^290 cook's first voyage oct» 



daily saw smoke rising in clouds one behind another, 

 to a great distance, till the view terminated in moun- 

 tains of a stupendous height. 



The south-west point of the bay 1 named Young 

 Nick's Head, after Nicholas Young, the boy who 

 first saw the land ; at noon, it bore N. W. by W. dis- 

 tant about three or four leagues, and we were then 

 about three miles from the shore. The main land 

 extended from N. E. by N. to south, and I proposed 

 to follow the direction of the coast to the southward 

 as far as the latitude of 40 or 41 ; and then, if I met 

 with no encouragement to proceed farther, to return 

 to the northward. 



In the afternoon we lay becalmed, which the peo- 

 ple on shore perceiving, several canoes put off, and 

 came within less than a quarter of a mile of the vessel ; 

 but could not be persuaded to come nearer, though 

 Tupia exerted all the powers of his lungs and his 

 eloquence upon the occasion, shouting, and promising 

 that they should not be hurt. Another canoe was 

 now seen coming from Poverty Bay, with only four 

 people on board, one of whom we well remembered 

 to have seen in our first interview upon the rock. 

 This canoe, without stopping or taking the least no- 

 tice of the others, came directly alongside of the 

 ship, and with very little persuasion, we got the In- 

 dians on board. Their example was soon followed 

 by the rest, and we had about us seven canoes, and 

 about fifty men. We. made them all presents with a 

 liberal hand ; notwithstanding which, they were so 

 desirous to have more of our commodities, that they 

 sold us every thing they had, even the clothes from 

 their backs, and the paddles from their boats. There 

 were but two weapons among them, these were the 

 instruments of green talc, which were shaped some- 

 what like a pointed battledore, with a short handle 

 and sharp edges ; they were called Patoo-patoo, and 

 were well contrived for close-fighting, as they would 

 certainly split the thickest skull at a single blow. 



