Finding That The Captain Did Not Come Immediately, We Put Our Oars
In The Boat, And Leaving One To Watch It, Walked About The Beach To
See What We Could, Of The Place.
The beach is nearly a mile in
length between the two points, and of smooth sand.
We had taken
the only good landing-place, which is in the middle; it being
more stony toward the ends. It is about twenty yards in width
from high-water mark to a slight bank at which the soil begins,
and so hard that it is a favorite place for running horses.
It was growing dark, so that we could just distinguish the dim
outlines of the two vessels in the offing; and the great seas
were rolling in, in regular lines, growing larger and larger as
they approached the shore, and hanging over the beach upon which
they were to break, when their tops would curl over and turn white
with foam, and, beginning at one extreme of the line, break rapidly
to the other, as a long card-house falls when the children knock
down the cards at one end. The Sandwich Islanders, in the mean time,
had turned their boat round, and ran her down into the water, and were
loading her with hides and tallow. As this was the work in which we
were soon to be engaged, we looked on with some curiosity. They ran
the boat into the water so far that every large sea might float her,
and two of them, with their trowsers rolled up, stood by the bows,
one on each side, keeping her in her right position. This was hard
work; for beside the force they had to use upon the boat, the large
seas nearly took them off their legs. The others were running from
the boat to the bank, upon which, out of the reach of the water,
was a pile of dry bullocks' hides, doubled lengthwise in the middle,
and nearly as stiff as boards. These they took upon their heads,
one or two at a time, and carried down to the boat, where one of
their number stowed them away. They were obliged to carry them
on their heads, to keep them out of the water, and we observed
that they had on thick woolen caps. "Look here, Bill, and see
what you're coming to!" said one of our men to another who stood
by the boat. "Well, D - - -," said the second mate to me, "this does
not look much like Cambridge college, does it? This is what I call
'head work.'" To tell the truth, it did not look very encouraging.
After they had got through with the hides, they laid hold of the
bags of tallow, (the bags are made of hide, and are about the size
of a common meal bag,) and lifting each upon the shoulders of two
men, one at each end, walked off with them to the boat, and prepared
to go aboard.
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