17^9. ROUND THE WORLD. 81 



hands two weapons ; one of them was a slender pole, 

 from ten to fourteen feet long, on one end of which 

 was a small knob, not unlike the point of a spear ; 

 the other was about four feet long, and shaped like a 

 paddle, and possibly might be so, for some of their 

 canoes w^ere very small : those which we saw them 

 launch seemed not intended to carry more than the 

 three men that got into them : we saw others that 

 had on board six or seven men, and one of them 

 hoisted a sail which did not seem to reach more than 

 six feet above the gun-wale of the boat, and which, 

 upon the falling of a slight shower, was taken down 

 and converted into an awning or tilt. The canoe 

 which followed us to sea hoisted a sail not unlike an 

 English lug-sail, and almost as lofty as an English 

 boat of the same size would have carried. 



The people, who kept abreast of the ship on the 

 beach, made many signals ; but whether they were 

 intended to frighten us away, or invite us on shore, 

 it is not easy to determine : we returned them by 

 waving our hats and shouting, and they replied by 

 shouting again. We did not put their disposition to 

 the test, by attempting to land ; because, as the island 

 was inconsiderable, and as we wanted nothing that it 

 could afford, we thought it imprudent as well as cruel 

 to risk a contest, in which the natives must have suf- 

 fered by our superiority, merely to gratify an idle 

 curiosity ; especially as we expected soon to fall in 

 with the island where we had been directed to make 

 our astronomical observation, the inhabitants of which 

 would probably admit us without opposition, as they 

 were already acquainted with our strength, and might 

 also procure us a ready and peaceable reception among 

 the neighbouring people, if we should desire it. 



To these islands we gave the name of The 



Groups. 



On the 7th, about half an hour after six in the 

 morning, being just at day-break, we discovered an- 



VOL. I. , G 



