78 
ters assisted us in getting a small quan¬ 
tity of these articles into the largest ca¬ 
noe. We also took a blanket each, some 
shoes, a number of books, including a 
bible, and soon arrived at the landing 
place near the village. As the natives 
seemed desirous of keeping us apart, 
we dare not make any inquiries for 
each other, but at my request, hav¬ 
ing boiled some pork in a large shell, 
Hussey was sent for, and we had a meal 
together ; during which time, the na¬ 
tives assembled in great numbers, all 
anxious to get a sight, not only of our 
novel mode of cutting the meat and eating 
it , but of the manner in which we pre¬ 
pared it. One of them brought us some 
water in a tin cup, as they had seen us 
drink frequently when eating. 
The natives now began to arrive from 
distant parts of the islands, many of 
whom had not yet heard of us, and we 
were continually subjected to the ex¬ 
amination of men, women and children. 
The singular colour of our skin, wag 
the greatest source of their admiration, 
8 
