Tuesday, 6th. At 2 p.m. hove up the Anchor, warped the Ship out of the Cove, and got under Sail, but it soon after falling little wind, and that very Variable, we anchor'd again a little above Motu-ouru. The old man, seeing us under sail, came on board to take his leave of us. Amongst other conversation that passed between him and Tupia, he was asked if either he or any of his Ancestors had ever seen or heard of any Ship like this being in these parts; to which question he answer'd in the Negative, but said that his Ancestors had told him that there came once to this place a small Vessel from a distant part, wherein were 4 Men that were all kill'd upon their landing; and being asked where this distant land lay, he pointed to the North, intimating that it would take up a great many days to go thither. Something of this land was mentioned by the People of the Bay of Islands, who said that some of their Ancestors had been there; but it is very clear to us that there knowledge of this land is only traditionary.* (* This was doubtless the tradition current among the Maoris, that their ancestors came from islands to the north. See Note below.) Had it Calm all night until 6 o'clock in the Morning, when a light breeze sprung up at North, and we got again under sail; but as the wind proved very unsteady, we got no farther than just without Motu-ouru by noon, but had a fair prospect of getting clear out of the Sound, which I shall next describe.
DESCRIPTION OF QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S SOUND.
The entrance of this Sound is situated in the Latitude of 41 degrees South and Longitude 184 degrees 45 minutes West, and near the middle of the South-West side of the Strait before mentioned. The land off the South-East head of the Sound called by the Natives, Koamaroo (off which lies 2 Small Islands and some rocks) makes the Narrowest part of the Strait. There stretcheth out 2 Miles North-East by North from the North-West head a reef of rocks, a part of which is above Water. This account of the 2 Heads will be found sufficient guide to know this sound, which is 3 Leagues broad at the Entrance, and lies in South-West by South-South-West, and West-South-West at least 10 Leagues, and is a collection of some of the finest harbours in the world, as will evidently appear from the plan which was taken with all the accuracy that time and Circumstances would admit. The Harbour or Cove in which we lay, called Ship Cove, is not inferior to any in the Sound, both in point of Security and other Conveniences. It lies on the West side of the Sound, and is the Southermost of 3 Coves lying within Motu-ouru, which Island bears East from it. You may sail into this Cove either between this last mentioned Island and the Isle Hamote, or Long Island, or between Motuouru and the West shore; in this last Channell are 2 Ledges of Rocks 3 fathoms under water, but they may be known by the Sea Weed which grows upon them. In sailing in or out of this sound with little wind attention must be had to the Tides, which flow 9 or 10 o'Clock full and Change of the Moon, and rises and falls upon a Perpendicular 7 or 8 feet. The flood comes in through the Strait from the South-East, and sets strong over upon the North-West Head and the reef laying off it; the Ebb sets with great rapidity to the South-East over upon the Islands and Rocks lying off the South-East Head. The Variation of the Compass from good observations we found to be 13 degrees 5 minutes East. The land about this Sound is of such height that we first saw it at the distance of 20 Leagues. It consists wholy of high hills and deep Valleys, well stored with a variety of excellent Timber, fit for all purposes except Ships' Masts, for which use it is too hard and heavy. The Sea abounds with a variety of fish, and in such plenty that, without going out of the Cove where we lay, we caught daily, what with the Sean, Hook, and Lines, quite sufficient for all hands, and upon our first arrival we found plenty of Shags and some few other Wild Fowls, which to people in our situation was fresh food not to be dispised. The Number of Inhabitants hardly exceeds 300 or 400 People. They live dispers'd along the Shore in search of their daily bread, which is fish and firn roots, for they Cultivate no part of the lands. Upon the appearance of danger they Retire to their Hippas or strongholds, for in this situation we found them, and they remain'd so for some days after. This people are poor when compared to many we have seen, and their Canoes are mean and without ornament. The little Traffick we had with them was wholy for fish, for we saw little else they had to dispose of. They had some knowledge of Iron, for they very readily took Nails in Exchange for fish, and sometimes Prefer'd them to anything else, which was more than the people of any other place would do. They were at first fond of Paper, but when they found it spoile by being wet they would not take it; nor did they set much value upon the cloth we got at George's Island, but shew'd an extraordinary fondness for English broad cloth and red Kersey, which shew'd them to be a more sensible People than many of their Neighbours. Besides the common dress, many of these People wore on their Heads round Caps made of Birds' feathers, which were far from being unbecoming.* (* Cook was not able to explore the whole of Queen Charlotte's Sound, which runs into the land for 25 miles. Towards the southern end is Picton, the port of Blenheim, the capital of the province of Marlborough.)
[In Cook's Strait, New Zealand.]
Wednesday, 7th. In the P.M. had a light breeze at North by West, with which we got out of the Sound and stood over to the Eastward, in order to get the Strait well open before the tide of Ebb Made. At 7 the 2 Small Islands which lies off Cape Koamaroo, or the South-East head of Queen Charlotte's Sound, bore East, distant 4 miles. At this time we had it nearly Calm, and the tide of Ebb making out, we were Carried by the Rapidity of the Stream in a very short time close upon one of the Islands,* (* The Brothers. There is now a lighthouse on this island.) where we narrowly escaped being dashed against the Rocks by bringing the Ship to an Anchor in 75 fathoms Water, with 150 fathoms of Cable out. Even this would not have saved us had not the Tide, which first set South by East, by meeting with the Island changed its direction to South-East, and carried us past the first point. When the Ship was brought up she was about 2 Cables' Lengths of the Rocks and in the Strength of the Stream, which set South-East at least 4 or 5 Knotts or miles per Hour. A little before 12 o'Clock the Tide abated, and we began to heave; by 3 the Anchor was at the bows, and having a light breeze at North-West, we made sail over for the Eastern Shore; but having the tide against us we made but little way. The wind afterwards freshned, and Came to North and North-East, with which and the tide of Ebb we were in a short time hurried thro' the narrowest part of the Strait, and then stood away for the Southermost land we had in sight, which bore from us South by West. Over this land appeared a Prodigious high Mountain,* (* The Kairoura Range, the summit of which is 9500 feet high.) the Summit of which was covered with snow. The narrowest part of the Strait we have passed lies between Cape Koamaroo on Tovy-poinammu and Cape Teerawhitte on Aeheino-mouwe; the distance from the one to the other I judged to be between 4 and 5 Leagues. And notwithstanding the strength of the Tides, now that is known, there is no great danger in passing it; in the doing of which I am of opinion that the North-East Shore is the safest to keep upon, for upon that side there appeared no danger, whereas on the other shore there are not only the Islands and Rocks lying off Cape Koamaroo, for I discover'd from the hill from which I had the Second View of the Strait, a Reef of Rocks stretching from these Islands 6 or 7 Miles to the Southward, and lay about 2 or 3 Miles off from the Shore. I shall not pretend here to assign limits to the length of this Strait; a view of the Chart will best illustrate that. About North 9 Leagues from Cape Teerawhitte, under the same shore, is a high remarkable Island, that may be distinctly seen from Queen Charlotte Sound, from which it lies North-East by East 1/4 East, distant 6 or 7 Leagues. I have called it Entry Isle, and was taken Notice of when we first past it on Sunday 14th of last Month. On the East side of Cape Teerawhitte the Land Trends away South-East by East about 8 Leagues, where it ends in a point, and is the Southermost land on Aeheinomouwe, which I have named Cape Pallisser in Honour of my worthy friend Capt. Pallisser.* (* Captain Palliser, afterwards Sir Hugh, was Captain of the Eagle, Cook's first ship in the Royal Navy. He discovered Cook's talents, and was his warm friend throughout his life. Between Cape Teerawhitte and Cape Palliser is the entrance to Port Nicholson, wherein is situated Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. This entrance is, however, narrow, and Cook was never near enough to the land to discover it.) Latitude 41 degrees 34 minutes, Longitude 183 degrees 58 minutes, it bore from us this day at Noon South 79 degrees East, distant 12 or 13 Leagues, being then in the Latitude of 41 degrees 27 minutes South; at the same time Cape Koamaroo bore North 1/2 East, distant 7 or 8 Leagues. The Southermost point of land in sight bore South 16 degrees West, and the snowy Mountain South-West being about 3 Leagues from the shore and abreast of a Deep Bay or inlet called Cloudy bay, in the bottom of which appear'd low land cover'd with tall Trees.
Thursday, 8th. In the P.M. had a fresh breeze at North-North-East and Cloudy weather. At 3 o'Clock was abreast of the Southermost point of land set at Noon, which I named Cape Campbell, Latitude 41 degrees 42 minutes South, Longitude 184 degrees 47 minutes West, it lies South by West, distant 12 or 13 Leagues from Cape Koamaroo, and together with Cape Pallisser forms the Southern Entrance of the Straits; the Distance of the one to the other is 13 or 14 Leagues West by South and East by North. From this Cape we steer'd along Shore South-West by South until 8 o'Clock, when the wind died away; but an Hour after a fresh breeze sprung up at South-West, and we put the Ship right before it. The reason of my doing this was owing to a notion, which some of the Officers had just started, that Aeheinomouwe was not an Island; founding their opinion on a supposition that the land might extend away to the South-East from between Cape Turnagain and Cape Pallisser, there being a space of about 12 or 13 leagues which we had not seen. For my own part, I had seen so far into this Sea the first time I discover'd the Strait, together with many other Concurrent testimonies of its being an Island, that no such supposition ever enter'd my thoughts; but being resolved to clear up every doubt that might Arise on so important an Object, I took the opportunity of the Shifting of the Wind to Stand to the Eastward, and accordingly steer'd North-East by East all night. At 9 o'Clock A.M. we were abreast of Cape Pallisser, where we found the Land trend away North-East towards Cape Turnagain, which I reckon'd to be distant from us about 26 Leagues, but as the weather was hazey so that we could not see above 4 or 5 Leagues ahead, we Still kept standing to the North-East, with a light breeze at South. At Noon Cape Pallisser bore North 72 degrees West, distant 3 Leagues; our Latitude by account is 41 degrees 30 minutes South.
[Complete the Circuit of North Island, New Zealand.]
Friday, 9th. Gentle breezes at South and South-South-East, hazey Cloudy weather. In the P.M. 3 Canoes came off to the Ship, wherein were between 30 and 40 of the Natives, who had been pulling after us sometime. It appeared from the behaviour of these people that they had heard of our being upon the Coast, for they came alongside, and some of them on board the Ship, without shewing the least signs of fear. They were no sooner on board than they asked for Nails, but when Nails was given them they asked Tupia what they were, which was plain that they had never seen any before; yet they not only knowed how to ask for them, but know'd what use to make of them, and therefore must have heard of Nails, which they call Whow, the name of a Tool among them made generally of bone, which they use as a Chisel in making Holes, etc. These people asking so readily for Nails proves that their connections must extend as far North as Cape Kidnapper, which is 45 Leagues, for that was the Southermost place on this side the coast we had any Traffick with the Natives; and it is most probable that the inhabitants of Queen Charlotte's sound got the little knowledge they seem'd to have of Iron by the Connections they may have with the Teerawhitteans bordering upon them; for we have no reason to think that the inhabitants of any part of this land had the least knowledge of Iron before we came amongst them. After a short stay these people were dismissed with proper presents, and we continued our Course along shore to the North-East until 11 o'Clock A.M., when the weather clear'd up, and we saw Cape Turnagain bearing North by East 1/4 East, distant 7 Leagues. I then called the Officers upon deck, and asked them if they were now satisfied that this land was an Island; to which they answer'd in the Affirmative, and we hauled our wind to the Eastward.* (* The Endeavour had now completely circumnavigated the North Island of New Zealand, having spent four months in the exploration. That Cook had communicated his enthusiasm to his officers is evident; or, knowing his determination to leave nothing doubtful, they would not have started the idea that the North Island might not be really an island. The natural wish after so many months' absence from civilization must have been to get back to it, and to take things for granted that would otherwise delay their progress.) At Noon our Latitude by observation was 40 degrees 55 minutes South, which is 21 Miles to the Southward of Cape Turnagain, it bearing North by East, and Cape Pallisser by this day's run bears South 43 degrees West, 19 or 20 Leagues.
Saturday, 10th. Gentle breezes at South-East and Cloudy weather. At 4 P.M. Tack'd and stood South-West until 8 A.M., when being not above 3 or 4 Miles from the Shore we Tack'd, and stood off 2 hours, and then stood again to the South-West until noon, when being in the Latitude of 41 degrees 13 minutes South, and about 2 Miles from the Shore, the land of Cape Pallisser bearing South 53 degrees West, had 26 fathoms of water.
Sunday, 11th. P.M. had light breeze from the South-East. In the night it was Calm until 9 a.m., when a Gentle breeze sprung up at East-North-East, with which we made sail to the Southward, having a large swell rolling in from that Quarter. At Noon was in the Latitude of 41 degrees 6 minutes South, distant from the Shore 1 1/2 Leagues; a remarkable hillock,* (* Castle Point.) which stands close to the Sea, bore North 1/2 East, distance 4 Leagues. At this time 2 Canoes came alongside the Ship, with whom we had some little Traffic, and then dismissed them.