The Captain, Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander landed upon the island, and the Indians in the canoes soon after came on shore. The gentlemen were now in a small cove, and they were presently surrounded by near four hundred armed Indians; but the Captain not suspecting any hostile design on the part of the natives, remained peaceably disposed. The gentlemen marching towards them, drew a line, intimating that they were not to pass it; they did not infringe upon this boundary for some time, but at length they sung the song of defiance, and began to dance, whilst a party attempted to draw the Endeavour’s boats on shore; these signals for an attack being immediately followed by the Indians breaking in upon the line, the gentlemen judged it time to defend themselves, and accordingly the Captain fired his musquet, loaded with small shot, which was seconded by Mr. Banks discharging his piece, and two of the men followed his example. This threw the Indians into confusion, and they retreated; but were rallied again by one of their Chiefs, who shouted and waved his patoo patoo. The Doctor now pointed his musquet at this hero, and hit him; this stopt his career, and he took to flight with the other Indians. They retired to an eminence in a collective body, and seemed dubious whether they should return to the charge. They were now at too great a distance for ball to reach them; but these operations being observed from the ship, she brought her broad side to bear, and by firing over them soon dispersed them. The Indians had in this skirmish two of their people wounded, but none killed. Peace being thus restored, the gentlemen began to gather celery and other herbs; but suspecting some of the natives were lurking about with evil designs, they repaired to a cave, which was at a small distance; here they found the Chief, who had that day received a present from the Captain; he came forth with his wife and brother, and solicited their clemency. It appeared, that one of the wounded Indians was a brother of this Chief, who was under great anxiety lest the wound should prove mortal; but his grief was in a great degree alleviated, when he was made acquainted with the different effects of small shot and ball; he was at the same time assured, that upon any future hostilities being committed ball would be used. This interview terminated very cordially, after some trifling presents were made to the Chief and his companions.
The prudence of the gentlemen upon this occasion, cannot be much commended. Had these four hundred Indians boldly rushed in upon them at once with their weapons, the musquetry could have done very little execution; but supposing twenty or thirty of the Indians had been wounded, for it does not appear their pieces were loaded with ball, but only small shot, there would have remained a sufficient number to have massacred them, as it appears they do not give any quarter, and none could have been expected upon this occasion. It is true, when the ship brought her broad-side to bear, she might have made great havock amongst the Indians; but this would have been too late to save the party on shore.
Being again in their boats, they rowed to another part of the same island, when landing and gaining an eminence, they had a very agreeable and romantic view of a great number of islands, well inhabited and cultivated. The inhabitants of an adjacent town approached unarmed, and testified great humility and submission. Some of the party on shore, who had been very violent for having the Indians punished for their fraudulent conduct, were now guilty of trespasses equally reprehensible, having forced into some of the plantations, and dug up potatoes. The Captain upon this occasion shewed strict justice in punishing each of the offenders with twelve lashes: one of them being very refractory upon the occasion, and complaining of the hardship, thinking an Englishman had a right to plunder an Indian with impunity, was flogged out of this opinion with six additional lashes. Probably his adding “that in this, he had only followed the example of his superiors,” might have had no little weight in procuring him this last sentence.
It being a dead calm on the 30th, two boats were sent to sound the harbour, and many canoes came up, and traded with great probity: the gentlemen went again on shore, and met with a very civil reception from the natives; and this friendly intercourse continued all the time they remained in the bay, which was several days. Being upon a visit to the old Chief, he shewed them the instruments used in tataowing, which were very like those at Otaheite employed upon the like occasion. They saw the man who had been wounded by the ball, when the attempt was made to carry off the ship’s buoy; and though it had gone through the fleshy part of his arm, it did not seem to give him the least pain or uneasiness.
On Tuesday the 5th, in the morning, they weighed anchor, but were soon becalmed, and a strong current setting towards the shore, they were driven in with such rapidity, that they expected every moment to run upon the breakers, which appeared above water not more than a cable’s length distance; they were so near the land, that Tupia, who was totally ignorant of the danger, held a conversation with the Indians, who were standing on the beach. They were happily relieved, however, from this alarming situation by a fresh breeze, suddenly springing up from the shore.
The bay which they had left was called the _Bay of Islands_, on account of the numerous islands it contains; they catched but few fish while they lay there, but procured great plenty from the natives, who are extremely expert at fishing, and display great ingenuity in the form of their nets, which are made of a kind of grass; they are two or three hundred fathoms in length, and remarkably strong; and they have them in such plenty, that it is scarce possible to go a hundred yards upon the beach, without meeting with numbers lying in heaps. These people did not appear to be under the government of any particular Chief or Sovereign, and they seemed to live in a perfect state of friendship, notwithstanding their villages were fortified. According to their observations upon the tides, the flood comes from the south, and there is a current from the west.
Dec. 7, several canoes put off and followed the Endeavour, but a breeze arising, Captain Cook did not wait for them: on the 8th they tacked, and stood in for the shore: and on the 9th, they were about seven leagues to the westward of the Cavalles, and soon after came to a deep bay, which the Captain named _Doubtless Bay_. The wind prevented their putting in here, and being soon after becalmed, they were visited by several canoes from shore, with whom they trafficked. From these Indians they learnt, they were about two days sail from _Moore Whennua_, where the land changed its shape, and instead of extending to the westward, turned to the south; and that to the north-north-west there was an extensive country, named _Ulimaroah_, where the inhabitants lived upon hogs, which they called _Booah_, and was the same name given them by the inhabitants of the islands in the South Seas. They saw upon the coast several plantations, of the Eaowte, or cloth trees, and some of the Koomarra. They beat to windward four days, and made but little way. On the 10th, the land appeared low and barren, but was not destitute of inhabitants; the next morning, they stood in with the land, which forms a peninsula, and which the Captain named _Knuckle Point_. Another bay, that lies contiguous, Captain Cook called _Sandy Bay_, in the middle of it is a high mountain, which was named _Mount Camel_, on account of its resembling that animal. Several canoes put off, but could not reach the ship, which now tacked and stood to the northward, till the afternoon of the 12th, when she stood to the north-east. Towards night it began to rain and blow, and in the morning it was so tempestuous, as to split the main-top-sail, and the fore mizen-top-sails. Early in the morning of the 14th, they saw land to the southward; and on the 15th, they tacked and stood to the westward; next day they discovered land from the mast-head to the south-south-west; and on the 16th came off the northern extremity of New Zealand, which the Captain called NORTH CAPE. It lies in latitude 34 deg. 22 min. south, longitude 186 deg. 55 min. west, and forms the north point of Sandy Bay. Their situation varied but little till the 24th, when they discovered land, which they judged to be the islands of the Three Kings, though they did not resemble the description of them in Dalrymple’s account. The chief island is in latitude 34 deg. 12 min. south, longitude 187 deg. 48 min west, between fourteen or fifteen leagues from North Cape. Mr. Banks went out in the small boat, and caught some birds that greatly resembled geese, and they were very good eating. On the 27th, it blew very hard from the east all day, accompanied with heavy showers of rain, and they brought the ship under a reef main-sail. On the 30th they saw land, bearing north-east, which was thought to be Cape Maria Van Diemen, but the sea being very boisterous, they did not venture to approach it, but tacked about and stood to the north-west.