60 cook's second voyage august, 



to defend the path he stood in. He, in some measure, 

 gained his point ; for our guide took the other road, 

 and we followed ; but not without suspecting he was 

 leading us out of the common way. The other man 

 went with us likewise, counting us several times 

 over, and hallooing, as we judged, for assistance ; 

 for we were presently joined by two or three more, 

 among whom was a young woman with a club in her 

 hand. By these people we were conducted to the 

 brow of a hill, and shown a road leading down to the 

 harbour, which they wanted us to take. Not choos- 

 ing to comply, we returned to that we had left, 

 which we pursued alone, our guide refusing to go 

 with us. After ascending another ridge, as thickly 

 covered with wood as those we had come over, we 

 saw yet other hills between us and the volcano, 

 which seemed as far off as at our first setting out. 

 This discouraged us from proceeding farther, espe- 

 cially as we could get no one to be our guide. We 

 therefore came to a resolution to return ; and had 

 but just put this in execution, when we met between 

 twenty and thirty people, whom the fellow before 

 mentioned had collected together, with a design, as 

 we judged, to oppose our advancing into the coun- 

 try ; but as they saw us returning, they suffered us to 

 pass unmolested. Some of them put us into the 

 right road, accompanied us down the hill, made us 

 stop by the way to entertain us with cocoa-nuts, plan- 

 tains, and sugar-cane ; and what we did not eat on 

 the spot, they brought down the hill with us. Thus, 

 we found these people hospitable, civil, and good- 

 natured, when not prompted to a contrary conduct 

 by jealousy ; a conduct I cannot tell how to blame 

 them for, especially when I consider the light in 

 which they must view us. It was impossible for 

 them to know our real design ; we enter their ports 

 without their daring to oppose ; we endeavour to 

 land in their country as friends, and it is well if this 

 succeeds j we land, nevertheless, and maintain the 



