120 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



comrades, which having effected, they quietly departed. After having 

 taken possession of the country in form for the King, our company embarked 

 and went round the hay in search of water again, and to apprehend, if 

 possible, some of the natives, to gain farther information of them respecting 

 the island. They had not gone far before they saw a canoe, gave chase to 

 it, and when they came up with it, the crew threw stones at them, and were 

 very daring and insolent. Our people had recourse to their arms ; the 

 Captain, Dr. Solander, and Mr. Banks fired at them and killed and wounded 

 several of them. The natives fought very desperately with their paddles, 

 but were soon overpowered ; theu' canoe was taken, three of them made 

 prisoners and brought on board the ship, and the rest were suffered to 

 escape. They were in person much like the natives of Otaheite, but were 

 loud and rude in then- addi-ess, and more unpohshed than the Otaheitians. 

 We were much surprised to find they spoke the Otaheitian language, though 

 in a different dialect, speaking very guttural, having a kind of hec which 

 some of the people of Ulietea have in then- speech. Tupaea understood 

 them very well, notwithstanding they made frequent use of the g and h, 

 which the people of Otaheite do not. Their canoe was thhty feet long, 

 made of planks sewed together, and had a lug-sail made of matting. '* * * 

 We found here a sort of long-pepper which tasted very much like mace ; a 

 Fulica or a bald-coot of a dark blue colour ; and a blackbird, the flesh of 

 which was an orange colour, and tasted like stewed shell-fish. A vast 

 quantity of pumice-stone lies all along upon the shore* within the bay, 

 which indicates that there is a volcano in this island. On the 12th, early 

 in the morning, we weighed anchor and attem^^ted to find some better 

 anchoring-place, as this bay (which, from the few necessaries we could 

 procure, we called Poverty Bay) was not well sheltered from a S.E. wind, 

 which brings in a heavy sea. The natives called the bay Te Oneroa, and 

 the point of land at the entrance on the east side they called Te Tua Motu. 



On the 13th, in the afternoon, after we had doubled a small high island, 

 which was called Portland Isle, (or according to the natives, Te Haure,) we 

 got into a sort of large bay, and the night coming on we thought it best to 

 drop anchor, designing, next morning, to make for a harbour in the corner 

 of the bay, where there was the appearance of an inlet. * * * On the 

 14th we made for the inlet which we saw the night before, and on coming 

 up to it found that it was not sheltered, having only some low land at the 

 bottom of it. Ten canoes filled with people chased us, but our ship sailing 

 too fast for them they were obliged to give over the pursuit. We sailed 

 round most part of the bay without finding any opening, and the soundings 

 all along the shore were very regular. The country appeared more fertile 



* This does not appear in Cook. 



