322 cook's first voyage NOV. 



to trade, and we offered to purchase their weapons, 

 which some of them consented to sell : they sold two 

 very fairly, but having received what had been agreed 

 upon for the purchase of a third, they refused to send 

 it up, but offered it for a second price ; a second was 

 sent down, but the weapon was still detained, and a 

 demand made of a third ; this being refused with 

 some expressions of displeasure and resentment, the 

 offender, with many ludicrous tokens of contempt 

 and defiance, paddled his canoe off a few yards from 

 the ship. As I intended to continue in this place 

 five or six days, in order to make an observation of 

 the transit of Mercury, it was absolutely necessary, 

 in order to prevent future mischief, to show these 

 people that we were not to be treated ill with im- 

 punity ; some small shot were therefore fired at the 

 thief, and a musket ball through the bottom of his 

 boat : upon this it was paddled to about a hundred 

 yards' distance, and to our great surprise the people 

 in the other canoes took not the least notice of their 

 w^ounded companion, though he bled very much, 

 but returned to the ship, and continued to trade with 

 the most perfect indifference and unconcern. They 

 sold us many more of their weapons, without making 

 any other attempt to defraud us, for a considerable 

 time ; at last, however, one of them thought fit to 

 paddle away with two different pieces of cloth which 

 had been given for the same weapon : when he had 

 got about an hundred yards* distance, and thought 

 himself secure of his prize, a musket was fired after 

 him, which fortunately struck the boat just at the 

 water's edge, and made two holes in her side ; this 

 only incited them to ply their paddles with greater 

 activity, and the rest of the canoes also made off with 

 the utmost expedition. As the last proof of our 

 superiority, therefore, we fired a round shot over them, 

 and not a boat stopped till they got on shore. 



About ten o'clock, 1 went with two boats to sound 

 the bay, and look out for a more convenient anchor- 



19 



