TO RADACK. 



EEPORT OF LIEUTENANT SCHISCHMAEEFF. 



When the islanders, who were in the boats near 

 the ship, saw that we left them and rowed towards 

 the island, they immediately followed us ; we ap- 

 proached a place which seemed convenient for 

 landing ; the surf was not violent, and we might 

 have landed, had not the islanders prevented us. 

 A great number of them had assembled on the 

 shore, armed with lances, on which barbed heads 

 were fastened j others surrounded our boats with 

 theirs, and I therefore determined to begin a 

 barter with them on the water near to the shore : 

 they threw themselves in crowds into the water, 

 swam up to us, and brought us mats, necklaces 

 made of shells, cocoa nuts, pandanus fruit, and 

 fresh water in cocoa shells j they also offered us 

 their lances in exchange, as well as two small 

 bows of boards, which they had made into a weapon 

 by means of sharks' teeth, they were a foot and 

 a half in length, and about two inches broad. The 

 number of islanders swimming about continued to 

 increase, and the boats had formed a complete 

 circle round us ; but we would not suffer any of 

 them to come too near to ours. They became bold, 

 and even impudent, and offered us cocoa shells 

 filled with sea-water : an old man would absolutely 

 get into the boat in which I was sitting. I struck 

 him on the hands, threatened him with my sabre j 



