This day two canoes came on board, with four men and three young children in each. The men were somewhat more decently dressed than those that we had seen before, but the children were stark naked. They were somewhat fairer than the men, who seemed to pay a very tender attention to them, especially in lifting them in and out of the canoes. To these young visitors I gave necklaces and bracelets, with which they seemed mightily pleased. It happened that while some of these people were on board, and the rest waiting in their canoes by the ship’s side, the boat was sent on shore for wood and water. The Indians who were in the canoes, kept their eyes fixed upon the boat while she was manning, and the moment she put off from the ship, they called out with great vociferation to those that were on board, who seemed to be much alarmed, and hastily handing down the children, leaped into their canoes, without uttering a word. None of us could guess at the cause of this sudden emotion, but we saw the men in the canoes pull after the boat with all their might, hallooing and shouting with great appearance of perturbation and distress. The boat outrowed them, and when she came near the shore, the people on board discovered some women gathering muscles among the rocks. This at once explained the mystery; the poor Indians were afraid that the strangers, either by force or favour, should violate the prerogative of a husband, of which they seemed to be more jealous than the natives of some other countries, who in their appearance are less savage and sordid. Our people, to make them easy, immediately lay upon their oars, and suffered the canoes to pass them. The Indians, however, still continued to call

Voyaging Accounts