ng shoved off by the terrified sailors, before
the mother-bird, now joined by her mate of even larger proportion, came
in pursuit of us, and so carried away were these monsters by rage at
our escape that they advanced into the sea, stretching their necks at
us while uttering a loud, drumming noise which we could hear repeated
when we were on board the ship, and even after we were out at sea.

Next morning, at daybreak, we again made the coast, and toward evening
we found ourselves opposite a sandy beach upon which a number of
natives appeared to be engaged in some tribal ceremony. Fires were
lighted along the sea shore, and, upon drawing nearer, we were able to
distinguish groups of men, apparently captives, with their hands bound
behind them, standing together while their captors performed an
extravagant dance round them. Armed warriors then rushed upon each
other in mimic warfare, and the sound of their bare feet, as they
stamped in unison upon the hard sand, came to us with measured cadence
across the sea. When the dance was ended, the captives were made to lie
flat, one behind the other, till they formed a black patch upon the
beach. Then appeared a number of men pushing from above high-water mark
a war canoe, the prow of which, elaborately carved, and upstanding to
the height of thirty feet, was decorated with shells and bunches of
feathers. On came the canoe, slowly at first, and then with increasing
speed, until it reached the row of victims, over whom it crunched,
taking the water reddened with their blood amid an uproar of shrieks
and groans most dreadful to listen to.

Not wishing to engage these savages, Hartog stood out to sea, but so
fearless were they that when they saw us they came in pursuit of us.
Over twenty canoes crowded with natives put off from the shore, but we
greeted them with shots from our brass cannon, which sent them back
quicker than they came, many being observed to fall after each
discharge of grapeshot and canister amongst them.

We left this country, which Hartog named Staten Land, in honour of the
States of Holland, with an unfavourable impression of its inhabitants,
who appeared to be bloodthirsty savages, prone to hostility without
provocation.

CHAPTER XLIX

THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS

After leaving Staten Land we sailed west to between the fifteenth and
twenty-first parallels of south latitude, when we fell in with a number
of islands, some of considerable extent, while othe