While Sailing With The Intention Of
Entering This Harbour, We Saw An Immense Number Of People On This Island,
Which Was About Four Leagues From Shore.
Having hoisted out our boats on
purpose to land on the island, we perceived a canoe with several natives
coming from seawards, which we endeavoured to surround with our boats,
that we might make them prisoners.
After a long chase, finding that we
gained upon them, the whole of the natives in the canoe, to the number of
about twenty, jumped into the sea about two leagues from shore, and
endeavoured to escape by swimming, which they all did except two whom we
secured. In the canoe which they had deserted, we found four young men of
another nation whom they had made prisoners, and whose members had been
quite recently cut off, at which strange circumstance we were greatly
astonished. On taking these unfortunate captives to our ships, they made
us understand by signs that they had been taken away from their own
country to be eaten, as the nation by whom they had been made captives
were savage cannibals. After this, taking the captured canoe along with us,
we brought our ships to anchor within half a league of the shore, where we
observed great numbers of the natives wandering about. We then went on
shore, taking the two prisoners belonging to the canoe along with us; but
immediately on landing, all the natives fled into the woods. Seeing this,
we set free one of our prisoners, to whom we gave several trinkets, as
bells and small mirrors, in token of friendship, assuring him that he and
his countrymen need not be afraid of us, as we were desirous of entering
into friendship with them.
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