i 3 8 A N A C C O U N T OF
. jÉ»
SEPTEMBER^
« plained of. The carioe went hack to the King of ARftÉ-
« g a l l , and, having communicated our propofitiqn, re-1
« turned with a flat refufal; on which the General informed
« his brother that the enemy was .difpofed for war. The
« King then ordered the conch to he f ounded, and ftanding
« up in his canoe, in the fcarlet coat - my brother had' givèü
« him, Waved his chin am flick in the air, as a fignal for thé
« diffèrentiquadrons to arrange themfelye^foir battle.
« Whilft this was doing, the enemy affembled their ca-
« noes dofe .under the land, and kept blowing their conch-
« Ihell, as -iti defiance of us, hut did not feem difpofed-ttf
« quit the Ihore and attack us. The ten Englijb were ■ di-
« vided in ten differentcanqes; the King takingorieinTus'
« canoe,’ the General another, and the reft going fingly
«with one or other of the Rupaeks; esch.Engii/bman hav-:
« ing a mufquet, cutlafs, bayonet, and piftol. There were
« feveral light canoes, containing four men each, every one
« having a white feather in his hair, the famef as in the
« truce canoe; thefe were conftahtly bufied in con-Veying
« orders from the King and the GeneraHo the other Chiefs.
« They flew from fquadron to fquadron, to convey- com-
« mand, cutting through the water with aftonifliing velo-
« city; and they were, for diftinition fake# called by the
« Englifh the Frigate canoes '. ■
« The King, perceiving a total unwiHingnefs in the enemy
« to quit their ftation under the fliore, and conceiving he
o « could
T H E P E L E.W 11 SMLrA N D S. T39
« could not attack them in that fituation with any advan-''
|;difpatched fame foB-the- Fmgjt^ic^ppm- to' order a
«fquadron to1 cop^af thfemfelyets behipidi feme .high land.
« This arrangement'bemg made-* phey exehangSflaTew dif-
‘ f -tantTpeats-j-p-the, Conqb; tlign. was, illnhdeci^ and-the King
«.ofiPELEW made-a-feint to run a/yaf, the wing jithe example
«yn,his ewp canoe, and b£in|g;i mediately followed by the?»
<^%q^wa.th much apparent precipitaney^r i
,« This artftfl-manceuyre\of A bba THULLE-igaie inftant’
“ courage, to the'enemy#? who#-induced to think their'aiita-
‘b'gonift had been fei£ed with a ibdden panics .prepared in'
« great hade to quit the fliore, and be'ga# to give cEace to the
« King, whom they imagined was flying before-them; upon
«'feeing '’this, the detached fquadron :of canoes, -.that had
« been pofte$; behind the high land, niftied out hetween the.
« enemy and the ifland, to'cut o ff their retreat.;' When thb
*f King found his ftratagem had taken effect, he turned!
j& and made a fignal for the reft o f his fleet to form thom-
« felve.s into divifions and engage; whereupon a general at-
« pack took place. The fpears were mutually dif.e^ied with
much animofity, and the Englijb kept up 'a continual hrd!
« which not only did great execution, but puzzled and be2-
« wildefed the enemy in the extreme!'to .comprehend how
« •or why their people dropped, without1 aregeiviftg, airjli’ap-
« parent bitow •* they perceived they had holds ' in their bo-
T 2 « dies,
mm ?T EMBER*