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Voyages in the Southern Hemisphere, Vol. IVoyaging Accounts
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Character and Manners of the Natives at Otaheite


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Character and Manners of the Natives at Otaheite (continued)

serve most of the messes, reserving plenty for the sick and convalescent.

On the 3d, we heeled the ship, and looked at her bottom, which we found as clean as when she came out of dock, and to our great satisfaction, as sound. During all this time, none of the natives came near our boats, or the ship, in their canoes. This day, about noon, we caught a very large shark, and when the boats went to fetch the people on board to dinner, we sent it on shore. When the boats were putting off again, the gunner seeing some of the natives on the other side of the river, beckoned them to come over; they immediately complied, and he gave them the shark, which they soon cut to pieces, and carried away with great appearance of satisfaction.

On Sunday the 5th, the old man returned to the market-tent, and made the gunner understand that he had been up the country, to prevail upon the people to bring down their hogs, poultry, and fruit, of which the parts near the watering-place were now nearly exhausted. The good effects of his expedition soon appeared, for several Indians, whom our people had never seen before, came in with some hogs that were larger than any that had been yet brought to market. In the mean time, the old man ventured off in his canoe, to the ship, and brought with him, as a present to me, a hog ready roasted. I was much pleased with his attention and liberality, and gave him, in return for his hog, an iron pot, a looking-glass, a drinking-glass, and several other things, which no man in the island was in possession of but himself.

While our people were on shore, several young women were permitted to cross the river, who, though they were not averse to the granting of personal favours, knew the


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© Derived from Volume I of the London 1773 Edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 458, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv01/458.html