132 COOKV VOYAGE, 
that we conceived hopes of having, at laft, found a paflage in- 
to the Indian fea^ however, that I might be able to determine 
with more certainty, I refolved to land upon the illand which 
lies at the fouth eaft point of the paflage. Upon this illand 
we had feen many of the inhabitants when we firlt came to an 
anchor, and when I went into the boat, with a party of men, 
accompanied by Mr. Banks, and Dr. Solar.der, in order to go 
alhore, we faw ten of them upon a hill : nine of them were 
armed with fuch lances as we had been ufed to fee, and the 
tenth had a bow, and a bundle of arrows, which we had never 
feen in the pofieffion of the natives of this country before : we 
alfo obferved, that two of them had large ornaments of mother 
of pearl hanging round their necks. Three of thefe, one of 
whom was the bowman, placed themfelves upon the beach 
abreaft of us, and we expedled that they would have oppofed 
our landing, but when we came within about a mulket’s Ihot 
of the beach, they walked leifurely away. We immediately 
climbed the higheft hill, which was not more than three times 
as high as the mdft-head, and the mofc barren of any we had 
fee n. From this hill, no land could be feen between the S. 
W. and W. S. W. fo that I had no doubt of finding a dftnnel 
through. The land to the north weft of it confifted of a great 
number of illands of various extent, and different heights, 
ranged one behind another, as far to the northward and weft- 
ward as I could fee, which could not be lefs than thirteen 
leagues. As I was now about to quit the eaftern coaft of 
New-Holland, which I had coafted from latitude 38 to this 
place, and which I am confident no European had ever feen 
before, I once more hoifted Englifh colours, and though I had 
already taken pofleffion of feveral particular parts, I now took 
poifelTion of the whole eaftern coaft, from latitude 38° to this 
place, latitude iof S. in right of his Majefty King George 
the Third, by the name of New South Wales, with all 
the bays, harbours, rivers and illands fituated upon it : we 
then fired three vollies of fmall arms, which were anfwered by 
the fame number from the Ihip. Having performed this cere- 
mony upon the illand, which we called Possession Island, 
we reimbarkedin our boat, but a rapid ebb-tide fetting N. E. 
made our return to the velfel very difficult and tedious. From 
the time of our laft coming among the Ihoals, we conftantly 
found a moderate tide, the flood fetting to the N. W. and the 
ebb to the S. E. At this place, it is high water at the full 
and change of the moon, about one or two o’clock, and the 
water rifes and falls perpendicularly about twelve feet. We 
faw fmoke rifing in many places from the adjacent lands and 
illands, as we had done upon every part of the coaft, after our 
laft return to it through the reef. 
We continued at anchor all night, and between feven and 
eight 
