ece of parchment, on which was an inscription purporting
that the land had been visited by a French vessel in 1772-3. To this
Cook added a notice of his own visit; the parchment was then returned to
the bottle, and the cork being secured with lead, was placed upon a pile
of stones near to the place from which it had been removed. The whole
country was extremely barren and desolate, and on the 30th they came to
the eastern extremity of Kerguelen's Land.

On January 24, 1777, they came in sight of Van Diemen's Land (now
Tasmania), and on the 26th anchored in Adventure Bay, where intercourse
was opened with the natives, and Omai took every opportunity of lauding
the great superiority of his friends, the English. Here they obtained
plenty of grass for the remaining cattle, and a supply of fresh
provisions for themselves. On the 30th they quitted their port,
convinced that Van Diemen's Land was the southern point of New Holland.
Subsequent investigations, however, have proved this idea to be
erroneous, Van Diemen's Land being an island separated from the mainland
of Australia by Bass's Strait.

On February 12, Captain Cook anchored at his old station in Queen
Charlotte's Sound, New Zealand; but the natives were very shy in
approaching the ships, and none could be persuaded to come on board. The
reason was, that on the former voyages, after parting with the
_Resolution_, the _Adventure_ had visited this place, and ten of her
crew had been killed in an unpremeditated skirmish with the natives. It
was the fear of retaliatory punishment that kept them aloof. Captain
Cook, however, soon made them easy upon the subject, and their
familiarity was renewed; but great caution was used, to be fully
prepared for a similar attack, by keeping the men well-armed on all
occasions. Of the animals left at this island in the former voyages,
many were thriving; and the gardens, though left in a state of nature,
were found to contain cabbages, onions, leeks, radishes, mustard, and a
few potatoes. The captain was enabled to add to both. At the
solicitation of Omai, he received two New Zealand lads on board the
_Resolution_, and by the 27th was clear of the coast.

After landing at a number of islands, and not finding adequate supplies,
the ships sailed for Anamocka, and the _Resolution_ was brought up in
exactly the same anchorage that she had occupied three years before. The
natives behaved in a most friendly manner, and but for their habits o