we ranged, with an easy sail, along the shore; but just as we were passing the end of the island, six men, who had for some time kept abreast of the ship, suddenly launched two canoes with great quickness and dexterity, and three of them getting into each, they put off, as we imagined, with a design to come on board us; the ship was therefore brought to, but they, like their fellows, stopped at the reef. We did not, however, immediately make sail, as we observed two messengers despatched to them from the other canoes, which were of a much larger size. We perceived that these messengers made great expedition, wading and swimming along the reef; at length they met, and the men on board the canoes making no dispositions to pass the reef, after having received the message, we judged that they had resolved to come no farther. After waiting, therefore, some little time longer, we stood off; but when we were got about two or three miles from the shore, we perceived some of the natives following us in a canoe with a sail. We did not, however, think it worth while to wait for her, and though she had passed the reef, she soon after gave over the chase.

According to the best judgment that we could form of the people when we were nearest the shore, they were about our size, and well made. They were of a brown complexion, and appeared to be naked; their hair, which was black, was confined by a fillet that went round the head, and stuck out behind like a bush. The greater part of them carried in their hands two weapons; one of them was a slender pole, from ten to fourteen feet long, on one end of which was a small knob, not unlike the point of a spear; the other was about four feet long, and shaped like a paddle, and possibly might be so, for some of their canoes were very small those which we saw them launch seemed not intended to carry more than the three men that got into them: we saw others that had on board six or seven men, and one of them hoisted a sail which did not seem to reach more than six feet above the gun-wale of the boat, and which, upon the falling of a slight shower, was taken down and converted into an awning or tilt. The canoe which followed us to sea hoisted a sail not unlike an English lug-sail, and almost as lofty as an English boat of the same size would have carried.

The people, who kept abreast of the ship on the beach, made many signals; but whether they were intended to frighten us away, or invite us on shore, it is not easy to determine : we returned them by waving our hats and shouting, and they replied by shouting again. We did not put their disposition to the test, by attempting to land; because, as the island was inconsiderable, and as we wanted nothing that it could afford, we thought it imprudent as well as cruel to risk a contest, in which the natives must have suffered by our superiority, merely to gratify an idle curiosity; especially as we expected soon to fall in with the island. where we had been directed to make our astronomical observation, the inhabitants of which would probably admit us without opposition, as they were already acquainted with our strength, and might also procure us a ready and peaceable reception among the neighbouring people, if we should desire it. To these islands we gave the name of THE GROUPS.

On the 7th, about half an hour after six in the morning, being just at daybreak, we discovered another island to the northward, which we judged to be about four miles in circumference. The land lay very low, and there was a piece of water in the middle of it;

there seemed to be some wood upon it, and it looked green and pleasant; but we saw neither cocoa-trees nor inhabitants: it abounded, however, with birds, and we therefore gave it the name of BIRD ISLAND. It lies in latitude 17° 48′ S., and longitude 143° 35′ W., at the distance of ten leagues, in the direction W. N. from the west end of the Groups. The variation here was 6° 32′ E.

On the 8th, about two o'clock in the afternoon, we saw land to the northward, and about sunset came abreast of it, at about the distance of two leagues. It appeared to be a double range of low woody islands joined together by reefs, so as to form one island, in the form of an ellipsis or oval, with a lake in the middle of it. The small islands and reefs that circumscribe the lake have the appearance of a chain, and we therefore gave it the name of CHAIN ISLAND. Its length seemed to be about five leagues, in the direction of N.W. and S.E., and its breadth about five miles. The trees upon it appeared to be large, and we saw smoke rising in different parts of it from among them: a certain sign that it was inhabited. The middle of it lies in latitude 17° 23' S., and longitude 145° 54′ W., and is distant from Bird Island forty-five leages, in the direction of W. by N. The variation here was, by several azimuths, found to be 4° 54' E.

On the 10th, having had a tempestuous night with thunder and rain, the weather was hazy till about nine o'clock in the morning, when it cleared up, and we saw the island to which Captain Wallis, who first discovered it, gave the name of Osnaburgh Island, called by the natives Maitea, bearing N.W. by W., distant about five leagues. It is a high round island, not above a league in circuit; in some parts it is covered with trees, and in others a naked rock. In this direction it looked like a high-crowned hat; but when it bears north, the top of it has more the appearance of the roof of a house. We made its latitude to be 17° 48′ S., its longitude 148° 10' W., and its distance from Chain Island, forty-four leagues, in the direction of W. by S.

CHAPTER VIII.-THE ARRIVAL OF THE ENDEAVOUR AT OTAHEITE, CALLED BY CAPTAIN WALLIS KING GEORGE THE THIRD'S ISLAND.-RULES ESTABLISHED FOR TRAFFIC WITH THE NATIVES, AND AN ACCOUNT OF SEVERAL INCIDENTS WHICH HAPPENED IN A VISIT TO TOOTAHAH AND TUBOURAI TAMAIDA, TWO CHIEFS.

ABOUT one o'clock, on Monday the 10th of April, some of the people who were looking out for the island to which we were bound, said they saw land a-head, in that part of the horizon where it was expected to appear; but it was so faint that whether there was land in sight or not remained a matter of dispute till sunset. The next morning, however, at six o'clock, we were convinced that those who said they had discovered land were not mistaken; it appeared to be very high and mountainous, extending from W. by S. S. to W. by N. N., and we knew it to be the same that Captain Wallis had called King George the Third's Island. We were delayed in our approach to it by light airs and calms, so that in the morning of the 12th we were but little nearer than we had been the

night before; but about seven a breeze sprang up, and before eleven several canoes were seen making towards the ship: there were but few of them, however, that would come near; and the people in those that did could not be persuaded to come on board. In every canoe there were young plantains, and branches of a tree which the Indians call E'Midho: these, as we afterwards learnt, were brought as tokens of peace and amity; and the people in one of the canoes handed them up the ship's side, making signals at the same time with great earnestness, which we did not immediately understand; at length we guessed that they wished these symbols should be placed in some conspicuous part of the ship; we, therefore, immediately stuck them among the rigging, at which they expressed the greatest satisfaction. We then purchased their cargoes, consisting of cocoa-nuts and various kinds of fruit, which, after our long voyage, were very acceptable.

We stood on with an easy sail all night, with soundings from twenty-two fathom to twelve, and about seven o'clock in the morning we came to an anchor in thirteen fathom, in Portroyal Bay, called by the natives Matarai. We were immediately surrounded by the natives in their canoes, who gave us cocoa-nuts, fruit resembling apples, bread-fruit, and some small fishes, in exchange for beads and other trifles. They had with them a pig, which they would not part with for anything but a hatchet, and therefore we refused to purchase it; because if we gave them a hatchet for a pig now, we knew they would never afterwards sell one for less, and we could not afford to buy as many as it was probable we should want at that price. The bread-fruit grows on a tree that is about the size of a middling oak: its leaves are frequently a foot and a half long, of an oblong shape, deeply sinuated like those of the fig-tree, which they resemble in consistence and colour, and in the exuding of a white milky juice upon being broken. The fruit is about the size and shape of a child's head, and the surface is reticulated, not much unlike a truffle: it is covered with a thin skin, and has a core about as big as the handle of a small knife: the eatable part lies between the skin and the core: it is as white as snow, and somewhat of the consistence of new bread: it must be roasted before it is eaten, being first divided into three or four parts: its taste is insipid, with a slight sweetness, somewhat resembling that of the crumb of wheaten bread mixed with a Jerusalem artichoke.

BREAD FRUIT.

Among others who came off to the ship was an elderly man, whose name, as we learnt afterwards, was OWHAW, and who was immediately known to Mr. Gore, and several others who had been here with Captain Wallis. As I was informed that he had been very useful to them, I took him on board the ship with some others, and was particularly attentive to gratify him, as I hoped he might also be useful to us.

As our stay here was not likely to be very short, and as it was necessary that the merchandise which we had brought for traffic with the natives should not diminish in its value, which it would certainly have done if every person had been left at liberty to give what he pleased for such things as he should purchase; at the same time, that confusion and quarrels must necessarily have arisen from there being no standard at market, I drew up the following rules, and ordered that they should be punctually observed :

Rules to be observed by every Person in or belonging to his Majesty's Bark the Endeavour, for the better establishing a regular and uniform Trade for Provision, &c. with the Inhabitants of George's Island.

"I. To endeavour, by every fair means, to cultivate a friendship with the natives; and to treat them with all imaginable humanity.

"II. A proper person or persons will be appointed to trade with the natives for all manner of provisions, fruit, and other productions of the earth; and no officer or seaman, or other person belonging to the ship, excepting such as are so appointed, shall trade or offer to trade for any sort of provision, fruit, or other productions of the earth, unless they have leave so to do.

"III. Every person employed on shore, on any duty whatsoever, is strictly to attend to the same; and if by any neglect he loseth any of his arms, or working tools, or suffers them to be stolen, the full value thereof will be charged against his pay, according to the custom of the navy in such cases; and he shall receive such farther punishment as the nature of the offence may deserve.

"IV. The same penalty will be inflicted on every person who is found to embezzle, trade, or offer to trade, with any part of the ship's stores, of what nature soever.

"V. No sort of iron, or anything that is made of iron, or any sort of cloth, or other useful or necessary articles, are to be given in exchange for anything but provision.

“ J. Cook.

As soon as the ship was properly secured, I went on shore with Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, a party of men under arms, and our friend Owhaw. We were received from the boat by some hundreds of the inhabitants, whose looks at least gave us welcome, though they were struck with such awe, that the first who approached us crouched so low that he almost crept upon his hands and knees. It is remarkable that he, like the people in the canoes, presented to us the same symbol of peace that is known to have been in use among the ancient and mighty nations of the northern hemisphere, the green branch of a tree. We received it with looks and gestures of kindness and satisfaction; and observing that each of them held one in his hand, we immediately gathered every one a bough, and carried it in our hands in the same manner.

They marched with us about half-a-mile towards the place where the Dolphin had watered, conducted by Owhaw; they then made a full stop, and having laid the ground bare, by clearing away all the plants that grew upon it, the principal persons among them threw their green branches upon the naked spot, and made signs that we should do the same; we immediately showed our readiness to comply, and to give a greater solemnity to the rite, the marines were drawn up, and marching in order, each dropped his bough upon those of the Indians, and we followed their example. We then proceeded, and when we came to the watering-place it was intimated to us by signs, that we might occupy that ground, but it happened not to be fit for our purpose. During our walk, they had shaken off their first timid sense of our superiority, and were become familiar: they went with us from the watering-place and took a circuit through the woods; as we went along, we distributed beads and other small presents among them, and had the satisfaction to see that they were much gratified. Our circuit was not less than four or five miles, through groves of trees, which were loaded with cocoa-nuts and bread-fruit, and afforded the most grateful shade. Under these trees were the habitations of the people, most of them being only a roof without walls, and the whole scene realised the poetical fables of Arcadia. remarked, however, not without some regret, that in all our walk we had seen only two hogs, and not a single fowl. Those of our company who had been here with the Dolphin told us, that none of the people whom we had yet seen were of the first class: they suspected that the chiefs had removed; and upon carrying us to the place where what they called the queen's palace had stood, we found that no traces of it were left. We determined therefore to return in the morning, and endeavour to find out the noblesse in their

retreats.

We

In the morning, however, before we could leave the ship, several canoes came about us, most of them from the westward, and two of them were filled with people, who, by their dress and deportment, appeared to be of a superior rank: two of these came on board, and each singled out his friend; one of them, whose name we found to be MATAHAш, fixed upon Mr. Banks, and the other upon me: this ceremony consisted in taking off great part of their clothes and putting them upon us. In return for this, we presented each of them with a hatchet and some beads. Soon after they made signs for us to go with them to the

places where they lived, pointing to the S.W.; and as I was desirous of finding a more commodious harbour, and making farther trial of the disposition of the people, I consented. I ordered out two boats, and with Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, the other gentlemen, and our two Indian friends, we embarked for our expedition. After rowing about a league, they made signs that we should go on shore, and gave us to understand that this was the place of their residence. We accordingly landed, among several hundreds of the natives, who conducted us into a house of much greater length than any we had seen. When we entered, we saw a middle-aged man, whose name was afterwards discovered to be TooтAHAH: mats were immediately spread, and we were desired to sit down over-against him. Soon after we were seated, he ordered a cock and hen to be brought out, which he presented to Mr. Banks and me: we accepted the present; and in a short time each of us received a piece of cloth, perfumed after their manner, by no means disagreeably, which they took great pains to make us remark. The piece presented to Mr. Banks was eleven yards long and two wide; in return for which, he gave a laced silk neckcloth, which he happened to have on, and a linen pocket-handkerchief: Tootahah immediately dressed himself in this new finery, with an air of perfect complacency and satisfaction. But it is now time that I should take some notice of the ladies.

Soon after the interchanging of our presents with Tootahah, they attended us to several large houses, in which we walked about with great freedom: they showed us all the civility of which, in our situation, we could accept; and, on their part, seemed to have no scruple that would have prevented its being carried farther. The houses, which, as I have observed before, are all open, except a roof, afforded no place of retirement; but the ladies, by frequently pointing to the mats upon the ground, and sometimes seating themselves and drawing us down upon them, left us no room to doubt of their being much less jealous of observation than we were.

We now took leave of our friendly chief, and directed our course along the shore. When we had walked about a mile, we met, at the head of a great number of people, another chief, whose name was TUBOURAI TAMAIDE, with whom we were also to ratify a treaty of peace, with the ceremony of which we were now become better acquainted. Having received the branch which he presented to us, and given another in return, we laid our hands upon our left breasts, and pronounced the word Taio, which we supposed to signify friend; the chief then gave us to understand, that if we chose to eat, he had victuals ready for us. We accepted his offer, and dined very heartily upon fish, bread-fruit, cocoanuts, and plantains, dressed after their manner: they ate some of their fish raw; and raw fish was offered to us, but we declined that part of the entertainment.

During this visit a wife of our noble host, whose name was TOMIO, did Mr. Banks the honour to place herself upon the same mat, close by him. Tomio was not in the first bloom of her youth, nor did she appear to have been ever remarkable for her beauty; he did not, therefore, I believe, pay her the most flattering attention: it happened, too, as a farther mortification to this lady, that seeing a very pretty girl among the crowd, he, not adverting to the dignity of his companion, beckoned her to come to him: the girl, after some entreaty, complied, and sat down on the other side of him he loaded her with beads, and every showy trifle that would please her: his princess, though she was somewhat mortified at the preference that was given to her rival, did not discontinue her civilities, but still assiduously supplied him with the milk of the cocoa-nut, and such other dainties as were in her reach. This scene might possibly have become more curious and interesting, if it had not been suddenly interrupted by an interlude of a more serious kind. Just at this time, Dr. Solander and Mr. Monkhouse complained that their pockets had been picked. Dr. Solander had lost an opera-glass in a shagreen case, and Mr. Monkhouse his snuff-box. This incident unfortunately put an end to the good-humour of the company. Complaint of the injury was made to the chief; and, to give it weight, Mr. Banks started up, and hastily struck the butt-end of his firelock upon the ground: this action, and the noise that accompanied it, struck the whole assembly with a panic; and every one of the natives ran out of the house with the utmost precipitation, except the chief, three women, and two or three others, who appeared by their dress to be of a superior rank.