return for fo valuable an acquifition. We endeavoured to
enter into converfation; but, though Captain Cook had
taken Gibfon, the corporal of marines, with him for that
purpofe, he being fuppofed to know more of the language*
than any other perfon on board, yet all our attempts
to be underftood proved fruitlefs, becaufe it feemed
this family had a peculiar harflmefe of pronunciation. We
therefore took leave of them, and proceeded to i'uivcy
different parts of the bay, f i l in g at intervals, Ihooting
birds, and colleding fhells, and other marine productions
among the rocks. The weather was .cloudy all this time,
though it did not rain where we were ; but when we returned
to our fhip’s cove, we were told it had rained .-there
ineeffantly in our abfence. The fame obfervation we had
frequent opportunities of making during our fojourn-in
Dnlky Bay. The probable caufe of this difference o f weather
at fuch little dittaac-es, are the high mountains which
run along the fouth fSor.e o f the bay, gradually doping
towards the well cape. Thefe mountains being altnoft
conftantly capped with clouds, our cove, which lay immediately
under, and was furrounded by them, was of
courfe expofed to the vapours, which perpetually appeared
moving with various velocities along the fides of the hills,
involving the tops of the trees over which they palled in a
* He was particularly verfed m the language v f the Me ©FO-Taheitw ; -and
.there is only a difference of dialed! between it and the langnage -of New Zeeland.
kind
kind of white femi-opaque mill, and defeending upon us
at laft in rains or in fogs which wetted us to the Ikin.
The illes in the northern part not having fuch high hills
to attrafl and flop the clouds coming from the fea, permitted
them to pafs freely on to the very bottom of the
bay to the Alps, which we faw covered with perpetual
fnow. The two next days the rains were fo heavy that
no work could be done ; the perpetual moifture which
defeended in this place caufed fuch a dampnefs in all
parts of our veffel, as could not fail to become very un-
wholefome, and to deftroy all the collections o f plants
which had been made. Our Hoop lying fo near the fiiore,
which was deep and Ihaggy with over-hanging woods,
was involved in almoft. conllant darknefs, even in fair weather,
and much more fo during the fogs and rains, fo that
we were obliged to light candles at noon. But the conllant
fupply of frelh fifh confiderably alleviated thefe dif-
agreeable circumftances, and, together with the fpruce-
beer and the myrtle-tea, contributed to keep us healthy
and ftrong even in this damp climate. We were now indeed
become perfect ichtbyophagi, for many amongft us entirely
lived upon fifh. The fear of being cloyed with this
delicious food, often fet ns at work to invent new methods
of preparing it, in order to deceive the palate; and we
accordingly made foups, and pafties, boiled, fried, roafted,
and Hewed our fillies. But it was pleafant to obferve, that
a ll
■ 77Î-
A?K.XLm