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They failed from Cape Farewell on the 31ft of March, 1770, and had fine weatherand a fair wind till the 9th of April, when they faw a tropic-bird. On the 15th theyfaw an egg-bird and a gannet; and on the day following a ftnall land-bird perched onthe rigging, from which they concluded they were near land; but they found noground with one hundred and twenty fathom. At fix o’clock in the morning of the19th, they difcovered land four or five leagues diflant; the fouthernmofl part of whichwas called Point Hicks, in compliment to Mr. Hicks, the firfl lieutenant, who made thedifcovery of it. At noon they difcovered another point of the fame land, rifing in around hillock, extremely like the Ram Head at the entrance of Plymouth Sound, forwhich reafon Captain Cook gave it the fame name. What they had yet feen of theland was low and even, and the inland parts were green, and covered with w r ood.They now faw three water-fpouts at the fame time, one of which continued a quarterof an hour. On Sunday, the 22d, they were fo near the fhore, as to fee feveral ofthe inhabitants on the coaft, who were of a very dark complexion, if not perfectnegroes.
On the 27th they faw feveral of the inhabitants walking along the fhore, fourof them carrying a canoe on their fhoulders; but as they did not attempt coming offto the fhip, the captain took Meffrs. Banks and Solander and Tupia in the yawl, andemployed four men to row them to that part of the fhore where the natives appeared,near which four frnall canoes laid dole in-land. The Indians fat on the rockstill the yawl was within a quarter of a mile of the fhore, and then ran away into thewoods. The furf beating violently on the beach, prevented the boat from landing.
At five in the evening they returned to the fhip, and a light breeze fpringing up,they failed to the northward, where they difcovered feveral people on fhore. Theybrandifhed their weapons, and threw themfelves into threatening attitudes. The bodies,thighs, and legs of two of thefe, were painted with white ftreaks, and their faces werealmofl covered with a white powder. They talked to each other with great emotion,and each of them held a kind of cimeter in his hand.
They anchored oppofite a village of about eight houfes, and obferved an old woflia 11and three children to come out of a wood, laden with fuel for a fire: all of them, aswell as the woman, were quite naked. The old woman frequently looked at the fh*pwith the utmofl indifference, and, as foon as fhe had made a fire, they fet about drel-fing their dinner with as much compofure as if a fhip had been no extraordinary
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Having formed a defign of landing, they manned the boats, and took Tupia wit
them ; and they had no fooner come near the fhore, than two men advanced, as » todifpute their fetting foot on land. The captain threw them beads, nails, and othertrifles, which they took up, and feemed to be delighted with. He then made. fig nSthat he wanted water, and ufed every poflible means to convince them that no injuiywas intended. They now made figns to the boat’s crew to land, on which they P uthe boat in ; but they had no fooner done fo, than the two Indians came again to op_pofe them. A mufquet was now fired between them, on the report of which one 0them dropt a bundle of lances, which he inflantly fnatched up again in great h a e *One of them then threw a ftone at the boat, on which the captain ordered a mufqu^loaded with fmall fhot to be fired, which wounding the eldefl of them on the legs,retired haflily to one of their houfes, which flood at fome little diftance. Thein the boats now landed, imagining that the wound which this man had received wouput an end to the contefl; in this, however, they were miflaken, for he immediate yreturned with a kind of fhield, of an oval figure, painted white in the middle, wit *
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