THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
277 
might be enabled to proceed in their labours, while it pre- i 77 s. 
vailed, a tent was erected over the fore-maft, where they , Af _ iL , , 
could work with fome degree of convenience. 
The had weather which now came on, did not, however, 
hinder the natives from vifiting us daily ; and, in fuch cir- 
cumftances, their vilits W'ere very advantageous to us. For 
they frequently brought us a tolerable fupply of filh, when 
we could not catch any ourfelves with hook and line; and 
there was not a proper place near us where we could draw 
a net. The ftfh which they brought us were either fardines, 
or what refembled them much; a fmall kind of bream; 
and fometimes fmall cod. 
On the nth, notwithftanding the rainy weather, the Saturday iu 
main-rigging was fixed and got over head; and our em¬ 
ployment, the day after, was to take down the mizen-maft, Sunday 12 . 
the head of which proved to be fo rotten, that it dropped 
off while in the flings. In the evening we were viflted by 
a tribe of natives whom we had never feen before; and who, 
in general, were better-looking people than 1110ft of our old 
friends, fome of whom attended them. I prevailed upon 
thefe viflters to go down into the cabin for the firft time; 
and obftrved, that there was not a Angle object that fixed 
the attention of moft of them for a moment; their counte¬ 
nances marking, that they looked upon all our novelties 
with the utmoft indifference. This, however, was not 
without exception; for a few of the company fhewed a cer¬ 
tain degree of curioftty. 
In the afternoon of the next day, I went into the woods Monday 1 3 , 
with a party of our men, and cut down a tree for a mizen- 
maft. On the day following, it was brought to the place Tuefday 14* 
where the carpenters were employed upon the fore-maft. 
In the evening the wind, which had been, for fome time, 
Wefterly, 
