in forty-five fathoms water, the bottom black sand; as did the Discovery soon after. I immediately dispatched Mr. Bligh, the master, in a boat to sound the harbour; who, on his return, reported it to be safe and commodious, with good anchorage in every part; and great plenty of fresh water, seals, penguins, and other birds, on the shore; but not a stick of wood. While we lay at anchor, we observed that the flood-tide came from the south-east, running two knots, at least, in an hour.

At day-break, in the morning of the 25th, we weighed with a gentle breeze at west; and having wrought into the harbour, to within a quarter of a mile of the sandy beach at its head, we anchored in eight fathoms’ water, the bottom a fine dark sand. The Discovery did not get in till two o’clock in the afternoon; when Captain Clerke informed me, that he had narrowly escaped being driven on the south point of the harbour, his anchor having started before they had time to shorten in the cable. This obliged them to set sail, and drag the anchor after them, till they had room to heave it up; and then they found one of its palms was broken off.

As soon as we had anchored, I ordered all the boats to be hoisted out; the ship to be moored with a kedge-anchor; and the water-casks to be got ready to send on shore. In the mean time I landed, to look for the most convenient spot where they might be filled, and to see what else the place afforded.

I found the shore, in a manner, covered with penguins and other birds, and seals. These latter were not numerous, but so insensible of fear (which plainly indicated that they were unaccustomed to such visitors), that we killed as many as we chose, for the sake of their fat or blubber, to make oil for our lamps, and other uses. Fresh water was in no less plenty than were birds; for every gully afforded a large stream. But not a single tree or shrub, nor the least sign of any, was to be discovered, and but very little herbage of any sort. The appearances, as we sailed into the harbour, had flattered us with the hope of meeting with something considerable growing here, as we observed the sides of many of the hills to be of a lively green. But I now found that this was occasioned by a single plant, which, with the other natural productions, shall be described in another place. Before I returned to my ship, I ascended the first ridge of rocks, which rise in a kind of amphitheatre above one another. I was in hopes, by this means, of obtaining a view of the country; but before I reached the top, there came on so thick a fog, that I could hardly find my way down again. In the evening, we hauled the seine at the head of the harbour, but caught only half-a-dozen small fish. We had no better success next day, when we tried with hook and line. So that our only resource here, for fresh provisions, were birds, of which there was an inexhaustible store.

The morning of the 26th proved foggy, with rain. However, we went to work to fill water, and to cut grass for our cattle, which we found in small spots near the head of the harbour. The rain which fell swelled all the rivulets to such a degree, that the sides of the hills, bounding the harbour, seemed to be covered with a sheet of water. For the rain, as it fell, ran into the fissures and crags of the rocks that composed the interior parts of the hills, and was precipitated down their sides in prodigious torrents.

The people having wrought hard the two preceding days, and nearly completed our water, which we filled from a brook at the left corner of the beach, I allowed them the 27th, as a day of rest, to celebrate Christmas. Upon this indulgence, many of them went on shore, and made excursions, in different directions, into the country, which they found barren and desolate in the highest degree. In the evening, one of them brought to me a quart-bottle which he had found, fastened with some wire to a projecting rock on the north side of the harbour. This bottle contained apiece of parchment, on which was written the following inscription:

_Ludovico XV. Galliarum rege, et d.[125] de Boynes regi a Secretis ad res maritimas annis 1772 et 1773._

From this inscription, it is clear, that we were not the first Europeans who had been in this harbour. I supposed it to be left by Monsieur de Boisguehenneu, who went on shore in a boat, on the 13th of February, 1772, the same day that Monsieur de Kerguelen discovered this land; as appears by a note in the French chart of the southern hemisphere, published the following year.[126]

As a memorial of our having been in this harbour, I wrote on the other side of the parchment,

_Naves Resolution et Discovery de Rege Magnæ Britanniæ, Decembris, 1776_.

I then put it again into a bottle, together with a silver two-penny piece of 1772; and having covered the mouth of the bottle with a leaden cap, I placed it, the next morning, in a pile of stones erected for the purpose, upon a little eminence on the north shore of the harbour, and near to the place where it was first found; in which position it cannot escape the notice of any European, whom chance or design may bring into this port. Here I displayed the British flag, and named the place _Christmas Harbour_, from our having arrived in it on that festival.

It is the first, or northernmost inlet that we meet with on the south-east side of Cape St. Louis[127], which forms the north side of the harbour, and is also the northern point of this land. The situation alone is sufficient to distinguish it from any of the other inlets; and, to make it more remarkable, its south point terminates in a high rock, which is perforated quite through, so as to appear like the arch of a bridge. We saw none like this upon the whole coast.[128] The harbour has another distinguishing mark within, from a single stone or rock, of a vast size, which lies on the top of a hill on the south side, near its bottom; and opposite this, on the north side, there is another hill, much like it, but smaller. There is a small beach at its bottom, where we commonly landed; and, behind it, some gently rising ground, on the top of which is a large pool of fresh water. The land on both sides of the inlet is high, and it runs in west, and W. N. W., about two miles. Its breadth is one mile and a quarter, for more than half its length; above which, it is only half a mile. The depth of water, which is forty-five fathoms at the entrance, varies, as we proceed farther in, from thirty to five and four fathoms, as marked upon the plan. The shores are steep; and the bottom is every where a fine dark sand, except in some places close to the shore, where there are beds of sea-weed, which always grows on rocky ground. The head of the harbour lies open only to two points of the compass; and even these are covered by islands in the offing, so that no sea can fall in to hurt a ship. The appearances on shore confirmed this; for we found grass growing close to high-water mark, which is a sure sign of a pacific harbour.[129] It is high water here, at the full and change days, about ten o’clock; and the tide rises and falls about four feet.

After I had finished this business of the inscription, I went, in my boat, round the harbour, and landed in several places, to examine what the shore afforded; and, particularly, to look for drift wood. For, although the land here was totally destitute of trees, this might not be the case in other parts; and if there were any, the torrents would force some, or, at least, some branches, into the sea, which would afterward throw them upon the shores; as in all other countries where there is wood, and in many where there is none: but, throughout the whole extent of the harbour, I found not a single piece.

In the afternoon, I went upon Cape St. Louis[130], accompanied by Mr. King, my second lieutenant. I was in hopes, from this elevation, to have had a view of the sea-coast, and of the islands lying off it. But, when I got up, I found every distant object below me hid in a thick fog. The land on the same plain, or of a greater height, was visible enough, and appeared naked and desolate in the highest degree; except some hills to the southward, which were covered with snow.

When I got on board, I found the launch hoisted in, the ships unmoored, and ready to put to sea; but our sailing was deferred till five o’clock the next morning, when we weighed anchor.

CHAP. V.

DEPARTURE FROM CHRISTMAS HARBOUR.—RANGE ALONG THE COAST, TO DISCOVER ITS POSITION AND EXTENT.—SEVERAL PROMONTORIES AND BAYS, AND A PENINSULA, DESCRIBED AND NAMED.—DANGER FROM SHOALS.—ANOTHER HARBOUR AND A SOUND.— MR. ANDERSON’S OBSERVATIONS ON THE NATURAL PRODUCTIONS, ANIMALS, SOIL, &C. OF KERGUELEN’S LAND.

As soon as the ships were out of Christmas Harbour, we steered S. E. 1/2 S., along the coast, with a fine breeze at N. N. W., and clear weather. This we thought the more fortunate, as, for some time past, fogs had prevailed, more or less, every day; and the continuance of them would have defeated our plan of extending Kerguelen’s discovery. We kept the lead constantly going; but seldom struck ground with a line of fifty or sixty fathoms.

About seven or eight o’clock, we were off a promontory, which I called Cape Cumberland. It lies a league and a half from the south point of Christmas Harbour, in the direction of S. E. 1/2 S. Between them is a bay with two arms, both of which seemed to afford good shelter for shipping. Off Cape Cumberland is a small but pretty high island, on the summit of which is a rock like a sentry-box, which occasioned our giving that name to the island. Two miles farther to the eastward, lies a groupe of small islands and rocks, with broken ground about them; we sailed between these and Sentry-Box Island, the channel being a full mile broad, and more than forty fathoms deep; for we found no bottom with that length of line.

Being through this channel, we discovered, on the south side of Cape Cumberland, a bay, running in three leagues to the westward. It is formed by this Cape to the N., and by a promontory to the S., which I named Point Pringle, after my good friend Sir John Pringle, President of the Royal Society. The bottom of this bay was called Cumberland Bay; and it seemed to be disjoined from the sea, which washes the N. W. coast of this country, by a narrow neck of land. Appearances, at least, favoured such a conjecture.

To the southward of Point Pringle, the coast is formed into a fifth bay; of which this point is the northern extreme; and from it, to the southern extreme, is about four miles in the direction of S. S. E. 1/2 E. In this bay, which obtained the name of White Bay, on account of some white spots of land or rocks in the bottom of it, are several lesser bays or coves, which seemed to be sheltered from all winds. Off the S. point are several rocks which raise their heads above water, and, probably, many more that do not.

Thus far our course was in a direction parallel to the coast, and not more than two miles from it. Thither our glasses were continually pointed; and we could easily see that, except the bottoms of the bays and coves, which, for the most part, terminated in sandy beaches, the shores were rocky, and, in many places, swarmed with birds; but the country had the same barren and naked appearance as in the neighbourhood of Christmas Harbour.

We had kept on our larboard bow the land which first opened off Cape St. Louis[131], in the direction of S. 53° E., thinking that it was an island, and that we should find a passage between it and the main. We now discovered this to be a mistake; and found that it was a peninsula, joined to the rest of the coast by a low isthmus. I called the bay, formed by this peninsula, Repulse Bay; and a branch of it seemed to run a good way inland towards the S. S. W. Leaving this, we steered for the northern point of the peninsula, which we named Howe’s Foreland, in honour of Admiral Lord Howe.

As we drew near it, we perceived some rocks and breakers near the N. W. part; and two islands a league and a half to the eastward of it, which, at first, appeared as one. I steered between them and the Foreland[132], and was in the middle of the channel by noon. At that time our latitude, by observation, was 48° 51ʹ S., and we had made twenty-six miles of E. longitude from Cape St. Louis.[133]

From this situation, the most advanced land to the southward bore S. E.; but the trending of the coast from the foreland was more southerly. The islands which lie off Christmas Harbour bore N.; and the N. point of the foreland, N. 60° W., distant three miles. The land of this peninsula, or foreland, is of a moderate height, and of a hilly and rocky substance. The coast is low, with rocky points shooting out from it; between which points are little coves, with sandy beaches; and these, at this time, were mostly covered with sea birds. We also saw upon them some seals.

As soon as we were clear of the rocks and islands before mentioned, I gave orders to steer S. E. by S., along the coast. But before these orders could be carried into execution, we discovered the whole sea before us to be chequered with large beds of rock-weed, which we knew to be fast to the bottom, and to grow on rocky shoals. I had often found a great depth of water on such shoals; and I had as often found rocks that have raised their heads nearly to the surface of the water. It is always dangerous, therefore, to sail over them before they are well examined; but more especially, when there is no surge of the sea to discover the danger. This was the case at present, for the sea was as smooth as a mill-pond. Consequently we endeavoured to avoid them, by steering through the winding channels by which they were separated. We kept the lead continually going; but never struck ground with a line of sixty fathoms. This circumstance increased the danger, as we could not anchor, whatever necessity there might be for it. After running in this manner above an hour, we discovered a lurking rock, just even with the surface of the sea. It bore N. E. 1/2 E., distant three or four miles, and lay in the middle of one of these large beds of weeds. This was a sufficient warning to make us use every precaution to prevent our coming upon them.

We were now across the mouth of a large bay, that lies about eight miles to the southward of Howe’s Foreland. In and before the entrance of this bay are several low islands, rocks, and those beds of sea-weed. But there seemed to be winding channels between them. After continuing our course half an hour longer, we were so much embarrassed with these shoals, that I resolved to haul off to the eastward, as the likeliest means of extricating ourselves from the danger that threatened us. But so far was this from answering the intended purpose, that it brought us into more. I therefore found it absolutely necessary to secure the ships, if possible, in some place before night, especially as the weather had now become hazy, and a fog was apprehended. And seeing some inlets to the south-west of us, I ordered Captain Clerke, as the Discovery drew less water than the Resolution, to lead in for the shore; which was accordingly done.

In standing in, it was not possible to avoid running over the edges of some of the shoals, on which we found from ten to twenty fathoms’ water; and the moment we were over, had no ground at the depth of fifty fathoms. After making a few boards to weather a spit that run out from an island on our lee, Captain Clerke made the signal for having discovered an harbour; in which, about five o’clock, we anchored in fifteen fathoms’ water, over a bottom of fine dark sand, about three quarters of a mile from the shore; the north point of the harbour bearing N. by E. 1/2 E. one mile distant; and the small islands in the entrance, within which we anchored, extending from E. to S. E.

Scarcely were the ships secured, when it began to blow very strong; so that we thought it prudent to strike top-gallant yards. The weather, however, continued fair; and the wind dispersing the fog that had settled on the hills, it was tolerably clear also. The moment, therefore, we had anchored, I hoisted out two boats; in one of which I sent Mr. Bligh, the master, to survey the upper part of the harbour, and look for wood; for not a shrub was to be seen from the ship. I also desired Captain Clerke to send his master to sound the channel that is on the south side of the small isles, between them and a pretty large island which lies near the south point of the harbour. Having given these directions, I went myself, in my other boat, accompanied by Mr. Gore, my first lieutenant, and Mr. Bailey, and landed on the north point, to see what I could discover from thence.

From the highest hill over the point, we had a pretty good view of the sea-coast, as far as Howe’s Foreland. It is much indented, and several rocky points seemed to shoot out from it, with coves and inlets of unequal extent. One of the latter, the end of which I could not see, was disjoined from that in which the ships were at anchor, by the point we then stood upon. A great many small islands, rocks, and breakers appeared scattered along the coast, as well to the southward as northward; and I saw no better channel to get out of the harbour than by the one through which we had entered it.

While Mr. Bailey and I were making the observations, Mr. Gore encompassed the hill; and joined us by a different route, at the place where I had ordered the boat to wait for us. Except the craggy precipices, we met with nothing to obstruct our walk. For the country was, if possible, more barren and desolate than about Christmas Harbour. And yet, if there be the least fertility in any part of this land, we ought to have found it in this, which is completely sheltered from the predominating bleak southerly and westerly winds. I observed, with regret, that there was neither food nor covering for cattle of any sort; and that, if I left any, they must inevitably perish. In the little cove where the boat waited for us (which I called Penguin Cove, as the beach was covered with these birds,) is a fine rivulet of fresh water, that may be easily come at. Here were also some large seals, shags, and a few ducks; and Mr. Baily had a transient sight of a very small land bird; but it flew amongst the rocks, and we lost it. About nine o’clock we got on board.

Soon after, Mr. Bligh returned, and reported that he had been four miles up the harbour, and, as he judged, not far from the head of it. He found that its direction was W. S. W.; and that its breadth, a little above the ships, did not exceed a mile; but grew narrower towards the head. The soundings were very irregular, being from thirty-seven to ten fathoms; and, except under the beds of sea-weed, which in many places extended from the shore near half channel over, the bottom was a fine sand. He landed on both shores, which he found barren and rocky, without the least signs of tree or shrub, and with very little verdure of any kind. Penguins, and other oceanic birds and seals, occupied part of the coast; but not in such numbers as at Christmas Harbour.

Finding no encouragement to continue our researches, and the next morning both wind and weather being favourable, I weighed anchor and put to sea. To this harbour I gave the name of Port Palliser, in honour of my worthy friend Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser. It is situated in the latitude of 49° 3ʹ S. in the longitude of 69° 37ʹ E., and five leagues from Howe’s Foreland, in the direction of S. 25° E. There are several islands, rocks, and breakers lying in and without the entrance, for which the annexed chart of the coast, and sketch of the harbour, may be consulted. We went in and out between them and the north head; but I have no doubt that there are other channels.

As we were standing out of Port Palliser, we discovered a round hill, like a sugar-loaf, in the direction of S. 72° E., about nine leagues distant. It had the appearance of an island lying at some distance from the coast; but we afterwards found it was upon the main land. In getting out to sea, we had to steer through the winding channels amongst the shoals. However, we ventured to run over some of them, on which we never found less than eighteen fathoms, and often did not strike ground with twenty-four; so that, had it not been for the sea-weed growing upon all of them, they would not have been discovered.

After we had got about three or four leagues from the coast, we found a clear sea, and then steered east till nine o’clock, when the Sugar-loaf hill, above mentioned, which I named Mount Campbell, bore S. E., and a small island that lies to the northward of it, S. S. E., distant four leagues. I now steered more southerly, in order to get in with the land. At noon, the latitude by double altitudes was 49° 8ʹ S.; and we had made eighty miles of E. longitude from Cape St. Louis.[134] Mount Campbell bore S. 47° W., distant about four leagues; a low point, beyond which no land was to be seen, bore S. S. E., at the distance of about twenty miles; and we were about two leagues from the shore.

The land here is low and level.[135] The mountains ending about five leagues from the low point, a great extent of low land is left, on which Mount Campbell is situated, about four miles from the foot of the mountains, and one from the sea-coast. These mountains have a considerable elevation, as also most of the inland ones. They seemed to be composed of naked rocks, whose summits were capt with snow. Nor did the valleys appear to greater advantage. To whatever quarter we directed our glasses, nothing but sterility was to be seen.

We had scarcely finished taking the bearings at noon, before we observed low land opening off the low point just mentioned, in the direction of S. S. E., and eight miles beyond it. This new point proved to be the very eastern extremity of this land, and it was named Cape Digby. It is situated in the latitude of 49° 23ʹ S., and in the longitude of 70° 34ʹ E.

Between Howe’s Foreland and Cape Digby, the shore forms (besides the several lesser bays and harbours) one great bay that extends several leagues to the south-west, where it seemed to lose itself in various arms running in between the mountains. A prodigious quantity of sea-weed grows all over it, which seemed to be the same sort of weed that Mr. Banks distinguished by the name of _fucus giganteus_.[136] Some of this weed is of a most enormous length, though the stem is not much thicker than a man’s thumb. I have mentioned, that on some of the shoals upon which it grows, we did not strike ground with a line of twenty-four fathoms. The depth of water, therefore, must have been greater. And as this weed does not grow in a perpendicular direction, but makes a very acute angle with the bottom, and much of it afterwards spreads many fathoms on the surface of the sea, I am well warranted to say, that some of it grows to the length of sixty fathoms and upward.

At one o’clock (having run two leagues upon a S. E. 1/2 E. course, from noon) we sounded, and found eighteen fathoms’ water, and a bottom of fine sand. Seeing a small bending in the coast, on the north side of Cape Digby, I steered for it. It was my intention to anchor there, if I should find it might be done with safety, and to land on the Cape, to examine what the low land within it produced. After running in one league, we sounded again, and found thirteen fathoms; and, immediately after, saw a shoal right before us, that seemed to extend off from the shore, from which we were distant about two miles. This discovery obliged us to haul off, E. by S., one league, where our depth of water encreased to twenty-five fathoms. We then steered along shore, and continued in the same depth, over a bottom of fine sand, till Cape Digby bore west, two leagues distant, when we found twenty-six fathoms.

After this we did not strike ground, though we tried several times; but the ship having a good deal of way, ran the line out before the lead could reach the bottom; and being disappointed in my views both of anchoring and of landing, I would not shorten sail, but pushed forward, in order to see as much of the coast as possible before night. From Cape Digby, it trends nearly S. W. by S. for about four or five leagues, or to a low point, to which, in honour of her Majesty, I gave the name of Point Charlotte; and it is the southernmost on the low coast.

Six leagues from Cape Digby, in the direction of S. S. W. 1/2 W., is a pretty high projecting point, which was called Prince of Wales’s Foreland; and six leagues beyond that, in the same direction, and in the latitude of 49° 54ʹ S., and the longitude of 70° 13ʹ E., is the most southerly point of the whole coast, which I distinguished by the name of Cape George, in honour of his Majesty.

Between Point Charlotte and Prince of Wales’s Foreland, where the country to the south-west began again to be hilly, is a deep inlet, which was called Royal Sound. It runs in west, quite to the foot of the mountains which bound it on the south-west, as the low land before mentioned does on the north. There are islands lying in the entrance, and others higher up, as far as we could distinguish. As we advanced to the south, we observed, on the south-west side of Prince of Wales’s Foreland, another inlet into Royal Sound; and it then appeared, that the Foreland was the east point of a large island lying in the mouth of it. There are several small islands in this inlet; and one about a league to the southward of Prince of Wales’s Foreland.

All the land on the south-west side of Royal Sound, quite to Cape George, is composed of elevated hills, that rise directly from the sea, one behind another, to a considerable height. Most of the summits were capt with snow, and they appeared as naked and barren as any we had seen. The smallest vestige of a tree or shrub was not discoverable, either inland or on the coast; and, I think, I may venture to pronounce that the country produces none. The low land about Cape Digby, when examined through our glasses, resembled the rest of the low land we had before met with; that is, it appeared to be partly naked, and partly covered with a green turf; a description of which shall be given in its proper place. The shore is composed of sandy beaches, on which were many penguins and other oceanic birds; and an immense number of shags kept perpetually flying about the ships as we sailed along.

Being desirous of getting the length of Cape George, to be assured whether or no it was the most southerly point of the whole land, I continued to stretch to the south, under all the sail we could carry, till half an hour past seven o’clock; when, seeing no likelihood of accomplishing my design, as the wind had, by this time, shifted to W. S. W., the very direction in which we wanted to go, I took the advantage of the shifting of the wind, and stood away from the coast.

At this time Cape George bore south 53° W. distant about seven leagues. A small island that lies off the pitch of the Cape, was the only land we could see to the south of it; and we were farther confirmed that there was no more in that quarter, by a south-west swell which we met as soon as we brought the Cape to bear in this direction.

But we have still a stronger proof that no part of this land can extend much, if at all, to the southward of Cape George; and that is, Captain Furneaux’s tract in February 1773, after his separation from me during my late voyage. His log-book is now lying before me; and I find from it, that he crossed the meridian of this land only about seventeen leagues to the southward of Cape George; a distance at which it may very well be seen in clear weather. This seems to have been the case when Captain Furneaux passed it. For his log-book makes no mention of fogs or hazy weather; on the contrary, it expressly tells us, that, when in this situation, they had it in their power to make observations, both for latitude and longitude, on board his ship; so that, if this land extends farther south than Cape George, it would have been scarcely possible that he should have passed without seeing it.

From these circumstances we are able to determine, within a very few miles, the quantity of latitude that this land occupies; which does not much exceed one degree and a quarter. As to its extent from east to west, that still remains undecided. We only know, that no part of it can reach so far to the west as the meridian of 65°; because, in 1773, under that meridian, I searched for it in vain.[137]

The French discoverers, with some reason, imagined Cape St. Louis[138] to be the projecting point of a southern continent. The English have since proved that no such continent exists; and that the land in question is an island of no great extent[139]; which, from its sterility, I should, with great propriety, call the Island of Desolation, but that I would not rob Monsieur de Kerguelen of the honour of its bearing his name.[140]

Mr. Anderson, my surgeon, who, as I have already mentioned, had made natural history a part of his studies, lost no opportunity, during the short time we lay in Christmas Harbour, of searching the country in every direction. He afterwards communicated to me the observations he made on its natural productions; and I shall insert them here in his own words.

“Perhaps no place, hitherto discovered in either hemisphere, under the same parallel of latitude, affords so scanty a field for the naturalist as this barren spot. The verdure which appears, when at a little distance from the shore, would flatter one with the expectation of meeting with some herbage; but in this we were much deceived. For on landing, we saw that this lively colour was occasioned only by one small plant, not much unlike some sorts of _saxifrage_, which grows in large spreading tufts, to a considerable way up the hills. It forms a surface of a pretty large texture, and grows on a kind of rotten turf, into which one sinks a foot or two at every step. This turf, dried, might, in cases of necessity, serve for fuel, and is the only thing we met with here that could possibly be applied to this use.

“There is another plant, plentifully enough scattered about the boggy declivities, which grows to near the height of two feet, and not much unlike a small cabbage, when it has shot into seeds. The leaves about the root are numerous, large, and rounded; narrower at the base, and ending in a small point. Those on the stalks are much smaller, oblong, and pointed. The stalks, which are often three or four, all rise separately from the root, and run into long cylindrical heads, composed of small flowers. It has not only the appearance, but the watery acrid taste of the antiscorbutic plants, and yet differs materially from the whole tribe; so that we looked upon it as a production entirely peculiar to the place. We ate it frequently raw, and found it almost like the New Zealand scurvy-grass. But it seemed to acquire a rank flavour by being boiled; which, however, some of our people did not perceive, and esteemed it good. If it could be introduced into our kitchen-gardens, it would, in all probability, improve so far by cultivation, as to be an excellent pot-herb. At this time, none of its seeds were ripe enough to be preserved, and brought home, to try the experiment.

“Two other small plants were found near the brooks and boggy places, which were eaten as sallad; the one almost like garden cresses, and very fiery; and the other very mild. This last, though but small, is in itself a curiosity; having not only male and female, but what the botanists call _androgynous_ plants.

“A coarse grass, which we cut down for the cattle, grows pretty plentifully in a few small spots about the sides of the harbour, with a smaller sort which is rarer; and, upon the flat ground, a sort of goose-grass, and another small plant much like it. In short, the whole catalogue of plants does not exceed sixteen or eighteen, including some sorts of moss, and a beautiful species of _lichen_, which grows upon the rocks, higher up than the rest of the vegetable productions. Nor is there even the least appearance of a shrub in the whole country.

“Nature has rather been more bountiful in furnishing it with animals; though, strictly speaking, they are not inhabitants of the place, being all of the marine kind; and, in general, only using the land for breeding, and for a resting-place. The most considerable are seals, or (as we used to call them) sea-bears; being that sort called the ursine seal. These come ashore to rest or breed; but they were not very numerous, which is not to be wondered at, as it is known that these animals rather frequent out-rocks, and little islands lying off coasts, than bays or inlets. They were, at this time, shedding their hair, and so tame, that we killed what number we chose.

“No other quadruped, either of the sea or of the land kind, was seen; but a great number of birds, _viz._ ducks, petrels, albatrosses, shags, gulls, and sea-swallows.

“The ducks are about the size of a teal or widgeon; but somewhat different in colour from either. They were in tolerable plenty about the sides of the hills, or even lower; and we killed a considerable number, which were good, and without the least fishy taste. We met with some of the same sort at the island of Georgia, in our late voyage.

“The Cape petrel, or Pintado bird; the small blue one, which is always seen at sea; and the small black one, or Mother Carey’s chicken, are not here in great numbers. But we found a nest of the first with an egg in it, about the size of a pullet’s; and the second, though scarce, was met with in some holes like rabbit-burrows.

“Another sort, which is the largest of all the petrels, and called by the seamen Mother Carey’s goose, is in greater numbers; and so tame, that at first we could kill them with a stick upon the beach. They are not inferior in size to an albatross, and are carnivorous, feeding on the dead carcasses of seals or birds that were thrown into the sea. Their colour is a sootty brown, with a greenish bill and feet; and, doubtless, they are the same that the Spaniards call _quebrantahuessos_, whose head is figured in Pernetty’s Voyage to Falkland Islands.

“Of the albatrosses, none were found on shore except the grey one, which is commonly met with at sea in the higher southern latitudes. Once I saw one of these sitting in the cliff of a rock, but they were frequently flying about the harbour; and the common large sort, as well as a smaller with a black face, were seen farther out.

“Penguins form, by far, the greatest number of birds here; and are of three sorts: The first, or largest, I have seen formerly at the island of Georgia.[141] It is also mentioned by Bougainville[142]; but it does not seem to be so solitary as he represents it, for we found considerable numbers flocking together. The head is black, the upper part of the body a leaden grey, and the under part white, with black feet. It has two broad stripes of fine yellow, that begin on the sides of the head, and descending by each side of the neck, meet above its breast. The bill is partly reddish, and longer than in the other sorts.

“The second sort of penguin scarcely exceeds half the size of the former. The upper part of the body is a blackish grey, with a white spot on the upper part of the head, growing broader at each side. The bill and feet are yellowish. A very accurate figure and description, both of this and of the preceding, is given by Mr. Sonnerat.[143]

“The third sort of penguin met with here, had never been seen by any of us before. Its length is twenty-four inches, and its breadth twenty. The upper part of the body and throat are black; the rest white, except the upper part of the head, which has a fine yellow arch, looking backward, and ending on each side in long soft feathers, which it can erect as two crests.

“The two first sorts were found together on the beach; the large ones keeping by themselves, and walking in small flocks amongst the others, which were more numerous, and were sometimes seen a considerable way up the sides of the hills. The third sort were only found by themselves, but in great numbers, on the outer shores of the harbour. They were breeding at this time; and they lay, on the bare stones, only one white egg, larger than that of a duck. All the three sorts of penguins were so tame, that we took as many as we pleased with our hands.

“The shags of this place are of two sorts; the lesser corvorant or water-crow, and another, which is black above, with a white belly; the same that is found in New Zealand, Terra del Fuego, and the island of Georgia.

“We also met with here the common sea-gull, sea-swallow, tern, and Port-Egmont hen; the last of which were tame and numerous.

“Another sort of white bird, flocks of which flew about the bay, is very singular; having the base of the bill covered with a horny crust.[144] It is larger than a pigeon, with the bill black and the feet white, made like those of a curlew. Some of our people put it in competition with the duck as food.

“The seine was hauled once; but we found only a few fish about the size of a small haddock; though quite different from any we knew. The snout is lengthened; the head armed with some strong spines; the rays of the back-fin long, and very strong; the belly is large; and the body without scales. The only shell fish are a few limpets and muscles; and, amongst the stones, a few small star-fish, and sea-anemonies, were found.

“The hills are of a moderate height; yet many of their tops were covered with snow at this time, though answering to our June. Some of them have large quantities of stones, irregularly heaped together at their foot, or on their sides. The sides of others, which form steep cliffs towards the sea, are rent from the top downward, and seem ready to fall off, having stones of a considerable size lying in the fissures. Some were of opinion that frost might be the cause of these fissures, which I shall not dispute; but how others of the appearances could be effected, but by earthquakes, or some such severe shocks, I cannot say.

“It appears that rain must be almost constant here, not only from the marks of large torrents having rushed down, but from the disposition of the country, which, even on the hills, is almost an entire bog or swamp, the ground sinking at every step.

“The rocks, or foundations of the hills, are composed chiefly of a dark blue, and very hard stone, intermixed with small particles of glimmer or quartz. This seems to be one of the most universal productions of nature, as it constitutes whole mountains in Sweden, in Scotland, at the Canary Islands, the Cape of Good Hope, and at this place. Another brownish brittle stone forms here some considerable rocks; and one which is blacker, and found in detached pieces, incloses bits of coarse quartz. A red, a dull yellow, and a purplish sand-stone, are also found in small pieces; and pretty large lumps of semi-transparent quartz, disposed irregularly in polyedral pyramidal crystals of long shining fibres. Some small pieces of the common sort are met with in the brooks, made round by attrition; but none hard enough to resist a file. Nor were any of the other stones acted on by aqua fortis, or attracted by the magnet.

“Nothing that had the least appearance of an ore or metal was seen.”

CHAP. VI.

PASSAGE FROM KERGUELEN’S TO VAN DIEMEN’S LAND.—ARRIVAL IN ADVENTURE BAY.—INCIDENTS THERE.—INTERVIEWS WITH THE NATIVES.—THEIR PERSONS AND DRESS DESCRIBED.—ACCOUNT OF THEIR BEHAVIOUR.—TABLE OF THE LONGITUDE, LATITUDE, AND VARIATION.—MR. ANDERSON’S OBSERVATIONS ON THE NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY, ON THE INHABITANTS, AND THEIR LANGUAGE.

After leaving Kerguelen’s Land, I steered E. by N., intending, in obedience to my instructions, to touch next at New Zealand, to recruit our water, to take in wood, and to make hay for the cattle. Their number, by this time, had been considerably diminished; two young bulls, one of the heifers, two rams, and several of the goats, having of late died, while we were employed in exploring this desolate coast.

The 31st, in the morning, being the day after we stood out to sea, we had several observations of the sun and moon. Their results gave the longitude 72° 33ʹ 36ʺ E. The time-keeper, in this situation, gave 72° 38ʹ 15ʺ. These observations were the more useful, as we had not been able to get any for some time before, and they now served to assure us that no material error had crept into the time-keeper.

On the 1st of January, being then in the latitude of 48° 41ʹ S. longitude 76° 50ʹ E. the variation was 30° 39ʹ W. and the next day, in the latitude of 48° 22ʹ S., longitude 80° 22ʹ E., it was 30° 47ʹ 18ʺ W. This was the greatest variation we found in this passage; for afterward it began to decrease, but so slowly, that, on the 3d, in the evening, being then in the latitude of 48° 16ʹ S. longitude 85° E. it was 29° 38ʹ W.

Thus far we had fresh gales from the W. and S. W. and tolerably clear weather. But now the wind veered to the N. where it continued eight days, and was attended with a thick fog. During this time, we ran above three hundred leagues in the dark. Now and then the weather would clear up, and give us a sight of the sun; but this happened very seldom, and was always of short continuance. On the 7th, I hoisted out a boat, and sent an order to Captain Clerke, appointing Adventure Bay, in Van Diemen’s Land, as our place of rendezvous, in case of separation before we arrived in the meridian of that land. But we were fortunate enough, amidst all this foggy weather, by frequently firing guns as signals, though we seldom saw each other, not to lose company.

On the 12th, being in the latitude of 48° 40ʹ S., longitude 110° 26ʹ E., the northerly winds ended in a calm; which, after a few hours, was succeeded by a wind from the southward. This, with rain, continued for twenty-four hours; when it freshened, and veered to the west and north-west, and brought on fair and clear weather.

We continued our course to the eastward, without meeting with any thing worthy of notice, till four o’clock in the morning of the 19th; when, in a sudden squall of wind, though the Discovery received no damage, our fore-top-mast went by the board, and carried the main-top-gallant-mast with it. This occasioned some delay, as it took us up the whole day to clear the wreck, and to fit another top-mast. The former was accomplished without losing any part of it, except a few fathoms of small rope. Not having a spare main-top-gallant-mast on board, the fore-top-gallant-mast was converted into one for our immediate use.

The wind continued westerly, blew a fresh gale, and was attended with clear weather; so that scarcely a day passed without being able to get observations for fixing the longitude, and the variation of the compass. The latter decreased in such a manner, that in the latitude of 44° 18ʹ S., longitude 132° 2ʹ E., it was no more than 5° 34ʹ 18ʺ W.; and on the 22d, being then in the latitude of 43° 27ʹ S., longitude 141° 50ʹ E., it was 1° 24ʹ 15ʺ E. So that we had crossed the line where the compass has no variation.

On the 24th, at three o’clock in the morning, we discovered the coast of Van Diemen’s Land, bearing N. 1/2 W. At four o’clock, the south-west Cape bore N. N. W. 1/2 W.; and the Mewstone, N. E. by E. three leagues distant. There are several islands and high rocks lying scattered along this part of the coast, the southernmost of which is the Mewstone. It is a round elevated rock, five or six leagues distant from the south-west Cape, in the direction of S. 55° E.

At noon, our latitude was 43° 47ʹ S., longitude 147° E; and the situation of the lands round us, as follows: An elevated round-topped hill bore N. 17° W.; the south-west Cape N. 74° W.; the Mewstone, W. 1/2 N.; Swilly Isle or Rock, S. 49° E.; and the south-east or South Cape, N. 40° E. distant near three leagues. The land between the south-west and the south capes is broken and hilly, the coast winding, with points shooting out from it; but we were too far off; to be able to judge whether the bays formed by these points were sheltered from the sea-winds. The bay which appeared to be the largest and deepest, lies to the westward of the peaked hill above-mentioned. The variation of the compass here, was 5° 15ʹ E.

At six o’clock in the afternoon we sounded, and found sixty fathoms’ water, over a bottom of broken coral and shells. The South Cape then bore N. 75° W., two or three leagues distant; Tasman’s Head N. E.; and Swilly Rock S. by W. 1/2 W. About a league to the eastward of Swilly, is another elevated rock, that is not taken notice of by Captain Furneaux. I called it the Eddystone, from its very great resemblance to that light-house. Nature seems to have left these two rocks here, for the same purpose that the Eddystone light-house was built by man, viz. to give navigators notice of the dangers around them. For they are the conspicuous summits of a ledge of rocks under water, on which the sea, in many places, breaks very high. Their surface is white with the dung of sea-fowls; so that they may be seen at some distance, even in the night. On the north-east side of Storm Bay, which lies between the South Cape and Tasman’s Head, there are some coves or creeks, that seemed to be sheltered from the sea-winds: and I am of opinion, that were this coast examined, there would be found some good harbours.

Soon after we had sight of land, the westerly winds left us, and were succeeded by variable light airs and alternate calms, till the 26th at noon. At that time a breeze sprung up and freshened at south-east, which put it in my power to carry into execution the design I had, upon due consideration, formed, of carrying the ships into Adventure Bay, where I might expect to get a supply of wood, and of grass for the cattle; of both which articles we should, as I now found, have been in great want, if I had waited till our arrival in New Zealand. We therefore stood for the bay, and anchored in it at four o’clock in the afternoon, in twelve fathoms’ water, over a bottom of sand and ouse. Penguin Island, which lies close to the east point of the bay, bore N. 84° E.; the southernmost point of Maria’s Islands bore N. 76° 1/2 E.; and Cape Frederic Henry, or the north point of the bay, bore N. 33° E. Our distance from the nearest shore was about three quarters of a mile.

As soon as we had anchored, I ordered the boats to be hoisted out. In one of them I went myself, to look for the most commodious place for furnishing ourselves with the necessary supplies; and Captain Clerke went in his boat upon the same service. Wood and water we found in plenty, and in situations convenient enough, especially the first. But grass, of which we stood most in need, was scarce, and also very coarse. Necessity, however, obliged us to take such as we could get.

Next morning early, I sent Lieutenant King to the east side of the bay, with two parties; one to cut wood, and the other to cut grass, under the protection of the marines, whom I judged it prudent to land as a guard. For although, as yet, none of the natives had appeared, there could be no doubt that some were in our neighbourhood, as we had seen columns of smoke, from the time of our approaching the coast; and some now was observed, at no great distance up in the woods. I also sent the launch for water; and afterwards visited all the parties myself. In the evening, we drew the seine at the head of the bay, and, at one haul, caught a great quantity of fish. We should have got many more, had not the net broken in drawing it ashore. Most of them were of that sort known to seamen by the name of elephant fish. After this every one repaired on board with what wood and grass we had cut, that we might be ready to sail whenever the wind should serve.

This not happening next morning, the people were sent on shore again, on the same duty as the day before. I also employed the carpenter, with part of his crew, to cut some spars for the use of the ship; and dispatched Mr. Roberts, one of the mates, in a small boat, to survey the bay.

In the afternoon, we were agreeably surprised, at the place where we were cutting wood, with a visit from some of the natives; eight men and a boy. They approached us from the woods, without betraying any marks of fear, or rather with the greatest confidence imaginable; for none of them had any weapons, except one, who held in his hand a stick about two feet long, and pointed at one end.

They were quite naked, and wore no ornaments; unless we consider as such, and as a proof of their love of finery, some large punctures or ridges raised on different parts of their bodies, some in straight, and others in curved lines.

They were of the common stature, but rather slender. Their skin was black, and also their hair, which was as woolly as that of any native of Guinea; but they were not distinguished by remarkably thick lips, nor flat noses. On the contrary, their features were far from being disagreeable. They had pretty good eyes; and their teeth were tolerably even, but very dirty. Most of them had their hair and beards smeared with a red ointment; and some had their faces also painted with the same composition.

They received every present we made to them without the least appearance of satisfaction. When some bread was given, as soon as they understood that it was to be eaten, they either returned it, or threw it away, without even tasting it. They also refused some elephant fish, both raw and dressed, which we offered to them. But upon giving some birds to them, they did not return these, and easily made us comprehend that they were fond of such food. I had brought two pigs ashore, with a view to leave them in the woods. The instant these came within their reach, they seized them, as a dog would have done, by the ears, and were for carrying them off immediately; with no other intention, as we could perceive, but to kill them.

Being desirous of knowing the use of the stick which one of our visitors carried in his hand, I made signs to them to shew me; and so far succeeded, that one of them set up a piece of wood as a mark, and threw at it, at the distance of about twenty yards. But we had little reason to commend his dexterity; for after repeated trials, he was still very wide from the object. Omai, to shew them how much superior our weapons were to their’s, then fired his musket at it; which alarmed them so much, that notwithstanding all we could do or say, they ran instantly into the woods. One of them was so frightened, that he let drop an axe and two knives, that had been given to him. From us, however, they went to the place where some of the Discovery’s people were employed in taking water into their boat. The officer of that party, not knowing that they had paid us so friendly a visit, nor what their intent might be, fired a musket in the air, which sent them off with the greatest precipitation.

Thus ended our first interview with the natives. Immediately after their final retreat, judging that their fears would prevent their remaining near enough to observe what was passing, I ordered the two pigs, being a boar and sow, to be carried about a mile within the woods, at the head of the bay. I saw them left there, by the side of a fresh-water brook. A young bull and a cow, and some sheep and goats, were also, at first, intended to have been left by me, as an additional present to Van Diemen’s Land. But I soon laid aside all thoughts of this, from a persuasion that the natives, incapable of entering into my views of improving their country, would destroy them. If ever they should meet with the pigs, I have no doubt this will be their fate. But as that race of animals soon becomes wild, and is fond of the thickest cover of the woods, there is great probability of their being preserved. An open place must have been chosen for the accommodation of the other cattle; and in such a situation, they could not possibly have remained concealed many days.

The morning of the 29th was ushered in with a dead calm, which continued all day, and effectually prevented our sailing. I therefore sent a party over to the east point of the bay to cut grass; having been informed that some of a superior quality grew there. Another party, to cut wood, was ordered to go to the usual place, and I accompanied them myself. We had observed several of the natives, this morning, sauntering along the shore, which assured us, that though their consternation had made them leave us so abruptly the day before, they were convinced that we intended them no mischief, and were desirous of renewing the intercourse. It was natural that I should wish to be present on the occasion.

We had not been long landed, before about twenty of them, men and boys, joined us, without expressing the least sign of fear or distrust. There was one of this company conspicuously deformed; and who was not more distinguishable by the hump upon his back, than by the drollery of his gestures, and the seeming humour of his speeches; which he was very fond of exhibiting, as we supposed, for our entertainment. But, unfortunately, we could not understand him; the language spoken here being wholly unintelligible to us. It appeared to me to be different from that spoken by the inhabitants of the more northern parts of this country, whom I met with in my first voyage; which is not extraordinary, since those we now saw, and those we then visited, differ in many other respects.[145] Nor did they seem to be such miserable wretches as the natives whom Dampier mentions to have seen on its western coast.[146]

Some of our present groupe wore loose round their necks three or four folds of small cord, made of the fur of some animal; and others of them had a narrow slip of the _kangooroo_ skin tied round their ancles. I gave to each of them a string of beads, and a medal; which I thought they received with some satisfaction. They seemed to set no value on iron, or on iron tools. They were even ignorant of the use of fish-hooks, if we might judge from their manner of looking at some of our’s which we shewed to them.

We cannot, however, suppose it to be possible that a people who inhabit a sea-coast, and who seem to derive no part of their sustenance from the productions of the ground, should not be acquainted with some mode of catching fish, although we did not happen to see any of them thus employed; nor observe any canoe or vessel, in which they could go upon the water. Though they absolutely rejected the sort of fish that we offered to them, it was evident that shell-fish, at least, made a part of their food, from the many heaps of muscle-shells we saw in different parts near the shore, and about some deserted habitations near the head of the bay. These were little sheds or hovels built of sticks, and covered with bark. We could also perceive evident signs of their sometimes taking up their abode in the trunks of large trees, which had been hollowed out by fire, most probably for this very purpose. In or near all these habitations, and wherever there was a heap of shells, there remained the marks of fire; an indubitable proof that they do not eat their food raw.

After staying about an hour with the wooding party and the natives, as I could now be pretty confident that the latter were not likely to give the former any disturbance, I left them, and went over to the grass-cutters on the east point of the bay, and found that they had met with a fine patch. Having seen the boats loaded, I left that party, and returned on board to dinner; where, some time after, Lieutenant King arrived.

From him I learnt, that I had but just left the shore, when several women and children made their appearance, and were introduced to him by some of the men who attended them. He gave presents to all of them, of such trifles as he had about him. These females wore a _kangooroo_ skin (in the same shape as it came from the animal) tied over the shoulders, and round the waist. But its only use seemed to be, to support their children when carried on their backs; for it did not cover those parts which most nations conceal; being, in all other respects, as naked as the men, and as black, and their bodies marked with scars in the same manner. But in this they differed from the men, that though their hair was of the same colour and texture, some of them had their heads completely shorn or shaved; in others this operation had been performed only on one side, while the rest of them had all the upper part of the head shorn close, leaving a circle of hair all round, somewhat like the tonsure of the Romish ecclesiastics.[147] Many of the children had fine features, and were thought pretty; but of the persons of the women, especially those advanced in years, a less favourable report was made. However, some of the gentlemen belonging to the Discovery, I was told, paid their addresses, and made liberal offers of presents, which were rejected with great disdain; whether from a sense of virtue, or the fear of displeasing their men, I shall not pretend to determine. That this gallantry was not very agreeable to the latter, is certain: for an elderly man, as soon as he observed it, ordered all the women and children to retire, which they obeyed, though some of them shewed a little reluctance.

This conduct of Europeans amongst savages to their women, is highly blameable; as it creates a jealousy in their men, that may be attended with consequences fatal to the success of the common enterprize, and to the whole body of adventurers, without advancing the private purpose of the individual, or enabling him to gain the object of his wishes. I believe it has been generally found amongst uncivilized people, that where the women are easy of access, the men are the first to offer them to strangers; and that, where this is not the case, neither the allurement of presents, nor the opportunity of privacy, will be likely to have the desired effect. This observation, I am sure, will hold good throughout all the parts of the South Sea where I have been. Why then should men act so absurd a part, as to risk their own safety, and that of all their companions, in pursuit of a gratification which they have no probability of obtaining?

In the afternoon I went again to the grass-cutters, to forward their work. I found them then upon Penguin Island, where they had met with a plentiful crop of excellent grass. We laboured hard till sunset, and then repaired on board, satisfied with the quantity we had collected, and which I judged sufficient to last till our arrival in New Zealand.

During our whole stay, we had either calms or light airs from the eastward. Little or no time, therefore, was lost by my putting in at this place. For if I had kept the sea, we should not have been twenty leagues advanced farther on our voyage. And, short as our continuance was here, it has enabled me to add somewhat to the imperfect acquaintance that hath hitherto been acquired with this part of the globe.

Van Diemen’s Land has been twice visited before. It was so named by Tasman, who discovered it in November 1642. From that time it had escaped all farther notice by European navigators, till Captain Furneaux touched at it in March 1773. I hardly need say, that it is the southern point of New Holland, which, if it doth not deserve the name of a continent, is by far the largest island in the world.

The land is, for the most part, of a good height, diversified with hills and valleys, and every where of a greenish hue. It is well wooded; and if one may judge from appearances, and from what we met with in Adventure Bay, is not ill supplied with water. We found plenty of it in three or four places in this bay. The best, or what is most convenient for ships that touch here, is a rivulet, which is one of several that fall into a pond that lies behind the beach at the head of the bay. It there mixes with the sea-water; so that it must be taken up above this pond, which may be done without any great trouble. Fire-wood is to be got with great ease in several places.

The only wind to which this bay is exposed, is the N. E. But as this wind blows from Maria’s islands, it can bring no very great sea along with it; and, therefore, upon the whole, this may be accounted a very safe road. The bottom is clean, good holding ground; and the depth of water from twelve to five and four fathoms. But the annexed chart will convey a better idea of every thing necessary to be known about Adventure Bay, than any description.

Captain Furneaux’s sketch of Van Diemen’s Land, published with the Narrative of my last Voyage[148], appears to me to be without any material error, except with regard to Maria’s Islands, which have a different situation from what is there represented. What my idea of them is, will be seen in the sketch of that coast here inserted; and I insert it, not as the result of a more faithful, but merely of a second examination. The longitude was determined by a great number of lunar observations which we had before we made the land, while we were in sight of it, and after we had left it; and reduced to Adventure Bay, and the several principal points, by the time-keeper. The following Table will exhibit both the longitude and latitude at one view:

Latitude south. Longitude east.

Adventure Bay, 43° 21ʹ 20ʺ 147° 29ʹ 0ʺ

Tasman’s Head, 43 33 0 147 28 0

South Cape, 43 42 0 146 56 0

South-west Cape, 43 37 0 146 7 0

Swilly Isle, 43 55 0 147 6 0

Adventure Bay, Variation of the compass 5° 15ʹ east. Dip of the south-end of the needle 70° 15-1/2ʹ.

We had high-water on the 29th, being two days before the last quarter of the moon, at nine in the morning. The perpendicular rise then was eighteen inches; and there was no appearance of its having ever exceeded two feet and a half. These are all the memorials useful to navigation, which my short stay has enabled me to preserve, with respect to Van Diemen’s Land.

Mr. Anderson, my surgeon, with his usual diligence, spent the few days we remained in Adventure Bay, in examining the country. His account of its natural productions, with which he favoured me, will more than compensate for my silence about them: some of his remarks on the inhabitants will supply what I may have omitted or represented imperfectly; and his specimen of their language, however short, will be thought worth attending to, by those who wish to collect materials for tracing the origin of nations. I shall only premise, that the tall straight forest trees which Mr. Anderson describes in the following account, are of a different sort from those which are found in the more northern parts of this coast. The wood is very long and close-grained; extremely tough; fit for spars, oars, and many other uses; and would, on occasion, make good masts (perhaps none better), if a method could be found to lighten it.

“At the bottom of Adventure Bay is a beautiful sandy beach, which seems to be wholly formed by the particles washed by the sea from a very fine white sand-stone, that in many places bounds the shore, and of which Fluted Cape, in the neighbourhood, from its appearance, seems to be composed. This beach is about two miles long, and is excellently adapted for hauling a seine, which both ships did repeatedly with success. Behind this, is a plain or flat, with a salt, or rather brackish lake (running in length parallel with the beach), out of which we caught, with angling rods, many whitish bream, and some small trout. The other parts of the country adjoining the bay are quite hilly; and both those and the flat are an entire forest of very tall trees, rendered almost impassible by shrubs, brakes of fern, and fallen trees; except on the sides of some of the hills, where the trees are but thin, and a coarse grass is the only interruption.

“To the northward of the bay, there is low land, stretching farther than the eye can reach, which is only covered with wood in certain spots; but we had no opportunity to examine in what respects it differed from the hilly country. The soil on the flat land is either sandy, or consists of a yellowish mould, and, in some places, of a reddish clay. The same is found on the lower part of the hills; but farther up, especially where there are few trees, it is of a gray tough cast, to appearance very poor.

“In the valleys between the hills, the water drains down from their sides; and at last, in some places, forms small brooks; such indeed as were sufficient to supply us with water, but by no means of that size we might expect in so extensive a country, especially as it is both hilly and well wooded. Upon the whole, it has many marks of being naturally a very dry country; and perhaps might (independent of its wood) be compared to Africa, about the Cape of Good Hope, though that lies ten degrees farther northward, rather than to New Zealand, on its other side, in the same latitude, where we find every valley, however small, furnished with a considerable stream of water. The heat too appears to be great, as the thermometer stood at 64, 70, and once at 74. And it was remarked, that birds were seldom killed an hour or two, before they were almost covered with small maggots, which I would rather attribute merely to the heat; as we had not any reason to suppose there is a peculiar disposition in the climate to render substances soon putrid.

“No mineral bodies, nor indeed stones of any other sort, but the white sand one already mentioned, were observed.

“Amongst the vegetable productions, there is not one, that we could find, which afforded the smallest subsistence for man.

“The forest trees are all of one sort, growing to a great height, and in general quite straight, branching but little, till towards the top. The bark is white, which makes them appear, at a distance, as if they had been peeled; it is also thick; and within it are sometimes collected, pieces of a reddish transparent gum or resin, which has an astringent taste. The leaves of this tree are long, narrow, and pointed; and it bears clusters of small white flowers, whose cups were, at this time, plentifully scattered about the ground, with another sort resembling them somewhat in shape, but much larger; which makes it probable that there are two _species_ of this tree. The bark of the smaller branches, fruit, and leaves, have an agreeable pungent taste, and aromatic smell, not unlike peppermint; and in its nature, it has some affinity to the _myrtus_ of botanists.

“The most common tree, next to this, is a small one about ten feet high, branching pretty much, with narrow leaves, and a large, yellow, cylindrical flower, consisting only of a vast number of filaments; which, being shed, leave a fruit like a pine-top. Both the above-mentioned trees are unknown in Europe.

“The underwood consists chiefly of a shrub somewhat resembling a myrtle, and which seems to be the _leptospermum scoparium_, mentioned in Dr. Forster’s _Char. Gen. Plant._; and, in some places, of another, rather smaller, which is a new _species_ of the _melaleuca_ of Linnæus.

“Of other plants, which are by no means numerous, there is a _species_ of _gladiolus_, rush, bell-flower, samphire, a small sort of wood-sorrel, milk-wort, cudweed, and Job’s tears; with a few others, peculiar to the place. There are several kinds of fern, as polypody, spleenwort, female fern, and some mosses; but the _species_ are either common, or at least found in some other countries, especially New Zealand.

“The only animal of the quadruped kind we got, was a sort of _opossum_, about twice the size of a large rat; and is, most probably, the male of that _species_ found at Endeavour River, as mentioned in Hawkesworth’s Collection of Voyages.[149] It is of a dusky colour above, tinged with a brown or rusty cast, and whitish below. About a third of the tail, towards its tip, is white, and bare underneath; by which it probably hangs on the branches of trees, as it climbs these, and lives on berries. The _kangooroo_, another animal found farther northward in New Holland, as described in the same Voyage[150], without all doubt also inhabits here, as the natives we met with had some pieces of their skins; and we several times saw animals, though indistinctly, run from the thickets when we walked in the woods, which, from the size, could be no other. It should seem also, that they are in considerable numbers, from the dung we saw almost every where, and from the narrow tracks or paths they have made amongst the shrubbery.

“There are several sorts of birds, but all so scarce and shy, that they are evidently harassed by the natives, who, perhaps, draw much of their subsistence from them. In the woods, the principal sorts are large brown hawks or eagles; crows, nearly the same as ours in England; yellowish paroquets; and large pigeons. There are also three or four small birds, one of which is of the thrush kind; and another small one, with a pretty long tail, has part of the head and neck of a most beautiful azure colour; from whence we named it _motacilla cyanea_. On the shore were several common and sea gulls; a few black oyster catchers, or sea pies; and a pretty plover of a stone colour, with a black hood. About the pond or lake behind the beach, a few wild ducks were seen; and some shags used to perch upon the high leafless trees near the shore.

“Some pretty large blackish snakes were seen in the woods; and we killed a large, hitherto unknown, lizard, fifteen inches long and six round, elegantly clouded with black and yellow; besides a small sort, of a brown gilded colour above, and rusty below.

“The sea affords a much greater plenty, and at least as great a variety as the land. Of these the elephant fish, or _pejegallo_, mentioned in Frezier’s Voyage[151], are the most numerous; and though inferior to many other fish, were very palatable food. Several large rays, nurses, and small leather-jackets, were caught; with some small white bream, which were firmer and better than those caught in the lake. We likewise got a few soles and flounders; two sorts of gurnards, one of them a new _species_; some small spotted mullet; and, very unexpectedly, the small fish with a silver band on its side, called _atherina hepsetus_ by Hasselquist.[152]

“But that next in number, and superior in goodness, to the elephant fish, was a sort none of us recollected to have seen before. It partakes of the nature both of a round and of a flat fish, having the eyes placed very near each other; the fore-part of the body much flattened or depressed, and the rest rounded. It is of a brownish sandy colour, with rusty spots on the upper part, and whitish below. From the quantity of slime it was always covered with, it seems to live after the manner of flat fish, at the bottom.

“Upon the rocks are plenty of muscles, and some other small shell-fish. There are also great numbers of sea-stars; some small limpets; and large quantities of sponge; one sort of which, that is thrown on shore by the sea, but not very common, has a most delicate texture; and another, is the _spongia dichotoma_.

“Many pretty _Medusa’s heads_ were found upon the beach; and the stinking _laplysia_, or sea-hare, which, as mentioned by some authors, has the property of taking off the hair by the acrimony of its juice; but this sort was deficient in this respect.

“Insects, though not numerous, are here in considerable variety. Amongst them are grashoppers, butterflies, and several sorts of small moths, finely variegated. There are two sorts of dragon-flies, gad-flies, camel-flies; several sorts of spiders; and some scorpions; but the last are rather rare. The most troublesome, though not very numerous tribe of insects, are the musquitoes; and a large black ant, the pain of whose bite is almost intolerable, during the short time it lasts. The musquitoes, also, make up the deficiency of their number, by the severity of their venemous _proboscis_.

“The inhabitants whom we met with here, had little of that fierce or wild appearance common to people in their situation; but, on the contrary, seemed mild and cheerful, without reserve or jealousy of strangers. This, however, may arise from their having little to lose or care for.

“With respect to personal activity or genius, we can say but little of either. They do not seem to possess the first in any remarkable degree; and as for the last, they have, to appearance, less than even the half-animated inhabitants of Terra del Fuego, who have not invention sufficient to make clothing for defending themselves from the rigor of their climate, though furnished with the materials. The small stick, rudely pointed, which one of them carried in his hand, was the only thing we saw that required any mechanical exertion, if we except the fixing on the feet of some of them pieces of _kangooroo_ skin, tied with thongs; though it could not be learnt whether these were in use as shoes, or only to defend some sore. It must be owned, however, they are masters of some contrivance, in the manner of cutting their arms and bodies in lines of different lengths and directions, which are raised considerably above the surface of the skin, so that it is difficult to guess the method they use in executing this embroidery of their persons. Their not expressing that surprize which one might have expected from their seeing men so much unlike themselves, and things to which, we were well assured, they had been hitherto utter strangers, their indifference for our presents, and their general inattention, were sufficient proofs of their not possessing any acuteness of understanding.

“Their colour is a dull black, and not quite so deep as that of the African Negroes. It should seem also, that they sometimes heightened their black colour, by smutting their bodies; as a mark was left behind on any clean substance, such as white paper, when they handled it. Their hair, however, is perfectly woolly, and it is clotted or divided into small parcels, like that of the Hottentots, with the use of some sort of grass, mixed with a red paint or ochre, which they smear in great abundance over their heads. This practice, as some might imagine, has not the effect of changing their hair into the frizzling texture we observed; for, on examining the head of a boy, which appeared never to have been smeared, I found the hair to be of the same kind. Their noses, though not flat, are broad and full. The lower part of the face projects a good deal, as is the case of most Indians I have seen; so that a line let fall from the forehead, would cut off a much larger portion than it would in Europeans. Their eyes are of a middling size, with the white less clear than in us; and though not remarkably quick or piercing, such as give a frank cheerful cast to the whole countenance. Their teeth are broad, but not equal, nor well set; and either from nature or from dirt, not of so true a white as is usual among people of a black colour. Their mouths are rather wide; but this appearance seems heightened by wearing their beards long, and clotted with paint, in the same manner as the hair on their heads. In other respects, they are well-proportioned; though the belly seems rather projecting. This may be owing to the want of compression there, which few nations do not use, more or less. The posture of which they seem fondest, is to stand with one side forward, or the upper part of the body gently reclined, and one hand grasping (across the back) the opposite arm, which hangs down by the projecting side.

“What the ancient poets tell us of _Fauns_ and _Satyrs_ living in hollow trees, is here realized. Some wretched constructions of sticks, covered with bark, which do not even deserve the name of huts, were indeed found near the shore in the bay; but these seemed only to have been erected for temporary purposes; and many of their largest trees were converted into more comfortable habitations. These had their trunks hollowed out by fire, to the height of six or seven feet; and that they take up their abode in them sometimes, was evident from the hearths, made of clay, to contain the fire in the middle, leaving room for four or five persons to sit round it.[153] At the same time, these places of shelter are durable; for they take care to leave one side of the tree sound, which is sufficient to keep it growing as luxuriantly as those which remain untouched.

“The inhabitants of this place are, doubtless, from the same stock with those of the northern parts of New Holland. Though some of the circumstances mentioned by Dampier, relative to those he met with on the western coast of this country, such as their defective sight, and want of fore-teeth, are not found here; and though Hawkesworth’s account of those met with by Captain Cook on the east side, shows also that they differ in many respects; yet still, upon the whole, I am persuaded that distance of place, entire separation, diversity of climate, and length of time, all concurring to operate, will account for greater differences, both as to their persons and as to their customs, than really exist between our Van Diemen’s Land natives, and those described by Dampier, and in Captain Cook’s first voyage. This is certain, that the figure of one of those seen in Endeavour River, and represented in Sidney Parkinson’s Journal of that voyage, very much resembles our visitors in Adventure Bay. That there is not the like resemblance in their language, is a circumstance that need not create any difficulty. For though the agreement of the languages of people living distant from each other, may be assumed as a strong argument for their having sprung from one common source; disagreement of language is by no means a proof of the contrary.[154]

“However, we must have a far more intimate acquaintance with the languages spoken here and in the more northern parts of New Holland, before we can be warranted to pronounce that they are totally different. Nay, we have good grounds for the opposite opinion; for we found that the animal called _kangooroo_ at Endeavour River, was known under the same name here; and I need not observe that it is scarcely possible to suppose that this was not transmitted from one another, but accidentally adopted by two nations, differing in language and extraction. Besides, as it seems very improbable that the Van Diemen’s Land inhabitants should have ever lost the use of canoes or sailing vessels, if they had been originally conveyed thither by sea, we must necessarily admit that they, as well as the _kangooroo_ itself, have been stragglers by land from the more northern parts of the country. And if there be any force in this observation, while it traces the origin of the people, it will, at the same time, serve to fix another point, if Captain Cook and Captain Furneaux have not already decided it, that New Holland is no where totally divided by the sea into islands, as some have imagined.[155]

“As the New Hollanders seem all to be of the same extraction, so neither do I think there is any thing peculiar in them. On the contrary, they much resemble many of the inhabitants whom I have seen at the islands Tanna and Manicola. Nay, there is even some foundation for hazarding a supposition, that they may have originally come from the same place with all the inhabitants of the South Sea. For, of only about ten words which we could get from them, that which expresses _cold_, differs little from that of New Zealand and Otaheite; the first being _Mallareede_, the second _Makka’reede_, and the third _Ma’reede_. The rest of our very scanty Van Diemen’s Land Vocabulary is as follows:

Quadne, _A woman._ Eve’rai, _The eye._ Muidje, _The nose._ Ka’my, _The teeth, mouth, or tongue._ Lae’renne, _A small bird, a native of the woods here._ Koy’gee, _The ear._ No’onga, _Elevated scars on the body._ Teegera, _To eat._ Toga’rago, _I must be gone_, or _I will go_.

“Their pronunciation is not disagreeable, but rather quick; though not more so than is that of other nations of the South Sea; and, if we may depend upon the affinity of languages as a clue to guide us in discovering the origin of nations, I have no doubt but we shall find, on a diligent inquiry, and when opportunities offer to collect accurately a sufficient number of these words, and to compare them, that all the people from New Holland, eastward to Easter Island, have been derived from the same common root.”[156]

CHAP. VII.

THE PASSAGE FROM VAN DIEMEN’S LAND TO NEW ZEALAND.—EMPLOYMENTS IN QUEEN CHARLOTTE’S SOUND.—TRANSACTIONS WITH THE NATIVES THERE.—INTELLIGENCE ABOUT THE MASSACRE OF THE ADVENTURE’S BOAT’S CREW.—ACCOUNT OF THE CHIEF WHO HEADED THE PARTY ON THAT OCCASION.—OF THE TWO YOUNG MEN WHO EMBARK TO ATTEND OMAI.—VARIOUS REMARKS ON THE INHABITANTS.— ASTRONOMICAL AND NAUTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

At eight o’clock in the morning of the 30th of January, a light breeze springing up at W., we weighed anchor, and put to sea from Adventure Bay. Soon after, the wind veered to the southward, and increased to a perfect storm. Its fury abated in the evening, when it veered to the E. and N. E.

This gale was indicated by the barometer, for the wind no sooner began to blow, than the mercury in the tube began to fall. Another remarkable thing attended the coming on of this wind, which was very faint at first. It brought with it a degree of heat that was almost intolerable. The mercury in the thermometer rose, as it were instantaneously, from about 70° to near 90°. This heat was of so short a continuance, that it seemed to be wafted away before the breeze that brought it; so that some on board did not perceive it.

We pursued our course to the eastward, without meeting with any thing worthy of note, till the night between the 6th and 7th of February, when a marine belonging to the Discovery fell over board, and was never seen afterward. This was the second misfortune of the kind that had happened to Captain Clerke since he left England.

On the 10th, at four in the afternoon, we discovered the land of New Zealand. The part we saw proved to be Rock’s Point, and bore S. E. by S., about eight or nine leagues distant. During this run from Van Diemen’s Land, the wind, for the first four or five days, was at N. E., N., and N. N. W., and blew, for the most part, a gentle breeze. It afterward veered to S. E., where it remained twenty-four hours. It then came to W. and S. W.; in which points it continued, with very little deviation, till we reached New Zealand.

After making the land, I steered for Cape Farewell, which at day-break, the next morning, bore S. by W., distant about four leagues. At eight o’clock, it bore S. W. by S., about five leagues distant; and, in this situation, we had forty-five fathoms’ water over a sandy bottom. In rounding the Cape we had fifty fathoms, and the same sort of bottom.

I now steered for Stephen’s Island, which we came up with at nine o’clock at night; and at ten, next morning, anchored in our old station, in Queen Charlotte’s Sound.[157] Unwilling to lose any time, our operations commenced that very afternoon, when we landed a number of empty water-casks, and began to clear a place where we might set up the two observatories, and tents for the reception of a guard, and of such of our people whose business might make it necessary for them to remain on shore.

We had not been long at anchor before several canoes, filled with natives, came along-side of the ships; but very few of them would venture on board; which appeared the more extraordinary, as I was well known to them all. There was one man in particular amongst them, whom I had treated with remarkable kindness, during the whole of my stay when I was last here. Yet now, neither professions of friendship, nor presents, could prevail upon him to come into the ship. This shyness was to be accounted for only upon this supposition, that they were apprehensive we had revisited their country, in order to revenge the death of Captain Furneaux’s people. Seeing Omai on board my ship now, whom they must have remembered to have seen on board the Adventure when the melancholy affair happened, and whose first conversation with them, as they approached, generally turned on that subject, they must be well assured that I was no longer a stranger to it. I thought it necessary, therefore, to use every endeavour to assure them of the continuance of my friendship, and that I should not disturb them on that account. I do not know whether this had any weight with them; but certain it is, that they very soon laid aside all manner of restraint and distrust.

On the 13th we set up two tents, one from each ship; on the same spot where he had pitched them formerly. The observatories were at the same time erected; and Messrs. King and Bayly began their operations immediately, to find the rate of the time-keeper, and to make other observations. The remainder of the empty water-casks were also sent on shore, with the cooper to trim, and a sufficient number of sailors to fill them. Two men were appointed to brew spruce beer; and the carpenter and his crew were ordered to cut wood. A boat, with a party of men, under the direction of one of the mates, was sent to collect grass for our cattle; and the people that remained on board were employed in refitting the ship, and arranging the provisions. In this manner, we were all profitably busied during our stay. For the protection of the party on shore, I appointed a guard of ten marines, and ordered arms for all the workmen; and Mr. King, and two or three petty officers, constantly remained with them. A boat was never sent to any considerable distance from the ships without being armed, and under the direction of such officers as I could depend upon, and who were well acquainted with the natives. During my former visits to this country, I had never taken some of these precautions; nor were they, I firmly believe, more necessary now than they had been formerly. But after the tragical fate of the Adventure’s boat’s crew in this Sound, and of Captain Marion du Fresne, and of some of his people, in the Bay of Islands[158], it was impossible totally to divest ourselves of all apprehension of experiencing a similar calamity.

If the natives entertained any suspicion of our revenging these acts of barbarity, they very soon laid it aside. For, during the course of this day, a great number of families came from different parts of the coast, and took up their residence close to us; so that there was not a spot in the cove where a hut could be put up, that was not occupied by them, except the place where we had fixed our little encampment. This they left us in quiet possession of; but they came and took away the ruins of some old huts that were there, as materials for their new erections.

It is curious to observe with what facility they build these occasional places of abode. I have seen above twenty of them erected on a spot of ground, that, not an hour before, was covered with shrubs and plants. They generally bring some part of the materials with them; the rest they find upon the premises. I was present when a number of people landed, and built one of these villages. The moment the canoes reached the shore, the men leaped out, and at once took possession of a piece of ground, by tearing up the plants and shrubs, or sticking up some part of the framing of a hut. They then returned to their canoes, and secured their weapons, by setting them up against a tree, or placing them in such a position, that they could be laid hold of in an instant. I took particular notice that no one neglected this precaution. While the men were employed in raising the huts, the women were not idle. Some were stationed to take care of the canoes; others to secure the provisions, and the few utensils in their possession; and the rest went to gather dry sticks, that a fire might be prepared for dressing their victuals. As to the children, I kept them, as also some of the more aged, sufficiently occupied in scrambling for beads, till I had emptied my pockets, and then I left them.

These temporary habitations are abundantly sufficient to afford shelter from the wind and rain, which is the only purpose they are meant to answer. I observed that, generally, if not always, the same tribe or family, though it were ever so large, associated and built together; so that we frequently saw a village, as well as their larger towns, divided into different districts, by low pallisades, or some similar mode of separation.

The advantage we received from the natives coming to live with us, was not inconsiderable. For, every day, when the weather would permit, some of them went out to catch fish; and we generally got, by exchanges, a good share of the produce of their labours. This supply, and what our own nets and lines afforded us, was so ample, that we seldom were in want of fish. Nor was there any deficiency of other refreshments. Celery, scurvy-grass, and portable soup, were boiled with the peas and wheat, for both ships’ companies, every day during our whole stay; and they had spruce-beer for their drink. So that, if any of our people had contracted the seeds of the scurvy, such a regimen soon removed them. But the truth is, when we arrived here, there were only two invalids (and these on board the Resolution) upon the sick lists in both ships.

Besides the natives who took up their abode close to us, we were occasionally visited by others of them, whose residence was not far off; and by some who lived more remote. Their articles of commerce were, curiosities, fish, and women. The two first always came to a good market; which the latter did not. The seamen had taken a kind of dislike to these people; and were either unwilling, or afraid, to associate with them; which produced this good effect, that I knew no instance of a man’s quitting his station, to go to their habitations.

A connection with women I allow, because I cannot prevent it; but never encourage, because I always dread its consequences. I know, indeed, that many men are of opinion, that such an intercourse is one of our greatest securities amongst savages; and perhaps they who, either from necessity or choice, are to remain and settle with them, may find it so. But with travellers and transient visitors, such as we were, it is generally otherwise; and, in our situation, a connection with their women betrays more men than it saves. What else can be reasonably expected, since all their views are selfish, without the least mixture of regard or attachment? My own experience, at least, which hath been pretty extensive, hath not pointed out to me one instance to the contrary.

Amongst our occasional visitors, was a chief named Kahoora, who, as I was informed, headed the party that cut off Captain Furneaux’s people, and himself killed Mr. Rowe, the officer who commanded. To judge of the character of Kahoora, by what I heard from many of his countrymen, he seemed to be more feared than beloved amongst them. Not satisfied with telling me that he was a very bad man, some of them even importuned me to kill him; and, I believe, they were not a little surprised that I did not listen to them; for, according to their ideas of equity, this ought to have been done. But if I had followed the advice of all our pretended friends, I might have extirpated the whole race; for the people of each hamlet or village, by turns, applied to me to destroy the other. One would have almost thought it impossible, that so striking a proof of the divided state in which this miserable people live, could have been assigned. And yet I was sure that I did not misconceive the meaning of those who made these strange applications to me; for Omai, whose language was a dialect of their own, and perfectly understood all that they said, was our interpreter.

On the 15th, I made an excursion in my boat to look for grass, and visited the Hippah, or fortified village, at the south-west point of Motuara, and the places where our gardens had been planted on that island. There were no people at the former; but the houses and pallisades had been rebuilt, and were now in a state of good repair; and there were other evident marks of its having been inhabited not long before. It would be unnecessary, at present, to give a particular account of this Hippah, sufficient notice having been taken of it in the Account of my first Voyage, to which I refer.[159]

When the Adventure arrived first at Queen Charlotte’s Sound, in 1773[160], Mr. Bayly, fixed upon this place for making his observations; and he, and the people with him, at their leisure hours, planted several spots with English garden seeds. Not the least vestige of these now remained. It is probable that they had been all rooted out to make room for buildings, when the village was re-inhabited; for, at all the other gardens then planted by Captain Furneaux, although now wholly over-run with the weeds of the country, we found cabbages, onions, leeks, purslain, radishes, mustard, &c. and a few potatoes. These potatoes, which were first brought from the Cape of Good Hope, had been greatly improved by change of soil; and, with proper cultivation, would be superior to those produced in most other countries. Though the New Zealanders are fond of this root, it was evident that they had not taken the trouble to plant a single one (much less any other of the articles which we had introduced); and if it were not for the difficulty of clearing ground where potatoes had been once planted, there would not have been any now remaining.

On the 16th, at day-break, I set out with a party of men, in five boats, to collect food for our cattle. Captain Clerke, and several of the officers, Omai, and two of the natives, accompanied me. We proceeded about three leagues up the Sound, and then landed on the east side, at a place where I had formerly been. Here we cut as much grass as loaded the two launches.

As we returned down the Sound, we visited Grass Cove, the memorable scene of the massacre of Captain Furneaux’s people. Here I met with my old friend Pedro, who was almost continually with me the last time I was in this Sound, and is mentioned in my History of that Voyage.[161] He, and another of his countrymen, received us on the beach, armed with the pa-too and spear. Whether this form of reception was a mark of their courtesy or of their fear, I cannot say; but I thought they betrayed manifest signs of the latter. However, if they had any apprehensions, a few presents soon removed them, and brought down to the beach two or three more of the family; but the greatest part of them remained out of sight.

Whilst we were at this place, our curiosity prompted us to inquire into the circumstances attending the melancholy fate of our countrymen; and Omai was made use of as our interpreter for this purpose. Pedro, and the rest of the natives present, answered all the questions that were put to them on the subject, without reserve, and like men who are under no dread of punishment for a crime of which they are not guilty. For we already knew that none of them had been concerned in the unhappy transaction. They told us, that while our people were sitting at dinner, surrounded by several of the natives, some of the latter stole, or snatched from them, some bread and fish, for which they were beat. This being resented, a quarrel ensued, and two New Zealanders were shot dead, by the only two muskets that were fired. For before our people had time to discharge a third, or to load again those that had been fired, the natives rushed in upon them, overpowered them with their numbers, and put them all to death. Pedro and his companions, besides relating the history of the massacre, made us acquainted with the very spot that was the scene of it. It is at the corner of the cove on the right hand. They pointed to the place of the sun, to mark to us at what hour of the day it happened; and, according to this, it must have been late in the afternoon. They also showed us the place where the boat lay; and it appeared to be about two hundred yards distant from that where the crew were seated. One of their number, a black servant of Captain Furneaux, was left in the boat to take care of her.

We were afterward told that this black was the cause of the quarrel, which was said to have happened thus: One of the natives stealing something out of the boat, the negro gave him a severe blow with a stick. The cries of the fellow being heard by his countrymen at a distance, they imagined he was killed, and immediately began the attack on our people; who, before they had time to reach the boat, or to arm themselves against the unexpected impending danger, fell a sacrifice to the fury of their savage assailants.

The first of these accounts, was confirmed by the testimony of many of the natives, whom we conversed with, at different times, and who, I think, could have no interest in deceiving us. The second manner of relating the transaction, rests upon the authority of the young New Zealander, who chose to abandon his country and go away with us, and who, consequently, could have no possible view in disguising the truth. All agreeing that the quarrel happened when the boat’s crew were sitting at their meal, it is highly probable that both the accounts are true, as they perfectly coincide. For we may very naturally suppose, that while some of the natives were stealing from the man who had been left in the boat, others of them might take the same liberties with the property of our people who were on shore.

Be this as it will, all agree, that the quarrel first took its rise from some thefts, in the commission of which the natives were detected. All agree, also, that there was no premeditated plan of bloodshed, and that, if these thefts had not been, unfortunately, too hastily resented, no mischief would have happened. For Kahoora’s greatest enemies, those who solicited his destruction most earnestly, at the same time confessed that he had no intention to quarrel, much less to kill, till the fray had actually commenced. It also appears that the unhappy victims were under no sort of apprehension of their fate; otherwise they never would have ventured to sit down to a repast at so considerable a distance from their boat, amongst people who were the next moment to be their murderers. What became of the boat I never could learn. Some said she was pulled to pieces and burnt; others told us that she was carried, they knew not whither, by a party of strangers.

We stayed here till the evening, when, having loaded the rest of the boats with grass, celery, scurvy-grass, &c. we embarked to return to the ships. We had prevailed upon Pedro to launch his canoe, and accompany us; but we had scarcely put off from the shore, when the wind began to blow very hard at north-west, which obliged him to put back. We proceeded ourselves, but it was with a good deal of difficulty that we could reach the ships; where some of the boats did not arrive till one o’clock the next morning; and it was fortunate that they got on board then, for it afterward blew a perfect storm, with abundance of rain, so that no manner of work could go forward that day. In the evening the gale ceased, and the wind having veered to the east, brought with it fair weather.

The next day we resumed our works; the natives ventured out to catch fish; and Pedro, with all his family, came and took up his abode near us. This chief’s proper name is Matahouah; the other being given him by some of my people during my last voyage, which I did not know till now. He was, however, equally well known amongst his countrymen by both names.

On the 20th, in the forenoon, we had another storm from the north-west. Though this was not of so long continuance as the former, the gusts of wind from the hills were far more violent, insomuch that we were obliged to strike the yards and top-masts to the very utmost; and, even with all this precaution, it was with difficulty that we rode it out. These storms are very frequent here, and sometimes violent and troublesome. The neighbouring mountains, which at these times are always loaded with vapours, not only increase the force of the wind, but alter its direction in such a manner, that no two blasts follow each other from the same quarter; and the nearer the shore, the more their effects are felt.

The next day we were visited by a tribe or family, consisting of about thirty persons, men, women, and children, who came from the upper part of the Sound. I had never seen them before. The name of their chief was Tomatongeauooranuc; a man of about forty-five years of age, with a cheerful open countenance. And, indeed, the rest of his tribe were, in general, the handsomest of the New Zealand race I had ever met with.

By this time more than two-thirds of the inhabitants of the Sound had settled themselves about us. Great numbers of them daily frequented the ships, and the encampment on shore: but the latter became, by far, the most favourite place of resort, while our people there were melting some seal blubber. No Greenlander was ever fonder of train-oil, than our friends here seem to be. They relished the very skimmings of the kettle, and dregs of the casks; but a little of the pure stinking oil was a delicious feast, so eagerly desired, that I supposed it is seldom enjoyed.

Having got on board as much hay and grass as we judged sufficient to serve the cattle till our arrival at Otaheite, and having completed the wood and water of both ships, on the 23d we struck our tents, and carried every thing off from the shore; and next morning we weighed anchor, and stood out of the cove. But the wind not being very fair, and finding that the tide of ebb would be spent before we could get out of the Sound, we cast anchor again a little without the island Motuara, to wait for a more favourable opportunity of putting into the strait.

While we were unmooring and getting under sail, Tomatongeauooranuc, Matahouah, and many more of the natives, came to take their leave of us, or rather to obtain, if they could, some additional present from us before we left them. These two chiefs became suitors to me for some goats, and hogs. Accordingly, I gave to Matahouah two goats, a male and female with kid; and to Tomatongeauooranuc two pigs, a boar, and a sow. They made me a promise not to kill them; though I must own I put no great faith in this. The animals which Captain Furneaux sent on shore here, and which soon after fell into the hands of the natives, I was now told were all dead; but I could get no intelligence about the fate of those I had left in West Bay, and in Cannibal Cove, when I was here in the course of my last voyage. However, all the natives whom I conversed with agreed, that poultry are now to be met with wild in the woods behind Ship Cove; and I was afterward informed, by the two youths who went away with us, that Tiratou, a popular chief amongst them, had a great many cocks and hens in his separate possession, and one of the sows.

On my present arrival at this place, I fully intended to have left not only goats and hogs, but sheep, and a young bull, with two heifers, if I could have found either a chief powerful enough to protect and keep them, or a place where there might be a probability of their being concealed from those who would ignorantly attempt to destroy them. But neither the one nor the other presented itself to me. Tiratou was now absent; and Tringoboohee, whom I had met with during my last voyage[162], and who seemed to be a person of much consequence at that time, had been killed five months ago, with about seventy persons of his tribe; and I could not learn that there now remained in our neighbourhood any tribe, whose numbers could secure to them a superiority of power over the rest of their countrymen. To have given the animals to any of the natives who possessed no such power, would not have answered the intention. For, in a country like this, where no man’s property is secure, they would soon have fallen a prey to different parties, and been either separated or killed; but most likely both. This was so evident, from what we had observed since our arrival, that I had resolved to leave no kind of animal, till Matahouah and the other chief solicited me for the hogs and goats. As I could spare them, I let them go, to take their chance. I have, at different times, left in New Zealand no less than ten or a dozen hogs, besides those put on shore by Captain Furneaux. It will be a little extraordinary, therefore, if this race should not increase and be preserved here, either in a wild or in a domestic state, or in both.

We had not been long at anchor near Motuara, before three or four canoes, filled with natives, came off to us from the south-east side of the Sound; and a brisk trade was carried on with them for the curiosities of this place. In one of these canoes was Kahoora, whom I have already mentioned as the leader of the party who cut off the crew of the Adventurer’s boat. This was the third time he had visited us, without betraying the smallest appearance of fear. I was ashore when he now arrived, but had got on board just as he was going away. Omai, who had returned with me, presently pointed him out, and solicited me to shoot him. Not satisfied with this, he addressed himself to Kahoora, threatening to be his executioner, if ever he presumed to visit us again.

The New Zealander paid so little regard to these threats, that he returned, the next morning, with his whole family, men, women, and children, to the number of twenty and upwards. Omai was the first who acquainted me with his being along-side the ship, and desired to know if he should ask him to come on board. I told him he might; and accordingly he introduced the chief into the cabin, saying, “There is Kahoora; kill him!” But, as if he had forgot his former threats, or were afraid that I should call upon him to perform them, he immediately retired. In a short time, however, he returned; and seeing the chief unhurt, he expostulated with me very earnestly, saying, “Why do you not kill him? You tell me, if a man kills another in England, that he is hanged for it. This man has killed ten, and yet you will not kill him; though many of his countrymen desire it, and it would be very good.” Omai’s arguments, though specious enough, having no weight with me, I desired him to ask the chief, why he had killed Captain Furneaux’s people? At this question, Kahoora folded his arms, hung down his head, and looked like one caught in a trap; and, I firmly believe, he expected instant death. But no sooner was he assured of his safety, than he became cheerful. He did not, however, seem willing to give me an answer to the question that had been put to him, till I had, again and again, repeated my promise that he should not be hurt. Then he ventured to tell us, that one of his countrymen having brought a stone-hatchet to barter, the man to whom it was offered took it, and would neither return it nor give any thing for it; on which the owner of it snatched up the bread as an equivalent; and then the quarrel began.

The remainder of Kahoora’s account of this unhappy affair differed very little from what we had before learned from the rest of his countrymen. He mentioned the narrow escape he had during the fray, a musket being levelled at him, which he avoided by skulking behind the boat; and another man, who stood close to him, was shot dead. As soon as the musket was discharged, he instantly seized the opportunity to attack Mr. Rowe, who commanded the party, and who defended himself with his hanger (with which he wounded Kahoora in the arm), till he was overpowered by numbers.

Mr. Burney, who was sent by Captain Furneaux the next day[163] with an armed party, to look for his missing people, upon discovering the horrid proofs of their shocking fate, had fired several vollies amongst the crowds of natives who still remained assembled on the spot, and were, probably, partaking of the detestable banquet. It was natural to suppose that he had not fired in vain; and that, therefore, some of the murderers and devourers of our unhappy countrymen had suffered under our just resentment. Upon enquiry, however, into this matter, not only from Kahoora, but from others who had opportunities of knowing, it appeared that our supposition was groundless, and that not one of the shot fired by Mr. Burney’s people had taken effect, so as to kill, or even to hurt, a single person.

It was evident, that most of the natives we had met with since our arrival, as they knew I was fully acquainted with the history of the massacre, expected I should avenge it with the death of Kahoora. And many of them seemed not only to wish it, but expressed their surprise at my forbearance. As he could not be ignorant of this, it was a matter of wonder to me, that he put himself so often in my power. When he visited us while the ships lay in the Cove, confiding in the number of his friends that accompanied him, he might think himself safe. But his two last visits had been made under such circumstances, that he could no longer rely upon this. We were then at anchor in the entrance of the Sound, and at some distance from any shore; so that he could not have any assistance from thence, nor flatter himself he could have the means of making his escape, had I determined to detain him. And yet, after his first fears, on being interrogated, were over, he was so far from entertaining any uneasy sensations, that, on seeing a portrait of one of his countrymen hanging up in the cabin, he desired to have his own portrait drawn; and sat till Mr. Webber had finished it, without marking the least impatience. I must confess, I admired his courage, and was not a little pleased to observe the extent of the confidence he put in me. For he placed his whole safety in the declarations I had uniformly made to those who solicited his death, that I had always been a friend to them all, and would continue so, unless they gave me cause to act otherwise; that as to their inhuman treatment of our people, I should think no more of it, the transaction having happened long ago, and when I was not present; but that, if ever they made a second attempt of that kind, they might rest assured of feeling the weight of my resentment.

For some time before we arrived at New Zealand, Omai had expressed a desire to take one of the natives with him to his own country. We had not been there many days, before he had an opportunity of being gratified in this; for a youth about seventeen or eighteen years of age, named Taweiharooa, offered to accompany him; and took up his residence on board. I paid little attention to this at first, imagining that he would leave us when we were about to depart, and after he had got what he could from Omai. At length, finding that he was fixed in his resolution to go with us, and having learnt that he was the only son of a deceased chief, and that his mother, still living, was a woman much respected here, I was apprehensive that Omai had deceived him and his friends, by giving them hopes and assurances of his being sent back. I therefore caused it to be made known to them all, that if the young man went away with us, he would never return. But this declaration seemed to make no sort of impression. The afternoon before we left the Cove, Tiratoutou, his mother, came on board, to receive her last present from Omai. The same evening, she and Taweiharooa parted, with all the marks of tender affection that might be expected between a parent and a child, who were never to meet again. But she said she would cry no more; and, sure enough, she kept her word. For when she returned the next morning, to take her last farewell of him, all the time she was on board she remained quite cheerful, and went away wholly unconcerned.

That Taweiharooa might be sent away in a manner becoming his birth, another youth was to have gone with him as his servant; and, with this view, as we supposed, he remained on board till we were about to sail, when his friends took him ashore. However, his place was supplied, next morning, by another, a boy of about nine or ten years of age, named Kokoa. He was presented to me by his own father, who, I believe, would have parted with his dog with far less indifference. The very little clothing the boy had, he stripped him of, and left him as naked as he was born. It was to no purpose that I endeavoured to convince these people of the improbability, or rather of the impossibility, of these youths ever returning home. Not one, not even their nearest relations, seemed to trouble themselves about their future fate. Since this was the case, and I was well satisfied that the boys would be no losers by exchange of place, I the more readily gave my consent to their going.

From my own observations, and from the information of Taweiharooa and others, it appears to me that the New Zealanders must live under perpetual apprehensions of being destroyed by each other; there being few of their tribes that have not, as they think, sustained wrongs from some other tribe, which they are continually upon the watch to revenge. And, perhaps, the desire of a good meal may be no small incitement. I am told that many years will sometimes elapse before a favourable opportunity happens, and that the son never loses sight of an injury that has been done to his father. Their method of executing their horrible designs is by stealing upon the adverse party in the night; and if they find them unguarded, (which, however, I believe, is very seldom the case,) they kill every one indiscriminately, not even sparing the women and children. When the massacre is completed, they either feast and gorge themselves on the spot, or carry off as many of the dead bodies as they can, and devour them at home, with acts of brutality too shocking to be described. If they are discovered before they can execute their bloody purpose, they generally steal off again; and sometimes are pursued and attacked by the other party, in their turn. To give quarter, or to take prisoners, makes no part of their military law; so that the vanquished can only save their lives by flight. This perpetual state of war, and destructive method of conducting it, operates so strongly in producing habitual circumspection, that one hardly ever finds a New Zealander off his guard, either by night or by day. Indeed no other man can have such powerful motives to be vigilant, as the preservation both of body and of soul depends upon it. For, according to their system of belief, the soul of the man whose flesh is devoured by the enemy is doomed to a perpetual fire, while the soul of the man whose body has been rescued from those who killed him, as well as the souls of all who die a natural death, ascend to the habitations of the gods. I asked, whether they ate the flesh of such of their friends as had been killed in war, but whose bodies were saved from falling into the enemy’s hands? They seemed surprised at the question, which they answered in the negative, expressing some abhorrence at the very idea. Their common method of disposing of their dead is by depositing their bodies in the earth; but if they have more of their slaughtered enemies than they can eat, they throw them into the sea.

They have no such thing as _morais_, or other places of public worship; nor do they ever assemble together with this view. But they have priests, who alone address the gods in prayers for the prosperity of their temporal affairs; such as an enterprise against a hostile tribe, a fishing party, or the like.

Whatever the principles of their religion may be, of which we remain very ignorant, its instructions are very strongly inculcated into them from their very infancy. Of this I saw a remarkable instance, in the youth who was first destined to accompany Taweiharooa. He refrained from eating the greatest part of the day, on account of his hair being cut; though every method was tried to induce him to break his resolution, and he was tempted with the offer of such victuals as he was known to esteem the most. He said, if he ate any thing that day, the _Eatooa_ would kill him. However, towards evening, the cravings of nature got the better of the precepts of his religion, and he ate, though but sparingly. I had often conjectured, before this, that they had some superstitious notions about their hair, having frequently observed quantities of it tied to the branches of trees near some of their habitations; but what these notions are, I never could learn.

Notwithstanding the divided and hostile state in which the New Zealanders live, travelling strangers, who come with no ill design, are well received and entertained during their stay; which, however, it is expected, will be no longer than is requisite to transact the business they come upon. Thus it is that a trade for _poenammoo_, or green talc, is carried on throughout the whole northern island. For they tell us, that there is none of this stone to be found, but at a place which bears its name, somewhere about the head of Queen Charlotte’s Sound, and not above one or two days’ journey, at most, from the station of our ships. I regretted much that I could not spare time sufficient for paying a visit to the place; as we were told a hundred fabulous stories about this stone, not one of which carried with it the least probability of truth, though some of their most sensible men would have us believe them. One of these stories is, that this stone is originally a fish, which they strike with a gig in the water, tie a rope to it, and drag it to the shore, to which they fasten it, and it afterward becomes stone. As they all agree, that it is fished out of a large lake, or collection of waters, the most probable conjecture is, that it is brought from the mountains, and deposited in the water, by the torrents. This lake is called by the natives _Tavai Poenammoo_; that is, the water of Green Talc; and it is only the adjoining part of the country, and not the whole southern island of New Zealand, that is known to them by the name which hath been given to it on my chart.

Polygamy is allowed amongst these people; and it is not uncommon for a man to have two or three wives. The women are marriagable at a very early age; and it should seem that one who is unmarried is but in a forlorn state. She can with difficulty get a subsistence; at least she is, in a great measure, without a protector, though in constant want of a powerful one.

The New Zealanders seem to be a people perfectly satisfied with the little knowledge they are masters of, without attempting, in the least, to improve it; nor are they remarkably curious, either in their observations or their enquiries. New objects do not strike them with such a degree of surprise as one would naturally expect; nor do they even fix their attention for a moment. Omai, indeed, who was a great favourite with them, would sometimes attract a circle about him; but they seemed to listen to his speeches like persons who neither understood, nor washed to understand, what they heard.

One day, on our enquiring of Taweiharooa how many ships, such as ours, had ever arrived in Queen Charlotte’s Sound, or in any part of its neighbourhood? he began with giving an account of one absolutely unknown to us. This, he said, had put into a port on the north-west coast of Teerawitte, but a very few years before I arrived in the Sound in the Endeavour, which the New Zealanders distinguish, by calling Tupia’s ship. At first, I thought he might have been mistaken as to the time and place; and that the ship in question might be either Monsieur Surville’s, who is said to have touched upon the north-east coast of Eaheinomauwe, the same year I was there in the Endeavour, or else Monsieur Marion du Fresne’s, who was in the Bay of Islands, on the same coast, a few years after; but he assured us that he was not mistaken, either as to the time or as to the place of this ship’s arrival; and that it was well known to every body about Queen Charlotte’s Sound and Teerawitte. He said, that the captain of her, during his stay here, cohabited with a woman of the country; and that she had a son by him still living, and about the age of Kokoa; who, though not born then, seemed to be equally well acquainted with the story. We were also informed by Taweiharooa, that this ship first introduced the venereal disease amongst the New Zealanders. I wish that subsequent visitors from Europe may not have their share of guilt, in leaving so dreadful a remembrance of them amongst this unhappy race. The disorder now is but too common here, though they do not seem to regard it, saying, that its effects are not near so pernicious at present as they were at its first appearance. The only method, as far as I ever heard, that they make use of as a remedy, is by giving the patient the use of a sort of hot bath, which they produce by the steam of certain green plants laid over hot stones.

I regretted much that we did not hear of this ship while we were in the Sound; as, by means of Omai, we might have had full and correct information about her from eye-witnesses. For Taweiharooa’s account was only from what he had been told, and therefore liable to many mistakes. I have not the least doubt, however, that his testimony may so far be depended upon, as to induce us to believe that a ship really had been at Teerawitte prior to my arrival in the Endeavour, as it corresponds with what I had formerly heard. For in the latter end of 1773, the second time I visited New Zealand, during my last voyage, when we were continually making enquiries about the Adventure, after our separation, some of the natives informed us of a ship’s having been in a port on the coast of Teerawitte. But, at that time, we thought we must have misunderstood them, and took no notice of the intelligence.

The arrival of this unknown ship has been marked by the New Zealanders with more cause of remembrance than the unhappy one just mentioned. Taweiharooa told us, their country was indebted to her people for the present of an animal, which they left behind them. But as he had not seen it himself, no sort of judgment could be formed, from his description, of what kind it was.

We had another piece of intelligence from him, more correctly given, though not confirmed by our own observations, that there are snakes and lizards there of an enormous size. He described the latter as being eight feet in length, and as big round as a man’s body. He said, they sometimes seize and devour men; that they burrow in the ground; and that they are killed by making fires at the mouths of the holes. We could not be mistaken as to the animal; for with his own hand he drew a very good representation of a lizard on a piece of paper; as also of a snake, in order to show what he meant.

Though much has been said, in the narratives of my two former voyages, about this country and its inhabitants, Mr. Anderson’s remarks, as serving either to confirm or to correct our former accounts, may not be superfluous. He had been three times with me in Queen Charlotte’s Sound, during my last voyage; and, after this fourth visit, what he thought proper to record, may be considered as the result of sufficient observation. The reader will find it in the next chapter; and I have nothing farther to add, before I quit New Zealand, but to give some account of the astronomical and nautical observations made during our stay there.

The longitude of the Observatory in Ship Cove, by a mean of 103 sets of observations, each set consisting of six or more observed distances, was 174° 25ʹ 15ʺ east.

By the time-keeper, at Greenwich rate, it was 175 26 30

By ditto, at the Cape rate, it was 174 56 12

Variation of the compass, being the mean of six needles, observed on board the ship 12 40 0 east.

By the same needles on shore, it was 13 53 0

The dip of the south end, observed on shore, was 63 42 0

By a mean of the results of eleven days observations, the time-keeper was too slow for mean time, on February 22. at noon, by 11^h 50ʹ 37ʺ, 396; and she was found to be losing, on mean time, at the rate of 2ʺ, 913 _per_ day. From this rate the longitude will be computed, till some other opportunity offers to ascertain her rate anew. The astronomical clock, with the same length of pendulum as at Greenwich, was found to be losing on sidereal time 40ʺ, 239 _per_ day.

It will not be amiss to mention, that the longitude, by lunar observations, as above, differs only 6ʹ 45ʺ from what Mr. Wales made it during my last voyage; his being so much more to the W., or 174° 18ʹ 30ʺ.

The latitude of Ship Cove is 41° 6ʹ 0ʺ, as found by Mr. Wales.

CHAP. VIII.

MR. ANDERSON’S REMARKS ON THE COUNTRY NEAR QUEEN CHARLOTTE’S SOUND.—THE SOIL.—CLIMATE.—WEATHER.—WINDS.—TREES.—PLANTS.—BIRDS.—FISH.—OTHER ANIMALS.—OF THE INHABITANTS.—DESCRIPTION OF THEIR PERSONS.—THEIR DRESS.—ORNAMENTS.—HABITATIONS.—BOATS.—FOOD AND COOKERY.—ARTS.— WEAPONS.—CRUELTY TO PRISONERS.—VARIOUS CUSTOMS.—SPECIMEN OF THEIR LANGUAGE.

The land every where about Queen Charlotte’s Sound is uncommonly mountainous, rising immediately from the sea into large hills with blunted tops. At considerable distances are valleys, or rather impressions on the sides of the hills, which are not deep; each terminating toward the sea in a small cove, with a pebbly or sandy beach; behind which are small flats, where the natives generally build their huts, at the same time hauling their canoes upon the beaches. This situation is the more convenient, as in every cove a brook of very fine water (in which are some small trout) empties itself into the sea.

The bases of these mountains, at least toward the shore, are constituted of a brittle, yellowish sand-stone, which acquires a bluish cast, where the sea washes it. It runs, at some places, in horizontal, and, at other places, in oblique _strata_; being frequently divided, at small distances, by thin veins of coarse _quartz_, which commonly follow the direction of the other, though they sometimes intersect it. The mould, or soil, which covers this, is also of a yellowish cast, not unlike marl; and is commonly from a foot to two, or more, in thickness.

The quality of this soil is best indicated by the luxuriant growth of its productions. For the hills (except a few toward the sea, which are covered with smaller bushes) are one continued forest of lofty trees, flourishing with a vigour almost superior to any thing that imagination can conceive, and affording an august prospect to those who are delighted with the grand and beautiful works of nature.

The agreeable temperature of the climate, no doubt, contributes much to this uncommon strength in vegetation. For at this time, though answering to our month of August, the weather was never disagreeably warm; nor did it raise the thermometer higher than 66°. The winter, also, seems equally mild with respect to cold: for in June, 1773, which corresponds to our December, the mercury never fell lower than 48°; and the trees, at that time, retained their verdure, as if in the summer season; so that, I believe, their foliage is never shed, till pushed off by the succeeding leaves in spring.

The weather, in general, is good, but sometimes windy, with heavy rain; which, however, never lasts above a day, nor does it appear that it is ever excessive. For there are no marks of torrents rushing down the hills, as in many countries; and the brooks, if we may judge from their channels, seem never to be greatly increased. I have observed, in the four different times of my being here, that the winds from the S. eastward are commonly moderate, but attended with cloudy weather, or rain. The S. W. winds blow very strong, and are also attended with rain; but they seldom last long. The N. W. winds are the most prevailing; and though often pretty strong, are almost constantly connected with fine weather. In short, the only obstacle to this being one of the finest countries upon earth is its great hilliness, which, allowing the woods to be cleared away, would leave it less proper for pasturage than flat land, and still more improper for cultivation, which could never be effected here by the plough.

The large trees which cover the hills are chiefly of two sorts. One of them, of the size of our largest firs, grows much after their manner; but the leaves, and small berries on their points, are much liker the yew. It was this which supplied the place of spruce in making beer; which we did with a strong decoction of its leaves, fermented with treacle or sugar. And this liquor, when well prepared, was acknowledged to be little inferior to the American spruce-beer, by those who had experience of both. The other sort of tree is not unlike a maple; and grows often to a great size; but it only served for fuel, as the wood, both of this and of the preceding, was found to be rather too heavy for masts, yards, and other similar repairs.

There is a greater variety of trees on the small flat spots behind the beaches. Amongst these are two that bear a kind of plum of the size of prunes, the one yellow, called _karraca_; and the other black, called _maitao_; but neither of them of a very agreeable taste, though the natives ate both, and our people did the same. Those of the first sort grow on small trees, always facing the sea; but the others belong to larger trees that stand farther within the wood, and which we frequently cut down for fuel.

A species of _Philadelphus_ grows on the eminences which jut out into the sea; and also a tree bearing flowers almost like myrtle, with roundish-spotted leaves of a disagreeable smell. We drank the leaves of the _Philadelphus_ as tea; and found that they had a pleasant taste and smell, and might make an excellent substitute for the oriental sort.

Among other plants that were useful to us, may be reckoned wild celery, which grows plentifully in almost every cove; especially if the natives have ever resided there before; and one that we used to call scurvy-grass, though entirely different from the plant to which we give that name. This, however, is far preferable to ours for common use; and may be known by its jagged leaves, and small clusters of white flowers on the top. Both sorts were boiled every morning, with wheat ground in a mill, and with portable soup, for the people’s breakfast, and also amongst their pease-soup, for dinner. Sometimes they were used as salad, or dressed as greens. In all which ways they are good; and together with the fish, with which we were constantly supplied, they formed a sort of refreshment, perhaps little inferior to what is to be met with in places most noted by navigators for plentiful supplies of animal and vegetable food.

Amongst the known kinds of plants met with here, are common and rough bindweed; night-shade and nettles, both which grow to the size of small trees; a shrubby speedwell, found near all the beaches; sow-thistles, virgin’s bower, vanelloe, French willow, euphorbia, and crane’s bill; also cudweed, rushes, bull-rushes, flax, all-heal, American night-shade, knot-grass, brambles, eye-bright, and groundsel; but the _species_ of each are different from any we have in Europe. There is also polypody, spleenwort, and about twenty other different sort of ferns, entirely peculiar to the place; with several sorts of mosses, either rare, or produced only here; besides a great number of other plants, whose uses are not yet known, and subjects fit only for botanical books.

Of these, however, there is one which deserves particular notice here, as the natives make their garments of it; and it produces a fine silky flax, superior in appearance to any thing we have, and, probably, at least as strong. It grows every where near the sea, and in some places a considerable way up the hills, in bunches or tufts, with sedge-like leaves, bearing, on a long stalk, yellowish flowers, which are succeeded by a long roundish pod, filled with very thin shining black seeds. A species of long pepper is found in great plenty; but it has little of the aromatic flavour that makes spices valuable; and a tree much like a palm at a distance, is pretty frequent in the woods, though the deceit appears as you come near it. It is remarkable that, as the greatest part of the trees and plants had, at this time, lost their flowers, we perceived they were generally of the berry-bearing kind; of which, and other seeds, I brought away about thirty different sorts. Of these, one in particular, which bears a red berry, is much like the supple jack, and grows about the trees, stretching from one to another, in such a manner as to render the woods almost wholly impassable.

The birds, of which there is a tolerable stock, as well as the vegetable productions, are almost entirely peculiar to the place. And though it be difficult to follow them, on account of the quantity of underwood and the climbing plants, that render travelling, for pleasure alone, uncommonly fatiguing, yet a person, by remaining in one place, may shoot as many in a day as would serve six or eight others. The principal sorts are, large brown parrots, with white or greyish heads; green paroquets with red foreheads; large wood pigeons, brown above, with white bellies, the rest green, and the bill and feet red. Two sorts of cuckoos, one as large as our common sort, of a brown colour, variegated with black; the other not larger than a sparrow, of a splendid green cast above, and elegantly varied with waves of golden, green, brown, and white colours below. Both these are scarce; but several others are in greater plenty; one of which, of a black colour, with a greenish cast, is remarkable for having a tuft of white curled feathers hanging under the throat, and was called the _Poy_ bird by our people. Another sort, rather smaller, is black, with a brown back and wings, and two small gills under the root of the bill. This we called the small wattle-bird, to distinguish it from another, which we called the large one, of the size of a common pigeon, with two large yellow and purple membranes also, at the root of the bill. It is black, or rather blue, and has no resemblance of the other but in name; for the bill is thick, short, and crooked, and has altogether an uncommon appearance. A gross-beak, about the size of a thrush, of a brown colour, with a reddish tail, is frequent; as is also a small greenish bird, which is almost the only musical one here, but is sufficient by itself to fill the woods with a melody, that is not only sweet, but so varied, that one would imagine he was surrounded by a hundred different sorts of birds, when the little warbler is near. From this circumstance we named it the mocking-bird. There are likewise three or four sorts of smaller birds; one of which, in figure and tameness, exactly resembles our robin, but is black where that is brown, and white where that is red. Another differs but little from this, except in being smaller; and a third sort has a long tail, which it expands as a fan on coming near, and makes a chirping noise when it perches. King-fishers are seen, though rare, and are about the size of our English ones, but with an inferior plumage.

About the rocks are seen black sea-pies with red bills; and crested shags of a leaden colour, with small black spots on the wings and shoulders, and the rest of the upper part of a velvet black tinged with green. We frequently shot both these, and also a more common sort of shags, black above and white underneath, that build their nests upon trees, on which sometimes a dozen or more sit at once. There are also, about the shore, a few sea-gulls; some blue herons; and sometimes, though very rarely, wild ducks; a small sandy-coloured plover, and some sand-larks; and small penguins, black above, with a white belly, as well as numbers of little black divers, swim often about the Sound. We likewise killed two or three rails of a brown or yellowish colour, variegated with black, which feed about the small brooks, and are nearly as large as a common fowl. No other sort of game was seen, except a single snipe, which was shot, and differs but little from that of Europe.

The principal fish we caught by the seine were mullets and elephant fish, with a few soles and flounders; but those that the natives mostly supplied us with, were a sort of sea-bream of a silver colour with a black spot on the neck, large conger-eels, and a fish in shape much like the bream, but so large as to weigh five, six, or seven pounds. It is blackish with thick lips, and called _Mogge_ by the natives. With hook and line we caught chiefly a blackish fish of the size of a haddock, called cole-fish by the seamen, but differing much from that known by the same name in Europe; and another of the same size, of a reddish colour with a little beard, which we called night-walkers, from the greatest number being caught in the night. Sometimes we got a sort of small salmon, gurnards, skate, and nurses; and the natives, now and then, brought hake, paracutas, a small sort of mackerel, parrot-fish, and leather-jackets; besides another fish which is very rare, shaped almost like a dolphin, of a black colour, with strong bony jaws, and the back-fin, as well as those opposite to it, much lengthened at the end. All these sorts, except the last, which we did not try, are excellent to eat; but the _Mogge_, small salmon, and cole-fish, are superior to the rest.

The rocks are abundantly furnished with great quantities of excellent muscles; one sort of which, that is not very common, measures above a foot in length. There are also cockles buried in the sand of the small beaches; and in some places oysters, which, though very small, are well tasted. Of other shell-fish, there are ten or twelve sorts, such as periwincles, wilks, limpets, and some very beautiful sea-ears; also another sort which stick to the weeds; with some other things, as sea-eggs, star-fish, &c. several of which are peculiar to the place. The natives likewise sometimes brought us very fine cray-fish, equal to our largest lobsters, and cuttle-fish, which they eat themselves.

Insects are very rare. Of these, we only saw two sorts of dragon flies, some butterflies, small grashoppers, several sorts of spiders, some small black ants, and vast numbers of scorpion flies, with whose chirping the woods resound. The only noxious one is the sand-fly, very numerous here, and almost as troublesome as the musquitoe; for we found no reptile here, except two or three sorts of small harmless lizards.[164]

It is remarkable, that, in this extensive land, there should not even be the traces of any quadruped, only excepting a few rats, and a sort of fox-dog, which is a domestic animal with the natives.

Neither is there any mineral worth notice, but a green jasper or serpent-stone, of which the New Zealanders make their tools and ornaments. This is esteemed a precious article by them; and they have some superstitious notions about the method of its generation, which we could not perfectly understand. It is plain, however, that wherever it may be found (which, they say, is in the channel of a large river far to the southward), it is disposed in the earth in thin layers, or, perhaps, in detached pieces, like our flints; for the edges of those pieces, which have not been cut, are covered with a whitish crust like these. A piece of this sort was purchased, about eighteen inches long, a foot broad, and near two inches thick; which yet seemed to be only the fragment of a larger piece.

The natives do not exceed the common stature of Europeans; and, in general, are not so well made, especially about the limbs. This is, perhaps, the effect of sitting, for the most part, on their hams; and of being confined, by the hilly disposition of the country, from using that sort of exercise which contributes to render the body straight and well-proportioned. There are, however, several exceptions to this; and some are remarkable for their large bones and muscles; but few that I have seen are corpulent.

Their colour is of different casts, from a pretty deep black to a yellowish or olive tinge; and their features also are various, some resembling Europeans. But, in general, their faces are round, with their lips full, and also their noses towards the point; though the first are not uncommonly thick, nor the last flat. I do not, however, recollect to have seen an instance of the true aquiline nose amongst them. Their teeth are commonly broad, white, and well set; and their eyes large, with a very free motion, which seems the effect of habit. Their hair is black, straight, and strong, commonly cut short on the hind part, with the rest tied on the crown of the head: but some have it of a curling disposition, or of a brown colour. In the young, the countenance is generally free or open; but in many of the men it has a serious cast, and sometimes a sullenness or reserve, especially if they are strangers. The women are, in general, smaller than the men; but have few peculiar graces, either in form or features, to distinguish them.

The dress of both sexes is alike; and consists of an oblong garment about five feet long, and four broad, made from the silky flax already mentioned. This seems to be their most material and complex manufacture, which is executed by knotting; and their work is often ornamented with pieces of dog-skin, or chequered at the corners. They bring two corners of this garment over the shoulders, and fasten it on the breast with the other part, which covers the body; and about the belly, it is again tied with a girdle made of mat. Sometimes they cover it with large feathers of birds (which seem to be wrought into the piece of cloth when it is made), or with dog-skin; and that alone we have seen worn as a covering. Over this garment, many of them wear mats, which reach from the shoulders to near the heels. But the most common outer-covering is a quantity of the above sedgy plant, badly dressed, which they fasten on a string to a considerable length, and, throwing it about the shoulders, let it fall down on all sides, as far as the middle of the thighs. When they sit down with this upon them, either in their boats, or upon the shore, it would be difficult to distinguish them from large grey stones, if their black heads, projecting beyond their coverings, did not engage one to a stricter examination.

By way of ornament, they fix in their heads feathers, or combs of bone, or wood, adorned with pearl shell, or the thin inner skin of some leaf. And in the ears, both of men and women, which are pierced, or rather slit, are hung small pieces of jasper, bits of cloth, or beads when they can get them. A few also have the _septum_ of the nose bored in its lower part; but no ornament was worn there that we saw; though one man passed a twig through it, to show us that it was sometimes used for that purpose. They wear long beards, but are fond of having them shaved.

Some are punctured or stained in the face with curious spiral and other figures, of a black or deep blue colour; but it is doubtful whether this be ornamental, or intended as a mark of particular distinction; and the women, who are marked so, have the puncture only on their lips, or a small spot on their chins. Both sexes often besmear their faces and heads with a red paint, which seems to be a martial ochre mixed with grease; and the women sometimes wear necklaces of shark’s teeth, or bunches of long beads, which seem to be made of the leg-bones of small birds, or a particular shell. A few also have small triangular aprons adorned with the feathers of parrots, or bits of pearl shells, furnished with a double or treble set of cords to fasten them about the waist. I have sometimes seen caps or bonnets made of the feathers of birds, which may be reckoned as ornaments; for it is not their custom to wear any covering on their heads.

They live in the small coves formerly described, in companies of forty or fifty, or more; and sometimes in single families, building their huts contiguous to each other; which, in general, are miserable lodging-places. The best I ever saw was about thirty feet long, fifteen broad, and six high, built exactly in the manner of one of our country barns. The inside was both strong and regularly made of supporters at the sides, alternately large and small, well fastened by means of withes, and painted red and black. The ridge pole was strong; and the large bull-rushes, which composed the inner part of the thatching, were laid with great exactness parallel to each other. At one end was a small square hole, which served as a door to creep in at; and near it another much smaller, seemingly for letting out the smoke, as no other vent for it could be seen. This, however, ought to be considered as one of the best, and the residence of some principal person; for the greatest part of them are not half the above size, and seldom exceed four feet in height; being, besides, indifferently built, though proof against wind and rain.

No other furniture is to be seen in them, than a few small baskets or bags, in which they put their fishing-hooks, and other trifles; and they sit down in the middle round a small fire, where they also probably sleep, without any other covering than what they wear in the day, or perhaps without that; as such confined places must be very warm, though inhabited but by a few persons.

They live chiefly by fishing, making use either of nets of different kinds, or of wooden fish-hooks pointed with bone; but so oddly made, that a stranger is at a loss to know how they can answer such a purpose. It also appears, that they remove their habitations from one place to another when the fish grow scarce, or for some other reason; for we found houses now built in several parts, where there had been none when we were here during our last voyage, and even these have been already deserted.

Their boats are well built, of planks raised upon each other, and fastened with strong withes, which also bind a long narrow piece on the outside of the seams to prevent their leaking. Some are fifty feet long, and so broad as to be able to sail without an outrigger; but the smaller sort commonly have one; and they often fasten two together by rafters, which we then call a double canoe. They carry from five to thirty men or more; and have often a large head ingeniously carved, and painted with a figure at the point, which seems intended to represent a man, with his features distorted by rage. Their paddles are about four or five feet long, narrow, and pointed; with which, when they keep time, the boat is pushed along pretty swiftly. Their sail, which is seldom used, is made of a mat of a triangular shape, having the broadest part above.

The only method of dressing their fish, is by roasting, or rather baking, for they are entirely ignorant of the art of boiling. In the same manner they dress the root, and part of the stalk, of the large fern-tree, in a great hole dug for that purpose, which serves as an oven. After which they split it, and find within a fine gelatinous substance, like boiled sago-powder, but firmer. They also use another smaller fern root, which seems to be their substitute for bread, as it is dried and carried about with them, together with dried fish in great quantities, when they remove their families, or go far from home. This they beat with a stick till it becomes pretty soft, when they chew it sufficiently, and spit out the hard fibrous part, the other having a sweetish mealy taste not at all disagreeable.

When they dare not venture to sea, or perhaps from choice, they supply the place of other fish with muscles and sea-ears; great quantities of the shells of which lie in heaps near their houses. And they sometimes, though rarely, find means to kill rails, penguins, and shags, which help to vary their diet. They also breed considerable numbers of the dogs, mentioned before, for food; but these cannot be considered as a principal article of diet. From whence we may conclude, that as there is not the least sign of cultivation of land, they depend principally for their subsistence on the sea, which, indeed, is very bountiful in its supply.

Their method of feeding corresponds with the nastiness of their persons, which often smell disagreeably from the quantity of grease about them, and their clothes never being washed. We have seen them eat the vermin, with which their heads are sufficiently stocked.

They also used to devour, with the greatest eagerness, large quantities of stinking train oil, and blubber of seals, which we were melting at the tent, and had kept near two months; and, on board the ships, they were not satisfied with emptying the lamps, but actually swallowed the cotton and fragrant wick with equal voracity. It is worthy of notice, that though the inhabitants of Van Diemen’s land appear to have but a scanty subsistence, they would not even taste our bread, though they saw us eat it; whereas these people devoured it greedily, when both mouldy and rotten. But this must not be imputed to any defect in their sensations; for I have observed them throw away things which we eat, with evident disgust, after only smelling to them.

They show as much ingenuity, both in invention and execution, as any uncivilized nations under similar circumstances. For, without the use of any metal tools, they make every thing by which they procure their subsistence, clothing, and warlike weapons, with a degree of neatness, strength, and convenience, for accomplishing their several purposes. Their chief mechanical tool is formed exactly after the manner of our adzes; and is made, as are also the chissel and goudge, of the green serpent-stone or jasper already, mentioned; though sometimes they are composed of a black, smooth, and very solid stone. But their master-piece seems to be carving, which is found upon the most trifling things; and, in particular, the heads of their canoes are sometimes ornamented with it in such a manner, as not only shows much design, but is also an example of their great labour and patience in execution. Their cordage for fishing-lines is equal, in strength and evenness, to that made by us; and their nets not at all inferior. But what must cost them more labour than any other article, is the making the tools we have mentioned; for the stone is exceedingly hard, and the only method of fashioning it, we can guess at, is by rubbing one stone upon another, which can have but a slow effect. Their substitute for a knife is a shell, a bit of flint, or jasper. And, as an auger, to bore holes, they fix a shark’s tooth in the end of a small piece of wood. It is true, they have a small saw made of some jagged fishes’ teeth, fixed on the convex edge of a piece of wood nicely carved. But this, they say, is only used to cut up the bodies of their enemies whom they kill in battle.

No people can have a quicker sense of an injury done to them, and none are more ready to resent it. But, at the same time, they will take an opportunity of being insolent when they think there is no danger of punishment; which is so contrary to the spirit of genuine bravery, that, perhaps, their eagerness to resent injuries is to be looked upon rather as an effect of a furious disposition than of great courage. They also appear to be of a suspicious or mistrustful temper (which, however, may rather be acquired than natural), for strangers never came to our ships immediately, but lay in their boats at a small distance, either to observe our motions, or consult whether or no they should risk their safety with us. To this they join a great degree of dishonesty; for they steal every thing they can lay their hands on, if there be the least hope of not being detected; and, in trading, I have little doubt but they would take advantages, if they thought it could be done with safety; as they not only refuse to trust a thing in one’s hand for examination, but exult, if they think they have tricked you in the bargain.

Such conduct, however, is in some measure to be expected where there appears to be but little subordination, and consequently few, if any laws, to punish transgressions. For no man’s authority seems to extend farther than his own family; and when, at any time, they join for mutual defence, or any other purpose, those amongst them who are eminent for courage or prudence, are directors. How their private quarrels are terminated is uncertain; but, in the few we saw, which were of little consequence, the parties concerned were clamorous and disorderly.

Their public contentions are frequent, or rather perpetual; for it appears, from their number of weapons, and dexterity in using them, that war is their principal profession. These weapons are spears, _patoos_ and halberts, or sometimes stones. The first are made of hard wood pointed, of different lengths, from five to twenty, or even thirty feet long. The short ones are used for throwing as darts. The _patoo_ or _emeete_ is of an elliptical shape, about eighteen inches long, with a handle made of wood, stone, the bone of some sea animal, or green jasper, and seems to be their principal dependance in battle. The halbert, or long club, is about five or six feet long, tapering at one end with a carved head, and at the other, broad or flat, with sharp edges.

Before they begin the onset, they join in a war-song, to which they all keep the exactest time, and soon raise their passion to a degree of frantic fury, attended with the most horrid distortion of their eyes, mouths, and tongues, to strike terror into their enemies; which, to those who have not been accustomed to such a practice, makes them appear more like demons than men, and would almost chill the boldest with fear. To this succeeds a circumstance, almost foretold in their fierce demeanor, horrid, cruel, and disgraceful to human nature; which is, cutting in pieces, even before being perfectly dead, the bodies of their enemies, and, after dressing them on a fire, devouring the flesh, not only without reluctance, but with peculiar satisfaction.

One might be apt to suppose, that people, capable of such excess of cruelty, must be destitute of every humane feeling, even amongst their own party. And yet we find them lamenting the loss of their friends, with a violence of expression which argues the most tender remembrance of them. For both men and women, upon the death of those connected with them, whether in battle or otherwise, bewail them with the most doleful cries; at the same time cutting their foreheads and cheeks, with shells or pieces of flint, in large gashes, until the blood flows plentifully and mixes with their tears. They also carve pieces of their green stone, rudely shaped as human figures, which they ornament with bright eyes of pearl shell, and hang them about their necks, as memorials of those whom they held most dear; and their affections of this kind are so strong, that they even perform the ceremony of cutting, and lamenting for joy, at the return of any of their friends, who have been absent but for a short time.

The children are initiated, at a very early age, into all the practices, good or bad, of their fathers; so that you find a boy or girl, nine or ten years old, able to perform all the motions, and to imitate the frightful gestures, by which the more aged use to inspire their enemies with terror, keeping the strictest time in their song. They likewise sing, with some degree of melody, the traditions of their forefathers, their actions in war, and other indifferent subjects; of all which they are immoderately fond, and spend much of their time in these amusements, and in playing on a sort of flute.

Their language is far from being harsh or disagreeable, though the pronunciation is frequently guttural; and whatever qualities are requisite in any other language to make it musical, certainly obtain to a considerable degree here, if we may judge from the melody of some sorts of their songs. It is also sufficiently comprehensive, though, in many respects, deficient, if compared with our European languages, which owe their perfection to long improvement. But a small specimen is here subjoined, from which some judgment may be formed. I collected a great many of their words, both now and in the course of our former voyage; and being equally attentive, in my inquiries, about the languages of the other islands throughout the South Sea, I have the amplest proof of their wonderful agreement, or rather identity. This general observation has indeed been already made in the accounts of the former voyages.[165] I shall be enabled, however, to confirm and strengthen it, by a fresh list of words, selected from a large vocabulary in my possession; and by placing in the opposite column, the corresponding words as used at Otaheite, the curious reader will, at one view, be furnished with sufficient materials for judging by what subordinate changes the difference of dialect has been effected.

English. _New Zealand._ _Otaheite._

_Water_, Ewy, Evy.

_A tail of a dog_, Wyeroo, Ero.

_Death, dead_, Kaoo, matte, Matte, roa.

_To fly_, Ererre, Eraire.

_A house_, Ewharre, Ewharre.

_To sleep_, Moea, Moe.

_A fish-hook_, Makoee, Matou.

_Shut_, Opanee, Opanee.

_A bed_, Moenga, Moera.

_A butterfly_, Epaipe, Pepe.

_To chew_ or _eat_, Hekaee, Ey.

_Cold_, Makkareede, Mareede.

_To-day_, Agooanai, Aooanai.

_The hand_, Reenga, Ereema.

_Large_, Keeerahoi, Erahoi.

_Red_, Whairo, Oora, oora.

_We_, Taooa, Taooa.

_Where is it?_ Kahaia, Tehaia.

_A stone_, Powhy, Owhy.

_A man_, Tangata, Taata.

_Black_, Purra, purra, Ere, ere.

_White_, Ema, Ooama.

_To reside_, or Nohoanna, Nohonoa. _dwell_,

_Out, not within_, Woho, Woho.

_Male kind_ (of any Toa, Etoa. animal),

_Female_, Eoowha, Eooha.

_A shark_, Mango, Mao.

_To understand_, Geetaia, Eetea.

_Forgot_, Warre, Ooaro.

_Yesterday_, Taeninnahoi, Ninnahoi.

_One_, Tahaee, Atahay.

_Two_, Rooa, Erooa.

_Three_, Toroo, Toroo.

_Four_, Faa, Ahaa.

_Five_, Reema, Ereema.

_Six_, Ono, Aono.

_Seven_, Heetoo, Aheitoo.

_Eight_, Waroo, Awaroo.

_Nine_, Eeva, Aeeva.

_Ten_, Angahoora, Ahooroo.

The New Zealanders to these numerals prefix _Ma_; as,

_Eleven_, Matahee. _Twelve, &c. &c._ Marooa, &c. &c. _Twenty_, Mangahoora.