[Footnote 146:  There can be little doubt that the animal here called a lizard is an alligator.—­E.]

Though much has been said, in the narratives of my two former voyages, about this country and its inhabitants, Mr Anderson’s remarks, as serving either to confirm or to correct our former accounts, may not be superfluous.  He had been three times with me to Queen Charlotte’s Sound during my last voyage; and, after this fourth visit, what he thought proper to record, may be considered as the result of sufficient observation.  The reader will find it in the next section; and I have nothing farther to add, before I quit New Zealand, but to give some account of the astronomical and nautical observations made during our stay there.

   The longitude of the observatory in Ship
      Cove, by a mean of 103 sets of observations,
      each set consisting of six or
      more observed distances, was 174 deg. 25’ 15” E.

   By the time-keeper, at Greenwich rate, it
      was 175 26 30

   By ditto, at the Cape rate, it was 174 56 12

   Variation of the compass, being the mean
      of six needles, observed on board the
      ship 12 40 0 E.

   By the same needles on shore, it was 13 53 0

   The dip of the south end, observed on
      shore was 63 42 0

By a mean of the results of eleven days observations, the time-keeper was too slow for mean time on February 22, at noon, by 11h 50’ 37",396; and she was found to be losing on mean time at the rate of 2",913 per day.  From this rate the longitude will be computed, till some other opportunity offers to ascertain her rate anew.  The astronomical clock, with the same length of pendulum as at Greenwich, was found to be losing on sidereal time 40",239 per day.

It will not be amiss to mention, that the longitude, by lunar observations, as above, differs only 6’ 45” from what Mr Wales made it during my last voyage; his being so much more to the W. or 174 deg. 18’ 30”.

The latitude of Ship Cove is 41 deg. 6’ 0”, as found by Mr Wales.

SECTION VIII.

Mr Anderson’s Remarks on the Country near Queen Charlotte’s Sound.—­The Soil.—&s
hy;Climate.—­Weather.—­Winds.—­Trees.—­Plants.—­Birds.—­Fish.—­Other Animals.—­Of the Inhabitants.—­Description of their Persons.—­Their Dress.—­Ornaments.—­Habitations.—­Boats.—­Food and Cookery,—­Arts.—­Weapons —­Cruelty to Prisoners.—­Various Customs.—­Specimen of their Language.

The land every where about Queen Charlotte’s Sound is uncommonly mountainous, rising immediately from the sea into large hills, with blunted tops.  At considerable distances are valleys, or rather impressions on the sides of the hills, which are not deep, each terminating toward the sea in a small cove, with a pebbly or sandy beach; behind which are small flats, where the natives generally build their huts, at the same time hauling their canoes upon the beaches.  This situation is the more convenient, as in every cove a brook of very fine water (in which are some small trout) empties itself into the sea.