In The Evening Of The 11th, The Boats Returned, When I Was Informed Of The
Following Circumstances.
From an elevation which they reached the morning
they set out, they had a view of the coast.
Mr Gilbert was of opinion that
they saw the termination of it to the west, but Mr Pickersgill thought not;
though both agreed that there was no passage for the ship that way. From
this place, accompanied by two of the natives, they went to Balabea, which
they did not reach till after sun-set, and left again next morning before
sun-rise; consequently this was a fruitless expedition, and the two
following days were spent in getting up to the ship. As they went down to
the isle, they saw abundance of turtle; but the violence of the wind and
sea made it impossible to strike any. The cutter was near being lost, by
suddenly filling with water, which obliged them to throw several things
overboard, before they could free her, and stop the leak she had sprung.
From a fishing canoe, which they met coming in from the reefs, they got as
much fish as they could eat; and they were received by Teabi, the chief of
the isle of Balabea, and the people, who came in numbers to see them, with
great courtesy. In order not to be too much crowded, our people drew a line
on the ground, and gave the others to understand they were not to come
within it. This restriction they observed, and one of them, soon after,
turned to his own advantage. For happening to have a few cocoa-nuts, which
one of our people wanted to buy, and he was unwilling to part with, he
walked off, and was followed by the man who wanted them. On seeing this, he
sat down on the sand, made a circle round him, as he had seen our people
do, and signified that the other was not to come within it; which was
accordingly observed. As this story was well attested, I thought it not
unworthy of a place in this journal.[7]
Early in the morning of the 12th, I ordered the carpenter to work, to
repair the cutter, and the water to be re-placed, which we had expended the
three preceding days. As Tea Booma the chief had not been seen since he got
the dogs, and I wanted to lay a foundation for stocking the country with
hogs also, I took a young boar and a sow with me in the boat, and went up
to the mangrove creek to look for my friend, in order to give them to him.
But when we arrived there, we were told that he lived at some distance, and
that they would send for him. Whether they did or no I cannot say; but he
not coming, I resolved to give them to the first man of note I met with.
The guide we had to the hills happening to be there, I made him understand
that I intended to leave the two pigs on shore, and ordered them out of the
boat for that purpose.
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