442 A NATURALIST ON THE "CHALLENGER." 



assumed as a menace amongst savages on just the same principle 

 as that on which an animal shows its teeth. The native shifted 

 his aim sometimes on to Von Willemoes Suhm, and sometimes 

 on to Mr. Buchanan, who was nearest to him. 



We were in a dilemma ; the man evidently did not under- 

 stand the use of fire-arms, for the whole boat's-crew was fully 

 armed, and we in the stern were all provided with guns. He 

 evidently thought that we were unarmed because we had no 

 bows and arrows ; he might have let slip an arrow five feet long 

 into any one of us in an instant. 



We of course would not shoot the man in cold blood ; if we 

 had fired over his head, he would certainly have let fly one 

 arrow at least, and he was within six yards of the boat. The 

 boys who paddled him were exuberantly delighted at the prowess 

 and success of their warrior. 



The canoe was pushed up to the stern of our boat, and the 

 man caught hold of our gunwale. Another canoe joined in to 

 share in the spoil, and closed in at the stern also. The two 

 warriors seized a large tin vasculum of mine from the seat, and 

 immediately began struggling between themselves for it, and 

 taking advantage of the struggle we pulled back to the ship. 



The vasculum contained some trade knives and* three bottles 

 of soda-water. I expect no savages were ever so thoroughly 

 scared and puzzled as these when they came to open the bottles 

 in the bosoms of their families in their pile-dwellings. 



The same man who stopped us had also stopped a boat en- 

 gaged in surveying, just before in the same manner, and it had 

 also returned to the ship. 



All kinds of suggestions were made on our return as to what 

 ought to have been done ; we ought to have hit the natives over 

 the knuckles with the stretchers, or run the canoe down, or 

 fired over the natives' heads ; but there cannot be the least doubt 

 that in that case some one would have been wounded at least, 

 and one native at least shot. 



I cannot understand how it occurred that this native knew 

 nothing of fire-arms, since the Humboldt has often been visited 

 by the Dutch, and many of the natives understood their nature ; 

 one man, as has been said, having plainly asked for a gun on our 



