A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xiii Part 16

The scurvy now began to make its appearance among us, with many formidable symptoms. Our poor Indian, Tupia, who had some time before complained that his gums were sore and swelled, and who had taken plentifully of our lemon juice by the surgeon's direction, had now livid spots upon his legs, and other indubitable testimonies that the disease had made a rapid progress, notwithstanding all our remedies, among which the bark had been liberally administered. Mr Green, our astronomer, was also declining; and these, among other circ.u.mstances, embittered the delay which prevented our going ash.o.r.e.

In the morning of the 17th, though the wind was still fresh, we ventured to weigh, and push in for the harbour; but in doing this we twice run the s.h.i.+p aground: The first time she went off without any trouble, but the second time she stuck fast. We now got down the fore-yard, fore top-masts, and booms, and taking them overboard, made a raft of them alongside of the s.h.i.+p. The tide was happily rising, and about one o'clock in the afternoon she floated. We soon warped her into the harbour, and having moored her alongside of a steep beach to the south, we got the anchors, cables, and all the hawsers on sh.o.r.e before night.

SECTION x.x.xI.

_Transactions while the s.h.i.+p was refitting in Endeavour River: A Description of the adjacent Country, its Inhabitants and Productions_.

In the morning of Monday the 18th, a stage was made from the s.h.i.+p to the sh.o.r.e, which was so bold that she floated at twenty feet distance: Two tents were also set up, one for the sick, and the other for stores and provisions, which were landed in the course of the day. We also landed all the empty water-casks, and part of the stores. As soon as the tent for the sick was got ready for their reception, they were sent ash.o.r.e 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 she returned without success. In the mean time, I climbed one of the highest hills among those that overlooked the harbour, which afforded by no means a comfortable prospect: The low land near the river is wholly over-run with mangroves, among which the salt water flows every tide; and the high land appeared to be everywhere stoney 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 dressed sh.e.l.l-fish; but they seemed not to have been frequented for some months. Tupia, who had employed himself in angling, and lived entirely upon what he caught, recovered in a surprising degree; but Mr Green still continued to be extremely ill.

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 ash.o.r.e, and the remaining part of the stores and ballast that were in the hold; set up the smith's forge, and employed the armourer and his mate to make nails and other necessaries for the repair of the s.h.i.+p. In the afternoon, all the officers' stores and ground tier of water were got out, so that nothing remained in the fore and main hold but the coals, and a small quant.i.ty of stone ballast. This day Mr Banks crossed the river to take a view of the country on the other side; he found it consist princ.i.p.ally of sand-hills, where he saw some Indian houses, which appeared to have been very lately inhabited. In his walk he met with vast 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 stone ballast and wood, which brought the s.h.i.+p'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 of tr.i.m.m.i.n.g the coals aft, would be sufficient; for I found that the water rose and fell perpendicularly eight feet at the spring-tides: But as soon 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 entirely. This evening Mr Banks observed that in many parts of the inlet there were large quant.i.ties of pumice-stones, which lay at a considerable 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 sea.

The next morning we went early to work, and by four o'clock in the afternoon had got out all the coals, cast the moorings loose, and warped the s.h.i.+p a little higher up the harbour to a place which I thought most convenient for laying her ash.o.r.e in order to stop the leak. Her draught of water forward was now seven feet nine inches, and abaft thirteen feet six inches. At eight o'clock, it being high water, I hauled her bow close ash.o.r.e, but kept her stern afloat, because I was afraid of neiping her; it was however necessary to lay the whole of her as near the ground as possible.

At two o'clock in the morning of the 22d, the tide left her, and gave us an opportunity to examine the leak, which we found to be at her floor-heads, a little before the starboard fore-chains. In this place the rocks had made their way through four planks, and even into the timbers; three more planks were much damaged, and the appearance of these breaches was very extraordinary: There was not a splinter to be seen, but all was so smooth as if the whole had been cut away by an instrument: The timbers in this place were happily very close, and if they had not, it would have been absolutely impossible to have saved the s.h.i.+p. But after all, her preservation depended upon a circ.u.mstance still more remarkable: One of the holes, which was big enough to have sunk us, if we had had eight pumps instead of four, and been able to keep them incessantly going, was in great measure plugged up by a fragment of the rock, which, after having made the wound, was left sticking in it, so that the water which at first had gained upon our pumps was what came in at the interstices, between the stone and the edges of the hole that received it. We found also several pieces of the fothering, which had made their way between the timbers, and in a great measure stopped those parts of the leak which the stone had left open. Upon further examination, we found that, besides the leak, considerable damage had been done to the bottom; great part of the sheathing was gone from under the larboard bow; a considerable part of the false keel was also wanting, and these indeed we had seen swim away in fragments from the vessel, while she lay beating against the rock: The remainder of it was in so shattered a condition, that it had better have been gone; and the fore foot and main keel were also damaged, but not so as to produce any immediate danger: What damage she might have received abaft could not yet be exactly known, but we have reason to think it was not much, as but little water made its way into her bottom, while the tide kept below the leak which has already been described. By nine o'clock in the morning the carpenters got to work upon her, while the smiths were busy in making bolts and nails. In the mean time, some of the people were sent on the other side of the water to shoot pigeons for the sick, who at their return reported that they had seen an animal as large as a greyhound, of a slender make, a mouse-colour, and extremely swift; they discovered also many Indian houses, and a fine stream of fresh water.

The next morning I sent a boat to haul the seine; but at noon it returned with only three fish, and yet we saw them in plenty leaping about the harbour. This day the carpenter finished the repairs that were necessary on the starboard side; and at nine o'clock in the evening we heeled the s.h.i.+p the other way, and hauled her off about two feet for fear of neiping. This day almost every body had seen the animal which the pigeon-shooters had brought an account of the day before; and one of the seamen, who had been rambling in the woods, told us at his return that he verily believed he had seen the devil: We naturally enquired in what form he had appeared, and his answer was in so singular a style, that I shall set down his own words: "He was," says John, "as large as a one gallon keg and very like it; he had horns and wings, yet he crept so slowly through, the gra.s.s, that if I had not been afeard I might have touched him." This formidable apparition we afterwards discovered to have been a batt; and the batts here must be acknowledged to have a frightful appearance, for they are nearly black, and full as large as a partridge; they have indeed no horns, but the fancy of a man who thought he saw the devil, might easily supply that defect.

Early on the 24th the carpenters began to repair the sheathing under the larboard bow, where we found two planks cut about half through; and in the mean time I sent a party of men, under the direction of Mr Gore, in search, of refreshments for the sick: This party returned about noon with a few palm cabbages, and a bunch or two of wild plantain; the plantains were the smallest I had ever seen, and the pulp, though it was well tasted, was full of small stones. As I was walking this morning at a little distance from the s.h.i.+p, I saw myself one of the animals which had been so often described; it was of a light mouse-colour, and in size and shape very much resembling a greyhound; it had a long tail also, which it carried like a greyhound; and I should have taken it for a wild-dog, if, instead of running, it had not leapt like a hare or deer: Its legs were said to be very slender, and the print of its foot to be like that of a goat; but where I saw it the gra.s.s was so high that the legs were concealed, and the ground was too hard to receive the track.

Mr Banks also had an imperfect view of this animal, and was of opinion that its species was. .h.i.therto unknown.[83]

[Footnote 83: It is almost superfluous to tell any reader now that the animal mentioned is the kangaroo, of which specimens are to be seen in nearly every travelling collection of wild beasts.--E.]

After the s.h.i.+p was hauled ash.o.r.e, all the water that came into her of course went backwards; so that although she was dry forwards, she had nine feet water abaft: As in this part therefore her bottom could not be examined on the inside, I took the advantage of the tide being out this evening to get the master and two of the men to go under her, and examine her whole larboard side without. They found the sheathing gone about the floor-heads abreast of the main-mast, and part of a plank a little damaged; but all agreed that she had received no other material injury. The loss of her sheathing alone was a great misfortune, as the worm would now be let into her bottom, which might expose us to great inconvenience and danger; but as I knew no remedy for the mischief but heaving her down, which would be a work of immense labour and long time, if practicable at all in our present situation, I was obliged to be content. The carpenters however continued to work under her bottom in the evening till they were prevented by the tide; the morning tide did not ebb out far enough to permit them to work at all, for we had only one tolerable high and low tide in four-and-twenty hours, as indeed we had experienced when we lay upon the rock. The position of the s.h.i.+p, which threw the water in her abaft, was very near depriving the world of all the knowledge which Mr Banks had endured so much labour, and so many risks, to procure; for he had removed the curious collection of plants which he made during the whole voyage into the bread-room, which lies in the after-part of the s.h.i.+p, as a place of the greatest security; and n.o.body having thought of the danger to which laying her head so much higher than the stem would expose them, they were this day found under water. Most of them however were, by indefatigable care and attention, restored to a state of preservation, but some were entirely spoilt and destroyed.

The 25th was employed in filling water and overhauling the rigging, and at low-water the carpenters finished the repairs under the larboard bow, and every other place which the tide would permit them to come at; some casks were then lashed under her bows to facilitate her floating, and at night, when it was high water, we endeavoured to heave her off, but without success, for some of the casks that were lashed to her gave way.

The morning of the 26th was employed in getting more casks ready for the same purpose, and in the afternoon we lashed no less than eight-and-thirty under the s.h.i.+p's bottom, but to our great mortification these also proved ineffectual, and we found ourselves reduced to the necessity of waiting till the next spring-tide.

This day some of our gentlemen who had made an excursion into the woods, brought home the leaves of a plant which was thought to be the same that in the West Indies is called coccos; but upon trial the roots proved too acrid to be eaten; the leaves, however, were little inferior to spinnage. In the place where these plants were gathered, grew plenty of the cabbage trees which have occasionally been mentioned before, a kind of wild plantain, the fruit of which was so full of stones as scarcely to be eatable; another fruit was also found about the size of a small golden pippin, but flatter, and of a deep purple colour: When first gathered from the tree, it was very hard and disagreeable, but after being kept a few days became soft, and tasted very much like an indifferent damascene.

The next morning we began to move some of the weight from the after-part of the s.h.i.+p forward, to ease her; in the mean time the armourer continued to work at the forge, the carpenter was busy in caulking the s.h.i.+p, and the men employed in filling water and overhauling the rigging: In the forenoon, I went myself in the pinnace up the harbour, and made several hauls with the seine, but caught only between twenty and thirty fish, which were given to the sick and convalescent.

On the 28th, Mr Banks went with some of the seamen up the country, to shew them the plant which in the West Indies is called Indian kale, and which served us for greens. Tupia had much meliorated the root of the coccos, by giving them a long dressing in his country oven, but they were so small that we did not think them an object for the s.h.i.+p. In their walk they found one tree which had been notched for the convenience of climbing it, in the same manner with those, we had seen in Botany Bay: They saw also many nests of white ants, which resemble those of the East Indies, the most pernicious insects in the world. The nests were of a pyramidical figure, from a few inches to six feet high, and very much resembled the stones in England, which are said to be monuments of the Druids. Mr Gore who was also this day four or five miles up the country, reported that he had seen the footsteps of men, and tracked animals of three or four different sorts, but had not been fortunate enough to see either man or beast.

At two o'clock in the morning of the 20th, I observed, in conjunction with Mr Green, an emersion of Jupiter's first satellite; the time here was 2h 18' 53", which gave the longitude of this place 214 42' 30" W.; its lat.i.tude is 15 26' S. At break of day, I sent the boat out again with the seine, and in the afternoon it returned with as much fish as enabled me to give every man a pound and a half. One of my mids.h.i.+pmen, an American, who was this day abroad with his gun, reported that he had seen a wolf, exactly like those which he had been used to see in his own country, and that he had shot at it, but did not kill it.

The next morning, encouraged by the success of the day before, I sent the boat again to haul the seine, and another party to gather greens: I sent also some of the young gentlemen to take a plan of the harbour, and went myself upon a hill, which lies over the south point, to take a view of the sea. At this time it was low water, and I saw, with great concern, innumerable sand-banks and shoals lying all along the coast in every direction. The innermost lay about three or four miles from the sh.o.r.e, the outermost extended as far as I could see with my gla.s.s, and many of them did but just rise above water. There was some appearance of a pa.s.sage to the northward, and I had no hope of getting clear but in that direction, for as the wind blows constantly from the S.E., it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to return back to the southward.

Mr Gore reported that he had this day seen two animals like dogs, of a straw colour, that they ran like a hare, and were about the same size.

In the afternoon, the people returned from hauling the seine, with still better success than before, for I was now able to distribute two pounds and an half to each man: The greens that had been gathered I ordered to be boiled among the peas, and they made an excellent mess, which, with copious supplies of fish, afforded us unspeakable refreshment.

The next day, July the 1st, being Sunday, every body had liberty to go ash.o.r.e, except one from each mess, who were again sent out with the seine. The seine was again equally successful, and the people who went up the country gave an account of having seen several animals, though none of them were to be caught. They saw a fire also about a mile up the river, and Mr Gore, the second lieutenant, picked up the husk of a cocoa-nut, which had been cast upon the beach, and was full of barnacles: This probably might come from some island to windward, perhaps from the Terra del Espirito Santo of Quiros, as we were now in the lat.i.tude where it is said to lie. This day the thermometer in the shade rose to 87, which was higher than it had been on any day since we came upon this coast.

Early the next morning, I sent the master in the pinnace out of the harbour, to sound about the shoals in the offing, and look for a channel to the northward: At this time we had a breeze from the land, which continued till about nine o'clock, and was the first we had since our coming into the river. At low water we lashed some empty casks under the s.h.i.+p's bows, having some hope that as the tides were rising she would float the next high water. We still continued to fish with great success, and at high water we again attempted to heave the s.h.i.+p off, but our utmost efforts were still ineffectual.

The next day at noon the master returned, and reported that he had found a pa.s.sage out to sea between the shoals, and described its situation.

The shoals, he said, consisted of coral rocks, many of which were dry at low water, and upon one of which he had been ash.o.r.e. He found here some c.o.c.kles of so enormous a size, that one of them was more than two men could eat, and a great variety of other sh.e.l.l-fish, of which he brought us a plentiful supply: In the evening he had also landed in a bay about three leagues to the northward of our station, where he disturbed some of the natives who were at supper; they all fled with the greatest precipitation at his approach, leaving some fresh sea-eggs, and a fire ready kindled, behind them, but there was neither house nor hovel near the place. We observed that although the shoals that lie just within sight of the coast, abound with sh.e.l.l-fish, which may be easily caught at low water; yet we saw no such sh.e.l.ls about the fire-places on sh.o.r.e.

This day an allegator was seen to swim about us for some time; and at high water we made another effort to float the s.h.i.+p, which happily succeeded: We found however that by lying so long with her head a-ground, and her stern a-float, she had sprung a plank between decks, a-breast of the main-chains, so that it was become necessary to lay her ash.o.r.e again.

The next morning was employed in tr.i.m.m.i.n.g her upon an even keel, and in the afternoon, having warped her over, and waited for high water, we laid her ash.o.r.e on the sandbank on the south side of the river; for the damage she had received already from the great descent of the ground, made me afraid to lay her broad-side to the sh.o.r.e in the same place from which we had just floated her. I was now very desirous to make another trial to come at her bottom, where the sheathing had been rubbed off, but though she had scarcely four feet water under her, when the tide was out, yet that part was not dry.

On the 5th, I got one of the carpenter's crew, a man in whom I could confide, to go down again to the s.h.i.+p's bottom, and examine the place.

He reported, that three streaks of the sheathing, about eight feet long, were wanting, and that the main plank had been a little rubbed. This account perfectly agreed with the report of the master, and others, who had been under her bottom before: I had the comfort, however, to find the carpenter of opinion that this would be of little consequence, and therefore, the other damage being repaired, she was again floated at high water, and moored alongside the beach, where the stores had been deposited; we then went to work to take the stores on board, and put her in a condition for the sea. This day, Mr Banks crossed to the other side of the harbour, where, as he walked along a sandy beach, he found innumerable fruits, and many of them such as no plants which he had discovered in this country produced: Among others were some cocoa-nuts, which Tupia said had been opened by a kind of crab, which from his description we judged to be the same that the Dutch call _Beurs Krabbe_, and which we had not seen in these seas. All the vegetable substances which he found in this place were encrusted with marine productions, and covered with barnacles; a sure sign that they must have come far by sea, and, as the trade-wind blows right upon the sh.o.r.e, probably from Terra del Espirito Santo, which has been mentioned already.

The next morning, Mr Banks, with Lieutenant Gore, and three men, set out in a small boat up the river, with a view to spend two or three days in an excursion, to examine the country, and kill some of the animals which had been so often seen at a distance.

On the 7th, I sent the master again out to sound about the shoals, the account which he had brought me of the channel being by no means satisfactory; and we spent the remainder of this day, and the morning of the next, in fis.h.i.+ng, and other necessary occupations.

About four o'clock in the afternoon, Mr Banks and his party returned, and gave us an account of their expedition. Having proceeded about three leagues among swamps and mangroves, they went up into the country, which they found to differ but little from what they had seen before: They pursued their course therefore up the river, which at length was contracted into a narrow channel, and was bounded, not by swamps and mangroves, but by steep banks, that were covered with trees of a most beautiful verdure, among which was that which in the West Indies is called _Mohoe_, or the bark tree, the _hibiscus tiliaceus_; the land within was in general low, and had a thick covering of long gra.s.s: The soil seemed to be such as promised great fertility to any who should plant and improve it. In the course of the day, Tupia saw an animal, which, by his description, Mr Banks judged to be a wolf: They also saw three other animals, but could neither catch nor kill one of them, and a kind of bat, as large, as a partridge, but this also eluded all their diligence and skill. At night, they took up their lodging close to the banks of the river, and made a fire, but the musquitos swarmed about them in such numbers, that their quarters were almost untenable: They followed them into the smoke, and almost into the fire, which, hot as the climate was, they could better endure than the stings of these insects, which were an intolerable torment. The fire, the flies, and the want of a better bed than the ground, rendered the night extremely uncomfortable, so that they pa.s.sed it not in sleep, but in restless wishes for the return of day. With the first dawn they set out in search of game, and in a walk of many miles, they saw four animals of the same kind, two of which Mr Banks's greyhound fairly chaced, but they threw him out at a great distance, by leaping over the long thick gra.s.s, which prevented his running: This animal was observed not to run upon four legs, but to bound or hop forward upon two, like the _Jerbua_, or _Mus Jaculus_. About noon, they returned to the boat, and again proceeded up the river, which was soon contracted into a fresh-water brook, where, however, the tide rose to a considerable height. As evening approached, it became low water, and it was then so shallow that they were obliged to get out of the boat and drag her along, till they could find a place in which they might, with some hope of rest, pa.s.s the night. Such a place at length offered, and while they were getting the things out of the boat, they observed a smoke at the distance of about a furlong: As they did not doubt but that some of the natives, with whom they had so long and earnestly desired to become personally acquainted, were about the fire, three of the party went immediately towards it, hoping that so small a number would not put them to flight: When they came up to the place, however, they found it deserted, and therefore they conjectured, that before they had discovered the Indians, the Indians had discovered them. They found the fire still burning, in the hollow of an old tree that was become touch-wood, and several branches of trees newly broken down, with which children had been playing: They observed also many footsteps upon the sand, below high-water mark, which were certain indications that the Indians had been recently upon the spot. Several houses were found at a little distance, and some ovens dug in the ground, in the same manner as those of Otaheite, in which victuals appeared to have been dressed since the morning; and scattered about them, lay some sh.e.l.ls of a kind of clamm, and some fragments of roots, the refuse of the meal. After regretting their disappointment, they repaired to their quarters, which was a broad sand-bank, under the shelter of a bush. Their beds were plantain leaves, which they spread upon the sand, and which were as soft as a mattress; their cloaks served them for bed-clothes, and some bunches of gra.s.s for pillows: With these accommodations they hoped to pa.s.s a better night than the last, especially as, to their great comfort, not a musquito was to be seen.

Here then they lay down, and, such is the force of habit, they resigned themselves to sleep, without once reflecting upon the probability and danger of being found by the Indians in that situation. If this appears strange, let us for a moment reflect, that every danger, and every calamity, after a time becomes familiar, and loses its effect upon the mind. If it were possible that a man should first be made acquainted with his mortality, or even with the inevitable debility and infirmities of old age, when his understanding had arrived at its full strength, and life was endeared by the enjoyments of youth, and vigour, and health, with what an agony of terror and distress would the intelligence be received! yet, being gradually acquainted with these mournful truths, by insensible degrees, we scarce know when, they lose all their force, and we think no more of the approach of old age and death, than these wanderers of an unknown desert did of a less obvious and certain evil, the approach of the native savages, at a time when they must have fallen an easy prey to their malice or their fears. And it is remarkable, that the greater part of those who have been condemned to suffer a violent death, have slept the night immediately preceding their execution, though there is perhaps no instance of a person accused of a capital crime having slept the first night of his confinement. Thus is the evil of life in some degree a remedy for itself, and though every man at twenty deprecates fourscore, almost every man is as tenacious of life at fourscore as at twenty; and if he does not suffer under any painful disorder, loses as little of the comforts that remain by reflecting that he is upon the brink of the grave, where the earth already crumbles under his feet, as he did of the pleasures of his better days, when his dissolution, though certain, was supposed to be at a distance.[84]

[Footnote 84: The reader will receive this hypothetical statement as he finds it agreeable, or not, to his own experience,--a better guide, in all probability, than mere philosophy. The writer has his doubts upon the subject. But let every one judge for himself. For his part, he is convinced that frequent contemplation of death, though it certainly aids the mind in reasoning about it, does not lessen the apprehension of it, but the reverse: so that, did not _some peculiar principle_ come to his aid, and seem indeed to acquire continually more clearness and efficiency, his distress or uneasy feeling would be much heightened by the exercise. But he sees no reason either to expect, or to wish, that it may be ever otherwise with him; for he is persuaded, that much of man's dignity and welfare consists in his seeing things just as they are, without any disguise or delusion; and that whatever death really is, there is an infallible remedy provided against its greatest terrors, to which he can always have recourse. So far, on the other hand, as his observation on others, which has not been small, extends, he would notice, that, on the whole, young persons die more easily than the aged; he means, they submit to that event, when really imminent, with more apparent tranquillity, though, when at a distance, they are much less disposed either to think or to speak about it. It will not be easy to reconcile these two facts with the reasoning in the text. But to be sure, a wider induction is requisite for the establishment of any theory. This is not the place for it. The instances adduced by Dr H. in support of his theory, are explicable on another principle, viz. that every excitement of mind or body is followed by a depression precisely proportioned to its intensity. This seems a law in our economy, deducible from almost unlimited observation, and of extreme importance, both in point of fact, and as a principle for discussion. Before ending this note, it is suggested to the reader, to consult, on the subjects of it, his own heart and mind, in preference to all the books ever written, _save one_. If that one enforce the dictates promulgated within, and at the same time minister consolation, he will smile at philosophy, and gain the best victory over the fear of death. To him then, notwithstanding every outward difficulty to which he can possibly be exposed, and all that inward strife and humiliation which he cannot but experience, the words of Cowper will be expressively applicable:--

"Therefore in Contemplation is his bliss, Whose power is such, that whom she lifts from earth She makes familiar with a heaven unseen, And shows him glories yet to be revealed."

But this is a mystery!--E.]

Our travellers having slept, without once awaking, till the morning, examined the river, and finding the tide favoured their return, and the country promised nothing worthy of a farther search, they re-embarked in their boat, and made the best of their way to the s.h.i.+p.

Soon after the arrival of this party, the master also returned, having been seven leagues out to sea, and he was now of opinion that there was no getting out where before, he thought there had been a pa.s.sage: His expedition, however, was by no means without its advantage; for having been a second time upon the rock where he had seen the large c.o.c.kles, he met with a great number of turtle, three of which he caught, that together weighed seven hundred and ninety-one pounds, though he had no better instrument than a boat-hook.

The next morning, therefore, I sent him out again, with proper instruments for taking them, and Mr Banks went with him; but the success did not at all answer our expectations, for, by the unaccountable conduct of the officer, not a single turtle was taken, nor could he be persuaded to return: Mr Banks, however, went ash.o.r.e upon the reef, where he saw several of the large c.o.c.kles, and having collected many sh.e.l.ls and marine productions, he returned at eleven o'clock at night in his own small boat, the master still continuing with the large one upon the rock. In the afternoon, seven or eight of the natives had appeared on the south side of the river, and two of them came down to the sandy point, opposite to the s.h.i.+p; but upon seeing me put off in a boat to speak with them, they all ran away with the greatest precipitation.

As the master continued absent with the boat all night, I was forced to send the second lieutenant for him early the next morning in the yawl; and soon after, four of the natives appeared upon the sandy point, on the north side of the river, having with them a small wooden canoe, with out-riggers: They seemed for some time to be busily employed in striking fish. Some of our people were for going over to them in a boat, but this I would by no means permit, repeated experience having convinced me that it was more likely to prevent, than procure an interview. I was determined to try what could be done by a contrary method, and accordingly let them alone, without appearing to take the least notice of them: This succeeded so well, that at length two of them came in the canoe within a musket-shot of the s.h.i.+p, and there talked a great deal in a very loud tone. We understood nothing that they said, and therefore could answer their harangue only by shouting, and making all the signs of invitation and kindness that we could devise. During this conference, they came, insensibly, nearer and nearer, holding up their lances, not in a threatening manner, but as if to intimate that if we offered them any injury, they had weapons to revenge it. When they were almost along-side of us, we threw them some cloth, nails, beads, paper, and other trifles, which they received without the least appearance of satisfaction: At last, one of the people happened to throw them a small fish; at this they expressed the greatest joy imaginable, and intimating, by signs, that they would fetch their companions, immediately paddled away towards the sh.o.r.e. In the mean time some of our people, and among them Tupia, landed on the opposite side of the river.

The canoe, with all the four Indians, very soon returned to the s.h.i.+p, and came quite along-side, without expressing any fear or distrust. We distributed some more presents among them, and soon after they left us, and landed on the same side of the river where our people had gone ash.o.r.e: Every man carried in his hand two lances, and a stick, which is used in throwing them, and advanced to the place where Tupia and the rest of our people were sitting. Tupia soon prevailed upon them to lay down their arms, and come forward without them: He then made signs that they should sit down by him, with which they complied, and seemed to be under no apprehension or constraint: Several more of us then going ash.o.r.e, they expressed some jealousy lest we should get between them and their arms; we took care, however, to shew them that we had no such intention, and having joined them, we made them some more presents, as a farther testimony of our good-will, and our desire to obtain theirs. We continued together, with the utmost cordiality, till dinner-time, and then giving them to understand that we were going to eat, we invited them, by signs, to go with us: This, however, they declined, and as soon as we left them, they went away in their canoe. One of these men was somewhat above the middle age, the other three were young; they were in general of the common stature, but their limbs were remarkably small; their skin was of the colour of wood soot, or what would be called a dark chocolate colour; their hair was black, but not woolly; it was short cropped, in some lank, and in others curled. Dampier says, that the people whom he saw on the western coast of this country wanted two of their fore-teeth, but these had no such defect. Some part of their bodies had been painted red, and the upper-lip and breast of one of them was painted with streaks of white, which he called _Carbanda_; their features were far from disagreeable, their eyes were lively, and their teeth even and white; their voices were soft and tunable, and they repeated many words after us with great facility. In the night, Mr Gore and the master returned with the long-boat, and brought one turtle and a few sh.e.l.l-fish. The yawl had been left upon the shoal with six men, to make a farther trial for turtle.

The next morning, we had another visit from four of the natives; three of them had been with us before, but the fourth was a stranger, whose name, as we learnt from his companions who introduced him, was _Yaparico_. This gentleman was distinguished by an ornament of a very striking appearance: It was the bone of a bird, nearly as thick as a man's finger, and five or six inches long, which he had thrust into a hole made in the gristle that divides the nostrils. Of this we had seen one instance, and only one, in New Zealand; but upon examination, we found that among all these people this part of the nose was perforated, to receive an ornament of the same kind: They had also holes in their ears, though nothing was then hanging to them, and had bracelets upon the upper part of their arms, made of plaited hair; so that, like the inhabitants of Terra del Fuego, they seem to be fond of ornament, though they are absolutely without apparel; and one of them, to whom I had given part of an old s.h.i.+rt, instead of throwing it over any part of his body, tied it as a fillet round his head. They brought with them a fish, which they gave us, as we supposed, in return for the fish that we had given them the day before. They seemed to be much pleased, and in no haste to leave us; but seeing some of our gentlemen examine their canoe with great curiosity and attention, they were alarmed, and jumping immediately into it, paddled away without speaking a word.

About two the next morning, the yawl, which had been left upon the shoal, returned, with three turtles and a large skeat. As it seemed now probable that this fishery might be prosecuted with advantage, I sent her out again, after breakfast, for a further supply. Soon after, three Indians ventured down to Tupia's tent, and were so well pleased with their reception, that one of them went with the canoe to fetch two others whom we had never seen: When he returned, he introduced the strangers by name, a ceremony which, upon such occasions, was never omitted. As they had received the fish that was thrown into their canoe, when they first approached the s.h.i.+p, with so much pleasure, some fish was offered to them now, and we were greatly surprised to see that it was received with the greatest indifference: They made signs, however, to some of the people, that they should dress it for them, which was immediately done, but after eating a little of it, they threw the rest to Mr Banks's dog. They staid with us all the forenoon, but would never venture above twenty yards from their canoe. We now perceived that the colour of their skin was not so dark as it appeared, what we had taken for their complexion, being the effects of dirt and smoke, in which, we imagined, they contrived to sleep, notwithstanding the heat of the climate, as the only means in their power to keep off the musquitos.

Among other things that we had given them when we first saw them, were some medals, which we had hung round their necks by a ribband; and these ribbands were so changed by smoke, that we could not easily distinguish of what colour they had been: This incident led us more narrowly to examine the colour of their skin. While these people were with us, we saw two others on the point of land that lay on the opposite side of the river, at the distance of about two hundred yards, and by our gla.s.ses discovered them to be a woman and a boy; the woman, like the rest, being stark naked. We observed, that all of them were remarkably clean-limbed, and exceedingly active and nimble. One of these strangers had a necklace of sh.e.l.ls, very prettily made, and a bracelet upon his arm, formed of several strings, so as to resemble what in England is called gymp: Both of them had a piece of bark tied over the forehead, and were disfigured by the bone in the nose. We thought their language more harsh than that of the islanders in the South Sea, and they were continually repeating the word _chercau_, which we imagined to be a term expressing admiration, by the manner in which it was uttered: They also cried out, when they saw any thing new, _Cher, tut, tut, tut, tut_! which probably had a similar signification. Their canoe was not above ten feel long, and very narrow, but it was fitted with an outrigger, much like those of the islands, though in every respect very much inferior: When it was in shallow water, they set it on with poles, and when in deep, they worked it with paddles about four feet long: It contained just four people, so that the people who visited us to-day went away at two turns. Their lances were like those that we had seen in Botany Bay, except that they had but a single point, which in some of them was the sting of the ray, and barbed with two or three sharp bones of the same fish: It was indeed a most terrible weapon, and the instrument which they used in throwing it, seemed to be formed with more art than any we had seen before. About twelve o'clock next day, the yawl returned, with another turtle, and a large sting-ray, and in the evening, was sent out again.

The next morning, two of the Indians came on board, but after a short stay, went along the sh.o.r.e, and applied themselves with great diligence to the striking of fish. Mr Gore, who went out this day with his gun, had the good fortune to kill one of the animals which had been so much the subject of our speculation. This animal is called by the natives _Kangaroo_. The next day it was dressed for dinner, and proved most excellent meat; we might now indeed be said to fare sumptuously every day, for we had turtle in great plenty, and we all agreed that they were much better than any we had tasted in England, which we imputed to their being eaten fresh from the sea, before their natural fat had been wasted, or their juices changed by a diet and situation so different from what the sea affords them, as garbage and a tub. Most of those that we caught here, were of the kind called green turtle, and weighed from two to three hundred weight, and when these were killed, they were always found to be full of turtle-gra.s.s which our naturalists took to be a kind of _conferva_: Two of them were loggerheads, the flesh of which was much less delicious, and in their stomachs nothing was to be found but sh.e.l.ls.

In the morning of the 16th, while the people were employed as usual in getting the s.h.i.+p ready for the sea, I climbed one of the hills on the north side of the river, from which I had an extensive view of the inland country, and found it agreeably diversified by hills, vallies, and large plains, which in many places were richly covered with wood.

This evening, we observed an emersion of Jupiter's first satellite, which gave 214 53' 45" of longitude. The observation which was made on the 29th of June gave 214 42' 30"; the mean is 214 48' 7-1/2", the longitude of this place west of Greenwich.

On the 17th, I sent the master and one of the mates in the pinnace to look for a channel to the northward; and I went myself with Mr Banks and Dr Solander into the woods on the other side of the water. Tupia, who had been thither by himself, reported, that he had seen three Indians who had given him some roots about as thick as a man's finger, in shape not much unlike a radish, and of a very agreeable taste. This induced us to go over, hoping that we should be able to improve our acquaintance with the natives; in a very little time we discovered four of them in a canoe, who, as soon as they saw us, came ash.o.r.e, and, though they were all strangers, walked up to us, without any signs of suspicion or fear.

Two of these had necklaces of sh.e.l.ls, which we could not persuade them to part with for any thing we could give them: We presented them however with some beads, and after a short stay they departed. We attempted to follow them, hoping that they would conduct us to some place where we should find more of them, and have an opportunity of seeing their women; but they made us understand, by signs, that they did not desire our company.

At eight o'clock the next morning, we were visited by several of the natives, who were now become quite familiar. One of them, at our desire, threw his lance, which was about eight feet-long: It flew with a swiftness and steadiness that surprised us, and though it was never more than four feet from the ground, it entered deeply into a tree at fifty paces distance. After this they ventured on board, where I left them, to all appearance, much entertained, and went again with Mr Banks to take a view of the country; but chiefly to indulge an anxious curiosity, by looking round us upon the sea, of which our wishes almost persuaded us we had formed an idea more disadvantageous than the truth. After having walked about seven or eight miles along the sh.o.r.e to the northward, we ascended a very high hill, and were soon convinced that the danger of our situation was at least equal to our apprehensions; for in whatever direction we turned our eyes, we saw rocks and shoals without number, and no pa.s.sage out to sea, but through the winding channels between them, which could not be navigated without the last degree of difficulty and danger. We returned therefore to the s.h.i.+p, not in better spirits than when we left it: We found several natives still on board, and we were told that the turtles, of which we had no less than twelve upon the deck, had fixed their attention more than any thing else in the s.h.i.+p.

On the 19th in the morning, we were visited by ten of the natives, the greater part from the other side of the river, where we saw six or seven more, most of them women, and, like all the rest of the people we had seen in this country, they were stark naked. Our guests brought with them a greater number of lances than they had ever done before, and having laid them up in a tree, they set a man and a boy to watch them: The rest then came on board, and we soon perceived that they had determined to get one of our turtle, which was probably as great a dainty to them as to us. They first asked us by signs, to give them one; and being refused, they expressed, both by looks and gestures, great disappointment and anger. At this time we happened to have no victuals dressed, but I offered one of them some biscuit, which he s.n.a.t.c.hed and threw overboard with great disdain. One of them renewed his request to Mr Banks, and upon a refusal stamped with his foot, and pushed him from him in a transport of resentment and indignation: Having applied by turns to almost every person who appeared to have any command in the s.h.i.+p, without success, they suddenly seized two of the turtles, and dragged them towards the side of the s.h.i.+p where their canoe lay: Our people soon forced them out of their hands, and replaced them with the rest. They would not however relinquish their enterprise, but made several other attempts of the same kind, in all which being equally disappointed, they suddenly leaped into their canoe in a rage, and began to paddle towards the sh.o.r.e. At the same time I went into the boat with Mr Banks, and five or six of the s.h.i.+p's crew, and we got ash.o.r.e before them, where many more of our people were already engaged in various employments; as soon as they landed, they seized their arms, and before we were aware of their design, they s.n.a.t.c.hed a brand from under a pitch kettle which was boiling, and making a circuit to the windward of the few things we had on sh.o.r.e, they set fire to the gra.s.s in their way, with surprising quickness and dexterity: The gra.s.s, which was five or six feet high, and as dry as stubble, burnt with amazing fury; and the fire made a rapid progress towards a tent of Mr Banks's, which had been set up for Tupia when he was sick, taking in its course a sow and pigs, one of which it scorched to death. Mr Banks leaped into a boat, and fetched some people from on board, just time enough to save his tent, by hauling it down upon the beach; but the smith's forge, at least such part of it as would burn, was consumed. While this was doing, the Indians went to a place at some distance, where several of our people were was.h.i.+ng, and where our nets, among which was the seine, and a great quant.i.ty of linen, were laid out to dry; here they again set fire to the gra.s.s, entirely disregarding both threats and entreaties. "We were therefore obliged to discharge a musquet, loaded with small shot, at one of them, which drew blood at the distance of about forty yards, and this putting them to flight, we extinguished the fire at this place before it had made much progress; but where the gra.s.s had been first kindled, it spread into the woods to a great distance. As the Indians were still in sight, I fired a musquet, charged with ball, abreast of them among the mangroves, to convince them that they were not yet out of our reach: Upon hearing the ball they quickened their pace, and we soon lost sight of them. We thought they would now give us no more trouble; but soon after we heard their voices in the woods, and perceived that they came nearer and nearer. I set out, therefore, with Mr Banks and three or four more, to meet them: When our parties came in sight of each other, they halted; except one old man, who came forward to meet us: At length he stopped, and having uttered some words, which we were very sorry we could not understand, he went back to his companions, and the whole body slowly retreated. We found means however to seize some of their darts, and continued to follow them about a mile: We then sat down upon some rocks, from which we could observe their motions, and they also sat down at about an hundred yards distance. After a short time, the old man again advanced towards us, carrying in his hand a lance without a point: He stopped several times, at different distances, and spoke; we answered by beckoning and making such signs of amity as we could devise; upon which the messenger of peace, as we supposed him to be, turned and spoke aloud to his companions, who then set up their lances against a tree, and advanced towards us in a friendly manner: When they came up, we returned the darts or lances that we had taken from them, and we perceived with great satisfaction that this rendered the reconciliation complete. We found in this party four persons whom we had never seen before, who as usual were introduced to us by name; but the man who had been wounded in the attempt to burn our nets and linen, was not among them; we knew however that he could not be dangerously hurt, by the distance at which the shot reached him. We made all of them presents of such trinkets as we had about us, and they walked back with us towards the s.h.i.+p: As we went along, they told us, by signs, that they would not set fire to the gra.s.s any more; and we distributed among them some musquet b.a.l.l.s, and endeavoured to make them understand their use and effect. When they came abreast of the s.h.i.+p, they sat down, but could not be prevailed upon to come on board; we therefore left them, and in about two hours they went away, soon after which we perceived the woods on fire at about two miles distance. If this accident had happened a very little while sooner, the consequence might have been dreadful; for our powder had been aboard but a few-days, and the store-tent, with many valuable things which it contained, had not been removed many hours. We had no idea of the fury with which gra.s.s would burn in this hot climate, nor consequently of the difficulty of extinguis.h.i.+ng it; but we determined, that if it should ever again be necessary for us to pitch our tents in such a situation, our first measure should be to clear the ground round us.

In the afternoon we got every thing on board the s.h.i.+p, new-birthed her, and let her swing with the tide; and at night the master returned, with the discouraging account that there was no pa.s.sage for the s.h.i.+p to the northward.