were more than
usually vigilant, as we were not only in danger of being attacked by the
natives, who, I learned from the captain's remarks, were a bloody and
deceitful tribe at this group, but we were also exposed to much risk from
the multitudes of coral reefs that rose up in the channels between the
islands, some of them just above the surface, others a few feet below it.
Our precautions against the savages I found were indeed necessary.

One day we were becalmed among a group of small islands, most of which
appeared to be uninhabited. As we were in want of fresh water the
captain sent the boat ashore to bring off a cask or two. But we were
mistaken in thinking there were no natives; for scarcely had we drawn
near to the shore when a band of naked blacks rushed out of the bush and
assembled on the beach, brandishing their clubs and spears in a
threatening manner. Our men were well armed, but refrained from showing
any signs of hostility, and rowed nearer in order to converse with the
natives; and I now found that more than one of the crew could imperfectly
speak dialects of the language peculiar to the South Sea islanders. When
within forty yards of the shore, we ceased rowing, and the first mate
stood up to address the multitude; but, instead of answering us, they
replied with a shower of stones, some of which cut the men severely.
Instantly our muskets were levelled, and a volley was about to be fired,
when the captain hailed us in a loud voice from the schooner, which lay
not more than five or six hundred yards off the shore.

"Don't fire," he shouted, angrily. "Pull off to the point ahead of you."

The men looked surprised at this order, and uttered deep curses as they
prepared to obey, for their wrath was roused and they burned for revenge.
Three or four of them hesitated, and seemed disposed to mutiny.

"Don't distress yourselves, lads," said the mate, while a bitter smile
curled his lip. "Obey orders. The captain's not the man to take an
insult tamely. If Long Tom does not speak presently I'll give myself to
the sharks."

The men smiled significantly as they pulled from the shore, which was now
crowded with a dense mass of savages, amounting, probably, to five or six
hundred. We had not rowed off above a couple of hundred yards when a
loud roar thundered over the sea, and the big brass gun sent a withering
shower of grape point blank into the midst of the living mass, through
which a wide lane was