"Finding we could not dislodge them, I gave orders for taking the place by storm. But some of my men had expended all their cartridges, few had more than three or four remaining, and our only safety depended on holding our ground till we could procure a fresh supply. I despatched Lieutenant Gamble and four men to the _Essex Junior_, and from the time of their departure we were chiefly occupied {301}in eluding the stones, which came with redoubled force and numbers. Three of my men were knocked down by them. As a feint, we retreated a few paces, and in an instant the Indians rushed on us with hideous yells. The first and second that advanced were killed at the distance of a few paces, and those who attempted to carry them off were wounded. They abandoned their dead, and precipitately retreated to their fort. Taking advantage of the terror they were thrown into, we marched off with our wounded, returning to the beach much fatigued and with no contemptible opinion of the enemy. "The next day I determined to proceed with a force which I believed they could not resist, and selected two hundred men from the _Essex_, the _Essex Junior_, and the prizes. As some of the boats were leaky, I determined to go by land, over the mountain ridge. We had a fine, moonlight night, and I hoped to be down in the Typee valley long before daylight. "Not a whisper was heard from one end of the line to the other. Our guides marched in front, and we followed in silence up and down the steep sides of rocks and mountains, through rivulets, thickets, and reed-brakes, and by the sides of precipices which sometimes caused us to shudder. At twelve o'clock we could hear the drums beating in {302}the Typee valley, accompanied by loud singing, and the number of lights in different parts of it induced me to believe they were rejoicing. I inquired the cause, and was informed by the Indians that they were celebrating the victory they had obtained over us, and calling on their gods to give them rain in order that it might render our bouhier [muskets] useless. "The Indians told us it would be impossible to descend without daylight; and when it was light enough to see down the valley, we were surprised at the height and steepness. A narrow pathway pointed out the track, but it was soon lost among the cliffs. Before I left the hill, I determined by firing a volley to show the natives that our muskets had not received as much injury as they had expected from the rain. As soon as they heard the report, and discovered our number, which, with the multitude of Indians of both tribes who had now assembled, was very numerous, they shouted, beat their drums, and blew their war-conchs from one end of the valley to the other; and what with the squealing of the hogs, which they now began to catch, the screaming of the women and children, and the yelling of the men, the din was horrible.