APR. 1769 NATIVES' FRIENDSHIP 81 



man could learn to do in years. In spite of the rain some 

 provisions are brought to the market, which is kept just 

 without the lines. 



21st. Several of our friends at the tents this morning; 

 one from his grim countenance we have called Ajax, and at 

 one time thought to be a great king. He had in his canoe a 

 hog, but chose rather to sell it in the market than give it to 

 us as a present, which we accounted for by his having in 

 the morning received a shirt in return for a piece of cloth ; 

 this may have made him fear that had he given the hog it 

 might have been taken into the bargain, a proceeding very 

 different from that of our friend Lycurgus, who seems in 

 every instance to place a most unbounded confidence in us. 



22nd. Our friends as usual come early to visit us, 

 Hercules with two pigs, and a Dolphin's axe which he wished 

 to have repaired, as it accordingly was. Lycurgus brought 

 a large fish, an acceptable present, as that article has always 

 been scarce with us. Trade brisk to-day; since our new 

 manufacture of hatchets has been set on foot we get some 

 hogs, though our tools are so small and bad that I only 

 wonder how they can stand one stroke. 



The flies have been so troublesome ever since we have 

 been ashore, that we can scarcely get any business done ; 

 they eat the painter's colours off the paper as fast as they 

 can be laid on, and if a fish has to be drawn, there is more 

 trouble in keeping them off than in the drawing itself. 



Many expedients have been thought of, but none succeed 

 better than a mosquito-net covering table, chair, painter and 

 drawings, but even that is not sufficient. A fly-trap was 

 necessary within this to attract the vermin from eating the 

 colours. For this purpose tar and molasses were mixed 

 yesterday together, but this did not succeed, for the plate 

 which had been smeared with it was left outside the tent to 

 clean, and one of the Indians noticing this took the oppor- 

 tunity, when he thought no one was observing him, of taking 

 some of this mixture up into his hand. I saw him, and was 

 curious to know for what use it was intended : the gentle- 

 man had a large sore on his body, to which this clammy 



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