242 VOYAGE IN SEARCH 



features of the child betrayed the greateft fear. 

 The old man had loft an eye, \vhich he told us 

 had been knocked out with a ftone. We thought 

 we recognifed in him one of the inhabitants 

 who had come feveral times to viiit us on board 

 our fhips. 



He accompanied us along a path running to 

 the fouth-eaft acrofs the plain, but he had con- 

 liderable difficulty in following us, for he had 

 been wounded in one of his legs, in which we 

 remarked two large fears oppofite to each other 

 as if it had been pierced through by a dart. 



On both fides of the road were to be feen, 

 fcattered at great d iftances from one another, huts 

 furrounded by cocoa-palms ; a few favages only 

 appeared afar off in the midfl: of this vaft plain. 

 On our left rofe a thick foref!: of cocoa-nut 

 trees, which extended to the foot of the moun- 

 tains, and under the (hade of which we obferved 

 a great number of huts. 



We had proceeded with this favagc about two 

 kilometers, when he requeued us to ftop in 

 the neighbourhood ofa dwelling which probably 

 belonged to him, for he invited us to gather for 

 ourfelves fomc fruits of the furrounding cocoa 

 palms, excufing himfelf from that tafk on ac- 

 count of his wounds which prevented him from 

 climbing to the top of thefe trees. I gave him 

 fome bits of cloth of different colours, and a 



few 



