Whahoo (the island whereat
his predecessor in the _Daedalus_, Lieutenant Hergest, with the
astronomer, Mr. Gootch, and the seaman were killed) had been delivered up
by the chief of the island to Captain Vancouver, for the purpose of being
offered as an expiatory sacrifice for those murders; and that they were
accordingly, after remaining some short time on board the _Discovery_,
taken one by one into a canoe, and put to death alongside that ship by
one of their chiefs. A pistol was the instrument made use of on this
occasion, which certainly was as extraordinary as unexpected.

The great accommodation which those islands proved to ships trading on
the north-west coast of America rendered it absolutely necessary, that
the inhabitants should be made to understand that we never would nor
could pass unnoticed an act of such atrocity. With this view Captain
Vancouver had demanded of the chief of Whahoo the murderers of Mr. Hergest
and his unfortunate companions. It was not supposed that the people
sacrificed were the actual perpetrators of these murders; but that
an equal number of the natives had been given up as an atonement for the
Europeans we had lost.

The native of this country who accompanied Lieutenant Hanson we had the
satisfaction of seeing return safe in the _Daedalus_. He had conducted
himself with the greatest propriety during the voyage, readily complying
with whatever was required of him, and not incurring, in any one
instance, the dislike or ill-will of any person on board the ship.
Wherever he went he readily adopted the manners of those about him; and
when at Owhyhee, having discovered that favours from the females were to
be procured at the easy exchange of a looking-glass, a nail, or a knife,
he was not backward in presenting his little offering, and was as well
received as any of the white people in the ship. It was noticed too that
he always displayed some taste in selecting the object of his attentions.
The king of Owhyhee earnestly wished to detain him on the island, making
splendid offers to Mr. Hanson, of canoes, warlike instruments, and other
curiosities, to purchase him; but if Mr. Hanson had been willing to have
left him, Collins would not have consented, being very anxious to return
to New South Wales.

He did not appear to have acquired much of our language during his
excursion; but seemed to comprehend a great deal more than he could find
words to express.

On his arrival at Sydney he fou