PORTER’S JOURNAL. 2S 
all no doubt saw me on my guard against any attack of the natives; 
and the probability of my remaining so, perhaps made them per¬ 
fectly easy as to their safety; or (which I think is just as likely,) 
every one saw an opportunity to indulge themselves, which had 
not for a long time presented itself; and all were determined to 
take advantage of it, at all hazards, even at the risk of violating 
every principle of subordination and obedience to orders. The 
women were inviting in their appearance, and practised all the 
bewitching language of the eyes and features, which is so uni¬ 
versally understood; and if an allowance can be made for a depar¬ 
ture from prudential measures, it is when a handsome and sprightly 
young girl of sixteen, whose almost every charm exposed to view, 
invites to follow her. Such was the case with the party with me: 
they abandoned prudence and followed only the dictates of nature. 
While I was using measures to get together my officers and men, 
my attention was drawn to an object, which at the moment had 
presented itself. A handsome young woman, of about eighteen 
years of age, her complexion fairer than common, her carriage 
majestic, and her dress better and somewhat different from the 
other females, approached. Her glossy black hair, and her skin 
was highly anointed with the cocoa-nut oil, and her whole person 
and appearance neet, sleek, and comely; on inquiry who this 
dignified personage might be, I was informed that her name was 
Piteenee, a grand-daughter to the chief, or greatest man in the 
valley, whose name was Gattanewa. This lady, on whose coun¬ 
tenance was not to be perceived any of those playful smiles which 
enliven the countenances of the others, I was informed was 
held in great estimation, on account of her rank and beauty, and I 
felt that it would be necessary, from motives of policy, to pay some 
attentions to a personage so exalted. She received my advances 
with a coldness and hauteur which would have suited a princess, 
and repelled every thing like familiarity with a sternness that as¬ 
tonished me. Yet this lady, like the rest of the women of the 
island, soon followed the dictates of her own interest, and formed 
a connection with one of the officers, which lasted with but little 
fidelity on her part as long as we remained, showing herself on 
the whole a most notorious jilt. Gattanewa, I was informed at the 
time of my landing, was at a fortified village, which was pointed 
