"While we were at work there came nine or 10 of the natives to a small hill a little way from us, and stood there menacing and threatening of us, and making a great noise. At last one of them came towards us, and the rest followed at a distance"

This quote by William Dampier is explaining a tense experience with the native people of an unknown land. It is clear that the locals were not delighted with the presence of the Europeans, as they involved a little hillside near them and began to make a lot of sound. This can have been a warning to the Europeans to leave, as the locals were most likely attempting to frighten them. The fact that one of the natives came closer to the Europeans while the remainder stayed at a range might have been an indicator that the local was the leader of the group, and was attempting to analyze the situation. It is feasible that the Europeans were trespassing on the locals' land, and also the locals were attempting to shield their area. The quote paints a picture of a tense and possibly dangerous circumstance, and also it is clear that the Europeans were not welcome.