APPENDIX. 511 



I was unable to account for, till towards evening, when I learned from 

 Passed Midshipman Reynolds (whom I had landed on the island during 

 the forenoon, unarmed, for the purpose of making some arrangements 

 for trading wiih them, on the following day, for pigs, yams, &c, and 

 at the same time to obtain such information in regard to said chiefs, 

 as would be actually necessary to the success of my plans) that the 

 news of our cruising, together with the object we had finally in view, 

 had preceded us four days, with the additional embellishment that the 

 ship was to follow us and destroy the island. 



This was voluntarily told to Mr. Reynolds by a Mr. Heath, the only 

 foreign missionary upon the island, who asked Mr. Reynolds if he 

 would authorize him to contradict the report, and thereby quiet the 

 apprehensions of the natives, who were very much alarmed, and con- 

 tinually coming to him to learn the truth. 



This unfortunate rumour knocked all my plans in the head, and left 

 me but little hopes of future success. I, however, came to the conclu- 

 sion that if the said chief still remained upon the island, that the only 

 other plausible plan for getting possession of him would be by taking 

 him forcibly from his house during the night, or from the beach while 

 employed trading during the day ; and to this end I had the schooner 

 removed the following day to the opposite side of the island, and 

 sounded out a passage in the reef leading to her from abreast Pea's 

 house. 



At a suitable time, I landed with Passed Midshipman Harrison and 

 a boat's crew near his house, and commenced trafficking, the natives 

 gathering about in great numbers, and appearing less suspicious than 

 upon the day previous, yet many of them with their arms. Having 

 spent much of the day in this manner, without seeing any thing of said 

 chief, although many others were present, I left Mr. Harrison to trade, 

 while I strolled about the island. 



Having visited the most probable places for meeting with him, I at 

 last went to his house, which contained nothing but women and chil- 

 dren ; and from information subsequently obtained from a coloured 

 man (who had lived eight years on the island with a chief by the 

 name of Matetau), convinced me that Pea left the island soon after 

 our heaving in sight; but in what direction he had gone I was unable 

 to learn. This putting an end to my last hope, I returned to the 

 schooner, and commenced working to the northward, to meet the ship 

 at the appointed rendezvous. 



On the morning of the 1st of March launched a boat to examine 

 what appeared to be a ship passage leading through the sea-reef 

 around Savaii: it proved to be a boat passage only. 



