cruising in those seas, and thus saved from captivity or death among a barbarous people; and, on the other hand, it was maintained, that a chance among the savages of those islands would be preferable to the risk of going to sea in a boat which was in all respects unseaworthy, and with only a few pounds of bread, and but little water, for our subsistence.

CHAPTER II.

Happily, by the goodness of the allwise Disposer of events, the unfortunate can avail themselves of a thousand sources of comfort, which, by those in prosperous circumstances, are either overlooked or neglected. We were upon a barren rock, in the midst of a waste of waters, far from kindred and friends, and the abodes of civilized man; the ship which had been our home, and on board of which we had embarked with high hopes, lay within sight, a useless wreck; still we were enabled to enjoy a moment of relief, if not of actual pleasure, derived from an event, which, though trifling in itself, is worthy of being recorded.

We succeeded in taking an eel, a few crabs, and a small quantity of snails. Having our fire-works with us, we collected a sufficient number of sticks, with a few pieces of drift-wood which had lodged upon the rock, to make a fire; with this we cooked our fish and snails; and, with a small allowance of bread, we made what we then thought a sumptuous repast! After we had finished our meal, we began to prepare for the night. We erected a tent with some of our clothes and pieces of canvas, at a little distance from the boat; and, when night came on, a part of our number kept watch, and the rest soon lost all consciousness of their misfortunes in sleep. About midnight those who had watched took their turn at resting; and in the morning we found ourselves considerably refreshed; though an increased activity of our minds served only to bring home a more vivid picture of the horrors of the previous night, and of our present condition.

Providence, it would seem, had ordained that we should not long remain undetermined as to the course to be adopted; for before sunrise we discovered a canoe within a short distance of us, containing twenty-two of the inhabitants of the neighboring island. They approached to within pistol-shot of where we stood, and there lay on their oars for some time, looking at us, and manifesting no small degree of fear. Thinking it best to be on friendly terms with them, we attached a shirt to one of our oars, and hoisted it as a token of a wish, on our part, to regard and treat them as friends. This had the desired effect; and they immediately rowed up to the rock. Manifesting great pleasure, they left their canoe and rushed towards the place where the principal part of our boat's crew were standing, bringing with them cocoa-nuts, and a small quantity of bread made of the cocoa-nut boiled in a liquor extracted from the trunk of the tree. At that time, I was standing near the tent, at a little distance from my companions, and was an anxious spectator of the scene. Their appearance excited my astonishment, and I was filled with horror by the sight of beings apparently human, and yet almost destitute of the ordinary marks of humanity. They were entirely naked. Each one was armed with a spear and tomahawk; some had battle-axes. They were fantastically tattooed on different parts of their bodies. Their hair, naturally coarse and black, like that of the Indians of America, was very long, and hung loosely over their shoulders, giving them a singular and frightful appearance. Their teeth were entirely black; rendered so, as we afterwards found, by chewing what they call "abooak."[1] The reader can judge of our feelings on finding ourselves in the hands of beings of this description. Our confidence in the honesty of our visiters did not improve on further acquaintance.

No sooner had they landed, than they commenced their depredations upon the few articles, which at that time constituted all our earthly riches. The nautical instruments, the musket, and a part of our clothing, they immediately appropriated to their own benefit. Fortunately a part of our clothing, the powder, and the cutlasses we had succeeded in concealing in a crevice of the rock. Taking with them their booty, they precipitately got into their canoe, and, beckoning to us, evidently with a view of inducing us to follow them, they steered directly for the wreck. Their first appearance, and this strong manifestation of their thievish disposition, so far from inclining us to cultivate their acquaintance any further, had given us an irresistible inclination to avoid them. Our minds were not long in coming to the conclusion, that an open sea, with Heaven to protect us, would be far preferable to a chance among beings like those. Accordingly, with the least possible delay, we launched our boat, and putting into it such things of value as we had saved, once more, surrounded by new difficulties and dangers, committed ourselves to the mercy of the waves.

The island before mentioned being now distinctly visible, we steered in a direction towards it; though we found it necessary to go a somewhat circuitous course, in order to avoid the reef. By the time we had succeeded in getting into deep water, the natives had been to the ship, and were returning with the five muskets which we had left on board. They soon passed us with great rapidity, and evidently with the intention of escaping with their booty unharmed. The cause of their precipitancy will soon be explained.

Just at this time there came in sight a number of canoes, perhaps thirty, filled with natives, who seemed no less intent upon plunder than those with whom we had already formed a disagreeable acquaintance. Their language was to us entirely unintelligible, but we could gather from their somewhat significant gestures, that they most of all desired to possess themselves of fire-arms. They beckoned to us to go with them, and seemed quite anxious to avail themselves of our assistance; but we were not less so to escape; and with the hope of being able to do so, we continued to row towards the island. Some of them remained near us, while the rest made for the ship. At length, all, except those in one canoe, left us, and joined their companions. These seemed particularly fond of our company, partly on account, as we afterwards learned, of their suspecting that we had something of value concealed about us, and partly for the purpose of making us their prisoners, and in that way gaining some advantage over the others. After a while they offered, with an appearance of friendship, to render us some assistance by towing our boat; and after some deliberation we concluded to throw them a line. This greatly facilitated our progress, as their canoe, being made very light, skimmed over the water with incredible swiftness. No sooner was this arrangement completed than a chief, and one other of the natives, left