194 LETTER FROM MR, ARMSTRONG 
mood/ I found a moisture collecting in my own 
which I could scarcely restrain, they were so 
grateful, so truly thankful for all the kindnesses 
that had from time to time been shown them, 
and for the Interest in their welfare shown by 
us and our countrymen. I had all the men 
and most of the women on board ; but there 
was such a sea on, that the poor girls were 
dreadfully sea-sick. I fired some guns and let 
off rockets on the night of our departure ; and 
they returned the compliment by tiring an old 
honeycombed gun belonging to the Bounty^ 
I set them completely up gave them 100 Ibs- 
of powder, ensign and union-jack, casks of salt 
beef and pork, implements of agriculture of all 
kinds, clothes, bocks, &c. ; and sailed, on the ' 
evening of the llth, for Tahiti.'! 
Mr. Armstrong, in a letter, dated Valparaiso, 
October 18, 1849, said : 
" .The people tell me they have, for the present, 
R good "supply of books, having received a very 
suitable grant from the Society for . Promoting 
Christian Knowledge. The whole of the books 
will, I am sure, highly delight them ; and, from 
all I hear, I have no doubt they will be prized, 
and made good use of." 
The more recent account given by Captain 
Morshead, in a letter to Admiral Moresby, Dec. 
15, 1853, deserves to be added to the array of 
testimony to the character of the islanders. 
" .With reference to the provisions that you 
entrusted to my discretion, I have left them on 
the island. Their yant harvest had been a fair 
average ; but, owing to a long drought, great 
