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. ½ 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 an 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 north-west 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 fired over them without effect, we then endeavoured to reach them with some small shot, but they were too far off: by this time they had got the buoy into their canoe, and we were obliged to fire a musket at them with ball: this hit one of them, and they immediately threw the buoy over board: a round shot was then fired over them, which struck the water and went ashore. Two or three of the canoes immediately landed their people, who ran about the beach, as we imagined, in search of the ball. Tupia called to them, and assured them that, while they were honest, they should be safe, and with a little persuasion many of them returned to the ship, and their behaviour was such as left us no reason to suspect that they intended to give us any farther trouble.