They had long suspected the natives were addicted to cannibalism, and now they proved it, as they purchased the bone of a forearm of a man, from which the flesh had been recently picked, and were given to understand that a few days before a strange canoe had arrived, and its occupants had been killed and eaten.  They only ate their enemies, but held all strangers to be such.  The place where the ship was careened was, according to Wharton, about 70 miles from Massacre Bay, where Tasman’s men were killed, and Cook endeavoured to find out if there were any traditions of visits from ships to the neighbourhood, but could gain no information.  The natives became friendly as time went on, and brought good fish which they sold for nails, cloth, paper (a great favourite at first, but when they found it would not stand water, worthless), and Cook says:  “In this Traffic they never once attempted to defraud us of any one thing, but dealt as fair as people could do.”

The surrounding country was too thickly timbered for them to see much, but one day, being out in a boat trying to find the end of the inlet, Cook took the opportunity of climbing a thickly timbered hill, and from there saw, far away to the eastward, that the seas which washed both west and eastern coasts were united, and that one part of New Zealand, at any rate, was an island, and he had thus solved one of the problems he had given him in England.  They also saw that much of their immediate neighbourhood was not mainland as they had thought, but consisted of a number of small islands.

A more sensible people.

The population of the district was estimated at only some three or four hundred, and appeared to subsist on fish and fern roots.  They were evidently poorer than those seen previously, and their canoes are described as “mean and almost without ornament.”  They soon understood the value of iron, and readily took spike nails when trading, and greatly preferred “Kersey and Broadcloth to the Otaheite cloth, which show’d them to be a more sensible people than many of their neighbours,” says Cook.

An old man, who had previously paid several visits, complained that one of the ships boats had fired on and wounded two Maoris, one of whom was since dead.  On enquiry, Cook found that the Master and five petty officers, fishing beyond the usual limits, were approached by two canoes in what they thought was a threatening manner and had fired to keep them off.  A second native assured Cook no death had occurred, and enquiry failed to discover one; but Cook very severely condemned the action of his men as totally unjustifiable.  The ship had, by this time, been brought into fairly good trim, being clean, freshly caulked and tarred, and broken ironwork all repaired, so preparations were made to push through the straits; but, before leaving, two posts were set up, one near the watering place, and the other on the island, Motuara, on which the name of the ship and the date of the visit had been cut, and possession was taken of this land, the king’s health being drunk, and the empty bottle presented to the old man who had complained about the shooting, and who was greatly delighted with his present; he also was given some silver threepenny pieces, dated 1763, and spike nails marked with the broad arrow.