On One Of
The Latter Islands, Their Schooner Was Wrecked On A Reef, And They
Were Attacked By The Natives,
And, after a desperate resistance,
in which all their number except the captain, George, and a boy,
were killed or
Drowned, they surrendered, and were carried bound,
in a canoe, to a neighboring island. In about a month after this,
an opportunity occurred by which one of their number might get
away. I have forgotten the circumstances, but only one could go,
and they yielded to the captain, upon his promising to send them
aid if he escaped. He was successful in his attempt; got on board
an American vessel, went back to Manilla, and thence to America,
without making any effort for their rescue, or indeed, as George
afterwards discovered, without even mentioning their case to any
one in Manilla. The boy that was with George died, and he being
alone, and there being no chance for his escape, the natives
soon treated him with kindness, and even with attention. They
painted him, tattooed his body, (for he would never consent to
be marked in the face or hands,) gave him two or three wives;
and, in fact, made quite a pet of him. In this way, he lived
for thirteen months, in a fine climate, with a plenty to eat,
half naked, and nothing to do. He soon, however, became tired,
and went round the island, on different pretences, to look out
for a sail. One day, he was out fishing in a small canoe with
another man, when he saw a large sail to the windward, about a
league and a half off, passing abreast of the island and standing
westward.
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