98 cook's SECOND VOYAGE APRIL, 



valuable in his eyes. These he never would suffer to 

 go out of his hands after he had once laid hold of 

 them ; whereas many other articles he would lay care- 

 lessly down any where, and at last leave them behind 

 him. 



As soon as I could get quit of them, they were 

 conducted into the gun-room, where I left them, and 

 set out with two boats to examine the head of the 

 bay ; myself in one, accompanied by Mr. Forster and 

 Mr. Hodges ; and Lieutenant Cooper in the other. 

 We proceeded up the south side ; and, without meet- 

 ing with any thing remarkable, got to the head of 

 the bay by sun-set ; where we took up our lodging 

 for the night at the first place w r e could land upon ; 

 for the flats hindered us from getting quite to the 

 head. 



At day-light in the morning, I took two men in 

 the small boat, and, with Mr. Forster, went to take a 

 view of the flat land at the head of the bay, near to 

 where we spent the night. We landed on one side, 

 and ordered the boat to meet us on the other side ; 

 but had not been long on shore before we saw some 

 ducks, which, by their creeping through the bushes, 

 we got a shot at, and killed one. The moment we 

 had fired, the natives, whom we had not discovered 

 before, set up a most hideous noise in two or three 

 places close by us. We hallooed in our turn ; and, 

 at the same time, retired to our boat, which was full 

 half a mile off. The natives kept up their clamour- 

 ing noise, but did not follow us. Indeed we found, 

 afterwards, that they could not, because of a branch 

 of the river between us and them ; nor did we find 

 their numbers answerable to the noise they made. As 

 soon as we got to our boat, and found that there was 

 a river that would admit us, I rowed in, and was soon 

 after joined by Mr. Cooper, in the other boat. With 

 this reinforcement I proceeded up the river, shooting 

 wild ducks, of which there were great numbers ; as 

 we went along, now and then, hearing the natives in 



