COASTS OF Au?rR?L?A? 317. As soon as our approach was ,discovered, the ?s?. women took their baskets and moreahies and oct. 5. hurried away with the children, whilst the men seized their spears to protect their retreat; but as our object was not to alarm these poor savages, we pulled over to the opposite shore, which was about sixty yards across, and landed: Mr. Cun- ningham and I then ascended a steep hill that rose immediately from the shore, the summit of which promised to afford us a prospect of the surrounding land. The view, however, ' from this eminence, although exte?nsive, did not answer my expectation: a low country, 'of an arid and barren appearance, extended to the southward; the northern part of the land, on which we were, appeared to be that described by the French as ' Bougainville Island, but it was now clearly and distinctly ascertained to be a peninsula: o?r view to the north-west was intercepted by higher hills than those we were upon. After taking all the bearings that the confined prospect permitted, without having very materially improved my knowledge of the surrounding country, I began to think of returning to the boat, and, on looking tdwards the natives, perceived that they had left the tree, and were standing about fifty yards far- ther back, attentively engaged in consuItation, and in watching our movements: besides their spears
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