their weapons, and cried out, in their language, “Come on shore, and we will kill you all:”  Well, said Tupia, but why should you molest us while we are at sea?  As we do not wish to fight, we shall not accept your challenge to come on shore; and here there is no pretence for quarrel, the sea being no more your property than the ship.  This eloquence of Tupia, though it greatly surprised us, having given him no hints for the arguments he used, had no effect upon our enemies, who very soon renewed their battery:  A musquet was then fired through one of their boats and this was an argument of sufficient weight, for they immediately fell astern and left us.

From the point, of which we were now abreast, the land trends W. 1/2 S. near a league, and then S.S.E. as far as we could see; and, besides the islands that lay without us, we could see land round by the S.W. as far as the N.W.; but whether this was the main or islands, we could not then determine:  The fear of losing the main, however, made me resolve to follow its direction.  With this view, I hauled round the point and steered to the southward, but there being light airs all round the compass, we made but little progress.

About one o’clock, a breeze sprung up at east, which afterwards came to N.E. and we steered along the shore S. by E. and S.S.E. having from twenty-five to eighteen fathom.

At about half an hour after seven in the evening, having run seven or eight leagues since noon, I anchored in twenty-three fathom, not causing to run any farther in the dark, as I had now land on both sides, forming the entrance of a strait, bay, or river, lying S. by E. for on that point we could see no land.

At day-break, on the 19th, the wind being still favourable, we weighed and stood with an easy sail up the inlet, keeping nearest to the east side.  In a short time, two large canoes came off to us from the shore; the people on board said, that they knew Toiava very well, and called Tupia by his name.  I invited some of them on board; and as they knew they had nothing to fear from us, while they behaved honestly and peaceably, they immediately complied:  I made each of them some presents, and dismissed them much gratified.  Other canoes afterwards came up to us from a different side of the bay; and the people on board of these also mentioned the name of Toiava, and sent a young man into the ship, who told us he was his grandson, and he also was dismissed with a present.

After having run about five leagues from the place where we had anchored the night before, our depth of water gradually decreased to six fathom; and not chusing to go into less, as it was tide of flood, and the wind blew right up the inlet, I came to an anchor about the middle of the channel, which is near eleven miles over; after which I sent two boats out to sound, one on one side, and the other on the other.

The boats not having found above three feet more water than we were now in, I determined to go no farther with the ship, but to examine the head of the bay in the boats; for, as it appeared to run a good way inland, I thought this a favourable opportunity to examine the interior part of the country, and its produce.