great rate. Upon receiving this intelligence, we drew together, and refolved to make the best of our way to the boats; we had fcarcely begun to put this into execution, when the three Indian boys ftarted fuddenly from fome bushes, where they had concealed themfelves, and again claimed our protection: we readily received them, and repairing to the beach as the clearest place, we walked brifkly towards the boats. The Indians were in two bodies; one ran along the bank which had been quitted by the marines, the other fetched a compafs by the swamp fo that we could not fee them: when they perceived that we had formed into one body, they flackened their pace, but ftill followed us in a gentle walk:. that they flackened their pace, was for us, as well as for them, a fortunate circumftance; for when we came to the fide of the river, where we expected to find the boats that were to carry us over to the wooders, we found the pinnace at least a mile from her ftation, having been fent to pick up a bird which had been shot by the officer on fhore, and the little boat was obliged to make three trips before we could all get over to the rest of the party. As foon as we were drawn up on the other fide, the Indians came down, not in a body as we expected, but by two or three at a time, all armed, and in a thort time their number increased to about two hundred: as we now despaired of making peace with them, feeing that the dread of our small arms did not keep them at a distance, and that the fhip was too far off to reach the place with a fhot, we refolved to re-imbark, left our ftay fhould imbroil us in another quarrel, and coft more of the Indians their lives. We therefore advanced towards the pinnace which was now returning, when one of the boys fuddenly cried out, that his uncle was among the people who had marched down to us, and defired us to ftay and talk with them: we complied, and a parley immediately commenced between 1769. October. Tuesday 10. 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 expofed 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, swam over to us, bringing in his hand a green branch, which we supposed, 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 staid with him, but to our great surprize, they chose 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 obferve the iffue of his negotiation: they immediately gathered round him, and continued in a body above an hour, without feeming to take any farther notice of us. We were more curious than they, and obferving them with our glaffes from on board the ship, we saw 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 fill fuffered to remain where it had been first left. 1769. October. After dinner, I directed Tupia to ask the boys, if they had now any objection to going ashore, where we had left their uncle, the body having been carried off, which we under- Tuesday 10 stood was a ratification of peace: they said, they had not; and the boat being ordered, they went into it with great alacrity: when the boat, in which I had fent two midshipmen, came to land, they went willingly afhore; but soon after she put off, they returned to the rocks, and wading into the water, earnestly 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 conftant 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 closed round them, and continued in the fame place till funfet: upon looking again, when we saw them in motion, we could plainly distinguish our three prifoners, who separated themselves from the reft, came down to the beach, and hav→ ing 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 reafon 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. 1769. October. CHA P. 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 several Incidents that happened on that Part of the Coaft. HE next morning, at fix o'clock, we weighed, and flood Taway from this unfortunate and inhofpitable place, to Wednef. 11. 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 single 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 clofe 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 caft: 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 fea runs high: the best place to attempt it, is on the north east fide, and it is there practicable when it is not so in any other part. The fhore of the bay, a little within its entrance, is a low flat fand, behind which, at a finall diftance, the face of the country is finely diversified by hills and valleys, all clothed 3 with wood, and covered with verdure. The country alfo The fouth weft 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. distant about three or four leagues, and we were then about three miles from the fhore. 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 shore perceiving, feveral canoes put off, and came within lefs 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 occasion, fhouting, and promifing that they fhould 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 presents 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 among 1769. October. Wednes. 11. |