[Footnote 51:  It is remarked in the account of Tasman’s voyage, that the people of this island had very hoarse, rough, strong voices.—­E.]

At the time when we sailed, we were abreast of a point, from which the land trends S.S.W. and which, on account of its figure, I called Cape Table.  This point lies seven leagues to the southward of Poverty Bay, in latitude 39 deg. 7’ S. and longitude 181 deg. 36’ W.; it is of a considerable height, makes in a sharp angle, and appears to be quite flat at the top.

In steering along the shore to the southward of the Cape, at the distance of two or three miles, our soundings were from twenty to thirty fathom, having a chain of rocks between us and the shore, which appeared at different heights above the water.

At noon, Cape Table bore N. 20 E. distant about four leagues, and a small island, which was the southernmost land in sight, bore S. 70 W. at the distance of about three miles.  This island, which the natives call Teahowray, I named the Island of Portland, from its very great resemblance to Portland in the English Channel:  It lies about a mile from a point on the main; but there appears to be a ridge of rocks, extending nearly, if not quite, from one to the other.  N. 57 E. two miles from the south point of Portland, lies a sunken rock, upon which the sea breaks with great violence.  We passed between this rock and the land, having from seventeen to twenty fathom.

In sailing along the shore, we saw the natives assembled in great numbers as well upon Portland Island as the main:  We could also distinguish several spots of ground that were cultivated; some seemed to be fresh turned up, and lay in furrows like ploughed land, and some had plants upon them in different stages of their growth.  We saw also in two places, high rails upon the ridges of hills, like what we had seen upon the peninsula at the north-east head of Poverty Bay:  As they were ranged in lines only, and not so as to inclose an area, we could not guess at their use, and therefore supposed they might be the work of superstition.

About noon another canoe appeared, in which were four men; she came within about a quarter of a mile of us, where the people on board seemed to perform divers ceremonies:  One of them, who was in the bow, sometimes seemed to ask and to offer peace, and sometimes to threaten war, by brandishing a weapon that he held in his hand:  Sometimes also he danced, and sometimes he sung.  Tupia talked much to him, but could not persuade him to come to the ship.

Between one and two o’clock we discovered land to the westward of Portland; extending to the southward as far as we could see; and as the ship was hauling round the south end of the island, she suddenly fell into shoal water and broken ground:  We had indeed always seven fathom or more, but the soundings were never twice the same, jumping at once from seven fathom to eleven; in a short time, however, we got clear of all danger, and had again deep water under us.