ey, a carpenter, of
Boston, as the hardships of the voyage had developed in him a quick
consumption, and he had no family or relatives in the colony, as many
others of us had. The poor fellow was overcome with gratitude, and he
left us the happiest man I ever saw.

I must now mention a very singular thing, which upon the departure of
Foley was given a conspicuous place in our attention. We were in a
roomy valley, which was nearly surrounded by perpendicular walls of
great height, and from no accessible point was the sea visible. On
several occasions some of the younger men had sought to leave the
valley for the shore, but at each attempt the native guards set over us
had suddenly appeared at the few passes which nature had left in the
wall, and kindly but firmly had turned our young men back, saying that
it was the king's wish we should not leave the valley. The older heads
among us discouraged these attempts to escape, holding them to be
breaches of faith and hospitality; but the knowledge of being absolute
prisoners weighed upon us nevertheless, and became more and more
irksome. When, therefore, our companion was taken away, an organized
movement was made among the young men to gain an elevated position
commanding a view of the sea, in order to observe the direction taken
by Foley's boat. The plan was to divide into bodies and move
simultaneously in force upon all the points of egress, and overcome,
without any resort to dangerous violence, the two or three guards who
had been seen at those points. When our men arrived at these places
they encountered the small number it was customary to see, and were
pushing their way through, when suddenly there appeared a strong body
of natives, who drew their heavy swords and assumed so threatening an
attitude that our men lost no time in retreating. A report of this
occurrence was made to the colony, each of the parties of young men
having had an exactly similar experience. While there appeared to be no
good ground for the feeling of uneasiness which spread throughout the
colony, a sense of oppression came over the stronger ones and of fear
over the weaker; and, a council having been held, it was decided to ask
an explanation of the king.

Other things of some interest had happened; among them, a surreptitious
acquiring of considerable knowledge of the island language by me. For
this reason I was chosen as ambassador to the king. My mission was a
failure, as the king, though gr