deceit. Their inconsistency renders them more formidable than
either.--E.]

In the morning, at day-break, they prepared to effect by force what they
had in vain attempted by stealth and artifice: No less than twelve
canoes came against us, with about a hundred and fifty men, all armed
with pikes, lances, and stones. As they could do nothing till they came
very near the ship, Tupia was ordered to expostulate with them, and, if
possible, divert them from their purpose: During the conversation they
appeared to be sometimes friendly and sometimes otherwise; at length,
however, they began to trade, and we offered to purchase their weapons,
which some of them consented to sell: They sold two very fairly, but
having received what had been agreed upon for the purchase of a third,
they refused to send it up, but offered it for a second price; a second
was sent down, but the weapon was still detained, and a demand made of a
third; this being refused with some expressions of displeasure and
resentment, the offender, with many ludicrous tokens of contempt and
defiance, paddled his canoe off a few yards from the ship. As I intended
to continue in this place five or six days, in order to make an
observation of the transit of Mercury, it was absolutely necessary, in
order to prevent future mischief, to shew these people that we were not
to be treated ill with impunity; some small shot were therefore fired at
the thief, and a musquet-ball through the bottom of his boat: Upon this
it was paddled to about a hundred yards distance, and to our great
surprise the people in the other canoes took not the least notice of
their wounded companion, though he bled very much, but returned to the
ship, and continued to trade with the most perfect indifference and
unconcern. They sold us many more of their weapons without making any
other attempt to defraud us, for a considerable time; at last, however,
one of them thought fit to paddle away with two different pieces of
cloth which had been given for the same weapon: When he had got about an
hundred yards distance, and thought himself secure of his prize, a
musket was fired after him, which fortunately struck the boat just at
the water's edge, and made two holes in her side; this only incited them
to ply their paddles with greater activity, and the rest of the canoes
also made off with the utmost expedition. As the last proof of our
superiority, therefore, we fired a round shot over them, and not a b