An historical account of all the voyages round the world, performed by English navigators, vol. 4 of 4: Including those lately undertaken by order of His present Majesty. The whole faithfully extracted from the journals of the voyagers

CAPTAIN COOK’s VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. In 1768, 1769, 1770 and 1771.

The short intercourse which the English gentlemen had with the inhabitants of New Holland, prevented them from obtaining so perfect a knowledge of the language of these people as could have been wished; but, as it is an object too curious to be passed over in silence, we shall give our readers the most particular account that could be procured. They articulated their words very distinctly, though they made a great motion with their lips when they were speaking, and their utterance was rather vociferous, particularly when they intended to shew their disapprobation of any thing. When they were pleased, they would manifest their satisfaction by saying hee, with a long flexion of the voice, in a loud and shril tone. They frequently repeated the word tut, when in company with the English, several times together, which was supposed to be an expression of astonishment and admiration; upon the whole, their language was neither harsh nor inharmonious, as will appear from the following vocabulary.

A VOCABULARY of the language of the inhabitants of NEW HOLLAND.

Wageegee, The head. Eiyamoac, The crown of the head. Moree, The hair of the head. Walloo, The temples. Peete, The forehead. Meul, The eyes. Garbar, The eye-brows. Melea, The ears. Bonjoo, The nose. Yembe, The lips. Mulere, The teeth. Unjar, The tongue. Tacal, The chin. Waller, The beard. Doomboo, The neck. Morcol, The throat. Coyor, The breast. Gippa, The belly. Mocoo, The back. Aco, The arms. Mangal, The hands. Eboorbalga, The thumb. Nakil, The little finger. Pongo, The knees. Peegoorga, The legs. Edamal, The feet. Kolke, The nails. Bamma, A man. Mootjel, A woman. Dunjo, A father. Tumurree, A son. Tennapuke, The hole made in the nostrils for the reception of the bone ornament. Cotta, A dog. Poteea, Fish. Putai, A turtle. Tabugga, A fly. Walboolbool, A butterfly. Zoocoo, Wood. Maianang, Fire. Poorai, Water. Poapoa, Earth. Galan, The sun. Wulgar, The clouds. Kere, The sky. Boota, To eat. Chucula, To drink. Marra, To go. Mingoore, To dance. Mailelel, To swim. Aibudje, To yawn. Poona, To sleep. Wonananio, Asleep. Tocaya, Sit down. Eya & ba, That or this. Te, A, or the.

We shall now proceed to give an account of their passage from New South Wales to New Guinea, with a recital of the incidents which happened on their landing on the last mentioned country.----Early in the morning of the 24th of August 1770, the cable broke near the ring, in the attempt to weigh the anchor; on which another anchor was dropped, which prevented the ship’s driving. As the loss of an anchor might have been attended with future ill consequences, the boats were sent to sweep for it; but their first attempt being unsuccessful, they were dispatched again in the afternoon, when it was found, and the ship being brought up to it, they weighed it; yet, unfortunately, just as they were going to ship it, the hawser slipped, and all their labour was frustrated. Determined, however, not to lose the anchor, they re-applied their endeavours on the following morning, when they were attended with success.

Soon after the anchor was weighed, the ship got under sail, steering north-west, and in a few hours one of the boats, which was a-head, made the signal for shoal-water. The ship instantly brought to, with all her sails standing, and a survey being taken of the sea around her, it was found that she had met with another narrow escape, as she was almost encompassed with shoals; and was likewise so situated between them, that she must have struck before the boat’s crew had made the signal, if she had been half the length of a cable on either side. In the afternoon she made sail with the ebb tide, and got out of danger before sun-set, when she brought to for the night.

The meeting with these shoals having determined the Captain to alter his intended course, he sailed again the next morning (Sunday the 26th) and soon got into deep water. They now steered a westward course, and, as no land was within sight, held it on till the dusk of the evening, when they shortened sail, and made opposite tacks during the night. The next morning they pursued their voyage, again shortening sail at night, and tacking till day-break of the 28th, when they steered due north, in search of New Guinea.

They now observed many parts of the sea covered with a kind of brown scum, to which the sailors gave the name of Spawn. It is formed of an incredible number of minute particles, each of which, when seen through the microscope, was found to consist of a considerable number of tubes, and these tubes were subdivided into little cells. The scum being burnt, and yeilding no smell like what is produced by animal substances, it was concluded that it was of the vegetable kind. This scum, which has been often seen on the coast of Brazil, generally makes its appearance near the land.--A bird, which is called the Noddy, was found this evening among the rigging of the ship. Land having been seen this day from the mast-head, they stood off and on all night, and at day-break they sailed towards it with a brisk gale.

Between six and seven o’clock they had sight of a small island, distant about three miles from the main land, which has already been distinguished by the names of St. Bartholomew, and Whermoysen. It is a very flat island, clothed with trees, among which is the cocoa-nut; and was judged to be inhabited, by the smoke of fires which were seen on several parts of it. The boats were now sent out to sound, as the water was shallow; but as the ship, in sailing two leagues, had found no increase in its depth, signals were made for the boats to return on board, and the vessel stood out to sea till midnight, and then tacked, and stood in for land till the morning. When they were about four leagues distant from it, they had sight of it from the deck, and its appearance was still flat and woody. Abundance of the brown scum was still seen on the surface of the sea, and the Tars, convinced that it was not spawn, gave it the whimsical name of Sea-saw-dust.

The ship now held a northward course, barely within sight of land, till the 3d of September; and as the water was but just deep enough to navigate the vessel, many unsuccessful attempts were made to bring her near enough to get on shore: it was therefore determined to land in one of the boats, while the ship kept plying off and on.

In consequence of this resolution, on the 3d of September, the Captain, accompanied by Messrs. Banks and Solander, and attended by the boat’s crew and Mr. Banks’s servants, set out in the pinnace; but when they came within two hundred yards of the shore the water was so shallow, that they were obliged to leave the boat, in the care of two of the sailors, and wade to land. They were no sooner clear of the water, than they saw several prints of human feet on the sand, below high-water-mark, from whence it was evident, that the natives had been very lately there. About one hundred yards from the water there was a thick wood, along the borders of which they walked till they arrived on the banks of a brook of water, on which was situated a fine grove of cocoa-nut trees, which abounded with fruit.

At a small distance from the trees stood an Indian hut, which had been thatched with their leaves, of which some yet remained; and round the hut were scattered many cocoa-nut-shells, the fruit of which seemed to have been lately gathered. Not far from this grew the bread-fruit tree, and a number of plantains.

Our adventurers were now near a quarter of a mile from the pinnace, when three of the natives ran out of the woods, about one hundred yards beyond them, shouting in the most violent manner. They instantly ran towards our countrymen, the first of the three throwing something out of his hand, which flew on one side of him, burning in the same manner as gunpowder, but making no noise, while the other two threw their lances. The English now fired; when the natives stopped, and cast another lance, on which the muskets were loaded with ball, and again fired.--The poor Indians now ran off with expedition, having, most probably, been wounded in the unequal conflict. Captain Cook and his companions, unwilling farther to injure those who could not originally have intended them any harm, retreated hastily to the boat, while the men, that had been left in the care of her, made signals that more of the natives were advancing towards the coast; several of these were soon seen, and stood still, as if waiting for the main body of their companions. Captain Cook and the party having reached the boat, rowed a-breast of the natives, who by this time were assembled to the number of about eighty. Their stature was nearly the same with that of the inhabitants of New South Wales, but their colour was not quite so dark: but, like them, they wore their hair cropped short. During the survey that was taken of them, they continued letting off their fires, a few at a time, in a kind of regular platoons; they were discharged by means of a piece of stick, almost like a hollow cane, which being swung sideways, produced fire and smoke exactly like that occasioned by the firing of small arms. The crew on board the ship saw this strange phenomenon, and thought the natives had fire-arms. The gentlemen having satisfied their curiosity by attentively looking at these people, fired some musquets above their heads, the balls from which being heard to rattle among the trees, the natives deliberately retired. The lances which had been thrown soon after the gentlemen landed were made of a reed or bamboo cane, and the points were made of hard wood, barbed in several places; it is imagined, that these lances were discharged by means of a throwing stick, as they flew with great swiftness above sixty yards.

When this party returned to the ship, some of the officers entreated the Captain to send men on shore to cut down the cocoa-nut trees, in order to procure the nuts; but this, with equal wisdom and humanity, he refused; sensible that the poor Indians, who could ill brook even the landing of a small party, on their coast, would risk their lives, and of course sacrifice them, in defence of their property. The whole coast of this country is low-land, but cloathed with a richness of trees and herbage, which exceeds all description.

On Monday, the 3d of September, 1770, the ship got under sail, and early in the morning of the 6th passed two small islands, on the latter of which Captain Cook would have landed, but as they had then only ten fathom water, and as the ground was rocky and the wind blew fresh, he might have endangered the safety of the ship. They now sailed at a moderate rate, with various soundings, till three o’clock the next morning, after which they had no ground with one hundred and twenty fathom. Before noon they had sight of land, which was conjectured to be either the Arrou Islands, or Timor Laoet; but they are not accurately laid down in any of the charts hitherto published.