ferve moft o f the méfiés, referving plenty for the fick and
convalefcent.
On the 3d, we heeled the Ihip, and looked at her bottom»
which we found as clean as when Ihe came out o f dock, and
to our great fatisfaClion, as found. During all this time,
none o f the natives came near our boats, or the ihip, in their
canoes. This day, about noon, we caught a very large
ihark, and when the boats went to fetch the people on
board to dinner, we fent it on lhore. When the boats were
putting off again, the gunner feeing fome o f the natives on
the other fide o f the river, beckoned them to come over.
they immediately complied, and he gave them the fhark,
which they foon cut-to pieces, and carried away with great
appearance o f fatisfaClion.
On Sunday the 5th, the old man returned to the market-
tent, and made the gunner underftand that he had been up
the country, to prevail upon the people to bring down their
hogs, poultry, and fruit, o f which the parts near the water-
ing-place were now nearly exhaufted. The good effects of
his expedition foon appeared, for lèverai Indians, whom our
people had never feen before, came in with fome hogs that
were larger than any that had been yet brought to market.
In the mean time, the old man ventured off in his canoe, to
the Ihip, and brought with him, as a prefent to me, a hog
ready roafted. I was much pleafed with his attention and
liberality, and gave him, in return for his hog, an iron pot,
a looking-glafs, a drinking-glafs, and feveral other things,
which no man in the illand was in pofleffion of but himfelf.
While our people were on lhore, feveral young women
were permitted to crofs the river, who, though they were
not averfe to the granting o f perfonal favours, knew the
value
value of them too well not to ftipulate for a confideration: y | 7*
the price, indeed, was not great, yet it was fuch as our men v— .----1
were not always able to pay, and under this temptation they Sun ay s’
Hole nails and other iron from the Ihip. The nails that we
brought for traffic, were not always in their reach, and
therefore they drew feveral out of different parts of the vef-
fel, particularly thofe that fattened the cleats to the Ihip’s
fide. This was productive o f a double mifchief; damage to
the Ihip, and a confiderable rife at market. When the gunner
offered, as ufual, fmall nails for hogs o f a middling fize,
the natives refufed to take them, and produced large fpikes,
intimating that they expeCled fuch nails as thefe. A moft
diligent enquiry was fet on foot to difcover the offenders,
but all to no purpofej and though a large reward was
offered to procure intelligence, none was obtained. I was
mortified at the difappointment, but I was Hill more mortified
at a fraud which I found fome o f our people had prac-
tifed upon the natives. When no nails were to be procured,
they had ftolen lead, and cut it up in the fhape of nails.
Many o f the natives who had been paid with this bafe money,
brought their leaden nails, with great fimplicity, to the
gunner, and requefted him to give them iron in their ftead.
With this requeft, however reafonable, he could not comply
; becaufe, by rendering lead current, it would have encouraged
the ftealing it, and the market would have been
as effectually fpoiled by thofe who could not procure nails,
as by thofe who could s it was therefore neceflary, upon
every account, to render this leaden currency o f no value,
though for our honour I fhould have been glad to have called
it in.
OnTuefday the 7th, I fent one o f the mates, with thirty Tuefdsy 7.
men, to a village at a little diftance from the market, hoping
that