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; t