*77?;
April.
Tuefday 21.
Wednef. :
enter their houfes, fo llow in g me wherever-1 w e n t ; and
feveral times, b y expreliive figns, marking his impatience
that I Ihould be gone. I attempted in vain to footh him by
prefents; but though he did not refufe them, they did not
alter his behaviour. Some o f the y o u n g women, better
pleafed w ith us than was their inhofpitable Chief, drefied
themfelves expeditioufly in their beft apparel, and, aflem-
b lin g in a body, welcomed us to their villa ge , by jo inin g
in a fong, w h ich was fa r from ha rih or difagreeable.
T h e day being now fa r fpent, I proceeded for the Chips,
round the North end o f the large iflan d ; 'meeting, in my
way, with feveral canoes laden w ith fardines, w hich had
been juft caught, fomewhere in the Eaft corner o f the Sound.
When I got on board, I was informed, that, w h ile I was ab-
fent, the Ihips had been vifited b y fome ftrangers, in two or
three large canoes, who, by figns, made our people underftand
that they had come from the South Eaft, beyond the bay.
T h e y brou ght feveral ikins, garments, and other articles,
w hich they bartered. But what was moft fingular, two filver
table-fpoons were purchafed from them, which, from their
peculiar ihape, we fuppofed to be o f Spaniih manufadture.
One o f thefe ftrangers wore them round his neck, by w a y
o f ornament. Thefe vifiters alfo appeared to be more plentifu
lly fupplied with' iron than the inhabitants o f the Sound.
T he mizen-maft being finifhed, it was got in, and rigged,
on the z ift ; and the carpenters were fet to work to make a
new fore-top-maft, to replace the one that had been carried
away fome time before.
Next morning, about e igh t o’clock, w e were vifited b y a
number o f ftrangers, in twelve or fourteen canoes. T h e y
came into the cove from the Southward; and as foon
as they had turned the point o f it, they flopped, and la y
drawn
1
dTawn up in a body above h a lf an hour, about two or three »77s-
hundred yards from the ihips. At firft, we thought, that
they were afraid to come n e a re r ; but w e were miftaken in
this, and they were only preparing an introductory ceremony.
On advancing toward the ihips, they all flood up in
their canoes, and began to ling. Some o f their fongs, in
which the whole body joined, were in a flow, and others in
in quick er tim e ; and they accompanied their notes with
the moft regu lar motions o f their h a n d s ; or b eating in concert,
with their paddles, on the fides o f the cano e s; and
m a k in g other very expreliive geftures. At the end o f each
fong, they remained filent a few feconds, and then began
again, fometimes pronouncing the word hooce! forcibly, as
a chorus. Afte r entertaining us with this fpecimen o f their
mufic, w hich we liftened to with admiration, for above h a lf
an hour, they came along-fide the ihips, and bartered what
they had to difpofe of. Some o f our old friends o f the
Sound, were now found to be amongft them ; and they took
the whole management o f the traffic between us and the
ftrangers, much to the advantage o f the latter.
Our attendance on thefe vifiters being finifhed, Captain
Clerke and I went, in the forenoon, with two boats, to the
villa ge at the Weft point o f the Sound. When 1 was there
the day before, I had obferved, that plenty o f grafs g rew
near i t ; and it was neceflary to la y in a quantity o f this, as
food for the few goats and iheep which were ftill left on
board. The inhabitants received us with the.fame demon-
ftrations o f friendihip which I had experienced before; and
the moment w e landed, I ordered fome o f m y people to beg
in their operation o f cutting. I had not the leaft imagination,
that the natives could make any objedtion to our fur-
niihing ourfelves with what feemed to be o f no ufe to them,
.O o 3 but