177 8 ' THE pacific OCEAN. 199 



contained was too inconsiderable for our purpose, and 

 the road leading to it exceedingly bad. 



On the 30th I sent Mr. Gore ashore again, with a 

 guard of marines, and a party to trade with the na- 

 tives for refreshments. I intended to have followed 

 soon after, and went from the ship with that design. 

 But the surf had increased so much, by this time, 

 that I was fearful, if I got ashore, I should not be 

 able to get off again. This really happened to our 

 people who had landed with Mr. Gore, the commu- 

 nication between them and the ships, by our own boats, 

 being soon stopped. In the evening they made a 

 signal for the boats, which were sent accordingly ; 

 and, not long after, they returned with a few yams 

 and some salt. A tolerable quantity of both had been 

 procured in the course of the day ; but the surf was 

 so great, that the greatest part of both these articles 

 had been lost in conveying them to the boats. The 

 officer and twenty men, deterred by the danger of 

 coming off, were left ashore all night ; and by this 

 unfortunate circumstance, the very thing happened, 

 which, as I have already mentioned, I wished so 

 heartily to prevent, and vainly imagined I had ef- 

 fectually guarded against. The violence of the surf, 

 which our own boats could not act against, did not hin- 

 der the natives from coming off to the ships in their ca- 

 noes. They brought refreshments with them, which 

 were purchased in exchange for nails, and pieces of 

 iron hoops ; and I distributed a good many pieces of 

 ribbon, and some buttons, as bracelets, amongst the 

 women in the canoes. One of the men had the 

 figure of a lizard punctured upon his breast, and 

 upon those of others were the figures of men badly 

 imitated. These visitors informed us, that there was 

 no chief, or Hairee, of this island ; but that it was 

 subject to Teneooneoo, a chief of Atooi ; which 

 island, they said, was not governed by a single chiefi 

 but that there were many to whom they paid the ho- 



o 4 



