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Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.Major, Richard Henry

History

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Name: Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.
Author: Major, Richard Henry

Major, Richard Henry

Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Discoveries in geography -- Portuguese; Voyages and travels

The 31st of August betimes in the morning, I went ashore with ten or
eleven men to search for water. We went armed with muskets and cutlasses
for our defence, expecting to see people there; and carried also shovels
and pickaxes to dig wells. When we came near the shore we saw three tall
black naked men on the sandy bay a-head of us: but as we row’d in, they
went away. When we were landed, I sent the boat with two men in her to
lie a little from the shore at an anchor, to prevent being seized; while
the rest of us went after the three black men, who were now got on the
top of a small hill, about a quarter of a mile from us, with eight or
nine men more in their company. They seeing us coming, ran away. When we
came on the top of the hill where they first stood, we saw a plain
savannah, about half a mile from us, farther in from the sea. There were
several things like hay cocks, standing in the savannah; which at a
distance we thought were houses, looking just like the Hottentots’
houses at the cape of Good Hope: but we found them to be so many rocks.
We searched about these for water, but could find none, nor any houses;
nor people, for they were all gone. Then we turned again to the place
where we landed, and there we dug for water.

While we were at work, there came nine or ten of the natives to a small
hill a little way from us, and stood there menacing and threatning of
us, and making a great noise. At last one of them came towards us, and
the rest followed at a distance. I went out to meet him, and came within
fifty yards of him, making to him all the signs of peace and friendship
I could; but then he ran away, neither would they any of them stay for
us to come nigh them, for we tried two or three times. At last I took
two men with me, and went in the afternoon along by the sea side
purposely to catch one of them, if I could, of whom I might learn where
they got their fresh water. There were ten or twelve of the natives a
little way off, who seeing us three going away from the rest of our men,
followed us at a distance. I thought they would follow us; but there
being for a while a sandbank between us and them, that they could not
then see us, we made a halt, and hid ourselves in a bending of the
sandbank. They knew we must be thereabouts, and being three or four
times our number, thought to seize us. So they dispers’d themselves,
some going to the sea shore, and others beating about the sand hills. We
knew by what rencounter we had had with them in the morning that we
could easily outrun them; so a nimble young man that was with me, seeing
some of them near, ran towards them, and they for some time ran away
before him. But he soon overtaking them, they faced about and fought
him. He had a cutlass and they had wooden lances, with which, being many
of them, they were too hard for him. When he first ran towards them, I
chas’d two more that were by the shore; but fearing how it might be with

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Major, Richard Henry

Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Discoveries in geography -- Portuguese; Voyages and travels

The 31st of August betimes in the morning, I went ashore with ten or
eleven men to search for water. We went armed with muskets and cutlasses
for our defence, expecting to see people there; and carried also shovels
and pickaxes to dig wells. When we came near the shore we saw three tall
black naked men on the sandy bay a-head of us: but as we row’d in, they
went away. When we were landed, I sent the boat with two men in her to
lie a little from the shore at an anchor, to prevent being seized; while
the rest of us went after the three black men, who were now got on the
top of a small hill, about a quarter of a mile from us, with eight or
nine men more in their company. They seeing us coming, ran away. When we
came on the top of the hill where they first stood, we saw a plain
savannah, about half a mile from us, farther in from the sea. There were
several things like hay cocks, standing in the savannah; which at a
distance we thought were houses, looking just like the Hottentots’
houses at the cape of Good Hope: but we found them to be so many rocks.
We searched about these for water, but could find none, nor any houses;
nor people, for they were all gone. Then we turned again to the place
where we landed, and there we dug for water.

While we were at work, there came nine or ten of the natives to a small
hill a little way from us, and stood there menacing and threatning of
us, and making a great noise. At last one of them came towards us, and
the rest followed at a distance. I went out to meet him, and came within
fifty yards of him, making to him all the signs of peace and friendship
I could; but then he ran away, neither would they any of them stay for
us to come nigh them, for we tried two or three times. At last I took
two men with me, and went in the afternoon along by the sea side
purposely to catch one of them, if I could, of whom I might learn where
they got their fresh water. There were ten or twelve of the natives a
little way off, who seeing us three going away from the rest of our men,
followed us at a distance. I thought they would follow us; but there
being for a while a sandbank between us and them, that they could not
then see us, we made a halt, and hid ourselves in a bending of the
sandbank. They knew we must be thereabouts, and being three or four
times our number, thought to seize us. So they dispers’d themselves,
some going to the sea shore, and others beating about the sand hills. We
knew by what rencounter we had had with them in the morning that we
could easily outrun them; so a nimble young man that was with me, seeing
some of them near, ran towards them, and they for some time ran away
before him. But he soon overtaking them, they faced about and fought
him. He had a cutlass and they had wooden lances, with which, being many
of them, they were too hard for him. When he first ran towards them, I
chas’d two more that were by the shore; but fearing how it might be with

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

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