CHA P. IV. The Range from Mercury Bay to the Bay of Islands: An Expedition up the River Thames : Some Account of the Indians who inhabit its Banks, and the fine Timber that grows there: Several Interviews with the Natives on different Parts of the Coaft, and a Skirmish with them upon an Island. I 1769. November. Continued plying to windward two days to get under the land, and on the 18th, about feven in the morning, we were abreast of a very confpicuous promontory, being then Saturday 18. in latitude 36° 26', and in the direction of N. 48 W. from the north head of Mercury Bay or Point Mercury, which was distant nine leagues: upon this point ftood many people, who seemed to take little notice of us, but talked together with great earnestness. In about half an hour, feveral canoes put off from different places, and came towards the fhip; upon which the people on the point alfo launched a canoe, and about twenty of them came in her up with the others. When two of these canoes, in which there might be about fixty men, came near enough to make themselves heard, they fung their war-fong; but feeing that we took little notice of it, they threw a few ftones at us, and then rowed off towards the fhore. We hoped that we had now done with them, but in a short time they returned, as if with a fixed refolution to provoke us into a battle, animating themselves by their fong as they had done before. Tupia, without any 1769. November. Saturday 18. directions from us, went to the poop, and began to expostulate: he told them, that we had weapons which would deftroy them in a moment; and that, if they ventured to attack us, we should be obliged to use them. Upon this, they flourished their weapons, and cried out, in their language, "Come on fhore, and we will kill you all :" Well, said Tupia, but why should you moleft us while we are at sea ? as we do not wish to fight, we shall not accept your challenge to come on shore; and here there is no pretence for a quarrel, the fea being no more your property than the ship. This eloquence of Tupia, though it greatly surprised us, having given him no hints for the arguments he used, had no effect upon our enemies, who very foon renewed their battery: a mufquet was then fired through one of their boats, and this was an argument of fufficient weight, for they immediately fell aftern and left us. From the point, of which we were now abreast, the land trends W. S. near a league, and then S. S. E. as far as we could fee; and, befides the islands that lay without us, we could fee land round by the S. W. as far as the N. W.; but whether this was the main or islands, we could not then determine: the fear of losing the main, however, made me refolve to follow its direction. With this view, I hauled round the point and steered to the fouthward, but there being light airs all round the compass, we made but little progress. About one o'clock, a breeze fprung up at caft, which afterwards came to N. E. and we steered along the shore S. by E. and S. S. E. having from twenty-five to eighteen fathom. At about half an hour after feven in the evening, having run feven or eight leagues fince noon, I anchored in twentythree fathom, not chufing to run any farther in the dark, as I had now land on both fides, forming the entrance of a ftreight, ftreight, bay, or river, lying S. by E. for on that point we 1769. could fee no land. November. At day-break, on the 19th, the wind being still favourable, Sunday 19. we weighed and flood with an easy fail up the inlet, keeping neareft to the eaft fide. In a fhort time, two large canoes came off to us from the fhore; the people on board faid, that they knew Toiava very well, and called Tupia by his name. I invited some of them on board; and as they knew they had nothing to fear from us, while they behaved honeftly and peaceably, they immediately complied: I made each of them fome prefents, and difmiffed them much gratified. Other canoes afterwards came up to us from a different fide of the bay; and the people on board of these alfo mentioned the name of Toiava, and fent a young man into the fhip, who told us he was his grandson, and he also was difmiffed with a present. After having run about five leagues from the place where we had anchored the night before, our depth of water gradually decreased to fix fathom; and not chufing to go into lefs, as it was tide of flood, and the wind blew right up the inlet, I came to an anchor about the middle of the channel, which is near eleven miles over; after which I sent two boats out to found, one on one fide, and the other on the other. The boats not having found above three feet more water than we were now in, I determined to go no farther with the ship, but to examine the head of the bay in the boats; for, as it appeared to run a good way inland, I thought this a favourable opportunity to examine the interior part of the country, and its produce. At day-break, therefore, I fet out in the pinnace and long- Monday 20. boat, accompanied by Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, and Tupia; and 352 1769. November. Monday 29. and we found the inlet end in a river, about nine miles above the fhip: into this river we entered with the firft of the flood, and within three miles found the water perfectly fresh. Before we had proceeded more than one third of that dif tance, we found an Indian town, which was built upon a fmall bank of dry fand, but entirely furrounded by a deep mud, which poffibly the inhabitants might confider as a defence. These people, as foon as they faw us, thronged to the banks, and invited us on fhore. We accepted the invitation, and made them a visit notwithstanding the mud. They received us with open arms, having heard of us from our good old friend Toiava; but our stay could not be long, as we had other objects of curiosity in view. We proceeded up the river till near noon, when we were fourteen miles within its entrance; and then, finding the face of the country to continue nearly the fame, without any alteration in the course of the ftream, which we had no hope of tracing to its fource, we landed on the weft fide, to take a view of the lofty trees which every where adorned its banks. They were of a kind that we had feen before, though only at a distance, both in Poverty Bay and Hawke's Bay. Before we had walked an hundred yards into the wood, we met with one of them which was nineteen feet eight inches in the girt, at the height of fix feet above the ground: having a quadrant with me, I measured its height from the root to the first branch, and found it to be eighty-nine feet: it was as strait as an arrow, and tapered but very little in proportion to its height; fo that I judged there were three hundred and fifty-fix feet of folid timber in it, exclufive of the branches. As we advanced, we faw many others that were ftill larger; we cut down a young one, and the wood proved heavy and solid, not fit for mafts, but fuch as would make the finest plank in the world. Our carpenter, who was with us, faid that the timber I timber resembled that of the pitch-pine, which is lightened by tapping; and poffibly fome fuch method might be found to lighten these, and they would then be fuch mafts as no country in Europe can produce. As the wood was swampy, we could not range far; but we found many ftout trees of other kinds, all of them utterly unknown to us, fpecimens of which we brought away. The river at this height is as broad as the Thames at Greenwich, and the tide of flood as ftrong; it is not indeed quite fo deep, but has water enough for veffels of more than a middle size, and a bottom of mud, so soft that nothing could take damage by running ashore. 353 1769. Nove Alber. Monday 20. About three o'clock, we reimbarked, in order to return with the first of the ebb, and named the river the THAMES, it having some resemblance to our own river of that name. In our return, the inhabitants of the village where we had been afhore, seeing us take another channel, came off to us in their canoes, and trafficked with us in the most friendly. manner, till they had difpofed of the few trifles they had. The tide of ebb juft carried us out of the narrow part of the river, into the channel that run up from the fea, before it was dark; and we pulled hard to reach the fhip, but meet-ing the flood, and a strong breeze at N. N. W. with fhowers of rain, we were obliged to defift; and about midnight, we run under the land, and came to a grappling, where we took fuch rest as our fituation would admit.. At break of Tuesday 21, day, we set forward again, and it was past seven o'clock be-fore we reached the fhip. We were all extremely tired, but thought ourselves happy to be on board; for before nine it: blew fo hard that the boat could not have rowed ahead, and muft therefore either have gone afhore, or taken fhelter under it. About: |