^ 793^ the (larboard fide," and prevented their being ufed. Obferving this, and
r^iy—v-i that the fpears were àgaiil brandiffiing in that quarter, I again made
fighs for peace, and wént immediately aft ; where I found Mr. Puget
ufing his utmoft endeavours to accomplifh the fame delirable objeft,
which feërhed once I iiiore likely to take place by their laying down
their arms a fécond time.
This pöftüre Of affairs continued however-but for a few moments. I
Rad fcarcely turned rbUnd, bëfofe I faw the fpears, in the canoe which
contained the chief and the old woman, -all in motion ; but on my ftep-
ping'forward they Were again dropped. Whilft I was -thus engaged, the
Indians near the ftern Of the boat 'became very troublefome; and, as I
was palling back along the boat, -a general commotion feemed to have
taken place; fome fpears were thru ft, 'one or two o f which paffed very
' 'near me, ànd the Indians, in all diréÉUöns, began to feize all the moveables
in our boat that they could poffibly reach, and to commit other afts
Of violence. Our deftruftion now feemed almoft inevitable; as I could
hardly flatter myfélf that' the force we had to -oppofe againft the number
that furroundèd us, and, as it were, held us fo completely within their
power, would have been fufficient to make them retire.
By this time, however, which was about ten minutes from my return
to the boat, the launch had arrived within piftol-lhot; and being now
thoroughly fatisfied that our forbearance had given them confidence,
and that our defire for peace had rather ftimulated them to afts o f temerity
than difluaded them from their hoftile intentions ; and feeing- no
alternative left for óur prèfervatiöii againft numbers fo fuperior, but by
making ufe of the coercive means we had in our power, I gave directions
tö fire ; this inftanfly taking èffeft from both boats, was, • to my
great aftonifhment, attended with the defired effeft, and we had the hap-
pinefs o f finding outfélVes immediately relieved from a flotation o f the
ihoft imminènt d a n g e r '
Thofe' in the fmàll canoes jumped into the fea, whilft thofe in the
large ones, by getting all on one fide, raifed the oppbfite fides o f their
canoes, fo that they were protected from' the fire o f the yawl, though
2 I -they
they were in fome meafure expofed to that of the launch ; and in this
manner they fcrambled fideways to the ffiore.
The only arms they had left us in the yawl, befides thofe in the arm
cheft, were a blunderbufs, a mufket, a fowling-piece loaded- with fmall
fhot, and a brace o f pocket piftols ; the reft of the arms that had ufually
been kept at hand, confiding of three mufkets and a fowling-piece,
having been ftolen, in the affray,- together with two cartridge-boxes, fome
books, and other articles of little value. The arm cheft, however, afforded
a fufficient fupply for our future defence, and were immediately
got in readinefs for our proteflion; whilft the chaftizement I intended
to beftow on thefe treacherous people, by deftroying their canoes, ffiould
be carried into execution. But, as we were pulling towards the ffiore for
this purpofe, I underftood that two of our boat’s - crew were very badly
wounded, which circumftance had efcaped my notice, by their having
continued to exert themfelves in their refpeftive ftations; and this very
unpleafant intelligence immediately induced me to decline the puniffi-
ment I had meditated to inflift for the unprovoked aggreffion of the
natives.
The Indians, on reaching the ffiore, afeended the high rocky cliffs of
which it is compofed, from whence they endeavoured to annoy thofe in
the launch by ftones, fome of which fell into her at the diftance of thirty
orforty yards from the Ihore, and from whence alfo they fired a mufket.
The arms they had ftolen from our boat were all loaded; beftde thefe,
they had fire arms of their own, but I had reafon to believe they were
not charged at the time: o f their attack upon us, as one of the moil fa-
vage-looking fellows amongft them, juft as I gave orders to fire, fnapped
his piece at me ; but it miffed fire, and he immediately laid it down, and
took up his fpear with all imaginable compofure.
The launch was now ordered to join us, and an equal diftribution of
the remaining arms and ammunition was made in both boats. Being
now fully prepared to repel any further attack, we relied on our oars
about a quarter o f a mile from the precipice the Indians had gained,
until Mr. Menzies had dreffed the wounded men. Robert Betton, in the
aft of removing the arm cheft, was firft wounded in the bread, but by
V ol. II. 3 A his
* 793- Auguft.