JULY 1770 NATIVES FIRE THE GRASS 289 



soon became our very good friends, so the captain and I left 

 them to the care of those who stayed on board, and went to 

 a high hill about six miles from the ship ; here we over- 

 looked a great deal of sea to leeward, which afforded a 

 melancholy prospect of the difficulties we were to encounter 

 when we came out of our present harbour. In whatever 

 direction we turned our eyes shoals innumerable were to be 

 seen, and no such thing as a passage to the sea, except through 

 the winding channels between them, dangerous to the last 

 degree. 



19th. The Indians visited us to-day, and brought with 

 them a larger quantity of lances than they had ever done 

 before. These they laid up in a tree, leaving a man and a 

 boy to take care of them, and came on board the ship. 

 They soon let us know their errand, which was by some 

 means or other to get one of our turtles, of which we had 

 eight or nine lying upon the decks. They first by signs 

 asked for one, and on being refused showed great marks of 

 resentment. One who asked me, on my refusal, stamping 

 with his foot, pushed me from him with a countenance full 

 of disdain and applied to some one else. As, however, they 

 met with no encouragement in this, they laid hold of a 

 turtle and hauled it to the side of the ship where their 

 canoe lay. It was, however, soon taken from them and 

 replaced ; they nevertheless repeated the experiment two or 

 three times, and after meeting with so many repulses, all in 

 an instant leaped into their canoe and went ashore, where I 

 had got before them, just ready to set out plant-gathering. 

 They seized their arms in an instant, and taking fire from 

 under a pitch kettle which was boiling, they began to set 

 fire to the grass to windward of the few things we had left 

 ashore, with surprising dexterity and quickness. The grass, 

 which was four or five feet high and as dry as stubble, 

 burnt with vast fury. A tent of mine, which had been put 

 up for Tupia when he was sick, was the only thing of any 

 consequence in the way of it, so I leaped into a boat to 

 fetch some people from the ship in order to save it, and 

 quickly returning, hauled it down to the beach just in time. 



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