This Man I Loaded With Presents, Giving Likewise To
Others, And Asked By Signs For Fresh Water, In Hopes Of Seeing Where They
Got It.
The chief immediately sent a man for some, who ran to a house, and
presently returned with a little in a bamboo; so that I gained but little
information by this.
I next asked, by the same means, for something to eat,
and they as readily brought me a yam, and some cocoa-nuts. In short, I was
charmed with their behaviour; and the only thing which could give the least
suspicion was, that most of them were armed with clubs, spears, darts, and
bows and arrows. For this reason I kept my eye continually upon the chief,
and watched his looks as well as his actions. He made many signs to me to
haul the boat up upon the shore, and at last slipped into the crowd, where
I observed him speak to several people, and then return to me, repeating
signs to haul the boat up, and hesitating a good deal before he would
receive some spike-nails, which I then offered him. This made me suspect
something was intended, and immediately I stepped into the boat, telling
them by signs that I should soon return. But they were not for parting so
soon, and now attempted by force, what they could not obtain by gentler
means. The gang-board happened unluckily to be laid out for me to come into
the boat, I say unluckily, for if it had not been out, and if the crew had
been a little quicker in getting the boat off, the natives might not have
had time to put their design in execution, nor would the following
disagreeable scene have happened. As we were putting off the boat, they
laid hold of the gang-board, and unhooked it off the boat's stern. But as
they did not take it away, I thought this had been done by accident, and
ordered the boat in again to take it up. Then they themselves hooked it
over the boat's stern, and attempted to haul her ashore; others, at the
same time, snatched the oars out of the people's hands. On my pointing a
musket at them, they in some measure desisted, but returned in an instant,
seemingly determined to haul the boat ashore. At the head of this party was
the chief; the others, who could not come at the boat, stood behind with
darts, stones, and bows and arrows in hand, ready to support them. Signs
and threats having no effect, our own safety became the only consideration;
and yet I was unwilling to fire on the multitude, and resolved to make the
chief alone fall a victim to his own treachery; but my musket at this
critical moment missed fire. Whatever idea they might have formed of the
arms we held in our hands, they must now have looked upon them as childish
weapons, and began to let us see how much better theirs were, by throwing
stones and darts, and by shooting arrows. This made it absolutely necessary
for me to give orders to fire. The first discharge threw them into
confusion; but a second was hardly sufficient to drive them off the beach;
and after all, they continued to throw stones from behind the trees and
bushes, and, every now and then, to pop out and throw a dart. Four lay, to
all appearance, dead on the shore; but two of them afterwards crawled into
the bushes. Happy it was for these people, that not half our muskets would
go off, otherwise many more must have fallen. We had one man wounded in the
cheek with a dart, the point of which was as thick as my finger, and yet it
entered above two inches, which shews that it must have come with great
force, though indeed we were very near them. An arrow struck Mr Gilbert's
naked breast, who was about thirty yards off; but probably it had struck
something before; for it hardly penetrated the skin. The arrows were
pointed with hard wood.
As soon as we got on board, I ordered the anchor to be weighed, with a view
of anchoring near the landing-place. While this was doing, several people
appeared on the low rock point, displaying two oars we had lost in the
scuffle. I looked on this as a sign of submission, and of their wanting to
give us the oars. I was, nevertheless, prevailed on to fire a four-pound
shot at them, to let them see the effect of our great guns. The ball fell
short, but frightened them so much, that none were seen afterwards; and
they left the oars standing up against the bushes.
It was now calm; but the anchor was hardly at the bow before a breeze
sprung up at north, of which we took the advantage, set our sails, and
plyed out of the bay, as it did not seem capable of supplying our wants
with that conveniency I wished to have. Besides, I always had it in my
power to return to this place, in case I should find none more convenient
farther south.
These islanders seemed to be a different race from those of Mallicollo; and
spoke a different language. They are of the middle size, have a good shape,
and tolerable features. Their colour is very dark, and they paint their
faces, some with black, and others with red pigment. Their hair is very
curly and crisp, and somewhat woolly. I saw a few women, and I thought them
ugly; they wore a kind of petticoat made of palm-leaves, or some plant like
it. But the men, like those of Mallicollo, were in a manner naked; having
only the belt about the waist, and the piece of cloth, or leaf, used as a
wrapper. I saw no canoes with these people, nor were any seen in any part
of this island.
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