1769. October.

Tuesday 10.

them and Tupia; during which the boys held up every thing we had given them as tokens of our kindness and liberality; but neither would either of the boys fwim over to them, or any of them to the boys. The body of the man who had been killed the day before, ftill lay exposed upon the beach; the boys feeing it lie very near us, went up to it, and covered it with fome of the clothes that we had given them; and foon after a fingle man, unarmed, who proved to be the uncle of Maragovete, the youngest of the boys, fwam over to us, bringing in his hand a green branch, which we fuppofed, as well here as at Otaheite, to be an emblem of peace. We received his branch by the hands of Tupia, to whom he gave it, and made him many presents; we also invited him to go on board the ship, but he declined it; we therefore left him, and expected that his nephew, and the two other young Indians would have flaid with him, but to our great furprize, they chofe rather to go with us. As foon as we had retired, he went and gathered another green branch, and with this in his hand, he approached the dead body which the youth had covered with part of his clothes, walking fideways, with many ceremonies, and then throwing it towards him. When this was done, he returned to his companions, who had fat down upon the fand to observe the iffue of his negotiation: they immediately gathered round him, and continued in a body above an hour, without seeming to take any farther notice of us. We were more curious than they, and obferving them with our glasses from on board the ship, we faw fome of them cross the river upon a kind of raft, or catamarine, and four of them carry off the dead body which had been covered by the boy, and over which his uncle had performed the ceremony of the branch, upon a kind of bier, between four men: the other body was ftill fuffered to remain where it had been firft left.

1769.

October.

After dinner, I directed Tupia to ask the boys, if they had now any objection to going afhore, where we had left their uncle, the body having been carried off, which we under- Tuesday 10. flood was a ratification of peace: they faid, they had not; and the boat being ordered, they went into it with great alacrity: when the boat, in which I had sent two midshipmen, came to land, they went willingly afhore; but foon after she put off, they returned to the rocks, and wading into the water, earneftly entreated to be taken on board again; but the people in the boat, having pofitive orders to leave them, could not comply. We were very attentive to what happened on fhore, and keeping a constant watch with our glaffes, we faw a man pass the river upon another raft, and fetch them to a place where forty or fifty of the natives were assembled, who clofed round them, and continued in the same place till funfet: upon looking again, when we saw them in motion, we could plainly distinguish our three prisoners, who separated themselves from the reft, came down to the beach, and having waved their hands three times towards the ship, ran nimbly back and joined their companions, who walked leifurely away towards that part which the boys had pointed to as their dwelling-place; we had therefore the greatest reason to believe that no mischief would happen to them, efpecially as we perceived that they went off in the clothes we had given them.

After it was dark, loud voices were heard on fhore in the bottom of the bay as ufual, of which we could never learn the meaning.

CHAP.

1

1769. October.

СНАР. II.

A Description of Poverty Bay, and the Face of the adjacent Country. The Range from thence to Cape Turnagain, and back to Tolaga; with fome Account of the People and the Country, and feveral Incidents that happened on that Part of the Coaft.

TH

HE next morning, at fix o'clock, we weighed, and stood away from this unfortunate and inhofpitable place, to Wednef. 1. which I gave the name of POVERTY BAY, and which by the natives is called TAONEROA or Long Sand, as it did not afford us a fingle article that we wanted except a little wood. It lies in latitude 38° 42′ S. and longitude 181° 36′ W.; it is in the form of an horse-shoe, and is known by an island lying close under the north east point: the two points which form the entrance are high, with fteep white cliffs, and lie a league and a half or two leagues from each other, N.E. by E. and S. W. by W.: the depth of water in the bay is from twelve to five fathom, with a fandy bottom and good anchorage; but the fituation is open to the wind between the fouth and east: boats can go in and out of the river at any time of the tide in fine weather; but as there is a bar at the entrance, no boat can go either in or out when the sea runs high: the best place to attempt it, is on the north east fide, and it is there practicable when it is not fo in any other part. The shore of the bay, a little within its entrance, is a low flat fand; behind which, at a small distance, the face of the country is finely diversified by hills and valleys, all clothed

with wood, and covered with verdure.. The country alfo appears to be well inhabited, especially in the valleys leading up from the bay, where we daily faw fmoke rifing in clouds one behind another to a great distance, till the view terminated in mountains of a ftupendous height.

The fouth west point of the bay I named YOUNG NICK'S HEAD, after Nicholas Young, the boy who first saw the land; at noon, it bore N. W. by W. diftant about three or four leagues, and we were then about three miles from the shore. The main land extended from N. E. by N. to fouth, and I propofed to follow the direction of the coaft to the fouthward as far as the latitude of 40 or 41; and then, if I met with no encouragement to proceed farther, to return to the northward.

In the afternoon we lay becalmed, which the people on fhore perceiving, feveral canoes put off, and came within less than a quarter of a mile of the veffel; but could not be perfuaded to come nearer, though Tupia exerted all the powers of his lungs and his eloquence upon the occafion, shouting, and promifing that they should not be hurt. Another canoe was now feen coming from Poverty Bay, with only four people on board, one of whom we well remembered to have seen in our first interview upon the rock. This canoe, without ftopping or taking the leaft notice of the others, came directly alongside of the ship, and with very little perfuafion, we got the Indians on board. Their example was foon followed by the reft, and we had about us seven canoes, and about fifty men. We made them all prefents with a liberal hand; notwithstanding which, they were fo defirous to have more of our commodities, that they fold us every thing they had, even the clothes from their backs, and the paddles from their boats. There were but two weapons VOL. II. among

Qq

1769. October.

Wednes. 11.

1769. October,

Wednef. 11.

among them, thefe were the inftruments of green talc, which were shaped fomewhat like a pointed battledore, with a short handle and sharp edges; they were called Patoo-Patoo, and were well contrived for clofe-fighting, as they would certainly fplit the thickest fcull at a single blow.

When thefe people had recovered from the first impreffions of fear, which notwithstanding their refolution in coming on board, had manifeftly thrown them into fome confufion, we enquired after our poor boys. The man who firft came on board immediately answered, that they were unhurt and at home; adding, that he had been induced to venture on board by the account which they had given him of the kindness with which they had been treated, and the wonders that were contained in the fhip.

While they were on board they fhewed every fign of friendship, and invited us very cordially to go back to our old bay, or to a small cove which they pointed out, that was not quite so far off; but I chose rather to profecute my discoveries than go back, having reafon to hope that I fhould find a better harbour than any I had yet feen.

About an hour before fun-fet, the canoes put off from the ship with the few paddles they had reserved, which were fcarcely fufficient to fet them on fhore; but by fome means or other three of their people were left behind: as foon as we discovered it, we hailed them; but not one of them would return to take them on board: this greatly furprised us; but we were furprised ftill more to obferve that the deferted Indians did not feem at all uneafy at their situation, but entertained us with dancing and finging after their manner, eat their fuppers, and went quietly to bed.

A light