of the French not being roused, an opportunity
soon presented itself of taking ample
retaliation. The seine being very heavy, the
French required the assistance of the natives
in drawing it on shore. These wily fellows
instantly consented to the task, and placed
themselves alternately between each Frenchman,
apparently, to equalise the work. Consequently
in the act of pulling, each native
had a white man before him ; and, on an appointed
signal, the brains of each European
were knocked out by a tremendous blow of the
stone hatchet.
Captain Marion, who, from his ship, was an
eye-witness of these horrid murders, instantly
hastened on shore with the remainder of his
crew to avenge the slaughter of his countrymen.
Led on more by ardour than prudence,
he suffered himself to be surrounded; was
overpowered by numbers, defeated, and every
one was put to death ! *
* This account of George’s does not, I acknowledge,
exactly agree with the published narrative of that unfortunate
event, nor does his age agree with the dates.
Only a few years elapsed between the time of Cook and
George also related, to me the dreadful
tragedy of the ship “ Boyd j ” # and horrible
as these relations were, I felt a particular
interest, almost amounting to pleasui e, in
hearing them related by an eye-witness ; one
who had been an actor in those bloody scenes
which I had before read of: narratives which
from my very childhood had always possessed
particular charms for me; and at this time
I was not only looking on the very spot the
hero of my imagination, Cook, had trod, but
was hearing the tale from one who had actually
seen him ; and was listening to every particular
concerning the transactions of Marion
and his men, as though they had but just taken
place.
Marion, yet he declares himself to have been a child at
the death of the navigator, and a man at the murder of
the latter; but as it was voluntary on his part to give me
the above detail, and even if he were not present himself
he most probably had the facts from one who was, I
thought it worth inserting, as tending to throw light on
one of the most melancholy events which ever took place
on these coasts.
* Vide the account inserted at page 43.
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