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a very exhausted state, from the incessant labour they 
had been obliged to undergo in the construction of 
houses, and in defending themselves from the hos¬ 
tile attacks of the natives. The first step, there¬ 
fore, was to make provision for the comfort of the 
settlers; with this view, he sought the favour of the 
chiefs by presents, and thus induced them to render 
their assistance in the building of huts and houses, 
by which means he was enabled in a few days to 
land all his men, and lodge them with some degree 
of comfort in their new habitations. On landing his 
cargo, he found to his mortification, that the com¬ 
missary at the Isle of France had omitted to send 
the principal stores that would have been of service 
to him, and that no articles of trade were provided, 
which obliged him to purchase those the captain of 
the vessel had laid in for his own use, for which the 
count paid him by a bill on his agent, to the amount 
of fourteen thousand livres. 
His next step was to convene the chiefs, in order to 
acquaint them with the nature of the establishment, 
and endeavour to conciliate them by every means in 
his power. The first of March was the day appointed, 
when they arrived, twenty-eight in number, accom¬ 
panied by two thousand armed blacks. After the 
customary salutations, he acquainted them that the 
King of France had resolved to form an establish¬ 
ment amongst them, in order to defend them from 
their enemies, and to open warehouses for the pur¬ 
poses of trade, where they would at all times find 
