98 C OMMO D O R E B Ï R O N ’ s V O Y A G E
»7^5- fcarcely a Ihip’s length -wide, and there they had thirteen
i— 1 fathom, with a bottom of coral rock. We flood clofe inr
Monday io. tjle an(} faw hundreds of the favages, ranged in
very good order, and Handing up to their waifts in water;
they were all armed in the fame manner as thofe that we
had feen at the other iflhnds, and one of them carried a
piece o f mat faftened to the top o f a pole, which we ima-
gined was an enfign. They made a moll hideous and incef-
fant noife, and in a Ihort time many large canoes came
down the lake to join them. Our boats were ftill out, and
the people on board them, made all the figns o f friendlhip
that they could invent, upon which fome of the canoes came
through the inlet and drew near them. We now began to
hope that a friendly intercourfe might be eftablifhed ; ,but
wefoon difcoveredthat the Indians had no other defign than
to haul the boats on Ihore: many of them leaped off the
rocks, and fwam to them; and one of them got into that
which belonged to the Tamar, and in the twinkling o f an
eye feized a feaman’s jacket, and jumping overboard with
it, never once appeared above water till he was, clofe in
Ihore among his,companions. Another of them got,hold of
a midlhipman’s hat, but not knowing how to take it ofF, he
pulled it downward inftead of lifting it u p ; fo that the
owner had time to prevent its being taken away, otherwife
it would probably have difappeared as fuddenlyasthejacket;
our men bore all this with much patience,, and the Indians
feemed to triumph in their impunity.
About noon, finding there was no anchorage here, r bore
away and fleered along the Ihore to the weftermoft point o f
the ifland: the boats immediately followed us, and kept
founding clofe to the beach, but could get no ground.
When
1765.
June.1
When we came to the weftermoft point o f . this ifland, we
faw another, bearing S. W. by W. about four leagues diftant.
We were at this time about a league beyond the inlet where Mondaylo’
we had left the natives; but they were not fatisfied with
having got rid o f us quietly ; for I now perceived two large
double canoes failing after the Ihip, with about thirty men
in each, all armed after the manner of their country. The
boats were'a good way to leeward o f us, and the canoes’
palling between the Ihip and the Ihore, feemed veryeagerly
to give them chace. Upon this I made the fignal for the
boats to fpeak with the canoes, and as foon as they perceived
it, "they turned, and made towards the Indians, who
feeing this, were feized with a fudden pannic, and immediately
hauling down their fails, paddled back again at a
furprifing rate. Our boats however came up with them; but
notwithftanding the dreadful furf that broke upon the Ihore,
the canoes puflied through it, and the Indians immediately
hauled them up upon the .beach. Our boats followed them,
aiid the Indians,* dreading an invafionof their’ coaft, prepared
to defend it with clubs and Hones, upon which our men
fired, and killed two or three of them: one o f them received
three balls which went quite through his body; yet he a fterwards
took up a large ftone, and died in the action of
throwing it againft his enemy. This man fell clofe to our
boats, fo that the Indians who remained unhurt did no£
dare to attempt the carrying off his body, which gave us an
opportunity to examine i t ; but they carried off the reft o f
their dead, and made the belt of their way back to their
companions at the inlet. Our boats then returned, and
brought off the two canoes which they had purfued. One
of them was thirty-two feet long, and the other fomewhat
lefs, but they were both o f a very curious conftrudtion, and
O 3 muft