1826. 



PACIFIC AND BEERINGS STRAIT. 157 



grounded about two hundred yards from the beach, chap. 

 and they could not advance without imminent dan- v-^,^. 

 ger of being stove. The natives, whose rafts drew J«£ 

 so little water that they could be floated over these 

 impediments, could not understand our motives in 

 delaying, or searching for any other place than that 

 to which they had been accustomed, and kept con- 

 tinually vociferating " Ho-my ! Ho-my !" It was 

 natural that they, ignorant of the cause, should sup- 

 pose we had other things in view than that of land- 

 ing ; and one of them who had received a bottle as 

 a present from some of our people, imagining we were 

 come in search of it, ran into the water as far as he 

 could, holding it up at arm's length, and when he 

 could advance no farther, threw it towards the boat, 

 and, in spite of our signs for him to keep it, he fol- 

 lowed the boats, and kept throwing the bottle to- 

 wards us, until he found it was of no use. 



A short distance below the place where the multi- 

 tude were assembled, the rocks admitted a freer ac- 

 cess to the shore than above, and we effected a landing. 



Directly the boats touched the beach, one of the 

 natives who was near them took off his turban and 

 waved it to his countrymen, who instantly answered 

 the signal with a shout, and rushed towards the 

 spot. The foremost of their party stopped within a 

 short distance of us until the crowd came up to him, 

 and then advanced and saluted Mr. Belcher, who 

 was unarmed, by rubbing noses. Observing there 

 was some distrust of a fowling-piece which I held in 

 my hand, I placed it against a rock for an instant 

 among our own party, while I advanced a step to 

 salute a person who appeared to be the leading man 

 of the islanders. The opportunity this afforded the 



