27 2 A V O Y A G E ROUND THE WORLD.
»77*- the two bodies of natives, and to expofe ourfelves. to an at-
tack in which many of thefe innocent people, and perhaps
Lome of us, might have been killed, captain Cook ordered
a mulket-ball to be fired over their heads, in order, if pof-
fible to frighten them away. Indeed, the whole body was
immediately in motion at the found ; but, foon recovering
from their furprize, the greateft number flood their ground.
One of them, Handing clofe to the water’s edge, was fo bold
as to turn his pofteriors towards us, and flap them with
his hand, which is the ufual challenge with all the nations
o f the South Sea. Captain Cook ordered another mufket to
be {hot into the air, and, at this fignal, the fhip played her
whole artillery, confifting of five four-pounders, two fwivels,
and four mufketoons. The balls whittled over our heads,
and making fome havock among the coco-palms, had the
defired effeift, and entirely cleared the beach in a few moments.
Only our old peace maker, with his two friends,
remained unconcerned near his pile of fruit, which he pre--
fented to the captain as foon as he had landed, at the fame
time defiring him not to {hoot any longer. An interefling
pidture, reprefenting this landing at Tanna, compofed by
Mr. Hodges, with great ingenuity, has been engraved for
captain Cook’s account of this voyage. It is one of thofe
pieces in which the {kill of that able artift is difplayed in
its full force.
Our
A VOY AGE ROUND T H E WORLD. 2 7 3
Our firft care was to draw up the marines in two lines, A; ӣT.
to guard the waterers. Stakes were driven into the ground
on both fides, and ropes fattened to them, leaving a fpace
of fifty or fixty yards clear, for our people to pafs and
repafs unmolefted. By degrees they ventured out of the
bullies, and came upon the beach, where we made figns to
them not to tranfgrefs our lines, which none of them attempted.
The captain once more repeated his figns, that
they Ihould lay down their arms ; thofe on the weft did
not attend to them, but the other party, who were in fome
meafure connected with our old friend, complied for the
greateft part. The old man told us his name, which was
Paw-yangom, and was permitted to flay, within the lines
if he chofe.
We now endeavoured to advance into the woods in queft
of plants, but we had not got twenty yards, before we faw
numbers of natives behind every bufli, who kept up a communication
between the two parties on the beach. It was
therefore impoffible to make any great acquifitioms at firft,
and we contented ourfelves with two or three new fpecies.
With thefe we returned on the beach, and by endeavouring
to converfe with the party on our left (to the eaft of us)
filled our vocabularies with many words of their language,
We often offered to purchafe their arms, but they con-
fiantly refuted to part with them. However, one of them
difpofed of a cylindrical piece of alabafter, two inches long,
V o l . II. N n which