the officers neglecting either to punish or fright them, one of the midshipmen, who had been defrauded in his bargain, had recourse for revenge to an expedient which was equally ludicrous and severe:  He got a fishing line, and when the man who had cheated him was close under the ship’s side in his canoe, he heaved the lead with so good an aim that the hook caught him by the backside; he then pulled the line, and the man holding back, the hook broke in the shank, and the beard was left sticking in the flesh.

During the course of this day, though we did not range more than six or eight leagues of the coast, we had alongside and on board the ship between four and five hundred of the natives, which is a proof that this part of the country is well inhabited.

At eight o’clock the next morning we were within a mile of a group of islands which lie close under the main, at the distance of two-and-twenty miles from Cape Bret, in the direction of N.W. by W. 1/2 W. At this place, having but little wind, we lay about two hours, during which time several canoes came off, and sold us some fish, which we called cavalles, and for that reason I gave the same name to the islands.  These people were very insolent, frequently threatening us, even while they were selling their fish; and when some more canoes came up, they began to pelt us with stones.  Some small shot were then fired, and hit one of them while he had a stone in his hand, in the very action of throwing it into the ship:  They did not, however, desist, till some others had been wounded, and then they went away, and we stood off to sea.

The wind being directly against us, we kept plying to windward till the 29th, when we had rather lost than gained ground; I therefore bore up for a bay which lies to the westward of Cape Bret; at this time it was about two leagues to leeward of us; and at about eleven o’clock we anchored under the south-west side of one of the many islands which line it on the south-east, in four fathom and a half water; we shoaled our water to this depth all at once, and if this had not happened I should not have come to an anchor so soon.  The master was immediately sent out with two boats to sound, and he soon discovered that we had got upon a bank, which runs out from the northwest end of the island, and that on the outside of it there was from eight to ten fathom.

In the mean time the natives, to the number of near four hundred, crowded upon us in their canoes, and some of them were admitted on board:  To one, who seemed to be a chief, I gave a piece of broad cloth, and distributed some trifling presents among the rest.  I perceived that some of these people had been about the ship when she was off at sea, and that they knew the power of our fire-arms, for the very sight of a gun threw them into manifest confusion:  Under this impression they traded very fairly; but the people in one of the canoes took the opportunity of our being at dinner to tow away our buoy:  A musket was