They Were All In Very Good Order, And Well Planted With
Various Fruit-Trees, Roots, &C. The Chief Took Some Pains To Let Us Know
The Most Of Them Belonged To Himself.
Near some of the houses, and in the
lanes that divided the plantations, were running about some hogs and very
large fowls, which were the only domestic animals we saw; and these they
did not seem willing to part with.
Nor did any one, during the whole day,
offer in exchange any fruit, or roots, worth mentioning, which determined
me to leave this island, and to visit that of Amsterdam.
The evening brought every one on board, highly delighted with the country,
and the very obliging behaviour of the inhabitants, who seemed to vie with
each other in doing what they thought would give us pleasure.[7] The ships
were crowded with people the whole day, trafficking with those on board, in
which the greatest good order was observed; and I was sorry that the season
of the year would not admit of my making a longer stay with them. Early the
nest morning, while the ships were getting under sail, I went on shore with
Captain Furneaux and Mr Forster, to take leave of the chief. He met us at
the landing-place, and would have conducted us to his house, had we not
excused ourselves. We therefore were seated on the grass, where we spent
about half an hour in the midst of a vast crowd of people. After making the
chief a present, consisting of various articles, and an assortment of
garden-seeds, I gave him to understand that we were going away, at which he
seemed not at all moved. He, and two or three more, came into our boat, in
order to accompany us on board; but seeing the Resolution under sail, he
called to a canoe to put alongside, into which he and his friends went, and
returned on shore. While he remained in our boat, he continued to exchange
fish-hooks for nails, and engrossed the trade in a manner wholly to
himself; but, when on shore, I never saw him make the least exchange.
[1] "There appeared to be some low land at the bottom of the hills,
which contained plantations of fine young bananas, whose vivid green
leaves contrasted admirably with the different tints of various
shrubberies, and with the brown colour of the cocoa-palms, which
seemed to be the effect of winter. The light was still so faint, that
we distinguished several fires glimmering in the bushes, but by
degrees we likewise discerned people running along the shore. The
hills which were low, and not so high above the level of the sea as
the Isle of Wight, were agreeably adorned with small clumps of trees
scattered at some distance, and the intermediate ground appeared
covered with herbage, like many parts of England."-G.F.
[2] "We threw a rope into one of these canoes which ran up close to
us, and one of the three people in her came on board, and presented a
root of the intoxicating pepper-tree of the South Sea Islands, touched
our noses with his like the New Zealanders, in sign of friendship, and
then sat down on the deck without speaking a word.
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