JOHN LEDYARD. 289 



trees being nearly thirty feet in the girth, and these, 

 with the shrubbery underneath, and the whole inter- 

 sected with vines, render it very umbrageous. 



" The next day, about two in the afternoon, we 

 cleared the woods by our old route, and by six 

 o'clock reached the tents, having penetrated about 

 twenty-four miles, and, we supposed, within eleven 

 of the peak. Our Indians were extremely fatigued, 

 though they had no baggage." 



After sojourning twenty days at Hawaii, Captain 

 Cook weighed anchor and sailed away. A furious 

 storm compelled him to return, and during the 

 succeeding days those unfortunate disputes arose 

 between the commander and the inhabitants of the 

 island, which eventually led to the assassination of 

 Captain Cook, and the premature termination of the 

 life and adventures of one of the most remarkable 

 navigators of modern times. The incidents connected 

 with this event have often been narrated; but, as 

 Ledyard was an eye-witness of the memorable scene, 

 and as his account is doubtless the most accurate and 

 trustworthy which has ever been given, we here ex- 

 tract it, notwithstanding its length, from his journal : 



" Our return to this bay was as disagreeable to us 

 as it was to the inhabitants, for we were recipro- 

 cally tired of each other. They had been oppressed 



and were weary of our prostituted alliance, and we 

 r 25 



