1779. THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 85 



them a wrong direction, others were stealing the 

 hats from off the sailors' heads, pulling them back- 

 ward by their clothes, or tripping up their heels ; the 

 whole crowd all this time shouting and laiiffhiner, 

 with a strange mixture of childishness and malice. 

 They afterward found means to steal the cooper's 

 bucket, and took away his bag by force ; but the 

 objects they were most eager to possess themselves 

 of, were the muskets of the marines, who were 

 every instant complaining of their attempts to force 

 them out of their hands. Though they continued, 

 for the most part, to pay great deference and respect 

 to me, yet they did not suffer me to escape without 

 contributing my share to their stock of plunder. 

 One of them came up to me with a familiar air, and 

 with great management diverted my attention, whilst 

 another, wrenching the hanger which I held care- 

 lessly in my hand, from me, ran off with it like light- 

 ning. 



It was in vain to think of repelling this insolence 

 by force ; guarding therefore against its effects, in 

 the best manner we were able, we had nothing to do 

 but to submit patiently to it. My apprehensions 

 were, however, a little alarmed, by the information I 

 soon after received from the serjeant of marines, who 

 told me, that, turning suddenly round, he saw a man 

 behind me holding a dagger in the position of 

 striking. In this he might possibly be mistaken ; 

 yet our situation was certainly alarming and critical, 

 and the smallest error on our side might have been 

 fatal to us. As our people were separated into three 

 small parties, one at the lake, filling casks, another 

 rolling them down -to the shore, and the third, at 

 some distance, purchasing provisions, it had once 

 occurred to me, that it might be proper to collect 

 them all together, and to execute and protect one 

 duty at a time. But on second thoughts, I judged 

 it more advisable to let them continue as they were. 

 In case of a real attack ? our whole force, however 



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