On the 23d in the morning, the ewe and ram I had with so much care and trouble brought to this place, were both found dead; occasioned, as was supposed, by eating some poisonous plant. Thus my hopes of stocking this country with a breed of sheep were blasted in a moment. About noon, we were visited, for the first time since I arrived, by some of the natives, who dined with us; and it was not a little they devoured. In the evening, they were dismissed with presents.
Early in the morning of the 24th, I sent Mr. Gilbert the master to sound about the rock we had discovered in the entrance of the sound. Myself, accompanied by Captain Furneaux and Mr. Forster, went in a boat to the west bay on a shooting-party. In our way, we met a large canoe, in which were fourteen or fifteen people. One of the first questions they asked was for Tupia, the person I brought from Otaheite on my former voyage; and they seemed to express some concern, when we told them he was dead. These people made the same enquiry of Captain Furneaux when he first arrived; and, on my return to the ship in the evening, I was told that a canoe had been along-side, the people in which seemed to be strangers, and who also enquired for Tupia. Late in the evening Mr. Gilbert returned, having sounded all round the rock, which he found to be very small and steep.
Nothing worthy of notice happened till the 29th, when several of the natives made us a visit, and brought with them a quantity of fish, which they exchanged for nails, &c. One of these people I took over to Motuara, and showed him some potatoes planted there by Mr. Fannen, master of the Adventure. There seemed to be no doubt of their succeeding; and the man was so well pleased with them, that he, of his own accord, began to hoe the earth up about the plants. We next took him to the other gardens, and showed him the turnips, carrots, and parsnips; roots which, together with the potatoes, will be of more real use to them than all the other articles we had planted. It was easy to give them an idea of these roots, by comparing them with such as they knew.
Two or three families of these people now took up their abode near us, employing themselves daily in fishing, and supplying us with the fruits of their labour; the good effects of which we soon felt. For we were by no means such expert fishers as they are; nor were any of our methods of fishing equal to theirs.
On the 2d of June, the ships being nearly ready to put to sea, I sent on shore, on the east side of the sound, two goats, male and female. The former was something more than a year old; but the latter was much older. She had two fine kids, some time before we arrived in Dusky Bay, which were killed by cold, as hath been already mentioned. Captain Furneaux also put on shore, in Cannibal Cove, a boar and two breeding sows; so that we have reason to hope this country will, in time, be stocked with these animals, if they are not destroyed by the natives before they become wild; for, afterwards, they will be in no danger. But as the natives knew nothing of their being left behind, it may be some time before they are discovered.
In our excursion to the east, we met with the largest seal I had ever seen. It was swimming on the surface of the water, and suffered us to come near enough to fire at it, but without effect; for, after a chase of near an hour, we were obliged to leave it. By the size of this animal, it probably was a sea lioness. It certainly bore much resemblance to the drawing in Lord Anson’s voyage; our seeing a sea lion when we entered this sound, in my former voyage, increaseth the probability; and I am of opinion, they have their abode on some of the rocks, which lie in the strait, or off Admiralty Bay.
On the 3d, I sent a boat with the carpenter over to the east side of the sound, to cut down some spars, which we were in want of. As she was returning, she was chased by a large double canoe full of people; but with what intent, is not known. Early the next morning some of our friends brought us a large supply of fish. One of them agreed to go away with us; but, afterwards, that is when it came to the point, he changed his mind; as did some others who had promised to go with the Adventure.
It was even said, that some of them offered their children to sale. I however found that this was a mistake. The report first took its rise on board the Adventure, where they were utter strangers to their language and customs. It was very common for these people to bring their children with them, and present them to us, in expectation that we would make them presents; this happened to me the preceding morning. A man brought his son, a boy about nine or ten years of age, and presented him to me. As the report of selling their children was then current, I thought at first that he wanted me to buy the boy. But at last I found that he wanted me to give him a white shirt, which I accordingly did. The boy was so fond of his new dress that he went all over the ship presenting himself before every one that came in his way. This freedom used by him, offended Old Will, the ram goat, who gave him a butt with his horns, and knocked him backward on the deck. Will would have repeated his blow, had not some of the people come to the boy’s assistance. The misfortune, however, seemed to him irreparable. The shirt was dirtied, and he was afraid to appear in the cabin before his father, until brought in by Mr. Forster; when he told a very lamentable story against Goury, the great dog, (for so they call all the quadrupeds we had aboard), nor could he be reconciled, till his shirt was washed and dried. This story, though extremely trifling in itself, will show how liable we are to mistake these people’s meaning, and to ascribe to them customs which they never knew even in thought.
About nine o’clock, a large double canoe, in which were twenty or thirty people, appeared in sight. Our friends on board seemed much alarmed, telling us that these were their enemies: two of them, the one with a spear, and the other with a stone hatchet in his hand, mounted the arm-chests on the poop, and there, in a kind of bravado, bid those enemies defiance; while the others, who were on board, took to their canoe and went ashore, probably to secure the women and children.
All I could do, could not prevail on the two that remained to call these strangers along-side; on the contrary, they were displeased at my doing it, and wanted me to fire upon them. The people in the canoe seemed to pay very little regard to those on board, but kept advancing slowly towards the ship; and, after performing the usual ceremonies, put along-side: after this the chief was easily prevailed upon to come on board, followed by many others, and peace was immediately established on all sides; indeed, it did not appear to me that these people had any intention to make war upon their brethren; at least, if they had, they were sensible enough to know that this was neither the time nor place for them to commit hostilities.