porter's .tournal. 



21 



to serve "as a ditch or fosse, and mast have required much 

 labour in the execution ; the other is more to the right, 

 and, as I before observed, lower down. I had no sooner 

 understood that they had a chief, to whom I could address 

 myself, than I felt anxious to see him. A messenger was 

 therefore despatched for him ; and after collecting my 

 people, I returned on board, where shortly after our arrival, 

 I soon found every person anxious for the ship to be got 

 into port and secured. Probably they had heard from 

 those who had been on shore, of the friendly reception 

 they had met with ; and while I had some thoughts of 

 putting to sea, to wait a favourable opportunity to run in, 

 application was made to warp the ship up, and in a few 

 hours we had her secured in the bottom of the bay, on 

 the starboard side, near a white sandy beach, within half 

 a mile of the shore. The Essex Junior had hove in sight 

 about the time we commenced warping. But lieutenant 

 Downes did not get his ship secured until late in the 

 evening, when he came on board, and informed me he had 

 obtained no intelligence of the vessel 1 had sent him in 

 pursuit of. The prizes did not get in and secured until 

 next day. 



When the ship was moored, the shore was lined with 

 the natives of both sexes ; but the females were most 

 numerous, waving their white cloaks or cahoes for us to 

 come on shore. Many applications were made for me to 

 permit them to accept the invitations, and 1 found it im- 

 possible any longer to resist. The boats were got out. 

 and proceeded to the shore, where, on landing, they were 

 taken complete possession of, by the women, who insisted 

 on going to the ship, and in a short time she was com- 

 pletely filled by them, of all ages and descriptions, from 

 the age of sixty years, to that of ten ; some as remarka- 

 ble for their beauty, as others for their ugliness. They 

 all appeared to be of the most common kind, and many of 

 them who had been in the habit of visiting ships, which 

 had formerly been at this place, had been taught by the 

 seamen, some few English words, which they pronounced 

 too plain to be misunderstood. 



The object of the greatest value at this as well as all the 

 other islands of this group, is whales' teeth. This I had 

 understood while I was on shore, and knowing that there 



