be filled up with water,
while a supply of seals was secured for the sake of their oil. Not a
tree nor shrub was to be found in this inhospitable region. A bottle
was brought to Captain Cook, containing a document left by Kerguelen,
who had discovered this land at the end of 1773, and had taken
possession of it in the name of the King of France. The harbour in
which the ships lay was called Christmas Harbour, in commemoration of
the day on which they entered it. The ships left this harbour on the
morning of the 28th, and continued to range along the coast, in order to
discover its position and extent. They brought up in another harbour
just in time to escape a heavy gale, and then proceeded to the south,
towards Cape George, to determine the shape of the land. On finally
leaving it, on December 30, the ships steered east-by-north for New
Zealand. Captain Cook came to the conclusion that the land he had just
left was a large island, seventy or eighty miles from north to south,
and a much greater distance from east to west. Captain Furneaux had, in
1773, passed across the meridian of this land, only seventeen leagues to
the south of Cape George, thus settling the point of its being an
island.

It seems to have been a mistake to send the ships into these inclement
regions with cattle on board, as many died, among them two young bulls
and a heifer, two rams, and several more of the goats.

The weather continued so thick that for many days together the ships did
not see each other, though by constantly firing guns they managed to
keep in company. At length Captain Cook determined to put into
Adventure Bay, in Van Diemen's Land, where Captain Furneaux had touched
on the former voyage. The land was made on January 24, and on the 26th
the ships brought up in the bay. They expected to obtain a supply of
wood for fuel, and of grass for the cattle, of which they stood greatly
in need. A supply of fish was caught, and plenty of grass brought on
board. While the party on shore were cutting wood some natives
appeared. They came forward with perfect confidence, only one having a
lance in his hand. They were entirely without clothes, their skin and
hair black, their stature about the ordinary height, their figures
rather slender. Their features were not disagreeable, as they had
neither very thick lips nor flat noses, while their eyes and teeth were
good. Most of them had their heads and beards smeared with a red
oin