A Voyage Round the World (Forster)/Book 1/Chapter 5

by Georg Forster

1773.
March.

 

CHAP.V.

 

Stay at Dusky Bay; description of it, and account of our transactions there.

 

After an interval of one hundred and twenty-two days, and a run of above three thousand five hundred leagues, out of sight of land, we entered Dusky Bay on the 26th of March about noon.Friday 26. This bay is situated a little to the northward of Cape West, and captain Cook, in his voyage in the Endeavour, had discovered and named it without entering into it^[1]. The soundings gave about 40 fathoms in the entrance, but as we advanced, we had no ground with 60, and therefore were obliged to push on farther. The weather was delightfully fair, and genially warm, when compared to what we had lately experienced; and we glided along by insensible degrees, wafted by light airs, past numerous rocky islands, each of which was covered with wood and shrubberies, where numerous evergreens were sweetly contrasted and mingled with the various shades of autumnal yellow. Flocks of aquatic birds enlivened the rocky shores, and the whole country resounded with the wild notes of the feathered tribe. We had long and eagerly wished for the land and its vegetable productions, and therefore could not but eye the prospect before us with peculiar delight, and with emotions of joy and satisfaction which were strongly marked in the countenance of each individual.

About three o'clock in the afternoon, we dropped an anchor under a point of an island, where we were in some measure sheltered from the sea, and so near the shore, as to reach it with a hawser. The sloop was no sooner in safety, than every sailor put his hook and line overboard, and in a few moments numbers of fine fish were hauled upon all parts of the vessel, which heightened the raptures we had already felt at our entrance into this bay. The real good taste of the fish, joined to our long abstinence, inclined us to look upon our first meal here, as the most delicious we had ever made in our lives. The view of rude sceneries in the style of Rosa, of antediluvian forests which cloathed the rock, and of numerous rills of water, which every where rolled down the steep declivity, altogether conspired to complete our joy; and so apt is mankind, after a long absence from land, to be prejudiced in favour of the wildest shore, that we looked upon the country at that time, as one of the most beautiful which nature unassisted by art could produce. Such are the general ideas of travellers and voyagers long exhausted by distresses; and with such warmth of imagination they have viewed the rude cliffs of Juan Fernandez, and the impenetrable forests of Tinian!

Immediately after dinner two boats were sent out to reconnoitre different parts of the bay, and chiefly to look for a safe harbour for our vessel, the first anchoring-place being open, inconvenient, and only serving the necessity of the moment. We improved these opportunities of pursuing our researches in natural history, and separated in order to profit by both excursions. Each of the parties found convenient and well-sheltered harbours, with plenty of wood and water; and wherever they went they met with such abundance of fish and water-fowl, that they entertained hopes of a constant supply of refreshments during their stay in these parts. This prospect prevailed upon Capt. Cook, who had but cursorily examined the southern extremities of New-Zeeland in his former voyage, to spend some time there, in order to gain a more competent knowledge of its situation and productions. On our part, we perceived a new store of animal and vegetable bodies, and among them hardly any that were perfectly similar to the known species, and several not analogous even to the known genera. With these therefore we hoped to be wholly employed during our stay, in spight of the approach of autumn, which seemed to threaten the vegetable creation.

Saturday 27.Early the next morning, a small boat having been sent out towards the shore, returned in three hours time with as many fishes, caught by the hook, as supplied a plentiful dinner to all on board. The best and most savoury fish was a species of the cod, which, from its external colour, our sailors called a coal-fish: besides this we caught several species of excellent flat cavalhas (sciænæ), some scorpens, mullets, horse-mackrel, and many other sorts of a fine taste, which were entirely unknown in Europe. At nine o'clock we got under sail and went into Pickersgill harbour, one of those examined the preceding day, where the ship was moored head and stern in a small creek, and so near the shore, that we could reach it by means of a stage of a few planks. Nature had assisted us for this purpose with a large tree, projecting in an horizontal position over the water, of which we placed the top on our gunwale, connecting our planks with it. This situation facilitated all our operations, and was particularly adapted to the conveniency of wooding and watering, for our sloop's yards were locked in the branches of surrounding trees, and about half a musket shot a-stern we had a fine stream of fresh water.

We now began to clear away the woods from a neighbouring hill, in order to fix the astronomer's observatory upon it, and to establish our forge there, as our iron-works wanted repairs. Near the watering-place we pitched tents for the sail-makers, coopers, waterers, and wood-cutters. These occupations served to lower the great idea which our people had conceived of this country; for the prodigious intricacy of various climbers, briars, shrubs, and ferns which were interwoven throughout the forests, rendered the task of clearing the ground extremely fatiguing and difficult, and almost precluded the access to the interior parts of the country. It is indeed reasonable to suppose, that in the southern parts of New-Zeeland, the forests have never been touched by human industry, but have remained in the rude unimproved state of nature since their first existence. Our excursions into them gave us sufficient grounds for this supposition; for not only the climbing plants and shrubs obstructed our passage, but likewise numbers of rotten trees lay in our way, felled by winds and old age. A new generation of young trees, of parasitic plants, ferns, and mosses sprouted out of the rich mould to which this old timber was reduced by length of time, and a deceitful bark sometimes still covered the interior rotten substance, whereon if we attempted to step, we sunk in to the waist. The animal creation afforded another proof that this country had not yet undergone any changes from the hands of mankind, and indeed at first raised the idea, that Dusky Bay was wholly uninhabited. Numbers of small birds which dwelt in the woods were so little acquainted with men, that they familiarly hopped upon the nearest branches, nay on the ends of our fowling-pieces, and perhaps looked at us as new objects, with a curiosity similar to our own. This little boldness in reality at first protected them from harm, since it was impossible to shoot them when they approached so near; but in a few days it frequently proved the means of their destruction; for a sly cat on board, had no sooner perceived so excellent an opportunity of obtaining delicious meals, than she regularly took a walk in the woods every morning, and made great havock among the little birds, that were not aware of such an insidious enemy.

As we had plenty of fish, and saw a number of water-birds which might afford us a variety of animal food, some of our botanical excursions were in a great measure instituted in search of useful vegetables, to be eaten as greens. From thence the most salutary effects might be expected, by a set of people who had been above seventeen weeks at sea, and whose blood must have been more or less corrupted by living so long on salt provisions.

On the first day after our arrival we found a beautiful tree in flower, something related to the myrtle genus, of which an infusion had been drank instead of tea in Capt. Cook's former voyage. We immediately repeated the experiment with great eagerness, as we had not yet seen any plant which was fit to be used at our tables. Its leaves were finely aromatic, astringent, and had a particular pleasant flavour at the first infusion; but this fine taste went off at the next filling up of the tea-pot, and a great degree of bitterness was then extracted. We therefore never suffered it to be twice infused. The use of this plant, which became general among our crew, probably contributed greatly to restore their strength, and to remove all scorbutic symptoms. A plant, which might be of service to future navigators, deserved to be drawn, in order that they might know it again. We have therefore very readily permitted Captain Cook to make use of our drawing of it, from which a plate has been engraved by order of the Admiralty, intended to accompany his own account of this voyage. In a fine soil in thick forests it grows to a considerable tree, sometimes thirty or forty feet high, and above a foot in diameter; on a hilly arid exposure I have, on the contrary, found it as a little shrub, six inches high, which bore flowers and seed; but its usual size is about eight or ten feet, and about three inches in diameter. In that case its stem is irregular and unequal, dividing very soon into branches which rise at acute angles, and only bear leaves and flowers at top. The flowers are white and very ornamental to the whole plant. Another tree, which grew in great plenty round about us, was likewise tried, and afforded a good infusion; but the resemblance it bore to the trees of the fir tribe, and a kind of resinous taste, soon convinced us that it was fitter to serve the purposes of the American spruce-tree, and that a palatable and wholesome liquor might be brewed from it, as a kind of substitute for spruce-beer^[2]. In effect, with the addition of the inspissated juice of wort, and of some molasses, we brewed a very good sort of beer, which we improved very considerably afterwards, by correcting the too great astringency of our new spruce, with an equal quantity of the new tea-tree. Its taste was pleasant, and something bitter; and the only fault we could observe in it was, that being taken on an empty stomach, it frequently caused a nausea or sickness; but in all other respects it proved a very salutary drink. The spruce of New-Zeeland is a very beautiful tree, and conspicuous on account of its pendant branches, which are loaded with numerous long thread-like leaves, of a vivid green. It frequently grows to the height of fifty or sixty, and even one hundred feet, and has above ten feet in girth. Though the spruce and the tea-trees alone afforded articles of refreshment in Dusky Bay; yet we found the woods full of trees of various kinds, very fit for the use of shipwrights, joiners, and other mechanics; and Capt. Cook was of opinion that, except in the river Thames on the northern island, he had not observed a finer growth of timber on all New-Zeeland.

Sunday 28.We had not been above two days in this bay, before we found that our opinion of its being uninhabited was premature. On the 28th in the morning several of our officers went a shooting in a small boat, and on entering a cove two or three miles from the ship, perceived several natives upon a beach, who were about to launch their canoe. The New Zeelanders halloo'd at their approach, and seeming by this means more numerous than they really were, the officers thought proper to return and acquaint the captain with their discovery; a step which they found the more necessary, as the weather was very rainy, and might, in case of danger, have prevented their pieces from going off. They were scarcely returned on board, when a canoe^[3] appeared off a point, at about a mile's distance from the sloop; there were seven or eight people in it, who looked at us for some time, but notwithstanding all the signs of friendship which we could make, such as calling to them to come to us, waving a white cloth, and promising beads, they did not care to come nearer, and paddled back again the same way they came. They appeared to be dressed in mats, and had broad paddles with which they managed their canoe, like the inhabitants in the northern parts of New Zeeland. Captain Cook resolved to visit them in the afternoon, in order to quiet the apprehension which they seemed to have entertained. We went in two boats, accompanying him and several of the officers into the cove, where the natives had been first seen. Here we found a double canoe hauled upon the shore, near some old, low huts, about which we saw vestiges of fire places, some fishing-nets, and a few scattered fish. The canoe which appeared to be old and in bad order, consisted of two troughs or boats joined together with sticks, tied across the gunwales with strings of the New Zeeland flax-plant^[4]. Each part consisted of planks sowed together with ropes made of the flax-plant, and had a carved head coarsely representing a human face, with eyes made of round pieces of ear-shell, which somewhat resembled mother of pearl. This canoe contained two paddles, a basket full of berries of the coriaria ruscifolia Lin. and some fishes; but the natives were not to be seen or heard, which gave us reason to believe that they had retired into the woods. To conciliate their good will, we left some medals, looking-glasses, beads, &c. in the canoe, and embarked again after a short stay. We then rowed to the head of the cove, in order to survey it, where we found a fine brook of fresh water coming down on a flat beach, from whence the water continued shallow to a considerable extent, so that our boat ran aground several times. Ducks, shags, black oyster-catchers, and some sorts of plovers were very numerous here. At our return we visited the canoe again, added a hatchet to the other presents which we had left before, and to shew the use of it, we cut several chips out of a tree, and left it sticking there. No natives appeared this second time, though we imagined they could not be far off, as we thought we could smell the smoke of a fire. However, captain Cook desisted at present from searching in the woods, since they purposely avoided us, and choosing to leave it to time and their own free will to cultivate an intercourse with us, he returned on board late in the evening.Monday 29.

Heavy showers of rain fell all the next morning, but intermitted in the afternoon, giving us an opportunity of going into the woods above our cove, where the rains had so thoroughly soaked the soil, that together with the other impediments in walking in this country, the prodigious slipperiness rendered our excursion laborious and fatiguing. We met however with a few plants, which still shewed some late blossoms, notwithstanding the advanced season; but we were at the same time greatly tantalized by the appearance of numerous trees and shrubs, which had already lost their flowers and fruits, and only served to give us an idea of the great profusion of new vegetables in this country.

The two following days we were entirely confined on board, on account of the rain and stormy weather; which not a little damped our spirits, and gave us reason to fear we should spend the remainder of our time very disagreeably. However,April.
Thursday 1. on the 1st of April in the afternoon, we took the advantage of a lucid interval to make another visit to the cove where we had seen the Indians. We found every thing in the same situation as we had left it, and it did not appear that any person had been near the canoe since that time. The weather being now fair, we saw this cove in all its perfection. It is so spacious that a whole fleet of ships may lie at anchor in it, and some of the loftiest hills in all the bay encompass it on the south-west side, and are entirely covered with woods from the summit to the water's side. The different projecting points, and the various islands in the bay, form altogether a picturesque and pleasing scene. The smoothness of the water, illumined by the setting sun, the different degrees of verdure, and the various notes of birds which resounded throughout the whole cove during this calm evening; greatly softened the rude, uncultivated outlines of this landscape.

The pleasure we had enjoyed in the evening, induced us to return to the cove again the next day, which continued to be perfectly fair. We set out at sun-rise, and did not return till late in the evening, with a considerable acquisition of new birds, and plants. We had a young dog with us at this time, which the officers had taken on board at the Cape of Good Hope, and intended to try, whether we could not train him up to the gun: but we had no sooner discharged the first fowling-piece, than he ran into the woods, and would not return, though we used all possible means to recover him. Captain Cook likewise took the opportunity of the fair weather, to examine different parts of the bay; and touched at a little rock, near our first anchoring place, which had already at that time acquired the name of Seal-rock, from the animals that came to sleep upon it. Here he found a number of seals, and killed three of them, among which one afforded him great sport: for having been repeatedly wounded, it became quite furious, and attacked the boat, where it was at last killed. It weighed 220 pounds, was about six feet long, and very lean. After he had passed several isles, he reached the north-west part of the bay, formed by the land of Point Five-fingers: there, at the bottom of a fine cove, he found a great variety of aquatic birds, of which he killed and brought on board a considerable number.

Another rainy pause of three days followed this excursion, confining us to our ship, where a sort of little crane-flies (tipula alis incumbentibus), which had plagued us ever since our entrance into Dusky Bay, became remarkably troublesome during the bad weather. They were numerous in the skirts of the woods, not half so large as gnats or musketoes, and our sailors called them sand-flies. Their sting was extremely painful, and as often as the hand or face grew warm, caused a troublesome itching, the least irritation of which brought on a very violent swelling, attended with great pain. We were, however, not all equally affected; myself in particular, never felt any great inconvenience from them; others, on the contrary, suffered in a very violent degree, especially my father, who could not hold a pen to write down the common occurrences in a journal, and fell into a high fever at night. Various remedies were tried, but all proved ineffectual, except the simple unction with soft pomatum, and the constant use of gloves.

Tuesday 6.Early on the 6th, several of the officers went into the cove, which the captain had discovered on the 2d; and the latter, accompanied by Mr. Hodges, Dr. Sparrman, my father, and myself proceeded in another boat, to continue the survey of the bay, to copy views from nature, and to search for the natural productions of the country. We directed our course to the north side, where we found a fine spacious cove, from which we had not the least prospect of the sea. Along its steep shores we observed several small but beautiful cascades, which fell from vast heights, and greatly improved the scene; they gushed out through the midst of the woods, and at last fell in a clear column, to which a ship might lie so near, as to fill her casks on board with the greatest safety, by means of a leather tube, which the sailors call a hose. At the bottom there was a shallow muddy part, with a little beach of shell-sand, and a brook, as in all the greater coves of the bay. In this fine place, we found a number of wild fowl, and particularly wild ducks, of which we shot fourteen, from whence we gave it the name of Duck Cove. As we were returning home, we heard a loud hallooing on the rocky point of an island, which on this occasion obtained the name of Indian Island; and standing in to the shore, we perceived one of the natives, from whom this noise proceeded. He stood with a club or battle-axe in his hand, on a projecting point, and behind him on the skirts of the wood we saw two women, each of them having a long spear. When our boat came to the foot of the rock, we called to him, in the language of Taheitee, tayo, harre maï, "friend, come hither;" he did not, however, stir from his post, but held a long speech, at certain intervals pronouncing it with great earnestness and vehemence, and swinging round his club, on which he leaned at other times. Captain Cook went to the head of the boat, called to him in a friendly manner, and threw him his own and some other handkerchiefs, which he would not pick up. The captain then taking some sheets of white paper in his hand, landed on the rock unarmed, and held the paper out to the native. The man now trembled very visibly, and having exhibited strong marks of fear in his countenance, took the paper: upon which captain Cook coming up to him, took hold of his hand, and embraced him, touching the man's nose with his own, which is their mode of salutation. His apprehension was by this means dissipated, and he called to the two women, who came and joined him, while several of us landed to keep the captain company. A short conversation ensued, of which very little was understood on both sides, for want of a competent knowledge of the language. Mr. Hodges immediately took sketches of their countenances, and their gestures shewed that they clearly understood what he was doing; on which they called him tóä-tóä, that term being probably applicable to the imitative arts. The man's countenance was very pleasing and open; one of the women, which we afterwards believed to be his daughter, was not wholly so disagreeable as one might have expected in New Zeeland, but the other was remarkably ugly, and had a prodigious excrescence on her upper lip. They were all of a dark brown or olive complexion; their hair was black, and curling, and smeared with oil and ruddle; the man wore his tied upon the crown of the head, but the women had it cut short. Their bodies were tolerably well proportioned in the upper part; but they had remarkable slender, ill-made, and bandy legs. Their dress consisted of mats made of the New Zeeland flax-plant^[5], interwoven with feathers; and in their ears they wore small pieces of white albatross skins stained with ruddle or ochre. We offered them some fishes and wild fowl, but they threw them back to us, intimating that they did not want provisions. The approaching night obliged us to retire, not without promising our new friends a visit the next morning. The man remained silent, and looked after us with composure and great attention, which seemed to speak a profound meditation; but the youngest of the two women, whose vociferous volubility of tongue exceeded every thing we had met with, began to dance at our departure, and continued to be as loud as ever. Our seamen passed several coarse jests on this occasion, but nothing was more obvious to us than the general drift of nature, which not only provided man with a partner to alleviate his cares and sweeten his labours, but endowed that partner likewise with a desire of pleasing by a superior degree of vivacity and affability.

Wednesday 7.The next morning we returned to the natives, and presented them with several articles which we had brought with us for that purpose. But so much was the judgment of the man superior to that of his countrymen, and most of the South Sea nations^[6], that he received almost every thing with indifference, except what he immediately conceived the use of, such as hatchets and large spike-nails. At this interview he introduced his whole family to us, consisting of two women, whom we supposed to be his wives; the young woman, a boy of about fourteen years of age, and three smaller children, of which the youngest was at the breast. One of the wives had the excrescence or wen on the upper lip, and was evidently neglected by the man, probably on account of her disagreeable appearance. They conducted us soon after to their habitation, which lay but a few yards within the wood, on a low hill, and consisted of two mean huts, made of a few sticks thatched with unprepared leaves of the flax-plant, and covered with the bark of trees. In return for our presents they parted with several of their ornaments and weapons, particularly the battle-axes, but they did not choose to give us their spears. When we were preparing to re-embark, the man came to the water-side, and presented to Captain Cook a dress made of the flax plant, a belt of weeds, some beads made of a little bird's bones, and some albatross skins. We were at first of opinion that these were only intended as a retribution for what he had received, but he soon undeceived us by shewing a strong desire of possessing one of our boat-cloaks^[7]. We were not charitable enough to part with our cloaths, when we knew the deficiency could not be supplied again; but as soon as we came on board, Captain Cook ordered a large cloak to be made of red baize, which we brought to the man at our next visit.

Thursday 8.The rain prevented our going to him the next morning, but in the afternoon, the weather being a little more promising, we returned to Indian Island. However, at our approach, instead of being welcomed by the natives on the shore, we saw none of them, and received no answer when we shouted to them. We landed therefore, and having proceeded to their habitation, soon found the reason of this unusual behaviour. They were preparing to receive us in all their finery, some being already completely adorned, and others still busy in dressing. Their hair was combed, tied on the crown of the head, and anointed with some oil or grease; white feathers were stuck in at the top; some had fillets of white feathers all round the head, and others wore pieces of an albatross skin, with its fine white down in their ears. Thus fitted out, they shouted at our approach, and received us standing, with marks of friendship and great courtesy. The captain wore the new cloak of baize on his own shoulders, and now took it off and presented the man with it; he, on his part, seemed so much pleased with it, that he immediately drew out of his girdle a pattoo-pattoo, or short flat club made of a great fish's bone, and gave it to the Captain in return for so valuable an acquisition. We endeavoured to enter into conversation; but, though Captain Cook had taken Gibson, the corporal of marines, with him for that purpose, he being supposed to know more of the language^[8] than any other person on board, yet all our attempts to be understood proved fruitless, because it seemed this family had a peculiar harshness of pronunciation. We therefore took leave of them, and proceeded to survey different parts of the bay, fishing at intervals, shooting birds, and collecting shells, and other marine productions among the rocks. The weather was cloudy all this time, though it did not rain where we were; but when we returned to our ship's cove, we were told it had rained there incessantly in our absence. The same observation we had frequent opportunities of making during our sojourn in Dusky Bay. The probable cause of this difference of weather at such little distances, are the high mountains which run along the south shore of the bay, gradually sloping towards the west cape. These mountains being almost constantly capped with clouds, our cove, which lay immediately under, and was surrounded by them, was of course exposed to the vapours, which perpetually appeared moving with various velocities along the sides of the hills, involving the tops of the trees over which they passed in a kind of white semi-opaque mist, and descending upon us at last in rains or in fogs which wetted us to the skin. The isles in the northern part not having such high hills to attract and stop the clouds coming from the sea, permitted them to pass freely on to the very bottom of the bay to the Alps, which we saw covered with perpetual snow. The two next days the rains were so heavy that no work could be done; the perpetual moisture which descended in this place caused such a dampness in all parts of our vessel, as could not fail to become very unwholesome, and to destroy all the collections of plants which had been made. Our sloop lying so near the shore, which was steep and shaggy with over-hanging woods, was involved in almost constant darkness, even in fair weather, and much more so during the fogs and rains, so that we were obliged to light candles at noon. But the constant supply of fresh fish considerably alleviated these disagreeable circumstances, and, together with the spruce-beer and the myrtle-tea, contributed to keep us healthy and strong even in this damp climate. We were now indeed become perfect ichthyophagi, for many amongst us entirely lived upon fish. The fear of being cloyed with this delicious food, often set us at work to invent new methods of preparing it, in order to deceive the palate; and we accordingly made soups, and patties, boiled, fried, roasted, and stewed our fishes. But it was pleasant to observe, that all the arts of cookery only tended to surfeit the sooner, for those who wisely confined themselves to plain boiling in sea water, always did honour to their meals;

 

As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on.———

SHAKESPEARE.

 

But what was more singular than all, was, that in order to prevent any dislike to our food, we confined ourselves, among a great variety of different sorts, chiefly to one species of fishes, which our sailors from its dark colour, called the coal-fish, and which in taste nearly resembled our English cod, being of the same genus. Its meat was firm, juicy, and nutritive; but not so rich and fat as that of many other species, which we found very delicious, but could not continually feed upon. A very fine species of crayfish (cancer bomarus Lin.) larger than the lobster, some shell-fish, and now and then a cormorant, duck, pigeon, or parrot gave us an agreeable variety at our table, which, compared to its appearance when at sea, was now luxurious and profuse.

Every person in our sloop experienced the good effects of this change of diet; nay every animal on board seemed to be benefited by it, except our sheep, which were not likely to fare so well as ourselves. The nature of the country accounts for this disegreeable circumstance. The whole southern extremity of Tavai-poe-namoo, or the southern island of New Zeeland, and especially the land about Dusky Bay consists entirely of steep rocky mountains, with craggy precipices, clad with thick forests, and either barren or covered with snow on their summits. No meadows and lawns are to be met with, and the only flat land we found, was situated at the head of deep coves, where a brook fell into the sea, which probably by depositing the earth and stones it brought from the hills, had formed this low and level ground. But even there the whole was over-run with woods and briars, and we could not find a single spot of ground which might have afforded pasture, the grass which grew on some beaches being very hard and coarse. However, after we had taken pains to furnish our sheep with the freshest sprouts which we could meet with, we were surprised that they would not touch any of them: but upon examination we found that their teeth were loose, and that many of them had every symptom of an inveterate sea scurvy. Of four ewes and two rams which captain Cook brought from the Cape of Good Hope, with an intent to put them on shore in New Zeeland, we had only been able to preserve one of each sex, and these were in so wretched a condition, that their further preservation was very doubtful. If future navigators mean to make such valuable presents, as cattle of any sort to the inhabitants of the South Sea, the only probable method of bringing them safely thither, would be to take the shortest route possible from the Cape to New Zeeland, in the middle latitudes, and in the best of seasons, when they may expect a quick passage, and no severe cold.

On the 11th, the sky being clear and serene promised a fair day, which was very much wanted, in order to dry our sails and linen, as we had not been able to do either since our arrival in this bay. We likewise obtained the use of a boat, in order to increase the number of our observations on the productions of nature. We directed our course to the cove where we had seen the first canoe of the natives, and particularly to a water-fall, which we had observed from afar a few days ago, and which had induced us to call this inlet Cascade Cove. This water-fall, at the distance of a mile and a half, seems to be but inconsiderable, on account of its great elevation; but after climbing about two hundred yards upwards, we obtained a full prospect of it, and found indeed a view of great beauty and grandeur before us. The first object which strikes the beholder, is a clear column of water; apparently eight or ten yards in circumference, which is projected with great impetuosity from the perpendicular rock, at the height of one hundred yards. Nearly at the fourth part of the whole height; this column meeting a part of the same rock, which now acquires a little inclination, spreads on its broad back into a limpid sheet of about twenty-five yards in width. Here its surface is curled, and dashes upon every little eminence in its rapid descent, till it is all collected in a fine bason about sixty yards in circuit, included on three sides by the natural walls of the rocky chasm, and in front by huge masses of stone irregularly piled above each other. Between them the stream finds its way, and runs foaming with the greatest rapidity along the slope of the hill to the sea. The whole neighbourhood of the cascade, to a distance of an hundred yards around, is filled with the steam or watery vapour formed by the violence of the fall. This mist however was so thick, that it penetrated our clothes in a few minutes, as effectually as a shower of rain would have done. We mounted on the highest stone before the bason, and looking down into it, were struck with the sight of a most beautiful rainbow of a perfectly circular form, which was produced by the meridian rays of the sun refracted in the vapour of the cascade. Beyond this circle the rest of the steam was tinged with the prismatic colours, refracted in an inverted order. The scenery on the left consists of steep, brown rocks, fringed on the summits with over-hanging shrubs and trees; on the right there is a vast heap of large stones, probably hurried down from the impending mountain's brow, by the force of the torrent. From thence rises a sloping bank, about seventy-five yards high, on which a wall of twenty-five yards perpendicular is placed, crowned with verdure and shrubberies. Still farther to the right, the broken rocks are clothed with mosses, ferns, grasses, and various flowers; nay several shrubs, and trees to the height of forty feet, rise on both sides of the stream, and hide its course from the sun. The noise of the cascade is so loud, and so repeatedly reverberated from the echoing rocks, that it drowns almost every other sound; the birds seemed to retire from it to a little distance, where the shrill notes of thrushes, the graver pipe of wattle-birds, and the enchanting melody of various creepers resounded on all sides, and completed the beauty of this wild and romantic spot. On turning round we beheld an extensive bay, strewed as it were with small islands, which are covered with lofty trees; beyond them on one side, the mountains rise majestic on the main land, capt with clouds and perpetual snow; and on the other, the immense ocean bounded our view. The grandeur of this scene was such, that the powers of description fall short of the force and beauty of nature, which could only be truly imitated by the pencil of Mr. Hodges, who went on this voyage with us; and whose performances do great credit and honour to his judgment and execution, as well as to the choice of his employers. Satisfied with the contemplation of this magnificent sight, we directed our attention next to the flowers which enlivened the ground, and the small birds which sung very cheerfully all round us. We had as yet found neither the vegetable nor animal creation so beautiful, or so numerous, in any part of this bay; perhaps, because the strong refraction of the sun-beams from the perpendilar walls of rock, and the shelter from storms, made the climate considerably more mild and genial in this spot than in any other part. The soil was in nothing different here from that in other parts round the bay, but seemed to be the same vegetable mould; and the rocks and stones about the cascade consisted of masses of granite, or moorstone (saxum), and of a kind of brown talcous clay-stone, in strata, which is common to all New Zeeland.

We returned on board before sun-set, well pleased with our acquisitions during this excursion. At our return we were told, that the Indian family, whom we had seen paddling into the cove, in the morning, in their best attire, had gradually approached the ship with great caution. Captain Cook meeting them in a boat, quitted it, and went into their canoe, but could not prevail on them to come along-side of the ship, and was obliged to leave them to follow their own inclination. At length they went ashore, in a little creek hard by ours, and afterwards came and sat down on the shore abreast of the vessel, to which they were near enough to be heard, and spoken to. The captain gave orders to play the fife and bagpipe, and to beat the drum; but they entirely disregarded the two first, and were not very attentive to the last, nor could any thing induce them to come on board. Several of our officers and seamen then going on shore to them, were received with great good-nature, and attempted to converse with them by signs, which were for the most part unintelligible, or misunderstood. However, the young woman shewed a great partiality to a young seaman, and from her gestures it was supposed she took him for one of her own sex; but whether he had taken some improper liberties, or whether she had any other reason to be disgusted, she would never suffer him to come near her afterwards. We likewise went on shore to them, after returning from our excursion, and the man desiring us to sit down by him, frequently pointed at our boats that plyed between the ship and the shore, and it appeared that he was desirous of possessing one of them. They staid all night about a hundred yards from our watering place, lighted a fire, and dressed some fish there, thus evidently placing great confidence in us. In the evening a party of officers set out in a small boat, to the north side of the bay, where they intended to pass the night, and continue shooting all the next day.

Captain Cook, accompanied by my father, went in his boat the next morning,Monday 12. to survey the rocks and isles in the mouth of the bay. They entered a fine snug cove, on the S.E. side of the island, under which we had found our first anchorage, and which was therefore named Anchor Island. Here they sat down by the side of a pleasant brook, and made a slight repast on some boiled craw-fish, which they had brought with them. From thence they proceeded to the outermost islands, where they discovered a number of seals on the rocks, shot fourteen of them with ball, which they carried away with them, and might have killed many more, had the surf permitted them to land upon all the rocks in safety. The seals in Dusky Bay are all of the species called sea-bears^[9], which professor Steller first described on Bering's Island, near Kamtchatka, and which are consequently common to both hemispheres. They are very numerous on the southern extremities of the continents of America and Africa, likewise at New Zeeland, and on Diemen's Land. The only difference we could perceive between these at Dusky Bay, and those described at Kamtchatka, consisted in the size, in respect of which ours were inferior. They found it difficult to kill them, and many, though grievously wounded, escaped into the sea, and tinged the rocks and the water with their blood. Their meat, which is almost black, and their heart and liver were eatable, the former, by the help of a good appetite, and a little imagination, might be eaten for beef, and the last were perfectly similar to a calf's pluck. We were, however, obliged to cut away every bit of fat, before we dressed the meat, which otherwise had an insupportable taste of train-oil. Captain Cook availed himself of this opportunity of laying in a provision of lamp-oil; which was boiled out of the seals fat: he also ordered the skins to be made use of for repairing our rigging.

Tuesday 13.The success of the preceding day encouraged him to make another trip to the Seal Islands, on which my father accompanied him again; but the sea ran so very high, that it was by no means practicable to come near, and much less to land on them. With a great deal of difficulty they weathered the S.W. point of Anchor Island, where the sea tumbled in with great impetuosity, and was so much agitated, as to affect the mariners with sickness. They then rowed along the north shore of that island, where the captain landed to take the bearings of different points. It happened very fortunately, that they had taken this route; for they now discovered the small boat adrift, which set off from the sloop on the 11th in the evening, and laid hold of it the moment before it was going to be dashed against the rocks. The boat was immediately secured in a small creek, and after refreshing the people with some provisions which they found in it, captain Cook proceeded to the place where he supposed the party of officers to be, from whom it was drifted away. Between seven and eight in the evening they reached the cove, and found them on a small island, to which they could not then approach, because the tide had left it. They landed therefore on an adjacent point, and after many fruitless attempts, at length succeeded in making a fire. Here they broiled some fish, and after supper lay down; the stony beach was their bed, and their covering the canopy of heaven.

At three o'clock in the morning the tide permitted them to take the sportsmen from their barren island; after which they immediately sailed with a fair wind, accompanied with showers of rain, to the cove where they had secured the other boat. Here they found an immense number of petrels of the bluish species, common over the whole southern ocean^[10], some being on the wing, and others in the woods, in holes under ground formed between the roots of trees and in the crevices of rocks, in places not easily accessible, where they probably had their nests and young. In day time, not one of them was to be seen there, the old ones then being probably out at sea in quest of food. They now saw them going out for that purpose, and two days ago they had been observed at the Seal Islands, returning in the evening in order to feed their young with the food which they had collected. They now heard a great variety of confused sounds coming from the sides of the hill, some very acute, others like the croaking of frogs, which were made by these petrels. At other times we have found innumerable holes on the top of one of the Seal Islands, and heard the young petrels making a noise in them; but as the holes communicated with each other it was impossible to come at one of them. We had already frequently observed the old petrels flying about us in the evening, when we returned late from our excursions, but till now they had always been taken for bats. They have a broad bill, and a blackish stripe across their bluish wings and body, and are not so large as the common shear-water or Mank's petrel of our seas. The instinct is very wonderful which actuates these birds to burrow holes under ground for their young, to roam all over the ocean in quest of food for their support, and to find their way to the shore when they are several hundred leagues distant from it.

Having replaced the sportsmen in their boat, they all proceeded to the ship, which they reached at seven in the morning, not a little fatigued from the night's expedition. The natives, probably foreseeing the bad weather, which continued all this day, had left the place they occupied near the ship on the preceding night, and had retired to their habitations on Indian Island.

Thursday 15.The weather cleared up a little on the 15th in the morning. Captain Cook therefore set out to continue his survey of the N.W. part of the bay, and we accompanied a party of officers to the cove in that part where we intended to take up our quarters for the next night. In our way we rowed along-side of our fishing-boat, which constantly went out in the morning to provide all our crew with their dinner, and took in a sail which we stood in need of. We were surprised to see the young black dog in the boat with them, which ran away from us on the 2d instant; and were told, that, taking their station near the shore, at day-break they had heard a very piteous howling on the next point, and had found the dog, which came into the boat very readily as soon as they put in shore. Though this animal had been in the woods during a fortnight, yet it was by no means famished, but on the contrary looked well fed and very sleek. A large species of rails, which we called water-hens, and which are very numerous in this part of New Zeeland, with perhaps some shell-fish on the rocks, or some dead fish thrown up by the sea, had in all probability afforded it sufficient support. We may from hence conclude, that as there is abundance of food for carnivorous animals in New Zeeland, they would probably be very numerous if they existed there at all, and especially if they were endowed with any degree of sagacity, like the fox, or cat tribes. In that case they could not have escaped the notice of our numerous parties, nor of the natives, and the latter would certainly have preserved their furrs, as a valuable article of dress in their moist and raw climate, for want of which they now wear the skins of dogs and of birds. The question, whether New Zeeland contained any wild quadrupeds, had engaged our attention from our first arrival there. One of our people, strongly persuaded that so great a country could not fail of possessing new and unknown animals, had already twice reported that he had seen a brown animal, something less than a jackal or little fox, about the dawn of morning, sitting on a stump of a tree near our tents, and running off at his approach. But as this circumstance has never been confirmed by any subsequent testimony, nothing is more probable than that the want of day-light had deceived him, and that he had either observed one of the numerous wood-hens, which are brown, and creep through the bushes very frequently; or that one of our cats, on the watch for little birds, had been mistaken for a new quadruped.

Having taken the sail on board, we continued our course, and began our researches in the cove, where we killed many ducks of four different species. One of them was remarkably beautiful, and of the size of the eider duck. Its plumage was of a blackish brown, elegantly sprinkled with white; all the coverts of the wing were white, the rump and vent ferruginous, the quill and tail-feathers black, and the secondaries green. Another species was nearly of the size of our mallard, but all of a light-brown, every feather being edged with a yellowish white, of which there was a line on the cheek and eye-brows; the eyes of this sort had irides of a bright yellow, and on the wings there was a spot of fine bluish green inclosed in black lines. The third sort was a bluish grey whistling duck, about the size of a wigeon; its bill had a remarkable membranaceous substance at the extremity on both sides, probably because the bird is intended to live by sucking the worms, &c, in the mud, when the tide retires from the beaches. Its breast was sprinkled with ferruginous feathers, and on the wings it had a large white spot. The fourth and most common sort is a small brown duck, which is nearly the same as the English gadwall. A little before dark, the captain, having examined all the harbours which lay in his way, shot a number of wild fowl, and caught fish sufficient for all our party, arrived at our rendezvous, where we had erected a tent, by means of the sails and oars. Our keen appetites dispensed with the arts of cookery, and our fish broiled a l'Indienne, over a strong fire, on a bit of a stick, tasted as deliciously as we could desire. With this supper, and a draught of spruce-beer, of which we had carried a small keg with us, we composed ourselves to sleep, and contrived to pass the night, though not quite so comfortably as in our beds. The next morning a boat went up to the head of the cove to start the game, which was done so effectually that almost all the wild-ducks escaped, the rain having wetted all our fire-arms. The captain now landed in the cove, and walked across a narrow isthmus, which separates it from another cove on the north side of the Five-finger Land. Here he found a prodigious number of the water-hens before mentioned, and brought away ten couple of them, which recompensed him for the trouble of crossing the isthmus, through intricate woods, where the water was frequently up to the waist. At nine o'clock we were all assembled again, and set out on our return to the ship; but as we continued examining every creek and harbour which we found on our way, and encreasing our collection of wild-fowl, we did not return till seven o'clock in the evening. We brought seven dozen of various sorts of birds with us, among which were near thirty ducks, and immediately distributed them to the several messes of officers, petty-officers, and seamen, as far as they would go. We may take this opportunity to observe, that there is no part of New Zeeland so well stocked with birds of all kinds as Dusky Bay. We found several sorts of wild-ducks, shags, corvorants, oyster-catchers or sea-pies, water or wood-hens, albatrosses, gannets, gulls, pinguins, and others of the aquatic kind. The land-birds were hawks, parrots, pigeons, and many lesser ones of new and unknown species. The parrots were of two sorts; one small and green, and the other very large, greyish-green, with a reddish breast. As the birds of that genus are commonly confined to the warmer climates, we were much surprised to find them in the latitude of 46°, exposed to the raw rainy weather, which the height of the mountains almost constantly produces in Dusky Bay.

Sunday 18.The next day was so rainy, that none of us could venture to stir out of the sloop; but the day after proving a very fine one, my father went up the hill, along the course of the brook, from which we filled our casks. About half a mile upwards, through ferns, rotten trees, and thick forests, he came to a fine lake of fresh water nearly half a mile in diameter. Its water was limpid and well tasted, but had acquired a brownish hue, from the leaves of trees which dropped into it on all sides; he observed no other inhabitant in it than a small species of fish (esox), without scales, resembling a little trout; its colour was brown, and mottled with yellowish spots in the shape of some ancient Asiatic characters. The whole lake was surrounded by a thick forest, consisting of the largest trees, and the mountains rose all round it in a variety of forms. The environs were deserted and silent, not the least note of the common birds was heard, for it was rather cold at this elevation; and not a single plant had blossoms. The whole scene was perfectly fitted to inspire a kind of pleasing melancholy, and to encourage hermit-meditation. The fine weather induced our friends the natives to pay us another visit; they took up their quarters on the same spot, where they had been this day sevennight, and when they were again invited to come on board, they promised to come the next morning. In the mean while they had a quarrel among themselves, the man beat the two women who were supposed to be his wives; the young girl in return struck him, and then began to weep. What the cause of this disagreement was, we cannot determine; but if the young woman was really the man's daughter, which we could never clearly understand, it should seem that the filial duties are strangely confounded among them; or which is more probable, that this secluded family acted in every respect, not according to the customs and regulations of a civil society, but from the impulses of nature, which speak aloud against every degree of oppression.

Monday 19.In the morning, the man resolved to come on board with the young woman, but sent the rest of his family a-fishing in the canoe. He walked with her round the cove, to the place where we had made a stage or temporary bridge from the vessel to the shore. Before they entered upon this, they were conducted to a place on the hill, where we kept our sheep and goats, which they seemed to be much surprised with, and desired to possess; but as we foresaw that they must die for want of proper food if we left them here, we could not comply with this request. Captain Cook, and my father met them at the stage, and this man after saluting them with his nose against theirs, gave each of them a new cloak or piece of cloth made of the flax-plant, curiously interwoven with parrot's feathers, and presented the captain with a piece of green nephritic stone, or jadde^[11], which was formed into the blade of a hatchet. Before he stepped on the bridge, he turned aside, put a piece of a bird's skin with white feathers through the hole in one of his ears, and broke off a small green branch from a neighbouring bush. With this he walked on, and stopping when he could just reach the ship's sides with his hand, struck them and the main-shrouds several times with his branch. He then began to repeat a kind of speech or prayer, which seemed to have regular cadences, and to be metrically arranged as a poem; his eyes were fixed upon the place he had touched, his voice was raised, and his whole behaviour grave and solemn. The young woman, though at other times laughing and dancing, now kept close to the man and was serious all the while he spoke, which lasted about two or three minutes; at the close of his speech he struck the ship's side again, threw the branch into the main chains, and came aboard. This manner of delivering solemn orations, and making peace, is practised by all the nations which have been seen in the South Sea before our voyage, as appears from the testimonies of various voyagers. Both the man and woman had a spear in their hands when they were conducted on the quarter-deck; there they admired every thing they saw: a few geese in our coops particularly attracted their attention; a handsome cat, was likewise much courted, but they always stroked it the wrong way, so as to make the hair stand upright, though we showed them to do it in a contrary direction; probably they admired the richness of the furr. The man looked upon every new object with surprize, but as his attention could not be fixed to any one object for more than a single moment, many of our works of art must have appeared to him as incomprehensible, as those of nature. However, the number and strength of our decks and of other parts of our vessel engrossed his admiration more than any thing else. The girl, seeing Mr. Hodges, whose pencil she had much admired, made him a present of a piece of cloth, of the same kind as those which the man had given to captain Cook and my father. This custom of making presents is not so usual in other parts of New Zeeland, as in the tropical islands: but it appears on the whole, that this family were not always guided by national customs, but took such measures as prudence and integrity suggested in their situation, which left them at the mercy of a greater force. We desired them to come into the cabin, and after a long debate among themselves, they accepted the invitation, and descended by the ladder. Here they admired every thing, and were particularly pleased to learn the use of chairs, and that they might be removed from place to place. They were presented with hatchets by the captain and my father, and received a great number of trinkets of less value. These last the man laid down in a heap, and would have gone away without them, had we not reminded him of them; whereas he never let a hatchet or spike-nail go out of his hand, after he had once taken hold of it. They saw us sit down to our breakfast, and were seated near us; but all our intreaties could not prevail on them to touch our victuals. They likewise expressly inquired where we went to sleep, and the captain showed them his cot, which was suspended, at which they were mightily pleased. From the cabin they proceeded to the gun-room, on the deck below; and having received several presents there, they returned to the captain again. The man now pulled out a little leather bag, probably of seals skin, and having, with a good deal of ceremony, put in his fingers, which he pulled out covered with oil, offered to anoint captain Cook's hair; this honour was however declined, because the unguent, though perhaps held as a delicious perfume, and as the most precious thing the man could bestow, yet seemed to our nostrils not a little offensive; and the very squalid appearances of the bag in which it was contained, contributed to make it still more disgustful. Mr. Hodges did not escape so well; for the girl, having a tuft of feathers, dipt in oil, on a string round her neck, insisted upon dressing him out with it, and he was forced to wear the odoriferous present, in pure civility. We left them to amuse themselves in the other parts of the ship, and set out in two boats, with the captain and several officers, to examine a long inlet which ran to the eastward, in sight of our cove. In proportion as we receded from the sea, we found the mountains much higher, more steep, and barren: the trees gradually diminished in height and circumference; and dwindled to shrubs, contrary to what is observed in other parts of the world, where the inland countries have finer forests and better timber than the sea shores. The interior ranges of mountains called the Southern Alps, appeared very distinctly, of a great height, and covered with snow on their summits. We passed by a number of shady islands, which contained little coves and rivulets; and on one of the projecting points, opposite the last island, we saw a fine cascade falling into the water; over a steep rock, clothed with thick bushes and trees. The water was perfectly calm, polished, and transparent; the landscape was distinctly reflected in it, and the various romantic shapes of the steep mountains, contrasted in different masses of light and shade, had an admirable effect. About noon we put into a small cove, where we caught some fish, and shot a few birds. From thence we rowed again till dusk, when we entered a fine cove, at the extremity of this long arm, and were obliged to take up our quarters on the first beach we could land upon, after being prevented by shoals from proceeding to the head of the cove. There we thought we perceived something similar to a smoke, but finding nothing to confirm this opinion, and especially seeing no fire at night, we readily acquiesced in the idea of having been deceived by some misty vapour, or other object, which we might have indistinctly seen. We prepared with great alacrity to pass the night here, and no one was excepted from his task on these occasions. As it may be curious to know the nature of our marooning parties, as our seamen called them, I shall here give some account of our proceedings this night. Having found a beach to land on, with a brook, and a wood close to it, our first care was to bring on shore the oars, sails, cloaks, guns, hatchets, &c. not forgetting a little keg of spruce-beer, and perhaps a bottle of strong liquor. The boats were next secured at a grappling, and with a rope made fast to a tree on shore. Some of us were then busied in collecting dry pieces of wood for fuel, which in such a wet country as New Zeeland, was sometimes very difficult; some erected a tent or wigwam, made of the oars and sails together with strong branches of trees, in a convenient dry spot, sheltered as much as possible, in case of wind and rain. Others lighted the fire in front of the tent, by burning some oakum, in which they had previously rubbed a quantity of gunpowder. The preparations for supper were very short: some of the sailors cleaned our fishes, skinned the waterfowl, split, and lastly broiled them; when they were dressed, one of the boat's gang-boards, washed clean, answered the several purposes of a table, of dishes, and plates; and our fingers and teeth did yeoman's service, instead of knives and forks. A keen appetite, procured by strong exercise, and excited by the sharp air of the country, soon taught us to overcome the ideas of indelicacy, which civilized nations connect with this way of living; and we never so strongly felt how little is wanting to satisfy the cravings of the stomach, and to support the existence of human beings, as on these occasions. After supper we listened a while to the original comic vein of our boat's crew, who huddled round the fire, made their meal, and recited a number of droll stories, intermixed with hearty curses, oaths, and indecent expressions, but seldom without real humour. Then strewing our tent with heaps of fern leaves, and wrapping ourselves in our boat-cloaks, with our guns and shooting-bags for our pillows, we composed ourselves to sleep.

At day-break Captain Cook and my father, with two men, went in a small boat to take a view of the head of the cove, where they saw some flat land. They went on shore upon it at one corner, and ordered the boat to meet them at the opposite point. They had not walked a great way before they saw some wild-ducks, and, by creeping through the bushes, came near enough to fire and kill one of them. The moment they had fired they heard a hideous shout of several loud and piercing voices round about them from different quarters. They shouted in their turn, and taking up the duck retired towards the boat, which was full half a mile off. The natives continued their clamours, but did not follow them; for indeed a deep branch of a river was between them, and their numbers were too inconsiderable to attempt hostilities; but these circumstances we only learnt in the sequel. We had in the mean while taken a ramble into the woods in search of plants; but hearing the shout of the natives, we embarked immediately in the remaining boat and joined the other, which by this time had taken Captain Cook and my father on board. We therefore proceeded up into a river, which was deep enough for the boats, and amused ourselves with shooting ducks, which were here in great plenty. We now saw a man, woman, and child on the left shore, and the woman waved to us with a white bird's skin, probably in sign of peace and friendship. On this occasion I could not help admiring, that almost all nations on our globe have tacitly agreed upon the white colour, or upon green branches, as tokens of a peaceable disposition, and that with these in their hands they confidently rely on a stranger's placability. Perhaps this general agreement had its origin anterior to the universal dispersion of the human species; this will seem the more probable when it is considered, that neither the white colour, nor the green boughs of a tree, have any intrinsic character, to which the idea of amity is naturally and necessarily referred. Our boat being nearest to these natives, Captain Cook desired the officer in it to land, and accept their proferred friendship, whilst he meant to take the advantage of the tide to get as high up in the river as possible. Whether the officer did not understand Captain Cook's meaning, or whether he was too deeply engaged with duck shooting, we did not land; and the poor people, to all appearance apprehensive of the worst consequences, from a set of men who rejected their proposals of peace, fled into the woods with the utmost precipitation. The Captain in the mean while rowed about half a mile higher, where his boat was stopped by the violence of the stream, and by several huge stones which lay across the bed of the river, and redoubled the rapidity of the water. Here, however, he found a new species of ducks, the fifth we had observed in Dusky Bay. Its size was something less than that of a teal, the colour of a shining greenish black above, and a dark sooty grey below; it had a purple cast on the head, a lead-coloured bill and feet, a golden eye, and a white bar in the lesser quill feathers. On Captain Cook's return to us, we perceived two men in the woods along the bank opposite to that where we had seen the friendly family. The captain endeavoured to form an acquaintance with them, but when the boat came close along shore, they always retired into the woods, which were so thick, that they not only covered them from our sight, but also made it unadviseable to follow them. The ebbing tide obliged us to retire out of this river to the place where we had spent the night; and, after breakfasting there, we embarked in order to set out on our return to the Resolution. However, when we had scarce put off, we perceived the two natives, who had walked across the woods to an open spot, from whence they halloo'd to us. The captain immediately ordered both the boats to row up to them, and coming into shallow water, he got out unarmed, attended by two men, and waded to the shore, with a sheet of white paper in his hand. The two natives stood about one hundred yards from the water's side, each of them with a long spear in his hand. When the captain advanced with his two men they retired; he then proceeded alone, but could not prevail on them to lay aside their spears. At last one of them stuck his spear in the ground, and taking a bunch of grass in his hand met the captain, and giving him one end of the grass to hold while he kept the other, he pronounced a solemn speech in a loud tone of voice, during a minute or two, in which he made several pauses, perhaps waiting for a reply. As soon as this ceremony was over, they saluted each other, and the New Zeelander took a new garment from his own shoulders and presented it to the captain, for which he received a hatchet in return. Peace and friendship being thus firmly established, the other man likewise came up to salute the captain, and was presented with a hatchet; and several of us came ashore to them, at which they were not the least alarmed, but received every new comer with great cordiality. We now perceived several other natives, probably women, on the skirts of the wood, and the two men earnestly intreated us to go up to their habitations, intimating by signs, that they would give us something to eat there; but the tide and other circumstances did not permit us to accept their invitation. When we had taken leave of them, the two men followed us to our boats, where they desired us to remove the muskets which lay across the stern, and having complied with their request, they came along-side, and assisted us to launch the boats, which were aground on account of the ebb. We found however that it was necessary to have an eye upon them, because they seemed to covet the possession of every thing they saw or could lay hands on, except the muskets, which they would not touch, being taught to respect them as instruments of death, on account of the havock they had seen us make among the wild-fowl. We observed no canoes among them, and their only means of transporting themselves across the river, was on a few logs of wood connected together into a kind of raft, which was perfectly sufficient for that purpose. Fish and wild-fowl were in such plenty here, that they can have little occasion to roam to any distance in quest of them, as their numbers did not seem to exceed three families; and the whole bay being almost entirely destitute of inhabitants, one single family more excepted, they need not be apprehensive of disturbance from bad neighbours. The features of these men were rather wild, but not ill-favoured; their complexion resembled that of the family on Indian Island, of a mahogany brown; their hair bushy, and their beards frizled and black. They were of a middling stature and stout, but their legs and thighs very slender, and their knees too much swelled in proportion. Their dress and general behaviour seemed to be the same as that of the other family before mentioned. The courage of this people has something singular in it, for it should seem, that in spight of their inferiority of force, they cannot brook the thought of hiding themselves, at least not till they have made an attempt to establish an intercourse, or prove the principles of the strangers who approach them. It would have been impossible for us, among the numerous islands and harbours, and in the mazy forests upon them, to have found out the family which we saw on the Indian Island, if they had not discovered themselves, and thus made the first advances. We might also have departed from the cove without knowing that it was inhabited, if the natives had not shouted at the discharge of our muskets. In both cases a certain openness and honesty, appear strongly to mark their character; for if it had the least admixture of treachery, they would have tried to fall upon us unawares, as they could not have failed of meeting with frequent opportunities of cutting off our numerous small parties, when dispersed in different parts of the woods.

It was noon when we left these two men, and proceeded down on the north side of the long arm, of which captain Cook took the bearings in his way. The night overtook us before he had completed this survey; so that we were forced to leave another arm unexplored, and to hasten to the vessel, which we reached about eight o'clock at night. We were told that the native with his companion, the young woman, had staid on board till noon, after our departure; and having been informed, that we had left some presents in his double canoe in Cascade Cove, he employed some of his people to bring them away from thence, after which the whole family remained in the neighbourhood of the ship till this morning. They then took their departure, and we never saw them again, which was the more extraordinary, as they never went away empty handed from us, but had at different times received nine or ten hatchets, and four times that number of large spike nails, besides other articles. As far as these things may be counted riches among them, this man was the wealthiest in all New Zeeland, being possessed of more hatchets, than there were in the whole country besides, before the second arrival of British vessels. The thin population in this part of the island makes it probable, that the few families in it lead a nomadic or wandering life, and remove according as the season, the conveniency of fishing, and other circumstances render it necessary. We were therefore of opinion, that our friendly family had only removed upon this principle; but we were likewise told that before they went away, the man had made signs of going to kill men, and employing the hatchet as an offensive weapon. If this circumstance was rightly understood, we cannot sufficiently wonder that a family so secluded from all the rest of the world, in a spacious bay, where they have a superfluity of food, and of all the necessaries of life, the fewness of their wants considered, should still have a thought of warring with their fellow-creatures, when they might live peaceably and happily in their retirement. The pleasing hope of facilitating the œconomical operations of these people; and of encouraging some degree of agriculture among them, by presenting them with useful tools, was defeated by this determination. The state of barbarism, in which the New Zeelanders may justly be said to live, and which generally hearkens to no other voice than that of the strongest, might make them more liable than any other nation to resolve upon the destruction of their fellow-citizens, as soon as an opportunity offered; and their innate and savage valour may probably assist them to put such projects in execution. On this occasion, I cannot omit mentioning a remarkable instance of courage which characterised the old man who had now left us; our officers having fired several musquets in his presence, he became desirous of discharging one himself, which they easily granted; the young woman, supposed to be his daughter, fell prostrate on the ground before him, and entreated him, with the strongest marks of fear, to desist from his undertaking; but he was not to be diverted from his purpose, and fired the musquet with the greatest resolution, repeating it afterwards three or four times. This warlike disposition, together with the irascible temper of the whole nation, that cannot brook the least injury, is probably the cause which has induced this single family, and the few in the long inlet we had visited, to separate from the rest of their fellow-creatures. All the disputes of savage people commonly terminate in the destruction of one of their parties, unless they evade it by a well-timed flight: this may have been the case of the inhabitants of Dusky Bay, and admitting it, their design of going to fight, is no more than a project of being revenged on their foes and oppressors.

Friday 23.On the 23d, early in the morning, several officers, accompanied by Dr. Sparrman, went to Cascade Cove, in order to ascend one of the highest mountains in the bay, which was situated on one side of it. About two o'clock they reached the summit, which they made known to us by lighting a great fire there. We should have accompanied them on this excursion, but a violent flux attended with gripes confined us on board. It was owing to the carelessness of our cook, who had suffered our copper kitchen-furniture to become full of verdigrise. In the evening however, we went to meet our travellers in Cascade Cove, and after searching the woods some time for plants and birds, we brought them on board with us. At night the fire had spread in a bright circular garland all round the summit of the mountain, and made a very elegant illumination in honour of St. George's day. Our party related that they had a prospect of the whole bay, and of the sea beyond the mountains to the south, S.W. and W.N.W. for more than twenty leagues all round them, the weather being remarkably fine and clear. The inland mountains were very barren, and consisted of huge broken and craggy masses, all covered with snow on their summits; the top of that on which they stood, afforded several low shrubs and various alpine plants, which we had seen no where else. A little lower down they saw a taller shrubbery; below this a space covered with dry or dead trees, and next to those the living woods began, which increased in size as they descended. The ascent had been fatiguing enough, on account of the intricacy of briars and climbers, but the descent also was dangerous, because of many precipices which they met on their way, and along most of which they contrived to slide down by the help of trees and bushes. At a considerable height they met with three or four trees, which they took for palms, and of which they cut down one, and used its middlemost shoot for their refreshment. These trees, however, were not the true cabbage-palms, nor did they belong at all to the class of palms, which are generally confined to more temperate climates. They were properly speaking, a new species of dragon-trees, with broad leaves, (dracæna australis) of which the central shoot when quite tender, tastes something like an almond's kernel, with a little of the flavour of cabbage. We afterwards observed more of them in other parts of this bay.

The next morning I accompanied captain Cook to the cove on the N.W. part of the bay, which from the transaction of this day, received the name of Goose Cove. We had five tame geese left, of those which we had taken on board at the Cape of Good Hope, and these we intended to leave in New Zeeland to breed, and run wild. This cove was looked upon as the most convenient place for that purpose, since there were no inhabitants to disturb them, and because it afforded an abundance of proper food. We set them on shore, and they immediately ran to feed in the mud, at the head of the cove where we left them, pronouncing over them the crescite & multipliciamini, for the benefit of future generations of navigators and New Zeelanders. There can be little doubt indeed, but that they will succeed in this secluded spot, and in time spread over the whole country, answerable to our original intention. The rest of this day was spent in shooting, and among the different birds killed was a white heron (ardea alba), common to Europe.

The fair weather, which had lasted eight days successively, was entirely at an end on the 25th,Sunday 5. when the rain set in again towards evening, and continued till the next day at noon.Monday 26. We had reason to believe such a continuance of dry weather very uncommon in Dusky Bay, and particularly at this season, because we never experienced above two fair days one after another, either before or after this week. We had, however, improved this opportunity to complete our wood and water, and put the sloop in condition to go out to sea, and having taken on board all our men, we cast off our bridge, and removed out of the creek, into the middle of our cove, ready to sail with the first fair wind. The superiority of a state of civilization over that of barbarism could not be more clearly stated, than by the alterations and improvements we had made in this place. In the course of a few days, a small part of us had cleared away the woods from a surface of more than an acre, which fifty New Zeelanders, with their tools of stone, could not have performed in three months. This spot, where immense numbers of plants left to themselves lived and decayed by turns, in one confused inanimated heap; this spot, we had converted into an active scene, where a hundred and twenty men pursued various branches of employment with unremitted ardour:

 

Quales apes æstate nova per florea rura
Exercet sub sole labor.

Virgil.

 

Such was their toil, and such their busy pains,
As exercise the bees in flowery plains,
When winter past and summer scarce begun,
Invites them forth to labour in the sun.

Dryden.

 

We felled tall timber-trees, which, but for ourselves, had crumbled to dust with age; our sawyers cut them into planks, or we split them into billets for fuel. By the side of a murmuring rivulet, whose passage into the sea we facilitated, a long range of casks, which had been prepared by our coopers for that purpose, stood ready to be filled with water. Here ascended the steam of a large cauldron, in which we brewed, from neglected indigenous plants, a salutary and palatable potion, for the use of our labourers. In the offing, some of our crew appeared providing a meal of delicious fish for the refreshment of their fellows. Our caulkers and riggers were stationed on the sides and masts of the vessel, and their occupations gave life to the scene, and struck the ear with various noises, whilst the anvil on the hill resounded with the strokes of the weighty hammer. Already the polite arts began to flourish in this new settlement; the various tribes of animals and vegetables, which dwelt in the unfrequented woods, were imitated by an artist in his noviciate; and the romantic prospects of this shaggy country, lived on the canvas in the glowing tints of nature, who was amazed to see herself so closely copied. Nor had science disdained to visit us in this solitary spot: an observatory arose in the centre of our works, filled with the most accurate instruments, where the attentive eye of the astronomer contemplated the motions of the celestial bodies. The plants which clothed the ground, and the wonders of the animal creation, both in the forests and the seas, likewise attracted the notice of philosophers, whose time was devoted to mark their differences and uses. In a word, all around us we perceived the rise of arts, and the dawn of science, in a country which had hitherto lain plunged in one long night of ignorance and barbarism! But this pleasing picture of improvement was not to last, and like a meteor, vanished as suddenly as it was formed. We re-imbarked all our instruments and utensils, and left no other vestiges of our residence, than a piece of ground, from whence we had cleared the wood. We sowed indeed a quantity of European garden seeds of the best kinds; but it is obvious that the shoots of the surrounding weeds will shortly stifle every salutary and useful plant, and that in a few years our abode no longer discernible, must return to its original chaotic fate.

A new passage out to sea, to the northward, was discovered on the 27th; and it being more convenient for our purpose, than that by which we entered, we weighed on the 29thThursday 29. in the afternoon, in order to stand up the bay towards it. However, the wind falling calm, we were obliged to come to again in 43 fathom, under the north side of an island which we named Long Island, about two leagues from our cove. At nine the next morningFriday 30. we proceeded with a light breeze at west, which with all our boats towing ahead, was scarce sufficient to stem the current; for after struggling till six in the evening, we had gained no more than five miles, and anchored under the same island, only a hundred yards from the shore.

May.
Saturday 1.At daylight the next morning we attempted to work to windward, having a gentle air down the bay, but the breeze dying away, we lost ground, and came with the stern so close to the shore, that our ensign-staff was entangled in the branches of trees, on a perpendicular rock, close to which we could find no bottom. We were towed off without receiving any damage, and dropt an anchor below the place we set out from, in a little cove on the north side of Long Island. Here we found two huts, and two fireplaces, which seemed to prove that the place had lately been inhabited. During our stay here, we discovered several new birds and fish; and indeed caught some fish which are common to Europe, viz. the horse-mackarel, the greater dog-fish, and the smooth hound^[12]. The captain was taken ill of a fever and violent pain in the groin, which terminated in a rheumatic swelling of the right foot, contracted probably by wading too frequently in the water, and sitting too long in the boat after it, without changing his cloaths.

Tuesday 4.We were detained in this cove by calms, attended with continual rains, till the 4th in the afternoon, when, assisted by a light breeze at S.W. we entered the reach or passage leading out to sea. The breeze coming a-head just at that time obliged us to anchor again under the east point of the entrance, before a sandy beach. These little delays gave us opportunities of examining the shores, from whence we never sailed to bring on board new acquisitions to the vegetable and animal system. During night we had heavy squalls of wind, attended with rain, hail, and snow, and some loud thunder claps. Day-lightWednesday 5. exhibited to our view all the tops of the hills round us covered with snow. At two o'clock in the afternoon a light breeze sprung up at S.S.W. which carried us down the passage, though not without the help of our boats, to the last point near the opening into the sea, where we anchored at eight in the evening. The shores on both sides of the passage were steeper than any we had seen before, and formed various wild landscapes, ornamented with numerous little cascades, and many dragon-trees (dracæna.)

Thursday 6.The captain being confined to the cabin by his rheumatism, sent an officer, accompanied by my father and myself, to explore the southernmost arm, which ran up eastward from our new passage into the interior country. During our absence he ordered the Resolution to be well cleaned and aired with fires between decks, a precaution which ought never to be neglected in a moist and raw climate.

We rowed up this new inlet, were delighted with many cascades on both sides of it, and found a number of good anchoring places, with plenty of fish and wild-fowl. However, the woods consisted chiefly of shrubberies, and began to look very bare, the leaves being mostly shed, and what remained looking faded of a pale yellow colour. These strong marks of approaching winter seemed to be peculiar to this part of the bay, and it is probable that the adjacent high mountains, all which were now crowned with snow, caused their premature appearance. We put into a little cove about two o'clock to broil a few fishes for our dinner, and then went on till it was dark, taking up our night's quarters on a little beach, almost at the head of the inlet. Here we made a fire, but slept very little on account of the cold of the night and the hardness of our pillows. The next morningFriday 7. we saw a cove, with a little flat land, to the north of us, which formed the end of this spacious inlet or arm, about eight miles from its entrance. Here we amused ourselves with shooting for some time, and then set out to return towards the Resolution; but the fair weather which had favoured us hitherto, was now succeeded by a storm at N.W, which blew in hard squalls, attended with violent showers of rain. We made shift to row down the arm into the entrance which led to the sloop, and there sharing the remains of a bottle of rum among our boats crew, by way of encouragement, we entered the hollow sea in the passage. The violence of the wind, and the height of the short waves were such, that in spight of our utmost efforts we were thrown above half a mile to leeward in a few minutes, and narrowly escaped being swamped. With the greatest difficulty we regained the inlet out of which we had passed, and about two o'clock in the afternoon we put into a small snug cove, at its north entrance. After securing our boat in the best manner possible, we climbed on a bleak hill, where we made a fire on a narrow rock, and attempted to broil some fishes; but though we were soaked with rain, and severely cut by the wind, yet it was impossible for us to keep near our fire, of which the flames were continually whirled about in a vortex by the storm, so that we were forced to change our places every moment, in order to escape being scorched or burnt. The storm now encreased to such a violence, that we could hardly stand on this barren spot; and therefore it was resolved, for our own and the boat's greater safety, to cross the cove, and take up our night's quarters in the woods immediately under the lee of the high mountains. Every one of us seized a firebrand and stepped into the boat, where we made a formidable appearance, as if we were bound on some desperate expedition. To our great disappointment the woods were almost worse than the rock we had left, being so wet that it was with the utmost difficulty our fire would burn; we had no shelter from the heavy rains which came down upon us in double portions from the leaves; and the wind not allowing the smoke to ascend, we were almost stifled with it. Here we lay down on the moist ground, wrapped in wet cloaks thoroughly soaked and cold, supperless, and tormented with rheumatic pains; and, notwithstanding all these inconveniencies, fell asleep for a few moments, being entirely exhausted with fatigue. But about two o'clock we were roused by a loud thunder-clap. The storm was now at its height, and blew a perfect hurricane. The roar of the waves at a distance was tremendous, and only overcome at times by the agitation of the forests, and the crashing fall of huge timber-trees around us. We went to look after our boat, and at that instant a dreadful flash of lightning illuminated the whole arm of the sea; we saw the billows foaming, and furiously rolled above each other in livid mountains; in a word, it seemed as if all nature was hastening to a general catastrophe.

 

Non han piu gli elementi ordine o segno,
S'odono orrendi tuoni, ognor piu cresce
De' fieri venti il furibondo sdegno.
Increspa, e inlividisce il mar la faccia,
E s'alza contra il ciel che lo minaccia.

Tassoni.

 

The lightning was instantaneously followed by the most astonishing explosion we had ever heard, reverberated from the broken rocks around us; and our hearts sunk with apprehension lest the ship might be destroyed by the tempest or its concomitant ætherial fires, and ourselves left to perish in an unfrequented part of the world. In this dismal situation we lingered out the night, which seemed the longest we had ever known. Saturday 8.At last about six in the morning the violence of the storm abated, we embarked about day break, and reached the vessel soon after, which had been obliged to strike yards and top-masts. The inlet we had now surveyed, received the name of Wet Jacket Arm, from the dreadful night we passed in it. There now remained only one inlet to the northward of this unexplored; and captain Cook, finding himself recovered, set out, immediately after our return, to examine it. He proceeded up about ten miles, and saw nearly the end of this arm, which like the other, contains good harbours and plenty of fresh water, wood, fish, and wild fowl. On his return his people had the wind and heavy rains to struggle with, and all returned on board thoroughly wet, at nine in the evening. The next morningSunday 9. the sky being clear, but the wind unfavourable for going out to sea, we accompanied captain Cook once more on a shooting party up the new arm, where we spent the whole day, and met with tolerable good sport; but another party, who had taken a different route, came back almost empty-handed.

The wind continuing westerly and blowing very hard, the captain did not think it adviseable to put to sea; but it falling moderate in the afternoon, he made an excursion to an island in the entrance, on which were abundance of seals. He and his party killed ten of them, of which they took five on board, leaving the rest behind them.

Tuesday 11.The next morning it was pretty clear, the air very cold and sharp, and all the hills covered with snow almost half way down to the water, so that the winter was now fairly set in. A boat was sent to fetch off the seals killed last night, which had been left behind; and in the mean time we weighed and sailed from Dusky Bay, getting clear of the land at noon.

The stay which we had made here of six weeks, and four days, together with the abundance of fresh provisions which we enjoyed, and the constant exercise we used, had contributed to recover all those who had been ill of the scurvy at our arrival, and given new strength to the rest. However it is much to be doubted, whether we should have preserved our health so well as we did, without the use of the fermented liquor or spruce-beer which we brewed. The climate of Dusky Bay, is I must own, its greatest inconvenience, and can never be supposed a healthy one. During the whole of our stay, we had only one week of continued fair weather, all the rest of the time the rain predominated. But perhaps the climate was less noxious to Englishmen than to any other nation, because it is analagous to their own. Another inconvenience in Dusky Bay is the want of celery, scurvy-grass, and other antiscorbutics, which may be found in great plenty at Queen Charlotte's sound, and many parts in New Zeeland. The intricate forests which clothe the ground, the prodigious steepness of the hills, which on that account are almost incapable of cultivation, and the virulent bite of sand-flies, which causes ulcers like the small-pox, are certainly disagreeable circumstances; but of small consequence to those who only put in here for refreshment, when compared to the former. With all its defects, Dusky Bay is one of the finest places in New Zeeland, for a set of people to touch at in our situation, exhausted with labours and hardships of long continuance, and deprived of the sight of land above four months. Nothing is more easy than to sail into it, there being no danger except what is visible above water, and so many harbours and coves existing in every part of it, that it is impossible to miss a convenient anchoring-place, where wood, water, fish, and wild-fowl are to be found in plenty.

 

1. See Hawkesworth's compilation, vol. III. p. 424.
2. This useful plant deserves a description for the benefit of the navigator; but, notwithstanding all our researches, we could never find it either in flower or in fruit, owing to the unfavourable seasons in which we visited New-Zeeland.
3. We shall always make use of this word to signify an Indian embarkation, unless we mean to describe or specify it more particularly.
4. See Hawkesworth's compilation, vol. III. p. 443.
5. See Hawkesworth's Compilation, vol. III. p. 443.
6. See Hawkesworth's Compilation.
7. Boat-cloaks are commonly of prodigious dimensions and great width, so that the whole body may be wrapped into them several times.
8. He was particularly versed in the language of the isle of O-Taheitee; and there is only a difference of dialect between it and the language of New Zeeland.
9. Phoca ursina Linn. Ursine Seal, Pennant. Syn. Quad. 271.
10. See page 91.
11. See Hawkesworth, vol. II. p. 286.
12. Scomber trachurus, squalus canis, & sq. mustelus, Linn.