The next district in which we landed, was the last in Tiarrabou, and governed by a Chief, whose name we understood to be OMOE. Omoe was building a house, and being therefore very desirous of procuring a hatchet, he would have been glad to have purchased one with any thing that he had in his possession; it happened, however, rather unfortunately for him and us, that we had not one hatchet left in the boat. We offered to trade with nails, but he would not part with any thing in exchange for them; we therefore reimbarked, and put off our boat, but the Chief being unwilling to relinquish all hope of obtaining something from us that would be of use to him, embarked in a canoe, with his wife WHANNO-OUDA, and followed us. After some time, we took them into the boat, and when we had rowed about a league, they desired we would put ashore: we immediately complied with his request, and found some of his people who had brought down a very large hog. We were as unwilling to lose the hog, as the Chief was to part with us, and it was indeed worth the best axe we had in the ship; we therefore hit upon an expedient, and told him, that if he would bring his hog to the fort at MATAVAI, the Indian name for Port Royal bay, he should have a large axe, and a nail into the bargain, for his trouble. To this proposal, after having consulted with his wife, he agreed, and gave us a large piece of his country cloth as a pledge that he would perform his agreement, which, however, he never did.

Voyaging Accounts