1769. covered by Lieutenant Hicks, and which therefore I called
October. |
'------ .------1 H i c k s ’ s B a y . At eight in the evening, being eight leagues to
Monday 30. weft.ward of the Cape, and three or four miles from the
fhore, I fhortened fail and brought to for the night, having
at this time a freih gale at S. S. E. and fqually; but it foon
Tnrfday 31. became moderate, and at two in the morning, we made fail
again to the S. W. as the land now trended; and at eight
o’clock in the morning, faw land, which made like an ifland,
bearing weft, the fouth weftermoft part of the main bearing
fouth weft; and about nine no lefs than five canoes came
olf, in which were more than forty men, all armed
with their country pikes and battle-axes, Ihouting, and
threatening an attack: this gave us great uneafinefs, and
was indeed what we did not expedl; for we hoped, that the
report both of our power and clemency had fpread to a
greater extent. When one o f thefe canoes had almoft reached
the fhip, another, of an immenfe fize, the largeft we had
yet feen, crowded with people who were alfo armed, put off
from the {here, and came up at a great rate; as it approached
it received fignals from the canoe that, was neareft to the
fhip, and we could fee that it had fixteen paddles on a fide,
befide people that fat, and others that flood in a row from Item
to ftern, being in all about fixty men: as they made directly-
to the fhip, we were defirous of preventing an attack, by
fhowing what we could do; and therefore fired a gun,,loaded
with grape-lhot, ahead of them: this made them flop, bat
not retreat; a round fhot was then fired over them, and
upon feeing it fall, they feized their paddles and made towards
the fhore with fuch precipitation that they feemed
fcarcely to allow themfelves time to breathe. In the evening,
three or four more canoes came off unarmed ; but they
would not venture within a mufquet fhot of the veffel. The
cape, off which we had been threatened with hoftilities, I
called,
3
called, from the hafty retreat of the enemy, Cape Runaway.
It lies in latitude 37“. 32'; longitude i 8i °48. In this day’s
run, we found that the land, which made like an ifland in
the morning, bearing weft, was fo ; and we gave it the name
of White Island.
Tuefday 31-.
At day-break, on the ift of November, we counted no lefs
than five and forty canoes that were coming from the fhore
towards the fhip: feven of them came up with us, and after
fome converfation with Tupia, fold us fome lobfters and
muffles, and two conger eels. Thefe people traded pretty
fairly: but when they were gone, fome others came off from
another place, who began alfo to trade fairly; but after fome
time they took what was handed down to them, without
making any return ; one of them who had done fo, upon
being threatened, began to laugh, and with many marks of
derifion fet us at defiance, at the.,fame time putting off the
canoe from the fhip: a mufquet w"as then fired over his head,
which brought him back in a more'ferious mood, and trade
went on with great regularity. At length, when the cabbin
and gun-room had got as much as they wanted, the . men
were allowed to come to the gang-way, and trade for themfelves.
Unhappily the fame care was not taken to prevent
frauds as had been taken before, fo that the Indians, finding
that they could cheat with impunity, grew infolent again,
and proceeded to take greater liberties. One of the canoes,
having fold every thing on board, pulled forward, and the
people that were in her feeing fome linen hang over the
fliip’s fide to dry, one of them, without any ceremony, untied
it, and put it up in his bundle: he was immediately
called to, and required to return i t ; inftead of which, he let
his canoe drop aftern, and laughed at us : a mufquet was
fired over his head, which did not put a flop to his mirth ;
another was then fired at him with fmall fhot, which ftruck
T t a him.
November.
Wednef. 1.