porter's jourisal. 



181 



®f cloth, and a fan, given him by one of the Typees, which 

 he said, were still in the canoe that brought him down. 

 Lieut. Gamble, with an eye to his personal safety, charged 

 him to sleep within the encampment, and to return on 

 board the Greenwich in the morning. Tamaha promised 

 to comply with his injunctions, but was not seen again for 

 several days. 



For soma time Lieut. Gamble had employed two men 

 daily, in digging up ground for a garden, and had already 

 planted several kinds of seed. He was informed, that the 

 natives of the adjacent valley had recently been in the 

 habit of killing the swine left behind by me for the use of 

 the ships. On the 22d, therefore, he sent a messenger to 

 advise them not to kill any more, and without delay, to 

 replace those they had killed, by others from their owii 

 stock. To this they returned for answer, that they knew 

 he had but twenty men, and that, as Opoiee had left the 

 island, they did not care for him, nor would they restore 

 the swine. The next day he acquainted Gaitanewa 

 with the predatory incursions of his people, and with the 

 insolent reply they had sent him ; assuring the chief, that 

 they had, the preceding day, killed forty swine, and shut 

 up twice as many in their houses; and that, unless Ihej 

 immediately restored the latter, and replaced the number 

 killed, by as many from their own stock, he would march 

 forthwith into the valley, and destroy all they had. The 

 chief replied, that he had repeatedly warned his people not 

 to steal the swine, but that they paid no attention to what 

 he said, and despised his warnings. Seeing that was the 

 case, he was given to understand, that no war would be 

 made upon him personally, but only upon those who had 

 stolen the swine. Some villain had spread a report 

 among the natives, that the effective force of the whites 

 amounted only to twenty men, and this, in a great degree, 

 accounted for their rapacity and insolence. So bold had 

 they indeed become at this time, (hat one of them, in the 

 afternoon, even within sight of the encampment, ventured 

 to carry away a pig. What were their real motives for 

 this strange conduct, it is hard to conceive. Lieut. Gam- 

 ble had used every effort within his power to conciliate 

 their esteem, and given them the strongest assurances, that 

 he would pay for the cocoa-nuts^ bananas, and every thing 

 else he received from them. 



