50S VOYAGE IN iEAR^It 



board. They informed us, that the favages, who 

 had alTembled round them to the number of up-* 

 wards of three hundred, had, on feeing that all 

 the boats had left the fhore, behaved towards them 

 with the greateft effrontery. One of them hav- 

 ing fnatched from Devvelle his fabre, the latter 

 attempted to purfue him ; but the other natives 

 inftantly lifted up their clubs to defend the 

 thief. Indeed all our fhipmates were robbed in 

 the moft impudent manner. However, when 

 our barge arrived to their affiflance, two chiefs, 

 who had probably prevented the other favages 

 from proceeding to ftill greater excefles, rc- 

 queded to take a paffage in her. They brought 

 twofmall bundles of fugar-canes and fome cocoa- 

 nuts to the Admiral, who made them a prefent 

 of a hatchet and feveral pieces of cloth. Thefe 

 chiefs, who are called Theabouma in their lan- 

 guac^e, had on their head a cap of a cylindri- 

 cal form, ornamented with feathers, fliells, &c* 

 {See Fhite XXXVIL Fig. 2 and 3.^ Being open 

 at the top, it could not be worn to protecfl them 

 from the rain. 



A double canoe which put off from the coaft 

 foon came to carry thefe chiefs on Ihore. It 

 was quire dark when they left us ; the favages 

 had lighted, on a heap of fand towards the mid- 

 dle of the platform of the canoe, a fmall fire 

 in order to warm themfelves. 



3 On 



