Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/347

Rh soon became our very good friends, so the captain and I left them to the care of those who stayed on board, and went to a high hill about six miles from the ship; here we overlooked a great deal of sea to leeward, which afforded a melancholy prospect of the difficulties we were to encounter when we came out of our present harbour. In whatever direction we turned our eyes shoals innumerable were to be seen, and no such thing as a passage to the sea, except through the winding channels between them, dangerous to the last degree.

19th. The Indians visited us to-day, and brought with them a larger quantity of lances than they had ever done before. These they laid up in a tree, leaving a man and a boy to take care of them, and came on board the ship. They soon let us know their errand, which was by some means or other to get one of our turtles, of which we had eight or nine lying upon the decks. They first by signs asked for one, and on being refused showed great marks of resentment. One who asked me, on my refusal, stamping with his foot, pushed me from him with a countenance full of disdain and applied to some one else. As, however, they met with no encouragement in this, they laid hold of a turtle and hauled it to the side of the ship where their canoe lay. It was, however, soon taken from them and replaced; they nevertheless repeated the experiment two or three times, and after meeting with so many repulses, all in an instant leaped into their canoe and went ashore, where I had got before them, just ready to set out plant-gathering. They seized their arms in an instant, and taking fire from under a pitch kettle which was boiling, they began to set fire to the grass to windward of the few things we had left ashore, with surprising dexterity and quickness. The grass, which was four or five feet high and as dry as stubble, burnt with vast fury. A tent of mine, which had been put up for Tupia when he was sick, was the only thing of any consequence in the way of it, so I leaped into a boat to fetch some people from the ship in order to save it, and quickly returning, hauled it down to the beach just in time.