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.
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