PACIFIC AND BEERING’S STRAIT. 
469 
Upon the high road we met a man with a bundle of firewood, on C^P- 
his way to the town ; and were much pleased at the confirmation of a ^ ^ , 
fact, which we had no doubt existed, though the natives took every May, 
precaution to conceal it. None of our visiters to the ship had as yet 
shown us any money, and An-yah, if I understood him correctly, said 
there was none in Loo Choo ; our meeting with this peasant, however, 
disclosed the truth, as he had a string of cash* (small Chinese money) 
suspended to his girdle, in the manner adopted by the Chinese. I 
examined the string with much interest, and offered to purchase it 
with Spanish coin, but my guide would not permit the woodman to 
part with it, and tucking it into his belt that it might not be seen 
again, he said something to him in an angry tone, and the poor fellow 
walked on with his load to the town. W e afterwards got some of this 
money, which was exactly the same as that which is current at Canton, 
and found that it was also in circulation in Loo Choo. Though they 
afterwards admitted this fact, they denied having any silver or gold 
coin in the country. 
Our subsequent excursions were nearly a repetition of what has 
been described, and were made nearly to the same places, with the excep- 
tion of two or three, which I shall describe hereafter. In all these the 
same artifice was practised to induce us to confine ourselves to the beach, 
and particularly to prevent a near approach to the villages. T obacco, 
tsha, and chorassa masa were the great temptations held out to us ; but 
neither the tea, nor the masa, which, by the by, was seldom pro- 
duced, had sufficient charms to dissuade some of our young gentlemen 
from gratifying their curiosity, though it was at the expense of the 
convenience of the natives, whose dresses were very ill adapted to 
speed ; and thus, by outrunning them, they saw many places which 
they would not otherwise have been permitted to enter, and got much 
nearer to the town than I felt it would be right for me to do in 
consequence of my promise to An-yah. I shall, therefore, give such 
extracts from their journals as are interesting, but in a few pages in 
advance, that I may not disturb the order of the narrative. 
* These coins being of small value, they are strung together in hundreds, and have a 
knot at each end, so that it is not necessary to count them. 
