und in one of their huts, one of their
spears, which was made sharp at one end, I suppose, with a shell or stone.
Those things we brought away, leaving in the room of them medals, gun-
flints, a few nails, and an old empty barrel with the iron hoops on it.
They seem to be quite ignorant of every sort of metal. The boughs, of which
their huts are made, are either broken or split, and tied together with
grass in a circular form, the largest end stuck in the ground, and the
smaller parts meeting in a point at the top, and covered with fern and
bark, so poorly done, that they will hardly keep out a shower of rain. In
the middle is the fire-place, surrounded with heaps of muscle, pearl,
scallop, and cray-fish shells, which I believe to be their chief food,
though we could not find any of them. They lie on the ground, on dried
grass, round the fire; and I believe they have no settled place of
habitation (as their houses seemed built only for a few days), but wander
about in small parties from place to place in search of food, and are
actuated by no other motive. We never found more than three or four huts in
a place, capable of containing three or four persons each only; and what is
remarkable, we never saw the least marks either of canoe or boat, and it is
generally thought they have none; being altogether, from what we could
judge, a very ignorant and wretched set of people, though natives of a
country capable of producing every necessary of life, and a climate the
finest in the world. We found not the least signs of any minerals or
metals.

Having completed our wood and water, we sailed from Adventure Bay,
intending to coast it up along shore, till we should fall in with the land
seen by Captain Cook, and discover whether Van Diemen's Land joins with New
Holland. On the 16th, we passed Maria's Islands, so named by Tassman; they
appear to be the same as the main land. On the 17th, having passed
Shouten's Islands, we hauled in for the main land, and stood along shore at
the distance of two or three leagues off. The country here appears to be
very thickly inhabited, as there was a continual fire along shore as we
sailed. The land hereabouts is much pleasanter, low, and even; but no signs
of a harbour or bay, where a ship might anchor with safety. The weather
being bad, and blowing hard at S.S.E., we could not send a boat on shore to
have any intercourse with the inhabitants. In the latitude of 40 deg. 50' S.,
the land trenches