When the Dutch had filled twenty sacks with greens, they advanced farther into the country, till they came to the top of some steep rocks, which hung over a large and deep valley, the natives going both before and behind them, quite unsuspected of any evil intention.  At length, thinking they had the Dutch at an advantage, the natives suddenly quitted them, and soon after prodigious numbers came pouring out from caves and holes in the rocks, and surrounded the Dutch on all sides, while they immediately formed in close order for defence.  The chief or king then made a signal for the Dutch to keep off, but as they continued to advance, the chief made a signal of battle, which was instantly followed by a prodigious shower of stones.  The Dutch in return made a general discharge of their fire arms, which did great execution, and the chief was among the first who fell.  Yet the islanders continued to throw stones with great fury, so that most of the Dutch were soon wounded and almost disabled, on which they retired under shelter of a rock, whence they fired with such success that great numbers of the islanders were slain.  They still obstinately maintained their ground, and the Dutch were at last forced to retreat, having some of their number killed, and a great many wounded, most of whom died not long after, in consequence of their scorbutical habit of body, in spite of every care.  As soon as they could disengage themselves from the enemy, the Dutch retired on board ship, carrying with them the sacks of greens which they had gathered.  This rencounter had so great an effect on the Dutch, that when it was proposed to land again, not a man could be prevailed upon to make the dangerous attempt.

They had given to this island, before this unfortunate affair, the name of the Island of Recreation,[3] which is in lat. 16 deg.  S. and long. 285 deg..  It is about twelve leagues in compass, with a fertile soil, producing a great number of trees, especially cocoa nuts, palms, and iron-wood.  The Dutch conceived that there might be rich mines in the heart of the country, and other valuable things, but were not allowed to search.  The natives were of middle size, but robust and active, having long black shining hair, which they anoint with cocoa-nut oil, a practice very common among the Indians.  They were painted all over, like the inhabitants of Easter island; the men wearing a kind of net-work round their middles, which they stick up between their legs.  The women were entirely covered by a kind of mantles of their own manufacture, the stuff of which to the sight and touch resembled silk;[4] and they wear long strings of pearls about their necks and wrists.

[Footnote 3:  By Arrowsmith, this island is placed in lat. 16 deg. 32’ S. and long. 148 deg. 50’ W. The longitude in the text is inexplicable on any supposition.—­E.]

[Footnote 4:  The cloth of the South-sea islands is a substance in a great measure resembling paper, composed of the inner bark of the paper mulberry, the preparation of which will be afterwards detailed in the narratives of the modern circumnavigators—­E.]