9 © 
A VOYAGE TO 
1779. flight prick with his bayonet, in order to make him keep 
, M * rdu , without the line. 
I now perceived, that our fltuation required great circum- 
fpeCtion and management; and accordingly gave the ftridteft 
orders, that no one fhould fire, nor have recourfe to any 
other a6t of violence, without pofitive commands. As foon 
as I had given thefe directions, I was called to the afliftance 
of the watering party, where I found the natives equally 
inclined to mifchief. They had demanded from our people 
a large hatchet for every cafk of water; and this not being 
complied with, they would not fuffer the failors to roll them 
down to the boats. 
I had no fooner joined them, than one of the natives ad¬ 
vanced up to me, with great infolence, and made the fame 
claim. I told him, that, as a friend, I was very willing to 
prefent him with a hatchet, hut that I fhould certainly carry 
off the water, without paying any thing for it; and I im¬ 
mediately ordered the pinnace men to proceed in their 
bufinefs, and called three marines from the traders to pro¬ 
tect them. 
Though this fhew of fpirit fucceeded fo far as to make 
the natives defift from any open attempt to interrupt us, 
they ftill continued to behave in the moft teaflng and pro¬ 
voking manner. Whilft fome of them, under pretence of 
affifting the men in rolling down the calks, turned them 
out of their courfe, and gave them a wrong direction; 
' others were ftealing the hats from off the failors heads, 
pulling them backward by their clothes, or tripping up 
their heels; the whole crowd, all this time, fhouting and 
laughing, with a flrange mixture of childifhnefs and ma¬ 
lice. They afterward found means to fheal the cooper’s 
bucket, and took away his bag by force; but the objects 
they 
