VOYAGE TO THE 
making his escape. The crowd instantly fled into the wood, and along 
the beach, but shortly rallied, and with loud shouts advanced upon us, 
until the discharge of a carronade from the barge, which was fortunately 
near, put them to flight. The man who had sealed the compact of 
friendship, if so indeed it be, by rubbing noses, sat quietly upon a large 
stone close to us during this affair, as if he relied upon the pledge that 
had been given for his security. It would have been treacherous, and 
perhaps pregnant with serious evils to them and to ourselves, had any 
violence been offered, or any thing done that might appear like an 
infringement of this understanding, or I should certainly have detained 
his person, in the hope of the gun being returned. As it was, I allowed 
him to go quietly away. 
The boats were at this time unavoidably very awkwardly situated, 
by being aground upon the rocks, and in a situation from which it 
would have been extremely diflicult to extricate them, had a deter- 
mined attack been made by the natives. .The consequences in that case 
would have been very serious ; though their weapons consisted only of 
long poles and bone-headed spears, yet they were sufficiently powerful, 
from their numbers alone, to have rendered the most determined defence 
on our part doubtful. 
As soon as we were free, we followed the natives along the beach, 
approaching them, whenever the rocks would allow, to offer terms of 
reconciliation ; but our overtures were answered only by showers of 
stones. This conduct, which we now began to think was only a part of 
their general character, rendered it extremely difficult, nay almost im- 
})ossible, to have any dealings with them without getting into disputes. 
No time, place, or example, made any difference in the indulgence of 
their insatiable propensity to theft. Explanations and threats, which 
in some instances will prevent the necessity of acting, were unfor- 
tunately not at our command, in consequence of our ignorance of their 
language, and the only option left us was to yield up our goods unre- 
sistingly, or to inflict a more severe chastisement than the case might 
deserve. Captain Cook, who managed the natives of these seas better 
than any other navigator, pursued a system which generally succeeded, 
though in the end it cost him his life. It was rigid, but 1 am certain 
