On the 25th, I made another excursion along the coast, in the pinnace, towards the mouth of the inlet, accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, and going on shore at a little cove, to shoot shags, we fell in with a large family of Indians, whose custom it is to disperse themselves among the different creeks and coves, where fish is to be procured in the greatest plenty, leaving a few only in the Hippah, to which the rest repair in times of danger. Some of these people came out a good way to meet us, and gave us an invitation to go with them to the rest of their party, which, we readily accepted. We found a company of about thirty, men, women, and children, who received us with all possible demonstrations of friendship: We distributed among them a few ribbands and beads, and in return, received the kisses and embraces of both sexes, both young and old: They gave us also some fish, and after a little time we returned, much pleased with our new acquaintance.
In the morning of the 26th, I went again out in the boat, with Mr Banks and Dr Solander, and entered one of the bays, which lie on the east side of the inlet, in order to get another sight of the streight, which passed between the eastern and western seas. For this purpose, having landed at a convenient place, we climbed a hill of a very considerable height, from which we had a full view of it, with the land on the opposite shore, which we judged to be about four leagues distant; but as it was hazy in the horizon, we could not see far to the south-east: I resolved however to search the passage with the ship, as soon as I should put to sea. Upon the top of this hill we found a parcel of loose stones, with which we erected a pyramid, and left in it some musket-balls, small shot, beads, and other things, which we happened to have about us, that were likely to stand the test of time, and not being of Indian workmanship, would convince any European who should come to the place and pull it down, that other natives of Europe had been there before him. When this was done we descended the hill, and made a comfortable meal of the shags and fish which our guns and lines had procured us, and which were dressed by the boat's crew in a place that we had appointed: In this place we found another Indian family, who received us, as usual, with strong expressions of kindness and pleasure, shewing us where to procure water, and doing us such other good offices as were in their power. From this place we went to the town, of which the Indians had told us, who visited us on the 19th: This, like that which we had seen before, was built upon a small island or rock, so difficult of access, that we gratified our curiosity at the risk of our necks. The Indians here also received us with open arms, carried us to every part of the place, and shewed us all that it contained: This town, like the other, consisted of between eighty and an hundred houses, and had only one fighting-stage. We happened to have with us a few nails and ribbands, and some paper, with which our guests were so gratified, that at our coming away they filled our boat with dried fish, of which we perceived they had laid up great quantities.
The 27th and 28th were spent in refitting the ship for the sea, fixing a transom for the tiller, getting stones on board to put into the bottom of the bread-room, to bring the ship more by the stern, in repairing the casks, and catching fish.
On the 29th, we received a visit from our old man, whose name we found to be Topaa, and three other natives, with whom Tupia had much conversation. The old man told us, that one of the men who had been fired upon by the officer who had visited their Hippah, under pretence of fishing, was dead; but to my great comfort I afterwards discovered that this report was not true, and that if Topaa's discourses were taken literally, they would frequently lead us into mistakes. Mr Banks and Dr Solander were several times on shore during the last two or three days, not without success, but greatly circumscribed in their walks by climbers of a most luxuriant growth, which were so interwoven together, as to fill up the space between the trees about which they grew, and render the woods altogether impassable. This day also I went on shore again myself, upon the western, point of the inlet, and from a hill of considerable height, I had a view of the coast to the N.W. The farthest land I could see in that quarter, was an island which has been mentioned before, at the distance of about ten leagues, lying not far from the main: Between this island and the place where I stood, I discovered, close under the shore, several other islands, forming many bays, in which there appeared to be good anchorage for shipping. After I had set off the different points for my survey, I erected another pile of stones, in which I left a piece of silver coin, with some musket-balls and beads, and a piece of an old pendant flying on the top. In my return to the ship, I made a visit to several of the natives, whom I saw along the shore, and purchased a small quantity of fish.
On the 30th, early in the morning, I sent a boat to one of the islands for celery, and while the people were gathering it, about twenty of the natives, men, women, and children, landed near some empty huts: As soon as they were on shore, five or six of the women sat down, upon the ground together, and began to cut their legs, arms, and faces, with shells, and sharp pieces of talc or jasper, in a terrible manner. Our people understood that their husbands had lately been killed by their enemies; but while they were performing this horrid ceremony, the men set about repairing the huts, with the utmost negligence and unconcern. The carpenter having prepared two posts to be left as memorials of our having visited this place, I ordered them to be inscribed with the ship's name, and the year and month; one of them I set up at the watering-place, hoisting the union flag upon the top of it; and the other I carried over to the island that lies nearest to the sea, called by the natives Motuara. I went first to the village or Hippah, accompanied by Mr Monkhouse and Tupia, where I met with our old man, and told him and several others, by means of Tupia, that we were come to set up a mark upon the island, in order to show to any other ship which should happen to come thither, that we had been there before. To this they readily consented, and promised that they never would pull it down: I then gave something to every one present; and to the old man I gave a silver threepence, dated 1736, and some spike nails, with the king's broad arrow cut deep upon them; things which I thought most likely to remain long among them: I then took the post to the highest part of the island, and after fixing it firmly in the ground, I hoisted upon it the union-flag, and honoured this inlet with the name of Queen Charlotte's Sound, at the same time taking formal possession of this and the adjacent country, in the name and for the use of his majesty King George the Third. We then drank a bottle of wine to her majesty's health, and gave the bottle to the old man who had attended us up the hill, and who was mightily delighted with his present.
While the post was setting up, we enquired of the old man concerning the passage into the eastern sea, the existence of which he confirmed; and then asked him about the land to the S.W. of the streight, where we were then situated: This land, he said, consisted of two Whennuas or islands, which might be circumnavigated in a few days, and which he called Tovy Poenammoo; the literal translation of this word is, "the water of green talc:" and probably, if we had understood him better, we should have found that Tovy Poenammoo was the name of some particular place where they got the green talc or stone of which they make their ornaments and tools, and not a general name for the whole southern district: He said, there was also a third Whennua, on the east side of the streight, the circumnavigation of which would take up many moons: This he called Eaheinomauwe; and to the lands on the borders of the streight he gave the name of Tiera Witte. Having set up our post, and procured this intelligence, we returned on board the ship, and brought the old man with us, who was attended by his canoe, in which, after dinner, he returned home.
On the 31st, having completed our wooding, and filled all our water casks, I sent out two parties, one to cut and make brooms, and another to catch fish. In the evening, we had a strong gale from the N.W. with such a heavy rain, that our little wild musicians on shore suspended their song, which till now we had constantly heard during the night, with a pleasure which it was impossible to lose without regret.
On the 1st, the gale increased to a storm, with heavy gusts from the high land, one of which broke the hawser, that we had fastened to the shore, and obliged us to let go another anchor. Towards midnight, the gale became more moderate, but the rain continued with such violence, that the brook which had supplied us with water overflowed its banks, and carried away ten small casks which had been left there full of water, and notwithstanding we searched the whole cove, we could never recover one of them.
On the 3d, as I intended to sail the first opportunity, I went over to the Hippah on the east side of the Sound, and purchased a considerable quantity of split and half-dried fish, for sea stores. The people here confirmed all that the old man had told us concerning the streight and the country, and about noon I took leave of them: Some of them seemed to be sorry, and others glad that we were going: The fish which I bought they sold freely, but there were some who shewed manifest signs of disapprobation. As we returned to the ship, some of us made an excursion along the shore to the northward, to traffic with the natives for a farther supply of fish; in which, however, they had no great success. In the evening, we got every thing off from the shore, as I intended to sail in the morning, but the wind would not permit.
On the 4th, while we were waiting for a wind, we amused ourselves by fishing, and gathering shells and seeds of various kinds; and early in the morning of the 5th, we cast off the hawser, hove short on the bower, and carried the kedge-anchor out in order to warp the ship out of the cove, which having done about two o clock in the afternoon, we hove up the anchor and got under sail; but the wind soon failing, we were obliged to come to an anchor again a little above Motuara. When we were under sail, our old man Topaa came on board to take his leave of us, and as we were still desirous of making farther enquiries whether any memory of Tasman had been preserved among these people, Tupia was directed to ask him whether he had ever heard that such a vessel as ours had before visited the country. To this he replied in the negative, but said, that his ancestors had told him there had once come to this place a small vessel, from a distant country, called Ulimaroa, in which were four men, who, upon their coming on shore, were all killed: Upon being asked where this distant land lay, he pointed to the northward. Of Ulimaroa we had heard something before from the people about the Bay of Islands, who said that their ancestors had visited it; and Tupia had also talked to us of Ulimaroa, concerning which he had some confused traditionary notions, not very different from those of our old man, so that we could draw no certain conclusion from the accounts of either.