C H A P. VI

Tranfactions while the Ship was refitting in Endeavour
River: A Defcription of the adjacent Country, its
Inhabitants, and Productions.

N the morning of Monday the 18th, a ftage was made

I from the min to the shore, which was to bold that le

up,

floated at twenty feet distance: two tents were also set
one for the fick, and the other for ftores and provifions,
which were landed in the course of the day. We also landed
all the empty water cafks, and part of the ftores. As foon
as the tent for the fick was got ready for their reception, they
were fent afhore to the number of eight or nine, and the
boat was dispatched to haul the seine, in hopes of procuring
some fish for their refreshment; but the returned without
fuccefs. In the mean time, I climbed one of the highest hills
among thofe that overlooked the harbour, which afforded
by no means a comfortable profpect: the low land near the
river is wholly over-run with mangroves, among which the
falt-water flows every tide; and the high land appeared to
be every where ftoney and barren. In the mean time Mr.
Banks had also taken a walk up the country, and met with
the frames of several old Indian houses, and places where
they had dreffed fhell-fish; but they seemed not to have been
frequented for fome months. Tüpia, who had employed.
himself in angling, and lived intirely upon what he caught,
recovered in a surprising degree; but Mr. Green ftill conti--
nued to be extremely ill.

The

1770. June.

Monday 18,

1770. June.

Tuesday 19.

Wednef. 20.

The next morning I got the four remaining guns out of the hold, and mounted them upon the quarter-deck; I also got a spare anchor, and anchor-stock ashore, and the remaining part of the ftores and ballast that were in the hold: fet up the smith's forge, and employed the armourer and his mate to make nails and other neceffaries for the repair of the fhip. In the afternoon, all the officers' stores and the ground tier of water were got out; fo that nothing remained in the fore and main hold, but the coals, and a small quantity of ftone ballaft. This day Mr. Banks croffed the river to take a view of the country on the other fide: he found it confist principally of fand-hills, where he saw some Indian houses, which appeared to have been very lately inhabited. In his walk, he met with vaft flocks of pigeons and crows: of the pigeons, which were exceedingly beautiful, he shot several; but the crows, which were exactly like those in England, were so shy that he could not get within reach of them.

On the 20th, we landed the powder, and got out the ftone ballaft and wood, which brought the fhip's draught of water to eight feet ten inches forward, and thirteen feet abaft; and this I thought, with the difference that would be made by trimming the coals aft, would be fufficient; for I found that the water rofe and fell perpendicularly eight feet at the fpring-tides: but as foon as the coals were trimmed from over the leak, we could hear the water rush in a little abaft the foremast, about three feet from the keel: this determined me to clear the hold intirely. This evening, Mr. Banks obferved that in many parts of the inlet there were large quantities of pumice ftones, which lay at a confiderable distance above high-water mark; whither they might have been carried either by the freshes or extraordinary high tides, for there could be no doubt but that they came from the fea.

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