1770. March. ufed, were fuch as could fcarcely admit of an error. From East Cape to St. Maria van Diemen, the chart, though perhaps not equally exact, is without any error of moment, except poffibly in fome few places which are here, and in other parts of the chart, diftinguished by a dotted line, and which I had no opportunity to examine from Cape Maria van Diemen to latitude 36° 15', we were feldom nearer the shore than between five and eight leagues; and therefore the line that marks the fea coast may poffi. bly be erroneous. From latitude 36o 15' to nearly the length of Entry Island, our course was very near the fhore, and in this part of the chart therefore there can be no material error, except perhaps at Cape Tierawitte, Between Entry Island and Cape Pallifer we were again farther from the fhore, and this part of the coaft therefore may not be laid down with minute exactness; yet, upon the whole, I am of opinion that this ifland will be found not much to differ from the figure that I have given it, and that upon the coaft there are few or no harbours which are not noticed in the journal, or delineated in the chart. I cannot however fay as much of Tovy Poenammoo, the season of the year, and the circumftances of the voyage, would not permit me to spend so much time about this island as I had employed upon the other; and the storms that we met with made it both both difficult and dangerous to keep near the 1770. March. Tovy Poenammoo is for the most part a Country. mountainous, and to all appearance a barren country; and the people whom we saw in Queen Charlotte's Sound, those that came off to us under the fnowy mountains, and the fires to the west of Cape Saunders, were all the inhabitants, and signs of inhabitants, that we discovered upon the whole island, Eaheinomauwe has a much better appearance; it is indeed not only hilly but mountainous, yet even the hills and mountains are covered with 1770. March. Quadrupeds, wood, and every valley has a rivulet of water: the foil in thefe vallies, and in the plains, of which there are many that are not overgrown with wood, is in general light but fertile, and in the opinion of Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, as well as of every other gentleman on board, all kinds of European grain, plants, and fruit, would flourish here in the utmoft luxuriance: from the vegetables that we found here, there is reason to conclude, that the winters are milder than thofe in England, and we found the fummer not hotter, though it was more equally warm; fo that if this country fhould be fettled by people from Europe, they would, with a little industry, be very foon fupplied not only with the neceffaries, but the luxuries of life in great abundance. In this country there are no quadrupeds but dogs and rats, at leaft we faw no other, and the rats are so scarce that many of us never faw them. The dogs live with the people, who breed them for no other purpose than to eat: there might indeed be quadrupeds that we did not see, but this is not probable, because the chief pride of the natives, with refpect to their drefs, is in the skins and hair of fuch animals as they have, and we never faw the fkin of any animal about them but thofe of dogs and birds: there are indeed feals upon the coaft, and we once faw a fea lion, but we imagine they are feldom feldom caught, for though we faw fome of their teeth which were fafhioned into an ornament like a bodkin, and worn by the natives at their breaft, and highly valued, we faw nore of their fkins: there are whales alfo upon this coaft, and though the people did not appear to have any art or inftrument by which such an animal could be taken and killed, we faw pattoo-pattoos in the poffeffion of fome of them, which were made of the bone of a whale, or of fome other animal whose bone had exactly the fame appearance. 1770. March. Of birds the fpecies are not many; and of Birds. thefe none, except perhaps the gannet, is the fame with thofe of Europe: here are ducks indeed, and fhags of feveral kinds, fufficiently refembling thofe of Europe, to be called the fame, by thofe who have not examined them very nicely. Here are also hawks, owls, and quails, which differ but little from thofe of Europe at firft fight; and feveral fmall birds, whofe fong, as has been remarked in the course of the narrative, is much more melodious than any that we had ever heard. The fea coaft is alfo vifited by many oceanic birds, particularly albatroffes, fheerwaters, pintados, and a few of the birds which Sir John Narborough has called Penguins, and which indeed are what the French call Nuance, and feem to be a middle fpecies between bird and 1770. March. fifh; for their feathers, especially those upon their wings, differ very little from scales; and their wings themselves, which they use only in diving, and not to accelerate their motion even upon the surface of the water, may, perhaps with equal propriety, be called fins. Neither are infects in greater plenty than birds; a few butterflies and beetles, flesh flies, very like those in Europe, and some musquitos and fand flies, perhaps exactly the fame with those of North America, make up the whole catalogue. Of mufquitos and fand flies, however, which are justly accounted the curfe of every country where they abound, we did not fee many; there were indeed a few in almost every place where we went on fhore, but they gave us fo little trouble, that we did not make use of the shades which we had provided for the security of our faces. For this fcarcity of animals upon the land, the fea, however, makes an abundant recompense; every creek fwarming with fish, which are not only wholesome, but equally delicious with those of Europe: the fhip feldom anchored in any ftation, or with a light gale paffed any place, that did not afford us enough with hook and line to ferve the whole fhip's company, especially to the fouthward: when we lay at anchor, the boats, with hook and line, near the rocks, could take fish in any quantity; and the |