Page 58

Cook's Descriptions of Places

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New Zealand (continued) with from Cape Kidnappers to the Northward and westward as far as the Bay of Plenty which is a great extent of territory for an Indian prence: when we was were upon the East coast they always pointed inland ^to the westward for the place of his residence which I beleive to be in the Bay of Plenty and that those Hippas or fortified towns are barrier towns either for or against him but most likely the former and if so may be the utmost extent of his dominions to the westward for at Mercury Bay they did not own him as their prince nor no where else either to the westrd or Southward or any other single person, for at whatever place we put in at or whatever people we spoke with upon the Coast they generaly told us that those that were at a little distance from them were their enimies  from which it appear'd to me that they were very much divided among themselves into parties which make war one with another and all their actions and beheavour towards us tended to prove that they are a brave open warlike people and voide of treachery. When ever we was ^were Viseted by any number of them that had never heard or seen any thing of us before they gener^aly came off in their largest Canoes ^they had some of which will carry 60, 80 or 100 people they always brought their best close along with them which they put on as soon as they came near the Ship - in each Canoe were generaly an Old man, in some two or three these use'd always to dire[c]t the others were better Clothed and generaly carried a halbard or battle ax in their hands or some such like thing that distinguished them from the others.   as soon as they came within ^about a stones throw of the Ship they would there Voyaging Accounts © Transcribed from National Library of Australia Manuscript 1 page 211, 2004 Published by South Seas To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/cook_remarks-058