THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
127 
them had been concerned in the unhappy tranfaction. They , 777 . 
told us, that while our people were fitting at dinner, fur- t Februaiy ‘ 
rounded by feveral of the natives, fome of the latter ftole, or 
fnatched from them, fome bread and filh, for which they 
were beat. This being refented, a quarrel enfued, and two 
New Zealanders were fiiot dead, by the only two mufquets 
that were fired. For before our people had time to dif- 
charge a third, or to load again thofe that had been fired, 
the natives rallied in upon them, overpowered them with 
their numbers, and put them all to death. Pedro and his 
companions, befides relating the hiftory of the maffacre, 
made us acquainted with the very fpot that was the fcene of 
it. It is at the corner of the cove on the right-hand. They 
pointed to the place of the fun, to mark to us at what hour 
of the day it happened; and, according to this, it mull have 
been late in the afternoon. They alfo fhewed us the place 
where the boat lay; and it appeared to be about two hun¬ 
dred yards diftant from that where the crew were feated. 
One of their number, a black fervant of Captain Furneaux, 
was left in the boat to take care of her. 
. We were afterward told that this black was the caufe of 
the quarrel, which was faid to have happened thus : One of 
the natives Healing fomething out of the boat, the Negro 
gave him a fevere blow with a Hick. The cries of the fel¬ 
low being heard by his countrymen at a diftance, they 
imagined he was killed, and immediately began the attack 
on our people; who, before they had time to reach the 
boat, or to arm themfelves again!! the unexpected im¬ 
pending danger, fell a facrifice to the fury of their favage 
affailants. 
The firft of thefe accounts, was confirmed by the tefti- 
mony of many of the natives, whom we converged with, at 
1 different 
