^ I
little trouble as it would have coll me t;o have lifted over a
child if I had been well. ;
Monday 13. The next morning I fent her by the gunner, fix hatchets,
fix bill-hooks, and feveral other jhirigs.; and when he returned,
he told me that he found her giving an entertainment
to a great number of people, which, he fuppofed,
could not be lefs than a thouiand. The meffes were all
brought to her by the, fervants that prepared them, the
meat being put into the fhclls.of cocoa-nuts, and the fhelis
into wooden trays,, fomewhat like thofe ufed by our butchers,
and ihe diftributed them with her own hands to the
guefts, who were feated in rows round the great houfe.
When this was done, fhe fat down herfelf, upon a place
fomewhat elevated above the reft, and two women, placing
themfelves one on each fide o f her, fed her, fhe opening her
mouth as they brought their hands up with the food.
When Ihe faw the gunner, fhe ordered a mefs for him ; he
could not certainly tell what it was, but he believed it to be
fowl picked fmall, with apples cut among it, and feafoned
with fait water ; it was, however, very well tailed. She accepted
the things that I fent her, and feemed to be much
pleafed with them. After this correfpondence was eftablifhed
with the queen, provifions o f every kind became much
more plenty at market; but though fowls and hogs were
every day brought in, we were Hill obliged to pay more for
them than at the firft, the market having been fpoiled by
the nails which our men had'flolen and given to the women;
I therefore gave orders that every man fhould be fearched
before he went on fhore, and that no woman fhould be fuf-
fered to croft the river.
Tuefday 14, On the 14th, the gunner being on fhore to trade, perceived
an old woman on the other fide o f the river, weeping
bitterly:
hitterjycrrwben ihe, faw that-, fhq had; drawn ,his- attention' j^67»
upqa hen file fent-a ypw.ngmam, ,whq ,ftqe>dr by he r,; over, c— ^— i
theriver to him, with a branch^ the plantain tree in his T“ d*/ •*
hand- When he came up, he made a long fpeech, and then
laid down-his,hcw-gli at;thp gtinnep’s feet: aftqr this.he went:
back and brought oyer the old, woman, another man at the
fame time,bringing oyer ; two, large- fat,hogs.. The woman
looked round upon our people with great attention, fixing;
her eyes fometimes upon one, and fometimes upon another,
and at laftbtirft into tears,. The young man who brought
her over the river, perceiving the. gunner-’s concern and
aftonifhment, made another fpeech, longer than the firftt:
ftill, however, .the woman’s diftrefs was a myftery, but at
length fhe made him underftand that her hufhand, and
three o f her fons, had been killed in the attack of the flip .
During this explanation, fhe was fo affedted that at laft fhe
funk down unable to fpeak, and the two young men, who
endeavoured to fupport her, appeared to be nearly in the
fame condition: they were probably two more o f her fons,
or fome very near relations. The gunner did all in his-
power to footh and Gomfort her, and when fhe had in fome
meafure recovered her recolle&ion, fhe ordered the two-
hogs to be delivered to him, and gave him her hand in
token of frieridfhip, but would accept nothing in return,,
though he offered her ten times as much as would have
purchafed the hogs at market.
The next morning, I fent the Second Lieutenant, with all wednef. 15.
the boats, and fixty men, to the weftward,. to look at the coun-
try, and try what was to be got. About noon he returned,
having marched' along the fhore near fix miles. He found
the country very pleafant and populous,, and’ abounding as
well with hogs and fowls, as fruit, and other vegetables of
various kinds. The inhabitants offered him no moleftation,
6 but