C H A P . I I .
A Defcripiion o f Poverty Bay, and the Face of-the adjacent
Country. The Range from theme to Cape- Turnagain,
and hack to Tolaga; with fame Account o f the People
and the Country, and fe v e ra l hicidents that happened on
that P a rt o f the C oa f.
oaobe'r T H E nextTnorninS’ at fix o'clock, we weighed, and flood
v— .— _i away from this unfortunate and inhofpitable place, to
Wednef, u. which I gave the name of Poverty Ba y , and which by the
natives is called T aoneroa or Long Sand, as it did not afford
us a fingle article that we wanted except a little wood»
It lies in latitude 38° 42' S. and longitude 18 i° 36' W.; it is
in the form of an horfe-fhoe, and is known by an ifland
lying elofe under the north eaft point: the two points whieh
form the entrance are high, with fteep white cliffs, and lie
a league and a half or two leagues from each other, N. E. by E,
and S. W. by W .: the depth of water in the bay is from
twelve to five fathom, with a fandy bottom and good anchorage
; but the fituation is open to the wind between the
Youth and eaft: boats can go in and out of the river at any
time of the tide in fine weather; but as there is a bar at the
entrance, no boat can go either in or out when the fea runs
■ high: the beft place to attempt it, is oh the north eaft fide,
and it is there practicable when it is not foin any other part.
The fhore of the bay, a little within its entrance, is a low
flat fand ; behind which, at a fmall diftance, the face of the
country is finely diverfified by hills and valleys, all clothed
with
with wood, and covered with verdure. The country alfo
appears to be well inhabited, efpecially in the valleys leading !_/
up from the bay, where we daily faw fmoke rifing in clouds
one behind another to a great diftance, till the view terminated
in mountains of a ftupendous height.
The fouth weft point of. the bay I named Y oung Nic-k’s
H e ad, after Nicholas Young, the hoy wlio.firft faw the land ;
at noon, it bore N. W. by W. diftant about three or four
leagues,, and we were then about three miles from the fhore.
The main land extended from N. E. by N. to fouth, and I
.propofed to follow the direction of the coaft to the fouth-
ward as far as the latitude of 40 or 4 1 and then, if I met
with no-encouragement to .proceed farther, to return to the
northward.
In the afternoon we lay becalmed, whieh the people on
fhore perceiving, feveral canoes put off, and came within
lefs than a quarter of a mile of the veffel; but could not be
perfuaded to come nearer, though Tupia exerted all the •
powers of his lungs and his eloquence upon the occafion,
fhouting, and promifing that they fhould not be hurt. Another
canoe was now feen coming from Poverty Bay, with.
only four people on board; one of whom we well remembered
to have feen in our firft interview upon the rock. This
canoe, without flopping or taking the leaft notice of the
others, came diredtly alongfi.de of the fhip, and with very,
little perfuafion, we got-the Indians on board. Their example
was foon followed by the reft, and we had about us feven
canoes, and about fifty, men. We made them all prefents ■
with a liberal hand; notwithftanding which, they were fo
defirous to have more of our commodities, that they fold us >
every, thing they had, even the clothes-from their backs, and
the paddles from their boats. There were but two weapons -
among.