Thursday the 19th the Endeavour passed a remarkable head land, which Captain Cook named _Gable End Foreland_. It is distinguished by a rock, in the shape of a church spire, which is very near it. Here three canoes came up, and one Indian came on board; he received some small presents, and retired to his companions. He wore a new garment of white silky flax, with a border of black, red and white.
Many of the Indians had pieces of green-stone round their necks, by way of necklaces; they were transparent, like an emerald, and appeared, on examination, to be a species of Nephritic-stone, of which all their ornaments of this kind consisted. Mr. Banks and the other gentlemen obtained several pieces of it.
The dialect of these Indians was not so guttural as that of the others, and they spoke the most like the inhabitants of Otaheite. The physiognomy of some was agreeable, their noses being rather prominent than flat.
On the 20th they anchored in a bay, about two leagues to the north of the Foreland. The natives in canoes invited them hither, and behaved very amicably. There appeared to be two Chiefs, who came on board: they received presents of linen, which gave them much satisfaction; but they did not hold spike-nails in such estimation as the inhabitants of some of the islands. They were dressed in jackets, the one ornamented with tufts of red feathers, the other with dog’s skin. The other Indians in the canoes traded with the Endeavour’s people, without attempting any imposition; and towards the evening the Chiefs returned. The Captain, Mr. Banks, and Dr. Solander, now went on shore, and were courteously received by the inhabitants, who did not appear in numerous bodies, to avoid giving offence. They received several trifling presents, and the Captain had the pleasure to find fresh water, in the course of a tour round the bay. They remained on shore all night, and next day Mr. Banks and the Doctor discovered several plants, and many beautiful birds, particularly quails and large pigeons. There were some houses with fences, to shelter them from the wind, and many stages for drying fish near the place where the gentlemen landed. Dogs with small pointed ears, and very ugly, were the only tame animals among them. At the watering-place the Captain ordered a line to be drawn, and enjoined the natives not to pass it, which injunction they civilly complied with. Many houses were contiguous, and the lands in the adjacent vallies were regular flats, neatly laid out in small plantations, the ground appearing to be broken, as if designed for gardens. They have sweet potatoes, like those of North America, in great quantities; and the cloth plant grows here spontaneously. There is plenty of fish in the bay, such as crabs, cray-fish, and ship-jacks or horse mackrel, which are larger than those upon our coasts. The number of supple jacks that grow in the adjacent woods, render them almost impassable; but they thereby afford shelter to their feathered inhabitants: the flat land was planted with cocos, and the hollow parts with gourds. Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander visited several of the natives houses, and they met with a very civil reception. Fish constituted their principal food at this time, and the root of a sort of fern served them for bread, which when roasted upon a fire, and divested of its bark, was sweet and clammy; in taste not disagreeable, but unpleasant from its number of fibres. Vegetables were, doubtless, at other seasons very plentiful. The women paint their faces red, which so far from increasing, diminishes the very little beauty they have. The mens faces were not in general painted, but some were rubbed over with red ocre from head to foot, their apparel not excepted. Though they could not be compared to the inhabitants of Otaheite for cleanliness in general, they surpassed them in this respect in some particulars. Every dwelling was supplied with a privy, and they had dunghills for depositing dirt and filth. The women wore a girdle made of the blade of grass under a petticoat, and to this girdle was tied in front a bunch of fragrant leaves. They seemed to hold chastity in but little estimation, many of the young females resorting to the watering-place, where they bountifully bestowed every favour that was requested. One of the officers on shore, meeting with an elderly woman, he accompanied her to her house, and having presented her with some cloth and beads, a young girl was singled out, and he was given to understand he might retire with her. Soon after an elderly man, with two women, came in as visitors, and with much formality saluted all the company, according to the custom of the place, which is by gently joining the tips of their noses together. The officer upon his return was furnished with a guide, who led him a much better road than that he had come, and whenever they came to a brook or rivulet, the Indian took him upon his back to preserve him from being wet; several of the inhabitants were curiously tataowed, and one old man, in particular, was marked on the breast with various figures. There was an axe made of the green stone, already mentioned, which could not be purchased, though many things were offered in exchange. At night they danced in a very uncouth manner, making antick gestures, lolling out their tongues, with other strange grimaces; and in these dances old men with grey beards were, as well as the young ones, capital performers. They carried their civility so far, as to assist Mr. Banks and his company with one of their canoes to carry them on board; but the Endeavour’s people being unacquainted with the method of steering such a vessel, she was overset, but no one was drowned; and they reached the ship without any farther accident, some of the Indians having voluntarily engaged to conduct her. During the stay of the gentlemen on shore, many of the natives went off in their canoes, and trafficked with the ship’s company, preferring at first the cloth of Otaheite to that of Europe; but it soon diminished in its value. Several of the Indians went on board, and testified their curiosity and surprise, with regard to the different parts of the ship.
Sunday 22, in the evening, they sailed from this bay, which by the natives is called _Tegadoo_, and lies in latitude 38 deg. 10 min. south. The wind being contrary, they put into another bay a little to the south, called by the natives _Tolaga_, in order to complete their wood and water, and extend their correspondence with the natives; in this bay they came to an anchor in about eleven fathom water, with a good sandy bottom. Several canoes appeared, with Indians on board, and they trafficked very fairly for glass bottles and cloth. The Captain, Mr. Banks, and the Doctor, went in the afternoon to examine the water, and found it extremely good; here was also plenty of wood, and the natives behaved with as much civility as those they had just departed from.
On the 24th, Mr. Gore and the marines were sent on shore, to guard the people employed in cutting wood and filling water. Captain Cook, Mr. Banks and the Doctor also went on shore; the two latter employed themselves in collecting plants. In their route they found in the vales many houses uninhabited, the natives residing chiefly in slight sheds, on the ridges of the hills, which are very steep. In a valley between two very high hills they saw a curious rock, that formed a large arch, opposite to the sea; this cavity was in length above seventy feet, in breadth thirty, and near fifty in height; it commanded a view of the hills and the bay, which had a very happy effect. Indeed, the whole country about the bay is agreeable beyond description, and if properly cultivated would be a most fertile spot. The hills are covered with beautiful flowering shrubs, intermixed with a great number of tall and stately palms, which perfume the air, and make it most agreeably odoriferous. Mr. Banks and the Doctor found the tree that produces the cabbage, which, when boiled, was very good; and some other trees that yielded a fine transparent gum. Between the hills were fruitful villages, that might have been successfully cultivated, or turned into pasturage. Various kinds of edible herbage, were met with in great abundance, and there was reason to believe there were many trees that produced fruit fit to eat, some of which the gentlemen examined. The plant, from which the cloth is made, is a kind of Hemerocallis, the leaves of which afford a strong glossy flax, equally adapted to cloathing, as making of ropes. There are sweet potatoes and yam plantations near their houses, which are carefully cultivated. These gentlemen, upon their return, met an old man, who entertained them with the military exercises of the natives, which are performed with the _Patoo Patoo_, and the lance. The former has already been mentioned, and is used as a battle-axe; the latter is ten or twelve feet in length, made of extreme hard wood, and sharpened at each end. A stake was substituted for their old warriors supposed enemy; he first attacked him with his lance, when, having pierced him, the Patoo Patoo was used to demolish his head, and the force with which he struck would at one blow have split any man’s skull. This mode of fighting induced the gentlemen to believe no quarter was ever given here in war. The natives in this part are not very numerous; they are tolerably well shaped, but lean and tall; their faces resemble those of Europeans; their noses are aqueline; their eyes dark coloured; their hair is black, which is tied up on the top of their heads, and their beards are of a moderate length. Their tataowing is done very curiously in various figures, which makes their skin resemble carving; it is confined to the principal men, the females and servants using only red paint, with which they daub their faces, that otherwise would not be disagreeable. Their cloth is white, glossy and very even; it is worn principally by the men, though it is wrought by the women, who, indeed, are condemned to all the drudgery and labour.