42 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
tact. After a few moments’ pause, he climbed over the 
ship’s side, and as soon as he had reached the deck, our 
captain led him to a chair on the quarter-deck, and, 
pointing to the seat, signified his wish that he should be 
seated. The chief, however, having viewed it for some 
time, pushed it aside, and sat down on the deck. Our 
captain had been desirous to have the chief on board, 
that he might ascertain from him whether the island 
produced sandal-wood, as he vras bound to the Marquesas 
in search of this article. A piece was therefore procured 
and shewn to him, with the qualities of which he appear¬ 
ed familiar; foi, after smelling it, he called it by some 
name, and pointed to the shore. While we had been 
thus engaged, many of the canoes had approached the 
ship ; and when we turned round, a number of the natives 
appeared on deck, and others were climbing up over the 
bulwarks. They were certainly the most savage-looking 
natives I had ever seen, and their behaviour was as un¬ 
ceremonious as their appearance was uninviting. Van¬ 
couver found them unusually shy at first, but afterwards 
remarkably bold, and exceedingly anxious to possess 
every article of iron they saw : although his ship was sur¬ 
rounded by not fewer than three hundred natives, there 
were neither young children, women, nor aged persons, 
in any of their canoes. 
A gigantic, fierce-looking fellow, seized a youth as he 
was standing by the gangway, and endeavoured to lift 
him from the deck; but the lad, struggling, escaped 
from his grasp. He then seized our cabin-boy, but the 
sailors coming to his assistance, and the native finding 
he could not disengage him from their hold, pulled his 
woollen shirt over his head, and was preparing to leap 
out of the ship, when he was arrested by the sailors. We 
