Between ten and eleven, Mr Green and I took several observations of the sun and moon, the mean result of which gave 209° 17' longitude W. By an observation made the day before, our longitude was 210° 9' W., from. which 20' being subtracted, there remains 209° 49', the longitude of the ship this day at noon, the mean of which, with this day's observation, gives 209° 33', by which I fix the longitude of this coast. At noon, our latitude was 35° 49' S., Cape Dromedary bore S. 30 W., at the distance of twelve leagues, and an open bay, in which were three or four small islands, bore N.W. by W. at the distance of five or six leagues. This bay seemed to afford but little shelter from the sea winds, and yet it is the only place where there appeared a probability of finding anchorage upon the whole coast. We continued to steer along the shore N. by E. and N.N.E. at the distance of about three leagues, and saw smoke in many places near the beach. At five in the evening, we were abreast of a point of land which rose in a perpendicular cliff, and which, for that reason, I called Point Upright. Our latitude was 35° 35' S. when this point bore from us due west, distant about two leagues: In this situation, we had about thirty-one fathom water with a sandy bottom. At six in the evening, the wind falling, we hauled off E.N.E. and at this time the northermost land in sight bore N. by E. 1/2 E. At midnight, being in seventy fathom water, we brought-to till four in the morning, when we made sail in for the land; but at day-break, found our situation nearly the same as it had been at five the evening before, by which it was apparent that we had been driven about three leagues to the southward, by a tide or current, during the night. After this we steered along the shore N.N.E. with a gentle breeze at S.W., and were so near the land as to distinguish several of the natives upon the beach, who appeared to be of a black, or very dark colour. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 35° 27' S. and longitude 209° 23' W.; Cape Dromedary bore S. 28 W. distant nineteen leagues, a remarkable peaked hill, which resembled a square dove-house, with a dome at the top, and which for that reason I called the Pigeon House, bore N. 32° 30' W., and a small low island, which lay close under the shore, bore N.W. distant about two or three leagues. When I first discovered this island, in the morning, I was in hopes from its appearance, that I should have found shelter for the ship behind it, but when we came near it, it did not promise security even for the landing of a boat: I should however have attempted to send a boat on shore, if the wind had not veered to that direction, with a large hollow sea rolling in upon the land from the S.E. which indeed had been the case ever since we had been upon it. The coast still continued to be of a moderate height, forming alternately rocky points and sandy beaches; but within, between Mount Dromedary and the Pigeon House, we saw high mountains, which, except two, are covered with wood: These two lie inland behind the Pigeon House, and are remarkably flat at the top, with steep rocky cliffs all round them as far as we could see. The trees, which almost every where clothe this country, appear to be large and lofty. This day the variation was found to be 9° 50' E., and for the two last days, the latitude, by observation, was twelve or fourteen miles to the southward of the ship's account, which could have been the effect of nothing but a current setting in that direction. About four in the afternoon, being near five leagues from the land, we tacked and stood off S.E. and E., and the wind having veered in the night, from E. to N.E. and N., we tacked about four in the morning, and stood in, being then about nine or ten leagues from the shore. At eight, the wind began to die away, and soon after it was calm. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 35° 38', and our distance from the land about six leagues. Cape Dromedary bore S. 37 W. distant seventeen leagues, and the Pigeon House N. 40 W.: In this situation we had 74 fathom water. In the afternoon, we had variable light airs and calms, till six in the evening, when a breeze sprung up at N. by W.: At this time, being about four or five leagues from the shore, we had seventy fathom water. The Pigeon House bore N. 45 W. Mount Dromedary S. 30 W. and the northermost land in sight N. 19 E.
We stood to the north-east till noon the next day, with a gentle breeze at N.W., and then we tacked and stood westward. At this time, our latitude, by observation, was 35° 10' S., and longitude 208° 51' W. A point of land which I had discovered on St George's day, and which therefore I called Cape George, bore W. distant nineteen miles, and the Pigeon House (the latitude and longitude of which I found to be 35° 19' S. and 209° 42' W.) S. 75 W. In the morning, we had found the variation, by amplitude, to be 7° 50' E. and by several azimuths 7° 54' E. We had a fresh breeze at N.W. from noon till three; it then came to the west, when we tacked and stood to the northward. At five in the evening, being about five or six leagues from the shore, with the Pigeon House bearing W.S.W. distant about nine leagues, we had eighty-six fathom water; and at eight, having thunder and lightning, with heavy squalls, we brought-to in 120 fathom.
At three in the morning, we made sail again to the northward, having the advantage of a fresh gale at S.W. At noon, we were about three or four leagues from the shore, and in latitude 34° 22' S., longitude 208° 36' W. In the course of this day's run from the preceding noon, which was forty-five miles north-east, we saw smoke in several places near the beach. About two leagues to the northward of Cape George, the shore seemed to form a bay, which promised shelter from the north-east winds, but as the wind was with us, it was not in my power to look into it without beating up, which would have cost me more time than I was willing to spare. The north point of this bay, on account of its figure, I named Long Nose; its latitude is 35° 6', and about eight leagues north of it there lies a point, which, from the colour of the land about it, I called Red Point: Its latitude is 34° 29', and longitude 208° 45' W. To the north-west of Red Point, and a little way inland, stands a round hill, the top of which looks like the crown of a hat. In the afternoon of this day, we had a light breeze at N.N.W. till five in the evening, when it fell calm: At this time, we were between three and four leagues from the shore, and had forty-eight fathom water: The variation by azimuth was 8° 48' E. and the extremities of this land were from N.E. by N. to S.W. by S. Before it was dark, we saw smoke in several places along the shore, and a fire two or three times afterwards. During the night we lay becalmed, driving in before the sea till one in the morning, when we got a breeze from the land, with which we steered N.E. being then in thirty-eight fathom. At noon, it veered to N.E. by N. and we were then in latitude 34° 10' S., longitude 208° 27' W.: The land was distant about five leagues, and extended from S. 37 W. to N. 1/2 E. In this latitude, there are some white cliffs, which rise perpendicularly from the sea to a considerable height. We stood off the shore till two o'clock, and then tacked and stood in till six, when we were within four or five miles of it, and at that distance had fifty fathom water. The extremities of the land bore from S. 28 W. to N. 25° 30' E. We now tacked and stood off till twelve, then tacked and stood in again till four in the morning, when we made a trip off till day-light; and during all this time we lost ground, owing to the variableness of the winds. We continued at the distance of between four and five miles from the shore, till the afternoon, when we came within two miles, and I then hoisted out the pinnace and yawl to attempt a landing, but the pinnace proved to be so leaky that I was obliged to hoist her in again. At this time we saw several of the natives walking briskly along the shore, four of whom carried a small canoe upon their shoulders: We flattered ourselves that they were going to put her into the water, and come off to the ship, but finding ourselves disappointed, I determined to go on shore in the yawl, with as many as it would carry: I embarked, therefore, with only Mr Banks, Dr Solander, Tupia, and four rowers: We pulled for that part of the shore where the Indians appeared, near which four small canoes were lying at the water's edge. The Indians sat down upon the rocks, and seemed to wait for our landing; but to our great regret, when we came within about a quarter of a mile, they ran away into the woods: We determined however to go ashore, and endeavour to procure an interview, but in this we were again disappointed, for we found so great a surf beating upon every part of the beach, that landing with our little boat was altogether impracticable: We were therefore obliged to be content with gazing at such objects as presented themselves from the water: The canoes, upon a near view, seemed very much to resemble those of the smaller sort at New Zealand. We observed, that among the trees on shore, which were not very large, there was no underwood; and could distinguish that many of them were of the palm kind, and some of them cabbage trees: After many a wishful look we were obliged to return, with our curiosity rather excited than satisfied, and about five in the evening got on board the ship. About this time it fell calm, and our situation was by no means agreeable: We were now not more than a mile and a half from the shore, and within some breakers, which lay to the southward; but happily a light breeze came off the land, and carried us out of danger. With this breeze we stood to the northward, and at day-break we discovered a bay, which seemed to be well sheltered from all winds, and into which therefore I determined to go with the ship. The pinnace being repaired, I sent her, with the master, to sound the entrance, while I kept turning up, having the wind right out. At noon, the mouth of the bay bore N.N.W. distant about a mile, and seeing a smoke on the shore, we directed our glasses to the spot, and soon discovered ten people, who, upon our nearer approach, left their fire, and retired to a little eminence, whence they could conveniently observe our motions. Soon after two canoes, each having two men on board, came to the shore just under the eminence, and the men joined the rest on the top of it. The pinnace, which had been sent ahead to sound, now approached the place, upon which all the Indians retired farther up the hill, except one, who hid himself among some rocks near the landing-place. As the pinnace proceeded along the shore, most of the people took the same route, and kept abreast of her at a distance; when she came back, the master told us, that in a cove a little within the harbour, some of them had come down to the beach, and invited him to land by many signs and words of which he knew not the meaning; but that all of them were armed with long pikes, and a wooden weapon shaped somewhat like a cymitar. The Indians who had not followed the boat, seeing the ship approach, used many threatening gestures; and brandished their weapons; particularly two, who made a very singular appearance, for their faces seemed to have been dusted with a white powder, and their bodies painted with broad streaks of the same colour, which, passing obliquely over their breasts and backs, looked not unlike the cross-belts worn by our soldiers; the same kind of streaks were also drawn round their legs and thighs like broad garters: Each of these men held in his hand the weapon that had been described to us as like a cymitar, which appeared to be about two feet and a half long, and they seemed to talk to each other with great earnestness.
We continued to stand into the bay, and early in the afternoon anchored under the south shore, about two miles within the entrance, in six fathom water, the south point bearing S.E. and the north point east. As we came in we saw, on both points of the bay, a few huts, and several of the natives, men, women, and children. Under the south head we saw four small canoes, with each one man on board, who were very busily employed in striking fish with a long pike or spear: They ventured almost into the surf, and were so intent upon what they were doing, that although the ship passed within a quarter of a mile of them, they scarcely turned their eyes toward her; possibly being deafened by the surf, and their attention wholly fixed upon their business or sport, they neither saw nor heard her go past them.
The place where the ship had anchored was abreast of a small village, consisting of about six or eight houses; and while we were preparing to hoist out the boat, we saw an old woman, followed by three children, come out of the wood; she was loaded with fire-wood, and each of the children had also its little burden: When she came to the houses, three more children, younger than the others, came out to meet her: She often looked at the ship, but expressed neither fear nor surprise: In a short time she kindled a fire, and the four canoes came in from fishing. The men landed, and having hauled up their boats, began to dress their dinner, to all appearance wholly unconcerned about us, though we were within half a mile of them. We thought it remarkable that of all the people we had yet seen, not one had the least appearance of clothing, the old woman herself being destitute even of a fig-leaf.
After dinner the boats were manned, and we set out from the ship, having Tupia of our party. We intended to land where we saw the people, and began to hope that as they had so little regarded the ship's coming into the bay, they would as little regard our coming on shore: In this, however, we were disappointed; for as soon as we approached the rocks, two of the men came down upon them to dispute our landing, and the rest ran away. Each of the two champions was armed with a lance about ten feet long, and a short stick, which he seemed to handle as if it was a machine to assist him in managing or throwing the lance: They called to us in a very loud tone, and in a harsh dissonant language, of which neither we nor Tupia understood a single word: They brandished their weapons, and seemed resolved to defend their coast to the uttermost, though they were but two, and we were forty. I could not but admire their courage, and being very unwilling that hostilities should commence with such inequality of force between us, I ordered the boat to lie upon her oars: We then parlied by signs for about a quarter of an hour, and to bespeak their good-will, I threw them nails, beads, and other trifles, which they took up and seemed to be well pleased with. I then made signs that I wanted water, and, by all the means that I could devise, endeavoured to convince them that we would do them no harm: They now waved to us, and I was willing to interpret it as an invitation; but upon our putting the boat in, they came again to oppose us. One appeared to be a youth about nineteen or twenty, and the other a man of middle age: As I had now no other resource, I fired a musquet between them. Upon the report, the youngest dropped a bundle of lances upon the rock, but recollecting himself in an instant he snatched them up again with great haste: A stone was then thrown at us, upon which I ordered a musquet to be fired with small shot, which struck the eldest upon the legs, and he immediately ran to one of the houses, which was distant about an hundred yards: I now hoped that our contest was over, and we immediately landed; but we had scarcely left the boat when he returned, and we then perceived that he had left the rock only to fetch a shield or target for his defence. As soon as he came up, he threw a lance at us, and his comrade another; they fell where we stood thickest, but happily hurt nobody. A third musquet with small shot was then fired at them, upon which one of them threw another lance, and both immediately ran away: If we had pursued, we might probably have taken one of them; but Mr Banks suggesting that the lances might be poisoned, I thought it not prudent to venture into the woods. We repaired immediately to the huts, in one of which we found the children, who had hidden themselves behind a shield and some bark; we peeped at them, but left them in their retreat, without their knowing that they had been discovered, and we threw into the house when we went away some beads, ribbons, pieces of cloth, and other presents, which we hoped would procure us the good-will of the inhabitants when they should return; but the lances which we found lying about, we took away with us, to the number of about fifty:[70] They were from six to fifteen feet long, and all of them had four prongs in the manner of a fish-gig, each of which was pointed with fish-bone, and very sharp: We observed that they were smeared with a viscous substance of a green colour, which favoured the opinion of their being poisoned, though we afterwards discovered that it was a mistake: They appeared, by the sea-weed that we found sticking to them, to have been used in striking fish. Upon examining the canoes that lay upon the beach, we found them to be the worst we had ever seen: They were between twelve and fourteen feet long, and made of the bark of a tree in one piece, which was drawn together and tied up at each end, the middle being kept open by sticks which were placed across them from gunwale to gunwale as thwarts. We then searched for fresh water, but found none, except in a small hole which had been dug in the sand.
[Footnote 70: This action is not altogether to be commended--perhaps indeed, it is scarcely justifiable, but on the same principle that would warrant these or other savages making off with the muskets or any thing else belonging to the ship's company. These lances were most valuable property to their original possessors; and it is doubtful if the plea which might be set up for the abstraction of them, viz. that they would be used against our people, can be sustained, seeing the savages had fled; and more especially as, supposing, them to have so purposed, they could with readiness be checked by a display of superior means of annoyance. Is it conceivable, that the unworthy desire to possess these lances as curiosities, could actuate the persons concerned to such a piece of pilfering? We have repeatedly seen that our people had not been scrupulous in allegiance to the commandment--thou shalt not covet, &c.--E.]
Having re-embarked in our boat, we deposited our lances on board the ship, and then went over to the north point of the bay, where we had seen several of the inhabitants when we were entering it, but which we now found totally deserted. Here however we found fresh water, which trickled down from the top of the rocks, and stood in pools among the hollows at the bottom; but it was situated so as not to be procured for our use without difficulty.
In the morning, therefore, I sent a party of men to that part of the shore where we first landed, with orders to dig holes in the sand where the water might gather; but going ashore myself with the gentlemen soon afterwards, we found, upon a more diligent search, a small stream, more than sufficient for our purpose.
Upon visiting the hut where we had seen the children, we were greatly mortified to find that the beads and ribbons which we had left there the night before, had not been moved from their places, and that not an Indian was to be seen.[71]