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[Page 63]

59.
Octr. 1769   Tolaga Bay

very good time often heaving most loud & deep sighs.

28. This morn we went ashore in an Island on the left hand as you come into the bay calld by the natives Tubolai   here we saw the largest canoe we had met with  her lengh was 68 1/2 feet   her breadth 5   hight 3:6: she was built with a sharp bottom made in 3 peices of trunks of trees hollowd   the middlemost of which was much longer than either of the other two  Her gunnel planks were in one peice 62 ft 2 in lengh carvd prettily enough in bass releif  the head was also richly carvd in their fashion   we saw also a house larger than any we had seen tho not more than 30 feet long   it seemd as if it had never been finishd being full of chipps  the wood work of it was squard so even & smooth that we could not doubt of their having among them very sharp tools  all the side posts were carvd in a masterly stile of their whimsical taste which seems confind to the making of spirals & distorted human faces   all these had clearly been removd from some other place so probably such work bears a value among them

While Mr Sporing was drawing on the Island he saw a most strange bird fly over him head   he describd it about as large as a Kite & brown like one  his tail however was of so enormous a

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