within the three poles,
and all the space between your poles and theirs is allowed like a market
for free converse, traffic, and commerce. When you go thither you must
not carry your weapons with you; and if they come into that space they
stick up their javelins and lances all at the first poles, and come on
unarmed; but if any violence is offered them, and the truce thereby
broken, away they run to the poles and lay hold of their weapons, and
then the truce is at an end.

It happened one evening when we went on shore, that a greater number of
their people came down than usual, but all was very friendly and civil.
They brought with them several kinds of provisions, for which we
satisfied them with such toys as we had; their women also brought us
milk and roots, and several things very acceptable to us, and all was
quiet; and we made us a little tent or hut, of some boughs of trees, and
lay on shore all that night.

I know not what was the occasion, but I was not so well satisfied to lie
on shore as the rest; and the boat lying at an anchor about a stone's
cast from the land, with two men in her to take care of her, I made one
of them come on shore, and getting some boughs of trees to cover us also
in the boat, I spread the sail on the bottom of the boat, and lay on
board, under the cover of the branches of the trees, all night.

About two o'clock in the morning we heard one of our men make a terrible
noise on the shore, calling out for God's sake to bring the boat in, and
come and help them, for they were all like to be murdered; at the same
time I heard the firing of five muskets, which was the number of the
guns they had, and that three times over; for, it seems, the natives
here were not so easily frighted with guns as the savages were in
America, where I had to do with them.

All this while I knew not what was the matter; but rousing immediately
from sleep with the noise, I caused the boat to be thrust in, and
resolved, with three fusils we had on board, to land and assist our men.

We got the boat soon to the shore; but our men were in too much haste;
for being come to the shore, they plunged into the water to get to the
boat with all the expedition they could, being pursued by between three
and four hundred men. Our men were but nine in all, and only five of
them had fusils with them; the rest, indeed, had pistols and swords, but
they were of small use to them.

We took up seven of our men, and with difficu