corners of the cloth which they wrapped round the body were passed over the shoulders from behind, and being brought down to the upper edge of it before, were made fast to it just under the breast; but few or none had feathers in their hair. They rowed round the ship several times, with their usual gesticulations of menace and defiance, and at last began the assault by throwing stones. Tupia expostulated with them, but apparently to very little purpose; and we began to fear that they would oblige us to fire at them, when a very old man in one of the boats expressed a desire to come on board. We gladly encouraged him in his design; a rope was thrown into his canoe, and she was immediately alongside of the ship. The old man rose up, and prepared to come up the ship's side, upon which all the rest, with great vehemence, began to remonstrate against the attempt, and at last laying hold of him, they restrained him by main force. He adhered, however, to his purpose with a calm and steady perseverance, and, having at length disengaged himself, came on board. We received him with all possible expressions of friendship and kindness, and after some time dismissed him with many presents to his companions. As soon as he was returned on board his canoe, the people in all the rest began to dance, but whether as a token of enmity or friendship we could not certainly determine. In a short time, however, they retired to their fort; and soon after I went ashore with most of the gentlemen, and landed at the bottom of the cove which we had entered, and abreast of the ship. We found a fine stream of excellent water, and wood in the greatest plenty, for the land here was one continuous forest of vast extent. As we had brought the seine with us we hauled it once or twice, and with such success, that we caught nearly three hundredweight of fish of different sorts, which we distributed equally among the ship's company. This wild melody The ship lay at the distance of somewhat less than a quarter of a mile from the shore, and in the morning we were awakened by the singing of birds. The number of the songsters was incredible, and they seemed to strain their throats in emulation of each other. was infinitely superior to any that we had ever heard of the same kind before. It was like the, sound of small bells most exquisitely tuned; and perhaps the distance and the water between contributed not a little to the pleasing effect. Upon inquiry we were informed that the birds here always begin to sing about two hours after midnight. After breakfast the next day, we went out in the pinnace to take a view of the bay, which was of vast extent, and indented all round with numberless coves and small harbours. We confined our attempts at exploration to the western side; but the district where we landed being one impenetrable forest, we could see nothing worthy of notice. We killed, however, a good number of shags, which we saw sitting upon their nests in the trees, and which, whether roasted or stewed, we considered very excellent provender. On the morning of the 26th, I went out again in the boat with Mr Banks and Dr Solander, and entered one of the bays on the east side of the inlet, in order to get another sight of the strait which passed between the eastern and western seas. Having landed for this purpose at a convenient place, we climbed a hill of very considerable height, from which we had a full view of it and the land on the opposite shore, which we judged to be about four leagues distant; but as it was hazy in the horizon, we could not see far to the south-eastward. I resolved, however, to search the passage with the ship, as soon as I should put to sea. Upon the top of this hill we found a parcel of loose stones, with which we erected a pyramid, burying under it some musket-balls, small shot, beads, and such other things as, happening to have about us, were likely to stand the test of time, and not being of native workmanship, would prove to any European who should come to the place and pull it down, that other natives of Europe had been there before him. When this was done, we descended the hill, and made a comfortable meal of the shags and fish which our guns and lines had procured for us, and which the boat's crew had dressed for us in a place which we had appointed. Here we found a native family, who received us with strong expressions of kindness and pleasure, showing us where to procure water, and doing us such other good offices as were in their power. The carpenter having prepared two posts to be left as memorials of our visit, I ordered them to be inscribed with the ship's name, and the year and month. One of them I set up at the watering-place, hoisting the Union Jack on the top of it, and the other I carried over to the island that lies nearest to the sea, called by the natives Motuara. Before erecting it, however, I went to the village, or pah, accompanied by Mr Monkhouse and Tupia, where I met with an old man, and told him and several others that we were come to obtain their consent to set up a mark upon the island, in order to show to any other ship which should happen to come thither that we had been there before. They readily consented to allow us to erect it, and they promised, moreover, that they would never pull it down. I then gave something to every one present, and to the old man I gave a silver threepence, dated 1736, and some spike nails, with the King's broad arrow cut deep upon them things which I thought most likely to remain long among them. I then took the post to the highest part of the island, and after fixing it firmly in the ground, hoisted upon it the Union flag. I at the same time honoured the inlet with the name of Queen Charlotte's Sound, and took formal possession of this and the adjacent country in the name and for the use of His Majesty King George III. We then drank a bottle of wine to Her Majesty's health, and gave the bottle to the old man, who had attended us up the hill, and who was mightily delighted with his present. While the post was being set up, we inquired of the old man concerning the passage into the eastern sea, the existence of which he confirmed; and we then asked him about the land to the south-west of the strait where we were then situated. This land he said consisted of two whenuas, or islands, which might be circumnavigated in a few days, and which he called "Te wahi ponnamu; though, probably, if we had understood him better, we should have found that Te wahi ponnamu was the name of some particular place, where they got the green talc, or stone, of which they made their ornaments and tools, and not a general name for the whole southern district. He said that there was also a third whenua on the east side of the strait, the circumnavigation of which would take up many moons, and to the land on the borders of this strait he gave the name of Terawhiti. Having set up our post, and procured this intelligence, we returned on board. the ship, bringing the old man with us, as also his canoe, in which after dinner he returned home. On the 6th of February, about six o'clock in the morning, a light breeze sprung up at north, and we again got under sail; but the wind proving variable, we reached no farther than just outside Motuara; in the afternoon, however, a more steady gale at N. by W. set us clear of the sound. The land forming the harbour or cove in which we had laid, and which I called Ship Cove, is not inferior to any in the sound, either for convenience or safety. It lies on the west side of the sound, and is the southernmost of three coves that are situated within the island of Motuara. CAPTAIN COOK'S SECOND VISIT TO DUSKY BAY. WE left Plymouth Sound on the 13th of June, 1772, and after touching at the Cape of Good Hope, steered for New Zealand. Nothing material happened to us beyond changes of the weather and climate till the 25th of March, when land was seen from the masthead, which greatly exhilarated the spirits of our sailors. At this time, however, we had an opportunity of seeing, what we had never observed before, the Aurora Australis, which made a very grand and luminous appearance. We steered in for the land with all the sail we could carry, and we had the advantage of good weather and a fresh gale. The country looked beautiful and pleasing. The islands we passed before our entrance into Dusky Bay, were shaded with evergreens and covered with woods; the various shades of autumnal yellow, intermixed with the evergreens, exhibited a delightful contrast. The rocky shores were enlivened with flocks of aquatic |