t in the orge, to broken, hout fuf ho came Durchafed der went ching for ng other eft, with verfation. gree very ed divines feemed to ed to with In the ant points if it was fwered in their ene one October. ed to be about fixteen feet high; they were placed in 159 The Indians, at the watering-place, at our request, On the 28th we went afhore upon an island that lies Saturd. 18. 'dle and were alfo was with carving this if et feen: The ser was a larger edentado vas fquar GE Jer 1769. October. Wednel. 25. Thurfd. 26. Friday 27. ed with the lance, our gentlemen inferred, that in the battles of this country there is no quarter. This afternoon, we fet up the armourer's forge, to repair the braces of the tiller which had been broken, and went on getting our wood and water, without suffering the leaft moleftation from the natives; who came down with different forts of fish, which we purchased with cloth, beads, and glass bottles, as usual. On the 25th, Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander went again on fhore; and while they were fearching for plants, Tupia ftaid with the waterers: among other Indians who came down to them, was a priest, with whom Tupia entered into a very learned conversation. In their notions of religion they feemed to agree very well, which is not often the cafe between learned divines on our fide of the ocean: Tupia, however, feemed to have the most knowledge, and was liftened to with great deference and attention by the other. In the courfe of this converfation, after the important points of divinity had been fettled, Tupia enquired if it was their practice to eat men, to which they answered in the affirmative; but faid that they eat only their enemies who were flain in battle. On the 26th, it rained all day, fo that none of us could go a-fhore; and very few of the Indians came either to the watering-place or the ship. On the 27th, I went with Dr. Solander to examine the bottom of the bay; but though we went a-fhore at two places, we met with little worth notice. The people behaved very civilly, fhewing us every thing that we expreffed a defire to fee. Among other trifling curiofities which Dr. Solander purchased of them, was a boy's top, fhaped exactly like those which children play with in England; and they made figns that to make it fpin it was to be whipped. Mr. Banks in the mean time went afhore at the watering place, and climbed a hill which flood at a little diftance to fee a fence of poles, which we had obferved from the ship, and which had been much the fubject of fpeculation. The hill was extremely fteep, and rendered almost inacceffible by wood; yet he reached the place, near which he found many houfes that for fome reafon had been deferted by their inhabitants. The poles appear ed ed to be about fixteen feet high; they were placed in two rows, with a space of about fix feet between them, and the poles in each row were about ten feet diftant from each other. The lane between them was covered by sticks, that were fet up floping towards each other from the top of the poles on each fide, like the roof of a house. This rail-work, with a ditch that was parallel to it, was carried about a hundred yards down the hill in a kind of curve; but for what purpose we could not guess. The Indians, at the watering-place, at our request, entertained us with their war-fong, in which the women joined, with the most horrid distortions of countenance, rolling their eyes, thrufting out their tongues, and often heaving loud and deep fighs; though all was done in very good time. 1769. 147 October. On the 28th we went afhore upon an island that lies Saturd. 28. to the left hand of the entrance of the bay, where we faw the largest canoe that we had yet met with: he was fixty eight feet and a half long, five broad, and three feet fix high; she had a sharp bottom, consisting of three trunks of trees hollowed, of which that in the middle was the longest: the fide planks were fixty-two feet long in one piece, and were not defpicably carved in bass relief: the head alfo was adorned with carving ftill more richly. Upon this ifland there was a larger house than any we had yet feen; but it seemed unfinished and was full of chips. The wood work was fquared so even and smooth, that we made no doubt of their having among them very sharp tools. The fides of the posts were carved in a masterly stile, though after their whimsical taste, which feems to prefer fpiral lines and distorted faces as thefe carved pofts appeared to have been brought from fome other place, fuch work is probably of great value among them. At four o'clock in the morning of the 29th, having Sunday 29. got on board our wood and water, and a large fupply of excellent celery, with which the country abounds, and which proved a powerful antiscorbutic, I unmoored and put to fea. This bay is called by the natives TOLAGA; it is moderately large, and has from seven to thirteen fathom, with L 2 1769. October. with a clean fandy bottom and good anchorage; and is fheltered from all winds except the north-east. It lies in latitude 38° 22' S. and four leagues and an half to the north of Gable-end Foreland. On the fouth point lies a small but high island, fo near the main as not to be diftinguished from it. Clofe to the north end of the ifland, at the entrance into the bay, are two high rocks; one is round like a corn-ftack, but the other is long, and perforated in. feveral places, fo that the openings appear like the arches of a bridge, Within these rocks is the cove where we cut wood, and filled our water cafks. Off the north point of the bay is a pretty high rocky ifland; and about a mile without it, are fome rocks and breakers. The variation of the compass here is 14° 31 E. and the tide flows at the full and change of the moon, about fix o'clock, and rifes and falls perpendicularly from five to fix feet: whether the flood comes from the fouthward or the northward, I have not been able to determine. We got nothing here by traffic but a few fish, and fome fweet potatoes, except a few trifles, which we confidered merely as curiofities. We faw no four-footed animals, nor the appearance of any, either tame or wild, except dogs and rats, and these were very scarce; the people eat the dogs, like our friends at Otaheite and adorn their garments with the fkins, as we do ours with fur and ermine. I climbed many of the hills, hoping to get a view of the country, but I could fee nothing from the top except higher hills, in a boundlels fucceffion. The ridges of thefe hills produce little befides fern; but the fides are moft luxuriantly clothed with wood, and verdure of various kinds, with little plantations intermixed; in the woods we found trees of above twenty different forts, and carried fpecimens of each on board; but there was no body among us to whom they were not altogether unknown. The tree which we cut for firing was fomewhat like our maple, and yielded a whitish gum. We found another fort of it of a deep yellow, which we thought might be used in dying. We found also one cabbage-tree, which we cut down for the cabbages. The country abounds with plants, and the woods with birds, in an endlefs variety, exquifitely beautiful, and of which none of us had the leaft October. leaft knowledge. The foil both of the hills and vallies 1769. is light and fandy, and very fit for the production of all kinds of roots; though we faw none except fweet po tatoes and yams. CHA P. III. The Range from Tolaga to Mercury-Bay, with an Account of many Incidents that happened both on board and a-fbore. A Defcription of feveral Views exhibited by the Country, and of the Heppabs, or forfeited Villages of the Inbal itants. ON N Monday the 30th, about half an hour after Monday 30. one o'clock, having made fail again to the northward for about ten hours, with a light breeze, I hauled round a small island, which lay east one mile from the north-east point of the land: from this place I found the land trend away N. W. by W. and W. N. W. as far as I could fee. This point being the eaftermost land on the whole coaft, I gave it the name of EAST CAPE, and I called the island that lies off it the EAST ISLAND; it is of a small circuit, high and round, and appears white and barren; the Cape is high with white cliffs, and lies in latitude 37° 42' 30" S. and longitude 181° W. The land from Tolaga Bay to Eaft Cape is of a moderate, but unequal height, forming feveral small bays, in which are fandy beaches of the inland country we could not fee much, the weather being cloudy and hazy. The foundings were from twenty to thirty fathom at the distance of about a league from the fhore. After we had rounded the Cape, we faw in our run along the fhore a great number of villages, and much cultivated land; the country in general appeared more fertile than before, and was low near the fea, but hilly within. At fix in the evening, being four leagues to the weftward of Eaft Cape, we paffed a bay which was first discovered by Lieutenant Hicks, and which therefore I called HICKS'S BAY. At eight in the evening, being eight leagues to the weftward of the Cape, and three or four miles from the fhore, I fhortened fail and brought to for the night, having at this time L 3 a fresh |