oaobc ^iem an<l Tupia j during which the boys held up every
'----.---- I thing we had given them as tokens of our kindnefs and liueday
10. jJCja]jly } but neither would either of the boys fwim over to
them, or any of them to the boys. The body of the man
who had been killed the day before, ftill lay expofed upon
the beach; the boys feeing it lie very near us, went up to it,
and covered it with fome of the clothes that we had given
them; and foon after a Angle man, unarmed, who proved
to be the uncle of Maragovete, the youngeft of the boys,
fwam over to us, bringing in his hand a green branch,
which we fuppofed, as well here as at Otaheite, to be an
emblem of peace. We received his branch by the hands of
Tupia, to whom he gave it, and made him many prefents ;
we alfo invited him to go on board the fhip, but he declined
i t ; we therefore left him, and expedted that his nephew, and
the two other young Indians would have ftaid with him, but
to our great furprize, they chofe rather to go with us. As
foon as we had retired, he went and gathered another green
branch, and with this in his band, he approached the dead
body which the youth had covered with part of his clothes,
walking fideways, with many ceremonies, and then throwing
it towards him. When this was done, he returned to
his companions, who had fat down upon the fand to obferve
the ilfue of his negotiation: they immediately gathered
round him, and continued in a body above an hour, without
feeming to take any farther notice of us. We were more
curious than they, and obferving them with our glaffes from
on board the fhip, we faw fome of them crofs the river upon
a kind of raft, or catamarine, and four of them carry o£F
the dead body which had been covered by the boy, and over
which his uncle had performed the ceremony of the branch,
upon a kind of bier, between four men: the other body was
ftill fuffered to remain where it had been firft left.
6 After
After dinner, I directed Tupia to afk the boys, if they had October,
now any objedtion to going afliore, where we had left their
uncle, the body having been carried off, which we under-
flood was a ratification of peace: they faid, they had not; and
the boat being ordered, they went into it with great alacrity:
when the boat, in which I had fent two midfhipmen, came
to land, they went willingly afhore; but foon after fhe put
off,, they returned to the rocks, and wading into the water,
earneftly entreated to be taken on board again -, but the
people in the boat, having pofitive orders taleave them, could
not comply. We were very attentive to what happened' on
fhore, and keeping a conflant watch with our glaffes, we faw
a man pafs the river upon another raft, and fetch them to a
place where forty or fifty of the natives were affembled, who
clofed round, them, and continued in the fame place till fun-
fet: upon looking again, when we faw them in motion, we
could plainly diftinguifh our three prifoners, who feparated
themfelves from the reft, came down to the beach, and having
waved their hands three times towards the fhip, ran
nimbly back and joined their companions, who walked lei-
furely away towards that part which the boys had pointed,
to as their dw ellin g-placew e had therefore the greateft
reafon to believe that no mifchief would happen to them,
efpecially as we perceived that they went off in the clothes
we had given them.
After it was dark, loud voices were heard on fhore in the
bottom of the bay as ufual, of which we could never- learn
the meaning..
C H A P .