418 Thirty Yeurs 



whose kaiyack had been upset had a pistol under his 

 shirt, and was about to take it from him, but I ordered 

 him to desist, as I thought it might have been pur- 

 chased from the Loucheux. It had been, in fact, 

 stolen from Lieutenant Back, and the thief, perceiving 

 our attention directed to it, leaped out of the boat, 

 and joined his countrymen, carrying with him the 

 great coat which Augustus had lent him. 



The water had now ebbed so far, that it was not 

 knee-deep at the boats, and the younger men wading 

 in crowds around us, tried to steal every thing within 

 their reach ; slyly, however, and with so much dex- 

 terity, as almost to escape detection. The moment 

 this disposition was manifested, I directed the crews 

 not to suffer any one to come alongside, and desired 

 Augustus to tell the two chiefs, who still remained 

 seated in the Lion, that the noise and confusion 

 occasioned by the crowd around the boats greatly im- 

 peded our exertions ; and that if they would go on 

 shore and leave us for the present, we would hereafter 

 return from the ship which we expected to meet near 

 this part of the coast, with a more abundant supply 

 of goods. They received this communication with 

 much apparent satisfaction, ami jumping out of the 

 boats repeated the speech aloud to their companions. 

 From the general exclamation of "teyma" which 

 followed, and from perceiving many of the elderly men 



