Measures were so skilfully taken, that when the sea rose to its height, all the officers and crew worked the capstan, and as the vessel was disengaged from the rock, it was ascertained that she drew no more water than when on the reef. But the sailors were exhausted after twenty-four hours of such terrible anxiety. It was necessary to change the hands at the pumps every five minutes. A new disaster was now added. The man whose duty it was to measure the water in the hold, announced that it had increased to eighteen inches in a few moments. Fortunately the mistake of the measure taken was immediately ascertained, and the crew were so overjoyed that they fancied all danger over. An officer named Monkhouse conceived an excellent idea. He applied a sort of cap to the stern, which he filled in with wool, rope-yarn, and the intestines of the animals slaughtered on board, and so effected a stoppage of the leak. From this time the men, who spoke of driving the vessel on a coast to reconstruct another from its ruins, which might take them to the East Indies, thought only of finding a suitable harbour for the purpose. The desirable harbour was reached on the 17th of June, at the mouth of a current which Cook called Endeavour River. The necessary labours for the careening of the vessel were at once begun and carried on with the utmost rapidity. The sick were landed, and the staff visited the land several times, in the hope of killing some game, and procuring fresh meat for the sufferers from scurvy. Tupia saw an animal which Banks, from his description, imagined to have been a wolf. But a few days later several others were seen, who jumped upon their fore feet, and took enormous leaps. They were kangaroos, marsupial animals, only met with in Australia, and which had never before seen a European. The natives in this spot appeared far less savage than on other parts of the coast. They not only allowed the English to approach, but treated them cordially, and remained several days with them. [Illustration: "They were kangaroos."] The narrative says,-- "They were usually of medium height, but their limbs were remarkably small. Their skin was the colour of soot, or rather, it might be described as of deep chocolate colour. Their hair was black and not woolly, and was cut short; some wore it plaited, some curled. Various portions of their bodies were painted red, and one of them had white stripes on his lips and breast which he called 'carbanda.' Their features were far from disagreeable; they had very bright eyes, white and even teeth, and their voices were sweet and musical. Some among them wore a nose-ornament which Cook had not met with in New Zealand. It was a bone, as large as a finger, passed through the cartilage.