1769. ROUND THE WORLD. SOI 



canoe came oiF from that shore, and with much dif- 

 ficulty overtook the ship ; there were on board five 

 people, two of whom appeared to be chiefs, and the 

 other three servants : the chiefs, with very little in- 

 vitation, came on board, and ordered the rest to re- 

 main in their canoe. We treated them with great 

 kindness, and they were not backward in expressing 

 their satisfaction ; they went down into the cabin, 

 and after a short time told us that they had deter- 

 mined not to go on shore till the next morning. As 

 the sleeping on board was an honour which we neither 

 expected nor desired, I remonstrated strongly against 

 it, and told them, that on their account it would not 

 be proper, as the ship would probably be at a great 

 distance from v/here she was then, the next morning : 

 they persisted, however, in their resolution, and as I 

 found it impossible to get rid of them without turning 

 them by force out of the ship, I complied : as a pro- 

 per precaution, however, I proposed to take their 

 servants also on board, and hoist their canoe into the 

 ship ; they made no objection, and this was accord- 

 ingly done. The countenance of one of these chiefs 

 was the most open and ingenuous of all I have ever 

 seen, and I very soon gave up every suspicion of his 

 having any sinister design : they both examined 

 every thing they saw with great curiosity and at- 

 tention, and received very thankfully such little pre- 

 sents as we made them ; neither of them, however, 

 could be persuaded either to eat or drink, but their 

 servants devoured every thing they could get with 

 great voracity. We found that these men had heard 

 of our kindness and liberality to the natives who had 

 been on board before, yet we thought the confidence 

 they placed in us, an extraordinary instance of their 

 fortitude. At night I brought to till day-light, and 

 then made sail ; at seven in the morning, I brought 

 to again under Cape Table, and sent away our guests 

 with their canoe, who expressed some surprise at 

 seeing themselves so far from home, but landed 



