ed with one upon his leaving the vessel; during the day they were
busily occupied in manufacturing spears, knives, and hammers, for the
evening's barter; and when they came in the morning they generally
brought a large collection, which their wives had probably made in their
absence.
December 29.
On the 29th we had completed our holds with wood and water and prepared
to leave the harbour. In the morning there was thirteen feet water at the
buoy which had been moored on the deepest part of the bar, the depth of
which, during the two preceding days, had been frequently sounded.
In the evening we were visited by twenty-four natives among whom was our
friend Jack. When they found us preparing to go away they expressed great
sorrow at our departure, particularly Jack, who was more than usually
entertaining but kept, as he always did, at a distance from his
companions and treated them with the greatest disdain. When the time came
to send them on shore he endeavoured to avoid accompanying them and as
usual was the last to go into the boat; instead however of following
them, he went into a boat on the opposite side of the brig that was
preparing to go for a load of water, evidently expecting to be allowed to
return in her.
This friendly Indian had become a great favourite with us all and was
allowed to visit us whenever he chose and to do as he pleased; he always
wore the shirt that had been given to him on the first day and
endeavoured to imitate everything that our people were employed upon;
particularly the carpenter and the sailmaker at their work: he was the
only native who did not manufacture spears for barter, for he was
evidently convinced of the superiority of our weapons and laughed
heartily whenever a bad and carelessly-made spear was offered to us for
sale: for the natives, finding we took everything, were not very
particular in the form or manufacturer of the articles they brought to
us. He was certainly the most intelligent native of the whole tribe and
if we had remained longer would have afforded us much information of this
part of the country; for we were becoming more and more intelligible to
each other every day: he frequently accompanied Mr. Cunningham in his
walks and not only assisted him in carrying his plants but occasionally
added to the specimens he was collecting.
December 30.
The next morning (30th) the anchors were weighed and the warps laid out,
but from various delays we did not reach
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