1770. ROUND THE WORLD. 87 



attempt to run away. The man happened to have 

 nothing to give them but a parrot that he had shot ; 

 this he offered, but they refused to accept it, with- 

 drawing themselves from his hand either through 

 fear or aversion. His stay with them was but short, 

 for he saw several canoes near the beach fishing, and 

 being alone, he feared they might come ashore and 

 attack him. He said, that these people were very dark- 

 coloured, but not black ; that the man and woman 

 appeared to be very old, being both grey-headed ; 

 that the hair of the man's head was bushy, and his 

 beard long and rough ; that the woman's hair was 

 cropped short ; and both of them were stark naked. 

 Mr.Monkhouse, the surgeon, and one of the men, who 

 were with another party near the watering-place, also 

 strayed from their companions, and as they were 

 coming out of a thicket, observed six Indians standing 

 together, at the distance of about fifty yards. One 

 of them pronounced a word very loud, which was sup- 

 posed to be a signal, for a lance was immediately 

 thrown at him out of the wood, which very narrowly 

 missed him. When the Indians saw that the weapon 

 had not taken effect, they ran away with the great- 

 est precipitation ; but on turning about towards the 

 place whence the lance had been thrown, he saw a 

 young Indian, whom he judged to be about nineteen 

 or twenty years old, come down from a tree, and 

 he also ran away with such speed as made it hope- 

 less to follow him. Mr. Monkhouse was of opinion 

 that he had been watched by these Indians in his 

 passage through the thicket, and that the youth had 

 been stationed in the tree to discharge the lance at 

 him, upon a signal, as he should come by ; but how- 

 ever this be, there could be no doubt but that he was 

 the person who threw the lance. 



In the afternoon, I went myself with a party over 

 to the north shore, and while some of our people 

 were hauling the seine, we made an excursion a lew 



g 4 



