James Cook - A Journal of the proceedings of His Majesty's Bark Endeavour on a voyage round the world, by Lieutenant James Cook, Commander, commencing the 25th of May 1768 - 23 Oct. 1770: No. 264

                New Wales or East Coast of New Holland

May 1770      some time in the Middle watch a very extraordinary affair happened to Mr Orton my Clerk, he having been drinking in the evening, some Malicious person or persons in the Ship took the Advantage of his being Drunk, & cut off all the Cloaths from off his back. Not being satisfied with this they some time after went into his Cabin & cut off a part of both his Ears as he lay a Sleep in his Bed. The person whom he suspected to have done this was Mr Magra one of the Midshipmen but this did not appear to me. Upon enquiry however as I had been told that Mr Magra had once or twice before this in their drunken Frolicks cut off his cloaths & had been heard to say (as I was told) that if it was not for the Law he would Murder him these things consider'd induced me to think that Magra was not Altogether innocent. I therefore for the present dismiss'd him the quarter deck & Suspended him from doing any duty in the Ship, he being one of those Gentlemen frequently found onboard Kings Ships that can very well be spared. Besides it was necessary in me to shew my immediate resentment against the person on whom the suspicion fell, least they should not have stop'd here. With respect to Mr Orton he is a man not without faults, yet from all the inquiry I could make it evidently appear'd to me that so far from deserving such a Treatment he had not designed injured any Person in the Ship so that I do, & shall always look upon him as an injured man, some reasons however might be given why this misfortune came upon him in which he himself was in some measure to blame, but as this is only conjecture & would tend to fix it upon some People in the Ship whom I would fain believe would hardly be guilty of such an Action, I shall say nothing about it, unless I shall hereafter discover the Offenders which I shall take every method in my power to do. For I look upon such proceedings as highly dangerous in such Voyages as this, & the greatest insult that could be offer'd to any Authority, in this Ship, as I have always been ready to hear & redress every complaint that has been made against any Person in the Ship.
In the am I went ashore with a party of men in order to Examine the Country accompanied by Mr Banks & the other Gentlemen. We landed a little within the South point of the Bay where their is a Channel leading into a large Lagoon. The first thing that I did was to sound & examine the Channell in which I found 3 fathoms untill I got about a Mile up it where I met with a Shoal whereon was little more than one fathom; being over this I had 3 fathoms again; the entrance into this Channell lies close to the South point of this Bay being form'd on the east by the Shore & on the
West