Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/385

Rh yards beyond us, and running towards us, the foremost threw something out of his hand which flew on one side of him and burned exactly like gunpowder. The other two immediately threw two darts at us, on which we fired. Most of our guns were loaded with small shot, which, at the distance they were from us, I suppose they hardly felt, for they moved not at all, but immediately threw a third dart, on which we loaded and fired again. Our balls, I suppose, this time fell near them, but none of them were materially hurt, as they ran away with great alacrity. From this specimen of the people we immediately concluded that nothing was to be got here but by force, which would, of course, be attended with the destruction of many of these poor people, whose territories we certainly had no right to invade, either as discoverers or people in real want of provisions. We therefore resolved to go into our boat and leave this coast to some after-comer who might have either more time or better opportunities of gaining the friendship of its inhabitants. Before we had got abreast of her, however, we saw the two people in her make signals to us that more Indians were coming along shore, and before we had got into the water we saw them come round a point about 500 yards from us. They had probably met the three who first attacked us, for on seeing us they halted and seemed to wait till the main body should come up, nor did they come nearer us while we waded to the boat. When we were embarked and afloat, we rowed towards them and fired some muskets over their heads into the trees, on which they walked gradually off, continuing to throw abundance of their fires, whatever they might be designed for. We guessed their numbers to be about 100. After we had watched them and their behaviour as long as we chose, we returned to the ship, where our friends had suffered much anxiety for our sakes, imagining that the fires thrown by the Indians were real muskets, so much did they resemble the fire and smoke made by the firing of one. These "fire-arms" were also seen by Torres (see p. li.)

The place where we landed we judged to be near Cabo de