of each family brought in to their- refpe&ive.matters their
ihats, which -they always carry with them in their canoes ]
whenever they are,to. fleep from home; the.ysare;made thin
and,-light,' laying^ne-under,- and another .-over them::, the
KiflgJ.ihnt mats for the Unglijh; and .every one’s .bed. being,
quickly* made, fthey all laid themfelves down, the torches
were©xfinguilhed,, a total filericeprevailed, andeyery inch-;
viduafeompofed himfelf to reft; aftre being firft lighted to
keep' off-the mofqUitos; ^ -
Betweem;the hours of two and three, a meflenger from
an ifland to the. northward arriving, the King;was thereupon
awakened by one of his attendants, who brought in a
lighted torch;, he inftantly arofe, and ordered the meffengers
t'oll^ introduced; after holding fome conyerfation with him,
the King delivered to him a piece of cord, on which he had
tied as many .knots :as there would be days before our people
purpofed to fail; this they were afterwards acquainted with,
and alfo informed.the above meflage was occafioned by a
delire Vhich fome of the northern Chiefs, who were the
friends of A bba T huli;E, felt to know the time when the
Engli/h intended to depart—not to gratify idle curiofity, not
to increafe the unjuft and ungenerous apprehenfions enter-'
tained by our people of the natives of thefe unknown regions
; but to , throw in, towards their fea-ftore, whatever
their country produced, which thefe benevolent children of
nature thought might be of ufe, or acceptable to the departing
1783.
NOVEMBER.