270 VOVAGE IN SEARCH 



Prefently the natives made their appearance 

 en the iliore ; the Admiral then fent towards 

 them two boats, to which our Ihips approached 

 near enough to be able to proteft them in cafe 

 of an attack on the part of the inhabitants. 

 The fwell was too heavy for them to venture to 

 land ; however, feveral natives jumped into the 

 water, and fwimming off, brought us cocoa- 

 nuts for fome bits of red cloth, which they 

 preferred to every other article that we offered 

 them. Some came in their canoes, and they 

 all fhewed a tolerable fliare of honefty in the 

 exchanges which they made with us. Perhaps 

 they adted in this manner, only becaufe they 

 had heard of the affair that had happened be- 

 tv/een us and fome inhabitants of the eaft part 

 of their ifland ; neverthelefs, they prefented us 

 with nothing but the worft of what they had. 

 The greater part of the cocoa-nuts which they 

 brought us, were growing; it was fome time 

 before they would fell us any of their bows and 

 arrov.s; bur, for fear that we Ihould turn thefe 

 weapons againft them, they took the precaution 

 to carry the bows to one of tl:e boats, and the 

 arrows to the other. The latter were not 

 blunted. They had, by means of a reddifli 

 n^iaflic, fixed to their extremity a fmall piece 

 of well fiiarpened bone, or tcrtoife-fiiell, a cen- 

 rimcrer long. Other arrows had points of the 



fame 



