la y hold o f ; and preffed fo thick upon him, that he was
obliged todire, by w h ich one man was killed. But this u n happy
circumilance I did not kn ow till after we had left the
diland; fo that all my meafures were directed as i f nothing
o f the k ind had happened. Mr. Williamfon told me, that, a fte
r the man fell, his countrymen took him up, carried him
■off, and then retired from the b o a t ; but Hill they made fig-
nals fo r our people to land, w h ich he declined. It did not
app ea r to Mr. Williamfon, that the natives had any defign
to k ill, or even to hurt, any o f his party ; but they feemed
excited b y mere curiofity, to ge t from them what they had,
being, at the fame time, ready to give, in return, any thing
,of their own.
Afte r the boats were on board, I difpatched one o f them to
lie in the bell anch orin g-groun d; and as foon as ihe had got
to this ilation, I bore down with the fhips, and anchored in
■twenty-five fathoms water,; the bottom a fine grey fand.
T h e Eaft point o f the road, w h ich was the low point before
mentioned, bore South 5 1” E a ft; the Weft point, North
65° W e ft; and the village, behind which the water was faid
to be, North Eaft by Eaft, diftant one mile. But, little more
than a quarter o f a mile from us, there were breakers, w hich
I did not fee till after the Refolution was placed. The Dif-
covery anchored to the Eaftward o f us, and farther from
the land. T he ftiips be in g thus ftationed, between three
and four o’clock, I went alhore with three armed boats, and
twelve marines, to examine the water, and to try the dif-
pofition o f the inhabitants, feveral hundred o f w hom were
affembled on a fandy beach before the village ; behind it
was a narrow valley, the bottom o f w h ich was occupied by
the piece o f water. ■
T h e very inftant I leaped on fhore, the collected body o f the ¿¡0 ^
natives all fe ll flat upon their faces, and remained in that 1— .—
ve ry humble pofture, till, b y exprefiive figns, I prevailed
upon them to rile. T h e y then brou ght a great many fmall
pigs, w h ich they prefented to me, w ith plantain-trees,
ufing much the fame ceremonies that w e had feen prac-
rifed, on fuch occafions, at the Society and other iflands ;
and a long prayer be in g fpoken by a fingle perfon, in which
others o f the affembly fomecims joined. I expreffed my acceptance
o f their proffered friendlhip, by g iv in g them, in
return, fuch prefents as I had brou ght w ith me from the
fhip for that purpofe. When this introductory bufinefs was
finifhed, I ftationed a guard upon the beach, and got fome
o f the natives to eonduft me to the water, w hich proved 1 >
be very good, and in a proper fituation for our purpofe. It
was fo confiderable, that it may be called a lake ; and it extended
farther up the country than w e could fee. Ha vin g
fatisfied m y fe lf about this very effential point, and about the
peaceable difpofition o f the natives, I returned on board;
and then gave orders that every thing, fhould be in readi-
nefs for landing and filling our water-caiks in the m o rn in g ; Wednef. m.'
when I went afhore w ith the people employed in that fervice,
ha vin g a party o f mariners w ith us fo r a guard, who were
ftationed on the beach.
As foon as we landed, a trade was let on foot for hogs
and potatoes, which the people o f the ifland g a v t us in exchange
for nails and pieces o f iron, formed into fomethin-g
like -duffels. We met w ith no obftrutftion in watering ; on
the contrary, the natives affifted our men in rollin g the;
calks to and from the pool; and readily performed.whatever
we required. Every thing thus g o in g on to my fatis-
faCtion, and confidering my prefence on. the fpot as unne- •
ceffary,.