A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
In the afternoon, when Mr Banks was out in the boat a-shooting, we saw
with our glasses, four double canoes, having on board fifty-seven men,
put off from that shore, and make towards him: We immediately made
signals for him to come on board; but the ship, with respect to him,
being right in the wake of the sun, he did not see them. We were at a
considerable distance from the shore, and he was at a considerable
distance from the ship, which was between him and the shore; so that, it
being a dead calm, I began to be in some pain for him, fearing that he
might not see the canoes time enough to reach the ship before they
should get up with him: Soon after, however, we saw his boat in motion,
and had the pleasure to take him on board before the Indians came up,
who probably had not seen him, as their attention seemed to be wholly
fixed upon the ship. They came within about a stone's cast, and then
stopped, gazing at us with a look of vacant astonishment: Tupia exerted
all his eloquence to prevail upon them to come nearer, but without any
effect. After surveying us for some time, they left us, and made towards
the shore; but had not measured more than half the distance between that
and the ship before it was dark. We imagined that these people had heard
nothing of us, and could not but remark the different behaviour and
dispositions of the inhabitants of the different parts of this coast
upon their first approaching the vessel. These kept aloof with a mixture
of timidity and wonder: Others had immediately commenced hostilities, by
pelting us with stones: The gentleman whom we had found alone, fishing
in his boat, seemed to think us entirely unworthy of his notice; and
some, almost without invitation, had come on board with an air of
perfect confidence and good-will. From the behaviour of our last
visitors, I gave the land from which they had put off, and which, as I
have before observed, had the appearance of an island, the name of
Lookers-on.
At eight o'clock in the evening, a breeze sprung up at S.S.W. with which
I stretched of south-east, because some on board thought they saw land
in that quarter. In this course we continued till six o'clock the next
morning, when we had run eleven leagues, but saw no land, except that
which we had left. Having stood to the S.E. with a light breeze, which
veered from the west to the north, till noon, our latitude by
observation was 42° 56' S., and the high land that we were abreast of
the preceding noon bore N.N.W. 1/2 W. In the afternoon we had a light
breeze at N.E. with which we steered west, edging in for the land, which
was distant about eight leagues. At seven in the evening, we were about
six leagues from the shore, and the southermost extremity of the land in
sight bore W.S.W.
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