86 cook's second voyage march, 



CHAP. IV. 



TRANSACTIONS IN DUSKY BAY, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF SEVERAL 

 INTERVIEWS WITH THE INHABITANTS. 



As I did not like the place we had anchored in, I 

 sent Lieutenant Pickersgill over to the S. E. side of 

 the bay, to search for a better ; and I went myself to 

 the other side, for the same purpose, where I met 

 with an exceedingly snug harbour, but nothing else 

 worthy of notice. Mr. Pickersgill reported, upon 

 his return, that he had found a good harbour, with 

 every conveniency. As I liked the situation of this, 

 better than the other of my own finding, I deter- 

 mined to go there in the morning. The fishing-boat 

 was very successful ; returning with fish sufficient for 

 all hands for supper, and, in a few hours in the morn- 

 ing, caught as many as served for dinner. This gave 

 us certain hopes of being plentifully supplied with 

 this article. Nor did the shores and woods appear 

 less destitute of wild fowl ; so that we hoped to enjoy 

 with ease, what in our situation might be called the 

 luxuries of life. This determined me to stay some 

 time in this bay, in order to examine it thoroughly ; 

 as no one had ever landed before, on any of the 

 southern parts of this country. 



On the 27th, at nine o'clock in the morning, we 

 got under sail with a light breeze at S. W. and 

 working over to Pickersgill Harbour, entered it by a 

 channel scarcely twice the width of the ship 5 and, in 

 a small creek, moored head and stern, so near the 

 shore as to reach it with a brow or stage, which na- 

 ture had in a manner prepared for us in a large tree, 

 whose end or top reached our gunwale. Wood, for 

 fuel and other purposes, was here so convenient, that 



