PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
13 
mid supposing one of the best dressed among them to be the chief, 
I gave him to understand that our object was trade, and that we 
had come with the most friendly views, showing, at the same time, 
fish-hooks, iron-hoops and knives, which seemed to produce a 
general joy among them* They informed me that their chief, whom 
they called Othauough had not arrived, and in a few minutes af¬ 
terwards, pointed out to me an old man, who approached entirely 
naked, with the exception of a piece of cloth about his loins, and 
a small fillet of palm leaves about his temples. This they told me 
was their chief: and on his addressing a few words to them, they 
threw by their arms and ornaments, and plunged into the water to 
gain the boat. I gave to each a small present; but they had no ai 
tide to offer in return but their women: and as two of them were 
not more than sixteen years of age, and both handsome, they no 
dpubt considered them the most acceptable present they could of¬ 
fer us. The men repeatedly invited us to the shore and pointed to 
the women and the house near which they were standing, accom¬ 
panying their invitation with gestures which we could not misun¬ 
derstand; and the girls themselves showed no disinclination to 
grant every favour we might be disposed to ask; and to render 
themselves the more attractive, they retired and soon appeared 
clad in clean, and no doubt, their best attire, which consisted of a 
white and thin paper cloth, which enveloped their whole persons, 
with the exception of one arm and breast: and this simple drape¬ 
ry, when contrasted with the nakedness of the men, gave them 
an appearance of grace and modesty, we had little expected to 
find among savages. Finding that all their allurements could not 
prevail on us to land, the old chief directed the young girls to 
swim off to us: but on the appearance of reluctance, the young men 
led them toward the water, where they were soon devested of 
every covering and conducted to the boat amid the loud plaudits 
of the spectators on the shore. On their entering the boat, the sea¬ 
men threw them their handkerchiefs for a covering, with which 
they carefully concealed those parts which modesty teaches us 
should not be exposed: and after making them some small pre¬ 
sents and delivering them one for the old chief, I found more dif¬ 
ficulty in getting them out of the boat, than they had made in com¬ 
ing off to her; and one of them actually shed tears because I would 
