in accompanied by priests or medicine-men,
appeared walking down the path on the cliff face, and, standing below,
made salutations and entered into a conversation with us of which I give
the substance--that is, so far as we could understand it.

He reproached us for not having come to him as he expected we would do.
We replied that we preferred to remain where we were until we were sure
of our greeting and asked him what was the position. He explained that
only once before, in the time of his grandfather, had any people reached
their shores, also during a great storm as we had done. They were
dark-skinned men like themselves, three of them, but whence they came
was never known, since they were at once seized and sacrificed to the
god Oro, which was the right thing to do in such a case.

We asked whether he would consider it right to sacrifice us. He replied:

Certainly, unless we were too strong, being gods ourselves, or unless an
arrangement could be concluded. We asked--what arrangement? He replied
that we must make them gifts; also that we must do what we had promised
and cure him--the chief--of the disease which had tormented him for
years. In that event everything would be at our disposal and we, with
all our belongings, should become taboo, holy, not to be touched. None
would attempt to harm us, nothing should be stolen under penalty of
death.

We asked him to come up on the deck with only one companion that his
sickness might be ascertained, and after much hesitation he consented to
do so. Bickley made an examination of the growth and announced that he
believed it could be removed with perfect safety as the attachment to
the neck was very slight, but of course there was always a risk. This
was explained to him with difficulty, and much talk followed between
him and his followers who gathered on the beach beneath the ship. They
seemed adverse to the experiment, till Marama grew furious with them
and at last burst into tears saying that he could no longer drag this
terrible burden about with him, and he touched the growth. He would
rather die. Then they gave way.

I will tell the rest as shortly as I can.

A hideous wooden idol was brought on board, wrapped in leaves and
feathers, and upon it the chief and his head people swore safety to
us whether he lived or died, making us the guests of their land. There
were, however, two provisos made, or as such we understood them. These
seemed to be that we should offe