6 Hussian Expedition to Japan. 



Island, discovered bv Cook : towards noon we came in sight 

 ot thtr island called by Hcrgcst Rious Island, which belongs 

 to the group of the New Marquesas, and which Ingrahani, 

 an American, the Jirst discoverer, called Washington's 

 Island, and Marchand, a month later, Isle de la Revolu- 

 tion. Tlie largest of all these islands, that to which \l'c 

 properly steered, and which by Marchand is called Isle 

 Banx, but in the language of the natives Nukahiva, we 

 saw towards evening. - 



On the 7th, at noon, we \yer.e pretty near to the shore. 

 Our expectation was on the stretch as we approached it, 

 but no canoe appeared ; which was rather a disappointment, 

 as, according to the accounts of all navigators, these islan- 

 ders venture a great way out to sea. The qaptain susipected 

 that the master of some American ship must have behaved 

 ill to the natives, and that this might serve to account for 

 their timidity. At length two boats were dispatched to ex- 

 plore the bay of Anna Maria, so called by Hergest. When 

 these boats were about a verst distant from us, we ob- 

 served a canoe making towards them. Our expectation was 

 now at its height ; wc saw the canoe approach the lirst boat, 

 and in a few minutes both of ihem rowed oft' together : our 

 boat proceeded forwards, and the canoe, which steered for 

 the ship, approached the second boat. We could now plainly 

 perceive that all the people in it were naked ; one of them, 

 who was of a somewhat lighter colour, we took to be their 

 chief or kingj for we are told by navigators that the higher 

 ranks have a whitpr colour. This person stepped into our 

 boat, and the crew of our ship all exclaimed, " The king \ 

 the kingl" The boat and the canoe then both rowed to- 

 wards the ship. We now observed something in the water 

 near the cano'e, which we at first behcved to be an islander 

 swinuningj for we knew from books of voyages that they 

 are very expert at this exercise. " A man swimmii-\g; ! a 

 man swimming 1" was repealed both in Russian and Ger- 

 man. All hurried to the head of the ship, and one climbed 

 up on the shoulders of another. On their nearer approach 

 ve discovered to our regret that the excellent swimmer who 

 had aftbrdcd us so much satisfaction was an outrigger or 

 cross pole placed over the canoe, which was not above a 

 foot in breidth, to defend it from being injured by the 

 rocks. Wher. the islanders got close tt) the ship, the light- 

 rolourcd pirson climbed up, and, trt out astonishment, ad- 

 dressed us in English. We soon found that be was an 

 |2nghbhmar., who had already spent five years in the island: 

 he was almost entirely naked, having only a narrow girdle 

 • tie^ 



