Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 2 (Stockdale).djvu/198

164 he had still sufficient courage to walk to the boat, supported only by the arms.

A few guns loaded with langrage were fired, to protect such of us as were on shore. The natives fled on all sides, and collected in very numerous bodies in different parts of the island: and, to endeavour to disperse them, and to bring off those of our people, who were still in the interior of the island, a detachment was sent on shore well armed.

Several chiefs, assembled close by our market with some of us, were rising to depart; but they yielded to our invitation not to quit the place.

Presently we saw a launch manned and armed coming from the Esperance, under the command of Trobriant, her First-Lieutenant. Knowing very little of the occasion of the alarm, and supposing that all the natives were preparing to fall upon us, he ordered his party to seize upon a double canoe, just as she was coming to the shore, totally ignorant of all that had passed. Most of the natives in her immediately leaped into the sea; but the chief, to whom she belonged, remaining on the deck, Trobriant sent one of the crew to seize him. On his attempting to strike the chief with a club the chief disarmed him; they laid hold of each other; and Trobriant thought proper to fire on