had no time to make my observations upon it. They then went to
single combat, and exhibited the various methods of fighting, with great
alertness; parrying off the blows and pushes which each combatant aimed at
the other, with great dexterity. Their arms were clubs and spears; the
latter they also use as darts. In fighting with the club, all blows
intended to be given the legs, were evaded by leaping over it; and those
intended for the head, by couching a little, and leaping on one side; thus
the blow would fall to the ground. The spear or dart was parried by fixing
the point of a spear in the ground right before them, holding it in an
inclined position, more or less elevated according to the part of the body
they saw their antagonist intending to make a push, or throw his dart at,
and by moving the hand a little to the right or left, either the one or the
other was turned off with great ease. I thought that when one combatant had
parried off the blows, &c. of the other, he did not use the advantage which
seemed to me to accrue. As for instance, after he had parried off a dart,
he still stood on the defensive, and suffered his antagonist to take up
another, when I thought there was time to run him through the body.[2]

These combatants had no superfluous dress upon them; an unnecessary piece
of cloth or two, which they had on when they began, were presently torn off
by the by-standers, and given to some of our gentlemen present. This being
over, the fleet departed; not in any order, but as fast as they could be
got afloat; and we went with Otoo to one of his dock-yards, where the two
large _pahies_ or canoes were building, each of which was an hundred
and eight feet long. They were almost ready to launch, and were intended to
make one joint double _pahie_ or canoe. The king begged of me a
grappling and rope, to which I added an English jack and pendant (with the
use of which he was well acquainted), and desired the _pahie_ might be
called Britannia. This he very readily agreed to; and she was named
accordingly. After this he gave me a hog, and a turtle of about sixty
pounds weight, which was put privately into our boat; the giving it away
not being agreeable to some of the great lords about him, who were thus
deprived of a feast. He likewise would have given me a large shark they had
prisoner in a creek (some of his fins being cut off, so that he could not
make his escape), but the fine pork and fish we had got at this is