352 SIR JOSEPH BANKS. 



with in the course of the voyage, a description which 

 forms a new and important chapter in the general his- 

 tory of our species. In prosecuting these inquiries 

 his courage was as conspicuous as his activity and his 

 judgment. He would expose himself to their collected 

 multitudes when some inadvertent proceeding had 

 roused their anger, or would resist them when a thirst 

 of plunder incited them to threaten ; he would visit 

 their habitations unattended by any force whatever ; 

 he would sleep for nights together on the ground at 

 many leagues' distance from the crew of the vessel, 

 and accompanied only by two or three attendants, re- 

 gardless of the peril in which he must have been placed 

 had the natives, possibly living close by, discovered 

 the place of his repose. 



After remaining on this coast above six weeks, they 

 set sail again on the 3rd of August, but it was a grievous 

 disappointment to find, on examining the pumps, that 

 they were all decayed and unfit for service, so that 

 their only trust was in the strength of the vessel's tim- 

 bers. Fortunately she made no more than an inch of 

 water in the hour. A gale, which soon assailed them, 

 and lasted for some days, did no material damage. 

 The navigation was, however, beset by reefs of rocks 

 and shoals, through the narrow openings of which they 

 escaped almost miraculously. At length, after three 

 months of constant peril, they burst as it were into a 

 wide and deep sea, the swell of which showed that no 

 land was near. The leak, however, had now increased 

 to nine inches an hour, and in two days more they 

 were surrounded by breakers, and in a more dangerous 

 position than ever : nor did they escape except by the 

 sudden springing up of a light breeze at the moment 

 when they were helplessly and hopelessly drifting on 

 the rocks. 



Then, after repairing the vessel, Captain Cook pro- 

 ceeded on his cruise through the most intricate navi- 

 gation in the world ; then, too, first explored the tract 



