Читать книгу An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island - John Hunter A.A. - Страница 11

Table of Contents

Frequent interviews with the natives.--Weapons described.--Ornaments.--Persons, manners, and habitations.--Method of hunting.--Animals described.--Birds, and insects.--Diary of the weather.--Departure of the Bussole and Astrolabe.--A convict pretends to have discovered a gold mine.--The fraud detected.--Observations for the longitude, &c.

A Few days after my arrival with the transports in Port Jackson, I set off with a six oared boat and a small boat, intending to make as good a survey of the harbour as circumstances would admit: I took to my assistance Mr. Bradley, the first lieutenant, Mr. Keltie, the master, and a young gentleman of the quarter-deck.

During the time we were employed on this service, we had frequent meetings with different parties of the natives, whom we found at this time very numerous; a circumstance which I confess I was a little surprized to find, after what had been said of them in the voyage of the Endeavour; for I think it is observed in the account of that voyage, that at Botany-bay they had seen very few of the natives, and that they appeared a very stupid race of people, who were void of curiosity. We saw them in considerable numbers, and they appeared to us to be a very lively and inquisitive race; they are a straight, thin, but well made people, rather small in their limbs, but very active; they examined with the greatest attention, and expressed the utmost astonishment, at the different covering we had on; for they certainly considered our cloaths as so many different skins, and the hat as a part of the head: they were pleased with such trifles as we had to give them, and always appeared chearful and in good humour: they danced and sung with us, and imitated our words and motions, as we did theirs. They generally appeared armed with a lance, and a short stick which assists in throwing it: this stick is about three feet long, is flattened on one side, has a hook of wood at one end, and a flat shell, let into a split in the stick at the other end, and fastened with gum; upon the flat side of this stick the lance is laid, in the upper end of which is a small hole, into which the point of the hook of the throwing stick is fixed; this retains the lance on the flat side of the stick; then poising the lance, thus fixed, in one hand, with the fore-finger and thumb over it, to prevent its falling off side-ways, at the same time holding fast the throwing-stick, they discharge it with considerable force, and in a very good direction, to the distance of about sixty or seventy yards*. Their lances are in general about ten feet long: the shell at one end of the throwing-stick is intended for sharpening the point of the lance, and for various other uses. I have seen these weapons frequently thrown, and think that a man upon his guard may with much ease, either parry, or avoid them, although it must be owned they fly with astonishing velocity.

[* I have since seen a strong young man throw the lance full ninety yards; which, till then, I did not believe possible. I measured the distance.]

While employed on the survey of the harbour, we were one morning early, in the upper part of it, and at a considerable distance from the ship, going to land, in order to ascertain a few angles, when we were a little surprized to find the natives here in greater numbers than we had ever seen them before in any other place: we naturally conjectured from their numbers, that they might be those who inhabited the coves in the lower part of the harbour, and who, upon our arrival, had been so much alarmed at our appearance, as to have judged it necessary to retire farther up; they appeared very hostile, a great many armed men appeared upon the shore wherever we approached it, and, in a threatening manner, seemed to insist upon our not presuming to land.

During the whole time we were near them, they hailed each other through the woods, until their numbers were so much increased, that I did not judge it prudent to attempt making any acquaintance with them at this time: for, as I have already observed, we had only a six-oared boat and a smaller one; our whole number, leaving one man in each boat, amounted to ten seamen, three officers, and myself, with only three muskets; we therefore for the present, contented ourselves with making signs of friendship, and returned to the ship.

In two days after, we appeared again in the same place, better armed and prepared for an interview. Their numbers were not now so many, at least we did not see them, although it is probable they were in the wood at no great distance; but having occasion to put on shore to cook some provisions for the boats crews, I chose a projecting point of land for that purpose, which we could have defended against some hundreds of such people: I ordered two marine centinels upon the neck, in order to prevent a surprize, and immediately set about making a fire.

We soon heard some of the natives in the wood on the opposite shore; we called to them, and invited them by signs, and an offer of presents, to come over to us, the distance not being more than one hundred yards across: in a short time, seven men embarked in canoes and came over; they landed at a small distance from us, and advanced without their lances; on this I went up to meet them, and held up both my hands, to show that I was unarmed; two officers also advanced in the same manner; we met them and shook hands; but they seemed a good deal alarmed at our five marines who were under arms by the boats, upon which they were ordered to ground their arms and stay by them; the natives then came up with great chearfulness and good humour, and seated themselves by our fire amongst us, where we ate what we had got, and invited them to partake, but they did not relish our food or drink.

I was one day on shore in another part of the harbour, making friendship with a party of natives, when in a very short time, their numbers encreased to eighty or ninety men, all armed with a lance and throwing-stick, and many with the addition of a shield, made of the bark of a tree; some were in shape an oblong square, and others of these shields were oval; these were the first shields we had seen in the country*. Upon examining some of these shields, we observed that many of them had been pierced quite through in various places, which they by signs gave us to understand had been done with a spear; but that those shields will frequently turn the spear, they also showed us, by setting one up at a small distance, and throwing a spear at it, which did not go through. They were much surprized at one of our gentlemen who pulling a pistol out of his pocket, that was loaded with ball, and standing at the same distance, fired the ball through the thickest part of the shield, which they examined with astonishment, and seemed to wonder, that an instrument so small should be capable of wounding so deep.

[* It has since been found that the shields are in general made of wood.]

Our numbers at this time were what I first mentioned, with only three muskets, one of which I carried. The natives were very noisy, but did not appear disposed to quarrel; we gave them such little presents as we had with us, with which they seemed well pleased; although we had much reason afterwards to believe, that such trifles only pleased them, as baubles do children, for a moment: for at other times we had frequently found our presents lying dispersed on the beach, although caught at by these people with much apparent avidity at the time they were offered.

While we were employed with this party, we observed at a distance, a number of women, who were peeping from their concealments, but durst not gratify their natural curiosity, by appearing openly and conversing with us; as the men appeared here to be very absolute. I signified to the men that we had observed the women, and that I wished to make them some presents, if they might be permitted to come forward and receive them. The men seemed unwilling to suffer them to advance; for we had frequently observed, that they took particular care upon every occasion to keep the women at a distance, and I believe wholly from an idea of danger. They desired to have the presents for the women, and they would carry and deliver them, but to this proposal I positively refused to agree, and made them understand, that unless they were allowed to come forward, they should not have any. Finding I was determined, an old man, who seemed to have the principal authority, directed the women to advance, which they did immediately, with much good humour; and, during the whole time that we were decorating them with beads, rags of white linen, and some other trifles, they laughed immoderately, although trembling at the same time, through an idea of danger. Most of those we saw at this time were young women, who I judged were from eighteen to twenty-five years of age; they were all perfectly naked, as when first born.

The women in general are well made, not quite so thin as the men, but rather smaller limbed. As soon as the women were ordered to approach us, about twenty men, whom we had not before seen, sallied from the wood, compleatly armed with lance and shield; they were painted with red and white streaks all over the face and body, as if they intended to strike terror by their appearance: some of them were painted with a little degree of taste, and although the painting on others appeared to be done without any attention to form, yet there were those who, at a small distance, appeared as if they were accoutred with cross-belts: some had circles of white round their eyes, and several a horizontal streak across the forehead: others again had narrow white streaks round the body, with a broad line down the middle of the back and belly, and a single streak down each arm, thigh, and leg. These marks, being generally white, gave the person, at a small distance, a most shocking appearance; for, upon the black skin the white marks were so very conspicuous, that they were exactly like so many moving skeletons. The colours they use are mostly red and white; the first of which is a kind of ochre, or red earth, which is found here in considerable quantities; the latter is a fine pipe-clay.

The bodies of the men are much scarified, particularly their breasts and shoulders; these scarifications are considerably raised above the skin, and although they are not in any regular form, yet they are certainly considered as ornamental.

The men, thus armed and painted, drew themselves up in a line on the beach, and each man had a green bough in his hand, as a sign of friendship; their disposition was as regular as any well disciplined troops could have been; and this party, I apprehend, was entirely for the defence of the women, if any insult had been offered them. We also observed at this interview, that two very stout armed men, were placed upon a rock, near to where our boats lay, as centinels; for they never moved from the spot until we left the beach: I therefore suppose they were ordered there to watch all our motions. We left these people, after a visit of about four hours, both parties apparently well satisfied with all that passed.

In the different opportunities I have had of getting a little acquainted with the natives, who reside in and about this port, I am, I confess, disposed to think, that it will be no very difficult matter, in due time, to conciliate their friendship and confidence; for although they generally appear armed on our first meeting, which will be allowed to be very natural, yet, whenever we have laid aside our arms, and have made signs of friendship, they have always advanced unarmed, with spirit, and a degree of confidence scarcely to be expected: from that appearance of a friendly disposition, I am inclined to think, that by residing some time amongst, or near them, they will soon discover that we are not their enemies; a light they no doubt considered us in on our first arrival.

The men in general are from five feet six inches, to five feet nine inches high; are thin, but very straight and clean made; walk very erect*, and are active. The women are not so tall, or so thin, but are generally well made; their colour is a rusty kind of black, something like that of soot, but I have seen many of the women almost as light as a mulatto. We have seen a few of both sexes with tolerably good features, but in general they have broad noses, large wide mouths, and thick lips; and their countenance altogether not very prepossessing; and what makes them still less so, is, that they are abominably filthy; they never clean their skin, but it is generally smeared with the fat of such animals as they kill, and afterwards covered with every sort of dirt; sand from the sea beach, and the ashes from their fires, all adhere to their greasy skin, which is never washed, except when accident, or the want of food, obliges them to go into the water.

[* See a plate of the natives in Phillip's Voyage.]

Some of the men wear a piece of wood or bone, thrust through the septum of the nose, which, by raising the opposite sides of the nose, widens the nostril, and spreads the lower part very much; this, no doubt, they consider as a beauty; most of those we had hitherto met, wanted the two foremost teeth on the right side of the upper jaw; and many of the women want the two lower joints of the little finger of the left hand, which we have not as yet been able to discover the reason or meaning of. This defect of the little finger we have observed in old women, and in young girls of eight or nine years old; in young women who have had children, and in those who have not, and the finger has been seen perfect in individuals of all the above ages and descriptions; they have very good teeth in general; their hair is short, strong, and curly, and as they seem to have no method of cleaning or combing it, it is therefore filthy and matted.

The men wear their beards, which are short and curly, like the hair of the head. Men, women, and children go entirely naked, as described by Captain Cook; they seem to have no fixed place of residence, but take their rest wherever night overtakes them: they generally shelter themselves in such cavities or hollows in the rocks upon the sea shore, as may be capable of defending them from the rain, and, in order to make their apartment as comfortable as possible, they commonly make a good fire in it before they lie down to rest; by which means, the rock all round them is so heated as to retain its warmth like an oven for a considerable time; and upon a little grass, which is previously pulled and dryed, they lie down and huddle together.

And here, we see a striking instance of the particular care of Providence for all his creatures. These people have not the most distant idea of building any kind of place which may be capable of sheltering them from the severity of bad weather; if they had, probably it would first appear in their endeavours to cover their naked bodies with some kind of cloathing, as they certainly suffer much from the cold in winter.

Their ignorance in building, is very amply compensated by the kindness of nature in the remarkable softness of the rocks, which encompass the sea coast, as well as those in the interior parts of the country: they are a soft, crumbly, sandy stone; those parts, which are most exposed to, and receive the most severity of the weather, are generally harder than such parts as are less exposed; in the soft parts time makes wonderful changes; they are constantly crumbling away underneath the harder and more solid part, and this continual decay leaves caves of considerable dimensions: some I have seen that would lodge forty or fifty people, and, in a case of necessity, we should think ourselves not badly lodged for a night. Wherever you see rocks in this country, either on the sea-shore, or in the interior parts, as they are all of this soft sandy kind, you are sure of finding plenty of such caves.

In the woods, where the country is not very rocky, we sometimes met with a piece of the bark of a tree, bent in the middle, and set upon the ends*, with a piece set up against that end on which the wind blows. This hut serves them for a habitation, and will contain a whole family; for, when the weather is cold, which is frequently the case in winter, they find it necessary to lie very close for the benefit of that warmth to which each mutually contributes a share. These bark huts, (if they deserve even the name of huts) are intended, as we have lately discovered, for those who are employed in hunting the kangaroo, opossums, or in short, any other animals which are to be found in the woods; for at certain seasons, when those animals are in plenty, they employ themselves frequently in catching them.

[* For an exact description and representation of this hut, see Governor Phillip's Voyage.]

As most of the large trees are hollow, by being rotten in the heart, the opossum, kangaroo rat, squirrel, and various other animals which inhabit the woods, when they are pursued, commonly run into the hollow of a tree: in order, therefore, to make sure of them, which they seldom fail in, when they find them in the tree, one man climbs even the tallest tree with much ease, by means of notches at convenient distances, that are made with a stone hatchet; when he is arrived at the top, or where there may be an outlet for the animal, he sits there with a club or stick in his hand, while another person below applies a fire to the lower opening, and fills the hollow of the tree with smoak; this obliges the animal to attempt to make its escape, either upwards or downwards, but whichever way it goes, it is almost certain of death, for they very seldom escape. In this manner they employ themselves, and get a livelihood in the woods.

They also, when in considerable numbers, set the country on fire for several miles extent; this, we have generally understood, is for the purpose of disturbing such animals as may be within reach of the conflagration; and thereby they have an opportunity of killing many. We have also had much reason to believe, that those fires were intended to clear that part of the country through which they have frequent occasion to travel; of the brush or underwood, from which they, being naked, suffer very great inconvenience. The fires, which we very frequently saw, particularly in the summer-time, account also for an appearance, which, when we arrived here, we were much perplexed to understand the cause of; this was, that two-thirds of the trees in the woods were very much scorched with fire, some were burnt quite black, up to the very top: as to the cause of this appearance we differed much in our opinions; but it is now plain, that it has ever been occasioned by the fires, which the natives so frequently make, and which we have seen reach the highest branches of the trees: we sometimes, upon our arrival here, conjectured that it proceeded from lightning, but upon looking farther, it appeared too general amongst the woods to have been occasioned by such an accident.

We had reason to believe, that the natives associate in tribes of many families together, and it appeared now that they have one fixed residence, and the tribe takes its name from the place of their general residence: you may often visit the place where the tribe resides, without finding the whole society there; their time is so much occupied in search of food, that the different families take different routs; but, in case of any dispute with a neighbouring tribe, they can soon be assembled.

We are well informed by those whom we have had among us, that they sometimes have quarrels, and that they endeavour from concealments, to destroy those they are at war with. They are by no means a brave and determined people, except when passion overcomes them, and when they act as all savages do, like madmen. In all their quarrels with one another, they put themselves under the direction of a chief: how those chiefs are chosen we have not learnt, but have reason to believe it is from an opinion of their dexterity in war.

All the human race, which we have seen here, appear to live chiefly on what the sea affords, and consequently we find the sea-coast more fully inhabited than the interior, or that part of the country which we have had an opportunity of visiting more remote from the sea. The men fish with a spear, or fish-gig, in the use of which, it is apparent they are very dextrous. The fish-gig is in length something more than the war lance, but they can, according to the depth of water, increase its length, by a variety of joints; some have one, some two, three, or four prongs, pointed and barbed with a fish, or other animal's bone. We have sometimes, in fine weather, seen a man lying across a canoe, with his face in the water, and his fish-gig immersed, ready for darting: in this manner he lies motionless, and by his face being a little under the surface, he can see the fish distinctly; but were his eyes above, the tremulous motion of the surface, occasioned by every light air of wind, would prevent his sight: in this manner they strike at the fish with so much certainty, that they seldom miss their aim.

The women are chiefly employed in the canoes, with lines and hooks; the lines appear to be manufactured from the bark of various trees which we found here, of a tough stringy nature, and which, after being beaten between two stones for some time, becomes very much like, and of the same colour as a quantity of oakum, made from old rope: this they spin and twist into two strands: in fact, I never saw a line with more than two. Their hooks are commonly made from the inside, or mother of pearl, of different shells; the talons of birds, such as those of hawks, they sometimes make this use of; but the former are considered as best.

In this necessary employment of fishing, we frequently saw a woman with two or three children in a miserable boat, the highest part of which was not six inches above the surface of the water, washing almost in the edge of a surf, which would frighten an old seaman to come near, in a good and manageable vessel. The youngest child, if very small, lies across the mother's lap, from whence, although she is fully employed in fishing, it cannot fall; for the boat being very shallow, she sits in the bottom, with her knees up to her breast, and between her knees and body, the child lies perfectly secure. The men also dive for shell-fish, which they take off from the rocks under water; we frequently saw them leap from a rock into the surf or broken water, and remain a surprizing time under: when they rise to the surface, whatever they have gathered they throw on shore, where a person attends to receive it, and has a fire ready kindled for cooking.

They have no other method of dressing their food, than that of broiling. Boiling water they have no conception of, as appeared very lately; for when one of our boats was hauling the seine, one of the sailors had put a pot on the fire ready to dress some fish, and when the water was boiling, some fish were put in; but several natives, who were near, and who wished to have more fish than had been given them, seeing the fish put into the pot, and no person watching them, a native put his hand into the boiling water to take the fish out, and was of course scalded, and exceedingly astonished.

With respect to religion, we have not been able yet to discover that they have any thing like an object of adoration; neither the sun, moon, nor stars seem to take up, or occupy more of their attention, than they do that of any other of the animals which inhabit this immense country.

Their dead they certainly burn, of which I have been well convinced lately, when employed on the survey of a distant branch of Port Jackson. Some of my boat's crew having, when on shore, discovered a little from the water-side, upon a rising ground, what they judged to be a fresh grave, I went up and ordered it to be opened; when the earth was removed, we found a quantity of white ashes, which appeared to have been but a very short time deposited there: among the ashes we found part of a human jaw-bone, and a small piece of the scull, which, although it had been in the fire, was not so much injured, as to prevent our distinguishing perfectly what it was. We put the ashes together again and covered it up as before; the grave was not six inches under the surface of the ground, but the earth was raised the height of our graves in Europe.

In the months of March and April, we found the natives to decrease in their numbers considerably; but we have no reason to suppose that they retire back into the interior parts of the country; for in all the excursions which have been made inland, very few have been seen. The sea-coast, we have every reason at present to believe, is the only part of this country which is inhabited by the human race; the land seems to afford them but a very scanty subsistence. We have seen them roast and chew the fern-root. There is a small fruit here, about the size of a cherry; it is yellow when half grown, and almost black when ripe; it grows on a tree, which is not tall, but very full and bushy at the top; of this fruit we have often seen them eat: it has a good deal the taste of a fig, and the pulp, or inside, very much resembles that fruit in appearance: but the sea is their principal resource, and shell, and other fish, are their chief support.

They frequently attended our boats when hauling the seine, and were very thankful to the officer for any fish he might give them, as in cold weather the harbour is but thinly stocked; indeed, when we arrived here it was full of fish, and we caught as many as we could use, but in the winter they seem to quit our neighbourhood. I had reason to think, that the people who inhabited Port Jackson when we first entered it were gone farther to the northward, and that it is their constant custom, as the cold weather approaches, to seek a warmer climate, by following the sun; and in this practice they have another very powerful incitement, as well as the comfortable warmth of the sun, which is, that the fish incline to the northward, as the cold weather comes on: this conjecture seems, in some degree, to account for Captain Cook's having seen so few natives while he lay in Botany-bay, and that it appeared to him the seacoast was thinly inhabited; for I think it was in April, or May, that he was there.

The animal described in the voyage of the Endeavour, called the kangaroo, (but by the natives patagarang) we found in great numbers; one was lately shot which weighed 140 pounds; its tail was 40 inches long, and 17 in circumference at the root; it is very well described in Phillip's Voyage: we ate the flesh with great relish, and I think it good mutton, although not so delicate as that which we sometimes find in Leadenhall-market. The strength this animal has in its hind quarters is very great: in its endeavours to escape from us, when surprized, it springs from its hind legs, which are very long, and leaps at each bound about six or eight yards, but does not appear ever in running to let its fore-feet come near the ground; indeed they are so very short, that it is not possible that the animal can use them in running: they have vast strength also in their tail; it is, no doubt, a principal part of their defence, when attacked; for with it they can strike with prodigious force, I believe with sufficent power to break the leg of a man; nor is it improbable but that this great strength in the tail may assist them in making those astonishing springs.

We for some time considered their tail as their chief defence, but having of late hunted them with greyhounds very successfully, we have had an opportunity of knowing that they use their claws and teeth. The dog is much swifter than the kangaroo: the chase, if in an open wood, (which is the place most frequented by that animal,) is seldom more than eight or ten minutes, and if there are more dogs than one, seldom so long. As soon as the hound seizes him, he turns, and catching hold with the nails of his fore-paws, he springs upon, and strikes at the dog with the claws of his hind feet, which are wonderfully strong, and tears him to such a degree, that it has frequently happened that we have been under the necessity of carrying the dog home, from the severity of his wounds: few of these animals have ever effected their escape, after being seized by the dog, for they have generally caught them by the throat, and there held them until they were assisted, although many of them have very near lost their lives in the struggle.

Some of the male kangaroos are of a very large size; I have seen some, that when sitting on their haunches, were five feet eight inches high, such an animal is too strong for a single dog, and although he might be much wounded, would, without the dog had assistance at hand, certainly kill him. We know that the native dogs of this country hunt and kill the kangaroo; they may be more fierce, but they do not appear to be so strong as our large greyhound; there was one not long ago seen in pursuit of a kangaroo, by a person who was employed in shooting, who mistaking the two animals as they passed him to be of the kind he was looking for, he fired at the hindmost and brought him down, but when he came up it proved to be a native dog.

Of those dogs we have had many which were taken when young, but never could cure them of their natural ferocity; although well fed, they would at all times, but particularly in the dark, fly at young pigs, chickens, or any small animal which they might be able to conquer, and immediately kill, and generally eat them. I had one which was a little puppy when caught, but, notwithstanding I took much pains to correct and cure it of its savageness, I found it took every opportunity, which it met with, to snap off the head of a fowl, or worry a pig, and would do it in defiance of correction. They are a very good natured animal when domesticated, but I believe it to be impossible to cure that savageness, which all I have seen seem to possess.

The opossum is also very numerous here, but it is not exactly like the American opossum; it partakes a good deal of the kangaroo in the strength of its tail and make of its fore-legs, which are very short in proportion to the hind ones; like that animal, it has the pouch, or false belly, for the safety of its young in time of danger, and its colour is nearly the same, but the fur is thicker and finer. There are several other animals of a smaller size, down as low as the field-rat, which in some part or other partakes of the kangaroo and opossum: we have caught many rats with this pouch for carrying their young when pursued, and the legs, claws, and tail of this rat are exactly like the kangaroo.

It would appear, from the great similarity in some part or other of the different quadrupeds which we find here, that there is a promiscuous intercourse between the different sexes of all those different animals. The same observation might be made also on the fishes of the sea, on the fowls of the air, and, I may add, the trees of the forest. It was wonderful to see what a vast variety of fish were caught, which, in some part or other, partake of the shark: it is no uncommon thing to see a skait's head and shoulders to the hind part of a shark, or a shark's head to the body of a large mullet, and sometimes to the flat body of a sting-ray.

With respect to the feathered tribe, the parrot prevails; we have shot birds, with the head, neck, and bill of a parrot, and with the same variety of the most beautiful plumage on those parts for which that bird here is distinguished, and a tail and body of a different make and colour, with long, streight, and delicate made feet and legs; which is the very reverse of any bird of the parrot kind. I have also seen a bird, with the legs and feet of a parrot, the head and neck made and coloured like the common sea-gull, and the wings and tail of a hawk. I have likewise seen trees bearing three different kinds of leaves, and frequently have found others, bearing the leaf of the gum-tree, with the gum exuding from it, and covered with bark of a very different kind.

There are a great variety of birds in this country; all those of the parrot tribe, such as the macaw, cockatoo, lorey, green parrot, and parroquets of different kinds and sizes, are cloathed with the most beautiful plumage that can be conceived; it would require the pencil of an able limner to give a stranger an idea of them, for it is impossible by words to describe them*. The common crow is found here in considerable numbers, but the sound of their voice and manner of croaking, is very different from those in Europe. There are also vast numbers of hawks, of various sizes and colours. Here are likewise pigeons and quails, with a great variety of smaller birds, but I have not found one with a pleasing note.

[* See very accurate representations, drawn from nature, and described by that ingenious and able naturalist, John Latham, Esq; in Phillip's Voyage.]

There have been several large birds seen since we arrived in this port; they were supposed, by those who first saw them, to be the ostrich, as they could not fly when pursued, but ran exceedingly fast; so much so, that a very strong and fleet greyhound could not come near them: one was shot, which gave us an opportunity of a more close examination. Some were of opinion that it was the emew, which I think is particularly described by Dr. Goldsmith, from Linneus; others imagined it to be the cassowary, but it far exceeds that bird in size; it was, when standing, seven feet two inches, from its feet to the upper part of its head; the only difference which I could perceive, between this bird and the ostrich, was in its bill, which appeared to me to be narrower at the point, and it has three toes, which I am told is not the case with the ostrich: it has one characteristic, by which it may be known, and which we thought very extraordinary; this is, that two distinct feathers grew out from every quill*. The flesh of this bird, although coarse, was thought by us delicious meat; it had much the appearance, when raw, of neck-beef; a party of five, myself included, dined on a side-bone of it most sumptuously. The pot or spit received every thing which we could catch or kill, and the common crow was relished here as well as the barn-door fowl is in England.

[* See an elegant engraving of the Cassowary in Phillip's Voyage.]

Of insects there are as great a variety here as of birds; the scorpion, centipede, spider, ant, and many others; the ants are of various sizes, from the smallest known in Europe, to the size of near an inch long; some are black, some white, and others, of the largest sort, reddish; those of this kind are really a formidable little animal; if you tread near the nest, (which is generally under ground, with various little passages or outlets) and have disturbed them, they will sally forth in vast numbers, attack their disturbers with astonishing courage, and even pursue them to a considerable distance; and their bite is attended for a time with a most acute pain. Some build their nests against a tree, to the size of a large bee-hive; another kind raises little mounts on the ground, of clay, to the height of four feet.

In speaking of the spider, it would be improper to be silent upon the industry of this little creature; I call them little, although, if compared with our common spider, they are very large; they spread their web in the woods between trees, generally to a distance of twelve or fourteen yards, and weave them so very strong, that it requires considerable force to break them. I have seen the silk of which the web is composed, wound off into a ball, and think it equal to any I ever saw in the same state from the silk worm; it is of the same colour, a pale yellow, or straw colour. None of the gentlemen employed here have as yet made any particular observations upon the manner in which this animal is produced, or how they prepare their silk. I have found upon bushes, on which the web has been hanging in clusters, a thin shell, something like that wherein the silk-worm prepares its silk, but of this shape , and, upon opening them, I have seen a quantity of this silk within, in which a spider was found wrapped up.

Of reptiles, there are snakes from the smallest size known in England, to the length of eleven feet, and about as thick as a man's wrist; and many lizards of different kinds and sizes.

The natives we have seen accompanied by dogs, which appear to be domesticated the same as ours in Europe; they are of the wolf kind, and of a reddish colour.

When speaking of birds, I should have mentioned, that some of our gentlemen have seen in the lagoons and swamps which they have fallen in with, in their shooting excursions, the black swan, which is said to have been found in some parts of the west coast of this country; the extremity of their wings are described to be white, and all the rest of the plumage black. I have seen one which has been shot. It answered the above description as to colour, but the bill was a pale pink or crimson; it was about the size of a common white swan, and was good meat.

The vast variety of beautiful plants and flowers, which are to be found in this country, may hereafter afford much entertainment to the curious in the science of botany; but I am wholly unqualified to describe the different sorts with which we find the woods to abound; we sometimes met with a little wild spinach, parsly, and sorrel, but in too small quantities to expect it to be of any advantage to the seamen. The flax plant has been found here in several places, but not in any considerable quantity; I have heard it reckoned a good kind, but in that also I must confess my ignorance.

In the infancy of a distant settlement, the want of timber to carry on the necessary buildings, will be allowed to be a very great inconvenience; but we were here in the middle of a wood, in which were trees from the size of a man's arm to twenty-eight feet in circumference; but they were either so very crooked, so rent, or so very rotten in the heart, that we could scarcely get one sound or serviceable in a dozen; and what in our situation was a very great misfortune, we had not as yet found one piece of timber that would float in water. The wood is so exceedingly heavy, that when a large tree was cut down, in order to clear a piece of ground, it would sometimes take a party of men three or four days to dispose of it, or move it from the place.

We arrived in this country in the end of January, 1788; the weather was then very fine, though warm; the sea and land breezes pretty regular, and Farenheit's thermometer was from 72° to 80°.

In February, the weather was sultry, with lightning, thunder, and heavy rain; this sort of weather continued for a fortnight, with few and very short intervals of fair weather; a flash of lightning fell one night near the camp, and struck a tree near to the post of a centinel, who was much hurt by it; the tree was greatly rent, and there being at the foot of it a pen in which were a sew pigs and sheep, they were all killed. Towards the latter end of the month the weather was more settled, little thunder, lightning, or rain, and the thermometer from 65° to 77°.

In the middle of this month, Lieutenant King of the Sirius, a master's mate, and surgeon's mate, with four other men from the ship, together with a few men and women convicts, embarked on board the Supply armed tender, and she sailed with them for Norfolk Island. In the passage thither, they fell in with a small island which had not before been discovered; it lies in latitude 31° 36' south, and about 140 leagues to the eastward of this coast; lieutenant Ball named it Lord Howe's Island. After having landed the party intended to remain on Norfolk Island, with their provisions and stores, Mr. Ball, in his return to Port Jackson, called at Lord Howe's Island, in order to examine it more particularly. He found anchorage on the west side of it, but the bottom was coral rock. He landed, with his boat, within a reef, and caught a number of excellent turtle upon a sandy beach: this island also abounded with a variety of birds, which were so unaccustomed to being disturbed, that the seamen came near enough to knock down as many as they wanted with sticks.

In March, the weather was variable, sometimes strong gales from the southward and south-east, with moist and hazy weather; a great sea rolling in upon the coast. This month the marines were ordered to clear ground and begin to build huts and barracks for the winter; the convicts were also directed to employ certain hours in the same necessary work for themselves. The mornings and evenings were now rather cold; the thermometer from 60° to 75°.

In the month of April the weather was much the same as in March; rather variable; a few days of cloudy weather with rain, which generally fell in the night, and southerly and south-east winds; but when the wind shifted to the westward or north-west, the weather became fair and pleasant, and this weather was frequently attended with sea and land breezes; the mornings and evenings cold, and the middle of the day (if calm) very hot. Thermometer from 68° to 72°.

The beginning of this month much bad weather; strong gales from south to south-east, generally attended with rain in the night; middle of the month fair and settled weather for several days together, with a regular land and sea wind; towards the end of the month the wind prevailed between south-west and south-east, weather unsettled, showers of rain commonly in the night; in the day little wind and warm weather. The thermometer from 56° to 67°.

The beginning of June fair and pleasant weather, attended with land and sea breezes; from the middle to the latter end, stormy weather with much rain, wind chiefly from the south-east quarter. The thermometer from 52° to 62°.

This month begun as the last ended, with blustering, rainy weather; the middle was less windy, though cloudy and dull, with frequent showers; the end of the month fair weather with westerly winds. The thermometer from 52° to 63°.

This month commenced with cloudy weather and much rain, southerly and south-east winds; the middle moderate and fair with variable winds; the latter part was fair weather with light and variable winds. The thermometer from 56° to 72°.

From the beginning till about the 20th, the weather was cloudy with frequent showers of rain; but the latter part had strong gales from the south-east quarter.

I was furnished with the following months by Lieutenant William Dawes, of the marines.

The first and middle parts of this month the weather was moderate and cloudy, and the wind very variable, frequent thunder and lightning with showers of rain; the latter part was clear, fine weather in general, with distant thunder and lightning, and a few violent squalls of wind, which happened generally in the night. The Thermometer from 49° to 81°.

In the beginning of this month the weather was generally cloudy and hazy, the wind from the eastward; the middle part also cloudy with frequent light showers of rain, thunder, and lightning, sometimes distant and sometimes very heavy; latter part, cloudy and hazy, with violent thunder, lightning, and rain; wind from north-east to south-east; and the thermometer from 53° to 93°.

The first part was cloudy and hazy, with some thunder, attended with light rain; middle, same kind of weather, with frequent and light showers of rain; latter part, moderate weather with a good deal of rain; the wind chiefly from the northward and eastward. The thermometer from 53° to 102°.