hest vegetation enlivened
the interior, but nothing betrayed that the island was inhabited; no
smoke arose, and no canoe was to be seen; this was the more remarkable,
as on La Perouse's arrival, his ship, as soon as perceived by the
natives, was surrounded by several hundred canoes laden with provisions.
A small canoe, carrying only three men, at length rowed towards us; we
laid to, and by signs gave permission to the savages to come on board;
this they could not resolve upon; but one of them climbed the ship's
side high enough to see over the deck, and handed to us a few
cocoa-nuts, all the provisions they had brought; a piece of iron, which
we gave him in return, he pressed to his forehead in sign of
thankfulness, and then bowed his head. He examined the deck a long time
with prying and suspicious glances, without speaking a word; then
suddenly commenced a long pathetic harangue, growing more and more
animated as he proceeded, and pointing with passionate gestures,
alternately to the ship and the land. His eloquence was quite thrown
away on us; but the silence with which we listened, might probably lead
him to suppose that we attached some importance to it. His confidence
gradually increased, and he would perhaps have spoken longer, had not
his attention been arrested by the approach of several canoes.

We were soon surrounded by the descendants of the barbarian murderers;
perhaps some of the actors in the atrocious deed might even themselves
be amongst the crowd which now assembled around us. This wild troop
appeared timid at first, but our orator having encouraged them, they
became so impudent and daring, that they seemed disposed to storm the
ship. I ranged my sailors fully armed round the deck, to keep off such
disagreeable visitants, but with strict orders to avoid hurting them. It
was, however, only the bayonets and lances which prevented the multitude
from climbing into the ship; and some of the most daring, by patiently
enduring heavy and repeated blows, even succeeded in reaching the deck;
they grasped with both hands any object they could cling to, so
pertinaceously, that it required the united efforts of several of our
strongest sailors to throw them overboard. Except a few cocoa-nuts, they
brought us no kind of provisions, but by pantomimic gestures invited us
to land; endeavouring to signify that we should be richly provided on
shore with every thing we wanted. The savages had probably destined for
us the