52 COOK’S VOYAG E, 
from filling. The men landed, and having hauled up their 
boats, began to drefs their dinner, to all appearance wholly 
unconcerned about us, though we were within half a mile of 
them. We thought it remarkable that of all the people we had 
yet feen, not one had the lead appearance of clothing, the old 
woman herfelf being deftitute even of a fig-leaf. 
After dinner the boats were manned, and we fet out from 
the ihip, having Tupia of our party. We intended to land 
where we faw the people, and began to hope that as they had 
fo little regarded the fhip’s coming into the bay, they would 
as little regard our coming on fhore ; in this, however, we 
were difappointed ; for as foon as we approached the rocks, 
two of the men came down upon them to difpute our landing, 
and the red ran away. Each of the two champions was armed 
with a lance, about ten feet long, and a fhort dick, which 
he feemed to handle as if it was a machine to allid him irr 
managing or throwing the lance r they called to us in a very 
loud tone, and in a harfh diifonant language, of which neither 
we nor Tupia undrrftood a fingle word : they brandifhcd their; 
weapons, and feemed refolved to defend their coaft to the ut- 
termoft, though they were but two, and we were forty, I' 
could not but admire their courage, and being very unwilling 
that hoftilities ihould commence with fuch inequality of force 
between us, I ordered the boat to lie upon her oars : we then' 
parked by figns for about a quarter of an hour, and to beipealt 
their gccd-v/ill, I threw them nails, beads, and other trifles,, 
which they took up and feemed to be well pleafed with. ? 
then made figns that I wanted water, and by all the means- 
that I could devife, endeavoured to- convince that we would! 
do them no harm : they now waved to us, and I was willing- 
to interpret it as an invitation ; but upon our putting the boat* 
in, they came again to oppofe us. One appeared to be x 
youth about nineteen or twenty, and the other a man of middle 
age : as I had now no other refource I fired a mufket between 
them. Upon the report, the youngeft dropped a bundle of 
lances upon the rock, but recollecting himfeif in an inilant 
he fnatched them up again with great hafte : a Hone was then 
thrown at us, upon which I ordered a mufquet to be fired 
with fmall fhot, which ftruck the eldeft upon the legs, and he 
immediately ran to one of thehoufes,. which was diftant about 
an hundred yards : I now hoped that our contefl was over, 
and we immediately landed ; but we had fcarcely left the boat 
when he returned, and we then perceived that he had left the 
rock only to fetch a fhield or target for his defence. As foon 
as he came up, he threw a lance at us, and his comrade an- 
other ; they fell where we flood thickefl, but happily hurt no- 
body. A third mufquet with fmall fhot was then fired at them, 
upon which one of them threw another lance, and both imme- 
diately 
