1769.
Oftober. great rate. Upon receiving this intelligence, we drew to- 17 ty.
picked up a large piece o f pummice done floating upon the.
water; a fare fign that there either is, or has been a volcano
in this neighbourhood.
Tuefday 10. In the morning,, they all feemed to be cheerful, and eat
another enormous meal; after this we dreffed them, and:
adorned them with bracelets,- anclets, and necklaces, after
their own falhion, and the boat being hoifted out, they were •
told that we were going todet them afhore: this produced a
tranfport of joy; but upon perceiving that we made towards
our firft landing-place near the river, their-countenances-;
changed, and they entreated with great earneftnefs that they
might not be fet afhdrc at that place, becaufe they Laid, it
was inhabited by their enemies, who would kill them and
eatthem. This was a great difappoihtment tome ; becaufe
I hoped the report and appearance, of the.boys wodld procure-
a favourable reception for ourfelveS.. I had already lent am
officer, on ffiore with the marines and'a party of men to cut
wood, and I was determined to land near the. place; not
however, to abandon the boys, ii', when we got affiore, they
Ihould be unwilling to leave us ; but to fend a boat with
them in the evening to that part of the bay to which they,
pointed, and which they called their home. Mr. Banks, Dr.
Solander and Tupia were with me, and upon our landing;
With the boys, and croffing the river, they Teemed at firft to-
be unwilling, to leave us; but at length they fuddenly
changed their mind, and, though not without a manifefl;
flruggle, and fome. rears, they took their leave.: when they
were gone, we proceeded along a fwamp, with a . defign to
flioot fome ducks, o f which we law great plenty, and four
of the marines attended us, walking abreaft of us upon a
bank that overlooked the country. After we had advanced^
about a mile, thefe merr called out to tis and told us, that a
large body of the Indians was in -fight,‘ arid advancing at a
9 great
gether, and refolv-ed to make the beft of our way to the •___1»
boats; we had fcarcely begun to put this into execution, Tuefday M‘
when the three Indian boys ftarted fuddenly from fome
buffies, where they had concealed themfelves, and again
claimed our protection: we readily received them, and repairing
to. the beach as the clearefl: place, we walked brilkly
towards the boats. The Indians were in two bodies; one ran
along the bank which had been quitted by the marines, the
other fetched a compafs by the fwamp fo that we could not fee
them: when they perceived that we had formed into one body,
they flackened their pace, but ftill followed us in a gentle walk:
that they flackened their pace, was for us, as well as for them,
a fortunate circumftance; for when we came to the fide o f the
river, where we expefted to find the boats that were to carry
us over to the wooders, we found the pinnace at leaf! a mile
from her ftation, having been Cent ro pick up a bird which
had been fhot by the officer on fhore, and the little boat was
obliged to make three trips before we could all get over to
the reft of the party. As foon as we were drawn up on the
other fide, the Indians came down, not in a body as we expected,
but by two or three at a time, all armed, and in a
Ihort time their number increafed to about two hundred: as
we now defpaired of making peace with them, feeing that
the dread of our fmall arms did not keep them at a diftance,
and that the fhip was too far off to reach the place with a
fhot, we refolved to re-imbark, left our flay Ihould imbroil
us in another quarrel, and coft more of the Indians their
lives. We therefore advanced towards the pinnace which
was now returning, when one of the boys fuddenly cried
out, that his uncle was among the people who had marched
down to us, and defired us to flay and talk with them: we
complied, and a parley immediately commenced between
P p 2 ' them