CHAP. 



PACIFIC AND teEERING'S STRAIT. 285 



waved them to begone. Instead of obeying his sum- 

 mons, they paddled on shore instantly, and quitted ^^n" 

 their baidar for a small eminence near the beach, from 

 whence they discharged a flight of arrows, which is^'r 

 wounded two of our seamen. Their attack was of 

 course returned jjind one of the party was wounded in 

 the leg by a musket ball. 



Until this time they were ignorant of the effect of 

 fire-arms, and no doubt placed much confidence in the 

 thickness of their clothing, as, in addition to their eider- 

 duck dress over their usual frock, they each bound a 

 deer-skin round them as they quitted their baidar; 

 but seeing the furs availed nothing against a ball, they 

 fled with precipitation to the hills ; and the command- 

 ing officer of the Blossom observing them running 

 towards the place where I was engaged with the dip- 

 ping needle, fired a gun from the ship, which first 

 aj^prised me of anything being amiss. On the arrival 

 of the cutter, I joined Mr. Belcher, and, with a view of 

 getting the natives into our possession, I sent a boat 

 along the beach, and went with a party over land. We 

 hud not proceeded far, when suddenly four of the ma- 

 rines were v/ounded with arrows from a small ravine, 

 in which we found a party so screened by long grass 

 that it was not visible until we were close upon it. 

 The natives were lying upon the ground, peeping be- 

 tween the blades of grass, and discharging their arrows 

 as opportunity offered. In return, one of them suf- 

 fered by a ball from Mr. Elson ; on which I stopped 

 the firing, and endeavoured ineffectually to bring them 

 to terms. After a considerable time, an elderly man 

 came forward with his arms and breast covered with 

 mud, motioned us to begone, and decidedly rejected 

 all offers of reconcilia^^ion. Unwilling to chastise them 



