other. This evil one of the chiefs
undertook to remove, and with fury in his eyes made a shew of keeping the
people at a proper distance. I applauded his conduct, but at the same time
kept so good a look-out, as to detect him in picking my pocket of an
handkerchief; which I suffered him to put in his bosom before I seemed to
know any thing of the matter, and then told him what I had lost. He seemed
quite ignorant and innocent, till I took it from him; and then he put it
off with a laugh, acting his part with so much address, that it was hardly
possible for me to be angry with him; so that we remained good friends, and
he accompanied me on board to dinner. About that time, we were visited by
several strangers, in four or five canoes, who brought with them fish, and
other articles, which they exchanged for cloth, &c. These newcomers took up
their quarters in a cove near us; but very early the next morning moved off
with six of our small water casks; and with them all the people we found
here on our arrival. This precipitate retreat of these last, we supposed
was owing to the theft the others had committed. They left behind them some
of their dogs, and the boar I had given them the day before, which I now
took back again as I had not another. Our casks were the least loss we felt
by these people leaving us: While they remained, we were generally well
supplied with fish at a small expence.

We had fair weather, with the wind at N.E., on the 9th, which gave us some
hopes of seeing the Adventure; but these hopes vanished in the afternoon,
when the wind shifted to the westward.

The next morning, our friends the natives returned again, and brought with
them a quantity of fish, which they exchanged for two hatchets.

Fair weather on the 12th, enabled us to finish picking, airing, and baking
our biscuit; four thousand two hundred and ninety-two pounds of which we
found totally unfit to eat; and about three thousand pounds more could only
be eaten by people in our situation.

On the 13th, clear and pleasant weather. Early in the morning the natives
brought us a quantity of fish, which they exchanged as usual. But their
greatest branch of trade was the green talc or stone, called by them
Poenammoo, a thing of no great value; nevertheless it was so much sought
after by our people, that there was hardly a thing they would not give for
a piece of it.

The 15th being a pleasant morning, a party of us went over to the East Bay,
and