Description of the Country. 55 
Early the ne5ct morning, the body of Forby Sutherland, 
one of our feamen, who died the evening before, was buried 
near the watering-place ; and from this incident I called the 
fouth point of this bay Sutherland Point. This day we 
refolved to make an excurfion into the country. Mr. Banks, 
Dr. Solander, myfelf, and feven others, properly accoutred 
for the expedition, fet out, and repaired hill to the huts, near 
the watering place, whither fome of the natives .continued 
every day to refort ; and though the little prefents which we 
had left there before had not yet been taken away, we left 
others of fomewhat more value, confiding of cloth, looking- 
glaffes, combs, and beads, and then went up into the country. 
We found the foil to be either fwamp or light fand, and the 
face of the country finely diverfified by wood and lawn. The 
trees are tall, ftrait, and without underwood, Handing- at fuch 
a diftance from each other that the whole country, at lead 
where the fwamps do not render it incapable of cultivation, 
might be cultivated without cutting down one of them : 
between the trees the ground is covered with grafs, of which 
there is great abundance, growing in tufts about as big as can 
well be grafped in the hand, which hand very clofe to each 
other. We law many houfes of the inhabitants, and places 
where they had flept upon the grafs without any fhelter ; but 
we faw only one of the people, who, the moment hedifcovered 
us, ran away. At all thefe places we left prefents, hoping 
that at length they might produce confidence and good will. 
We had a tranfient and imperfett view of a quadruped, about 
as big as a rabbit : Mr. Banks’s greyhound, which was with 
us, got fight of it, and would probably have caught it, but the 
moment he fet off he lamed himfelf, againlt a flump which lay 
concealed in the long grafs. We afterwards faw the dung of 
an animal which fed upon grafs, and which we judged could 
not be lefs than a deer ; and the footfteps of another, which 
was clawed like a dog, and feemed to be about as big as a 
wolf : we alfo tracked a fmall animal, whofe foot refembled 
that of a polcat, or weafel. The trees over our head abounded 
with birds of various kinds, among which were many of ex- 
quifite beauty, particularly loriquets, and cockatoos, which 
flew in flocks of feveral fcores together. We found fome wood 
which had been felled by the natives, with a blunt inllrument, 
and fome that had been barked. The trees were not of many 
fpecies ; among others there was a large one which yielded a 
gum not unlike the Sanguis draconis ; and in fome of them 
Heps had been cut at about three feet diftance from each other, 
for the .convenience of climbing them. 
From this excurfion we returned between three and four 
o’clock, and having dined on board, we went afliore again at 
the watering place, where a party of men were filling calks. 
Mr. 
