NOV. 1769 COAST OF NEW ZEALAND 



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accessible, besides which they were guarded by a deep 

 fosse and a high paling within it, so that probably these 

 people are much given to war. In the evening many towns 

 were in sight, larger than those seen at noon, and always 

 situated like them on the tops of cliffs and fenced in the 

 same manner : under them, upon the beach, were many very 

 large canoes, some hundreds I may safely say, some of 

 which either had or appeared to have awnings, but not one 

 of them put off. From all these circumstances we judged 

 the country to be much better peopled hereabouts, and 

 inhabited by richer people than we had before seen ; maybe 

 it was the residence of some of their princes. As far as we 

 have yet gone along the coast from Cape Turnagain to this 

 place, the people have acknowledged only one chief, Teratu. 

 If his dominion is really so large, he may have princes or 

 governors under him capable of drawing together a vast 

 number of people, for he himself is always said to live far 

 inland. 



3rd. The continent appeared this morning barren and 

 rocky, but many islands were in sight, chiefly with such 

 towns upon them as we saw yesterday. Two canoes put 

 off from one, but could not overtake us. At breakfast a 

 cluster of islands and rocks was in sight, which made an 

 uncommon appearance from the number of perpendicular 

 rocks or needles (as the seamen call them) which were in 

 sight at once. These we called the Court of Aldermen, in 

 respect to that worthy body, and entertained ourselves some 

 time with giving names to each of them from their resemb- 

 lance, thick and squab or lank and tall, to some one or 

 other of those respectable citizens. Soon after this we 

 passed an island, on which were houses built on the steep 

 sides of rocks, inaccessible, I had almost said, to birds. How 

 their inhabitants could ever have got to them surpassed my 

 comprehension. At present, however, we saw none, so that 

 these situations are probably no more than places to retire 

 to in case of danger, which are totally evacuated in peace- 

 able times. 



5th. Two Indians were seen fighting about some quarrel 



