THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 429 
nius of the Chinefe for trade. Having acquainted fome of 1779. 
the Englifh fupercargoes with thefe circumftances, I defired t ~ c m e ^~, 
them to recommend me to fome Chinefe merchant of credit 
and reputation, who would at once offer me a fair and rea- 
fonable price. I was accordingly directed to a member of 
the Hong, a fociety of the principal merchants of the place, 
who being fully informed of the nature of the bulinefs, ap¬ 
peared fenlible of the delicacy of my fituation ; affured me, 
I might depend on his integrity ; and that, in a cafe of this 
fort, he fhould confider himfelf merely as an agent, without 
looking for any profit to himfelf. Having laid my goods 
before him, he examined them with great care, over and 
over again, and at laft told me, that he could not venture to 
offer more than three hundred dollars for them. As I knew, 
from the price our fkins had fold for in Kamtfchatka, that 
he had not offered me one half their value, I found myfelf 
under the neceflity of driving a bargain. In my turn, I 
therefore demanded one thoufand; my Chinefe then ad¬ 
vanced to five hundred ; then offered me a private prefent 
of tea and porcelain, amounting to one hundred more; 
then the fame fum in money; and, laftly, rofe to feven hun¬ 
dred dollars, on which I fell to nine hundred. Here, each 
fide declaring he would not recede, we parted; but the Chi¬ 
nefe foon returned with a lift of India goods, which he now 
propofed I fhould take in exchange, and which, I was after¬ 
ward told, would have amounted in value, if honeftly deli¬ 
vered, to double the fum he had before offered. Finding I 
did not choofe to deal in this mode, he propofed as his ul¬ 
timatum, that we fhould divide the difference, which, be¬ 
ing tired of the conteft, I confented to, and received the 
eight hundred dollars. 
The ill health, which at this time I laboured under, left 
me 
