THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 297 



return v^ery soon witli a strong force, and had like- 

 wise mentioned a ship of war, whose views were 

 also hostile to the inhabitants. We now under- 

 stood the uneasiness shown by the first islander, 

 and it w'as with much difficulty that Mr. Elliot 

 prevented our savage, who wanted to escape us by 

 jumping into the sea ; while we assured him tliat 

 w^e had come solely for the piu'pose of repairing 

 the injury done by our countrymen to his people. 

 I was very ghid to have received all this inform- 

 ation before my interview with Tamaahmaah, who, 

 being incensed against the Russians, might easily 

 take our ship for the expected hostile man-of-war. 

 I now doubly felt how useful Elliot was to us, as 

 he might become here, in some measure, our 

 guardian genius. A perfect calm detained us 

 this day on the same spot. 



November the 23d. We made but little pro- 

 gress all this day for want of wind. Early in the 

 morning we were visited by a canoe, for the ])ur- 

 pose of enquiring what our vessel was. They 

 brought us news, at the same time, that the king 

 had left Karakakooa, and had gone to Ti-utatua, a 

 small bay a few miles to the north, where he would 

 only remain for the night, and in the morning 

 proceed farther northward along the coast to tlie 

 boneto fishery. I therefore immediately dispatched 

 the canoe to the king with the information, that a 

 Russian ship of war had come with friendly inten- 

 tions, the commander of which wished to speak 



13 



