A General History & Collection of Voyages and Travels ... - Nauticus

took leave they followed us to our boat; and, seeing the musquets lying across the stern, they madesigns for them to be taken away, which being done, they came alongside, and assisted us to launchher. At this time it was necessary for us to look well after them, for they wanted to take away everything they could lay their hands upon, except the muskets. These they took care not to touch, beingtaught, by the slaughter they had seen us make among the wild- fowl, to look upon them asinstruments of death.We saw no canoes or other boats with them, two or three logs of wood tied together served the samepurpose, and were indeed sufficient for the navigation of the river, on the banks of which they lived.There fish and fowl were in such plenty, that they had no occasion to go far for food; and they havebut few neighbours to disturb them. The whole number at this place, I believe, does not exceed threefamilies.It was noon when we took leave of these two men, and proceeded down the north side of the bay,which I explored in my way, and the isles that lie in the middle. Night, however, overtook us, andobliged me to leave one arm unlooked into, and hasten to the ship, which we reached by eighto'clock. I then learnt that the man and his daughter stayed on board the day before till noon; and thathaving understood from our people what things were left in Cascade Cove, the place where theywere first seen, he sent and took them away. He and his family remained near us till today, whenthey all went away, and we saw them no more; which was the more extraordinary, as he never left usempty-handed. From one or another he did not get less than nine or ten hatchets, three or four timesthat number of large spike-nails, besides many other articles. So far as these things may be countedriches in New Zealand, he exceeds every man there; being, at this time, possessed of more hatchetsand axes than are in the whole country besides.In the afternoon of the 21st, I went with a party out to the isles on seal- hunting. The surf ran so highthat we could only land in one place, where we killed ten. These animals served us for threepurposes; the skins we made use of for our rigging; the fat gave oil for our lamps; and the flesh weeat. Their haslets are equal to that of a hog, and the flesh of some of them eats little inferior to beefsteaks.The following day nothing worthy of notice was done.In the morning of the 23d, Mr Pickersgill, Mr Gilbert, and two others, went to the Cascade Cove, inorder to ascend one of the mountains, the summit of which they reached by two o'clock in theafternoon, as we could see by the fire they made. In the evening they returned on board, and reportedthat inland, nothing was to be seen but barren mountains, with huge craggy precipices, disjoined byvalleys, or rather chasms, frightful to behold. On the southeast side of Cape West, four miles out atsea, they discovered a ridge of rocks, on which the waves broke very high. I believe these rocks tobe the same we saw the evening we first fell in with the land.Having five geese left out of those we brought from the Cape of Good Hope, I went with them nextmorning to Goose Cove (named so on this account,) where I left them. I chose this place for tworeasons; first, here are no inhabitants to disturb them; and, secondly, here being the most food, Imake no doubt but that they will breed, and may in time spread over the whole country, and fullyanswer my intention in leaving them. We spent the day shooting in and about the cove, and returnedaboard about ten o'clock in the evening. One of the party shot a white hern, which agreed exactlywith Mr Pennant's description, in his British Zoology, of the white herns that either now are, or wereformerly, in England.The 20th was the eighth fair day we had had successively; a circumstance, I believe, veryuncommon in this place, especially at this season of the year. This fair weather gave us anopportunity to complete our wood and water, to overhaul the rigging, caulk the ship, and put her in acondition for sea. Fair weather was, however, now at an end; for it began to rain this evening, and