porter's journal. 



197 



island, they assembled at the grand public square allotted 

 for that purpose ; and, after feasting and dancing three 

 days, they returned peaceably to their homes. On this 

 occasion, at least three hundred swine were baked, and all 

 the fish which had been taken during the period above- 

 mentioned, were cooked for preservation, without having 

 the entrails taken out. Several of the men requested per- 

 mission to go ashore for the purpose of gratifying their cu- 

 riosity at the Coeecah, and lieut. Gamble, having under- 

 stood that it was expressly forbidden by one of their Taboo 

 laws, to injure any person during the feast, complied with 

 their request. 



The ships having parted their cables so often, two or 

 three of the anchors were lost. For some time the men 

 had endeavoured to recover them with grapnels, but in 

 vain ; and on the 2d of May, one of the natives was engaged 

 to try his luck in diving. He made choice of an anchor 

 lying in six and a half fathoms of water, on some part of 

 which, the noose of a whale line had been previously 

 hooked ; and dove down to fasten a rope around the fluke. 

 This service he performed with apparent ease ; and the 

 men were enabled to raise the anchor, without any farther 

 difficulty. He received a harpoon and whale's tooth, as a 

 reward for his trouble, and was so highly gratified, that he 

 desired to know when he might come down to dive again. 



But the dreadful catastrophe now drew near; and my 

 readers will confess, that, had it not been for the uncommon 

 firmness and resolution, displayed by lieut. Gamble and his 

 companions, they could not have survived the struggle. 

 As this terminated his sojourning on the island, I shall 

 take the opportunity to remark, that the temperature of 

 the atmosphere, almost without any variation, stood at 83" 

 of Fahrenheit, and never exceeded 85^ 



On the 3d of May, lieut. Gamble discovered that the 

 boat-sail had been stolen by some person on board the 

 Greenwich ; and, from all accounts, it appeared, that sus- 

 picion could be fixed upon no one, with so much probabi- 

 lity, as upon Belcher, the boatswain's mate. The follow- 

 ing day he was informed by one of the seamen, that most 

 of the men were forming a scheme, either to mutiny, or 

 make their escape in one of the ships ; and that Belcher, 



