DEC. 1769 VOYAGE OF NATIVES TO NORTH-WEST 207 



whennua, the land would turn to the southward, and from 

 thence extend no more to the west. This place we con- 

 cluded must be Cape Maria Van Diemen; and finding 

 these people so intelligent, desired Tupia to inquire if 

 they knew of any countries besides this, or ever went to 

 any. They said no, but that their ancestors had told them that 

 to the KW. by 1ST. or KKW. was a large country to which 

 some people had sailed in a very large canoe, which passage 

 took them a month. From the expedition a part only 

 returned, who told their countrymen that they had seen a 

 country where the people eat hogs, for which animal they 

 used the same name (Booah) as is used in the islands. 

 " And have you no hogs among you ? " said Tupia. " No." 

 " And did your ancestors bring none back with them ? " 

 " No." " You must be a parcel of liars then," said he, 

 " and your story a great lie, for your ancestors would never 

 have been such fools as to come back without them." Thus 

 much as a specimen of Indian reasoning. 



10th. This morning we were near the land, which was 

 quite barren, hills beyond hills, and ridges even far inland 

 were covered with white sand on which no kind of vegetable 

 was to be seen. It was conjectured by some that the land 

 here might be very narrow, and that the westerly wind blew 

 the sand right across it. Some Indian forts or heppahs 

 were seen. 



~L8th. On a rock pretty near us we saw through our 

 glasses an Indian fort, which we all thought was encircled 

 with a mud wall ; if so, it is the only one of the kind we 

 have seen. 



24:th. Land in sight: an island, or rather several small 

 ones, most probably the Three Kings, so that it was con- 

 jectured that we had passed the cape, which had so long 

 troubled us. From a boat I killed several gannets or solan 

 geese, so like European ones that they are hardly dis- 

 tinguishable from them. As it was the humour of the ship 

 to keep Christmas in the old-fashioned way, it was resolved 

 to make a goose-pie for to-morrow's dinner. 



25th. Christmas Day: our goose-pie was eaten with 



