Narrative of the Voyages Round the World, Performed by Captain James Cook Part 13

In the evening of the 12th, Captain Cook stood out of Plymouth Sound, and pursued his course down the Channel. It was very early that he began his judicious operations for preserving the health of his crew: for, on the 17th, the ship was smoked between the decks with gunpowder, and the spare sails were well aired. On the 30th, the moon being totally eclipsed, the captain observed it with a night telescope. He had not, on this occasion, an opportunity of making many observations. The reason was, that the moon was hidden behind the clouds the greater part of the time; and this was particularly the case, when the beginning and the end of total darkness, and the end of the eclipse, happened.

It being found, that there was not hay and corn sufficient for the subsistence of the stock of animals on board, till the arrival of our people at the Cape of Good Hope, Captain Cook determined to touch at Teneriffe. This island he thought better adapted to the purposes of procuring these articles, and other refreshments, than Madeira. On the 1st of August, he anch.o.r.ed in the road of Santa Cruz, and immediately dispatched an officer to the governor, who, with the utmost politeness, granted everything which our commander requested.

Were a judgment to be formed from the appearance of the country in the neighbourhood of Santa Cruz, it might be concluded that Teneriffe is so barren a spot, as to be insufficient for the maintenance even of its own inhabitants. It was proved, however, by the ample supplies which our navigators received, that the islanders had enough to spare for visitors. The necessary articles of refreshment were procured at such moderate prices, as to confirm Captain Cook in his opinion, that Teneriffe is a more eligible place than Madeira, for ships to touch at, which are bound on long voyages. Indeed, the wine of the latter island is far superior to that of the former; but then it can only be purchased by a sum of money proportionably larger.

During the short stay which the captain made at Teneriffe, he continued with great a.s.siduity his astronomical observations; and Mr.

Anderson has not a little contributed to the farther knowledge of the country, by his remarks on its general state, its natural appearances, its productions, and its inhabitants. He learned, from a sensible and well informed gentleman, who resided in the island, that a shrub is common there, which agrees exactly with the description given by Tournefort and Linnaeus, of the _tea shrub_, as growing in China and j.a.pan. It is reckoned a weed, and every year is rooted out in large quant.i.ties from the vineyards. The Spaniards, however, sometimes use it as tea, and ascribe to it all the qualities of that which is imported from China. They give it also the name of tea, and say that it was found in the country when the islands were first discovered.

Another botanical curiosity is called the _impregnated lemon_; which is a perfect and distinct lemon enclosed within another, and differing from the outer one only in being a little more globular.

The air and climate of Teneriffe are, in general, remarkably healthful, and particularly adapted to give relief in pulmonary complaints. This the gentleman before mentioned endeavoured to account for, from its being always in a person's power to procure a different temperature of the air, by residing at different heights in the island. He expressed, therefore, his surprise that the physicians of England should never have thought of sending their consumptive patients to Teneriffe, instead of Nice or Lisbon.

Although it is not understood that there is any great similarity between the manners of the English and those of the Spaniards, it was observable, that the difference between them was very little perceived by Omai. He only said, that the Spaniards did not appear to be so friendly as the English; and that, in their persons, they approached to some resemblance of his own countrymen.

On the 4th, Captain Cook sailed from Teneriffe, and proceeded on his voyage. Such was his attention, both to the discipline and the health of his company, that twice in the s.p.a.ce of five days, he exercised them at great guns and small arms, and cleared and smoked the ship below decks. On the evening of the 10th, when the Resolution was at a small distance from the island of Bonavista, she ran so close upon a number of sunken rocks, that she did but just weather the breakers.

The situation of our voyagers, for a few minutes, was very alarming.

In this situation the captain, with the intrepid coolness which distinguished his character, did not choose to sound, as that, without any possibility of lessening, might have heightened the danger.

While our commander was near the Cape de Verde Islands, he had an opportunity of correcting an a.s.sertion of Mr. Nicholson with regard to the manner of sailing by those islands, which, if implicitly trusted to, might prove of dangerous consequence. On the 13th, our navigators arrived before Port Praya, in the Island of St. Jago; but as the Discovery was not there, and little water had been expended in the pa.s.sage from Teneriffe, Captain Cook did not think proper to go in; but stood to the southward.

In the course of the voyage, between the lat.i.tudes of 12 and 7 north, the weather was generally dark and gloomy. The rains were frequent, and accompanied with that close and sultry weather, which too often brings on sickness in this pa.s.sage. At such a time, the worst consequences are to be apprehended: and commanders of ships cannot be too much upon their guard. It is necessary for them to purify the air between decks with fire and smoke, and to oblige their people to dry their clothes at every opportunity. The constant observance of these precautions on board the Resolution was attended with such success, that the captain had now fewer sick men than on either of his former voyages. This was the more remarkable, as, in consequence of the seams of the vessel having opened so wide, as to admit the rain when it fell, there was scarcely a man who could lie dry in his bed; and the officers in the gun-room were all driven out of their cabins by the water that came through the sides. When settled weather returned, the caulkers were employed in repairing these defects, by caulking the decks and inside weather-works of the ship; for the humanity of our commander would not trust the workmen over the sides, while the Resolution was at sea.

On the 1st of September, our navigators crossed the equator. While, on the 8th, Captain Cook was near the eastern coast of Brazil, he was at considerable pains to settle its longitude, which, till some better astronomical observations are made on sh.o.r.e in that country, he concluded to be thirty-five degrees and a half, or thirty-six degrees west, at most.

As our people proceeded on their voyage, they frequently saw, in the night, those luminous marine animals, which have formerly been mentioned and described. Some of them appeared to be considerably larger than any which the captain had met with before; and sometimes they were so numerous, that hundreds of them were visible at the same moment.

On the 18th of October, the Resolution came to an anchor in Table Bay, at the Cape of Good Hope; and the usual compliments having been paid to Baron Plettenberg the governor, Captain Cook immediately applied himself to his customary operations. Nothing remarkable occurred till the evening of the 31st, when a tempest arose from the south-east, which lasted three days, and which was so violent that the Resolution was the only ship in the bay that rode out the gale without dragging her anchors. The effects of the storm were sensibly felt by our people on sh.o.r.e; for their tents and observatory were torn to pieces, and their astronomical quadrant narrowly escaped irreparable damage. On the 3rd of November, the tempest ceased, and the next day the English were enabled to resume their different employments.

It was not till the 10th of the month, that Captain Cook had the satisfaction of seeing the Discovery arrive in the bay, and effect her junction with the Resolution. She had sailed from England on the 1st of August, and would have reached the Cape of Good Hope a week sooner, if she had not been driven from the coast by the late storm. Every a.s.sistance was immediately given to put her into a proper condition for proceeding on the voyage.

While the necessary preparations for the future navigation was completing, a disaster happened with regard to the cattle which had been carried out in the Resolution. They had been conveyed on sh.o.r.e for the purpose of grazing. The bull, and two cows, with their calves, had been sent to graze along with some other cattle: but Captain Cook was advised to keep the sheep, which were sixteen in number, close to the tents, where they were penned up every evening. During the night preceding the 14th, some dogs having gotten in among them, forced them out of the pen, killed four, and dispersed the rest. Six of them were recovered the next day; but the two rams and two of the finest ewes in the whole flock, were amongst those which were missing. Baron Plettenberg being at this time in the country, our commander applied to Mr. Hemmy, the lieutenant-governor, and to the fiscal, for redress; and both these gentlemen promised to use their endeavours for the recovery of the lost sheep. It is the boast of the Dutch, that the police at the Cape is so carefully executed, that it is scarcely possible for a slave, with all his cunning and knowledge of the country, to effectuate his escape. Nevertheless, Captain Cook's sheep evaded all the vigilance of the fiscal's officers and people. At length, after much trouble and expense, by employing some of the meanest and lowest scoundrels in the place, he recovered all but the two ewes, of which he never could hear the least tidings. The character given of the fellows to whom the captain was obliged to have recourse, by the person who recommended their being applied to, was, that for a ducatoon they would cut their master's throat, burn the house over his head, and bury him and the whole family in the ashes.

During the stay of our voyagers at the Cape, some of the officers, accompanied by Mr. Anderson, made a short excursion into the neighbouring country. This gentleman, as usual, was very diligent in recording every thing which appeared to him worthy of observation. His remarks, however, in the present case, will be deemed of little consequence, compared with the full, accurate, and curious account of the Cape of Good Hope, with which Dr. Sparrman hath lately favoured the literary world.

With respect to Captain Cook, besides the unavoidable care which lay upon him, in providing his ships with whatever was requisite for the commodious and successful prosecution of the voyage, his attention was eminently directed to scientific objects. He was anxious to ascertain the currents, the variations of the compa.s.s, and the lat.i.tude and longitude of the places to which he came. The observations which he collected, and recorded in his journal, while he was at the Cape of Good Hope, will be esteemed of the greatest importance by judicious navigators.

After the disaster which had happened to the sheep, it may well be supposed that our commander did not long trust on sh.o.r.e those which remained. Accordingly, he gave orders to have them, and the other cattle, conveyed on board as fast as possible. He made an addition, also, to the original stock, by the purchase of two young bulls, two heifers, two young stallions, two mares, two rams, several ewes and goats, and some rabbits and poultry. All these animals were intended for New Zealand. Otaheite, and the neighbouring islands; and, indeed, for any other places in the course of the voyage, where the leaving of any of them might be of service to posterity.

In the supplies which were provided at the Cape, Captain Cook paid a particular regard to the nature and extent of his undertaking. As it was impossible to tell when or where he might meet with a place, which could so amply contribute to his necessities, he thought proper to lay in such a store of provisions for both ships, as would be sufficient to last them for two years and upwards.

Our commander having given a copy of his instructions to Captain Clerke, and an order directing him how to proceed in case of a separation, weighed from Table Bay on the 30th of November, though it was not till the 3rd of December that he got clear of the land. On the 6th the ships pa.s.sed through several spots of water, nearly of a red colour. When some of this was taken up, it was found to contain a large quant.i.ty of small animals, of a reddish hue, and which the microscope discovered to resemble a cray-fish. As our navigators pursued their course to the south-east, a very strong gale, which they had from the westward, was followed by a mountainous sea, in consequence of which the Resolution rolled and tumbled so much, that the cattle on board were preserved with the utmost difficulty. Soon after, several of the goats, especially the males, together with some sheep, died, notwithstanding, all the care to prevent it, that was exercised by our people. This misfortune was chiefly owing to the coldness of the weather, which now began to be felt in the most sensible manner.

On the 12th, land was seen, which, upon a nearer approach, was found to consist of two islands. That which lies most to the south, and is the largest, was judged by Captain Cook to be about fifteen leagues in circuit. The northerly one is about nine leagues in circuit; and the two islands are at the distance of five leagues from each other. As the ships pa.s.sed through the channel between them, our voyagers could not discover with the a.s.sistance of their best gla.s.ses, either tree or shrub on either of them. They seemed to have a rocky and bold sh.o.r.e, and their surface is for the most part composed of barren mountains, the summits and sides of which were covered with snow. These two islands, together with four others which lie from nine to twelve degrees of longitude more to the east, and nearly in the same lat.i.tude, had been discovered by Captains Marion du Fresne and Crozet, French navigators, in January, 1772, on their pa.s.sage, in two ships from the Cape of Good Hope to the Philippine Islands. As no names had been a.s.signed to them in a chart of the Southern Ocean, which Captain Crozet communicated to Captain Cook in 1775, our commander distinguished the two larger ones by calling them Prince Edward's Islands, after his majesty's fourth son. To the other four, with a view of commemorating the discoverers, he gave the name of Marion's and Crozet's Islands.

Though it was now the middle of summer in this hemisphere, the weather was not less severe than what is generally met with in England in the very depth of winter. Instead however, of being discouraged by this circ.u.mstance, the captain shaped his course in such a manner, as to pa.s.s to the southward of Marion's and Crozet's Islands, that he might get into the lat.i.tude of land which had been discovered by M. de Kerguelen, another French navigator. It was part of our commander's instructions to examine whether a good harbour might not here be found.

As our voyagers, on the 24th, were steering to the eastward, a fog clearing up a little, which had involved them for some time, and which had rendered their navigation both tedious and dangerous, land was seen, bearing south-south-east. Upon a nearer approach, it was found to be an island of considerable height, and about three leagues in circuit. Another island, of the same magnitude, was soon after discovered, and in a short s.p.a.ce a third, besides some smaller ones.

At times, as the fog broke away, there was the appearance of land over the small islands, and Captain Cook entertained thoughts of steering for it, by running in between them. But, on drawing nearer, he found that, so long as the weather continued foggy this would be a perilous attempt. For if there should be no pa.s.sage, or if our people should meet with any sudden danger, there was such a prodigious sea, breaking on all the sh.o.r.es in a frightful surf, that it would have been impossible for the vessels to be gotten off. At the same time, the captain saw another island; and as he did not know how many more might succeed, he judged it prudent, in order to avoid getting entangled among unknown lands in a thick fog, to wait for clearer weather.

The island last mentioned is a high round rock, which was named Bligh's Cap. Our commander had received some very slight information concerning it at Teneriffe, and his sagacity in tracing it was such, as immediately led him to determine, that it was the same that M. de Kerguelen had called the Isle of Rendezvous. His reason for giving it that name is not very apparent; for nothing can rendezvous upon it but fowls of the air, it being certainly inaccessible to every other animal. The weather beginning to clear up, Captain Cook steered in for the land, of which a faint view had been obtained in the morning. This was Kerguelen's land. No sooner had our navigators gotten off Cape Francois, then they observed the coast to the southward, to be much indented by projecting points and bays; from which circ.u.mstance they were sure of finding a good harbour. Accordingly, such a harbour was speedily discovered, in which the ships came to an anchor on the 25th, being Christmas-day. Upon landing, our commander found the sh.o.r.e almost entirely covered with penguins and other birds, and with seals.

The latter, which were not numerous, having been unaccustomed to visitors, were so insensible of fear, that as many as were wanted for the purpose of making use of their fat or blubber, were killed without difficulty. Fresh water was so plentiful, that every gully afforded a large stream; but not a single tree or shrub, or the least sign of it, could be met with, and but very little herbage of any sort. Before Captain Cook returned to his ship, he ascended the first ridge of rocks, that rise in a kind of amphitheatre, above one another, in hopes of obtaining a view of the country; in which, however, he was disappointed: for, previously to his reaching the top, there came on so thick a fog, that he could scarcely find his way down again. In the evening, the seine was hauled at the head of the harbour, but only half a dozen small fish were caught. As no better success attended a trial which was made the next day with hook and line, the only resource for fresh provision was in birds, the store of which was inexhaustible.

The people having wrought hard for two days, and nearly completed their water the captain allowed them the 27th, as a day of rest, to celebrate Christmas. Many of them, in consequence of this indulgence, went on sh.o.r.e, and made excursions, in different directions, into the country which they found barren and desolate in the highest degree.

One of them in his ramble, discovered, and brought to our commander, in the evening, a quart bottle, fastened with some wire to a projecting rock on the north side of the harbour. This bottle contained a piece of parchment, on which was written the following inscription:

_Ludovico XV. Galliarum rege et d. de Boynes regi a Secretis ad Res maritimas annis 1772 et 1773._

It was clear, from this inscription, that our English navigators were not the first who had been in the place. As a memorial of our people's having touched at the same harbour, Captain Cook wrote, as follows, on the other side of the parchment:

_Naves Resolution et Discovery de Rege Magnae Britanniae, Decembris, 1776._

He then put it again into the bottle, together with a silver twopenny piece of 1772. Having covered the mouth of the bottle with a leaden cap, he placed it, the next morning in a pile of stones, erected for the purpose, upon a little eminence on the north sh.o.r.e of the harbour, and near to the place where it was first found. In this position it cannot escape the notice of any European, whom accident or design may bring into the port. Here the captain displayed the British flag, and named the place Christmas Harbour, from our voyagers having arrived in it on that festival.

After our commander had finished the business of the inscription, he went in his boat round the harbour, to examine what the sh.o.r.e afforded. His more particular object was to look for drift-wood; but he did not find a single piece throughout the whole extent of the place. On the same day, accompanied by Mr. King, his second lieutenant, he went upon Cape Francois, with the hope, that, from this elevation, he might obtain a view of the sea-coast, and of the adjoining islands. But when he had gotten up, he found, that every distant object below him was obscured in a thick fog. The land on the same plain, or of a greater height, was sufficiently visible, and appeared naked and desolate in the highest degree; some hills to the southward excepted, which were covered with snow.

On the 29th, Captain Cook departed from Christmas Harbour, and proceeded to range along the coast, with a view of discovering its position and extent. In pursuing his course he met with several promontories and bays, together with a peninsula, all of which he has described and named, chiefly in honour of his various friends. Such was the danger of the navigation, that the ships had more than once a very narrow escape. On the same day, another harbour was discovered, in which the vessels came to an anchor for one night. Here the captain, Mr. Gore, and Mr. Bayley went on sh.o.r.e to examine the country, which they found, if possible, more barren and desolate than the land that lies about Christmas Harbour: and yet, if the least fertility were any where to be expected, it ought to have existed in this place, which is completely sheltered from the bleak and predominating southerly and westerly winds. Our commander observed, with regret, that there was neither food nor covering for cattle of any sort; and that, if he left any, they must inevitably perish.

Finding no encouragement to continue his researches, he weighed anchor and put to sea on the 30th, having given to the harbour the name of Port Palliser. On the same day, he came to a point, which proved to be the very eastern extremity of Kerguelen's Land. In a large bay, near this point, there was a prodigious quant.i.ty of sea-weed, some of which is of a most extraordinary length. It seemed to be the same kind of vegetable production that Sir Joseph Banks had formerly distinguished by the appellation of _fucus giganteus_. Although the stem is not much thicker than a man's hand, Captain Cook thought himself well warranted to say, that part of it grows to the length of sixty fathoms and upward.

The result of the examination of Kerguelen's Land was, that the quant.i.ty of lat.i.tude which it occupies doth not much exceed one degree and a quarter. Its extent, from east to west, still remains undecided.

At its first discovery, it was probably supposed to belong to a southern continent; but, in fact, it is an island, and that of no great extent. If our commander had not been unwilling to deprive M.

Kerguelen of the honour of its bearing his name, he would have been disposed, from its sterility, to call it the Island of Desolation.

It should here be mentioned, that M. de Kerguelen made two visits to the coast of this country; one in 1772 and another in 1773. With the first of these voyages Captain Cook had only a very slight acquaintance; and to the second he was totally a stranger; so that he scarcely had any opportunity of comparing his own discoveries with those of the French navigator. M. de Kerguelen was peculiarly unfortunate, in having done but little to complete what he had begun; for though he discovered a new land, he could not, in two expeditions to it, once bring his ships to an anchor upon any part of its coasts.

Captain Cook had either fewer difficulties to struggle with, or was more successful in surmounting them.

During the short time in which our voyagers lay in Christmas Harbour, Mr. Anderson lost no opportunity of searching the country in every direction. Perhaps no place, hitherto discovered, under the same parellel of lat.i.tude, affords so scanty a field for a natural historian. All that could be known in the s.p.a.ce of time allotted him, and probably all that will ever be worthy to be known, was collected by this gentleman. A verdure, which had been seen at a little distance from the sh.o.r.e, gave our people the flattering expectation of meeting with a variety of herbage: but in this they were greatly deceived. On landing, it was perceived, that the lively colour which had imposed upon them, was occasioned only by one small plant, not unlike some sorts of _saxifrage_. It grows in large spreading tufts a considerable way up the hills. The whole catalogue of plants does not exceed sixteen or eighteen, including several kinds of moss, and a beautiful species of lichen, which rises higher up from the rocks than the rest of the vegetable productions. There is not the appearance of a shrub in the whole country. Nature has been somewhat more bountiful in furnishing it with animals; though, strictly speaking, they are not inhabitants of the place, being all of the marine kind. In general, the land is only used by them for breeding, and as a resting place. Of these animals the most considerable are seals; being of that sort which is called the ursine seal. The birds, which have already been mentioned as very numerous, chiefly consist of penguins, ducks, petrels, albatrosses, s.h.a.gs, gulls, and sea swallows. Penguins, which are far superior in number to the rest are of three kinds, one of which had never been seen by any of our voyagers before. The rocks, or foundations of the hills are princ.i.p.ally composed of that dark blue and very hard stone, which seems to be one of the most universal productions of nature. Nothing was discovered that had the least appearance of ore or metal.

From this desolate coast Captain Cook took his departure on the 31st, intending, agreeably to his instructions, to touch next at New Zealand; that he might obtain a recruit of water, take in wood, and make hay for the cattle. Their number was now considerably diminished; for two young bulls, one of the heifers, two rams, and several of the goats, had died while our navigators where employed in exploring Kerguelen's Land. For some time they had fresh gales, and tolerably clear weather. But on the 3rd of January, 1777, the wind veered to the north, where it continued eight days, and was attended with so thick a fog, that the ships ran above three hundred leagues in the dark.

Occasionally the weather would clear up, and give our people a sight of the sun; but this happened very seldom, and was always of short continuance. However, amidst all the darkness produced by the fog, the vessels, though they seldom saw each other, were so fortunate, in consequence of frequently firing guns as signals, that they did not lose company. On the 12th, the northerly winds ended in a calm. This was succeeded, in a little time, by a wind from the southward, which brought on a rain that continued for twenty-four hours. At the end of the rain, the wind freshened, and veering to the west and north-west, was followed by fair and clear weather.

Nothing very remarkable occurred to our voyagers till the 24th, when they discovered the coast of Van Dieman's Land; and, on the 26th, the ships came to an anchor in Adventure Bay. Captain Cook, as soon as he had anch.o.r.ed, ordered the boats to be hoisted out; in one of which he went himself, to look for the most commodious place for obtaining the necessary supplies. Wood and water were found in abundance, and in places sufficiently convenient; but gra.s.s, which was most wanted, was scarce, and, at the same time, very coa.r.s.e. Necessity, however, obliged our people to take up with such as could be procured.

On the 28th, the English who were employed in cutting wood, were agreeably surprised with a visit from some of the natives. They consisted of eight men and a boy, who approached our voyagers not only without fear, but with the most perfect confidence and freedom. There was only a single person among them who had any thing which bore the least appearance of a weapon, and that was no more than a stick about two feet long, and pointed at one end. These people were quite naked, and wore no kind of ornaments; unless some large punctures, or ridges, raised in different parts of their bodies, either in straight or curved lines, may be considered in that light. Most of them had their hair and beards smeared with a red ointment: and the faces of some of them were painted with the same composition. Every present which Captain Cook made them they received without the least appearance of satisfaction. Of bread and elephant fish, which were offered them, they refused to taste, but shewed that they were fond of birds, as an article of food. Two pigs, which the captain had brought on sh.o.r.e, having come within their reach, they seized them by the ears, as a dog would have done, and would have carried them off immediately, apparently with no other intention than to kill them. Our commander being desirous of knowing the use of the stick which one of the Indians had in his hands, he signified, by signs, his wishes to that purpose. His intimations so far succeeded, that one of them set up a piece of wood as a mark, and threw at it at the distance of about twenty yards. There was but little reason to commend his dexterity; for, after repeated trials, he was still very wide from his object.

Omai, to convince the natives how much our weapons were superior to theirs, then fired his musket at the mark by which they were so greatly terrified, that, notwithstanding all the endeavours of the English to quiet their minds, they ran instantly into the woods.

After the retreat of the Indians, Captain Cook, judging that their fears would prevent their remaining near enough to observe what pa.s.sed, ordered the two pigs, being a boar and sow, to be carried about a mile within the head of the bay, and saw them left there, by the side of a fresh water brook. It was, at first, his benevolent intention to make an additional present to Van Dieman's Land, of a young bull and cow, together with some sheep and goats. But, upon reflection, he laid aside this design; being persuaded that the natives would destroy them, from, their incapacity of entering into his views with regard to the improvement of their country. As pigs are animals which soon become wild, and are fond of the thickest cover of the woods, there was the greater probability of their being preserved.

For the accommodation of the other cattle, an open place must have been chosen; in which situation they could not possibly have been concealed many days.

On the 29th, about twenty of the inhabitants, men and boys, joined Captain Cook and such of his people as had landed with him, without manifesting the least sign of fear or distrust. It was remarkable, that one of the Indians was conspicuously deformed; nor was he more distinguished by the hump upon his back, than by the drollery of his gestures, and the humour of his speeches, which had the appearance of being intended for the entertainment of our voyagers. Unfortunately, the language in which he spake to them was wholly unintelligible. To each of the present group the captain gave a string of beads and a medal, which they seemed to receive with some satisfaction. On iron, and iron tools, they appeared to set no value. There was reason to believe, that they were even ignorant of fish-hooks; and yet it is difficult to suppose, that a people who inhabit a sea-coast, and who were not observed to derive any part of their sustenance from the productions of the ground, should be unacquainted with some mode of catching fish. However, they were never seen to be thus employed; nor was any canoe or vessel discovered by which they could go upon the water. Though they had rejected the kind of fish which had been offered them, it was evident that sh.e.l.l fish made a part of their food.

After Captain Cook had left the sh.o.r.e, several women and children made their appearance, and were introduced to Lieutenant King by some of the men that attended them. These females (a kanguroo skin excepted, which was tied over their shoulders, and seemed to be intended to support their infants) were as naked and as black as the men, and had their bodies marked with scars in the same manner. Many of the children had fine features, and were thought to be pretty; but a less favourable report was made of the women, and especially of those who were advanced in years. Some of the gentlemen, however, belonging to the Discovery, as our commander was informed, paid their addresses and made liberal offers of presents, which were rejected with great disdain. It is certain that this gallantry was not very agreeable to the men: for an elderly man, as soon as he observed it, ordered the women to retire. The order was obeyed; but, on the part of some of the females, with the appearance of a little reluctance.

On the present occasion, Captain Cook made some proper and pertinent reflections, which I shall deliver in his own words. 'This conduct,'

says he, 'of Europeans among savages, to their women, is highly blamable; as it creates a jealousy in their men, that may be attended with consequences fatal to the success of the common enterprise, and to the whole body of adventures, without advancing the private purpose of the individual, or enabling him to gain the object of his wishes. I believe it has generally been found, amongst uncivilized people, that where the women are easy of access, the men are the first to offer them to strangers; and that, where this is not the case, neither the allurements of presents, nor the opportunity of privacy will be likely to have the desired effect. This observation, I am sure, will hold good throughout all the parts of the South Sea where I have been. Why then should men act so absurd a part, as to risk their own safety, and that of all their companions, in pursuit of a gratification, which they have no probability of obtaining?'

While our navigators were at Van Dieman's Land, they were successful in obtaining a plentiful crop of gra.s.s for their cattle, and such as was far more excellent than what they had met with at their first going on sh.o.r.e. The quant.i.ty collected was judged by the captain to be sufficient to last till his arrival in New-Zealand.

Van Dieman's Land had been visited twice before. That name had been given it by Tasman, who discovered it in 1642; from which time it had escaped all notice of European navigators, till Captain Furneaux touched at it, in 1773. It is well known that it is the southern point of New Holland, which is by far the largest island in the world; indeed, so large an island, as almost to deserve the appellation of a continent.