502 CAPTAIN cook’s FIRST VOYAGE.
ftreight; the fheerwaters were lefs, and their backs darker coloured. The albatroffcsproved very good eating.
Notwithftanding the doubling of Cape Horn is reprefented as a very dangerouscourfe, and that it is generally thought palling through the ftreight of Magellan islefs perilous, the Endeavour doubled it with as little danger as the North Foreland onthe Kentilh coaft ; the heavens were fair, the wind temperate, the weather pleafant,and, being near fhore, they had a very diftinfl; view of the coaft.
Mr. Banks killed more than fixty birds in one day, and he caught two foreft fliesof the fame fpecies, but never yet defcribed. He alfo found a cuttle-fifh, which hadjuft been killed by the birds ; it was different from the fillies of this name met with inthe European feas, having a double row of lharp talons, refeinbling thofe of a cat,which iffued or retraced at will. This filh made excellent foup.
Saturday, the 25th, on account of a fquabble about a bit of feal Ikin which he hadtaken in a frolick, but which was reprefented to his officer as a theft, one of the ma-rines, a young fellow about twenty, threw himfelf overboard, and was drowned.
About ten o’clock, Tuefday, April 4th, Peter Brifcoe, fervant to Mr. Banks , difco-vered land to the fouth, about three or four leagues diftant. The captain immediatelyhauled up for it, and found it to be an illand of an oval form, with a lake or lagoon inthe centre, that extended over the greateft part of it; the border of land which fur-rounded the lake was in many places low and narrow, efpecially towards the fouth,where the beach confifted of a reef of rocks ; three places on the north fide had thefame appearance. Captain Cook came within a mile on the north fide, but though hecall a line of one hundred and thirty fathom, he found no bottom, and could not meetwith any anchorage. There were feveral natives vifible on fhore; they feemed tall,with remarkable large heads, which might probably be increafed by fome bandage;their hair was black, and their complexions copper colour. There appeared along thebeach, abreaft of the fhip, fome of thefe inhabitants, with pikes or poles in their hands,which feemed twice the height of themfelves. They at this time appeared naked;but when they retired, upon the fhip’s paffing the ifland, they put on a covering of alight colour.
Captain Cook faw land again in the afternoon to the north-weft. He reached it byfun-fet, when it appeared a low ifland covered with wood, in form circular, about amile in circumference. No inhabitants were vifible, nor any cocoa-nut trees, thoughthe Endeavour had reached the fhore within half a mile ; yet the ifland appeared co-vered with verdure of various tinges. This ifland, which is diftant from that of La-goon, about feven leagues north, fixty-two weft, the gentlemen on board namedThrumb Cap.
On the 5th, they difcovered to the weft a low ifland, which appeared to be inha-bited, and at three o’clock they came up with it. This land now feemed divided intotwo iflands, or rather colleftions of iflands, their extent being near nine leagues. Thetwo largeft were divided from each other by a ftreight of near half a mile in breadth.
On the 10th, upon their looking out for the ifland to which they were deftined,they faw land a-head. The next morning it appeared very high and mountainous,and it was known to be King George the Third’s Ifland, fo named by Captain Walh s »but by the natives called Otaheite . The calms prevented the Endeavour from a P*proaching it till the morning of the 12th, when a breeze fpringing up, before elevenfeveral canoes were making towards the fhip; only a few approached, and the people
on board thofe that came the neareft would not come on board Captain Cook . L actl
canoe