PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 173 



vailed ; nor did their curiosity to scrutinize our per- 

 sons once lead them to acts of rudeness, notwith- 

 standing we were the first Europeans that had ever 

 landed on their island. Indeed, throughout this 

 visit, or at least until we were coming away, there 

 was a marked improvement in their behaviour ; not 

 a single act of theft was attempted, while, on the 

 contrary, one of honesty occurred, which, as it is the 

 only instance I have to record, must not be omitted ; 

 — it consisted in restoring to one of our officers a 

 handkerchief which he left at a place where he had 

 been sitting. This propriety of conduct no doubt 

 originated in the strictness of the discipline which 

 we observed towards them. It certainly did not 

 proceed from the example of the chief, for the only 

 act of acquisitiveness from which we had reason to 

 apprehend any dispute proceeded from that person- 

 age himself. To oblige him, I had consented to his 

 looking into the bag of presents, with which he 

 became so enamoured that he retained it in his 

 grasp, and once or twice endeavoured to appropriate 

 it to himself by force. 



We had not remained many minutes in the hut 

 where we were first introduced, when the areghe 

 rose, and, taking me with him, went to a large stone, 

 in the centre of the paved area, where we both sat 

 down, and were immediately surrounded by some 

 hundreds of his subjects. The exchange of place 

 was by no means agreeable, as we quitted a cool and 

 refreshing retreat for a spot scarcely screened from a 

 scorching sun by a few scanty leaves of the bread- 

 fruit tree. After being seated here a few minutes, 

 a tall good-looking young man was introduced, also 

 as an areghe, to whom the old chief transferred the 



