194 REACH THE BOAT. 



the last of our party, as I slowly descended the 

 hillock sideways, watching' every motion of what we 

 might fairly consider as the enemy, with spare caps 

 between my teeth, and a couple of cartridges in one 

 hand, I was in momentary expectation of receiving 

 a spear or two, which probably would have been 

 the case, had I stumbled or turned my back to 

 them for a moment. As we drew back along- the 

 ridge and dipped into the first hollow a party of the 

 natives detached themselves from the rest as if to 

 come round upon our flank, but this fortimately was 

 formed by a steep ascent covered with dense jim- 

 gle which would have occupied them some time to 

 get through. Arriving at the bank above the boat, 

 the pig carriers with their burthen speedily reached 

 the bottom, all three rolhng down together. When 

 they were well clear we followed, keeping a sharp 

 look out behind in case of any advantage being 

 taken of our position. The boat had grounded upon 

 the reef with the falling tide, but with some diffi- 

 culty was got afloat, when we left the place. 



After rounding the point we opened a large bay 

 on the west side of the island where we saw the 

 mouth of a small stream pointed out by the natives 

 during our last interview, but, on approaching 

 within 300 yards, it was found that boats could not 

 get any closer in at low water, the shore being 

 everywhere fringed by a reef. This is the most 

 beautiful and sheltered portion of the island, well 

 AA coded, with a sandy beach, clumps of cocoa-nut 



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