June. 1765. their figure they fomewhat refembled the fquare tombs, with a flat top, which are always to be Tuesday 11. found in our country church-yards. Near thefe buildings we found many neat boxes full of human bones, and upon the branches of the trees which fhaded them, hung a great number of the heads and bones of turtle, and a variety of fish, inclosed in a kind of basket-work of reeds: fome of the fish we took down, and found that nothing remained but the fkin and the teeth; the bones and entrails feemed to have been extracted, and the mufcular flesh dried away. We sent off feveral boat-loads of cocoa-nuts, and a great quantity of fcurvy-grafs, with which the island is covered; refreshments which were of infinite fervice to us, as by this time I believe there was not a man among us wholly untouched by the fcurvy. The fresh water here is very good, but it is scarce; the wells which fupply the natives are fo fmall, that when two or three cocoa-nut shells have been filled from them, they are dry for a few minutes; but as they presently fill again, if a little pains were taken to enlarge them, they would abundantly fupply any fhip with water. We faw no venomous creature here; but the flies were an intolerable torment, they covered us from head to foot, and filled not only the boat, but the fhips. We faw great numbers of parrots and paroquets, and feveral other birds which were altogether unknown to us; we faw alfo a beautiful kind of dove, fo tame that fome of them fre quently quently came close to us, and even followed us into the Indian huts. 1765. June. All this day the natives kept themselves closely Tuesday II. concealed, and did not even make a smoke upon any part of the islands as far as we could fee; probably fearing that a fmoke might discover the place of their retreat. In the evening, we all returned on board the ship. This part of the inland lies in latitude 14° 29′ S., longitude 148° 50′ W. and after I got on board, · I hauled a little way farther from the shore, intending to visit the other island in the morning, which had been feen to the weftward of that before which the ship lay, and which is diftant about fixty-nine leagues from the Iflands of Difappointment, in the direction of W. S. 2 The next morning at fix o'clock, I made fail Wednef. 12. for the island which I intended to visit, and when I reached it, I fteered S. W. by W. close, along the north east fide of it, but could get no foundings: this fide is about fix or feven leagues long, and the whole makes much the fame appearance as the other, having a large falt water lake in the middle of it. As foon as the fhip came in fight, the natives ran down to the beach in great numbers they were armed in the fame manner as those that we had seen upon the other island, and kept abreast of the fhip for feveral leagues. As the heat of this climate is very great, they seemed to fuffer much by running fo far in the fun, for they fometimes plunged into the fea, and fometimes fell flat upon the fand, that the furf might break 1765. June. over them, after which they renewed the race with great vigour. Our boats were at this time Wednes. 12. founding along the shore, as ufual, but I had given ftrict orders to the officers who commanded them never to moleft the natives, except it fhould become abfolutely necessary for their own defence, but to try all poffible means to obtain their confidence and good will: our people therefore went as near to the shore as they durft for the furf, and made figns that they wanted water; the Indians readily understood them, and directed them to run down farther along the fhore, which they did, till they came abreast of fuch a clufter of houfes as we had just left upon the other ifland; to this place the Indians ftill followed them, and were there joined by many others: the boats immediately hauled clofe into the furf, and we brought to, with the fhips, at a little diftance from the shore, upon which a ftout old man, with a long white beard, that gave him a very venerable appearance, came down from the houses to the beach. He was attended by a young man, and appeared to have the authority of a Chief or King: the reft of the Indians, at a fignal which he made, retired to a little distance, and he then advanced quite to the water's edge; in one hand he held the green branch of a tree, and in the other he grasped his beard, which he preffed to his bofom; in this attitude he made a long oration, or rather fong, for it had a mufical cadence which was by no means difagreeable. We regretted infinitely that we could not understand what he said to us, and not lefs that he 1765. June. he could not understand any thing which we fhould say to him; to fhew our good-will, however, we threw him fome trifling prefents, while he Wednef. 18. was yet speaking, but he would neither touch them himself, nor fuffer them to be touched by others till he had done: he then walked into the water, and threw our people the green branch, after which he took up the things which had been thrown from the boats. Every thing now having a friendly appearance, 'our people made figus that they should lay down their arms, and moft of them having complied, one of the midshipmen, encouraged by this teftimony of confidence and friendship, leaped out of the boat with his clothes on, and swam through the furf to fhore. The Indians immediately gathered round him, and began to examine his clothes with great curiofity; they feemed particularly to admire his waistcoat, and being willing to gratify his new friends, he took it off, and presented it to them; this courtefy, however, produced a difagreeable effect, for he had no fooner given away his waistcoat, than one of the Indians very ingeniously untied his cravat, and the next moment fnatched it from his neck, and ran away with it. Our adventurer, therefore, to prevent his being ftripped by piece-meal, made the best of his way back again to the boat: ftill, however, we were upon good terms, and feveral of the Indians fwam off to our people, fome of them bringing a cocoa-nut, and others a little fresh water in a cocoa-nut fhell. But the principal object of our boats, was to obtain fome pearls; and the men, to affist them in explaining their 6 mean June. Wednef. 12. 1765. meaning, had taken with them fome of the pearl King To these two islands, I gave the name of KING GEORGE'S ISLANDS, in honour of his Majefty. That which we last visited, lies in latitude 14° 41′ S., longitude 149° 15′ W.; the variation of the compass here was 5° E. CHAP. |