They sailed from Cape Farewell on the 31st of March 1770, and had fine weather and a fair wind till the 9th of April, when they saw a tropic bird, in the latitude of 38 degrees 29 minutes south, a sight very unusual in so high a latitude. On the 15th they saw an egg-bird and a gannet; and on the day following a small land-bird perched on the rigging, from which they concluded they were near land; but they found no ground with 120 fathom. On the 18th, in the morning, they saw a pintado-bird, and some Port Egmont hens, an infallible sign that land was not very distant. At six o’clock in the morning of the 19th they discovered land four or five leagues distant; the southermost part of which was called POINT HICKS, in compliment to Mr. Hicks, the first Lieutenant, who made the discovery of it. At noon they discovered another point of the same land, rising in a round hillock, extremely like the Ram-Head at the entrance of Plymouth Sound, for which reason Captain Cook gave it the same name. What they had yet seen of the land was low and even, and the inland parts were green, and covered with wood. They now saw three water-spouts at the same time, one of which continued a quarter of an hour. At six in the evening the northermost point on the main land, which was distant about two leagues, was named CAPE HOWE. On the following day they had a distant view of the country, which was in general covered with wood, and interspersed with several small lawns. It appeared to be inhabited, as smoke was seen in several places. At four o’clock the next morning they saw a high mountain, which, from its shape, they called MOUNT DROMEDARY, under which there is a point, which received the name of POINT DROMEDARY. In the evening they were opposite a point of land which rose perpendicularly, and was called POINT UPRIGHT. On Sunday the 22d they were so near the shore, as to see several of the inhabitants on the coast, who were of a very dark complexion, if not perfect negroes. At noon they saw a remarkably peaked hill, to which the Captain gave the name of the PIGEON-HOUSE, from its resemblance to such a building. The trees on this island were both tall and large; but they saw no place fit to give shelter even to a boat.
The Captain gave the name of CAPE GEORGE to a point of land which he discovered on St. George’s day: about two leagues to the north of which the sea formed a bay, which, from its shape, was called LONG NOSE; eight leagues from which lies RED-POINT, so called from the colour of the soil in its neighbourhood. On the 27th they saw several of the inhabitants walking along the shore, four of them carrying a canoe on their shoulders: but as they did not attempt coming off to the ship, the Captain took Messrs. Banks and Solander and Tupia in the yawl, and employed four men to row them to that part of the shore where the natives appeared; near which four small canoes laid close in land. The Indians sat on the rocks till the yawl was within a quarter of a mile of the shore, and then ran away into the woods. The surf beating violently on the beach, prevented the boat from landing; the gentlemen were therefore obliged to make what observations they could at a distance. The canoes resembled the smaller sort of those of New Zealand. They saw, with longing eyes, a great number of cabbage-trees on shore: the other trees were of the palm-kind, and there was no underwood among them.
At five in the evening they returned to the ship, and a light breeze springing up, they sailed to the northward, where they discovered several people on shore round a fire, who, on their approach, retired to an eminence; soon after which two canoes arrived on the shore, and four men, who came in them, joined the others. The pinnace having been sent a-head to sound, arrived near the spot where the Indians had stationed themselves, on which one of them hid himself among the rocks near the landing place, and the others retreated farther up the hill. The pinnace keeping along shore, the Indians walked nearly in a line with her. They were armed with long pikes, and a weapon resembling a cymeter, and, by various signs and words, invited the boat’s crew to land. Those who did not follow the boat, having observed the approach of the ship, brandished their weapons, and threw themselves into threatening attitudes. The bodies, thighs and legs of two of these, were painted with white streaks, and their faces were almost covered with a white powder. They talked to each other with great emotion, and each of them held a kind of cymeter in his hand.
The ship having come to an anchor, they observed a few huts, in which were some of the natives; and saw some canoes, in each of which was a man busily employed in striking fish with a kind of spear. They had anchored opposite a village of about eight houses, and observed an old woman and three children come out of a wood, laden with fuel for a fire: they were met by three smaller children, all of whom, as well as the woman, were quite naked. The old woman frequently looked at the ship with the utmost indifference, and, as soon as she had made a fire, the fishermen brought their canoes on shore, and they set about dressing their dinner with as much composure, as if a ship had been no extraordinary sight.
Having formed a design of landing, they manned the boats, and took Tupia with them; and they had no sooner come near the shore, than two men advanced, as if to dispute their setting foot on land. They were each of them armed with different weapons. They called out aloud in a harsh tone, _warra warra wai_, the meaning of which Tupia did not understand. The Captain threw them beads, nails and other trifles, which they took up, and seemed to be delighted with. He then made signs that he wanted water, and used every possible means to convince them that no injury was intended. They now made signs to the boat’s crew to land, on which they put the boat in; but they had no sooner done so, than the two Indians came again to oppose them. A musquet was now fired between them, on the report of which one of them dropped a bundle of lances, which he instantly snatched up again in great haste. One of them then threw a stone at the boat, on which the Captain ordered a musket loaded with small shot to be fired, which wounding the eldest of them on the legs, he retired hastily to one of their houses, which stood at some little distance. The people in the boats now landed, imagining that the wound which this man had received would put an end to the contest; in this, however, they were mistaken, for he immediately returned with a kind of shield, of an oval figure, painted white in the middle, with two holes in it to see through. They now advanced with great intrepidity, and both discharged their lances at the boat’s crew, but did not wound any of them. Another musket was now fired at them, on which they threw another lance, and then took to their heels. The crew now went up to the huts, in one of which they found the children, who had secreted themselves behind some bark. They looked at them, but left them without their knowing they had been seen; and having thrown some pieces of cloth, ribbons, beads, and other things into the hut, they took several of their lances, and reimbarked in the boat. The canoes on this coast were about thirteen feet in length, each made of the bark of a single tree, tied up at the ends, and kept open in the middle by means of sticks placed across them; their paddles are very small, and they use two at a time.
They now sailed to the north point of the bay, where they found a plenty of fresh water. On taking a view of the hut where they had seen the children, they had the mortification to find that every Indian was fled, and that they had left all the presents behind them. The Captain now went in the pinnace to inspect the bay, and saw several of the natives, who all fled as he approached them. Some men having been sent to get wood and water, they no sooner, came on board to dinner, than the natives came down to the place, and examined the casks with great attention, but did not offer to remove them. When the people were on shore in the afternoon, about twenty of the natives, all armed, advanced within a trifling distance of them, and then stopped, while two of their number approached still nearer. Mr. Hicks, the commanding officer, on shore, went towards them, with presents in his hands, and endeavoured, by every possible means, to assure them of his friendly intentions, but to no purpose, for they retired before he came up to them. In the evening Messrs. Banks and Solander went with the Captain to a cove north of the bay, where they catched between three and four hundred weight of fish, in four hauls.
On Monday the 30th the natives came down to the huts before it was light, and were repeatedly heard to shout very loud; and soon after day-break they were seen on the beach; but quickly retired about a mile, and kindled several fires in the woods. This day some of the ship’s crew being employed in cutting grass, at a distance from the main body of those on shore, a party of Indians made towards them; on which the grass-cutters retreated to the main body, while the natives pursued them; but stopping within fifty or sixty yards of them, they shouted several times, and retired to the woods. In the evening they behaved exactly in the same manner, when the Captain followed them alone and unarmed for some time, but they still retired as he approached.