g on board, we shoved off, and lay
on our oars at a safe distance from the beach. This was a bad
commencement, and there seemed but little chance of our obtaining any
information from them. When the natives saw our guns pointed at them,
they quickly retreated, and though we did not fire, and made signs to
them to return, nothing would induce them to trust themselves near us.

"I am afraid, from what Sam says, that we can expect no better reception
wherever we go. But we must not complain of the poor natives," observed
Charlie; "they are thorough savages, it is true, but would probably have
received white men with gladness, if the white men had from the first
treated them properly, and tried to win their regard."

"That may be so," I remarked. "But we must not forget how the far less
savage inhabitants of the Friendly Islands treated the shipmates of
Mariner, and would, it is said, have treated Captain Cook and his
companions, if they had had the opportunity. Their conduct, in some
instances, is owing to debased human nature, rather than to a spirit of
revenge, though undoubtedly in many the white men have been the
aggressors."

Finding that we were not likely to establish a friendly intercourse with
the natives, or to gain any information about the schooner, we pulled
away from the beach, and steered before the wind for another island
which we saw to the westward. Although our hearts were full of anxiety,
and our thoughts were occupied with the task in which we were engaged,
we could not help admiring the beauty of the islands amid which we were
sailing. We found the water very deep round the beach, from which the
hills rose abruptly, clothed with a dense vegetation. Cocoanut trees
grew in the greatest profusion, not only on the shores, but frequently
up the sides of the hills, and were seen in clusters at the bottom of
the valleys running inland. There were also many other fine timber
trees, while graceful ferns and flowering shrubs formed a dense
undergrowth over all the uncultivated parts of the country. The water
was so transparent that we could see the fish swimming about as we
looked over the side of the boat. We had, fortunately, some hooks and
lines, and as nearly anything served for bait, we were able to catch as
many as we could possibly eat. The difficulty was to cook them, as we
could not venture to land on any spot where there were natives. Our
fear also was that we might run short of water;