Three Indians, on the 12th, ventured down to Tupia's tent, and were so well pleased with their reception, that one of them went with his canoe to fetch two others, who had never been seen by the English. On his return, he introduced the strangers by name, a ceremony which was never omitted upon such occasions. From a father acquaintance with the natives, it was found, that the colour of their skins was not so dark as had at first been apprehended, and that all of them were remarkably clean-limbed, and extremely active and nimble. Their language appeared to be more harsh than that of the islanders to the South Sea.
On the 14th, Mr. Gore had the good fortune to kill one of the animals before mentioned, and which had been the subject of much speculation. It is called by the natives Kanguroo; and when dressed proved most excellent meat. Indeed, our navigators might now be said to fare sumptuously every day; for they had turtle in great plenty, and it was agreed that these were far superior to any which our people had ever tasted in England. This the gentlemen justly imputed to their being eaten fresh from the sea, before their natural fat had been wasted, or their juices changed, by the situation and diet they are exposed to when kept in tubs. Most of the turtle here caught were of the kind called green turtle, and their weight was from two to three hundred pounds.
In the morning of the 16th, while the men were engaged in their usual employment of getting the ship ready for the sea, our commander climbed one of the heights on the north side of the river, and obtained from it an extensive view of the inland country, which he found agreeably diversified by hills, valleys, and large plains, that in many places were richly covered with wood. This evening, the lieutenant and Mr. Green observed an emersion of the first satellite of Jupiter, which gave 214° 53' 45" of longitude. The observation taken on the 29th of June had given 214° 48' 30"; and the mean was 214° 48' 7-1/2", being the longitude of the place west of Greenwich.
On the 17th, Mr. Cook sent the master and one of the mates in the pinnace, to search for a channel northward; after which, accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, he went into the woods on the other side of the water. In this excursion, the gentlemen had a farther opportunity of improving that acquaintance with the Indians, who by degrees became so familiar, that several of them the next day ventured on board the ship. There the lieutenant left them, apparently much entertained, that he might go with Mr. Banks to take a farther survey of the country, and especially to indulge an anxious curiosity they had of looking round about them upon the sea; of which they earnestly wished, but scarcely dared to hope, that they might obtain a favourable and encouraging prospect. When, after having walked along the shore seven or eight miles to the northward, they ascended a very high hill, the view which presented itself to them inspired nothing but melancholy apprehensions. In every direction they saw rocks and shoals without number; and there appeared to be no passage out to sea, but through the winding channels between them, the navigation of which could not be accomplished without the utmost degree of difficulty and danger. The spirits of the two gentlemen were not raised by this excursion.
On the 19th, our voyagers were visited by ten of the natives: and six or seven more were seen at a distance, chiefly women, who were as naked as the male inhabitants of the country. There being at that time a number of turtles on the deck of the ship, the Indians who came on board were determined to get one of them; and expressed great disappointment and anger, when our people refused to comply with their wishes. Several attempts were made by them to secure what they wanted by force; but all their efforts proving unsuccessful, they suddenly leaped into their canoe in a transport of rage, and paddled towards the shore. The lieutenant, with Mr. Banks, and five or six of the ship's crew, immediately went into the boat, and got ashore, where many of the English were engaged in various employments. As soon as the natives reached the land, they seized their arms, which had been laid up in a tree, and having snatched a brand from under a pitch-kettle that was boiling, made a circuit to the windward of the few things our people had on shore, and with surprising quickness and dexterity set on fire to the grass in that way. The grass, which was as dry as stubble, and five or six feet high, burned with surprising fury; and a tent of Mr. Banks's would have been destroyed if that gentleman had not immediately got some of the men to save it, by hauling it down upon the beach. Every part of the smith's forge that would burn was consumed. This transaction was followed by another of the same nature. In spite of threats and entreaties, the Indians went to a different place, where several of the Endeavour's crew were washing, and where the seine, the other nets, and a large quantity of linen were laid out to dry, and again set fire to the grass. The audacity of this fresh attack rendered it necessary that a musket, loaded with small shot, should be discharged at one of them; who being wounded at the distance of about forty yards they all betook themselves to flight. In the last instance the fire was extinguished before it had made any considerable progress; but where it had first began, it spread far into the woods. The natives being still in sight, Mr. Cook, to convince them that they had not yet gotten out of his reach, fired a musket, charged with ball, abreast of them among the mangroves, upon which they quickened their pace, and were soon out of view. It was now expected that they would have given our navigators no farther trouble; but in a little time their voices were heard in the woods, and it was perceived that they came nearer and nearer. The lieutenant, therefore, together with Mr. Banks, and three or four more persons, set out to meet them; and the result of the interview, in consequence of the prudent and lenient conduct of our commander and his friends, was a complete reconciliation. Soon after the Indians went away, the woods were seen to be on fire at the distance of about two miles. This accident, if it had happened a little sooner, might have produced dreadful effects; for the powder had been but a few days on board, and it was not many hours that the store tents, with all the valuable things contained in it had been removed. From the fury with which the grass would burn in this hot climate, and the difficulty of extinguishing the fire, our voyagers determined never to expose themselves to the like danger, but to clear the ground around them, if ever again they should be under the necessity of pitching their tents in such a situation.
In the evening of this day, when every thing was gotten on board the ship, and she was nearly ready for sailing, the master returned with the disagreeable account that there was no passage for her to the northward. The next morning, the lieutenant himself sounded and buoyed the bar. At this time, all the hills for many miles round were on fire, and the appearance they assumed at night was eminently striking and splendid.
In an excursion which was made by Mr. Banks, on the 23rd, to gather plants, he found the greatest part of the cloth that had been given to the Indians lying in a heap together. This, as well as the trinkets which had been bestowed upon them, they probably regarded as useless lumber. Indeed, they seemed to set little value on any thing possessed by our people, excepting their turtle, and that was a commodity which could not be spared.
As Lieutenant Cook was prevented by blowing weather from attempting to get out to sea, Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander seized another opportunity, on the 24th, of pursuing their botanical researches. Having traversed the woods the greater part of the day, without success, as they were returning through a deep valley they discovered lying upon the ground several marking nuts, anacardiam orientale. Animated with the hope of meeting the tree that bore them, a tree which perhaps no European botanist had ever seen, they sought for it with great diligence and labour, but to no purpose. While Mr. Banks was again gleaning the country, on the 26th, to enlarge his treasure of natural history, he had the good fortune to take an animal of the oppossum tribe, together with two young ones. It was a female, and though not exactly of the same species, much resembled the remarkable animal which Mons. de Buffon hath described by the name of phalanger.
On the morning of the 29th, the weather becoming calm, and a light breeze having sprung up by land, Lieutenant Cook sent a boat to see what water was upon the bar, and all things were made ready for putting to sea. But, on the return of the boat, the officer reported, that there were only thirteen feet of water on the bar. As the ship drew thirteen feet six inches, and the sea-breeze set in again in the evening, all hope of sailing on that day was given up. The weather being more moderate on the 31st, the lieutenant had thoughts of trying to warp the vessel out of the harbour; but upon going out himself to the boat, he found, that the wind still blew so fresh, that it would not be proper to make the attempt. A disagreeable piece of intelligence occured on the succeeding day. The carpenter, who had examined the pumps, reported, that they were all of them in a state of decay. One of them was so rotten, that, when hoisted up, it dropped to pieces, and the rest were not in a much better condition. The chief confidence, therefore, of our navigators was now in the soundness of the ship; and it was a happy circumstance, that she did not admit more than one inch of water in an hour.
Early on the 3rd of August, another unsuccessful attempt was made to warp the vessel out of the harbour but in the morning of the next day the efforts of our voyagers were more prosperous, and the Endeavour got once more under sail with a light air from the land, which soon died away, and was followed by sea-breezes from south-east by south. With these breezes the ship stood off to sea, east by north, having the pinnace ahead, which was ordered to keep sounding without intermission. A little before noon the lieutenant anchored in fifteen fathom water, with a sandy bottom, the reason of which was, that he did not think it safe to run in among the shoals, till, by taking a view of them from the mast-head at low water, he might be able to form some judgment which way it would be proper for him to steer. This was a matter of nice and arduous determination. As yet Mr. Cook was in doubt, whether he should beat back to the southward, round all the shoals, or seek a passage to the eastward or the northward: nor was it possible to say, whether each of these courses might not be attended with equal difficulty and danger.