34 FROM THE SANDWICH ISLANDS 



boat from the east, under sail, which landed oh 

 Goat Island ; it was the second of" the kind, and I 

 now confidently hoped that the abode of these 

 savages must be on the eastern part of the group 

 of islands. The mate, whom I had sent on busir 

 ness to the island, returned with the news, that he 

 had found strange islanders j that he had been 

 treated with boiled fish and baked bread-fruit, 

 and likewise entertained by the women with singing 

 and dancing. Every meeting that we had yet had 

 with the natives proved their gentle dispositions. 

 The goats were still objects of terror to them, and 

 one of them had to-day in particular thrown them 

 into great alarm : the mate advancing to the huts, 

 the oldest man held out a nosegay to him, as a sign 

 of peace; the he-goat ran up to his old companion, 

 and as he ran by, snatched the nosegay with such 

 violence from the hand of the terrified savage, that 

 the latter received a blow with the horns; of course 

 he and all his companions ran off with loud cries, 

 and the mate had a great deal of trouble to entice 

 them back to their habitations, after he had driven 

 the goats into the bushes. 



The weather was to-day uncommonly fine, and 

 favourable for our enterprize; no time was lost in 

 making every thing ready, and at one o'clock in 

 the afternoon I left the Rurick, accompanied by 

 our scientific gentlemen. Lieutenant Schisch- 

 mareff, and several sailors, in two well-armed 

 boats. We were, in all, nineteen persons, and 

 had taken provisions for five days. At three in 



