NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE 191 



found that they were naturally as thievish and nimble- 

 fingered as the inhabitants of those islands to which 

 voyagers have affixed the name of the Islands of Thieves 

 [Marianas or Ladrone Islands], from the great propen- 

 sity of the people to rob and steal, if they were not beaten 

 from it. Rusty nails, old iron, and whatever they could 

 catch hold on, was equal to them, with which they 

 jumped overboard immediately. They attempted with 

 their nails to scratch the bolts out of the ship, but these 

 nails were too fast for them. 



"These huge fellows came at last aboard in such num- 

 bers, that we were hardly capable to keep them in order, 

 or keep a watchful eye upon their motions, and the 

 quickness of their hands; so that fearing they could 

 become too many for us, we used our best endeavours to 

 get rid of them in a friendly way; but they not seeming 

 inclinable to leave us, we were obliged to use harsher 

 methods, and drive these savages out of the ship by force. 



"On the 10th of April we made for the Island in our 

 boats, well armed, in order to land, and take a view of 

 this country, where an innumerable company of savages 

 stood on the sea-side to guard the shore, and obstruct 

 our landing; they threatened us mightily by their ges- 

 tures, and showed an inclination to await us, and turn 

 us out of their country ; but as soon as we, through neces- 

 sity, gave them a discharge of our muskets, and here and 

 there brought one of them to the ground, they lost their 

 courage. They made the most surprising motions and 

 gestures in the world, and viewed their fallen companions 

 with the utmost astonishment, wondering at the wounds 

 which the bullets had made in their bodies; whereupon 

 they hastily fled with a dreadful howling, dragging the 

 dead bodies along with them; so the shore was cleared 

 and we landed in safety. 



"These people do not go naked, as many other savages 

 do ; every person is clothed in different colours of cotton 

 and worsted, curiously woven, or stitched, but nothing 

 misbecomes them more than their ears, which are abomin- 

 ably long, and in most of them hang upon the shoulders ; 

 so that, though they themselves look upon this as the 

 greatest ornament, they appeared very uncouth to us, 

 who were not accustomed to such; the more so, as there 

 were in them such extravagantly large holes and open- 

 ings, that we could easily put our hands through them. 



