C A P T A 382 I N C A R T E R E T ’ S V O Y A G E
1767. lhare other duties with my Lieutenant;, whofe health alio
September. . . . , t_____1 was greatly impaired.
Sunday 13.
c h a p . v i r .
Hhe Paffage from Saint Georges Channel to the I f and of
Mindanao, with an Account o f many Ifands that were
feen, and Incidents .that happened by the Way.
AS foon as we had cleared Saint George’s Channel, we
fleered weftward, and the next day we difcovered land
bearing W. N.W. and hauled up for i t ; it proved to be an
ifland of confiderable extent, and foon afterwards we faw
another to the north eaft of it, but this appeared to be little
more than .a large rock above water. As I had here ftrong
currents, and for feveral days had not been able to get an
obfervation o f the fun, 1 cannot fo .exactly afcertain the fitu-
ation of .thefe iflands as I might otherwife have done. As we
proceeded to the weftward, we difcovered more land, con]
lifting oft many iflands lying to the fouthward of the large
one which we had firft difcovered. As the nights were now
moonlight, we kept on till eleven o’clock, and the Lieutenant,
who was then officer of the watch, finding that the
courfe we were fleering would carry us among them, and
not being w illing to awaken me till it was my turn to watch,
hauled off S. by E. andS. S .E.' I came upon deck about
-^Tuefday 15. midnight, and at one in the morning, perceiving that we
wer.e clear of them, I bore away again to the weftward with
an eafy fail-: the iflands, however, were not far diftant, and
about fix o’clock, a confiderable number o f canoes, with
feveral hundred people on board, came off, and paddled
toward
m
toward the fh ip : one o f them, with feven men on board, 1767.
came near enough to hail Us; and made us feveral figns vSep'™bcr‘,
which we could not perfectly underftand, but repeated, as T“eda!r' r‘
near as we could, to fhew that whatever they meant to us
we meant to them; however, the better to befpeak their
good-will, and invite them on board, we held up to them
feveral of the few trifles we had: upon this they drew nearer
to the fhip, and I flattered myfelf that they were coming on
board; but on the contrary, as foon as they came within
reach o f us they threw their lances, with great force, where
we flood thickeft upon tlie deck. As I thought it better to
prevent than to reprefs a general attack, in which, as the
number would be more, the mifchief would be greater, and
having now no doubt of their hoftile intentions, I fired
fome mufkets, and one of the fwivel guns, upon which
ibme of them being killed or wounded, they- rowed off and
joined the other canoes, of which there were twelve or fourteen,
with feveral hundred men on board. I then brought
to, waiting for the iffue, and had the fatisfadlion to fee, that,
after having long confulced together, they made for the
fliore: that I might ftill farther intimidate them, and more
effedlually prevent their return, I fired a round fliot from one •
o f my fix-pounders, fo as to fall into the water beyond them.
this feemed to have a good effedl, for they not only ufed
their paddles more nimbly, but hoifted fail, ftill Handing,
towards the fhore. Soon after, however, feveral more
canoes put off from another part of the ifland, and came
towards us very fa ft : they flopped at about the fame diftancc
as the other had done, and one of them alfo in the fame
manner came forward: to the people on board this vellel we-:
made all the figps o f friendffiip we could devife, fhewing
them every thing we had which we thought would ,'pleafe-
them, opening our arms, and inviting them on board: but
our •
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