Sept.] MONTEVERDESON'S GROUP. 435 



trimmed to the wind, and the Antarctic was once more gliding over the 

 bosom of the placid lagoon, with all her native grace and beauty. 



September 3d. — On Friday, the 3d of September, we passed within 

 about ten miles of the east end of Young "William's Group, on our way 

 to Monteverdeson's Islands, at which it was our intention to touch. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Monteverdeson's Group — Treachery of the Natives — Attack on the Antarctic re- 

 pulsed — Wholesome Chastisement — Arrive at the Massacre Islands — Assailed 

 by the Cannibals, who are repulsed with Loss — Fire upon the Town — Beneficial 

 Result — Leonard Shaw, supposed to have fallen in the general Massacre, 

 alive, and liberated from a horrid Slavery — Excitement of the Crew — Purchase 

 of an Island — A Castle in the Air — Suspicious Movements — A brief Sketch of 

 the Sufferings of Leonard Shaw, during a Captivity of more than Fifteen Weeks 

 among the Cannibals. 



The reader will perhaps recollect, that when we left Monteverdeson's 

 Islands, on the 18th of May, as recorded in Chapter VL, the Antarctic 

 was chased several miles by an armed flotilla of canoes, manned by 

 more than five hundred hostile savages. Unwilling to shed the blood 

 of this treacherous misguided people, we left them to their own reflec- 

 tions ; hoping that our forbearance on that occasion would teach them 

 a more salutary lesson than a demonstration of our power could have 

 done. In coming to this conclusion, however, we judged them more 

 favourably than they deserved ; as they attributed our lenity to imbe- 

 cility, and our retreat to cowardice ; an opinion which only tended to 

 encourage their treachery and increase their audacity and presump- 

 tion. 



September 5th. — In our passage from Bergh's Group to the Massacre 

 Islands, we found it expedient to touch once more at Monteverdeson's 

 Group ; and accordingly, on Sunday, the 5th of September, at five, 

 A. M., we were close in with its western end ; and at six, A. M., were 

 visited by about two hundred of the natives, in their canoes, without 

 arms. Nothing was said on either side about their unwarranted and 

 unprovoked designs against us, three months before ; they pretended 

 to be very sincere in their amicable professions, and we pretended to 

 believe them. They also appeared to be very eager and anxious to 

 trade with us, in which we indulged them, as far as their little stock 

 of trifling curiosities extended. The breeze having now died away to 

 a perfect calm, the vessel was drifted about by a gentle current, which 

 set to the south-west. 



The natives remained alongside until five o'clock in the afternoon, 

 when they all took leave of us in a very friendly manner, and paddled 

 towards the nearest island, which was then about three miles to the 

 north-east. When they had proceeded about half-way to the shore, 

 they all suddenly came to a full stop ; but for what purpose we could 



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