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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