On the first day of my arrival, I went with the governor to examine the south shore, in order to fix on a spot for erecting some buildings; but we found very little fresh water, and not any spot very inviting for our purpose: we had a short conversation with a party of the natives, who were exceedingly shy. During the time we lay here, we sounded the bay all over, and found a considerable extent of anchorage in four, five, six, and seven fathoms water, but wholly exposed to easterly winds, and no possibility of finding shelter from those winds in any part of the anchorage.

We anchored on the north shore, off a sandy bay, which I think as good a birth as any in the bay; Cape Banks bore east-south-east, and Point Solander south-south-east, the ground clear and good. The wind, either from the north-east or south-east quarters, set in a prodigious sea. Higher up the bay there is a spot of four fathoms, where a few ships might be laid in tolerable security, but they must be lightened, to enable them to pass over a flat of twelve feet, and that depth but of narrow limits.

The day after my arrival, the governor, accompanied by me and two other officers, embarked in three boats, and proceeded along the coast to the northward, intending, if we could, to reach what Captain Cook has called Broken-bay, with a hope of discovering a better harbour, as well as a better country; for we found nothing at Botany-bay to recommend it as a place on which to form an infant settlement. In this examination, a large opening, or bay, about three leagues and a half to the northward of Cape Banks, was the first place we looked into: it had rather an unpromising appearance, on entering between the outer heads or capes that form its entrance, which are high, rugged, and perpendicular cliffs; but we had not gone far in, before we discovered a large branch extending to the southward; into this we went, and soon found ourselves perfectly land-locked, with a good depth of water.

We proceeded up for two days, examining every cove or other place which we found capable of receiving ships; the country was also particularly noticed, and found greatly superior in every respect to that round Botany-bay. The governor, being satisfied with the eligibility of this situation, determined to fix his residence here, and returned immediately to the ships.

On the 25th, we received the time-keeper from the Supply, which I am sorry to say, had been let down while on board her, during the passage from the Cape of Good Hope; and the same day, the governor sailed in the Supply, with a detachment of marines, to the new harbour, which Captain Cook had observed as he sailed along the coast, and named Port Jackson; he did not enter it, and therefore was uncertain of there being a safe harbour here: it has the appearance from sea of being only an open bay.

The convoy was again left to my care, the masters of the ships having had previous orders from Captain Phillip to prepare for sea. On the 26th, I made the signal for the transports to get under way. We perceived this morning two large ships in the offing, standing in for the bay, under French colours: these ships had been observed two days before, but the wind blowing fresh from north-west, they were not able to get in with the land. I sent a boat with an officer to assist them in, and about an hour after, a breeze sprung up from the south-east, and they were safely anchored in the bay. I then got under way, and with the transports worked out of the bay, and the same evening anchored the whole convoy in Port Jackson.

The two strangers proved to be the Bussole and Astrolabe, which sailed from Brest in June, 1785, upon discoveries, and were commanded by Mons. de la Perouse; Mons. de L'Angle, who commanded one of the ships when they left France, had been lately, when the ships were at the Islands of Navigators, murdered, with several other officers and seamen, by the natives; who had, before that unfortunate day, always appeared to be upon the most friendly and familiar terms with them. This accident, we understood, happened when their launches were on shore filling water, on the last day which they intended remaining at those islands: during the time they were employed in filling their water-casks, having the most perfect confidence in the friendly disposition of the natives, the sailors had been inattentive to the keeping the boats afloat; some misunderstanding having happened between some of the seamen and the natives, an insult had been offered by one or other, which was resented by the opposite party; a quarrel ensued, and the impossibility of moving the boats, exposed the officers and crews to the rage of the multitude, who attacked them with clubs and showers of stones, and would inevitably have massacred the whole, if there had not been a small boat at hand, which picked up those, who depending on their swimming, had quitted the shore.

Many of the natives were killed upon this occasion; and the loss of the ships was said to have been fourteen persons killed, including Captain de L'Angle, and some other officers; several were much wounded; and the boats were entirely destroyed.

This account of the accident is by no means to be considered as a correct statement of it; as it is only collected from little hints dropt in the course of conversation with different officers of those ships: they did not appear disposed to speak upon that subject, we therefore did not presume to interrogate. The voyage of those ships will no doubt be published by authority; till then we must wait for the particulars of that, and another unfortunate accident which happened to them upon the west coast of America, where they lost two boats and twenty-two men, including six officers, in a surf.

[A TABLE of the WINDS and WEATHER, etc. etc. on a Passage from Rio de Janeiro to the Cape of Good Hope; and from thence to Botany-Bay, on the East Coast of New Holland, on board His Majesty's Ship SIRIUS, in 1787, and Beginning of 1788.] [The table is included in the HTML version]

Chapter III

January 1788 to August 1788

-Frequent interviews with the natives.—Weapons described.—Ornaments.—Persons, manners, and habitations.—Method of hunting.—Animals described.—Birds, and insects.—Diary of the weather.—Departure of the Bussole and Astrolabe.—A convict pretends to have discovered a gold mine.—The fraud detected.—Observations for the longitude, etc_.

A Few days after my arrival with the transports in Port Jackson, I set off with a six oared boat and a small boat, intending to make as good a survey of the harbour as circumstances would admit: I took to my assistance Mr. Bradley, the first lieutenant, Mr. Keltie, the master, and a young gentleman of the quarter-deck.

During the time we were employed on this service, we had frequent meetings with different parties of the natives, whom we found at this time very numerous; a circumstance which I confess I was a little surprized to find, after what had been said of them in the voyage of the Endeavour; for I think it is observed in the account of that voyage, that at Botany-bay they had seen very few of the natives, and that they appeared a very stupid race of people, who were void of curiosity. We saw them in considerable numbers, and they appeared to us to be a very lively and inquisitive race; they are a straight, thin, but well made people, rather small in their limbs, but very active; they examined with the greatest attention, and expressed the utmost astonishment, at the different covering we had on; for they certainly considered our cloaths as so many different skins, and the hat as a part of the head: they were pleased with such trifles as we had to give them, and always appeared chearful and in good humour: they danced and sung with us, and imitated our words and motions, as we did theirs. They generally appeared armed with a lance, and a short stick which assists in throwing it: this stick is about three feet long, is flattened on one side, has a hook of wood at one end, and a flat shell, let into a split in the stick at the other end, and fastened with gum; upon the flat side of this stick the lance is laid, in the upper end of which is a small hole, into which the point of the hook of the throwing stick is fixed; this retains the lance on the flat side of the stick; then poising the lance, thus fixed, in one hand, with the fore-finger and thumb over it, to prevent its falling off side-ways, at the same time holding fast the throwing-stick, they discharge it with considerable force, and in a very good direction, to the distance of about sixty or seventy yards*. Their lances are in general about ten feet long: the shell at one end of the throwing-stick is intended for sharpening the point of the lance, and for various other uses. I have seen these weapons frequently thrown, and think that a man upon his guard may with much ease, either parry, or avoid them, although it must be owned they fly with astonishing velocity.

[* I have since seen a strong young man throw the lance full ninety yards; which, till then, I did not believe possible. I measured the distance.]

While employed on the survey of the harbour, we were one morning early, in the upper part of it, and at a considerable distance from the ship, going to land, in order to ascertain a few angles, when we were a little surprized to find the natives here in greater numbers than we had ever seen them before in any other place: we naturally conjectured from their numbers, that they might be those who inhabited the coves in the lower part of the harbour, and who, upon our arrival, had been so much alarmed at our appearance, as to have judged it necessary to retire farther up; they appeared very hostile, a great many armed men appeared upon the shore wherever we approached it, and, in a threatening manner, seemed to insist upon our not presuming to land.

During the whole time we were near them, they hailed each other through the woods, until their numbers were so much increased, that I did not judge it prudent to attempt making any acquaintance with them at this time: for, as I have already observed, we had only a six-oared boat and a smaller one; our whole number, leaving one man in each boat, amounted to ten seamen, three officers, and myself, with only three muskets; we therefore for the present, contented ourselves with making signs of friendship, and returned to the ship.

In two days after, we appeared again in the same place, better armed and prepared for an interview. Their numbers were not now so many, at least we did not see them, although it is probable they were in the wood at no great distance; but having occasion to put on shore to cook some provisions for the boats crews, I chose a projecting point of land for that purpose, which we could have defended against some hundreds of such people: I ordered two marine centinels upon the neck, in order to prevent a surprize, and immediately set about making a fire.

We soon heard some of the natives in the wood on the opposite shore; we called to them, and invited them by signs, and an offer of presents, to come over to us, the distance not being more than one hundred yards across: in a short time, seven men embarked in canoes and came over; they landed at a small distance from us, and advanced without their lances; on this I went up to meet them, and held up both my hands, to show that I was unarmed; two officers also advanced in the same manner; we met them and shook hands; but they seemed a good deal alarmed at our five marines who were under arms by the boats, upon which they were ordered to ground their arms and stay by them; the natives then came up with great chearfulness and good humour, and seated themselves by our fire amongst us, where we ate what we had got, and invited them to partake, but they did not relish our food or drink.

I was one day on shore in another part of the harbour, making friendship with a party of natives, when in a very short time, their numbers encreased to eighty or ninety men, all armed with a lance and throwing-stick, and many with the addition of a shield, made of the bark of a tree; some were in shape an oblong square, and others of these shields were oval; these were the first shields we had seen in the country*. Upon examining some of these shields, we observed that many of them had been pierced quite through in various places, which they by signs gave us to understand had been done with a spear; but that those shields will frequently turn the spear, they also showed us, by setting one up at a small distance, and throwing a spear at it, which did not go through. They were much surprized at one of our gentlemen who pulling a pistol out of his pocket, that was loaded with ball, and standing at the same distance, fired the ball through the thickest part of the shield, which they examined with astonishment, and seemed to wonder, that an instrument so small should be capable of wounding so deep.

[* It has since been found that the shields are in general made of wood.]

Our numbers at this time were what I first mentioned, with only three muskets, one of which I carried. The natives were very noisy, but did not appear disposed to quarrel; we gave them such little presents as we had with us, with which they seemed well pleased; although we had much reason afterwards to believe, that such trifles only pleased them, as baubles do children, for a moment: for at other times we had frequently found our presents lying dispersed on the beach, although caught at by these people with much apparent avidity at the time they were offered.

While we were employed with this party, we observed at a distance, a number of women, who were peeping from their concealments, but durst not gratify their natural curiosity, by appearing openly and conversing with us; as the men appeared here to be very absolute. I signified to the men that we had observed the women, and that I wished to make them some presents, if they might be permitted to come forward and receive them. The men seemed unwilling to suffer them to advance; for we had frequently observed, that they took particular care upon every occasion to keep the women at a distance, and I believe wholly from an idea of danger. They desired to have the presents for the women, and they would carry and deliver them, but to this proposal I positively refused to agree, and made them understand, that unless they were allowed to come forward, they should not have any. Finding I was determined, an old man, who seemed to have the principal authority, directed the women to advance, which they did immediately, with much good humour; and, during the whole time that we were decorating them with beads, rags of white linen, and some other trifles, they laughed immoderately, although trembling at the same time, through an idea of danger. Most of those we saw at this time were young women, who I judged were from eighteen to twenty-five years of age; they were all perfectly naked, as when first born.

The women in general are well made, not quite so thin as the men, but rather smaller limbed. As soon as the women were ordered to approach us, about twenty men, whom we had not before seen, sallied from the wood, compleatly armed with lance and shield; they were painted with red and white streaks all over the face and body, as if they intended to strike terror by their appearance: some of them were painted with a little degree of taste, and although the painting on others appeared to be done without any attention to form, yet there were those who, at a small distance, appeared as if they were accoutred with cross-belts: some had circles of white round their eyes, and several a horizontal streak across the forehead: others again had narrow white streaks round the body, with a broad line down the middle of the back and belly, and a single streak down each arm, thigh, and leg. These marks, being generally white, gave the person, at a small distance, a most shocking appearance; for, upon the black skin the white marks were so very conspicuous, that they were exactly like so many moving skeletons. The colours they use are mostly red and white; the first of which is a kind of ochre, or red earth, which is found here in considerable quantities; the latter is a fine pipe-clay.

The bodies of the men are much scarified, particularly their breasts and shoulders; these scarifications are considerably raised above the skin, and although they are not in any regular form, yet they are certainly considered as ornamental.

The men, thus armed and painted, drew themselves up in a line on the beach, and each man had a green bough in his hand, as a sign of friendship; their disposition was as regular as any well disciplined troops could have been; and this party, I apprehend, was entirely for the defence of the women, if any insult had been offered them. We also observed at this interview, that two very stout armed men, were placed upon a rock, near to where our boats lay, as centinels; for they never moved from the spot until we left the beach: I therefore suppose they were ordered there to watch all our motions. We left these people, after a visit of about four hours, both parties apparently well satisfied with all that passed.

In the different opportunities I have had of getting a little acquainted with the natives, who reside in and about this port, I am, I confess, disposed to think, that it will be no very difficult matter, in due time, to conciliate their friendship and confidence; for although they generally appear armed on our first meeting, which will be allowed to be very natural, yet, whenever we have laid aside our arms, and have made signs of friendship, they have always advanced unarmed, with spirit, and a degree of confidence scarcely to be expected: from that appearance of a friendly disposition, I am inclined to think, that by residing some time amongst, or near them, they will soon discover that we are not their enemies; a light they no doubt considered us in on our first arrival.

The men in general are from five feet six inches, to five feet nine inches high; are thin, but very straight and clean made; walk very erect*, and are active. The women are not so tall, or so thin, but are generally well made; their colour is a rusty kind of black, something like that of soot, but I have seen many of the women almost as light as a mulatto. We have seen a few of both sexes with tolerably good features, but in general they have broad noses, large wide mouths, and thick lips; and their countenance altogether not very prepossessing; and what makes them still less so, is, that they are abominably filthy; they never clean their skin, but it is generally smeared with the fat of such animals as they kill, and afterwards covered with every sort of dirt; sand from the sea beach, and the ashes from their fires, all adhere to their greasy skin, which is never washed, except when accident, or the want of food, obliges them to go into the water.

[* See a plate of the natives in Phillip's Voyage.]

Some of the men wear a piece of wood or bone, thrust through the septum of the nose, which, by raising the opposite sides of the nose, widens the nostril, and spreads the lower part very much; this, no doubt, they consider as a beauty; most of those we had hitherto met, wanted the two foremost teeth on the right side of the upper jaw; and many of the women want the two lower joints of the little finger of the left hand, which we have not as yet been able to discover the reason or meaning of. This defect of the little finger we have observed in old women, and in young girls of eight or nine years old; in young women who have had children, and in those who have not, and the finger has been seen perfect in individuals of all the above ages and descriptions; they have very good teeth in general; their hair is short, strong, and curly, and as they seem to have no method of cleaning or combing it, it is therefore filthy and matted.

The men wear their beards, which are short and curly, like the hair of the head. Men, women, and children go entirely naked, as described by Captain Cook; they seem to have no fixed place of residence, but take their rest wherever night overtakes them: they generally shelter themselves in such cavities or hollows in the rocks upon the sea shore, as may be capable of defending them from the rain, and, in order to make their apartment as comfortable as possible, they commonly make a good fire in it before they lie down to rest; by which means, the rock all round them is so heated as to retain its warmth like an oven for a considerable time; and upon a little grass, which is previously pulled and dryed, they lie down and huddle together.

And here, we see a striking instance of the particular care of Providence for all his creatures. These people have not the most distant idea of building any kind of place which may be capable of sheltering them from the severity of bad weather; if they had, probably it would first appear in their endeavours to cover their naked bodies with some kind of cloathing, as they certainly suffer much from the cold in winter.

Their ignorance in building, is very amply compensated by the kindness of nature in the remarkable softness of the rocks, which encompass the sea coast, as well as those in the interior parts of the country: they are a soft, crumbly, sandy stone; those parts, which are most exposed to, and receive the most severity of the weather, are generally harder than such parts as are less exposed; in the soft parts time makes wonderful changes; they are constantly crumbling away underneath the harder and more solid part, and this continual decay leaves caves of considerable dimensions: some I have seen that would lodge forty or fifty people, and, in a case of necessity, we should think ourselves not badly lodged for a night. Wherever you see rocks in this country, either on the sea-shore, or in the interior parts, as they are all of this soft sandy kind, you are sure of finding plenty of such caves.

In the woods, where the country is not very rocky, we sometimes met with a piece of the bark of a tree, bent in the middle, and set upon the ends*, with a piece set up against that end on which the wind blows. This hut serves them for a habitation, and will contain a whole family; for, when the weather is cold, which is frequently the case in winter, they find it necessary to lie very close for the benefit of that warmth to which each mutually contributes a share. These bark huts, (if they deserve even the name of huts) are intended, as we have lately discovered, for those who are employed in hunting the kangaroo, opossums, or in short, any other animals which are to be found in the woods; for at certain seasons, when those animals are in plenty, they employ themselves frequently in catching them.

[* For an exact description and representation of this hut, see Governor Phillip's Voyage.]

As most of the large trees are hollow, by being rotten in the heart, the opossum, kangaroo rat, squirrel, and various other animals which inhabit the woods, when they are pursued, commonly run into the hollow of a tree: in order, therefore, to make sure of them, which they seldom fail in, when they find them in the tree, one man climbs even the tallest tree with much ease, by means of notches at convenient distances, that are made with a stone hatchet; when he is arrived at the top, or where there may be an outlet for the animal, he sits there with a club or stick in his hand, while another person below applies a fire to the lower opening, and fills the hollow of the tree with smoak; this obliges the animal to attempt to make its escape, either upwards or downwards, but whichever way it goes, it is almost certain of death, for they very seldom escape. In this manner they employ themselves, and get a livelihood in the woods.

They also, when in considerable numbers, set the country on fire for several miles extent; this, we have generally understood, is for the purpose of disturbing such animals as may be within reach of the conflagration; and thereby they have an opportunity of killing many. We have also had much reason to believe, that those fires were intended to clear that part of the country through which they have frequent occasion to travel; of the brush or underwood, from which they, being naked, suffer very great inconvenience. The fires, which we very frequently saw, particularly in the summer-time, account also for an appearance, which, when we arrived here, we were much perplexed to understand the cause of; this was, that two-thirds of the trees in the woods were very much scorched with fire, some were burnt quite black, up to the very top: as to the cause of this appearance we differed much in our opinions; but it is now plain, that it has ever been occasioned by the fires, which the natives so frequently make, and which we have seen reach the highest branches of the trees: we sometimes, upon our arrival here, conjectured that it proceeded from lightning, but upon looking farther, it appeared too general amongst the woods to have been occasioned by such an accident.

We had reason to believe, that the natives associate in tribes of many families together, and it appeared now that they have one fixed residence, and the tribe takes its name from the place of their general residence: you may often visit the place where the tribe resides, without finding the whole society there; their time is so much occupied in search of food, that the different families take different routs; but, in case of any dispute with a neighbouring tribe, they can soon be assembled.

We are well informed by those whom we have had among us, that they sometimes have quarrels, and that they endeavour from concealments, to destroy those they are at war with. They are by no means a brave and determined people, except when passion overcomes them, and when they act as all savages do, like madmen. In all their quarrels with one another, they put themselves under the direction of a chief: how those chiefs are chosen we have not learnt, but have reason to believe it is from an opinion of their dexterity in war.

All the human race, which we have seen here, appear to live chiefly on what the sea affords, and consequently we find the sea-coast more fully inhabited than the interior, or that part of the country which we have had an opportunity of visiting more remote from the sea. The men fish with a spear, or fish-gig, in the use of which, it is apparent they are very dextrous. The fish-gig is in length something more than the war lance, but they can, according to the depth of water, increase its length, by a variety of joints; some have one, some two, three, or four prongs, pointed and barbed with a fish, or other animal's bone. We have sometimes, in fine weather, seen a man lying across a canoe, with his face in the water, and his fish-gig immersed, ready for darting: in this manner he lies motionless, and by his face being a little under the surface, he can see the fish distinctly; but were his eyes above, the tremulous motion of the surface, occasioned by every light air of wind, would prevent his sight: in this manner they strike at the fish with so much certainty, that they seldom miss their aim.

The women are chiefly employed in the canoes, with lines and hooks; the lines appear to be manufactured from the bark of various trees which we found here, of a tough stringy nature, and which, after being beaten between two stones for some time, becomes very much like, and of the same colour as a quantity of oakum, made from old rope: this they spin and twist into two strands: in fact, I never saw a line with more than two. Their hooks are commonly made from the inside, or mother of pearl, of different shells; the talons of birds, such as those of hawks, they sometimes make this use of; but the former are considered as best.

In this necessary employment of fishing, we frequently saw a woman with two or three children in a miserable boat, the highest part of which was not six inches above the surface of the water, washing almost in the edge of a surf, which would frighten an old seaman to come near, in a good and manageable vessel. The youngest child, if very small, lies across the mother's lap, from whence, although she is fully employed in fishing, it cannot fall; for the boat being very shallow, she sits in the bottom, with her knees up to her breast, and between her knees and body, the child lies perfectly secure. The men also dive for shell-fish, which they take off from the rocks under water; we frequently saw them leap from a rock into the surf or broken water, and remain a surprizing time under: when they rise to the surface, whatever they have gathered they throw on shore, where a person attends to receive it, and has a fire ready kindled for cooking.

They have no other method of dressing their food, than that of broiling. Boiling water they have no conception of, as appeared very lately; for when one of our boats was hauling the seine, one of the sailors had put a pot on the fire ready to dress some fish, and when the water was boiling, some fish were put in; but several natives, who were near, and who wished to have more fish than had been given them, seeing the fish put into the pot, and no person watching them, a native put his hand into the boiling water to take the fish out, and was of course scalded, and exceedingly astonished.

With respect to religion, we have not been able yet to discover that they have any thing like an object of adoration; neither the sun, moon, nor stars seem to take up, or occupy more of their attention, than they do that of any other of the animals which inhabit this immense country.

Their dead they certainly burn, of which I have been well convinced lately, when employed on the survey of a distant branch of Port Jackson. Some of my boat's crew having, when on shore, discovered a little from the water-side, upon a rising ground, what they judged to be a fresh grave, I went up and ordered it to be opened; when the earth was removed, we found a quantity of white ashes, which appeared to have been but a very short time deposited there: among the ashes we found part of a human jaw-bone, and a small piece of the scull, which, although it had been in the fire, was not so much injured, as to prevent our distinguishing perfectly what it was. We put the ashes together again and covered it up as before; the grave was not six inches under the surface of the ground, but the earth was raised the height of our graves in Europe.

In the months of March and April, we found the natives to decrease in their numbers considerably; but we have no reason to suppose that they retire back into the interior parts of the country; for in all the excursions which have been made inland, very few have been seen. The sea-coast, we have every reason at present to believe, is the only part of this country which is inhabited by the human race; the land seems to afford them but a very scanty subsistence. We have seen them roast and chew the fern-root. There is a small fruit here, about the size of a cherry; it is yellow when half grown, and almost black when ripe; it grows on a tree, which is not tall, but very full and bushy at the top; of this fruit we have often seen them eat: it has a good deal the taste of a fig, and the pulp, or inside, very much resembles that fruit in appearance: but the sea is their principal resource, and shell, and other fish, are their chief support.

They frequently attended our boats when hauling the seine, and were very thankful to the officer for any fish he might give them, as in cold weather the harbour is but thinly stocked; indeed, when we arrived here it was full of fish, and we caught as many as we could use, but in the winter they seem to quit our neighbourhood. I had reason to think, that the people who inhabited Port Jackson when we first entered it were gone farther to the northward, and that it is their constant custom, as the cold weather approaches, to seek a warmer climate, by following the sun; and in this practice they have another very powerful incitement, as well as the comfortable warmth of the sun, which is, that the fish incline to the northward, as the cold weather comes on: this conjecture seems, in some degree, to account for Captain Cook's having seen so few natives while he lay in Botany-bay, and that it appeared to him the seacoast was thinly inhabited; for I think it was in April, or May, that he was there.

The animal described in the voyage of the Endeavour, called the kangaroo, (but by the natives patagarang) we found in great numbers; one was lately shot which weighed 140 pounds; its tail was 40 inches long, and 17 in circumference at the root; it is very well described in Phillip's Voyage: we ate the flesh with great relish, and I think it good mutton, although not so delicate as that which we sometimes find in Leadenhall-market. The strength this animal has in its hind quarters is very great: in its endeavours to escape from us, when surprized, it springs from its hind legs, which are very long, and leaps at each bound about six or eight yards, but does not appear ever in running to let its fore-feet come near the ground; indeed they are so very short, that it is not possible that the animal can use them in running: they have vast strength also in their tail; it is, no doubt, a principal part of their defence, when attacked; for with it they can strike with prodigious force, I believe with sufficent power to break the leg of a man; nor is it improbable but that this great strength in the tail may assist them in making those astonishing springs.

We for some time considered their tail as their chief defence, but having of late hunted them with greyhounds very successfully, we have had an opportunity of knowing that they use their claws and teeth. The dog is much swifter than the kangaroo: the chase, if in an open wood, (which is the place most frequented by that animal,) is seldom more than eight or ten minutes, and if there are more dogs than one, seldom so long. As soon as the hound seizes him, he turns, and catching hold with the nails of his fore-paws, he springs upon, and strikes at the dog with the claws of his hind feet, which are wonderfully strong, and tears him to such a degree, that it has frequently happened that we have been under the necessity of carrying the dog home, from the severity of his wounds: few of these animals have ever effected their escape, after being seized by the dog, for they have generally caught them by the throat, and there held them until they were assisted, although many of them have very near lost their lives in the struggle.

Some of the male kangaroos are of a very large size; I have seen some, that when sitting on their haunches, were five feet eight inches high, such an animal is too strong for a single dog, and although he might be much wounded, would, without the dog had assistance at hand, certainly kill him. We know that the native dogs of this country hunt and kill the kangaroo; they may be more fierce, but they do not appear to be so strong as our large greyhound; there was one not long ago seen in pursuit of a kangaroo, by a person who was employed in shooting, who mistaking the two animals as they passed him to be of the kind he was looking for, he fired at the hindmost and brought him down, but when he came up it proved to be a native dog.

Of those dogs we have had many which were taken when young, but never could cure them of their natural ferocity; although well fed, they would at all times, but particularly in the dark, fly at young pigs, chickens, or any small animal which they might be able to conquer, and immediately kill, and generally eat them. I had one which was a little puppy when caught, but, notwithstanding I took much pains to correct and cure it of its savageness, I found it took every opportunity, which it met with, to snap off the head of a fowl, or worry a pig, and would do it in defiance of correction. They are a very good natured animal when domesticated, but I believe it to be impossible to cure that savageness, which all I have seen seem to possess.

The opossum is also very numerous here, but it is not exactly like the American opossum; it partakes a good deal of the kangaroo in the strength of its tail and make of its fore-legs, which are very short in proportion to the hind ones; like that animal, it has the pouch, or false belly, for the safety of its young in time of danger, and its colour is nearly the same, but the fur is thicker and finer. There are several other animals of a smaller size, down as low as the field-rat, which in some part or other partakes of the kangaroo and opossum: we have caught many rats with this pouch for carrying their young when pursued, and the legs, claws, and tail of this rat are exactly like the kangaroo.

It would appear, from the great similarity in some part or other of the different quadrupeds which we find here, that there is a promiscuous intercourse between the different sexes of all those different animals. The same observation might be made also on the fishes of the sea, on the fowls of the air, and, I may add, the trees of the forest. It was wonderful to see what a vast variety of fish were caught, which, in some part or other, partake of the shark: it is no uncommon thing to see a skait's head and shoulders to the hind part of a shark, or a shark's head to the body of a large mullet, and sometimes to the flat body of a sting-ray.

With respect to the feathered tribe, the parrot prevails; we have shot birds, with the head, neck, and bill of a parrot, and with the same variety of the most beautiful plumage on those parts for which that bird here is distinguished, and a tail and body of a different make and colour, with long, streight, and delicate made feet and legs; which is the very reverse of any bird of the parrot kind. I have also seen a bird, with the legs and feet of a parrot, the head and neck made and coloured like the common sea-gull, and the wings and tail of a hawk. I have likewise seen trees bearing three different kinds of leaves, and frequently have found others, bearing the leaf of the gum-tree, with the gum exuding from it, and covered with bark of a very different kind.

There are a great variety of birds in this country; all those of the parrot tribe, such as the macaw, cockatoo, lorey, green parrot, and parroquets of different kinds and sizes, are cloathed with the most beautiful plumage that can be conceived; it would require the pencil of an able limner to give a stranger an idea of them, for it is impossible by words to describe them*. The common crow is found here in considerable numbers, but the sound of their voice and manner of croaking, is very different from those in Europe. There are also vast numbers of hawks, of various sizes and colours. Here are likewise pigeons and quails, with a great variety of smaller birds, but I have not found one with a pleasing note.

[* See very accurate representations, drawn from nature, and described by that ingenious and able naturalist, John Latham, Esq; in Phillip's Voyage.]

There have been several large birds seen since we arrived in this port; they were supposed, by those who first saw them, to be the ostrich, as they could not fly when pursued, but ran exceedingly fast; so much so, that a very strong and fleet greyhound could not come near them: one was shot, which gave us an opportunity of a more close examination. Some were of opinion that it was the emew, which I think is particularly described by Dr. Goldsmith, from Linneus; others imagined it to be the cassowary, but it far exceeds that bird in size; it was, when standing, seven feet two inches, from its feet to the upper part of its head; the only difference which I could perceive, between this bird and the ostrich, was in its bill, which appeared to me to be narrower at the point, and it has three toes, which I am told is not the case with the ostrich: it has one characteristic, by which it may be known, and which we thought very extraordinary; this is, that two distinct feathers grew out from every quill*. The flesh of this bird, although coarse, was thought by us delicious meat; it had much the appearance, when raw, of neck-beef; a party of five, myself included, dined on a side-bone of it most sumptuously. The pot or spit received every thing which we could catch or kill, and the common crow was relished here as well as the barn-door fowl is in England.

[* See an elegant engraving of the Cassowary in Phillip's Voyage.]

Of insects there are as great a variety here as of birds; the scorpion, centipede, spider, ant, and many others; the ants are of various sizes, from the smallest known in Europe, to the size of near an inch long; some are black, some white, and others, of the largest sort, reddish; those of this kind are really a formidable little animal; if you tread near the nest, (which is generally under ground, with various little passages or outlets) and have disturbed them, they will sally forth in vast numbers, attack their disturbers with astonishing courage, and even pursue them to a considerable distance; and their bite is attended for a time with a most acute pain. Some build their nests against a tree, to the size of a large bee-hive; another kind raises little mounts on the ground, of clay, to the height of four feet.

In speaking of the spider, it would be improper to be silent upon the industry of this little creature; I call them little, although, if compared with our common spider, they are very large; they spread their web in the woods between trees, generally to a distance of twelve or fourteen yards, and weave them so very strong, that it requires considerable force to break them. I have seen the silk of which the web is composed, wound off into a ball, and think it equal to any I ever saw in the same state from the silk worm; it is of the same colour, a pale yellow, or straw colour. None of the gentlemen employed here have as yet made any particular observations upon the manner in which this animal is produced, or how they prepare their silk. I have found upon bushes, on which the web has been hanging in clusters, a thin shell, something like that wherein the silk-worm prepares its silk, but of this shape, [The image is included in the HTML version] and, upon opening them, I have seen a quantity of this silk within, in which a spider was found wrapped up.

Of reptiles, there are snakes from the smallest size known in England, to the length of eleven feet, and about as thick as a man's wrist; and many lizards of different kinds and sizes.

The natives we have seen accompanied by dogs, which appear to be domesticated the same as ours in Europe; they are of the wolf kind, and of a reddish colour.

When speaking of birds, I should have mentioned, that some of our gentlemen have seen in the lagoons and swamps which they have fallen in with, in their shooting excursions, the black swan, which is said to have been found in some parts of the west coast of this country; the extremity of their wings are described to be white, and all the rest of the plumage black. I have seen one which has been shot. It answered the above description as to colour, but the bill was a pale pink or crimson; it was about the size of a common white swan, and was good meat.

The vast variety of beautiful plants and flowers, which are to be found in this country, may hereafter afford much entertainment to the curious in the science of botany; but I am wholly unqualified to describe the different sorts with which we find the woods to abound; we sometimes met with a little wild spinach, parsly, and sorrel, but in too small quantities to expect it to be of any advantage to the seamen. The flax plant has been found here in several places, but not in any considerable quantity; I have heard it reckoned a good kind, but in that also I must confess my ignorance.

In the infancy of a distant settlement, the want of timber to carry on the necessary buildings, will be allowed to be a very great inconvenience; but we were here in the middle of a wood, in which were trees from the size of a man's arm to twenty-eight feet in circumference; but they were either so very crooked, so rent, or so very rotten in the heart, that we could scarcely get one sound or serviceable in a dozen; and what in our situation was a very great misfortune, we had not as yet found one piece of timber that would float in water. The wood is so exceedingly heavy, that when a large tree was cut down, in order to clear a piece of ground, it would sometimes take a party of men three or four days to dispose of it, or move it from the place.

We arrived in this country in the end of January, 1788; the weather was then very fine, though warm; the sea and land breezes pretty regular, and Farenheit's thermometer was from 72 deg. to 80 deg..

In February, the weather was sultry, with lightning, thunder, and heavy rain; this sort of weather continued for a fortnight, with few and very short intervals of fair weather; a flash of lightning fell one night near the camp, and struck a tree near to the post of a centinel, who was much hurt by it; the tree was greatly rent, and there being at the foot of it a pen in which were a sew pigs and sheep, they were all killed. Towards the latter end of the month the weather was more settled, little thunder, lightning, or rain, and the thermometer from 65 deg. to 77 deg..

In the middle of this month, Lieutenant King of the Sirius, a master's mate, and surgeon's mate, with four other men from the ship, together with a few men and women convicts, embarked on board the Supply armed tender, and she sailed with them for Norfolk Island. In the passage thither, they fell in with a small island which had not before been discovered; it lies in latitude 31 deg. 36' south, and about 140 leagues to the eastward of this coast; lieutenant Ball named it Lord Howe's Island. After having landed the party intended to remain on Norfolk Island, with their provisions and stores, Mr. Ball, in his return to Port Jackson, called at Lord Howe's Island, in order to examine it more particularly. He found anchorage on the west side of it, but the bottom was coral rock. He landed, with his boat, within a reef, and caught a number of excellent turtle upon a sandy beach: this island also abounded with a variety of birds, which were so unaccustomed to being disturbed, that the seamen came near enough to knock down as many as they wanted with sticks.

In March, the weather was variable, sometimes strong gales from the southward and south-east, with moist and hazy weather; a great sea rolling in upon the coast. This month the marines were ordered to clear ground and begin to build huts and barracks for the winter; the convicts were also directed to employ certain hours in the same necessary work for themselves. The mornings and evenings were now rather cold; the thermometer from 60 deg. to 75 deg..

In the month of April the weather was much the same as in March; rather variable; a few days of cloudy weather with rain, which generally fell in the night, and southerly and south-east winds; but when the wind shifted to the westward or north-west, the weather became fair and pleasant, and this weather was frequently attended with sea and land breezes; the mornings and evenings cold, and the middle of the day (if calm) very hot. Thermometer from 68 deg. to 72 deg..

The beginning of this month much bad weather; strong gales from south to south-east, generally attended with rain in the night; middle of the month fair and settled weather for several days together, with a regular land and sea wind; towards the end of the month the wind prevailed between south-west and south-east, weather unsettled, showers of rain commonly in the night; in the day little wind and warm weather. The thermometer from 56 deg. to 67 deg..

The beginning of June fair and pleasant weather, attended with land and sea breezes; from the middle to the latter end, stormy weather with much rain, wind chiefly from the south-east quarter. The thermometer from 52 deg. to 62 deg..

This month begun as the last ended, with blustering, rainy weather; the middle was less windy, though cloudy and dull, with frequent showers; the end of the month fair weather with westerly winds. The thermometer from 52 deg. to 63 deg..

This month commenced with cloudy weather and much rain, southerly and south-east winds; the middle moderate and fair with variable winds; the latter part was fair weather with light and variable winds. The thermometer from 56 deg. to 72 deg..

From the beginning till about the 20th, the weather was cloudy with frequent showers of rain; but the latter part had strong gales from the south-east quarter.

I was furnished with the following months by Lieutenant William Dawes, of the marines.

The first and middle parts of this month the weather was moderate and cloudy, and the wind very variable, frequent thunder and lightning with showers of rain; the latter part was clear, fine weather in general, with distant thunder and lightning, and a few violent squalls of wind, which happened generally in the night. The Thermometer from 49 deg. to 81 deg..

In the beginning of this month the weather was generally cloudy and hazy, the wind from the eastward; the middle part also cloudy with frequent light showers of rain, thunder, and lightning, sometimes distant and sometimes very heavy; latter part, cloudy and hazy, with violent thunder, lightning, and rain; wind from north-east to south-east; and the thermometer from 53 deg. to 93 deg..

The first part was cloudy and hazy, with some thunder, attended with light rain; middle, same kind of weather, with frequent and light showers of rain; latter part, moderate weather with a good deal of rain; the wind chiefly from the northward and eastward. The thermometer from 53 deg. to 102 deg..

During the whole of this month, the weather was cloudy and hazy, with light showers of rain, and sometimes distant thunder; the wind chiefly, though from the north-east and south-east, and during the night, westerly, or land winds. The thermometer from 63 deg. to 112 deg..

The thermometer, as marked for these last four months, was in the open air occasionally exposed to the sun and wind.

I judged it better, while mentioning the weather during the different months, to go on with that by itself, and not to mix it with any other occurrences: I must, therefore, return back as far as the beginning of March, at which time, as the two French ships already spoken of were preparing to leave this coast, I determined to visit Monsieur de la Perouse before he should depart; I accordingly, with a few other officers, sailed round to Botany-Bay, in the Sirius's long-boat. We staid two days on board the Bussole, and were most hospitably and politely entertained, and very much pressed to pass a longer time with them.

When I took my leave the weather proved too stormy to be able to get along the coast in an open boat; I therefore left the long-boat on board the Bussole, took my gun, and, with another officer and two seamen, travelled through the woods and swamps, of which there were many in our route. We directed our course by a pocket compass, which led us within a mile of our own encampment; the distance from Botany-Bay to Port Jackson, across the land, and near the sea shore, is, in a direct line, eight or nine miles; and the country about two miles to the southward of Port Jackson abounds with high trees, and little or no underwood; but between that and Botany-Bay, it is all thick, low woods or shrubberies, barren heaths, and swamps; the land near the sea, although covered in many places with wood, is rocky from the water-side to the very summit of the hills.

Whilst walking on shore with the officers of the French ships at Botany-Bay, I was shown by them a little mount upon the north shore, which they had discovered, and thought a curiosity; it was quite rocky on the top, the stones were all standing perpendicularly on their ends, and were in long, but narrow pieces; some of three, four, or five sides, exactly (in miniature) resembling the Giants Causeway in the north of Ireland.

The Bussole and Astrolabe sailed from Botany-Bay the 11th of March.

As I have mentioned something of the country between Botany-Bay and Port Jackson, I must farther observe, that in the neighbourhood of Sydney Cove, which is that part of this harbour in which Governor Phillip has fixed his residence, there are many spots of tolerably good land, but they are in general of but small extent; exclusive of those particular spots, it is rather a poor steril soil, full of stones; but near, and at the head of the harbour, there is a very considerable extent of tolerable land, and which may be cultivated without waiting for its being cleared of wood; for the trees stand very wide of each other, and have no underwood: in short, the woods on the spot I am speaking of resemble a deer park, as much as if they had been intended for such a purpose; but the soil appears to me to be rather sandy and shallow, and will require much manure to improve it, which is here a very scarce article; however, there are people whose judgment may probably be better than mine, that think it good land; I confess that farming has never made any part of my studies. The grass upon it is about three feet high, very close and thick; probably, farther back there may be very extensive tracts of this kind of country, but we, as yet, had no time to make very distant excursions into the interior parts of this new world.

On the 6th of May, three of the transports, which were chartered by the East-India Company to load tea at China, sailed from this port; the Supply also sailed for Lord Howe Island.

The carpenter of the Sirius, with his crew, had been constantly employed on shore since our arrival in this country, assisting in erecting store-houses, and other necessary buildings. The ship's company were variously employed out of the ship upon the business of the settlement. The scurvy had, for some time past, appeared more amongst the seamen, marines, and convicts, than when on board the ships, which will appear strange, after having enjoyed the advantage of being much upon the land, and eating various vegetable productions; but this the gentlemen of the faculty say is no uncommon thing, particularly when men are under the necessity of continuing the same salt diet; setting aside this, and a few with dysenteries, the health of the people cannot be said to be bad.

About the middle of this month a convalescent, who had been sent from the hospital to gather wild spinach, or other greens, was murdered by the natives; there were two of them together, the one escaped, but was wounded, the other has never been heard of since; but as some part of his cloaths were found which were bloody, and had been pierced by a spear, it was concluded he had been killed. A short time after this accident, a report prevailed, that part of the bones of a man had been found near a fire by which a party of the natives had been regaling themselves; this report gave rise to a conjecture, that as this man had been killed near this place, the people who had committed the murder had certainly ate him.

Whether any of the natives of this country are cannibals is yet a matter on which we cannot speak positively; but the murder of two other men, as related immediately after this, seems to contradict the conjecture that they are cannibals, as the men were left on the spot where they were killed: however, the following circumstance may, in some degree, incline us to believe, that although the natives in general do not eat human flesh, yet that that horrid custom is sometimes practised. I was one day present when two native children were interrogated on the subject of the quarrels of their countrymen; they were particularly asked, what the different chiefs did with those they killed; they mentioned some who burnt and buried the slain, but they also particularly named one who ate those he killed.

Some short time after the before-mentioned accident happened, two convicts who had been employed at a little distance up the harbour, in cutting rushes for thatching, were found murdered by the natives. It has been strongly suspected that these people had engaged in some dispute or quarrel with them, and as they had hatchets and bill-hooks with them, it is believed they might have been rash enough to use violence with some of the natives, who had, no doubt, been numerous there; be that as it might, the officer who went to look after those unfortunate men, and to see what work they had done, after hailing some time for them without any reply, set his boat's crew upon the search, who, having found a considerable quantity of blood near their tent, suspected what they soon found to be the case: for they discovered the two men immediately after, lying in different places, both dead; the one had his brains beat out with a club or stone, besides several other wounds; the other had many wounds, and part of a spear, which had been broke, sticking quite through his body. Their tent, provisions, and cloaths remained, but most of the tools were taken away.

The 4th of June being the birth-day of our much beloved sovereign, and the first we had seen in this most distant part of his dominions, it was celebrated by all ranks with every possible demonstration of loyalty, and concluded with the utmost chearfulness and good order.

Having at this time of the year much bad weather, and very heavy gales of wind, I must observe, that I had, as well as many others, believed till now, that the gales had never blown upon the coast in such a direction, but that a ship, on being close in with the land when such a gale commenced, might gain an offing on one tack or the other; but we now found, that those gales are as variable in their direction upon this coast as any other during the winter season: I would, therefore, recommend it to ships bound to any port here to the southward of latitude 30 deg. 00' south, at this time of the year to get in or near the parallel of their port, before they attempt to make the land; as in that case, if a gale from the eastward should take them when near the land, they would have their port under their lee, for it would be next to an impossibility for a ship to keep off the land with such a sea as these gales occasion.

In the month of July, our scorbutic patients seemed to be rather worse; the want of a little fresh food for the sick was very much felt, and fish at this time were very scarce: such of the natives as we met seemed to be in a miserable and starving condition from that scarcity. We frequently fell in with families living in the hollow part of the rocks by the sea-side, where they eagerly watched every opportunity of moderate weather to provide shell or other fish for their present subsistence: if a bird was shot, and thrown to them, they would immediately pluck off the feathers, put it upon the fire without taking out the intestines, and eat the whole; sometimes they did not pull off the feathers, and, if it were a small bird, did not even throw the bones away.

This season, in which fish is so scarce, subjects these poor creatures to great distress, at least we were apt to believe so; they were frequently found gathering a kind of root in the woods, which they broiled on the fire, then beat it between two stones until it was quite soft; this they chew until they have extracted all the nutritive part, and afterwards throw it away. This root appears to be a species of the orchis, or has much of its nutritive quality.

Large fires were frequently seen in this season upon some of the hills, and we had been much at a loss to know for what purpose they were so frequently lighted, at this time of the year; but in going down the harbour one day, with an intention to get upon the North Head, for the purpose of ascertaining its exact latitude, we observed on a hill near that point, one of those large fires, which (with the first lieutenant and surgeon who were with me) we determined to visit; and as we thought it might probably be some funeral ceremony, which we were very desirous of seeing, we took our guns, and intended getting up amongst them unperceived; but when we arrived at the place, to our very great disappointment, not a person was to be seen: I believe there were not less than three or four acres of ground all in a blaze; we then conjectured that these fires were made for the purpose of clearing the ground of the shrubs and underwood, by which means they might with greater ease get at those roots which appear to be a great part of their subsistence during the winter. We had observed that they generally took the advantage of windy weather for making such fires, which would of course occasion their spreading over a greater extent of ground.

On the 14th of July four transports, under the command of Lieutenant Shortland, sailed for England; they intended going to the northward, and passing through the streights of Macassar and Sunda, the season being too early either to attempt going round Van Diemen's land, and to endeavour to get to the westward by that tract, or to go to the eastward by Cape Horn.

The 12th of August being the birth-day of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, a salute of 21 guns was fired from the Sirius and Supply, and the officers of the settlement and ships dined with the governor, as on His Majesty's birth-day.

We began at this time to take equal altitudes for ascertaining the exact rate of the time-keeper. On the 17th, the governor directed two boats from the Sirius, with a proper officer in each, to go up the harbour; one to take the north, the other the south side; they were to enter every cove in their way up, in order to ascertain, as exactly as possible, the number of canoes and natives within the harbour of Port Jackson; for the same purpose, two other boats went down the harbour; in one of which the governor went, and I proceeded in the other; in the lower or north part of the harbour there was a considerable number of canoes, some of which were then employed in catching fish.

Upon my going round the coves, they all left their work and pushed with great precipitation for the land, which convinced me that they were women who were thus employed; as they had always shown a desire, as much as possible, to avoid us. I did every thing in my power to prevent their being alarmed, or in any respect uneasy, by keeping at a distance from them, and making every friendly signal I could, but to no purpose; for although there was no other boat in company, they did not seem disposed to trust us near them: there were many men upon the shore, who spoke to us in their usual familiar and chearful manner, and invited us with much apparent earnestness and friendship to come on shore, which, however, I declined, in order to prosecute the business I was engaged in; although I own I thought the counting them from the boat was a very uncertain method of coming at their numbers.

It blew fresh, and there was so much surf on shore, that it was impossible to land where the people stood, without the danger of hurting the boat, otherwise it is probable that I, together with Lieutenant George Johnston, of the marines, who was in the boat with me, should have landed: we went as near as possible to the shore, I believe within twenty yards, and whilst in friendly conversation with them, and lying upon our oars, we observed one of them place his lance upon the throwing-stick, but had no idea that he meant to throw it amongst us, after so friendly an invitation as we had received from them to land: but I was now convinced, that they only wanted us within their reach, no doubt from an opinion that we had no fire arms, as they did not appear: as soon as they thought that they could throw it with effect, a lance was discharged, which passed about six feet over our heads; I saw the lance in the air, and immediately snatched up my gun, which, as they run off the moment they had shown their hostile intention, I was determined to discharge amongst them, and should probably have killed one of their number, if my gun had not missed fire. Mr. Johnston, upon my gun having missed, immediately discharged his into the bushes in which they had sheltered themselves from our sight; but as it was charged only with small shot, I think it could not have hurt any of them.

What reason they could have had for this treacherous kind of conduct, I am wholly at a loss to guess, for nothing hostile or mischievous had appeared on our part; on the contrary, the most friendly disposition had been manifested in every thing we said or did; even when their women took the alarm upon our approach, I spoke to them, and made such signs of friendship as we judged they would understand, and went round at a distance to prevent their apprehension of any insult. It was perhaps fortunate that my gun did not go off; as I was so displeased at their treachery, that it is highly probable I might have shot one of them.

On comparing the accounts, which were taken by the different boats employed upon this business, it appeared that we had seen—Canoes 67—men 94—women 34—children 9,—which is by no means a just account of the numbers who, at that time, lived in and about this harbour; for I have since seen in one part of the harbour more than that number.

On the 27th, the Supply tender arrived from Norfolk Island, where she had been with a quantity of provisions and stores for that settlement; she brought the melancholy account of the loss of Mr. James Cunningham, and four others, who were drowned in the surf, by their boat being overset in landing the stores from the Supply; so exceedingly difficult of access is the shore of that island, from an almost continual surf breaking on a reef which encompasses the coast on that part where the settlement is formed.

In this month a report prevailed in the settlement, which seemed at first to gain some credit:—It was, that one -Dailey_, a convict, had discovered a piece of ground, wherein he had found a considerable quantity of a yellow coloured ore, which, upon its being tried, appeared to have a certain proportion of gold in it; at this time the governor happened to be absent on a short excursion into the country, to the northward: the report having been made to the lieutenant-governor, he, of course, examined the man, who had made the discovery, and who told his story with so much plausibility, that it was not doubted but an ore of some kind had been sound.

Dailey was interrogated as to the place, but this he refused to give any information of until the return of the governor, to whom he would give a full account of the discovery, provided he would grant him what the discoverer considered as but a small compensation for so valuable an acquisition; this reward was, (as there were ships upon the point of sailing) his own and a particular woman convict's enlargement, and a passage in one of the ships to England, together with a specified sum of money, which I do not now recollect. The lieutenant-governor insisted, that as he had already mentioned the discovery he had made, he should also show what part of the country it was in, otherwise he might expect punishment, for daring to impose upon those officers to whom he had related this business: the fear of punishment disposed him to incline a little, though apparently with much reluctance; he proposed to the lieutenant-governor, that an officer should be sent down the harbour with him, for the mine, which, he said, was in the lower part of the harbour, and near the sea shore, and he would show the place to the officer.

Accordingly, an officer, with a corporal and two or three private soldiers were sent with him; he landed where he said the walk would be but short, and they entered the wood in their way to the mine; soon after they got among the bushes, he applied for permission to go to one side for a minute upon some necessary occasion, which was granted him; the officer continued there some hours without seeing the discoverer again, who, immediately on getting out of his sight, had pushed off for the camp by land, for he knew the road very well, and he had cunning enough to persuade the officer to send the boat away as soon as they had landed, as he supposed he would not choose to quit the place until a good guard came down; for which purpose, the officer was to have dispatched a man by land, as soon as he arrived at the place, and was satisfied that it merited attention.

The convict arrived in camp pretty early in the afternoon, and informed the lieutenant-governor, that he had left the officer who went down with him in full possession of the gold mine; he then got a few things out of his own tent, and disappeared; the party, after waiting for some hours hooping and searching through the woods for the cheat, left their stations and marched round to the camp, where they arrived at dusk, heartily tired, and not a little chagrined at the trick the villain had played them. The want of provisions soon brought him from his concealment, and a severe punishment was the necessary consequence of this imposition: however, he still gave out, that he had made the discovery which he before had mentioned, and that his reasons for quitting the officer who went with him was, that he thought, if he gave the information to the governor himself, he should certainly get what he had asked.

When the governor returned, another officer was sent with him, although every person now believed that there was no truth in what he had hitherto reported. This officer informed him, in going down in the boat, that he would not suffer him to go three yards from him when landed, and that he would certainly shoot him if he attempted to run from him; for which purpose he showed him, that he was loading his gun with ball: this so terrified the cheat, that he acknowledged he knew of no gold mine. He was then interrogated respecting the ore which he had produced, and he confessed he had filed down part of a yellow metal buckle, and had mixed with it some gold filed off a guinea, all which had been blended with some earth, and made hard. The man who tried the ore was bred a silversmith, and upon separating the different parts, he discovered that it contained a small quantity of gold: the inventor was, of course, well punished for his trick.

[The observations which I made here, both for the latitude and longitude, as well as those that were made by Lieutenant Bradley, were the same as are inserted in the following tables.] [The tablse are included in the HTML version]

Chapter IV

A VOYAGE TO CAPE OF GOOD HOPE

September 1788 to January 1789

The Sirius leaves Port Jackson.—Sails for the Cape of Good Hope, by the Eastern Passage.—Falls in with many large islands of ice.—Casts anchor at Robin's Island.—Tables of the winds, weather, etc.-

In the month of September, Governor Phillip signified to me, that it was his intention very soon to dispatch the Sirius to the Cape of Good Hope, in order to purchase such quantity of provisions as she might be capable of taking on board; and that she might be made as light as possible for that purpose, he desired I would land eight or ten of her guns and carriages, with any other articles which I judged the ship could spare, for the time she might be absent, and which might answer the purpose of lightening the ship and the making of room.

In consequence of this order, eight guns, with their carriages, and 24 rounds of shot for each gun, 20 half barrels of powder, a spare anchor, and various other articles, were put on shore at Sydney-cove: he also directed that I should leave the ship's long-boat behind for the use of the settlement: this order I confess I with reluctance obeyed, as the want of such a boat has often been very severely felt; at the same time I was desired to endeavour, on my arrival at the Cape, to purchase such a boat for the settlement; and that written directions for that and other purposes would be given me, when I received my final instructions. Whilst upon this subject, I thought it a proper opportunity to represent, that the Sirius was (except in the carpenter's department,) perfectly ready for sea; but the carpenter's crew, together with the carpenter of the ship himself, having all been employed constantly on the business of the settlement, since our arrival in this country, the ship had, in consequence, been much neglected in that department; and as she was soon to go to sea, it was highly necessary that those people should be immediately sent on board to prepare her for a voyage.

We had, it is true, (upon my representing the absolute necessity of having the ship's decks and sides caulked,) employed an old man, the carpenter's yeoman, and a convict caulker, upon the weather work of the ship; but that work, we had afterwards reason to know, had not been so well executed as it might have been, had the carpenter of the ship been permitted to stay on board and attend so necessary a duty.

On Tuesday the 30th of September, I received my final orders, and on Wednesday the Ist of October, unmoored the ship; the governor and his family dined on board, and the wind being easterly, we got under weigh and worked down to the lower anchorage, where we came to, intending to take advantage of the land wind in the morning to put to sea. The Golden Grove store-ship also came down and anchored below, having on board provisions and other stores, for Norfolk Island; she had also on board a number of men and women convicts for that island; I think twenty men and twelve women, together with six marines and three seamen from the Sirius. In the evening, the governor and the other gentlemen who were with him took their leave, and early in the morning of the 2d, with the wind at south-west, we sailed out of the harbour.

As I have not at any time, when speaking of this harbour, given any description of it, or any directions for sailing into it, I will take this opportunity.

The entrance of the harbour of Port Jackson has nothing in its appearance, when six leagues from the land, by which it may be known; your latitude will be your most infallible guide to this harbour, or indeed to any other upon this coast. Steer in for the land, which here lies about north by east half east and south by west half west; keep as near as you can in latitude 33 deg. 50' south; the entrance, when you come near, will show itself, by the heads on each side, which are high, steep, perpendicular cliffs, of a light reddish colour; a ship bound in here, may run in without fear between the heads, which are distant from each other one mile and three quarters; there is nothing in the way, and the shore pretty steep to on each side; the sea breaking, which it does even in fine weather, will show any rocks which may lie near under the shore. Steer in between the heads for a high bluff point, which is called Middle Cape or Head, and is steep to, until you open to the southward of you a very extensive arm of the harbour.

If the wind be sufficiently large to run up this branch, (which lies by compass south-west by south) on either shore, haul round the east-most point of this arm, which is called the Inner or South Head; it is a low rocky point; give it a birth of two-thirds of a cable, and steer right in for the first sandy cove above it, on the same side, called Camp Cove; keep at a convenient, but small distance from the shore, in three and a half and four fathoms, and observe, that right off this cove, and near mid-channel, lies a patch of rocks, which appear at half-tide; the shoaling toward them is gradual all round, upon a smooth sandy bottom; it is rocky only about half a cable's length from the dry part; you may keep near the upper point of Camp Cove, in six and seven fathoms, and from thence steer directly up the harbour. If you intend to go on the west shore, and to leave this patch of rocks to the eastward of you, steer in as before for Middle Head, and when within a cable's length of it, steer up for the next point above it, on the same side, observing not to make too free with that point, as it is rocky something more than half a cable's length off. In this channel, which is much the best, being rather broader than the eastern channel, you will have four, four and a half, and five fathoms. When you are above this second point, on the west shore, you may take what part of the channel you please, or anchor wherever you wish, there being nothing in the way from shore to shore.

The chart will certainly be the best guide in going in. If the wind should be southerly, a stranger would not venture to work up, but he might anchor with safety in the north part of the harbour, which he will perceive by the chart, to which I would refer him, rather than to a written description*.

[* For an accurate survey of this harbour, see a Chart of Port Jackson, by Captain Hunter, in Phillip's Voyage, 4to. Edition.]

We were no sooner clear of the harbour, than the wind veered more to the southward, and began to blow strong, with thick, hazy, and dirty weather; and, what gave me privately a good deal of concern, the carpenter reported, that the ship, which had hitherto been very tight, now made water. This piece of information, with such a voyage as the Sirius was now entered upon, was no doubt very unwelcome; and more particularly so, when it was considered, that the ship's company, from having been long upon salt diet, without the advantage of any sort of vegetables, were not so healthy and strong as a leaky ship might require.

I had often observed, that when this voyage, upon which we were now entered, was the subject of conversation, in company with the governor, he always spoke in favour of the passage round Van Diemen's land, and to the westward; but when I signified a wish that he would direct by what route I should endeavour to perform the voyage, he declined that; and said that I should be governed by circumstances, and that he should leave it to my discretion and judgment; at the same time expressing his opinion strongly in favour of the western route; which I confess I was a little surprised at, as it had never yet been attempted, not even by ships employed in that kind of service which leaves it in their power to make experiments.

I do not say that the passage from Van Diemen's land to the Cape of Good Hope, by the westward, is impracticable, as that remains yet to be tried; but from my own experience of the prevalence of strong westerly winds across that vast ocean, I am inclined to think it must be a long and tedious voyage; and at the same time so very uncertain, that the time for which the Sirius was victualled, (for four months, and of some articles not more than two weeks, for the number of men on board; having left a considerable quantity of our provision for the use of the settlement,) and the nature of the service she was going upon, which was no doubt of considerable consequence to the colony, was not an opportunity for trying such an experiment; as the consequence of a disappointment would have been, that I must have returned again to Port Jackson for a fresh supply of provisions, and the season for another passage would have been too far advanced. I therefore determined, judging from the experience of those who had before made the eastern passage, to pass to the southward of New Zealand and round Cape Horn.

We stood off to the eastward, determined as early as possible to get an offing of fifty or sixty leagues; the wind continued to the southward, with the same hazy and squally weather, until the 5th, when it shifted to south-south-east; by this time we were about 70 leagues from the coast, which enabled us to tack and stand to the south-west: with this change of wind from the south-west to the south-east quarter, the same squally and unsettled weather continued. The ship upon the larboard tack made much more water than on the starboard, so much as to render it necessary to pump her every two hours, to prevent too long a spell; she made in general from ten to twelve inches in two hours.

There was reason to conjecture, from this difference on the opposite tacks, that the leak was somewhere about the starboard bow, and near the surface of the water, and if it proved so, I had a hope that we might, the first moderate weather, with smooth water, be able to come at and stop it. I was the more sanguine in this expectation, as the carpenter, in a few days after, discovered it to be under the after part of the fore-channel, a little below the surface of the water; and seemed to think it proceeded from one of the butt-bolts being corroded by the copper, which I now understood had never been taken off since the ship's being first sheathed, which was now more than eight years.

On the 6th, the weather cleared up, and both Mr. Bradley and myself had a few distances of the sun and moon, by which our longitude was 157 deg. 10' east, by the time-keeper 156 deg. 55' east, and by account 156 deg. 17' east; the latitude 34 deg. 49' south; variation per Azimuth 11 deg. 40' east. At noon, the wind got round to east and east by north, with which I steered south-south-east; still favouring our endeavours to get to the southward; it next came to north-east and north, and in latitude 40 deg. 33' south, it came to north-west, but the weather still continued squally and unsettled. As the weather began now to be rather cold, and as in the track I meant to prosecute my voyage by I might expect to have it considerably colder, and consequently the ship's company would require a shift of cloathing, slops were served to all who stood in need of them.

On the 9th, we were near as far to the southward as Van Diemen's Land, or South Cape of New Holland; and the wind being apparently settled in the south-west quarter, I steered a course for the south cape of New Zealand. From Port Jackson to Van Diemen's Land we had run parallel to the coast, at the distance of 60 leagues from it, and have not seen any thing; so that we may venture to say, that there are no islands lie off that part of the coast, at the above distance from it. On the afternoon of this day (9th) we had several good setts of distances of the sun and moon, by which our longitude was 157 deg. 26' east, by the time-keeper 157 deg. 19' east, and by account 157 deg. 48' east; the latitude 43 deg. 30' south; the thermometer was now 57 deg..

On the 12th, we passed the south cape of New Zealand, but the weather being very hazy and squally, we did not attempt to make it, but kept a degree and a half to the southward of it; here we met with vast numbers of birds of various kinds, mostly aquatic, such as albatrosses, pentada birds, divers, peterels, and a variety of gulls; some of a kind I had not before seen during the voyage, very large, of a dark brown or mouse colour; and another sort not quite so large, with a white body, dark wings, and the head of a light blue or lead colour: much sea-weed was also seen here in very large patches.

We now had the wind fresh from the north-west quarter, with frequent squalls, attended with rain, and the weather cold. We found the variation of the compass 40 leagues south-south-east from the south cape of New Zealand, to be 16 deg. 54' east. Mr. Worgan, the surgeon, having recommended the essence of malt to be served at this time to the ship's company, a certain quantity of wort was made every morning, and a pint served to each man.