The next morning therefore, I sent him out again, with proper instruments for taking them, and Mr. Banks went with him, but the success did not at all answer our expectations, for, by the unaccountable conduct of the officer, not a single turtle was taken, nor could he be persuaded to return: Mr. Banks, however, went ashore upon the reef, where he saw several of the large cockles, and having collected many shells, and marine productions, he returned at eleven o’clock at night, in his own small boat, the Master still continuing with the large one upon the rock. In the afternoon, seven or eight of the natives had appeared on the south side of the river, and two of them came down to the sandy point, opposite to the ship; but upon seeing me put off in a boat to speak with them, they all ran away with the greatest precipitation.

As the Master continued absent with the boat all night, I was forced to send the Second Lieutenant for him, early the next morning in the yawl; and soon after four of the natives appeared upon the sandy point, on the north side of the river, having with them a small wooden canoe, with out-riggers: they seemed for some time to be busily employed in striking fish: some of our people were for going over to them in a boat, but this I would by no means permit, repeated experience having convinced me that it was more likely to prevent, than procure an interview. I was determined to try what could be done by a contrary method, and accordingly let them alone, without appearing to take the least notice of them: this succeeded so well, that at length two of them came in the canoe within a musket shot of the ship, and there talked a great deal in a very loud tone: we understood nothing that they said, and therefore could answer their harangue only by shouting, and making all the signs of invitation and kindness that we could devise. During this conference, they came, insensibly, nearer and nearer, holding up their lances, not in a threatening manner, but as if to intimate that if we offered them any injury, they had weapons to revenge it. When they were almost along-side of us, we threw them some cloth, nails, beads, paper, and other trifles, which they received without the least appearance of satisfaction: at last, one of the people happened to throw them a small fish; at this they expressed the greatest joy imaginable, and intimating, by signs, that they would fetch their companions, immediately paddled away towards the shore. In the mean time some of our people, and among them Tupia, landed on the opposite side of the river: the canoe, with all the four Indians, very soon returned to the ship, and came quite along-side, without expressing any fear or distrust. We distributed some more presents among them, and soon after they left us, and landed on the same side of the river where our people had gone ashore: every man carried in his hand two lances, and a stick, which is used in throwing them, and advanced to the place where Tupia and the rest of our people were sitting; Tupia soon prevailed upon them to lay down their arms, and come forward without them: he then made signs that they should sit down by him, with which they complied, and seemed to be under no apprehension or constraint: several more of us then going ashore, they expressed some jealousy lest we should get between them and their arms; we took care however to shew them that we had no such intention, and having joined them, we made them some more presents, as a farther testimony of our good-will, and our desire to obtain theirs. We continued together, with the utmost cordiality, till dinner time, and then giving them to understand that we were going to eat, we invited them, by signs, to go with us: this however they declined, and as soon as we left them, they went away in their canoe. One of these men was somewhat above the middle age, the other three were young; they were in general of the common stature, but their limbs were remarkably small; their skin was of the colour of wood soot, or what would be called a dark chocolate colour; their hair was black, but not woolly; it was short cropped, in some lank, and in others curled. Dampier says, that the people whom he saw on the western coast of this country, wanted two of their fore-teeth, but these had no such defect: some part of their bodies had been painted red, and the upper lip and breast of one of them was painted with streaks of white, which he called Carbanda; their features were far from disagreeable, their eyes were lively, and their teeth even and white, their voices were soft and tuneable, and they repeated many words after us with great facility. In the night, Mr. Gore and the Master returned with the long-boat, and brought one turtle and a few shell-fish. The yawl had been left upon the shoal with six men, to make a farther trial for turtle.

Voyaging Accounts