CHAPTER II.

Botany Bay-Natives.

THE governor had reached his destination but forty hours, and the three transports but twenty hours, before the rest of the fleet. He had employed himself, from his first landing, in examining how far the bay was adapted to the intended purpose of a colony; but his researches had ended for the most part in disappointment. Its extent is very great, but it is in general without much depth of water, and is exposed to the south-east winds, which often cause a heavy and dangerous swell. At the distance of less than three miles from its mouth, there is a bar, which at low water is not more than fifteen feet deep. The streams of fresh water upon its shores are scanty, and in many places impure, with the appearance of having oozed through marshes. There was, indeed, that variety of plants which had been so captivating to the taste of the party that accompanied Captain Cook, and which suggested the name assigned to the bay; but the good soil was only in patches, and the place upon the

whole so unpromising, that a general gloom prevailed over the minds of the more thinking part of those who belonged to the expedition. It soon occurred to the governor, that it would be expedient to seek for another situation, and he resolved upon the immediate execution of that measure; but, as it was not certain that a more eligible one could be found, he thought it prudent not entirely to suspend his preparations, but still to act in some sort as if this were to be the site of the settlement. He therefore fixed upon a part of the southern shore, named Point Sutherland, as the best situation that could be found, and gave orders that the clearing of the ground should be commenced, but forbid the principal disembarkation. Lieutenant King had orders also to view the bay during his absence with greater accuracy than time had hitherto permitted.

The shores of this country are inhabited by a savage race, who have no fixed residence, and subsist chiefly by hunting and fishing, but particularly the latter. They are entirely naked. Though not of the negro kind, their complexion is of a sooty black. They are armed with a lance, and make use of canoes, in which there is usually a fire. They take refuge from the inclemencies of the weather, sometimes in

the caves of the rocks, and sometimes in temporary huts covered with bark. Their population is proportioned to the scantiness of their subsistence. The governor had, during the few days that had elapsed since his arrival, several opportunities of observing their temper. In general they had not appeared decidedly unfriendly; but even their acts of kindness were accompanied by marks of suspicion and alarm. When signs were made to them from a boat, that the object sought was water, they pointed to the situation of a spring, and after conducting the crew to it, behaved at the spot peaceably. An old man, of a very ferocious countenance, seemed pleased with the looks of an European child, but after examining it with apparent tenderness, he pronounced vehemently the word whurra, signifying in their language begone.

The

These mixed emotions are not confined to the savage. Man in every state confesses their influence. In the most polished nations, they perplex the question of peace or war. savage has his notions, however rude, of property and occupancy; or he may be alarmed at the appearance or neighbourhood of powerful strangers. Interest and hope and curiosity, may again pull him in a contrary direction.

It will occur to every generous mind, that these less favoured mortals, to whom fortune has been such a step-mother, have undeniable claims to indulgence from those who possess the boundless advantages over them derived from civilization.

CHAPTER III.

Port Jackson.

On the 21st of January, in pursuance of his plan, the governor proceeded to explore the neighbouring coasts, and particularly the inlet, about eighteen miles northward, which Captain Cook had named Broken Bay. He was accompanied by Captain Hunter, Captain Collins (judge-advocate), and the master of the Sirius, with a small party of marines, the whole being embarked in three open boats. The day was mild and serene. Parties of natives on shore seemed to accompany their progress, vociferating the words whurra, whurra, whurra, words which we have already observed to be of no friendly import.

There was a part of the coast which Captain Cook had viewed from a distance of between two and three miles, and which, as it had to him the appearance of an open bay, he had not thought worthy of particular examination. It was distant from Botany Bay about three leagues and a half. He had named it Port Jackson. This, as it lay in the route to Broken