their collections of plants. The intercourse with the natives was for the most part friendly; opportunities were enjoyed of seeing their strong-holds, and witnessing an exhibition of their mode of attack and defence. On the 9th, however, while Lieut. Gore had the charge of the ship, a man who sold him an article of native dress for a piece of British cloth, paddled off with the cloth without delivering the article; a species of fraud which had been successfully practised by several of the natives : and Mr. Gore was so provoked by the insolent manner in which the fellow held up the cloth, and bid him defiance, that he shot him dead. The Commander regretted, that the effect of small shot had not been tried in this instance, as it had succeeded in others. Yet the natives made no attempt to revenge his death, regarding it as the just punishment of his crime.
After taking formal possession of the country in the name of His Majesty, our navigators sailed from Mercury Bay, on Wednesday, Nov. 15th, and proceeded along the coast. An old chief, called Toiava, was very useful to them while in the bay; and his name was of service to them on other parts of the coast. The services of Tupia also continued to be very efficient: he remonstrated very eloquently with those natives who, from time to time, approached the ship with hostile intentions. On the 18th and 19th, a large river was discovered, which from its resemblance to London river, was denominated the Thames. Here the vessel remained a few days, while observations were making on the coast, and up the river; on the banks of which were some trees of immense size, one of them measuring about 20 ft. in girth, and 89 ft. from the root
