e now all set to work in good earnest, and soon, to
the great astonishment of the savages, had felled a sufficient number of
trees for our purpose, getting them quickly in order for the framework
of the houses, which in two or three days were so far under way that
we could safely trust the rest of the work to the three men whom we
intended to leave behind. These were John Carson, Alfred Harris, and
___ Peterson (all natives of London, I believe), who volunteered their
services in this respect.

By the last of the month we had everything in readiness for departure.
We had agreed, however, to pay a formal visit of leave-taking to the
village, and Too-wit insisted so pertinaciously upon our keeping the
promise that we did not think it advisable to run the risk of offending
him by a final refusal. I believe that not one of us had at this time
the slightest suspicion of the good faith of the savages. They had
uniformly behaved with the greatest decorum, aiding us with alacrity in
our work, offering us their commodities, frequently without price, and
never, in any instance, pilfering a single article, although the
high value they set upon the goods we had with us was evident by the
extravagant demonstrations of joy always manifested upon our making them
a present. The women especially were most obliging in every respect,
and, upon the whole, we should have been the most suspicious of human
beings had we entertained a single thought of perfidy on the part of a
people who treated us so well. A very short while sufficed to prove that
this apparent kindness of disposition was only the result of a deeply
laid plan for our destruction, and that the islanders for whom we
entertained such inordinate feelings of esteem, were among the most
barbarous, subtle, and bloodthirsty wretches that ever contaminated the
face of the globe.

It was on the first of February that we went on shore for the purpose of
visiting the village. Although, as said before, we entertained not the
slightest suspicion, still no proper precaution was neglected. Six
men were left in the schooner, with instructions to permit none of the
savages to approach the vessel during our absence, under any pretence
whatever, and to remain constantly on deck. The boarding-nettings were
up, the guns double-shotted with grape and canister, and the swivels
loaded with canisters of musket-balls. She lay, with her anchor apeak,
about a mile from the shore, and no canoe could appr