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1769.

November,

found among their plantations the morus papyrifera, of which these people, as well as thofe of Otaheite, make cloth; but here the plant feems Thurfd. 30. to be rare, and we faw no pieces of the cloth large enough for any use but to wear by way of ornament in their ears.

Having one day landed in a very diftant part of the bay, the people immediately fled, except one old man, who accompanied us wherever we went, and feemed much pleafed with the little prefents we made him. We came at laft to a little fort, built upon a fmall rock, which at high water was furrounded by the fea, and acceffible only by a ladder: we perceived that he eyed us with a kind of reftlefs folicitude as we approached it, and upon our expreffing a defire to enter it, he told us that his wife was there : he faw that our curiofity was not diminished by this intelligence, and after fome hesitation, he faid, if we would promise to offer no indecency he would accompany us: our promise was readily given, and he immediately led the way. The ladder confifted of steps faftened to a pole, but we found the afcent both difficult and dangerous. When we entered we found three women, who, the moment they faw us, burft into tears of terror and furprife: fome kind words. and a few presents foon removed their apprehenfions, and put them into good humour. We examined the house of our old friend, and by his intereft

S 4

1769.

November.

interest two others, which were all that the fortification contained, and having distributed a Thurid, 30. few more prefents, we parted with mutual fatisfaction.

December. Tuesday 5.

At four o'clock in the morning of the 5th of December, we weighed, with a light breeze, but it being variable with frequent calms, we made little way. We kept turning out of the bay till the afternoon, and about ten o'clock we were fuddenly becalmed, fo that the ship would neither wear nor ftay, and the tide or current setting ftrong, fhe drove towards land fo faft, that before any measures could be taken for her fecurity fhe was within a cable's length of the breakers: we had thirteen fathom water, but the ground was fo foul that we did not dare to drop our anchor; the pinnace therefore was immediately hoifted out to take the fhip in tow, and the men, fenfible of their danger, exerting themfelves to the utmost, and a faint breeze springing up off the land, we perceived with unfpeakable joy that she made head way, after having been so near the shore that Tupia, who was not fenfible of our hair's breadth escape, was at this very time converfing with the people upon the beach, whofe voices were diftinctly heard, notwithstanding the roar of the breakers. We now thought all danger was over, but about an hour afterwards, just as the man in the chains had cried "feventeen fathom," the ship struck.

The

The fhock threw us all into the utmost consternation; Mr. Banks, who had undreffed himself and was stepping into bed, ran haftily up to the deck, and the man in the chains called out "five fathom;" by this time, the rock on which we had ftruck being to windward, the ship went off without having received the least damage, and the water very foon deepened to twenty fathom.

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1769. December

Tuesday 5.

This rock lies half a mile W. N. W. of the northermoft or outermoft island on the fouth east fide of the bay. We had light airs from the land, with calms, till nine o'clock the next Wednes, 6. morning, when we got out of the bay, and a breeze springing up at N. N. W. we stood out to fea.

This bay, as I have before observed, lies on the weft fide of Cape Bret, and I named it the BAY OF ISLANDS, from the great number of iflands which line its fhores, and from feveral harbours equally fafe and commodious, where there is room and depth for any number of fhipping. That in which we lay is on the fouth weft fide of the fouth westermoft island, called MATURARO, on the fouth eaft fide of the bay. I have made no accurate furvey of this bay, being difcouraged by the time it would coft me; I thought also that it was fufficient to be able to affirm that it afforded us good anchorage, and refreshment of every kind. It was not the

season

December.

Wednef. 6.

1769. feason for roots, but we had plenty of fish, most of which, however, we purchased of the natives, for we could catch very little ourselves either with net or line. When we fhewed the natives our feine, which is fuch as the King's fhips are generally furnished with, they laughed at it, and in triumph produced their own, which was indeed of an enormous fize, and made of a kind of grafs, which is very strong: it was five fathom deep, and by the room it took up, it could not be lefs than three or four hundred fathom long. Fishing feems indeed to be the chief business of life in this part of the country; we faw about all their towns a great number of nets, laid in heaps like hay-cocks, and covered with a thatch to keep them from the weather, and we scarcely entered a houfe where some of the people were not employed in making them. The fish we procured here were sharks, ftingrays, fea bream, mullet, mackrel, and fome others.

The inhabitants in this bay are far more numerous than in any other part of the country that we had before vifited; it did not appear to us that they were united under one head, and though their towns were fortified, they seemed to live together in perfect amity.

It is high water in this bay at the full and change of the moon, about eight o'clock, and the tide then rifes from fix to eight feet perpen

dicularly.

dicularly. It appears, from fuch obfervations as I was able to make of the tides upon the feacoast, that the flood comes from the fouthward; and I have reason to think that there is a current which comes from the weftward, and fets along the shore to the S. E. or S. S. E. as the land happens to lie.

1769.

December.

Wednef. 6,

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