1769. ROUND THE WOULD. 137 



pect that they had been parties in the theft. About 

 eight o'clock, we were joined by Dr. Solander, who 

 had fallen into honester hands, at a house about a 

 mile distant, and had lost nothing. 



Having given up all hope of recovering our clothes, 

 which, indeed, were never afterwards heard of, we 

 spent all the morning in soliciting the hogs which 

 we had been promised ; but in this we had no better 

 success : we, therefore, in no very good humour, set 

 out for the boat about twelve o'clock, with only that 

 which we had redeemed from the butcher and the 

 cook the night before. 



As we were returning to the boat, however, we 

 were entertained with a sight that in some measure 

 compensated for our fatigue and disappointment. In 

 our way we came to one of the few places where ac- 

 cess to the island is not guarded by a reef, and, con- 

 sequently, a high surf breaks upon the shore ; a more 

 dreadful one, indeed, 1 had seldom seen ; it was im- 

 possible for any European boat to have lived in it ; 

 and if the best swimmer in Europe had, by any acci- 

 dent, been exposed to its fury, I am confident that 

 he would not have been able to preserve himself 

 from drowning, especially as the shore was covered 

 with pebbles and large stones ; yet, in the midst of 

 these breakers, were ten or twelve Indians swimming 

 for their amusement :, whenever a surf broke near 

 them, they dived under it, and, to all appearance 

 with infinite facility, rose again on the other side. 

 This diversion was greatly improved by the stern of 

 an old canoe, which they happened to find upon the 

 spot : they took this before them, and swam out with 

 it as far as the outermost breach, then two or three 

 of them getting into it, and turning the square end 

 to the breaking wave, were driven in towards the 

 shore with incredible rapidity, sometimes almost to 

 the beach ; but generally the wave broke over them 

 before they got half way, in which case they dived, 

 and rose on the other side with the canoe in their 



