1770. we faw four fmall canoes, with each one man on board, who
April. JJ . ’ '— -v— > were very bufily employed in linking fifli with a long pike
ay 28. Qr ppgar. they ventured almoft into the furf, and were fo
intent upon what they were doing, that although the Ihip
palEed within a quarter of a mile of them, they fcarcely
turned their eyes towards her; poflibly being deafened by
the furf, and their attention wholly fixed upon their bufinqfs
or fport, they neither faw nor heard her go paft them.
The place where the fhip had anchored was abreaft of a
fmall village, confiding of about fix or eight houfes; and
while we were preparing to hoift out the boat, we faw an old
woman,, followed by three children, come out of the wood;
fhe was loaded with fire-wood, and each o f the children had
alfo its little burden: when fhe came to the houfes three
more children, younger than the others, came out to meet
her: fhe often looked at the fhip, but exprefled neither fear
nor furprife: in a fhort time fhe kindled a fire, and the
four canoes came in from fifiling. The men landed, and
having hauled up their boats, began to drefs their dinner,
to all appearance wholly unconcerned about us, though we
were within half a mile of them. We thought it remarkable
that all of the people we had yet feen, not one had the
leaft appearance of clothing, the old woman herfelf being
deftiture even of a fig-leaf.
After dinner the boats were manned, and we fet out from
the fhip, having Tupia of our party. We intended to land
where we faw the people, and began to hope that as they
had fo little regarded the fhip’s coming into the bay, they
would as little regard our coming on lhore; in this, however,
we were difappointed ; for as foon as we approached
the rocks, two of the men came down upon them to dif-
pute our landing, and the reft ran away. Each of the two
champions
champions was armed with a lance about ten feet long, and 177.0'
a fhort flick which he feemed to handle as if it was a ma- .>
chine to affift him in managing or throwing the lance; they Sau,rda> *8,
called to us in a very loud tone, and in a harfh difionant language,
of which neither we nor Tupia underftood a fingle
word: they brandifhed their weapons, and feemed refolved
to defend their coaft to the utterjnoft, though they were but
two, and we were forty. I could not but admire their courage,
and being very unwilling that hoftilities fhould commence
with fuch inequality of force between us, I ordered
the boat to lie upon her oars: we then parlied by figns for
about a quarter of an hour, and to befpeak their good-will,
I threw them nails, beads, and other trifles, which they
took up and feemed to be well pleafed with. I then made
figns that I wanted water, and, by all the means that I could
devife, endeavoured to convince them that we would do them
no harm: they now waved to us, and I was willing to interpret
at as an invitation; but upon our putting the boat in,
they came again to oppofe us. One appeared to be a youth
about nineteen or twenty, and the other a man of middle
age: as I had now no other refource I fired a mufquet between
them. Upon the report, the youngeft dropped a
bundle of lances upon the rock, but recollecting himfelf in
an inftant he fnatched them up again with great hafte; a
{tone was then thrown at us, upon which I ordered a mufquet
to be fired with fmall {hot, which ftruck the eldeft upon
the legs, and he immediately ran to one of the houfes, which
was diftant about an hundred yards : I now hoped that our
conteft was over, and we immediately landed; but we had
fcarcely left the boat when he returned, and we then perceived
that he had left,the rock only to fetch a fliield or target
for his defence. As foon as he came up, he threw a
lance at us,, and his comrade another; they fell where we
Vol. III. M flood