94 
increase, and their suspicions to be al¬ 
layed. 
I will here acquaint the reader with 
some of the means that I was induced to 
make use of, to satisfy the cravings of 
appetite. As the Island now was in a 
state of almost entire famine, my daily 
subsistence not amounting to more (up¬ 
on an average) than the substance of 
one half a cocoanut each day. The 
chief I lived with, having several cocoa- 
nut trees that he was verv choice of, 
and which bore plentifully ; I would 
frequently, (after the natives in the hut 
were all soundly asleep) take the op¬ 
portunity and get out of the hut Unper¬ 
ceived, and climb one of those trees, 
(being very careful about making the 
least noise, or letting any of them drop 
to the ground, whereby I might be de¬ 
tected,) and take the stem of one cocoa- 
nut in my mouth, and one in each hand, 
and in that manner make out to slide- 
down the tree, and would then (with 
my prize) make the best of my way to 
a bunch of bushes, at a considerable dis- 
