SIR,

YOU will excufe the imperfection of this account, but I fhall give it in the best manner I am able.

We failed from the Mother-Bank, May 13th, 1787, bound for Botany Bay, in the inland of New Holland, and arrived at Teneriff the 4th of June, in lat. 28. 13. N. long. 16. 23. W. departed from thence the 10th, arrived at Rio Janeiro the 6th of Auguft, in lat. 22. 54. S. long. 42. 38. W. departed from thence the 5th of September, and arrived at the Cape of Good Hope the 14th of October, in lat. 34. 29. S. long. 18 29. E. de parted from it the 13th November, and made the fouth Cape of New Holland, the 8th of January, 1788, in lat. 43. 32. S. long. 146. 56. E, The weather being very fine, we had an opportunity of taking a view of the fouth Cape, or Van Dieman's land, which appeared to us very high and mountainous. In the evening the inhabitants made a very large fire on a low fandy point of land, whether to welcome us or not we were not able to understand. We left the Cape that evening, and proceeded for Botany Bay, at which place we arrived in twelve days, lat. 34. o. S. long. 151. 0. E. Sunday January 20. in the morning we arrived between the Capes Solander and Banks: the natives, who appeared in numbers on Cape Banks,

threw a great quantity of fticks and ftones at our fhips, fome running into the woods, others among the rocks and clifts. We all came to anchor that day in Botany Bay, in company with the Ceres man of war and Supply tender; the whole fleet remained here the fpace of five days, when the Governor, not thinking this a convenient place for fettling the new colony, failed with the whole convoy for Port Jackfon, about three leagues to the northward of Botany Bay, which place we found to be one of the most commodious harbours in the world; the tide there, by my own obfervation, rofe and fell to the amount of eleven feet perpendicular at fpring tides, and at ordinary tides about feven.

The land, in general, about Port Jackson, near the water, is rocky and full of large timber of three forts, a small specimen of each of which I have fent you; the rocks, in general, are of a foft kind, fomewhat refembling the Portland ftone; the harder part of the ftone, fome fmall pieces of which I have fent you, generally occupies the rifing grounds a little way from the water fide. The foil in general is black and fit for any kind of grain fown,or roots planted in it, but produces nothing naturally. Some parts up the country are white fandy plains, yielding a fhrub from which the yellow gum

is produced, of which you have a fample, but nothing else that I could fee. The red and white tree produce the fame fort of gum, viz. red, which, when the tree is cut, pours out in great quantities. Thelive oak produces nothing but its natural fap. The natives, I think, are the most miserable of the human form under heaven; the men, women, and children being entirely naked, without exception of age or fex; their perfons in general are thin, though fome of them are nearly fix feet high; their hair, which I could not find was woolly, is fo clotted with gum that it fticks out fomething like a thrumb mop; their hair is of a dirty brown; their habitations are the hollow cavities which nature has formed in the rocks by the water-fide, or up the country fmall wigwams made of the bark of a tree; their canoes are made of the bark of the fame tree, and are of a miferable construction, confifting of three or four pieces of bark fewed together, tied at each end like a fack, and fpread with two or three pieces of wood to keep them apart. I have often met with thefe in the coves afishing, and have obferved the people bring the fish on fhore, make a fire and broil them, and have no reason to think they are that cannibal race we were taught to believe them. In meeting with different gangs of thefe people, their common falutation was warrey, the meaning of which I am unable to explain. I generally used to answer them with the fame word, without knowing whether it indicated friendship or hoftility; but as I generally carried fire-arms with me in the woods, at meeting them my method was to clap my arms behind my back, and to lay my hand on my breast, which they answered by putting their fpear behind them, and their hand in the fame manner, and then both advancing we shook hands.

We failed from Port Jackson, in company with the Scarborough for Canton in China, the 8th of May

1788. We paffed by New Norfolk the latter end of the fame month, at which place there is a small colony fettled from Port Jackson. I am well informed that it produces pines of an aftonishing fize. The dimenfions of one of them given me by Mr Maccallum, furgeon of the Supply tender, which be measured himself by a quadrant, was twenty-five feet round, and about one hundred and twenty-five feet high. It also produces flax and hemp in great abundance naturally, which I fuppofe is the reason of its being made a fettlement. We did not call at this place, our orders not allowing us, but paffed it with a stiff breeze and ahigh sea.

Nothing material occurred till about the 10th of June, when exactly on the equator, but long. by account, 176 E. from the meridian of London, we difcovered the first part of the chain of those islands I informed you of, which you may be affured have no connection with the Pelew ifles, as there is a difference in long. of 41°, and in latitude of 7°, or 8° &c. the Pelews lying in latitude 70 N. and long. 135° E. but I think them to be a part of the Phillipine ifles. I will now give you a fhort account of these iflands, though I am not acquainted with their names. In the afternoon of the above day I first had a fight of what is called a flying Proa, so much talked of in fome of the isles in the Pacific Ocean, the construction of which I cannot exactly describe to you. On the firft day of our making the ifles, we faw this proa, the crew of which were entirely naked, except fome fhells and other ornaments hanging round their necks, and the perfon whom I took to be their chief was standing, with many curious fhells round his neck, in the middle of which a piece of yellow metal was fufpended, and hung down on his breast. As they feemed very fhy, we had no intercourfe with them, and night coming on, we faw no more of any of thofe proas; but, to our furprife, not expecting to fee

any