About noon, we were alarmed by the firing of a great gun from the ship; Mr. Gore, my Second Lieutenant, was at this time commanding officer on board, and the account that he gave was this. While some small canoes were trading with the people, two very large ones came up, full of men, one of them having on board forty-seven, all armed with pikes, darts, and stones, and apparently with a hostile intention: they appeared to be strangers, and to be rather conscious of superiority over us by their numbers, than afraid of any weapons which could give us the superiority over them: no attack however was made; probably because they learnt from the people in the other canoes, with whom they immediately entered into conference, what kind of an enemy they had to deal with: after a little time, they began to trade, some of them offering their arms, and one of them a square piece of cloth, which makes a part of their dress, called a Haahow; several of the weapons were purchased, and Mr. Gore having agreed for a Haahow, sent down the price, which was a piece of British cloth, and expected his purchase: but the Indian, as soon as he had got Mr. Gore’s cloth in his possession, refused to part with his own, and put off the canoe: upon being threatened for this fraud, he and his companions began to sing their war song in defiance, and shook their paddles: still however they began no attack, only defying Mr. Gore to take any remedy in his power, which so provoked him that be levelled a musquet loaded with ball at the offender, while he was holding the cloth in his hand, and shot him dead. It would have been happy, if the effect of a few small shot had been tried upon this occasion, which upon some others had been successful.

Voyaging Accounts