Narrative of the Voyages Round the World, Performed by Captain James Cook / With an Account of His Life During the Previous and Intervening Periods

by Andrew Kippis

On the 19th, Mr. Banks crossed the river, to take a farther view of the country; which he found to consist principally of sand hills. Some Indian houses were seen by him, that appeared to have been very lately inhabited; and in his walk be met with large flocks of pigeons and crows. The pigeons were exceedingly beautiful. Of these he shot several; but the crows, which were exactly like those in England, were so shy, that they never came within the reach of his gun.

It was not till the 22nd, that the tide so far left the Endeavour, as to give our people an opportunity of examining her leak. In the place where it was found, the rocks had made their way through four planks, and even into the timbers. Three more planks were greatly damaged, and there was something very extraordinary in the appearance of the breaches. Not a splinter was to be seen, but all was as smooth as if the whole had been cut away by an instrument. It was a peculiarly happy circumstance, that the timbers were here very close, since otherwise the ship could not possibly have been saved. Now also it was that the fragment of rock was discovered, which, by sticking in the leak of the vessel had been such a providential instrument of her preservation.

On the same day, some of the people who had been sent to shoot pigeons for the sick, and who had discovered many Indian houses, and a fine stream of fresh water reported at their return, that they had seen an animal as large as a greyhound, of a slender make, of a mouse colour, and extremely swift. As the lieutenant was walking, on the morning of the 24th, at a little distance from the ship, he had an opportunity of seeing an animal of the same kind. From the description he gave of it, and from an imperfect view which occurred to Mr. Banks, the latter gentleman was of opinion that its species was hitherto unknown.

The position of the vessel, while she was refitting for sea, was very near depriving the world of that botanical knowledge, which Mr. Banks had procured at the expense of so much labour, and such various perils. For the greater security of the curious collection of plants which he had made during the whole voyage, he had removed them into the bread room. This room is in the after part of the ship, the head of which, for the purpose of repairing her, was laid much higher than the stern. No one having thought of the danger to which this circumstance might expose the plants, they were found to be under water. However, by the exercise of unremitting care and attention, the larger part of them were restored to a state of preservation.

On the 29th of June, at two o'clock in the morning Mr. Cook, in conjunction with Mr. Green, observed an emersion of Jupiter's first satellite. The time here was 2h 18' 53", which gave the longitude of the place at 214° 42' 30" west: its latitude is 15° 26' south. The next morning the lieutenant sent some of the young gentlemen to take a plan of the harbour, whilst he himself ascended a hill, that he might gain a full prospect of the sea: and it was a prospect which presented him with a lively view of the difficulties of his situation. To his great concern he saw innumerable sand-banks and shoals, lying in every direction of the coast. Some of them extended as far as he could discern with his glass, and many of them did but just rise above water. To the northward there was an appearance of a passage, and this was the only direction to which our commander could hope to get clear, in the prosecution of his voyage; for, as the wind blew constantly from the south-east, to return by the southward would have been extremely difficult, if not absolutely impossible. On this, and the preceding day, our people had been very successful in hauling the seine. The supply of fish was so great, that the lieutenant was now able to distribute two pounds and a half to each man. A quantity of greens having likewise been gathered, he ordered them to be boiled with peas. Hence an excellent mess was produced, which, in conjunction with the fish, afforded an unspeakable refreshment to the whole of the ship's company.

Early in the morning of the 2d of July, Lieutenant Cook sent the master out of the harbour, in the pinnace, to sound about the shoals, and to search for a channel to the northward. A second attempt, which was made this day, to heave off the ship, was as unsuccessful as a former one had been. The next day the master returned, and reported that he had found a passage out to sea, between the shoals. On one of these shoals, which consisted of coral rocks, many of which were dry at low water, he had landed, and found there cockles, of so enormous a size, that a single cockle was more than two men could eat. At the same place he met with a great variety of other shell fish, and brought back with him a plentiful supply for the use of his fellow voyagers. At high water, this day, another effort was made to float the ship, which happily succeeded; but it being found, that she had sprung a plank between decks, it became necessary to lay her ashore a second time. The lieutenant, being anxious to attain a perfect knowledge of the state of the vessel, got one of the carpenters crew, a man in whom he could confide, to dive on the fifth to her bottom, that he might examine the place where the sheathing had been rubbed off. His report, which was, that three streaks of the sheathing, about eight feet long, were wanting, and that the main plank had been a little rubbed, was perfectly agreeable to the account that had been given before by the master and others, who had made the same examination; and our commander had the consolation of finding, that, in the opinion of the carpenter, this matter would be of little consequence. The other damage, therefore, being repaired, the ship was again floated at high water, and all hands were employed in taking the stores on board, and in putting her into a condition for proceeding on her voyage. To the harbour in which she was refitted for the sea, Mr. Cook gave the name of the Endeavour River.

On the morning of the 6th, Mr. Banks accompanied by Lieutenant Gore, and three men, set out in a small boat up the river, with a view of spending a few days in examining the country. In this expedition nothing escaped his notice, which related either to the natural history or the inhabitants of the places he visited. Though he met with undoubted proofs, that several of the natives were at no great distance, none of them came within sight. Having found, upon the whole, that the country did not promise much advantage from a farther search, he and his party re-embarked in their boat, and returned, on the 8th, to the ship. During their excursion, they had slept upon the ground in perfect security, and without once reflecting upon the danger they would have incurred, if, in that situation, they had been discovered by the Indians.

Lieutenant cook had not been satisfied with the account which the master had given of his having traced a passage between the shoals, into the sea. He sent him out, therefore, a second time, upon the same business; and, on his return, he made a different report. Having been seven leagues out at sea, the master was now of opinion, that there was no such passage as he had before imagined. His expedition, however, though in this respect unsuccessful, was not wholly without its advantage. On the very rock where he had seen the large cockles, he met with a great number of turtle; and though he had no better an instrument than a boat hook, three of them were caught, which together weighed seven hundred and ninety-one pounds. An attempt, which, by order of the lieutenant, was made the next morning to obtain some more turtle, failed, through the misconduct of the same officer, who had been so fortunate on the preceding day.

Hitherto the natives of this part of the country had eagerly avoided holding any intercourse with our people: but at length their minds, through the good management of Mr. Cook, became more favourably disposed. Four of them having appeared, on the 10th, in a small canoe, and seeming to be busily employed in striking fish, some of the ships company were for going over to them in a boat. This, however, the lieutenant would not permit, repeated experience having convinced him that it was more likely to prevent than to procure an interview. He determined to pursue a contrary method, and to try what could be done by letting them alone, and not appearing to make them, in the least degree, the objects of his notice. So successful was this plan, that after some preparatory intercourse, they came alongside the ship, without expressing any fear or distrust. The conference was carried on, by signs, with the utmost cordiality till dinner time, when, being invited by our people to go with them and partake of their provision, they declined it, and went away in their canoe. One of these Indians was somewhat above the middle age; the three others were young. Their statue was of the common size, but their limbs were remarkably small. The colour of their skin was a dark chocolate. Their hair was black, but not woolly; and their features were far from being disagreeable. They had lively eyes, and their teeth were even and white. The tones of their voices were soft and musical, and there was a flexibility in their organs of speech, which enabled them to repeat with great facility many of the words pronounced by the English.

On the next morning, our voyagers had another visit from four of the natives. Three of them were the same who had appeared the day before, but the fourth was a stranger, to whom his companions gave the name of Yaparico. He was distinguished by a very peculiar ornament. This 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. An instance of the like kind, and only one, had been seen in New Zealand. It was found, however, that among all these people the same part of the nose was perforated; that they had holes in their ears; and that they had bracelets, made of plaited hair, upon the upper part of their arms. Thus the love of ornament takes place among them though they are absolutely destitute of apparel.