ong the coast, and named Port Jackson; he did not enter it, and
therefore was uncertain of there being a safe harbour here: it
has the appearance from sea of being only an open bay.

The convoy was again left to my care, the masters of the ships
having had previous orders from Captain Phillip to prepare for
sea. On the 26th, I made the signal for the transports to get
under way. We perceived this morning two large ships in the
offing, standing in for the bay, under French colours: these
ships had been observed two days before, but the wind blowing
fresh from north-west, they were not able to get in with the
land. I sent a boat with an officer to assist them in, and about
an hour after, a breeze sprung up from the south-east, and they
were safely anchored in the bay. I then got under way, and with
the transports worked out of the bay, and the same evening
anchored the whole convoy in Port Jackson.

The two strangers proved to be the Bussole and Astrolabe,
which sailed from Brest in June, 1785, upon discoveries, and were
commanded by Mons. de la Perouse; Mons. de L'Angle, who commanded
one of the ships when they left France, had been lately, when the
ships were at the Islands of Navigators, murdered, with several
other officers and seamen, by the natives; who had, before that
unfortunate day, always appeared to be upon the most friendly and
familiar terms with them. This accident, we understood, happened
when their launches were on shore filling water, on the last day
which they intended remaining at those islands: during the time
they were employed in filling their water-casks, having the most
perfect confidence in the friendly disposition of the natives,
the sailors had been inattentive to the keeping the boats afloat;
some misunderstanding having happened between some of the seamen
and the natives, an insult had been offered by one or other,
which was resented by the opposite party; a quarrel ensued, and
the impossibility of moving the boats, exposed the officers and
crews to the rage of the multitude, who attacked them with clubs
and showers of stones, and would inevitably have massacred the
whole, if there had not been a small boat at hand, which picked
up those, who depending on their swimming, had quitted the
shore.

Many of the natives were killed upon this occasion; and the
loss of the ships was said to have been fourteen persons killed,
including Captain de L'Angle, and some other officers; several
were mu