's hand, cocked
it, and holding it up in the air, drew the trigger: Fortunately for him
it flashed in the pan: Mr Banks immediately took it from him, not a
little surprised how he had acquired sufficient knowledge of a gun to
discharge it, and reproved him with great severity for what he had done.
As it was of infinite importance to keep the Indians totally ignorant of
the management of fire-arms, he had taken every opportunity of
intimating that they could never offend him so highly as by even
touching his piece; it was now proper to enforce this prohibition, and
he therefore added threats to his reproof: The Indian bore all
patiently; but the moment Mr Banks crossed the river, he set off with
all his family and furniture for his house at Eparre. This being quickly
known from the Indians at the fort, and great incovenience being
apprehended from the displeasure of this man, who upon all occasions had
been particularly useful, Mr Banks determined to follow him without
delay, and solicit his return: He set out the same evening, accompanied
by Mr Mollineux, and found him sitting in the middle of a large circle
of people, to whom he had probably related what had happened, and his
tears of the consequences; he was himself the very picture of grief and
dejection, and the same passions were strongly marked in the
countenances of all the people that surrounded him. When Mr Banks and Mr
Mollineux went into the circle, one of the women expressed her trouble,
as Terapo had done upon another occasion, and struck a shark's tooth
into her head several times, till it was covered with blood. Mr Banks
lost no time in putting an end to this universal distress; he assured
the chief, that every thing which had passed should be forgotten, that
there was not the least animosity remaining on one side, nor any thing
to be feared on the other. The chief was soon soothed into confidence
and complacency, a double canoe was ordered to be got ready, they all
returned together to the fort before supper, and as a pledge of perfect
reconciliation, both he and his wife slept all night in Mr Banks's tent:
Their presence, however, was no palladium for, between eleven and twelve
o'clock, one of the natives attempted to get into the fort by scaling
the walls, with a design, no doubt, to steal whatever he should happen
to find; he was discovered by the centinel, who happily did not fire,
and he ran away much faster than any of our people could follow him. Th