342 DESERTED BY THE BOATMEN. [chap. xii. 
were no feeding-grounds : deep water was close to tlie 
shore. 
Our boatmen worked well, and long after dark we 
continued our voyage, until the canoe was suddenly 
steered to the shore, and we grounded upon a steep 
beach of perfectly clean sand. We were informed that 
we were near a village, and the boatmen proposed to 
leave us here for the night, while they should proceed 
in search of provisions. Seeing that they intended to 
take the paddles with them, I ordered these important 
implements to be returned to the boats, and a guard 
set over them, while several of my men should accom¬ 
pany the boatmen to the reported village. In the 
meantime, we arranged our angareps upon the beach, 
lighted a fire with some drift-wood, and prepared for 
the night. The men shortly returned, accompanied 
by several natives, with two fowls and one small kid. 
The latter was immediately consigned to the large 
copper pot, and I paid about three times its value to 
the natives, to encourage them to bring supplies on the 
following morning. 
While dinner was preparing, I took an observation, 
and found our latitude was 1° 33' N. We had tra¬ 
velled well, having made 16' direct northing. 
On the first crowing of our solitary cock, we pre¬ 
pared to start;—the boatmen were gone ! 
As soon as it was light, I took two men and went 
to the .village, supposing they were sleeping in their 
huts. Within three hundred paces of the boats, upon 
a fine turfy sward, on rising ground, were three 
miserable fishing huts. These constituted the village. 
Upon arrival, no one was to be found : the natives had 
deserted. A fine tract of broken grass-land formed a 
kind of amphitheatre beneath the range of cliffs. These 
I scanned with the telescope, but I could trace no signs 
of man. We were evidently deserted by our boatmen, 
and the natives had accompanied them to avoid being 
pressed into our service. 
On my return to the canoes with this intelligence, 
