THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
73 
friends, who had vifited ns the night before, came off i 77g . 
again. They affured us, that though the effects of our 
great guns, this afternoon, had terrified the Chiefs ex¬ 
ceedingly, they had by no means laid afide their hoftile in¬ 
tentions, and advifed us to be on our guard. 
The next morning, the boats of both fhips were fent Wednef. 17, 
afliore for water ; and the Difcovery was warped cloie to the 
beach, in order to cover that fervice. We loon found, that 
the intelligence which the priefts had fent us, was not with¬ 
out foundation; and that the natives w r ere refolved to take 
every opportunity of annoying us, when it could be done 
without much rilk. 
Throughout all this group of ifiands, the villages, for the 
moft part, are fituated near the fea; and the adjacent ground 
is inclofed with ftone walls, about three feet high. Thefe, 
we at firft imagined, wxre intended for the divifion of pro¬ 
perty ; but we now difcovered, that they ferved, and pro¬ 
bably were principally defigned, for a defence againft in- 
vafion. They confift of loofe Hones, and the inhabitants are 
very dexterous in Ihiftmg them, with great quicknefs, to 
fuch fituations, as the direction of the attack may require. 
In the fides of the mountain, which hangs over the bay, 
they have alfo little holes, or caves, of confiderable depth, 
the entrance of which is fecured by a fence of the fame 
kind. From behind both thefe defences the natives kept 
perpetually harafling our waterers with Hones; nor could 
the fmall force we had on fhore, with the advantage of 
mufquets, compel them to retreat. 
In this expofed fituation, our people were fo taken up in 
attending to their own fafety, that they employed the whole 
forenoon in filling only one ton of water. As it was there¬ 
fore impoflible to perform this fervice, till their affailants 
Vol. III. X 
were 
