On the 28th, Mr Banks went with some of the seamen up the country, to shew them the plant which in the West Indies is called Indian kale, and which served us for greens.  Tupia had much meliorated the root of the coccos, by giving them a long dressing in his country oven, but they were so small that we did not think them an object for the ship.  In their walk they found one tree which had been notched for the convenience of climbing it, in the same manner with those, we had seen in Botany Bay:  They saw also many nests of white ants, which resemble those of the East Indies, the most pernicious insects in the world.  The nests were of a pyramidical figure, from a few inches to six feet high, and very much resembled the stones in England, which are said to be monuments of the Druids.  Mr Gore who was also this day four or five miles up the country, reported that he had seen the footsteps of men, and tracked animals of three or four different sorts, but had not been fortunate enough to see either man or beast.

At two o’clock in the morning of the 20th, I observed, in conjunction with Mr Green, an emersion of Jupiter’s first satellite; the time here was 2h 18’ 53”, which gave the longitude of this place 214 deg. 42’ 30” W.; its latitude is 15 deg. 26’ S. At break of day, I sent the boat out again with the seine, and in the afternoon it returned with as much fish as enabled me to give every man a pound and a half.  One of my midshipmen, an American, who was this day abroad with his gun, reported that he had seen a wolf, exactly like those which he had been used to see in his own country, and that he had shot at it, but did not kill it.

The next morning, encouraged by the success of the day before, I sent the boat again to haul the seine, and another party to gather greens:  I sent also some of the young gentlemen to take a plan of the harbour, and went myself upon a hill, which lies over the south point, to take a view of the sea.  At this time it was low water, and I saw, with great concern, innumerable sand-banks and shoals lying all along the coast in every direction.  The innermost lay about three or four miles from the shore, the outermost extended as far as I could see with my glass, and many of them did but just rise above water.  There was some appearance of a passage to the northward, and I had no hope of getting clear but in that direction, for as the wind blows constantly from the S.E., it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to return back to the southward.

Mr Gore reported that he had this day seen two animals like dogs, of a straw colour, that they ran like a hare, and were about the same size.  In the afternoon, the people returned from hauling the seine, with still better success than before, for I was now able to distribute two pounds and an half to each man:  The greens that had been gathered I ordered to be boiled among the peas, and they made an excellent mess, which, with copious supplies of fish, afforded us unspeakable refreshment.