Series 03: Joseph Banks - Endeavour journal, 25 August 1768 - 12 July 1771 (vol. 2) - No. 0073
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[Page 73]
69
Novr. 1769. Opoorage
conversation sometimes civil sometimes otherwise our resolution was that as we had in vain shewd them the power of musquets by firing near them & killing the bird yesterday we would on the first provacation they they gave us fire at them with small shot the last resource we had to shew them our superiority without taking away their lives they at lengh offerd to trade for their arms & sold two weapons very fairly but took a price for the third & refusd to send it up but offerd it for a second the second was sent down but a third was requird instead of the weapon being parted with this was a convenient time for the execution of our project as the man who had thus cheated us swaggerd prodigiously having paddled the boat a few yards from the ship accordingly a musquet ball was fird through the bottom of the boat & small shot at the offender which struck him & another who sat next him on which the canoe was immediately paddled off & remaind about 100 yards from the ship but what was truly surprizing was that tho the men who were shot bled a good deal not one of the other boats went near them or enquird at all how much or in what manner they were hurt they returnd to the ship & renewd trade for their arms a large quantity