no part in this murderous
attack, yet as I considered my life at stake, I thought that I must
assist. I therefore advised them to retreat to the ship, which, if they
once gained possession of, they would be enabled to keep the islanders
at bay. My advice was followed, and creeping through the thick we
reached the ship in safety, having climbed up by rope-ladders, which
were hanging from her, to enable us to go on board, to fetch any
articles we required. We hauled them up after us, and waited the issue.
In a few minutes, one of the parties of the islanders came up, and
seeing the ship with us on board, gave a loud yell, and let fly their
spears. We returned a volley which killed many, but they were very
brave, and continued the attack although we fired twenty or thirty
rounds with great execution.

The other party now came up, and the conflict continued; they made every
attempt to climb the stern and sides of the vessel, but were repulsed;
and as the evening closed in, they retired taking away their killed and
wounded, which we estimated at two hundred men. When they retreated, we
fired some of our large guns in that direction, as much to frighten the
islanders, as to let our comrades in the canoes know where we were.

We kept a sharp look out till dark, but saw no more of them. I proposed
that we should attempt to communicate with the men in the canoes, and
desire them to permit some of them to drift on shore after taking out
the women, as the islanders would then in all probability go away. But
as the men very justly remarked, nobody in the first place would venture
on such a dangerous service, and in the next, if the islanders obtained
some of their canoes, they would attack the others and overpower the
sailors that were in them. This plan was therefore justly overruled. I
then proposed that one man should steal down to the beach, swim off, and
desire the fourteen men to take all the women into one canoe, and pull
round to the north side of the island during the night, leaving the
remainder for the islanders to go away in. This was considered a good
scheme, but no one would volunteer; and, as I had proposed it, I thought
that I was in honour bound to go, as otherwise the men would, in future,
have had no opinion of me. I therefore stated my intention, and taking
my musket and ammunition, I slipped down by a rope. As soon as I was on
my legs, I perceived something crawling out of the wood towards the
ship