396 cook's voyage to dec. 



in a Chinese boat, and left Mr. Lannyon to take care 

 of the men and stores, which were to sail the next 

 day. In the evening of the 26th, I took my leave 

 of the supercargoes, having thanked them for their 

 many obliging favours ; amongst which I must not 

 forget to mention an handsome present of tea, for 

 the use of the ships' companies, and a large collection 

 of English periodical publications. The latter we 

 found a valuable acquisition, as they both served to 

 amuse our impatience, during our tedious voyage 

 home, and enabled us to return not total strangers to 

 what had been transacting in our native country. 

 At one o'clock the next morning we left Canton, 

 and arrived at Macao about the same hour the day 

 following, having passed down a channel which lies 

 to the westward of that by which we had come up. 



During our absence, a brisk trade had been carry- 

 ing on with the Chinese for the sea-otter skins, which 

 had every day been rising in their value. One of 

 our seamen sold his stock alone for eight hundred 

 dollars ; and a few prime skins, which were clean, 

 and had been well preserved, were sold for one hun- 

 dred and twenty each. The whole amount of the 

 value, in specie and goods, that was got for the furs, 

 in both ships, Lam confident did not fall short of two 

 thousand pounds sterling; and it was generally sup- 

 posed, that at least two-thirds of the quantity we had 

 originally got from the Americans, were spoiled and 

 worn out, or had been given away, and otherwise dis- 

 posed of, in Kamtschatka. When, in addition to 

 these facts, it is remembered, that the furs were at 

 first collected without our having any idea of their 

 real value ; that the greatest part had been worn by 

 the Indians, from whom we purchased them ; that 

 they were afterward preserved with little care, and 

 frequently used for bed-clothes, and other purposes, 

 during our cruize to the north ; and that, probably, 

 we had never got the full value for them in China ; 

 the advantages that might be derived from a voyage 



19 



