just four people, so that the people who visited us to-day went away at two turns.  Their lances were like those that we had seen in Botany Bay, except that they had but a single point, which in some of them was the sting of the ray, and barbed with two or three sharp bones of the same fish:  It was indeed a most terrible weapon, and the instrument which they used in throwing it, seemed to be formed with more art than any we had seen before.  About twelve o’clock next day, the yawl returned, with another turtle, and a large sting-ray, and in the evening, was sent out again.

The next morning, two of the Indians came on board, but after a short stay, went along the shore, and applied themselves with great diligence to the striking of fish.  Mr Gore, who went out this day with his gun, had the good fortune to kill one of the animals which had been so much the subject of our speculation.  This animal is called by the natives Kangaroo.  The next day it was dressed for dinner, and proved most excellent meat; we might now indeed be said to fare sumptuously every day, for we had turtle in great plenty, and we all agreed that they were much better than any we had tasted in England, which we imputed to their being eaten fresh from the sea, before their natural fat had been wasted, or their juices changed by a diet and situation so different from what the sea affords them, as garbage and a tub.  Most of those that we caught here, were of the kind called green turtle, and weighed from two to three hundred weight, and when these were killed, they were always found to be full of turtle-grass which our naturalists took to be a kind of conferva:  Two of them were loggerheads, the flesh of which was much less delicious, and in their stomachs nothing was to be found but shells.

In the morning of the 16th, while the people were employed as usual in getting the ship ready for the sea, I climbed one of the hills on the north side of the river, from which I had an extensive view of the inland country, and found it agreeably diversified by hills, vallies, and large plains, which in many places were richly covered with wood.  This evening, we observed an emersion of Jupiter’s first satellite, which gave 214 deg. 53’ 45” of longitude.  The observation which was made on the 29th of June gave 214 deg. 42’ 30”; the mean is 214 deg. 48’ 7-1/2”, the longitude of this place west of Greenwich.

On the 17th, I sent the master and one of the mates in the pinnace to look for a channel to the northward; and I went myself with Mr Banks and Dr Solander into the woods on the other side of the water.  Tupia, who had been thither by himself, reported, that he had seen three Indians who had given him some roots about as thick as a man’s finger, in shape not much unlike a radish, and of a very agreeable taste.  This induced us to go over, hoping that we should be able to improve our acquaintance with the natives; in a very little time we discovered four of them in