CHA P. III.

The Range from Tolaga to Mercury Bay, with an Account of many Incidents that happened both on board and afbore: A Defcription of feveral Views exhibited by the Country, and of the Heppahs, or fortified Villages of the Inhabitants.

O

1769.

October.

N Monday, the 30th, about half an hour after one o'clock, having made fail again to the northward for about ten hours, with a light breeze, I hauled round a small island Monday 30. which lay east one mile from the north east point of the land: from this place I found the land trend away N.W. by W. and W. N. W. as far as I could fee, this point being the eastermoft land on the whole coaft. I gave it the name of EAST CAPE, and I called the island that lies off it EAST ISLAND; it is of a small circuit, high and round, and appears white and barren: the Cape is high, with white cliffs, and lies in latitude 37° 42′ 30′′ S. and longitude 181° W. The land from Tolaga Bay to East Cape is of a moderate, but unequal height, forming feveral fmall bays, in which are fandy beaches of the inland country we could not fee much, the weather being cloudy and hazy. The foundings were from twenty to thirty fathom at the distance of about a league from the fhore. After we had rounded the Cape, we saw in our run along the fhore a great number of villages, and much cultivated land; the country in general appeared more fertile than before, and was low near the fea, but hilly within. At fix in the evening, being four leagues to the weftward of Eaft Cape, we paffed a bay which was first difcovered

VOL. II.

Tt

1769. October.

covered by Lieutenant Hicks, and which therefore I called HICKS'S BAY. At eight in the evening, being eight leagues to Monday 30. the weftward of the Cape, and three or four miles from the fhore, I shortened fail and brought to for the night, having at this time a fresh gale at S. S. E. and fqually; but it foon Tuesday 31. became moderate, and at two in the morning, we made fail

again to the S. W. as the land now trended; and at eight
o'clock in the morning, faw land, which made like an island,
bearing weit, the south westermost part of the main bearing
south west; and about nine no less than five canoes came
off, in which were more than forty men, all armed
with their country pikes and battle-axes, fhouting, and
threatening an attack: this gave us great uneasiness, and
was indeed what we did not expect; for we hoped, that the
report both of our power and clemency had fpread to a
greater extent. When one of these canoes had almoft reached
the fhip, another, of an immenfe fize, the largest we had
yet feen, crowded with people who were also armed, put off
from the fhore, and came up at a great rate; as it approach-
ed it received fignals from the canoe that was nearest to the
ship, and we could fee that it had fixteen paddles on a fide,
beside people that fat, and others that flood in a row from stem
to ftern, being in all about fixty men: as they made directly
to the hip, we were desirous of preventing an attack, by
showing what we could do; and therefore fired a gun, loaded
with grape-shot, ahead of them: this made them stop, but
not retreat; a round fhot was then fired over them, and
upon feeing it fall, they feized their paddles and made to-
wards the fhore with fuch precipitation that they seemed
fcarcely to allow themselves time to breathe. In the evening,
three or four more canoes came off unarmed; but they
would not venture within a mufquet shot of the vessel. The
cape,
off which we had been threatened with hoftilities, I
called,

called, from the hafty retreat of the enemy, CAPE RUNAWAY. It lies in latitude 37° 32'; longitude 181°48'. In this day's run, we found that the land, which made like an island in the morning, bearing weft, was fo; and we gave it the name of WHITE ISLAND.

1769. October,

Tuesday 31.

Wednef. 1.

At day-break, on the 1ft of November, we counted no lefs November. than five and forty canoes that were coming from the fhore towards the fhip: feven of them came up with us, and after some conversation with Tupia, fold us fome lobsters and muscles, and two conger eels. These people traded pretty fairly: but when they were gone, fome others came off from another place, who began also to trade fairly; but after fome time they took what was handed down to them, without making any return; one of them who had done fo, upon being threatened, began to laugh, and with many marks of derifion fet us at defiance, at the fame time putting off the canoe from the ship: a mufquet was then fired over his head, which brought him back in a more ferious mood, and trade went on with great regularity. At length, when the cabbin and gun-room had got as much as they wanted, the men were allowed to come to the gang-way, and trade for themfelves. Unhappily the fame care was not taken to prevent frauds as had been taken before, fo that the Indians, finding that they could cheat with impunity, grew infolent again, and proceeded to take greater liberties. One of the canoes, having fold every thing on board, pulled forward, and the people that were in her feeing fome linen hang over the fhip's fide to dry, one of them, without any ceremony, untied it, and put it up in his bundle: he was immediately called to, and required to return it; instead of which, he let his canoe drop aftern, and laughed at us: a mufquet was fired over his head, which did not put a ftop to his mirth; another was then fired at him with fmall fhot, which struck

1769. November.

Wednef...

him upon the back; he fhrunk a little when the shot hit
him, but did not regard it more than one of our men would
have done the ftroke of a rattan: he continued with great
compofure to pack up the linen that he had stolen. All the
canoes now dropped aftern about a hundred yards, and all
fet up
their fong of defiance, which they continued till the
ship was distant from them about four hundred yards. As
they seemed to have no defign to attack us, I was not wil-
ling to do them any hurt; yet I thought their going off in a
bravado might have a bad effect when it should be reported
ashore. To show them therefore that they were ftill in our
power, though very much beyond the reach of any miffile
weapon with which they were acquainted, I gave the ship a
yaw, and fired a four pounder so as to pass near them. The
fhot happened to ftrike the water and rise several times at
a great distance beyond the canoes: this ftruck them with
terror, and they paddled away without once looking behind
them.

About two in the afternoon, we faw a pretty high island bearing weft from us; and at five, faw more islands and rocks to the weftward of that. We hauled our wind in order to go without them, but could not weather them before it was dark. I therefore bore up, and ran between them and the main. At feven, I was close under the first, from which a large double canoe, or rather two canoes lafhed together at the distance of about a foot, and covered with boards fo as make a deck, put off, and made fail for the ship: this was the first veffel of the kind that we had feen fince we left the South Sea islands. When the came near, the people on board entered very freely into converfation with Tupia, and we thought showed a friendly difpofition; but when it was just dark, they ran their canoe close to the ship's fide, and threw in a volley of stones. after which they paddled afhore.

We

;

We learnt from Tupia, that the people in the canoe called the island which we were under MowTOHORA; it is but of a small circuit, though high, and lies fix miles from the main on the fouth fide is anchorage in fourteen fathom water. Upon the main land S. W. by W. of this island, and apparently at no great distance from the fea, is a high round. mountain, which I called MOUNT EDGECOMBE: it stands in the middle of a large plain, and is therefore the more confpicuous; latitude 37° 59′, longitude 193° 7.

327

1769. November.

Wednef. I.

In standing weftward, we fuddenly fhoaled our water from seventeen to ten fathom; and knowing that we were not far from the small islands and rocks which we had feen before dark, and which I intended to have paffed before I brought to for the night, I thought it more prudent to tack, and spend the night under Mowtohora, where I knew there was no danger. It was indeed happy for us that we did fo; for in the morning, after we had made fail to the weftward, we Thursday 2. discovered, ahead of us, several rocks, some of which were level with the furface of the water, and fome below it: they lay N. N. E. from Mount Edgecombe, one league and a half diftant from the ifland Mowtohora, and about nine miles from the main. We paffed between these rocks and the main, having from ten to seven fathom water.

This morning, many canoes and much people were seen along the shore; feveral of the canoes followed us, but none of them could reach us, except one with a fail, which proved to be the fame that had pelted us the night before. The people on board again entered into conversation with Tupia; but we expected another volley of their ammunition, which was not indeed dangerous to any thing but the cabbin windows. They continued abreaft of the fhip about an hour, and behaved very peaceably; but at last the falute which we

expected