one of which it fcorched to death. Mr. Banks leaped into a
boat, and fetched fome people from on board, juft time
hurfday 19. to pave jjjs tent, by hauling it down upon the beach;
hut the fmith’s forge, at leaft fuch part of it as would burn,
was.confumed. While this was doing, the Indians went to a
place at fome diftance, where feveral of our people were
wafhing, and where our nets, among which was the feine,
and a great quantity of linen, were laid out to dry; here
they again fet lire to the grafs, entirely difregarding both
threats and entreaties. We were therefore obliged to discharge
a mufquet,' loaded with fmall Ihot, at one of them,
which drew blood at the diftance of about forty yards, and
this putting them to flight, we extinguilhed the fire at this
place before it had made much progrefs ; but where the
grafs had been firft kindled, it fpread into the woods to- a
great diftance. As the Indians were ftill in fight, I fired a
mufquet, charged with ball, abreaft of them among the
mangroves, to convince them that they were not yet out of
■ our reach: upon hearing the ball they quickened their paze,
and we foon loft fight of them. We thought they would
now give us no more trouble; but foon after we heard their
voices in the woods, and perceived that they came nearer
and nearer. I fet out, therefore, with Mr. Banks- and three
or four more, to meet them : when our parties came in fight
of each other, they halted ; except one old man, who came
forward to meet us: at length he flapped, and having uttered
fome words, which we were very foray we could not
underftand, he went back to.his companions, and the whole
body flowly retreated. We found, means however to feize
fome of their darts, and continued, to follow them about a
mile: we then fat down upon fonae rocks, from which, we
could obferve their motions, and they alfo fat down at
about an hundred yards diftance. After a lhort time,, the old
9 man
man again advanced towards us, carrying in his hand a
lance without a point: -he flopped feveral times, at different
diftances, and fpoke. ; yve anfwered by beckoning and making
fuch figns of amity as we could devife ; upon which the
meflenger of peace, as we fuppofed him to be, turned and
fpoke, aloud to his companions, who then fet up their lances
againft a tree, and advanced towards us in a friendly manner
: when they came up, we returned the darts or lances
that we had taken from them, and we perceived with great
fatisfaiftion that this rendered the reconciliation complete.
We found in this party four perfons whom we had never
feen before, who as ufual were introduced to us by name;
but the man who had been wounded in the attempt to burn
our nets and linen, was not among them; we knew however
that he could not be dangeroufly hurt," by the diftance
at which the fhot reached him. We made all of them prefects
of fuch trinkets as we had about us, and they walked
back with us towards the fhip: as we went along, they told
us, by'figns, that they would not fet fire to the grafs any
more,; and we diftributed among them fome mufquet balls,
and endeavoured to make them underftand their ufe and effect.
When they came abreaft of the fhip, they fa-t down,
but could not be prevailed upon to come on board; we
therefore left them, and in about two hours they went
away, foon after which we perceived the woods on fire at
about two miles diftance. If this accident had happened a
very little while fooner, the confequence might have been
dreadful; for our powder had been aboard but a few days,
and the ftore tent, with many valuable things which it contained,
had not been removed many hours. We had no idea
o f the fury with which grafs would burn in this hot climate,
■ nor confequently of the difficulty of extinguifhing i t ; but
we determined, that i f it fhould ever again be necefiary for
Z 2
Thurfday 11).