28 
PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
be fired, which seemed to produce no other effect on him, thai* 
that of pain; he complained that it hurt his ears: I then invited 
him below, where nothing whatever excited his attention, until I 
showed him some whales’ teeth: this roused the old man from his 
lethargy, and he would not be satisfied, until I had permitted him 
to handle, to measure and count them over and over, which seem¬ 
ed to afford him infinite pleasure. After he had done this repeat¬ 
edly, I put them away; and shortly afterwards asked him if he had 
seen any thing in the ship that pleased him; if he did to name it 
and it should be his: he told me he had seen nothing which had pleas¬ 
ed him so much as one of the small whales’ teeth; which on his 
describing, I took out and gave to him: this he carefully wrapped up 
in one of the turns of his clout; begging me not to inform any per¬ 
son that he had about him an article of so much value: I assured 
him I should not; and the old man threw himself on the settee and 
went to sleep. In a few minutes he awoke, somewhat recovered 
from his stupidity, and requested, to be put on shore: he, however, 
previous to his departure, wished me to exhange names with him, 
and requested me to assist him in his war with the Happahs: to 
the first I immediately consented: but to the latter request, I told 
him I had come to be at peace with all on the island; that I wished 
to see him at peace with the Happahs; and that I should not en¬ 
gage in any hostilities, unless the Happahs came into the valley; 
in which case I should protect him and his people. He told me 
they had cursed the bones of his mother, who had died but a short 
time since: that as we had exchanged names, she was now my 
mother, and I was bound to espouse her cause. I told him I 
would think of the subject, and did not think it necessary to make 
any farther reply to the old man’s sophistry. 
Next morning he sent me a present consisting of hogs and 
several boat loads of cocoa-nuts and plantains, which were dis¬ 
tributed among the crews of the different vessels. 
I now unbent my sails and sent them on shore; landed my wa¬ 
ter casks, with which I formed a complete enclosure, sufficiently 
spacious to answer all our purposes: the ship was hauled close in 
with the beach, and we began in good earnest to make our repairs. A 
tent was pitched within the enclosure, and the place put under the 
protection of a guard of marines. In the afternoon several officers 
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