Being Instantly Obeyed By Every Individual
Present, He Made A Short Speech; And Soon After Another Chief Having Called
For Silence, Made A Speech Also.
It was pleasing to see with what attention
they were heard.
Their speeches were composed of short sentences; to each
of which two or three old men answered, by nodding their heads, and giving
a kind of grunt, significant, as I thought, of approbation. It was
impossible for us to know the purport of these speeches; but we had reason
to think they were favourable to us, on whose account they doubtless were
made.
I kept my eyes fixed on the people all the time, and saw nothing to induce
me to think otherwise. While we were with them, having enquired, by signs,
for fresh water, some pointed to the east and others to the west. My friend
undertook to conduct us to it, and embarked with us for that purpose. We
rowed about two miles up the coast to the east, where the shore was mostly
covered with mangrove-trees; and entering amongst them, by a narrow creek
or river, which brought us to a little straggling village, above all the
mangroves, there we landed and were shewn fresh water. The ground near this
village was finely cultivated, being laid out in plantations of sugar-
canes, plantains, yams, and other roots, and watered by little rills,
conducted by art from the main stream, whose source was in the hills. Here
were some cocoa-nut trees, which did not seem burdened with fruit.
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