they were sent ashore to
the number of eight or nine, and the boat was dispatched to haul the
seine, in hopes of procuring some fish for their refreshment; but she
returned without success. In the mean time, I climbed one of the highest
hills among those that overlooked the harbour, which afforded by no
means a comfortable prospect: The low land near the river is wholly
over-run with mangroves, among which the salt water flows every tide;
and the high land appeared to be everywhere stoney and barren. In the
mean time, Mr Banks had also taken a walk up the country, and met with
the frames of several old Indian houses, and places where they had
dressed shell-fish; but they seemed not to have been frequented for some
months. Tupia, who had employed himself in angling, and lived entirely
upon what he caught, recovered in a surprising degree; but Mr Green
still continued to be extremely ill.

The next morning I got the four remaining guns out of the hold, and
mounted them upon the quarter-deck; I also got a spare anchor and
anchor-stock ashore, and the remaining part of the stores and ballast
that were in the hold; set up the smith's forge, and employed the
armourer and his mate to make nails and other necessaries for the repair
of the ship. In the afternoon, all the officers' stores and ground tier
of water were got out, so that nothing remained in the fore and main
hold but the coals, and a small quantity of stone ballast. This day Mr
Banks crossed the river to take a view of the country on the other side;
he found it consist principally of sand-hills, where he saw some Indian
houses, which appeared to have been very lately inhabited. In his walk
he met with vast flocks of pigeons and crows: Of the pigeons, which were
exceedingly beautiful, he shot several; but the crows, which were
exactly like those in England, were so shy that he could not get within
reach of them.

On the 20th, we landed the powder and got out the stone ballast and
wood, which brought the ship's draught of water to eight feet ten inches
forward, and thirteen feet abaft; and this I thought, with the
difference that would be made of trimming the coals aft, would be
sufficient; for I found that the water rose and fell perpendicularly
eight feet at the spring-tides: But as soon as the coals were trimmed
from over the leak, we could hear the water rush in a little abaft the
foremast, about three feet from the keel; this determined me to clear
the hold ent