NsUfth«. direaions from us> went t0 the poop, and began to expoftu-
JM^rd'a J late: he told them, that we had weapons which would de-
‘ flroy them in a moment; and that, if they ventured to attack
us, we Ihould be obliged to ufe them. Upon this, they
flourifhed their weapons, and cried out,-in their language,
“ Come on ihore, and we will kill you a l lWe l l , faid Tu-
pia, but why Ihould you moleft us while we are at fea ? as
we do not wifli to fight, we fliall not accept your challenge
to come on Ihore; and here there is no pretence for a quarrel,
the fea being no more your property than the fliip. This
eloquence of Tupia, though it greatly furprifed us, having
given him no hints for the arguments he ufed, had no effedl
upon our enemies, who very foon renewed their battery: a
mufquet was then fired through one of their boats, and this
was an argument of fufficient weight, for they immediately
fell aftern and left us.
From the point, of which we were now abreaft, the land
trends W.±S. near a league, and then S. S.E. as far as we
could fee ; and, befides the iflands that lay without us, we
could fee land round by the S. W. as far as the N. W.; but
whether this was the main or iflands, we could not then determine
: the fear of lofing the main, however, made me re-
folve to follow its direction. With this view, I hauled round
the point and fleered to the fouthward, but there being light
airs all round the compafs, we made but little progrefs.
About one o’clock, a breeze fprung up at eaft, which afterwards
came to N. E. and we fleered along the fliqre S. by E.
and S. S. E. having from twenty-five to eighteen fathom.
At about half an hour after feven in the evening, having
run feven or eight leagues fince noon, I anchored in twenty-
three fathom, not chufing to run any farther in the dark, as
I had now land on both fides, forming the entrance of a
flreight,
R O U N D T H E WORL D .
flreight, bay, or river, lying S. by E. for on that point we No1v7em69-b.er.
could fee no land. '— —•
At day-break, on the 19th, the wind being Hill favourable, Sunday 19.
we weighed and flood with an eafy fail up the inlet, keeping
neareft to the eaft fide. In a fhort time, two large canoes-
came off to us from the fliore; the people on board faid, that
they knew Toiava very well,-and called Tupia by his name.
I invited fome of them on board; and as they knew they had
nothing to fear from us, while they behaved honeftly and
peaceably, they immediately complied: I made each of them’
fome prefents, and difmifled them much gratified. Other
canoes afterwards came up to us from a different fide of the
ba y; and the people on board of thefe alfo mentioned the
name of Toiava, and fent a young man into the fliip, who*
told us he was his grandfon, and he alfo was difmifled with*
a prefent.
After having, run about five leagues from the place where
we had anchored the night before, our depth of water gradually
decreafed to fix fathom ; and not. ohufing. to go into,
lefs, as it was tide of flood, and the wind-blew rightup the
inlet, I came to an anchor about the middle of the-channel,,
which is near eleven miles over ; after which I. fent two-
boats out to found,, one on one fide,,and. the. other on the:
other.
The boats not- having found-above three feet more water
than-we were now in , I determined to go no farther with:
the fliip, but to examine the head of the bay in the boats
for, as it appeared, to. run a good way inland, I thought this,
a favourable opportunity to-examine the interior part of the.-
country, and its produce.
At day-break,therefore, Ffet out in «He pinnace and long- Monday to.
boat, accompanied: by Mr. Banks, DivSolander, and Tupia ;
and.