S56
_• '77S* to continue our fearch. C om ing down to the beach, one of .December. - . . ------------1 the Indians had brought a bundle of H e p a t o o s (long fpears),
Saturday pee;ng j looked very earneftly at him , he put them on the
ground, and w alked about w ith feem ing unconcern. Some
o f the people appearing to be frightened, I gave a looking-
glafs to one, and a large nail to another. From this place
th e bay ran, as nearly as I could guefs, N. N. W. a good m ile,
w here it ended in a long fandy beach. I looked all around
w ith the glafs, but faw no boat, canoe, or Cgn o f inhabitant.
I therefore contented m yfelf w ith firing fome guns, w hich I
had done in every cove as I w ent along.
“ I now kept clofe to the Eaft fhore, and came to another
fettlem ent, w here the Indians invited us alhore. I enquired of
them about the boar, but they pretended ignorance. T hey
appeared very friendly here, and fold us fome fifh. W ithin
an h o ur after we left this place, in a fm all beach adjoining
to Grafs Cove, w .? faw a very large double canoe juft hauled
up, w ith two m en and a dog. T he m en, on feeing us, left
th eir canoe, and ran up into the woods. T his gave m e rea-
fon to fufpedt I fhould here get tidings o f the cutter. We
w en t alhore, a n d fearched the canoe, w here we found one
o f the rullock-ports o f the cutter, and fome Ihoes, one of
w hich was know n to belong to Mr. Woodhoufe, one o f onr
m idfhipm en. One of the people, at the fame tim e, b ro ugh t
m e a piece o f m eat, w hich he took to be fome o f nhe fait
m eat belonging to the cutter’s crew. On exam ining this,
and fm elling to it, I found it was frefh. Mr. Fannin (the
m ailer) w ho was w ith me, fuppofed it was dog’s-flefh, and I
was of the fame o p in io n ; for I ftill doubted their being cannibals.
But we were foon convinced by moil horrid and undeniable
proof.
“ A great
“ A great m any balkets (about twenty) lying on the beach De'c’” -cr.
tied up, we cut them open. Some were full of roafted flelh,
and fome of fern-root, w hich ferves them for bread. On
farth er fearch, we found m ore Ihoes, and a hand, w hich we
im m ediately knew to have belonged to T hom as Hill, one of
ou r forecaftle-men, it being m arked T. H. w ith an Otaheite
tattow -inftrum ent. I w ent w ith fome of the people, a little
w ay up the woods, bu t faw’no thing elfe. C om ing dow n
again, there was a round fpot covered w ith frelh earth about
four feet diam eter, w here lom ething had been buiied.
H aving no fpade, we began to dig w ith a cutlafs ; and in the
m ean tim e I launched the canoe w ith intent to deftroy her ;
b u t feeing a great fm oke afcending over the neareft hill, I
got all the people into the boat, and m ade w hat hafte I could
to be w ith them before fun-let.
’ “ On opening the next bay, w hich was Grafs Cove, we faw
four canoes, one Angle' and three double ones, and a great
m an y people on the beach, who, on ou r approach, retreated
to a fm all hill, w ithin a Ihip’s length of the water-fide, w here
they flood talking to us. A large fire, was on the top of the
h ig h land, beyond the woods, from w hence, all the w ay
dow n the hill, the place was thronged like a fair. As we
came in, I ordered a'm ufquetoon to be fired at one of the canoes,
fufpefting they m ig ht be fu ll o f m en lyin g down in the
b o ttom ; for they were all afloat, bu t no body was feen in
them . The favages on the little hill, ftill kept hallooing,
and m ak in g figns for us to land. However, as foon as we
got clofe in', we all fired. T he firft volley did not feem to
affeft th em m uch ; bu t on the fecond, they began to fcram -
ble away as fall as they could, fome. of them how ling. We
-continued firing as long as we could fee the glim pfe of any
of them throu gh the bullies. Amongft the Indians were
V ol. II. I 1 two