NEW HOLLAND. 
770 
and fom'e of them are fitted, with an outrigger to prevent 
their overfetting : they are of different lengths, and very 
narrow. The only tools which they feemed to poffefs 
were, an adze made of done, wedges of the fame material, 
a wooden mallet, and fome (hells, and fragments of coral. 
For polifhing the points of their lances, &c. they ufe the 
leaves of a kind of wild fig-tree. Each of their canoes 
carries four people. 
It appears, from fome further difcoveries and reports 
pertaining to this country, that it is peopled by three or 
four diltinft races of men ; thofe in the fouth-vveft being 
different from thofe in the north, and both from thofe in 
the eaft above defcribed. They are merely divided into 
families, the former being ftyled Be-ana, or “ father,” 
which is a title of refpeft; and each family, or tribe, has 
a diftindt place of refidence, diftinguiflied by adding gal 
to the name of the place : e. g. the fouthern fliore of Bo¬ 
tany-bay being called G'wea; the tribe inhabiting it, is 
denominated Gwea-gal. Thofe who live on the north 
fhores of Port Jackfon are called Cam-mer-rhy-gal , Cam- 
mer-rhy being the name of that part„of the harbour. 
This tribe, which is numerous and mufcular, exercife the 
prerogative of exacting a tooth from young men of other 
families, in token of government or lubordination. This 
tribute of teeth is paid in a folemn manner, and it is per¬ 
formed every four years. They manifeft but very obfcure 
traces of religion, though they have fome faint ideas of 
a future exiftence in the clouds, whence they originally 
fell. They feem raifed but one degree above the brute- 
creation ; and, like monkeys, they are great mimics. 
The deformity of their appearance, occafioned by their 
low ftature and thin limbs, their black bufhy beards, and 
the bone ftuck in the cartilage of the nofe, by an opera¬ 
tion performed between the ages of eight and fixteen, is 
farther increased by their prablice of rubbing fifh-oil into 
their fkins, as a protection from the air and mufquitoes, 
and of colouring their faces with white or red clay. The 
women are marked by the lofs of the two firft joints of the 
little finger of the left hand, which, as well as the extrac¬ 
tion of a tooth from the boys, is fuppofed to inure them 
to bear pain with apathy. It is faid, however, that thefe 
joints of the little finger are parted with, becaufe they are 
in the way when they wind their fifliing-lines over their 
hands. Few inftances of deformed perfons occur. Their 
huts are commonly conftrudted of the bark of trees, in the 
form of an oven, having the fire at the entrance, and filled 
with fimoke and naftinefs, in which they lleep promifcu- 
oufly. Their mode of courtfhip is not very gallant; as it 
confilts in watching the lady’s retirement, and then 
knocking her down with repeated blows of a club, or a 
wooden fword ; after which the matrimonial vidtim is led, 
dreaming with blood, to her future hufband’s party, 
when a fcene enfues too (hocking to relate. The men of 
one tribe feek wives among the women of another. The 
woman, thus raviihed, is called a wife; and polygamy is 
common. Parturition is eafy, and a few hours after the 
mother walks about her ufual bufinefs. The infant is 
placed for a few days on a piece of foft bark ; but is foon 
removed to the mother’s (houlders with its legs acrofs her 
neck, fecuring itfelf by catching hold of her hair. Super- 
ftition is very prevalent among thefe poor lavages; they 
believe in magic, witchcraft, and ghofts; the latter being 
the night-mare. They have alfo fpells againft thunder 
and lightning, and pretend to foretel future events by 
the meteors called falling liars. They are fubjedl to a 
difeafe refembling a violent itch; but, for their venereal 
complaints they feem to have been indebted to Europeans. 
They have not only perfonal property in their weapons, 
and filhing-tackle, but fome appear to be hereditary 
owners of certain lpots, perhaps afligned as rewards for 
public fervices, or adts of great bravery. They are re- 
prefented, with regard to their habitual difpofition, as re¬ 
vengeful, jealous, courageous, and cunning. If they 
were honelt when firft vifited by Europeans, they have 
fince acquired the art of Healing ; and they are laid to be 
adepts in the arts of evafion and lying. They have names 
for the fun and moon, fome few liars, the magellanic 
clouds, and the milky-way. Young people are buried; 
but thofe who have palled the middle age, are burnt; a 
rude tumulus being eredted as a tomb. Mr. Collins, in 
his account of this illand, has given an ample vocabulary 
of the language ; which is faid to be grateful to the ear, 
exprefiive, and fonorous, and to have no analogy with 
any other known language; but the dialedls of the va¬ 
rious regions feem to be entirely different. The feafons 
are like thofe of the fouthern part of Africa and America; 
and, as the country lies on the fouthern fide of the equator, 
they are the reverfe of thofe in Europe, Chrillmas with 
tis being Midl'ummer with them. 
As the eajlern part of this vail tradf was totally un¬ 
known till the lalt voyages of our countryman Capt.Cook, 
who, by fully exploring that part of the coall, gave his 
country an undoubted right to the occupation of it, it 
was accordingly taken polfellion of, in his majelly’s name, 
about the year 1770 ; and now bears the appellation of 
New South Wales. 
At the dole of the American war, it was determined to 
make a fettlement on this coall for the reception of tranf- 
ported felons. The plan, as it may be fuppofed, occupied 
lome time in coming to maturity; but at length, on the 
6th of December, 1786, orders wereiffued byhis majeftyin 
council for making a fettlement, ellablilhing a court of 
judicature in the colony, and other regulations necelfary 
on the occafion. The whole received the complete fanc- 
tion of legiilature in the beginning of theyear 1787. The 
fquadron, appointed for putting the defign in execution, 
began to affemble at the Mother Bank, the place of ren¬ 
dezvous, in the Ille of Wight, on the 16th of March, 1787. 
It confided of the Sirius frigate, Capt. John Hunter; the 
Supply armed tender Lieut. H. L. Ball; three ilore-lhips, 
the Golden-grove, Filhburn, and Borrowdale, for carry¬ 
ing provilions and llores for two years; and laftly, fix 
tranfports, the Scarborough and Lady Penrhyn from 
Portfmouth, the Friendlhip and Charlotte from Plymouth, 
and the Prince of Wales and Alexander from Woolwich. 
Thefe were to carry the convidls, with a detachment of 
marines in each proportioned to the nature of the fervicej 
the largelt where refinance was moll expected, viz. in 
thofe which carried the greateft number of male convibls. 
On the arrival of governor Phillip at theliation, he hoilted 
his flag on-board the Sirius as commodore of the fqua¬ 
dron ; and, the embarkation being completed, he gave the 
fignal to weigh anchor on the 13th of May at day-break. 
The number of convibls was 778, of whom 558 were men. 
They touched at the illand of Teneriffe on the 3d of June, 
without meeting with any bad accident. Here they (laid 
a week, in order to procure fuch refrelhments as were 
necelfary for preventing the diforders moftly to be dreaded 
in fuch a long and perilous voyage. In this they fuc- 
ceeded to their with ; and on the 10th of June the fleet 
let fail, and on the 18th came in fight of the Cape Verd 
illands, where they fleered for St. Jago; but the want of a 
favourable wind and other circumllances prevented their 
getting in ; fo that, as governor Phillip did not choofe to 
walle time, they did not touch land till they came to Rio Ja¬ 
neiro on the coall of Bralil. It may feem furpriling, that 
a voyage to the eallward, which of itfelf may be accounted 
of fuflicient length, (hould thus be wilfully made fo much 
longer, by Failing twice acrofs the Atlantic. The calms, 
however, fo frequent on the coall of Africa, feem of 
themfelves to be a fuflicient inducement for navigators 
to preferve a wefterly courfe; and even the illands at 
which it is fo necelfary to touch, are not far diftant from 
the American coall. The returning tracks of Capt. Cook’s 
three voyages are all within a little fpace of the 45th de¬ 
gree of welt longitude, which is even ten degrees farther 
well than Cape St. Roque; and that courfe appears to 
have been taken voluntarily, without any extraordinary 
inducement. 
At Rio Janeiro they met with a very favourable recep¬ 
tion. 
